Nohe 5

King Tut and the City of Brotherly Love

This Friday we got up that the crack of dawn, piled in the car and headed up to Philadelphia for the final weekend of the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute.  It was amazing and my mind still reels at the thought of these beautiful items sitting in complete darkness for over 3,000 years waiting to be rediscovered.  Just take a moment and ponder all that occurred while these relics hibernated: Christ was born and crucified, the Renaissance occurred, Columbus "discovered" America, the Revolutionary and Civil wars took place, and this is just a paltry list of things that could be included in that time line.  All the while, beneath the earth, these items of stone, wood and gold, man made items of exceptional beauty, waited silently.  Amazing.

The whole weekend was pretty special, but there were some things that occurred that made us wonder why Philly is referred to as the "City of Brotherly Love."  There was the clerk at the FI snack bar that was so rude I actually said to her, "You are being very rude."  Her response, "No I'm not."  Of course not, what was I thinking.  Then there was the parking garage attendant who gave us our $35 change entirely in ones. The charge was $15.  Please don't tell me that you collect $15 from every car that leaves and you don't have anything larger than a one dollar bill.   Add on to this the woman who proclaimed my discreet breastfeeding of Teddy "Disgusting" and the museum security guard who asked Rachel if she knew where her mother was when I was sitting on a bench with her (this one I can sort of forgive though) and we weren't exactly feeling the "Brotherly Love."

On the up side, the FI did have a train exhibit, so you know where the boys wanted to spend every second that we weren't looking at Tut.  However, we did manage to sneak in the children's exhibit on physics and the outer space exhibits.  By the end of the day, our feet were aching and our brains were full.  It was a good day!

Everyone Should See This

The Children are Climbing the Walls

Are We Causing Global Warming on Mars Too?

Call me crazy, but I think it take quite a bit of hubris to think that humans could destroy the world in 100 years.  I am one of those wackos that just does not buy in to the notion of Global Warming.  Let me correct that.  I do believe the evidence that the earth is warming, I just don't think that humans are the main reason.

Before I go any further, I am not saying we should just trash the planet.  I agree that we should take care of the earth and be environmentally conscious, but I think we should do that because God made us stewards of the land and animals, not because we are melting the polar ice caps.  Resources should be protected.  We shouldn't be turning our planet in to one huge land fill.  Food and water should be made available for all.

I am tired of every time there is a news story on Global Warming holdouts like myself are called "crazy" or "out of touch."  Well, who's out of touch now.  According to National Geographic, it appears that Mars is warming up too.  So Al Gore, what do you have to say about that?

Now there are still scientists who say that what is happening on Mars has nothing to do with what we are experiencing on earth, but really when it comes down to it, all any of these scientists have are theories.  There is the theory that man is destroying the earth and there is the theory that it is the Sun.  All just theories.

What it comes down to for me is control.  On the one hand, you have those who seem to believe that humans can control or effect their environment outside of the realm of God.  This is the "We are cooking the planet" people.  Then there are those who seem to think that God is more in control than we are.  I like to call these the "Maybe this is just the way the climate works on earth" people.  "Cooking" versus "Climate."

Every few years there seems to be some new way that we are destroying the planet.  We are all going to be buried in litter.  Acid rain is going to eat everything around us.  How's the whole in the ozone layer doing?  The point I am trying to make is that all this hysteria should be met with a grain of salt and an open mind.  Maybe we are destroying the planet, but maybe it is something bigger than us just trying to give us a wake up call to take better care of our home.

Take Me Out to the ... Meeting

Today we took Teddy out to his first baseball game.  Our team won and a it was great, and I do mean great, to have and afternoon off.  However, if you run in to my children, Marty and I took Teddy to a meeting.  After the date night fiasco, we were not taking any chances that the kids might think we were out doing something fun and create a situation that demanded we come home.  Baseball games are fun, meetings are not.

Yes, I admit, I lied to my children.  Does that make me a horrible mother?  Perhaps, but don't get on your high horses and tell me that you would never lie to your children.  We all do it.  Who brings the gifts on Christmas?  And the chocolate eggs on Easter?  How about the money that is left in place of a tooth?  Yes we all do it, but those things are different you say.  Those are the things that make childhood special.  Guess what a happy mother also makes childhood special.

For example, Rachel and I are starting a new week's worth of spelling words.  This is not a fun time in the spelling word process because she doesn't know how to spell most of the words.  Without a break, the fact that she is making scribbles that don't even resemble letters would normally send me over the edge, but not tonight.  Tonight I have patience.  Tonight I am relaxed, because I got a break.

Soon the kids will have to learn that sometimes Mommies and Daddies go out and do fun things without the children.  This is a fact of life, but it is also a discussion that will be had at a time in which we can talk things out and not just before we walk out the door.  So yes, I lied to my children today and I don't feel bad about it, at least not much.

***Update: Rachel caught me putting up this post and asked when I took the pictures.  I told her that they were from the meeting.  She said, "That doesn't look like a meeting.  That looks like a baseball game."  Then she went back to doing her spelling words. 

Also, in case you were wondering, right after that last picture was taken, I stopped the bird from eating my baby.

Happy Adoptaversary!

Dear Rachel and Nicholas,

It is our Adoptaversary!  One year ago today you legally became our daughter and son, although God had us as a family from the start.  It has been a whirlwind year.

I think back on the little angels that came to us.  So sweet, so strong, so scared.  Although, I don't know who was more scared the kids or the parents.  That first night, we didn't have any toys except for the left over mini-pumpkins from our Thanksgiving decorations, but you loved them and played with them until they started to get mushy and I threw them away.  There are still times when you ask about them.  You also ate your weight in clementines.  We watched the Lion King in the basement because it was one of the only kid movies that we had.

The last year has seen you move from babies to big kids.  Oh, you weren't babies like Jack and Teddy, but you were my babies.  The world is no longer something that scares you, but rather a place that should be explored, discovered, cataloged and conquered.  You have both become so sure of yourselves, sometimes to the point of being just a little reckless and Mom and Dad have to reign you in a little.

You are both so kind.  Sure you get in to with each other from time to time.  Regular kid stuff.  But underneath all that, you both have kind, caring souls.  Rachel, you are so empathetic, especially when someone is hurting .  Nicholas, you are always looking out for the little guys, especially your little brothers.  You love nothing more than to try to make your babies happy.

I can not imagine my life without my wonderful children.  Sometimes it is a little scary how much you are like your father and I.  Rachel, you will pay me back for every dramatic moment that I ever put my parents through.  I see you singing and dancing and creating your own little shows and I get to relive my own childhood all over again through you.  Nicholas, you are a chatter box just like your Daddy.  You are also a little obsessive compulsive, which is also like your Daddy.  You may not have our eyes or our nose or look anything like us, but I see your Dad and I in you both every single day.

You may not have been born of my womb, but you will live forever in my heart.

Girlfriends

One of my guilty pleasures is the show Girlfriends.  Today I was flipping around channels while nursing (what else is there to do) and I came across a rerun of Girlfriends.  William was talking about how he had to convince his girlfriend that she should not move in and another character asked why.  His response was downright profound.

"Playing married, without being married, devalues marriage."

WOW!!!  I love it.

Marty and I did not live together before we were married married for this exact reason, but I have never heard it put so succinctly.  See, television is not evil.  Sometimes it is downright good for you.

Calgon Take Me Away

The baby has been crying non-stop and quite inconsolably for two hours.

The two-year-old threw his entire bowl of spaghetti on the floor at dinner.

The four-year-old is marching with heavy feet throughout the house.

The six-year-old is having quite animated conversations with invisible people.

Tonight is not one of the two nights this week my husband will be home before 9 or 10 o'clock.

We haven't started homework.

All the children still need a bath.

And I have a migraine.

Calgon, take me away.

Teddy

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Best Gift

Today is our anniversary.  Five years for those of you keeping count.  Marty and I don't make a big fuss over anniversaries.  We usually watch a movie at home, a tradition we started before we even had kids.  It's all very laid back, not gifts, no big plans, just a quiet evening at home.

This afternoon I was checking Marty's calendar to see what he had going on this week (he is one busy guy) and on the top of today's date it said, "The Happiest Day of My Life."  He didn't write it so I would see it; it was just how he listed the day.  Could a wife ask for a better gift?

I love you sweetie.  I can't imagine my life without you.  Happy Anniversary!