Friday, May 27, 2011

Lucky


I already know I'm lucky. And yes, it is because I find a lot of four-leaf clovers, I'm pretty sure. I really do. But also, take a day like today, when I am just a total Crabby Crabberton, arguing with everyone: with Ben because he's packing for a school camping overnight and insists on locating a hairbrush "because it's on the list, look, here it is, on the list, and it doesn't say optional," even though he has never once used a hairbrush in his life; with Michael because if there are sweets in the house, he eats them, as if sweets present the mandatory task of eating them until they're gone, even if the person in the house who never eats sweets might suddenly want a cookie; with Birdy for laughing popcorn all over the kitchen floor in a way that seems somewhat unnecessary to me. I know what you're thinking: That poor woman--what a horrid, horrid family. Believe me, I was thinking the same thing. And then I complained somewhat listlessly about how everyone was fighting with me, and Ben, the dimpled Ben, came over to say, lovingly, "Um, Mama? In the Venn diagram? You're kind of at the overlapping middle of all the fighting, if you know what I'm saying."

What would I do without that kid? That kid who has a new recipe testing for Twice-Baked Potatoes up over at ChopChop. Please go read it, would you? (That was a very Mr. Rogers request, wasn't it? Neighbor.)

Have a wonderful weekend.
xo

Don't even talk to me about how the lilacs are already brown and withering outside. Stupid lilacs. I was mad at them too.

23 comments:

  1. Allyson5:52 PM

    I'm mad at the stupid lilacs, too. They are my favorite sign of spring, and every year I'm convinced they disappear so fast for the sole purpose of pissing me off. I know you can relate, Catherine. Off to Chop Chop now to see the lovely (if unbrushed) Ben make potatoes.

    (My Word verification for the day is "versica", which I'm pretty sure is some sort of combination poetry slam/bloodsport. Anyone?)

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  2. Anonymous6:07 PM

    I'm mad that you have lilacs. It's rainy and cold here and too wet to even try to cut any poor flowers that are just shivering in the wind.

    But I can't stay mad too long when I read about Ben describing the Venn diagram of fighting. Totally cracked me up. Also, I subscribed to ChopChop yesterday, and I can't wait for it to arrive!

    This is mommyneedsanap, but I can't remember my password so I'm anonymous today.

    Finally, my word verification is "afrop" which seems like something one would use to describe a fashion choice that went terribly wrong. "That dress she was wearing? What afrop!"

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  3. Oh, my god, I didn't even know how to spell Venn diagram until about two years ago (I always thought it was Vin)...that's one smarty smarterson (but, how does he keep all that hair so smooth without a hairbrush?)

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  4. VENN DIAGRAMS! I love Venn diagrams. But I also love lilacs and right now we barely have leaves on our lilac bush, let alone actual plants. So I'm really dying of jealousy.

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  5. I love the Venn diagram comment!Funny, how kids can pull you out of a pissy mood with the most spot on hilarious comments.

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  6. Anonymous9:49 PM

    Oh I am so the overlapping circle on the Venn Diagram on cranky days! What a great analogy! Guess it's better than being the center of a spider diagram with everyone running away from you! ;)

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  7. Ah, but as I've just learned after days of denial (okay, they're really dead now), lilacs smell so good even after they've gone crunchy and brown in the vase. How does that smell of promise (Purple! Spring!) linger even when they are undeniably withered away? Kind of like how you can pull a lovely, hopeful vision of family out of your own cranktastic day, actually. Thanks, as always.

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  8. I am definitely making those potatoes! The McStickerson part made me laugh out loud, but not as much as the Venn diagram part. Love that he won't even let you wallow in your crabbiness without throwing math terms in there!

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  9. Anonymous7:48 AM

    After my six year old spent 45 minutes raging around the house "beacuse I am so tired, mom," I put him to bed and kindly said that in the morning we would need to discuss his behavior. He looked at me all teary eyed and very sincerely said, "But mom you always cry when you are over tired. Should we discuss that too?" Ahhh, kids!

    My word verification is "parkosi" which I am pretty sure is the name of a substitute teacher, "Hi class, I am Mrs. Parkosi. I will be your teacher today."

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  11. I think Ben has just spawned a new mantra for me: Moms are at the center of the Venn diagram of family life. Some days (like today) I have trouble being thankful for the way that every action of every human under my roof somehow has to pass through me, you know? I was doing one of my exercise DVDs this morning, with a perfectly functional and involved adult male in the house ready to attend to his children's needs, and every single child came in at least once to 1) ask what I was doing (ummmm...watching this fascinating TV show in which a beautiful woman caresses a large rubber ball? What do you think I'm doing?), 2) start playing with my exercise equipment, even at one point rolling the exercise ball into the other room until I reminded guilty child that I'M USING THAT, 3) ask if they could skip softball practice today (NO), 4) tell me about the new song they absolutely must have on their iPod immediately, and 5) generally make it impossible for me to do five minutes of uninterrupted exercise. Cranky, cranky, cranky.

    I do realize what a blessing it is to be so loved and needed by these kids. But I was definitely having a very Venn sort of morning. Trying to remember that one day, I will be in the lonely outer edges of my kids' Venn diagrams, so I should be grateful to be the center today.

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  12. I recently gave my boyfriend a Venn diagram t-shirt for his 40th birthday--with the Tardis from Dr. Who at the center and various other sci-fi goodies surrounding. Hehehe.

    Stupid lilacs indeed. Last week I was caught up in a cranky day, and I found myself irate with the purple finches that nest on our porch, because their babies, I don't know, had the audacity to grow up and take flight. Next week is my baby's final week of kindergarten as well as my oldest's last of elementary school so I foresee being a clingy, whiny hag in my near future...

    My word verification is puriest, which sounds like it should be a real adjective, just one that certainly never would have applied to me! ;P

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  13. My crabbiness inspired this on my blog: http://crazymommatalking.blogspot.com/2011/05/universal-law-2.html

    Something in the air in MA???

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  14. Angela3:00 PM

    Yes! Venn diagram for whatever mood the mother is currently in - which on a good day is great, but adds pressure when you wake up cranky (or run out of coffee ;) ). Alas, the lilacs are long brown here. My 3-year-old can even recognise them in other people's gardens. "Look, Mummy, there is a tee with flowers that are bown and died just like ours!"... hmm...

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  15. Anonymous11:07 PM

    I must admit, I'm curious too as to how Ben isn't rocking some serious dreadlocks if he never uses a brush. Is he a comb or pick boy instead? ;o)
    I hear ya on the lilacs too. Ours were up for less than a week when a nasty wind came thru and stripped the branches, along with my first blooming peonie. Boo!

    My word verification is Remoug, which is how my son used to say REMOVE as a toddler, like he was born and bred in Brooklyn.

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  16. Please tell Chef Ben his new blog is great! I can't wait to see what is coming next. We were at a backyard BBQ today and the lilacs were still blooming, I guess we are a bit behind. The smell equals spring for me too!

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  17. The lilacs may be gone but my hydrangeas are BURSTING. :)

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  18. The venn diagram. What a great comment on Ben's part. I'll have to keep that in mind. Seems I'm in the middle of that also!

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  19. I feel like I'm always saying "I've never seen" or "I've never tasted" in my comments, but today I do have to say I don't think I've ever seen lilacs. I just googled them and it seems they don't grow here in Louisiana. Our first sign of spring I suppose is the blooming of azalea bushes. They're garish and hot pink and don't smell one bit. The blooms have already been gone for months. At 96 with 100% humidity, it's pretty much summer. Try that for justification for being cranky!
    I love Ben and his Venn diagram! I also love his fear of the oven. I still treat it the same way.

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  20. I declared myself on the front page of Bad Parent Weekly over dinner last night because I told my oldest child that if he did not finish his dinner by the time the timer rang, he would have to eat an apricot as punishment. I know all the reasons this is wronger than wrong - so does he. The unrepentant 8-year in question intoned in his best BBC news anchor voice, "Bad Mother says, "I knew it was wrong, but I didn't want to sit here all night!"

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  21. I need to borrow Ben for those "I need to hear that, but so gently" moments. My son also reminds me of my "Mama Grumpus" moments, but not anywhere near as sweetly. ;)

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  22. It's the last day of school and I just turned on the heater, again, and put wollen sock on. It's freezing cold here in Utah!!!
    I'm afraid I'm always the overlapping part of the Venn Diagram of fighting. I swear, if I could bottle up the energy I waste in getting mad at everyone, I'd drink it every morning and use it to be happy instead. My family would be happier for sure.

    Word verification: mingrap. It's like MindWrap said by my 6 year old.

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  23. I'm like Michael with the sweets and am forever thankful that my spouse never, never has a sweet tooth. (Or, at least if he does, and I've eaten all of whatever delectable sweet he was interested in, he just asks if I ate it all and then smiles slightly and shakes his head a bit when I inevitably answer "yes.")

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