Eli Manning, Plus December, Plus . . .

A game so big three networks are broadcasting it, equals 16-0 for the Patriots. The only question is whether they beat the Giants by five touchdowns or whether the Giants make it a game only to have Eli throw a killer interception with a minute to go.

UFO’s, In The Bathtub!

Unidentified Floating Objects, that is.

I’m not much of a bath person, mostly because I’m not that big on washing my face with the same water that just washed my butt. But when you’re only fourteen months old, you really can’t take a shower. Still, tonight, my son nicely illustrated why I do not like baths. He was happily splashing the water and ‘talking’ away when he suddenly paused and gave us a quick, and quizzical, look. Then he went back to enjoying his time in the tub. He did not enjoy it for long, though, because, as we learned when we saw the UFO pop up behind him, the water was no longer uh, er, sanitary.

Luckily, Mommy had already washed his face. (And Daddy had already gotten sister out of the tub.).

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Port … In A Port Glass!

One of our last nights in our rental house – sans most of our stuff, which was still in storage – I was so desperate for my favorite winter drink that I actually drank port out of a red wine glass. Not today. We’re in the new crib and have all of our stuff with us, including my port glasses. 🙂

In Which I Talk About The Weather

I would say Shreveport is like hell in the summer, but hell is a dry heat. Plus, all that fire and brimstone prevents mosquitoes. So the weather here come July and August is about as bad as it gets.

Yesterday, though, was sunny with a high of about seventy. Today will be about the same. Perfect weather. I just took the dog for her morning walk and I was wearing shorts and flip flops.

That’s unusually warm, but not that much so. We generally get very nice weather from October through April. September, May and June are hit or miss, and like I said, July and August are miserable. All in all, I think, that’s a pretty good arrangement. Better than snow on Easter, anyway.

The Dangers of Withholding Sugar from Babies

I made the mistake of shopping for groceries at the area’s busiest shopping center two weekends before Christmas. Grocery trips, even when the store is crowded, aren’t usually that bad. However, the stores aren’t usually as crowded as they were this past weekend – literally standing in line to look for various spices and make my way down certain aisles. And usually, I can use one of the double-buggies that seat two children at a safe distance from the food. (I have been known to pull the buggy while pushing the double stroller but that is simply comical when attempted in such crowds.) Alas, Target was out of the double buggies so I had three choices: walk all the way back to the van to get the stroller (yes, it was that far away) and attempt the push-pull method; go home and eat out for the third straight night; or be a bad mommy and put one of my children in the back of the buggy and strap the other safely into the child seat at the front. I chose option three.

Mac is typically more bouncy and hyper so I initially strapped him in and let Omi have free reign with the loose items quickly accumulating in the buggy. That lasted about 15 minutes. Until I realized that Omi was tossing items as quickly as I was. Only she was tossing them out of the buggy. So, we switched places and Mac got to play with all the bags and containers while Omi slumped in the front like I’d taken away her favorite doll. This worked well for most of the rest of the trip. Until the baby food incident.

I was fruitlessly looking for holiday M&Ms in the candy aisle when I heard the first crash. I looked back and saw what any mother would instantly recognize as mashed sweet potatoes all over the floor, littered by glass from a broken baby food container. My first thought was, “Geez, can’t people control their kids? Who lets their children play with glass containers?” As the second jar flew over my head I saw with horror that it was my precious son flinging the glass jars, delighted by the crash and colors. Before I could stand up, he had jar #3 in his hand. Like the pro-ball player I always knew lurked deep within me, I caught the jar before it hit a hard surface. After glancing around for someone who actually worked at the store (and making sure no one else had witnessed the incident), I pushed as much glass as possible out of the way and abandoned all hope of finding the remaining items on my list.

As my still-embarrassed self pushed one buggy and pulled another one out of the store, each with one child safely strapped in and the food safely bagged at the bottom of each buggy, I couldn’t help but laugh. What child wouldn’t try to get rid of the veggies he knew he would be expected to eat while staring at all the chocolate and sugar in the candy aisle? Heck, I’d probably start chucking jars of sweet potatoes and squash too if I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to eat any of the candy being piled in my buggy.

Caddo Parish School Board To Shoot Messengers

The Board is considering a parish wide ban on cell phones in schools. Sounds a bit draconian – for a first offense, the school holds the phone for five days and then a parent has to come get it – but as every school already bans phones, I don’t imagine having a central policy will change much of anything.

What is interesting, though, is the rational. Nothing about cell phones disturbing classes. Or drug kingpins relaxing in the back of class while they order their minions around town. Or text messages depriving teachers of the pleasure of reading captured notes to the entire class. None of that. Instead . . .

Board member Dottie Bell brought the concept up after a student’s cell phone video that showed Huntington High School Principal Jerry Davis and a student in a physical altercation garnered local media attention and subsequently forced the system to place Davis on paid administrative leave.

Yes, heaven forbid they had to, you know, investigate the incident and then – GASP – answer questions about it! How undignified! Obviously, that’s the problem the board needs to solve.

Maybe I’ll Call In Sick Tomorrow

It’s only a half day anyway, and because of the mid terms schedule, I won’t have any students in first or second hour, and then we have lunch. This all means I’ll end up with one hour long class tomorrow. Wouldn’t my time be better used by staying home to finish the last Harry Potter book?

Then again, as excited as I am by the book, tomorrow is the last time I have to go to work until January 7th. So I guess I can wait.

Some House Pics

Our realtor hated this house. And it was ugly. But all it took to make it fantastic was some imagination and a little work.

As soon as they are done, I’ll post before and after shots of the kitchen and family room. For now, here’s the living room.

Before, it coulda been the living room in a cheap apartment complex:

With new paint, without drab carpet, but prior to refinishing the floors:

Done. I can already see myself laying on the couch and taking my Sunday afternoon nap:

“Me too Dad!”

Back To Work

Had last weekend off; this weekend, it’s back to the house. I’m not that depressed, though, for several reasons. First, the weather is awful – 40’s and rain – so I may as well be indoors. And the kids are sick, so I may as well be indoors somewhere other than home. Second, I can see the end of the job. All I’ve got left to do is the kitchen and family room floors, and because school lets out for the holiday next Wednesday, in addition to this weekend, I’ll have half the day Wednesday, all day Thursday, and all day Friday to work on them. If all goes well (which it won’t, but still) we ought to be moving next weekend. Finally, the hardwood guys finished their job on Thursday. That means while I work today, I can stop every once and a while to stare rapturously at our beautiful oak floors.

Cruel And Unusual Punishment?

Not this headline: “Death for rapist: Jury says man should die for assaulting 5-year-old.”

But this one: “Former fast-food worker gets 10 years in hot grease case.”

Isn’t that a de facto death sentence? I mean, how could anyone survive even ten minutes encased in hot grease?