Keep On Walking

Ever have one of those moments where you want to crawl in a hole and hide?

Well, I had one of them yesterday.

And, surprisingly, it had nothing to do with my kids. Shocking, right?!

I'm leaving Costco and it's super crowded. I'm outside and there seems to be some kind of party going on (not really but there was a large group of people standing around talking.)

Anywho, I pull my car keys out of my purse and push my way through.

I must have dropped something because an older gentleman poked me and said "Miss, you dropped something."

I looked down and it was a tampon. And, it was laying right in the middle of the foreamentioned party of people.

For a split second, I thought about ignoring it and keep on walking.

But, he poked me again and repeated himself.

I groaned and walked back and nonchalantly picked it up and shoved it into my purse.

I'm sure that everyone was looking at me but I wouldn't know because I kept my head down and just kept on moving.

And, before you ask, no...I didn't take a picture. I just wanted to get out of there. I don't think that the man knew what it was. LOL.

And, then I got into the car and cracked up. Because, it was funny and I do amuse myself.

At Least We're Making Progress

Ken and I went to the Duran Duran concert a few nights ago. Melissa (our next door neighbor and babysitter extrodinarie) came over to babysit the boys. I went to her mom's house the next day and Mary asked me if Melissa had told me what Owen did.

I replied no but, giving his recent history, did it have anything to do with him pulling his pants down or humping?

She started laughing and said yes.

Oh good Lord. Seriously? I told her I had to cut my car off and I'd be right back in. This was going to take a while, I could tell.

Well, it seems that the boys were playing outside with the next door neighbor boy. I'm not even sure how Melissa found out what Owen did (Shane probably told on him) but it seems that sweet Owen had to go potty and instead of coming inside, he decided to pee on the grass.

Of course, this was in the front yard.

But, instead of denying it and going into his long, drawn out closing argument, he just simply said "yep...I did it."

Melissa put him into time out.

And, then she got the full mommy treatment. He refused to sit into time out so his 5 minute time out turned into 15 minutes. LOL.

His excuse? He had to pee but he made sure that no one saw him because he went to the corner of the yard and peed on the grass. He did not pull out his private part so others could see it.

And then he demonstrated for me how he made sure no one saw it. Um...thanks, Owen. I needed to see that.

So, I'm once again having the "don't pull your private parts out in public" conversation with him.

But, there are two positives about this. 1) He didn't hump anyone and 2) he admitted to it without turning it into a court case.

And, maybe he's just living out his dream and I should just encourage this behavior. I'm just so proud.

But...at least we're making progress.

Photo of the Day

Black and White

Black and white...yep. That's me. But, I get it honestly. From my dad. It either is or it isn't and that's just the way it is.

But, that's not what this post is about. This is about shooting pictures in black and white.

One of the hardest things about shooting pics during the middle of the day is dealing with the harsh light. One way to get around that is to shoot in black and white. Black and white shots do well under harsh light conditions and would make some stunning beach pics.







I did use my Rebel but your point and shoot may have the black and white function in it. My old one did and that's where I found out about black and white.

So, go and check your camera settings. You may have that feature and don't even know it. Move those functions off of automatic settings. Please? ;)

Just The Pics, Please

This past weekend when Sheldon and Mary Mayken were here, there were other things going on in addition to anatomy lessons and changing cute shoes.

Here's a few of my favorite pics from this weekend.

Shane was playing with MM and I came into the kitchen to find this. I'm hoping that he was playing his Kidz Bop songs and not Motley Crue. :)



Sheldon loved the boys scooters. I just held my breath hoping that she wouldn't biff it. She didn't, for the record.



Shane needs to give Owen back his scooter. It's a little on the small side, don't ya think?



Sheldon obviously gets her tall, slender body from our side of the family. LOL.



One of the few moments where MM didn't have a motor on her behind.



Here's the best I could do with all four kids, Ginny. The others weren't pretty. Trust me. And, I'm sorry for Owen's goofy grin. He's been in this phase for a while. I'm ready to go onto the next one. :)



You think that Shane is use to the camera?



Owen was so proud of himself for climbing up to the top. Apparently, kindergarteners aren't allowed up there. Of course, he told me that after I let him do it.

This is his alternate goofy grin, by the way. It's much better, don't you think?

There's A New Love In Town

Oh, Little Pink Shoes...how I loved you.




I truly did. And I still do.

But, I don't want to hurt your feelings so don't take what I'm fixing to say the wrong way. (Fixing - yeah, I'm Southern.)

But, I have a new love in my life.

Maybe you've seen them. And, even though it's wrong, I think that you probably secretly love them as much as I do.

They are cute. Almost as cute as you.





But, don't worry. You're not being replaced entirely. We're just giving you a break once in a while. Don't take it so hard. I still love you.

It's just that I have to share my love with another now. See...women are fickle like that with their shoes. I know. It's a hurtful lesson but now you know the truth. I didn't want to lie to you anymore.

But, don't worry. I still love you. :)

Hey Guys...Wait 4 Me!

Were you a little sister or brother, always trying to keep up with the older ones and always tattling on them to your mom so they would be forced to play with you? Your mom would then yell at your brother or sister to play with you.

She just wanted you to stop whining.

Were you the big brother or sister always trying to get away from your kid sibling but yet, you couldn't because your mom made you play with him or her?

Your mom wasn't interested in being fair. She just wanted peace and quiet.

The littlest one is always trying to keep up with the older kids. It's either keep up or don't play. The older ones will sometimes amuse the littlest one and play with them but then once they're done with that (like 4 minutes later), it's all on the little one to keep up.

Owen use to play that role.

Now, Mary Mayken does.

And, she's got some long legged kids to keep up with.

Go, Mary Mayken, go!

"Let's all follow Shane. This is his playground and he's the oldest so he's already scouted out the good spots at the playground."



This picture cracks me up because the log is just a blip on the radar to Sheldon.

But to MM, it's a huge wall that must be overcome.


And, in the process of climbing the wall, she falls way behind.

She never made it to the first spot.



And, then the older kids were off again to another secret hiding place for the best honeysuckles in the world (according to the boys). As this is their school playground, they know all of the good spots!



Wait! Wait for me!



Crap. I've gotta stop falling. Now I'm going to be further behind!



But, that's okay. Because I will catch up with them. I think I can! I think I can!





These pics aren't the best that I took this weekend, but they do tell a story and when I was going through all of the pics that I took last weekend, these jumped out at me.

Enjoy!

Messing With Pics

Been playing with the colors of some of the Confederate reenactors. I think that the sepia tone looks more authentic but do like the black and white too. I changed the colors after I took the pics. I could have changed it during the shoot but because you can't change sepia or b/w to color, it's better to do it this way.

Color shot:


Sepia tone:


black and white:


Color shot:


Sepia tone:


Black and white:


What do you think?

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all veterans.

Your service does not go unnoticed and we thank you.

If you've never visited Fredericksburg, it is a town rich in history. Particularly Civil War history. We have a Confederate Cemetery where the Ladies Auxillary hosts a memorial service every year on Memorial Day.

I decided to go to the service this year. I love history, I love this cemetery and I love to take pictures so it was a no-brainer. We're so fortunate that we live in this area where history is such a big part of the community.

And, before I get any hate mail, I am not debating the Rebel flag. I just wanted to take some pictures and attend a Memorial Day service.




I love the Civil War bullet in the cemetery.










Happy Memorial Day.

Obama Mama

Apparently, Owen wasn't the only professor*** this weekend.

Ken was also busy trying to teach Mary Mayken to say "Obama."

Well, she got it a few times but of course, when I go to videotape it, she decides that she's not going to perform on demand. Instead, this is what I got.



She's so cute. :)

***Owen decides to give Sheldon an anatomy lesson and pulls down his pants to show her his business. As an extra bonus, he then proceeds to describe humping.

Seriously? Humping. Yes, humping.

Son, we're southern but not that southern.

Of course, he denied it in his most Oweney fashion, screeching "I didn't do it, mom!" I didn't buy it for a minute!

And, yet, another lovely thing that he learned from his bff. He doesn't know what it means but thinks its funny.

And, yet, another conversation that I really hadn't prepared myself for with Owen quite yet.

Humping.

God. I need a drink.

Children's Humor

For once, I can honestly say that my boys didn't teach another child bad things to say. Usually, they do. This time...it was all her sister.

The kids have a song that they like to sing. It's part of a game where the kids sit in a circle with their feet inwards. Their feet are taken out of the middle of the song ends with their foot. Think "hot potatoe."

So, the song goes like this:

"Skunks in the barnyard, pewyew
Somebody did it, not you."

Well, Mary Mayken is just learning to talk so instead of singing the proper version, she sings this one:

"Skunks in the barnyard, poopy..." or

"Skunks in the barnyard, peepee...

They sing all of the words and let her insert the "pewyew/poopy" part.

And, as soon as Shane and Owen heard this version when they got home from school, they have relentlessly been trying to get her to sing it.

Over and over and over again.

And, then they break out into hysterics when she sings it because it's the funniest thing they've ever heard.

Every time.

I may lose my mind.

No. Scratch that. I'm sure that I'll lose my mind.

He's A Smartie

I haven't mentioned it here because I didn't want to jinx Shane.

He's been testing for the Focus program (the gifted program) for the last 3 months. It's been quite an ordeal. He took a 4 hour test (made 93, 95 and 97 on the three parts) and had to put together a portfolio of his work (writing samples, math samples, problem solving samples, etc.)

He asked to be tested (and by asked, I mean bugged his teacher and the Focus teacher every time he saw them.) They finally decided that he was ready.

For Shane, this was a major deal. If you know him, he's super cautious and doesn't like to put himself out there to fail.

He knew the risk/rewards and we talked extensively about the fact that he may not get into the program. He didn't care. He wanted to try. So, we said go for it.

Well, the review committee got together yesterday.

He was accepted!

He's going to be so excited and I'm excited for him.

I'm glad for him but this program has been so good for his self esteem. He's really become so much more confident in himself and is loving the work. He's not giving me a hard time anymore about his homework because he wants to do it. He likes the math challenges especially. Thank God because I'm so not good at math. Hopefully, he'll be able to help Owen. If he even needs it. Owen seems to be pretty good at math too. Again, thanking God!

He's already been participating in the program. They had to do a research project over a seven week period and had to interview an expert. His project was on Gems. He wanted to know what made gems their color and what made them valuable. It was a hard topic because it was extremely technical with regards to the chemistry involved in gem formations.

But, he got it and understood it and that's all that mattered. I, on the other hand, struggled to comprehend the chemistry. LOL. But, I was able to help him with the research and writing part. That, I can do.

From the Focus Festival:

Being interviewed by the school principal:



Just being cute. :)



Shane and his "friend" Josie, or Jo-Jo, as the kids are now calling her.



A birds-eye view of his project. It was a county wide festival with kids from all over the county. There were some amazing projects! The kids did a great job!

The One Good Thing...

The one good thing about where we live is how convenient it is to scoot up to Washington, DC for a day (or a 1/2 day) trip to the museums and sights. We like to go in the winter and off season to avoid the tourists.

I took the boys up to the Natural History Museum over Christmas break (because Disney just wasn't enough entertainment for them.)





Yeah...it was cold but there were NO tourists. :)

Ding Dong Ditching

Sounds kinda naughty, doesn't it? LOL.

I bet you did it when you were a kid.

I'm not sure that I did but I knew kids who did it.

I'm talking to Shane yesterday and he starts telling me that he and his houligan friends from the neighborhood have been ding dong ditching.

ME: What's ding dong ditching?

SHANE: You know what it is, mom. It's when you ring the door bell and run for the ditches. DING DONG DITCHING...get it, mom?

ME to myself: Resist the urge to snicker. Can not resist...

Shane continues on with his confession. Although, he doesn't yet realize that he's confessing to anything. He just keeps blabbering because he's all proud of himself.

SHANE: Yeah. It's me, Marcus and Rachel. But, it's mostly Marcus. We told him that he shouldn't run from the house into the middle of the cul-de-sac because then they'll see you. Instead, we told him to run to the side of the house - away from where the parents can see you.

ME: Well, that's true, son. Are you doing it too?

SHANE: Nope. I just watch the others.

Now, I'm thinking to myself, should I have this long drawn out conversation with him about following the crowd, doing what's right and lecturing him about not disturbing other people with that kind of stuff?

Nah. I decide that the fact that he's telling me what they're doing is far more valuable than that so I just tell him that they shouldn't be doing that.

Besides the fact, I'll tell my friend Emily (Rachel's mom) who will bust them doing it and then he won't feel betrayed and will keep telling on himself.

Or, better yet, I'll let them wake me up from my nap one Saturday or Sunday. THAT will teach them a lesson about doing that stuff.

So, if ya'll thought that Owen was my only juvenile delinquent, think again. Shane's just unassuming. He's the dangerous one - not Owen.

And, that's okay. I'll just reserve two spots in military school instead of one.

Adventures of the Jeep, Part 2

According to my brother-in-law Wilson, they "work cheap but not so well."

And, we shall title these pictures "At The Car Wash"

Check out the detailing work that Sheldon is doing. I wonder if she charges extra for that.



And, Mary Mayken obviously understands that a fresh towel is essential to a semi-clean car.



All Together Now:

At the car wash
Talkin' about the car wash yeah!
Come on and sing it for me car wash.
Car wash yeah!

I have a feeling that this won't be the last time that you'll see the Jeep showcased here. It certainly isn't the first.

It's Official - Mondays are Off the Calendar!

Well, it's official. All Mondays have been stricken off the calendar. I realize that it's probably going to throw the universe off course but that's the price the world will have to pay.

My Monday started on Sunday actually. I decided that I needed to go to the doctor becuase I thought that I had a nasty sinus infection. My head was pounding for a few days, my throat started hurting and then my ears started. If I went to the doctor, you know it was bad.

The doctor takes one look at my throat and declares I've got strept. I guess no test was needed.

I go to the pharmacy and they only have 3/4 of the pills that I need. So, I have to go back.

Then I get home and look at the prescription and it's only twice a day. Great. I am horrible - no HORRIBLE - at remembering to take meds so this is awesome.

Until I open up the bottle and see some horse pills waiting for me. Seriously. They're the size of a quarter. I measured the pill against the quarter. Perfect fit.

Why would you prescrible a pill that big to someone with strept throat?

Oh well...fast forward to Monday.

Owen and Shane, as usual, totally have their listening ears on. NOT. They've only been home for 30 minutes and they've already been sent to their rooms.

Oh...and then I start my monthly. OF COURSE.

So, I decide to order pizza. After 10 minutes of telling them to get ready and another 10 of trying to find Owen's shoes, we go bee-bopping down the road to get the pizza and I see my friend and stop to apologize for canceling out on Drunko on Friday night. (Bunko=Drunko)

She glosses over it and proceeds to tell me that I need to ask Owen about the deal that he made on the bus with XXXX for a calculator.

I thought it was weird that she didn't hardly say anything about Drunko. THAT it and of itself should have been a big red flag.

So, I drive off and immediately the protesting and tears start in the back.

Great. THIS should be a good one.

Well...5 minutes of "I'M NOT TELLING YOU, MOM!" and me responding "OH WELL...THEN I'LL CALL KATIE AND WILL ASK HER" went by and he finally told me.

Apparently, he had told XXXX that he would give him my calculator (MINE - not HIS) if XXXX would pull his pants down on the bus.

I can't even freaking believe that I'm typing that.

Seriously. So, then we had 45 more minutes of drama dealing with why he shouldn't be doing that. The only thing that I can think of is that his other BFF showed him his undies when Owen was over there and Owen must have thought it was funny.

In the middle of all of this chaos (and my pizza is getting cold, by the way), Shane says "MOM...will this ruin my reputation too because of what Owen did?"

Then he proceeds to say that he doesn't want his friends parents to not let them play with him because his brother can't keep his pants up.

GROAN.

So, then I had to remind Shane about the time he was Owen's age in Kindergarten when he pulled down his pants (undies and all) to his girlfriend and I found out about it when my friend called and told me that she sent her daughter over for dinner, not dinner and a show.

Very conveniently, he did not remember this incident.

So...I was in the classroom today and the child who Owen dared to pull down his pants on the bus asked if Owen got grounded for a week or not. And then all the kids around him started talking about it.

Well, maybe it will shame Owen into keeping his pants up and not enticing others to take their pants off.

Seriously. Am I really writing this?

The boys ended up getting put in bed around 7:50 or so for other violations (fighting with each other, kicking each other in the penises (that seems to be their target area these days to hurt each other), slamming doors and general mouthiness.

I hope that you will agree with me that Mondays should be cancelled. 4-EVAR.

Little Pink Shoes...

Little pink shoes, oh how I loved you the first time I saw you.



How I so wished that they made cute little pink shoes like that for big girls. Like my age big girls.

But, no...they just make them for cute little girls like you.



So I guess that I will have to settle on your mom sending them with you when I keep you.

And, yes, you will wear them every day. Along with any other pink clothes that your mom sends.

Because Shane and Owen protest too loudly when I even joke with them about putting pink on them. See...they're no fun like that. But you? You don't care. You just run around making messes and as long as I can catch you, and keep you down for a few seconds to dress you, I can put whatever I want on you.

Cause you're fun like that! ;)