I was walking downt the hallway yesterday and overhead the following conversation flowing from the boys room as they were cleaning it.
Lee (age 6): Mom is a grumpier bunny than Dad.
Ron (age 8, giggling): No. Mom is a GRUMPY WARTHOG!
Yay! I can post! And, let me tell you, it was no small effort to get to this screen. It involved ... stuff. Technical stuff. And I had to do part of it myself because my tech-guy has the flu which is horrible. Both that I had to do it AND that he's sick. Both are horrible, in that "I'm incredibly blessed and I have nothing else to whine about" kinda way.
So ... lets play catch-up. We all had a stomach-virus. We recovered with no loss of life and/or property. I have definitely killed the CPU. And Cassie is amazed that one can break a CPU. She looked at me last night in surprise when I told her she couldn't play on my computer because its broken. She waited a moment, and then announced while looking at me pointedly "I didn't break it. (pause) Ron didn't break it, and Lee didn't break. For real. Its true. (pause) And I know Katherine didn't break it. She's a baby. (pause and more pointed looking)" Because, yes people, I'm the only one left. And her little four-year-old mind couldn't wrap around the idea that I had done something so shocking as actually damaging one of the computers.
On a lighter note, we got out the calendar and made some decisions about our travel plans for the next few months. Those of you that remember the debacle from two summers ago (often privately thought of as The Trip From Hell During Which We Got Plague And Antibiotic-Resistant-Strep And Pink-Eye And Stung By Ocean-Things And Got A Flat Tire And Discovered New Allergies) can now stop laughing. We've gotten smarter in our old-age. Instead of one massive tour, we've decided on smaller trips.
We're going to Colorado next month to visit family. This trip is already a little doomed. We didn't get to rent the house we wanted because the owner had some organizational issues. Maybe its a blessing in disguise because my sister-in-law was thinking about stopping in and staying with us for a few days since we'd have tons of room. You know, the sister-in-law thats thinking about getting divorced for no good reason? How well do YOU think I could have kept my mouth shut for days and days even though its really absolutely none of my business!?! Lol. Now, THAT would have been a post when we got back! And I'm sure there'll be issues with driving, and snow, and ski-ing, and the boys-ages-8-and-6 want to try snow-boarding (like THATS a good-idea) and I haven't even been letting them watch it on the Olympics because I'M not the kind of crazy mother that encourages her adrenaline-junkie sons in death-defying sports.
Then, South for my family reunion late in the Summer. Its been three years since I went, and it will dove-tail nicely with some shopping for the new house. There's a lovely upholstery shop in Knoxville called the MillAgent. There's Ikea in Atlanta. There's furniture places in Hickory North Carolina. Remember the sofa I loved in the ad last month? Well, that company is manufactured in Hickory and has a showroom thats open to the public. I'll be able to see the whole line (and maybe score a floor-sample)! Although I'm a little nervous about how much we're trying to pack into the visit. There's also the new aquarium in Atlanta, maybe the farmer's market, South-Eastern Rail salvage in Chattanooga (which will have tons of unusual things or absolutely nothing). Then there's friends, and family, and sleep. Its going to be hard to fit everything in.
I think I'm starting to see a pattern. Wouldn't it be nice, maybe in two more years, to take a vacation that doesn't involve visiting family and "getting things done"? A trip with no overly productive adgenda? No killing a flock of birds with one stone? A trip where people returned rested? Like a house at the beach. Maybe Kiawah Island, if its rebuilt. I loved Kiawah. Nothing to do but ... nothing. Look. Water. Sand. Yep ... nothing. And more ... nothing. If you plan right, not even cooking. Nothing educational. Nothing memorable. Just nothing. I think I'm starting to get a goal. Hmmmm. Maybe Texas is closer. Surely there'd be beach-house rentals along the gulf at some point. I've never been to the beach in Texas. But, the map says they have beach. And my husband would love it. He was raised in FLorida. I'm starting to get a plan.
Oh, and did you notice that I have new catagories? Or maybe I haven't had a chance to use them yet, I don't think. One is Christmas and the other is WishfulThinking. That way I can use the blog to jot myself notes. When I have a good Christmas idea I'll blog it, and then be able to search all the idea in one lump later in the year. And when I think of something I'd like, which I then immediately forget, my husband will be able to quickly compile a list for friends and/or family that need ideas! This is going to work well. I just know it!
And I've been meaning to add some new blogs to the list. But that will involve the tech-guy recovering and doing magic-techie-things.
Sigh! And, yes, its possible to sigh emphatically with extreme contentment. I'm so glad my site is working. Life is just sparklely today!
HE IS THE MOST FABULOUS MAN THAT EVER LIVED! If you can read that without crying little happy tears, you're a bitterer person than I am!
It’s come to my attention that my husband has forgotten more about me than most people will ever know.
He said the strangest thing to me several weeks ago, with a smile after I opened my really-super-great birthday present, “I’d forgotten you could be a cheap date.” Both parts were true: (1) that he’d forgotten and (2) that my thrill level has little to do with cost.
Now, I’m not anti-holiday by any stretch of the imagination. Remember the holiday pajama fetish? And I love special days as much as the next girl. But, some people get hung up on the idea that Valentine’s Day is special because its Valentine’s Day when the reality is that Valentine’s Day is special because it’s a day to notice romanticism. And for me that’s not such a special deal because I notice he’s romantic lots of days, just because he wants to be.
Its never about “Hey, I was pressured to do this but I didn’t really feel like it and now I want to watch ESPN since I’ve done my duty and bought flowers”. Its more like “Hey, I bought flowers. I just love that sound you make.” (Which is why my children squeal when they get flowers, they’ll explain “because that’s what you’re supposed to do”)
And being romantic doesn’t always mean flowers. Sometimes it’s a big thing, like getting a sitter for four hours every Wednesday morning. So I can get out of the house all by myself. Which is a huge luxery. Almost so huge I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Sometimes it’s a little thing, like opening the dishwasher and finding it empty. I adored that little rush of “Aha!” when I found it unexpectedly empty because that’s a task I dreaded (now taken over by Ron). That’s the point of romantic … something that shows the other person really thought about you, and tried to do something that would make you especially pleased.
In other words, it’s the thought that counts. Sometimes it’s an expensive thing, like granite counter-tops up-grades even though I thought it an unnecessary extravagance. Granite so fabulous that I just want to stand in the kitchen and pet it. Sometimes it’s a cheap thing, like pizza for lunch in the park with the kids.
Which brings up another idea. Its possible to be romantic with people around. Romance is about showing the other person that you adore them, that you value them, that you think they’re extraordinary! Its about making them FEEL adored and valued and extraordinarily blessed with your attention. Some people are too self-conscious to do that in front of others, but some are so self-confident that romance just swirls in the air around them.
I had the great fortune of having the opportunity to marry a guy just full of self-confidence. And he doesn’t need the crutch of a specific day set aside for acceptable and expected public displays to make it ok for him to be romantic. He’s a REAL man, with plenty of nerve to be romantic any day he darn well wants to. Which, luckily for me, is lots and lots of days.
I know y'al come here for an "island vacation" from stress-oriented sites. But the reality is that there is a good reason for some stresses. There are things worth being stressed, and angry. Things worth fighting for, worth dieing for. Make sure you visit Babalu.
Y'al will remember the late great unpleasantness that was my winter holidays. One of the things that really frosted the cake for me was the cancellation of my brother's family's visit. Mostly because this thwarted my desire for a picture of all the kids together dressed up in The Christmas Pajamas.
Although I'm an otherwise straight-laced non-drinking non-smoking non-gambling kinda girl, I have a weakness for the holiday pajamas from HannaAndersson. This does not make me a bad person. Notice that my husband put HannaAndersson on the side-bar so I can click through to the "sale" page on Thursday nights when they post the updates for the week. That means he loves me.
Now I am SO extra thrilled because I just had the MOST fantastic idea -- Family Reunion Pajamas! Sure, they won't be matching red/white/green stripes. Instead they'll be matching RAINBOW stripes! I can't believe I didn't think of this before! The important thing is that they'll still match. And that I won't be thwarted. Its not a good precident to set, me being thwarted. Gives people bad ideas :)
So, I guess Ron is a little Winston Churchill then? LOL.