I'm flyyyyyyyyying!

Hey, I've got a great idea!  Let's pack a whole bunch of people into a skinny metal tube with a pointed end and hurl it javelin-style across the country.  Or across the world.  Shoot, we'll hurl it anywhere the group of people collectively decide to go (as long as they pay us for the ride). 

Seriously, air travel is absolutely amazing and completely insane.  It was ludicrous for man to dream he could fly and ridiculous that he actually accomplished that dream.  Flying -- FLYING -- is now a mundane event for many people.  We say things like, "Oh, I'm FLYING to Dallas tomorrow" and fail to grasp what an astounding feat we are describing.  That we are able to soar over cities and mountains and rivers and farmlands boggles my mind.  We peacefully float over a picturesque world as we are transported from one place to another.  Is this a dream??  Have you ever dreamed you could fly?  Not like "I Have A Dream" dreaming, but a real dream where you are really able to fly?  Flying dreams are so cool.  I haven't had many but I remember two flying dreams very vividly -- it was awesome to fly.   

Today I flew for the 9th and 10th times and my face was plastered to the window the entire time.  It's a good thing we had to change flights and switch which side of the plane we were sitting on, otherwise I would have ended up with a serious pain in my neck.  I don't seek out opportunities to fly and I'm never excited about upcoming air travel but once I'm actually in the airplane I'm totally a fan.  Take-off is my favorite.  It's such a rush!  You zoom, zoom, zoom faster and faster and then you're up, up, up and away!  I have a goofy grin on my face during take-off.  Watching the houses turn into neighborhoods, then cities, and then disappear under a blanket of clouds feels more like a dream than reality..... 

Speaking of clouds -- I have to give major props to our pilots today.  When we landed in Dallas the fog was so thick that I only saw the runway seconds before we landed on it.  I thought we were in a cloud and would soon drop out over the city before landing, but no.  I said, "Oh!  That's the runway!" and then our wheels were touching down.  Of course, they probably had a better view from the cockpit but I was still impressed that pilots with all their technology can basically land a plane blindfolded.  I'm glad I didn't know how foggy it was -- I probably would have been nervous.  As it was, I only had about two seconds to be nervous about landing in such foggy conditions. 

I could go on......but I won't.  I'll simply summarize by stating that I am completely in awe of air travel.  And acapella.  Have you watched The Sing-Off????  These people make MUSIC with their VOICES.  Drums, guitars, cellos, violins, crickets (yep, there were cricket noises on tonight's show) -- blows my mind!!  People are so talented!  Hm.....must have been a very creative Creator to create such creative creators.  Just sayin'.    

I'll stop now.  Silly rambling blog post.  The kids are with my parents all week so I don't have my usual material to work with.  Today's blog was brought to you by the letter A -- air travel and acapella.  We'll see what tomorrow b-b-brings.

Ok, now I'll really stop. 

today and yesterday and a few days ago

So the kids and I ran some errands this morning.  First of all, let me say that it could have gone a LOT worse.  All three kiddos were in good moods and that makes a HUGE difference.  First we went to Babies R Us.  Timber rode in the cart while Scout and Flora walked.  They didn't have what I was looking for but we stayed for a while to look at the toys.  Flora was very good about staying with me but Scout would get caught up in "toy mode" and not keep up with us or disappear around a corner.  Once I caught sight of him dashing around a lady in the center aisle saying, "I have to go this way to my Mommy!"  He was all the way in the back of the store before I finally caught up to him.  Two ladies were asking him where his mommy was -- haha -- uh, that would be me.  So then we left (but not before we rode the coin operated car in the entry) but when we got to the car Scout realized that he had left his sunglasses inside.  Awesome.  Turn our little caravan around and head back inside.  Flora and I searched the toy aisles for Scout's glasses while he continued to get distracted by the toys.  Eventually we found them in the book aisle wedged in between Goodnight Moon and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.

So then we left again and headed to Hobby Lobby.  I remembered Hobby Lobby's carts were very small but in my mind they were still big enough for all three of my kids to ride.  Not exactly.  I put the two most destructive Borkerts (Scout and Timber) in the cart while Flora obediently walked next to the cart and didn't touch anything.  I don't know how many times I repeated, "Don't touch ANYTHING" while we were in there but it worked.  We got in, found what we needed, and got out with no broken glass or toppled displays.  Whew!  Target was our last stop.  I had purchased some chocolate covered pretzels at Hobby Lobby to ward off any hungry monsters so I was planning on a trouble-free trip.  We went inside and I had Timber and Flora buckled into a big cart before realizing one of Scout's buckles was broken, SO we switched everyone over to a different cart.  Then we went to the photo area to get some pictures printed and I discovered that I had left my camera in the van.  We turned our semi-truck/limo cart around and headed back out to the car to get my camera.  Thankfully the rest of our Target shopping went smoothly and we got home just in time for lunch and naps.  And I'm exhausted.  Remember what it was like to run errands without kids?  It was so simple.....but not as much fun!

Okay.....some other stories ---

I had to take Flora and Timber with me to get Scout's flu shot.  He bravely got his shot with no tears whatsoever.  Flora kept bragging on how brave he was.  She got her flu shot a couple weeks later....it was a totally different scenario.  She screamed and thrashed on the table before the nurse was able to give her the shot and wailed afterward.  I know I probably seemed like Bad Mommy but I couldn't help laughing at her theatrics.  I didn't tell Scout that Flora had cried because I thought she would be embarrassed and she didn't mention it to him when we got home either.
Today (three days later) we drove past our doctor's office and Flora said, "Hey!  That's the doctor's office where I got my poke!" with a smile that slowly faded as she seemed to be remembering the ordeal (Poke = Shot).  Then she made the following confession to Scout in hushed tones:
Flora:  Scout.....
Scout:  What?
Flora:  I cried when I got my poke.
Scout:  Oh....was it a big poke?
Flora:  No.....just a little poke but I still cried.  But YOU didn't cry when you got your poke.  You were so brave.
Scout:  Oh....yeah.
I don't know why but I just thought this little conversation was SO cute!  She was confessing that she had cried but was still proud of Scout for not crying.  They are just TOO adorable!!

And one more story of how sweet they can be to each other.  Yesterday morning Scout said, "Flora, we can watch your princess show if you want."  And Flora replied, "No, I think I want to watch the Stuck Truck Dora show." (Scout's favorite).  Granted, this was a rare occurrence (thus earning a spot on the blog) -- most mornings consist of them fighting over which show to watch and me ultimately picking the show because they can't agree.  Yes, that's right, we start each morning with a tv show.  I really need that half hour or so to finish waking up..... 

Now a funny story -- the kids were playing in Flora and Scout's room yesterday while I was busy setting my fantasy football lineup.  When I finished I went to see what they were doing (it sure SOUNDED like a good time!!).  I entered the room to find Scout in his underwear, Flora in a swimsuit, and both of them wearing snow boots -- "Superhero Boots" according to them.  Flora's not mad in the pic on the right....this is her Superhero pose! 

my kind of prince

Flora and Scout were princesses tonight.  They dressed up in their fancy princess dresses and sunglasses (because apparently it's very sunny at The Ball) and packed lunches in their pumpkin trick-or-treat buckets (because apparently The Ball is not providing hors d'oeuvres).  Timber is trying to escape the whole princess scene.  He doesn't get it yet.



Flora was in a hurry to get to The Ball.  "Hurry, Mommy," she said, "I have to get to The Ball to meet the prince!"
Curious, I asked, "Why do you want to meet the prince?" 
"Becaaaaase," she very patiently explained to me, "princesses NEED princes."

"Well," I pried, "WHY do you need a prince, Princess Flora?"
I was very happy when she replied, "Because I can't make my OWN dinner!"
That's my girl!

yeah....maybe

Our tv remote (the 'mote) is missing.  We've searched everywhere for it (well, everywhere except the place it is, obviously).  Flora and Scout came up with some creative ideas about where the remote might be while we were searching:

Flora:  "Maybe it had to go potty and it fell in the toilet."

Scout:  "Maybe the 'mote monster took it!"

Flora:  "Maybe it saw a squirrel and ran outside to chase it and it got lost."

Scout:  "Maybe I'M the 'mote!"

Hmmmm.......yeah, maybe.......