Slacker!!

I'm talkin' 'bout myself. I'm the slacker. Big time. It's been a busy summer full of both lots of fun things and lots of less-than-fun things.

How 'bout we just play a little catch-up? In no particular order...

• Little Man turned 2 years old! He is amazing and we love him so much! He had a wonderful monkey-themed party (seriously...it was fun!), got his crib turned into his "big boy bed" on which we put a new rocketship toddler bed set, and now calls my hubby "Dad" most of the time, which makes him sound like he is 15 years old. haha!
• After lots of resumes, several interviews, and lots of stress, I accepted a job offer. It's part-time, and I'll be teaching 2 year olds. I am so excited! I think it will be fun to teach the age that my son is currently at. He will be in a classroom right down the hall from me, and the school is very similar to the school I previously taught at, and I feel confident that it will be a wonderful environment for both me and Alex.
• I have to tell you about one of my interviews. Holy cow. I will not use names of any sort, but it was at a daycare facility, and the director was a 40-something female. I arrive for my first interview with this place and rang the bell to get in the door. (You can't just walk into daycares these days...they have to buzz you in. Safety reasons.) I rang the bell, and waited. Then waited some more. Then a woman came to the door inside and held up a finger to me to tell me to hang on a minute. She left and I stayed outside waiting some more. Finally another lady - the director this time - came and let me in the door. She said, "Hey...here you go, just fill out this application. I'll be back." I sat down at the desk and she went back through the door into the school area. There was a lot of noise coming through that door. I heard kids laughing, screaming, crying, running, etc. I heard adult voices saying, "Sit down!" "Stop!" "I guess you don't want to do this fun science experiment!" "I'm not going to give you the gummy worms for your dirt pudding!" "HEY!" "OK, you can forget it...we're not doing our project." None of these threats or warnings lowered the noise level or chaotic atmosphere. 30 minutes later the director finally comes back and says she is so sorry for keeping me waiting and that things are "just a little crazy" around there today. Seriously? I didn't notice. She asked me questions, I answered. She called herself an "Education Guru" about 5 times during our interview - all because of the fact that she doesn't think children should do worksheets all the time. She liked me. She wanted me to come back so that I could "see what I was getting into". I should have said no. Not for one minute while I was there for over an hour and a half did the place feel calm and like learning could take place. But, I wanted a job, so how could I not come back for the second interview? I was actually let into the building as soon as I rang the bell the 2nd time I came back. But unfortunately, I walked right back into a chaotic mess. She'd had one teacher quit the week before and had had to shut her classroom down, and another teacher just didn't show up that day that I was there. She left me with a teacher that I was supposed to shadow and disappeared. That teacher made several jabs at the fact that I am educated..."I guess someone who is actually educated will be able to teach the children more." Ugh. When I asked this teacher about how it is to work at the place, she said - and this is a near quote, people..."Well, you know. Everyone has their days. But, I guess if you are a true teacher, then you should just be here just for the kids." Oh me. Yes, teachers do it for the kids, cause we obviously don't do it for the money, but it is pretty hard to run a classroom in a place that is constantly out of control and in an uproar. After chasing down the director at the time I was supposed to leave, she takes me to her office and says, "So, what do you think?" And I kind of stammered, and she said, "Well, do you want to think about it? I mean, I should call your references, anyway. I'll call you tomorrow by 2pm, and you can let me know." I told her that that sounded fine, and I hit the door thinking, "There is no way." (I am not even listing all the craziness of this place here because this little bullet of bloggin' fun is already too long.) Guess what? The next morning at not quite 8:30am, I received a phone call saying I was being offered the job. I had talked it all over with everyone close to me the previous night, and had already decided that this wasn't a place for me. (Not to mention that the pay was laughable...another lesson I have learned while interviewing with daycares...) Well...when I told her that I appreciated her time, but that I was not going to accept the position, she HUNG UP ON ME. Seriously. I have met more professional people at McDonald's, y'all! My thought? I made the right decision in turning it down.
• We went on a week-long vacation with my family. Those people are amazing and they make me LAUGH. We all laughed so much all week long. My favorite parts of the week were the nights where we sat at the table and played card games. So much fun!
• I petted a bird. You may be thinking, "So what?" But, this is a huge thing for me. I am absolutely creeped out by birds. I don't like their beaks or the way they move. We were at a theme park and saw a magic show (ooohhh, aaaahhhh) and for the magician's last trick, he made a white dove appear out of a popped balloon. (How'd he do that?) Anyway, we were the only people at the show, and he thought my Little Man may like to pet the bird, so he came on down and brought the bird over to us. My brother nudged my mom and said, "Watch this." She said I turned white! I was trying to back away and he just kept coming because he had no idea. Alex was reaching out for the bird, and I was pushing his hand away until I realized I had no choice, because Magic Man was not backing off. So, against my better judgement, I put my hand out there and touched the bird. I felt victorious, and after much picking from my family, I proclaimed, "I'll pet TEN birds!" But I won't. Ever. Birds are creepy.
• I saw Eclipse with my BFF and her cousin. It was amazing. I think the word I would use for the movie would be "intense." I loved it. Edward was sparkly, Jacob was H-O-T, and Bella was a blubbering, clumsy girl who annoyed me a little. I hate that we have to wait until NEXT November for the 1st movie of Breaking Dawn. Hurry up, Eclipse DVD.

I am going to try to blog more, y'all. I promise. Some of you asked me why I hadn't in a while, and it really all boiled down to the usual busy-ness of summer and the job hunt. I enjoyed typing tonight...gotta get back in the groove of bloggin'. I know for sure I have a Facebook blog coming up soon because I have noticed some definite craziness on there this summer. So, please check back, because I am making a vow to do better! I'm just sayin'...

Appalled in McCormick

On our way back home yesterday, Alex said he wanted to eat. So, I stopped at Subway in McCormick for a quick bite before continuing on home from our long weekend.

When we walk in the door, I see a couple standing in line with a baby who was probably about a year old. The little boy had nothing on but a diaper. The girl was holding him and then walked over and grabbed a high chair and set it at a table and put him in it and then said, "Don't move!" in a mean voice and walked back over to the counter to continue ordering. She left the child at the table alone. This ticked me off to no end and I kept looking back to check on him and make sure he was okay. When I look back, I realize that he is sunburned, and I mean very red. I got even more mad! There is no excuse for that at all!

They finish ordering and get their food and head over to the table. I never hear the guy utter a word, but any time the baby boy made any sound at all the girl would yell at him to "shut up" or if he tried to stand up in the chair, she'd yell at him to sit down in a very mean voice.

I was irate by this point...there is no excuse ever for treating a child like that...an infant nonetheless! He needs some clothes and shoes, he needs to not be sunburned like he is, and he needs to be talked to in a nice way...even though he's little, he's a person and he deserves to be treated like one. And he needs to be loved, and I can tell you that I sure as heck didn't see any love coming from those two people towards that little boy.

They left, and I just felt sad, mad, and worried. And it made me wonder if there was anything I should have done or if there was anything I could do. Do I call the police and say, "There's a couple being mean to their sunburned child in Subway."? Do I get their tag number and call and report them? I do know that I can pray for that little boy and for the couple he was with. And I hope you will, too.

I know there are children in this type of situation - and worse situations - all over the world. Seeing it firsthand reminds you of how blessed you are and reminds you to give your little one(s) an extra hug or two or three or four or five.

I am so very thankful for those parents, such as my parents and my BFF and her husband, who have felt called to adopt. And I am thankful to those who realized that they were not ready to be a parent and made it possible for their child to be adopted and have a wonderful life with a loving family. I'm just sayin'...

A List

Everything you never wanted to know about me...

• I have to swipe my deoderant the same number of times under each arm.
• One of my favorite sandwiches is a bacon sandwich. Bread, Miracle Whip, and crisp bacon. I have to make sure every piece of the bread is covered by bacon, then put the other slice of bread on top and then smoosh it until it is flat. Yum. It reminds me of Saturdays when I was a kid and everyone would have their tomato and bacon sandwich. I don't care for tomatoes, so mine was always just bacon. I had one for lunch today.
• I am a stacker. I am not so good at the filing away. I always end up with stacks everywhere. It drives hubby insane, but I know where everything is.
• I am a hypochondriac. It's ridiculous.
• I love to watch old shows like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Full House, etc.
• I am notorious for not feeling like folding clothes, so I just turn the dryer back on about 2 or 3 times before I actually get them out.
• I am a t-shirt addict. You want to make me happy? Get me a t-shirt. It used to be (before we became frugal) that I had to have a t-shirt from everywhere we went. If the place sold t-shirts, I had one gosh-darn-it. I blame this on my mother. When we were younger she never wanted us to wear shirts with words on them. Now I am obsessed.
• One of my favorite things to do in the whole world is get a haircut. It's so relaxing to me.
• I don't mind the occasional rainy day. There's something peaceful about it.
• I hate getting dressed in the bathroom as soon as I get out of the shower. Thankfully there are rare occasions when I have to do that.
• I love shampoo. I have a ridiculous amount of shampoo, because I like to try new ones and I like ones that smell good and ones in funny-shaped bottles. One of my favorite shampoos that I like to keep around is Redken All Soft.
• I'm not afraid to go eat at a restaurant or go see a movie by myself.
• The Office is my favorite sitcom. HILARIOUS, people. So dang funny. Some people don't get it, but me and hubby love it.
• I feel good when we go to church. I can tell a difference when we haven't been in a couple of weeks.
• I am Little Man's personal paparazzi.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts are the best. My favorite: Maple Iced Glazed. Yum. Wish I had one right now.

Just Plain Wrong

This is causing a lot of debate right now.

Where the heck were these girls' parents? This is not okay. Ever. Whatever happened to sweet little baton costumes and harmless twirling? 8 year olds should not be gyrating like this and wearing "sexy" costumes.

As a parent, I could not imagine allowing my daughter to participate in something like this. You can't tell me these parents didn't know what the costumes looked like or what the dance moves were, because yours truly was once a tap dancin', baton twirlin' little girl, and my parents saw me dancing around the house all the time practicing what I'd learned. And I can promise you the moves weren't nothin' like this.

Inappropriate. Period. I'm just sayin'...

You might be a mommy...

Yep, I made these up on my own. Don't tell me I'm the only one... :)

...if you have ever told your husband to watch the little one(s) while you went to the bathroom without really having to go. (Everyone needs 5...10...15 minutes alone every once in a while!)

...if you have ever used your child to get off the phone with someone. (Oh no! Little Man is making a huge mess! Gotta go!!) *Dear friends and family of mine...please don't be paranoid that I do this to you, I promise I don't.* ;)

...if you have ever used your child to get out of something you didn't want to do. (Oh, we couldn't find a sitter...oh, we will have to bring our child(ren) and will not be able to stay too long so we can get them to bed...)

...if you love naptime almost as much as you love chocolate. (A peaceful time in the middle of busy days!)

...if hearing "Mooooooommmmmmyyyyyyyyyy!" coming from your little one(s) after nap or in the morning makes you smile and feel so happy and blessed.

...if you hardly ever let your camera leave your hands. (This may be a serious issue of mine...I take a ridiculous number of pictures!)

...if you have the urge to call, text, or e-mail those important to you when your child(ren) say something funny or do something funny or learn something new. (I love to tell a Little Man story, and my family members get a few of them a week!)

...if you clean up toys what seems like a zillion times a day.

...if you have the urge to tell a story about your little one(s) after someone else shares a story about their child(ren). (Yep...I am guilty of this. I know it can seem annoying and like you're trying to one-up, but it is just a natural reaction, I think, because their story reminds you of something your child(ren) have done. So, if I've done this to you, I swear I am not trying to be a heiffer...we are all just very proud of our children and love to talk about them! :) )

...if you give your child(ren) something to hold in the store so that they are occupied (since they don't care about the toys you brought in your bag, of course) and then hand it to the cashier when checking out since you never intended to buy it. (This one bit me in the butt one time...and a certain little monkey ended up coming home with us and is now my little boy's best friend.) :)

...if you think your child(ren) are the cutest, smartest, funniest, most amazing child(ren) in the history of all the world. :)

...if you love your little one(s) more than you ever thought possible.

I'm just sayin'...

Mother's Day!

I have a few minutes during nap time today, so I thought I'd do a Mother's Day post.

My Little Man is sick, and I am hoping he is better before the weekend so that we can go to our hometown to celebrate Mother's Day with our families.

This year I am having Little Man make all of his grandmamas a special gift. I am so excited about it! It is so fun to have him actively involved in the gift...and I hope they love it. I know he doesn't truly understand what it's for, but he sure knows who these special ladies are and he says their name while he is working on the gift. So sweet!

I am blessed with a whole slew of mothers, and they each mean the world to me. They are there for me whenever I need them, always know what to say (and what not to say!), they seem to always know what to do in any situation, and their love for their family and friends is limitless. Not to mention that they are so much fun to be around and laugh with and just enjoy life with. AND they are the best grandmamas in the whole world! My family is blessed to have them in our lives!

Bein' Thankful

Every night around 8ish, my hubby asks Alex if he's ready to go brush his teeth. They go off and do all the getting-ready-for-bed stuff and then they come and get me and we go and read a Bible Story and say our prayers. Last night the story was about God creating the world. While saying our prayer, I was naming off all the things we are thankful for, and Little Man added in, "and books!" Andy started laughing and then I started laughing and could barely finish the prayer.

Watching Alex see everything for the first time and learn about everything has been amazing. It makes me realize even more that as we grow older we really start taking everything for granted. Even just little things (like books!) are things to be thankful for.

He is excited, amazed, and impressed by everything...flying a kite, cooking on the stove, lifting the blinds up on the window, rain puddles, flushing the toilet, watching airplanes and helicopters, animals and bugs of all kinds, and a host of things that we grown-ups think are ordinary and sometimes boring.

Take some time to be thankful for all the little things that so easily become ordinary and expected. I'm just sayin'... :)