this and that

Just a quick note to fill you in on what's new in the family.

B. has taken to calling me "babe" when he wants my attention. ("mom, mom, mom, mom, babe, babe..) It started a few days ago. J. thinks it's pretty funny. I'm just hoping he doesn't do it in the middle of church.....awkward.

G. has dyed her hair pink. I know what you're thinking...but it was actually my idea. hehe I was reading a book recently and the main character is a hairdresser. Her daughter dyed her hair with koolade and it gave instructions in the book. What the heck?!?! So I asked G if she wanted pink hair. She, of course said "YEAH!" It looks so cute and it washes out in just a few days. She was worried that J was get upset but I told her since he has a Mohawk, he really can't say a whole lot.

S. is on a "whose in charge" kick. Anytime she is told something she doesn't like, she claims the other parent is actually in charge and she only listens to them. Of course, this varies from hour to hour depending on her mood.

I. has changed his mind about going into a computer career after high school. He is thinking about something in the music industry. His new school is really pushing him to maintain a high GPA. I have no doubt he can do the work, I just wish he would realise how dang smart he is!!

J. still has his stupid Mohawk.....blagh! Hate the thing! He has his own blog now and it is HUGELY popular! It's all entertainment reviews. Ya'll should check it out if you haven't.

Me, I'm getting ready to fly back to FL this weekend to pack up the house. No, it hasn't sold yet, but the realtor thinks it will sell faster empty. I do not fly well....so this should be interesting.

That's it!! love to you all!!!

cheese curds

As most of you know (or maybe you don't) I was born and raised in Florida. Being from the South, I simply adore fried food. My motto is " if it taste good, it will taste even better fried!" Fried chicken, French fries, onion rings, doughnuts....etc. But, as I am getting on in years and pounds, I try not to partake from the deep fryer too often. That being said, I have a new fried love. Fried Cheese Curds.

You may be asking yourself "what's a cheese curd?" I, too, was oblivious to this wondrous treat until recently. It all started on July 4th of this year. While wondering an Independence day fair, we passed a vendor selling fried cheese curds. I innocently asked for a sample. Little did I know that it would be the beginning of a love/hate relationship! I LOVE to eat them, I HATE that they go straight to my fanny!

Fortunately (or unfortunately for my fanny) we live within walking distance to a pub that has the best cheese curds in town. So I quite often talk J. into popping down to the pub to get an order to go.
the conversation goes something like this:

ME: I'm hungry
J: so eat something
Me: I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for...
J: uh huh
Me: want to get some cheese curds?
J: didn't we just get some last night?
Me: Nooooo, that was at least 2 nights ago.
J: oh
(long pause)
Me: so you want to go get some? I'll buy...(smiling sweetly...giving him puppy dog eyes...)
J: (big sigh and overly dramatic eye roll) I guess...

And thus, J. becomes my cheese curd enabler...or pusher...or whatever.

An unnatural fear.

Ok, as most of you know, I have a few phobias. Fear of the Dark, heights, small places, and, oh yeah....CATS! I try very hard not to pass my fears down to my kids. I put on a brave face when we ride ski lifts and when the electricity goes out. I tell them "Don't be silly, there is nothing to be afraid of!" I even convinced I. (our 14 yr old) to go out to the garageand get something for me while the resident rat lived there. "Don't be silly," I said, "that rat is more afraid you than you are of him!" (well, I sure as heck wasn't going out there!!!!)

My baby girl S. has topped me. At the tender age of 4, She has developed and unnatural fear of dressers.

It all started back in Arizona. The girls were sharing a room and had their own TV in there. It was perched on top of a dresser. In retrospect, probably not the best place for it....but there it is. G was lying on the bed and kicking the dresser. I don't know why, but who knows why a 7 year old does anything. Anywho, the TV started to fall, She tried to stop it and ended up being underneath the TV and the dresser. She wasn't hurt, just scared. S, who witnessed the whole thing, decided that screaming and running from the room was the best response. She apparently does not handle a crises situation very well.

A couple of months back, it was S. who was smooshed (it is so a real word!). There was something on top of the dresser that she wanted and decided that climbing the drawers was the best way to get it. Down came the dresser with her caught underneath. Again, she wasn't hurt, just scared.

A few weeks later, G. and S. thought it would be great to have a hammock in their room. They tied one end of the blanket to the closet door and the other end to the dresser. Well, much to their surprise, it didn't hold and, you guessed it, down came the dresser.

Now my poor baby gets nervous when ever she gets too close to a dresser. Could be worse, I guess. Could have been Cats!!!!!!!!

Bowling

This past Sunday, we took the kids bowling. Personally, I hate bowling. I think it's boring (like, something you would do if watching paint dry got too exciting for you) and I stink at it! I should mention that sports are not my thing. In fact, I have been told I don't have a competitive cell in my body. But...the kids like it and they had a lot of fun.
We all used bumpers (otherwise my score would be about 18) and ramps for the kids. The ramps are cool because you just put the ball on it and the kids give it a push. Without ramps, their balls barely make it to the pins.
I think my score ended up being 78. Bad, I know but May be my personal best. Even B beat me. (2 years old....sad, huh?)
The surprising thing was J. He apparently has a natural talent for this sport! Go figure! He bowled strike after strike. I was amazed!! I think he should go pro! Can you imagine, a guy with a mow hawk and covered in tattoos on the pro bowling circuit with a bunch of beer belly rednecks! His sponsors could be tattoo parlors.
We only bowled one game (all I could take) but I'm sure we will be going again.........
Pray for me... ;-)

The Packer Zone

You are traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of beer and football but of cheese heads. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of Lambeau Field. That's the goal post ahead- next stop, The Packer Zone......

If you have never been to Green Bay, it's a unique place when it comes to football. For those of you who aren't football fans (myself included), this is the home of the Green Bay Packers football team. Now, this is a relatively small town. No sky scrapers, little traffic, lots of farms, etc. What makes them unique is the fact that the town owns the football team.

The fans here are more than enthusiastic about their team. It's more like rabid...kinda scary really. Everyone, and I do mean Everyone watches the game. And then they talk about it all day the next day. When I mentioned that, no, I don't care for football...well, you would have thought I had three heads with horns and fuzzy green things popping out all over!!! On Friday's, when most companies have "dress down day", they have "Packer Day". Businesses from Banks to hospitals and grocery stores are awash in a sea of Green and Gold. During season, local churches change their service time to accommodate the games. They have parties to "relive" Super Bowl 31. (I'm assuming the Packers won that year) They paint their houses green and gold. They carve big G's into the trees. When people found out that Brett Favre was leaving, they cried...cried!!! I'm talking about grown men! They are seeing an increased number of patients with depression because of this! Again, for non-football folks, he was the quarterback here since, like, 1915 or something. I am not making any of this up! OK... maybe the 1915 part, but that's it! I was told by one mother not to mention Brett Farve to my 10 year old patient because he is very upset about the whole thing. Seriously?!?!

Let me give you a couple of examples:

Portage, Wis.- Upset that his 7-year-old son wouldn't wear a Green-Bay-Packers jersey during the teams playoff victory in January, a man restrained the boy for an hour with tape and taped the jersey onto him

Green Bay, Wis.- David Whitthoff has worn his Brett Favre jersey every day since receving it as a Christmas gift in 2003. His mother washes it every two days and mends it when needed.

Then there's the "Green Bay Bikini Girls". These are three women who wear bikinis to all the home games no matter the weather!! I'm talking about 23 below zero! Even beer freezes at that temperature, which is, by the way, the biggest complaint at Lambeau Field.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. I'm including a few pics to prove my case.

I.'s last day

Saturday was a very sad day in our house. I.'s time with us is over and he flew back to FL to start school on the 18th. He wanted to go back to Chicago one more time before he left, so on Friday we drove down there. We spent the day at the Field Museum of Natural History. The museum is NOT free, but if you look hard enough online, you can find 2 for 1 coupons. There were some really cool exhibits. They had dinosaurs, lots of animals, and even a special exhibit on mythical creatures. J really liked that. B loved the dragons and the girls liked the mermaids. They even had the famous P.T. Barnum mermaid.

We made a great find in the Museum Gift shop! Dinosaur sneakers! B and G both needed sneakers, so we got them each a pair. They are so cute! B's have dino's on them and G's have big Dino eyes on them. On the bottom there are dino footprints. Everytime B wears his he chases us roaring! Before you ask, S didn't like them. (weird, right?)

On Saturday we got up early and took I. to the airport. He asks me every time he leaves if I'm going to cry. He tells me not to, and I tell him I will try really hard not to, but I probably will. I always do. Well...I did, and so did the girls. We were just a mess. I wonder if he knows what kind of state his departure leaves us in. I know he was excited to get home to his friends, but we miss him already!

He starts his new school on the 18th and he's a little nervous. If ya'll have his e-mail, some encouraging words would be nice for him.

When we left the airport, J and I decided we would check out Madison. It's only an hour from the airport and 3 hours from home, so we figured we would go while were close. We toured the capital building and walked the downtown. We even found a used bookstore and I found a book I'd been trying to find for a while. J and I decided that we really like the feel of a college town and will probably settle in, if not near one. We're not much for big cities, but being close to one would be nice. Our ideal town is getting more and more specific, and hopefully by the time we do settle down, we'll have it narrowed down pretty good.

One last thing I wanted to tell you about:

The other day the kids and I were at the playground in the mall. We walked over to Shopko (it's like a Target) to get a couple of drinks. I let the kids pick out some flavored water. It wasn't until B was one his THIRD cup that I noticed the "ENERGY" on the side of the bottle!! Holy Cow!! 50Mg of Caffine plus Guarana and Ginsing!!! Well, needless to say he was wired the rest of the day!! I thought he was never going to go to sleep that night. J thought the whole thing was pretty funny.

Love to all!!!!

d

p.s. What do ya'll think of J's hair?!?! Everybody vote....maybe we can talk some sense into him!!!

Noah's Ark Water Park

This past Wednesday we spent the day in Wisconsin Dells at Noah's Ark Water Park. If you don't know anything about Wisconsin Dells, It is a small town that is the epitome of tourism. There are 21 water parks plus other amusement parks, miniature golf, go carts, and everything else you can think of. Oh, it's also the place for the "worlds best fudge".





Noah's Ark is the largest water park in the country. We arrived at about 11am. J dropped us off at the front entrance and parked about 2 states away....no, not really, but it was about a 20 min walk. As soon as he drove off I realised I left my bathing suit in the truck!!! When he got back to where we were he had to turn right back around and go back because I had no idea where he parked. The kids and I went ahead to "tadpole bay", one of many kiddie areas. While waiting for J and my bathing suit, I was letting the little ones play in the water. Apparently, there is a large tub that continually fills with water. Periodically, a bell will ring and the LARGE tub will dump on those who happened to be under it. Guess who was standing under it holding B.......!!! We both got soaking wet!! The poor baby was so traumatized it took us 3 hours to get him to go back in the water!! And if he heard a bell....Look out!!! J was actually the one who got him to relax. He even took a nap while floating around the lazy river with me. By the time we left he was crying to stay longer.





We let I. run by himself for a few hours and I think he went on every ride. I really had fun going on slides with him. I know he had a good time, I don't think I've seen him smile so much in a while.





There are pic-nic areas right outside the gate so we packed a cooler for lunch. The only thing I think we had to buy was a swimper for B (in case he pooed) and a waterproof container for money and keys.





G was a little nervous. She is such a cautious child. Once she rode a couple of slides, she was fine. There was only one time when she walked all the way to the top and changed her mind when she looked down. And, having been on the slide, I think she made the right choice. But she did a lot better than I thought she would as far as rides went.





S....ah, my dare devil child!!! She would go on every slide if she were tall enough! J took her on a few of the bigger ones and she kept complaining that they weren't fast enough!! She was even trying to convince me to let her go around the lazy river by herself!





No one got sunburned (yeah!) and everyone was exhausted!!! Definitely someplace we would like to come back to for a week vacation when the kids are older.



I don't have any pictures of the water park (I didn't want to get my camera wet) so I'm just including some recent pics of the kids.


love to all!!!!