Anniversary Date Night

We went out to a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary together. We picked a Japanese Stake house (Seigos in Sussex, WI). We've been before and really enjoy the fun atmosphere (I love the Martinis).

Except this time, we were seated with an older couple and a family with four kids (probably just bad luck). The whole point for us to go out is to not be with kids.

Surprisingly, the kids were well behaved, but I wasn't really interested in having a conversation with children between the ages of 5 and 12 (especially on a Saturday evening). Which was good because James and I really enjoy each other so we have a lot to talk about. We basically chatted with ourselves and briefly with the older couple next to us.

By this time, we've avoided talking with the family, however, I've overheard her conversation with the older couple and all she can talk about is her kids.

After two Martinis, I have to use the restroom so when I come back James has been sucked into a conversation with the mom of the family. And of course, she pulls me into the conversation about my kids. I am trying to be polite and let her chat about her kids. She is oblivious to how irritated we and the older couple are with having to talk about children so I think some of my comments have really gone over her head.

Now remember I am working on my third Martini by this time.

Example 1, the million dollar question that is always asked to us "Are you going to have anymore children?" My response, "Absolutely NOT!" She continues to go on how she would love to have more children (yeah because you have nothing else to talk about and not once does she talk to her husband during the dinner). At this point I stick my finger down my throat, figuratively.

Example 2, Then she talks about how great it is to have the older ones take care of the younger ones like on their family vacation. My response, "I want my children to be children not parents and I will never make my older children be responsible for the younger ones." She still doesn't get the hint.

Example 3, Without missing a beat, she goes into how her youngest has such stomach problems with different kinds of foods. I think my eyes have gone cross-eyed at this point. I think the old couple is chuckling at my comments. I might have been a little snappy when I said, "Well you figure out what foods don't work and you don't feed them those anymore."

We finally got our bill, paid and quickly left. Now, I was laughing by the time I got out to the parking lot, but come on.

Note to all mothers out there when having conversations with other adults (not your girlfriends): If you can't hold a conversation without talking about your kids, please pick up a newspaper or read an article online. This will arm you with other topics to talk about.

Nine Years

It's pretty scary when Child #1 comes home from school discussing with Child #2 and #3 about who they are going to live with if mom and dad get a divorce. Apparently half of the kids in school have divorce parents (oh, the innocence is disappearing). Somehow this has turned into some kind of cool status because these kids get to do a lot more things. Then again, Child #1 claims she is the only one in her class that hasn't been to Disney World (Of course, my response to this is "has any of the kids been on a airplane to Washington DC?, Hah!). I am not ready to take them to Disney, frankly, I don't really want to take them to Disney.

Anyway I digress, my point here is James and I have been married nine year in March. Evidently for our ages, a nine year marriage, not to mention a first marriage, is pretty rare. We are finding ourselves as the minority rather than the majority (How sad is that?). This doesn't even include the couples who want to get divorce, but can't afford it right now.

I can't imagine what the future will hold for our youth, especially for my children. It is scary to think the generations behind us are taking any kind of commitment so leisurely.

Locker Room Etiquette

Now I remember why I don't join gyms.

I completely forgot about the locker room at a gym. I understand that having conversations in the locker room is completely inevitable. Sometimes I feel like I am in the geriatric unit of the hospital, but no one has any clothes on. Please people at least put some underwear on. Maybe this makes me a prude, but come on, standing in the middle of the locker room naked for a ten minute conversation about what procedure you are going to endure this week has to be a little on the weird side. Wouldn't you be cold?

Another issue I forgot about is territory.

I was dressed, my stuff packed and I walked over to a mirror. I just had to comb my hair and put a little powder on (it would take me 2 minutes). I placed my make-up case down on the counter, I was abruptly stopped by one of those geriatric patients.

She said, "You're in my spot."

I looked around the counter and there was nothing that would indicate she had placed anything down. So I replied with just a little attitude "Oh! Oookay." Now what I wanted to say was I don't see your name anywhere, but of course, I held my tongue. I slid my stuff down the counter to give her "spot" to her and went on my merry way of combing my hair.

Except she couldn't just leave me alone. She caught my reaction and was trying to back peddle because she realized how ridiculous she sounded.

She continued, "You must be new here."

I couldn't really reply so I just said, "hmm."

She said, "It is kind of a joke around here because we all have our own spots. And plus I have so much stuff I need the space." As she is placing multiple bottles of product on the counter. But she couldn't help herself, she repeated, "You must be new."

I replied, "You might consider me new."

She said, "Well, when you have been here for ten years you just get accustom to a spot."

I had to get out of there so I just said, "Oh! Oookay." (Maybe with a tiny bit more attitude). And I walked out. My expression probably didn't help matters.

I probably wouldn't have been so irritated, but this was the same woman in the pool that asked me to stop doing flip turns while I swam because I was causing the lane line to move into her lane. She completely interrupted my workout and I didn't want to stop doing flip turns. I was kind of irritated. Okay maybe I was a little pissed because after I stopped doing the flip turns she stopped swimming and had a ten minute conversation with another woman in the next lane.

We will see what happens next time. Don't worry. I won't do anything crazy, but being a little passive aggressive can be fun:)

Windless, but icy...

So the weather has been indecisive lately. Wisconsin goes from rain (which melts all the snow on the lake) to 9 degrees (which freezes the rain on the lake) and back to a light fluffy snow cover (which covers the lake).

Anyway, today we drive out onto the ice to do a little ice fishing. Nephew #1 and Nephew #2 are out on the ice already waiting for us. The girls are really excited to get out of the truck. We park and James goes to help his brother get the holes drilled and I open my door to get out to help the kids get out of the truck. I place my foot down on the ground and before I know it I am laying on my back under the truck door. Of course, I am laughing on the ground and I can hear the kids getting mad because I am not helping them out of the truck. I recover, get up and help the kids out.


Everyone was having a blast running and sliding on the snow. At this time, there were several holes in the ice with tip-ups and a few holes were open for jigging. Nephew #2 was running and his foot disappeared under the ice. His leg went all the way up to his knee. His dad put him in the truck to dry off his boot and sock.


Then the girls had to go potty so I packed them up in the truck and drove them back to the house. We came back and I opened the door to get out of the truck and, yep, again I am lying on back under the truck door.

Apparently the ice was more slippery than I expected it to be.

The girls brought back buckets and shovels. As the kids were building snow castles, Child #3 freaks out and I see she had dipped both of her gloved hands into the water in the hole. I see she lost the shovel in the water so I pull her hands out, grab the shovel and tell her she can't put her hands in the water like that. I take her immediately to the car to warm her hands and dry her gloves out. Poor baby, she was so upset that she was going to loose her shovel.

What an adventure. With all that drama, everyone still had a great time.

Girly-Girls vs Tomboys

I love it, but I don't get it.

The girls choose to wear dresses, tights and all the girly-girl stuff for Child #1's winter school concert. And I let them pick out their dresses and tights even if they don't match (I completely support individualism. Child#3 wore a spring tank top light green flower dress with a long sleeve pink and white poodle shirt and brown tights, black shoes).

All three act sophisticated and mature during the concert. Child #2 is extremely excited for next year when she will be able to get up on the stage and sing.

Then we get home from school and I take a few minutes to talk with James before I start dinner. Meanwhile Child #1 and Child #2 decide that it would be fun to run from the back of the hallway to the kitchen and slide on their knees (still dressed in dresses and tights). Each one is trying to see how far they can slide. Next they get the great idea to fold a blanket, run and slide on the blanket across the kitchen floor (I have to say it does look fun).

I know you were expecting someone to get hurt, so was I. No one got hurt.

So I can relate to the crazy act (it really looked fun), but the girly-girl stuff is a little foreign to me(at least when I was a kid, my mom always had to fight to get braids and dresses on me). Maybe you can be both a girly-girl and a tomboy. As a kid I always thought you couldn't be both, but that could be because I grew up with two brothers.

I guess the girls will be more well rounded than I was. They can dress girly, but can have fun when they want to. Only time will tell.

I am really enjoying this.