Note to Asian Tourist

I am certain that you did not intend to send me into cardiac arrest. However, for the record, here in America it is never a good idea to sneak up on someone in a parking lot without a)giving them plenty of notice via some type of verbal initiation of conversation and b)without keeping enough space between you and the person you are approaching so that when they turn around they don't literally run into you.

I'm not quite sure about the crime rate in the Asian countries, but here in America crime is rampant...or so it seems....and quite a bit of it occurs in parking lots. People roam the streets with assault rifles and are not afraid to use them (unfortunately). Here in America when someone sneaks up on you in a parking lot, the first instinct is to protect your children, swing your purse, and start screaming for help. You are fortunate in that the response you got from me was a mere, "Good grief, don't ever sneak up that closely on someone in a parking lot ever again."

Seriously, you are lucky that I am one of the few who does not carry a gun, or a taser, or pepper spray (although I am now seriously considering options 2 and 3). Now, that my heart has resumed beating at its normal pace I hope you have learned your lesson. Welcome to America.

Why My Son Will Make a Good Husband

Each morning after my daughter gets dressed my son will go up to her and say, "Pretty." She spends quite a bit of time in Princess dresses or other elaborate dresses at which point my son will say, "Oh, so pretty." This has now translated to me. Each day he kisses me and says, "Mama's pretty." Melt my heart.

Then yesterday two older women commented on how well-behaved my kids were at lunch. I said, "Thank you" and proceeded to make small talk. My son hopped out of his seat, walked up to the ladies, pointed at both and said, "Pretty" and then gave them both a grin that could charm the socks off the most suspicious of fathers.

A few minutes later on our way out he walked up to a little girl about 2 1/2 years old. He said, "Hi" the girl said "hi" back and then he points to her and says, "Pretty girl", blows her a kiss, and walks away waving.

I am definitely going to have to keep my eye on him. :)

The Solution: Mexican Food

So, in addition to the cold that I have my stomach has been very upset since Sunday. Pretty much it just burns and cramps...nothing settles well and after each time I try to eat the pain just gets worse....until last night.

I was doubled over in pain and the thought of food sent me into a fit of dry heaves, until I thought of salty chips and incredibly hot salsa. For whatever reason that sounded delicious. Almost like the burn of the salsa would put out the fire in my stomach.

So, we went and grabbed some Mexican food and in all seriousness my stomach has not hurt since. It was almost instantaneous relief. What kind of sense does that make?

Do you ever get weird cravings when you are sick?

Germs, Germs, Everywhere

I can't even begin to tell you how frustrated I am that we have spent the last 6 months overwhelmed with illness. It is seriously getting ridiculous. I used to be sick all the time when I was teaching. Instead of becoming immune like most teachers, I spent 5 years catching every little illness each of my students brought into my classroom.

When I stopped teaching over three years ago it was like a whole new world. I was healthy for massive amounts of time. I even went an entire year without so much as a sniffle. My daughter was the same way. In the first two years of her life she had one cold. She was a machine. Then my son came along and at 8 months was very ill and hospitalized. Since then the poor guy catches everything.... and I mean everything. There also seems to be a major increase in the amount of illnesses my daughter and I now catch. So, I was totally bummed when our son woke up Saturday with a horribly runny nose. I knew it was only a matter of time. He's now sick, I woke up sick yesterday and my daughter woke up sick today.

Really there should be a limit on the number of times one should be allowed to get sick in a year's time. I'm thinking three.

A Mother's Intuition

When my daughter was born I fell instantly in love. There are no words adequate for the instant bond I felt. I held her constantly, let her sleep on my chest, I rocked her and nursed her to sleep, picked her up the second she began to cry, etc. I had friends tell me to put her down or she'd get spoiled, they told me to put her in her crib or she'll never sleep alone. They told me to put her to bed when she was awake or she wouldn't learn to fall asleep, and they told me to let her cry it out. I didn't listen.

When my son came along almost two years later I did the exact same thing and those same friends gave the same "advice" and again I didn't listen. And you know what? I am soooooo glad I didn't. My children are independent, they sleep in their beds, they go to sleep without having to be rocked or nursed, they aren't cry babies and they aren't spoiled because of being held too much.

My children still love to cuddle, they still like me to read and sing to them before they go to sleep. They still ask me to hold them and comfort them and I do all these things willingly and eagerly. I do them because I know there is going to come a day when they will just wander up to their rooms and go to bed. I do them now because I know there will come a day when they won't want me to hug and kiss them and shower them with affection. I do these things now and savor them because in the not too distant future my children won't want or need them done and I will miss doing them.

Time goes by so quickly. Anyone with children can attest to that. I am glad I ignored all the naysayers and did what my gut and intuition led me to do. I have precious memories of my children and wonderful moments that I will forever remember that I wouldn't have if I wouldn't have rocked them to sleep, let them sleep on my chest, or nurse them to sleep. For instance I wouldn't know that my son rubs my face in his sleep when he sleeps on my chest. I wouldn't know that my daughter whispered "mama" over and over again as I rocked her to sleep as a baby. I wouldn't know that my son clasps and folds his hands over and over again as he nurses to sleep. I also know that because both of my children were comforted and given an abundance of security as young children they now have the confidence and security to fall down, get hurt, get back up and not expect hysterics on my part or my husband's. They know they are okay and they know that if they weren't I would be right there to comfort them.

I think a parent's bond with his/her child is an amazing thing. It's hard to describe and hard to imagine ever feeling that way until you become a parent. Then you can't imagine ever not feeling this way. I know some amazing women who happen to be amazing mothers and we all do what we think and/or know is best for our children and I think that is simply beautiful.

Superbowl Sneak Peak

The "commercial" began with a woman unzipping a man's pants. We sat there thinking, "Hmm, this seems a little inappropriate for a prime time commercial." Next thing we know the man has whipped out his penis and was shaking it in front of the camera. Then about 30 seconds later the Superbowl game resumed. We sat there a few moments stunned, not really sure what we saw (and very thankful the children were playing in another room and not sitting in front of the TV like the rest of the adults). Turns out a short clip of a porno interrupted the feed during the game. You can read all about it here.

The Mothership

So, we bought some beer last night for our Superbowl gathering today and my husband and I decided to try one last night. It is delicious. It's called Organic Wheat Beer Mothership Wit. It is made by the same folks that make Fat Tire, which I am not a huge fan of. It is close to Blue Moon, which I am a huge fan of though. Anyone else tried this before?