Some Random Lady’s Blog…

So in the past few days this happened:

1. McDaniel came home from being with friends with a story.

One of her friends explained that her dad very oddly told her to read “some random lady’s blog” the other night. Turns out, the dad was one of the firefighters AT OUR HOUSE the other Sunday night and he wanted his daughter to know it. I guess he is not allowed to discuss where and what he does on fire runs but because I was the “some random lady’s blog” and made the information public, he was free to discuss it. 

Apparently, he thought Monte trying to pass off as Urban Meyer 

was COMPLETE COMIC GOLD.

2. We went to see "McFarland, USA".

It’s fantastic! Great family movie. I love a good sports movie that makes me actually interested in sports I could care less about:  like “Miracle” did for hockey, “Field of Dreams” for baseball 

and “Rocky” for the brutal world of boxing.

McFarland is about a high school cross country team in a poor community. But so much more. 

I cried big, happy, inspired tears. We all did. The best part is that it is a true story. 

Go see it!

3. McDaniel turned 16.

Ellie had an entire “surprise McDaniel for her birthday plan" that involved her, Monte and I secretly blowing up balloons and shoving them in trash bags and trying to find a place to hide them when half the house is taped off in preparation for the wood floors to be finished.

Ellie also spent most of the afternoon writing notes and putting them in different colored envelopes that she taped onto McDaniel’s door early in the morning on her birthday.

She also had me write “Happy Birthday, McDaniel!” 

on the bathroom mirror in lipstick.

I regretted using red because after a few days 

it seemed to be more of a sarcastic, murderous threat 

than happy wish.

Showering the birthday girl with balloons.

Didn’t realize until I saw the picture that she taped the envelopes to form “16”.

McDaniel chose not to have a party and just wanted a low key dinner with just us at a grilled cheese place called Melt.

The menu was intense with macaroni and fried green tomatoes as filler options for their grilled cheese sandwiches.

I got a chicken pot pie grilled cheese.

You know what’s weird when you bite into a sandwich? 

Having a green pea squirt out. 

Also, I picked off the pie crust--

too much with all the bread.

It was delicious.

Monte got the Monte Cristo (of course). He opted to have it DEEP FRIED with powdered sugar on top. He said it was like having a funnel cake sandwich.

That belongs at a fair.

McDaniel invented her own sandwich.

Ellie got some sloppy buffalo chicken which caused her to fill the entire table with used napkins.

This is definitely a place where you will take home leftovers.

Ellie and McDaniel playing Pac Man before we leave.

McDaniel takes her driving test this weekend…

4. Our new hardwood floors are getting finished.

Which means we don’t have access to our basement which means we can’t use the bathroom down there and are ALL sharing one. 

Which is fun. 

Not really. 

And we also didn’t think this all through and our only printer is downstairs and it seems the girls need ALL THE FORMS printed out and signed for school. 

Come on…

5. Our basement flooded.

Yes, the one day that we got rain this week (yet we still have snow on the ground), 

we got water in our basement. 

Monte happened to check down there before he left for out of town and before the hardwoods were finished because he’d noticed how much the sump pump had been running. 

Thank goodness he did! 

We moved all we could to drier areas in the basement which was tough since we’ve been using the basement as a holding ground for all the new light fixtures, chairs and a SUPER SIZED TV that has been purchased for the new space. 

Right now, as I type, our carpet and padding has been ripped up, there is a hole in the wall of my craft room with a fan blowing on the wet insulation and our builder Paul is investigating outdoor trench draining options to prevent future leaks. 

All while the hardwood guy does his thing with our new space.

Monte called the insurance company and was told because the leak 

didn’t come from INSIDE the house, 

we aren’t covered. 

For the love of Pete!

6. McDaniel’s eyes keep swelling.

For the 2nd morning in a row, McDaniel has sent me pictures of her swollen eyes 

from her 1st period study hall.

Nice bubble.

Ouch.

It has to be the make up remover wipes she uses. 

Or there is a hidden cat roaming around the Learning Center where she has study hall.

I can’t even imagine chewing gum at school 

let alone taking a picture of myself blowing a bubble 

and sending it to my mom DURING CLASS.

Which makes me sound old. 

See #7.

7. I have to get reading glasses.

The eye doctor told me yesterday to not look at it as getting older 

but to look at it as a problem bending light. 

Apparently I can’t bend light like I used to.

8.  THIS

No matter how much I reassured, 

Nigel could NOT figure out that the dog in the mirror was HIM.

Even after I pointed out that “the other dog" was 

wearing the exact same too-small shirt.

But who am I to judge? 

I called the fire department because I thought a toy was going to explode when the real ticking time bomb 

was a water soaked basement.

Is it possible to actually bleed money?