X Marks the Spot. Except When It Doesn't

A friend told me this precious story and I couldn't resist sharing.

One morning her sweet son captured a little spider in his hands and stored it in a bucket that he covered up with rain boots to keep the spider from escaping.

“I have a PET!” he exclaimed in delight.

But, alas, his new pet is a wily little thing, and it escaped.

Never one to give up easily, said son pulled out his construction paper and markers. Mom saw him on the kitchen floor with his head bent over the paper earnestly drawing.

“Whatcha doing, Son?” She asked.

“Making a MAP,” he said.

Several minutes later, the map is complete. Son holds it out in front of him as he follows the dotted line. Past daddy… into the dining room…

“HEY!” he shouted from the living room, “But my spider isn’t HERE!”

I am thoroughly confused. “Huh?” Mom looked at Husband, “Do you know what’s going on?”

He nods. “Son made a map to find his lost spider. And then he followed it. Only it didn’t lead to the spider.”

Son stomped to the table and slapped his map down. “Mommy IT DIDN’T WORK!” he shouted. “HMMPH! That makes me ANGRY!”

So my poor friend had to try and explain to said Son that maps don’t always lead you to where you want to go. Especially when where you want to go is to the location of your escaped pet spider.

E Continued

Yum! Love Benihana's. Had a greeeat time and delicious food.

E! E! E! E! E! E! E! E!

Today is my baby girl's birthday. She is EIGHT! She is a sweet, intelligent, little genius who is going to set the world on fire when she grows up. That girl is so full of wit and drive and potential. She can do anything she sets her mind to.

For example, she recently informed me she was trying to choose between being a veterinarian, monster truck driver, and restaurant hostess as her future career. However, as she thought about it more -- maybe she was deciding between the monster truck driver and a zoologist. (Go for the destruction, Sweetie. It will be most rewarding.)

Pure genius!

Tonight Nanny, Auntie Molly and I are taking E to dinner at Benihana's (benihana.com) for a BIG girl dinner. Yahoo. It should be fabulous.

Idiot and Other Bad Words

WARNING: If you’re like really, really into politics, you might not want to read this post. Seriously. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

***

The other night Hubby walked into the living room after tucking in D & G. I am sitting on the couch watching TV.

“Whatcha watching?” He asks.

“The Democratic National Convention.”

He looks at the screen. Sure enough, some politician-looking guy is standing in front of a bright blue background talking avidly about something. He’s ALL worked up.

“Why are you watching that?" He mumbles. "Didn’t you know CSI: Something or Other is on?”

I think he thinks he is being coy about attempting to persuade me to change the channel -- mind you, for a different show that he also positively hates. He must really not want to listen to my political ramblings on this particular evening.

I huff and say: “Husband! It’s not every day you get to watch this stuff. This is history in the making.”

He grunts. “Whatever. It seems like a big fat infomercial to me. How many people watch this who aren’t voting democrat? Huh? Huh?! It’s like… propaganda.”

(and CSI is high-quality entertainment?)

I shake my head in disgust. “It’s NOT propaganda. These are REAL people. This could be our next PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT.”

Whatever... He sighs loudly.

He plops down next to me to watch. E joins us. “MOMMY! I don’t want to watch this!” However, she is overruled by history in the making.

Despite herself, E is somewhat sucked in. The excitement on screen is infectious.

Plus they’re promising to do stuff like FIX THE ECONOMY and LOWER GAS PRICES and STOP GLOBAL WARMING. Which all sounds pretty good to me. That's when the teeny-tiny voice in the back of my mind that wonders quietly and my husband wonders aloud, can you really do ALL THAT in four years?

At least CSI is realistically unrealistic.

As Joe Biden starts shouting “JOHN MCCAIN WAS WRONG! BARACK OBAMA WAS RIGHT!” over and over, E looks at me and says, “Mom? Who’s Barack Obama?”

“Well,” I scramble trying to come up with an intelligent answer, “Barack Obama might be our next president. Wouldn't that be exciting?”

“President?” she wrinkles his nose, “Not like the idiot you keep saying you want out of the there now?”

“Umm, well… yes, you could say that, but it's not nice to call people idiots, so let's not use that word, okay?” I tell her.

“Ohhhh.” I can see the wheels turning in E's head and realize I may be in trouble. "But Mom, you call him worse things all the time?"

(Don't you love the moments children choose to be honest?) Hubby gurgles back laughter. "Yeah, Mom. You shouldn't call people BAD words either!"

What can I say? Objectivity is not my bag, baby -- and I am not great at poker faces.

Women's Equality Day

In celebration of Women's Equality Day (August 26th!), here is a fabulous quote from one of the greatest U.S. Supreme Court Justices ever:

“We don't accomplish anything in this world alone ... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.”

~ Sandra Day O’Connor

Challenging

When you are really having a "challenging" day with your children, do you ever just give in to their senseless demands? No? Never? Come on! Not even once in a blue moon?! I don't believe you...

I think that is what makes me an awful parent. I do give in -- for my own sanity and peace of mind. I just gave Daniel PUFF CORN for breakfast... It has the word corn in it, so according to Junie B. Jones it has to be somewhat healthy! Hello?!

Birthdays Galore

Today we had a family birthday party for E (soon to be 8!) and G (three days after E's birthday, she will be 3!). I am too tired to write more. For the most part, everyone had a blast. I need to go wash some more dishes. Enjoy the pics.

Everything on A Stick

I LOVE the State Fair. Can I say that again? This time a little louder -- I LOVE THE STATE FAIR!

I am a very fortunate woman because, unlike me, my husband DESPISES the State Fair. Therefore, I have made the executive decision that each and every single year of our wedded bliss, he has the superb privilege of staying with the lovely, absolutely perfect little angels while I partake in everything greasy, deep-fried, chocoalte covered, powdered-sugared on a stick.

Whoo-hoo for me, my mom and sisters.

We went to the State Fair yesterday and had a fantastically, fabulous time. The weather wasn't too bad. Quite hot and a bit humid, but the skies were relatively clear and no huge torrential downpours.

Our first tradition is to find the nearest photo booth and cram our soon-to-be-expanding, calorie laden bodies into it to take a reel of pictures. When I get my act together, I will scan the photo thingies and post them. They are a hoot.

Throughout the day I like to snap photo of "all things Minnesotan". And seriously, what is more Minnestoan than Walleye on a Stick or deep fried Spam curds??? For all of you who need an education about all things Minnesotan -- the SPAM MUSEUM (yes, you heard right -- MUSEUM) is located in Austin, MN and no, I have not visited yet.Unfortunately, I missed catching a picture of the chocolate-covered bacon on a stick, so we had to settle with posting pics of the deep fried candy bar stand. Never tried one, however I am sure since it is deep fried and includes insane amounts of melted chocolate that I would love it, given half a chance. There is always a stop in the Agricultural building where you can see freakishly large produce, as well as "seed art", which really is quite a sight.

And you can't possibly forget to mention or see the politics or livestock while at the state fair. My mom and sisters could skip this part, but it just wouldn't be natural! The pictures speak for themselves.

I could ramble a bit more, but I fear I have already bored most people to tears. I promised not to discuss the "hotdish" bake off or horse stuff that Molly felt the need to photograph.

E's Photography

E loves to take my camera and take picures of anything and everything. She is particularly good at catching you at awful looking moments... Here are some of her rated G work products.

Motorcycle Wanna-Bes

My children love to see Jimmy on his motorcycle. E begs for rides all the time -- much to my dismay! E is occasionally allowed a brief, SLOW ride around a parking lot, of course only with a helmet. G and D are strictly forbidden until they are much closer to FIVE FEET tall or at least FIFTY YEARS OLD. As close as they get is a sitting still picture.

Augusta

Mitch and Erin joined us for dinner on Saturday evening and brought along their fantastically adorable little 10-11 week old golden lab, Augusta. She is such a doll! The children adored her and did everythign they could to tucker her out. Unfortunately, I didn't catch any cute pictures of Augusta before she zonked out on the kitchen floor.

Doing the Most Good

E and I volunteered through the Salvation Army to work a booth at the Burnsville Mall for The Caring Tree organization. We were responsible for helping collect donated school supplies and clothes for children.

I was really proud of how well behaved E was and I think it's ALWAYS a good lesson for her to donate her time through volunteer opportunies so she realizes how fortunate we truly are.