Happy Hubby

Someone bought himself a cool new LCD HD widescreen TV for his birthday, and it arrived at our house on Friday.


Here he is watching a basketball game and adjusting the levels (brightness, color, backlighting, contrast, whee!). Yesterday, The Boy and The Hubby watched some bowling (more on that later) and golf (overheard: "golf is gooood in HD"). Whaddayathink, has someone enjoyed his long weekend?!



P.S.
I am waiting until he goes back to work, and then I'll get to adjusting those levels myself. Lemme at it!

P.P.S.
Hot, it is the MSU game.

me likey

I saw these Baekgaard leather bags while out yesterday. Such pretty colors! Such creamy, soft leather! I like the light blue best.

The square one with the flap has a shoulder strap inside. So cute. But, why can't I find it on the internets to show you some better pictures? They have the tote, the travel clock, the passport holder, the coin purse, even a bag to hold golf balls on there... I don't get it.

the sky today

At my house today, it looks like this.

Gorgeous day.

65 degrees F (19 C), a little breeze.

It feels good outside.

So, I should go out there. And maybe I'll be in a better mood than I have been this week. I've been blah, with no good reason.

So toodles for now. I don't have a laptop and I'm going to go watch my son. He's hitting at a golf ball with a plastic baseball bat. So you know he's happy.

If you love them, re-use them!

What did we do with all of those Origami cups?

We turned about half of them into Valentines!
Hooray!! Hooray!! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Big Girl made these for her classmates. The cup contains three little chocolates.



So to those kids who criticized the Origami cups: how do you like it now? Bet you like it with candy inside, you little punks!

Middle Girl's preschool does not allow candy (right on!), so we put a kissy fish bath squirter in each cup!

For MG's teachers, we took an idea from Family Fun magazine, and gave them each a "you warm my heart" cup containing a packet of hot chocolate and a tea bag. I wish I had found something more special to put in (a fancier cocoa?), but it was not to be this time... I hope the intended sentiment was expressed...

Happy Valentine's Day to the bloggers I adore! You warm my heart (with a tear or with a giggle) every day, and you don't even give me chocolate!

Just call me Nate

My front door:

This is a Valentine's Day decoration I picked up at Tar-jhay a few years back. It is so fetching on my front door. I particularly love the way it sits a bit whoppyjod* (one of my mom's words - LOVE IT) because that is just the sort of high-class home decorator that I am.


*wanky, crooked, cock-eyed, tipsy (a feeling I myself enjoy), carefully balanced at a slight angle so as to appear whimsical (um, yeah, that's it)...

on the topic of Three Boys

Since we were on the topic...

I asked my mother-in-law to write a few thoughts about having three boys, since she herself has three sons (now all married with young, growing (except for ours, which is complete) families). Not only that, but due to divorce and relocation, she raised them by herself. I admire her very much.

Here is what she wrote:

There are no three people in my world I would rather spend my time with than my three boys! Looking back, there was never a day that was 'quiet' in our home, not a door jamb or ceiling left unmarked as they grew tall enough to jump up and touch, and never enough mac & cheese for after school snacks. Three boys leave you with so many wonderful memories....some you never want to forget, others you pray no one will remember, and still others I pray R & S will never experience (think C (her Youngest) rolling his car off the cliff and walking away). I am sure R & S will face the gifts and the challenges with creativity! I am so very blessed, as are they! xxoo

The following quote is at the top of my friend K's blog. K has three boys, ages 7, 5, and 3.

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You’re tearing up the grass." "We’re not raising grass," my dad would reply, "we’re raising boys." –Harmon Killebrew

Can you tell how much I love my brother- and sister-in-law R & S? I just got the news that this summer's baby is a boy, and it's all I can think about!

Three Boys!

My brother- and sister-in-law (who I dedicated my Ode to Three to) are expecting their third ... and it's a ... boy! I KNEW IT!!!!!

I kept catching myself referring to this baby as "he." And then saying "why do I keep saying that -- we don't know yet!?" I think I might have even told my friend Eileen, who just had her third boy, that my sister-in-law was going to have three boys soon too. And then I said, "actually maybe she's having a girl, what am I talking about?"

So I jumped up and down in excitement when we heard the news, because ... YES!!

So... three boys! I guess I am not the one to wax poetic about that... Blackbird, or Kim, it's up to you! I'd love to hear something from the experts!

100 Days of Second Grade (so far)

Big Girl's school celebrated the 100th Day of School on Friday. The children in grades K-3 were invited to make a project using 100 of anything. If they chose to make something, they could bring it for display in the 100 Museum down in the multipurpose room.

Big Girl's project was "100 Origami Cups." Big Girl and Mommy folded together at the kitchen table, and after about an hour and a half, we had 100 cups. Then we pinned each one to a piece of styrofoam for ease of transport and display.



In hindsight, I have lots of postmortem ideas -- other simple shapes instead of cups, and loads of other ways to display (10 stacks of 10 is just one). But this is pretty cute for the optional project that it is, on top of her normal homework for the week.

Here are a few of the other projects on display. A necklace for a bear made out of 100 colored paperclips, something made out of 100 Legos, a football made out of 100 candies, 100 stickers on a paper, a valentine made out of 100 pieces of pasta...




A couple of children told Big Girl that Origami cups are not interesting and she should have made cranes. Cranes would have taken us at least four times as long to make, and Big Girl's Origami skills are really at the "cup" level right now. We might have been able to make hats, but not cranes. But Big Girl and I agreed that her project was really cool -- big and colorful, and did a good job of showing how many 100 is. We decided it was a successful project.

Okay, what is up with the children telling her that? I mean, hello, stringing 100 paperclips together and hanging them on a bear? Sticking 100 stickers on a piece of paper? Whatever, those projects are fine, but if that's what you're going to make, don't tell my kid her cups are not interesting enough. Sheesh. One of the kids is Big Girl's best friend, too! I talked it all out with Big Girl, all is well, and I know we all dealt with comments like this as kids and turned out okay (builds character, yada yada), but still - it's stinky. Blech.

RAAARRRRRRR!

We are starting to leave The Boy at his Sunday Preschool class now, as opposed to Daddy and Big Girl staying there with him. This week, the topic was "animals," and the craft was gluing decorations onto animal masks.

The Boy made a "lion mask," complete with sequin adornment. He wore it everywhere for two solid days!


He would put it on his face and say "RAARRRRR." And he would put it on the top of his head and say, "Now I'm just The Boy!"

And you wonder why I'm such a sucker for him.


Uncle D had a nice, but short, visit. My favorite was going to the high school basketball game with D, Middle Girl, and The Boy. (The Hubby and Big Girl were in the mountains this weekend.)

D, thanks for coming and staying here with our pushy cat and enthusiastic children when you could be staying in a hotel! Aren't you sad you missed my car accident and The Boy in the mask? (Well, one out of two.)

Okay, the details

On Saturday, I was driving home from a gig just before midnight, and I was stopped in the slow lane of the freeway due to an accident ... when I was rear-ended. Well, he tried to swerve into the next lane over but still clipped the corner of my bumper.

Everyone was fine, the cops there for the previous accident helped us exchange info, it took only 15 minutes or so. So, as far as midnight freeway accidents go, I am very very lucky.

But it made me feel vulnerable and reminded me that you can be doing everything right, and still be involved in an accident, maybe even a bad one. So even though it was not a big deal, I was a little bit shaken.

barbra's weekend

I think this about sums it up:

I am taking comfort in the fact that I like my insurance company so much. Because we have had to call them quite a few times during our ownership of the Odyssey.

"Hi, it's us again!"

Actually, that conversation did happen at H's Body Shop when I got an estimate on Monday!
Body Shop Employee: "Wait, I know this car, is that who I think it is?!"
Me: "Yep, we're back!"

for you

Today is your birthday. I have been with you for 16 birthdays now. It's hard to wrap my brain around that.

But it's true: 16 birthdays with you. Who is luckier than me?
No one.



I want to spend 160 more with you! There will never be enough. I love being with you and laughing with you and trusting in you.

Only one problem, though: I have already run out of birthday present ideas!