Early e-bay addict

We had another rite of passage in our home this past weekend.

In today's techno advanced society, I'm sure this is one all children will face sooner or later...in our case it was sooner. My nine year old bought his first item on e-bay. Oh.My.Goodness. You would have thought he had purchased the moon. Actually it was a Carolina Panthers jersey. Being the thrifty boy that he is, he was disappointed to find out last week that the jersey he wanted of his favorite team started at $60. Imagine his excitement to find one for $9.99 on e-bay. Reminded me of myself when I find great deals at Goodwill...yes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

He has now informed me he will be doing ALL his shopping on e-bay. Uh-oh.

Facebook nonsense

OK, I admit it...I have a bit of a Facebook addiction. There's something a bit voyeuristic about seeing how your friends are going about their daily lives, especially those who are far away. Makes me feel a bit closer when we don't have time to chat.

But the really fun part is the flair! Yes, I realize it's juvenile, but so many of them sum up quite well how I feel.

You can share your personality.








Offer a political opinion.

Or show your team colors.

What's not to love?

Randomness

75 degrees and breezy. Not sure how long it will last here in Texas, but I'm enjoying it while I can. One of my favorite times of year in Idaho was always fall. The crisp air and vibrant colors made everything feel alive and new. I went ahead and put out my fall decorations yesterday anyway. It may be a long time before we're wearing sweaters here in Texas, but a girl can dream.

Grocery shopping is done. School is half done. Princess Emma is napping and I'm about to pour myself another cup of coffee to make it through the afternoon. A nice long nap with E would be so much nicer, but apparently my children need an education, so we'll go with the coffee instead.

We must not forget

We all remember where we were the day the World Trade Center fell. The day the Pentagon became a memorial. The day, over a field in Pennsylvania, ordinary people became heroes.

In the days that followed, flags flew proudly and we stood together, united as no other nation on earth could unite. We loudly proclaimed, "We will not forget!".

Life has returned to normal for most of us since that fateful day...at least for those of us who did not lose someone dear to us. We've gone about our lives, business as usual and once again taken for granted that we are safe.

Have we forgotten? Do we feel the same patriotism and connection to our neighbors we did that day? Does our heart swell with pride and thankfulness when we see a soldier in uniform? Does our flag still wave proudly from every corner and building?

Sadly, I believe we have forgotten. The horror we felt as we watched the towers crumble has become a distant memory. The pride that swelled in our hearts as we heard the words, "Let's roll" has faded.

For the sake of the 2,974 lives lost that day, we must not forget. For the sake of the children who will not know a parent, we must not forget. For the sake of the spouses who now sleep alone, we must not forget. For the sake of the parents who have outlived their children, we must not forget.

For all of them - we must not forget.

originally posted on February 7, 2008

Pesto and a puffed head

Kids certainly keep you humble.

Lest I think too highly of my culinary skills, my children have a way of keeping me in my place. Just as I'm touting the success of a new pasta creation, enter my children. Otherwise known as the "Snodgrass food critics", they proceed to deem my creation less than delicious and chose instead to forgo an afternoon snack and starve until dinner. What a sacrifice on their part. Apparently the color of pesto reminded one of them of guacamole and no amount of convincing on my part could tell him otherwise. You know it's bad when all four would rather go hungry than eat what's for lunch. I can't say that's ever happened before.

Guess this one's not a keeper after all. Oh well...I liked it.

Struggling School-Aged Boys

For years I've been saying that school as defined by the public system is not designed for little boys. Rather than being made to sit quietly in desks, punished if they wiggle, little boys need to be running, jumping and creating in their own way - no matter how messy that may be. This is what little boys were made to do; this is how they learn. When are they allowed to be kids? When are they allowed the freedom to explore an idea or a passion? Instead, they are made to conform to a system that cares mostly for standardized test scores rather than the individual success of a child.

Finally, a mainstream media news article that agrees with me. Check it out in Newsweek's article, Struggling School-Aged Boys. Rather than admit they may have been doing things backwards, the "experts" are now blaming our school problems on an "epidemic" of ADHD. Seriously? That's your answer? Blame it on the child and then medicate him in order to make your failing system look better? No, it is instead an epidemic of over-medicated, over-scheduled children and parents who do not have time to properly parent their kids.

Now I realize there are some children who need the help of medication in order to stay on task. I am in no way minimizing this. Having been a teacher in the classroom, I can say that of my students who were on medication, about 1 out of 10 truly needed it. Many of the others needed a serious lesson in self-control and some parents who gave them the love and attention they were craving.

It's time parents stopped listening to these so-called experts and start listening to their children.

If you give a mom a muffin

Though I cannot take credit for writing this poem, it is truly the story of my life...and maybe yours as well. Just this morning I got a plate out to thaw the chicken on for dinner, got sidetracked (quite possibly by my coffee) and then around lunchtime wondered where the chicken was! I originally posted this back in September of '06, but thought it was worth another read.

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook ("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger" ).
The cookbook is setting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her 2 year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two-year-old's diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are... If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

~author unknown~

Put that on a t-shirt

Well, yesterday was a right of passage for me - passage into the world of middle age. My first mammogram. Contrary to the horror stories I had heard about pain and suffering, it really wasn't bad. It did help that the technician was somewhat of a comedian. After looking over my chart, she quickly pointed out that in celebration of my upcoming birthday next week, she will be getting a tummy tuck. Well, isn't that special?

She also gave me some wonderful advice I felt must be passed on to all my girlfriends who may be having this lovely experience sometime in the future. "Don't tick off your mammography tech...she can make things very uncomfortable for you!" Sage advice, don't you think? Maybe even good enough for a t-shirt.

These are a few of my favorite things

OK, on a lighter note...I was thinking today about things I love. I'm not talking about the serious stuff we all love - our husbands, our kids, God, etc. I'm talking about the totally fluff things...the things we love simply because they make our lives more enjoyable. Here's my list. It might help to sing along with Julie Andrews while you read.

1. Coffee - no surprise there! Hot, iced, whatever
2. Sitting in my favorite chair drinking coffee with my best friend.

3. Sitting anywhere drinking coffee with my best friend.

4. Blue cheese - yes, I adore it on almost anything.

5. Chocolate flourless torte...with coffee of course!
6. Quiet early mornings...again, with coffee.

7. Sunsets and sunrises on the beach
8. Wet baby kisses
9. Pedicures - aahhhh
10. Impromptu dinners with friends

11. Dates with Mike

12. College football
13. Fall
14. Cooler weather

15. The color red

16. Laughing until my sides ache
17. Hanging out at the pool when we should be doing school!
18. Vacations with friends
19. Worship
20. A good glass of wine
21. Texas storms

22. Homemade gifts from my kids

23. Snow

24. Losing weight!

25. Surprises from Mike

26. Caller ID - don't tell me you don't love that!
27. Lazy Saturday mornings

28. My Suburban

29. Catching up with old friends
30. Thanksgiving day

Your turn! What's on your list? When life starts to turn south, that attitude of gratitude helps me keep things in perspective.

Fixing fences

Ann at His Grace to Me encouraged me to "fix the fences, the pony is coming!" I love that! So what fences need mending around here? Whoa...looks like quite a few.

When struggles come it is often hard to do the ordinary. You know, the daily things that make life, well, so daily...cleaning, cooking, schooling. Before I knew it, I found myself wandering aimlessly, accomplishing nothing. Ann's encouragement made me look at those daily "fences". My first thought was, "I don't FEEL like cleaning that bathroom." Well duh! Who "feels" like cleaning a bathroom??? Cooking? Why can't my family eat cereal for every meal? It's fiber for goodness sake!

I had to get up off my fanny and just do it, regardless of how I feel. Yep, fake it 'til you make it. So the bathroom's clean (at least one of the four) and I'm off to fix something other than cold cereal. Won't my family be surprised!

Of ponies and such

Sometimes life just kicks you in the butt. August has been a long and trying month and I am ever so glad to be seeing it in my rear view mirror. Yes, in it all there are lessons to be learned, but the bottom line is that sometimes life just stinks.

As the story goes, with all this poop there has to be a pony somewhere. I'm still waiting on the pony.