Happy Hump Day

"SWEET HEAVENS! JUST PUT ON YOUR SHOES!!!"

The whining had begun as soon as he'd realized today was a school day. Suddenly, the every day tasks of getting ready became epic battles that Homer could have written about. I'm talking about the BASICS like: putting on pants...eating breakfast...combing hair...brushing teeth. Today each of these things were a drawn out fight.

Breakfast was the most epic battle of all. He insisted the only thing he would eat for breakfast was a red popsicle. I assured him the only thing he would be eating was eggs. It became a stalemate. He wouldn't eat his eggs, and with the clock ticking we finally compromised with a Pop Tart. While I don't think Pop Tarts have ANY nutritional value, they are at least technically a breakfast food.

Kid dressed, breakfast eaten, teeth brushed, we were finally making progress! Then came the shoe debacle. He couldn't decide which ones to wear. This seems like a normal dilemma, except that Skeeter's school has strict rules about what kinds of shoes they can wear. So he really only has 2 school shoe choices. Boots or tennis shoes. Boots. Tennis shoes. Boots. Tennis shoes. Boots. Tennis Shoes. HOW HARD CAN THIS DECISION REALLY BE!?

FINALLY, with tennis shoes on, we made it out to my lovely new car. 

(Sidenote: The Mustang Convertible got traded in for a more kiddo friendly vehicle. A new Ford Edge!) 

Already feeling flustered from the morning of drama, I open the back door to put Skeeter in and what do I discover? Chocolate milk ALL OVER MY NEW CAR. Apparently, Skeeter had left the lid off of a full bottle of chocolate milk which he had then left in the door, which he had then opened and closed a bunch of times...thus sloshing chocolate milk all over my door handle, down the door, into the carpet, and onto the seat...OF MY NEW CAR. Remember how it was literally freezing this morning? Yeah, it was not only spilled milk, it was spilled and FROZEN.

Utterly defeated, I put Skeeter in the car and off we went to school. Completely unfazed by the fact that he was sitting in frozen chocolate milk, Skeeter had a lovely ride to school listening to the Frozen soundtrack and discussing all the reasons I should take him to Build a Bear to buy roller skates for his bear, aptly named, Beary. 

You know you live in a first world country when you not only have a stuffed bear, but a stuffed bear with multiple outfits who apparently needs roller skates. 

After dropping Skeeter off at school, I found myself at the nearest gas station. Standing in the freezing cold, hunkered by a trash can, muttering to myself as I tried to remove the chocolate milk from my car. First with an ice scraper, then with paper towels.

After 10 minutes of this, with limited success, I realized that I must look like a complete creeper. What kind of weirdo comes to the gas station and doesn't get gas? Plus, I'm using an ice scraper on the INSIDE of my car, plus muttering to myself. Also, I'm pretty sure that by this time of the morning I probably had crazy eyes. 

That's pretty much the exact expression I had by the time I made it to work. Aaaaand happy Hump Day!

New Year's Resolutions

This is generally the day of the year where I promise myself I will lose 10 pounds, workout every day, and learn to love salad...But by noon on January 2nd I will have decided that 5 pounds is more realistic, 4 workouts a week fits more practically into my schedule, and I will have affirmed that I still hate lettuce.

This year, for the first time since I was probably 13 years old, my New Year's resolution DOESN'T involve dieting and hating myself. 2013 was a year of HUGE changes. I got The Beetus, made a huge career change to my dream job working with kids, and am helping raise 2 beautiful little boys. Suddenly, all of the countless hours I've spent over the years worrying that my jeans size was an 8 and not a 6 seems ridiculous.

So my goals for 2014 are:

I will talk less and listen more.
I will watch tv less, and read my Bible more.
I will complain less, and encourage more.
I will worry less, and hope more.
I will doubt less, and believe more.
I will frown less, and smile more.
I be less insecure, and trust myself more.
I will be less ungrateful, and will adopt an attitude of gratitude.
I will be healthy for health's sake, not to be thin.

I also made a list of New Year's Resolutions for Skeeter. Including:

Brush my teeth without complaining.
Go potty when my Aunt Tatie tells me to.
Listen more and talk less at school and in Sunday School.
Eat more vegetables without complaining.
Listen to my wise and beautiful Aunt Tatie when she tells me not to jump on the couch because I'll fall and bust my face:

Obviously that last resolution was one he had to learn the hard way. And yes, I am saving this photograph to be used in the future. "Remember LAST time you didn't listen to me?"