Men are from Mars

I am watching one of my friend's girls tonight and they and the boys have been playing all evening outside in the backyard. Which is a very good thing, considering it has been raining for the last 3 days and all of us were going stir-crazy. It is unseasonably cool, so I have the windows open and every so often will go and peek out and watch a minute to make sure everything is fine. This is a true conversation I overheard. I admit I lingered a little longer when I heard this, until my youngest gave away my stealthy spying position.

Girl (who is 8): M-A-K-E-O-U-T

Big J (who is 6 and 3/4): What does that mean?

Girl: Make out.

Big J: Yeah, but what does that mean?

Girl (with disbelieving look): Are you serious? You're taller than me and you are 6 years old. You should know what that means.

Big J: I don't! What does it mean?

Girl: Don't you ever watch Nickelodeon?

By this time, they were walking too far away for me to hear without falling out of the upstairs window, and they had become distracted by the other two on the trampoline. I heard the girl say something like, "You lay back down in bed or you will get a spanking!" to them.

A few minutes later, Big J comes in and is rummaging around for their light sabers.

"What are you playing?" I asked.

"Star Wars."

(I am quickly calculating how the previous conversation could coincide with playing Star Wars. An image of Princess Leia in a gold bikini pops into my mind).

"Oh, I thought I heard her tell the others to lay down like they were kids in bed."

"Yes, it's a new game. Star House."

Later, Little J clarified even further that it was a game made up of playing Star Wars and house. "Get it? Star from Star Wars and then House. Star House."

Sounds good to me. Who says men are from Mars and women are from Venus?

Forbidden Fruit

Lest you all think I only read depressing books about the Holocaust, I will prove now that I don't. After the recommendation of both my sisters (aged 13 and 31 - that should tell you something), I read the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyers. I don't even want to say what it is about in fear that it will sound so corny you won't read it, but it really is a good book and although I don't think it starts off as strong as some books I've read, by about 1/3 of the way through I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I was hooked. Addicted. It was a glad-I-finally-finished-it-so-I-could-get-on-with-my-life kind of book.

Without giving much away, this book is a love story, foremost, full of teenage angst (it actually is classified as a young adult book). It is also suspense-ridden and action-packed, and the characters come to life and stay with you after you put it down. Romeo and Juliet have nothing on Edward and Bella. At least both of them were human.

I can't wait to get my hands on the next book, New Moon. I think this series (there are only 2 books out now, the third is on the way) is original and fresh and I look forward to seeing what new twists and turns lie ahead.

I am also impressed with the author. Maybe because she is living my dream. She is a stay-at-home mom to 3 little boys and within 6 months had written and published this fantastic book. I have a book in me. It has been in me a long time. She has inspired me to bring it out. And then maybe one day someone can be writing on their blog about this great book they just happened across.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

We just got back from a trip to the great state of Texas. I drove down alone (500 miles) with my boys to visit my sister and her kids who were visiting. Each summer we try to coordinate our visits so that all the cousins can see each other. It had been over a year since I had seen my sister and my youngest nephew and niece. The last time I had seen the older nephews and my niece was at Thanksgiving. My parents have fun (I think?) hosting us all and I'm glad they have the room (after some creative sleeping arrangements) to house us. It was a good trip. Lots of swimming, water gun fights, and Chuck E. Cheese-ing.

My mom and all the grandkids

My mom, me, and my two sisters

Little Man's first swimming experience - he loved it!

Little J

Big J with his favorite cousin

I've Got Chills...They're Multiplying

That was my Grease tribute there. I had never even heard of So You Think You Can Dance until this season, and one night I half-heartedly checked it out. The top 20 are competing now, and I, surprisingly, really like it. You have to check out this beautiful dance from this week's competition. I am just uncultured enough to not get (or even appreciate) most of the contemporary dance performances out there, but this one gave me goose bumps to watch. I never knew so much emotion could be conveyed through a minute of dance. And when you consider that this couple was randomly put together and neither are contemporary dancers, that makes it even more amazing.

Sticks and Stones

I have a story for you. One day two little boys decided to make a "river" with the waterhose in their backyard. Doing this washed away the landscaping rocks that were in the river's way. The parents of these two boys asked them to fill in the cleared area with the rocks. While doing this, one boy threatens to throw a rock at the other boy. The other boy, not to be outdone, blusters back to the first that if he does that then he will throw one at him and he can "throw really hard." To demonstrate this, he launches a rock as hard as he can at the other boy... Sort of.

The Effin' Fours

That's what one of my friends referred to it as. Forget terrible twos. Beware of the effin' fours. (And lest you worry, she really did say "effin'" instead of the real F word). I don't know if any of you have experienced this, but my children were pretty decent kids before and after the age of four. Yes, at two they were more active and testing boundaries, but at least they weren't buttheads. Buttheads that talk back and think they know everything. Buttheads that would rather pitch a fit and argue with you for 30 minutes instead of just do the 4 minute timeout you have given them. Buttheads whose tone (you know the one) and scowl greet you at pretty much every interaction you have. Buttheads who kick, scream, cry, and yell things like, "YOU'RE THE MEANEST MOM EVER!!" when you tell them they can't have the candy in the check-out lane or the dumb plastic hat in the Party America store that looks like a cross between a soccer ball and a bowler hat.

I remember talking to my friend Gretchen when both our eldest were four. She was going to a Discipline Without Damage seminar and would tell me tips they would teach there. It was helpful. I remember her telling me that the majority of the people in there had 4-year-olds. Coincidence? I think not.

I didn't like my oldest when he was four. Now I am having a really hard time liking my current 4-year-old. Let's just say he's in "a stage." I fear the future if this is any taste of what teenage years are going to be like.

Unsettled

Some of you have probably heard, at least briefly, of the young woman killed in our community this past weekend. Besides the tragedy of something like that happening, I think everyone is a little more freaked because her abduction did not happen while she walked alone in some seedy, unlit area, but instead happened in broad daylight from a busy Target parking lot. I shop at that Target. A lot. My city is a nice, safe, family-friendly place and I admit I probably feel more comfortable and at-ease at times than I should.

But this has definitely shocked me out of that sense of security. Last night I couldn't sleep. I'd start to fall asleep and get in that state of half wakefulness/half sleep and start having weird thoughts/dreams. I dreamed that I was loading my kids in the car at Target and someone started attacking me. Then I'd startle awake and feel so panicked. Not for me, but for my kids. I mourned for the family that just lost their daughter. I finally went and crawled into Little J's bed for a little bit, just so I could be in the same room with two of them and feel like they were ok.

I have often thought about how vulnerable I am when I am in a parking lot with all my kids. I'm distracted trying to make sure none of them are getting run over, loading them and whatever else into the van, buckling car seats with my back turned and my hands occupied. I have often run through the scenario of what I would do if someone came up behind me. All I know is that if I ever die from some low-life attacking me, they and everyone else will know that I put up a dang good fight. My goal would be to make them regret ever choosing me as their victim. I may lose in the end, but it would not be easily.

It's very rare that I am ever alone, so most of my scenarios involve having my babies with me or in the near vicinity. I'm not trying to be morbid, but I think you really do need to run through all these kinds of situations and have an idea of what you would do. The attacker has a plan, so should you. The cool thing is that you can be the surprise element.

Human Robot

I'm not computer savvy enough to sit here and figure out how to get this on my computer, but I figure you are smart enough to know how to click the link. I loved this guy! He has scoliosis and what he is able to do is amazing. The angles on this clip don't do it justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptw9-2FScmc

Aaaah, Summer!

It is 1:15 in the afternoon, and I am writing a blog post. That never happens in real life. At least not mine. But now that it is officially summer vacation, I feel like I can breathe again. My calendar does not have multiple "have to do" things listed on each day, and although I am still busy, I feel ok about it.

I think routines are good, but I am really liking not having to worry about taking kids at certain times and picking up kids at certain times, and trying to work everything I need to do into little pockets of time. Today I've gone to a doctor's appointment and done a couple of errands, am about to head to the store and then take the kids for a haircut, and I have a meeting tonight, but it just feels different.

I have been making a list of all the fun stuff there is to do around here with kids - and there is A LOT - that is either free or is very inexpensive. It is amazing how much you can find out about your area by picking up free publications, looking online, and looking through coupon books! All kinds of places I never knew about were revealed.

My plan was to make this list and then actually schedule it on my calendar, because otherwise I will do like I've done every other summer and think about all the fun stuff, but in reality only do a small handful. So I made this list and got out my calendar to start putting the things I wanted to do on it, and I had to laugh because there was really only about 3 good weeks worth of days to work with. On top of already scheduled things, we will be out of town one week this month, two weeks next month, and then Big J will start school on August 15. So that doesn't leave a lot of downtime. Easily fillable with the regular pool time, library time, cookouts in our backyard and an occasional visit to somewhere else. But I am determined to make those "somewhere else" places unique this year.

What is your favorite summer activity?