8 things men love about their wives ...

I liked this article and thought I'd share it. 


By Aaron Trainer
1. We love it when you take control.


It might seem like we hate it when you're bossy, but really, we only hate it when you boss us around. When you get badass with other people, it's totally hot. My wife was working from home the other day, and while she was on a conference call, I listened to her chew someone out for screwing up. She didn't yell or get nasty, but she made sure the person knew how displeased she was, and then completely shut down any excuses they tried to make; by the end of the call she had them apologizing. She was in total control, and everyone on the call knew it. It was at that moment that I realized my wife is a professional badass — and that I find it ridiculously sexy.



2. We love watching sports with you — sort of.

While we consider watching sports mostly a guy thing (because of the cursing and the gluttony), every now and then we are happily surprised by your interest in and enthusiasm for our favorite athletic competition. "There is one sporting event every year that I love sharing with my wife: filling out our NCAA men's basketball tournament brackets," my lawyer friend explains. "We've been filling out our brackets together every March since we first started dating. She was a 'bracket virgin' before we met, but now her enthusiasm for picking teams is pretty amazing. She chooses with her heart using a complicated system of geography, underdog status, and familial connections. Her brackets are an example of who she is — they are all about loyalty, hope, and happy memories. Her sense of conviction is so strong, it can make you believe that Lehigh has a shot against Kansas. How can you not love that?"



3. We love that you don't want us to die — yet.

I recently went to the doctor for a checkup and learned that my overall physical assessment had changed from "in the danger zone in several key categories" to "facing imminent demise." Forgetting the childhood lesson learned from that hoagie-loving über-husband, Cliff Huxtable, and his hoagie-denying über-wife, Clair, from The Cosby Show, I made the mistake of telling my wife about the diagnosis. So now every morning and evening, my wife makes me a greenish-brown "smoothie" to drink. It's made from things like kale, flax seed, and spinach, and it has the consistency of motor oil. It's so bad it makes my taste buds feel ashamed.

And yet my wife dutifully makes it for me, twice a day, because it's packed with my daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Karel is a smart, successful, and energetic woman who would do just fine without me. Every time I drink one of her sickly-Yoda-colored drinks, it's like a little reminder that she doesn't want to do just fine without me — she wants to do just fine with me. And I love that.



4. We love that we know everything about you (and vice versa).

Everyone in the Focus Group of Manliness agreed that after X years of marriage, there is very little we don't know about our wives or they don't know about us. But even though our relationships may lack mystery, we all love that you know exactly how we feel at a particular moment and why we feel that way. And we also love knowing how you feel at a particular moment and why you feel that way. That kind of intimacy is like a big plate of waffles on a cold morning. It might be syrupy sweet and make you fat and lethargic, but it's comforting, heartwarming, and delicious. And if you pair it with some fried chicken, it can also become sorta sexy. To be honest, I don't know what the fried chicken in this metaphor represents. I just really like fried chicken and waffles.



5. We love that you talk our ears off.

When I'm not yakking about why I love my wife over a plate of wings and some beers with the guys, I'm actually pretty quiet. For me, there is something soothing about how much my wife talks. It's like she's doing the talking for the both of us. It's relaxing. Her constant talking is like having a rerun of my favorite TV show on in the background after a long day: It's familiar and funny and you can kind of tune in and out as you unwind.



6. We love how you solve problems.

The rabbi describes the way his wife tackles obstacles as full of drama: She rages, she cries, she internalizes everything. Her system of problem-solving takes a long time and involves making everything personal and leading with her emotions in a quest to see how she would feel about each possible solution. It is apparently a very stressful process. In contrast, the rabbi's problem-solving method is to just try to find the fastest fix. When I asked him why he preferred his wife's method, he said it was because "her decisions always end up being the right ones, whereas mine always end up being the quick ones."



7. We love you — even in your sweats.

There is something to be said for the things in life that are effortlessly sexy. Sometimes lingerie and Princess Leia outfits feel forced, which can make everything that follows feel a little awkward. My wife has a ratty pair of sweatpants that she's owned since before we were even dating, and they are just about the sexiest thing on the planet. By some amazing alchemy of time blended with constant usage, these sweats have totally conformed to the shape of her body. They have holes above the pockets that show off the swoop of her hips and they have somehow managed to maintain their shape in the back so that they accentuate one of her finest features. I would take this pair of sweatpants over lingerie or Princess Leia outfits the majority of the time. Which is why it wasn't that my wife was all glammed up the first night we slept together that made me think we could be physically compatible for the long haul — it was the fact that I wanted her just as badly the next morning.



8. We love that you love us.

When asked what's the most surprising thing that he loves about his wife, the U.S. Marshal says simply, "that she puts up with me and loves me" 'Nuff said.

Packing for the move!

 Packing with a 3yr.old and a 2yr.old is GREAT!

(yeah a little sarcasm)

I was really tempted to fold up the flaps of the box and slap on some packing tape.

Just for a few hours - Anyway!

 

Cooper wants to help in this process too so he finds empty boxes

and just starts looking around the house for odd things to put in his box.   

Yeah, very helpful  ... then you can't find the remote

or hear the phone ringing and it's in one of the many boxes?

Yeah, they really don't have a clue as to what's about to happen!

Hope those little smiles continue to shine!

From the mouths of toddlers . . .

I was reading Allie a book about animals and what they eat (bunnies eat carrots, elephants eat peanuts, mice eat cheese).  When I asked her what does a dog eat she said, "a Phone" and put her hand up to her ear and said, "Hello".  I guess "bone" and "phone" could be a bit confusing!  It made me chuckle.

I was tenderly talking with Cooper in bed one night telling him how much I loved him and that he was my favorite little boy and Allie was my favorite little girl and how Daddy was "my man".  Cooper said, "No mama, Daddy is MY MAN, we're buddies!"

I am pretty strict about any evil influences that enter my house or my kids brains.  (the kids have not seen hardly any Disney movies yet because the villians are a bit much in my opinion for a 3yr old).  However, somehow Cooper started playing ghost with a blanket over his head, chasing Allie down the hall with the sound effects "oooh oooh I'm a ghost boo!" and then would pop out from under the blanket and they both would laugh their heads off. It bothered me a little (I know I'm ultra-sensitive in this area). So after a few days of contimplating this I told Cooper, "We aren't going to play ghost like that anymore because God doesn't like scary ghosts and I don't either.  There is really only one ghost and he's a good ghost, he's friends with Jesus, and his name is the Holy Ghost.   Cooper said, "ok Mama" and then quickly found a blanket, chased Allie down the hall saying, "woooh woooh, I'm the Oly Ghost, I'm the Oly Ghost, Boo!" they both laughed their heads off and so did I.

"Mama can I have a mushmellow?" said Cooper.  "What's a mush-mellow?" I asked.  "you know, those white things next to the chocolate chips that taste like clouds!" He said. "oh Marsh-mellows" I corrected,  "yeah mush-mellows Mama" he corrected.

"Mama I'm too (so) scared of the thunder!" Cooper said.  "Oh Cooper, it is very loud but we don't need to be afraid of the thunder.  Remember when you were scared of the lawn mower because it was so loud and now you love to help Daddy mow the grass?" "Yep but the lawn mower cuts the grass" Cooper said.  "Well, the thunder and clouds are making all that noise trying to make some rain for the flowers, so it's kind of like the lawn mower because it has a job to do too!" I explained.  "Really? That's great! So what's the lighting's job Mama?" Cooper asked.

We had to put our beloved dog Duke of 9 years to sleep this year. Before I drove Duke to the vet I told Cooper and Allie to give Duke a hug because he was going to go live with Jesus. Cooper looked at me with a perplexed face and said, "He's going to live up in the air, WOW, I want to go too!" For an emotional time for Lee and I a bit of laughter was just what we needed.