Remember When I Could Remember Stuff?

Me, either.  I can't remember stuff.  Case and point.....a run down of this past week's events......

Monday--Valentine's Day.  You might remember that I teach 8 and 9 year-olds.  Valentine's Day on a Monday.  It should always be scheduled on a Friday.  Anyway, then we had a home basketball make-up game.

Tuesday---Day After Valentine's Day.  You might remember that I teach 8 and 9 year-olds.  Valentine's Day on a Monday.  It should always be scheduled on a Friday.  Day one of double big pop day.  Another home basketball game.

Wednesday--2 days After Valentine's Day.  You might remember that I teach 8 and 9 year-olds.  Valentine's Day on a Monday.  It should always be scheduled on a Friday.  Day 2 of double big pop day.   They called from church asking if I could bring a cake for a funeral dinner on Friday.  They were expecting 200 people and needed 12 cakes.  Sure, no problem.  Ladies Function at MY house.  Enter full moon phase.

Thursday--3 days After Valentine's Day.  You might remember that I teach 8 and 9 year-olds.  Valentine's Day on a Monday.  It should always be scheduled on a Friday.  A one big pop day but copious amounts of Tylenol and Advil.  Singing Boy had a choir concert which was completely awesome but for some reason I didn't take my camera, so I have zero footage.  My mother-of-the-year nomination is in danger of being revoked.  I remember that I need a cake for church on Friday and I tell my Favorite Third Child to remind me to make a cake when we get home.

Friday--4 days After Valentine's Day.  You might remember that I teach 8 and 9 year-olds.  Valentine's Day on a Monday.  It should always be scheduled on a Friday.  Full moon.  As I am driving out of the driveway at 7:53, I realize that I need a cake for church TODAY.  My church lady-of-the-year nomination is in danger of being revoked.   I start through the list of people whom I could call to make a cake on the fly for me to take to church.  Wait.  I have cupcakes in the freezer from my Ladies Function.  Gourmet cupcakes, no less.  Problem solved.  Seriously, I was ready for my second big pop at 9:20.  I leave on my plan at 10:40, come home and tray my 28 cupcakes, take them to church (nomination appears to still be intact) and stop for my second big pop.  Continue through my first 5 day school week since sometime in January.  Away basketball game.  Granted, it was my choice to attend.

Combine all of this with a stupid cold and the inability to sleep.......And finally it's the weekend.

Really, the kids were very good all week considering it was Valentine's day on a Monday, 5 days of school in a row and a full moon.

It's the grown-ups that had issues.

Just sayin'.

Ladies Function

Wednesday night was my turn to host my bunco group....or my Ladies Function.  Our group began meeting in October 2000 and have met every month since then on the third Wednesday.  We have had one time that was canceled due to a death in the hostess' family, but other than that we have met to eat, laugh and play a lil' bunco.

11 of us are original members.  Pretty amazing, huh?  We are from all walks of life and at different stages of children, grandchildren, houses, cars and aging parents. 

I was pretty excited to host because it meant I could use these:

My snack sets!!  I bought 2 sets of them about 18 months ago at an estate sale.  I think I must be an old soul.....I real affinity for old fashioned traditions.  These snack sets remind me of going to Ladies' Functions with my great grandma at church and then with my grandma to Ladies' Functions. 

They are in the original box and in excellent shape.

I was short 4 sets.  My friend, Kyle, whose rockin' hot wife posts here.....and his super sister in law posts here......helped me out.   It seems as though one time he went to an auction being held by a church that was disbanding and he bought himself some snack sets.  Why?  Well, I guess nobody else was buying them, so he did.  I knew he had them and had once told me I could borrow them anytime.  When I called, he was out of town, so his lovely wife helped me out.

When she called him to ask him where he was keeping them, he told her that I could just keep them for my very own because he felt like it would repay my son for all his help with Kyle's blackberry/crackberry issues from a few months back.  I am not sure my son was as pleased with the snack set payment, but I was.

And as luck would have it, the set I borrowed and then got to keep, matches my snack sets.  I now have 12 matching snack sets.  It's the little things that keep me going.....

I had several plans in mind for my Ladies Function, but finally hit upon making a dessert bar.   I made pumpkin cake cupcakes and banana bar cupcakes.  Cream cheese frosting.  Enough said.

I really like the pumpkin ones, but I think that the banana ones were just OK.  Kind of dry, maybe over baked and certainly not as good as Kyle's wife makes as a cake.

I also made cut out sugar cookies, snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies.

I made brownies with frosting and decided that a bunch of ladies on a sugar high probably needed some balance so I had some lil' smokies in bbq sauce, cheese and crackers, veggies and grapes.  It was a decent spread.

My friend, Teresa, was generous enough to let me take a picture of her food on the snack set.....

Bonus for me, I was the big winner for most losses.  NOT a surprise to anyone who has been playing any game with me.  Just sayin'.

Smart Like That

So those of you who know me pretty darn well know that I married an amazing man.  I don't always appreciate how many things he does for me WITHOUT even being asked.  Case and point.....it was my turn to host my bunco group.  12 hungry ladies who throw a mean die.  I have had a nasty cold and was functioning at a low level.  He cleaned my kitchen, he cleaned the bathroom, he came home early and just jumped in.  He did dishes afterward. 

And he still had time to write this awesome post......go ahead.  It's worth your minutes. 

Whose name is on your foot? 

More on my ladies function....even have some pictures....just sayin'. 

Pep Squad Girl and Singing Boy

Tonight the Tiger Chorale sang the National Anthem at the last regular season home game......



And the Pep Squad had a little half time performance......



And yes, I am hosting a ladies function at my house on Wednesday evening and should be cooking and cleaning, but I am posting videos of my Favorite Twins and trying to see how late I can stay up and still teach third grade....just sayin'.

Today is the Day

44 years ago I graced the world with my presence and my mother with her favorite child.  I was born on a Thursday (you know they say about Thursday's Child) at noon.  Knees first, upside down, weighing 8 pounds and 15 ounces.  Needless to say, I was 3 weeks overdue and she was very glad to see me.  And most of the time, I think she still is glad to see me. I am her favorite child, but my brother is in charge of her. 

44 years old.  Here I am at about 4 months old, maybe.  My mother didn't write on the back of this photo.  I think I had a huge head.  Isn't my mother beautiful?

And this is my favorite picture:

 I am 6 months old in this picture.  My mom has a big picture of this at her house.  Hers might be in color, too.  I am sure that my mom or my grandma made this dress for me to wear.  It was blue with little white polka dots.  The polka dots were raised up on the fabric--I know there is a name for this kind of fabric--but I cannot think of it.  I love my expression and how my eyes are 'talking' to someone.  And how about that hair?  I rocked hair. 

In the past 44 years, I have seen some changes......

Yellow rotary phones attached to the wall with a short cord....beige push button phones sitting on a table with a long cord.....then cordless phones.....and finally cell phones.

Movies at the movie theater.  First movie I can remember seeing?  Bedknobs and Broomsticks at the Fox Theater in Hutchinson, KS.  Then vcr's.  And dvd's.  And movies now?  I am watching one right now on my ipod.



One TV with channels 2 thru 12.  And my used-to-be stepdad (praise God for the used to be part) was in charge of what we watched, but we got to turn the channel by hand when he wanted a different channel.

We got cable TV when I was in third grade.  Pretty darn amazing invention.  Now, my house has 5 TV's.  Seriously.  And we never just sit and watch TV.  We watch something we have dvr'd and can fast forward thru the commercials.  And TV shows are online and on Netflix and sold in box sets at Target.

My sophomore year in high school, I looked like this:

 I rocked hair.  This is the year I could drive legally.  Date.   And I got a job at the grocery store. 

I turned 18 in 1985.  That was a big deal.  At that point in the world, 18-year-olds could legally enter adult beverage establishments and consume adult beverages.   Legally, people.  That was something I could do until July 1, 1985 when the law changed and you had to be 19.  So, yes, I was caught in that gap.....legal for 6 months, then not so much. 

HHS Graduation, May 1985

I began to teach in 1992.  My first 'teacher' picture......

Rows of desks.  Quiet children.  Worksheets.  Hours of grading papers.  Married parents.  No computers, no cell phones.  Flash forward a quick 19 years.....no rows.  No quiet children....I want to see kids in action--working together, talking and solving problems with others.  Not so many worksheets.  Not so many married parents--that's another post.  A computer for every kid and last week, we had a book bag 'ringing' in the third grade.

I think that when I was a little girl, I thought everything would stay the same.  I never really thought about the day my grandparents wouldn't be there or that I wouldn't be able to pick up the phone and hear my Grandma's voice.  Or that I might not live in the same house on the same block forever.  That the world might Change. That things wouldn't be the same and yet, would be the same. 

Change.  Changes in my blood pressure.  Changes in my children.  Changes in my heart...real and emotional.  I never really thought anybody lived past 40 when I was a little girl.  Who knew I would live to be 44 years old?  And when I think of my mom at 44, I was 24 and College Girl was 1.  When my grandma was 44, I was one.  I think I am OK not having a one year old grandchild right now.

Yesterday when I renewed my drivers license, the Courthouse Lady looked right at me and said, "It's good for 6 years!"  Yeah, do the math on that one.  I'll be 50.  Just imagine the changes.


I always have loved my birthday and today was no different.  And next year will be the same and every year after that....it's my day....nobody can take it from me. 

A birthday does a body good.  Just sayin'.