Parenting is rough work. Its a serious loss of sleep, stress wondering why he is crying when he is dry and full. Its forgetting the wipes for the diaper bag and not being prepared for the diaper explosion or the puke-fest.
No one prepares you for the physical damage that they can do. I am not talking about gaining 70lbs or the banging of my head on the wall because I cant fit into my jeans. No, I am talking about my newly acquired broken nose.
Those of you without children are asking "how can you break your nose while holding a 8 week old baby?"
Those of you with children know how dangerous their head butts can be.
Sage cracked me in the nose a week ago, resulting in a bump, its changing color and it hurts to blow my nose (which isnt any fun when I have a sinus infection).
So my son has claimed his first victory.....over my nose.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
My Bucket List
Have you ever heard of a "Bucket List"? Many people hadnt until a movie of the same name came out a few years ago. Suddenly, people were thinking about their personal lists. I was one of those people.
Happily, I have checked a few items off my list....horseback riding and staying in a castle in Ireland, skydiving and going on a cattle drive (that one I get to do all the time now :-)
Here is the rest of my list. I am hoping if I keep it written down, and publish it for everyone to read, then I will have that much more motivation to make it all happen.
Ride horses in Ireland, visit an Irish castle DONE - October 2006
Skydiving - DONE - July 25, 2004
Go on a cattle drive - DONE (several times and will continue)
Break out a horse from start to finish
See a real herd of Buffalo in their natural element
Shoot a BIG BUCK
See the Northern Lights in Yellowknife, NWT
Fish for Halibut in Alaska
Ski Banff in Alberta
Ski Whistler in British Columbia
Ski the peaks of Arapahoe (Colorado)
Ride a horse in New Zealand
Go back to Ireland with Shawn, ride horses along the Cliffs of Mohr
See a Wolf in its natural environment
Build a house
Win a buckle
Go ghost hunting
Run a 10k (since I hate running, this is a big one)
Visit all 50 states and DC (got 19 of 'em done)
This list can and will be edited as I come up with more items for my list! My challenge now is for you to sit down and write your own Bucket List. You may be suprised at the things that are on there and the stuff that you have already accomplished.
Happily, I have checked a few items off my list....horseback riding and staying in a castle in Ireland, skydiving and going on a cattle drive (that one I get to do all the time now :-)
Here is the rest of my list. I am hoping if I keep it written down, and publish it for everyone to read, then I will have that much more motivation to make it all happen.
Ride horses in Ireland, visit an Irish castle DONE - October 2006
Skydiving - DONE - July 25, 2004
Go on a cattle drive - DONE (several times and will continue)
Break out a horse from start to finish
See a real herd of Buffalo in their natural element
Shoot a BIG BUCK
See the Northern Lights in Yellowknife, NWT
Fish for Halibut in Alaska
Ski Banff in Alberta
Ski Whistler in British Columbia
Ski the peaks of Arapahoe (Colorado)
Ride a horse in New Zealand
Go back to Ireland with Shawn, ride horses along the Cliffs of Mohr
See a Wolf in its natural environment
Build a house
Win a buckle
Go ghost hunting
Run a 10k (since I hate running, this is a big one)
Visit all 50 states and DC (got 19 of 'em done)
This list can and will be edited as I come up with more items for my list! My challenge now is for you to sit down and write your own Bucket List. You may be suprised at the things that are on there and the stuff that you have already accomplished.
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Christmas List
Every year the town newspaper, The Arthur Enterprise, puts out a special Christmas edition. This includes a section where all the children of the elementary write letters to Santa or a Christmas story and/or a special memory.
Only in the town of Arthur can you have everychild in the elementary write a letter to Santa and have it published in the newspaper :-)
The Kindergarteners, First and Second graders all did letters to Santa. Most of the kids did 4-5 sentences asking a question to Santa and then of course, their christmas wishes.
True to form, Piper Kate wrote a column. Here it is:
Dear Santa,
How are the reindeer? I can say all there names? Here I go Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comit, Cupid, Doner and Blitzen. Oh I forgot the most specialist is one Rudolph. We have a poem for the name Rudolph her it goes Rudolph the red nose reindeer has a very shiny nose like a light bulb? Do you like it? I hope you did. What is Mrs. Claus's name? I forgot one reindeers name Blitzen. How is it ths year out there? Can I meet all the reindeer. Can I have some costumes and the barbie house that has a elevators and polly pocket set with the dolphins. Oh I forgot I want some outfits with maching shoes. I cannot find all of my dtmins*. I wish I could find them. Can you get me some new markers and crayons the kind of markers is Sharpie and the kind of crayons is washable cran.
By Piper deBeauclair.
*I think dtmins is mittens because she has lost 1 of each pair that she has :-)
I really like how she wants a sharpie but washable crayons.
Only in the town of Arthur can you have everychild in the elementary write a letter to Santa and have it published in the newspaper :-)
The Kindergarteners, First and Second graders all did letters to Santa. Most of the kids did 4-5 sentences asking a question to Santa and then of course, their christmas wishes.
True to form, Piper Kate wrote a column. Here it is:
Dear Santa,
How are the reindeer? I can say all there names? Here I go Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comit, Cupid, Doner and Blitzen. Oh I forgot the most specialist is one Rudolph. We have a poem for the name Rudolph her it goes Rudolph the red nose reindeer has a very shiny nose like a light bulb? Do you like it? I hope you did. What is Mrs. Claus's name? I forgot one reindeers name Blitzen. How is it ths year out there? Can I meet all the reindeer. Can I have some costumes and the barbie house that has a elevators and polly pocket set with the dolphins. Oh I forgot I want some outfits with maching shoes. I cannot find all of my dtmins*. I wish I could find them. Can you get me some new markers and crayons the kind of markers is Sharpie and the kind of crayons is washable cran.
By Piper deBeauclair.
*I think dtmins is mittens because she has lost 1 of each pair that she has :-)
I really like how she wants a sharpie but washable crayons.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Best of both worlds
Today we are taking Piper to Denver where she will meet up with Uncle Troy so he can accompany her on her flight back to Michigan for Christmas. This is the first Christmas I wont see her at all. Its hard for all of us but we are getting more used to it.
Piper is not acting out like she did for the Thanksgiving trip....she isnt having fits all the time and she actually said she is looking forward to spending sometime up there. Some people ask me if that makes me upset, that she is looking forward to her time in Michigan with her dad and step-mom. My question is why would it? I guess I can see where they would be coming from, they think that I want her to be miserable when she goes so she will stop wanting to go. my answer to that is what kind of a mom would I be if I wanted my daughter to be miserable at anytime in her life? I dont think that would make me a very good person if that is what I hoped for.
Instead, I hope she has fantastic time! I really do. If she cant be with me, which she cant, then that isnt going to stop me from wanting her to have the best time possible with the rest of her family.
This is the way it is....its part of the outcome from the decisions that were made to move, which I do not regret at all. The life she has in Lansing with her dad and step-mom is not a life for me. I lived in the city, I did the mall thing, the traffic thing, the constant noise, sirens, crime, locking of doors, barking animals, obnoxious neighbors...been there, done that and it isnt for us. That doenst mean that it is bad or wrong. It just isnt the life that Shawn and I want to live. On the flip side, her dad wouldnt be happy where we are living now....with the closest neighbors 2 miles away, more cattle then people in town, the closest mall 90 minutes away, the closest town 45 minutes away. The only noise I hear at night at the cows mooing and the coyotes yipping. That isnt a life that he would be comfortable with, however I wouldnt trade it for anything.
My point is that Piper is extrememly loved by 2 very different people. Instead of looking at it like "oh my, she has to go to the city and be around the crowds and traffic and noise", I choose to see it as her having the rare opportunity to experience 2 completely different lifestyles. She is a city kid in the summer and a ranch kid in the school year. She can hit up the mall in July and ride her horse in March. When she starts to look at schools for college, should she want to attend a big school, she wont have the culture shock that so many small town kids experience when moving to a large city for the first time. She will have that experience already.
Piper is an incredibly resilient child and while it is hard for her to leave us, the most traumatic part is just that, the leaving. When she gets to Michigan, she is fine. She has a great time, she enjoys being around her family and friends. I also know that it is hard for her to leave Michigan and come home but once she gets here, she tells me she never wants to leave again.
She is 7 years old and has alot to deal with but she is doing it. And she is doing great. She is thriving in school, has a ton of friends, is outside playing more then ever before. She loves to chase her dogs, she LIVES to ride her horse, she enjoys helping Shawn feed or cake the cows. She is a great kid, who has her moments but they are just that...moments. Each moment results in the creation of a memory and her memory will be full of experiences in Nebraska and Michigan. Its hard now, but it gets easier each time. She is lucky...so many kids dont ever get out of their hometowns while she has 2 homes that will result in double the memories!!
Piper is not acting out like she did for the Thanksgiving trip....she isnt having fits all the time and she actually said she is looking forward to spending sometime up there. Some people ask me if that makes me upset, that she is looking forward to her time in Michigan with her dad and step-mom. My question is why would it? I guess I can see where they would be coming from, they think that I want her to be miserable when she goes so she will stop wanting to go. my answer to that is what kind of a mom would I be if I wanted my daughter to be miserable at anytime in her life? I dont think that would make me a very good person if that is what I hoped for.
Instead, I hope she has fantastic time! I really do. If she cant be with me, which she cant, then that isnt going to stop me from wanting her to have the best time possible with the rest of her family.
This is the way it is....its part of the outcome from the decisions that were made to move, which I do not regret at all. The life she has in Lansing with her dad and step-mom is not a life for me. I lived in the city, I did the mall thing, the traffic thing, the constant noise, sirens, crime, locking of doors, barking animals, obnoxious neighbors...been there, done that and it isnt for us. That doenst mean that it is bad or wrong. It just isnt the life that Shawn and I want to live. On the flip side, her dad wouldnt be happy where we are living now....with the closest neighbors 2 miles away, more cattle then people in town, the closest mall 90 minutes away, the closest town 45 minutes away. The only noise I hear at night at the cows mooing and the coyotes yipping. That isnt a life that he would be comfortable with, however I wouldnt trade it for anything.
My point is that Piper is extrememly loved by 2 very different people. Instead of looking at it like "oh my, she has to go to the city and be around the crowds and traffic and noise", I choose to see it as her having the rare opportunity to experience 2 completely different lifestyles. She is a city kid in the summer and a ranch kid in the school year. She can hit up the mall in July and ride her horse in March. When she starts to look at schools for college, should she want to attend a big school, she wont have the culture shock that so many small town kids experience when moving to a large city for the first time. She will have that experience already.
Piper is an incredibly resilient child and while it is hard for her to leave us, the most traumatic part is just that, the leaving. When she gets to Michigan, she is fine. She has a great time, she enjoys being around her family and friends. I also know that it is hard for her to leave Michigan and come home but once she gets here, she tells me she never wants to leave again.
She is 7 years old and has alot to deal with but she is doing it. And she is doing great. She is thriving in school, has a ton of friends, is outside playing more then ever before. She loves to chase her dogs, she LIVES to ride her horse, she enjoys helping Shawn feed or cake the cows. She is a great kid, who has her moments but they are just that...moments. Each moment results in the creation of a memory and her memory will be full of experiences in Nebraska and Michigan. Its hard now, but it gets easier each time. She is lucky...so many kids dont ever get out of their hometowns while she has 2 homes that will result in double the memories!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Santa and Coyotes
What a crazy weekend in the Hanna household!! Oh my, I needed Monday to come so that things kinda got back to normal.
I use the term "normal" very loosely.
Friday: scouting for deer/shooting at coyotes (he missed), dinner with the fam at the bar and home.
Saturday: Santa pancake supper in town. This could have been extrememly traumatic because Piper is terrified of Santa however since her baby brother was such a big boy she sucked it up and went to talk to Santa. Should Imention she wouldnt go over there until Sage did first.....I dont know, maybe she was waiting to see if Santa would eat Sage or not. Trust my child (the little one) to be the one to get his fingers wrapped into Santa's beard..that was close but managed to keep Santa's secret :-)
Sunday: Jaycen James Hanna is 2 (and every bit of it) and his birthday party was Sunday. It was fun, great food and good times with family. Jayce is cute as can be and an ornery little shit to boot!
On our way home I was thinking what an uneventful say Sunday was compared to Friday and Saturday (which really werent that eventful, Sunday was just that boring).
I spoke 3 minutes to soon......
The dogs were FLIPPING OUT which isnt really anything that new, but they didnt stop when we yelled at them. Junior was off in the back so I thought he was chasing deer and Husker, well, Husker is a big fat baby unless its a cow to chase, so he was standing on the driveway barking in the direction of where I assumed Junior was. We walked up the drive and heard some banging and thought the deer were beside the house and knocked into something (we have a heard of about 40 Mule deer that hang out in my yard every night) so we went inside and looked through the windows.
Nothing.
Husker was still barking and looking at the roof so I called to Shawn, who thought it was a cat. I went out to look and it wasnt a cat.
Mr. Coyote was looking back at me.
The back of my house is an A-frame and I am guessing the dogs chased him up there (thankfully they forgot that they also know how to climb up there....which landed Husker in my kitchen when he fell through the window during one of his trips up there...so he didnt forget...he knew better then to go) and there he was.
Shawn took care of him and he is now in the back of the pickup. Piper is learning first hand about the circle of life out here and how sometimes that circle involves humans. She actually handled it really well and came outside to see it after he was dead. He had mange badly so now she tells everyone "if you see a coyote without hair on his tail or legs, shoot him because he is sick."
Dont believe me...check out the pictures ;-)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
I have a Tween
Sounds like a strange disease doesn't it....Tween. Sometimes it feels like that. Piper has moved from the world of little girl to tween and she may even make it to teen.
Maybe......thats a few years from now and I choose not to think about that at this time.
How did I come to this conclusion? Well, I have been considering the diagnosis for a few months now....various little things she would say or do that would make me suspicious...sudden worrying about her hair and clothing....such as "I am not wearing those jeans because they dont look cute" and "I just cant go to school with my hair in braids, it makes me look like a hobo". However yesterday during her snowday when I took the opportunity to ruin her life by having her clean her room, she informed me that she couldnt possibly clean her room and here is the resulting converstation:
Piper: Moooooom i canNOT possibly clean my room today. It will take me ALL day to clean my room and then I WONT have ANY time to watch television.
Mom: Wouldnt that be tragic...so you better get back upstairs and put your clothes away so you can come back downstairs and watch tv.
Piper: but MOOOOOM, I cant put my clothes away...I dont have any room, I have to many clothes
Mom: Thats funny, yesterday you didnt have anything to wear to school. Where did all you clothes come from?
Piper: But Moooooooooom (getting louder and whiner each time and visualize her drapped across the arm of the couch rolling from side to side to emphazie the trauma that the mean thought of cleaning her room has done to her)
Mom: Piper, in the time you have been whining about doing it...
Piper: I am not whining!! (now begins the tears) I just cannnot do it by myself, there is to much stuff, to much of a mess. I cant even walk to where my clothes are.
Mom: That would be the reason why you need to clean. Try picking up the stuff between you and the clothes, you could put that away and see how much room you have to walk then. Just a suggestion.
Piper: (she is not getting my humor) OOhhhhhhhhh......I think that is a terrible idea, that would be MORE work then what I started out with.
Mom: Well, I dont know what to tell you...those are my suggestions however in the time you have spent down here complaining about cleaning taking to long and you missing your tv, you could have had it done and be watching tv.
Piper: FINE, but this is the worst day of my life....you are sooo mean for not helping me clean my room. (commence stomping up the stairs, followed by the falling and/or throwing of webkinz down the stairs. I can only assume those are the objects between her and her clothing).
Mom: Sage, your big sissy is being such a girl.
25 minutes later, stomping feet on the stairs.
Piper: Mommy
Mom: Yessy
Piper: Mommy, I tried, I really did (sitting now on the arm of the couch) but I cant...I just cant...I just dont have enough room.
Mom: Piper, there is plent
Piper: MOM, your NOT listening...here is the PROBLEM.....(please insert hand motions with every word) I had to put my underwear in with my shirts and my socks in with my jammies and then my skirts in with my jeans and
Mom: why didnt you hang yours skirts up?
Piper: MOM, I am not done, please do not interrupt me, thats rude.
Mom: uh, uh, ummm, ok (I guess she was listening at some point)
Piper: So what exactly do you want me to do?
Now we sit in silence and look at each other. I am well aware now that the tides have shifted and that I no longer am the mom of a little girl. I have a daughter, a tween, something that isnt normal, cannot be rationalized with, is loving, sweet,wonderful and in a moments notice (well, not really, never any notice) wicked, silver tongue and crazed all at the same time. And taking me on this crazy train with her.
I could take this opportunity to cave, go upstairs and help her, but much like the U.S. I choose not to negotiate with terrorists (or tweens), so I take a more frightening route of informing her that I didnt care where her stuff went, as long as it wasnt on the floor and now she also needed to pick up all the toys she tossed down the stairs and put those away as well.
I was very happy to be holding her beloved baby brother when the tantrum over that information started.
All in all, after 2 hours of her complaining and reasoning why she couldnt possibly clean her room, she did managed to get it done. I was very proud (relieved) and gave her a big hug and kiss when she crawled into my lap and put her head on my shoulder. I turned on Disney for her and she snuggled up just like she did when she was 3. Thats life with a tween. To big for little kid things 1 minute, and still, just a little girl the next.
What will the next few years bring...I can only imagine and I canNOT wait to see!!!
Maybe......thats a few years from now and I choose not to think about that at this time.
How did I come to this conclusion? Well, I have been considering the diagnosis for a few months now....various little things she would say or do that would make me suspicious...sudden worrying about her hair and clothing....such as "I am not wearing those jeans because they dont look cute" and "I just cant go to school with my hair in braids, it makes me look like a hobo". However yesterday during her snowday when I took the opportunity to ruin her life by having her clean her room, she informed me that she couldnt possibly clean her room and here is the resulting converstation:
Piper: Moooooom i canNOT possibly clean my room today. It will take me ALL day to clean my room and then I WONT have ANY time to watch television.
Mom: Wouldnt that be tragic...so you better get back upstairs and put your clothes away so you can come back downstairs and watch tv.
Piper: but MOOOOOM, I cant put my clothes away...I dont have any room, I have to many clothes
Mom: Thats funny, yesterday you didnt have anything to wear to school. Where did all you clothes come from?
Piper: But Moooooooooom (getting louder and whiner each time and visualize her drapped across the arm of the couch rolling from side to side to emphazie the trauma that the mean thought of cleaning her room has done to her)
Mom: Piper, in the time you have been whining about doing it...
Piper: I am not whining!! (now begins the tears) I just cannnot do it by myself, there is to much stuff, to much of a mess. I cant even walk to where my clothes are.
Mom: That would be the reason why you need to clean. Try picking up the stuff between you and the clothes, you could put that away and see how much room you have to walk then. Just a suggestion.
Piper: (she is not getting my humor) OOhhhhhhhhh......I think that is a terrible idea, that would be MORE work then what I started out with.
Mom: Well, I dont know what to tell you...those are my suggestions however in the time you have spent down here complaining about cleaning taking to long and you missing your tv, you could have had it done and be watching tv.
Piper: FINE, but this is the worst day of my life....you are sooo mean for not helping me clean my room. (commence stomping up the stairs, followed by the falling and/or throwing of webkinz down the stairs. I can only assume those are the objects between her and her clothing).
Mom: Sage, your big sissy is being such a girl.
25 minutes later, stomping feet on the stairs.
Piper: Mommy
Mom: Yessy
Piper: Mommy, I tried, I really did (sitting now on the arm of the couch) but I cant...I just cant...I just dont have enough room.
Mom: Piper, there is plent
Piper: MOM, your NOT listening...here is the PROBLEM.....(please insert hand motions with every word) I had to put my underwear in with my shirts and my socks in with my jammies and then my skirts in with my jeans and
Mom: why didnt you hang yours skirts up?
Piper: MOM, I am not done, please do not interrupt me, thats rude.
Mom: uh, uh, ummm, ok (I guess she was listening at some point)
Piper: So what exactly do you want me to do?
Now we sit in silence and look at each other. I am well aware now that the tides have shifted and that I no longer am the mom of a little girl. I have a daughter, a tween, something that isnt normal, cannot be rationalized with, is loving, sweet,wonderful and in a moments notice (well, not really, never any notice) wicked, silver tongue and crazed all at the same time. And taking me on this crazy train with her.
I could take this opportunity to cave, go upstairs and help her, but much like the U.S. I choose not to negotiate with terrorists (or tweens), so I take a more frightening route of informing her that I didnt care where her stuff went, as long as it wasnt on the floor and now she also needed to pick up all the toys she tossed down the stairs and put those away as well.
I was very happy to be holding her beloved baby brother when the tantrum over that information started.
All in all, after 2 hours of her complaining and reasoning why she couldnt possibly clean her room, she did managed to get it done. I was very proud (relieved) and gave her a big hug and kiss when she crawled into my lap and put her head on my shoulder. I turned on Disney for her and she snuggled up just like she did when she was 3. Thats life with a tween. To big for little kid things 1 minute, and still, just a little girl the next.
What will the next few years bring...I can only imagine and I canNOT wait to see!!!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Cyber Romance
As I sit rocking my 1 month old son in the chair I was privy to 6 (yes 6) commercials for a variety of internet dating sites. Unlike alot of people, I am all for and supportive of romance that starts online. I dont really have a choice as Shawn and I met online.
Why? Well because he lived in a very (VERY) small town where his options were limited (either already dated them, they were married or he was related to them). I was a single mom of a little girl which I quickly found out was kinda like having the plague to many (mostly the ones I met) men. I didnt go to the bar, I worked and went to school and was home with Piper. My time frame to go out and met someone was limited (non-existent).
I had tried dating online and had met a couple of people, but no one who would last long term. Same thing for Shawn.
Both of us were tired of it and ready to quit when my mom said "you have to try this one more site and if you dont, then I will do it for you."
Where was my option in that...either I set up my profile or my mother does...so I sat at the computer and created my profile. 1 month...thats all I did. 30 days...I can handle it for 30 days.
2 weeks in, I saw his page, sent him....we emailed for a month before we talked on the phone, then we talked on the phone for 2 months before we met in person. The rest, as they say, is H-I-S-T-O-R-Y!!!
Since I met Shawn, my brother has started dated a great chick he met online, another friend of mine just had her boyfriend move from Utah to Michigan, and 2 of my friends from high school have married men they met online.
Yes, things can go wrong and there are bad people out there but you cannot live life in the shadows out of worry and fear. You need to be careful. You need to be sage and smart. There is an opportunity in online dating that gives you the chance to do something that I think is missing in alot of relationships right now...TALK. Communicate. You cant go jumping into bed with someone who is 1100 miles away from you even if you are charmed and attracted to them. It forces you to talk about everything for hours on end because while there is a very strong connection and attraction, you can only foster that by communicating. For Shawn and I, we never ran out of stuff to talk about. For hours at night, every night, we talked. And when we finally met in person, we kept talking.
If you ask him, I havent shut up yet :-)
If you are sitting home alone (like I was) and are frusterated with the dating pool where you live...try another one. Most out of your comfort zone. You dont have to look out of state...go to the town next to you....you never know where you soul mate may be sitting. Mine was hanging out in Nebraska...who would have thought......
Why? Well because he lived in a very (VERY) small town where his options were limited (either already dated them, they were married or he was related to them). I was a single mom of a little girl which I quickly found out was kinda like having the plague to many (mostly the ones I met) men. I didnt go to the bar, I worked and went to school and was home with Piper. My time frame to go out and met someone was limited (non-existent).
I had tried dating online and had met a couple of people, but no one who would last long term. Same thing for Shawn.
Both of us were tired of it and ready to quit when my mom said "you have to try this one more site and if you dont, then I will do it for you."
Where was my option in that...either I set up my profile or my mother does...so I sat at the computer and created my profile. 1 month...thats all I did. 30 days...I can handle it for 30 days.
2 weeks in, I saw his page, sent him....we emailed for a month before we talked on the phone, then we talked on the phone for 2 months before we met in person. The rest, as they say, is H-I-S-T-O-R-Y!!!
Since I met Shawn, my brother has started dated a great chick he met online, another friend of mine just had her boyfriend move from Utah to Michigan, and 2 of my friends from high school have married men they met online.
Yes, things can go wrong and there are bad people out there but you cannot live life in the shadows out of worry and fear. You need to be careful. You need to be sage and smart. There is an opportunity in online dating that gives you the chance to do something that I think is missing in alot of relationships right now...TALK. Communicate. You cant go jumping into bed with someone who is 1100 miles away from you even if you are charmed and attracted to them. It forces you to talk about everything for hours on end because while there is a very strong connection and attraction, you can only foster that by communicating. For Shawn and I, we never ran out of stuff to talk about. For hours at night, every night, we talked. And when we finally met in person, we kept talking.
If you ask him, I havent shut up yet :-)
If you are sitting home alone (like I was) and are frusterated with the dating pool where you live...try another one. Most out of your comfort zone. You dont have to look out of state...go to the town next to you....you never know where you soul mate may be sitting. Mine was hanging out in Nebraska...who would have thought......
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Christmas List
I would like to share with you a conversation between my 7 year old daughter and myself that occured during the drive to school this morning:
Mom: "Piper, I need your Christmas List so I can start working on it."
Piper: "I want stuff for my American Girl dolls."
Mom: "OK, I think we can handle that."
Piper: "But that isnt all I want."
Mom: "Ok, what else?"
Piper: "I want Magical Powers."
Mom (attempting not to drive off the road): "Magical Powers?"
Piper: "Yes, Magical Powers."
Mom (apprehensively): "OK, and what would you like to do with these Magical Powers?"
Piper: "Fly around the school and fly to the high school to meet my friends there."
Mom (relieved she isnt after world power....yet): "Alright, well I will work on that but if I cant, is there something else that you would like?"
Piper: "Yes, I want a Limo."
Mom: "Piper, I need your Christmas List so I can start working on it."
Piper: "I want stuff for my American Girl dolls."
Mom: "OK, I think we can handle that."
Piper: "But that isnt all I want."
Mom: "Ok, what else?"
Piper: "I want Magical Powers."
Mom (attempting not to drive off the road): "Magical Powers?"
Piper: "Yes, Magical Powers."
Mom (apprehensively): "OK, and what would you like to do with these Magical Powers?"
Piper: "Fly around the school and fly to the high school to meet my friends there."
Mom (relieved she isnt after world power....yet): "Alright, well I will work on that but if I cant, is there something else that you would like?"
Piper: "Yes, I want a Limo."
Upon conclusion of this conversation and a quick kiss and hug goodbye at school, I promptly drive to the store and purchased a cappuccino. Its official, my children have driven me to drink.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Chrismtas Spirit.....less
Seems like everytime I log into facebook or myspace (yes, I do still check that) someone has a status that has something to do with getting ready for Christmas. I would venture to guess that half of my friends have their outdoor lights up, their yards decorated and the other half have their trees done, while most of them have their shopping at least 75% done.
I have done none of the above. We dont put lights on the house because no one would really be able to see it. We have a few neighbors, but with the trees in the front yard, and the fact that very few people drive past my house at night...whats the point. We cant put yard decorations out because Shawn doesnt trust Husker. I do and I contemplated putting a small team of movable reindeer and a sleigh out front but then, of course, I would find Husker going after the reindeers antlers or sleeping in the sleigh, or both. I would hate for Shawn to be right so I wont even attempt it.
That is kinda the same thought process I have for shopping also...I dont like to do it, so I tend to put it off as long as possible.
Maybe its the baby blues, maybes its knowing that Piper will be gone for 2 weeks over Christmas, or that its my first Christmans without my parents. Maybe its shopping for gifts when for the first time in 14 years, I dont have an income. Most likely its a combination of all of the above. Regardless, I just cant seem to get into the Christmas spirit this year. Hopefully this weekend I will snap out of it and get some shopping done, and we plan on putting our tree up this weekend. I am trying to not be grinchy, I just may not be Mrs. Claus either. Which is ok I guess.....red isnt exactly my color.
I have done none of the above. We dont put lights on the house because no one would really be able to see it. We have a few neighbors, but with the trees in the front yard, and the fact that very few people drive past my house at night...whats the point. We cant put yard decorations out because Shawn doesnt trust Husker. I do and I contemplated putting a small team of movable reindeer and a sleigh out front but then, of course, I would find Husker going after the reindeers antlers or sleeping in the sleigh, or both. I would hate for Shawn to be right so I wont even attempt it.
That is kinda the same thought process I have for shopping also...I dont like to do it, so I tend to put it off as long as possible.
Maybe its the baby blues, maybes its knowing that Piper will be gone for 2 weeks over Christmas, or that its my first Christmans without my parents. Maybe its shopping for gifts when for the first time in 14 years, I dont have an income. Most likely its a combination of all of the above. Regardless, I just cant seem to get into the Christmas spirit this year. Hopefully this weekend I will snap out of it and get some shopping done, and we plan on putting our tree up this weekend. I am trying to not be grinchy, I just may not be Mrs. Claus either. Which is ok I guess.....red isnt exactly my color.
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