Monday, July 21, 2008

There's No Unifying Theme to This Post

Yesterday at church the teacher said, "Ladies, we're still in the hopper!" I turned to EdgyK and asked, "What's a hopper?" EdgyK laughed for twenty minutes straight and then refused to tell me what a hopper is. So annoying! Dh told me when I met back up with him, after church was over. So tell me. Do you know what a hopper* is? Because I sure didn't.

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Miss E has been making me nuts. Getting into everything, making huge messes everywhere, whining constantly. When is this phase over? And don't tell me age 5. DON'T. She has been hitting Ace less often, at least.

* * *

Did I say I loved all the Jack Reacher novels? I take it back. I just read the newest one, Nothing to Lose, and it was dreadful. Awful. Horrible. Stupid. Highly NOT recommended.

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A few days ago I was driving to the grocery store (by myself!). I passed a small grove of deciduous trees. You don't see a ton of those trees here in Oregon, there always seem to be evergreens liberally sprinkled in among them. But this was a grove of just deciduous trees. It reminded me of my parents' town in upstate NY, which I called home for many years. Suddenly I missed New York so badly it hurt. I haven't been back for almost two full years, and I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon. It's so beautiful there, with the hills so close around you, like a big hug, and everything so green and alive. Oregon is green too, but it's not the same. My parents live in a house on five acres, on a quiet street. Nature is all around. My house is on a small plot on a busy street. Nature is miles away. I wonder if I will always feel that way about New York. If I someday move away from Oregon, will I begin to pine for evergreens?**




*In this context, it was apparently the second definition under "Mechanical Parts."

**Like I could resist such a fabulous pun. Puh-lease.

Image credit: Traveling Peter's Flickr. My parents live on a little road much like this one.

9 comments:

Cassie said...

My favorite definition: one who harvests hops and lives in a hopper hut. I had no clue what a hopper was, either, so don't feel bad!

Love your pun, totally agree that the place you grew up will always be a part of you. I'll always miss my "home," too.

Woman on the Verge said...

Miss E is 2 right? I believe she is around the same age as The Bean and having been through this stage once before...well. It DOES get a little better and then, all hell breaks loose once again.
With B the screaming got way out of control and I simply couldn't take anymore so when he started the screaming/whining, I put him in his room and shut the door. I tell him in my "I mean business mommy voice" not to come out until he was done and could be nice. It took a lot of tries before he would actually stay but persistence paid off in the long run. A lot of this stuff is just the run of the mill terrible two's but it does get to be very annoying and crazy making! Sometimes you just have to be super firm and they do get the point.
Also, when B finally figured out he was never get what he wanted by screaming and whining, he started using many many more words.

Sarah said...

Stumbled upon your page...your kids are darling! Ace is about the same age as mine...I'll be checking back often! Come visit my page!

EdgyK said...

Good thing I switched my user account or you would have thought this message was coming from my husband. 20 minutes??? really...I'm still laughing. FYI: I am not a farming nerd I just dated farming nerds. Sucka.

It is 5. Did you expect any other answer from me. Before Miss E grows out of it she will teach Ace and it will be an eternal cycle. Then eventually you will turn out like me. CRAZY. Ballerina (3) just tattled the Em (4 1/2) called her a "rudey." I have no response to that.

I have dreams about the house I grew up in all the time. We only lived on one acre but there was a huge field that surrounded our house and we lived next to the "family farm." Mya asked me the other day if I played in a forest when I was a kid and I told her I played in the forest almost daily during the summer. I miss that. Then again I visited NYC while I was in college and I have a strong desire to go back some day.

Texasholly said...

I would have no idea what a hopper is. Except maybe grasshopper since that is what they call them in A Bug's Life.
Oh, and Ellie is wallowing in the terrible 2's as well. Surely it will end the day she turns 3.

AM said...

I didnt know what a hopper was either.

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one whose toddler is driving her nuts sometimes. Sometimes I worry that its me, not her. But, maybe it is her. Just being a toddler. I do what that other commenter does sometimes and put Emma in her crib when she is just whining and crying for no real reason and wont stop. Mommies have to do what they have to do to stay sane and keep all the kids alive. :)

Isabel said...

I was all "I know what a hopper is, I must share" and then I realized I HAVE NO IDEA.

Must google...

Melain said...

You'll have moments when you pine for all things that you enjoyed during happy times in your life. You've been to MY home town. Nothing to pine for there!!! Yet I do anyway. Not because it was all that great, but because I was happy there.

So yes, one day you WILL pine for evergreens.

Chastity said...

You probably would long for Oregon once you moved away. I cannot even tell you how much I'd miss our scenery if I were forced to move somewhere else.

I think 3 must be an easier age as far as being driven nuts and messiness. Lila has several 3 year old friends, and they are just so much more "mature".