Today is my 31st birthday. Nothing too special about that (aside from me, of course). 31 is like turning 22. 21 was exciting. It was a landmark age...an age that most of us look forward to (and for me, it marked 8 days until my wedding). But 22 was really just another day (and for me, it was just 2 days before my daughter turned 1 month old). Last year I turned 30. I was not in a tizzy over it, but it was still a landmark thing. I wrote one of my favorite blog posts (letters to myself) that day. This year...not so much. It's just another day (but for me, it marks 8 days until my 10 year anniversary).
All that being said, I figure why not have some birthday blogging fun?! Below are some of my favorite birthday themed songs, skits, movie clips, etc.
The following list was an insert in the Mothers' Day card my mom gave me today. I thought it was pretty great. My favorites are numbers 1, 4, 9, and 10.
1) The happiest families are those in which the children are properly spaced...about 10 feet apart.
2) Raising a teenager is like nailing Jell-O to the wall
3) The phrase "working mother" is redundant.
4) Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard.
5) All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them.
6) Housework: If the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you?
7) It is amazing how quickly the kids learn to operate the DVD player, yet are unable to understand the vacuum cleaner. (Or the dishwasher, the lawn mower, the washing machine...)
8) Motherhood is a process. Learn to love the process.
9) A boy's best friend is his mother.
10) Motherhood: When doing it all feels like nothing is ever getting done.
11) The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. A mother is something absolutely new.
12) Take care of yourself. If Mommy isn't happy, nobody's happy.
Just a simple post at the end of a wonderful Mothers' Day that I was able to spend with my wonderful family. :)
Ok, so I've seen a handful of these "Hey, Girl" things online before. The best of which, by far, are the Ryan Gosling ones. And of those, this is by far the best one. In fact, it may be one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Ever. Period. Of course, maybe I'm a little biased because he's talking directly to me this time. :)
So here you go. I'll let Ryan speak for himself:
So there you have it. Wonderful words from "the most handsome man ever", and Kevin's best friend.
Ahhh, sports. I've never been what you would describe as sporty. Or particularly athletic, either.
I was not in sports as a kid. I tried Gymnastics in Kindergarten. I don't really remember much about it aside from quitting, because the other girls were mean to me (at least that's how I remember it). But seeing as how I now know that I inherited my mother's grace, I might have just been terrible at it. I played volleyball in middle school and really liked it...and was half-way decent at it (I remember one game where I scored 13 of the 15 points it took to win the game). In fact, I wanted to play in High School, too. That is, until I learned that in High School you had to wear biker shorts as part of the uniform. And there aint no way my thunder thighs were going to be seen in those. But I did do 4 years of marching band. And I know, I know...it's not the same thing. BUT that was the best shape I had/have ever been in.
All that to say...despite my own shortcomings, I've always been a fan. I always kind of liked going to Josh's baseball games (in fact, I really liked it when I was in high school and could flirt with the older brothers). As soon as Brad entered High School, we started going to Cooper football games, and I fell in love with the game. I was one of the few band members who would actually watch the games we were at (yes, Mom, I could flirt and watch the game at the same time). And apparently, (I have no recollection of this, but according to my fourth grade journal which I just found and gave to Hannah), I even liked basketball at one point.
But now, in addition to loving the Cowboys (even when they suck...which is more often than I'd like), the Longhorns, and the Rangers, I also get to start loving my kids' teams. We are lucky to have found sports that our kids like and are actually pretty good at.
Mason's favorite (and mine) is football. We got to watch his team win the championship and watch him play on the All Star team last fall. He's getting geared up to play tackle this year...then we'll really get to see what he's made of. Since there's no football in the spring, we've got him in baseball (coach pitch) now. At first he wasn't thrilled, but once he started doing well he was a lot happier about it. And somehow Kevin and I got roped into being the coaches for this Bad News Bears team. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I actually don't dread it (at least not all the time). :) We learned quickly that Kevin should not be pitcher, and I needed to have the players' positions planned out for every inning in advance. It's been much better since we figured all that out.
Hannah found softball last fall and really blossomed. She joined a team that had already been together for a season and caught up really quickly. A couple of parents told me today how impressed they are with her...that if you didn't know it, you would never guess that this is only her 2nd season to play. We got to watch her team win their championship last season, too! This season they are playing kid-pitch in the 10 U league, which is harder...but she's playing catcher and kind of rocking it! I put a little sample of her handy work up on facebook, so check it out.
Even though it causes life to be crazy hectic for a few months, these sports have really added a lot of fun to the last year. Is it too early to start hoping for some scholarships?!?
One of my friends posted the following picture on facebook this morning. Personally, I think it's brilliant. It's right up there with Movie Mash-ups...super clever and a lot of fun. Check it out:
I think the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory one is my favorite....although the last one is pretty hilarious.
Anyway, I thought I'd give it a try and see if I can come up with some of my own. I'd love for you to feel inspired to do the same. Here goes nothing:
~ If you watch The Curious Life of Benjamin Button backwards, it's about a kid who grows old and dies while the rest of the people in his life get younger.
~ If you watch The Day After Tomorrow backwards, it's about the world being saved by an incredibly strong and fast acting heat wave.
~ If you watch Independence Day backwards, it's about getting aliens to help us repair our demolished cities with their laser-explosion-retractor ships.
~ If you watch Armageddon backwards, it's about a bunch of astronauts working to put a giant asteroid back together. When they return home, they decide to turn in their space suits in order to work on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean.
~ If you watch The Little Mermaid backwards, it's about a woman who leaves her newlywed husband in order to save an octopus. She then decides to give up her legs and spend the rest of her life as a mermaid. But she is so haunted by her former human life that she collects human trinkets and tries to drown the man she once loved.
~ If you watch Pretty Woman backwards, it's about a man who turns the woman he loves into a prostitute.
~ If you watch Snow White backwards, it's a about a prince who kills his princess with a kiss. She gets carried off to a cabin in the woods where she is brought back to life by an old lady's magic apple. She then lives with the dwarf men than rescued her.
~ If you watch Spiderman backwards, it's about a superhero who loses his powers when he gets bitten by a spider.
There. That's a start. Now, it's your turn...ready, set, go!
As I sit alone in my house, I am bored inspired enough to make another post. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take a day off of work to do absolutely nothing. For the first time. Usually when I've taken off, it's because: the kids or I am sick, doctor's appointments, traveling, catching up on things around the house, etc. But this was a day of blissful nothingness. And it was amazing. I realized that day that I have not had more than 8 consecutive hours alone, actually by myself, since I got married nearly 10 years ago. So this weekend, Kevin offered (out of guilt or maybe just good husbandry) to take the kids with him when he went out of town. And here I am on my 22nd hour of alone time (including 10, yes 10 hours of sleep) feeling bloggy. So here you go.
You know the saying, "If you're not learning, you're not living"? Well, that should mean that if you are living, you are leaning. That being said, here are some lessons I've learned (or been reminded of) while living this past week.
1) If left alone with 6 leftover cupcakes, I will eat them. All of them.
2) I enjoy days alone far more than nights alone.
3) When you suddenly blurt out "I love you" to your students for no apparent reason, you are sicker than you think.
4) A well placed compliment can turn your whole day around.
5) My parents are the best grandparents any kid could ask for.
6) Kids really do grow up way too fast. Really.
7) I'm either extraordinarily cheap, or really hate shopping (or both) if I can't find something to buy...with a gift card...by myself...without people waiting on me to get home.
8) A couch looks much bigger when it's not covered with piles of laundry.
9) Much like school, birthday parties (as fun as they are) are best when they're over.
10) You know you're doing something right when your son can teach his church class about the Stations of the Cross and say "giving up video games for lent isn't a big sacrifice if Jesus can die on the cross for us". And your daughter can do a beautiful retelling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son in her own wonderful 8 year old words and be able to understand that it represents God's love for us.
I know we all know this game. But did you know it was also once a board game? Well, my family happens to own that game. And for them, all I need to say is "BILL COSBY"! For everyone else, let me explain. One night many years ago, my family was playing this game. It was my sister's turn, and her category was "person". She asked something along the lines of, "Are you a man?" The answer to which was yes. Then she quite confidently shouted the previously mentioned Bill Cosby as if there was no other person it could have been. ...And she was right! So now, anytime we play a game and we are not quite sure what the answer is, we all shout, "Bill Cosby". And it actually worked once.
In addition to it being a board game, it is also a pretty amazing little electronic device called 20Q. Here you get to think of the person, place, or thing, and 20Q asks you questions. You hit buttons to answer yes or no, and usually it can guess what you are thinking in less than 20 questions. Pretty cool.
But today, I'd just like to focus on answering/posing questions that are not answered with a yes or no. Rest assured, they will be things I know you've always wanted to know about me. Some will just be things that I've wondered about, that maybe have never made sense to me (so maybe you'll be able to answer them). And I'll end with the 10 questions that James Lipton always asks on Inside the Actors Studio. Let's get this thing started...
1)Why do the Cialis commercials always have the man and woman in bathtubs? Two separate bath tubs? I mean, it's a commercial for an ED medication. It just doesn't make sense. Maybe if they were both in the same tub together, but not like this. It bugs me.
2)Why are the Cowboys you favorite pro football team? This is a perfectly reasonable question these days, especially since they haven't really done anything great in the last 15 some odd year. Well, the short and sweet answer is this: I am not a fair-weather fan. I am loyal. We were not really a football watching house growing up (except for our high school). But when they were in the glory days of the triplets, I couldn't help but get caught up in their awesomeness. And I've been a fan ever since. I have faith that they will be great again. Someday.
3) If you hate the Texas heat so much, why don't you move to another state? Well, aside from the whole "uprooting-the kids-this is where my job is-having to start over" thing (which I know people do all the time), the truth of the matter is that I am far too much of a family oriented person. I simply need to be able to see them as often as possible. I can't imagine being much farther away and getting to see them (in-laws included) less than I do now. It's just not me. You will all just have to put up with my griping during the summer. :)
4) Why do kids insist on doing the same things over and over, knowing full-well they are going to get in trouble for it? My sister's 20 Questions answer, Bill Cosby, answered this question best: brain damage.
5) What is the scariest moment of your life so far? When unbeknownst to me Mason was hiding from me at a restaurant, and after searching the place the only thing I could think of was that he had been kidnapped...even Hannah was worried. As I was rushing out of the front door to check for cars leaving, he popped out from behind the cashier station and said, "Surprise Mommy!" I was both relieved and furious at the same time.
6) Who would you cast to play you in a movie about your life? Well, I think that answer is obvious...Jessica Biel, of course! (don't laugh too hard, now) Now she would have to gain about 50 pounds to be close to accurate, but who ever said it would have to be accurate? I mean, you can see the resemblance, right? (just google some pics, and you'll see...HA!) :)
7) If you could have a super-power, what would you choose? OK, I'm not so sure that this is a power than any movie super hero has ever had (well, I think the little girl in the Incredibles did, actually). And the character, Bella, in the Twilight books ends up being able to do this after she gets turned into a vampire: shield. The power to shield those around you (like a force field) from harm. I think the Incredibles girl's shield protected from physical harm, and Bella's protects from mental harm. So ideally, I'd like to have a shielding power that did both. That's not to say that I would want to shield everyone from everything. Just those Jack Bauer situations we all get in where a loved one is being tortured.
8) What is one thing that most people have probably done that you have never done? I've already told you how I've never smoked, not even a cigarette, not even once. So here's a new one. I have never flipped someone off...not even in a joking manner. I've never even held up my middle finger by myself when no one's looking just to try it. I don't know, I just can't bring myself to do it. I know...I'm such a square.
9) What exactly does the phrase "bread and butter" mean and/or where did it come from? Two things here. Bread and Butter pickles? It just doesn't make sense. They don't taste like bread and butter. They don't have bread or butter in them. Are you just supposed to eat them with bread and butter, because that doesn't quite make sense either. And as for the expression that could go something like this, "He was the bread and butter of that team." Does that mean that he was the best? Or does it mean he was the base or foundation of the team like bread and butter are the base of a good meal? I don't know...I'm just grasping at straws here. And there's another one...grasping at straws?
10) What is your favorite movie remake? Well, I'm sure there are plenty of other good ones out there (there are also plenty of crappy ones, too), but these are the 3 that first came to mind that I truly enjoyed: Father of the Bride (I'll be honest, I never saw the original. But for me, this is the original and there just is no topping it.), Cape Fear (I did actually see the original of this, and I think the Robert Deniro one far surpasses it.), and Foot Loose (It stayed true to the glorious cheesiness of the original, but added just enough to freshen it up a bit...a job well done.)
...and now for the James Lipton Questionnaire...
11) What is your favorite word? hope
12) What is your least favorite word? I don't know if this is the worst for me, but it is up there...it makes me cringe: the "n word"
13) What turns you on? a sense of humor
14) What turns you off? pretentiousness or douche-baggery
15) What noise or sound do you love? cliche yes, but it's still true...the sound of my loved ones laughing
16) What noise or sound do you hate? the sound of my dogs licking themselves. yuck.
17) What is your favorite curse word? The one that I say the most often is probably damn, but my favorite to say (which I don't really say that often) is: son-of-a-bitch. But it has to be the whole thing...all 4 words.
18) What profession, other than yours, would you like to attempt? I think this list is probably longer than it should be: author, nurse, storm-chaser, ghost hunter, baker...(not necessarily in that order)
19) What profession would you not like to do? I know that there are many, but as I sit staring at the piles of laundry on our couch, the first one that comes to mind is: hotel laundry attendant.
20) If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Welcome home.
I have been "Cakes" for 22 years. Kevin and I have been married for 19 of those years. Hannah is a Freshman in college and Mason is a Junior in high school! I taught 2nd grade for 8 years. This will be my 10th year teaching 3rd. I was diagnosed with Leukemia 15 years ago and have been in and out of remission several times. Right now, I'm stable with medication, but always I am blessed. My life is busy, fun, chaotic, boring, stressful, simple, tiring, and exciting...but whatever it is, it's always SO full of joy!