Don't try this @ home

The other day I was watching Good Morning America and there was a segment about using everyday products for unusual things. I saw an idea and I said to myself, I said, "Self, that sounds like a great idea!"

So last night just before bed, I took three pair of earrings and soaked them in ketchup. Usually we use ketchup for things like french fries and stuff but I thought what the heck, let's go crazy. It's the weekend after all. 

Here are the before pictures. 

You will observe that prior to the earrings being emerged into the ketchup, they look tarnished and dull. When I placed the earrings into the ketchup, then they just looked gross. 

I went to sleep and eagerly awoke this morning to see if my friends at GMA were right. 

My DH came downstairs and I told him to grab the camera. I wanted to capture the moment and it would hard for me to wash ketchup off of my earrings and take photos. 

So you be the judge. Do you notice any difference? 

Would you put your silver jewelry overnight in a couple of tablespoons of ketchup? I think the ketchup ate some of the tarnish off the earrings but not completely. Now I'm torn between trying it again or not. 

I have used silver cleaner before but it smelled so noxious. Then I googled and found that you can clean silver with aluminum foil, boiling water and baking soda but again, the odor nearly bowled me over. Think sulphur, think ew. It definitely worked but I was afraid if I inhaled too deeply, it would have corroded all the varnish off of me as well and I have a lot of tarnish!

Any other wacky ideas of yours are appreciated. 

Emotional Chicken Soup

The challenges of being a West Point mom began before I officially became a West Point mom. Oh the tears I shed last year as I prepared my heart for the strong likelihood that my beloved oldest OS would leave the nest and go far, far away. Y'all should have invested in Kleenex or any kind of "facial tissue product" during that time because you could have made some serious cash. 

At the slightest mention of West Point, I was prone to a watershed of tears. It didn't take much for me to completely lose it and I can honestly say that my faith in Christ and abounding prayers saved me from going nuts. And don't even get me started on that day at 6:30am when I gave my boy a final hug and he began R-Day which was probably the saddest and proudest day of my life. Here is a picture of the saddest and proudest day of my life. 

He's more than halfway through his plebe year. It hasn't been easy and that's an understatement but my OS made the Distinguished Dean's List and was Cadet of the Quarter in his company. Yes, I am bragging! 

But now he's sick for the first time and I'm far away. It stinks because I can't take care of him, (not that he would welcome his mom "babying" him at almost 19 years old) but I wouldn't feel so hopeless. West Point isn't the best place for a sick kid with a virus. It's a breeding ground for germs since everyone lives in close quarters. With some prodding, we urged him to seek medical attention. Nate acquiesced but actually getting the medical attention is easier said then done.

In the civilian world, we call the doctor and schedule an appointment. Often we can be seen the same day. At West Point, (and I am so NOT trying to be disrespectful because I truly honor the military) you get your sick, lazy butt out of bed at 5:30AM, stand in line with other sick cadets and wait to be seen. You hopefully get to see the doctor but unlike at a traditional university, where you can probably skip class and recuperate, at WP you don't get to chill in your room and get better.

Plus if there's a snowstorm (and there was a biggie this week) and you're sick, well that's even worse. In that case, you get your sick, lazy, dragging butt out of bed at 5:30am and stagger into the blizzard. Once at Sick Call, you stand in line for an hour only to hear that they won't be able to see you today. And then you take that same, sick, lazy, dragging, virus-ridden butt back out into the frozen tundra and back to class! 

Here is a picture from my plebe's window on Monday. 

I feel so powerless! I am 10 hours away and my plebe is miserable! So what does a mama of a Soldier do? She prays. She prays with her husband. She prays by herself. She asks her friends to pray for her boy. She writes on his facebook wall. She calls him. She annoys and pesters him. Because she loves him. 

And she sends him emotional chicken soup. This idea came to me a few days ago as I thought, if he were here, I'd make him chicken soup replete with homemade chicken broth, maybe organic carrots, etc. But since I can't, I send my plebe a steaming hot bowl of emotional chicken soup. Somehow it makes me feel better. And I hope it works just as well for him.

I will get to see Nate next week for Plebe Parent Weekend which will be so awesome but in the meantime, if you're reading this, would you mind praying for my OS? Bless you!

The Jenga Challenge

I'm not sure why this happened. I don't consider myself a negligent mother. All I did was ask the guys to play a game upstairs. We were having a snow day, the boys needed to thaw out after killing each other with snowballs. Sounds simple enough, right? The boys were playing Jenga and every now and then I'd hear the familiar sounds of toppling Jenga blocks. 

But while in the kitchen, I thought I saw a blurry image of a child darting to the front door. The next thing I heard was laughter and then two children, more specifically two of MY children, shutting the front door and coming back inside. Hmmm... 

It's then that I learned about the Jenga Challenge. The boys weren't merely playing an innocent game of Jenga in the tv room. They were scheming and the game of Jenga had VERY high stakes. The loser of Jenga wouldn't just face the humiliation of defeat indoors, he would have to face the brutal weather outside as well. I was completely ignorant of this diabolical plan. If you haven't yet, take a moment and watch this little video. 

After filming this video and showing it to me, about an hour later, the "loser" of this video announced to me that he really wasn't feeling well. He has been in bed ever since. 

My favorite line is when Isaac, the victor, exclaims through his giggles, "Quickly, before Mom sees!"

I guess it was fun while it lasted, huh? 

Mrs. Davis gets a Snuggie

Aaron and his study buddy Brianna were prepar- ing for an up- coming test. I was in the kitchen minding my own business. Making a delicious and nutritious dinner while simultaneously listening to their conversation, you know, the things all good mommies should do. 

There was a break in their conversation when I overheard Aaron mention to Brianna, "Did you know it's Mrs. Davis' birthday tomorrow?" I can't explain what happened next but in less than 10 minutes something really weird happened. On an impulse, I offered to make Mrs. Davis a birthday present.  I'm also not sure why I didn't just volunteer to make a pretty card but for whatever reason, I offered to make Mrs. Davis a snuggie! That's right, you heard it, I offered to make Mrs. Davis a snuggie!

Now I have never made a snuggie before but thanks to a quick google search, I found a free on-line pattern. Here it is for you if your son's Spanish teacher needs a snuggie. It looked really easy! Mrs. Davis was going to love her snuggie, I knew that deep within my soul.  It would make her part of American pop culture and oh so snuggly. As we all know, snuggies are the latest craze. I crack up every time I see the commercial, doesn't everyone? I realized the popularity of the snuggie when one day, while having sushi with my husband, I saw a group of teenagers at the Walgreens walking out with a snuggie apiece. That's how I knew snuggies were da bomb. Here is a YouTube video about the snuggie. Please take a moment to

enjoy. 

With no time to waste, I set to work on the snuggie immediately. Because I am a fabric fiend, I have quite a stash of material just waiting for a project. I knew immediately what material would make the perfect snuggie. Three yards of blue and green circles made of fleece. Oh yes, Mrs. Davis would look fantastic reading a book on the couch in her snuggie.

But before I could get it to Mrs. Davis, I needed someone to try it on. Aaron was busy studying, Ike is too small, Nate is at West Point, hmmm, whom could I find? That was when my husband fulfilled his lifelong dream and became a model. A snuggie model.

That man was really workin' it! As you can see, the camera loves him. Each way he turned, seemed to capture a new dimension to his personality.

We have here the pensive look.

This is the "I see dead people" look.

If Jesus wore a snuggie, I'm pretty sure he'd look like this.

We have coined this picture, the "Do I look chubby in this? shot.

It was sad the morning that Aaron dressed up on Spirit Day as Mr. Grumpy Box of Crayons and gave the snuggie to its new, rightful owner Mrs. Davis. The diminutive Spanish teacher's mouth dropped open when Aaron stood and presented her with the much unexpected gift! 

She told her students that when her own kids stopped by for a visit, she modeled the snuggie and even took pictures of herself in the poses of the people in the snuggie commercial. 

Let's hope she didn't try and imitate the pictures we took of my DH because no one can look as good as my man in a snuggie. 

Mr. Grumpy Box of Crayons and a Little Wiggle

The final theme for Spirit Week in middle school was TV characters. Again, my friend Michele and I masterminded what we believed would be the most epic of all ideas for TV character days not only at our kids' school but quite possibly ever in the history of mankind. What we didn't know was that there were other moms with some crazy ideas of their own.  After kicking around a few ideas, we asked our boys what about being the international children's Australian music group sensation, The Wiggles? To our surprise, our guys said yes! 

I was pleased that Ike was willing to be a Wiggle. He is my subdued child and far more self-conscious. Not only did Michele's son and my boy decide on being The Wiggles but they recruited two of their buddies to be the two remaining band members! Michele and I went full-force with our plans. She bought t-shirts for all four of them and created The Wiggles iron-on transfers and expertly applied the logos to the front of each shirt. 

Then after lunch one day, Michele and I found black hairspray. When Ike came home, he was eager to try it out. I took him outside as to not make a mess indoors and put a few squirts of the black hairspray on his hair. His lovely orange hair began to turn the ugliest shade of gray I'd ever seen in my life. It turned a thick, lifeless gray and to make matters worse, the hairspray became powdery on his head. We also probably destroyed another ozone layer in the process. Sorry about that. 

The next morning Isaac woke early. After he put his Wiggles t-shirt on, I placed him in the tub and began lacquering his hair. A thin film of powder covered his head. Before my eyes, my sweet 12 year old son had turned into an aging Wiggle. I gave him some dark eyebrows with my eyebrow pencil and once he got the blue plastic recorder I bought at the Dollar Tree, Ike's transformation was complete. Ike trepidatiously walked into the sixth grade hall searching for his aging band mates. Their moms had also bought the hairspray and they all complained about the gross stuff in their hair in the corridor. 

 

The hallway exploded with energy. One student was the Cookie Monster and he passed around cookies to everyone he saw. Another guy was the FreeCreditReport.com guy complete with a little pirate outfit and guitar. 

But I think my personal favorite TV character was Billy Mays from OxyClean!  This student was a hoot because he absolutely personified spokesman Billy Mays. He had a penciled-in beard, toted around his OxyClean bottle and recited the entire OxyClean schtick!

Ike said everywhere Derek went, he was trying to sell his product! Smiles and laughter, cookies and cleaning products, music and merriment, what could possibly be better!

And then there was Aaron. The grand finale of high school Spirit Day was Crayon Day. Poor fella was clueless about what to do. 

After a long night of homework, Aaron began working on his costume after 11pm. Ingeniously, my middle OS turned a grocery bag inside out, grabbed some markers, a bottle of White-Out and my resourceful child became a box of Crayons. 

With little sleep, Aaron was pretty unpleasant the next morning. He was Mr. Grouchy Box of Crayons even in the car as these pictures clearly demonstrate. 

It probably didn't help that his annoying parents took a million pictures and found the whole thing terribly amusing!

I miss Spirit Week but am kind of glad things are back to normal...I'm already thinking about next year's plans!

Men in Tights, Men in Black

Now we're back to our regular school uniforms and I admit I am both relieved that Spirit Week is over and nostalgic about the fun times we enjoyed.

Aaron's class had Black-Out Day. I wasn't ecstatic about the theme since it seems dark (duh, it's black!) and gothic but then Aaron wanted to know if I had any black tights and suddenly Black-Out Day sounded more weird than anything else. My OS would have killed me if I had taken some pics but you should have seen him trying on my stockings. At first he tried on a pair of black nylons. "How can anyone wear these things!" he groaned. 

When I saw that he was wearing nylons, like the kind I wear with a dress or skirt, I had to intervene. He needed an emergency hosiery alternative so I recommended some black tights. It is strange rifling through my drawers trying to find a hosiery alternative for my teenage son.

I hearken back to the Halloween when my oldest OS was about six years old and dressed up as a spider. He wore my brimmed black hat and to complete the ensemble, I purchased some girls' spider tights. I didn't think it was a big deal but he did. It took a lot of convincing but my son who is a now a plebe at the United States Military Academy VERY hesitantly wore them for trick or treating. To my knowledge, he hasn't worn ladies' tights/nylons since that day.

Aaron also decided that compression shorts were necessary and I'll leave it at that. If guys only had a clue how much effort we put into looking good, I think they would be surprised. In addition to covering his shapely legs all in black,  my OS donned a black ski cap, black UnderArmor and smeared black camo make-up over his face. Yes it was creepy, especially when I came to pick him up after school and he continued to wear the ski mask. He was talking normally about his day through the ski mask and it was creeping me out! I had to tell him to take it off just so I could drive.

I am not only the mom of three sons, but I guess I'm the mom of Men in Tights and Men in Black. 

Pajama Day for the Record Books

The suspense has got to be killing you...so far I have shared that Spirit Week in our family is a BIG deal. We take Spirit Week seriously and bring it, if you know what I mean. But what I haven't shared is the final result. 

After all the exhaustive effort, the travail, at last Pajama Day was at hand.

I had finished my middle OS's pajama pants around 11:30pm Sunday night, the costume was ready. 

Before I reveal the actual outfit, you need some background. We have a standing joke in my family that I have yet to grow tired of saying. True, everybody in my family is tired of hearing this joke but that's beside the point. Here it is...every time my sons eat something healthy, especially if it is green, I tell them something marvelous is going to happen to them in the near future. A very special, VERY manly thing that will leave them eternally gratefully for having me as their mom and for having eaten that healthy, green thing. 

I tell them that thanks to eating that healthy thing and having me as their mom, they are going to grow chest hair. And not just little tufts here and there, my friends. Not just a random hair on a barren land, oh no, we're talking prolific amounts of chest hair, a veritable yet tasteful explosion of virulity and testorone will arrive shortly. 

Essentially I say the same thing each time but I have a knack for making it sound fresh and new. For example, Ike will be sitting at the dinner table, eating/being forced to eat some salad and I will affirm him by saying, "Isaac, that salad is going to grow a centimeter of hair on your chest one day!" Or recently when they tried/were forced to try brussels sprouts, I encouraged my youngest OS after he ate/choked one of them down with these supportive words, "Oh, Ike just you wait, Man.  You are so gonna grow some chest hair!"  

How does that relate to Pajama Day?...take a look at these pictures, dear friends...

To the untrained eye, this might look like real chest hair. That would be wrong. On one of my million trips to the fabric store, I purchased some fake fur. My expert (HA!) seamstress skills allowed me to sew some "chest hair" onto a ripped t-shirt. I wanted to sew "back hair" also but felt close to exhaustion.  

Aaron played the part to the hilt, from the beginning of the morning at home till the end of school that afternoon, my boy scratched his newly sprouted chest hair to the disgust of all the freshman girls and possibly some of the teachers. I don't think it is humanly possible to have more fun with chest hair, real or otherwise, than we had that day!

Unless something new develops, I'll soon blog about the new painting in our house from a talented and aspiring artist, as well as Mr. Grumpy Box of Crayons and The Wiggles AND a certain Cadet of the Quarter I know quite well and the new SNUGLET model who might one day seriously be strutting the cat walk! ;) Stay tuned and come back soon, love to hear from you if you have enjoyed any of these posts.