Organization is overrated

Recently, for some reason that I can’t remember right now, Cordelia and I had some time to ourselves to do some shopping. While we were out we decided to have lunch at McDonalds. It was still really nice out so she was wearing sandals that day. When we got to McDonalds I realized she didn’t have any socks for the play area. I was even going to buy new socks for her at our previous stop, but totally forgot. I was irked at my forgetfulness. I gave the van a once over on the off chance that there would be a pair somewhere. Cordelia likes to take her shoes and socks off in the car, which then get tossed everywhere. I don’t always take the time to find them when we get home so I thought there was a good chance of finding a pair. I was right. I not only found a pair of socks, I found three pairs. Sometimes it pays to be messy and disorganized.

Wordless Wednesday

Cordelia in church

Normally, Cordelia goes to the nursery while we're in church, but last week she joined us since the church school kids sang in church. She was busy looking at the song books and playing with the pencils in the pews, so I didn't think she was listening at all. But when we sat down after receiving communion she looked at me with a bit of horror on her face and said, "why did you drink the blood of Christ?" We had to tell her it wasn't really blood.

The blankie story continued

As I’ve looked back on some of the stories I posted in the very early days of the blog, I have to smile. Some of the things I wrote about I had already forgotten and I was grateful that I had a permanent record to look back on. When the boys were really small, I tried to write down things in a journal that they could one day have. Rion’s is pretty full and Torii’s consists of about 20 pages. Then my sister Laurie got me hooked on blogging and just before we welcomed Cordelia into the world, this blog was launched. It’s been great to keep family up to date about the things going on in our lives and it’s fun to look back on all those memories. I only wish I could have been blogging since I was pregnant with Rion. But once in awhile I’ll remember something about those pre-blog days, like Rion’s blankie and have to share. And not to steal Paul Harvey’s line, but here’s the rest of the story…..

I’m happy to say that my niece’s blankie was found. It seems she hid it in the file cabinet and Kelly found it while she was going to retrieve a file. One of the reason I never bothered to call Menards in search of the blankie is that I didn’t want to look for it anymore. We spent countless hours searching for that blankie because Rion always hid it. It was a good thing he had numerous shreds of it. We kept a stockpile of the shreds and whenever we couldn’t find his blankie, we would just take out a shred. Every night before bed, we would have to check all of Rion’s favorite hiding spots in search of the blankie before bedtime. If we couldn’t find it, it only meant he had found a new hiding spot. I usually found the new hiding spots while cleaning or like my sister, while looking for something else. When that happened we would just add it to the stockpile until the need for a blankie piece arose again.
In some ways I really miss those blankie days. Maybe I just miss the days when Rion was small and he still fit in my arms. On the other hand, I’m really glad I don’t have to look for that damn blankie anymore.

A blankie memory

The other day my sister posted on her Facebook page that her daughter had lost her blankie. She called the stores that they had been to, but had no luck in finding the blankie. I felt so bad for my little niece, but it brought back some memories of Rion’s blankie.


Of all the kids, Rion is the only one to really have a blankie. Cordelia has a favorite blanket, but we never have to carry it with everywhere we go like Rion had to. Rion’s blankie was in fact a Snoopy receiving blanket. It was much softer than your standard receiving blanket. Rion loved to twirl it between his fingers when I fed him or as he fell asleep, thumb in the mouth and blanket tightly gripped. Thankfully, we had two of these blankies as one always seemed to be in the wash. However, these repeated washings did a number on the blankies and they began to fall apart. Soon, we had a pile of shreds. One of the blankies still had a pretty good size square to it, but one day Rion lost it in Menards. I didn’t even bother calling to look for it. It was so ragged, I’m sure someone just threw it away. Plus, I was secretly happy to not have to keep track of that blankie anymore. Besides, Rion was getting old enough to give up the blankie. I did look for a replacement blankie, but I have never seen a receiving blanket like he had. A couple years after losing his blankie, Rion saw a picture of himself with his blankie in his hands. “Ohhhh,” he said, “I miss my blankie.” After all that time I still felt bad for his loss. It was really the first time he felt the loss of something really important to him. I still have a few of the blankie shreds hidden safely away in his keepsake box. There were many times I wanted to give in and give him a piece of the blankie. Even years later as he looked at that photo I wanted to tell him I still had part of his blankie left. Someday, he'll get it back.

Rion's Thanksgiving

You'll have to click on the picture to be able to read it. Still, it's a little hard to read, but hopefully you'll be able to.

I love his guest list for Thanksgiving. And the last line is great too.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Don't take my Kodachrome away

I know this makes me sound old, but I really don't care for most of the crap that is called music today. I try to be a cool mom and listen to new music, but when I hear my kids singing along to the Black Eyed Peas, well, that's where I draw the line. It was time for my kids to listen to some really good music. Thankfully, after much searching, (have you tried finding specific CDs lately? Kinda hard, thanks a lot IPod), I finally found a good Paul Simon CD. Now the kids sing along to Paul Simon. Every morning on the way to school they request "Kodachrome". They always giggle when they sing "all the crap I learned in high school". On longer car rides, "Loves me like a Rock," is the second most requested song. It's funny that I hate most new songs because of their content, but some of Paul Simon's songs are questionable too. Maybe my kids shouldn't know all the words to "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" but they do. And "Late in the Evening" isn't played much because I really don't want my kids saying they "stepped outside to smoke a 'J' ". It's about time to change CDs in the car and since they are loving Paul Simon I think we should move right onto Simon and Garfunkel. Time to learn the words to "At the Zoo" and "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)."

Living for today

This past weekend I finished the book "Two Kisses for Maddy." If you're not familiar with it, it is a memoir by Matt Logelin, who lost his wife the day after she gave birth to their daughter. It is a heart wrenching story, but uplifting at the same time. And truthfully, it has left me a little shaken. But in a good way. I know in the back of my mind how fragile life is and tomorrow is not guaranteed, but I'm still young so I don't think about it a lot. However, since reading the book, this subject has been on my mind. Matt and his wife Liz, talked about all the Christmases they would spend together and all the things their young family would do. And in that I relate. How many times do I precede a sentence with, "Someday"? Too many. Of course, some things will have to be someday events like Disney World or Paris, but there is so much that I'm going to do that isn't going to be on the someday list. It's going on the Now list. For that, I'm thankful I already booked our trip to Minneapolis for a Twins game this summer. Last year we didn't go because we needed to save money and we were busy. No more. We are going every summer. Last night Fred asked if we were going to Fargo again this fall for our anniversary. I said yes. That month is extremely busy for us, but we are going. No excuses. I know someone at work that goes to Mexico every winter for a couple of weeks with her husband. She said she only regrets that they didn't start doing that when they were much younger. So Fargo is nothing like Mexico, but Fargo is our place. It's special to us and to get away for a weekend, just the two of us, is what we really need. And it's not the big picture stuff either. The small everyday details that make up our life are more important than things like traveling. So I now vow not to stress the minor stuff. No more snapping at the kids or husband because I'm so busy trying to make the holidays "perfect." And no more telling the kids we'll do something later because I'm too lazy to do it now. I think I do a pretty good job of things, but it's good to have a reminder sometimes too. I've been in a rut. But it's spring now and here's to new beginnings.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Quotable kids

Today Rion was really on a roll. I kept thinking, "I need to write that down." It's usually Torii who comes up with the stuff I need to write down. Like last week when Torii informed me that when I spank him, I'm hitting God because God is inside him. I didn't know what to say to that. Fred said I should have told him I was really beating the devil out of him. I wish I would have thought of that. So usually I'm telling people what Torii just said, but today Rion had all kinds of things to say. And for once he wasn't talking about video/computer games! After church today Rion said, "When I was waving the palm branch in church, I felt closer to God." This from the boy who never wants to go to Sunday School let alone church. He continued to talk about his spiritual moment in church for most of the ride home. What a sweet boy. He also wanted to save his palm branch. I told him there was no saving it, it was going to die. "Then it will go to the palm tree in the sky," he said. He still wanted a palm tree so he asked if there were any seeds that we could plant. I explained to him it was too cold here for palm trees. "Have you seen many palm trees around here," I asked. He thought a moment, "Ummm. No. Not really." Then later in the day, after I told Rion he couldn't have any more Root Beer, he comes running up to me and said, "You have no idea what I've just been through." Turns out he tried drinking Root Beer from the 2 liter and it came out a little fast, spilling all over and then coming back out his nose. He cleaned it up and I forgave him because listening to him explain all of it was pretty funny.

Wordless Wednesday

Summer school

The schools here have a summer program called Camp Edventure. In the past I have always signed the boys up for it. This year I decided not to. The thing is, they need a break from school. That's the whole point of summer vacation. And there were so many things we wanted to do last summer that we couldn't because they were already committed to Camp Edventure. We've gotten a couple of notices from the school reminding us to sign them up before the deadline. These reminders also make sure to mention that the program is beneficial because continued learning through the summer has shown to improve fall test scores. First of all, my kids are eight and six. Unless Harvard will be looking at these scores, I'm not concerned. Second of all, my kids really need a break. I don't want my kids hating school by the time they get to middle school because they have never had a break from it. Third, my kids learn throughout the summer without school. When Torii's teacher was amazed at his fall math scores, I didn't attribute that to Camp Edventure. Torii's math scores went up from endless games of Monopoly and math workbooks he did during car trips. I think my boys will be just fine without Camp Edventure. Not that it's not a bad program. It's nice for the boys to see some of their friends everyday and they do have fun. They just need a true summer vacation without any school. Recently, Torii brought home one of the sign up reminders and he asked if I was going to sign it. I thought Torii wanted to go to Camp Edventure so I gently told him that I wasn't going to sign them up this summer. "Good," he said, "I didn't want to go this summer." Phew. I was relieved until he added, "I need more time to play video games."

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Big brother Rion

When Cordelia was born Rion pretty much denied her existence. Today he can't help but be aware of her existence as the two of them constantly bicker and fight. If Rion doesn't start an argument, Cordelia does. They know how to push each other's buttons and they do it often. I keep telling myself that deep down they really do love each other even if they never acknowledge it.

On Sunday as we were getting ready to leave church, Cordelia decided to have a monster tantrum. It started at church and continued all the way home. Nothing short of giving in and giving her what she wanted would end the tantrum so I ignored her and just rode it out. Rion, however, wasn't going to ignore her. Instead, he gave her a hug and in the sweetest voice told her that he had something to show her. He took her hand and brought her over to the computer to show her a game he was playing. Cordelia wasn't much interested in the game so she again sought me out to continue with her tantrum. Again, Rion came over to her, hugged her and talked to her in the sweetest voice I have heard come from his mouth. This boy that is regularly getting yelled out for his potty mouth and for his behavior towards his sister had taken a 180 turn and was now the sweetest boy on the planet.

After the tantrum subsided, I gave Rion a big hug. I told him he was a great big brother. I see this kind of sweetness from Torii on a regular basis and I know he'll always take care of his little sister, but seeing it from Rion is rare. Now I know that even if they get on each other's nerves, Rion will be there looking out for his sister and taking care of her. I couldn't help but watch as Rion tended to his little sister and feel extremely proud.

Wordless Wednesday

Oblivious

A month or so ago a co-worker asked if I had graduated with a certain person. I knew I did, but I couldn't quite place her face. When I got home I dug out my yearbooks and flipped through to find my class. I came to the beginning of our section which is filled with casual photos of students. As I saw the largest photo on the page my mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe it. The caption confirmed the identity of who I was looking at. "Rion," I said, "Want to see a picture of your teacher in high school?" We are well into our second half of the school year and it was only then that I realized that I had graduated with Rion's teacher. I immediately felt incredibly dumb for not realizing it right away. He really hasn't changed much since high school. I didn't know him well, but as soon as I saw his picture I knew who he was. My next thought was this: Did he recognize me? I sure hoped he didn't. I remember "meeting" him on the first day of school. He was really friendly, but I chalked it up to him already knowing Torii and the fact that he really is a nice guy. But was it more of a "hey I remember you from high school friendly"? Then I totally brushed him aside and moved onto Torii's class. Now I want to tell him that I'm not a snob. I'm just an oblivious idiot. The next day I asked Rion if he told his teacher that I had graduated with him. He said he did. I asked him what his teacher had said about it. "He said that you would have graduated with Hailey's mom too," Rion said. Great. Now who in the world is Hailey's mom? And how many times have I seen her at school and totally brushed her off? Really I'm not a snob! I'm just really, really oblivious.

It's come to bribery

We have tried off and on for about a year to potty train Cordelia. She started off really well, but then got stubborn and insisted she wanted to remain a baby. The ways we got the boys to be potty trained did not work with Cordelia. In fact nothing worked. Then suddenly a few weeks ago she started using the potty on her own. We stopped putting Pull-ups on her and amazingly she didn't need them anymore anyway. She is doing great except for one thing: pooping on the potty. I told her I would buy her something special if she stops pooping in her pants, but it hasn't worked. So today after worked I stopped by Wal-Mart and saw that the Dora dollhouse she wanted was marked down to $17 (originally $69!). Maybe actually seeing the special treat will help. The kids weren't home when I got home so I set the dollhouse on the table. When they got home Cordelia spotted the dollhouse right away. I explained that she could have the dollhouse, but we wouldn't open it until she started pooping on the potty. I can't say it has worked yet, but it looks promising. I also found some of the furniture for the dollhouse on sale and Cordelia holds the package as she sits on the potty. She wants to open it so badly. She tried many times to poop on the potty tonight with no success, but no accidents either. I told Cordelia I would put the dollhouse someplace she could see it to remind her to get to the potty, but I couldn't decide where. Fred had the perfect solution. Put it behind the couch because that's the spot where she goes to do her business. So there the Dora dollhouse sits. Hopefully we will get to open it soon.

A fish tale

When I was a youngster, a yearly family tradition was to go to the St. Mary's carnival. It's a tradition that has continued with my family. And thankfully, it is one of the very few things that has not changed since my childhood. There is still the silent auction, the raffle, the white elephant, and the halls are still decorated with large drawings of cartoon characters. Each year there are some new games, but you can still find shuffle board, the duck pond and fishing for a prize. And of course, you can still win a goldfish. We were never allowed to even play for a chance to win a goldfish. We begged, pleaded and whined I'm sure, but my parents never gave in. I never came home from the carnival with a goldfish. I don't think I ever forgave my parents for that until I became a parent myself. Now it is my turn each year to tell my kids that "no, you can't play the goldfish game." We have never come home with a goldfish. That is until this year. I made the mistake of letting Fred take the boys to games, while I took Cordelia to the easier games. Later, when we took a break for some cotton candy and pizza, Rion couldn't wait to tell me that he had won a goldfish. I apparently forgot to warn the husband about the no goldfish policy. Rion was very excited about it so I forgave Fred. Rion named his goldfish "Goldie". St. Mary's goldfish have a reputation for not living very long. Goldie lasted about three days. And since we had the tank all set up and the kids liked Goldie, Fred went out and bought two new fish. This time he got two mollies. One of these mollies is black and gold so Torii named it "Steeler". About two days later we learned Steeler is a girl. Now we have about ten fish swimming around. One prize fish has resulted in ten. The kids are never ever playing the goldfish game again. And I'll make sure to warn Fred next year.

Wordless Wednesday

A late Christmas story

I know I'm way behind in my blogging and I wanted to post this before Christmas. Well, I'm finally getting around to it.

In mid-December my office had a Christmas party. It's held during the same week that we have our winter meetings since everyone is in town at that time. Since this was my first year attending the meetings it was on my mind a lot and therefore, a lot of others things got neglected. One of those things was helping the kids with homework. Rion and I usually practice spelling words on Wednesday night as his test is on Thursday. On Friday morning of that week as we are about to leave for school, Rion tells me, "You know my spelling test was yesterday. My spelling homework is also late now too." I apologized to him for not practicing with him and told him I had a lot on my mind with work and it would not happen again. Rion looked straight at me and said, "Well, you need to tell your boss that you have kids."

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Over the weekend Rion was bugging me to help him with something, I can't even remember what it was now. I told him to hang on a minute so I could finish what I was doing, then I would help him. "Mom you take forever," Rion said, "It's like waiting for a website to load."

Sing Along

This is what I heard from the back of the van the other day courtesy of Rion and Torii.
"Why do you drink?"
"Why do you smoke?"
"It's family tradition!"
Fred has now been asked (told) to stop playing Hank Williams Jr in the presence of minors.

Christmas stories

Ok, it's been way too long since I last blogged. I totally overstressed myself during the holidays and I couldn't understand why I couldn't get anything done like I normally do. Fred had to remind me that this was the first Christmas that I've been employed full time. Duh. I was so thankful that I wasn't going crazy as I often suspect I am. So I didn't get nearly as much done as I would have liked this holiday season and many things got crossed off my list including Christmas cards. Now you know that you were not snubbed by us (just in case you were patiently waiting for our card to arrive). Do know that we were thinking of you during the holidays, we just never expressed it in Hallmark form. And thank you for all the wonderful cards we received. Next year I'll start on ours early and you will get one!

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was good to spend time with my sisters and their families. We miss them already! The kids got everything they wanted and more than they deserve. The day after Christmas Rion said, "I can't believe we were on the good list." I can't believe it either. Santa is either very forgetful or a soft touch.

Every Christmas I worry that this will be the year that Rion finds out the truth about Santa. I know it will be some snot nosed punk on the playground who spills the beans. Really, it was almost me that revealed all. While reading Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer one evening Rion told me he knew that Rudolph was totally made up. "Isn't that right mom," he asked. "Yes," I said half paying attention because I was busy trying to get the kids settled into bed. "Rudolph is fake," Rion said, "but Comet, Cupid, Dancer and the rest of reindeer are real. I know that." It was then that I realized that this conversation could have easily gone a different direction and a bad direction at that. "Yes," I exclaimed, "that's right! All of the other reindeer are real." Phew, that was close.

A few days after what could have easily become "The Rudolph incident" Rion asked about Santa. "I just can't figure how he can come in here and we don't hear him at all," he said. I told him there are many times when I wake up in the morning and there is a child laying next to me. I don't hear said child come in during the night, but there he/she is in the morning. (That is totally the truth. I told the truth to cover a lie about Santa. Make sense?) Rion thought that was a plausible theory and he never questioned Santa's existence again. Yes, my kid will be a kid for at least one more year.