Lara

My little 4 1/2 year old self was so mad.  Why did they want another baby if the had me?  I was perfect after all.  Nope, you came home anyway.
Now I realize all I would have missed out on without you.  You have talents and gifts I wish I had.  You are generous, compassionate, and stylish.  You took care of Mom when she was dying.  You can play more than "From a Wigwam" on the piano.  Your phone calls got me through Garett's diagnosis.

I am so thankful that Heavenly Father put you in our home.

How Twitter Saved The Dad's Life

I have been thinking of ways to commit murder.  (My favorite was suggested to me by my former boss, which involved hooking someone's c-pap machine up to the car exhaust.)  I have been so aggravated with The Dad and his attitude that really, a good stabbing did come to mind on more than one occasion.


But today I got a reminder of why I shouldn't kill him.  @SeagullFountain and I were having a twitter convo about Nora Roberts.  I asked her if she had read the latest book and she hadn't; she is smartly waiting for the paperback version.  I told her that The Dad always buys me Nora Roberts books when he sees a new one because he remember that is something I enjoy.  @SeagullFountain told me that what The Dad did was sweet.  Whoa!

That made me think of how he took us to the Hill Air Force Base museum and carefully explained how jet engines work.  How he spent Thursday in the mall (even pretending to be in the bathroom when he was actually in Kay Jewelers buying me an anniversary present.)  How he apologized 100 times that our anniversary didn't work out right.  How he pretended not to be freaked out when I watched the America's Next Top Model marathon.  I could go on.....

Sometimes, when we are looking at our lives and seeing only ugly, we need someone to show us we have a few blessings.

Marble Jars for Sanity

It is the first day of summer vacation, and we all know what that means:  bored kids who want to do nothing but watch tv and fight with each other. 


Most summers I have made the kids do chores in the morning and some type of homework after lunch and then they could be free.  I know I sound like a drill sergeant, but I honestly can't take the chaos.

I don't know where I got the marble jar idea, but I know many people who do some version of it.  I made a list of jobs from easy like emptying the dishwasher or trash when it isn't your turn (1 marble) to hard like mow the lawn (6 marbles).  The kids have to work until lunch at earning marbles.  How hard they work = how much they get paid.  To avoid cheating (not that my kids are sneaky.....) I let them each pick out a color of marbles.  Fred has pink, Bub has red, and G has blue. 

When the jar is full, the kids each get a choice of rewards:  $10, a $15 itunes card, or a one-on-one "date" with The Dad or me.  No one took the date last summer, which kind of hurt my feelings, but that's another story.  I guess money talks. 

Quite frankly, the marble jars saved our summer.  My house was clean, the fighting was cut back, and the kids could see the relationship between work and pay.

I am super bad at being sick. I have around 80 sick leave days to prove it. The Dad is good at being sick. He lounges and takes medicine and enjoys the experience. I become more and more grumpy until I am ready to commit a crime with a butter knife.

Today I am sick. I have a stupid cold/sinus thing and I have stayed in bed all day. The Dad has brought me food in bed and now he is force-feeding me Thera-Flu. To show him my gratitude, I have thrown things and called him names and whined.

Really, how does one learn to be good at being sick?