My new sunglasses
Last time I went for an eye exam (2 years ago) my dr. insisted that I get perscription sunglasses because my eyes are blue and were starting to look hazy. Needless to say, I didn’t buy them. Instead, I bought 2 pair of regular glasses. I couldn’t afford a third pair. So, today I went back and he said that my eyes are sun damaged and I am 5 years away from cataracts…um, whaaaat? Cataracts? Yeah, so, needless to say, I ordered a pair of really cool shades and as of Wednesday, you won’t find me outside without them.
Jake, who has always needed glasses, but only a little bit, thus his refusal to wear them, had his eyes checked. With one eye, he couldn’t see the E. Yes, I said the E!!! One eye is 400 and one eye is 100 (or around that). And, with his lovely baby blues, he also needs shades, so we got him a pair that has those magnetized sunglasses that pop on. Expect pictures in a few days!
My son, the scholar
Jake was inducted into the Jr Beta Club last week. Go Jake!
Here is the whole group of 6th graders who got into the club.
Jake with his best friends:
Jake & Zane
Jake & Ahmed
Jake & John
My lovely weekend
Yes, I know it was 27 degrees at times, but my weekend was wonderful because my very best friend, Lesley and her little boy, Giovanni, came in town for 3 days. We packed a lot into those three days!
First, I took off work on Friday and we went to The Flying Biscuit, my very favorite breakfast spot. I had my favorite- eggs on top of love cakes (black bean corn cakes) smothered in tomatillo sauce, sour cream and feta cheese, with a side of grits and flying biscuits with cranberry apple butter of course.
Lesley had her first fried green tomatoes, which were covered with goat cheese-yum! G had oatmeal pancakes which had a very strange texture from the oatmeal, but were totally addicting!
Here is G in the restaurant.
Then, we headed over to Perimeter mall. I haven’t been there in ages- it is so nice. I was pretty peeved that they don’t have a Hollister. I mean, really. Who the heck doesn’t have a Hollister?? That was the main reason for me going to the mall- Christmas presents of Hollister t-shirts (on sale of course) for Jake. But, finding my new favorite store, Anthropologie, made it all worth while. I’ve decided that if I ever win the lottery, I’m just going to buy the whole store.
After that, we head home to take the kids to their birthday dinner- Japanese steakhouse, of course. Bailey turned 9 on the 13th and Jake turned 12 on Monday. The kids had fun with the warm hand towels.
…about Dave’s head…I’ll just leave you with “stupid human trick” and you can use your own imagination…
This was Giovanni’s first time at a hibachi and I was kind of concerned. I shouldn’t have been- he had a blast! This was the look on his face the whole night.
Our hibachi chef was quite funny. He even posed for me!
I also had the best drink I’ve ever had. Seriously. You know how much I love lychees. They are absolutely my favorite thing. My favorite fruit, my favorite drink (which I can only find at the Asian market), my favorite candy (again- Asian market only) my favorite flavor of all time. Well, new to America is Soho Lychee Liquor. Yee haw! They made a drink there with it and it was just lychee yumminess. Next time I go, I’m making them give me the recipe. Here is the loveliness which is my new favorite beverage.
After that, we headed over to my mom and dad’s house to drop Jake off to spend the night. They brought out their bin of ooooold McDonald’s toys and we all had fun. I think Lesley and I had more fun than the kids!
The next day we headed out to Stone Mountain Christmas. Lesley just couldn’t get over how amazing Stone Mountain was!
It is pretty darn cool!
Here are my goofballs.
This would have been a cool Christmas card, had Jake not made a silly face.
After walking around the Christmas village for a little bit, we decide to go up the mountain on one of these.
Jake keeps telling me he doesn’t want to go up and can’t understand why he can’t just wait in the car. LOL By the time we get in line, he is hysterical- he is sobbing, hitting me and calling me an idiot. Um, yeah. My response? Suck it up, be a man, you.are.going.on.the.skytram. Here he is halfway up the mountain.
We made it to the top!
There is nothing like a sunset on top of a mountain!
Jake LOVED running around the top- it looks like the surface of the moon.
So, we’re ready to ride down and somehow, Jake talks Lesley into hiking down with him while Bailey and I take G town on the Skytram. Great idea, right? Sure, the hike wasn’t bad. But, the fact that it took them around the other side of the park and they had to walk miles back to the Christmas Village was just not in the plans. So, an hour later, with wobbly legs, they finally find us!
And then my camera dies…
If you have kids and you haven’t gone to Stone Mountain Christmas yet, I recommend it. The village is adorable, the Christmas Train ride was great, unfortunately we didn’t get to see the 4-D Polar Express, but we’ll get that next time. The best part was the Snow Angel show at the end- fireworks, snow (soap suds) falling from the sky and a real flying Snow Angel- she was actually flying above us- held up by wires. It was very cool!
The next day, they went home and I cried, as always.
Orthopedic fun
I took Jake to the orthopedic surgeon today to have his out-turned feet assessed (tibial torsion). His left foot is in the normal range of facing outward, his right foot is not. Basically we have to decide if we want to do surgery. We don’t have to decide now, as it won’t get any better, but it also will not get any worse. He could have the surgery now or he could have it when he’s 30- it doesn’t matter. Either way, with or without surgery, he’s not at risk for any problems in his knees and hips like arthritis. The surgery would consist of cutting through the tibia, rotating the foot into the correct position and reattatching the bone with screws and plates. He’d be in a cast for 8 weeks and then a year later, they would go back in and remove the plates and screws. After talking, Dave and I have decided to let him make the decision. Dave thinks we should just wait until he’s old enough to pay for it himself. (joke!) But then again, if we do it now, Jake will finally be able to do the hokey pokey and shake it all about. Lately I’ve realized that is what I love most about my husband- his ability to make a joke about everything. It makes us laugh and certainly takes the edge off. Hey, if anyone can make a hormonal, pre-teen boy smile and smirk, that’s a good thing. In all seriousness, if Jake is that uncomfortable with how he looks (he has a strange gait because of the foot), then we are all for the surgery. If he doesn’t care so much and isn’t being made fun of, we’re all for not doing the surgery. I’ll keep you posted on whatever Jake decides to do.
First Day of School!
Jake started his first day of 6th grade and Bailey started her first day of 3rd grade today. I can’t believe they’re so old! Bailey & Reece are in the same class together this year, so that is really nice!
Wow!
We just went back to school shopping and Jake put on his Vans and said, “oh man, I got the smaller pair.” He went back inside and put on the size 6′s. He says, “uh…mom?” So, we’re off to the shoe store. We had his feet measured and he’s a mens 7 1/2. That is the same size I wear- a women’s 9. Oh my lord!! That also means that they are much more expensive! We got these, for the tune of $60.
Do you hear that?
That is the sound of angels singing. Why? Because my boy can now mow the lawn! Hallelujah!
My new obsession
Bento boxes and Bollywood. What the heck? What are these two “b” words?
Bento boxes are a lunch box system used in Japan. Here in the US, they are primarily called laptop lunches. Look at this fabulous, and environmentally friendly lunchbox!
Here is a more traditional bento box, as used in Japan.
Our school lunches are so unhealthy, so I’m going to really, really try to make the kids lunches this year. Now all I have to do is convince Dave to let me spend $70 on two lunchboxes!!!
Look at all these yummy lunch ideas!
Can you stand it?
Now for Bollywood. What is this Bollywood, you say? Bollywood is the Hindi-language based film industry in India. I’ve always been intrigued by the dancing and the stories- it’s so beautiful. I LOVED watching the first Bollywood dance on So You Think You Can Dance tonight! I thought that Katee and Joshua did an amazing job! They were just so fabulous in such a hard genre. I can’t wait to see more from that choreographer. Check it out and let me know what you think. The dance starts at 1:19 on the video.
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