Fly on the Wall: December 2015: Questions

Welcome to the December Fly on the Wall Group Challenge. This month, 11 brave 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!

In the cast this month:

Me

The man
C., The middle (son, 17)

J., The youngest (son, 11)

I'm usually asking, "WHY?" around here. A lot. And pretty loudly. But you already know that. This month, a fly on the wall might have heard more questions.  Some of the queries even had answers.

Just wondering:

Me: "What is that contraption sitting on my towel bar?"
C.: "It's an automatic soap dispenser."
Me: "Where did it come from?"
C.:  "Oh. Our store's bathrooms got new dispensers, so I brought the old one home for you. I thought it would be cool. Plus, you're always talking about not spreading germs, so I figured you'd love it."
Me: "You brought that home. From your store. Used?? Do you see anything wrong with that?"
C.: "Mom. I didn't steal it. My manger knows about it. It's totally okay."

Germ free?

***

***

Well?

Me: (rolling my eyes) "The weather channel is calling for a measurable snowstorm. Are they over-reacting?"

Mother Nature: "Um..."

My front yard. After all was said and done: 15 inches

***

***

Me: (to C., panicking). "You are NOT driving to school in this weather, are you?"
C.: "Of course!  Quit worrying."
The man: (to C.) "I shoveled the drive, but you're going to have to clear off your own car."
C: "Okay! I will." (Because it was no big deal.)

 3 hours later. He took the bus, people.

***

***

Really, Mom?:

Me to C.: "All you've been doing with your free time is playing that video game. What happened to the days of 'making art, or doing something creative?"

C: "Really, mom? 'Making Art?"
Me: "You know what I mean. Something OTHER than playing that video game."
C: "The video game is called 'Fallout'."
Me: "Yay for 'Fallout'.  Just do me a favor and do something other than "playing" Fallout all night?"
C: (not looking up from the controller) "K."

A few days later.

The man: "Did you see what your son made?"
Me: "Which son?"
The man: (in a super-impressed voice) "C.!"

I follow him to the basement.

The man: (pointing to 5 bottles) "C. made those!"

Me: "They look kind of cool. What are they?"
The man: (questioning exactly how I fit into our family.) "Haven't you ever heard of 'Fallout?' They're from that game. C. made those! " (He shakes his head at me.) "I swear. That kid is so creative."

***

***

So?:

A friend: (after last month's post) "Did you ever finish the fireplace?"
Me: "Partially. I still have to put another coat on the bricks and paint the brass insert black. I'll definitely have it done by Thanksgiving."

before

Thanksgiving (with room decorated to defer the viewer from seeing the brass insert)

Me: "Okay, so I didn't paint the brass-y part. It will absolutely be done by Christmas." 

December

Me: "I have a REALLY strong feeling that brass may be back by Spring."

Speaking of the holidays:

Me: (to J., C., and The Man) : "Can we please talk about something other than Legos, video games, or computer stuff?"

J., C., and The Man (in a united front): "Sure we can. There IS a movie showing soon..."

Me: "Is it Fallout?" 

Rhetorical questions of the month:

Me: (to the dogs, in my semi-annoying 'mama' voice) "Who loves their new sweaters, huh? Who wants to go outside and play in the snow? Huh???"

Not them.

Check out this month's participants:

Baking in a Tornado                         

Spatulas on Parade                          

Follow Me Home                           

Menopausal Mother                          

Never Ever Give Up Hope                                   

Someone Else's Genius                            

Southern Belle Charm                     

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy                                  

The Angrivated Mom                

Go Mama O                                       

Juicebox Confession                    
Not That Sarah Michelle               

Happy Friday, friends!

-Michele

Fly on the Wall: April 2015

Hey-O!  Welcome to the April Fly on the Wall Group Challenge. This month, 14 amazing 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!

Cast:
Me
The man
Alex, the eldest (daughter, 21) 
C., The middle (son, 16)
J., The youngest (son, 10)
Lila and Henry, the dogs

***

It will be a breeze...

That's what the man and I said when we decided to take down the playhouse that's been in our backyard for 10+ years. We had a week off for Spring Break and figured this would only take a day or so. Holy Hannah, people. We were so wrong. 
So. So. Wrong. (This story is getting its own blog post.)
For now, here's a picture of the result:

Yep, that's a dumpster. Full of a playhouse.

Easter:

It was a really good day. Those of you familiar with my struggles with depression can understand how big this was for me.

Alex and her husband spent the night before coloring eggs with us.

After all of these years, I still Google the directions on boiling eggs.

I would show you all of the colorful, finished eggs, but Alex was ready for deviled eggs. These are my Pinterest-FAIL chicks. Eh, they were still delicious.

After church, Alex and her man came over for brunch. The weather was gorgeous. We were able to sit outside and eat in the sun. I may have mentioned this before. But when my children are wrapped around my table; when they are laughing at everything and nothing at all, I am at my happiest. My whole world was right in front of me. My heart was full.

The best laugh of the day was watching my children; all grown with their lanky bodies, pushing each other over to grab up plastic Easter eggs. There was yelling and pouting, racing and hiding. That was just the married kids. All for candy-filled plastic eggs. OK, so we may have mentioned the cash hidden in some of them...

The rest of the month was busy. Alex is finishing up her last few weeks of college. C. is cramming for his AP finals and J. is enjoying the rest of his fourth grade year. Other than J., I have to keep up with the others via text. Here are some of my favorite ones:

Texting with the kids:

Me to Alex: "I'm going to have to go ahead and agree with you. That woman has issues."
Alex: "So does Satan."

***

Alex to Me:"Do you have the recipe for your buttered noodles?
Me: "Yep. Are you ready? Cook noodles. Add butter."

***

Me to Alex: "I have a conundrum. I want to be a good citizen and all-around nice person,  but I also want to punch someone in the face."
Alex: "That's easy. Voo-doo Dolls. Can someone say, "Craft night?"

***

C. (from work): "Some person dropped an entire case of beer and I had to take it to the back, so if I come home smelling like Bud Lite, um, that's why."

***

Texting with my friends:

Me: I'm going on Tuesday for the Colonoscopy.
Friend #1: "I hope everything comes out all right!"
Friend #2 "That's a pretty crappy situation."
Friend #3 "Good Luck today! (with the poop emoji.)

***

Me to my Forever Friend: "I was flipping through channels earlier and saw the movie "Flowers in the Attic." I immediately thought of you. How old were we when we read those awful things?"
F.F.: "We had to be twelve. I can't believe we got away with reading that trash! I heard the movies are pretty cheesy."
Me: "They are. So I recorded all four."
FF: "Yes! Our poor kids. They'll never be able to remember such things. What will they say to their kids? 'Hey, remember when our moms let us go to the mail box by ourselves? Remember watching that rated PG movie?'"
Me: 'Hey, remember that time we went down the stairs without holding onto the railing?'
Our grand kids will probably be wrapped in cotton and bubble wrap. Rebels.

Finally:

We took the dogs for their yearly physicals. While they had lost a bit of weight, it wasn't enough to make the vet happy. He explained (again) to me that I'm not showing love to the dogs by giving them extra food. I nodded, knowing that's exactly what I do.

Out in the car:
The man: (patting his stomach) "Did you see the vet look at me while he was talking to you about food not equalling love? I swear he was looking at me."
Me: "Oh, that's not true. He's an animal doctor. He could care less how we look. Now let's get home. I just made you an apple pie."

***

Thanks once again for reading. Thanks also to the Fly's AMAZING creator, Karen @ Baking In a Tornado, aka "The Blogging Original", for hosting this challenge! Would you like to join in the next FLY challenge? Click on the FLY button on my side bar. Karen will  take care of you.

Take a look at what the other bloggers have going on inside their homes. Go on! Leave them a comment. You know you want to!

Baking In A Tornado                          

Spatulas on Parade                          

Follow me home                           

Menopausal Mother                          

Stacy Sews and Schools                        

Battered Hope                                   

Just A Little Nutty                                 

The Momisodes                                        

Someone Else’s Genius                            

Disneyland in Kentucky                                

Searching for Sanity                    

Sanity Waiting to Happen                                

The Sadder But Wiser Girl                             

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy                                   

Juicebox Confession                       

Happy Friday, friends!
-Michele

How I spent my winter break 2014

Hello, friends!
A lot of kids went back to school this week.  I'm sure more than a few of them had to answer this question:
How did you spend your winter break?

Some children might have described their fabulous vacations. Some probably wrote about spending time with their families. Others still, could have written about being glued to their TV/computers/video games for a full fourteen days.

I was wondering how I could possibly describe my own Winter/Christmas break. Then it came to me. I'd use Potato Heads. Why, you ask? Well, on one hand it could be the after-effects of a NyQuil-induced coma. On the other hand... no, it's probably just that.

How I Spent My Winter Break by Shellybean

Dec 21. The kids had school on the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas. The youngest started getting sick on Sunday afternoon. Here is a pic of me rolling my eyes, thinking he was just trying to get out of his short school week.

December 21-23. The youngest was not exaggerating. He quickly came down with a fever, started coughing and complained of aching all over. I don't care how old your kids get. When they're in pain and crying, you don't leave their side. The flu had hit and it hit with a vengeance. It took no longer than a day before I felt exactly the same symptoms.

December 24-26 We had to cancel our family Christmas party. I was supposed to host at the house. There was no way that could possibly happen. The youngest was still feeling horrible and I just wanted to die. Notice the man keeping his space. I think he was hugging a can of Lysol the whole time. BTW, the man with the steel immune system was only sick one day out of vacation: Christmas Day.

December 26-28 While the man held tight to his anti-bacterial wipes, I held on to this. Kleenex tissues with Vicks and NyQuil. You see, NyQuil doesn't care if you cough up a lung. It doesn't make you feel guilty if you're unable to answer the phone or check your computer. NyQuil doesn't judge.

December 29-31. The 29th was my eldest's birthday. I made her a cake and we went to lunch. I don't clearly remember any of these events, but she assures me it was all good. I spent that night and the next trying to stay away from the light. The 31st was the man's birthday. We had made plans with our best friends to go a New Year's Eve party in the neighboring state.

January 1. I made it until 7:30 p.m. I swear people, I may or may not have used a potato for this picture. That is exactly how I felt. 

After a day or two, I was feeling more like myself. I could eat real food again and could stand up with out the world turning upside down. After some rest and a few hot showers I'm as good as new.

Yes, that's me up there, still in need of a good waxing. Okay, so I'm ALMOST as good as new...

Happy Healthy New Year, friends!

-Michele

Fly on the Wall: December 2014

Hey there!  Welcome to the December Fly on the Wall Group Challenge. This month, 14 amazing 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!
Cast:
The man
Alex, the eldest (daughter, 21) 
C., The middle (son, 16)
J., The youngest (son, 10)
Henry and Lila- The dogs

Making the Olive Garden all it can be:
Alex to the Man (both are breadstick lovers): "You know what they need, Dad? They need a buzzer. When we get to that last breadstick, when our hand just touches it, the waitstaff should hear a buzz."
The Man: "Yes! Once we lift the breadstick to our mouths, the buzzers should become louder and louder, like a warning signal."
J: "Yeah! They could give off electric shocks!
Alex: "Wow. That escalated quickly...But, it might just work."

Naiveté you say?
I went with the teenager to pick my youngest up from school. There were four kids in the in front of us and they were playing instruments. IN THE CAR!
Me to the teenager: "Isn't that the oddest thing? What kind of teens play clarinets in their car?"
My son: (rolling his eyes) "None. Mom. Those are NOT clarinets. Those are hookahs."
I looked it up. He was right. I'm 100 years old.

Christmas time is near:
After 10 years, I finally run out of wrapping paper. Now, my husband's Christmas present looks like he will be celebrating his sweet 16. Or his diamond anniversary.

***

Alex to me: "Mom, I really didn't think this through."

Me: "What?"

Alex: "Being married. I just realized I won't wake up here on Christmas morning! I don't know if I'm ready for that."

Me: "Well, you two are welcome to sleep overnight here on Christmas Eve."

Alex: (relieved) "Oh. Okay!"

Me: "Um, don't you want to talk it over with your husband, first?"

Alex: "Why?"

***

Go, you chicken fat, go away:

We changed the dog's vat-o-food bucket to tiny, individual bowls. We're feeding them twice a day and walking with them each morning. Poor Lila. She loves to walk. She loves the whole pomp and circumstance of getting her leash, putting her coat in her teeth, getting to the door, and heading out. First though, I have to put on her coat. Each time, I velcro the first piece around her neck and she pants at me like we're BFFs. It's not until I go to put the large velcro attachment around her belly that she looks away. Each time, it's still a bit taut. She won't make eye contact with me. It's like I'm not even in the room. Once on, Lila heads out the door like nothing shameful has happened. We have the same soul. Together, we're going to work on it.

Not related: New lesson learned: Don't stuff stockings with dog treats and expect the stockings to neatly stay in their place.

Lila: "I'm not ready to talk about my figure right now. I am willing to talk about bacon, though."

Henry felt left out of the photo session.

Finally:

A fly on the wall would have seen me beaming with pride over the people up in that photo. The kid in the plaid has been singing his heart out in his school choir. The girl in pink? She just put away another successful semester of college. The young man in the tux just finished his winter band concert and was elected president of his high school's MESA program. The man? He holds us all up. I've said it a million times, the accolades are awesome, but the fact that those people up there are kind, supportive AND hilarious? Well, that makes my world go 'round.

Happy holidays, friends  :)

-Michele

Fly on over and check out all of this month's participants:

Baking in a Tornado                          

Just a Little Nutty                                

The Momisodes                                          

Spatulas on Parade                          

The Sadder but Wiser Girl                                   

Follow Me Home                           

Stacy Sews and Schools                 

Menopausal Mother                          

Battered Hope                            

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy                                 

Juicebox Confession                    

Risa Nye                                     

The Bergham's Life Chronicles               

Cluttered Genius                                    

              

Blog With Friends: November 2014

Gobble Group 2014!!

Hello friends! Welcome to November's edition of "Blog With Friends!" We are 7 bloggers who've joined together to bring you some Turkey Day-love.

Some projects are tasty, some are crafty and some are techie; all are a lot of fun. After my project, click on each blog post project title you'd like to visit. When you get to each blog, say, "Gobble Gobble!"or "hello!' Just let them know you're there. Everyone loves visitors.

My November project: Make a Thankful tree.

"Thankful Tree" Tutorial

Materials:

• Large Branch
• Clear Vase (large enough to hold the branch)
• Vase filler: acorns, small pumpkins, rocks, etc.  I used glass and paper acorns.
• Leaves: I used glitter leaves from Michael's and die cut leaves from my friend. (Thanks, Char!) You can use real leaves (short term) or cut out your own paper ones.
• Clips for hanging leaves. I used IKEA clips, but any kind will do.
• Thread (for hanging smaller leaves)/ hole punch
• Sharpies
• Scissors

Add ons:

• Bulbs
• Twine

Warnings:

• You're using a branch. Don't poke your eye out.
• Sharpies can bleed through the leaves. Use paper underneath to protect your surfaces.

1. Grab a branch. Or pick a branch and have your son some one cut it down for you.

2. Find enough filler items for the vase to hold up the branch.

3. Make sure the vase won't tip.

4. Using a Sharpie, have your family fill out things they are thankful for. I used clips on the bottom of the large leaves, and thread for the lighter leaves.

 When you ask the man to help out, he will write that he's thankful for the dogs and for the Internet.

5. Hang them on your "tree".

6. I had fall-colored bulbs on hand. On each one, we wrote the name of family/friends that have passed away. It was a good time to reflect on how grateful we were to have had them in our lives. We tied the "remember ties" with twine, then hung them on the tree.

Here's a close-up of a bulb dedicated to my grandma.

7. Keep a basket near of extra leaves, clips, bulbs and sharpies. Family and guests can add to the tree whenever they want. Enjoy!

***

Be sure to check out the other cool-kids participating today:

Karen@ Baking in a Tornado has whipped up a Fried Walnut-Crusted Spice Cake with Caramel Sauce. This is a special holiday dessert taken to a whole new level.

Stacy@ Stacy Sews and Schools shows us how to make a Fun and Reversible Holiday Centerpiece Decor for your holiday table!

Melissa@Home on Deranged has some Tech Tips for Turkey Day. Her tips will show us how to let technology helping have a festive Thanksgiving!

Robin@ Someone Else's Genius gives us a tutorial for making her adorable Autumn Wreath.

Christy from Uplifting Families shows us how to create DIY Thanksgiving Textured Leaf Cards!

Lydia from Cluttered Genius has created a "Kid Friendly and Fancy Thanksgiving". These are Kid-friendly (and created) ideas for decorating your 'fancy' Thanksgiving table. 

Looking for these projects and more? Check out:

An InLinkz Link-up

Gobble 'til you wobble, friends,
-Michele