Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

Weekend Happenings

If you're reading this first thing this morning, I'm with Austin having wisdom teeth removed (his... not mine). We've put it off for a little while, but finally decided there was never going to be a "good" time to have it done. I imagine this weekend will include a lot of sleeping time for Austin. (To me, not a bad way to spend a weekend. But for an 18 year-old, not as much fun.)

Josh is planning on having some friends over Saturday night to spend the night, watch movies, etc., etc. If the weather is good (meaning cool and breezy and NOT hot and humid), we may put the tent up and let them have a little camp-out. That way they won't disturb the toothless boy.

It's funny, but we usually don't go to the pool on the weekends. I don't know why, but Saturday and Sunday are typically spent in different ways. But you never know. We might visit the pool for a little while.

And other than a breakfast date with Mikie (DID YOU HEAR THAT, MIKIE?), that's pretty much the weekend happenings around here. Pretty mild. Next week, we'll crank it up a notch since Mike's deadline will be a thing of the past, and hopefully we'll get to do a little tubing (I hope, I hope).

CONTEST, CONTEST, CONTEST

I don't want to panic anyone, but today's the last day for the Contest. Answer the question posed all week in earlier posts, and you will be eligible to win a $10 gift card to your favorite movie rental establishment. Roxie will be drawing the winner's name out of the "Magic Bowl" Saturday morning, and I will post the winner immediately after. I've had several entries, e-mail and blog comments, but there's always room for one more.


Update on the Senior Trip Saga

If you read Mikie's comment in Wednesday's post, you know of his devious plan to tell me he and Austin are going one place, and then going to a totally different destination for a week. They are about to push me over the edge. (They may wake up one morning and find me and Roxie have GONE to a secret destination. Oh, who am I kidding? Mike would find us missing, and immediately go to the blog where I would have left the whole itinerary for our "mystery trip." I am incapable of doing something so spontaneous... and he knows it. Heavy sigh!)

TV Reviews

Jon & Kate - I can't tell where this is going. The first new show was about Kate celebrating her birthday alone because Jon had gone skiing with friends, "...and it just happened to fall on Kate's birthday." It was a slightly depressing show until the crew and the older kids surprised her with a trip to the Ace of Cakes store, and they all made cakes. That was a pretty cool gift, I thought. If anyone is listening, I love Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking Show. I wouldn't mind spending an afternoon with her, letting her cook for me, make tablescapes for me, etc. (Maybe there's a Homewood Suites hotel around that would give me a free room since I spoke so nicely about them on my blog... Yeah. That will happen!)

The second show was much more upbeat even though Jon was home with seven of the kids and Kate was away on a spa retreat with one of the twins. They did the interview together (with Mady in between them), and Kate didn't speak to Jon in a mean way one time. And Jon seemed fine, too. It was almost hopeful. It was enough to make me want to watch at least one more week to see if things improve.

Man vs. Wild with Will Ferrell - Oh, my goodness. This was so good. Will Ferrell did an excellent job. He was very much out of his element. He was very much frozen to the bone. He was very much game to try whatever Bear Grylls asked him to try. I was very impressed with Mr. Hollywood Star eating a reindeer eyeball and wrapping up in a reindeer carcass for warmth. He did say one thing that wasn't bleeped... but it was very much a "boy" thing to say, and I have to admit (being a "boy" mom), I didn't take offense. (Mainly because I can't imagine what I would have been saying if I had been put in the same situation. Not good. Not good at all.) Also, there were two or three bleeps. His humor wasn't inappropriate though. I think it was amazing he was able to stay funny throughout the entire ordeal... and it was most definitely an ordeal. All in all, it was a fun show to watch together.

Typical Week in Summer - Day 5

I guess there are only a couple more things which would be considered typical for the Faulkner Five in the summer. We try to visit our great-grandmother more. I can't leave Gardendale while Josh is in school, and it makes it difficult to see her as much as we would like during the school year. However, in the summer months, we try to make it a weekly or bi-weekly event.

Also, we would love to go tubing once a week, but again, we do well to do it on a bi-weekly basis. (If we don't go tubing, Mike tries to at least take one or two of the kids at a time fishing in between, so we try very hard to get in the boat once a week... even if it is just to sit in the boat in the basement for a little while. Not as much fun as tubing or fishing, but sometimes it takes the kids a little while to find us down there.)

One more thing I like to do in the summer is try a few more new recipes here and there. I've added a pic to the Gallery. This isn't really a recipe as much as it is putting together pre-prepared food to form an unhealthy (but FUN) breakfast. I took this idea from the cover of the Family Circle magazine. (They made their waffles from scratch. I used the frozen kind.) In between two waffles, put a large spoonful of vanilla ice cream. Add sliced strawberries and juice. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Top with "squirtable" whipped cream. Now is that a healthy summer breakfast, or what? I don't know, but Austin loved it this morning. (This is definitely a unique treat. I wouldn't serve this every morning, but every once in a while it is fun.)

Book

The Book of the Week is a devotional book for middle school girls. It is called No Boys Allowed by Kristi Holl. The reason I stated it might be a good seasonal tradition is because it can be done together (mother and daughter) during the summer months. The topics are totally relevant to a 6th, 7th and 8th graders' life.

I'm going to share a little from the devotion "The Green-Eyed Monster."

"Jealousy is sneaky. It's natural to compare ourselves to others or want what someone else has. But when that comparison makes us unhappy, we're probably feeling jealous. Notice how you feel about the good fortune of others: their cool clothes, perfect looks, or their attention in the spotlight. If you feel anything but peace in your heart, you might be feeling jealous. Can you be happy for them instead? Can you compliment them on an outstanding performance or their pretty outfit? Taking positive action is a quick way to kill that green-eyed monster."

It defines a problem (jealousy), and gives you a very real way of conquering the jealousy (solution). To make sure the solution is sincere, there is scripture to back up everything. Under a little section called "Girl Talk" in each devotion, it specifically asks a question. "Are you jealous of someone? Be honest with yourself, but more importantly, be honest with God. He will help you overcome jealousy."

This is why I think it would be an excellent book to read WITH Roxie. It opens a dialogue about this and 89 other topics. We're going to pick and choose this summer instead of reading the book cover to cover. I want to make sure we read the ones relevant to things she's going through right this minute.

Each devotion is only two pages long, and it is an easy read. We will not put "stress" on ourselves to read the book EVERY SINGLE DAY TOGETHER. Some days, Roxie will do her devotion on her own. But for the most part, I'm going to make an effort to spend this 15 minutes or so with her in the mornings or before bedtime.

Have a wonderful weekend. Remember to spend time with your family. (You'll never regret it!) Remember to enter the contest... it's a no-brainer. Remember to call an old friend you haven't talked to in a while. Remember to check back next week. We'll be talking about Father's Day, and I'm pretty sure the topic for next week is going to be "Childhood Memories." Usually when something keeps coming back to my mind again, again and again, there's a reason... and for some reason, childhood memories have been flooding back lately. Literally.

Don't forget to check in tomorrow morning for the Contest Winner. I'll post before 10:00 a.m.

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