Happy Father's Day!!

How does an ant get on the second floor of my house? Interesting.

But my original post was to be about Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day to all paternal types!

On to my husband...A fabulous dad everyday of the year! He is hands-on and laid back at the same time. He spends time with the kids, time with me and gets the yard work done. He is fun, calm, fair and loving. He is not afraid to say, "I love you". He is afraid of cantaloupe though. That however, doesn't come into play that much. ;-)

He has learned to appreciate my need to make lists over the years and I have learned to appreciate his "spur of the moment" plans. It is a good match and that is only good for the kids.

Happy Father's Day...let's barbecue some stuff!

Vent of the day...

It is a beautiful sunny day. I spent the day at a soccer tournament with older son and his very nice teammates and their parents. I got some sun, stepped in some mud, ate some fruit and enjoyed myself.

I'm going out to my fav restaurant with the spousal unit tonight...so that is very nice.

Why vent? Well, thank you for asking. I got younger son's baseball schedule for summer and his team has games scheduled for the evening of July 3rd and noon on July 4th. WTF??? Not only is it a holiday weekend, but games on BOTH days? What's more, the game on the 4th is right at noon which is when the super-fabulous-family tradition inspiring town parade begins. So the little league schedules baseball games so that 8 and 9 year olds can't go to the town parade and families have to split up since I'm not making the other son miss the parade?? I know my sentences are running on, but I'm PISSED off. I love 4th of July. We have family/friend traditions that will have to go down the tubes this year.

I know, I know....spaz down. And I will get over it...The husband will go to one game with the kid and I will go to the other game. One of us misses the traditional BBQ with all our friends and their families and one of us misses the parade. My kid misses both and we don't get to be together as a family. Annoying, but again, I know, partially my fault for signing the kid up for baseball.

The kicker? My older son who plays in the next baseball league up has NO games that weekend because as his coach said, "Its a holiday weekend for families." Thank you very much...I like that coach better ;-).

Ok, vent over. I have to go get dolled up for dinner. A drink may do me well...

Some Questions...

Some things I have been wondering since it is summer and I am not at work...Feel free to answer or just be confused, as I am:

1. Are you supposed to eat the skin on a baked potato? I'm never sure...so usually I eat part of it so that it looks like I might have eaten some by mistake.

2. If someone calls and wakes you up in the morning and you lie and say they didn't wake you, is it then ok to make up a lie about why you can't talk just then? Or, are you obligated to go along with the farce about you already being awake?

3. If a "check engine" light or something like that comes on in your car but then goes away after a day or so, do you have to "check engine"? It is usually ok to just pretend you never saw it, right?

4. When people wanting money call from your college or PBS or something am I the only one who says that I'm not home? I like to just say I'm the babysitter or something. I'm nice about it and all....

5. Does everyone think my mom talks too much? Or, is that just my sister and me being bitchy? I love her very much but sometimes I just ask her how her day was and then I put the phone on speaker and go about my business and just call out an occasional, "Oh, really?" or "Wow." I taught my sister that trick...and she is getting good at it.

6. What exactly is Coke Zero? Is it a diet drink or an energy drink or none of the above? I don't get it and I am too lazy to pick up a can and read it.

7. Victoria Beckham isn't real, right? She is plastic. I'm sure of it.

8. Am I weird that I don't believe in running the washing machine or dryer when I'm not home? I think I heard once about a house that flooded when the water line broke and another house that burned down from a lint fire. Tom thinks I am neurotic but I prefer to think of it as careful.

9. Am I the only mother who gets annoyed when her kids are sick? I mean, shouldn't they just be able to suck it up and move on? I do. Ok, if they were REALLY sick, I'm ok with it. But fake sick, like a cold or swine flu or something like that annoys me.

10. Who else likes Drake and Josh?

11. Since it is summer I will be watching more Oprah. Let's vote...who wants her to stick with people who have bizarre problems and stay away from all the spiritual crap? I hate it when she gets all "best life" and I love the hoarders!

12. Who else thinks that the people adversely affected byt the "D tv" switch aren't worth worrying about? Seriously...Every watcher for themselves.

That's all for now.

Brady Bunch Trivia!!

Enter at your own risk. I love the Bradys. They rock. I have read their books and have seen every episode, movie, special, variety show and spin off. The prize here is my eternal admiration. Go!

1. What is the name of the cat that Bobby is attempting to save when he is safety monitor and goes into the abandoned building?

2. What actress does Bobby see fireworks with when he kisses her? Bonus: What illness does he worry about getting from her? (And get your mind out of the gutter, this is Bradyland!)

3. Why did Jan flip out when she found a childhood picture of Aunt Jenny?

4. Who did Bobby get locked in Sam's meat freezer with?

5. Ok, here is an easy one...What was the name of the Brady kids singing group on the talent show they entered? Why did they enter it?

6. Who played the old prospector that imprisoned the Brady's in the ghost town on their way to the Grand Canyon?

7. On the famous Grand Canyon special...what did Bobby and Cindy hide in their flashlight?

8. Same special: What Native American name did Peter get that he did not like?

9. What was Peter's name when he pretended to be an older high school student so he could double date with Greg?

10. What did the boys put in the girls' sleeping bags during Marcia's sleepover (the one that she almost didn't have when she was falsely accused of "doodling Mrs. Denton").

11. Name 4 famous (for the time, lol) people who guest starred on "The Brady Bunch".

12. In subsequent Brady Movie specials when Bobby was a race car driver, who played his wife?

13. Bonus question: Which Brady brother would I date?

14. Bonus, bonus question: What feature did the first home Tom and I owned have that was ever so "Brady-like"??

So...do you feel lucky, punk? Do ya?? Answer away!

Vacation count down...

Next month the family (me, husband and two sons) will be traveling to the land of dreams and wishes...yes, Disney World. I have never been there and I have been researching furiously in my eternal quest to maintain CONTROL. We will be driving (too expensive to fly). I think that will be fine once the drugs kick in...for the kids of course ;-).

So, here is my quandary. I have to plan some things, but not over plan, right? I mean someone has to know what is going on and that someone is ME. The children didn't sign up for that and the husband isn't a "small detail" type (which is why we compliment each other so well, btw).

Things I have looked up online about Disney already:

1. Internet access (of course!)...bring a cable and pay $9.95/24 hours and you are online (phew!!)

2. doing laundry there...yep, you can! $2 per load to wash and $2 to dry if you use their machines. You can also send it out for same day service but that is supposedly expensive.

3. dinner reservations for 3 of our 5 nights...I picked BBQ, Italian and a steak place.

4. stuff to do at Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom...there is too much so this is where the communication breakdown between my planning and the other 3's desires will occur.

5. Typhoon Lagoon...some massive water park there that older son wants to go to. Don't know when we will fit it in!!

6. meals...bought a meal plan for breakfast and lunch. Cost effective and I am nothing if not effective.

7. now I am researching a new backpack to buy...not sure my fab-o purses will serve the same purpose as a good old Jansport backpack (take THAT AdSense!).

I still have to get to AAA to plan our driving route and figure out where we will stop that is a little more than half way. That part seems stressful but I guess my 20 years of AAA membership should start working for me, huh?

Wish me luck...I know more will come to mind and I will be making more lists, researching more and having many more questions. Vacations are just so relaxing ;-).