It was Isaac's 5th grade Christmas band concert. Last year I took my mom to the big event and we were late. It is not a good thing to be late for Isaac's special events. He has a wonderful memory when it comes to those types of things. He's kind of like me, his mother, with stuff like that. We take things personally and our feelings get hurt easily. NEway, instead of running a quick errand at the mall, Mom and I decided we weren't going to chance it and instead determined to be there on time.  We were quite proud of ourselves when we stepped into the gym where the concert was last time and only four other people were there. We puffed with pride and I eagerly told Mom to smile as I clicked away at the camera to pass the time away until everybody arrived. I wanted to capture this moment to show Isaac how we were at the concert WAY ahead of all the other moms and dads and grandparents. 

Since it looked like we had a lot of time and perhaps everyone else was just running late, I took a series of photos of my mom posing for the camera. Here she is waving at the camera, showing Isaac that she had a front row seat to the Christmas concert. We were acting silly and feeling very good about our punctuality until my middle OS 

Aaron noticed us in the

 gym. He was on his way to attend Isaac's concert as well and he spotted us in the gym. That's when my oh so wise 13 year old Aaron informed us that we were in the wrong place. The concert was in the new auditorium. I insisted that Aaron was wrong but he didn't relent. Skeptically Mom and I and the other four women made our way to the auditorium. 

We opened the thick auditorium doors and noticed the throng of people! We were hardly the first people to arrive in fact, if Aaron hadn't found us, we could easily still be sitting there!

We still got a pretty decent seat and Isaac was pleased to see us in the right place, right on time! Whew! I'm learning there are sometimes when it's best to heed your kids' advice instead of the other way around ;) 

It's a Guy Thing

I don't get it and I guess I never will. While driving to see family in South Carolina, Nate spotted a sign to a store I would have easily overlooked. "Dad, can we go there?" he inquired and all the guy heads perked up with the mere mention of the store Nathan wanted to visit -  Delk's Army-Navy Surplus - no pretty store window dressing, no eye-catching fashions or thumping music - just a Army issue green sign which read Military Supplies.It's a guy thing I guess because I didn't have the same reaction as my DH and OS did as we parked our van. My boys and husband practically skipped into the store, (ok, it's true, you NEVER, EVER skip into a military store but it sounds funny!). This was probably one of the few stores I have ever entered in my life where I was almost completely sure I wasn't going to spend any money. 

Everything you might ever possibly need regarding the military was there. We're talking K-Rations, camo pants, gas masks, resin replica assault rifles which my three OS really wanted, hand grenade candle holders (they wouldn't match my decor) and more. Parachute jackets, ammo boxes, metal helmets, you get the picture.  

The entire store was basically covered in brown, green or black.  I couldn't find one pretty thing in the building!  This was really man's land. Only upon exhaustive searching, did I discover one teeny spot of thin, pink piece of nylon rope which made me feel only a little bit better. 

My husband and sons were fascinated, I was ready to go. 

We walked down the aisles and when we spotted the plastic military shields for $25, it was almost more than they could handle. I guess the girl equivalent would be like going to Archivers, a scrapbooking store.

I felt like quite a good wife and mom venturing into a place like that but I know that they have gone into candle stores and boutiques humoring me. 

In a way, I actually found Delks Army-Navy Surplus store quite interesting but not so much so that I have to go back anytime soon. 

As I looked at the sign, I noticed a typo. Can you spot it? 

Too bad I didn't have a machine gun to shoot in an apostrophe. At least now I know where I can get one!

My husband designed this chalkboard for my kitchen. I love to write and do fancy things with doodling and stuff. I pretend I own a restaurant and scribble away. It's fun playing house even though I am a homeowner. I guess it reminds me of my dollhouse when I re-arranged the furniture and whiled away the hours playing make-believe. The little girl in me hasn't left, I suppose. This was my Christmas menu and you have no idea how much fun I had putting this on my chalkboard.