Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's been raining....in southern California. I was recently in Oregon for a family visit and it rained (very typical winter weather), but then I returned home to tornado warnings and thunder storms. Good Grief! As much as I love a little drip drop, I do miss my sunshine. I don't force my kids to play outside enough, but with this rain, I wish sometimes I could push them outside so they would give ME a break. I am sure that they would enjoy nature's teardrops.

We've watched a lot of t.v. and we've promptly done our homework. We've even managed to keep our house cleaner than usual because I keep yelling at them to clean their rooms. (What else is there to do with soccer practice cancelled and streets too deep to ride over to friends' homes?)

Jerrod called yesterday to notify me of the tornado warning. He told me to get under a doorway if something happens, but I am unclear if he just got his natural disasters mixed-up or if he's really praying that I'd end up like the Wicked Witch of the East. (She was the one with the striped socks and the original wearer of the ruby slippers, right?)

So, I wake up in the morning to the pitter-patter of rain and thank God for rainy day schedule that allows me to leave work 10 minutes early. I thank God for the work that we did on the house 2 years back that now allows us to view our "lake" (seriously, the back yard reminds me of Poltergeist, the movie) from inside our home instead of from the middle of it. I thank God for a husband who worked tiredlessly this last weekend while I "vacationed" (any trip without kids is considered a vacation) to plug up holes and water-proof the attic and garage. We may get cabin fever, but come on, we live in southern CA. The sun will eventually come out. Silver Lining: We live close enough to Target that we really could kayak over for emergency tp or soy milk.

Money Issues...Life Issues

With the passing of Christmas, came the gifting of money. Cash was abound in the kids wallets, in my wallet, in envelopes, on the floor, in pockets...... As a ritual, we, meaning the kids, go to the bank and deposit some of their booty into their savings accounts. It was a practice of my parents and I thought that it was worth the effort to continue it with my own kids. We haven't made it to the bank yet which leaves us with many problems. First: It is MAD MONEY burning holes in our wallets (not mine anymore. I spent my wad of cash) and the kids want to spend it left-and-right on nonsense like party ballons to make balloon animals with, games to rot their minds, skinny jeans, or even an occasional hamburger from Carl's Jr. Second: I am tempted more and more to just "borrow" from the kids instead of going all the way to the bank to take out my own (ok, Jerrod's hard earned cash). Third: These boys are not the most responsible with their "important" items. We've lost a wallet with $40 in it only to find it a year later.

They ask me what we are saving "our" money for when we go to the bank and I always reply, "It's for college." A few hundred bucks isn't gonna get them very far college-wise, but maybe they could buy books for a semester. But then I get questions like, "Well, what if I don't go to college?" or "Why do you get to tell us how to use our money when it's ours?" I guess I am hopeful in my thinking that I am teaching them a valuable lesson in money.

I was surprised to hear yesterday, through the garage door, my oldest chatting with his friend about the money he had in the bank. I was obviously a mean witch for not letting him touch it and then I found out that he may not go to college. "Yeah...I might not even go to college so then what happens to my money?" I have never told my kids that college is a priority, but I sure hope that he knows that he must continue his education somewhere...at least if he wants to touch the money. A trade school or a junior college....something that will give him opportunities to be successful beyond high school.

So it is clear to me that I don't have a money issue, I have a life issue. These kids are growing up so fast and it's already time to talk to them about goals for their futures as adults. Not only money, but education, occupations, what kind of person they want to grow up to be. What they do at school, church, at their friend's homes, in my home...they all matter so much more now. It's time for me to step up my game.

Don't You Wish your Husband Would do That?

I cannot express my deepest appreciation for the effort that my husband put into cleaning and organizing the house this weekend. I guess it was sort of a New Year's resolution for him to get more organized, but the entire family can benefit from his hard work. He spent hours upon hours in the kitchen (in his pj's: too cute!) organizing our cluttered pantry drawers, dish cabinets, fridge, and silverware drawers. He's a bare-minimum guy when it comes to decoration so our kitchen echoes as I type this entry. I don't like it so much, but I do like that I can find the cornstarch without having to rummage through each shelf. He found many treasures like Christmas candy from years ago and half empty bags of pretzels and crackers that were opened over the summer. He even wiped the Taco Bell hot sauce off of the plastic liners. I guess they got smashed as we hurriedly threw our mess back into the pantry in days past.
I have always said that he would make a better "housewife" than me. He's proven it over and over. What a great guy!
But he says his next resolution is to eat healthier...I know what that really entails. It entails ME cooking healthier meals for him and the kids and not buying the crap that finds its way into my shopping cart. Boo hoo!