Clear The Sidewalks!

The birthday boy enjoying cake at Grammy's.

Now that Marcus is 14, he's able to take the written driving test for his learner's permit. Can you believe it! Blake has let him drive a few times, and he does a pretty good job. He's an extremely cautious driver which is great - except for the fact that it takes about 10 minutes for him to get situated in the car and get backed out of the garage. A few nights ago I needed to run to Walgreens, so I asked him if he'd like to drive me. 10 minutes after getting into the car we were finally off. We came up to the stop sign at the exit of our neighborhood and he prepared to pull out on to Central. This is where it gets foggy for me. I know he jumped my Jaguar up onto the curb, drove through the grass and over the sidewalk and finally ended up out on Central. I screamed and grabbed the dashboard so hard that my neck actually ached for about 3 days. When I was finally able to ask him what happened he said that the manual he'd been studying stressed the importance of not making wide turns. I'm pretty sure what I experienced was NOT what they had in mind. AND, as if this wasn't enough, when we got to Walgreens he mistook the gas pedal for the brake and we nearly hit the side of the store. I told him that I was done for one day and that I'd drive home. I guess he thought I was abandoning my shopping because he then got out of the car and left it running. We don't drink alcohol in this family, but after this experience I considered a hefty dose of NyQuil! Or at least a narcotic pain reliever for my aching neck.

The Farris Wheel & Atkins

Today Blake's step-dad, John, celebrates his birthday. Mason, Max and I made a trip to The Farris Wheel to get some dark chocolates for him. The shop is like an old fashioned candy store with lots of bins and barrels full of candy. It's the neatest store...and they give free samples! Unfortunately for me, I'm on the Atkins Diet. No treats for me.
Max after his bath and the reason I'm on Atkins...much sweeter than candy from the Farris Wheel, don't you think!

Mason drooling on the glass as he makes his choice.

Why do they put candy at kids' levels? We ended up with an extra Tootsie Roll and a pack of Smarties...both of which got paid for...eventually!

Happy Birthday Marcus!

Marcus celebrated his 14th birthday on Tuesday, but since he's at his mom's this week, we're having our party tonight. Birthdays were always a huge deal in my family. Blake doesn't share my enthusiasm. I wear a tiara on my birthday - and honestly it's more like a birth week. My love of birthdays means I take gift giving very seriously. Marcus is at a difficult age regarding gifts. He is spoiled rotten (sorry Marcus - the truth hurts!) so he is very hard to buy for. He gave me absolutely no ideas. Now - I know that one of his favorite TV shows is Cash and Treasures and his dad's been bugging him about getting outside more. So...I chose a metal detector for him. Isn't that great! I think everyone, at some point, has fantasized about finding fabulous treasures. I know Marcus has, and I'm certain he'll love the gift. Mason is giving Marcus a soccer ball that he dug out of his toy box. Mason said, "I want to give him something big, something that fits in this bag, and something I don't want anymore." What a great brother!

Givin' It a Try

I've tried blogging once before, and gave up after my free subscription ran out. Talk about commitment. Now that I've had two children, begun working part time with my husband and taken on several new responsibilities at church, it only makes sense to try it again now! Maybe it'll work - maybe not. But we have a really funny and entertaining family. The world will definitely be a better place because of our blog. Ha!

Here's an example. Today Mason called Blake at work and said, "Your wife is having a very bad day and it involves the police." End of conversation. In truth, the highlight of my day was crawling up into the tubes in Burger King's play land to inspect a potty mess left by another child. No police. Definitely the type of thing that causes a husband's heart rate to increase. Come to think of it - not so much in our family. If the police are involved at least there's some stability. Honestly - an officer should have tracked down the parents that left Burger King without cleaning up the aforementioned mess!