Slap those thighs

Not a morning person? Then you are sure to have kids who are.

Who needs coffee really. Oh yeah...me.

Talent Show: Day 2

He speaks Whale....

I especially like the note around second 52 if you have the higher reaches of your hearing. If you don't, your dog might perk up unexpectedly there and that would be fun to watch too. ;) This is one of his favorite things to do so I have several of these vids in my collection. Don't worry, I'll stop after sharing just the one....for now. Baha

IN A WORLD WHERE MOVIES AND HEROES ARE MADE IN THE SAME KITCHEN

Jamey and our middle schooler Ratchet have been plotting, planning, and preparing (for nearly a year now) the movie they've wanted to make with all the cousins. We needed to get the filming in before school(and puberty and such) so we decided to have a two day movie making extravaganza!

Here are a few behind the scenes looks into the making of FUZION WARRIORS.

In this first scene, "Little Chef" has cooked up some scary looking alien grub and the warrior clan will be filmed giving their various reactions to the strange new cuisine.

Naturally, Jamey will be adding all kinds of computerized awesomeness to transform my chaotic kitchen into pure movie magic. (Why can't we do this everyday?!)

Here's another sneak preview from the next day's filming. The scene about to be shot is in the Fuzion Warrior's hangout where they really get down to business, or just really get down depending on the danger level present.

Now, don't YOU feel safer knowing the Fuzion Warriors are on the scene?

I know I do. And I'll be sure to be at the premiere when this baby opens.

This movie is not yet rated.

Dandy in the Kitchen

Dandy always tells me he wants to be a chef when he grows up so we read this and tried the recipe at the end for some griddle cake funsies. I'll not be attempting Julia Child's classic first book anytime soon as much as I enjoyed the movie about her.

I'm working on my Vegas post...still (and trying to make shorter blog posts as well) so I'll see you soon!

A Muzac moment

Sometimes the paparazzi tell little fibs to get the shots they want. It doesn't always work on Uncle Sean though. I think he's aware of my methods. ;)

My Vegas posts are still on the way....You know I'm easily distracted by the dance.

You know I'm Trippin'!

Sorry once again for straying from my land for far too long. It's been a fast paced whacked out summerpalooza of sorts around here. With one in summer school(and having a terrible go of it) and the other on a dead run toward friends and activities at all times, a special sister/friend in town from oversees visiting and tons of little trips in between. I've gone and gotten my hair all mussed and myself internally flustered in the process! How's this low energy gal to handle all this?! My nerves have literally been shocking themselves and my heart and head have taken to pulsing spells.

Yes, it IS quite pitiful. I'll give you that. I actually thought I was having a nervous breakdown one weekend! Then having the genius idea my thyroid meds were messing with me, I popped in to the doctor to check it. Turns out it was the first thing. I needed nerve pills for Pete's sake! What would I actually do if real problems came along? pfffft. Apparently, I don't begat from a long line of hearty stock when it comes to the old mental stamina. I'm a delicate. I've always told my oldest that I'm breakable so that he won't practice his Tae Kwon Do moves on me, and my youngest so he just won't whack me in general, but I guess I failed to realize how my psyche was right there in the squishy department as well! Oh bother.

But, neither of us need to dwell on my rattling marbles, so I'll show you a collection of pictures from our recent trip up to Illinois. The first week in July, all Jamey's family took the trip from Arkansas with tents ready for some grand camping and fishing on Granny's farm. There were 16-20 of us there in all with 8 kids age 11 down to 3. There were no cries of boredom from anyone. In fact, we thought the children had turned a little wild after the first few days. They stayed in a pack and grunted around a lot in the tall grasses.

J's brother and sis-n-law

J's dad and nephew

Brother in law and youngest boy

Jamey's sis and Mom(and camp cook extraordinaire)

Miley the only giant dog I love

Our lil' gipper

Proud fishermen J and the Ratchet

Rainy day kids gathered around a six inch t.v.

He's a loner, a rebel.

My tent looked much like this and was in a neighboring town. Did I mention I have anxiety issues? ;) Well, I slept the sleep of the heavily drugged when I made it here each night. Sweet sweet camping times for me. I DID get some unexpected company from my boys in the middle of one rainy night. Their tent leaked and they headed for the inn at 2:45 in the morning. They are probably lucky I wasn't packin' heat startling me at that hour!

And here's a little video that shows a rounder of where we were. It's not really entertaining but it gives the lay of the land to help make up for my short supply of pictures. Yay for peaceful and relaxing(finally- thanks Dr.)times with family.

P.S. Though there are 0 pictures of yours truly, I could almost swear I was there for some of it...oh wait, that is me making the boring video comments. Yep.

Hopefully, I'll get some more reports on my summer visitations going soon now that I've broken the freeze on the manage blog post page again. I hope you haven't all stopped visiting me all together! Until next time friends and fam! :D

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CHILDREN OF ALL AGES:

Friday night we took the boys to the circus!!  Oh yes, and it was quite a sight to see.  Unfortunately, we were right by the speakers so it was even more a sound to hear!

 

Dandy, our sensory overload kid,  began to panic when the Ringmaster started in with his first of many "chance of a lifetime" deafening announcements, and immediately smacked his hands over his ears preparing to block out all surroundings.  I knew when I glanced back at him crumpled over his daddy and descending into the blank stare of self preservation, that I'd better get him engaged in the action of what was in front of him or he'd forever be terrified of striped vests and cotton candy. 

So I snagged my little 40 pounder and put him on my lap, clasping my hands into suction cups on both sides of his ears and that seemed to help his comfort level enough to take in the visuals.

And now on with the show!  They started right in with the big cats and up until I began squeezing Dandy's head in a vice grip, I had been happily filming tiny snippets of what I was seeing while they readied the animals.  Here's a peek at how close we were to the action.  

Oopsie.  I quietly turned off the camera and lowered it down whistling guiltily at this point. Jamey said later that he thought the announcer man was looking right at me while he mentioned that no digital cameras were allowed at all (Yes, excited lady stuck on the gum covered  bleacher end, that means you!!).  Who had anything else?  I wondered, looking around. Were we supposed to bring sketch pads and rapidly draw all of these "chance of  a lifetime" experiences they kept reminding us of. What year is this again? I did actually see the lion tamer using a Polaroid at one point and it made me wish I still had my early 80's version with the handle crank that brought forth the white magical square of captured time.  

Ahh, but I understood.  I just didn't think I was in a fancy enough experience to leave to the professionals to film.  But, for sure they don't want PETA in there with digital videos of those poor tired animals getting poked and prodded three hours a night.  No way, no how.

I did think about how they were treating their animals and I was keeping a close eye on the way the workers interacted with them and cracked the whips toward them.  I never care for that part of wild animal training.  I don't like how the giant cats look mad and ashamed when a lion tamer is making them maneuver over metal frames and each other for tiny chunks of meat.  Something about that seems so wrong.  At the same time though it is fascinating to watch and I had happily paid to see it all myself.  

I was worried for a particular doggie entertainer though.  He was wearing a plush elephant suit and walking around like a wind up toy.  It was one of the cutest things I've seen in a while, naturally, but the little poochkie had to have been burning up in that extra fur suit!  It didn't help that he was acting like he was collapsing over and over for the clown who had repeatedly wound him up with a huge foil looking cardboard key. It just went on way too long for my comfort levels knowing I myself (who since jr.high has had very little body hair) was practically sweating pools from the heat in that place while this elephant dog was blindly running around and then collapsing over and over  for crowds of shouting people's amusement.  

But then the clown "revived" him finally and in one swift move had the costume off  the scotty type dog, who then proceeded to  bolt around the ring with the hi-pro glow of a champion- totally proud of his toylike performance!  

I don't know what to think about any of that.  I was mostly just so relieved that I myself wouldn't have to grow old wearing a sequined leotard and slogging through elephant dung most nights of the week.  I mean there is just no way I am cut out for  that stuff! We could see three generations of circus entertainers out there doing what they've always done with their lives and it really seemed so so... tiring and unglamorous. 

Yet, it was good old fashioned entertainment in every sense of the word.  The boys had a great time and even Jamey thanked me for making him go (hee hee).  It was indeed a marvel of stunts and folly that only the Greatest Show On Earth is capable of. One might even go so far as to call it a chance of a lifetime.  

Bear Grylls vs. blue suede hiking shoes

Ratchet should be shaking a leg at school today in hopes of landing the part of Elvis in their fifth grade musical review scheduled for next month.  He's half hearted about the whole thing because there are no big speaking roles-just music, music and more music.  Apparently he prefers acting to singing though he did do both in last years production of  'Santa's Ho Ho Ho Down' (or something to that effect), where he enjoyed a little taste of fame after playing the Bearded One himself with a full bellied chortle and ad-libbed dance jig that surprised and thrilled the audience toward the end of the show.  

This year, the only part that interests him is the Elvis number.  So, as any scary stage mom would, this morning I made him show me what he was going to do at the audition.  Nonplussed by the idea of becoming Elvis in his own kitchen at breakfast time, he stood there and dutifully sang 'Teddy Bear'.  Well, this wouldn't do as you can imagine, so I  was forced to get up and show him the wide legged bent kneed stance he was going to need to pull off a believable impression.  After seeing his mother gyrating around in the kitchen with arms quaking out to the sides, his skepticism about my Elvis knowledge increased.  What else were we to do than consult the all knowing Youtube for a proper instructional on The King.  I think Ratchet was surprised to find Elvis doing many of my same actions only in such a way that they didn't really look so redonkulous coming from him.  I can't imagine.  I guess we'll see soon enough how it all turns out.  I told him that in a class of 300 or so kids, there were bound to be a few good Elvis impersonators, so he'd better bring his "A" game for the ladies in the room.  I told you I was scary. 

Speaking of characters we pretend to play. Yesterday we took a picnic dinner and went on a short woodsy hike outside of town to get a feel for the new "Outdoorburg" persona we are working on this year.(It doesn't come entirely naturally for some of us.) While waiting on our wandering leader who was going ahead for a quick check, I made Ratchet do his Man vs. Wild-Bear Grylls impression for me.  Because he was in serious hiker mode, he didn't really get into it as he sometimes does. But you'll get the idea.  Be careful with the volume though as Dandy does some impromptu yelling at the beginning and I'm not exactly quiet in stage mom mode myself..  

Life is a stage you know.  A tick infested stage.

Thursday in the big town

I've got a few tidbits to share before I head off to bed and lose it all.  I want to remember this day and the simple pleasures it gave me before I sleep and it becomes, well, yesterday. 

This morning, a.k.a. trash day, I planned to position myself at the window in clear view of the can at the curb outside.  This was not hard for me as I am usually at this window enjoying 1-3 cups of coffee and the company of my computer friends most a.m.'s.  My plan was to watch the "waste team" as they came across the poster board you may or may not remember from Ratchets cowboy b-day party.  It looks a little something like this:

And it was sitting next to the black can waiting to be disposed of.  Now, I ask you, what regular human could resist picking up this poster with an adult sized hole sitting atop a goofy picture and NOT immediately put their head through it?  It just isn't done.  Knowing this and hoping not to be disappointed, I carefully peeked out the window.  There were two guys there hanging from the back of the truck so I was encouraged.  Then the one closest to the curb hopped off and methodically went for the can, first tossing the top bags until it was lighter and then lifting the whole can in.  Then, still lacking enthusiasm, he grabbed the extra stuff including the poster board and tossed it all into the back of the truck.  

"Wait."  I thought, as he looked at what he'd just thrown.  Then YES, he pulled the stiff board back out of the trash and popped it right onto his head to show his partner!  I thrilled as I watched them smile at each other.  I kept watching and sure enough, the first dude wore the thing around his head until the next stop where he proceeded to get out and stand perfectly still, hands supporting the sides of the picture until the driver of the truck noticed him! Finally, after giving him a good look and laughing with the buddy in back, he jogged around to the passenger side of the trash truck, opened the door and tossed in the poster for safe keeping.  I LOL'ed and clapped with glee inside my house knowing Jamey's silly poster will live on another day.  It was so fun giving those dudes a little lift in their stinky stanky Thursday run.  I sighed thinking that was really all I needed to happen today. Then, I instantly wondered what we could do next week to surprise our hard working trash getters.  Maybe it was a one time thrill for us all. I supposed a live possum surprise wouldn't thrill as much as frighten/annoy, so that big guy under the house may have to wait.  Whatever the case, it was good not-so-clean fun on this particular morning. 

After school, my boys and I went to the park and enjoyed the perfect Spring day.  There is a creek running along beside it and they both took off their shoes and waded through until their feet were bright pink and nearly frozen.  I sat on a rock at  the edge of the water like the lizard that I am, and just soaked in all the Lithium my brain could process.  Dude, what a rush.  Dandy, normally physically challenged by any new terrain, was amazing as he took to the cold rocky surface like Gollum from the Lord of the Rings.  He had all fours down at several points, but kept this determined look mixed with wonder on his face as he maneuvered the rocks awkwardly with his bony tender frame.  After about 45 minutes, he announced from the middle of  the stream that he wanted to stay there[with his Precious]forever.  Baha.  The sunshine was affecting us all apparently.

When it was almost time to get back home for dinner, Ratchet decided to ride his bike up the hill toward home and Dandy stayed for one last hurrah on the playground.  While The D was messing about, we ran into one of Ratchet's favorite teachers of all time (from Kindy and first grade).  We rarely see her but have been following her blog and praying for her as she has been battling cancer for over a year, and has been a huge inspiration to hundreds of people she's encountered along the way.  

Her daughter took this picture of us today and she put it up on her blog just for my big boy to see and to leave a special message to him.  It pained me to hug her goodbye as the doctors have given her only a couple months and I wasn't sure we'd get to experience her delightful personality and smile again this side of heaven. If the Lord chooses to heal her and keep using her to his glory on earth, there will be a huge celebration of this wonderful lady, no doubt.  She simply glows with the love of Christ and I felt blessed to have seen her on this perfect Spring day.

Now though, it is midnight and my Thursday has officially ended- therefore so must the story. I hope you all have as wonderful a Friday as I enjoyed today.  And may the weekend give you cause to be wanted by the sheriff fer all that fun your a havin'.  XOXO

Everything went OK at the corral...

A Tale of Two Parties

Eeks!  How is it I remember blogging about something that happened BEFORE I ever had a blog!  Are blogs like cell phones and Diet coke now?  We can't seem to remember how we did things before they came along?  I can almost swear I blogged about Dandy's birthday party last year because it was a crazy day where I gave his party and attended two others plus an entire parade!!!  That was a day etched in my mind and my camera!  I must have emailed my tales to people before blogging because I put those events together somewhere.  I just know it.  

Well, anyway, I'm going to try to push past this and do a little compare/contrast with my birthday boy's 5th and 6th  parties now that I'm actually blogging outside my mind.  I am right?

OK!  So.  Dandy, our little party planner extraordinaire, likes to plan his birthday celebrations well in advance.  We've known all year, for instance, that his number six party would be a "blue" party with an underlying "Thomas the Tank Engine" theme.  Easy enough, we made it so.  

Here we have things like: blue rice krispy treats, blue chips, gummy bears and m&m's in blue, blue dip for the non blue veggies, blue chocolate dipped pretzels(not pictured because I forgot to get them out), blue filling in the non blue tortillas, white cheese and white cheese dip ( I just didn't have the heart to soil the cheese dip after everything else was doused in food coloring.) 

And then we had the Thomas cupcakes, stickers and gifts to round out that portion of the theme.

Yes, he was one happy party host, walking around handing out spoons and stickers with a most hospitable air.  There was no room for blue moods by the time this party started.

We had trains coming and going for engineers young and old to busy themselves with.

And my sweet sister-from-another-mister, Arlynda and her family even came up from Tulsa!  :D  (We have always been twin-like in our looks and sillies.  HI ARLY!)

What I have failed to mention or picture in this happy go lucky post is that while everyone was blueing it up heartily, slowly the children were dropping like flies.  Two kids left early with stomach aches (NOT caused by my colored food-I promise!), and then one of my nephews fessed up to his tummy woes but couldn't bring himself to leave while the leaving was good.  About an hour later.....we saw the party again....all..over.. the..floor.  Yep, after so carefully keeping the fluorescent punch in restricted areas away from the carpet-- hurl happened.  And it wasn't train colored.  

Did I say up there I was going to compare and contrast two parties?  Do YOU have all day to read this blog entry?  Did you check out after the first picture realizing this is just another had-to-be-there post?  That's what I figured.  And I'm supposed to be washing my dogs for Thanksgiving travels!! That is, no doubt, the reason I'm still here. 

Ok, instead of changing the title of this post (which would be the logical choice),I'll just show you what last years party looked like so I can say I included it.  It was quite the Festivus of Verdis if I do say so myself.  Which would you rather eat (or hurl)?  Green or Blue?   

    

As you can see, our adorable Dandy is a colorful chap at any age!  Happy birthday big D!  I'm hearing talk of Red and Orange for next year so we shall see. We shall see. 

Have a great week and Holiday weekend everyone! I may not see you for a while! 

Sleeping Cuties

I know I shouldn't have stopped mid-transfer to snap a picture of this little boy sleeping on the stairs, but I simply couldn't help myself.  He wanted to stay awake until 'So you think you can dance', dance, dance was over at 9:00 tonight.  Well, short story short, he didn't make it.  And, though I can actually still kind of carry him on flat ground for a few feet, stairs would never happen with a 10 year old thrown over my shoulder.  I just finished walking him around the corner from the living room, torso hunched over, head dangling to the floor when I had to set him down on the steps to reconfigure my grip.  He sat there with his upper half circling in a counterclockwise motion totally unaware he was anywhere but neatly tucked in his bed.  Bah-ha.  
While upstairs, I thought I might as well catch the Dandy in passed out mode as well  and squirt some ointment into his right eye.  He really dislikes this procedure when awake so I figured since I was already a marionette master, why not also become the  "ointment fairy" and leave blurred vision behind as my signature move.  It's not really a fun surprise; but a surprise none-the-less. Even in sleep though this one's tricky-rat durn!  He managed to keep that eye guarded by pillow or blankie with his every move.  I guess I'll have to revert back to screaming headlock style tomorrow night.

Oh the sweetness of my sleeping babes.  I'm just drinking it in.  And now I think I'll sit and listen to the silence for a while.  

Fireworks of all sorts

Let's see here.  Whasa goin' on....Well, I've got a little time this morning while Ratchet is at V.B.S.(vacation bible school, to those of you outside the Bible Belt, wink).  And of course Dandy is slaving away at school,  so I thought I would try post a little something.  

I guess I could tell you about my weekend.  Wait, maybe I shouldn't, it didn't go all that well. 

 We did have a good time celebrating the third of July with our family in town.  Ratchet and Dandy got to hold sparklers (while clothed in their mandatory flame retardant one-piece suits), and watch  from across the yard, as their uncle Daryl lit the larger rocket-shaped firecrackers for a slightly more dangerous feeling show. 

 Of course, it's never really fun unless you get the youngest of the children blubbering in tears at some point during the exhibition.  We managed to frighten my tougher than nails two-year old nephew a couple of times.  And, just when I thought noise sensitive Dandy was faring well, he got caught off guard by a loud boom and crumbled into his first of many sobbing moments that became a recurring theme for the next several days.

Like I said, it wasn't a very good weekend.  But I do have a couple of pictures of our group of friends before watching fireworks at the airport on the fourth.  I was far too busy OOHing and AAHing by the time the show started to get pictures of the actual reason we were there.  

(Ratchet, Dandy, Beck's Boy, and Dandy)

It is funny to me how small townish (red neckish) we look out in the middle of a giant field surrounded by trucks.  But it was fun chatting with my gf's and letting the kids run around in the grass together.  There were some men there as well but they never seemed to be where the camera was snapping.  

(Trish, Becky, Beck's girl, Me, Beck's Boy, and Beck again)

Dandy was having such a good night after an extremely iffy day so I had to get lots of pictures of him in this pleasant state.  The resourceful young tike made a house to 

live in while we were there waiting for the real action to begin.

 

This evening there was NO crying over the fireworks (from our group anyway) so that actually went without a hitch.

Ah, but the next day....Dandy was full of explosive behavior himself.  I could practically smell the gun powder rising from his little blonde head.  We were all vicariously distraught as he continued to explode in colors around us.  Breakfast brought tears.  Puzzles and toys brought tears.   Time out brought head slapping foot stomping tears.  You get the picture. 

This was clearly the unfun portion of the weekend.  Jamey and I had different versions of concern.  Mine apparrantly took the form of a nasty visages and angry tones as Dandy once declared me to be "mean", looking at me sideways while asking his Daddy to button his pants. 

Jamey just got quieter and more down as the crying and vigorous gnashing went on.  

Then just when I thought our youngest had taken a huge turn for the worst on his summer maturing process, J realized his little head was warm.  Then I remembered noting the same thing the day before. " THAT'S IT!  BY JOVE HE'S SICKLY!"  We concluded at once. 

Normally one is not relieved upon discovering their child is ill.  But this was only a cold type thing with a mild fever. And that beats a mental condition hands down in a side by side comparison any day!  

Our little guy has enough on his plate without new unknown behaviors popping up on us out of the blue, so YEAH to the common cold...or hayfever-whatever-YEAH!  He never says he feels bad when he's sick, he just cranks up the attitude and the upset until we, the parents, can take no more!  You'd think we'd remember this, but so far it's been a surprise each time. [Wah-wah, YOU LOSE!  The video game in our heads is rudely sounding off...again]. 

But these things shall pass.  We will not be defeated. And fortunately for me, I've got Nice 'n Easy for those days that tend to whiten my hair before it's time. 

[Cheering sounds. I gave that round the one two punch now didn't I?]

Sigh...It's always nice(and easy, ba da bom) to pretend all troubles can be solved by tossing a bottle of color at your head.   Superficiality is bliss;  Ignorance is so last year.

Some Summer Stuff

Summertime summertime sum sum summertime's almost here for me and my household.  And that means there will be two early risers around here just rarin' to take hold of some free timin' interactive fun.  I really love it when school is out and the schedule is ours again to do with what we will.  

But what will we do?  For some reason this year I don't seem to know.  There are SO MANY different options posted around for sport camps and workshops on anything from photography to pirating, swim lessons, teams or pool passes.  What about piano or guitar lessons and what's this brochure about church camp?  

 Jolly Roger the choices!

My boys are 5 and 10 now and they are both eligible for enrollment in this plethora of $50+ a pop classes, which together would equal more fun than I or my pocketbook could possibly shake a stick at.  

All of these options have caused me to struggle with my theory of busyness which goes something like "AVOID BUSYNESS AT ALL COSTS".  And it has worked up to this point in that we have not been terribly overachieving thus far in life.  But then the downside of that is that (you guessed it) we have not been terribly overachieving thus far...in life.  Wah wah.

I finally decided I'm OK with that still, and  recently chose to shake my stick at a one week day camp in Oklahoma City, because my kids were feeling for a "nature" experience this year(and it was the one camp I actually enjoyed in my youth-don't get me started).  This also sounded great to me because that meant I was able to enroll myself in a self taught "Advanced Bargain Browsing" class that will consist of me wandering around my hometown visiting all my favorite "big city" stores with my Mumsipoo.  Woot!  

The problem I've always had with being too busy is rooted in the fact that I think children need plenty of free time.  They need time to explore their world in curiosity.  Time to imagine, to read, to be alone, time to rest.  I don't want to always be rushing them feverishly from one scheduled event to the next.

 Nope, there's plenty of time in adulthood for that.  I actually egged my own house today in such a desperation to get in the door with some groceries.  I have no idea why I was even in a hurry.  It's entirely possible though that I might have had some repressed rebellion against my own busy week and felt the need to egg the lady responsible for it.  This certainly backs up my theory.

And then there's the fact that my youngest starling has begun acting up at preschool in a most unflattering way (gasp, the scandal of it all).  I feel fairly sure he was only head butting his teachers out of love though, and he saw a billy goat at the petting zoo once?.. (nervous laugh developing)...Then they must have mistaken a yawn for a right hook on that other occasion.  I'm almost certain. What? Hello.

Nah, I'm not one of those mother's who's precious Junior's behavior is all to be blamed on his teachers and caregivers.  I know his challenges were given to him by his first parents rotten choices.  And OUR challenge now is to try to keep the little guy seeking the right choices and controlling the wrong impulses to make his unique and  magnetic personality work in his favor.  He just needs time...and lots of attention.

 

I mention these recent behavioral issues because they are also changing our plans this summer.  We've decided maybe our Dandy should have another year under his belt before he starts kindergarten.  And since we were advised to keep him in school all summer to keep his momentum up for Kindy, we now think he should probably just take a break and do some of that resting and playing business his mother is so fond of.   All work and no play makes Dandy want to take a swing at somebody!  We appreciate our school system, but we want his thirteen years there to be good years if at all possible.  What better way is there to go about it than to have a long easy summer together to contemplate it all.  Ah, yes.  That'll do it.

A quick (read: not well composed or proofed) HELLO.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  I don't really have my usual leisurely schedule this morning for making a fresh new and colorful post.  I really need to jump up and run to town(a bigger one) and do a little belated birthday shopping for Bleu for our dinner and a movie outing tomorrow night.  

Oh, I also need to pick up a bicycle (in an even farther town) that is getting purtied up for Jamey so we can pretend to be "The Outdoorbergs" again, before the flaming heat of summer sends us running back to our computer chairs;** comfortably donning our original names " The Sedentarybergs".  

Most importantly though, I need to check in on my dear young brother-in-law who is really suffering from a sudden illness of unknown origin.   He is in the hospital with a high fever and much pain with what seemed at first like a reaction to a spider bite(recluse), but has mimicked the Malaria he has had in the past.  My hubby's family spent many years in Papua New Guinea and are no strangers to tropical invaders.  The blood tests have gone to big cities everywhere for analysis and we are extremely anxious to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan that works.  I mention this more personal bit of info as a request for prayer for our brother.  I know I have many wonderful praying friends and relatives who might join me in lifting J up to the Lord. 

And I'll get on with my day leaving a picture or two from yesterdays goings on.  I had my niece and nephews all day yesterday and they are an eyeful of deliciousness sitting on the couch here together.  I got to pretend like a homeschooler(YES!) for a few hours while the boys did some bookwork and S.Q. played with playdough .

  Then my friend Jenna and her two little button noses came over in the afternoon(I have NO photos of this portion of the day-boo) so the cousins and I ran over and grabbed Dandy early from school to get our PLAY ON!  

AHHHHH!  The sweetness of children interacting together always gets me right here(pointing at heart).  Ok, enough sappy business and on with it! 

 The last picture is the homemade instrument Ratchet had to finish with his Dad last night to turn in this morn.  It's  some sort of Bongo/ Medicine bottle percussion combo.  I hope they remembered to replace the meds with other things or Ratch'll look like a pusher! Have a good weekend ALL!  XO

** Obviously, I have no idea how to use the semi-colon.  I just put it in when my sentences get super long.  Bahha!  Sorry.

A truly kinesthetic learner

I was just sitting at the dining table going over vocabulary homework with Ratchet, when I looked up from the paper and he's doing this.

I really have no idea how he sits in the classroom all day.  This kid is only semi still when he's building legos or playing video games.  He makes great grades and his teachers have no trouble with him, so who am I to question his methods?  Maybe I'll try this technique when I do my morning reading.  It might be good for the old sciatica.  And really what more would the neighbors want to see first thing on a Friday a.m.?  ;)

A Somewhat true and truly long tale about myself

I haven't been particularly inspired to write anything lately but I'm about to leave my computer for a long weekend and I DID want to give a tiny bit of an advertisement for the local playhouse in town. 

 

Last Saturday, Ratchetboy and I went to the Sager Creek Arts Center to see a dear young friend of ours make her acting debut in a play called " The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood".  It was REALLY entertaining!  I can highly recommend this youth production!!  Not only is one of the fawning ladies perfectly fetching, but the whole play is actually quite lol funny!

Ahhhh, the Sager Creek Arts Center.  

 There's something about that place that can really bring out the "Big Shan" in me!

 The second I walk in that door I AM CONFIDENCE!  I am a public relations specialist.  I am a  Resident Thespian workin' that lobby like a one woman show!  I have no idea why this happens but it's magical :D.

Probably because I  myself have performed on that very stage as a Dog, a Prop director, a Russian man, a Can-can dancer, and a Quilter!  And it was all BAD! Well, some of the shows were Ok (in a 'Waiting for Guffman' kinda way).  And I was particularly good as a Russian man!    It's not anywhere close to Broadway (well, actually it's quite close to a street called Broadway but you know what I mean.) It IS however The Thee-ah-tah, and a place where I can be...well a dog and other stuff like.. er...Hmmm.  That's where the magic part comes in I guess! 

   A few weeks ago the job announcement of Executive Director of The Sager Creek Arts Center, MY Arts Center(coo), came across my e-mail and I became momentarily lost in all the new and clever ways I was going to run that place!  I had fresh ideas for funding and recruiting local interest groups including our towns large population of  home schoolers!  I WAS ON FIRE FOR THIS POSITION!!  I was yelling "Can I get an Amen!" to myself in the shower as I thought out all the possibilities.  I even raced downtown and asked the ladies there about the opening Big Shan style while they looked at me sideways and handed me the same job description I had already received, and gave a casual request for a resume'. 

 A couple days later when I was jotting down notes for my cover letter, I realized "Wait a minute! You don't want a job during the Summer!  Sure, the kids are in school NOW but soon very soon they will be home all 30 of those hours you are mentally committing to and you don't even WANT a job right now. For that matter, when have you ever run a business before in your life? Done a spreadsheet?  You don't really even understand the concept of a budget!!  Just because you could play the part of an Executive Director in a bad local production of  'The Theatre Company' doesn't mean you could actually do it!" DOH! 

 Delusions of Grandeur or just too much time on my hands?  Both? Ok, yes. I'm stickin' with my "magic of the stage" theory on this one. 

 

 

For the most part in real life I tend to go the shy and quiet route avoiding as much "hands on" time with strangers as possible.  I have been known to do things like NOT go to hairstylists if they work alone and rely on ME for conversation throughout the appointment.  Sometimes I won't even brave the grocery store in my town that provides the service of carrying one's bags 40 paces to the car because of the silent pressure to mention the weather or the heaviness of my food  to the young sacker walking my bags out to the car.  Who could possibly stress about this?  I'm a little bit of a paradox that way.

 I guess it's the off off broadway small talk combining with shyness that really makes me nervous.  I can come across as uber-confident in a crowd, a crowded theatre perhaps. But separate me from the pack and I'm a wounded wildebeest gimping along with all of my achilles heals gleaming, well exposed in the sun.  And let me tell you that can be pretty eye catching in a parking lot. 

 Once I get past that initial level of interaction with people in person I tend to do a little better with the chit chat.  At this point in our aquaintence,  I would definitely let you do my hair.  But, don't expect to be invited over for dinner (especially if you know nothing about hair and I'm recovering from our last get together)  because I would still feel like I need to at least somewhat impress you with my house and/or culinary offerings.

  And since I prefer self deprecating to impressing any day of the week,  I'll simply say I'm just not woman enough to entertain well at this juncture in our friendship. 

If however you have hung around long enough to get to know the girl I've often referred to as "Big Shan" a.k.a. "The Shan", or if I met you at the Arts Center,  you may not be able to remember that there is a shy bone in my body and you may even begin at this point to wish there was, or at least wish for  a quieter one.  "Just one, Biggie Shans? Can you please just tone the amp back down to 10 this one time?"  I hear ya. 

Oh dear, I've gotten terribly sidetracked and  started yet another counseling session with myself when that was clearly not the purpose of this post.  I DO apologize.  

  

So, this weekend, run don't walk good townfolken!  And take YOUR kids to see a fun version of Robin Hood. It plays Friday and Saturday night @ 7:00 and has a matinee at 2:00 on Sunday.  I promise not to be there!!! 

Two days in a week

What have I done promising more pictures?  Do I realize this blogging business eats into the time I have reserved for cleaning under my appliances.  Yes, of course I do.  And so without further ado, I give you GIRLS GONE....OUT 

Here we are at Noodles Wednesday night just before we lost control of our bladders.

         From left: Tabitha, Trish, Me, Shelley, Joy

But then, something always happens between the salad and main course that sends us into pack mentality hysterics on these GNO's. My face is best kept behind the camera at this point.   

And here was our attempt at "Sexy" which is really more "aloof, cute, angry and fresh from collagen injections".  Too bad the "sexy seamstress" was off camera for this one.

All of these pictures were stolen from Tally's blog which were taken from Tab's email which  naturally came from Tab's camera because Shan forgot to charge her battery! So, thanks girls for making this memory possible!  Great ham slapping the pavement fun all around!! YEAHHHH!!! 

The following evening this happened....

Ratchet did a kick-ninja routine at his school talent show  with his bo staff and some techno music that was way to dangerous to categorize. 

The teacher apologetically put him in the "dance" category but that never kept a serious performer down.  Ratchet Gene Kelley'd his way into 3rd place!!! HA! :D  

We didn't even know he'd won something until the next day because they forgot to announce his name at the show.  For some reason that made winning a trophy even more exciting.  WEEEE!  WAY TO GO DUDE!  

Ratchet makes the decade!

Today is my dear little firstborn's birthday and I want to try to keep my wordiness to a min. (like that ;) and give a year in pictures to highlight my precious boy's goings on from year 9-10.  But knowing my track record for wordiness, do you really believe I could just start slapping pictures up willy nilly with nary an explainy? That's just not how I roll now is it? It's always fun to say stuff like that with a 'Frasier' type inflection so make sure you add that for grins.  

Well, It was an interesting though enjoyable pregnancy and he wasn't an easy delivery by any means but I.... >>>>>fast forward>>>>fast forward>>>>10 years later...decided to take Ratchet and six of his closest buddies and one sibling to see Horton Hears a Who Friday night to kick off a grand evening of sleepover splendor and shinannery.

Aside from a brief panic upon entering the movie theater and suddenly realizing I couldn't see(darn night vision) or hear(darn Dolby sound) any of the children I had come with, it all turned out fine once a nephew came to usher me to the proper row full of kids I had just been dutifully herding only moments before.  

After the movie, we raced home for sloppy joes, chips and fresh veggies(kids are so easy to feed).  Oh and did I ever represent the knowledge I have procured from all of your blogs!  I made cupcakes ala Slushturtle, and the kids made their own ice cream like Hillary's with baggies and rock salt so that was interesting and apparently tasty as well.  Yippee!  I had a picture of the ice cream too but please don't make me put it back in I tried once and everything went hideously asunder! It  turned quickly to all things weaponry anyway once the last joe slopped!

On it went with present opening and outdoor play well into the evening where we eventually all gathered in the living room where the legos and video games required some attention. 

Well, so much for that year in pictures thing eh? The party in pictures(html) has me looking as tired as J and I in that last picture so I'm going to stop there. :D
I'm glad my sweet boy had such a wonderful birthday weekend.  I certainly have enjoyed every moment of his ten short years on this earth. He is such a happy blessing that makes every day brighter. Many more big boy!!!