Cool Plate dude...so sorry though!

In the DC area you see all kinds of cool personalized license plates. But that in and of itself is a whole other post. I ran across a plate the other day that I just had to share - even though the content of the plate is so blatantly offensive:
So kudos to the clever person behind this creative plate. But dude - the Gators? Come on now. That's just sad.

GO SEMINOLES!

(Now if we can just get them to win a game here and there I'd be happy!)

Calvin Ball

We all know who they are, but did you know that Calvin and Hobbes live in my house? Aside from the imaginary part I have two live action versions of Calvin and Hobbes here. Three actually, but you get the idea. If they aren't wrestling on the carpet, they are taking perfectly good games (cards, board games, general goofing around games, sports) and creating all kinds of new rules for them, a.k.a Calvinball. If you aren't familiar, check it out here.

Other kids' games are all such a bore!
They've gotta have rules and they gotta keep score!
Calvinball is better by far!
It's never the same! It's always bizarre!
You don't need a team or a referee!
You know that it's great, 'cause it's named after me!
-The Calvinball Theme Song

Except in our house, in the time it took me to write this post, I had to get up TWICE and go downstairs to the basement to make sure that no one was dying. Seems that my Calvins and Hobbes have taken to torturing each other in various way. They regress from what could otherwise be a very nice game of Calvinball into something terrible and ugly. One of these day's they'll figure out that torturing your brother is not a sport...or at least I hope they will.

Pokemon Cards

I figured at some point that the boys would either get bored with or outgrow their massive numbers of Pokemon cards. Some of Max's friends have moved on to bigger and better things, and there are new and more fun things to play with - like Bakugon. I was holding out hope that one day soon they would just be done. But no. They are not only playing with them regularly, but they are making up new games, exploring math and reading, and doing all kids of weird and fun things with them. They even made up their own video game that they play with them. So I guess I shouldn't complain too much - they are cheap and the cards are portable. So I really guess I should complain - until I see this:

and this: and even this:

Yes, my entire basement is covered with Pokemon cards. Sigh.

Lights

At some point it happens to the best of us - the fridge light burns out. And we dilly dally to replace it. And since it's so dark in there when we dig around, we tend not to notice (or ignore - I'll be honest here) the fact that there's no food in there. And the kids complain and grumble that they are hungry and that we don't have any food...blah, blah, blah. But, the light is still burnt out.
But we soon discover (after a mere three months in the house) that there's a light in the DRYER of all places. After literally two loads a day for the past two months, the light turned on and off every time and never ONCE did I suspect that such a thing even existed. So *PPPHHHTTTT* to you burnt out fridge light. The dryer has a light and it works.

Max's First U-9 Soccer Game

It was Max's First U-9 Travel game this past weekend, and low and behold I forgot my camera. Here's the one picture that I did take at the game:

Yeah, in case you couldn't figure it out here's the blurry one in the middle, you know, way across the field with the red jersey on. This is right before they started playing - my iPhone is cool but the camera is sucky when it comes to action shots so I had to grab the only sitting still shot I could. Anyway, while Max was playing Ian and Sam found a way to occupy themselves as well:

Yes, they were tailgating - 6 year old style. But in case you were wondering, Max really did wear a red jersey - and he did the uniform proud at the game! He was a blur of red on that field, and he settled right into a defensive position (sweeper for all those soccer players out there) and enjoyed the heck out of his first game with his new team. We were so proud of the way he played - and even though his team lost he really enjoyed it as well! Next weekend - TWO games!

Sad, sad toes

So I still can't quite reach my feet (my back just won't take that kind of bending yet), and my toe nails are in a sad state of disrepair. They have gone unpainted for WEEKS now. Me, the one with the perfectly manicured blue/purple/pink (and now red!) toes has had nekked toes for about three weeks now. And there's no pedicure in my future, but there might need to be as I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to tolerate these toes:

Love these boys

They even share their Italian Ices with their little sister:

(And she LOVES those Italian Ices!)

Hook 'Em Horns!

The day my world got smaller

It's an interesting day today. Not getting the paper and no longer watching the daily or nightly news I was only slightly aware of the date today. And this meant that I was completely unaware of the date's importance. I realized a short while ago that it was 9/11. And this only after reading the article about the Coast Guard storming down the Potomac and creating a stir in the DC area. In past years I've marked this day mostly by myself. Max was a wee one, and Ian and Sam weren't even born yet, so they can't really appreciate the sacrifices that were made by some that terrible day. nor do they really understand the implications of what happened. We drive past the Pentagon regularly, and we often talk about what happened there, but it isn't real to them.

To me it is still pretty frightening. Back in 2001 we didn't live in the DC area. We were solidly in Central Texas. Tom worked at UT Austin and I was a stay at home mom. But Tom travelled - to DC - pretty regularly. He was scheduled to fly to DC that very afternoon - 9/11. His boss was in the air when the terrorists struck and it took several hours for folks to hunt him up, and it took him a few days to get back home. I turned the TV on and saw the plane hit the tower - live - and I was completely beside myself. The I saw the towers fall, and my world got smaller. Tom was standing beside me safe and sound, but for me it instilled in me a fear of vulnerability. We have grown up in a country that is and has been basically free of war. War is something that happens elsewhere - not on our soil. Even though I grew up in the middle of a city with SEVEN military bases, I was never really struck by the idea that there were people dying for our country. It just wasn't real to me - even on Sept 10, 2001 it wasn't real. The hurricanes that hit South Texas, now those were scary. But terrorists? Not so much.

But early that morning my idea of safe came to a screeching halt. I suddenly felt vulnerable. I watched with terror as some unknown entity took control of these massive airplanes full of folks that I could have know, and turned them towards buildings full of people, some of whom I also might have known. I was gasping for an logic in this - but there was none. We were attacked by terrorists in our own front yard, and the world got a bit smaller for me. It wasn't me watching images of massacres in other countries. It wasn't me reading about genocide in a place that was thousands of miles away. It was me watching some people that hated us so much that they were determined to kill as many of us at home as possible. The fear that surfaced in me was a complete surprise. Later I would be able to process what had just happened, but at that exact moment I grabbed my one year old and held him tightly. I hunted up my husband, who was packing his bag to catch a plane to DC, and I begged him not only to no get on the plane, but also not to go to work. I was utterly freaked out. Tom held me close and of course, didn't go anywhere. It took me several weeks to even begin to process what had happened. Some people, especially those in the military and law enforcement, have a better grasp on the world outside their doors. I did not.

I'm finally in a place where looking back isn't so scary, and there's no daily fear that something terrible will happen. I carried that around with me for a very long time. I was nervous every time Tom got on a plane, which he did shortly after they opened up the skies again, and I waited for him to walk in the door every single time he flew. I couldn't imagine anything like that happening again, but I could never have imagined it happening in the first place.

So, thank you to all the men and women who gave their lives in 9/11. I hope that everyone who lost someone in 9/11 has been able to find some peace in their passing. Thank you to all of the thousands of people who stepped up to help after 9/11 in all kinds of capacities all over the country, and all over the world. And I hope that we never do forget what happened that day, but along with the tragedies, I want to remember the weeks and months after - the generosity, caring, and compassion that we saw from people from all walks of life.

Well, what did you expect would happen if you tossed it all out?

Lucy Style

Turning 37

So I completely glossed over the fact that I had a birthday and I turned one year older. But, in an attempt to age gracefully rather than fight it, I guess it's best to show you my cake and candles IN ALL THEIR BLAZING GLORY. Thanks dear, and thanks to you too Charity - I know you had to help Tom count candles...
And yes, Lucy does look a little worried there. She should be - do you SEE how many candles they put on there???!!!

Meeting the teachers

It's an annual ritual that we've jumped right into again this year. We met the boys' teachers today, and as it turns out two were married / changed their names over the summer so we know them already, one was new, and the last one we already knew. It's a good crop of teachers, and what's even more exciting is that it looks like it's a good crop of kids as well in all the classes. And that's a feat coming from a school that has tons of different class set ups. This year all three boys are in Spanish Immersion classes that are fanning out. This means that out of their English class (where they do reading, social studies, and something else I can't remember at the moment) seven kids go to their Spanish class. Then an additional seven kids come from another English class, and so on until the Spanish class is formed. (They do science and math in their Spanish class.) Anyway, looks like a banner year, and even after my big miscue, which will end up making more work for me, we're off to a good start. We actually don't start school until next Tuesday, but in my mind we are already there!

13 months

Longing

One of these days she'll be able to go grab the mail with her older brother Max, but until then she'll just have to hang onto that gate:

Max's 9th Birthday Party

What happens when you take 19 kids, one weather forecast of flash floods, and a party that's supposed to be outside in late August? Well, this:and of course this:But add in a slightly crazy but very clever Dad, and you get this:

this:

this:

and this:

Happy Birthday not so little Dude! It's great to see you turning 9!!!

Late Night Cons, Pt. 2

Not so much of a conversation, but more of a bunch of cons. This time they were flat out busted. Last night I wrote that I was listening to the boys talk until the wee hours of the night. As my dear sweet hubby lay sleeping and I caught up on e-mails that had piled up during the day, the stinky set decided that the middle of the night was a good time to talk, or so I thought. Well, I was wrong, and they were busted.

First off they slept until 10:45 this morning. Yes, the children in this house that wake up at the ungodly hour of 6am on a regular basis slept past 10am. We even had to make the 7am rule - don't come out and no talking or making noise before 7am (or your parents can't make it through the day) because they were getting up sometimes at 5 or 6am. They are generally pretty good about following the 7am rule now, and for the past few weeks have even been playing with their little sister in the mornings so that Tom and I can get some extra sleep. Between his broken arm and my pissed off back we really, really appreciate it. So them sleeping in didn't get them busted, but my mommy radar must be off because of the pain meds.

About 4pm today Max asked if they could play electronics. They get to play for 1/2 hour every day, and that's only when they don't lose the privilege (which is about every other week these days!). I said yes and they all went scurrying into their room. In and of itself not such a big thing, except that I keep the box full of their games and DS's in my bedroom. Suddenly the light went off. They were up all night playing Nintendos. So, that was the end of their electronics for the day. A bit later Max totally crashed out and Sam and Ian spent a chunk of time reading. Figures - they were up all night and didn't have any juice left that late in the afternoon. And when Tom found out he explained to them in a calm voice that if they were going to sneak stuff or misbehave that they needed to be smarter about it. Guess they'll get that part figured out eventually...or not.

Late Night Conversations

As I sit here at 11:36 on Thursday night, I'm listening to my three lovely, responsible, wonderful *choke, choke* boys TALK TO EACH OTHER IN BED. Can you imagine going to bed at 8:15 or so, then staying up quietly until 11:00 and THEN start talking (didn't hear hem before 11)? Or did one of them wake up a bit ago and wake the others up? What the heck are they thinking here? And yes, these are my children - staying up late has always been a problem of mine. But geez folks, you are 6 and 9 years old. GO TO BED ALREADY!

Sweet tea - will it be my downfall?

Is the fact that I'm really strongly drawn to sweet tea a good enough reason to drink caffeine after being off of it for about 10 years? Or does this desire speak more about my susceptibility to late night commercials? Damn you McDonalds and your sweet tea.

Tap class is killing me

I have really been enjoying tap class over the past eight weeks, but suddenly tap class isn't as fun. I say this because as I type I'm lying in bed basically incapacitated. My back (the one I would seriously like to replace) is so tied up in knots that I'm crooked...again. It's happened before but so far this tap class has been fine. But today I lie here in bed completely crippled, and yesterday we had a sub on class. Guess her amped up tap class isn't for me. Guess I need tap for seniors or low impact tap. Yikes. Glad our regular instructor will be back for the last class.

Oh, deer!

Deer in our back yard! Can't actually believe it, but these beauties showed up last week in our back yard. We have a sordid history with deer, but somehow this was different. There were three medium aged bucks out there chomping away on our grass and bushes. Ian wanted to keep them as pets (then again he asked to keep a wasp as a pet today) and Sam looked like he wanted to chase them down, but we just peered at them through a window. Lucy kept asking if they were kitty cats, and finally understood after a bit of explaining (I think) that they were deer. Anyway, hopefully they'll wander back by here again - it was nice to have them drop in!

Rips

One of the hazards of gymnastics is that you get blisters on your hands. Gymnasts call them rips, and they are so very proud when they get them. It's like battle scars or tattoos. Nice, right? And Max even wore his nasty stinky wrap for a while after he finished up.

Tom's Boo Boo

So this is how we ended our Sunday afternoon last week: Yes, that's Tom in an ER bed watching a bad Jessica Simpson movie (wait, they're all bad aren't they). Anyway, he was stoned out of his mind on Dilaudid at this point, but he had a stable fracture so they gave it to him for immediate pain relief since they didn't have to set it. He broke his arm playing soccer. You read that right - soccer. Seems that he went over a ball and fell, trying to catch himself so he didn't bust ass on the ground. Well, his arm took the brunt of it and he heard a pop. So it was off to the ER with us. The boys went to a friends house, and I have to applaud the folks at this particular ER - we were in and out in about 2.5 hours. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon. I would have preferred a movie, but hey, Tom chose this date so I was along for the ride. He's on the mend now and the pain seems to drop more each day, so hopefully he'll be back up and running here soon.
And no - you can't really do any housework or change any diapers when your arm is broken. It's hard enough to button your jeans let alone mop the floor or do the dishes. And yes - I'm trying desperately to get Lucy to say "Boo Boo" - how cute would that be?

Twilight, yes, me too

I'll admit it publicly - I'm a Twilight fan. And I've read New Moon too, but no farther yet. You see, I started the series thinkig it would be a light enough book to read during jury duty a fw months ago, then put it down. Well, I picked the first book up and couldn't put it down - even bought the second book in an airport on my way out of town. Now I need to hunt up the third book, and I hear there's a fourth as well. But now I've seen the trailer for the second movie, and man, that's it. I need to go see those movies. Might have to even hire a sitter and get myself in there ASAP. Somehting about the teenager in me is coming out with this - either that or it's been so long since I've read a book...any book...

You know you are from San Antonio when...

Saw this elsewhere and had to share!

You know you are from San Antonio when:

1.You know exactly how to get to the "Ghost Tracks" from anywhere in town.

2.You think "pro-choice" means flour or corn tortillas.

3.You've never been to the Alamo.

4.You think a health drink is a Margarita without salt.

5.You used to live in a neighborhood you wouldn't even drive through now.

6.You remember when Crossroads Mall used to be called Wonderland.

7.There has been a road crew on your street since before the Alamodome was built.

8.You're an expert with the brake pedal, but you have no idea what a blinker is.

9.You had breakfast tacos at Taco Cabana on Christmas morning.

10.You're elementary field trip was to the Butter Crust Bakery.

11. Your neighbors keeps Christmas ligts up all year round.

12. You think 100 is not too hot.

13. On Christmas Day the low is 68 and the high is 98.

Library Update

Apparently the library gods (or at least the kind librarian) felt that we needed some mercy. Since we are only about 2/3 unpacked, and it's highly likely that the book that we lost is in one of those boxes, we were given a pass on the fee. The book is currently "missing," and we will return it when we find it. So, if you happen to see our missing book when you are here, please, please just stick it in my purse and tell me that I need to take it back in! We don't want to mess with our library karma!

Max is officially 9!

Happy Birthday Dude!

A very ambitious squirrel

Apparently this squirrel was hungry! He found this dinner roll, absconded with it, and then ran for home (a tree across the parking lot). problem was, there was another squirrel and two crows tracking him. He eventually made it across the parking lot with a good chunk of his biscuit, but not before battling those evils birds for some bites!

ISTJ - Who knew!

Actually, I did. This simple online quiz is strikingly similar to the full Myers Briggs that I took in grad school. I'm loyal, dependable, and of course, offbeat. I'm also still a wee bit introverted, if you can believe that one! One site listed Darth Vader, George H. W. Bush, and Warren Buffet as similar personality types, but my guess is that none of those guys sat as squarely in the middle of all this as I do. Yeah, Darth Vader, he he he. And another site says that ISTJ is "Among the four highest in college GPA," and at the same time "One of two most overrepresented female types in a substance abuse program." Huh. Anyway, here I am (as of right now, today) if you are curious:

So what's your type?

Yes, we lost a library book.

All the angst and buildup that I had to call the librarian today, and I was told that the charge would be the book price plus $3. That means that the total charge for Max's lost library book is a whopping $8. Yes, %8. All the fear that those darn librarians instilled in me when I was a young 'en came rushing back - and the punishment for losing said book was less than what I pay to get my nails done. Shouldn't there be a much larger fine for my transgression? I assumed that since those librarians in school beat it into us that we weren't to lose our books that there would be a HUGE price to pay. But there's not. And life will now go in in the house that loves their books. After, of course, we pay or $8 at the library.

Take THAT Arlington!

We're moved!

After a very, very long month we are officially out of the old place and all into the new. More details when I get back in town, and I even promise pictures!

But for now you have to wait. I'm in the great state of Florida- land of sunshine and strip malls. Makes me very, very happy! I'm here with some friends and we hit the Craft and Hobby Association consumer show today. Can't believe how much cool scrapbook stuff is coming out!

Anyway, no more for now - it's late and I'm in need of some sleep.

Mobile Blogging

Well, not quite sure where the hang up is, but I've finally figured out how to post from my phone and the pictures aren't coming through. I'll get this figured out soon though. I still feel as if I'm being dragged kicking and screaming into a tech age that I know very little about. Anyway, cute pics soon enough.

Hiiiiiii!!!!!

How one occupies oneself while the rest of the family lugs boxes.

Reason #8539 not to let your kids wear your clothes

Nasty, isn't it? And it's been washed even.

Apologies, apologies

Sorry. Forgot to tell some folks that we were moving. Actually we still are moving and will be for another week or so. So, for now just listen closely and you'll hear the hold music for my blog. Seems that it is a bit harder to post when you are sleeping at one house and the Internet is at the other. Anyway, bigger house, lots of land, closer to school and work, and so far only minor moving itchies for everyone. More to come soon, I promise!

What a fantastic kitchen

O.K. So when you move, you discover things about yourself, your spouse, and anyone else living in your house. You know - you're digging through clothes, drawers, medicines, and who knows what else as you pack it up to move. Well, the thing that I discovered this evening is that we are fantastic cooks, or at least we appear to anyone looking through our stuff to be. Let me explain why this is a new discovery. You'll recall, I catch things on fire. I mean, when I cook I literally catch things on fire. I have no real desire to cook, nor do I feed my family in the traditional way. But we have a kitchen that is outfitted with all kinds of good cooking things. We have a load of fresh spices, several sets of good knives, and a ton of quality bakeware and pots and pans. While packing up the pantry where we keep extras out in the garage (cans and what not) I discovered that we also had all the good canned ingredients for the bases of many, many recipes - chicken broth, tomatoes of various kinds, all sorts of fruits to add flavor, and a whole host of other things that I have no idea how to use. When I see a can of pears, I open them up and eat them. I don't add them to a recipe. When I see ground up, pasty, or other types of canned tomatoes, I leave them alone (they've not lived a good life thus far but there's nothing more I can do for them).

So I guess that brings me back to the original point - I am not a cook, nor do I profess to be one. But apparently my kitchen speaks volumes to the contrary. While I can't make you dinner (at least not one using any ingredients found in our pantry), I can solve this little mystery for you. My father in law pops in periodically to visit, and he's a good cook. He's been stocking up my kitchen for years now - from utensils to nice pots and pans. So, even those days where I am attempting to burn my water, I am doing so in a decent pan.

New House Stuff

If you don't already know, we are currently mid-move. Crazy as it may seem, we are moving ourselves. But, so far, so good. Just a few minor run of the mill moving bugs along the way, but otherwise we're rolling along. One of the things about moving into someone else's house is that you never know what you might find:

For instance, I found this UGLY picture of my husband holding a lovely cornice. Well, actually the cornice is ugly and Tom's face, well, it's Tom's face (not so ugly!). More house pics to come as we take them - I promise!

Why WHY Wii?

Why on earth would they do THIS to a pregnant woman*? Come on now - diapers, baby clothes and a Wii? Yeah, nice. *Just wanted to add that we were in the baby store getting bottle liners - hard to find bottle liners - and I am NOT pregnant. Let the breathing resume.

Scary hair

This is what happens when you give a blow dryer to an

eight year old in desperate need of haircut:

Thankfully he got that haircut shortly after this picture was taken.