The movie theater here offers 'rush hour' prices. All shows between 4 and 6 during the week are only $4. Who can turn that down when there are three or four of you going?
Only problem - there hasn't been anything I thought the kids would sit through since the promotion started. And then we saw that Megamind opened today. Excellent! Let's GO!
I told R that I wanted to take the kids to see the 5 pm showing. He thought it was a good idea, and he said he'd meet us at the movie theater after work.
I didn't tell the kids until after T got home from school. I wanted it to be a surprise, and I figured it would be easier to get them in shoes and coats and into the van if they were excited about going somewhere. (It totally was.)
We got to the theater and were standing in line to buy tickets when I noticed: the rush hour offer was for all shows between 4 and 6 pm from Monday through Thursday.
Oooooooops. So instead of paying sixteen dollars we paid almost twice that. But it was my mistake for not paying enough attention to the details. This has been a bad week for me in that respect.
I have to say, though, the price was well worth it in the long run because we all had a wonderful time and the movie was really, really cute. I think it was more geared for tweens and up rather than kids T and S's age, but with Will Farrell, Tina Fey, and Brad Pitt doing the voice overs, how could you possibly lose? And besides, we got the large popcorn/drink combo and the kids went through two large popcorns (refills are free) which meant not only did we put a minuscule, barely noticeable dent in popcorn profits, but I didn't have to fix dinner. Double yay!
I think we should totally add family date night to the agenda. On, say, a Thursday or something.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Silver Bells
A few minutes ago, I pulled up Facebook and saw that my one of my ex sister in laws posted something about a new Scentsy candle called Silver Bells. And just like that, I had a flashback.
What's the point of having a flashback if you can't share it, right?
My freshman year in high school, the drama teacher decided to have a talent show right around the holidays. It was a long time ago so some of the details (read: most)have been shoved out of my mind to make room for such things as the kids' birthdays and likes and dislikes, the current fundraiser-of-the-month for my daughter's preschool, and how much money is left in our checking account until payday. Bothersome!
Anyway, for some reason I thought it would be a great idea if I signed up to present a talent in the talent show. One problem with that. I don't really have an obvious talent. When I tried out for school plays, I almost always made the generic cast, so acting wasn't a good idea. I had taken dance for years, but hello! It was high school and there was NO way I was going to put myself directly in the path of that level of ridicule. Also, it was the 80's and it would have messed up my wall of hair. I can't read music or play an instrument, can't twirl a baton or swallow fire... hmmm...
I wish I could remember why I ever even signed up for the stupid talent show. It had to have been a drama class requirement or for extra credit. Or - and this is the most likely scenario - a boy I liked was probably involved. ::Shaking my head at the teen aged me::
I did write poetry, but it was all sad, morose, dark stuff, so that didn't seem like a good idea at Christmas time. Plus? Way too personal. Way.
I ended up signing up to sing. The song? Uh-huh, you guessed it - Silver Bells. Mr. Anderson, who was the pianist for all the plays our school produced, was supposed to be playing the piano for any of us that wanted to sing, but something happened and he couldn't do it. I got someone else to do it for me and I think we might have had one rehearsal before the talent show. Emphasis on might.
Fast forward to the talent show. Someone played the piano, I sang Silver Bells, people clapped politely when I was done. Yay me! I sang in public.
And then I saw the tape.
Oh. My. Geezers.
If American Idol had been around then and that had been my audition? I SO would have made the hall of shame. It was horrid. Awful. Out of tune. Out of sync. Just....ugh. The stuff that teen aged nightmares were made of. It was so bad, in fact, that no one every said a word of it to me. People, that's not good. And the worst of it? I genuinely had no clue at the time. My only hope? Is that it was on beta video and not VHS so that it's now gone forever.
So, while I'm sure that Scentsy's Silver Bells is delightful, I don't think I'll be asking for it for Christmas.
What's the point of having a flashback if you can't share it, right?
My freshman year in high school, the drama teacher decided to have a talent show right around the holidays. It was a long time ago so some of the details (read: most)have been shoved out of my mind to make room for such things as the kids' birthdays and likes and dislikes, the current fundraiser-of-the-month for my daughter's preschool, and how much money is left in our checking account until payday. Bothersome!
Anyway, for some reason I thought it would be a great idea if I signed up to present a talent in the talent show. One problem with that. I don't really have an obvious talent. When I tried out for school plays, I almost always made the generic cast, so acting wasn't a good idea. I had taken dance for years, but hello! It was high school and there was NO way I was going to put myself directly in the path of that level of ridicule. Also, it was the 80's and it would have messed up my wall of hair. I can't read music or play an instrument, can't twirl a baton or swallow fire... hmmm...
I wish I could remember why I ever even signed up for the stupid talent show. It had to have been a drama class requirement or for extra credit. Or - and this is the most likely scenario - a boy I liked was probably involved. ::Shaking my head at the teen aged me::
I did write poetry, but it was all sad, morose, dark stuff, so that didn't seem like a good idea at Christmas time. Plus? Way too personal. Way.
I ended up signing up to sing. The song? Uh-huh, you guessed it - Silver Bells. Mr. Anderson, who was the pianist for all the plays our school produced, was supposed to be playing the piano for any of us that wanted to sing, but something happened and he couldn't do it. I got someone else to do it for me and I think we might have had one rehearsal before the talent show. Emphasis on might.
Fast forward to the talent show. Someone played the piano, I sang Silver Bells, people clapped politely when I was done. Yay me! I sang in public.
And then I saw the tape.
Oh. My. Geezers.
If American Idol had been around then and that had been my audition? I SO would have made the hall of shame. It was horrid. Awful. Out of tune. Out of sync. Just....ugh. The stuff that teen aged nightmares were made of. It was so bad, in fact, that no one every said a word of it to me. People, that's not good. And the worst of it? I genuinely had no clue at the time. My only hope? Is that it was on beta video and not VHS so that it's now gone forever.
So, while I'm sure that Scentsy's Silver Bells is delightful, I don't think I'll be asking for it for Christmas.
Restless
The last week or two, I've been feeling restless in my skin. Usually I change the furniture around and clean when I feel this way, but I really like the way we have the furniture arranged so I haven't changed it. Therefore, I am completely convinced, I am still feeling restless.
Restless sometimes turns into distracted. Like yesterday when I tried to unlock and load groceries into the wrong van. It was the same make and color as my van, same interior...a bit cleaner, but since it was windy I can chalk that up to hoping the breeze/gusts blew some of the dirt off my van. I was parked in roughly the same area, just one row over. This would be much more concerning if I tried to get into a different type of car altogether, right? I also believe that they call that grand theft auto - or at least breaking and entering.
Further proof of my distraction? Today I had a waxing appointment. Ironically, I was sitting in my car (I was early - that happens when I don't have the kids with me) thinking about the great van goof up from the day before and thinking how not funny it would be if I had missed my appointment. I take my dehairing quite seriously since the dark hair or seventy had started to appear on my face. (WTH hormones...I'm not even 40 yet!) When the magic hour arrived, I went in and gave my info to the very, very nice lady at the reception desk. She looked up with a frown - she didn't have me down for today.
Well, that's odd. I have an appointment card and everything. So I go out to my van to get it, and pull it out of the sun visor and notice that my appointment is next week. Really, self?!? At least I wasn't rude or obnoxious about being certain the appointment was today. I slink back in and apologize profusely for being a dork. But to do this kind of stuff twice in two days? I am definitely distracted. I dislike that feeling.
On the bright side of this issue? Blog material! That is, if I can remember it. HA!
Restless sometimes turns into distracted. Like yesterday when I tried to unlock and load groceries into the wrong van. It was the same make and color as my van, same interior...a bit cleaner, but since it was windy I can chalk that up to hoping the breeze/gusts blew some of the dirt off my van. I was parked in roughly the same area, just one row over. This would be much more concerning if I tried to get into a different type of car altogether, right? I also believe that they call that grand theft auto - or at least breaking and entering.
Further proof of my distraction? Today I had a waxing appointment. Ironically, I was sitting in my car (I was early - that happens when I don't have the kids with me) thinking about the great van goof up from the day before and thinking how not funny it would be if I had missed my appointment. I take my dehairing quite seriously since the dark hair or seventy had started to appear on my face. (WTH hormones...I'm not even 40 yet!) When the magic hour arrived, I went in and gave my info to the very, very nice lady at the reception desk. She looked up with a frown - she didn't have me down for today.
Well, that's odd. I have an appointment card and everything. So I go out to my van to get it, and pull it out of the sun visor and notice that my appointment is next week. Really, self?!? At least I wasn't rude or obnoxious about being certain the appointment was today. I slink back in and apologize profusely for being a dork. But to do this kind of stuff twice in two days? I am definitely distracted. I dislike that feeling.
On the bright side of this issue? Blog material! That is, if I can remember it. HA!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Workout Wednesday
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah! Thanks mostly to the stomach flu last week, I'm down 5 pounds. The way I figure it, the stomach flu jump started it for me, but I maintained it. Which, considering the amount of candy lying around here and the batch of oatmeal cookies I made, is not too shabby.
Sunday I had a great cardio session. I don't think I've been that sweaty since my last Zumba class and man, it felt great. This lead to a shorter, but still intense cardio session on Monday. Also on Monday? I bench pressed 95 pounds! Talk about an endorphin high! I absolutely love lifting weights. But I also realize that I need to focus more on cardio if I'm going to lose weight. And considering I want to lose at least 80 more pounds, I'd better get to it.
The elliptical machine at the Y has a five minute fit test you can take. Just out of curiosity, I took it towards the end of my workout on Sunday. In a surprise that made me giggle, the machine stopped me at 4 minutes 15 seconds and scored me at 0. ::Snort!!::
Today I took it again and just like Sunday it was at the end of my workout. I got to finish today but my rating was "very low" and my score was 17.7 or something. I'm guessing that the range goes from 0 to 100. So if on Sunday I didn't even get to finish before the machine stopped testing me, then I take it as a huge sign of improvement that today I got to finish and got a score, even if the score was really, really bad. So I'm going to take it again on Friday and see what happens. I like the idea of being able to measure my progress against something, you know?
Sunday I had a great cardio session. I don't think I've been that sweaty since my last Zumba class and man, it felt great. This lead to a shorter, but still intense cardio session on Monday. Also on Monday? I bench pressed 95 pounds! Talk about an endorphin high! I absolutely love lifting weights. But I also realize that I need to focus more on cardio if I'm going to lose weight. And considering I want to lose at least 80 more pounds, I'd better get to it.
The elliptical machine at the Y has a five minute fit test you can take. Just out of curiosity, I took it towards the end of my workout on Sunday. In a surprise that made me giggle, the machine stopped me at 4 minutes 15 seconds and scored me at 0. ::Snort!!::
Today I took it again and just like Sunday it was at the end of my workout. I got to finish today but my rating was "very low" and my score was 17.7 or something. I'm guessing that the range goes from 0 to 100. So if on Sunday I didn't even get to finish before the machine stopped testing me, then I take it as a huge sign of improvement that today I got to finish and got a score, even if the score was really, really bad. So I'm going to take it again on Friday and see what happens. I like the idea of being able to measure my progress against something, you know?
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Choices
Last week, Mom and Richard took the kids out for the afternoon. I cleaned the kitchen and then sat down to watch Sophie's Choice. I hadn't seen it before, and while I knew the gist of the movie, actually watching it? It was....powerful. Heartbreaking. Terribly, terribly sad. Meryl Streep was amazing.
How could anyone survive making a choice like that? Worse, how many people had to? I can't bear to think about it.
It certainly put things in a clearer perspective.
I also started thinking about choices. We make so many of them every day...what to wear, where to go, what to eat, what we say, how we act and react...
I want the kids to grow up with the ability to make good choices. One of the hardest things about letting the kids make their own choices is respecting their right to make choices I wouldn't. And then I think about how imperfect I am, and how I learned way more from my mistakes than I ever did by blindly following someone elses choice direction (even when they were right).
Why is this so hard to do as a parent? Or maybe it's just hard for me...
But I am so utterly, humbly grateful that I live in America where I have the freedom to make choices (and mistakes), and that I will never have to face a choice like Sophie did.
How could anyone survive making a choice like that? Worse, how many people had to? I can't bear to think about it.
It certainly put things in a clearer perspective.
I also started thinking about choices. We make so many of them every day...what to wear, where to go, what to eat, what we say, how we act and react...
I want the kids to grow up with the ability to make good choices. One of the hardest things about letting the kids make their own choices is respecting their right to make choices I wouldn't. And then I think about how imperfect I am, and how I learned way more from my mistakes than I ever did by blindly following someone elses choice direction (even when they were right).
Why is this so hard to do as a parent? Or maybe it's just hard for me...
But I am so utterly, humbly grateful that I live in America where I have the freedom to make choices (and mistakes), and that I will never have to face a choice like Sophie did.
Monday, November 1, 2010
I really need to give up on the idea of naps already
Today started off well. No problems with the kids this morning while getting them up and ready for school. I needed a homework sheet for T that I couldn't find, and while I frantically searched through where I thought I put it, I couldn't find it. Somewhere in my panic of misplacing T's sheet, I recognized the rumble of the bus coming up the street. T and I dashed outside, me in bare feet and leaving S in the house with the door wide open so I could hear her and so that she wouldn't lock me out, only to see the bus pulling away from the bus stop. Sorry T! I would have looked for that paper last night if I'd had any idea it was no longer where I put it on Friday. Or where I was sure I'd put it. Don't you hate it when that happens?
We took T to school and got there in plenty of time, then headed off to the Y. S, for whatever reason, decided to balk about going to the Y this morning. Loudly. Repeatedly. Publicly. Undeterred, I gave her a few minutes in the parking lot to get it out of her system, then I enticed her into the Y by splitting a bottle of water with her. Seriously? Sometimes it's the simplest things that snap her out of a funk.
Workout completed, we headed to the car where S buckles in, immediately complains about being thirsty while simultaneously realizing she left her water bottle inside. Queue the dramatic and loud protesting and demands that we go and get it. Since we were already in motion and on the main road, we didn't go back. S was most unimpressed by this decision.
By the time we got home, she had calmed down considerably, helped I'm sure by the fact that we have bottled water a-plenty there. And juice. And milk. After we had lunch, played, and read books for a while, she curled up on the couch with a blanket and looked like she was getting sleepy. Thinking she might take a quick nap if I sang her some songs, I sat down beside her.
Guess who fell asleep? Uh huh. Not S. I dozed for about 30 minutes, and when I woke up, S was at the kitchen table, quietly going through Halloween candy. Honestly, could I make it any easier for my kids to do whatever they want sometimes? ::Snort::
We took T to school and got there in plenty of time, then headed off to the Y. S, for whatever reason, decided to balk about going to the Y this morning. Loudly. Repeatedly. Publicly. Undeterred, I gave her a few minutes in the parking lot to get it out of her system, then I enticed her into the Y by splitting a bottle of water with her. Seriously? Sometimes it's the simplest things that snap her out of a funk.
Workout completed, we headed to the car where S buckles in, immediately complains about being thirsty while simultaneously realizing she left her water bottle inside. Queue the dramatic and loud protesting and demands that we go and get it. Since we were already in motion and on the main road, we didn't go back. S was most unimpressed by this decision.
By the time we got home, she had calmed down considerably, helped I'm sure by the fact that we have bottled water a-plenty there. And juice. And milk. After we had lunch, played, and read books for a while, she curled up on the couch with a blanket and looked like she was getting sleepy. Thinking she might take a quick nap if I sang her some songs, I sat down beside her.
Guess who fell asleep? Uh huh. Not S. I dozed for about 30 minutes, and when I woke up, S was at the kitchen table, quietly going through Halloween candy. Honestly, could I make it any easier for my kids to do whatever they want sometimes? ::Snort::
Happy Halloween
This week has been a struggle to post blog entries. This happens from time to time and I know it will pass. Just knowing that someone out there is actually reading what I write? Wow - it's a powerful thing and a great motivator. I cannot say this enough - thank you for reading this. And for coming back even when it takes me two or three days to post the entries that I start every day.
Okay then. On to today's post....
Halloween! This is our first Halloween with the kids in the States, so I was pretty excited. They are both old enough to get a kick out of it, and we live in a kid friendly neighborhood. Where I grew up, in order to get a full bag of candy, I had to walk at least three miles. Houses were a lot less close together then, and I loved candy so I was willing to walk for it. It was also much safer back then and no big deal for a kid to take off for a couple hours of trick or treating without an adult going with them. Those were good times. But with smaller kids, it's nice to live in a military neighborhood with lots of kids and houses that are closer together. My kids (thankfully) aren't nearly as motivated by candy as I used to be. But I love that they said thank you the majority of the time without being prompted. I also love how much the people in the neighborhood went out of the way to decorate and make it a great experience for the kiddos.
My friend Tascha came over with her two kids and she and I took the kids out while R handed out candy. With four kids under six, you never know how well or how poorly things will go, but all four kids listened really well and did what we asked, which meant that trick or treating tonight went beautifully. And as a bonus for the grownups? The kids were done in under an hour. And they were so, so cute.
As an additional bonus, once we got home, Tascha and I sat outside the garage to try and get rid of the over abundance of candy I bought (after the Trunk or Treat at the Y a week ago, we decided we should buy double the amount of candy we thought we needed. In defense of that decision, in Germany we always ended up running out in no time). To my intense and great surprise, our neighbor -- yes THAT one -- was outside handing out candy too, and she ended up coming over and hanging out with us. And it was fun. She was hilarious and friendly and I tried really hard not to look as surprised as I felt. I'm still never, ever going to block her driveway, but I think great strides were made tonight.
The only down side? We ended up with a lot of leftover candy. But all the leftovers are in sealed bags, so we are going to use some of it for stocking stuffers and the other we'll throw in the freezer for those days when ya just need a bit of chocolate. Or something to take to a potluck. If I can't see it and I can't smell it, I generally don't want to eat it. Unless it's really good cheesecake. Freezing cheesecake just makes it more appealing to me, oddly enough. Which is why I don't buy or make cheesecake.
I hope all of you had a safe and happy Halloween. And I believe this officially marks the beginning of the holiday season, even though I think the Christmas decorations have been out since the middle of October. Is it just me, or does it seem like Christmas marketing comes earlier every year?
Okay then. On to today's post....
Halloween! This is our first Halloween with the kids in the States, so I was pretty excited. They are both old enough to get a kick out of it, and we live in a kid friendly neighborhood. Where I grew up, in order to get a full bag of candy, I had to walk at least three miles. Houses were a lot less close together then, and I loved candy so I was willing to walk for it. It was also much safer back then and no big deal for a kid to take off for a couple hours of trick or treating without an adult going with them. Those were good times. But with smaller kids, it's nice to live in a military neighborhood with lots of kids and houses that are closer together. My kids (thankfully) aren't nearly as motivated by candy as I used to be. But I love that they said thank you the majority of the time without being prompted. I also love how much the people in the neighborhood went out of the way to decorate and make it a great experience for the kiddos.
My friend Tascha came over with her two kids and she and I took the kids out while R handed out candy. With four kids under six, you never know how well or how poorly things will go, but all four kids listened really well and did what we asked, which meant that trick or treating tonight went beautifully. And as a bonus for the grownups? The kids were done in under an hour. And they were so, so cute.
As an additional bonus, once we got home, Tascha and I sat outside the garage to try and get rid of the over abundance of candy I bought (after the Trunk or Treat at the Y a week ago, we decided we should buy double the amount of candy we thought we needed. In defense of that decision, in Germany we always ended up running out in no time). To my intense and great surprise, our neighbor -- yes THAT one -- was outside handing out candy too, and she ended up coming over and hanging out with us. And it was fun. She was hilarious and friendly and I tried really hard not to look as surprised as I felt. I'm still never, ever going to block her driveway, but I think great strides were made tonight.
The only down side? We ended up with a lot of leftover candy. But all the leftovers are in sealed bags, so we are going to use some of it for stocking stuffers and the other we'll throw in the freezer for those days when ya just need a bit of chocolate. Or something to take to a potluck. If I can't see it and I can't smell it, I generally don't want to eat it. Unless it's really good cheesecake. Freezing cheesecake just makes it more appealing to me, oddly enough. Which is why I don't buy or make cheesecake.
I hope all of you had a safe and happy Halloween. And I believe this officially marks the beginning of the holiday season, even though I think the Christmas decorations have been out since the middle of October. Is it just me, or does it seem like Christmas marketing comes earlier every year?
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