Yesterday, Mother’s Day, the kids and I went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch. My mission was to get fatstuffedfull on the salad bar. Mission accomplished!

On the way home Davey exclaimed, “I don’t wanna go home!”

I asked him, knowing the answer, “Where do you wanna go?”

He quickly responded, “My park!”

“Ok,” I said, “but first Mama’s gotta go pee-pee at the house.”

Upon pulling into our driveway I spotted the kids across the street.

{Light bulb moment}

Why not ask the parents if their kids could come with us?

So, I did. And, they did.

Afterward we stopped at the grocery store and I bought some ice cream to treat the kids to, at home.

Messy, sticky, big laughter, and playing.

It was Mother’s Day.

Back in 2004 Michael got this camera, a Fujifilm S5000.  I didn’t get to know the camera until the winter of 2005/2006.  Before that I had taken a teeny-tiny break from taking pictures because the little point-and-shoot Fuji cam that I was using  was “kind of” broken.  Well, when I say “kind of” broken, I mean to say that I left it in my bag, during a visit to Pumpkinville with my parents, along with a couple of candy apples.   The candy apples kind of melted and got into the cameras buttons and, well, I tried to clean it, but it was never the same. That was the fall that I went blond for all of four minutes.

Continue reading Paying it Forward »

While perusing the local candy store, with Michael, during one of our Christmas shopping excursions I experienced a bit of childhood nostalgia.

“Look at these, Michael!  I’m getting these for the kids’ stockings!” I excitedly exclaimed as I held up three boxes of bubble gum cigarettes.

I have a distinct memory of going to the five-and-dime and buying all sorts of candy, these being one of them.   We’d sit around our fort chomping on the candy versions as well as blowing the smoke out of the bubble gum ones.   Most of our parents smoked and we said we’d never do the real ones, but we still thought there was some glamour to it.  I think deep down we all just wanted to be like Mommy and Daddy.

The kids had no idea what they were when they found them in their stockings.

“Oh look, I have Lucky gum.”

“I have Victory candy!”

“Well mine have a cowboy on them.”

“But, guys, do you know what they are?”

“They’re candy, Mama.”

“Well, look at them!”

Then they all started to pose with their “smokes” and we all had some good laughs.    The big laugh was when Benny sang, “I’m a joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toger.”   (There is even video of this!)

After I showed Michael the picture of Benny, on my camera, he said something about how that picture could have been taken in Macedonia.   Then yesterday Olivia told me that she noticed something funny about her Lucky Lights .

“Mama, these cig’rets are made in Macedonia!”

“Really?!”

And sure enough.  They were.

These are going to become regulars, along with matchbox cars, in the kids’ stockings.   However, if I ever find out that this was their gateway to the real deal I will definitely bust some noggins.  Believe that!

Confection #1:  Mrs. Prindable’s chocolate and caramel and totally-yummy covered pretzels and apples.  Obviously my mother is making these things a tradition, but the kids don’t seem to mind.

Confection #2:  Mini Petits Fours, from Figi’s Gifts in Good Taste, given to us by Miss Beverly.  They came in the mail yesterday and were accompanied by some Caramel Pecan Clusters, a little Christmas ornament, and that red ornament-shaped magnet that I took my self portrait in for Weekly Winners, yesterday!

Confection #3:   One crappy Ginerbread House Kit from Walmart.  Nine dollars down the drain.  The candy was stale.  *And the icing tasted like butt.

Visit Mishelle Lane Photography for one more confectionery treat!

*For the record: I do not know what butt tastes like.  I can only assume that the icing tastes like butt.  Get it?  Assume.  Butt.  Ha Ha Ha!