Book Review

Today I decided to attempt a book review.  I've never done one before, but I do so love to read and sometimes there are books that simply must be shared.  So here is my very first book review ever.

THE HELP

BY

KATHRYN STOCKETT

Read it.  It's awesome. ;)

Today's wine is Cupcake chardonnay simply because it is one of my favorites, it's a beautiful early autumn evening and I'm feeling a little feisty.  I think I'll just go ahead and "cliche out" and have a cupcake with that cupcake wine. :)

Happy Tuesday!

Tree Huggers Beware

**WARNING**  If you are easily offended by the wasting of our world's natural resources, you might want to turn back now.  If you can appreciate creative young minds at work, read on.

The hubby and I recently had a fun night out on the town.  There was a dress, some super sassy high heels and even jewelry involved!  I know...this is huge!  I actually looked like a girl, instead of a taxi driver, maid, cook, laundress and sports mom.  It was really quite lovely, and I've decided we must make this a more normal occurrence.  A girl needs to feel like a girl sometimes, especially when one doesn't have any girls to live vicariously thru. ;)  While we were out, the big kid was in charge.  This usually works out quite well, but since he has learned how to communicate verbally over the phone with a girl, he is a little more distracted.  During his "marathon" (Little kid's word for it) conversation the younger two got bored and decided to "work on a few new ideas".  This is how that ended up....

The Terminator

The Master

The 16 Point Death Star

And they like to call this one 

"The Ex-Wife"

So, an entire ream of copy paper and 6 rolls of tape later the house was secure, and the boys had an arsenal of weapons Tony Stark could be proud of. ;)

The wine for today is Raw Power, it's a powerful shiraz that will make your taste buds happy!  What would make me happy is for someone to come thru with a shop vac and get all the prototypes off my floor! ;)

Happy Monday!

Go on...tell it like it is

Most kids are pretty good about getting the truth out there, hence sayings like "out of the mouths of babes" and "kid's say the darndest things".  The Little one at this house has honed this gift to an art form.  He will absolutely tell it like it is and most of the time has better delivery than any stand up comic.  ;)

On the way back from picking up the Big from tennis practice recently the little is happily ensconced in the back seat playing on his itouch.  Once inside the neighborhood the big asks if he can drive the rest of the way home.  These baby steps towards him becoming a driver are more for me than him; the kid was born with an innate sense of handling all things motorized.  The Big and I switch sides and as we are waiting for him to adjust the seat, the steering wheel, all the mirrors and the radio (seriously, we are going approximately 200 yards;), I hear the little one talking to himself in the back seat.  He's speaking just loud enough so that we can all hear him, "Dear Lord, please don't let me die today.  I haven't even gotten to double digits yet!"  Nice vote of confidence. ;)  The Big kid looks over at me and says, "Does he really think I'm going to kill us between here and the driveway?  Awesome."

Later that evening I went to tuck the Big kid in for the night.  Surprisingly, he was on the phone.  Anyone who has ever met a teenager knows why this was such a huge surprise. ;)  I asked him if he was really on the phone?  Like for real?  Talking?  Out loud?  Wow!  Who are you talking to?  It was a girl.  Whoa, this is big!  Talking out loud for real on the phone to a girl?  Maybe there's hope for him yet. ;)  I quickly duck out of there and leave him to his phone call and go tuck the little one in.  As I'm giving him a big hug and kiss to send him off to dream land I tell him, "The Big kid is on the phone....with a girl!"  He looks at me a little confused and then says, "On purpose? Are you sure it's not just the pizza place and they think HE'S a girl, you know one time when he was babysitting us he ordered pizza and the guy called him m'am."  This statement is followed by howls of laughter...from both of us. ;)  This is the same kid that coined the phrase "jerk ass" when he was 4 and used to yell from his car seat "Moooom, the Middle is jackin wiff me."  I hope he never looses the ability to "tell it like it is", it's quite refreshing unless, of course, he is commenting on my wrinkles or any added poundage. ;)

The wine for today is Fat Bastard Shiraz.  I'm pretty sure this is a phrase that the Little will throw out one day, probably used in the right context in the middle of church or some other equally inappropriate location. Awesome. ;)

Happy Sunday!

Brotherly Love :))

Morning rush hour went a little more smoothly this morning.  Everyone was up and ready and out the door on time! First stop, high school for the big kid.  He hops out and is walking into the high school with several other kids (who, btw, look like grown ups ;) and the middle rolls down his window and pops his head out the window.  In the loudest sing song voice he could muster up at 0' dark thirty in the morning he yells, "BYE BYE BIG KID, I LOOOOVVEEEE YOU!"  Every manchild walking into the school stops to see who that was directed towards.  The big kid gave an eye roll worthy of any 13 yr old girl, and ducked inside real fast.  The middle pops his head back in the car and howling with laughter says, "There's nothing thats not funny about that...nothing." :))  I knew retribution would be swift and complete; I did not realize it would start within seconds of us pulling away.  The middle kid's cell phone almost immediately starts buzzing and buzzing and buzzing.  It buzzes about 75 times, all one letter texts from the big kid.  The dreaded spam has begun.  All I can do is chuckle and thank the baby Jesus for brotherly love....and unlimited text messaging. ;)

The wine for today is Middle Sister Rebel Red...yummy!  I bet my mom could have written something similar about sisterly love between myself and the middle sister when we were younger.  It wouldn't have included cell phones and text messages, that was "back in the day" of cassette tapes, leg warmers and big bangs.  Retribution took a little more time and effort than just pushing a few buttons; sometimes it would take hiding under my bed until I turned my light off and grabbing the ankles as I hopped into bed.  To this day I still jump into my bed from 3 feet out to avoid that happening. ;)  Cheers to all the siblings out there and this unique and wonderful kind of love!

Happy Friday!

The House of Cards

School mornings at my house are crazy, as I'm sure they are at every house around the world where children reside.  If you have someone else besides yourself to get ready and out the door at a certain time in the morning you are going to have chaos, it's just the way it is.  Three different schools this year means three different drop off times at three different locations, timing is crucial.  I would liken our morning routine to a house of cards, if one little thing goes outside it's schedule line the whole thing is coming down.

This morning I woke up with a start to a pitch black house and rain falling softly outside.  My sleepy brain was in total disarray and it took me a couple of minutes to even figure out where I was.  Then with a panic I realized I was in my bed and I didn't hear the stirrings of any little people.  The clock said 6:48, we need to leave the house by 7:15. Yikes!  I flew out of bed and down the hall to the boys bedrooms fully expecting them to be finishing up showers and getting dressed.  What did I find down there?  More darkness and total silence.  I went from room to room and each door I opened resulted in the same thing, a sleeping boy snuggled way down under the covers.  At this point I'm thinking maybe my clock was wrong, I mean it is completely pitch dark outside.  Crap, am I having a crazy moment and it's really two in the morning?  Because this has actually happened to me before.  I started running around the house like a lunatic looking at each clock which I have to get real close to and squint my eyes because I have not put my contacts in yet.  I'm quite sure this looked like a scene right out of Modern Family, just missing Gloria's funny accent, and some of her other attributes. ;)  After much running and squinting with a few stubbed toes, curse words (cuz that really hurts) and a graceful trip over the dogs' water bowl (that leaves a nice mess), I decide that it is indeed 6:53 and the house of cards that is our morning rush hour is in a pile on the floor.  After the last 5 minutes of what can only be described as an awake nightmare, I'm in no mood to play 52 card pick up.  I can see only one course of action here....head back to bed.  Two hours later we all got up and I heard this...

YOU ARE THE BEST MOM EVVAAAA!!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! For letting us sleep in!!

I told them they could pay me back by coming home from school and doing their homework without argument and not fight with each other.  Suddenly, it's like three baby deer in the headlights.  Maybe I accidentally switched to French or German?  I am definitely not speaking a language any one of the three of them can understand.  Finally the Little breaks the stunned silence with, "I'll try to do some of my homework during inside recess, but that's the best I can do."  What is he a used car salesman?  Alright you three truants, in the car. ;)

The wine of the day is...well it's whatever they are serving at the poolside cocktail party I'm going to tonight with my boyfriend.   It's nice to have boyfriend that still takes you to parties even after almost 18 years of marriage. ;)

Happy Thursday!

It's Time To Find the Humor Again

Well, here it is another month gone by without time to find the blog.  To be honest, I've had a little trouble even finding my sense of humor the last couple of months, and really, who wants to hear about that?  Not even me. ;)  Occasionally the craziness of life with three boys sneaks up on me and I completely forget how to stop and smell the roses.  I hate it when that happens because it's so not me.  So, I am now officially slowing myself down at least for a few minutes everyday to find something funny in this insane world I live in.  The blogs may be short but they will include something that touched me that day either because it was funny or sweet or maybe just a yummy new recipe and the children's reaction to it.   In the end it will be a nice little grouping of articles that I can hand over to the boys one day.  I am quite certain that at some point they will all need some sort of therapy and doggoneit I want those therapists to know my side of the story. ;)

And, let's not forget a wine choice.  It is always advisable to locate a good bottle of wine before the whine hour begins.  Even at 9, 12 and almost 15 there is still a whine hour.  The face of that whine has changed and now has rolling eyes, a deeper voice and occasionally a naughty word in it, but it's still real whiney.  I stand by the fact that all whine is made more tolerable by a little wine. ;)

Today's wine is Whoop Whoop cabernet.  In celebration of the return of my sense of humor I'm gonna have a glass, dance around my kitchen and "raise the roof"!

Happy Wednesday! :)