What would you do for skymiles?

So many ways that I could answer this question. First, I must point out that as I walked in the airport, I noticed many amazing things. Did you know that I can buy Rosetta Stone in the airport? But can they promise me that I'll learn Mandarin before I land in China? Also, you know how you can earn free crud when you listen to a timeshare. Atlanta had the audacity to tell me I could earn a free flight on Delta if I listened to their shpeel. Now wait! Can I apply this flight to the one that I'm about to board because my flight leaves in half an hour...
But I digress. I must share with you the joy that was my solo flight with 3 girls from Pheonix AZ to Charleston SC. It was 8:30am when we arrived at the pheonix airport. In tow I had a double stroller, 2 carseats, 3 bookbags (because it's a rule that the kids refuse to carry their own bag in public no matter how light it is), a purse (big one!!! full!!!), a laptop.... and oh yah, 3 kids. We began our journey at the flight check in... after it printed 50 copies of our boarding passes and flight schedules all the size of an ATM receipt we left for the security check in.
Now the happiness and candycanes begin. we take off our shoes. load up 8 buckets(!!!) full of junk, and was about to load up the seats to put through x ray when the guy in front of us tried to smuggle something in and they closed the station down... except that by now 50 people have lined up in the other station because they didn't want to be behind me. And we wait.
and wait.
and wait, for no one to let us slide in. so in my jerky way, I force myself in. we transfer all our junk, when I realize ( a minute too late) that ada's sippy is full of milk... they pull me aside to check for bombs in the milk and EVENTUALLY we enter the terminals.
Now I'm actually quite proud of my girls. they sat for 4 hours quietly. they watched thier movie and at thier veggies. Ella even offered the 8 year old boy next to me if he'd like gum. Which was a funny story. This woman in her late 30s gets on the plane with her 8 year old son. She is a 12 year old in a 38 year old womans body. The only thing she brings on the plane (besides her kid) is 5, count them, gameboys of various sizes, a VENTI coffee (1 for her and 1 for her son) and her makeup. She refuses for ella to give her son gum because it's unhealthy, no mind to the giant caffinated beverage he's consuming or the ice cream she forced down him for lunch even though he asked for veggies... hmmm.
After we land, we taxied the runway for 30 minutes so ella and ada unbuckle (no they did not get out of their seats), but the boy next to me can't take it; he had to lecture them. I said, "son really this is much better than them screaming." and I assure him he's super mature. His mom informs me, yes, more than my children (excuse me) and how she has to get off the plane away from them (what!!!!) then as my zoe gets her hand stuck in the bathroom door (I know, how ?) she screams and the lady PUSHES people down the isle to get away from us. I'm still proud of my girls.
We get off the plane, go to the bathroom, where I leave my purse and lose it. we walk to find dinner and order before I realize my purse is gone and we have to run for it. After we get the purse, there is no time to get dinner and the hill goes down.
SCREAMING ensues on the plane, off the plane , to the plane, away from the plane. they lick, bite, spit, kick, throw gum, pry it out and eat it again. needless to say the people sitting in 21c and 22c are a little peaved at those in 21ab and 22ab. but we get there... barely.
it is now 8:30 pm and I drive to chick fil a . the guy at the window asks how I'm doing and I say, " if you want me to give me a free milkshake, my day could be made better." and you know what he asks... what flavor... he made my 12 hour flight worth it... and what do I do... make him regret it. he asks why my children are crying in the back and was it because they didn't get a milkshake.... and in my sarcasm I say , " no, they're just hungry and I won't give them their food. I mean, it's only 9 pm and its early so they can wait til we get home right?"
he didn't find my day nearly as humorous as I did.
the end

home sweet home

Last weekend Johnny, the girls and I went to a family reunion for Johnny's family. this was the first time we had seen these people since we got married (yah, I remember a lot about meeting new people on THAT day) if at all. In the afternoon, johnny took the older girls to the lake for a fishing expedition, while I stayed back to keep an eye on Ada. The older ladies were inside reminiscing over family albums, but I sat outside on the porch with the "old" men.
It made me realize how much I love my wonderfully dysfunctional family, all sides of it. These men sat on the porch discussing how they terrorized their parents. My "uncle" snuck out of the house and took the family boat with his friends, they ran the boat into a tree and split it down the middle and then hauled the leftover pieces home to show his dad. What would I DO if my son brought home a shattered boat that he wasn't supposed to be using? Probably the same thing his dad did; he leapt off the front porch over the railing, fixed the boat, and then out of frustration, sold it.
That afternoon I laughed, I gasped, I cried. I heard stories of the vietnam draft, of family life, I saw the adults love on my girls and get psyched about their little loves, and I fell in love with my family again.
I look back at my family and even though we had our arguments, we can also be very open with each other. My mom and dad were there for me in my hardest times, and allowed me to hear their struggles, which prepared me for my marriage. My brother and I had horrible sibling rivalry, but I feel like we relate to each other so much. For instance, my brother tried to shut me out of the house to tease me in front of his friends, and ended up slamming the sliding glass door on my foot, almost breaking it. But the most beautiful thing I've ever heard was at one of the only youth retreats we ever went on together to my future college (CIU). He told my friend Renee that he envied me that I could be friends with anyone, and easily fall into place. That has stayed with me for 15 years and I know that my brother loves me. My sister let me visit and stay with her in college when I was only 9 or 10; what a loving sister!
Every family is dysfunctional. We all have that crazy relationship with our parents, our battles with siblings, that funky aunt (ok and I think she really is about the coolest aunt that I could share anything with), those grandparents that wipe the smudges off your face with their spit, and the cousins that although you haven't seen in 10 years you could probably fall right back into rhythm with. Now I have 2 more families (plus 1 because my MIL is remarried) I can enjoy the stories that come with my MIL's family and my FIL's family and the step parents and their kids and their kids. It makes me smile that one day, I'll be part of another 3 families with my girls (hopefully) and hear their dysfunctions and just laugh (or maybe write a book)!!! look out for the posts that come in the next few years, I'm sure they'll be great.

Life on the (funny) farm

I was born at lunchtime on women's day. I'd like to say that the date and time of my birth would say something about my personality; I'm a strong decisive independent woman, who always takes charge. That rumor is not so.
I grew up in a neighborhood with no children. Halloween was great because every house would buy a bag of candy for me and my siblings and our pillowcases would be full before we made it halfway down the street. Frankly, I loved my neighborhood. I learned compassion and how to be grateful (plus there was always a captive audience). I really only had 3 friends til I was 9 (and we moved): Cory, Laura, and Rebecca.
I sat in the back of the class at school. I fell for peer pressure on a contagious basis; What I mean by that is that I would do what one person would ask me to, and then I felt that I needed to oblige everyone, so no one's feelings would be hurt. I think I did this because I never really learned how to relate to other kids. I was raised around adults (and my brother and sister who beat me up). I watched shows like Murder She Wrote and Columbo. The person I wanted to be like was Jessica Tandy (and was devastated when she passed away).
This has affected me as a 30 year old. I've changed my ways. I'm learning how to say No!. God has helped me stop running through those endless hypotheticals that start when someone doesn't call or is late. I'm searching for a best friend.
Now I take charge when the situation calls for it (because I can't stand wasting time), but by no means am I a take-charge kinda girl. I'm a little outspoken, but I lied for years (another story for another time). And i look to my daughters and I cringe. Why? Well, I have no idea what is a normal amount of time to spend with neighborhood kids (I didn't), I don't know what is an age appropriate arguement for a child is (never had em). Will they ever find thier best friend as a kid? I don't know if they're missing out on something ,but I'm going to take my hypothetical's word for it. That voice keeps telling me that I didn't miss out on anything, so neither are they. It tells me that my caring will one day be acknowledged by my girls and appreciated. It tells me , "ali, suck it up, you're 30, not 13". So, now I'm going to go out there and live like the girl born at 12:11 on March 8... maybe, if that's ok with you.

Vacation

When I was growing up, we went on vacation atleast twice a year. Vacation was always the same. We went to The Florida Keys once a year and we went to Okeefenokee swamp every fall. Now, vacations were about family. we spent 16 hours in a car together on the way to the keys. For you youngun's, back then vacations in a car weren't the same as today. we didn't have airconditioning all the time. we didn't have DVD players and game boys (oh wait, even that reference is old: I mean PS3's), we had little cars that didn't have all it's working seatbelts, and books. we had sisters and brothers that forced you to sit on the floor of the car so they could stretch out and take a nap. Luckily, I learned to fight off motion sickness and read while we drove and sleep on the floor of the car (thank God that Florida is flat and straight). Okeefenokee is a SWAMP. and all the excitement that comes with that. What? you dont know what can be exciting about a swamp? Living in a cabin for a week, riding a boat with alligators and indian burial grounds. and well, swamp creatures. The great thing about that vacation was that there were about 20-30 other people who came with us ,and as a kid, you met new kids to play with each year. We ate donuts on a string, scavenger hunts and misquito counting.
Now I'm 30 and I have kids of my own. What vacations do we do? I have to laugh. We go to the beach (not the keys) every year for the 4th, and we go to okeefenokee every fall. And for some reason, it's more exciting for me now than it ever was as a kid. People know I'm going and ask about it; they ask if I've gone yet and what it's like. I force my children to eat donuts on a string and scavenger hunts. I found myself this past week at the beach, having a contest who could fill up a grocery bag with trash the quickest to get a prize... and they did it! Happily! Forget DVD's kids. Forget TV and ipods. give my kids a book and NATURE and maybe they'll grow up as well-rounded and happy as I am.
Thanks mom for forcing me to sit through all the okeefenokee lectures in the educational hall.
oh and p.s.: Zoe will be celebrating her 4th birthday with the alligators this year. I plan on taking advantage of that! For all my peeps who join me on vacation, we will be the envy of all my friends.

Just call me the candy-lady!

When Ella was about 3 months old, we visited johnny's uncle and aunt in Arizona to show her off. When we got there johnny and I found a running joke. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE his family, but they have this way of taking care of each other that I've never seen before. Each morning (and evening) they get each others pills out and take them together. And i'm not just talking about their multivitamin; they take like 20 pills a piece both morning and night.
Now Johnny laughs at me because I can't remember to even take a multivitamin and I keep reminding him that when he wants to be my Jim and lay it out for me, I'd be happy to oblige.
I've always tried to eat healthy so that I wouldn't need a vitamin. Short of the occasional prenatal and flinstone vitamin, I don't like pills.
Then I turned 30.
It started with me being kinda tired. So, I really tried to take my multivitamin on a regular basis. then Iwent to the Dr. who informed me I was severely low on my vitamin D and I needed to bulk up. BUT I can't just take my vitamin D. so now i'm up to taking a multivitamin, Vitamin D, and calcium (for the genetic osteoporosis brewing -- thanks mom). but the calcium and iron from the multi causes nausea so I have to take an antinausea, but then that pill causes migraines so I got that pill... now i swear I'm up to 15 pills a day. Seriously, when did i go from 0 to 15 in less than a year? oh yah, when I turned 30.
So, i opened my medicine cabinet... I seriously think I could be the pusher for the neighborhood... Now all i got to do is combat the gag reflex that has made me famous in come circles and learn how not to be so old that I can compete with those younguns who only have to take that gummy bear vitamin. I'm coming... when I can make the arthritis in my knee go away!

You look soooo pretty!

I had this week all thought out. I knew what I wanted to write about and then today, something changed. I've always been blessed with never being able to dwell on things for a long time. I usually have to deal with my issues immediately, or else if I DO have time to work out the hypotheticals in my head, the results are never what I expect.
Today I was getting ready to lay my girls down for a nap, but they can't nap together (but they do sleep together at night)and we have a friend sleeping over, so I put Zoe in my bed. Now, granted, looking back on the situation, I felt my hand hesitate as I shut the door. I heard, supersonically, something going awry in the room, but I ignored my first thoughts. When she came out, I sent her upstairs to play.
Later, someone called my house and I was walking into my bathroom, when I saw something on the floor. "what is that?". I followed the trail. "why are the bathroom drawers open?". I went around the corner to the toilet. And there on the floor were scissors. The trashcan next to the toilet was FULL of hair! i called Zoe down and she had cut ALL her hair off; well, I take that back, it was a mullet.

It reminded me of when I was a little girl. My mom would tell me to brush my hair and I would look in the mirror, only brushing what I could see. Meanwhile, I was building one mean rats nest in my hair. Periodically, my mom would stick peanut butter in my hair and tear at it, as she detangled that nasty mess, but in first grade, she decided that she was done with that. She cut off all my hair into this tiny bob, which flipped out on the sides and tortures me to this day.
Now, at 30, seems like so many people are obsessed with appearances. We hope people like us for what they can see, and hope we never show them our backsides. And as I look at my Beautiful 3 year old, I hope that I'm more like her. I hope that I can make my mistakes right up front, so that I never have a chance to mislead people into thinking I'm something I'm not, and later regret that I was not genuine and no one could trust what I had to say.

Funny what defines your life

*warning* there are things on this post that I've never shared with ANYONE.(mom you might not want to read this) I had to pray a long time about whether to start this blog off on such a serious note, but in the end, it's done. Stay with me, I'll lighten up soon.
There are certain age groups that I lean toward when I look for who to hang with: 9, 13, 17,and 21. I had to think about why is that? and I realized that it's because at those ages, things happened that really defined who I was.
At age 7 I came to Christ but at age 9 I began going to a church that really encouraged me to figure out what I believed and my opinions were beginning to form.
At age 13 so many things began. Of course, the basic things like the first boyfriend, the first crush (yes girls, there is a difference)happened, but then I start thinking about other things. And this is where this post comes from. I experienced things that in an of themselves should have changed my life forever, but it's funny what defines your life. Between the ages of 13 and 16 I was introduced to drugs (and walked away thankfully), I smoked (and didn't break that easily), I drank (found my tolerance to be much higher than others: don't test me, I'll drink you under the table), I had friends who commited suicide, did cutting, anorexia, and every other disorder for teens. I saw friends have sex, prostitute themselves willingly, asked to have sex myself multiple times (but was smarter than the average bear for 99% of situations), I saw an orgy firsthand and walked away from that one, had a "friend" try to rape me, and another save me. I had a friend so high he put a shot gun to my face and later try to turn it on himself while police thought we were just silly teens. My first boyfriend was a drug addict and the second a gang member. I've had boyfriends who used me as a bet, and others for their own insecurities.
But the funny thing is that those things never defined me. I'm sure they influenced me to an extent, but I don't look back and say, "I wouldn't be who I am if someone hadn't tried to kill me (on more than one occasion)". I've noticed that the things that define me in life are things that show me (all the way back at age 7) who God is.
As a mom, I can see looking at my 7 year old how God took hold of me. I had no concept of sin. really, most of those things that happened to me up to age 16, I was so naive that they didn't register for YEARS. Yet, God in his mercy took hold of me. Gave me a passion for Him where there was no reason. At age 13, I knew I was experiencing things that other kids weren't necessarily going to ever go through. And I had to keep myself in check with God for my motivations (and they weren't always honorable). At age 17, I had a reality check. I took hold of my adulthood, and had to depend on God because no one else seemed to care about me or ask. At age 21, after much pain, and guilt from the decisions I made in life, God blessed me with a husband and soon after a baby. God was faithful even when I wasn't.
So I wonder with 30, will this be a defining year? Will I look back and say that God showed himself in a tangible new way? We'll see, but till then, I'm holding on.