Look for the Brighter Side

Santa's number

2011-12-05T21:27:00.004-05:00

The conversation went like this?

Craig: Behave, or I'll tell Santa on you.
Princess: Do you have Santa's phone number?
C: 1-800-SANTA
P: The phone only has numbers, how do you dial letters? Is that *really* his number?
C: No, but I know his number.
P: How'd you find out his number?
C: Its something grown-ups know.
P: When did you find out, in college?
C: No, when you have a kid at the hospital, the nurses tell you.

Spousal Conversations

2011-10-24T07:11:00.003-04:00

The conversation went like this:

Paula: I just want water to go down a hole. It's not rocket science.
Craig: No, it's much harder than that. It's plumbing.
Paula (after she stops laughing): That was funny.
Craig: It's true. And I'd rather do rocket science.

Say, Huh? (#9)

2011-09-25T18:11:00.003-04:00

Gman was being particularly adorable at the dinner table.
Sitting next to Princess, the conversation went like this:

Mom: Gman, could you *BE* any cuter?
Gman (pointing at sister): No. But she can.

So proud!!!!

2011-09-18T12:33:00.002-04:00

Al set a personal record of 19:22 this weekend!

photo credit: Jim Mrvos

Same old tricks

2011-07-27T10:28:00.003-04:00

Recall when a toddler-aged Gman hung the toy pan on the entertainment stand?

He's at it again a few years later...It's a sword on a light switch in the hallway. In case he needs to do battle with an intruder?

Teen Words #4

2011-07-13T14:20:00.003-04:00

The conversation went like this:

Teen: Why won't her mom let her come with us to the movie?
Mom: Some moms don't want their daughter out alone with a group of guys.
Teen: But its okay if its a group of girls and one guy?
Mom: Yup.
Teen: Why?
Mom: Its just diffterent. Teen guys tend to not think when with a group of their guy friends. And sometimes, the more guys, the dumber they get.
Teen: So we're dangerously dumb in packs?

Princess, a.k.a. Kilroy?

2011-06-25T22:27:00.002-04:00

Grandma took the kids to the Grand Opening Weekend of a new yogurt place in town..they were taking pictures with the mascot...

Order of Importance

2011-06-16T21:21:00.004-04:00

This summer, the kids are keeping a daily journal of what they do each day.
Gman had an eventful day today...especially by 5 y.o. standards.

He went to day camp.
They went to the pool.
He got to pick Chick-fil-a for dinner.
He fell on the Chick-fil-a playground and got a big black goose-egg right next to his eye.
We took a little trip to the ER since his pupil didn't appear to be dilating (btw, he's fine).

His journal entry sums up his exciting day. He had to be reminded of the 2nd part.

Dance Recital Videos!

2011-05-23T14:49:00.003-04:00

Gman's Boys HipHop Dance Class Recital video.
They just couldn't be any more cute/funny!

Princess's Dance Recital video.
She did fabulous!

Future Loggers of America

2011-05-08T20:39:00.002-04:00

Those are dead tree branches from the forest near Craig's mom's house.
Can we go back to the days when they played outside and all they brought in were rocks?

Say, Huh? (#8)

2011-05-03T22:12:00.004-04:00

The conversation went like this:
Gman: How long has it been?
Craig: Since what?
G: How long has it been?
C: Since what?
G: HOW. LONG. HAS. IT. BEEN?
C: How long has it been since what?
G: Since the start.
P: 8 million years
C: Since the start of what?
Al: *snicker*
G: What time is it?
C: It's 7:10
G: But what WAS the time?
P: Who's on first?
A: *snicker*
C: When?
G: what time was it THEN?
C: THEN what?
G: *Sigh* Just tell me how long has it been.
C: How long has it been since what?
G: Since then!!!!!
C: *SIGH* What do you want?
G: One of the orange juice popsicles Mom made in the freezer. How long has it been?
P: 8 million years.

Yes, it would have to be

2011-03-30T20:34:00.002-04:00

There's just no other "collection" it would fit in.

Cat and Scratch Fever!!!

2011-03-01T16:16:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago, the kids received tickets to see a girls UK basketball game for perfect attendance in January at school. The girls play in Memorial Coloseum....where the boys team played before the city built Rupp Arena for them. So this is pretty hallowed ground, many of the historical noteworthy UK teams played in this building. Not that the kids grasp the significance of it all.

We walked in only 15 minutes before the game and were trying to figure out what to get for dinner. (Not the healthiest of ideas, but it was a school night, and there was homework to do first, etc etc, sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do!)
As we're standing there, one of the UK relations guys runs up to me, hands me 2 ticket-looking-things and says, "Here's my last 2 kids' pre-game passes, RUN!" and points towards a specific corner of the court. Not knowing what I've just volunteered my kids for, we ran!

They got to stand on the court sideline for the pre-game show. Both mascots (Scratch and the Wildcat) came over to 'high 5' the kids. And as the players were introduced, they'd run down a tunnel of cheerleaders & UK flags and hand a small auto-graphed ball to 1 of the kids!!!

This one is Scratch.

This one is Wildcat...ignore the other random kids....they were trying to usher us all out...I had to hurry...this is the first time our kids would get within 50 feet of large costumed-beings!

Craig survived my 1st day @ work!

2011-01-24T15:33:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, when I was offered this job, my fear was that the first day would come and it would be a snow day for the kids. I really didn't want to have to "call in" on my first day, so Craig arranged today to be a vacation day for him "just in case". I was so shocked to wake up today and find that it was in fact a snow day!!!

As I was packing up to leave, I discovered soda dripping down the back of the fridge.
As Craig & I were getting things out of the fridge to get to the soda, Kool-aid was dribbled All. Over. The. Kitchen.
Al entered still feeling sick (suspect strep).

I ended up having to leave Craig to handle it all, with a cheery "Love ya! Please don't forget to ask for his Rx refill while you're at the peds office. Bye!"
Isn't he a great guy!?
Great first day of new job. Al has just a cold.
Life is good.

Alligator Math

2011-01-18T10:09:00.002-05:00

We went to The Newport Aquarium yesterday! "It's a Million gallons of Fun!"

Gman + Princess + Al = 14 foot Mighty Mike

I now have proof!

Herding my 3 kids is like wrestling a 14 foot alligator!!

The Job

2011-01-09T18:51:00.003-05:00

For the first time in nearly 6 years, I'll be working part-time! And its been 7.5 years since I worked in an office. I've been shopping for work attire and shoes since I'm pretty sure dust and dry rot are not in vogue. This will be my first time working/parking downtown. I'll have to walk a block or so, too. I'll be working 5 days a week, and will get home with only a few minutes to spare before the little ones get off the bus. When will I do laundry? Grocery shop? How will I remember to take something out of the freezer before I leave...I have a hard enough time remembering to do that now! I will definitely have to start thinking of all the logistics! But I'm very excited!

Locks of Love

2010-12-30T16:58:00.006-05:00

So proud of Princess!

BEFORE:

This picture is much happier ..... than this picture, when she mutilated the sides of her hair at age 3

AFTER:

Teen Words #3

2010-11-26T11:43:00.002-05:00

This is what you get when you ask a teen to assemble the Christmas tree:

This is the teen's idea of compromise on tree assembly:

Teen Words #2

2010-11-03T23:22:00.003-04:00

Al: The blood center came to school today. Did you come donate?
Me: No. I'm not eligible.
Al: Why not?
Me: I lived in Europe during the thingy...the..umm
Al (cutting me off): The Black Plague?
Me: WHAT!? That was forever ago!
Al: Well, you are old.
Me: Dude, I am not that old! Be careful, I watch NCIS. I could poison you.
Al: Yeah, with the Black Plague.

Truth or Consequences

2010-10-22T10:56:00.003-04:00

We have one of those fancy wall clocks that also has the monitor for outdoor temps. The remote monitor died a year ago, nothing fixes it. My folks gave us a new, little desktop one last Christmas. This summer we noticed the wall one randomly started giving us a read-out for the outdoor temp, but it's only accurate from about 7pm til about 7am.....during the day it's ALWAYS wrong.....WAAAYYY wrong.

Right now, its 11am.......OOOHHHH, how I wish I could believe you:

But your little brother has ratted you out:

I wish my neighbor would move their outdoor remote to a slightly more reliable location.

Say Huh? #7--The Medical Edition

2010-10-11T22:14:00.003-04:00

We bought one of the new thermometers that you swipe across the forehead. This is from the Instruction Manual.

How many parents seriously need to be reminded of this?

Chili Pepper !!

2010-09-27T16:06:00.003-04:00

Craig and I had a lunch date a Chili's! Today only, Chili's donates the day's profits to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. I got the. very. last. package. of the Chili Silly Bands in all of Lexington--I know this because I wanted more to send to the Funaholics and asked the waitress to call the other Lexington Chili's for me. (proceeds also go to St. Jude's--bonus!!).

Too cute!

Can't Fool Mother Nature

2010-09-23T06:29:00.002-04:00

The conversation went like this:

Princess: Do I need to wear long sleeves today?
Me & Craig in unison: Nooo! It's gonna be HOT!
P: But it's the first day of fall!?
Me: Somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature. Go get dressed, you're late.
(She walks away) She has no idea what that means.
C: Yeah, she'll me ask on the way to the bus stop.
Me: Sorry 'bout that.
C: That's okay. I'll just tell her to ask you because you know Mother Nature better.

Look at that kid go!

2010-09-11T16:05:00.005-04:00

Both of my guys have started new sports! And we are very proud Sports Parents!
Al is rockin' the cross country scene. This pic is at the finish line of his first 5K, time: 22:17. His next 5K was on a much harder course, but his time was still 22:33!!

Gman had his first soccer game today! The other team's players were all 4 inches taller than Gman (and his own team mates are all shorter/younger than him). Despite the mismatch, the Jaguars held their own!!!!!

Color Commentary by Gman

2010-08-24T21:12:00.004-04:00

Gman was feeling artistic today! He's not generally one to sit long enough to draw even one picture...much less two in one sitting!! I've included text of his comments when showing me his drawings.
ps....The 57 cents and 58 cents are his prices, if you are so inclined. ;-)

First Day of School--2010!

2010-08-11T07:30:00.012-04:00

First to leave were the little ones.
Princess: "Hey Gman, now pose like this. Now like this. And this way...."
Oh what a difference 1 year and a gender makes...Gman lost interest after the 2nd picture.

Oh what a difference 8 yrs and a gender makes....New high schooler who seriously did not want his picture. At all. Then agreed only if it wasn't taken outside. So I had to sneak one.

Special Kind of Tired

2010-08-06T23:01:00.003-04:00

Have you ever been so tired that, when you woke up in the middle of the night to go potty, you were just tooooo tired to pull your pants back up? Or to go back to your own bed? So instead, you just laid on the floor next to the toilet with your jammies half on.

Yeah, my kid's that tired.

Horse Mania 2010!

2010-07-29T11:05:00.003-04:00

New art project in town in preparations for the World Equestrian Games. The little ones and I managed to get around to about a third of them in just a couple hours. (Al didn't want to go since he'd already been to half with his camp friends.) Great time and some beautiful horses!

PS--The foals were all decorated by schools in Fayette County. The American Flag foal was made by Princess's school. The red with yellow lightening bolts foal was made by Al's school.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Republicans that hard up for a candidate?

2010-07-28T21:44:00.006-04:00

The license plate is not personalized...just the generic KY plate. I find it a little extra funny that they randomly received "666" to go with the "Republicans for Voldemort" bumper sticker.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-07-07T03:15:00.003-04:00

I love you, Sweetheart!

From our 2006 Anniversary

Test results: Positive

2010-07-02T14:05:00.002-04:00

Gman walks into the bathroom and starts to brush his teeth.

Gman: "Mom, do we need to clean my ears out?"
Me: "I don't know. Can you hear me?"
Gman:
(crickets chirp in the background)

Vacay, Day 3.....aka Parade-palooza

2010-07-01T07:56:00.009-04:00

Day 2 was just driving the rest of the way to Orlando. Made it to the condo in time to stock the kitchen, then head to the pool for a luau complete with Hawaiian dancers!
Day 3-- Went to Disney World...Where all your Dreams Come True (c)
Of course, we had to take a pic with The Castle! (all these pics can be clicked on to see them enlarged)

Disney does not do anything by half!! Including parades!
The afternoon parade at Magic Kingdom had ALL the characters owned by Disney...here's just a few:

It's not disney if you don't get a few pics with characters! Gman R-E-F-U-S-E-D to get in a picture without Daddy to protect him from imminent danger posed by giant creatures, no matter how beloved.

They also have a night-time parade--supposedly for this summer. Story has it these were from a parade many years ago and they are going to throw it out after getting one more season's usage.
I personally thought it was the coolest thing all day!!! We went back and watched it another day (I'll most more pics then)

Mother's Day conversation

2010-06-28T12:14:00.002-04:00

ooops....a little late in posting, but for the sake of Gman's baby/childhood book, didn't want to lose this. He came into my bedroom the morning of Mother's Day. The conversation at 6:42am went like this:

Gman: Mom!

Me: "What?"

Gman: Great news!

Me: What?

Gman: It's Mother's Day!

Vacation 2010

2010-06-24T12:13:00.009-04:00

Last year, we didn't do a real "vacation vacation" because we were saving up for Vacay 2010....boy it's a good thing!

Day 1--Driving & visiting:
Taken while still in the garage I think (they're still smiling because at this point, they didn't realize that it would be 2 days in the van):

We stopped off in Atlanta for a visit with the Fun Family at the World Of Coke. The girls were like best friends all over again! And nothing like good ol' American Coke to clear away the after taste from the Beverly.

After driving a little bit past that, we stopped in Macon, GA for dinner and a visit with some other friends--MamaBrande & her crew. After many attempts to get a smiling pic of all the little kids, I gave up and opted for silly faces:

Memory Lane Monday #21

2010-05-31T20:08:00.008-04:00

I took a road trip this Memorial Day weekend--literally and figuratively! My carmates (or should I say new-van-mates? I traded in the Uplander last week): Princess, Gman, and my mom & dad made the looong drive to Enterprise, in southern Alabama on Saturday--I lived there for 9th-12th grade. It's the one place we lived in all my military-brat days that I truly did not want to leave and consider to be "home".

Enjoyed a BBQ and pool party that evening at my folk's friends' house--John & Debbie Railsback. Their sons Travis & Shawn are my age--Shawn and I were friends in Germany first, then our dads were both sent to Ft. Rucker, Alabama at the same time! Few military brats get to go to school for 7 years on 2 different continents with the same person!

On Sunday morning I had brunch with my girlfriends from high school....although honestly, we couldn't tell that 21 years had past! We had sooo much fun traveling down Memory Lane together!!!! Unfortunately it was too short and incomplete with Alison not being there (she was very ill). But we'll definitely be planning a REAL get together soon!!!

May 1989, l-r: Alison, Cynthia, Cathy, Marissa, me
May 2010, clockwise from top: Marissa, Cynthia, Cathy, me

After brunch, the folks, kids & I packed back in the van and drove to central Alabama for a surprise 50th Anniversary celebration for some dear family friends my parents have had since I was 5. It was wonderful to see them again!

Long trip, short time, but oh so very worth it!

For Ketchup Connoisseurs?

2010-05-19T12:44:00.005-04:00

As a family, we go through our fair share of ketchup. All 3 kids like it (a rarity). Princess even dips the crust of her grilled-cheese in it.

But these did not go over so well. All agree that they d, in fact, taste like ketchup. But Craig, Princess and I all are taking a pass on eating more. Gman kind-a likes them. Al is the only real taker.

Aptly named

2010-05-14T13:21:00.002-04:00

Get it? AWESOME!

Oldy but a....gourmet goody?

2010-05-01T11:17:00.005-04:00

Today's Co-Blogger: Al!

(he gets the photo cred, too!)

Me: "Probably not very gourmet after it's been sitting there for a year."
Al: "How can they call it gourmet if it comes out of a machine for a quarter?"

No crayons for you!

2010-04-11T22:25:00.004-04:00

This is the toy that came with the Wendy's kids meal:

Cute little case that snaps onto your backpack and 4 little sheets to color.
Color with what? It doesn't come with crayons?!!
Who ever came up with that plan was probably not "the brightest crayon in the box."

United HealthCare: Keepin' the faith!

2010-03-28T13:27:00.003-04:00

Got a letter in the mail from them saying they "...value (our) membership and look forward to serving (our) pharmacy benefit needs in the future." They wanted to let us know that Al's antibiotic medication has been "...approved for coverage until December 31, 3000..."

So Al, if United HealthCare can stay in business and you think you can live to the ripe old age of 1,004.... Stick with them and you are good to go, Buddy!

Memory Lane Monday (#20)

2010-03-22T11:20:00.006-04:00

(I have no images or the ability to get images right now as my computer is kaput and I'm using an ancient shell of a computer that is 3 steps above an old Commodore 64.)

I made Pillsbury Orange Rolls this weekend for the kids. Something I do about once every 3-4 years. But every time I even see these in the store, I'm instantly thrown back to high school.

Marissa, Cathy, Alison, Cynthia and I were all great friends, and thanks to FB still are. I doubt you'd ever see one of us by ourselves back then. We all called each other's parents Mom & Dad because Mr./Mrs. Lastnamehere just didn't fit. Whenever we had sleepovers at Marissa's house, her mom ALWAYS woke us up with the smell of Pillsbury Orange Rolls in the morning. Marissa's mom was your typical proper Southern Lady....although, at the time we just thought she was old-fashioned. I remember her as always being sweet and all about proper young lady etiquette. Hard to believe it's been almost 13 years since she passed away. Princess's middle name is in honor of her, as well as my Grandmother.

It would be nice to to go back in time for just one Saturday night...the 5 of us having a sleepover in the basement TV room at Rissa's house, knowing Orange Rolls would be there in the morning.

City Girl

2010-03-13T13:20:00.002-05:00

Princess had to illustrate a book cover for a story about a girl named Gina who lives in the city. Awesome!!!

Pass the tartar sauce, Matey!

2010-02-25T09:42:00.004-05:00

Craig brought home Long John Silver's for his & my dinner last night. Not my fave in the world, but the kids' dance class was in less than hour and I was behind schedule.

Princess: Are those just big chicken nuggets?
Me: Yes. But most restaurants call them chicken fingers when they're big. Long John's calls them chicken planks. To sound more piratey.

Princess & Gman giggle.

Me: You know, there was a pirate named Long John Silver.
Gman: Whaaaatttt? How can he be a pirate if he's a chef?

Lost N Found

2010-02-22T16:24:00.002-05:00

Obviously NOT belonging to Paul Bunyon!

Miss you, Spring Chicken (Memory Lane #19)

2010-02-15T05:32:00.004-05:00

This is my Grandfather, Garold Wilde Campbell. (My Gman is named in his honor.) He's had cancer for a few years, and not for the first time. Al and I went to go see him at New Year's and we were so fortunate that for those few days, his pain meds were in perfect unison & he was the Grandpa I'd always known...arguing with me about who should do the dishes, puttering around in his workshop and carrying in wood to keep a fire burning all day. He always refered to himself as a Spring Chicken. Before every shower, he'd state "I already had my annual bath, why do I need another," and after he'd state "I feel like a new woman." He's hilarious, and sweet, and quick to call "bullshit".....of course he could recognize it so quickly because he was the best at it.

He passed away last month, but it's just been too hard to sit down and write. He lived in Washington, near the coast. Every time I visited there, I felt it was the grayest place on earth. He was the ray of sunshine that place needed, for it was almost always overcast. The sun came out that afternoon just before he died. Just for him.

He was the last living grandparent I had. And even in those last 2 weeks, when the inevitable was inevitable, as long as he was alive, I felt like the world was somehow OK. And now, no longer having him or any grandparents left, even with an amazing family and plethora of friends, I fear a small part of my heart will always feel very alone.

Trees, eggs, and sunglasses

2010-02-03T19:28:00.004-05:00

It was only an 8 minute drive, during which I never said a word. But it was a marathon of non sequiturs from my children:

Rainbow Watchers. (reading from a car window sign)

Little boy blue, come blow your horn........

Tree huggers.

My hands! (nothing further for explanation, just discovered her hands)

Rockets are faster than cars.

Twinkle Twinkle little star...........

Hug a tree.

Dance class is straight. (not really...it was to the left)

350Z. That'll be my dream car.

Turn right. (as I'm turning left)

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall..........

So! There's a sensor to tell the light to go on/off! (refering to the visor mirror)

Where's my coat?

My future's so bright, I wear a hat, cuz sunglasses aren't my thang.

Today is Wednesday.

This is what our everyday life is like. I swear to you, none of this was embellished. Every word really was said by the children, and there was more that I just couldn't remember.

In the year 2024, when Gman graduates high school, somewhere there's going to be a padded room waiting for me. I hope it has good music.

Anybody can be a Jack or a Jill...

2010-01-29T11:11:00.003-05:00

It began with a conversation on Tuesday evening:
Me: "Gman, you need a nursery rhyme costume for pre-school. What do you want to be? Maybe Jack that goes up the hill to get a pail of water?"
Gman: "No, I want to be the bucket."
Me: "A bucket? I'm not sure I can make a bucket costume. How about "Hey Diddle Diddle." I could make you a cow costume! You could be the cow that jumped over the moon." (I just saw some cow print material for dirt cheap on clearance!!)
Gman: "No. I'd rather be the moon."

So I decide to let him sleep on it since he's clearly *in a mood*.

Wednesday morning:
Me: So, for your costume, I gotta go buy stuff to make it today. You want to be Jack?
Gman: No, I'd want to be the bucket.
Me: I'm really not sure I can make a bucket costume. What's your favorite nursery rhyme?
Gman: Hey Diddle Diddle.
(So I recite the rhyme, with EXTRA EMPHASIS on characters that I can easily whip up in a day)
...the CAT and the fiddle, the COW jumps over the moon, the little DOG laughs...
Gman: I know!!!! I want to be the SPOON!

Alas....it takes a pretty awesome kid to pull off being a posterboard pail in a room full of Old King Coles, cats, sheep, etc..

Chee-burger! Chee-burger! Chee-burger!

2010-01-17T19:39:00.005-05:00

All of my kids are picky eaters. The younger two are hit-n-miss as to whether they'll try something new, but Al R-A-R-E-L-Y tries any thing new. And for the last 10 years, the only meat he likes is bacon and those that come in a tubular form--bologna, hot dogs, pepperoni. He'd eat beef if it was in an entree/casserole/etc; but only because he knew it was a losing battle; and he'd always go down complaining.

A few months ago, Craig appealed to Al's love of onions and got him to at least attempt a White Castle. Not really meat if you ask me, but it takes baby-steps, even with a 13yo. Al's opinion was that it was "ok." As we were driving back to Lexington this evening, Al informed us he was craving a cheeseburger! (SHOCK!!) We convinced him to upgrade to Wendy's.

He's declared that he *officially* likes cheeseburgers now!!!
*sniff* My baby is growing up!
Next step----Chicken!!!

Blog Give-away

2010-01-17T19:10:00.002-05:00

My friend Melissa at Stockpiling-Moms is having a give-away of a cute thermal tote from 31. ( I mentioned her blog a few weeks ago)

To see details of the give-away, click here.

New Year's Resolution: Pointless

2010-01-08T11:10:00.000-05:00

I pondered the first week of January what I really, truly wanted to change. Sleep. I want more sleep. I should've known better. My life is filled with way too many independent variables to ever accomplish any resolution.

Jan. 6th (aka Night 1): I average 5-6 hours on most "school nights." Got in bed a whole 10 minutes earlier than my usual "Way way toooo late." But, due to an un-warranted snow day, I got to sleep in! Hey, this is my resolution, it counts!

Night 2: Going into it, I knew Friday was a snow day but still got in bed at 11--over 30 min earlier than usual (yay me!) thinking, "Cool, I'll get to sleep in til 8 too!" That's when every. single. flippin'. independent variable conspired to sabotage me in one night.

Variable: Mother Nature. As I've been approaching the 4-0, I've sometimes suffered out-of-whack-hormones-induced insomnia. Kept me laying there for 1.5 hours.
Variable: Facebook. I'm only supposed to get FB texts up til 9pm. But for some reason, an 8:45pm text circled the stratosphere for 4+ hours and hit my cell at 1AM.
Variable: Alexander Graham Bell. A wrong-number phone call at 3AM.
Variable: Hubby. 6AM. Technically not his fault that he has to work, but he's been to blame for keeping me awake many other nights, so no extra credit.
Variable: Al. This is the kid I have to physically drag from bed at 7:20AM for school. So WHY? WHY would he intentionally set his alarm for 6:55AM when he knows it's a snow day?!? He's incapable of hearing alarms go off 2 feet from his head. I have to get up to turn of the alarm.
Variable: Princess. 7:05 wanders into my bed. Not a problem. She'll fall back to sleep. "I had a bad dream about alligators." 5 minute discussion about alligators vs. climate/living conditions.
Variable: Gman. 7:25 wanders into my bed. "I had a bad dream that I went to get a Pop-Tart and someone ate them all. Can I watch your TV?"

Countdown to Christmas 2010

2010-01-06T20:09:00.000-05:00

Gman: How many more days til Christmas again?
Mom: hmmmm about 354.
Gman: But that will take all night and all day.

Al goes to Washington

2010-01-04T11:10:00.013-05:00

Al and I went to see my grandfather in Washington. Had a great visit with him! He lives on the coast. I've taken a few trips there, but this was Al's first time in Washington.

We drove out to the shore on the one day that it wasn't raining there, but the wind still made it pretty cold. The tree in the background is actually GINORMOUS! It washed up on shore in a storm about 2 years ago.

Of course, with this being Al's first trip to Washington, it wouldn't be complete without spending a little time in Seattle seeing what it's most famous for (other than rain....which we saw P-L-E-N-T-Y of while at Grandpa's. We just happened to go site-seeing on the beautiful weather day.)

Pike's Place Public market. This is where a scene from Sleepless in Seattle was filmed.

The guys who are famous for throwing the fish.

The "first" Starbucks is at the Public Market. Although technically this one is not the first. The very first one was a few stores down, they had to move it because the building it was in was being torn down. So this one is really kind of the 4th Starbucks that's treated as if it were the first.

And what's Seattle if you don't go to the Space Needle?

The Minor League for the Minor Leagues

2009-12-27T21:53:00.012-05:00

Lexington now has a new minor-minor basketball league team--The Bluegrass Stallions. Coached by Kyle Macy (a former UK starter on awesome UK championship team in the 70's). Many of the players on the Stallions team are former UK players and one former EKU player--my alma mater! Craig, the little ones and I went to the game last night (Al was with his dad). As we were heading to the ticket window, some random stranger walking near us gave us his 4 extra tix! Thank you random stranger! Some funny rules--they have 4 and 5 point shots.

They had one of the big bouncers for kids.

Conversation:
Mom: You look cute in that turtleneck!
Gman: I don't have a turtle neck!!!

The intermission time-filler was the game where 2 random people were chosen to shoot and make a lay-up, a free-throw, a 3-pointer, and a 1/2 court shot in a minute or less. They gave the girl (who appeared to be about 10yo) a break, she didn't have to do the 1/2 court shot. The prize: "Chick-fil-A for a year." The guy couldn't get the 1/2 court shot. But the crowd went WILD when the 10yo girl completed her round!!!! Afterward, the announcer interviewed her. She plays organized basketball but had never made a 3-pt shot before that one!

How many Chick-fil-A cows does it take to make a herd?

School Pictures 2009

2009-12-16T16:36:00.001-05:00

The 8th grader! Doesn't seem right that he's almost done with middle school already!!!

The kindergartner/first grader. Picked her hair style for picture day--isn't it a little early for her to wanting to over-ride mom's picture day plans?

The pre-schooler. If only I could put that dimple in my pocket!!

In need of your daily affirmation?

2009-12-15T11:02:00.001-05:00

My friend Melissa

2009-12-13T22:30:00.003-05:00

I've known her for about 11-12 years. She was a Home Economics teacher in her previous life. She's started a new website with TONS of tips and ideas on how to save TONS of money when shopping for just about anything. And updates on special sales from just about any store or website. Because of her savvy coupon & sales ads knowledge, she has actually left the grocery store with more money than what she went in with and bags of groceries too. SERIOUSLY! I've seen it.

You can check out her site here.

It's a Christmas Miracle!

2009-12-07T09:37:00.006-05:00

We went to the Ky. Horse Park this weekend for the Southern Lights display and the miniature train display, crafts sale, and petting zoo. We were shocked that Princess, the kid that is generally scared of dogs that are taller than her knee, BEGGED to go on a camel ride! Al on the other hand, had to be bribed to go with her. The entire time we were in line, the camels were delightfully compliant. And then once our children were on one, it decided he was done, was quite resistant to doing anything the animal handler wanted and actually tried to bite the handler. I stood there in speechless horror thinking the 11 o'clock news was going to feature an angry mom attacking a camel.

For the very first time, we have a picture of the kids with Santa where the kids are all smiling, unafraid, and actually WITH Santa (as opposed to Santa being 25 feet BEHIND the children).

Monster-free Cabinetry: Priceless

2009-11-29T13:20:00.004-05:00

Princess enters room: "Gman made smoke."
Craig as he exits room: He what?!?!

Gman sprayed the dry-chemical fire extinguisher in the kitchen cabinet that contains every small kitchen appliance we own. Fortunately, the nozzle was facing the back of the cabinet. But it still made A REALLY BIG FOGGY MESS.

3 hours later, Craig has washed "Every small appliance known to man-kind." (Doesn't he totally rock for washing all those?! His comment "I'm not even sure what some of these do.") I've scrubbed out the cabinet and thrown away items that weren't worth cleaning/keeping. Gman left his bedroom-turned-prison-cell where he was banished to until all clean-up was complete and came to give his apologies and explanation.

"Scooby Doo used one of those to scare away the monsters"

All Al

2009-11-16T22:05:00.005-05:00

I have an enormous backlog of blog fodder. Here's a few pertaining to Al.

Wearing a tie to school--VOLUNTARILY! (Okay, there was extra credit offered, but still!!!) Handsome dude, isn't he?

From the brochure showing the rewards for selling the over-priced "merchandise" for the school fundraiser: "Shreed it"? Awesome example for the students of why they shouldn't under-estimate the importance of proofreading.

We were walking from the parking lot to the beach at the lake when we passed these....Al's comment was something to the effect of "How many people are trying to take their boat into the woods?"

Love ya, Tiger!

Wayne's World

2009-11-10T22:45:00.004-05:00

Party on, Garth! Excellent!

That smells great!

2009-11-07T23:33:00.002-05:00

Conversation while wiping off Princess's hands with a new antibacterial wipe that smelled really nice.

Me: Gee, this smells really good!
Princess: Let me smell.
Me, not wanting her to rub used wipe on her face, put her freshly wiped hand up to her nose and said: Just smell your hand.
Princess (with attitude): It just smells like hand!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-06T17:04:00.003-05:00

Hannah, Spidey and the Invisible Teen
(Al opted out of trick-or-treating this year.)

Guest Blogger: Concert-Goin' Princess

2009-11-02T17:03:00.007-05:00

My very first concert! I love Miley Cyrus. I love her songs. I went to the concert. It was fun. I sat with my friends RH and CM, and their moms, and mom! The best song was Party in the USA. My favorite part was when she rode the motorcycle in the air over the people at the bottom. I danced with my mom.

Princess, CM, and RH before it started.

Mom didn't bring the good camera. Miley on the motorcycle in the air.

One very happy little girl.

Its Politically Incorrect, Charlie Brown!

2009-10-25T09:32:00.003-04:00

Gman was watching one of the old Charlie Brown specials in the van while on a trip with Craig a few days ago.

Gman: Those girls called Charlie Brown "stupid"!!!
Craig: That was not very nice, was it?
Gman: That's why he said "They're goin' down!"

hmmmm.....I guess I don't remember that line. Maybe I should go introduce him to the principal now. Let them get acquainted before she has to deal that.

Teen Words (#1)

2009-10-20T07:38:00.002-04:00

Mom: "Al, what did they serve for lunch at school?"
Al: World War I surplus

Psychedelic Frog Prince

2009-10-17T08:41:00.001-04:00

Princess had her tonsils out on Thursday....her recovery that day was amazing to us all. She mostly slept til about 1. At 3pm, she was watching cartoons when she suddenly sat up and said very matter-of-factly, "Mom! I didn't get my breakfast. I want my breakfast." That evening, less than 12 hours after her surgery she started crying when we wouldn't let her sweep the kitchen! That evening, she wanted me to color in her coloring book with her. I picked the picture and she picked all the colors. That Tylonol with Codeine must be some GROOVY stuff!!!

Most-likely-not cancer & other nuisances

2009-10-12T11:45:00.013-04:00

I really hadn't intended on getting back into blogging. But I found myself in a situation where I HAD to make myself focus again on looking for all the funny things in life to report---the exact reason why I had started blogging in the first place--or else I'd go crazy with what I didn't want to be the sole focus of every minute of the day. You see, August 22 was a horrible day for more than 1 reason. It's a day that my former blog regulars will recognize for a couple reasons. The less important reason for it being a horrible day is it's the day some chose to magnify their petty pranks and jabs against me instead of using the entire day for celebrating and "showering" the pending arrival of Jenn's precious baby boys. The more significant reason for it being a horrible day is that it coincidentally was also the day that a very worrisome symptom that OUR baby boy has was also magnified.

Fast forward to a month later. Hearing a doctor say it's most likely not cancer, even though common knowledge tells you "this screams cancer," doesn't help. We've been put in sort of a demented holding pattern. Cautious optimism is a hard row to hoe when you have your child's damnable most-likely-not cancer symptom staring at you in the face almost every day. Holding patterns suck almost as much as most-likely-not cancer symptoms. But the method of determining the reason is horrifying to most 40 yr. olds, so why do it to a 4 y.o. if the odds are "likely" in your favor? And so, we wait-n-see. It's a continuous game...Most-likely-not cancer symptom wasn't here yesterday, Does that mean...!? Oh, damn, there it is today. And the petty jabs continue, too. It even seems to be more wide-spread for whatever reason. Sure, its a nuisance. But thankfully, there's 35 pounds of cuteness running around yielding his racetrack-turned-sword, and practicing his weather forecast for raining jellybeans, and blissfully unaware of how worried we are for him.

It's about priorities. Craig and I place great importance on our children, as any parent would. As part of remaining strong for them in a very emotional time, we also need to see happiness in life. And that's what I initially joined this blogging group for....to see more of the funny-ness in the rest of world, and boy, could I use some extra funny-ness right about now. I'm very thankful to those bloggers who chose to remain neutral in an argument they recognized as not being theirs. But to those who didn't, I'm asking you to stop. Stop the jabs on your own blogs, stop using the comment sections of the neutral people as your forum for continuing to brow-beat me on very old news. I'm not asking for your pity (although prayers won't be turned down). We need the love and thoughtfulness of family and friends, and for those who chose to not be in those categories to just at least let go of the pettiness and allow us to look for the brighter side of life in peace.

How many fingers?

2009-10-11T18:50:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Gman got whacked in the head by a doorknob resulting in a pretty good sized goose-egg. After huge doses of snuggling, "boo-boo stick" and kisses:

Craig (holding up two fingers): "How many fingers?"
Gman: Ten.
Craig (still holding up two fingers): How many fingers?
Gman (screams): TEN!
Craig (growing quite concerned): But how many am I holding up?
Gman (sheepish): two

Boot Camp

2009-10-07T19:35:00.003-04:00

Princess frequently falls asleep on the bus. As she's getting off the bus, I can see she's stumbling around, swooning left & right. The bus monitor practically had to hold her up to get her down the steps. I honestly think nothing of it, I just assume they had to wake her up.

Rewind to yesterday......

Princess's school is taking food donations for the local food pantry...the PTA letter specifically mentioned 5 lb bags of rice. She normally rides the bus in the morning, I thought 5 lbs might be a little too hefty for her to manage. However, today was "National Walk Your Child To School Day" so I thought "Aha! The perfect day for her to take it since Craig could carry it to the door...She'd only have to carry it down the hall." Genius! I told her a couple times to give it to her teacher.

As she's stumbling off the bus this afternoon:

Me: What's the matter girlie-girl?
Bus Monitor: I think the rice in her backpack is too heavy.
Me: What?! Why didn't you give it to your teacher?
Princess: I didn't know I was supposed to.
Me (not succeeding at containing laughter): I told you to last night.....why'd you think it was in there? Do we normally make you carry around giant bags of rice?
Monitor (trying to contain laughter)

Later convo with Craig, I tell him what she did.
Craig's comment, "It's our family's version of the Marine Corp for 5 year olds".

Helpful husbands

2009-10-04T10:47:00.002-04:00

Craig: I'm going to the grocery store real quick, you need anything?
Paula: Look at the list on the fridge.
Craig (returns with the list): Chicken stock?
Paula: It's in a can. Basically, chicken juice.
Craig: Do they give that willingly?

Hey, Jenn Ann!

2009-09-30T15:27:00.004-04:00

I promised you months ago that I'd have "it" to you in time for your 10/10 shower, and I'm keepin' my word!
Finished it.
Wrapped it.
Boxed it.
Takin' it to the post office today!

My wish for your boys? The world, of course!

(ps....that's a hint.)
(pps....no peeking!)

St. Judes helped keep me out of the kitchen

2009-09-28T23:39:00.005-04:00

We did our part for the "Pepper of Hope".....We had dinner at Chili's this evening to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Al has asked me why we don't have any good pictures of him.
I present Exhibit A:

Craig's mom is visiting us for a couple days, so whats a better way to further convince that I don't cook?

We bleed Blue

2009-09-27T13:22:00.008-04:00

I have always loved watching football. In high school, my friends would want to just walk around socializing and I'd beg them to sit and watch, or at least stand still so I could watch. I've been a 49ers fan for as long as I can remember, although I've not watched pro-ball in years other than the Super Bowl. But I love watching college football! We are University of Kentucky fans, I've made no secret of that, but I wear maroon and white to the UK v. EKU game because EKU is Craig's and my alma mater. We have unintentionally brainwashed the little kids...They used to instinctively say "blue and white" when asked what their favorite color was. They've been going to UK games LITERALLY their whole lives, even en utero. I suspect my OB planned Gman's c-section for that Friday to keep me from going to the season opener only 4 days after finally getting off modified-bed-rest. Gman was only a couple weeks old at his first.

At this year's Fan Appreciation back in August: Free hot dogs!

Gman didn't want his picture taken with QB Hartline, but insisted he get to take my picture with him using my phone's camera. Hartline's comment "I'm impressed...I probably couldn't figure out how to take picture with a phone like that and he's ALOT younger than me!"

The kids have made friends with the other season tix people around us. This year G has befriended Denise who commented that she feels like she's watching our kids grow up.

Princess befriended Jeanne and Kenin years ago and talks about them all year long. Every time we pass by Commonwealth Stadium, she yells "There's Jeanne and Kenin's house!"

The one person we've not been able to indoctrinate is Al. Hard to believe that he's half my gene pool....that's him reading Harry Potter at the game yesterday.

Genetic Puzzles

2009-09-23T21:02:00.004-04:00

Gman, Princess and Craig were working on a puzzle today. Didn't take long before Princess and Gman bailed and left Daddy to finish it. Lo and behold...
Craig: Hey, there's a piece missing!
Gman (comes running back over): I've got it!! I've got it!!

Little dude was holding it so he could put the last piece in!

What is it with males and hiding puzzle pieces?!?! My brother did it when we were kids. Craig says he used to do it when he was a kid. And now my 4 year old son is doing it.

There has. got. to. be. a gene found ONLY on the Y-chromosome that drives them to do that!

Memory Lane Monday (#18)

2009-09-21T10:46:00.006-04:00

I stopped by my friend Carrie's house this morning. She was doing some "attic cleaning" and found a box from her childhood. She asks me, "Did you ever do any L'il Missy Beaded Dolls when you were a kid?" I had no idea what she was talking about until she showed me. Yes, I did!!! I didn't have near as many as she did, but I did have a couple. One of them was this one: Wintertime Wendy

Pizza Pizza

2009-09-18T13:58:00.001-04:00

Princess informed me today that the pizza at school "is not that good" and it reminded me of a question that she asked not that long ago:

Do they make pizza shaped like Hannah Montana or cars?

A Social Study

2009-09-14T16:45:00.004-04:00

We had a yard sale this past weekend...a very successful one! There was a neighborhood sale going on 2 streets up, so I put up signs to mooch the traffic my way (Good thing since my newspaper ad didn't get much attention.) It's amazing what sold vs. what didn't...the exact opposite of what I expected in most cases.
Social Study A:
Me: "It needs replacement parts. You'd have to special order them. From Germany."
Buyer: "OK. I'll buy it."

Social Study B:
Truly fascinating to watch. We had 2 of the old spin-dial scales set out. I really wish I had counted how many people would get on one, wince at seeing the number, then get on the other one to compare! One lady was HILARIOUS. She got on the first and just stood there STARING in total disbelief. She probably stood there a full 2 minutes. Just staring. Willing the number to change. She commented to her friend something about how there was no way she'd put on that much weight. Her friend replied, "Wellllllllllllll.........you are holding a two year old. Let me hold him while you try again."

Say Huh?

2009-09-13T19:09:00.000-04:00

"Why does my lemonade taste like lemonade?"
---Princess

Say Huh?

2009-09-08T19:38:00.003-04:00

Conversation when Princess arrived home from school today:
Princess: "We got to watch the Principal of the United States on TV!"
Mom: "Really? What did he say?"
Princess: "That we should stay at school."

Conversation when Daddy arrived home from work today:
Daddy: "What did you do at school today?"
Princess: "We saw President Rocko Bama on TV."

Happy Birthday, Gman

2009-09-02T01:39:00.000-04:00

Today, my Sweet Baby Boy turns 4! We celebrated his birthday this past weekend with a party at Chuck E. Cheese!

Every big boy needs a big boy bike!!!

2009-08-24T09:16:00.010-04:00

The initial disagreement was between Laura and me. No one else. I did not ask anybody to choose sides or get involved because I am a grown-up. I said my peace and walked away weeks ago. And suddenly I find several people taking cyber pot-shots at me via Facebook and blogs as if we are in a bad teenager mean-girl movie........people I have never said an unkind word to, and to whom I think I've been rather nice in the 1.5 yrs I've been blogging.

I've taken the time to remove myself from everyone's FB friends lists. For those of you haven't been involved, I'm sorry, but I'm smart enough to know that when it all boils down, loyalties would lie with whom you've known the longest and closest.

Just remember that there are two sides to every story. I wish you all the best as I am moving on with my life.

Saying My Goodbyes

2009-08-04T13:31:00.000-04:00

HCBC,
For the better part of a week, I've just been pushing through trying to pretend that all is good and well. But pretending is just becoming too emotionally draining. The joy of blogging has been completely. sucked. out. And so, I think I'll just stop. Maybe just for awhile, maybe permanently, I don't know. I hope you don't mind if I pop in to read your blogs from time-to-time.

I leave you with this one piece of advice. Before you hit "Publish Post," ask yourself, "Would this person feel our relationship affords them a wider boundary of what isn't blog-material, and is this inside or outside that boundary?" Don't just consider whether or not that person would feel embarrassed. Embarrassment is temporary, no one ever really dies from it. But relationships die when one member suddenly feels betrayed and the other one can't or won't see why. I made a tragic misjudgment in thinking a boundary was wide, another thought it thin, and the gray area exploded. When all the dust cleared, I learned that I had made another tragic misjudgment. As an apparently unneeded "like-a-sister," I was expendable. Who knew?

Memory Lane Monday (#17)

2009-08-03T00:51:00.001-04:00

My dad was in the army for the first 18 years of my life. We moved every few years, resulting in a lot of friends over the course of my life! I've lost track of so many of them over the years. This picture is from my 13th birthday sleep-over in Stuttgart, Germany. We had plans that we were all going to work together when we grew up. For years, I wanted to be a pediatric nurse in a hospital nursery. Kristie wanted to be an OB/GYN, our friend Sarah was going to be a pediatrician....etc, etc, etc. We all had it all worked out!

Top: Andrea, Kathy, Michelle, Amy L.
Bottom: Me, Kristie, Jenny and Amy W.
I lost track of all these friends within a year of moving since most of us moved that same summer. About 11 years ago, I started searching for them and found Andrea after I started calling every one in Pennsylvania with the last name "Bertz"--I eventually found a woman who said "I think I have a cousin that was in the Army that had kids. Could be him." I found Kathy and Kristie a few months later. We had a reunion in Chicago. I think this pic is from 2000. We had so much fun!!! Didn't feel like 20 years had passed!

I found Jenny and Amy W. later that year and we had another reunion a year or 2 later. But Amy missed her plane and didn't make it. Ironically, none of us work in a hospital or the medical field...except Kathy who is an EMT.

Gumball Trees

2009-07-30T21:16:00.006-04:00

Princess: Oh no!!! When I took a sip of my drink, it made me swallow my gum!
Dad: Hmmmm, Mom, should we rush her to the emergency room?
Mom: Eh, let's wait to see if the gumball tree starts growing first.
Dad: What flavor of gum was it so we know what to look for?
Princess: Blueberry.

Later, at bedtime Dad kisses her cheek good-night.
Dad: Mmmmm, you taste a little like blueberry.
Princess (with nervous disbelief): Oh, Daddy!

Half hour after being put to bed:
Princess: I need a drink of water.
Dad: That'll make the gum get hard.
Mom: You know how water makes plants grow faster.

Where, oh where...

2009-07-28T13:57:00.005-04:00

have I been? Haven't blogged in an eternity. We have been B.U.S.Y. I tell, ya!! July has just been a whirlwind. We've actually done several Take Off Tuesdays and other adventures that I haven't posted. I am having major camera issues.

July 4th weekend--Family Reunion in Tennessee. Had a fabulous time! Great to see everyone again!

July 7th--Take Off Tuesday was to the Cincinnati Zoo (one last trip before annual pass expired) to see the exhibits we missed on Mother's Day and revisit the favorite exhibits. Then on to vacation: Great Wolf Lodge.What a needlessly expensive odyssey that turned out to be. But the kids did have a great time on the water slides--they didn't want to stay as long as we figured, and they didn't like the special wolf-den/bunkbed room! Also, snuck in a visit to the Aquarium before that pass expired and did a fun Duck Boat ride on the Ohio River.

July 14th--Take Off Tuesday was to the Old Kentucky Chocolates factory here in town. I won't bore you with more pics since Andrea posted her's from when she came to visit us.

July 16th-- Alexander became a teen-ager. He asked, in lieu of a party, to take him and 3 friends to Six Flags (thanks to my Mom for coming and keeping my sanity in check!) I figured it would be a nightmare, but the day went EXCEPTIONALLY well! THe boys had a great time and were overall, very well behaved; turned the neighbor's son into a roller coaster junkie.

July 21st--Take Off Tuesday was to the Valley View Ferry again, but 4x better since 4/5ths of the Funaholics went too!

Had an amazing visit with the Funaholics on July 22 Part A and Part B, as well as July 23rd!

July 24th--Left on a jet plane for Vegas, Baby!!! Had lunch with 2 of my great-aunts. Craig & I met up with Laura & Ash for a joint celebration: Our 7th anniversary and Ash's birthday. Blue Man Group was my favorite activity, but I am DIEING for my Ferrari delivery!!! The gear shift fits PERFECTLY in my hand!

July 27th--Al, Craig and I got to see the International Space Station fly by at 9:50pm!

Havin' Fun!

2009-07-22T06:32:00.002-04:00

Guess who's at my house? And they're livin' up to their nicknames! And if I was smart, I would've taken a camera with me to the ferry yesterday.

My new Teen-Ager!

2009-07-16T10:37:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to Al!!!!! I can't believe he's already 13!

His newborn footprint measures a hair over 3 inches. Now he wears a men's size 8 shoe!

Close Attention To Details

2009-07-15T10:31:00.005-04:00

Obviously a phrase that no longer describes me.
Picture taken at the eye doctor's office and
I never noticed until someone pointed it out to me.

Weather Girl

2009-07-11T16:57:00.003-04:00

From a couple weeks ago: I was watching the Weather Channel waiting for Local on the 8's when this came on the screen and Princess said, "Oh good, it's only going to rain twice today!"

Happy Anniversary!

2009-07-07T01:30:00.005-04:00

It's our 7th anniversary today-- 7/7!!! Love you, Sweetie! It's been 7 awesome, funny, busy, great years! And very much looking forward to our weekend getaway!!!
Just 57 more years to go!

There's Craig's niece Lindsay, Al (a week shy of turning 6), Craig and I, Craig's brother-in-law Doug, my brother Jesse, Laura (with CEM baby bump), Mark, Marissa, Staci.

Good Taste

2009-07-06T09:08:00.001-04:00

Gman: Daddy, what that sign say?
Craig: Sweet Tea for sale for one dollar.
Gman: Mmmmmmmmmmm. I. Love. Dollars.

This little piggy.....

2009-07-02T21:27:00.005-04:00

This evening:

Princess: Do you know why we have 5 toes?
Me: Nope, why?
P: The big one is the daddy toe, next is the mommy toe, then the Al toe, then me, then the little baby brother toe.

Memory Lane Monday (#16)

2009-06-29T23:00:00.013-04:00

Memory Lane takes us way back. Remember when my house looked like this......a week ago?
When it was being swallowed hole by those monster bushy/tree things. And if we hadn't kept trimming them, they'd be twice that size!!!

And today, it looks like this!!!

I discovered a nest the day before the landscaper was to come. It was up too high to see in it, so I held my camera up above to take a peak inside for eggs. The landscaper had started work before I could discuss options.

R.I.P. little red robin :-(

PS---Now when the Funaholics come to our house, they'll know which one is ours!

Take Off Tuesday--KY Edition #3

2009-06-26T23:16:00.011-04:00

OK, OK, since we had to postpone Take-Off Tuesday due to sickness this week, we'll call this one "Fieldtrip Friday". I have NEVER seen one of the kids that sick---that didn't require hospitalization anyways. But Gman is pretty much back to normal. He couldn't speak above a whisper for over 3 days, & his voice is still a little squeeky.

Tonight, we went to Kids Night at Long John's/A&W. Al didn't don a pirate hat---cramped his style. Princess hooked her arm and said "AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" What a difference 7.8 years makes, eh? (FYI--I worked for LJS/A&W when they first started combining them into one restaurant. I was the Construction Coordinator. The one in the International mall in San Diego? Yeah, that was my project! Did a bunch in TX, too.)

After dinner, we went to the Free Friday Flicks at the park, the show was Madagascar 2. They had a moon bounce for the kids (I love when I catch them holding hands!) And facepainting...Gman's is supposed to be Wal-E, like on his shirt. We got home at 11pm, both fell asleep in the car....we'll see just how permanent that ink is on pillowcases tomorrow.

Al did not want his picture taken, so I had to be slick. Kind of like I had to be this morning........when I caught him watching TV................wearing a spandex book-cover on his head. But as he said, "I look tiiiiiiiight! Don't you think I look tight?"

Yes, Al, I do.

Dear Mom, Please send $$$

2009-06-24T23:04:00.001-04:00

Only in Kentucky........So this guy, I'll call him McFly, is in need of a quick $1400. So McFly allegedly gets an idea!

McFly allegedly calls up mom and allegedly says something like this: Mom, these guys are holding me hostage. They said if someone doesn't meet them at the gas station and bring $1400, they're gonna rough me up.

So mom calls the police and they go into undercover sting, commando operations-mode at the gas station.

McFly allegedly shows up to pick up the ransom---McFly's all alone.
No kidnappers ANYWHERE.

For the real kicker......why didn't McFly call dad?
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yeah, Daddy's unavoidably detained.....on death row.
Some apples just don't fall far, allegedly, do they?

In lieu of Take-Off Tues

2009-06-23T13:16:00.015-04:00

The route to my mother-in-law's house is about 3 hrs long and has really had nothing noteworthy other than the "The bizarre billboard baby," UNTIL a couple weeks ago. We just happened to be driving by during a giant Grand Opening last month.

A new Harley dealership in London, KY! Because of my new Honorary Biker Chick status bestowed upon me by Ann, I felt it required of me to stop and take some pics (the kids are not in the pics because they really didn't seem to care for some reason, and I WAS NOT about to loose my Honorary Biker Chick status if one of them tried to self-entertain by testing the domino effect on expensive motorcycles.)

And for Kim & Laura's new collection, the ladies' room door sign:

Postponed due to illness

2009-06-22T13:32:00.003-04:00

Take Off Tuesday will probably have to be postponed. My little Gman is terribly sick. I think it will be at least Wednesday before he is feeling up to anything. Poor guy usually can't stop making noises and jibber-jabbering about whatever, but now he can't even muster a whisper! He is enjoying the big box of popsicles he earned while waiting for an hour at the pharmacy because some intern doesn't know the the definition of the status updates: "in-store waiting" and "called in."

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

Here's 3 awesome guys to celebrate on Father's Day! In order of being able to find a picture of them in my phone:

Craig, who is an amazing hubby & dad who refuses to smile for pictures!

My Grandpa who is here visiting us from Washington! He's such a funny smart-alec! Where'd you think my brother, my dad and I get it from?

And my dad, he's awesome!

The Sock Basket

2009-06-18T21:59:00.005-04:00

Our beds, drawers, washer & dryer are NO-TOR-I-OUS for eating socks. It can take months, years even, for a sock mate to show up. It is not uncommon after folding a load of laundry to have a dozen singletons. Thus, the necessity for
.................The Sock Basket

How many singleton socks can one family have? Well, at the moment we tally

Craig - 6
Paula - 2
Al - 0 (only because his socks = his business, I'm out.)
Princess - 13
Gman - 5

Yeah, baby! Twenty-six socks!!
And this is LOW!!! I've seen that basket overflow! I eventually throw out socks that I know have been in there for a year+ or that kids have outgrown. But I about fell over yesterday when these 2 showed up! It's been almost 3 years since those fit anyone here!!

Is this normal??? How whack-o is it to have this many singletons at once???

Take Off Tuesday--KY Edition #2

2009-06-17T00:20:00.012-04:00

And so yesterday we hit several of the items from Andrea's and KY Visitor's lists since many of them were literally "Stop, take pic, leave" kind of things.

Number 1 from the list were the Horse Mania horses....unfortunately, that was a local art/charity project from about 8 years ago and the 79 horses were auctioned off for charity. Between me and the 4 people I called, we knew of 3 that were still on display.
Al finally smiled after being reminded that I had all day to wait.

I am not a donut person. I can pass on them every time. EXCEPT Magee's. They are awesome! We arrived at 3pm to discover they close at 2pm in the summer.

At Thoroughbred Park (tiny park with some statues):
Yeah, just try doin' this to a REAL horse!

Princess & Gman--about to be trampled.

We've never been to the downtown branch of the library since there's a branch only 2-3 miles from the house. There's a Foucault Clock at downtown's branch. I've flipped the pic so you can see that its a map of the US with the center being were Lexington is. The gold ball is the pendulum that hangs from the atrium ceiling. Gman was running wild on adrenaline by this time and so I didn't read the lit on it until we got home....there's actually a lot more to this and I'll get better pics and explain more when we return the books we checked out.

Outside the library are 6-7 of these raised plaques of signatures of authors' with a KY connection. This was the name I recognized, she was born elsewhere, but grew up in KY.

And I absolutely can NOT wait for the Funaholics to get here!!!