It’s Prom Season! Did you know that? If you’re not a parent or if you have small children, you probably don’t put any thought into the biggest dance of the year at all, but in my house the chatter is in full force. It was a given that the older boy and his girlfriend of six months would be going. She bought her dress last Saturday and has put much thought into her hair and other details, but then preparations had to cease because there was one detail that my son had to take care of: he had to ASK her. HUH? I know. And it’s not even that easy.…
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It Takes A Lot of…Something!
Everyone, parent or not, knows what it’s like to be completely crazed on busy days when activities, errands, and other obligations run back-to-back. Our family experiences this more often than we’d like, unfortunately, but for now it can’t be helped because we’re at the mercy of the teenage type of schedule. Tonight we had a Freshman/Sophomore lacrosse game. (Don’t ask how it went.) (Okay, you probably just figured out how it went, so never mind.) Luckily our home field is at the elementary school in our neighborhood, so I walked down the block and back home when there was a little more than one minute on the clock, to preheat…
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It’s a Guy Thang.
I have a certain type of appreciation for cars. It’s a girly type of appreciation: I enjoy nice-looking cars and cars that have nice gadgets and, of course, cars that look like they are smiling. I’ve never had the type of appreciation for cars that a typical teenaged boy has (rightfully so, I guess, my being a girl and all). The older boy bought his first car* early last fall, and he has spent some of the little free time he has had since then researching cool things to put on the car, like snazzy (sorry, that’s a mom-ish term, isn’t it?) headlights, custom-made wheels with his personal logo metal-worked…
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Look Ma, No Braces!
I think it’s probably every orthodontic patient’s dream to get the news that their teeth are “where they need to be” and the braces can come off six months early. The younger boy got to live that dream. Lucky him! Much to the chagrin of his brother, who wore his braces longer than the two-year estimate and finally got them removed in September, the younger boy had his hardware removed yesterday morning. Look how sad he is about it, in this picture I took with my cell phone at the office, since I left my trusty Olympus at home: When we returned home to reunite with my Olympus, I took…
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The Day On Which I Pretended To Have Never, Ever Driven A Minivan At Any Point In My Life.
The older boy came home from school yesterday and announced, “I can get you an oil change at school tomorrow if you just go to the store and get a filter and a container of oil.” Score! My car has been overdue for an oil change for a few weeks now, and how lucky am I that I am the mother of a son who is taking Auto Mechanics class this semester? I replied, “Really? That’s awesome! I’ll go out to the store in a bit!” He looked at me and, in all seriousness, warned me, “Just make sure you get the correct oil and filter. They have to match…
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BREAKING NEWS: It’s Official!
Got the call yesterday! After winning the highest possible amount offered in their Fine Arts (Graphic Design) Scholarship program*, the older boy WILL be an incoming freshman at the college that smells like chocolate this fall! We’re psyched! *Many, MANY thanks to Aunt Julesie for helping him put together his kick-a$$ portfolio! ©2010 Suburban Scrawl
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All Stuck Up And No Where To Go(ggles)
Children go through all kinds of attachments as they grow up. We parents make most of the decisions regarding whether these attachments are okay, normal, weird, cute, funny, disgusting, or otherwise. For the most part, as long as our children aren’t in danger, we let it go or even encourage. After all, if it makes them happy… As babies they might be hooked on the pacifier. As they grow a little older, a special stuffed animal or a blanket might seem like an extra appendage. Of course, some kids suck their thumbs. Older still, and a child might carry around a doll, a car, or another sort of special toy.…
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May the Triforce Be With Him!
Years ago, when he was about seven or eight, the older boy used to spend hours (upon hours, upon hours) playing his Game Boy. To say he was obsessed with gaming back then would be a slight understatement. He was convinced that he was going to grow up and “help Nintendo out” by giving them ideas for new games. In fact, at one point he decided that he didn’t want to wait until he grew up; he crafted a letter to Nintendo USA that detailed his game idea and why they should manufacture it. He received a really nice letter from the company, thanking him for writing but explaining that…
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He Can Call Me, Anytime.
When the younger boy was toddling around, he didn’t call me “Mom” all the time. He called me by my name on occasion, because that’s what he heard other people call me. Of course, we had to teach him that, to him, I was “Mom”. We didn’t actively encourage him to call me “Melisa”, BUT… …it was adorable when he did it. I vividly remember him calling me from upstairs: “Muh-liCH-uhhhh!” (he said it with the “Ch” sound that you would recognize from the name Johann Sebastian BaCH or the LoCH Ness Monster) Those days seem like eons ago. So many life experiences have come and gone since then, more…
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Well, There IS That Zipper And All…
Monday night was a late night in this house. After the weekly Boy Scout meeting, the older boy drove over to Julesie’s place because she is being a fabulous aunt and helping him get his graphic design portfolio assembled so that he can present it to the Art Department at the college he’d like to attend, in order to apply for a Fine Arts Scholarship. He arrived home just before eleven and by the time all of the lights in the house were off and everyone was snoozing, it was probably between 11:30 and 11:45. We get up at 5:30 a.m. around here (high school, you know!), so we were…