Happy Dance, Happy Dance, Happy Dance!!

Miss Jenna finally lost that front tooth...remember the one? Let me just rewind for you...Her two front teeth came in and the baby teeth did not want to leave. This was, oh, I don't know maybe A YEAR AGO! Finally at the last dentist appointment even the dentist had had enough and we made a plan to pull it when she goes back in June if it hadn't come out by then...gee, thanks for making over to my side, albeit, a year later. And then, last night...miracle of miracles it finally ended up under her pillow waiting for the tooth fairy (note to Jules: we did manage to find enough quarters in different jacket pockets...whew!) And this morning we had a happy little girl with a fist full of change covered in fairy dust...life is good (at least until the orthodontist gets a look at her).

Birthday Celebration...

Yesterday we all got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday...we'll just ignore the fact that his birthday was Thursday and enjoy the pictures, okay?

At our house you ALWAYS have help blowing out the candles whether you like it or not!

(check out Sam's side burns...can we all say HAIRCUT...sheeesh that's bad)

This one definately goes in the "favorite picture" file!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa...we love you!

Friday...

Exerpts from a conversation on the way to school...

7:54 AM

Jenna: MOM! IT'S ILLEGAL TO DRINK AND DRIVE! (she said it like that...in caps)

Me: Jenna, it's illegal to drink ALCOHOL not coffee! (Starbucks Sumatra with fat free cinnamon vanilla creamer to be exact).

Jenna: Are you sure?

Me: YES!! (and I said it like that...in caps with two exclamation points)

Me driving at 7:54 AM WITHOUT coffee now that should be illegal.

Just earning his keep....

Me: Hey! Sam, what 'cha doin?

Sam: Working

Me: Huh?

Sam: I'm cleaning the wood

Me: Huh? (I have such a good vocabulary)

Sam: I'm moving the wood over there (points to a pile of brush behind the wood pile)

Me: Why?

Sam: I don't know....just because.

Me: Okay (a woman of so many words) have fun.

Sam: I will

Hey, How come I don't get to come outside and help? I'm pretty good with sticks...

Lawn Mower Guy...

In honor of this GORGEOUS spring day I'm going to share one of my favorite photos from a couple of years ago. Granted I got a little Photoshop crazy with this one but, the sentiment remains. Sam loves to "drive"...anything, anytime, anywhere. All he needs is a steering wheel, some tires and, well, I don't exactly know what all he needs to drive 'cause I never learned squat about anything mechanical. Shocking, I know but, still true. I for one am terrified of him getting his drivers license one day. If he gets a car and has money to put gas in it he'll just drive forever. Although, come to think of it, by the time he gets his license gas will be about $20 bucks a gallon so, unless he's a stockbroker by age 16 I'm safe. Happy Monday...I'm going OUTSIDE!!!!!

This is cool!

In support of Autism research this digital scrapbooking kit is being sold at this link: http://www.walknowforautism.org/tenn/personal/mckayla_digikit So, if you are a scrapbooker you should really check this out! I would personally love to use this kit but, I live in dial up world, sad but, true. In dial up world if you try to download a large kit like this your computer will blow up (not literally) and when you call the geek squad and tell them what happened they will laugh at you. I really don't need that kind of humiliation so I will have to wait until I can join the rest of the human race in high speed world. You will also notice that this is kind of connected to the Walk Now for Autism sight. And yes, we are walking again this year...September 20 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee! Check back here in a few months for updates on Sam's Club and how you can help or even walk with us, if you'd like...it's fun! Happy Wednesday!

Spring? Maybe?

Oh, please let this be spring and not just some cruel joke that leads to another snow storm!! The bikes are out....thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! One more day of "can I ride my bike NOW?" and I would have gone mad! There's still some mud and standing water that could prove....hmmmm? interesting, shall we say? We have two kids, a dog and countless "critters" that visit so, our lawn will be what it is...interesting. Apparently we need new helmets and the seats need to be raised...a lot but, other than that it's like winter never happend and it's bike riding 'til the next snow...which better be next December.

Where's Sam?

So what was Sam up to when Jenna was having her out outdoor, sporting meltdown? He was trying to hit a ball with his mini gopher hockey stick but, we have a dog that, get this, chases balls...how shocking! After wisely giving up the ball battle with the dog out came the "monster car"...sooooo very close to outgrowing it but, I'm not telling him that!

at'ti-tude" n. 1,a position or manner indicative of feeling, opinion, or intention toward a person or thing. 2,a bodily posture; position.

Let's start with this photo....lovely, isn't it?

It was finally getting a little warmer out so, we just decided to go outside and enjoy it...at least that was the plan. Someone doesn't look too happy, perhaps it's because no one else was interested in playing tennis. One of the reasons is because hitting a tennis ball on a rock drive way is kind of like nailing jell-o to a tree. Dad told her she could practice by hitting the ball against the garage door...say what??? She then decided she better go for it before Dad came to his senses...
Not bad...by the way, how d'ya like that fancy tennis racket? I got it when I was about ten which was more than a couple of decades ago...and go figure, I still have it.
Okay, this is getting kind of boring, I think I'll go find something else...
Hey, this looks like fun. This requires swinging this green thing which is attached to a green ring that goes around your ankle and you jump over it with your other foot...did ya get all that? Just a thought but, I don't think boots are going to be the best choice for this "sport"...just a guess, though.

NOTE: The rest of this post can be filed under "reason #1344 why I won't be Mother-of-the-year" - - -

Oh, this isn't going well at all...She proceeds to get pretty mad at the fact that her loving parents were trying REALLY, REALLY hard not to laugh. I know we should have tried harder to help but, it's like trying to teach someone how to use a hoola-hoop (do they still make those?)...you can maybe demonstrate the correct way to do it but, that would require actually having said ability...sadly, we did not. We did try to give verbal directions that we thought would help but, I think the boots just did her in.

This would be Miss Jenna trying to look mad at her giggling parents...

Jenna: "It's not funny!"

Me and Rick: Oh, come on honey, you have to admit it is KINDA funny...right?

Jenna: "No"

Okay, at this point we were feeling really bad about the situation so, we suggested that she look for something else to play with...she was definitely in agreement even though she doesn't look like it...

Ahhhhhh, much better...she is actually a pretty good jump roper or whatever you call it. I'm sorry, I'm just not up on my jump rope lingo.

Jenna: I'm still mad at you.

Me and Rick: That's okay, we understand. We are sorry, you know?

Jenna: I know

Me and Rick: We love you.

Jenna: I love you, too.

And we all lived happily ever after...at least until this story comes out at a future therapy session that we're forced to attend via court order.

The week that was...

This was Monday....eeeeeeks!

On Wednesday we left signs and notes all over the house for the birthday boy. My favorite was the one that said "we love you even though you're old" that was stuck in the cap of his deodorant. He's not a big card guy, actually, I take that back. A couple of years ago he gave me one of those obnoxiously large cards for Mother's day, you know the ones you see in the store and wonder "who the heck would buy that?"...well, now you know. I guess the theory was that a REALLY LARGE card would make up for all the years he never got me a card. Apparently, he breaks out into a rash every time he stands in front of a card display at Hallmark...paramedics have to be called, it's an ugly scene. At least that's his story and he's sticking to it. And here's the amazing part of his birthday...HE TOOK THE DAY OFF FROM WORK! Yes, folks he actually used a vacation day...the poor lady in HR is going to faint when that goes through. And in a related story, a pig just flew by our window!

Here is a better picture of the "gown" Jenna got to model Thursday and Friday. Check out those shoes...no, I mean it! check out those shoes. We had to make an extra trip to Target to get the right size, probably not a good idea to trip on shoes during a fashion show. No need to scar the child for life. You may be thinking "what's the big deal making an extra trip to Target?" Well, we live in the country and Target is a half hour away and this was the day of the show. So, please check out the shoes...thank you.

Here was Daddy and Sam watching the fashion show...doesn't Daddy look excited? Let me quote Sam as he was watching the high school age models (while clapping) "Ooooh Daddy, she's pretty, woooo hooo" needless to say he made his father proud.

Never a dull moment...thank goodness! Have a great weekend.

Friday Blatherings...

I try not to whine too much on this blog but, I do feel the need to mention that I have a head full of Sudafed. I feel that need to explain why this post will probably make no sense...actually, I'm happy that this time I have an excuse. Seriously, it was all I could do to get movin today...I'm not exactly sure that I am moving but, I'll just go with the flow. So after an argument with my son this morning over which jacket he could wear to school...he said spring and being the overprotective mother that I am I said winter. He finally relented and then I noticed his spring jacket peaking out from underneath his winter coat. Now, I may be pretty well medicated but, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck (actually that is how I feel today). Anyhoo, I'm guessing that if I were to show up when he's on his way to swimming or at recess the coat I made him wear would be hiding in his locker...just a guess mind you. My daughter pointed out as we were driving up to school that most of the kids had spring jackets on...yeah, and what's your point? No, I didn't actually say that, but, today I can honestly say that I thought it. This was also the point where I was hoping that my sunglasses could actually hide how bad I looked. This was a comfy old jeans, big sweatshirt, hair up (kind of), sunglasses, not even a hint of make-up, pray that you don't see anyone you know kinda morning. And then I had to wave hello to Morgan's mom and Angela's dad...Crap.

The photo on this post is from last night at the LeSueur Retail Business Expo. The princess pea was a model for the Gowns and More store...there were about ten little girls, tooo, tooo cute! This store is run by a lady who works in the corporate office of Rick's company. The gowns are all donated and the proceeds from the sale of the dresses goes to the Royal Family Kids Camp. This camp is for kids in the social service system who have been abused or neglected. It's a week to help show them how important and valuable they are. Go Lois!

Happy Birthday!

I want to wish my better half a very happy birthday!!
Unfortunately, he's still younger than me...drats!
I love you!