Thanks for hanging in there with me this week while I’ve been extra quiet on the internet.
If you emailed me and I haven’t responded, it’s not personal. In addition to BIG things happening here, I’ve also had a cranky laptop that PhilBillPaul promises to fix tomorrow night.
This week I’ve also had those moments of pure clarity where you know beyond a shadow of a doubt who your true friends are.
To those friends, thanks for being true and kind and loving.
My world is a better place because you are in it.
Have a wonderful weekend – I promise to have loads to tell you all next week!
Undefeated Champions
of the
Rec League Team
for the
2nd year in a row!
Woo-hoo!
Plus an extra bonus with a little explanation…
A few months ago I didn’t even know what the heck “vlog” meant. I was pretty sure it was a made-up word that I’m too uncool to know about. Thank goodness I knew what internet dictionary I should use to educate myself.
Luckily PhilBillPaul was kind enough to give me a Flip Video for Christmas and Roger Leroy helped me *produce* my…
Very First Vlog.
Here’s the reason we all have different talents and skills. Thank goodness my daughter didn’t pursue cheerleading. She avoided the heartbreak of not being picked for the squad and chose basketball instead. (My daughter is the one in the middle.)
No disrespect meant to any cheerleaders out there but this should make it obvious as to why we’re glad that our daughters have stuck with basketball.
Now we have two weeks of the All-Stars team that will be a little bittersweet as this is the last time PhilBillPaul will coach his darling twins.
It’s been a very fun decade watching them play ball…
It was a moment of serendipity when this was the cartoon that showed up yesterday on my computer just a few hours after I had sent a text message to my three darling teenagers.
Back Story and Disclaimer:
There are so many great things about living in the South…
Friendly people.
Beautiful scenery.
Southern cooking.
All four seasons with the shortest being winter.
But no matter how I long I live here, I will never, ever get used to the R-O-A-C-H-E-S. They are right up there with spiders and snakes. They make me squeal and run and stand on my bed and sometimes even cry. When the weather starts warming up, these icky varmit come out and I get really cranky when I see one in the house.
You’ll understand why I share that after reading this exact text messaging to my lovely teenagers on Saturday night. Roger Leroy was the only sassy teen to reply (probably only because the other two were working).
Text “Conversation”
Me: Important News Flash. Tomorrow everyone is cleaning their rooms, clean bedding, vacuum, shmop, etc. before ANYONE is allowed to do or go anywhere. xoxo mom
Me: P.S. I saw ALL your rooms & I know why a roach was crawling on Everett this week.
RL: No
Me: Get ur bags packed. I’ll drop u off at xxx’s.
RL: K
Me: That was XXX not xxxxx. I’ll call Mrs. XXXXX in the a.m.
RL: K
Me: We will miss u
RL: K
Me: U r a butthead & will still be cleaning ur room tomorrow before u leave…restoring it to the condition it was in when u were born.
RL: Then i don’t need to leave
Me: We’re delighted that u have decided to stay
Truly, their rooms were FRIGHTENING. And I try to avoid even going down the hall to even see them. I’ve heard I’m suppose to give them space and freedom to live like pigs if they want to.
But when the roaches come, I have to ready myself for battle.
I’ve heard you are suppose to be careful to choose you battles. Make sure it’s the stuff that matters. Yeah, yeah, I try to do that.
But I would have appreciated a little more warning about how to prepare for and at what age that EVERY. SINGLE. THING. we ask them to do becomes a battle.
BIG SIGH.
On the positive side, their rooms are vastly improved.
I’ll let you know if the varmit sightings decline.
Scary Baby got a package in the mail from Granny. It arrived after the holidays but before her birthday. Bonus for the unexpected surprise factor!
Talk about some brilliant marketing. This must be advertised in the 9-10 year old demographic as I saw that blog friend Rhonda’s son had requested this very item for his 10th birthday.
Somehow the commercials really spoke to this age group. They must have bought lots of ad space on Nickelodeon.
Even after seeing the ad once or twice, I didn’t think for a minute, “I really would love a blanket that has sleeves!”
I mean really, who knew that conventional blankets caused so much trouble and frustration?!
But the tween kids know. They really want/need a blanket that has sleeves.
Scary Baby ripped the brown paper off the box and absolutely beamed when she discovered she was now the proud owner of a Snuggie with bonus booklight!
She didn’t hesitate to model her new wardrobe addition blanket.
It looks like a monk robe in fleece if you ask me. But what do I know about fashion?
The 9-10 year old market isn’t the only age group they targeted…
Because when The Grunter came in and saw the Snuggie box, he declared with a tear in his eye:
“Who got a snuggie? I WANT A SNUGGIE.”
Okay, he didn’t really cry but he was jealous.
And we have found it in the darling twins’ room too.
In her defense, Granny wasn’t playing favorites. I don’t think she knew.
P.S. Upon re-reading this and because I’m sometimes slow, back in my day a “snuggie” did not mean “blanket that has sleeves.” Anyone?
P.S.S. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone – may everyone be sweet to you on Saturday!
P.S.S.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY *BABY* SISTER!!!!! She who turns 4-0 on Valentine’s Day and is in total denial
AS A THRILL RIDE
As cars become smaller and sleeker with our changing energy needs, the experience of driving is likely to morph too. Enter the VentureOne, from a California manufacturer and a Dutch engineering firm. It’s one of half a dozen three-wheel concept cars being developed that combine the fuel savings of hybrids with the excitement of riding something like a motorcycle. In this case, the car is the same height and length as a Mini Cooper, but the car’s pilot–er, driver–is enclosed in the single front seat by a glass canopy. (Another passenger can sit in the single backseat.) And on a quick turn–yee-ha!–the vehicle tilts to one side. The cars are priced at about $25,000 and go on sale in early 2010.
I know I promised to tell you about the ice cream cake we bought for the Superbowl Party.
But to do that I have to to first tell you about my very first trip to Aldi here in Georgia.
Aldi is a small store/large supermarket chain and I was vaguely familiar with the stores from my life in the Midwest.
PhilBillPaul read a sale flyer a few days before Superbowl and pointed out that they had the Carvel football cake we all love so much on sale for $8.99. That is some mad savings and it was totally worth the drive to pick up this cake. That was at least HALF PRICE if not cheaper!!
I decided to ask Wizzy to join me as I like to spend quality one-on-one time with the lovely children whenever possible.
I know she has her Aldi bargain shopping down to a fine art and I wanted to know what items she loves and if there were any items she didn’t like.
I was so glad I called her because she gave me a few good tips and reminded me to bring my own shopping bags. I knew that you had to bag your own groceries but I had no idea you had to bring your own bags.
I picked up Wizzy and 4 reusable shopping bags and we headed out for our mother/daughter shopping excursion.
Now some of you may already know this but as an Aldi newbie, we were startled to find that all the shopping carts were locked together.
Since Wizzy works at another more “upscale” grocery store here in town, she found this very amusing.
Thank goodness for the kindness of a stranger who came up to the carts as we were trying to figure out why they were all locked up and she announced with a southern twang:
“Oh, you need a quarter!”
To which we both replied:
“Huh?”
She then graciously told us that we needed to use the quarter in a slot on the cart lock and we’d get our quarter back when we returned the cart.
“Huh?”
Then we fought over who got to put the quarter in the slot to release the cart.
Hey, thanks for the heads-up on this cart system, Sally.
Super fun Friday night, I’m telling you! That’s the kind of mom I am.
Wizzy was a little stressed by all the unrecognizable store brands. I reassured her that while the food was cheap inexpensive, it wasn’t EXPIRED.
I was made painfully aware that my children are a bit of “brand name snobs” and I needed to bring each of them to Aldi in the coming weeks so they can all experience “incredible value every day.”
Roger Leroy loved the cart story and pointed out that it was a smart move so that employees don’t have to go get carts in the parking lot – can you tell what she does in between being a cashier and a bagger at the “upscale” store?
Wizzy also noted that the Aldi cashier got to sit on a stool which she thought would be way better than her grueling shift where she has to actually stand up and wait on customers.
Meanwhile, we scored THE CAKE for $8.99 along with some other great bargains.
Imagine our distress when we put THE CAKE in the fridge at the beginning of the party and The Grunter’s girlfriend noticed it was made with PEANUT BUTTER ice cream.
I really did want them to win because of him and him.
It was a good game right down to the end.
Except for the part about unsportsmanlike conduct. We could bother to recap the grown men/professional athletes being paid tons of money and their bad behavior.
Which does always make for good conversation with the teenagers about how NOT to act.
But like I already said, I’m not going to recap the game.
We went with Knox Double Decker Blox for both teams. In honor of our family’s love of whupping cream.
Scary Baby was quite helpful while her big sissies were working. I let her touch the yellow lemon Knox Blox since she insisted on rooting for the Steelers.
I obviously have no control.
She was also in charge of decorating the fruit pizza with the fruit and did a fine job.
Before Roger Leroy left for her shift at work, she was kind enough to run to the store for the forgotten poster board and she and Scary Baby got busy making signs.
They were lovely additions to the family room wall.
Wizzy got off work early so she had time to come home and crank out a sign too.
Which obviously did not meet with my approval. Note the last line.
I threatened to make her and Scary Baby (and The Grunter’s girlfriend) all watch the game in the basement because they insisted on rooting for Steelers. And I have no control.
Then I realized that we can all be different and still get along…sort of.
Even when Sharté arrived in Steelers attire.
Side note: The Steak-n-Shake hat made its way downstairs from The Grunter’s room. C-Mac and Roger Leroy were rooting for the Cardinals so they can wear whatever they want!
Oh yes, it was a wild pretty relaxed party with the teens, a few of their friends plus Scary Baby.
Did anyone see the 3-D commercial(s)?
We were never sure if we really saw it but the girls stayed ready just in case.
We had our requisite spread of appetizers like wings, party ham rolls, mexican dip, chips and a crockpot of PhilBillPaul’s chili.
A good time was had by all…
I do NEED to tell you about the Carvel football cake and the experience of buying it and serving it. It commands its very own post. Seriously.
I don’t mean to keep you in suspense but it’s late and I’m tired so tune in Friday and I promise I’ll tell the ice cream cake story…
Life lessons surround us. The trick is to figure out the lesson. The gift is to share the lesson with someone else. The bonus is in finding the funny in the hard lessons. Let’s laugh and learn together.
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