Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

FREE CHOCOLATE, FREE CHOCOLATE

If you will click on I'm Just Telling My Story under my Blog List, Monique has several "free" things on her blog this week, also. (Some are the same ones listed on A Simple Life, but some are different. Definitely worth checking out.) The biggest news is the Free Chocolate she just posted. I've already registered for mine.

NEW INFO FOR "TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME" DATE - Jennifer left me info in the comment section (as well as a website) about the date yesterday. On Tuesday nights, you can take a Kraft cheese package wrapper and buy one ticket and get one free. Also, she informed me most Tuesday nights are $.25 hot dog night. So I guess if you go on this date, TUESDAY is the night to go. I'm giving you the website so you can check it out before you make definite plans. Thank you, Jennifer.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/kraft_landing.jsp)

NOTE TO JARED: I'm going back and forth on whether to remove you from my "list" or not. The restaurant suggestions, of course, get you brownie points. However, the "I already knew where they were going" at the beginning of your comment kind of rubbed me the wrong way. And as we all know, I am a HUGE grudge holder. Heavy sigh.

But, on the plus side, you are the father of my favorite great-nephew, Matthew. And you and Brandi give me unlimited holding, cuddling time with him on all family occasions. Also, up to this point, you had never even been considered as an addition to the "list."

Okay, okay. You're off the "list." But I want that list of restaurants... NOW!

NOTE TO BEEBO: You are not allowed to alter MY childhood memories. In my mind, the army truck was light blue (as was the Jeep). Later, when sold, the man who bought it painted it camouflage. (I didn't tell the story about the pile up, because it is too painful to talk about. I thought about it, but it made me cringe.)

NOTE TO MOMOFBOYS: Copper has heard of Buddy. Copper is scared of Buddy. Copper is very similar to me and Roxie. Copper has his hands full with Sparkle. I have my hands full with Roxie. Adding to the equation would not make things "more simple." Thanks for the offer though!

NOTE TO MIKIE: You're right. It wasn't our first date. However, it was the first time I met your family... and I didn't want to look like Jimmy Neutron when we arrived (which is exactly how I would have looked riding with the T-tops off from Hoover to Oxford). ANY woman would agree with me! You lose, Mikie!

Weekend Happenings

This weekend is going to be about Mikie. He will be 48 years-old Saturday. After working long, long hours the last couple of months or so, all he wants for his birthday is to go fishing... so fishing he shall go! Roxie and Josh are going with him, and I hope he catches many huge, edible fish. We'll be having cake and ice cream this weekend with my family, and celebrating with his family at the lake next weekend doing the Father's Day/Birthday combo.

Since Mike's birthday and Father's Day are always just a few days apart, we try hard to make both events special even if they coincide. His Father's Day gift isn't so much an actual gift as it is a day spent with the kids. A different restaurant and a fun activity... but more on that next week. Roxie came up with the perfect birthday gift, so I'm hoping he'll like it as much as we do. (He's not picky. He'll like anything we bestow upon him.)

Other than the birthday thing, we don't have a lot planned. I'll have to let you know Monday if anything else took place Saturday and Sunday.

TV Review(s)

Jon & Kate - I am assuming I saw this week's "new" episode. It was the 100th episode with Emeril. There was no tension (that I could detect), and it was a fun show. The kids were cute (as always). Kate wasn't mean to Jon. They made eye contact. I don't know if it was filmed before all the problems began, but it was enjoyable to watch... much like the first few seasons. I hope there are more shows like this one this season.

I have to say I was surprised to see how laid back Emeril was on this particular occasion. He was wonderful with the kids. Maybe he didn't go around screaming "BAM" because he didn't want to scare them. And, as always, I love to watch the kids eat. They try anything and everything. Unlike my kids who act like green beans are poison darts!

I wonder... How does one go about getting Emeril to come to your house and cook dinner for you and your family? Do you HAVE to have your own reality show? How does one go about getting a reality show? Is the process similar to declaring new national holidays? If so, that isn't very difficult. It might be worth a few paparazzi in the bushes to have Emeril cook my dinner one night. I'll have to check into that!

Childhood Memories - Part 5

We had a riding lawnmower when I was growing up. It wasn't fancy. It was just your basic riding lawnmower. Our neighbor, Wayne, Curtis' dad, had a riding lawnmower, too. It was very much like our lawnmower, except Wayne knew a little bit about mechanical things and he was able to soup up his lawnmower. I'm not talking 30 miles per hour here, but ultimately much faster than ours would ever run.

As kids do from time to time, Curtis and I got into an argument over whose Dad would win in a lawnmower race. We set up the time and the rules and then we notified our parental units of the race. Both were more than willing. Even though our lawnmower was slower, Daddy had a plan... and Wayne was sure his altered version of the riding lawnmower would more than leave us in the dust.

The day of the big race came. The lawnmowers would start at the top of our huge hill, go over the "Hump of No Return" all the way to the bottom and then back up again. In those days, the race would normally have taken over an hour from start to finish... except for my Daddy's plan.

He might not be able to soup it up, but he could knock it out of gear, thus making it pick up speed as it went down the extremely steep hill.

"Can I ride with you, Daddy?" I asked.

"Sure," he responded.

And the race was on. Up until we reached the "Hump of No Return," Wayne was most definitely beating us, but then Daddy knocked it out of gear... and we started picking up speed. A lot of speed. Wind-blowing-my-hair-straight-back speed. (Warp speed is the term they use in Star Trek, I think!)

"Wheeee!" I screamed as we flew down the hill. Not only did I love speed, but I loved winning... even way back then.

Now at the bottom of the extremely steep hill was a large dirt embankment. You could turn left or you could turn right, but to go straight meant certain death. What I didn't realize as my Daddy and I passed house after blurry house was when he knocked it out of gear, the brakes stopped working. I don't know why. My Daddy didn't know why. All he knew was that if we turned to the left or the right going as fast as we were going, the lawnmower was going to turn over... several times. If we went straight and hit the dirt embankment, we were going to suffer serious injury.

His ultimate plan was simple. He was going to put his left leg out and try to turn left and try to keep the lawnmower from overturning (again and again and again). If we got close enough to a grassy area, Part B of his plan was to throw me off the lawnmower onto the grassy area. I was oblivious to any and all of the planning part of this ride. I was just having fun!

Remarkably (even to him), his plan worked without having to throw me from the lawnmower. He also didn't break his leg (which he later said he considered a very real possibility). We turned left using his left leg to keep the mower upright, won the race and lived to tell the tale.

He said when telling me the story, that when we finally stopped, I looked up and said, "Do it again, Daddy!"

Needless to say, that was our LAST lawnmower race... We decided to go out on top!

Book

My book for this week is a little different than the usual suggestion. I have always loved reading Erma Bombeck's articles. I thought she was quirky, funny, honest and many times thought-provoking. A few years ago, Mike bought me the book Forever, Erma which is a collection of her columns from 1965 until 1996. These columns were written in a different place and time, but the humor still applies. I'd like to share one with you.

Parent-Child Bonding (Written January 13, 1991) -

When my children were born, bonding hadn't been invented yet. I was given a sedative just before the birth and didn't wake up until each kid was about two or three years old.

When my husband bought season tickets to the Phoenix Suns basketball games, we saw this as a time to bond with our children. With 40 home games to view, the combinations were without limit. He'd go with one son one night, and I'd go with my daughter the next home game. Then I'd go with another son, and he'd go with our daughter. This would be an opportunity to have social interaction with one another, find out how they felt about life, and form a covenant of feelings that sometimes get lost in the daily routine.

At the end of the first quarter in a game with the Chicago Bulls, I turned to my daughter to tell her how close I felt to her when I saw her leaning over the seat in front.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I lost an earring," she said. "I think it fell down that man's pants."

"I don't believe you," I said. "It's like going out with Peg Bundy on Married With Children."

"Mom, I didn't do it on purpose," she said. "I'll know for sure when he stands up."

The man stood up to cheer and got a strange look on his face.

"Don't call me Mom," I whispered. "I don't know you."

When we tried to establish some kind of human relationship with our other son, we both had the same experience. He was like some wandering minstrel; he was never in his seat. If he wasn't standing in a line to buy soft drinks and tacos, he was going to the rest room or hanging out with friends. Once when he got back during the fourth quarter, I leaned over and said, "Daddy and I are glad you were born." He nodded silently and then asked, "Compared to what?"

When new parents talk about bonding, it sounds so warm and fuzzy. Maybe it works only when one party can't talk.

Some of the things she writes about are laugh-out-loud funny, but all of her columns leave you smiling at the end. She was a remarkable woman (maybe because she was so ordinary), and I have enjoyed having this book in my library. I'm sure you would be able to find specific articles which would become your favorites, too.

Have a great Friday and an even greater weekend! I hope you've planned something special to do with your family (big or little).

Next week's daily posts will be devoted to Father's Day parties, recipes, traditions, dates and books. I'm also thinking of a different topic for the week, so you'll just have to check in to see what I come up with. (I know you're sitting on the edge of your seat right now!)

Oh, and since I declared June 10 to be National Game Night, I'm thinking of "declaring" some other new and relevant holidays. I may declare one each day next week. (It's not as hard as you might think, and the paperwork is minimal.)

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