A Corvette and Fungus

Happy Sunday evening everyone! It's late and I'm tired, BUT - I am going to keep this blogging thing going!

This afternoon our friend, Nick, stopped by to visit. He's babysitting his loaded friend's cars for a month or so, and he and Dave went out for a drive. Check out Big Sexy.

I guess if a grown man sits in a sports/muscle car, he feels that he has to make a muscle..... whatever!!!! :) Dave says he wouldn't pick this '04 Z06 if he were king (of somewhere other than my heart, that is)... he'd pick a Mustang or Porsche. I'm happy with Buddy.

And now, because I have nothing else to say, and because describing our quick trip to Wal-Mart would be boring..... I leave you with a picture of a ginormous mushroom that I found growing out by our fence this evening. I think I saw Smurfs....

It's been almost two weeks since I last blogged! Pathetic. I guess that just goes to show me how uninteresting and "Groundhog Day"-ish my life really is. A lot of the days seem the same: get up, take a shower, eat something, teach the kids, teach the kids, yell at the kids, teach the kids, eat dinner, an occasional tkd class, wash some clothes, clean up stuff, tuck the kids in, go to bed. I think from now on, if I don't have anything to post, I'll just take a picture of some random thing around my house and post that... I bet THAT could get interesting!

Dave's birthday party went well. The boys and I ran out to Wal-Mart and bought fixin's for cupcakes - chocolate with white icing and rainbow with chocolate icing. I dutifully made the cupcakes and am proud to say that I did not burn or scorch them and no one who ate any had any unusual side effects :) I have to say that I was very impressed with myself because I HATE to bake. And cook, but that's another story. The point is NO ONE DIED and I'm happy about that. My brother-in-law, Steve, ate about 18 cupcakes... I think the 18th one might have been what pushed him over the edge......

Anyway, we had quite a little party going. The boys had the dining room decorated with crepe paper and balloons. My parents came over, my sister and her family were here, and the wonderful Richert Family (minus Eaglescout, of course) all showed up to sing and bring cards and gifts and eat!

This past Thursday night, Dave and I decided that WE were going to cut the boys' hair ourselves. They were WAYYYYYY past due for haircuts and I figured that I could run a pair of clippers over their little egg-shaped heads as good as the next guy. So, we sent Cam down as the first guinea pig and cut his hair off! After the first couple of swipes through his hair we noticed that he was crying a little bit - poor kid, he thought we were cutting his hair like I cut Dave's - which we all know is REALLY, REALLY short! Bless his heart, he didn't put up a fuss or anything, he just sat in that chair thinking we were gonna make him bald! He's fine now, and he's not bald, and he now realizes that we had the #3 clipper hickey thing on and that his hair will not be cut as short as his dad's. Here's Ry going under the clippers:

I have to admit that the boys' hair turned out pretty well and I think that, after a couple more cuts, we'll have it down!

And now, this evening's story. Even though the Weather Channel was calling for rain, I put on my tkd uniform and hopped in the car at 4:30 to drive to good ol' Jeannette, PA, for our Demo Team Performance! On the way, it began to lightly sprinkle, then it began to DUMP rain! The poor windshield wipers could not keep up with the deluge. Still, we went on... it could, after all, stop at any time. After multiple sweeps of the block and phone calls home to see if Mrs. D. called to cancel the show, I saw Rob walking down the street. I had Dave pull up next to him and I jumped out. Rob and I walked down the street, sharing a rather small and flimsy umbrella that really only kept the tops of our heads dry, our shoes getting covered with the river of water running down the edge of the street, to find the entire Demo Team wedged under the awning of the liquor store. Needless to say, the show was cancelled.

On the way home, at the red light, we found ourselves right beside the Richert Mobile. We rolled down the window and invited them over for pizza - actually, Dave asked Wendi to drag race, but she said "no" and he figured pizza was a good alternative. So, the Richerts came over and we ate pizza. Camden and Benjy played with Star Wars stuff, there was video-gaming going on, and we introduced them to the Eye Toy.

Benjy was really excited to beat up the ninjas and he kept getting closer and closer to the screen in order to pummel them better. Wendi kept warning him to back up 1) so the camera could detect him and 2) so he didn't attack the tv. As you can see by the following footage, she found out that you kind of get involved when playing this game.

When it was time to go home to get ready for bed, Benjy was not quite convinced that he had had enough of bowling with Spongebob, so we let him and Camden take the games and camera home. As Benjy crawled in the car with his bag of goodies, he told me he loved me...... Love you too, Benjy! Play lots of Eye Toy so you sleep well at night and are calm during the day for your mom :)

Happy Birthday, Pookie!

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This is my sister, Danielle (and my niece, who has no bearing on this story whatsoever, but who just happened to be in the picture). You may remember her from her famous front page photo in the Tribune-Review a few months ago. Anyway... Danielle has recently begun working in the evenings - wow, this sentence could go in sooooo many different directions - at UPS. She's one of the people who loads the stuff that you order onto the trucks nicely and gently being very careful not to jar or toss the box. Danielle was informed the other night at work that she is the #1 new hire for the month!! Since being given this news is all of the recognition she will get - no fancy "I'm the #1 new hire" pin, or a t-shirt, or anything - I decided that she needed more praises and more accolades, so here's the info. for all the world to see. I'm sure she'll be thrilled :)

And... here's the much-talked-about picture of Big Sexy at his bodybuilding show a few years back. You know, the one he filched off of my picture pile and stuck to the mirror down in his gym as inspiration. He actually wasn't as thin/ripped as he wanted to be in the ab area for this show because he got a late start working out/dieting due to his hernia operation. What do you think???? :)

September 11

Dave and I just finished watching a show on the History Channel about September 11. Every year, when the anniversary of that day rolls around, we watch one of the many specials being shown on tv. Every year I'm still as horrified as I was on the day that it happened.

I was at home that morning with a 4 year old and a 6 year old when the phone rang. It was Dave asking if I had seen the news - a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I immediately thought, "Whoa, some airline is in BIG trouble!" I turned the tv channel away from Barney or Sesame Street in time to see the second plane come crashing through the other building. I sat there and watched the news unfold on the Today Show. They had people, just regular people, who were close to the scene who had called in and these people were telling what they had seen and what had happened. I remember one lady, I can't remember if she was on the phone or on camera at the time, talking and all of a sudden saying, "What is that noise? What's that sound?" I'm yelling from my PA living room, "The building's collapsing you idiot! Run!" And then, the giant cloud of gray ash that just kept growing and spreading outward.

I can't even imagine how terrified those people must have been - the ones on the street and the ones in the buildings. I can't imagine having to make the choice that I saw some people make - burn or jump? I can't imagine the bravery and guts it took those firemen to go near those buildings - the ones who went up the stairs when everyone else was running down - hoping that they could help get people out of the buildings alive.

A few weeks later we had gone out to dinner and as we were paying at the cash register my sweet little blond-headed 4 year old saw a picture of the burning buildings on a jar they had there collecting money. He pointed at the picture and looked up at me and said, "Look, Mommy. We saw that movie.........."

Wendi's new list

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Prince Caspian
4. What is your favorite TV show? CSI and House
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? granola bar
6. What is your middle name? Renee
7. What food do you dislike? lima beans
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Matchbox 20/Rob Thomas
9. What kind of car do you drive? Buddy, the black Saturn Aura
10. Favorite sandwich? turkey, colby jack, a little dijon mustard, tomato & pickle on a semi-hard bun
11. What characteristics do you despise? two-facedness; boasting; people who have a superior attitude
12. Favorite item of clothing? tank tops in summer - hooded sweatshirts in winter
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? most definitely on a cruise with the Special Forces :)
14. Favorite brand of clothing? um... I don't shop, so I guess whatever BS buys me! My Levis.
15. Where would you retire? somewhere sunny and warm with NO snow
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? spending the day at Dave & Buster's with BS and the boys
17. Favorite sport to watch? we are not a sport-watching family
18. Furthest place you are sending this? the land of Far, Far Away
19. Person you expect to send it back first? I expect the Special Forces to take this line that has been thrown to them and blog....
20. When is your birthday? Oct. 16
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night
22. What is your shoe size? 7 or 7 1/2
23. Pets? none
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? BS was car number 1 in a 5 car pile up on the street in front of Auto Supermarket this evening! He's not hurt :)
25. What did you want to be when you were little? a teacher
26. How are you today? okay, I went to the chiropractor so now my neck feels better and I don't have a constant, nagging headache
27. What is your favorite candy? Twix
28. What is your favorite flower? all different colored wildflowers
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Big Sexy's birthday
30. What is your full name? Princess Tami Renee Altman Bartholomew
31. What are you listening to right now? I think America's Funniest Home Videos is on in the family room
32. What was the last thing you ate? an English muffin with egg, ham & cheese
33. Do you wish on stars? no
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? orange
35. How is the weather right now? it's a little "nipply" outside
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Big Sexy
37. Favorite soft drink? diet Coke
38. Favorite restaurant? anyplace I don't have to do the cooking, which includes home :)
39. Real hair color? whatever it is now - brown
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? my dress-up clothes and my Barbies with all of the awesome clothes that my great-grandmother made for them
41. Summer or winter? summer
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate
44. Coffee or tea? tea - iced
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? nope, but they'd better blog
46. When was the last time you cried? I don't know. Next time I cry I'll write down the date so I'll have an answer the next time I'm asked this question......
47. What is under your bed? a plastic container with winter jammies/pants in it, some boxes with boots in them, and some stuff I'm not telling you about....
48. What did you do last night? Went to Sam's and Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.
49. What are you afraid of? talking in front of groups of people, having a bunch of people looking at me (think testing)
50. Salty or sweet? salty
51. How many keys on your key ring? 7, but I only know what 6 of them are for!
52. How many years at your current job? 13 years 9 months and counting
53. Favorite day of the week? every day with my loving family ... :P
54. How many towns have you lived in? 3
55. Do you make friends easily? um... it takes me awhile to warm up to people, but once I realize that we're gonna get along, yes, but only those who are worthy :)
56. How many people will you send this to? nobody, but my bloggy friends will see it and do it too
57. How many will respond? all of the Special Forces because they don't want to be losers

Happy 4 Year Anniversary!!!!

Today is the 4 year anniversary of when we moved into our house! I remember the night we came to look at it after weeks of searching. The lock-box on the door wasn't working and we couldn't get inside. We waited around with our realtor until the couple came back and they let us in. We knew immediately that this was our home. Late that night, at around 11:00 p.m., with two very tired children, we signed the papers putting in our offer. The next day we received the call that the house was ours! The boys were most excited about having stairs :)




In other news, I picked up the ring that my grandmother left to me at the jeweler's today. I've had it for years but have never worn it because the band was broken and it was a size+ too large. I realized that keeping it in my jewelry box was rather pathetic and went to have it repaired/sized. They told me that it was so old that it was possible that when they tried to bend the band, it could break in three places - it didn't, but it's still very fragile and I've been warned to wear it only occasionally. Isn't it pretty?



While at the jeweler's I had my wedding rings cleaned and noticed that one of the prongs of my engagement ring had broken off. The jeweler-man checked the other prongs and said that they were very worn down as well and that my setting would need to be replaced. So, I'm glad that I found this out before I lost the diamond, that would have really sucked. Big Sexy is doing research to get me a fancy new ring. He's awesome like that!

Monday, Monday, Monday......

Last Friday, at the end of the school day, the boys assured me that they would complete their art assignment over the weekend. Needless to say, they didn't. So, this morning they weren't allowed any tv, computer, or playstation privileges until the assignment was done. This is a fate possibly worse than death in this household! Let me tell ya... they were BEGGING to do the assignment this morning. Here's a picture of the cherubs completely engrossed in drawing the back yard - they had to be sure to incorporate "texture" into their drawings.

Aren't they just so sweet? Here, we have Camron's finished product. Cam enjoys artsy/craftsy/drawing/creative type things. See the wood stacked at the sides of the shed and the weeping cherry tree on the left :)

Ryan is great at MANY things.... art is not one of them. He will freely admit to anyone who asks that drawing is not his forte. When he shows us his drawings, he is usually laughing hysterically. I figure, in the grand scheme of things, if you can't draw - so what? Some people are good at it, some people can't do it to save their lives (I would be one of these people). So, Ry won't ever be an artist - or a poet - but that's another story altogether....

Jimmy taught the adult TKD class tonight. The way you can tell how good a class was is by the amount of sweating you did and how stinky you are when you leave. Jimmy had us all sweaty and stinky....so, GREAT JOB, JIMMY! Here we have Jimmy leading stretches and bowing us out. I think he liked the power!!!!

SC kissing Jimmy - and other interesting (or not) factoids

The day is almost over... Yippee! My scanner/copier and I spent some not-so quality time together this evening preparing for the upcoming school week. May I just say, for the record, that computers are infuriating inventions. Seriously, I can go from happily typing or scanning with everything working properly, doing what I told it to do, without a care in the world - to needing heavy sedation in a matter of mere seconds. That's enough about that; I don't want to be drawn back into that dark place of fury.....

SC kissing Jimmy. I bet that got your attention, huh? Actually, Jimmy was the name that SC and SB gave to their CPR class mannequin - he had "moobs". Here we were, learning about how to save lives, and SC's bending over Jimmy acting like she was kissing him. It was quite amusing! But really, we did learn something today. Here's SC in action.

I thought I was going to have to put my new skills to use as soon as I got home this afternoon. My neighbor was working outside in his yard when I suddenly heard him scream (it was more like a manly yell, but I needed to add some drama to make it sound better)! It turns out he was just celebrating the Steelers scoring. I guess that's a good thing, I didn't have one of those plastic mouth non-germ transmitter thingies on me anyway.....

Look at my pretty surprise present from SB. She found it at Michael's and colored it for me and everything! Thanks, SB; I have it on my computer desk and see it a billion times a day :)I leave you with this picture of Big Sexy who was, apparently, channeling Jimmy (not the moobed mannequin) at my nephew's birthday party last weekend. My sister asked him to hold the balloons as she was decorating. Then she thought it would be funny to see how long she could get away with having him just sit there, holding these balloons, looking a little slow, while she did other things. It lasted quite awhile.

I'm hooked on Smilebox creations - but you all give me such great material!

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