Weekend Wrapup

Some weekends we don't do much of anything and some are action packed like this past weekend...

The kids, Granny, and I collect nuts, bark, leaves, twigs, and cones from Rotary Park on Saturday so Holden can make a project for school. Holden gets poison ivy for the first time. But the project turned out nice...


Sunday Ben and I went to the Titans/Vikings game in Nashville.

LP Stadium & Field ...

The Scoring Drive. They do score... they don't win.



Post game... Ben's not smiling. But we had fun!



Granny watches the kids for us while Ben and I are on our "date". She braves the Sunday meeting with them. They clean up nice don't they?



A sweet ending to the weekend... sugar cookies! Emeline chose to make butterflies and she decorated them herself.

Family Celebration

We have a family tradition on (or around) our wedding anniversary. We look at it like our family's anniversary. Even though the kids weren't the picture when we wed, it was the beginning of our story and the start of where we are now. It's a happy time for everyone.

Our family is so kind and generous. The weekend following the 17th we had a family dinner for our anniversary. Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie and Uncle gave us and the kids some great presents (even though we tried to prevent them from doing so!). It was so much fun to be together.

Since we were hoping to skip the family-wide gift giving, Ben and I hadn't gotten the kids anything so we celebrated late and gave the kids gift this weekend. Here they are with their new treasures...

The BEST gift of all... siblings!!!

Mission: Oz

Scored another Oz toy today. The Lullaby Munchkin.

This Is What's Wrong With Our Society... Well, One Thing

Surfing the internet on a caffeine fueled high (mental note... no Starbucks espresso after 7pm) I came across this ad cluttering up one of the pages I was visiting:

No offense to "Laura" or to anyone who's figure looks like "Laura's" after picture, but tell me exactly what is wrong with the before? She went from a woman with curves (hips & waist in proportion) to 10 year old boy? I realize that these images are in all probability not even the same person, but that's beside the point. It's the message that I take offense at.

That before is my goal picture! Yes, I do have weight loss goals, but they stem from wanting to avoid the Michelin man look when I bend over to pick up Owen. I want to be comfortable.

This country's obsession with super skinny is uncomfortable. When People magazine calls a size 0 "skinny" and a size 2 "curvy", there's a problem. When an actress eats a meal and suddenly has a tiny pooch and she's accused of being pregnant, there's a problem. When we go for years seeing airbrushed models and actresses on the pages of magazines and then a real photo turns up of them and people are shocked... disgusted even that their favorite star has :gasp: cellulite, there's a problem. When those same models and actresses stand up and say "leave me alone, I like who I am" and then go into hiding and lose 30 pounds, there's a problem.

We are the problem. So to all the "Before Laura's" out there (including me): start liking yourself. Today.

Whew! That Dennis Miller-style rant burned off some caffeine. I think I can sleep now.

They Got Me!

You might be able to guess that I am an Oz fan. The quotes to the side are from The Wizard of Oz. The picture is me with my kids and niece and nephew and the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz Festival in Boone, North Carolina that we attended last year. I am not obsessed. I don't have the time or money to be, but it makes me happy to watch it, sing the songs, and look at a few little nicknacks we have around the house.

Last year, McDonald's had Wizard of Oz Madame Alexander Dolls as the Happy Meal toy. I made it my mission to get the complete set. These were collectibles that I could afford. We don't usually frequent McDonald's although Owen's obsession with the Golden Arches would make you think otherwise. But last year we got one or two Happy Meals every couple of days. I vowed never to do that again. It was like my own Supersize Me experiment.

Now here we are a year later and McDonald's has done it again. This year's set includes more characters... something the kids and I had talked about wishing they had. The Wizard! A Flying Monkey! Dorothy with Toto! So they got me again! Owen finally had his craving filled yesterday and we got Happy Meals for lunch. I wanted two Oz toys, but Owen being all boy caught sight of the Batman Lego toys for boys couldn't wait to get his hands on one. So we just got one... the Flower Munchkin.

Time to get out the fat pants!

Last year's set:



This year's expanded set:

Wednesday's Word

Now that I have started writing again I wanted to pick up where I left off and continue "Wednesday's Word". But as I was reviewing the conversations I'd had with the kids in recent weeks, I couldn't recall any extraordinary words. I was just about to give up when Emeline came through for me while I was making dinner.

Despicable, adjective. Deserving hatred and contempt.

Emeline's usage: "Today, a boy at my table was burping. He was doing it purposely."

"Did you think it was funny?", I ask.

"No! I think it is disgusting and despicable!", she replies.

"Despicable? What does that mean?", I inquire.

"Oh... you know!", she says her face snarled up, but with a hint of amusement shining through.

So Long Summer

Here are some images from Summer 2008...







So long...

Our 14th Anniversary

Today Ben and I celebrated our 14th year of marriage. Our "celebration" consisted of the usual daily routine... feed the kids breakfast, make school lunches, get the kids on the bus, take out the garbage, clean house, mow the lawn, fix the junky weedeater, go to work, make dinner, clean house again, tuck everyone in bed. No romantic dinner with wine and candles. No babysitter or flowers. Just us doing our family thing.

But that is the point of marriage after all. Spending your life with the person you love most. Making a home and family. Growing together. Forever... 14 years and counting.