Kindness is King.

What kind of world do we live in that kindness is no longer considered the "norm"? Let me tell you a little story...

I was in Costco the other afternoon (maternity leave leads to a VERY glamorous life, I tell you). The lines were a little cray since it was just a few days after the recent Snowmaggedon here in the Midwest. Anyway, Harper and I were about 6th or 7th in a long line of people with full carts.

I noticed the man in front of me didn't have a cart or anything in his hands to purchase. Instead, he was on his cell phone frantically trying to reach someone. I assumed it was whoever had his cart elsewhere in the store filled with bulk wine, toilet paper and frozen pizzas and he was just simply holding their place in line. As he got closer to the cashier, his calls got more frantic to urge whoever was on the other end of the line to get to checkout ASAP.

Sure enough, just as it's his turn to hit the conveyor belt, his other half strolls up with a cart full. No biggie, right? They put their stuff on the belt, pay, and then it's my turn.

As I started to put my items on the belt, another woman came up to me and grabbed my arm to get my attention. I'm rather used to this when I have Harper with me--people stop me in the most random of places to tell me how beautiful she is, or to comment on her big eyes and mound of hair. But not this lady. She had other intentions.

She stopped whatever she was doing and came to tell me that she was SO surprised and proud of how I reacted to what had just transpired. She said that she would have read that man the riot act and told him to get to the back of the line. "You handled that so well, with such grace--and with a BABY in tow!" she said to me.

I thanked her because her words were genuinely kind and her intentions were true. But really? Really?!? What kind of world do we live in that having patience and treating others with kindness is considered NOT the norm? That when you witness something that seems so normal and so mundane that you go out of your way to compliment someone on it because it's NOT what you expected to witness? I was in a line, waiting my turn...just as others were. I had my child with me because I CHOSE to bring her to the store with me. It was just regular, normal life at a busy store.

Don't get me wrong, I was appreciative of the lady's comments and I do love that there are people in this world who go out of their way to lift up and compliment others. But I didn't do anything special. I did something that everyone else should have done...something that didn't deserve kudos or compliments. But my every day patience was viewed by others as being different or special. Have you ever experienced that?

I struggle with what happened not because it was bad or wrong, but because I want to be certain that in all things I am setting a good and right example for my children. And beyond them, that I am living my OWN life in a way that is calm and true to myself. Imagine if Harper had been old enough to understand the situation and I had acted the way in which that lady "thought" I should have reacted. What kind of example is that? What kind of world is that?

I'm not super sure where I was going with this post, other than it was something I wanted to share to encourage others to practice every day patience and kindness. Slow down. Be kind to others. Say "please" and "thank you" - - because, after all, you never know who you might inspire and you never know what sort of battles those around you are fighting. Be blessed!

Mouthbreathing, Party Of 2?

As you might have guessed, both of the men in my life are sick. Like, coughing-up-a-lung, mouthbreathing-until-it-hurts, can't-sleep-to-save-my-life sick. Needless to say, it was a verrrrry pleasant (laden with sarcasm) weekend at the VeeDub household.

I have, however, learned a few new Mommy tricks during this most recent ride on the sickness train. Allow me to impart my knowledge to you:

1) The plug-in Vicks vapor thingies RULE. The day I bought one was the first time Alex slept through the night. I used the regular chest rub stuff for Joe, and that worked wonders for him, too. Amen, Vicks. Amen.
2) When buying Mucinex, just get the regular strength. The extra strength could clear the mucus (too much?) from that slobbery guy in Ghostbusters. Nobody needs to see that.
3) I maintain that Airborne tablets are the only thing keeping the germies away from me. I take one a day. And right now the monster tubes are $5 off at Coscto!
4) Speaking of Costco, and totally unrelated to sickness, I discovered sweet potato chips this weekend. ZOMG. They are yumalicious. And also available at your friendly neighborhood Costco.

I'll leave some of the other sickness details to your imagination. I think we're all finally on the mend and will be able to enjoy some pumpkin patch goodness this weekend. Happy Monday!

Costco Etiquette.

Oh, sweet, sweet people of the internets: I realize that most of you are nice, normal people that really don't need to heed the warnings I'm about to give in this post. But for the 7% or so that I'm sure are offenders, take note.

Joe and I took our bi-monthly pilgrimage to Costco on Saturday. As usual, Alex was in tow and loving the front-row view from the cart. We had our coupons in hand and tennis shoes on foot (well, feet) and were ready to s-h-o-p. (Note: Costco trips are an event of the finest variety for the VeeDubs. We do every aisle. Every time.)

So I suppose that based on the blog title alone, you can guess that there were some real pains-in-the-asses that were in overabundance at our local Sterling Heights facility. Like, I'm talking douches of the greatest variety. Parking on the wrong side of the gas pumps. Pushing and shoving to the front of the free sample lines as if you've never eaten a day in your life. Ramming carts into small children and slow shoppers because you simply don't give a damn about other people. Dropping your empty free sample cups on the floor instead of in the trash can that is three steps away. Cutting in the checkout line when the very fine Costco employees are working so hard to maintain order. And my personal favorite, discarding your frozen pizzas somewhere in the granola aisle because you decided you simply didn't want it anymore.

It was the most frustrating 1.5 hours of my life. It was also a fantastic social experiment and a true test of my general tolerance for humankind.

Aaaaaaand, as long as we're at it, let me try to halt some of the impending comments I'm sure your fingers are ready to type. One: I know that Costco on a Saturday all but means seventy thousand locals, their children, moms, dads, uncles and Canadian relatives will also be shopping. Normally, this is fine. Two: I know that Costco's gas hoses are long FOR A REASON. I just happen to disagree with this reasoning. Three: I am a firm believer that a free sample is just that: a free sample. It is not a one-stop solution for a cost-effective Saturday luncheon for your family of seven. Four: I also know that the carts are roughly the size of a 2010 Toyota Prius. But for the love of cheese, practice a little bit of common courtesy! Pausing an extra two seconds as you turn the corner by the quesadilla sample might just save the leg of a 4-year old.

That's all for today. Tomorrow we'll have some uplifiting content around these parts. What was that? A giveaway you say? A really awesome GIVEAWAY! Sa-wheet!

Need A QTip?

Joe and I had quite the que romantico Valentine's Day. Started with a glorious sleep-in until 9. Then I cleaned the house while he hopped in and out of conference calls (boo). We had a muy delicioso lunch at Azteca, one of our fave local Mexican establishments and went shopping!

We were on the hunt for some very specific things, none of which we actually found. The last stop on our trip was Costco...where we managed to find everything we didn't need.

Seriously, why is it that you can't just run into Costco for one or two things? We had a list and didn't stick to it - something we're usually very good about doing. And it's such a ridiculous American thing, too. For instance, a lifetime supply of Drano on any other occasion would not be considered a good life choice, but amidst all the other crazies filling up their carts at warp speed, we somehow couldn't resist. I will never, ever run out of: dishwasher tabs, QTips, toothpaste, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Red Vines, gum, granola bars or stamps. Technically the stamps were a smart buy - postage goes up May 11. Buy your forever stamps now!

Yet they still sell milk by the single gallon. I don't get it. Why is there not a 2 or 5 gallon option?

While we were there, we also made it a point to check out the diapers and wipes. Not bad. Not bad at all. They alone will probably make the cost of membership worth it in the years to come.

We picked up a pizza from the concession stand on the way out. OMG. They are the most delicious things on the face of the earth - and only $10! Yum, yum, yum. Highly recommended.

We rounded out the evening with a visit from Mark, a dear friend. His mom knit WIP the most adorable little sweater - I will post pics of it tomorrow!