what i know for sure: things that drive me nuts

It's time for another rousing edition of "What I Know for Sure."

This time it is about the current things that drive me bonkers.

Ok, let's get started, shall we?

Patio guys that don't show up when they say they are going to.

Treeless backyards.

Mollescum.

Being in a group of people and everyone is buried in their phones.

I really hate that.

Weeds.

Unloading the dishwasher.

Hard popcorn kernels that you bite on wrong.

Sore joints.

(Seriously.  It's like I'm 80.)

Dirty kitchen floors.

Dirty bathroom floors.

Dirty everywhere floors.

Having to work in the summer.

Sunburned noggins.

Dogs that poop in my yard.

Having to get gas.

(I try really hard to time it for when Chris is in my car.)

Paying a small fortune for said gas.

Bedhead and a tenderheaded girl.

It's not a good combo.

Softball practice or games every night of the week.

So on and so forth.

Wow.  I sound crudmudginy.

Maybe tomorrow I will hop on here and do what I am loving right now.

Cause there's a whole lot of that right now too.

Can you imagine?

A post, 2 days in a row!

homesick

We had grand plans,

Chris and I.

A whole week without a kid.

In our own house!

We were going to golf and watch movies.

Go out to breakfast and relax.

Ellie was staying at Linda and Wayne's.

She was so excited!

Like, rambled about it for months, excited.

She was going to go to Bible School and swim and see her cousins and eat ice cream and take scooter rides.

Then we left.

And the proverbial excrement hit the fan.

The first night she started texting me at 10:30.

"I woke up with a bad dream."

"I'm sad."

"I miss my home."

Then she face timed me at 12:15 with crocodile tears.

"I need you, Mommy."

(Knife to chest, twist, repeat.)

(Note to self, no ipod touch allowed in bed.)

We decided that night to see how the next day went and we would re-evaluate.

I didn't sleep well.

 

The day went great!

She loved Bible School and spent time with her cousins.

I got smiley face texts and all was well.

But then it was bedtime again.

Cue the crocodile tears.

 For the first time in her life, I was MAD at her.

Mad that she wasn't willing to stick it out.

Mad, cause I knew she could have SO MUCH fun if she would just let herself.

Mad that Linda had to deal with this irrational kid.

And if I am being perfectly honest, I was mad that I didn't get my week.

Cause I can be a baby about stuff like that.

So I had a choice.

Do I teach the "stick it out, you will be so proud you did" lesson,

or the

"I am your mama and I will always be there when you need me" lesson.

I chose the latter.

 Because she is 7.

And she was sad.

And for whatever reason, founded or not, she wanted to come home.

We left at 9 in the pm to meet Wayne half way, 2.5 hours.

At 2 in the am she was all snuggled in her own bed.

Happy as a lark. 

 

Wayne is our new hero.

Thank you Wayne.  We love you.

I vividly remember being homesick as a kid.

A lot.

I think what made it worse was knowing how utterly sad she felt.

Even though it was nuts.

Knowing she felt all alone in the world.

Even though there were no less than 25 people in a mile radius that love her to pieces.

Homesickness is for the birds.

The ugly, rotten, stinky birds.

She and Chris were talking yesterday and Chris was explaining what homesick meant.

She replied:

"I didn't even know you could get that.  It is awful!"

And when she talks to people about it, I realized she thinks she got sick.

She doesn't say "I was homesick."

She says "I had homesick."

Hee.

There are so few of these little kid mistakes anymore, I hate to correct this one.

 

So now she is home.

And we have hit the summer routine.

And I think she has only occasionally wished she stuck it out.

But overall, I think we made the right decision.

So thank you Indiana family for trying REALLY hard to show her a good time.

We really appreciate it!

She just had a moment.  

A "cry for your parents til you drive me 5 hours in the middle of the night" moment.

Parenting is hard.

mothers

 

I love Mother's Day.

And hate it.

All at the same time.

 

Chris does a great job celebrating me.

He cooks me breakfast.

And they make homemade cards.

And I get time to myself.

And this year he promised to watch the Survivor finale with me.  All three hours. 

Whilst he scratches my back.

I feel extremely loved.

 

But I don't have a mama to celebrate.

Not one that's here.

Present.

Touchable.

 

That's hard.

And I can get mired down in it if I let myself.

I miss her so damn much.

Every single second of the world.

 

But then I remember that I have a bunch of mothers.

Women who have mothered me.

Women I have mothered with.

Women who aren't even mothers yet, but love my girl like another mother.

Women I don't see very often, but know I could call in an instant and they would be there.

Women from my past.

Women from my present.

Women I adore.

 

So, I would like to list them here.

In no particular order of importance.

Cause I love them all.

And I want them to know it.

 

Aunt Linda

Aunt Judy

Paige

Izzy

Jen

Yvonne

Megan

Julie

Lisa

Liz

Ann

Nancy

Kim

Meredith

Quincy

Jodi

Holly

Heather

Lori

Dawn

Sheryl

Amber

Elizabeth

Toni

Amy

Barb

Karen

Louise

Missy

Sherry

Trisha

Courtney

Maddie

and a whole slew of others

 

That's a bunch of women.

Who love me.

And my girl.

So even though it's not perfect, it's bearable.

Because I am not alone.

 

Happy Mother's Day to you and you and you.

 



stuff and things

I can't seem to get my stuff together lately.

Know what I mean?

My house is always dusty.

There are always clothes crumpled in the dryer.

There is always a trail of kitty food from the bag to his bowl.

I can't seem to remember to scoop the litter boxes.

{gross}

Don't even get me started on Ellie's room.

It got so bad, she cleaned it herself, without being asked.

Let me repeat that.

She cleaned it herself, without being asked.

I think I am crazy.

Or lazy.

However.

I am getting lots of walks in.

Homework is getting done.

I have read a book.

I am asleep most nights by 10 pm.

I have discovered two new recipes that are freaking delicious.

We have lots of fun travel coming up in the next few weeks.

Niagara Falls.

Home for the fair.

Pelee.

Woot!

I may even go crazy and take pictures and post them on here.

Other than that, we are just working and playing and loving.

But definitely not cleaning.

Much.

peas in a pod

These two.

Peas and carrots.

They love like sisters.

And fight like sisters.

They are...sisters.

They have matching stuffed animals and headbands.

And like the same books.

And are fiercely protective of one another.

 They spend a ton of time together.

And when they don't, Ellie misses her.

We hadn't seen Nat in a few days 

and were driving home from somewhere 

and out of the blue

Ellie says,

"I miss my sis."

Natalie is also an only child so it's a good situation.

And I really like her parents.

Like, a lot.

 Thank the sweet Lord.

Yvonne and I also spend a ton of time together.

With and without the girls.

We share a love of thrift stores and wine and complaining of how they never get recess at school.

Usually in the same evening.

I'm glad they have each other.

And I'm glad I made a new friend in the process.

nearly 7

She's nearly 7.

 How on earth is that even possible?

She's all long legged and smelly footed.

And her hair has lost that softness of the very young.

6 has been great.

But has seen it's fair share of yuck:

Mollescum.

A teacher that yells all the time.

A surgery.

The loss of a kitty.

But 6 has also brought:

A spot on sense of humor.  She is so freaking funny.

A love of headbands.  It's serious.

Taking responsibility for things.  Like homework and feeding the cat.

The reading of chapter books.  Magic Tree House is the favorite.

It was the year she learned to ride a bike.

And turn a cartwheel.

And snap.

And do a backwards somersault.

It was the year she became a cousin.

Her first and second teeth were lost.

With two more very very loose.

Friends became important at 6.  What they thought became even more important. 

She hates to hurt their feelings, and can sometimes get stepped on in the process.

This is hard to watch.  And we are working on it.

6 brought a new and fantastic sense of fashion.

Think comfort meets patterns meets layers.

I often ask her if she likes my outfit, and value her answer.

She will throw stuff at me that I would never have worn together, and it totally works.

Love her for that.

But most importantly, this was the year I saw her as a friend as well as a daughter.

The year I truly started enjoying her company.

But I won't tell her that until she is older.

I am her mother first.

She needs to know that above anything else.

But I can see it.

I can see our future together as she grows up.

And it looks fantastic.

We have one more week of 6.

I am going to soak in every single second.

today in pictures

In no particular order...

 

Oh!  And I got BANGS.

Thoughts??