Big Words

Many of you may remember that B wrote me a nice note for our 13th wedding anniversary to read at Girls Camp where I was spending the week in service of others.

In it, he used the word "cacaphony", a word which I had NEVER heard of. I had no idea how to pronounce it or what it even meant! Thanks to some very smart 18 yr olds, I learned both the pronunciation and meaning of "cacaphony" that week and I am constantly amazed on how often I see or hear that word in my life since. I am also stumped as to how it ended up in a romantic letter from my husband, but I'm at least I'm a little smarter now!

Today, the word "onerous" has surfaced as a word I do not know how to pronounce nor do I know its meaning. My best guess is now that I only care for 1 child most of the day, it's a lonely word?

Dare I ask for help?

They Make It Worth The Trouble Somedays!

What a nice day with the kids!

Everyone left for work or school on time so Kaya and I had a longer "school time" this morning. We worked in her workbook, did a Busy Town puzzle, read several Halloween books (her favorite holiday!) and did a craft stick project!

We put the letters of the alphabet on one side of the craft stick and drew pictures of a word starting with that letter on the other side.

We put all 26 sticks into a cup so whenever we have a snack or meal or find ourselves sitting around the table, we'll pull out a "letter stick" , say the letter aloud, make its sound and think of words that start with that letter!

We also use our finger to "draw" the letter shape on the table.

Bonus: Colin likes this project too!

Later, after Colin was home & lunch was cleaned up, both children went upstairs to play. Usually when this happens, one will be crying or shouting or tattling before too long. There may be a "time out" and feelings get hurt.

Not today! It was wonderful! They listened to each others ideas about what/how to play.

They talked nice, complimented each other and for 2 hours (yes, I said TWO HOURS!) they played upstairs, together, nicely!

No Miss Jen, no TV, no Leapster or DS! Just the 2 of them playing!

AWESOME!

I hope this happens often this school year!

Most of this good, nice behavior continued after Connor got home @ 3:30pm, though it was deteriorating quickly as I left for the day @ 4:45pm.

Good Luck tonight Krista & Brian!

Pot Roast

I brought my slow cooker to work today along with ingredients needed to make a pot roast with vegetables for my dinner tonight.

Kaya was so excited to see the kitchen things. She loves cooking in the kitchen as a project.

"What awh we making Miss Jen?"

"I thought we'd make a pot roast for B's dinner tonight."

"It's for B?"

"Yes, sweetie. B loves pot roast."

"But Miss Jen, he no live here! You can't cook food for him at my house!"

Have I mentioned before how I love three year old (oops! She'll be 4 in 3 weeks) logic!

BTW, the pot roast was good!

Even left some at Kayas house for her mom & dad.

(would've left some for the kids, but Connor announced he didn't like the aroma in the house after school, so none of the kids would even TRY it!)

The End

C announced tonight that her 2 year relationship w/Jimmy is officially over.

We can't say we didn't see this coming when he left for college last year. He was away for the entire summer w/baseball and even later, he transferred to a NY school. These were his choices & we believe they were ones that Jimmy had to make, to start on his future. We are very proud of him and wish him continued success.

Long distance relationships are hard on any couple, though I believe it's hardest on young couples, such as C and Jimmy.

C did her best to be a good girlfriend. She remained faithful and spent many nights home alone even refraining from going out with her girl friends to avoid the appearance of doing something that may have hurt her relationship w/Jimmy.

She was supportive of his choices though secretly I know she wished he would've chosen to stay closer to her.

C's outgoing personality began to show up again (I missed that aspect of her during this past year) this past month as she began college. She no longer wished to be stuck in her room, alone, while friends went out to have fun, just because she had a boyfriend in another part of the world. Their relationship had run its course.

I hope C enjoys her single life w/o giving me too many more gray hairs! Take it slow, enjoy the views! I love you C!

B and I wish Jimmy all the best and we hope to be able to get good seats when he plays in his first Major League game!

She's Baaaaack!

C is back for one night!

Zee was sleeping when C came home today and was unimpressed with the excitement C showed in being home. She seems to be happier & more curious now that she has had a chance to wake up a bit & C isn't "attacking her with love".

Gracie, of course, loves that someone else will pet her & play with her. C being home is a good thing for Gracie.

B spent overnight with the Scouts (I mean, scouT, no s) from our ward and is so tuckered out from the experience, he is napping!

I've replenished C's water supply and purchased other sundries that she didn't think she would use up so quickly! She'll be all set to return back to SNHU in the late morning tomorrow.

She's looking forward to a home cooked meal of Stuffed Shells and bringing some frozen individually frozen ones back with her.

It was very nice to see Larry & Maryanne (our relatives from Hawaii). Thanks to Ben & Natalie for hosting the luncheon @ their house. Good pulled pork! And the picture taking wasn't THAT bad! I have seen Eva's work & she can make us all look ... good! Grammy, Grampy & Aunt Lorraine seemed to be in most of the shots!

It felt both good & "off" being at today's family function without any of the responsibilities of watching children. I did miss T & C very much. But there's a kid up a tree, barefoot? Not my problem! Where's so & so? Not my problem! Did the kids get any healthy food? Don't know, not my problem! That part was nice.

Meryl & Micah let me be their friend for brief spurts of time, that was nice. Natalie W. is very tall & I always enjoy my talks with her. Charles, Robert, Logan and Avery looked like they were having fun while they played. Finley was playing shy, but I caught her having fun & smiling too. Isaac was so busy being busy & eating, he didn't have much time to visit w/ me. That's OK.

All in all, a nice time. Thanks!

Parachutes, Butterflies

OK. Brian's younger brother turned 40 yrs old. To "celebrate", he, Brian & Krista took the PLUNGE! The plunge (or is it a leap?) out of an airplane! While the plane was waaaay up there in the sky! I watched their DVD of the jump & got motion sickness so I KNOW this is something I WILL NEVER try! Good for them though!

On the walk home (from the very late kindergarten school bus , at lunchtime), a monarch butterfly decided to join us. As you know, whenever I see a fluttering butterfly (any kind, but monarchs are my fave) I like to think that Evergreen has taken some time out of her busy day of playing with Blackie, in heaven, to check out what her relatives are doing here on earth.

She was so beautiful & so close, I just had to take a picture!

Evergreen fluttered nearby, watching me (probably laughing) try to find the camera function on my phone.

Then, just as I got it set & focused... she was away! (must've been lunchtime in heaven too!)

So off she flew, slyly laughing to herself about being able to avoid having her picture taken! Sound familiar?

No picture, thanks to modern technology and my lack of knowledge of it!

I enjoyed time with Evergreen though. Love you!

Squinkies... Update

Well, the experiment went well.

I sold the 2 rare Squinkies for $20.50 plus $2.00 postage.

Since they only cost me less than a dollar each, I think I did pretty good.

Tonight, I used my profit & bought 2 bubble packs with 16 Squinkies in each pack.

Turns out 1 of the new bubbles had another "rare" one, so onto eBay it went!

In 7 days, I'll find out if I make my money back for the ones I'm keeping.!

I have kept the duplicates because I'm a believer that toys should be played with & since I've got 1 granddaughter thus far, Nonie needs to have really cool toys to play with at her house!

Why else would they visit?

Heat is back for one more BLAST tomorrow!

Thank goodness I was too sick this past weekend to remove the A/C units!

We'll need them tomorrow!

Kaya, at her school. Her school of ONE!

Today was the 8th day that I have done "school time" with Kaya. We've read books and have done several puzzles.

She enjoys the "Don't Let the Pigeon", the "No, David" and the "Fly Guy" series too.

We have done several workbook pages about matching, pairs, belongs, does not belong and several mazes which she LOVES.

Today, we worked on her cutting skills. She is not bad at it! She sticks her tongue out while concentrating and several times, I heard her tell herself,

"Thumb on the top, Open. Shut. Open. Shut. Stay on the line."

I'm glad she listens well! =)

After she made the shapes with her scissors, she glued them on a bigger paper & was thrilled to put her project on the fridge alongside her brothers!

She is also beginning to learn how to write her name.

Horses, Where Are You?

I spent 2 hours driving around Haverhill/Methuen/Salem NH/Danville NH areas looking for horse farms that may offer, (weekday, not weekend) riding lessons to a certain 4 year old girl who is

F A S C I N A T E D

with horses!

One stable in Salem was a boarding barn only. The lady said she knew of no horse farm nearby that offered riding lessons! How can one board horses & not know the competition?

I think she just couldn't be bothered!

Another one in Haverhill, called Dynasty Farms, had deplorable conditions!

Even if they offer lessons, I won't let her go there!

I stopped by a stable in Danville on Rte 111A, where they are building an indoor riding barn. I knew they offer lessons on Saturdays, but surely, they would allow us to look around?

I turned into a coward however when I noticed PRIVATE PROPERTY signs everywhere!

I'm from NH! I know that PRIVATE PROPERTY means just that!

By now, Kaya & Colin had fallen asleep & I needed to get back for Connor.

So my search went to the Internet when I got home. (BTW, thanks for helping me out over the phone Beth!)

Apparently, it is common for horse stables to be private property. A phone call or an email to them gets you an invitation & that's the only way to get on the property. They're not running a petting zoo after all!

So I've emailed the stable list to Krista & she'll check out their ratings.

(She's big on consumer feedback before making a choice on things she doles out money for)

It looks likely that I will be bringing Kaya to horse riding lessons!

Might be a cool thing.

I haven't been on a horse/pony since I was about 12 yrs old. Whiskey, the skittish pony I was riding ( we were winning the race back to the barn BTW), unexpectedly shied away in one direction while sending me flying off the saddle directly into/onto the path of my sister, who was riding her full size horse, Lucky. I still feel the closeness, vibrations, air movement of those hooves as they pounded the ground, just centimeters, possibly millimeters from my unprotected head!

Don't worry! Kaya WILL be wearing head protection!

Healthcare

On Friday, I was beginning to feel rundown and achy. When Saturday arrived, I was in full blown sick mode. Achy joints, shivering cold yet at the same time, boiling hot! Vomiting, diarrhea and a stuffy head. I was a mess.

My 2 cats must have sensed my discomfort and stationed themselves on either side of me in my bed for most of the day & night.

This morning, I'm feeling a bit better, so they feel its alright to venture elsewhere to sleep the day away!

Thanks to my nurse cats, I was never alone. Thanks girls!

Sign of the Times

Well, it didn't take long for Connor to have his first "sick" day of the year! I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he was truly sick. Though I wonder!

So, when Colin came home @ 11:45pm, I had all 3 kids to deal with until 5pm.

The day is gray and the grass is wet.

What to do?

I had a selection of board games in my brown bag, so we had a Game Day Pallooza!

I played Don't Break the Ice with Kaya, a game she thinks is "the bess game evah!".

I played Memory with Connor, who, after 1 game decided his DS was a better choice (and he also played a little of the new Halo game).

Then Colin got his turn to play a game against me. His choice?

UNO!

He is VERY GOOD at this game!

I hardly ever win against him.

Luck was with me today & I quickly was up 4 games to 1!

Then, the sign of the times kicked in.

"RESET!"

"Huh?"

"Reset the championship Miss Jen. That's what I do on my DS when I start to lose so I'm calling for a RESET now!"

So, we reset. I was quickly down 3 games to none.

"RESET!"

"Sorry Miss Jen, the reset button doesn't work for you!"

ARGH!

One Step at a Time

It's been over a year since Kaya began wearing her Sleeping Beauty nightgown, as a dress, everyday! Oh sure, she's worn bathing suits & she wears PJs to bed, but for the most part she will only wear this dress.

On a rare occasion, she might wear another dress (like if it's in the laundry), then it's back to "the dress". It's not like she has nothing else to wear! She simply prefers THIS dress!

It's the same thing with shoes. She has several dozen, many still fit her, but she prefers a slip-on pink dress shoe. She calls them her "stinky" shoes due to the odor they get when she wears them w/o socks (which is all the time)!

Last night, the boys got their new Stride Rite school sneakers & of course, Kaya wanted new, shiny shoes. Her brothers moaned and groaned at her that she ALWAYS gets new shoes and never wears them. "But I will wear these, I promise"!

This morning, I heard Connor reminding her that she HAD to wear the new shoes & with socks if she went anywhere today where shoes were needed.

The above picture is proof that she did indeed keep her promise! She wore them whenever we went outside, to the bus stop, to pick up Connor and with socks, though she says if people knew they are Santa Claus socks, she might get embarrassed!

I don't know how to break her of the dress thing, but she's in new shoes!

One step at a time, I guess!

Nothing Exciting to Blog About...

Is "No news is good news" ?

Had an uneventful day. Cool & brisk day. I was so busy keeping up with mostly Kaya and later on, Colin & Connor, that the day went fairly quick.

Home alone tonight, not scared about it, but my husband called to check in on me, something he hasn't done in a LOOOOONNNGG! Long time! So that was weird.

Oil was delivered today. 180 gallons to top off the tank. Now we should be set until Christmas, unless it gets super cold!

I guess I'll be working outside this weekend, preparing our place for winter. Of course, as soon as we finish our preparations, we'll have 1 or 2 days of 90 degrees... just to tick me off!

Evidence

Well, since I don't plan on making any more Anadama bread until a really cold, snowbound day in the future, I guess I should prove that I really did make a loaf of bread that looked like a loaf of bread. Kaya helped me eat some of it too. As did B, now that he's feeling better.

Todays Doings

Colin began Kindergarten this morning. He looked very confident as he left the house. I picked him up (along with his mom and sister) at noon from the bus stop and even though the driver went by us 3 times because he'd never been down this road before, Colin was not upset as he got off the bus. He was grouchy the rest of the day though. I suggested to his mom that he go to bed a little earlier until he adjusts to school.

Kaya went to the 1st day of her 2nd year of dance class w/Miss Paula (T & C had her as their dance teacher back in the day). She was very confident & excited to see her friend, Ella.

Earlier in the day, she and I made Anadama bread. It came out OK, not bad and I'm thinking it's a great toasting bread, a little sweet from the molasses, but not too much.

My 1st success with a yeast bread!

Connor came home from his 4th day of 2nd grade. "Oh, Miss Jen, 2nd grade is so tough! I have to do 3 pages of homework! I wish I was back in Kindergarten with no homework and only half days!" He's so smart!

B is in bed, sick. When B doesn't feel like eating, you know he's truly sick. He'd best not pass it along to me!

Cats are edgy tonight with the thunderstorms coming through. Our windows are open and there is a thick scent of burning wood in the air. People have their wood stoves burning to take the chill out of the air.

Of course, my body is saying "What chill?"

Now don't laugh, but when I first smelled the smoke, it was after a lightning/thunder boom crashed overhead. I HAD/NEEDED/OCD to go outside and walk around my house making sure that the smoke was NOT coming from our house or trees.

Nope, we're fine, it was just the neighbors wood stoves.

PHEW!

No Way!

I was about to go to bed.

For fun I checked my eBay listing to see if anyone had "viewed" my auction of the 2 rare Squinkies I posted only 12 hours ago.

Not only have 6 people viewed the auction, but the bid is up from the .99 starting bid to $9.35!

Huh. There's still 6 days left of bidding too!

This thing might give me a few dollars after all.

The Newest Thing...

SQUINKIES!

The above picture is of 2 rare Squinkies, #173 & #189.

They are tiny, squishy, collectible "pencil toppers" that come in a small bubble.

I'm about to sell these 2 on eBay to see what sort of response I get.

If it's like the Gogos, I may be able to make a few dollars.

I paid for Ts trip up here back in June by selling Gogos, so maybe this new "thing" will pay for Christmas?

Phew, I am Tired!

I did a lot of cooking and freezing food today.

I plan on doing a bit more tomorrow.

Why not tonight?

I'm tired.

Why? Cooking isn't that hard.

Well,

now that our home is an empty nest, there's no one to call on to switch the laundry or bring up some needed thing from the basement or come empty the kitchen trash or bring the food I made down to the upright freezer in the basement.

I had to do it all by myself.

=(

B is putting in some overtime hours today. Not to fret, I'm rewarding him with a very tasty meal when he gets home, Chicken & Rice with Autumn Vegetables.

Too tired to do anything else tonight, so good night to all.

The Scenic Road

Finally!

I took another "shortcut" today after I dropped off a mattress pad for C at SNHU.

Coming out of SNHU I noticed a sign for a familiar road.

Rte 27!

I followed Rte 27 all the way!

Yes, I made it home!

There were no detours or traffic accidents and I was the only "grandma" driver on the road!

(The speed limit was posted at 35mph but the going speed was over 50mph!)

I passed Charmingfare Farm and discovered that Liquid Planet Water Park is only 7.5 miles from my house!

The relaxing drive did take longer than if I taken Rte 101, but what a pretty ride!

I'll be cooking like mad tomorrow, filling the freezer.

I am also going to attempt (cough, cough) to make a New England style bread called,

"Anadama".

Folklore says this bread was created early in the 20th century in or around the Cape Ann (Gloucester/Essex) area of Massachusetts.

A young, culinary challenged bride could only cook a meal made of cornmeal sweetened with molasses. One day, her fisherman husband came home to a pan of her porridge waiting for him on the stove. He couldn't take it anymore so he added some flour & yeast to the recipe & tossed it in the oven, all the while muttering, "Anna, damn her" in his New England accent!

Anadama Bread!

My previous attempts at cooking breads with yeast in the recipe have resulted in creating a nice smelling, solid brick!

This should be interesting!

Climber

I was on Facebook, relaxing, playing mindless puzzle games, when I heard a loud racket.

Since B had gone to bed & no one noisy lives here anymore, I was curious.

Zee had just climbed UP the office door jamb to chase a bug. Problem was, her claws need trimming and the wood is too slippery and she couldn't hang on!

Down she came and again she tried.

I reached for my camera.

This video does capture her attempting to catch that bug (actually, a white moth) but upon review, I didn't have enough lighting to be able to see the event!

So, here is the video of Zee, after her 8:30pm mewing for C, finding something to hunt and attempting to hone her climbing skills.

Sorry about how quiet the soundtrack is, but no one noisy lives here anymore remember?

Enjoy!

Of course, while waiting for this video to upload, Gracie came in and from a sitting position in the middle of the room, leapt (leaped? jumped? pounced?) into the air, about 6 feet up, and grabbed the moth out of the air.

No video proof of this, but it happened!

End of story ... End of moth.

A Horse Is A Horse...

... unless said horse is Miss Jen!

Today, in the beautiful fall-like weather we here in NE were enjoying, Kaya decided to begin her horse riding experiences by doing a test run on... ME!

She loves dogs and horses and may soon be taking riding lessons, so why not?

My wrists are killing me!

I could not go any faster than a slow "plod" reminding me of the creatures in "Star Wars" that the sand people used to get around on Tatooine.

I'm sure the neighbors were watching from their windows, cracking up watching this old, larger sized woman playing horsey!

She kept kicking my gut and tried to hit me on the butt to make me go faster.

But for me, going FASTER? That was NOT going to happen!

While all this horsemanship was going on, I also had to dodge the 2 boys. They were on a mission to "slay" me! If I got stabbed in the heart by a lily leaf, they would win! I lost count with how many times I died.

My new recipe of Enchilada Lasagna is done cooking.

Off to try it!

B is saying its yummy.

Phone Calls

I like talking on the phone about as much as I enjoy shopping!

Which is, not much!!

When I shop, I want to go inside, get the stuff I need or want, with little to no contact with the personnel or their clients.

In, then out.

Same with phone calls.

State my business, get my answer and hang up.

I have talked on the phone for long periods of time.

Usually, though not always, it is due to the person on the other end having a lot to say.

Since this occurs so rarely, I don't mind when it does happen.

I remember my Dad being the same way.

And the dislike of talking on the phone seems to have been passed on to my eldest daughter.

One difference between me & her; if someone I know or love repeatedly tries to get in touch with me and I find out about their attempts, I WILL CALL THEM, even if I think they may go on forever about their problems or my shortcomings or the how the weather is affecting their joints or whatever!!

Thankfully, todays technology allows for texting or emails so having to actually "talk" on the phone is not as necessary as it once was, making communication much easier for those of us with a dislike (NOT A FEAR, BTW) for talking on the phone.

So T, call or email your grandmother please. (unsure if she would know how to send a text message, so avoid that)

She doesn't bite! (she may try, but phone lines make it impossible to feel the pain!)

Dress Up @ Miss Jens

Floors were being refinished at their house. My suggestion to spend the day at the park was not approved by the children. Too hot & muggy! So, off to my house to play dress up in the air conditioned rooms!

The First Day...

Here I am, alone in the house.

All my kids have moved on into their own lives. (*T, see below*)

I have spent the last 22.5 years preparing for this day, right?

B has gone to Camp Zion to help close it up for the winter.

So what did I do?

Laundry.

Vacuuming.

Grocery shopping.

Cleaned the litter boxes.

Watched TV (nothing good is on during the day BTW)

Played games on Facebook.

Answered texts from C.

Hmm, this is sounding like a regular day off to me! Maybe being an empty-nester won't be so bad after all! Although, with no one here to mess up floors, use towels or eat food & dirty the dishes, the above list will get smaller each day.

Then what?

note to T:

*We need to have a day of the week, a specific time, where you call me to assure me you are alive! I miss & love you! Missing Charlie photos! You do not need Internet access to use your phone to call me or text me.

Empty Nest

Today, we pushed our last baby bird out of the nest. We watched her fly away. Oh, I'm sure she'll visit us, as her new nest is not very far away.

But it's not the same.

Quietness envelops the house, except for the pitiful mewing of the cats as they try to figure out where she has gone. No music blaring from downstairs. No one to wait up for at night. Just the hum of things like the fridge and the fans.

I'm missing her.

I look forward to my phone making alert sounds. Maybe one of my kids is contacting me!

But...

Is it wrong to be so excited to "tackle" the basement bedroom and transform it? It will remain "her bedroom" for a year (as we promised) but I need to streamline, toss out junk, dust and vacuum that room. She's kept the room neat/cleaner than its previous occupant, but still, not as neat/clean as I like a room in my house to be.

So cleaning and organizing will keep my mind busy for a while, but eventually, I will have to... well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

For now, I'll just miss them.

Not liking the empty nest feeling.

The Time Is Near...

It's been said that animals can detect when the weather or situation is about to change.

I believe our cats are sensing "a change in the force" as we prepare to say GOOD BYE to C.

This morning, C and I went shopping for the last of her college dorm supplies (wastebasket, stapler, water, microwaveable food, desk organizer & more). She should be all set now.

The cats met us at the door to inspect the goods.

The cats are demanding more of my attention now.

And I mean, DEMANDING!

They come and nudge my hand with their heads until I play with them. They sit close by, watching me and when I look at them, their gaze goes to the top of the fridge where their treats are stored (no, not helping them break their diet) and the mewing! Gracie has taken to sitting on my lap while I watch the Sox games. She hasn't been a "lap cat" since she was a baby! Zee, as I've mentioned before, looks for C everywhere, mewing & mewing!

The time is near, the cats are sensing it. Change is coming to our house.

PARTY TIME!

Just kidding C! We'll miss you, even more than the cats will!

Last Day of Summer Vacation

I wish I could say it was a great day. It was just another day.

The humidity was high, higher than normal due to the approaching Hurricane Earl (which turned out to be just a wicked bad storm) so none of the kids wished to play outdoors.

Not going outdoors was fine with me (though the maternal instinct kicked in around 2pm and I made them stay outdoors for an hour). I have a severe case of the sleep's. My eyes are heavy, achy muscles and joints, just a bletchy overall feeling.

The boys played and fought throughout the day. Useless, non-productive fighting like who has more Bok Choy Boy figures or who should be Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. They would escalate their fighting until I had no choice but to separate them. Having me as a common enemy made them get back to being friends quickly and the playing resumed.

Kaya played w/Mrs. Potato Heads ALL DAY! She helps me make the girl figures then she makes them act out stories of weddings, princesses and true love. ALL DAY!

I have Monday off and don't need to be there on Tuesday until 1pm!

School starts on Wednesday!

Hi C!

Tonight, C is heading over to SNHU to meet her dorm roommate. The roomie signed up for and paid for an earlier check-in time and has to participate in team-building, social networking, getting to know you activities every day, IN THIS HEAT!

Good for her, I think.

As she was leaving, C requested that I post a blog entry ("It's been a long time Mom, since you posted one!").

Is 48 hours a long time between posts?

This one is for you, C!

C moves in on Sunday! Her car is fixed and legal to park @ SNHU, her broken phone has been replaced, her bedding/towels/stuff is set (she brought some stuff w/her tonight) and she has a new computer.

She looked for and got a new job close to school. She starts part-time next week at hip clothing store, Charlotte Russe, in the Mall of NH! I cannot think of much that C hasn't done, on her own, to prepare for her departure.

You go girl!

Tonight is the Fantasy Football Draft for our team, the Virginians. B is more into this than I, but it's fun to tag along & pretend like I know what to look for in a player. Yes, my draft choices will probably be decided because the player smiled or is good looking in his photo.

B will be there to keep it real.

Brought the 3 kids to get their back-to-school haircuts today. Prices have gone up a tiny bit since our first visit earlier this year, but the personal attention, decent haircut, late hours on Thursday and the lollipop are worth it!