Mad Science

Well, hello Monday!

Seems like you were just here, doesn't it?

Last week, like many of my weeks, was a complete blur!

I've ran to and fro between practices, ball games, and the grocery store countless times.  Then you throw in an inkling to organize every drawer, cabinet and storage room within a 10 acre radius, and here I sit.  Ready to start it all over again.  

Please don't think I'm complaining!  I enjoy a busy life.

I do not believe the quote that says....

“Life is just a quick succession of busy nothings.” ~ Jane Austen.   

I do believe that for myself, idleness leads to boredom.  I'm happiest when I'm involved with my family, my children, my husband and my friends.  

You don't have to agree, that's just my way.  And for me, it seems to work.

In between the aforementioned things I accomplished last week, I decorated for Halloween.

I love to "SPOOK" the house up a bit.  I dangle snakes from the light fixtures and place mice on the bookshelves.  I drape gauzy fabric from the furniture and pose the skeletons on mantel.

I add something new every year to our crazy collection of eerie frights.  

This year I may have my new all-time favorite.  Dr. Giggles, the mad-scientist.  I love him for 3 reasons.

#1. He makes reference to diarrhea, and that instantly made him apart of our family.

#2. He seems more rattled than me, based on the four or five things he says.

#3. He seems misunderstood........and I always root for the underdog.

Without further ado, friends, I introduce to you, Dr. Giggles.

Dr. Giggles, I introduce you to my cyber family.

I supplied Dr. Giggles with an assortment of chemicals and potions for his experiments and such.  

Everyone knows that you cannot complete a lab experiment without deer antlers and severed fingers.  

I combined potassium chloride and liquid ammonia to make a potent truth serum.  Anyone care to join me for dinner?  Mah wah hah!  

(Disclaimer:  I have no idea what happens when you combine potassium chloride and liquid ammonia.  Do not try at home.  I may.....or may not have added a wee bit of red food coloring to water and slapped a Martha Stewart halloween label on an old margarita mix bottle.)

These beauties on the other hand are authentic, certifiable, and bona-fide.  These are old medicine bottles that Rick and I have collected for eons.  Grandma and Grandpa Howe and my Aunt Pammy have helped us add the assortment over the years.  

Rick's Granny and Grandpa Smith owned a pharmacy 

When Grandpa passed, Granny had an auction and we purchased some of their old supplies.  We were newly married and pinched for extra cash, so we didn't get it all.  We kick ourselves for not buying it all now....but at the time, it just didn't seem practical.  

You may have to squint, but I am amazed at the advise this author gave pregnant women on smoking.  Jeez...times have sure changed.  

I thought I would close with a few mad scientist images I found and a rock candy science experiment I would like to try with the kids.  I'm off to mow the yard.  Hopefully for the last time this year!!!!!

Happy Monday! 

Rock Candy for Kids

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar

Heavy cord

• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Put one cup of water into a small saucepan, pour 2 cups of granulated sugar into the water, heat the water and sugar on the stove over a medium heat, continue stirring until the sugar melts, keep adding sugar and stirring until it melts, stop adding sugar when you see that it will no longer dissolve in the water (that is until you see sugar lying on the bottom of the saucepan). Remove the pot from the stove, let the liquid cool until it is just warm.
2. Pour the liquid into a clean glass jar.
3. Tie one end of a piece of heavy cord around the middle of a pencil.
4. Place the pencil over the top of the glass jar letting the cord fall into the liquid.
5. Crystals will begin to form in a few hours The next day, remove the cord from the jar, pour the sugar liquid back into the saucepan, reheat and cool it just as you did before. Pour the liquid back into the jar and reinsert the cord with the crystals into it. More crystals will form.
6. If you repeat this procedure every day the crystal candy will grow bigger and bigger.
7. When it has reached a size that pleases you, snip off any excess string and enjoy.

The Big 1-0

So, I've been thinking about birthdays.

(You know, a caution sign should flash above my head when I start thinking). 

Wouldn't it be amazing if everyone had a sign that flashed their mood above their head?

If I embarrassed my children, their sign would flash "embarrassed".

If I made my hubby mad, his would flash "ANGRY"!

If I frustrated a store clerk, it would flash (yes, you guessed it)..."frustrated".

Gosh, how easy would that be.

Oh wait!  That means that when I go to church and I'm annoyed because the cat puked on the floor and no one can clean it up but me (strange how that is, huh?)  The kids have fought all morning and the husband is watching ESPN while I'm trying to get myself and the monkeys ready.  I was having a good hair day until I walked outside and noticed it was raining.  I plaster a smile across my face because that is what everyone does when they walk into church.  My flashing sign would say, "#%@#-ed off beyond words and nothing the pastor says today is going to sink in because I'm having a pity party.  Look at how happy all these other people are.  Smiling......twinkling eyes.....and cute little cheek dimples."  (I'm going to need a very large sign).

Then I read their signs..........and I begin to feel better.

Whoa, I think this post was supposed to be about a birthday!  

Now do you see now why I need a caution sign?

OK, I've collected my thoughts.

As I was beginning to tell you, I've been thinking about birthdays.

Namely because my sweet, little, angel, baby girl celebrated her 10th birthday last week.

Yup, she has blessed my world for a whole decade.

In some ways, I cannot remember my life without her.  

Then other times, I think about the time I held her for the very first time, and it feels like yesterday.

She is my pal.  My sidekick (or maybe I'm her sidekick).  

Birthdays are to Gracie like peanut butter is to jelly.  She thinks about her birthday.  She plans her parties year round.  She changes her party ideas 4,234 times throughout the year.  A week before her birthday, she told me she was going to take many naps and go to bed early every night, so her birthday would get here quicker.

NOTE: She just turned 10 and she is already planning her sweet 16. 

What I'm trying to say is........for Emma Grace, birthdays are BIG! 

BIG, BIG, BIG!

Gus' birthday was June 9th.  He could care less!  Birthdays mean nothing to him.

However, he understands that they mean a lot to Gracie, so he mustered up some extra energy and joined us for the gift opening ceremony.  (If Gus had a sign above his head in this picture, it would say "BORED")

We all signed a card for her.  Everyone knows (but no one admits), opening a card before a gift is semi worthless.  We are all so curious about what they gift is that we hardly read the card.  Anyone relate?  I'm speaking the truth here, people!

Gracie did a very good job of acting like she was interested in the card.  

Because she has opened many gifts in this particular shape, she pretty well knew what was inside the package.  

   

She also told me multiple times exactly what she wanted.  She marked catalogs and left them on the counter for me to see. 

Please ignore that my middle child is picking his toenails off in this photo.

This is what Gracie asked for......her gazillion-th American Girl doll.  She wanted this one because she has super long hair.  My daughter has hair styling DVD's THAT SHE WATCHES!!!  She watches YOUTUBE videos on up-do's and braiding.  Most girls want headbands and bows for their hair.....Gracie wants them for her dolls.  

Gus has just about reached the top of his patience max!

Gus doesn't need a caution sign, he has a tongue!

Gracie did not know that Rick and I purchased a gift that she didn't ask for.  As a matter of fact, we purchased this gift almost 5 months ago.  Maybe even longer ago than that.  

The gift was four tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert.  

She has never been to a concert and has never seen a concert ticket, so it took a little bit for her to figure it out.  

She looked and looked.  The sign above her head would say, "Confused"!

Then it clicked!  She read the name on the ticket.  He turned bright red, started shaking like a leaf and then had a little trouble breathing.  

You see, when you ask Gracie what she wants to be when she grows up, she says, "I want to write songs for Taylor Swift".  She has a karaoke machine and sings Taylor Swift all the time.  She has all her CD's and knows every song like the back of her hand.  

I have never seen her so excited in all my life!  She called four or five people to tell them.  She squealed for over an hour.  She jumped up and down and ran around the house.  

Aunt Pam was on speaker phone with us while Gracie opened her gifts.  

Yes.....I took a picture of the phone.

The concert is this Saturday and I cannot wait to show you pictures.  

Gus' sign now says, "misery".  

Yes, Ian is still picking his toenails.

And yes, I put a strategically placed a sea shell on Gus because I care about you.

Happy Birthday Gracie!

  

Proud as a Peacock

I wish there were a way to bottle certain feelings.  Namely the feeling I had last night at Ryan's second JV football game.  My heart swelled as he caught a pass (while being double covered) and ran for nearly 70 yards .  Then in the fourth quarter, he caught a touchdown pass that doubled my heart rate and plastered a smile across my face.  There is no other feeling like being proud of your offspring.

#84 has his game face on

Yup, that's Ryan, in a headlock.  

Ian is playing his first 8th grade football game and I'm hoping that I get those warm fuzzies again.  You see, Ian is a little timid off the field.  He's quiet and bashful.  But when the ball snaps, the man/child turns into a raging buffalo.  He forgets his manners and charges across that field.  Boys have been known to reposition themselves so they aren't lined up against him.  I'm not just saying this because he's my boy.  It's a known fact.  Besides, it's my blog, and I can brag if I want to!   I can selectively leave out that I had to go to school yesterday to get Ian's phone because he was caught playing "Angry Birds" before school.  Or that I have to run forgotten homework to them at least once a week.  I can also leave out that the monkeys give me sighs and eye rolls almost daily.  I may also fail to tell you that when I pick them up from practice, I have to roll down car windows and spray air freshners in the car.  Teenage boys are officially in my top 10 worst smells.  Therefore, if they do something that makes me happy.......darn right I'm gonna talk about it!

While I'm at it, I might as well brag about my daughter.  She has finally taken interest in her grooming habits!  She loves pretty clothes, high heeled shoes and assessories, but bathing has never concerned her.  Until the last week!!  I have added hair styling to my list of morning rituals.  (please note that I STILL have not missed making breakfast once morning since school started)  What started as an occasional good deed for the kids, has now become an expecatation.  They now ask the night before what they will be eating the next morning.  I've even had a few requests as of late.  I'm afraid that I've created a breakfast monster.  The days of Pop-Tarts and milk with cereal are gone.  Boo-hoo!

Anyway, back to Gracie.  She has been cute as a button for the last week with wavy curls and lip-gloss.  I'm so proud!  She is also going to turn the big 1-0 tomorrow and she made a point to tell me that she wanted that on her cake!  She also said yesterday that she will be taking lots of naps and going to bed early so her birthday will get here quicker.  Funny girl!  She is possibly the sweetest girl on the planet.  I'm never short on hugs and kisses from her.  She's my little side-kick and I love her with all my heart.

911

Last Friday night, Ryan had another football game.  It was against Kirksville......and they won.  That is very good news but I would like to tell you about what happened AFTER the game.  This story deserves a post of it's own.

Let me forewarn you.  It is a little like Family Circus at the Smith's home.  Sometimes I'm so worn out that  all I want to do is crawl into my soft and warm bed.  This was one of those nights.  I had worked my fingers to the bone around the house (cleaning, running errands and such).  The football game started at 7:00 p.m. and it didn't finish until after 10:00 p.m..  Rick was on call the entire holiday weekend in Carrollton and the boys wanted to go to the after game "Bash".  The "Bash" is hosted by a local church and our YMCA.  Middle school age (Ian) go to the church.  High school age (Ryan) go to the Y.  While the boys were mingling with friends and eating Cheetos, Gracie and I drove........and we drove......and we drove.  We drove/sat in the car for over an hour.  It was boring and the hour seemed like 20 hours.  Then my little monkey fell asleep.  That was good and bad for me.  It was bad because, I had no one to talk to.  It was good because, I had no one to talk to.

So, finally.......I had collected all the kiddos and we headed home.  We pulled into the driveway at nearly 12:00 a.m..  My eyes were burning because I was so tired.  I barely had the rig in park before I was opening my door to run to the bed.  

I'm all nestled under the covers and it's warm and cozy.  I drift off to dreamland. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Then a noise woke me from my slumber at 12:45 a.m..  After I sat up in bed and tried to knock down the cobwebs, I realized that it was the doorbell.  I was a little spooked but I figured that it was an electrical glitch.  Then, out of nowhere comes at least 15 more dings on the doorbell.  OK, I'm sorta panicked.  I'm in my long purple night gown with bleach spots on the front.  You know, Rick's favorite!  I'm trying my very best to collect myself.  THE DOORS!!!  Make sure the doors are locked!  All the upstairs doors are secure.  I make a bee-line to the basement for two reasons.  

#1. I need to make sure that those doors are locked.  

#2. I need to make sure that my teenage boy is where he is supposed to be!  (Why is that always a mom's first thought in these situations.  Welp, must be the teenager!)

The teen was sitting in front of the T.V..  ASLEEP!  This was also good and bad news.  The good news is that he was where he was supposed to be.  The bad news is that it isn't him ringing the door bell!

In my part crying.....part whispering (we need to be quiet so the burglar won't hear us).....part WAKE THE %$#@ UP NOW voice, I startled Ryan awake.  I'm not sure what I thought my 15 year old was going to do to help me.  Maybe he could cover my back when I went after the intruder with my open bolt, blowback-operated sub machine gun.  Oh wait, I don't have an open bolt, blowback-operated sub machine gun.  No........I have a 15 year old who is now threatening to go outside and beat the intruder up.  NICE!  You might be glad to know that I didn't allow that.  

By now, the doorbell has been run at least 596 times.  Ryan is officially as freaked out as I am.  I am standing in the kitchen trying to think of my next move.  RICK!  I'm going to call Rick!  I will call him because if I am overreacting, he will calm me down.  He will help me realize that this is all just a very bad dream and I'm really still cuddled in my warm and cozy bed.  

While I am explaining the situation to my beloved husband, someone starts banging on the windows.  And now the door!  I'm also hearing a voice.  I know for sure now that this isn't an electrical glitch.  This is a real-live Freddy Kruger at my door.  I am beyond words at this point.  My voice is cracking with fear as I'm talking to Rick.  My guess is that he hears the fear and he told me to call the police. 

I dial 911 because this seemed like an emergency to me.  

Dispatcher: "911, please state your emergency".

Me: "Ummm....I'm probably overreacting, but someone is ringing my doorbell and knocking on my windows".

Dispatcher: "What is your address"?

Me: I tell him

Dispatcher: "Please stay on the line while I dispatch someone to your location".

While I'm holding on the phone with 911, I notice Ryan is trying to catch a peek out the dining room windows.  Then he says, "Mom..........it's Gracie!!!!!!!!"

I'm still on hold with the dispatcher from 911, so I say....................

Me: Sir......sir, it was my daughter.  OMG, it was my daughter!  Sorry, sooooo sorry!

In summary.......

Gracie fell asleep in the rig.  

The boys and I piled out of the car once the car was in the garage and the engine was off.

Gracie did not pile out of the car.

Gracie was still sleeping.

I locked all the doors and the sleeping beauty could not get in.

When sleeping beauty woke up in the car and could not get in the locked doors, SHE FREAKED!

Now my fear has subsided and a huge helping of guilt lands on me.  My poor daughter.  My poor red-head.  My poor husband.  The poor 911 dispatcher who took my call.   

Gracie then crawled into bed with me and we laughed.  We laughed cause it was over.  We laughed because she wasn't a burglar or Freddie Kruger.  We laughed because her mother is a fruit cake!

For you viewing pleasure, Gracie and I did a mini reenactment of our traumatic night.  

Moral of the story....

Make sure all the monkeys are out of the car before you lock the doors.

Football and Friends

As of today, Chillicothe Varsity and Jr. Varsity Hornets are undefeated!  Yeah!  We have a really tough game tomorrow night in Smithville, but it has been lots of fun watching them.  Ryan started his first JV game on the 29th.  I nearly passed out when he caught the very first touchdown pass.  Seriously people...... I felt light-headed and woozy!  It was a good woozy though!  I'm a crazy person!

My red-head ran his first Varsity play two Fridays ago.  Everything seemed different when you are watching the game as a parent instead of a fan.  I noticed that visiting with friends was not an option.  In the years past, I hardly remembered watching at all.  It was social hour.  Now the game makes my heart thump.  It makes my pulse speed up.  It makes my stomach turn into knots.  It makes me want to shout obscenities at the opposite team (I refrained).  

Thank goodness #84 lined up on my side.  

It seems like I just jumped into our new pool.  Now we are talking about closing it up.  The temperatures have dived into the 70's this week (which feels wonderful), but it means chilly whilly water.  I let each of the monkeys have a friend over last weekend.  They all swam in the pool together.  It was sort of our last hurrah.  

Gracie has been BFF with Magy since, well, a long time.  They make many many phone calls to each other, take turns spending the night at each other's houses, and play with each other at recess.  What a pair!