Good Friday morning!
The Gallery Pics are of my new mattress and bedding. Many, many pillows still need to be bought, and I am thinking a dark, chocolate brown throw spread across the bottom of the bed would be very pretty. But even without these finishing touches, it is a lovely, lovely bed. Ahhh! I cannot wait until bedtime!
RANDOMNESS - Things I've Learned While Raising Teens... A Humbling Experience - As I mentioned in Wednesday's post, "I'm going to be sharing a few of these 'things' over the next week or so. I'm not saying I have this teenage thing figured out. It's a process. One in which I am sure I will not have conquered until the last teen has left my house... and by then I will either have forgotten what I've learned, or it will no longer pertain to my life as a self-proclaimed 'Baby' Mama!"
Bedtimes - When the chicks were small, nap time and bedtime were events I looked forward to... a lot!
Even a self-proclaimed "Baby Mama" needs quiet time to regroup, unwind and get ready for the next round of bottom wiping, toddler moods and sibling squabbles. Many times, the thought of the "8:30 bedtime" was all that got me through the day.
The kids went down at 8:30 and we, the parental units, had about 45 minutes to an hour before we, too, passed out. Ahhh. Good times. Good times.
Now the house is full of teenagers. Teenagers do NOT go to bed at 8:30... but parental units really, really want to go to bed at 8:30. But we don't. We stay up. We stay "present." We wander in and out of the den, the kitchen, the various bedrooms. We talk if the teens want to talk. We watch a program with them if they want company. And by 10:00 p.m., we are more than ready to call it a day.
Teenagers... not so much.
The female teen of the house is tired because of basketball practice, so she spends an hour or so getting ready for the next day. (Yes. I said "an hour or so." She doesn't realize it now, but she can look absolutely fabulous by wearing a cap with a free-flowing ponytail and little or no make-up. That fact will hit her in the face when she turns 40. Until then, I'm not saying anything!)
The male teen of the house doesn't go to bed before 11:00 or so, and gets up 45 minutes before it is time to leave for school. His prep time for the next day consists of brushing his teeth, and when his head hits the pillow, he's out for the night!
When Austin is home during the weekend, Josh and Austin enjoy staying up to the wee hours of the morning watching movies and playing X-Box together. (And when I say "wee hours," I mean WEE HOURS.)
So, more often than not, Mikie and I go to bed so the kids can have some much-needed unwinding time from their hectic, busy day.
Our roles have totally reversed in this category.
And I don't think it will be long before Mikie and I are eating dinner between 4:30 and 5:00 in the evening to give everything time to digest before we "hit the hay." Oh. And the teens will survive and thrive just fine on midnight pizza.
I'm telling you, it's just a matter of time.
Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt Date
The Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt is great because it can be as versatile as you want to make it.
Divide the kids with your spouse.
Go to a local mall.
Each "team" should have a digital camera.
Team One should begin at one end of the mall and Team Two should begin at the other end. (Or if the mall is two stories, have Team One stay on the second floor and Team Two stay on the first floor.)
You have 30 minutes before meeting in the Food Court to add up the points... and have a snack as a family!
Make it simple. Take as many pictures of the following as possible!
1 Point - Heart pictures
1 Point - The words "Valentine's Day"
1 Point - Heart-shaped balloons
5 Points - Cupid poster or picture
5 Points - Picture of anyone wearing a Valentine's Day t-shirt or sweatshirt
10 Points - Picture of someone kissing
The winning team gets to share a small box of chocolates!
Use your imagination... and have a good time!
Weekend Happenings
It's a monumental weekend. I don't usually say that. I usually say "busy" or "hectic" or "fun." But "monumental" is a word which definitely fits this time.
Mikie and I will be celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary tonight... although our actual anniversary is January 23. (Who wants to celebrate on a Monday? Yuck!)
It has been our tradition for the past 23 years to spend our anniversary with a Gift of Time to each other. We don't BUY gifts. We simply go out to eat, shop or go to a movie and stay at a nice hotel in the area.
I have to admit, this tradition was not my original idea. When we married 24 years ago, we went to the Tutwiler Hotel in downtown Birmingham after the wedding. We didn't leave for our honeymoon until early (EARLY) the next morning.
The Tutwiler gave us an old-fashioned key when we checked out. Imprinted on the key was the year "1988" (the year we married). The clerk told us if we came back to the Tutwiler on our first anniversary we would be able to stay in the same room for $19.88. It was a little wedding gift from the hotel... and we loved it.
One year later, we stayed at the Tutwiler on our anniversary date for only $19.88... and a tradition was born.
We have gone out of town to celebrate the ten-year anniversaries (Gatlinburg and Charleston), but next year is the BIG 25, so we're going to be planning a little trip for that occasion.
But this weekend, we stick to the original plan... a Gift of Time.
Mikie's going to have a GREAT weekend because he gets TWO Gifts of Time. The kids and I gave him three tickets to see Ricky Skaggs this Saturday night. Mikie, Austin and Josh are going to enjoy dinner and a show. Roxie and I have a mutual aversion to all things bluegrass, so we'll be doing something we enjoy... maybe shopping and pretzel eating.
Because the upcoming weekend is filled with a lot of "Good Stuff," I think Sunday will be one of those church/Sunday lunch/nap kind of days. (I'm hoping, hoping, hoping!)
Have a lovely weekend. I'll be back with Mindless Monday. My 1,000th Blog Post Contest will be here before you know it... and it's going to be BIG! BIG, I tell you! I'll more info next week.
Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday morning.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting and Extremely Well-Rested Belinda
No comments:
Post a Comment