Pinewood Derby 2008

Our Boy Scouts of America Transatlantic Troop held their annual Pinewood Derby this past weekend. It was held in the American School of London gymnasium and involved boys aged 6 and up......sooooo Tigers, Wolves, Bears and Weebelos. Alex is a Bear and Andrew is not old enough yet.
Here is Alex with his buddy, Patrick. Patrick named his car "The Bananamobile" and Alex named his car "The Man". The inspiration for Alex's car is the Ford Mustang. (hence, the striping) And for those of you who aren't blessed with a pit-crew for roomates, I might add that this really does look like a Mustang!


Alex did all of the work himself - except for the drilling and a few minor adjustments by Dad. Last year we had the luxury of the use of power tools. This year, we had to make-do with what we could find. It is not easy building a car in an apartment!


A sampling of the cars in Alex's division.

They have 4 tracks here. Last year in Richmond we had only 2. Alex's is the second from the left. His car did very well this year winning several heats! Which is surprising because he spent half the time working on it in comparison to last year.

Alex won a trophy. We were so happy for him. Best "Kids Only" Workmanship for pack 175 Bears.

Here is the "Toothless Wonder" showing his big brother his support!

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Inherited Genes (PART 2)

So yesterday morning around 8:30 I am sitting in our postage-stamp sized kitchen drinking my morning tea and Alex walks in. I've already put Andrew on the school bus and Alex is home this week for his winter break. Mind-you, it is only 8:30 and Alex is already up and dressed and ready to go. We had plans to meet friends (the McGees) at 10. It was unusual for him to be up so early because these days he loves to sleep in.

"Mom, I think I know why the McGees went to Notre Dame," he says.

"Oh, why?" I replied. I didn't know he had been wondering why. The McGees are some of our new friends here in London. And of course, they are Notre Dame alumni.

Which doesn't bode well in this Boilermaker house.

And maybe that is the confusing part. Can they still be our friends and yet still be a Big 10 rival? Can we really have as much fun as we do with them, even though their mascot is that tiny green man? Who knows........

Anyhow, he replied, "Because Mr. McGee is Irish."
"Yes, that is definitely true," I said.

He then walked out of the kitchen, back to his room. I thought it was the end of the conversation, but he returned a few minutes later.

"And Mom, I am Greek, right?"
"Yes, partly. But also alot of other as well." I responded.
"Oh yeah, like Irish and German," he added.
"Yep." I said.

He left again.

He returned a few minutes later. AGAIN. "Hey Mom, am I part Mexican as well?"



Shhhhh. Did you hear that? (big pause)

It's my Gramper Ed rollin' over in his grave.



Shhhhh. Did you hear that?

It's all my relatives down in South Texas (& East Texas too) laughing their rear-ends off.

Oh-mi-gawd. What have I done to deserve this one? I mean really. I was tickled at the question. But then it dawned on me........of course, it was because of this. (click on it!)

It is called a "GaGa HoHo". (AKA Imperial Grandmother) Now, I do believe I can look at this several different ways. (1) I can believe that he has been raised in such a politically correct house that he really sees no difference in all of us, or (2) He really feels there has got to be some deeper reason for our emphasis on all things Tex-Mex. (3) Or maybe reasoning for our recent interest in going to Spain where, of course, they speak "mexican". And yes now maybe I am payin' the price for the forced Spanish lessons back in Richmond.

My response, "No, Alex. There is no part of you that is Mexican." (well so-far-as we know) "Why would you think that?"

"Well ya know.....................'cause of GaGa HoHo and everything," he said so assuredly.

BINGO.

Now for those of you who have never met the Imperial Grandmother, I would not exactly say she exudes all things Mexican. Honestly, she can certainly carry on a conversation (or two) with them and every once in awhile it shows up in her wardrobe AND, okay maybe, she considers Nachos part of the four food groups but for the most part SHE IS AS WHITE AS THEY COME.

And I can say that.

Because I live in London. With every possible ethnic represented being that exists. Thank-you-very-much.

"Yes, I know............. GaGa HoHo. It would seem like that, wouldn't it?" "But no. None of us are mexican," I said.

"Oh. Okay," he said in his not-so-disappointed voice.

And walked back to his room.

Bless his little heart

In a feeble attempt to try and find the source of the illness that seems to continually invade our petri-dish-of-an-apartment, I have become soooooooo suspicious of everything. We just can't seem to shake the bug.

So in a desperate effort, I asked Andrew to not drink the water from our special delivery/bottled water dispenser. I knew this was a desperate attempt but ever since I found an "unrecognizable" something floating in one of the bottles, I have been extremely suspicious of the water that comes out.

And quite honestly, I am not crazy. I am just dog-gone tired of doing laundry after sick-children.

When I told him, he totally got it. I could tell. He said, "You mean the water not in the sink?" Yep.

And here is the proof................

The next time I walked into the kitchen these little notes had been taped ever-so-carefully to the front of the jug. Can you tell what they say?

Gosh. God bless his little heart!

Deep Thinking from a Kindergartener

I wish I had 100 HOT WHEELS

I wish I had 100 SPONGEBOB CARTOONS

I wish I had 100 BASEBALLS

But I wouldn't want 100 PETS

I could eat 100 AIR HEADS (a candy)

I could eat 100 CEREALS

I could eat 100 APPLES

But I could never eat 100 BUGS

I could hold 100 M&M's

I could hold 100 CHOCOLATE CHIPS

I could hold 100 LEGOS

But I could never hold 100 CARS

another one bites the dust

Would you believe, after loosing our FIRST TOOTH less than 1 1/2 weeks ago we found Andrew had another one loose? This second loose tooth was only noticed the day after loosing the first.

Yesterday, while trying to convince me to give-back their "electronics" privileges (another story), I decided to try to refocus their attention. ("Their" being both Alex and Andrew)

"If you pull your tooth out today, we will have Domino's for dinner." See, he lost his last one while eating Domino's. I thought I was in-the-clear on this one, for there was still a bit of blood trickling out from the tooth when he wiggled it.

And truth be told, Andrew is not one for blood.

He could have a cut on his hand so tiny that you could barely see it AND YET we still have to find the Batman band-aids hidden somewhere in our vast 1200 sq ft apartment to cover it up. Mind you, it is not so much the blood but the visible injury to the rest of the world that makes the band-aid a necessity. As if to say, "Yes, it is okay. Do not worry about me, for I am tough. Yes, maybe it was my brother who did this to me, but look, I did survive." The little guy LOVES that kind of attention.

On the other hand, he could have half of his arm hanging on by a single sinew of muscle and be fine, AS LONG AS THERE IS NO BLOOD. It kills me.

So anyhow, I thought I would still be making my stir-fry for dinner last night as there was noway in Hades he would promote more blood loss in his mouth.

Boy, was I wrong. Would you believe within a matter of approximately 31.5 seconds he had pulled that sucker out! And to boot, his big brother was lavishing him with congratulatory pelts. "Oh Andrew that is soooooooo awesome - we get Domino's for dinner. Way to go dude" (then a scary little celebratory dance follows - one that could only come from a gangly thin 9 year-old boy)

So, we had a visit from the Domino's guy last night. (Which to say, made my evening a lot easier.)And a visit from the tooth-fairy who, I know for a fact, is pretty tired of scrounging up 5 pounds at the last moment.

Why has God blessed him with those eyelashes? I sure could use a couple of them.

Here they are. Enjoying a once-a-week, no once-a-month, moment of happiness shared between 2 brothers. Joy. I love these moments.

Then of course, we are back to reality.

Before & After

We've had some excitement here this week. We found Andrew had a loose tooth. It has been an exciting wait. I would get an update every day as he got off the bus, "Mom, I still didn't lose my tooth at lunch today." He somehow thinks that lunchtime is the only time it will come out.

Perhaps that is because his big brother told his story about losing his tooth in a hot dog, at lunch, at school when he was in Kindergarten.

OR, perhaps it is because his mother told him she lost one of her teeth while eating a burger at McDonalds. Which is really funny, because we never, EVER, ate at McDonalds. So in reality maybe the outing to McDonalds was as much of an inprint on my memory as the lost tooth and that is why it is the only tooth-loosing memory I have.

I was also given certain dietary instructions for lunch box packing this week. "Mom, no apples. Only soft stuff like marshmallows and marshmallow fluff." Yeah, right kid.


Do you remember that funny "loose-tooth" feeling?


This is how he felt towards the last few days.....complete with a bit of Nutella chocolate sauce on reserve for snacking later.


This is a picture showing how far forward he could push the tooth with his tongue. He thought it was really cool he could do this.



Here we are this morning. The tooth fairy does deliver to England. AND she evidently doesn't convert either. Good girl.

There is one disturbing part of this picture. I feel a bit embarrassed about the ziploc baggie the tooth fairy used.

When I was little, I had a special pillow with a small pocket. I remember mine was pink.

At this house she doesn't have a special tooth pillow to deliver to. Just a ziploc baggie. I was a little down about this, but then realized I had boys.....

who really don't care about the delivery method.......only the cash.

So in our little "tooth-pillow deprived" house it is okay. I don't think they will be scarred for life or have to go to therapy about it when they are 30.



Well, maybe they won't have to go to therapy.........but they may be crazy enough to take pictures of their hands and post them to a blog for everybody and their mamma to laugh at.

I know that is what you are thinking.

Here is my AFTER manicure picture. Looks great doesn't it. I have to say it is the best french manicure I have ever had. It has lasted up until now with absolutely NO chips. I have never had a french manicure last this long.

It really does look better in person, honest.

Inherited Jeans, no Genes

I am getting my nails done tomorrow. I haven't had a manicure in about 7 months. There really isn't any need for me to get them done, really.

Especially when all I do is spend my time picking cheerios out of the rug or untying knotted shoe laces that have been permanently set with mud. But anyhow, I found a great deal and decided to take a "before" picture.

There is somewhat of a remeniscence memory of manicures for me. Everytime, EVERYTIME, I get my nails done I think of my Great Grammer Elder. She was a big nails fan. When she would come to visit when I was little, if she wasn't doing her own nails she would do mine.

Or at least that is how I remember it.

And though I don't have my nails done professionally I faithfully do keep up with them on my own, using everything she taught me. So, I guess you could say I inherited this ritual/gene from her. And yes, there are fingernails on those fingers - you just have to squint your eyes really hard.

And another note......see that big huge gaudy ring on my finger? Well, I love it even though it screams ZsaZsa Gabor. And yet another trait I inherited from my Great Grammer Elder..... cool, gaudy, lets make-a-statement kind of jewelry. She wore the coolest jewely.

Or at least that is how I remember it.

And the older I get the more willing I am to wear the gosh darn stuff!





While we are on the subject of accessories I wanted to show you my latest purchase. Oooh la la! Of course the response from this household was such:
"Mom, what are those?"
"Hey, what did you do with my wife?"

Yes, I probably could wear them while doin' the dishes, or laundry, or even carpool and no-one would probably even notice. I bought them for the company Christmas party which was held 2 weeks ago. I did not attend, though, as one of the little people in the house had the stomach bug. My luck.

When I was at the store trying on the shoes, I told the lady helping me that I probably had not worn heels in over 2 years! Her response, "Oh dah-lin, we all go through a time like that.." (don't forget to add the British accent)

Of course, Great Grammer would definitely approve. :)

Sun, glorious sun!

The sun really does exist here in London. I couldn't resist taking a picture as these days are few and far between.

And I am sure that all of you (yes, all 5) who read our blog could probably care less about the weather here......but this is really a big deal.

(taken at 1:45 pm in front of our building)

They're Alive!

I believe someone has been foolin' around with my camera lately, for this is what I found.
















It honestly looks like they were havin' a good time wouldn't you say?














Of course we all know that they inherited this type of behaviour from their father (see below) as the evidence shows he was in on all the fun............(complete with hat-hair)