A Man Made Me Cry, In Walmart

Monday, after I dropped Kid off at school I went grocery shopping.

I was walking through Walmart, minding my own business when an older (60's) man drove up behind me in one of those motorized carts.

"I just wanted to tell you you're beautiful."

Me: *Speechless*

"Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful?"

Me: *Mouth Hanging Open* Uh, rarely.

About now I'm thinking that he must just be telling me this because he's one of those people that think everyone is beautiful, no matter what and that they should all be told.

"Well, you are. You're one of the most beautiful ladies I've seen around here."

After he said that my previous theory didn't really hold. So there I was with my mouth hanging open. Then, it occurred to me that he drove up from behind me. So I said (And now that I think about it, it probably sounded sort of cocky but I promise I didn't intend for it to sound that way.) "You got that from the back of my head?"

Then he explained that he saw me in the other aisle and made it a point to drive around and tell me.

Now, I was standing in the middle of Walmart crying. Then, I was trying to laugh to cover up the crying. Haha. It was ridiculous. I'm so glad no one else was in that aisle. lol

He quickly assured me that he hadn't intend to embarrass me, he just wanted to tell me. He asked if I lived here. I said yes. Then, being who I am, I had to add that I didn't live in Walmart but I did live in town. He got a kick out of that and asked if I was from here originally. I told him no, I was from PA. He said he noticed I didn't have a "twang" when I spoke. Haha (Thank goodness!! lol)

He asked me if I was married and I told him yes. He told me I should go home and tell my Husband that I'm beautiful and if he didn't see that there were others who would. Haha.

It was such a strange experience, but I have to be honest, it was nice. Also, he wasn't hitting on me or anything like that he was just trying to be nice.

Monday was a strange day for me. Haha.

Punctuality

I'm a fan of punctuality. Of course, that doesn't always mean that I'm punctual myself. I Try to be, I do. It just doesn't always work out that way.

I understand if you're late for something. I know things can happen.

If I invite you for a party and you're late, I can deal with that. Not a big deal.

If you're supposed to take me somewhere and we're late, it's OK. I'll live.

If I'm waiting for you to give me a ride and it takes a few extra minutes for you to show up, I'll get over it.

I can deal with most anyone being late.

However . . .

When Mother Nature is late. Then we have problems!

Seriously, Mother Nature? Really? Two WHOLE DAYS late?!?! This isn't like being a few minutes late or anything. I can get over that. No, this is like, you're so freakin' late that I'm sent into freak-out mode.

This is, What the heck am I going to say to J, late! This is, am I ready for this, late! This is, I can't believe you're doing this to me right now, late!

I know two days doesn't sound like much but Mother Nature has always been faithful to me. Always. I don't know what I did to tick her off.

When she finally showed up I didn't know what to think. I had sort of resigned myself to the inevitable.

It was funny. The day before J was cleaning out our storage closet. There sat a half a pack of size one diapers left over from when the Kiddo was itty bitty. J calls me in and says "Are you ever going to use these diapers?"

What I said was "How should I know?" What I thought was "I DON'T KNOW BUT YOU BETTER KEEP THEM AROUND BECAUSE WE MIGHT BE USING THEM SOONER THAN YOU THINK!!!!"

I'm better now, Mother Nature and I have made up.

HOWEVER, the next time she decides to take a vacation she better well leave me a note or call me or something!!

Driving in Circles

Last week we spent a couple days at MiL's house. J had two days off in a row so we decided to go visit.

Wednesday night J and BiL decided they wanted to go do something. I also wanted to hit a few stores so we decided that I would drop them wherever they wanted to go and I would take the car and shop.

After I dropped them off SiL showed up where they were and they got a ride home from her. Which left me to finish up my shopping and head back to MiL's. Sound simple, right?

We used to live there, were I was driving around. However, we haven't lived there in a Years and since we left they've been attempting to improve the roads. (SO not an improvement yet!!!!) There is construction EVERYWHERE!!! The roads are all turned around and closed with detours EVERYWHERE!

I was already in an awful, don't mess with me if you value your existence mood a sort of cranky mood. It was so late when we finally got to the shopping area I didn't get to go to the mall. All I did was hit Target. (Where I bough a Hershey bar, inhaled it and wished I would have bought two.) I did get a season of How I Met Your Mother for $12.99 so that was nice.

Since it was so late and everything was closed by the time I left Target it was time to go back to MiL's. I got a bit worried because I realized the construction was everywhere and I might not know how to get back.

I started going the way I knew, only to run into construction. I panicked thinking I had gone the wrong way and was going to have to go 30 minutes out of my way to get back on the correct highway. However, it turned out there was a little turn around right in front of me. I took it. I felt better now heading back the way I knew was right. Then, More construction! I drove right past my exit. There was no warning that it was coming. Just the exit and THEN the sign. By the time I realized I missed it I was WAY far past it. So I got BACK on the original road that I thought was going to take me miles outside of town and used that little turn around again.

Back into more construction. I was trying to watch for the exit this time. Again, WHY is there NO WARNING??? Why is there and exit and THEN the sign??? Do I even have to tell you that I missed it again???

Back around to the first area of construction, back around the little turn around, back into the other construction. By this time I was sooooo upset I was in tears, trying to drive. It didn't help that it was dark either.

This time I drove about 30 mph through that second batch of construction to make sure I didn't miss that stupid (yes, I said stupid) little exit.

I eventually made it back to MiL's. What night!

WHAT A DAY!

So, yesterday . . .

Was yesterday ever an eventful day! Wow!

Yesterday morning when I turned on TweetDeck I was greeted by a great surprise! I won I Am Not Superwoman's Skoy Cloth Giveaway!! I was so excited! I wanted those things So bad! They look really neat and I can't Wait to try them! (Thank you so much I Am Not Superwoman, for hosting a great giveaway!)

Then, I took the coupons that I clipped from Sunday's paper, the knowledge I'd gained from the internet and my shopping list and headed to Walgreens. (More on this tomorrow.)

After all the shopping I came home, J went to work and I did dishes and laundry and cleaned up a bit. During all this housework I kept my eye on the TV. The storms in Oklahoma City yesterday were just Awful. And later on they had moved into Dallas. They were getting closer.

My MiL and SiL showed up around 7 pm or so. They were dropping J's cousin off at her home and were planning on just stopping in to say hello and continuing to their home however the weather had other plans.

It had been pretty mild here, no storms, just some patchy clouds and a breeze most of the day. The weather did say that we would be getting a thunderstorm but they didn't say anything about weather warnings.

Not until about 8 or so. Then the weather report changed to "Tornado Watch." I still wasn't very worried. You see, everytime we have a storm here we're under at tornado watch. It's normal. 

We continued to watch the weather reports. Dallas was getting worse and the radar was tracking right to us. Soon the sky was Lighting up and the thunder was rolling. Then, the "Tornado Watch" turned into a "Tornado Warning." We don't get a lot of those.

I watched the radar and after all the storms all day I was getting a little nervous. We do not have a basement. The only place we can go during a storm is pretty much the middle of the apartment.

Finally we called the police station and asked about tornado shelter. He told us the courthouse was open for a shelter so we quickly piled in the car and headed there.

When I told my MiL that I had called the police station and he told us to go to the courthouse she went into hyperdrive mode. "OK, let's go!" SiL started freaking out and flying around grabbing her things and running out the door. They freaked the poor Kiddo out and he was crying "Mommy!" I felt so bad for him. I remained calm though.

I kind of thought we They might be overreacting and we probably would be safe at our place but better safe than sorry I suppose.

Anyway, we went to the courthouse and sat (Bored) until the storm passed. Turns out we would have been safe at home. I wish I would have stayed at home. Haha.

I'm just VERY thankful everyone was safe and we didn't have to deal with a tornado. (That I know of, actually I'm not sure if one touched down near us or not.)

Before all the tornado stuff I was on Facebook and found that my friend had posted on my wall saying "You won something from Forever Folding Laundry too!"

Well, because I had been shopping and cleaning and doing laundry all day I hadn't made it to read any blogs and had no idea! So I ran clicked over there and sure enough! I won a Very cool Q&A journal! (Thank you, Keri! I can't wait for the journal! Fun!)

And after ALL that I collapsed into my bed and went right to sleep!

Haha, Sorry this post has been so long! It was originally longer but I moved some to tomorrow! You're welcome!

P.S. Today is Towel Day! Happy Towel Day! Always remember your towel and DON'T PANIC!!

Prayer Works

Before we went to Pennsylvania my Dad's truck broke down.

It was a real bummer while we were there because we didn't always have a way to get around. (Which led to him renting a car, which led to us leaving the Kiddo's Leapster Explorer in the rental car, which led to the Explorer being stolen, which led to a VERY cranky Mommy and a very sad Kiddo.)

So the Kiddo and I started praying that Grandpa would find a vehicle. Well, a few days ago my Dad called me to tell me he was on the way to Michigan to pick up a truck that he bought.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. We were in the car on the way to church and J's cousin was with us. She was in the back seat with the Kiddo and he was going on and on about our trip to Pennsylvania.

He said "Grandpa used to have a red truck but then it broke. But then Jesus sent him a black truck!"

It was so sweet to hear him give the credit to God. After all, we were praying that God would provide a truck for Grandpa.

Fast forward to Thursday around three o'clock. My phone rings. My Dad is on the other end. He said "Please pray. Mars is missing." (Mars is my Dad's dog.)

I asked what happened and he said that the fence was down in the back and he just got out and apparently ran away. Dad also pointed out that not only was it storming (something that scares my Dad's HUGE DOBERMAN, he's such a baby.) but it was also rush hour. 

My Dad lives on a VERY busy hill with cars and trucks flying up and down (once a drunk driver was driving down the hill my Dad lives on. He ran off the road, hit a bank and went airborne, landing half on the roof of my Dad's house before falling off.) at crazy speeds.

Anyway, he asked that we pray that Mars would be safe, first, and then that he would be found.

When I hung up the phone I went right to the Kiddo's room. I explained that the dog was missing. Then I asked what happened when we prayed for Grandpa to get a truck and the Kiddo responded that he got a truck. So I asked "What do you think we should do about Mars?"

The Kiddo suggested we pray. So, he sat in my lap and we prayed that Mars would be safe and Grandpa would find him. Then, I came back into the living room.

About six minutes later (no joke) my phone rang. My Dad said "I should have called you first!"

I said "You found him?" And he confirmed that he had, in fact, found the dog! I was so glad!

I'm so thankful, not only that I know that God answers prayer but that my Kiddo also knows. :)

To Pre-School or Not To Pre-School

Agh! Help! WHEN did my Kiddo get this old? (Actually if he was born three weeks earlier he could go to Kindergarten this year. *Sigh*)

I am currently sitting here with a Pre-School application in front of me and I'm stressing.

I would just forget about pre-school altogether (I never went and I turned out OK) but I know my Kiddo. I know that he needs to get a feel for some classroom structure before he heads to Kindergarten and begins to terrorize his teachers.

I did find one Pre-school that I would Love for him to be able to attend but it's really expensive and we just can't do it. Not even close.

What I really didn't want was a five day schedule. I would much rather him go for just a couple days a week. I mean the Kid's going to be in school for a LONG time! Why add an extra year? But, the only places I can find around here (My town is pathetic!) are five days a week.

We went in to pick up an application the other day and he got very excited when he saw all the kids. He's been asking to go to Pre-school ever since.

So now, here I sit filling out this application and not really feeling peace about but not really knowing What else to do!

Mommies! I need your help! Pre-school success stories? Pre-school failure stories? Yea and Nay votes for Pre-school.

P.S. I feel very disconnected and as though I've been rambling. I apologize for that.

The Nap

The other day I tried to take a nap. It went something like this:

I go to my bedroom and lay down. I'm cold but my bed is made and I don't want to unmake it. So I go get a throw from the living room. Then, back to my bedroom.

Kiddo: Mom, my TV won't work.

I go fix the unruly TV then I go back to my bed.

A few minutes pass.

Kiddo: Mom!

J: Mom is trying to sleep.

I close my eyes.

Kiddo: Mom! I want a pop tart.

I go get the Kiddo a snack and lay back down.

A loud CRASH from the other room!

I jump out of bed and run to the dining room. Broken (plastic) vase on the floor. Pieces and water all over. J cleans up pieces I clean up water.

I go back to my room and lay down.

Kiddo comes in and lays down next to me.

Me: If you're going to lay here you must be still.

 Kiddo: OK

A very few minutes pass.

Kiddo (Whispering): I have to go potty.

Me: Well, then go potty.

Kiddo goes potty and comes back.

Me: Now be still, OK?

Kiddo: OK

A few more minutes pass.

Kiddo: I have to go poo poo.

*SIGH*

Me: Well, then go.

Kiddo goes potty once again.

Kiddo: Mommy, I need your help.

I go to help the Kiddo and then we both go to lay back down.

Minutes pass.

Kiddo: I want to hug Daddy.

Me: Then go hug Daddy but don't come back in here I'm trying to sleep. If you want to lay here hug Daddy when we get up.

Kiddo goes to hug Daddy.

An alarm on Rupert begins to sound.

J: Your phone is ringing.

I, thinking my phone is ringing, make it to the living room in time for the Kiddo to turn the alarm off.

I go back and lay down.

I look at the clock.

A few minutes pass.

I get up.

Such a restful nap!

Coming . . . Home?

I walked in my front door last night after being away visiting family for about three and a half weeks. This was at about Two o'clock this morning. If you saw my Twitter post it went something like this: FINALLY HOME. And also #AreYouKiddingMe and #NotCool.

The first week I was in PA J was with us and we had a house sitter.


This house sitter was very nice and Spring cleaned my house. It was very nice of them.

Also, they rearranged my house. Not as nice. I'm so very upset. EVERYTHING is moved to different places.

My living room, the Kiddo's room, my kitchen cabinets. Things are not where I left them. I don't know where they've gone. The Kiddo is upset because he can't find some of his things either.

I'm just dumbfounded. I really really do appreciate the wonderful cleaning but it's sort of not cool to rearrange someone elses life while they're away.

This is the nicest I could muster for this post because I really am upset.

Now, I want to put my place back the way it used to be. However, there is One Thing that J likes and I don't know HOW to leave it where it is without leaving it ALL this way and and I just want it back!

I was supposed to come home from vacation to my house and instead it's like I'm in someone else's house. I'm glad to be home but I'm in an awful mood. *Sigh*

I need coffee and chocolate and some more coffee and chocolate.

My Day

Today is Friday.

Today I have an appointment to have my hair cut. That appointment is at 12:30 in the afternoon.

Guess what? I'm totally leaving my house as soon as I'm ready.

A day for me! (And possibly Sister-in-Law, if she decides to join me.)

What will I be doing? I have no idea but I'm going anyway!

Maybe I'll do some shopping. Most likely window shopping but it'll still be fun. I'll go try on clothes at Cato. Check out fun crafty stuff at Hobby Lobby. Get some more "Rock Candy" Bling Hand Sanitizer from Bath and Body Works because that stuff smells SO good!

Then I'll go get my hair cut. If I like the way it looks maybe I'll go to Dollar Tree or the book store before I go home. (I say if I like the way it looks because I often leave a hair place hating the way they style it. I don't mind it when I can do it myself but I never like the way they do it.) Oh, I'll just take my hat! Problem solved!

Just thinking about today is making me happy.

If I like my cut I'll probably share a picture . . . OK, maybe.

I'm outta here! Have a great day!

An Excerpt From My Wardrobe - Socks Edition

Everyone has those silly things that make them smile. Not big things like new cars or houses or anything like that. The little, silly things.

You know what I love? Cute ankle socks. Seriously, I may be addicted. If I go somewhere and there are cute ankle socks on sale for a dollar? I almost can't not buy them.

Seriously? M&M socks? Gimme! Green St. Patty's socks? Want!
Yup! I'm Twenty-Something (I can still say that!) years old and I'm wearing M&M socks! But look how cute!

Silly post today? Sure, but I had to share my socks with you. :)

Germies!

The other night I was sitting on the sofa watching the Patriots annihilate the Steelers (GO PATRIOTS!!!!!)  and I noticed my throat feeling a bit scratchy.

That night I woke up a few times during the night with more scratchy throat symptoms. I've pretty much felt icky every day since then. My throat and my  nose and just feeling blah in general.

Well, yesterday afternoon I had a soda and the Kiddo wanted a drink. I told him not to drink from my soda because I wasn't feeling well and there were germies. He didn't want germies so he left it alone.

Later, I went to do something and when I came back he'd obviously forgotten all about the germies and was happily sipping on my soda. I said "What are you doing?"

He said "I was just thirsty, I'm sorry."

Of course I wasn't mad at him or anything but I did ask "Don't you remember what I said about my soda?"

Suddenly a light went on. His mouth fell open and his eyes became large and he said "Germies!"

The poor Kid sat on the sofa pouting and miserable for a long time after that. I asked him what was wrong and he replied sadly that now he had germies and he didn't want them. Poor thing.

He sure did catch my germies. He had a horrible night last night and woke up with a fever and a blah feeling this morning. Hoping for a Swift Recovery!

Cell Phones and Privacy

Today I'm taking a kind of poll.

I'm curious how you approach the situation of your Significant Other's (Husband, Wife, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Fiance') cell phone.

Are you comfortable with just grabbing their phone and exploring? And, do they mind if you do this?

I pretty much leave J's phone alone. He gets a call, he answers it. Unless he just can't and even then, usually depending on who it is, I still don't answer it. He gets a text message, that's his message and I don't open it to view it. I've never grabbed his phone and just started flipping through calls or messages or even the photo album.

I try to respect that it's his phone because I want him to respect that my phone is my phone. It's not that I'm trying to hide anything from him and I don't have anything to hide on my phone. It's just that sometimes my girl friend and I might be having a private text conversation and I'm sure she wouldn't want him to read. So I keep my nose out of his so that he'll return the favor.

So, how do you work this cell phone thing? Do you and your Significant Other read each others message and stuff or do you basically leave that stuff alone like you might respect a diary?

Just curious. Wondering what your thoughts are.

WHEN Did That Happen?!?!

I had a conversation the other day. It went somthing like this:

Her: I discovered Anthony Head in Repo! and I've liked him ever since.

Me: Oh yea? I like him too. I've liked him since around '97 when I saw him in Buffy.

Her: Oh, I was two in '97. So . . .

Me: TWO!?!?!?

Right about here I had the "Oh my word, when did I get this old!?" fit in my head.


If that wasn't enough later on that day I noticed it was the birthday of one of my facebook friends. So, I left her a Happy Birthday message. To which she responded:

Her: Thanks! I was thinking of you the other day. I was thinking about when you were my counselor at Kids camp. Good times.

At this point I rushed over to her page to double check how old she had turned. Twenty. Ok . . . Twenty!?!?

This girl was in my dorm room when she was SEVEN!!

Excuse me while I go get some anti-aging cream and hair dye to cover the grays. Also, anyone have a walker or a cane  I can borrow?

Allowances

Did you get an allowance when you were younger? How much did you get? Do you have kids? Do your kids get an allowance? How old were your Kids when you started giving them an allowance? How much do you pay? Are you tired of my questions yet?

I never got an allowance when I was a kid. If I worked, I got paid. My Dad believed that I wouldn't learn the value of money if it was just handed to me and I didn't have to work for it. You know what? I'm okay with that.

I plan to use the same basic idea for the Kiddo. He'll have a list of chores. If they get done, then he'll get paid.

The point of my post is this: How young is too young to start paying my Kiddo?

The Kiddo already helps me out around the house. He always helps me empty and load the washer and dryer. He helps fold towels all the time and he helps change the trash bag. I'm considering starting to pay him a bit.

Obviously I don't plan on paying him like ten bucks a week or anything but something. It would be a good way for him to start saving a bit and he would be all excited to get money for his bank.

So, remember all those questions from the beginning? They belong here too. Thoughts?

Booster Band

We have this thing at our church called Booster Band (I'm really not sure why it's called this).

It's a time during church on Sunday morning when all the Kiddo's get up in front and have fun singing some Kiddo songs. They love it! It's really cute too.

The first song they always sing includes the words "Bring someone with you."

This past Sunday our Pastor had the brilliant idea to ask the Kiddos if they wanted to bring someone. Of course they all said yes so she told them to go get someone to bring with them.

 . . .

Right about that time is when I started hyperventilating. Okay, no, not really but I wasn't very comfortable.

I do NOT do well in front of people. I do even worse when I'm supposed to be singing in front of people. However, I don't think the Kiddo knows or cares about that. And as I sat there and shook (Ok, I wasn't REALLY shaking) I saw the Kiddo come walking up the aisle towards me.

He stopped a row away and started waving me towards him with his hand.

What was going through my head? "I'm going to have to have a conversation with this Pastor of ours. And then of course tell her that we'll be finding another church!"

Alright, I'm just kidding. Also, I didn't have any breakdowns or anything and I lived through it.

But, I never want to do it again!

Snuggles

A couple weeks ago on a Sunday morning the Kiddo and I had to get up early and take J to work so we could have the car to go to church.

We drove J to work and when we came home we crawled back into bed. We didn't have to be up yet, so why not? I let the Kiddo hop in bed with me.

We lay there for a while and I though the Kiddo had fallen asleep until I heard his little voice next to me.

"Mommy?"

I said "What, Baby?"

"Would you snuggle me?"

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I love my Kiddo! I sure am going to miss it when he stops saying stuff like that.

Coffee Creamer

I ran out of coffee creamer yesterday.

I was sad. However, when J said he was going to Walmart I realized it wasn't so bad. I asked him if he would, please, pick me up some creamer.

I gave him very specific instructions on the kind I wanted. I was actually afraid I confused him.

Please get me INTERNATIONAL DELIGHT Hazelnut. DON'T get me Coffee Mate, the last time I had it made me sick. Make sure it's International Delight and please make sure it's not the sugar free stuff. Ok, so I need International Delight, Hazelnut, but NOT sugar free.

I was SURE I covered all my bases when explaining the kind of creamer I needed. So, off he went.

He returned home with creamer. International Delight, Hazelnut, Non-sugar free creamer . . . .

 . . . in single serve pouches.

I neglected to mention that he could find my creamer in the refrigerated section.

I don't use a little coffee cup for my iced coffee I use a large cup so this morning I filled up my Large cup and I think I added about four or five of those little pouches.

 Oh well, at least I have creamer! Hehe. :)

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . .

Occasionally J's XBox acts up and we have to turn it off, wait and turn it back on.

Sometimes it's while we're trying to watch Netflix. I'll turn it off and count to ten with the Kiddo and then turn it back on.

Well, the other day the controller wasn't working to turn it on so I told the Kiddo to push the button on the actual XBox to turn it on

He walked up to the XBox, looked at it and proceeded to count 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . all the way to ten before pushing the power button.

I found this funny. I guess he thinks you always have to count to ten before you turn it on.

Who turned out the light?

I was in the shower last night and there was a knock at the locked door. (Locked because I like to be alone while in the shower, call me crazy.)

Kiddo: Mommy! I have to go potty!

So, I hopped out of the shower (dripping as I went), quickly unlocked the door and hopped back in the shower.

The Kiddo then came bursting in and threw the door wide open. This allowed me to reach out of the shower curtain and lock the door. I did this so that when he ran out of the bathroom the door would once again be locked and I could enjoy my shower alone.

When the Kiddo finished he proceeded to run through his normal routine when exiting the bathroom . . . light off, door shut.

Now I'm in the shower, in our bathroom that has no windows, in the PITCH BLACK DARK . . . and the door is locked so I can't call for him to open the door and turn the light back on.

I had to climb out of the shower and make my way to the light switch in the dark, dripping wet.

The joys of being a Mom!

My Pink Towel

I have a favorite towel. It's HUGE and hot pink and it's well used but it's soft. I got it from my Mommy a Bunch of years ago well before I was ever married.

There's no sentimental value or anything like that. It's just a very large, soft, comfy towel.

When I take a shower I like to have my towel. Then I wash it and put it back in the closet for next time. I love my pink towel.

I love my husband. Sometimes he drives me nuts, of course, but isn't that normal? But, sometimes there are those little things that just make me smile.

Yesterday J got up and took a shower and later he and the Kiddo went to the movies. While they were gone I decided to take a shower.

I opened the closet to get a towel and there was my pink towel, sort of disheveled on the top of the stack of folded towels.

Do you know why it was disheveled? Because when J took his shower he saw that my pink towel was on top of the stack and he grabbed the one underneath it, causing my towel to end up in a ball on top.

I know it's a silly little thing but the fact that he thought about me when he grabbed his towel puts a smile on my face. He knew that the pink one was my favorite and instead of grabbing the towel on top he left it there for me and grabbed the next one.

Love him!