My PSA For Today

Just got a disturbing email from a great friend. In fact, the email was terrifying.

My friend, and bowling partner, just informed me she would not be joining us tomorrow. Her hubby was in a car accident last night and is now (very luckily, we all agree) recovering from some minor trauma and a concussion.

On his way home last night he was stuck in traffic, just sitting in the express lane. The car behind him did not stop and instead hit him at an estimated 50 mph. Totaling his Cherokee.

Witnesses to the accident reported the other driver was in his car texting.

This is how I feel about it: There is nothing in the world that guy was typing that needed to be said at the risk of endangering other people.

If you are an avid texter, please think about it next time you're in the car and a message comes in. My friend was very fortunate, and we are extremely grateful for that, however this appears to be becoming a regular occurrence on the road. One I think we should all be trying to put an end to.

Brain Farts

So twice in the last few days I have noticed some grammar and spelling errors in my dear blog.

First, the whole bate thing that Turbo refuses to let me live down. Ok, so it's bait. I know. I knew then too. It just didn't make it from my brain to the blog correctly.

Now rite of passage. Put it in a comment as right of passage, read my cousins blog this morning using the correct terms. Ugh, did it again.

I have no excuse as to why I keep doing this.

I'm tired. Yeah, have been for months. It's nothing new.

I'm typing with Lucy on my lap half of the time. Again, doin' that for a while now. (4 months tomorrow!)

I'm certainly not the best speller. Todd has teased me about that for ages. He used to make me spell words out loud. Just to make me practice. Instead it made me mad (and even more dependent on spell checker). Who the hell cares how you spell Jeopardy? Just turn the damn channel and let me watch Alex work his magic.

God knows I'm no grammar queen. Who the crap used my shampoo? Whom should I blame for it spilling all over the floor? I took English 101 in college. And passed it. They even let me graduate. As far as I'm concerned, I know enough to make me look like a moderately intelligent human being. Most of the time.

Whatever the current reason, I must relay to all of you (my devoted 6 or 7 readers) that I am by no means perfect. Nor am I a moron (as Todd suggested). Just doing my blogger thing for fun. Not earning a grade anymore, just gabbing about my life. And misspelling half of it.

fAST fOOD fRIDAY

60 degrees never felt so wonderful! Could it be that spring has finally sprung? I'm crossing my fingers. Tightly. Since the weather is so glorious, we'll be grilling for the 3rd day in a row. Huge, fat, tasty pub burgers. YUM!
I believe every well rounded lady should know her way around the grill, charcoal and gas. If you don't yet, get your fanny out there and learn! Wow those boys with something they think is sacred only to them!

The Soundtrack: Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs,
You Can't Buy A Gun When You're Crying
listen to my fave, Devil Do here

The Meal: (well it's really a side...) Layered Salad
this one's pretty cheap and it serves a bunch.
modify it for your fam.

what you need:
chopped lettuce, I use romaine and iceberg
1 cup celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 pack frozen peas
1 1/2 cup mayo
2 tsp sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar
cooked and crumbled bacon, about 6 slices
(feel free to add or subtract contents, we throw in red & green peppers.)


what you do:
layer in the order listed. (add any extras before the mayo)
do not mix
chill for a few hours before serving

Enjoy!

The Town Drunk

Bowling is this Saturday.

Unfortunately, since the birth of dear Lucy I have a problem with alcohol. Not that I drink too much. In fact, I hardly drink ever. I really only throw them back on bowling nights. And that, dear friends, appears to be my biggest problem.

I don't drink much at home. Maybe (BIG maybe) I'll have a glass of wine or a beer with Turbo on a Friday, when we've got something in the fridge that catches my eye. Then the calendar rolls over and that first Saturday of the month shows its delightful face. The huge bold letters B-O-W-L scream at me from across the room. Our night out, away from the kiddos, to enjoy a taste of the glory days.

We got out to dinner with some friends.

I drink a margarita. Yum. Make that 2.

We get to the bowling alley.

I have a beer. And another. Just one more.

I get hammered. Whoops.

I don't try to. Honestly, I don't even want to.

The alcohol hides, slowly tempting me into taking the bait by disguising itself in a delicious lime and strawberry swirled concoction. Peer pressure, in its finest form, makes me order more when everyone else at the table opts for another. On the lanes I reply 'sure' to the offer for a beer. I'm just hanging out, keeping pace with the rest of them. I'm in no danger of repeating last month.

Oh, but I am and I do. Any more than 2 drinks for me means a ruined game of bowling. A horrid Sunday headache. A laundry list of foolish antics.

This month, we have not yet made it to Saturday and my friends are harassing me.

Where should we eat? Will Ky be able to have a drink? Have one for us, Ky! Do you want to go to McDonalds so you can't start too early? Think you should start at home so you get the barfing out of the way before we start? A-holes. Every last one of them.

That of course, is why I love them. It is why I respond that I will carry a flask so I can drink anywhere we eat. Tell them I refuse to promise anything regarding my behavior. Try to get other stay-at-home moms to start drinking with me during the day.

The day will come when I can hold my liquor once again. Then those SOB's I call friends will have to find a new fool to entertain them. Then they will be sorry they pushed me to rebuild my tolerance so quickly. They'll miss the easily drunk me. They'll see.

Ready to Party

Last night we took Rex & Lucy out to pick up outfits for the wedding next month.

Rex got some snazzy pants & shoes to go with the shirt & tie he picked out a month or so ago. He tried the entire outfit on as soon as we got home. Needless to say, he would have gone straight to Indy and waited a month on the steps of the church if we'd have let him.

Our fave purchase, however, was this dress for Lucy...so cute I can hardly stand it.

I just hope some of her hair grows in before the big day.

Moral Support

This morning, as soon as I had a chance, I checked my cousin's blog. Her entry today began with a little rant about sacrifice and finding yourself in an unanticipated place. It included a snippet of her love story, one that will take on a new form next month after a beautiful wedding.

Through her post I could almost feel her frustration at those who assume her path to happiness was lined with sunshine and roses. That it never saw storm clouds, never felt a frosty chill, never needed repaving.

Here's what I have to say to her (...and you guys too, since you feel like listening.)

I may not have traveled around the world, but my life has taken me to many places. My experiences were not always perfect, sometimes I returned from them heartbroken and confused. After one particularly difficult journey I stumbled across a fellow diamond in the rough. A friend in the same confused state as me, not sure of what path to follow next.

We had known each other all our lives, meeting in kindergarten many many years before. We were friends, but not by much. Our lives teetered on the edge of a very small social circle. The kind where we saw each other frequently but were alone very rarely.

For whatever reason, we eventually found ourselves spending lots of time together. We quickly became good friends, finding outrageous commonalities in each other. Our time sitting around with others slowly turned into nights going out to the movies, a trip to dinner for two, an evening phone call, a daily meeting. When we realized what was going on we worked very hard to minimize it, hide it from some people, we even tried to put an end to our budding relationship. (That breakup only lasted 2 days and cemented all of the things that followed.) We talked long and hard about what was happening, what we expected to come away from it with, what we would do if it crashed and burned. The end decision was that we would take it very slowly and with extreme caution so no one would be hurt and neither of us would ever regret the choice we made.

Within a month of this discussion he whispered he loved me in my ear at the very loud and noisy Duck Inn. (Right after he told me I had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, they are so pretty, they look like... moss.) At his brothers wedding 2 months later we both felt the knowing gaze of his grandparents as we twirled around the dance floor. I left that weekend in Ohio knowing half of the people there would eventually be at our own wedding.

Over the last 10+ years together, 5+ years of marriage, 2+ kids on our knees, we have made millions of sacrifices. (Him much more than me, though you may not know that by peering in from the outside.) We have proceeded through our life together always considerate of what the other wants and needs, our combined dreams and goals, the best interests of our family. There are lots of things we do that some people may not understand, loads of choices we've made that are unconventional, and follow a drum that beats only in our ears. It all makes sense to us, even when it doesn't make sense to anyone else.

Now, I don't know if there is anyone out there that envies us. (Really, we don't care one way or another if they do.) I also don't believe anyone thinks we had it easy. (And even so, it wasn't half as hard as others may think.) But I do know that it is the sacrifices that make people envious and the faith you have in each other that makes it seem easy.

Eventually, you will come to a point in your life (seems impossible now, if your friends are all happily rushing to the alter as ours once did) when some relationships around you start to self destruct. When that happens, you'll realize you have something they don't. You'll have a relationship in which you can communicate with each other, where you consider the others thoughts and feelings before you make a decision, where you can resolve a conflict without always having an argument.

The sacrifices won't ever stop, but since you're willing to make them for each other in order to live a life that makes sense to you, others will be envious. They'll say you have it easy. That you don't understand what it's like to have to work hard for something. That you're lucky. What they won't know is that you work at it every day. That is always hard work and that there is very little luck involved at all.

The difference is that you found a person willing to give up some their dreams to accept and work toward yours. Someone willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, so that you will both live happily ever after.

A Big Day

Today is Rex's birthday. He is ecstatic. He woke up this morning anticipating being a foot taller, since now he's 5. (So, we had to explain that your body takes some time getting used to being older.) He thinks kindergarten starts tomorrow, because he's 5 now. (We told him it starts in August, he'll just have to wait a bit longer.) He believes the entire world knows today is his birthday, and they're prepared to spoil him generously. (That one we're going to let go on for the day.)

We do our best every year to make birthdays special. Little trips, special dinners, big surprises. Since our pocketbooks are generally on the thin side, we have learned over the years that creativity goes a long way in a little heart. This year is no exception. With the birth of sister Lucy, Rex has learned very quickly that babies change how you do things. Less time with Mom & Dad, fewer trips out of the house, not nearly enough fun as far as he's concerned.

To make his day special we scheduled a few Rex Only hours. He wanted a new bike, so we left the other kiddos at home and went to pick one out that was perfect for him. A nice 'big' royal blue and yellow Huffy, complete with handbrakes and 'Super Charger' decals. (The extra cool bight orange Mongoose he first picked was out of stock, and he refused to wait the two weeks to get one. Go figure...)

Then we traveled across town to take him to lunch at the place of his choice. This was a HUGE secret we instructed Rex to keep until we got into the car, so Todd & I would not feel compelled to sway his decision if we weren't in the mood for (corn dogs, chicken nuggets, pancakes). As soon as we were out of the driveway, he told us we were eating at Red Robin. (YUM!)

After a new bike, delish lunch, and a brief stop to barf on the way home (our little guys gets excited and sometimes throws up. especially after an onion ring tower, corn dog, and bottomless fries.) we headed home to begin prep for his birthday dinner, remaining presents, and cake.

Todd's grilling some hot dogs and brats in the snow. We'll set up a 'hot dog bar' complete with technicolor relish, sport peppers, and all the other Chicago fixin's. We'll have potato salad, fruit salad, and root beer. We're going to sing and eat a big chocolate cake. Rex will get the big green frosting balloons on his way-to-big-for-him piece. He'll open his cards and presents, then play with them until he falls asleep.

It will be exactly what he asked us for.

(Since I'm finishing this Monday morning, I already know it was the perfect day. Before I took Lucy to bed I got a huge hug and 'I Love You' from our new 5 year old. Very rare behavior when he was 4.)