In Other News (no.1)

The biggest news of this week, President Trump's Inauguration! Some cheered, some whined - but what's still unclear is exactly how many people were there, in person, for the inauguration. CNN says there was five attendees. I personally am so over the media, that I really didn't watch much of the inauguration coverage. I don't have to though - I watched every coverage, possible, during the election. I've seen what I needed to. I voted for the man! I think that he will do a good job, as our POTUS. It's clear that a huge part of America doesn't agree (thank God for the voting system). That's okay, everyone has the right to their own opinion. However, nobody has the right to unlawfully damage things in "protest". That seems to be the new running trend... and yet, Mr. Trump is still the President. Strange how that works, huh? Enough of politics, I will save that for another day - when I have enough time to solely ramble and rant all about that.

In other news - We finished another week, with no meltdowns and still the regular potty usage! For that, Jude got a new Disney Cars die cast car, Nigel Gearsley! I don't know about all of the other parents out there, but I think our kids' love for certain toys becomes more of a love (or obsession) for the parents, eventually. When you find a rare die cast car and you're more excited about it than your kid is... guilty.

Our 2016 year was extremely busy and eventful, so we have been really looking forward to the nothingness that January has brought us. The laziness that has gone on in our house, the past three weekends, is incredible. Pajamas, til noon, have been our sole fashion statement. This weekend, we put a bit more pep in our step! Saturday mornings, my husband works in Little Rock, which means this is usually the morning of my weekly house cleaning. I probably would've put it off until Jude's afternoon nap, but my parents arrived at 7:30am with Krispy Kreme donuts and chocolate milk, for Jude. Needless to say, I was awake and got the house cleaned in no time! Jude likes to help me dust, so that's always a plus.

Side Note: Our son is a ginormous Mickey Mouse and Disney Cars fan. The Disney Channel just started a new animated Mickey Mouse series called "Mickey and the Roadster Racers". Let's just say, he's in heaven. We don't let him watch a whole lot of  television shows (strange, I know, as we are avid television watchers), but he loves Mickey and will sit for most any Disney movie. For all parents out there, with Mickey lovers - I recommend this new series.

Saturday, it just happened to be gorgeous outside! If we'd let him, Jude would probably live outside. I'm not always the biggest outdoor enthusiast, but when there's beautiful weather - I'm out in it. While Daddy worked, Jude and I went for a walk. No, Jude doesn't like to ride in the stroller anymore. He prefers to walk (or do most everything) himself. I'm pretty sure that most of the time, I was trying to catch up to him. He loves "the big water", so luckily we live by the lake! We got to count some ducks and he got to throw in some rocks. Usually Daddy is the one who takes him "exploring", so this was fun for me.

We most always do our grocery shopping as a family. Saturday evening, we made our bi-weekly trip to Walmart, list in hand - and extra snacks inevitability were thrown into the basket. I'm sure most of you aren't surprised, especially if you follow the "People of Walmart" Facebook page... but, cue the morons! While waiting to check out, due to long lines and our cashier needing to fill her cash drawer, an older couple got in line behind us. Jude was sitting there with his blanket, watching them closely. Of course, they ended up speaking to him, as most people do. The man says to our son, "you're the prettiest girl that I have ever seen". It's important to note that Jude has shoulder length hair and at times, rocks a "man bun". It's also important to note that not only does he have the thickest and most beautiful curly hair, but he probably is the prettiest boy you will ever see. But, a girl? No. He would be a manly girl. That and the fact that I dress him in boys' clothes still never detours people from calling him a girl. I corrected the man by saying "He is a boy". The man's eyes got huge, of course. He's holding a giant-ass box of Ninja Turtle gummies, for goodness sake. Sometimes I just want to look at people and say "we are not about that toddler trans life".

Anyway, after waiting about 15 mins for the cashier to get her drawer filled, finally it was our turn to check out. At that point, another cashier had stopped by to chat it up. Our cashier mentioned, to the other, that she thought the previous customer was about to "cuss her out", due to the wait time. The other cashier told the girl, "well it wasn't your fault" - to which my husband jokingly said "it's always you guys' fault". Now of course he was being sarcastic, as we have seen many customer meltdowns blamed on the poor cashiers (most of which, we try to step in and calm down, in favor of the cashier). I laughed, the other cashier laughed. We got it. Clearly our cashier did not. She answered with "That doesn't feel very good". I'm pretty sure my resting bitch face made an appearance, in that moment - as I'm thinking to myself "did she really just take offense to that?" She then looks at me and says "You're total is $240.83. How does that feel?" This is when I silently prayed, "Dear Lord please put your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth". I just kind of looked at her and smirked, as I swiped my card. Inside my mind I was thinking two things:
"Cash me ousside, how bout dat" (if you're a meme fan - you get me)
"It feels pretty good to be able to drop $250 on groceries for my family, little cashier girl".
It just truly never shocks me, the stupid things that people say. I have a much larger bark, than bite. When it comes down to it, I remind myself that I am an adult and an above rude behavior - and pick my battles. However, I'm certainly not above thinking about what I want to do or say. Haha!

Saturday was also the Women's March in DC, with sister marches all around the world. That's a whole other topic that I could rant about, for days, falling in the political category. Don't worry, it's coming soon, to a blog near you - this one! Right now, I will say this: Not all of those marching women speak for me and for my gender. Some I am even ashamed to say were there representing my gender, as a whole. There is a group of women, though, that marched for something that I truly stand for. They marched for it at the Women's March and they will march for it again, at the March For Life on Jan. 27th - they marched to stand against abortion. The media may not have mentioned that, this past Saturday, and the media may be completely scarce when it comes time to report the March For Life. I assure you, though, you will hear a report from me! 

My mother has begun a new Sunday tradition, with our family - Sunday Family Lunch. My mother is an amazing cook, so no convincing was needed, to join in! Plus, the company is pretty fun too. Last week, it was a taco pie. This week, we had chicken and dumplings. Both meals were accompanied by amazing homemade desserts. I'm not sure how long it had been since I had chicken and dumplings, but they were delish. My son is not a very picky eater, so he of course devoured them and then ran off to play batman. 

We are slowly working on re-decorating our home and remodeling a few things, so I'll be sharing bits and pieces of that, soon, as well. All in all, it was a pretty nice weekend! They always end too quickly, but weekends are what I look forward to most. They give you something to work towards, during the week. Rain or shine, we always seem to find something to do - in between our spouts of couch lounging, of course!