Let's see if I can duplicate this

Yesterday, Andy took Noah out shoe shopping. They must have had quite the experience, although I did find out later that a stop to Candy World my have contributed to the following interaction. Here is a phone call between Noah and me (with Andy listening):

Noah: Hi, Mom. Ok, what did you say you wanted from Taco Bell?
Me: I want the quesadilla combo with a soft taco. Could you also tell Daddy to get an extra taco to for Brenna? Can you remember that, sweetie?
N: Yes. Ok, dad- she wants 2 quesadillas and one soft taco.
Me: Noah, honey, that's not right. I want the combo with only 1 quesadilla and soft taco. And then an extra taco. Oh, Noah, I also want a diet coke.
Noah: Ok, Mom, I know now. Dad, she wants a quesadilla and two soft tacos.

Me: Great, he got it right!! Oh wait, he did'nt say the drink. Noah?

Noah: Umm, Mom, did you want chicken or steak?
Me: Steak or chicken? hmmm, steak, no-- I want chicken. I also want a diet pepsi, ok?
Noah: Dad, she wants a chicken taco and a steak quesadilla. And she wants a doctor pepsi.
Me: No--ah--I want it the other way around. A chicken quesadilla and a regular taco. Doctor pepsi, silly, it's diet pepsi.

I started to laugh at the comedy of errors that was presenting itself. And then I heard Andy's laughter echoing in the car, and my laughter became uncontrollable.

Noah: Dad she wants....dad, I really don't know what she wants. Can you talk to her? And he hands me still laughing over to Andy, just like that .

It was nice to laugh at this. When I saw Noah the giggles started all over again. I love laughter and wish I brought it more often to our home. I'm grateful that Andy brings in much of the laughter in our house and that the boys (and Brenna) also love laughter and will often laugh at the silly things.

Do these look like happy winners to you?

Tobin's team won their first game in three years!!! Three years-- and yet, does this look like the face of winners to you? I couldn't believe this was them walking off the field. I expected high fives and moshing the entire length of the field and, instead, we got slow moving turtles with little to no expression!! Maybe it's taking a little while to sink in. Yes, that must be it!

Flat Stanley comes for a visit

Flat Stanley gets stuck in the soccer net. We tried to tell him....
















Do you remember the books based on the character Flat Stanley? He gets run over by a steamroller. He came to visit us for a month via my nephew Tyler's school assignment. They read the books and decided to make flat Stanleys and then send them around the world, as far as their circle of friends, allowed for. We have the honor of having flat Stanley with us for about a month and then we need to send him back laden with pictures, ticket stubs and evidence of anywhere else we can think to take flat Stanley. So far, the only places we have taken flat Stanley to are Tobin and Brenna's soccer games and the doctors. However, flat Stanley has managed to insert himself into the soccer game (he tried to score, but he got run over by the ball, thus becoming an even flatter version of himself) and ran into the woods when he saw the soccer ball rolling toward him. (I tried to remind him that he was not the gingerbread man who ran away, but rather he was flat Stanley who got run over by a steamroller.) He became indignant and insisted that this was his story and we were just the visitors. :).







This is a small half of Brenna's team the "Ponytails." Let me just say that any team playing against us is actually playing WITH us as we invite them to score by stepping out of the way as the ball comes slowly rolling up to the goal. Our girls play by the motto "do unto others..."




At the doctor's office today he did a great job of holding Brenna's hand while she had her throat swabbed for strep. Luckily it was negative. The doctor had them both turn their eyes away! I thought that was a good idea as I'm not sure what flat Stanley's reaction would have been.

Have a great week everybody!

Notes from self

Dear oviparus--(an animal that lays eggs), thanks for being a word that Brenna knows and the rest of us don't. You have made her laugh over this for the last few days.

Dear Noah--thanks for taking a pause before you reacted to help you react the right way. I couldn't love you more or be more proud then I was at that moment when you visibly paused and made a great choice!

Dear brand new car--thanks for not turning back into a pumpkin at midnight, I love you Honda Pilot.

Dear shin splints: Please go away so that I can run again.

Dear Katie: I had a blast running with you on Tuesday. I am so glad we took the hills, aren't you? (insert sarcasm). Thanks for driving the route afterwards to help know how far we went.

Dear Diane: Thanks for keeping me sane at work this week. You have helped far more than you know.

Dear dreams: Please go away!! I don't need any more drama in my life. (I have had dreams for the last week where the planet is being attacked by meteors or some other similarly themed dream). I know it is related to work stuff going on--but enough already!!

Dear cast of high school Grease: You were absolutely fabulous!! Amazing and talented. We enjoyed seeing the show immensely.

Dear blog: Thanks for listening to me and letting me take my time to write what I need, but why won't you let me upload my video? I'm confused.

Dear retainer: Please help Tobin's palette expand so that Tobin can get his braces.

Dear American Idol: Thanks for being a show the whole family can watch.

Dear "Culinary Sugg-estions": Where are you when I need you? I know I put you in a safe place.

Dear Water for Elephants: Thanks for taking me to the circus and away from here just when I needed it. You are easy to read.

Dear cousin: What a brillant way to let people know the small things going on in life. Hope you don't mind.....

the village idiot

Hello all. I hope you had a great and fabulous weekend. I sit here having had a great cry on the phone with my sister and I feel much better about my long and partly self-induced miserable weekend which actually began on Thursday. (I'm only sorry I subjected my family to my misery). Let me begin with the highlight so that if you want to escape the misery (trust me, I would) you don't have to read on after the next paragraph.
The highlight of my week was the beginning of soccer season!! We spent Saturday going to games for Tobin, Noah and Brenna. At Tobin's game, a long established team, I have many of my friends there, whose sons are also Tobin's best friends. I love talking and sharing with girl friends. I was able to talk about everything from politics and the 08 election, school drama, and family pets to summer fashion. This week we all agreed that it does take a village to raise our children. This comment was precipitated from Friday night's events where one of Tobin's friends (on the soccer team) declined a ride home from us after the middle school basketball tournament. I wanted to re-enforce the idea that I am always happy to help out with Tobin's friends, who are also the sons of my friends. The idea was reiterated all around that we are always there as a back up for each other, to help if needed. It is nice to know that there is indeed a village helping me to raise my children. I don't know if I could do it without them. Carpools, meeting at Starbucks to chat, play dates, emails, blogging, dinners together, girl's night out, scrapbooking, PTA events, volunteering, school events, and commiserating are all words I would use to explain why we are in each other's lives; however, I would say we are bonded because we genuinely care about each other's children and would act on each other's behalf instantly. I'm grateful for my village....
except when I have to play the idiot. I had a conflict with a colleague on Thursday. I work at a high school where there are two media specialists. We are equals and share the responsibility for the success of our program, but I don't always feel the weight is distrubuted equally (ok, ever). I have heard several teachers comment to this same effect so I mostly take gratification in the fact, that IT is known and never confront my colleague. Finally, I reached a breaking point (after 5 years) on Thursday and I confronted her. Let's just say, she refused to acknowledge any responsibility for her part. I have to say, I know this about her and that is part of why I haven't confronted her before. What I didn't realize was how emotionally vested I was in this issue. My voice was shaking and loud. I couldn't quiet it down, no matter how much I wanted to. So, it really ended at an impasse because she wasn't willing to acknowledge any responsibility. On Friday, I was treated to the cold shoulder!! Nice, and.... professional.
So, then our weekend. I am going to make a long, miserable story really short and say that I was pretty reactive, rather than proactive, this weekend. I did little to bring calm to my family. I didn't handle things well.... with my kids or my husband. And then...there was this lady at Dick's Sporting Goods. Again, suffice it to say that she brought out all of my frustrations as she butted in line in front of us. Instead of accepting it, I reacted to it and I let her have it. She didn't like it and reacted back. So, it escalated. Oh well. The only problem is that I end up beating myself up for days afterwards (I still am).
What do you do when people don't accept responsibility for their actions? How do you let it not make the worst of you? How do you still react your best when people around you seem to be at their worst? If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them? What I would really like to know are your thoughts on this: Is your best just not saying anything so there is only the conflict that is going on inside you, or can you say/do something that would still be "your best" but let the person know your feelings about the situation?
The thing is with family and friends, there is a vested interest to do the "right" thing, but it isn't always there with colleagues or strangers that happen to cross your path. So, what do you do then? I accept responsibility for having made the situation worse at Dick's, but with my colleague I feel like the dialogue needs to happen for even the possibility of any change. I honestly don't think that any way is a good way to discuss with her because she refuses to see the situation as it is. As for me, I know there are two sides to every story and the truth that resides somewhere in the middle.
Pray that I have a better week, or my next blog may be much like Masters' Spoon River Anthology (told from the grave).

At the beach

This picture of Noah flying the kite was taken too soon. If I had known only to wait a minute longer when the kite flying would lift Noah up from the sand and knock him forward about two feet onto his bottom on the sand!!! Our friends, the Shawens, who were graciously sharing their kites, said that the kite could lift anybody who is not at least 125 pounds off of the ground. We were to be given proof of that statement when it did, indeed, lift Noah off the ground. He loved it! Later we watched as Brother Shawen also fought the winds with that very same kite, digging his heels into the sand. He actually looked like he was spraying sand behind him as digging in his heels hardly worked and he slid forward spraying the sand behind him. It was quite entertaining to see the boys, be they big or little, work at flying the kites. One time the kite ended up in the water, the string had snapped. When Brother Shawen went in to recover the kite and was about at mid-thigh and he felt he could no longer breathe due to the freezing water temperature, he sent in his oldest in after it. It was hilarious to watch.