Stonehenge, Crop Circles and Decorator Boy

Stonehenge has got nothing on us. Crop circles ---- whatever. Mysterious appearances of the unusual happen worldwide. Our home is not immune to this phenomenon. What you see below started to appear around our house over the weekend.

Between the furniture, under a low window.

On the pantry door leading to the garage.

On the side of the kitchen cabinets.

What could be causing this?

It's him! Decorator Boy. What is he decorating for, you ask? Silly reader, Halloween, of course. Doesn't everyone with good taste decorate for Halloween in January? His mom and dad suggested Valentine's Day might be more apropos. Decorator Boy would hear of no such foolishness. Halloween is it, so folks, we are all decked out with ghosts, goblins and all manner of scary beings nine months early.

Go Decorator Boy, Go!

These Things Happen in Threes

So they say that deaths come in threes. And it does seem to happen that way sometimes. Particularly celebrity deaths that everyone is aware of. Suzanne Pleshette, Heath Ledger (tragic) -- who will be next?

Sadly, dying in groups of three also seems to apply to appliances and other necessities of our house. Two years ago, our refrigerator, the water heater and the microwave all kicked the bucket in a two-week time frame.

This week:

1. Our nine-year old dryer quit heating two days after Christmas. We had it repaired and two hours later, it was doing the same thing. It was repaired again and it's been working better than ever for the last three weeks. Guess it gave one final push before the end. We thought about repairing it again, but then decided to cut our losses and buy a new one.

2. The van (that Tim drives) has been making an engine noise that can only be described as "definitely not normal" for quite some time. Tim says it sounds like a wind-up toy. It also had a safety recall, so we took it to the dealer last week for that work and then back again a couple of days ago for them to look at the engine. We found out that, yeah, basically the whole engine needs to be replaced (BAD), but it's covered under the powertrain warranty with only a $100 deductible. (GOOD!) We're renting a car for the rest of this week.

What will be next?

Be Afraid --- Be Very Afraid

Don't let the smile fool you. This is a SCARY person. Be afraid. Lane got his ACTUAL driver's license yesterday afternoon. He can now drive ALONE in a real car on real roads with lots of other real people. This is your warning ----if you drive in our area, watch out. While he has had driving school, driving time and lots of instruction, he is a 16-year old boy after all! Be afraid, be VERY afraid. I am afraid and it only partially involves the increase in my car insurance. Pray for us and don't let the smile fool you.

Lola Gets Mail

When Tim & I picked up the mail today, there was a surprise. Lola got a letter in the mail -- addressed to her and everything. It was from her vet. It's always nice to know your vet is competent, caring AND has a sense of humor.

Here is the text of the letter for your amusement:

Dear Lola,

Teenage pregnancy is on the rise! Don't let this happen to you. Perhaps it is time you talked to Lorna about being spayed. Now don't be alarmed, Lola! This is a routine surgery, and if you are in the clinic by 8:00 a.m. with an empty stomach, you can have the surgery and be back in the comfort of your home by that evening. And just think of all the benefits...no more messy heat cycles, no unwanted litters,
no uterine infections, and less chance of such health problems as mammary tumors
as you grow older.

Tell Lorna that this is the most important health care decision to be made during your lifetime and that you aren't afraid. You and Lorna should also feel free to visit our surgical facilities any time. Call us to set up an appointment or if you have any
questions at XXX-XXXX.

Sincerely,

XXX

We haven't yet had the sex ed. talk with Lola. I guess it's time.

And Now a Birthday Post from Mommy

That was then.....

3 lb., 15 oz./ 16 1/2 inches long/ 6 weeks premature

This is now....

I love you the whole wide world and then some, Reed.

Love,

Mommy

Pink Spiderman Cake + Presents

If you read the previous post on making cupcakes, you will know we have been baking fools. When Reed wanted homemade cupcakes, he asked for them to have cherry frosting. Now being the enlightened father that I am, I steered him away from taking PINK cupcakes to his kindergarten class (would he live that down by high school?) However, when asked about cake for home, he replied again that he wanted cherry icing with Batman on top. OK --- Pink cake with Batman. As the artistic father, YES, I can do that. Upon going to our local HEB Plus (my new favorite place to date my wife), there was NO Batman to be found. BUT, there was the ever present Spiderman who always serves and protects. Sooooo, drumroll please.....................................here is PINK, Spiderman cake for a sixth birthday!

Here is our after party once we had devoured luscious, healthy Long John's Silver's. Check out the pile of presents --- can we say "SCORE" for the six-year old.

Rip that paper boy! You're not a blue-hair yet!

Gram and Granddad got us a BIG box.


Let's all dance to the Shrek musical card................ we dance, put on your red shoes and dance........Lorna, you got the moves, Babe. Lane you dancing studmuffin, you! Maren is tooooo cool for dancing shoes plus she is sore from athletics after sitting on the couch for two weeks.

Reed concludes his after party with a round of learning games on his new V-Tech laptop from his Gram and Granddad. It comes with a laptop bag too. What is up with the toy industry these days? I'm sure our after party will be covered on Page Six. Reed is ready for his close-up. Thanks to all who loaded up our big boy with presents.

Birthday Lunch

Since I was "off" today from school, I got to have lunch with the Reedster at school. Interesting fact: Happy Meals are not made at Mickey D's before 10:30 a.m. This is a REAL challenge to make a 10:45 a.m. kindergarten lunch ------ but, I did it. See the chicken nuggets to prove it. Of course, the Bionical Toy in said Happy Meal was WAY more interesting at lunch than Dad. I'm not hurt Reed, really........

Love the eyes, dude! Reed takes after his very photo impaired brother who is only now at 16 getting out of the awkward photo stage. Gotta love six-year olds though! The birthday saga continues this evening at Long John Silvers --- Reed really is a cheap date. I do like that though!

The world is tough and then there are cupcakes! A Kindergarten Cooking Lesson

The world is tough and then there are cupcakes! Here is a kindergarten cooking lesson for those of you who are not practiced in the kitchen. Tomorrow is Reed's 6th birthday and he wanted to help make cupcakes for his class. The world is rough when you make your own birthday cupcakes ---- check out the process!

Start with a cute kid and all the right ingredients.

Carefully pour the box mix into the bowl. Be careful not to spill - we have 18 hungry kindergartners to feed, thank you very much.

Add oil and then water.

Dad, can you help me crack the eggs and quit taking my picture?

Mix, mix, mix ---- doesn't this look like a recipe for disaster? Steady there, big fella.

Pour the mix into cute paper birthday cup liners.

Watch them in the oven. Don't forget your fashionable beads donned for the event.
After cooling, it's time to frost. Future 6 year olds don't frost very well. Take my word for it. They also have a problem with licking stuff that we are gonna feed others ---- what? You gotta a problem with hygiene? We all SHARE in kindergarten.
Sprinkling the top is a much better job for the future 6 year old boy child. Voila! Cupcakes for 18. Happy Birthday, Reed!