Having to leave the pool after only 30 minutes because the rain clouds roll in out of nowhere.
And then…
As SOON as we get home? The sun comes out again
GRRRRR…
June 07, 2005
June 05, 2005
Sunday Brunch
Jason Love is one of my favorites! Want to read more? Visit his site!
A lot of good-looking faces are wasted on ugly people.
Daytime t.v. is incentive to get a job.
Altruism is when our selfishness benefits someone else.
All bad things must come to an end, too.
The real world is a figment of our lack of imagination.
It’s a thin line between genius and moron.
Only one diet has ever worked: exercise.
I chose the pass less traveled, but only because I was lost.
Paper is pretty cheap. Unless you’re a tree.
Some people don’t have the discipline to take a break.
We are what we meant to be.
A story is rewritten every time it’s read.
Never trade gibes with a comedian — they can remember faster than you
can create.
The only thing certain about our To Do list is that it will never be To
Done.
Life would be exhausting if it were a musical.
God speaks to us in hunches.I post pictures everyday here.
June 02, 2005
Haven't a Clue
Okay, I have to admit, that was fun.
The kids and I spent some really good quality time together today.
First, we dumped the fish bowl full of change, sorted it, then counted it. We ended up with $80! That will be enough to buy a couple of small dinners on vacation.
I feel kind of bad though. I walked into our bank with a chip on my shoulder. I used to HATE it when people brought me rolled up coin. I think mainly because I was forced to trust the person bringing in the money. When you’re a teller at a bank and are expected to balance to the penny every night, you can’t afford to make any questionable transactions. I really hated it when people came in with coin and didn’t have an account with us, at least with an account; there was some sort of recourse action.
So when I walked in, I sort of plopped the money down, started taking the rolls out of the fish bowl (I felt like a loser, carrying a fish bowl full of rolled coin in to begin with) and before the teller could open her mouth I said, “Yes, I have an account with you.”
The teller flinched as if I had pulled a sucker punch in front of her face. I felt bad then, so I softened the harsh-sounding words with a smile. She smiled back. She was actually very nice about it. I relaxed when she smiled and told her we were cashing in our coin to take on vacation with us.
“Oh? Where are you going on vacation?”
“Sanibel (pronounced San-I-bell) Island, Florida.”
“Oh…that sounds wonderful!”
Yes, yes it does, doesn’t it. Just saying the word “island” and I get all jittery. There’s something exotic, remote and exciting about visiting an island. Of course, when BJ learned we were staying on an island he looked momentarily panicked.
“But…how are you going to get back and forth?”
I had to laugh and I’m sure I turned a few shades of red while waiting for the teller to count out my $80. (I still can’t believe we had that much change!)
So, that was the first highlight of my day. After the bank, we went to Wally World and shopped for suntan lotion. Now, I don’t know about you all, but I have a real problem dishing out $8 dollars for a tube of suntan lotion. So, being the cheap frugal person that I am, I selected the generic brands, $3.50 for both bottles. I just hope it works well enough. I would hate to imagine being stuck in a stuffy, cramped airplane on the ride home with a second-degree burn.
NOT FUN.
After the suntan lotion, we headed toward the board games. But not before passing the monster squirt guns.
“Oh, mom! Can we get some squirt guns?”
I glanced at the price tag and nearly swallowed my tongue.
“For $15 dollars?! I think not.”
After much whining and pouting I compromised.
“I tell you what, I’ll buy them,” I see a visible perk in both boys, “if you pay me back when we get home.”
The shoulders slumped again.
“Nah,” AB said. BJ was slower to respond but when he weighed either losing the money and gaining a cheap plastic toy that would probably break after the first couple of times of playing with it (he’s had first-hand experience with that before), he shook his head.
“Forget it.”
Uh huh, I thought so.
We stopped in front of the board games. I was disappointed, they didn’t have much of a choice. But then again, I suppose this isn’t the most ideal time of year to shop for board games.
I actually got this idea from my sister-in-law. Her family is really big into board games and they are always sharing a laugh or telling a story about one of their games and I think that is the coolest thing, to share that experience with your family. So, I started thinking.
“Hey, boys, have you ever played Yahtzee?” I don’t know why I asked that when I knew the answer.
“Huh?”
“Or Clue?” I held up the game. “What about Life?”
They looked at me like I was crazy.
What kind of mother am I? My boys haven’t played the classics?? I aim to rectify that problem this summer.
We bought Clue (I wanted to buy the Simpson’s version, but didn’t want to pay the extra five bucks. I know, I’m like the epitome of cheap). I also wanted to buy Life, but figured we better space this out a bit or hubby might get a little cranky.
We came home and opened the game. I was actually shaking I was so excited. I LOVE this game and remember playing it for hours when I was a kid. I got to be quite good at it, too.
I explained the rules to the boys and laughed at their totally blank looks. I know they were probably thinking, “But where are the controls for this thing? How do move the characters around? Does this thing take batteries?”
We started playing and they quickly caught on. However, just when I thought I had it figured out, BJ shows me the very card that shot my theory out the window. Then I started to become suspicious. Wait a minute, all of the characters were accounted for?? That can’t be!
So, with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I cracked open the “Confidential File” envelope and groaned.
I had inadvertently placed two weapons and a room inside. There was no “Who” done it.
GRRRRR
To top it off, after we had our laugh about how stupid mom is, I found the revolver card on the floor – it hadn’t even been in the game!
Hey, what can I say? I love games but I stink at setting them up.
I have a feeling this will become one of those stories the boys tell people at family gatherings to embarrass me.
“Did I tell you about the time my ditzy mom messed up my first time playing Clue? It was hilarious!”
Oh yeah, a riot. :roll:
I post everyday here.
The kids and I spent some really good quality time together today.
First, we dumped the fish bowl full of change, sorted it, then counted it. We ended up with $80! That will be enough to buy a couple of small dinners on vacation.
I feel kind of bad though. I walked into our bank with a chip on my shoulder. I used to HATE it when people brought me rolled up coin. I think mainly because I was forced to trust the person bringing in the money. When you’re a teller at a bank and are expected to balance to the penny every night, you can’t afford to make any questionable transactions. I really hated it when people came in with coin and didn’t have an account with us, at least with an account; there was some sort of recourse action.
So when I walked in, I sort of plopped the money down, started taking the rolls out of the fish bowl (I felt like a loser, carrying a fish bowl full of rolled coin in to begin with) and before the teller could open her mouth I said, “Yes, I have an account with you.”
The teller flinched as if I had pulled a sucker punch in front of her face. I felt bad then, so I softened the harsh-sounding words with a smile. She smiled back. She was actually very nice about it. I relaxed when she smiled and told her we were cashing in our coin to take on vacation with us.
“Oh? Where are you going on vacation?”
“Sanibel (pronounced San-I-bell) Island, Florida.”
“Oh…that sounds wonderful!”
Yes, yes it does, doesn’t it. Just saying the word “island” and I get all jittery. There’s something exotic, remote and exciting about visiting an island. Of course, when BJ learned we were staying on an island he looked momentarily panicked.
“But…how are you going to get back and forth?”
I had to laugh and I’m sure I turned a few shades of red while waiting for the teller to count out my $80. (I still can’t believe we had that much change!)
So, that was the first highlight of my day. After the bank, we went to Wally World and shopped for suntan lotion. Now, I don’t know about you all, but I have a real problem dishing out $8 dollars for a tube of suntan lotion. So, being the cheap frugal person that I am, I selected the generic brands, $3.50 for both bottles. I just hope it works well enough. I would hate to imagine being stuck in a stuffy, cramped airplane on the ride home with a second-degree burn.
NOT FUN.
After the suntan lotion, we headed toward the board games. But not before passing the monster squirt guns.
“Oh, mom! Can we get some squirt guns?”
I glanced at the price tag and nearly swallowed my tongue.
“For $15 dollars?! I think not.”
After much whining and pouting I compromised.
“I tell you what, I’ll buy them,” I see a visible perk in both boys, “if you pay me back when we get home.”
The shoulders slumped again.
“Nah,” AB said. BJ was slower to respond but when he weighed either losing the money and gaining a cheap plastic toy that would probably break after the first couple of times of playing with it (he’s had first-hand experience with that before), he shook his head.
“Forget it.”
Uh huh, I thought so.
We stopped in front of the board games. I was disappointed, they didn’t have much of a choice. But then again, I suppose this isn’t the most ideal time of year to shop for board games.
I actually got this idea from my sister-in-law. Her family is really big into board games and they are always sharing a laugh or telling a story about one of their games and I think that is the coolest thing, to share that experience with your family. So, I started thinking.
“Hey, boys, have you ever played Yahtzee?” I don’t know why I asked that when I knew the answer.
“Huh?”
“Or Clue?” I held up the game. “What about Life?”
They looked at me like I was crazy.
What kind of mother am I? My boys haven’t played the classics?? I aim to rectify that problem this summer.
We bought Clue (I wanted to buy the Simpson’s version, but didn’t want to pay the extra five bucks. I know, I’m like the epitome of cheap). I also wanted to buy Life, but figured we better space this out a bit or hubby might get a little cranky.
We came home and opened the game. I was actually shaking I was so excited. I LOVE this game and remember playing it for hours when I was a kid. I got to be quite good at it, too.
I explained the rules to the boys and laughed at their totally blank looks. I know they were probably thinking, “But where are the controls for this thing? How do move the characters around? Does this thing take batteries?”
We started playing and they quickly caught on. However, just when I thought I had it figured out, BJ shows me the very card that shot my theory out the window. Then I started to become suspicious. Wait a minute, all of the characters were accounted for?? That can’t be!
So, with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I cracked open the “Confidential File” envelope and groaned.
I had inadvertently placed two weapons and a room inside. There was no “Who” done it.
GRRRRR
To top it off, after we had our laugh about how stupid mom is, I found the revolver card on the floor – it hadn’t even been in the game!
Hey, what can I say? I love games but I stink at setting them up.
I have a feeling this will become one of those stories the boys tell people at family gatherings to embarrass me.
“Did I tell you about the time my ditzy mom messed up my first time playing Clue? It was hilarious!”
Oh yeah, a riot. :roll:
I post everyday here.
June 01, 2005
Ho-Hum Day
Dragging the computer games away from the kids is not easy.
Though if I left it up to them, they would play them 24/7. To prevent them from turning into total geeks (like the people you see at a game exchange store…..*shudder* ) I have to set limits on how much time they play. They can play in the mornings (and get up at 7:00 a.m. each morning so they won’t miss a minute of play time – talk about die hards!) until lunch time when they have to physically leave their computers, eat lunch and then find something else to do. They usually end up going outside, tossing the baseball back and forth to each other, ride their bikes, draw, read or just goof off like kids need to do nowadays.
Then, at about 4:00 p.m., they are allowed to go back to their computers and play until bedtime.
That’s one thing I can say for our boys, when they get something in their heads, they WILL NOT LET IT GO! I suppose that’s a good trait, unless they are obsessing about something bad and then it could become a problem.
So today, I yanked them off the computer, fixed them chicken fried rice for lunch (don’t be too impressed, it was one of those frozen jobbers), and we headed out to KOLR 10 to pick up a tape. I convert these VHS bits into a Windows Media File and then post them on the Wendy’s of Missouri website. Wendy’s helps the community by showcasing Missouri children who need a home. I’m quite honored to be a part of their program. If anyone is interested in learning more about adoption, foster care or would like to adopt a child, please visit their site. There’s nothing more rewarding than giving a lonely child a good home.
After that, we went to Sears to try and find AB some new swim trunks. I can’t believe how fast that kid is growing! He will definitely be taller than me (and I’m 5’10!) by the time he hits senior year.
On the way to Sears, we saw the most interesting thing: a guy and a girl in a red pickup truck, signing to each other. In fact, the guy, who was also driving, was being quite animated with his signing and his facial expressions were earnest and pointed. I purposefully stayed behind and to the right of him because after all, it’s hard enough to talk on the cell phone and drive at the same time, let alone trying to talk with your hands. He made me really nervous. But it was interesting to watch him as he swerved precariously back and forth the two miles to Sears.
I couldn’t find a single swim trunk at Sears. Talk about annoying. I had gone there to begin with because I had a 15% off coupon that I was planning on using. Now I see why they issue those coupons, because when you receive them, you leave Sears with a warm fuzzy feeling thinking you’ll save money the next time you’re there. But when you visit the next time, they don’t have anything you need so the coupon is worthless. Talk about a sham.
So, we headed to my all-time trusty, never-lets-me-down store, Kohls. Sure enough, they had tons of swim trunks to choose from. AB selected a fiery red and orange pair. It was hard to find a pair that didn’t showcase skull and crossbones. What’s up with all of these dragons/monsters/skull looking stuff for young boys nowadays?
My second mission was to try and find BJ some shorts. No easy task considering he’s right smack dab in the middle of the stage where he’s too big for 7X’s and too small for 8’s. So I ended up buying him nothing because I couldn’t find him something that wasn’t either cutting off his circulation or literally falling off his hips. BJ is going into the 5th grade and he still doesn’t fit into an eight. He needs to grow!
That’s about it for today. Nothing too exciting, just your run-of-the-mill sort of everyday ho-hum.
Stay tuned for another exciting episode tomorrow when I wrack my brain for something else to keep them occupied the four hours between computer games. *sigh*
I post pictures everyday here.
Though if I left it up to them, they would play them 24/7. To prevent them from turning into total geeks (like the people you see at a game exchange store…..*shudder* ) I have to set limits on how much time they play. They can play in the mornings (and get up at 7:00 a.m. each morning so they won’t miss a minute of play time – talk about die hards!) until lunch time when they have to physically leave their computers, eat lunch and then find something else to do. They usually end up going outside, tossing the baseball back and forth to each other, ride their bikes, draw, read or just goof off like kids need to do nowadays.
Then, at about 4:00 p.m., they are allowed to go back to their computers and play until bedtime.
That’s one thing I can say for our boys, when they get something in their heads, they WILL NOT LET IT GO! I suppose that’s a good trait, unless they are obsessing about something bad and then it could become a problem.
So today, I yanked them off the computer, fixed them chicken fried rice for lunch (don’t be too impressed, it was one of those frozen jobbers), and we headed out to KOLR 10 to pick up a tape. I convert these VHS bits into a Windows Media File and then post them on the Wendy’s of Missouri website. Wendy’s helps the community by showcasing Missouri children who need a home. I’m quite honored to be a part of their program. If anyone is interested in learning more about adoption, foster care or would like to adopt a child, please visit their site. There’s nothing more rewarding than giving a lonely child a good home.
After that, we went to Sears to try and find AB some new swim trunks. I can’t believe how fast that kid is growing! He will definitely be taller than me (and I’m 5’10!) by the time he hits senior year.
On the way to Sears, we saw the most interesting thing: a guy and a girl in a red pickup truck, signing to each other. In fact, the guy, who was also driving, was being quite animated with his signing and his facial expressions were earnest and pointed. I purposefully stayed behind and to the right of him because after all, it’s hard enough to talk on the cell phone and drive at the same time, let alone trying to talk with your hands. He made me really nervous. But it was interesting to watch him as he swerved precariously back and forth the two miles to Sears.
I couldn’t find a single swim trunk at Sears. Talk about annoying. I had gone there to begin with because I had a 15% off coupon that I was planning on using. Now I see why they issue those coupons, because when you receive them, you leave Sears with a warm fuzzy feeling thinking you’ll save money the next time you’re there. But when you visit the next time, they don’t have anything you need so the coupon is worthless. Talk about a sham.
So, we headed to my all-time trusty, never-lets-me-down store, Kohls. Sure enough, they had tons of swim trunks to choose from. AB selected a fiery red and orange pair. It was hard to find a pair that didn’t showcase skull and crossbones. What’s up with all of these dragons/monsters/skull looking stuff for young boys nowadays?
My second mission was to try and find BJ some shorts. No easy task considering he’s right smack dab in the middle of the stage where he’s too big for 7X’s and too small for 8’s. So I ended up buying him nothing because I couldn’t find him something that wasn’t either cutting off his circulation or literally falling off his hips. BJ is going into the 5th grade and he still doesn’t fit into an eight. He needs to grow!
That’s about it for today. Nothing too exciting, just your run-of-the-mill sort of everyday ho-hum.
Stay tuned for another exciting episode tomorrow when I wrack my brain for something else to keep them occupied the four hours between computer games. *sigh*
I post pictures everyday here.
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