The CHERISHED Life of Heather Leigh

Thursday, July 30, 2009

That's AMAAAAAZING

Owen loves butter.

Let me rephrase that, Owen LIVES for butter.

The other night at dinner, Kevin opened up a brand new tub of Shedd's Spread Country Crock (which is technically margarine, but that's not the point).

When he peeled back the protective seal, it revealed a fresh, untainted swirl of butter.

The look on Owen's face was as if he was listening to a chorus of angels, praising God for the glorious buttery goodness and creamy yellow heaven on earth beneath the protective seal.

"That's AMAAAAZING!" He exclaimed. "I just want to stick my face in it!!!" Wearing a grin from ear to goofy ear.

Believe me, if we would have let him, he would have planted his face unabashedly in that tub of butter immediately. And you could tell from the look on his face that he was envisioning himself fulfilling that very fantasy.

I'll never look at Shedd's Spread the same again.

Monday, July 27, 2009

I don't know why

I don't know why things like a crusty drawer or a mysteriously sticky shelf in the fridge (that no one else seems to notice or seems to care about), send me over the edge. They just do.

Honestly.

Cleaning out the refrigerator is NOT how I want to spend a vacation day or a precious weekend day. Yet every time I open the fridge, the sight of the refrigerator's interior makes my skin crawl. Maybe I should just stop opening the fridge door which would allow me to not have my nerves raked upon, and possibly allow me to lose some pounds in the process.

It's this repetitive, minor annoyance that finally, upon the 100th time of being mildly annoyed finally causes me to explode into a crazy diatribe about how pissed off I am.

Aren't there four fully functional people living in this house with me, and other than the occasional family gathering, dinner out, or softball game, otherwise at the house pretty much all.the.time. ??

OK, maybe two other fully functional people, plus a 50% (Liam) and a 25% (Owen). Which still brings us to nearly 3 other fully functional people in this house who could take it upon themselves to wipe down a surface or two.

ESPECIALLY before going grocery shopping. Why would you go buy fresh groceries and then put them away in a filthy mess?

I just don't get it.

Nor do I understand why it hurtles me into a raging lunatic where I finally break down and spend the measly 15-20 minutes that it takes to scrub it out.

And in the end, I'm not sure what I'm pissed off about...the sticky shelves or my explosive reaction to them.

(Overflowing trash cans in the bathrooms and bedrooms have the same effect.)

I never said I was perfect. (OK, maybe I said that once or twice, but obviously, I'm not.)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

The List

On Father's Day, Kev and I and the kids gathered around the fire pit on the patio to spend some family time together. The conversation turned to things we want to do this summer...primarily as a family, although there were some personal goals thrown in, too. I recorded all of our thoughts and the result is the following list - grouped by the idea originator.

I give you the 2009 Hillary Family Summer Bucket List, if you will. Although, in this list, if we get to them, GREAT. If not, well, there's always the fall...who says Family Fun has to be limited to one season?

And, BONUS! We've already checked some items off the list!

Mom's Items -
*Cook's Farm Dairy
*Parsons' Pool (Check)
*Stargazing
*Family Photo Session
*Make Gazpacho
*Finish Liam's Birthday Album

Kevin's Items
*Driving Range
*Play in State Softball Tourney
*Get a non-travel job
*Train for 5k

Jordyn's Items
*Gulda's Sunday Pool Party
*Binder Park Zoo (Check)
*Blockbuster Movie Night
*Pancake Breakfast
*End of Summer Party
*Grand Rapids (Check)


Liam's Items
*Bowling
*Detroit Zoo
*Space Museum
*Movies (Check)
*End of Summer Party
*Birthday Party

Owen's Items
*Fireworks (Check)
*Dinosaur Museum
*End of Summer Party/Kindergarten Mixer
*Catch a Frog / Toad (Check)

I'm making my girl cheat on her husband.

The other night I popped my head into Jordyn's bedroom to say goodnight. She was lying in bed with her pink laptop, as usual. "Whatchya doin'?" I asked. "Playing Sims," she replied with a smile. Which is what I expected her to say.

Since she purchased The Sims 3 computer game (using $50 of her own babysitting money) a few weeks ago, most of her computer time has been spent playing that game. And I'm OK with her playing Sims all the time, because, in my rationale...it's gotta be better than surfing the interwebs, right?

My parents bought Jordyn a laptop as a reward for her earning silver honors at the end of 7th grade. The intent of the laptop is to help Jordyn in her future academic pursuits. However, she received the laptop after the school year ended...so, I can't really begrudge her for the non-academic activity she's been engaging in. It is summer vacation after all.

What I did not expect Jordyn to say as I was tucking her in was this: "I'm making my girl cheat on her husband." Giggle. Giggle.

HUH? What? Seriously??

If you're not familiar with The Sims 3 video game, don't worry. Neither was I, really. So, after this disturbing statement of hers, I had to Google it. Wikipedia had this to offer:

  • The games in The Sims series lack any defined goals. The player creates virtual people called "Sims" and places them in houses and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves.
Maybe the part about lacking any defined goals and satisfying their desires should have tipped me off about the sort of trouble you can get your Sim into.
n the beginning of The Sims 3 game, she told me all about creating her Sim. What she looked like, what she named her, the type of clothes she dressed her in. Then she decorated her house, then she got married, then she had a baby and she named her Ava.

All of this sounded innocent and perfectly harmless to me. And, honestly? I was glad she was actually playing with this $50 investment of hers instead of letting it collect dust on her desk.

"WHAT?! You made your girl cheat on her husband?!! Why would you even do that? That's not funny, Jordyn. That's not funny. Seriously, why would you do that?"

"Oh Mom, it's no big deal. It was just a kiss. Her husband doesn't even know about it."

There are so many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to begin.

How do I explain to my 13 year old daughter that marital infidelity...in any way shape or form...IS a big deal, and not something to be taken so lightly? And that just because someone doesn't know that they're being cheated on doesn't make the cheating any less wrong.

Have I mentioned lately how loooooong the next several years are going to be for me? I'm sure this episode will lead to at least 4 gray hairs.

Oy.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Vitamin O

Me - Hey Owen, give me an Eskimo kiss.
O - What's an Eskimo kiss?
Me - When you rub noses together like this....

*** Eskimo Kissing with Owen ***

O - Mom, you sure do know a LOT about kisses. You know three types of kisses...with lips, blowing kisses, and Eskimo kisses.
Me - What about Butterfly kisses?
O - O yeah!! You know FOUR kisses. See. I told you you know a lot about kisses.

Smooch