You can shake it

Traveling with our kids usually ends one of two ways: I either end up laughing so hard I nearly pee pants, or I cry.

Yesterday was Hoover Christmas. Hoover family events require driving an hour and a half each way. After being loved on and sugared up for four hours, this happened on the drive home:


Morley [after seeing a cow move in a pasture]: That cow's head moved! I thought it was a robot cow!

***


Sarah, Dan and I were having a conversation about someone who we joke can do no wrong. Jonah heard the tail end of it.

Jonah: Who walked on water?
Me: Jesus
Sarah: He also turned water into wine.
Jonah: You know who else did something with water?
[expectant pause]
Dan: Jack Daniels.

****

Riley: People don't have tails.
Jonah: Yes they do. You can't touch it, but you can shake it.

****

Aunt Sarah (who often rides with us to family stuff): Do you like what Santa gave you?
Morley: I told Santa I want Hello Kitty Legos and a Hello Kitty penny bank. He did it wrong. [She got Cinderella Squinkies.]

****

So....no crying on the drive home yesterday. I'm still laughing about Dan's Jack Daniels comment. I love my family so much and I'm so very very grateful that they make me laugh.

No Time

When I was growing up, my mom worked first shift in a factory from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. My school hours were 8:05 AM to 3:20 PM.  I got home at 3:45, and my mom got home a few minutes later. We ate dinner at 5:00-ish every day. Bedtime was 8:00 until I was a teen. That equaled 4 hours every day mom spent with us.

I work 8:30 to 4:30. I drop Jonah and Riley off at ROCK at 7:40. I drop Morley off at daycare at 8:00. I pick up Morley between 4:45 and 5:00.  I pick up Jonah and Riley between 5:20 and 5:30. I struggle to get dinner on the table by 6:00.  We have to squeeze in homework and a bath before bed. The kids go to bed at 8:00.

I feel like I get no quality time with my children during the week. I feel like the worst mom because I'm always rushed and always stressed. There's not much I can do about this situation, because I have to work. I don't have any answers, only seemingly-unfixable problems.

Happy Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day, and I just want to say thank you to my husband for making it possible for me to celebrate this day. SHMILY.

To there and back.

Many times, I've told the kids I love them "all the way to the moon and back." Naturally, because they are kids, and they've learned about planets, they've created variations. I've been loved to every planet and back in our solar system, including the Earth. I've also been loved all the way to the Sun and back. But Morley said a new one today. "I love you to all of the French fries." She loves fries, so I'm pretty sure this is a good thing.

All Dogs Goes to Heaven

This afternoon, Jonah asked me an unexpected question. "How old do you have to be to go to Heaven?"

Uh....

I was honest. I told him that you can be any age and go to heaven. "Even in your twenties?"

"Yes, Buddy, even in your twenties."

"But not babies."

"No, babies go to Heaven. I had a baby brother that went to Heaven. He was born after Aunt Sarah and before Uncle Robby."

"Oh."

"His name was Aaron."

"What about Grandmas? And Great-grandmas? Great-grandma McKnight is in heaven, right?"

"Yes, Jonah, Great-grandma McKnight is in heaven."

"Mommy, can we watch a movie tonight?"

Jonah is an amazingly sweet and inquisitive boy. I just adore him.