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Random Dozen – Truly Random This Week!

Posted on April 20, 2010 by auburnchick

I don’t know about you, but each week, I eagerly await Linda’s list of questions for the Random Dozen meme.  I just love reading others’ responses!

If you choose to play along, make sure you go back to Linda’s blog and link up!  Don’t forget to say hello to some fellow bloggers!

Onward…to this week’s questions!

1. Ever had any run-ins with the “library police?”

Not very many.  I am such a rule-follower.

One main time I remember is when we were moving from Coral Springs to north Florida.

The movers packed Chicky’s room before I could get in there to retrieve a school library book.  When I called the school, the librarian must have been having a bad day, because she was not very nice at all…totally not empathizing that we were leaving everything we had known for the last seven years and moving away.

I found the book a few weeks later and sent it back.  I can only imagine the look on her face when she received it.

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?

I have two wrapping paper containers that fit under the bed.  I typically do not buy paper for special events, except Christmas.  I only buy that kind of paper after the holidays when it’s marked for cheap, cheap, cheap.  I only buy it every few years…when I’m almost out.  For birthdays, we use gift bags, which you can get at the dollar store.

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?

I have run from hurricanes a few times, toting a glass fish bowl during one trip.  The kids and I have sat through a few hurricanes as well.  The worst one was a Category 3 that didn’t, at first, seem to do much damage.  When we walked outside the next day, the bushes than ran down the side of our house were tilting sideways.  There was a lot of debris in the streets.  It was an interesting experience, let me tell you!

4. What’s your favorite Barry Manilow song?

Copacabana.  I don’t think I know any others!!

5. What’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?

My best costume was the one I wore for a play I was in my junior or senior year of high school.  I was playing the role of a grumpy old lady – no comments from the peanut gallery.

I struggled with getting the nuances of the character…until my teacher, a spry old gal herself, got up in frustration and acted one scene.

Being the tenacious person that I am (even at a young age), and also being a somewhat angst-filled teenager with an attitude, I mimicked her actions…to make fun of her.  That’s when she hollered, “Yes!  That’s it!”

I decided then and there to copy everything about her, including the skirt hiked up to my boobs, old lady shoes, and rolled-down stockings.

Best costume ever!

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?

Dictionary.  I cannot stand not knowing how to pronounce things properly and frequently use one for phonetic spelling!

7. What’s your favorite breakfast food?

I am not a big eater period, much less breakfast, which I skip most days.  I can’t have milk, so cereal is out of the question.  The last couple of days, I’ve eaten an over-easy egg with one piece of toast.  I love dunking my toast in that runny yolk!  YUM!

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?

Nope.  I don’t have the patience to even sit through one, much less buy anything from the TV!

9. Have you ever crawled through a window?

Hmmm…never snuck out as a teenager, never snuck out as an adult.  Hmmm…no fires (thank heavens) to escape from.  So, no.  I’ve never crawled through a window.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?

No.  I think most people mistake lust at first sight for love.  I think love takes time to grow.

11. How man pairs of jeans do you own?

Four or five, but only one pair fits semi-properly.  I really need to get some new jeans!

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on “Ace of Cakes.”)

Oh man, but I love Ace of Cakes!  For my cake, I envision two children – boy and girl (representing my role as a mom) – pushing a shopping cart (representing my couponing/shopping deals) filled with the following items:

  • An apple – to represent the teaching profession that I am privileged to be a part of
  • A cross – to represent my relationship with God
  • Knitting needles or a skein of yarn – no explanation needed if you read my blog regularly
  • A Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit – to represent my determination to win (see this post)
  • A soccer ball – One of the activities that has taken center stage in my family’s life
  • The mirror ball trophy from Dancing With the Stars – The only thing that gets me through Mondays and Tuesdays

Sounds like tall order?  Duff and his crew could do it!

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: | 20 Comments »

Sibling Bonding

Posted on April 20, 2010 by auburnchick

Chicky and Rooster have taken on a new challenge:  lifeguarding classes.

The course runs for seven nights (6 to 10) at our community college.

I figured this would be a neat sibling-bonding experience, and this is exactly what it’s turned out to be!

The first night of class, the Mr. and I anxiously waited for them to get home.

Chicky came in first, loudly announcing, “That was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do.  If I was a quitter, I would never go back.”

She then headed to the bathroom to grab a shower.

Rooster came in next and filled us in on the details.

See, although we’ve lived in Florida all of the kids’ lives, Chicky has never been particularly fond of “formal” swimming.

The kids learned to swim right after we moved to Miami.  This was the time I got to quit my job and become a stay-at-home mom.  Needing something to do with two children under the age of four, I took them swimming twice a day.

We would eat breakfast, let our tummies settle, and head out.  We went home in time for lunch and a nap.  Then, after a snack and a brief tummy-settling time, we headed back out for session #2.

Rooster learned to swim the summer he turned two, with Chicky learning around the same time.  She was four.

I paid for swimming lessons a few years later, just so they could learn how to do the strokes properly.

Chicky was not super fond of these sessions.

So, the kids grew up, attending pool parties and swimming pretty good.

Rooster swam on the middle school swim team during seventh and eighth grade.  He loved it!

Rooster’s coach was the nicest lady.  She also coached the high school team.

When Chicky tore her ACL in 9th grade, Coach offered to let her do laps with the high school team.  Swimming is one of the best cardio workouts and because it is non-weight-bearing, it is the perfect exercise when rehabbing.

Chicky showed up one morning, did a few laps, and declared herself non-swimming material.  She never went back.

With this history in mind, it’s a wonder she decided to take the lifeguard class in the first place!  But, the desire for a job and the money that goes along with it overruled her objections.

While she was in the shower, Rooster told us how she struggled during the 300 yard warm up.  100 freestyle, 100 breast stroke, and the last 100 whatever you wanted.

Chicky had no idea how to execute the breast stroke.  Kicking her legs out sideways really made her nervous given her knee stuff from years ago.  She’s uber-sensitive to some motions.

She doggy-paddled the last 100 yards, literally dog-tired.

Next, they had to swim from the shallow to the deep end of the pool, take a breath, and dive down to retrieve a 10lb brick and tote it back to the shallow end…in two minutes.

Chicky did pretty good, only coming up for air once before successfully grabbing the brick.

One other thing the students had to do was, while treading water, use the motion of their arms and hands to propel themselves up and then down through the water to touch bottom of the pool (11 feet, I think) with their toes.

Chicky has always been coordinated, but she could not get the hang of the motion.

Rooster said she kept going sideways under the water instead of straight down.

Poor girl.

Chicky came out of the shower, and it was Rooster’s turn, so we got Chicky’s side of the story.

She pretty much repeated the same things Rooster had said, but she told us something funny.

She said that at one point during the 300-yard warm-up, she got to the end of the pool, took a moment to catch her breath, and looked up at Rooster, asking, “Am I doing this right?”

Rooster squatted down and clapped his hands for her, encouraging her.

Oh my gosh, but when I heard this, my heart swelled with joy.

For those of you who have children who argue more than they hug, and I’m not talking hugging to squeeze the life out of the other, then let me give you this hope.

They do grow up.

They do wind up, most of the time, liking each other.

See, they have a commonality with each other that others don’t have.

They know what it’s like to be raised by their particular set of parents.  They can share the injustices of being grounded for “nothing,” doing chores til their fingers fell off (yeah, right), and eating burned food three nights in a row (heaven forbid).

The kids take the final test on Monday.  I have every confidence they’ll pass.

I also know that though my kids will have their own lives as they get older, they’ll always have this special week together.  It’s something they and I will cherish.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »