Good Wednesday morning!
ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! My server is down. That means I cannot post on the ORIGINAL "A Simple Life." I have created a TEMPORARY "A Simple Life." Until I tell you otherwise, the address is wwwwbelindafaulkner.blogspot.com. (There is no "." between "www" and "belindafaulkner.") As soon as the problem is resolved, I'll put this post and all future posts on the ORIGINAL A Simple Life!
RANDOMNESS - Over the last five or six days, Mikie has had to take over the wifely/motherly duties of the household as my time has been spent hither and yon. He has done an excellent job. Laundry, dishes, ironing, more laundry, more dishes, herding teenagers, more laundry, keeping in touch with The Boy, keeping Roxie happy, reminding Josh of his daily grass cutting schedule, etc., etc., etc. (I did leave him a casserole to pop into the oven and a really good crock-pot meal. I didn’t want you to think I let them starve.)
But Mikie is tired. When he arrived home last night, the smells of Italian sausage lasagna (Stouffer’s) and garlic toast (minus the garlic… I forgot) greeted him at the door. I was dressed, coiffed and made up (mainly because Roxie and I had to attend a mandatory Volleyball meeting). He hugged me and said he appreciated me. All righty. Mission accomplished.
And then he asked the question I’ve been trying to figure out for years and years. “Where do all the dishes come from? It was just me, Roxie and Josh and we were gone during the middle of the day. But every night I had to wash three loads of dishes in the dishwasher.”
“I know. What’s up with that?” I eagerly responded. Finally, someone understood my pain.
“And the clothes. My goodness. How many different outfits do these kids where every day?”
“I know! I know! I’m not even giving them clean towels, rags, socks and underwear any longer. They just drip dry and go directly for the outerwear. But I’m still washing three loads a day!” I was getting excited now. He not only understood my pain, but he was willing to whine about it with me. Oh, yes!
“And have you noticed how a room looks when they leave. It’s like a bomb blew up. And I’m always telling them, ‘Pick up your mess. Pick up your mess.’ It’s just exhausting.” Okay. He was starting to get on my nerves a little now.
“Well, it isn’t that bad. They’re just messy teenagers. They do a good job on their chores. It won’t always be like this.” I countered.
“Are you kidding me? You don’t just tell them once… You have to tell them 100 times!” Mikie was starting to get hysterical, and I was contemplating slapping him.
He took a deep breath and told me what I already knew… “I don’t want your job.”
“Good. You’re fired,” I said in my best Donald Trump voice as I put a load of clothes in the washer, and I wondered aloud once again, “Where do all these dishes comes from?”
Wednesday Wisdom - It is graduation week in the South. I thought it would be appropriate to share thoughts about the subject.
“A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success.” Robert Orben
“Your families are extremely proud of you. You can't imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money.” Gary Bolding
“Commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that outgoing college students should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated.” Garry Trudeau
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught.” Oscar Wilde
End-of-the-Year Party Ideas
Roxie and Friends have an End-of-the-Year Party/Get-Together every year. We have had a Mystery Party, an Around-the-Town Scavenger Hunt, a Rockette Party (the name of our local dance team), etc., etc. We have gone out to eat, seen movies and shopped.
This year we are having an Old-Fashioned Picnic by the lake. The girls will feast on fried chicken and fixins, feed the ducks and have their pictures taken a million times (which they love). We’ll end this school year by going to a NEW favorite cupcake restaurant called Yolo’s.
Here are a few more ideas I found this morning surfing the web!
1. Go Hawaiian Party - Play limbo, make and wear leis, create island snacks (pineapple skewers, coconut treats, etc.) and dig for beach finds in a kiddie-pool filled with sea shells. Use the sea shells you find, glue them on a Dollar Store picture frame and take a group picture of the friends for a party favor. (You may have to deliver this gift the next day in order to get the pictures printed and allow the shells to dry.)
2. Wet and Wild Party - Water, water and more water! Come up with as many outdoor water activities as you can. Water balloons, water shooters, sprinklers (several), kiddie pools (several), water baseball (soaking wet sponge ball), bubble blowing and more. Choose snacks that are okay around water like apple slices and dip, carrot sticks and Popsicles.
3. Recent Learning Fun Party - Ask your child’s teacher what they have been studying recently. If the answer is animals, host a jungle or zoo-themed party. If it is American history, host a colonial-themed party with old-fashioned games kids played 200 years ago like hoops and jacks.
4. Post Card Grab Bag - I love this idea. Use it as an activity for any of the above parties. Keep kids in touch over the summer and encourage them to practice their writing. Each child writes their address on three post cards and drops them into a big cloth bag. One by one, kids choose three cards (not their own). They then agree to mail their classmates silly summer news in the coming months.
Our Old-Fashioned Picnic is scheduled for this Friday. Of course, I’ll let you know how it turns out… the good, the bad and the ugly!
Have a fun Wednesday. Don’t forget to encourage someone today… either by word or deed. I’ll be back bright and early Thursday with Blog Linkage and a fantastic end-of-the-school year date.
Take care, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
