Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

NOTE: If you have little ones, check out "sevenchicks" under my Blog List today. They have a lunchbox that is so cute and original. They also have a website link you can click on to check out the price, etc. I wish, I wish, I wish I could order one of these for Austin to take to college... but, we want him to fit in, don't we?

Austin made it to Virginia Beach safe and sound. Yesterday was "beach" day, and today they are performing at Busch Gardens. So far, so good. He's having a good time, and hopefully, getting some rest.

This afternoon, Spring Training will officially be OVER. Josh is tired, but more determined than ever. It will be a little easier this summer when we don't have school and homework to contend with. (I know. I know. In the fall, you also have school and homework. I'm just more than a little ready for school to be out for the summer. Aren't we all?)

Saturday morning, Mike and I are heading out for a breakfast date (NO MATTER WHAT). See what I did? I declared it! Do you know what happens when you declare it? I don't know, but it usually ends with us not going on the date. Very, very risky... and I hope we can really go. (The last four dates have crashed and burned midway or haven't even made it out of the driveway. But you have to keep trying! Wish us luck!)

Roxie's friend Ally will be spending some time with us this weekend since her Mom is chaperoning the band trip. I feel a chick flick coming on.

My Mother's Day lunch destination has not been nailed down as of this post. (I'm thinking Brio's! I love Brio's. But I love trying new places, too. What to do? What to do?) Yeah. Definitely Brio's.

The TV Reviews are all in except for LOST. I'm planning on watching it today while I do my ironing, so I'll be adding it a little later in the day. (It's the finale, so I hope it will answer some questions... and I hope, hope, hope they didn't kill off Sawyer... or Kate... or Hurley... or Jin... Okay! I hope it's Ben. There I said it!)

TV Review

Amazing Race - It's over, and I was RIGHT! The brother/sister team won. It was close the entire time, so it wasn't a very suspenseful ending, but it was the most congenial ending I've ever seen. The "fussy redheaded girl" team was actually nice to the mother/son team at the very end. It was good to see a brother/sister team win.

Roxie is more determined than ever to go on the Race. I can see her doing it, too. There isn't one thing she wouldn't try at this point in her life that they've done. Except eating the scorpions. I don't know if she would have been able to do that. And, as her mother, I hope she wouldn't have run through that really cold place in only her underwear. That would have bothered me a great deal. But, who knows? (If she ever was in the Race, it would be three weeks of my life I would not sleep a wink!)

Celebrity Apprentice - Joan Rivers won. I was right again! Am I good or what? It was a good show, but long. I loved it when Donald Trump asked Clint Black who would he fire... and he said the editors! He was right. They made him look really, really bad. I don't think being on the show helped him sell any CDs.

24 - We're back to old times now. Jack's daughter, Kim, is going to be killed unless Tony is released. Not only do I understand the plot, but they are repeating the same plot from Season Two to make it even easier for the "brain cell deprived."

I was a little worried that Aaron was falling for Olivia's lies, but he redeemed himself. He's actually going to break protocol to spy on her. Gotta love Aaron. I hope when this season ends, he goes to work for Jack in some capacity. I think he would be a very calming influence on Jack, don't you?

LOST - Check in after my ironing is done!

Survivor - Go J.T.! It's time to have a T-shirt made for my road trip to Sampson, Alabama week after next. That's right. I am sooo sure he is going to win, I'm already planning what I am going to wear! It's going to be jungle green, I think. Evelyn, since you're driving me down there, I'm getting one for you to wear, too. I bet you can't wait until I post those pictures, can you!

Book

The Books Series for this week is very well known in the second and third grade world... The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne. There are new books in this series published every year. They now have 42 different stories.

Each story is set in a different time period or in a different location, and while your child is reading about the adventures of Annie and Jack as they look for the answers to their clues, they are also learning facts about a specific time in history or about the customs of a certain nationality, etc. The titles give you a hint of what subject your child will be exploring... Mummies in the Morning; Good Morning, Gorillas; Tonight on the Titanic; etc.

These are great chapter books, and they get better and better with each new addition. Although they are not very lengthy, they definitely pack a lot of information and adventure into a small, well-told story. If you have a first grader who is not able to read the books alone, they are great read-aloud books, too.

The local libraries carry all of these books, and they are also very affordable at Books-A-Million.

Have a wonderful, family-filled weekend. Do something new and different (a new restaurant, Noccalula Falls, etc.), or something old and familiar (movie night at home with popcorn and a hundred pillows and blankets). Do something one-on-one with the kids or your spouse, or do something as a whole family unit. Just do something! Don't let a weekend slip by without spending time with the most precious people in your life.

I'll be back next week, with more spring AND graduation "stuff." I'll have another day trip on Wednesday under Seasonal Traditions, and I'll have a list of several books you may want to give as graduation gifts to the graduates in your life.

Take care, and I'll talk to you on Monday.