Every. Stinking. Day.

Every.  Single.  Day.  

This is my morning routine.

Push in the couch cushions.  

Pick up the pillows and blankets off the floor.

And refold all the blankets. 

Every.  Stinking.  Day.

Sometimes 3 times a day.  

The weekends drive me bonkers.

But I suppose it is fair play.  Usually the moms curse comes into play but in this one, I'm sure my dad is laughing his butt off.  

Because I distinctly remember him folding all the blankets in the house over and over.

And mumbling the entire time..."I hope you have one just like you!"

Well dad.  I have three paybacks and I'm constantly folding their stupid blankets.

Stop laughing!  

And remove the curse!

Boys, I hex you children just like you one day that they never know how to fold a blanket.

And I'm going to laugh at you!  

Just like my dad is laughing at me.  lol

What Was I Getting?

I sent Owen in the laundry room to get a trash can liner.

About two minutes later, I heard him say "oh yeah....a trash bag."

He came back into the kitchen with the bag and I asked him if he forgot what he was doing.

He said he did forget.  Oops.

That kinda makes me feel better about myself because I do that at least once a week.  Sometimes I will have to go in there multiple times before I remember what I was going for.

Either that was good for me or bad for Owen.  But at least I can't say it's just me getting old.

Woot! 

First World Problems

How many ear buds does my son own?

I really don't know the answer to that question.  I *am* sure it's at least 3 pair.

And do you know how I know this?  Because I just had to uncoil them all and wrap them up.

After I extracted them from the dryer that is.  

Meh.

Am I the only one who cleans out my pockets before I put my dirty clothes in the laundry basket?

Oh.  Wait.  The boys don't use the basket.  They just leave them laying on the floor.

Meh. 

Thanks daddy for teaching me how to coil wire.

I think I'm the only one who knows that trick.  Most of our technology is a big jumbled up ball of wire.  

Boys.  Sheesh.

I know.  First world problems, right?

:)

Just A Reminder

Every spring and fall, I clean out the kids closets. 

(Okay.  It's usually summer and winter by the time I *actually* get around to it.  But I still get it done!)

I move the clothes that are too small for Shane over to Owen and the clothes that are too small for Owen go to Good Will.

I usually feel thrilled and accomplished to get this chore done. 

Usually.

But this spring, I felt a little sad.

A little weird.

And a little nostalgic.

Because no one in my family can use the little kids hangers anymore. 

The little hangers that held all of my boys cute little overalls and cute little outfits.  Now they can't be used because the boys clothes are too big and they just fall off of the hangers.  :( 

They're just another reminder that my children are growing up fast.

As you can see, these groups of hangers are sitting underneath the Thomas the Train comforter set that the boys are now too grown up for.  I just can not part with them either.  We may have a house full of people at some point and need extra blankets.  Right?

I did give the hangers to Good Will.  I figure someone somewhere can use them. 

I can't hang on to everything. 

Including their childhood.  They are growing way too fast.

Which makes me both sad and happy.  Every stage has it's good points.  Or at least, hopefully I'll remember it that way.

Just like when I look at the hangers and think of their sweet baby clothes, I forget about the sleep deprivation of babies.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me!

A month and a half later, thanks to the US Postal Service

It looked like a lovely birthday card.  :)

Striking It Off The List

As most of my friends who know me know that I am a list maker and a checker-offer of the old to-do list. 

Nothing gives  me more satisfaction than taking a pen and striking through a task.

Or adding something that wasn't originally on the list ONTO the list and then striking it off...just because I want credit.  And the satisfaction of striking it off.

But as most of us do, some things on the list just never get done. 

Or it drops to the bottom of the list, and continues revolving back through the order on the list until it actually gets done.

But sometimes I just drop it off the list completely accepting the fact that it's never going to get done.

And let me tell you that the apple don't fall far from the proverbial tree.  My mother is the same way.

So when she came in and handed me a gift a few weeks ago when she was in town visiting, I coulddn't believe my eyes.

It was a quilt that she started for me about 20 years ago.

No.  That's not a typo.

Details.

My favorite square.

I was quite surprised.  And impressed.  And happy.

It's a beautiful quilt and a beautiful sentiment that she finished it for me.  One that I will cherish for sure.

All that being said, it doesn't mean that I didn't razz her about it taking 20 years to get it off of her to do list.  LOL!

That was a HUGE strike through off her list!  Woot!  Woot!

What You Can Do Through The Intersweb

What did parents do before cell phones?  Seriously.  When I was a kid (I'm totally shaking my fist at you), when we left the house, we left the house.  There was no way to get in touch with us or for us to get in touch with our parents except for a pay phone or if we stopped by a friends house to use their phone.  It was both a good thing and a bad thing.  LOL!

So the other day, Shane texted me asking if he was a car rider.  I said no.  That we had that discussion and he better shake it to the bus. 

So he texted me from the bus and said that he made it (thank God because I was really tight on time) and he'd let me know when he got home.

Well, he called me from the house phone in a panic because he left his phone on the bus.

Of course he did.  I didn't have time to deal with this.  :/  LOL!

I told him that he lost his phone and he needed to figure out how to retrieve it.  I suggested that he call his school and have them notify the bus driver.  Then I asked him if his phone was locked.

He said no but he was going online to remotely lock it. 

I said okay.  And to let me know what happened.

He called back and said that he locked his phone and put a message on it with our home phone number and his name and to please call if someone found it.

And the bus driver called him like two minutes later.

He said that he then called the school and told the secretary what was going on and he and the bus driver had worked it out and he would pick his phone up at school.

He had worked it out all within 10 minutes of his first panicked phone call.

Awesome.

Technology FTW!

And I was super impressed with his ability to resolve the situation without my intervening.

Not that I could have intervened in that manner.  I had no idea that he could remotely do all that stuff via the intersweb.

Now get off my lawn.

LOL!

The Saga of the Backpack

It's a bittersweet moment for our family.

The last weekend of summer vacation before the kids go back to school.

Bitter for them.  Sweet for me baby!  LOL!

We have gotten school supplies, been assigned teachers and visited the kids schools to meet those teachers.  Time to get the backpacks ready for the first day of class.

Well.  Time to think about getting the kids backpacks ready for school.  I'm quite certain that even though I have the best of intentions, I will put it off until Monday night to do it.

Because I stink.  LOL!

But at least I'm keeping it real.

So I go to find Owen's backpack.  It was right where he left it the last day of school.  On his floor beside his bed.

Still packed with everything from school.  Including his caped Superman socks.  As you can imagine, they were smelly.  Meh.

I did bring the backpack downstairs though.  So that's something.  I'm so on top of things!

As you can see tho, it's still not unpacked.  Little tiny baby steps, people!

Shane's backpack, of course, was still packed as well and was laying beside his desk...right where he left it on the last day of school.

But his is now unpacked AND cleaned out.  Because I had a come to Jesus meeting with him and Owen on Thursday about taking responsibility for their things and chores.  And it must have sunk in because when I got up on Friday at 8 am, he was showered and dressed and was cleaning out his school instrument.  And his backpack.

And if you're impressed with him, he was just scared.  LOL!

But before you send him a congratulations note, please observe that his backpack is still sitting on the sofa where he cleaned it out...two days later.  

Little tiny baby steps, people.

And the few readers of my blog may remember the battle that I had with Shane over cleaning out his backpack after last school year.  Unfortunately, the backpack struggle isn't a new one for our family.

But I thought that I won that battle.

Thought.

Until I looked in his very messy closet and saw the offending backpack that is apparently still not cleaned out.  FROM JUNE 17, 2011.

And ironically enough, that pink bag that it sits upon is from our trip to Pawleys Island this summer.  Still packed.  And since it's sitting on top of that pink bag, I KNOW that he has seen and touched the backpack.  He had to in order to put it on top of the pink bag.  Otherwise, that pink bag would be on top of the backpack.

Little stinker.

You know.  I'm not going to clean it out.  Ha.  I win!

On the day of his graduation from high school, and probably college, you're going to read a blog post with a new picture of that stupid backpack...still packed up.

And so the saga of the backpack continues.  And I have a feeling that this won't be the last time you read about a stupid backpack.  Meh.

Boys.  Sheesh.

Catching Up

Shame, Shame, Shame on me!

My complete and total apologies to my two readers for not keeping up with my blog lately.  I have no good excuse except for it's been a busy summer, I have children who seem to need to go here and there and everywhere and a new iPad that doesn't work with pictures, which is where I usually blog to.

But my dear sweet husband is going to fix that and get me a new laptop so that I can use my blog again.

As I said, it has been a busy summer.  We started off the summer with a month long trip to Pawleys Island, SC. 

Typical Owen.

Typical Shane

The big news of the summer was Shane got contacts.  He's super happy with them!

The bigger news is that he turned 13.  :eek:

Another biggie, Owen finally won his battle for guinea pigs as we welcomed Peace and Harmony into our family.  And by "welcome", I mean I agreed most unwilllingly...kicking and screaming the whole way!  (Owen got Ken to agree to the guinea pigs by naming them Peace and Harmony.  Sucka.)

Peace.

 

Harmony on my iPad.  You know...the iPad that I can't blog on.  :p

 

We took the boys to see the Washington Nationals.  They're having an awesome season.  They are in the lead in all of baseball right now!  Woot!  Woot!

How the boys and I spend our time in between innings.  LOL!

And finally, Ken took the boys to see a Redskins preseason game vs. the Colts.  RGIII's debut as well as Andrew Luck.

So, in short, that's our summer in a nutshell. 

And my excuse for not blogging. 

But I promise I will get better mom!  I don't want the wrath of the Ginny on me.  I'm already struggling with the payback of the Ginny.  And I have a feeling that it's only going to get worse so I better not add on to it.

And get back to blogging!

All In One Week

All in one recent week, Shane:

1.  Stated that he was going to dress better next year instead of wearing all sweat pants and baggy shorts.

2.  Said that he wanted to wear contacts.

3.  Said that he needed braces.

4.  Asked his dad for his cologne.  At least it wasn't the Axe.  :p

5.  Proudly showed us his underarm hair.

Ugh.  Here we go!

That's What She Said

Shane is such a 12 year old boy.

He finds potty humor in everything.

And when he does, he always says "that's what she said".

And then Ken, being a 12 year old boy himself, usually giggles and occasionally high fives him and says "good one".

Owen, being a typical 9 year old, doesn't usually get the humor. Thank goodness really.

But he's getting really frustrated by Shane's constant use of the phrase and his not understanding it.

And he usually says in a really exasperated tone...WHO IS SHE AND WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT WHAT SHE SAID!?!?!?

Of course, this sends Shane into hysterics.

And Ken just smirks.

And I'm left there rolling my eyes at Shane and Ken.

And poor Owen still hasn't figured out who "she" is and why what she said was so funny.

What in the Heck?

I'd like to know why it's January 15th and there are weeds growing in my yard.

And a couple of my flowers have started to rebloom. In addition to the weeds growing.

What the heck?!?!

What Boys Do

I give up.

I accept it. 

I can't change it.

This is what boys do.

And this.

And this.

Ugh. 

I can't say I wasn't warned.

I was.

I just thought I would escape it.

Not.

Meh.

A Failure To Communicate

Shane has a robotics competition on Saturday. Being the smarter parent, I am sending Ken with Shane since it's an all day thing.

But I'm not completely heartless. I sent the teacher an email and asked if Ken had to stay all day or if Shane could be dropped off.

He never responded to that email.

But he did send out another email to the parents who had volunteered to drive kids to and from the competition, which included me, and thanked us.

/rolleyes

Apparently what we have here folks is a failure to communicate.

The More Effective Method

Sometimes you talk and you talk and you talk to your kids to try and get them to straighten up.

Other times, you just have to spank your kids. 

Even using a wooden spoon.  ;)

While I'm not opposed to that method, I figured a better way to get Shane to straighten up would be to come and pay him a little visit at school.

Cause sometimes it's more effective to embarrass your kids in front of their friends than to beat them.  Or your own head against the wall with a preteen adolescent kid who is just not listening.

So, Shane, I expect that you will straighten up and fly right from now on.  And I truly meant it when I told you that if you don't, I will be having lunch with you every single day and I will be coming in and sitting with you in class.  Every single day.

Please don't make me have to go down that path.

You know I will.  But my preference is that you take control of yourself and your school work do what your dad and I know you are capable of doing.

Cause your dad and I love you and believe in you and know that you are capable of doing better than you have been. 

Now prove it.

So I don't have to. 

Ziplock Bags FTW!

I hate trash being in my car.

So in order to alleviate some of this, I carry a gallon sized zip lock bag and collect trash in it.  Once it's full, I throw it away.

It's works pretty well.

Owen said that he felt like he was going to throw up last  night so I gave him the bag.

And he did just what he said he was going to do.

But I don't have to clean up puke out of my brand new Kia.

Cause I'm Snoopy smart.

Ziplock bags FTW!  :up:

He Asked For It

A few days ago, actually, a week ago, I blogged about the fact that Shane is not putting in a lot of effort in his classwork.

So, as a followup to the few readers who care about this, and wondered why I've been MIA the last few days, apparently our conversations with him meant absolutely nothing.

Last Monday, I emailed with his math teacher (this is separate from the blogged about incident in case you're not following this all) and asked if he had been turning in his assignments as one of the main problems that he seems to have is turning in his homework (whether he's done it or not.)  She said no.

I blew a gasket.  Ken blew a gasket.

We took away his TV, his video games and his computer.

I made him write his teacher an apology note and made him do the rest of his work that he didn't turn in.  And told him to turn all of it in.

She emailed me on Thursday that he hadn't turned it in.

We blew another gasket.

He got home from school on Friday and told me that he hadn't turned in any of it nor did he turn in the homework that was due on Friday.

So into his room he went for the entire weekend.  He was told that he had to clean up his room and write a paper on responsibility, disappointment, organization and had to write a plan on how he was going to get his act together and his work turned in.

You'd think that would be enough to motivate him.

But no.  He didn't turn it in on Monday either.

So, he lost trick or treating on Halloween night.

That's right.  Because I'm a MEAN mom.

And I'm tired of his laziness, lack of effort and general bad attitude.

Oh.  And I will be going into the school to have lunch with him later this week.

I am completely done with this.  I told him that if he wanted my attention, he had it because the full wrath of me was coming down on him now.  I shouldn't have to spend my time treating him like a second grader, but I will.  But now I'm pissed that I have to do that.

But thank God that Owen is being good right now.  I guess that's how it goes.  A six month cycle of one being bad and the other taking full-on advantage of that and shining like the super star that they are.

Don't worry.  I'm not fooling myself.  I know Owen's time is up in about 5 months when this "bad Shane" period is over.

But for right now, ALL of my attention is being focused on Shane.

Because he asked for it.  I just don't think that he realized what he was asking for.

Done With It

If there is one thing that I can NOT stand or tolerate is people who think that they are better than someone else.  I HATE snotty attitudes and people who walk around thinking that they are better than everyone else.  And worse yet, treating them like they are.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, sets me off quicker than that.

As far back as I can remember, I have been this way.  I attribute a lot of that to my parents.  They were always involved with Special Olympics and the mental retardation community.  (Which is what it was called at the time.  Obviously that term is not used anymore.  I only use it in the context of my involvement when I was younger.)

Because of that involvement, I saw a lot of people being mistreated or made fun and it made me sad.  And mad.  And I didn't really understand then why people were so mean to others.  Or treated them like they were better than them.

And I still don't.

But it doesn't get any better as an adult.  Adults just get better at hiding it.

Or they don't.

And that is exactly why I am not involved in the PTA anymore.  I can't stand to see the moms cluster up into their little groups and treat others like they have some disease if they work or they don't work or they aren't involved in the PTA or they are.  Or if they are not volunteering enough or they are volunteering too much.

Or if they're not doing something correctly or perfectly when they *do* volunteer.

And there are the ones that walk around like they should get special treatment because of what they do.

And they SHOULDN'T.  Actually, it should be the opposite.  If you are on the board and you represent the school, you should take extra caution to make sure that it doesn't appear that you are getting special treatment because of "who you are and what you do for the school."

You should do what you do for the school for your children and all the children at the school not because of the status of it.

And you sure the hell shouldn't expect a teacher (or a para...oh the horror of it all) to allow you to park in a non specified parking area "because they damn well know who you are and what you do for the school."  And then raise all kinds of hell when they make you park with the COMMON folks.  OH THE INJUSTICE AND HORROR OF IT ALL.

So yeah.  I don't volunteer with the PTA anymore.  Because I was done with it.

And when I started playing tennis a few years ago, I thought it would be different.

And why I thought that a group of women could behave in an adult manner is beyond me.  I should have known better.

As I said, I started playing tennis about three years ago.  I love everything about the game.

Well.  Everything except for the drama. 

And nothing brings out drama like competition.

A few years ago, before the competition season started, one of the team captains and her co-captain tried to convince me to captain a team.  I thought that they were being nice because they thought I would make a good captain.  They almost had me talked into it.

I figured that their team was full already which is why they didn't ask me to play and why they wanted me to start another team.

The one captain said that she would help me find players and she would help me figure it out.

Then I started thinking about it and I realized they were just trying to set me up so that they would have a team to beat so they could get to districts.

And I figured this out because 1) the players that she said that she would help me recruit were ones that she deemed unworthy to be on her team (including me) and 2) I heard her asking other people to play on her team after she started recruiting me to captain a team. 

And this hurt my feelings because obviously *I* was one of the players she deemed beneath her.

And I was mad.  Mad that someone could treat someone else that way.

But whatever.  I told her no and let it go.

Something that you should probably know about me is I am not "one of those players".  Meaning I don't get mad at my partner if they make mistakes.  I don't throw my racket if I'm mad.  I don't cheat if I'm behind.  I don't argue and start fights on the court with either my partner or my opponents.

I hate that behavior and I refuse to play with people who act like that.  And if someone does act like that while I'm playing with them (usually in a real match where I have no control over the people on the court), it's totally on like Donkey Kong for me.  I will totally go after them.  Verbally and most definitely my play will become way more aggressive.

I HATE THAT BEHAVIOR.  But this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me.

About a year ago, I played doubles with a friend of mine.  And I haven't played with her since because of what happened on the court that day.  No tennis match is worth treating someone in an unkind manner.  And that left a really bad taste in my mouth.

And I haven't forgotten it.

So here lately, I've been noticing a lot more behavior around this community.  Behavior that is just unnecessary.  People being rude, or just flat out ignoring others, whom they deem as unworthy to step on a court with them.  Players who play at a higher level won't even speak to, much less play with, players at a lower level.

Which is dumb.  You need to play against all types of players to get better.  Playing with the same people who hit the same type of ball isn't going to make you better.

You go to "socials" where people only play within their group of friends and don't mix it up.

What's the point in going?

I will NEVER understand this.  NEVER.

Nor will I condone it or participate in it.

Obviously, there are exceptions.  And there are some really nice players out there.  But the ones who treat others like they are beneath them because they don't have as high a rating, are ruining the fun of it for me. And they may not even be doing it directly to me.  It's just behavior that I've observed.

And I'm observing more of it because now I can't not see it.

The first question that most people ask a new player to the area is "what's your rating and do you play USTA?"

Really?  REALLY?

Can't you just say hello and be nice to someone without getting into all of that?

Gah.  I hate the behavior.  And I'm kinda done with it.  And by "kinda" I mean I am.

Unfortunately, I am just like my father.  And Owen is just like me.  Exactly like me.  In fact, ironically enough, I blogged about a conversation that I had with him a few weeks ago.  And it was titled the exact same thing.  Which I did not do on purpose.

And once we're done with something, it's pretty much over. 

And I'm trying to not let that happen.  Because I truly do like to play.

I just hate all of the drama that surrounds a bunch of women.  And this is probably why I hung out with guys while I was growing up.

Because who wants to deal with all of that.  It's stupid.  And it makes me mad.  And sad.

And I'm done with it.

Things That Make You Go Hummmm...

There is always controversy where ever you live.

Although you can find a thread of controversy that is common to most communities, there is usually something that is unique and special about a certain region or area that is irrelevant to other areas of the country, US or world.

And I guess that if you've never lived in the area, it's probably something that you never would have thought about as an issue that would need to be dealt with.

But in that area of the country, it *is* a big deal.

Such was the case when we were out west.  People in that area are trying to figure out how to co-exist with the native wolf population.

Wolves are encroaching on human's living areas and it's causing issues with the people who live there.  If you can't read the second one, the mom is concerned about her toddler being attacked by wolves.

And that is truly a legitimate concern when trying to resolve an emotionally charged issue such as animal rights vs. human rights.

Or is it that humans are encroaching on areas where wolves have always lived and they're just trying to survive?  

Or maybe, it's just an economic issue as one person nicely suggested.

Sometimes people aren't willing to address the issue.  If you ignore it, it will solve itself.  Or maybe they're just young and naive.  Like the 12 year old boy below.  :)

Some people are philosophical but don't really offer their opinion on a solution.  That's an easy out.

 

I guess it boils down to the fact that sometimes although there is acknowledgment that there is in fact a problem, there just are no easy answers.

One of the reasons that I like to travel is to learn about new cultures and this is definitely an issue that I never would have thought twice about.  (I worry more about minor issues like terrorist attacks.  lol)  But it's obviously a huge issue in that part of the country.

But I do find it interesting that of the majority of comments that I read (and there were hundreds posted on the bulletin board), that most were emotionally charged responses where the author had a definite opinion and didn't seem to be willing to budge on it.

And that's why there's controversy and wars everywhere.   Because even if an issue starts out small, people can't work together to come up with an amicable solution that is beneficial to all parties involved without becoming judgmental and accusatory in an effort to "win their argument."

The exhibit definitely did what it intended to do.  It made me pause and think.  About a lot of things.

And it wasn't just the issue of what to do with the wolf population surrounding that area.

You know.  Things that make you go "hum."

Clean It Up and Clear It Out!

Now that the boys have gone back to school, I am in the clean it up and clear it out mode.

I've cleaned out our bathroom closet, the linen closet, both boys closets and dresser drawers and Ken and my closet and dresser drawers, the food pantry and the food cabinet in the kitchen so far.

And the house doesn't look like I've done anything in it.  Ugh.

But  I'm determined to get rid of this clutter.  The back room is next.

Ugh.

Oh well.  I made the mess.  I guess I get to clean it up.  Meh.