September 30, 2010

September 25, 2010

Stuffy

I am stuffy for two reasons: 1) I have a terrible cold so vacillate between sounding like Darth Vader because I can't breathe through my nose and looking like a hot mess with tissue up my nose, and 2) I am doing Accounting homework or rather I should be instead of writing this post.

Sassy's volleyball team remains undefeated. One of the other parents is an amateur photographer and took several action photos at a recent game. They were much better than anything I could capture so I ordered a couple shots and hope to post them soon. She's pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

Chunky is up to one hour of TV or computer time (his choice) on school days as a reward for good behavior. I'm thinking this should be his new normal. I love how much he is reading and making an effort to play with different kids in the neighborhood. Today he has a friend over and it's rainy out so I'm letting them play video games for up to two hours. After that they can run around the house with swords or something. Chunky is also a budding chef - he regularly makes himself scrambled eggs for breakfast or as an after school snack. We've signed him up for basketball again - school and community. I love watching him improve with each game and he's turned into quite the team player - he appreciates when others do well and is quick to provide encouragement when they're down.

I just made a batch of strong chai tea to try to dissuade myself from eating the neopolitan ice cream calling me from the freezer. I have zero appetite but my sweet tooth is intact!

September 22, 2010

Homecoming


This is what my daughter looked like the morning of homecoming. Ash - on the right - is a senior so was looking forward to playing pranks. I guess you could say they're fans.

September 21, 2010

Gleek Out!


Guess what I'm doing at 7:00 tonight?!

September 20, 2010

Prescription

Rx for Important Women's Health Issue:
12 oz lemon-lime cola (e.g. Sprite)
12 oz beer (e.g. Corona)
12 oz tequila
12 oz frozen limeade
Mix well (compound in Rx lingo) and take as needed.

September 18, 2010

Important Women's Health Issue

A fellow PTA mom shared this important message with me today and I just had to share.

Do you have feelings of inadequacy?
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the world?
Do you suffer from shyness or awkwardness in some situations?
Do you feel tired and overworked?
Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Margaritas. Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything. You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with a regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live. Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had. Stop suffering and start living, with Margaritas.

Margaritas may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Margaritas. However, women who wouldn't mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it. Side effects may include: Dizziness- Nausea- Vomiting- Incarceration- Loss of motor control- Loss of clothing- Loss of money- Table dancing- Headache- Dehydration- Dry mouth- And a desire to sing Karaoke

WARNINGS: The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering when you are not. The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them. The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing. The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting. The consumption of Margaritas makes everyone seem better looking.

I love you guys!

September 16, 2010

Rainy days and Mondays

Rainy days and Mondays are some of my favorite days so no complaints here. I just thought it made for a good post title.

What else is going on?
  • Sassy has two big games this week against her schools' biggest rivals - they won the first and play the second tonight (undefeated thus far)
  • It's homecoming week so all kinds of drama - what to wear each day, who to go to the dance with, whether to go to the dance, possibly getting back together with boyfriend, drooling over football players yada yada
  • I pride myself on making every one of Sassy's games so am wearing work-appropriate outfits with school colors on game days that should get me at least one mom point
  • Chunky has been grounded from anything/everything electronic (he is allowed to use the microwave) so he has taken to reading the Harry Potter series why didn't I think of this sooner?!
  • Sadie, the elder cat, hoarked up Lord only knows what under my bed and I had to use the steam cleaner to clean the wood floor, baseboard and trim delicious
  • Abbie, the younger dog, peed my bed twice this week (she sleeps so soundly that she doesn't realize it - must be dreaming of fire hydrants) so have had to do 102 loads of laundry instead of 100

September 13, 2010

Baby Fix

I got my baby fix when I watched my friend MPB's baby on Saturday morning. We had so much fun - we got dressed, drove Sassy up to school to catch the bus for a tournament (she was really excited about seeing the bus, but kept calling it "doggie"), went to Target, cleaned the carpet from a doggie accident, ate breakfast, threw mommies shoes all over, read books and took a nap (her, not me though I needed one). I forget there is no down time when watching a little one. She had me busy, busy, busy but I loved it.

She really likes to take tubbies and the one at my house must have looked like a swimming pool!


Hopefully mommies won't mind that she's only wearing one shoe here - the other fell off in the car (thank goodness I didn't have to retrace our steps to find it - that could have taken awhile)


I moved the bath mat off the side of the tub when I started taking pictures and I had the grandest time watching her "work" that mat back to its rightful place!
I hope I get to watch my baby again soon. Mommies are worried they won't get her back for some reason :)

September 11, 2010

Where were you?

I remember my parents and grandparents talking about where they were and what they were doing the day JFK was shot. Clearly this was a pivotal event in history. I have my own memories - where I was and what I was doing when John Lennon and Ronald Reagan were shot, and of course on 9/11.

I was in school the day Reagan was shot (March 30, 1981), but I recall babysitting later that night and being glued to the television watching all the coverage. It was surreal - only three months earlier on December 8, 1980 Lennon had been shot. The murder happened at night so I was likely sleeping, but I remember going to school the next day - I only attended that school for four months, but I met my BFF there - and everyone was talking about it between classes and for several days afterward. That Christmas I went with my Noni (maternal grandma) and other relatives to Delaware and they were still talking about it everywhere we went. Lennon had a hit song at the time - "(Just Like) Starting Over" and it was a staple on the radio for months and months.

I was at work on 9/11/2001. I recall someone stopping in my office to say a plane had crashed in New York. Then a short time later someone else said a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We all rallied around a conference room TV and logged onto the internet to see what was happening. I worked less than a mile away from MOA and officials thought it and the nearby airport could be terrorist targets so these were closed down along with our building around lunchtime. I called the kids' school to see if they were getting out early, but they said they were going to have a full day. So Mrs M and I went out to lunch (my favorite restaurant, Big Bowl) and talked about how scary everything was and how much we appreciated our families. Though we didn't know what exactly was in store, we knew our lives would be changed forever.

We remember -

September 8, 2010

First day of school


Official first day of 5th grade portrait (yeah, no more skater hair!)


He's as tall as the new tree, or the new tree is as tall as he


Joe lives in the neighborhood (4th grade) and goes to the public school (all neighborhood elementary school kids - Catholic, Lutheran and public - ride the same bus)

Sassy wouldn't let me take her photo which is too bad because her hair was looking awesome (very bouffant-y). I give her a ride in the morning as she has a "0" hour class at 7:15 (career investigation). Let me tell you she is not a happy camper at that hour. It has been a long, painful five minute ride thus far.

September 6, 2010

The Fair





Chunky, Sassy, her friend and I made our annual trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together yesterday. Unfortunately hubby had to work and missed it for what may be the first time in 20 years! It was a delightful day - we were there about five hours and I don't think it got above 75° so it was very comfortable.

I should be walking on a treadmill non-stop today considering all the food we ate. We could've done worse, but I'm sure we were well over our calorie quota for the day. Our first sampling was cheese curds, followed by root beer, corn on the cob, pork chop on a stick, milkshakes (from the Dairy bldg of course), fruit smoothie, cotton candy (not I - can't stand the stuff), and finally Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies with milk. Hubby is the only one who likes pronto pups so we went without those. I typically get a chocolate milkshake but decided to try something different - strawberry-rhubarb. It was delicous and very refreshing. The fruit smoothie was one of my favorites - a mix of a dozen fresh fruits, juice and ice. I could taste a lot of watermelon and Chunky said he could taste bananas and grapes. I wondered how he could taste grapes - they're pretty bland anyway and I think they would disappear when mixed with all those other fruits. He said he could taste them when the peels got stuck in his teeth. I wish I'd tried a pot roast sundae - a scoop of mashed potatoes covered with roast beef, gravy, corn, and a cherry tomato. That might be fun to try at home.

Chunky bought My BFF (freeze-dried fish). He started growing them today and remarkably there are teeny, tiny fish starting to hatch. I sure hope they fair better than Minny. The blog template change is in her honor.


Chunky on the Giant Slide


I got my Glee poster and Chunky got his Family Guy photo op at the Fox both


One of our favorite things is visiting the Miracle of Birth Center. We watched a cow give birth to twins live! The chicks were born the day before and the piglets were born just a couple of days earlier.

September 3, 2010

Denial

I am in denial about the end of summer. The first day of school is just four days away. Where did summer go? Seems like just yesterday we were kicking it off with our east coast trip. Even I'm going back to school - my next grad course begins in a week (Accounting & Finance yuck!).

We will be partaking in the great Minnesota get-together over the weekend and finally getting Chunky's uniforms - better late than never! We have most of Chunky's school supplies - he was as excited about these as Sassy would be about getting a car. My baby is growing up - he will be getting up and ready every morning on his own. Part of me can't believe he's that old and the other part of me isn't sure he's capable.

Sassy's volleball team is 2 for 2 so far! We're living the volleyball dream every day between games and practices. Of course I couldn't decline a request to volunteer. I'm coordinating the concession stand. Someone said I was a good person, but I assured them I'm just nuts.

Sassy and I visited this wonderful place today. Another blogger acquaintance mentioned it the other day and I made plans with girls from work for a field trip next week. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was just a block or two down from Sassy's doctor appt today. Delish! We had to buy a box (only 8 as I'm trying to cut down on the sweets) so we could sample a variety of flavors - Chocolate Pistachio is my favorite so far. The Chocolate Hazelnut - piled high frosting dipped in chocolate - was so rich and sweet that my teeth actually hurt.