you light up my life
/We had some fun with sparklers last night...check out these cool pics:
a day in my life...grocery shopping
/I needed a few things at the grocery store this morning. Hannah and I head to the strip mall where our local grocery store is located. Now, I need to preface this story by saying that I loathe going to our grocery store. There are others, but I am forced out of necessity [read: laziness] to frequent this one because of its close proximity to our house. It is located in a strip mall that contains way too many stores crammed together, several banks, and more than a few restaurants. I am a HUGE fan of the strip mall in general, but this is like a major mall shoved into a grocery store space. Oh, and did I mention the movie theater that has also managed to squeeze itself into the already over-crowded area? There is never any place to park, and if you do get lucky enough to find a space, it takes about a 13-point turn to park my mid-sized SUV. I have several hundred dents in my car doors thanks to this spacious parking lot.
Yet we head in. Somewhere, some design genius, who has obviously never had children, thought it would be a brilliant idea to make mini-shopping carts for toddlers such as the one that shadows me. You know said genius did not have to battle a four-year-old child for steerage control just at the moment you pass the wine display, narrowly missing the precariously stacked tower of pino-something, that if broken would cost me a month's worth of groceries. I'm almost ready to crack one open and have a swig.
Once we've safely navigated ourselves to a safer aisle like, I don't know, cereal boxes and glass pickle jars, she immediately begins filling her little cart. I end up walking behind her for about three aisles putting items back that she is convinced we need. Things like pop tarts, gummy bears, princess coloring books, and extra-absorbent Depends (it has a pink wrapper with flowers - don't know what she thinks it is, but she wants it). When I do get the rare opportunity to add my own items to her cart, she will loudly exclaim things like, "Phew, good, NOW we have cocoa." Right, you've been waiting for cocoa for months, haven't you? Or my other favorite, the negotiation. Mom, we don't need eggs. Why do you want eggs? And I have to calmly explain to this CHILD why we need eggs and beg her permission to add them to the cart.
But my absolute favorite moment of the day comes when we are in the checkout line, waiting our turn. We put our groceries on the conveyor belt (all six items that took 45 minutes to get) and she goes to put her cart away. The customer in front of us is just collecting her receipt, but Hannah so ever delicately yells, "MOM, I CAN'T GO BECAUSE THIS LADY IS RIGHT IN MY WAY," just as she is about to ram the poor woman in her Achilles tendon. This, of course, draws the attention of everyone in the entire San Diego County. I am, once again, so proud to be a mother.
She is unfortunately rewarded with a plastic Hello Kitty ring by our favorite Hispanic bagger who makes her promise to "Listen to jour mudder for turdy-fie jears." With an angelic smile on her face, she promises.
I pray we don't run out of milk by tomorrow.
Yet we head in. Somewhere, some design genius, who has obviously never had children, thought it would be a brilliant idea to make mini-shopping carts for toddlers such as the one that shadows me. You know said genius did not have to battle a four-year-old child for steerage control just at the moment you pass the wine display, narrowly missing the precariously stacked tower of pino-something, that if broken would cost me a month's worth of groceries. I'm almost ready to crack one open and have a swig.
Once we've safely navigated ourselves to a safer aisle like, I don't know, cereal boxes and glass pickle jars, she immediately begins filling her little cart. I end up walking behind her for about three aisles putting items back that she is convinced we need. Things like pop tarts, gummy bears, princess coloring books, and extra-absorbent Depends (it has a pink wrapper with flowers - don't know what she thinks it is, but she wants it). When I do get the rare opportunity to add my own items to her cart, she will loudly exclaim things like, "Phew, good, NOW we have cocoa." Right, you've been waiting for cocoa for months, haven't you? Or my other favorite, the negotiation. Mom, we don't need eggs. Why do you want eggs? And I have to calmly explain to this CHILD why we need eggs and beg her permission to add them to the cart.
But my absolute favorite moment of the day comes when we are in the checkout line, waiting our turn. We put our groceries on the conveyor belt (all six items that took 45 minutes to get) and she goes to put her cart away. The customer in front of us is just collecting her receipt, but Hannah so ever delicately yells, "MOM, I CAN'T GO BECAUSE THIS LADY IS RIGHT IN MY WAY," just as she is about to ram the poor woman in her Achilles tendon. This, of course, draws the attention of everyone in the entire San Diego County. I am, once again, so proud to be a mother.
She is unfortunately rewarded with a plastic Hello Kitty ring by our favorite Hispanic bagger who makes her promise to "Listen to jour mudder for turdy-fie jears." With an angelic smile on her face, she promises.
I pray we don't run out of milk by tomorrow.
George!
/Okay, if you watched last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy and did not bawl like a baby then you must have a cold, black heart and be the spawn of Satan. The O'Malley boys saying goodbye to their father was as heartbreaking as tv gets. It was as though you were there, in the room, saying goodbye. Makes you want to call your own father at midnight, wake him up, and tell him you love him.
If you did not watch, I don't know that we can be friends anymore. You may, however, redeem yourself by going to this site. Click on the "Grey's Anatomy Moment - 1/18" to see a clip from the show (suffer through the Queen Latifa commercial first - well worth the wait). If you really want to beg my forgiveness, you will watch the rerun of the entire episode tonight on ABC.
Best show on television EVER.
a list for "them"
/Okay, as you have no doubt noticed, I am a big fan of the list. I LOVE lists. So my thoughts today come to you in list form.
10 things I should feel guilty about when it comes to my kids (but may or may not - I'll never tell) :
10 things I should feel guilty about when it comes to my kids (but may or may not - I'll never tell) :
1. The sheer joy I feel dropping them off at school. God bless the public school system.
2. The fact that I won't let my kids have freedom of expression just yet. I'm sorry, but you are not going to grow out your hair. I don't care if all the other boys have long hair - it looks ridiculous to me and you will just have to deal with being out of style (at age eight, I might add!). Mom, you know what I'm talking about - that permed mullet and the baby blue eyeshadow caked on like frosting? Something should have been said.
3. Letting them watch t.v. (we must blog sometime)
4. Not pushing the healthy food as much as I should. That blasted McDevil-in-disguise is way too convenient and cheap.
5. Paying them to pose for pictures. They ought to do it cheerfully for free, right? That's what I keep telling them. They don't listen. There is power in the almighty dollar.
6. Telling them lies at daylight savings time to get either an extra hour of sleep or be able to put them to bed an hour early. Not working so well now that some of them can tell time. I've had to resort to sneaking around the house and changing all the clocks when they're not looking. I am so going to hell.
7. Not letting them pick out their own clothes. One day they'll thank me for this, I am sure of it. Except for Hannah, who I battle daily, and would happily leave the house looking like a gussied-up gypsy hooker.
8. Calling "leave-mom-alone-if-you-want-to-live time" the much more pleasant sounding, "nap play time." (Derived from the days when we took naps...that turned into play time...and has now been formally adopted as nap play time).
9. Skipping stake conference and telling the them the reason we're home on Sunday is because of general conference (they must seriously think we have this like five times a year).
10. Actually hearing myself say the words, "You are not getting any more carrots until you finish that hot dog!" Wrong on so many levels.
So there you have it. And now you will not be surprised when child welfare shows up on our doorstep. What things do you/should you feel guilty about as a parent? Do tell...
[Edited to add: At least I don't have to feel guilty for playing solitaire during pack meeting...ah hem!]
Busted
/Here is what I caught Josh doing tonight at pack meeting. My attention, of course, was riveted on our brilliant cub scout and his excellent, thought-provoking skit. Highlight of the evening: Doing the watermelon cheer.
