Category Archives: weekend plans

New York City Or Bust

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I can’t stay and chat because it’s 9:26 and I need to go to bed.

“Why in the world must you go to bed so early on a Friday night, Jenster?”

I’ll tell you why. Because tomorrow morning I’m waking up early, grabbing my iPod with a new Favorites playlist and Precious (my camera for you newbies), and heading for the Big Apple.

“Why are you going to New York City, Jenster?”

Because my very first bestest friend ever is going to be there. But wait! There’s more! Her sister and brothers are going to be there as well!

Cindy lived around the corner and down the street and we grew up together from preschool until we went our separate ways as adults – she to Canada and me to Arkansas.

I’ve been trying to remember the last time I saw her and I’m pretty sure it was when Katie was about 14 months old. That would be 16 years ago! So imagine my excitement when I found out that she and Diane and Rob and Greg were going to be a mere 3 hours away!

I can hardly wait to see them! So excuse me while I go get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s road trip and adventure. Pictures to follow…

 

Best Weekend Ever

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Day One, Thursday:

We had a firm, no exceptions departure time of 9-ish AM and successfully met the “ish” portion of our goal by pulling out of the driveway at 10:30. Our normal 6 hour, one stop drive turned into an 8 hour, four stop trip. Partly because of all the fluids I was drinking to keep my system flushed and partly because the truck runs through fuel like poo through a goose when pulling the trailer. Or maybe in this case it would be more appropriate to say it runs through fuel like pee through me when drinking a lot of fluids to keep my system flushed. Besides, I’m not so sure the “poo through a goose” saying is accurate. I’m not hip to the bowel habits of water fowl.

Anyhoo, we finally made it to the Virginia Byway, the road the campground was on. When I had originally put the campground address in the GPS (which on several occasions throughout the day wanted us to take some crazy route) only Virginia Byway showed up, no actual address. As we were winding our way west, blinded by the setting sun and trying to find the campground, it was like we fell off the end of the earth. There were no roads on the GPS, only a river. Not only that, but we had no phone service at all. And then we heard dueling banjos.

Just when I had given up all hope (not really, but it sounds so much more dramatic this way) we saw the light. Literally. We saw the light from the campground sign. We checked in, Todd got the trailer set up and we settled in for the evening. Unfortunately we were unable to call Taylor to let him know we made it safe and sound.

Day Two, Friday:

Katie, Sookie and I did a little exploring this morning and the campground is really nice. There’s a lovely pond full of ducks that intrigued Sooks to no end, but thankfully she didn’t try to catch one. Though if she had maybe I would know the deal with the poo and the goose, or duck, which I figure a duck’s fecal habits are probably very similar to a goose’s. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes (no bacon – we’re saving it all for tomorrow’s breakfast) and Todd has gone off the mountain for a Wal-Mart run and to contact Taylor. The plan is once Taylor finishes his last class for the day at 1:00 he’ll come up and stay for a bit. He also has some friends that are coming up tonight for a weenie roast and s’mores-a-thon.

So stay tuned…

And I’m back.

Todd made contact with Taylor and gave him directions to the campground. Take Business Rte. 29 South out of Lynchburg to 130, aka Amherst Byway, aka Virginia Byway, aka Elon Byway where you take a left and drive about 16 miles to the campground on the right. Taylor said he’d be out to the trailer around 3:00. So when he hadn’t showed up by 4:00 this mama was getting a little agitated. Not only was my child somewhere between here and there, he had no way to get a hold of us. Once again Todd made his way down the mountain so he could call Taylor. Katie and I took Sookie for a walk and napped and watched a little Sleepy Hollow – anything to keep my mind off both my boys who should have been here and not there.

Finally they both pulled in around 5:30 and this was one happy mama! I think I nearly hugged Taylor’s head right off. Turns out he followed Todd’s directions – Business Rte. 29 South. Except the campground is north of Lynchburg.

Another hour or so later three of Taylor’s friends from school arrived. We roasted hot dogs and made s’mores and I think they had a good time. Eventually the friends left and the four of us settled in for the night.

At that moment, with Katie in her bunk and Taylor on the couch and Todd and Sookie and I on the bed (yes, I said Sookie. Don’t judge.), I was perfectly content. Not just a little, not even just a lot, but totally and completely.

Day Three, Saturday:

Taylor had to get up early and drive back to school for work. Good thing he knows the way now. The rest of us had a fairly lazy morning. Well, Todd did have to go back into town to buy sweatpants. He only brought shorts. I would go on about how I told him multiple times in the last week that it was going to be deliciously chilly this weekend and how yesterday he said he saw my lips moving but he never listened to what I was saying, but that would be rude and cast him in a bad light. And he’s already got the directionally challenged thing going against him so I’ll be a good wife and not harp.

And now I’m going to go outside and cook up the two pounds of bacon I brought to have with breakfast yesterday and today, but will be eating on BLTs and possibly burgers tonight instead.

So until the next time…

I’m back. I cooked two pounds of bacon in an electric griddle on the picnic table outside. I’ve decided bacon should always be cooked outside. Just saying’. Taylor showed up just as I was finishing my classic BLT and asked if that was his. I love him and I’m a good mom, but I’m not THAT good of a mom. He had to make his own.

The four of us watched RV – which never, EVER gets old – and then Todd grilled hamburgers. After dinner we played Bookopoly, a book version of Monopoly. I despise that game. Really a lot. But that’s what the kids wanted to play so fine. I’m kind of a good mom so that’s what we played. I don’t think it’s fair that nobody ever wants to play Scrabble. But do I whine about it? No.

Not a lot, anyway.

Maybe a little.

Anyway, Katie and I are much too ethical and not shrewd at all so we decided to consolidate our efforts and STILL ended up in the poor house. Todd and Taylor, on the other hand, concern me a little. Smarmy wheeler dealers, if you ask me. Sure, they both ended up with bank loads of money, but are they really happy? At least Katie and I know what’s important.

Taylor left to go down the mountain in the rain at about 10:30 last night. The mom in me hated – HATED – the fact we didn’t have phone coverage and he wouldn’t be able to call me when he got home. Does that ever end? I think prolly not. *sigh*

Todd turned the heater on last night and we think the clinks and clanks messed with Sookie’s delicate sensibilities because she was shaky and whiney and generally annoying. Seeing as how Todd was going to have to drive home through 15 miles of switchbacks or so pulling a 30 foot trailer, I felt he should probably get some sleep. So I mostly dealt with the dog, though her scratching and woofing still woke up Todd.

Which leads me to…

Day Four, Sunday

Our plan was to get an earlier start for our trip home than we managed on the way down. We figured we’d get up around 7:30 or so, secure stuff, hook up and get on the road around 9:00. Once again we got on the road around 10:30. The difference this time was that we managed the trip in 6½ hours as opposed to 8.

I did have a text from Taylor waiting for me when we finally got to where there was service. That and 80+ emails.

Now we’re home and everybody is comfortable, especially the dog. She’s sound asleep. Because, you know, keeping people up all night is exhausting business.

Country Roads…

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This past Saturday Todd and I ditched Katie and Sookie and headed down I-81 to bring Taylor home from Lynchburg. He took his last final on Friday and has officially completed his freshman year of college. How did that happen? It seems like just a month or two ago we took him down to “camp”.

Since it was just the two of us we decided to catch the Blue Ridge Parkway where it starts at I-64 just east of Waynesboro, VA, and enjoyed 60 miles of Shenandoah and Blue Ridge glory. Just take a look for yourself!









I don’t mean to sound like a deviant or anything, but I took several pictures of the lizards mating. Not because they were mating, but because I could. And it was very fascinating in a Marlin Perkins/Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom-esque sort of way. Check out the way the male (and smaller) lizard has the female’s arm in his mouth. Kinky.

Sunday morning Todd and I ate a Mother’s Day breakfast at Bob Evans – my first meal there ever – and then caught up with Taylor at LCF (Lynchburg Christian Fellowship) before the worship service started. The service was NOT your ordinary, average, traditional Mother’s Day church service. Probably because I was the only mother in there. What it was, however, was a spontaneous, spirit-filled, moving hour of worship. What it was was awesome.

Taylor and Patrice

A barefoot Taylor

The LCF band

After service we went to Taylor’s dorm with the purpose of loading up the car. While Todd and I were desperately hoping he was all packed up and ready to go, we weren’t surprised to find out he hadn’t packed.a.single.thing. So there we stood in this small dorm room with his roommate still asleep in his bed while we threw stuff in grocery bags and boxes. After that it was several trips up and down the four flights of stairs. I only made a couple of trips before I decided someone should stay on ground level with the car in case someone decided to take some of Taylor’s precious belongings. I’m just glad I was the first one to think of it!



Finally the car was packed and surprisingly we still had room for all three of us. Talk about a whirlwind weekend! And thus ends our trips to Lynchburg. Until August.

Les UnMiserables

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Picking up where I left off…

Olive Garden - Katie and I stopped here for an early dinner before heading into the city yesterday. Mmm, mmm good! On our way there we followed several school buses with about a thousand kids on each and all their stops were between us and the Olive Garden. I feel certain they were frustrating me on purpose.

Schuylkill Expressway – Katie and I sat on this for well over an hour. Thank goodness for an awesome playlist and great sing-along songs.

Double Tree Hotel - After driving around the parking lot and feeling the whole bus annoyance flaring up, we finally found a spot. Upon check in I found out that Todd was the “Guest of the Day” and we got all kinds of free stuff – Vitamin Waters, granola bars, pretzels, hand sanitizer, a book mark, a free in-room movie (excluding adult movies, of course), and some other stuff that escapes me right now.  It was so good to be us!

Academy of Music – After freshening up a bit we left the hotel, walked across the street and into the theater. Seriously – right across the street! Talk about convenient. We found our seats – high up, but very good – and settled in to watch the magic about to ensue.

And ensue it did. We were transported back to mid-19th century France where times were horrible for the average person, nobody talked and everybody sang what they were thinking or feeling. It really was a fabulous performance. The singers were amazing (although neither Katie nor I were very fond of grown up Cosette’s singing) and some of the special effects were wonderful.

Double Tree Hotel - Back across the street after the play, up to the room, and we ordered a cheesecake from room service for Katie while I gnoshed on one of their famous chocolate chip walnut cookies and a cup of decaff. Sweets that late at night make for very nice dreams.

Jean’s Cafe’ – This morning we woke up when we woke up, turned on the TV and watched some silly movie. Then we walked a block and a half to this little hole in the wall, Jean’s Cafe, for a delicious and extremely cheap breakfast.

May I just insert here how much I adore Center City? Silly to ask permission when it’s my blog and all, but I’m trying to be considerate.

Starbuck’s - While the food was good, the coffee left something to be desired so after breakfast we walked a few blocks up the street to Starbuck’s for “morning dessert”. For those of you who are new to the “morning dessert” concept, as I was until I thought of it on our way to Starbuck’s, it’s something sweet after a savory breakfast along with a White Chocolate Mocha. ‘Cause, you know, that’s how I roll.

Schuylkill Expressway – Apparently nobody wants to leave Philadelphia on a Saturday afternoon because traffic was a breeze.

Home – This would be where we laid on the couches all day, watching movies and dozing off and on.

I wonder how we can top this next weekend.

An Island Called Long*

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*Thank you to Dan R. for the title

This past weekend Todd and I took off for a much needed get away on Long Island. It was the first time we’ve ever left the kids home alone and I feel it was a success because: a) they didn’t kill or even maim each other; b) police and/or other emergency personnel services were never required; c) there were no arrests; d) the dog was still here and didn’t appear to have suffered any; and e) the house looked much the same as it did when we left.

Our adventure started on Thursday, and I don’t use the term “adventure” loosely. I’ve been to New York City several times since moving here four years ago and every time I’m there I declare I will NEVER drive in Manhattan. Well, guess what I did Thursday. I drove in Manhattan. From the Holland Tunnel, through Tribeca and China Town, and over the Williamsburg Bridge. I’ve driven in Los Angeles. I’ve driven in Dallas. I’ve driven in Philadelphia. Picnics, all, compared to the Big Apple. I would like to declare I will never drive in Manhattan EVER AGAIN. I just hope I really mean it this time.

Do you know what made driving in NYC worth it? After Todd and I got settled in the hotel we went down the street to TGIFriday’s for an early dinner and I got carded! Oh yes I did! Todd even took a picture of the waiter looking at my ID, but it came out all fuzzy. So what if they have to card anyone who looks like they may possibly be younger than 75? There’s just something about hearing those words, “May I please see some ID?” that thrills.

I kept telling people we were going to the Hamptons because it just sounds so chic. In reality we were just going to Long Island, but we did drive through the Hamptons on Friday. There is a two lane road that runs through the Hamptons to the tip of the South Fork where the Montauk lighthouse is. It took us a good two hours to go the 43 miles. I can say in all honesty that it was a beautiful drive and the weather couldn’t have been any better. We stopped in the town of Montauk for a bite of lunch – the best fish and chips I’ve ever had, hands down.


And a good thing, too. For two orders of fish and chips, an iced tea and a beer we paid $55.00. While I’m sure the fish basically jumped from the ocean and into the fryer, I’m not sure that’s a reasonable amount. Not only that, but I didn’t even get carded!

After the gigging we took lunch we finished the drive to Montauk Point and the oldest lighthouse in the state of New York. I, of course, had Precious with me so there are pictures:




There were no sightings, and, therefore, no pictures, of a Montauk Monster. (Sorry Becky) But here’s a photo I found on the internet to appease the curiousity of those who don’t know what the Montauk Monster is.

From there we drove to Sag Harbor:









And then a pretty drive back to the hotel where we feasted on cheese and crackers (because we had spent our daily allowance on fish and chips) and watched free HBO.

Saturday was another gorgeous day and this time we drove up the North Fork to Orient Point and then slowly worked our way back. In a welcomed change from Friday, the traffic was minimal. Our goal had been to find lighthouses and maybe go through a winery. We saw one lighthouse in the distance and never decided on a winery to tour. But we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

I know. I’ll just show you some pictures.

We stopped in at this lavender farm and bought…



…lavender! Ahhhh, heaven!

Here we were in wine country and did we get any wine? No. I’m sure our wine clubbies (Or is that clubbists? Clubbers?) will be very disappointed with us.


The same Dan R. who inadvertently gave me the title of this post texted me and told me about Greenport. Happy I am that he did!



This, my friends, is a camera. Not nearly as convenient as Precious, that’s for sure.


The Frisky Oyster. What does a frisky oyster look like, I wonder.



We were going to eat in Greenport, but the wait was horrendous. Apparently everybody wanted to hang out in the quaint village on a perfect Saturday afternoon. So we got back in the car and just decided we’d stop wherever we stopped.

Linen tablecloths, a beautiful view, a delicious seafood meal, a decadent dessert – all for less than fish and chips in the Hamptons.

As we made our way back to the hotel we found a place to sit and be mesmerized by the beautiful ocean -

- and we also found LOVE, which is kind of the point of a weekend getaway, isn’t it?

Busy Easter Weekend

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I haven’t been able to post much because I’ve been having too much fun, but I thought I’d take a few minutes now and catch you up.

FRIDAY

Mom and Dad and I drove to Weehawken, New Jersey, and took the ferry over to the Mid-Town pier in New York City. It was sunny and warm and the perfect day for a ride on the Hudson. So after we landed in Manhattan we walked to the building next door and took a 90-minute harbor cruise. The cruise was great. The tour guide was not. He spent more time telling us how he knew how to grab people’s attention in the first two seconds than he did telling us the interesting stuff we were seeing.

The interesting stuff we were seeing:

The Brooklyn Bridge -
It took 13 years to build and was completed in 1883


Governor’s Island -
Walt Disney was an AWOL prisoner on Governor’s Island with a view of the Hudson and this is where he came up with the idea for Steamboat Willie


Helicopters -
A twenty minute tour of Manhattan is $200.00 per person


The Statue of Liberty -
An amazing thing to see in real life and something pictures don’t quite capture


Ellis Island -
I sure would like to know which of my ancestors came through here

The Manhattan Skyline-
The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down


And that concluded our tour. After that it was back to the cross-river ferry and then a pretty drive home. I had thought to go to our Good Friday service that night, but I was too pooped! Who knew sitting on a ferry could be so exhausting?

SATURDAY

I had to pick up a few groceries and thought that Mom should have the Wegman’s experience.

For those of you who are not in the know, Wegman’s is the Disneyland of grocery stores. I think Mom might have been more impressed by the market than the Statue of Liberty.

SUNDAY

This morning was a lovely, relaxing Easter morning. Todd and Taylor were working in the Valley Kids tech booth for all four services and Katie was helping with one of the kids’ classes at the 11:00 service (we thought) so Mom and Dad and I went to the 12:30 service. After that we came home for a few minutes and then went to Washington House in Sellersville for Easter dinner.


<-Today (side view)

Late 19th-> Century (front view)

It’s a 30-minute ride through bucolic rolling hills and the warm weather the past few days has caused the flowers and trees to blossom. If I hadn’t been so hungry on the way there and so full and tired on the way home I would have wished it was more like an hour and 30 minutes away.

Yesterday Katie made a chocolate pudding pie and this morning I made a French apple pie. Our thought was that we would be too stuffed to eat dessert at the restaurant so we’d have dessert when we got home. Except I forgot that the Prefix dinner included dessert. The kids and I are off tomorrow so guess what we’re having for breakfast. Apple pie!!! Guess what we’re having for second breakfast. Chocolate pudding pie!!

Tomorrow is also my Weight Watchers weigh in day. I’m totally not feeling it.

The Latest

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Saturday has now been cancelled as well. Todd and I are going to make the best of today. Lunch out, a movie and then the Phillies/Dodgers game this afternoon. We’re also considering sleeping in our new sleeping bags tonight! On top of the bed, of course.

The Poconos – just north of us – have received over 4 inches of snow in some parts – a new record for this early in the season. They closed and were salting Kelly Drive in Philadelphia this morning because there were some icy slick spots. The air temps weren’t quite freezing, but the road was cold enough to ice up in areas.

So again, as disappointed as I am about missing out on the experience, I’m glad they had the foresight to cancel. Makes me want to try it again next year!

A Mix of Emotions

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I was so proud of myself this afternoon. After leaving work early I ran by Target to buy a few last minute items including exercise pants in an attempt to keep my legs halfway warm this weekend. I packed up my duffel bag with all my goodies – even my sleeping bag, an air mattress, two tarps and a small, rechargeable air compressor – and it all came in at 33 pounds.

Todd and I also kept a watch on the weather and the 3-Day website and it was looking dismal. The weather kept looking worse and nothing was being said about alternative plans on the website. So I finished packing, had a nice family dinner, watched last night’s GLEE on the DVR and got ready to leave for the hotel where we would be starting our adventure tomorrow morning.

As I stood there with my 33 pound duffel bag/back pack on my shoulders thinking, Dang! This sure feels more like 50 pounds!, Tina called to wish us good luck. She also wanted us to know that if we chose not to walk in the Nor’easter nobody would think ill of us, which I greatly appreciated.

Once again we got on-line to check the weather and the website. The high for tomorrow had dropped since the last time I had looked – down to 41 with a chill factor of 32. I started to have second thoughts because we really don’t have the appropriate clothing for those types of temperatures. We then went to the website and found this:

October 16-18, 2009

In light of the extreme cold, windy and wet weather conditions the Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day Opening Ceremony (previously scheduled for Friday morning at 7 a.m. at Willow Grove Park Mall) and the first day of walking have been cancelled.

As organizers of the event, our main priority is to ensure the safety and welfare of our participants. After consultation with medical and safety experts, a delay of the event was determined to be the most appropriate action.

I wanted to go “whew” and “nuts” all at the same time. (Would that be “whuts”?) I’m very disappointed that we’re not going to get to have the whole experience. But I’m also relieved that the decision to go or stay was made for us. That would be because the Reverend Terri Stone told me she would pray for the right decision. Thanks Terri!

We’re supposed to keep checking with the website to see what the plan is after tomorrow. I’ll be sure to let you know!

Almost Walkin’ Time

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Todd and I are nearly all packed up and ready for our three day adventure. The hardest part right now is making sure our duffel bags don’t weigh any more than 35 pounds. Sounds easy, but when you have to put in a sleeping bag and an air mattress (because I’m NOT sleeping on the ground) it adds up.

October is usually such a beautiful month and a perfect time for walking six or sixty miles. Right? Except we’re expecting a nor’easter this weekend.

Friday

High of 48

Saturday

High of 48

Sunday

High of 52

No biggy. What’s a little water and low temps compared to a cure for cancer? That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.

How about these encouraging words on the white board calendar at work?

And this is to let everyone know why I won’t be at work on Monday.

Thanks, Kelly!! :o )

It’s All Good

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Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy.

Psalm 28:6

As some of you so graciously pointed out to me, it is now Saturday. Life is mostly good with a little of the not so great thrown in to keep things interesting.

When last we met I told you I had nothing going on after I picked the kids up from play practice at 5:30. Wednesday night I should have been using my time to clean the kitchen, put the stuff back under the sink, catch up on laundry, go through the junk pile (really “pile” should be plural, maybe even the plural of plural, but I don’t want you all to know what an incredible slob I am) on the counter and that sort of thing. Instead I was curled up in the big green chair trying not to move for fear my head would explode (a common happening for migraine sufferers) and ended up going to bed between 9:30 and 10:00.

Whilst I happily snoozed and dreamed of a clean kitchen, healthy puppies and chocolate that makes you lose weight the phone rang. Looking at the clock as I picked up the receiver, I was not pleased to see it was 4:00. It was Todd. He had left Princeton at 2-ish because he felt so horrible and didn’t want me to freak out when I heard the garage door open in the next 15 minutes or so. “Just go back to sleep and I’ll see you when you come down. I’m going to hang downstairs with Sookie and probably snooze on the couch.”

So I rolled over to go back to sleep, but all I could think about was all the stuff in the middle of the kitchen floor and the nasty dishes and the junk piles (we’ve already established the extent of this). I thought I’d had until Friday to get the house back into some semblance of order! Todd is not a demanding man and I thank God daily for that, but seriously the kitchen looked condemnable.

Finally I dozed off for another 30 minutes or so until my alarm went off and I came downstairs to the man and the dog curled up on the couch, blissfully asleep. I hated that he had to come home because he was sick, but it made going to work on Thursday so much easier on me for worrying about Sookie.

Todd went to the doctor that day and he was diagnosed with a severe case of bronchitis – which we already knew. He had a horrible case of pneumonia several years ago and ever since then he’s been terribly susceptible to bronchitis. Sookie wasn’t eating, drinking or taking her medicine so he took her to the vet and had her admitted for IV fluids and antibiotics.

Thursday night was another one of those nights – work late; pick up Katie and Shelby at 4:00; get home close to 4:30; leave at 5:30 to get Taylor to play practice and Katie to voice lessons by 6:00 (I like taking Katie to voice, though, because I sit and read for 30 minutes); go from voice lessons to the church for band practice because Katie is singing Sunday night; leave band practice and pick up Taylor at 9:00.

Friday mornings are when I get to hang out with my Homies. I always come away revived and had really been looking forward to my weekly refreshing. BUT… I hadn’t been able to do my laundry or clean or anything so I skipped the Homies and tried to catch up on laundry. I didn’t finish, but I did make a significant dent.

Todd was home with bronchitis; Katie ended up staying home from school with a sore, scratchy throat and major head congestion; Taylor texted me from school (bad Taylor!) asking if I could come pick him up because he felt horrible, but he decided it was allergies and he thought he could probably make it the rest of the day; Sookie was at the animal hospital. It was like the plague or something! Happily, though, I picked up the Sookster and she is back to her normal, hyper self. She’s eating, drinking, jumping, playing – all that stuff and her nose is wet! She is on a ton of medicine and they’re still not sure what caused the fever, but I’m happy she’s doing so much better.

Which brings us to today. Sookie is good. Katie is good. Taylor is good. My kitchen is CLEAN. No junk piles and no dirty dishes. The laundry still isn’t caught up because Taylor did his laundry all day and it’s too late for me to start now. Wine club is in an hour.

The only bad thing in the mix is Todd. Well, HE’S not bad, but he is bad sick. Now I’ve mentioned this several times before and I’ll say it again. Compassion is not my thing. It doesn’t matter how many times I take a spiritual gifts inventory, compassion is always looooooow. (That means really, really low.) But even I feel bad for him. His fever will hardly break and he says he feels like an elephant is sitting on his chest. He was really looking forward to getting together with the neighbors this evening, too. I guess I’ll just have to have a good enough time for both of us!

So life is much better today, just as I prayed it would be. Todd shouldn’t have to travel for a few weeks and hopefully he’ll start to feel better ASAP. I sure am glad God is more merciful than I am!!

Here’s an aside. Taylor loves shock value. Really a lot. He was waiting for Kristen to come over this afternoon and she was bringing a sack of sugar that she’s going to have to take care of for a class she has at school. He said they were going to decorate it together. “What?” I asked. And he said, “When Kristen gets here we’re going to make a baby together.” Oh yes he did!! Those exact words!! Not something a mother wants to hear her 16-year-old say! I have no idea where he gets that sort of behavior.