clear your social calendars...and the roads!

Austin turns 16 today {sigh}. He now has a license to drive...and to date. Applications for possible dates are now being accepted. Screening will be done by none other than yours truly. Me. Austin's mom.


Wasn't he a cute baby? He's still cute. And I'm not just saying that

because I'm his mother. It's the talk around town.

Austin gets good grades (straight A's) and is an Eagle Scout. Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Can I add handsome? And hard working? He works at an assisted living center serving dinner to the residents and doing the dishes. I'm not even making that up. Add "athletic" to Austin's list of skills. Basketball is his first love, and tennis takes a close second. He still kisses me goodnight.

Do I sound like a proud mom? That's just what I am.

Oh...and about clearing the roads. Austin is an awesome driver. Extremely cautious...10 and 2 position at all times. Absolutely no fiddle diddling with ipods or cell phones while driving. It's not him that I don't trust...it's all of you out there.

Happy Birthday, Austin!

winter

Of winter's lifeless world each tree

Now seems a perfect part;

Yet each one holds summer's secret

Deep down within its heart.

Charles G. Stater

goodbye

Luckily for me Chad doesn't work on Fridays. At least not at the office. He is the one that finally announced today that it was time to take the tree down. It always makes me kind of sad, but when it's all said and done, it's nice to get back into the swing of things. I'll just quickly say my goodbyes and get on with it.

Goodbye, favorite nativity. You are my favorite Christmas decoration. Did I mention favorite? I'd keep you up all year if I could...but then again, it's my house so why not? Hmmm...

Goodbye, bright and sparkly Christmas ornaments. We didn't break any of you this year. I guess it helps that we don't have any toddlers toddling around anymore...that and the fact that half of you are plastic. Thank goodness for plastic.




Goodbye, rustic star stocking holders that I had welded in Texas. Not me, personally. It was a big, strong welder in Texas. You know, everything is bigger and stronger in Texas. Did I mention previously that we have a sweet spot in our hearts for Texas?

Goodbye, twinkly white lights. You were such a pain putting up and taking down, but no matter what, you'll always be a part of our festivities.

Goodbye, sparkly golden topiaries. You looked beautiful above our front door. I promise to dust before putting you up there again. I bet your allergies drove you crazy.

Goodbye, faux berry and evergreen wreath. But then again, I may just keep you up for a while longer until I can find a wreath to replace you. Don't worry, I'm not replacing you for good. You'll be back out front and center next year.

Goodbye, O Tannenbaum! You were majestic in our front window...all twelve feet of you. I'm sorry we had to trim your top, but you just wouldn't fit otherwise. We all need a good trim now and then.

Goodbye, jolly old St. Nick! You were good to us this year. Very, very good. And we promise to be good this next year. Very, very good.

Goodbye, crazy wanna-be photographer. As your husband says, "Don't you think you'd better put that camera down and get busy putting all of this away?"

See you next year!

7,832

Not only is Lynne a prolfic writer, she's also a prolific mathematician. She even did the math before I did. After completing my computations, I checked my answer against hers and lo and behold I was wrong. She even calculated in Leap Year. Now that's thinking ahead! The sheer number of socks makes me dizzy. Downright nauseous. Is there life after socks???

Now the Big Question is: Would Lynne like the five handmade cards for various occasions, or will she choose the "single socks" in my laundry room? Since these are "mateless" are they considered premarital socks?

this socks!

I love being a mom. I really do. I love that I "work" at home---teacher, chef, nurse, chauffeur, maid (what?? I am NOT the maid), planner, defender, referee, comforter, cheerleader (I promise I don't use my megaphone, although it might come in handy!)...but one job that I struggle with is being a laundress (if I make it sound fancy, will I like it more?)

The worst part for me is the socks. I know, I know, most of the socks in this picture are inside out. That's the way they give them to me; that's the way I give them back.

Just for fun, here's a little story problem:

Let's say that there are eight people in my family. Each person wears one clean pair of socks each day of the week (or at least I assume they do.) Two of these people also run/exercise five days each week which requires a pair of socks each time they exercise. Two of these people play basketball at least one day a week. This also requires a pair of socks each time they play. Two of these people are in gymnastics once a week which also requires a pair of socks each. Whew! This makes me tired just thinking about it. Throw in three more pairs just for fun (because you know when you're watching T.V. somehow the couch just sucks them right off your feet and they get stuck between the cushions so you have to go get a new pair.) Throw in an extra two pairs since it's winter and when you go out to play in the snow you swear you were wearing socks when you shoved your feet in your snowboots but when you pulled them out they were nowhere to be found...and chilly toes need a new pair of socks! Now for the big question:

How many socks do I wash in one year?

The first one with the correct answer gets 5 handmade greeting cards for various occasions. Either that or all of the unmatched socks in my laundry room. Take your pick.

The joy of socks...

it's a big, big world

Earth is estimated to weigh 6,585,600,000,000,000,000,000 tons.

The area of the earth is almost 200 million square miles.

It took four years, 21 million steps, and 22 pairs of leather shoes for Dave Kunst to complete his record-making 14,450 mile walk around the earth in 1974.

The equatorial circumference of the earth is about 24,900 miles, or 256,948,534 dollar bills laid end to end.

That being said, I probably tell our youngest son, Adam, that I love him at least five times a day. (I love our other children, too, but he's pretty much by my side all day long and responds well to my outpouring of emotion.) Being the mom that I am, I love to hear it in return and sometimes have to resort to asking for it. Sometimes it takes prodding; sometimes not.

Me: Adam, do you know that I love you so much?

Adam: Yup.

Me: Do you love me?

Adam: Yup.

Me: How much?

Adam: As big as the planet.

note to self

What do you want to do when you grow up?

houston, we have a winner!

She did it, folks! Maryanne is the new owner of a Sonicare toothbrush. Her canines, molars, lateral incisors, and husband will thank us!

The puzzle was finished in record time. By 10:00 a.m. New Year's Day the last piece was placed. Granted, we did this puzzle last year so maybe we don't earn bragging rights. It's much larger than the picture above (everything's bigger in Texas, right?), but this gives you the idea. For those of you who know us well, Texas has a sweet spot in our hearts.

Thanks to all (two) entries! Y'all missed out...