Were You Born in a Barn?!

I am confident I have spoken those words at least ONCE in the ten years that I have been a mom. I am even more confident that I have thought those words . . . well, let's just say I've thought them more than once! My kids will tell you that they get whiplash trying to keep up with my edicts where their rooms are concerned--I waver between wanting to teach them the old adage, "A place for everything, and everything in its place" but also wanting to allow them the freedom to keep their rooms "livable" but not pristine (that's where it gets tricky). Personally, I like the look of walking into a room and seeing everything in its place, kinda like the layouts you see in Better Homes and Gardens; but then I know that's not practical and realistic, especially in a house the size of ours. And that's the central issue: Even if I bought lots of cute little baskets and bins to help the kids organize their stuff (and they have a lot of it!), we'd still need someplace to PUT all those cute little baskets and bins--know what I mean?

But that really wasn't even the point of this post. Not even remotely! I was just trying to think of a catchy title for this post to tie in with the video we watched during "Family Movie Night" tonight (Barnyard), and the title got me thinking about housecleaning. Sort of a stretch, so you have my apologies. Not to mention, usually when I hear (or think) the phrase, "Were you born in a barn?" it is often a rhetorical question referring to someone's poor behavior or manners, and that's not what I was going for here (though it certainly could apply on occasion!). Ahem, I won't mention any names. So anyway, we watched Barnyard and it was just as cute as could be. Much funnier than I expected, too. Randy took the kids months (a year?) ago to see it at the dollar theater and I recall that I chose to stay behind, thinking the movie was going to be dull. I will say it now--I WAS WRONG. Okay, kids? Are you happy now? No, seriously, it was actually kind of sweet because I don't think there is anything that gives Tyler greater joy than to hear his mom laugh--ask him!--and it makes him enjoy movies all the more when he knows I'm enjoying myself. Maybe it's something about the way I snort . . . anyway. Well worth the wait from number 698 on the library reserve list!

As you've learned by now, I usually don't like to post an entry unless I have a picture or two to include, and I've got just the thing tonight! Sawyer doesn't have a full-fledged cowboy costume but I bought both of the boys cowboy hats last year when I went to the ladies' retreat at Marmon Valley Farm (in the interest of equity, I bought both girls necklaces with a sterling silver horse charm), and just a couple of days ago Sawyer hopped on his pony wearing his cowboy hat and I snapped a couple of photos. I'm also throwing in an unrelated (except for the fact that's wearing the hat) photo just because I think it's cute!