The Boy Scouts and the Freshman Fifteen

IMG_3939Will’s in his fourth year of Scouts and–even if I haven’t gotten around to sewing on all the patches–we do enjoy it. I see him learning a lot from his participation in this group and making some very good friends.

At the last meeting, the dads were asked to share about their school years.

My husband and a few others talked about elementary school.

Others talked about middle school and high school.

Finally, some talked about college.

Will listened attentively through the whole thing, but REALLY perked up during the college talk.

“I went to Western Michigan,” said one of the dads. He mentioned the Freshman Fifteen and explained how he gained it: “Because there was an all-you-can-eat soft serve ice cream machine in the cafeteria!”

At this point, drool dripped from Will’s mouth. He nearly passed out from the thought of all-you-can-eat ice cream.

Suddenly, he has an insatiable interest in Western Michigan University. Hmm.

We have booked a walking tour of Western Michigan for summer 2020. Also, I am currently tracking tuition costs for this university and–more importantly–room and board. Go Western Michigan Broncos!

How did you pick your college?

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January 29, 2013 By 12 CommentsFiled Under: adults, Dad, food, Will Tagged With: ,

THE Question of Our Time

ID-1009922Breast or bottle?

BPA-free?

Pacifier or no pacifier?

When to wean?

Organic or not?

Cloth or disposable?

Cry it out?

Private or public school?

How much TV, if any at all?

Snuggie or bathrobe?

No, dear readers, these are not the pressing questions of our time.

The REAL question, the one that keeps me up late at night is this:

When people wish you happy birthday on Facebook, do you “like” each comment, reply to each comment, or simply post one big shout-out at the end of the day?

Whatever will I teach my children?

Hmm.

Perchance Facebook will be so 2009 by the time they’re old enough to care!

 

Image courtesy of Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

 

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January 17, 2013 By 7 CommentsFiled Under: adults, blog, computer Tagged With: ,

An Experienced Bad Halloween-er?

I found a compatriot in my neighborhood.

I don’t know his name.

I don’t even know in which house he lives.

All I know is that he has a sense of humor.

I’m guessing he either forgot to prepare for Halloween or prepared woefully for the event. These things happen.

He didn’t have enough candy. So when my son and his friend came knocking on his door, my fellow compatriot in this thing called life decided not to hide. Nor did he turn out the porch light.

No, dear readers, this funny gentleman raided the pantry and started giving away its contents.

Will got a can of black beans!

Thank you, neighbor, for making our family laugh and laugh!

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November 1, 2012 By 7 CommentsFiled Under: adults, Halloween, Will Tagged With: , ,

Tips for Riding in a Minivan with Grandparents

You’ll have to excuse my relative silence this past week. I had a busy weekend.

You see, a long time ago in the 70s my dad was a successful professional athlete. Don’t get too excited. I can’t tell you his name because my grandma is convinced that internet stalkers are alive and well. Plus, my dad’s success as an athlete is only impressive to a niche market of men aged 55 and older. Nobody else really cares (sorry, Dad!)

Anyhoo, he was so successful that he was awarded a street sign in his hometown, a mere 3 hours from where I live. So he and my mom flew in to spend the weekend with my family and then we all piled in a minivan and drove 6 hours round trip to see the street sign.

I learned a few things during the car ride with me, my husband, my two kids, and my mom and dad. Here’s my wisdom:

1. Make sure the DVD player is charged.

2. Make sure you have enough snacks for hungry kids AND hungry grandparents.

3. Definitely get the minivan model with as many climate control zones as possible.

4. Be prepared that not everyone will love their seat assignment and you will have to switch hourly. This makes the minivan with the captain’s chairs a MUST.

5. Make peace with the fact that someone will probably read aloud every road sign for 3 hours {Grandma!}, someone will yell and scream at his DSi game {Will!}, and men will tune out the world and talk sports forever {Chad and Grandpa!}

6. Have your 5-year-old sit next to a grandparent. This almost guarantees you a mini-vacation. I got to stare into space and rest my brain while Grandma got to listen to the singing dinosaurs on the DVD player and hear jokes that only a kindergartener could love. I feel so refreshed!

Have you gone on a road trip recently? What stories or tips can you share?

 

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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October 24, 2012 By 9 CommentsFiled Under: adults, car, Chad, Experienced Bad Grandparents, Sydney, Will Tagged With: , ,

Stuff My Kid’s Soccer Coach Says

G-O-A-L-L-L!

Last spring my daughter played a preschool version of soccer where little kids kicked a ball around for an hour.

This Fall, Sydney is playing in a recreational soccer league. She’s in a coed division of kindergarteners where they actually play games. (Well, they play games as much as 5-year-olds can be expected to play games!)

We were lucky enough to get the BEST coach. He is kind, low-key, knowledgeable, and funny. As the masses of 5-year-olds attempt to play soccer, our coach has said the funniest things. Here’s a sampling:

“No talking. No talking. Don’t talk to each other.” This was after our two defenders were chatting away to each other and the opposing team literally walked by them and scored a goal.

“Keep your pants up in soccer. Keep ‘em up.” The boys on the team were taking their pants down and giggling.

“Don’t lay down. Don’t lay on the grass. Someone will step on you.” Yup, laying down on the soccer field does lead to being stepped on, now doesn’t it?

What’s the funniest or worse thing one of your kid’s coaches has ever said?

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September 18, 2012 By 4 CommentsFiled Under: adults, Sydney Tagged With:
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