Sunday, January 23, 2011

On a Sunday

I love Sundays.  They bring back a lot of memories from my childhood.  We couldn’t play with friends on Sundays, only each other.  We played and played.  We performed songs for ourselves, we made tents on the bunk bed, we played with our dolls, and we rode each other around like horses.  I remember eating chicken a lot.  My mom would bake a whole chicken in the oven.  There was something so delicious about the skin – the perfect mixture of salt and pepper on the top.    Sundays were perfect.

Now days, Sundays look like this:

Owen woke up and told Greg it was a lovely day for some sports and they should go play tennis.

We colored Shrinky Dinks and turned them into magnets. 

I spent 2 hours by myself curled up on the couch watching shows I shouldn’t be watching.  It was the right choice, especially for a Sunday.

I am almost 100% certain the kids ate an entire box of bunny crackers. 

There was music playing, relaxing instrumental music.   (after the trashy tv went off)

There was playing, there was chaos, there was a little fighting.

There was a flag football game, there was a 2 1/2 nap (not me, Ivy)

And there was finger paint.  A lot of finger paint.

I hope my kids have good memories of Sundays like I do, well without the chicken skin of course.

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Friday, January 14, 2011

You know what I love?

Well, honestly, lately I feel like I love a lot of things, but the point of this blog and what is on my mind tonight = COUSINS.

I think it has been about 2 years since we have seen Owen’s cousin, Aubrie.  I am quite sure I went to Utah once to show off Ivy and I don’t think Owen came.  I think Owen came with me once and I think Aubrie was sick so we had to keep them apart.  We last saw Aubrie in Disneyland almost 2 years ago.  But you see, the best part about cousins when you are little, it is as though no time has passed at all.  Owen and Aubrie were fast friends from the second she walked through the door. 

They both had to have a cinnamon roll at Pike Place Market today, they had to ride together in the car, he was not about to go to school, the most nervous kid in the world was more than happy to sleep downstairs in a sleeping bag next to his cousin, they even KISSED.  (I am glad I missed that one, it sounded fairly dramatic).

I seriously love cousins.

And the only thing better than cousins…more COUSINS!!

(Now, if Greg’s siblings could only realize that we need a few more…..)

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

He told on us!

So, we are in the market for a bunk bed, a twin over full bunk bed to be exact.  By we I mean I.  I want to fix up Owen’s room.  Right now he has my old Olympic size queen bed in his room, a dresser that is too big, a set of 9 cubes to hold toys of course it holds no toys, and a bookshelf full of books.  Oh, and there are no closet doors. 

He doesn’t sleep in the room.  In fact, he doesn’t even like it, and who can blame him with all these odd pieces of furniture.  It doesn’t feel like a cozy room one would want to hang out in.  I am, however, afraid of spending any sum of money on a new bed just to have the room sit empty.  I do realize though, that a new bed is our only hope of ever having Owen sleep in his own bed.  (and it does make a wonderful guest room).

I go back and forth: buy a full size bed, buy a bunk bed, buy nothing, buy a full size bed, buy a bunk bed, buy nothing, take a break and forget it all, buy a full size bed and so on and so on.  So today, on our canceled school snow day, Angie and I headed to a furniture store that had been taken over by a bankruptcy liquidator company for a good deal.  We entered the odd place and the staff was ready to pounce. 

“Hello, how are you doing today?”

“We are fine, thanks.”

“Can I help you find anything today?”

“No, we are just looking, thanks.”

“Ok, if I can help you find anything let me know.”

And there was some exchange about the snow and the owl we brought in and how cute Ivy was and how nice a certain piece of furniture was and how there aren’t very many like it and then we were STUCK.

We strolled away and she followed, and followed and followed and yes, you guessed it followed some more.  She REALLY wanted her commission on our purchase.  She would leave for a few seconds and just when we thought we were alone, she would come out of no where to talk some more, constantly lurking around each corner

We eventually left but I needed Greg to go back in to look at our potential bunk bed.  I warned him a time or two about the lady and we were ready to go back.  I sent Owen in with Greg to show him where to go.  Perhaps that was a mistake. 

Our favorite saleslady found her target and moved in.  She found Greg and once again followed.  As the three of them arrived at their destination, the nice woman was informed by my child of this: “We were just talking how you say can I help you and we say no and then you follow us around anyway.” 

I do love the honesty, but I am getting a bed from somewhere else. (oh, and I am glad I sent in Greg and stayed in the car).