Pretty girls

Aren't they pretty....

This is Cheerleader Girl and most of her best friends(sorry you couldn't make it SW) at her cook out on Sunday for her Birthday. (She is the 5th from the left).

I am so very fortunate that she chooses good girls to be her friends. This group of girls have been friends since the 6th grade (they're juniors now) and they are just a good group of girls..... Oh they have their "girl fights" but they always seem to come back to the thick of things.

Our house has always had an open door policy.... if it's unlocked, come on in. I'm sure gonna miss having them around when they run away to college. Hmmmm, I wonder if Cheerleader Girl will notice if I just camp out on her dorm room floor? You think so? yea me too- damn ;-)

Look who's having a birthday :)

Today is Cheerleader Girl's 17th Birthday.... she has gone from this...............

to this.........

Happy Birthday Cheerleader Girl!!!!!!

I love you!

SNOW

It SNOWED! A lot! Well, a lot for us. Its the most snow we've had in several years. The kids have been out of school since Monday- 3 DAYS! I am going to have to apply for government bail out money to continue to feed them. They go back tomorrow! Thank goodness :) I got one snow day out of it.... that was enough for me.

Sunshine had a BALL in the snow! She chased the snowballs and wanted to be outside ALL the time. That wouldn't be a big deal except that she didn't want to be outside by herself and it was TWELVE degrees. Now, we ski, so we know about snow- we even like it- but TWELVE degrees is freaking cold.

It will be gone by the weekend- Spring is on the way with 75 degree temps for Saturday. Gotta love Virginia weather right?

CLEAR THE ROADS!

This weekend Bud got his LEARNER'S PERMIT. That's right folks - Clear the roads- My baby boy is driving! WHOOO - HOOOO! I am very excited for him because it's a freakin big deal! We headed out to DMV on Saturday so he could take his test- along with every strange, weird person in the entire city! I am not usually judgemental, but there were some really strange people out this weekend- maybe it was the weather .

Anyway, in our state you have to pass 2 tests. One is for signs- a 10 or 15 question test that is strictly on signs. You can't miss ANY, not one. If you miss a sign, the computer shuts off and you have to wait a week to come back and take the test again. The second test is 25 questions general knowledge (common sense) of which you can miss 5. Read the book, pass the test. Signs are first, so when 5 or 10 min had passed I figured Bud was in the clear. (Note to self: get a manicure today since ALL 10 of your nails are now missing due to the impatient nail biting done at DMV on Saturday). Then came the moment of truth, when he walked away from the machine.... wait for it..... yep, there's the smirk and a nod to say "Hell ya! I passed!"

All kinds of emotions go through a mom when that happens....

"Yea! my baby passed his test!".....

"Awww, I'm so proud of him.".....

"OH SHIT!!!!!"

I Survived!!!

It was 6am on Sunday morning just one day after the coldest day of the winter season. (I say season, because its only January something and “the year” didn’t seem to have enough impact). I rolled out of bed wondering why am I doing this? I drag my feet down the hall to my kids’ room to wake them, and they give me the “Are you kidding me” grunt but they too, roll out of bed. We all layer in UnderArmor and Hot Chillys, fleece pants and shirts, and mosey downstairs. I am in dire need of coffee. My husband, bless his heart, realizes this and already has a cup with cream and sugar awaiting my arrival. He has also made pancakes and loaded the car with the PILE of stuff laying in the dining room floor (did I mention it was 6am?) After breakfast we load into the car, along with Cheerleader Girl’s boyfriend and head North. I’m thinking to myself “I’m probably going to die today.” Fortunately I don’t mean in the literal sense. We headed up the mountain to Massanutten Ski Resort for a fun-filled day of skiing and snowboarding (ahem… did I just say fun?). We haven’t done this in 2 years, and I have not done any serious working out in the last couple, months, I mean years, so I am pretty sure I am going to be so sore later that I can’t walk. But I do it anyway. Ya, know what? I SURVIVED!! And surprisingly enough, I really didn’t have that much trouble walking the next day. Must be the alcohol- haha. Below are some pictures from our fun, fun day.

I mean it is early, but this is Gangsta Ninja in the flesh :)

The Salsman is now a rastafarian stormtrooper.

Proof that we were there, and actually did ski! See BHE, I swear I didn't sit by the fire all day drinking Hot Toddies ;)
Bud was snowboarding Black Diamond slopes (those are the hard ones) by the end of the day. By himself of course, cuz I dang sure can't do them.

Cheerleader Girl makes it looks so easy!

She always looks so pretty with all of her garb on. I look like someone took an airhose and hooked it up to my jacket and turned it on full blast! It's just not fair!!!!

My favorites :) We all had a lot of fun......

......... Until next time :)

Wrestling Weekend!

For those of you that don’t know, my son, Bud, is a wrestler. He started wrestling when he was in 6th grade for his middle school and for a recreational youth club. He didn’t wrestle a single middle school match until his 8th grade year and then he went undefeated. But let me tell you, it wasn’t an easy road….. he joined a club where he practiced with state champions and got his butt kicked 3 or 4 days a week, trained under nationally known coaches at camps in Pennsylvania(a state known for it’s wrestling) for weeks in the summer, traveled far and wide to meet the toughest competition he could get. He took his first year of high school off because he didn’t weigh enough to wrestle the lowest weight class (103 pounds) but finally, this year, he is able to wrestle. The other kid on his team in the same weight class is a senior and state ranked, so Bud only wrestles sub-varsity (kind of like JV, but not really). Which, for him- and mom, at this point is just fine……

This past weekend was one of many more to come…. All about wrestling. Bud’s team was in a tournament with 20 other teams that went from 2pm -10pm on Friday and 10am – 9pm on Saturday. That’s a lot of wrestling!!! I love to see my son on the mat! When he wins there is no better feeling than when I see his face light up and his teammates cheer for him. But I gotta tell ya- There is just something not right about the “singlets” they wear. You know, the skimpy, too tight, piece of material that looks like it was painted on?? Who in the world came up with that “uniform?” I know, I’m a wrestling mom, and I should probably have an answer – but I just don’t. Wrestlers have to be the LEAST modest people on the face of the high school planet! They don’t care what shows, what it looks like when it shows, and who sees it. I’m a mom, I don’t really think about it that way because, well, I’m a mom- and I’m a wrestling mom. So I’ve been around a lot of wrestlers for a while now, but high school is a whole different beast. And there are LOTS of HIGH SCHOOL girls there! I just wonder what THEIR moms are thinking?? I keep telling my son…. Put some dang clothes on! Those girls don’t need to be looking at you that way! He’s a wrestler, and a guy and his response is “Huh?” I guess this will continue to be a question for which I have no answer. If anyone has an answer, please enlighten me!

Hope everyone else’s weekend was Wonderful!

Where or where are the Boating Gods when you need them?

AHHHHHHHHHH !!! I wonder sometimes why I have cool toys when all they do is break! Why of why can’t the Boating Gods shine upon me? I just don’t understand!

We have had our boat only 4 years- and it was BRAND new when we bought it! We live in a state in which the weather is only cooperative to boaters (unless you fish or wear wetsuits) from around May-September. I work, my husband works, my daughter works, my son does not, but whatever. That only leaves weekends- so not a lot of boating time. This summer due to various reasons, we put our boat in for the first time 2 weeks ago, and then for a second time this past weekend.

We got up early on Saturday morning- what the heck that is about I’m not sure. Whatever happened to the days of sleeping late? Loaded up the boat with wakeboards and life jackets and headed out the door.

First stop- the grocery store. Gotta eat on the water. Why is that anyway? I am always twice as hungry on the water. Probably explains why Michael Phelps eats 4000 calories for breakfast. We loaded up on chips, cookies, fruit, Uncrustables (yes, we all eat them, it saves time and they’re easy to pack) soda, water and Gatorade.

Next stop- gas. Although much better than our last trip, I still ask the question. Why does gas have to be so darn expensive?

Finally, it’s off to the river! The river is much closer than the lake, so on those days when we need to be home for other commitments, ie teenage work schedules, its better to go there. Sucks when the tide is out because it makes for a much more difficult launch, but we deal okay.

With the boat launched – at low tide- we head on down the river to check out the “wakeboard run.” It’s a safety thing for me, especially when the river is low. Although my 2 teens (and Cheerleader Girl’s boyfriend) have driven me to drink on many occasions, I don’t want to deal with an accidental drowning, or big emergency room bills. That makes for a really crappy day on the river. ;) So, now we are way down river (only about 15 minutes or so). The water looks clear, no logs or stumps sticking up, water is like glass.

First up- Bud. He struggles with his wakeboard, my-oh-my how his feet have grown. Finally gets it on, jumps in the water and off we go- DOWN RIVER. Only a few minutes later the boat bogs down. My husband cuts the engine, looks at me, then says “Wonder what that was about.” Bud is pissed because he just missed his wake to wake jump only to find he is floating further DOWN RIVER. We bring him the rope, tell him oops sorry, lets try again. This time we head UP RIVER! This means the boat is going <--- this way, and the river is going ---> this way. Well, whata ya know- the freaking boat bogs down. AGAIN! GRRRRRRR!!! Now Bud is floating AWAY from the boat ---> this way!!!! And we need to go <--- this way. Fortunately the boat starts, we pick up Bud and head back UP RIVER! Unfortunately, the freaking piece of @#$%^&* boat we have used TWO @#$%^&* times this year decides to cut off every few hundred feet! So the next hour and a half consisted of travel up river, engine dies, float down river, engine starts, travel a little up river, engine dies, float some down river, engine starts, travel a little up river, repeat, we finally make it back to the dock. Loaded the boat back on the trailer, which is a huge deal if you have to CRANK it up cuz you can’t DRIVE it up. I have to give a shout out to the nice man who helped my husband! Thank you kind stranger :)

Now- every boat owner knows that your time will come when you have a “boat failure.” Its to be expected! But Helllloooo! My husband is kind of obsessive about maintenance, so we take extremely good care of this darn thing! And we have been out on our boat TWICE this year! This should just not happen!

Whoever said “A bad day on the river is better than a good day at work” is full of @#$%^&* !! They obviously have never had their boat break down! I did feel better after many Hillbilly Surprises! Hope everyone else’s weekend was a good one!

Can you say Balance?

Happy Friday!!

So my daughter turned 16 this year and has started driving. (ahhhh that's a story for another day) My husband and I decided this would be the best time to open up her own checking account and make her keep track of her money. She's working so she is getting a regular paycheck (at least for now). She has gas, car payments, and spending money she needs to keep up with.

I took her to the bank with money from her savings account and she and I sat down, talked to the banker and set up her new account. We all decided checks- the paper kind- were not such a good idea, so she only has her "check card." She can use it for cash at the ATM or to pay for gas, or whatever else she needs. We talked about how to keep track of her transactions in her check register, including deposits. We're fortunate that she's pretty organized, so she has done a good job so far.

This is where the funny part comes in..... A couple nights ago, we sat down to balance her check book. I was showing her what she needed to do, and noticed her registered NEVER had any cents. It always balanced to $ .00. For example, an even $400.00, or $372.00. Not $400.56 or $375.23. At first I thought, okay, maybe she is rounding. Some people do that and then just fix it when they balance their checkbook. But hello... she's never balanced one- how would she even know to do that. Nope, not the case.

When we actually started checking off the transactions in her register, I noticed she would have a deposit for $125.44, description, babysitting and $125.87, description babysitting. Now I know her fee for babysitting(that's her regular "fulltime" job) is $125.00, so I asked her "What in the world are you doing? You can't just make up the cents? You have to write down ONLY what you deposited." Her response was... "Duh!" Come to find out, she was depositing her CHECK of $125 and the CHANGE to make it a whole number. So her deposit slip said checks= $125.00, cash = .44! What a novel idea!!! We laughed so hard we cried, not at her, but I would have never thought of that. After we caught our breath, she looked at me and said, "Is that wrong? Should I not do that?" I told her of course not, but it makes me realize how innocent and naive they really are, even when they want to be all grown up.

Needless to say her check register balanced and all is well in the life of teenage spending habits :)

Weekends at the Lake

It was off to the lake for us this past weekend. Believe it or not, we had not put our boat in the water all summer. That seems like such a shame. There always seems to be a valid excuse, but this past weekend, we made it a point to get in the water.

We couldn’t have picked a better weekend. The weather was beautiful and the water was warm. There was lots of this….

So Bud could do this

And cheerleader girl could do this…..

I am ready for next weekend so we can hopefully get back to this

Now if I could just get the price of gas to go down….. ugh wishful thinking :)
How was everyone else’s weekend? Let me know!