The Hockey Haircut

For as long as I can remember, I've known how to skate. Where I grew up, if you could walk, your dad would take you to the Community Center, lace you up in a tiny pair of skates and set you on the ice. Dad might let you have a metal folding chair to scoot forward, but that's it. If you fell, you got up. There was no hand holding or kissing boo boos. 

Once you figured out how to skate, the next logical step, especially if you were a boy, was to play hockey.

For 10 years, Minnesota did not have a hockey team. When the North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993, there was a huge sense of loss, as well as a lot people saying "Norm Sucks". Unlike most states, the little PeeWees didn't have professional hockey athletes to look up to. Instead, they found awe in their local high school hockey stars. My guess is that is why the Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament is such a big deal. And by big deal, I mean BIG DEAL! The opening stories on the 10 o'clock news are tourney highlights, and there are specials after the news dedicated solely to the tournament. If you're lucky, you might get to hear the newscaster say something awesome like, "I love it when the little guys beat the snot out of Eden Prairie!"

For as prevalent as the tourney is, I must admit, I was unaware of the Hockey Haircut phenomenon. Thankfully, this tournament is available for all to watch on YouTube. Adam and I think it's really, really funny! We were dying laughing!

You may be asking yourself, "Why is Amanda posting this?" Here's why:

My son's hair.

Clearly, Charlie has the classic makings of epic hockey hair.


Keep on rock'n it buddy boo! We love you! 

Queen for a day!

Before I begin, I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all the fellow moms out there! 

I don't know about you, but my day started off a little rocky. I was in a bit of a foul mood; I didn't sleep well the night before, the power outage yesterday really irritated me, there was this flower issue (don't ask), and my kids were awake way before they should have been.

However, my day quickly turned around when I had all of my kidlets (well, almost all; Charlie was there in spirit over the baby monitor) in my bed as they were presenting me with my Mother's Day gift. They had no idea what "they" got me. Naturally, the girls were anxious little helpers when it came time to open the fancy silver Nordstrom box.

Here's what my kidlets got me:

SCORE!!! This picture is deceiving; this hot pink Michael Kors
number is so big it could easily tote Charlie around! Love it!!

My dear hubs knows how much I love the smell of 
lavender and got me this lovely gift set:

I have no idea how to pronounce this brand, 
but I know it's fancy!
Thank you Adam!!! Love you!

Oh, how rude of me; I went straight to the gifts 
and forgot about the cards. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

My sister, Jessica, sent me this awesome card.
Adam, can you "wizard up" a Screwitol potion?
It will sell like hotcakes . . . trust me! 

This one was from the hubs.
God bless him for always getting the nice, sappy cards!
The ones I get him are always so obnoxious. 


Here is the card the kidlets made for me. 
Love it!

Front. Rainbows are Lily's specialty. 

Inside: I believe the picture on the left is of
a two headed dog, courtesy of Leah.

Back: A family portrait, minus daddy.
 I'm in a rainbow dress (since I love the all
the colors), Lily is in camo, Leah and Lucy are in
their favorite colors, purple and pink, and Charlie 
is apparently a green bowling ball.

Of course, Mother's Day isn't all about darling cards and awesome gifts. It's also about the children spending time with . . . Mo-ma!! Thank you to my in-laws, Debbie and Eric, for taking the kidlets this afternoon.

As I was reading all the Facebook Mother's Day posts today, one struck a cord with me. A sorority sister of mine wrote this on her page in honor of her mother:

Happy Mother's Day! And especially to my mama...who taught me to hug the people you love, laugh like you mean it, and cherish the very best moments of every day.

Well said Katie. Happy Mother's Day to all!

Fair-weather friend

As a mother to four small children, being tested happens on a daily basis. Some days, I'm the super chill, cool mom that is enjoying the moment and going with the flow. On others, I'll drop the F-bomb left and right, all in an effort to keep my cool. 

My swearing days are the hardest. For me and my kids. On those days, I'm usually stressed about having to be somewhere on time. Inevitably, something will pop up when we are seconds to the door. It doesn't matter if someone forgot their coat, to brush their teeth, or crapped their pants. If my plans are foiled, I get angry. Same goes for when I'm getting annoyed. With little warning, the laid back me is pushed overboard by a drunken foul-mouthed sailor. And I feel awful about it.

It happened the other night. Lily made a loud and bold statement. Horrified, I said, "Don't say shit like that!" The second it slipped out, I knew I made a bad mistake. Not only were other moms around, but lots of little ears too. To all who heard my blunder, I'm really sorry!!

I know I'm not "mom of the year" material. But you know what? I'm not a shit-tastic mother either. Same goes for my friendships: I know I could be a better friend. Texting is great, but talking on the phone, the way we used to, is what I'd rather do. Yet, I'm no fair-weather friend either. (Just ask the people who have known me for 30+ years or my college girlfriends who are like sisters to me.)

I would be amiss if I didn't mention my husband Adam. I've been the "man, you sure are lucky! Amanda is so freak'n cool" wife, to the "your wife is a raging bitch", and everything else in between. Being married is so much work, but committing to each other to ride it out, through the good, the bad and the ugly was the best f#!$^%g decision we have ever made! 

Facebook tells me I have 490 Friends. In real life: not so much. But that's Okay. I wouldn't have made those connections if I wasn't willing to share news and photos with them.

Recently, I shared a super cool picture. I got well over 100 "likes" on that photo. But when I saw several of my friends (Friends = Facebook friends; friends = people I call a friend), few asked me about it. One in particular waited to offer her congratulations in private. I got the feeling she didn't want the other friend to know she was talking to me about it.

This got me thinking. About a lot. Why do people virtually support each other on Facebook, but when it comes to real life, they clam up? Has the Facebook "Like" button replaced the high fives, hugs, and swapping stories that surely would have happened in a pre-Facebook world?

Did people not want to talk to me because they heard me say shit to Lily? Or maybe it was for something else I said or did months ago? Were they doubting me from the start? Are they jealous that I actually did what I said I was going to do, and did well? Or did posting that picture just give them another little nugget to gossip about, hence some of the whispers in recent days.

Who knows. I'm trying not to stress over it. What I am going to do is take my own advice: the next time I actually see a Friend (friend) who posted important news, I will do my best to give them the same enthusiasm and praise in person as I would in the comment line.

I wonder what would happen if we all tried that. Maybe that Friend would actually turn into a friend. Or you may realize that friend really wasn't a friend after all. Just a fair-weather friend. 

If anyone thinks I'm a fair-weather friend to them, I apologize. I wish there was more time in the day for me to call all my friends and family once a week, rather than texting every once in a while. I wish I had more free time to go out and buy a birthday card instead of texting or sending birthday wishes via Facebook. I wish I could visit more often when a friend has a new baby, moved to a new city, or is going through a crappy time. Even though my actions don't always show it, I can promise you my heart is in the right place.

This post isn't intended to offend or throw anyone under the bus. I guess I'm a little saddened by how little people need to interact and speak with each other, especially since social media makes it nice and simple for us. With a simple click, we can Like what ever we want. But what does that really mean?

I guess I'm finding myself in deep aporia over Facebook. Silly? Yes. Necessary? No. Will I still be on Facebook? Yes. May I get "unfriended" because of this post? Possibly.

Such is life.

Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind

Psalm 26:2

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it

Proverbs 4:23

If blogging was my job, I'd be fired by now.

When I committed to writing my blog late last year, I knew I would have funny and entertaining stories to share. What I wasn't anticipating was not being able to find the time to write down those funny and entertaining stories!

To all my fellow blogger moms: how the heck do you get a post up so often?!? I envy you!

I know I said in my previous post that subsequent writings would feature a family member. I'll eventually get around to that . . . when I have more time! For today, I'll tell my story in pictures and videos. Enjoy!

Lily's school drawing: "My snowman goes hunting at night".
(Notice her snowman has a bow and arrow.) She's our Katniss!

Lily prepping her arrow.

Taking aim!

Bear doesn't stand a chance when Lily is on the hunt!

Lucy being Lucy.

Leah and Adam on Big Guy Night!

Bella the bulldog

"She loves me, she loves me not." Don't worry, I still love you Charlie!

If we don't look at mom, then she may not notice we are on the table. 

Double Trouble (Lucy & Charlie) in full force as I brought out the Easter decorations. 

One of the many casualties after I left my decoration bin unattended.

Charlie hanging out on the throne.

Lily and Leah working on their crafting skills at the St. Patty's day party. 

I'm not kidding . . . CLCP loves hair products!

"But mom, I think I need more gel!!"

After a chaotic week, Adam and I were able to get a date night in. What's more romantic than going to the chiropractor together and drinking sake from a ketchup bottle?

Adam drinking the entire bottle.

Just a squirt for me!

The Face of an Angel

I remember one time I was out to lunch with a friend. She brought along her one year old son and continued to ask if it was OK that he tagged along. I reassured her it was great to see them both and we caught up on our latest news.

Towards the end of our meal, Baby E started to get a little antsy and made some disapproving grunts about being in the high chair. I didn't even bat an eye, yet my friend apologized over and over for her son's fussiness.

"Huh?" – was I was confused – "This is fussy?!" (I was impressed: my five year old still likes to dump out all the sugar packets and poke holes in the creamers.) In my book, baby E was a 10/10 on my "restaurant appropriate" behavior scale. He ate his food, played peek-a-boo, flirted with the waitress and was happy almost the entire time. With a sheepish grin, she said, "Yes". 

Above is the latest picture I took of Charlie. We just finished eating lunch with Grandpa Mike, Grandma Janet, and aunt Jessica at one of our favorite places, Wildfire in Eden Prairie, MN. During the meal, Charlie was the complete opposite of Baby E. He screamed, he cried, he threw stuff, and then made the meal really spectacular by throwing it all up. I'd give Charlie a 3/10 on my scale, and that's being very generous. It's a good thing he's cute! 

Here was my little angel the other night. Hit play and enjoy the show!

Now this is SCARY!

This is what happens when I've taken a roller coaster plane ride, got ripped off from a cab driver, hopped on a train that stalled on the tracks for one hour, then drove home with the hubs.

The Biebs and I wish you a happy Friday!

Just Kidding Folks!

The other day, I was flying back home from the great state of Minnesota. Despite leaving late from my sister's place and arriving way past the TSA's recommended arrival time, MSP was a great experience for me. Security was a breeze and I could actually walk to my gate without the assistance of the moving walkway or, even worse, without bolting through the joint like I just stole something. I made it to my gate with 20, yes TWENTY minutes to spare and I was feeling like someone should give me a pat on the back.

The take off and first segment of the flight were as expected. Complementary beverages and the choice of peanuts, pretzels, or cookies. (You're damn right I chose the cookies - Delta makes a mean ginger snap!) I went balls to the wall and spent $4 for 30 minutes of Gogo (on board Internet for you road trip peeps). I checked out my favorite sites: The Daily Mail, People.com and Amtrak, just to make sure I could take the train home.

Since I'm such a jet-setter (insert laughter here), I knew my mobile device would automatically shut off at 10,000 feet elevation. And it did. No biggie. Now, I'm no pilot or aviation expert, but I would guess we were above some nasty weather. Why? When I looked out the window, I saw clouds. Lots of them. However, within a few moments, I could see rows and rows of bungalows. (That's my safety check: if I can see houses, cars and people, we are close to earth and I feel safe.) And the friendly flight attendant alerted us all that we were going to land very soon in Chicago.

Our flight path continued over an industrial area, then an interstate, and then finally, I could see the runway. I eagerly anticipated the "bump" of the tires when they would hit the runway . . . should be any second . . . tick- tock . . . WTF? . . . why aren't we on the ground dude?

Just then, BOOM! Full throttle. Captain America decided to thrust his E-170's engines up, up and away from the runway. I hoped to God the pilot wasn't playing "Double Dare" or "I Never" with his co-pilot. The reality of the situation came about a half a second later when the back of my head smashed against my seat and all 80 of us were along for the ride.

Adios Midway! Hope to see you soon!

Holy Guacamole! What just happened? In a split second, I decided I didn't give a crap and I closed my eyes and pulled out my imaginary rosary.

After about 10 Hail Mary's, the flight attendant came on and said the pilot decided to abort the landing and he will notify us when he will attempt to land again. (Kind of figured that one out.)

I fumbled through remembering the words of the Hail Mary and the Glory Be, yet was able to say a few more decades of the rosary. Soon after, I heard the familiar sound of an airplane coming close to a tarmac. I opened my eyes and looked out the window. It was the same scene I witnessed 10 minutes before, but this time, the tires touched and we had landed.

After we landed I realized the pilot NEVER came over the intercom. On a normal flight, the pilot's the one to say "Hello and welcome aboard! We know you have a choice in airlines and we are delighted that you chose Delta for your travel needs." Their job (as customers see it) is to get us from point A to B safely, keep all passengers in a happy place by informing us of the weather below, and, if necessary, bumps ahead.

The pilot must have been shy. He never said, "Hello folks! This is your captain speaking, blah blah blah." In fact, he didn't say anything after the flight attendant told us he would after his 'just kidding' landing at Midway.

I don't know what to say so I'm going to write this in case I see you again Mr. Pilot:

I don't know your name, but I do remember your youthful appearance: you had the Justin Timberlake Ramen Noodle 'do. What the heck happened? Potential bird strike? In the path of another airplane? Cross winds?A little explanation would have been nice. I know I was not the only one freaking out on the inside.

I'm sure I'll be taking Delta #5768 back home again. When I do, and if you are the pilot, I'm going to say, "Hey, remember on February 18 when you did a go around?" (Yeah, I know my airplane lingo) "What the heck was that all about?!? You scared the bejesus outta me!"

What does this have to do with my kids? Absolutely nothing. I kind of wish I had one of those "my life flashed before my eyes moments". But, I didn't. Funny thing was, I was scared, but I've been in scarier situations before.

To be continued.