Whatcha Got, Monday?

I had a great weekend.  I ran errands, got everything clean (including my awful car), and did every bit of laundry there was to do.  I managed to do this, shop for groceries, AND have fun with the kids.  I also went to hot yoga on Saturday, which always makes me extremely happy.  I am telling you, if you haven't tried it, do it.  It's the second best feeling on the planet.  I forget how to drive a car when I leave hot yoga, I am so relaxed. 

Anyway, my goal on Saturday night was to have everything pretty much accomplished so that I could take the kids to the aquarium on Sunday.  I did, so we went.  The boys had a great time.  They absolutely loved it.  I take them to the zoo constantly, but I've never taken them to the aquarium. They loved the dolphins and Beluga whales.  I think if I were an animal, I think I would be a dolphin, by the way.  They seem so eager to please and to make people happy.  Plus, I have definitely been known to try and save people from the deep end of the ocean.

Before I share pictures, I would like to address something negative about the aquarium (even though it had no bearing on my day and we had a great time).

If you ever want to find out how patient you are, go to the Georgia Aquarium.  Why?  Because a lot of people there have NO MANNERS.  I thought I had just had a bad experience the first time, but it now seems to be the norm.

Among the rude:

1. Rude parents: Even more obnoxious than the rude little bastards who are pushing my children, are their inconsiderate guardians.  I say "guardians" because they seem to do very little parenting.  They allow their children to act like hoodlums because that's exactly how they are behaving themselves.  While a little kid is knocking my child over to see the whale, I guarantee you their jerk of a parent is doing the same thing to me. Not only that, a lot of times, the guardians are pushing their child to the front.  Seriously?  I think we need to go back to Pre-K and learn about sharing and standing in single-file lines.
2. The Childless Adult with the Camera: Dude.  I get it.  You really want to get pictures of every little creature in that building, but you know, there are like 2,000 children here and they can't see past your ass.  Can't you let the short people see?  And to clarify, I am sticking up for the polite children, not the little bastards who are knocking you over.
3. The Skippers: The boys and I were in line to crawl through the Penguin tunnel when a fight broke out behind us.  This lady, whom I SAW skip a bunch of people, was yelling "I was next!  I remember, because I remember her dress!"  She pointed at my dress.  I wanted to say "Where, like three exhibits ago?"  But I didn't.  And maybe it's just me, but saying you remember your place in line because of someone's garment.....not a great argument.  You should just be able to say "because I was behind her", but she couldn't, because she was a liar. 
4. The WORST: Then there was this lady AFTER the penguin line; she didn't have children with her, she was simply there to see the penguins, who was extremely obnoxious.  We all filed out and at the end of the tunnel, I was standing by the exit, helping Carson and Dylan up.  This lady was knocking me over while saying "Excuse me".  I finally snapped.  I turned around and said "Excuse me?  Yes!  Excuse you.  Do you mind?  I am trying to get to my children!  Geez!  Don't worry!  You're going to see the next animal.  It isn't going anywhere."  The lady had a husband and he looked at me with a shocked expression.  UGH.  I was so irritated.  I think when people say "Excuse me" while they do something THEY KNOW is rude, I am just going to start saying "You should excuse yourself, because your manners are PISS POOR!"

I will add one thing.....Carson and Dylan are the most well-mannered children in public.  They have their moments because they are 4, but they are all about the please and thank you's.  I don't let them barge right through people, number one, because I hold their hands.  Number two, they don't act that way because they are extremely passive around these arrogant barbarians.  I am sure they're too afraid to be pushy.  They understand what it means to be polite.

I think that finishing classes, or "Manners 101" should be mandatory for high school.  People are ridiculous.

Anyway, it was a great day, even with the baboon asses.  Here are some pictures:

This is the penguin tunnel

Dylan got a sword and Carson got a game

This is from this morning.  I was doing some exercises and I played airplane
with Dylan.  We both woke up at 4:15 and never went back to sleep, so we had breakfast and
he played while I did crunches and push-ups.




 

Flashback Friday-King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

This was one of my FAVORITE books as a child.  The authors also wrote "The Napping House", which is a little more popular, and "Heckedy Peg", which is also one of my favorites, although it's bizarre.  The artwork is the reason I loved them so much.  If you have children, please get them.  They're a must.

The book is simple.  It's about a king who refuses to get out of the bathtub.  Everyone tries to get him out and they end up doing whatever activity they wanted, with him, in the tub. He fishes, feasts, plays war, masquerades......until someone pulls the drain.

Revolutionary Road

*This is a first, I blogged twice in one day.  Scroll down past this for another entry.  :)


Revolutionary Road

Richard Yates published a book in 1961 called "Revolutionary Road".  If you haven't read it, you should.  At least see the movie.

A short synopsis:

Frank and April Wheeler live in the suburbs of Connecticut in the 1950's.  They have two children and a "perfect life".  They are living the American Dream, and yet, they're not happy.  They're bored.  They feel suffocated.  And until they talk about it, they are living in a silent panic and turmoil within themselves.  Once both characters realize and admit that they're both feeling the same way and they're simply more flamboyant and interesting than their neighbors, they  decide to leave everything and travel the world together, along with their children....but they don't end up leaving in the end because they feel as if they're trapped. Although they long to break the mold, they end up realizing that society has sort of paralyzed them. It has a sad ending that I won't give away, but I will say that it's extremely disturbing.  It's very controversial. 

What's it really about?

The goal of the 1950's was to conform, which is scary in so many ways.  Why?  Because there's beauty in flaws and in something you've never seen before and can't describe.  What's exciting about seeing the same thing every day?  Not only that, but usually conformity is achieved when someone else is in control.  I think it's pretty impressive that Yates saw what was going on and wrote about it as quickly as he did, but then again....he was a writer and he was clearly disturbed by a vanilla society. He could have been feeling suffocated himself.  Maybe he wondered how everyone else whistled and smiled while getting on the train every day to go sit in a cubicle for hours and hours to pay for a home like everyone else's.  Conformity is what everyone wanted after the war and depression, and I can't really blame them.  Look at how the 40's went down.  Plus, everyone yearns for a certain amount of stability; it's only natural.  But then life happens anyway and you quickly realize that everything should be done in moderation and there's nothing human about being stable all the time and it's ok to have faults.  Maybe if life is always stable, you aren't getting out and therefore aren't taking chances and living.  Life can't always be stable, but very rarely is it always chaotic.  There's no such thing as perfection, and so the very idea that people were striving for it, well that must have been a terrible feeling.  Talk about feeling incompetent.  It was unrealistic to take a bunch of people with souls and minds and sex drives and expect it to work out.   Obviously.  Look at all of the books and movies about this era.  The interesting thing about Yates is that, like I said, he published it in 1961.

There is a lot of comfort in conformity, but what happens when you get too comfortable?  I know what happens...just think about it.  What really happens when a person gets too comfortable?  Have you ever seen the movie "Happy Feet"?  The penguin basically gets mushy brain and becomes depressed because he isn't out catching fish anymore, but instead, is simply opening his mouth while the zoo throws them directly into his beak.  Where is the fun in that?  Is it more about the catching of the fish than actually eating it?

Conforming is this: relinquishing something unique in order to become another that already exists.  So it would only be natural to feel suffocated and even violated when you have relinquished the uniqueness that is you, right?

The reason why the book is disturbing is very simple: because the characters are in such serious turmoil about a life that appears to be perfect. Why is this disturbing?  Contradictions are always unnerving-especially when talking about unfulfilled people behind a white picket fence.  The idea that you can't even relax once you get to the top, is extremely unsettling. 

But who said that's the top? That's the point.  You should make your own top. 

Snow Patrol-The Lightning Strike

This is such a good song.  I hadn't heard it in a while and now I am obsessed with it again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0BDS0-ZwOw


What if this storm ends?
And I don't see you
As you are now
Ever again

The perfect halo
Of gold hair and lightning
Sets you off against
The planet's last dance

Just for a minute
The silver forked sky
Lit you up like a star
That I will follow

Now it's found us
Like I have found you
I don't want to run
Just overwhelm me

What if this storm ends?
And leaves us nothing
Except a memory
A distant echo

I want pinned down
I want unsettled
Rattle cage after cage
Until my blood boils

I want to see you
As you are now
Every single day
That I am living

Painted in flames
All peeling thunder
Be the lightning in me
That strikes relentless

Top 10-If I Had It My Way.....

1. Pluto would still be a planet. Along with having to say "No, the FIRST 90210," this Pluto monstrosity makes me feel old.  It's a sign of a generational gap, one that I could do without.
2. No one would ever talk about how well Tiger Woods is doing this year, or any other year.  He's Tiger Woods.  Stop being shocked when he's "on fire". Is this a joke that I don't get or are guys seriously surprised and excited?  Did he ever really suck?  Is this comment really more of a plea for Tiger to be as good as he was back in the day?  I don't get it.  Every year, I hear this.
3. Jimmy John's would still use alfalfa sprouts.  I realize that by eating alfalfa sprouts you run the risk of contracting salmonella poisoning, but lettuce isn't the same.  I want the sprouts.
4. People would stop being stupid.  The worst thing about the fact that people are so stupid is that I don't believe that they're all really stupid.  I think people are too lazy to realize what their potential is and they're blind to the fact that they aren't the center of the Universe.  From this, what you end up with is a person who isn't what they think they are, but instead, an idiot who wasted their potential and now spends their time telling everyone why they're smart and always right, when they know deep down that they're truly a dumbass that didn't have to be.
5. People would love even their enemies. I really wish this were true because it would change absolutely everything. 
6. Videogames wouldn't have ever gotten as complex as they did. I miss Mario Brothers. 
7. Tennis players would get a point taken off every time they grunt.  Dude, I can't take it.  I cannot take their grunting.  Yes, I realize that it's a difficult sport and that they are using a lot of power, which naturally propels an obnoxious noise from their body....but I just can't take it. 
8. There would be a lane for semi trucks with a bumper to protect the rest of us.   This may have something to do with the fact that, hmmmm, let's see.... it's stupid to share the road with massive machinery operated by people who are so sleep deprived that they sometimes don't know their name!  Come on, now. 
9. Everything would taste like a Strawberry Fruit Roll-up. And I mean everything. 
10. People could see the big picture rather than getting hung up on the ridiculousness of life.  People would be a lot more interesting and smarter and happier if they could actually see the big picture.  When you see your entire life's worth of goals and you can learn from the lessons that God is throwing you, you are a lot more forgiving of the daily absurdities and inconveniences.  When you look at the entire planet and its numerous functioning systems, you are more likely to give a crap that they are in fact, dysfunctional.  When you have a peace about yourself, your goals, and those around you, you smile.  You can't help but smile and move on when you know that in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal.  "This too shall pass".

First Day of School

It sounds so cliché to say "time flies", but it's true. I don't know how this happened.  I turned 33 today and my kids are all in school.  So crazy to me.  Once your kids are in school, the time really starts flying, so I will be 40 before I know it.  And I feel like I was 25 a minute ago.  I really don't like to think about it much. 


Getting out the door wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but that's ok.  It's the first day.  Once we get back into a groove, it'll be good. 

Enjoy your babies, my friends.  It really does fly by.



Here are some pictures:

Carson wanted to be in bed.  Look at my precious angels. :)

Now Carson is awake.  And I'm sorry, but could you eat them?  I could.
You can't see very well, but Dylan has a Superman backpack and Carson
has a Batman backpack.  They both have capes on them that Velcro on and off.

Just a minute ago he was a baby, snuggling in my arms.


 

4-Year-Old Logic

Dylan says the funniest things.  I have to share with you how precious this little boy is. I have a little notepad of things he says because he cracks me up.  This is all from last week, in one night.  He was hilarious.

"Mama, brown cows make chocolate milk and white cows make white milk."


"I am allergic to peas, and that means I cannot have them.  When I am not allergic to peas, that will mean I can have them."


Carson tried my spinach and Dylan said "Carson, did that taste like leaves?"  Ha ha. 

We were talking about my new fruit slicer someone gave me.  I said "You know what? You can also cut boiled eggs, so Carson will love that."  Dylan replied "We can?  You will let me cut the eggs?"  I said "No, I meant YOU in general, like one can. I wouldn't want you to cut yourself, so I don't think I will let you."  Dylan rolled his little eyes and smacked his forehead and said "Mama, you said YOU and that means WE.  So WE can!  Me and Carson CAN cut them!  You said YOU!"  Explain the concept of speaking generally to a 4-year-old.  It wasn't easy.

Later that evening, Carson was sitting on the counter next to me while I loaded the dishwasher.  Carson wanted down and started yelling "Dylan!  Come 'ere!  Give me a boost!  Give me a boost, Dylan!"  Dylan got on his hands and knees like a step stool.  I didn't let him use his brother as a landing strip, but I still thought it was funny.  The boys constantly work together.  It's cute.