Will

Money is Gourde, I Mean, Good

I brought back some Haitian currency from my trip. My kids, ages 9 and 6, aren’t huge collectors of foreign money, but I thought they would find it interesting.

Sydney looked and touched the money for about 10 seconds. Then she moved on with her life.

Will examined the Haitian money a bit longer.

10 Haitian Gourdes

“It’s called Gourdes,” I explained. “It sounds like ‘good’”

He looked some more.

Wow, this is educational for him! I thought.

“Can I spend it?” he asked.

“It’s Haitian,” I replied. “You know, from Haiti.”

“I know. Can I spend it?”

This is the same (great) kid who finished an essay this week on why McDonald’s should sell 2 kinds of hot dogs–1 with sauerkraut and pickles and 1 with chili and cheese–for $2.99.

I wonder if McDonald’s takes Haitian money?

March 6, 2013 By Katy3 CommentsFiled Under: money, Will Tagged With: Haiti

The Boy Scouts and the Freshman Fifteen

Will’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?

January 29, 2013 By Katy12 CommentsFiled Under: adults, Dad, food, Will Tagged With: Boy Scouts, Freshman Fifteen

Scout’s Honor

Tuesday night I sent my son and husband off to Boy Scouts, but not before I noticed something flapping around on my son’s chest.

Turns out it was the Bear and Wolf patches on his Boy Scout uniform.

So what? You ask.

Well, he’s been a Wolf for 18 months now and a Bear for at least 6 months. So the fact that the patches are merely fastened to his uniform with safety pins, rather than sewn on his uniform, clearly indicates our failings as parents:

And, yes, I’m saying “OUR” because I’m not the only one taking the fall on this lack of sewing! I know pretty much nothing about Boy Scouts except that their popcorn is overpriced. So Dad, the Boy Scout connoisseur, must go down on the lack of sewing, too.

I’m also going to admit that we skipped the Boy Scout’s Pinewood Derby this year {gasp} and I’m not sorry about that one bit. Dad was out of town and our pack is full of Detroit-area auto engineers. All of which means there’s nothing for us to learn at the Pinewood Derby except how to lose. And we’ve learned that three years in a row now so we’re good.

Are your kids in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts?

January 24, 2013 By Katy12 CommentsFiled Under: Bad Dad, Bad Mom, Will Tagged With: Boy Scouts, Pinewood Derby

Fresh or Frozen? A 9-Year-Old Decides

We were watching a Domino’s pizza ad for their new deep dish pizza. It begins with their CEO, who looks with disgust at a frozen circle of dough.

“You wanna know a dirty secret?” he asks. “A lot of pan pizzas start out with frozen dough.”

Then the commercial cuts to a Domino’s chef. Who’s got her hands all over some dough.

“First, we hand press the dough into the pan,” she says.

And then Will loses it.

“Aww, disgusting!” he shouts at the TV. “I don’t want someone’s GERMY hands touching MY pizza!”

“Fresh or frozen dough?” The chef asks holding the doughs in her hand. “You decide.”

“FROZEN!” screams Will.

I guess we’re not calling Domino’s over Winter Break. (Unless, you know, Domino’s, you want to provide the Experienced Bad Mom family with a taste test…Call me!)

Fresh or Frozen? What gets you riled up?

December 21, 2012 By Katy4 CommentsFiled Under: food, funny things Will said, Will

A Cultural Christmas with The Nutcracker

My parents took me to see The Nutcracker ballet more than once growing up. It was big. It was grand. It was also a little weird because there was no talking.

Anyhoo, I’ve never exposed my own children to this tradition. Detroit doesn’t have a ballet company (that I know of) or one that Captain Frugal (aka my husband) would be willing to shell out the big bucks for.

So imagine my surprise recently when my 9-year-old son identified The Nutcracker Suite.

“Oh, I know this song!” he exclaimed excitedly as we were riding in the car.

“You do?”

“Oh, yes!”

“Did you learn about it at school? You know, it’s a very famous song from a very famous ballet,” I finished.

“I heard it on Tom and Jerry Nutcracker,” he answered.