Bean’s Birthday Dinner

On the girls’ birthdays I pick up their requested lunch, a birthday treat to share with their friends, and I have lunch with them.  Zman wanted to know why I don’t have lunch with him.  So I offered to pick up lunch for his upcoming birthday.  He was all excited until I reminded him that I’d be joining him for lunch.  Funny, all of a sudden Chik-Fil-A was not so appetizing….

Anyway, Bean requested a McDonald’s cheeseburger – plain.

She is not big on cupcakes, so we searched for an alternative.

Twinkies make everyone smile!  And they have a 3 to 4 year shelf life.  What more could you ask for?

Look how good they make you feel!

As I have said before, in our family, on your birthday you pick the dinner.  Bean ALWAYS picks Macaroni Grill. 

I picked up Mamaw after work and Fadre picked up the kids.  And we all met a Macaroni Grill.  Here’s a video of Bean’s excursion from her friend’s house to the truck to head off to dinner.  A little dramamine anyone?

 

You have to wait a few minutes when you ask for a table for 13.  Let’s see how we spent our time…

Bean and Bug were given this digital camera by my boss about a month ago.  It hardly ever leaves Bean’s hands.  (hence the above video)

Clockwise from bottom left:  Nana, Mamaw, Fadre, iNik, Jocelyn, Paul, Zman, Carson, Almost Mine, Bug, Bean, Papa. 

 

Bug’s a little tired.

iNik in her natural habitat – on her phone.

 

What’s in the bag?  What’s in the bag?

It’s her own camera so she doesn’t have to share.  She was elated!

 

And then this lovely lady sang “Happy Birthday” in Italian.   Complete with a piece of chocolate cake.

WHAT??????

Oh, sorry Mom!

A Close Call

About a month ago Fadre got the bright idea that we could save some money on haircuts.  He and Zman were ready to switch to clipper cuts and he was sure I was more than capable.

Um, I can’t cut paper in a straight line, let alone hair.  So we did our homework.  And by homework, I mean we turned to YouTube.  Oh there are instructional videos on there galore!  Of course, there were several “oops” videos, which made Zman feel a little nervous.  Fadre was first.  No pictures for my benefit – you know, just in case it didn’t turn out.  But we survived and it looked pretty good (my unbiased opinion).

I was feeling more confident by Zman’s turn, so his best bud C played photographer.

Before.  See the need for the haircut?  It is so unruly!

Do you just want a little taken off the top?

Frankly, I thought it would be easier than it was.  A buzz, buzz here, a buzz, buzz there, here a buzz, there a buzz, everywhere a buzz, buzz.    But I was plagued by a curl here, a cowlick there, and by the time he was done, I was tired.

But this.  This is so much better than this.

Sadie

The other morning the girls were going crazy because there was a “puppy” outside.  A Scottie.  I didn’t have the heart to tell them she wasn’t a puppy, but that in reality she was a normal-sized, full-grown Scottie and that Nana just happens to be raising gargantuan dogs.  Well, Jack is just big and Jill, WHOA!,  that chick is a pot-bellied pig disguised as a Scottie.

Anyway, this “puppy” was a ball of energy on the loose.  So I held her until the school bus had come and gone, then Fadre called the number on her tag and slowly, but surely, we were able to leave a message on the owner’s voicemail.

Sadie was her name (the dog, not the owner).  And while we waited for her owner to call, we let Sadie and Dash play.

Oh, she’s fast…very fast…which is why this is a picture of her less appealing end.  (Don’t mind the mess.  Please, really, just ignore it.  Pretend like you don’t even see it.  Thank you.)

Then Sadie’s owner called and picked her up.  I think Dash was a little sad after she left. 

Cookie Sales

Saturday was time for Troop 306 to get busy and sell some cookies.  Each girl signed up for a 1 hour time slot to sell in front of the grocery store.  I’m not big on selling cookies door to door and I refuse to take the cookie sheet to work because I don’t want my co-workers to buy out of obligation.  But I REALLY enjoy the cookie booth.  It never ceases to amaze me the number of former girl scouts we attract and how they are willing to share their cookie sale stories with us.  This year we had one lady tell us that cookies were only $0.25 per box back when she sold them.  That’s a far cry from the $3.50 per box current pricing. 

Fadre and I always stay with Bean and her group during our time slot.  And every year Fadre buys a box of cookies to snack on while we sell and uses the excuse of “it’s so we have a sample to offer”.

 

Bean and her selling partner, M.

What do we have to sell?  Everything you could want…

 

Troop #306 ROCKS!

I am always amazed at the number of people who don’t want to buy any cookies but want to support these girls, so they make a donation.  This year the girls decided every time they had enough of a donation to purchase a box of cookies, they would and then donate the cookies to a nearby group home for the mentally challenged.  One of our church members lives at the home and her family is thrilled with it.  It’s kind of cool that the girls’ charity choice impacts someone we know.  One of the girls’ uncle lives there as well.  In just the hour we were there, the girls had enough in donations to purchase at least 7 boxes of cookies.

It’s my understanding that the troop was able to fill the donation box by the time the sale was over.

Girl Scouts (or Brownies in this case) can do anything!

Snow Day

Remember that snow I posted about a few weeks ago? About 2 p.m. or so last Saturday it started to snow. And it kept going! By Sunday morning the news said we got about 5-6 inches. Within 10 minutes of hearing church had been cancelled, Bean and Bug headed out to play. Fifteen minutes later Bean came in and took a nap. By the time she woke up she had tears in her eyes and complained she didn’t feel well. Thanks to one dose of Motrin, two cups of chicken noodle soup, two handfuls of crackers, and several naps, she was all better by Monday morning.

Family Breakfast Day

Bean and Bug offer breakfast at school once a year as a fundraiser. So this morning we all get up early. Okay, the girls got up same as always because they are usually downstairs, ready for school and eating breakfast by 7 am. I am usually thinking about getting in the shower at that time. But I did it and we were ready to leave the house by 7. Since the neighbor kids’ mom had to work early this morning and their dad has to leave for work pretty early, we took their girls with us. After sitting down another neighbor and his daughter joined our table. It was just like a regular Block Party.

Almost Mine’s Birthday Dinner

Almost Mine picked Chili’s as his birthday dinner restaurant. Zman and his girl K had plans for later that evening, so we invited her to join us. I got this appetizer for free with a coupon. Mmmm.

Bean, Bug, Almost Mine

Fadre, Poppa, iNik, Nana

Zman and K (he loves for me to take his picture)

Almost Mine got a cool backpack for his Nintendo DS.

Me, iNik, Nana

I ate me some of this.

While Fadre had this.

The girls you ask? They went all the way to a restaurant to get the same mac ‘n’ cheese I make at home.

Bug was a little tired and in a sour mood.

I tried to sympathize with her.

I shared this with Fadre and it was good!

A perfect end to a fantastic night.