Fantastic Fall Weekend

I'm not much of a joiner. Its true, but around this time of year there are all kinds of things that sound like fun. The problem is this.... I'm not much of a joiner.  I get all excited about things that sound like they could be a lot of fun but I never really do them. Or, I sign on to do things that sound like NOT a lot of fun and end up loving them. This is a bit of a problem for me this weekend for several reasons.

1.  My high school's football team is having a winning season for the first time in... well, maybe forever. In all honesty, I've been to maybe two games since I graduated from the place. I really feel like I should go and be a fair weather fan now, but I just don't have it in me. Go Eagles. I look forward to reading about your win online as I do not get a newspaper. #greenie


  <-- Click the little badge and you can listen live. They have a killer alternative web radio station.

2. The first swim meet of the winter season is tomorrow. Its an hour and a half away. That's not that big of a deal and I love swim meets, so I'm actually looking forward to it, but the hubs is working Saturdays until the end of November which means, I have to hire a sitter for the two babies because I am NOT taking them with me. And that sucks. That was a lot of commas.

3.  Haunted Houses. I love/hate the idea of them. There are some great ones around here and the oldest two kids are ready to break into the creepy scene. However, my schedule, motivation, and wallet are not.  I would love to got to the Haunted Castle, Haunted Jail, Haunted School House and a pumpkin festival.... for free.

4.  Bonfires. Mmmm. Chili and s'mores outside at night when its a little cooler. You can sit there with your beer or play flashlight tag. I love it. Then again, I don't want to drag all the food out to the fire pit and my jeans are tight from last week in NOLA.  I should be eating nothing but celery and drinking green tea. Today I had pizza for lunch. #FAIL!

    VS.  <-- That is NOT my ass..... yet.


So, whats a girl to do? Right now,  a nap sounds nice. Tonight, who knows. You tell me.
  What are your plans for the weekend? 

Live Green

If you didn't get a change to check out my post at www.texaxhousewife.com then I'm going to put a little bug in your ear.  I'm hosting my first giveaway!  I have to super chic necklace made by Ms. Amanda Rempe.  You have until next Tuesday to get your entries in. If you already follow me publicly, you have two entries. Here is how to get more! 

Follow me publicly for 2 entries.

Tweet this give away @replying me @thetameone for 1 entry. Add @amandaldesigns to your tweet for 2 entries.

Check out amandalynnedesigns.com and tell me your favorite item for 1 entry. You can post your comments under this blog post.

This necklace was custom made for this giveaway and she has lots of other adorable bracelets, key chains, necklaces, etc. that she can customize for you. I'm thinking Christmas!

Take a peek and spread the word. The drawing will be next Tuesday night at 8:00 EST.

Kids these days

It seems like there is always some hot-button news issue that takes over the media for awhile before something more exciting, vulgar or evil comes out to take its place. For awhile it was AIDS, 911,  then it was war, elections, oil spills, gays rights, etc. Right now, it seems every time I turn around its an article on bullying. When I first started seeing all of the stories on bullying and kids that had been bullied, I laughed it off. After all, bullies have been around forever. They are a right of passage for school age kids that, unfortunately, teach us all how to stand up for ourselves or how to avoid being a target. Its a hard knock way to learn, but for years and years, kids have navigated the storm successfully. Its kids like Eddie Haskel, and the bullies from A Christmas Story that I think. I was lucky, other than some typical childhood teasing, I missed the brunt of the bullies. Other kids weren't so lucky, but even then... sticks and stones, right?



You know, "Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Is there ever anything more opposite from the truth that we were taught when we were little? I'd take a kick to the ribs any day of the week before having my feelings crushed. Whats worse, the things that kids used to say when I was in school are verbal hugs compared with the things that I have heard kids say in the past year or two. I don't know a reason for this and to be honest, I haven't put a lot of time in to reading about it, or understanding it because I don't think there is much to understand other than its WRONG.  Its always been wrong but it used to be tolerable. It  used to be something that could be solved and we could count on parents to help with from both ends. Maybe I'm living in an episode of Leave it to Beaver, but if Eddie was a jackass to Wally, Mrs. Haskel was going to grab him by the ear and ground his butt! I don't know where to point the finger. I don't know where the blame lies, but it scares me to know that my kids could be the target at some point.

It used to be the kids in the hallway picking knocking books out of the new kids hands. Its never been nice but its progressed with technology.  Home and after school used to be a safe haven for kids who are bullied. Not anymore. Now we have cell phones, Facebook, You Tube, Skype, My Space, Twitter, etc... Its a 24/7 routine now. Kids can be bullied around the clock and not just by the kids they go to school with, but by anyone in the world and have it sent around the world with the click of a mouse.  Its moved on to beating people and posting it on the Internet, sexual comments and inappropriate sexual situations being displayed, locker room pictures sent via text message around the school.



I feel terrible that I haven't give more thought to this. That I've downplayed something because "Its always been around". I've made excuses as to how its being played up by the media and over hyped, but its not! Kids are ruthless and it really does seem to be getting worse. Its getting worse in my head the more I think about it. Is it because we accept more as a society so our kids think more is OK? No, that can't be it because if we are accepting more, we would think its OK for kids to be treated like dirt. Or maybe most of us do and that's why its such a problem, but I doubt that too. Maybe we have trained our kids that they should never hurt, and have, in turn, made them soft. Maybe we have led them to believe that they are perfect. While I really do think part of that statement is true, I find it hard to believe that it is causing kids to kill themselves. So what is the answer? Are there some psychology readers out there that can explain this to me?  How have we gotten to the point where either kids are so down on them selves that they have to attack other kids, or that they are so up on themselves that the tiniest little shove knocks them down. Or maybe its something else all together. I can only tell you that as a mom, I'm not willing to tolerate it.

For more information for kids and parents, check out STOP BULLYING NOW

Best Laid Plans

You all know that I spent a few days in New Orleans for my brother's wedding last week. It was my first trip to the Big Easy so I had this vision of what I was going to do, what I would eat, and how I was going to get it all done in just 3 days with a wedding and other family requirements trumping everything else.  I wanted good gumbo, a biegnet, a trip to the bayou to scream at the BP mess, Spanish moss, and some crazy fun on Bourbon Street. I had the sitter situation all lined up for the kiddos and the best laid plans I could muster for a girl who hates tours and planned vacations. 

Oh sure, I checked out tour prices for air boat rides and the haunted tour which sounded like all kinds of fun but they were going to cost a lot of money and I would be herded into a van with a bunch of other picture snappers. I would travel around getting the play by play from some guy in black socks and sandals with a loud speaker who would fill my ear with a list of scripted informational tidbits. That is just NOT my thing.  I would rather find some local yocal, buy him/her a drink or two and just walk around shooting the breeze about the good, the bad, and the ugly of where they live. I'd rather see where some one's dead voodoo grandma is resting than hear about where the oldest cemetery in the city is. I'd rather see life as the people there see it and not the rose colored version that the tourism industry likes to put out. Plus that, tours make me anxious. I feel like an idiot the entire time. Its like wearing a bumper sticker on your face that says, I'M FROM OUT OF TOWN.

But alas, since I was actually a tourist in New Orleans, and because it was my first trip, I had to hit Bourbon Street.  My only image of this little tourism snack cake came from pictures that my mom took at Mardi Gras twenty some years ago of a lady getting her boobs painted. Rock on! I'm from Indiana and we don't have that kind of stuff around our parts. This carrying the plastic cup full of liquid courage and getting your boobs painted sounded just a-OK with me. Just not for me because I am the boobless wonder. I don't do those things. The kids were safely tucked in with my cousins at the hotel and it was time to hit the strip... club.

Here's a little secret for you. In my 30+ years, I have never ventured into a strip club. Not even once. Not because I'm scared of seeing another woman's ta-tas, but because I just don't get it, but when block after block of bars featuring boobs is in your face, curiosity kicks in. So do the hand grenades you're drinking. And time with Tami. We walked up and down the street laughing at the endless supply of freaks and gawkers when we stopped to talk outside World Famous Love Acts. The signs... yikes. I'm from Indiana, remember... we have world famous corn and race cars and things like that. Not anything even close to what the pictures in the window were showing me. That was all it took, I was going in. I grabbed Kenny (the hubs), my friend Tami and her husband David and we sauntered in for some eye-opening fun.

We got a table at in the back corner, sat down and ordered the cheapest beers we could. The guys talked through the entire thing, while Tami and I watched this poor little girl on stage dance around topless, grind on a poll then jump down so the next girl could do her thing. We laughed and tried to decide if her boobs were real or fake, and left certain that the posters were completely wrong. Seriously, I could do what that chick was doing if I was as messed up as she looked to be. And that got me thinking....

This is why I suck at crazy life. Here I am walking down one of the best party streets in the world, buzzed but mostly sober and I kept looking at the strippers and idiot girls wondering what their dads thought, or if they even knew, or if they even had a dad. There is one club called "Barely Legal" that I could have burnt to the ground after laying in bed sober for awhile. These little slutty girls outside shaking it for middle aged horny men and women breaks my heart. I wanted to grab their hands (with a latex glove, of course) and take them home for a detox, education filled, self-esteem boosting month and help them! Then I realized.... these girls are making some killer cash! There is no way I could even begin to explain to them why they needed to get their butts off Bourbon Street and find a real job; maybe at a whole in the wall restaurant with great gumbo, when they are making five times that shaking their money maker... literally! 

Somewhere there is dad who is either clueless, heart broken, or happy to let his daughter make money any way she can. I'm hoping for the clueless one because at least he can have some sanity before he finds out and when he does, oooo, she is in trouble!  My mom instinct just couldn't let go enough for me to totally get into it because I kept thinking about how badly my daughters would be beaten if they ever considered becoming strippers. I FAIL at the party thing. I always have and now its official. I'm sticking to Buffett concerts and drinks among friends. 

 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Make sure you swing by Ramblings of A Texas Housewife to check out my newest post. You don't want to miss it.  Trust me.

I'll see you all there, here and everywhere again later today.  Make it a great day!

 <---  Snake Guy from NOLA.  Totally unrelated, but I found him on Google Images because he's famous. And that makes for a great day.... maybe.

A little bit of love

I thought that before I sit down for some quiet time to really write for Nessa over at Ramblings of a Texas Housewife later today I would fill your life with randomness. We'll call it spontaneity or flexibility so we feel like we're sticking to the life skills thing for all of you self-help types. This one is all about likes and loves.

First up... a giant THANK YOU to Barb over at This and That for the One Lovely Blog award. It is my first award and it couldn't have come from a more devoted reader and commenter. I love comments and seeing what you all have to say, so don't be shy. Talk to me! Have fun! Meet new people. Maybe I should install a chat box on this blog somewhere.  We will see, but anyway it goes, I'm honored Barb. I'll do my ten and ten now. 


Ten Things I Like
1. Sunshine. I love it. I need it. It makes everything better for me and its the only thing that gets me through January and February in Indiana. Its sunny today, so I'm in a great mood.

2. The South.  I was born and raised in Indiana, but somewhere in this Midwestern Body lives a Caribbean Soul I can barely control... or even a southern girl. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia... wherever. I love the accents, the food, the landscaping. All of it.

3. Swimming.  I coach swim team for my two oldest kids. Its the only sport I watch in the Olympics and the only sport I ever participated in.

4. Burritos. How can you go wrong with a chicken burrito stuffed with rice and beans and covered in cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and guacamole?

5. Coffee. Black. No sugar.

6. Pumpkin! Pumpkin soup, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie, pumpkins in my landscaping, my house, even pumpkin candles. All things pumpkin.

7. Music. There isn't much I won't listen to. Its an automatic mood enhancer for me. Some of my favorites are Buffett, Linkin Park, Matchbox 20, and Sinatra. I told you I would listen to anything and that anything includes Miley Cyrus.  And don't pretend you don't know the words to Party in the USA - you know you do. If you don't, keep reading...

8. The ocean. There is something about that ginormous thing that scares and draws me in. I can stare at it for hours. Its just perfect.

9. Traveling. Anywhere.

10. My family. My mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters and sister-in-law and parents-in-law and aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who are as close as family. Of course I like them. I love them. They  aren't perfect by any means, but that's what makes them so perfect to me. ♥

And now for the 10 Props to your blog.  You should follow these too. And you should follow me. *shameless self promotion* Sorry. ;-)


1. Red Means Go  - Annah is a funny, funny girl who is going places. Check her out.
2. Cynicism isn't an Option - Ms. Molly Malone you rock my socks.
3. JP - Fellow Indiana resident.
4. Mean Girl Garage - Jules the nicest mean girl you'll ever read.
5. Gingersnaps in the Morning. - She really is my only source of celebrity news. Go there.
6. The Silver Lining - Because Erin always has nice things to say and the girl plans like I wish I could.
7. Wait in the Van - Because I say it. A lot.
8. We Three Kings - I love Le Le. That's why.
9. I Thought About that Once - The darling Ms. Krystin D.
10 Amanda Rempe Designs - Amanda makes jewelry that makes me want.

I'm going to work on propping blogs more.   And now for a Miley moment....

I'm Baaaaack...bwhahaha

So, I'm back? Did you all miss me? Of course you did, my little morons and I missed you all too. Loads! And here's the best news, I made a list a mile long of things I can talk about. Take note, if you're ever at a loss for what to write about, spend a night on Bourbon Street. You'll have at least ten topics in ten minutes, guaranteed. That place is WiLd to say the least. I loved it, but enough was enough and I was ready to get back to "normal", just not normal in Indiana because is colder than a witch's tit here even with the sun shining.

So, today I'm going to give you a quick outsider's guide to a few hours in the Big Easy with your kids . Remember that the sole purpose for this trip was to celebrate my brother's wedding which was one of the most beautiful weddings I have EVER been to. It was in City Park followed up by the reception then, a parade from Jackson Square to Pat O'Brians. My new sister-in-law looked like a bride straight out of Hollywood and was as gracious, and glowing, and sweet, and sincere as you can imagine. It was absolutely perfect! You should have been there, but since most of you weren't, here is a quick pic.

So, here I am, a simple little Indiana girl in a perfect Southern city with my two kids under the age of twelve. Its history time! This place is teeming with facts and things to shove down my kids' throats. After all, they missed two days of school to attend this wedding, we're going to tour the Bayou and see the Mississippi, study Stonewall Jackson and learn about Cajuns and and French and Spanish trading routes! This is my brother's new home and between the two of us, History is the main thing! Its everywhere. Ummm....no.  First stop, the hotel. Which has a pool. *Reminder: my kids are swimmers.*

Dear kids, Mommy and Daddy did not travel this far so you could swim in a hotel swimming pool. Forget it.

No way kiddos! We left headed directly for the French Market with their thirty-some odd dollars burning holes right through the pockets of their shorts. If you've never been to the French Market or to Shipshewana, they are similar. There is a lot of.... stuff. Stuff that calls out to unassuming people everywhere telling them just how badly they NEED these things. I was immediately suckered in and so were my kids. We went there two more times to keep looking at this massive amount of junk. It was awesome!

Since, and I'm sure I have mentioned this before, I am a Parrothead, far be it from me to go to New Orleans without a visit to Margaritaville. You should know that I hate all things touristy so I'm sucking it up. I went because I was thirsty and needed a mojito. I left with a t-shirt for my darling Cindy Baker, souvenirs for the kiddos, and a donation to save the Gulf which was probably the most worthwhile part. This was history lesson number one for Mr.10 and Miss 7 who is 8 today. Buffett got off to a running start in New Orleans by the Mississippi River. Remember that.

Lets see, Margaritaville and the French Market are right across from Jackson Square. There is a big Catholic cathedral there and a statue of Andrew Jackson who was one of the Presidents. This is also close to the Mississippi River. History lesson number two kids who are entirely too distracted by the silver man with the freaking BOA CONSTRICTOR around his neck!! The kids were fascinated. I wanted to run. 

To get from Jackson Square back to our hotel, it was only a short walk... across Bourbon Street...with our kids. There are kind of "zones" on the street and feeling like we were in the somewhat tame section, we took our kids down a two block stretch. So far so good. Miss 8 commented on the various sewage smells while Mr. 10 giggled at the boob posters and drunk folks at one in the afternoon. These are the teachable moments in life people. Explain that NO ONE should be that hammered at 1:00 p.m. or wear that shirt in public, EVER. You can see it but you're memories will all be magically erased upon leaving the city (or we hope). 

And then they saw it. Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo. Now, back at the French Market, Mr. 10 started begging for a Voodoo doll and its a big deal in NOLA. I laughed it off until I thought about how seriously pissed off he gets at me during the day. It was then I realized that I'd be in for an appendectomy or be dead by the end of the week before I outlawed the voodoo thing. That just fed his little fire. We had to check out every voodoo mart in the entire French Quarter after that. I finally got him to back off by mentioning the Devil and bad luck. It worked a little. Its a good thing that I can BS with the best of them, because honestly, I know nothing about voodoo and made it all up. 

So, we've covered The French Market, City Park, Bourbon Street, lots of the French Quarter, peeked at the mighty Mississippi, Jackson Square, and eaten Po'Boys for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The clock was ticking and I still had yet to instill anything of educational value into my children's brains. Lets see... what else could I do. Hey, I know.... we need a beignet! I mean, who leaves New Orleans without a beignet? Next stop Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets at 8:00 p.m.  Lets fill the kiddos with friend dough and sugar, some hot chocolate and send them to bed. That's EXACTLY what we did and it was excellent and full of no educational value what so ever. Oh, except that bitchy woman who just had to comment on me having my children out "late" (Yep...8:30 is killer lady).  She is lucky my kids were with me... very lucky. Oh, and hey lady, I'm on Decatur Street, not Bourbon so you can kiss my... never mind.

Ah the wedding. We will learn at the wedding. We will learn how to smile and accept compliments from strangers, how to behave in a strange city park and not run all over, and how to ... say vows? No. We learned how to sneak extra cheese cubes and how high we can get the giant swing. We also learned that our family is hilarious, and that Nana and Poppy can dance like DWTS. Its true. We had a great time but still don't have any great classroom info to share at school on Monday. Maybe we'll have better luck at the farewell jazz brunch tomorrow morning.

Yesterday was the last day and it was a long day for us. We had our final outing in NOLA after an amazing farewell brunch at Court of Two Sisters. It was amazing food and a beautiful place to eat. The kids loved it and ate like they hadn't already consumed an obscene amount of food on this trip. But, hiking as far as we did every day makes us all hungry and thirsty....very, very thirsty. Brunch and clothes to fly home in - I was sporting my new killer French Quarter t-shirt. I STILL hadn't done anything to really increase my kids brain size, so we headed across Rampart Street to St. Louis cemetery No.1

AWESOME!! I found some history and some super creepy crypts to entertain the kiddos and myself! There were some that were from the 1700s and some from what looks like only a few days ago.  If you don't know much about New Orleans cemeteries, you should read this...

New Orleans Cemeteries

Its amazingly fascinating and creepy at the same time and reminded me a lot of my honeymoon in Savannah. (Now you're wondering just how whacked out I am, aren't you.) I'll give you a quick idea as to what I'm talking about; people are stacked. Don't forget that New Orleans is largely at or below sea level.... enough said.

We did our own cemetery tour so I didn't have to look quite so out of town, picked up an Indiana no-no Saints sweatshirt and left for the airport. Being the ex-teacher, good mom that I am, I asked the kids what they would tell their teachers and friends what they learned while they were in New Orleans hoping against hope that Mr. 10 wouldn't mention the t-shirt that said I ♥ My Penis and that Miss 8 wouldn't tell her friends about the drunk lady who headwalled at 11 a.m. Nope, he was going to talk about voodo, and she is going to tell them all that Bourbon Street is not for kids. Lessons learned.