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"That" parent
2010-10-23 18:33:00
Good grief, I need to get that last drag of an entry off the top of this here blog. I'm killing time before a big out of town volleyball game, and as I told Twitter, whilst hanging out at McAlister's Deli, I ran smack into a lady who really, really, really hacked me off the last time we played. It wouldn't have been all that bad, but the general attitude around here can be kind of, um..."self-important", and I was pretty unhappy with an incident before. If you're from around here, you'll know what I mean when I tell you I'm at *cough* Schmaylor *cough*. If you are from Schmaylor, then, uh...hi. There are some things that don't need taking pictures of, got it? OK, OK, I don't think I'm "that" parent most of the time, but she does live inside me, and I admit I have to keep her suppressed at times. She is especially hard to handle at soccer and basketball games for some reason. That's why I usually sit alone and have a very large iced tea on me at all times at...

Where'd the grownups go?
2010-10-19 15:37:00
As of this week, I suggest if you are a male parent, then you should tread lightly, as I have had 3 friends lose their fathers (2 yesterday) in the last couple of weeks. You see, I am old. Some of you are in the "everyone's getting engaged" phase of life, while others of you are going to multiple weddings a week, right now. Many people have friends announcing their pregnancies, and it seems like there's a baby shower every day. Many of us have been firmly entrenched in the, "My life is like Groundhog Day" phase for some time now, but every now and then, a new phase slips in, and you don't even realize it. I'm in the, "Where did all the grownups go?' phase. (Actually, I'm also in the, "What is all over this keyboard?" phase judging by, well, this keyboard and the host of empty food and drink vessels surrounding it.) It starts out when you hear about the death of a parent of a friend, maybe someone you grew up with in the neighborhood. It's sad, but they loved a lo...

Evansville Indiana, Indiana, Indiana
2010-10-08 06:18:00
In the interest of the "shaddup and blog" movement, Imma gonna write something. Do not mistake my silence on the whole mom blogger HFCS thing to be disinterest, either. Oh, not by a long shot, my digital pumpkins. Summary: "Don't be a putz", and I mean it in the nicest way possible to both "sides". If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're probably lucky. At any rate, I'm home after a quick trip to Evansville, IN to visit the company that rhymes with, "Schmoyota". More on that when I finish writing it over on the blog where I can talk about such things, but I had a lovely time, and the Schmoyota factory was amazing. If you've never been to an honest-to-goodness factory, it was way cooler than even my favorite Rube Goldberg machines. Everyone but me is on fall break this week, so I figured that was my fall break. Although, I must be getting older because my vacation soundtracks haven't always been Muzak. The hotel, though lovely, had a penchant for blaring ...
More About: Indiana

I want to bring you dinner, but I have issues.
2010-10-02 19:12:00
"Let's make a sign-up to take them dinner!" (Before I continue, no, I don't need a link to on online sign-up sheet of any kind, but thank you, anyway.) Those words put fear in my heart. I want to be the person who's first at your door bearing loads of food when there's a life change (baby, illness etc.). Really, I do. Confession: But, I'm intimidated. I can cook adequately, I suppose. I mean, my family is alive and all. I'd be better at it, and I think I'd enjoy it more if I had more time, and money, but wouldn't we all? Our meals are (usually) neither gourmet nor Krystal, but somewhere in between, and they work for us, but I have no idea how they compare to what other people eat. Oops, I just lied to you, Busy D. and I did stop at Krystal last night, there was no line, and I needed iced tea, and there were those Krystal Chiks just sitting there on the menu... Anyway. I get all anxious when I have to take dinner to people because I fear them saying, "They ca...
More About: Dinner , Issues

Once again
2010-09-20 03:18:00
You know the drill by now. I don't post for a while, I tell you why, and then I lament about making "excuses". And, so it goes. I haven't been here for a little while, and while much of it had to do with timing, to tell you the truth (What's with that phrase, anyway? Like I'd announce it if I were lying?) I've been a little down, and therefore uninspired. Just one of those phases where it's everything and nothing at the same time. Additionally, with my advancing age, my ability to cope with frustrations seems to be diminishing. (Lordy, that last sentence was quite self-helpian, no?) Or, perhaps I just don't get enough sleep. Either way, have been a bit stabby and morose for a couple of weeks, and that's not usually me. (Shut up, I was talking about the "morose" part.) I thought it was just me, but I've been looking around, and it looks like it's going around, so I guess others are in the same boat. I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat. Everybody look at me 'caus...

Driving: the follow-up
2010-09-07 03:29:00
Well, she did it. Busy Girl is a licensed driver. Her birthday was Wednesday, but she didn't really get a chance to drive by herself until Saturday because of volleyball. So far, so good. She drove to work on Sunday morning, and then to my Son-in-Faux's (her boyfriend) house, and also went on a couple of errands. Today she went to the pool, and back to his house for a cookout. As a matter of fact, she's still there, and I'm trying to get her to get on the road now because he lives about 40 minutes away, it's a holiday weekend, it's getting dark, and tomorrow's a school day. So, I guess we've gone with the "Just Drive, Already" plan, but there will be some caveats until she has a little more experience. Just for reference, if you haven't gotten to this step in life yet, the rules you have in your head about them driving don't really work in real life. I've been much more laid back about this than I thought I'd be. I could actually get used to not drivin...
More About: Driving

Why yes, yes it would be more interesting
2010-09-03 20:35:00
Busy Boy (bored at Busy Girl's volleyball game): "Volleyball is boring." Me: "Sorry." Busy Boy (age 14): "You know what would make it more interesting?" Me: "No, but I'm betting you'll tell me." Busy Boy: "It be much more interesting if the ball had spikes and exploded at random intervals." ********* Tell me about your favorite go-to breakfast when you're in a hurry, and be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card from Kellogg's Love Your Cereal. Tell me a funny story, any story, for a chance to win a $150 Visa Gift Card from The Laughing Cow.
More About: Interesting

A driving need for an answer
2010-08-31 08:12:00
Somewhere along the line, we established that I'm the only person in the world who has ever had a kid turn 16, so I'm a regular pioneer this week, and you get to hear all about it. So, if you had a kid turning 16, and getting a driver's license, what rules would you put in place regarding driving the first few weeks? Are you in the, "Just drive, already" camp, or are you more of a, "Let's try this driving thing out near home, first, and work our way up" kind of person? Inquiring minds want to know. She also up and got herself a job at a church nursery on Sunday mornings, so I'm thinking I may become a, "Just drive, already" kind of person when 7:00 Sunday morning arrives, and she needs to go to work, but we'll see. I predict we'll have a bit of trouble making the newly licensed member of the family understand that a license is permission to operate a vehicle, not permission to go anywhere desired at any time. This will also probably be good for a, "Why did I think th...
More About: Driving , Answer

I guess it could be "Fruckle".
2010-08-27 17:29:00
When my kids were younger, they had a habit of dilly-dallying in the car at school drop-off in the mornings. And, well, let's just say that dilly-dallying is frowned upon in that line (rightly so), so I always took measures to make sure they were ready to get out of the car when we got to the front of the line. I would get them to unbuckle their seat belts when we were a couple of car lengths away from the drop-off zone and put their backpacks on so they'd be ready to get out of the car quickly. For no particular reason, I'd say, "Time to unbuckle, Chuckle.", and that just kind of stuck. The older two are in high school, and as far as I know, Busy Dad doesn't say that to them when they all get to school, and Busy D. is actually pretty good at getting out of the car promptly, so I hadn't been saying anything since school started this year. He must have missed it, because he asked me to say it the other day. So, I said, "Since it's a new year, I'm going to tell you t...

Busy Mom Blog: Now with more follow-up!
2010-08-21 18:11:00
I was trying to figure out what to write, when it occurred to me that I never follow up on stuff I've already written. Oh, Internet, don't take it personally, I hardly ever follow up on anything. I know, it's cute how I think anyone is still reading here when we need to be marketing to each other on Twitter, but here ya go, anyway: Busy Boy's eye/face looks much better. The medicine is really helping, and I don't think he's going to be too deformed. He fared much better than Busy Girl did with this same leprosy (kidding) because he can take the medicine for it, and she was allergic to most of it. Leave it to Busy Girl to have neither shin splints nor a stress fracture in her leg. The MRI showed a "stress reaction" which is basically a stress fracture waiting to happen. That's actually sort of good news as it doesn't require 10 weeks off as we originally thought. She's in a boot, and the plan is for her to wear the boot during the day (it helps), and go back to ...
More About: Blog

The Great Healthcare -a-thon of aught-ten
2010-08-17 06:58:00
If you need me, I will be in one health care establishment or the other. It started with my father's heart cath right before BlogHer. No, wait. I work in a health care facility, it starts there every day. I left town again at the end of last week, and came home to Busy Boy with a raging infected abscess near his eye. Why yes, that does sound familiar, it was one of these. For reasons longer than you care to hear about, I didn't actually see him until around 11:30 pm on Saturday night, so we took a trip to the ER as it was getting worse. They threatened to keep him, but he ended up being discharged, and is much better today. Poor kid, he just started high school last week, but at least they've already taken school pictures. Today, Busy Girl had to go to the orthopedist for some leg pain. It's either raging shin splints or a stress fracture. We went from the MD office to the MRI place, and should have results tomorrow. She'd appreciate some good thoughts, as a f...
More About: Healthcare , Great

SaveHer @ BlogHer 10: The NYC Ambulance Edition
2010-08-11 05:45:00
I never know how or if I should re-cap BlogHer, since like someone said, if you were there, you already know what happened, and if you weren't there, you likely don't care what happened. Yet, I spent 4 days there, so I feel like I should say something, so you get bullets: - I lost my credit card between work and the airport. Yes, the credit card I needed to get into the hotel. Why yes, I was a mess. - Re: hotel dilemma? Internet? You were terrific. People from all over offered me the use of their card for my hotel deposit. You guys are alright for a Series of Tubes, ya know? - I did get into the hotel, and after a terrible day, the Wafels and Dinges truck was like a vision from Heaven. - Seriously. Waffles. From a truck. In the street in the middle of the night. (mad, mad props to Mommy Needs a Cocktail) - I love New York. I had only been one other time, and now I "get" it. I can't wait to go back. - Was I supposed to say, "I 'heart' New York? Well, I didn't. "Hear...
More About: Ambulance

Going to BlogHer '10 in New York
2010-08-04 17:43:00
I'm off to New York for BlogHer a little later today. I'll try to leave a few pictures for you as I go, but I usually end up screwing it up, or I forget to take pictures. Check back for some more from the weekend, if I get it right. If I don't get it right, then here, look at my suitcase. Even if you really don't care where I am (shut up), be sure to go share a funny story about fitness for a chance to win a $150 Visa gift card from the nice folks at The Laughing Cow. Also, find out about Keeping It Simply Smooth at BlogHer10.

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2010-08-04 07:34:00
My dad's heart cath went well, they didn't find anything new in there, but they also didn't find anything to explain a coule of weird symptoms he's had off and on. Thank you all for your kind words and the support on Twitter. It's been a long day. It was pretty cool, they did the cath through his radial artery in his wrist (as opposed to his groin). Much easier recovery even though he did try to bleed to death when they loosened the pressure bandage. OK, maybe not to "death", but he did bleed, and it did get me out of my groggy stupor, but at least we were in the hospital when it happened. He lives alone, so I stayed over there until a couple of hours ago since he has to remember not to use that arm. I even made him practice dialing the phone while holding pressure on his arm in case it were to bleed again. OK, I'm so tired, I can't even tell you my name, and I'm literally trying to hold my head up to type this. Oh, wait, I do know my name. Thank goodness I have ...
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Your blog, your blog, your blog...is my drug.
2010-07-30 02:03:00
Trying to think of what's going on around here to write about, without saying, "Gah! Busy!" Because, lately, that's kind of all I say. The next couple of weeks are out of control, and just as I was trying to get a grip on them, my dad up and needs a heart cath. We're not entirely sure why, but he went ahead and scheduled it like the nurse said to do, and we'll just ask questions later. No, we're not morons, I can go into more detail if you'd like, I just thought I'd summarize it for you. I'm a giver like that. I suppose it wasn't urgent since no one seemed really worked up over when he should have it. But, it's now the day before I leave for Blog Her. Of course, it is. And, that day, Busy Dad has to work, Busy Girl has volleyball (will this child EVER be old enough to drive? One month from Sunday.), and Busy D. had soccer practice and games 45 minutes away. Other than the obvious fact I don't want anything to be wrong, we need to pray that he doesn't h...
More About: Drug

Why I can't do anything. An essay by Busy Mom.
2009-03-05 15:49:00
The downside to this whole possible Internet addiction thing is that when the whole house goes all Comcastic, you can't even watch TV or use the Internet while you wait for the Comcast guy. In fact, you might even get a little itchy. But, it's then you realize it's because the cable people have effectively removed all excuses for not folding the laundry tundra in the bedroom, yet you're still not folding. You have a dial up account for such emergencies, but then you realize you never installed the program on your new-ish computer, and you need the Internet to do it. Posting from your phone is all well and good if you are under 40 (see also: what I really typed, I wonder) and if you don't live in the sticks and can only get phone reception by hanging out your kitchen door. (see also: winter, it's still kinda here). And that, dear friends is why I can't post, I'm pacing outside the house, I'm not at work and clean laundry is the new carpet.
More About: Essay , Busy

Burnin' down the house
2009-03-03 03:17:00
So, I came home from work this evening and Busy Boy was charring fruit on a chopstick using a homemade flame thrower in the dining room and Busy D. was videotaping it... And, well that's really enough right there for an entry, no?
More About: House , Kids , The House

My Weekend. A short story by Busy Mom
2009-03-02 05:38:00
So, I yammered on the other day about shut up and write, yet I haven't written anything since. If you follow me on Twitter, I'm sure this has become a cliche but I've been at volleyball all weekend. Busy Girl plays club volleyball, this is her first year and wow does this ever take up a bunch of time. Yesterday, our first game was at 3pm, and we got home around midnight. Granted, that time included dinner, which took a while since as parents, we were pretty much obligated to take the coach out for a beer or four after a decidedly "What. Was. That?" performance by our kids. It also included the 35 mile drive back in the snow at 45 mph with my running commentary to Busy Girl about the hazards of driving in snow and ice. I like to tell her I talk about these things because she'll be driving soon (I know!), but actually, I was really tired and the snow was hypnotizing me and I wanted to stay awake to keep from having to demonstrate how to call a tow truck or an ambulance w...
More About: Story , Weekend , Short , Short Story

Mommybloggers disagree. Now let's write, already.
2009-02-27 17:50:00
(Note: This has been in my head for a while, and is coincidental to other fabulous posts of its kind at other sites. Must be something in the air) Long ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Internet in 2003, I started one of these here "blog" thingies. I quickly met other people doing the same thing and we traded animal pelts. Some of my new friends were parents, some not but any way you sliced it, there was fun. The concept of a feed reader would have been crazy talk, you had to go to someone's site to find out what was up with them. You admired their new layout, left a comment and hoped to be included on their "blogroll". That was really all there was to it. The landscape has changed, technology has changed and that's good. There's so many wonderful things that we didn't have when we dragged our clubs and our women around by the hair. OK,you're right. That last line would have been way more effective if I were a boy. (/Beyonce) Anyway... But, apart from these nifty n...
More About: Blogging , Write

Auction for the Borderview YMCA
2009-02-24 04:41:00
When a friend is in need, it can be hard to know what to do to help. When that friend is an online one, you feel even more helpless as it's pretty hard to reach through the computer and lend a hand during the extraordinarily tough times. But, this time I'm able to do just that. I don't do this much, so please just trust me when I say my friend Matthew of Child's Play x2 really needs you. The best way we can support him right now is to help him raise money for the Borderview YMCA. There's a fabulous online auction where you can bid on lots of cool things, including ad space on this here blog. Won't you please go over there and check out the prizes and bid lots of money? Come on, promote your business, send me a love note or plaster your own face on my blog, it's a great cause, but more than that, it's for one of our own (bloggers).
More About: Auction

"I'll take 'Digital Yahoos' for $500, Alex"
2009-02-21 20:33:00
The answers are: "Whoa!" "Dang!" "No way!" "Look at that!" The question: "What is 'The Busy Family Discovers HDTV?'" ************** P.S. Last day, Lands" End free shipping
More About: Alex , Digital

May have to break up with Target
2009-02-21 18:35:00
Target, oh Target. Why have you forsaken me? Please return the Cherokee Boys Ultimate Flat Front Khakis to the racks (heh, I said "rack"). That's all my boys will wear, and I need disposable khakis since Busy D. is still at the age where it is hilarious to slide across the floor on his knees at school. Average shelf life for khakis for him = about 2 weeks. I would say that Target and I may have to part ways over this, but it knows I will eventually come crawling back, anyway.
More About: Shopping , Break Up , Break , Target

Greetings from the Blonde-o-sphere
2009-02-19 05:48:00
Busy Girl (to her dad): "You know her, she's his sister." Busy Dad: "What's her last name?" Busy Girl: "Huh? What's my last name?" Busy Dad: ",,," Oh, and if a certain Busy Girl gets mad that I shared this, then she shouldn't have been reading here in the first place.
More About: Sphere , Kids Say the Darndest Things , Blonde

Knock, knock...Housetaking
2009-02-18 05:48:00
Geez, what is my problem lately? I can't seem to coordinate time and the use of a computer to write anything. And now that I'm sitting here, I can't think of a thing in the world to say. Hum dee dum dee dum... Anything? No. La la la la. How about now? Nope. Um, we were out of town for volleyball over the weekend. There was a gym. There were some volleyballs. That's all I'm going to say about that part. The hotel was interesting. I ended up getting half my money back because our room wasn't cleaned, it had ants and housekeeping stole my dirty towels. On Saturday morning, we weren't quite ready to leave the room, so I stuck the "do not disturb" sign on the door when I heard housekeeping in the hall. I removed it when we went downstairs. I ran back up to the room for something a little while later and it was back on the door. Weird. I took ir off, and went back downstairs. I came up a second time, and guess what? It was back on the door. I removed it ...
More About: Knock

This whole entry was much more riveting in my head
2009-02-09 05:58:00
In a possibly unprecedented move, I actually did two things I said I was going to do: I bought a GPS for geocaching and, guess what? We got a new TV! We are, however still lacking a new mattress, but heck, we've used this one for 23 years, what's a few more? Thanks to your advice, we edumacated ourselves and bought a 42 inch LG LCD TV that I'm entirely too lazy to look up and link. We're still learning about it, and it's just kinda sitting there, but we can watch most of the channels, but the jury's still out on whether or not we can get anything else to work. I have discovered, though that I may like watching TV again, I actually sat down and watched 2 shows on TLC. With a couple of exceptions, I really hadn't watched TV that's not sports or the Disney Channel in years, and even then I have a hard time doing it as I have the attention span of a sparrow. I didn't used to be this way, I really think it has something to do with when my mother was sick and I spent e...
More About: Head , Entry

Bacon bacon bacon
2009-02-05 22:06:00
This one's for all the bacon talk everywhere: heh.
More About: Bacon

But, I didn't shoot the friar, too
2009-02-03 02:07:00
Dinner this evening: Busy D.: "Do I change my name when I get married?" Busy Boy: "No." Busy Dad: "You could become a monk, and then you could change your name." Busy D: "OK". Busy Boy: "Yeah, you could be Friar Bob Marley."
More About: Kids Say the Darndest Things , Shoot

My name is Earl
2009-02-01 21:07:00
I think it's weird that even after having kids of my own, that I still stuble over my words when I introduce myself to a child as "'Mrs. Busy". This is the South, it's law that you have to call adults "Mr. and Mizzus", so I'll have to keep practicing.
More About: My Name Is Earl , Earl

Come fly with me
2009-01-30 14:46:00
So, I sign onto the computer, and I'm all, "Hey, that's riiiight...I have a blog." 5 days, really? New Orleans Friend should be my virtual assistant, thanks for the poke. OK, that was awkward. Sometimes Facebook jargon doesn't translate well outside the Facebubble, no? She um, reminded me that I haven't posted in a while. That's better. Anyways, I'm still here. I have exposed my toiletries and removed my shoes in the interest of National Security so that you, dear readers, can live in safety and I'm waiting to leave Philadelphia on the way home from the event that shall not be named (at least until I get home and can write about it on Busy Mom Reviews), but it rhymes with Bambell's Croup. After an average airport breakfast, Dawn and I are waiting for our fight to Chicago. She gets to go home, but I get to wait for another flight at O'Hare because everyone knows you have to go to Chicago to get from Philadelphia to Nashville. Du-uh. I have paid the $7.99 ...

So, here I am...
2009-01-25 03:57:00
Busy Girl asked to go to a friend's house tonight, and since it's a new friend, I naively replied, "Sure!" Turns out friend lives literally across town, and the distance is too far to go back home and return to pick her up, yet the time is too long for me to hang out. I didn't think to bring the computer with me, either, so this entry comes to you courtesy of Samsung and Windows Media smart phones. I elected to hang out anyway here in small town, USA and I've done everything I can think of to do, short of cruising the local Dairy Queen. I did buy a new microwave since ours croaked last night and the kids are hungry. I also talked myself out of new sheets (even though we desperately need them) and a pair of shoes. I discussed global warming with the carry out dude at HH Gregg and bought a milkshake. Now I''m loitering in the grocery store parking lot trying to convince John Mayer that he should probably go ahead and do something else while he's waiting on the world to c...