Welcome to the March Fly on the Wall Group Challenge. This month, 7 bloggers and I are describing what it would be like if you were to take a peek inside our homes...
Have a "look" around mine, and then go visit the other blogger's pages. There's always something fun, sentimental, or better yet, embarrassing going on. It's like your house, only we're admitting to the craziness. You have our permission. Buzz on over!
Dream Big, Kid
J., (our 14-year old) told me that local bank was sponsoring a "Career Day" at his school. In the a.m., each child would be given a portfolio based on their current grades and behavior. With certain requirements of a job and bills, the point was to see how to balance finances. (Awesome skill, right?) He'd seen other students go through the program before, earning hi-rise jobs and buying fancy cars. With his 4.00GPA, he thought he'd be in the big league.
J. :(Looking Glum after school) "I should have stayed home."
Me: "Wasn't the career fair today? Weren't you going to have an "unreal" time?"
J: "It was UNREAL all right. They made me a teacher! A college teacher, but still."
Me: "You're the second person today to make fun of MY career choice, J."
J.: "It's not just that, mom. I have great grades and they made me have a wife who doesn't have a job!"
The Man: (Watching me jump from my chair) "Maybe she's living off of an incredible inheritance. Maybe she put in her work years early, or maybe she's raising the kids."
J.: "That's the other thing. I have two kids! Other students get to drive fancy cars to their jobs. I have to drive a sedan. What's a sedan?". (The same kind of car your parents drove for years with three kids!)
The man and I are laughing now.
J.: "I had to choose the middle-level grocery plan and health insurance. I didn't even say I wanted kids and I didn't know you HAD to have a health plan."
The man to me after J. left. : "Wow, he learned finance, sex-ed, and disappointment in one day. Public schools are teaching the important stuff."
I'm old.
Alexandra (my eldest), has always had her own bank account and credit/debit card but realized she recently needed to order some checks. You know, the paper things we used to pay bills with. A few texts of hers from our conversation made me laugh:
A.: "I just got my first box of checks! I've never felt more adult in my life. I keep looking at them and I'm just like, 'This is it. This is the peak of adulthood greatness.'"
A: " I mean, I can pay for school pictures and lunches without envelopes full of pocket change!"
A.: "Let me get this straight. You paid credit card bills with checks?".
A.: "What happened if you lost a check?"
Me: What if I lost a check? This comes from the girl who auto-pays for everything and takes pictures to deposit their checks? Trust that you have more faith in the system than me. Now, show me how to online deposit like that."
Matte is the new black.
I thought it would be a fabulous idea to paint every one of my interior house doors black. It would be a big project so I could break it up into pieces. No big deal. I buy this creamy automotive paint because I know someone who tried it on their doors and loved it. Good enough for me. One weekend I paint 7 of the thirteen doors. I hoped I could do more, but the paint and my energy ran out. 2 weeks later I start on the rest of my doors with the second can of paint I just bought. Not only did I paint the remaining doors, I decided to do touch-ups on every other door. I was a bit upset because the newly painted doors weren't drying the same way the others had. It took my big brain another hour to realize that the paint was shiny, not wet. I had painted the second set of doors (as well as touched up the others) in a gloss, not a matte like the first can. Now I have 13 black doors. Some are shiny and the rest look like someone wiped chicken grease all over them with their greasy-arsed hands. Help me.
Grandbabies!
When little A. (age 5) was introduced to us, he was a non-verbal child. In the past year, his words have added up, but in the most meaningful ways. I love that he uses his words as he needs them. Nothing extra, just important enough to get his point across. I was making marshmallow men with the boys and S. (age 4) was getting frustrated because his candy eyes wouldn't stick. A. took his marshmallow, got really close to S. and said, "grab it like dis," (he pinched out a piece of Marshmallow) "and push em in like diiiiiiis." (he gritted his teeth and pushed the candy really hard into the Marshmallow man's face)
S. looked at his brother like he was freaking Mr. Wizard and the making of the Marshmallow Men commenced and were eaten.
Learning the letter M with Marshmallows.
Perfect.
Finally, Karma.
Remember the adorable story I told last week regarding the man and his queasiness for needles? Well, to make up for that, here's a pic from Monday. I was having a procedure done and the (very kind) nurse couldn't find a vein in my arm(s) for sedation. She tried my hand a few times before saying out loud, "Your skin is really tough." I tell you she said that exact sentence because it was the last thing I remember her saying before I passed out. Instead of the man laughing, he joined the nurse in waking my green self up.
I once said I'd never talk about my health. So much for that, eh? Honestly, I think at this age, I just need to see more people in backless gowns. Let's face it. I owed this ridiculous photo to the man.
Happy Friday, friends!
-Michele
Please check out this month's participants:
