About a year ago, my middle son joined the cub scouts. My husband took him to most of the meetings and apparently on the first night they passed around a form and had all of the parents sign up to do a den meeting. My husband signed me up for April's den meeting. The theme was "Spring Into Action". By the way, if you want to make a year go by REALLY fast, get your husband to sign you up for something that you really don't want to do.
So tonight was the big "Spring Into Action" den meeting. I worried about this meeting for an entire year. A week and a half ago I began preparations for the meeting. I wanted this meeting to be great. If I'm going to do something, I never go at it half-ass. So I trek on over to the Boy Scout store and buy one of their books that gives suggestions for things to do at the meeting. I spent several days scouring the internet and putting together an outline of the events I had planned for the meeting. The outline was written and rewritten several times. I wanted to make sure everything flowed just right.
The plan was that I would put in all the preparations for the meeting and my husband would actually run the meeting with help from me. I planned a cute little lesson involving the various meaning of the word spring and then got into the history of the development of the Slinky toy and various lessons we can learn from the inventor of the Slinky.
I planned fun events like an Inchworm Race, a Egg & Spoon Race, a Balloon Stampede, and a Marshmallow Kick, Throw & Blow Event. After each event I would hand out little ribbons for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place then at the end of all of the events, everyone would get a ribbon for participating.
I planned to make little pinecone bird feeders and even was thoughtful enough (I thought) to buy $5 a jar sunflower butter just in case there was anyone there with a peanut allergy. I handled absolutely every detail.
I bought 4 boxes of Kool Aid pouch drinks for 11 kids, just to make sure that I had plenty. I even went so far as to freeze the drinks the night before so they would be nice and slushy and super cold for them.
This morning my husband says he doesn't feel well. Great. I'm thinking, he won't do the meeting after all of this, I'm going to have to do the whole thing myself. I gave him a copy of the outline of the meeting this morning and the only thing he had to do all day was to read over it and get prepared to run the meeting. We get there and unpack our van load of stuff and he starts messing up the meeting right from the get-go. He has absolutely no idea what we are doing. I cannot believe that I have gone through all of this preparation, gathering of supplies, planning every single minute detail and he can't even read over an outline and do the meeting!
Long story kinda short, I end up doing the whole thing myself. Kids were running all around like lunatics not even listening to hardly anything I had to say and to top it all off this one kid kept coming up to me and lying and saying that he was 3rd in EVERY SINGLE EVENT even though I clearly saw that he was not 1st, 2nd or 3rd every single time. I wanted to tell him, "Now son, you're darn lucky that you weren't born 30 years ago because if you had been I'd spank you right here for lying to me and your mom wouldn't even care!" Back when I grew up adults made their kids mind and everyone else's kids too. There was none of this running all around not listening to adults. At least not that I can remember. We were too scared of getting in trouble.
So now I'm absolutely exhausted and glad that the whole thing is finally over. I have a brand new admiration for teachers who have to keep order with 20 or 30 kids on a daily basis. I only had 11 and I thought I would pull my hair out!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Teenagers Annoy Me
Last week I decided it was time to get my 6 year old some swimming lessons. I went all out and bought the private lessons at a nearby community recreation center. The lessons are about $20 each and he'll be going once a week.
I was a little worried that he'd be terrified during the lesson, because he has this fear of getting water in his eyes. Go figure. When I was a kid you couldn't pry me out of the water, any water. Whether it was the bathtub, the sprinkler, a pool, the ocean, a lake, or whatever; if there was water nearby, I was probably in it. My son's aversion to water getting in his eyes has baffled me.
So with much trepidation, the whole family went to his first swimming lesson not knowing exactly what we were in for. The swimming instructor is a very young girl and a lifeguard at the pool. My son did everything she told him to, to my surprise and at the end of the lesson he told me that it was the "best day ever". Great!
I had scheduled the lessons months in advance because I'm a planner. I plan everything. I even carry around a calendar with all of the kids' appointments, just so I can keep on top of everything. We have an extremely busy schedule with cub scouts and two different swimming lessons. I planned my 6 year old's swimming lessons for Fridays at 6:30. Well after the friday lesson she decided she wanted to change the lessons to Mondays at 6:00. Ok, fine. I'm trying to be easy to get along with, right?
Monday at 3pm, she calls and tells me that she has a track meet and can't make the swimming appointment and wants to reschedule! What?!? Hellooooooooooooo, McFly! There's this thing called a calendar, honey, and I suggest you learn to use one!
You know, patience and understanding do not come to me naturally. Whenever I put forth the effort to have more patience and understanding inevitably someone walks all over me. This scenario is no different. No good deed goes unpunished. That saying rings true every single time. I'm thinking about having that painted on my entryway at home instead of "Home Sweet Home".
So I wait today to see if that pathetic little pipsqueak will even call to reshedule the appointment but I'm secretly hoping that she forgets so that I can move on to some other teenager that wouldn't mind making $40/hour! SHEESH! What has the world come to?
I was a little worried that he'd be terrified during the lesson, because he has this fear of getting water in his eyes. Go figure. When I was a kid you couldn't pry me out of the water, any water. Whether it was the bathtub, the sprinkler, a pool, the ocean, a lake, or whatever; if there was water nearby, I was probably in it. My son's aversion to water getting in his eyes has baffled me.
So with much trepidation, the whole family went to his first swimming lesson not knowing exactly what we were in for. The swimming instructor is a very young girl and a lifeguard at the pool. My son did everything she told him to, to my surprise and at the end of the lesson he told me that it was the "best day ever". Great!
I had scheduled the lessons months in advance because I'm a planner. I plan everything. I even carry around a calendar with all of the kids' appointments, just so I can keep on top of everything. We have an extremely busy schedule with cub scouts and two different swimming lessons. I planned my 6 year old's swimming lessons for Fridays at 6:30. Well after the friday lesson she decided she wanted to change the lessons to Mondays at 6:00. Ok, fine. I'm trying to be easy to get along with, right?
Monday at 3pm, she calls and tells me that she has a track meet and can't make the swimming appointment and wants to reschedule! What?!? Hellooooooooooooo, McFly! There's this thing called a calendar, honey, and I suggest you learn to use one!
You know, patience and understanding do not come to me naturally. Whenever I put forth the effort to have more patience and understanding inevitably someone walks all over me. This scenario is no different. No good deed goes unpunished. That saying rings true every single time. I'm thinking about having that painted on my entryway at home instead of "Home Sweet Home".
So I wait today to see if that pathetic little pipsqueak will even call to reshedule the appointment but I'm secretly hoping that she forgets so that I can move on to some other teenager that wouldn't mind making $40/hour! SHEESH! What has the world come to?
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Free To Pee
The weather is absolutely gorgeous here today, clear blue skies and 75 degress. Now that's what I call perfect. It was so perfect outside, in fact, that I could not resist taking my two older boys outside to play while the little one had his nap. It wasn't too long before I noticed my 6 year old in the front yard standing facing a large evergreen tree. Then I noticed that he was peeing on the big evergreen tree. Great! Of course I told him that he was way too old to be peeing on trees in the yard.
My mother-in-law was the one who actually got the kids started with peeing outside on bushes when they were little. We have a big yard and the house is pretty well secluded; enough so that neighbors can't really tell what's going on. I was irritated slightly when she started the peeing outside thing, but it led to something way more horrifying.
My oldest son is 10 and has special needs. We've had a heck of a time trying to get him to not pee in his pants. He still wets at night and has to wear those Goodnight pull up things. Occasionally he'll get so busy playing outside that he won't even stop to pee. He'll just go in his pants. It's extremely frustrating and sometimes embarrasing.
Last year we all went to a festival at a nearby park. There were lots of people to say the least. Do you already see where this story is headed? Now we hardly ever go anywhere. My oldest son's behavior is not that great so unfortunately our outtings are pretty brief and infrequent. Whenever we get up the nerve to take a little outdoor adventure, we always seem to regret it. Either the kids fight or whine or misbehave in one way or another. My husband and I come back more stressed out than when we left.
So we're out at this park festival thing and I have my baby in his stroller. My 10 year old is with me and we're standing in the shade of some trees trying to get out of the blazing sun. We're waiting on my husband to return with some ice creams for all of us. My son is running around close by and I just happen to turn around just in time to find him with his pants around his knees peeing on a tree with people ALL AROUND HIM! I could have died. I yelled at him to quit. I would be lying if I said that at that moment I wanted to act like I was looking around for his terrible mother and pretend that I wasn't her. I will never forget that as long as I live.
My whole life seems to revolve around testosterone and pee in one way or another. I couldn't have called this blog anything but "Spongemom Stretchpants". First of all, I have blown up like a sponge since having kids. I retain water like nobody's business and my entire wardrobe consists of some type of stretchpants now. I have nothing decent to wear. My boys watch Spongebob all the time and I need to get someone to write a theme song for me. Like I've said before it should go something like: Who lives in a cul-de-sac and cleans up the pee? Spongemom Stretchpants!
My mother-in-law was the one who actually got the kids started with peeing outside on bushes when they were little. We have a big yard and the house is pretty well secluded; enough so that neighbors can't really tell what's going on. I was irritated slightly when she started the peeing outside thing, but it led to something way more horrifying.
My oldest son is 10 and has special needs. We've had a heck of a time trying to get him to not pee in his pants. He still wets at night and has to wear those Goodnight pull up things. Occasionally he'll get so busy playing outside that he won't even stop to pee. He'll just go in his pants. It's extremely frustrating and sometimes embarrasing.
Last year we all went to a festival at a nearby park. There were lots of people to say the least. Do you already see where this story is headed? Now we hardly ever go anywhere. My oldest son's behavior is not that great so unfortunately our outtings are pretty brief and infrequent. Whenever we get up the nerve to take a little outdoor adventure, we always seem to regret it. Either the kids fight or whine or misbehave in one way or another. My husband and I come back more stressed out than when we left.
So we're out at this park festival thing and I have my baby in his stroller. My 10 year old is with me and we're standing in the shade of some trees trying to get out of the blazing sun. We're waiting on my husband to return with some ice creams for all of us. My son is running around close by and I just happen to turn around just in time to find him with his pants around his knees peeing on a tree with people ALL AROUND HIM! I could have died. I yelled at him to quit. I would be lying if I said that at that moment I wanted to act like I was looking around for his terrible mother and pretend that I wasn't her. I will never forget that as long as I live.
My whole life seems to revolve around testosterone and pee in one way or another. I couldn't have called this blog anything but "Spongemom Stretchpants". First of all, I have blown up like a sponge since having kids. I retain water like nobody's business and my entire wardrobe consists of some type of stretchpants now. I have nothing decent to wear. My boys watch Spongebob all the time and I need to get someone to write a theme song for me. Like I've said before it should go something like: Who lives in a cul-de-sac and cleans up the pee? Spongemom Stretchpants!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Isn't Spring Just Awesome?
Took these pictures today because I wanted to get out and enjoy the flowering trees in the yard. Happy Spring Everyone!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Deep Thought Thursday
The other week, my husband and I started watching the show Destination Truth on the SyFy channel. We are now addicted and have watched just about every episode since we discovered it. We've always liked shows like Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Paranormal State, etc. You could say that UFO's, aliens, bigfoot, the jersey devil and anything strange interests us greatly. We used to love to listen to Art Bell on his nightly AM radio show, Coast to Coast. Just thinking of that show gets me excited!
Anyway, the other day the people on Destination Truth were on a hunt to find real leprechauns. There's a couple of things in life that really scare me. Leprechauns would be on that list. A miniature verson of a human walking around gives me the creeps. Now as soon as they mentioned the word "leprechaun", I immediately started saying in my best fake Irish accent, "You can't have me Lucky Charms!" So since that day that we watched the show I have been craving Lucky Charms cereal.
Last night I finally went to the grocery store and bought the most gigantic $6 box of Lucky Charms cereal. My husband then proceeds to tell me that he's losing his job after this weekend, the lot that he works for is closing down. I sat down with a big bowl of my Lucky Charms cereal and told him, "Well it looks like it's time for some Lucky Charms!" My deep thought for today is: I wonder if eating Lucky Charms will actually bring good luck. I mean I plopped down $6 for this box of cereal, the Lucky Charms leprechaun owes me. The little swirly marshmallows are good and all, but not $6 good. Wouldn't it be false advertising if the cereal did not actually contain anything that would bring you good luck?
So that's my deep thought for today. Hey, I didn't promise that the thought would be intelligent, just deep.
Anyway, the other day the people on Destination Truth were on a hunt to find real leprechauns. There's a couple of things in life that really scare me. Leprechauns would be on that list. A miniature verson of a human walking around gives me the creeps. Now as soon as they mentioned the word "leprechaun", I immediately started saying in my best fake Irish accent, "You can't have me Lucky Charms!" So since that day that we watched the show I have been craving Lucky Charms cereal.
Last night I finally went to the grocery store and bought the most gigantic $6 box of Lucky Charms cereal. My husband then proceeds to tell me that he's losing his job after this weekend, the lot that he works for is closing down. I sat down with a big bowl of my Lucky Charms cereal and told him, "Well it looks like it's time for some Lucky Charms!" My deep thought for today is: I wonder if eating Lucky Charms will actually bring good luck. I mean I plopped down $6 for this box of cereal, the Lucky Charms leprechaun owes me. The little swirly marshmallows are good and all, but not $6 good. Wouldn't it be false advertising if the cereal did not actually contain anything that would bring you good luck?
So that's my deep thought for today. Hey, I didn't promise that the thought would be intelligent, just deep.
Monday, April 5, 2010
A Mind Is A Terrible Thing
My husband shared this video with me today. At first I have to admit, I thought it was a late April Fool's Day joke because I just could not believe how anybody could be so stupid. I can't remember laughing so loud in my entire life....then I wanted to cry. If you haven't seen this yet, please take a minute to watch it. Remember that this guy used to be a judge and a lawyer. Now he's a congressman from Georgia whose yearly salary is somewhere around $174,000/year. There just are no words for this. After looking for a t-shirt for this, I created my own. Check out this T-Shirt!
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