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2009 – A “Wordy” Review

January 3, 2010 by Kelli

I got this idea from C-Jane’s blog. I’m not quite as spunky a writer as she is, but I liked looking through my 2009 posts and remembering the fun and crazy words that composed and marked the past year.

January:

– The Inauguration: Thoughts From a Conservative: This was one of my few ventures into politics on my blog. I don’t do it often, but sometimes the urge to comment on the political temperature of our country gets the best of me. Political posts always lead to interesting comments. I also ended up on the news during this particular event.

– Boredom Leads to Strange Things: An Epic Battle: In which Sloan and I developed an entire story using his Star Wars figurines and a doll house.

Feburary:

Hoops and Tears: This was one of my more poignant and introspective posts of the year. I don’t often venture into the recesses of my heart on my blog, but this was a decisive moment in my year and it’s a prayer that my heart still whispers for my child.

The Master Cleanse: A Reflection: Perhaps one of the funnier moments of our year. This was the description of mine and Lee’s abismal attempt at the Master Cleanse diet.

March:

Minivans are HOT!: I got my new site up and running with this post.

Memo to My Husband: My kind (and fecicious) way of asking my husband not to screw the lids of the kids’ sippy cups on so tight.

April:

Sick and Twisted or Just Plain Funny?: If my children ever end up needing professional counseling, this post may contain some explanation as to why.

Easter Blunder: My husband made a man blunder on Easter Sunday of all days. It made for a great memory…and gave me a reason to laugh at him – good naturedly of course.

May:

Can I Just Go Back To Bed?: The Infamous haircut heard ’round the world. It was Sloan’s lone foray into hair maintenance – he was fired, effective immediately and lasting for all of eternity.

The Art of Taking Tea: A friend and I threw a kick-butt tea party.

June:

The Lotus in a Field of Mud: I love yoga – I just don’t understand it…

Why I’m in Turks and Caicos: I got to take the trip of a lifetime with my mom as we travelled to her childhood home in South Caicos. It was amazing.

July: This was a big posting month for me…

Six Years: My baby turned six. *sob*

Then and Now: I took these comparitive shots of Landon on our favorite stretch of beach.

Heavy and Light: In which I go all introspective again.

I’m sorry but it’s all I’ve got today…: My pitiful, yet painfully honest, admition that I would gladly allow Zac Efron to make a Cougar out of me (though since I’ve written this post I’ve been informed that a woman in her thirties is actually referred to as a Puma).

August:

On Immunizations: I ventured into another hot topic and posted our decision to alter and withhold some immunizations for our children.

Missions Week: I hosted my first Missions Week in which I featured missions organizations and missionaries that are near and dear to my heart. You can read all of the posts by clicking on the link at the top of my page.

September:

The President’s Address to Our Children: I got political again and in doing so stepped in a big pile of *&%! This particular post ended in me getting an email from Fox and Friends to be interviewed on their morning program. Unfortunately I was out of town when they needed me and was unable to do the interview.

A Party in the Heavenlies: My son asked Jesus to be his Savior. A momentous day for sure.

October:

Don’t let the door hit you in the –: The one where I admit that sometimes my mothering skills are reduced to clapping my hands.

Pumpkins and Funnel Cakes – A Lovely Combo: I worked on taking and posting better photographs with this post.

November:

I Blame it all on Them: This post found me lamenting my dying brain cells – a phenomena I blame entirely on the children.

Mature Woman my BLEEP: My dermatologist had a severe case of verbal diarrhea.

December:

The Three Wise Men, The Construction Worker and the Lady Down the Street: This one is pretty self-explanatory.

The One Where My Mom Claws Come Out: I almost had to take a girl out at the mall. Don’t make mama bear angry!

Whew – It’s been a fun ride, this blogging thing. I’m so glad I have these stories documented and I’m so grateful to have you guys journey with us. I know I’m not the most talented writer out there and I don’t always spin the most fascinating stories, but this blog has been a fun release for me and I enjoy your company!

I’m hoping to improve my writing skills in this coming year, while also providing a fun and witty journal for my children to look back at one day. This is the literary road map of their childhoods. I just pray that I do them justice.

Happy 2010.

Which, can you believe it’s 2010? I really thought we’d have flying cars by now…and Hoverboards.

Blast those Hollywood movie makers…

Filed Under: blast from the past, Blogging, Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Life, Missions Weeks, Random

Wherein I leave you with more photographs

December 11, 2009 by Kelli

Today, as the temperatures are hovering in the teens, I am longing to be back in this lovely place. Yes, loooooonging…

This adorable little boy will be two in five days. Excuse me while I go sob in the corner for a bit.

Turns out Tia has a knack for gymnastics. After only a few weeks of lessons, she was bumped up to a more advanced class where she is the only three year old in a group of four and five year olds.

She’s perfected her cartwheel and now does it off our ottoman whilst pretending that it is a balance beam. She is freakishly strong and has no fear. But really, does this surprise anyone? Remember this picture, which I took when she was not yet two years old?

Then, of course, there was this post which described the catalyst for us actually signing her up for a gymnastics class.

Mmm-hmm…We’re not shocked that she’s got some talent in the gymnastics arena. Unfortunately, she’s going to be way too tall for the sport, but we’ll let her keep it up for as long as she enjoys it.

And speaking of Tia – wasn’t it just yesterday that she looked like this standing next to her not yet four year old brother? She is now less than two months away from being four herself.

If anyone has discovered a way to make time stand still, please pass on the secret. Pa-leeeeaaase.

And this one just because. Oh he’s yummy…

Happy weekend everyone!

Filed Under: Kids, Landon, Life, Motherhood, Random, Sloan, Tia

Because I only have time for bullet points

December 8, 2009 by Kelli

– I have just a short amount of time to spend on the computer today so this is going to be a random bullet list of all the things on my mind today. Aren’t you excited?!

– I was at church until 11:00 last night rehearsing for the musical which opens this Thursday! Please come watch it if you’re in town. It’s going to be great. Tonight is dress rehearsal, tomorrow we have the night off and Thursday we open. There are six performances you can attend and you can purchase tickets here. There are only a few tickets left for the Thursday evening show and the Sunday afternoon show, but Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night all have plenty of seating still available! Bring your kids – it will be fun for everyone!

– It’s amazing how productive I become when my schedule is jam packed. Already this morning I’ve bathed, fed and dressed three kids; I’ve vacuumed the floors in the entire house; I’ve folded a load of laundry and I’ve cleaned a bathroom. I will be gone most of the morning helping set up for the musical, then I plan to stay busy this afternoon getting my house in order before going back to church. Whew – it’s like running a marathon.

– When I gave the kids their gluten free cereal with Almond Milk the other day, Sloan asked me if I was feeding them poison. Nice.

– On the plus side, I did manage to get Landon to eat an entire plate of Salmon yesterday! And Sloan and Tia both polished off a large helping of broccoli last night. Landon took one bite and gagged, but at least he tried it. We’re making progress.

– While I’m done with a majority of my Christmas preparations, I still have a lot to do. Next week will be as crazy as this week trying to prepare.

– I went to a Bible study yesterday morning that really convicted me on my need to be more intentional about educating my kids on the true meaning of Christmas. I came home with a ton of ideas. Now if I could only find the time to implement them…

– I really want to send out Christmas cards, but I’m not sure it’s going to happen this year. We’ll see how next week pans out.

– Every morning after Sloan gets on the school bus, I let Tia watch Handy Manny and the Imagination Movers. I feel a little guilty about allowing her to sit and watch TV for that long every single morning. But it allows me to get things done like blogging, showering and cleaning up so I push the guilt aside. Is that terrible?!

– I feel sad about the Tiger Woods situation. My heart hurts for them.

– I just sneezed all over the keyboard. I need to go get some cleaner and wipe this up. Have a happy Tuesday and get your tickets for the Christmas dessert musical theater at First E-Free this weekend!

Ba-Bye.

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Kids, Life, Random Tagged With: A Time for Christmas, First Evangelical Free Church St. Louis

Attempt Number One – Meh…

December 3, 2009 by Kelli

I am attempting to overhaul our eating habits. In general we don’t eat terribly unhealthy, but I have gotten very lazy in my food preperation in the last several months, to where I’ve found myself feeding my kids endless amounts of already prepared, processed food that tends to be cheaper and easier to fix.

But I, myself, have felt very sluggish lately. And I’ve already told you about my severe hormonal imbalances, which are also causing stomach issues. I need to detox my diet a bit and I need to help my children understand that healthy food can be good.

It can, I swear! Ah – if I can’t convince you guys, I’ll never convince them!

I haven’t gone to the grocery store for awhile because I’ve been trying to get all the food I’ve previously bought out of the house first. Yesterday, however, when I opened up the refridgerator and a couple of moths hit me in the face, I decided it was time to hit the market.

I stocked up on a lot of fruits and vegetables. I tried to buy foods that were either gluten and wheat free or low on the glycemic index. I bought Almond Butter and Almond milk (I also bought cow’s milk, but I will use it sparsely). I stocked up on almonds and walnuts and dried fruit, which I plan to mix together to make a trail mix that my children will most likely NOT love.

I bought grass fed beef and hormone free chicken. I bought Salmon, which I plan on taking one bite of and then promptly giving the rest to my husband because…ew.

I also bought a box of Trader Joe’s dark chocolate dipped peppermint cookies because it jumped in my cart and I could not for the life of me put it back on the shelf.

Ahem.

So – I came home, put away the bags of beautiful, colorful groceries, placed my paper bags in the recycle bin (organic whole foods and recycling? GO ME!) and prepared lunch for the kids.

What did I make, you ask?

I made Gluten Free Brown Rice pasta and I added some sauteed bell peppers (my kids love green peppers) a little bit of Olive Oil and a little bit of cheese. It was scrumptous.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the kids agree…

Those were their plates after they left the table.

I was all, “Mmmm…Isn’t this delicious guys?” And they were all, “No.”

Okay, so I didn’t have very high expectations. My kids, in general, aren’t a huge fan of pasta. But I hoped the colors and the cheese and the all over beauty of my healthy creation would lure them in. Not so much. They did eat the Organic, whole yogurt I gave them, though.

Yay.

I wonder how they’re going to feel about the Almond Butter and Honey sandwiches that I will prepare on Gluten Free bread for dinner?

Any guesses on how long this dietary change of ours will last?

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Motherhood, Random

The Miracle of Adoption

December 1, 2009 by Kelli

I love the process of adoption. I have several friends who have either already adopted children or who are in the process of adopting and I am always amazed and awed at how beautiful it is to watch a child go from a future of uncertainty into a future of love and protection. The process of adoption is truly a miracle.

Last night, I got a call that one of my dearest friends was headed to the hospital to pick up an 11 day old baby boy who needed a home. She and her husband had been patiently waiting for several months for a call that there was a child that needed them and last night, God brought that yearning to fruition in a miraculous way.

They were not expecting an infant. They were planning on an older child. But God had a different plan. At 4:30, they got a call from their adotion case worker and by 9:00 they were home with a precious 6 pound baby boy.

Isn’t God miraculous?

This morning, as I was reflecting on last night’s events I read this in Galations – “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Because you are sons, God has sent foth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father'” Galations 4:4-6

Whenever I look at a child who has been adopted into a loving family, I am reminded once again of our adoption as heirs to the throne – we are the adopted children of God.

What would this tiny baby’s life have been like if Amy and Andrew had decided not to give him a home? If no one had given him a home? How desolate would life have been for this child to have no one to love him? No one to open their arms and give him the full rights of a son?

But, indeed, there was a home for him. A home ordained from the beginning of time by the Creator Himself. And with that home come all the rights of a full fledged son. This child will always know love. He will always know acceptance and grace, mercy and community. And he will be raised to know who his true Father is by two parents are fully committed to teaching their children of God’s grace.

Isn’t that beautiful? Do you understand the picture that paints for us – followers of the God above all creation? We too have been adopted unto Him. We are His children and with that come all the privileges that are bestowed upon a child from his Father. We don’t deserve it. We could have been left alone, desolate, without the knowledge of unconditional love and acceptance.

But we were not left alone. Just like this child was not left parentless in a hospital. Just like the Chinese boy that our friends adopted was not left in an orphanage. Just like Andrew and Amy’s first son was not left in a foster home. No, we were not left alone. We were brought into the fold; called out for a purpose and given the title Child of God.

Yes, adoption is a beautiful thing. I find myself moved every time I look at these adopted children and I see their faces light up as they look at their parents. They’re young now, so they don’t understand the miracle that’s taken place in their lives. But someday…someday they’ll know.

I sometimes forget the miracle that’s taken place in my own life. It is a miracle to be a child of God. It is a miracle to be grafted from darkness into the light of a family. It is a miracle.

Rejoice with me today in the miracle of adoption, will you?

Filed Under: Adoption, Family, Life, Random Tagged With: Adoption

I am a Black Friday Convert

November 30, 2009 by Kelli

I hate shopping. Really, truly hate shopping. It ranks just below going to the dentist or the gynecologist. I just don’t find it to be enjoyable. Unless, of course, I have money to spend (which is rare) which makes it just slightly more fun.

I’m the kind of person who usually knows what she wants, runs in the store, picks it up and I’m out again. I am not good at finding deals because I don’t have the patience to sift through racks of clothes. I admire people who can do that.

So I never thought I would venture out on Black Friday. You know, because it involves shopping – and shopping in the dark, no less. Thursday afternoon I laughed at all the Facebook status updates as people exitedly proclaimed they were getting up at 2:30 am to go shopping. Ugh. Sounded miserable. I sat in my little comfy office chair and scoffed at their foolishness.

Then I talked to a friend who brainwashed convinced me that there were really good deals to be had and that it was fun to get up early and save money. And, against my better judgement, curiosity got the best of me and I began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, I should give it a try.

“You should make a list,” she suggested. “Write down the things you want so you’ll be organized and can really hit the best stores.”

That was a brilliant idea. Except that a list requires organization. And organized I am not. I tried to make a list – I really did. I got on the Black Friday deals website – but the sight of all those stores completely overwhelmed me and I began to panic and gave up on the list making. I was just going to wing it.

So I decided, despite my lack of a list, to go for it. But I was not going to get up in the middle of the night. No sir. Because I am smarter than that.

I set the alarm for 5:00 on Friday morning. As I did so, I once again questioned my sanity. Was I really going to get out of bed at the crack of dawn to shop?

But, having made up my mind to try it, I shut down the little Jiminey Cricket in my head and pushed set. And true to my word, the next morning I rolled out of bed around 5:15. Five minutes later, I turned my frigid car on and tried to warm up. Then I looked at the clock.

It said 4:22. It said 4:22 IN THE A.M. What?!

Then it hit me. The kids were messing around the day before with the alarm clock. They must have set the clock an hour ahead. So there I sat – one of those looney people who gets up in the middle of the night to go shopping. I briefly considered going back to bed, but decided since I was up I’d better make the most of it.

And you know what? I had a blast!

I did score major deals and got the kids some great gifts that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. And the other people that were shopping with me weren’t a bunch of crazy robots – they were just enjoying the experience. We laughed and talked as we waited in line. There was a fun energy in the air. We were all hopped up on adrenaline. We compared items, talked about our families, laughed at how crazy it was to be standing in line at 4:45 in the morning. It was fun!

At one point, as I stood in the longest shopping line I’ve ever stood in with my cart full of crazy cheap items, I got a little light headed. It was a combination of the money savings, the adrenaline rush and extreme fatigue. It was awesome. Better than any drug.

At 8:15, Lee called as I stood in my fifth line of the morning and told me he needed to leave for work in a half an hour. So I raced home, picked up the kids and headed back to the mall.

Because I wasn’t done. Me – the girl who hates shopping. I wanted more. And I got more!

But only a little more because I forgot a stroller and I can only wrangle three kids for so long before the experience becomes miserable for all involved.

And then we went to see Santa. Because, you see, I bought the presents the kids have been asking for and, knowing my kids, it would not be entirely unlikely for them to change their minds before Christmas and say they wanted something else.

So I made them give their wish lists to Santa so that when they change their minds later I can say, “Oooohhh…Sorry – you already told Santa what you want. Can’t change it now.”

So at 11:00, I came home for good. My shopping is all but completed and I saved close to 300 dollars in the process. Just typing that makes me get all giddy and shaky.

I, my friends, am an official Black Friday convert.

Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Life, Random, Thanksgiving Tagged With: Black Friday

Taking Care of Business

November 23, 2009 by Kelli

– First of all, I am going to announce the winner of the Testament Focused drawing. I now know why I don’t like doing giveaways. I wish every one of you could win and I hate that I only get to pick one winner – or that Random.org only got to pick one winner for me. If I could afford it, I would buy and ship a book out to every one of you.

But I can’t afford it, so you’ll have to buy your own! Ha!

Anyway, drumroll please…

The lucky winner of the Testament Focused drawing is…

Number 9 – Nicole from Here’s the Diehl!

Congratulations, Nicole. I’ll get that book to you as soon as it comes in and I’ve had a chance to look through it myself 🙂

To the rest of you – thanks for playing and I am really sorry you didn’t win. But you can still get a copy for yourself and don’t forget that 100% of the first 25 copies sold goes to Soaring Wings Ranch.

– It was another busy weekend for the Stuart family. Daddy was out of town, which always lends itself to insanity. We watched the movie Up on Friday night. I laughed to not cry through the first half hour of the movie, then genuinely laughed the second half. It’s a very sweet film.

– While Lee was gone, I noticed it was rather frigid in our house and realized the furnace was blowing cold air. so, with Lee talking me through it over the phone, I managed to relight the pilot light on the furnace thereby restoring warmth and order to my home.

Because I am She-ra.

– Saturday we got to stay home in the morning and I got some laundry done while the kids attempted to drive me insane played quietly around the house. Then we headed out the door to visit with a sweet friend who’s in town for a little while before going home to greet her husband who is fighting for our freedoms in Afghanistan!

We love you Jeremy!

– Sunday I woke up to discover that my voodoo face cream apparently works by burning the skin off my face. I guess I got it too close to my eyes because both eyes were swollen shut and the skin was rather enflamed. An ice pack and a lot of lotion later, I headed out the door where I spent the next 11 hours at church leading worship, making Christmas crafts with Sloan, singing Christmas carols for the craft workshop and previewing scene one from our upcoming Christmas musical!

Whew – I’m still exhausted.

– When I returned home, I wrote this article for the St. Louis Blogger’s Guild in which I took a rather unpopular opinion on an incident that took place here in St. Louis. You’ll have to read the article to know what I’m talking about, but I still firmly belive that while Kurt Greenbaum may be known as a bit of a jerk around town, the person posting the comment had no business doing so from school grounds and I therefore think he is suffering a dreadful consequence for his foolishness.

Not many people agree with me. There is widespread belief that Kurt Greenbaum violated an unspoken code of conduct on the web and he is being slaughtered for it. Perhaps that is the case, but the fact remains that this school employee still made a foolish choice.

It’s a tough situation.

If you haven’t read the article you have no idea what I’m talking about.

– Now I’m home, still nursing swollen eyes and trying to gear myself up to put away the mountains of laundry I washed this weekend. I also may pull out a few Christmas decorations, much to my husband’s chagrin. He has this crazy idea that we shouldn’t start celebrating Christmas until after Thanksgiving!

I know, right?!

Filed Under: Blogging, Christmas, Giveaway, Holidays, Life, Random Tagged With: A Time for Christmas, Kurt Greenbaum, Soaring Wings Ranch, Testament Focused

Mature Woman My BLEEP

November 19, 2009 by Kelli

I went to the dermatologist the other because I’m having this little problem with my skin. The problem?

My skin is breaking out worse than a prepubescent teen! That younger looking skin we’re all looking for? Yeah, I have it…but not in a good way.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never had breakouts like this before – ever. And I have bad skin. I’m chalking it up to severe hormonal imbalances. Here is my completely unsubstantiated, non-scientific reasoning:

In the last ten years, I have either been on birth control pills or I have been pregnant. In the nearly two years since I’ve had Landon, my body has had to figure out how to regulate itself. And it’s failing miserably.

Actually, I hate being on birth control. It makes me into a crazy lady. I took the Pill for only 18 months after Lee and I got married, then stopped because I felt like a nut on it. And eight months later, I had a baby in my belly.

After Sloan was born I didn’t take the pill again and 19 months after he came, I was pregnant again. I got pregnant for a third time only 13 months after Tia was born.

And here I am, two years out of having my third child and my face is all wacked out, my stomach is acting weird and a whole host of other hormonal related issues are taking place.

Awesome.

So I went to the dermatologist and I asked him for voodoo medicine that would make me all better. Do you know what he told me? Do you KNOW what he told me?!

“It’s your age,” he said, his eyes inches from my face. “Generally the more mature woman has issues with breakouts along her jawline.”

I’m sorry…did you just say the more mature woman?! The more maTURE WOMAN?

I am far too young to be described as the “more mature woman!” No sir. The more mature woman is in her sixties. And that’s what I told him. And he laughed, then shrugged and said maybe.

And then he saw that I wasn’t laughing – I was serious. And he laughed again, but it was a more nervous laugh. Then he said, “You know…it’s just a common problem I see for women in their thirties.”

Hmph…more mature woman. Clearly he doesn’t know that I’m only 29 plus a couple of years. Poor man.

Then he gave me my voodoo cream and out I went, my near two year old on my hip, to buy a miniskirt and a crop top, which the more mature woman would not wear but a young woman would!

Okay, I didn’t buy a miniskirt or a crop top, because I’m a wise YOUNG woman. I merely took myself home and slathered on the aformentioned cream and waited for it to work it’s magic, while repeating to myself over and over:

You’re young, you’re young, you’re young, you’re young…

More mature woman my *BLEEP*

Incidentally, I really like my dermatologist. He’s a very nice man. Clearly a little misinformed, but nice nonetheless.

Filed Under: funny stuff that happens, Life, Random

Testament Focused: A Giveaway

November 18, 2009 by Kelli

*Update-Okay folks, you have to comment to win. Even if you’re not sure you want this, surely you know someone who would like to have it. Click on the link below to preview the book, then please leave a comment. Giveaways are more fun when you have several commentors to choose from!

This post is a sticky post. It will remain at the top of the page until the contest ends. To read updated posts simply scroll down.

I’ve been blogging for almost two years now and I’ve never before done a giveaway. I’ve thought about it, but just haven’t really gotten around to doing it.

But today changes as I am hosting my first giveaway. And what will I be giving away you ask?

A copy of my sister-in-law Becke’s new book, Testament Focused! That’s right – I’ve ordered a copy of the hardbound edition of the book and I plan on giving it away to one lucky reader. But first, a little about the book.

Testament Focused is beautiful. It’s 72 pages of spectacular images, each with a corresponding Bible verse. Becke’ has combined her love for photography, God’s creation and God’s Word into a coffee table style book. This would make a great gift for Christmas or would be the perfect book to have sitting on your coffee table. And you could possibly have one for FREE! That’s a value of over 50 dollars. Seriously, you guys are going to love it!

So, to enter simply leave me a comment telling me what a fantastic idea this is telling me how much you would love to own this book and you will be entered to win!

Want to earn extra entries? Great! I’ll tell you how: Leave a status update on Facebook announcing the contest, then come back and leave me a second comment telling me you did that and you will be entered again. If you tweet about it, I’ll count that as a third entry. And if you announce it on your blog, leave a comment with the link and I will consider that an entry as well. Oh so many ways to win!!

So leave a comment, then get to tweeting/facebooking/blogging for more entries. I will use Random.org to pick a winner on Monday, November 23.

Filed Under: Family, Giveaway, Random Tagged With: Testament Focused

I blame it all on them

November 16, 2009 by Kelli

When I was a kid, I ruled at MEMORY. Seriously, I was untouchable. You picked up the shoe? Oh I’ll remember where it is. Ten minutes could pass and I’d still remember where that shoe sat, patiently waiting for me to find it’s match. Oh yes, my friends – I was hardcore.

I remember vividly sitting on the floor in my bedroom, my Walkman firmly placed over my ears, Leslie Gore’s greatest hits blaring (I was only allowed to listen to Christian songs or Oldies so I tended to rock out to Leslie Gore with all the fervor that my scrawny little body allowed). I was usually bundled up against the frigid Wisconsin chill that seemed to permeate the air 10 out of 12 months every year.

I was usually seated on the floor next to my black and white bed with the hot pink and torquoise accent pillows. They matched, of course, the black, white, turqouise and hot pink wallpaper border in the cream colored room. Ah, the eighties were grand weren’t they?

I would spread those memory cards out and play against myself, all the while belting out “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To,” at the top of my lungs. Sometimes my parents or my brother would join me, perhaps in an effort to get me to stop singing…

Huh…

Whatever the case, I welcomed their company because it gave me a chance to show them who was MEMORY boss. Oh yes – I was an unstopable force.

Fast forward 25 years to today as I sat with my kids and played MEMORY. We also were fighting off a November chill, though it was decidedly less dramatic than the Wisconsin chill in my past. Michael Jackson’s Greatest Hits blared through the MP3 player (my musical standards are significantly lower than my parents were. Although I guess for my kids, Michal Jackson falls under the umbrella of Oldies. That’s depressing…)

And I got my butt kicked today. By Tia, then by Sloan.

Even though I cheated and peeked at some of the cards as we were setting the game up, I still lost by a rather significant margin.

I blame it on the kids. My mind was like a vault before I had kids. I nearly had a photographic memory, which came in handy in college. I never needed a calendar or a day planner because I could remember dates and events without a reminder. Studying? I was a master crammer. I could visualize words on a page and regurgitate them on a test (as long, of course, as that test was in written form. If numbers or equations were involved I was totally screwed.)

These days I’m happy if I remember to take off my slippers and put on real shoes before I leave the house.

I think pregnancy kills brain cells. Then there’s the pushing, in which whole sections of the brain simply die. And the parts of the brain that were still firing on full capacity? Those areas are severely handicapped by the lack of sleep. Thus leaving you with only half a brain that’s only half functioning. So clearly us moms are at a severe disadvantage!

And then there are the hours and hours of kids songs, cartoons, Veggie Tales, Elmo and a whole variety of images and sounds the seems to stimulate our children yet drive us deeper into a semi-comatose state where we can no longer remember if today is Tuesday or Wednesday and what time does the bus come and when is that pizza party that I volunteered to help with?

Yeah, I blame it on them. That’s why my memory is completely shot. But I won’t tell them that. Oh no. I’ll let them think that they won simply because mommy was being nice. There’s no need for them to think any different.

Right?

Filed Under: blast from the past, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Motherhood, Random, Sloan, Tia