Spring Has Sprung...The Mushrooms Are In Bloom

Yesterday I plucked dozens of mushrooms out of my front yard. Sounds fun, huh? Nope, it wasn't at all, not one little bit. Same thing happened last April, just as the flowers began to bloom and before the trees were filled with fresh new green leaves, mushrooms popped out of nowhere. After two weeks of plucking them, I called a fertilizer company and asked what I should do. I was told that they could apply a lime treatment which might help, so I hired them. And help it did, the treatment effectively killed all of those pesky mushrooms, as well as, the grass too.

This year, I vow to pick those mushrooms myself, in an effort, to spare my beautiful green grass. I find it funny now when I think of it, how ironic certain elements of life are. You hire a company to kill a mushroom growth and you end up having yellow dried up grass. Life is just funny that way, I suppose.

A few funny (and slightly crazy) moments of my past week...

* Allison, my three-year-old, has started calling out, "hey Babe" when she is attempting to get my attention. She's apparently been listening to her dad lately.

* Allison, the same three-year-old, refers to herself in third person, similar to Elmo, our favorite furry puppet. "Ally hungry," "Ally not tired," "Ally want to go park." We're kind of waiting for her to come up to us someday and say, "Guess what Ally is thinking about today? Toys...lots and lots of toys."

* I was so excited last Monday, literally ecstatic about not having any commitments that night, when Maddie and Peyton came home from school and told me, "Tonight is skate night and we can't wait to go! You promised. Isn't it great Mom?" Yep, life is just kind of funny that way.

* We went to the movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, last weekend. It was honestly so enjoyable, all three of my kids loved it! If you get a chance to see it, go. Even Chris and I liked it.

Has anything funny happened to you this past week? Anything enjoyable you'd love to share? By all means, post it in a comment, I'd love to hear it.

Enjoy life, even if it's full of pesky mushrooms.

The Award Goes To...

Welcome to the Melissa's Journal, I Just Don't Get It post. This is my current list of pet peeves, moments of frustration, and downright annoyances. I've decided to model this year's post after the Academy Awards, which were broadcast last Sunday. No, I didn't watch the telecast, but being that the only thing that changes each year are the nominees- with the exception of Meryl Streep- I can imagine exactly what happened; from the monologue, to the tearful speeches, to the orchestra music to end the speeches, to the dresses I will never be able to afford and have no place to wear.

And the Award goes to...

Most Annoying Celebrity: This year's award is special in that it is going to an entire family, rather than my usual picks of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan or Denise Richards. This year I choose, the entire Kardashian Family. Honestly, why are they famous? The only one who should truly be famous is Bruce Jenner, for his Olympic success, not for being step dad to an insipid group of narcissistic women.

Most Annoying Television: Reality TV...all of it. Yes, I know there are a lot of you who like Reality TV. I, however, do not. I refuse to watch TV that makes people be judged and voted off. The only time a person should be judged is when they are on trial, or part of my annual blog.

Most Annoying Athlete: I know you're thinking I'm going to pick Tiger Woods here. Yes, he's had a bad year and has made some awful choices, but I'm going to, rather, choose a man who I thought would never make this list, Michael Jordan. I was a huge Michael Jordan fan, at one time- in fact, my room was decorated with a mixture of Michael Jordan and Jon Bon Jovi posters, no joke. However, I was truly disappointed while watching his Hall of Fame speech. It was a disservice to anyone who has believed him to be a role model.

Most Annoying Politician: Well, in a year when there's been a lot of talk of change and health care reform and "you betchas," politicians are easy to find annoying. My choice for this year is, John Edwards. His cheating and lying and covering up are a disgrace to families everywhere. My hope is that Elizabeth Edwards will continue fighting her cancer and live a happy life with a man who treats her the way she deserves to be treated.

Most Annoying Celebrity Couple: Jon and Kate Gosselin. No, they are not what I consider a celebrity couple, like Brad and Angelina, but they are in the public eye. My advice...keep your kids' lives private and let them grow up without a camera following them around. Don't air your divorce on tabloid TV and for Heaven's sake, Jon, act like the father of eight. Did you never watch Dick Van Patten on "Eight is Enough?" I don't remember seeing him on a Boat Cruise with a dying-to-be-famous twenty-year-old.

In Memoriam Segment..........
I'm going to take a brief break to say that this year has been one of extreme loss for my family. We lost my uncle, Pat, and grandpa within two weeks of one another. I love them both and will miss them forever. My condolences also go out to anyone who is grieving the loss of someone in their lives. Please know that my thoughts are with you.

I further want to recognize Farrah Fawcett, because if I don't, Ryan O'Neal and half of Hollywood will be pissed at me.

Personal Grievance Awards.....

Most Annoying Dog Walkers: This is a repeat award and one I must address again. If you are walking your dog, clean up their mess! I often find dog crap in my yard, or on the sidewalk in front of it, and further, I don't think my children should have to dodge it while running to the park. Seriously, it was funny in, I Love You Man, but in the real world, it isn't.

Most Annoying Parenting Moment: When I've finally finished cleaning up the dinner dishes and one or more of my children comes and asks me for a snack. "You just ate," I say. "But I'm hungry," They whine. Also, when I sit down to eat and everyone starts asking for seconds. I begin to feel like the mom in, A Christmas Story.

Annoying War Protesters: There is a time and a place for everything. Do Not Ever protest the war at a military funeral. It is cold hearted and disrespectful. No one wants to bury their Soldier, let them grieve in peace.

Thing That Really Ticks Me Off: Criminals on the Streets...another repeat winner. Most sex offenders should never be released from prison. Keep them there so society is safe. Don't release dangerous criminals...Four Lakewood Police Officers would still be alive today if a career criminal had been kept behind bars.

The Final Year-End Annoying Award Goes To: Homeowners Associations. If you've had one, you understand. If you've never dealt with one, count your blessings.

Thank you to all those who read my blog. I encourage you to leave a comment if you have something that really bothers you, because chances are, it bothers other people too. As you all know, I'm not a confrontational person and these opinions are not meant to irritate anyone, they are my opinions alone. Have a great year and please, remember to use your turn signal and don't speed in school zones or down my street.

What If...

The only television show that my husband and I watch together each week is, Lost. The producers tell us that this is the final season and all answers will be revealed. Following Tuesday night's episode, and after checking on our kids and climbing into bed, I turned to Chris and said, "I still have no idea what's going on...do you?" His answer, "There's about ten episodes left, we'll get it in the end." But will I? Seriously...I'm beginning to doubt myself and the producers on their all-will-be-answered promises. From what I gather, the Losties are currently living two parallel lives- both on the island and off. The off is a look at the "what ifs"...the how would life have turned out if we'd never crashed on the island, in the first place. Yes, I'm still confused, yet it has also gotten me thinking about the what ifs in my own life.

Sure, we all have, what ifs. I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I'd made different choices, if those I love would have stayed together, if loved ones didn't pass away. Many of these things we have no control over, but for the ones we do, for the choices we've made- would we choose differently now, if we had the opportunity, to go back? Would it matter if I'd have told the boy I had a crush on that I liked him, would I respond differently to the ex-boyfriend as he was breaking up with me, would I stand up to the girls who were ganging up on me? I think the most pertinent question is...would it even make a difference?

I've met wonderful people in my life, and many of these people would never have crossed my path, or been a part of my existence, if different choices were made. If I hadn't moved to Washington for college, I would not have met my husband and would therefore be giving up the three most important people in my life- my children. If my husband were not in the Army, we wouldn't have had to deal with deployments, but would our lives be the same? Yes, deployments are enormously challenging, but they've also given me confidence and empowerment and pride that I didn't know existed before I experienced them.

Although I've asked a lot of what ifs, over my lifetime, I don't know if it would make a difference to go back and change anything now. The past experiences that I've gone through have made me who I am today. Yes, I've made mistakes. Yes, I regret these mistakes. I guess the real challenge is to move on and change those what ifs into an action to turn these past regrets into a promise to improve in the future...forgive those who've hurt you, love those who might not be with you forever, check in on someone who needs a person to talk to, and always tell those you love how much you love them before saying goodbye, so they never have to wonder what if...