Weekly Winners: November 8-14

Look! Up in the sky! It's both an amazing view ... and my daughter.

Like cotton batting:

Amazingly enough, this was shot with my iPhone!

How did her hair grow so fast??

Her friend put extensions in her hair ...

Oops!

Even my talented girl loses her balance occasionally

And one last time for the 2009 high school football season:

My Friday nights are back to being my own, but I will miss
the time I spent on the track with the girls as their official photographer.
Now, on to basketball and competition season!

Thanks for visiting ... Now go see the lovely Lotus for more Weekly Winners!

Let he who is without sin cast the first (mile)stone

Gather 'round, my friends, for I have a tale to tell. Although some of the details you will have to figure out for yourself because it's ... um ... well ... PRIVATE.

The place: Our local grocery store.

The cast: The Evil Mother and the Roo-girl.

The reason: Oops. I can't tell you. You'll have to guess.

The Roo-girl scanned the shelves. So did the Evil Mother.

"Why are there so many??" the Roo-girl snarled. "How do you know what you need?"

The Evil Mother shrugged. "It depends. Let's just pick one."

"The sport kind, then," Roo answered. "Oh, and my friend said they make some *product deleted* for thongs."

"They make them for thongs??" said the Evil Mother, slightly horrified.

"Yes," answered the Roo-girl, still poking at the boxes.

And so they do. And there they were. Right there, albeit slightly hidden, on the top shelf.

Those things.

For thongs.

Because otherwise, how could a girl have that fresh feeling during ... well ... yeah ... then.

My little girl is a woman.

And now we BOTH need chocolate.

26

Twenty-six.

A simple -- but meaningful -- number.

Twenty-six letters in the alphabet.

It's the atomic number of iron.

Michigan is the 26th state admitted to the union.

It's the length of a marathon, give or take a yard or 385.

A rhombicuboctahedron is a 26-sided object.

XXVI in Roman numerals.

110102 in binary.

And today, it's the age of my Number 2 son, the Drama King, who today takes his first step into his LATE 20s and his second quarter-century of life.

How did this happen? When did my little boy with his head in the clouds turn into a man?

Oh. Wait.

Happy birthday, Drama King. I love you, even if you don't want to grow up.

Ommmmmmmm...

It's the calm after the storm ...

(Continued at Mid-Century Modern Moms)

Weekly Winners: November 1-7

A little bit of this (politics), a little bit of that (Starbucks holiday drinks!!) and, of course, cheerleading!

Yo yo yo ...

Whether or not you agree with his politics, you have to admit
that Z-man's sign for a Repeal Prop 8 rally was HILARIOUS!

Be still, my beating heart:

Holiday drinks (and cups) are back,
and I am r.e.s.i.s.t.i.n.g. the eggnog latte with all my might.
But a snow day might be nice ...

This loses something in the translation:

Ok, click on it to biggen it. I swear it looks like there are dead football players littering the field
(but they're just stretching)

Alley-oop:

Peel-off back handsprings ... my girlie in the middle

The Roo-girl goes over the top:

This shot is this week's winner, in my opinion ...

Thanks for visiting ... Now go see the lovely Lotus for more photos by people who don't spend their time dreaming about eggnog lattes and snow days.

Memories ... sweetened through the ages just like whine

We were at Starbucks again, the Roo-girl and I.

Don't judge me. It was a late-start day (oh, how I LOATHE late-start days), and I dropped her off to meet her friend before I toddled off to work.

I ordered our drinks and stepped to the side ... and a woman stopped me.

"I know you from Local Synagogue. You're Janet, right? I'm Kevin's mom ... from the preschool."

I blinked at her ... and remembered. Sorta.

She looked behind me. "And you're -- um -- Roo-girl!"

Roo nodded, and I smiled. "Do you remember Kevin?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "Well, you were only 3," I said.

The woman and I exchanged a few pleasantries, and she left with her latte.

I turned back to Roo. "You really don't remember?"

Roo rolled her eyes.

"Mom, how do you expect me to remember that stuff?" she snorted. "I can't remember BREAKFAST!!!!!"

Honestly? I found that much funnier than she did.

There's nothing to fear but ... uh ... never mind

I don't consider myself a chicken.

A lot of things that scare people don't scare me particularly.

Bugs? Eh. I'm the resident squisher here.

Snakes? Just ask J-bear which stepmother begged to be able to watch her feed the slithery thing. (Yes, it eats "pinkies." Yes, I took pictures. And no, I won't share. You're welcome.)

Scary house noises? Pfffft. I spent too many years having to be the one who investigates. No hiding under the covers for this former single mom.

Walking in the dark? Not my fave-rave, but I am capable of going between car and house or house and car at midnight by myself without fearful glances.

But.

Driving in the fog?

Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!

On a recent night, when I drove home from my chorus rehearsal, the fog rolled in -- and my sanity rolled out.

I swear I still have the imprint of the steering wheel on my hands, and the thought of it still makes beads of cold sweat drip down my back.

I apologize to those on the freeway with me that night. Those who zipped around me at 55 miles an hour, while I crept along at 40 (at most).

Sorry, people. When it's that impenetrable, I don't travel further than my headlights can illuminate.

The best moment was cresting over the hill and seeing the clouds dissipate ...

... So I could finish the drive in relative peace.

And be a big brave bear once again.

Beware, bugs. I'm a-comin' ...