The problem with boogers

I was thinking the other night--well, actually having a bizarre dream about being chased by a strange, unkown little boy trying to wipe a booger on me--but when I awoke, I realized that time keeps going by really, really fast.  Like, I am thinking right now about how this second is now gone.  And poof, it's gone. Now another one is gone.  And another one...and, well, you get the point.  Before I realize it, I'll be back in my bed, ready to dodge dream boogers all over again.  I'll tell ya, that's the problem with boogers.  They get you thinking every time.

You may be wondering what the hell I'm talking about.  Well, I guess I'm having a mid-life crisis of sorts.  Aren't I too young for that?  I'm only going to be 30 in a couple of weeks.  That still seems pretty young.  Mature, yes, but definitely NOT old.  Old enough, though, that I need to get my butt in gear and accomplish my goals.  Ever since we opened the store, I realized that it IS actually possible to accomplish something.  So I made some more. Goals. As if I don't have enough to do.

#1.  You might've seen this one coming, but I am making it a goal to lose some weight.  That's all I'm going to say about it.  I might have to ponder over a few more handfulls of Oreos.  I'll probably have to deliberate over some chocolate cake.  But I am convinced that somehow, I, too, will be able to have ripped abs and a tight butt.  Thank you, P90X infomercial, for convincing me that in this lifetime I might be able to do a pullup on that wobbly bar hanging from a doorframe.  (Where do you GET one of those things, anyway?)

#2.  I am writing a book.  A novel.  I think it's high time.  It will be moving.  It will be touching.  It will be a modern-day Odyssey, resplendent with the epic-ness of a soul searching journey of....crap, I don't know yet.  It'll probably have to involve some type of natural disaster.  I'm sure somebody will have to die in it.  I don't know if there will be romance.  I kind of doubt it.  That's not really my style.  I'm sure there will be a quick-witted heroine.  A moral dilemma.  An impossible choice. Isn't that what good literature is all about? I'm hoping to win a major literary prize.  If I do, I better have finished with that whole P90X thing, because I'm sure I'd have to go to a banquet or something, and I'd have to actually wear real clothes instead of my jeans and a ratty T-shirt.  Although I did get a new bra, so that's good.

#3.  I have decided I will, at some point, go back to college and gain at least a master's, but more likely a PhD in something.  I don't know what yet.  It doesn't even really matter, I suppose.  I just know that I will re-enter the world of academia and claim my place as a titan of deliberate and thorough ponderance. What does that mean, you ask?  I wouldn't expect you to understand.  It's a...um...well...let's just say I'll be able to explain it better when I'm defending my dissertation and leave it at that.

#4.  I'm too tired to type any more.  So I guess this one has to be my vow to sleep more.  The end.

So there you have it.  My "resolutions" as it were.  If you want to call them that.  I don't have any idea when they'll be accomplished.  Just that they will be.  And if you don't believe me, I'll kick you in the head.  Ok?

My Kids are Weirder than Your Kid

You read it right. My kids are weird. Straight up. Isaac has an unmatched imagination in our family. The proof: his new favorite game. It's called "The Umproidal Shrimp." This is not a complicated game. It consists of him running around chasing the other kids, while they run away shreiking, "Oh no! It's the Umproidal Shrimp!"

I have no idea what an Umproidal Shrimp is, or where in the world the child thought of one. My other kids don't find it strange at all. They even have little Rowan playing along.

This game can be added to their repetoire of other games which include: "Gaster Gastion" and "Rabies." Rabies is pretty self-explanatory. One has rabies and they chase the other one around. It goes like this:

Isaac: Hey, you guys wanna play Rabies?
Adam: Sure! Do you have rabies or do I have rabies?
Kalena (in a very grown-up, exasperated voice) : I have rabies, okay?
Rowan: You have rabies?
Kalena: You better run!
All the kids: Oh no!!!! (Squeal and shriek)

Gaster Gastion is a variation of the Umproidal Shrimp....but it requires that Isaac run around screaming "Gaster Gastion" during the chasing process.

So, like I said, my kids are weird.

Satisfaction

Can we ever get it? I mean, are we ever totally satisfied with what we do in life? I'm sitting here, in MY store, my own shop, wondering if this is as good as it can be. I'm critically evaluating every single product, the prices on them, the window display...why can't I just look around with satisfaction, and realize that my dream is coming true? Maybe it's the enormous amount of pressure I feel to make Pinwheel Kids successful. Not only is our future tied up in this, but my business partner has a lot invested in me as well. I feel like I HAVE to do everything I possibly can to make this store a success. And at the same time, I don't want to lose out on the joy. The joy I feel when I can help a new mom pick out the perfect baby carrier, or when a grandma comes in and finds a toy she just knows her grandson will love. Is there such a thing as a happy medium, a balance in life? And how in the heck can I find it?

I keep telling myself to be patient. Just let things run their natural course. If Pinwheel Kids is meant to be, and I just KNOW it is, then it will take off on its own. And things are already off to a great start! But I always wonder, could it be more? Could I be doing more? Should I be?

And in this equation, I have to add in the happiness of my family. I know how easy it is for me to become consumed, and I don't want to lose those precious moments with my kids because my focus is so much on the store. This is all uncharted territory for me, just like when I started teaching last year, and I guess I just don't know what exactly to expect. But even though my life is definitely 180 degrees different than what it was a year ago, I have to say that it's definitely in an exciting, good place. Just a little....okay, a LOT.....scary.

Dang

Yeah, so I guess I'm a big fat liar, and I can't keep up with my blog. Can you blame me? I am in the middle of opening a new store. Because I'm crazy.

My store is Pinwheel Kids, and it is going to be so rockin'. I just hope my four little monkeys make it through the next couple of weeks while we get up and running.

In kid-news, they are just getting big and smart, like all children do. But this morning the kids were all in the bathtub, and Kalena decided to entertain the others so she got a toy boat and said, "The Wizard is going to break through these icy bergs. Here it goes. Off to catch some crab." And she proceeded to bust through the bubbles as if they were really "icy bergs." Then she looked at me and said, "Mom, these bubbles really do look like icy bergs. Really."

This indicates two things to me:
#1 We have been watching way too much Deadliest Catch
AND
#2 These are such fleeting moments in our kids lives. I'm glad I was there to catch a glimpse of her creativity, kindness and spunk.

Well, back to work. I have a pile of invoices with my name on them that I need to tackle.

The Jerk

No, I don't mean the crazy man that insisted on driving right next to me at the exact same speed as I was driving home today. I mean the crazy dance that I am trying to learn from my students.

If you don't know what The Jerk is, just YouTube it. Over the course of the last week, I've heard it described as "backwards skipping" or "jumping forwards and backwards at the same time." Gee guys, that's really helpful. But I stink at it. I don't have any rhythm, and I have about 60 extra pounds I'm trying to jerk around. Not pretty.

You ask why I'm trying to learn this convoluted dance? It's all my own fault, actually. I've decided to put my students on a Laughter Campaign as part of our research unit on researching the effects of laughter on environment. So part of their assignment is to increase the amount of laughing that happens on campus. You do the math: teachers (especially white-bread, no-rhythm teachers like yours truly) + dancing of any kind = hilarity. They decided the best way to get some chuckles is to get the teachers dancing on film. I insisted that if I'm being filmed, I must be tutored in the ways of the Jerk before I make my YouTube debut.

So stay tuned. You just might see my jello-butt jiggling in the near future. If you didn't shudder, I just shuddered for you.

Sponge-Bob Rules the World

Yes, I am back with a vengeance, my friends. It is me, your friendly neighborhood mom, wife, teacher, tennis coach, soccer coach, lover of pie and all-around swell lady. I have rediscovered my blog, and I have to admit, I've missed it. It has been nearly a year since I checked in here. Sad.

Things have changed. And that is probably the understatement of the millenium. My life is almost 360 degrees from where it was this time last year. I am teaching at Waco High. Ninth grade English. Oy veh.

I don't have the time, energy or even finger-power to type all the long yarns I have to spin about school, so we'll just say that it's, um, different. I like it. Some days.

The kids have grown. Once again, huge understatement. Rowan might as well be reading by now, she's so dang smart. I've never heard a little bit talk as much as she does. She's 18 months going on 10. She can practically keep up with Kalena in the talking department. (Okay, now I"m just getting silly).

Adam just turned three, Isaac is pushing 5, and Kalena is reading like a big 3rd grader, even though she's just in 1st grade. Where in the heck has time gone???? I don't know, but it feels like I go to sleep at night, and wake up a week later. I've been so busy, I forget whole days at a time.

It's late, however, at nearly 9, and it's my bedtime. Yes....that, my friends, is a sad state of affairs. I should be hanging with the Luby's crowd I guess. But the kids are happy watching Sponge Bob tonight, or "Bum Bob Pants" as RoRo calls him, and I am tapping my toes to the jolly little pirate whistle, getting ready to head to bed myself.

I've turned a leaf, my friends. Or a page. Or a megabyte. Whatever. I promise to blog more faithfully. At any rate, in the words of the illustrious governor of California, "I'll be back."

Humbalulu

Humbalulu is an elusive animal. It is red and green, and some of them can fly. Not all, but a select few. I'm not exactly sure how many, since there are so few in the world. They live in the ocean and sometimes on roads. Which roads remains to be seen, since most roads are too busy for the shy creature. They eat snakes. I guess they eat the ones that venture too close to the ocean or too close to a road. They also eat one berry. It doesn't matter what kind of berry, but only one a day. I suppose this is what gives them the magical powers to fly. This is all that is known about the Humbalulu.

Isaac spent most of our vacation discussing Humbalulu and its various attributes. This began when David's sister taught the kids how to play "20 questions" the animal version on a long drive across the island. With questions like, "where do you live?" and "what do you eat?" Isaac's little imagination went crazy. Hence the Humbalulu was born. Kalena soon got in on the action, and eventually they were calling everyone and everything around them Humbalulu. So if you see a red and green creature munching a snake on a road, you'll know just what it is.