EIGHT YEARS ALREADY?!

Today marks our eight year wedding anniversary.  I simply cannot believe how time has flown!


I want to take a minute away from homeschool and mom-stuff to ponder a while on our marriage.  But a minute is about all I'll get, as time and life do not slow down.  Rob leaves for a 2.5 week road trip tomorrow, and it's a Tuesday, and his computer got a virus so he was up all night fixing it last night and is sleep-deprived, and he needs to pack, which means I have to be sure I'm caught up on laundry...  So we're not going to celebrate in a big fancy way tonight.

And after seeing this picture, who wants a big fancy meal?  Who ARE these skinny people?

Although I think big special days are important to celebrate, there's also something to be said for celebrating every day in such a way that big days aren't necessary.  Now, I'm not saying we do that.  We've had our ups and downs, our times of closeness and of drifting apart, and we're certainly not a poster couple for the Perfect Marriage.  But we try.  And we try together.  That says a lot in this day and age.  


And things have often been hard.  We had two kids really quickly (surprise!) and didn't figure out how to be a couple until we were also trying to learn how to be parents.  We've also had four pretty traumatic, second or third trimester miscarriages.  And those are just the things that I can talk about in terms of my emotional health.  Rob has his own.  Mine have taken me through depression, and on the way back out, and Rob and the kids have been dragged on that ride with me.


And he's stuck by me.  And fought for me.  No, not fought me, but fought FOR me.  I will love him forever for that.  Even when he doesn't put his socks in the hamper.

He also "drags" us on road trips, like to the Space Needle in Seattle, where now pictures are taken from the waist up.

So here's to you, my loving husband, Rob.  Thanks for loving me more than I deserve.  Thanks for being an amazing father.  I strive to be as wonderful a wife and mother to try to meet you at least partway.  Here's to eight more years, no decades, of the best journey ever.


(You can tell I'm not slowing down too much, as I've actually taken these two pictures from posts other people put on my Facebook wall.  I cannot even take the time out to go look for my own pictures!  I have science to teach and dinner to cook...  Anywhoodle, thanks to Laurel and Rob for the pics!)

Birthday Insanity

Pictured: Deliciosness

Why did we make a football cake for Aunt Debbie, who does not watch, or play, football, for her birthday?  Why did my kids want to hang a Kansas City Chiefs blanket on the banister as a "Happy Birthday Banner" for her visit?  Because her birthday (May 3) falls too close to Rob's (April 23.)  And he was traveling on his birthday, so she got the overflow of all the things Josiah and Gabrielle didn't get to do for their dad.  Sometimes it's hard not to make other people's special days all about you.


There are times that I wonder if my kids are a bit self-centered.  Okay, I don't wonder that at all.  To a degree, all kids are selfish, some are just more successful and obnoxious about it..  Shoot, that's true of all types of people, of any age.  Anywhoodle, I guess what I mean is that I wonder if my kids are self-centered beyond repair, and if I'm not doing enough to address it.  I don't think about it too much, because I spend a lot of time wondering if they'll ever stop picking their noses while they talk to complete strangers about our cats.  (There's a lot in that sentence to digest, I'll let you decide for yourselves which particular part of that situation I worry about.)


For Debbie's birthday, we picked her up from the airport at 10 and then took her to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  Because what first grade teacher wouldn't want to spend one of her few days off, her birthday no less, surrounded by the most field-trip over-loaded place in the Denver Metro area?  So why did we do it?  Because we live about as far from the airport as you can get and still be considered within the suburbs of Denver.  Also on that side of town?  You guessed it.  The Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  So it just seemed smart to go there on our way home.  And the last time we went, I was the only adult with three kids.  I thought the two adult, two kid ratio would be more fun for us all.  That's right, we planned what to do with Aunt Debbie, for her birthday, around what would be the most fun and entertaining for us.

We ran into a little trouble while there, but nothing we couldn't handle

So am I teaching my kids to be selfish?  Maybe.  Then again, Aunt Debbie is a first grade teacher, probably the best one on the planet, and she does it because she loves it.  So she actually does enjoy things that other grown-ups might not.  She's also their aunt, and my sister, and she loves us.  She wants to be a part of our lives, and, well, museum visits are a huge part of our lives.  Sometimes I think the most special way you can show someone love is to simply invite them to participate in your life.  To welcome you into the daily routine, the regular chores, the repetitive arguments and struggles- well, to do that, you're showing them that you trust them.  I want my kids to learn to be themselves around those they love, so they can then learn that people love them just the way they are.  Sure, they aren't perfect, but they're loveable anyway.  On top of that, people feel validated and valuable when they share things that they are excited about with others, and those people share their excitement.  It's a bonding experience, and such an important part of developing a child's self-identity and self-worth.  (Hear that, Rob?  Think of how validated I could feel if you would just get excited about SHOES?!)So we went to the museum, we made a football cake, and we gave her Nerf guns as a present.  

She also got to ride on one of the metal wolves outside the museum which may have been the best part for her.

But my kids also drew her many pictures, writing "I love you Deebie" on them.  They tried to give her their own toys, wrapped in the blankets off of their beds.  They woke up this morning asking "What are we going to do for Aunt Debbie's birthday today?  What does SHE want?"   I think, so far, they're not worryingly selfish.  


But give us time.  I have more than a decade to corrupt them some more...