Name that kid

"Dad! Dad! Friday (our new puppy) is chewing on that thing that holds Mom's boobs up! Come get it from him!"

It's official!

1. My last day working for USA TODAY is OFFICIALLY May 4th. I become a full time nanny and a maid for my husband after that.
2. My husband OFFICIALLY has a spending problem. He bought another gun after promising me no more simply because his man friend was buying one and he didn't want to be the only husband in West Jordan not getting any. Compassion, my friends, compassion.
3. I am OFFICIALLY a prude. This week at 12 year old girl soccer practice I unintentionally eavesdropped on conversations about April 20th being the OFFICIAL Get High Day. These were kids that were not on the soccer team but they were there watching their friend who is our goalie. These kids are 12. And they were either acting real big to impress or they really were high the entire day at school. I also was privy to the dialogue between another team player and my very own "sweet" daughter. Some of the girls were playing around being geeks and pulling up their shorts as high as Napoleon Dynamite. They were being called "cameltoes" by the other 12 year young girls. Ryan innocently guffawed at that not knowing what that meant. And then the other 6th grade girls laughed at her for not knowing what it meant. The team was called out to another drill before they shared the true meaning of the term with Ryan. 6TH GRADE! I am officially and now publicly disgusted.
4. I have OFFICIALLY signed up for my first quilting class ever. Starting on May 4th, I will start learning how to actually put together the 500 quilting squares that I cut from my missionary dresses back in Thailand over 10 years ago. Procrastination, my friends, procrastination. I am excited!
Anything you would like to officially declare today? This is the place.

Whoops!

Cooper and Lily were in the car with his grandfather Nolan Peterson's wife and grandfather Nolan's oldest daughter, Carla.
Cooper was telling Lily all about raccoons. different kinds and how they lived and how they took care of their babies.
Lily who is 4 years old as well: "Cooper, how do you know this?"
Cooper: "My grandpa told me."
Lily: "Grandpa Nolan?"
Cooper: "No, my other Grandpa.
Lily who lives with her single mom: "Grandpa Nolan?"
Cooper: "No, Grandpa Chuck. The Grandpa that knows everything. Grandpa Nolan doesn't know anything."

Luckily Grandpa Nolan's wife and daughter were laughing when they told me that story.

Spring

Hey! I was driving home from dropping Chase and the "angels" (his three blonde girl friends) off at school and I saw SPRING actually begin! Forget that equinox thingy. Or the tides or the moons. Spring starts when they start draining last year's water out of the pool and cleaning it for this year's water! Oh the joy!

Whatzup?

I have 6 blogs that I habitually check on every day to see what is going on with them. Some of these writers are consistent daily writers, some are not. It is like a random prize if all have updated in one day. However, today none, nobody, not one single one had posted to their blogs. So I have to carry the weight for all of us today.

I don't know if a Chase story is enough content for the 7 of us.

The kids, the dog and I went for a walk/bike ride with another family of kids on Sunday. We decided to walk on a city trail that is very popular and it was a beautiful day so we knew it would be busy. We were walking along the secondary water canal and when we finally stopped at a park, the older kids found themselves in the water. I was so happy that they had stopped complaining about where we were going that I didn't care. Ryan and Chase were both wearing jeans and they were completely soaked. On the way back Chase, wet up to his shirt hem, was walking with my friend and I and her 3 year old daughter. Everytime somebody would pass by on their roller blades, bikes or feet Chase would greet them. "Whatzup?" He would shout with his arms outstretched and a grin on his face. It was fun to watch the expressions of people and then their subsequent actions. Most people would greet him back. Some would only laugh. Some would look him in the eye and talk to him. He was so proud of himself for getting them to talk back to him. We also have that proud feeling when we get the trucker's to honk their horns at our car. We told Chase he looked like he had peed his pants and they were just feeling sorry for him. "That poor little mentally challenged boy who had peed his pants on his walk and was talking to everyone on the way home." He maintained his attitude and his actions. We passed a grandma and a grandpa and they laughed with us for a moment after Chase's greeting. It was a sunny day and everybody was just happy to be outdoors. We had walked a long way and it took us four a long time to get back to the starting point because the 3 year old decided she wasn't going to walk or ride her big wheel that we now had to carry as well. As we reached the parking lot where our cars were, there were the grandma and grandpa again coming around for a second time. They were coming toward us. Flanking Chase, all of the sudden, the grandpa jumped in front of Chase, arms outstretched and yelled "WHATZUP?" Chase maybe at that time did truly pee his pants, all the other kids who had been far in front of us were shocked into silence but the three of us (my friend, the grandma and I) just laughed uproariously. Boys will be boys even when they are grandpas.

Quittin' Day

Well, I did it. I told my boss who is really no longer my boss that I am quitting. It wasn't as tough as I thought it was going to be. Although I did have a panic attack last night. I have been doing this breathing exercise after reading an article on oxycising. Exercising by breathing. No, I don't think I am going to lose weight doing it but I was made aware of how shallow I breathe. I am trying to use all of my lung capacity. At least 5 minutes of each day. I can believe that it helps the memory, the energy, the endorphins, etc. I could not even take a full breath last night. It was painful. And it was the panic. The worry. I understand why they call worry a burden. Eventually I fought my way through it but it was weird. I survived and made it to work today to do the deed.
Musical support from the radio on the way here: Nine to Five by Dolly Parton. They won't have me where they want me after April 28th!
Living on a Prayer by BonJovi. That and Bart's paycheck only for a little while.
Let's hear it for the Man from Footloose. Bart is being very supportive through all of this.--Emotionally and now especially financially.
Give a Little Respect by Erasure. Now I will only get disrespect from my children. Not from my corporate heads.
No, really those were the songs on the radio as I was coming in.
So now I have to just make it through 2 more weeks and 1 day.

Wednesday

Anxiety level: astronomically high. There is a little lady running around in my head screaming her bloody head off. She is pulling at her hair. Scratching at her face. And sobbing. But she is locked in behind a smile.

Two more days until I give my two weeks notice. This morning my boss gave his two week notice. I was speechless.

This afternoon my husband told me that he wanted to buy a new $11,000 snowmobile. I was speechless.

This evening my children fought all the way to the evening’s activity. I was speechless.

The lady in my head is not speechless. She may continue screaming all night long.

12 seconds of New York City fame for the Petersons

1. Towers that were in the “Ghostbusters” movie where the keymaster and the gatekeeper lived. 2. The bull statue on Wall Street that was in the movie “Hitch”



3. The office building where it all started for Will Smith in MIB.
4. Mike Myers walking across the street when our caravan was stopped at the red light. Nobody had the guts or the quickness to roll down the window and call out “Mike!” but I know it was him. He walked like Shrek.

5. The area in Central Park where the pigeon lady talked to McCullay Culkin in “Home Alone.”
6. Rockfeller Center ice skating rink that was still open to skaters where John Cusack laid down on the ice in “Serendipity.”
7. The Washington Bridge where Kate and Mathew shot scenes on the weekends for “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” Shalene’s father is a bridge inspector and was there on the bridge for all the shooting. He has confirmed that Mathew is not just a hottie, but a pleasant young man.
8. The U.N. building which looked exactly like it did in “The Interpreter”….or did the building in “The Interpreter” look exactly like the U.N. building?
9. We were up on top of the Empire State Building. I wanted to pretend that I was right smack dab in the middle of “Sleepless of Seattle.” I wanted to look around for Tom Hanks and pretend that he was looking for me as well. However, I have to say that unless there is a secret service elevator it was not shot up there. There is no elevator that comes straight out onto the open deck of the Empire State Building. How disappointing.
10. Macy’s store windows where Will Ferrell and his green elf suit showed us the meaning of Christmas.
11. Of course, we talked about X-men and the Statue of Liberty part of the movie but mostly we talked about Hugh Jackman.
12.

Things I learned in New York

• There is a shop called Shoegasm. Do you think the shoes are orgtastic?
• There are 1576 stairs in the Empire State Building. Every year they have a race and let people run those stairs. The world record is held by a 24 year old Austrailian who climbed those stairs in 9 minutes and 37 seconds.
• As of September 11, 2001, the Statue of Liberty itself has been shut down to all visitors. One can go to the top of the stone pedestal that she stands on but no further due to security issues. Damn terrorists!
• After the birth of our country, the capital was located in New York City.
  The New York Times corporate headquarters is new located in New Jersey. That is particularly comical to me in my line of work.
• Although the nearby blocks are seemingly completely revitalized, Ground Zero can still bring a lump to my throat. And seeing the vastness of the hole, it is truly a miracle that only 3000 people were killed.
• Muffins are best if grilled before eating.
• There is no Central Perk---for real.
• Taxis do not stop for pedestrians. There is no right turn on red so green means GO!
• The Statue of Liberty is designed by the same man who designed the Effiel Tower. He modeled her facial features after that of his mother's.