Scaredy Cat

I will confess it now. I am pretty much a scaredy cat. A total wimp, if you will. At least when it comes to certain things in life.

I like to feel as if I am in control of things, and when I don't feel that, I get very scared.

Take our honeymoon, for instance. We were traveling across the United States on a road trip, stopping at various attractions and enjoying our time together. In California, we visited Universal Studios. I willingly went on every roller coaster and ride because in my (warped) mind those were carefully crafted machines and the operator had full control of what was going on. Then we came across a Van Helsing exhibit, which the Nerd thought would be a lot of fun. I was skeptical, having never seen the movie and certainly not interested in doing so, but I figured it would be like any other ride in the park. As we got to the front of the line, I realized that this was not a ride. It was a walk-through haunted house of sorts. Terrified, I looked for a way to escape but it was too late. It was our turn to enter the ride. I am surprised that I didn't leave scars in the Nerd's arm considering the way I gripped it like a lethal vise. I screamed and cried every time any thing or anybody jumped out at us or moved. Poor Nerd moved us through that house as fast as he could drag me. By the time we reached the end, I was shaking and crying, and no amount of Shrek, Spongebob, or any other cute fun stuff could erase that horrible, out-of-control experience from my mind for the rest of the day. (By the way, I am so grateful for a man that did and said all the right things even though he could not comprehend my irrational feelings and behavior.)

So this past Saturday the Nerd took the family to Mt. Hood Ski Bowl for his company picnic. We all received park passes as part of the picnic perks (wow, was that a lot of p's or what?). After thoroughly covering the kids with sunscreen and making the mandatory restroom visit before going through the park, the Nerd and I examined the map to see what would be appropriate for the kids. We quickly realized that all the little-kid-friendly stuff was at the opposite end of the park, and the Nerd concluded that the only way up there was the chair lift. I stared at the very long and very steep chair lift. Was there another way to drive up there? Could we possibly hike up to the top? Was there anything we could do to avoid the chair lift? No, apparently the Nerd felt that we should use the chair lift. That same stupid panicky feeling started to rise up in me, but I tried to squelch it when I saw the excitement on the kids' faces. Logistically though, it was going to be a nightmare. The chair lift was just two chairs across, and there were five of us. We decided that the Drama Queen would go with me and that the Nerd would take the two boys, holding the Spud on his lap. As we waited in line, I started thinking about the Beast. How would our autistic child, who can't even handle being on a playground swing, handle this? What if he had a meltdown or panic attack right when we were forty feet about the ground? I needed some reassurance here. "There are seat belts on these things, right?" I asked, sure of the answer because of course the sign wouldn't say Ages Three and Up if there weren't. (I know - stupid question people but I have never been skiing in my life and really had no idea). The Nerd looked at me as if I had grown an extra head and shook his head. "No, there's just a bar. We have to be able to jump off quickly at the end, you know." A growing terror rose up inside me. All sorts of visions of the Beast freaking out and then falling out of the chair lift invaded my mind. By the time we got up to the chair lift, I was a basket case. I was trying desperately not to show it in order not to frighten the kids. The Drama Queen looked up at me. "Will you hold my hand, Mom? I'm a little scared." I reassured her that there was nothing to be scared of (hypocrite!) and together we boarded the chair lift. Immediately the Drama Queen relaxed and leaned forward to get a better view of the scenery. I grabbed her arm and held tight, trying to relax. Next to Van Helsing, it was the most terrifying experience of my life. I just knew she would slip and fall at any second. Behind me, the Nerd gripped the Spud with one hand and held onto the Beast with the other but looked like he was enjoying the experience. We finally got to the drop off and got off. My legs were shaking, but I was so relieved to be off that lift. Then the Nerd realized that we had made a mistake in our map reading. We were not at the right place! He went over to talk to the chair lift attendant and discovered that we had not had to be on the chair lift in the first place! Apparently there was a shuttle that takes park visitors to the other end of the park. Now we had to get back on the chair lift, go all the way up to the top, and then come all the way back down to get on the shuttle to the other end of the park. The Drama Queen was thrilled that we "got" to get back on, but her momma surely wasn't! I spent the whole ride babbling about anything and everything to keep my mind off the fact that any of our kids could plummet to the ground at any second.

We finally got off the lift at the bottom of the mountain. I was never so glad to see firm ground in my life. As we walked toward the picnic area, the Nerd said to me, "Okay, that pretty much tops my list of most stressful things I have ever done in my life. Never again will I take a three-year-old and an autistic four-year-old on a chair lift by myself!" Ha! It wasn't just me then.

I have to say though that all three kids were stellar chair lift riders - they sat still and didn't whine, cry, or try to climb on the lift.

Still. It hasn't cured me, you know. When it comes to those situations, I will always be a scaredy cat. (That night I had a reoccurring nightmare that the Beast had fallen from the chair lift).

Yeah. Now you know.

Bathroom Reading - Volume Two

How about catching up on a week with the temporarily insane (that's me, the Nerd, and the kiddos) in a concise, easy-to-read list? Perfect for bathroom reading - that is, if you trust your electronic device near the many hazards of the bathroom. I personally consider my Iphone a necessary item to take when headed to the bathroom facilities. It's a convenient place to catch up on Facebook, read a few blog entries, answer an email, etc. Of course, I have to pretend that there aren't little fingers reaching under the bathroom door while loud childish voices clamor for my attention. "Watcha doin' in there, Momma?" "I need you now, Momma!" "Are you poopin' so you can get a lollipop?"

So...

1. The fourth (and hopefully final!) family member to get the stomach flu last week was the Drama Queen. Somehow all the germs have skipped me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

2. I apparently was in quite the baking mood last week. On Tuesday we had fresh bread (three loaves), and on Friday I made cake mix brownies and tried baking homemade granola bars for the first time.

3. Did you know that homemade bread makes the best French toast? It does - so so good!

4. A cherry Pepsi can committed suicide off the top of our fridge last week. It jumped right out of the carton, hit the floor with a crash, and began spraying soda everywhere. It didn't even leave a note.

5. The Nerd spent part of his weekend wiring up the old minivan for individual sets of headphones for the kids. This means that when they watch a movie on the DVD player or listen to their kid music, we don't have to! We can enjoy our own music! This will be especially beneficial for our long road trip coming up soon.

6. We thoroughly enjoyed a picnic/birthday party with friends yesterday in the (amazingly) nice weather. We welcomed summer with grilled hot dogs, salads, chips, and birthday cake of course; and the kids raced around getting as dirty as possible. We concluded our time with roasting marshmallows over the fire ( in which this Momma had a minor heart attack watching the littles get entirely too close to the fire!) Apparently we are raising a couple of pyros.

And that's it for this week! :) have a wonderful day and watch out for flying soda cans!

Did You Have as Much Fun as We Did?

Hello all you people on the other side of the computer! This is the Drama Queen, guest-posting for my momma today. In case you are wondering about my mad typing skills as a four-year-old, I am just dictating this, thank you very much. If you were wondering about my excellent grammar, well, I just have a knack for it. Really and absolutely.

So how was your Independence Day celebration? I hope you didn't spend it inside watching Fresh Prince of Bel-air marathon (or whatever was on!) We had a great day! Momma let me wear my red cowgirl boots with my patriotic outfit, which was cool. She unfortunately also insisted on yanking all my hair up on top of my head into a ponytail with a red ribbon. She said she knows it hurts because Grammy did it to her too when she was little. I don't get it!

Momma tried to get a really and absolutely great picture of us on the church steps. She always does this when we are wearing matching outfits. I of course was listening and trying to keep my brothers in check, but you know brothers. Annoying!

See, when I'm by myself in the picture, it turns out great! (except The Spud's head is showing a little. Momma needs to crop him out!)

Momma said she will always treasure this picture because the Beast never sits still long enough! I don't really know what she meant but I laughed anyway. Grown-ups like it when you laugh at their jokes, and then they are much more willing to give you stuff.

After church, we had a barbeque right out in the parking lot. It was a lot of fun, and we stuffed ourselves with hot dogs, chips, cookies, and cupcakes. The Spud shared his food liberally with his clothes and his stroller. Haha! Again, I have no idea what that means, but just laugh, okay?

While we were eating, we got to see a whole bunch of people do different stuff on stage for us. There were people singing and reciting poetry and talking. It was cool. I liked when the big kids got up there and sang. Soon I'll be in school and I'll get to do that stuff too!

Momma and Daddy are not the greatest at planning our fireworks adventure each year. When they FINALLY decided where we were going to see fireworks, it was way too crowded, and there was no parking. I cried, but Daddy promised me we would get to see fireworks somehow. We went back home where Daddy set up a bunch of chairs and got out a big pack of fireworks and sparklers. I was really good at the sparklers - see how I am teaching the Beast how to do it right in the picture?

The Spud was a little scared; so he didn't do any sparklers with us. But he had fun watching us and the fireworks that Daddy set off. And, as it turns out, we were able to see a lot of fireworks in the sky through the trees near our house.

Here is another example of my awesome sparkler skills! It was so fun, and I am glad we had such a great day!

Let me know in the comments about your fun celebration and maybe even a link to your post about it. I love looking at the pictures, and Momma will read them to me.

Oh, and don't forget about Found It! Friday this week! The inspiration is daisies - here's hoping some more of you participate this week. :)

Found It Friday - Summer Picnic

It's time for the second edition of "Found It Friday" - a fun meme in which an inspiration is given and readers participate by sharing five things related to that inspiration. Please join in by writing your own post about this week's inspiration - summer picnics - and then linking up here. I am looking forward to seeing what you think of when you think of summer picnics and hoping to glean some great ideas for the upcoming Fourth of July festivities!

1. Picnicking means planning some activities for the young ones. Mine happen to love sidewalk chalk and bubbles! Above is a photo of homemade sidewalk chalk. (tutorial at Mad Maggie Designs)

2. Be sure to have plenty of drinks at your picnic! We always have lemonade and soda, but my favorite is iced tea. I found this new Cherry Pomegranate black tea at the local grocery store and finished it off in one day! And I love that it is made by a company based in Lancaster County, PA, near my childhood neighborhood. I grew up drinking Turkey Hill teas and lemonades and eating their delicious ice cream. (tea by Turkey Hill)

3. Sometimes it's just way too hot outside to have a picnic. In that case, don't abandon the picnic plans! Just bring your picnic indoors. Spread out a tablecloth on the living room floor, serve up your regular picnic fare, and turn on Animal Planet.

4. You need to have the proper utensils at your picnic, especially if you are serving up baked beans or sizzling steaks from the grill. Why not make your own incredibly cute and useful picnic utensil container? (tutorial at Clearly IStamp)

5. Or, for a fancier picnic, you may want to make some picnic flatware rolls. Especially if you've got sewing skills! Each one rolls up with its own set of flatware so they can be handily stored in the picnic basket. The best part is choosing the fabric - I do love the sunny lemon and verdant greenery fabric used here. (tutorial at make it do)

I am totally ready for some summer picnics now! Go ahead and link up your summer picnic post below and be sure to visit the other posts for summery inspiration!

next week's inspiration is: daisies!