Ode to the Acorn

Ever since the beginning of this school year, Marschall recently got into a ritual of bringing home acorns from the playground. For the past two months our conversation would sound like much of the following....

Me "Marschall how was your morning?"
Marschall "I got a looooooot of acorns"
Me (sounding ever so proud) "Oh great, I can't wait to see how many!"

He would buckle up and we would be on our way home, (I love paying the preschool so he can pick up their playground). We would come in the house, he would race to his room and stock pile these acorns into another bag. For two months this has gone on. I thought, "this is so silly", but I pick my battles... who cares!
I work for four hours on Mondays and it seems everything in our life falls apart for us on Mondays. Pete calls me at work, he was watching Garrett for me while he worked from home. Our conversation went something this....

Pete "I've got to tell you something, I'm hesitant to tell you, but I know Marschall will. Well, (long drawn out pause), Garrett dumped all the acorns out of Marschall's bag and there were larva worms (70-80 maggots) that came out of this bag with the acorns on to Marschall bedroom floor. "

Me Silence ......(love all things about my boys except their love for insects)...I sit in a cubicle around 10 other people, trying to hold my composure. Thinking, I want to have his room scrubbed down... NOW.
Pete "I have vacuumed and then I vacuumed again."
Me "Then vacuum again"

I came home and found that the floor had been cleaned and all of the acorns out of his room. The vacuum bag emptied. I saw a glimpse of Marschall's insect house in the garage with acorns and about 10 of the maggots to keep for observation.

This is why we have dads.

My Grandmother's perspective

I had sent my Grandma Marschall an email that included The Good Wife’s Guide , 1955 Good Housekeeping article. I take her out once a week to go to lunch and run errands. This past Friday, I asked her if that article really articulated expectations of wives during the time she was raising her three children. She said, "absolutely yes". She also felt like that is how her mother's generation was expected to act also.
She goes on to say, "Some other advice we would hear back in the day was for wives to wrap themselves naked in cellophane (saran wrap) and greet their husbands at the door when they came home from work, to add a little spice". I really wasn't shocked she said this, because my grandma is hysterical, even when she isn't trying to be. What got me laughing, I had said I would get my grandmother's perspective. I did not ask her if she actually did the cellophane thing.... I'm not sure what magazine she was reading to get that advice!
I am now imagining a little bullet point in the mix of The Good Wife’s Guide , maybe right after their advice to...

• "Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it."
  

• "Wrap yourself naked in cellophane and greet your husband at the door "

Now... I think The Good Wife's article is complete!

Thanks for the laugh grandma!

The Good Wife???!!!!

Where do I begin? This was sent to me as a joke. But it is a documented, advice giving article from Good Housekeeping in the year of 1955 AD. I laughed, then my mouth dropped and then I thought I have got to pass this on. I was going to write what I thought was somewhat true of a "good wife" (which I personally dislike any term that rates our "goodness" by our actions) and then what I thought to be outlandish. I don't feel the need to explain/vouch for any of it. This is the time when my grandparents were raising kids. I need to further discuss this with my grandmother's and get their perspective.

PS. Now, remember even if he stays out all night, don't question him.
(I had to comment on that one.)

To Budget=

Anxiety, not being able to get what one does not have, constraining, creates fights, time consuming, need I go on........

We actually strive very hard, or at least we attempt, to stick with a budget. We were in a 3 hour workshop this morning. My neck muscles are still tense with the anxiety it created. When I hear Pete say, "we need to take a look at the budget", all I want to do is yell expletives! I don't even know why. When the word budget was defined today, I think I had an "aha" moment.
Someone stated the meaning of budgeting is controlling where you spend your money and you might (will) have to give up something in order to get something else. I don't like doing that. It seems so easy in this day and age to achieve getting everything you want with credit cards and no interest until 2050 etc.
We work with a cash envelope system; when the money runs out then we are done spending, until the next pay check. Personally, it keeps us accountable. We usually end up pulling out the debit card at the end of the pay period, but we know that it is only eating into our savings or the next paycheck.
I want to create good spending habits for our boys, too. Just the other day, Marschall was dying for this toy that costs $10.00. He rarely specifically asks for things. I am sure, it's only going to get worse as he gets older. I told him we didn't have any money to buy "that" toy right now. I felt like I needed to explain to him, we do have money, we are choosing not to spend it that way now. It was like I had diarrhea of the mouth, rambling on and on with a 4 year old the reasons of his parent's budget. Why did I feel the need for him to know? I think, because I don't want to have to deny him of anything, especially monetary things. I feel he needs to know he will always be taken care of. I am realizing, I need to instill in him that he will be taken care, just not always buying things he wants. Open ended.
He saw some money in my purse and said "See....you do have money". I said "that is for food". I should have simply said, "that is for food and we cannot eat your toy". I think, that would have made it click for him. Maybe he would have had his "aha" moment.
I made a deal with him, when Pete got paid again we would get the toy. I felt like he was looking forward to pay day as much as I was! Marschall was showing Pete his new red ninja turtle and he said "tomorrow Daddy we are going to go to the store and get the blue one". He hasn't quite gotten the concept of not getting everything he wants... If I was to be honest, I guess I haven't either...

"The Church"

We went to our friends' wedding renewal ceremony this past weekend. They have been married for 10 years. A lot has changed for them as a couple over these years. We have probably known them for 8 of the 10 years they have been married. I asked my friend, if they knew the Lord when they got married. She said we had a "God conscious" but said they had not really committed their lives to Christ until later in their marriage. I thought that was interesting, the Lord was working on both of them yet when they got married they did not have Christ at the center of their lives. Thankfully, He has taken them 180 degrees from where they were and brought them to Himself. I love to hear the testimonies of how people come to truly know Jesus as their Savior. This is what they have done. They know Him. In the ceremony the two of them testified as couple to His grace, His forgiveness, His redemption, His hope, His protection, His love for His bride and to Him that died for them. I witnessed two people that have fully committed their lives to the Lord, to drive a stake in the ground and testify what the Lord has done for them and in them. Christ is the center of their lives and their marriage.
What struck me the most were the 20 people surrounding them in a circle as the pastor spoke. Family and friends, each one of us knowing them in different ways, stood their to support them and witness a Holy moment. They specifically invited people that were intimately involved in their lives and their walk with Christ. It wasn't a Sunday message or Wednesday night program. We witnessed "The Church" in action.
We were the Bride of Christ getting a glimpse of why Jesus was sacrificed for us. He has redeemed us. He is not going to stop pursuing His Bride until ultimately we meet Him face to face. At some point, their ceremony became a picture of what my life is. Redeemed, fought for, bought with a price and for my freedom. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free....

Trying to Get with the Times

I have been wanting some type of digital (is it digital?) MP3 player of sorts. IPod, MP3.... I think IPod is a type of MP3. Anyway, I got a mini 1Gigabyte MP3. It can hold 250 songs, which I can't even imagine knowing 250 songs, so I think this will do just fine. I wanted to be able to see the songs on the little LCD screen. I have two "Playlists", one I named, "Worship the King" and the other, "Dance Funk". How funny are those opposites? There is a little part of me that loves to "break it down" when no one is looking. Ironically, I listen to the worship music when I work out. As I was running around the track I lifted my arms up to adjust my headset. Yes, I said headset. However, I don't have a headset. I am with the times now, I have ear buds that are too big for my ears. The last time I listened to music when I worked out was back in college with a headset and a mix tape. Totally 80's, yet I was living in the 90's.... I was dying laughing thinking how technology is changing right before my eyes. Our children probably won't remember cassette tapes, they will think of tapes as my generation thinks of 8 tracks.
My friend's husband was running around his block with a digital FM headset on his head. Some kid at a bustop yelled to him dumbfounded, "what do you have on your head"? So every so often my friends and I ask "are we getting old?", I believe, I can say, pretty adamantly... "yes". We have kids not even recognizing our older technology. Oh well, at least I don't remember when the first TV came out.

Where is the bathroom?

One of my main reasons to start blogging again were all the situations where I would say to myself, I need to write this down, I won't remember it. So, here I am, with another "gotta write this down moment". I am not a very sentimental person. I like re-living certain memories Pete and I have made; looking back at pictures, remembering trips etc. Now, I'm starting to want to remember specifics with our boys. Like Garrett, he will be labeled as our child who never slept through the night. I am praying that we can say, "Remember right after his 2nd Birthday, he did it"! He slept through the night on a consistent basis. So far, that's a no go. I peaked on him last night and he had his eyes opened and started screaming and crying....(I will not document how long it took for us to coerce to go back to sleep).
I feel purposeful in my blogging. As I did last time, I am going to print them out to remember these days of my life.
Oh yeah, what I wanted to remember.... Marschall wanted to know if heaven was going to have bathrooms and if we would have new skin ( he does not want wrinkly old skin). This said all in the same sentence. My response... "It will be something like that, I'm sure if we need a bathroom, there will be one and Yes, we will have new skin, or something like that." He seemed satisfied with my answer. That's the great thing about kids this age; they take what you say at face value and feel you have all the answers.