i've got laundry.

1.  On my Political Post--

ugh.  after i pushed "post" yesterday i cringed.  i KNEW my shallow post on the debate would make me seem, well, shallow.  there was a time in my life where i was very political savvy... i invested time and effort into knowing and understanding the major issues of the day.  today i am a bit more "consigned"... sometimes when i hear presidential nominees i think of middle school election promises "I'm going to get soda machines in the cafeteria and ban homework."  everyone cheers and deep down we all know that the president doesn't really have power to get soda machines...  saying that, i was surprised that mitt won iowa by 8 votes.  that's not very much-- and i still don't know when Oregon's primary is but i have a feeling that the nominee will have already been chosen by then.  AND, i wrote this in the comments, but it's important.  I DON'T VOTE for candidates based on the cuteness of their families.  yesterday, i read a comment about Santorum's daughter who was dying and i got interested... so i looked up a few links to see all the potential families... just because it interested me... I also looked up the best and worst dressed of the Globes.  and, i read fox news about Turkey's reaction to Perry's comment-  ugh.  i did not read Ron Paul's steps to a better America.  I am shallow like that.  but, i am also a continual learner... and so, this is just the beginning of election season... i'm baby stepping  myself back into political savvy-ness.  i hear it's like riding a bike...

2.  ON SNOW--

it is BEAUTIFUL

and yet... I HATE, HATE, HATE getting my kids dressed and undressed to go play outside where i know they are going to freeze.

(as i'm dressing them i think of the video by NieNie-- and how much harder it is for her to dress her kids-- and i TRY not to think complaining thoughts...)

i hate being cold.

i hate the thought of my babies being cold.

we are from Texas, we do not have good snow clothes.

their fingers are cold, their toes are cold, their noses are red, and i hate that.

but, they love it.

and it is pretty... so whatever.
Oregon snow doesn't last more than a few days.
PERFECT.
PERFECT!!
i loved the rain this morning that gently washed all my freezing snow back down the mountain.
{someday soon i'm going to buy good gloves and boots and snow clothes... and then i may like it better.}

3.  ON BASKETBALL SHOES--

jakob had middle school basketball tryouts yesterday.

he wrote in his journal about how nervous he was.

i was nervous for him-- poor guy.

even though they don't cut anyone, they just all practice together and before the game they tell you if you are A team or B team.

i do feel bad that he isn't on a league team this year and that he rarely even plays basketball- we don't have a place around our house for him to practice.
he doesn't have basketball shoes and wanted some for his birthday (feb 4)
all day i wanted to run to the store and buy him some to surprise him at his tryouts.
some in my family thought that was a dumb idea, because he's too young, and doesn't need basketball shoes.
anyway.
the tryouts were at the elementary school (a 10 minute walk from the middle school).
i told jakob to find me in the car before he went to tryouts, but he was nervous he'd be late and so he ran with a group of kids, in the POURING rain, to tryouts.
i had stopped at a bakery to get him a special treat and everything...
when i finally found him at the elementary school he was sopping wet.

i gave him the treat and left.

i found out later that he had to SIT OUT the whole tryout because the coach wouldn't let him play with wet shoes.

he was sitting by the kids who didn't have their forms filled out.

all the other boys who ran had basketball shoes to change into.

AND, the coach told the boys they needed basketball shoes by the end of the week or they couldn't play--

unless they had an extreme financial situation that they should talk to him about.

UGHHH!!!

i was SO MAD.

so mad.

at that dumb coach.  at the fact that i didn't do what i wanted to do.  and at my sweet husband who insisted "he's too young, he doesn't need special shoes."
BLAH.
last night we went to the store.
jakob picked out a pair of Nike Turbo whatever... expensive ones, that all his friends have.
BECAUSE- he's a GREAT kid, and he hardly EVER asks for ANYTHING.
and, i'm not going to have my kids sitting on the sidelines because he doesn't have the right shoes.

ever again.

that coach is lucky we were carpooling, because i would have given him a piece of my mind last night.

jakob told me that when he was thinking about walking to tryouts he remembered that i wanted him to come to the car.
he said that thought came to his mind four different times, but he ignored it.
i told him that was the Holy Ghost and that if he had listened he wouldn't have had wet shoes.
all around it was a good learning experience for all of us.
sometimes, kids need to learn to be content with what they have.
and sometimes, sometimes all of us are JUST FINE getting something a little bit special.
i went to bed with my checking account a little bit lighter and my heart much happier.

4.  my baby is ready for her morning nap.  lily is running around naked- make that leah and lily.  i just heard leah say "lily, let's be spies."  and, i have LOTS of laundry to fold.
this is another one of those posts that i wasn't going to write in 2012... humph.
(I even had a great post on how to make granola-- with pictures, that i sat down to write... but i just HAD to grumble a little bit...  such it is.  granola tomorrow.)

life is good.