An Ikea just opened a little over an hour from our house. This is a big deal for us southerners. Until now, the closest one was in DC- over 4 hours away. I have never been to an Ikea and since we are crazy we decided to try and go this past weekend. Yes, this was the first Saturday it was open. Yes, we took our three kids. Yes, we were planning on meeting good pals, the Hoffman's there - with their two kids. Yes, we are crazy (I think I already mentioned that). After waiting 20 minutes at the exit and being rerouted back onto the highway and told to go another way (there were police there and everything!) we ditched the idea. Three whining kids will do that to you. We headed back up the interstate a couple miles and went to a big outlet mall instead. So, for our trip to Ikea we decided to wait a couple months until the hype dies down and all those crazy "Must be there the first Saturday open" people fade away!!
As close as we were able to get.
As close as we were able to get. 
Okay and now on to "I'll Never"...Before I had kids (and the first couple years after) I always said "I'll Never let my kids play with guns or swords or the like". I am not going to get into why - I am a reformed hippie and I still prefer passivity- I actually think I could have made a good Quaker. I have heard so many people say - "You can't keep them away from your boys - they will turn anything into a gun- like a banana or a stick" - How true and this is not what I am against - they can play with all the pretend guns they want. I encourage imagination and this certainly is part of it. But, toy guns look too much like real guns now and real guns kill real kids. Anyway enough of that talk - it is tough to keep your boys away. We still do not buy guns and will not be buying them - but they are everywhere- and here Ethan is playing with them at the outlet mall we stopped at. Of course he enjoyed it. So this. like many things is a lesson in saying "I'll Never..."
On a side note, my friend Robyn and I were talking about this while our boys played at the mall. And, we were talking about hunting. She said her father in law (who hunts) believes all meat eaters should have to kill and clean an animal to see what it really involves. (I am paraphrasing and I hope I got it right). Anyway. I have thought a lot about this ever since and I think I agree. But, if given the ultimatum (and if the current system ever falls and we have to hunt and kill all our own meat) I think I would be a vegetarian. I love tempeh. So what do you think? Could you, personally, hunt, kill and clean your own meat? I only know two real hunters, but for the other 400 people I know - I have a feeling many would say "No".
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