Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Bear with me all, this is my first Not Me! Monday! post. :)


It was not ME who let her children go to bed with no bath for two nights in a row. Uh-uh....Not me! I would NEVER let my children go to bed with only a bird bath, especially after one of them enjoyed discovering the wonders of maple syrup. Not me.

Also, it was most certainly NOT me who taught C to yell, "Run honey, RUN!" at the TV when watching football. I would never teach him that.

I would never ever ever yell out "Oh Poop!" when realizing that I left my key in the front door of the house for half a day while out at play dates and running errands. It wouldn't be ME that would say that in front of her children leading to a chorus of "oh poop!" for days on end. Oh yeah, and it was not me that left my key in the front door of the house for hours either. Not me!

It's not me that still let's C fall asleep holding my hand at night because I'm too chicken and too much of a softie to change the situation. It's not MY heart that melts with "but, momma, I want to be with YOU!" Ok, yeah, maybe that one IS me :)

Life According to C

C: Mommy, I can do without the sarcasm.

* * *

M: C, we do not yell at our brother, or anyone else for that matter. It's not nice and it's not the way to get what you want.

C: At school Cole took my train and I yelled at him. He gave it back. It worked for me!

Nine years

Today I've been married to my wonderful DH for nine years. I'm not quite sure where the time went. In some ways it seems like yesterday that we got married and then in others it feels like we've always been together.

He is absolutely my best friend in the whole world, the best father I could ever hope for my children to have, the best middle of the night noise checker, bug killer, hamburger griller, budget maker, movie cuddler, calmer-downer (it's a word), train set builder, little army-man player, grocery carrier, child toter, etc. in the whole world.

I love you, M!

It's not fair!!!

How many times do we hear this from our kids? If you're anything like me, it's ALL THE TIME. A has my favorite truck, IT'S NOT FAIR! C got the last applesauce, IT'S NOT FAIR! Etc, etc, etc. Lately, though, it's me that wants to scream that it's not fair. Sometimes life just seems unfair.

Recently I came across the story of Stellan and his wonderful family. What a sweet baby boy who has had and continues to have to face so much in his short life. I won't even begin to try to tell his story, his mother does that more beautifully than I ever could. If you get a chance, check out her blog. Stellan and his family have been on my mind non-stop these last few weeks. At any rate, it's not fair. It's not fair that his mother has to watch her precious boy suffer, or that his siblings have to know sickness at such an early age, it's just not fair.

Then there's my friend, a bright, beautiful, sweet woman who deserves nothing more than to find her happily ever after. Unfortunately, the one most of us thought would be prince charming turned out to be just another frog. There's no doubt that the prince is really out there, just waiting to find her, but it's not fair that she has to wait, and it's not fair that she has to hurt.

There's also a woman at work who wants nothing more than to be appreciated. She does her job, and the job of several other people. She's often not rewarded. It would take nothing more than a pat on the back, a good job, or a "you're appreciated" to make her day. Sadly, the people that she works for haven't thought to say that yet. Hopefully they will. It's not fair that she hasn't heard it.

My husband works in the child welfare field. The things he sees on a daily basis that horrify me, and I only know a smidgen of what he sees. It is beyond me that there are parents out there that do not look at their children with absolute wonder and delight. I cannot imagine that there are people that do not cherish their children. I cannot even fathom how child abuse occurs. Yet it does. It's not fair that there are abused children and that there are so many wonderful people who would make amazing parents but cannot have children. It's not fair.

I think that I just needed to get that out. Now, feel free to all tell me that "Life isn't fair." I know, my mother told me that the first time I complained that my brother got to go to the zoo with a friend and I couldn't go (I ran away. Not far, since I wasn't allowed to cross the street).

So, today, I'm going to hug my kids extra tight, try not to get too irritated when C throws a tantrum because he can't watch another cartoon or when A sticks his tongue out at me when I tell him no, I'm going to kiss my husband and make sure he knows that I appreciate him and all he does, I'm going to take a minute to smell the sweet smell of freshly washed baby hair, and I'm going to thank the people that I work with that make my life easier. Somehow that just might make everything a little more fair.

Life According to A and C

Me: How was your day at school?

C: It's complicated, mommy.

**********

Teacher: You're wet, let's go get fresh!

A: Ms. N. (his favorite teacher) will handle it.

Life According to C

A: I have two penises!!!!

C: NO you don't! You have one, you only have ONE!

A: Oh......I have ONE penis!

C: That's right.

A few minutes later.....

C: Mommy, there sure are a lot of penises in this world.

I'm rethinking the whole "use the right anatomical term" idea, but the conversation was hilarious. :)

Please keep B in your prayers

A good friend of mine and co-worker has had a really tough year. She's had to deal with the death of her mother, her father's illness, and now her husband is in intensive care with some major health issues. My heart just hurts for B. She's been through so much, much more than anyone should have to bear, especially so close together. She's a sweet caring person who could use some good thoughts and prayers right now. If you have any to spare, I'd appreciate it.