I'm not sure I'm ready

So tomorrow I have to rejoin the real world. I have been locked up in my little cocoon of sickness for the last three weeks and I am not looking forward to getting back into the grind. This week is especially busy ... want to hear all about it? That's what you're here for right?

Monday - Gage starts Monday night snowboarding after school until 10 pm. I have to get him to South Campus by 4pm ... the same time I pick Layla up from school. He has the option to take the activity bus but ... well ... duh, he can't take that ... nobody takes that! Nick has a performance test from 9 pm - 12 am

Tuesday - back to work for me, Layla has Brownies at 4 and dance at 6 and Nick has another test from 9 pm - 12 am.

Wednesday - I will be in Layla's classroom from 11 until 1. Layla has a piano lesson at 4:45 and Nick has another test from ... yep ... 9pm - 12 am.

Thursday -Happy Anniversary! Work for me, dance again for Layla, dress rehearsal(getting ready for her recital on Sat) at 6 pm, Gage has a choir concert at 8 pm. Nick may have to do a test again. He did ask for someone else to take it since it's our anniversary ... we'll see.

Friday - grocery shopping ... possibly with imaginary money since we spent it all on Christmas presents.

Saturday - Layla's dance recital at 10:30 am. I am so excited for this and I am very happy that she decided to take dance this year. I can't wait to see it!

Hopefully I can make it through all of this. I am feeling much better but I still have a horrible and incredibly inconvenient cough. I guess if that's my only complaint it's not so bad.

P.S. Nick tried to buy me a Mac on Friday and I said no ... what the hell is wrong with me??

For the love of all that is holy ... just let the girl decorate

So I have just a little bit of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and I'm okay with that. There were many years that the kids never got to decorate the tree because I just couldn't stand it if the ornaments weren't spaced right, if they put an ornament where I thought it didn't look good ... ya know all the normal OCD stuff. I also wouldn't put up any homemade ornaments or anything that didn't match. It all had to be the same ball or the same snowflake or same ribbon.
The year we moved into this house I finally stopped being an idiot and let my kids decorate the tree ... like a normal person. It's not easy. It actually irritates the hell out of me but whatever ... it's freakin Christmas.
I think Layla got my freakishness and is now worried about the spacing of the ornaments. Poor girl. I really have to nip that in the bud or my grandchildren will hate me for passing on my irrational behavior to their mother.

Here she is hanging up the star.

P.S. Nick geeked out (I say geeked out because the man got far too excited about them) this year and bought LED lights and they are hideous. They're blue for crap's sake. Blue ... for the love.

$5 Wallflowers

So I stopped at Bath and Body Works this morning because they had $5 Wallflowers and refills ... $5 people! I love my Wallflowers and for $5 I will wait in line forever like a dumb ass. Of course the lines wouldn't be so long if the cashiers would take no for an answer! I wait in line for ten minutes and this is what happens at the register. She rings up my refills and says ...

"Can I get your home phone number with area code?"

"No" I said

"But we don't sell it to anyone"

"I don't give out my phone number"

"We only use it to send you coupons"

"Okay that doesn't even make sense and like I said, I don't give out my phone number"

"But it's a really good deal"

"Okay, seriously ... I do not give out my phone number"

"But we're supposed to ask everyone for their phone number"

"Well you did ask but that doesn't mean that I have to give it to you to shop here does it?"

"Well, I guess not but I really think you should, it's a really good deal"

"Okay, I have no idea what that means but I don't give out my phone number. Could you please just give me my receipt?"

"Okay!" said all bright and cheery like "Can I get your email address?"

"Oh my God ... do you see the line behind me? You could have helped like three people in the time that you have asked me for my info after I said no ... do you see a problem with that?"

"So does that mean you don't want to give us your email address?" said with utter sincerity

"Can I please have my refills ... please?"

"Okay, thanks so much for shopping here and have a great day" again with the bright and cheery

Maybe I'm just a cranky person but that was maddening!! Maybe I should have just given her my damn phone number but ... well ... I didn't want to and this happens every time I go in there. Why don't I stop shopping there you say? Because I am addicted to the freakin Wallflowers!

Now I'm off to Ikea (Icrapa as Nick calls it) to shop with Diane. They only ask for your zip code ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

So it's probably not very original to write about what I'm thankful for but ... gonna do it anyway.

I am thankful that I am married to such an amazing man and that he is such a great father to our children. He always puts us first and makes sure we know every day how much he loves us.

I am thankful for my smart, funny and sometimes jerky son. He likes to debate (that's a nice way of saying argue) with us but is learning that sometimes we are right. *gasp* He changes a little bit every day and the person that he is becoming is awesome.

I am thankful for my beautiful, sweet and sometimes moody daughter. She is growing up fast and learning new things every day. She is smart and funny and we're lucky to have such an awesome kid.

I am thankful for all of my family (and there are lots of them).

I'm thankful that my mother in law made it through another health scare. I think she's met her quota for the next few years and deserves to be healthy for a good long time.

I am thankful that I will be seeing my parents next month ... it's been a long time!

I am thankful for my BFF ... we get to be completely unreasonable with each other and spare our husbands the drama.

Last but not least (and I hope I'm not jinxing myself) I'm thankful that I have turned a corner and am not hacking up my lungs right now. I didn't cough once while I wrote this! Does that mean it's safe to have a few drinks with dinner tomorrow?!? I'll let you know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The %&@*#$! Coughing

So I'm going on day TEN here and I'm not sure I can take it anymore. Ten straight freakin days of coughing (not just coughing but serious hacking) is really starting to drive me out of my freakin mind!!!! My stomach, chest, ribs ... even my jaw is sore from coughing. If I start laughing (which does not happen very often right now) I end up on the freakin ground. I just can't impress upon you the severity of my freakin coughing ... it's almost all freakin day. Out of an hour I must be coughing for at least 30 minutes if not more. That is not an exaggeration or me being extra whiney it is the GOD AWFUL truth. Gage actually got a little freaked out yesterday because I could not stop for almost five full minutes. Have you ever coughed for five full minutes? If you have you know how much it sucks ... if you haven't let me tell you ... when you come up for air after five full minutes of coughing all you see are little sparkly spots all over the place from lack of oxygen and so you start to spin just a little and you kinda gotta put your head down and wait it out a minute (that is if you don't have another coughing attack within that minute). Wanna know how many times I coughed while I was writing this?? I LOST FREAKIN COUNT! I'm ready to be done now ... any time.

Conferences

So we had Layla's conference last night and Gage's this morning. They both went really well and all of the teachers had nothing but good things to say about them.
Layla is reading at a fifth grade level and her math and language are at a fourth grade level. Her teacher even said that she saved Layla's conference for last so that she could end on a high note and be in a good mood when she left school.
Gage's teachers all said the same thing. He is a really good student and he's a joker but he knows when to stop joking and start working. His math teacher said that he needs to tone it down in her class because some days she likes to joke and some days she doesn't and he hasn't figured out how to read her mood yet. Overall they said the same thing: He has a lot of friends, is a leader, really likes to participate in class discussions (even starting discussions in some classes) and is a good student. They all said they really like Gage and are glad to have him in their class.

Oh yeah ... Layla got an E in PE. Gage never got an E in PE in the four years he went there. Ha Ha

Alert The Press!!

So ... I'm not coughing up nasty "stuff" this morning! Hallelujah! I feel like I got run over with a Mac truck but there is no more mucus leaving my body through my mouth so I'll take it (I know, I know that was disgusting but so very true). Do you know what eight straight days of continuous coughing/hacking does to you? It hurts ... duh.
I think at this rate I will be able to enjoy that Thanksgiving dinner. Again ... Hallelujah and thank you to the miracle that is antibiotics.

* False Alarm ... 30 minutes later and definitely still coughing up "stuff". It will stop soon though ... I can feel it.*

Still Sick ...

So I feel like I've been sick forever! I finally went to the doctor after the worst night of my life. Thank God for Nick because I really thought I was going to die. Dramatic ... I know but I was really really sick. I couldn't breathe and I had a crazy pain in my back and chest. I thought I was having a heart attack and if you know my family history you know it's not really all that unreasonable of a fear. Nick called the nurse line at 1:00 a.m. and talked to someone. I'm not really sure what she said and Nick said that it didn't really make much sense and it was hard to hear her so it didn't really do any good.
I sat in the bathroom while the shower ran as hot as it would go until it ran out of hot water and then I had my head over the humidifier for awhile. I never did go back to sleep ... I just tried to wait it out until morning because I didn't want to sit in an ER all night.
Our fantastic neighbors took Layla in the morning so we could go to the clinic and I got my diagnosis. Pneumonia and a probable cracked rib which was causing the pain in my back and chest. My symptoms suggested a cracked rib but apparently unless it is pretty severe it doesn't show up on an x-ray. I did get a demonstration with a tongue depressor from my very funny doctor. Either way there is no treatment for a cracked rib so he gave me my meds for the pneumonia and sent me on my way. Did I mention that all of the poking and prodding (swabs up my nostrils and down my throat and checking out my back and chest) was just as uncomfortable as a pap? It was not pleasant.
The antibiotics are already doing their job and the Ibuprofen (now that I'm taking the right amount ... Thanks Kathy!) is taking care of my back. I slept for fourteen pain free hours last night (I did wake up twice to take more Ibuprofen because it really works when you take the right dose ... again ... Thanks Kathy!)
Hopefully I'll be feeling back to normal by Thanksgiving so I can eat the meal that Nick will slave over and then have dessert with my family.

I think something died in the basement

So this morning I went downstairs to get the little fake pine trees for the planters in front of the house out of storage. When I got to the top of the stairs and was about to head down I had to stop and catch my breath ... literally. The smell coming from the basement ... not good. As I sniffed my way down I headed straight into Gage's room. Um ... seriously ... I know he showers daily and he's not a dirty guy by any means but my God ... the smell ... I've got no words. Maybe it was the piles and piles of clean/dirty laundry all mixed up together. Maybe it was the garbage that was all over the room. Maybe it was the dirty dishes stacked strategically over the tiny spaces that were clear of said garbage and clothes. Or maybe, just maybe it was all of the above ... ya think? I'd be willing to bet my life's savings that if I told him to clean his room today when he gets home that he would give me that disgusted look that only a thirteen year old can give you and tell me very smugly that his room is in fact clean.
Maybe has no sense of smell.

Oh that Gail

So unfortunately my mother in law is in the hospital tonight getting her ticker looked at and fixed up again. Well, I guess it's fortunate that they're fixing her up but unfortunate that she's stuck in the hospital again. I think a trip to the book store for the latest gossip rags is in order. Anyway, Gail got dropped off here instead of her house to hang out until Frank had a little more info. She was pretty nervous and kind of quiet but with Gail you never know if she's gonna be chatty or not so we just sat with her and asked her questions about her day. Frank called with an update and talked to Gail to let her know what was going on. He told her Sue would be coming home on Saturday and that was all Gail needed to hear. She got happy and smiley and was all ready to chat us up after she heard the good news. Here's the story she told right after hanging up with Frank.

"He's mean to me"

"Who's mean to you?"

"Buster!" (that's Frank for those of you who don't know)

"How is he mean to you?"

"He hits me!" said with a frown but also with a grin if that's possible

"He hits you? What do you mean he hits you"

"Well, he doesn't hit me but he pushes me!"

"Well how does he push you?"

"When I'm in the bathroom he pushes me!"

"Well, I don't get it Gail, how does he push you?"

"Out of the bathroom"

"Oh you mean like he has to use the bathroom so he's making you get out?"

"Yes" said with satisfaction that I finally understood and sympathized

"Well Gail you guys only have one bathroom. How long did you make him wait?"

"Only two hours!"

"I agree completely Gail ... Frank should really learn some patience!"

Empty Threats

So I found a way to make Gage flip his "puberty switch". When he's being disrespectful, stupid or assholish (I love the kid but he can definitely be an asshole) I just throw out an empty threat. Dangerous, you say? Not very smart, you're probably thinking. Well folks, I've discovered it's a win/win! All I have to say is "If you don't start being nice right now you don't need to call me after school tomorrow to see if you can hang out with ____ because the answer will be NO!" Now I can't tell you the last time I said NO and he knows that but you can see the light go off in that head of his and he just grins and it's all good. See, he's the one that doesn't want to take the chance ... not me. WIN/WIN This teenage stuff's not so hard! (I'm sure that's some sort of jinx but I'm feeling smug about my new power so I'm gonna go ahead and leave it out there)

Happy Birthday Becky ... you're still 22 in my head :)

Lazy

So winter used to be really lazy in this house. Um ... not anymore. Our kids have taken over. We are forever carting these kids all over God's creation (well really just WBL but whatever) so that they can be ... well ... "in". Is it completely horrible to want your kids to be "in"? It might make me vain and narcissistic but I think I'm okay with that. We always said that the kids had to stick to one sport or activity per season. Granted we were disgustingly poor when we made this rule but it seemed fair and reasonable with or without the funds.
Um ... not anymore.
Gage is signed up for weight training three nights a week and snowboarding every Monday after school.
Layla has Brownies on Tuesdays, piano on Wednesdays, and dance on Thursdays.
No biggie right? WRONG! They both have homework and reading that they are supposed to do nightly and poor Layla has more homework than Gage has ever had ... in any grade! (Okay I asked her teacher to challenge her so she wouldn't get bored and she took me up on that ... I'm a freakin genius!) They both want to hang out with their friends and with Gage that usually means he wants to hang out anywhere but here with his friends which means more driving all over creation (again WBL) to pick him up. It's cold outside and damn it ... *I don't want to go pick kids up from all over ... I want to be lazy again.

*By "I" I really mean Nick of course but I still miss him when he's gone :)

Because it's funny

What's a pager?!?

So I'm home sick today ... thanks Nick ... but better me than you. I have chatted with five different people today and not heard any of their voices. I love my computer.
It made me think about when I was a kid and I had a pager. My Dad worked in the paging industry so, of course, I had a pager. I thought that was the height of technology not to mention the fact that I thought I was so freakin cool. I can only imagine if I tried to give Gage a pager.
"Mom, seriously, what am I supposed to do with this thing? You can't even talk on it! There is no way I'm carrying that thing around!"
Just another thing to make me feel old!

Reminiscing ... Gage 6th to 8th grade and Layla preschool to 2nd grade

Flu Shot

So I got my flu shot on Friday. I was grocery shopping at Super Target and stopped at their clinic. I think it took about five minutes from start to finish. I always feel kind of invincible after I get my flu shot like I'm all protected so ... bring it on. Yeah, not so much. Of course I get sick after I "protect" myself. I've got like the sandpaper throat and the pounding headache and I pretty much feel like crap. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the flu shot and more to do with the fact that Nick was sick all last week and I probably got it from him but still ... I'm blaming it on the damn shot.

On a brighter note ... Nick won most points in Fantasy Football this week and I think he said he won his division. That means he at least made his money back! YEAH!!! See ... I listen.

Crash

So this dog RULES! He smells bad and his breath is ripe but he is the sweetest dog on the face of the Earth.

Turkey, Layla and Goose

Obsession

So a friend was telling me about the Twilight series and how much she loved it. She said that she is not a big reader since she has to read so much for school but she read the entire series in a few days. Of course I had to go out and buy the books. I bought the first one on Wednesday afternoon and finished it on Thursday after work. I bought the rest of them yesterday morning and I finished the second one and now I'm on to the third. I think I am a little obsessed but that's okay ... Gage says all of the girls at his school are obsessed too. For the love ... what am I ... thirteen?

P.S. The friend that told me about the books is an actual grown up so I feel a little better about it.

My husband is the shiz-nit

So a couple of months ago Nick picked Layla up from school because I was sick. He was waiting in the front hall when a woman came up to him and said his name all excited like and he had no clue who she was. She went on to explain that they went to high school together and pretty much every other detail of her life including the fact that she is divorced. I guess she was a "close talker" too and if you know Nick you know that shit makes him uncomfortable especially when he still didn't remember who she was. Now, I wasn't there so I'm taking his word for it that the whole exchange was weird, uncomfortable and gave him a creepy vibe. So last night he logged into Facebook and there was a friend request from her. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. He was like "OH NO ... SHE FOUND ME!!" and almost jumped out of his chair like she could see him or something and his face actually turned a little white. Needless to say, he did not accept her friend request. Let's hope she doesn't sub in Layla's class.

She snuck in there

So I look just like my Dad and his side of the family ... no question. There's not a whole lot of my Mom in me (well on the outside anyway). The other day a girl I work with, who has been looking at engagement rings with her boyfriend, asked to see my ring. When I held out my hand I saw my Mom's hand in front of me. It was the weirdest thing because it really looked just like her hand and I couldn't believe I never noticed it before. It made me happy.

Teepants

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BFF!!!

Because I know you're on the edge of your seats

So I'm sure you're all dying to hear about my time in Layla's class today. Well, it wasn't all that exciting but there is drama, that is if you think an infestation of head lice is drama. Well ... I DO! My dear sweet little girl has been painstakingly growing her hair for almost two years so that she can donate it to Locks of Love. When I say it was painstaking I am not being a drama queen ... it has sucked. Her hair gets tangled and messy and gets wrapped around her earrings when she sleeps and it takes buttloads of shampoo to wash it and even more conditioner to keep it from being a rats nest. She has wanted to give up and cut it many times but she didn't. Now I have to worry about head lice! Her school has had a constant lice problem this year. There has not been a class that hasn't had at least one kid who has it ... not one class! Is your head itching yet? I check her head constantly and I keep having horrible dreams that there are little bugs leaping and jumping and partying all over her little scalp. Itching now? Anyway, I sent her to school this morning with all of her gear in one of those giant Ziplock storage bags. She has strict orders to put all of her things in that bag unless they are on her body. She is not to let her hat, jacket, gloves, scarf, or snow pants (because of course it snowed last night) touch anyone else's aforementioned things!
On a more cheerful note: She and her BFF got to play the Wii with their gym teacher as a prize for being the winners of a scavenger hunt he set up for them. Layla is the one who found the prize from the clues but, of course, wanted to share with Allie and said that they found it together.
He was astounded at their bowling ability!

Because I said so ... did I say that?

So my kid is damn clever ... really the wit is endless. It's my MOST favorite thing when he asks if he can do something or go somewhere and we say no and he asks why. It doesn't matter if he gets a reason because he'll ask again and again ...... and again until I can't take it anymore and I scream (usually at the top of my lungs) BECAUSE I SAID SO!!! That's where the clever, witty Gage kicks in. "God ... why do you have to yell at me?" Seriously!!! This happens pretty much daily. Now don't start feeling sorry for the kid ... he does plenty. Here's an example of me saying no.

He calls after school (from his cell phone that we pay for)
"Hey Ma, can I hang out with ____?"
"Sure, just be home at 6:00"
"How about 8:00?"
"No Gage, you have homework"
"C'mon Ma"
"No Gage, you have homework"
"But Mom, why can't I just hang out til 8:00?"
"Gage, I already told you ... you have homework, be home at 6:00"
"Mom c'mon, I'll do it when I get home"
"Gage I'm not going to say it again. If you want to hang out you have to be home at 6:00, otherwise come home now"
"Why Mom ... why can't I just hang out til 8:00?"
"BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!! EITHER COME HOME AT 6:00 OR COME HOME NOW BUT I'M HANGING UP!!!"
"God Mom, why do you have to yell at me?" (with the purest tone of innocence)

I am a fabulous Mother!!

Jim Beam?? Nope ...

So when I was a kid my Dad was a radio DJ and his name was Jack Daniels.
What would your DJ name be?

"I wish I was thirteen and knew everything"

So that is a direct quote from my Mom. I remember her saying that many many times when I was ... you guessed it ... a teenager. I always thought it was such a stupid thing to say. I mean really, I never claimed to know everything when I was a teenager. Clearly actions speak louder than words.
I never thought I would have to force my kid to wear a jacket to ride his bike to school when it is 20 degrees outside! Seriously, I had to yell at him. Apparently the jacket I bought for him sucks because I bought it at *gasp* Target. It's not a $200 jacket from freakin Zumiez so it doesn't meet his stringent standards ... those standards being that is has to be the ugliest, most hideous looking piece of poorly made clothing for him to want to wear it. (Yes Mom I remember the whole Guess jeans debacle of 1988 ... you tried ... I was a bitch)
Well, all I can do is ... be sarcastic and keep those quotes alive!! I love you Mom!!

"I wish there was a puberty island"
"All the little babies in heaven waiting to be born and I got you" (said with nothing but love)
"I wish I was (insert appropriate age here) and knew everything"
"Bitch and gripe, bitch and gripe, my kids love to bitch and gripe" (That one is a song to the tune of a kids song ... I can't remember the name of the song because when I hum it all I hear are my Mom's lyrics)

Headaches and Christmas Lights

So it's Sunday ... I have a headache and all I hear is the football game. Nick's not even in the house, he's getting the Christmas lights ready to hang up but God forbid he not have the football game on at all times. *He'll even come in and ask me what happened while he was out. Um ... no clue babe I don't give two shits about football.

Plans for the day ... avoid football at all costs, drink a pot of coffee and curl up to watch some girly t.v. with my favorite girl.

*He hasn't done this yet today but it's still early.

D-runk Blogging

So I'm sitting here in the pretty pretty pink home office and I was just getting ready to pass out when I thought I would blog quick. Just because.
Nick and I had a few (or more than a few) beers with Jeff and Jaime tonight. We played poker but since we left our poker chips somewhere this summer we just bet drinks. That's not so good when you're not a great poker player. I am NOT a good bluffer ... or good better ... or good player in general hence my drunken state. At least it was fun.
Nick is the second backup to go to the Vikings game with Jeff tomorrow ... here's hoping his first choice and first backup bail on him.

Hubba Bubba & Incredible Hulk

So Layla is in the green room now. That means Nick's home office is pretty pretty pink. There's still a beaded chandelier hanging in here too ... I have a feeling he will be switching that out as soon as possible.

You say potato ... I say you're saying it wrong!

So I've written many times about how different is was to grow up in the south. I told my BFF a while ago that one of the things that I can't stand (and people here do it often) is when people blow their nose at the dinner table. If you do it yourself ... more power to ya but I find it gross! It really shocked me when we moved up here and I saw, first of all, how often people were blowing their noses. It was EVERYWHERE ... at the table in restaurants, classrooms, hallways, walking through the mall ... well, you get my point. People think nothing of it and we are in the north so there is a lot of snot to get rid of ... I get that I just don't get doing it in at a table where people are trying to eat. Seriously ... listening to someone honk like a goose full of snot and start digging all up in their business isn't cool. I'm not saying everyone sounds like that but usually the ones that find it okay to blow their nose at the table are the very ones that do sound like that. If someone blew their nose at the table where I grew up I'm pretty sure that would have been grounds for some kind of punishment. It'd be kind of like farting at the table. Well, maybe not that bad but still ... gross!

So many blogs ... so little time

So I moved this blog because I wanted certain people to stop reading it and in the spirit of fairness I stopped reading theirs. I have replaced them with reading the blogs of absolute strangers and I gotta say ... I'm hooked. I don't know what it is about looking into the lives of people you don't know and finding out all sorts of crazy shit about them but I love it. It's even better when they are well spoken (written) and hilarious. It's a little addicting but it's always entertaining!

Some people weren't made for the spotlight

So it's Wednesday ... my volunteer day. So far every day has been a little different as far as what I do with the kids. Usually there is one on one reading involved out in the hallway and I did do that today but for most of the morning I was "in charge" of the class so that Layla's teacher could get ready for conferences. No biggie ... they're eight ... I got this. Layla's teacher has been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with them and asked if I would mind reading a few chapters aloud. No problem. Then she tells me that no other parent has ever read to their class. Okay, that's cool. Then I see that I have to wear a special receiver around my neck for Layla's classmate who has a cochlear implant. Alrighty ... that is just fine. So I start reading and all of a sudden I look around and there are 30 little faces enthralled by the story and well, I just feel a lot of pressure.The very first sentence I think I say Oompa Loopa instead of Loompa. I actually start to sweat a little. I'm positive my face turned all kinds of red and just to make it even better ... my dumb ass had two pieces of Trident in my mouth and clearly I am not able to "tuck" it away like some people can because it nearly hung out of my mouth. My mouth was watering like crazy because I had just starting chewing the gum and it was all minty and shit and well, there may have been some drool. Did I mention the 30 little faces staring at me?? Yeah, it wasn't my finest moment but they were sad when I stopped reading so I'm hoping they didn't even notice my flop sweat. Better luck next time.

Did ya vote??

So it's the big day!! Layla and I got up bright and early and headed to the polls. We got there at 7:10 and were home by 8:00. They say that the wait will be longer this afternoon and evening but I hope that doesn't stop you!! Make your voice heard and get out there and VOTE!!!

Mmm Mmm Good

So Thanksgiving this year had the potential to be kind of a crappy holiday but my husband (who we have established is perfection) won't have that. He announced at dinner the other night that he will be preparing Thanksgiving dinner for us and he just wants to hang out here and spend the day together. He's delicious!!

Remember when??

So it's common knowledge that Gage is a catcher in baseball. Well, I was just going through the photos that are still on the camera and I came across a couple of shots that Nick and Gage both agreed there was no need to capture on film. I, as a mother, am always thinking of capturing photos that I can tell a story with. For instance, "Gage do you remember when you were thirteen and you were catching and you took a pitch right to the balls?" I do and you can too because it's on film. The boys seem to think that there will never be a time that Gage will be reminiscing and thinking ... man, I wish I had a photo of the time I got hit in the nuts. I say ... just in case, I was there with the camera!! I'm just sayin' it's best to be prepared.

*** Yes he was wearing protective gear ... sometimes stuff sneaks through***

WTF???

So I wanna know what's up with all of the parents driving their kids all over town to trick-or-treat. What the hell is wrong with people?? These kids are going to get pounds of candy ... pounds!! You really don't think a nice brisk walk might be a good idea??? It wasn't unbearably cold last night ... in fact it was downright pleasant so I'm not understanding the need for the car. Was it so that you could double or triple the amount of candy?? Probably and let me just say that these are the kids that don't need it in the first place!!!! Clearly excercise is not a priority for them ... hence the driving ... so do you really think it's a good idea??

Well, Layla and Gage had fun and Layla got a freakin' buttload of candy (walking). I think Gage was more just hanging out with his friends but he did get a small bag of candy. It was a good night!