Random scenes from my oh-so-screwed-up house...

"Dork" is a term of endearment I use on my kids when they are being particularly goofy. This loving gesture is usually reserved for Zachary. He is known as king of the dorks unless of course, his Daddy is playing on Google Earth, in which case NO ONE is more of a dork than him. Mandy was dancing, shaking her groove thang with everything she had. No idea why, except that the spirit moved her to move and she did. She instructed me to applaud when she was done. I did. 'Cause I am a good Mom.
She then does this huge dramatic Broadway-esque stage bow. Being that I really am quite easily entertained, this cracked me up. I oh-so-lovingly called her a dork. Just cause that's the kind of mom I am. She laughs and says, "Zachary is more dorker than me!"
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Laundry is the bane of my existence. I don't so much mind sorting it, or washing it, but really, that is where my enthusiasm ends, and really, truth be told, I don't have much enthusiasm for those parts either, but I am past the age where it is socially acceptable to do the whole toss-dirty-clothes-in-the-dryer-with-a-fabric-softener- sheet-and-then-pretend-they-are-clean thing. Don't judge me. You know you did that when you were in your late teens/early twenties too. ANYWAY...it often gets pulled out of the dryer, moved to the loveseat and left there for a while, sometimes a long while. Currently the stuff on the bottom of the loveseat pile has been there since Sunday. I like to think of it as an educational experience for my children. I am all about teaching them to be self sufficient and resourceful and to have the confidence in themselves to believe, that against all odds, they can find a pair of clean shorts in the pile. Mainly, because saying it is my own personal version of teaching them self reliance sounds so much better than yes, I really am that kind of lazy. Or, instead, they could just do this with the pile of laundry....


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Ronnie to Alannah, who is sitting at kitchen table, reading a Harry Potter book for the 947 time, "Why are you reading Harry Potter again when you already have the whole darn thing completely memorized?" Alannah, "That's not true, I forgot what happened in certain paragraphs."
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And lastly, we went to family group support night at the Children's Cancer Center last night. Family support group, is an amazing night that has become a huge lifeline for us. I could write a string of every positive adjective I can think of and it still wouldn't do the Center justice. It is an amazing group and a place where upstairs, when it is just the parents, it can be a no holds barred, talk about all the issues, emotions, fears, triumphs that go with facing cancer. All the families show up, gorge on some yummy food together for a while and then the kids stay downstairs to be doted on and entertained by the Center's super, amazing, fantastic volunteers while the parents all go upstairs to talk. We are in the car on the way home, this is the conversation in my car.
Mandy, "Momma, did you miss me while you were upstairs tonight?"
Me, "Of course I did, baby, but I knew you were having so much fun!"
Mandy, "You're right! I was!" And, yes, for those of you counting the exclamation points,(RONNIE) Mandy always speaks with exclamation marks!!
Zachary, "What do you guys do when you go upstairs anyway?"
Alannah, "They laugh at jokes we wouldn't get and then they cry."
Zachary, "Huh. That's weird. I think we have more fun downstairs."
She pretty much summed it up. But, that's how we roll. We laugh whenever we can, cry when we have to and then just keep going.
Love to all~