Okay, Costco has got to be the best store going. Whether you are buying for two people, as my in-laws do, or an army, as I do, Costco is your store! Where else can you find clothes, food, computers, lawn and garden, and furniture all under one roof with samples around every corner? Are you kidding me?!? This store is the best!
Steve's parents, Phil and Joyce, like to "graze" (their words, not mine) when shopping at Costco. They sample everything and critique what they just ate. Then they come home with a rotisserie chicken ($4.99), maybe some grapes and cheese, and whatever they may have enjoyed when grazing. The chicken is great for two dinners and chicken sandwiches the next day. It's perfect for them and they love it! In fact, as they are currently gypsies and travelling in their RV, and I can almost guarantee they know the location of every Costco from Pennsylvania to Florida. It's almost unbelievable they bought a house in NC far from one. When they come up to our house, they are itching to get to our Costco as soon and as often as possible.
For me, Costco is a shopping mecca. Do I need an 8 lbs. bag of frozen crinkle-cut french fries? How about 3 dozen eggs? 96 loads worth of laundry detergent? Yes, yes, yes! I just can't leave there without a cartload of stuff worth more than a day's worth pay. The worst part is trying to fit it all in the cart and taking it all home.
It's when I get home from Costco I hate! There is no easy way to carry in four gallons of milk at the same time. Everything is so big and bulky and hard to carry. I ask 4 year-old Lance to carry in the three 48 oz. bottles of ketchup and he says, "Are you insane?" Honestly it is a lot to ask! He carries in the packages of toothpaste (four tubes!) and toothbrushes (10 of them) instead. I struggle with where to put it all, but the accomplishment when it's all put away is so fulfilling.
And if, in the end, you still can't find what you are looking for or you just can't face going home yet, park your cart, go to the cafe and get a hot dog and soda for a buck fifty! Can't beat it!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Starbucks Genius
Those people who run Starbucks are brilliant! It must be all that caffeine running through their veins! To close all of their stores for three hours yesterday all in the name of "staff training"! GENIUS! Okay, they have made some bad choices in the past...selling DVDs and music just ain't what the crowd is looking for when they're just in for a cup o' joe. They have learned their lesson and are moving on.
I don't know, I wasn't there myself. I can only imagine what went on at the corporate headquarters not too long ago...Those brainiacs started thinking (all with a famous...and oh so comforting...paper cup in their hands), "HHHUUUMMM, how can we get people all around this great country of ours to come back in for a caramel macchiato?" Another very smart person (also with the lovely paper cup and soft brown sleeve) said, "Let's have a 'staff training' session. We'll close for a couple of hours, tell everyone we are doing it for the benefit of our staff and quality of coffee, and it will be the talk of the town." BRILLIANT!
I heard about the Starbucks decision on the news and saw it online yesterday, but it wasn't until I saw it all over the news this morning that it really grabbed my attention. All of those corporate professionals, soccer moms, high school students and other caffeine-deprived folk were banging down the doors. "What is going on?" they all shout, with the tell-tale sign of their heads ticking from withdrawal. It's plastered all over the news and what does it do to me? Makes me want...no, NEED...a skim Grande White Chocolate Mocha with whip! I need it now! "Jump in the car kids, we're going to Starbucks!"
Getting to Starbucks is not any easy feat for me anymore. I used to be able to go to the closest grocery store and there was one right inside (another stroke of genius by those Starbucks folks). I was hooked drinking one (sometimes two, depending on how my day was going) every day. I used to joke it was like crack for moms, but I loved it! Those paper cups to hold in your hands like a cherished prize...incredible! I miss those days but, alas, I now live in the sticks where I need to go to "town" to fulfill my fix and maybe I will get one once a week. As I stand in line I realize the genius of it all. I have fallen for it...hook, line, and sinker!
Was my barista that much more knowledgeable in her espresso expertise? I still needed to describe my son's Chocolate (not Double Chocolate) Creme frappaccino order (yes, Trent fell for it too) but my drink was one of the best I had tasted. I am quite certain it had a lot more to do with Matt Lauer talking about it than the actual coffee. Nonetheless, my thirst was quenched, my ticks have stopped, but I'll be sure to find an excuse to get to town and get one again tomorrow!
I don't know, I wasn't there myself. I can only imagine what went on at the corporate headquarters not too long ago...Those brainiacs started thinking (all with a famous...and oh so comforting...paper cup in their hands), "HHHUUUMMM, how can we get people all around this great country of ours to come back in for a caramel macchiato?" Another very smart person (also with the lovely paper cup and soft brown sleeve) said, "Let's have a 'staff training' session. We'll close for a couple of hours, tell everyone we are doing it for the benefit of our staff and quality of coffee, and it will be the talk of the town." BRILLIANT!
I heard about the Starbucks decision on the news and saw it online yesterday, but it wasn't until I saw it all over the news this morning that it really grabbed my attention. All of those corporate professionals, soccer moms, high school students and other caffeine-deprived folk were banging down the doors. "What is going on?" they all shout, with the tell-tale sign of their heads ticking from withdrawal. It's plastered all over the news and what does it do to me? Makes me want...no, NEED...a skim Grande White Chocolate Mocha with whip! I need it now! "Jump in the car kids, we're going to Starbucks!"
Getting to Starbucks is not any easy feat for me anymore. I used to be able to go to the closest grocery store and there was one right inside (another stroke of genius by those Starbucks folks). I was hooked drinking one (sometimes two, depending on how my day was going) every day. I used to joke it was like crack for moms, but I loved it! Those paper cups to hold in your hands like a cherished prize...incredible! I miss those days but, alas, I now live in the sticks where I need to go to "town" to fulfill my fix and maybe I will get one once a week. As I stand in line I realize the genius of it all. I have fallen for it...hook, line, and sinker!
Was my barista that much more knowledgeable in her espresso expertise? I still needed to describe my son's Chocolate (not Double Chocolate) Creme frappaccino order (yes, Trent fell for it too) but my drink was one of the best I had tasted. I am quite certain it had a lot more to do with Matt Lauer talking about it than the actual coffee. Nonetheless, my thirst was quenched, my ticks have stopped, but I'll be sure to find an excuse to get to town and get one again tomorrow!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Conflicted
Seriously, who would want to bully this guy??Gosh! Sometimes being a parent is really difficult! You always want the best for your children and will go above and beyond to protect them, for that is your job! Even when they look at you accusingly with crocodile tears after an immunization, you know you are protecting them against something much worse. It's your job, it's what good parents are supposed to do.
But what to do when you want so very, very badly to protect your child and they ask you not to? Trent told me this morning he didn't want to go to school today. Now, Trent not wanting to go to school was alarming. He loves school, kindergarten was made for kids like him! Trent not wanting to go to school is like me not wanting ice cream, Luke not wanting to eat, or Steve not wanting..never mind (this is a family blog after all). Trent loves school, 'nuff said!
Trent also likes to pull our leg. We have heard so many stories of made up new students, it's actually become a joke in our house. His most famous one is named "Raw" and he likes to get in a lot of trouble. (I think this is actually Trent's way of gauging how much trouble a certain deed would get you in.) So I heard this story this morning about a new kid named "Cly" and he's a bully and I said,"Does he sit next to Raw?" When I didn't see the little glint of a smile and tears starting rolling, I thought: 1) "What a rotten thing for me to say," and 2) "Oh no! This sounds bad."
Trent continued to cry and talk with increasing intensity. "He talks really mean to everybody and has to sit next to me FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS!" Lots more tears, lots of resistance whenever I said he was going to school...what was I going to do? My first reaction was to jump in the car, drive to the school, bang down the door and storm into the Principal's office, "MY KID'S BEING BULLIED!!!" But rationality set in, as did my desire to remain on the PTO Board, and I asked Trent if he wanted me to call his teacher. He really cried then, "No, no, no!"
Steve and I have always tried to teach our kids to be good and confident people. We have tried to instill ways for each of them to stand up for themselves instead of being bullied into doing something and to try to resolve conflicts by themselves without the need to tattle. Not that it always works, in fact Trent is usually the main offender of these teachings, so I was pretty proud of him to not want me to go to his teacher. Then again, my protective parental instincts were pretty strong and I wanted to drop-kick this "Cly" kid!
Trent and I talked about what he could say if Cly talked meanly to him and that it wouldn't be tattling if he felt he was being bullied. I had wished Kyle had been there to reinforce that telling a teacher about a bully isn't tattling because they have a "No Bullying" rule at school (really, it's true). I promised Trent I wouldn't call his teacher today if he promised to tell me what happened at school when he got home and the deal was struck. As he drove off on the school bus, my heart was broken. My little Trentie was being bullied and he won't let me help him! Was I more upset for him or me? Good question.
The school day is almost over and we have to go into town to get him a new backpack. The car is always a great place to have these kind of conversations, captive audience! I hope he was able to stick up for himself and his friend (who I later learned from his mom who brought it up to me) and he put Cly in his place. If not, look out! I may be breaking down doors and drop-kicking some little bully yet!
But what to do when you want so very, very badly to protect your child and they ask you not to? Trent told me this morning he didn't want to go to school today. Now, Trent not wanting to go to school was alarming. He loves school, kindergarten was made for kids like him! Trent not wanting to go to school is like me not wanting ice cream, Luke not wanting to eat, or Steve not wanting..never mind (this is a family blog after all). Trent loves school, 'nuff said!
Trent also likes to pull our leg. We have heard so many stories of made up new students, it's actually become a joke in our house. His most famous one is named "Raw" and he likes to get in a lot of trouble. (I think this is actually Trent's way of gauging how much trouble a certain deed would get you in.) So I heard this story this morning about a new kid named "Cly" and he's a bully and I said,"Does he sit next to Raw?" When I didn't see the little glint of a smile and tears starting rolling, I thought: 1) "What a rotten thing for me to say," and 2) "Oh no! This sounds bad."
Trent continued to cry and talk with increasing intensity. "He talks really mean to everybody and has to sit next to me FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS!" Lots more tears, lots of resistance whenever I said he was going to school...what was I going to do? My first reaction was to jump in the car, drive to the school, bang down the door and storm into the Principal's office, "MY KID'S BEING BULLIED!!!" But rationality set in, as did my desire to remain on the PTO Board, and I asked Trent if he wanted me to call his teacher. He really cried then, "No, no, no!"
Steve and I have always tried to teach our kids to be good and confident people. We have tried to instill ways for each of them to stand up for themselves instead of being bullied into doing something and to try to resolve conflicts by themselves without the need to tattle. Not that it always works, in fact Trent is usually the main offender of these teachings, so I was pretty proud of him to not want me to go to his teacher. Then again, my protective parental instincts were pretty strong and I wanted to drop-kick this "Cly" kid!
Trent and I talked about what he could say if Cly talked meanly to him and that it wouldn't be tattling if he felt he was being bullied. I had wished Kyle had been there to reinforce that telling a teacher about a bully isn't tattling because they have a "No Bullying" rule at school (really, it's true). I promised Trent I wouldn't call his teacher today if he promised to tell me what happened at school when he got home and the deal was struck. As he drove off on the school bus, my heart was broken. My little Trentie was being bullied and he won't let me help him! Was I more upset for him or me? Good question.
The school day is almost over and we have to go into town to get him a new backpack. The car is always a great place to have these kind of conversations, captive audience! I hope he was able to stick up for himself and his friend (who I later learned from his mom who brought it up to me) and he put Cly in his place. If not, look out! I may be breaking down doors and drop-kicking some little bully yet!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Twinspiration
Having twins is an amazing, and right now exhausting, adventure. I have always been intrigued with moms of twins and have often found myself seeking out frienships with such moms. I thought having twins would be a challenging and fun experience, but after the birth of our third son I thought my chances of having twins were getting slim. My husband wanted to stop at two children, I convinced him to go for another. Once we had number three, he was done. Then, three years later, he had a brief moment of insanity and said he thought it would be okay to have another. Actually the brief moment lasted a couple of months as we weren't successful at first.
We found out we were having twins in late spring. I was 35 and there is a new genetic test given to moms involving an ultrasound and blood test at 12 weeks gestation. We were very excited about the ultrasound, to see our new baby and hopefully to find out the gender. The idea of having another baby to "try for a girl" is a bit outrageous to me, but we were excited nonetheless. We sat in the waiting room with our then 5 and 3 year-olds, Trent and Lance, and they were running late with their appointments. Finally we get into the room and the technician puts the cold jelly and paddle on my belly. Two little babies appear on the screen. Steve and I looked up at the screen, looking and looking and trying to understand what we were seeing. The technician asked us if we knew we were having twins, a bit annoyed that her schedule was about to be even more late as she had two babies to examine. As she saw my tears and Steve's dumbfounded reaction, she changed her tone to more congratulatory than annoyance.
Though we didn't find out the sexes of the babies that day, we had a lot of fun calling up everyone we knew and telling them. Their reactions were great! As we drove home from the appointment and had lunch together, Steve and I continually looked at each other and shook our heads. We couldn't believe we were going to have five children!
The reality of being pregnant with twins is that it's not much fun, especially in the end. All of my previous pregnancies had been perfect and I loved being pregnant. This pregnancy was a little more scary because the doctors wanted to see me more often and I had to also see a neonatalogist (a high-risk baby doctor). Fortunately, I felt good with this pregnancy until the beginning of September. We got back from a day trip to celebrate Steve's grandmother's 95th (!) birthday and my back really hurt. I went straight to bed that night. As the pregnancy continued, I started to feel worse and worse. My back hurt, I was having contractions, and babies were pushing my belly in most uncomfortable ways.
At 31 weeks I was put on bedrest, I relief for me but a most unwelcome burden for Steve. He was not only responsible for "making pennies" at work, now he had the added responsibility of taking over for me. Thankfully his parents we willing and able to help us out. Phil and Joyce graciously helped out with the kids and the household so Steve could go to work. It was stressful for everyone, but we are forever grateful to have had all the help!
Early on Thanksgiving morning, my water broke. Kate was born at 8:00 and Luke was born 11 minutes later with Apgar scores of 9 for both of them. We are truly blessed! Now the work really begins!
Superstitious
Kyle, my eight year-old son, slept upside-down in his bed last night. My husband even pulled out the sheets and remade his bed so he could sleep that way. He also wanted to wear he pajamas inside-out and put ice cubes down the toilet, all recommendations made by his principal to encourage Mother Nature to make it snow.
Apparently my son is superstitious, something very foreign to me. I find the entire idea of superstition to be a little crazy. Sure it's fun to gather all your friends and have a snow dance (I have to admit I've done it a time or two myself) and of course it's safe not to walk underneath a ladder, but am I really going to have bad luck if I cross the path of a black cat or open an umbrella inside the house? Come on! I really don't have a problem with opening an umbrella in the house, especially if they are going in one of my cocktails! Doesn't sound like bad luck to me!
Bad luck is such an oxymoron. Luck is supposed to be such a good and positive thing, how can it be bad? To be lucky is to win the lottery (though some could question this) or to have a loving and safe place to fall when you are down, but is a person who has just been diagnosed with cancer or a person who was just in a car accident "unlucky"? I hope not. I tell my husband I don't believe in bad luck, it just isn't conducive to my "glass half full" outlook on life. Good luck...good, bad luck...doesn't exist.
All that said, I woke up to my husband telling me school was closed today because of the weather. Although it didn't snow, we do have a sheet of ice covering everything outside. Was this because Kyle slept upside-down last night? Probably not, but it sure is nice for him to believe it!
Apparently my son is superstitious, something very foreign to me. I find the entire idea of superstition to be a little crazy. Sure it's fun to gather all your friends and have a snow dance (I have to admit I've done it a time or two myself) and of course it's safe not to walk underneath a ladder, but am I really going to have bad luck if I cross the path of a black cat or open an umbrella inside the house? Come on! I really don't have a problem with opening an umbrella in the house, especially if they are going in one of my cocktails! Doesn't sound like bad luck to me!
Bad luck is such an oxymoron. Luck is supposed to be such a good and positive thing, how can it be bad? To be lucky is to win the lottery (though some could question this) or to have a loving and safe place to fall when you are down, but is a person who has just been diagnosed with cancer or a person who was just in a car accident "unlucky"? I hope not. I tell my husband I don't believe in bad luck, it just isn't conducive to my "glass half full" outlook on life. Good luck...good, bad luck...doesn't exist.
All that said, I woke up to my husband telling me school was closed today because of the weather. Although it didn't snow, we do have a sheet of ice covering everything outside. Was this because Kyle slept upside-down last night? Probably not, but it sure is nice for him to believe it!
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