So it has finally happened. Happy has a friend. We will call him Jester. There is a long sorted story behind how Jester and Happy got to this place. It would stand to reason that birds of a feather flock together, and it would seem that these two have more in common than one would think.
But let me start in the beginning: Happy has never really expressed an interest in having a friend, it would seem to me that surrounded by a pile of siblings, and a home that has a revolving door on the front and back for friends, family and neighbors to walk through has served him fine until this point.
Out of the blue, Happy says that he has plans to go to a school function with Jester. Well being that I am a mom that insists on planning and plotting every detail of the ten person family, I figured that I would ignore Happy's plea for this outing and eventually, he would forget about the event. NOPE. This was not to be the case, so when I got a phone message about the event, I again thought - I will let this ride, it will pass... NOPE. And as a side note, Happy is very content and rarely asks to do anything...so this mildly compelled me to pick up the phone and call to investigate said friend and trip to the school function.
As it turns out my good buddy Happy had the facts wrong... shocked? I am not. But I do the good mom thing and offer to take Jester and Happy to the event. I also offer to bring Jester home with us after school, and allow him to visit and have dinner with us prior to the event.
I am a bit puzzled about the whole situation as few things just did not add up... Jester's mom did not seem to be concerned about who I was, like am I an ax murderer, nor did she introduce herself. Now, I know that I am the atypical mom in some regards - I like to know all the details - the more details the better...she did not even give her name to me until the end of the conversation, when I asked her for it...
So now plans are set, and I am still scratching my head, puzzled over the fact that this child is in Happy's class, and Happy's class is filled with special needs kids, would you not think that she would even want to fill me in on Jester's needs, or if he had allergies... So I email Happy and Jester's teacher... ask some vague questions about their friendship, and if she can give me some information on what I can expect when I pick up the boys at school.
Her email back to me simply says, " Oh boy. I will call you if that is okay."
Now in the meantime, my Prince says to me that this situation that I find myself in, really is my own fault. I did not ask this woman for information about her son, so why am I upset that I don't have information about her son... well I guess that is a good point, but some parents are in denial about the special needs of their children, so I didn't ask because I didn't want to offend??? The conversation was already awkward enough, because all the conversation was one sided ( my side) and she gave one word responses... nothing additional... with many pregnant pauses...
"Were you planning on taking Jester and Happy to the event?" "No" " Would you like Happy and I to meet you at the event?" "NO" "can someone come get Jester after the event? " "NO" "Do you think Jester would like to come home after school with Happy and have dinner and then go to the show with us?" "Sure", "Can you send a note to school so I can pick up Jester?" "Yes" - I think you get the idea!
Well the appointed time rolls around on the clock and the teacher calls to give me the "skinny" on the situation. It is a sad story of a boy who much like Happy, adopted, later in life, been through a lot with a host of special needs. But as the story unfolds, I feel my heart being pricked towards ministering to this little boy.
The Prince and I discuss this over lunch and the decision is made to keep the plans for the day the same and love Jester like he was one of our own....
Promptly at 2:35 Happy and Jester stroll out to the car. Happy is extremely giddy, silly and sing songy as he calls me Mommy - O and rattles on about how I am the bestest mom in the whole world...
Now give me a minute to tell you what I was expecting to see when I picked up my lil' ol Happy and his little friend....this: someone slight in size like Happy, big smile on his face, hard to remember upon glancing at him that he is almost 14. (Happy could pass for your average 10 year old)
Here is what greets me... Happy, and a very tall, man-boy, with hair that he shaved himself , double the height and width of Happy.
Jester is very sweet and friendly, he offers to sit in the back seat, and I instruct Happy to sit with his friend... His reply " Yes Mommy - O "
Jester is obviously very self conscious about his self induced haircut, and says : "I cut my own hair, because I wanted a military cut. Do you think you could fix it for me ? I reply - well you look like you got most of it, and because I don't know your family very well, it would probably not be a good idea for me to fix it for you. Well could you let me use your scissors Jester inquires? Um no Jester, I don't think we will be using scissors today, but how about we go for some ice cream on this beautiful day?" So in a fit of child like giggles, the boys decide that ice cream would be a great treat..."Mommy - O"
So I pull into the convenience store, and point the boys in the direction of the Good Humor case, and go to refill my own beverage cup. Come back around see that the boys have decided that they are going to do everything the same, so they are both going to have drumsticks. We go to the counter to pay, and I send Happy for napkins, we pile into the car, windows down, head home. What transpired in the span of 2 miles and 6 minutes is still a mystery to me. By the time we pulled into the drive way, Jester is asking if I can help him get a stain out of his pants. But when he and Happy get out of the back of the car, they have ice cream on their faces, hands and all over their pants..not just one spot but smears every where...
In the house we go, all the while Jester being very concerned about not touching anything, because he doesn't want to get ice cream stains on it.... I have them wash their hands, they do but never touch their faces (why because I did not tell them too!) I give up on having Jester try to wipe off the chocolate on his tan pants and find an outfit for him to change into, and take his and Happy's clothing to the washer, 1/4 of a bottle of spray and wash later - and the washer is running!
Note to self... next time a nice refreshing beverage might be best!
In the meantime, Happy has to do dish before going out to play with Jester. Jester is cheerfully helping when I come down from the washing machine. Talking up a storm about how he and Happy should do everything together and how he can make him a bracelet, about his dogs and about his hair cut. Now it seems that one of the things that Jester is good at is telling the same story over and over again, AND Happy is great at listening to the story and smiling and nodding. Jester is the talker, Happy is the listener... and I start to think aren't all great friendships like that? One friend is always the talker and the other is always the listener!
Life lesson # 1 for the day - Ice cream is the glue that seals the friendship deal!
Life lesson #2 for the day - Good friends, balance each other out!
So the next activity they choose to do is go out and play... now Jester doesn't want to mess up his good shoes so he is trying to wear a pair of Happy's shoes... Remember the size difference... Happy is in a size 4 and Jester a 13 I note, when I glance inside his good shoes. Fortunately for Jester, Happy has a big footed brother and we can hook him up with a pair of shoes to wear to play in!
Life lesson #3 - Friendship is blind to the obvious differences that we each have... they wanted to be so much the same that there was no way in Jester's mind that he couldn't fit Happy's shoes!
To the outdoors we go! Now I will say at this point I am still unsure about what will happen if I am not an ever present sight for them while they are playing (not dissimilar to those days of small children learning to play alone, I sat on the fringe and watched, encouraged and cheered for them.)
At one point Happy was running with his hands full and with an untied sneaker... I cautioned him, slow down and tie that shoe before you trip... Jester, says to him... "stop I will help you", I think he is going to take the toys out of Happy's hand, but instead he bends down and ties his shoe for him.
Life lesson #4 - A friend does things for you that are sometimes hard for you to do.
So we played basketball - one time I counted 22 shots, not one went in...
Life lesson #5 - A friend encourages you to keep trying.
We jumped on the trampoline. We had to stop because there was a bee, but Jester swatted it away so that it would not sting Happy. And then they ran at top speed into safety.
Life lesson # 6 - Sometimes we do things for our friends that are scary.
We played more basketball, we had another snack and we played video games.
We had dinner, got dressed, we attended the event at the school, and we took Jester home.
While it is now very clear to me that birds of a feather DO flock together...I have to say, I learned a lot from Happy and Jester regarding friendship today. Sometimes, we just need to slow down, and look at things through a different lens...
Really, you can't make this stuff up. And today I am happy that I did not miss this time, or these life lessons taught to me by my special needs child and his first ever friend Jester.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
What's in a Name???
Well I suppose I should start out by saying a name is a name right? Many names are same - but spelled differently:
Amy, Ami, Amie
Sarah, Sara
Catherine, Katherine
Karen, Caryn
Hence the most recent tale of our dwarf Grumpy...
Now it also bears reminding you the reader that Grumpy is not know for his ability to make good choices, or even to be able to see into the future regarding things that he has done on the fly or off the cuff as it were.
I will back track a bit for you so that you can get the whole history on this particular situation. Last week Grumpy came home from school on Thursday and was in a particulary fine mood. In the midst of the arriving home chaos, he choose to fly way under the momma radar and disappear upon entering our home. Often this happens as the kids always seem to wait to use the bathroom until they get home from school. I am welcoming the Behavioral Service Team to the house to work with Sleepy and Bashful, and after about 10 minutes realize that Grumpy is no where to be seen or heard.... Unusual to say the least - and at the most a good indicator that he is up to no good.
So I settle everyone into their assignments - and go off in search of Grumpy - not in his room, not in the bathroom, not outside. Head to the basement - TaDa ! there he is... watching TV which is an absolute no-no during the week. (His excuse is that because Sneezy is home sick and is watching TV, so should he be allowed) So I call him upstairs to get me his homework.
"Mom, I dont have any homework. |" That is funny I think to myself, because tomorrow is his spelling test. I instruct him to go out to the garage and get his backpack - he comes in with just his planner... can you say RED flag??? When the boy ignores a directive, it is ALWAYS because he is trying to avoid something.
I play his game - " Grumpy, I instructed you to get your back pack. Why did you only bring me the planner? " No response - I open the planner - now mind you he is supposed to write his assignmnets in everyday! and the last three days are blank ! So I say - this is amazing - no homework? Not even spelling ?
GO OUT TO THE GARAGE AND GET YOUR BACKPACK....now... Notice becuase I think he may have hearing issues- NOT! I speak loudly so that I make sure he can hear me ---
He returns 5 minutes later with a big attitude and an even bigger mess. We could officially change his dwarf name to Sloppy - but since that is not an option, I just wanted you to know that it would so fit in this particular moment.
I make him remove all the items from his messy back pack - we have papers flying around everywhere, tests that were supposed to be signed and returned, papers for me to read about upcoming events, but most importantly balled up in the bottom of the bag (becasause if you make something look like trash, magically it is!) two hit sheets --- one dated 13 days prior and one for 4 days prior.
"Hum..."I say to Grumpy - " what are these?" No response - "when were you going to give these to me?" "oh Today mom he says" Really ?? Doubtful since this one is 13 days overdue! His response - " Well I told my teacher you were holding them and refused to sign them like before." NICE, the boy does listen! See side note!
Side note - yes one other time about three weeks ago he got some hit sheets and because they were over a week late when he gave them to me (or I shook him down for them) I told him and his teacher that if he was in no hurry to have me sign them so that he would not miss recess everyday - then I was not going to make signing these sheets a priority for me either - and when I got around to reading and signing them I would give them back to him to turn in, and in the meantime, he would need to continue missing recess or whatever the punishment was for such an offense.
So I email his teacher and let her know that I just got these items in my hands that day - Thursday and that as he stated to her previously I was in no hurry to return them and that she should just continue to administer consequences for him until he returns the hit sheets.
His teacher emails me and says in so many words that she is really sorry to have fallen... AGAIN... for Grumpy's shenanagans. That on MONDAY ( reminder it is now Friday) he told her that I was holding the papers and that I refused to sign them. So she was sorry and I could send them in whenever - but did I know that there were three, not two. So I email back and say to her that I know she has a lot going on and I dont blame her for listening to Grumpy, but that she needs to remember that everything he says needs to be followed up on - yes that is exhausting - but look he got away with things for another 4 days and completely got his teacher off his back, and no I did not know that there was third.
Fast forward to Monday - over the weekend I signed Grumpy's sheets and sent them back to school with him. When he went to turn them in after missing recess for 2 weeks basically, his teacher asked about the third one. Oh he forgot to get it - goes to his desk and comes back with it ....
Signed by Brian Lingle --- not that the childish cursive would have given him away, but when you forge someone's name, you really should know how they spell it. His daddy spells his name Bryan !!
Really, you can't make this stuff up!
Amy, Ami, Amie
Sarah, Sara
Catherine, Katherine
Karen, Caryn
Hence the most recent tale of our dwarf Grumpy...
Now it also bears reminding you the reader that Grumpy is not know for his ability to make good choices, or even to be able to see into the future regarding things that he has done on the fly or off the cuff as it were.
I will back track a bit for you so that you can get the whole history on this particular situation. Last week Grumpy came home from school on Thursday and was in a particulary fine mood. In the midst of the arriving home chaos, he choose to fly way under the momma radar and disappear upon entering our home. Often this happens as the kids always seem to wait to use the bathroom until they get home from school. I am welcoming the Behavioral Service Team to the house to work with Sleepy and Bashful, and after about 10 minutes realize that Grumpy is no where to be seen or heard.... Unusual to say the least - and at the most a good indicator that he is up to no good.
So I settle everyone into their assignments - and go off in search of Grumpy - not in his room, not in the bathroom, not outside. Head to the basement - TaDa ! there he is... watching TV which is an absolute no-no during the week. (His excuse is that because Sneezy is home sick and is watching TV, so should he be allowed) So I call him upstairs to get me his homework.
"Mom, I dont have any homework. |" That is funny I think to myself, because tomorrow is his spelling test. I instruct him to go out to the garage and get his backpack - he comes in with just his planner... can you say RED flag??? When the boy ignores a directive, it is ALWAYS because he is trying to avoid something.
I play his game - " Grumpy, I instructed you to get your back pack. Why did you only bring me the planner? " No response - I open the planner - now mind you he is supposed to write his assignmnets in everyday! and the last three days are blank ! So I say - this is amazing - no homework? Not even spelling ?
GO OUT TO THE GARAGE AND GET YOUR BACKPACK....now... Notice becuase I think he may have hearing issues- NOT! I speak loudly so that I make sure he can hear me ---
He returns 5 minutes later with a big attitude and an even bigger mess. We could officially change his dwarf name to Sloppy - but since that is not an option, I just wanted you to know that it would so fit in this particular moment.
I make him remove all the items from his messy back pack - we have papers flying around everywhere, tests that were supposed to be signed and returned, papers for me to read about upcoming events, but most importantly balled up in the bottom of the bag (becasause if you make something look like trash, magically it is!) two hit sheets --- one dated 13 days prior and one for 4 days prior.
"Hum..."I say to Grumpy - " what are these?" No response - "when were you going to give these to me?" "oh Today mom he says" Really ?? Doubtful since this one is 13 days overdue! His response - " Well I told my teacher you were holding them and refused to sign them like before." NICE, the boy does listen! See side note!
Side note - yes one other time about three weeks ago he got some hit sheets and because they were over a week late when he gave them to me (or I shook him down for them) I told him and his teacher that if he was in no hurry to have me sign them so that he would not miss recess everyday - then I was not going to make signing these sheets a priority for me either - and when I got around to reading and signing them I would give them back to him to turn in, and in the meantime, he would need to continue missing recess or whatever the punishment was for such an offense.
So I email his teacher and let her know that I just got these items in my hands that day - Thursday and that as he stated to her previously I was in no hurry to return them and that she should just continue to administer consequences for him until he returns the hit sheets.
His teacher emails me and says in so many words that she is really sorry to have fallen... AGAIN... for Grumpy's shenanagans. That on MONDAY ( reminder it is now Friday) he told her that I was holding the papers and that I refused to sign them. So she was sorry and I could send them in whenever - but did I know that there were three, not two. So I email back and say to her that I know she has a lot going on and I dont blame her for listening to Grumpy, but that she needs to remember that everything he says needs to be followed up on - yes that is exhausting - but look he got away with things for another 4 days and completely got his teacher off his back, and no I did not know that there was third.
Fast forward to Monday - over the weekend I signed Grumpy's sheets and sent them back to school with him. When he went to turn them in after missing recess for 2 weeks basically, his teacher asked about the third one. Oh he forgot to get it - goes to his desk and comes back with it ....
Signed by Brian Lingle --- not that the childish cursive would have given him away, but when you forge someone's name, you really should know how they spell it. His daddy spells his name Bryan !!
Really, you can't make this stuff up!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
It's all about the deal!
Well I am sure you may be wondering, what does a mom of 8 do for fun? Well I wish I could answer with some off the wall tale of high flying adventures, skydiving, or rock climbing...but alas, late yesterday afternoon, my running partner picked me up at 4:30 PM and we drove to another friends house, loaded a cooler, and some chairs into the back of, yup you guessed it, a mini van, and headed off to New Cumberland (yes the adventure was in crossing the river in rush hour traffic) to a food auction.
Now... you see the fun part about the food auction, if all those in attendance understand the idea behind getting a good deal, is that you check in, get a bidder number, and then go and scope out what is on the auction block for the night.
Chips, snack foods, breakfast foods, canned goods, candy ... but the big draw the FREEZER TRUCK!!
I know.. all your hearts have just skipped a beat... what could possibly be on the freezer truck. Well unfortunately, we are not sure either. That is the big adventure!
So we find our seats, get some empty boxes for our loot, and start wait... Oh but our adult ADD kicks in so we get up, and wander to the back of the seating area, and find dinner! Now, please understand, dinner is homemade, and CHEAP! My running partner was very graciously purchased three main courses, and three cans of soda, and still got change... sorta like McDondalds.
Okay -- the excitement is building .. so close to the start, yet so far away... so we pass the time by chatting about our kids, school and our hubbies... Okay conversations stops as the auction starts!
We let them get warmed up. We throw our numbers up in the air a few times with little success... again hopeful that those in the room are going to play by our rules ---cheap cheap cheap deals... Oh good deal, 5lbs of Oranges for $3.50 ! I just bought 3lbs for $5.99 at the grocery. The deal is on..
Speaking honestly, there are times in the auction where you sit there thinking - "what am I doing here?" On this particular evening there was a great deal of candy - and while we sat through the piles and piles of candy and soda options, I texted pictures of my friend the auction virgin to her hubby, took a phone call from another friend.... purchased a drink... just killing time... the goal of successful auctioning is patience, and boy did my patience pay off last night!
So we are getting down to the end of the night - the auctioneer starts lumping odd combinations of food stuff together... mustard and sausage and clove gum... and I am preparing to leave for the evening - and then all of a sudden the pile at the front of the room starts getting bigger and and bigger - they are throwing in things like whole cases of snack foods, chips, olive oil, so I start throwing up my number... well the total of items being bid on keeps getting larger, and of course the amount of money is getting larger - I am in for $30, $35 and they keep adding stuff - $50 (out comes a case -12 large frozen pizzas) $55 - more stuff -at one point I think I even bump up my own bid... cause now even though I am trying to play this cool...this is exciting! Now they start adding other items - toilet paper, tissues, I am at $100 and the lady that is bidding against me drops out so, I think I have this deal... but alas a man in the back picks up the bidding $101. Okay... ok... lets get some perspective on this ... Cereal, toilet paper, tissues, tons of snack foods, sausage, olive oil, pretzels, bags of chips (that retail for $3.99 a bag) dish soap, hand soap... this is all stuff that my family will use! Okay $135 - $136 - I raise my hand and blurt out $150... do I hear $151...urg ..at this point I am ready to end this craziness ! $175 I say. the man says $176... this is just crazy. Oranges - 30 lbs of them added to the bounty, 20lb of chocolate milk balls, another case of Pretzels... more tissues, more toilet paper, room oder eaters, My final offer $200....
Auctioneer says $201.... $200 do I hear $201... he looks at the men on the floor and asks if there is anything else to add to the pile , a few more small things are added... $200.... going once, going twice...... last call do I hear $201 ... SOLD for $200... number 223!! Woo Hoo --- a cheer goes up from the crowd!
Well we start packing all this stuff up and realize that we now have a major transportation issue ! Lucky for me I can avoid total stranger danger, (several men from the auction house are willing for a fee to take me and my stuff home ...) as my running partner has some friends from her church there and they are able to help by loading up my 30 boxes of food stuff into their van and they are able to give me a ride home! Yea me ! and my peeps!
Here is the listing of what I got - now keep in mind that throughout the evening I had purchased the following items prior to the mother load:
2 bottles of Palmolive dish soap
1 -10 lb pork roast
2 - 5lb bags of sausage topping
2 - 5 lb bags of oranges
7 - Tony's pepperoni pizzas
8 - Red Barron 2 pack snack pizzas
1 - extra virgin olive oil
4 - bags of potato chips
1 case - 39 individually packaged cheese curls
2 bags of popcorn snack packs
3 crocks of butter
Additionally -
22 boxes of facial tissue
4 dish soaps
+1 5lb bag of sausage topping
1 case of Dijorno self rising cheese pizzas (12)
7 - 4 packs of toilet paper
20 lbs of milk balls
16 little Debbie apple pies
24 little Debbie chocolate pies
9 boxes of little Debbie gingerbread cookies
1 case of sun chips
2 packs of AAA batteries
5 loaves of bread
1 5lb container of mustard
1 bag of white cheddar cheese curls
4 bags of utz chocolate covered pretzels
4 packs of stella dora bread sticks
2 boxes of chocolate protein bars
2 boxes of beef jerky
2 containers of hand soap
96 individually wrapped cheese curl snacks
2 5 lb bags of steak fries
16 cans of pork and beans
2 boxes of Fuel cereal
7 bags of Martins Sea Salt chips
10 tubes of Easter candy
5 Bags of tortilla chips
1 jar of ranch dressing
2 jars of barbq sauce
4 bags of BBQ chips (full size)
12 bags of thin pretzels
8 bags of sourdough pretzels
4 round tubs of wheat pretzels
9 boxes (8 to a box) peanut butter cracker packs
1 case (15 bags) of ranch flavored pretzel bites
2 cases of clove gum
2 large bags of double bubble gum and candy
2 boxes of cake mix
4 boxes of instant oatmeal
30 lbs of oranges
AND... one large pink stuffed Easter Rabbit!
By my calculations - last night the Lord blessed the Lingle's with over $900 in groceries for under $300.00
$900 worth of groceries, for under $300
FUN time with my 40 something friends
No kids breaking my concentration
Ride with people that are no longer strangers
Sharing my oranges
and rejoicing in the fact that you just can't make this stuff up!
Please visit my other auction virgin friend's blog for an acount of this same food auction and the mechanics of participating in the fun of a food auction!
Now... you see the fun part about the food auction, if all those in attendance understand the idea behind getting a good deal, is that you check in, get a bidder number, and then go and scope out what is on the auction block for the night.
Chips, snack foods, breakfast foods, canned goods, candy ... but the big draw the FREEZER TRUCK!!
I know.. all your hearts have just skipped a beat... what could possibly be on the freezer truck. Well unfortunately, we are not sure either. That is the big adventure!
So we find our seats, get some empty boxes for our loot, and start wait... Oh but our adult ADD kicks in so we get up, and wander to the back of the seating area, and find dinner! Now, please understand, dinner is homemade, and CHEAP! My running partner was very graciously purchased three main courses, and three cans of soda, and still got change... sorta like McDondalds.
Okay -- the excitement is building .. so close to the start, yet so far away... so we pass the time by chatting about our kids, school and our hubbies... Okay conversations stops as the auction starts!
We let them get warmed up. We throw our numbers up in the air a few times with little success... again hopeful that those in the room are going to play by our rules ---cheap cheap cheap deals... Oh good deal, 5lbs of Oranges for $3.50 ! I just bought 3lbs for $5.99 at the grocery. The deal is on..
Speaking honestly, there are times in the auction where you sit there thinking - "what am I doing here?" On this particular evening there was a great deal of candy - and while we sat through the piles and piles of candy and soda options, I texted pictures of my friend the auction virgin to her hubby, took a phone call from another friend.... purchased a drink... just killing time... the goal of successful auctioning is patience, and boy did my patience pay off last night!
So we are getting down to the end of the night - the auctioneer starts lumping odd combinations of food stuff together... mustard and sausage and clove gum... and I am preparing to leave for the evening - and then all of a sudden the pile at the front of the room starts getting bigger and and bigger - they are throwing in things like whole cases of snack foods, chips, olive oil, so I start throwing up my number... well the total of items being bid on keeps getting larger, and of course the amount of money is getting larger - I am in for $30, $35 and they keep adding stuff - $50 (out comes a case -12 large frozen pizzas) $55 - more stuff -at one point I think I even bump up my own bid... cause now even though I am trying to play this cool...this is exciting! Now they start adding other items - toilet paper, tissues, I am at $100 and the lady that is bidding against me drops out so, I think I have this deal... but alas a man in the back picks up the bidding $101. Okay... ok... lets get some perspective on this ... Cereal, toilet paper, tissues, tons of snack foods, sausage, olive oil, pretzels, bags of chips (that retail for $3.99 a bag) dish soap, hand soap... this is all stuff that my family will use! Okay $135 - $136 - I raise my hand and blurt out $150... do I hear $151...urg ..at this point I am ready to end this craziness ! $175 I say. the man says $176... this is just crazy. Oranges - 30 lbs of them added to the bounty, 20lb of chocolate milk balls, another case of Pretzels... more tissues, more toilet paper, room oder eaters, My final offer $200....
Auctioneer says $201.... $200 do I hear $201... he looks at the men on the floor and asks if there is anything else to add to the pile , a few more small things are added... $200.... going once, going twice...... last call do I hear $201 ... SOLD for $200... number 223!! Woo Hoo --- a cheer goes up from the crowd!
Well we start packing all this stuff up and realize that we now have a major transportation issue ! Lucky for me I can avoid total stranger danger, (several men from the auction house are willing for a fee to take me and my stuff home ...) as my running partner has some friends from her church there and they are able to help by loading up my 30 boxes of food stuff into their van and they are able to give me a ride home! Yea me ! and my peeps!
Here is the listing of what I got - now keep in mind that throughout the evening I had purchased the following items prior to the mother load:
2 bottles of Palmolive dish soap
1 -10 lb pork roast
2 - 5lb bags of sausage topping
2 - 5 lb bags of oranges
7 - Tony's pepperoni pizzas
8 - Red Barron 2 pack snack pizzas
1 - extra virgin olive oil
4 - bags of potato chips
1 case - 39 individually packaged cheese curls
2 bags of popcorn snack packs
3 crocks of butter
Additionally -
22 boxes of facial tissue
4 dish soaps
+1 5lb bag of sausage topping
1 case of Dijorno self rising cheese pizzas (12)
7 - 4 packs of toilet paper
20 lbs of milk balls
16 little Debbie apple pies
24 little Debbie chocolate pies
9 boxes of little Debbie gingerbread cookies
1 case of sun chips
2 packs of AAA batteries
5 loaves of bread
1 5lb container of mustard
1 bag of white cheddar cheese curls
4 bags of utz chocolate covered pretzels
4 packs of stella dora bread sticks
2 boxes of chocolate protein bars
2 boxes of beef jerky
2 containers of hand soap
96 individually wrapped cheese curl snacks
2 5 lb bags of steak fries
16 cans of pork and beans
2 boxes of Fuel cereal
7 bags of Martins Sea Salt chips
10 tubes of Easter candy
5 Bags of tortilla chips
1 jar of ranch dressing
2 jars of barbq sauce
4 bags of BBQ chips (full size)
12 bags of thin pretzels
8 bags of sourdough pretzels
4 round tubs of wheat pretzels
9 boxes (8 to a box) peanut butter cracker packs
1 case (15 bags) of ranch flavored pretzel bites
2 cases of clove gum
2 large bags of double bubble gum and candy
2 boxes of cake mix
4 boxes of instant oatmeal
30 lbs of oranges
AND... one large pink stuffed Easter Rabbit!
By my calculations - last night the Lord blessed the Lingle's with over $900 in groceries for under $300.00
$900 worth of groceries, for under $300
FUN time with my 40 something friends
No kids breaking my concentration
Ride with people that are no longer strangers
Sharing my oranges
and rejoicing in the fact that you just can't make this stuff up!
Please visit my other auction virgin friend's blog for an acount of this same food auction and the mechanics of participating in the fun of a food auction!
Monday, January 31, 2011
My BFF
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| Me and My BFF ! There are times is life when a BFF is really the only one that you can turn to, you can't turn to your co-worker, or a neighbor, a relative or a child, sometimes in situations of great distress only a BFF will do! My BFF and I have known each other since we were this size --- I know what your thinking the blonde must be me seeing as how I am towering over her --- ah ha - you forget that today is the anniversary of her birth, so the fact of the matter is that she is just older than I! Hence forth at this time in our life, BIGGER , I mean taller than me! As you can see from the photo - she has always loved me. (or is she trying to push me out of my chair?) However I can't say that I have always had those same feelings for her.(although I think I wanted her out of my chair!) She was a wee bit spoiled in my mind, and while at that age I am sure my harsh assessment stemmed from extreme jealously... but I can't be certain of that all these years later. I will say this - God brought her back into my life when I least expected it and in a way that I would have never imagined, and that was over 16 years ago. I must also say that I knew who she was all those years ago, and she had NOT a clue who I was until weeks later... to say that I was struggling to with the grown up version of my friend from so many years ago would be an understatement! But because of her love for the Lord and complete cluelessness about my life long grudge against her, she called me because she wanted to be my accountability partner. Hum - I can remember to this day, standing in my kitchen looking out the window, talking on a green phone on a cord about how that would be wonderful... who doesn't need a little accountability in their life? Well fast forward through our husbands and piles of kids to the present. There has only been a few days in all these years that we have not spoken to one another at least once a day on the phone or via a text message or some other electronic messaging device. I would like to think that she is a great extension of me. Or maybe to say that she is my opposite and that is why we get along so well. We can agree to disagree, she can get the items on the low shelves and I can reach the high - my Capri's are full length pants on her - we both love a good cup of coffee - mine is just way sweeter than hers- and we love a good cry and an even better laugh. She likes little cars and I like big trucks, she is numbers smart - I am the big picture girl. She likes to have a plan, I like to fly by the seat of my pants! So many years ago, who would have known that God was preparing us for adult friendship, that kind that is only strengthened day by day, and where absence makes the heart feel like it is going to stop beating...or maybe that is just me having a panic attack because I cant reach her on my electronic devises...We rejoice together in one anothers victories, knowing that God has created us both in His own image, and that we are here to complement each other and bring our strengths to the forefront of our interactions with each other and our spouses and our children. If I never have another Friend like her, I can say that my joy has been completed in knowing and loving her! Aunt Patty, Crazy Aunt Patty, Patricia, Chicken Little, Chica.... Happy Birthday to my Best Friend Forever and Ever and Ever ! |
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
What a Good Mom Am I ... NOT !
Well as you all know, our house has been plauged this year with illnesses. It seems that one right after another as we have rolled through pink eye, and chicken pox, stomach flu, and sinus infections. As much as I hate that the crud won't leave our house, I am remembering that this is not the case every year, and I am thankful that the majority of the time, the majority of the house is functioning and healthy...
However, Doc seems this year to be struck by everything... (except the stomach flu...knock on wood).
This week she has been assulted by a tickle and a cough that is relentless. We have tried a variety of medicine to help her sleep and stop coughing at night - none have worked. So Tuesday, after having the day off school on Monday, and suffering through another sleepless night, I say to her... "I have something that will fix you right up...maybe?"
I proceed to dig around in the cubboard for some cough medicine that my doctor gave me when I had pnemonia, that did not work at all for me. It was a pill. I told Doc to take that , and then I followed that with a 12 hour cough medicine in liquid form, which had not been successful for her at all to this point.
Doc heads to school and then to a field trip. It is a few hours til I see her again. In she comes, yellow curls bouncing, to my office with a big cheery HI Mom! Not exactly my Doc's standard greeting. How was the field trip I ask, she indicates that it was great and that she really enjoyed watching the smoke of the incense curl and twirl into the air. (they went to a Buddist temple)
She then hops over to me and says, "my eyes are blurry, do they look blurry to you?" as she sticks her face in mine. Now I am wondering, what is going on with this girl. She is rather excitable it seems, and in a far better mood than she has been in, say for about a year?!
I ask her if she feels okay, "yup" is her reply. "Well, she says, talking very fast, I do feel funny, I am not able to stop talking and my head feels fuzzy." All the while the swish of her yellow curls bouncing with each word.
Then it hits me - the cough medicine that did not work for me, IS working for her and I also gave her the "back up" in case the pill didn't work, so I have esentially gotten my daughter high on cough medicine. Oh brother is all I can think, But instead I ask her this question, "Are you coughing?"
NOPE, not coughing at all !!
Lesson learned, try one medication at a time, and never send a child with too much medication to the Buddist temple...
However, Doc seems this year to be struck by everything... (except the stomach flu...knock on wood).
This week she has been assulted by a tickle and a cough that is relentless. We have tried a variety of medicine to help her sleep and stop coughing at night - none have worked. So Tuesday, after having the day off school on Monday, and suffering through another sleepless night, I say to her... "I have something that will fix you right up...maybe?"
I proceed to dig around in the cubboard for some cough medicine that my doctor gave me when I had pnemonia, that did not work at all for me. It was a pill. I told Doc to take that , and then I followed that with a 12 hour cough medicine in liquid form, which had not been successful for her at all to this point.
Doc heads to school and then to a field trip. It is a few hours til I see her again. In she comes, yellow curls bouncing, to my office with a big cheery HI Mom! Not exactly my Doc's standard greeting. How was the field trip I ask, she indicates that it was great and that she really enjoyed watching the smoke of the incense curl and twirl into the air. (they went to a Buddist temple)
She then hops over to me and says, "my eyes are blurry, do they look blurry to you?" as she sticks her face in mine. Now I am wondering, what is going on with this girl. She is rather excitable it seems, and in a far better mood than she has been in, say for about a year?!
I ask her if she feels okay, "yup" is her reply. "Well, she says, talking very fast, I do feel funny, I am not able to stop talking and my head feels fuzzy." All the while the swish of her yellow curls bouncing with each word.
Then it hits me - the cough medicine that did not work for me, IS working for her and I also gave her the "back up" in case the pill didn't work, so I have esentially gotten my daughter high on cough medicine. Oh brother is all I can think, But instead I ask her this question, "Are you coughing?"
NOPE, not coughing at all !!
Lesson learned, try one medication at a time, and never send a child with too much medication to the Buddist temple...
Apple I-Tunes Made $40+ off us this month
So what is the rage? Technology is great ! We have Ipod shuffles, Ipod nanos, Ipod first gen, the newest latest greatest Ipod....
Flash back to last Thursday morning. About 7 AM. The husband, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, sits at the computer to review the financial status of our family accounts. He chokes on his coffee as he reads out loud, "Apple I-tunes, $29? Swipe fee $12.00 ? Who, sputter, snort on coffee..."
A round the 8 ft table the dwarfs that are present say, "We don't know anything about it, " with wide eyed innocence. " I want all ipod delivered to this table now so that I can check histories and see who is downloading apps and music!!!"
In a musical almost sing song voice Sleepy states , "it is not me, I don't have Internet "! Dopey pipes in with "my Ipod is linked to my personal bank account, so it is not me". Doc insists that she did not purchase anything recently, and the Korean friend is excused because frankly she just looks confused by this situation.
Dad says, where is Happy's Ipod? Well Sleepy skips off to locate it, "happy" to be out of trouble on this one! A full out search goes down in Sleepy's room, and no Ipod to be found.
I think at this point it would be worth mentioning that there are never situations where a dwarf is allowed to take electronics to school, ipods, hand held video games etc... As Bashful sees the dwarfs tossing Sleepy's room, he pipes up with, "Hey I saw Sleepy slip his Ipod in his pants pocket this morning."
Well Bashful does not have the reputation around here for honesty. Often times he is caught jumping on the ban wagon of a sibling that he perceives is in trouble, happy to know that he is not, so we don't hold too much stock in what he says.
However on this day, because Dad is so mad about this charge on his account - he heads upstairs for a quick shower and change, and it may be worth mentioning at this point that is coffee is long forgotten, oh how adrenaline is a great substitute for caffeine, and heads off to the middle school that Happy attends.
Now I don't know about you, but seeing my six foot father, standing in my school office when I get called out of class, would put the fear of God in me.... but not so much for Happy.
When asked for the elusive Ipod, Happy says - "oh yea, it is home on my bed ." Dad thanks him for his time, shoos him back to class and returns home to find the missing Ipod. Dad and I spend about 10 minutes back in Happy's room. Yep, you guessed it...no IPod....
Now Dad is HOT, and I don't just mean his physical appearance. I mean he is boiling mad about this missing piece of technology -and even though Sleepy has denied downloading anything other than the free app his sister hooked him up with, someone, in our home spend some serious money the day before on the Apple Itunes website!!
I calm Dad down, sending him off to the office with the knowledge that he can investigate the charges on his account while at the office today and check with Sleepy when he gets off the bus about the Ipod.
Fast forward to 3PM. Happy gets off the bus and comes to say hello to his dad. His father in his calm way says, "Hey Happy, your Ipod wasn't at home this morning when I went back to the house to look for it." Oh Happy says, that is because it is stuck between the mattress and the frame, I hide it there so no one can take it." "Oh but it is not" says Dad, "Mom and I removed your mattress, and all your blankets and pillows in an effort to find it. Guess what? No Ipod. "
"May I see your backpack?" Suddenly Happy says, "I am not feeling good, my stomach hurts." And very well it should have since in the first pocket that Dad looks in viola .... IPOD!
As it turns out, Happy did not know what he was doing when he opened his free app. It seems that there were all kinds of options for him to download items that he needed to pay for, and since he tries to act like a normal functioning 13 year old, but is on a first grade reading level and understanding, he did not know that he was purchasing these items when he clicked yes ...nor did he know that his father keeps no additional monies in that account linked to the Apple Itunes account and that when he ordered these items there was an additional $12 fee because the account was overdrawn, an honest mistake that could have been resolved if honesty had been his standard from the beginning.
Happy has lost his Ipod for an undisclosed amount of time, has paid his father back, when he shows that he can be honest in his interactions with others, he can earn it back. In the midst o f all this, we all learned that maybe Bashful really does pay more attention than we give him credit for!
You really can't make this stuff up!
Flash back to last Thursday morning. About 7 AM. The husband, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, sits at the computer to review the financial status of our family accounts. He chokes on his coffee as he reads out loud, "Apple I-tunes, $29? Swipe fee $12.00 ? Who, sputter, snort on coffee..."
A round the 8 ft table the dwarfs that are present say, "We don't know anything about it, " with wide eyed innocence. " I want all ipod delivered to this table now so that I can check histories and see who is downloading apps and music!!!"
In a musical almost sing song voice Sleepy states , "it is not me, I don't have Internet "! Dopey pipes in with "my Ipod is linked to my personal bank account, so it is not me". Doc insists that she did not purchase anything recently, and the Korean friend is excused because frankly she just looks confused by this situation.
Dad says, where is Happy's Ipod? Well Sleepy skips off to locate it, "happy" to be out of trouble on this one! A full out search goes down in Sleepy's room, and no Ipod to be found.
I think at this point it would be worth mentioning that there are never situations where a dwarf is allowed to take electronics to school, ipods, hand held video games etc... As Bashful sees the dwarfs tossing Sleepy's room, he pipes up with, "Hey I saw Sleepy slip his Ipod in his pants pocket this morning."
Well Bashful does not have the reputation around here for honesty. Often times he is caught jumping on the ban wagon of a sibling that he perceives is in trouble, happy to know that he is not, so we don't hold too much stock in what he says.
However on this day, because Dad is so mad about this charge on his account - he heads upstairs for a quick shower and change, and it may be worth mentioning at this point that is coffee is long forgotten, oh how adrenaline is a great substitute for caffeine, and heads off to the middle school that Happy attends.
Now I don't know about you, but seeing my six foot father, standing in my school office when I get called out of class, would put the fear of God in me.... but not so much for Happy.
When asked for the elusive Ipod, Happy says - "oh yea, it is home on my bed ." Dad thanks him for his time, shoos him back to class and returns home to find the missing Ipod. Dad and I spend about 10 minutes back in Happy's room. Yep, you guessed it...no IPod....
Now Dad is HOT, and I don't just mean his physical appearance. I mean he is boiling mad about this missing piece of technology -and even though Sleepy has denied downloading anything other than the free app his sister hooked him up with, someone, in our home spend some serious money the day before on the Apple Itunes website!!
I calm Dad down, sending him off to the office with the knowledge that he can investigate the charges on his account while at the office today and check with Sleepy when he gets off the bus about the Ipod.
Fast forward to 3PM. Happy gets off the bus and comes to say hello to his dad. His father in his calm way says, "Hey Happy, your Ipod wasn't at home this morning when I went back to the house to look for it." Oh Happy says, that is because it is stuck between the mattress and the frame, I hide it there so no one can take it." "Oh but it is not" says Dad, "Mom and I removed your mattress, and all your blankets and pillows in an effort to find it. Guess what? No Ipod. "
"May I see your backpack?" Suddenly Happy says, "I am not feeling good, my stomach hurts." And very well it should have since in the first pocket that Dad looks in viola .... IPOD!
As it turns out, Happy did not know what he was doing when he opened his free app. It seems that there were all kinds of options for him to download items that he needed to pay for, and since he tries to act like a normal functioning 13 year old, but is on a first grade reading level and understanding, he did not know that he was purchasing these items when he clicked yes ...nor did he know that his father keeps no additional monies in that account linked to the Apple Itunes account and that when he ordered these items there was an additional $12 fee because the account was overdrawn, an honest mistake that could have been resolved if honesty had been his standard from the beginning.
Happy has lost his Ipod for an undisclosed amount of time, has paid his father back, when he shows that he can be honest in his interactions with others, he can earn it back. In the midst o f all this, we all learned that maybe Bashful really does pay more attention than we give him credit for!
You really can't make this stuff up!
The case of the toilet paper hidden in the drawer!
Oh boy this one is a great one! I will warn you in advance this story is a bit graphic - those with weak stomachs should probably not continue on...
About three Saturday mornings ago, in a good mood, I stroll past Grumpy's room. As I look inside, I think, it is a bit messy, but he has been trying to keep it neat, so I will help out and while he is eatting breakfast, Iwill straighten up some stray items.
I pick up some books and place them on the shelf, place his deodorant on the shelf, and then grab a handful of misc little items that would go well in his junk drawer. I pull open the drawer, and find a rolled up pile of tissue paper. Okay, this is where the weak of heart need to consider continuing on...
I pull out the tissue - to realize that it is toilet paper, covered in .... yes you guessed it, poop...URG!
I drop the paper as if it was on fire! My first response is, aside from GROSS, is are you kidding me?
What is this? I take a deep breath, call my husband, and tell him of my find. He says, relax, I am sure there is a good explanation for it. Right, I agree, a good explanation.
SO I calmly walk downstairs and tell Grumpy that he should come upstairs when he is finished with his breakfast. I go back to his room and wait for him.
He arrives and spies the wad of offensive tissue - I say "Please can you tell me what this is and WHY it is here in your junk drawer." The truth please. Speak the truth.
"Well you know the other day, he says, when I had diarrhea? Well I went to the bathroom and wiped and later when I got my PJ's on, I realized this was stuck in between my butt cheeks, so I took it out, but Dad said I couldn't leave my room, that I had to go to bed, so I put it in my drawer." To that I responded, this is the time that you chose to be obedient? Really?
His father's response "Put that boy on a road march. If he can walk around for the greater part of the day with that wad of tissue between his cheeks and not realize it, he needs to be on a diet!"
Really, you can't make this stuff up!
About three Saturday mornings ago, in a good mood, I stroll past Grumpy's room. As I look inside, I think, it is a bit messy, but he has been trying to keep it neat, so I will help out and while he is eatting breakfast, Iwill straighten up some stray items.
I pick up some books and place them on the shelf, place his deodorant on the shelf, and then grab a handful of misc little items that would go well in his junk drawer. I pull open the drawer, and find a rolled up pile of tissue paper. Okay, this is where the weak of heart need to consider continuing on...
I pull out the tissue - to realize that it is toilet paper, covered in .... yes you guessed it, poop...URG!
I drop the paper as if it was on fire! My first response is, aside from GROSS, is are you kidding me?
What is this? I take a deep breath, call my husband, and tell him of my find. He says, relax, I am sure there is a good explanation for it. Right, I agree, a good explanation.
SO I calmly walk downstairs and tell Grumpy that he should come upstairs when he is finished with his breakfast. I go back to his room and wait for him.
He arrives and spies the wad of offensive tissue - I say "Please can you tell me what this is and WHY it is here in your junk drawer." The truth please. Speak the truth.
"Well you know the other day, he says, when I had diarrhea? Well I went to the bathroom and wiped and later when I got my PJ's on, I realized this was stuck in between my butt cheeks, so I took it out, but Dad said I couldn't leave my room, that I had to go to bed, so I put it in my drawer." To that I responded, this is the time that you chose to be obedient? Really?
His father's response "Put that boy on a road march. If he can walk around for the greater part of the day with that wad of tissue between his cheeks and not realize it, he needs to be on a diet!"
Really, you can't make this stuff up!
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