Teenie Tidbits

Although I am currently not working, I feel like I am so busy that instead of blogging, I blog daily in my head and make mental notes of things that I want to write about, then I forget about them until something else pops up and then I remember the long list of  blog worthy material and I continue to add.   And so it goes. Not very productive, I know but that is the way it is!

A few weeks ago,  Dicky and I went on a long walk along the lakefront.  We live in a beautiful area and are lucky enough to have the shore of Lake Michigan in our backyard.  There is nothing more peaceful then walking along the path and listening to the boats and the waves.  We really enjoy it.  As we walked, we approached a very plain looking woman with frizzy black hair wearing glasses that were too big for her face and a tattered tie dyed sweatshirt.  She was walking a large standard sized poodle (ewwww) and was stopped while the dog was doing her business.  When we got closer, we heard the lady talking to the dog.  Now, that is not so strange, as a lot of people talk to their dogs, me included, but as we walked directly passed her, she looked up at us and giggled a little.  She then said, “Ohhh…she just had the most beautiful bowel movement!”  I looked over at Mr. T. ..And then I gagged.  We could not believe what we just heard.  It stunned me into silence and as anyone in my family would attest to, just discussing something like that will make my eyes start to water and I will start feeling like I just might throw up.  I had to put it out of my head for the remainder of the walk for fear that I just might lose my lunch right there on the sidewalk.  What a strange lady.  What in the world is her life like if she finds such beauty in such a vile, disgusting thing?  Hmmmmm…..

Global warming.  The whole topic makes me cringe a bit.  I am not so sure I have an opinion either way, but right now in the state of Wisconsin, I am pretty sure there is no such thing.  Last night at the fire works, we all wore jeans, sweatshirts and had a blanket.  The kids were amused by the fact that they could actually see their breath!  In July!  If there is such a thing as global warming, why is it so freakin’ cold in July?  Ya see what I mean??  I don’t get it!  Hmmmmm…..

I did it.  I was actually that Mom.  I marched in two parades yesterday with Boy #1 and his band.  I wore the band t-shirt and had two squirt bottles filled with ice water to squirt the kids as we marched.  Luckily, it was a global warming mild 65 degrees with overcast skies so no one fainted or got so overheated in their black polyesther pants with long sleeve, heavy polyester coat.  It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  There are  some overbearing parents that never were in band and are now living vicariously through there kids and like to be in charge.  Of everything.   I get so amused at their sense of importance.  I so enjoy these functions, not only to hang out with my very cool, trombone playing kid, but to also people watch some of these parents.    All in all, the day was great and the band kids are for the most part, really great kids.  I only had a few sitting with me in the back of the band bus that made me feel like I wish I had a roll of duct tape.  You know, if I could get away with it, I may have taped a few mouths shut.  One boy in particular was soannoying.  I wondered where his mom was?  Is he so rude and disruptive all of the time, or only when his parents are no where in sight?  Does  his mother know he acts like this?  I think every kid that behaves in such a matter should be required to bring a parent on every single field trip.   Or maybe they know their kid is obnoxious and they stay far away on purpose?  Hmmmm…..

I love the Fourth of July.  I love what it means.  Essentially, I love all birthdays and America’s birthday is no different.  I love red, white and blue, I love fireworks, I love sparklers and I love picnics.  So after the long day of marching in two parades and after a quick stop for an ice cream cone,  Boy #1 and I came home, took showers and started to pack up for our night.  I made a huge picnic of sandwiches, fruit, crackers and cheese, pickles, dip, and even jello.  We loaded up my picnic cooler with very cute plates and utensils, a few ice packs and juice boxes for the kids.  Mr. T. loaded another cooler with “juice boxes” for the adults.  We put the bug spray, a blanket, a football and frisbee and lawn chairs in the wagon and we were on our way.  We went to the lakefront where there was live music and we staked out our spot.  We had a great dinner, just the four of us and listened to patriotic music.  When we finished our picnic, the boys started playing football and I got some great action shots of the fun.  It is such a good feeling to see and hear my children play a game together and get along with each other.  They were so happy and it made me so happy.  Here are some fun photos of the night:

We had such a nice time, even though it was freezing!  Once the fireworks were over, we started packing up the lawn chairs, coolers and blakets and loaded up the wagon to head for home.  It was dark, but I noticed my boys picking up some trash.  At first, I thought they were our cans, but I knew that we did not drink that much!  Boy #1 had an arm full of cans and bottles.  He proceeded to walk to the overflowing trash can and dumped them all in.  I did not say anything, but was touched that my kid was kind enough and cared enough clean up a mess, even though it did not belong to us.  As we walked home, we chatted about people littering the park and my boy said to me, “ I think it is really sad that a twelve year old and a nine year old have to clean up after a bunch of adults, who should know better.”   I agreed with him and I was also really proud at that moment that they were my kids.   How is it that two kids are more concerned with their neighborhood park than the adults that were also there?  Hmmmmm……

And finally, today is Mr. T.’s Birthday.  His 40th Birthday!  Although we celebrated earlier this week, I think the actual birthday needs to be recognized as well, so the boys and I will make a cake and we will have a late lunch together.  Both kids have baseball games tonight, so Mr. T. will spend his 40th birthday coaching his kids.  I think there is no better way to spend it, don’t ya think?