A Couple of Recent Photos

Alrighty then. I haven't been able to post pix on my blog for awhile (operator error, of course), but I'm back in the groove now. Here's a couple of my favorites from the last couple of months:

This is, of course, me and my FrogMan under a tree at the Walk for Autism.

This would be me with the boys at Remley's Point.

Conversations with Frogs

Last night, while we were riding around in the car, FrogBoy started clearing his throat. A lot. After a couple of minutes, I asked if he was okay, and then said, "Do you have a frog in your throat?"

Nicely done Lori. Remember the child doesn't really understand figures of speech, etc.

So he says the best thing ever: "No. My uvula tickles."

AWESOMENESS

Whatever Happened to SuperHeroes??

Being mom to 2 boys, I know all about superheroes. Batman, Superman, Bibleman, LarryBoy (no, not my brother, the Veggie Tales dude)...they start early and just keep getting impressed by these wonderful crimefighters. It's a boy thing.

And I'm fine with that. But here's what I'm not fine with. This afternoon, while having a lovely Huddle House lunch with Spanky, he commented that there was a bad word in one of his comics. Really?!? In one superfast Mommy-movement, I gathered up said comic and glanced at the page he was reading. And he was right.

As a matter of fact, in the first 3 pages, I found 6 expletives...the superbad ones. Being more than a little offended, I confiscated said comic immediately...and all other comics at once when we returned home.

And now, because someone somewhere doesn't realize comics are for kids, I have to read 9 billion comic books to make sure they're fit for 13-year-old consumption.

Seriously. Do we need ratings on comics? Isn't it bad enough that a PG-13 movie can actually drop the F-bomb once without losing the PG-13 rating? PG-13 is SUPPOSED to mean its acceptable for a 13-year-old. And friends, that word is certainly NOT acceptable for my child.

So I'm a little miffed. Why does society have our children growing up so fast...and not in a good way? When I was 13, I saw R movies...but they were tamer than PG-13s of today. And comics? My brother gave all his oldie-but-goodies to my son last year...and sadly, those will probably be the only ones he's allowed to keep.

Kids should be kids. Comics are for kids. Let's leave the filthy language out and go back to having a good old-fashioned superhero-saves-the-day-and-gets-the-bad-guy story. THAT'S entertainment.

Tagged!

Alrighty then. My sis-in-law has tagged me, and since I KNOW everyone else on her list is going to play, and I don't want to be the only one who doesn't, I'm going to play too.

Here we go...
1. Post the rules at the beginning.
2. Answer questions about myself.
3. At the end of post, tag 5 people.
4. Post comments on their blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Here's the questions...
1. What was I doing 10 years ago? - I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with FrogBoy, had been working at Seacoast for 2 months, and it was summertime, so I was HOT. I knew I wasn't having a baby until June 5 (scheduled C) so I was counting days. I also had been told not to move around much at that point, so I was pretty much just hanging out and sweating. How attractive.

2. Five things on my to-do list today? - (1) Drop off my transfer request to keep Spanky at Moultrie for 8th grade, (2) drop off my dad's medicine at his house, (3) buy a purse (okay, technically that never leaves the list), (4) move offices at work, (5) go to dinner with the fam and the Smurf for Mother's Day.

3. Things I would do differently if I were a billionaire - I'd have a great house with a pool out back for the boys; I'd probably also have a little house on my property for my mother-in-law and her dad to live in; I'd hire great health-care for my dad; I'd buy Froggie a horse and contribute major dollars to Rein & Shine, where he has horse therapy now; I'd have huge closets in my huge house; I'd hire a personal trainer to help me lose weight; and I'd buy brand new cars for everyone I know. Including a couple for myself. To match my purses.

4. Three of my bad habits. - What, only three? Okay, I'm very sarcastic, which I've been told doesn't always translate into loving kindness; I don't trust people easily; and lately, I eat cupcakes almost every day.

5. Five places I've lived. - Charleston, downtown Charleston, North Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Greensboro, NC (I'm a homebody)

6. Five jobs I've had - admin at Seacoast, insurance agent, gourmet popcorn and ice cream worker, and the requisite teenage babysitting job. Sorry, only four. I don't like change. Maybe that should also be listed under question 4.

Okay, so now five people I'm tagging...
Scott
Cindy
Roger
Ann
Larry

(those last 2 have already been tagged, but I don't care...it's my blog and I'll cheat if I want to)

Star of the Week

FrogBoy is Star of the Week this week. You normally get to be the star the week of your birthday, but since his birthday is June 5, which happens to be the last day of school, he gets it early. It's a whole big deal - you make a poster about your life, complete with pictures and decorations and the whole nine yards, and you get special privileges in class, like being line leader and getting a free pass on writing the letter of the week (which goes to the star each week, and if you're the star, you certainly can't write a letter to yourself. That would just be silly. At least that's what I've been told.)

So I just finished printing out the pictures I'll be using for Froggie's poster, and rounding up all my materials. Somehow I have a feeling I'm doing this particular project alone.

I hope I get an A.

It's a Good Thing!

This morning, as I woke up my precious child, FrogBoy stretched his arms out and said sweetly (this is great...)

"I'm so glad you're my Mommy...and not some lunatic stranger."

Yep. Good thing.

Awesome Job

Every day, on my way from work to get FrogBoy from school, I travel down Whipple Road. Whipple Road is normally not a big deal; but at the beginning of this year, some genius at the water department decided they needed to do some sort of work underneath Whipple Road. That has made it a nightmare to navigate. And they plan on working on the road until at least July.

At least one point in the road is down to one lane every day. It's never the same area from day to day, so you can't even plan for it. And the crew that works the lane closure portion of the job is sadistic. They will let you sit for over 10 minutes while piles of cars go past on the other side (I've timed them).

Except for Dudley. I don't know Dudley's real name, but I like to think he has a happy name like Dudley. Dudley is in his sweet spot. While everyone else on his team just stands around, turning their signs from "stop" to "slow," Dudley has one very important job.

He waves at the cars.

Every single car.

I'm not talking about a half-wave, or even an extended wave for all the cars. No, Dudley gives each car a hand up, eye contact, full wave, hand down - before they pass him. Then he does it with the next car. And the next. He doesn't miss a car.

I think Dudley loves his job. He seems to really enjoy spreading a little cheer with his full-on waves. And he makes me smile when I pass him.

Rock on, Dudley.

No News is Good News

Okay, I don't want to jinx this...but for those of you who have travelled this road with us since 2000, I wanted to share...

Today officially marks the 18-month mark of SuperHubby's last brain surgery. For those keeping score at home, that's the longest he's gone between slicing and dicing in 7 years.

YAY GOD!!!!