9-26-06 POW

Hello all, and welcome to FALL!!! No, I'm not happy about it. I LIKE wearing shorts and I LIKE soaking up the sun at the wave pool and I LIKE going to the beach! Oh well, you can't appreciate the "warm" until you experience the "cold", right? I'm REALLY going to appreciate the warm when it gets back. Ha!

OK, first things first. It worked...again. I took a picture of the boyfriend and now he's gone. This one lasted 3 weeks, so if you are trying to store Matthew's name in your memory bank -- delete it. He was too busy with football and all so he broke up with Sidney last Thursday. I didn't find out until Saturday. Moms are always the last to know. "Why didn't you tell me???". She looked at me with a very serious face, "well, I told Ashley who told Miss Janie who I'm pretty sure told Miss Joy who told Jonathan who, he denies it but I know he did, told Elise who I THOUGHT would tell you!! Gosh, make me do everything!"...and storms off to her room. Gee, sorry I asked!
Recognize the girl with Alyssa? You'll get to know her. I have a feeling she's going to be mentioned a lot this year. This is the one and only Hayley, once again. Oh, she corrected my spelling of her name. There are two "Y's" to not confuse her with any other girls with a similar name. Yeah, like that could ever happen. OK, so, anyone who knows anything at all about Alyssa knows that for some reason Halloween is by far her favorite holiday and always has been. She goes nuts over it and starts planning next year's the day after THIS year's! This year sounds like it could be quite the social event here in Greensboro. This picture was taken in Hayley's back yard which, over the next few weeks, will be transformed into "Halloween Central". We'll call this photo "BEFORE". Hayley's mom, who stays home with the 4 kids (one in diapers - God love her) somehow got conned into having a party in the back yard on Saturday October 28th. It will be a costume party for 50 of their closest friends (I don't even have 50 closest friends!) and it will be by invitation only. They have even gone so far as to assign a doorman to check invitations. If you attempt to enter the party without an invitation there will be consequences! More on that as it develops.

Saturday I had to work 5-2. Not a bad day, but lots of "down time" for the girls, which can be bad. Around noon or so my cell phone rings in my pocket. "Sidney" is on the caller ID. This could be anything. "Mommy, guess what Ashley and I are going to do?". Many things came to mind, but I answered with "throw eggs at Matthew's house?". She laughed, "NO! We're still friends. Besides, I just found out that one of the other guys on the football team thinks I'm HOT!". I interrupted her. "You are 13 and my daughter. You are NOT HOT! You can't go out with him, I don't care who he is." More laughter. "No, really, Ashley and I came up with a great idea, but I'm afraid to tell you about it because you're too practical and you'll shoot it down." I told her that I was crushed and close to tears over that statement (not really). She laughed and proceeded to tell me about it. "Ashley turns 18 in 3 1/2 years, right? Anyway, she wants a Ford Escape for her 18th birthday and we're going to drive it around the United States. We want to go on the outside and take, like, a month or so to do it! What do you think!!"

Long pause. OK, she had me. I am too practical and would most likely shoot it down for more reasons than I could count, but I was bound and determined to prove her wrong. I floored her: "Cool!", I said. "The first thing to do is to make a list of the cities you want to make sure you go through. That way you can map your route out easier. Next, get a map and take markers to actually draw out the route, using alternate colors to show changes in days. How neat!" She was speechless. "I have to work a few more hours, but I'll help you with it all afternoon when I get home, OK???". Still speechless. She wasn't expecting support. Ha!!! See if you can click on the picture with the cities listed on it. "The Mall of America" didn't surprise me, but Cape Cod did. Sounds like an outside influence to me!

When I got home I worked with them for over an hour. It was actually fun! I "suggested" to them different routes to take (only when asked, of course!) and helped them come up with a reasonable amount of time/miles to drive each day. They were so surprised that I was being so supportive and helpful! Ashley kept saying, "My parents think we're crazy and won't help us." I said nothing, only smiled.

They asked me about the different cities and what there was to see both there and on the way TO them. As you can see, the White-Out was used a few times. They wanted to go to the Dakotas, but not for any particular reason. I told them about Mt. Rushmore and got apathetic stares for a response. Ashley spoke first, "well, you see, this is a FUN trip and that would be too much, like, history and school. Ya know?". I smiled. No problem.

After spending 20 minutes on MapQuest I came back and threw some numbers at them, trying not to be negative or "practical". Don't laugh, we're being supportive, right??? Here it is in a nutshell: this trip is roughly 11,457 miles to be driven in 24 days (don't laugh, we're being supportive, right?) totaling 186 hours of driving. Ha!! (sorry, that slipped out). The rough estimate for gas in vehicle getting 30 mpg through mountains and all (don't laugh, we're being supportive, right?) at about $2.50 a gallon (don't laugh....you know the rest) comes to $950 or so. Food? They're going to get groceries and eat at Subway, they tell me. Let's say $20 a day for food (ha! - oops). Add $500 to the total to EAT. Lodging? Laughter met my suggestion to stay with relatives along the way. No!!! They're going to camp. They looked at each other and came up with $30 a night for campgrounds. There's another $720.

Just when they thought they were done expensing this trip I threw this at them. "Ashley, I'm pretty sure that your parents aren't going to be too happy about you putting over 11,000 miles on a new vehicle in one summer. That's almost the amount you should put on a car for the entire year!". Their faces fell. Mom to the rescue. "Why don't you get on Orbitz and check out the price of RENTING an SUV with unlimited mileage for a month?". The smiles were back and they ran to the computer. Not long after that they came back with a total of about $1000 for a monthly rental. They were so excited, I didn't have the heart to tell them that, even though I suggested it, you couldn't rent a car when you are 18. OK, here's the route. If you live ANYWHERE near the roughly sketched tour in the year 2010, look out! My last question is: how long do you think it will be before they kill each other? Ha! Now you know, Christmas and birthday ideas for Sidney: money! Try clicking on this picture to see the route better. I hope it works!

Have a great day,
Amy and the girls

9-19-06 POW

Hello all!
It's been a week since I wrote, and boy....has it been a week! The girls and I tried (unsuccessfully) to get to Michigan this weekend, but I guess it wasn't in the cards. Mac, Amanda, Kameron and Kadence were home on leave and we really wanted to see them! I even brought my "nice" camera with me with hopes of taking some really nice photos. Instead we got to see the Cincinnati airport for more hours than we cared to and a so-so Days Inn not far from there. I pouted for the rest of the day and then got over it. The girls were sad, too, because they were looking forward to meeting Kadence, my new niece who I haven't even met!!! Joyce assured me that she took lots of pictures and would eventually send them my way.

Instead of visiting family, we had someone sleep over (of course...it's a weekend!!). This time it was Hailey. You may or may not remember Hailey. She was Alyssa's "best" friend until she moved away last July. They rented out their house here and Dad took a job in Phoenix (where Morgan moved to --it must be the city to move to if you are a friend of Alyssa's). It didn't work out so they moved back here, into their old house. Alyssa was thrilled! If you still don't remember her, here's an excerpt from a POW last June:

Alyssa had a little friend spend the night last night. A new one. This one's name is Hailey. She's actually a very nice girl. She has long, naturally curly hair and is built just like Alyssa. I had never had her over at the house, I'd only seen her at lunch during my monthly visit to the school to eat with Alyssa. She seemed harmless enough, so she was invited over. I made the suggestion that we have tacos last night and when asked, met with Hailey's approval. She said she was trying to eat healthier, but since tacos had meat, cheese and some vegetables, she guessed it would be OK. My blank stare at this diet-conscious 8 year old didn't even phase her. Instead, I made sure to drain ALL of the fat off the ground beef. My next eye raising encounter with her came halfway through eating. She and Alyssa were talking and Lys said, "Can you believe that Taylor still likes Austin??" (both parties named are also 8 years old). Trying to be the cool mom by fitting in I ask, "Why is that a bad thing?". Hailey, with her still-serious face, scrunches her eyebrows and politely says, "Well, he's rather unfortunate looking, that's all".
I think I shot salsa out through my nose with that. I coughed down a laugh and said, "what??". She repeated it: "He's rather unfortunate looking". My confused stare prompted her to continue, almost in a whisper: "We're not allowed to say the 'U' word at home". Alyssa though about that for a second and asked, "doesn't 'unfortunate' start with a 'U' ?" I laughed. "I think she means the word 'ugly'. She can't say that word." She nodded and went on chatting. I liked this kid. She talked about her three brothers next, politely describing all of them...until she got to her oldest brother (he's 10). "I think he's incorrigible", and keeps eating. Alyssa, this time, shoots something out through her nose. "He's that bad?", she says. This time I look at both of them in disbelief. I'm dumbfounded! I had to look up the spelling of "incorrigible" just to put it in this letter! "Alyssa," I ask, "how in the world do you know what that word means when I can't even spell it???". She looks at me with a matter-of-fact look and says, "It was in The Sound of Music. One of the VonTrapp children, when introducing himself to Maria, says that the last governess called him 'incorrigible'. I just figured it was a bad thing since they were talking about a boy." Who can argue with that logic? When dinner was over I asked my usual question: Did everyone get enough to eat? Hailey smiles, holding an empty plate and says, "Oh, yes. That was quite satisfying. Thank you." I'm guessing that she got the word-a-day calendar for Christmas...and is using it!

Do you remember her now? That is Hailey and let me just say.....BOY, HAS SHE EVER CHANGED IN A YEAR'S TIME!!! Wow. I first noticed it at breakfast (I was at the sink washing dishes - I haven't pawned that off on any child yet) when we talked about the trip we'd be taking to the mall that day. She said she'd like to buy some earrings today, but not anything too ugly. UGLY!!! I spun around, wide eyed, and said, "Hailey, you said 'ugly'!!". She looked at me as if I had 3 heads. "So?". I turned back to my dishes. Wow!

The next shocker came while listening to them "get ready" in the bathroom. Hailey was putting on her mascara (yes, mascara) and stated that she liked to buy her makeup from Bath and Body works because they didn't test their products on animals. She proceeded to put on several layers of color (with much expertise, I might add) and said she was ready for her next photo. Here it is! The last thing that happened (which made me REALLY notice the change) was on the way to the mall. We went to a mall that was about an hour away (because they have a Nordstrom's), so naturally the radio was playing for a long time. I let the girls pick the station (I had sucked down a handful of Advil anticipating this) and they didn't let me down. Yes, all the music that parents just VOMIT when they hear it came through my speakers, and shockingly....Hailey knew all the words and was singing (rapping) at the top of her little voice. One song in particular made me laugh out loud -- in disbelief. It was at that moment that I realized that nothing is sacred. They took a perfectly innocent children's song and mutilated it. Here's a link to it, and make sure your speakers are turned on. It will start playing after the commercial. You won't believe it: http://www.blastro.com/player/jibbschainhanglow.html

That being said (what is happening to today's youth???), here are a few pictures from Ryan's tree. He would be 30 today and I would probably laugh at him and call him old! Rember how, when we were little kids, we though that people who were 30 were ANCIENT!!! Ha! Sorry this one of Sidney is blurry. She wanted to show off the new colors on her braces. The rubberbands are now navy and silver, her school's colors. She still loves them!

Here is a shot from the street to show you how full the branches are. Doesn't it look great?

A few more of the tree and I'll close this up. The first on is from last February and the other is present day. Hasn't the trunk gotten thick??? Have a good week and we'll chat again soon!

Love to all,

Amy and the girls

9-13-06 POW

Hello all and welcome to a new week! This one has been fun, as they all are, so let me tell you some of the things we've done this week. I had parent meetings at both schools to prepare us for the upcoming (expensive) field trips (get out of school excuses) that are scheduled this year. As you may remember, within all of the papers I signed on the first day of school I agreed to send (pay for) Alyssa to go to Williamsburg, VA in October and for Sidney to visit (with black market bone marrow sales) Disneyworld in Orlando in January. The parent meetings were quite predictable, but different - in a funny way. The blue lettering will be Alyssa's class trip meeting, the red will be Sidney's.

OK, parents. We just want you to know that all school rules apply to this trip as it is considered a school function and we must follow the rules set by Guilford County (where we live). There will be NO electronics, DVD players, cell phones, ipods or gameboys allowed on the bus.
OK, parents. It's a long bus ride, 10 hours to Orlando from here so give them anything they need to be happy. Cell phones, ipods, gameboys, DVD players or whatever. Just remember, if they lose it they are out of luck.

You will need to pack a bag lunch and snack for your child and we would prefer the healthy type. It is a 6 hour trip and we won't be stopping for food. Coolers will be available for the fruit and juices in their lunches.
Pack a lunch, whatever will fill them up. If you send them with 6 cans of Coke it's not a problem. They will be on a bus and they can only ping off of the walls in a small area for so long. They will eventually come down from the "sugar high" and sleep.

Chaperones must fill out the "background check" forms before the end of next week. All forms will be sent to the Police Headquarters downtown and hopefully will be back within the month. They have advised us that it may take up to 4 weeks. Nobody will be allowed to chaperone without first passing the background check. There will be one chaperone for every 3 children.
OK, parents, we need more of you to volunteer. In fact, on the morning we leave you suddenly are available to go we'll throw you on the bus. We will have about 250 8th graders and will need at least one chaperone of same sex for every 7 kids. We don't do background checks on our parents.

Each room will have one chaperone and 3 kids. You will be given the cell phone number for the chaperone who ends up with your child and can call whenever you feel you need to. They will never be out of the sight of the chaperone.
Seven kids and one chaperone will be divided into 2 rooms. We will tape the outside of the doors of the room with no chaperone so the two security guards we've hired to patrol the halls all night will be able to tell when the door has been opened. There will also be two teachers patrolling the halls on 4 hour shifts during the night, so tell your kids that if they try anything it better be good!

Pretty funny, huh? I teased both girls and told them I was going to chaperone their trips. Alyssa was horrified and begged me not to, while Sidney thought it would be fun. Strange, I thought it would be the other way around. I told Alyssa I wasn't going to go because I'd be in ABQ (remember? I'm not spelling that city anymore...) and I told Sidney if she would come up with my $500 and a way to not have to ride the bus home from Orlando (they are driving through the night) I would consider it. I told her that Delta flew nonstop from Orlando to Greensboro and that's probably where she'd find me if I went.

On to the pictures. This one is of Alyssa designing her campaign poster. As you can see she is running for Vice President of her classroom. She was the class representative for the last two years and feels she is now ready to move on to a new level. I was impressed. I asked her why she wanted to be on the student council again and she told me , "because you get to miss part of class one day a month for the meeting". I wasn't surprised by that answer. I asked her why she wanted to be Vice President, how she picked that position to run for, and she said it was "because she didn't know what the treasurer did, she doesn't write well so 'secretary' was out, and Hailey wanted to be President so that only left Vice President". Gee, that sounds logical, huh? She asked me to help her with her campaign speech which had be a no longer than 2 minutes and at least 1 1/2 pages when written/typed out. We opted for "typed" and double spaced the thing. We had been working on it for about an hour when Sidney came into the room. "Let me hear what you've got so far". OK. Lys started reading and I watched for signs of approval on Sidney's face. Instead I got stares of disbelief and horror, especially when Alyssa read, "I realize that the student council is truly the voice of the students and an integral part of the school...." Hmmm....maybe I helped too much...... ha!

This next picture is one of my favorites. I call it the "coming of age" picture. I told both girls that when they started 8th grade they would officially take over the DINNER DISHES!!! Yea!!! I told them they were getting off easy, that Heather and I started when I was in 6th grade. Remember that, Mom? Heather and I would alternate the duties: "Food put away, first rinse, wash, rinse, dry, put away" and we would leave the room when the other was in doing their job. It maintained a certain level of....serenity... in the house, so to speak. Ha! I've gone easy on Sidney so far, although she has asked me to make homemade lasagna for them. One night doing THOSE dishes and she'll never ask for it again!!!

Have a good rest of the day and we'll talk again next week!

Take care,

Amy and the girls

9-7-06 POW

Hello all, we're back and as promised..... a shorter POW.

This week is truly a treat for all of you: you get to see a picture of Sidney's new boyfriend. Oh, I've been corrected: he's not new -- they've been going out a whole week, so that takes him out of the "new" category. His name is Matthew and he lives around the corner from us. He's in 8th grade, plays football and basketball and is VERY nice. Sidney asked me the other day what it was I liked about Matthew. My answer? "He smiles a lot and is not afraid to talk to me". Some other slow week I'll have to tell you about boyfriend #2 who only lasted only a week or so this summer. His name was Luke. And.....we all remember boyfriend #1 from January's POW. His name was Weston, but I teased her and refered to him as Weldon. Soon, she was calling him Weldon. Ha!! They broke up (online) several times over the 4 months they were together and finally threw in the towel sometime in February. My plan worked. I took his picture and made him disappear! I hope it doesn't happen to Matthew. Funny, I never took a picture of Luke and he went away.....

School is getting fun. Remember the math problems I used to share with you from Sid's math class? Those were nothing compared to this year. Yikes! If I can find one of her worksheets online I'll send you the link one of these times. I tell you, Geometry was a LONG time ago and I'm still having to scrape the cobwebs out of the 'ole memory banks to help her. It's just a matter of time before I give up!


One last picture before I let you go. This one was taken at Mimi's house (Dean's mom - Fran) over the summer when they flew to Arkansas for a visit. Sidney likes this picture because she's taller than Mimi in it and Alyssa likes it because her hair is still long. I like it because everyone has a nice smile!! Papa John didn't get to be in it, though. I'm guessing it's because he was BEHIND the camera!

That's all for now. I hope you all have a good week and we'll talk to you again soon.

Take care,
Amy and the girls