Feb 21, 2016 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
Through our years of married life we’ve visited more than our fair share of churches.
The first time we visit churches together was our first go-round in New York right after we got married. Back in the day we would both be dressed and ready to go well before the appointed church departure time. Now I’m throwing pillows at Christopher’s head when he’s still laying in bed 15 minutes before we need to leave.
But that’s neither here nor there.
That particular part of New York has many many small churches. Most of them were attended by people over the age 65. Needless to say, as a young couple we didn’t exactly fit in. One church with all of 20 attendees had us stand up so the whole congregation could see us. As if we didn’t stand out enough just by being there. Another church gifted us with chocolate and a coffee mug with the creepiest picture of Jesus you’ve ever seen. Nothing says ”we hope you’ll join us again!” like giving guests a picture of Jesus looking like a monster who’d hide in a child’s closet. Another church gave me the memorial flowers from a funeral the day before. How sweet. Upon hearing we just got married, an elderly woman invited us over her house so she could give us some silverware. She was tired of waiting for her children to pick it up and apparently we looked like people who wanted a new cutlery set.
Things were only slightly better when we got to Fort Lee. When we tried the chapel on post, they gave Christopher a microphone so he could give the whole congregation a brief introduction. We didn’t not select that as our church home. We ended up at a church where, again, the median age was 60. Almost everyone is the Sunday school class we were put in had grandchildren. Below is yet another example of why I choose not to open my mouth in public situations.
George (the SS teacher): “So Sarah, you’re a military wife, right?”
Me: “Yes.”
George: “And sometimes Christopher goes out on training or to the field and you’re left at home?”
Me: “Yes.”
George: “What do you do when Christopher’s not at home?”
Me: (in my head- He really wants to know what I do? What am I supposed to say? I don’t want to say that I read, eat, paint my nails, eat snacks, watch movies. Maybe I should say I planted a garden one time. Maybe grocery shopping is the right answer. Why does he want to know what I do??) “Ummm…”
George: “You hold down the fort, don’t you? You make sure everything runs smoothly.”
Me: “Oh. OH. Yes. That’s right. That’s what I do.”
You can just call me eloquent. That was also the day the straps on my dress kept falling down so you can also call me full of grace.
Our Tennessee church experience was much better. We loved it so much. I cried a little on our last day there. Now we’re back to the church hunt rodeo. We’ve visited so many but none have felt right. There was the church where Annabelle wouldn’t sit still with us but she refused to go in the nursery. We snuck out of the building like sinners before the sermon even started. There was the church where AB announced during a quiet moment that she had pooped. There was the church that was so chaotic and unorganized I almost lost my mind. I wanted to grab the microphone and shout, “HOW HARD IS IT TO ALL STAND UP AND SIT DOWN AT THE SAME TIME? You people look like kangaroos in the desert.” Not one of my more spiritual moments. A friend at MOPS invited us to her church so we’ve been there the last few weeks. The music isn’t really our jam but overall it’s not bad. The first week a lady on stage was playing 12 different instruments she seemed to have borrowed from the toddler Sunday school. One of the pastors was wearing jeans and sneakers with a button down shirt, vest and tie. Business of the top, party on the bottom.
We’ll be back at it tomorrow. May the Lord grant us success.
Feb 20, 2016 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
Within the last 48 hours the following happened:
+ I knocked over a display of fabric at Joann’s.
+ I tried to exit through the enter door but it wouldn’t open so I stood there like an idiot staring at it and wondering what was wrong.
+ The washing machine stopped draining the water after it’s run
+ The light bulb in the living room lamp burnt out and all I had to replace it was a florescent bulb. I hate florescent lights.
+ I cooked steak to go in a new recipe but didn’t realize it was bad until I tasted it right before it went on the table.
In light of all that I declared today Friday Funday. No errands, no unnecessary chores, no laundry. We made pancakes for breakfast and Sesame had a moment with the oil.
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Please note her headband. She found it in the closet and put it on herself.
I’ve never been more proud. |
After breakfast I got ready for the day while Annabelle redecorated the house with paper napkins she found in the cupboard. It seems she doesn’t approve of all the decorating I’ve done since we moved in. When she was done with the napkins she asked to play in her pool so I brought it in from the garage and put it in the living room. She then said she wanted to “cook pasta” in the pool. Four months ago I let her play with dry rice and pasta in her pool and she wanted to go back to the good old days. Instead of making a mess in our living room we went to the children’s museum to make a mess someone else will vacuum up.
Red Dragon Martial Arts was unpacking their van when we got to the museum. Although I’m well versed in Chinese food I didn’t know the Chinese New Year was just celebrated. The martial arts people were bringing their dragons for a culture dance in the gym. It’s not everyday I say, “Hold on, Ses. We have to let the dragons go through the door before we do .”
The rice station in the Vietnam display is very popular. AB didn’t care the 75 other children had played in the rice before her. She popped a handful of rice right into her mouth. So now we’re sure to have a slew of new sickness around here.
On the way home we stopped at a new Dunkin Donuts. I’m doing a scientific study of all the DD in the area so I had to do some market research. We had our usual order of “milk with a straw” and ice coffee. It was a good way to end the morning.
All week I told myself if I could just make it to Saturday I could sleep in while Christopher got up with AB. As these things go, Christopher has to be at work at eight o’clock in the morning so my dreams of sleeping in are gone. At least I know where to get good coffee to keep my spirits up.
Feb 17, 2016 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
Cabin fever has officially set in.
I woke up on Sunday, the most romantic day of the year, in a mood and couldn’t get myself out the door for church. By Sunday night it was obvious AB’s pink eye was coming back. On Monday morning Christopher’s car had a flat tire so he took mine to work. That meant I couldn’t get her to the doctor or the pharmacy. By lunch time AB had a rash on both cheeks. She never ever gets a rash and I had no idea what it was from. We’ve been sick on and off (mostly on) for six weeks now. (That’s what I get for boasting last winter about our great immune systems.) We’ve run out of new play ideas and there’s only so many times a day we can take a bath. Most days it’s either too muddy or too cold to play outside. I am ready to throw in the towel.
It snowed all last night and through the day. We’ve gotten some snow here and there but this was the first big storm.
Christopher and I have differing ideas of how to deal with snow. I’m from the part of the world where we very diligently shovel the driveway every time it snows. We like to get it out of the way so shoveling for the next storm is easier. I assumed that’s common sense. Christopher doesn’t understand my method. He is very lackadaisical about the whole thing. He might shovel, he might take a nap instead. He might shovel, he might decide to sit down and read a book. It hasn’t caused any tension or eye rolling on my part at all. He got more excited about the snow clearing when he bought a snowblower but I’m here to tell you it snowed last week and the driveway was only slightly cleared.
This morning I took the matter of the driveway into my own hands. I put Pooh on for Sesame, gave her some blueberries and hightailed it outta the living room. I was so looking forward to doing something out of the house. No need to tell me how stunning I looked. I already know.
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| The most attractive giant white blob you’ve ever seen. |
Last night Christopher offered to show me how to use the snowblower but I said I already knew how. Turns out I did not. I pushed buttons and pulled knobs for a good ten minutes with no luck.
I shoveled for almost an hour and was really proud of my work until I realized I still had half the driveway to go. So I gave up. The rest of the afternoon was more of the same tears from poor Sesame and waning patience from me. But the driveway was clear! That’s all that really matters.
ps. In all fairness, Christopher cleared driveway and a path to the door when he got home. But he had a head start because I did half of it for him. 😉
Feb 2, 2016 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
I survived the Big Brother Big Sister interview. It was so long and intense I came home and immediately lay down on the couch. I will never again schedule an interview when I’m sick. The lady who did the interview wasn’t kidding when she was it would be in-depth. What is my parents marriage like? How many drinks does it take for me to get drunk? What are my views on corporal punishment? What is the biggest conflict in my marriage? What is my biggest flaw? How would others describe me? What changes would I make in the justice system in relation to pedophiles?
I’m pretty sure the starfish pose wouldn’t have helped me recover when I was rambling about something for so long that I forgot the question and had to ask the lady. That happened TWICE. Let’s all have a moment of grateful silence that I’m not the breadwinner in the family. My lack of interview skilz would leave me jobless and my family living in a box. Although thanks to Pinterest it would probably be a very cute box.
Our never ending sickness continued all week. I survived Friday by telling myself over and over that Christopher would be home the next day to help take care of AB. All I had to do was make it through the day. Then he came home and said he had to work Saturday morning. I cried. I was SO TIRED and SO OVER BEING SICK and ALL I WANTED TO DO was be able to breath through my nose while I slept. I attempted to calm myself down by sitting on the couch eating lime tortilla chips and watching an episode of Army Wives. I’d never watched Army Wives because I was sure it would be ridiculous and totally Hollywoodized. I decided since I was already down I’d watch some so I could speak knowledgeably on it. As I suspected, it’s highly unrealistic. On what post ever has there been such a beautiful and pristine hospital? Do those ladies ever set foot in the commissary during the 5 o’clock rush? I have NEVER come across a lieutenant colonel working at any gate but there was LTC So and So filling out visitor passes at midnight. The most realistic thing about the show is the sub-par base housing. But somehow it sucked me in enough to watch six episodes so make of that what you will.
In other boring news (we can’t all constantly be having girls nights like the army wives), I went to the Sprint store four times today. That’s four more times than I would like. My phone has been acting spastic for the last few minutes and I finally ordered a replacement. I went down at 10:30 to pick it up and the guy said it would take an hour to transfer everything from my old phone. We played at the park for an hour then went back to the store. He said it would be done in 18 minutes. We went home for lunch and returned an hour later only to be told it still wasn’t done, but it “should” be only 8 more minutes. SIX HOURS LATER I got my phone. The worst part of the day wasn’t not having a phone. It was the 12 times I had to buckle and unbuckle AB’s car seat. It made me long for a more simple day.
And lastly, the clasp on my necklace is stuck and I can’t get the necklace off. Welcome to my life.
Jan 28, 2016 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
We’re sick AGAIN. I’d like to thank/blame Annabelle for bringing home germs from all the nurseries she’s visited lately. The germs are a souvenir that never stops giving.
Normally I don’t have anything important going on during the week but of course this week was a busy one. I had a doctor appointment yesterday, a play date scheduled for this morning that I had to cancel and an interview tonight.
I applied to volunteer for the Big Brother Big Sister program and naturally the interview falls on a day when my head is swollen, my nose is red from blowing it every five minutes and my voice sounds like a seal. Just the first impression I was hoping to make! Add to that my general dislike of a) meetings and 2) being in the spotlight and it’s recipe a for an awkward hour and a half.
I heard about a woman who has extensively studied body language and how it affects our performance. One pose is called The Wonder Woman and another The Starfish. It tickled me yesterday when I thought about standing like a starfish in the middle of the waiting room before the interview. Today I feel like a disco starfish floating through air and pumped full of cough syrup and motrin. I’ll be a great asset to the program.
Jan 26, 2016 | Currently, Uncategorized, What's going on |
Whenever I have a) nothing to blog about or b) TOO MANY THINGS TO SAY I do a currently post.
Drinking: A shampoo cap of “ice coffee” made from bath water with a side of soap. I told her it needed more milk. She gets some favorite child points for knowing one of my favorite drinks.
Unintentionally: potty training. I didn’t mean for it to happen but it sort of just did. Occasionally AB will tell me when she has a dirty diaper and I tell her the real key here is to tell me before she goes. I bought one of those little seats that goes on the real toilet on a whim a few months ago and every so often she asks to sit on it. The other day she was sitting on it stark naked and she asked me to scratch her back while she waited to poop. WHAT HAS MY LIFE BECOME? What happened to my dreams of being a social secretary for the First Lady?! Or being the First Lady myself?
Reading: For the Love and The Secret Keeper. They’re both due today and I have a combined total of 336 pages left to read.
Slightly disgruntled with: the library. We went to a new library this morning for our big Monday activity. Before we left I did extensive research on which books I wanted and even wrote down the call numbers so I wouldn’t have to drag Sesame around on a wild goose chase. I’d swoop right in, grab the book off the shelf and off we’d go. It was a flawless plan. Except nothing went according to plan. I couldn’t find any of my three books. I’ve never seen such a complex numbering system. None of the books were where they should have been and I checked three times. I didn’t want to ask for help because I was too proud to admit I didn’t understand the library. I’m fine asking for help to find one book, but three seemed like a little too much. At that point I’d just hand them my grocery list and ask them to do that shopping too. I briefly considered telling the librarian I just moved to this country and my country uses a different system but I cannot lie. Meanwhile, Annabelle was climbing on chairs and telling the whole library about her snowman book. “I gotta s’owman book, Mama! I sittin in the chay-ya, Mama.” Since I never found my books I’ll be stuck reading Winnie the Pooh from A to Zzzzz and All You Need for a Snowman for the next three weeks.
Not understanding: why people in this state insist on eating vegetables for breakfast. Every week at MOPS there’s a platter of vegetables with ranch dressing. I enjoy carrots and ranch but not at 10 o’clock in the morning. We went out for breakfast and the lady next to us was eating salad. I don’t understand this place.
Getting worked up over: someone telling me I could “just pray nausea away” when pregnant. You’d better believe I did pray for healing when I was throwing up 5-7 times a day for months on end. I prayed every day and God said N-O. Don’t tell me all I needed was a little more faith and I would have been healthy as a horse. That’s about as infuriating as telling me to “just eat saltines” or “all you need to do is wear a seasickness bracelet” or “have you tried ginger?” or, possibly worst of all, “I threw up a couple times so I know how you feel.” I’m getting VERY WORKED UP ABOUT THIS.
Watching: Downton Abbey and The Bachelor. They are so different but they both bring me so much joy.
Internally crying over: Annabelle’s upcoming birthday. She’ll be two. TWO. Do you understand how much this upsets me? Just last week she wasn’t even six pounds and newborn clothes were too big for her. Now she’s singing the alphabet and pointing to Texas on the map. At this rate she’ll be making me a grandmother by next week.
