Wet Oatmeal Kisses

Can make you think about the important things in life...

 

Wet Oatmeal Kisses
by Erma Bombeck

ONE OF THESE DAYS YOU’LL EXPLODE AND SHOUT TO ALL THE KIDS,
“WHY DON’T YOU JUST GROW UP AND ACT YOUR AGE!”
... AND THEY WILL…

OR, “YOU GUYS GET OUTSIDE AND FIND SOMETHING TO DO –
WITHOUT HURTING EACH OTHER. AND DON’T SLAM THE DOOR!”
AND THEY DON’T.

YOU’LL STRAIGHTEN THEIR BEDROOMS
UNTIL IT’S ALL NEAT AND TIDY,
TOYS DISPLAYED ON THE SHELF,
HANGERS IN THE CLOSET, ANIMALS CAGED.
YOU’LL YELL, “NOW I WANT IT TO STAY THIS WAY!”
AND IT WILL…

YOU WILL PREPARE A PERFECT DINNER
WITH A SALAD THAT HASN’T HAD ALL THE OLIVES PICKED OUT
AND A CAKE WITH NO FINGER TRACES IN THE ICING
AND YOU’LL SAY, “NOW THIS IS A MEAL FOR COMPANY.”
AND YOU WILL EAT IT ALONE…

YOU’LL YELL, “I WANT COMPLETE PRIVACY ON THE PHONE.
NO SCREAMING, DO YOU HEAR ME?”
AND NO ONE WILL ANSWER.

NO MORE PLASTIC TABLECLOTHS STAINED
NO MORE DANDELION BOUQUETS.
NO MORE IRON-ON PATCHES.
NO MORE WET, KNOTTED SHOELACES,
MUDDY BOOTS OR RUBBER BANDS FOR PONYTAILS.

IMAGINE…. A LIPSTICK WITH A POINT,
NO BABYSITTERS FOR NEW YEARS EVE,
WASHING CLOTHES ONLY ONCE A WEEK,
NO PTA MEETINGS OR SILLY SCHOOL PLAYS WHERE YOUR CHILD IS A TREE,
NO CAR POOLS, BLARING STEREOS OR FORGOTTEN LUNCH MONEY.

NO MORE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS MADE OF LIBRARY PASTE AND TOOTHPICKS,
NO WET OATMEAL KISSES,
NO MORE TOOTH FAIRY,
NO MORE GIGGLES IN THE DARK,
SCRAPED KNEES TO KISS OR STICKY FINGERS TO CLEAN
ONLY A VOICE ASKING, “WHY DON’T YOU GROW UP?”
AND THE SILENCE ECHOES: “I DID.”

Happy Christmas

Yes I am a slacker. I know that it's the middle of December and I didn't even make it to day 7 of my Thankful things for the month of November. But as I told my mother when she asked what happened....Life happened. Life happened and we had to grab the reins and hold on tight.
It's December, the middle of December and life is still happening. Everyone is getting ready for Christmas. That includes us. We are in high gear with Christmas parties or at least something to do everyday. We even have a Christmas party tomorrow during the day. It's crazy busy around here. The kids just did the churches Christmas play. DC did so much better than I ever hoped he would. I was hoping that he would put on his costume and just stand up there and look cute. He did so much more. He put his costume on with pride and he marched his little King butt right up there on that stage and he sang and he did the motions and everything. I was so proud!

 K had a solo and did great! She never disappoints when it comes to that. She was born to be a star.

 LT was a rapper and had a special part. He was rocking out to the song! He was so cute! It was a huge success. But I'm glad it's over!

So I am almost completely done with my Christmas shopping. I have a few more people then I will be done. We decided last Christmas that this one would not a big present year for the kids. Last year we went, or I went, a little over board on the gifts and after all the presents were opened there were so many that they never even played with. So this year we said 5 was the max and we have stuck to it. I am so proud of us. Five gifts for each child and we are about done with them.
J says that he has something very special for me. Something that he has wanted to get me since our first Christmas. So I am so excited to see what it is. He keeps talking about it and I cannot think of anything that I have wanted for ten years. But he says that it would be some thing that I would ask for. SO I am completely clueless.
School is going great. I get to skip my final exam in my keyboarding class because I have an "A". I am completely done with three classes so far and I only have two final exams to go. And I will be DONE for this semester anyways.

Day 6...Our Home

Today I am thankful for the roof over our heads. It's not something that you think about everyday and it's something you may take for granted. But today I am thankful. I am thankful that we have this great house that we have turned into a home. At one point in time, not too long ago, J and I were so scared that we wouldn't have a roof over our heads. We were trying so hard to keep our old house but we couldn't. This house became available and we decided to leave the house that we had brought our two sweet boys home from the hospital to and had gone trough so many good times and some bad times. But that was the home that we had built for us. We had to leave and we weren't too happy about it. But now we can't see ourselves living any where else. J is two blocks away from the fire dept he loves and we are right down the road from his parents which the kids LOVE!!  We are working on some remodeling and are getting ready to build a shop in the back yard!  Cannot wait.
Some things need to be redone and we are handling it one step at a time. We will get it all done eventually.

Day 5...hahahaha

Today I am thankful for Edy's Mint Brownie Ice Cream. Yes I went from adoring my wonderful children and my husband to ice cream!  A girl just wants her ice cream. Yesterday, when I was supossed to be writing this, I wasn't feeling too well I curled up on the couch with the tub of ice cream. It made me feel so much better. It was just what I needed.

So Today...Day 4

So today I am thankful for my daughter. She is everything I wished for when I wished upon a star. She is my dream come true. And my moms too! I had kinda written off having a daughter because my oldest brother has two boys and my next brother has two boys. We Manning's seem to only have boys. So when I found out I was pregnant I had already decided that she would be a boy. When the ultrasoung tech told us that she was a girl I wanted to cry. As soon as the ultrasound was over I called my mom who was in a meeting and still answered the phone. She thought I was joking around with her. I could hear the excitement. I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to paint her room and find all her bedding and buy clothes. I think J was just as surprised as I was. He was excited about having a little baby girl around again.
The first time I held her I just wanted to cry. So tiny and precious. Being raised with two little boys is not going to be easy for this little girl. But I will teach her to find her own way.
Now she is my little Miss Priss. She has read hair and an attitude to match. She knows what she wants and she will tell you about it. We don't really know what all she is saying just yet but it will come. But for right now it's totally cute!
She's her daddy's girl and her mommy's world. She lights up my life everytime I see her and I love how she comes running when I come back from leaving her a bit.

Oops! Missed a Day....Day Three of what I'm Thankful

Day three. Today (or rather yesterday) I am thankful for my first born. My first born son. He is my sunshine. Truely. I have it tattooed on my back. And while my tattoo represents a piece of my history and my future, I got it with him in mind. So he is my sunshine. He was for a long time my only reason for getting up and going on throughout my day. He brings so much joy to my life. I look at him and I just want to smile. He is the sweetest child (no really all his teachers have told me this) He has a love for me and his daddy and his baby sister that is so sweet. He recently lost his two front teeth and I didn't think that he could get any cuter but I think he did. He is my baby. He loves to cuddle and sleep in my bed when daddy is away.
Right now he is struggling so much with school. We are having him do some tests in December so that we can see if there is anything else we can do. His teacher and I are working with him daily and he gets extra help at school with reading. My fear is that he will have trouble to the point where his self esteem will take a hit and then he will quit trying. I worry daily about him. I love him so much and I want to give him every advantage that I can to succeed in this world. And first that comes with a great education.

I am Thankful...Day Two

Today I am thankful for my son. Even as I sit here and listen to him yell from his bed to bring him another cup of milk, I am thankful. He is my sweet baby boy. Actually, he is as mean as a snake but he's mine. I love him to death and back. He makes me laugh so much every day. He is my comedian. He is his daddy's boy though. Him and J have bonded more than any of the others really. Probably because they are so much alike. He doesn't like school too much, or at least that's what he tells me everyday when I pick him up. But he is doing well at it. He loves soccer and being outside. He loves to swim and run and play and he can climb anything that gets in his way. He is a tough little sucker that's for sure. He loves to fight anything and everything. Him and Landon can really throw down now-a-days.
I don't know what I would do without my little man. I love you DC. You are my baby boy and always will be.