It has taken Nate over 8 years to get used to my language. We grew up only 6 1/2 hours away from each other in the same state, yet you would think we are from different planets from the way we describe things. His city was much larger than my town, but very similar in economic make-up. The way we communicate is very different though.

He is direct and to the point. He doesn’t tell stories. And he certainly doesn’t jump from subject to subject. There are definite pauses in his speaking style.

On the other hand, I randomly discuss whatever is on my mind. I may be in the middle of one story and remember that I ran into our old neighbor at the grocery store today. In my world it is important to tell him right there in the middle of the story about the old neighbor. In Nate’s world it is distracting and annoying.

I also use words that make no sense to him. Of course they make perfect sense to me. When I ask him to bring me the doohickie, he should know what I’m talking about right?

Please tell me that these words are part of your everyday language:

Comeapart
Comeupins’
Thingamajig
Thingamabob
Doohickie
Tarnation
Upheaval

In other news, you should go visit Props & Pans. We’ve been giving away some fabulous things lately and I recently reviewed ThinkBlocks, which is a unique educational game that stimulates young minds in a creative manner. We are giving away a set worth $79, but you must leave a comment before Tuesday, March 18th. Hurry!

Also check out the Must Have Monday’s DVD giveaway and our new Announcement page. All good information.

I don’t think love is as much a feeling, as it is an action.

Love just spent the last 2 hours trying to get a huge stain out of the carpet that I created. (Did you know that a paper plate can flip if it’s left on the edge of a table and you barely touch it?)

Love wishes we had hardwood floors. Thank God for love! It is what has held this marriage together for the past 6 weeks.

This is the Pizza Pie dish that I managed to totally flip onto our living room floor. Thus far we’ve used Oxy, Woolite and DeSolvit on the spot and cleaned it thoroughly with our Bissell Upright Steam Cleaner. (I say we, but I mean the guy in love with me.)

Any suggestions?

Real love is standing in our kitchen filling syringes of medicine for my PICC line, cleaning up the dinner he made, getting our son in the bathtub, carrying laundry baskets upstairs to fold and put away, while I sit in the recliner coming up with more things for him to do.

After he finishes that, there is some orange puke to clean up (nasty antibiotic medicine) in the bathroom with some Clorox cleaning wipes. Thank God I choose to enter marriage with this partner and said yes.

When I told him I had arm hair growing his reply was, “I don’t think you smell that bad.” That’s reality.

I may not know how to play poker, but I know how to play the game called marriage.

My husband had just returned from his office and I was headed to run and grab us all a sandwich for lunch. I said I was taking his car because it was already warmed up (it’s COLD outside). He said he only had like 10 miles left in his gas tank so I should take my car.

[His Expedition will tell you how many miles you have left in the tank - which is a pretty cool feature.]

I looked at him for a second and said, “bull-shit!” He tried to keep up the bluff, but failed when I went out and started his car to find it had 98 miles left in the tank. I was only going down the road people, not to another state for lunch.

You think he’s trying to save his gas? Now if he’d conserve his gas under the covers in bed.

FYI ~ Props and Pans is giving away a BabyPlus prenatal education curriculum. All you have to do is comment here before Thursday, December 6th. This would make an awesome gift! It is valued at $150!!

Our 5 year old son has been pointing out patterns to us lately. When we play a game together he lets us know the order to go in.

“Me, Mom, then Dad. Me, Mom, then Dad. That is a pattern.”

The other morning he let me know that we have patterns in the meals we eat.

“I always have a fruit or vegetable and milk with dinner. Every night. That is a pattern.”

But he also pointed out something I already knew.

“You and Dad always sleep on the same side of the bed.”

As with most couples we picked our sides early. I am the left and he is the right. His statement made me think about where else my husband and I have patterns in our life together. I came up with several and they are all dictated by keeping our predetermined sides.

We’ve divided the bathroom sink and cabinets - my side is the left and his is the right. Just like in bed.

Our parking spots in the driveway are dictated by the same pattern. Even our sides in the closet and our seats at the dining room table are determined from our sides of the bed.

We’ve been living our life in patterns that a 5 year old can notice. I hope he recognizes other sequences in our life - like that my husband always kisses us goodbye in the morning as he leaves for work. Every morning, no matter how late he is running.

Even if he grows up and becomes the right side of a his own marriage, there are some good patterns he can continue.