And . . . . . We're back!

Almost two years from the date of my last post, I've decided to come back to blogging. Many things have happened, many things have changed. But I can't go back and document them. All I can do is go forward--sempre diritto.

Sempre diritto is a phrase I heard many times on a trip to Italy many years ago. My mom translated it to mean "always straight". We received this in answer to our constant requests for directions. Apparently, the place we were looking for was always straight down the road (it really wasn't, but this appears to be the way that they get rid of pesky tourists over there). Since that time, this phrase has become a bit of a motto for me. Sometimes in life I can get so focused on looking backward, on worrying about the past, and on feeling bad about things that I didn't accomplish. However, when I remember sempre diritto, I am reminded to look to the future, to get back on the straight and narrow path, and to let bygones be bygones. Two other famous people have said this better than I ever could: Pumbaa, from the Lion King ("You got to put your behind in your past") and Dory, from Finding Nemo ("Just keep swimming, just keep swimming"). These two seem to pretty much sum it up!

So here I am and I'm so excited to jump back into blogging. I've been contemplating this for a while now, and as a way to psych myself up to actually get started, I've been composing blog posts in my mind. Also, I've been starting to read friends' blogs again and that's really inspiring me. I want to keep better track of my kids and all those funny little moments that make up our life. So, here goes:

There's no picture to go along with this one, but I surely wish there was! Yesterday Ian yelled at me in a way he never has before--full voice, full force. His whole body was tense and he screamed out his demand at the top of his lungs in the middle of the D.I. parking lot. And what was it that prompted this freakish display of behavior? His love of trains.

You see, Ian loves trains. He likes cars and dinosaurs and books too. But he loves trains. We've been exploring our new town, and one of our best discoveries has been this wonderful store called Toy Town. It's an awesome toy store where they have many toys on display and they actually encourage your kids to play with them. There were lots of fun things in the store, but when Ian saw their train table, he refused to go another step. They must have had $1,000 worth of wooden train sets out on the table. Ian played there for probably 20 or 30 minutes and then I eventually just had to drag him crying out of the store.

That was a week ago. Since then, every time we go out he asks if we're going to Toy Town but I haven't yet felt brave enough to take him back. Well, yesterday afternoon he missed his nap because I had dragged the kids to Target hoping to find some toys on their big 75% off clearance (which I apparently missed because there was almost nothing left), and then I dragged them to the local thrift store in search of used bikes. By the time we left DI, they were all annoyed at me. Then, Ian asked where we were going next and I told him we were going home to make dinner. Well, that's when he changed from my sweet, but cranky, little boy into the devil's spawn. He looked up at me and screamed with everything he had

"I WANT GO TOY TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then we just looked at each other in shocked silence. He seemed just as surprised as I was that he could muster that much anger and outrage. I didn't even bother looking around to see what the other shoppers thought. I grabbed him and we just fled to the car and then the safety of home.

Once I got over the initial shock of his behavior, I just saw it as hysterical. I just keep picturing him standing there with his eyes bugging out of his head screaming at me because he wanted to go to Toy Town. Now I'm really afraid to take him back!