LL Cool JD

Did you know that LL Cool J actually stands for "Ladies Love Cool James"? I bring this up because of my title. My 7 year old son has more game than most guys who are 27, and I'm not exactly sure how it happened. Girls get all giggly around him. I'm not just talking about little girls his age either. Young, old, and in between, he has them all enchanted. My mom suggested I could write a book entitled "Raising Prince Charming". She might be on to something.
This week he has a 7 year old stalker of sorts. She realized where we live while trick or treating Halloween. Then we ran into her at a restaurant. This week she gave JD her number and told him to call to arrange a play date. (not on my watch!) What tickled me most was that JD doesn't have a clue that this little girl is after him. Her giggling, blushing, and batting eyelashes say otherwise.
I've been trying to figure out what he has that is so different, and a few things have popped out at me.
1. He has an older sister which means he isn't afraid to talk to girls, knows what girls are interested in, and has an insight some men never get
2. Rocky is complimentary of me, and JD has picked this up. He knows when a woman is dressed up, and says so. He is quick to say, "You look nice today" or that he likes your new hairstyle. As he gets older, he is also good about not saying what he doesn't like.
3. He has a great sense of humor. I know people don't usually mean it when they say they look for a sense of humor first, but even if it isn't first on the list, it is still on the list. He isn't a class clown type, or a joke a minute guy, he is just witty and quick and off the cuff funny.
4. He is adorable. Those big eyes and extra long dark eyelashes just melt your heart. I've had strangers stop me to comment on his eyelashes since he was born. I think they may have some sort of magical properties. I know I can't look him in the eye when he is in trouble. If I did, he'd never get punished.

We are going to have to work hard to teach him respect for women and restraint, or 10 years from now we are going to be in serious trouble. Let me just go ahead and apologize in advance to all of you out there with daughters who will one day be charmed by my prince. We are doing our best, but I can't help but think that hearts will be broken over those magic eyes of his.

Thankful in ALL things

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

I Thessalonians 5:18

Last year I challenged my friends to be creative when listing the things they are thankful for in November. Here is the original post Randomly Thankful. It was a huge success from where I sat. Not only did it challenge me to find the smaller joys in life, it also helped me know my friends better, and find common links we didn't know we had.
Make no mistake, I am extremely thankful for the big things. My salvation through Christ, my husband and children, household employment is a big one this year, and the family and friends I have are an enormous blessing. I can not possibly be thankful enough for these things, but they are also the things I remember to be thankful for year round.
I wanted to explain this because from the surface, my Facebook status posts might seem trivial or mocking, but I am honestly searching my life for little things that come my way that I should be thankful for. When you see my posts you can be sure that no matter how silly it might seem, it is something that I have actually stopped my day to thank God for putting in my path.
When I read over the Bible verse at the top, something struck me. God never promises us that we will have a happy life, but He does wish for us to be happy with our life even when others can't see reason for it. It is the will of God that we find something to be thankful for no matter what is going on. Some days it is easy to find things, and others it might come down to being thankful that the day is over.
Once again, I am challenging myself (and you, if you'd like) to be thankful for something different. Something you don't usually take the time to realize as a blessing. If you are on Facebook, then use your status and spread the fun.

Lesson From Running

As you may know, I have been trying the Couch to 5K running program. I have learned a lot about myself during this experience, and I thought I'd share.
1. I am very much out of shape and in bad need of some sort of exercise.
2. I know how to walk, I know how to run, I do not know how to jog. It is a weird gate at a weird pace for me.
3. I freckle quickly when I spend 30 minutes outside 3 times a week.
4. Everything in my town is up hill both going and coming. I don't know how it is possible, but it is true.
5. I'm a wimp when it comes to foot pain. My tendons flare, my summer foot injury throbs, and I had no idea the muscles in your foot could hurt.
6. 5k to Couch is a lot easier and takes days instead of weeks.
I stuck it out longer than I thought I would and although my group is still going, I think I am bowing out. I've had nasty sickness, house guests, work projects, travel plans, and a general case of "please don't make me". I really never found that spot where I didn't hate it and it didn't wipe me out. I just don't think it is my thing, but I am going to start looking for what my thing might be.

Another year, another badge

Nix's middle school is doing a costume fundraiser again this year. This is always a problem. She can't wear her real Halloween costume to school, mainly because she uses a ballet recital dress and I don't want it ruined, but also because it wouldn't be very comfortable all day. I'm not buying a costume. Those things are expensive! So, we put on our thinking caps and come up with something creative that will work from what she already has.
Last year she was Lois Lane, and none of the kids knew who that was (I weep for the next generation). The good news is, all of the teachers knew and thought it was clever.
This year, we are going with a similar theme. She is going as Pepper Potts from Ironman (the movie, not the comic because Pepper was a little messed up in the comics). Since Nix is Still under 13, she hasn't seen Ironman yet, but she liked the idea.
Just like last year, I pieced together a graphic to make an ID badge. This time it is a Stark Industry employee badge. I found a couple of references online and then put my own little spin on it.

She'll be wearing a very professional looking dress and her hair pulled back into a bun to complete the look. I probably wouldn't send her door to door in it, but for a costume that didn't cost a dime, still meets dress code, and has a cool theme, I'm pleased.
On a side note, her real costume is Rapunzel from Tangled post haircut. She'll be handing out candy at the house using her frying pan as the candy bowl. JD is going out as a realistic Mario. He has overalls, a red shirt, white gloves, a mustache, and a great Mario hat. I'll post pictures up either here or Facebook after Halloween.

Late Night Laughs

This weekend we spent about 20 hours in the car. That is a lot of family togetherness, but the kids handled it surprisingly well. I think the excitement of getting to hold the newest member of the family (my new nephew) put us all in a haze of happiness. When we got home last night the haze started wearing off and the exhaustion set in. We put the kids to bed and had the most ridiculous conversation. I thought I'd let you in on a bit of it.

Me (speaking silly of someone from my childhood): She thought she was all that and a bag of chips, but I thought she was a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Remember when it was "a bag of cookies short of a Happy Meal"?
Rocky: Those were good cookies. Like animal cookies, but sweeter and shaped like Ronald McDonald's head
Me: What do we say now? "A few apple slices short" doesn't have the same ring.
Rocky: I miss those cookies
Somehow from there we digressed into talking about people who get tattoos in Hebrew or of a Chinese character, and how they'd likely never know if it was wrong. Then came the list of things it would be funny to substitute and how the people who originally spoke Hebrew believed a tattoo would send you to Hell. It is in Leviticus 19:28, which also topped our list of funny things to substitute. We tend to get just a wee bit twisted when we are exhausted.
Every minute we spent in the car was worth it, if for no other reason then to get this picture.

How adorable it this?! This is our next generation.
During the visit, we stayed at my parent's house. We were really only there long enough to sleep and eat breakfast each day. Before we left JD told my mom, "Thanks for letting us eat, sleep, and poop at your house." I couldn't have said it better myself. Well, I could have, but I was too busy shaking my head and trying not to laugh.

Are You Kidding Me?

I had the great joy of renewing my driver's license today. As with most simple tasks I have, it turned into an experience. Somehow I managed to miss the memo that the local DMV had moved. There was a lovely sign on the door of the old place telling me that had move and even what street they were off of, but no address. I guess it is a good thing I have a phone. After a couple of calls with Rocky, we figured out that it is back behind the new city aquatic center, because nothing goes together like giant swimming pools and driver safety (?). This new building is shiny and huge (serious tax dollars sunk into this one). When you walk in, there are people sitting waiting with clipboards and numbers, but nothing to tell you how to get a clipboard or a number. After walking around for a minute like an idiot, I gave up and asked someone how they managed to get a number. My favorite answer to the many, many people I saw asking this question was, "You stand there in the front until someone gets good and ready to talk to you and they will give you a number."
After I got my golden ticket, I filled out my paperwork and watched as other confused people came in. There got to be a pretty long line of people waiting to wait. A smoker sat down near me followed by a man who was wearing a LOT of cologne (insert standard rant about perfume). Just as my eyes started to water, my number got called. While the nice lady typed up my information, I causally mentioned that they might  consider some sort of sign to let people know how the waiting for a number thing works. She said, "We aren't allowed to have a sign." This was not exactly the answer I was expecting. I had to enquire further. They had a sign, but it wasn't "department regulation" so they had to take it down. I love a good mystery. This one took me all of about 2 minutes to figure out.
Not long ago, there was a big promotion about shorter wait times at the DMV. They made a pretty big deal out of how quickly they moved people through there. When I got my number there was a time code on it so that there was a computer record of my wait time. Do you get it yet? The wait time clock doesn't start until you get a number. If they put a "Wait here" sign up, then they have to count that in their average wait time numbers. They have cut your wait time in half not by being more efficient, but by making you spend half your time there waiting to wait!
Anyone else looking forward to the brilliant minds behind this taking over our health care?

Getting Uncomfortable

If there is one thing I have learned about what being a Christian involves it is that God has no intention of letting us stay in our comfort zones. On the one hand, I feel myself wanting to cry out, "Why?", but then again, what fun would life be if we were never pushed out of our box from time to time?
I like hanging out in the back of the room, observing all that is going on, working where needed, and in general, being behind the scene. From time to time, God seems to delight in shoving me up front. I find myself with the thought,  "Someone should really do something about that.", and before I know it, I am the someone trying to do the doing that needs done.
I've spent most of this week out of my box. I may have accidentally offered to help start a special needs program at our church, I'm in a running group, and then today called for a trip to the dentist with the kids. When I walked into the dentist office (my least favorite place to be) I saw this sign:

What are the odds? This point has been following me around for days. I feel like I have the God equivalent of the grim on me. It is starting to make me a little paranoid. On the upside, it has done wonders for my prayer life.

Feeling Poetic

It doesn't happen often, but from time to time I feel the urge to write somewhat cheesy poetry. Nothing calls for a poem that painfully rhymes like the birth of a baby, and I have just been gifted with my very first nephew. The poem may be silly, but it is also kind of sweet. I really wish I could draw so I could turn it into a board book. You can write just about anything in board book form and as long as it rhymes and the drawings are cute, it is brilliant. Any way, here is my poem written in honor of the birth of my nephew born 9-10-11 in Beijing, China.

When you were born it was both day and night,
With us in the darkness and you in the light.
We waited for days, expecting you here,
But you could not be rushed, you just wouldn’t appear.
So, we paced and we prayed, and even lost sleep,
Waiting and watching for you to make that first little peep.
Into this world you came with a scream.
It was far better than any of us would dare dream.
Though miles of ocean and even more land
Kept us apart, my love was instantly grand.
I could not wait until my arms would hold,
This tiny person, who was more precious than gold.
That day was, without question, certainly faithful.
You made me an aunt, and I am eternally grateful.  

The Joy of Car Line

I've been going through old computer files and found something I wrote after a particularly bad day in the school car line. I started understanding how even the most even tempered person could get road rage. I thought I would post a couple of bits from it for fun.

At the beginning of the year the school gives you a magic claim check with a random number on it. It hangs on your rear view mirror and announces to the staff which child you are allowed to put in your car. Guard this with your life. Make sure there is one in every car you could possibly use to pick your child up. Laminate it, baby it, and treat it as gold. If you lose it you may never see your child again. Even if you child looks exactly like you and runs to your side saying,” Mommy! Mommy!” this is not enough. For safety purposes the school must assume that you and your husband entered into a nasty divorce that morning with him being awarded sole custody and you are now trying to kidnap your own children. It could happen. The only way to fix this problem is to bring with you 3 forms of ID, a DNA sample, and a notarized statement signed by your husband and a federal judge swearing that you do in fact have the legal right to claim your own child. If the colossal tragedy of losing the number card happens please do everyone in line behind you a favor and park your car and walk into the school to collect your child. It makes the line move so much faster and the strip search less embarrassing.

Later, I'll post tips on how to know when you should park your car and walk your child in.

Cancer Stinks!

Thanks to a sea of pink, you probably all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but cancer awareness season actually starts today with recognizing the worst of all cancers, that being the ones that attack children. It is also the month for ovarian and prostate cancer, just for the record, which is an interesting combination that I will not be addressing.
I'm sure there are cancers with lower survival rates and maybe even a few are more painful, but I still think cancers that attack our children are worse. Children are suppose to be innocent and not worry about anything more serious than when the next Phineas and Ferb will air. They should not have to worry about radiation, chemo, picc lines, death. As parents we are suppose to be able to protect our children from the things of the world that can hurt them. We shouldn't have to worry about more than them falling off the monkey bars and breaking an arm. We shouldn't have to worry about blood counts, transfusions, medical bills, tombstones. It is the ultimate in life not being fair.
The fact that cancer exsists in children should remind us all that we are never too young to have cancer. I am as bad as anyone. I have annual check ups once every 3 or 4 years. I think I have always had in the back of my mind that I'm too young to worry about it, but that is just a nice little comfortable lie I tell myself. I've got friends fighting a battle with cancer right now. If they aren't too young, then neither am I and neither is any adult reading this.
Know yourself, know your kids, and if that little voice in the back of your mind tells you something is off, get it checked out.
If you find yourself with a little extra money to donate this month, please consider The Aflac Children's Cancer Center in Atlanta or Saint Jude in Memphis. Just in our lifetime, these two places have made unbelievable strides in curing childhood cancers and blood disorders. I have more than one friend that owes their life to these hospitals.

Logically Faithful

Because there are some people who profess to be Christians running for President, it has thrown creationism into the spotlight again. I understand that there is a whole segment of the population who thinks that no intelligent person could believe the Earth is less than a few billion years old, but I think they are missing the bigger point. Trust and faith are two very important characteristics in politicians. Not just if they can be trusted, but do they themselves trust in the ideals of our country. Do they have faith in the system? If a man professes to be a Christian and then turns to say that he does not have faith in the basics of that, then why should we trust that man to uphold the Constitution? Maybe he will decide parts of it were only metaphors, too. Aside from that, there are a lot of very smart people who are perfectly willing to accept the Bible as written.
Let me take you on my thought train of creationism
1. I'm a Christians and as such believe in God as described in the Christian Bible
2. Based on that, I believe that God is limitless
3. Who am I to tell God what he did or didn't do?
4. God decided to make a man. One day- no man, the next day- full grown dude. He is God, He can do stuff like that
5. If God can poof a man into being, then why would we ever expect the Earth to measure 1 day old the day after He made it? Doesn't it make more sense that God would make the Earth fully grown, too?
6. From the Bible I know that God wants people to believe in Him of their own free will
7. You have to have a minimum of 2 options for something to be classified a choice
8. Would you like a cookie or to be slapped is not a choice
9. Would you like a white chocolate chip cookie or a milk chocolate chip cookie is a real choice
10. Would you like to trust God at his word or find a man made explanation so that you don't need God?
I have heard every explanation under the sun as to why the Earth is old, and honestly I don't care. It isn't important. You will not reason away God for me. You will also not find me standing up to say the Earth doesn't measure 4.5 billion years old, in fact, I am impressed by the science that got us there, but it also makes me more impressed by God's creation. The thought and detail that went into every rock and tree is amazing. I can not help but conclude that God must really enjoy the science of creation. All He needs to do is speak things into being, and yet when He does, He gives us so much to discover and wonder over.
Since I have broken the rules about not talking religion or politics I have to expect a few people to disagree, which is fine. I would ask that you be polite in your argument and realize that if you don't agree with the first statement in my thought train then we aren't even on the same tracks and so any argument you toss my way will serve only to make yourself feel better.

Positive Deviant

Last year Nix was blessed with a very unusual science teacher. Mr. Piper was a college professor doing a study on how children transition between grades. In essence, teaching middle school is field work for him. He is a fantastic teacher. He lets the kids do cool science experiments, encourages independent studies on the topics they enjoy, and has an obvious love of the subject, which is infectious. This week, as we are getting ready to start 7th grade, I got an unexpected email from him. He has spent the summer studying the standardized test results of his classes and comparing them to their 5th grade scores. Generally, student's scores decline between 5th and 6th, however my daughter, as well as several others, saw an increase. He could find no obvious pattern to the students who did well, so he emailed the parents and asked for our insight. In the email he referred to this group as "positive deviants". I adore that phrasing!
Never have I heard such a great term to describe my parenting style. Last year, before school started, I broke the news to my daughter that I was raising her to be different in good ways. I told her that because of our lifestyle she would probably never be one of the popular girls in school. Then I proceeded to tell her why this was good news. It isn't that don't want her to be popular, it is that I don't want her to do the things that make most kids her age popular.
I'm never going to buy her jeans at the cool stores because they cost too much for what they are, some of the companies send out very bad messages for teens, and I honestly can not walk into some of those places because of the smell (I'm talking to you, Abercrombie). I asked her, which would you rather have, cool jeans or a college fund? If she makes it all the way through to high school without begging for status symbol clothing, I'm giving serious thought to buying her stock in a company like Gap as a reward. Then when anyone asks her why she doesn't buy from them she can smile and say, "I don't have to. I owe part of the company instead. Thanks for making me money!"
This might seem like an extreme thing to do, but I told her she couldn't wear a peace symbol until she could tell me where it originated and that she agreed with the philosophy behind it. I want her to understand that we don't blindly follow the crowd. "Everybody is doing it" will not be an excuse in my house. If you present a well reasoned argument, then we will talk about it.
Safety is a big concern for me. I am that overprotective paranoid mom and I'm unapologetic for it. You will not see my kids hanging out unsupervised at the mall. Some of that has to do with the number of kids I see there smoking, cussing, and dressing like...well, you know, but part of it is that we have had 3 serial killers roll through our town in the 10 years we have been here. Not to mention the number of people who are registered sex offenders. Our 12 and 13 year old girls are walking around in the shortest possible shorts and low cut shirts because it is cool and they "look cute". They look real cute to the creepy guy sitting in the bookstore pretending to read. In my book it isn't any better than the mothers who doll up their babies and stick them in beauty pagents. It is harsh, but you have got to consider it.
I remember 7th grade as being when we all expanded our vocabularies to include swearing and being vulgar. I like to think I skipped most of that phase. Not that I didn't ever cuss, it was just rare and not without meaning. Most of the time the level of swearing you hear from young teenagers is an indication of a limited vocabulary and a desire to prove one's maturity, though I think it has the opposite effect. I don't want my children ever using words without a true knowledge of the sentiment they are expressing.
I think a lot of this boils down to raising a Christian family in a secular world. Our faith makes us, not so much stand out, as stand apart.  What makes "mean girls" so popular? They gossip, lie, cheat, back stab, etc. to get where they are and to stay on top of the game. All of these are frowned upon in the Bible. Trying to live a godly life most often prevents popularity in the rest of the world. (I say trying, because, let's face it, we all fail daily, and it is important to remember that).
I'm not trying to say I know best, or that my way is the only way. I'm just happy to have a new term for my parenting style. I am endeavoring to raise positive deviants.

*There is an actual group called the Positive Deviance Initiative, which is some what different from what I am talking about here, but a very interesting study, with some interesting results. If you are wanting to know more about the academic aspects of the concept, you might want to google them.

Facebook Confessions

A comedian that I enjoy, Kerri Pomarolli, likes to point out that the real reason people our age go on facebook is to see if the girls we didn't like in high school have gotten fat, if old boyfriends have gone bald, and to post perfect pictures of our own lives to make them all sorry they were ever mean to us. I'd like to deny all of this. Those are the reasons I joined MySpace, not Faccebook. I like to think I've grown (I haven't, but I do like to think it).
After sitting and considering what my current status updated would be today I realized that I have a few confessions of my own to make about Facebook. Hopefully some of you can relate, otherwise I look forward to the intervention you will all throw for me later.
1. I snoop. My own security settings are just one step from being a full out FB ninja, but I get a little disappointed with other do the same. I like to look at the page of the person you are dating or have married without actually friending them. Just because I'm not friends with someone doesn't mean I haven't been all over their public profile and albums.
2. Even though I like reminders of when people have birthdays, I feel peer pressure to wish them a happy birthday even if we haven't spoken in years. Then I feel bad if I do snub someone because all my other friends said something, and I was obviously online that day but didn't say anything. Also, I don't like repeating what the last person said on your wall, or repeating what I just wrote another friend. I have 4 friends with the same birthday, I about drove myself crazy that day.
3. It surprises me when I find out people have read what I wrote. I recently was telling someone a piece of news and it totally caught me off guard that they already knew all about it because I had written about it on FB. This is especially true for those who rarely post, but apparently read everything.
4. This one was my status this morning; When I friend someone new I feel pressure to make my next status update witty. I don't want the first thing they see from me to be, "washing clothes, then going to Walmart" I want it to be something that sets the tone for what they can expect from me like, "how do people who smoke and drink not light themselves on fire more often?"
5. It bothers me when a bunch of my friends are suddenly friends with the same person and I don't know them. I often assume that it is someone I either should know or someone I did know and have forgotten.
6. I share too much.

The New Church

Our year long church search is finally over. This morning all four of us joined Cumming Baptist Church. Actually, the kids had jokingly told us that if Rocky and I didn't join this week then they would walk down without us. We have been attending for awhile now not so regularly, but enough to know that this was to be our new church home.
I haven't always been sure. The first week we went I came home and googled the sermon outline. The sermon seemed almost too well laid out to me. I was sure that the preacher had to have been using a box sermon. (I'm not the most trusting of people) After searching I gave up and conceded that maybe Pastor Crocker was just a good preacher. The church had past the first test.
My parents came to visit, which I was sure would be the end of this church for us. There were some weird things that went on that first week. The strangest of which was a clip from Flip Wilson being played during the sermon illustrating the point of view that "the devil made me do it". The funny thing was, it worked. The sermon was excellent, the people were very friendly and welcoming, and although it certainly was a goofy week, we all still had a good feeling about the place. And so, the second test was passed. In case you are wondering, this is the preacher that referenced The Princess Bride one week.
 The third step for us was in seeing if all 4 of us could find Sunday School classes. The kids were a piece of cake. As it turned out, it was pretty easy for us as well. We found a group that has children the same age as ours, they've all been married about as long as we have, and they are just nice people to spend a hour with. Now we are 3 for 3.
As I'm sure you understand, there was a lot more that went into this decision, not the least of which was prayer. We've been there on down weeks where the crowd was small and the preacher took the opportunity to step on toes and make us all think about the direction we were heading in. We've been there when the place was packed, and even on a week with a guest speaker. We have witnessed the church working together, and we are excited to be able to be a part of that now.
It has been a long year, and it hasn't been an easy one. I'm glad the search is over. It has been a year of wandering, and it is a relief to finally be settled once again.
When we went done front and the pastor was introducing us JD stood next to him and boldly said, "I'm JD" just to make sure he had it right. The pastor got so tickled that he gave JD his on special introduction and now everyone at the church remembers JD. We are members 5 minutes and I'm already "JD's mom".

Let the Sunshine In

With our annual trek to Jackson comes our annual summer hair cuts. I had 5 inches cut off mine, which is exactly half as much as Nix. For the second time, she decided to donate her hair to Lock of Love.
Before: so serious

After: about 3 pounds lighter

It is amazing how a hair cut can completely change the way someone looks. She now looks like she is about to be a teenager. Her neck looks longer, and her eyes bigger. I'm pretty proud of her for growing it out for charity. It is the type of thing that people talk about doing, but never actually do. Now that I have a head start on her, maybe I'll grow mine out with her again for next time.

My New Embarrassment

I jokingly said about a month ago that I might have a new most embarrassing story depending on how bad I was hurt. Today I had to recount this story to a medical professional, so I might as well fess up to all of you.
Our town has a new park. Just walking around this massive place I started questioning our tax rates, meaning it had to have set the county back a good bit. The kids wanted to try out the fantastic playground equipment, and never being one to let the kids have all the fun, I joined in. Everything was going great. I went down a slide, I climbed the rock wall, and then I decided not to push my luck and spent the rest of the time in the swings. I love to swing. I always have. One of my favorite things is to get as high as possible and them jump out, soaring gracefully across the playground to stick a 10.0 landing. That is not what happened. This time, as I flew through the air I remembered three things. 1. I am now well into my 30's 2. I have on flip flops 3. wood chips are a lot more slippery than dirt. There was a little scrape on one knee, bruised hands, but no tears. My foot didn't even really hurt much until 2 days later. By that time I was packing up for the New York trip and nothing was stopping that. I walked around New York for four days. By the end of each day my foot felt like someone was using a nail gun to shoot nails into my foot with every step. This was probably not the smartest thing to do. I was certainly abusing my foot, but I told myself that I'd rest it when I got home.
When I did get home I had a post trip cold which gave me no choice but to rest. Combine that with JD's random case of scarlet fever, and I had two weeks of hardly setting foot out of the house. Unfortunately, when I did get up to speed and started walking, the pain came back. I broke down today and saw the doctor.
When the doctor entered the room he asked, "What did you do?" I replied, "Something stupid." Apparently it was a running theme with women today because he had already treated 2 sprained ankles and a broken tail bone. This made me feel a little better. My x-ray didn't show any major breaks, but because of the time and other symptoms, he thinks I have a stress fracture. He has given me 10 days to try anti-inflammatory drugs, but after that, if I still hurt, I get a bone scan with a boot, or a trip to a foot doctor depending on the results.
If I get a boot, this will officially beat the time I accidentally tried to carjack a stranger at Walmart. Also, I need to ready a story for the people who will ask me what I did to my foot. I'm leaning towards "ninja training camp" or maybe something circus related.

I *heart* New York

As you probably already know, Rocky and I just spent 4 fun filled days in New York. Several friends have asked me to remember tips as they are hoping to take trips of their own in the next year. Since time tends to erode memory and a bummer of a summer cold has me at half speed, I thought I'd write it all out now.

Tip 1: If at all possible, aim to spend a couple of weekdays there. It is a lot less crowded, you waste less time in lines, and some things will cost less.

Tip 2: Be ready walk a lot, especially if it is your first time in the city. The buildings are so beautiful and iconic that you end up walking around trying to see everything. Good walking (or running) shoes are a must. The second pair of shoes I brought were good flip flops. These turned out to be smart because after two days of walking, my toes needed to breath.

Tip 3: If you will be there more than a couple of days, plan on buying a 7 day subway pass. You get unlimited rides, and will save you money even if you are only there 3 or 4 days. At the end of your trip you can pass it off to other tourists who will be grateful for the days remaining on the card.

Tip 4: There are a couple of apps that will really help you out. First, the subway map. It will help you spot the nearest stop when you need a break from walking. Second, Central Park has a map app. It is $2, but it goes to the park's fund to keep it looking pretty. We spent the better part of one day in the park. It may have been our favorite part of the trip

Tip 5: I highly recommend going to the Top of the Rock during the day (Rockefeller Center tower). The view is amazing and the line isn't nearly as bad as The Empire State Building. I recommend doing Empire at night. Again, the lines are shorter then, and it is breathtaking to see the city at night. They do have a sunrise/sunset discount package, which could be really cool.

Tip 6: If you have your heart set on going inside the Statue of Liberty then you need to get your tickets way ahead of time. However, for a mere $13 a head, the boat will take you to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The only thing it doesn't do is get you time inside the statue. We were satisfied with just walking around the island.

Tip 7: Never take a street vendors first price, or the second. The third price is usually as far as they will go. Be ready to walk away, and remember there is another guy with the exact same product two blocks over who is willing to deal if the guy you are talking to isn't. That is how I got my lovely new orange bag. If you want the good knock offs with labels then you have to go to Chinatown and enter a back room with someone who gives you "the nod" on the street. I'm not that adventurous.

Tip 8: The weather the first week of June was perfect. It stayed between 65 and 75 each day. I started out wearing jeans, but after walking in them for two days they started to rub a spot on my leg. I had brought a jersey cotton dress and it turned out to be the best thing I wore the whole trip. Make sure the skirt is long though because the wind does kick up a good bit and you don't want to spend all day trying to keep your skirt down.

Tip 9: We enjoyed these 3 restaurants. 1.Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway. It is exactly what you think of when you say, "New York diner". It is crowded and loud, but the perk is that all of the wait staff are aspiring Broadway performers who sing while they serve and are really, REALLY good. 2. Frankie & Johnnie's on 45th. One of the best steaks I've ever had. Easily in the top 5. It is in an old speakeasy. make reservations. 3. If you are there Sunday morning, try Resto on east 29th for brunch. It is extremely rich and would do Paula Dean proud when it comes to fat and butter content.  Also, always take restaurant recommendations from Ryan and Molly Roy. They know what they are talking about. (Thanks again guys!)

Tip 10: We used Priceline for the hotel and ended up at Park South, which is a small boutique hotel instead of a big, heart of the city, hotel. We loved it. It wasn't crowded, the desk staff had time for us, and were very helpful. The place had a lot of character. The rooms were very up to date and very small, but small is something you should expect no matter where you stay. The hotels will check your bags if you you get into town before check in time, and on the day you leave. On the day we left, we officially checked out at 11. The doorman checked our bags for us and arranged a car to pick us up for the airport at 5.

Tip 11: The big cathedral like Catholic churches are open for you to walk around. They'll have a mass schedule out front to keep you from walking into something you didn't intend to, so check it before walking on it.  Make sure and stand where you can take in a full 360 view. it will make your jaw drop.

You may notice the one hole in my advise. We did not go see a show. Considering my love of musicals, this might seem weird. We talked it out before we went and decided against it on our first real trip to New York. First of all, they are not cheap. Then, there is the issue of packing. Going to a Broadway show raises my packing to a whole new level. Last, was the time involved. A show is going to take 3 hours plus the time it takes to get ready and make it to the theater. When all is said and done, you've shot 5 hours of your trip to see one thing. It is something we will defiantly do if we go back, but I don't feel cheated by skipping it the first time around.
I hope you've enjoyed my tour of New York and that some of the tips are helpful to you on your trip.

School Gifts

It is finally the last day of school here. I think I'm every bit as excited as the kids are. I love having them home and having a more relaxed schedule. On the last day I like to do a little something special for the teachers and for some of the people around the school that don't always get the love. Now that the kids are at two different schools, that is a lot of people. Thankfully, I stumbled into a fantastically cheap and easy gift that has always been met with excitement. Chocolate covered strawberries!

This year I had 13 bags with one milk chocolate and one white chocolate strawberry in each bag. I found these super cute bags in a pack of 13 at Micheal's for $5.99. The muffin cups were also there for $1.99. Publix had the berries on sale 2 for $5. I already had the white curling ribbon and I made the tags using Photoshop. All total that works out to about $1 per gift.

The tags I made were 3 1/4 inches squared and had room for the kids to sign their names. Nix had 6 teachers this year, so I knew where her's were going, but JD only had 2, so we got to have a little more fun with who got berries. We went to his grade counsellor, the art teacher, the librarian, and one teacher that none of my children have ever had. She has a very unusual personalized license plate. For the past two years, while we wait in car line in the morning, we look for this car. It is a race, and a lot of fun. It starts our day off right. We tracked down the owner of the car this morning, and "Bug Bump" got strawberries for brightening our mornings.

The Moral of the Story

I just got back from JD's awards day. It was very entertaining. JD won an award for being the most honest student and for telling the truth even when it will get him in trouble. Then there were awards named after candy and he received the "Payday" award, which is the candy way of saying, "most likely to succeed", and a kid choice award for sportsmanship, which the children were told, means the kid you most want on your team and is an all around nice kid. I don't always put much stock in end of the year, everyone gets something awards. In fact, I believe I may have called it a celebration of mediocrity at some point. I'm finding myself a little teary eyed over this one though. All 3 of these speak to my son's character. I once read that we formed the bulk of our character traits by a very young age. I think it was age 8, but don't quote me. Aside from a few people who have serious life altering events in their life, people are primarily the same kind of person they were in the 2nd or 3rd grade. I am now praying to God that this line of thought holds true for my son. At age 7 his teachers and peers have already declared him to be a good man and that thrills me beyond words.
Along with the awards the children put on 3 mini plays with each having a moral. I was pleased that the moral of the first story, "The Little Red Hen" was if you don't put in the work you can't reap the rewards. This is an idea that we need to teach a little more faithfully. JD's play of "The Turnip" taught that you can do more with teamwork than you can alone. JD thought it should have been that you can accomplish more with teamwork than you can alone. I adore his vocabulary.

Day of Nothing

If you are a mom then you know there is no such thing as a day that you have nothing to do. There is always something in need of cleaning and the laundry, oh the never ending laundry. Then there are the things out of the house, dance classes, ball games, school events, and on and on. Every so often I like to look for a day when I can have a planned day of nothing...or a least, almost nothing.
Lately, I've been working, doing a lot of end of the school year events, and had a revolving door on the guest room. I've chosen all of it. I've enjoyed all of it. I've got a busy day tomorrow, but today is a different story. Today is the one day that I don't have any demands on my time. I'm sure most women would use this time to catch up on laundry or whatever else has been neglected around the house, but I'm saving that for Saturday. Today I am writing a little, reading a book, and wearing pants with elastic in the waist. It is delightful and refreshing. I'm sure some work will sneak its way into the day, after all my kids do like to be fed, but for the most part, nothing.
Try it, you'll like it.