And on the 38th day..

I sent their hineys back to school!

YEE HAW...the 5 week winter break/track off ended without bloodshed, or major depression on either mom or child's part

. 

Seriously, it's always fun to have them home. I guess I"m weird because I like my kids and enjoy the time when we have less routine, fewer things on the schedule and a chance to just all be a bunch of homebodies.  But all good things must end, so today...off they went.

And from the looks on their faces, it looks like they were ready for a break from mom as well. They both woke up on their own, got dressed and the younger Thing even picked up his room before heading off for school.    

Hopefully this is a sign of continued good things to come...cheerful attitudes make everything better, n'est pas?  

From the "what were we thinking" file

Thing Two wanted to try ice skating.  Why, we have no idea since neither Hubby nor I are skaters.  But since the area mall has a skating pond we decided to let him try.

Suffice to say, it didn't go so well.  He took a tumble early on and used his hands to brace his fall.  No break but jammed it enough to increase his fear and bring on the "I'm done" attitude within minutes of hitting the ice.  

The ironic part was that Thing One who had insisted "I don't ice skate" had a good time.

Yep...just when you think you have your kids figured out, they change the rules!  

Other than that, it's been a quiet weekend.  I played party pooper and cancelled our trip to the mountains.  Forecast for huge amounts of snow made me think being on the roads wasn't the smartest thing we should be doing.  Of course, as luck would have it,  the weather here in town has been marvelous (colder than earlier in the week, but still blue skies yesterday, dry roads).  Making me look like a giant worry wart.  Oh well, my bank account thanks me for being cautious...even if Hubby has enjoyed putting me on the guilt trip!  :)

Stay warm, stay safe..  

Scent of a Mom

Today, I took the boys to the mall to look for new shoes (side note:  Dillards has an awesome sale on kids shoes.  40% off most styles).  As we are walking past the countless kiosks, I was bombarded by the bored salespeople to sample some sort of lotion or potion.

After the 3rd such encounter (the first two times I replied with a quiet no thanks), Thing One replied for me..

"No thanks, she already smells BEAUTIFUL!  Just like a mom should!"

Watching History through the eyes of a child...

As the Things and I watched the Inauguration ceremony earlier this morning, I admit I got a little teary eyed looking at the now first daughters walk in. Their ages are so similar to the Things that I couldn't help but wonder what these girls must be thinking of all this excitement. The dream of having your dad as president has to be pretty amazing, and now it is their reality.

So I mentioned to the Things "would you like for your dad to be president?" Of course, they replied yes. But then I pointed out the reality that their dad could never be president and I asked them why they thought that was..

Thing One hypothesized "Because he's bald?" nope...while I don't have the hair stats on past presidents I'm sure we've had a few bald (or balding) men hold that title.

Thing Two questioned "Well, he's old enough, but maybe because he doesn't want to? He probably couldn't still ride his motorcycle if he was president" Again, he could probably continue to ride much to the dismay of secret service, he's right about Hubby not being interested in the job.

I explained to them the one rule that keeps their father from becoming president.

It's the same reason that Arnold can't run for president.

So, as we enter this new era, I wish you luck Mr. President. Not only is the nation watching you, but so are your daughters. Make them proud...all our kids are counting on that!

Running on empty (the saga continues)

Running on empty takes on new meaning...when you discover your daddy drank all your good gin and left you with nothing but generic gin and flat tonic.

Fear not, I found something to quench my thirst, but me thinks it is time we re-stock the pantry now that Dad has left....

Running on empty...

Hey, this is our track off. Where are those lazy days of sipping coffee when I have not much that needs to be done and I take all day to do it? It sure ain't happening here!

Today, I'm protesting and insisting on making that second pot of coffee and watching the snow fall!

My dad has been in town visiting and we've had an action packed schedule

• On Friday I took Dad and 5 boys to a water park like pool on the west side of town. We had the pool to ourselves, I kid you not. Private pool party for $5/kid, hard to beat that. Nobody wanted to leave, including myself.
  
• I watched Meryl Streep provide me with doubt and laughter. As for the movie: it left me with doubt, and would probably have had even more doubt if I wasn't familiar with what history has told me happened during this era. If I could have suspended my knowledge of what I knew, and just listened to the movie, I would have had even more doubt. Moms Night In was a smashing success: as we laughed, danced, and just caught up with the wonderful women who live in my 'hood and I'm honored to call them friends!




• And then there was yesterday. I saw the ads for a play coming to town, an "Oprah Winfrey presents" production and decided my dad and I should check it out. I thought to myself: how do you take a movie that addresses some very heavy topics and make it into a Broadway play? A feel good story when the movie was rather sad? How can that be entertaining and worth the cost of the ticket? Fear not, it can be done. I was swept away by The Color Purple. If it comes to a town near you, I highly encourage you to consider going to see it. It will leave you with hope, remind you of the power of love and the importance of forgiveness and in a quiet and gentle way, point out that God does watch over us even when we feel we've been forgotten! And well, if that isn't enough to get you there, the music, the top notch vocal performances and the scenes with the well toned shirtless field hands should seal the deal!


• Today I've cancelled our plans to go see the animals at the National Western Stock Show. As fun as it would be, the snow is falling and it is a good day to stay home. Besides, we need to get our gear ready for tomorrow's BIG adventure: Yep, those native Colorado Things are hitting the slopes for the first time ever! (with cameras rolling of course). I fear my wallet is not prepared for this new chapter in our lives. But come on, we need to let them try...we live where some of the best ski resorts are within driving distance. It'd be like living near an ocean and never taking the kids to play in the sand and the surf. Crazy...not to try it at least once!

I hope everyone else is doing great. One last shout out of praise to my hubby. You know, he blogs too. And he submitted one of his entries to a national publication for owners of his brand of motorcycle. And, THEY PUBLISHED IT! YEAH HUBBY...can I get your autograph? Oh yeah, I do already...every month when you sign my payroll check! Anyways, great job...and if you are curious: check it out here

Foot in mouth: the Husband edition...

Last night, I reminded my hubby that my dad is arriving for a week long visit later today.

Hubby:  "Huh?  But I thought he wasn't getting here until the 10th"

Me:  "Dude, why else do you think I cleaned house today?"
Hubby:  "Well, yeah, I did notice and was wondering what was up...but I just thought you'd turned over a new leaf"

It's a good thing I love that man....and that there is some truth in what he said...I often need the "company's coming" motivation to really get the house looking presentable (it's never worthy of an Oprah style intervention, but I do have a higher threshold for dust and debris than I think one should have).

So, depending on how the visit is going, I might post a lot (avoidance blogging) or hardly at all (so busy having fun, no time to blog).  Only time will tell...but we've got all the right ingredients in place for a good visit:  gin and tonic is fully stocked (see Dodi, here at the House of Chang, it isn't just a summer time favorite!)

Well, fiddlesticks!

I was trying to pimp my blog and now I ended up messing everything up.  This generic template will have to do...as I'm getting ready to go have my second Gin and Tonic...all bets are off as to whether I can get this thing working right after that!

Self Awareness..

Overheard:

     Thing Two:  mumbled a question (didn't hear it, as I was in the next room)

     Thing One:  How would I know?  You're the smart one, I'm just the one that goofs off!

This is one of those "is this really a good thing that he knows that about himself?" questions...I'll have to ponder that for awhile

What's your English Patient?

Mrs. Zimmer and I were chatting recently when I confessed that, try as I might, I'm just not seeing the thrill of the Twilight series. I went on to say I feel like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine admitted to not liking The English Patient. If you recall that classic Seinfeld episode, Elaine was the only one that didn't like the movie and took a fair amount of heat for admitting so.

Well, this makes me two times the spoil sport...because I didn't understand The English Patient nor am I appreciating the beauty of Twilight. Oh sure, it's a great concept for a story...vampires living among us....but I"m really more in the mood for a book like Kite Runner or The Red Tent. These were books that entertained me, educated me a bit, forced me to look at the world from a different angle and by the time I was done I felt better having spent time reading it.

Twilight? Not so much...sure, I'm entertained, and slightly curious about the idea of vampires.

So, please share with me what your English Patient book or movie is! The one that everyone else swears by but you just don't get....honestly, I'll respect your opinions as long as you accept there is one less chick falling for Edward!

New Year's Eve funny

So, we let the Thing stay up until midnight this year.

I fear we're moving into a new stage with these boys.  Used to be we'd say "sure, stay up!" knowing full well that they'd both fall asleep by 9pm.  This time:  they were wide awake and we were clock watching, waiting for midnight to roll around.

Anyways, I bought some of those "party poppers" (which by the way, Target carded me to buy 'em!  Sheesh, first no sudafed without a driver's license, now restricting the purchase of  paper poppers! I guess one  must keep paper streamers out of the hands of the under aged and under supervised.).

Thing Two was yelling "Gung Hey Fat Choy!" Which while it isn't until later this month, at least he was closer than his older brother in terms of expressing the right sentiment...

Thing One yelled with each popper "I tooted!".

Yeah, he has come so far...but still has a ways to go...

I'm calling for a delayed start...

to the New Year. I've spent the past couple of days reading some pretty amazing posts by my blogging buddies. Great recaps of the year, wonderful insight on what they hope to accomplish in 2009, what word they want to live by, what challenges they want to take on. It's all been good stuff: so if I haven't actually commented, and you are reading this now, well...good job on the blogging, my friends! I'm impressed and inspired by your way with words!


And then there is me, I'm just stuck.
Well, not really stuck...I'm just a bit behind everyone else. Thus I think I deserve a delayed start.
So, there will be no recap of 2008. I'm too lazy to do it. Those of you that got my Christmas letter know I couldn't even muster my usual "here's what we did" Christmas letter. Instead, I goofed off with a crossword puzzle. ( Which for the record the motorcycles are named Brigitta and Maria...just think Sound of Music, we've got this thing for naming our vehicles after characters from that movie)



That seems to be the name of the game of late...I'd rather goof off than focus.



Which brings me around to my one little word for 2009. FOCUS.


See I haven't even paid enough attention to know who started the idea of having a word to live by. Ali Edwards I think. Anyways, I like the idea so I'm going to play along...



Why choose focus? Well, I find myself using it a lot with my boys. Granted, only Thing One takes something to help his focus, but they both get easily distracted and forget to stay on task and finish up the project at hand. I could blame it on them being kids, or boys, but I also must confess...they probably inherited this trait more from me than from their dad.

So this year, I too shall work on my focus...

• Focus on the tasks that need to be done, not those that should be done. Being a Martha, it is sometimes hard to recognize the difference and I find myself getting lost in all that needs to be done. Which results in either spinning out of control or totally shutting down. I need to find the balance, especially as it relates to domestic details.


• Focus on the big picture when the situation calls for me to do so...try not to lose myself in the worries of the little details. Keep that big picture in mind. This mostly applies to when I get worked up about something related to Thing One and his progress. He is making progress, he has made huge progress...I need to remember that when I'm worried about some little detail about his quirks.


• Focus on the little things each day that help me move forward. Simple things like not skipping breakfast, taking a walk to clear my thoughts. These little things, when done right, will lead to success with bigger goals like maintaining my healthier weight and overall health.

I could go on and on...but back to the task at hand...wrapping up this post.

As for challenges, seems like the blog-world/scrapbook world is swimming with choices this time of year. Take a picture every day, take one every week, do 12 on the 12th, make a monthly calendar page. If you've been to any message board or online community, you know what I'm talking about. Even the blog world is a flurry with challenges being issued.

In order to tie into my FOCUS, I've picked a simple one: Scrapping my stash (thanks Cyn...you are the one!) If you want to learn more about this, email me and I'll tell you what my plans are and where you can read all about it (if you are so inclined). I plan to blog about this adventure but want to keep the focus of this blog on Chang Gang adventures.

and now that I've caught myself up...I'm off to focus on the chore of the day: Laundry! Anyone want to come over and help?

PS: The photo? I had a great time catching up with my very first group of Mommy friends with a reunion of our play group. My how the kids have changed! Yet we all remain the same: good people, with kind hearts, great sense of humor and a real concern for one another! Much love to my playgroup pals! You remain forever near and dear to my heart!