Instant Replay
Feb 24, 2005 Family Funnies
This morning Skyler and Spencer were playing with the “guys” [for those of you who don't know the preschool lingo, "guys" are the action figure people; Rescue Heroes, Spiderman, GI Joe and so forth]. Spencer’s guys were fighting and apparently Skyler wasn’t paying attention. So Spencer goes “Ok, watch the replay.” Hmm…replay? I think somebody (Daddy) watches a little too much sports with the kids.
Dating Small Boys
Feb 20, 2005 Family Funnies
Skyler and I just had a very interesting conversation:
SKYLER: Mom, what’s a boyfriend?
ME: It’s a friend that’s a boy. Do you have any boyfriends?
SKYLER: No
ME: You don’t have any friends who are boys?
SKYLER: No
ME: What about Drew? Isn’t he your friend?
SKYLER: Yeah
ME: Then he’s your boyfriend because he’s a boy and he’s your friend.
SKYLER: But mom. I told you I don’t date small boys.
Ok, my bad. I didn’t realize my five year old dated anybody?!? LOL!
Sermon Sunday: Choices
Feb 20, 2005 Raising Rugrats
Today in Adult Sunday School we talked about Practicing Our Faith and making choices. We talked about the “yes” and “no” choices we make every day. And we made a pie chart of all of the things that are important in our life, things we have said “yes” to such as family and church and community. We discussed how when we say “yes” to something new there has to be a corresponding “no” to something else. Because nobody remembers that you say “yes” to everything. However they will remember that you don’t follow through when you do say “yes.”
This discussion reminded me of an incident from when I was a teenager. I attended MYF (Middle school Youth Fellowship) religiously every Wednesday night. Our youth leader was Randy and his wife Sue usually attended also. Sue was a youth counselor at Foundation II. Both Randy and Sue were very funny, nice people and I really enjoyed spending my Wednesday nights with them.
One night I came to MYF in a horrible mood. I threw my coat down and sat with a huge scowl on my face. Sue pulled aside and she asked “Christine, is anything wrong? Is there anything you want to talk about?” I snapped back with “NO!” But my tone didn’t seem to affect Sue. She just said, in a very pleasant and concerned voice, “Well if you want to talk I’m here for you.” I felt like such a jackass for being such a jerk to her. She was just trying to help me and I was biting her head off.
Today I don’t even remember what I was angry about. [I'm sure it was about a boy...most teenager girl angst begins with boy troubles.] But I do remember that conversation with Sue and how I felt for speaking before thinking. Although it felt like a huge problem at the time, whatever I was angry about must not of been that big of a deal or I would still remember it now.
I often tell people “you can only control yourself.” You can’t waste your time worrying about what somebody else will do. You can only worry about what you are going to do. And hopefully that “sombody else” will change their actions in reaction to your actions. If somebody is rude to you and you yell back at them it usually leads to a big altercation. But if somebody is rude to you and you tell them “that really hurt my feelings” then you take back control. They may still rant and rave and just not care, but you are then in control of yourself and you can walk away knowing you are a good person.
Just something to think about. Nobody’s perfect. God knows I slip up and don’t always take my own advice…heck I slip up daily. But I try.
Suzy Homemaker I’m Not
Feb 19, 2005 A day in our life
Remember my holiday baking disaster back in December? Well I’ve now topped that one.
Tonight is Keaton’s Arrow of Light Ceremony. He received his Arrow of Light badge last week at the Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquet, but now the whole council gets together and acknowledges all of the new Boy Scouts. So since the whole council will be there I figured I better make sure Keaton is in full uniform. Prior to today Keaton had his shirt with his pack numbers on it and his patrol badge but nothing else.
So today I took my mom to Fin and Feather because she offered to buy Keaton’s new Boy Scout uniform (and the scouting office is closed on weekends). So she bought him the uniform plus his colors (so he can put all of his Webelo pins/badges on it), a belt and a few other things we had lost from his Cub Scout uniform.
For Boy Scouts you just buy the badges/numbers/emblems individually without wrapping or instructions. But while were at Fin and Feather I saw some Girl Scout numbers and there were in packaging that read “Iron-On Den Numbers.” I thought, “how come the Girl Scouts can iron on their numbers and the Boy Scouts have to sew them on?”
So we got home and I asked Keaton to find the thread and needles so I could start to sew on some of his badges that had fallen off in the wash a while back. It was such a pain in the butt to sew them on in the first place so I was really procrastinating on sewing them on again. We couldn’t find a needle and thread anywhere and I was getting a bit discouraged. Then I looked at the back of Keaton’s Bear badge and it was kind of clear. I thought, “that’s a weird kind of backing.” And then I thought, “I wonder what would happen if I tried to iron that on,” although I never really thought that would work. Surely if could iron these badges somebody would have mentioned that to be by now. Keaton’s been in Cub Scouts for three years afterall.
So just to humor myself I took the shirt and badges in to the laundry room and turned on the iron. I heated up the back of the bear badge, placed it on Keaton’s shirt and then ironed it down. Lo and behold the thing stuck. It stuck really well. A heck of a lot better then when I tried to sew the stupid thing on there.
And the realization of it all came to me. I AM A MORON. THESE THINGS ARE MEANT TO BE IRONED ON. Am I the only idiotic mother who did not know this? Has nobody told me this because it’s so painfully obvious that these things iron on, only a moronic mother like myself wouldn’t have realized that right from the beginning…let alone three years later?
I don’t know why I’m surprised that I’m no Martha Stewart (pre-jail time). After all I once had to call my aunt to find out how to make hard boiled eggs. And I just learned how to make kool-aid about four years ago. Yes, you read that right. I didn’t know how to make kool-aid. It’s only been in the last year that I’ve been really “learning” how to cook. And my family has been so wonderful…acting like they enjoy some of the crap I attempt to make. It truly is a miracle that my kids have survived this long with such a non-Suzy Homemaker mother like myself. And I don’t even think they’ve been ridiculed for it. Your mother can’t cook? Heck your mother can’t even iron on iron-on badges. But my kids take it all in stride. They’re the greatest.
