Happy Birthday to Me!!

I am old. When my mother was this age, I had been married for six years. Me? I've got a Junior in high school and a 7th grader. Times change. And so does my hair color. Prep lifted up my hair last night and said that my original color under there looked pretty good. Why not go with it?

Silly child.

Road trip starts today. All those with close contact to the higher authorities need to pray for safety and sanity.

Oh My Holy Hell

Two weeks from tomorrow is PrepGirl's SIXTEENTH birthday. I was taking it in stride. Of course, she was not.



I didn't realize, however, that the rest of our family was getting ready to coronate the heiress presumptive. (And trust me, she and BrownBear are the only two grandchildren on one side and they are two of three grand children on the other, so realistically, we are getting ready for a freaking coronation.) The grandparents, ShoeKing and LawyerBoy are figuring out how to give her a car - a car - so she can tool around in relative coolness and comfort during her Junior year. And by coolness, I don't mean AC.



I have staged a mini-revolution: I have thrown myself down and declared that I will have a continuous fit if she gets a car before I do. Let me show you what I am driving:

Mine doesn't look this good - 203,000 miles will do that to a car. Now, LawyerBoy is in complete agreement with me; he is working on finding me that perfect car that doesn't say old lady - something more like teacher in midlife crisis.

I am still apprehensive about tossing keys to PrepGirl. However, when I turned 16, I had an uncle who told me that he had a car waiting for me and I am still waiting for him to toss those car keys to me. (I look in the driveway every Christmas morning and birthday, just in case.) I want her to be that princess on her birthday, but oh my holy hell, I don't want her to be legally blonde...

Let's Start the Celebration Now

It is amazingly silent; well, not exactly silent, but quieter than normal. The only noise is the noise that I am generating. History Channel, washing machine, keyboard. You see, it is finally March Mission Madness/No Wives 16 converging at the same time. And when that convergence occurs....Teachergirl has a weekend alone. Just in time for birthday weekend!!!

Has this ever happened before? Uh, no. BrownBear just got into the Youth Group, so this is the first time she has gotten to go on the big March trip.

I've already had a lovely girls' night out and have purchased Sophie Kinsella's newest novel, Remember Me? If only Jen Lancaster knew and loved me, I'd have a copy of her newest book. And what a time I'd be having with that.

The only thing that sucks the ass out of this whole weekend is Daylight Saving Time. Are you kidding me? It is way too early for this crap. You all spring forward; I'm quite happy where I am. And, by the way; my evaluation was held today - kind of a surprise, but whatever -- and I hit the exemplary mark on every category. My AP wanted to know if I had anything to say or add and I was like - uh, no. Exemplary is just fine by me. I'll take it, thankyouverymuch. What gets me is that when I was teaching middle school, I couldn't get an Exemplary/Exceeds Standards evaluation to save my lily white behind. In some ways, just going inside that building should have qualified teachers for an exceeds standards. Do I get a medal or a raise or anything else? No. But I get to hang my evaluation on the refrigerator along with report cards and dance invitations and pictures of my kids.

Just Another Way I Know I am Nuts

A slumber party? With five twelve year olds? How far upstairs can I get? Only time will tell. Oh yes. With the best birthday present in the world. An air hockey table. With sound. One that my daughter (and husband) have coveted forever.

Cheaper by the Dozen?

Happy Birthday, BrownBear!! I can't believe it has been twelve whole years. I can't believe you're the baby, either. It has gone by way too quickly. Love and kisses.

The Party Is Over

PrepGirl survived her birthday and yesterday. In fact, I survived the three hour wait to get the official Learner's Permit, too. So, it's zoom, zoom, zoom at our house. I can see how this is going to inflate our gas bill.

It is time to go buy BrownBear some uniforms for 6th grade. Like, right now. Before the crowd gets to the bookstore and everything.

And then, I'm off to spend the rest of the governor's money.

And vacation is officially over. So over.

BrownBear's Day

Eleven years ago today... we got our BrownBear. Her nickname (yes, sometimes, I actually do refer to her as BrownBear) came from the first little stuffed brown bear she had in her crib. She still has Brown Bear and will occasionally take him out. She has outgrown her dolls, preferring to listen to the same crazy music as her sister and to play computer games with her friends on-line. She is somewhat the tomboy who can outplay the boys at football during recess. She can be a beautiful girl - she is starting to get her grown up face - and I can see the woman hiding behind her little girl looks. All that to say, the baby has grown up.