A Simple Trip to the Grocery Store

My goal for the day was to go to the grocery.  I discovered yesterday that we were running out of everything, so I knew it was going to be an expensive day.  An expensive and time-consuming day.  With two kids.  My two kids.  "Oh well," I told myself.  "Stay-at-home moms do this all the time, I can do it!"  I am so wrong...

Let me start off by saying that I love my kids more than life itself.  I am honored to be their mother, and I thank God for allowing me to know what joys and hardships come from raising them.  For those of you who have a child (or two), you might understand what I'm getting ready to say.  For those of you who don't, I provide you with an insight into your future, or a glimpse of what you've avoided.

We went to breakfast, then arrived at Super Wal-Mart.  Anytime we need to buy a lot of household items, we go there to save money.  It's a double-edged sword, though.  You save money, but it takes twice as long as going to Kroger.  Upon entering the building, the first meltdown starts.  "I want this cart, Mommy!" says Lauren. Yes, it's the cart with two big plastic seats on the front of it.  The cart that is as long as Donald Trump's yacht.  The cart that usually knocks six items off the shelf per isle.  The cart that has a turning radius of 25 feet.  "No," I reply.  My answer comes from lessons I've learned in the past; getting the huge cart that they sit in for 2 minutes, and struggling to control it throughout the entire store.  Lauren decides that this is the worst injustice ever, and begins to cry.  Then, thinking that maybe I will have an easier time getting them to both sit in the cart (vs. running up and down the isles), I give in.  She's happy, Ben's happy-no wait-now there's a fight over which seat is his or hers.  I counter with just pushing the cart fast, hoping that the issue gets straightened out, or that one of them falls out.  ;)

We go to the opposite side of the store to get hygiene products (so convenient), which means we have to pass by the toys.  I give a time limit of 5 minutes.  We walk through the toys, Ben sees 10,000 things he "needs," Lauren stands by the bicycles crying 'cause she wants to ride one around the store and can't understand why I won't let her.  Her power move is to stand in one spot and cry, as if she won't move until she gets her way.  We eventually move on, after several dirty looks from the Wal-Mart staff.

Off to the food section!  The kids decide they've had enough of the cart and take off on foot.  Ben is arguing with me about buying watermelon-flavored yogurt, while Lauren bolts down the isle, nearly running into an old man's cart.  Another dirty look.  As I call Lauren's name, Ben puts the yogurt in the cart, hoping I won't notice.  I take it out, explaining that he's bought that yogurt before, and didn't like it.  I substitute another flavor, instruct the kids to get back into the cart, and head out.  Another fight over who sits where erupts, I assign seats, and we move on.  This repeats for about another 20 isles or so, until we get close to the front of the store.

About 2 isles from the front of the store, Ben decides he has to go to the bathroom.  He lets me know by putting his hand over his crotch and yelling, "Oooh, I have to pee, Mommy!"  Lauren, never to be outdone, puts her hand over her crotch and repeats.  We make a trip to the bathroom (conveniently located at the front of the store, right next to the video game area).  We head back to food section, and Lauren escapes from the cart and bolts for the front of the store.  Ben decides it's his job to corral her and chases after her.  This, of course, seems like the best game in the world to Lauren, who runs straight into the video game area.  I watch, in awe, at my son smiling & waving to me from the area, "We're up here, Mommy!"  I walk up to them, and give Ben the "death stare."  He appears slightly concerned.  Lauren is on a motorcycle game, and has apparently lost her hearing, 'cause she has no response when I tell her to "come here this instant."  

I finally make it through the store, and head to the checkout lane.  The elderly clerk is carefully scanning every item and placing it in it's appropriate bag.  The kids have picked up every toy at the checkout, and are fighting over an Etch-A-Sketch.  The clerk says, "Did your Mommy say you could have that?"  I explain that they are just playing with them until I'm finished checking out-which will apparently be sometime between now and her retirement party.  Upon realizing that I'm preoccupied putting bags in the cart, both kids break free and run to the video game area again.  This time, Ben yells, "Mommy, can I?"  I nod "yes."  The total bill comes to over $200, which instantly thrills me.  I can't wait until Mark says, "You spent how much?"  <Apparently, he thinks that supplying a family of 4 with food, soap, and toilet paper should still cost $50 a week>  I load all of the groceries in the car while Lauren is crying, "THIRSTY!!!" and Ben is talking over her, saying,  "Can we go out to lunch?"  

You would think that the worst part was over, wouldn't you?  No...I get home, pull in the garage, and Lauren says, "I want to shut the garage door!"  <she's just learned how to push the button that opens and closes the garage> "NO, I DO!" explains Ben.  A fight erupts.  I open the door to the house, Mooky is barking over and over, Lauren is plugging her ears and crying, and Ben has disappeared.  I haul all $200 worth of groceries into the house and hear Ben say, "I'm hungry, can you fix me some lunch?"  "THIRSTY!!!"  yells Lauren.  "BARK, BARK, BARK!" says Mooky.  

And this is what a typical trip to the grocery is like for me.  To be fair, it might be just me.  My kids might be the most ill-behaved children of all time in a grocery store.  However, judging by the twitch I see in other parents' eyes, it's not just me.  Kids are awful at the store!  This is why I shop at 10:00 at night or on my lunch hour!  I can't take all those dirty looks!

Mooky

This is my dog, Mooky.  He is breaking my heart.

I adopted Mooky from UC when my second year of tech school was coming to an end in 1999.  He was bred for research; born in a lab and sold to UC for the Veterinary Technology program.  Every student was assigned an animal (either a cat or a dog) to adopt or place in a home by the end of the school year.  I was assigned a cat, but I traded with another student for Mooky.  I knew I wanted to have a dog of my own since Mark and I were engaged to be married that year, and we would be moving into our first apartment after the wedding.  It was an exciting time!

None of the animals had names, they were addressed by their tattoos.  I remember going to the meet "CKKMDS" for the first time.  All of the male dogs were housed in a room together and when you walked in, the barking would literally make the hearing in your ears distort.  As an added bonus, the smell of urine & feces would also smack you in the face, making visiting the dogs a lot less appealing...  When I saw his face, I remember thinking, "Wow, that dog has REALLY big eyes!"  He was very timid, he paced his cage and moved to the back when I entered.  He wanted to come to me, but was too afraid.  I would offer him a treat, but he was too scared to take it.  There I sat, deaf and about to wretch from the stink, trying to win over this silly-looking dog.

Our relationship didn't change much the whole time I was in school.  He would wag his tail when he saw me after awhile, but he never made eye contact with me, never ate from my hand, and never seemed to pay me much attention when he was out of his cage.  I remember taking Mark down there to meet him; he was trying to get Mooky to look at him or acknowledge him in some way-nothing.

I was so excited for the day I finally got to bring him home in May of 1999.  My mother-in-law, Judie, went down to UC to help me.  He walked out of his cage for the last time, walked out of the basement of the medical school for the last time, and walked out into the world for the first time-COMPLETELY freaked out.  Mooky had never been outside due to research regulations, so he was experiencing everything for the first time.  The sound of cars driving by, construction equipment beeping, people walking by, grass, etc.-it was all new to him.  

I took him home and began to watch a 2 1/2 year old dog learn how to do everything for the first time.  He would go outside to go to the bathroom when a lawn mower would start up, and he would sprint to my side.  He had no idea how to climb stairs.  He would barely eat.  One thing he was sure of:  he could not let me out of his sight because I was all he knew.  If I left him, he freaked out 'til I got back.  He was petrified of men and wouldn't approach them at all, no matter what.

Then, things started to change...  Mooky began to calm down and trust people.  He learned to play and run in the yard like a normal dog.

Mooky is 14 years old, now.  He started out so weird, but has turned into the dog that I will compare all other dogs to.  He is usually present in the background of most of the pictures of the kids, he loves to be around us.  He is so sweet, he wants nothing more than to lay with me and have me rub his chest.  He has endured two kids pulling his tail, yanking his ears, feeding him one kernel of food at a time from his dog bowl, and countless loud noises that caused him to run and hide.  Sure, he has his annoying habits, but I couldn't ask for a better dog.

That's why I'm so sad.  I had my suspicions that Mooky was sick, but it was confirmed this week.  He has stage III/IV chronic renal failure.  Kidney disease causes him to vomit, drink more water, and pee more.  We are still in the beginning stages of trying to figure everything out, so right now I have more questions than answers.  I have no idea if this will progress quickly-it depends on him.  In 2 weeks I will take him in for more blood work to see if the change in diet has helped any.  Today, he has vomited about 6 times, which I'm hoping is from the antibiotic he was on.  If not, it might mean that the disease is starting to progress.

 I know I'm going to have to say goodbye to him someday and I will never be able to replace him.  He has given me so much unconditional love in the past 11 years, I just hope that I have made him as happy as he has made me.  I have not always been the best mom to him, he has definitely taken a back seat to the kids since they were born.  I hope I can make it up to him because I know he needs me now more than ever.

The Sam

On Sunday, we visited the Children's Museum (Ben always called it the "sam" when he was younger) at Union Terminal with the kids.  It was kind of a last minute idea on Saturday night - we felt like the kids needed to expend some energy some place other than our house.  The sound of feet running in circles and screaming gets old REALLY fast!!!!!


The great thing about the Children's Museum is that they have fun things for kids of all ages.  Lauren had been there when she was very small, so this was the first time she could really explore.  Ben has been there a couple of times and has always enjoyed it.  Here are some pics of our day:

Driving the tractor

They have a whole section that is set up like a town; there is a general store, a kitchen, a mechanic, a diner, a veterinary hospital, etc.  It was so cute to watch Lauren play in that area.  It's funny, Ben could've cared less about the pretend town when he was her age, he was all about anything that he could build, hammer, shovel, throw, etc.  Lauren could have spent all day at the general store shopping.  I'm so lucky to get to experience what it is like having a boy and a girl!

Shopping at the General Store

putting the groceries away :)

working on her carpentry skills

Lauren yelling out, "Hello everybody!!!"

the sandbox

The water area is always a big hit with kids.  What is better than being able to play in water with boats & buckets when you are a kid?  Lauren loves to "do dishes" at home (that's where I put some dish liquid in the sink and fill it up with water).  She splashes around and has a blast for as long as I will let her.

the water area

There are a lot of pretend vehicles for the kids to sit in and pretend they are driving.  We spent some time riding the bus.

riding the Metro bus (it must be Ben's stop!)

 All in all, we had a lot of fun.  I think Lauren's mind was completely blown, for the most part.  They were both pretty exhausted when we left.  Mission accomplished!

Weight Loss Update

Well, it’s been 2 months since the end of the weight loss challenge, so I thought I should give an update on my progress.

I basically stayed the same (+ or – 3lbs) until about mid-December when I decided I was going to enjoy the holidays and eat whatever I wanted through Christmas.  I told myself that I would continue to exercise to offset the increase in calories.  As soon as I began to “enjoy” the holidays, I began to feel too tired to exercise every day.  “Christmas” turned into January 1^st…then January 3^rd.   I started getting a bit worried that I was losing my focus and determination; more worried that I wouldn’t be able to get it back.  Heck, it took me 10 years to find this determination in the first place, how stupid could I be to squander it?!?!  The weird thing is, I would get this rush every time I would prepare to eat something unhealthy.  It was almost like a drug for me; like I was doing something bad and I was getting away with it.  All of this food that I thought was sooooo delicious rarely tasted as good as I remembered it.  What happened?  Shouldn’t I be loving it?  I’ve been waiting to eat Esther Price candy for 8 months!

The fact is, I realized it wasn’t worth it.  It tasted okay, but it wasn’t worth losing myself.  I am no longer okay with feeling tired all of the time.  I’m no longer content feeling fat and lazy.  I no longer shrug off having to take Zantac at night before bed and falling asleep sitting up due to indigestion.  Basically, I expect more out of life, now.  I expect to have energy and feel good about myself - and I will settle for nothing less. 

So…back on the wagon I went.  The good news is, I realized that I truly have changed my lifestyle.  I can say that with confidence because as of Monday, I have been eating and exercising with the focus and determination that I had when I began the program in May.  I am eating my “authorized” foods and doing the cardio & weight training exercise regimen every night.  As you can imagine, I feel great already.  I have gotten my energy back and I feel in control of my life once again. 

My question is:  why do we do this to ourselves?  Why do we tell ourselves it’s going to make us happy eating a bunch of unhealthy food and sitting on the couch watching TV all night?  I have yet to meet someone who begins a healthy eating & exercise program that says, “I feel so much worse now, this is awful!”  We know it’s going to make us feel better, so why do we put it off?  

I’ll keep you posted on my progress, I weigh in on Tuesday.  Thanks for sticking with me!  I promise to be honest about my weight loss journey, especially since I got so many comments about how inspirational my weight loss blog entry was.   I won’t make it out like this is sooo easy for me or that I’m doing everything perfectly, ‘cause I’m not.   As I said in my first weight loss entry, I still have a long way to go!  My favorite quote when it comes to losing weight is, “It’s not about perfection, it’s about perseverance.”  I expect to have setbacks, but I can't make them permanent!

Christmas, New Year's, & Other Shananigans

Well, I know it seems like I fell off the face of the earth, but I'm still here!  This month has been very busy for my family, so I will try to catch you up on some of the fun stuff we have done.  Unfortunately, I have been really bad at taking pictures-at Christmas of all times!

Cub Scouts
I took Ben to his December Cub Scout meeting, which was a lot of fun.  First, we sang Christmas carols and passed out Christmas cards at a nursing home.  Ben had never been to one before, so I gave him some info. on the way.  I explained to him that nursing homes tend to have a distinct smell:  gravy, mixed with urine.  I also told him that there would be a lot of elderly people who look like they are dead, but rest-assured, they are not.  To my surprise, the place did not smell of gravy or urine.  We did see a lot of people sleeping with their mouths wide open (no teeth, of course), which always freaked me out when I was a kid!  He was a little nervous, but he did very well.  We had a talk about getting old and having to go in a nursing home, to which he replied, "I would take care of you and Daddy."  I thought that was very sweet...

Singing some carols 

After the Christmas carols, we went back for pizza and a "sock ball fight."  I was completely unaware of what a sock ball fight was, but I quickly learned!  Basically, you wad up socks into a ball shape, and hurl them at each other for about 15 minutes.  The Scoutmaster made sure to inform the boys that parents were "legal targets."  The boys got all excited & started laughing and pointing at their parents.  What they didn't realize, is that we (the parents) have been looking for an excuse to throw things at them for a loooooonnngg time and we had FINALLY gotten permission!!!!  You should have seen it...all of that pent-up aggression coming out.  The kids were laughing-until they turned to look at their parents, who stood stone-faced, hurling one sock ball after another, like an automatic pitching machine.  I plan on attending the sock ball fight every year!!!!  ;)  

School Christmas Party

I was fortunate enough to be able to help out in Ben's class for his Christmas party.  It was very cute!  Again, I was in charge of the snack table.  It was my job to pass out pretzel rings and Little Debbie Snacks.  I might not be able to be at the snack table in the future, 'cause I let the kids eat as much as they wanted and the teacher looked worried. 

my sweet little boy!

My Family Christmas
We spent the Saturday before Christmas at my parent's house celebrating with my side of the family.  It was a great time spent together, but always seems to go by too quickly.  We eat way too much food and then exchange $5 second-hand or funny gifts.  I love seeing how the family is growing more and more every year.  Next year will be even bigger!

The Cincinnati Cousins (minus Tyler)

Christmas 2010

We spent Christmas Eve at Heather's church (Eastside Christian Church) for a candlelight service.  They always do such a great job.  We enjoy spending Christmas Eve focusing on the real meaning of Christmas-Jesus!

That night, we came home and prepared for Christmas morning.  Ben woke up at 1:30 in the morning (when Mark and I were going to bed) asking if Santa had come yet.  He did not stop asking if he could go downstairs and check until 5:30 in the morning.  Apparently, he did go down to check, and after sizing up boxes, figured out he (and Lauren) had gotten the gift he had been wanting for over a year-a Nintendo Wii.  Lauren was very excited this Christmas, although I can't imagine her waking up early to open gifts.  She loves her sleep so much that when I woke her up and asked if she wanted to see if Santa came, she shook her head, "No" and rolled back over.  Every gift she opened, she said, "Ooooh, this is just what I wanted!" 

Besides the Wii, Mark and I broke down and bought Ben a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey (Troy Polamalu), which pained us greatly.  For those of you who don't know, the Steelers are the biggest rivals of the Bengals.  He has liked the Steelers ever since he knew how much we disliked them!  Ugh.  Mark and I joke that Ben is going to grow up to be a liberal democrat just to spite us.  ;)  We've done a lot of thinking about this, and we're trying to set up a life lesson with something as simple as a sports team.  We are trying to show him that he is allowed to have his own opinions; things like football teams, clothing styles, music taste, politics, etc. are up to him to decide what he likes and dislikes.  Hopefully, if we do our job right, he will know that there is no arguing with one thing-God.  There is no question that He exists, no question that Jesus is His son, and no question about the Bible being the true word of God.  He is beginning to ask questions about Christianity, lately.  I just hope I can give him the right answers that are biblically based and will lead him to want to grow closer to God.  He is so precious to me, this is the most important thing I can do for him as his mom!  


ANOTHER Bengals Game!

My dad won tickets to the Bengals vs. Chargers game on December 26th, and Mark's cousin gave Mark his season ticket seats, so my dad, Mark, Ben, and I all got to go to the game together!  It was soooo much fun!  I loved showing Ben downtown Cincinnati, the stadium, and all of the people that come out to watch the games (Ben asked if he could wear his new jersey, we told him it was in his best interest not to...).  Dad won Club seats, so we enjoyed a great view and an indoor eating area where we could go to get warm.  I managed to sneak Mark and Ben into the Club level (since there were plenty of unused seats!).  I think he became more of a Bengals fan after watching a game in person vs. on TV.

Enjoying our $20 snack

My favorite part of the whole day was getting to spend some time hangin' with my Dad.  He is so much fun to be around-we always see the craziest stuff when we're together!  We have so many great memories, but this one will be one I cherish for a long time to come!  Oh yeah, the Bengals won 34-20 in one of the best games of the season!

The men bundled up-it was 24 degrees and snowing!

Da Bengals

New Year's Celebration

For New Year's Eve, we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Cazadores, then came back to our house and played games.  This year, we made a rule that every adult was to pick a song to dance to on the Wii game Just Dance 2.  Much to our surprise, my Dad was the winner!  

Dad dancing to Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

The Judges

We played Wii bowling and tennis, watched the ball drop on Times Square, made some noise outside, and just hung out and talked.  We talked about 2010 and what we look forward to in 2011.  Looking back, 2010 was a pretty good year for me.  I look forward to getting to my goal weight in 2011 and going on a family vacation to a beach.  I haven't been on vacation since 2008, I think I'm due!