matriculating and monosyllabic

My son is doing GREAT after his first week of college. How do I know? Because he communicates with me via daily numerous, concise texts. He's been so good at it, I've hardly noticed he's gone.

ME: We came home a different direction than we drove down yesterday.

KEV: Quicker?

ME: Considerably. Maybe 40 miles total, and mostly 4-lane.

KEV: Cool.

ME: Whatcha doing tonight?

KEV: Sleeping.

ME: The a/c went out on the van on the way home last night.

KEV: Serioiusly?

ME: Yep. We've got a hole in the condenser. Going to cost me $500.

KEV: Bummer

ME: Everybody at Reidland missed you this morning.

KEV: Duh.

ME: Whatcha doing this fine Monday night?

KEV: Homework.

ME: How was your second day of college?

KEV: Long.

ME: How were your classes?

KEV: Good

ME: So how was Pickle Ball?

KEV: Cancelled

ME: How's the drinking water at Harding?

KEV: Filtered

ME: The FOG (his softball team) is losing!

KEV: Tuesday?

ME: Yep, tournament finals, and they are getting pummeled.

KEV: Dang.

ME: This is ugly. They're gonna lose.

KEV: FOG!!!

ME: They've pulled back to tie it up!

KEV: Awesome!

ME: They're behind again 8-12 after the 6th inning.

KEV: FOG!!!

ME: They lost. The other team just couldn't miss tonight.

KEV: Dang.

ME: Did you change your online login information to Harding's website?

KEV: No

ME: I can't get on to pay tuition. Do I have the information right?

KEV: Yep

ME: Well, their system is having issues. It won't accept the bank's routing number and they don't take VISA.

KEV: Great.

ME: Hey, sometime over the weekend I want to hear about your first week.

KEV: Sure

ME: What did you do on your lovely Saturday off?

KEV: Laundry

ME: What are your plans for tonight??

KEV: B DUB

ME: Oh my goodness. Seven days and you have to have hot wings and big screen ballgames. *BDUB is boy language for Buffalo Wild Wings.

KEV: :p

ME: Text your mommy!!!

KEV: Why?

ME: Cause she misses you and wants to hear about stuff!

KEV: Why?

ME: Cause she loves you and misses you!!!

KEV: Why?

ME: You're a pain.

KEV: Yep. :)

And, really, what else do I need to know?

the reason we stopped here . . .

I've been doing an outSTANDing job of drinking lots of water. Really, quite proud of myself. However, when traveling, as in the 5 hour drive Thursday to take my son to college and the 5 hour drive Friday to return home, the frequent and necessary stops caused by the excessive H2O intake turned the 5-hour drive into a 5:45 drive.

At one point, after crossing my legs for so long I could no longer feel my toes, we made a pee stop at an Arkansas "Speed and Seed" (Gas AND Farm Supplies). At $3.39 a gallon, we decided to go ahead and gas up Eddie van Honda. When I looked into the rear-view mirror, I couldn't help but laugh. Clearly, I stopped in the right place.

time to cut the cord already

"That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like scratch you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be."

(Those of you who know me, get the humor here. Creepiest children's book EVER. But I do hope Harding University has accessible ladders near the dorm so I can climb into Kevie-poo's room when he gets homesick for his mommy, and scratch his hairy man legs. I'm just sayin'.)

The "cutting the cord" blog post is coming soon. . . as soon as I can manage it without uncontrollable weeping. :)

Bad Habits - 26 and counting down

Okay, so last month's "not eating out" challenge went pretty well. Not perfectly, mind you, as friends brought me Chik-fil-A for lunch one day, and since there was the accompanying Polynesian sauce, consumption occurred. There was also an additional lunch date with the lovely Kayla, one of our teenage girls who was my slave-for-a-day and it would have been rude to release my slave and send her home without a Kirchhoff's Gyro and some Bubble Tea. But overall, I took my lunch to work every day for a month and I cooked. Not a lot, but enough that my son got Chicken Enchiladas and Seafood Nachos and seemed content.

This month . . . well, this month started crazy and hasn't slowed for one second. In the last 9 days I have: run errands for my friends who left for Africa, had a slumber party for Emily and Titus, drove these same friends to Chicago, toured Chicago for 3 days: Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium, Bubba Gump's, the 'Bean', the Shakespeare Theater, Gino's Pizza, and took Kevin to see the Smurfs Blue Man Group. Packed, unpacked, went to Cohen's FIRST birthday party, ordered Kevin's textbooks (university bookstore price $515, Half.com price $230) completed all his financial stuff for school, had a 3-hour doula meeting, attended the Back-to-School Bash with our teens, church, work, bills, watched all the videos Kacey sent of Mayah being cute, and finally managed to wash the sheets on my bed a week past due, all while not scratching a nasty case of poison ivy AND juggling 11 games of Words with Friends on my iPod (which led to meeting a new friend and fellow-nerd, Bernie from British Columbia, who is wordy and witty and beats me more than I beat him. But that's a blog topic for another day.)

Anyhoo . . . this puts me 9 days late beginning a new month of self-improvement. And since I didn't start improving myself on time, I don't see the point in starting now. Who needs a better me anyway?

Just kidding.

Month 26 is (drum roll. You will be SO shocked by this one): WATER. As in drinking it. Lots of it. On a daily basis. Apparently people do this and it's supposedly good for you. So, I start tomorrow and will hope this one sticks permanently. Haha. Yeah, right.

goodbye summer blog header . . .

steph and nonsense

AS A KID, WERE YOU A LEGO BUILDER?
Nah, but I faithfully stacked up the napkin rings on the table after every Thanksgiving dinner
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "REALITY TV"?
RE diculous
DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?
No, but I chew on pen caps, which is why I'm a fan of "clicky" pens with no caps
DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?
Yes, but my sheet music gets wet
ANY SECRET TALENTS?
Word Games. But that’s not really a secret.
WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL VACATION SPOT?
Scotland. Italy. Morocco. Australia. North to Alaska.
HAVE YOU EATEN SUSHI LATELY?
Well, Mike just had a birthday so . . . MMMM
DO YOU GIVE A DARN ABOUT THE OZONE?
Of course, but does it really give a darn about me?
HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP?
28 . . . more if you have a small tongue
CAN YOU SING THE ALPHABET BACKWARDS?
Yep. Learned how from Big Bird when I was a wee little lass.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE?
16 times, I think. Pretty sure it wasn't the same plane.
ARE SPEEDOS HOT?
Only when they are fresh out of the dryer.
WHAT'S YOUR STAND ON HUNTING?
Don’t shoot me, I won’t shoot you
WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO?
Chlorine, cats (mildly), and something that blooms around here in the spring.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID, "I LOVE YOU"
To whom? You? "I love you." There. Just now.
DO YOU CRY AT WEDDINGS?
Depends . . . are they showing "The Notebook" during the reception?
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?
Scrambled in some chicken fried rice, and eaten right before SUSHI!
WHERE DOES THE OTHER SOCK END UP?
In my drawer-full of imaginary puppet friends. But I have no idea how they got there.
WHAT TIME IS IT?
Where are you?
DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
My mom calls me "George". Seriously. My daughter calls me "madre" and "Mawmy". My son calls me "WOMAN!" My niece and nephew (and now Titus) call me "Stephie". People I don't know call me, "Hey you!"
IS SANTA CLAUS REAL?
Yeah, just don’t tell my kids . . . he never brought them anything.
CRUNCHY OR CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER?
Cheese
HAVE YOU EVER RIDDEN IN AN AMBULANCE?
Not for fun
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BRUSHED YOUR TEETH TODAY?
So far, once more than I've flossed
ARE YOU WEARING SOCKS?
Yeah, but they came out of the "imaginary puppet friends" drawer and the button eyes are rubbing blisters on my toes.
HAVE YOU EVER HITCH HIKED?
Not without my Guide to the Galaxy!
ARE YOU PSYCHIC?
Am I psychic? Is that what you're thinking? I don't think so.
DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?
Piano/keyboard, clarinet, tenor sax, and air cymbals everytime I hear the Star Spangled Banner.
DO YOU LIKE CAMPING?
Yep. But only if we pitch our tent inside the Hyatt Place.
DO U SNORT WHEN U LAUGH?
Occasionally. But very ladylike snorts.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
Sure. I hear that Dwight Howard guy in Orlando is pretty darn good.
CAN YOU MOONWALK?
Are you kidding? I can’t even bob my head.
WHAT'S THE MOST ANNOYING TV COMMERCIAL?
Pudding Face
DO YOU WEAR NAILPOLISH?
Most of the time, but usually just on my fingernails and toenails.