Collections

Today Chase showed me his "rock collection" Five small rocks of varying color and shape.



It made me recall the collections I once held dear.

• Hotel Soap~~ My Grandma Hopkins would save them for me from various hotels.
• Colored Pens~~I was the only 5th Grader around with a yellow ink pen.
• Stickers~~Scratch & sniff, puffy, and holographic stickers were my faves.

As I grew up my collections continued.

• Nail Polish
• Shoes
• Boyfriends

Finally as an adult my collections are much more purposeful.

• Perrennial Plants
• AVON anything!
• Cheap, and I mean cheap, Wine
• "mom uniforms" you know what I mean--the velour hoodie and pants set. It makes you look like you just came from the gym when you really just came from Playland at McDonalds.

It was interesting for me to see what things I couldn't get enough of...What do you "collect?"

How I know if my kid watches too much TV...

When my 2 year old randomly starts singing: "Spongebob Squarepants, Spongebob Squarepants, Sponge -Boobbbb, Square-Paaaannnts.... and she sings it on tune.

Big parenting oops.

Us Hopkins kids watched a good amount of TV growing up and we claim to have turned out excellent, although some might disagree :)

9 years of matrimony.

It was 1997 when Dan and I walked down the aisle and said our "I do's" 9 years, two houses, 3 kids, 2 mini-vans and a few pounds later, we have a lot to look back on and much to be thankful for.

I cried like a baby at our wedding reception while I danced with my dad. Maybe I was scared to be a married woman at the ripe old age of 21. I think I just didn't want to give up my super cool last name of Hopkins. But I needn't cry, Dan would provide a beautiful life and give me 3 kids in the process. He puts up with my ever changing moods, and my incessant urge to argue and offer my opinions. He also knows that after 10pm anything I say is just venting and I will climb down from my soap box in the morning.

happy anniversary, hon. I'll see you in NYC for our 10th!!

(here's a shout out to Ron & Cheryl~~ Happy 15th! you old turds!)

Not Ready to Make Nice

Above is the title of a new song by the Dixie Chicks. Remember them? I used to love country music about 12 years ago, listening almost exclusively the genre. I came across an article in TIME magazine about the Dixie Chicks and their approaching "comeback" from a musical hiatus.

Three years ago there was a big uproar when the lead singer Natalie Maines made a comment "...she was ashamed that the President of the U.S. was from Texas" during one of their concerts in a foreign country. This comment was made on the eve of the Iraq war. What followed was backlash from the country music world which included burning of their CDs, banning their music from radio stations, and even threats to the group.

Fast forward to now, they are releasing a new album and their website plays the song Not Ready to Make Nice. I like the song, I like it a lot. But I don't like the message that it gives. Forget the war, or their political stance, this songs reeks of unrepentance and stubborn unforgiveness. SO... why do I like the song so much? It bugs me because it goes against what I know is right about offering forgiveness, not holding a grudge, and having a obstinate heart. Maybe I am just annoyed because they were the ones who made the retarded comment in the first place and are now acting like the poor victims. Some victims...assuredly they will make tons of dough on their latest venture. Still, I can't get the song out of my head. Is it possible to like a song musically and dislike it lyrically? What's your take on this? Any thoughts?

Loose Tooth.

Chase has been working on his first loose tooth for awhile now. It is a certain rite of passage he has been looking forward to all school year. Recently, he became worried about the amount of blood that might occur when the tooth finally erupts.

Saturday night, at Steak and Shake, in the bathroom stall, Chase exclaimed, "mom, my loose tooth just came out" Hardly any blood and he could not be happier.

Here's to losing the rest of his baby teeth and waiting for those big and often snaggleteeth to appear.

My 3 Moms.

I am a day behind with my sentiments but I will post them nonetheless.

I have 3 moms. My mom Judy, and my 2 mothers-in-law, Jackie and Denise.

It seems that only one day a year is not sufficient to buy cards, gifts, or express true feelings for our mothers since they give of themselves every day for us. I feel very blessed that I have these 3 unique and gracious women in my life and in the lives of my children.

Here are just some of the many, many things I have learned about being a wife and mother from "my 3 moms"

• Finding joy and purpose in being a stay-at-home mom, and the importance of not making myself and our family so busy that we do not have time to just be together.
• Sacrificing for the sake of our children. Be it time, $$, or sleep :)
  
• Being your husband's ultimate support in times of trial and in times of ease.
  
• Not to always open my big mouth with my opinions, just listen.
  
• Start and finish the laundry on the same day. ( I admittedly suck at this one)
• Try to look nice for your husband when he comes home. (i'm having visions of my mom running to the bathroom to curl her hair before dad returned from work)
  

The list could go on and on. I love and appreciate my mothers so much. They are a source of encouragement and inspiration that I only hope to pass on someday to my own children.

Happy Mother's Day!

Back to the 90s

I have had quite an absence from blogging. But tonight I feel I am starting to get on top of things again. My glorious mom helped me shovel through my like 15 loads of forgotten laundry and we had the carpets cleaned today. No longer doth our home reek of barf!!!

For me the garage sale was successful ( I think) I sold a ton of my kids' old clothes, but at what cost? I felt as if I dedicated so much time and energy to this sale that something or someone got the short end of the stick. Namely, Dan and the kids. I'm not a crier, but I was reduced to tears 4 times during the process. Was that really worth it? Plus, I was a grade A b-tch to those around me. If you are reading this, and I treated you like a pile of poo----I am SO sorry!

New Topic. Since I have been so nostalgic lately, check out this photo circa 1990s. Can her hair be bigger? This photo was a special request from one of my dedicated readers :)
Sorry Tami! The 90s weren't so bad. My best memory is the M.C .Hammer pants that my friend Amy and I tried to sew for ourselves. That explains the photo above. I'm not sure how to explain the photo below... What is your Favorite 90s Memory?

2 Legit 2 Quit.

Freaking out. Days 2, 3, & 4

This garage sale sorting, pricing, and tagging is moving at a snail's pace and pretty much came to a screeching halt last night when Joy puked all over the place. Come on, this week?

Yes, I am whining. I cannot believe how "out of sight out of mind" this crap has become. I could just kick myself for holding on to this stuff for literally 6 years. Why did I think someone might want my big, black, saggy crotch maternity pants? What an idiot. Well, I better get back to sorting, and tagging, and cleaning up barf.

My next post will feature much less whining (hopefully)