Don't buy your 9 year old a harmonica....

Sounds like one of those common sense statements, doesn’t it? Ha!!

The little one and I were in Old Navy the other day and as I was checking out, she was looking at the section of knick knack toys that are in the front. You know the ones, those that are strategically placed so that you can see all bright and shiny things under $10 that you can add to your bill before you actually make it to a cashier.

So she starts to run up to me, as if she’s found gold, and says “Ooooh, mommy , can you buy this for me and I’ll pay you back with my birthday money”. I looked down and it was a dreaded pink harmonica. How did I know that it was a 'dreaded' harmonica? Call it mother's intuition, but I knew. I caved in though. I mean since she has birthday money and was willing to pay for it herself I thought – who am I to get in the way of a ‘birthday’ gift. So I agreed.

Well people, that night, she wouldn't put the darn thing down. UUGGGGHHHH!!! Where’s the peace? It wasn't in our apartment, that's for sure. Needless to say – the 'dreaded' harmonica will be disappearing at some point. But until that day, we will be suffering in ‘non-silence’.

'til next time,

Emily

Little Lesson: When you know better, you know better.

Why not Walk?

This past Saturday, Brian decided he was going to leave us girls and go to a meeting for his fraternity. I say …”Good Riddance and Be Gone! “ He has lived here almost 4 years and hasn’t been to one meeting yet. I was glad he was going. I told Adrianna that we would do something together, just us girls.

Now, let me back up a bit. We are a two car family. Well, I mean we have two vehicles that take us places, but only one of them can really be considered a well running machine. Brian’s car is ‘special’ to say the least. The air conditioner works in the winter and the heat seems to work EXTREMELY well in the summer. But, when it’s summertime, and you sit in the car and turn on the a/c, it’s like sitting in a sauna and having someone blow hot air on you. We are well aware that we need a new vehicle. With me student teaching, it wasn’t the right time to buy one and quite frankly, we love only having one car note.

Now, while student teaching, I decided to simplify everything. This included my purse. I got a small over the shoulder purse/wallet/thingy and decided that I didn’t need all that crap that I usually carry around with me. I had my wallet, lip gloss and cell phone. The only problem was fitting my keys in this small purse/wallet/thingy. So I decided I would finally get rid of all the keys that I didn’t need. Well, you guessed it, Brian’s car key ended up in a bag somewhere in my closet, which we will refer to as the black hole.

I never drive Brian’s car. In fact, I avoid it like the plague. I mean there is really no reason for me to drive it. It smells like a man car, the air doesn’t work and it’s brown. Plus, I think some of the steering wheel is deteriorating. I feel wheel residue on my hands whenever I have to drive it.

So back to my original story…Saturday Brian goes to his meeting and decides he wants to take the car with the a/c. This is totally fine and understandable. I tell him that Adrianna and I were going to stay close by and that we could manage in his car. Well, about 10 minutes after he left I realized that I don’t have his key on my key ring and I don’t know where the other key is. So, what’s a girl to do? Do I spend an hour in the black hole looking for the key and hoping I come out with a key (and alive)? Or do I just cancel our plans all together. It is now 6:30 and I’m stuck. I tell Adrianna the situation – that we don’t have a key to the car. And then she said it…”Why don’t we just walk?” EXCUSE ME LITTLE ONE!!! I know you’re 9 and all but you really have no idea what you are asking me to do. You want me to walk to grab some dinner? We have fried chicken in the fridge and not just any fried chicken. Popeye’s fried chicken with red beans and rice. YUM!!

I was not sure what I should do. I didn’t feel like walking anywhere but I didn’t want her to think that we had to rely on cars to get around and that exercise was bad. So, I grabbed my little purse/wallet/thingy, we put on our tennis shoes and we walked…to Chick-Fil-A. We had a pleasant meal accompanied by great conversation. It took us 40 minutes to get there and knowing that we needed to get back home before dark, we decided not to stay out too long. Now, here’s where it gets fun…on the way back Adrianna (my precious daughter who claims to love me) decided she wanted to…wait for it….wait for it….RUN!!! Yep, she wanted to run. So I had to give in, because once again…exercise is good. Say it with me everyone “EXERCISE IS GOOD”. We would run from this tree to that tree and then walk. Interval training, here I come. All I could think though was ‘How dare she sneak actual exercise in to our girls night.’

All in all it wasn’t too bad though. So much so that the next morning we all (Brian included) walked to have breakfast in the same area. It’s about a 3.5 mile roundtrip and adds an additional hour onto the trip (it would take 10 minutes total if we were driving) but the family time you get out of it is priceless. It’s also not too bad for the environment. I pointed this out to Adrianna and she said that by us taking care of the environment, it made God happy. I guess because it’s God’s planet to begin with. Can’t beat that.

‘til next time,

Emily

Little Lesson: Inconvenience is sometimes exactly what you need.

THE BEST DAY EVER!!

May 11, 2001 - I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was 2 weeks away from Adrianna's due date (May 25­­­th)­­­­­. It was a Friday and I was already on maternity leave. I decided to go and visit my dad at work across town. I lived in Katy, TX and my dad worked at Worthing High School in Houston.

So - off to Worthing I went. I surprised my dad as I waddled into his school. I had been feeling a little different all morning, without getting too graphic - let's just say I was visiting the restroom often. Anyways, while talking to my dad, I found out that one of my cousins was graduating from college that morning. My dad had planned to go and invited me to come with him. I decided, sure...the doctors told me to walk. This will give me a chance to get some walking in. (Not to mention that I also REALLY love this cousin and was excited to see him graduate)

So - off to the stadium we went. I explain to my dad that we need to sit somewhere with easy access to the restroom. I was so glad we did. i think I ended up visiting it several times during the ceremony. What in the heck was wrong with me? Now, I know what you are thinking - why didn't you call the doctor, Emily? Well see, here's the funny part. I'd called the doctor many MANY times during my pregnancy only to hear "This is normal...you are fine". So, by golly, I wasn't going to call for this. I wasn't in any pain so all was ok. I was certain that this was just a normal part of pregnancy. After graduation, I was hungry of course so we decided to go to Luby's.

So - off to Luby's we went. YAY! Chocolate pie - here I come. I LOVE chocolate pie. As we walk in, one of the workers there asked me when I was due and I told her.. "Two weeks from today". She said "Oh, you haven't even dropped yet, it may be a while." Argh, people and their predictions!! I was SO tired of people doing this. Despite this, my dad and I had a wonderful lunch. We told stories and laughed. We talked about the baby and how excited and scared I was. As always, I totally enjoyed my chocolate pie. It really hit the spot. Oh, and the restrooms were clean so all was well. It was time to head back home though. I needed to rest a bit.

So - off to Katy I went. On the way back home I stopped by to visit my coworkers at Enterprise and to visit the restroom (mostly to visit the restroom). As I was sitting there, my manger asked me...."So, you dilated yet?" LOL....SERIOUSLY! I said..."only 1 centimeter". He said "You haven't even dropped yet...some people go past their due date....you have plenty of time". I was really like - UGH people, STOP TRYING TO PREDICT MY DUE DATE!!! Irritated, I decided it was time to go home. I wasn't too far so I knew I could make it without making any more stops.

So - off to the house I went. I got there and of course rushed in to go to the restroom. I really thought that something wasn't right (DUH) so I decided to give in and call the doctor. I didn't care if they thought I was crazy AGAIN. I mean really, it wouldn't have been the first (or last) time. So, while sitting there - yes, on the toilet - I called them. Guess what they told me...YEP...My WATER BROKE!!! What???

So - off to the hospital I went. I ended up having an emergency c-section because when they put the monitor on Adri her line was flat....lines aren't supposed to be flat it seems. They said she wasn't getting enough oxygen so they wanted to go ahead and take her. I still was only 1 cm dilated, but it was time nonetheless. So, on May 11, 2001 Adrianna entered this world.

This was, by far, the greatest day of my life.

So today - May 11, 2010 - I wish my precious Adrianna Grace a Happy 9th Birthday. You dramatically came into the world and have been bringing drama into it ever since. I can't imagine my world without you in it.

'til next time,

Emily

Little Lesson: Sometimes it's the real thing.

Run Emily, Run!!!

I wanna be a runner. I see the runners out there with their reflective shoes, ipods strapped to their arms, and short nike running shorts. (You know, the shorts with the undies sewn in) I tried some on once. They made my hip/butt area look like a hot air balloon. This is probably a result of me NOT being a runner.

Anyways - I watch these "runners" effortlessly jog down the street; their legs at a comfortable stride, keeping in rhythm to whatever tune they are listening to. They look like they are at such peace, like they have such purpose. They look like their minds are clear and that somehow they are becoming one with the pavement. I love it. It's so....motivating to..um...watch.

I admire their dedication. I REALLY do. So much so that I want to be like them. I want to wake up early in the morning and start on my daily jog. Heck, at this point, I'd settle for lacing up my running shoes in the evening after work. The time of day doesn't really matter, I just want to be like them. I want to be a runner.

I remember trying it once. While running, I'd often start to wonder why they, unlike myself, didn't look like they are about to pass out? Why was I panting, red in the face while my legs felt like spaghetti noodles? (not strong 'uncooked' noodles, but limp 'overcooked', could mash them with a spoon and feed them to someone without teeth noodles)

I can remember being on the treadmill, jogging for a whole minute and looking down to realize, that I was wrong and that I hadn't been running for the 15 minutes that I thought I had. So, what did I do? I kept running, adding a little more time each day. Eventually I got up to 40 minutes. I was extremely pleased. So pleased, that I didn't do it again. And even with my accomplishment, I still looked at the person next to me that had been running an hour and a half and looked like they just started. When I turned to get off the treadmill, after my 40 minutes, I mistakenly looked in the mirror. I looked like a truck ran over me in the gym, or maybe like I lost footing on the treadmill and slipped off to fall on the floor. Whatever the case, it wasn't pretty and I certainly didn't have that peaceful, just found clarity, look.

Oh well, such is life. I will get back on the running horse one day. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not.

'til next time,

Emily

Little Lesson: Each journey starts with one step; but you have to keep stepping.