My dear friends, I have been so busy. December always flies by, full of projects, projects and more projects. I have a fantastic list of things I made this year but never any time to blog about them. I fully intend to later. But as it is, I currently have no time to do it. So, on that note I will say Merry Christmas and I will return to you in 3 weeks time.
I am off on a wintry adventure.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The "TALK" Has Been Given
Ryan and I sat down with McKenna over the weekend and talked about sex.
McKenna is a very mature girl of seven. She sat and listened. She didn't get embarrassed or creeped out. She just took it all in.
Ryan led the discussion as we all sat together on the bed looking at the anatomy book. We showed her all the appropriate pictures and explained how things worked (within reason). We told her that sex is something that is supposed to be between husband and wife and any boy who tries to tell her differently is not worth having around. We defined the words virgin and sexy (she has asked about them in the past) and stressed the importance of her not talking to other kids about this. I hope she keeps her promise.
When it was all done the only question she had was, "What is that hanging down behind the penis? What does it do?". A good question that I think we all have wondered at one time or another.
She seemed so grown up through the whole process. I could tell that she felt like she was now a part of a special secret. She is such a good girl and I am so proud of the choices that she has made so far in her life. I think she will continue to make me proud.
I will be extremely happy if I don't hear her speak the word penis again for a very long time.
McKenna is a very mature girl of seven. She sat and listened. She didn't get embarrassed or creeped out. She just took it all in.
Ryan led the discussion as we all sat together on the bed looking at the anatomy book. We showed her all the appropriate pictures and explained how things worked (within reason). We told her that sex is something that is supposed to be between husband and wife and any boy who tries to tell her differently is not worth having around. We defined the words virgin and sexy (she has asked about them in the past) and stressed the importance of her not talking to other kids about this. I hope she keeps her promise.
When it was all done the only question she had was, "What is that hanging down behind the penis? What does it do?". A good question that I think we all have wondered at one time or another.
She seemed so grown up through the whole process. I could tell that she felt like she was now a part of a special secret. She is such a good girl and I am so proud of the choices that she has made so far in her life. I think she will continue to make me proud.
I will be extremely happy if I don't hear her speak the word penis again for a very long time.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Busted
I got a speeding ticket.
Bad Mommy!
I was late leaving the house to pick Evan up from school. Alana was screaming at me from the back seat so I was way too distracted. By the time I saw the cop on his motorcycle I knew he had me. He was hurriedly putting away his stuff and switching on his lights and pulling out right behind me.
I dutifully pulled over. I didn't bother to argue or make excuses. I was caught doing 59 mph in a 45 mph. It is a tricky spot because the road he clocked me on is essentially a long ramp to enter the freeway. I was speeding up to get into traffic. I guess I was speeding up too early. I took my ticket and went on to pick up Evan, extra late.
Texas is not very nice to speeders. I found out the next day that the ticket would cost me $237. Ouch! They are not completely heartless, however, and since this is my first ticket I can get it dismissed if I attend defensive driving school. I have to pay $107 for the course. And get this, I have to pay an extra $10 to get my driving record (from the state of Texas) to prove that I haven't taken the course before (from the state of Texas). They were at least nice enough to give me an extension of 45 days. I picked the wrong time of year to get a ticket.
So come the first of January I will march into the courthouse, pay the money and get going with the process.
Bad Mommy!
I was late leaving the house to pick Evan up from school. Alana was screaming at me from the back seat so I was way too distracted. By the time I saw the cop on his motorcycle I knew he had me. He was hurriedly putting away his stuff and switching on his lights and pulling out right behind me.
I dutifully pulled over. I didn't bother to argue or make excuses. I was caught doing 59 mph in a 45 mph. It is a tricky spot because the road he clocked me on is essentially a long ramp to enter the freeway. I was speeding up to get into traffic. I guess I was speeding up too early. I took my ticket and went on to pick up Evan, extra late.
Texas is not very nice to speeders. I found out the next day that the ticket would cost me $237. Ouch! They are not completely heartless, however, and since this is my first ticket I can get it dismissed if I attend defensive driving school. I have to pay $107 for the course. And get this, I have to pay an extra $10 to get my driving record (from the state of Texas) to prove that I haven't taken the course before (from the state of Texas). They were at least nice enough to give me an extension of 45 days. I picked the wrong time of year to get a ticket.
So come the first of January I will march into the courthouse, pay the money and get going with the process.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Seriously! The Sex Talk in Second Grade?
McKenna came home from school today.
"Mom Brianna told me that Jessica told her that she wants to have sex with her brother. I don't even know what that means. Brianna just said it is gross. So what is it?"
WHAT!!!
"I'm sorry honey what did you say?!?"
She repeats it.
"Well....that is something that we will talk about with your father, when we have some time to be alone."
Ryan told me this summer that he wanted us to have the sex talk with McKenna before she started second grade. He didn't want her to learn about it from kids at school. I protested and asked that we wait one more year.
Apparently, I was wrong and he was right.
So, as soon as school slows down we will sit her down together and have "the talk". Ryan is very admit that we approach this as a united front. We will talk about how sex is only right within the bonds of marriage and not something to be given away. We will stress that she is NOT to talk about this with other kids but that she may come to us with any questions that she has. Sex will not be a taboo topic in our family. That only makes it more interesting.
We will also talk about Zoe's two moms that was a discussion I decided to wait on having. I figured I would let her bring it up instead of making a big deal out of it. When I was at her school lunch last week she asked me how it is that Zoe has two moms (they were both there). I told her we would talk about that later and then forgot. I suppose "the talk" is as good a time as any to discuss that as well.
Will she look at me and her father differently? How can she not. Will she look at her brother and other boys differently? How can she not.
I see the end of innocent childhood coming.
It's kind of sad.
"Mom Brianna told me that Jessica told her that she wants to have sex with her brother. I don't even know what that means. Brianna just said it is gross. So what is it?"
WHAT!!!
"I'm sorry honey what did you say?!?"
She repeats it.
"Well....that is something that we will talk about with your father, when we have some time to be alone."
Ryan told me this summer that he wanted us to have the sex talk with McKenna before she started second grade. He didn't want her to learn about it from kids at school. I protested and asked that we wait one more year.
Apparently, I was wrong and he was right.
So, as soon as school slows down we will sit her down together and have "the talk". Ryan is very admit that we approach this as a united front. We will talk about how sex is only right within the bonds of marriage and not something to be given away. We will stress that she is NOT to talk about this with other kids but that she may come to us with any questions that she has. Sex will not be a taboo topic in our family. That only makes it more interesting.
We will also talk about Zoe's two moms that was a discussion I decided to wait on having. I figured I would let her bring it up instead of making a big deal out of it. When I was at her school lunch last week she asked me how it is that Zoe has two moms (they were both there). I told her we would talk about that later and then forgot. I suppose "the talk" is as good a time as any to discuss that as well.
Will she look at me and her father differently? How can she not. Will she look at her brother and other boys differently? How can she not.
I see the end of innocent childhood coming.
It's kind of sad.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Happy Birthday to ME!
I had my birthday a few days ago and happily turned 32. That number doesn't seem as big now as it did ten years ago, funny how that works. The celebration stretched out over three days and the best part for me is that I will get another "special" day in another couple of weeks. Let me explain.
My birthday has fallen on finals week for the past 7 years of Ryan's schooling(the end is in sight). He always feels bad about this because he wants to do everything for me and make it a big fancy special day. But he never has the time. Between finals and huge papers due, the end of the semester is a time crunch. I am not a needy girl and I understand his predicament. Aside from this year, he has never forgotten to get me a card. There have been a couple of years when he helped the kids to make me breakfast. I refuse to make my own birthday cake so I haven't had one. This year was a bit different.
Ryan and I had our usual Friday night date. My friend April swapped days with me so I could have a date on my birthday weekend instead of babysitting (thanks!). We went to dinner and I had a nasty pasta. I took two bits and lost my appetite. After that we went to the First Friday Art Trail. It's nice doing that together and not have the kids to look out for. Ryan let me pick out a new bracelet for my birthday but the lady didn't take debit and we don't carry cash. We ended up getting stranded far away from our car waiting for the trolley and were 30 minutes late picking up the kids. We got home and put the kids to bed. End of date. Ryan stayed up until 3am grading papers for the class he teaches.
My birthday morning was nice. Alana woke up screaming at 7:00am I jumped up to get her and Ryan followed and sent me back to bed. I didn't object. I slept for another hour and then got up to take the kids to the church Christmas breakfast with Santa. I was happy to find that Ryan was coming along. We all went in our pj's and gorged ourselves on muffins. It was fun. We went to Coldstone after and I picked out a raspberry-cheesecake ice cream cake for the Sunday dinner. The rest of the day was dealing with kids and laundry. Ryan got back to work. I took McKenna to her friends birthday party that afternoon and Evan and Alana to the church nativity display. I was in a bad mood because Alana was making me CRAZY. I knew that I would feel the spirit looking at 350 nativities from around the world so we went. She was amazingly well behaved. I held her the whole time so she didn't touch anything and she actually let me (I call that a small miracle). Evan and I had so much fun pointing out our favorite ones and talking about Jesus. Later when we were home and I was getting Evan ready for bed I told him to pick out a book for me to read to him. I said, "It's my birthday and I want to read a book to my baby". He looked at me and said, "Don't you want to do something funner than that?". I smiled, and we played Candyland and Chutes and Ladders with McKenna. It was "funner" than reading a story.
Sunday was the usual Ryan working and me handling things. I prepared my lesson, cooked some beans for dinner, cleaned and got the kids ready for church. Church was great. Ryan handled Alana which is a full time job and I got to focus on our class and the lesson. I really enjoyed teaching this week and it made me sad that the year is almost over. I don't want a new class I want to keep the one I have. I feel that we finally have a good thing going and I don't want to start all over again. Guess we'll see what happens.
Sunday dinner was great. Everyone sang to me and I blew out my candle. It was sweet. I was teased about being old and all around loved. It was perfect.
Ryan wants to give me a proper day off once school ends for the semester. I know it will be lovely. I had a great birthday weekend full of adventure, food, kids and love. I'll take it.
Don't mind all the typos. My husband was not around today to proof read this for me. Sorry
My birthday has fallen on finals week for the past 7 years of Ryan's schooling(the end is in sight). He always feels bad about this because he wants to do everything for me and make it a big fancy special day. But he never has the time. Between finals and huge papers due, the end of the semester is a time crunch. I am not a needy girl and I understand his predicament. Aside from this year, he has never forgotten to get me a card. There have been a couple of years when he helped the kids to make me breakfast. I refuse to make my own birthday cake so I haven't had one. This year was a bit different.
Ryan and I had our usual Friday night date. My friend April swapped days with me so I could have a date on my birthday weekend instead of babysitting (thanks!). We went to dinner and I had a nasty pasta. I took two bits and lost my appetite. After that we went to the First Friday Art Trail. It's nice doing that together and not have the kids to look out for. Ryan let me pick out a new bracelet for my birthday but the lady didn't take debit and we don't carry cash. We ended up getting stranded far away from our car waiting for the trolley and were 30 minutes late picking up the kids. We got home and put the kids to bed. End of date. Ryan stayed up until 3am grading papers for the class he teaches.
My birthday morning was nice. Alana woke up screaming at 7:00am I jumped up to get her and Ryan followed and sent me back to bed. I didn't object. I slept for another hour and then got up to take the kids to the church Christmas breakfast with Santa. I was happy to find that Ryan was coming along. We all went in our pj's and gorged ourselves on muffins. It was fun. We went to Coldstone after and I picked out a raspberry-cheesecake ice cream cake for the Sunday dinner. The rest of the day was dealing with kids and laundry. Ryan got back to work. I took McKenna to her friends birthday party that afternoon and Evan and Alana to the church nativity display. I was in a bad mood because Alana was making me CRAZY. I knew that I would feel the spirit looking at 350 nativities from around the world so we went. She was amazingly well behaved. I held her the whole time so she didn't touch anything and she actually let me (I call that a small miracle). Evan and I had so much fun pointing out our favorite ones and talking about Jesus. Later when we were home and I was getting Evan ready for bed I told him to pick out a book for me to read to him. I said, "It's my birthday and I want to read a book to my baby". He looked at me and said, "Don't you want to do something funner than that?". I smiled, and we played Candyland and Chutes and Ladders with McKenna. It was "funner" than reading a story.
Sunday was the usual Ryan working and me handling things. I prepared my lesson, cooked some beans for dinner, cleaned and got the kids ready for church. Church was great. Ryan handled Alana which is a full time job and I got to focus on our class and the lesson. I really enjoyed teaching this week and it made me sad that the year is almost over. I don't want a new class I want to keep the one I have. I feel that we finally have a good thing going and I don't want to start all over again. Guess we'll see what happens.
Sunday dinner was great. Everyone sang to me and I blew out my candle. It was sweet. I was teased about being old and all around loved. It was perfect.
Ryan wants to give me a proper day off once school ends for the semester. I know it will be lovely. I had a great birthday weekend full of adventure, food, kids and love. I'll take it.
 |
| I love this picture so I had to include it. |
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Lunch With My Little Lady
As you can see from the photo the lunch consisted of turkey gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, a roll and a cookie. The turkey and the peas were good everything else was pretty underwhelming. I paid $2.75 for my meal and cleaned my plate. McKenna only ate her peas and roll. I couldn't bring myself to be upset about that.
I came in the cafeteria right as she was getting her food. She was worried that I would not make it, so she was double excited when she saw me. She had so much fun showing me how to get the food and where to sit. She introduced me to her friends and told me about her day so far. She was so sweet not wanting me to leave at the end of lunch. She clung to my hand as we walked down the hall to her class room and gave me a big hug when it was time to part.
I loved every minute of my lunch with McKenna.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
When it Rains.....
It is said that bad things come in threes. My current set has been spread out over the last six months so, I suppose technically this cliche may not apply. But, since I paid for them all today, I am claiming an exception.
#1 Cracked Windshield
Our faithful Toyota Camry got a tiny chip on the lower driver's side corner about 3 years ago. We didn't even know it was there until the crack started creeping across the bottom. It was very slow moving and was low enough not to be in the way - until 4 months ago. For some unexplained reason a new crack emerged out of the same chip and headed straight up and across our line of sight. It made its way across the whole window and sealed its fate. With that crack so high there was no way it would pass state inspection in January. So like it or not we needed to replace it before the end of the year.
#2 New Van Tires
I am pretty sure I recall my father telling me, twenty months ago when he walked me through my new/used van, that it needed new tires soon. I managed to put that bit of info out of my brain. I heard it again from the oil change guy when he rotated them for me last spring. I finally got the hint when I had to take the van in for a broken door last month (sliding door wouldn't latch. Fixed in a couple of days for a reasonable price - moved on). While ringing me up the salesman nicely pointed out that I REALLY needed new tires. They were in bad shape and I shouldn't take any road trips until they are replaced. Ironically, I had just arrived home from the 3-day, 430 mile trip to New Mexico I took with Rose and all the kids. I instantly gave thanks that the trip went off without a flat. He was nice enough to include a tire quote with my receipt. I have gingerly driven around town since, constantly checking my tires, expecting to find one flat. Thankfully that never happened.
#3 Busted Back Window
Ryan called me yesterday to inform me that when he went out to move the Camry from two hour parking, he found a shattered back window. Lovely. Who knows how it happened, car kicked a rock, kid threw a rock - I suppose I really doesn't matter. What matters is that we need to replace it and insurance is not going to pay for it.
So there you have it, my three deep stabs to the check book. I called around for quite awhile yesterday and I feel that I got the best pricing possible. Ryan and I juggled the car and the van and managed to have them both repaired and picked up both kids from school on time. I feel good about how today went and the service I received for the tires and windows. I would gladly recommend them both to anyone (Lubbock Auto Glass, Scoggin-Dicky Parts and Service).
The safety and security that the tires and windows will bring will be worth it. It's just painful to spend $797.77 in one day and not really have anything fun or exciting to show for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)