Roots to Grow!

I LOVE roses! We have several rosebushes in our yard. Last night I found this beautiful red rose laying on my laptop. I put the rose in a vase with water and left it on the kitchen table. Son3 comes in and sees it, looks at his dad and says "you don't expect that to grow without its roots do you?" Sometimes beauty is lost in the logic.

Cellphones

Whoever said talking on your cellphone while driving is dangerous, never has ridden in a car with 4 children screaming and fighting in the backseat!! Or has never driven with screaming toddlers in the back seat of the car! or been driving while trying to explain to the 5 year that no you can't look at the scratch on his arm because you are driving, but they want you to look at it NOW! or tie there shoes, or..or..or..or...

So I have been reading this blog http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ I love her posts. One of her recent posts "Driving with the moon" was fairly disturbing to me. This woman has survived a plane crash, has had to have multiple surgeries, skin grafts, and had many long term hospital stays. In this post she admits to being in the back seat of the car exchanging text messages with her husband who is in the front seat driving.....Ummmmm.... accident waiting to happen??

Communication

I have been reading "I Hate it When Exercise is the Answer" by Emily Watts

Exercise #7: Understanding Men

"The next time you are frustrated because you don't seem to be getting a response from the man in your life, remind yourself that he is not deliberately being obtuse. It's just the way he's wired. Communicate your needs clearly and directly, and don't forget to express gratitude when they are met."

So, living with 2 men, my wonderful husband and son2, who are very literal I am trying to become more detailed in my requests. The other day their was a basket of clean, folded towels on the floor.
To son1 I said "Please take this basket upstairs and put them neatly in the closet"
The second I said it, I had visions of son2 taking the basket upstairs and putting basket, towels and all in the closet. "Wait a minute"
I get the annoyed teenage look-I am sure you have all seen it..sometimes it even comes with an eye roll.
"I want you to take the basket of towels upstairs, place the towels neatly in the closet where they go, and bring the empty basket back downstairs" quite proud of myself for covering all the areas that could cause mis-interpretation, son1 took the basket upstairs, put the towels away and then proceeded to toss the empty basket down the stairs..thump..thump..thump... Sometimes you just can't win!!

It is all in the translation??!!

A few weeks ago, we got a note from the Recycling people, telling us how are barrels should be placed (I have an idea of where they should be placed!!). One of each side of the driveway. Okay so our driveway is narrow at the end and one of these days one of those bins is going to become a hood ornament on my van, the question remains will it be the pretty blue recycle bin or the ugly gray trash bin.
So on Tuesday, the conversation goes something like this:
"Son2, please go check to see if the recycling has come and if it has, please bring the barrel back and put it away"
Son2 grumbling the entire way down the driveway and back
"No it hasn't come yet"
"Okay while I am gone, please keep an eye on it so you can bring the barrel back"
"sure"
Several hours later I return home, as I am getting ready for my afternoon tanning session at the track, I ask Son2 "did you check the recycling bin?"
"oh ah no"
"please go do it"
again grumbling all the way down the driveway, this time with his head shaking and some muttering, he eventually returns to the house,
"yes it has come"
"TELL ME you brought the barrel back and put it away"
"Um No you didn't say that you said to check it"
"OH Seriously tell me that you didn't leave that barrel at the end of the driveway"
"yeah cuz you just said to check it,"
This is the part of the conversation where my eyes start rolling, and my head starts spinning and some noise that sounds like it is from the exorcist erupts....
"GO GET THE RECYCLE BIN AND PUT IT WHERE IT GOES!! and then you get to walk 5 laps at the track for being...being...being...GRRRRRR!!"

HillBilly Nerd Dance/Take the Initiative

Core Purpse: "Changing lives by developing great leaders in the family, business, community, and the world."

Core Values: Initiative, Integrity, Good Judgment and Teamwork.

Son2 participating in a skit demonstrating initiative at the annual Ameri-Ben Camp Out.

The Sacrificial Dinner Conversation

Dinner as a family is something that we just do. Whether it is 7pm or 5pm it is important to me that we all sit down as a family for dinner. Since it is summer those dinners have become few and far between! The other night we sat down to dinner and Son3 provided us with the following conversation:
Son3: Mom do you know they have Sacrifice at Ethan's church?
Mom: Do you mean Sacrament?
Son3: No Ethan says it is Sacrifice.
Mom: Honey I am pretty sure it is Sacrament.
Son3: NO! it is Sacrifice.
Mom: Tell me what Sacrifice is then?
Son3: You get water and bread. The Water is the God's blood and Bread is his body.
Mom: Okay, Ethan may call it Sacrifice, but I am positive that it is called Sacrament.
(I didn't even dare to try and explain to him that when I went to church it was called Communion--that will be a conversation for a different day!)

Teenage Drivers!--Remember to Breathe, Breathe, Breathe!!

I was reading the Parade magazine in today's (July 11, 2010) Sunday Paper. The following post has been adapted to fit my life from that article. "The Scariest Milestone" by Harlan Coben.

As I open the car door and get in, I realize I have never EVER known such fear! I get in my seat close the door and buckle my seat belt, then I take a minute to look over at my newly permitted teenage son. The sheer terror of what we are about to do sinks in and my adrenaline levels increase 10 fold. He puts the car into reverse and begins to slowly back up, "are you watching behind you" "yes mother" "keep watching you never know when little kids are going to run behind you" "yes mother" we successfully back up and now we are in drive headed down the driveway onto our street, okay so I can now breathe for a minute. Out onto the road with other cars, my breathing has stopped again, can you pass out from this? approaching stop sign, silent prayer "slow down, slow down, slow down" my foot pushes on the IPB (imaginary parent brake) so hard I think that my foot is going to go through the floor. We finally stop, but not behind the white line so here comes the instruction (okay, really an overly loud lecture on stopping behind the white line). Our turn through the stop sign, acceleration "please slow down" "mom the speed limit is 50" why is it when you are a passenger of a teenage driver 50 feels more like 110? "please don't let me die today!" We safely arrive at our destination, my knuckles are white I am pretty sure I have taken a breath in the 20 minutes it has taken to get here. I shop, and then we start the painful journey home. Seriously though he is a good driver he is just missing the things that come with experience and time.

Hotdogs and Sausage

The conversation between the mom and the child goes something like this:
"Nick do you want a hot dog?"
"Is it a sausage?"
"No it is a hot dog."
"Oh I want a sausage" wanders off
5 minutes later...
"Nick do you want a hot dog?"
"Is it a sausage?"
"Well if it wasn't a sausage 5 minutes ago, it is not a sausage now"
"Yeah but does it have sausage stuff inside it"
"No it is a hot dog"
"Yeah but is their sausage stuff in it?"
"Okay Nick if you want it to be a sausage, it is a sausage"
"do you want your hot dog on a roll?"
"you mean my sausage on a roll, yes"
"Mom this sausage is really good"
...and yet we continue to wonder why some mammals eat their young.....