Happy Birthday Tyler!

On Friday, October 30, Tyler turned 14.

He was very happy I didn't force him to choose a cake this year. You see, Tyler is a weird child. He doesn't much care for cake. This year I made him something I knew he would enjoy...a donut and Rice Krispie treats tower!



Here he is with his new MacBook. He was so happy and surprised!

Scenes from 2009 Cross Country season

The Runnin' Colenels

The boys starting line

The girls' team pre-race ritual

Tyler, my superstar!


Ra-ra, my bulldog!

Tyler, always ready to run!

Rachel, always ready for fun!

Tattoos before the race....

Hanging with her girls after the race!

This girl gives her ALL every time!

Probably the most exciting finish of the season!
Tyler and one of his good friends, Holden battle it out for 5th place.
There was a ONE SECOND difference between them!

Washing off in a puddle! This was the muddiest season we have ever endured. Every race was muddy. This one was especially dirty and the coach asked them all to wash off before boarding the bus.
G-R-O-S-S!!!

Copy-cat!

I'm copying part of my sister's post this morning!

Michelle posted a funny story about waking up from a nap confused last night. She frantically called me. This was our conversation...

M: "I am so sorry"
J: "Why, What's wrong?"
M: "I am supposed to be there... You're party. It's Friday.. I am so sorry"
J: "No it's not..."
M: "What"
J: "It's Thursday Michelle"
M: "Oh, oh yeah, that's right"
J: "Did you fall asleep?"
M: "Yeah at like 7:30, and just woke up... That really sucks that it's only Thursday"
J: laughing "Yeah, now you have to go back to bed and go to work tomorrow..."

What a dork! But seriously, do you ever wake up from naps confused like that? I can't really remember a time that I have done that, BUT...

Mr. T is the best at waking up confused! He has been like this his whole life. When he was little he would stumble around like a zombie after a nap! As he's gotten older, he talks about some really crazy things as he's waking up. He once told me to be quiet or I would be arrested for treason. WHAT?!?! It's great for a good laugh now and then! Just this past Tuesday he had another of his "episodes." I told this story to Michelle to make her feel better and now I'm going to share it with all of you...you know, just for a laugh!

Tuesday afternoon T and R had a track meet after school that lasted until about 8:00. We stopped at McDonald's to pick up dinner for everyone (hey, it's no big deal, it not like we had McD for dinner the night before...cough, cough). After dinner, I sent R to the shower and T headed to his room. I said, "Do NOT go to sleep, you have to take a shower tonight!" His response, "I won't." At 10:00, I headed upstairs to out the girls to bed (yes, I still "put" my kids to bed even though they're teenagers!) I went into T's room to send him to the shower. Of course, the boy was as snug as a bug, asnooze in his bed. Here is the conversation we had...

J: "MR T! I told you not to go to sleep!"
T: "I'm not asleep"
J: "Wake up and go get a shower!"
T: "OK"
J: "MR T! Wake up! You have to take a shower tonight!"
T: "OK, I'm just gonna wait a little while."
J: "Wait a little while for what?"
T: "I'm just gonna wait until my mom comes up here."
J: "I AM your mom and you need to get up!"
............... (no response)
J: "T! Get up!"
T: "Huh? What? What's going on?"
J: "I AM your mother and you need to take a shower!"
T: "GRRRR! YOU ARE SO WEIRD!" and he goes to the bathroom and slams the door.

Yes, he actually growled at me! And no, he did not take a shower. I think he just sat in the bathroom for a few minutes. He then proceeded to go back to bed! At 11:30, he came downstairs for a drink of water and had no recollection of our previous encounter! "Hey Mom, I fell asleep. I'll just take a shower in the morning," and back to bed he went.

What a goof! Like I said, he's good for a laugh! Now, let's hope he doesn't growl at me once he sees that I posted this story!

The Lamest Super Bowl Party of All Time

I'm a little late, but I just Had to share the some pictures from our Awesome Super Bowl party last Sunday!

Jim got his Keg-a-rator just in time for the big game!

And with the HD TV, it was like we were actually there!

Except...

You know, we weren't really into the game!

"Go Steelers!"

"What did I do to deserve this???"

Share a Smile Saturday

This week's video was made by my boys!

Yes, they belong to me. Don't ask me how they come up with stuff. And don't ask me why I think they're funny! They made this video at about 3 am one morning during the summer. They were sharing a room while we stayed in Florida during July. It's probably a good thing they don't share a room here at home!




Hey, why don't you share a smile with me! I love watching silly YouTube videos! Feel free to use my video choice on your blog if you want to participate and don't have the time to look one up.

Here's how it works...

1. Write and publish a Share a Smile Saturday post on your own blog.

2. In your post, mention my original Share a Smile Saturday post and link back to my blog.

3. Come back here and use Mr Linky by adding your name and the URL linking people directly to your Share a Smile Saturday post.

Candies and cookies!

Tuesday
I worked up a storm in the kitchen. I made a lot of new things and some old favorites. I have a few more cookies and some brownies and cupcakes to make, probably Thursday. For now, here are some pics of what I've created thus far!

The old standby...and Santa's favorite!

These are M&M cookies. I tried a new recipe using a yellow cake mix and oatmeal!

A family tradition.
It's white bark, chow mein noodles and peanuts.
I think some people call them Haystacks.
My kids named them "Snow Junk"

Dark chocolate truffles. Extremely RICH!

These are called Pecan clusters, a recipe by Paula Deen.
I'm not too impressed with them.
They are made with Hershey kisses. See...

I have been trying to make fudge for years and it never turns out right. This year, though, I think I did it! This has been my favorite treat I've made so far. It's smooth and decadent!


Besides the obvious reasons (Mmm!) I liked doing all this baking and cooking because it gave me a chance to catch up on my reading!


Today
I went on a field trip with Mr.T. We saw A Christmas Carol at Actor's Theatre of Louisville. The play was good, but Mr. T was not feeling well. When we returned to school, he got sick (yes, GOT, sick) so I brought him home and he slept the rest of the afternoon. I just took his temp and it is 101.2. Obviously, he's taken some medicine and is still in bed. Hopefully it's just a 24-hour bug.

Random Thanksgiving thoughts and pics!

Happy Halloween!

When I got home from school on Friday, Big Daddy had decorated the house for Trick or Treaters. He did a wonderful job! We don't usually wait until the last minute, but BD wanted to do a graveyard, and all the tombstones kept blowing away in the wind, so we had to leave it for Halloween night. Of course, not one tombstone blew away over the weekend!

Of course, we dressed up. The kids were with their mother this year and Mr. T chose not to Trick or Treat so this was for all the kids who stopped by. Yep...all 10 of them!

T was a character I believe he called "Big Pimpin!"

The afro and goatee were incredibly realistic!

Big Daddy was something scary. I don't know..a crypt-keeper, a ghoul, an evil magician. Whatever it was there was one little girl who refused to come get her candy from him!

And me? Well, TA-DA! I was Wonder Woman!

Well, alright, her chubby kid sister, maybe???