January 18, 2012

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.

5 comments:

  1. You're so funny! I just love you! Grumble away! We'll all look forward to granola tomorrow. :)

    P.S. I'm so glad you got him new shoes. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do! And so great you taught him a lesson about the Holy Ghost. Way to turn lemons into lemonade.

    Is that sunset view out your window
    ?!! Gorgeous!

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  2. thanks allie--
    i seriously title my blog "homemade granola" and then thought i'd just write a little disclaimer at the top, and then noticed my kids were running around naked and thought- no granola today... :)
    yup. that is the view out of my window-- but in real life it was much brighter and romantically beautiful.
    thanks for commenting and for reading my grumbles! seriously-- i have the BEST granola recipe. oooh, i love that stuff.

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  3. on being slow...
    I feel the need to introduce myself and tell you a small bit about myself. My name is Kristen and I live in Minnesota. I am a stay at home mom of three and I love your blog. I stumbled across it about six months or so ago when I was looking into reading blogs from OR. My husband and I have always wanted to move there and I wanted some "inside scoops" anyway. The first of your posts that I read was "The Grass is Always Greener..." With that first post came a love of your blog. Anyway...When I read "On Being Slow" it hit home like crazy. I felt like my list was/is never ending. I clean and clean and turn around and have to clean it all over again. (I have a 5,4 and just turned 1 year old) The holy spirit told me that I need to spend 30 minutes with each person in my family doing what they want daily, including myself. This seemed crazy. How on earth will I find 2 1/2 hours a day for this?! But then I thought this is what I NEED to do. I didn't have a family to ignore them in order to get things done. I had a family to be in love and to spend time with them and to be a kid again. Moments later on my way to pick up my 4 year old from preschool I saw a rainbow. In January. In Minnesota. On a crystal clear freezing cold day. I was instantly reminded of God's promise to Noah. Then I thought of you. So Thank
    You for your posts. They are making me a better person; a better mother; a better wife.

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  4. Kristen---
    Oh, how i LOVE that story. Thank you for sharing it with me. I will remember you (and Noah) whenever i see a rainbow.
    a half an hour a day on each person-- what a GREAT idea. (God is great isn't He?!) you can totally do this!! really, spending time with each person (including yourself) each day is all that needs to happen. if, at the end of the day your family is happy and your dishes aren't done, you will still be happy. (I bet that isn't the case-- i bet that the more you try to follow the promptings you receive your house will be magically cleaner, your meals will be better AND your family will be happier) isn't that always how it happens?
    thanks again for sharing. and, i vote-- move to Oregon, it's lovely!!

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  5. I totally think of Nie Nie too when I'm putting my kids snow clothes on, it's amazing how much she has influenced us moms. Check out your local goodwill or thrift stores for snow clothes and boots, you'd be amazed at the nice (and cute) snow clothes for little ones...llbean, columbia, etc.

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