Thursday, January 28, 2010

Cool....Thoughts on Refrigerators and Life


I think you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their refrigerator. Not the inside, necessarily, but the outside. (As my own refrigerator is generally empty inside, visiting relatives is often a treat. I must say I adore opening the refrigerator at my folks' house. It is always jam packed with goodness...my favorite iced tea, yummy leftovers of scrumptious meals, all kinds of cheeses...but I digress).
Refrigerator doors are real-time commentaries of the lives of the owners. You can easily tell a person's priorities by looking at the various objects stuck to his/her fridge.
1. First and foremost, are there any snapshots? This is one of the clearest indicators of who/whom holds the owner's heart. A dear book club friend of mine invited me to her lovely home a month or so ago. The first thing she did was lead me to her kitchen and offer me some sweet tea (yum!) I looked at her refrigerator snapshots while I sipped my drink. The most prominent photograph was of her fluffy dog dressed up in a Halloween outfit. Surrounding that snapshot were other photos of other dogs in Halloween outfits. How wonderful is that!? Her beautiful dog is like a child to her and she so treasures him. (And, for the record, I think the little cutie-patootie has the absolute softest fur ever. He snuggled up to me at a book club meeting and it felt as if I was under a cuddly blanket. Anyhoooo....)
2. Secondly, what kind of artwork is posted on the door? Are we talking photographs of masterpieces taken on European journeys? Are we talking the scribbles of a pre-schooler? Years ago I was a "Big Sister" mentor to a struggling foster child. One week, after our "girls outing" she gave me a crayon sketch. Let me say I all but had that picture matted and framed. I can barely express in words the joy I felt to be given the creation of such a precious child. Let's just say that piece of art adorned our fridge for years until we packed it away for our move to a new city.
3. Thirdly, what types of reminders/schedules adorn the refrigerator? Bible study meetings, race registration forms, school calendars, soccer practice? I love to look at my sister-in-law, Susan's, door. She has snapshots of my kids framed in plastic magnets at the top (OK, that may be one reason I love her door...) and snapshots of my nephews. She has artwork and schoolwork from the girls stuck to the fridge. And then she has a schedule of whatever chef classes she's taking. She's an amazing cook and is always learning how to do fabulous things like make pasta, or risotto, or home made bread. (To a chef like me who generally chooses a can to open and, after warming the contents, announces "Dinnertime!" the concept of creating delightful dishes is a foreign one...) And then I must also digress and say that I love looking inside her refrigerator, because it is also always chock full of my favorite things!
Our own refrigerator doors are fabulous, if I do say so myself. The top portion is maintained by yours truly. Although the kids have been known to drag a kitchen chair over to the fridge, climb onto the chair, and snatch a photo or two to fully examine. The bottom portion of the fridge belongs to them. We have photographs of my daughters and nieces kayaking, of my husband carrying the girls piggyback up a mountain in Virginia, of our daughters ice-skating on the river beside the church where we were married. We have birth announcements, wedding announcements and a one page essay on "My Favorite Christmas Gift Ever." We have pink tissue paper Valentines Day hearts and a scarecrow magnet made with straw. Spelling test words, choir concert reminders, flag football schedules. Two art class chalk renderings of St. Nicholas, and colorful alphabet letter refrigerator magnets.
But one new wonderful thing I noticed just this morning. Across the side of the refrigerator, so that it may be viewed by anyone using our computer or in our den, is a sweet phrase spelled out in magnets. Undoubtedly placed there last night by the Bug or the Pea, proclaiming: I LOVE YOU.
Couldn't have said it better myself...

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Pediatric Surgeries...a.k.a. The Morning In Phrases

This morning, at the crack o' dawn...well, let's not get crazy...it was still pitch black, the Husband and I drove the Bug and the Pea to the Hospital. The kiddos have been plagued with ear infections since they were itty-bitty and it was time for set 3 of bi-lateral ear tubes. The kids know the drill, and...bizarrely enough...look forward to the adventure. (A fact that makes my life easier, the kids are never anxious about the hospital, always in good spirits. I try to cleverly conceal any anxieties I feel - however, the nurse from set #2 of surgeries did revive me when I fainted after seeing the girls with IVs in recovery...)The Bug and the Pea came through today's surgeries with flying colors. The surgeon and nurses were amazing, and we were lifted up in prayer by friends and family.
If you had been a fly on the wall during prep/surgery/recovery you would have been privy to the following random comments:

"Oh look! This time the gowns are long enough to cover my hiney!" The Bug
"Did both children void this morning?" Nurse ("I'm sorry, void?" Me..."Uh, pee?" Nurse)
"I'm going to show you my impersonation of a 100 year old lady...watch!" The Pea
"Quieter please! I'm grading papers!" The Pea
"Giraffey, Dasher and Beary will all need a hospital bracelet too..." The Bug
"Are those rabbits on your socks?" Nurse
"I'm going to prep some stew while we wait." The Bug
"These blue dot stickers are so cool! Can I keep them and the oxygen monitor thingy?" The Bug
"I get to keep the hairnet!" The Pea
"Let me zap you, are you on clearance today?" The Nurse
"Oh, this is my third time. Just hand me the mask...I know, I know...breathe into the balloon, I can put it on myself." The Bug
"I've got to call my class and talk with them right now on speakerphone!" The Pea
"Daddy! I got to meet 4 different grown-ups!" The Bug
"I wanna go first!" The Pea
"I'll have strawberries...oh, just crackers? That's OK too..." The Bug
"Uh, Dad...I don't have any shoes on and it's raining!" The Pea
"Mom, I had a blast! Can we do this again soon?" The Bug
"Praise Jesus we're home safe and sound!" Me

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

In Which I Become Grammy ZhuZhu...


Ironically, I'm a better Mom when I have actually been away from my children for a bit. My parents gave me a ginormous gift this past weekend. They allowed me to deposit the kiddos with them from Friday evening until Monday. (An event I have come to refer to as: the Dump and Run. Glorious!) Three solid days of Thai food, books and movies with the World's Hottest Husband.
Anyhoooooo, when I picked the girls up yesterday, they were all agog with their new "pets." My folks are completely on-board with our Only Fish rule, so I was curious as to what the Bug and the Pea had up their sleeves. "Mommy, LOOK! Meet Num Nums and Pipsqueak, our new hamsters!" Although experiencing a brief moment of panic, I tried to keep a smile on my face. I gazed up from loading the trunk and saw two little fuzzy toys perched in the palms of my children's hands. (Shew...toys...crisis averted...)
On the drive home I had the privilege of hearing the little ones squeal, squeek, and chirp. (I also heard the Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters...ha)When we arrived home, the children burst through the door and showed me the full range of motion these pets were capable of experiencing. Num Nums and Pipsqueak zoomed across the wooden floor, tried to scurry on the carpet, explored the pantry, bumped into each other, spun circles, squeaking as they went along.
The Bug and the Pea (in classic pet-deprived mode...) had constructed leashes for the hamsters out of curling ribbon and pipecleaners. The kiddos showed me how they took their hamsters "for a walk."
"Look, Pipsqueak can come right to you, Mommy! Watch," said the Pea. "Now, Pipsqueak, I want you to walk to Grammy...that-a-boy, walk to your Grammy..." I was about to remind her that Grandma wasn't here, it was just me...and then I realized that I WAS said Grammy. Good times.
The Bug showed me how she created a home for Num Nums out of a cardboard box, with tissue paper, and a sliding gate attached with a pipecleaner. The outside of the box was decorated with stickers of grass and ladybugs. The Pea was anxious to show me the home she created, as well. Blue "water" and "food" dangled from the roof of the home.
"I wonder if Num Nums and Pipsqueak are worn out from their journey and all of this running around?" I asked.
"Oh Mom, LOOK!" squealed the Bug. "All you have to do is tap his back two times and he drifts off to sleep for as long as you want!"
Now THAT is my kind of pet...

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Creative Chemicals...a.k.a. Seriously Mom? Instructions?


One of my most favorite Christmas moments each year generally happens after the holidays, sometimes the first week of the following year. My college roomie and I meet at a Mexican restaurant in a tiny town halfway between our Kentucky towns. We bring our kids...her boys, my girls...and a few gifts to exchange. This year was no exception. (And included a side trip to the Dollar Store and Wal-Mart in search of a dog bed...because we are just that classy!)
As our annual adventures always begin, I call my roomie's cell phone when I know I'm fairly close to where I need to be, letting her know that ONCE AGAIN I am officially lost between a field and a farm with no street signs in sight. She uses her navigational system to locate us and "talk us in" to the restaurant. (We seriously need to purchase and install some type of tracking device on my car...)
In a spirit of, well, cowardice, I had already shipped our Christmas gift to the boys: a Pokemon game that involves catapulting marbles at your opponent. (I figured if I let the kids open it during our lunch visit, the game might mysteriously end up back in my car trunk.)Same situation with the Pirate Swords I shipped last year, anyhooooo...
My roomie gave the girls what they have wanted for ages: Chemistry Sets. Real live chemicals and test tubes and experiment instructions. The Bug and the Pea were thrilled, beyond thrilled. On the way home, the test tubes were opened and examined, the chemicals were organized, a game plan emerged.
Before I could hang up my coat in the closet, the kids had transformed the kitchen table into a laboratory. I looked over in time to see the Pea's hiney sticking out of my kitchen cabinet, bowls and pans being grabbed, right and left. The Bug held a ginormous mixing bowl under the faucet and was filling it to the brim. The Pea discovered where I hid the food coloring and added it the chemical collection.
I called my roomie to let her know (surprisingly) that we did make it home OK, on the first try, no detours or confusion. I also thanked her for the craziness formerly known as my kitchen.
I located the instructions for each science lesson and placed them in the center of the table. The Bug looked over at me, "Seriously Mom? Instructions?" I found the experiment the Bug was working on: add one cup of water to a disposable bowl. "Sweetie, it says to add one cup of water, you've added about a gallon..."
"Hellooooo! Mom! Adding more can only make it better," replied the Bug as she poured in the last of my red food coloring.
I glanced over to the other side of the kitchen table, the Pea was squirting blue ink on her brand new cream colored sweater. (I tried not to gasp audibly...brand new clothes are a rarity in our household...did I mention I was cheap?)"Look Mommy!" squealed the Pea, "Magic Disappearing Ink!" I kept waiting for said ink to disappear. Waiting, waiting, waiting.
The Bug had moved on to Experiment 2. She poured out a test tube of teeny tiny round colored balls into a bowl of (you guessed it) a ginormous amount of water. The balls swelled, and swelled, and swelled until they were the size of marbles. The Bug stuck her hand into the container and grabbed the gel-like balls. "LOOK!" she shrieked, and tripped on the coat she had earlier tossed on the floor. The gel marbles went flying, landing in the sink, the stove, the candle holders, a picture frame or two. The Pea - in her newly blue speckled sweater - started stepping on the balls that hit the floor. Squoosh, squoosh, squoosh. Sweet merciful heavens. Deep breath.
One by one, the test tubes were explored, chemicals tested, acidity discovered, crystals grown. We couldn't have read the instructions, even if we'd wanted to, because by now they were covered with water and food dye...and some squooshed gel marbles.
The Bug and the Pea gathered some plastic bags to "store" all of their new creations. And their timing was super, because in walked Daddy from work. I'd like to say he was surprised that the table wasn't already set for dinner, but he knows me better than that! I'd much rather the kids be up to their ears in an painty art project or a muddy gardening project than worry about whether my kitchen is spotless at 5:30. The Bug and the Pea pounced on him with hugs and kisses, gel marbles and disappearing ink! He had no choice but to laugh at their enthusiasm.
"Pizza anyone?" I offered and I grabbed the phone...