Some days I truly agree that women are from Venus, and men are from Mars.  The way men and women communicate is so convoluted it's enough to make us want to pull our hair out.  This last week my Prince Charming and I have had two conversations that went down hill fast.  Both failed because he said something "jokingly" and I got sensitive and took it personally.  Recently he replied to a comment I made "as such a girl way of thinking".  He didn't say it derogatorily, just an observation.  His comment made me think that maybe our gimped communication skills aren't a reflection of  something wrong in our relationship but just a common difference of point-of-view.  Some times I imagine a trip to a female marriage counselor who would inevitably tell him that I was right and he was wrong.  But, then again, maybe she and I would both be wrong.    I know that I'm not always right and he knows that he is not always right and it doesn't matter anyways.  I remember when  we first got married it felt like we  were on a roller coaster.  There were times when we felt so happy together we felt like we were flying high.  But then we would hit low times when we were quite irritated with each other and all I wanted was my mother.   As the years have gone by the highs and lows have evened out. Thankfully we ride the highs more often and for much longer than the lows.  Maybe we have learned to not linger in the lows and we try to find ways to forgive and forget.  It doesn't mean that the issues and irritations are solved. Only, that they are not going to ruin us. That our happily ever after will always take a little nurturing and a constant recommitting to each other. We are the bond in our family that started it all. Our love makes it all work, and our family is worth the work.

Balance

Everyone says that life is about balance.  All work and no play makes for a very cranky mom, that you have to pick your battles - sometimes I feel like I am in a balancing act at the Shrine Circus. Trying to balance a family can be very exhausting. This summer one of the biggest challenges I had was getting my kids to get out and go play.  Living in a moderate home in the city my kids have been well trained up till this point to not go too far and stay where I can see them.  We built a good strong fence to keep them in and danger out. Well, now that they are getting older I'm at the point that I want them to  GET LOST - but "stay together and be smart and let me know where you are going and when you'll be back and watch out for your little brother......."  Needless to say they didn't go far and there were times that I was going crazy with them under foot.  It's hard to balance between wanting to give them freedom but be close by to protect them, to be there to help them with all they need but to teach them to be independent.  So it is with trepidation that  I let my children just go and do.  A couple of days ago I was outside watching my three boys and their friend run out into the middle of the road and strategically place crab apples on the asphalt so that the cars would squash them as they went by.  My first instinct was to  tell them to stay off of the road - a responsible parent thing  to do.  I held back.  I watched carefully to make sure they were being careful  but I saw the anticipation in their eyes, hoping that their apple would be the one splattered all over the road.  It took a number of attempts to rearrange the apples into just the right pattern across the road, with many disappointing drive by s.  As I watched them set their trap and then run back to the side walk to wait for the next vehicle I saw a city bus head down the street. The boys crouched down for a closer look, and as the bus sailed by I saw four looks of exhilaration  accompanied by unified "yeah's"  as the  doomed apples were crushed into sauce.  A simple victory brought them such great joy and they couldn't wait to do it again.  Way more fun than Super Mario Cart Wii.  So was it risky? Yes.  Will I let them do it again? Probably not.  But I had to let them try it once, I still remember what it was like to be a kid.

The magnificient seven!

Hello world.  This is my family, a rough looking bunch.  This is what can happen after you fall in love, after the romantic engagement and after the elaborate wedding.  This is the Happily Ever After.  We are a happy family that have learned that happiness comes from hard work,  patience, trust, faith, and love.  I hope to share some  happy and not so happy moments with you to show that dreams can come true, families can be forever and there is such a thing as happily ever after.