Monday Was Better Than Sunday

I'm so excited to have received this book from Booksneeze.  

Not only does its delivery combine my love of books and non-bill related mail, I have high hopes it will help me not raise a Miley Cyrus.  I'm not sure G is as excited as I am.  She said, "It doesn't have a chapter on punishment, does it?".  Of course not.  Well, probably not.  I don't know- I haven't read it yet.  All I need to punish G is to take away her phone or make her hug a sister or something. 

E had a follow up appointment with her ENT to check her ear tubes.  While we waited, she let me take her picture.  It started out cute. 

Then she started chair dancing and it was funny.

Then it just got weird.

Sadly, E's doctor missed this spectacle.  She did, apparently, get to witness ear tubes clogged up with ear wax.  So clogged, it was pointless to check her hearing.  Gross.  We'll have to use some drops to clear it up and then come back in a couple of weeks.  Awesome.  I love taking time off from work to do the same appointment twice (eye roll).  At least I'll get to see more of E's sweet moves.  

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend

Okay, it wasn't the worst weekend in the world.  No one died or was injured (though I did consider it), but it was unusually bad.  I'm not sure what happened with S on Saturday, but from waking up to falling asleep she was a nightmare.  Yelling, crying, door slamming- this was not the sweetie pie we usually see.  She insisted that G play school with her, and the entire time they "played" she was a mean, cranky bossy-pants. G gets some pleasure out of antagonizing her little sisters, so her "sorry, S" while giggling was not quite believable.  S told G to stop humming because it was annoying, and G said, "Your mom's annoying."  (We are Napoleon Dynamite fans and use Kip's line "Your mom goes to college" in numerous, disturbing ways.) Well, that just set S off again and we had to have an intervention.  She eventually calmed down but she was prickly until she fell asleep watching a movie.

Whatever S had Saturday, I am pretty sure I had it Sunday.  If you have ever lived with other people, perhaps you can relate.  I can walk around for days, if not weeks, and tolerate a certain level of clutter. Then one day, I just can't take it one more second and anyone who created the clutter is in my cross hairs.    How am I the only person who sees toys strewn all over the floor, dirty cups left out, or (most annoying) bits of trash two inches away from the freaking trash can?! Toys and books get left in the middle of the floor. On eo four dogs, Biscuit, likes to chew up both so then I have to pick up bits of toy or paper strewn around my room or under my bed.  I am so sick and tired of cleaning up after other people.  I may have yelled.  Okay, I yelled.  I follow The Orange Rhino and I try to yell a lot less, but I was at the end of my rope.  I felt guilty and like a terrible parent.  On the plus side, the girls cleaned the playroom and their bathroom and we all ate cookies.  At the end of a long, trying weekend, the girls had the audacity to gang up on me and tell they want another little sister/brother.  I have never been so happy for a Monday morning to roll around.

Mother/Daughter Book Club

I leave today for a work trip to North Carolina.  The flight from Atlanta will be short, but I'll probably have hours to kill just waiting in the airport.  Given a choice of sitting at my gate two hours early and running through the terminal to make my flight- let me just say I frequently have time to eat a meal, run down the battery on my phone and use the bathroom seven times while waiting to board.

I wasn't able to run to the library so I asked G if she had any books I might enjoy.  Dumb question- G brought me a stack of books.  She strongly recommended Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  I passed because I've seen the movies and isn't that good enough?  G said, "You should really read these.  You never remember who the characters are or the plot.  It's not good, Mom".  Sad face. I still passed.  I know lots of grown people love these books, but I am not reading these tween books in public.  Sorry.  Another suggestion was a book on little known facts about U.S. Presidents.  It sounded cool until G read me an example that some President (John Adams?) liked to skinnydip.  PASS.  And eww.  

These are the three books I chose as possibilities.

Chew On This chronicles the evils of fast food.  Maybe it will compel me to eat in a more healthy manner (AKA fewer delicious french fries).  Museum of Thieves is about, well, after reading the back I am still not sure what it is about but it has potential.  Finally, The Space Tourist's Handbook gives advice on what to expect when traveling in space (as if).  I have a feeling the section titled "How to Appear Sane in the Psychological Exam" will be of most practical use for me.  And my new issue of "Allure" because, come on, I need to keep with trends in makeup I rarely wear and fall fashions I probably won't get around to buying.  A girl can dream... 

I Love Technology

As Kip so eloquently sings in Napoleon Dynamite, I love technology.  It admittedly freaked me out a bit to have a child old enough to carry a cell phone, given how ridiculously young I seem. (Young- immature, potato- patattah, people)  However, texting has opened a whole new world for me.  I've trained G to text me when she's bored waiting on the bus after school.  She thinks she is burning up time, but secretly it helps me keep tabs on when her bus is on the move. Side note- if anyone ever hacks our texts, there may be some disturbing conversations.  And inappropriate use of emoticons.  And maybe some yo mama jokes.  It's also an easy way to talk to people without actually having to talk to them.  Or get up.  I may or may not have also texted Hubs to bring me a cup of milk upstairs.  In my defense, I was cozy in bed and he was going to walk right through the kitchen when he came home.

The downside of texting is that G texts ALL THE TIME.  She and her BFF JP text in the morning before school starts, and all evening until bedtime.  Keep in mind they have four classes together at school.  What the heck are they talking about all the time?! We went to dinner Friday night and every time I looked over at G, she was giggling at her phone.  I told Hubs it was like JP came to dinner with us, but we didn't have to pay for his food.  I hope for his parent's sake that JP also has an unlimited texting plan.

The younger girls obviously don't have phones, but they can work a laptop or iPad like a pro.  Even my four year old can get to her shows on Netflix without help.  Thank goodness for Netflix- it entertains my girls when I need time to clean, or put away laundry, or possibly veg out watching HGTV alone in my room.  The shows they watch are perfectly normal kid shows, which means they are like torture to me.  They watch the same crap for days then switching to a different kind of crap.  I've been forced to hear the theme song to "A.N.T. Farm", "Shake It Up", and some weirdo Australian mermaid show hundreds of times in a month.  If you aren't familiar with these shows, count yourself very lucky.  I guess the trade off for kids being entertained is the grownups want to jam an icepick in their ears.  However, it is a price I am willing to pay for a hour's worth of peace.  Well played, Netflix kids zone.

Birthday Weekend

Friday was my 37th birthday.  To celebrate, I took the day off from work and headed into Atlanta to Scott's Antique Market.  I have desperately wanted to go to this monthly market for three years but the weekends kept getting booked up with nonsense.  Like we really need to buy groceries or spend quality family time together.  Sheesh.  What better time to go than my birthday?  With my complimentary birthday Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato in hand (super yum), my socks were immediately blown off.  Beautiful accent tables, fine art, jewelry and rugs as far as the eye could see.  Immediate love.

I would love this bench in our front entry way.  I'm a sucker for the church pew look- have no idea why given how extremely uncomfortable it is to sit on a wooden church pew for an hour.

And this table would look fab almost anywhere. There were tons of similar tables with marble, wood or metal tops.  

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to bring any of these treasures home, though I am pretty sure I spent thousands of dollars in my head.  I'm already plotting how to get Hubs to go next month.

In what is simultaneously kind of cute and a giant pain in the butt, S's birthday is the day after mine.  The only gift she wanted from us was an American Girl doll.  No real shopping or gift wrapping?  Done.  We drove into Alpharetta for an early dinner at American Girl Bistro and to let S pick her doll.  If you have never experienced the American Girl store and/or bistro, everything is pink.  There are high chairs for the dolls and if a kid doesn't have a doll, you can borrow one for the meal.  You aren't going to get out of there for less than $15 a person and you'll hear the "Happy Birthday" song approximately twenty-eight times.  S and the girls liked it and it was perfectly fine, but not how I would choose to spend my Saturday night.  S was thrilled to get her doll's ears pierced (seriously).  They took the doll into a back room and brought her out with earrings jammed in a minute later.  It was kind of creepy.  What goes on in that room?  I assume seeing how they pierce ears would be too traumatizing for small children to witness.  Regardless, it made S very happy and I am pleased to report that she is still playing with her doll two days later.  : )  Thank God there isn't another birthday until November.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

For some reason, my 11 year old doesn't appreciate my annual singing of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" while we walk through the school supply section of any store.  I love everything about the girls starting back to school: the smell of new pencils, fresh notebooks, the classroom newsletters every Friday.  I especially love the feeling of order and routine.  I work full-time, so even in the summer they are gone all day at camp.  However, to keep up the "fun factor", summer camp likes to switch it up every day with a field trip or water day.  On school days, it is a simple eat breakfast, brush your teeth and get out of here kind of morning.

These sassy girls started school back yesterday.  I cannot believe I have a middle school-er, a second grader and a pre-K-er.  I was a little sad to see even the baby go off to a real structured class, but then I thought about how much money I am saving by her attending a free-ish pre-K program and I felt better (thanks, Georgia lottery).  I've been the most "emotional" about G starting sixth grade.  I'm so proud of her and excited for her, but part of me wants to scoop her up and make her snuggle me again.  (She won't- I've tried.)  In the last couple of weeks, she has gotten her first cell phone and contacts so she just seems so much older to me now.  She's also riding the school bus for the first time.  I know millions of kids do that every day, but it is a big deal to me.  So much independence!  She's probably going to move into her own apartment any day now.

G came home really jazzed up about her first day and it sounds like it went really well.  The cafeteria has a salad bar!  Yay!  She spent all day with best friend then came home and texted him all evening. Yay!  Middle school is a really weird balance of figuring out how much can I influence her and how much does she need to make her own decisions.  For example, I think she would be well served to take Spanish as an elective; she is more interested in music technology.  Not major life decisions, but we are clearly entering new territory.  Scary, scary territory.  As long as she is happy, keeps her grades up, and keeps rolling those eyes when I ask about any cute boys, mama is happy.  : )

Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron- Book Review

I'm not generally a big fan of Christian fiction, but Chasing Francis piqued my interest.  First of all, I love the cover (I'm a bit of a cover snob).  Second of all, the story takes place largely in Italy- sign me up! Chasing Francis is the story of Pastor Chase Falson, the leader of a megachurch in New England.  After a tragedy, Chase has a huge crisis of faith...in front of his entire church.  The church elders "invite" Chase to take some time off to reassess his commitment to God and the church.  With few options, Chase goes to visit his uncle, a Franciscan priest in Italy.  He begins a reluctant study of Saint Francis of Assisi that quickly becomes a huge revelation for Chase.  Ian Cron weaves the life of Francis of Assisi throughout Chase's story in a really interesting way.  The supporting characters add a lot of depth, and Chase's struggle is so realistically described, I was really rooting for him to find happiness and peace.  I highly recommend this book.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.