I Pledge Allegiance...To the Band...

Just so you know where I ranked on the totem pole of coolness in high school. Most people who have to wear a vinyl cummerbund and a ruffle bib every Friday night in public just don't stand a chance.

***For more Sincerely 'Fro Me to You, head on over to We Are THAT Family. It's the best carnival in town. Kristen is also hosting a special S.W.A.K. carnival right before Valentine's Day...join us and share your love story...I'm still in the planning stages, but I'll be there too.

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It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses a Toe From a Falling Box of Dominoes

It was such a simple request.

The Baby wanted to play with a puzzle.

I knew we'd neglected the upkeep of the game closet. I had an inkling that it was cluttered and messy, but surely I could find a puzzle quickly for my daughter.




Did I say we'd neglected the closet? I meant completely surrendered it to the seven levels of the game board underworld.

I stood for awhile looking at the mess, hoping my neighbor with the telephoto lens wasn't getting an eyeful of my secret shame.

I was asking myself how it had gotten this bad, when the metal tub of dominoes slid from somewhere on the stack and landed on my bare feet.



By the way, dominoes are heavy.

Consider yourself warned.

Apparently there was only one way I was going to get a puzzle without severely injuring myself.

So I dug in and cleaned out. I put the flippin' rubber frogs in the Flippin' Frogs box. (It's a real game, and that's really its name.) I found two complete sets of Uno Spin, just in case the first one gets buried in a pile of rubble. I located the "One Ring" for our Lord of the Rings Monopoly Set mixed in with paper butterflies from the Elefun game and tiny plastic cherries from Hi Ho Cherry-O.

I took a brief break to Chicken Limbo, and I'm sure my neighbor will be selling those photos to the highest bidder soon.

And in a handful of hours, (man handfuls, mind you) the game closet was transformed.




Pick a game, any game.



This is for the small card games/flash cards, and any stray pieces that need to be put back into a game box.

The kids are hoping for a snow day tomorrow so they can dive into all the fun games that have been rescued from the deep dark pit that was the closet.

And that's fine...they can play. But if they mess up that closet, there's going to be...



Apparently with a Hi Ho Cherry-O on top.

***Check out more Works For Me Wednesday Posts hosted by Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

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Texas in January: A Photographic Study With Rhyme

On a clear winter's day,
One Daddy said, "Hey"
"I've got a fabulous plan!"
"It's 80 outside,
So let's go for a ride."
And off they all trouped to the van.


Finding themselves near
To the park they loved dear
They stopped to admire the view.
And sat on the ground.
Near a creek that they'd found.
Where there frolicked some geese, quite a few.


Next Jare proved his talents.
On a canon he did balance.
While the crowd held back every sound.
Not once did he stumble.
His resolve would not crumble.
(Though he was 1 whole foot off the ground.)



Daddy's challenge was met
And he came to regret,
Inviting Boose and her long legs to race.
For though he escaped,
His pride was quite scraped,
When she easily matched his fast pace.


Away from the rest,
Bal found his own test,
In the form of an infamous hill.
Undaunted and brave,
His best try he gave.
And proved once again his strong will.


Meanwhile, back at the bars,
Nod reached for the stars
Not knowing what the outcome would be.
His reach was quite small,
But his determination tall.
And he rallied triumphantly.

The baby set her eyes
On a most worthy prize,
A massive and magnificent steed.
With a little boost
To the saddle she was introduced.
And she relished in such a fine deed.

At the end of the day,
This family could say.
They had given their all and their best.
They left feeling pleased.
Their cabin-fever eased.
As they set off on another fine quest.

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History Lessons

Today, I plopped all 5 of my kids down in front of the television and interrupted their last day of a four day weekend for some history.

They were not pleased.

They could have been listening to iPods, playing air hockey, making aliens, bossing around a robotic dog, or building castles out of sand that is guaranteed never to dry out.

Instead they were watching Charles Gibson and the rest of the ABC crew comment on the Inauguration festivities.

An almost actual transcript follows.

Jare, "Mom, I thought you didn't even vote for this guy. Why would you want to watch him become President?"

Boose, "How long does an Inauguration take? Is it longer than watching Kung-Fu Panda?"

Bal, "How do you spell Presidential Inauguration?"

Nod, (watching the proceedings) "How come only old people get to go to that party?"

Me, "Guys, your teachers will probably ask you tomorrow if any of you watched the Inauguration. Won't it be cool to be able to say yes?"

They stared at me as though I had no clue of the definition of cool.

I tried again.

"This is history in the making. This doesn't happen every day. Don't you want to be a part of it?"

They looked at me again, trying to determine if I was actually giving them a choice.

"Oh, forget it", I said.

And so they milled around doing whatever, while I watched the proceedings. They only showed interest when they saw the people skating on the ice over the reflecting pool after the ceremonies were over.

"Wow, I wish we were at the Inauguration," Bal said, voicing the opinion of all five kids, who were now staring at the television screen watching with rapt attention.

So apparently ice skating may be the key to get our youth emotionally invested in the political process.

Who knew?

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First Job Mess-Ups

I didn't expect to relive a long forgotten moment in my life because of a trip to Sonic. I was just trying to buy lunch. It should have been an easy thing. After all, I knew exactly what I wanted to order.

Unfortunately, the voice on the other end of the big red button was not being cooperative. She kept repeating back my order incorrectly. And I kept correcting her. Then she would read it back another time...still incorrectly. It seriously took 15 minutes to order 5 kids meals and 2 combos.

15 minutes later she brought out the food. She looked like she was 17. She had that happy innocence associated with a first job. She was smiling and cheerful.

She also forgot the burger and chili cheese coney that went with my two combos. Before I realized it, she had skipped back inside. So I pushed the button again, and eventually my entire order was delivered.

Watching her apologize and walk back in to the store...I remembered something...something I'd buried in the catalogs of my memory.

My first real job.

I was working in an office for a non-profit agency creating hard copy back-up files from a computer.

Nothing you can mess up there right? It's just click and print. Click and print. Click and print. Click and single-handedly bring down a charity organization.

Oops.

I somehow managed to cause every printer in the office to start spitting out paper with weird characters on it. I remember standing in the middle of the office while people were running around shutting down printers to try to stop the madness. My boss kept looking at me and sighing.

I had tears running down my face.

One of the other office personnel squeezed my shoulder and said, "Someday, you'll laugh about this. You'll tell your kids about your first job and you'll laugh. Everybody has had a first job."

Then she told me about getting a job as a book-shelver at the library in her hometown. She was 16. On her first day she got her arm stuck in the book deposit slot. The fire department and town doctor were called in. They got her out, but not before her cousin who was working for the town's newspaper got a shot of her and the fireman trying to get her arm out of the slot. It ran the next day as the front page.

I remembered how much I loved her for telling me that story.

And in my heart I had some compassion for the skipping carhop and the memories she was sure to create.

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100 More Things About Me

1. I'm 31 years old.
2. I grew up with 2 sisters.
3. I have 0 brothers.
4. Except for my imaginary brother.
5. His name was Nathan and he was older than me.
6. My favorite kind of food is Italian.
7. I make a mean lasagna.
8. When I was younger my nickname was "burnt bread".
9. I occasionally caught bread on fire when I would cook it...and dish towels.
10. I played clarinet in junior high, high school, and college.
11. I was also forced to play the bass clarinet sometimes.
12. Bass clarinets are a billion times more heavier than clarinets.
13. I'm addicted to buying books.
14. There have been some interventions.
15. I cannot change my ways.
16. Amazon.com rules!
17. I don't have a lot of talents.
18. But there's a lot of stuff I'd like to learn.
19. Knitting, sewing, baking, crafting, Mandarin, Cherokee, Spanish, tribal drumming, guitar, piano, woodworking, macrame, calligraphy, painting, drawing, and pottery.
20. I was kidding about tribal drumming and macrame.
21. I already rock at those.
22. I have a love/hate relationship with Martha Stewart.
23. I love everything she does.
24. I hate that I can never replicate it.
25. I did pretend interview her once.
26. Impressive, I know.
27. I research my family history.
28. So far I've found a nice mix of educators, artists, explorers, ranchers, and lawless rabble.
29. It explains a lot.
30. My degree is in Secondary Education/English.
31. I've been married for 12 years.
32. To the most amazing guy on the planet.
33. He's also an amazing kisser.
34. Sorry if that is TMI, but it's true and it had to be said.
35. I'm a Southern Democrat.
36. Which is the most confusing thing to be.
37. I'm not even sure what it means.
38. But I always vote and I try to know what I'm voting for.
39. I was raised in a small town in Oklahoma.
40. Then I went to college in another small town in Oklahoma.
41. Then my husband dragged me to live in a city of half a million people.
42. Surrounded by cities with another 2 million people in them, collectively.
43. When I think about the number of people here, I get claustrophobic and have to lie down.
44. Also, I wasn't really forced to come here. I came willingly. Somewhat.
45. When I was 11 years old I went outside to hang clothes on the line and heard a chorus of trumpets and thought Jesus was returning. I was really disappointed when He didn't show up.
46. When my mom gave me my first training bra, she forgot to tell me that you could take it off when you sleep.
47. I didn't know until I was grown.
48. I think Raspberry Coconut Zingers are the best food in the world.
49. My first car was a light blue Chevy Cavalier.
50. The rear passenger door had been damaged and wouldn't open.
51. I loved that car.
52. It was totaled while my sister was driving shortly after she got her license.
53. I still love my sister.
54. My second car was a red Bronco II.
55. I loved that car.
56. My sister totaled it while I was away at college.
57. I still love my sister.
58. I'm very forgiving.
59. Unless you take my last Zinger.
60. I have five beautiful children.
61. Ages 11, 9, 7, 6, 2.
62. Soon to be 11, 9, 8, 7, 3.
63. Who act like they're 35, 22, 5, 2, 19.
64. They think I'm wonderful.
65. Except when I ground them from the Wii.
66. Then I'm mean, mean, mean.
67. I'm afraid of heights.
68. I get dizzy and can't breathe.
69. When I went to France in high school, my friends forced me into the elevator for the Eiffel Tower, and held me down until we got to the top.
70. The view was beautiful, but I thought I was going to die the whole time.
71. I survived.
72. But not without emotional trauma.
73. My Dad is my hero.
74. I love my Mommy, too.
75. My sisters are alright.
76. Just kidding.
77. They are infinitely more talented than me.
78. And younger.
79. We shared a room as kids.
80. Every night growing up I had to sing Silent Night and Bibbity Bobbity Boo to get them to go to sleep.
81. I would also try to play the quiet game with them and take an inordinately long time to pick someone, hoping they'd drop off to sleep.
82. It rarely worked.
83. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
84 Some people call me a Mormon. I've had other people call me crazy.
85. That's okay. I know who I am and what I believe.
86. And I know that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Savior.
87. I'm the Primary President in our ward at church.
88. That means I'm in charge of all the kids 18mos-11 yrs, their classes, teachers, and activities. I love every kid in the bunch and am grateful to serve them.
89. The current First Lady of Oklahoma was my AP History teacher when I was in high school. (Hi, Mrs. Henry!)
90. It's a small state.
91. I'd love to get my Master's degree in Library Science.
92. And be an archival librarian.
93. The kind that works with old records and has to wear white gloves.
94. Or, I'd like to open a bookstore.
95. The kind that Meg Ryan's character owns in You've Got Mail.
96. Did I mention I'm addicted to books?
97. Just thought you should know.
98. I'm fiercely loyal to those I love.
99. It's not hard to make me love you.
100. After reading all that blather about me, I love you already.

I realized that several of my 100 things were outdated. Mostly my age. And rather than go in and edit away all the things that have changed...I thought I'd write a new list to reflect my growing interests and experiences. You know, narcissism at its best.

----a big apology to my little sister who was indeed licensed ( but just barely) when a large red truck ran a red light and killed my car while she was driving. Luckily she was physically okay. I blame old age for not remembering the incident correctly.---

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A Letter To My Daughter

Dear Boose,

When I checked on you tonight, I noticed that your feet nearly touched the footboard at the end of your bed. I stood there staring at you for awhile, wondering how it was possible that you'd grown so much overnight.

You are growing up too fast. It's not your fault. It was bound to happen. But there are times when I reach to hug you and can't seem to find any part of the baby that you were.

There are things I miss about that baby.

I miss how she called birds, "ya-yas", calling out, "Dat a ya-ya" everytime she saw a bird flying in the sky.

I miss how she shrugged her shoulders up and down whenever she got excited.

And even though I worried and worried that she'd never grow hair, I miss that soft bald head.

Can I tell you a secret, though.

I'm so proud of the young woman you are growing to be. You are kind, compassionate, and fair to a fault. You laugh with every bit of energy you can find in yourself...and cry for those who others wouldn't think to cry for.

You drive me crazy with your competitiveness, but I can't help but admire your determination to succeed at everything you do. You've got me convinced. There's nothing you won't conquer.

I love the way I snuggle down on your bed to have some "girl talk". You see the world in such a unique way. I learn from you daily.

Baby, it's okay to be a little different. It's okay to like things that other people think are dumb. You've got the conviction to carry it off.

And sweetie, other people are always going to try to get you to be just like them.

Don't fall for it.

Shine just as brightly as you want to. Those seeking light will be drawn to you. They already are. I know I am.


I love you forever and always,

Mommy

Weeds and Wishes

When I was a little girl, I called these wishing flowers, and a field of them beckoned to me with all the hopeful optimism of wishes soon to be granted.

I would pluck the stalk and hold it in my hands as I closed my eyes. A minute later, and my wish was made. I blew with all the recesses of air I could find in my body to dislodge the tiny seed pods with their fuzzy parachutes.

Tiny bits of fluff would take flight in the wind, carrying my wishes to far off places. I would watch them go, confident that in return for my services, my wishes would come true.

As an adult, I no longer see them as wishing flowers most days. I've succumbed to the grown-up/practical need to see weeds marring a nicely manicured suburban lawn.

But for a moment I set aside my practicality and knelt close to the wishing flower. I watched as the wind slowly blew away the seeds. My eyes trailed upward to follow the steady assent of optimism and I wondered what wishes would soon be fulfilled.

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A Couple of Wordsmiths

I'm playing Scrabble with my husband and sister-in-law. They are kicking my tail for the billionth time in a row.

It's not so bad to be beaten by my sister-in-law. After all we both have English degrees, and while I immerse myself daily in Corduroy and the Backyardigans, she actually uses her degree teaching a future generation of students. But to lose to my husband, who'd never read a full length novel until he met me in college? That's just sad.

And while I'm able to lose and still enjoy myself, it would be fun to be in the lead.

Just for a few minutes.

I glance at my tiles and an idea comes to mind. A word that would use all of my letters, hit a triple word spot, and net me about 80 points, placing me squarely in the lead.

I place my tiles.



My husband laughs, "Redenied?"

"That's not a real word", my sister-in-law chimes in.

I'm stunned. It sounded so good in my head, and I can use it in a sentence.

"Well what do you call it when someone is denied for a loan, they reapply, and they are denied again." My logic is fool-proof. Those points are in the bag.

"I challenge it", my husband says.

"Me too", my sister-in-law adds, because she's a traitor to womankind.

It is looked up.

It is not a word.

Not only do I lose all of those points, but I lose my turn.

And I ultimately lose the game.

So I pout, act like a baby, and plot my revenge.

The next night my sister-in-law puts this word on the board.




As in "the lurchy man was redenied for a loan".

Ah, revenge is sweet.

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Pictionary Leftovers

*****Updated answer at the bottom of the post.*****

I've never been very good at Pictionary. It's a really fun game, but I'm the farthest thing from an artist that anyone could possibly be...Ask anyone...Go ahead...Ask them.

See? I told you.

I like playing, though. So I was thrilled when some dear friends of ours joined us for a friendly game on New Year's Eve.

I have to say I was impressed by the ingenuity of the people at the table with me.

There was this little tidbit...

Answer: Dissolve

My husband managed to get 2 clues out of this one. The first was "electric chair". On the next clue, he drew an ear for "sounds like", a seal, and a sound coming out of Mr. Electric Chair's mouth. Squeal. He's good.

I can't remember what this was. My guess was the Michelin Man. I think somebody else guessed that it was a Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle. Both were wrong, and the artist scribbled all over his creation in frustration. Pictionary is not for the faint of heart.

Answer: Gridlock

This one ended up being "tea leaves". My husband guessed that it was marijuana. He's better at drawing than guessing.

But there was one drawing clue that had us all laughing...Can you guess it? Bragging rights to the first one to guess in the comments.

Very good thoughts...but the answer is "fertilizer". I think my aunt deserves the prize for Shedaisy, though.

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31

Last year, turning 30 felt like a big deal. On the 2nd day of January, 2008...

I complained.
I obsessively checked myself in the bathroom mirror.
I cataloged all of the ways my face had aged in my journal. (It went on for many pages.)
I made last-minute deals with God that if he'd let me keep looking like I was in my 20s that I'd wear out the gears in my elliptical machine in 2008. (I'm pretty sure I heard him laughing.)

This year on the 2nd day of January...

I went shopping at my favorite store on the planet.


I ate delicious chocolate cake...



...and drank IBC black cherry soda. (A delicious, albeit more expensive, substitute for Shasta)


I opened presents. These two ended up being an external hard drive and a humongo-loid memory card for my camera. See how techie I've gotten in my old age?


And I prayed that my husband wouldn't drop another lit birthday cake on the carpet. (I so totally love you, babe.)

Mostly, though, I spent the day grateful for the brief time I've actually been able to be on this earth and the amazing things I've been able to be a part of...and stayed as far away from the elliptical machine as humanly possible.



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Want To Freak Out All Your Friends and Relatives?

Of course you do. That's why you're still reading. I'm sure you've got a crazy uncle, or an all-too-perfect sibling, or a cousin who once pushed you into a swimming pool (another post, I promise), that you'd love to freak out. See, I told you. Everybody has got at least one. And now the simple steps to freak them out...

1. Set up a blog.

2. Devote a lot of time to it.

3. Tell funny stories, share revealing life sketches, and write almost daily.

4. Stop writing for awhile.

5. Keep not writing for a little longer.

It won't take long until you start getting phone calls and emails. And then one day, as you begin to make a nutritional breakfast of cold cereal for your offspring, you'll notice something strange on your milk carton.She looks eerily familiar.

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