The Good Times ALWAYS Outweigh the Bad

What I Think I Know – A monthly tongue in cheek commentary of things I’ve learned (or so I think)….

I think I was probably about 8 or 9 years old when my parents, older brother, and I took a two week vacation out west in a non-air conditioned station wagon.  We were on our way to see the major sites that most families see when making a trip to the west, Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon, and Mount Rushmore.  Back then my brother and I thought it was fun to bring along tape recorders and tape various parts of our trips.  We would interview each other and our parents and just do silly little things with the recorder to pass the time. 

We were all having a great time until we had trouble finding hotels with vacancies.  It seems that my mom the planner thought we should make hotel reservations in advance so that we had places to stay whereas my father didn’t think hotel reservations were necessary.  Needless to say, my mother deferred to my father’s judgment and hotel reservations didn’t get made.  And this is where our pleasant fun filled trip turned for the worse at least for my parents.  Tired from driving and spending a little bit too much time together, my parents began one of the worse arguments I had ever heard them have throughout their 40 years of marriage.  Being young and somewhat oblivious to the fragility of the situation, my brother and I saw my parents’ moment of weakness as an opportunity and recorded their entire fight on our tape recorders.  My brother and I were having a great time hunched over in the back recording and laughing at every last word.  Eventually we found a place to stay and my parents made up, leaving us to record our own thoughts and silly games.

To this day my brother and I still talk about that trip and get a good laugh out of that fight and gutsiness it took on our part to record it.  And I think we appreciate the memory even more because we are now both parents and can fully appreciate what our parents were feeling on that long 100 degree day in a non-air conditioned station wagon with no place to sleep. 

I have to admit that there have been times on family vacations where I haven’t kept my cool.  Whether it was because of the too close quarters, the lack of sleep from driving all night, squabbles from the back seat, or my husband walking away from the plan, there have been times when my tiredness overtook the excitement and I completely lost it.  But yet we continue to go every year, saving money in our family vacation jar, setting family travel goals, and keeping track of everything in our family journal because the good times always outweigh the bad, and if for nothing else than to give my kids memories and laughs to last a lifetime.

Pachelbel Bedtime

Thanks to Busymom for tipping us off to this all too true tale….

Wordless Wednesday – Potty Training

I’ve Become One of THOSE People

I like to pretend I’m laid back and easy going. You know the kind, the person that doesn’t sweat the small stuff, worry about deadlines, or doesn’t need a “do list” to get the most basic things in life accomplished. And every year I pretend I’m one of the laid back cool people by scoffing at the people in Target buying school supplies at the end of July. Saying to myself in my cool laid back way, it’s only July! School doesn’t start for another month! These people are crazy! Are they really that busy that they have to buy school supplies a month in advance?

And so I wait in my cool laid back way until a week before school starts and causally stroll into my local Target with four kids in tow to buy school supplies which are probably going to end up costing me $200. And suddenly my cool easy going demeanor slowly melts to the floor as I become overwhelmed with the crowds of parents and kids clustered around the very depleted and picked over bins of school supplies. Everyone of us trying to read through our lists, keep track of kids, and maintain a sense of politeness. Grabbing whatever we can that is even remotely similar to the “suggested supplies” provided by the school, calling our friends on our cell phone in a panic over glue sticks hoping they bought enough for both of you, and trying to convince your 10 year old daughter that the Barbie folders they have left really are cool. Every 5th grade girl will have one!

And so this year I finally admitted that I really am one of THOSE people, you know the kind, the uptight, “do list” or die kind of people. And humbly walked into Target along with the other uptight, “do list” or die kind of people a full 40 days before the start of school. And we very calmly and casually (well as calmly as possible with four kids in tow) bought our supplies. There were no mom melt downs in the store, frantic calls to my friends, or arguments over the Barbie folders. Just peace, calm, and the sad realization that I really am one of THOSE kinds of people.

He Misses Me

While at home and going about our busy lives, my husband often takes the time to quietly complain about my compulsiveness. My need to have order, control, and a chaos free life he does not always appreciate. How I can’t go anywhere with dishes in the sink, how I can’t leave for vacation without the house being clean (this is a major point of contention with him), or how I take great pleasure in organizing a new cabinet or drawer. But since being on vacation since Saturday, my husband has actually admitted to missing some of these Bree like traits. Since being on vacation for the last 3 days, I have taken the fact that WE are on vacation seriously and have not made much effort at keeping the small 500 square foot cottage all 6 of us are staying in order. I am leaving dishes in the sink, letting the kids eat on the couch, and have made no effort whatsoever to sweep the sand off the floor. After all, WE are on vacation.

So today after sleeping into 9:00am (this is rare for me), I happily declared, “Aren’t you proud of me? I have totally relaxed and not made an effort to get this cottage in any kind of order. Don’t you love the mess?” Fully expecting him to hug and kiss me and echo my cheers of pride, he grumpily replied (after stepping in a pile of sand), “Yeah I guess. But I kind of miss it….” (aka “please take some time to clean up – it is now inconveniencing me”). Men!!

The Trials and Tribulations of a Mother-Daughter Relationship

For all those mothers out there with daughters….one week my bedroom walls were decorated with wonderful messages of love and the next week I was no longer loved….

Oh…I Didn’t Think You Meant that Couch…

Well the missing sippy cup has been found and even though it didn’t smell too bad, it was filled with spoiled gunky milk so I threw it away. I found it under the living room couch…you know the one I asked my husband if he looked under? Apparently when I asked him if he looked under the couches I should have clarified and said both couches – you know the one in the living room and dining room….next time I will just do it myself!

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Polly

My friend Bobette over at Marketing Strategies has invited me to join in this fun game. Thanks, Bobette!

1. I’m a huge Alan Jackson fan and have just about every one of his songs downloaded to my iPod.
2. I don’t have any patience for whiners. I avoid them like the plague.
3. I don’t believe in coincidence. Every thing happens for a reason and everyone is born with a purpose.
4. Unlike Bobette, I don’t collect anything and I hate clutter. I throw out a lot of stuff….including things my husband thinks needs saving…
5. Getting everything done on my “do list” brings me great joy!

Some people I admire and would like to know more about are Alicia Staz, Susan and Janice, and e-Mom

Excuse Me, But Do You Have Butterscotch?

Someone needs to talk to my 4 year old. She obviously doesn’t understand my quest for a Frazzle Free Christmas. One bright early morning she came bounding into me exclaiming that she was also going to ask Santa for Butterscotch, the FurReal Pony. You know the one that eats carrots? I said sure we can let Santa know that you want Butterscotch, no big deal. Right? After all 4 year olds have a habit of changing their minds as often as they change underwear and how big a deal would it be to get a horse named Butterscotch. So I kept quiet for a couple of days, waiting to see if Butterscotch was going to stick and sure enough that is all she could talk about. So I calmly set myself down in front of the computer and the phone to find a Butterscotch nearby or on-line and was shocked to find that Butterscotch was $299 and was unavailable everywhere! So within a matter of minutes I went from a calm frazzle free mother to panicking over how I would explain it to my daughter, who was talking about Butterscotch constantly, my hesitation over Butterscotch. We started with it is an awful big gift and Santa only has so much room in his sleigh and not every child can get a Butterscotch to trying to convince her that Butterscotch also poops out the carrots and she would have to clean up its mess everyday. The pooping part almost worked, but in the end she persisted and continued to ask for Butterscotch. So against my better judgment, I started calling stores everywhere asking, “Excuse Me, but do you have Butterscotch, the FurReal Pony?” Everywhere the answer was the same, no Butterscotch and no idea if they would be getting any in stock. I had my sisters and brothers looking in their local stores two states away hoping to find Butterscotch out of state and still no luck. All this time she was getting more and more excited. Telling everyone she was asking Santa for Butterscotch, “it eats carrots” she would exclaim. In the end I was one of the lucky 5 people who was able to get one on-line at Toys R Us and ended up more frazzled than I had planned. She better really love this pony…

Am I Really that Desperate?

I love the show Desperate Housewives, but after last week’s episode I may have to reconsider….

I was all settled in my nice big chair in front of the warm fire, legs propped up on the ottoman and a lap full of Christmas cards. I was so proud of myself. I was staying on track with the 8 Weeks to a Frazzle Free Christmas and according to the plan, I was to be working on Christmas cards. It all made perfect sense to me until the very first scene where Bree and her son were listening to Christmas carols and working on Christmas cards. I have always considered myself a nice normal blend between the Bree and Lynette characters, but Sunday’s episode hit a little too close to home. Have I really become a Bree? Have I really become so desperate for control and fearful of chaos that I will start my Christmas cards before Thanksgiving?

Hmmm, no, I don’t think so. Just like Bree, I prefer to consider this an exercise that “puts me in the mood to spread holiday cheer”. After all, spreading joy and self denial have always been two of my best qualities.

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