Almost Mine

I call him Almost Mine because, well, he’s like one of my children.  ‘Cept for that whole – he didn’t come out of my birth canal thing….

I can remember the call vividly from iNik to tell me about him.  I was there in the ultrasound room when we learned it was a boy.  (Which was really good news because Lordy, if you had only seen the size of his feet then!)  I was there when he took his first breath.  And it was I who cut the cord and freed him from his mother.  Someday he’ll thank me for that because, I mean, how embarrassing to have to drag your mother with you everywhere. 

I’ve held him, I’ve nursed him (desperate times call for desperate measures), I’ve kissed his boo-boos, I’ve rocked him to sleep, I’ve watched him hit his milestones, I’ve watched him grow up, and I’ve loved him every minute of his life like he was mine.

2002 – he made an appearance at his own baby shower!  Early bird catches the worm.

2003 – Almost Mine and Bug are 5 months apart.  They are like a set of twins.

 

2004 – Halloween.  Who are those girls, and doesn’t their mother ever brush their hair??????

2005 – Ground Hog Day party

 

2006 – Mountain View, AR vacation

2007 – Easter Egg Hunt

2008 – Almost Mine adores Zman so when Zman got his mohawk, so did he.

Today he turns 7.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Almost Mine!

Presidential Address to Congress

The girls walked into my bedroom tonight just as President Obama began his address to Congress.

Bean:  Is the President going to fix the economy?

Me:  I hope so.

Bean:  Good.

Bug:  What’s the ecomony?

Bean:  I don’t know, but it’s bad….

Very Funny Friday

Sue is running a blog carnival called Very Funny Friday over at navel gazing at its finest.  I realized after I’d written my post that she asked the stories be kept clean…my bad.  Well, at least it ended up sorta clean.

Nothing amuses me more than my children.  One afternoon Bug and Bean and their neighborhood friends were discussing how God had given everyone a special gift.  H had been given the gift of being able to make it rain, since she’d done a rain dance out in the driveway two days in a row and IT RAINED two days in a row.  That could never be construed as a coincidence!  It came out that Bean’s special gift from God was healing.  Apparently, H had a cut on her foot and Bean licked the wound and Voila!, H’s sore was healed.  Um, YUCK!  I mean, thanks God for helping Bean to recognize the gift you have bestowed upon her, but would it have been to much to ask that you give her healing hands rather than a healing tongue?

Who says public education isn’t good?

At the dinner table last night Bean was talking and used “in a moment or two” during her conversation.  At that point Fadre stopped, looked at me, and said, “What 8 year old kid uses the word ‘moment’?”  At which point Bean replied, “I find that offensive.”

Since when do 3rd graders use these types of phrases?  When I was in the 3rd grade my focus was to stay away from boys with cooties.  I was not the least bit concerned about about my grammar.

Bug and Bean were none too thrilled about their public education this morning when I realized that they were still asleep at 7:27 this morning and that they had to be at the bus stop by 7:32.  Clean teeth are overrated anyway….

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

• I did not over multi-task last Monday by watching Bug do gymnastics and watching Bean do homework and addressing Valentine’s cards, all while working.  Certainly, not I – I give everything I do my undivided attention.
• I did not look at my girls more than once this week and think to myself, “They have already worn those clothes”, knowing they have not done laundry since the washing machine was repaired.  I did not then proceed to look the other way and not say anything.  I mean, I ALWAYS make sure my kids have clean laundry.  And if I were to catch them wearing dirty clothes, I would definitely make them go back upstairs and change.
• I did not spend more of my Valentine’s Day Eve trying to help my son win the girl of his dreams than I did on a romantic date with Fadre.
• It would never be me that would be just a little jealous that I never had a 14 year old boy go to the extent Zman did, just to ask me out.  I do not try to make myself feel a little better by saying I am raising a great husband for some lucky girl in the future.
• After putting so much time in to help Zman get his girl, I most assuredly did not spend the actual Valentine’s Day cleaning house and grocery shopping so that Zman and his buddy, C, could invite their chicks over for dinner and to watch a movie in the hot tub.  After all, I already had two little girls to babysit in addition to my two.  Who in their right mind would agree to cook dinner for 8 kids?
• After the teens had gotten into the hot tub and started the movie, it was not me who proceeded to grab the laptop, sit on the couch that faces the window in front of the hot tub, only to blog about the boys’ romantic adventures from the night before, while keeping a constant watch on those kids.

What did you NOT do this week?  Won’t you join us in the free therapy the Not Me! Monday posts provide?  It’s NOT ME that needs therapy…..

Valentine’s Day Eve

How did I spend the night before Valentine’s Day?  Fadre and I managed to work out an excellent deal with the neighbors.  They take our girls Friday evening and we keep theirs Saturday evening.  Great deal, huh?  In the budget conscious state we are in, I have been practicing my bartering skills.  But of course, we have to plan our evening around Zman’s social schedule.  We drop him off at his bud’s house and we head out for sushi.  Because I bought a $25 coupon for $3.  Even Valentine’s Day can be celebrated at a discount.  Only, we bought more than we could eat, but hey – it’s lunch for another day.  Our dinner looked something like this…well, what was left of it.

Because we felt like overstuffed sloths after dinner, we stopped by to get some of this.

White Chocolate Mocha is one of my BFFs.

Afterwards we headed home and rested until we were needed. 

By Zman.

Three weeks ago Zman created his Master Plan for Valentine’s Day.   All to ask out K.   Fortunately, he is a good sport and let me take some photos.  Okay, maybe I went back to my well-honed bartering skills…I’ll help you if I can take pictures.  He really wasn’t left with much of a choice since he doesn’t have a driver’s license.

The plan started with Fadre and I picking him and his buddy C from C’s girlfriend’s house where they had gone to visit while Zman’s potential chick was there.  But first, he asked that I pick up some flowers.  “Red and white, Madre, red and white”, said Zman.

So…

Flowers, check.

Step 2..Pick up Zman and pretend to go home.  But instead, drive around the block and pull up in front of the girls’ house, with the lights off.

 

I hope he used a different look while he was trying to impress her!

Step 3…The boys hide behind the truck and write their love notes.

You would not believe the amount of discussion and laughter that erupted while trying to decide which color to use…

Then there was a little bit of writer’s block….

You would think by the 9th grade, they would’ve mastered the heart shape..But it was 11:00 at night and very dark and at this point we were all laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes.

Then he gets serious…

Step 4..Finish the “love” note.

My heart “twittered” with a little pride when I saw this…the culmination of three weeks’ planning, which is equivalent to 6 months in teenager timing, SO ROMANTIC!

Step 5…Parents drive down the street so the boys can call the girls out to view their “street art”.  Of course, Fadre and I turned the car around so we could at least see a little bit. 

Step 6…Zman calls for us to come and pick up him and C.  But of course I whip out my bartering skills and swap a pick up for a photo.  They were oh so thrilled.

Don’t mind C’s girl…she’s just not use to me yet.

 

Note to Fadre:  I do not require love notes written on the street or a bouquet of flowers.  A load of laundry and a load of dishes will do me just fine.  VERY ROMANTIC!!!!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

• This week I did not lose my patience with the Maytag customer service representative after being without a washer for 2 weeks.  I was not asked to refrain from using profanity when I said the word “sucking”.  I realize my college degree should provide me with a base for being able to choose more appropriate terminology, but seriously, when did “sucking” become profanity?
• I did not tell Bug that we wouldn’t be able to attend Saturday’s gymnastics make-up lesson because we were running late.  After all, I would readily admit the truth to my child that I couldn’t drag myself away from the computer and the coffee in a timely manner to get into the shower.
• Fadre and I did not snuggle up with Bean and Bug on the couch Friday night to watch Thursday’s recorded American Idol and then proceed to fall asleep on said couch.  I did not wake up at midnight to tell the girls to “Be Quiet”, then at 2 am to tell them to turn down the TV, and again at 3 am to tell them to “BE QUIET!”  I would most definitely send my family to their beds to get a good night’s sleep.  I would never be too lazy to get up and go get in my comfortable bed and go to sleep.
• I was NOT slightly cranky Saturday morning due to a lack of sleep the night before.
• I did not have to go to Nana’s house again this week to do four more loads of laundry.  UUUUGGGGHHHH!
• I was not a little joyous when she said she would finish up the last 2 loads.
• I did not feel just a little guilty for laying down on the bed while Fadre vacuumed out my truck.
• I did NOT embarrass Zman by whipping out the camera at church to take pictures of his first time serving communion as a Deacon.  I am very respectful of my children’s feelings after all.

I’ve Been Tagged!

I’ve been tagged by Pam list 20 random things about myself.  Pam found me through MckMama’s website  and as it turns out, has extended family living close to us.  Her blog is Twenty Little Piggies, which is a very cute name but not one I could ever use since A) I have three children and we’d have to be 30 little piggies and B) well if you saw this post you’d remember that my girls’ piggies aren’t too cute and Zman’s piggies are growing hair (EEEWWW!), so I’ll just stick with what I’ve got.

Much like  Pam, I don’t actually know 20 bloggers, but I’ll do what I can.

1. I have 5 tattoos.
2. Since meeting Fadre, I have had 3 different last names:  1st I was born with, 2nd I got when I was adopted at age 21 by my dad, 3rd I got the day I married Fadre.
3. I can make my eyes look in two different directions at the same time.
4. I was born in England.
5. I spent a year in Guam.
6. My dream job is to be a high school math teacher.
7. I don’t like bugs.
8. I am ALWAYS cold.
9. I was an extended and tandem nurser. 
10. I love humor.
11. I like brownies but hate chocolate cake.
12. When asked about “hot” celebrities, people like Sean Connery, Sam Elliot, Will Smith, and Hugh Jackman come to mind.  Noone under the age of 35 comes to mind.
13. Every clock in my house is set to a different time in an effort to help me be “timely”.
14. I have 11 earrings.
15. I don’t like oatmeal, but try it every year in the hopes that I will develop a taste for it.
16. My youngest sister is 17 years my junior.
17. Geckos are my “thing”.
18. I like to knit and crochet.
19. I hate to exercise.
20. It was Love at First Sight for me and Fadre.  When I found out he ordered two dozens roses for me for Valentine’s Day before we ever had our first date, I knew he was the one.

I tag:

• iNik at Nikki and Mason 
• Jocelyn at Don’t Take Fruit from a Talking Snake
• Heather at Royle Family Fun
• Katy at The Schrodt Family