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Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing. ~ Tony Stark in Iron Man
Taking a short break from the eloquent Mr Twain this morning.
Yesterday, the weather was cold and rainy all day long. Having spent the morning chaperoning Beanie's 3rd grade class at Skateville, I was most definitely in need of a relaxing evening. My older two were off at sleepovers and my husband suggested we watch Iron Man. Reviews of Iron Man 2 suggest that it would be a very good movie and we had yet to see the first one. So, I went in search of the movie, little realizing the difficulty I'd have.
First I checked the local Red Box. Close, easy in and out...but no. It was not in the upteen billion movies in the local one. Matter of fact, it wasn't in ANY Red Box in the area. So, I headed to Block Buster POSITIVE I'd find the movie there. The question was...WHERE? I checked first under action movies. No. Then drama. Nope. Then comedy. Nada. I checked under Summer Sequels. Niet. I checked BluRay. Non. I even checked the tables with previously viewed movies thinking I'd just buy it. Not there either. I finally gave up (can you say tenacious?) and asked for help only to be led right back to action movies where...there was no Iron Man. Now...it became a quest because according to the computer, there were 6 copies of the movie in the store.
All the while we were searching for the movie, my daughter and her friend were out in the car as this was supposed to be just a run in and grab thing and I was to drop them off at a birthday/sleepover after grabbing the movie. So she is incessantly texting me...what's taking so long? We're late. Can we just go?
Finally, one copy of the movie is found and I go and stand in the line that 5 minutes early wasn't there. But now, as I am in a hurry, there are 5 people (but it looks like 15) in front of me. One keeps going back to the candy counter to pick up different candy...while at the register. I keep saying to myself, PATIENCE...good things come to those who wait. So they're a little late. No biggie.
I finally get to the register as the woman in front of me is walking out and the manager attempts to stop her saying, "you forgot your coupon" to which she replied..."give it to the next person in line". That would be me. All that looking and waiting paid off. The movie was free with her coupon.
I'm going to be on the look out today to pay my good fortune yesterday forward. Wouldn't it be nice if we all paid a little kindness forward?
And Iron Man? Very entertaining.
We are chameleons, and our partialities and prejudices change places with an easy and blessed facility, and we are soon wonted to the change and happy in it. We do not regret our old, yellow fangs and tushes after we have worn nice fresh uniform store teeth a while. ~ Mark Twain
I'm playing with the format on my blog. There were lots of templates to choose from but I sometimes think that when there is too much going on (colors, patterns, etc) important things get lost. I know that is completely accurate in my house (I'm still looking for things that are "lost in space"), so I figured it would be accurate with a blog too. I went with simple. Like it?
A human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs. ~ Mark Twain
My personal preference is that Cinco de Mayo fall on a Friday. Same as Fat Tuesday (yeah yeah...then it's not Tuesday), Halloween, NYE...well, you can figure out all the different holidays. But alas it is not to be so. So, we practice a little restraint. Believe it or not, restraint IS possible on weekdays.
The girls had a viewing of their recital video yesterday and I had made a giant pan of chicken and green chili enchiladas, mexican rice and refried beans (which were a LITTLE too spicy...too many jalapenos). Friends brought over Mexican beer and bling. So we fiesta-ed. With restraint.
We stopped when we reached the amount of "good thing" that we needed. Yeah us!
A good and wholesome thing is a little harmless fun in this world; it tones a body up and keeps him human and prevents him from souring. ~ Mark Twain
Addressing yesterday's post...one really really needs to know one's child's "currancy". That is...that which has an impact. Epiphany...Phone=impact. I had a different child at dinner last night. One who I am hoping visits often OR...he can move in an make me truly a happy momma!
Today...today we were blessed with tickets (thanks Jeff!) to the Twins vs Detroit game tonight at the new Target Field. Today it's supposed to be in the upper 70s! Baseball...hotdogs...beer...does it get any better? I think not.
It is a wise child that knows its own father, and an unusual one that unreservedly approves of him. ~ Mark Twain
I have my dad visiting this week for the girls' dance recital. And while there are the occasional topics we agree to disagree on, I believe at my age, I am a child who as Mr Twain writes, "unreservedly approves" of her father.
I'm not exactly sure how I got here, and I'm hoping that one day my own children will look on me (and their father) the same way I look at my father. That they too will be not just wise, but unusual as well. The question is, how do we get there?
Yesterday we did something as parents that probably should have been done months ago, attempting to right a wrong. My son has an x-box, a phone and and ipod. I don't believe that there is anything wrong with any of those items. When used in moderation. The problem is that he tends to take things to an extreme level. It is not unusual for him to be on the x-box for hours at a time. Neither is it unusual for him to have his phone in his hand, in anticipation for the next text coming through.
Or using his ipod to tune out the world (which unfortunately includes parents). What we have noticed through his usage of these three mediums is he is failing to communicate with us in a respectful manner. We've taken note of this over the past months but have not really addressed the issue. Until this week. Now we are all bearing the brunt of his punishment. We have removed both the x-box and a phone. And make no mistake, this punishment will affect us all.
We don't do this lightly. Only very rarely do parents exact punishment without considering all the options. I had hoped that pointing out the disrespectful manner in which he was communicating would be all that was necessary to allow him to rectify the situation, but that wasn't the case.
He's a good kid and the reality is, this is not his failing but mine. I take responsibility for having failed in teaching him respectful communication. We both will pay the price as we attempt to right this wrong.
What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally and renew our edges! ~ Mark Twain
It is Sunday and we are holding fast to the 3rd (or in some religions the 4th) commandment and "remember and keep holy the Sabbath Day". With the whirlwind of a day that was yesterday, it's to be expected.
Yesterday was absolutely LOVELY! In fact things were going so well yesterday that I allowed a spark of pessimism present itself in that surely something would go wrong. No, that spark never took hold anywhere. It was perfect. The girls danced beautifully. Their curls held up (yes, this IS important). We had a tons of friends and family over afterwards for homemade hero sandwiches (of which I still have an entire 3 ft roast beef left for today), chips, asian slaw, fruit salad and a tray of homemade brownies and chocolate chip cookie bars. An exhausting day, to be sure, but one for the memory books.
God has been so very good to us!
The average American girl possesses the valuable qualities of naturalness, honesty, and inoffensive straightforwardness; she is nearly barren of troublesome conventions and artificialities; consequently, her presence and her ways are unembarrassing, and one is acquainted with her and on the pleasantest terms with her before he knows how it came about. ~ Mark Twain
It's a busy day today. My girls' dance recital is today, which meant that I had to have two girls' hair curled last night (check), costumes all put together and last minute tacking of costumes complete (check), lunches packed (check), hair put in their first dance 'do with stage makeup applied (check). And somewhere in there (like around 10am) I had to be online to get Rob Thomas concert tickets (check...is it wrong of me not to be able to figure out if my smile is bigger because of today's dance recital or because I will be seeing Rob Thomas on July 16? Yes...I thought so). After making sure the girls had EVERYTHING they needed, they boarded buses to the recital (where we will meet up with them afterwards). Could you hear the sigh of relief? Thought so.
In preparation of having anywhere from 20-36 people at my house after the recital, I have 6 - 3 foot long hero subs, cole slaw, fresh fruit salad, a jelly roll pan of brownies and a jelly roll pan of chocolate chip cookie bars. Balloons are ready, flowers are ready, special 10 year gift for my oldest (a bracelet with "I hope you dance" engraved on one side, the date on the other).
Can I be exhausted now? No?
So here were my girls before leaving for the recital(minus the lip color). Believe it or not, Mark Twain's words rang very true, EVEN with the artifice of makeup and costumes. At least today. They were cooperative, they helped me and each other, which on recital day isn't always the case. So I felt his quote fitting.
