Back 'atcha Fox!

This just in from Fox Business Network host Eric Bolling - The Muppets are promoting a left-wing agenda, they are brainwashing our children, and the environmentalists have run amuck in the liberal media. Huh. Problem is, they don't mention saving the environment at all in the movie. They are looking to save their historic theater, and Eric Bolling can't tell the difference. Truth be told, oilmen make for good villains - just look at J.R. Ewing. He's got to be one of the best. That aside, who in their right mind picks a fight with Kermit the Frog?

So, the the response from the Muppets:

He he he. Take THAT Eric Bolling.

I got the dryer blues

I've taken the past week off from doing laundry. Not sure if it was a bit of rebellion, a bit of tired, or a bit of lazy that overcame me, but I took the week off and only did one load that had Max's gym clothes in there. Poor kid - just couldn't do that to him. So of course today, when I start back in on the piles of laundry that we have sitting in each of our rooms does the dryer start to make this horrible, awful, terrible noise. It wasn't just a squeak, but a bit of a grind, squeak, squeal. So, Tom popped it open, he found the part that wasn't doing it's job, and we hunted it up. So either tomorrow, or int he next three to five business days, we will be the proud new owner of a drum slide. Problem is, I have one load sitting in the dryer not quite half dry, and another load in the washer completely wet. And the piles? Well, they are all still sitting here, waiting to be washed. Go figure. Then again, wonder if I should take a run to the laundromat? Last time was oh so much fun and beyond satisfying. Guess it depends on whether or not they have the part locally and we can drop it in tomorrow, or whether it takes a few days to arrive and these clothes need to be piled into the van.

Then we can all be jealous over laundry rooms like this one:

Or even this one:

Sigh.

Images from: http://homes-interior.com/2010/06/10/laundry-rooms-design.html

Best Holiday Letter

We love getting letters and cards from folks over the holidays, so we do out best to always get something out the door. This year our cards were done at the beginning of December, then life got in the way, and they are still sitting here. Not to make excuses (but I am clearly making one here), but the computer that has the database with all of the addresses on it is no longer used, and the new computer that we have, along with all of the rest of the computers in the house, don't have a compatible program, or even a database program, so we're kind of stuck. Needless to say we need to do some work to get the list off of the old computer and onto something that's readable by all the currently-in-use computers.

I wander.

The letters and pictures we received this year were spectacular as usual. it wasn't that they were fancy, fancy. It wasn't that they were superbly written or perfect photographs. But it was all the love poured into them and the fact that we touched base with our old and new friends and caught glimpses of life in their world. But then we got one letter and the last paragraph was so good I had to share. After sharing about their three fabulous kids in their various stages of finishing up their education, and telling us all that they were up to over the past year, the closing line was a killer. The sentiments they express are just perfect:

Here's hoping that we all survive the next election cycle; if you should see the Texas governor, please send him home - we're so embarrassed. Apart from that, we feel blessed and hope that you feel the spirit of Christmas in your lives.

And that says it all. Hope that everyone is enjoying their holiday season!

Quiet

Sometimes when it's really quiet and I get really bored I hear seagulls squaking in my head. - Ian 11/15/10

Cold Suzie, Warm Suzie

This is what I normally look like this time of year:

But for the past few days I've looked like this:
No scarf, no jacket, no pants (shorts, of course), and no shoes. I'm actually wearing sandals when I go out - in South Florida, of course. It's unseasonably warm here right now - about 80 degrees for the high, but it's beautiful and it's warm, and that's a good thing for me. I'll head back to the cold in Virginia in a few days, but for now I'm soaking up the warmth (not the sun though as I'd likely burn) and enjoying the warmer temps before returning to the brunt of the winter weather up north.

Happy Holidays!

Hope that all of your holidays are filled with joy, love, and peace. Looking forward to another GREAT holiday season here - a bit delayed for us though. I'm in Florida for a week helping out a friend while the family is hanging out at home with Baba in Virginia. We celebrated Hanukkah before I left and we'll get Christmas covered once I get back in a few days.

But I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season, that you get to spend loads of time relaxing and hanging out with family,and that you indulge a bit on the treats and smells of the holiday season!

Image: © Guillaume Piolle / CC-BY-3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Happy Birthday, Baba!

Happy Happy, Merry Merry! Glad that we got to spend another birthday celebrating with you Dad!

The Ladies and their Crazy Hair

Ian and Sam had crazy hair day at school, and Lucy wanted to get in on the action. She wanted green hair, so we painted the tips of her hair green, I tossed on some crazy crinoline tube hair thingys, and we went to school. Unfortunately neither Sam nor Ian wanted to actually have lunch with us, but we did pop in on them and say "Hi." Then, we ran a few errands and grabbed a few gifts, and headed home to rest and recover from our day out with crazy hair. Lucy loved her green hair, and now wants more green, or maybe blue, or who knows. "Mommy, when is crazy hair day next?"

Cello Wars

Felt compelled to share this one with you. It's brilliant, and definitely for the kids.

Giving up

Just couldn't keep her eyes open one more minute.

Middle School Sports

Growing up in Texas, I started playing organized team sports in middle school. I started on my less than illustrious volleyball career in middle school initially to avoid taking PE - really, really didn't want to take middle school PE. That philosophy actually did well by me through high school - joining the team to avoid taking gym class/off season training. I started playing basketball after volleyball season was over (when I was a Freshman) so I didn't have to do volleyball off-season, then took up track to avoid basketball off-season. Anyway, it all started for me back in middle school.

Up until middle school I wasn't a big athlete. I participated in the neighborhood fun and games, and gym class and playground activities, but nothing organized. I was more of a dance person - ballet, gymnastics, and clogging floated my boat. But starting in eighth grade, I was all about sports, and it seems that some of that has rubbed off on my eldest. Earlier this year Max tried out for and made a flag football team at his middle school. Max isn't a big guy - just average size for a 6th grader, but he's fast, and he's nimble on is feet. Those two summers of rugby have really improved his football game, and his soccer feet are clearly an asset. He was one of 25 kids in 6th grade that made the football teams. They do play flag football, which is the only reason we agreed to this. Coming from Texas we knew better than to toss our little guy into pads - that's just too scary for this mom and dad. Anyway, the were four teams in the middle school's football league, and Max's team went undefeated this past season.

Unfortunately, due to rain and snow (in October - can you imagine?) they missed a few games, but they finally called the season, and his team was undefeated. I was able to catch just one game - the rest were rained out - but I did see him catch an interception and almost make it across the goal line. It was cool seeing Max, all 56" of him playing football next to some 8th graders that were well over six feet. Flag football season is over now, and while Max is still playing soccer (although indoors - it's starting to get cold) he's already expressed interest in joining a basketball team. While my heart jumps at the thought of one of my kiddos playing the sport that I grew to really love and enjoy, the idea of him trying out for and making a basketball team at his height makes me giggle.

If you give a kid a violin

We are BIG fans of the Give a Mouse a Cookie series here in this house. Last week someone gave my kids violins. Of course my first thought was to run screaming from the house. How on earth could this possibly end well - not just one violin, but two. Then they started playing, and it was a totally different experience than when my oldest was given a violin. When Max first started playing violin we really thought that he couldn't hear that he was playing the wrong notes (and we weren't too far off - but turns out he's a brilliant trumpet play and can hear those notes perfectly). But Ian and Sam are different. First day out of the case, they wrote some music and played a song for us. They only know how to pluck the strings, not even how to play anything but open strings, their violins weren't completely tuned when they first brought them home, but they created music. So apparently in my house, if you give a kid a violin...

...he'll make music.

Cookies! Yuk.

Would you eat these? They were well intentioned but totally burnt. Talk about crispy cookies. Obviously, Tom failed to remove the excess dough from around the edges. Then, he put them in for WAY too long. Needless to say they are hard as hockey pucks, but shaped much more like a rock tablet. But I really did appreciate the fact that he made these for me after a long day. ;)

It's Indoor Soccer Time Again!

After a long outdoor soccer season filled with rain and reschedules, it's nice to move back indoors. All of the games are at the same place, and unless we have a massive snowstorm here again, it most likely won't stack up all in the last few weeks of the season. The kids love indoor soccer, and Lucy likes to run around without being continually told to stay out of the mud, the street, and off the field. Winter soccer is a much easier thing for our family to pull off - three boys all playing travel soccer, Tom coaching one team and me managing another made for a crazy outdoor season. So, between now and about the end of March we'll be hanging at the indoor soccer place near here, hanging out int he warm, cheering the kids on as they take the field.

Missing again? OUCH!

I've been gone again, and this time it was for a pretty decent reason:

You'll notice that it's not my foot, but it is Tom's right foot, and up until this past weekend he wasn't driving, and wasn't walking on his foot at all. This happened almost three weeks ago, so needless to say we've been busy making sure that everyone got to the right places at the right times. My day has included the deposit of various children at various schools or bus stops, driving the littlest one to and from her activities, and getting the hubby to and from work when he couldn't work from home. He was able to catch a ride from a co-worker or two to get out to another work site, but for most of the last three weeks we were a one car family with no public transportation option. The super, crazy, five soccer games and two birthday party day came when Tom's foot looked like this:

Stuffed sausage anyone? Tom's foot spent a good part of the past three weeks swollen up and all kinds of colors (yellow, purple, blue, even a little green). It's a sprain, so the prescription is PT, Advil, and elevation. This past weekend he finally started walking on it, and finally started driving. Whew! We survived the super crazy day with the help of several friends. Now, we are back to being a two car family and Tom is off of crutches as of last Monday. So, all is back to our normal level of crazy in our little corner of the world.

Babee!!!

I have a brand new nephew Nathan, and he's adorable!!!

Congrats Bill, Brooke, and Nicholas - and good job!

Benihana Fun

First trip for the youngest three to one of their dad's favorite places to eat - Benihana. Max went when he was a wee one, but this one is pretty far away, so we've never been. They behaved like perfect little children - NOT! But it was their Dad and Uncle's birthday, so we all drove out there, and everyone had fun (and some of us had good food).

They loved the volcano, the guy chopping shrimp, the hats, the hot grill and the dancing oil. And they didn't eat a thing. Max tried a bite of chicken and said that it was yummy, Sam considered he rice briefly (until he saw the stuff in it up close), but both declined any actual food. We fed them before we went anticipating that they'd not eat much there, but it was still fun for everyone.

Scarves!

Being a warm weather girl, I never really wore scarves growing up. But here in the *ahem* south...yeah. Here in Northern Virginia we need scarves a good chunk of the winter or else our necks will get cold! But I'm still not 100% sure how to wear these beautiful scarves, and I have several. They are a little like shoes or purses for some women - I collect them. I make them, I buy them, I covet them, but still not clue how to wear them. But, I found this and thought it best to share:

Now, I wear scarves and ROCK the scarves. I not only make it work, but I look cool doing it (whatever it is...).

Zombie Fun

Leave your 11 year old alone with your iPhone for a minute, and this is what you end up with:

See his zombie, realize that you have work to do, and then this is what you create:

Thanks Make a Zombie! We totally rock Zombie World now.

Lucy's first ever visit to the dentist

Lucy has been dying to go to the dentist for a while now. She goes with the boys to all of their appointments, sees that they are happy when they leave, and also get coins to buy prizes, and she's waited (not so patiently) for her turn. She's wanted to walk past the waiting room to see what fun awaits kids on the other side. Her turn finally arrived a few weeks ago and she couldn't have been happier. She marched right in, sat right down in the chair next to Max (we take them in by twos these days), and popped open her mouth when asked.

After the hygienist cleaned her teeth, the dentist took a look, and then they took x-rays as the dentist saw something suspicious on one of her teeth. All this without any fussing, and without even squirming, until the end. When they gave her the coin she practically ran over her brother and another lady waiting to check out in an attempt to tackle the machine with all the prizes. Then the fussing started. She wanted this toy, then that (they are little ones dispensed from a candy machine) and she wanted two, no three toys. Then she started in on Max - why didn't he give her his coin? Why wasn't he getting what she wanted him to get? And we got out of there as fast as we could, Lucy with a burrito - yes, burrito - in hand. Apparently plastic Mexican food toys that are dispensed from a candy machine and cost one dental cleaning are the best thing ever. She brought her burrito home and immediately showed Ian, who pulled out his taco - yes, really a taco - and then played. Dogs, rings, tattoos, sticky lizards, and all the other toys didn't hold a candle to the Mexican food at the dentist. Ahh...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.