Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Conflict Management ~

Lately I've been having a conflict with myself.  When I read other blogs, they have the happiest children who are perfectly adorned and color coordinated to match the fronts of their homes/bicycles.  We typically get to hear the sweet phrases that escape their mouths so innocently, yet eloquently profound and headed for the publisher.

Well I've been waiting for these things to happen.  Really I have!  I don't want to paint a bad picture of my boys, and so I wait.  I've been waiting for that super cute thing to happen so that I can blog about it.  Still waiting!

It's not that my remaining two are bad kids, but they are teenagers.  And although they are boys, we still have a bit of drama that inevitably sneaks in from day to day.  Mildly entertaining to me, but it might be considered taunting if I share it with the public.

So here's my conflict.  I want to be real in my blogging, but I don't want people to read my blog and then want to smack my boys when they see them on the street!  I've had to draw a line as to not incriminate my remaining resident offspring.  So consequently, I don't do a lot of blogging anymore!  Sorry Mary Ellen!

Other than going private (which I'm not going to do), I guess my only solution is to tread lightly.  I don't need to share every ridiculous wrinkle that is created under this roof, and I don't need to share anything that a prosecuting attorney would like to get their hands on.  It will be a mild version of what real mothers of teenagers deal with.

For example!  Last night, we went to Target ... because I'm a sucker for these things!  Every year I devour them until I am finally satisfied with the sweet taste of Easter and ready to move into Summer. 


Anyway, while we were there, Jake found a pair of shorts that he needed/liked.  I told him that I would buy them, but that I was going to hold onto them until the drawers in his room (which were already imploding with clothes that haven't been worn since the Bush Administration) were cleaned out and organized.  He agreed.  Our purchases were made and we went home.

This morning, silly Jake asked me for his new pair of shorts.  I reminded him of the deal that was made and he did his best to convince me that his drawers were just fine.  Oh sweet little Jake ... how did our definitions become so disconnected?  He didn't argue for long and before I knew it he was on his way to school ... in an old pair of clothes.  Harsh?  I say no.  So I continued about my day not giving it much more thought.

About 30 minutes after this handsome child had been gone, I noticed this little love note that he left on my office door.  I gasped and then giggled.




 The energy that was put into these bubble letters alone could have cleaned out two drawers!  I love how he avoided more conflict with me by just taping this up and running.  The irony is, he has no idea what conflict he just began.  Oh Jake.  You silly, silly ARTISTIC boy.

Does anybody that reads this have teenagers?

 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Kacey found these amazing photos of me recently.  I can't stop laughing ... hard.  I keep bringing them closer to the trash can, but I just have to document my foolish past first.  One line keeps coming to mind ... "What was I thinking?"  Seriously! 

I actually had a friend come over and take these pictures for someone!
I totally thought they'd be the perfect birthday present!

Let's analyze them, shall we?

First of all, I LOVE the dirty, generic Keds.  Of course you would wear those shoes with that sultry look!  And I love that that's no shadow in back of my head ... that's just my hair.  My elbow resting on my knee and chin like I'm so bored with the whole paparazzi scene.  And that shimmering lip gloss ... at least 3 applications for sure!  It's definitely one of my best looks of the 80's.

Quick!  
Change your clothes and let's hang up a dark colored quilt for the new look!  
Now what you want to do is wear all white with a dash of acid wash to show off your sexy silhouette that is just glaring into the camera.  Again, nothing screams "I'M INTO YOU" like that irritated look.  Please notice the popped up collar and earrings to match the whole ensemble ... and I felt so good about the crowd stopping shoes that they just had to stay on ... with the socks!  
I'm pretty sure I'm channeling Rob Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire.


Wait.  I'm just going to gaze naturally to my left, and you just take the shot!  Pure genius!  Can you believe how I made it look like I was just sitting in front of a white wall in my living room?  I especially love how my right knee was apparently stuck in that upright position all day long.  So hot!

The funniest part to me is that this was long before the digital age.  Oh ya.  I actually took a whole roll of these babies down to the corner drug store and paid to have them developed ... and I picked them up ... in person!  Imagine the laughter in the dark room as these images came to life!  And then let's just take a moment to imagine the horror as these were received as a gift.  What was I thinking???  OMG!


It's days like these that you just hope your kids have more sense than you.  
And then I find a stack of these developed from Kacey's glory days. 


Sweet white sheet in the background ...
pouty lip smothered in some sweet lookin' gloss.
Gaze naturally to your right.
You make me proud girl ... and I'm sure I do the same.

  Please tell me you're all laughing with me!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

I did it!

Remember this post?  Well I tried it again ... for my anniversary ... and I made it!  I went all the way UP ... and all the way down.  It was certainly one of the hardest things I've ever done (and I'm one miserable mother this week), but I did it!


Gary kept on telling me that I could do it, and I believed him.  He would go ahead of me (leaping from boulder to boulder like the smooth gazelle that he is) and scout out the best route for me to lunge my frail body toward.  He never let me out of his sight, and he never complained that he could have climbed the camel, lassoed it and taken it for a walk by the time I made it to the top.  It was actually the perfect thing to do for our day (of course I got a nice meal that evening as well), and it proved to me again that things worth having are worth working for.


I did it!  Booyah! 

Friday, March 11, 2011

Happy Anniversary to me!

Tomorrow will be 17 years since this picture was taken!


Oodalolly a lot has happened in this time!  I'm not gonna lie.  Blending families is hard stuff.  But I had three little ones who needed a Dad ... and I needed a man!  Gary was up for the task.  I think he fell in love with the family before he fell in love with me (and he fell in love with me super fast)!  Anybody who knows Gary, knows that he is crazy!  His energy level far surpasses anybody I've ever known.  He accomplishes more in a day than most do in a week.  He fears nothing ... and is willing to try anything.  He has protected and taught our little family unit and is an amazing example of good work ethic and service.  It's been a crazy ride, never a dull moment ... and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Thanks for the ride you hunka hunka Shaker!

 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our newest member of the family ~

I'd like to introduce you to my new daughter-in-law, Kaelin.  
We needed one more "special k" in the family ... 
Karen, Kacey, Karl, Keaton & Kaelin.  

If you'd like to see more pictures like these, go here!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Coping ...

Apparently my daughter is concerned for mine and Gary's well-being.  Read about it here.  I think it's cute, but I would have to say that Kacey's parents are coping just fine!  Little Kacey got married in May, little Keaton began his mission in August and little Matty got married on Saturday!  It's been a big year for sure!  When I think back on this year, I think it might possibly be my favorite since 1987.

June of 1987, I became a mom for the first time.  I remember thinking that I could not possibly EVER be this happy ever again!  It was amazing!  And then ... it got hard ... really, really hard!  

I wish my glasses could have been just a little bit bigger.

Oh my goodness when I think back to the sleep deprivation alone, I get a little twitch in my left eye!  But it was good.  And it was good to the tune of four more times!  My babies have been my whole world, and for the most part, our world has been good.

But now I'm old.

And my back aches.

And I need more sleep.

So when my little ones choose to grow up and leave our nest for people and places that bring a whole other dynamic to our family unit and happiness as we once knew it ... it's fine by me.  In fact, it's awesome.

It's a little bit funny to me that Kacey wonders how we are coping.  She should know how we're coping, because she lives less than 5 miles from home and visits us practically every day (sometimes more than once).  And the extra funny part of this new family dynamic (and Kacey's melodramatic mood), is that now Matthew and his new little wife live one block away from Kacey and her little Karl.  Kacey finally has a sister and Matthew and Karl are great friends ... they just have homes down the street from each other instead of bedrooms across the hall from each other.  It's our new life, and so far ... it's sweet!

How do you feel about your current phase of life?

Wednesday, March 2, 2011