According to Becks...

Beckham and Kerry went to Home Depot yesterday while doing some man work in the yard. (I was off recreating...suckers! But I digress..
So Kerry tells the Becks that they need to get some fertilizer and some tree pruners.  Becks says matter of factly, "Loppers".
"What?" asks Kerry.   "Loppers." repeats Becks.
"Fine - we can call them Loppers but you just be in charge of reminding me to get them."
 As they walk down the aisle to get the tree cutters, Kerry notices the sign in front of the tree cutters that says, of course, "Loppers".
"Becks - how did you know they were called Loppers?"
His response was that he learned about it on Curious George.  Who knew!  I wonder if Curious George could teach him how to clean his room and do windows?  I'm going to write in to the producer...

Some other Beckisms lately:
Frustrated with his older brother, Becks asked if we "could ground Ethan forever".  After I told him no, he asked me if we couldn't do that, if we would just kick him out of the family.

A few nights back we put all the kids to bed in the basement.  Kerry and I were watching tv and heard the telling steps of a little 5 year old coming up the stairs.  We asked why he was upstairs and not in bed.  He says to us with a big sigh, "Well, it's not really working out for me down there."

And just so you know, Beckham informed me that "It's not called a 'mango', mom.  It's a 'flamango', but you can call it a mango if you like."

You wanna piece-a-me?

We are dealing with a few bullying issues....how do you handle them as a parent? I am confident that this will be taken care of, and it is not extreme, but it is hurtful nonetheless.   Part of you wants to jump in to save your child and the other wants to beat up the bully(s) yourself (but that may require jail time) and the other part of you knows you need to teach your child to stand up for themselves and to learn the artful skill of diffusing the situation.
This particular situation involved toilet papering personal property at school.  We gave all sorts of advice, but really we were laughing by the end.  We came up with some funny comebacks....none that were actually appropriate outside of our kitchen table.  Just to share, I told our child, "Why don't you ask them if they would like any of this toilet paper back so that they can wipe their buttface?"
Good, eh?  Fantastic parenting at its finest!
I'm here all week, folks.

Oh No He Didn't!!

(Pronounced: o no you dit-ten) A colloquial expression of incredulity, voiced upon witnessing another's action or statement.


In the car today:
Beckham:  Mom - Watch!  I can put this lid back on by myself.
Me:  Why don't you give it to me so I can put it on tight for you.
Beckham:  Mom.  I can do it by myself.  You probably can't do it because YOU'RE A WOMAN.

Nothing, Nothing, and then all the sudden...BOOM! Extra long post..

No pictures.  Lot's of words.  This post was my own personal challenge.  I said to my self, "Self, just see if you can post *something*, ANYTHING really, to keep your blog going.  It doesn't really matter, just break the long silence.

I really need to post all the kiddos things that are going on, our fun cruise we were able to do, other trips from last year that were supposed to be blogged, and life's going ons that really only me and my family and doting aunts and uncles care about.  But sometimes it seems like a lot of work to retell life.....  I wish there were a way to record it as it was happening.  I will get to it - that is my next goal.  Until then, these are a few random and completely unrelated things taking up space in my noggin:

I realized the circle of life once again yesterday while doing my kiddos hair.  Instead of them standing on the stool in the bathroom so I could do their hair, the person standing on the stool was ME.  I couldn't get my hands high enough above Eva's head to curl her hair, so I stood on the stool.  All 5'4'' of me.  Weird.  My kids are getting older and taller and I am just getting older.

I also noticed as I looked in my cupboards that, because my kids are getting older,  I am close to getting rid of those awful plastic colorful plates that I picked up at the dollar store years ago.  They are the ones  we use for the kids and their friends.  "How fun!" I thought, as I picked out all different colors.  What it really turned out to be over the years was a fight every time between siblings and friends as to who got what color, and many times tears were involved.  Lesson learned:  Only by 1 color.

I made a killer dinner last night.  Curry shrimp and sweet potatoes.  Let it be known that occasionally Makell can pull one out of her bag of tricks.

I have a new life strategy that my friend Kristin and I came up with.  If we get our chores done, we get to play the next day.  Treating ourselves like we were 7 really worked!  We both had projects around the house we were just dreading or procrastinating.  Organizing a room, cleaning a certain area, etc.  Things that I used to not mind doing just seemed so boring and I had absolutely no desire to just get it done.  Everyday things get done, but anything that can be put off, usually does.  A day turns into a week turns into a month or maybe 12.  We both stated our project for the day and then if we finished we would reward ourself the next day.  Having to be accountable to each other and knowing that you would have to answer when you are asked how it is coming along is what I need.   A lunch and a quick trip to Z Gallery did the trick.  Today, it is cleaning off my dumping ground that is the basement ping pong table and organizing that area.  Tomorrow - play time~!  It totally works - anyone is invited to join if you need a little motivation.  We hit the Whole Foods store, lunch, furniture shopping....it doesn't take much to get your butt in gear with a little self bribery..


Over the past month I have read some really fantastic books.  It's either feast or famine with reading and lately I've been able to fit it in like I always wish I would.
One of my new favorites and what reminded me of why I love to read:  The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton.  A mystery with 3 generations of women that goes back and forth between these different time periods.  I loved this book.  I find that I start to read slower as I get to the end of a favorite book.  The thought of not seeing what was going to happen next to the new character that has become my new best friend makes me not want to get to the end.  This will be a re-read.

Another find:  Sarah, by Orson Scott Card.  This one took me by surprise.  I generally stay away from church fiction books - they all seem so cheesy to me.  ( I know that is a bias, there are some really good ones out there..)  But this was truly fascinating, because you already know the story and how it ends and the author fills in all of the details that bring it to life.  I have the sequal - Rebekah that will be on my next list.

A book I picked up at the airport leaving for the cruise:  Little Bee.  Not sure about this one.  It was eye opening and horrific and charming at the same time.  There is one chapter in particular that was extremely hard to read and I don't know if I'll ever be able to get that out of my head.  At the end of the cruise I started reading "Water for Elephants".  I'm still getting into that one.

And finally, two books given to me by a new friend and favorite person of many, a skier extraordinare and a genuinely smart and funny woman affectionately known as Rabid.   We swapped books last time we skied, and she gave me a book that is a quick read that she thought I'd enjoy.  It is written from a runner's perspective as she braves life alone as a new widowed young mother.  "The Mourning Run" It was written by a local author and I literally balled all the way through it.  Yes, hormones played into it, but still.  I had puffy eyes and had to read it all in one day, because I couldn't have 2 days in a row with puffy eyes.  It is based on a true story and a great read.
This same friend sent me a words of wisdom book as a gift in the mail after a good conversation we had.    Incredible.  Words to live by.
"The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Lovely and Transforming.

This is why you can consider yourself lucky if you are blessed to have good friends.  To help you get to be the person that you are supposed to be, not the person that you would be from your own self-destructive ways if left on your own.... or unproductive ways, or boring ways, or sit home and do nothing ways...  Many of you out there are these friends & sisters to me, and for that I am eternally grateful.