snails and puppy dog tails

Braden has a new best friend. His adventure, exploring fun friend (as he puts it). He loves his new friend Andrew. Andrew is a boys boy. Loves climbing trees, turning up rocks, digging holes... you name it. And Braden is only too happy to be right there next to him.
Since the rain has stopped the boys have been outside in the front and back yards most of their weekends. They go out and spend HOURS out there playing. They don't come in until dark. With all of the trees and hills and rocks and leaves and bugs and sticks and run off streams there is so much for them to do out there. It is a back yard made for exploration and imagination. On Sunday Braden announced they were playing 'secret tunnel'.

It does me (and him) good to watch him play like that.

worst test market research results ever

While walking to school today Braden and I were talking about Christmas... and the conversation turned to Santa. He mentioned how he wanted to sleep in the living room on Christmas Eve so he could see Santa delivering the gifts.

After a pause I asked him if Santa was real or pretend (as I have since he was 3). He answered, without hesitation "pretend". And then stopped walking. He looked up at me and asked "well, if he is pretend who brings all the presents?"
"That's a very good question" I replied.
"We should look it up on the Internet" he suggested. I smiled.

"Who do you think brings the presents?" I asked
"That is a tricky question mom...... do you know who brings all the presents?" he persisted.

I was cornered. He had asked a direct question, and even though I totally didn't' want to ruin everything I kinda asked for it... so I bit the bullet and said "We all do. Everyone supplies the presents."

I could see him thinking about my answer. He stopped again, and looked up at me "Mom, that's silly.... everyone isn't going up and down the chimneys!"

I laughed, and we kept on walking. I was amazed that the myth and magic of Santa was so strong that he was trying to bend reality to fit the story. I was kinda glad that he still is trying to figure out the mystery. I think that is half the fun.

On the other hand I was a bit bummed out that my own son, the exact target for the book that I have just written to explain this very thing didn't seem to remember anything from the book. I may have to up my age appropriateness rating from 5 to about 8 since my original target audience didn't seem to get the message at all.

silly....

Today while playing Connect 4 (and I use the term playing loosely) Tristan was deciding which color he wanted to be. He placed his finger by his lips and uttered "hmm.... let's see"

as easy as finding needle in a hay stack

If the person who invented that saying had only lived in West Little Rock it could have easily been "as easy as finding poo on the lawn which is covered with leaves".

blondie

We bought a new phone a few weeks ago. I should say 'phone system' because we bought the whole enchilada. The base with answering machine and handset, plus it came with 3 other single sets for the rest of the house.

The old answering machine got stashed away in the laundry room until a few days ago when I started cleaning and reorganizing that area to get ready for some construction that is going to take place.

Just to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything I went through and listened to all 36 saved voicemail messages.

The first two had been saved for over two years. They were of Megan (Braden's best friend in Abilene) leaving one of her first ever voicemail messages.... it was hard to let that one go. The other was of Mason calling me from the desert. He didn't really say anything to profound; it was just the tone of his voice that I liked. I wanted to make sure that I had a 'good' recording of his voice... just in case..... You think about that kinda stuff when your man is deployed.

The rest of the messages were all from the 7 week period preceding and including our move from the rental house to our newly purchased one. It was quite surreal sitting on the floor of the family room listening to all these voices from the past. At first it was my Auntie, then the loan guy, then the previous owner of the house, then the nasty rental agent etc etc....

I felt it was quite symbolic to delete those messages one by one before finally tossing the machine... it felt very good... very freeing.

money money money

Braden has become enamored with football. A lot of his friends from school play, so he hears about it all the time. The school's football team is really important to the school too, so he hears about that a lot also. So much so that he informed us (the other day at dinner) that if you play on the team you receive free tuition... hmmmmm

We went to our first game a few weeks ago. It was the last home game and it wasn't raining and Braden really wanted to go. It was great to be able to just walk up to the field. We had fun walking in the dark. It was essentially the same route we take to school and Braden enjoyed pointing out how everything looked different at night. We arrived during the first quarter and left in the middle of the third. Braden talks a good game about liking football, but gets bored pretty quickly.

This past week I DVR'd the game on ESPNU.... yeah, that's right ... a high school football game on ESPN... with ESPN announcers and all that (graphics, stats etc). During one of the fills they were showing footage from practice. It has been so rainy here that the field was really wet. So a father of a kid on the team ...... and I kid you not........... lent the school his HELICOPTER so that they could hover over the field and try to dry it out!!!!

I would have not believed it if I hadn't seen the video myself......

Holy jeeze.....

fly from the beauty salon

Tristan loves the blow dryer. Since it has been chilly here I dry his hair before going out. It has become such a routine that he asks for it as I am taking him out of the tub. "Bo Diver.... Bo Diver? Bo Diver momma !"

Christmas cd!

I have my new CD all made!!! I am super excited about it too! It put me in such a good mood listening to it while I was arranging where the songs should go. It has helped that I have been saving music from other years that I haven't used... so this time I had most of my songs gathered already. I think it is a fun theme with some unusual but familiar songs.... I can't wait to send it out.... ! If anyone needs a good stocking stuff idea on the cheap I sell them for 1 buck per cd!

slack blogging

I don't know if I am busier now than I have been in the past. Or if I am just figuring out stuff in my head instead of on paper but I find that I don't blog passionately as much as I use to.

I think it is because Mason is home much more now than he was in the first few years of the blog. So, that is a good thing.

I was reading last years November posts. I liked being able to look back at a whole month of pictures of the boys. I think I will do that again this year... must wait until December though... I am to anal to start mid month!

No one laughs at God in a hospital

Laughing With God – Regina Spektor





No one laughs at God in a hospital; No one laughs at God in a war.
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor.
No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests.
No one’s laughing at God when it’s gotten real late,
And their kid’s not back from the party yet.
No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake.
No one’s laughing at God when they see the one they love,Hand in hand with someone else,
And they hope that they’re mistaken.
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door, and they say we got some bad news, sir.
No one’s laughing at God when there’s a famine or fire or flood.

But God can be funny at a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke,
Or when the crazies say He hates us;
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke.

God can be funny, when told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way.
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini;
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus . . . . God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital; No one laughs at God in a war.
No one’s laughing at God when they’ve lost all they’ve got, and they don’t know what for.
No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes.
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes.

But God can be funny at a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke,
Or when the crazies say He hates us; And they get so red in the head
you think they’re ‘bout to choke.
God can be funny, when told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way.
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini;
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus . . . . God can be so hilarious.
No one laughs at God in a hospital; No one laughs at God in a war.

No one laughs at God in a hospital; No one laughs at God in a war.
No one laughs at God in a hospital; No one laughs at God in a war.
No one laughing at God in hospital; No one’s laughing at God in a war.
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very poor.
No one’s laughing at God; No one’s laughing at God; No one’s laughing at God.
We’re all laughing with God.

choice

I have always been fascinated with stories of innovation in the business world. It amazes me that something usually so obvious and simple takes a company/person YEARS to figure out.

As we all know the first cars (Fords) came only in one color. Black. It took a bunch of years and new company (GM) to come up with the idea of offering a color choice to consumers. As you can imagine - GM cars sold like hotcakes.

Apparently we have come full circle with this idea, or I just happened to buy a VERY popular minivan in a VERY popular color. Every few days while I am out and about, I mistake someone else's minivan for mine. I walk right up while pushing my unlock button and become confused when it won't unlock. It takes me a second to register that I am standing in front of the wrong car.

Happy Halloween!

doin' it doin' doin' it well

Today was Braden's Halloween party and costume parade today at school. Having just been at Tristan's yesterday, (which was cute) besides walking down the hall there wasn't much to it and I wasn't expecting much from Braden's school.

Boy howdy was I wrong. This was a costume extravaganza! Every teacher was dressed up... to the hilt. Wigs, makeup and fancy costumes. Music was playing when we arrived and then our emcee took the stage. Frankenstein (which I know is really Frankenstein's monster...but whatever) and the Bride of Frankenstein were our hosts. She must have been the drama teacher or something, because in full accent and Halloween puns she narrated the whole parade. While background music played each teacher would walk their class up on the stage (in the huge theater) for everyone to see. With each teacher and each class the commentary became more colorful as the "Bride" mentioned certain costumes.

I LOVED the whole thing. I think my mom would have loved it too. It was the kinda of thing she would have volunteered for. The teachers looked amazing (did I say that already?) My favorite was moaning Myrtle complete with toilet seat hanging around her neck. Runner up goes to the witch with dry ice in her cauldron that she carried around.

Much Fun!