I've been in a funk the past couple days. It started on Thursday, which just happened to be my anniversary. Fifteen years I've been married to Mr. Wonderful. Know what he did for our anniversary? He called me from work to let me know that he was going to be working all night and while on the phone, off-handedly mumbled out a luke warm "Oh, by the way, happy anniversary." This got me thinking about mother's day when he did nothing because "you're not my mom." And then there was my birthday when he did nothing because, well just because, I guess.
Then last night, I watched Bridge to Terabithia with my kids. Have you seen this? What a horrible movie! I mean, it was actually a movie worth seeing with believable acting, some fun special effects, and an overall, wonderful story of friendship, but there should definitely be a warning on the DVD - "Caution - the sweet, intelligent, compassionate girl you'll grow to love in this movie, suddenly dies at the end! May cause uncontrollable sobbing, sadness, and snotty noses. Do you not watch if you have PMS, or are in a bad mood because your husband blew off your anniversary." I personally like to see movies that are light, entertaining, and don't require too much thinking. There is enough drama in the real world and I have no need to see more of it on the silver screen which is why my all time favorite movie is The Princess Bride :)
OK, enough of my depressed funk. On to other things. We're gearing up to go camping this week. Wait, let me rephrase that. I'M gearing up to go camping. That means, I do forty million loads of laundry, I pack clothes and toiletries for eight people, I grocery shop and cook, I basically move three quarters of my house in to our camper. I'm sure I'll have some stories upon my return as we have yet to go on a camping trip where we don't run into car trouble. One time, a bracket of some sort broke, leaving us stranded at a K-Mart for six hours, one time the truck caught on fire, another time the alternator went out, a different time, the truck kept overheating necessitating the use of the heater in ninety-five degree weather, and yet another time, the camper flipped over, taking our truck with it and rolling it into a ditch. Sheesh, after reading that list, you'd think we would have long since abandoned camping in favor of safer vacations, but we're just gluttons for punishment. Well, that and the fact that there isn't any other kind of vacation where a family of eight can stay for $35 a night!
I don't have a laptop and if I did, my kids would probably bury it in the sand on the beach, use it for a fishing lure, or put it in the campfire to see what would happen, so my blog won't be updated until Monday or Tuesday of next week. I know it's basically just my mom my who reads this, but just in case someone else stumbles upon this by accident, you know why there won't be any updates for a few days.
The Princess Bride is my all-time favourite movie too - hey, it's got a little of everything! Adventure, romance, suspense, action .... inconceivable that someone could NOT like it! :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE your writing style by the way :) Camer here by way of your e-bay auction (hilarious) and just had to read back some & will have to check back on things now that I see you['re regularly this entertaining!
Cyber-smacks to your husband for not doing anything for Mother's Day because "you're not his mother"! My BIL uses the exact same excuse with my sister, makes me roll my eyes ;o) Especially with SIX CHILDREN! Of course my sister still goes all-out for him when it's Father's Day LOL How about you?
ReplyDeleteIt's my Wedding Anniversary tomorrow too, will be interested to see what my husband comes up with (I'm ruling out anything as exciting as a dinner out etc what with Miss 3 and Miss 12 weeks and no babysitters for miles around!).
My guy bought me shoes for my last birthday and I nearly keeled over in surprise! We´ve been together for 5 years, have two kids and he has never done anything for any anniversary, birthday, Valentine´s day or Mother´s day. :P
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about men and celebrations?
Love Princess Bride! I have lent my movie to friends and most of them say "It didn't keep my attention". WHAT??? How can that movie not keep your attention? It is the all-time best ever! Anyway, glad to hear there are other PB fans like me.
ReplyDeleteTo comment on the Mother's Day thing, my husband has pulled the same with me "you are not my mother" and I tell him, "No, but I AM the mother of your child"... that did nothing. Luckily, now my daughter is old enough to want to buy me something so she forces Dad out of the house so she can buy something for me, which gets Dad into buying mode. :)
I like reading your blog, which I found through your ebay posting of the Pokemon cards. You are really funny. After reading that, I had to have more. You are truly a talented writer.
I have been mostly dead all day so thank you for making me smile. I guess your Mom ISN'T the only person that reads your blogs. ;)
No more rhyming I mean it...
anybody want a peanut?
Peace!
ARGH DHs aren't so D are they? More like *insert bad word here*.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning, I'll steer clear of Bridge to Terabithia until after my pregnancy is over.
Rule for camping with children: go to thrift store, buy clothes. Use these close for camping. Throw items away as they get dirty. Don't bring them home! (the clothes, kids are optional)
ReplyDeleteI agree I was very upset with Bridge to Tarabithia I was pregnant when we took our 3 yr old and 6yr old at the time to see it found out along with a theatre full of parents with small children that it was not made for small children!
ReplyDeleteAnyway I am sooo enjoying reading your blogs seems you and I have ALOT in common!
Mandy
I found your blog yesterday thru Clipmarks. I've got your feed in my reader so I'll get caught up and will keep up.
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh out loud. Been a long time since someone has done that. You remind me of Erma Bombeck.
As for husbands, mine (of 31 years) is the same. Nadda! I used to get hurt about it, but there are times you have to accept the things you can't change.
Am I the only one who read the book as a kid?
ReplyDeleteYour blog is wonderful, your humor is contagious, and I am enjoying your stories very much. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I also found you via group emails regarding your auctions on Ebay. Re your hubby's comment re Mothers Day....mine has said basically the same thing for the last 26 years but in recent years he does manage to bring home flowers so it could get better for you. Re other celebrations, in recent years he has handed me money and told me to buy something for myself...I now see that as a good thing...as when he buys things I want to throw them back at him...for instance the year he bought me work shoes...just what I wanted for Christmas...yuck!! Keep writing, you are going to be famous one day soon and have your choice of the Hilton, Holiday Inn or the camper when you holiday (yes, I read that entry too!)
ReplyDeleteLinda
I have been reading your blogs and have LOVED them!! I had to respond to this one though b/c my DH tells me the same thing on mom's day - "you are not my mom"
ReplyDeleteuuurrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!
Ha! My dh constantly makes fun of my love for the princess bride! Great movie i ADORE IT! I agree about Teribithia.. It TOTALY was not what I expected from the ads! My 6 yr old is now even more afraid of water then ever! And I bawled and bawled and bawled some more.. which had nothing to do with the fact that I am preg as evenmy dh got sniffly! its just EVIL lol. Btw you are my hope at NOT totally losing my mind once I pop.. (Carrying my 5th and last!) heres to sanity err uhmm lack of I should say.
ReplyDeleteI totally know how you feel about mothers day, birthdays and anniversary's. My DH is the same way. Actually Christmas is not much better. He does not get me anything for any special occasion and I have to buy my own Christmas presents if I want anything.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone with that one.
OK my husband's all insulted so I have to set the record straight. For whatever reason, the guy is not up on giving gifts for specific occasions which can be disappointing to me. However, he does do little things here and there for no reason at all. The other day, when he was at the gas station, he saw a coconut flavored candy bar and brought me home two of them because he knows I love coconut. He does do things like that which show me he cares. Now if I could only train him to do something on Mother's Day, I'd be happy. Actually, I probably still wouldn't be happy. I'd find something else to complain about. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy husband uses the same excuse on Mother's Day - but I just need to remind him that Father's Day is shortly after... he gets the hint :o)
ReplyDeleteUgh! What is it with men and holidays? Ok, what I did is sit hubby down and explain that when he did not do something for me on a holiday, I felt like he did not care about me. "But of course I care about you, I don't have to buy you a present to tell you that!" Yes, dear, you don't HAVE to buy a present, just do something to show you're thinking of me. And I gave him some ideas: take us out to dinner, do a chore I really want you to do, rent a movie that *I* like....
ReplyDeleteHe's FINALLY got the idea and he's brought me dark chocolate (the kind I like, and he really rags on me for eating candy), got me some big rocks from work that I wanted for landscaping (and he thought of it himself, no hints!), taken us all out to the botanical gardens & dinner, and so on.
MUCH better!
P.S. Love your blog, I'm another eBay fan. (and MY, aren't there a lot of us)
I always get the "you're not my mom" thing on Mother's Day too.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry your hubby doesn't see that it is not necessarily the gift, but the thought of being appreciated on the ONE day a year that somehow can help the other 364 days just a little bit easier to get through.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am fortunate that I freaked out and had a meltdown (yes I cried and meant it) on our first Valentines Day 10 years ago because we weren’t doing anything special. Poor DH. He has never missed a holiday to say I love you or thank you or I am thinking of you in all of our 10 years, lol!
I guess you’ve got to set them straight at the beginning? At least your daughter is getting old enough to guilt him into it. It worked for my dad ;-)
Ah yes, I found you through e-bay also! My DH has a lot of good qualities -- faithful, does dishes and heavy housecleaning, ramrods the homework, gardens -- but he did take some training on the gift-giving front. One day we were in the car and I mentioned something I would like for the kitchen, and he asked if that was what I wanted for (whatever the holiday was). I told him that I wanted something ABSOLUTELY USELESS for a change. He seems to have gotten the hint. I usually get something practical and something nice for Christmas, anyway. He also found a jeweller, so I have a few nice little pieces. I think I'll keep him! The only time he has sent me flowers from a florist was the day I finished radiation therapy the first time. That was a surprise!
ReplyDeleteRuth
Here I am, still reading your blog entries. I am certain that your mom is not the only one reading.
ReplyDeleteI know I should be in bed, but your writing is captivating, and hilarious!
I thought that I was the only one to hear "You're not my mother" on Mother's Day and the weeks beforehand, just so I didn't happen to get my hopes up for even a little card.
Thanks for the wonderful writing.
Wishing you all the best
Read your article in Tribune. Please start writing books. I would definitely buy them. You are wonderful. Reading your life stories makes some of my crazy days with my kids look pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI agree about that Damn Movie... I was very excited about seeing it and wanted to throw something through the TV after watching it.
ReplyDeletei know i have said this already but im a fan of your blog already. your dh needs a lesson in not doing things for special days. he needs to be smacked! camping with 8 sounds like fun! i love camping i just don't have the nerve yet to do it with my kids. you are one brave woman!!!
ReplyDeleteI Love Princess Bride and so does every other woman I know! Heck, even my husband liked it the first time around!
ReplyDeleteI read the book when I was young and I remembered it. So when the previews came out, I told my husband that it was NOT a "kid movie" and I knew a lot of moms and kids who were going to be very upset after they saw it. Clearly, I was right!
As for the Mother's Day thing - My own father completely neglected my mom on all the holidays until I was old enough to insist that he take me to the store. So I told my husband up front I wanted something on important days. Didn't have to be expensive, just a token to show he cares. I also told him in advance of my 1st Mother's Day that it was his job to take our new son shopping and "help" him pick out a gift or at least a card. (Just as it is my job to take him (and his brother) to buy a Father's Day gift a month later. I really am looking forward to the time when they are old enough to choose themselves. Like my own mother, I will love it no matter what because it came from the heart.
PS LOVE YOUR BLOG! Had to check it out after a friend sent me a copy of your auction. Kudos for finding a way to get people to read your blog! You are one clever momma!