Laundry Confessions, or How to Manage Your Children's Clothing Choices

It is really easy to get your kids to wear modest and appropriate clothes.  Just don't buy them anything that falls outside of your standards.  But what about when they get older and start buying clothes?  Or when our creative types start modifying the clothes that we have provided?  We, conniving moms, have a few strategies to deal with these problems too.  It is amazing how stained and filthy these clothes get.  The best cleaning method involves bleach.   When the offending item comes through the laundry, consider treating those troubling spots.  If a little bleach is accidentally spilled on immodest or inapproriate articles, the clothes some how lose sex appeal, but what can you do?  Adding color is sometimes needed.  That cute, showey little white see-through blouse won't be as white or see-through after it is washed with a load of brand new jeans.  Another one of the best methods is to use the missing sock phenomenon.  "Really, I have no idea where (and by where I mean in which land fill) that ended up.  Did you look under your bed?"

For some reason my kids started doing thier own laundry when they were teenagers.  I can't complain about that little unintended benefit.

Weighing in On Women's Downhill, Super-G

I love watching the winter olympics when they aren't figure skating.  My favorite events to watch are the Women's Downhill and the Women's Super-G.  Sure, the races are exciting to watch and fast-paced.  But my favorite part is right before the race starts when the name, the height, and the weight of each competitor is posted.  Has anyone else noticed that these women are not emaciated runway models?  Lindsey Vonn weighs 165.  Back in 1998 Picabu Street weighed 157.  Unlike the skaters, I bet these women can enjoy a plate of pasta.  I imagine they eat bread and occasionally have dessert.  I just want to cheer strong, healthy, beautiful skiers.  The wind isn't going to blow them off the slopes.

Don't You Just Love Boys?

I admit that in the past I was a little dissapointed when the sonogram tech annouced to me that the baby I was growing was a boy.  It's not that I didn't love boys.  It was just that I really liked girls clothes, and pink is my favorite color, and I had 4 boys in a row.  So when Megan told me she was expecting I had to develop a plan so that I could be happy no matter the results of the sonogram.  After all, what I really desire for my daughter and her family is a healthy baby.

In preparation for the sonogram Megan had to drink a bunch of water and I had to go shopping for boys clothes and toys.  I even bought a baby boy's Christmas ornament set.  When Chris texted me from the Doctor's office to let me know that their baby will be a boy, I was elated.  I already have a little layette set, a rockin' cool airplane ride-on toy, and an adorable ornament set, all waiting for Beatty Jr.  I am so happy!  My strategy worked.  We are looking forward to the most wonderful little boy this world has known.  After all, look at his parents.  They are smart, good looking, responsible, and fun. 

Megan has been doing pretty well.  She hasn't been sick.  Her due date is July 1.

Those Canaan Days

Joe and two other students from Spring Creek were able to be in the RHS production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.   They were part of the children's choir. 

 

This is the group of 6th graders who performed.  They did a really good job along with the rest of the cast. 

One really fun part for Joe was making new friends from other schools.  This kids was so fun.  He is the kind of kid everyone likes because he is so friendly. 

My friend Laurie took this picture of Joe while he was singing in the show.  This is the part where Joseph is in prison.  The children were holding little candles while singing encouraging words.

Science Fair Grand Prize Winner

Take a good look because this is the Joe's last science fair entry.  I have it from a good source that projects are not required in Jr. High, and if they are not required we are not doing them  The project was based on a structural engineering question.  Which is the strongest shape for a pylon: a cylinder, a hectagonal prism, a rectangular prism, or a triangular prism?   We made the shapes from ordinary copier paper and tape.  The conclusion was that the cylinder is the strongest, followed by the hectagonal prism, followed by the rectangular prism, followed by the triangular prism.  Every angle strengthens the pylon.  A cylinder has an infinite amount of angles, but the definition is 360 angles.  Imagine that every angle is a strong man helping to hold up something over his head.  The more men, or angles, the more they can hold up.

We put this picture on the project of a bunch of plebes from the Naval Academy lifting a log during Sea Trials to illustrate.

Joe gets to go on to the regional science fair!  Okay, he really isn't very excited about this either.  As a matter of fact, he was pretty upset when he found out that his project won because that means that it is not over.  And when you finish doing the Science Fair, you are really grateful that it is over.  

Speaking of dissappointing experiments, who else is disappointed by Target's...

Big Bomb

Every year after Christmas for the last 5 or 6 years Target has put out a merchandise movement that it called Global Bazaar.  It was a fun, eclectic collection of home decor and furnishings from all over the world.  The movement only lasted a couple of months and was cleared out to make room for the spring and summer garden and patio merchandise.  I just loved going to Target and seeing what they had.  Much of my home is filled with Global Bazaar purchases and this was where I got a lot of the wedding and shower gifts I would give during the year.  But this year, because of the bad economy, Target decided not to take a chance with  the good stuff.  They filled the Global Bazaar aisles with super sized Sams/Costco packs of various things.  How fun!  When I went to Target today because Joe asked if he could go play the video games while we were shopping I realized I had not been in there in over a month.  That must be a record for me.  Word to the wise...If you want people to come into your stores it would be a great idea if you had exciting merchandise.  The more I go to the store the more incidental spending I do.  I am sure that I am not the only one.  So Target might blame the bad economy on decreased sales during January and February, but really it is poor merchandising decisions that have kept shoppers away.

 

Last Valentine

Today Joe celebrated Valentine's day for the last time as a kid.  This was his 6th grade party. 

Last night he addressed Valentines to all of his class mates.  The boys got football Valentines and the girls go kitty and puppy Valentines, except Asia, she got a football Valentine.  He was really funny because he did not want to address the girls cards because he thought that they might think he like-liked them.  Of course I made him address them.  What is the purpose of a mother anyway? 

For a few weeks the boys in Joe's class planned to go to school today dressed as nerds.  I am not sure why anyone would want to go to school dressed as a nerd  for the Valentine's party,  but the result was that the girls had to regret giving any of those boys the special Valentine card.  Joe and his friends all wore white tshirts, too-short levis pulled up and  belted at the chest, tall white socks, greased back hair parted on the side and combed in a ducktail in the back.

The moms put together a really fun party.  We started with a hip-hop lesson taught by an Eaglette.  The girls loved this and a few of the boys loved this (maybe too much).  Next the kids had refreshments of chocolate fountains with all of the dippers you can imagine and nachos.  It was really funny to see the nerdy boys get chocolate all over their white shirts and faces  Next came Karaoke.  The girls sang Single Ladies-Put a ring on it .  The boys sang Love Story while all of the girls performed as back-up dancers.  The Pruski's put together a disco cut-out so that the kids could stick their heads through and get their pictures taken.  The moms and dads spent way too much time at the chocolate fountains.  I am included in this group. 

What a party!  I wouldn't have missed it for anything.  I know this is the last year that it will be cool for the boys to all be nerds together.  It is the last year that Joe and the other 6th graders will hunt for the hidden meanings in the goofy little Valentine cards they have sent to each other.  And, yes, Joe found what he thought was a secret message from one of the girls saying that she thinks he is cute.  He couldn't be happier.  But if you asked him about it I doubt that he would give you the strait answer.

Getting Lost

I was thinking about the Lost Season 6 premiere tomorrow night and I started to get mad at Joe. I just know that he is going to be talking and or asking questions during the show. Then he is going to want a snack. Then he is going to ask me to look over his math homework for accuracy. He is going to ask me to help him make his lunch and then, even though I have to perform a minor miracle any other day to get Joe to practice,  he will  pick up his French Horn and start to spontaneously practice in the middle of the family room, where I will be. And all of the time I am going to want to catch all of the little clues, innuendos, and drama of the best show ever made.


Poor Joe, maybe I can lock him in his room so that I won't be frustrated with him.