Tagged

Yes, I have been tagged.  I now am going to tell you 6 quirky things about myself.  

1.  I cannot sleep in an unmade bed.  Even if I change the sheets right before bedtime, I have to completely make the bed (make sure the sheets, blanket and comforter are all pulled right to the top) and then I neatly fold it back.  This drives Rocky crazy.  

2.  I am very particular about how I do dishes.  I didn't know that this was weird, I thought everyone did dishes like this.  My soapy water stays clean.  I do not put any dish with any kind of food in my soapy water.  No chunks, nothing.  This is just common sense to me.  But after seeing many other people do dishes, I realize this is not the case.  I also do not put a lot of stuff in the dishwasher.  Sharp knives, pots, pans, etc. do not go in the dishwasher.  They are washed by hand (in my clean soapy water).  I also HAVE to wear dish gloves.  No question about it.  Rocky's mom gets a kick out of my dish rules.  She breaks ALL of them.

3.  Certain foods on my plate are not allowed to touch.  I don't mind if my steamed veggies touch my meat or sauce.  But salad and rolls need to stay separate (preferably on a separate plate).  As do eggs and pancakes (and waffles and french toast).  

4.  It drives me crazy to let my kids wear uncoordinated outfits.  I don't mean they have to match each other, but individually I want their shirt, pants, skirt, shoes, etc. to match.  Luckily Ciara is very into matching, so I don't have to fight her on this very much.  But when Rocky dresses the kids, I have an overwhelming urge to redress them.  

5.  All my clothes are organized by color.  I have different sections for shirts, dresses and pants and skirts, but within those categories they are organized by color.  And the colors have to flow.  Red becomes purple become blue becomes green becomes brown.  

6.  I count things.  When I am on stairs, I count the steps.  I count how many swipes when I put my deodorant on.  I am almost always counting in my head.  This one makes me sound a little crazy.

Disturbing

Yesterday, Ciara went to play at a classmates house. This just happened to be a boy. This boy is one that kisses her in class. I was a little hesitant to send her there, because of the kissing, but I decided that they are just kids, and kissing isn't all that bad. When she got home, we asked if she had fun, which she did. But then she proceeds to tell me that the boy (who shall remain nameless) kept "poking her gina." (Gina is her word for vagina). This really disturbed me. I didn't know how to respond when she said that. I asked her if she told him to stop, and she said she did, but he wouldn't stop, so she finally went and told his mom. I am very proud of how she handled this, but still did not like that she had to do that in the first place. Why would he do that? I know that kids will be kids, but where do I draw the line? In my head, that was over the line. To be fair, I just finished a book about a child who is molested by a priest, so maybe I am just being sensitive to this. But it bothers me. I really don't want to her play at his house anymore. I am worried that his mom is going to ask again if she can come over, and I want to say no. How do I do that without creating a situation? Yes, my daughter's safety comes first and I guess honesty is the best policy. But is there a better way to say, "No, your son poked my daughter's vagina, and I would rather that not happen again."? That just sounds weird. I can't tell her that until her son learns some manners, Ciara will no longer be going there. This needs to be handled delicately, and I don't think I know how to do that. Any suggestions?

NKOTB 4EVER

Yes, I am a big dork. NKOTB (or New Kids on the Block for those of you not as cool as me) was last night, and it was so fun. Words cannot describe the thrill I felt watching these MEN (no longer the boys of the past) sing songs from my childhood. The New Kids were the first band I ever loved. I was so crazy over them from when I was 9 until I was 12 or 13. Joey Mac was my first love. My sister and I decided to go really retro, and got dressed 80's style. We made our own t-shirts (her said "On fire for Joey MacIntyre" and mine read "Before Justin there was Joey"), wore turquoise eyeshadow, lots of blush, hot pink lipstick, and rainbow socks. We looked hot.

I can remember wearing my hair like this. Well, not exactly like this. My bangs were much larger. My BFF at the time (Sarah P.) had the best bangs. I remember one school picture where her bangs were actually cut off by the camera. I was so jealous.

I have some NKOTB CD's that we listen to on the way to dinner before the concert. We decided to eat at a South American restaurant in WVC, hoping that in our 80's gear we might fit in on the west side. We still got lots of funny looks. But I was craving some Colombian empanadas (which they were out of, damn them). They did have jugo de lulo, which made me happy.

Then we made our way to the concert (listening to NKOTB the whole time). I thought we might run into some more 80's people, but we really didn't. There was one lady in line that was totally 80's, but I think she dressed like that everyday. We also saw some mullets, and I hope that they didn't cut their hair like that just for the concert (although I also don't hope they think that is a fetching hairstyle). We were so excited sitting in the arena.

Lady Gaga was the first to come out. I am not familiar with her, but she was OK. Not someone I would recommend. Then Natasha Bedingfield was next. I really enjoyed her. And then . . .

I could barely contain my excitement. In all the jumping around, I lost one of my large hoop earrings. For the next few hours, I became 11 again. NKOTB was the first concert I ever attended (we lived in Tulsa at the time). I forgot that I was married and had children. I truly felt like I had gone back in time. For all the old songs they sang, they choreography was also the same. I remember the dances and everything from the first concert, and it was all the same, which made me so happy! I also enjoyed their new songs, but sang every original song at the top of my lungs. My throat kind of hurts today. One thing that was different was how the guys looked on stage. I enjoyed the first concert, and they did great, but they were much more serious. This time, they looked like they were enjoying themselves. When they would start to do one of the old songs, I would see Jordan and Jonathan kind of smile and laugh. I could almost hear them thinking, "Can you believe we are doing this again?" It made me happy to see them being silly. I do still love Joey, but when Jordan took his shirt off, I had to admit that he still has a pretty hot body for an old guy. I was also pleased that Joey and Jordan sang the singles they came out with a few years ago (does anyone else remember those songs? I have them on CD!).

I don't think I can say much more about the night (except we couldn't remember where we parked the car, and it took us a while to find it). I had such a good time, and wish I could relive it again. I am still a huge New Kids fan. Here is a picture for all you Donny fans (Tiina), one for me (I LOVE JOEY), and some clips of the concert for you to enjoy:

The first clip is of my favorite song, "Please Don't Go Girl." It is fuzzy, but because it is my favorite, I had to put it on here. The second is of a new song that I quite enjoyed.

Christmas Cards

I know, it seems so early to mention Christmas, but I got some pictures that I am going to use in our cards, and I wanted to share a few with you all. I can't help but want to show off my kids!

Too Many Boys

When did Ciara become old enough for boyfriends? This last week I have gotten 2 calls from different boys in her class to invite her over to play. Why are the girls not calling? I talked with both the mom's and they both told me that their boys talk about Ciara all the time, and that she is their girlfriend. Ciara has told me how one of them kisses her at school, but the teacher doesn't let him anymore (Thank Goodness for the teacher). When did she become so popular? I am having to write it all down on a calendar because I can't keep all the playdates straight. There is also a younger boy (not in her class) that today declared Ciara as his girlfriend as well. Is this just a glimpse of what is to come? I don't think Rocky will be able to handle this. He was very upset that a boy was kissing her at school already. She is growing up way too fast. Her new thing (besides boyfriends) is hair straightening. She has asked me to straighten her hair for the past 3 days. It actually looks really cute, but it makes her look way too old. I never get it totally straight, it just curls at the ends. Don't we all wish we had hair like that? I had more picture taken of the kids over the weekend. One of my mom's tennis friends wanted some pictures of young kids for her scrapbooking business, and I need some for Christmas cards, so she came and took some. I don't have them yet, but there are a few on her blog: Life as a Three Legged Dog. I can't wait to see all the rest of them!

A Look Back

It is kind of scary how (almost) accurate this is. This was actually made before W was elected in 2000.

Favorite Moments

Here is the best SNL sketch of the election.

Gotta love "Obama Girl."

The Day After

I usually try to stay away from politics, but in light of the recent election, I feel the need to stop being objective, and just be opinionated.  After all, this is my blog.  My opinion is very welcome here.  

Yes, I am an Obama fan.  Or, an Obama Mama as we are also known.  This is the first election where the candidate I have voted for has won.  (Some of you may remember a previous post where I said I was unable to vote.  Luckily, Rocky voted my opinions, since he didn't have one of his own.  So when I say that I voted, I mean that he voted for me.  I still feel like I somewhat participated.)  The only other elections I have had the opportunity to vote in have been Bush elections, and I am proud to say that I never voted for him.  (The last Clinton election occurred right after I turned 18, but again because of the 30 registration rule, I was unable to vote.)  

There were also historical moments to this election.  First, as you all are aware, the first African-American to be president.  Some of you may think, "So what?"  But I believe this has opened up new possibilities to so many youth today.  Any child will now believe it is possible to be President, no matter what their race.  What this election means to me I can sum up in one word: Hope.  I feel hopeful.  No, I cannot guarantee that Obama will be a stellar President, but I am hopeful.  

I did enjoy the speeches last night.  McCain gave a great speech conceding the election to Obama.  And I of course enjoyed Obama's speech as well.  For the first time in a long time (8 years to be exact) I will not feel the need to turn off the TV when the President speaks.  I will, however, miss SNL's portrayal of Bush.  I will also miss Tina Fey, aka Sarah Palin.  The skits with her had to be some of the best I have seen in a long time (right above Will Ferrel as George W.).  

OK, no more politics.  We have almost a foot of snow.  I couldn't make it up our driveway.  And it still hasn't stopped.  What is going on?  I guess winter has arrived.  

Some Halloween Pictures.

Here are some pictures of our Halloween fun. We had some friends over (Lori and Brandon, and Matt and Sarah, parents and kids), had some yummy chili (thanks Sarah, and Joan!) and then took the kids out for candy. Here is my nephew Nate as a pirate. He caught onto the candy pretty quickly and was a trick-or-treating pro by the end of the night.

My handsome Caden as a monkey. You can't see, but there is a banana in his pocket that came with the costume. He loved it. Ciara the Princess Kitty, Sean the Devil, Caden the Monkey, and Nate the Pirate.

Ciara was so proud of her costume.

Caden and Ciara ready to get their candy.

They had a really good time, and this was the first year that Ciara has been really excited about it. She woke up at 5:30 Halloween morning, all ready to go. And even after it started to rain on us, and most of us wanted to go home, she kept saying, "Let's go to another house mom!" Caden definitely tired out more quickly than her. I have now convinced Ciara to give all her candy to the Candy Witch, who will replace it with a toy. Caden is not having it. He is not giving his candy up for anything.