Friday, June 30, 2006

Grease is the word.

Well, Wednesday night it was a big night on the town for Rob and I as we went to see the Pittsburgh CLO production of Grease. Those of you who have known me for any length of time know of my affinity for the movie, so I was so thrilled when Rob got me tickets as a Mother's Day gift. The musical is a little different from the movie. Some things I really like better in the musical and some things better in the movie.

I think the first time I saw Grease I was eight years old. Sang along to every tune. And, for my birthday, my Grandma and Grandpa Anderson got my the soundtrack LP! Best present ever :)

I found out something interesting about Grease earlier this summer from my sister-in-law. Apparently, Grease is only a white-girl thing. She asked me what it is about white girls of a certain age that makes them just love the movie. I was sure thinking about that when I saw it Wed. night. I think for me, the appeal had to be those tight black pants. I mean who didn't want to walk around in those like Olivia Newton John telling some guy he better shape up!

Anyway, all around good fun! And, to Rob, who bought me the tickets and actually clapped as enthusiastically as I did even though he was probably hating every minute of it: "You're the one that I want, you are the one I want...ooh, ooh, ooh, honey. The one I need, oh yes, indeed" :)

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Experiment $0.00

This week I gave myself a challenge. My mission was to not spend any money from Monday-Friday. I thought it would be simple enough. We had already bought pool passes. I went to the grocery store and stocked up on snacks and food, and I filled my gas tank. It really shouldn't have been a problem. Except, that the weather wasn't really pool weather. And, Trisha had Brownie camp all week 1/2 hour away each way. And, we ran out of milk. So, in the end I had to spend $17 at Giant Eagle for milk, juice, and cat food, and with any luck I'll be able to make it to the gas station on the fumes I have left in the van. $17 isn't bad, though. It was fun to do for a few days...but, I don't think I'll try it again anytime soon :)

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Gymnastics


Trisha had her gymnastics show last night. She did a beautiful job!! SHe knew where she needed to be and she did all of her stations well; beam, floor, vault, bars, everything! She even did great on teh bars which she told me was something she was nervous about because she wasn't very good at the trick they had to do. She did it perfectly. Way to go, Trisha!!

BTW, Trisha is also owner of a very successful pet sitting business. She has worked with dogs, cats, ferrets, fish, hamsters, etc. She can watch pets at your house or ours. SHe has several return cutomers including Missy the cat, Jenna the dog, and Hunny and Hunter the dogs.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Thanks for the guilt :)

So now the government is coming out with ads telling mothers that not breastfeeding your baby is as dangerous as smoking or going riding on a bull while pregnant. Really?!?! C'mon. I think all normal minded people can agree that ideally, breastfeeding would be the way to go. And, I think most mothers go into their birthing experience with the intention to breastfeed. Sometimes, though, that just doesn't work out like we had hoped. For a whole host of reasons, sometimes moms can't exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. And, the government coming out with these ads and claims doesn't help the problem at all. Heaping guilt on people who are trying to do the best that they can does not solve any problems at all.

Not one of my children were breastfed exclusively for 6 months. None of them had chronic ear infections or chronic respiratory disease. I think all told, not including Spina Bifida related things, all four of my kids have been on antibiotics maybe 10 times combined in the 8.5 years since becoming a mom. They consistently (again, except for Jaden) miss less than 5 days of school per year because of illness. They are very healthy children. I get that that data doesn't qualify as a scientific study, but I just have to wonder if the data they have isn't somewhat skewed. I mean, afterall, babies who are exclusively breastfed for 6 months, probably aren't in daycare several hours a day where there are germs all over the place. They are probably at home. Could that perhaps be why they are more healthy?? Something to think about!

Of course, now in my next post, I"m going to have to say something nice about daycare, since I just made those moms feel guilty :)

Sunday, June 11, 2006

So Proud.



AS a mother of four, I often find it difficult to praise one kid without feeling guilty that I'm not praising the others. They don't make it easier either. Often when I say something like, "Hey, so-and-so, I really liked the way you [insert thing here]!" one of the other kids will say, "what about me?" Anyway, despite feeling guilty and the inevitable, "What about me?"s, this post is about Jonathan. We had soccer tournaments yesterday, and while all of my soccer playing children had great games, Jonathan really shined. It wasn't just that he scored five goals (one was taken away,though), it was that I can see that everything has clicked with him on the soccer field and I am excited for him because I could see that he is excited for himself. I could see that he knew he had mastered a skill and he was proud. And, so was I.

I was also proud because in his last game he played against one of his best buddies. What I liked was that everytime Sean got a goal, even though he was on the opposite team, Jonathan clapped for him or gave him a high-five, and vice versa. It was nice to see.

I'm so proud...

Monday, June 05, 2006

Summer Boredom Happened So Fast...

It didn't take long folks. In fact, I think it was about 9:15 this morning when the first, "I'm bored" of the summer was uttered. However, my children are creative and have come up with some new games of their own. Here are my top three:

3. Who can fight over the most ridiculous thing? The current winner is Jaden and Ryan for their heated "My foot stinks more than yours" argument.

2. How many kicks does it take to get your sibling to yell out for mom. I know sounds like fun. A spin-off of that game is how many times can you jump on your sibling's head before they yell for mom.

And, my favorite so far....

1. Guess in which bodily oriface I have hidden a small chess piece. At least, I assume that is what they were playing, otherwise, why would Ryan have put a small pawn up his nose?!?!

It's gonna be a long summer, folks :)

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Last Free Afternoon

Yesterday was my last free afternoon of the 2005-2006 school year. So, to celebrate I went out and did lots of my favorite things to do:

1. Went through Starbucks and got a grande Mocha Frappucino (full fat for me thanks, today is a special day)
2. While I drove, I played music, Prince's Purple Rain, really really loud in my minivan. I'm sure that I looked extremely cool
3. Went to Ni-Kohls and did a little shopping. Something unfortunate happened here, though. I bought a new pair of sunglasses that looked really cool in that little mirror on top on the rack. I suppose pretty much anything can look great in that small of a mirror. Unfortunately when I got them on in the car and was walking into my next stop, I saw them full on and well, not good.
4. Went to Big Lots! I know I'm almost embarassed to admit that is one of my favorite things to do, but they have blow-out prices for crying out loud! Who wouldn't love that??
5. Came home and watched some TiVod Apprentice and Guiding Lights. I may or may not have eaten some bon-bons.
6. Took a shower.

That, my friends is a perfect afternoon. And, a perfect way to end my few hours of independence, at least for a few months.