Trip the Light Fantastic

Y'all, the effort to teach our kids that drugs don't pay has been dealt a serious blow and the blow was frakking hilarious! When we were down at my parents' house, we all went to see Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted together. I honestly can't tell you who liked the movie more...the kids or the adults. I think this might have been the best of all the Madagascar movies. We all laughed so much and, during more than one scene, I was convinced that they has to have been on hallucinogenics to even come up with something like that. As the credits rolled, Marty looked at me and said "They forgot to put one person in the credits...they forgot to include their drug supplier."

As the credits were rolling, Gabe decided he desperately had to go to the bathroom so my dad headed out with him while the rest of us gathered up our stuff. As we walked out of the theater, I heard shrieks of laughter coming from the bathroom...shrieks of laughter that I KNEW were coming from Gabe. I was almost afraid to find out what was going on. Turns out that the shrieks of laughter were my dad's fault this time. He cracked Gabe up when he started doing this "you have to move it, move it" dance while they were drying their hands. I think he must have had a contact high from watching the movie.

I can't even begin to explain how much fun we all had. It really was a trip. And, while the teaser trailer and the second trailer gave you an idea what the movie is like, the true insanity of Madagascar 3 is captures in this Afro Circus Remix...you have to watch it...

I forgot to breathe...

I've had an insanely busy 24 hours. Last night, at about this time, I realized that if I was going to pack for a week away, I had laundry that needed to be done. So, at about 11 pm on Saturday, I put the first of three loads of laundry in. The laundry wasn't 100% completed before I went to bed but I was down to only needing one transfered into the dryer when it was finished washing (Thanks Vic!...jealous much, my husband cooks, cleans, AND does laundry). When I stumbled back to bed at about 2:30 am, I set my alarm for 9. I figured the kids (at least the younger 2)&) would be up by then.

The one time in my life it would be helpful if they were up earlyish, they slept in. I put on a pot of coffee and sat down to read the news while it brewed. Gabe was up before the coffee was done and Joey wasn't two far behind. While they were waking up and eating breakfast, I folded 3 loads of laundry (whee fun...normally, Vic would fold it but they ha a really busy night at work) and knocked back my first cup of coffee. I started trying to wake Marty up at 10:30 so we could start packing for our trip out of town.The younger two and I got started picking out the clothes to bring with us and Marty finally dragged ass out of bed at about 11. God, I miss those teenage hours. I had the kids completely packed (clothes, electronic gadgets, chargers, Marty's school books, etc) by about 11:45. Now, I had to pack myself and get dressed. By 12:40, I was cleaned up, dressed and had my clothes and everyones toiletries and meds packed. By 1:20, I had all my work and projects I need to work on packed.

Did I mention that Gabe had a birthday party to go to that started at 2 and I still had to get to the store and pick up some things Vic was going to need over the course of the week? Yeah, since we were going to be gone, Vic picked up some overtime shifts and knew he wouldn't have time to get to the store so I had that to fit in too. Miraculously, Gabe and I walked into the party only 15 minutes after it started and he had a blast "skating". I say skating in quotes because, well, he is 6 and has only been on skates one other time. You can imagine how graceful he was. We left the party at 4:45 and I made it home in time to kiss my husband through his vehicle window as he left for work. At this point, I had 2 hours and 15 minutes to get everything wrapped up and get out the door so I could arrive at our destination in time (btw, our destination is an hour and 10 minutes away from my house).

In one hour, the kids and I loaded the van, tied two bikes to the top of the van, loaded the dish washer, made sure the dogs had been out, and got ourselves and both dogs in the van for the drive to my parents, house. I also broke up the hundred zillionth fight in 24 hours between my kids and threatened them with a complete ban on talking for the entire drive if they didn't reform themselves. We left the house at 5:45 and pulled into the parking lot of my mom's church at 6:55...with 5 minutes to spare. See, Gabe had an ice cream social for the day camp he will be attending this week. My parents met us in the parking lot and my Dad took my van, the dogs, and the two older kids back to their house. Gabe, my mom, and I went to his ice cream social. After the ice cream social which Gabe piggy backed onto birthday party food, we headed back to my parents'  house with a quick side trip to by sunscreen. Gabe proceded to spent the remainder of the evening eating his way through a large piece of pizza, about a pound of grapes, a few pieces of chocolate, a serving size container of pringles, and a granny smith apple. Gabe and Joey went to bed late. Marty is winding down for the night. Even the dogs are asleep. The quiet is calling to me and I'm about ready to go to sleep myself.

Oh shit, I think I hear Gabe calling bellowing for me...

I guess it's time to go again.

Tune in tomorrow for pictures of Joey's new haircut. You won't believe it.

Perfect Moment Monday: Peace and Quiet and Love

Welcome to Perfect Moment Monday sponsored by Lori over at Write Mind Open Heart (formerly Weebles Wobblog). Lori says that "Perfect Moment Monday is more about noticing a perfect moment than about creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between."

Today was awesome and I have the best parents in the universe. While those two statements might not always be related, they definitely are in this case. Every year, my parents take my kids Christmas shopping so they have a chance to buy each other presents and so they can buy us a secret present. While that is awesome enough, this year, they invited all 3 boys to come down to their house for 2 days. This morning at 11, my dad arrived to pick up the boys. The boys spent the early part of the day providing my parents with a not pf slave labor.  They helped do yard work and other things. Then, they got to do their shopping. While my dad was picking up the boys, my mom was driving west of here to pick up my 2 nieces. My nieces are spending tonight with a friend and tomorrow all 5 cousins are hanging out with their grandparents. I think this whole moment exemplifies a perfect moment of love.

The love and generosity my parents have for their grandchildren allowed me to have a few perfect moments of peace and quiet today. I actually had a chance to take a shower uninterrupted by "Moooooommmmmm, make him stop doing x, y, or z" or "I'm telling on you." Not only did I take a long, lovely, hot shower but I got to shave my legs too. Wooohooooo! Then, I actually got to take a nap. I drifted off to sleep and was able to sleep as long as I wanted instead of setting an alarm or worrying about what the kids were getting into.

Thank you mom and dad for the series of perfect moments you gave me.

Go check out the other perfect moments at this week's Perfect Moment Monday on Write Mind Open Heart.

Perfect Moment Monday: Too Many To Count

Lori over at Weebles Wobblog says that "Perfect Moment Monday is more about noticing a perfect moment than about creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between."

This weekend was amazing. The whole family got together at my parents' house for an early Thanksgiving meal.
We had moments of pure goofiness and silliness...

moments of more sedate fun...

and uncles and nephews "practicing" their martial arts skills
Most of all, it was just time for us to be together as a family.

There was also one miraculous turn of events this weekend. Gabe is potty trained. He is doing everything in the potty. I expect we will have some slip ups but that is normal. I'm so proud of my little guy and so relieved he is out of diapers.

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Go check out the other perfect moments at this week's Perfect Moment Monday on Weebles Wobblog.

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Btw, check out my new Thanksgiving craft idea over at Examiner.com

Mea Culpa

I had to call my dad the other day to apologize and, in the process, gave him a laugh and a moment every parent dreams of. When he picked up the phone, I said, "I'm sorry I was such a pain in the ass all those times you helped me with math homework." Why would I call him now, more than a quarter of a century later, to apologize for behavior back then? Because I got a taste of just how fucking impossible I must have been. Marty was trying to do his pre-algebra homework (multi-step equations with unknown variables and both negative and positive integers) and just wasn't quite getting it right. He ended up getting so agitated and so convinced that he couldn't do it that explanations that would normally make sense to him were causing him to scream at me in frustration. Instead of listening to the explanations, he would jump 3 or 4 steps ahead and, of course, not understand because an assumption he made was wrong. He was driving me INSANE.

See, I can remember behaving EXACTLY like that when my dad would try to help me with my pre-algebra and algebra homework. I remember just how crazy I let it drive me and how I would yell and stomp and loudly state that it MADE NO SENSE!...because obviously it was the principals of mathematics that made no sense. It couldn't be me that was the problem. Fast forward from 1982ish to today in 2009 and put me in the roll of the parent and Marty in my part and that was exactly what I went through the other night.

However, despite the crazy making potential of the situation, I stuck with it, just like my dad stuck with it with me. In the end, Marty finally understood how to simplify those equations and I didn't have to wait over 25 years for my apology. The next day, Marty came to me and said thank you for helping him and told me he was sorry he had been such a pain. He then told me I had helped him understand it well enough that he was able to help a friend learn it.

Huge kudos to Marty for admitting his behavior and having the cojones to admit he had been wrong. I know i didn't do that at his age.

And, Dad, I'm sorry it took me over 25 years to truly understand what a pain in the ass I was all those times we worked on Math together.

SHOW AND TELL: Labor Day 2009

If you want to read about the cataclysmic beginning to the day, check this out. After that disaster, the boys and I met my parents and nieces for a fabulous day including lunch at IHOP, a trip to the NC Museum of Natural Science to see Chocolate: The Exhibition and all the other wonderful displays, and an hour or two running, screaming, and burning off energy at the park. The NC Museum of Natural Science is one of the treasures of our state capitol. Not only do they have a incredible collection of skeletons (dinos, sea animals, etc) and fossils, a cool hands on room, a small butterfly habitat, and much, much more, but they regularly bring in exhibits like the Chocolate Exhibition and the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit. BTW, each pic is clickable so you can see a larger version.

We all had such a good time at the museum. Everyone posed for pics being "eaten" by the T-Rex skull...
After that, we all went to see the life size model of Apatosaurus and the only real Acrocanthosaurus skeleton on display in the world.


Holy sh*t, that's a big dino!
The kids weren't content seeing the dinos from ground level. They had to go up a floor and see them from above.

When we were finally done at the museum...well, not done but done for this visit...we headed for world's coolest park (a subject for another show and tell) and the kids blew off steam for a while. Most of the time, they were moving too fast to get good pictures. However, once we headed out to walk to the pedestrian bridge that connected the park we were at to one on the other side of the highway, they slowed down and I got a few fabulous shots.


The memories made on Labor Day will be treasured forever.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

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Finally, vote for me (#25) in the Aunt Becky World Tour

The Fun Never Ends

I hope y'all had a fabulous Labor Day (those of you in the US that is) and, for the rest of y'all, I hope you had a fabulous day. My mom and dad brought my nieces up and we met them for a fabulous day including lunch at IHOP, a trip to the NC Museum of Natural Science to see Chocolate: The Exhibition and all the other wonderful displays, and an hour or two running, screaming, and burning off energy at the park. I'll tell y'all more about all that on Wednesday because that is the topic of my Show&Tell this week. What I do want to tell you about is the latest entry in the ongoing saga of Kristin and her boys the Hellions. Just as we were walking out the door, the phone rang and it was my mom saying they were running about 15 minutes behind schedule. Now, 15 minutes waiting at your destination may not seem like a lot, but, when you are trying to corral Gabriel, it is. So, I put all our stuff in the van and told the boys to go back inside for 15 minutes. Marty rushed inside anticipating 15 minutes of video game time and before I even clear the door a hear a loud noise and the distinctive, sort of silvery sound of glass breaking. At first, I didn't even realize the noise came from inside the house. However, walking through the door to Marty saying I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry sort of gave it away. Wanna know what happens when someone kicks off their size 13 gunboats?

Marty's shoe next to my foot for comparison
Well, when you kick them off with the vigor and enthusiasm of a certain (almost) 13 yr old boy, they fly in a high, beautiful arch that, unfortunately does not reach its nadir before intercepting a window almost 5' 4" off the ground...
Right now, I am just eternally grateful that we also have storm windows so we don't have to budget to have the window replaced immediately. I did rant and rave a bit and Marty was begging the whole time "Please don't be mad mom." I told him he wasn't getting punished because I knew he didn't do it on purpose. However, I also told him I was a bit pissed off because we had asked him multiple times not to kick off his shoes like that. I also told him if it ever happened again, all his rights, all his privileges, were gone until I felt like giving them back. After I cleaned up the glass I could get up quickly (what you see in the pic is stuck in the frame and needs to be broken out), we were 10 minutes late instead of having to wait on everyone else.

Vic's only response when I called him this evening at work to tell him about it was to laugh a bit (I swear I could hear him shaking his head in bemusement over the phone line) and ask "Which knucklehead did it?"

See, I never have to worry about running out of things to write. All I have to do is wait a day or two and my children create a story for me. Good thing I love them to bits...LOL.

Zzzzzzzzzzz....

I knew I should have gone to bed before 12:30 last night. 12:30 isn't that late for me but I had to get up at 5 am this morning to take my dad to the airport. My mom has been in California for a week for a conference and my dad is flying out to join her so they can have a week of vacation time together. So, I'm sitting her yawning due to my inability to go to bed on time and my kids are wanting to do things that require brain power. Hopefully, I can muster the brain power to play a game with them :)

SHOW AND TELL: my dad

My dad is a pretty cool guy...but then he would have to be to be married to my mom for 40+ years. My dad has always been willing to stick his neck out to protect the family and he always, always made sure that my sisters and I knew that we could do anything we put our minds to...that there are no barriers just because we are women. He adores his grandchildren and loves to do things with them. The crazy man even took my kids camping and shuns air mattresses as being something for wusses (ROFL). Like any parent, he has his flaws but I am so proud of everything he has done.

And, you know whats awesome? The local newspaper where he lives has recognized what a special individual he is. Please take a moment to click on the pictures below. They will open up so the text of the article is legible.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD! I love you.



a letter of recognition from the company
my dad does tutoring with

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

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And, one little fun extra. I have a really cool project going on for a fellow blogger. It is going to be an incredible surprise and if you want in on it, EMAIL ME!

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I still haven't heard from a few of the winners of the Great Animal Exodus Giveaway. The winners are Jen who chose the dino group, Infertility Rocks, Ms. GeekByMarriage who had 2 entries win and picked the fish with one of them, Arian, Beautiful Mess, WiseGuy who selected Garfield, battynurse who gets Pooh Bear and friends, and Emmy.

Ladies, email me with your mailing addresses and slowly but surely I'll start mailing out the packages.

My Mom part 2

Happy Mother's Day mom. I meant to have this post up earlier in the day but you know how it is with kids around. Time just gets away from you.

I don't even know how to begin to tell y'all how amazing my mom is. I am one of those lucky women who can truly say my mom is also my friend. If someone came up to me and told me I reminded them of my mom, I would consider that a compliment of the highest order.

My mom has always been a leader. She's also creative, brilliant, and funny. My mom marched in the civil rights marches, taught English to diplomats, and wasn't afraid to dress down an Air Force general when she thought he was in the wrong.

For many, many years, my mom was a stay at home mom. She was my girl scout leader when I was little and she has spent years as a Red Cross volunteer and swimming instructor. My mom took on a group of girls who wanted to play soccer and coached the first all girls soccer team in a mixed league when my sister was littler and her team held their own.

Now, my mom is a high school teacher and the school's swim coach. She is on her church council and involved in the teacher's association. And, despite all that, she still finds the time to come to special events for all her grandkids. Sometimes I think my mom has more energy at 65 than I do at 39.

My mom has always been my biggest champion and even when we disagree I never doubt her love for me. And, there have been times we have disagreed rather heatedly over things. There have even been a time or two when I was so pissed off I wasn't speaking to her. I'm not going to tell those stories because that's not whats important. I just wanted to point out that even when our relationship got rocky, I always, always knew she would be there if I needed her.

My mom is an incredible woman and I hope I measure up to the standards she set as a wife, as a woman, and as a mother. I love you mom. Happy Mother's Day

SHOW AND TELL: my mom

My mom was such a cool mom while I was growing up and she is an equally cool grandma to my kids. She was the mom who didn't freak out when a gingerbread house building turned into a frosting fight at a birthday party of mine. And, she was the mom who let me invite all 12 girls in my 2nd grade class to a sleepover (and, yes, they all came). You seen her playing with "volcanoes" with Gabe and this week you get another treat. You get to her an original Karin O'Donnell song. Many years ago, my niece went through a stage where she wanted you to sing with her whenever you took her on a long car trip. However, it couldn't be any random song. Bri would want you to sing the same song over and over and over again for the whole car trip. One day, my mom and dad were making the then 2 hour drive to our house and Bri had her singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Well, about halfway there, my mom snapped and started singing this version of it...

Twinkle twinkle little bat
How I wonder where you're at?
Did you pee pee in my eye?
Did you poot in the sky?
Twinkle twinkle little bat
Give me back my furry hat!

I was able to get it on video for you because I told her that was the only way I would let her teach it to Gabe.

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I also wanted to share the gorgeous present my friend Henny brought me when she came for her surprise visit. Click on the picture so you can see a close up. It is amazing.


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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

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And, don't forget to go by my Etsy shop and buy a hat to support the Liz Logelin Foundation. All the details can be found in this previous Show & Tell post.

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Finally, to help Kym and all future Sock-It-To-Me participants, I am going to set up a sock site database. It will probably just be in a post here but the info will be available to all. Please EMAIL ME (yes, use that link...not any other email address you have for me...using this link will keep all the emails together) and give me a link to the site you bought the socks from and any review of the site you might have.

SHOW AND TELL: Wings Over Wayne

Last weekend, we went down to my parents' house. On Saturday, the boys, my dad, and I went out to Seymour Johnson AFB for their annual air show, Wings Over Wayne. We all had a fabulous time and I got some awesome pictures (most of the pics are clickable to larger views).

Grandpa Mick and the boys; my dad



eating lunch in the shade under the C-5

the Sea Knight helicopter

B2 Stealth Bomber

Seymour Johnson Strike Eagle Demo Team









Poor little boy was exhausted by the heat and his late night

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

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And, don't forget to go by my Etsy shop and buy a hat to support the Liz Logelin Foundation. All the details can be found in Show & Tell post from 3 weeks ago.

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Finally, to help Kym and all future Sock-It-To-Me participants, I am going to set up a sock site database. It will probably just be in a post here but the info will be available to all. Please EMAIL ME (yes, use that link...not any other email address you have for me...using this link will keep all the emails together) and give me a link to the site you bought the socks from and any review of the site you might have.

SHOW AND TELL: My Inspiration

This week I want to tell you the story of my parents marriage. I hope I grow up to be like them and I hope my marriage is at least as long as theirs has been.

Over 42 years ago, a young man and a young woman had a chance meeting over in Japan. The young woman was beautiful, blonde, and smart as a whip. The young man was smart, looked sharp in his uniform, and had a soft spot for strong women. The young woman had been bored in college so, when her father got order's from the Air Force to transfer to Japan, she decided to go with them. She enrolled in school, got hired to teach English to diplomats, and spent her spare time teaching lifeguarding classes to the military men on base. The young man was a navigator in the Air Force and his squadron made regular runs to Japan. One day, they had a longer layover than usual and he decided to stop by the pool on base. When he got to the pool, his attention was immediately drawn to this blonde woman who (in his words) was making fools of those airmen in the water. Yup, that was when my dad first saw my mom. 10 months later, they were married. During those 10 months, he was stationed in New Jersey and flew through Japan while she was living in Japan...so, they only saw each other a total of 14 whole or partial days. Next May, from the 22 through the 27, they will be celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary. Of course, my dad, being the wonderful smart ass that he is, tell people that they are celebrating their 126 anniversary. Since they were both American citizens and the wedding was in Japan, they got married in a Japanese legal ceremony and an American legal ceremony (both on May 22, 1967) and then had a church wedding on May 27th. He just multiples the 42 years that they wil have spent together by 3.

Life hasn't always been perfect. They've had some really tough times. But, they have always loved each other with every fiber of their being. They have really shown me the meaning of the wedding vows "for better or for worse". I couldn't have asked for a better example to try and live up to.

Here they are almost 42 years ago...


and here they are today...


To see more wonderful SHOW AND TELL, check in with Miss Lollipop.

It appears the tendency to injure ankles is a family trait

My mom was walking in the woods near her house and she slipped going down an embankment. This happened late afternoon on Monday. Her ankle buckled and twisted underneath her. I talked to her yesterday and she had finally gone to the doctor. Her ankle was swollen and quite sore. It was bad enough that she realized she wouldn't be able to stand on it all day Tuesday to teach. That's probably the only reason she agreed to go to the doctor (for any of you who have wondered where my stubborn streak comes from, this is it). Luckily, my dad is a registered substitute teacher so he was able to go in and cover all her classes yesterday while she was at the doctor. When she called me Tuesday, they still hadn't completely ruled out a break. I guess they were waiting for the xrays to be read or something. She said if they decided it was broken, she would get a red cast to match Marty's.

We are all suppose to be going to the county fair down near my mom's house this weekend. I hope she pays attention to her ankle and doesn't push past its endurance limit.