Random title, I know. It's because this is a random post.
Random thoughts:
You guys! I just rode 20 miles on my bike! I know, riDONKulous. The most I've ever ridden is 12 miles. And that was a year ago!!! Owie.
This summer has not been the lazy kind of summer that I so enjoy. I'm kinda bummed. I mean, chillaxin' is usually the theme, but this year not so much. More like what's the next thing we have to get ready for? Not my favorite theme.
Ah, but next week is Powell week. There will be some serious chillaxin' at Powell. Love, love, love it!
Why did everyone decide to get married this month? Everyone.
Whenever I sit down to clean my computer desk I just get on the computer instead. Like now.
My kids are supposed to BE UP by 9:30 every day. Hasn't happened once.
Which reminds me--I gotsta go wake up the bums.
Hope your summer has been more chillaxed than mine has!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Travelogue: Days 2 and 3
So............let's see...........on Friday we went to Seal Beach. It was a beach I had found on the WWW before we left. It's in a quaint little town and has some cute little shops and stuff. The beach was lovely, but it was super windy so it was hard to lay out on the sand because well, sand would blow in your face. And I didn't like that. Plus the wind made it a little cold, so I had my jacket on and didn't get a chance to tan. Oh wells. It was really fun walking on the shore, though, and there were a bunch of kite surfers doing their thing, which was really fun to watch. Andie had the really great idea of buying a big ball to play with on the beach, but anytime we let go of it or didn't have it tightly wedged between 3 beach bags it would go flying away and Andie had to sprint as fast as she could across the sand until she finally caught it and brought it back. It was good times. She also had fun doing some tumbling moves in the sand. We went to a few shops, but didn't buy anything. Then we got some smoothies from a 50 year old hippie/surfer guy who was obviously living in the moment pretty much always. He was funny, but you had to wonder how he long can keep his smoothie shop running. That makey outey couple in the background was pretty annoying, I must say.
Saturday we decided we needed to go to Hollywood or we were never going to find a sleb! Maggie was being poopy about getting us there and was demanding an address. So we kind of made something up that she finally bought and it actually worked pretty well. We ended up about 4 blocks from the Kodiak Theatre, so not too shabby. We decided to take a tour so we payed a bumload (with a Mother's Day discount, no less!) and got in the van with the top chopped off and the african tour guide with the thick accent ('that is WHOSE house? What?') and had our 2 hour tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air. It was actually really fun. We hadn't seen any stinking movie stars after an hour and a half. We knew we'd prob passed plenty of famous people in their expensive cars, but the black-tinted windows were not really conducive to star sightings. Do you think that's why they do that? I don't know. Anyway, finally on a narrow street in Beverly Hills we saw up ahead a cool classic convertible that looked different from most of the dark colored BMWs and AUDIs and Mercedes. Maddie and I both noticed it, but didn't say anything. Sure enough, the car passes us and it's driven by none other than the GOVERNATOR! So exciting! We looked up his car when we got home and it was this one! He looked just like this, except he was alone and didn't have sunglasses on:
That made our day. It ended up being the only sleb we saw the whole trip but at least we didn't go home empty handed.
Speaking of hands...I knew we would be flying home that day so I wore long sleeves and long pants so I wouldn't be cold on the plane. After hours of driving around in an open-top car, well, at least my HANDS got a pretty good tan.
Of the stars' homes, this was our favorite. Can you guess who first owned this house?:
That's right. Dr. Suess! Isn't it the cutest?
After the tour we had to book it to the airport. We had eaten the yogurt we had in our hotel fridge for breakfast and nothing else the whole day. We didn't want to be late so we didn't stop to eat on the way to the airport. We decided we'd get something there, once we were settled. Bad idea. They had one little 'shop' that had magazines, candy, and like, Advil or something. The most nutritious and filling things they had to eat were muffins. So we had muffins. And we were two hours early! And there were like 12 people in the whole airport! We really could have used Bob there to make food more of a priority. But whatever. We had a great time and we LOVED our girl trip!
Saturday we decided we needed to go to Hollywood or we were never going to find a sleb! Maggie was being poopy about getting us there and was demanding an address. So we kind of made something up that she finally bought and it actually worked pretty well. We ended up about 4 blocks from the Kodiak Theatre, so not too shabby. We decided to take a tour so we payed a bumload (with a Mother's Day discount, no less!) and got in the van with the top chopped off and the african tour guide with the thick accent ('that is WHOSE house? What?') and had our 2 hour tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air. It was actually really fun. We hadn't seen any stinking movie stars after an hour and a half. We knew we'd prob passed plenty of famous people in their expensive cars, but the black-tinted windows were not really conducive to star sightings. Do you think that's why they do that? I don't know. Anyway, finally on a narrow street in Beverly Hills we saw up ahead a cool classic convertible that looked different from most of the dark colored BMWs and AUDIs and Mercedes. Maddie and I both noticed it, but didn't say anything. Sure enough, the car passes us and it's driven by none other than the GOVERNATOR! So exciting! We looked up his car when we got home and it was this one! He looked just like this, except he was alone and didn't have sunglasses on:
That made our day. It ended up being the only sleb we saw the whole trip but at least we didn't go home empty handed.
Speaking of hands...I knew we would be flying home that day so I wore long sleeves and long pants so I wouldn't be cold on the plane. After hours of driving around in an open-top car, well, at least my HANDS got a pretty good tan.
Of the stars' homes, this was our favorite. Can you guess who first owned this house?:
That's right. Dr. Suess! Isn't it the cutest?
After the tour we had to book it to the airport. We had eaten the yogurt we had in our hotel fridge for breakfast and nothing else the whole day. We didn't want to be late so we didn't stop to eat on the way to the airport. We decided we'd get something there, once we were settled. Bad idea. They had one little 'shop' that had magazines, candy, and like, Advil or something. The most nutritious and filling things they had to eat were muffins. So we had muffins. And we were two hours early! And there were like 12 people in the whole airport! We really could have used Bob there to make food more of a priority. But whatever. We had a great time and we LOVED our girl trip!
Travelogue: Day 1
We had SO MUCH fun on our girl trip to sunny California! I'd like to tell you about it if you have a sec.
We left after school on Wednesday and flew into the Long Beach airport. Pro: it's small and you couldn't possibly get lost there since it's about as big one floor of my house. Con: zero chance of seeing any celebs, which was one of our stated objectives, maybe even our only stated objective.
We got our rental car, a cute little Mazda3 sedan, which I LOVED. Becky had insisted we take her GPS with us and why I haven't had one for the last [ever since they were invented] years, I may never know. But our little friend Maggie (that's what we named her) SAVED OUR LIVES! Well, fine, obviously she didn't SAVE our LIVES, but it felt like it. We never once had to worry about how to get somewhere. Mags is the BOMB! You do have to be very specific with the little Magster or she will act all 'I have no idea what you're talking about,' but if you can give her a legitimate address she WILL get you there. Pretty much effortlessly. Our fave was when she would say, "Remain on current road in...2 miles." Or even better, "Right turn in point 5 miles, followed by a remain on current road in...2 miles." Did that mean we could go wherever as long as we're back on the current road in 2 miles? We don't know, that's just Maggie. She's a jokester, but she'll always get you to your destination. I love the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you feel when Maggie says, "You have arrived."
On Thursday we went to Disneyland. We had a great day even though our feet were killing by lunch time. We didn't put a lot of thought into the whole shoe thing. I know, a-duh. We were scoping for slebs the whole day and...nothin. But we did have a total blast riding rides and stuff. All in all it was a fabulous day.
I wish you could see all your ride pictures at the end of the day and then decide which one you want. I kept thinking the next one might be better and I'm not buying more than one of these things. Of course as it turned out the last one of the day was terrible and you couldn't even see Maddie's face at all, so we got none. Except for the one we took a picture of (Space Mountain):
And the self-shot we took just as we headed into the first tunnel:
Space Mountain tied for second place as our fave ride. The Tower of Terror (which must always be said in a spooky voice) was the other second place finisher. California Screamin' won top prize. I especially loved how smooth it was and how it had speakers in the safety bar right next to your ears and they played the perfect roller-coaster music while you roller-coasted. It made me want to take my iPod on roller-coasters from now on because it so enhances the experience.
Okay, I sort of made the girls come with me to this and, as I predicted, ended up apologizing for wasting 17 minutes of their Disneytime. But how could we NOT?:
One thing that was obvious was that Bob wasn't there. And it was obvious because not once the whole trip did we have good food. None of us cared, which is prob why, but still, we noticed. Here is what we grabbed for lunch at California Adventure. We looked and felt like a pack of wolves and I'm not sure I'll ever eat a turkey leg again:
We also had Limeade. They were out of Lemonade and when we asked if the Limeade was good the lady said the closest she could describe it was that it tasted like a margarita. I looked at Maddie and said, "It tastes like a margarita." She said, "Well, in that case..." And so we bought it and had a little laugh. We will always call Limeade a margarita now, but prob will never embibe one again. Nor will we ever be tempted to try a margarita. *sourface*
Obligatory Main Street picture:
Our hotel was close enough for us to walk to D-land, and from our balcony we watched the Disney fireworks on Friday, so that was cool:
Also, we didn't know Collin had a flower shop:
Well, there you have it. Day 1.
We left after school on Wednesday and flew into the Long Beach airport. Pro: it's small and you couldn't possibly get lost there since it's about as big one floor of my house. Con: zero chance of seeing any celebs, which was one of our stated objectives, maybe even our only stated objective.
We got our rental car, a cute little Mazda3 sedan, which I LOVED. Becky had insisted we take her GPS with us and why I haven't had one for the last [ever since they were invented] years, I may never know. But our little friend Maggie (that's what we named her) SAVED OUR LIVES! Well, fine, obviously she didn't SAVE our LIVES, but it felt like it. We never once had to worry about how to get somewhere. Mags is the BOMB! You do have to be very specific with the little Magster or she will act all 'I have no idea what you're talking about,' but if you can give her a legitimate address she WILL get you there. Pretty much effortlessly. Our fave was when she would say, "Remain on current road in...2 miles." Or even better, "Right turn in point 5 miles, followed by a remain on current road in...2 miles." Did that mean we could go wherever as long as we're back on the current road in 2 miles? We don't know, that's just Maggie. She's a jokester, but she'll always get you to your destination. I love the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you feel when Maggie says, "You have arrived."
On Thursday we went to Disneyland. We had a great day even though our feet were killing by lunch time. We didn't put a lot of thought into the whole shoe thing. I know, a-duh. We were scoping for slebs the whole day and...nothin. But we did have a total blast riding rides and stuff. All in all it was a fabulous day.
I wish you could see all your ride pictures at the end of the day and then decide which one you want. I kept thinking the next one might be better and I'm not buying more than one of these things. Of course as it turned out the last one of the day was terrible and you couldn't even see Maddie's face at all, so we got none. Except for the one we took a picture of (Space Mountain):
And the self-shot we took just as we headed into the first tunnel:
Space Mountain tied for second place as our fave ride. The Tower of Terror (which must always be said in a spooky voice) was the other second place finisher. California Screamin' won top prize. I especially loved how smooth it was and how it had speakers in the safety bar right next to your ears and they played the perfect roller-coaster music while you roller-coasted. It made me want to take my iPod on roller-coasters from now on because it so enhances the experience.
Okay, I sort of made the girls come with me to this and, as I predicted, ended up apologizing for wasting 17 minutes of their Disneytime. But how could we NOT?:
One thing that was obvious was that Bob wasn't there. And it was obvious because not once the whole trip did we have good food. None of us cared, which is prob why, but still, we noticed. Here is what we grabbed for lunch at California Adventure. We looked and felt like a pack of wolves and I'm not sure I'll ever eat a turkey leg again:
We also had Limeade. They were out of Lemonade and when we asked if the Limeade was good the lady said the closest she could describe it was that it tasted like a margarita. I looked at Maddie and said, "It tastes like a margarita." She said, "Well, in that case..." And so we bought it and had a little laugh. We will always call Limeade a margarita now, but prob will never embibe one again. Nor will we ever be tempted to try a margarita. *sourface*
Obligatory Main Street picture:
Our hotel was close enough for us to walk to D-land, and from our balcony we watched the Disney fireworks on Friday, so that was cool:
Also, we didn't know Collin had a flower shop:
Well, there you have it. Day 1.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thoughts on the Mish...
So I have some intense and mixed feelings about my missionary today. Even when your son is called to Fiji you don't really expect to get an email --three days late, no less-- that says things like, "I got a call that I was being transfered to Rabi and I was leaving early the next morning." And then, "...we ran to Suvatown to buy a few last second things and packed only the bare necessities, like clothes and a toothbrush, and left all the rest of my stuff in Suva." And perhaps, "I'm trying my best to learn the Kiribiti language." Followed by, "We have no electricity...we have no washing machine, refrigerator, oven, bathroom, nothing." And the kicker, "This is 'Other Side of Heaven' status."
Say, WHAAAA??
I mean, it's a good movie and everything, but you don't really want your son to be the MAIN CHARACTER!!
My heart was pounding while I read this letter. He has to learn aNOTHER new language?! He'll only be there for a few weeks to a month, and then he goes back to Suva, (which will prob feel like the Ritz-Carlton by then), because they're closing that area. But then he adds that if/when they open it back up, he, Elder Farley, will go in as the sr. missionary to open the area. Well, how's he supposed to do that when he has only a few weeks' worth of the language?!! Andie's answer was, "Mom, he's a missionary! He'll be fine!"
Yeah, I know, but...
The other reason my heart was pounding is that he also said things like, "That was probably the coolest flight of my life," referring to the flight on the tiny plane to the new area. Also, "...everything is right next to the ocean, and we walk on the beach all the time, and we have to (get to) walk through the ocean sometimes." Then, "All the other missionaries are jealous of me." And, "Elder Taburuea is from Kiribati islands, so he's a native speaker of this language. He's the funniest missionary I've ever met. Elder Garner is from Kaysville and graduated from Davis High. They're both awesome and we get along very well." Something about, "I'll probably be able to send you some breathtaking pictures when I get back to Suva," and, "...this is an unreal experience, and I am so blessed." And the kicker, "I've never been happier."
It was probably the craziest letter I've ever gotten. One sentence I'd gasp in horror, and next, I'd be ooh-ing and aah-ing. The sentence after that I'd bust out laughing. Afraid one minute and thrilled for him the next. One good thing: I know he's still loving every minute of his mission, even more now than before. Something that might be nightmarish to me is paradisiacal to him. It's always kind of been that way, so not that surprising I guess.
Here is what I know for sure: he's in the best possible hands in the best possible place (for him) doing the best possible thing with the best possible opportunities to become the man he is meant to be.
Now how can I possibly be worried about that? I guess I can't. Sniff. Hiccup! Nosewipe. Dusttissuefluffoffface. Deepcleansingbreath!
Okay, all better now.
Say, WHAAAA??
I mean, it's a good movie and everything, but you don't really want your son to be the MAIN CHARACTER!!
My heart was pounding while I read this letter. He has to learn aNOTHER new language?! He'll only be there for a few weeks to a month, and then he goes back to Suva, (which will prob feel like the Ritz-Carlton by then), because they're closing that area. But then he adds that if/when they open it back up, he, Elder Farley, will go in as the sr. missionary to open the area. Well, how's he supposed to do that when he has only a few weeks' worth of the language?!! Andie's answer was, "Mom, he's a missionary! He'll be fine!"
Yeah, I know, but...
The other reason my heart was pounding is that he also said things like, "That was probably the coolest flight of my life," referring to the flight on the tiny plane to the new area. Also, "...everything is right next to the ocean, and we walk on the beach all the time, and we have to (get to) walk through the ocean sometimes." Then, "All the other missionaries are jealous of me." And, "Elder Taburuea is from Kiribati islands, so he's a native speaker of this language. He's the funniest missionary I've ever met. Elder Garner is from Kaysville and graduated from Davis High. They're both awesome and we get along very well." Something about, "I'll probably be able to send you some breathtaking pictures when I get back to Suva," and, "...this is an unreal experience, and I am so blessed." And the kicker, "I've never been happier."
It was probably the craziest letter I've ever gotten. One sentence I'd gasp in horror, and next, I'd be ooh-ing and aah-ing. The sentence after that I'd bust out laughing. Afraid one minute and thrilled for him the next. One good thing: I know he's still loving every minute of his mission, even more now than before. Something that might be nightmarish to me is paradisiacal to him. It's always kind of been that way, so not that surprising I guess.
Here is what I know for sure: he's in the best possible hands in the best possible place (for him) doing the best possible thing with the best possible opportunities to become the man he is meant to be.
Now how can I possibly be worried about that? I guess I can't. Sniff. Hiccup! Nosewipe. Dusttissuefluffoffface. Deepcleansingbreath!
Okay, all better now.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Happy April Fool's, Elders
So, Collin is pretty much our resident prankster. He loves a classic textbook saran-wrap-on-the-toilet kind of joke. April Fool's is pretty obvious, since he pranks year-round. We're already watching for it on April 1st.
The missionaries were coming over for dinner and a lesson with a friend that night, so we were trying to think of mish-friendly pranks. We were going to have the phone ring and tell one of the Elders it was his mom. We were going to have Christian do it, since I'm the only one who can tell when he's putting someone on. And that's only after years of training. He can be very convincing. But as it turned out we didn't have to do a thing.
Soon after they got here one of the Elders needed to use the bathroom. I thought nothing of it until Andie came running into the kitchen to tell me that Collin had rigged the toilet to spray huge volumes of water at whomever flushes it. I told to her run and tell Bob. I didn't want to embarrass him any more than necessary by having me tell him. It was a man's job. Bob got there just in time to say, "Elder?" and then hear FLUUUUSH!
Collin had pulled the fill tube and turned it so it was just peeking out from under the tank lid, but not far enough to notice. When the toilet is flushed ALL the water that should be filling up the bowl is shot straight out from under the tank lid and believe me it is a LOT of water! And it won't stop until you turn the water off, so it will flood the bathroom pretty quickly and if you're standing in front of the toilet, which, let's face it, most of us are when we push that handle, you get a large gush of water all over you!
Thank goodness he had a great sense of humor and thought it was a great prank. He said he and his family are huge pranksters and they've never thought of that one, so now he has a new one to try out on his own fam. He was high-fiveing a very shy and embarrassed Collin. Have you ever seen when Collin tries SO HARD not to smile? Yeah, he was doing that. So cute. (Don't tell him I said that).
The missionaries were coming over for dinner and a lesson with a friend that night, so we were trying to think of mish-friendly pranks. We were going to have the phone ring and tell one of the Elders it was his mom. We were going to have Christian do it, since I'm the only one who can tell when he's putting someone on. And that's only after years of training. He can be very convincing. But as it turned out we didn't have to do a thing.
Soon after they got here one of the Elders needed to use the bathroom. I thought nothing of it until Andie came running into the kitchen to tell me that Collin had rigged the toilet to spray huge volumes of water at whomever flushes it. I told to her run and tell Bob. I didn't want to embarrass him any more than necessary by having me tell him. It was a man's job. Bob got there just in time to say, "Elder?" and then hear FLUUUUSH!
Collin had pulled the fill tube and turned it so it was just peeking out from under the tank lid, but not far enough to notice. When the toilet is flushed ALL the water that should be filling up the bowl is shot straight out from under the tank lid and believe me it is a LOT of water! And it won't stop until you turn the water off, so it will flood the bathroom pretty quickly and if you're standing in front of the toilet, which, let's face it, most of us are when we push that handle, you get a large gush of water all over you!
Thank goodness he had a great sense of humor and thought it was a great prank. He said he and his family are huge pranksters and they've never thought of that one, so now he has a new one to try out on his own fam. He was high-fiveing a very shy and embarrassed Collin. Have you ever seen when Collin tries SO HARD not to smile? Yeah, he was doing that. So cute. (Don't tell him I said that).
Monday, March 15, 2010
Kaptain Krazy
Wow, I just have to post about Christian today. He is the light of my life. The life of my life. The kid never lets me rest. Always challenging me, making me laugh, making me work, making me pray, making me try not to kill him (hard work, srsly), making me want to be around him, making me not want to be around him, making me be silly and then telling me I'm ridiculous, which I don't ever mind because I know deep down he really thinks I'm cool; making me cuddle, making me keep my eyes peeled, and my ears, and my mom-sense, making me write a really long run-on sentence about him because there's just so much he makes me do and feel and experience. Gasp!
Christian, Christian, Christian. He is strong. Physically? Yes, and spiritually too. And good. And crazy and funny and silly and brave and loving and responsible and hard-working and impulsive and creative and athletic and scary and talented and adventurous and wonderful.
May I tell you a story? Once we went to visit my sister in the hospital. She had been in a car accident and was kept there overnight. There was a little boy, probably 18 months old, in the room next door. He was hysterically crying. The nurses said he'd been crying like that for days. It was so sad. And quite distracting. After a few minutes we noticed the crying had stopped. We also noticed Christian, around 3 years old at the time, was missing. It didn't take long to find him next door, making funny faces and goofy sounds...and making the baby laugh. Laugh! He hadn't stopped crying for days and now he was laughing! The exhausted mother was so relieved and grateful. It was a glimpse of the future for us, though we may not have realized it then.
He also ate a glass Christmas tree ornament like it was an apple a year or so before that. Bloody mouth, shards of broken glass all around, and he reached up, picked another off the tree and tried to eat that one too, just before we grabbed him and hauled him to the ER.
And there you have a fairly balanced picture of the tempestuous ball of life-force that is Christian.
I'm going to be honest with you. I had a hard time liking him for several years when he was a toddler. Really. I know it sounds terrible, but I sincerely wished there was a humane, legal, child-sized CAGE I could keep him in for a large chunk of the day so he wouldn't break anything or hurt anyone (including himself) or ruin anything or make me want to commit homicide for at least a few hours a day. I didn't understand how his brain worked. He made no sense to me, acting without thinking all the time. How do you do that? Do you really not wonder what might happen? Nope. He didn't. There was no button he wouldn't push, no lever he wouldn't pull. If it looked fun or interesting, he'd do it and worry about the consequences later. Oh, silly me! Here I am acting like that was all in the past. Haha. VERY little has changed since then. Although he does think things through so much better than he used to. He has learned a lot about himself through the years and I have to give him props. He has adapted and worked to change for the better. And he has been able to do it without losing his sense of curiosity, wonder, fun, adventure.
I think the best thing that ever happened for the two of us was home-schooling him in the 6th grade. I know what you're thinking: "YOU? Homeschooling? No way." But yes way. It was one of those heroic-parent things to do, I'll admit it. I'll take credit for it. It was hard (soooooo hard!) but at the time I knew it was the best thing, the only thing for him that year. And so I made the grand sacrifice. And you know what? I think it saved our lives. We really got to know each other. We figured each other out. I don't get too serious about stuff with him unless it's really serious. I don't break his trust. He doesn't push me too far. He tries really hard not to let me down. He always knows I love him. I always know he loves me. We really 'get' each other.
Not long after that our relationship was tested, big time. Our family was tested big time. Our faith was tested big time. Our love for each other was tested. Big time. Tested and aced. Not easily, but painstakingly, rigorously, and eventually. Aced. I'll admit it. I'll take (some) credit for it. But I'll also give credit for it. To Christian, who humbly and sincerely worked and worked and earned his way to where he is now. And to the rest of our family, who gave trust and forgiveness and unconditional love. Even before it was earned. But in the end, it was earned.
Christian can command a room with nothing but his emotion. His vibe. His mojo. That can be good or bad, but either way, it's remarkable. It's powerful. He just has to remember to use his special powers for good, otherwise he could become quite the evil genius villain.
Boy, couldn't I just go on about him all day. But I won't. Because for one thing, he comes home at random and varied times throughout the day and I don't want to get busted writing this!
Anyway, I think I made my point. I really like him. He's crazy with a capital K, but I like him a lot in spite of it. Oh, who am I kidding? I like him a lot BECAUSE of it.
Christian, Christian, Christian. He is strong. Physically? Yes, and spiritually too. And good. And crazy and funny and silly and brave and loving and responsible and hard-working and impulsive and creative and athletic and scary and talented and adventurous and wonderful.
May I tell you a story? Once we went to visit my sister in the hospital. She had been in a car accident and was kept there overnight. There was a little boy, probably 18 months old, in the room next door. He was hysterically crying. The nurses said he'd been crying like that for days. It was so sad. And quite distracting. After a few minutes we noticed the crying had stopped. We also noticed Christian, around 3 years old at the time, was missing. It didn't take long to find him next door, making funny faces and goofy sounds...and making the baby laugh. Laugh! He hadn't stopped crying for days and now he was laughing! The exhausted mother was so relieved and grateful. It was a glimpse of the future for us, though we may not have realized it then.
He also ate a glass Christmas tree ornament like it was an apple a year or so before that. Bloody mouth, shards of broken glass all around, and he reached up, picked another off the tree and tried to eat that one too, just before we grabbed him and hauled him to the ER.
And there you have a fairly balanced picture of the tempestuous ball of life-force that is Christian.
I'm going to be honest with you. I had a hard time liking him for several years when he was a toddler. Really. I know it sounds terrible, but I sincerely wished there was a humane, legal, child-sized CAGE I could keep him in for a large chunk of the day so he wouldn't break anything or hurt anyone (including himself) or ruin anything or make me want to commit homicide for at least a few hours a day. I didn't understand how his brain worked. He made no sense to me, acting without thinking all the time. How do you do that? Do you really not wonder what might happen? Nope. He didn't. There was no button he wouldn't push, no lever he wouldn't pull. If it looked fun or interesting, he'd do it and worry about the consequences later. Oh, silly me! Here I am acting like that was all in the past. Haha. VERY little has changed since then. Although he does think things through so much better than he used to. He has learned a lot about himself through the years and I have to give him props. He has adapted and worked to change for the better. And he has been able to do it without losing his sense of curiosity, wonder, fun, adventure.
I think the best thing that ever happened for the two of us was home-schooling him in the 6th grade. I know what you're thinking: "YOU? Homeschooling? No way." But yes way. It was one of those heroic-parent things to do, I'll admit it. I'll take credit for it. It was hard (soooooo hard!) but at the time I knew it was the best thing, the only thing for him that year. And so I made the grand sacrifice. And you know what? I think it saved our lives. We really got to know each other. We figured each other out. I don't get too serious about stuff with him unless it's really serious. I don't break his trust. He doesn't push me too far. He tries really hard not to let me down. He always knows I love him. I always know he loves me. We really 'get' each other.
Not long after that our relationship was tested, big time. Our family was tested big time. Our faith was tested big time. Our love for each other was tested. Big time. Tested and aced. Not easily, but painstakingly, rigorously, and eventually. Aced. I'll admit it. I'll take (some) credit for it. But I'll also give credit for it. To Christian, who humbly and sincerely worked and worked and earned his way to where he is now. And to the rest of our family, who gave trust and forgiveness and unconditional love. Even before it was earned. But in the end, it was earned.
Christian can command a room with nothing but his emotion. His vibe. His mojo. That can be good or bad, but either way, it's remarkable. It's powerful. He just has to remember to use his special powers for good, otherwise he could become quite the evil genius villain.
Boy, couldn't I just go on about him all day. But I won't. Because for one thing, he comes home at random and varied times throughout the day and I don't want to get busted writing this!
Anyway, I think I made my point. I really like him. He's crazy with a capital K, but I like him a lot in spite of it. Oh, who am I kidding? I like him a lot BECAUSE of it.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Rockin' the House
We'd played enough Rock Band on the Wii since Christmas that I decided it was time for 'Real Band.' We have all the same instruments and more--and REAL.
So we hauled our band stuff up from the basement, in from the bedrooms, and out from the closets and set up the concoction that we like to call......okay, we don't have a name. At this point we don't deserve a name. In our band, learning a song goes like this: Bob goes around to each person and tells them, "Do this." Once he's told us all what to do, we try to do it. We know like five songs already! Now, to be honest, we're about as legit on these instruments as we are on the Wii instruments, but this is so much more fun!
Now, we have learned a little something through our band experimentation. The thing we learned is that NONE OF US CAN SING!
I know, you're all, "Kimi, you can totally sing! You have an awesome voice! You're are an amazing singer," etc. Well, first of all, you know you're just saying that to be polite. And second of all, the dealio is this: I can carry a tune. I can pick out a harmony. I can read the music. I can play the music. But here's the catch: evidently pop singing is nowhere near the same as choir singing.
Huh. Who knew? Isn't it odd that you learn something like that about yourself when you're 41 years old? I know, I thought so too.
I reminded myself of that one guy that auditioned or guest sang or jammed one day or something with a band Bob used to be in that we have made fun of for like 16 years. Many of you have already heard the imitation. But just in case you haven't, but you really wish you had, I'll try to write it here:
Okay, so picture overly serious general disposition, operatic-ish voice, precisely enunciated consonants, and the now infamous (at least to us and a few of our friends)........"Go a-head aaaanduh juuuuh-huuump."
Except with me, it goes a little something like, "Shake itt up baaay-bee nooooowww. Twiiist aaanduh shoooouuuut." I hope you can hear it in your head. If not, though, you can come over and we will play a song for you.
Whether you want us to or not.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A Conversation
Mom: Andie, did you clean your room?
Andie: Yes.
Mom: Andie.......
Andie: Well, I mean, you know, it's...clean...I mean, maybe not 'party clean' but it's clean.
Oh, I don't know. I think 'party clean' describes it rather well.
Andie: Yes.
Mom: Andie.......
Andie: Well, I mean, you know, it's...clean...I mean, maybe not 'party clean' but it's clean.
Oh, I don't know. I think 'party clean' describes it rather well.
Dodgeball Is For Wussies
We were just reminiscing about the dent Maddie had in her forehead for literally years due to a game of DodgeRock gone awry.
Just thought you'd like to know.
Just thought you'd like to know.
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