Stages

A few weeks ago, I wrote the Valentine's Day article for my MOPS newsletter. In case you do not know, MOPS basically is a group for moms with young kids, very famous organization that I joined kicking and screaming. Now, I am both the coordinator and in charge of writing the monthly newsletter.  Bored, yet?  That was just a little background for you all.

Anyways, I wrote my article, published the newsletter (printed out 10 copies, we are a small group) and moved on. I heard a few comments from other moms at my meeting but nothing shocking. It wasn't until the following Monday that I realized my husband had read it. Most months I have him read the article and give me feedback or ideas for an ending, but this time I think I was behind on my deadline and just needed to get it done.

At dinner that night he said, "I saw your newsletter article. Ouch."

My first thought was how did he see it, then I realized he was implying that the article was not a favorable one and since it was all about him, that made me feel bad.

"Did you read the end?" I asked him.

He did not, the bell rang and he continued on with drop-off like usual. This is what he read:

Just recently I was be-moaning the lack of romance in my life. And I don’t mean candlelight and roses, well, maybe roses would be okay.  I was missing the romance of dating.  When we were dating my husband left me handwritten notes telling me he loved me, we went on dates HE planned, there were flowers ‘just-because’ and that giddy feeling whenever I saw him.

I admit that doesn't sound good, but it was just the first paragraph! I was feeling like this, partly because I  am vicariously living the rush of a new romance through the college girl who babysits for us. It reminds me of when Brandon and I met at college and how exciting it was those first few months.  I don't want to go back to the beginning of our relationship, I know there were some serious issues. I might have mentioned this before, but I can be a little strong-willed and demanding, I do believe his mom might have been right to have some concerns about our relationship. But, 15 years later we are doing all right. I just miss those unexpected gestures of when he was trying to impress me.

There are some filler paragraphs in the middle but then it ends like this:

When asked to think about the things my husband does that I appreciate, I realized that the romance is still here, it just looks different. Instead of grand gestures, it is making me a latte in the morning, taking out the food compost, getting up at 6:30 on a Saturday to watch the kids so I can work-out, taking Micah to preschool one morning a week, and watching the kids for the weekend so I could go away.

I believe he has now read the whole article. I told him to keep reading, I thought it ended nicely, it wasn't a husband-bashing article.  I feel that he made a comment in passing that he read it, but as with most things the chaos of our life took over and I didn't have a chance to ask his opinion.

I hope he liked it. I hope he realizes that the relationship we have today is a thousand times better then the one we had those first few months (crazy kids and all!).  But that doesn't mean I don't miss those unexpected surprises.  

A simple I Love You written on the back of a receipt is still hanging on my bulletin board a year later.  

I'm Going to Write All the Words I Know

Okay, not really. Just the words Finn knows.  Once again we are keeping track of the words one of our sons is saying. We went through this with our middle son and as soon as we went for a speech referral he opened his mouth and words just spewed out. I'm not worried but as we are nearing our check-up for possible speech evaluation, I wanted to chart the words he has now. And, I knew all of you would be as interested in this as I am. So here goes:

Finn's Words

Common words used every day: Mamma or Mommy (which refers to mom, dad, or the 15 year old boy babysitter), NO

Words heard several times: Bye & Hi (complete with a very cute wave), Mine, a version of Nemo, Nose

His newest word: Butt
Yes, the boy who hardly speaks, can't even vocalize yes, knows the word "butt" and the location of said appendage.  I blame his two older brothers, although Brandon said the other night I was the worst one. But, (ha!) honestly, what is cuter then a baby's butt?  Not much.

Grand Total: 9-10 words, not bad, not bad

Slight Tangent: The title of this post is a reference to a VERY funny Parks & Rec.  Had us laughing so hard we were both crying. Highly recommend this show.

All By Myself

Tonight finds me all alone!  At least for the next few hours. I was going to post my status on Facebook, but realized that would open me up to a whole bunch of crazy stalkers knowing I was alone. Here, there are only a few crazy stalkers, so I will take my chances.

Tonight my husband is going to a concert with his man friend. The boys are at a Parent's Night Out for a few hours. I am sitting on the couch, music playing, sipping a hot latte, with my laptop open on my lap. Complete bliss.

I was invited to go to Happy Hour at the Melting Pot with another mom friend. It was tempting. I have never been to the Melting Pot, but feel like it is something I might enjoy. Cheese, beef, more cheese, really what is not to like. I debated whether or not to go, but decided a chance to be home alone was very rare. I regretted my decision when I saw my friend tonight all dressed up ready to go. That would be fun I thought. Maybe I made the wrong choice.

But then I turned onto my street and my mouth stretched into a wide grin. I was going to be in my house, all by myself! I knew then that I made the right decision. I have a Dr. Pepper in the fridge, pizza ordered, a sewing project I have been putting off, and Grey's Anatomy on the DVR. I am so completely giddy right now.

Side Note: By 11, my euphoria of being alone will have worn off and I will be convinced someone is hiding in the basement. But until then I shall enjoy the peace and quiet of my house and try to soak up every minute that I have.

The Illusion of Choice

This time of year find us navigating the public school system. We love everything about where we live, the neighborhood, the easy access to the freeway, the close proximity to Brandon's office.  The one thing we do not love are the schools.

Our neighborhood school is fine. There is nothing wrong with it but when asked to describe my feelings about this school the answer is "eh". It's fine, just fine. It is a little on the big side, and with budget cuts, class sizes are growing but that is the same everywhere.  The best answer I can give about why I am not in love with this school is what a friend said to me, "It's not my people". Now, please don't take that the wrong way. Although, I am not sure there is a right way to take that.  It is when I sat in the auditorium surrounded by all the other parents and felt completely out of place.  I know that is a generalization and that one open house is not a true representation of the population. It is just my feelings.

We went to a second open house at a school Brandon LOVES. Like, let's move to get a better chance of enrolling, loves.  I am once again on the fence. I like certain things about this school, specifically the way they approach theme learning, but there are some BIG concerns also. One thing I can not get over, is that the students call the teachers by their first name.  This may not be a big deal to many of you, but as a teacher, I really struggle with a classroom full of kids saying "Amy" all day long.  At this open house I felt more of a kinship to several of the families there but also felt a very "hippie" vibe from some. Again, not a bad thing, just I'm not sure that is what I want to sign on for. Also, this school requires 40 volunteer hours PER parent. That is a lot of time to dedicate to a school when I still have two other kids at home.

We have one more school tour to attend. I will admit, this is the school I really like. A big part of it is because it is a K-8, but last year when we were deciding what to do we went to the tour and I was really happy with it. As with everything, this school has some pros and cons, one of them being the early start. I'm not sure I can be on time to a school that starts at 8:00 every day. We are just getting out of bed at 8:00, and by 'we', I of course, mean the boys. I've been up for HOURS.  Really, I have!

What frustrates me most about this idea of school tours is the illusion of choice it gives you. The 2nd school tour we went on, felt very much like a sales pitch. Here are 10 things to love about our school, choose our school and you won't regret it, kids from our school are multi-millionaires! (Okay, I made that last one up). Yes, those things sound good, and yes, if it was up to my spouse we would be going to this school. But now you tell me I am fighting with all of Seattle for a chance at 30 Kindergarten spots??! What? Even with the new rules and guidelines, option schools are still open to all of Seattle.  Siblings have first choice, then people who live in a "GeoZone" and then everyone else.  If I was a mathematician I am sure I would have an amazing statistic to impress you with. But I'm not. All I know is that it doesn't matter how much I love your school I don't stand a freakin' chance of getting in! This was the 3rd school tour and it had at least 40 parents there. The majority for Kindergarten. Not a good ratio, I am sure.

With most decisions in our marriage, my husband and I approach the decision making process very differently.  I have talked and talked and talked about this with my circle of friends. Brandon is searching for houses in the above mentioned GeoZone for us to move to.

The one thing I do know is that Jack will be fine. Whatever we choose, and wherever the lottery places him, he will be okay. This extra year at home has helped him become more confident and sure of himself.  For that I am thankful.

One More Boy

It was brought to my attention that I did not include a photo of Nemo in my last blog post. For those of you serious dog or even pet lovers out there, I am sure that could be very upsetting to you.

Nemo and I used to be close. When I was on bed-rest, we had coordinating nap schedules and would head into the bedroom at the same time every day. That was a pretty nice time.  But then the babies came and the walks grew more infrequent and the barking grew in intensity and things between us cooled.

He is a great watch dog and I do feel very safe when the boys are outside in the backyard with Nemo. I just wish he wouldn't bark at the mailman, the UPS man, the lady walking by the house, the dog going on his walk, the squirrels, etc.

Past Due

I feel that I am past due for a blog post. Unfortunately, I believe that another post about wanting a baby or losing my iPhone would not be well received.  I have several thoughts rolling around in my head (shocking, I know!) but have just not found the time to sit and write them all out.  I am much too busy stalking other peoples' blogs to write one of my own. I have become completely obsessed with 'before & after' DIY blogs. Which then transfers into an obsession with my own house and lack of DIY projects that are currently being completed.  All of this surfing has left no time for keeping up my own blog.

I could regal you with hilarious stories about my kids. Seriously funny stories, not the ones that only the parents think are funny. But they tend to revolve around a certain male genitalia and I am pretty sure that may offend some of you.  Although, when you are surrounded by boys (including the dog) you begin to find bathroom humor extremely hilarious.

For now I will just leave you with some pictures of the men in my life.