Fine balances

Life is full of balance.

You have to keep the bacteria balance in check in your gut or you either wind up constipated or with the runs. (Isn't it like the mother of boys to start out the second paragraph of her blog entry with both the words "constipated" and "the runs" in it? Ha!)

You have to keep your finances in balance or you wind up with checks bouncing like rubber balls.

If you're a fashionista wearing those ridiculously high heels, you have to keep YOURSELF in balance or you'll look like Lady Gaga who LOST her balance HERE (if you must see what I'm referring to, check it out... I'll be here all day!)

Back? Good. That was rather ridiculous to even try to balance on those, wasn't it?

Now, where was I again? Oh yeah... balance.

As a mom, you learn about balance in your children's lives as well. You must balance their screen time, their social life, their school work, their extra-curricular activities, their food intake, their sun exposure, their awake/asleep time, their lives.... and you must learn to balance this along with your own life.

Nature has a way of needing balance. From what I gather, hunting is necessary so that the herds don't become over-populated which would lead to starvation during the winter months. I say (from what I gather because, I don't know and I don't care enough to research it so I'm just going by what I've been told and it does make sense.)

And while we're on the topic, and since it's my blog, I get to go off on a tangent, and here I go.... I am not a hunter. Frankly, I'm not into the whole "killing for sport" idea of hunting. I feel that you should kill what you intend to eat or what you intend to donate to be processed. I don't feel that sitting on your butt in a blind having target practice at your PET DEER that come to the FEEDER that you set up to entice them... does THAT makes you a hunter? Why not just go hunting at a petting zoo? Seriously. That's not hunting. And, while I understand these hogs here in Texas that are wreaking havoc on everything... while they are basically telling anyone and everyone to shoot them because they breed like cockroaches, I still think it's wrong to just shoot them and then just leave them there to rot. I just find it odd that people find pleasure in killing anything. (I'm not a vegetarian. I didn't say I didn't find pleasure in eating meat... just not in killing it.) If it came down to it, I would kill whatever I needed to in order to provide for my family but lucky me... they have people to do that for me. BUT, just to go kill stuff TO KILL STUFF, I just find that... really scary.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand...balance. I started thinking about balance in a lot of areas of the world.

Balance with war and peace.

With the religious and the not so religious.

With the use of natural resources.

With everything, really. Therein lies a balance that must be understood and embraced.

I started thinking how we explain to the boys, every time you flip a switch on in this house, it's money. (Drew leaves EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY LIGHT on upstairs when he's up there. It's insane!) And then it's like, they can't seem to process that our electrical plants run on coal. So every time you use electricity that you don't need, we're burning a natural resource that we can't replace so it IS waste.

Does anyone ever think about running OUT of those natural resources? I mean, coal was made ... eons ago. I just find it amazing that the government isn't being more ... forceful to mandate things like solar power. It's clean energy. My next house... I will have solar power. I can sit in my bedroom right now and just see all the ridiculous waste ever single second going on here with all the electronic components we have in here.

1. the alarm
2. the digital thermostat
3. the air conditioner
4. the lamps --two of them
5. the ceiling fan
6. the oscillating fan
7. the telephone
8. the alarm clock
9. the cell phone charger
10. the monitor
11. the computer
12. the television
13. the Verizon box that never shuts off even when the TV is off
14. the smoke detector (they're electric)

it's crazy....

And even if I do MY part and reduce all our power/electrical consumption... think of all the skyscrapers that light up their entire buildings (think VEGAS) just for show.... all using that NEVERENDING power that really DOES have an end. Does anyone else besides me think of this stuff?

I also think about the balance as far as the introduction of things into our bodies.... plastics, for example. Cancers are on the rise. Our plastics use is on the rise. There are so many particles IN plastics that are hazardous and or carcinogenic that I can't help but wonder IF PLASTIC is responsible for the rise in cancers? I actually have read up on this quite a bit. And if you wanted to try to limit your family's exposure to plastics by becoming a granola then you're not only a freak but it'd be darn near impossible. Think about your typical day...

You wake up and roll over to press the PLASTIC alarm button on your clock off. You roll out of bed and put on your slippers. You walk to the bathroom and twist the PLASTIC lid on your toothpaste onto your PLASTIC toothbrush and brush your teeth. You get in the shower and squeeze the PLASTIC bottle to get your shampoo out. You squeeze the PLASTIC bottle to get your conditioner out. You realize you're running out of conditioner so as you exit the shower you toss the bottle into the PLASTIC trash can that is lined with a PLASTIC grocery bag. You take your favorite t-shirt off of the PLASTIC hangar and put it on and finish getting dressed. You can't see so you grab your PLASTIC contact lens case and your PLASTIC bottle of saline to insert your PLASTIC contacts into your eyes. You grab your make-up bag and dump it on the counter. Every item inside is either housed in or covered by PLASTIC. You shut off the light as you exit the bathroom realizing that the PLASTIC light switch cover is smudged with dirt so you grab a washcloth to wipe it down. You go into the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone. You grab a roll of sausage out of the PLASTIC fridge drawer and put it on the PLASTIC cutting board and proceed to cut the PLASTIC away from the outside so you can slice the sausage into patties. You crack some eggs into your PLASTIC bowl and whisk away with your PLASTIC utensil. The kids are still young so you put their breakfast in PLASTIC bowls so that if they're sent flying across the room, they won't break. Their sippy cups and eating utensils? Yep, you guessed it -- PLASTIC. You get into the car... the interior of the door? PLASTIC. You go through the drive-thru to get a drink... the cup? Paper. The straw? PLASTIC. The lunch you packed for your kid is in PLASTIC bags in a PLASTIC lunch box. You go to the grocery store and every other item is packaged in plastic. Your lunch meat is in plastic. Your cheese is in plastic. Your milk is in plastic. Your cereal is in a box which contains a bag that is plastic. Your brown sugar, spices, ketchup, mustard, salad dressing.... EVERYTHING IS IN PLASTIC!!!

Are you seeing the over-abundance of plastic in our lives? It's scary, isn't it? There has to be some correlation.... some how.

I'm trying to go back to using more natural products in my kitchen. I'm buying items that are packaged in glass containers. Not only can I then reuse those containers for myself, but I also can use them for gifts. I can also repackage things that were in plastic into something NOT plastic.

Now, I'm not going to go all granola like Sheryl Crow that said that people should use just one square of toilet tissue -- that's stupid. But I've read blogs where people are tired of paying all the extra money for paper waste in their homes. Some people have gone to utilizing reusable toilet tissue! Don't gasp -- it's along the same lines as those who may use cloth diapers. Some people use glass straws. There are all kinds of extreme and in-between but I just feel anything I can do is a little better than doing nothing at all. (For the record, as long as we are able to, I will always have toilet paper.) I can, however, stand the idea of getting rid of paper towels and paper napkins and even paper plates. I like the feel of cloth napkins so much more anyway. Paper plates are a time saver but... at what point are we not okay with all the waste?

Just because you throw something away doesn't mean it's GONE. I don't think people realize this. I say it time and time again... just because it's trashed doesn't mean it's gone. Do a Google search to see how long it takes things to decompose? It's CRAZY!!!! 50 years for a tin can to decompose... a cigarette takes from one to 12 years to decompose... ONE cigarette! Think of the people that smoke a pack a day... how much that contributes over time. Think about how much you haul to the curb twice a week. Burying that doesn't make it go away. Isn't that scary? Does anyone else worry about this?

So, when it comes to fine balances... where is the balance in what you need and what you don't? Where is the balance for you between convenience and waste? Where is your balance in preserving the natural resources and ... not giving a damn? When will someone else besides me act... without regard to what people think... but do it because you care about the fine balance of things in YOUR OWN life... hmmm...

just something to ponder.

Gowns aren't just for the ball

I'm sitting in Room 10 of the pre-op rooms with Andy. He's about to undergo hernia and exploratory surgery. When we got in here, the surgery was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. but they came in about 12:25 to let us know that it was moved to 1:30 p.m.

And he had to put on the gown. You know the one. The backless gown that comes in unflattering colors, patterns with snaps on either shoulder. The gown that NO one looks good in. Yeah, "the gown."

He's laying on the bed that's too short for his long legs smiling at me while I click away at the keyboard... he has no idea I'm laying here laughing at him.... in a dress... with his butt hanging out. I think, in fact, right now, he may be mooning an entire parking lot.

We arrived at 10:30 a.m. and came straight to the room.... and have been sitting here ever since. I've read a book that Josh was to read over the summer called Among the Hidden about a government (in the US) that is out of control with rules and regulations. About how they've established a rule that you can have no more than two children and Luke is a third child. A child that has to stay completely hidden... it's about his story (or the beginning of it) and his desire to be free. It's a 4th-7th grade reading level... an easy read. I did it in about two hours. Good book for your children. I downloaded it from the Kindle app on the laptop for $6.

Now, I'm sitting here thinking, hmmm... I'm ready for lunch. I shouldn't talk of food, however, since Andy hasn't even had so much as a drink this morning since 7:30 a.m.

And, I just made fish lips. Aren't I just a barrel of monkeys?

Seven

Seven years ago today, I met with my best friend and my betrothed at Baylor Grapevine Hospital and was induced... ready to meet the "little" (metaphorically speaking) bundle of joy who had been kicking me in the ribs and throwing my sciatic nerve into conniption fits on an hourly basis...

My doctor, Dr. Cowen, was unable to deliver him so Dr. Neal was doing the delivery. He was sure since this was baby number two for me he'd be out by noon since we began the P-drip at 7am. Drew had other plans. He was warm, comfortable and just down right happy where he was...

After a little while, and an epidural, he decided to make his appearance into the world and, as such, ours has never been the same.

It was a hard recovery... I couldn't expect any less from a nearly 10 pound baby coming from a 5'2" relatively petite woman. But, it was certainly worth it...

We spent the first few days and weeks getting to know one another. Your dad was so afraid he'd break you... little did he know he was really holding a THREE month old instead of a NEWBORN! You were too big for most of the newborn clothes and we went right into the 3 month'ers.

As much as I loved nesting and mothering... nothing was so important as just being there in the moment and being your mom. We didn't have a lot of fancy dinners... because what's a super fancy dinner knowing you wanted to be held? There were certainly dust bunnies on the shelves, dust bunnies in the corners, vacuuming to be done, clothes to be folded, dishes to be washed, but... you know, even though I'd sit and ponder all the chores that were on my usual daily routine... they just didn't matter any longer. You wanted me. I wanted you. I'd spend hours a day just rocking you in the chair and it was pure bliss.

Then, I stared at the amazing beautiful joy you were with your pink skin and pouting lips... and now I stare at these beautiful lash-filled eyes that are expressive and curious.

Then, I stared at these tiny fingers and toes and was amazed at small life... dependent life... and now I stare at how much your feet have grown and am curious at all the places they will take you.

Then, I lingered over the possibilities of your life and now I admire the choices you make independent of me.

You're growing up... faster than I could ever have imagined and in the course of this adventure of your youth I'm both sad and happy, scared and amazed, hopeful and curious...

And even though you don't always like to admit it... I know you'll still always be my baby.

Evermine.
Evermore.

Happy 7th birthday big guy. I hope your day is blessed and that tonight at Legoland you have an absolutely fantastic time. I hope you fill your belly with a delicious hamburger from Fuddruckers and that you just know how very much you're loved.

Today we celebrate YOU!

Days Like These

There is the old adage that there'll be days like these and boy were they right! Today was one of those days. Andy says it'll be one that I'll laugh about in twenty years. I think it may take me that long to get over it.

Let me preface this by saying that as a mother in general, I know that these days are few and far between and that, yes, they will happen. I also understand that as the mother of a toddler, you'll never be able to anticipate their every move, no matter how ridiculously anal retentive you are. No matter what you do... there will be days like this.

The day started out like any other day... except that Ben woke up two hours early again. It seems like I just forget how often they change everything just when you were getting a rhythm down to life. Sucks. I got up and made cinnamon rolls and pigs-in-blankets for Andy and Drew. Today was to be Drew's first day at Museum School (at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Nature) with his buddy, Evan.

I got Ben fed his usual, 1/2 a banana, cup of milk and a few tablespoons of a couple different types of cereal (he likes Honeycomb, Cinnamon Life and Cheerios). By the time I had the other breakfast ready, he was ready to get down. However, when he saw we were having cinnamon rolls, he was ready to get back in his high chair and ate a cinnamon roll too.

Andy left for work and then the day just... it just went!

Ben was in rare form (God I HOPE HE WAS... as in PAST TENSE and ... WONT EVER BE LIKE THIS AGAIN). He was IN.TO.EVERYTHING.

He went through and emptied the cabinets about a dozen times...and not just the same ones...he got into the trash. He got into the dog food. He got into the bathroom cabinets. He has a stomach bug.... diaper 1, diaper 2, diaper 3.... the changes were just coming fast and furious. Yuck, stinky and gross. He got into the bathroom drawers. He threw fits in the playroom. He crawled up his high chair. He climbed up on the stool. He fell from the stool. He grabbed a metal spoon and smacked gashes into the side of my black island. Moose wouldn't leave Ben alone. Moose wouldn't leave Lola alone. Moose wouldn't leave ME alone. Moose got locked up in his crate. Ben... I wish it were that easy.

This was the morning. No nap.

At 11:20 a.m., Drew has a hot dog for lunch with ketchup.

We are enroute at 12:05 to pick up his buddy Evan for their first day at the museum school together. Loop 820's entrance ramp is at a dead standstill thanks to a police car there so we keep going on Hwy. 377. Finally, we get on Belknap and Drew tells me he has a headache.

A headache?

Yes, a headache.

Ok, I'm driving, obviously, I can't just make it go away (though, it is assumed that, as a mother, you have the ability to do just that). He is informed that as soon as we get to Museum School, we will go in and I'll give him some ibuprofen. Not another word.

Until about 5 minutes later I hear a weird noise in the back of the car. Drew is SOBBING in pain that his head is "killing him." I'm thinking... migraine? In a 7 year old? How HORRIBLE!!! Ok, honey. Ok. We will get it taken care of... then I had that thought. You know the one that says... WAIT MOM. The last time he said he had a headache, he threw up about ten seconds later.... so I reach for the console because I have some of those scented rolls of bags to put dirty diapers in and I'm going to give him one to old...

and that's when he said...

I JUST THREW UP.

F$#%!

Yes, I dropped an f-bomb in my head. UGH! Poor kid. He's sitting in puke now. Evan, his little buddy doesn't know WHAT to think (poor kid #2). I still reach in and give him one of the blue bags and said, "If you feel like you're going to do it again, DO IT IN THE BAG!"

"I don't think I'll get to go my first day now, huh?"

Um... ya think?

I want to survey the damage but consider that the damage is done as we pull into Museum School, I instruct Evan, come forward and don't step on anything (I haven't seen anything so I don't know just how bad it really is.)

Evan grabs my hand and we head into the building. He's so excited. I'm feeling so bad for my little guy outside in the car (it was running... and yes, I had the key with me... and YES... Ben was in his carseat too... and YES... I was totally okay with doing that... this time... because of the situation... my cell phone was in the car and he knows how to use it in case of emergency... so shut up!!)... so I walk in and sign in Evan. I tell the teacher that Drew won't be there today because "he just threw up in my car."

She just gives me that look. You know the look. The... "gosh that sucks but I'm so glad you're not bringing him in the classroom to infect everyone else" look. She recognizes Evan and he goes in happy as a lark. (Why are larks so happy??? Do they know something we don't?)

I go back to the car and go to the trunk.... grab the baby wipes. Drew has moved from his puke covered car seat to his GOOD car seat.... and has lovingly given me Another car seat now to clean. Wasn't that thoughtful? And this stupid Britax is a bitch to clean. I've tried to clean it once and there is no easy way about removing the freakin' cover. Let me tell you... an easy way does NOT exist. It's the most difficult car seat cover to remove... EVER... in all the years of car seats I've had... this one is the absolute worst!

I give Drew some wipes to clean up a little.... Then he does something that just breaks my heart...

he apologized for throwing up in my car.

UGH... like it mattered?

:(

I was like... HONEY.... you didn't do it on PURPOSE... it's okay. What's IMPORTANT is that YOU FEEL better! Poor kid.

The real suckage factor not only lies in the fact that Drew missed his first day of museum school. I wasted from 12:00 - 2:00 driving from Keller to Watauga to Fort Worth back to Keller. Ben's only nap was an interrupted one in the car for about an hour which means that I'll have absolutely NO down time for myself at all whatsoever. When Ben is awake... you can't do anything on the computer. You can't do anything on your phone. You can't do anything to clean up the kitchen/sink because he's into absolutely everything so you sit... on your ass.... and hope he doesn't decide to use your head as target practice for whatever feat of strength he decides to do that day. And sometimes, it's nice to even have thirty minutes without anyone bothering you at all... so you can just THINK.... and when you have PMS and all this... CRAP is going on ... it's easy for your head to spin 360 and pea soup (and expletives) to spew forth....

Couple that with the fact that my feet... my feet are KILLING ME. Seriously, they hurt... my fingers... they hurt. I'm being tested for rheumatoid arthritis and frankly, at this point, hope that's what it is so I have an ANSWER because this is NOT NORMAL... it's painful and I'm so sick of being in PAIN!

So, we come home. Ben is awake and I take him to the bedroom and put him in the playpen in the dark and HOPE that he is okay on his own for however long it takes me to clean my car out. Having not truly seen the damage yet, and hoping not to toss my cookies in the process, I hope for the best. Drew is told to strip in the laundry room and march upstairs for a quick bath.

I remove both car seats... the booster he was sitting on is rinsed off but when I realize I can't truly get it clean -- it's tossed in the garbage. It was $13 at Wal-Mart. I'll be wasteful. I'll buy another. The thought of scrubbing that just grossed me right the heck out. The other was rinsed off along with the floor mat and set in the 100+ degree sun to dry. By some act of God, the regurgitated lunch was pretty my only on Drew and the booster! He didn't get any anywhere else! TALK ABOUT LUCK!

Amazing when you're considering yourself lucky... that you're cleaning up puke AT ALL?

Anyway... I walk back in and yes, Ben is awake. And, OH... the SHOCKER... he's sobbing. Try to deal with him.... food... drink... toys... carrying... binkies... blankets... games... nothings really making him happy. He obviously doesn't feel good.

Drew comes down and I'm like, "Daddy got you a movie to watch [Gnomio and Juliette] so let's make you a place to lay on the couch so you can just be still and relax. Ok?" I go to turn on the television...

Let me preface this section by saying that if it's electronic or technology-based, I'm probably going to screw it up...

... and know that you have to press some type of an "input" button. Well, the TV remote (there are THREE for this television (grrrr)) has an INPUT and a TV INPUT. Apparently, I push the WRONG ONE. Oh, what a surprise. So, I've got a screaming ankle biter at my left leg and Drew on the couch and I'm like???? WHAT DO I DO? I call Andy.

I preface my call with something like, "Please understand I have PMS, this has been a horrible day and all I'm trying to do is turn on the TV for Drew to watch a stupid movie so I'm emotional and if I don't get this to work, I'm about to break down in tears." And I feel the tears welling up in my eyes because I know that I"m about to start crying and I'm just not going to be able to stop.

I just had a television full of snow. It was quite annoying. I couldn't figure out what needed to be done with what, what needed to be pushed. Frankly, it just pisses me off. Men like to make all these stupid diagrams about women and how complicated they are... and then show a diagram for men and it's just an "off/on" switch....but then they make STUPID things like THREE remote controls to work ONE STUPID TELEVISION. It just pisses me off.

However, he was able to help me get it figured out. Movie started. One child taken care of for at least an hour. I take whiny #2 to the playroom ... and sit.

The day goes on... I'm sick of doing NOTHING... I'm sick of the whining... I'm sick of him emptying the shelves of the paper plates and napkins. I'm sick of him throwing everything ... everywhere. Seriously, I'm done! The whining... the whining... for the love of PETE the WHINING!!!

It's time for a nap... I put him down at 5:30..... at 5:50 he finally stops screaming.... and sleeps.... for 20-30 minutes. And, of course, he wakes up screaming.

To the kitchen we go. Watermelon does the trick. Unfortunately, I can't rely on him to sit and eat watermelon for hours on end and that is short-lived. Next idea, yogurt. He loves trying to feed himself with a spoon. It's a huge mess but it buys me some time to finish loading the dishwasher. The last time I Tried to load it today, he grabbed a spoon and left nice "antiquing" (as Jeff Penrod put it) on the side for me. GRrrrr. He's a MESS so I clean him up and set him down.

By this time Andy has come... and gone. He went and did a small run to Wal-Mart for necessities (milk, cereal, etc.) (Guess it's obvious what we're having for breakfast tomorrow, huh?)

Thankfully he called and asked if we wanted Subway while he was at Wal-Mart and to text him what we wanted. I did.

And wouldn't you know it.... the sandwich was wrong.

Par for the course for my day.

I know... I know... At least I ate something. Yeah, whatever.

It's a running joke around here, anyway. If he picks up the take-out, it's going to be wrong. You can pretty much count on it.

Oh, and I have PMS... it makes everything worse... exponentially.

We eat. My feet are continuing to kill me. I give the kid a bath. I take him upstairs and realize he's already peed in his clean diaper. He's changed. He cries. But, he's up there... and I'm finally getting my quiet time. And what am I doing? I'm recalling the ridiculous chain of events that made this day what it was... a complete freakin puky disaster train wreck.

Tomorrow is a new day... and I can assure you... it has to be better than this.

Wood Badge Thank You...

I wrote this a while back as a way to say thank you to my fellow Scouters who were so... EVERYTHING to me and my Troop while we were attending the course. I thought I'd share with you, in the chance you've experienced Wood Badge and all that it has to offer... if so, you'll know exactly where I'm coming from. What an awesome leadership conference!

How Do You Say Thank You

How do you say thank you to someone who agrees to take time from their life to help a group of complete strangers try to grow to experience their fullest potential as a leader of young men?

How do you say thank you to a great group of men who cook up a mean spread... preparing delicious meals, desserts and snacks to give those in attendance energy to go on?

How do you say thank you to your fellow Scouters who have lent a hand, carried a load, shared a burden or extended themselves on your behalf?

How do you say thank you to someone who has led you... coached you... mentored you but ultimately taught you that you are surrounded by your greatest resource... your fellow Troop 1 members and staff.

How do you say thank you for an experience that has introduced you to people whom I never would have met otherwise or had the pleasure of knowing? How fortunate I feel to share the title of Buffalo patrol member with them.

How do you say thank you for an intense but thorough crash course in so many skills for the sole purpose of making the BSA the most enriching program available for young men today?

...and lastly... how do you say thank you to a group of Wood Badge staffers for a job well done?

Simple. You do your best! You work your tickets and give back to Scouting what Wood Badge has given you... pay it forward... today and always.

Naps and Ben

Ben seemed to go from three naps a day to one almost overnight. Generally, when it's time for that period, he grabs his snuggle bear and his silky blue blanket, raises one in each hand overhead and wants to be picked up and taken to sleep. It's quite adorable. He reminds me of Linus.

I've never been a big proponent of the whole cry-it-out (CIO) method because it a) stresses me out b) leaves the kid with a ridiculously runny nose and/or c) a pile of spit up/puke to clean up. Yeah, Josh would get himself SO worked up, he'd throw up. Then, not only did you not get a kid down for a nap, you were having to do laundry and clean carpets... it was a jolly good ole time. Drew wasn't quite that bad. Ben... we're vacillating between the two. And... it's annoying.

Generally, he goes for a nap about 3-4 hours after he gets up... this can be from 1-3 hours, just depending on how tired he is. Today, it was about one. Which really sucks because you get NOTHING done. So, since he was up... oh, FIVE HOURS AGO... he HAS to have another nap or he's going to be the devil incarnate by 8pm when it's time to go to sleep for the night. But, he doesn't WANT to nap right now so he's throwing absolutely everything in his playpen over the edge, standing up staring it at while screaming and gagging on the running nose trauma he's causing himself.... it's beyond annoying. I've already been in there once... and frankly, I don't know what else to do other than LET him CIO and go the heck to sleep.... GRR

Wouldn't you just kill for someone to say, "You know, sweetie... you're tired. You go lay down and take a nap. I'll quietly pick up the rest of the house, do some laundry and have you a great snack ready when you wake up." Wouldn't that be a dream?

Kids... they have no idea how FANTASTIC they've got it.

Little turds.

Grrrr.

Lunch was calorie-laden with a side of giggles

I just shared an ordinary lunch with two extraordinary young men. Their names? Josh and Drew. The fact that they're mine makes obviously them awesome to begin with, but the hilarity that ensued over an ordinary lunch (from McDonald's, of course, Drew got to choose today) makes me smile with the fact that I was there to experience it. Not only was I there... I was present...

In the age of distractions, you know: televisions with 1,762 channels; telephones in every room; cell phones in every pocket; smart phones connecting you to the internet; the actual internet from your computer, your laptop, your iPad; how about the old iPod... you get the point. There are plenty of distractions, so the moments when you can unplug and just chill with your little people -- DO IT!

I cherish these small windows of time with my boys when we can just sit and laugh "our heads off" as Drew so eloquently coined our laugh-packed lunch.

What was so funny? Well, the first round of laughs came from the memory of when Josh was learning to do the Charlie Brown (dance) on stage at his school and he kneed himself in the head! Classic! Then we laughed at Drew's random queries such as, "What if a cheerleader was thrown up in the air and got scared and peed her pants?" Then we laughed at me for laughing at myself.

Lunch today was one of those side-splitting, tear-inducing, laugh-until-you-can't-talk, bladder testing, waving your hands in front of your face so it will somehow help you inhale kind of laughter moments.

We needed it. Tomorrow, Josh leaves for Iowa for a little over 3 weeks. I like leaving things on a good note like this, too.

Tonight

Although I have a freezer full, a stocked pantry and an over-flowing fridge, tonight I'm ordering Chinese for dinner. Why?

Why not!

Seriously, I'm ordering it for a plethora of reasons. Let's review, shall we?

1. It's been one HELL of a day with the boys and my patience has been wrought to extinction
2. It's 102 outside. To grill the chicken would cause the door to be opened/closed repeatedly which will make the AC run an exorbitant amount and heat up the inside of the house.
3. It's 102 outside. To bake the chicken inside would require using the oven which will heat up the inside of the house making the AC run an exorbitant amount of time.
4. It's 102 outside, who really wants to do anything at all other than to sit beneath a ceiling fan and count freckles on your arm while sipping a tall glass of iced sweet tea.
5. Did I mention my kids were driving me crazy?
6. While I'm writing this, Ben is in his playpen screaming and grunting and whining and pouting and I'm sure throwing the entire contents of said playpen into the walkway in my room.
7. I'm getting blood work done tomorrow and I can't eat anything after 7pm tonight until I'm sure around lunch tomorrow... I deserve it.
8. Cause I can... so I did.