Merry Christmas to All!

Yes, that's the winning holiday photo. Notice the lovely date stamp. Oh well.

Hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and that Santa brings you every single item on your lists!

Love,
the Bengtsons

This and That

Well, Micah placed third in his spelling bee! I was so proud of him! They had a lot of trouble with the microphone and he didn't hear his word correctly. He spelled "method" as "nethod." LOL He wasn't disappointed, though-the two kids that placed ahead of him were both fifth graders. He did so well!

The kids are done with school now until January 3. Not sure how we're all going to survive that. Nana is coming on Saturday and I mailed all my packages and cards today (I'm late!). Now I just have to wrap. And wrap and wrap some more. Ugh. I loathe wrapping presents. One reason is because I suck at it. *sigh*

This is SO wrong!

Ya'll know how I feel about Mustangs. Imagine the shock and disbelief I felt when reading this. And no, I will not be getting one. Mustang Wagons? I'm going to cry.......

Spelling Bee

This morning I learned that Micah is going to be in the school Spelling Bee tomorrow. Who knows how long he's known about this. I only found out because I asked him why he had a 5th grade spelling book in his backpack.

Turns out he won the classroom Spelling Bee ("I was the person who lasted the longest Mom. Everyone else got out before me."). The winner of each class moves on to the school Spelling Bee. He's not sure what time it starts tomorrow, but he thinks it's 1:10. Or maybe 1:20. Or 1:00 (guess who is calling the school today to make sure?). My little speller......

Holiday Photos

When I was pregnant with Aaron and having anxiety attacks over how I was going to parent three kids, my friend Dawn gave me a tip. She told me that the hardest part of having three kids was taking pictures. Naturally, I scoffed at her. That's what clueless people do, you know. And then I had three kids and tried to take pictures of all three of them and it was hell.

I skipped family Christmas photos last year. I just could not bring myself to go through the torture. So I knew this year I was going to have to bite the bullet and take them, lest friends and family think I'm hiding my children from them or something. On Saturday I made all the kids dress in red and I broke out the adorable little Santa hats I bought for the dogs. Kids and dogs gathered around the tree and I took up the camera. And that's where my whole plan fell apart.

Doc, the puppy, was not going to wear the hat. No freaking way. I swear, if he could talk he would have said something along the lines of "Are you out of you ever-lovin' mind, woman?" Okay, no hats on the dogs. Gracie was willing to wear hers (or too stupid to realize it was on her head), but it would look ridiculous with just one dog wearing a hat.

Now that we've removed the hats, Gracie has decided she's not up to having her picture taken. Maybe it was a bad hair day. I don't know, but whenever we tried to get her to sit for a picture she immediately walked away. Okay, scratch the dogs. Kids only in the picture. This will work.

I got everyone posed just so and snapped a quick picture. Checked it out in the viewing screen and realized I had left the digital date on it. ARGH!!!!! I reset the camera so the date would not show up on what I was still convinced were going to be my perfect family photo Christmas cards and we were ready to go again.

Except we weren't.

After 10 minutes of cajoling, I couldn't get them to sit still. I thought maybe if they sat on the couch they'd do better. I was wrong. This is the picture I managed to snap just after I told them they were going to be grounded from everything if they didn't sit nice and smile.





Marissah loves her cheesy smiles and Micah and Aaron can't sit next to each other without messing around. The proof is right here.


And now, of course, Doc changes his mind and decides he should be in the picture. On the couch. Did I mention it's not even six months old yet and I really don't like animals on the furniture. Well, I decided to bend my rule for the sake of the Ultimate Christmas Photo. (Who the hell am I kidding?!)



One more picture and I'm ready to hang it up. Get the damn dog on your lap, look and me and smile pretty. I think I may have threatened to pull ears, but I may have just wished that.




What the hell. Enough. I'm sending out the picture with the date stamp on it. Do you know what pisses me off the most? I spent 45 minutes taking these pictures and I end up using the very first one I took.

Dawn, if you're reading this, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I stand humbled before you. I can't do this again. Next year it's JC Penney portrait studio or nothing.

Christmas Mushrooms?

I bought some more ornaments for our Christmas tree today at Wal-Mart. It was looking a little sad with our special ornaments and a mere five red balls. I bought a big package of shatter-proof ornaments, because, well, I live in Heathenville. Anyhoo, Aaron and I were putting some on the tree and what do I see??? Why, Christmas mushrooms!

Who the heck puts mushrooms on their Christmas tree?! Is this something I don't know about? I know some people put a pickle ornament on their trees, but I've never heard of mushrooms. There were four of these in the package I bought. The rest of the ornaments were normal-stars, pinecones, twirly things, bells, etc. And four mushrooms. Maybe the ornament makers in China were just bored and thought "Hey, I know! Let's give those crazy Americans something to think about. Let's make them some mushroom ornaments!"

I have to say, those mushrooms are not going on my tree. I feel about it the same way as I feel about those ugly Croc shoes. Just because everyone's wearing them doesn't mean they're cute. I threw the mushrooms away.

Ah, I should have done a Google search earlier. Turns out I was on the right track: Mushroom Tradition. I'm still not putting them on my tree.

Make it stop!

It's cold here. Yes, I'm being whiny. But really, last year we didn't have our first frost until the middle of December. Here it is, December 4, and it's been cold for a week already.

I was so cold today that I put on a shawl. It's a very, very cute shawl. It's bubble gum pink and it's cable knit. Not really heavy or anything but it keeps me warm. And it looks good with my pink long-sleeved shirt. Well, my husband doesn't like it. In fact, he commented to Marissah that I'll make a good little old lady because I'm already practicing. ARGH!!!!!!!! Obviously, this is coming from the man who still keeps his Miami Vice suit because "it's gonna come back in style." (As a very funny aside, I just did a Google search for "1980s vintage mens suits" to link to one that looks like it. Can't find a single picture of anything that looks remotely close. Guess they're not coming back anytime soon, huh?)

Anywho....it's cold and I'm sick of it already. I want 75 degrees and sunshine, not 35 and gray. Yuck.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my best friend's birthday! Everyone join me in saying "Happy Birthday Meircee!" She deserves a very special day because she's a wonderful friend. :)

It's time for a HOLIDAY meme!

Because you know I can't resist a meme....

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate....with peppermint, please!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
He almost always wraps unless it's an awkward package.

3. Colored or white lights on the tree?
Just bought a new tree, pre-lit, and the lights are white. The kids were ticked. They prefer colored. I do have colored lights on the wooden tree my dad made me.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I have in the past, but not for several years.

5. When do you put up your decorations?
Usually Thanksgiving weekend sometime. And I usually take them all down the day after Christmas. I'm sick of them by then.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Green bean casserole and stuffing.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Probably spending Christmas Day at my grandparents' house with all my cousins.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I was in third grade and Michelle Smith told me.

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve?
The only presents we open on Christmas morning are from Santa. Everything else on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your tree?
Very carefully. I thought this year I could actually decorate the bottom third of my tree (finally), but the puppy has discovered if the jumps he can reach those ornaments. So, for the freaking 12th Christmas in a row, I have a tree decorated only on the top 2/3. Lovely. Maybe next year.

11. Snow?
As long as it's gone by December 26th, I'm just fine with it.

12. Can you ice skate?
I used to be able to, but it's been a very, very long time. Don't know if I could even stand on skates anymore.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
How can I pick just one favorite. I do remember, very vividly, getting my Cabbage Patch Kid in 1984 or whatever. I was very surprised and delighted.

14. What's the important thing about the holidays for you?
Making it special for my kids.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
I'd give my right arm for one of my Grandma Ruby's Nut Goodies. They were soooo good!!!!!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I have two. I love taking my kids out to see all the pretty Christmas lights and I love making homemade pizza on Christmas Eve. We ate pizza on Christmas Eve when I was a kid and Mike thinks it's just blasphemous, but I like it and refuse to give it up.

17. What tops your tree?
A paper Santa that Micah colored in school one year. I've never seen an angel tree-topper that didn't freak me out.

18. Which do you prefer-giving or receiving.
Giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Silent Night.

20. Candy canes? In hot chocolate or a mocha, but I don't eat them just to eat them.

21. Do you think Christmas is too commercialized?
Yes. That's a no-brainer.

Gee, what a surprise......

If you scroll down on this page, under my Library Thing books you'll see that I belong in San Diego. At least according to the "Inner Californian" quiz. Obviously, those of you who know me are not surprised. Where else should I be??? Certainly not in Tennessee!! Anyway, the picture, I believe, is one of my favorite spots in the entire world-La Jolla. We used to go walking there pretty regularly and we'd always stop to see the seals at The Children's Pool. Gosh, I miss California like crazy. I'd be happy with just one sunny day on the beach right now.....

Happy Days for Carnivores!

I swore I wasn't going out to do any shopping this morning. Who the hell wants to fight those crowds for a few measly things? Not me. Besides, I managed to get everything I wanted online last night at the early-bird prices.

But I did end up going out. When I woke up this morning I had to go out for cigarettes. I was out. To add insult to injury, I knew I was going to have to venture off-base because the Exchange never, ever has my brand. So, I figured since I was going out anyway I'd swing past Lowe's and see if they had any of the $88 gas grills left. I was pretty sure they wouldn't. After all, it was 8:00-the diehards had to have snatched them all up by 5:30, right? THEY HAD TWO LEFT! Yippie for me!!!

My grill has been dead for well over a year, but we kept thinking it could maybe be fixed. No more. This came fully assembled and they included a free cover. What a deal.

So, the grill is currently warming up and my steaks are marinating. We're having them with green salad and garlic-roasted potato wedges. Bliss, I tell you. I think tomorrow night we'll either have grilled chicken breasts or tri-tip......

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Turkey Day again. Aaron informed me this morning that "it's a holiday!" When I wished him a Happy Thanksgiving he told me: "Now you have to make pies!" That's my boy, worried about the important stuff! ;)

My pumpkin pies are actually already baked (did that last night), so today is reserved for the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (my personal favorite), the green bean casserole and cranberries.

Interesting thing about cranberries: apparently very few people here in the South use fresh cranberries. All the stores have pallets full of canned cranberry sauce and that nasty jellied stuff, but one tiny little row of fresh cranberries in the produce department. Last year when I bought my fresh cranberries, the cashier asked, totally serious, "What do you do with these?" Most Southerners insist on from-scratch everything, but apparently not cranberries. Weird.

So, enjoy your day. Remember, all calories consumed on a holiday cancel themselves out. Somehow.

What the HECK?!

I was just upstairs getting ready to go to Mike's office for a potluck. He told me about this potluck last night and, of course, he had to bring a dish. He can't ever tell me a few days ahead of time, you know. But that's another post for another day.

Today's post is "What the heck is that all over my mirror?" I was putting on my makeup and realized I couldn't see my face. The mirror is all smudgy and weird looking. It was fine this morning at 5:30, but now it's not.

So, after looking closely for a few seconds and being a little puzzled, I figured it out. It's lip prints. Lip-glossed lip prints, to be precise. Three guesses as to who left them. Anyone?

If you guessed Marissah, you win the prize. Admittedly this could be Aaron's doing, but he's been glued in front of the TV watching Cars all day. Yes, I have taught her to blot her lipstick with tissue. Apparently that, like all my other lessons, went in one ear and out the other.......

Betrayed by the Radio

Ever since we've lived in Memphis I've listened to 94.1 The Buzz. Great music-it's the only radio station I've ever heard Johnny Cash, Britney Spears and Cake all in the same hour. The morning show was nothing special, but their afternoon drive show was da bomb.

When we got home from Minnesota last week one of the first things I did was turn on the kitchen radio. I listen to it when I'm making dinner, doing dishes and all that "fun stuff." I was horrified to hear that The Buzz had become The Snap while I was gone. I knew right away it was all over.

I decided I'd give it a shot. After all, there are NO other decent radio stations in Memphis. They're all hip hop or country and I'm just not into that. So, I kept playing it and I was still disappointed. The final straw came last Thursday night. While I was making dinner they played.......The Hustle. That's it. Enough. I can't listen to that shit. No way.

I've now settled on NPR, even though I'd prefer something I can dance to while cooking. Guess I'm just not going to find that around here......

Heathenville Happenings

We returned home on Monday from a week in Minnesota. Grandma Sandi, Mike's grandma, died last Sunday. It wasn't a good reason to be going home, but it was a nice visit. We got to see the whole fam-damly (Mike's side at least) and the weather wasn't too bad. No snow and this is November we're talking about here so 30 degrees didn't seem too cold.

Doc came with us and Gracie boarded at the vet. She doesn't seem to hold it against us. I think she was secretly pleased to get a break from the puppy. Aaron thinks she enjoyed drinking root beer and eating potato chips with the other dogs. ;)

How about another meme?

Since you all know I've never met a meme I didn't like, here's one I stole from my friend Ume's Myspace page.

1. What is your occupation? Domestic goddess

2.. What do you like to do the least? Clean house. Ugh.

3.. What are you listening to right now? My kids bickering.

4.. What was the last thing you ate? Macaroni and cheese with little smokies.

5.. would you have plastic surgery? Yes-bigger boobs, in a heartbeat.

6.. Favorite color? Red or yellow

7.. How is the weather right now? Cold and crisp

8.. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mom

9.. Do you like the person who sent this to you? No one sent me this, I stole it from my friend Ume’s Myspace-and I do like her.

10.. How old are you today? 32

11.. Favorite drink? Coffee!

12.. What is your favorite swear word.? That pesky f-word.

13.. favorite restaurant? Chile Peppers in San Diego.

14.. Ideal job? A paid writer

15.. Pets? Gracie the old dog and Doc the puppy.

16.. Favorite month? May

17.. Favorite food? Can’t name just one, so I’ll say authentic Mexican and sushi.

18.. What was the last movie you watched? The Benchwarmers

19.. Favorite day of the year? Christmas

20.. What do you do to vent anger? Scream

21.. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Cabbage Patch Kid.

22.. Fall or Spring? Spring

23.. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

24.. Favorite ice cream? Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup

25.. When was the last time you cried? A few weeks ago when I spoke to my friend about her grandson who died.

26.. What is on the floor of your closet? Too much crap and, every morning, a fat, lazy dog named Gracie.

27.. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Missy.

28.. What are you afraid of? Way too many things to list.

29.. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? With blue cheese.

30. Favorite car? Ford Mustang-1965, please. And it MUST be red because a Mustang just isn’t a Mustang unless it’s RED!

31.. Favorite dog breed? Feeling pretty partial to Chocolate Labs lately, but I do love beagles.

32.. How many years at your current job? 12 years, 2 months, 20 days, but who’s counting…….

33.. Favorite thing to do? Read.

34.. How many cities have you lived in? Hmm…… I actually had to make a list and count. It’s 10, but I’ve lived in 3 different houses in San Diego.

35. How are you dressed? Jeans and a long sleeved shirt with socks AND slippers. It’s COLD here tonight

36. How many countries have you traveled to? 1. When I was about 10 we walked across the border into Canada after my dad’s truck broke down. And I lived in San Diego for a total of 8 years and never did get over the border into Mexico.

37. When is your birthday? May 17

38. If you could be a celebrity, who'd you be and why? None. That’s not the kind of life I would want.

Confession Update

My leggings are history. Yes, it's a sad day indeed. Marissah wore them on Halloween under her Gothic Chick costume and then wore them again yesterday after school. Somehow-and she has no idea how-they developed a hole in the knee. Obviously I can't wear them now. I wonder if this was a sign from God??????

Top Five Reasons I Hate Football....

It's no secret I'm not a football fan, but many of you may not know why I hate it. I thought I'd share my feelings with you, since I know you all really care. ;)

1. The stupid games take forever. I mean, really!! You look in the TV Guide and it says the game will be on from 1 pm until 4 pm. Yeah, right. I can guarantee it's going to last until 5:30 because it's slow. I'll come into the room and see five minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter. 30 minutes later I come back and there's still 1:45 left on the clock. For God's sake-pick up the freaking ball and run already!

2. It's pansy-ass. Sure, it's a bunch of guys running around hitting each other, but you rarely see any real damage. Where's the blood? Give me a good hockey fight-er, I mean game-any day.

3. The players are morons. Have you ever listened to those post-game interviews? I bet if you took any team and added up the IQs of all the players you still wouldn't get 200.

4. The cheerleaders. Okay, do I have to elaborate? No one looks that good without some major plastic surgery. (Yes, this is an envy thing).

5. The announcers drive me batty. Now, this is true with baseball, too. I prefer to watch a game with the sound off so I don't have to listen to stupid statistics. I mean, do I look like I care that this is the first time a guy named Steve ran more than 25 yards before getting tackled by a guy named Doug? No, I do not care. And no one else should either. Who the hell keeps track of this shit????? If it's a big deal I want to hear it. You know, the longest field goal by any player ever or something else along those lines. But I really don't care about how many Steves have been tackled by how many Dougs.

So, there you have my top five reasons for hating football. I could probably give you 10 more, but I'd have to actually watch a game to remind me and I'm not a masochist. Thank God Mike doesn't care much about college ball......

Our new addition

I finally caved in to the family's demands for a puppy. On Thursday, Doc joined our family. He's seven weeks old and just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. The kids love him to pieces and Gracie is tolerating him very well. She's not as motherly as I thought she would be, but she lets him play with her tail and tells him when it's time to back off. :)

Everyone tells me having a puppy is worse than having a baby in the house, but I don't find that to be true. For one thing, there is no breastfeeding involved. (phew) For another, my kids think he's great fun so they are doing most of the work. On my agenda is teaching Doc to fetch my newspaper every morning and take out the trash. Well, I know he won't take out the trash, but I like to aim high. ;)

A Confession

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I'll start this off right by making a confession.

A few weeks ago I bought a pair of leggings.

I hope you heard me whispering because I'm not going to repeat it. In my own defense, though, I'll tell you that Glamour promises I won't be a fashion don't as long as I keep my ass covered with a tunic-style shirt. Good plan. Now if I could just find one I would be caught dead wearing. They're all striped. Now, I have nothing against stripes. In fact, I like the illusion stripes create with my bustline. But these tops are all weird in some way, shape or form. They either have 3/4-length sleeves (which I loathe) or they have strange gathers or darts. Or, horror of horrors, they balloon out like I'm wearing a maternity shirt (*that* will never happen again!). So, I'm currently stuck with a great little pair of black leggings and nothing to wear them with.


Before you ask (again) what possessed me to buy them, I'll tell you they are so comfortable. C'mon, you know it's true, I'll bet even you wore leggings back in the day. Yes, seeing those leggings in the store was utterly nostalgic. I was immediately whisked back to 1989. I was 15. I weighed 90 pounds. Life was good. Maybe I was hoping that buying the leggings would make everything the same as the last time I wore them. It didn't. Hence, the necessity of covering my ass with a tunic.

So, hopefully I'll be able to find that elusive shirt. In just the right color with just the right cut. If I do, I'll happily wear my leggings. You have my solemn vow, though, that I will never, ever wear them with leg warmers. My life is not Flashdance.

Marissah's New 'Do

Marissah got her hair cut today! Doesn't she look great?! The stylist cut about 6 inches off all over, layered it and gave her pretty caramel-colored lowlights. She looks so much older!!!!

9/11 Remembered

I'm sure everyone is remembering where they were and what they were doing five years ago today. We were living in San Diego and I was in the midst of a week-long pity party for myself. I had just learned I was pregnant and I was depressed. I couldn't imagine how I was going to take care of another baby (by myself, as Mike was already scheduled to deploy in January) with the full plate I already had. I cried for a week. And then I got up on that Tuesday morning and saw the news on CNN.com and suddenly my problems didn't seem so all-consuming any more.

I kept my kids home with me that day. Mike called and told me to not send them to school. My next-door neighbor came over and we sat together, glued to the television, all day long. Mike didn't come home that night or the next. The ship was locked down and no one went anywhere. I slept on the couch with the TV on, waking several times during those two nights to watch the latest news and assure myself I hadn't missed another attack.

Life slowly returned to normal for all of us, but it was a new normal. Where I used to switch to CNN for a few quick minutes to see what was happening in the world, I now watched it all day long, every day. It's a habit I still haven't really given up. Mike's deployments, while never routine, took on a new meaning and a new fear. We hugged our kids a little bit tighter each morning and each night at bedtime.

Five years later, I found myself telling Micah what happened on September 11, 2001. To my utter surprise, he hadn't a clue. Most likely it's just Micah's natural obliviousness, but I can't help but feel we haven't done enough remembering here.

But how can that be? I have not forgotten. My husband has not forgotten. I guess we've shielded our kids from the unpleasantness and fear, but maybe that wasn't the right thing to do. We'll spend some more time remembering tonight, talking about the heroes of September 11-from firefighters to pilots to airline passengers to bystanders. And we'll never forget.

Heathenville Has New Furniture

Out with the old, in with the new. I was so glad to get rid of my old, nasty furniture. You just can't imagine my pure joy on Friday when the delivery men brought my new sofa and chair. It's beautiful and so comfortable. This picture came out quite dark, the color is more of a true rust color. The kids love it as well. Maybe in five years I'll even allow them to sit on it.....

Shrimp

Today a co-worker of Mike's drove down to Gulfport, MS (where he is from originally) and picked up shrimp! He took orders at work and drove there and back today with shrimp that was caught at 10 o'clock this morning. I just came home from picking up our ten pounds (for a measly $4.50 per pound). These suckers are HUGE! They worked out to about 21 per pound and they are just gorgeous. Micah said they smelled bad and were disgusting. Marissah looked at them longingly (she's allergic). Aaron said he loves shrimp and he'll eat them all (he's never had them). I bagged 'em and stuck 'em in the freezer. I saved out 30 for dinner tomorrow night. We're just going to boil and then peel and eat. I've got Old Bay, lemons and peppercorns and plenty of butter. Mmmmmm........

Parboiled in Tennessee

Yes, it's hot here in the backwoods. Our heat index for today was 114. I don't care what the actual temperature was-it was just HOT. We got a nice rain shower this evening that cooled things off a bit, but I know we have another month of this oppressive heat before cooler temperatures move in. UGH!

Marissah and Micah are back in school and both are enjoying themselves. Marissah is planning to be on yearbook staff and Micah will be bowling in a league with Mike again this fall. Aaron is still at home driving me insane-what else is new?

You may have noticed the new feature on my blog--"Books from my Library." Thanks to Library Thing I can now keep track of the books I own AND I can share them with all of you! :)

Getting Back to Normal

We're all getting back to normal after 10 days in Minnesota. We had a lovely vacation, but it's nice to be home again, too. Mike left for Japan on Monday morning and will return on Saturday, so he's getting an extended vacation, even though he has to work while he's there.

My kids start school on Monday. YES! It's time already! They're sick of each other and I'm sick of them being sick of each other. We bought school supplies on Monday and my total rivaled the national debt. Okay, so that's an exaggeration, but it was still expensive. And I haven't even bought clothes for them yet. YIKES! Marissah will be wearing uniforms this year, so I won't have to listen to her whining about not knowing what to wear, thank God.

It's still hotter than Hades here in the backwoods. We hit at least 104 yesterday and, of course, I was in my van with the non-working A/C to enjoy it. Ugh.

If you want to see vacation pictures, click here.

Off to Camp

Marissah left for camp this morning. This is her first time being away from home except for sleepovers. She wasn't a bit scared, though. She kissed me on the cheek and told me good bye before the bus even came to a complete stop. Other parents walked their kids to the bus door and probably waved good bye as the bus pulled out of the parking lot. I wouldn't know though. My daughter told me to go home. (sniff)

She's going to have a wonderful time with her friends and I bet she'll be going again next summer!

Happy Independence Day!

We took the kids to see the fireworks tonight. It was a great show this year and, for once, we sat very close. The kids were duly impressed. Aaron was so awestruck he couldn't even talk and it's quite a feat to render Aaron speechless.

On the way home Micah commented that the moon was still following him. Over the years he's complained about this many times. The moon just won't leave him alone. Same goes for the sun. We've explained over and over (and over) and he just keeps coming back to "the moon is still following me." Mike told him tonight that the only time the moon wouldn't be following him is if Micah was on the moon. I asked him if he'd like to go to the moon, but he said no. He's like me-very practical. He doesn't want to go to the moon because he's afraid he'd run out of air. Also, he's not sure he'd be strong enough to wear a spacesuit. He thinks they're probably heavier than the pink bowling ball at the bowling alley (which weighs 7 pounds) and he can't lift that either. ;)

Another Meme

Share your answers in comments!

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? Nope.
2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters? I don't think so, but it's been so long since I've been on one I can't remember!
3. When’s the last time you’ve been sledding? It's been a long, long time.....
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? Alone. Give me that big bed with lots of pillows and no one trying to steal any of it from me!
5. Do you believe in ghosts? Absolutely!
6. Do you consider yourself creative? Not even a little bit.
7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife? Probably.
8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? Jennifer Aniston. Angelina is creepy.
9. Do you stay friends with your ex’s? No.
10. Do you know how to play poker? A little.
11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? I don't think so.
12. What’s your favorite commercial? Don't have one.
13. What are you allergic to? Cats and mold.
14. If you’re driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights? I'm going to take the Fifth on that one. ;)
15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? Yes.
16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? The Yankees, of course!
17. Have you ever been Ice Skating? Many times.
18. How often do you remember your dreams? More often lately.
19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? That would be at the Khaki Ball this past September. Meircee knows what I'm talking about.
20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles? Twist and Shout, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Yellow Submarine, um.......Give me a break, I wasn't even born until 1974!!!
21. What’s the one thing on your mind now? Getting my kids to bed and going there myself.
22. Do you know who Ghetto-ass Barbie is? Nope.
23. Do you always wear your seat belt? Always.
24. What cell service do you use? Sprint.
25. Do you like Sushi? Very, very much!
26. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident? Yes.
27. What do you wear to bed? Usually jammies, a different pair every night (I love fresh, clean jammies), but sometimes nothing.
28. Been caught stealing? No.
29. What shoe size do you have? Anywhere from a 6 to a 7, depending on the brand and style.
30. Do you truly hate anyone? No. I couldn't hold a grudge to save my life.
31. Classic Rock or Rap? Classic Rock.
32. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be? Today: Anderson Cooper. Tomorrow: Could be someone else entirely.
33. Favorite Song? I don't have one.
34. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror? Sure.
35. What food do you find disgusting? Liver.
36. Do you sing in the shower? No, but I sing while cleaning and doing dishes.
37. Did you ever play, “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours”? Nope.
38. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? Yes, but not often enough.
39. Have you ever been punched in the face? No.

Micah's Favorite

It's bowling night again, so we were talking about it in the car on the way to the library. Micah told us he ate a whole hamburger last week at bowling. I was impressed and told him so and he said: "And it wasn't just a plain hamburger either! It was a squish cheese burger!" I laughed so hard I thought I'd run my van right off the road. Micah, of course, had no idea why I was laughing. He then told me: "And it had a toothpick in it, too!"

Channeling California

I've been craving California food lately. No, I'm not talking about oranges and avocados (although I'd love to find *good ones of each here in The Backwoods). I'm talking about In N Out Burger , Del Taco and La Salsa, just to name a few. Since I can't have any of those, I decided to cook a very Californian meal for dinner last night. We had baked salmon and steamed artichokes with Hollandaise sauce. It was so yummy! My boys didn't care for the artichokes, but Marissah was enchanted (she watches a little too much of the Food Network). For dessert I made a huge fruit salad and sangria. Mmmm... The watermelon in my salad is a Mississippi watermelon and if I can't say anything else nice about Mississippi I can say they grow excellent watermelons. Guess it just reinforces my opinion that the only thing worth visiting the South for is the food.....

Micah's New Pastime

My son has become a bowler!! Mike and Micah joined a league for parents and children with a co-worker of Mike's and his son. They bowl every Wednesday night and Micah is having a blast! On his first night he actually got an almost-strike (knocked all 10 pins down, but it was on his second ball). Last night his average was around 40. He told me, with much pride, that he uses a 7-pound ball now, but Dad still won't let him "run and then throw the ball" like he wants to. ;) Stay tuned for more bowling highlights. He's ready for us to buy him shoes and his very own bowling ball, preferably with flames.

Nana's Dad

Aaron is going to be Nana's "dad" when he grows up. Just so you know, I am pretty certain he means he's going to be her husband. Lately he's been very concerned about her marital status. Aside from volunteering himself for the job, he's tried to recruit both Micah and Mike. I'm not sure why this is such a big deal to him, but it is. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to hear him ask total strangers to be his Nana's "dad" and have already warned my mother about it since she's going to have the kids for a few days next month. It's really funny because neither Marissah or Micah has ever questioned Nana not being married.

Of course, Aaron is quite the little ladies' man. Wherever we go I can be certain he'll flirt with females, age not mattering one iota to him. He flirts with the elderly ladies at the commissary as well as the cute little toddlers at the library. He gave the neighbor girl (whom he calls his girlfriend) a flower he picked the other day (I admit to putting him up to that). This is the same "girlfriend" he's had forever. They always meet up by the fence in the backyard and, up until a few months ago, always called each other "Baby." Apparently they are both much too big to be "Baby" anymore and they've moved on to calling each other by their first names. They hug each other (when not encumbered by that pesky fence) and it's so cute to hear her yell "Aaron, come here!" when she sees him. I wonder what sweet little Zyra will have to say when she learns her honey is going to marry his grandma when he grows up????

Books, books and more books!

It's been almost two months since I joined Paperbackswap.com and it's obvious from the looks of my bookshelves that it was a good idea gone bad.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Paperbackswap.com is exactly what it sounds like. You join (membership is currently free, may not always be) and post the books you have that you're willing to part with. In exchange for joining and posting your first nine books you get three free credits. Each credit is good for a book in the system. Here's the cool part: you pick your book (and there are currently more than half a million listed) and they'll send it to you for FREE. To earn more credits you have to send your books to the people who request them. You pay postage (which is $1.59 for a paperback and $2.07 for a hardback). When that person receives their book from you, you get another credit. It's that simple. I've yet to have a book disappear in the mail (one I sent or one I requested) and, in spite of the fact that the books are mainly sent using Media Mail (cheap), they usually reach their destination in about a week. It's great and I've been able to get several books my library doesn't have and even one book I've been looking for for over FIVE YEARS.

So, yeah, my bookshelf is currently overflowing, but that's a good thing-really! So check out Paperbackswap. And feel free to use me as a reference (ericaintn is my user name). As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as too many books.

Recently Overheard

Aaron (after Mom told him to get in bed or she'd beat him silly): Ah, beat me silly!

Micah (on why he doesn't like to be tickled): It makes me feel furry inside!

Micah (on getting the dog back into our yard when she ran out the open gate): Is this Gracie? Because it's the same color as Gracie, but I don't know if it's really our dog because I didn't see her run out our gate or anything.

**Micah and I take the same medication at bedtime (both for sleep). Last time the pharmacy didn't refill mine, but refilled his twice in the same bottle.**

Micah (to Mom, when she told him she was going to "borrow" some of his white pills): Why do you need help?

Micah (on why he didn't get an E for conduct in school): It's because of Simburger's, Mom! (He meant Asperger's Syndrome.)

Aaron (at bedtime): Good night, Sister.

Aaron (singing his favorite song): Row, row your boat, gently down the string.....

Aaron (when asked to pick up his toys): I'm sick of doing favors!

**The kids were doing "Cheers" at dinner one night. Excessively. Micah even had a toast with his cup and fork.**

Micah (when Daddy asked if he should do "Cheers" with his hand on Micah's butt, Micah promptly tried it out with his own hand): Hey! That's a spanking!

Micah (on why he's never getting married): I don't want to have kids because I don't want them asking me questions all the time.

Aaron (explaining why he should be able to go to school with Micah now): But I'm five now. I am. See? (holds up five fingers.)

Aaron (after I showed the sentry at the gate on base my ID card): Hey! You forgot to tell him I'm Aaron!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, it's my birthday today. For the next 3 weeks my husband and I are the same age, or so he says. I insist that he's still 49 weeks older than I am, but does he listen???

It's funny, all year long I've been thinking I was already 32. Now it seems like I should be turning 33, but the calendar says otherwise. I guess I kind of talked myself into an extra year. Or something.

Aaron wished me a happy birthday this morning, but only after losing the argument with me that today is actually his birthday. Sheesh, I gave up my body for nine months to carry him, I regularly make sacrifices for his happiness and now the little monster wants my birthday, too. Kids today!

Happy Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day! The day to tell your mom how much she means to you. I hope you remembered to get her a card--or at least a cactus (sorry, inside joke).

I was very disappointed when I went through Micah's backpack on Friday and didn't find a Mother's Day card. I mean, he's only in 3rd grade. I wouldn't think that's too old to make Mother's Day cards, especially when Marissah's 6th grade social studies class made cards for their moms. So, I asked Micah if he made me a card. "Yes," he said.

"Where is it?" I asked, innocently.

"At school," he replied.

"Why didn't you bring it home?"

"Because Mrs. Lott didn't tell me to," he said.

I thought about this for a minute. Yep, that's my Micah Boo. "Do you know when Mother's Day is, Micah?' I asked him.

"No," he said. He truly wasn't as uninterested as this sounds, you just have to know Micah. This is a typical conversation with him.

"Mother's Day is tomorrow, Micah." I said.

"Oh," he said.

"I guess I'll get my card on Monday, huh?" I asked.

"I hope so," was all he said. I guess if Mrs. Lott doesn't specifically tell him to bring the dang card home for his poor, deprived Mommy he'll just leave it at school until the last day. :) What a kid!

So, I hope you all have the Mother's Day of your dreams. No cleaning, no cooking, cash prizes or jewelry. At least a homemade card or two.

Another Reason I Hate the South

The creatures here are hideous. I killed a big brown recluse spider today in my bathroom. It was just lollygagging around in the sink, waiting to bite the hell out of someone, probably me. It was bigger than a quarter (including his legs) and since I'm terrified of them I first tried to drown it. (Let me just tell you that a bite from a brown recluse can lead to gangrene. This is not something I'm willing to mess with.)

I turned the water on in the sink (hot, of course, all the better to burn it with) and filled it up. When that little bastard didn't drown (do spiders breathe?) I scooped him up in a cup and brought him outside where I stomped the heck out of him. In Mike's shoes, not mine. Like I'd risk my penny loafers or something. Sheesh!

In the two years we've lived here we've found five of these bastards, all in the downstairs bathroom. Just what I need is that to be floating around in my head next time we have a tornado warning and I have to sit in there with my kids. Ugh.

A Meme

Here's a meme for all of you. Feel free to post you answers as comments.....

• I am: still waking up
• I want: a Peppermint Mocha.
• I wish: my kids were in school today.
• I hate: living in the backwoods.
• I love: my family.
• I miss: San Diego.
• I fear: something will happen to my kids.
• I hear: the television, as usual.
• I wonder: if it will ever dry out enough so I can plant my flowers.
• I regret: very little.
• I am not: as crabby as I was yesterday.
• I dance: in the kitchen while I make dinner.
• I sing: in the car.
• I cry: not as easily as I used to.
• I am not always: a mean Mommy.
• I make with my hands: dinner, every night.
• I write: something every day
• I confuse: my kids' names. I call Marissah Aaron. I call Aaron Micah. I call Micah Marissah.
• I need: a new laptop.
• I should: get dressed and get busy with work.
• I start: every day with coffee.
• I finish: every day with a book.
• I tag: All of you!

The Mantra of a Pre-teen Girl

You all know what I'm talking about. You said it yourself, back in the day. "I have nothing to wear!" This is almost always said through tears, combined with a hair toss and a very exaggerated sigh at the end. Yep, that's what I heard this afternoon. Today was the final dance of the school year and, wouldn't you know, Marissah had nothing to wear. What a tragedy! Lucky for her, Mommy was more than willing to help. Heh heh heh.

For starters, I told her she was not wearing any of my shoes. Her feet are almost as big as mine, but not quite and, dammit, she's going to wear shoes that fit. Plus, I have no desire to kiss my favorites goodbye quite yet. Also, she's not real good at matching. Did I tell you about her awards ceremony at school? She looked great in a black skirt embroidered with silver (came to her knees) but I almost died when I saw that she had managed to get out of the house wearing my brown leather boots. These are boots made for jeans, you know the type: chunky heel, cut pretty wide at the top. Needless to say, I'm not taking any chances where her and shoes are concerned.

She was quite disappointed when I told her she wasn't wearing any spaghetti straps, either. I'm dead serious when I tell you that I saw many middle school girls in teeny tiny little slip dresses after her Christmas dance. It was disgusting. No way is my 11-year-old going out looking like that. We finally settled on pink embroidered capris, a white top and Mom's white with pink polka dots scarf/belt. We also put a pretty pink silk scarf (Mom's again) in her ponytail. She looked great, even with her pink Converse tennies. :)

When I dropped her off at the dance I was surprised to see her boyfriend, Geoffrey, waiting outside the school for her. I didn't think sixth grade boys knew about those kind of niceties. I even saw him open the door for her!! I didn't get to meet him then, but he walked her to the car after the dance and he shook my hand and told me it was nice to meet me. This one is definitely an improvement over the last boyfriend, that's for certain! Of course, then he hugged her goodbye and I almost fainted dead away. I know it could have been worse (and, believe me, we had the kissing talk before she left for the dance), but watching them hug was pretty damn traumatic. She's 11 for Pete's sake!!!

So she had a good time. They didn't dance, just held hands and talked. I didn't even let my eyes pop out of my head when she mentioned the hand-holding. I suspect they may have shared a kiss or (God help me) two, but I'm not going to ask her again. Yikes.

Squeaky Clean!

It's raining today and Aaron is bored. His toys are boring, the TV won't hold his interest and I can't even get him interested in a book (usually one of his favorite things). No, it seems today is Bath Day.

It's 10:30 and he's in the tub again. This is his second bath of the day. At this rate, not only will he be squeaky clean, he'll also be shriveled up like a prune! He's got his cars and Rescue Heroes in the tub with him. Why can he play with them in the water but not out of it? I'll probably never know......

He's Ready!

Aaron is officially ready for summer. Today at Wal-Mart we bought him two flyswatters and six squirt guns. As I type this, he hiding outside, preparing to squirt Marissah when she gets home from school! :)

Happy Birthday!

It's my sister's birthday today! Everyone wish Stacie a happy 29th! One more year and she's old like me! :)

Love you, Sis!

Kids, Don't Try This at Home....

A few weeks ago I waxed my legs at home. I used Sally Hansen Brazilian Wax and it worked great! It was a little messy, but nothing major and it worked so well that I still don't need to shave my legs, two weeks later.

Last week my friend Linda and I went shopping and I picked up some Surgi Wax (I won't even link you, read on). This stuff is supposed to be great because it requires no muslin strips. You just put the wax on, wait for it to get pliable (15-30 seconds) and then pull it off. Great stuff! IN THEORY ONLY!

Never, ever, ever will I use this stuff again. Never. OMG! I decided I'd wax my underarms because waxing my legs went so well. OMG! OMG! OMG! It never got pliable. I couldn't pull it off except in teeny tiny little balls. And not only that, but it DIDN'T REMOVE ANY OF MY HAIR. Nope, just removed little tiny balls of MY SKIN!

And getting rid of that wax? Forget it. I used HOT, HOT water. I used Vaseline (which the box says will remove it). I used rubbing alcohol and I even used DAWN (yes, the dishsoap). My armpit is still sticking to itself. This was the most painful experience I've had aside from giving birth without drugs. And I've had a root canal with only Novacaine.

Don't ever buy this crap. Just DON'T. Take my word for it. DON'T. The only thing Surgi Wax is good for is torture. So if you know of someone who needs torturing, shell out $3.84 at Wal-Mart and have a blast. Otherwise stay far, far away from Surgi Wax.

And to think......I was planning to do my bikini line. =O

Riding the Storm Out

Last night, after I put the kids to bed, I flipped the television to regular TV (not Nick) and saw that we were under a tornado warning. The radar looked pretty ominous-exactly like the radar looked before the tornado that hit Dyersburg, TN a few weeks ago. Except this time it was headed straight for us.

I got all the kids up, which was quite a chore. Micah was out like a light and I had to carry him down the stairs. We holed up in the powder room on the main floor since we don't have a basement. At this time it wasn't even raining.

Our powder room is small. In fact, it's not just small, it's downright microscopic. I put a blanket on the floor (it's tile and I had no idea how long we'd be in there) and by the time the kids and I were sitting we already had trouble getting the door closed.

And then Marissah remembered Gracie. Of course I didn't want to leave Gracie, the dumbest dog in the world, to her own devices, but damn! There was no room in there. Well, we made room. Gracie, of course, plopped right down on top of us. I'm so glad she was comfy. She was sitting on my feet which made me quite a bit less than comfy, but I didn't want to die either, so I stayed put.

Mike came to check on us a couple times (he showed his true redneck colors by standing out front and waiting for the storm to hit) and I used my cell phone to check the television station's weather website for mobile phones (that was pretty cool, but awfully small). Micah tried to sleep by wedging his head on the toilet. Marissah asked all kinds of dramatic questions (If our house gets sucked up by a tornado will we have to go to school tomorrow?) and Aaron amused himself, if not the rest of us, by scrambling (or trying to scramble) from one side of the bathroom to the other. Unless he was busy turning the lights on and off. And on and off. And on and off.

Marissah summed things up very well when she told the dog: "Gracie, I have two words for you: Tic Tac." Yep, the dog has really bad breath and in a 4' X 5" space you could really smell it. Finally I decided I would rather be sucked up into a tornado and deposited elsewhere (preferably a beach somewhere) than sit in that damn bathroom for another second. I told the kids to stay put and went to see what the weather was doing.

Ha! We got rain. That's it. Not even very much of it. Lots of lightning, but we never even lost power (not that we could tell with Aaron switching the lights on and off), which is really remarkable because we seem to lose power if the wind blows the wrong way. No hail, no branches down, nothing. Even other parts of our county didn't fare badly. No damage to speak of, thank God. Caruthersville, Missouri (100 miles northwest of here) can't say the same. They had three tornadoes touch down and they are still recovering from massive damage from the April 2 storm. Say a prayer for those people, they can use it.

So, in the end, we were perfectly safe. I could have left the kids in bed and watched the storm coverage in silence. I could have missed the sheer joy of being tromped on by Gracie and Aaron in that tiny bathroom. I definitely wouldn't have minded missing Gracie's breath. But we're safe and that's what matters. If we have another tornado warning tonight I'll do the same thing. Maybe. But I'll give Gracie that Tic Tac first.

Balloons and Heaven....or Hell

Aaron got a mylar balloon (filled with helium) last week when we went to the dollar store. That's his favorite treat there and I certainly don't mind because there's no sugar added and he doesn't know how to inhale it to make himself talk funny (yet). He's been playing with it for about a week now and it was starting to lose the helium. Apparenlty he thought it wouldn't float away anymore because he took it outside and let it go. He came in to ask me to get his balloon, but it was too far gone.

He didn't cry, but it looked like he might, so I figured I'd console him by telling him that his balloon had gone to Papa in heaven.

"Papa not up there!" he told me. "Papa's down." Now, my first thought was how the hell does he know that?, but then I realized that he doesn't understand my dad is dead. Anyway, he's decided now that his balloon is on the way to the moon and as long as it doesn't have a close encounter with the sun it'll be back tomorrow.

And for anyone who's staring at this screen, aghast that I could intimate my dad is in hell: Get over it. He'd laugh as hard as I did. I know exactly where he is. He's on the shelf above my couch. At least part of him is. You'll have to ask my sister about the rest of him. Or my brothers. Or my aunt. Or (and this is just for you Stacie) THE FISHES!

Monopoly

Monopoly is making a "Here and Now" edition with current landmarks, replacing the old Atlantic City streets. Go here to vote for your favorites. You can vote for one landmark in each city.

Just one request: don't vote for the stupid Mall of America! :)

Yes, they really can break anything....

My kids that is. I've often wondered if there is anything they can't break. I've seen them break dishes (no big feat), dressers (a bit bigger), beds (but it was an old one and they were jumping on it) and now, to prove that they really can break anything.....

Micah broke a 5 ft plus limb off our TREE today. This isn't an ill tree. It's healthy and vigorous, but it's not particularly big. According to him, he just pulled on it and it broke off. Yeah, right. I have a feeling it held his entire 55 or so pounds for a long, long time before it finally gave. Thank God he wasn't climbing the tree when this happened. We had a tropical storm last summer (Dennis) and Hurricane Katrina was just a few miles per hour shy of hurricane status when she blew through here and no damage to my little tree. That's not even mentioning the thunderstorms with straight-line winds. Leave it to Micah......

My baby boy is four today! It hardly seems possible for him to be this old.....

In the four years since Aaron was born: Mike has been deployed twice, to fight in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. We've moved from California to Tennessee. My dad died. We got rid of Mike's Babe Mobile and obtained Christine, The Evil Car from Hell. Marissah has started Middle School. Micah has been in mainstream classes only. I got a job. Mike and I vacationed in Hawaii. Mike was promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

And Aaron, my sweet boy, has gone from babyhood to toddlerhood to the amazing little boy he is today. Sometimes he tries my patience. Sometimes I want to lock him in his room for a few hours (or days). But I always love him. He's smart, funny, energetic, entertaining and cute (if I do say so myself). So happy birthday, Aaron! We love you!

Book Review: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

I'm trying to read some of the "classics" that I've never read. I picked up The Awakening by Kate Chopin at the library. It's the story of a woman who becomes dissatisfied with her life and marriage. Sounds pretty mundane until you look at the publication date. This book was first published in 1899 and caused quite the uproar. It's been banned and criticized by many. I thought it was very good. It captured Edna Pontellier's feelings of discontent well and I empathized with her character. The ending was heartbreaking, but was perfect for the story.

Old Friends

I heard from an old friend this week. Michelle and I lost touch a few years ago and, although I've thought of her often, life just seemed so busy. Blah, blah, blah. What a poor excuse! I'm glad I was able to find her number and I'm glad she called me back!

We spent quite a long time on the phone, catching up on our current lives (she's married and had two kids since we last spoke) and reminisced about the good old days (or the bad old days, depending). It was great fun and I hope we can keep in touch.

Aaron Rides His Bike!

Yesterday Daddy got the training wheels on Micah's old bike and Aaron took his first spin! I can't believe how big he's getting! Micah got this bike for his fifth or sixth birthday and it was too big for him. It fits Aaron just right!

He had a wonderful time, even though his pedaling needs a little work. ;) That'll come with time......

Congratulations are in order.....

for Meircee's son (my honorary nephew) Westley! Westley's grades have improved very much. This pleases his mom which, in turn, makes Westley's life much more pleasant. ;) You're doing great, Westley! Keep up the good work!

Life's Little Annoyances

I've been thinking about things that annoy me today. We all have the standards: bad drivers, people in the Express Lane with 50 items, our children, etc. But how about some of the more unusual annoyances? My sister recently told me that when she was staying with a friend she changed the toilet paper so it was hanging on the roll correctly. (Note: if you have to ask "which way is correct?" you are probably doing it wrong anyway!) It had never occurred to me to change someone else's toilet paper around, but it's a good idea! I mean, really, these poor people will probably be grateful for being taught the right way to do it!!! Do you see the implications here? We could change the world, one roll of toilet paper at a time! Proponents of proper toilet paper-hanging unite!

The Divine Miss Em

Emily, my honorary niece and Meircee's daughter, was just elected Peer Helper at her elementary school. This is not surprising, of course. The Divine Miss Em is one of the coolest kids I know. A little birdie told me she has aspirations for higher office (as in School Historian next year and School President in fifth grade). I wish her luck in her future campaigns. Someday she'll be running for President of the United States and this blogger hopes she wins by a landslide. There's no one better to run this country than a cool girl who knows that boys stink. :)

The Joy of Burping

Ah yes, it's so much fun to raise a son. Aaron's newest hobby is burping, loud and long and whenever he can. He is so proud of his accomplishments that he endeavors to share them with the world. It's just lovely, I tell you.

But seriously, is it a boy thing? Micah is as much a boy as Aaron and he's never gotten into the whole burping thing. I mean, sure, he can let loose with a big one from time to time and he certainly finds them amusing, but he's never been caught practicing his burps or trying to talk through them as his brother does. So what's the deal? I'm leaning towards genetics, myself. I'm not a belcher and neither is Mike, but I do come from a long line of talented burpers, right Mom? (wink, wink) Aaron apparently got the Bredeck Belching gene.

And speaking of my mother....she happens to be the very person who started Aaron off on his burping spree. As I recall they spent quite some time on the phone, burping at each other. Hmmm.... She must have recognized the gene and set out to exploit his gifts. (As an aside, it's interesting to note that whenever Aaron gets a chance to talk on the phone he asks the caller to burp for him. I'm thinking this could come in handy for those pesky telemarketers!)

I guess, in the grand scheme of things, it could be worse. I'm just hoping that by the time he's ready for college some school will offer a scholarship for accomplished belchers. At least that way he'll get some use of his talents. :)

Betrayed!

My baby boy has betrayed me. I thought he was on my side, but apparently I was mistaken. This morning I was having a hard time with Micah. He was having trouble staying on task and everything was taking ten times longer than it should have. Once again, I was trying to get his attention (this is our biggest problem in the mornings before he's had his medication) and Daddy asked Aaron if I was crabby today. Aaron replied: "Yes, she's a pain in the butt!" The nerve! I'll tell you what....if he wants to see what a pain in the butt I can be, I'll certainly show him!

Adventures in Parenting

Have you ever shopped with children? If not, I'm here to tell you that it's great fun. Truly. Especially if you enjoy ripping your hair out by the roots and dragging 40-pound children by the arm. Everyone should try it once or twice. Really! Would I lie to you?

Just so you know what you're missing (and because I want to share my pain) I'll describe the little shopping trip Aaron and I took to Wal-Mart today. It was great fun. (And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you, too!)

I needed milk, in a bad way. Aaron adores milk and drinks nothing else. He despises orange juice and is not a big water fan and that's all I had on hand this morning because the milk was gone. So, we headed to Wal-Mart. It's been at least two weeks since I've taken Aaron to any store with me. He's not necessarily bad in the store, but he is very curious and wants to see everything. And I do mean everything.

As I pulled into the parking lot I cringed. It was nearly full. This shouldn't surprise me. Our Wal-Mart is full even at midnight. I know this because I've gone at that time, more than once, trying to avoid the crowds. No dice. I think there are Wal-Mart junkies in the area who have nothing better to do than hang out there all night long. It's kind of creepy, when you really think about it. But I digress. We were fortunate enough to land a parking spot right next to the cart return. Score one for me! I hate having to cross all those lanes of cars looking for a parking spot because they are not considerate at all. They don't even seem to see pedestrians, in fact, they just blow right past and with a toddler that's a dangerous situation. If I can't park right by a cart return I leave my cart where I empty it. Within reason, of course. So, I was feeling pretty righteous today as I parked the van and got Aaron out of his car seat.

Whether we go to Wal-Mart for two items or two hundred items, we always have to have a cart. Aaron loves the blue ones with built-in seat belts and seatbelts. He thinks they're very cool. Well, today he didn't want one. He told me he thought they would be wet. The last time we were at Wal-Mart he learned the wet cart lesson and it wasn't very pleasant for him. Ah, even more reason to feel smug. My parenting was really working. I had managed to teach my son the wisdom of taking a cart from inside the store instead of one that had been sitting out in the rain and it had only taken one lesson! I was feeling like a parenting goddess. Until we got to the door, that is.

I stepped through the doors and noticed I had lost my son. What the heck? I turned around and saw him walking away from me. Huh?! "Aaron," I called. "What are you doing?"

"We need a cart!" he told me.

"Honey, the carts are in the store, remember?" I asked as I walked back out of the store and toward him.

"No, they are over there," he said and pointed. Oh shit. He was pointing to the other end of the store. All the way over there. He seriously thought I was going to walk to the other end of the Super Wal-Mart, outside, when it was only 42 degrees out, to get a cart. No way in hell.

"Aaron, remember, we can get a cart inside. It won't even be wet." I told him. Never mind that it wasn't raining today, he probably hadn't figured out that was what had made the carts wet last time.

"No!" he said. "I want those carts!"

Now, mind you, we couldn't even see the other carts from that side of the store, but he was determined. It took me about three minutes and actually walking into the store without him before I got him to come in. By that time he had decided he didn't want a cart at all.

After checking his blood pressure in the pharmacy section (we do this every time we're at Wal-Mart) and checking out the fish in the pet department, I urged Aaron along. I wanted to get my milk and get out while the gettin' was good. If only my sweet darling saw things the same way.

On our way from pets to dairy we stopped numerous times. We stopped to check out the water guns ("It's too cold, Honey.") and the swimming pools ("ItÂ's too cold for those too, Honey."). We checked out the posters ("No, we're not buying a Britney Spears poster.") and the Pringles display ("I really don't think you'll like the Thai Chili chips, Aaron."). We somehow ended up with a package of 12 pudding cups (which I kept because, hey, they were no sugar added) and a DVD of Chicken Little (which we already have, so I put it back). Finally we got our milk. On our way to the registers we ended up with six bananas. I didn't even see him sneak those suckers in!

The self-checkout lane is really a Godsend, especially at my always-busy Wal-Mart, but it's its own special kind of hell with children. I constantly have to tell Aaron not to touch the bags or it starts beeping at me, accusing me of trying to slip a 40-pound bag of something into one of those tiny plastic bags. The cashier comes and lectures me about making sure my little darling doesn't touch the scales and I just want scream. We made it through the check-out today with no assistance from a cashier. Would you be surprised if I told you that it's the first time that's ever happened to us? I didn't think so.

At last, we are headed to the car. I managed to distract Aaron so he forgot about those blasted candy and toy machines and I got him to hold on to the cart (which we picked up somewhere between pets and dairy because I knew we'd need it). We looked carefully for cars, waited for two that were driving like it's the Indy 500 and made it to our van. I stowed everything in the van and put the cart in the cart return like the conscientious Wal-Mart shopper that I am (as long as I'm parked close to said cart return, that is). I buckled my son into his carseat and breathed a sigh of relief. We had made it. Another successful shopping trip at Wal-Mart. (Successful means I got what I needed and didn't spend more than $50 on things I didn't plan to buy). I climbed into the driver's seat and started the van and my son said: "I want a cookie." Apparently the wet cart lesson isn't the only lesson he's picked up from our shopping trips. These trips usually end with a quick stop at Starbucks, more for me than him, if the truth must be known.

"Not today, Aaron," I told him. "We got pudding and bananas and Starbursts, remember?" I headed for the exit.

"We didn't get cookies," he told me.

"I know, but that's OK. I'm sure we'll get them next time." Little does my son know, the only reason we stop atstarfishs is because I usually need a grande mocha vodka valium to go. Today I survived without it.

Happy days are here again.....

Life is good. We picked up my desk yesterday and it's absolutely gorgeous! The pictures on ebay didn't do it justice.

Tomorrow my kids go back to school, thank God. A week of them being home was more than enough for me. I don't know how we'll survive the summer together. Ugh. Don't have to worry about that quite yet, though. I just plan to enjoy the last two months of school.

And the Memphis Tigers have moved into the Sweet Sixteen! Go Tigers!

Happy Birthday!

My baby boy is four today! It hardly seems possible for him to be this old.....

In the four years since Aaron was born: Mike has been deployed twice, to fight in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. We've moved from California to Tennessee. My dad died. We got rid of Mike's Babe Mobile and obtained Christine, The Evil Car from Hell. Marissah has started Middle School. Micah has been in mainstream classes only. I got a job. Mike and I vacationed in Hawaii. Mike was promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

And Aaron, my sweet boy, has gone from babyhood to toddlerhood to the amazing little boy he is today. Sometimes he tries my patience. Sometimes I want to lock him in his room for a few hours (or days). But I always love him. He's smart, funny, energetic, entertaining and cute (if I do say so myself).

So happy birthday, Aaron! We love you!

The Battle of the Boys

My boys have been all over each other today. Too much togetherness, for certain, but Micah and Marissah don't go back to school until Monday. I'm not quite sure we'll all survive the weekend.

Today Micah is taking the brunt. In fact, he just informed me he's been injured eight times today by Aaron. For the record, these injuries are not life-threatening. Heck, they aren't even visible to the naked eye, but it's rather amusing. Yesterday Micah pushed Aaron (they were running through the house) and Aaron ended up with a small scratch on his nose. Mike and I both told Micah that he'd better watch it; Aaron is not that much smaller than Micah and he doesn't take much crap. Guess he's finding that out the hard way.

Aside from indoor wrestling, all day today-heck, all vacation long-they've been watching Wonder Pets. Someone please shoot me!!!!! It was a cute show the first three or four times we watched it. Now it's gone past annoying to "sorry the TV is broken, you must have wore it out, boys." Gonna be a loooonnnng weekend.

Waiting...and waiting some more

There's a desk I want, no need, on eBay right now. I'm waiting for the auction to end to see if I won it. It' s a gorgeous desk. I've been looking for one for over a month now (at least) and haven't seen anything I like nearly as much, online or in stores. Gee, only one hour and seventeen minutes to go. I truly don't think I can make it that long without going insane. My refresh button is nearly worn out and my brain is on overload. This is why I have never seriously bid for anything on eBay before. I'm just entirely too fragile for this kind of anxiety.

Happy Birthday!

It's my mom's birthday today! She's 39, again. Feel free to sing "Happy Birthday" to her by leaving a comment. She's the bestest mom ever!

Go Tigers!

The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team won the Conference USA Championship yesterday! Go Tigers! I am not much of a basketball fan, but I've enjoyed watching the highlights when I log my news this season. Gotta love Chris Douglas-Roberts and Rodney Carney . I look forward to seeing how the NCAA tournament pans out and maybe I'll even watch a few games.

I'm actually sort of looking forward to the NFL draft this year because I want to see where my man DeAngelo Williams ends up. Just don't tell Mike or he'll be expecting me to watch every game with him next season. Yuck!

There's not much baseball to follow around here, unless you're a St. Louis Cardinals fan. Which I am not and NEVER will be. I despise the Cardinals more than I despise the Braves. And that's saying quite a bit. Maybe the Twins will have a team to root for this year. One can hope........

Drip, drip, drip.....

Marissah came downstairs yesterday, very calmly, to tell me the toilet in the kids' bathroom was overflowing. Gee, nothing like getting excited. By the time Mike and I got there there was about an inch of water on the floor and the toilet was still running. Turns out someone tried to flush a paper plate. What the heck? Well, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which of our lovely heathens, er, children would do that. Marissah and Micah know better, but Marissah's the only one who learned the hard way, right Meircee??

Anyway, we asked Aaron why he tried to flush a paper plate down the toilet. I mean, really, this is the kid who has to be reminded to flush after he uses the toilet as intended! He told us "Gracie did it!" Gracie is our dog. Good try, though, Aaron. Pretty funny how they learn to blame the one smaller than them, isn't it? As I went downstairs to get the mop and bucket I heard Aaron scolding Gracie: "Naughty, Gracie!"

And, yes, the ceiling was dripping in my kitchen. When we moved in here there was a big water stain on the kitchen ceiling, and now it's really big. "Hello, Maintenance? We have a small problem....."

Spring has sprung

Spring has come to my area of Tennessee. This week our beautiful flowering trees (dogwoods, Bradford pears, fruit trees, etc.) bloomed and the air is filled with the heady scent of spring. This is the only time I actually enjoy the weather here. We had an awesome thunderstorm on Thursday-hard rain and some wind, but no damage around here. We didn't even lose power, which is truly something to get excited about since we usually lose power if the wind blows the wrong direction.

I'm afraid spring won't last long though. We were above 80 degrees today and it was so humid. I had to turn on my central air. Yikes! And last night I squashed my first mosquito. I hate those damn things! Yes, summer is on its way!

We're all on vacation here, except Mike. The kids go back to school on the 20th and I start work again on the 21st. We're all enjoying a little break.

Aaron is my only child who doesn't love to color and draw. Marissah and Micah are both entertained for hours with colored pencils, crayons, markers and paper. I buy copy paper for them to draw on at an alarming rate. We've probably destroyed entire rain forests over the years. But Aaron, Aaron does not like to color or draw.

On Monday Aaron's Smart Start teacher came to the house for our monthly visit. She asked, again, if Aaron was coloring yet or even interested in using pens, crayons or markers. I told her he wasn't and she gave me a few more tips on how to get him interested.

Last night Marissah had all of her supplies out to work on her book report project. She didn't put them away before bed and Aaron discovered them this morning. Much to my delight, he grabbed a piece of construction paper and started drawing like he'd been doing it for ages. It was lovely 3-year-old scribbles, but we all have to start somewhere, right? He colored for about 20 minutes and then I noticed he wasn't interested anymore. I told him to put the caps back on the markers so they wouldn't dry out. He did this carefully, matching to cover colors to the marker colors and then he proceeded to engage in a marker battle. Ah, yes. There's the boy I know. Doesn't matter what type of toy it is, if Aaron's playing with it sooner or later it will end in a battle. I expect his "ashun figgers" (as he calls them) to fight, but start to wonder a bit when the cars fight, the Lincoln Logs fight. Now it's markers.

Micah's Quote of the Day

Micah told me today that he's getting really good at climbing the tree at the bus stop in the mornings. I told him to please not climb trees at the bus stop because if he fell and cracked his head open I might never know about it. "Mo-om," he replied. "Heads are like coconuts. Even when you drop them really hard they don't break!"

Well, I guess I know why he's never been afraid to climb or jump---from anything. I did set him straight, but he's still convinced that only falling on concrete could crack a head. Or a coconut.

Can't Live Without 'Em

Yes, I admit, in some ways I'm a snob. I have definite ideas and preferences and in a few areas of my life (okay, more than a few) I just won't compromise. I don't care where most of my clothing comes from. I shop thrift stores and Target and Wal-Mart and even JCPenney. If I had more money I'd shop at Macy's and Nordstrom and Talbots. I don't mind buying used books because I read them so fast I'd never be able to support my addiction if I bought all new hardcovers and paperbacks. But on a few things I just won't compromise.

My all-time favorite hair product is Frizz-Ease. I simply won't live without it. I'd probably give up one of my kids before I'd give this stuff up. For sure my dog. Frizz-Ease tames my naturally curly hair so I don't look like Medusa. And that is a very good thing.

I probably could live without Yankee Candle tarts, but I sure don't want to. My whole house smells lovely when I light one and since I've discovered an electric tart burner I don't even have to bother to keep tea lights in the house anymore. My favorite scents (currently) are Fresh Comfort, Country Linen, Lilac Blossoms and Granny Smith Apple. Yum!

I fell in love with Sock it to Me Cake years ago. No, I don't bake it myself. I buy it at Wal-Mart. It's awesome. When I buy it (which isn't all that often, really!) I hide it from the kids and pray they don't find it.

My friend Linda convinced me to try Scott Tissue and I'm a convert. It's soft and it lasts forever! Seriously, I used to need a new roll of toilet paper in my downstairs bathroom every other day but one roll of Scott lasts more than a week. It's truly miraculous!

I'm also particular about my pens. My dad got me hooked on Pilot G-2 gel pens and now I buy them in every color available, including a few not shown on their website (pink, aqua and a lovely burgundy). I guard them with my life and my kids know better than to even look at them.

Do you have any favorites? Things you just couldn't live without? Tell me so I can get hooked too! ;)

More fiction by Micah

The Frog Band
by Micah

Chapter 1-Squirrel

Once there was a frog practicing his drums. And his name was Froggie. He even met a squirrel.

Then they practiced their instruments and then the frog used the squirrel's banjo. And they both had something in common. They both ate things either bugs or acorns.

Chapter 2-War

Then there was a war between frog and turtle. Soon there were frog knights and frog peasants and frog slaves. Then they all fighted. And next squirrels were the frog's ally.

Soon the turtles had knights, rangers, archers, warriors and peasants.

Finally they (the turtles have really done this is the ages) surrendered. (Means the frogs won.) They all got freedom for Italy. (They built a second Statue of Liberty.) They liked and defeated the turtles.

The end.

Obviously he's got quite the imagination. If anyone tells you kids with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome aren't creative, just tell them about my Micah Boo. :) Even the notes in parentheses are his.

The Almost Teen

If living with a teenage daughter is worse than living with a pre-teen daughter I'm quitting now. I'll just pack my bags and run away to Margaritaville because I don't know if either of us will survive if things get worse.

This morning I woke Marissah at the usual time. She has 30 minutes to get dressed and get ready for school. She normally doesn't eat breakfast before school anyway, so that's not an issue. I had her get her backpack together last night (it was a premonition, I guess). At six this morning I reminded her of the time. For my courtesy I got snapped at. "I know, Mom." At five after, when she was still sitting on the couch in her underwear, I reminded her of the time. "Jeez, you don't have to keep telling me!" So I said nothing. At 6:15, the time she normally leaves the house, she was stomping through the house because she couldn't find anything to wear. "I have nothing to wear," she whined. "It's your fault! I can't wear these jeans! They feel yucky!" I'm trying to keep my cool, but it's getting harder and harder. I show her two pair of clean jeans that, to my knowledge, did not feel yucky last week. They, of course, were all wrong.

At this point I thought it might help to remind my dear, sweet (yeah, right) daughter that if she misses the bus and I have to drive her to school I am not going to be happy. I work from home in the mornings. I have another child to get ready for school and off to the bus. I don't have time for this kind of crap!

Finally she gets a pair of jeans on. We managed to find a shirt that would tuck in (school dress code) and she got her socks on. Which turned out to be all wrong. She insisted they were not hers. I know better. She's never folded a pair of socks in her life, so I am fairly certain she wouldn't know the difference between her socks and her dad's. I cracked the whip again (figuratively speaking, of course) and made her get her shoes on.

I think the thing that most surprised her was when I took her coat, purse and backpack outside and waited on the front walk for her. She walked out the door and I greeted her by handing her her things and instructed her to get her butt to the bus stop (which I had already scoped out to make sure she hadn't missed the bus). Of course, she was totally indignant over this. She actually stopped and put her coat on s-l-o-w-l-y. As far as I know she made the bus. I had already told her that if she missed it she wasn't going to school today and I wouldn't be writing her an excuse either, so she might have rather walked to school (about 3 miles) than come back and tell me she missed the bus.

I'm contemplating different ways to prevent this type of thing from happening again. So far I've had few good ideas. I could make her pick out her clothes the night before, but I know that would bomb. Those clothes would morph in the dark into something yucky, into a shirt that doesn't tuck in. Something would happen to make them completely unacceptable to her tastes. I suppose I could get her up earlier, but frankly that just gives her more time to whine and I have no desire to go through that. I've decided my best bet is probably to get that whip. And crack it frequently.

Frog Workers: A Short Book by Micah

Chapter One
Meet Frog

Toreston the frog had a shield. He was a knight. He had 70 other knives. He cuts down zombies in the city. He even kills skeletons. He thought that he might be able to kill mummies so he went to prove it.

So he went to a mummy tomb. He opened a casket. He didn't see a mummy. He thought that the mummy was at a bank and it's steeling.

He went to a bank and he saw another mummy casket. It said, This is called Antony's case.

And he started building a house for his self to live in. It had 3 bathrooms. He even had a secret chamber that leaded outside and he was zero doors. He tried to build a farm next to his house but it kept falling down like Lunding bridge so he sang Lunding bridge falling down, falling down whenever it kept falling to the ground. The end.

As you can see, Micah is my little writer. He loves role-playing games, so that's where the knight and mummy references come from. And yes, he also loves frogs. Me, I've never heard of a frog knight before, but anything's possible.

Make Money Fast!

Micah came downstairs this afternoon with about half of his life savings in his hand. He was a man on a mission. The mission? To find 50 cents so he'd have enough money to "Make Money Fast."

My dear, sweet, trusting, very naive son somehow wound up on eBay today. He said he typed "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" into Google and that's where he ended up. Highly likely. Anyway, while he was looking for his beloved Turtles an advertisement caught his eye. "Make Money Fast-Two Easy Ways." And that was all he needed to see.

Micah is a bit greedy. Well, maybe not greedy, but he definitely wants more. He has around $20 saved from his birthday and Christmas and he truly enjoys counting it and adding to it. It seemed perfectly logical to him to spend $12.50 on eBay to learn two easy ways to make more money. I'm sure he was even wondering to himself why his dad and I aren't using these Two Easy Ways. Oh, dear. If only it were that easy.

So, as you laugh at this cute story, imagine how difficult it was to explain to this very naive 8-year-old that this ad is a scam. It's not true. Sure, it'll give you ideas on how to make money (probably by selling porn or some really not nice email scam), but you should never have to spend money to get money. It sounds easy, but it really wasn't. In the end, I ended up calling his dad (who is on a work trip this week) and asking him to explain it. I don't know if he managed any better than I did, but we tried.

In the course of our conversation today I learned that my son has never purchased anything himself. He's never handed the cashier the money or bought anything on his own. So tomorrow afternoon we're going to rectify that. We're going to the store and he can pick out what he wants to buy and he can pay the cashier, too. With his money, of course. And, hopefully, we won't have him falling for anymore get rich quick schemes.

On a side note, I didn't think until right now to ask him how he planned to pay for his online purchase. I wonder if he thought he could put his dollars and change in the disk drive or what?!

Life Among the Heathens

The heathens have had a busy week. Last week they enjoyed playing in the snow. We got about six inches of heavy, wet snow. It was wonderful for snowballs (just ask Micah and Aaron), but it didn't stick around long. On Wednesday and Thursday we were in the upper 60s. Last night we got 2 inches of ice. Apparently when people say "Don't like the weather? Just wait a few minutes and it will change" they are talking about Tennessee. Crazy stuff! The boys were out playing for about 45 minutes today and they both came in with frozen socks and jeans.

Aaron has been enjoying the Winter Olympics, much to my surprise. He especially loves the skiing and snowboarding and Bodie Miller is his favorite athlete, even though he calls him "Bobby" most of the time. He's decided he's going to be a skier when he grows up and he's going to "defeat Daddy." More power to him! Today we watched a little hockey, but he doesn't care for that much.

Marissah is grounded.....again. She needs to learn to tell her parents where she's going to be before she goes there, not after. George broke up with her this week, but they're back together now. Seems he forgot he had a girlfriend. Hmmm...

Micah's lips are chapped and that bugs him tremendously. I told him the other night that I'd buy him some Chapstick for them. A little later he informed me that his lips hurt and he needed some "Chap." ;)

Marissah's Love Life

Yes, I am shameless. I can't help it--it's just so much fun to tease my daughter about her boyfriend. ;) After last week's dance (at which boyfriend didn't show up) I began thinking he may be a rat. He redeemed himself this week by giving her her first Valentine's Day gifts from a boy. She got a pretty silk rose, a teddy bear, some lollipops (which Aaron stole and ate) a necklace and a ring (I'm thinking Dollar Store, but hey, the kid's only 11!). We also got to see George on the news last night (he's cute, for an 11-year-old).

Today we're waiting for SNOW! Weatherman says 1-3 inches unless the front moves just a little bit south. In that case we could see 3-6 inches. Cross your fingers! I don't have to go anywhere and I'm stocked up on the important things, so I'm hoping to be snowed in for a few days!

Report Cards

Both kids got good report cards this quarter. Micah got all Bs and a "needs improvement" in handwriting (up from an "unsatisfactory). Marissah got a couple Bs, a few more Cs and two As. All in all, I'm very proud of both of them!

Micah made the B honor roll (he says "by accident" because he thought you had to have As and Bs to make it and he doesn't believe me when I tell him otherwise). He also won an Eagle Award, but we have no idea why. It's not the school's citizenship award. He probably got it for consistently driving his teacher insane. Marissah got a citizenship award (as usual-in all her school years she's gotten in trouble ONCE and that was for talking to her neighbor in KINDERGARTEN). She also got a perfect attendance award. Go kids!!!!

Micah's behavior in school has had a major turn-around in school since Christmas break. He used to get Gs (for good) and Ss (for satisfactory) every day for his conduct grade, with an occasionaly N or U thrown in for good measure. Since he's been back from break he's gotten all Es except a couple of Gs. He's so proud of himself and I am just giddy with excitement. Nothing's changed as far as his meds go--he's just finally getting the hang of raising his hand and following directions (his two biggest hurdles).

It appears that I am on the road to raising two decent, smart adults. Who would have thought? Of course, there's always my littlest heathen to prove me wrong, right?

The Valentine's Day Dance

Marissah's dance was a bust. George didn't show up. She wasn't as heartbroken as I thought she would be. Seems the boy is either a rat who didn't tell Marissah he wouldn't have a ride to the dance or a juvenile delinquent in training who was being punished for getting detention. Hmm.....

When she called him after the dance he told her that he bought a flower for her and that he'll give it to her Monday. Mom's waiting to make her final determination on his worthiness for her little girl.

Love is in the air.....

George invited Marissah to the Valentine's Day dance at school tonight. Of course, I'm bringing Marissah and George's parents are bringing him and Marissah told me they will not be dancing with each other (or anyone, apparently, because no one dances). but they're going together. ;) Ah, young love. I wonder if they'll even speak to each other or just look at each other and giggle from across the room. Sure wish I could be a fly on the wall, but Marissah informed me I can't go. Drat!

I'll update as soon as I get all the dirt!

Honey, Sweetie, Dear

I'm tired of being called cutesy little names by complete strangers. It's true that Southerners are exceedingly polite. It's also true that they are exceedingly familiar with complete strangers.

Today at the commissary I was called "Baby" by the bagger. Not once, not twice, but three times in a very short interaction. Honey, Sweetie and Dear all grate on my nerves, it's true, but to be called "Baby" by a total stranger just grosses me out. My own husband doesn't call me Baby (and he doesn't call me Erica either, it's always "Sweetie.") so why on earth should the bagger at the commissary? I don't have much problem with old women who call me by these endearments, but this woman was my age or a little older-not elderly by a long shot. I was half-tempted to reach into her tip can and take back the tip I had given her.

I also hate to be called "Ma'am." I am much too young to be a "Ma'am," right? But I'm getting used to it and my kids are getting used to using "Ma'am" and "Sir" at school. At first I thought Marissah was being sassy when she started replying to me with "yes Ma'am" but now I know she's being taught that in school. It's a respectful thing, but it doesn't make that much difference to me. Micah will probably never catch on. For the most part, social niceties have to be beaten into his head over a several-year time span before he catches on. :)

Aaron has lately taken to calling me "Chooka." He's "Wooka." It goes back to a game I used to play with Marissah and Micah when they were little where I'd give them piggy-back rides and we'd all chant "Wooka Chooka" while we ran around the house. I have no idea where "Wooka Chooka" came from, but Micah started it. Aaron thought it was so funny the first time I called him "Wooka" that it's stuck. It's the only thing I can call him except Aaron without being corrected by him.