Monday, August 31, 2015

Well, We Raised her to be Responsible

The Teenager made her first furniture purchase today; a futon that she and Katie will use in the new house. The Teenager felt strongly that she would need the futon so that her brother would have somewhere to sleep if he ever wanted to do an overnight visit to her new home.

The thought was sweet on so many levels.

Does it matter that we have not yet purchased the house? Not to her; she is planning ahead. She got the futon on sale and she put it on lay-away so that storing it prior to the move wouldn't be an issue and so that she could make manageable payments.

She's a smart one.

I would like to take the credit for the head on her shoulders, but, honestly, I don't remember being that smart or responsible at her age. Oh, I owned a futon, but, I think the Girls and I rescued it from a curb, where it had been abandoned by its' previous owner.

But that is a story for another day.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Legacy

After Dad's funeral, Mom gave the Man-Cub the Eisenhower silver dollar that Dad tossed at high school football games during his career as a referee.

As a tribute to Dad, the Man-Cub's coach used the coin at the first home football game after Dad's funeral, after which, I stored it in my hope chest for safe keeping.

The boys got their uniforms on Friday, and, today, I sewed the coin into the waistband of the Cub's pants. The plan is to have the Cub carry the coin throughout his High School career, after which we will pass the coin on to my nephew, who also plays football.

I'm thrilled that the boys will have this small piece of their granddad to carry with them and I know that Dad is smiling at the thought, as well.

I'm also thrilled that the Cub got the jersey number that he had been hoping for-lucky #23. It will be his for the next two years, and I am going to love every minute of watching him play in it....says the girl who used to take a book to the football field while her father coached football teams or officiated a game.

Dad must be laughing until his wings shake right about now.


Saturday, August 29, 2015

Are You Ready For Some Football?!

Today's scrimmage went well for the boys. They played tough and no one got hurt; that's always a win in my book.









Regular season games start Friday night and continue each week through Halloween. My car is stocked for the season, with stadium seats, blankets, an umbrella, and my official Pirate spirit gloves. I have only to stock up on football-appropriate snacks and to make sure the hot cocoa thermos is clean and ready for another year. In case you couldn't tell, I'm actually kind of excited about this season.

Speaking of stocking up; my fellow Booster Moms and I held an impromptu meeting in the stands today, at which we made the executive decision to order more items for the Booster Store. We feel pretty confident that t-shirts, cut to fit women and bedazzled with some bling, will be instant best-sellers. We also kicked around the idea of ordering some jewelry, but, the majority felt that it would  not be as popular. I don't know; I love mine.


My suggestion to slap our mascot on wine glasses for inclusion in the store was also dismissed, but, that's ok; hip flasks might be more appropriate for evening games, anyway.

Kidding!

Sort of.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Friday Favorites

Finally Friday, thank heavens. This has been a long and busy week and I am looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend.

Ha, ha, ha! Like that's going to happen. Au contraire, mon frère; the weekend is shaping up to be just as busy as the rest of the week, starting with the Man-Cub's first football scrimmage in a community an hour or so away. We will be getting up early for that one.

I also have a lot of work to do at the hardware store, and, if I am being honest, my house has fallen into a serious state of filth and disorganization, so, some serious housework is in order. By the time Monday rolls around, I am going to be looking forward to the downtime that my actual job can provide.

Or, something like that.

Anyway, on to this week's favorite things.

I have been wearing these new flip flops since I purchased them at The Teenager's shoe store a couple of weeks ago. They are super cute, and, fairly comfortable (the embellishments on the straps are sewn in with sturdy thread, which, can rub against the delicate skin on the top of my foot, which, isn't exactly comfortable, but, a bandaid applied under the strap solves that problem quite nicely) and I have found that they go with a lot of the clothing in my wardrobe. I won't be able to wear them for too much longer-it's already starting to get chilly in the mornings-so I am taking advantage of every opportunity to wear them while I can.




Today, I wore them with a black and white striped boatneck t-shirt, white capris and this necklace, which is one of my favorite pieces of jewelry and something that I wear quite frequently.


Tomorrow, I get to start wearing my favorite sports-themed jewelry. I can hardly wait.

On a totally different topic, I am still loving the sights of nature in my yard, including the birds and the flowers. My rose bushes are doing fairly well, there are a couple that haven't thrived quite as well as I had hoped, but, I recently purchased some fertilizer that I am hoping will help. The rest of the bushes are doing great, and I am especially loving the blooms on the Marilyn Monroe variety bush.



Seriously beautiful.

As are my hummers. Thank you for indulging me in yet another round of bird photos; I'm going to miss these critters when they fly south. Or, you know, wherever the hell they go.




Thursday, August 27, 2015

Throwback Thursday: The Pigskin Edition

Earlier this evening, I stopped by the school to watch the boys practice football. From my vantage point, high up on the hill above the football field, it was-at first glance- difficult to tell the boys apart. The longer I watched them however, the easier it was to assign a name to a player based simply on the way they moved, stood, or gestured at their teammates.

It's like I've been watching these boys all their lives or something (pretty dang close).

It reminded me of the first football camp that the boys attended, way back in 2007, and, I couldn't help but get a little misty-eyed. So, of course I had to dash home to dig through my photo archives.

What? You didn't see that coming? Hmph...it's like you don't know me at all.

Anyhoodle, here is the Man-Cub at age 8.



The Cub loved that camp. He enjoyed the drills and the action and the camaraderie between teammates, but, above all else, he loved the official High School football jersey that each camper was awarded on the final evening of camp.



He seriously slept in that thing for a solid month following the end of football season, and, if I'm not mistaken, it is still lurking somewhere in his closet (trust me, I am not mistaken). Also, I love that last picture; the Cub was swimming in that jersey and he kept having to flail his arms up in dramatic fashion in order to clear his hands enough to catch the ball, but, in the picture it totally looks like he is initiating a fight, all, Come at me, bro! Seriously.

Anyway, as you may have guessed, the boys are much larger now. They are no less dedicated to their chosen sport, however, and, it was a pleasure to watch them in action this evening. The first game of the season takes place next Friday night.

I can hardly wait.




Also, those jerseys fit so much better, now.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Where Would We Be Without Facebook?

Without Facebook, I would not know that today is National Dog Day and I would have missed the opportunity to talk about my favorite canine. That would have been sad. Thank you, Facebook, you really had my back.

Rocking Rowdie von Mylastname came to us on Christmas morning, 2006.



The kids were completely surprised and thrilled beyond belief. It remains one of my favorite Christmas memories of all time.

Rowdie quickly became the center of attention and was doted upon by every member of the household, including our old cat, Gilligan. Those two were buddies until the day Gilligan died.

The kids took responsibility for Rowdie and I think that having him has been a great experience in putting the needs of another living creature before their own; that's a really valuable lesson to learn.



Rowdie will be nine in November. It has been a pleasure to watch him grow up with the kids and I am hoping for a lot more years with him. After all, there aren't many dogs that will sled down a snowy hill or gladly jump on a tube to be pulled across a lake.

We got lucky with that pup.







Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Rude Awakenings

The smoke detector went off in our bedroom at 3:00 this morning, gently awakening Hugh and me from our slumber.

And, by gently, I mean with the peaceful equivalent of a freight train running over our heads. My heart beat out of my chest for the next three hours, despite Hugh's assurances that the house was in no danger of burning down and that the detectors are old and need to be replaced. I am exhausted, today.

For their parts, the kids rolled pretty well with the interruption in their nightly routine; the Cub roused himself only long enough to ask what the noise was, and to say "Oh. Cool. 'Night", before falling back into a typical teenaged coma.

The Teenager barely moved; I'm not even sure she realized this morning that it had actually happened and wasn't just a dream.

Katie, sleeping in the guest room downstairs, may not have even heard the alarm enough to waken, I'm not sure and I didn't get a chance to ask her this morning.

Thankfully, Hugh had the new detectors in the garage, where they have been stored since he purchased them sometime last spring. Why they had not been installed is a question that only a man can answer, but, apparently it requires at least one nocturnal interruption before they deem it the appropriate time to handle the chore. Hugh got that chance last night, and, as of this afternoon, we have new detectors in every room of the house.

Here's hoping for a sound night's sleep, tonight.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Saturday, August 22, 2015

And Now It Is Certain To Rain

The football and volleyball teams held the annual car wash earlier today and I was one of the first cars in line. This year, the juniors were on wipe-down duty, which meant that I didn't see the Man-Cub until the end of the line, where he and his classmates did a great job of rubbing the mud around on my car after the freshmen and sophomores failed to get the dirt off during the washing phase of the process. To their credit, the car came out looking almost clean.

I know it sounds like it, but, I'm not really complaining. Mostly because the freshmen and sophomores are tiny compared to the juniors and seniors- hell, they are tiny compared to past years' freshmen and sophomores- the chances of them actually reaching the center of my hood were slim to none, and, let's not even mention the roof.

They did the best they could, given their diminutive stature.

And, they were cute, so they totally get a pass.

Besides, I ended up driving through the mountains to surprise my mom with an early birthday dinner, so, it isn't like the car was going to stay clean, anyway.

And, like I said, they are cute.










Although, probably not quite as cute as my friend's kids and their lemonade stand. Even teenagers agree that lemonade stands trump freshmen standing on tip-toe to wash cars. I mean, really, there is no contest.



 
That's right, ladies. I am adorable.