Memories

My 8 year old son, Jehu, has been getting phone calls from friends lately. It's a new thing. He is officially getting older, and I am having all of these memories coming back of my own childhood.

I was asking Jehu why his friend from school was calling him everyday. They had just been together all day for goodness sakes. Jehu's response to this question is what brought it all back. He simply answered, 'I like to talk to him. It's just fun to talk on the phone, too!'

Wow. Now that he mentioned it, I DO remember getting home from school & immediately wanting to talk to my friends on the phone. :-) I guess it wasn't just a girl thing.

Then, I remembered something awesome. When I was in the 6th grade, I got a swatch twinphone for my room! This is a picture of the phone I actually had - color & all. (It was 1989 after all)

It was SO. COOL. Not only did I have a phone in my room, but I had a twin phone. The base of the phone was also a receiver. Which meant my BFF Erika could come over to my house & we could BOTH be on the phone talking to another friend! Hence, the twin phone.

It was seriously SO COOL. Are you getting the major coolness that was this phone? I am actually feeling giddy just thinking about it. :-)

My how the world has changed. Glad that I can remember the fun of days gone by and experience a little bit of history repeating itself through my kids.

Do you remember this?

I don't remember what it was actually about - weight-loss probably.

I don't know why, but this phrase has always stuck with me though. 'Stop the insanity!'

Again and again, situations arrive that are (in my opinion) crazy and I think 'stop the insanity!' The bad decisions that some people make, the way some people live their lives (no communication at all & then being surprised that it's not working so well), etc. 'Stop the Insanity!'

So, I thought I'd share. Can you relate?

*disclaimer: I am not a perfect person, by any stretch of the imagination, and I KNOW this. There is just a level of crazy/stupid that I cannot refrain from commenting on.

A few random thoughts and things...

1. If you have stumbled upon this blog & LIKE it - follow me! I've had a recent upswing in readers, and am loving it! Thank you!

2. Since my mom has been in Haiti, I have been in more consistent (& constant) contact with several of my extended family members as well as a few of my mom's good friends. They are all so worried about my mom, and want to know what's new. I think this is so sweet, so I will start by stating that. I love that everyone is worried about my mom's well being and want to know that she is safe.

Also, as much as I love that they care, why oh why do a few of them go from asking about my mom, to talking about their illnesses? I DON'T GET IT!

My grandma is the best at this. She really always has been. My grandmother is 85 years old. I am 31, so she is pretty young or at very least she is of a normal age to be a grandmother and great-grandmother. She has always acted very old. Even when she was still in her 50's, you'd have thought she was in her 70's because of how old she acted! There are people that are young at heart, and then there are the others and my grandmother is definitely in the 'others' category. I love her, but it's just true. :-)

This week, she has informed me all about her teeth, her bowels, her skin, her eating habits, and her abundant fears. Not only has she informed me about hers, but she then proceeded to ask me about MINE!! I kid you not, she asked me about my bowels! Okay grandma, I love you, but this is where I draw the line!

Lord, help me to never be like that!

Sadly, I had a similar conversation with my mother's friend as well, and she is in her 50's! Seriously?! Is there something about me that screams 'tell me about your poo' or something? I don't get it, and in case anyone would like clarification - please don't tell me about your poop or your bowels!

3. I watched Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show. He is a class act! I loved what he said about not being cynical:

"To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I'll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

Very wise. Conan, you will be missed!

Jack of All Trades

Sometimes, I feel a bit like a 'Jack of all Trades'. I obviously don't mean this in a literal sense, because I could never just go be a plumber or an electrician or a mechanic. My realm of knowledge is very, very limited for sure. But I've still been thinking about this a lot lately. Maybe that just comes with the SAHM territory. We live on one income, so I try to do things myself as much as possible to save us money. It could just be part of my personality too, I guess. I'm almost always willing to try it. I am ALWAYS willing to ask questions about it for sure, or look it up online to figure things out. And, with Aaron working full time, I feel bad making up long lists of 'to-do's' for him when I feel like I'm perfectly capable to do them myself.

Anyways, the real reason I bring this thought up is because I realized that I feel most often like I can do a little of everything, but I'm not great at any of them. More than that, I don't really have any desire or passion to be great at any of the things that I can do either. Which, I suppose, is my real dilemma.

I've been thinking about the future a lot, as my kids keep get older. I know that I don't want to be a SAHM forever. I always knew that I'd like to pursue some form of work when my kids are older and in school full time. I also want the flexibility of schedule. I have done the two weeks off a year corporate job thing when I worked at Bank of America. It was a blessing to work there at the time, but I HATED that I had to miss everything while my family had holidays off and breaks and all of that. I know that unless I wanted to be a teacher too, it's not realistic to expect all of the same time off (and I am NOT a teacher). However, I would really like the flexibility to take some of that time off too!

So, after lots of thought - I have finally decided on going to school for cosmetology when Noah is in school full days. It is only a 1 year commitment to school. I know it would take a few years to build a clientele, but I think in the big picture it could be the kind of job that could offer me flexibility that is also a 'trade' I can have for the rest of my life.

Here is my mental/emotional dilemma though - can I do it? Will I succeed at it? I am decent at a lot of things but not great at any of them. Is this just going to be one more area that this rings true in? I am afraid that I will spend the money and the time and just be okay. Which in that business is not great. And, no offense to anyone, but I really do NOT want to end up working at some cost cutters or great clips or whatever.

So, this is me venting and word vomiting my worry, fear, insecurity or basic unsure-ity in myself, what I can do that I will enjoy & can also make money to help my family financially too. Awesome. I DO think I needed to write it all out though, because I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Very contemplative right now I guess.

Haiti Donations

Well, it has been a whirlwind of a time.

I am so humbled by my friends, and their willingness to pitch in!

Today I packed 4 large bins FULL of cereal, diapers, wipes, formula, rice cereal, peanut butter, oatmeal, nutri-grain bars, pudding, and powdered gatorade. This is AWESOME!

I LOVE that we are doing something that makes a REAL difference.

Thank you also to those that donated money!

You are the reason we can ship all of this to the babies and children at the orphanage.

Thank you, thank you, thank you all who donated!! You ROCK!

Aren't I

too young to be dealing with this yet?

I am a few weeks behind in my hair coloring...yikes! Part of me is SO annoyed though - I am only 31! Why am I so gray already?

Today's the day though...time to get rid of all that gray, and look like the young and vibrant 31 year old that I am!

Side note: I was at the gym a few months ago & one of the trainers started talking to me, asking me questions about my 'routine' and in the middle of this conversation he says 'so you're what like 30?'. And I was crushed! Do I really look like I'm 30?

This is so weird because I am not one of those women that are afraid of their age or that are trying desperately to look younger than I am. I always tell my husband that I am good with looking my own age. However, my internal response to that guys guess (and accuracy) of my age said otherwise. Hmmm, I guess I need to think on this more. After all, it's not as if I want to be mistaken for a 24 year old or anything, but a nice 28 would have been appreciated. ;-)

Haiti

My mom is on a missions trip visiting an orphanage in Cap-Haitian Haiti. She's there to love on all the children & babies. She has been put in charge of an 18 month old child that is so malnourished that it wears newborn clothing. She said that he has finally smiled for the first time, just today. They are working with him to learn how to roll over as well. So hard. I told her I think her heart is just going to break for all of them in a wonderful way. I am so proud of her.

Just today we had a scare though. There was a huge earthquake in Haiti. It registered at 7.0 which by description is MAJOR. Thankfully, she wasn't located near the center of the earthquake! She is safe as are the rest of the people at the orphanage (workers & children). Phew! It registered as a 5.5 on the scale where she was located, which is still major but less dangerous than in Port-au-Prince.

The orphanage is called: Children of the Promise & their website is: childrenofthepromise.org

I urge you to check it out. I personally know the people that began this journey and they still run it to today. They are honest and wonderful people with such big hearts! They treat & care for abandoned, orphaned and very sick children. Right this moment there are 3 babies with AIDS, 3 babies with sickle cell anemia, a baby with a colostomy bag and a lot of abandoned babies on top of that!

One thing that volunteers can help do is construction and maintenance as well as working with babies one on one to help them work on growing developmentally. Most of them are far behind where they should be developmentally, when they first arrive.

To end this - I am so relieved that my mom is safe. My heart is stirred for this orphanage and I am planning on gathering items to send to them soon!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Well, we had a good christmas here at The Allen's. We decorated cookies and had a blast! Aaron & Jehu made their traditional fudge, and it turned out incredibly well this year, so yay!

We veered from our traditional christmas eve hot pot meal, and had a really delicious Italian meal instead. We were sad to say goodbye to the tradition (as we are all about tradition), but realized that it was a small sacrifice for family. In the end, it was a wonderful night full of family and fun! As we headed home, we realized that our very favorite part of hot pot is the whole experience of it - surrounded by family, and THAT was still there! So, our new tradition is about changing it up every year. Next year is our responsibility and I am thinking Greek!

The kids had a little christmas program this year at our church where they sang a few songs and recited the christmas story. It was so much fun & adorable. Poor Noah had it all memorized, and then chickened out at the last minute. He sat next to me & sang every word of every song. Stinker! Oh well, there's always next year. :-)

Then after a few very relaxing days, we prepared for our, now annual, New Years Eve Party. All the kids hang on till midnight & often beyond. We all eat & drink & talk the night away! It is a blast! This year had the odd (yet fun) addition of watching old church videos...including one from exactly 10 years ago. I had mixed emotions watching it. In part, it was hilarious watching so many of our friends so baby faced, and hearing all of the behind the scenes stories. I still can't believe how fast 10 years has gone by! In part, it was sad to see some people who have jumped off the deep end & left their marriages and children for drugs, alcohol & prison. Okay, just one or two people, but still it was so sad. I am grateful for the last 10 years, but I am really hoping for a less dramatic next 10 years :-) I am pretty sure they will be.

A recap of the last 10 years:

Aaron & I got married in August of 2000. Yay!

I became pregnant with Jehu shortly thereafter (about 4 months).

Jehu is born and amazing! We love being parents!

Aaron went through school - with a lot of hard work from the both of us, a lot of tears, a lot of everything, really.

Our church fell apart, and we went through emotional hell. This happened over about 3 years. This effected our marriage, all of our friendships, our relationships with God and pretty much our whole lives. We are stronger people, are stronger in our marriage & know who we are (and who God is) without a shadow of a doubt because of it, but it was hell.

We moved to Spokane from Othello! Hallelujah! I can breathe again...finally!!

Aaron graduated from college with his teaching degree! Yay us! I am SO proud to say that we made it!

We bought our home in Spokane!

Rozalyn is born! We have a beautiful baby girl, and I become a stay at home mom with two kids at home. :-)

3 months later - surprise, I'm pregnant again! What the hell?? Yep, I was preggers & I found out in an IKEA in Minneapolis, of all places! We got a lot of jokes about needing to get cable or a TV over the next few months. It was a bit of a blur because of the constant throwing up all 9 months.

Noah was born in January! Our third and final child has arrived happy and healthy!

Aaron miraculously gets a continuing contract as a teacher at the Junior High he'd been working at for 2 years. We were SO thrilled!

Aaron decides to get his Master's degree. A lot more work and time goes by for another 2 years, but he finally finishes & has his Master's degree! Yay! Now, I put my foot down & declare that we need a BREAK from school! And, that I will be the next one to go to school (which will not be for a few years).

My parents got divorced. It was horrible all around. Horrible & traumatic circumstances. It sucked, and still does. That's all I'm really going to say.

I started exercising to deal with all the stress of said situation, and for overall health. It feels good to make time for ME (even if it is just exercise).

In light of said exercise, I have lost 55 lbs and Aaron has lost 65 lbs and we are thrilled.

We visit Disneyland for the very first time as a family (and mine & the kids very first time EVER)! It was magical & better than I ever could have imagined! I am a believer in the Magic of Disneyland!

So, we end the last decade with a strong & happy marriage, 3 incredible kids ages 8, 5 and almost 4 and a hope for an even brighter future!

What really blows my mind is that in 10 more years I will be 41 (ack!) and I will have an 18 year old, a 15 year old and a 14 year old (double ack!).

How about we just enjoy today, shall we?! That is much easier to imagine!