Add a Little Spice to your Life

I had the most delicious, flavorful, spicy dish!  I got home, sat on the couch next to my kid, and had a little chat.


Me:  "I have some seriously garlicky breath."

Little dude:  "I know, it smells terrible."

Me:  "Really?"

Little dude:  "Well, no, it actually smells pretty good.  It's just really strong."


It takes a cool guy to know that garlic = good. 

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What to wear...what to wear....

With Halloween fast approaching, I'm thinking a lot about costume ideas for me and Dave.  I proposed one such idea that I rather liked.


Me:  "How about if I be the Tooth Fairy and you be a tooth?"

Dave:  "That's not fair, you get to be the cute one and I don't."


Well, back to the drawing board, or I need to come up with a very cute molar costume.  Or maybe he can be the Tooth Fairy.

"Does this enamel make my butt look big?"

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Puppy Love

Dave and I saw the cuuuuuutest puppy tonight.  It was an English Bulldog about ten weeks old and it was seriously adorable.


Dave:  "We saw the cutest puppy in the world tonight."

Little guy:  "I see the cutest puppy in the world every night."  And he hugged our HUGE galoofy teenage "puppy", Hazel, who happened to currently be on his lap.  All 65 pounds of her six inch long furriness nuzzled him back, fully aware that she is the cutest puppy in the world.  No doubt.


I need to pull out my Donny Osmond album...seriously need a "Puppy Love" fix.

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Mom Tested...Kid Approved

Yes, I just have to follow up my blog from a couple of days (Big Brother Blog Post) ago with this:


My phone rings.

Little guy:  "Hey mom, are you cooking my food already?"

Me:  "Why yes, I am.  I saw that you were just a few minutes away."

Little guy:  "Good!"


Big Brother is now officially kid approved.

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Funny Man

Dave cracked an actual funny joke tonight.  Course he thinks that happens all the time...the rest of the family has a slightly different opinion.

Anyway, as I'm one to try to find opportunities to compliment someone...


Me:  "You're really funny!"

Dave:  "Yeah, I know.  I get to live inside my brain all day."

Me:  "What a luxury that must be."


Dave walks away, beaming with pride.  I walk the other way, beaming with puzzlement...and love.

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Big Brother

Dave just put a GPS tracking app on everyone's phones...you know, in case we lose it or someone (yikes!) takes it.


Big guy:  "Stalkers!"

Little guy:  "Creepy!"


OK, so yeah, I do see their point.

But...when I used the tracker to know exactly what time one of them was going to arrive home and had a lovely meal hot and ready when he walked in...


"It's still creepy."  <nom, nom, nom>

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I Love Libraries!

I love libraries!  I love them so very much!

I love the way they smell when you enter them.  I love browsing the titles.  I love being able to request pretty much any old title and have it sent to any library location of my choosing.  I even love when I have to pay a fine...really I think it's totally worth it and it's my pleasure to do so.

And, when my germaphobe inclinations kick in I make sure to breathe (after all, SO many people have been handling the same book that is now cradled in my hands), and focus on the fact that only lovely people would've chosen this particular book and I'm absolutely positive that they washed their hands each time they decided to dive into the story.  Whew!

Yes, I love libraries!

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Arachnophobia

Dave and I stopped in one of those Halloween costume shops last night.  I wasn't really interested in buying a costume, just looking for some inspiration as I rather like making our costumes.  We hit dead ends on the idea side, but man, the animatronic thingies were pretty cool.  We wandered around stepping on "step on this" signs and pushing on "push me" signs.  They were very scary and I was really glad I was in a fully lit store.  Most of them turned their heads, gnawed on brains, or sang scary songs...but one of those buggers got me good.  I wandered over to a very large tarantula, and stepped on the switch.  Now, in hind sight, the couple who stopped about five feet away from me and stayed where I could only see them peripherally should've been a clue.  But, no, I never pick up on stuff like that.  The tarantula started quivering just a bit and I'm thinking, "This one is kind of lame," when it suddenly launched into the air...right at me!  I jumped back and most assuredly made some sort of unattractive squawk.


"Oh, man, it got you good!"...yes, lovely commentary from that couple who totally knew what was about to happen.

Me:  "Scary!  I gotta show this to my husband."  <snicker>

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The Bigness of Being Little

Visited my mom today.  As usual she had stuff for me to go through.  This always elicits an internal <groan> even though, admittedly, there are often treasures in what she presents.  Well today was rockin'.  Least important, first, I walked outa there with three fabulous purses.  Score!  Most important was the box of photos she and I went through.  There was a slice of my childhood, right there in that box.  What was also in that box was a small slice of her childhood and her mother's childhood.  I drove away with some choice pics to scan and a lovely and warm awareness that we all, most certainly, start out as babies and grow into the adults we are.  I know, totally obvious, but so nice to be reminded of the small ones we all once were.

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Grandma's in Da House

It finally happened.  It actually quite handily sneaked up on me.  I realized today that I could utterly and completely be my own students' grandma.  Yes, I'm officially that old.  Then, to put icing on that revelation cake, I ran into former students tonight at a party and they're taller than I am.

So, yup...I think I need to seek out a support group.

"Hi, I'm Kali, and I'm little...old...grandma material.

(Cleverly disguised in pig tails and dresses bought on clearance in the
girl's section, of course.)

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The Future is Now

Know what's awesome?  What's awesome is that I found myself at HEB tonight and I realized that I hadn't been there since my big kid got his driver license.  That SO rocks.

So, as I drove home I was filled with love an appreciation for the guy, and not just because he does the shopping...because he's a super sweet and wonderful kid.


Me:  "I love you so much!"

Big guy:  "OK, mom."

Me:  "I do, I love you so much."

Big guy:  "Go away, mom."

Me:  "I'm just happy that in the future you'll look back and think, 'Man, my mom loved me.'"

Big guy:  "Yeah, well that's the future, mom."


He shut his bedroom door.  And then a fraction of a second later, he opened it.


Big guy:  "I love you, too, mom."


I knew he did!!!

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Jinkies!

Had to turn the TV off again as sometimes that's the only way to get the kid's attention.  But when I was done with him...


Little guy:  "Mom, you never turned the TV back on."

Me:  "You wanted to keep watching that?  How old are you?"

Little guy:  "Uh, it's Scooby Doo, mom."

Me:  "I know."

Little guy:  "I'll never be too old for Scooby Doo."


Yeah, I turned it back on.  I would've gotten away with turning it off, too, if it wasn't for those (awesome) meddling kids.

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Birds of a Feather...

I typically don't talk about what inspired a particular painting and I never talk about my students...but today I'm making an exception to both.

One day, during the first week of school, ALL of my students just happened to wear green shirts.  OK, not "all", but all but one, anyway.  I swear it was like they all called each the other and planned it...only one of them didn't get the message.  The other thing is that our school is frequented by flocks of monk parakeets and grackles.  My students looked like a bunch of monk parakeets hanging with one very cool grackle.  It was awesome.  My co-worker and I were in stitches.

I know, I know, you had to be there to be as amused as we were...and continue to be.

P.S. We have more than four birds...er, I mean students.

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Up or Down?

Yeah, that's the eternal question 'round these part.  One that is pretty much ignored by everyone but me, of course.  Yes, I'm talking about where to leave the toilet seat.  For years now I've been pro-"seat down"...to avoid that middle of the night falling onto the rim and to avoid balancing on one foot whilst I gently lower the seat with my foot.  Bleck to all of that.  Well, tonight I had an unfortunate encounter with a very wet toilet seat.  I levitated upon contact, of course, and did the "what color is that moisture?" test (thankfully clear), and determined that the dogs had run out of water and gone for the beverage source they seem to actually prefer.

So, now I'm going to push for seat and lid down.  I know I won't get anywhere with this request, but, hey, a girl can dream, right?

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Does this make me a bad mom?

Does this make me a bad mom?


Big guy:  "If you give us some money we'll get out of here for a while."

Little guy:  "Please, mom."

Me:  "Here's my credit card."


Yes, I did just buy myself some blissful quiet time.  And, man, oh man, was it ever worth it.


P.S. They're frugal kids, thankfully!

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Being Sick Feels Sew Good!

Released my inner seamstress today!  Been quite a while and I've been saving stuff to work on (to Dave's great dismay...it's been cluttering up the laundry room).  Too much stuff.  Well, today I dug in, coughing, sneezing, and headache be darned.  Ooh, another sewing pun and I didn't even mean to!!

Anyway, I upcycled an extra-large peasant blouse into a super cute skirt, and I hemmed a too-long skirt I got at a clothes swap and now it fits!  And I've got more in my pile, so back to it!  :-)

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Cootie Power

Three weeks into the school year and I've caught my first bug.  If you've seen a Nyquil commercial, you know what I'm feeling.  I got home from work and was in my P.J.s and sleeping by 4:00.  When I woke up I staggered into the living room.


Little guy:  "Mom, I'm hungry."  I swear he doesn't actually see me, he just sees a big turkey leg walking in the room.

Big guy:  "She's sick.  Do you want her touching your food?"

Little guy:  "I don't care.  She washes her hands."

Me:  "I don't mind making something for both of you guys."

Little guy:  "Yay!"

Big guy:  "I'll make my own."

Me:  "Suit yourself."


Later that evening when my wonderful big guy found himself hungry (and perhaps a bit too comfy on the couch) again...


Big guy:   "Mom, will you make me something to eat?"

Me:  "I thought I was too sick to make you food."

Big guy:  "Yeah, well you proved you were OK to do it when you made him food."

Me:  "Sure, buddy, I'll make you something."


Quick thinker, that big guy of mine.

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Playing in the Rain

Like all things with kids, "playing" in the rain changes, too.  When they were wee ones it was all about the wonder of the magic falling from the sky.  Then the puddle stomping and racing floating sticks in the gutter.  Now?  Tonight?


Little guy:  "I can tackle you."

Big guy:  "No you can't."  In that lovely I-double-dog-dare-you kind of way that older brothers are so good at.

Me:  "No you can't."  In that I'm-afraid-you'll-get-hurt kind of way that moms are so good at.


Course, what happened?  They both run out the front door and into the rain.  I couldn't watch.  I just knew that if someone got hurt I'd be stuck with that movie playing in my mind forever.  Dave could, though.  And...little guy managed to tackle big guy.  Only once.  Big guy was prepared next time for the little guy's smooth moves.

By the way, big guy = about 200 pounds, little guy = about 140 pounds.  BIG difference.

Yeah, I wish they were out there just kicking water at each other, but what's a mom of teen boys supposed to do....

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Getting her Sog on

Know that feeling when you set out your gym clothes.  You get dressed...all except your shoes and socks that is.  Then you run around getting water, towel, and a book to read during down times.  Almost time to go.  You go get your socks and shoes that you had set out, and the socks are GONE!  Yikes!  A mystery!  A thief is in our midst!!!

OK, so I walked about five feet and there they were.  And they were soggy!  I look around the room and there's Hazel with a sweet little guilty look on her sweet little face.


Hazel:  "What's the big deal?  You were going to get them all wet and sweaty anyway."


Girl's got a point.


P.S.  We love it when our dogs talk to us!

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Delete the Meat

I realized tonight that there are benefits way beyond health for not eating meat.  My evidence?

1. When I at my quinoi, tomato, sunflower seeds, and okra bowl of deliciousness, my dogs came by and went, "Ew, we're not even going to think about begging for that!"  And, thus, no critters circling at my feet during dinner.

2. When Dave went to Costco to get a list of four things (bacon, spinach, milk, and a photo), he had to search everywhere for the bacon that was not in its previous location.  He left his cart  on an aisle and went on a bacon quest that lasted over ten minutes.  When he returned to his cart spot, still without the bacon, his cart was nowhere to be found.  So...he had to start his shopping trip over and wait for about 30 minutes for the photo to be reprinted (Thank you, Costco, for printing the second copy for free!!).

So, you see, meat consumption (and shopping)...bad.  <snicker>

...off to go drink my veggie juice concoction...yummy...good!

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Hammer Time

Had a fabulous 90s moment at the Parsons house.  M.C. Hammer was doing his groovy thang to "U Can't Touch This" on the T.V.  My little guy?  Well...


Little guy:  "I want those pants!"

Me:  "I can make you those."

Little guy:  "Yes, mom, please!"

Me:  "You got it!"

Little guy:  "My goal for tonight is to learn the 'Hammer Time' dance."


Love that kid...

...can't touch this!

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It's a Squeak, It's a Squeal, It's a...

The women's tennis match is playing in the background of my life tonight.  I'm slightly startled each time the one makes that funny little squeal thing she does.


Little guy:  "Why does she do that?"

Me:  "I think it's like those noises you make when you do karate."


My little guy wandered away and then returned to the front room with a tennis racket.


Little guy:  "Pieuuuuuuuuu," as he swings a tennis racket.  "I figured it out...it's a voice crack."


Hmmmmm...thinking that only applies to teenage boy tennis players who are going through puberty, but hey, who knows?

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The No Tail Tale

So, I must admit that I'm a little confused.  For years and years and years I've heard about those game day parties...you know, the tailgate ones.  Right?  Well, today I had the occasion to be present at one.  And you know what?  I did not see one single tailgate in action.  RVs, yes.  SUVs, yes.  Tailgates lowered and used in a party-kind-of-way, no.  So, clear this up for me, please.  Somewhere along the way something went terribly awry...you know, in a super comfy kind of way.

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Mama's Always Right

Four teenage boys in da house!

Favorite bit so far?


Me:  "Oh, you're playing Mine Craft?"

Little guy:  "No, it's xxx (ya, I forgot what he said).  It's totally different."

Friend:  "Hey, she's the mom.  She gets to say it's Mine Craft."


Aaaaah...I have been given the power to be always correct!  Ya, this is going to work out great!

P.S.  That kid is welcome here any time!

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Lookin' Up from Down Low

Being the smallest in the family is starting to have its perks!  At first it was all resting arms or chins on my head, then being told to stand behind someone as they looked in the mirror so I virtually disappeared...I suppose I should just be thankful that they don't know the lyrics to "Short People".

OK, so back to the perks.  I have quite suddenly become the happy recipient of hand-me-down clothes!  So it's not cute skirts or ruffly tops, and certainly nothing pink, but my work out drawer is just a bit fuller as I'm now three soccer shorts richer!

Yup, things are looking up from way down here.

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Gee...it's not like it's Soylent Green

Well...I must say I've been receiving a lot of familial criticism of my daily veggie drink.  I mean, jeepers!  It's all good stuff.  I'd think my family would be darn proud of me for consuming such a "good for ya" AND tasty drink.

But here's what I've been hearing.


"That looks just like the baby food that goes in a baby!"

"That looks just like what comes out of a baby!"


And the sweetest...


"Looking at your drink is my diet plan."


Well, my sweet family, I raise my big glass of green deliciousness to you...but mostly to me.

Mmmmmmmm, yummy!!!

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Call me Flo...and I'll tell you to "Kiss my grits!"

My sweet little guy walks in the house after football practice and plops himself down in a sweaty heap on the couch.  Earbuds in, "ignore mom" mode on.  It's OK, I'm cool with that.  I know from experience that better discussions are most always held better after some food hits his stomach.  So, one fruit plate and half a sloppy joe later...


Me:  "How's it going?"

Little guy:  "Good."

Me:  "Football practice fun?"

Little guy:  "Yup."


My conversational needs satiated, I head to the kitchen to figure out something dinnerish.  Dave walks in.


Dave:  "Is that my boy over there?"

Me:  "Yup."  (OK, so I suppose I can't blame my little guy for having that same response, eh?)

Dave:  "Hey, you need any ice water or anything?" to the dude on the couch.

Little guy:  "Oh, yeah...MOM!"


Oh, no he didn't!  Surely that lovely little guy of mine wasn't taking an offer from his dad and turning it into an "order" for mom...surely not.


Dave:  "I got it!"   ...saved by the dad....

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Going Shopping in my P.J.s

Little guy told me yesterday that he had to have all his school supplies by tomorrow or he'd get a bad grade at school.  Of course I wanted to come to his rescue, so this morning at about 7:00 A.M., I went school supply shopping...in my pajamas!

You see, for years now I've kept all of my kids' salvageable school supplies at the year's end.  So, I just opened the cupboard and pulled out slightly bent folders with brads, loose leaf paper, and some composition books I'd bought on sale.  I hit the desk drawer for a few glue sticks and some pens.  I pulled my "I never use this" flash drive from my backpack.  I snagged a new pair of ear buds we'd been given compliments of a hotel stay.  And, as my final hurrah, I found a flashlight, did the combat crawl under my big guy's bed to dig through where he'd stashed some of his last year's school stuff to find one last composition book that only had a few pages used in it.  I snipped them out with a paper cutter and ta-da, this mom was done school supply shopping.

And you know what's super cool?  My little guy gave his 100% approval of my "purchases".  Yay!  Glad he's part of my thrifty team!

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Silence is Golden...or, perhaps...How can he miss us if we don't go away?

As we arrived home this evening...


Me:  "We're taking the boat out on the lake tomorrow.  Who wants to go?"

Little guy:  "Maybe me."

Me:  "Oh, good!  We'll bring a picnic lunch."

Big guy:  "Uh, mom, you guys have school tomorrow."

Me:  "Nuh-uh, no school, it's Labor Day."

Big guy:  "Does that mean you guys will be around?"  (He's a home schooler now, so apparently he's already learned to love it when the family is gone and he's got the whole house to himself.)

Me:  "Yup!"

Big guy:  <sigh>


I hear ya, big guy and I know exactly how you feel.

And I'm very glad you like our home so much...in spite of the fact that the rest of us live in it sometimes, too.  :-)

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BFFs

Dragged out my inner cowgirl today.  For what?  Dancing?  A little horse riding at the OK Corral?  Nope.  These boots were made for walking.  Walking in the farm fields.  Was I releasing my inner gardener, too?  Nope.  Just another fabulous day of retrieving rockets.  And, it's so not about me and my boots.

What it's about is the absolute love-drenched joy I'm filled with as I am lucky enough to witness the BFF relationship between my youngest son and my dad.  They create, problem solve, evaluate data, go back to the drawing board, and have the best time ever as they dive into the world that is rocketry.  They have the kind of relationship that I don't even begin to desire with my own children because it's not really meant to be, but someday...someday...I will be so very lucky if I come even close to that with their children.

I can't can wait.

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