Memorial Day Weekend

When I was growing up, Memorial Day weekend was never spent camping, or hosting BBQs, or shopping for the best deals at the fabulous sales.  The extended holiday weekend was spent with my siblings and my mom, doing our best to fill the long days and hoping that my dad was selling a lot of mattresses at his big mattress sale.

When I was in my early twenties, Memorial Day weekend was spent selling mattresses.  Making deals, setting up deliveries, and feeding off the adrenaline buzz and comes from making money.

Now, as a mama, Memorial Day weekend is spent filling the hours with my own children, hoping that Devon is selling a lot of mattresses!

Hey, at least my life has been consistent!

So, the kids and I have been filling in the hours!

The highlight of the holiday weekend so far has been loading up every seat in my minivan and driving out to Aunt Merry's on Saturday.  We introduced our friends Katie, Jude, Ethan and Grey to our home-away-from-home :)

So, now I have just one more day to fill.  What to do, what to do?  So far, I've read two issues of Entertainment Weekly while Max and Lucy have made a tremendous mess of the house.

My mother-in-law has a subscription to Entertainment Weekly and she passes the magazines to me after she reads them.  Pretty sweet deal, right?!  Here is a bit of what I learned this morning-

I have already set my DVR for the June 7th episode of Inside the Actors Studio, and if you are a fan of Modern Family (who ISN'T???), you should set your DVR too.

I graduated from high school is 1997, and just reading this list of chart toppers took me right back to my red VW Cabriolet, listening to these songs with the volume turned up loud!  (Except, I can't recall the group Rome or that song.  Can you?).  I confess- I bought the CD single of MMMBop!  I still have it, and you can borrow it if you'd like.

SoundBites are always a good read.

Before Nsync brought their curly haired superstar into my life, my heart belonged to another boy-bander.  He is in this photo- can you guess who?  My 11 year-old self covered my bedroom walls with posters and pages from TeenBop.  My Walkman played the cassettes of New Kids on the Block, and I'd sing and dance along.  I loved you, Jordan Knight!

Sadly, I never saw them in concert.  My mom had just given birth to my sister, so I suppose she had other priorities than taking me to join the masses of screaming girls at an NKOTB show.  I don't blame her.  Now that I am a mom, I can think of 1,000 things that I'd rather do than hang out with screaming 11 year-olds.

But here is my second chance to see them live, with the Backstreet Boys!  Am I going to the show?  Not unless someone wants to go with me!  Anyone interested?? 

How are you spending the holiday weekend? 

Do you need a new mattress?  I know a few great salesmen!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

This is Mary.  Mary Poppins.
Last week we had the pleasure of getting all dolled up and heading to Seattle to see Mary Poppins at The Paramount Theater.
What a treat!

Lucy wore her fanciest dress and she let me curl her hair and put in a barrette, and we chose a necklace that matched, and I even brushed on a little blush and eyeshadow.  She looked fabulous!

I tried on every old and outdated dress in my closet before I decided on the one that I wore my junior year of college to the Spring Formal at the Santa Barbara Zoo.  Oy vey.  I amped up my make-up and my jewelry, and I made the grave decision to wear heels.  Imagine me gimping through downtown Seattle in high heels, dragging Lucy behind me (because the child does not walk beside me- I swear- she pulls on my arm and drags)-  I am not the most elegant woman in the world.  But I felt good, so, sore feet or not, mama was happy!

And, of course, Merry looked great, and she wore sensible shoes.  Smarty pants.

We fought through some traffic to get into the city, which caused some high anxiety, but after some yummy dessert (who needs dinner?), we eased into our seats in the beautiful theater and were ready to take in the magic that is Mary Poppins.  Of the three of us, I'm not sure who was the most excited.  I vote me!

The show was fantastic.  FAN TAS TIC!!

I hadn't seen the movie in years, so I'd forgotten most of the aspects of the story, but I found it to be full of life-lessons, which I intend to apply to my own life right away!  I'm being serious!  Mary Poppins has such a unique outlook on life, and she creatively encourages the children (Jane and Michael Banks) toward hard work and responsibility and kindness and imagination, and her bag- oh, that magical bag!- and her quick wit, and her impeccable wardrobe, and her lovely accent...  I'll just say it- I want to be Mary Poppins.

So, I think I'll start with the accent.

After all, the songs have been stuck in my head, and you can't really sing the songs from Mary Poppins without a proper English accent!

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in the most delightful way!

And just for fun, here are some of my favorite Mary Poppins quotes.  Enjoy these gems!

"That's a piecrust promise. Easily made, easily broken."

(Mary Poppins measures herself with her tape measure and reads what it says)  "As I expected. 'Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way.'"

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game!"

"Why do you always complicate things that are really quite simple?"

"I'd like to make one thing quite clear: I never explain anything."


"Practically perfect people never permit sentiment to muddle their thinking."
 
"Never judge things by their appearance... even carpetbags. I'm sure I never do."

News & Reviews

Not to keep talking about the whole car search/car buying experience, but I just have to say how nice it feels to have it all off my mind!  I feel free!  I'm free to grocery shop!  I'm free to fill my head with other worries thoughts!  I'm free to blog!  And blog I shall!

So, I have some recommendations:

I just finished reading this book, and it was SO. GOOD.  I think I'm late to this party- maybe many of you  have already read it- but if you have not, and you are looking for a fantastic story, please read The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  You will not be disappointed.  If you need a little more info about the story before you will commit to the book, read here. 

AND, the movie is coming out this summer!

I recently got this CD, and I love it.  "Rolling in the Deep" is our favorite track, and my kids call it The Fire Song.  ("There's a fire starting in my heart..."). 

Even Max sings along, "We could of had it aaaaallllllll!  Rolling in the deeeeeeeep!"

Trader Joe's Coffee Bean Blast ice cream

+

Trader Joe's Cinnamon & Sugar Pita Chips

=

YUM

This ice cream contains coffee grounds.  Okay, it is really ground coffee beans, but is there a difference?  It is so rich and creamy-  too rich to be eaten with a spoon, in my opinion.  This ice cream begs for a sugar cone.  It was created to be licked, not spooned.  But, alas, we don't have any sugar cones on hand, so I supplemented my small scoop-in-a-bowl with a handful of these sweet pita chips. And then I went back for seconds.  Mama likey. 

Any recommendations for me??

Books, movies, music, treats, shampoos, lip gloss, household cleaners, etc.??????

In other news,

here is a peek at the members of the Rantz fam at this very moment:

Devon is enjoying his day-off, kickin' back, reading Men's Health.

Max is trying to be discreet about pooping his pants.

Lucy is watching a princess movie while dressed in her Swan Lake costume and ballet slippers.

Joe is doing homework, learning about the Roman Empire.

And I am blogging while taking a picture of myself while talking to Buzz Lightyear on a Buzz Lightyear phone.

There you have it!

Happy Wednesday!

"Surfing" in the Minivan

"It is grief.  You are grieving.  It is okay to cry."
Maryanne got up from the table that we were sharing and moved quickly across the showroom to the coffee counter and then rushed back to me holding a handful of paper towels.

"Here- this is the closest thing to tissue that I've got."

I wiped my eyes and nose with the rough paper, slightly embarrassed that I was having a major breakdown at the car dealership and that the stranger who was helping me through my "moment" was a saleswoman.

"I suppose that this isn't a typical place to keep boxes of tissues!"  I tried to lighten the mood and take the attention off of the tears streaming down my face.

You know how some people are able to reach you with little effort?   They know just the right questions to ask to break down any walls of defense.   Like, I was already having a rough day- crying from the moment that I woke up- so anyone who looked at me sideways might have made me cry, but Maryanne sat down and first asked me if my family lives nearby.  "No, they all live in California."  Don't cry, Annie!  It is okay!  You like it here, and Devon's family is here.  "But I like it here, and my husband's family is close by." 

"I'll bet that it is hard to raise kids without your family to lean on!"

Seriously!  We can't talk about this!  I can't hold it together much longer!

Devon and Max and Lucy passed through the showroom every few minutes.  Though our table was cluttered with donations from various offices in an effort to keep the kids occupied- stacks of printer paper, highlighters, dry-erase markers, stickers, Subaru brand silly bands- and the floor was a mess with a box of toys from the service department's waiting room, my two babies were determined to explore the entire facility, and Devon took a shift following them and keeping them out of trouble.

Maryanne asked, "Your older son- that was here yesterday- his name is Joe?"

"Yes, he is at school today."

"He seems to be a good big brother."
How is she doing this?

"He is- he really is."  And just like that, we were talking about Joe and my relationship with him and how being his mom has changed my life.
Whew, I rarely make it through that topic without crying!

Finally, she asked, "Do you feel pretty good about your decision to buy the minivan?"

That was the switch that released the tears and transformed my strong face to my ugly cry-face.

I looked at the brand new Volkswagens in the room.  I'd pulled Max out of the red one four times already.  He enters through the driver's door and climbs into the backseat and orders, "Mommy, buy dis!"

I'd rather be buying that one, for sure.
"Yes, I feel good about buying the minivan."

"You'd be surprised by how many people cry here."

"Then you should provide tissue!"  I tried again to bring some humor to the situation.

"Buying a car isn't always a happy occasion.  Often, people are here because there are changes in their lives that require that they make additional changes, like where they live, what they drive, where they work."

Check, check, and check.

"We've had a lot of changes, and I've been okay-  really, okay- until today.  Today is different.  Today is hard, and I don't think that it is about the minivan.  The minivan will be great."  I believed the words that were coming out of my mouth, but my emotions were completely out of control.

Maryanne then told me her own story.  And with humor and optimism, she made me laugh and made me cry more, and ultimately, she made me remember that, really, I've got so much to be grateful for, and sometimes change brings good, and I've got to suck it up and drive this ugly minivan with pride because, Dude!  We own it!  We don't own much right now, but we do own a 2003 Chevrolet Venture.

My sister-in-law texted me while I was at the dealership, and she wrote, "Just hang in there.  Might be a bumpy ride for a while but it always comes to an end.  Just depends on how graceful you can ride the wave!"

So, friends, I'm surfing!

I'm hoping to ride the wave gracefully.  And I'm hoping that the minivan runs for as long as we need it to.  And I'm hoping that it keeps us safe on the road.  And I'm hoping that the engine temperature gauge is supposed to bounce from cold to hot depending on if I am driving uphill or downhill...

And upon further review, the minivan isn't so bad!  My kids actually think we've upgraded from my perfect, beloved, smooth-riding, always stylish Nissan Pathfinder.  Let's agree to not tell them otherwise!

Oh, and did I mention that it is Chevrolet's Warner Bros. Edition?  Yup, Bugs Bunny is permanently stuck on the backside.  Don't be jealous!  :)

For Sale By Owner

Good ol' Craig and his list.

What did we do before there was Craigslist?  Did we search the classified ads in the Sunday paper?  Did we go to garage sales? 

I've successfully used Craigslist to find furniture, toys, concert tickets, princess dresses, a babysitting job, and a rental house, and my most recent task has been to find a used car for our family.  This car search is a proving to be a bit more difficult than, say, Ikea Hemnes dresser.

I stalk Craigslist- checking in several times a day- spending far too much time typing various words into the search bar, such as 3rd row, third row, minivan, mini van, SUV, family vehicle, Odyssey, Sienna, seats 7, seats 8...

And what am I finding?  I am finding that photos can be very deceiving.  Give a nasty, beat-up mini van a good wash and take a decent picture of it, and it will look pristine.  But take a closer look- like, pack up the whole family and drive 45 minutes to take a closer look- and you will see that the bumper is cracked, the windshield is cracked, the passenger side mirror has what appears to be a bite taken out of it, and there is gaping hole in the interior ceiling where a DVD system once lived.  Well, this is interesting.  The ad said that it was in near-perfect shape.

I suppose that this is where I confess that I'm a princess when it comes to my cars.  I always buy exactly what I want, in the color of my choice.  But there is a price to pay for driving a choice vehicle, and I've never had a problem paying it until now.  So, I search Craigslist, hoping for a diamond in the rough.

This search is consuming my life.  Grocery shopping?  Blogging?  Catching up on my favorite shows that are waiting on my DVR?  No time!  I've got to stay focused!  I've got to be the first responder to the next Honda Odyssey that is listed, because those babies sell fast!

Wish me luck!  And tell me-  what has been your best find on Craigslist?

Oh, and a friendly reminder:  Someone special is hosting Saturday Night Live tonight.

Oh, and has anyone seen my baby?  I can't find him.  But this big boy has been hanging around a lot.  I like him.



Notes to Self

(at the doctor's office)

(not to be outdone by Lucy, Max picked up the chalk and got to work on his own masterpiece)

Last week, I promised Lucy that she would not have to have any shots at her 4 year old physical.  "Max will probably get a shot, but I don't think that you will."  I was wrong, and Lucy looked at me with terror in her eyes and said, "Mom, you lied!"  And no matter how much I studied the poster on the wall that displayed the techniques of "Comforting Restraint", there is nothing comforting about being restrained.  Lucy received four shots and Max got one.

Only the promise of a new toy from Target and an ice cream cone from McDonalds could dry the tears of my freshly immunized and bandaged children.  It was a rough morning.

Note to self:  Make sure that Devon attends all future appointments.  It is nearly more than you can handle alone!

(Max and his buddy Greyson)

Note to self: "Say poop!" gets a much better response from Buzz Lightyear(s) than "Say cheese!".  

(Also, Max's pajamas are getting small- go buy new ones)

(New Bag)

Note to self: Don't waste your time lusting after designer bags that you can't afford when this cheap-o from Target suits you just fine!

(but, you've got to admit, this designer one is so pretty!)

(Princess Lucy)

While Max and I went used-car shopping with Uncle Dave on Saturday, Lucy stayed with Merry, and we returned to find that Merry created this lovely ensemble for our princess.

Note to self:  Lucy is a lucky girl!  Since I'm not too crafty or artistic, we are very fortunate that Merry has got mad skills!

Also, used cars are used, so lower your expectations, Annie!

A Very Short True Story About Baseball

This is Joe.

Joe is playing left field.

These are Joe's fans.

They stand at the fence along left field and say,

"Hi Joe!  Hi!  Joe!  Joe!  Joe!  Hi!  Hi Joe!"

Joe graciously waves to his fans and says,

"Hi guys!  I can't talk right now!"

The score was 4-3 when Joe got up to bat.

He hit a single to get on base,

and he scored to tie the game.

The fans went wild!

(No, they didn't really go wild.  They were off playing with sticks and rocks.  But I let out a "Woohoo!  Way to go, Joe!")

The next inning,

a final run was scored,

and Joe's team won.

Woohoo!

The end.

Mud and a Malt

This weekend we did something that we don't do too often-

we got dirty.

Our task was to dig out a spot for a planter box, fill it with dirt, and then relocate Dave and Merry's strawberry plants.

All children were put to work,

and we labored through warm sun, cold wind, rain, and even hail!

 How cute is this dirty bum?!

Yes, I got dirty too.

Believe it!

Progress-

And then Joe got bored and went inside.

And then it started raining.

And then Lucy got too cold and went inside.

But guess who stayed and kept working-

Mission complete!

And this summer,

we'll be sitting poolside and eating the fruits of our labor!

Gosh I love this dirty boy!

Mother's Day was pretty quiet around here.

Devon was working,

and Joe spent the afternoon with his biological mother.

The highlight of the day was when Grandma Donna and I took the babies out for a treat-

It is always happy mother's day when I am drinking a chocolate malt!

What was your highlight on Mother's Day?

Ballpark Therapy

In our home, I am usually the one who needs some TLC.

I often need a pick-me-up,

a change of scenery,

a distraction from whatever is weighing heavy on my mind.

But this week, it was Devon who needed a pick-me-up. 

So, at a moment's notice Grandma Donna was on the scene ready to care for our three especially-whiny children.  Gosh, each of the kids were in a funky mood.  Sorry, Donna.

(Fortunately, you are a pro' with our rugrats- you're the best!)

Devon and I bundled up and raced to the ballpark.

$8 bleacher seats.  That's where its at.

And by "it" I mean, uh, value! :)

"Foot long!  Who's got the foot long?"

(Can anyone tell me which movie that line is from??)

Our friends Kelly and Bryan were at the game too, but their seats were much better.  So, we joined them after the 6th inning.

And it was a win for the home team!

Happy fans,

happy husband,

happy wife!

(men can be so easy to please!)

Another Blog About the Weather

Unless you live in the Pacific Northwest, you might not understand why a warm and sunny day is newsworthy- or perhaps blog worthy.

Spring decided to show up today.  Well, hello spring!  We've been expecting you!

And I couldn't help but smile as I did the dishes this afternoon and this was the view from the kitchen window-

Yes, blog worthy.  Even photo worthy.

We really don't get enough warm weather here.  It's true what they say about Seattle.  Rain rain rain. 

But when the sky does clear up, we go outside.  We play t-ball in the driveway with Daddy.  We head to the park in droves.  We beg for underdogs on the swings.  We go to Stroller Strides and get tortured a great workout on the neighborhood's steepest hills.  We sit on the front stoop with our little brother and look at a Lego magazine while waiting for a ride to the game.

We try our best not to take the sunshine for granted.  We go to bed with sun kissed cheeks.  And we hope and pray that the sun will come out again tomorrow.

(Okay, now I'm stuck with "Tomorrow" playing in my head)

The sun'll come out

Tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar

That tomorrow 

There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about

Tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs,

And the sorrow

'Til there's none!

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

I love ya!

Tomorrow!
You're always

A day away!



Pomp and Circumstance

On this date 10 years ago,
I graduated from college.

And today the final payment on my student loans was automatically withdrawn from our checking account.

At this moment, paying off this debt feels like a greater accomplishment than graduating from college. 

And I can't help but think of one of my favorite lines from NBC's 30 Rock- 

"I feel as useless as a mom's college degree." Kenneth Parcell

To my defense, my degree is in elementary education, so as a mom it hasn't been completely useless, but either way, as of today, the debt is paid in full!

"Pomp and Circumstance" has been playing in my mind since I woke up this morning.  I think I'll go find a frame and some wall space for my diploma.

(Mom, can you please find my diploma and mail it to me?  I think it is in a box under the bed upstairs- maybe with Stefano's magazine.)