Hat and Shoe Fetish

IMG_1164, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

When you LOVE shoes and your big brother gets a new pair, you have to carry them around for a while, pretending they are yours, along with your other most precious item, your blankie. This is best done while wearing some of your favorite headgear.

Pleased as punch

Pleased as punch, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Sisters

Sisters, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

One of A's favorite things to do is play the piano, and it's even more fun with her sister J. at her side.

Forgiveness

The homily our priest gave last Sunday during mass was about forgiveness. I struggle with this. I often say that I have forgiven someone, but I hold their offenses in my heart, and have trouble letting go of them, even though I may want to. Evidence of this are the Truly Hurtful Remarks I mentioned in my previous post about comments that parents of large families receive and my Rant post relating what a man said to me in church. As part of my attempt to really let those hurtful things go, I have removed them from my blog, in the hopes that true forgiveness will follow. (Although maybe forgiving and forgetting are two different things?) If I've truly forgiven, will the memory still make me feel hurt or angry?

Comebacks

Although I have been getting mouthier as I get older, and maybe one day I will actually say this comeback to someone, in general I am not the type to say it, but this is what I think and would LIKE to say to the rude comments about having a large family:

You only have 2 (or 1)? Didn't you like the way the first two are turning out, so you didn't have any more?

Large Family Comments

The last large family topic posted was the comments that we receive about our family size.

Here's my take on it:

Negative Remarks

Of course, I get all of the same remarks as other parents of large families:

Don't you know how that happens?

Better you than me?

Are you "done"?



Incredulous Remarks

How do you do it?

You must be so patient!

I can barely handle my 2 (or 1, or 3 or ....)--I can't imagine 7!

Your grocery bill must be enormous!


Nice Remarks

You have a beautiful family. (This remark is often made by an older person, who then shares with me that they raised a large family, and how special it was/is.)

Your children are so well-behaved!

It doesn't even seem like there are 7 of them!

I am one of 7 (or 6 or 8 or....) and it was SO much fun! (I get this one a LOT, and only once have I had a young woman share that she did NOT like being part of a large family. I find this remark very affirming, that adults who were once children in a large family will take the time to stop and tell me how great it was.)



Overall, I get a lot of incredulous looks, but probably as many or more nice remarks as negative ones. Daryl, who works in a university setting, gets a lot of remarks, because academics in general have very few children, so he is truly an anomaly. Yet he is one of the most "productive" (pun intended!) in his field!

Paula Needs

I just came across a very silly meme, so I thought I'd do it.

Type your name followed by the word "needs" into google and list the first 10 things that come up.

1. Paula needs coffee to start every working day.
2. Paula's needs are so over the top.
3. Paula needs help.
4. Paula needs to cover the 'girls' up.
5. Paula needs to apologize (for being drunk on live TV.)
6. Paula needs to do more.
7. Paula needs to go.
8. Paula needs "new blood."
9. Paula needs to walk off into the sunset.
10.Paula needs to be voted off.

I think these are all about either Paula Zahn or Paula Abdul, mostly the latter. Only #1 really applies to me!

Serendipity

Yesterday I had the most exciting thing happen to me, and the way it came about was truly serendipitous! (If you haven't seen the movie by the name Serendipity, starring John Cusack, do! It's a terrific romance--fun and funny.)

I took J. to a doctor's appointment in Ann Arbor. She was seeing a specialist, so of course we waited 2+ hours in the office. (She is totally fine, btw.) I was in such a stupor by the time we left that I went immediately to a coffee shop to get coffee. I chose a place slightly out of my way, but where they have fabulous pastries. I parked about a block away from the shop due to a preponderance of one way streets which made it impossible to get any closer without going around the block. We were walking along in front of the farmer's market area, deserted at this time of day, when we saw a woman sitting on the ground. Another woman was standing and talking to her. It looked like she might need help, but I wasn't sure. As we got closer the standing woman motioned me over. The sitting woman had fallen and had a large gash on her cheek. They asked if we could go in the nearby store and get a cloth to clean the abrasion off with.

We entered the store and I saw a woman I recognized. My foggy brain thought, "Oh, it's Valerie," and almost kept walking, when I snapped to attention. Valerie is one of my freshman year dormitory roommates that I lost touch with and have been attempting to find for several years. I tapped her on the shoulder. "Valerie?" "Paula!" Much hugging and exclaiming ensued.

After a few minutes I remembered that I was supposed to be helping someone--so much for being a Good Samaritan! I got some ice and a clean cloth from the store (a meat and produce market, luckily) and took them outside to the injured woman.

Then Valerie and J. and I walked to the coffee shop, doing a little bit of catching up and exchanging phone numbers. I was so excited that I managed to immediately misplace her number and had to ask her for it again! She gave it to me, but told me, "Don't worry--you don't need it because I am going to call you."

I last saw Valerie on my wedding day almost 19 years ago! Last I knew she was living and working in Washington DC as an attorney.

Such serendipity: If I hadn't stopped for coffee, if I'd parked elsewhere, if the woman hadn't fallen and needed my help, I wouldn't have found her! I have googled her dozens of times in recent years, and even sent a random email to a woman that I believed was one of her sisters!

This event made my week. I know that we will resume our friendship and that makes me very happy.

Lent

This year I have decided to give up sweets/desserts, something I've never tried before. I'm hoping that that, combined with the running I've been doing, will lead to a svelter me by Easter. I'm also reading the "Little Black Book" of daily Lenten meditations/scripture put out by our Archdiocese.

Work Day

Last Thursday we had the day off from school due to icy roads. No snow, however, so that there wasn't anything entertaining to do. So we cleaned out toy chests, emptying 2 of them while filling 2 garbage bags and 2 give away bags. We also changed the sheets on all beds (something that gets done less often than I'm willing to admit!) and cleaned out all of the outgrown clothes from dresser drawers. Whew!

As a reward, I'd offered a trip to Dairy Queen (which opened March 1 and they have been bugging me every day since) and the library. I've been avoiding the library because I'd racked up some unbelievable fines (they will be naming a wing of the new library after us) but I decided that was ridiculous. I am now on the 12 Step Library program, beginning with "Make Restitution." Ouch! is all I can say.

Dairy Queen, which has only outdoor seating, which was covered with snow on this very cold day, was a most unpleasant experience. We had to eat in the van, of course, and they still complained that they were freezing. You won't catch me back there until it's shorts weather.

Dennis

The Menace, that is! What happened to my sweet, cooperative little 2.75 year old boy? In the past week he has begun experimenting with disobedience and mischief, doing things like:

-Opening the door on his mother while she is in the bathroom (pocket door that doesn't lock), then refusing to close it again and running away, cackling.

-Getting out of bed during naptime and hiding in his sister's bedroom, eating her secret stash of Valentine candy.

-Pouring a glass of milk into the fish tank.

-Saying no and being noncompliant whenever possible.


And as for potty training, some days he does terrific, others are a string of accidents. Good thing I do a lot of laundry! And as for #2, he won't even consider doing that in the potty.

(Sigh). When will my nice little boy be back?