What are they thinking?

So, I'm helping out in kindergarten last Thursday, and I'm working on Antonyms with the kids. (That's Opposite words for those of you too far out of elementary school - which is the only place you will ever hear about them.)

A little boy turns to me and asks, "Have you mated?"

My jaw hit the floor.

Me: "I'm sorry, have I what?"

him: "You know, MATED?" (This time louder - because I'm obviously deaf.)

Me: "Ummmm, I heard what you said... but I'm still not understanding what you are asking me. What does that word mean?"

him: (shrugs his shoulders)

Little girl next to him: "You know, do you have a HUSBAND?" (delivered in a tone that infers I'm somewhat of an idiot.)

Me: (mortified) "Oh. Yes. Yes, I do. I have, indeed, mated."




(OK, admit it - you went there in your head too!)

My future exchange student

Background to today's story: Husband did an exchange program in high school and spent time learning in Costa Rica. While in Costa Rica, he got Salmonella - sickest he's ever been in his life - and doesn't want our kids to eat anything with raw eggs in it because of that fact. Well, if you mention a fun fact like that to DD1 she'll remember it forever, but in her head some of the facts have changed. Here is the transcript from our conversation this afternoon. (We stopped at DQ on the way home.)

DD1: The cookie dough in this blizzard is probably the "safe: kind.
("safe" meaning made with pasteurized eggs.)

Me: Yes, they probably couldn't serve it if it wasn't the "safe" kind.

DD1 (talking to DD2): Daddy got food poisoning from eating raw eggs and got sick.

Me: I don't know exactly what he was eating, but I'm not sure it was raw eggs.

DD1: Then it was raw meat. His mom made it.

Me: No, honey, it wasn't... and she didn't. He was in Costa Rica at the time, so he was far away from his mom.

DD1: He got sick in another country?

Me: Yes. He studied Spanish so he got to take a trip very far away. Dad and I would like you to do an exchange program in High School.

DD1: I could go to Mexico.

Me: Or maybe Spain? Then we can come visit you.

DD1: No. I'm never going there. I'll just go somewhere close to home that I haven't been before where they speak Spanish. Like South Dakota.

********************************

....so there you have it - my daughter's foreign exchange plan. If you know of any good Student Exchange Programs to the Spanish speaking parts of the DAKOTAS be sure to let me know. Cause apparently she's all about Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills, not so much the historic beauty of Madrid and Seville, or the Pyrenees Mountains.

South Dakota? Oh, Lord help me.

SMA Friday

It's small, but it's a great picture of Hugh! Have a happy weekend!

Wordless Wednesday (one day late)

...Sorry, the dog ate my entry. (Or something like that.) Here are more of Julian Beever's chalk drawings. I can never get enough of these. Would LOVE to see one in person someday.

You can find out more about this amazing artist HERE.

Memorial Day

Please take a moment today to remember the estimated (as of November 2008*) 651,030 Americans who, since 1775, have fallen on battlefields fighting for the rights and freedoms of the citizens of our country.

Please take a moment to remember those who died off of the battlefield during their service to our country. An estimated 539,000 men and women who have died from wounds incurred during battle, and other "in service, non-theater" deaths(*).

Please take a moment to remember the families of those fallen. The hundreds of millions of tears they have shed (over these last 234 years) because their loved ones "laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." (Abraham Lincoln)

Please take a moment to honor the spirit of Memorial Day... and then go have some fun. They wanted that for you.

*all statistics used in this entry can be located HERE.

SMA Friday!

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I now return you to your previous post.
We get so busy on SMA Fridays looking at that Hot Hugh Jackman, that we forget there is a woman behind that man. A supportive, beautiful wife named Deborra-Lee Furness. Who is, perhaps, one of the luckiest women in the world.

Bloggers and friends, meet "the wife":

Wordless Wednesday

Springtime at Locksley Hall

...where, according to Alfred Lord Tennyson;
"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." (*)

Know what I've noticed about the Spring? It seems to be when a blogger's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of all things except updating their blogs!

Come on, ladies, I'm having to search out new material and spend time on facebook. (I am still convinced that nothing good will come from facebook.) Update, I beg of you... UPDATE!!! If you haven't figured it out yet, let me spell it out for you: The internet was invented so I could partake of it's literary amuse-bouche. (Just ask Al Gore.) I don't want to read long, drawn out, in-depth coverage of anything. When I want that, I read books. No, what I want to start my day is short snippets of real life. I love the snippets and stories I find on blogs, and twitter doesn't fulfill me with it's 140 characters. I tried to substitute, I really did. But Twitter is akin to a synthetic opiate... it fills the need if it has to... sort of. Blogging is the real deal, however "old school" it must now seem with the bright and shiny social networks out there that are drawing people in like magpies.

So, for the love of a sisterwife, put down the facebook and come back to blogging. The SMA might appreciate it, too.


*You can find the poem "Locksley Hall" by Alfred Lord Tennyson in it's entirety here.

What a beautiful day!

Imagine my surprise this morning when, on 9News I heard Becky Ditchfield talking about 90 degree weather!!! (That's 32 degrees for all of you heathens who follow the Celsius thermometer.)

No fights with my daughters this morning about what to wear! (Usually I'm loudly telling them, "yes, I know it's Springtime... but you're still going to have to wear jeans because it's cold outside!") Not today!!! Wanna wear your Summer clothes? Go for it. The only warning I had to give was, "You can wear any dress you want - but it is going to be windy so it might blow up on the playground." Other than that? They could go to school in anything but spaghetti straps and flip flops. (There is a dress code, after all.)

And what does Mom have planned for this beautiful day? Lunch with friends? No. A good book to be read outside under the shade of a beautiful tree? Wrong again.

Because I scheduled today to be carpet cleaning day. And not the kind where the man in uniform comes and takes care of it all for while I enjoy a latte and the newspaper. The kind where I break out our handy dandy steam cleaner for (please God) the last time, and tackle the family room carpet.

On the most beautiful day so far this year.
Because I'm all about good timing.

SMA Friday

The Sexiest Man Alive - even in Russia.

Tomorrow

It's time for Dodi's Annual (sadly I admit that I have a garage sale practically every year) Springtime Garage Sale!

Come join us! Among the treasures you'll find:
Stuffed Animals!
Outdated Electronics!
All Things Dora! (Chinese lead included at NO EXTRA CHARGE!)
Care Bears!
Ugly Glassware!
Mildly tattered children's books!
Dress up clothes and used crap that everyone needs!

It's practically a carnival in my front yard!!

Seriously, though, I bitch about the garage sales when I'm getting ready for them... but we almost always have a good time during them. I always have a friend or two joining me for the day, selling their castoffs alongside mine. Neighborhood sisterwives drop by for a chat, people come from foreign lands - speaking the Spanish that remains elusive to me, Mrs. Kravitz joins us for laughs and giggles... it's (as I mentioned above) practically a carnival in my front yard! (OK, that might be stretching it... but it's usually not so bad.) We even managed to have fun last year, with my mother newly gone and GF's dad newly diagnosed with cancer. (GF is one of my tried and true Garage Sale Partners. AM used to join us, but then she rudely moved to Georgia and broke up the Flea Marketing Trio. Boo. Hiss.) This year it is GF's dad who is recently passed, and it's my turn to be there for her. (Although, and those of you who know her can attest, she is the strongest woman I know.) Even if she doesn't need a shoulder, I know we'll have lots of laughs.

Because it's going to be Garage Sale Day at Dodi's house.

Now... if anyone has any large, plastic outdoor toys? We need something to draw the buyers in... as Mrs. Kravitz (once again) has refused to offer a bikini car wash next door. She's killing our profits!

Yaaaarrrgggghhhh!

Too much to do!
Too much to do!
Too much to do!

(I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, does it show?)

Go Flat Stanley!

Second graders around the country are rejoicing today:

Flat Stanley made it to the White House Correspondents’ dinner this weekend! I would never have guessed during our trip to NY last year, that "Flat" (as he came to be known during our journey) would be the dinner date of Ed Westwick just one short year later.

Flat Stanley? That's MISTER Flat Stanley to you!

SMA Friday

Whew, almost missed it again! Here's Hugh in Paris. I think the two go really well together.

Wordless Wednesday: The one that makes cleaning the bathroom not all that bad...

Our dog Bo

Have I ever told you how Bo came to be a beloved member of our family?

Five years ago our darling boxer, Kirby, died. We were devastated, and Hannah, our Husky and Kirby's best friend in the entire world, went a little crazy - or a lot crazy depending on the week. By the end of the Winter we knew that it was time to get another dog for her. We called Boxer Rescue. They didn't have a dog that fit our needs (as we wanted a male who was about her same age), but they'd let us know.

About a month later they had a dog for us to meet. His name was Bo, he was about a year younger than Hannah, and he was being surrendered from his second home. Hearing this, we were sure we'd find a hyper dog with something wrong with him.

The dog we met was the most mellow, loving, adorable boxer boy ever (along with Kirby, of course). The woman from Boxer Rescue said she would only place him with us if we agreed to be his forever family. We couldn't imagine not loving this dog forever - but asked why he had been surrendered to Boxer Rescue not once, but twice? His first owner had to move out of state, and didn't want to take him with them, and his second owners were getting a divorce and could no longer keep the dogs they had. How awful is that? I cannot stand people who think a pet is no more important than a piece of furniture. It doesn't quite fit? Get rid of it. It's really hateful.

Our DD1, who was 5 at the time and had clasped herself around Bo the second he came in to the room, told the woman "we will love him forever." The woman from Boxer Rescue cried, and we told her that - barring any bizarre behavior in the next month or so - we absolutely took animals in to our home as a "forever" agreement only. Bo would be our 3rd rescue dog, and we took that responsibility very seriously.

And, to this day, we cannot fathom anyone ever giving this dog away for any reason. He came to us with the most perfect manners and the most gentle disposition of any dog we've ever had. He was a joy, a love sponge, so amazing with our kids - never, ever minding them prodding him and being showered with their attention. After his first year, some of his impeccable manners had lessened, we're a fairly relaxed group about things like joining us in the same room for dinner - and his playful side had appeared. He was so dear!

We were his forever home. We loved him, we treasured him, and we never forgot how lucky we were that he found his way in to our lives. Bo had two little funny swirls of fur, one below each shoulder. In reading DD1's story journal not long ago I read a story she wrote about that being where his wings were attached when he was an angel.

Bo died on Friday night. We are sad, and we miss him so much. The unconditional love of a dog is a gift, and we will forever be grateful for the gift of his love, and hope we loved him enough in return. He will always be our angel dog.

Tribute to forgotten Wordless Wednesday

This week is going by WAY too fast - I haven't even had time to look up a good SMA picture yet. I was going to post this comic, sent to me by my friend, Rebecca, yesterday... please do enjoy.

A year ago today...

...was the day we lost my mom. This last Saturday was the day my kids had their dance photos taken, and my mom NEVER missed a recital. She loved to watch my girls dance, she'd even attend a class or two during the year so she could watch them. Last year my kids weren't able to attend picture day at the studio because it was the last day my mom was alive (although I didn't know it that day - all we knew was she was really sick and that they couldn't do anything else to save her), so Husband and I were at the hospital most of the day.

I thought a lot about her on Saturday while doing the girls' hair and makeup, getting them dressed, watching them preen in front of the mirrors.

When we got home from the studio I snapped off a couple of pictures since they looked so cute. (My DD1 completely has my mother's smile!)

I miss you, mom.

SMA Friday!

In honor of the new X-MEN movie that opens May 1st which I doubt I'll see.




Confession time: I've never seen an X-MEN movie even though I love Hugh. I cannot stand when Hugh has a square head.

Wordless Wednesday

A class of Twitter Grads

Grey Gardens

Ahhh, HBO did a good job! Have you seen it?

Particularly good was Drew Barrymore as Little Edie, she nailed the performance.

I saw the original documentary. The eccentricities of these two women was, frankly, disturbing to watch. It did help that HBO gave us some background. The story is no less disturbing this time around, but they did a good job of weaving flashback scenes in to the "documentary" scenes. Building on, but never overshadowing the work done by the Maysles. I will watch it again, I'm sure.... and again I'll be rooting for Little Edie to pull herself up, slap her mother in the face, and make it to that damn audition for Max Gordon. It bothers me so that Little Edie never had the inner strength to stand up to her mother - and that her mother never loved her enough to let her go. Big Edie only ever really cared about what Big Edie wanted.

Here are are a couple of pictures to show you how well the makeup is done:

(screen capture from original 1975 film. found at THIS SITE)

(Photo by HBO)

It's an odd subject matter, the fall of this prominent NY society family. I wonder why watching the very wealthy fall from grace is interesting (fascinating, even) because they have so much farther to fall?

Everyone remembering Columbine today...

All over the internet, all over television... today is the 10th anniversary of the tragedy at Columbine. My thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors of that horrible day. The friends, families, injured, and affected. Especially to the parents of those lost and injured.

10 years ago today, we were in Mexico on vacation. The eyes of the world, for weeks afterwards, were on Colorado. Specifically a suburb of Denver called Littleton. It was ALL the BBC talked about the rest of our trip - and since we had no American stations available, we relied on international news for all of our information. It was so strange. There were 8 of us in the group that traveled together, and wherever we went people asked if we knew anyone that was hurt. Honestly, we didn't know. Husband and friends played soccer with a man who taught at Columbine - but we aren't from that part of town, we'd answer. We're from South East Denver, and Columbine is in South West Denver. I remember specifically someone from the east coast asking if Littleton was a "bad" part of town. I don't remember who it was, but someone in our group answered, "Not at all. If you aren't safe in Littleton Colorado, you aren't safe anywhere."

The world changed that day. All of the sudden, school's were no longer the bastion of safety for our children. Since then? Even worse. Now it's not just an American problem. This kind of insanity is worldwide.

About 7 weeks after that vacation we found out that we were going to have a lifelong souvenir from our trip - DD1. Our first child , a treasure to be kept safe. I know that someday my kids will have to leave our little nest - and that when the time comes they will gladly go. But, wasn't High School supposed to be where Moms and Dads practice "letting go"? Wasn't that the relatively safe environment before they fly up to college to practice their adult skills without us so close? Now neither place is potentially as safe as it once was... and that worries me. Because we can parent them, we can love them, and we can try to make sure they are morally and ethically strong, caring people. But we can't control who crosses their paths in life. And 10 years ago today that prospect got a lot scarier.

Pray for the survivors today.

SMA FRIDAY!

Got these pics from Lainey Gossip. She's been featuring Hugh all week!

Some things you have to share...

I've emailed this, I've posted on Facebook, and I'm putting it on my blog. I've watched this over and over... it's about 7 minutes long. I can't seem to embed the video here - - so follow the link. Watch the entire thing.

She had a dream

Springtime in her world

The Dandelion. Nothing more than a weed, a nuisance, an invader... lawn graffiti.

Unless you are a six year girl.

To a six year old girl a dandelion is a beautiful sign of Spring. A perfect little yellow flower, something so beautiful that you can hardly believe you are free to pick it... they don't let you pick the other pretty flowers. But a dandelion is special. It is an unloved flower, one that a little girl is free to pick and give to her mom. So it is loved.

As is she.

She will never know the warmth in my heart when I am handed this favorite flower of hers. "Keep it safe." I will, sweetheart, I will.

SMA Friday!

Today's SMA Friday takes us back to 1993 - a younger, maybe even hotter Hugh. Ahhh, even more than the 80's I am nostalgic for the fashions of the early 90's.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Fever!

Was there an Easter last year?

So, Easter this year is the last "1st" we go through until the anniversary of my mom being gone. As I was getting some stuff ready the other day I was thinking... and for the life of me I couldn't figure out when Easter was last year. I couldn't remember IF there had been an Easter last year. I knew that I had gone in for my d&c and ovarian cyst on March 27th, that my mom had gone in to hospital April 2nd... but I also remember that there was an egg hunt at my parents house on Easter. How was that possible.


Was I remembering a different Easter? There were quite a few egg hunts at the grandparents house, a couple here... and frankly last Spring is a blur.


I called my friend, Julie (Gingerbread Julie), the other day. "When was Easter last year?" Neither one of us could remember.


Easter last year was on March 23rd. Before my "procedure" (during my difficult time) and before mom got sick.
There was an egg hunt at my parents house.
It was the last time my girls were with their Ammie before she died. Because once she got sick I didn't want their memory of her to be sad, I wanted their memory to be her on that fun day.

You'd think I'd have remembered that.

Spring Break 2009

(Disclaimer: This is a Mommy Post if there ever was one. Click to the next blog if you can't stomach the gross stuff.)

You know, I usually have high hopes for things we'll do when the girls are off of school for a little break. We didn't take a vacation this Spring Break, so I thought we'd do some fun stuff around here. A little adventure each day. We have fun museums, activity centers, shopping.... shouldn't be too hard to keep them entertained.

Sometimes a plan backfires.

Cue DD2's "lower intestinal irritation". (I abhor the "D" word.) It started last week on Thursday (the first snow-day off of school). It was bad enough that she needed quick access to a loo, not bad enough that she felt sick. She's really not sick enough to justify a trip to the doctor - but bad enough that by this Thursday we were pouring Imodium down her because the bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast weren't working. (Probably because I kept giving her yogurt, jam on her toast, un-toasted bread, and goldfish. Which don't sound that bad - but kept the whole intestinal festival alive! Plus? She won't touch rice unless it has a lemon sauce on it - citrus and sugar? Disaster.) We managed a movie on Tuesday, a shopping trip to ToysRUs on Wednesday, and a glamour outing on Friday - haircut, Claire's Boutique, and new outfit from Gymboree. (DD1 had a fun Friday too: spent the morning at an animal rescue farm in Parker with a friend and then she had a play date.) Other than that? Not much.


It wasn't the greatest Spring Break ever... but school is out in two months and what's more fun than Summer Break?????

SMA FRIDAY!

A reminder why we meet here every Friday:

I decided, back in November when People Magazine went to the trouble of agreeing with me on the fact that Hugh is the sexiest man alive, that I'd post a picture of him every Friday. Not only to remind you of my superior skills of choosing good looking men, but to perhaps see if it would get at all annoying. So far? Your comments lead me to believe that you're not annoyed. SMA Friday is my blog "thing", my hook, my signature move if you will. I'll miss him in November... pray to your Gods that we get a good SMA again next year - or the annoyance factor may prevail. (Note to Aimee: If it's Zac, the SMA Friday post goes to you for the duration of one year. I'm NOT posting Zac every Friday! No way, no how.)

Have a great weekend!