Our Kids Stand Out

Our kids always seem to get a lot of attention, sometimes because they're cute but other times for "other" reasons.  Take today for example, my sister-in-law got married today and we spent most of the day at the wedding ceremony and the reception.  Both of the kids looked great!  Brooklyn was a flower girl in a beautiful white dress with a blue sash and Carson was, well, Carson, but he looked cute in a white shirt with a blue tie.  He and I were twins (see picture).

In case you can't tell, Carson is the skinny good looking guy with the mini mohawk.

During family pictures Carson screamed and cried the entire time, mostly because I think it was nap time but also sometimes he just gets in his "moods", and I honestly couldn't believe it.  He's always been kind of shy, but seriously... one scream fest after another, but we survived.

During the actual wedding ceremony though my kids shined!  Brooklyn was great as a flower girl.  She tossed her flower petals in the air with a look of joy and determination, she never does anything without wanting it to be perfect.  Carson meanwhile just hung out with me eating his fishy crackers.  Everything was going great until it started to rain...

Every time a rain drop hit Carson he'd yell "oww!" or "ouch" and kept getting upset.  I had to laugh at his anguish but at the same time I had to wonder too if people thought I was over there pinching the kid or something.  Grandpa Mo even tried to wrap his suit coat around Carson to help keep the rain off of him and was met by an ornery two year old yelling "OUCH!"  Good times.  Brooklyn on the other hand had taken her flower basket and had it propped upside down on the top of her head, yeah she was standing right night to the bride and groom in front of everyone.  I guess Britney told her to, what can I say, the women in my life are definitely resourceful.  It was hilarious to watch!  My beautiful flower girl with a flower basket on her head and my two year old spaz of a son yelling ouch each time a rain drop hit him.  I told a few people afterwards that we'd rent our kids out if anyone needed some good entertainment at a party.

I love it.  Seriously, they're cute, energetic and always trying to make us laugh.  They definitely stand out in a crowd, each one of them for their own unique reasons.  I have to admit, I'm proud of them.   They sure know how to grab attention. 

The Amazing Benefits of Complaining

So, I sat down this morning and read the blog entry I posted last night.  Yeah, I'm sorry about that.  Seriously, could it have been any more whiny?  My goal was to say how sometimes a simple thing like taking the kids to McDonald's can be therapeutic, which it is, but yeah, it really didn't come across that way.

I laughed as i read it this morning and decided to offer myself some cheese to go with my whine.  After reading it I thought about making a list about the benefits of complaining, so here it is...

1. There are none.

Seriously, I couldn't come up with a single one.  All complaining does is compound the issues in my mind and allow myself to throw a personal pity party which doesn't gain me or my family anything.  Instead of complaining though, I think I'm going to invest in a punching bag (don't tell Britney) and tape my "woes" to it and wail away on it.  Now that sounds therapeutic to me!  

So, I hereby declare that I will never complain again.  (Okay, I'm a realist and I know that's not going to happen, but it's a good goal to set!)

And isn't setting goals a better use of my time than complaining?  I definitely think so.

Sometimes Kids Know Best

Sometimes it feels so easy to fall into a "woe is me attitude" I've really been in one of those lately.  Seriously, I just get the feeling like I'm in some sort of funk.

1. For starters:  I feel fat.  I haven't really gained that much weight, but I can't seem to lose any either.  I'm to the point now where I think I'll try to drive in the carpool lane and see if I can count each cheek as a passenger.
2. Work has been difficult.  I'm used to success and I don't like to settle and well lately, we've been struggling.  I hate it, it eats me up to think that we aren't performing at our top level.
3. I have a torn rotator cuff.  I'm honestly just trying to survive it, but it seems to just keep getting worse.  I'm trying to gut it out until the fall but I'm not sure I'll be able to last that long with it.  Oh, and the cherry on top of the sundae is that I injured it GOLFING, that's right, I'm probably the only person on earth who can manage to tear a rotator cuff while golfing.
4. Our house is having some plumbing issues... again... I swear that I've had plumbers at my house more often than family members.
5. My lawn mower was giving me fits tonight and it's not that old.  I think it just needs the spark plug changed and the air filter replaced, but who knows...
6. For the past 6 nights in a row at 4:00pm a migraine starts and no matter what meds I take it doesn't go away until I manage to fall asleep.
7. I'm mad that I'm mad, I'm mad that I'm whining, and I'M FREAKING MAD THAT I FEEL COMPELLED TO MAKE THIS STUPID LIST!

Whew, that felt good.

But, here's the deal... life really is great.  I took the kids to McDonald's tonight while Brit was getting her haircut, and it was just what I needed.  They were AWESOME!  I sat next to Carson and he must have given me 15 hugs during dinner.  Brooklyn kept telling me that she loved me and that I was "a cute daddy" and honestly I just smiled at the two of them the whole time we were there.

So here's the moral of the story... life is a challenge, it's meant to be challenging, and there's a reason for this.  Without challenges we wouldn't know how to acknowledge the great moments.  It's so easy for me to say this but so difficult for me to believe it, but I honestly just have to.  All complaints aside, I have a roof over my head, a family that loves me, a great job and honestly pretty decent health.  My kids honestly know best.  They laugh at the little things, enjoy the seemingly meaningless things and take life one moment at a time, with a smile on their faces.  I love them, seriously.  They are great mentors on what it means to be happy with what you have.