Oh, the thinks they can think...Final Episode

Just for the heck of it, I added what I thought their answers would have been in blue...live and learn. Here are BB's answers.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Play as many video games you can.
I love you!
2. What makes mom happy?
The idea of winning the lottery and hiring a housekeeper.
Actually, this one did make me very happy.
3. What makes mom sad?
When Hercules tries to destroy the house.
When Daddy leaves.
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
I'm not really sure how you make me laugh.
Making funny faces.
5. What was your mom like as a child?
Getting smacked in the back of the head a lot.
Spoiled.
6. How old is your mom?
28?
28.
7. How tall is your mom?
About maybe 5'2"
5'6"
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Spend time with us.
Absolutely right, with napping as a close second.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Watch H and TLL and go shopping.
Clean.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Holding the world record for doing the most laundry.
Being your mother.
11. What is your mom really good at?
Shopping.
Reading. I really hate to shop.
12. What is your mom not very good at?
Cleaning the bathroom.
He is right, though I would have thought they would have gone with math/science.
13. What does your mom do for her job?
You don't have a job.
Take care of us.
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Tijuana Flats.
Dessert, never met one I didn't like, except maybe Tapioca.
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
What makes me proud of you, is that you are the best Mom.
When she has all of our clothes, shoes, book bags, and papers laid out when we wake up.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Ewww. I can't figure that out. Oh wait...you can be Wanda from Fairly Odd Parents, cause you're mean and you nag.
The Mom from The Incredibles.
17. What do you and your mom do together?
We go to the movies.
Play.
18. How are you and your mom the same?
We both like chocolate.
We are both LAZY.
19. How are you and your mom different?
We like to do different things.
She isn't computer smart.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because you tell me you love me.
Because she is strict.
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Whole Foods.
To take a nap.

Random snippets of life

• The radio cut out in my truck yesterday, it wasn't long before I realized that it applied to my lights and turning signal as well. Pretty much a total electrical failure...goody!!! For those of you who don't already know, I have massive panic attacks if I try to drive more than a mile in any direction...let us just say that this pretty much didn't help the situation. I leaped out of my truck as soon as we got home pretty much the same way as I would have the snake infested airplane in that movie.
• I realize that everyone lost an hour last night, but, I lost more like six.
• I am still reeling from my 11 year old running around my kitchen with my cell phone threatening to call (not sure who exactly) and report me for child abuse because I wouldn't let the kids have soda with dinner and instead served lemonade. I think the best part would have been his audible for blocks shriek of, "it is illegal to withhold food from your kids, I am going to report you!"
• I bought a seven dollar bottle of *green* bubble bath that doesn't make any bubbles.
• My cat just threw up a hairball on my tile, the hacking involved in getting the hairball out caused him to wet my floor...which I just scrubbed yesterday with a deck brush to get the grout semi-clean. I hope the cat is okay...and that he runs away and hides so I don't kill him.
• The baby is awake again...let's not forget that this would have been 4:23 yesterday morning.
• I just realized that I forgot to bring the water in last night when we got home from Costco. So, it is probably still sitting on my porch where I left it.

If I don't die from having had someone poison my water supply, I will reassess in about 12 hours...maybe things will be looking up.

Oh, the thinks they can think..Part II

Unfortunately, the attitude has begun early with this one. There was much sighing and eye rolling, nevertheless these are JB's answers.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Clean your room.
2. What makes mom happy?
When we do what she says.
3. What makes mom sad?
When I get bad grades.
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
IDK.
5. What was your mom like as a child?
IDK that either.
6. How old is your mom?
28?
7. How tall is your mom?
Five feet.
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Spend money.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Take care of everybody else.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Hmmmm...ummm...IDK.
11. What is your mom really good at?
Cooking.
12. What is your mom not very good at?
IDK.
13. What does your mom do for her job ?
Take care of TLL and H.
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Tijuana Flats.
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When...uhh...she gives us treats like going out for ice cream.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Wanda.
17. What do you and your mom do together?
We go shopping together.
18. How are you and your mom the same?
IDK.
19. How are you and your mom different?
You like to spend money and I like to save money.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Cause she always says she loves me.
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
To go like shopping or something?

Oh, the thinks they can think

This comes from an amazing blog and I have decided to post my older children's answers in three parts. The first victim of my scheme was LB and here is what he had to say about me.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Clean your room.
2. What makes mom happy?
If the house gets clean.
3. What makes mom sad?
If a cat dies.
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When she loses her car keys.
5. What was your mom like as a child?
IDK. I wasn't back there.
6. How old is your mom?
Let me see...about...let's see...65?
7. How tall is your mom?
About...um...IDK. About 50 inches long.
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Shop.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Watch H and TLL.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Um...umm...being rich.
11. What is your mom really good at?
Something you're really good at huh? Shopping.
12. What is your mom not very good at?
Walking the dogs.
13. What does your mom do for her job ?
Watch H and TLL.
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Apple.
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Um. *Scratching chin* Watching H and TLL.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Mr. Krabs.
17. What do you and your mom do together?
Do you know what that is? That's shopping.
18. How are you and your mom the same?
We got both the same skin color.
19. How are you and your mom different?
I'm a boy. You're a girl.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
I don't know?
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Whole Foods.

Guilt

At roughly 1:30 this morning someone was pounding on my door. It woke up the dogs that started barking, and of course the baby. I looked out of my peephole, and I saw that there was someone on my porch, but, my motion sensor porch light was not lit even though it was on, and all I could tell was that the person was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood drawn up around their head.

I didn't answer the door. I didn't even ask who it was. I figured that if it WAS someone up to no good, the last thing I should do was tip them off that I was a woman. I looked outside my window later and began to wonder if my next door neighbor hadn't locked herself out of the house. Of course, she has my phone number, and I would think that she would have called me...but, I'm not sure.

Did I do the right thing? What should I have done? What would you have done?

More Tales from Florida Public Schools

Yesterday was Read Across America Day. I celebrated this great event by participating as a guest reader in my son's first grade classroom. It was while I was at the school participating in this great event that my eldest son (who attends the same school) fell ill. The school was unable to reach me by phone to inform me that BB was sick. It also apparently went unnoticed that I was ALREADY on school grounds. So, my son sat in the clinic for three hours. I read to my son's first grade class, I talked to his teacher, I tried to keep H from reducing the school to a pile of rubble and slalomed with the double stroller through the halls to avoid adorable germ infested children breathing on TLL. All of this transpired while BB was camped out in the clinic.

Shortly before the end of the school day, I headed to the main office to sign myself and the children out. I decided that after having my 6 year old pick out the one and only Dr. Seuss book I had never seen before for me to read to his class, I deserved some ice cream, and I was going to take the kids home with me (they usually ride the bus) and stop at our favorite gelato place on the way. The SAME woman who checked me in, informed me that my oldest son had spent the entire day in the clinic and had been picked up moments before by his uncle. WHAT????

This woman then proceeded to actually chastise me because they did not have a current number on file for me. I was rather politely incredulous because the clinic calls me ALL THE TIME to pick up my hypochondriac daughter. When I pointed this out, they were good enough to look at the contact information cards, which had been updated for my daughter, but not for my sons. Why not for the boys? I guess someone at the office dropped the ball. This woman even told me that she had called EVERYONE on the contact list several times and left many messages. Not true. NOT TRUE. I have listed ten people that can and will pick up my children in the event of an emergency. They called the first two, and then waited for a return phone call. For THREE hours!

The clinic/office didn't check his brother or sister's cards. They didn't ask my son's teacher for my number. They didn't ask LB or JB if they knew my number. They didn't call everyone on the call list. If they had, they would have found that my Grandparents were home, my aunt was at home, my stepson was home, etc. Any of those people could have given them my new cell number, even though it wouldn't have done any good because it doesn't work inside the school. All of those people knew that I was going to be at the school yesterday and they could have suggested that they try the loudspeaker. I know that the school never tried any of these people because I called them and asked. I asked them to please check their messages and their caller id's. They all reported back that no the school hadn't called, yes they were home all day, yes they checked their messages, and yes they checked their caller id...no school.

What was the kicker? When I asked which uncle picked him up...they couldn't tell me. They misplaced the card and so they couldn't have the uncle sign him out. In fact, they had no way of knowing if he was even authorized to pick my son up. I mean really? Really?

I simply cannot wait for the principal to get around to returning my phone call this morning.

From the ashes of our weekend

This past weekend was a Daddy Weekend at our house, meaning that my husband was home for one of the two weekends a month that we get to spend with him. Saturday, was an unmitigated disaster. Sunday, was a huge improvement, but the short time frame meant that to get anything done, we had to go without sleep last night and rush around like mad to get him back on the road in time. One of the better things that happened over the weekend was that I think I was finally able to impress upon our Daddy how important these weekends are to the children and me. I am hopeful that he has a better understanding of what we need from him when he is home. The path to enlightenment was a rocky one though.

Saturday morning started with me getting (or taking) the opportunity to sleep in. I was really wearing my best game face when I made it downstairs to find that Daddy had fed the children potato chips for breakfast. They weren't poison potato chips, so I knew that the kids would live to suffer through whole grain toast and fruit another day. What I couldn't let slide was the yelling from Daddy about how he had only been home for 10 hours, and the children were already making him crazy. I know that my husband blows up and then things blow over...but when he is already living 350 miles away from us, I think he should be a little extra careful not to give our kids reason to think that it is somehow their fault.

Then Saturday night, he had a little temper tantrum...something about how God must be punishing him because he is still changing diapers after 20 years. So, Sunday I implored my aforementioned 20 year old stepson to come hang out with the kids so Hubby and I could get out of the house and talk. It was a good day and a good talk. He is willing to try a little harder to keep his cool when he is home. He also suggested that I plan something for the weekends he is home, and he will get with the game and participate, and at least pretend to have fun.

Ideal situation? Not hardly. Perfect solution? Nope. Is it a start? I really hope so.