Keith Urban Concert

What a fun weekend! I drove to Omaha for the Keith Urban concert with a friend of mine which was a very last minute surprise. We left around 3:00ish on Saturday, walked around the Old Market, had a few drinks and cheered on the Minnesota Twin's, had dinner at the Upstream, and walked over to the concert. I appoligize for the terible pictures, but they were taken on my cell phone camera. We were right next to the stage, third row so needless to say, our seats were amazing!

Keith kept looking at me asking "Where's Kerrie?" (sorry, had to add to the delusion!) After the concert, we walked downtown and had a drink at Dublin's bar which is this Irish bar that had a two piece band. I looked like a drowned rat by the time we left because I hadn't sat still for a minute. The Old Market is a gorgeous area but the fashion - hmmm. How many guys in long sleeved blue & white shirts with Gap shorts can you see in one area? A ton apparently!!! Anyway, we got home LATE and I slept most of the Sunday away.

I'm in a blogging template funk right now - sort of feels like I'm a bit schizo. I haven't been posting much lately because this week = finals week! Yuck yuck yuck!

Joe Mauer - homerun hottie

Just in case you missed the Twin's game on Saturday, I thought I would post Joe Mauer's IN THE PARK homerun!!! WOWZA - that almost never happens!! I just stood up to run to the bathroom when I heard the bat crack. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to see the ball going, going, going...nope not gone but Joe was!!! The crowd went nuts - high fives all around. The picture from LAA wouldn't even pitch to the next batter until Joe Mauer waved his had to the crowd. Everyone was one their feet. Way to go Joe!

We had a wonderful weekend in the cites this past weekend. I am so fortunate to have an amazing family. I didn't get to see everyone, but it wasn't because I didn't want to or I don't miss them terribly. It's just that my aunt JoEllen is a better cook. HA - I'm just kidding.

Alex and Uncle Jerry taking a cruise

A picture of Alex and I before the Twin's game in our Twin's gear

GO TWINS!

The picture next to this post really has nothing to do with anything related to this post but it cracks me up! It was taken at the Winstock Festival - I think I do the sunglasses justice don't you agree?

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. We're leaving for the twin cities tonight to visit family and friends and we have tickets to the Twin's game tomorrow night against LAA. Where are my Twins though?? We're 9 games back now - yikes. I must be out of my mind, but I actually decided to take Alex to High School Musical on Sunday at the Children's Theater in Minneapolis as well. I'm not insinuating that there's anything wrong with High School Musical but I had to decided between Les Miserables (my all time FAVORITE play) at Chanhassen or High School Musical and I picked High School Musical. I'll let you know how sitting in a theater with thousands of pre-teens who know the words to every song in the production goes. It will probably be like a Justin Timberlake concert only these artist have talent. Ouch - that was mean.

So anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'm sure I'll have pictures to post on Monday!

We DON'T ID

My girlfriend Stacey and I went out to Hot Harley Nights on Saturday night. I was exhausted from being at our company picnic for seven hours but thought, what the heck. I suck it up, slip into my jeans, find my most flattering top and head out on the town. We arrive downtown and it's packed! After being at the picnic for an entire day, I told my partner in crime that I needed a beer. We waltz over to the beer stand, I dig for my identification that proves I am old enough to have a beer and the "ID guy" looks at me and says don't worry about it, we only card people 30 and under!

Ouch....and I didn't even bring my cane that night. First of all, I'm not even 30 yet! Secondly, I assume that with these events, those people who are in charge of checking identifications are always a bit conservative so if he was sure that I wasn't under 30, exactly how old did he think I looked? Needless to say, he didn't see any tips from me that night. I'll leave that to the under 30 crowd.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone! We had a pretty quiet 4th but it was still very nice. I spent a good part of the morning catching up on housework, laundry, dishes, blah blah blah and the Alex and I went out to the lake, went for a walk, played at the park and had a grand ole time. Then we drove to meet up with my dad for supper and fireworks. They had the giant accident-prone jumping things for the kids and pony rides along with karaoke. I told Alex that I would buy him a Lexus if he sang "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" but no deal. A band out of Sioux Falls played for a few hours and then we watched the fireworks. Pretty boring but it was still very enjoyable.

Alex and I went to the pool yesterday and we saw another mom there who asked Alex what he has been doing this summer. His response....."driving my mom up a wall by saying mom...mom....mom....mom". I REALLY need to watch what I say around him. I'm a little concerned about him though. Lately he has been asking SO many questions about God and prayer...more than what I think other children his age questions. For example when we were sitting out at the lake, he asked "mom, how do you know God is listening" and "why did the bad people kill Jesus". I answered the questions the best I could but I don't know what's bringing it all on. I know that he has been through more trials then what a boy his age should have to go through and I don't know if the two are related or not. I guess I would rather having him asking the questions than not knowing anything about prayer, God, and salvation.

PS - the pictures were taken on my cell phone so they are not the best quality but he is just so darn cute!!

Dog Days Of Summer

Cool Slideshows!

Relaxing Weekend

We had a very relaxing weekend. Alex was a little sunburned after spending Friday at the lake with his daycare group so Saturday was spent indoors for the most part. We did get out of the house Saturday night to see Ratatouille and I will give this movie 5 stars. It was so funny, heartwarming, creating...it was the first movie that I've been to in a long time were the audience actually applauded in the end. Go and see it! Alex and I also finally finished the Star Wars lego play station game....YES! I'm down on the play station but was totally addicted to this game. Other than that, I did some homework, did some cleaning, and did some sleeping. What a great weekend!

Out of the boredom came deep thoughts with big Al. We were sitting outside on Sunday when he looked at me and said "mom, I'm so glad that I'm not made out of chocolate". Hmmmm - I had so many questions on so many levels about this one.

Crazy Week

Uff Da - What a week! Alex has had t-ball, swimming lessons, football and I've had an accounting test, two assignments, and a paper on Judaism due so far this week. WAHHH! Last night I was actually so desperate for a glass of wine but couldn't find my corkscrew. So I did what any other rational person would do, I just decided not to have a glass of wine. NOT! I took the bottle outside, placed it on the end of my steps, and took a hammer to the end of the bottle and broke off the cork. I have a full bottle of wine sitting in my water jug at home since I had to transfer the wine into something else. I've just invented the redneck corkscrew.

Anyway - this past weekend I took Alex to a rodeo. We didn't get back until 1:00a.m. and he was so tired that the T-ball derby was a no-show for us. :( But we went to the pool in Brookings with my girlfriend Stacey and her boys and had a great time. I have tons of cute pictures on my camera that I would LOVE to show you....as soon as I get them transferred. You know what I need - I need a personal assistant. Someone to do my grocery shopping, hall Alex to and from event, clean, cook, take care of my bills. WAIT - I just described a wife. Never mind I guess - I'm exhausted but not questioning my sexual orientation.

The picture above is of Alex and I at the rodeo that I took with my cell phone camera. My cousin bought Alex these goofy things that you put on your teeth and they light up. I assumed the batteries would be dead by now but no such luck. Why is it that the batteries for my remote, camera, clock, etc die SOOOOO fast but those for irritating toys last forever?

C*R*A*N*K*Y

I'm in a bit of a crankster mood today so I thought I would make a list of things that twark me off! No offense to anyone who may recognize some of the behaviors in my list - I'm sure I do plenty to twark you off too! And if I don't, then hang around me for a day, I guarantee you'll be changing your tone.

• Confederate Flags - especially in the North! Let me tell you a little secret.....YOU LOST THE WAR. Now get on board with the American Flag here people


• UG - I can not stand seeing this and it's not because of the "Ford" reference! Really....You DISLIKE a vehicle that much? There are so many more things to dislike that a certain make or model of a vehicle....like people who fly confederate flags
  
• People who hound non-drinkers into having a beer. My partner in crime (aka Stacey) does not drink and I am always astounded by the ignorance in people when the discover this and they spend the rest of the evening trying to talk her into having a drink. What is the big deal??!!?? Get over it and buy me a beer!
• People who stand on the dance floor Move out of my way so I can do the funky chicken.
• Paying $2.00 plus for a gallon of gasoline
• Negative people Okay - I know I'm on the cranky side today, but I'm usually a fairly "glass is half full" type of gal. I'm talking about the people who are ALWAYS complaining about their jobs or ALWAYS soooo busy or ALWAYS allowing themselves to become victims of their surroundings
• People who make "pet peeve" list
• People who say "I hate cops" Good luck the next time someone breaks into your house or the neighbor of yours is being just a bit too noisy
• Adult cartoons on Cartoon Network I understand they are on late but why do we need to have inappropriate shows on a network geared towards kids?
• Atheist Let me get this straight...your belief is that you believe in nothing? How long did it take you to come up with that one genius?
• Superstar kids and the parents who gloat I'm so happy that your child could read before he/she was potty trained but I'm still trying to get mine to understand why we can't share an ice cream cone with the neighbors dogs so leave me alone!
• Street jargon I am not going to pretend that I am the leader in the English language, but when did "I ain't going to nothing to nobody" become a sentence the was widely understood in the country? I could make another list here such a "gangster being a positive term" or "bitches and hoes" being something that even women refer to other women as....but I won't ;)

Okay - that's enough for now....I feel much better.

What Does Serenity Look Like?

***PS - The baseball shirt has been found!!!

Lost Shirt

Alex attended a junior golf clinic yesterday and yes, I rained for 80% of it but they still managed to get out on the green and the driving range for some tips. I go to pick him up and he is sitting in the club house hanging with the boys at the table. I left work to pick him up so I was in a hurry to get him in the car and be on our way. My first mistake was to tell him that I was in a hurry because this has a direct adverse affect on his speed. As we were walking out I noticed that he WASN'T wearing the shirt that I put him in earlier in the day. I asked him where his shirt was and whose shirt he was wearing. He gave me that look that said "oh oh" and glanced out the window which was being pounded by the rain towards the course and said "it's out there". Apparently, the shirt he had on was an old one in his bag that I'm sure we just used to clean off his clubs. Let me describe the shirt to you, it was an underwear shirt that was a size 4T - he wears size 7 in little boys. I've been wondering if the individuals at the golf course have been talking about that poor little boy whose mother carries around a Channel purse but doesn't dress her son in cloths that cover his body. This isn't the first time he's done something like this and I don't think it's too much to ask of my child that he returns with all of the cloths that he leaves with. I may force him to wear a potato sack around town if this continues. Ahhhh! So if you're out on the golf course and you see a white baseball shirt with #5 on the back - call me.
After we arrived home he started looking for a pencil to write in his Golfing Rule Book. He HAD to write rule number 43 in the book. What is rule number 43 in the Golfing Rule Book - HAVE FUN!!!

No More Cash

I bought yet another Johnny Cash CD and was listening to it in the car the other day. It's a live cd - but it's Johnny Cash so one just can't go wrong with Cash right? WRONG!

Mr. Cash let out the word mother f**ker!!! Yep - with my son sitting nestled in his car seat, the profanity filled the car like a cloudy puff of smoke. I looked in the rear mirror to see if he noticed Johnny's nasty potty mouth. He just kept starring out the window admiring the beauty that SD is. Whew, I thought - he didn't hear it. The song ended and without missing a beat, Alex looked at me and said "Mom, I bet Johnny Cash's mom was REALLY mad at him for saying that naughty word. He probably got a spanking". Yes Alex, I'm sure that he did!

Taking A Break

Anyone who knows me knows that I can be sort of a political junkie. There was always political jargon around my family growing up and I guess it just sort of became who I am. Life experiences added to my passion for politics. However, after getting in a VERY heated argument with what could possibly be the most ignorant person walking on US soil, I decided that I perhaps....need to take a step back. Seriously - this guy was one of those people who really made me question whether or not EVERYONE who is a US citizen should be given the right to vote. But, I knew this guy had no idea to what he was talking about, yet I continues an argument with him - now really, who's the idiot here? Thus, I decided that for my own mental health, perhaps a break from what we know as our political spectrum would be a good idea. Plus, my best friend Stacey threatened to hit me in the knee caps with a 2x4 if I didn't "cool it".
I never realized how difficult it is to stay away for politics until I've actively tried to. We are bombarded with rants for both political arenas. I remember when there use to be a "political season" where you would rally for the person of your choice, put signs in your front yard, bumper stickers on your car - etc. Now with more than a year before election time, we already know who the front runners for both parties are and what "small man/woman" can compete with the money that is backing these politicians now?
Okay, I'm getting off course. I guess I'm just a little stunned and surprised to how I never seen this before I tried stepping back. How can anyone say "you know, I never really follow politics". Huh? Do you own a TV/radio/glasses...anything?

PS - I'm surprised anyone can follow my thought process when reading my post - they're so sporadic! Kudos to you all! HAHAHA

We Have A Dog!

Meet the newest member of our family - RufRuf. RufRuf was made with lots of love and lots of laughs by Alex at the Wacky Bear Factory. This is my type of pet - doesn't potty on the floor, we can toss him in his backpack and go for a bike ride, if we forget to feed him....oh well, doesn't bark, doesn't need shots, doesn't shed, and he's still very cuddly and lovable. It was Alex's idea to make a bear (dog) and I usually walk right by these places in a rush, but this time I decided we'd try it. RufRuf also has a Letterman jacket that resembles the Madison Bulldogs and he has is own football. The picture shows him snuggled in his sleeping bag. If you have never made a bear, before the animals heart starts beating, the owner makes a wish. They can wish for anything that their little minds could possible want. Alex wished for ice cream! That's right - ICE CREAM! Love it

Memorial Day

Wow - has it really been a week since I've updated my blog? I'm SURE that you've all been wondering if I feel off of the earth. Well, no I didn't - but would actually like a trip from the planet earth for a day or so.

My original plan for memorial day weekend was to go camping with my family. However, I'm a fair-weather camper so unless it's 90 degrees and sunny, I'm not too excited. So when my girlfriend called and said she needed a break from the city, I was MORE than happy to offer her a safe haven in the Dakotas. Her boyfriend is being....what's the word.....ummm.....less than worthy (I'm being nice). So luckily, I'm heading to the cities this weekend to let Steph know how wonderful she is. The picture above is us on our first bottle - I mean glass of Merlot. Yes, we are drinking our wine out of Miller High Life glasses (thanks Ang)
Alex went to see his dad on Saturday so Steph and I could catch up on life and what better place to catch up - Skinner's Pub! I was floored when I ordered a martini and they charged me $12.00 for a martini with absolute vodka! We must have been mingling fools that night because we met a whole bunch of people that night. Maybe it was the hat. Anyway, we had a great weekend catching up on life - lots of laughs, tears, frustration, and it wasn't all because of the wine. heheh. Steph has been a great friend and Alex and I love her dearly.
Speaking of Alex, his head has healed well and I want to thank you all for your kind words, thoughts and prayers. It feels good to know that this world we live in is full of good-hearted and caring gals like yourselves. May God bless all of your lives in every way possible. Alex is now a 1st grader!!! And, thankfully (Amber) he's not a Meany pants and he's tall! He's in a world of activities this summer including t-ball, invention camp, football, and swimming lessons. Haven't quite figured out how I'm going to get him to all of these activities, but much like life, we'll figure it out as we go!

Have a great weekend!

Bullies

Prior to May 23, 2007, I always talked to Alex and taught him the violence is not the answer. I made it VERY clear that I never wanted to see him punch, hit, slap, or push someone because there is always a better way to deal with anger other than through violence.

After Wednesday, however, I had to reevaluate what I was teaching him regarding physical strength. I received a call from the school saying that Alex fell and his cloths were very muddy. I said that I would run a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt to him ASAP. When I arrived at the school, the principle approaches me and said that he was taking care of it. Out walks my son, in tears, covered in mud, and holding an ice pack over the bump on his head. W*H*A*T??? Apparently, a kid in the first grade was being a bully to some of the kindergarten kids and Alex was one of his targets. Alex exclaimed that "he tried to get away from him". I had to keep swallowing the lump in my thought because I didn't want him to see me cry. "be strong be strong be strong be strong be strong". As the bully walks out of the office, I give him that look - the one that every mother has or needs to master - the one that makes any child regardless of age quiver in there underpants. I wanted to pick him up and say if you hurt my baby again -you'll be messing with me, but I didn't.

The kid was 1/3 of Alex's size! How in the heck did this happen? I told Alex to go change and we would talk when he was finished. I watched him walk to the bathroom still in tears over this ordeal. The principle had the child in his office punishing him with detention/no recess/no field-trip. Alex came out of the bathroom and I first asked him if he did anything to provoke this kid (I was already told he didn't by the teacher but I wanted to hear it from him). He said no and that this kid had picked on him before. Alex has never said a word about this kid to me and I've asked him specifically about things like this in the past. Then I went back on my previous "no violence" rule. I exclaimed that if a bully is picking on him or he witnesses a kid being physically bullied and he has tried to tell teachers or talk to the kid, he may have to use physical strength to grab the kid and bring him down. One left hook should take care of it....right? Yep - it's not my proudest mommy moment but I don't want my kid to grow up never knowing how to defend himself or other people who are being victimized. Isn't it our innate human reaction to fight back (fight or flight syndrome)....have I tried to completely reverse what nature hardwired our intuitions to be?

Well - I'm too tired and I have tons of homework to do yet to answer those questions right now. When I tucked him into bed tonight I suggested we pray for Tommy (not his real name) since he must be a terribly sad boy to be so mean. Alex closed his eyes and a few seconds later said DONE. I don't know what he prayed for - I hope it wasn't for Tommy to catch the chicken pox or something - but I guess that for he and God to work out. I asked Alex is Tommy had many friends, which Alex said no, and I also suggested that we invite him over to play sometime but Alex just looked at me like "don't push it mom"

Summer Goals

LEARN TO GOLF! This is number one on my list since Alex really enjoys golfing. I've only tried to golf once and the person I was golfing with said I looked like Olive Oyle - all legs and arms. This was a bit discouraging - true but discouraging.... but I'm determined to learn this summer. (Also consider this a PSI announcement for those of you golfing with or around me - you might want to wear a helmet to protect yourself)

Teach Alex how to fish without depending on any of my friends/family/or friends husbands I LOVE to eat fish but hate touching the slimy bastards! Ick - I'm cringing just thinking about this one.

Have a picnic with my friends. I really don't do this often enough. It seems that summer comes and goes and I rarely get time to just sit in the grass with my girlfriends and visit. Okay - maybe my new summer hat is motivating me on this one but it's really cute and it would look so darn good sitting on my head in the park.

Dunk my head under water I'm deathly afraid of water

Continue my devotions I'm a slacker in the summer when it comes to devotions. NEED TO CONTINUE DEVOTIONS!!!!

Alright - summer is only 3 months long so I think I have enough to keep me busy.

Much to say about nothing

Oh oh - someone has a case of the Monday's! I had SUCH an unproductive weekend. Alex went to visit his dad so Friday night, we gathered his belongings (and I mean virtually his entire room) and off we were to MN. On my way back, I stopped by my girlfriends house for a "quick visit" and ended chatting until 12:00a.m.! Her husband boggles at the concept that we can talk non-stop for that long, but seriously, there is rarely a gap in the conversation! Stacey is such a riot and a wonderful friend and I love her dearly.

So Saturday...I was going to finish the wallpaper project right? I slept until 11:00!! Yikes - I got up, put some sweats on, had a bowl of cereal and then I thought "well maybe I should get some homework done before the weekend is over". I must have only read a few pages before I feel BACK to sleep! I slept until 7:00p.m.! IS that even sleeping? At what point are you considered in a coma?

Oh - but the most exciting part of my weekend? I had a date on Sunday!!!! We had plans to see a movie and then go out for dinner afterwards. Okay - the date was Alex and we seen Shriek 3 and had lunch at Applebees but considered the rest of my weekend was spent sleeping, this was defiantly the high point of my weekend. The movie was good, but I think there was more adult humor that pushed the envelope at times. Alex loved the movie - of course Alex loves anything to do with "tooting" (which Shriek does quite a bit of) so it wasn't a tough sell for him. I was really surprised to see that a majority of the people at the theater were not children. There were lots of college/high school kids and adults.

One of those days

Last night was one of those nights that I swear I saw Alex’s head spin 360 degrees! I picked him up early and I anticipated an excited child who was eager to spend more quality time with his mom rather than being at the rec. center. Nope – I DRAGGED him to the car with him screaming that he wasn’t done playing basketball. I explained that I would be more than willing to play – but according to him I’m not very good.

So we made it home and he immediately was sent into a time-out. He’s crying and he knows that time-out doesn’t start until he’s quiet but he felt the need to get one more jab in – with the most determined voice a six-year-old can conjure, he says “I’m going to write a book someday and it’s going to be called God doesn’t like moms!!”

At least his goals of being an author are more ambitious than those of becoming a pirate. I wonder if he’ll dedicate it to me. Ah, the joys of motherhood.

Career Paths

Summer of 2006 (pre-kindergarten)
Mom - Alex, what do you want to be when you get bigger?
Alex - A doctor or a cop


Summer of 2007 (post-kindergarten)
Mom - Alex, what do you want to be when you get bigger?
Alex - A pirate


Is this what the No Child Left Behind act intended?
Oh well, either way he should be able to buy his mom a Harley Davidson some day - legality may be in question though.

ER Visit

We had fun night last night! The recreation center had “mass registration” for their summer activities last night so I showed up 15 minutes before registration began since the daycare Alex will be attending this summer wanted all the kids to be in the same session for swimming lessons and I thought 15 minutes would be PLENTY early to assure enough spots for the group. Well, it was but when I pulled up to the rec. center, it looked like an opening for a really hot night club. Seriously – parents were lined up outside the door! Anyway, it took about forty minutes to get him signed up for summer activities and well, I really didn’t feel like cooking – so we were off to McDonalds! Alex ate fine, but was complaining of a headache.

We arrived home and I gave him a bath hoping it would relive his headache. The house is a complete disaster right now because I’m ripping wallpaper from the walls in the dinning room. Alex hasn’t seemed bothered by the dust and the mess, but he kept coughing excessively last night. I told him to lie down and I would scratch his back (the usually “cure-all” remedy for Alex) but I noticed that his breathing was becoming more and more labored. After a few minutes he looked at me and was gasping for air. This was probably the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been through with Alex. He has had past problems with allergies, but he has never had the inability to breath. There was nothing I could do – it wasn’t as though he was choking or gagging - he couldn’t breath! I grabbed him and we were off to the emergency room. After a long night in the ER, the diagnosis was that he basically had an asthma attack that could have potentially been brought on by the dust and chemicals in the house from my wallpaper project. Nothing like adding some guilt to night!

To make the situation even more challenging, I called into work this morning to notify my employer that I was going to let Alex sleep for a few hours this morning since he didn’t get to bed until 2:30 this morning. Man – you would have thought that the place was going to collapse if someone had to cover for me. I’m fortunate to have a GREAT boss, but some other people have nothing better to do with their time but act as the anal police. I would LOVE nothing more than to rely on my family or a spouse to help with my sick child, but I can’t. I’ve been thinking more and more about moving back to the cities to be near my family, but right now I’m so close to being done with school and if I did move, I would end up repeating a lot of my classes. Oh well, I guess I’ll just continue to pray about it and hopefully make the right decision.

Need More Sleep.....

Yet another story for Alex to add to his book “My life with a crazy mother”

I’m beyond sleep deprived because of my finals. It’s been 3:00a.m. bedtimes and 6:00a.m. wake up times and for some people, three hours of sleep may be enough sleep – but it’s defiantly not enough for me. Last night, I gave Alex his bath and we snuggled in the living room to read “Walter the Farting Dog”. Apparently I can read this book in my sleep now because that’s just want I did….I fell asleep with Alex still sitting on my lap. Then next thing I knew, I woke up and Alex had apparently put a blanket on me and crashed on the floor beside me. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock – 8:12. CRAP!!!! (Pardon my French) Alex immediately looked at me and said “mom…that’s a bad word” I jumped up and ran to my bedroom to find some cloths to wear. Alex needs to be at school at 8:10 and I need to be to work by 8:00. Here’s what the conversation sounded like –

Alex – Mom, what are you doing?
Mom – Alex, you and mommy need to get dressed REALLY fast!!!!
Alex – Why?
Mom – Because we’re late!!!!
Alex – Late for what?
Mom – (getting frustrated that her cub is arguing with her – refer to the previous post) WE’RE LATE FOR SCHOOL AND WORK!
Alex – Why do I have to go to school?
Mom – (more frustrated) Alex, you need to go to school so you can receive an education. Education is important because the more knowledge you have, the more you can do for the world – that’s why we go to the bank every month and put money in your savings. NOW GET DRESSED!
Alex – But mom, why do I need to go two times in one day?

Yep – it was 8:12p.m.

Have you seen my child?

I’ve been madden about this since I picked Alex up from the community center tonight. Alex attends an after school program which is designed to keep kids involved and active after school until parents pick up their cherubs. I HATE BEING A WOTHM (working outside the home mother) more than you can image!!! I still get knots in my stomach knowing that I’m not the first one to hear about my son’s day when the school bell rings but I have accepted my role – if I didn’t put food on the table, we simply wouldn’t eat.

Alex loves going to the community center – he’s such a busy body and enjoys the gym/swimming/basketball/etc. The kids are dismissed from school at 3:10, then BUSSED (remember this fact for later) to the community center and I’m usually there at 4:30 to pick him up. Again, he gets on a BUS and rides to the community center – has been doing this all year now.

My stress level is maxed out this week as well. I had four economic papers due Monday, a final on Tuesday, two presentations on leadership and turnover rates for OB tonight plus an exam, another exam on Saturday and one more on Sunday and then ONE LAST OB final next Thursday and my last artsy final on Friday. Whew! Needless to say, we’ve been living off of cereal, yogurt, and pizza this week. AND PLEASE – if one “food expert” emails me to inform me of the havoc that I’m doing to my child’s body but providing such nasty foods…I’ll beat you to the punch - bad mom.

So, I leave work to quickly change into my suit for my presentation and run to pick up Alex so we can have super together before I jet off to class. I arrive at the community center and the director stops me at the door and informs me that Alex (who is age 6) WALKED WITH FOUR OTHER KINDERGARTNERS to the community center. It is like a mile long walk!!! If my head wasn’t so hot after hearing this I would have feel over. Oh, don’t worry she says, “I yelled at him and the other kids”. K – Good, he needs to be scolded especially considering he knows the routing of leaving the school and getting on the bus. I immediately explained the dangers of walking along, not telling anybody, etc and he just looked at me with a confused look to why my paranoia has evolved to what it is and say "but mom...the bus is bumpy and it hurts my butt!" I continue to explain to him how irresponsible it was to leave like he did.. BUT - ummmm….where was the supervision. Nobody seen a group of kindergarten children walking down the street from the school and stopped them to say…”hey, where are you kids going”? Needless to say I drove to the school and barked for awhile. UG – not what I needed before I had to give two presentations and take an exam over organization behavior tonight.

Amber created a posting awhile ago regarding unsupervised children wandering the streets at a young age without any apparent supervision and I immediately placed my size 10 foot in my mouth by saying “I KNOW….WHAT SORT OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARENT DOES THAT?” I’m sure that my mom was having a chuckle up in heaven when I said that. I can hear her now saying….that is what you get for being so overconfident Amanda! I guess I can now join Aisha and say “Jude Not, Lest Ye Be Judged” and if you would, please take a few seconds to look at the picture of Alex on my sidebar……waiting……..are you done looking at the picture…..got a good memory of those big ole blue eyes and blond hair? Good. If you see this child (or Aisha’s Alex wondering in his pj’s) they may not be doing this with their mommy’s approval. PLEASE CALL ME ASAP AND TELL ME! I’m working on installing a GPS system in the bands of his underwear in case this happens again. Between his gum dealing on the playground and now his walk around the neighborhood - it has been loaded week. OFFDA and TGIF!

40 Years of Marriage

We had a very special weekend! My aunt and uncle, Jerry & JoEllen, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. WOW – 40 years!!! Anyway, the local mental institution gave everyone in my family a weekend pass so Alex and I headed back to the Twin Cities for the party. My cousins (more like their wives) planed a surprise party for them and I have to say…they did a great job! Leave it to them to plan a SPECTACULAR party.

The evening started off with, of course, the big surprise. My cousin Joel and his fiancée Becky were in charge of getting Jerry & JoEllen to the party. They told them they would be picking them up around 5:30 for supper, but had no idea of what was going on after that. Jerry and Jo were COMPLETELY blown away – they had no idea of what was in store for them. Jo’s friend Joan made sure they had NO idea by calling Jo Saturday morning and asking her what their plans were. Jo just said they boys have something planed….maybe a train ride or something. Jo called me last week wondering if I wanted to come up for their church clothing sale (this is a sale that seen 26,000 people in the first two days) and reluctantly I said no telling her that I had other plans. heheheh. They were so stunned when the seen all of us at the party!

What a memorable party. I know that when my family gets together, there is an abundant of laughs, music, laughs, beer, food….and more laughs. I feel so blessed to have a family that doesn’t take life too seriously and I feel TONS better about myself and life after I get together with them. K – That didn’t come out exactly like I wanted but you get the picture. My stomach seriously hurt the next morning from laughing all night. We had an impromptu jam session to start the night off – another reason I’m blessed (some may say cursed rather than blessed) is that so many people in my family share a passion for music. From the time I was in diapers (no Dave/Tim/Joel it wasn’t last week) I remember music always being around my family. We played a few songs, had a few laughs, then the DJ started. The Horazuk gang sang Sweet Caroline (or something like it) in a key that had never been heard by human ears before. Way to go guys! Then we danced all night....waltz, polka’s, Texas two-stepping…and whatever it is that Cori and Lauren do (j/k girls). Alex was break dancing and doing the worm....he and I get bored at home way to often. I think the highlight for me was watching uncle Jer get up on the chair and dance to “I’m too Sexy for my shirt”. HA – and we got Jo out there for “I knew the bride when she use to rock n’ roll”. The night went by WAY too fast and soon, we had to say goodnight but not without dancing to what many describe us as…. B*A*N*N*N*A*N*S

Jerry and Jo have been such wonderful people to so many. I don’t even know where to begin when talking about how much the mean to me. They’ve picked me up so many times when I needed it and I could NEVER express how grateful and blessed I feel to have them in my life. They’ve always opened their home to whoever needed shelter, generous beyond belief, never took life too seriously, and always more concerned with everyone else then themselves. Jerry mentioned that JoEllen just always let him be himself in their marriage and I think that is what makes them such a special couple. On my way back to MD, I thought a lot about their marriage and all the years and what makes them work. I think what makes them such a great couple is that they are to each other what each one lacks. I hate quoting sappy movie lines… but they really do complete each other. Neither tried to change the other….they just lived.

I miss you guys more than you know and I just wanted (one more time) to say congratulations Jerry and JoEllen and here’s to many more years. Just please – no more reproducing. The world can’t handle another Tim, Dave and Joel!

Entrepreneur

Meet the next contestant for the Apprentice television show. Future entrepreneur Mr. Alex thought he could earn some side cash by selling sticks of gum for $2.00/pieces. I'm forcing him to give the money that he received back to the kids and according to him, some of the children had to write an IOU to him because they wanted a stick of gum. He is also forgetting those debters. I'm going to stop complaining about gas prices because if Alex were in charge, we might all be paying $20/gal.

God's Vision Through The Words of A Child

I had scheduled a portrait session for Alex and me at Estelle’s photography on Sunday. She was doing a mother’s day special and I had not had my portrait taken with Alex since he was two months old.

Well, his dad called on Thursday to say that he was heading back to the cities for work which means he won’t be able to see Alex as much so he was wondering if Alex could come down on Saturday. I agreed to it but explained to him that I would be picking Alex up pretty early Sunday morning since we had these pictures scheduled. I used to cry my eyes out when his dad would call because it was terribly difficult to be away from him for twenty-four hours, but to be honest; the break is sort of welcomed now. I knew I was ready for a bit of a break a few weeks ago when Alex was brushing his teeth in the bathroom and I barged in and stepped on the scale to weight myself. He (very innocently I understand) looked over and screamed “holly cow mom – you weigh like 1000lbs”. I just smiled and walked out of the bathroom but thought to myself “I wonder when your dad is going to call”.

Anyway – Sunday morning came and I picked him up at his dad’s and was surprised – no….more like horrified to see that his dad buzzed his hair. It wasn’t even a good buzz cut since he left the top all shaggy. It sort of resembles a really bad mohawk cut (as opposed to a really good mohawk cut?). I was disappointed because I wanted to pictures to turn out perfect. When I received the proofs, I was impressed with the quality of pictures she took but was bummed because the picture I liked the most had an imperfection – a shinning light in the background. However, I figured that I would just call her and see if she couldn’t remove the light.

As Alex and I were looking at them, he pointed to that picture and said “look at that light mom”. I responded with my snooty disappointed look and said “I know….I wish that light wasn’t there” He looked at me and said “maybe it’s God or something”. I smiled but had to walk away because his wisdom and insight made me feel inches high. First I was worried about a silly haircut on him and then I was so shallow that I looked right past the beauty of this picture and focused on the imperfection. It suppose to be my job as a mother to teach my child life lessons to prepare him for adulthood, but I think he teaches me more then I do for him. For the next few minutes I just sat there and cried and decided to order the picture with the light shinning through without changing a thing to it. .

I hope that someday I can see people and imperfections the way he does – through God’s eyes.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe

I was hoping to get some sleep tonight, but no can do. I'm convinced that I'm on my way to spinsterhood for sure now. TBS plays the syndicated "Friends" episodes and I don't know if any of my blogging buds remember the old man who lived below Monica and Rachel's apartment (the one who would tap on the roof with his broom). Well, I'm pretty sure I"m slowing becoming that old man. I living in a duplex and there are two guys who live in the apartment above me and I have the bottom two floors. Last week I had the flu bug and was so unbelievably crabby and usually the guys upstairs are soooo quiet, but that night I could hear everything. Anyway, I actually grabbed my slippers, threw on my bathrobe, and tapped on their ceiling with my broom handle!! I don't know what possessed me to do it....it just seemed like a logic move at the time. The next morning I was feeling healthier, but very embarrassed.

Tonight I was trying to read and I don't know what they were doing up there but as much noise as they were making, I can only assume they were square dancing or bowling. Anyway, I grumbled to myself "those kids are always making so much racket". The minute the words came out of my mouth, I forced myself to watch MTV for 30 minutes. UG! I'm sure glad that Alex will build an extra wing to his house someday so I can live with him and his future wife and kids. Yep, I'm either going to be the old man from Friends or the mother from Everyone Loves Raymond!

REAL MUMS

I’ve been tagged by Aisha so here we go! These are my thoughts on being a real mum. They may not all apply to you, but they pretty much describe me. (Please don’t call social services after reading my list)

Real Mums…..

Are more concerned with building a “home” rather than having a “house” for her child

Can no longer remember what color her refrigerator is because it’s plastered with her child’s artwork

Are okay with hearing “I want to live with my daddy” because it just affirms she’s doing her job disciplining and creating boundaries for her child

Don't understand the concept behind dry-clean only baby cloths - or children's cloths for that matter

Will read “Walter the Farting Dog” just ONE more before shutting off the lights because she loves to hear her child giggle

Have DRAGGED her KICKING AND SCREAMING child out of a store before because he/she really didn’t need another toy or a candy bar

Have purchased a toy or a candy bar for her child while shopping because her back still hurts from the week before when she dragged her child kicking and screaming child from the store

Finds a bowl of cereal and yogurt a perfectly suitable meal for supper

Keep deodorant in her car because she sometimes forgets to put some on before leaving the house.

Has had co-workers point out that she has spit-up on her blouse because she was completely oblivious to it

Sold a box of parenting books written by “EXPERTS” on EBay for $20 because they’re a load of CRAP

And finally…

REAL mums sometime wonder what it would be like if she weren’t a mum, but WOULD NOT trade being a mum for the world

Happy Easter?

Well, it was a very happy Easter, just not a very healthy one. Alex was feeling great on Saturday! My girlfriend Stacey and her two younger boys, Jasper and Jonah, drove to our house Saturday afternoon and the boys played for a couple of hours before coloring Easter eggs. They somehow managed to rearrange the furniture in Alex’s room without Stac and I hearing them in the next room. According to the ring leader - AKA Alex M. Lindner - they were attempting to reach the toys that were in storage by moving the dresser to the wall, then moving the bed to the dresser so they could climb aboard. (I’m still puzzled to how they moved all of his furniture….do they have Jedi powers?) The youngest one took at nose dive to the floor before we figured out what was going on in the other room! It's so much fun having them around though! Jasper and Alex get along wonderfully and Jonah...well Jonah just cracks me up! Nothing really bothers this kid too much and he definatly gives his mom and dad a run for their money. He's very lucky to have two great parents! Then on Sunday morning, Alex woke up aboutt 6:00 with a headache. I was in complete denial that he could be sick on a holiday were my dad was going to take us out for brunch. Unless we head to Minneapolis, I end up cooking for my family and I hate cooking so I was thinking that his little headache must pass. WRONG ~ he started vomiting which induces me to vomit…ug! I think I’m missing that gene that mother’s are suppose to have that enables them to swoop in and clean vomit while comforting their young ones at the same time. Whenever Alex gets sick, I spend a ridiculous amount of time contemplating on the serious health risk of just covering the vomit up with a newspaper rather than cleaning it up because I knew that I too will soon be kissing the porcelain. Anyway (TMO) I defiantly knew we were going nowhere today when he walked right past his Easter basket on his way back to bed and just said “look mom” in the most pitiful voice. So dad still came down to Madison, but we just had a small brunch at my place. We watched Easter service on cable television and Alex and I curled up in a blanket for most of the day. My dad brought down three of my guitars and serenaded us for awhile. I have so many wonderful childhood memories of listening to my dad play guitar and it makes me so happy when Alex experiences my dad’s talents as well.

So we watched Charlotte’s Web this afternoon and read a book titled “God’s Love at Easter” both of which were in his Easter basket. I loved the book “Charlotte’s Web” and thought the movie was super cute. Best line from the movie was when the horse sticks his neck outside and says “WHAT THE HAY”! HA – cracks me up.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful and happy Easter!!!

Left foot....left?

Yes, he inherited my gracefulness! I receive and email from Alex’s kindergarten teacher saying that he had a mark on his forehead from an accident earlier that day. I’m thinking that it’s a little scratch but nope – he has a big ole egg on his forehead. I asked him how it happened and he said that he was running at recess and tripped over Hannah. You tripped over Hannah? I understand tripping over a kindergartener if you’re like 7 feet tall….but when your only four feet from the ground yourself, how do you trip over a body laying on the ground? YEP – defiantly my son!

Later that night we went to the community center for their underwater Easter egg hunt. Alex had a lot of fun swimming around collecting eggs. The kids received cute little goodie bags that included hats, pencils, stickers, and candy after they were finished. Here are a few pictures from our night. When I was putting him to bed tonight, I asked him if he knew why I loved him. He looked at me and said “because I’m smart, funny, nice, cute, snuggly, I have a nice smile, I listen, I clean my room”….he mentioned a few more other items of admiration but I think we’ll stop there. I think he feels pretty good about himself and confident in the reasons he is loved. And I was worried he would say no, why you love me?

Mini-Me

Nope – no DNA test needed to tell Alex is my son (and his grandfather’s grandson for that matter). He crawls in bed with me at 6:00 this morning and was in such a chatty mood. He covered just about everything in his 6-year-old world. We talked about school, anticipation for Easter to arrive, to how he thinks he’s ready for a new bike. My first thought was, hmm, maybe I should start him with a blog so he has somewhere to vent all of these opinions/musings. He goes on to tell me about his weekend with his dad and how it is “funner” with his cousin Trinity there. I tell him that “funner” is not a word and he should instead say that it is more fun with Trinity there. Rather than just taking my wisdom and adhering to my knowledge of the English language he argues with me!!!! Mrs. Lee says it’s a word….I’ve ALWAYS used that word…..It’s in the dictionary…..this little argument went of for about five minutes until I realized that it’s 6:00a.m. and I’m arguing with my 6-year-old son regarding the fictional word “funner”!

So why is the post titled mini-me? I had to laugh when driving to work this morning because I could think of so many times where I knew I was wrong but had to find some way to justify my train of thought. I totally get this from my dad! We’ll admit when we’re wrong, but will usually follow it with some far fetched reasoning. For example, the “funner” conversation would have ended by Alex explaining that “funner” is slang and if 24/7 could be added to the Webster’s dictionary, then why not “funner” (I’m not saying this is so, I’m just making a point to our arrogance) He destined for a life in politics or law…..whatever it is, it’s certainly not a grammar teacher.

Update

The test went great! Thank you all for your prayers – you’re the bomb!

I hate to call people on stupid comments because I’ve been known to make a few stupid comments as well but this girl in my class last night takes the cake. The professor was commenting that we would not be having class next Thursday night because of Easter. The gal sitting next to me leans over as asks “Does Eater fall on a Thursday this year?” I didn’t have the patience or time to go into it with her so I just said no; Eater falls on a Sunday this year.

Since I’m on the education thing, I should share an Alex story. When I woke him up for school this morning, he protest “mom, I’m not going to school today!” He sounded pretty serious so I asked what his reasons where. He sits up in his bed, throws his arms in the air and says “They even want us to write SENTENCES now”! Can you believe that? What next? ;)

Have a great weekend everybody!

Jesus Paid it All

My faith has been challenged lately. Devotions, meditating, praying, church….they all felt like actions/task rather than worship. I have been praying that I get that fire in my heart. I’m sure that I’m probably just in a rut, but it is none the less frustrating. This is a very busy week for me and I’m going on about 12-hours of sleep. I have an organizational behavior exam tomorrow night, four macroeconomics papers due by Saturday and three art history papers due by Saturday. Oh and there is that 4-footer with big blue eyes and blond hair who keeps calling me mom. I tell myself “Amanda, put it on the cross and let God take control” but over and over I find myself stressing about things I have no control over and I don’t know why this is such a challenge for me.

Anyway, after putting Alex to bed tonight, I cracked the books ASAP. About 10:00 I decided that I needed a 15 minute break (that was about an hour ago) and decided to check out some blogs. I came across this video and I think it was just what I needed so I hope you all have time to check it out. I have tears running down my check after the first few seconds of the video. What a great reminder that Jesus paid for our sins and we are all given hope and salvation through him. It's difficult to soak it all in sometimes.

Okay ~ I have to hit the books but if you have time, lift up a prayer for an A on my exam Thursday night! ;)

Whew - What a Weekend

We actually had a pretty uneventful weekend, but it still went by pretty fast. For those of you who don't know the new PS2 rule in the house, the PS2 is a weekend only toy. I wanted to have Alex's pictures taken on Friday night so I picked him up from the community center, dressed him up in his Sunday best, argued with him for 20 minutes on tucking in his shirt, and off we were. The photographer was great - she new just how to get Alex to smile! After having a 50-minute conversation about burbs and other potty humor, Alex was about in tears from laughing so hard. In her book, she even tilted him "Farty Alex". Alex and I then went out for supper since he looked so nice. No dirt, no mud, no food on the face - it was defiantly a moment to capture. Saturday, however, it was one of those days for him. He had the PS2 taken away for the morning after about 10 minutes for talking back which pretty much set the tone for the day. Have you ever had one of those days were you don't even want to leave the house with the fruits of your womb? Thankfully Sunday was a much better day. He played Veggie Tales PS2 game before going to Sunday School and he even thought Veggie Tales would be an appropriate substitute for church but we went anyway. After lunch, I did play Lego Star Wars with him and then we were outside for the afternoon. We played baseball, made our best attempt at skateboarding, rode bike, and walked down to Pizza Hut for supper since he has a bunch of those book-it slips to "cash in". While waiting for our food, we had a pretty interesting conversation. On the paper place mats, there were a set of questions that I thought would be fun to ask Alex but I not sure how to interpret his answers -

Mom - If you were a wild animal, which animal would you be?

Alex - A bear so I can sleep lots

Mom - If you had a million dollars, what would you buy?

Alex - A house and a car

Mom - A house and a car? Would you live by yourself?

Alex - Yes

Mom - Where would mom live?

Alex - Mom, why do you think I got the car? I don't even have a drivers licence!

Mom - (moving on) If you were the president for the day, what would you do?

Alex - I would destroy the city

Mom - the city of Madison? What about me?

Alex - Mom - you're living in the car!

Mom - What about your friends, What about my friends?

Alex - Well everybody would be safe expert *Bob (not real name) because he said that I have a baby backpack

Mom - (moving on again) If you had one wish, what would you wish for?

Alex - Root Beer
*Side note - I wouldn't let Alex have root beer with his pizza

Mom - If you were isolated on a deserted island, what one possession would you bring?

Alex - your cell phone so I can call you to tell you I'm on the island.

Such logic!

Update from last post

Dr. Apt - $60
X-Rays - $200
Look on mom's face when doctor tells her that it's probably just growing pains - Priceless!

Puzzled Mom

My son woke up yesterday complaining that his leg hurt. I usually take his aches and pains with a grain of salt since his is a bit of a hypochondriac, but he kept limping on it throughout the day so I’m going to take him to the doctor this morning. He said that his knees and hips hurt. This if coming from a boy who at the age of four told me that he couldn’t go to preschool because he had arthritis. He is an old man trapped in a 6-year-old body. We had to wait for the dr. apt, however, since the school sent off the boy’s basketball team this morning. The fire truck swung by the school so the elementary kids could wave and wish them good luck. Alex and I bought some “spirit beads” yesterday and Alex said “mom, the basketball team is playing far away….I think California but can we go”? California or bust baby!

Wrestling Tournament

Madison had a wrestling tournament last night just for the kids in Madison. Since this was Alex's first year, I wasn't going to enter him into any tournaments. I just wanted him to see what the sport is about, have some fun with his friends, and get some exercise. After talking to a few parents who said their kids learned the most from tournaments, I thought I would let him wrestle in this one since it was with his schoolmates thinking it would be a pretty safe environment - not competitive. Let me give you some insight to Alex - he's a lover, not a fighter. Alex lives to make other people laugh and is a very tender kid. I've always taught him that getting physical with someone is unnecessary and I usually get after him if he is being too aggressive with someone (which I sort of regret because he can be a little too sensitive). So basically the sport of wrestling is a bit out of his element, but I had hoped that it would give him some "tougher skin" if that makes sense. The first match was TERIBLE! The kid slammed him to the ground and you could just see his eyes filling up with tears. He hung in there continuing to get plowed to the mat for the remaining time (the longest minute in the history of time) walked off the mat and just cried. "MOM - he is so much bigger than I am and he's in second grade and I'm only in Kindergarten...that's not fair" I sat there with him for a few minutes telling him that he did his best and reminded him of David and Goliath which he immediately pointed out if David had to wrestled Goliath, he would have lost too. The coach came over to comfort him and encouraged him to get out there and try again. An HOUR later, he was ready to try again and this time, he did much better. He even "won" that match. He came running over to me and was so proud of himself. The kid who he wrestled was running after him to shake hands. What a good sport! Anyway - it was a good learning experience and I have to say that I was VERY impressed with the coach’s patience and encouraging words. I don’t think that I would have been able to get Alex out there again without the coach’s influence. In the end, all of the varsity wrestlers lined up and the kids walked through the “tunnel” and gave high-fives to them and the kids all received medals at the end of the line.