This is going to be "Afrotastic!"

You're Invited to a
Hairspray Hangout!

Tuesday, August 7

6:40 p.m. until late

THE RULES

1. Everyone needs to dress up 60's style...including hair! Thrift Shops, here we come!! You can either do your own hair if you're super talented...or...

I am so excited about this...Jazzy's Hair Salon in College Station has agreed to give us all their stylists and their shop starting at noon on Tuesday! Each appointment should take about 30-45 minutes. To get our do done, we have to arrive at the shop with rollers in our hair...each roller hairsprayed HEAVY...with a picture of the style we are wanting. The cost will be $20.


2. In order to come, you will need to RSVP in groups of 3. There needs to be someone young, someone younger and someone older in your group! Grab your mentor and mentee...or...grab someone you know you should be mentoring and someone you want to mentor you...this will be a fun night of connecting older and younger! My HOPE Group gals need to invite some of our younger HOPE Group girls! We won't have regular HOPE Group that night...so PLEASE use this as a chance to spend time together!



3. No boys allowed. All males will be shot.

We will meet at Premiere Cinemas that night, DRESSED UP, looking oh so funny in our 60's clothing, with our teased hair...we'll watch Hairspray and then go have dessert and coffee at Cafe Excel. (Exact movie time will be announced closer to the event...for now I think it's 6:40 if I figured out how to work the movie theater's website.)

We will take lots of pictures and laugh so hard...I think we'll be sore the next day.

Cafe Excel will reserve us a table for 30.

So...first come, first serve! ANYONE can come watch the movie dressed up...but the hair salon can only do 30 updo's and Cafe Excel can only seat 30 without us having to pay extra...and I'm not down with paying extra.


If you're reading this and want to go...please don't wait for someone to invite you! YOU invite them! Just find someone younger and older and then RSVP with all three names as a comment. If you need an older or younger, post that as a comment too and we'll get something figured out!!

In order for us to guarantee the spots at the hair salon, I need to be able to call the owner by this Tuesday...that doesn't mean that you can't come if you don't find out about this beforehand...it just means they may have filled those other spots at that salon, so you'll have to find someone else to unmercifully fro up your hair. I found a few other salons that charge the same price, but they couldn't get us all in...which I think will be part of the fun, sitting with three or four other gals who are getting their hair pimped out too!

Can't wait to hang out and see how cute you will look! This is going to be a hoot!

Hurry! Go grab some ladies and RSVP!!

I'm learning all the songs.

I wish I could dance.

Lions and Tigers and Tarantulas...Oh Pants!

I've always had a list of things I swore I would never, never do.

That list is getting shorter and shorter the longer I'm married to Aaron.

I thought I would never marry someone younger than myself. He's 6 months younger.

I thought I would never allow my kids to own a tarantula.

There's one sitting in a bug keeper IN MY HOTEL ROOM.

Our boys have always wanted one.

Anson has been asking for a tarantula since he was about three.

Our answer...no way.

We were a united front.

We have stood in Petco, holding hands, shaking our heads in unison with three little boys looking up at us, pleading their case with their eyes...and their mouths...and their legs.

They did not faze us. Just say no to tarantulas...that was our motto.

Dobson and Tripp would have been so proud of us...protesting together.

THEN, yesterday we went to the Austin Zoo...thanks for the recommendations you guys...it was wonderful.

The Austin zoo is the soupus equivalent...so we named it the zoopus.

It's tiny...there are only a handful of animals...and the handful of animals are all deformed. It was oddtastic. We go for oddtastic.

We had a fabulous time.

The soupus and the zoopus are both as entertaining and enjoyable as their circus and zoo counterparts...just in completely different ways.

While at the zoopus, there we were, just walking along, having a lovely time crunching the dirt beneath our feet...looking at the two headed monkeys...strolling around with marvelous Matt Graham...and that's when it happened...

Hayden started screaming with utter excitement, terror and joy. It was a great combination.

We saw a TARANTULA running after him along the path.

I'm not even kidding. It was chasing him.

Aaron went running towards the spider...which in itself was unnatural to me...the spider turned on Aaron...started running up to him...walks right up to his feet...Aaron dumps out this white bag of petting zoo food he was holding...looks down and the spider of death was raising it's two front hairy legs up in the air, right at the toe of Aaron's shoe. Aaron set down the bag and the spider walked in.

That all happened in about 3 frantic, insane seconds.

I was trying to take pictures...screaming...would sort of get the camera to focus and then I would scream and shake...and cringe...so all the pictures are awful.

After it was over, Aaron held the tarantula in a little white lunch sack.

It was so exciting...but then it hit me...

What were we doing? Why was that tarantula in a bag and why was Aaron handing that bag to Hayden....why was Hayden jumping up and down asking, "Can I keep it, can I keep it? Why was Aaron, still high on the arachnid adrenaline nodding yes....wait...wait...WAIT!!! It was like one of those slow motion moments, where I watched them from a distance, and on the inside I was screaming a slow...Incredible Hulk, guttural N-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O as the white bag passed from lunatic father to nature loving son.

"We are NOT keeping that thing, Aaron."

"Yes we are!" Aaron says...so excited...he looked shocked that I would even suggest something different.

I felt like the zoopus was spinning. What was going on?

The boys walked around with that nasty bag at the zoo until it was time to go.

Actually, we had to leave because it started raining.

What's the deal with the rain, by the way? Did the equator move, and no one told me? I don't watch the news, so being out of the loop is normal for me...but really...if something as huge as the equator relocating were to happen, I would need my news savvy friends to share the Britt Hume and tell me.

We got in the car.

With the spider in a BAG...a non metal bag...without a lid.

It was too much for me. What if it got out and touched me...I would jump right out of the car into traffic...no question about it. I would die...and the spider would have to wipe Ashton's hiney, sleep with Aaron and homeschool our children.

We don't have a mom...but we do have a spider....that would be their new motto.

The boys put it in a rubbermaid wipe's container with a lid for the car ride.

Anson says, "Isn't it cool mom, that we caught a tarantula?"

I said...

"No. It's not cool to me. "

I respectfully, but a little on edge told Aaron..."Honey...the boys have always wanted a tarantula, and we've always said no."

"But this one was free!" he said.

"So MONEY was the only reason why you were saying no all those years?"

He thinks for a second and then says..."I guess so!"

"Well it's not the only reason I was saying no."

"You have to keep it. It was chasing Hayden and then walked up to Aaron and lifted it's arms...like it was saying, 'hold me' says Matt Graham. "It's destiny." I wanted to kick his seat.

The boys named the Tarantula, High Five.

On the way to Petco to buy it a "habitat", Anson said...

"So now...maybe one day we can get a scorpion."

I said, "Well I guess maybe one day we can, since before about 10 minutes ago, I thought we weren't going to get a scorpion because they are disgusting, I hate them and they should all be killed...but maybe Dad has another reason why we aren't getting a scorpion...so since I don't know the reasons behind the rules, I obviously don't know the loopholes of these laws either...so I guess I can never say never."

There is now a tarantula in our hotel room in a habitat.

A tarantula...which sounds like Dracula...who wants EITHER of those things in their hotel room?

It looks just like this picture...only it's moving and I can't make it disappear by clicking on someone else's blog...and that makes it even more terrifying

I checked the lid twice before I went to bed and asked Aaron to check it a third time.

The moral of this story is...I figure it can be an Aesop's Fable since there's an animal in it...

This craziness has made me realize that I need to communicate the WHY behind the input I'm giving my husband when we are making decisions. It's not enough to just be on the same team, as this story illustrates somewhat perfectly. If I would have known that the only tarantula the boys could NOT have was one that would cost money, instead of trying to take panicked pictures yesterday of this eight-legged beast, I would have picked up a rock and thrown it at the spider...and if that wouldn't work...I would have thrown the rock at Aaron...just hard enough to stun him long enough for me to yell..."Run spider Run!!"

So...you see boys and girls what happens when you don't communicate with your spouse clearly and completely?

Tarantulas...that's what happens.

Aaron has asked me if I really want him to let it go...but now I know Hayden would be beyond devastated. I will have to be tough.

11 years of marriage and we still stink at this! Aaron's only reason for not buying the boys a spider was that it was a waste of money. Money. My reasons had NOTHING to do with money. I would pay money right now for someone to take this tarantula FROM us. The problem...I never told Aaron WHY I didn't want us to have a tarantula. We both assumed the other knew the reasons behind our united decision. During a crazy moment with a spider chasing our son, a white lunch sack, a bouncing boy and a screaming mother...our miscommunication became quite obvious! Aaron handed the sack to Hayden who was BEAMING. There was no turning back now. High Five would be a Hendrick.

I will be talking Aaron's ears off from now on...I will write up all the reasons behind what I'm thinking. It's not enough to just be on the same page...every line needs to be read in the novel called each other. True intimacy...unity...becoming so one that we not only end at the same conclusion...we understand what road one another took to get there.

Another bump, in the shape of a tarantula on this road to becoming one.

We will overcome.

We will learn.

High Five will sleep on the porch under lock and chain.

11 years

This message was made possible by this lady,
under the pile of precious little boys.

We are calling this Anniversary Trip...

A Celebration of Firsts

1. It was the first time Aaron ate raw fish.

I'm talking completely raw...and lots of it. He went all Bear Grylls on me.

2. It was the first time Aaron drank alcohol.

And no matter what our talented boozer friend RK says about it, Aaron is not impressed with liquor. This was his first and last time he will ever drink the stuff. He made that clear during the wine cup's short journey from his lips back to the table. Schnappes or no Schnappes, this is where the party stops for Aaron!

3. It was Aaron's first time to valet park. We got close and Aaron nonchalantly says, "I think we have to valet park." I about died. I started screaming, "Call my dad, oh my gosh, call my dad!" Aaron looked at me like I was crazy! I said, "You have NO IDEA what you're doing...this is a big deal...you have to tip people and junk." He called my dad.

This hotel was so beautiful...and there was a MARY KAY CONVENTION at it. The joy! Just listening to their conversations and watching them all put makeup on in the elevators and smelling them may be one of the top 20 highlights of my life. They let about 200 pink and white balloons go right next to our room...tons of ladies, all decked out and painted with makeup, crying and clapping, watching balloons fly into the air. I watched them through my window...I was smiling...and thinking...life is so funny.

4. It was our first time to ever be the ONLY people sitting in a movie theater watching a movie.

5. It was our first time to almost, very nearly, probably get mugged. It was marvelous. I thought we were going down. I was ready to break out my body combat skills. Aaron was tense and kept pushing me away from the man standing in front of us. I get an adrenaline rush just typing this, so you can only imagine how amazing this experience really was. It was all I could do to not just come right out and ask, in a very excited sort of way..."Are you about to mug us?" If so, I wanted to get my camera ready. I thought the mugger man would like that I had every intention of blogging about this...pictures and all.

6. I went to a pawn shop. This was just as terrifying as the almost mugging.

7. We slept until 10:30 and then 9:30, only because the housekeeping ladies were being so noisy next door, I couldn't make it till 10:30 the next day.

8. I swam with manatees. Not really. I just wanted to. And it was the first time in my life that I wanted to swim with manatees, so I thought it should be included.

9. I got Aaron to jay walk. Really. Is Jay Walking real? As in ...is it a real law that you have to mind the "hand" and "white walking man?" I thought for sure that these were but mere suggestions...that if no cars were coming, and you had a hand...you could just go. Oh no. Aaron and Jenn SWEAR this is real. I think we're all just conforming to some Big Brother Jay Walking Myth. How many jaywalking convictions have there been in the last year? I just seriously want to know. I am convinced it's not real.

Then we...

Went and visited our friend, we graduated with from good ol' Madisonville High School...Bart Karber.


He's a real-life zoo keeper at the Dallas zoo. When I saw him in his green shirt, khaki shorts and hiker boots I squealed with excitement. He told me to hush and said, "I smell like Elephant poop, so I'm not that cool." But I thought even that was cool.

He took us through the zoo-keeper's VIP gates to see the elephants and giraffes!

And he let us feed them! It was AMAZING!

Which means...

10. This was our first time to feed elephants and our first time to feed giraffes in a legal sort of way. We did it once in Mexico, but got in trouble.

Aaron feeding the giraffe.

Me feeding the giraffe.

You see pictures of this stuff all the time, but I can't explain to you what it is like to have an animal THIS HUGE and this wonderful standing right next to you eating out of your hand.

We had a great trip. I slept. I wrote. I spent time with my favorite human being.

11 years of listening to you sleep
While I think
While I name our unborn children
And paint the kitchen green

11 years of talking about the pain
of how we hurt each other
because we love each other
even the smallest pricks are felt

11 years of holding hands
of keeping your clothes clean
of hearing your morning routines
it's all music playing while I dream

11 years of wanting to love you
of wanting you to love me
11 years of figuring out
I don't even know what that means

Good thing this song can play on longer
Cause I want to get it right
Let's turn it up
Let's sing it louder
Till we know all the words

You can strum
I will hum
I'll sway
Watch you play

11 years of singing this song
And I never want it to end

Love you Aaron...

The longer we are married, the closer I stay to you...very few thoughts go by where you're not in them...I'm never alone anymore in my dreams...You've invaded even my imagination...you're always sitting somewhere in each scene...11 years of celebrating this life we're living together.

Going Through the Big D

And yes, I mean Dallas.

Aaron and I are here celebrating 11 years of marriage...11 years of refinement, 11 years of nakedness, 11 years of laughter, 11 years of blowing it and saying we're sorry, 11 years of falling asleep next to each other every night.

11 years.

We left our sweet kids with their sweet grandma...Anson laid in the dry bathtub, in his clothes and cried while I fixed my hair. "I don't want you to go, mom. I'm going to miss you so much."

Sweet.  But I was still leaving.


Aaron and I are having so much fun together. We talked for 3 hours on the way up here, we are staying in a fancy pants hotel, we ate at an eclectic sushi bar last night called Fuse. Fuse. I ate at a place called Fuse. We pretended to be the coolest people ever while we were there. 


It was such a great experience. Except for the part of the evening where we looked at the menu and had NO IDEA how to eat or order Sushi. When the waiter came to the table I said, "Look, I'm just going to shoot straight with you." He said nervously, "Okay." Then I said, "I love sushi, but I've only eaten it at HEB." This was funny to him. The whole time he was explaining things on the menu he would filter it through the HEB strainer...as in, he would say something, I would look confused and he would say, "Oh...sorry...they probably don't sell that at HEB." He was great. I loved that HEB was the point of reference.

I got to eat one of those tiny, pretty salads...I've always wanted one...those dishes that are MINISCULE, multi-colored and a million dollars! Skinny rich people food. When they sat down the dish, I beamed. I had no idea I was about to get a piece of cilantro, a speck of cheese and one tomato for my salad. It was a dream come true. Just looking at it made me die laughing.

Aaron ate raw fish and drank one sip of an alcoholic beverage...both were a first for him. Such a sweet, loyal Baptist. He didn't order the drink, it just came with the meal. He took one drink because I begged him. It was some Asian whiskey. He about choked. He was not impressed that the smell of it was stuck to his nose hairs for hours after he took that drink.

I tasted it too...and realized that alcohol tastes like White Rain. I've always wondered what they did with all that hair spray no one uses anymore...now we know. They pour it into wine glasses and serve it at high dollar, non gay, sushi restaurants.

And then...we saw Evan Almighty. I loved the guts out of it. I especially loved my Lorelai, who was pretending to be married and pretending to answer to the name, Jane. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her...and where was Rori?

Then the HIGHLIGHT so far of our trip was that we slept until 10:30 this morning! 10:30!! I want to make up a 10:30 dance! I don't think I have slept until 10:30 since we've had kids...unless I was super, duper, deathly ill...and really...I'm just guessing there, I still don't think I would have slept that late.

10:30.

I still haven't gotten over it.

I wanted to stand up on the bed, my hair looking like Medusa, my mouth smelling foul and sing a song about 10:30. I wanted to sing a song TO 7:30 and 8:30 and 9:30...mocking them...telling them how glad I was that I didn't see them today. I did not know they existed. I ignored them. In your face 7:30 through 9:30! I shake my rear at you and say, "uh-hu-uh-hu...uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh." I would have done all that, but I was too starving and dizzy to stand up and dance and mock imaginary hours that I was personifying into humans. I needed something to eat and a lot of coffee.

Woo-who!

One of Our Favorite Things

First let me preface this post by saying that we probably only make Kool Aid at the Hendrick House about five times a year.

I'm on a lonely, horribly unsuccessful crusade to make the whole world drink more water. There could be no one more unsupportive of my liquidy mission than my own family members.

So, when we do drink Kool Aid around here, it's one of the most exciting days we have in this house all year.

For two reasons...the first one is obvious. My kids love it and wish their mother was not so weird about their choice of beverage.

The second is we have this fun little Kool Aid tradition around here.

Are you ready for this?

If you drink Kool Aid a lot at your house and you have a lot of kids...I can't imagine the fun you are about to have.

First I say..."I'm making Kool Aid!" Pure joy and rapture breaks out in my house. They literally hold hands and jump in circles screaming.

We dump the Kool Aid packet into the pitcher.

Then all the boys stick their heads inside and SNIFF with great gusto...your kids must sniff passionately for this wonderful trick to work. They must snort like they have never snorted before. You must have your troops ready...lined up in a row...this is serious stuff. You have to get the sniffing done IMMEDIATELY after pouring in the powder.

Then I finish making the Kool Aid. Yes...we still drink it...only because I'm convinced that nothing my little boys could do to Kool Aid could make it worse for you.

The boys giggle and hop around the kitchen...waiting.

Then I hand each one of them a white Kleenex.

They take turns blowing their noses and showing their siblings their Kool-Aid colored snot.

You would not believe how dark red, blue, purple their snot will be! It's incredible.

Much laughter.

Many screams.

Hopefully many fun memories.

I thought for a while that maybe only boys would love this mucus marvel...but oh no...

A little girl was here today and we let her have a turn.

She said, after looking at her snot..."Wow! This is great!"

Colored snot is not a respecter of persons.

No gender is removed from it's power.

Cilantro Summers

Summer Salsa for my Cute Kirby

Ingredients

2 cans 14.5 oz of diced tomatoes with green chilies
(hot or mild, organic or cancerous...your choice)

1 can 28 oz of peeled whole tomatoes
(organic or cancerous...but make sure there are NO Italian seasonings)

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 1/2 medium onions or 1 huge 1015 onion (those are so good right now)

2 T minced garlic from the jar, or freshly minced, if you want to be stinky for 3 days

2 limes

If you want chunky salsa, then you can use a food processor and only chop ingredients for a very short little while.

My kids will only eat it (eagerly) if I put everything in the blender, so that it's all just a big mixture of sauce, instead of huge clumps of tomatoes and onions.

So... In a blender, put half the cilantro in, then one can of diced tomatoes, then the other half of cilantro, then the other can of diced tomatoes. Layering it makes it blend better. If something gets stuck, you may have to stir during the blending.

Blend thoroughly.

Dump into a big bowl.

Next, put half the onion in the blender, cut into huge wedges, half the big can of peeled tomatoes, the garlic and the lime.

Blend.

Dump.

Put in the rest of the onion and the remaining tomatoes.

Blend.

Add salt to taste (we like it salty).

Stir everything together in the big bowl by hand.

Enjoy!

I make this every week. It makes enough for my entire family (and the multitudes of people who think they live here) to munch on it all week as a snack, as well as for some sort of Mexican food dish during the week AND Sunday night breakfast tacos eaten with friends. It's a bunch.

I also play around with it all the time. Last week I used 2 cans of chipotle diced tomatoes for the 14.5 oz sizes and for the 28 oz size, I bought a can of fire roasted tomatoes. I did not add the lime. It was yum.

Chicken Pasta with Cilantro Lime Sauce

Jenn and I went to eat dinner at Square One at the beginning of the summer...she ordered this stuff...I ate a bite and LOVED it. I love cilantro, if you can't tell.

Ingredients

8 chicken tenderloins

1 stick of butter

1 large onion (I love 1015's in the summer!)

whipping cream

milk or soy milk

minced garlic

1 bunch of cilantro

3-4 limes depending on how much you love lime. Lime and cilantro together are seriously one of my FAVORITE food combinations for cooking.

bag of shredded parmesan cheese

1 box of penne pasta

Cook noodles separately. Throw tenderloins in a big skillet with about 1/4 stick of butter. Throw in diced onion. If the tenders aren't cut up, you can cut them into bite sized pieces once they are almost cooked. Salt and pepper onions and chicken. Once onions and chicken are cooked, add remaining butter, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, about 1/2 cup of whipping cream, 1/2 cup milk, chopped cilantro and cook on LOW just until cilantro is limp. If you want more sauce, just add more milk/whipping cream, salt, pepper and garlic. Once mixture is done, squirt the limes all over the top and stir. Serve over penne noodles, topping with shredded Parmesan cheese from a bag (not the jar stuff...ew.)

This is a summer pasta, so the sauce will be LIGHT...not thick and heavy like an alfredo. I think I've made this once a week since eating it at Square One.

Have fun with cilantro. Just the smell of it makes me smile.

Baby's Got Brains

How cute is my little punkindoodle head?

If I was one of "those" parents I would pretend like he's a genius and I taught him the continents because we're so advanced at the Hendrick Academy in Da Hood...

Put down the razor blade. Really, Ashton probably couldn't point out Africa on a globe from...really, I don't even know if he knows what a globe is...

We started Kindergarten with Hayden last month...his first unit was on the Earth...the continent and oceans.

We sang this song to remember the names of all the continents.

Ashton never joined in. He just quietly plays with his fire trucks at the table while we do school.

Then, today, he was sitting playing with his cars singing this song so softly and sweetly and smartly.

We all were astonished.

He has done this sort of thing before...I think he's off in la-la land, playing with his toys near where we're doing school.

I will ask Hayden, "What does P say?"

Hayden will say,with his eyebrows raised, very interested... "I don't know. What DOES it say?"

He doesn't understand that I'm trying to ask him a question to see if he knows the answer. Instead, he acts like I'm trying to tell him a joke. He thinks I have a punch line for my question. School with him is already very interesting.

Then, out of nowhere Ashton will stop playing and say, "Hayden...P says pu" then he goes back to lining up his cars.

Weird.

I look over at him, already back into raising his fire truck's ladder up and down...in his own little world again.

The room is silent for a moment as the boys and I look at each other in amazement.

Then, that's when I remind Ashton ONCE AGAIN that he is the baby...he needs to play and stop learning...that babies play with toys...they don't climb tall walls or know phonics.

We really need a new baby quick.

Go FIGure

Can anyone help me FIGure out what to do with a bunch of figs?

We have a big fig tree in our yard and it's FULL of these little purple fruits.

Since nothing fig related has ever ignited thoughts of ecstasy within my soul, I'm sort of clueless as to what to do with these...but people keep seeing the tree and saying with such joy..."You have a fig tree?" They seem so happy and a little jealous...and yet, I'm not sure what all this happiness is really about.

What are figs good for?

Figgy pudding? Is that even real? I thought figgy pudding was like ghosts.

I won't lie...that is my favorite part of the song...because for some reason, I can't help but shake my head while saying the figgy pudding part...I always thought the consensus was that we were joking in this little diddy...everyone knows we are just kidding...right...we really don't want someone to bring us that...who REALLY wants figgy pudding?

A Christmas tin filled with Heather Gernenz's puppy chow. Yes. Someone should bring me that.

Or a cup of raspberry mocha coffee from Starbucks...yep...someone should bring me some of that...

But figgy pudding?

No. You can keep it.

We might as well say, "Oh bring us some nasty skin lesions, oh bring us some nasty skin lesions, oh bring us some nasty skin lesions and bring them right now."

The only other thing I can think of are fig newtons?

Ew.

Who wants fig newtons when you can have a cookie instead...or really anything else instead?

What should I do with figs?

Here's what we know so far...

We're not eating them raw.

After a dissection, we found out that they look like an ovary on the inside.

No thanks.

I'll pass.

Any ideas?

As in you have personally eaten that idea and it was a positive experience?

Haydenisms

This kid is so funny.

His job in our house is to make us laugh.

I love his knock knock jokes.

I love that he is his best audience.

It doesn't matter if anyone else laughs...he laughs...and that's all he cares about.

Last night, Aaron was working on the apartment next door, so it was just me and the boys eating dinner together.

Hayden says...in a very loud, dramatic way, of course...

"I know a game we can play! Guess what song I'm singing."

Then do you know what he did?

He just sat there.

Perfectly still.

Looking at us.

Waiting.

We waited too. Surely something was about to happen.

Silence.

Then Hayden said, "Do you give up?"

This is when it became clear to us what was going on. Anson was NOT impressed with this game.

He said, "Hayden. You have to do something."

Hayden said, "No. The game is, you guess what song I'm singing."

Then Hayden sat still and silent again. Waiting.

Anson looks over at me, shakes his head and then says, "Hayden...this is impossible."

I said, "Hayden, are you going to move your mouth or tap a beat or something?"

Hayden, getting a little irritated at us, sighs and says, "No. That's not how you play this game. In this game, you just guess what song I'm singing."

Anson goes back to eating and says, "That's impossible Hayden. There's no way to guess if you're not going to do SOMETHING."

Then I say, in a tone of voice that means, surely you haven't thought this game through very well..."Hayden, are we just supposed to read your mind?" I thought for sure he would see the error of his ways and understand that this game needed to go back to the drawing board...but no...instead he said...

"YES!" He was so excited! He was relieved that I now understood his game...that we could finally get back to playing it now that his silly family now understood his rules. It never occurred to him that his rules were insane. So he went back to...

sitting...

waiting...

ready for us to guess.

After guessing about 19,000 songs, we had to finally give up. His song was "You can't touch this."

Speaking of music...got to love this MP3 player child.

He is constantly hooked up to one.

The other day, he walked into the bathroom where I was getting ready and said, "Mom. I need some Joss Stone on this thing."

I wanted to squeeze his guts out he's so cute.

Then, in the middle of the night last night, he comes into our room BAWLING.

I mean BAWLING.

He had a bad dream.

I held him in my bed and asked him what his dream was about and he could barely get out these words through his choking sobs...

"I dreamed Anson died."

I can't explain to you how upset he was.

I let him sleep the remainder of the night in our bed.

When he woke up, he walked right into the living room and climbed in my lap.

"I had a bad dream last night," was the first thing he said.

I held him, rubbed his back and asked him to tell me all about it.

He said...having to pause to keep from crying again...

"Anson died."

I continued to rock him, playing with his hair, watching his sad face and said, "That's so sad, Hayden. What happened in your dream?"

He said, "Anson was in the bathroom..."

"Yeah...I said..." I could think of lots of horrible things that could happen in a bathroom. Don't all scary movies have at least ONE bathroom part?

But then Hayden says, "And then Anson wanted to see if he could put his toothbrush down his throat...so he stuck it down there and he started choking..."

Hayden started crying again. No joke.

"And then he couldn't get it out, and he fell on the floor and I couldn't get it out either."

Crying.

"And then he Diiiiiieeeed." Lots of crying.

And then I did something only awful mothers do who have horribly funny children.

I started laughing.

Laughing hard.

Holding Hayden and laughing while he cried.

But then he started laughing.

And then I made him go find Aaron and tell him his dream.

And then Aaron tried to tell Hayden that was a really sad dream, but could barely say that because Aaron was trying so hard to quit smiling.

Even Hayden's nightmares are hilarious.

We love that kid!

Born in the USA

Fourth of July highlights.

We ate until we were physically ill. Really.

My dad and Aaron tried to blow up the Earth...and Jason's dog.

Jason, my farming, fireman brother calmly sat back and watched the whole thing. I suspect having Jason and his fire skills standing by only increases the nerve of the men holding explosives. Something about fire is very funny to Aaron, which always makes me worry.

Then we got drunk on watermelon. Look at these kids. A keg could not do this much damage or bring this much enjoyment! No need for liquor when you have ice cold watermelon. Much cheaper than booze...and no hang overs...but Ashton did poop 5 times today. After the fifth time, he said, very irritated..."I just pooped AGAIN." He stomped his foot and aimed both fists down towards the floor. Funny!

Cute cousins

They could be twins.

My punkindoodle baby

Sweet brothers devouring sweet watermelon

My precious hubby

My dear dad.

My drop-dead gorgeous niece.
People look at her.
Really. Breath TAKING!

Giggin Em Anson
He's been writing a book this month,
so I'm sure he was in the hammock
thinking through plot lines for Chapter 14.

Discovery Channel Hayden.
I'm pretty sure he may have just
caught every bug in Brenham.

Goober boy doing his Johnny Bravo face.
Then I said, "Quit doing that," AND...

He turned handsome.

We had such a great time. It rained. Lynsey was super sick. But there's nothing like hanging out with people you love...even if they have strep throat. 


I think freedom tastes like watermelon, smells like kids dipped in fun, sounds like laughter and feels like family.

Hendrickabulary

This will be the first of, I'm sure many posts that contain words we are using at the Hendrick homestead. All families do this, I'm sure...have their own made up words that mean funny things. It's a sweet phenomenon that happens in houses full of people who talk to each other.

We love words.

We are lovers of words.

Is there a name for people who love words, because if so, I would seriously consider naming our next child that word that means we adore vocabulary. Aaron would be all for it too.

I love when my kids get their words mixed up.

Last night Hayden called a katydid a ladydid.

I will never say katydid again. Never. They will forever be ladydids.

I have always wanted to have my own language.

I think being bilingual is like the coolest thing EVER...it ranks right up there with having super powers, or being able to do pull ups. I'm not kidding.

Growing up, I kept a notebook of my new language.

My dream was to coin my own vernacular.

I only got up to like 20 words, because I'm sure I got distracted with some other odd idea, like making jewelry out of old tires. That never took off because no matter how small you make them, earrings made out of tires are heavy and make your ears look like the naked ladies' ears out of National Geographic...and let's all get real...those ladies aren't exactly the driving force behind fashion, my friends.

Back in the day, instead of saying, "Well, you don't say" in Heatherench you would say, "Gooda Howbouty." Why I chose that phrase first to translate in my new language, I don't know. I didn't ever say, "Well, you don't say" in ENGLISH, but I guess it was going to be a common phrase in Heatherland. We shouldn't waste our time trying to figure out my thought process back in those days because I also kept another notebook full of sentences that contained one cuss word. Of all the cuss words, it was my favorite...not too vulgar but still startling. I wrote down all the ways I heard people use that word...especially the creative ways, and I even made up a few of my own.

When I grew up, I was going to have my own language, my own business and I was going to cuss, using that one word in very awe-inspiring ways.

Good thing I'm normal now.

Anywaydom...

The word we've been saying today in the big green house is:

Rockadoodle.

It's a dumb movie with an elvis rooster and a lot of rain...but that word...Rockadoodle. I love it.

Rockadoodle.

When you say it...it's like the word, "Rockadoodle" is a two year old and your mouth is a joy jump. It bounces around in there for awhile before coming out.

These are my favorite ways to use it so far:

Hayden: I made a map mom, want to see it?

Mom: Yes!

Hayden: It has a long road, and this red is the lava you have to go through and this blue is murky waters with sharks in it, but when you swim through it, you have tongs, so you can catch all the sharks...so don't worry...and then this black part, that's the dark forest, and then this right here...that's a monkey that throws poison at you. (He really said all this today...I love that kid...I think he's our child that will be making tire earrings one day too, God bless him.)

Mom: Hayden...I love it. That map Rocksadoodle.

See how you add the s to mix it up?

It's bouncy and versatile. Love it.

I've also been using it to mean, "Well of course" today.

I can't decide which one I like better.

Ashton: Can I have more watermelon?

Mom: (as I walk to the kitchen) Rock-a-doodle!!!

He started clapping. See...he speaks my language.

Love that kid. He rocksadoodle.