Broccoli Cheese Soup

Sometimes I think I can hear a little cash register ringing in my head. I think my husband can hear it on occasion as well, which may mean we are both insane.
When I first had kids I thought that babies were expensive. Now I know better. Currently our cheapest child his our little H (only 20 mos.). He eats, he poops, occasionally we bathe him. Beyond diapers, the financial output required to keep him at the standard of living he requires is minimal. I would also venture to say he is the best dressed of all of us (thanks to my mom's neighbor lady's garage sales!) So what am I talking about you ask?
Our oldest daughter is blessed with some serious gymnastics skill, she started gymnastics last spring and has quickly moved up to an elite, pre-competitive team. She is so excited about this I can only smile when I think of the small car payment we are going to begin paying for her to keep up her passion.
She will be making her First Communion this year, is Sunday school free? No way!Plus we have to pay 2 sacrament fees. One for First Communion, and one for First Reconciliation. We're talking in the neighborhood of $200 not including the cute First Communion dress and party in the spring.
Our middle daughter, just like her sister HAS to go to Sunday school, also not free. N also takes dance lessons which is no cheap deal either. Lessons, plus costumes, plus tickets to the recital. Not to mention the time suckage when I spend Monday nights, Tuesday and Thursday nights, Saturday AM's all watching my children doing what they love. Not including the monthly Wednesday's for Family Faith at church.
So why do I do it? Because my mom did it, because my mother-in-law did it. To keep my kids off drugs, off the streets, out of trouble, to help them build confidence.
I may not get a thanks tonight when I spend 2-1/2 hours watching gymnastics practice, or tomorrow when I am filling out the forms for book orders (ka-ching). It may be years before I get so much as acknowledgement from them for the time and $$$ spent, but it's worth it. Today I look at my parents and my in-laws and think about what they gave up or the budgeting they did and the volunteer hours they put in so my husband and I were always ready for our meets, be they track (me) or wrestling and football (R).
It was worth it, we are better people for it, and despite the dollar signs I often see in my husbands eyes, or the new winter coat I may not buy this year (no worries, I have several) so we can afford gymnastics and religion classes, and birthday parties.
So today remember to say thanks to your parents and in-laws and try to have a lighter heart when you have to run back in the house for the water bottle your child forgot. It'll pay off in the end, we hope.

Hot dogs on the grill

I always used to wonder when the music I listened to would start to be played on the oldies stations. When does the Dave Matthews Band, and the anthems of my college years change from cool to old school?
Recently, we have become avid listeners of various Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus CD's, so much so I find myself rocking out and feeling cool while driving in my minivan singing and clapping to the Hannah Montana Hoedown Throwdown, being cheered on by my 7, 4, and 2 year olds. My 7 year old even said "You are so cool mom!" I actually know all the words to that song. That and most of the High School Musical tunes as well, I count those as some of my favorite songs. Sad, but true.
So what does that mean for my coolness ratio? When did I go from being a stylish, hot chick listening to the Counting Crows in my 2 door-stick shift to a soccer mom, listening to Hannah Montana in a Buick minivan? More importantly why didn't I notice the metamorphosis?
The real question here is when did my outsides stop matching up with my insides? I remember when I tried on my wedding dress (almost 10 years ago) at the store and looked in the mirror, feeling like a kid playing dress up. That night I shared this thought with my dad and he said "I still look in the mirror and am shocked to see a man with graying hair, when inside I feel like I'm 18!" (I paraphrased there a little).
There is an upside to the slippery slope of times passage though, because when I look at my husband I still see the man I married at 23; handsome, young and muscular. I hope for just minute he still sees me as I was before giving birth to 3 kids and gaining some weight along with a little gray hair.
It's amazing about aging though I guess, because now, I don't care so much how "cool" I look to others when I'm driving down the street music blaring, I care about the people in the car knowing that the chick dancing in the passenger seat is a person not afraid to be herself. Seeing the smiles and dancing, clapping bodies of my children in the back, and the laughter in my husbands eyes while I rock out to the High School Musical soundtrack let's me know I'm still the coolest gal in town.