Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Spellcheck can't even help me.
Ok, I know I'm not an idiot...but lately I've noticed that I've been typing the wrong words in my posts....not mispelled, just wrong. Like, "Onces" when I mean "ones" and "that" when I mean to use "the". What the heck???
Happy Halloween
We have been so busy the last few days. Thankfully everybody is healthy again! The kids are sooo excited for trick-or-treating tonight! We had a few Halloween parties to go to over the weekend so they've gotten good use out of the costumes. Actually I have a feeling they will keep wearing them for dress-up long after Halloween has passed. That's how it usually works around here. Gentry still digs out and tries to put on his Superman costume from 2 years ago. And McKay turns into Harry Potter every now and again even though most of the costume is now way too small (except the glasses and the cape...which is all you really need anyway, right?)
On Sunday I took the kids to the L.A. Zoo for "Boo at the zoo". It was crowded, which didn't thrill me. But, every hour or so they would have "chomp and stomp" which meant that they would give pumpkins to some of the animals to play with. It was really cute to watch them explore these new orange toys, especially when the monkeys figured out that they could throw them and they would break open!. The lion cubs were adorable. They had also put together some "fun houses" which were mostly just a few little games and a some people handing out candy...but of course the kids loved it. They did each win passes to see the Bee Movie which I can't complain about!
We've been to the pumpkin patch twice, once a few weeks ago and again last night. The pumpkins we picked the first time would never have lasted if we carved them so the kids painted the first bunch then we carved the newer ones last night. They had a blast. They did most of the design and carving with little assistance, so the final product is iffy but they love them anyway.
After pumpkin carving, I had to make cupcakes for McKays school bake sale. It was a busy night but things were running fairly smoothly until I put the first 12 cupcakes into the oven and about 5 minutes later heard a horrible noise coming from the kitchen. It was that unsettling buzzing/zapping sound that you hear when something is being electrocuted. I ran in to check it out, the oven was brightly lit and smelled horrible. Apparently the heating element malfunctioned and was on fire! Not good. Especially because I needed to get the cupcakes by morning. It was a little late to be knocking on neighbors doors asking to use their oven while I baked endless amounts of cupcakes...so I had no choice but to laugh it off.
Then for good measure (and purely for the fun of it) I decided to see how a microwaved cupcake would turn out. Hey, I had a huge bowl of batter and you can only eat so much before you want to puke. It turns out that you actually can microwave a cupcake! The only real problem was that since I couldn't put the cupcake pan in, I just put five on a plate and there was nothing supporting the paper cups. They all sort of flattened out and joined together in the middle of the plate, creating an interesting cupcake/flower creation.
So, I took a picture.
and then we ate them.
Needless to say, we were up extra early so we could get some good ol' fashioned store bought cupcakes!
Now...a new oven...
Aw, memories.
On Sunday I took the kids to the L.A. Zoo for "Boo at the zoo". It was crowded, which didn't thrill me. But, every hour or so they would have "chomp and stomp" which meant that they would give pumpkins to some of the animals to play with. It was really cute to watch them explore these new orange toys, especially when the monkeys figured out that they could throw them and they would break open!. The lion cubs were adorable. They had also put together some "fun houses" which were mostly just a few little games and a some people handing out candy...but of course the kids loved it. They did each win passes to see the Bee Movie which I can't complain about!
We've been to the pumpkin patch twice, once a few weeks ago and again last night. The pumpkins we picked the first time would never have lasted if we carved them so the kids painted the first bunch then we carved the newer ones last night. They had a blast. They did most of the design and carving with little assistance, so the final product is iffy but they love them anyway.
After pumpkin carving, I had to make cupcakes for McKays school bake sale. It was a busy night but things were running fairly smoothly until I put the first 12 cupcakes into the oven and about 5 minutes later heard a horrible noise coming from the kitchen. It was that unsettling buzzing/zapping sound that you hear when something is being electrocuted. I ran in to check it out, the oven was brightly lit and smelled horrible. Apparently the heating element malfunctioned and was on fire! Not good. Especially because I needed to get the cupcakes by morning. It was a little late to be knocking on neighbors doors asking to use their oven while I baked endless amounts of cupcakes...so I had no choice but to laugh it off.
Then for good measure (and purely for the fun of it) I decided to see how a microwaved cupcake would turn out. Hey, I had a huge bowl of batter and you can only eat so much before you want to puke. It turns out that you actually can microwave a cupcake! The only real problem was that since I couldn't put the cupcake pan in, I just put five on a plate and there was nothing supporting the paper cups. They all sort of flattened out and joined together in the middle of the plate, creating an interesting cupcake/flower creation.
So, I took a picture.
and then we ate them.
Needless to say, we were up extra early so we could get some good ol' fashioned store bought cupcakes!
Now...a new oven...
Aw, memories.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
a day off of school
Because McKay is sick (still so much guilt!!), he was home from school today. In some small way I wish that this Pneumonia thing would present itself in a more blatant way. He still has no symptoms beyond the cough and it's driving him crazy that I wont let him do the normal things that he loves so much. It's hard to keep a 6 year old that doesn't think he's sick resting all day. It's complicated further when you throw a healthy 4 year old into the mix.
For instance...we have tv rules in our house and the boys are used to them. Gentry is allowed to watch an hour of tv in the morning after McKay is at school and then they are each allowed an hour in the afternoon. Sometimes if I have something that I need to get done I'll extend it a little, but for the most part they don't watch that much tv. But I was trying my hardest to get McKay to rest all day so I was allowing more tv than usual. He enjoyed it for a little bit but then began to whine. He whined at me for the rest of day because I wouldn't let him ride his bike, jump on the trampoline, skateboard, scooter, walk the dog, sweep leaves (thank God the wing has died down!), or play hide and seek.
"Honey, you have Pneumonia". Like he cares.
Nevermind the fact that we played checkers, painted stain glass animals, read books, colored and played on the computer. By 2 pm he was going a little stir crazy. At one point he actual said "I wish I could just go to school".
I think it may have stemmed a little from the fact that the air quality hasn't been great the last few days because of the fires and we had already been spending less time outside this week (even recess has been indoors).
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he basically feels pretty good...but I wont lie, I was silently wishing for the typical sick kid that wants to stay in bed and sleeps off whatever is ailing him!
Does that make me a bad person??
Bring on more guilt!
For instance...we have tv rules in our house and the boys are used to them. Gentry is allowed to watch an hour of tv in the morning after McKay is at school and then they are each allowed an hour in the afternoon. Sometimes if I have something that I need to get done I'll extend it a little, but for the most part they don't watch that much tv. But I was trying my hardest to get McKay to rest all day so I was allowing more tv than usual. He enjoyed it for a little bit but then began to whine. He whined at me for the rest of day because I wouldn't let him ride his bike, jump on the trampoline, skateboard, scooter, walk the dog, sweep leaves (thank God the wing has died down!), or play hide and seek.
"Honey, you have Pneumonia". Like he cares.
Nevermind the fact that we played checkers, painted stain glass animals, read books, colored and played on the computer. By 2 pm he was going a little stir crazy. At one point he actual said "I wish I could just go to school".
I think it may have stemmed a little from the fact that the air quality hasn't been great the last few days because of the fires and we had already been spending less time outside this week (even recess has been indoors).
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he basically feels pretty good...but I wont lie, I was silently wishing for the typical sick kid that wants to stay in bed and sleeps off whatever is ailing him!
Does that make me a bad person??
Bring on more guilt!
I feel so bad!
McKay has had a pesky cough for the last week or so. During the day it wasn't too bad but at night he has been coughing quite a bit. A few days ago I started giving him cough syrup before bed and hoping that it would go away.
It seemed to me that it was getting better. He never had a fever or seemed lethargic or anything...
Then we had to see his pediatrician yesterday to get a form filled out for his school so we figured we might as well mention the cough.
Long story short, 1 breathing treatment and a chest x-ray later...
He has Pneumonia. And a sinus infection.
I feel like the worst person in the world. He played soccer, jumped on the trampoline, road his bike....with Pneumonia. Oh my.
It seemed to me that it was getting better. He never had a fever or seemed lethargic or anything...
Then we had to see his pediatrician yesterday to get a form filled out for his school so we figured we might as well mention the cough.
Long story short, 1 breathing treatment and a chest x-ray later...
He has Pneumonia. And a sinus infection.
I feel like the worst person in the world. He played soccer, jumped on the trampoline, road his bike....with Pneumonia. Oh my.
Monday, October 22, 2007
A short asian man
On Mondays McKay has music class, which means that usually we are graced with some lyrical accompaniment during dinner and baths and any other evening activity that we have going on. Sometimes, I have to say that I tune him out. I think it's cute that he sings the songs he learns at school...but he sings the same song over and over (whatever he learned that day) and it does get a bit annoying.
So today all afternoon he was singing a song. Over and over again. And my brain just wasn't paying attention to it. Until about 5:30 when he was sitting at the table doing his homework and I was in the kitchen and I'm hearing
"There's a short asian man...a short asian man..." to the tune of "The cheese stands alone".
Suddenly I think to myself, that's a weird song for first grade. What is the relevance??
It turns out what he was really saying was "there's a short A in Lamb, a short A in lamb..."
Clearly that makes more sense. I should pay closer attention.
The problem is that now I have "there's a short asian man" stuck in my head.
So today all afternoon he was singing a song. Over and over again. And my brain just wasn't paying attention to it. Until about 5:30 when he was sitting at the table doing his homework and I was in the kitchen and I'm hearing
"There's a short asian man...a short asian man..." to the tune of "The cheese stands alone".
Suddenly I think to myself, that's a weird song for first grade. What is the relevance??
It turns out what he was really saying was "there's a short A in Lamb, a short A in lamb..."
Clearly that makes more sense. I should pay closer attention.
The problem is that now I have "there's a short asian man" stuck in my head.
Fire
Oh my gosh, these fires and this wind are out of control. The poor firefighters can't even get a handle on it because the wind is so strong and unpredictable. The fire dropping planes can't really fly which is really hampering the efforts. And it's seems like fires are popping up left and right.
Sadly, these are perfect conditions for arsonists. They feed off of the attention and they know that these fires are getting national coverage. As far as I have heard there is only one that they know for sure was started by arson. But I would bet there will be more.
We are supposed to be going camping this weekend. I have a feeling the plans are going to change. Unless the fires all get contained, which isn't likely. This is probably the last chance before it gets too cold. Bummer.
On the other hand at least my house isn't in danger of burning down. I can't even imagine how freaked out those people must be. People tend to casually ask "what would be the first thing you would grab if your house was on fire?". The answer is usually universal: kids, pets, pictures computer etc. Obviously if I had like 2 minutes to get out I would get the kids and the pets. Everything else would have to burn. But the thought of that really freaks me out! I'd want my camera,pictures, my computer, important paper work, quilts that I have made, scrapbooks, the boys artwork. Their baby clothes...ahh, the thought of it is overwhelming. If everyone I love made it out alive I would feel eternally blessed...but you can't replace certain things and it would be devastating to lose years of mementos and memories.
Earthquakes are the disasters we tend to worry about around here, but even then, houses fall, things break, it's horrible but you can usually salvage things. When your house burns to the ground you tend to lose EVERYTHING.
I guess I have no right to complain if the fires ruin my camping trip. It could be so much worse! My heart goes out to all of the people that are having to deal with the "so much worse" at this very moment.
Sadly, these are perfect conditions for arsonists. They feed off of the attention and they know that these fires are getting national coverage. As far as I have heard there is only one that they know for sure was started by arson. But I would bet there will be more.
We are supposed to be going camping this weekend. I have a feeling the plans are going to change. Unless the fires all get contained, which isn't likely. This is probably the last chance before it gets too cold. Bummer.
On the other hand at least my house isn't in danger of burning down. I can't even imagine how freaked out those people must be. People tend to casually ask "what would be the first thing you would grab if your house was on fire?". The answer is usually universal: kids, pets, pictures computer etc. Obviously if I had like 2 minutes to get out I would get the kids and the pets. Everything else would have to burn. But the thought of that really freaks me out! I'd want my camera,pictures, my computer, important paper work, quilts that I have made, scrapbooks, the boys artwork. Their baby clothes...ahh, the thought of it is overwhelming. If everyone I love made it out alive I would feel eternally blessed...but you can't replace certain things and it would be devastating to lose years of mementos and memories.
Earthquakes are the disasters we tend to worry about around here, but even then, houses fall, things break, it's horrible but you can usually salvage things. When your house burns to the ground you tend to lose EVERYTHING.
I guess I have no right to complain if the fires ruin my camping trip. It could be so much worse! My heart goes out to all of the people that are having to deal with the "so much worse" at this very moment.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
I hate wind.
Back to the real world. The weekend was amazing. Now it seems like the world is on fire. The wind sucks. Here are some pictures.
The under side of a bridge.
A fountain the kids would have loved.
BOATS
The under side of a bridge.
A fountain the kids would have loved.
BOATS
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Time of my life
Traffic was horrible last night. It took me about 4 hours to get down to San Diego. And yet, even though I hate traffic with a fiery passion...somehow it didn't seem that bad. I think mostly because it was just me alone in the car. I got to choose what cd's I listened to, I rolled down my windows and enjoyed the alone time...with nobody in the back seat fighting or messing with their window or whining about how long it was taking, or begging to listen to a kids CD!
Don't get me wrong, I miss the kids. But I miss them in a good way, like just enough that I'll be glad to see them tomorrow but not enough that I would cut the trip short!
I was a little sad this morning when I woke up at 10(!) and thought about McKays soccer game starting. But, I'll be there for all of the rest of his games and being able to sleep till 10 was amazing. I can't remember the last time I slept past 8 (and even that is a rare occasion, most days we're up by 7).
Today has been excellent. I went to lunch with my friend Jenny at this fun sports place and then went for coffee alone and wandered around downtown taking pictures and enjoying the scenery for hours. Then Stacey and I went to a bar where my friend Kari (from highschool) works. Totally out of my comfort zone, but it was a blast!! It was so good to see Kari, she's always fun.
I love San Diego! I really needed this trip. I'm so glad to be here.
Something about this city makes me feel very patriotic. I think it's all of the Navy ships in the harbor or something, who knows...but I feel it for some reason. And there is so much to do here, so much to see. Too bad it's so expensive or I would move here in a minute!
Pictures to come later.
Tomorrow, back to the real world. I'll be ready.
Don't get me wrong, I miss the kids. But I miss them in a good way, like just enough that I'll be glad to see them tomorrow but not enough that I would cut the trip short!
I was a little sad this morning when I woke up at 10(!) and thought about McKays soccer game starting. But, I'll be there for all of the rest of his games and being able to sleep till 10 was amazing. I can't remember the last time I slept past 8 (and even that is a rare occasion, most days we're up by 7).
Today has been excellent. I went to lunch with my friend Jenny at this fun sports place and then went for coffee alone and wandered around downtown taking pictures and enjoying the scenery for hours. Then Stacey and I went to a bar where my friend Kari (from highschool) works. Totally out of my comfort zone, but it was a blast!! It was so good to see Kari, she's always fun.
I love San Diego! I really needed this trip. I'm so glad to be here.
Something about this city makes me feel very patriotic. I think it's all of the Navy ships in the harbor or something, who knows...but I feel it for some reason. And there is so much to do here, so much to see. Too bad it's so expensive or I would move here in a minute!
Pictures to come later.
Tomorrow, back to the real world. I'll be ready.
Friday, October 19, 2007
SD here I come
It's Friday! I'm making this a weekend for myself. I decided this morning that I'm going to go down to San Diego.
Just me.
I'm excited, but it's been like a year since I've been away from the boys for more than a few hours. They'll be fine, they have a weekend full of activities...so as long as I can handle it everything will be good.
I have no idea what I'll do down there.
But it'll be nice to get away for a little bit.
I need to do some thinking, without distraction.
And take some pictures!
I better pack!
Just me.
I'm excited, but it's been like a year since I've been away from the boys for more than a few hours. They'll be fine, they have a weekend full of activities...so as long as I can handle it everything will be good.
I have no idea what I'll do down there.
But it'll be nice to get away for a little bit.
I need to do some thinking, without distraction.
And take some pictures!
I better pack!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
just wondering....
Is this book completely creepy to anyone else?
I can't want it. I know the point is just that the mother loves her son, but hello, you don't drive across town and make sure that the lights are off in your adult sons house and then climb in and slide across the floor and pick him up. You just don't!
I can't want it. I know the point is just that the mother loves her son, but hello, you don't drive across town and make sure that the lights are off in your adult sons house and then climb in and slide across the floor and pick him up. You just don't!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
My brother is cooler than yours
The Rockies are the National League Champs.
On to the world series.
Maybe if the Dodgers could get their act together we could see them headed to World Series one day.
Then again, maybe not. That's not really their style!
Anyway, back to the Rockies...
Adam did a Rockies mural for a bar right outside of Coors Field, and the local news came and did a story on him! He called to let us know and my mom was really excited so she was calling everyone that we know in Denver to see if someone could record it for us. Thankfully she did get a hold of someone at the last minute, so we should be getting it in the mail sometime this week.
Then yesterday the local newspaper came and interview him and they ran a little story about him with this picture
I think it's really cool. He really does have talent, and it's good to see him using it for good instead of evil!
If I knew how to put links in here, I would link the story...unfortunately I'm just not that cool.
Anyway, good job Adam. You're the coolest guy I know (today).
On to the world series.
Maybe if the Dodgers could get their act together we could see them headed to World Series one day.
Then again, maybe not. That's not really their style!
Anyway, back to the Rockies...
Adam did a Rockies mural for a bar right outside of Coors Field, and the local news came and did a story on him! He called to let us know and my mom was really excited so she was calling everyone that we know in Denver to see if someone could record it for us. Thankfully she did get a hold of someone at the last minute, so we should be getting it in the mail sometime this week.
Then yesterday the local newspaper came and interview him and they ran a little story about him with this picture
I think it's really cool. He really does have talent, and it's good to see him using it for good instead of evil!
If I knew how to put links in here, I would link the story...unfortunately I'm just not that cool.
Anyway, good job Adam. You're the coolest guy I know (today).
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
a snails pace
Chris came to visit (from Albuquerque) this weekend. He got here on Friday night, which happened to be the same night as the big semi truck fiasco on the 5. It took 4 hours to get from the Topanga Mall to Sylmar (where his hotel was) and back home. It should have taken, at most, 45 minutes.
Welcome to LA!
Then we dragged him to the dinner from hell on Saturday night and sat in traffic the whole way there.
To Venice Beach on Sunday...you guesses it, traffic.
We went to City Walk yesterday afternoon and surprisingly didn't hit any traffic!
So being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we decided to go to Barney's Beanery in Hollywood for dinner.
TRAFFIC! THE WHOLE WAY.
Thankfully we were there long enough to avoid rush hour going home.
But guess what time he left this morning. Go ahead, guess.
11:00am.
From LAX.
Right down the freaking 405 freeway. We had to leave at 8:00. Can we say RUSH HOUR???
I feel bad for him, he spent about 40% of his trip sitting in traffic.
Nobody should be allowed to book flights into or out of LAX between the hours of 6-11 am or 3-8 pm. It's just not fun for anyone involved.
Welcome to LA!
Then we dragged him to the dinner from hell on Saturday night and sat in traffic the whole way there.
To Venice Beach on Sunday...you guesses it, traffic.
We went to City Walk yesterday afternoon and surprisingly didn't hit any traffic!
So being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we decided to go to Barney's Beanery in Hollywood for dinner.
TRAFFIC! THE WHOLE WAY.
Thankfully we were there long enough to avoid rush hour going home.
But guess what time he left this morning. Go ahead, guess.
11:00am.
From LAX.
Right down the freaking 405 freeway. We had to leave at 8:00. Can we say RUSH HOUR???
I feel bad for him, he spent about 40% of his trip sitting in traffic.
Nobody should be allowed to book flights into or out of LAX between the hours of 6-11 am or 3-8 pm. It's just not fun for anyone involved.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Sunburns after summer
I'm sunburned.
We went to Venice Beach today, and why would I wear sunscreen just cause I'm going to be walking around in the sun for 4 hours?
I'm an idiot.
I think in my mind you can't get sunburned after August, cause that's when summer is over. Clearly, not the case.
And I don't really understand the appeal of Venice Beach. Except that I just spent
my day there, voluntarily...so what does that say about me?
And so the weekend is over.
Oh and I didn't go to my reunion, chose instead to go to dinner for a friends 30th birthday.
It was not the best choice.
The thing is, nobody knew details of the reunion until like the second week of September. At which point I had already committed to going to this "party" for a friend of mine. It was supposed to be a big deal. Then I found out that the tickets for the reunion were over $100 bucks and I wasn't convinced that it would be worth it. Nobody I cared about was going and I kind of thought it would just be people getting drunk and being fake...which didn't sound like too much fun. Plus it was on a boat, which meant that once you were on you couldn't leave until the boat docked again. So I attempted to be cheap about things and stuck with the plan to go to the party (which I assumed would cost only the price of a gift). Plus I had already said I would go...and it felt like the right thing to do.
Except that it ended up not being a party. It turned into a surprise dinner. At an expensive restaurant.
Off of the 14 freeway.
Which, for any one that lives around here knows, was effected by the huge accident on the 5 on Friday night. So, what should have taken a half hour took more like and hour and a half.
And only 11 people showed up (and 8 of them were dull). And the food wasn't that good. And we each paid for ourselves...except that you know that moment when a check comes and everyone pitches in what they think they owe but inevitably it's always short. It's like people don't factor in tax or tip or a drink and their steak was 22 bucks so they give 22. Come on! So a few select people end up chipping in more so we don't have to sit there any more.
In the end it cost me 50 dollars. Five zero. For one mediocre meal. Plus a gift.
And then this morning I found out that the reunion was a blast. Urg.
Oh well, I guess what's done is done.
Now I need aloe vera. And sleep.
We went to Venice Beach today, and why would I wear sunscreen just cause I'm going to be walking around in the sun for 4 hours?
I'm an idiot.
I think in my mind you can't get sunburned after August, cause that's when summer is over. Clearly, not the case.
And I don't really understand the appeal of Venice Beach. Except that I just spent
my day there, voluntarily...so what does that say about me?
And so the weekend is over.
Oh and I didn't go to my reunion, chose instead to go to dinner for a friends 30th birthday.
It was not the best choice.
The thing is, nobody knew details of the reunion until like the second week of September. At which point I had already committed to going to this "party" for a friend of mine. It was supposed to be a big deal. Then I found out that the tickets for the reunion were over $100 bucks and I wasn't convinced that it would be worth it. Nobody I cared about was going and I kind of thought it would just be people getting drunk and being fake...which didn't sound like too much fun. Plus it was on a boat, which meant that once you were on you couldn't leave until the boat docked again. So I attempted to be cheap about things and stuck with the plan to go to the party (which I assumed would cost only the price of a gift). Plus I had already said I would go...and it felt like the right thing to do.
Except that it ended up not being a party. It turned into a surprise dinner. At an expensive restaurant.
Off of the 14 freeway.
Which, for any one that lives around here knows, was effected by the huge accident on the 5 on Friday night. So, what should have taken a half hour took more like and hour and a half.
And only 11 people showed up (and 8 of them were dull). And the food wasn't that good. And we each paid for ourselves...except that you know that moment when a check comes and everyone pitches in what they think they owe but inevitably it's always short. It's like people don't factor in tax or tip or a drink and their steak was 22 bucks so they give 22. Come on! So a few select people end up chipping in more so we don't have to sit there any more.
In the end it cost me 50 dollars. Five zero. For one mediocre meal. Plus a gift.
And then this morning I found out that the reunion was a blast. Urg.
Oh well, I guess what's done is done.
Now I need aloe vera. And sleep.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Character counts
He got a character award!
The only character award for the whole class, in fact.
For "doing the right thing" every day in every way in all six Pillars of Character.
I could not be more proud. Seriously. I want him to do well in school. If he's smart, that's wonderful. But in my opinion there is nothing more important than character. The fact that he struggled in the beginning makes it even sweeter, because it means he had to really try to turn it around. It had to matter to him.
It's a good day!!
(except that he'll get to pick where he wants to go to dinner tonight, and there's a huge likelyhood that we'll be at McDonalds. yuck.)
But who cares. He's got character!!
The only character award for the whole class, in fact.
For "doing the right thing" every day in every way in all six Pillars of Character.
I could not be more proud. Seriously. I want him to do well in school. If he's smart, that's wonderful. But in my opinion there is nothing more important than character. The fact that he struggled in the beginning makes it even sweeter, because it means he had to really try to turn it around. It had to matter to him.
It's a good day!!
(except that he'll get to pick where he wants to go to dinner tonight, and there's a huge likelyhood that we'll be at McDonalds. yuck.)
But who cares. He's got character!!
everyone's on two wheels
When McKay was in preschool in Albuquerque his class had a trike-a-thon to raise money for St Judes. He was 4 and a half. He had heard about 4 days prior to it that one of the kids in his class had learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He was green with envy. He begged us to take his training wheels off so he could learn to ride before the trike-a-thon. So we took them off. But we gently told him that sometimes it takes awhile to learn how to ride a bike.
We were at the park every afternoon for four days straight. Me hunched over holding onto his seat running along side of him and him trying very very hard to ride that bike, but not really getting the hang of it.
We ended up putting the training wheels back on for the fundraiser. Diego rode his bike without training wheels, and you could tell that McKay was bummed, but he handled it. And they raised money for St. Judes which was the point of the whole thing anyway.
He didn't give up trying after that. I can remember days when he would be begging me to take him to ride and I would groan silently to myself because as much as I wanted him to learn and I was proud of him for sticking with it, running alongside of him always left me with a backache and he would be frustrated and it didn't feel like it was ever going to happen. Plus Gentry was still little and always got bored.
But, a month or two later something seemed to click and he was riding his bike alone and the days of backaches and frustration were behind us. But I kept thinking we'd be going through the whole thing eventually with Gentry. I was just thankful that it was a few years away.
This all seems like it happened yesterday. Gentry was 2 at that time, he's four and a half now. Man, time flies. I really think that McKay started trying to ride his bike too soon and if we had waited awhile maybe it wouldn't have been so hard for him. But, who knows.
But someone had told me back then that if they could ride a two wheel scooter they should be able to ride a two wheel bike (same balance issues etc.) and vice versa. So the Christmas after he learned to ride his bike, we got him a razor scooter. He had no problem with it. By the time Gentry was 3 and a half, he could ride the Razor also.
But I was in no hurry to go through the bike thing again. And Gentry had NO interest in taking his training wheels off. At all. He said he wanted them on forever. I was ok with it. I figured we'd just have to special order training wheels to fit an adult bike but, hey that's fine. :)
Then last week we were getting ready to go to the park and I was sticking his bike in the back of the car when for some random reason I said "wanna try riding without your training wheels today?". And for some random reason he said "ok".
So I grabbed a wrench and off we went. When we got up to the park, I pulled the bike out of the back and took the training wheels off. I asked him to hold his bike for a minute while I put the wheels and the wrench back into the car.
A minute later, I close the hatch and look over to the sidewalk where he was standing and he's gone. Gone.
HE WAS RIDING HIS BIKE. Without training wheels. Without help. Just riding, like he'd been doing it all of his life. No backache, no endless hours of running next to him. None of it. He was just riding the bike.
He's so proud of himself. He tells everyone he sees, everywhere we go, that nobody in our house uses training wheels anymore. So cute.
And I can't help feeling like this may be the way things work in life for them. McKay has to try very hard for things, and usually they come easily for Gentry. Once McKay sets his mind on something he doesn't give up very easily. And Gentry just gets things a little quicker. But he doesn't seem to care as much. They're basically polar opposites (in so many ways). It's very interesting to me.
Now it's time to get ready for the award ceremony.
It's Friday again. Yay.
We were at the park every afternoon for four days straight. Me hunched over holding onto his seat running along side of him and him trying very very hard to ride that bike, but not really getting the hang of it.
We ended up putting the training wheels back on for the fundraiser. Diego rode his bike without training wheels, and you could tell that McKay was bummed, but he handled it. And they raised money for St. Judes which was the point of the whole thing anyway.
He didn't give up trying after that. I can remember days when he would be begging me to take him to ride and I would groan silently to myself because as much as I wanted him to learn and I was proud of him for sticking with it, running alongside of him always left me with a backache and he would be frustrated and it didn't feel like it was ever going to happen. Plus Gentry was still little and always got bored.
But, a month or two later something seemed to click and he was riding his bike alone and the days of backaches and frustration were behind us. But I kept thinking we'd be going through the whole thing eventually with Gentry. I was just thankful that it was a few years away.
This all seems like it happened yesterday. Gentry was 2 at that time, he's four and a half now. Man, time flies. I really think that McKay started trying to ride his bike too soon and if we had waited awhile maybe it wouldn't have been so hard for him. But, who knows.
But someone had told me back then that if they could ride a two wheel scooter they should be able to ride a two wheel bike (same balance issues etc.) and vice versa. So the Christmas after he learned to ride his bike, we got him a razor scooter. He had no problem with it. By the time Gentry was 3 and a half, he could ride the Razor also.
But I was in no hurry to go through the bike thing again. And Gentry had NO interest in taking his training wheels off. At all. He said he wanted them on forever. I was ok with it. I figured we'd just have to special order training wheels to fit an adult bike but, hey that's fine. :)
Then last week we were getting ready to go to the park and I was sticking his bike in the back of the car when for some random reason I said "wanna try riding without your training wheels today?". And for some random reason he said "ok".
So I grabbed a wrench and off we went. When we got up to the park, I pulled the bike out of the back and took the training wheels off. I asked him to hold his bike for a minute while I put the wheels and the wrench back into the car.
A minute later, I close the hatch and look over to the sidewalk where he was standing and he's gone. Gone.
HE WAS RIDING HIS BIKE. Without training wheels. Without help. Just riding, like he'd been doing it all of his life. No backache, no endless hours of running next to him. None of it. He was just riding the bike.
He's so proud of himself. He tells everyone he sees, everywhere we go, that nobody in our house uses training wheels anymore. So cute.
And I can't help feeling like this may be the way things work in life for them. McKay has to try very hard for things, and usually they come easily for Gentry. Once McKay sets his mind on something he doesn't give up very easily. And Gentry just gets things a little quicker. But he doesn't seem to care as much. They're basically polar opposites (in so many ways). It's very interesting to me.
Now it's time to get ready for the award ceremony.
It's Friday again. Yay.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A good surpise.
McKay is basically a typical 6 year old boy (if such a thing exists). Sometimes at school he gets carried away and plays a little rough with the other boys. And he struggles a little with the "stay in your seat" rule. His teacher says he concentrates pretty well for the most part but occasionally he'll get into a mood where he will use every trick in the book to get up and wander (bathroom, sharpen his pencil, pick up something he dropped, clean his glasses etc.)And at the very beginning of the school year he seemed to be in trouble quite a bit.
I was hard on him those first few weeks, he lost a lot of priviliges at home and it was rough on him. Even though to be really honest I think he was just adjusting to school starting up again and maybe the summer hadn't worn off yet. Plus, he's at a new school this year and he wants to make friends so badly so I think sometimes he just got carried away.
So, on the one hand I understood his behavior and on the other hand I didn't want him to get into the habit of acting up at school. And I definitly didn't want him to get a reputation for being the "bad kid". So, like I said...I was hard on him those first few weeks.
And things started to get better. And better still. The bad reports got fewer and farther between. And then yesterday when I talked to his teacher after school she said that he's doing a lot better. That he has slip ups, like any kid, but that he's concious of his behavior and he's kind to his friends. And most importantly she said he's never disrespectful to her (which can be a problem at home sometimes). It made me proud.
Then today (and this is the point of this post!) he was standing in line to come out at the end of the day and Mrs. G handed him a note and said something to him and he nodded with a bit of a worried look on his face.
My heart sank.
He was staring at this quarter sheet of white paper, I'm sure just wishing that he was a better reader! And I stood there for those 3 minutes until the bell rang just praying that the news wouldn't be too bad.
He walked over and said "I was green today" (which is good). Then handed the note to me and said "My teacher said that this is really important."
I paused before I looked at it. And when I finally did this is what it said.
We will be having an award ceremony tomorrow at 11:45 am
. McKay is going to be recieving a special award.
Please join us in the auditorium and bring your camera!
SHHH! It's a surpise! And to be fair to the children that
are not going to be recieving an award, please do not bring
balloons or other treats.
WHAT?!? Oh my. Holy moly. Seriously?
ok, honestly you'd think that this note said "McKay will be receiving the Nobel Peace Prize tomorrow".
I have no idea what this reward will be. I don't even care. It can be the "Doesn't pick his nose much" award for all I care(which it wont be, cause...well....he picks his nose ALOT!) The thing is, the note wasn't bad. And that was my first assumption. And I feel badly about that. Like really really guilty. I saw him with a note from his teacher and I assumed it was going to say something bad.
I don't think I give him enough credit. I want to appologize to him for that. Except he doesn't know that I assumed the worst. And he doesn't know the note was good (he didn't ask what it said, surprisingly. He just kept saying "I was green").
I'm just so excited for him, because I know that when he sees us there tomorrow and he gets his named called for whatever the award is, he'll be on top of the world. He's going to be proud of himself. I want that for him.
Good behavior seems to perpetuate good behavior. He's on a role and I hope it continues.
I'm excited for tomorrow!
I was hard on him those first few weeks, he lost a lot of priviliges at home and it was rough on him. Even though to be really honest I think he was just adjusting to school starting up again and maybe the summer hadn't worn off yet. Plus, he's at a new school this year and he wants to make friends so badly so I think sometimes he just got carried away.
So, on the one hand I understood his behavior and on the other hand I didn't want him to get into the habit of acting up at school. And I definitly didn't want him to get a reputation for being the "bad kid". So, like I said...I was hard on him those first few weeks.
And things started to get better. And better still. The bad reports got fewer and farther between. And then yesterday when I talked to his teacher after school she said that he's doing a lot better. That he has slip ups, like any kid, but that he's concious of his behavior and he's kind to his friends. And most importantly she said he's never disrespectful to her (which can be a problem at home sometimes). It made me proud.
Then today (and this is the point of this post!) he was standing in line to come out at the end of the day and Mrs. G handed him a note and said something to him and he nodded with a bit of a worried look on his face.
My heart sank.
He was staring at this quarter sheet of white paper, I'm sure just wishing that he was a better reader! And I stood there for those 3 minutes until the bell rang just praying that the news wouldn't be too bad.
He walked over and said "I was green today" (which is good). Then handed the note to me and said "My teacher said that this is really important."
I paused before I looked at it. And when I finally did this is what it said.
We will be having an award ceremony tomorrow at 11:45 am
. McKay is going to be recieving a special award.
Please join us in the auditorium and bring your camera!
SHHH! It's a surpise! And to be fair to the children that
are not going to be recieving an award, please do not bring
balloons or other treats.
WHAT?!? Oh my. Holy moly. Seriously?
ok, honestly you'd think that this note said "McKay will be receiving the Nobel Peace Prize tomorrow".
I have no idea what this reward will be. I don't even care. It can be the "Doesn't pick his nose much" award for all I care(which it wont be, cause...well....he picks his nose ALOT!) The thing is, the note wasn't bad. And that was my first assumption. And I feel badly about that. Like really really guilty. I saw him with a note from his teacher and I assumed it was going to say something bad.
I don't think I give him enough credit. I want to appologize to him for that. Except he doesn't know that I assumed the worst. And he doesn't know the note was good (he didn't ask what it said, surprisingly. He just kept saying "I was green").
I'm just so excited for him, because I know that when he sees us there tomorrow and he gets his named called for whatever the award is, he'll be on top of the world. He's going to be proud of himself. I want that for him.
Good behavior seems to perpetuate good behavior. He's on a role and I hope it continues.
I'm excited for tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Sometimes things work out.
So yesterday I took my camera in to Hoopers and explained the problem I was having with the lens. Howard, the guy that I usually deal with, unfortunately wasn't working. So somebody else helped me. Except that he was no help at all! He gave me the run around about how he couldn't even think about taking the lens back unless I had the original box and that he was almost positive (without checking) that they didn't have that particular lens in stock anyway. I was getting annoyed, and usually I fight these fights with a passion and conviction, but yesterday I was tired and didn't feel like getting into it. I was told that Howard would be in today and that I could try talking to him, but "he has no pull with these kinds of things" so not to get my hopes up.
I went back this morning. Howard was there. Within less than ten minutes he had exchanged the lens. He said they've had at least 30% of people bring this lens back complaining of the same problem. I may decide in the near future to pay an extra couple hundred dollars and upgrade to the 18-200mm VR lens which hopefully wont have these auto-focus problems.
I like it when things work out. I'm glad that I didn't go ballistic yesterday. I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered anyway, and most likely I would have had to go back today anyway.
In other news I'm 90% done with Celebrity Detox. It's not as controversial as the hype suggested, at least in my opinion.
I enjoy Rosie O'Donnell. She's outspoken and there are many many times that I don't agree with her point of view. But, she's an advocate for children, a philanthropist, and she's passionate about photography. All good things in my book.
I wish I was more interesting.
Here are some random pictures of the day.
I went back this morning. Howard was there. Within less than ten minutes he had exchanged the lens. He said they've had at least 30% of people bring this lens back complaining of the same problem. I may decide in the near future to pay an extra couple hundred dollars and upgrade to the 18-200mm VR lens which hopefully wont have these auto-focus problems.
I like it when things work out. I'm glad that I didn't go ballistic yesterday. I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered anyway, and most likely I would have had to go back today anyway.
In other news I'm 90% done with Celebrity Detox. It's not as controversial as the hype suggested, at least in my opinion.
I enjoy Rosie O'Donnell. She's outspoken and there are many many times that I don't agree with her point of view. But, she's an advocate for children, a philanthropist, and she's passionate about photography. All good things in my book.
I wish I was more interesting.
Here are some random pictures of the day.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
I was bored until a house (or 5) exploded.
So I ran out of the house with no shoes. But I had my camera (which still has a faulty lens, urg.) and drove towards the smoke. I got about two block down Woodley before I had to park because the traffic was so horrendous.
I know you aren't really supposed to go towards a fire...
I walked (barefoot) as far as I could before I got to the police barricade and I couldn't really see anything except fire trucks and police cars. And smoke. And hoards of people.
It's funny how things like this bring people out of their houses and suddenly they are talking to their neighbors. On a normal day where nothing horrible happens they probably wouldn't give each other the time of day.
From what everyone was saying, a house exploded. Or it was five houses. But nobody was hurt. Or a whole family was home and they didn't make it out. It was a meth lab. Or they were storing fireworks in the garage.
If only people knew facts before they started blabbing.
I guess I'll wait for the 10 o'clock news. That may be a slightly more reliable source of info.
I didn't get many good pictures but at least I had some excitement tonight! Now for those books...
I know you aren't really supposed to go towards a fire...
I walked (barefoot) as far as I could before I got to the police barricade and I couldn't really see anything except fire trucks and police cars. And smoke. And hoards of people.
It's funny how things like this bring people out of their houses and suddenly they are talking to their neighbors. On a normal day where nothing horrible happens they probably wouldn't give each other the time of day.
From what everyone was saying, a house exploded. Or it was five houses. But nobody was hurt. Or a whole family was home and they didn't make it out. It was a meth lab. Or they were storing fireworks in the garage.
If only people knew facts before they started blabbing.
I guess I'll wait for the 10 o'clock news. That may be a slightly more reliable source of info.
I didn't get many good pictures but at least I had some excitement tonight! Now for those books...
All alone...
Carrie and the boys are out for the night. This hardly ever happens! Usually we are all together or I have the kids and she's at work or with Jeff or what-not. Very very rarely (in fact I can't remember the last time it happened)am I ever home alone.
It feels weirder than I would expect. God knows there are times during most days where I would give anything to have some quiet time to myself, but when it happens I never know what to do with myself. Actually, I'm kind of bored!
They left a half hour ago and I started putting away laundry and doing dishes...I really had to stop and remind myself that this is my chance to do something fun! Although I have to say it's nice to do those menial chores without having to stop every few minutes to break up a fight or redirect some bad choices or administer a time out!
Coincidentally I happened to buy two books today (Louder Than Words by Jenny McCarthy and Rosie's new book Celebrity Detox). I hear them calling my name. I might even read more than one chapter without falling asleep. I usually don't read until right before bed and sleep always comes quickly, no matter how hard I try to fight it.
I should go to the gym.
I doubt that it will happen.
Whoa, there is something majorly on fire very close to the house....sooooo much black smoke in the sky. I'm gonna go take pictures. Bye.
It feels weirder than I would expect. God knows there are times during most days where I would give anything to have some quiet time to myself, but when it happens I never know what to do with myself. Actually, I'm kind of bored!
They left a half hour ago and I started putting away laundry and doing dishes...I really had to stop and remind myself that this is my chance to do something fun! Although I have to say it's nice to do those menial chores without having to stop every few minutes to break up a fight or redirect some bad choices or administer a time out!
Coincidentally I happened to buy two books today (Louder Than Words by Jenny McCarthy and Rosie's new book Celebrity Detox). I hear them calling my name. I might even read more than one chapter without falling asleep. I usually don't read until right before bed and sleep always comes quickly, no matter how hard I try to fight it.
I should go to the gym.
I doubt that it will happen.
Whoa, there is something majorly on fire very close to the house....sooooo much black smoke in the sky. I'm gonna go take pictures. Bye.
Monday, October 8, 2007
the weekend
The weekend goes by too fast. Seems like it was just Friday and all of the sudden here we are at Monday again. yuck.
It was a good weekend at least. We were busy busy.
Friday night we went to the Alemany homecoming football game, which was a little boring actually not to mention we were freezing! But at least it was something to do. The kids played soccer on Saturday morning and then we went with the Shanahans to Irwindale Speedway which is always a good time...and it was about 10 degrees warmer than it had been at the football game 24 hours earlier. Thank God.
Sunday morning we shopped for a little while at the outdoor mall in Simi and then went to Cowboy Day at Underwood family farm in Thousand Oaks. It was warmer than I was expecting but otherwise it was really fun. First stop was the hat stand to get them cowboy hats and then we spent 4 hours walking around, eating junk food and picking pumpkins. I think their favorite part was the tractor ride around the farm or drinking lemonade through licorice straws.
My least favorite part was when my camera lens starting making a familiar squeaking sound when it tried to autofocus and I realized that I was reliving the death of my last 18-135mm lens. Apparently I'll be going to Hooper's today. I'm hoping that they are going to be as nice about it as they were last time because I did a little research and discovered many many people have had the exact same issue with this lens. I'm not happy about it.
Anyway, here are some pictures from the farm.
It was a good weekend at least. We were busy busy.
Friday night we went to the Alemany homecoming football game, which was a little boring actually not to mention we were freezing! But at least it was something to do. The kids played soccer on Saturday morning and then we went with the Shanahans to Irwindale Speedway which is always a good time...and it was about 10 degrees warmer than it had been at the football game 24 hours earlier. Thank God.
Sunday morning we shopped for a little while at the outdoor mall in Simi and then went to Cowboy Day at Underwood family farm in Thousand Oaks. It was warmer than I was expecting but otherwise it was really fun. First stop was the hat stand to get them cowboy hats and then we spent 4 hours walking around, eating junk food and picking pumpkins. I think their favorite part was the tractor ride around the farm or drinking lemonade through licorice straws.
My least favorite part was when my camera lens starting making a familiar squeaking sound when it tried to autofocus and I realized that I was reliving the death of my last 18-135mm lens. Apparently I'll be going to Hooper's today. I'm hoping that they are going to be as nice about it as they were last time because I did a little research and discovered many many people have had the exact same issue with this lens. I'm not happy about it.
Anyway, here are some pictures from the farm.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
house full of Tommy lovers
Carrie is with Jeff tonight so I thought I might take the kids to the homecoming pep rally/bon fire over at Alemany. But it didn't start till 7:30 which would obliterate the 8:00 pm bedtime we have around here so we went over to the Shanahans instead.
We haven't been over there in awhile and I forget how much the kids idolize Tom. In their eyes he can do no wrong. The cool stuff he does is good, the bad stuff he does is good. He could eat dog hair for dinner and they'd be asking for it the next night.
He climbs the flag pole in front of their house like it's nothing (it's taller than the house!) so Gentry has been trying and trying for the past year or so to climb it. He can't ever get more than two feet or so off of the ground but he definitely gets an A for effort. I think he worked at it for about 45 minutes tonight before ditching the pole to go ride scooters with McKay and Tommy.
They would race up and down the sidewalk on their razors and then wrestle in the grass for a bit or kick the soccer ball around and then go back to racing. Non stop action for at least 2 hours. They are exhausted.
Not many 15 year olds would give a 4 and 6 year old the time of day, but Tom always makes time for them. Sometimes I cringe at the choices they all make together but I usually just let it go because they don't have a lot of male influences and I don't want to be a party pooper. Tonight I'm extra grateful for the energy that was burned because I'm in kind of a bad mood and they took baths and read stories without arguing and have both been sound asleep since 10 minutes of 8.
Tommy's my hero too.
And I went to the gym this morning. In case you were wondering. That's two days in a row. As in back-to-back. And if I go again tomorrow?? and the day after that? That'd almost be like not wasting the 40 something dollars I pay every month. Hmmm.
We haven't been over there in awhile and I forget how much the kids idolize Tom. In their eyes he can do no wrong. The cool stuff he does is good, the bad stuff he does is good. He could eat dog hair for dinner and they'd be asking for it the next night.
He climbs the flag pole in front of their house like it's nothing (it's taller than the house!) so Gentry has been trying and trying for the past year or so to climb it. He can't ever get more than two feet or so off of the ground but he definitely gets an A for effort. I think he worked at it for about 45 minutes tonight before ditching the pole to go ride scooters with McKay and Tommy.
They would race up and down the sidewalk on their razors and then wrestle in the grass for a bit or kick the soccer ball around and then go back to racing. Non stop action for at least 2 hours. They are exhausted.
Not many 15 year olds would give a 4 and 6 year old the time of day, but Tom always makes time for them. Sometimes I cringe at the choices they all make together but I usually just let it go because they don't have a lot of male influences and I don't want to be a party pooper. Tonight I'm extra grateful for the energy that was burned because I'm in kind of a bad mood and they took baths and read stories without arguing and have both been sound asleep since 10 minutes of 8.
Tommy's my hero too.
And I went to the gym this morning. In case you were wondering. That's two days in a row. As in back-to-back. And if I go again tomorrow?? and the day after that? That'd almost be like not wasting the 40 something dollars I pay every month. Hmmm.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Pink shoes to the bank.
At least once a day this scenario plays out.
I say
"we are leaving in ten minutes, find your shoes and get them on"
and I hear
"I can't find my shoes"
and I say
"you haven't even looked for them, you have ten minutes. Find your shoes"
"I can't find them and I've looked EVERYWHERE" (really, from that spot where you are sitting with your Lego's you've looked everywhere from THAT spot....hmmm"
"it doesn't even have to be the last pair you had on (although that seems easiest and most logical), find any shoes. 8 minutes."
Someone usually ends up in tears and I usually end up finding the shoes. Hence the crying technique...they aren't stupid. blind yes. stupid no.
If I said there is a chocolate bar somewhere in the house Gentry would have it in half eaten in under 10 minutes. Guaranteed. And McKay could find his crayons or his bike helmet in no time flat.
I think what I'll do is buy some girls shoes as keep them as a fall back. Anyone that can't find their shoes in the allotted time wears pink shoes for the rest of the day. Something tells me this problem may be solved very quickly. And if pink shoes don't phase them I may have a bigger problem on my hands.
I say
"we are leaving in ten minutes, find your shoes and get them on"
and I hear
"I can't find my shoes"
and I say
"you haven't even looked for them, you have ten minutes. Find your shoes"
"I can't find them and I've looked EVERYWHERE" (really, from that spot where you are sitting with your Lego's you've looked everywhere from THAT spot....hmmm"
"it doesn't even have to be the last pair you had on (although that seems easiest and most logical), find any shoes. 8 minutes."
Someone usually ends up in tears and I usually end up finding the shoes. Hence the crying technique...they aren't stupid. blind yes. stupid no.
If I said there is a chocolate bar somewhere in the house Gentry would have it in half eaten in under 10 minutes. Guaranteed. And McKay could find his crayons or his bike helmet in no time flat.
I think what I'll do is buy some girls shoes as keep them as a fall back. Anyone that can't find their shoes in the allotted time wears pink shoes for the rest of the day. Something tells me this problem may be solved very quickly. And if pink shoes don't phase them I may have a bigger problem on my hands.
sponges watching sponges
I have a pet peeve, if that's what you wanna call it.
Cartoons.
Let me clarify...not all cartoons...in fact some days cartoons are the only thing that bring a calm over the house and give me a chance to do those pesky tasks that always need to be done (laundry is never ending!), but I CAN NOT stand certain cartoons especially Spongebob which are not at all appropriate for young kids and yet are played in the middle of the morning when the only kids that should be home are under the age of 5.
I know that I have the power to turn it off, and I do...but it annoys me that the people responsible for the program scheduling do not have enough sense to put those kind of cartoons on later in the day.
Not to mention the fact that I can not stand Spongebob, period. It's not like in the I can't stand Barney kind of way...Barney annoys me, the songs are cheesy and the kids are obnoxious, but at least I can see the basic goal of that show is to teach kids problem solving abilities and how to treat other people and to illustrate the power of using your imagination. I can't find a redeeming value in Spongebob. Some episodes are better than others, but for the most part the characters are mean to each other and the language is rough and I don't see how that teaches anything positive. Kids are sponges (no pun intended!) and they pick up everything. It contains endless amounts of adult humor and yet is marketed towards young kids which I think is irresponsible.
That's the end of this rant. for now :)
Cartoons.
Let me clarify...not all cartoons...in fact some days cartoons are the only thing that bring a calm over the house and give me a chance to do those pesky tasks that always need to be done (laundry is never ending!), but I CAN NOT stand certain cartoons especially Spongebob which are not at all appropriate for young kids and yet are played in the middle of the morning when the only kids that should be home are under the age of 5.
I know that I have the power to turn it off, and I do...but it annoys me that the people responsible for the program scheduling do not have enough sense to put those kind of cartoons on later in the day.
Not to mention the fact that I can not stand Spongebob, period. It's not like in the I can't stand Barney kind of way...Barney annoys me, the songs are cheesy and the kids are obnoxious, but at least I can see the basic goal of that show is to teach kids problem solving abilities and how to treat other people and to illustrate the power of using your imagination. I can't find a redeeming value in Spongebob. Some episodes are better than others, but for the most part the characters are mean to each other and the language is rough and I don't see how that teaches anything positive. Kids are sponges (no pun intended!) and they pick up everything. It contains endless amounts of adult humor and yet is marketed towards young kids which I think is irresponsible.
That's the end of this rant. for now :)
no pain no gain
It's been my intention to go to the gym like every day for the last few weeks and this morning I finally got my butt up and went. It's no secret that you feel better after you work out, and I can't recall a time afterwards where I've felt like "man I wish I hadn't gone to the gym today". So why is it so hard to get there? I'm pretty happy with everything in my life except my weight (and I few things directly related to it) and I know what I have to do about it. So what is my problem??? I need to get it together! I went today, I guess I'll focus on that. I'll go tomorrow and then hopefully I can get into routine with it.
This is the most pointless post. Amie should go to the gym more often. duh.
In other news my back feels better.
This is the most pointless post. Amie should go to the gym more often. duh.
In other news my back feels better.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Maybe I'll buy a red sports car
My back hurts in an unusual way and I can't remember doing anything that would have caused it...and it started in the middle of the day so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a result of sleeping in an weird position. Don't want it.
My ten year reunion is in like 2 weeks. Ten years. I feel like a third life crisis is fast approaching.
Here are some pictures...
Cause pictures are good and back pain and mental breakdowns are not.
Gentry running through the tunnel at soccer (his favorite part, by far)
Brothers
skater dude
My ten year reunion is in like 2 weeks. Ten years. I feel like a third life crisis is fast approaching.
Here are some pictures...
Cause pictures are good and back pain and mental breakdowns are not.
Gentry running through the tunnel at soccer (his favorite part, by far)
Brothers
skater dude
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