Aaron On Housekeeping and Hormones

Aaron, upon walking into the kitchen and finding it clean:

"Sweeeeeet...you did the dishes!"

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Aaron, after listening to me vent to Troy (over the phone) about Cameron's general poor attitude and pre-pubescent sulking:

"I used to be the bad* one...and now it's Cam. Cool, huh?"


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Aaron dropped an open bottle of pills and they scattered across the kitchen floor. He and I were down on hands and knees looking near the baseboards and using a flashlight to look under the stove. It shone on crumbs and dustbunnies, a juicebox straw and general nastiness.

"Eeeewwwww," I said, "Aaron, this is gross...I'm sorry it's such a pigsty."


"That's okay...we're used to it."

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After an emotional outburst from Cam, complete with stomping feet and a dramatic exit (the hormones, people, the hormones!!!!), Aaron asked,

"What's up with Cam?"

"He's going through a hard time."

"He's being a jerk*."

"No, he's just having some grumpy pre-teen feelings."

"I'm gonna go with jerk* on this."

And I quietly thought in a whispery voice, "Okay, me too."

(Just kiddin'. Cam! Even for a grumpy tween, I think you're great! Super, even. Mama just needs to give you a little space to spread your wings, huh? But in case I forget, cut me a little slack, okay?)

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Disclaimer: I have never ever ever called anyone in the family "bad", "jerk", or any other name. Ever.

Happy Birthday, Aaron

Nine years old! How did that happen?

Here we are on Aaron's Gotcha Day - he was two days old. Nope, can't even describe how it feels to be chosen, to be given a baby. For once I really don't have any words that seem adequate, but I think the picture tells it pretty well.

Aaron's hair was slicked down tight - and I mean really, really tight.

The next morning, we found out why...

Oh, my!!!
We got the hair thing (somewhat) under control...and then his head...um... his head started...growing.


And growing...


And growing...

(this is just about my most favorite picture ever!)

Oh Aaron,

We've had some moments like this:

hopefully, more of this:
a lot of this: (we're camping...I don't wear makeup or wash kids' faces)
and this:
and this:

and definitely a lot of this...


Aaron, you are so loved. You make me laugh, you make me want to be a better Mom, you make me proud, you make me a little crazy sometimes, and you make me feel loved.


Every single day, you make me happy.

Love, Mom

Birthmom Sabrina, Aaron, and me - how lucky are we?

Happy Birthday Aaron!!!

Fallen Woman

Don't you think that 39 years old is just too old to be falling off your bike and getting all scraped and scabby?

Yeah, me too.

For Mother's Day, I got my bike shoes and clips that allow me to fasten my feet right on to the pedals. I click them into place and it gives me a more powerful and efficient push/pull action. It makes for a fabulous ride. However, if I don't get them clicked out of the pedals before I come to a stop...I will fall. Hard.

It hurts.

On the bright side, I imagine that it looks hilarious.

It also got me tons of sympathy from the little kids I read with at the school. They felt so bad for me and in a show of empathy, pushed up their pant legs and sleeves to reveal their own scabby scrapes. They wondered why an adult would fall off her bike.

I tried to explain about the shoes and the clips and how I was stuck to my bike and couldn't put my feet down (!), but they didn't get it. They just think I'm a klutz.

I'm trying not to pick at it.

Good grief...this happened clear last week. I'm much better at unclicking my feet now. I even went on a big ol' 36 mile bike ride last weekend! More on that (and with pictures!) later.

Movie Actor Movie

Good morning!

Starting the game off with:

Terms of Endearment
(can you watch this and not cry?)

Go.

A Bad Morning. A Very Bad Morning.

I called Troy the other day (he was in San Francisco) and asked how he was doing.

"I had a really bad morning."

Now generally speaking, even when Troy thinks that he's had a bad morning, it doesn't even compare to what I have to go through in my mornings. I'm the one waking up sleepy, grumpy boys, checking backpacks and finding unfinished homework, digging to find socks and favorite pairs of shorts in the piles of laundry, dealing with Aaron's moods, breakfast for all and trying to be out the door (with everyone happy) on time. Even on the best of mornings, it gets a little stressful. On the worst mornings, at least two out of the three of us are in tears.

So sorry, Troy. Your "bad" mornings are usually about a load not being ready on time and you having to wait. Or finishing your book on tape and not having another one to listen to. Or getting all worked up over the subject on your talk radio. Or when it's only 70 degrees instead of the balmy 75 that you are used to in San Francisco. Yessiree, your mornings can be tough.

But since I love him, I asked why his morning was so bad.

"I was coming out of a parking lot that had a steep driveway, and my trailer got stuck at the top."

"What?"

"My trailer got high-centered."

"Your 53 foot trailer...got high-centered?"

"Yes."

"BWAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHEHE! HEEHEEHEEHEE!"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the reaction that everyone has."

In defense of my extreme enjoyment of this story, no one was hurt, and it didn't cost us any money. Troy called a towing company and after being quoted nearly $600 to fix the situation, he decided to just wait for another driver from his company to show up and pull him off the hill. The only cost there was having to hear the driver laugh (and laugh and laugh) and then pass on this awesome story to everyone at Troy's company.

Turns out, Troy was right.

He did have a bad morning.

Movie Actor Movie

Good morning! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Thanks for starting off your week with a little Movie Actor Movie.

Pulp Fiction

Go.

In Training

A few weeks ago, the instructor in my weightlifting class was leading us in some abdominal work- all kinds of killer crunches and obliques, core strengthening, etc. - all the while urging us to "pull in your abdominals, keep your lower back on the floor, pull your belly button in." And we'd lift and reach, chin to our chests, grunting (maybe that's just me) and counting down.

Then she casually mentions,

"You've got to make sure you are pulling in your abdominals as hard as you can...if you don't, you can actually train those muscles to stick out. If your abdominals are pushing out while you're doing these crunches, they will go out instead of in."

Excuuuuuuuse me? Stick out?????

Shoot.

Me.

Now.

Hey Flinders, No Flinders, Come On We Got to Go Flinders. Believe Us We're Your Friends

I planned a perfect spring evening for the family. Troy was home, the house was clean enough, the homework was done enough, the weather was warm enough, everyone was in a good mood, and by golly I wanted to go out and have some fun.

We waited for Cam to get home from play practice and then we were going to head over to the tennis courts. The boys have been taking some lessons and they really enjoy it, Troy and I both love it, so with the promise of an Arctic Circle cone on the way home, we thought we had the perfect evening planned. Good old-fashioned family time.

And then Cam called from the school.

"I'm staying here to play with my friends, okay?"

"Noooooo, come home. We're going to play tennis! The whole family!"

"But I've been in school all day and then play practice. I want to be with my friends."

Seriously, the last time I checked, his friends are also at school and play practice.

"Come on, Cam, this will be fun...we'll get ice cream afterwards..."

"Please, Mom, please????? I just want to stay here. The weather's finally good enough to play football. I just want to be with my friends!"

I handed the phone to Troy and they had pretty much the same conversation. Before they even finished, I mouthed "Fine...let him stay...we're still going." Troy told him to call us so we'd know when he'd made it home.

We stared at each other. It's happened. No matter how cool I think we are (and we are!!), no matter how many cones we buy or how many perfect, fun-filled evenings of tennis we plan, he will want to be with his friends.

Not us. His friends.

( now this is how I know that Troy is the perfect man for me.)

If there had been an orchestra, the music would have swelled. Troy and I both started singing!

(wait a minute...could this be why Cam doesn't want to hang with us???)

Whatever. The lyrics came out, choppy in places, but we clung to each other and sang the song for every parent with a child who is feeling the pull of friends over family.

(oh, and apologies to Mr. de Axevedo if a lyric is wrong, and a thank you for writing the music score for my life.)

When he was just a little boy
Things were different then...
With eyes of trust he looked to us
To lead the way...

Always bringing us his fears
We could wipe away his tears
But things were different then
For he was just a little boy...

The years have passed
Like summer dew upon the grass
The little boy that held our hands
Grew up so fast...

There was a time he loved us
The way we love him now...
But growing up
Has changed it all...somehow...

Tell me that you remember this!

We laughed it off ('cause music cheers the heart), went and played tennis, had a great time with Aaron, and came back to Cameron, who was now wishing that he'd gone with us instead. We ate our cones in front of him.

Score one (I think) for the family. Fifteen/Love

Aaaaaaaghhhh! This growing up thing is hard! And Cam has great friends - seriously, I couldn't ask for better. They aren't like the those hooligans from Saturday's Warrior, dancing around in leather, growing their hair and planning a trip to California for their "Summer of Fair Weather" ('cause I know a place, where we can get it together....). Now that was a rough crowd!

Nope, his friends are good. I shouldn't have a problem with this at all. It's just hard to let go of my little boy. I have a friend who will be sending her son off to college by the first of next year, and I get a knot in my stomach just listening to her talk about it.

I wish I could hold onto my boys forever.

But since I can't (and I'm sure eventually I wouldn't want to) I'm just grateful to have a husband who remembers the words and will sing with me.

How Stimulating...

So...anyone have their Economic Stimulus Payment yet? Have you mentally spent it, getting ready to do your part to stimulate the economy, or are you holding on tight and putting it in a savings account?

I want to do a little of both.

I like the peace of mind that comes with having a cushion-y little savings account. My income dries up at the end of the school year and it would be nice to have some money saved to carry us through the summer vacations, birthdays, and hello - our 20th anniversary in September.

Or we might just have to use it to buy gas.

Or rice.

****Speaking of rice...when I heard that it was being rationed (!) at Sam's Club, I worried and stressed for a short while. I wanted to search all over the valley and get a big supply. Rice, RICE!!! We must have rice!! But then I realized that we have enough - we don't even eat a lot of rice. Whew. I don't have to spend my Economic Stimulus Check on rice. Crisis averted. ****

Oh, there are so many things to do with this good-sized chunk of change. We could throw it all into the yard, landscaping and such. The boys need new bikes. Ramping up my food storage would bring some peace of mind. Summertime and Bear Lake vacations are coming up. That pesky credit card. The balance with my podiatrist. A new dishwasher. Laser hair removal for my underarms. New mattresses for everyone. Hiring the Dog Whisperer.

What to do, what to do?

The sensible me says to put it away and pad that savings account. Gas and food might be getting even pricier, and who knows when the next major car repair will be needed.

A savings account is good.

Spending is...um...more fun.

I remain undecided.

What are your plans for your Economic Stimulus Payment?

Movie Actor Movie

Oh my. Back to back games of Movie Actor Movie because I've been, well, busy. Spring is here, tennis is calling, the yard is nagging at me, the bike is beckoning, and the writer's strike is over. What can I say...I've been neglecting the blog.

But all of that aside, I'm still up for a game today, so I'll start things off with:

Apollo 13

Go.