Love or Ugh

My husband and I have been on an Everybody Loves Raymond kick lately. Did you know the show premiered in 1996? I didn’t relate much to the show when it first aired, but now I totally get it, and it is hilarious. It’s also fun to see how much has changed in the past 17 years. They talk about things like car phones and the daunting task of balancing a check book. Sometimes I think about what I will say when my children or grandchildren ask me how we managed without GPS, the internet, cell phones, and digital cameras. And to that I will answer “I don’t remember”. 

Remember when you had to make sure you caught the 6:00 news or check the local paper to know the weather report? Me neither. Back then all you needed to know was in winter it's cold, in summer it's hot, and dark clouds mean rain. These days they are getting better and better about predicting the weather down to the hour. I check the weather on my phone at least once a day. I don’t know why I bother I still end up wishing I had a different pair of shoes or a jacket. I admit, I’ve got entitlement issues when it comes to the weather. Even with as good as we’ve got it some people still throw a fit if the forecast gets it wrong. “The weather man said it was only 30 percent precipitation today. What a crock! It’s been raining all day. I am wet. Unbelievable!” 

I feel bad for the weather channel. It’s got to be hard for them to keep up with the trends. With most of us being able to have the forecast at our fingertips it is no longer the coveted cable network that it was in the 90’s. When it first came out 30 years ago the concept was brilliant. You can check the weather anytime of day. I’ve got to hand it to them for trying to stay relevant though. Now they’ve got a website, an app, and all kinds of stuff. One day I went to check the weather on The Weather Channel website  and I thought maybe I typed in the wrong domain. There was a sports illustrated swimsuit model wearing nothing but an unzipped parka and I was like what the hey-diddle-diddle is this all about? Turns out it was an article about how little miss bikini (or lack thereof) got frost bite while doing a photo shoot. Well, I guess that’s weather related if anything is. On top of that I’ve noticed they’ve worked hard to fit in with the social network trends too. You know how you can like things on Facebook or Instagram? Well now you can like the weather too! Not just like it out loud, but make it online official. 

That’s right, there is a button for “love” or “ugh”. I would hate to have to check the weather without being able to express my emotional opinion on a virtual level. You've probably detected my overload of sarcasm, but really, I am grateful for all the advancements in meteorology weather or not I can count on it. Heh, heh. 



This post is linked up with Miscellany Monday at Lowercase Letters! 

Here I Am

I wasn't supposed to be here. 

Today was like any other as we rushed out the door and I felt a sense of relief,  perhaps even a bit of arrogance that despite the morning obstacles we had made it to school on time! But where were all the cars? There were some cars, but not nearly enough. Oh No, I thought. Today was teachers in service day and I hadn't realized it. I woke up early and drove 45 minutes for no reason at all. 

We came to McDonald's because I couldn't stomach the idea of turning around and heading home having accomplished nothing.

So here I am at McDonald's where I can barely think because it's so loud. 

Here I am at McDonald's watching my kids at the peak of happiness. 

Here I am knowing my computer's battery will be dead in about 15 minutes and then what? 

Here I am listening to a guy tell me about a murderer from Texas who was a normal kid until he got a cochlear implant at 8 years old and that's when he began the desire to kill people. I thought I had heard it all. I will google that story next.

Here I am nervous about participating in 5 minute Friday for the first time because I am not very comfortable writing with a time limit.

But most importantly I am here having just said goodbye to a kind lady with children close to my kid's age. I listen to her story and she listened to mine. We shared contact information and she gave me some leads on apartments, schools, and job opportunities in the area which she scribbled onto a piece of notebook paper for me. We even hugged. 

Maybe I was supposed to be here. 

This post is a part of 5 minute Friday where everyone writes about the same topic for 5 minutes. Today's prompt was "here".  

The Little Guy and The Big City

When Z was in Pre-K I went to pick him up one day and instead of bringing him to the door the teacher invited me into the class. She told me there was something I had to see. As followed her to the back of the room wondering what he had gotten into, she said "He built New York city!" Sure enough, there it was, a preschool size replica of the clustered city that never sleeps.



I was impressed, but I wasn't too surprised. Anyone who has spent much time with Z has probably either heard about his love for New York, or seen one of his drawings/creations.

The Statue of Liberty

One time he told me he wishes he lived in New York so that he could look at the statue all day. I don't know where this interest comes from other than the fact that the Madagascar animals are from there, along with many super heroes.

My mom, who loves to travel (and does so for free thanks to working for Delta) has been trying to convince me for some time now to let her take Z to NYC. I told her that he was too young. It's so big, so far, so expensive. I want him to really appreciate the magnitude of an experience like that. But the more Z talked about it and the older he got, I started warming up to the idea. This is the last big chance he has before he starts school and the best time to fly stand by is off season days (when most people are in school or working). Plus he has matured a lot in the past year. I know he is not going to run off in Central Park or have a temper tantrum in time square.

So J and I talked about it and decided to give my mom the green light. Z has no idea that less than a week from now he will be flying to The Big Apple with his Me'me' and Pe'pe'! We aren't going to tell him until the last minute either. It's going to be kind of like this adorable video of the girl who was going to Disney World.



Even though I can't go with him I have been over the moon with excitement on his behalf. There is nothing like watching your child's dreams come true, even if they might be too young to understand how lucky they are. This week as part of our homeschooling we went to the library and checked out some materials on New York City. After a week of exploring what the city is all about he is going to be surprised with a ticket to see it for himself. I feel like his early interest in The United States and New York City is instilling in him a sense of patriotism. What better way to foster an appreciation for the land of the free than going to one of our Nation's most important historic cities? If he gets there and his biggest concern is Nintendo World, that's fine too.

My First Bracket

I cannot believe both our teams made it to the final game of the NCAA championship. J has always been a Michigan fan and we love Louisville, so as a first time March Madness bracket participant those are the teams I picked (with Louisville winning in the end). Yesterday was the final four games so my two youngest wore these shirts and showed their team spirit at the park. 

I got a lot of cute pictures of them together, but now that Michigan and Louisville both made it to the National Championship this picture is priceless!

These Are the 50 States

A couple years ago I mentioned Z was obsessed with maps and geography. Well, the fascination has only grown since then. This year he has tackled memorizing and being able to recognize all 50 states.The memory cues that he uses to get them "stuck in his head", as he calls it, are pure genius. Of course this is coming from his mom who is bias, and thinks knows each of her children are brilliant. I make no apologies. 

There are a few states he knows just from traveling, but most of them he has had to learn about for the first time and here are some of the ways he has memorized them. 

“Alabama, Arkansas I do love my ma and pa” is from a song he knows.

Then there is the state that sneezes "Mass A CHOO settes". 

My personal favorite line "CAN WE FIX IT? Yes We Kansas!". 

"Indiana Jones" (the Lego wii game, he doesn’t even know about the movie).

Or there is one that is a line from Toy Story when Ham says to Mr. Potato Head “way to go Idaho” 

and the list goes on. 

Then there are the shapes.

To me Louisiana is a boot, Michigan is a mitten, New Jersey Peanut. I think those are givens, but there are some states that I don’t even know how he comes up with the images for like 

 Arkansas- tea cup

Minnesota- a pillow with a bite taken out of it

 North Carolina- diamond

Nevada- kite

and of course many states that look like guns, knives, and dogs. He is a boy.

This video was shot while showing Z a picture of a map and pointing to each one. He can identify any state, in any order, on any US map. I hope you enjoy his enthusiasm in this video as he channels in his super powers to oblige his mother in the making of this movie.



Next up, continents.

Worship Through the Arts

We had a nice, but low key Easter this year. The kids did an egg hunt at the church the weekend before and they each got a chocolate bunny from my parents which were part of a part of a fundraiser for SJ's school, and that was it as far as festivities go. I wore the same dress I wore last year only I wasn't 3 months pregnant this time.



You can't really tell in this photo other than my hands and Z's foot holding her back, but SJ was acting like a wild child. I told my brother (the one taking the picture) that trying to get a family photo immediately after service is like shaking up a soda and then attempting to drink it right away. I don't know why they are so crazy after church, but between the dozens that he took we somehow managed to got a decent shot. Next time I think I will just hire a 3 year old female stunt double.

The previous week we had celebrated Palm Sunday in a way I will never forget. Our pastor lined up a beautiful service of worship through the arts, and not to brag, but I have such an artistic family that many of them were involved.

My brother Jeremy did an extraordinary painting live throughout the morning. It breaks down the crucifixion story into 14 different segments (the traditional stations of the cross)

 and my brother painted each of them in an hour and a half.



 At the end our pastor had him explain the piece and Jeremy laid it all out according to what time of day everything happened and he made it all very personal. He was crying. I was crying. There were a few hundred people crying and worshiping together in church that morning remembering what Christ did for us. It was inspiring. On top of that Jeremy's wife (my sister in law) did a beautiful dance with some of her friends. I had never seen her dance before so that was really neat experience too.



I'm blessed be a part of such a talented family and even more so to serve a awesome, majestic, powerful, creative, loving, and LIVING God!

Gentle Giant

Hello April and hello to having a 6 month old! He's already half way through his first year. Ezie is all over the place developmentally. On one hand he's ahead of his peers by having the physical attributes of some one year olds.

Everyone says E looks like his dad.

He's 18 1/2 pounds and just over 26 inches.

First Easter

He wears some 6-9 months clothes and I find myself putting him in 12 month clothes more and more often. He also has 8 teeth now! Yes, eight teeth at 5 months old. I never even knew that could happen. He had the bottom 2 at 3 months and then nothing for a long time until we noticed all of the top front 4 looked like they were about to come in. I was so busy looking at the top I hadn't even notice that there were two more that had already shot up on the bottom. In about 10 days he cut 6 teeth.

Ties are for chewing!

 He's such a trooper about it too. The way these teeth are taking over he'll probably be opening aluminum cans with them when he's two. I am kidding, but he is a bruiser for sure!

UT shirts from their Uncle.

It's quite deceptive actually. Here I have this hearty boy that looks like he can hold his own, when really he can't even hold his own pacifier with too much coordination.

SJ giving the baby a bath.

He doesn't scoot, sit up, or roll over. He's a very observant, interactive, and content little guy though.

I haven't gotten a picture where you can see his teeth, but they are all broken through.

 As far as being concerned about developmental delays he doesn't show any warning signs like being floppy or stiff. In fact Z was the same way. He never really rolled over. He mostly just laid there until he started crawling. I think it's harder for the big fat babies to get around. I know how technical and savvy I must sound right now, but I am a mother of three so that must give me some credit.

I think I wear him more than I did my other two.

That's 6 month old baby E in a nutshell,  a carefree gentle giant.

The sun did come out at the end of Spring Break.

I still haven't given him any solids nor has he slept through the night other than one time for 7 hours. I guess with that mouthful of teeth he's ready chomp into some food pretty soon here and hopeful the sleep will follow. HOPEFULLY.

This is just a joke. My mom laughed when she saw this pic on my phone. That's E's first time swinging!