Things to remember about 2009...

For us, as I'm sure for many of you, this has been a crazy year. There have been many personal ups and downs as well as those within our communities and nation. Below are some which I want to make note of for the future:

The Highs:
- Meeting Ted Lindsay
- Seeing hockey games at Joe Louis Arena again
- Listening to the middle play violin
- Watching the youngest in chorus
- Watching the youngest recapture enjoyment in playing soccer
- No more travelling for work
- Barak Obama becoming President
- Hillary Clinton NOT becoming President
- Watching the oldest become a nice young adult
- The Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup
- Finally finishing the basement to a useable state

The Lows:
- Missing the NHL All Star game in Atlanta
- My Dad being sick
- My Mom having surgery
- The wife's step Dad having double knee replacement
- The wife's Grandma being sick
- The Detroit Lions going 0-16 and STILL keeping their current President and GM
- Too much work related travel this year
- The economic and housing market meltdown

Obviously, you can tell that all things considered, we've had an exceptionally good year, with less concerns about the lows and truly being able to enjoy the high points. Hopefully this trend continues for us all next year - not just our crew, but yours too!!! In the meantime, feel free to drop comments on whatever I missed or what are the memorable points with your year!

Neighborhood Corruptors...

Apparently, we are the fun household. We had the neighborhood over for an X-mas party on Christmas eve (previous post can be found here). Some of the guests are our neighbors from Florida. Now, these two are very sweet. They do however try to torture me and the wife with running with them, which wouldn't necessarily be all bad, but they are running 5 k and I have trouble running to the bathroom...bygones.

Anyway, we ran into these two yesterday and they proceeded to inform us they had a good time on X-mas eve (perhaps a bit too good a time). We in turn described our Wii injuries as badges of honor. In the end, they're coming for New Years...and I have a new project for 2009. Let the corruption begin!!!

See, I figure I either have to corrupt them to my level or hit them with a car, and not only are they nice, but I don't want to harm my car...its paid off... ;)

Delayed post...

I've been remiss in posting for far too long as you'll be able to tell by this post, but I have some things to bring everyone up to speed on...

Back in October, I took a trip to help my mother after a surgery, (yes, she's doing fine). To thank my sister for her help, I took her and her family to Joe Louis arena for a Detroit hockey game. There just is no place like the Joe for a game. While there, I met Mr. Ted Lindsay - a HUGE hockey hero. Very nice time. This experience did mean however that we needed to take the children to the Joe (especially since they are talking about tearing it down). So, while the family and I were up for Turkey day, we made plans to go to the Joe for a game. In all, there were 11 of us who went and it was everything we'd promised the children.

It was a blast. In summary, its been a good year. Happy Turkey Day, Merry Ho Ho and here's hoping you all have a great 2009.

Wii are idiots...and Wii are not addicted...

Warning: Wii automatically tries to make the least patient more patient...which ultimately causes sporadic eruptions of anger...very worried about the TV around the middle child...

Wii injuries make you feel like you are elderly...wait, maybe I am...at least middle aged elderly...CRAP!!!

Wii snowboarding gives you delusions of granduer...it makes you feel like you could actually snow board...Dang you Shawn White!!!!

Wii rabbits are cute and cuddly...especially when being shot by toilet plungers (see Raving Rabbits 1 and 2)...

Game total: in 3 days, we've played over 25 hours...this is not breaking the group games into individual time (4 players for 1 hour should be 4 hours - many of the games are group) but just clock time and 3 800 mg Motrin (for the wife...I just deal with the pain...LOUDLY)

Wii did however get gold in group snowboarding...Mii going to get my coffee so Mii can practice some more...need to get better at the grinding rails...Wii have another target to hit...

Very Merry Christmas

Christmas was very merry here in the Price household. We started our celebrations with a great neighborhood get together Christmas Eve night. A lot of our neighbors are transplants to the GA area just like ourselves, so I thought it'd be great fun to have a party at our house, and it was. We counted over 30 people at one point! Good friends, good food, good times, and REALLY good sangria Angie made!

Believe it or not, I was the first one up on Christmas, but I get so darn excited about the gifts we get the kids, I can't help it. So after going to bed at 2am, we were up at 6:30 am for gifts. Lots of ohhs and ahhs and AWESOMES were heard. But the best came when, seemingly, all the gifts had been opened, and we asked the kids if they got all they wished for. They were more than happy with all they had, but we had another surprise for them in the basement! They go racing down the stairs to find the Wii, Wii Fit and several games.

WOO HOO!! The kids love it, I love it, hubby loves it........hubby and I are in great pain! I am told it is called Wii arm, and after a week it will get better. Great games, and so much fun, but man am I out of shape!!! Hubby is addicted to the wii fit board with the Shaun White snowboarding and his knee is killing him.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas too!!!

Karma

Karma has run my ass over.....and not even 24 hours after my snotty blog. We woke up to 40 degree weather today with a low of 18 tonight! Just thought I'd share. xoxoxox

I'm evil!

I'm evil, and I know it......tee hee hee he! I realize most of the folks that read our blog are currently under many inches/feet of snow, negative wind chill factors, blizzard watch/warnings, ice storms, but here in GA at 8pm, I am wearing shorts with the windows open! It has been in the low 70's for the past few days. To prove I am evil, I took a pic of the thermometer in my car and sent it to my sis in law in MI! She sure can talk like a truck driver! HEE HEE HEE HEE!

Christmas hedge

This year is our first year with an artificial Christmas tree. I have always been a "real tree" girl, however, the middle child is very allergic. It took us 2 years to figure out why she was having asthma attacks 1 week after the tree went up, and until 1 week after it was taken down. We got it now. So, being the "real tree" lover that I am, I went online and found this highly recommended website and ordered a really nice 10ft tree with both white and color lights. It arrived it 2 huge 70lb. boxes! I was so excited.....then we tried to put it up this weekend. These things are like a giant puzzle. There was supposed to be 5 pieces....only got 4. To make it funnier looking, we also got 2 of the same size. So, missing the top and 2 of the same. I was quite disappointed at first, but had to laugh when the hubby took the tree topper I bought special for it and still placed it on top of the pipe that was to hold the top portion of the tree.....thus.....The Christmas Hedge! Ok, we didn't leave it up, it was promptly taken back to the basement, (sorry hubby for the sore back) and off to Home Depot we went to get a cheapie tree which we can use in the basement next year.

My hero!!!

Hubby, you are my hero!!! You fixed the washing machine! He seems to take offense to my obvious awe of him fixing the washing machine, but he shouldn't. It isn't because I didn't think you were capable of it, it is the fact that I won't have to go back to the SCARY laundrymat. Have you noticed there aren't any, what I would call, nice laundrymats? At least that is how it is here in GA. Not to mention, it is really expensive. For us to wash not even a whole weeks worth of clothes, it was 28.00. Yikes! It was pretty funny though, the little Asian lady who spoke almost no English, was really worried I'd break the washers. Apparently I looked inexperienced, or looked as frightened as I felt. She put all my quarters in my 7 washing machines, @ 2.50 at load, that was a lot of quarters. But she didn't trust me after I got the first one all clogged up with quarters and she had to jam them out with an old butter knife! LOL. Then in order to further protect her washing machines after watching me put soap in the first machine she put the soap in the remaining machines as well. I am not used to the front load machines, she kept saying "too much, too much....I do" LOL. Thank goodness our machine is back up and running, I don't think the laundrymat lady could stand it if I had to come very often. You are the best hubby!!!!!

Please tell me.....

Please tell me things go bad in 3's and not more. Recently it seems as if the appliances are all deciding to die at the same time. About a month ago, the dryer died, it actually ate a piece of my daughters clothing which I ended up cutting out with scissors. The repair man came, saw, ordered part, and 260.00 later, fixed the 6 yr. old dryer. Ok, then starting last weekend, my van began to leak and run hot. Hubby checked it out and concluded it wasn't a major fluid loss, ie. coolant, oil, transmission fluid. So off Bessie ( van's name) went to the mechanic only to be diagnosed with a leaking water pump, plus some stuff that sounds like jibberish to me, all to the tune of 723.00. I really wish you could sit down with appliances and explain to them that Christmas is just around the corner and they really must just suck it up and wait to misbehave until March. Yet, I have tried this and it falls on deaf ears!
Last night I popped a load of wash in before we were going to watch a family show. We were about to start the show when we hear this LOUD bang. Like someone slammed the door or dropped something really heavy, but everyone was downstairs. When I checked in on the washing, the whole entire drum had fallen down! Holy moley, didn't see that one coming. Today we get to hand dip the water out of the tub and fish our clothes out of the water and see what this ones going to cost! I really must have another chat with these appliances and show them who's boss!!!!

I couldn't have said it better...

Here is a great article. AC/DC "Back in Black" as the NHL anthem? I'd vote for it. There is nothing like hearing the tones of the bells from "Hell's Bells" at the beginning of a game or the start of a powerplay, especially like at a small venue like Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The tones pump up the crowd and get your adrenaline going strong. Song choices like this are why I love hockey at the Joe over hockey nearly anywhere else. Atlanta has a gorgeous arena, but the song choices aren't the same. It gets better every year, but you could play AC/DC "Back in Black" at every NHL game and never go wrong...

Now, on this note, we're taking the kids in a while to the Joe. Now most of our children LOVE hockey nearly as much as me and the missus, but, have never experienced hockey like you can do at the Joe. Once we've been, I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I believe it is time to strike up some AC/DC...

Politics - The good, the bad, the ugly...

Congratulations America - you made history with this election. Pardon the soapbox.

The Good
For me, this election was the most electrifying of my life. For the first time ever, race and gender were not considered truly issues in a person's ability to lead. Additionally, from my viewpoint, politics as usual have finally been turned on its head. A smart, energetic person from a decided middle class upbringing was a viable VP candidate. Most of Palin's faux pas' were because she is not a standard politician, and while you may not like what she said, you have to respect the fact that she alone spoke her mind and let you know what exactly she thought. When has that happened in our lifetimes? The fact that she was a woman did not factor highly in most people's minds. Thanks Miss Ferrarro and Senator Clinton. You paved the way.

For the first time in my memory, one of the candidates stayed strongly focused on the issues and actually was intimately familiar with the ideas from his camp. Not only that, but he won due in large part to his stance on the issues. Oh, yeah, and he's African American - which was never brought up directly throughout the entire election. Who would have thought that? To me, this shows exactly how Gen. Powell shattered this barrier more than any other person. I mean, if Powell ran for President anytime in the last 12 years, does anyone doubt he would have won? And yes, that would be even against Bill Clinton.

The Bad
I find all the corporate handouts (I'm sorry, "bailouts") to ailing businesses due to corruption in those corporations and greed on Wall Street and in the banking industry absurd. Many people are in bad situations, however, many of these are situations of their own making. For the banks to cry foul because loans they created and offered are being defaulted on at enormous rates is insane. They made a bad bet. For homeowners to cry foul that a loan they agreed to to not be accessible - how is this my fault? There never has been a guarantee that real estate would always appreciate. You must be prepared for the possibility that your home may decrease in value and not count on being able to refinance at will. Again, many people played poker with their homes and lost - why is this my responsibility. I feel bad, but I see no advantage to helping them out. Will I be able to refinance my home loan to a better rate even though I can afford it now? I realize the world isn't fair, but these people couldn't afford these homes to begin with so I don't see a reason to help them keep these places. Also, for many of the people, these are not their first homes, but investment homes. So again, why should we fix a situation of their own making? If we are going to bail out these areas, I want a plan which lays out what is in it for those of us who have been responsible. I want a plan which tightly regulates these industries. If we bail out the auto industry, it should come with corrections to their staffing issues so these jobs aren't shipped out of the country to stay competitive. But there should be expectations to have a completely viable green car in a given timeframe. Autos should be priced aggressively - not marked up hundreds of percent. And benefits promised to workers for dozens of years (regardless of industry) should be kept. GM removing medical benefits from retirees who have given 30+ years of service should be a criminal act - and GM is not alone in this.

The Ugly
But for all our gains in areas of rights, as incredible as they are, I'm still confused. We've clearly made progress with women's rights in the last century - to go from women not being able to vote 100 years ago to serious consideration for the presidency and not even a peep of surprise that a woman was nominated VP for the republican party. We've made unbelievable progress in civil rights for African Americans from not being able to drink from the same fountain, be served in a restaurant or have any semblance of equality 60 years ago to having the opportunity to serve as president. But in the same breath, we view those issues as reasonable, but feel we need to define marriage for others. Many states not only won't recognize gay rights, which means many Americans still don't have basic rights many of us take for granted like marriage, shared medical benefits, civil protections for property, etc. However you view homosexuality, segregating a portion of our community in such a fashion is reprehensible. There was actually a referendum on one state's ballot to not allow unmarried couples the ability to adopt children. And it passed. So, people in this state actually feel that it is better for a child to be alone than not. For every example someone can give on how this arrangement is bad for a child, I can find DOZENS where children in foster care are worse off. I just can't understand what so many people are afraid of. What is the risk to our way of life in giving children a home where they are wanted? What is the risk in allowing people the same civil rights that my family enjoys? What is the harm in allowing people who love each other a piece of paper acknowledging that fact? How does treating other people as people degrade our moral fiber?

I have many friends and family who are homosexual. I explain it to my children easily - they love and care about each other. I have no concerns that these relationships are damaging my children - because they simply aren't. My kids are happy, well adjusted and are truly better off for these relationships. And if you don't approve of this "lifestyle", then don't participate or associate there. But don't prohibit them basic civil rights as a way of enforcing your morals. In the end, that doesn't communicate morality, but immorality and makes us all uglier as a result.

That ends the soapbox.

Hubby's home

Hubby came home last night after being gone for 7 days. I know he has a job that requires a lot of travel at times, however, he hasn't travelled in quite a long time, several months. I am a bit rusty at it and it was a challenge this past week. 3 kids, 3 extracurriculars, while working was tough. Thankfully I have great friends who helped me out with some of it, or I'd probably be in a corner babbling worse! My goal this week is to eat less chocolate and restart the exercise and maybe even eat a veggie or 2! But with Halloween candy in the house, can't promise a thing! We missed you honey, more than you know. xoxoxoxo

Joke present???

As you all know, it was recently the middle childs birthday. Being that the hubby was in MI all last week, my SIL sent the b-day gift home with him, thus arriving home last night. The middle kiddo excitedly opened all of gift, knowing my SIL knows them well and gives well appreciated gifts. She got a very cool Lego house building kit, window markers, and the gift she wanted most.....Zoo Tycoon for DS. She was so happy with all of them and couldn't wait to play with each. She asked if she could play with the Lego's first which I shot down because it was 8:30 pm and bedtime was approaching, so she happily chose to play Zoo Tycoon. Opening the case, she found no game in it!!!! Now, I know it is most likely at my SIL home, "tested" by my nephew, and somehow didn't make it back to the case before wrapping. The look on her face was priceless!!! Like we were all playing some cruel joke on her, poor kid. She kept waiting for us to let her in on the punchline. I chatted with my SIL this am, the game has been found and mailed to the duped kid. I can't help but giggle though, I really wish I had caught the look on her face on camera. Oopsie!

I believe......

I believe there is Prozac in Twix bars........or at least some kind of magic!!!

Master of Disaster

Ok, the middle child had a doctor appt. this afternoon for Tetnus booster, menangitis, HPV, and flu shots. They told me she wouldn't feel great today and definitely sore from the Tetnus booster and HPV shots, and of course they were correct. She has a headache, tired and arms feel like sore lead, thus she is home with me this afternoon. At 1:30, I get a call from the elementary school nurse, stating the youngest is there with an injury. Now, those of you who have been reading for some time and the ones who know us, know we are the accident prone family. I blame the hubby's genes! :) I have now dubbed the youngest as the Master of Disaster because of many reasons, but mostly for his ability to obtain eye injuries and kickball injuries. He has already been to the nurse twice, not once, but TWICE after being poked in the eye. Once with a pencil and the second with a ruler. Neither were serious thank goodness. Last year he managed to fall on a jagged rock while playing kickball and getting 10 stitched and a knee imobilizer on his leg. Today he combined the 2.....kickball and eye injury. As stated by the child, he was the pitcher and accidentally rolled it too slowly to the kicker, thus making it very easy for the kicker to get a great shot. He took a very hard kicked ball to the left eye. Hard enough to knock him on his booty and silly for a minute. I think he will get a pretty good shiner out of the deal. Of course he will wear it proudly while I will get funny looks. After the day I've had so far......It's five o'clock somewhere!!!!

Grumble!!!

Hubby left for the week yesterday for the long drive to MI to assist his mom after some surgery. He wasn't 6 hours up I-75 when things started to break in the house!!!! GRRRRRRR......First, something is wrong with the garage door sensor, it will close, but won't stop closing, so it pushes all the way to the ground and then goes back up. Second, the dryer ate, yes literally, ate one of the teenagers cami's. I had to cut it out with scissors and when I tried to restart it, it makes a very loud banging sound! :( I wasn't even 1/2 done with the laundry because of the birthday celebration. Boo Hoo! So, today I am off to the laundrymat to finish the laundry and placing a call to the repair man. On the bright side, hubby made it safely to his sisters in MI. Always gotta find the bright side, even through gritted teeth.

Happy 11th to the middle child

Happy birthday kiddo!!! Our middle one turned 11 on Sunday. Just like all parents, I cannot believe it! Where has the time gone? I remember her being born just like yesterday. Her funny fuzzy hair that stuck up all over (think static) until she was 18mos old. Cute cute cute!!! Now she's a witty, thoughtful, brilliant, beautiful middle schooler!!! We had a blast for her party. The whole family and 4 friends went ice skating and then had a bonfire with smores! She was so excited about all of her gifts from everyone. My only beef with the present we got her was, the ipod we got her is way cooler than mine purchased just 2 short years ago. The technology is advancing so fast! So far, I am unable to get her to switch with me...... Oh well, happy birthday babe!

Good times with Bean

This past weekend was AWESOME! My best friend Bean/Loretta/Lori came to visit us from MI. We've know eachother for a lot of years (20 or so), so there is a lot of history between us.....and we are more like sisters. No airs, not acts, just plain good times. Here are some of the highlights: McCracken's Bar (our fav down here), red snapper shots, Romanian cuties (even cute with the beer goggles off the next night-good job Bean), very large skeleton heads (please say they sanitize that occasionally, or at least let the amount of alcohol in my system protect me from God knows what was on that when I placed it on my head!), Seth Rogan wanna be's drunk as heck-hand on hip-underwear showing-hitting on poor unsuspecting women, my hubby NOT going to jail for my obnoxious mouth while loudly heckling Seth Rogan wanna-be boy loudly in the bar! tee hee, Wendy and Rae-friends who joined us for the debauchery even though Rae has a storm trooper contraption on his leg for an injury, nastily made chocolate cake shots with a lot of kick to them, nice safe taxi rides home.
Bean put up with a lot while here, my teenager so kindly refering to her boots as Nanny 911 Boots! LOL, still laughing at that one. She now refers to us as the Price Family Musical, due to our ability to break out in song multiple times a day for most subjects. She spoiled our dog rotten! We ate really yummy, really bad for you food all weekend ie. Cheesecake Factory, La Cabana, Publix cake slices, Belgian waffles floating in syrup with chocolate chips, etc.....But I did take her up Kennesaw mountain with me, however it was in a car, so it doesn't count. Alas, back to reality today.YUCK!!!! We miss you already Bean. Come back soon!

No go go juice!!!!

I'm not sure if all is aware, but here in metro Atlanta, we are expiriencing a severe gasoline shortage. Since hurricane Ike shut down several refineries etc., we have literally been out of gas. It's rather spooky to drive and drive and drive and EVERY gas station is closed. And if you do happen upon an open one, it is very apparent because of the enormous lines. Most people are waiting in-line 45mins to 2 hrs for a tank of gas. The stations are getting deliveries in the A.M. and are completely out by the afternoon. Usually these shipments last a week long. Hubby and I went out last night at midnight searching and were quite lucky. We were able to find a station with gas 20 mins from our house and only had to wait about 30 mins. I am not complaining too loudly because there are folks out there much worse off than us. We are fortunate I only work part time and hubby works from home. I was pleased as punch to pay 4.49 per gallon last night, unfortuately there was a limit of 45.00 per car. Oh well, guess I will have to do it again this week. They say this will continue for at least another week. Wish us all luck!

The benefits of exercise......

This Saturday A.M. we started off our day with Dunkin Donuts! Delish, however I am all too aware of the caloric havoc it will wreak upon my hips, so they were purchased with the promise the whole family would hike up Kennesaw Mtn. with me when said caloric heavy breakfast was purchased! We actually had a great time. No whining was heard, no "can we please take a rest?" etc. I am thinking it is because the teenager has been power walking 2 miles per day in P.E. (God bless P.E.)! We all have finished our wonderful hike and are on our way back to the van when I make this apparently silly statement: "Doesn't your body feel energized?" "Don't you feel great after exercizing?" I get the all too honest reply from the teenager...."no, actually my body is stating "W.T.F. this is Saturday, why aren't you still sleeping?" I probably would have been shocked had my body not been screaming the same thing!

What the....???

I must start this post by going back a few months to July. In July, my niece and nephew from MI came down to stay with us for a couple of weeks for some summer fun! We had a great time. In this fun, there have been several things I have found of theirs which were mistakenly left behind. My niece was all a flutter when trying to pack up to leave and was unable to find her BRIGHT YELLOW stylus for her Gameboy DS. Note: Gameboys are NOT bright yellow, so this was obviously a replacement stylus. I don't know about you, but I'm seeing a trend. Anyway, the stylus was never found. Since she has gone home, I have thoroughly cleaned all kids rooms, moved funiture, etc....NO STYLUS......until I cleaned out the fridge this weekend. I found the silly thing in the bottom of my fridge under the VEGETABLE CRISPER! Don't know why I didn't look their first? ;)

1-young punks 0-old folks

For those of you who don't know, we finally finshed our basement! Woo Hoo! It took a long time and more moolah than we had planned, but we are loving it! We also invested in a pool table for the family (but mostly for the grown-ups). Sunday we had some friends over to play pool and watch the Lions get their tails kicked. All was good fun with some smatterings of trash talk between the pool and the football. The best comment of the day came from our teenage daughters boyfriend. We had all spent Saturday together as well at another friends pool party. So the smack talk started with the hubby making some comment to the boyfriend about how come the boyfriend didn't take down the hubby on Saturday in the pool? The boyfriends perfect response was " I didn't want to break your hip Mr. Price!" Much hilarity followed when the hubby chased the boyfriend down and sat on him until he begged for mercy! As the title states.....Young Punks-1 and Old Folks-0

Like I'm 2 years old

Ok, here is an admission I am not particularly proud of, but yet a reality. I am terrified of sudden loud noises, ie. thunder/lightning etc.... The other night we were nicely watching tv when there was a HUGE thunder clap, one of those that shakes the whole house. With my entire family as a witness, I jumped up frantically and hopped on the other couch grabbing a pillow on the way! Before I could recover from my trauma, my family is rolling on the floor laughing at me and my apparent floundering. All I could think to say was to quote Kelly's 2 year old Maya
" thunder boom.......scare me......I cry!" I did this in my best Maya interpretation. Apparently my phobias and Maya's phrases are quite funny. They are still laughing.

Is he serious?!?!?!?

Typically I like to avoid political diatribes on this here blog for many reasons. Generally, it just ends up a good way to tick people off. However, most who know me know I'm not a big Dubya fan, but seriously, the cure for rising gas prices is offshore drilling? You know, that idea that was canned decades ago for how badly it was going to ruin the oceans (specifically reefs).

So, let's see, the running total:

-Start war with Taliban in attempt to get Bin Laden (or force him to hiding forever)...check
-Ignore war in Afghanistan to start another democracy experiment (this time in Middle East) by starting war in Iraq...check
-Wait for gas prices to rise...then suggest drilling in Alaska...check
-When denied expanded drilling in Alaska, suggest drilling in the ocean...check
-When questioned why you suggested drilling in THIS banned location, state its because your a "fisherman" (do NOT mention oil man)

So, with two wars ongoing, national economy tanking, greenhouse gases expanding, the solution is to continue to ruin the environment? I must admit, I don't get it and I can't wait until Dubya is out of office.

If we could impeach Clinton for his discretions (not that I disagreed with that), how is it we can't do the same with Dubya for his incompetence?

Until the fat lady sings...

Actual conversation during video games today...

Nephew: Oh man, I'm dead. It's over...
Youngest: It's not over until the fat lady sings...sorry to bring you're mom into this...

We will miss that child...

The sale of Uncle D...

Nephew: You need to put your Mom on Ebay so I can buy her.
Me: You can't sell body parts or people on Ebay. They arrest you and give you large fines for that sort of thing...
Nephew: Well, we'll sell Uncle D and we'll have the youngest do it then. That kid isn't old enough for them to arrest. Worse case: they throw the kid in juve for a while, but that's not like real jail...
Middle: Great!!! Mom, can we get a cat then?

The sad truth...

The neice and nephew (referred here as the "boy" and "girl" have been down for a visit the last couple of weeks. Recently, we all went "camping". Not real camping mind you, because the family the boy and girl come from is notorious for rain whenever we camp - so we got cabins (and yes, it still rained). I guess this is kind of like the fact my sister's house acts like a laxative for my children. Bygones.

Anyway, we decided during a break in the weather to go kayaking. This made the niece a bit nervous, since the river had "class I, II and some small III rapids". Not that she understands any of this, but she has seen lots of movies where the boat goes over the falls and she's not having any of that. While trying to calm her down, the following conversation occurs:

Me: Don't worry child. Would I have spent all of this money just to drown you? I could have done that for free...
Wife: Girl, I promised your parents we'd bring you home in one piece...
Boy: Yep, Aunt Sue promised, so no matter how broken you are, they'll staple and crazy glue you until you're back in one piece.

The rest of the group looked at us appallingly the rest of the ride to the river. For the record, everyone had a wonderful time, even though we ran out of crazy glue.

54 BABY!!!

Hot dog! The 2 youngest have finally grown to 54". Woo Hoo! This may sound trivial to some of you folks, but not to those of you who share our love of thrill rides. We are off to Cedar Point at the end of this week to meet the cousins. We have been looking forward to this for several months now, but were slightly apprehensive because of the lack of height. I have encouraged good eating habit, ie. spinach, brocolli, brussle sprouts (not really), etc......Hubby and I have even taken turns grabbing arms and leg and running in opposite directions..... I measured today and they have both grown that last 1/4 of an inch in the last month. I'm not sure if it was our remedies listed above or maybe, just maybe it may be the tennis shoes. Whatever it is, they (I) can't wait to go and ride the rides with the kiddos.

Breakfast Conversations...

Youngest: You know, in Africa, there's those girls who put the loops around their necks so they can make their necks longer?
Me: Yeah, the oldest wouldn't need anything like that. The oldest already has a neck like a giraffe.
Wife: (defending her cub) Well, if we're discussing being like animals...kids, your father is like a big ape, with his shape, the belly...and flinging poo everywhere...
Me: And what do you think you just did?
Wife: Are you calling me an ape? Flinging poo? Hmmm....
Me: Yeah, well its either that...or a jackass.

Such is the mood in our household this morning...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads.
We thank you for all you do everyday of our lives. From working long hours, tickle wars, reaching the top shelf, killing the icky bugs that make your wife scream, hugs and kisses, snuggles, etc.....

Today we started with a bike ride, which was lots of fun even though we've realized we need to get out and do it more often. Our friends Kelly, Tom, and baby Maya were in town for a wedding and spent some time with us. We enjoyed good friends, conversation, cocktails, good food and best of all, we got to play with 2 year old Maya! It's been a long time since we had this opportunity. She is so cute. All the kids and Darcy and I had so much fun playing with her. The 2 year old perspective on life is so sweet, innocent and adorable.

I hope all you Dad's had a great day.

The Boys Came Through!!!

I've not failed to blog on this before, but felt that it was not wise to ruin the sanctity of quietness when it comes to the cup. My boys, the Red Wings clinched the cup tonight and boy, was it ever a ride. From game 5, triple OT loss to tonight's win (but with some last second heroics almost converting to ruin it), it has been simply an amazing year. The Pens were an amazing team, but simply ran into a better, healthier team at the time. And boy, did the Pens never give up. Their time will definitely come.

I will say, I'm sad Ozzy didn't get the Conn Smythe, as he surely deserved it. I know Zetterberg played well, but, frankly he did what was expected. Ozzy was expected to sit on the bench, and instead, came in to win 14 games with 4 losses and never had a bad goal against. His numbers were myopic and he surely ranked up there with the best on the ice. He routinely outplayed the other goalies in every round. Rarely did he have a poorly placed rebound. Without him, they don't win. The same can be said of Hank or Liddy I know, but again, they were EXPECTED to play - Ozzy wasn't.

Anyway, the cup comes back to Hockeytown. It'll make the travels around the world as expected with this team, but it is back where it belongs. My biggest regret: Living here, I only got to see the immediate aftermath. No team picture (posted on ESPN) or the raucous locker room drinking from the cup and what not.

Congrats to the Cup Winners!!!!

Summer Vacation!!!

Finally!!! School is out! The final 3 weeks were incredibly long and somewhat torturous. So many projects (tired of buying white foam boards), final exams, endless check writing for various fieldtrips, yearbooks, field day shirts etc...! Most of it was great, but so much to do in so little time makes for a tired mom and dad, oh yeah, and kiddos too.

Kids did great in school this year. I am so proud of them for their hard work and dedication. Middle kid graduated from 5th grade with top honors. She was among the top 20 kids in all of 5th grade! You go girl! Can't forget the other kids.....youngest also had all A's all year long. And the oldeset had mostly A's and a few B's for her freshman year of highschool. Not too shabby!

Now we can relax and unwind. We've lived at the pool every second we get. Can't wait to go to Cedar Point this summer with the cousins. Then camping with the cousins when they come back to GA with us. All in all, can't wait to soak up the sun! I hope everyone else will have a great summer too.

Everything has a price...

Ground Sirloin (x2): $3.98/lbs
Hamburger Buns: $2.59 for 8
Grill Brush (for cleaning): $7.99
ER visit (x2) for grill brush bristle lodged in tonsil: $50 ($100 total)

Total cost for wanting a "real" meal over cereal for dinner: $118.54

Another weekend, another (two) ER visit(s). While eating dinner last night, the middle "found" a steel grill brush bristle and decided to pierce the tonsils. First ER refused to remove it for fear of hurting the child after tripping the gag reflex (but did not refuse to charge us our copay). Upon arrival at the next ER, we are shown nearly immediately in on curiousity factor. This doctor looks at the problem and removes it nearly on the spot. At this point, we weren't even truly registered. It took us 15 minutes longer to pay the second co-pay than to actually receive the service. Either way, the wife and I are blaming each other - me for my desire to have a real meal (complete with steel shards) and her for her desire to be "cost effective" on a grill brush, which then leaves the shards. In the end, we're both glad the kid is OK, but I'm really wondering how much three bubbles will cost because these medical co-pays are worse than gas prices for us these days...

Happy Mother's Day...

To all the mother's reading,

Thank you for all you do throughout the year. From chauffering, to meals, cleaning and laundry. For first aid, for hugs, for smacks upside the head. For all you do to raise sometimes snot nosed punks into fine, caring, tax paying adults. It is a generally thankless job, and without you, most of us wouldn't make it through (husbands, fathers or children).

Today, we took Mom to breakfast and, due to weather and injuries, we had to see a movie. All in all, I think she's had a good day. I'll try to get a few more stories up in the next day or so, but right now, I'm off to make dinner...

UNCLE....I GIVE.....I SURRENDER!!!

Well, never a dull moment in the Price household. I have decided that all piddly little holidays must be banned! On April Fools day Syd broke her elbow, which she was happily uncasted 4 days ago. Then today, Cinco de Mayo, when you are supposed to enjoy Cervasa mas fina or even a margarita....Ethan comes home from school with a HUGE 2 in. gash in his knee. Now, of course, hubby is out of town tonight, Syd had violin practice, a chorus presentation/manditory meeting before her 3 day trip out of town, much packing to be done because all luggage must be in tomorrow, all before 6pm. Sorry Ethan, you and your bloody hamburger meat knee must be patient. Thank goodness he wasn't really in any pain. We get home after zooming thru 2 drive thrus for oh so nutritious dinner. I am forever an optimist.....I tried several steri-strips and bandaids to no avail. So, being the good mom I am, I take a digital pic of it and send it to my nurse sis-in-law in MI for a second opinion. Her comment was "duh....stitches!" Ok, ok, ok.....I know probably not the proper order for everything but I got the monkey his stitches. Somewhere to the tune of 15 of them with a lovely leg immobilizer for the next 10 days! I guess we are out of the soccer tournament this weekend. Oy Vay! I must have a margarita now!!!

Kickball Championships of the World...

The other day, the youngest and a couple of friends decided to have a kickball game (friendly little two on two). When the middle left the game due to injury, I decided to sub in. The game was close (I was playing with the youngest of all), we were down by two runs in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. My team mate up...kicks a base hit, putting the tying run at the plate (me). Here, is when Mom calls the game...for dinner. Rather than letting the pitch roll, allowing us to finish the game and decide the champions of the world...she encroaches on the field...then she threatens to beat the children...THEN, she takes the ball.

When was the last time you played a game which was called for "Mother delay"? For me, its been nearly 30 years, but the whole process was nostalgic and fun for all.

So, here's to Spring and more Mother delayed games of whatever sport...

What sports is all about...

Folks, I know sports are competetive and all, but this is what they are all about. Enough can't be said about what a classy act this young lady did, nor about how little winning and losing really means.

Its nice to win, but it is simply AMAZING to have the opportunity to help someone else like that.

Great weekend

This weekend was such a wonderful weekend. Spring is in full swing here in GA and we took every advantage of it Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we spent the day at the park with some friends along with a picnic. When we went home we decided we would also go out for dinner with our same friends. Just a good relaxing fun day. Today the hubby hit the golf course early while Syd, Ethan and I went to the Big Shanty Art festival. It was perfect, they very much focus on the kids, so it's mostly free stuff with some other inexpensive fun stuff too. Ethan very easily shimmied up the rock climbing wall.....I swear he's more than half monkey. Syd is still broken, so we cheered him on. She really enjoyed watching the different dance troups up on stage do their thing. Lots of fun local arts and crafts to see. Frozen lemonade is awesome when it's warm out!!! Last but not least, Sami came home from her trip to D.C. She had an amazing time and just wonderful experiences. I'm really glad she had fun but am so happy to have her home. We really missed her. I hope everyone else had a great weekend too.

Mr. Doke ROCKS!

The teenager is off on a 5 day trip to Washington D.C. with the high school orchestra. I am so happy for her to be able to have this great opportunity. While there, they will visit the White House, capital, Smithsonian Museum, Jamestown settlement, enjoy a teen night improv dinner theater, a day at Busch Gardens with a festival performance, and lots of time bonding on the long long bus ride with fellow students. As some of you know, Sami has a boyfriend who is also in orchestra and along on the trip. Let's just say, I was nervous. Great kids, but lets just say I lost more than a little sleep.....Until, we had our manditory student/parent meeting the night before they left for their trip. First of all, the principal was going along as a chaperone and he himself is a force to be reckoned with. Well, then Mr. Doke, the orchestra teacher extrodinare made his speech with a fantastic conclusion. He calls out "Samantha and Daniel, raise your hands!.....All the way.....higher" then looks at all of the chaperones going and states "they're the ones, the couple." Now I do have to say I felt a little bit bad for them being singled out in front of everyone, but I can sleep at night now! Thank you Mr. Doke for being an amazing teacher and for helping parents sleep better at night. You Rock!

NHL playoffs

I LOVE this time of year! We don't get as much GOOD hockey here as we'd like because of location. We are die hard Red Wings fans which makes it difficult to be in a southern state that doesn't really understand the sport. Now, I'm not dissing on the players, but the fans. We have been to several Thrashers games. Like fiends, we need a fix, but the atmosphere is just not the same as Hockey Town at the Joe. Well the 2nd period is starting in game 3 of Red Wings vs. Preditors....gotta go! I LOVE this time of year!!!

Spring Break 2008

This past week was our spring break....finally! I don't know about other parents, but the BEST part of spring break, beside sleeping in, was not having to make lunches everyday. I don't know why I hate it so much, but I get so tired of trying to get creative everyday and remain healthy. Blah! Usually we don't go anywhere on springbreak because I have this thing about massive crowds. But this year we went to Savannah, GA for 4 days. We actually stayed on Tybee Island in a rented cottage. It was a very beautiful cottage and huge. We didn't much like the beach there, it was kinda smelly and didn't really feel like a beach.....but we weren't there for that so it was fine by all. We had a great time roaming around Savannah for 3 days discovering the amazing history and seeing the gorgeous houses/buildings. We even went on a ghost tour, which of course resulted in me and 3 kids in a king sized bed that night. LOL! Cozy! Unfortunately Darcy couldn't join us, he had to work, like a bazillion hours, so we did miss him. We will have to go back soon and see more. Hope everyone had a restful springbreak.

House of pain

Well, leave it to the Price Crew to never be too far from an ER. It all started a few weeks back with Ethan. I picked him up from a friends house after an overnight when I noticed a large red bump on his forearm. When inquiring what it might be, he replied "I think it's a zit and it's been there for a few days." Well, after inspecting it and explaining to the monkey that zits don't happen on your forearms, I realized it was either a very large splinter or a bite of some sort. I did what they always tell you and circled it with a pen when we got home to be able to check the swelling. Sure enough, the next morning it was WAY outside the penned circle. His forearm was huge and very painful. We went to the doctor that day and sure enough, he was bit by a Brown Recluse spider. Fabulous! While I'm slightly freaking out, he's proud as a peacock with the knowledge that this will leave a scar. Boys!!! I won't give you all the gory details, but he was on very strong antibiotics and it eventually drained on its own. Thank goodness, otherwise that would have been it's own trauma. Let's just say I don't gross out easily, and even enjoy pus at times, (I'm in the medical field), but this was nasty!!! Brown recluse bites kill the flesh and let's just say, he can proudly display his scar. Thank God it was on his arm. And I am greatful it hasn't scarred him emotionally, because he is right back down in the creek where I am sure he encountered this mean arachnid.
Now for child injury #2! A little over a week ago, Syd was skateboarding down the "suicide hill" with a neighbor and her brother. Now, it's really not that bad of a hill, but it's not for wimps either. I would be more worried however, this hill has been in our lives for 5 years and my kids are very well acquainted with it. She had on a helmet and wrist guards, as I am a stickler for safety. However, she did not have on elbow pads! Yup, broke her right elbow! Poor kid, she took a hard fall. Now, we are quite aquainted with our orthopedic guy, so when he came into the exam room, the first thing out of his mouth was " What took you so long?" This is especially true for Syd. This is the 3rd time we've been to him for her. I did ask if we were nearing the limit when he has to call child protective services. He reassured me they can tell the difference between active (clutzy) kids and abused ones. Thank God!!!
So, I am officially burning this skateboard, as it is the same one that Sam fell off of 3 years ago almost to the exact date and broke her wrist. (Hence, why Syd had on wrist guards). I think I have learned........all kids must be bubble wrapped before playing outside.

What I will see when my life flashes before my eyes...

Its been a while since we've posted, but I came across another cool idea while surfing and thought I'd copy. So, sit back and have a gander at some of the things I expect will cross my mind in my final seconds:

1. Holding my first born (who's now almost all growed up). Staring into those eyes was mesmerizing.
2. Delivery of the second born. This child was trouble from the start, including coming out with a hangman's knot.
3. Many flashes of the third child. From sitting quietly in the kid seat, to the uncommon quips and spasmodic dance steps routinely used to this day. Not always endearing, but it is part of the charm.
4. Watching my beautiful wife come down the aisle. It was the start of something which has blessed my life more than I could ever say.
5. Watching cereal drip down my sister. Never was a beating SO worth it.
6. Playing catch with my Dad.
7. Learning to ride a bike. (Thanks sis)
8. Kids sporting events - soccer games, swim meets, gymnastics. At some point, each of them has done something in those venues that truly has made me proud.
9. Flashes of my kids growing up.
10. Jumping from a perfectly good airplane. Must blame my wife, since it was her idea. Maybe she was trying to get this list "jump" started, even back then...

So, in the end, I guess it shows that the most important pieces in my life are my family. Really, when you get down to it, that is the way it should be:

friends + family = LIFE

Sorry, ozone layer

Every evening while eating dinner, we have a family tradition of "best and worst parts of your day" At this time, we go around the table and state these. It helps us all keep in touch with each other etc.... The other night, it was the middle childs turn for this. Her best part "no homework" and worst part " I had the farts today!!!" Then the son pipes up and says he did too. At this point I begin giggling hysterically because I know the culprit immediately. I had sent Fiber One granola bars in their lunches. I knew this because I had the same problem from them and this is why I gave them to the kids, thinking they wouldn't affect them as they did myself. WRONG!!! Man, am I in trouble over that one. Methayne gas destroys the ozone layer.......SORRY OZONE LAYER!!! No more Fiber One bars in this house.

The more the merrier

This past weekend was fun. We had my hubbys dad and step mom in from MI from Friday to Monday A.M. Along with a surprise visit from my mom and step dad as well. You know how it is with kids.....when you have their friends over, it's easier. Well, it's the same way with out of town parents too!! :) tee hee! I just had to feed them and make multiple pitchers of margaritas. Seriously, we had a great time with everyone. Hubby and his dad got some golf in and Janet and I got some shopping in, so all was fun. The funniest part was that out of the 4 guest we had here, 3 of them were named Jan/Janet! Good grief, that was a tough one. Can you imagin? It was a nice visit all together. Lots of laughs. Love it when the parents partake in margaritas!!!

One of the greats...

This past weekend, our neighbor passed away. He'd been sick for a while now, and he was ready to go, however it is hard for all of us to let go. See, he was one of the great ones. He was the type of person who was always there if you needed something and always ready, willing, and able to help, even if only to make you smile. He made you realize when you were making a big deal over a little issue, and was always willing to help you realize that sometimes you just need to relax and go with the flow.

So, whether I was giving him a hard time over being lazy (since he was retired), or he was giving me a hard time over being too strict with my kids, it never really mattered, because, we both always knew where things stood - whether everything was truly said or not. This pattern became even clearer today, while friends and family were sharing memories of Don.

For mine, I pointed out something everyone knew: Don had a way with the economy of words. He might not say something outright, but he'd always give you a look and you knew what he was saying. Sometimes, those looks were more powerful than words. Other times, when he chose to speak, it was usually with an extremely dry wit, also intended to carry volumes. So often, the things not said were as important as the words, but when he did speak, it usually made sense to listen.

So, while some stories surprised, others enlightened. Some were humorous, and some were thoughtful. Throughout it all, they were, purely Don. They showed how much he cared for each one of us and how much each of us cared for him.

There are few things I am certain of in this life. One is, I will always carry a piece of Don with me and another is that there are always things I will not be able to do without thinking of Don. The same is true with most people we lose I guess, but the thing I am most certain of is that when I encounter these things which remind me of Don, they will always, and without fail, bring a smile to my lips and joy to my heart. In the end, I suppose that is the mark we leave on each other. I for one, am better for having this mark.


Gordon (Don) McNely
1940-2007

Happy 15th birthday Sam

Happy birthday Sam!!! I can't believe you're 15 already!!! I think you have grown up nicely into a beautiful, not too annoying most of the time, teenager. :) Honestly, you rock! I just can't believe how fast it's all gone. I am sad and happy at the same time. Keep on doing what you are doing. You're amazing! Love Mom and Dad

GA Snow

Yes it does snow in GA. Not too often mind you, but it does happen from time to time. It snowed about 2 inches here yesterday and it actually accumulated on the ground. The kids were in heaven. All day yesterday, the schools were just as excited as them at the prospect of no school today. Unfortunately, there was school today, and let me just tell you.....not very happy children. There was crying, yelling, and ill wishes of booty soreness wished upon the school superintendant (hoping he fell flat on his booty this am). I got them laughing with cruel expiriments performed on the superintendants head (spoke in a thick British accent) only to discover but a bit of dust for his brain. And I only had to threaten to pull one child by her hair to the bus stop. I just want to know why us parents get blamed for school not being cancelled? Oy vay! Alas, they are all off now, hopefully there will still be some snow left when they get home.

Breathing a bit easier...

My Dad was admitted to the hospital yesterday. Seems, like his children, he no longer needed a gall bladder, so it rejected him causing great misery and pain. While there, they found some other fun.

Well, today he had the gall bladder removed (amazing considering how much gall he really has) and he is back to feeling his crazy old self. The other items also seem to have disappeared, so life can get back to normal.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Pictures from some of the news outlets are posted at the title or here.

Best Day Ever

Thank you hubby and kiddos for making yesterday awesome! We celebrated my birthday early this year in case hubby has to be out of town for the actual day. It was all a surprise. I knew we had to leave the house by noon, but that's all anyone would tell me. First stop was the mall. He took me shoping for whatever I wanted! WOO HOO! I had lots of fun, though I was a cheap date as usual. I can't help it, I LOVE a good sale. I got 2 cute new tops and a new pair of shoes and a new pair of black boots all for less than a hundred dollars. I know I shouldn't be all excited about being cheap on my birthday, but you girls know the feeling we get when we hit a kick butt sale. Then we went to dinner at Long Horn, which was great. We were going to go to Cheesecake Factory (my fav) but was not even close to being that hungery. The best part of the night was going to go see Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochery. They were so amazingly hysterical. The only part we are sad about is that we didn't take the kids. We weren't sure about the content. But for the most part it was completely fine. So next year I hope they come back to our area and the whole family can go. Thank you family for a great birthday! xoxo I love you