Compelled to Spill the Beans

TONIGHT (just ONE DAY AFTER last night's "closed lip" incident, mind you) while I was in my office working, I heard my son come in for the evening and say to his dad, "So, about tonight..."  

My first thought was, No way!  Was he involved in another accident tonight?  (I hadn't even had a chance to tell my husband about the first accident!)  Sometimes, it's like that, ya know?  For y'all, too, right?!?  Hello?
So, I took a break from work at my next opportunity and came out and asked my husband, "Did Kyle have another incident tonight?"
To which he replied, "Another???  When was the other?"  hahaha.  So, I filled him in on the one from yesterday, then he called Kyle up to fill me in on tonight's.

It turns out, it was NOT another car accident.  As in a crash, but.....

Kyle and his friends went to McDonald's.  As they were leaving McDonald's, the car Kyle was in drove by "Female friend 1" [same one from yesterday], who was walking out in the parking lot, so Kyle threw his drink cup, that had water/ice in it, out the window at her.  (I don't know WHY???  To be funny?  'Cause it's not funny.)

WELL......there just happened to be a cop behind them who saw this and he immediately turned on his flashing lights and pulled over their car.  The cop asked WHAT HE WAS DOING.  He told him he was just messing around with his friend back there, SIR.  Then the cop gave him a lecture about littering and respecting women/girls.  He then asked for Kyle's name and phone number, then asked for his dad's name and phone number!


The news spread like wild fire through texts/social media and Kyle started getting all these texts with people commenting and asking questions!  ;)

And here's the kicker: it was the SAME COP from the night before at the accident!  Kyle is not sure if the cop recognized him since he didn't say anything, though.

Kyle did come home and immediately told his dad about this one, and then later me - better for us to hear it from him since he knew we'd find out anyway since the cop had his dad's contact info!  (BTW, Matt never got a phone call!)  So, we've figured out how to make Kyle start yakkety-yak-ing: a cop's scare tactics!  ;)

Close Lipped Kyle

Last night, Kyle went out with some friends.  I knew he got picked up from our house by his two friends, "Friend 1" and "Friend 2."  But, then later, at the end of the night, when he texted asking if I could come pick him up, he was at "Friend 3's" house.
While I was driving him home, I was asking questions about his evening, curious as to why he was no longer with "Friend 1" and "Friend 2" who he started off with, and how he ended up at someone else's house.

Me: "So, you guys just decided to go over to 'Friend 3's' house?"
Him: "Ya."
Me:  "All three of you?  'Friend 1,' 'Friend 2,' and you?"
Him: "Well, I think 'Friend 1' went home."
Me: "And 'Friend 2?'"
Him: "He must've walked home." (he lives closer to this kid)
Me: "Just now or earlier in the evening?"
Him: "Just a little earlier."
Me: "So, did 'Friend 3' call you and invite you over, or did you guys just show up?"
Him: "We just decided to go over there."
Me: "Did you go there right after they picked you up, or did you do something else first?"
Him: "Almost right after."
Me: "So, what did you do when your friends very first picked you up from our home?"
Him: "Well, first we went driving around."
Me: "Driving around where?"
Him: "Well, we were going over to see 'Female Friend 1' at her house."
Me: "And, did you?"
 
We talked for about 5 whole minutes about what happened (which wasn't totally making sense to me, thus, LOTS of questions) BEFORE he finally [and casually] mentioned that "Friend 1," the driver of the car he was in, got into an accident while they were on their way to "Female Friend 1's" house - towards the beginning of the night!!! 

(Everyone was OKAY).
Did he just experience a "slip of the mind" about the accident during my previous 20 QUESTIONS, or what?!?  ;) 
The cops came to the scene to fill out an accident report and everything.  (And they did test "Female Friend 1" to come outside...to see them, BTW.) Then, "Friend 1" had to go home to face "the wrath of his mother" whose nice car he happened to be driving.  And, that's why Kyle was no longer with him, and was at "Friend 3's" house instead - "Friend 1's" evening out with friends was over, and he had to drop them off somewhere else.

Had I not had an "inquiring mind," he maybe wouldn't have even "disclosed" that slight, little detail of the evening!  It's just one of my many roles in my "job description" as a Mom: INVESTIGATOR.

What a contrast, though, he is to his older brother who, at times, was too much of a chatterbox - in fact, we actually have had to say, "Stop talking" to him sometimes in the past.  Whereas, Kyle tries to get away with as few words as possible - as if he believes he only has a limited number of words in his lifetime, and he doesn't want to use them all up too early!  ;) 

If You Confuse the Gas Pedal for the Brake.......

......you end up with this:

{And a traumatized teenager.}

It was a "Perfect Storm" that played a part in the "incident":

• The State of Utah says they can get a Learner's Permit when 15 yrs. old....so he's old enough to get a Learner's Permit, but not old enough to enroll in the actual Driver's Ed. class, yet.  (Which means he's just suppose to practice driving with his parents in the meantime.)
• He had only had three practice driving sessions under his belt so far; one in the church parking lot, two on a real road.
• His dad is not equipped with a voice that can carry with enough volume when yelling the word, "STOP!" or "TURN LEFT." OR with a quick reflex, in his state of shock, to reach over and crank the steering wheel away from the brick column.

Oh, the joys of having teenage drivers!
No wonder the cost of insuring a TEENAGE BOY is sky high!

To make it [kind of] a little bit funny.....on their drive (just a minute before the "incident"), they passed one of our son's friends who was walking home, and Matt yelled out the window (jokingly), "Sam, stay off the roads!"
Needless to say, when the brick column tumbled over, it made a very loud noise.
Sam heard it, but didn't see it, from down the street where he was still walking and he (jokingly) texted our son, "What was that noise? Did you run over another curb?" (because that's what happened on a previous practice drive).
Our son later texted him back, "Not quite."

All it Takes is 1 Song to Bring Back 1,000 Memories

There was once a magical time, when no one knew what song they would be listening to next. We got our music from the radio.  (I still do!)  Songs are like sign posts in our memory. They point us back to particular points in our lives.  When I tune into "80's night" on the radio, within the first strain of the song, I think of, or remember, a specific time/place/person associated with that song.  And in that spirit, with a Christmas twist, I'm going to fire up FM100 this afternoon and play you the next ten songs (so to speak).  There used to be a time when this station played Christmas songs sporadically in between their regular music in December, and it was just  the 100 hours (get it?  FM100) leading up to Christmas that they played continuous Christmas songs, NOT the TWO MONTHS leading up to it.  (My pet peeve.  It's not allowed until after Thanksgiving in my home/car.)  But, I digress.  Back to my experiment: listen while I spin the Christmas hits....and I'll see what comes to mind.

1.  Angels Among Us

I first heard this song performed at a Homemaking Night I attended in my ward when I lived in North Salt Lake.  (1995-96)  A lady who lived in my same apartment complex was one of the singers, along with a bunch of kids singing with her.  I can still see them standing together on the stage.  It wasn't at Christmastime, but the message of that evening was, "THERE ARE ANGELS AMONG US" helping us, serving us, being [sometimes unknown] answers to our prayers - which is a wonderful Christmas message, too.

2.  Frosty the Snowman

This takes me back to another magical time when all the Christmas TV specials were actually on NETWORK TV (as opposed to cable).  At the beginning of the season, the TV schedule would be printed in the newspaper and we would cut it out and hang it on our fridge, underlining the "must sees" in our opinion.  Frosty the Snowman came on every year - it was one of those underlined ones we made sure to watch.

3.  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

This has "Elementary School" written all over it.  I sang this during music time at school.  It's where I learned all the great "echos" such as:
"Like a light bulb"
"Like a flash light"
"Like Pinocchio"
"Like Monopoly"
"Ho Ho Ho"
"Yippee"
"Like Columbus"
How FUN it was to sing it with all my other classmates!

4.  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I'm sitting in the multi-purpose room, as a 3rd Grader, at Valley View Elementary watching the 6th Grade Christmas program. (1978)  With Dr. Tak (pronounced "talk") at the piano, the [big, cool, head-honchos-of-the-school] 6th graders started singing this song.....AND THEN started "rockin' out" up on stage, too, while they acted out the song.  And I sit there thinking, They are SOOO cool!

5.  You Make it Feel Like Christmas by Neil Diamond

Honestly, I don't know if I've ever heard this song, but I HAVE heard Neil Diamond.  And whenever I hear ANY Neil Diamond song, I'm taken back to my childhood home.  My dad was a fan of Neil Diamond and we for sure played his cassette tapes (remember those?) on our family room stereo.  The most well-loved song of Neil's (we're on a first name basis!) has to be "America" which leads me to remember my first nephew.  Nick was just a tot - maybe 2 yrs. old - and we'd give him all these miniature American flags to hold in his hands, then turn on "America."  He would just stand there waving the flags enthusiastically the whole song through, with a smile on his face.  "Nick-a-roonie" is now 22 yrs. old.  My dad also gave me two tickets to a Neil Diamond concert after my mission - in hopes that I would invite a date, and get onto the next step in life, but I was too chicken to ask anyone out, so I took my brother, Mike.  Other songs I can't forget are, "Forever in Blue Jeans," "Heartlight," "Love on the Rocks," "September Morn," and "Sweet Caroline" which I saw him perform at a real baseball game this summer -- and it was AWESOME!!!

 6.  Sleigh Ride

I did hear this song when I was younger, but a more recent memory has taken over whenever I hear this song.  Ryan played percussion in the Jr. High band for three years (2008-11) and they would perform this song for their Christmas concert.  The percussion section worked extra hard adding all the special sound effects with their various instruments (glockenspeil, sleigh bells, xylophone, temple blocks, triangle, slap stick, timpani, snare drum).  Whenever I hear the "horse whinny" (courtesy of a solo trumpet player) and the "whip cracks" part of the song now, I think of Ryan's band group at FJH and I can see the view I saw from my seat in the venue of their performance.

7.  Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

For some reason, my oldest brother, David, sang this around the house.....not in a festive kind of way, but an "In-Your-Face, invasion-of-your-space" kind of way - just to bug us, and provoke us to start swinging punches at or shoving him.

8.  Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella

I think of the Kurt Bestor.  Back when I was pregnant with Haylee, my OB asked me if we had any Christmas traditions at one of my monthly appointments.  He shared with me that his family always went to the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert - and he raved about it.  From that moment on, I wanted to go, also.  It took several years, but one December, Matt informed me to "clear my schedule" one Saturday.  I didn't know what we were doing, but he arranged a babysitter for our kids, I got in the car and he just started driving me somewhere.  We ended up at Abravanal Hall in Salt Lake City for the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert -- it did NOT disappoint!  (Why my husband is awesome reason #148).  Kurt Bestor's percussion group were amazing!  During the concert, I remember thinking I hoped Ryan would continue on to that level, but then it turns out, he quit after Jr. High.

9.  Let it Snow

When I heard this song as a boy-crazy teenager (1982-1989), my daydreaming would kick in.  How could it not with lyrics that conjure up images of delightful fires, lights being turned down low, and being "stuck" inside with that special someone?!?  I would fantasize about whichever boy was on the top of my list at the moment and picture me in an actual future scene with him that involved "As long as you love me so" and "When we finally kiss goodnight" and "If you'll really hold me tight."  How romantic?  No?

10.  Up on the Housetop

Back in the day, as part of our family Christmas Eve traditions, we had a talent show.  One year (1978), my little sister, Michelle, and I made up a dance to perform to this song.  I dressed in a red leotard and we wore matching Christmas aprons and tights.  As part of our dance routine, we'd snap our fingers to the "click, click, click" part, and we'd "shimmy" on down to the "down through the chimney" part of the song.  We played the song on a RECORD PLAYER - yes, as in a vinyl record, on a turntable, and a stylus with a needle on it to run around the grooves.  (Any other "mature" adults know what I'm talking/writing about?)

I think I may have a photo in my archives......of us AND the record player......

 {Hey!  I want that red rocking chair in my home, now!}

The Dance Phase

After spending Thanksgiving with my extended family, and visiting with my niece from TEXAS (a freshman at BYU now), I realized that not ALL High School teenagers ask one another to the school dances in the "creative ways" I was accustomed to growing up in UTAH. (and that my own son and Young Women are also doing now, in UTAH.)

That's kind of sad - and BORING - for my niece not to have had that experience.  I think, the asking and the answering was sometimes MORE FUN than the actual dance!  Sssshhhh - don't tell any of my old dates that!  ;)  But, having a son, I have also realized that maybe the GIRLS enjoy this zany tradition more than the BOYS.  Ryan says he can't ever think of any good ideas, and that it's stressful (what?!?).....let's just say that at dance asking/answering times, he comes to me [repeatedly] for advise more than at any other time!!  ;)

So, which parts of the country DO ask creatively, and which parts just get straight to the point and ask face to face, or over the phone (but hopefully not via text!)?  Based on an Arizona-based blog I read out there in blogosphere, I know they ask creatively.  But, my SIL grew up in a teeny, tiny town in southeastern Idaho, and she says they did not.  I even saw some of it happening in Disney's movie, "PROM."  
Everyone who lives somewhere other than Utah, give a shout out and let me know what happens where you live.  I'm curious!

My children are each 3 years apart in school, so after Ryan graduates High School this year, then Kyle will enter High School next year.  And then when he graduates, Haylee will start.....on down the line to Brookelle.  (Hopefully, they let me out of the nursing home to attend her graduation in 2026!)  So, we are definitely in "The Dance Phase" now - and for the next 13 years.  Yea!

I went through my photos to see what I had taken of  "the dance phase."   I realized I only have photos of all the creativity that has happened at OUR home, but not when he has taken it to the girl's house.

{Which is a shame since all my "advise" that magically turned into his ideas, and he actually executed. were really great!} ;)

VALENTINE'S DANCE
Although, I had warned him that girls will sometimes do something to their bedrooms in the asking/answering, and that it would be a WISE CHOICE to keep it clean for about a month before the dances, he chose not comply with THAT particular advise.

And then he came home to his pig pen bedroom with an unmade bed, complete with covers wadded in a heap in the middle, to find THIS on his bed. 

He was horrified, "This is embarrassing!  Why did you let her see my room like this?"
To which I replied, "Why did you leave it like this?"

(There was a "Y", an "E" and an "S" written on three different strips of paper somewhere in that pile.)

PROM
Another time, Ryan had asked a girl during The Masters, so in honor of that, he used golf balls and wrote an invitation using a bunch of golf terms.  It also worked out nicely that she lived on Fairway Circle!

So, then she played off of that golf theme and answered him like this.

And then on our front "lawn"  (this was pre-sod days), she used golf balls to spell out her answer. 
(I found out from her mom that she kept having to chase the balls that kept rolling away on the dirt since there was no grass to hold them in place!)

A funny story about this answer was that one night the girl Ryan had asked to the dance texted him, "I have a feeling you should go look out front."
So, Ryan went and looked out front.
NOTHING.
And then he had the thought, Oh no!  She went to our old house!  (We weren't in the current phone book, yet.)

So we got in the car and started driving up there - just 3 blocks away, hoping to get to it before the new owners.
In the meantime, he texted her, "I don't see anything."
She texted, "What's your address?"
He texted, "We moved" and added our new address.
She texted, "Woops!"

At about that time, we got to our old house and we saw a car parked across the street, and a person moving around the front yard, picking things up......I just drove on by while Ryan ducked down in his seat.  :)
The next evening, she came back to our real home, and left the answer again.



HOMECOMING
The girl had called me and asked if she could come decorate his room.  She only had time to do it when I wasn't going to be home, so I told my daughters that she'd be coming and to let her in.  THEY were nice enough (or stressed about the state of his room) to at least make his bed for him before she came.

She left a bunch of starbursts and this note on his bed.  When I was on my way home with Ryan in my car, Haylee called and told me the girl was late coming and she wasn't done, so don't come home, yet!

So, what should I do?

I remembered my friend had texted me earlier, so I called her and asked, "Did you need me?"
She was like, "Not anymore."
And I said, "OK, I'll be right over."
And then I went over there, while Ryan waited in the car, and "bought us some time."
When Matt texted me, "The coast is clear", I returned home with Ryan.
He entered his pig pen bedroom, and even from upstairs, I heard him exclaim, "Oh No!"
Later he asked me why they always come when he has a messy room.
Uhhhhh.......because he ALWAYS has a messy room?!?

He first looked at all the starburst wrappers to see if her answer was written on any of them.
NOTHING.
So, then he unwrapped most of them looking for any writing on the insides.
NOTHING.

Exhausted, he fell backward onto his bed, and declared, "I'm never going to find it!  
And then he looked UP.

On the ceiling, he saw his answer written in glow-in-the-dark STARS.
(his family was IN on the location of this answer!)  tee hee ;)



HARVEST DANCE

He found this on our front porch one day. 

No "adventures" accompanied this one, but in the weeks leading up to the dance, as the kids were texting each other and they discovered that I grew up in the same home ward (church congregation) with this girl's mom!  (small world!)

The girl texted Ryan, "Ask your mom about the time she stopped to see a boy on the way back from Girl's Camp."  So he did.

She would have to remember me for that incidence!

(Hey, I was VERY fond of this boy who lived in Cache Valley, and we were "in the area" on the way back from church Girl's Camp, so it would be a waste if I didn't have THE BISHOP stop by his work, wouldn't it?!?  The bishop obliged, and I had the boy paged to the front and he unsuspectingly came out to see a dozen or so [un-primped, post-camp] girls waiting for him in the lobby.  Well, I was waiting, the rest were standing behind me spying.  After we "visited," we went on our way.  Makes total sense, doesn't it?  At least to my 16/17 yr. old self it did.  I guess it was so surprising to this girl's mom, she hasn't forgotten it after 26 years!)  :)

CHRISTMAS DANCE

Ryan was actually studying in our front office  one evening, and he got a text from his friend, "I think you should go downstairs and look at your baseball trophies."  Ryan thought it was a weird request, but he went downstairs, anyway.
Meanwhile, Matt came into the kitchen where I was and told me he thought Ryan was getting asked to the dance right then - he'd seen a car and someone out the front windows when he was carrying Brookelle up to bed.  When the doorbell actually rang, I purposely left some "getaway" time, but it happened to be a snowy night, which made it so she wasn't able to run very quickly, so they hadn't driven away, yet, when I opened the door.  Woops!

There was a couple of weird things about this.  

1st - Ryan didn't even know this girl who had asked him.  In fact, her friends had done the actual asking for her. 

2nd - a day or two later, she actually texted him that her mom said she couldn't go anymore.  

So, he got "unasked."   
That stinks!

That's OK - the girl doesn't even know how to spell our last name anyway!  I've written about that before.  (And my hang up with other misuses of the English language.)  ;)

CHRISTMAS DANCE - part 2
We got the "Cookies for Santa" Encore on our front porch a few days after the "unasking."
Uh Oh - was that a bad omen?
But all I had to do was look at the adorable details:  a real RED platter, a glass milk bottle with a straw, Christmas Oreo cookies with red filling, a letter tied up with green string, and baby carrots, too!  I was feeling better about this one, already!

AND THEN I SAW THAT SHE KNEW HOW TO SPELL OUR LAST NAME, AND I WAS SOLD!  ;)

Even At My Age...

I STILL don't understand teenage boys!

I sure didn't when I was a teenager, myself, but I thought it might come as I "matured."

Nope.

CASE IN POINT:

Just yesterday, Ryan wanted to go to the High School girls' soccer game, but I told him he had to fold the newspapers (from the boys' paper route) FIRST.

Well.....he'd kind of already made the plans, including getting a ride, BEFORE he had asked permission from me.

So, his ride was already on his way at this point, estimated to be at our home in 2 minutes by the time he'd asked if he could go....but I still told him he had to do his job first.

Pretty soon, we hear a honk out in front of our house, signaling his ride is here, BUT he's not done with his little "job" so he can't leave, yet.

So, you know what he does?  

He tells Miss B (his 5 yr old little sister) to go out there and tell his friend he is "on the potty."

{But, of course, she is too embarrassed and won't do it}

I told him to just text his friend that he has to do a job and then he'll be out shortly.

He says, "No."

After making his friend wait a while longer, his friend calls to see where the heck he is....

And Ryan, instead of taking my advise on what to say, tells him, "Just a sec, I'm just finishing up some business in the bathroom, OK?"

Now WHY IN THE WORLD would you (anyone?) rather want your peeps to know, or think....or get the visual of you pooping on the toilet, and taking a long time doing it, instead of them just knowing what you are REALLY doing (a household chore)?

Seriously.

I'm just left shaking my head.  I can't make any sense out of it.

********

And you can probably only imagine where I got with my only-kiss-a-girl-if-it-means-something-not-just-for-fun lecture discussion I tried to have with him recently, too.  I vowed to teach my sons this concept, but he couldn't comprehend the logic in it.

Touch of [NO] Class

Ryan had a baseball game on Thursday night.  

As has been the trend this season, they were behind when I arrived at the game.

I think it's a combination of 1) these boys have not been playing together long and they don't "jive" yet (whereas other teams have been together as a "comp" team for many years). 2) they have a hard time getting a FULL team due to many of the boys having jobs, and if they leave early, they get an automatic OUT each time it's the missing person's turn at bat. 3) when they get behind, [as a defense mechanism, I think] they lose their "seriousness" and start this non-stop light hearted chatter with one another on the field.

All of these things together have landed them a spot in the lower part of their leagues' standings.

{In a nutshell, they're not that good!}

And after observing all this, AND having an in-your-face confrontation with the umpire, the coach from the other team felt entitled to tell (yell) my son that his team was a "bunch of PUNKS."

(So what do you call a "GROWN MAN" who throws fits on the baseball field?)

When the game was over, we had lost.  No surprise there.  

As is customary, our team lined up at home plate to wait for the other team to shake hands/"low five" with them and say the automatic, "good game, good game, good game" to each and every member of the team & coaches.

  

And our team waited.  

The other team's assistant coach, on his way back to his dugout from coaching 3rd Base, came by the front of our line, held up his hand in the "STOP" sign and said, "We're FINE, boys" and walked right on by.  Meanwhile, the head coach was keeping his team in the dugout, ignoring our line up of boys.

Apparently, they thought our team was such a "joke" that we deserved NO congratulations.  NO courtesy.  No acknowledgement of a game played.

(What's the definition of "Punk" again???) 

___________________________________________

**As a little continuation of the story, some of our boys just stayed lined up, waiting for what should've been.   After a while, ONE boy from the other team broke free from (snuck out against the coaches will?) their dugout and came out and shook hands with our boys.  He received an applause from all our fans & players with that act of decency (& courage.)  After a few minutes, with our boys still waiting at home plate, a few others followed the example of the first boy, too, but there was still many who never came.

There IS Such a Thing as a Free Lunch

Baseball season is upon us, so we are finding ourselves AT the ball park during dinnertime these days, which is always tricky. 

Well, to feed our brood one evening, we brought along two Little Caesar's pizzas for "dinner" - which we discovered is NOT ENOUGH to sufficiently satisfy our family's hunger anymore. 

So, later that night, Matt wanted to go and get dinner, since, he considered, the couple of measly pizza slices he ate were just a snack.

We headed over to Wendy's since we had some "Buy (something), Get (something else) Free" type coupons.

(AND they have the awesome 2000-flavor-drink-machine!)  

As is often the case, the employee working the cash register didn't quite know how to make the coupons work, or the computer wasn't calculating the correct amount - or SOMETHING!  This problem resulted in him calling over a manager for "help." 

The manager started pushing buttons on the register - while calling instructions back to the cooks - so she must have got distracted, because then she exclaimed, "Oh No!" 

She stared at the register for a few seconds, and then she blurted out, "I can't believe I did that!" 

Meanwhile, both the initial employee and Matt & I were standing there in confusion.
 
The manager then said, "Don't worry about it.  It's on the house."   

We replied with a very intelligent, "WHHAAAT??"

She retorted, "I cashed the order out [by mistake].  You're good.  It's on us.  Nothing's due."

We said we were ready and able to pay, but apparently she couldn't do anything - after she pushes the "final" cash out button, the register CANNOT accept any payment on that transaction.  (THESE AMAZING COMPUTERS!  What would we do without them?!?)   ;)

So, there we sat in Wendy's dining room with two of THE CHEAPEST combo meals we've ever [not] bought!  It was our LUCKY day!

There's the secret:  use a coupon, and it will confuse them into giving you free food!

We DID decide to stop by the counter on our way out and order a few sandwiches TO GO for our teenage sons who are ALWAYS please with a late-night Fast Food "snack."  Then we felt better that we DID spend SOME money while there.

I was received at home with hugs and utterances of, "You're the BEST Mom!" from my boys.
(SOMETIMES you get it right.)

My "Theory" has been Proven RIGHT

Our doorbell rang last night while I was kneeling at Katelyn's bed with her, listening to her bedtime prayer.  She went on a little bit longer, so I couldn't make it to answer the door for a couple of minutes.....
 
Maybe it was a Good Thing, because when I DID answer the door, NO ONE was there, but, instead, this "Mountain Dew display" was arranged on our front porch.  My extra delay in getting to the door, obviously gave the "culprit" plenty of getaway time!

A closer look:

CODE RED is Red...    VOLTAGE is Blue...

Will you "DEW" me the honor....

of going to MORP with you?!

The 10 cans of [red & blue] Mountain Dew lined up in the front each had a letter written with black marker on the bottom of the can......

Put them all in order, and it spelled the girl's first & last name!  (I didn't show that photo to protect the privacy of the innocent - from the TWO people who read this blog.  Hi, Mom & Dad!)

Ryan actually wasn't home at the time, so I just went out there and took all the photos, but left it all there for when he came home a few hours later.  IF the "Special Delivery Person" was still hiding somewhere on the street or nearby, they probably watched me taking all the pictures on the front porch like a dork - I hope they were entertained!  :)

ANYWAY, as exciting as getting asked to the dance is, my main point of the post is THIS:  My teenaged son might finally BELIEVE me!

Back in the Fall, when Homecoming Dance (boy's choice) was coming up, Ryan hemmed & hawed about whether or not he was going to go.  The longer he took to decide, the closer the dance was coming, and it was nearing the point when it would be too late to ask anyone.  He didn't know WHO to ask - so I gave him suggestions.  Some of them were "off limits" since they were "so and so's girl" or they'd already been asked.  As far as the other girls, he worried that THEY wouldn't want to go with HIM.  He said he wasn't going to go.  Then he decided he wanted to go.  He even used my [unknown number] cell phone to "investigate" with some other students to find out if certain girls had been asked or not yet.......THAT texting conversation was INTERESTING to read after I got my phone back.  He found someone he was going to ask......but then he talked himself out of it.  I tried to clue him in to the FACT that girls DO NOT like it when the boys WILL NOT ask anyone to the dance, because that means all the more girls won't have to opportunity to go at all.  I told him the girls would be MAD at him for just sitting home instead.  I tried to emphasize to him that the consequences of his choice NOT to ask anyone would be that, in turn, girls would NOT want to ask him to a dance.  As his mom, I had to give him the facts:  THAT is how it IS and he was making a mistake.

He thought I didn't know what I was talking about!  (After all, I've never been a teenage girl???!!???)   He claimed it was just another one of my crazy "theories" that I was using on him to get him to do what I wanted.  I told him I KNEW.  I was one of those mad girls myself before....but he thinks I'm just an anomaly, so what I experienced can't possibly be applied to the normal female population in general.  So, in the end, he DID NOT go to the Homecoming Dance.

And the day after the dance when he started hearing from all his peers who did go, he WISHED HE WOULD'VE.  He regretted not going.  (What did I tell him?)

And then come December, the next school dance was scheduled....he did not get asked to the Girl's Choice Christmas Dance.  (surprise, surprise.)  Yet, he would still not recognize - or admit - that "Mother knows best."  He came up with other excuses for being "passed up" - none of which was accepting it was a direct result of him not asking anyone a few months earlier.

Because he was sorry he missed out on Homecoming, I informed him that I was not going to let him chicken out of the next boys' choice dance, Valentine's Dance.  He said he wanted to go.  I told him if he had not asked someone by (such & such date), I was going to PICK the girl myself and ask her for him.  He actually replied, "Oh, Thanks.  That would really take a load off!"  He ended up taking care of asking a girl before the deadline, so he did not need my "services" after all.  :)  As recorded in my last post, he actually went on the date last Saturday.  Good job!  He had redeemed himself in the eyes of High School girls.

AND THEN just 5 DAYS LATER, by way of a year's supply of Mountain Dew, a girl asked him to the next Girl's Choice dance (which is in 4 1/2 weeks).

COINCIDENCE?!?

I think (know) not! 

And Ryan [privately] concurs, too.   

{smile}

First Heartbreak

My daughter came home from school yesterday, seeming kind of melancholy, and asked,
"Mom, can I talk to you?"

Sure!  We went into my bedroom and closed the door.

"{insert boy's name} is a LIAR!" she whined.

"Oh?  Really?"

"Yeah.  I asked him to Be My Valentine today, and he said he was already someone else's......AND THEN I saw him go over to {insert another girl's name} and ask HER to be HIS Valentine!"

"Oh no!  How disappointing!"

"And then I walked home from school with {insert same above referenced girl's name} and asked her about it, and she confirmed he DID ask her!"

"What do you think that means?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Really?  She didn't know?  Because I'm thinking it was as clear as day.  This boy likes this other girl and he was already planning on asking her, but then Haylee jumped the gun and messed up his plans, so he rejected her with a "cover up" and asked this "true love."  Pretty much, it was a case of, "He's Just Not That Into You!"  But I didn't divulge that cold, harsh truth to her.  Should I?  Because she certainly didn't see it that way.

"It's SO confusing" she continued, "I always catch him looking at me in class.  Why would he go ask someone else?"
 
{Background info:  They were already "Mistletoe Mates" from the Christmas season, so she thought this Valentine thing would be a "done deal."}

"Because he looks at me for like 25 seconds!"

I counseled with my resident 13 yr. old young man about the situation and meaning of the male psyche.  He confirmed this boy was trying to say NO in a nice way.  And as for the long looks....sometimes boys just stare into space for a while without really even SEEING anything!

I hugged my daughter and she laid her head on my shoulder as she wallowed in her misery. 

Then she got on the phone with one of her girlfriends and told her the story.  She got off the phone and told me, "{insert friend's name} says {insert boy's name} is an IDIOT!" 
And somehow that made her feel better - she looked a tad bit more content.

And I thought.....that's EXACTLY what I did as a young girl.....talk & talk & talk to my girlfriends about my crushes and how "BOYS ARE SO DUMB!"

Oh dear, It has started with my daughter!

I didn't want her thinking I approved of her "trash talking" other kids, so I told her, "He was probably just trying NOT to hurt your feelings."

"Well, he DID!  He made me cry at recess when he rejected me!"
(Oh, how heartbreaking!)

Then she switched gears and was wondering WHY he couldn't be BOTH her and that other girl's Valentine?  Because rumor has it, that girl that he DID ask was THREE DIFFERENT BOYS' "Mistletoe Mate" back in December.  (Apparently, she is one little Hottie at the Elementary School!)

So, now she's considering polygamy as a satisfactory arrangement?!?

Aaahhhhh.....Young Love.

_______

*Names have been omitted to protect the privacy of the innocent  :)

This is the Story of my Life

It was the story when my boys were toddlers.

It was the story when my boys were preschoolers.

It was the story when my boys were "little boys."

It was the story when my boys were "Big Boys."

It was the story in their "Tweens."

And, believe it or not, It's STILL the story of 15 1/2 and almost-12 yr. old "Young Men!"

When does this story end?!?

It's really great for trying to sell a home, let me tell ya! @$%&*?! New damages all the time!

******
NO LIE....just as I was about to hit "publish post".... Kyle bobbled his football he was tossing about in the Living Room and it went right into the plant cart!
GO get the broom!!

******
P.S. I LOVE Family Circus comic strip

A Mothering Success

From the time I had my first child, A BOY, I've always said,
"I'm going to change this world - ONE BOY AT A TIME!"

And I started with the toilet seat.


I was very vigilant from my boys' early age to teach them to put the toilet seat DOWN after using it. I did it myself and I constantly reminded them to do likewise. This, I'm sure, stemmed from my experience in working at a hospital where we once had an 18-month old patient who had "drowned" in the toilet in his own home. He must've reached in to "play" and, being top-heavy, got stuck with his head in the water, feet off the ground, and unable to get out. When he was found by his mother, he was successfully resuscitated, but his prognosis of recovery was grim. He was in what we called, a "vegetative state." It was so sad.

Anyway, between my goal to change the world and my paranoia of drowning, I am a stickler with the toilet seat thing. Every. Single. Time.

I'll never forget my first feeling of "victory" when my brother came to visit and he used our bathroom. Afterwards, 3 yr. old Ryan came rushing to find me, in distress, saying,
"Uncle Mikey was just in the bathroom and....THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG! Come quick!"

I envisioned a flood of some kind when I followed him up to the bathroom, but when I got there, what I saw was a toilet seat left UP!
We quickly corrected the situation and put the toilet seat DOWN. But, what a PROUD moment. My young boy KNEW that it was just WRONG to leave the toilet seat up!

Fast Forward 12 years...

The other day, this same Ryan, was telling me about an activity they had done in their Seminary (Bible Study) class. It was kind of a Getting-to-Know-You activity where the teacher pulled a question out a "hat" and read it to the class, and then, in turn, one by one, the students answered that question.

There were questions like:

"What is your biggest accomplishment

"What was your best day? And why?

"What makes you feel sad?"

He shared his answers with me, which was interesting, but the one that REALLY perked up my attention was when he said that one of the questions they were presented with was:
"What is your pet peeve?"

I asked him how he had answered, and he said,

"When people leave the toilet seat up."



And he was completely serious!

{Picture me: blowing on my fist, rubbing it on my shirt, head held high, smug look on my face, struttin' around.}

Oh Yeah!

Like I said, I'm changing this world...ONE BOY AT A TIME!

*******

Just don't ask me how many times we've had to replace toilet seats that have been slammed DOWN by boy #2. ;)


*******

When searching for images of toilets on the internet, THIS one came up. Just thought some of you might enjoy it! (You know who you are!) hee hee.

What I Wish I'd Known in High School

...OR Jr. High & College and pretty much my whole "Pre-marital Life."

I went and saw the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You" recently and Oh, It's

Just. So. True!

I had actually learned about the book by the same title years ago after seeing the author on Oprah one day and it was like TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT!

Just because a guy TALKS to you, doesn't mean he likes you.

And when he smiles & laughs/jokes with you, that doesn't necessarily mean he likes you, either.

He may even take you on a date - occasionally [FYI: "hanging out" is NOT dating], but that also doesn't mean he likes you.

He might actually KISS you, too, so does that mean he likes you? Unfortunately, NO!

I DID NOT know this all those years!

My husband did all this in High School, too. I asked my husband, "WHY?" so I could try to understand. It's not Rocket Science, "You don't wanna burn any bridges!" he replied.

If a guy doesn't call you, he doesn't want to call you. He DID NOT lose your phone number. He isn't "swamped" with work/team sports/homework/his favorite TV shows. He is not out of town. He did not get hit by a cab. HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN SEEING YOU AGAIN! Guys don't forget how much they like you, so put down the phone.



If you can find him, then he can find you. If he wants to find you, he will. He did not forget where you live. He was not eaten by a lion. He is not interested.



Don't get tricked into asking him out. If he likes you, he'll do the asking. He will ask you out in advance. Doing the asking the night of or even the day of is called a "Booty Call." A "Booty Call" is also when he just asks you out if his #1 choice has already been asked by someone else - or if his #1 choice says, "No," but he needs a date anyway.



If a guy treats you like he doesn't give a darn, it's because he doesn't give a darn.



An excuse is a polite rejection. No class, no meeting early the next morning, No "Big Game" tomorrow, no illness will prevent him from being with you IF he is into you.

If he’s too busy to see you on the weekends,
And he doesn’t introduce you to his friends,
He's just not that into you.

If he’s a month late for your birthday,
Or if he calls you by another girl’s name,
He's just not that into you.

If he says he’s not the marrying type,
And he only calls you in the middle of the night,
He's just not that into you.

If he says she’s just a friend, like a sister,
Then one day you see him up and kiss her,
He's just not that into you.

Don't let the "honeys" and the "babys" fool you. His sweet nothings are exactly that. They are much easier to say than "I'm just not that into you."

What's up with "sort of dating" someone? Who wants to be "kinda hanging out" with someone? Sometimes guys can "use you" - for rides, or gifts, or homemade dinners, or NCMOs (that's a blast from the past) because they DO enjoy those things -- just not you!

Every guy you have ever dated who has said he doesn't want to get married or doesn't believe in marriage, or has "issues" with marriage, will ... rest assured ... someday be married. It just will never be with you. If you can get the milk for FREE, why buy the cow?

A guy who wants to make a relationship work will move mountains to keep the girl he loves. If he's not calling you to tell you he loves you, it should only be because he's showing up at your residence to do it in person ... if he's not doing any of that, he may like you as a friend, but ultimately he's just not that into you.

Why did I not know any of this?

Then along came Matt....

The first time he said, "I'll call you." I thought to myself, "The lies Men tell..." AND THEN HE CALLED!!

One night, I was attending a Conference for a few hours. When I got home, my roommates told me that Matt had called -- 4 TIMES!!

We started dating in November ('93) and I went to Texas for Thanksgiving that year. He gave me his necklace to wear while there so I "wouldn't forget about him." (I didn't!)

On Christmas ('93) he left his home and Family to come to my house and give me a Christmas gift and go to a movie with ME.

He kissed me for the first time that Christmas night (under the Mistletoe ~ how convenient!)

And HE CALLED ME AGAIN on December 26th!

One evening, I was at his apartment and one of Matt's guy friends called and wanted to get together. Matt told him he wouldn't because HIS "GIRLFRIEND" was over.

He invited me over to his apartment to watch the Superbowl with him & all his roommates!

He held my hand around campus, and DID NOT let go even if we passed old "flames."

After that, if he ever was going home for the weekend, he wanted me to come with him, too. Or vice verse, if I was going home, he decided he'd go, too. (Our hometowns were next to each other) And HE CALLED ME and WE DATED all weekend.

There was a dance we went to at the USU Student Center one weekend. It was the kind where couples could get "hitched." There was a make shift Wedding Chapel, with an "Officiator." You signed a "Marriage Licence" (that was also signed by a "Witness" by the name of Hugh U. Kiddin!) We even got these cheap gold "wedding bands" and you could kiss if you wanted to, also. (Of course, we wanted to!) BUT, HERE'S THE BIG THING...When we went into the "Chapel, the "Love of Matt's Life" (but not always mutual) ALL through High School, his Mission, & some of College was in there (hint: J.J.) BUT Matt went ahead and happily got "hitched" to me and laid a BIG ONE on me right in front of her - and DID NOT CARE that she saw - in fact, he felt fabulous doing that with me!

I actually started my job before Graduation, so I moved away from Logan a little early, but Matt had to stay for finals. We were only apart about 4 days when I came back for Graduation, but he was so glad to see me again, he had a graduation gift & card/letter for me and he told me he KNEW he wanted to marry me - AND HE DID, 3 months later!

Now, that Guy was/IS INTO ME!

Now, as a mother, I've got a Two-Fold Mission:

1. Teach my daughters. Now we have some clues on how to read guys. No more mis-reading!! Don't "Waste the Pretty!" You deserve to be with someone who will be nice to you all the time. There's a guy out there who's going to be really happy that you didn't waste your time trying to get together (and are not with) all those other crappy guys who weren't into you.


2. Teach my sons. When you say, "I'll call you" you WILL call her!! (SOON - like the next day!) And DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT kiss her if you don't like her (more than a friend!) Sometimes it might be best to tell her, "I'm just not that into you!" I've always said I'm gonna change the world "one boy at a time!" :)