He's Elmo and He Knows It
Thanks to my nephew T, this video has been playing over and over and over and over........and over and over and over in our household.
It's totally okay though, because it makes me smile, laugh, and dance.
Best parody ever!
The $10 Dollar Gift.
Last night we craved super taqueria.Pulled in, and right by the door was what looked like a homeless man.
He sat on the cement staring at the ground.
Beside him was a shopping cart full of black garbage bags full of what I think was his "stuff."
It was dark, cold, he looked dirty, down.
Before I let my husband out of the car, I said, "Please give him this $5 bill. I bet he's starving."
What?! He's just resting.
My husband is not normally cold-hearted, but tonight he surprised me by the comment.
I replied with, "is that what you tell yourself so that you can ignore the problem?"
It was a harsh statement, but this man did not look to be just resting outside the door of a food establishment. He was hungry.
My husband walked by him and entered the restaurant.
I grabbed another $5 bill from my wallet.
I clearly have more than this man at the moment. I'm in the heated car. I have a car. I'm not sitting in the cold. And, I'm getting dinner.
I walk over to him and in Spanish spoke to him.
Tienes hambre? (Are you hungry?)
"Si." He replied with his head still lowered.
Ven, comprar algo para comer. (Here, buy something to eat)
"Aye dios, gracias." (Oh god, thank you)
I got back into the car and waited for my husband.
On his way out of the restaurant, he approached the man and handed him $5.
My heart warmed.
As he got in the car I said, I love you babe, you are awesome!
My Boy, in the back seat, says, "Dad, mom gave him money too."
I nodded and he looked at me and smiled. "You didn't trust me?"
I did, but now he will eat, and I'll sleep just a little better tonight.
Making it Through the Week
I can hardly concentrate on the next week.K's 6th birthday is coming up.
I have a party for like 25
Also that dreaded, "will it rain, will it not rain?!" dilemma we have every year I order a jump house.
28 birthday parties and I still don't learn.
My 3 kids have November, February, and March birthdays.
It rains then.
Though randomly, you never know.
Today, it's 64 degrees out. I can only pray it will be the same next weekend.
I hear it's going to be 70, crossing my parts.
I've started packing for our next trip.
Hawaii.
Again.
Two islands this time.
Lanai and Molokai.
My mind is again, blown.
I laughed at first when I saw Target bring out all their swimwear in January....then I bought a bikini top.
I'm digging out my sun dresses, shorts, and sunscreen.
We fly out on my birthday, the 6th.
What a gift.
Let's see if I can make it through this week.
I Owe the World Big Time Positive Karma
Remember when those flashing lights got me the last time when I was climbing over the back seat?If you forgot, read this post when I got carded twice in one night, http://www.themomjen.com/2008/07/i-was-carded-twice-in-one-night.html.
So over the weekend we had a MOST relaxing few days up in the sierras with my husband's family.
Eat, cozy by the fire, throw rocks in the lake, nap, repeat.
Glorious.
Well, one of the nights we drove across the stateline to a sports bar for dinner. I was not drinking, hubby indulged in
Of course I was going to drive home, and by the time we left everyone including me was exhausted.
The tourist spot was pretty dead everywhere due to the lack of snow, including on the road.
You know how you get in that, "I just want to get the heck home" mode, well that combined with driving over the speed limit was my way to make it happen.
Stupid.
Suddenly, I'm blinded by bright lights and it wasn't from the casinos around me. Red, white, and blue shimmered in my rear view window and my heart fell to my stomach.
Holy Shit!
I don't have my wallet with me.
Panic sets in as the cop approaches my window and asks me for my license and registration, proof of insurance. 2 out of 3 isn't normally bad.
When I tell him I don't have my license I see the look in his eyes. I'm freaking busted.
He then asks me my license number.
Thank goodness for my normally useless knack for remembering numbers.
Hell, I have my MOM's license number memorized for what reason I'll never know.
It's B...9....5...0......DAMN that's my social security number, wait...
I'm freaking out now. He's going to ask me if I was drinking, have me walk the line and put my finger on my nose (or whatever they do) in front of the kids scared in the back seat!!
Suddenly the number comes flooding back to my bloodless brain and spill it to him correctly as he writes it down.
Cold sweat drips from my brow as he says, "i'll be right back."
My husband pulls out his cell phone and giggles as he dials my brother-in-law's number, who was following us and probably drove by laughing.
I hear something like "Jen's busted!" and some more smirking but the heartbeat in my ear is overpowering.
His return to the car felt like hours.
I just want to get back to the cabin and sleep the whole experience away.
I hear, "I'm going to let you off with a warning...." and my first instinct is to jump through the window and kiss this uniformed god!
Oh my goodness, thank you so much comes out of my mouth and I choke on the urge to cry.
I'm sorry.
I drive the rest of the way back just under the speed limit.
I owe the world big time Karma.
This Kid Cracks Me Up!
You know how I've always documented my youngest's cute words and sayings?If not, scroll through the posts labeled K-lish, it's her cute little language, err speech impediments, well...they're super cute.
Now that my girl is less than a month away from her 6th birthday she is still saying THE cutest stuff that puts a smile on my face.
**This morning, she was walking around with a puka shell necklace, you know the ones with the teeny shells, and was putting them up to her ear saying, "ooh, ooh, yep I can hear the ocean. It sounds little."
**Last night my husband was sacked out on the couch around 8pm per usual (he's a commuter now) and K says, "listen mom, dad's SNORTING!" Do you mean snoring honey? "oh yah that."
**When watching an upcoming movie trailer involving airplanes/war/bombing she says, "mom, is that about POOL HARPER?!" Who the what? "Where we went in Hawaii....pool harper, the sunken boat?" Ah Pearl Harbor.
**(on a related note) She watched the Ben Affleck movie Pearl Harbor over the holidays with my husband and asked questions incessantly about it!!
**She still says CAH-leats when talking about soccer shoes, which makes DQ laugh.
**Her favorite recent movie is the MUFFETS and wants a MUFFET birthday party. (Muppets)
**Her favorite song is currently "Forget You" by CeeLo but the Chicken version from the MUFFETS. Bok Bok Bok, bok bok, Bok Bok!
**Something new...well we finally came into the 21st century and bought a Wii for Xmas and well frankly our baby is a sore loser. She cries if no one lets her win. I think that's normal. Right?
Just to be clear, at this age My Boy had already been seeing the speech therapist at school, her teacher is not worried in the slightest.
Luckily K just has a cute way about her and is not at risk, in case you were wondering.
Um, About the Christmas Cards on my Desk...
Thanks to my friend Ana, she gave me fuel for a blog post.Last year's photo drama was the last of trying too hard.
I'm letting Christmas photos happen naturally.
And, by naturally, I mean I'm not going to force or bribe the kids to smile in pressured conditions.
And, I'm not going to sweat uncontrollably for one great shot that I won't spend hours photoshopping to make my daughter's smile look real.
This year, the Oahu backdrop was more than ideal.
The kids look natural...minus my son's slight imbalance and trying not to fall into the ocean fully clothed.
I worked with a fabulous company to make a super cool ornament card.
Ouila!
Okay, everything perfect right?!
Nope.
Here they are...
It's December 27.
They're not addressed.
They're not stamped.
They're. Not. Happening.
But, if anyone does want one, I'll leave them on the porch.
Just don't leave me a bag of flaming poop in return.
I Really Don't Hate Christmas
Wait it was just Thanksgiving, how is Christmas in 4 days?(insert panic attack here)
Like everyone at this point in the holiday season, I'm gathering the last of the gifts and wrapping like a maniac.
Every year I feel that the reason for the season gets more hidden below the layers of Santa paper and scotch tape.
Every year I say I want to adopt a family to buy for and hope that my kids understand that we have SO much that often goes unappreciated.
Every year I hope that one of my children says, "mom, please take everything you bought me and give it to a family who doesn't have the money to buy it for themselves."
Every year I wish for less stress and it doesn't come.
I'm normal right.
My kids deserve their gifts. They are wonderful kids, bright, loving, hard-working, so good at everything they try, I love getting them things that make their eyes light up with joy.
It's just the crowds, the traffic, the lines, the rush, the last minute, the cleaning, the prepping, the cooking, the build up...it's all so wild and crazy.
Curling up in bed with my iPhone and sleeping until January 1 sounds SO appealing.
Really though, I am blessed beyond words.
My blog has lead to my second blog that's lead to the most amazing opportunities I would have never imagined 10 years ago.
The fact that we will travel to our 3rd and 4th Hawaiian island in less than a year in February is beyond explanation.
The fact that my family is healthy, we have a home, and my husband has a job is a feat of it's own.
How do you feel this holiday??
