In-laws, naps and blogging.

Well, it is 11:30 here in Conroe, TX. I left Ritchey at home for the long weekend. Boys have 3 days off for Mardi Gras break,(only in LA!) which is a 5 day weekend in case you're not good with math, which means 5 days of nothing to do but clean up messes, listen to fights, say no to video games all day and just kinda be bored out of our mind. So off we went to the in-laws, the land of all things perfect and wonderful. Ritchey has to work, but really this is the best present I could ever give him. I even stocked the fridge and only left 2-3 things on a honey do list for him, yes finishing taxes was one of them, but no big deal.The kids did awesome in the car. I pay Parker a whopping $1 an hour to babysit in the car, meaning pick up dropped toys, switch videos, entertain, etc. And he did so great. Petty bickering aside, he is such a nurturing young man. So the 4 hours were a breeze in the car, really. And what do you do while at the in-laws, especially the kind that take care of your kids 24/7 for you, take a 2.5 hour nap. I never nap, not even when I have newborns. But today, I was out like a light, I'm still in that fog even now, but it is also 11:30 and I am wide awake. I actually have zero content to report to you on this blog post, but to throw out the idea that I may just let down all 10 of my followers. I've been debating again whether to keep blogging. I said I was doing it to preserve memories, which I sort of have been, but kinda not. I find myself writing more for you all then for a keepsake. Plus I am realizing that Ritchey's job, and really any of our husband's jobs I guess, makes it a good reason not to put myself so out there. One google search for him or I would lead someone here, and as much as I am about being real with people, you have to take it slow. I'd hate for someone to judge him based on the content of this blog. But I will never be a serious, devotional, oh I'm cherishing these toddler years kind of writer/blogger. So I don't know, we'll see. Thanks for indulging this late night rambling. Good night- oh creative title to this blog, huh?

This year's tacky card submissions.

Well, I believe there is a clear winner. But Ritchey gave it his best shot. In his defense, his definition of tacky is not as well-defined as mine. In his defense he did buy a second card that hit the nail on the head in re: to our relationship, so he gets a point for that.

I hope everyone had a good Valentines Day and that you were able to express love to those you love and to pause to reflect on the depth of love God has for you. I was in children's church on Sunday and we made Valentines and talked about God's love for them. What a simple little topic, but so lifechanging and profound.

Valentine's Day Cable style

Ok, so Valentines day can be a nightmare for cheapskate non-crafty, lazy mom's like myself. And to knock me when I'm already down, the school my kids attend are requesting non-cartoon/character driven valentines. Shoot, there go the Star Wars valentines my kids would have loved more than homeade crafty glitter ones. Oh, and yeh, one other thing, in the past their classes have just decorated bags in school to collect all their valentines. But this year, both classes requested homeade decorated shoeboxes. Now I actually have very fond memories of making these kind of boxes. But that was probably in like the 4th grade, and by a then artsy girl. Ugg, I don't even own shoeboxes thanks to my massive and random walk-in closet that has 12 drawers. So I would have had to gone out and bought wrapping paper, shoe boxes, and decor. And seeing as my kids don't know how to wrap yet, I would have had to do all that. So already your getting to my cheap and lazy. My first stop therefore was Hobby Lobby, and their brilliant all in one packaged craft kits, no brain required. My first aha moment there was the kits for valentine boxes, on sale for $3 a piece, yay!.I also picked up a Rice Krispie Valentine snack craft thing, cuz I'm one of those fun moms too :) And at Target I found non-character tacky valentines that came with suckers attached, candy always wins kids over, that and tatoos, but those were a$1 more, so nope. Ritch had to be gone most of Saturday, so that was going to be our fun Valentine preparation day. It started out with my pink buttermilk pancakes. Buttermilk pancakes are our Saturday morning ritual.

And here is how it went. Below you see an example of Cooper's Valentines. He can write all his letters and is beginning to read the basics, so I thought it would be nice for him to write his own valentines, oh how painful, it took forever and he wanted to give up with 4 left to go, thankfully there were only 14, not the 20 Parker had. I took a pic of two of his, one with stellar handwriting, one not so much, Julie spelt with a backward J, which is kinda cute, and for some reason he thought his name began with a G on this one.

This all while Sophie was taking a bath and I was going back and forth. Because doing Valentines with a Pre-K, a 2nd grader who is perfectionistic, and a 2 year old was carazy. So in the tub she went. Next we tackled the oh so cute boxes. I'll show you a pic, but then tell you the nightmare that they were.

Ok, can you tell these will hold maybe 3 valentines. They are tiny. Secondly a sneeze would knock these over because they are made with a paper that is one step above card-stock or construction paper. It also took a degree in engineering to assemble these (they started out flat). And they required double stick tape, which might be a staple in a crafty home, but not around here. Right away I knew this wasn't going to be a group project. They couldn't even decorate them post assembly because it required brads and double stick tape, so tonight while Ritchey cleaned up dinner, I made valentine boxes. I guess next year I'll just break down and do shoeboxes, because really I don't know what the boys are going to do once 3 valentines fill this box up.

Ritchey and I went out for our Valentine's date on Saturday night. We had so much fun, went to 3 different spots and ate all of our favorite yummy food. Including ending it at one of those yogurt spots where the toppings are endless and they charge by the ounce. It was worth it even though we were sick by the end of the night. We are both officially on diets now, for real. I left the Rice Krispy treat craft with the babysitter. She said it was kinda hard to do with the kids, so she just made them and let them decorate them. Oh, and on the side she makes cakes, so hers looked real nice.

And to end our fun Valentine weekend (it isn't even here yet!) I made heart shaped biscuts for our Sunday night breakfast dinner. Parker put on his most gangsta face, he even snapped his fingers when he took the picture.

Ritchey says I'm taken Valentines day a bit too far. But I am trying to compensate for my other failures I suppose. Oh, and I'll post a pic later after he opens it. But this year we are having a contest for whoever can find the tackiest card. Red velvet, Rhinestones and Sexy Devil written in flames, thats all I gotta say. Ok, well there ya go, Valentines Day Cable style.

The mean boy at chick-fil-a and how I put him in his place- sort of.

So Friday school was called off for ice, yes we probably had some ice up in trees that could have proved deadly. It was nice having Ritchey home with us but by Friday night we were going a bit stir crazy, yes folks, it takes less than 24 hours to get me ansty, I'm a get out of the house at least once a day gal. So we headed to Chick-Fil-A, a mother's dream. Clean, good food, playground, and free newspapers and free refills of awesome lemonade, plus I always have a free coupon for something there. Anyhoo, we set our kids loose in the very small playland there and sat inside with them. Most parents were outside of the little play around in a booth having a nice quiet date while Ritchey and I decided to take part in the hysteria of the room, really, mainly for Sophie's sake, she is a little young to let loose on her own, and she wouldnt' have let go of my leg anyway. And Parker saw a boy from his class there too, so that was fun. So anyway, to the point of my story. There was this little shrimp kid, maybe 3 years old, going around terrorizing everyone. Literally would just go up to a kid and hit them, or push them down, or spit on them. Out of nowhere. So soon after we got there, we saw a dad come in from his outside of the room playground date with his wife. He saw the kids just push his son down. The pint-size bully ran under the little steps while the dad was trying to talk with him. Ritchey and I are just fidgeting at this point, kind of awkard. The dad tells the little boy to come on out buddy, nice and polite, the kid doesn't, so the dad says, right as the bully's mom comes into the playland, "I'm not asking you to come out, I'm telling you and if you don't I am going to pull you out," Ouch, really awkward now, the wife of this guy was mortified. Anyhoo, the mom of the bully basically told him to play nice then left the play area and went back to her paper. At which Ritchey and I sat there and watched in amazement the nerve of this kid. So then the kid turns to Parker, who is double his age and his size. Parker is climbing up some pole or something (ignoring the no climbing sign) and this kid grabs his ankles and pulls him down. Ritchey isn't in here at this point, which is a good thing, cuz the mama bear came out in me, but I had to keep it cool cuz the kid in Parker's class was in there too. I said, "hey little guy, its not a smart idea to pick on an 8 year old boy who is much larger than you, if he wanted to he could squash you. He won't cuz he's kind, but he could." Can you believe I said that. I had to say it again, because he did again. "leave my boy alone, he is bigger than you and could pound you in."Parker just kinda laughed at me and let this kid pick on him. That is so my boys, they are so freakin shy/polite/doormats sometimes in public. So the kid does it again, drags parker down by his ankles. Cooper is just standing there with mouth open watching this, wondering what I am going to do now. I told Parker that he shouldnt' let this boy do this to him, to just shake him loose off his ankles and tell him to cut it out. Which he didn't. Well the kid moved on to some other kid to terrorize and we went out to eat our food. I gave the kids a pep-talk, trying to be as Christ-like and turn the other cheek as I could, but also wanting my boys not to be bullied, abused, or walked over because they didn't like public speaking. I told them that if anyone ever does something to them that they don't like, or don't want them doing to them, that they HAVE to speak up and say, Stop It Please, and if that doesn't work, to yell it, STOP IT!. And at this point I am fearing for all those perv. freaks out there who love quiet little boys. So this was serious training going on here. Both boys laughed at me and agreed they would yell please stop. I really wanted to tell Parker just to take that little buy bully and shove him up against the wall and tell him to back off or he'd grind him to a pulp. But I didn't. So back into the playground we went. Ritchey made a joke about cooper's track pants and hooded sweatshirt with hood up thwarting away the bully, "Cooper looks like a thug so no one is messing with him." Too bad, cuz Cooper is a prime target, being only 30 pounds at age 5. Anyhoo, so this kid starts spitting. Literally backs Parker in the corner spitting, or making raspberries, I don't know. And of course Parker's tutorial didn't really work, he just kind of stood there with a stupid grin and kinda laughed it off. Geez Parker. This takes me back to West County Mall when Parker was 2 and let some kid push him out of the little ride on and Parker just sat and watched. Anyhoo, I told the kid to quit it out, then he came over me to spit and I just stopped him dead in his tracks with my hand, i wasn't hitting him I was just keeping him away from my face. Ritchey is laughing at this point and we are both wondering where the heck is his mom. I'm pretty sure she saw me stop this kid with my hand to his face. Well, I could go on and on, cuz it did. Oh at one point while we were eating, this military dad sees this kid push his kid and gets up and screams toward the playland at this kid to cut it out. And what did the mother do, oh she finally goes and sits in there to monitor her kid. Only to 10 minutes later go back out and sit with her paper. I feel kind of bad for her. He obviously is not the best kid, she appeared to be a single mom, and was trying to get some peace and quiet at the chick-fil-A and let her kid loose in the playland. But 3 parents later, multiple crying children (at least mine didn't cry) you think she would have gotten the point. So there was our funny/odd,/disturbing time at Chick-Fil-A. What do you think, how should we teach our kids to respond to bullies, or behavior they don't like. Do they really turn the other cheek, ignore, make a joke (like their dad does), or do they stand up for themselves. I don't know, it is so hard to just sit there (apparently not hard for my boys). How do I encourage my kids to be a wee bit more aggressive so they aren't sitting ducks, or I guess their plan is to just fly under the radar socially at school. Ok, that's that. Here's hoping we don't run into that kid on our next playland adventure.

Random boy fun

So just thought I would post a couple pictures of life here recently. One is of a fort the boys built, and their funny little sign, the only girl allowed in was Sophie. The other pic is from the light saber duel they had when they each invited a friend over. And a picture of what their room looked like afterwards. Literally, light saber battles, stomp rocket fun, wrestling and video games. Don't ever let someone convince you that boys are wired the same as girls, I can't make this stuff up. A therapist once tried to convince me that the only reason boys liked guns and balls is because that is what their parents bought them. Whatever. I actually was one of those mom's who tried to keep guns out of my house and vocab for as long as I could. And out of a room full of guns, balls and dolls, sophie goes to the dolls and crayons. God created us to be nurturing women and men to be conquerers, plain and simple. Anyhoo, enjoy the random testosterone pics, oh and one pic of what Sophie chooses to do on playdates.

My favorite Christmas gift

I kept meaning to post this, and today we are stuck inside thanks to cold weather. Yes that only means the 20s here, and my sister who has 50 mph winds and 5 degree weather would argue with 20 degress being cold, but I'm a southern wimp now. Anyhoo,  here is a picture of the fabulous find that I, err, Ritchey, got me from an etsy shop. I have been wanting a pretty way to display my jewelry and found this for under $30. She makes smaller ones that are even closer to $15, but I asked her for a large one. I know I could have made this easily by  myself, but I have not one ounce of crafty patience in me. Isn't it wonderful. This is hanging in my random ugly walk in closet, but it would be just as fabulous hanging out in the open.

Here is the link

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/A2ndTimeAround?ga_search_query=a+2nd+time+around&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

Friday happenings.

Trying to keep motivated and to keep blogging, so here are just some boring little tidbits. Ritchey is out of town at Presbytery. That is the regional quarterly meeting for our denomination. Sounds boring and business, but it is very much not. One thing I love about our denomination is its connectedness and brotherly love. These meetings defintely conduct business, but there is such sweet fellowship, communion, and worship, that most pastors need. It is pastors supporting pastors. This presbytery will be difficult as they are having to discipline a pastor that was caught in serious sin. But I know God is going to use this difficult moment to humble and perhaps warn, or cause repentance in the other pastors there. It has been a trying time, but God is often seen most and most mighty in such circumstances. Plus Ritchey gets a hotel room for 2 nights and a free morning to himself, he loves it. We had a funny converstation about this actually. See I am an extrovert (shocker) which I was told the defnition of a extrovert is one who is re-energized by people and fellowship. Yep that is me, if I'm having a bad day or am overwhelmed sad or depressed, just get me out with friends. I could hang out with friends literally 24/7. I know my introvert friends are just cringing at the thought of that. And so is Ritchey. Cuz he is an introvert, and even time with me doesn't count as alone re-energizing time to him. Took me a couple years to get over that fact. And sometimes he purposefully stays up late after I go to bed so he can have that alone time. Anyhoo,  he was going on an on about how much he was looking fwd to presbytery, and I asked him, in a very neutral way, just to point out our differences, if he would rather have me there with him or be alone. He was cautious with his answer. He said, if the purpose of the trip is to have fun, then he definitely wants me there, but if the purpose is to re-energize or reboot, he doesn't want me there. He then supposed I would feel the same. Nope, I told him if I could, I would be with him 24 hours a day and actually prefer not to be alone. Made him feel like a chump, but really we just kinda laughed about it. And now I have been giving him a hard time about not wanting me around :). Actually it was quite a breathru in our marriage when I finally came to grips with this. Cuz now I'm not so bitter if he doesn't come to bed with me or doesn't want to spend hours in the evening conversing with me. And when we are on vacation, that means he wakes up early and goes to starbucks, and I'm not bitter about that either, sort of. Now bummer for Ritchey this time around is that he got a flat tire on his way to his alone morning coffee time at presbytery and therefore spent such coveted time at a dealership. Poor guy, I bought him some girl scout cookies though to make him feel better.

On a last note, I told the boys they could each invite a friend over to play after school, a non-church, but school friend over (look at me trying to put myself out there again). They have been so excited. The little boy Cooper is inviting over had a stipulation by his mother. He had to have 2 smiley faces (good behaveior) this week if he was to come. Well my sweet cooper has been praying for his friend all week for his behavior, and cooper vowed to help him to do his best. I have no idea what we are going to do with more boys around, probably video games, maybe basketball, hopefully no fighting between the pre-kers and the 2nd graders. And these other boys probably don't eat sleep breathe starwars like my boys do, so we'll see. there was a small scare this morning when Cooper's friend didn't show up for school, but I just got a text from his teacher that he arrived, phew, crisis averted. So that is our Friday around here, Ritchey gone, friends coming over, and then when everyone is gone and kids are in bed tonight, I'll just wallow in my alone time.

I'll leave you with a picture of what else is occupying us these days, potty training. I've got one kid learning cursive, one learning how to read, and one learning how to use the potty, big life accomplishments going on here folks. Wait, nevermind, no picture, I've decided although you can't see her bum or anything, cute potty training pics are TMI for the internet. Wouldn't want it to go on her permanent record.