Monster Jam Time!

For the second year in a row, the little man chose a trip to see monster trucks over having a birthday party. Last year it was a boys' night out- the hubby took the two dudes along with a friend of ours and his son. But this year Sophia & I went along. You know...because we need some 'culture' in our lives.


I have to say, I had alot of fun. My kids and hubby were SO excited to see Grave Digger. But when the "halftime show" was on and I witnessed motocross bikes in action...this momma was blown away. These crazy nuts were doing backflips off a ramp that I'd be scared to walk up, let alone speed a dirtbike onto. And the quad riders were doing tricks too. But the chaos that was their finale...I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Serious. They had the bmx bikers going off their ramp while the dirtbikes and quads went off their ramp and did tricks OVER TOP OF THE BMXers!! WHAT?! As a mom I was scared to death for these boys who clearly were dropped on their heads as children. I mean, what other reason would someone willingly fling themselves upside down while riding an offroad vehicle? And if one of them fell down and landed on those poor bmx bikers? Forget it. I'd have been scarred for life, and I probably would never let my kids ride their bikes ever again. Because you know that the little man would try to do some tricks the next time he hopped on his two-wheeler. No. Thanks.


But thankfully no one got hurt and I was sold. I want to go to more motocross freestyle events! I watch X Games with my boys and can't believe the stunts those guys do, but when you see it live in person, right in front of your own face...it's amazing.


Oh yeah, and the monster trucks were pretty cool too.

Apparently I just attract jerks.

Since we moved into our rental house in January, we've had issues with a neighbor. Things have gone from him nit-picking over the appearance of our yard (resulting is us getting cited on two seperate occasions from the HOA) to him threatening me and my kids because we were playing basketball on our own driveway during daylight hours. I've looked up the rules & regulations for our subdivision and basketball hoops are not prohibited.

I contacted the HOA this morning regarding the issue and they advised me to contact the local authorities and file a report.

Why is it that people can't just be civil? Why must they feel like the whole world owes them? Maybe life has dealt him a rough hand. I do not know. But what I do know is that whatever is making him so angry is not anything that myself or my family has done...we're just unlucky enough to be the people that he takes it out on.

I am trying to be the bigger person in this situtation. When he confronted me yesterday I was very calm and never once raised my voice, despite him using vulgar language in front of my children, even after I'd asked him to not say those things with them around. I will do everything I can to keep my yard in check and avoid his yard like the plague. I will pray for guidance from Heaven and for patience in dealing with him. I will not stoop to his level. But I also will not be bullied and will not tolerate the harassment to my family.

So a phone call to the police I will make.

Regarding Rude People...

I have a little story for you.

While using the automated postal kiosk at the Post Office this afternoon, I dealt with an incident regarding a woman and my 6 year old son.

I was standing at the kiosk and asked Jonah to please throw away the sticker backing for me, thinking it would give him something to do while I finished shipping items. He decided to play basketball with his brother and threw the paper over to the can. I turned around and reprimanded them saying that there were other people around and they needed to be respectful and not throw things because they might accidentally hit someone. So Jonah decided to slam dunk the paper into the can. He reached in and retrieved said paper and I turned around, took the paper and said "Jonah, that's gross. DO NOT put your hands in the trash can." I turned back to the kiosk to print my reciept and Jonah went back into the can for his paper, when the woman who was standing at the table next to him grabbed his hand and said "Hey! What did your mom tell you??" Then she proceeded to get in his face and scream "KNOCK IT OFF!!" at him. Jonah came to me scared and I was telling him to stop acting up because he was disrupting the other customers when I overheard the woman mumble something to the person next to her about 'bad kids'.

It took every ounce of restraint to keep myself from confronting the woman and in doing so, set a bad example in front of my kids. I decided to use it as a learning situation and explain to Jonah (and the other two kiddoes) that you have to behave in public places because some people may get upset with you, and then you'll get embarrassed and so will Momma.

But really, I wanted to slap the woman and tell her to keep her crazy hands off my child and shut her judgemental mouth before I shut it for her.

Did I do the right thing in keeping quiet and leading my kids out of the Post Office? Or should I have stood up to her and defended my family?

Kids...

This is how my kids entertained themselves in the new house before all their toys were unpacked.

(Please ignore the splotchy walls...that's how the owner of our rental house touched up the paint...*eye roll*)

In the spirit...

The other day I got caught listening to a Christmas cd while I was crafting.

(In my defense, I was working on holiday items and needed inspiration via music. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.)

But I'm not the only one in my house getting into the Christmas spirit. Last night the kids picked a Christmas movie to watch at bedtime. Then today, Jonah came home from school with a Christmas book from the library.

So HA. It's not just me, folks.

Apparently my whole family is crazy.

The "joys" of I-95.

We took a secret trip down to Florida over the weekend in order to help surprise my dad for his 50th birthday (pictures will soon follow). From our house in Charleston to my parents house in West Palm Beach is about an 8 hour drive. With 7 of those hours being on I-95. The most boring, empty expanse of the highway I think I've ever seen. And while we were on our trek, I remembered why I hated it so much. So here's my list of things that I just love about this particular interstate. And when I say "love", I really mean LOATHE.

* No matter what time of day, there is ALWAYS some sort of construction in Georgia. Never fails.
* Jacksonville. In the rain. 'Nuff said.
* Idiots who think that they need their left turn signal to merge right. I saw this more than once.
*Getting off at an exit because you think the gas price is really great, filling up, and then realizing that the exit a couple miles down has gas for 16 cents cheaper.
*People who come flying up on your butt in the fast lane and when you let them pass and get back behind them, they slow down.
*Kamikaze birds that think your windshield will make the perfect tool for committing suicide.