A Girl and Her Daddy

So I have a very sweet and sometimes feisty 6 year old daughter.  I have often wondered where women learn the skills of getting what they want from men.  What starts this behavior and how do they work on it?  Well. . .I have found my answer.  With their daddies of course.  I know, I know Freud would love this, here is our story nonetheless.

L:  Mommy I want a tv in my room.
Me:  You are never getting a tv in your room.
L:  That is fine, when daddy gets home I will just say to him "Daddy, I want a tv in my room. "  He will get back in his car and go to the store and buy me a tv. 
Me: HE WILL NOT!! 
L:  He won't because you will talk to him first and tell him to say no.  So instead I will just go to drivers school, learn how to drive and then go to the store myself and get my tv and bring it home.
Me:  You have to be sixteen to drive.
L:  Oh.. . .

REALLY?!?!?  Did I really have that conversation with my 6 year old?  Yes I did. . .what do you think it will look like at 16?  Yikes.  

Then and Now

So I have been going through pictures and I got a bit emotional. 
This is Lauren's first day of preschool ever!

This was the first day of first grade this year. 

This was Sean the very first day of his preschool years.

This is the first day of his last year of preschool.

Time flies when you are having fun!! 

San Diego 2011: A wonderful trip

 Naps on the beach

 Happy 2nd Birthday!  Happy 4th of July!  All at Sea World!

 We discovered C hates characters.

 Eating Dinner waiting for Shamu show and fireworks.

 He fell asleep during the fireworks.

 Breakfast outside.  This would not have happened in Tucson!

 Fell asleep during "the mouse".  Mickey that is.

 Seaport village!

 Ferry to Coronado

 This was a great bike ride and a great work out as Jeff and I were the only ones pedaling.

 Everyone but daddy was buried in the sand.

 Relaxation!!!

They do love each other!!

I even let the kids bury me! 

All a little bit Casey Anthony. . .

So, there is a ton of opinion on Casey Anthony.  To be honest I have tried to stay away from most of it.  Having been a social worker with CPS cases and having worked in the hospital, you really see enough and I have no desire to watch a trial to hear about a sweet baby losing her life. 

After the verdict came in there was several (understatement) opinions being expressed.  From media, celebrities, and a ton on FB.  I saw this post on a friends FB page of a tweet made by the lead singer of Tenth Avenue North.

            "One day, God will pour out justice on Casey Anthony. Or Christ will bear it for her. And so it is with all of us. Something in us longs for justice. Something in us begs for grace. Only at the cross are both preserved & perfectly displayed."

This is summed up exactly what I thought. 
Here is what I have learned over my journey the past few years about humans and grace.

Like it or not. ..

                     We are ALL capable of ANYTHING given the right circumstances.

Yes, I said it and believe it.  We are all capable of addiction, no matter how strong willed or in control we think we are.  We are all capable of severe anger, no matter how passive or flexible we think we are.  All marriages are capable of divorce no matter what fairy tale marriage we might have at this moment. And yes we are ALL capable of doing the unthinkable give the right circumstances. 

I am so tired of judgement.  I am totally guilty of it, but I don't want to be that person because I know in my heart of hearts that NOTHING makes me any better than any other person walking the face of this earth.  

I guess I do long for justice. 

           But I much more relate to begging for grace. Thank God for it.

Boston

Last week I was blessed to be able to accompany my sweet husband on a business trip to Boston.  He called late on a Friday afternoon and said he had to go for work and did I want to go with him?  I am not sure I could have said yes any faster!  Boston is an amazing city, one I could visit over and over again.  Here are some pictures and things I have learned while in Boston.

To walk any where just don't pay attention to the lights.  Jaywalking is a must to get anywhere fast.
There is a crazy culture difference between the coasts.  Not as much skin shows in Boston as in San Diego or even Tucson for that matter.  And yes. . I was a pretty brown white person in comparison to white folks in Boston.

Oh how I love the water. I love lakes, rivers, oceans.  I love the water.  I am obviously living in the wrong place. There is something so wonderful and peaceful about water.

You can get a beer on almost any corner everywhere. Taverns in Boston are like Circle K's in Arizona.

I must have an accent, but I want to know what it sounds like compared to the Bawwwston accent.  Does anyone know what it sounds like??

Fenway is a cool place to see baseball game. And that is an understatement.

There is really no car needed in Boston and I would love to take my kids, but only when they can carry their own stuff.

Many, many places serve grilled cheese.  I love grilled cheese. 

It was great. . here are some pictures. :)

No Regrets?

So I watch trash tv reality shows.  I know it is a horrible habit.  And they really do suck me in because half the time I really can't believe what is actually going on in them.  However at the end of all reality experiences there are those wrap up shows. You know the ones.  They ask all the participants a million questions and in those questions is always: Did you regret ______ this season?  And to that question I always hear the same answers.  No, not at all, I dont' regret anything.  It was an experience.  I learned from it.  Life is too short to have regrets. 

HA!  To those answers I say you are full of crap!  Really there is not one thing you have ever regretted, wished you could have done over or maybe tweaked a bit.  So what, you learned from it, but really let's be honest.  I have regrets.  I regret that we didn't travel to Europe before we had kids.  Does that mean I regret having kids? Absolutely not, but if I could go back I will would have traveled to Europe before kids.  I would have applied for this one job in Detroit years ago too, would I have taken it if it was offered?  Maybe not, but hindsight I should have gone for it.   I would not have let fear stand in the way of some of my decisions.  What about simple things like regretting that extra piece of chocolate cake that made me have to work extra hard to lose weight?  I shouldn't have had it, if I had gone back I would have changed it. 

According the to the dictionary.com regret is disappointment, or being upset over a past action.  Really?  These reality starts have never felt that?  Some synonyms are heartache, discomfort, and concern.   Maybe we don't like the word regret because we don't like to think we ever make mistakes.  We like to think that we have done everything right, to the best of our ability, that we are in control. 

Well, I have not done everything right and if I looked back I would tweak a few things, but I don't think that makes me a bad person.  Or that I have admitted that I have failed in life.  I think I have done pretty darn good.  Now that you know that, I can't take the credit, as anything good that has happened has been a blessing from heaven that is for sure!  So I think these reality stars are missing something, I think if they are alone thinking about it they would totally regret something. . .I mean, can you at least regret saying demeaning and hurtful things about another person??

What Women Want

This morning my sweet girl came out looking like this.. .

  All put together with necklaces, bracelets, make-up, and all dressed.  It wasn't so much what she looked like that got my attention, but what she said.  As she came out of her room she exclaimed "TELL ME I LOOK FANTASTIC!!"  And without hesitation  I told her "YOU LOOK FANTASTIC!"

Then I realized this is what we all want.  Everyone likes to be told they look and are fantastic!  So to all of my friends and even those of you I don't know YOU LOOK FANTASTIC!!!

Oh yes. . then I told her the make up had to come off before the visit to the dentist. . that is the mom in me! :)