Something to Think About

Last night I ended up with a couple of free John Mellencamp concert tickets.  I came quite close to not going, but you know what... I'm glad I did.  It was a good show.  My favorite song of the evening, "Longest Days", resonated with me because of the recent conversations Craig and I have been having as a result of his Dad celebrating his 80th birthday.  See the lyrics below.

Seems like
Once upon a time ago
I was where
I was supposed to be
My vision was true
And my heart was too
There was no end
To what I could dream
I walked like a hero
Into the setting sun
Everyone called out my name
Death to me was just a mystery
I was too busy raising up Cain

But nothing lasts forever
Your best efforts
Don't always pay
Sometimes you get sick
And don't get better
That's when life is short
Even in it's longest days

So you pretend not to notice
That everything has changed
The way that you look
And the friends you once had
So you keep on acting the same
But deep down in your soul
You know you, you got no flame
And who knows
Then which way to go
Life is short even
In it's longest days

All I got here
Is a rear view mirror
Reflections of where I've been
So you tell yourself
I'll be back up on top some day
But you know there's nothing
Waiting up there for you anyway

Nothing lasts forever
And your best efforts
Don't always pay
Sometimes you get sick
And you don't get better
That's when life is short
Even in it's longest days

Life is short
Even in it's longest days

Or, if you'd like a listen, here is a YouTube link of the song:



So true. But so glad to know we have something to go on to that DOES last forever. Something to think about.

Happy 80th, Spring Chicken

Yesterday was Grandpa's birthday.  Craig's Dad turned 80.  We threw him a big surprise bash on Saturday.  I think he was pleased that we remembered him:

He is a father and a grandfather to us. A good one. With a few grumpies periodically mixed in for some spice. We love him and wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if he was any other way. This man has led a most interesting life. One of my favorite things is when he gets started on telling some of his life stories. His Mom died when he was 12. He raised himself from there on out because his Dad was busy working hard for a living at the Rock Island Arsenal. His Mom was a wonderful piano player. He used to listen to her play for the movie theater back when movies had live piano players instead of recorded sound. He lived in Japan for awhile when he was in the U.S. Navy. You get the idea. The stories that come along with this kind of life are fascinating. What I want more than anything is to record his personal history. And with 80 years under his belt, I think it's best I get started. Thanks, Martha, for the kick in the seat to move forward with this project. I look forward to writing stories about the life of Jack "Rabbit" M.

Yesterday, Craig took this cake to him and took him out to eat.

I think he was pleased with that, too. I know Craig was. A reminder that he needs to have lunch with his Dad more often. Who knows how many are left. Happy 80th, Spring Chicken!

Who Needs Pets?

Kekoa's Kindergarten class acquired some chicken eggs a few weeks back and spent the month of April counting down the days until they hatched.  Thirteen babies hatched over the period of two days just before Easter weekend.

This week, his teacher gave students permission (if their parents were agreeable) to take some chicks home with them.  Two came home with us last night.  On our way home, Kekoa told me that he and Joshua play "chicken" at recess.  He's the rooster and Joshua's the hen.  Joshua sits on the baby chicks while he goes looking for food.  This is where I give thanks my boy does not have a true "growing up on the farm" education/background.  While I found this new knowledge mildly disturbing, I was comforted by the fact Kekoa was playing the role of the rooster.  I imagine their game is quite something to watch.

It didn't take me long at home to realize baby chicks make a mess if there's too much water, are loud talkers, and poop a lot.  But strangely enough, you just want to sit and watch them and talk to them and take pictures of them.  Later in the evening, I walked out of our bedroom and witnessed this:

Daddy on the floor stretching after his run and Kekoa relaxing with the chicks on his tummy... heat lamp strategically placed.

Later they tucked their heads down, closed their eyelids and fell asleep.  They were so relaxed.  I thought they'd be running all over the place, but they just settled down on his chest for a snooze.  Kekoa's always been my lounger and his laid back demeanor coupled with his heart beat and the slow rise and fall of his chest rocked those little chickies right into dreamland.

They were cute to have around.  For a night.

And who needs pets when you have a puppy and a rooster in the house?

Let's Play!

Time to do a little shameless self promotion, I guess.  It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Athleta.  Big, big fan.  BIG.  So, they are having this Facebook contest and I've entered "us".  Here I am doing bridge pose with Gavyn on top of me while doing chest presses with Kekoa.  My entry wording, unfortunately, changes voices midway, but that can't be undone, so try not to be confused by who's narrating.  Just go with it.  And vote for me, please.  I hope to break into first place by the end of the day.  Currently, I'm in third place and climbing.  Thanks only to some pretty awesome friends.  My entry reads as follows:

I'm a married 37-year-old woman doing bridge pose with her five-year-old while doing chest presses with her six-year-old in her new Athleta skirt. "Do 10, Mommy!" A girl can always use cute new workout clothes. As a friend of mine once told me, "When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you play good!" Let's play!

The prize? I get some clothes. And oh how I love me some clothes. A dream come true.

Puppy Play

Gavyn is going through this stage where if he wants my attention it is not that uncommon for him to start acting like a puppy... complete with running around on all fours, "arf"ing (as opposed to barfing), and sticking his tongue out while panting. He and Winston hit it off on Sunday. Gavyn is also very dramatic when it comes to letting me know he's thirsty.  If he thinks I'm not going to get to it right away, he'll throw his head back, close his eyes, stick his tongue out and pant like a dog. You know. In case, I missed his point the first time around. Trust me when I say it's the funniest thing ever. I wish I could get a video of it.

Easter Memories

2007:

2011:

Somebunnies

A couple of things from this week.  Kekoa learned how to get on his Dad's computer.  And how to get into the map making program and design maps.  I think he knows how to use it better than his Dad does.  So, that was the first thing he did when he got home from school.  Run to the computer and spend the next couple of hours designing maps.  I haven't let them do much computer time at home, so this will be new territory for us.

Gavyn?  He's my toy maker.  If he wants something.  He makes it.  Out of paper.  He saw his brother's bunny ears hat and decided he needed to have one, too.  So he made himself one.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

Shopaholics R Us

Gavyn and I have joined forces with the "Bring Spring" stunt team. It's raining again, so I decided there was no better way to beat my rainy day blues than buy a festive, frilly and fun umbrella. What do you think? Will it work?

My brains geared towards collecting, right now. Not sure why. Picking out pretty things that I like. Think pink. Think cake. I've had a recent hankering to start collecting cake stands. I've had my eye on this one for awhile. But where oh where does one find enough room to display a collection of cake stands?

I think maybe it might be time for an intervention. Time to self-impose my "No buying anything Made in China." rule again? It worked last time.

Turns Out I'd Live

Oh the random things you remember when reading other people's blog posts.  Like, for instance, the one and only time I was stung by a bee.  Actually, I think it was a wasp.  I was in college, yes I was.  I recall it as being a warm, sunny spring afternoon.  Quite unlike the cold rainy ones we've been experiencing lately.  I'm sure it wasn't quite warm enough yet to lay out, but my roomie and I decided to anyway.  We were doing our homework outside on a blanket warmed by the sun - a layer to shield us from the chilliness of the barely there, damp, cool new growth that would soon be grass.  I sat down on said blanket in my barely there bikini.  It took a few minutes to register.

"Ow!" I exclaimed.  A pause.  "Ow, ow, OW!" I exclaimed again more adamantly, jumping up from where I was sitting.  Not sure why the delayed response.  As I rubbed my backside, I looked down at the blanket.  Poor Mr. Wasp was walking drunkenly in circles where I had once been sitting.  One crumpled wing pointed down, the other askew and pointing up.  "He stung me!" I proclaimed incredulously to my roomie.  "You sat on him!" she answered back in between gasping for air hysterics. It turns out she's one of those kind of people.  You know.  The ones who laugh when they see someone fall down the stairs or trip on an invisible crack.  She can't help it.

Not sure how to take care of a wasp sting, I made a mad dash for our apartment and made a wild call to the Poison Control Hotline.  Turns out I'd live.

P.S.  It, in a certain sense, was also a little anticlimatic.  I'd spent my whole life in fear of "the sting".  Running from bees.  And it didn't hurt near as bad as I thought it would.  Not that I'm looking to repeat the experience anytime soon.  I'm just sayin'.

The Show WILL Go On

So we had a less than stellar "first circus experience" at the end of March.  Gavyn had been asking and fantasizing about going to the circus for several months.  We won't go into all the whos and hows and whys.  I'll just suffice it to say the Flying Trapeze act, well it didn't feature much flying, just a lot of plummeting.  Our experienced ended up looking something like this:

I love this picture on so many levels. The hysteria Kekoa is experiencing over finding out that, indeed, a dollar won't buy you much circus fun which means the three slides down the inflatable slide he wanted so badly was about four dollars out of reach. We should have skipped the cotton candy.

The disdane Gavyn is feeling towards his father over not being able to buy the Spiderman balloon. We should have skipped the robbery that was those plastic light up swords- even if they DID look like cool light sabers in the dark. The resignation Craig is feeling over being duped into giving the boys their first circus experience. As we left the building that evening, I don't believe I saw one smiling parent or child (and there were a lot of them), so I didn't feel completely isolated in my weariness from the whole three ring fiasco we had just endured. This lasted all the way out to the car and well into our trip home. The only smile I saw as we left was painted on the face and the back of the head of Lucky the clown.  He had you both coming and going.

But there was another circus coming to town the next week, it seems. A Cirque du Soleil show of a higher caliber than the show we just witnessed and about $50 more per person. I wrangled a good deal and some seats off the internet after convincing my husband it would be a good idea. This show WILL go on.  I was bent on giving the boys a higher quality "show" experience to remember. After all, the first show I remember as a little girl was a musical, Annie Get Your Gun. I remember being in awe. I remember being relieved when I realized there was more after the intermission. I remember being disappointed it had to end. I remember singing, "I can do anything better than you can...". I remember wishing I was Annie Oakley.  I wanted the same experience for my boys.

We were not disappointed. From the moment five minutes before the show when the clowns come out and interact the crowd, the boys were engaged. For the first part before intermission, anyway. Their favorite part of the clown act being when the clowns were stapling each others heads. I have no idea. Possibly because Kekoa had his own head stapling experience last May? Whatever the case, the clowns amused them.

Cameras were confiscated at the door, so I stole these images from Google images. Is that giving enough credit? I hope so. They just can illustrate what we experienced in a much better way than my words can.

The earth danced:

The air flowed:

Sending "ripples" through the crowd (Huh? Oh c'mon. You ladies know what I'm talking about. Heh. Can we say "muscles"?  The performance below might possibly have been my favorite. I'm just sayin'.):

But the part of the show that had everyone talking (an undisputed family favorite) on our walk out to the car and home, was this, the trampoline act where people jumped and leaped and stood up on platforms against the wall on their hands and jumped and leaped and ran up the wall to stand at the top all with such synchronization that we were left with our mouths gaping, eyes riveted, not being able to tear ourselves away from the amazement of it all:

My personal favorite was this young lady (Don't you have to be young and small and Asian to pull of this kind of flexibilty and gymnastic skill?) as she hoisted herself up on her hand stand (made to look like a sword sticking out of the ground) doing all sorts of incredible contortions while balancing on one hand and then effortlessly (or so it seemed) jumping back and forth from hand to hand in time with the music.  The sheer magnitude of upper body strength necessary to do such a thing was astounding in itself, but that paired with her incredible focus, control and balance again had jaws dropping:

Not to mention, there was the juggler.  He did amazing things with his hands.  Well his entire body, really.  A skilled man from the Ukraine making it all look so effortless:

The boys enjoyed the dancing dragons.  It took them a minute to realize that it was people under there making the dragons tails wag:

Slithering lizards... the most impressive body paint of the show, in my opinion... circled around the stage.  It was Kekoa who figured out they were on scooters.  You know.  The kind we used to do our own slithering around on in elementary PE class.  Evidently, Kindergarters still do.  Minus the body paint.  These lizards also did amazing hand springs and flips and somersaults through rings they set up in various positions on stage:

In the end, the earth, the fire, the water, and the air all ended up on stage at the same time:

Thankfully, this time we came away from the experience with smiles on our faces, a dragon hat and a clown nose. Almost enough the erase the horror of the previous week's experience.  But it can't be undone.  The $12 (a piece!!!) plastic swords lie untouched on the basement floor where they were dropped as a reminder everytime I walk by.  Lesson learned.  I hope I don't have too many more of those kind or the kids won't have a college fund.

Famous Last Words

Quote of the St. Louis Girls Weekend: "If you're pretty, well, you should stay pretty and not be ugly." MJ

I couldn't help it. She's just too cute. Love you, Martha dearest.

Once We Were Lost...

And now we are found.

So, it would not be far from the truth if I said Martha and I spent 75% of our time lost in some part of St. Louis.  It seems some would blame "the purse" for getting the trip off to a late start.  Admittedly, I did grapple with "whether to buy or not to buy" for a good 45 minutes in Hannibel, MO.  The purse came with me.  It ended up being the right choice. (I would not be surprised if the other girls were quite possibly at that very moment only taking a quick photo of the Mark Twain Hotel sign as they breezed through town.)  Then the potty stop and the accident in rush hour traffic didn't help matters.  Oh, and Martha, was evidently not expecting to load my whole house in her van when I got there.

Incident #1:  Martha made a "where are you?!" call and gave me different directions to get there.  Not having a pen and paper, I meandered around awhile after turning right at the wrong greenhouse.  It seems there is more than one.  I was pleased to see "the rustic barn" she's posted on her blog a time or two.  However, this also meant I had overshot the turn to their house.  After a phone call or two or three, I was welcomed by "Snowball" aka "Blizzard" (I have no idea why my mind kept calling him Snowball.) and the pleasant sight of the Martha family busy down in the garden area of the yard below.


Incident #2: We made it to the hotel with no problems.  I think the other three girls were pleased to see us.  Martha knew right where the Jimmy John's was, so after deciding not to walk, we piled into the van and drove east.  "It's really close," says Martha.  But we kept driving and driving - Mindy and I discussing how it reminded us of a certain Chinese fire drill we participated in back in the day.  The surprise was that neither of us remember each other, but we evidently were both there.  And driving.  And then we came back west.  No Jimmy John's.  We ended up in a parking lot with Martha asking for directions and placing our order over the phone.  This commenced into a fit of Martha giggles over ordering a "Beach Un-which, please."  Very hard to place an order over the phone when you can't breathe or talk.  I think the gentlemen (that's taking a few liberties with the use of the word) were almost relieved to see us get our sandwiches and go.  Back at the room, we decided to cancel one room and all stay in one - after all, they weren't across the hall from each other as Martha had originally requested.  The room we stayed in had a jacuzzi in it, or so she thought.  Turns out it was a jacuzzi bath that MIGHT have been able to fit two and a half people in it with no jets.  Can a tub be a jacuzzi bath without jets?  And the hotel pool/jacuzzi area shut down at 10:30 p.m. which ruffled a few feathers, too.  Afterall, who closes the pool down so early?  Our evening had just started.  There were a few calls placed to the young man with spiky hair at the front desk throughout the evening.  The one that Martha asked if he was "sleeping back there" when he didn't show up at our front desk arrival right away.  In the end, Shannon had to take a walk to the front desk for the bedsheets we needed for the fold out couch.  His lack of response to our request may or may not have been in reponse to the flurry of calls from room 310 earlier in the evening.  Martha gifted us with these cute bags with various Trader's Joe chocolate goodies (I'm still enjoying mine.), flower seeds and a LUSH bath bomb.  Amy came with these cute floral paper clips.  Shannon came with homemade cardamom cookies and crack bars (ummm... can we say yum?).  I came with... well, my large pink purse for ME.  Evidently, I did not inherit the "thoughtful" gene.  Martha got the award for the cutest, best conversation piece pajamas.  She claimed to not be much of an event planner, but her notebook of notes for the weekend proved otherwise.  The proof is in the pudding.

We did get our jacuzzi time in the morning after breakfast.  Bikinis?  Possibly.  Martha had it planned as a self esteem building exercise.  That means optional participation and no pictures.

Incident #3:  We ended up in a "rustic" parking lot in downtown historic Lebanon, IL on Saturday morning, just a few minutes past our scheduled tea time.  Martha, again on the phone trying to get directions to Fezziwigs.  This time we were only a few blocks lost.  I must give kudos to Martha for planning what I thought was the most "fitting" event of the entire weekend.  A cute little tea shop with the loveliest of teas and a nice tea party out on the patio in some gorgeously warm St. Louis sunshine.  Just you and me and me and you and all of us tea party gals outside enjoying a "spot of tea" on a beautiful Saturday morning together.  Yum.

Incident #4:  Our "loitering" at the tea shop did put us a little off schedule for our visit to the Arch in St. Louis.  This meant that while some wanted to take time to go up in the Arch, others of us wanted to get in on the lovely yoga session Martha had planned for us at a studio in Clayton.  We went our separate ways - Martha and I in her van and looking for the entrance to I-64W which was incidentally closed.  This led us on a 45 minute tour of St. Louis trying to find a way to go west to Clayton.  Martha may have been a teensy bit perturbed.  I on the other hand was quite content to ride and observe.  Was pleased to catch a glimpse of the infamous Soulard Farmers Market (bookmarked in my mind for another visit), the Budweiser plant, and take a quick tour of East St. Louis where we found ourselves rolling up our windows and looking for the nearest gateway back to civilization.  I think the fact we were "lost" was probably not "lost" on the locals hanging out in their doorways without doors.  We did, in fact, finally make it to Michelle's studio in Clayton.  Impressive as she immediately put her hands on us and realized we were "pitta" and needed a cool down session.  I will simply say this.  Her restorative yoga session was amazing.  I gauge the quality of a yoga instructor and his/her class by whether or not I learn something new.  And I did, indeed, learn something new.  We left cooled and calmed - so worth our time and efforts to get there.  Next up was Jilly's Cupcake Bar and Cafe.  How does one pick from so many delicious options?  Purchase two of each, of course.  They were delicious, but I will take a moment here to admit that while they were good, they are not the best cupcakes I've ever had.  Maybe coming in at the end of the day made them not as "fresh", but I will give them a perfect 10 for appearing to be the most decadent and delicious cupcakes on the planet.  And the size... oh my... they were almost as big as one's head.  Would I eat them all over again?  Yes, but probably only one.

Incident #5:  On the way back to the mall to meet the other girls, Martha and I made the discovery that Mindy had been trying to get ahold of us as they were "lost", also.  I would imagine being "lost" in unfamiliar territory would have been a tad distressing, but it seems that Martha's husband, Jeff, came to their rescue and they were getting pedicures by the time Martha and I arrived on the scene.  It also seems we may have missed out on some great impromptu entertainment watching Jenni's face as she had her first pedicure experience with a less than gentle woman trimming her toe cuticles.  The pedicures apparently were sub-par, but from my perspective, their toes sure did look pretty.  The girls "wound down" with some cupcakes before we headed back to Martha's place to pretty up for our evening out to dinner at J*Fires'.  Yes, it seems Martha HAD thought of it all.  While it took awhile to get our food, other than being extremely hungry, none of us minded the extra time to sit and enjoy each others company.  There were a few "distress" calls from some of the families back home, but all in all, we were left to ourselves.  The only disappointment for me was when I got creamy potatoes instead of lime flavored quinoa, but if that's the worst it gets, I'm doing good, I'd say.  On our way home, there was some shrieks from the backseat in reponse to the way Martha manuevered the curves.  The concern seemed to lie in whether or not we were about to go careening off into the unknown.  To her credit, Martha escorted us safely and skillfully (if I do say so myself) back to the cozy corner basement room at her house where we all talked like giggly school girls into the wee hours of the night.  And I possibly wowed the girls with how quickly I fall asleep once I make up my mind to head there.  I've got skillz.

Incident #6:  Reluctant Sunday morning goodbyes came and went.  I think we were all just in shock that the weekend had come and gone so quickly.  I was pleased with the idea of spending the day with Martha and company.  True to Martha/Lani form, we undershot our turn off on the way to the Spinners on Sunday morning.  Martha skillfully got us back on the right track - never fear, Martha's here.  We had Popeye (spinach) pizza for lunch, a lovely piano recital at the care center in the afternoon, ate cupcakes and laid on the trampoline chatting until soccer, and then had a nice evening dinner together.  It was lovely and rather comforting to wake up to the sounds of the family getting ready for the day the following morning.  After making children deliveries to their respective schools, we went shopping, we picked up facial supplies in Kirkwood and went out to eat for Vietnamese.  A perfect end to a perfect day with Martha.  We'll try and forget that "Snowball" chewed apart the screen door because we didn't take him for a walk, won't we, Martha?

Incident #7:  Martha, you would be proud that our "getting lost" trend continued.  I panicked on entering the town of Cahokia (notorious for their crime) on my way to I-70 West as I headed to the St. Louis airport to pick up my colleague and did a U-turn.  After a call to Martha, I was reassured and turned back around and headed in the right direction - upward and onward through Cahokia, eyes straight ahead.  I made two circles around the not one, but two airport terminals before I finally figured out where my colleague was hanging out to be picked up.  And then, it wasn't until we were well on our way back to the host hotel of our conference that someone got my attention to inform me my lights were not on.  It took me another five minutes to try and figure out how to turn off my brights.  And the grand finale? I found myself in a parking lot trying to sweet talk my way out of paying $5 by batting my eyelashes at the smiley Armenian boy working the ticket booth.  It worked.  He let me back out and gave me perfect directions to our hotel.  Relief.

Thankfully, Martha dearest, I-64W entrance had since reopened and we made it on the road to home without incident.  Thank you for being the perfect hostess!

Things I Learned:

1) I still grind my teeth when I sleep.
2) I like black tea and scones.
3) I have beautiful friends - inside and out.
4) This amazing store named Body Central sells clothes designed especially for me.
5) Popeye originated in the town of Chester, IL. Who knew? Not me.
6) Springtime in St. Louis is warmer than springtime where I'm from.
7) I don't mind being lost if I'm with Martha.
8) According to Ms. Yogi (Michelle) I am "pitta".  A nice way of saying fiery.
9) Cardamom cookies and green tea are a new favorite.
10) I love St. Louis!

I can't wait to return.  When do you want to "meet me in St. Louis" again, ladies?  I'm ready when you are.