Not that again

I get so sick of hearing churches talk about homosexuality … I just do.  I think my body has programmed itself to shut down my ears at this point.  It's such a turn off.  We're all familiar (kind of) with what the Bible says... but why do churches feel a need to pick on this particular thing God didn’t dig on?  The Bible is filled with all kinds of do’s and don’ts … so why choose this particular one to harp on?  Why?  If you’re losing sleep at night because two women got married … then I’ll pray for you too.  

The Bible is full of stuff we’re not supposed to be doing … we’re not supposed to be getting drunk, but I will be willing to bet (we’re not supposed to do that either, see what I did there) you that nearly 80% of the people reading this have gotten totally sloshed recently, but you don’t hear that getting the strong arm, naw, it's one of them there acceptable no-no's.  

The Bible is also full of stuff that we ARE supposed to be doing and what would happen to us if we don’t do these things we’re supposed to be doing … but newsflash … people aren’t doing any of that either!  We’re supposed to put others first, we're supposed to respect, we're supposed to give to the needy, we’re supposed to take care of our orphans and our widows … we’re supposed to love one another for Pete’s sake.   Maybe if churches spent more time really diving into what we’re supposed to be doing, rather than stir the hate’orade just one more time; then maybe people will start to LOVE one another … which I might add, “is the greatest of these”.  So please, pardon my expression when I hear you get ready to harp on homosexuality, because I often times have no control over what my face does.  I just want everyone to get along … please.  For the love of God (because His love is unlike any other … really, read about it, it’s unmeasurable), please everyone start focusing on doing the do's and try hard to not do the don'ts ... but you can thank Eve for that, we're doomed to veer towards the don'ts.  I swear … oops ... we’re not supposed to do that either.  So much to remember.  We parents should be able to sympathize with our kids, it's legitimately hard to remember all the rules.  As parents we dish out the do's & don'ts to our littles  ... we're all God's littles and we irritate him because we aren't perfect; & so he dishes out the do's & don'ts.  Think about it, He's just as irritable as the next parent, with all his don'ts... & we get on his nerves when we continuously disobey... I get that. And like any awesome parent, when we talk to Him, He listens, He disciplines us when necessary, gives us mercy when we don't really deserve it, & turns around and gives us amazing grace.  Smiles & says "try harder tomorrow".  We all need to try a little harder tomorrow. 

Addiction intervention

Does anyone else’s children stare at YouTube videos, like technology zombies?  Are the videos often times of kids playing with toys?  Does anyone else see the failure in this?  Why are my boys watching videos of kids playing with the same toys they own, rather than playing with said toys?  We need to nip this in the bud, and unbeknownst to our offspring, things are going to change dramatically in the coming weeks.  During the colder, winter months, it’s not exactly easy for my kids to keep themselves from getting in each other’s personal spaces nor feasible for us to play referee every interaction; so we allow more tablet time.  Each winter, we create monsters!  My children thrive when they’re able to get outside and just be boys.  However, I dare compare their tablets (aka YouTube videos) to a drug addiction.  When we go to take them away and allow only 30 minutes a day, it’s going to be like an addicts had their drug of choice taken away.  There will be rebellion, there will be attitude, and there will be total withdrawal.  I don’t look forward to it, but it’s necessary.  I tell them “looking at those things is robbing you of your imagination”, or “it’s killing your brain cells” … see, like a drug I tell you.  I often wish we had never been introduced to tablets, but it’s the way of the time … and I can’t say anything at all, I’m often times locked in on my phone.  Nevertheless, we’re going to disconnect a bit more now that its warming up & we can get outdoors without all the layers of clothes.

♫ Seagulls ♫

♫

♫ Seagulls: they poke at my head, not fun, I said seagulls… stop it now! ♫

This video by Bad Lip Reading, its Star Wars related, and guys, it is very entertaining to this family.  We sing it repeatedly… thanks ladies (Angela & Sarah).  However, the other night, the boys took what was a fun song and turned it in to a song we’re going to have to limit.  Nothing like hearing your 5 year old say “psycho wiener” and “grab my peter” … while “psycho wiener” is in the song (I never claimed I was perfect, we allow rubbish) … it DOES NOT say “grab my peter”!  It does say “let me grab my beater” and Yoda proceeds to bang on R2D2.  Not able to relate … well you should watch the video "SEAGULLS! (Stop It Now)" -- A Bad Lip Reading of The Empire Strikes Back - YouTube and you’ll understand.  

Clean house? What's that?

Ever just looked around and thought, "Dang, I should really clean this place!"  Then a baby cries and a preschooler calls for you to wipe his butt ... simultaneously ... so you stop looking around and go tend to the needs of those that breath.  Then, after you finish said tasks, you go back to what you were doing - which is looking around at the mess that life has made within the walls of your home.  You start to think of the first place to start, which often times for me is the kitchen.  So you start cleaning the kitchen, then guess what?  The elementary age kiddo needs help with his homework.  So you put on your thinking cap, because who understands Common Core math, I mean really?  Who understands it?  The logic is to breed deeper critical thinking skills, but in the meantime its just driving all of us bonkers.  So here I am with a dish cloth draped over my shoulder, trying to figure out this nonsense that is grouping, regrouping, sharing and borrowing in three different methods.  Thank the good Lord up above that the kid gets it, that's my daily prayer.  That, and to please not let YouTube disappear because I definitely looked up the method on YouTube to try to help explain it to him a little more clearly.  No shame!  Task complete.  Back to the kitchen... oh snap, the baby has fallen from her sitting position, to flat on her face; granted she's laughing about it, but oh, no, no she's not, now she's crying.  Mom to the rescue.  Oh wait, the preschooler needs help finding Ollie's family on YouTube, because Heaven forbid that guy go a day without seeing what's happening with Ollie's family (Daily Bumps, they're actually a really cute family).  Okay; elementary school child is content, preschooler content, and baby content, now back to the kitchen cleaning.  Crud, the dog!  I left the dog outside ... he's in the neighbors yard!  BRUISER!!!!  Here I go, pick the baby up out of the pack 'n' play & tell the boys we're going to grab Bruiser.  Off we go tracking across the yard, total southern mama style (baby on the hip, bare feet and screaming at the dog).  I'm now running with the baby on the hip, because Bruiser thinks its a game.  Bless his free spirit!  After a short stint, we finally get him by the collar and we hustle him inside.  Baby laughing, me exhausted, Bruiser trying his best to get out of the collar and run.  At this point, I realize the dog needs to go for a walk to get out his energy.  Come back inside, the elementary kiddo is missing from his table, and is found cuddled up next to the preschooler watching little Ollie fall in a water fountain at a mall (Ollie's okay, by the way).  I tell them both to get on their shoes, get on their helmets, we're going for bike rides and a walk.  I get the baby carrier, put that bad boy on my chest, put the baby in the carrier and put the leash on Bruiser.  Off we go!  Kitchen ... house ... you can wait!  (And I wonder why the house isn't clean)

Good intentions

You know, I have the greatest of intentions.  I seriously do.  I have these great thoughtful ideas that just randomly pop in my mind, and I say to myself … “I’m gonna do that” … then this and that and everything in between happens, and I just don’t get it done.  Then I bum out for a while because I didn’t do it … and you know what, a lot of it has to do with seeing people, hanging out with people, visiting folks.  I think about people all the time and tell myself “I’m going to make a point to see them”, and I have strong desires to, like seriously miss these people.  However, life happens… and I’m kinda okay with it.  My kids get sick, my husband gets hurt, I get no sleep and feel like a bat shit crazy woman for days on end that needs to quarantine herself for the safety of the public, and so on and so on.  But, it’s okay.  It’s just how it is, and we adjust and move on.  Literally, we’re on the move.   Now travel ball is about to begin, so we’ll be balling it on the weekends … but!, that means I get to see some of my favorite people on a regular basis.  So double the happiness there.  Then Coach’s Pitch starts, so we’ll be on the ballfield just about every night; watching two little dudes have the time of their life.  Then this little girl will be starting to crawl and be mobile, and she will be a handful to keep up with … but … I wouldn’t want it any other way.  We’re busy, we’re usually on the go for one child or another (or at least something associated with a child).  So when we get a chance to be at home, we like to stay home.  We like to spend time with each other, and hang out and play, and watch movies, and dodge Nerf gun missiles, or listen to the Clones and the Stormtroopers take down whatever the heck it is they take down.  We actually enjoy being around each other, and sometimes, we just prefer to hang out with our kids.  Our kids are kind of awesome, they really are… but! You’ve met them.  They are wide open, full of life, boundary testing, free spirited, kind of respectful, little boys with big hearts and lots of personality.  It’s really entertaining around here, I swear it is.  It’s also everyone’s safe zone.  We’re all free to be who we’re designed to be in the walls of our home, and we can do it without judgment, without criticism, and without weird looks and deep sighs.  We’re not your average cookie-cutting family, we’re just not.  I mean, guys, our home pet is a freaking junk yard dog … holy crap is he.  He acts just like one - stubborn, rough, playful, grungy, free spirited and basically another kid to feed … he fits in perfect!!  We are often times very content to be just us 5 (6 including Bruiser – the dog), but we do not go without missing a lot of folks, often.  However, with all that said … we are rarely home, but we’re trying to change that - so for the sake of the public, if we were able to be home more, my children would probably be less likely to act like caged animals that had just been freed.  We really do try to work with them on how to act in public, but it’s like trying to nail down Jello.  At what point do you just stop the fight against nature, I mean really??  I know we’ll keep pushing through and keep on keeping on … but they are exhausting at this stage people.  Then when you bring them out to other places, this little radical version of themselves appears and it catches us off guard, just like it does you guys.  Yes, we even find ourselves saying “where in hell did that come from?” … because it really can only come from hell sometimes.  Just the devil trying to take a sista and brotha down!  We roll with it though, and we do what we do and we take deep breaths after doing what we do - because you know, we love what we do.  Then there’s about a 5 minute break, which we really love, then guess what?  We’re doing it all over again, because the devil is an asshole.  So, all those good intentions, yeah, that’s the devil and quite possibly the ADD … or just me needing to get it together!   I aim to make them reality and not just thoughts, because we all know my experience with God right?  He puts these ideas in my head & I am too stubborn to obey and think its not really him and then he makes me do it in kind of a dramatic way.  Trying to keep him from doing that these days.  

But you know what … the whole point to this mind rant is in 20 years, we may have to reconnect with our friends, but we’ll never have to reconnect with our kids or look back and wish we had.   That to me, is pretty important. 

Unprompted

Tonight after supper, the boys were instructed to get ready to take showers.  It's typically Lil A.P. first and then Jaxon, but tonight Jaxon was first.  His daddy got the shower ready for him, then told him to get bathed and he'd come back in to check on him.  Minutes went by and Big went in to check on him and ask if he needed any help.  Well, much to our surprise, the kiddo was completely lathered up and was about to rinse off.  He had washed his hair and was on to washing his body.  He said he didn't need any help "I can handle it".  Handle it he did.  Dude finished rinsing, we hear the shower turn off, he calls for his Dad because he dropped the towel in the shower and it got wet, but other than needing help getting another towel, he did it all on his own.  He got out and went to his bedroom and shut the door behind him so Bruiser (our dog) wouldn't follow him in there and lick him like crazy.  Next thing I know, Lil A.P. is getting in the shower and Jaxon is walking from out of the bedroom with his PJ's own, carrying his towel.  He goes in to the bathroom, comes out with all the dirty clothes and carries them back to the bedroom & shuts the door.  Minutes pass and he comes out & his daddy comments on how daper he looks (PJ's own, his hair all slicked back) and Jaxon says "Mom. Dad. Come look at my room."  We both get up and he escorts us to his room.  Guys ... that little boy had not only put up all the dirty clothes, but he totally cleaned up him and A.P.'s room ... all by himself!  After walking all around the room, I bent down to him and gave him a massive squeeze hug and told him how incredibly proud I was of him.  That dude grinned from ear to ear and giggled... then gave ME a hug!  Five looks good on 'ol Jaxon Bryce.  I told him tonight, "Boy, five sure is fun!" ... he said "I tried telling y'all that's what they say about five ... five is fun!".  Thank you God for giving us these boys!

Odd man out

It's an every day occurrence, for me to ask the boys how their days were at school.  Today was no exception.  On the ride home from their MeMe and Gandy's (they keep them on Tuesdays and Thursday's so I can work in the office & focus on APC Construction business stuff), I asked them about their day - I got the typical "good".  Then out of nowhere, Lil A.P. says "I learned today that 10 to 1 isn't really a bad thing."  I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about, so I asked him what he meant.  He said that 10 kids were against him today, playing soccer.  I asked him why it was 10 against just him ... and y'all, my mama heart kinda got a little cracked.  He said "they told me I couldn't be on their team, that I had to be my own team".  I asked him if that kind of hurt his feelings, and he said "yeah, but I just went along with it and guess what, I beat them!".  See the mama heart cracking?  I asked why they were being so mean, he said he didn't know.  I asked exactly how it went down.  He said "well I was carrying out the chair..." I asked him what chair?  He said "Mrs. Boice's chair, I carry it out for her, it's my task.  I offered to carry her chair for her one day, and now it's my task.  Ethan H. carries it on the days I'm not there, but every other day it's me." ... Well, I was now a rejoicing Mama.  I said "A.P.! That. Is. Awesome!!  I am so proud of you for being such a gentleman!!"  He said, "yeah, but that's why I don't usually get to be on the team I want, because I'm later getting to the field."  I told him I understand now, and asked exactly how the kids told him he couldn't be on the team.  He said "they said HA, too late, you're on your own team".  I asked him if one of his longtime BF's responded like that, and he told me his BF was just really quiet like always.  He also disclosed that it was the longtime BF's team that everyone wanted to be on. I asked him how he reacted when that happened, to which he replied "I said, lets play then and we all started playing and they let me get the ball at half field and keep it for a while - it was awesome.  I scored on them... a lot!".  Y'all ... the way he dealt with that made me so proud.  I never want him to feel like the kid that gets left out, none of us want that nor want that for our kids; but the way this dude responded to being treated like, that made me realize that even though he struggles to show self-control at home, dude definitely gets it!  He also showed his true character ... my man is gonna be just fine!!  Adjust and move on baby boy ... that's how we do.  Now, am I going to pray like the mama bear that I am that they won't treat him like that again, fo sho!  But until then, I shall continue to pray for the heart of a warrior in that boy.  Love that kid some kind of good.  

Doing the dang thang...

So, I'm the type of person that enjoys sharing about the happenings of my life.  My life can be pretty entertaining at times and really boring at others; however, no matter what is going on, I often want to write about whatever it is that is happening.  I am getting fed up with Facebook, and that has been my outlet for quite some time.  That all changes today.  I am starting this blog as a way for me to express the things that happen in my life, the things that pop in to my head, and the things I just feel like venting about, and to share things in an unscripted format.  Life is just that, it's life ... it's a big journey full of weird stuff, fun stuff and confusing stuff, etc. ... all of which make up the essence of who we are.  So, if you are interested in the happenings of the Currin life ... be sure to follow along on this blog, because this is going to be my outlet... or inlet for all you folks.  Until next time, adios.