Soundtrack of a Slaughter

I'm pretty musically inclined, so when The Boy called out "hotel one" as we played Battleship I thought of " Hotel California". (Obviously) I kept trying to sing it but I sounded so awful I had to have some accompianment to cover the sounds of my joyful noises. So I found a karoake version on my iPod and the lyrics online and set up my own karoake party while my son destroyed my fleet. All I was missing was the adult beverage (although I did sound like I'd had one too many). I may not have given the game my full attention, but I sure had a good time getting slaughtered. (Even had to have The Boy tell me how to spell "slaughtered".)

I Must have Done Something Good

School started yesterday. My oldest started her last year of middle school (Ack! I'm not old enough to have a kid in high school!) and my baby started his last year of elementary school. I was missing the babies, so I helped out with the kindergarten lunch at Junior's school. Aaah, such joy to be needed for little things like opening milk cartons! I stopped by Junior's table on my way out. I try to be respectful of my kids' personal space, I know they're getting older and its their job to learn to be their own people. I asked for permission to give him a kiss. Not only did he grant his permission, he told me that he wouldn't be too old for that kind of stuff until he was 18! Wooohooo! Score one for mama! When he came home from school he said he had to write about what he would do if he were a millionare. When I asked him what he would do with all that money he said "pay off all your debts." Isn't he sweet? Being a mom is a bittersweet job; training your kids to leave you. They bring me so much joy, its worth the pain.

The Joy of Organizing

Have you ever noticed that when you try to organize, it only makes things worse? With T-Minus 1 week to school starting I was feeling the pressure to get something done. So I decided to take the bins out of our storage room and inventory them. I would know where things were! What a brilliant idea! An hour later I'm thinking what the what? How crazy do I have to be to think this was I good idea? I have stuff strewn all over the living room. I'm dangerous when I clean.

If Mama Ain't Happy...

I had this crazy notion that this was going to be the summer I was finally gonna get my stuff together. I was gonna lose twenty pounds, finally get organized and have my home and family running on a schedule that would put Martha Stewart to shame. Summer ends in two weeks and I have done NONE of that stuff! And people, I am in a Panic. I'm an emotional girl anyway, but right now I am one big hot mess! In every household that I know of, the mama is the center of the universe. Everything revolves around her. This is true in our house where my panic state is slowly spreading. One of Ben's favorite sayings is "water off a duck's back" which is generally how he deals with my meltdowns. But even he's getting a little case of the crankies. So, I gues its time to have a sit down with myself and tell me to put on my big girl panties!

Meet the Wonders...

We're sort of a nerdy version of "Modern Family." (Let's pretend I look like Goria.) We like science, especially astronomy, history, Harry Potter (Legos + Harry Potter= epic win), Monty Python, Star Wars, technology and gaming. I'm the mama of the bunch. My partner is Ben (he reminds me of Ben from Gizzly Adams, remember that show?) I have two young Wonders, Buffy (think Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Junior (Junior Asparagus from Veggie Tales). These are our tales from the true final frontier- family life.

One Winter Night..

I admit it...I usually don't take my kids places. On the weekends the lure of computer games is just too much for them to resist. Removing them from the house results in much whining and misery, so I usually don't do it. But tonight we had a break in the cold weather and I insisted we go to the park. After the initial whining everyone had a great time. On the way home the dog yawned in my face and gave me a blast of nasty dog breath. The kids started discussing her habit of eating cat food and came up with the idea of starting their own dog food company. They discussed this idea earnestly; what kind of ingredients should be included (which led to an unpleasant conversation about animal by-products) and whether making canned foods would allow them to provide a fresh product. I was so impressed with their ideas. Now we're back home and they're both sitting on the couch reading while the smell of chicken soup wafts through the air. Mmmm. What a cozy winter night.

Excitement!

This is what passes for excitement in my life. Target changed their brand name and sent me a bunch of coupons for all those things you have to have around the house. So I went to Target today and got a bunch of stuff for 30 bucks! I was so excited!
But I had to ask myself as I packed my stuff and my kids into my car: if I had known when I graduated high school that this is where my path would lead, would I have taken an exit somewhere? In other words, do I have any regrets about the life I lead? I certainly wish I'd have gotten my degree before having kids. But, honestly, school just didn't have a purpose until I had two kids and having a degree meant having a way to support them. I wish I had chosen another man to be my children's father. But it was raising them alone that gave me the self-confidence to believe that I deserved someone who would treat me well. So, I suppose I wish I had taken another, easier path to get here. But I think the journey has been well worth it. I have finally created the only thing my heart has ever really wanted: a family.