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Dear Public,
My apologies to the witnesses of my child(ren)'s recent temper tantrum(s). Honestly, they are normally well-behaved. But lately? Whew. Serious drama.
Please note that I do not give into temper tantrums. So while it may appear that I do not care that my kid is screaming/yelling/hitting/kicking/crying etc. etc. trust me when I say that I do. Inside I am dying a little. (and feeling mortified/horrified/petrified).
I have learned the hard way that if you give into a temper tantrum there will be more. Lots more. So I take a hard stand against them.
So if you are out and about and you see me ignoring a temper tantrum, just know that there is a method to my madness. Oh, and say a little prayer for my patience. Because it is probably on empty.
Yours sincerely,
Lori
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Happy 40th Anniversary!
My parents are celebrating their 40th (!) wedding anniversary today. We celebrated with them last weekend when my family was home for Hobo Days. Unfortunately my brother Kurt and his family were only here for a couple hours. Christa's Grandpa died and they headed back to Indiana right away. We were so sad they had to say goodbye to Grandpa Irv, and that they had to leave.
The rest of us went to church together and had a party for my parents afterwards. Just us. There was a lot of good food and a lot of laughter (as usual).
Some pics:
We had fun but missed my brother, Christa and the kids. When we are together again we are getting a professional family photo taken of all of us Can't wait!
You don't often see marriages last this long these days. Congratulations to my parents for riding out the highs and the lows to get to the big 40 years! They have been an amazing example to me and my siblings. I love you both.
The rest of us went to church together and had a party for my parents afterwards. Just us. There was a lot of good food and a lot of laughter (as usual).
Some pics:
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| 40 years! |
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| Solien Family (Older sister Karen) |
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| VandeLune Family (Twin sis Lisa) |
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| Hiscocks Family (little sister Bonnie) |
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| The Clendenen Family (goofballs) |
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| Jack & Patti (Jack is like a brother to me, he lived with our family when I was younger) |
You don't often see marriages last this long these days. Congratulations to my parents for riding out the highs and the lows to get to the big 40 years! They have been an amazing example to me and my siblings. I love you both.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Clendenen Family Reunion
In July we attended a big birthday party/reunion for Trav's Grandpa Howard. He lives in a nursing home in Ankeny now and the reunion was held at a great park there. It was great to see everyone and meet second cousins too. We all had a lot of fun. Some pics of the day:
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Question:
Question: Why does Madeline think I'm the "Best Mom Ever"?
Answer: Because I let her take a shower in her dress.
Answer: Because I let her take a shower in her dress.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
I Don't Remember...
the last time I was this busy. We have been going non-stop for a couple weeks. Mostly fun activities but some stress.
For instance, my baby has been teething. Except...instead of calling it teething I would rather call it constantscreaming/crying/tantrumthrowing/drooling/yelling/tickedoff/throwingthings/fever/rash/diarrhea/ hell. I feel bad for her. (And my patience. I feel bad for that too.) Poor kid gets wrecked over each tooth. And right now she's getting two molars and two teeth at the same time. I hope she feels better tomorrow.
For instance, my baby has been teething. Except...instead of calling it teething I would rather call it constantscreaming/crying/tantrumthrowing/drooling/yelling/tickedoff/throwingthings/fever/rash/diarrhea/ hell. I feel bad for her. (And my patience. I feel bad for that too.) Poor kid gets wrecked over each tooth. And right now she's getting two molars and two teeth at the same time. I hope she feels better tomorrow.
Fun stuff: county fair, surprise visit from Grandma Marker (Trav's mom) and niece Katelyn for a few days, Hobo Days/ 200 person family reunion/family party for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary.
Hopefully I can get caught up on the blog once school starts next week.
More later,
LoriMonday, August 9, 2010
Ask Lori Answers, Part 1
I think I'll start with the e-mail questions so I don't forget those:
Are you done having kids?
We have always talked about having at least four. I don't think we're done but you never know. I'd love to have another baby, but am unsure of the timing. I like having kids close together, but I may need a little more time. Wow. That was pretty personal to share with the Internet, right?
Are you going to try for a boy?
Um, no. I don't like when people ask this question. If we have another, it's because we want another baby to add to our family. Boy or girl.
Where did you find the name Zella?
Travis had a great great Aunt named Zella. I was really unsure for most of the pregnancy about the name because it is unusual. But it totally suits her! Her unusual name, coupled with the fact she has worn glasses since 7 months old and her big personality makes Zella unforgettable!
What was your college major?
I majored in Mass Communication and Radio/TV.
What did you like/dislike about truck driving?
Well, the best part was making money and paying down student loan debt, to be honest. I never would have chosen to be a trucker otherwise. And ultimately I am still benefiting from being a trucker today. I do get to stay home with our kids. I never could have done that working at a non-profit in a city.
I loved seeing the country. I still feel very patriotic after getting to see 48 states. America really is beautiful. I loved the times we got to get out of the truck and explore.
I disliked a lot of things because it was hard. Really hard. I know lots of people who were born to drive truck and love it. Most of it didn't come very naturally to me and I hard to work hard at it. I literally got lost every day the first six months. I am not exaggerating. I got harassed a lot because I was a "little girl" who should let my "boyfriend/husband/dad" drive, back, fuel or bring in the paperwork. I got really tired of hearing on a daily basis why I shouldn't/couldn't drive a truck. I developed quite an attitude about it. (And found myself telling others what I thought about their assumptions. I had never really been like that before.) I really hated cranking down the landing gear on old rusty trailers. That alone could ruin my mood and make me swear.
There were things I started to enjoy after some time. Like backing into a hard dock while people watched and yelled at me that I couldn't do it. (Because lots of times I could and it felt good to prove them wrong.) Or unloading a trailer (which we didn't have to do too often) because it made me feel strong. I really liked trip planning and becoming friends with the people who worked at the yards.
Overall I would say that I loved truck driving because it taught Travis and I a lot about ourselves and our relationship. We have lots of good memories and lots of horrible stories, but no matter what we always had each other.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Both and it gets me into trouble. I can stay up super late every night. But as I trucker I became a morning person too because of the schedule I drove. So now I have the problem of staying up way too late and getting up too early sometimes. Makes me tired but it's my own fault.
Are you done having kids?
We have always talked about having at least four. I don't think we're done but you never know. I'd love to have another baby, but am unsure of the timing. I like having kids close together, but I may need a little more time. Wow. That was pretty personal to share with the Internet, right?
Are you going to try for a boy?
Um, no. I don't like when people ask this question. If we have another, it's because we want another baby to add to our family. Boy or girl.
Where did you find the name Zella?
Travis had a great great Aunt named Zella. I was really unsure for most of the pregnancy about the name because it is unusual. But it totally suits her! Her unusual name, coupled with the fact she has worn glasses since 7 months old and her big personality makes Zella unforgettable!
What was your college major?
I majored in Mass Communication and Radio/TV.
What did you like/dislike about truck driving?
Well, the best part was making money and paying down student loan debt, to be honest. I never would have chosen to be a trucker otherwise. And ultimately I am still benefiting from being a trucker today. I do get to stay home with our kids. I never could have done that working at a non-profit in a city.
I loved seeing the country. I still feel very patriotic after getting to see 48 states. America really is beautiful. I loved the times we got to get out of the truck and explore.
I disliked a lot of things because it was hard. Really hard. I know lots of people who were born to drive truck and love it. Most of it didn't come very naturally to me and I hard to work hard at it. I literally got lost every day the first six months. I am not exaggerating. I got harassed a lot because I was a "little girl" who should let my "boyfriend/husband/dad" drive, back, fuel or bring in the paperwork. I got really tired of hearing on a daily basis why I shouldn't/couldn't drive a truck. I developed quite an attitude about it. (And found myself telling others what I thought about their assumptions. I had never really been like that before.) I really hated cranking down the landing gear on old rusty trailers. That alone could ruin my mood and make me swear.
There were things I started to enjoy after some time. Like backing into a hard dock while people watched and yelled at me that I couldn't do it. (Because lots of times I could and it felt good to prove them wrong.) Or unloading a trailer (which we didn't have to do too often) because it made me feel strong. I really liked trip planning and becoming friends with the people who worked at the yards.
Overall I would say that I loved truck driving because it taught Travis and I a lot about ourselves and our relationship. We have lots of good memories and lots of horrible stories, but no matter what we always had each other.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Both and it gets me into trouble. I can stay up super late every night. But as I trucker I became a morning person too because of the schedule I drove. So now I have the problem of staying up way too late and getting up too early sometimes. Makes me tired but it's my own fault.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
And Now It's Time For...
Ask Lori...
I still don't have my camera cord I left at my MIL's house a month ago. So no pictures to share. In the meantime I will answer (for your enjoyment) (ok, for you to make fun of me) your questions.
Although people rarely comment I know you are reading because I often get questions and comments via e-mail, and my sitemeter tells me that hundreds of you are out there..
SO...leave a comment below (or e-mail me at loriclendenen at hotmail dot com) with your silly or serious questions. I reserve the right to not answer if it will incriminate me or cause me to embarrass myself. Although I usually do that on a regular basis.
More later,
Lori
I still don't have my camera cord I left at my MIL's house a month ago. So no pictures to share. In the meantime I will answer (for your enjoyment) (ok, for you to make fun of me) your questions.
Although people rarely comment I know you are reading because I often get questions and comments via e-mail, and my sitemeter tells me that hundreds of you are out there..
SO...leave a comment below (or e-mail me at loriclendenen at hotmail dot com) with your silly or serious questions. I reserve the right to not answer if it will incriminate me or cause me to embarrass myself. Although I usually do that on a regular basis.
More later,
Lori
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