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Basketball Halftime Creighton University Omaha NE * © Human Slinky

COOL HALF TIME SHOW

Murphy ....take a HIKE

We had a "We Just CANNOT have nice things" moments the other day....enough time has passed and I am less delicate and can annotate it here. Ok you must rewind a bit....I have 3 great kids, we have a playroom that is truly the kids domain...the other night (Monday) all 3 were playing and doing great. Dale comes down and says Mom I need to show you something....come on..... so I walk upstairs to see a broken play table...leg snapped in half....Reid appears blotchy faced and sobbing, Macy is sobbing also, as this is HER table....she then begins with the "where will I have birthday parties? where will my babies eat? I am so sad? sob sob....Reid is too upset to even speak. I scream... and part of that scream is WHAT HAPPENED? Turns out Reid was trying to ride the table leg like a horse....WHAT?? GO TO BED REID! Duke appears and we take the critical condition table to the garage where we work with JB Weld, Gorilla Glue, Duct Tape....managing to glue the leg....albeit shaky prognosis is stable...but only time will tell. I return upstairs and I calmly discuss with him how we have TALKED and TALKED about NOT BEING ON THE TABLE, using it right, respecting others things..... he says "I feel sad for Macy" with my reply "good you should, because she is sad" to which he says "Can I not be in trouble anymore...in sobs" A day passes and all the efforts manage to hold the leg on. So that night Duke brings the table in, puts it in the pool table room, we decide to give it back the following day after school. The table is from IKEA...not pricey and really stable...but this is principal and Reid broke the other table when he was 2... by standing on it. OK so the next morning arrives, we are eating, all is well...right. Well it just happened to be Reids day to shop at the book fair at his school, I let Dale get a book, so I was going to allow Reid to do so as well....UNTIL...as I am looking for the money for the book....he instinctively walks to the healing table, flips it on its side, steps on the broken leg and leans on the table....CRACK....In rode the wicked witch of the east on her broom....I LOST IT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! YOU JUST BROKE IT AGAIN! His response " I forgot" forgot what the fact your not a rodeo rider, the fact that tables do not bend, that you are not rock climbing????WHAT....so I decided NO BOOKS FOR YOU...tears....Reid tell me WHY you do not get books "Because I broke Macys table.....again" They walk out the door and Dale hits my seasonal duck with his backpack....NOSE dive...dead.... severed/shattered beak, he says sorry and it was accidental but none the less....MINE....I return to the kitchen to try and find composure and walk past the back door and do a double take....is that????NO?? MY TURKEY! Ok I LOVE to decorate for the holidays...not with a bunch of stuff...and not expensive stuff and honestly lots of my items are gifts from friends....this one was one of those items...a little turkey that waddled, and danced, and sang The turkey and the straw....not priceless but MINE. He is OUTSIDE on the deck....covered in sand....reappear the witch and broom to go get my molting turkey...try and shake him clean...no luck and into the broken item infirmary that is my garage and is pretty full of kid carnage already. Macy apparently thought he was cute too...and wanted to play with it...WITH OUT MY PERMISSION. I was at a LOSS for words...now I had plenty but withheld them as to not teach my kids all I know of the art of curse words, and I intentionally distanced myself b/c I could have punched a hole in a wall and not felt it, I was HOT..and I am not stupid to discipline in anger is not effective...more like I'm pissed and your gonna pay. So we head to school in silence...Macy says "mommy?" Seeing as there in NO blood or danger to her, my reply is "Macy mommy is done, please be quiet!" So that evening we had a heart to heart big time. I am now going to with out warning give discipline and dole out consequences when I see any misuse of toys, disrespect, use of my things with out permission. The table went in toady's trash...I hope Macy does not see it as the tears will begin, the Duck now has a bright orange playdough/ gorilla glued beak...I need to paint to see if it will do....and the Turkey is healing, cleaned the battery areas and he is still dumping sand when it trys to dance. AGGGGHHHHH WE JUST CANNOT HAVE NICE THINGS....and my secret pal gave me a new yard flag....well of course I hung it and Reid noticed it right off...saying MOMMY where did you get that....I snapped "DON'T touch it its mine, my secret pal gave it to me and it is special"...."ok mom,I just think its cute"...."thanks Reid." so to end in song......Momma said they'll be days like this....days like this, momma said, momma said, MOMMA said! Did momma end all those days with a big ole drink....maybe that was my problem, I had to end with football practice.... And yes I do wish everything was made like Rubbermaid.... pop it back into place, hose it, dry it, and good as new.....aaahhh

Ok so for my million dollar question.....Do I buy another table? Out of principal I say NO...but she really loved the table...used everyday....honestly I am torn and seeking advice on this issue...tell me what you think.

So on the football side....Dales team lost, it was sad, they just did not play like themselves, and about 3 thousand penalties for offsides...Dale did have an amazing tackle and made the runner fumble the ball and we recovered...but a loss and that season ended. One of his coaches wants to start another league taking a few players just for fun, much less intense, less practice, and Dale wants to play. Actually Dale said I do not want to play anymore football until I play for the Longhorns....I informed him that he has to play and practice and be the best to be picked to play for the Longhorns...then I want to play was his response. Reid's team won and are now in the state quarter finals, but it is a bitter sweet as he is not on the "dream team" that gets to play, so we go to watch Reid stand for the most part...which he mastered at about 9 mos old so he is really good at that. He did say yesterday that football is fun but the part when you watch is not....and in the games when you just want to go try and help....it is hard when they will not let you......out of the mouth of babes. But he still wants to go, so we go, and support his teammates, and he gets a few concession plays when we get WAY up. Not that everything needs to be fair and equal as I am well aware life is not....but had hoped for a little less cut throat at age 5-6 first time ever playing the game....I digress, live and learn, and if you are putting your kid in flag football next year for the first time....I can give you some good questions to ask first!

Forgive me Amy for I have sinned

Ok so this morning begins and Reid is sick....upset stomach....he proves it with a trip to the toilet and I say ok you can stay home. So we make the necessary calls and are home bound. He did have "issues" a few times but other than that; this kid is FINE...he and Macy are all over the place...jumping off couches, making forts, hid and seek....he is so going to school tomorrow. Anyhow since he was sick I had to cancel an appointment....turns out a very very necessary appointment. I also had to run up to the Elementary school and make copies of the Newsletter and deliver them....I cannot do this with kids as they are clearly not needed in the copy room, and one is sick....so I had Duke man the kids and I went during his lunch.....since I had a minute to have my brain reload, I remembered we needed Benedryl, duck tape and flash cards....to drug the kids, tape them down, and then force feed them education...no no no....not related just needed....so I also made a run to Walgreens....walking to the Benedryl I see a product, "HEY I can use that, save time and money....how smart am I...smart purchase definitely" so I walk out of the store one item heavier, and patting myself on the back. Get home thank Duke, and I think this is going to be a productive day after all. We go get Dale from school, return and the kids are eating snack and watching TV....perfect time... so I head upstairs, open my product and then the fun begins. My product that is saving me time, and money is wax....Amy is my fantastic anestitition ...she is American, clean, funny, reliable, her room smells like lavender and has relaxing music...granted I do pay her quite nice, and have to have an appointment, but today I decide I can for-go the scent and music and do it myself. JUST eyebrows folks....anything else is sooo left to professionals....trust me I have tried and it was awful, I felt like a cat that had tape all over its feet dancing around, and on top of it I was fixing to be put in a tub of water by an alternate internal personality and there was lots of self conflict....I was that cat, it was BAD... But this time I think I can do this, I have before...no biggie, I even got the sensitive skin kind, that can be used cold, and is water soluble...I think win win win. SO I open the tub of wax...smells good, a fake chocolate....I pull some out and put it on my brow, add the paper, smush it and rip....Yes it hurt, but worth it right...NO the stuff did not work, so I try again, and it was a bit harder to pull off the second time...but marginal success and I clean it up with tweezers.....begin brow 2... apply goop, paper, smush HARD, yank....nothing, clearly 2nd time is necessary...appy goop, paper, smush hard over and over....and yank....it worked! a little too well and yanked off half my brow...I hear the kids yelling...have to go be a mom...they are wrestling in the living room, have a ring and all...a few re directions and back to the task at hand....Almost BALD- EYE Brow....so I clean up with tweezers since the wax did not even get the hair I wanted, and we are NOT trying again, and then have to over pluck the first brow to make this look intentional.... we are going for the thin brow this month...and I still have to color in the other one b/c there is a NICE bald spot....so lessons learned
Do not try this on a day when you have been a MOM all day
Apparently the music and scent is necessary...wrestling and fake chocolate smell does not cut it.
11 for the crappy wax, and now more for an eyeliner pencil....I am not saving any money here
RED just plucked chicken eyes are not attractive....at least I have the junk Amy sold me to help with that, and I will NOT miss my appointment next month....I do not care who is sick...I will be sicker if I do this AGAIN. So my self inflicted beauty confession punishment....say 3 Hail Amy's and buy a good eye pencil!

Political Revelation

Ok so I am apart of History in the making, Barack will be our new president. I hope he and the congress and senate will make sound decisions for our nation. I must say it does scare me that the democratic party has majority control, so much for checks and balances. I also want to voice my frustration with the notion that so many voted for Barack simply for the "different, cool, history making" reason. In my mind with America being the melting pot that it is race/ gender, should have no bearing...if you are the best then so be it, but as long as there are racial differences there will be racism. I do find it a testimant to how far we have come as a nation, to elect an African American to lead our nation. That is outstanding, I just do not think he was the right individual, and so many were too eager to be the ones make this election be historical....not in any comparison but Hitler made histoy as well. I am not saying that McCain and Palin were the all knowing/ fixing pair either, I questioned his judegments and her on NUMEROUS occasions, just the lesser of an evil in my mind, however IF he had been elected with the democratic majority in Congress and Senate he would have been powerless as well . I will support him as our leader, and do find a little solice with the fact that he did win the majority vote of the nation and not simply the antiquated electorial college votes.....don't get me started on that..... maybe we should make candidates in future elections wear masks and supplied uniforms to limit the amout of superficial judgments avaliable to the public, and force Americans to hear the issues and judge on that alone... but then where would SNL get material.... on a lighter note here is a funny story I had emailed to me...

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of the redis tribution of wealth.She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican , a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self- professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indic ated so to her father.He responded by asking how she was doing in school.Taken aback , she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn' t even have time for a boyfriend, and didn' t really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.Her father listened and then asked , "How is you friend Audrey doing ?"She replied, " Audrey is barely getting by. She takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. But she is so popular on campus, college for her is a blast . She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn 't even show up for classes because she' s too hung over." Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don' t you go to the Dean' s office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA. The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion , angrily fired back, " That wouldn't be fair! I have worked reall y hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree.She played while I worked my tail off!"The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, " Welcome to the Republican Party ."

Elementary Rocks the vote

Dale and Reid had a mock election at school today and Dale voted for John McCain.....and Reid voted for the one that started with a "B"....why I asked, thinking they gave some background info and this affected his vote? Nope it was "Becasue Cody's last name starts with a B and I like Cody." So even the elementary crowd is torn durring this election.

It's Monday ALLREADY

Wow that was a fast weekend, I do not think I stopped once. Friday we went a-treatin'. Dale as a scary skeleton...but still with a smile, Reid as a goofy skeleton, and Macy as a fairy, and me as Ugly Betty. It was funny b/c most of my neighbors did not even recognize me and one said...who is that walking with Macy, only to recognize me after I spoke. I guess that should be a compliment that they think I look nothing like Ugly Betty. Macy caught on quick that everyone thought she was so cute....she kept saying "everyone thinks I am so cute...right mom" Her ego barely fit into the door opening to knock on the door. Reid wanted to come home as soon as his bag was full and heavy....so I left Duke to tote Macy and Dale around and Reid and I went home to dish out candy and watch a Halloween movie on the projector we set up out front. We now have a HUGE basket FULL of candy up on the fridge so it cannot be consumed with out assistance. Our neighbors also had a party so we went and had a good time there too.

Saturday morning 6 am Macy and I are up getting ready for her competition...downtown by 7:30 am, I delivered her to her coach and then another cheer mom and I got lost in 5 block radius and found every one way street in that 5 block radius while trying to help move one of the coaches cars from a metered parking to a lot...ultimately successful but a little adventure non the less. So the competitors go in at 8, we are not allowed in until 9, but with the car adventure it was 8:30 before I was even ready to go in, so I hung out for 30 mins, we get in and sit , individuals go first, then the mascots....which is Macy's group. There were about 18 mascot groups and they were the last ones...she performed at 11:30...ok long morning but I am in the mind set I will be done soon....WRONG her coach walks by with the girls and we all gush about how great they did...we are so proud of they efforts..yadda yadda. She then says we are going to eat their lunch and then I will bring them back to you...they eat come back and she then says they cannot leave the auditorium, they have to stay until the end....this would have been good info to know, as I had NO lunch, and the concession was OUTRAGEOUS. 3 for water, 2.50 for a granola bar, and 2.50 bag of chips...no thanks I'll starve, than pay 8 bucks for a snack....but thankfully Macy's tiny appetite came in handy as she did not eat all of her lunch, and wanted to SAVE it... so I had 1 piece of bread, a piece of turkey, her leftover chips and a cookie ....and I only paid 5 to feed her...and me. So I contemplate leaving only to realize her poms, warm ups and pillow are in the team section and off limits to me...dang, we manage to get her stuff, and she does not want to leave, so I have her lay down for a little bit...as soon as she stopped moving she was OUT ...2 1/2 hours later she wakes up and we hung out, my plan was that as soon as she melted down we would go...but she never melted, so we watched all the girls compete, and I played more brain age/ sudoku on the DS than should be allowed. Finally we have the awards and they get little medals for competing, she did not win but we made it out by 6:30, home by 7...over 12 hours of cheer fun. I was wiped out from a day of doing nothing and was in and out during the UT game that night and it was kinda nice to be incoherent during the end of that emotional game. So Sunday we enjoy the extra hour of sleep....at least I did, and then we headed to Dales football game, they played great and won...so we are off to playoffs...YYYYYEEEEeeeaaaaa. so more late nights, dinner at 4, practice 3 nights a week and rushing in general but there is a light ...unsure if it is daylight or a the train light...guess we will find out soon.

Also another funny Macy story....we went to vote on Friday morning, I am holding Macy and a man joins the line behind us and she yells out YEA ORANGE..... YEA WHITE....YEA LONGHORNS ....FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT....he had on a longhorn shirt and numerous people smiled and laughed. However the game result on Saturday was less that desired and left Duke a little delicate.