So Cool, and Not

I am currently lying in a bed in a lovely motel in the middle of nowhere, which incidentally is called Bluff, UT. I will fulfill your dreams with photos and details of my stay here another day, but I’ve decided to use these 37 minutes before we make the trek home to give you this life-changing information about myself.

NOT COOL: Being 35 and feeling like I’m 60.
COOL: I’m not so rotten and feeble that I can’t play Volleyball (season just ended… 😦  ) AND softball (season just starting… 🙂 ).

NOT COOL: The fact that we have all stainless steel appliances, EXCEPT for one.
COOL: Knowing that when the day comes when we replace said appliance, my life will finally be complete.

NOT COOL: Worrying that you’ll 1) cry, 2) say something stupid, 3) not be able to come through for people who need and deserve it, and 4) cry during a presentation.
COOL: NOT crying, getting ALL of the $ requested for an awesome cause, and pretty much not sounding like an idiot. YAH!

NOT COOL: Driving 6.5 hours to come to a town with a population of 150 and leaving your husband at home because, well, you’re going to a town of 150.
COOL: Being in a town of 150 that is BEAUTIFUL, and learning a lot about my heritage, as well as hearing some great stories about my family. Seeing the most amazing Indian ruins ever, as well as some very petroglyphs, and going on a hike up San Juan hill (a trail the pioneers came). NOT being a pioneer.
NOT COOL #2: Thinking that town of 150 would be lame and boring, and not forcing husband to come.

NOT COOL: Driving through, according to the weather report, crappy weather for 6.5 hours.
COOL: Returning home to my most favorite people.

JEALOUS MUCH!?

I’m spending the next 2 days/nights here. Jealous? Yeah, I thought so.

http://www.bluffutah.org/

One Proud Mama

Growing up, my dad was involved in the scouting program. Actually, I think he was even the Scout Master. But being younger than my brothers and also a girl, any knowledge about the cub/boy scout program beyond knowing my dad & brothers were involved in it is extremely limited. Fast forward to today… I’m a mother of two boys, both who are scouts.

Tuesday was the Gold & Blue Banquet, which is a dinner and awards ceremony that each scout pack holds yearly. The boys are allowed 2 guests, dinner is served, and the boys who have earned badges or other awards are awarded said badges.

Ian is a Webelo this year, which is the last “level” of cub scouts before they move on to BOY Scouts. Webelos can earn their Webelos badge, but with some extra work, they can also earn their “Arrow Of Light” patch. I didn’t know what the Arrow of Light was until recently, but I guess it’s a big deal. It’s the EAGLE SCOUT (Google if it if you don’t know what it is) of the Cub Scout program.

I was really frustrated and stressed about this upcoming event because many of Ian’s requirements weren’t signed off. And being that I’m pretty much clueless about all things scout, I wasn’t aware of what was going on until about a month before. This past two weeks we’ve been working on finishing all of the loose ends, but as of Monday, I didn’t think we’d be ready for Ian to get his awards Tuesday at the banquette. Monday afternoon Ian’s scout leader called me and told me he actually WOULD be ready to receive his Webelos badge as well as his Arrow of Light at the banquette.

Woo hoo!

It was fun night with cute decorations, good food, and cute boys participating in the program. At the end of the evening, Ian (along with 2 other boys) were called to come up front, along with their parents, and presented their Webelos badge. There was then a small presentation and story where the boys were given their Arrow Of Light award.

I can’t believe how fast my kids are growing up, and this night made me realize that my little boy is becoming a little man. I’m so incredibly proud of what a great person Ian is turning out to be. He’s definitely a work in progress, but has some amazing characteristics… I feel blessed and honored to be his mother.

Congrats Ian! I love you :).

(Pictures to come)

5 Is A GREAT Number

It’s been 2 years and 3 months, almost half her life, since Riley came into my life, and what a ride it has been! I never expected to be the mother of 5, but now that I am, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Riley brings joy and excitement into our lives, as well as all things pink and princess! Whether is playing dress up with all of the kids, or singing songs to her Barbies, she is happy and bubbly little girl.

 

 

5 years ago today Riley came into this world. Her cute personality and fun spirit makes it a much better place to live! I am grateful that this sweet girl is a part of our family. We all love her!

Happy 5th Birthday Riley!

It’s Gotta Go Wednesday

Before I get into my It’s Gotta Go post, here’s a little side note. I want to give Mr. N a high-five, sympathetic back pat, and a huge hug and kiss for his awesomeness. His new shift at work is an interesting one. One that means that some nights he doesn’t get home until after 3 a.m. Add an early morning (8 a.m. to be exact) meeting following a late night into the mix, and it makes for a very tired hubby. I know there are men out there who do not have such a great work ethic and would be unwilling to man up the way Greg has. Thanks for working hard! Xoxo :).

Back to the regularly scheduled program.

As previously mentioned, we see a lot of movies in this house. But what are the odds that the same annoying occurrence would happen at both of the last movies we went to. What occurrence you ask? The people-are-idiots one.

I guess I take things for granted and am making a big assumption when I expect the general population to grasp the concept of PERSONAL SPACE. For example, when you go into a public restroom with multiple stalls, you don’t use the one directly next to one that is already being used. Right? You give one courtesy stall.

When at a theater, I expect that unless the theater is full or near full, people don’t sit right next to each other. And by each other, I really mean me. The last two movies we went to proved otherwise. And both of the theaters were less than half full!

Seriously, it’s close enough quarters as it is… you don’t need to sit RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I don’t hate people, I just don’t want to have any physical contact with them. Well, strangers that is. And I don’t want to talk them, or hear them chew popcorn or open candy wrappers, or know of their existence in any way, shape, or form. Oddly enough, I’m a pretty physically warm person. I’m a “hugger”, but I reserve my affections for those people in my life that I actually know.

Yes, I have stranger-danger syndrome, and I hate hate hate sitting by them. Especially when the situation does not call for it. When you’re at a play or concert, it’s expected that you’ll end up sitting next to someone you don’t know. I’m totally fine with that. But at the movies, I don’t want to meet new people, and I don’t want to catch whatever disease it is you are carrying. Because inevitably, the morons people weird enough to not know the cardinal rule of keeping a MINIMUM of one seat between yourself and another moviegoer (I like to make it 3 seats, just to be safe) always seem to also be missing the instinct to shower.

Anyway, people who sit right next to me at the theater when there are plenty of other seats… you’ve really gotta go.

10 Weekend Truths

This past weekend proved a couple of things to me:

1- Wii bowling is NOTHING like real bowling.
2- I suck at Wii bowling AND real bowling.
3- It’s better to be happy than right.
4- I pretty much kick ass when it comes to making breakfast.
5- Tonight you may play, but tomorrow you’ll pay.
6- It doesn’t matter how late kids go to bed, they still wake up early.
7- A high score on “Just Dance” does NOT mean that you have any dancing skills.
8- It takes VERY little to make kids happy.
9- Life would be really boring if it weren’t for our brood.
10- Sleep is my friend.

Take No Prisoners

I’m not sure if it’s the smell of (or my hope for) Spring in the air, but I have been bit by the organization and throw crap out bug.

There are two types of people in this house: 1) Those who see everything they’ve ever gotten as having value, either monetary or emotional. 2) Those who can look at a cute drawing their child did, and then throw it away without even a pang of guilt when their child leaves the room. I happen to be the later of the two.

No, I’m not dead inside OR a jerk. I do keep the best and cutest of my kids homework and art projects. But they do SO MUCH stuff that honestly, I don’t have room to store every scrap of paper with a rainbow or flower on it, especially when some of them go through a ream a month. Even though I am a complete opposite of a pack rat, you’ve got to remember that there are a few hoarders living in this house. And in a house full of 7 people, crap accumulates quickly.

One night last week as I was putting laundry away, I started going through my closet. 3 hours and 2 garbage bags full of clothes plus 8 pairs of shoes later, my wardrobe was officially purged. I feel a little guilty about throwing some of the things out… I have quite a few nice and cute shirts in new condition. But my rule is, if I haven’t worn it in over 1-2 years, I probably don’t need it.

This week is a busy one, but I have some big plans for our bathroom, the hall closet (aka… where medicine that is probably 5 years expired lives), and the kitchen drawers. I’m not sure why, but having things de-cluttered and organized has a calming effect on me. When the house is messy, I can sense my stress levels rise. Maybe that’s the reason when I’m frustrated or mad, I clean the house :).

I’ve given up hope of changing the ways of others. Yes,  have secret desires to burn half of the “collectables” in our home, but I will respect the hoarding illness items of others, even if I don’t understand it. The clutter I CAN control, well, you’d better watch out this week!

It’s Gotta Go Wednesday

The kids didn’t have school on Monday, which has pretty much thrown off the entire week. Which is WHY I forgot about It’s Gotta Go Wednesday. But it’s only 4 pm so it’s still totally legit.

I could get really in-depth on this one, but I’m going to keep it relatively simple.

This online news (from the recent edition of Rolling Stone magazine) heading today is my muse of todays subject:

Justin Bieber unimpressed with American health care system, prefers Canada’s

Justin, who I am SURE at the ripe (and for him prepubescent) age of 16 has a pretty good handle on the heath care issues in the U.S. of A. The Bieber has spoken, everyone harken!

Celebrities and their political (or even moral) views very well be on the bottom of my list as far as opinions go. To hear an opinion of a tiny subset of the world’s population who live so far beyond reality and who have a seriously distorted view of how life is for us “simple folk” pretty much discounts anything they say.

I didn’t read the article, and I’m not even saying that the Bieb is wrong, or that any celebrity is wrong or right. I’m simply saying that, my dear, I don’t give a damn.

Why Oh Why

In the beginning, it was, as it often is, great. It was fun, new, and exciting. But then I started to see things that I hadn’t noticed before or had forgotten about. Little things that I used to find endearing were now just annoying. After a while, all I wanted was for it to end. And because I am not good at faking it, I let my feelings be known about wanting the relationship to be over.

All seemed well, but then BAM! A return of the relationship from hell. So once again, I make it pretty clear that I am over it all, and want to make a clean break. In the clear, or so I thought. And like a never ending circle, again… BAM! And this morning, it’s becoming evident that you’re back again for another round.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate all you have to offer and your many different traits, but listen, I’m so over it. Don’t feel bad, sometimes things just need to end, for both parties involved. It’s not me, it’s you. Frankly, Mr. Winter, why you leave me in peace so that I get excited about the 50 degrees that I just experienced, and then hit me with your bitter snow is beyond me. I’ve tried the “let’s be friends” route, but you don’t seem to get it. It’s OVER. We’re DONE! I’m moving on to pursue my relationship with Spring. It’s time for you to let go.

Valentines Day – 2011

I didn’t write it, but I like it:

“Love is like an earthquake – unpredictable, a little scary, but when the hard part is over you realize how lucky you truly are.”

To my Valentine, thank you for shaking up and rocking my world :). I love you!!!