Mornings

I'm not a morning person. I never have been. I mean, it takes something pretty special or important to drag me out of bed before 9...like work...like catching an airplane...like uncontrollable nausea. You get the idea.

From the time I was one to the time I was four, my mom was a single mom. She'd get up at the crack of dawn (or maybe before) to do her makeup and hair and all the things mommies do before they have to deal with waking children. I don't remember how often I did, but I remember waking up a lot of mornings and wandering out to the kitchen where she'd sit at the table with her mirror propped up on a towel, all her makeup and hair gel and combs and EVERYTHING laying on the table and she'd meticulously get ready for the day. I would be groggy and I'd stand beside her chair with my head in her lap, close my eyes, and listen to the radio playing songs like, "I'm On Top of the World Looking Down on Creation" and "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden." Sometimes I'd stand up and watch her working on her makeup and hair. Let me tell you, my mom can back-comb hair like a whiz! It was fascinating. I wanted that time with my mom enough that I would wake up without any external prompts and make my way to her, just to stand and lean into her lap while my siblings slept on. That was something special enough to get me up early.

Another thing (and the thought that prompted this blog) was Saturday morning cartoons. The three of us kids would wake up early on Saturdays and head to the living room to watch cartoons. Mom would sleep in (at least a bit) and we'd keep the tv low and enjoy all the good old cartoons like "Roadrunner" and "Bugs Bunny" and "Mr. Magoo."

Now my kids' childhoods are different than mine in a lot of ways. Our world is so much different. But Saturday mornings are very similar. They are finally old enough that they can get up and watch cartoons and I can sleep in a bit. Because of what I often find when I wander out to the living room now, I wonder what my mom used to find when she got up. Maybe my kids are just more active than we were as kids, but as they watch tv they keep their hands busy with other things a lot of the time, too.

A lot of times, it's nothing too earth-shaking. A whole mess of Pollies. (Emphasis on the word "mess.") Littlest Pet Shop. A collection of dolls. Drawings. Computer games.

But THIS Saturday was different. As I dozed off and on a little while, I remember hearing Megan say something to Alli about "trying to get a tan." No alarms went off over this. I mean, the kid has a good imagination and when they get to playing together they pretend a lot of things. I knew they wouldn't go outside, so no worries at all.

When I walked down the hall and into the kitchen, Megan spotted me and rushed into the kitchen to show off something she was quite proud of. She had taken a sheet of cardboard and wrapped it in aluminum foil. She told me she did it to get a tan. I told her it wouldn't work if she wasn't in the sun and she informed me that she was using a light. So apparently while I avoided "morning," my daughter sat with the living room light bouncing off her aluminum foil, attempting a tan.

Got to looooooooooooooove the way they think.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!

Hello folks. Sorry I've been away. We'll chalk up the absense to the circus I call life...and my brain needing some rest.

I got on here last night, wanting to blog, but had not a single thought in my head worth posting. I woke up this morning, wanting to blog, but again couldn't think of anything blog-worthy. Later in the afternoon, I contemplated it again...no dice. Then I pulled up an email that had some things that my good buddy, Kristen, suggested I blog about. They were good topics...and will make their way here one day before long, but I wasn't quite in the jovial mood that they require. And if I'm going to write about them, I've got to do them justice. They've got to be as insane as the experiences themselves were, or what's the point in sharing?!

But FINALLY, just a bit ago, a thought came (and I owe it to Kristen...even though she didn't suggest it for blog...it's still her fault). So fasten your belts, the train's leaving the station....

Those of you who've read my first blog entries and many of you who just know me...you KNOW how crazy I am about the movie "Mamma Mia!" I love that it's making it big in the movies, but people!! STOP going to see it so it can come out on video, doggone it!! Every time I have some alone time, I'm SORELY tempted to go and see it again. I'm...addicted almost. Ok, completely. The soundtrack cd just isn't enough.

I have gone several weeks now without caving in and going to see it again, but the temptation still rears its ugly (yet delightfully melodic) head.

What does it have to do with Kristen? Why do I get to blame her? I'm so glad you asked. Last night she and I were talking on the phone and what does she do? She informs me that they've now released "Mamma Mia! The Sing Along" in select theaters. And as I googled to see when it was released and looked to see if a "select theater" was near me, I found that it wasn't at my usual theater. What does she do? She suggests a website to further my quest. I go to fandango-dot-com and voila! I found it!! It's in my city!!

So the tempation continues. And NOW I have a fantastic reason to see the movie again. I mean, after all, I've NEVER been to an adult sing-along movie in a theater before...or anywhere else for that matter. So now I just HAVE to go. I need to belt out, "YOU CAN DANCE**! YOU CAN JIVE!" and "YES I'VE BEEN BROKEN HEARTED; BLUE SINCE THE DAY WE PARTED! MAMMA MIA!!" with other people who are just as crazy as I am. How could I pass up an opportunity like that? It will be like......a cultural experience. It will be like being IN a musical all my own!! SHOOT! I can even pretend to be the star, lol!

Come on, folks....you know you want to, too. Give in to the temptation and attend the sing-along. It'll be fun!

**Notice I did not say "*I* can dance." There's really really good reason for that. But we'll save that for another day.

Too Much Information

Kids talk. I know. I spend a looooooooong time with 16 kindergarteners every day.

And the things they say!

For example, the other day we were drawing self portraits and when I did my example, I drew lovely red lips. What did one boy say? "Ewwwwwwwwww, that is disGUSting!"

Or they'll talk about preschool and what they liked to play with "back in the day." What? Are you my grandma reincarnated??

I wish I could remember more of their choice morsels (and perhaps I'll start throwing in the really funny ones as footnotes to my daily blog...as they come up.)

But one day just last week, a child spoke...and if their parents knew what she'd said they'd be ... well ... embarrassed, at best. We were reading "Dr. Suess's ABCs" and I read them the "U" page which makes reference to an umbrella and underwear.

Did you catch that red flag? I said "underwear."

Well, "underwear" always gets the giggles in Kindergarten. There are few things in life more funny to a kindergartener than an adult saying the word "underwear" out loud. So, we read about "Uncle Ub's underwear" and they all dissolved into laughter, and "Mr. 'DisGUSting'" piped up with, "Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, that's disGUSTing." (yes again...although I'm hoping it's a different rank for underwear than for my red lips.) So I calmly said, "It's not disgusting; EVERYBODY wears them." And what does Little Miss Cutie say through her giggles? "Not my dad!"

You might be comforted that a couple moments later, she clarified that he didn't wear boxers. Still something I didn't need to know.

YOU BIG DUMMY

I can't resist. This is the funniest commercial to me. The funniest I've seen in a really really long time. This "Phelps Phan" in the commercial (which you can view in my side bar)...this "Phan" is a kindred spirit. She's my kinda gal. She's...well...she's me.

Ok, I'm not a Phelps fan, but it's been rumored that I'm a bit of a zealous fan for some other guy. What was his name? What was his name??? (Scroll down through my blog and I THINK you might figure it out.)

I just can't resist this commercial. I watch it, amused at the crazy girl...both the one in the background who's so excited in her "fanship" (if that's a word...or if it's not.) And amused at just the way the narrating girl talks. (Yes I know they're the same person, but how on earth else do I differentiate??)

So I'm watching...I'm amused...giggle, giggle. And then the big orange AT&T screen comes on and the announcer (who's really trying to ruin some good entertainment, in my humble opinion, lol) starts talking. As he finally winds down you hear crazy girl yell, "YOU BIG DUMMY!" And that is precisely where I lose it.

I love it. LOoooooooooooooooooooooooove it! lol

P.S. - Forgive me Kristen for not mentioning sooner that Kristen tipped me off about this commercial...and developing my habit now for saying, "YOU BIG DUMMY!"

Don't Be Jealous!

Let's hear it for interest-bearing checking accounts! WHOOO!!

This month's dividend: $0.01

Wherever shall I spend it? Heavens! What am I thinking? Money like that was meant to be SAVED! I mean, shoot! If I keep this up, 90,000 months from now I'll have saved enough to pay a month's rent!

You think I'm kidding, don't you?

And to think I was worried about not getting my yearly raise. So silly.

I KNOW it's here! AAUUGGHH!

Ever lose something? Even something that might not matter too much? When I do (and it's more often than I'd like to admit), it drives me crazy!

Tonight it wasn't me. It was Meg. She had a math worksheet and she'd had it out on the table, calling her uncle, grandma, and aunts to ask a question so she could fill out a graph to represent her data.

We interrupted the project to eat dinner. After dinner was over, Meg went back to her work and got ahold of one of her aunts to get more info. But she couldn't find the paper. And so the search began.

We searched EVERYWHERE, Meg and I. Alli knew we were searching but didn't really join in. She was enjoying the fruit of her labor. Translation: she got her homework done in time to cozy down with a video. But Meg and I searched. Meg, surprisingly, was not too upset about the missing paper. I wasn't upset, but I'd JUST seen it. I KNEW it was here. So I searched.

I looked under beds, in the refrigerator, the freezer, in cabinets, under furniture, in closets, in pockets (in case it got folded), in folders, through backpacks, in the garage, through garbage, in the bathrooms...I mean E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E.

Finally there wasn't much to do but resign to the fact that it was lost. So Meg headed in to do her reading. But I couldn't let go. I kept thinking (and saying,) "I KNOW it's here!" So I continued searching...through everything I'd already searched, and it was then that Alli came through the kitchen. Assuming the answer would be "no," I asked Al, "You didn't pick her paper up, did you?"

She whirled around with the HUGEST smile on her face and said, "NOW I REMEMBER! I hid it from Megan!!" At first I thought she was being sarcastic and was about to say, "Ha ha, very funny," when she whirled and headed for her room. Then I knew she was serious.

She had taken it and hidden it from Meg to see how worked up she'd get...and then despite our crazy hunting for it...she didn't remember until I flat out asked her if she'd taken it.

Oy! And they wonder why I'm crazy.

The Wall O'Greg

Those who know me really well know that I have quite the collection of photos I've collected of Greg Page...some of them from times I've met him and had photos taken with him...some from newspapers, etc. Zillions of them are on disks (multiple backups, of course, lol), but I have a good number of them framed and hanging on a wall in my room. I reserve the living room, hallway, and dining room, to put all kinds of photos of our family and my girls...and bring a few of them into my room, too, but I always reserve a wall in there for "The Wall O'Greg" (as my good friend, "Squooshy" named it, lol.)

Well "The Wall" is usually the first "decorative touch" I make when I move into a new abode. But this year I had several reasons (I won't bother with going into) that kept me from bothering to do anything in my own room. Truth be told, I was slow to put any decorations up anywhere, but EXTRA slow in my own room.

Anyway, yesterday I attacked my room, and MAN does it look attacked...and not in a good way. Except for "The Wall." I put it up yesterday. I've still got about ten more framed photos I need to add to it, but I think I'll group them in another corner of my room...or a different wall.
ANYWAY, I decided that SINCE I forgot to participate in the Friday Foto Finish Fiesta (I forget what order those words go in, lol), that I would share a photo today instead. And that photo is going to be my "Wall O'Greg."

And just for the record...that wall is RED...not purple...not maroon. It's red...not orange...red. Ok, MAYBE cranberry. But it was SUPPOSED to be RED.

And for those who also know the tales...that "centerpiece" holds the notorious "water bottles"...and that would be the "bowling ball" from Greg's Aussie tour.