Mommisaurus Movie Review: CARS 2

CARS 2
Mommisaurus Movie Review: B+

   We all enjoyed the movie very much but it was NOT a true continuation of Cars 1.  The nostalgic, wistful feeling of the first movie is not present in this one and I have to say I think it was smart not to try and bring it back.  I don't think it really could have been done with equal success so I was relieved to see this episode go in an entirely different direction.  The best friend sappiness between McQueen and Mater is the only part that I thought was grossly overdone.  There is no memorable soundtrack, which I think is disappointing because of how AWESOME it was in the last movie.  The action was good and there was enough witty humor to make it enjoyable for adults.  We will be purchasing the DVD when it comes out and I am sure it will be watched over and over and over again much like Finding Nemo, Bolt and Megamind.

  About halfway through the film, Lil' Bit was fed up with sitting still.  He stood up and was peering between 2 seats of the next row completely fixated on the screen.  It was only a few moments before he started screeching and kicking his feet while hitting the back of the seats.  He had managed to smash his head through the opening and couldn't pull it back out.  I had to pick him up, sliding his head free over the top of the chairs and then console him as he cried holding his ears.  It was pitiful and thankfully short lived.  He was quickly focused again on the movie and forgot all about his ears and the trauma of being trapped in between the seats.

  Sometimes, I think we are more entertaining than the movies we go to see.



  
 

The Finish Line

  It amazes me sometimes how crossing a finishing line is motivation in and of itself to step up to the next starting line.

  In my case, I literally crossed a finish line.  I committed to completing 4 5k races in 2011 and I did my first one in Tulsa, OK on April 9th.  This run holds a very special place for me because it was at the Mpix Meetup, a photography conference that I have been trying to attend for 3 years!  The folks that participated alongside me were friends and mentors, people whose photography has inspired me and whose words have encouraged my development as an artist.  I enjoyed EVERYTHING about that conference and will do whatever it takes to make it every year from now on.  If I had to pick one favorite moment though, it would have to be crossing the finish line Saturday morning.

 
   The weekend after I returned, the tornado hit and the chaos that followed threw a major wrench in my training plan.  I re-started the Couch to 5k program with a neighbor in our new neighborhood but 3 days into it, Lil' Bit and I got hit with a severe allergy attack that is just now subsiding.  The few mornings I did go, I felt I could do more but it was so easy to say the "plan" says this and if you're going to follow it, it's best not to skip ahead.  The neighbor I was running with is just beginning and I also didn't want to discourage her efforts. 

  This morning I woke up feeling like I had actually slept and the temperature hadn't yet reached 200 degrees so I went for a run.  I thought about my route and decided to go the whole way around, even if I had to walk some of it.  I headed down the street and made my first turn.  That was the only point that I had to hype myself up to keep running, once past that point my breathing settled into a good rhythm and the burn in my legs turned to warmth.  I found the groove in my music and for the first time EVER I understand why people enjoy running.  Usually, I spend the entire time talking myself into continuing.  Today, my thoughts were about the run in Tulsa and that I had finished it.   If I can do that, I can run 1.6 miles around the neighborhood.  Easy-Peasy.  I kept running until I reached my front porch.  Sweaty and tired I did my own little happy dance, singing to myself, "I did it, I did it!" 

The search is on for my next starting line. 

Wordless Wednesday

  Today I was feeling the itch to do some photography but it was WAY to HOT to drag Lil' Bit around town.  Not to mention, I don't like sweating unless I'm doing it on purpose and just walking to the bus stop this morning was making me bead up.  I mulled around aimlessly for a while trying to come up with something inspiring I could do inside the house and between loads of laundry.  Nothing was coming to mind so I logged onto facebook and saw that one of my photography buddies was online.  She suggested that I do a "day in the life" sort of thing and added that I could even blog about it. 
So here it is, my day in images. 

Thanks Rosemary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  I'm thinking this may become a regular thing that I do.  It was easy, fun and out of the normal routine even though it's all about my normal routine.  Thanks for stopping by and I promise I'll actually write again sometime soon!

The Cheese-Burglar

We are all getting settled nicely into our new home and neighborhood.  There are tons of kids all around us and the boys are making friends quickly.  We recently met the folks across the alley whose house backs up to ours.  They have 3 kids very close in age to Big Red & Lil' Bit. 

The adults were standing around making small talk and the kiddos were running around wildly having fun.  At one point, all 5 kids disappear into the neighbor's house and moments later only 4 of them emerge.  I realized it was the Bit that remained inside and kept one eye on the back door expecting him to come out at any moment.  About the time I was going to send in a search team, he came sauntering out, eating a slice of cheese.  Lil' Bit had taken it upon himself to go rooting around their fridge and help himself to a snack. 

I apologized profusely and assured the neighbors that I do in fact feed my children everyday - multiple times a day. 

Gone With the Wind

  At approximately 7:05pm on April 16th, 2011 our home was hit by an F3 tornado.  Thankfully, we were all at a wedding reception in Williamsburg.  A few folks at the reception received news alerts on their phones and rumor starting spreading about a tornado hitting a school in Gloucester.  We didn't stress too much about it at the time and a short while later Handsome rounded up the boys to take them home.  When he got to his truck and checked his phone, he had DOZENS of missed calls.  He spoke with the landlord and found out the roads were closed and the house had suffered damage during the storm.  He headed to the base to get a room in billeting for the night.  I went to walmart to grab a change of clothes for each of us and necessary items like toothbrushes and diapers.  I called my friend Deb and asked if she would go scope out the house and let me know how bad it was.  She described the neighborhood as a war zone and I could tell by the tone of her voice that things were not good at the house. 
  It was the following afternoon before we could get out there and look around.  The Sheriff's set up a blockade and were only letting residents into the neighborhood.  We had to park a few blocks away and walk because the emergency crews were clearing power lines and cutting up downed trees.  Deb's war zone description was accurate and our house was one of the worst hit.  Five different trees had fallen into various parts of the house.  We had to wait on the chainsaw crew to cut and haul the trees out before we could go into the house.  When we could get inside and survey the damage, it was pretty overwhelming. 

    The next few days are a blur in my memory: sorting what could be saved, hauling things to the dump that couldn't.  We had such wonderful support from so many people, it was truly amazing.  Friends, co-workers, acquaintances and even total strangers came out to help.  Words cannot describe how thankful we are for the kindness everyone showed to us.  My fellow military wives did everything from watch the boys, to wash clothes and organize meals.  Handsome's command worked with the housing folks to get us into a home right away and Air Force Aid came through with an interest free loan to pay the deposit on the new place.  An entire crew from Handsome's office came out to the house and helped us clean, pack and load everything into a U-haul.  They worked so fast, it was like a second tornado had come through.   
  Big Red had to move to a new school.  I took him for one last day at his old one and his classmates had a party for him.  I had to stand out in the hallway to gain my composure when I saw how much they had done.  Not just for him but his brother as well.  There were boxes full of toys and clothes.
  It still makes me tear up when I think about the lengths that people have gone to for us.  We're not used to be on the receiving end of such generosity and it's very humbling.  We have always tried to be good people, and pay it forward so to speak and this experience has definitely reaffirmed that for us.          

Always wear clean underwear

  We were getting ready to leave the house the other morning and I told Big Red to put on a new pair of underwear before he got dressed.  He asked me why and I responded with the motherly standard, "because I told you to."  He turned around and went into his room.  A few minutes later he emerged fully dressed.

Something didn't look quite right.

  I asked what was wrong with his pants and he responded, "Nothing, I put on new underwear like you said."  I looked down the back of his pants, and sure enough, he had on new skivvies, OVER THE OLD ONES.  I made him strip down, take off both layers and replace them with a fresh pair of clean drawers. 

Final Wishes

WARNING!
This post is not my usual chipper writing but I feel it's a topic worth discussing.   No worries, I'm not suicidal or homicidal so feel free to proceed without fear.  Things may get a little emotional though, so if you're a crier, grab some tissues now. 

  I am a huge believer in being prepared for death.  Let's face it, it's inevitable.  It's going to happen sooner or later, to everyone.  We can be taken at any moment and I for one, think it's imperative to let your loved ones know your final wishes.  Grief is a painful, overwhelming and confusing process for those left behind and the least you can do is lift the burden of making them guess at what you "would have wanted."  It's easier to push those uncomfortable thoughts away and put off the difficult conversations for another time, but it's important to do, NOW.  Because you just never know what tomorrow may bring.   

  I guess a little of it comes from being in the military.  Deployments have a way of making you very aware of your own mortality or that of your loved one if they are the one leaving.  The military requires that everyone have a Will and a Family Care Plan for those with children.  The process forces you to discuss on some level what you want should the "what ifs" happen.  That's a start, but really, put some thought into it, write it down, and tell someone.

TALKING ABOUT DEATH WILL NOT KILL YOU!  

If you up and die unexpectedly, what do you want?
Do you want to be cremated and your ashes spread someplace special?
Do you want to be buried and if so, where?
Do you want a memorial service, an obituary, to be buried face down so the world can kiss your ass?
Whatever it is - all you have to do is communicate it.  If the people handling your affairs don't do what you want, you have every right to haunt them.

The other thing to keep in mind is the unfortunate circumstance in which you sorta die.  By that, I mean something happens and you are not able to make choices for yourself anymore.  Do you wish to have heroic measures taken to preserve your life?  Do you want a breathing tube, feeding tube, pain management or to be unplugged?

Are you thinking yet?  Do you have an idea of what you want?

I know what I want. 
Here they are, my Final Wishes, for the world to read.

  I do not wish to be kept alive by artificial means if there is not a reasonable chance that I will return to my old self.  I am more concerned with my mental abilities than my physical ones.  As long as I am still "me" I want to be around and a part of my children's lives.  If I end up in a permanent vegetative state or something similar, I wish to be disconnected once my family has reached a point that they are comfortable saying goodbye.  If it takes them some time to get to that point, it's ok.  If I'm not me anymore, it's about them and I don't want them carrying any guilt.

  I want to be an organ donor.  If there is any part of me that is still useful and someone else could benefit from it, take it!

  I prefer not to be embalmed.  I think the practice is strange and unnecessary.  I believe that the body is just a shell for the soul but something about draining all the fluids and replacing them with chemicals doesn't seem right to me.

  If people need to see it to believe it, I'm cool with a viewing of some sort.  I think I'll make a good looking corpse.  FYI: it is possible to preserve a body long enough for a viewing with a good industrial refrigerator and some make up.  

   I would like my remains to be cremated and the ashes used to create diamonds.  Handsome gets one, each of my kiddos get their own, as well as my parents if they are still living.  If my sister wants one, she can have one too.  I am not a one woman diamond mine so everybody else will have to settle for a picture or something.

  It takes several weeks for the diamonds to be made so I would like some sort of memorial service when they are ready.  This should be a party with music, food, the works!  No one is allowed to wear black and if there are tears, I hope they are tears of joy.  I want friends and family to tell funny and embarrassing stories and have the best time possible.

  I would like some sort of military honors.  I take a lot of pride in my service so if there is a way to incorporate that in somewhere, that would be awesome.  Doesn't have to be at the memorial per say just wherever it seems to fit best.  (Taps is beautiful but so emotional and that could put a damper on the party spirit.) 

  My family should spread any ashes that remain in a location that makes them happy.  I prefer some where that either reminds them of good times with me or that gives them a sense of peace.  If that place is different for each of them, it's ok with me to divide up the ashes.  We move around a lot, I don't claim any place in particular as "home" and I don't want to sit up on the mantle forever.

  So that's it I think.  Hopefully, I have covered everything and should the inevitable happen sooner than expected, my loved ones don't have to worry about trying to imagine what I would want.  I really encourage all you folks out there to do the same.  Take the time to think about it, talk about and write it down. 

Like I said above, talking about death will not kill you. 

  It's important to to note also that a will doesn't really apply to wishes like these.  The arrangements are at the discretion of those making them and ultimately by whoever is paying for them.  If you haven't thought about life-insurance plans or setting aside some moolah for the final hoorah it's a good thing to look into.  If you do have a will, it's a common mistake to lock it in a safe deposit box.  Unless someone else is authorized to open that box, with their own key, they won't be allowed access to it without going to court first.  By that time, your assets could already be entangled in the probate system and whatever you had written in the will may no longer be possible to accomplish.  The best thing to do is register a copy of your will with the courthouse, keep a copy someplace safe (but accessible) in your home and provide an additional copy to the person that will act as executor. 

and don't forget to leave me large sums of money or jewels in appreciation for my advice here.  :)