This World is Just Crawling with Pat's

I often have "Pat" encounters and have even done a previous entry on Cassidy's first Pat experience. It's rare that I ever have to interact with these Pat's, but I've come face to face with two of them since starting my new job.

I work for the voluntary drug-testing program at our local high school. Each week we administer 75 random drug tests to students enrolled in the program. During the drug testing, I sit at a table across the hall from the boy’s restroom and around the corner from the girl’s restroom. I check the students in as they come and go and also make sure no one jumps ship.

We use one drug testing company for the process and they send the same male and female specimen collector to our location each week. Joe is the male collector. He's seventy years old and we sometimes chat in between groups of students coming and going. He's really a nice man with a good personality.

My first Pat experience at the job was a few weeks ago when a student with long hair approached the table to check in. I assumed it was a longhaired boy until he opened his mouth and he sounded like a female. I immediately wondered which bathroom I was going direct him/her to, so I was hoping the hall pass would confirm his/her gender, but no such luck. The name on it was Cory. I didn't know it at the time but my boss was on the same page as I was and he immediately went to look up the students name and gender on the computer. Still not knowing he’d confirmed the sex of the student, I was afraid of the outcome when he directed him to the boy’s bathroom but soon realized he had called it correctly when the boy didn't flinch upon entering the boy’s restroom.

My second Pat encounter was a little more intense. There was no way I could've determined if this was a boy or girl on looks alone. He/She was sporting a very short haircut and wearing cargo pants and boots. I saw him/her approaching the table and thought to myself, please have a gender specific name! Bingo, we had a Jennifer! Mystery solved.

Then came the close call. I really didn't want her to be embarrassed by anyone mistaking her for a boy so I made sure that I had my eye on her when she came back out of the office with her paperwork and I pointed her towards the girl’s restroom. At about that time Joe spotted her and started heading towards her, not having a clue as to what was going on. He reached for her medical form and told her to follow him. I had just pointed her in the opposite direction so she became confused. To my credit I played it off well, or at least as well as I could. I said, "Joe, Joe, she's (with emphasis on the she) is going to the other restroom.” I had to repeat myself a few times before it finally dawned on him and he realized his error. He felt terrible. Admittedly we did laugh about the circumstances and how he’d mistaken her for a boy once she was long gone. We might have to come up with a code word or hand signal to prevent any future confusion because there are definitely more Pat’s in that school that will probably come our way.

My Nephew, The Star!

My nephew, Tyler, has the lead male part in the annual school musical. We saw it last Friday night and were totally blown away by his talent. Who knew he could sing? It's not as if he's been singing in church for years or anything. He caught us all by surprise.

Our high school has a reputation for their always very successful musicals and they faced some challenges this year, so the local news did a segment on the show and an interview with Tyler and the female lead.

We're so proud. Go Tyler!

Here's a link to the news clip.

Annie Get Your Gun

The Group Effort

Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe science projects? Actually, I’m never enthused about any type of major homework projects, but science projects top the list. I am just NOT creative. I was whenever I was a kid but, that was like thirty years ago. I think it’s my mom’s fault. She’s very creative and spoiled us by doing 99.9% of all of our major projects whenever we were in school. We usually fell asleep at the table (pretending like we were actually helping).

Luckily for us, Lauren was born creative. I can’t recall any of her school projects being as stressful as Cassidy’s have been. Lauren always had her own unique plan and basically all I had to do was make sure it could fit into the car to get it to the school.

Now, with Cassidy, and even Caden, it’s a whole new ballgame. I have paid Lauren on several occasions to assist us with a few of Cassidy’s projects. I once paid her ten bucks to “decorate” and “dress-up” a paper turkey when Cassidy was in kindergarten. Last year she got twenty bucks for helping us finalize and decorate a show board on Brian Piccolo for the history fair. I’m usually only good for printing pictures off of the internet, cutting them out for the show board, and financing whatever supplies are needed, unless transportation to and from the craft store counts.

Cassidy recently had a science project that took quite a toll on the entire family. I’m not kidding when I say it became a team effort in order to complete. She tried verbally to explain what the requirements of the project were. The instructions she had in written form weren’t as complicated as she made them sound, but it still turned out to be quite a challenge.

She needed to make a Sun, Earth and Moon that revolved around each other, but not only did the Earth and Moon need to revolve around the Sun, they needed to revolve around each other as they were also revolving around the Sun. Did I lose you yet? If so, don't feel alone!

After brainstorming on what her options were, Cassidy and I set out for Hobby Lobby. It was like the blind leading the blind. After asking two or three sales assistants if they were creative, we found Martha and she had some great suggestions for us. I must admit I was very tempted to buy the thirty dollar remote controlled revolving solar system and just be done with it, but eventually concluded the teacher wouldn’t think that constituted much creativity.

We came home with our supplies and then it came time for Les to step in and try to help us figure out the logistics of the project. He came up with a technical plan that, until it was complete, made absolutely no sense to me. I needed to see it in order to grasp the idea and believe that it would actually work.

He stopped at three hardware stores the following day to get the needed wood and screws to help create the rest of the project. He also had to go next door to borrow some needed tools that we didn’t have on hand.

This was no easy task. There was major stress in the house for two or three evenings as we all banded together trying to get the project completed. Lauren spent several hours drawing, cutting, sewing and stuffing the Sun, Moon and Earth. Les had to measure, cut and construct the pieces of wood to ensure they rotated properly and that they could withhold the weight of the stuffed planets. Caden helped his dad saw the wood. Cassidy offered her services, walked around on eggshells and wrote the description of her project and its function in written report form. I supervised everyone, but doesn’t transportation, financing of the project and cleaning up the mess count for anything? (Oh, and let's not forget the trip to Hobby Lobby).

Talk about stress!

Well, in the end, we made a 95, so I guess there is something to be said for teamwork and a group effort! I just wish we could recycle it for next year when Caden has to do the exact same thing.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Mom,
Thank you for everything you do for all of us. You have always put your kids and grandkids first. Thank you for always being there for us, even when we don't deserve it.

I love you very much and hope you have a Happy Birthday!

(But my back is still going to be out whenever you guys finally move!) :)

Happy Birthday, Les!

Happy 41st birthday!!
(This is his newest toy/birthday gift. It's a smoker and we've all been eating like kings over the long weekend).

I love you VERY much and hope you have an awesome day.

The Picture Controversy

(Kim is on the far left)

Kim has made national news over an unfortunate incident that took place in November involving her 13-year-old daughter and two of her daughters friends. Below is a link to the original story from our local news.

Local news link

I was really blown away the day I logged onto my home page and saw Kim's photo staring back at me and then read the story. I thought it had blown over in the weeks following, but she was recently contacted by the Dr. Phil show and agreed to be on for a segment about mean girls and bullies. Kim and her daughter flew to California and filmed the show yesterday. The father of the accused girl was on The O'Reilley Factor a while back, and though I didn't see it, I heard O'Reilly wasn't very sympathetic to his argument in defense of his daughter.

The father has also set up a website in support of his daughter and has been rallying against the actions taken by the school district and the media attention. I spent much of last night reading his site but prefer not to post a link to it from here. It's very much a "he said/she said" kind of thing. Obviously, both sets of parents are trying to protect their daughters. It's actually a very unfortunate incident for everyone involved.

The controversy and argument for the father seems to be that the school district became involved in an incident that took place over a weekend in his home. The school became involved when the girls started sending the picture to other students during school hours on school property and punished those involved. I read that the girls have been reinstated to the cheerleading squad.

All of us girls (in the above photo) are talking about having a get together when the show airs. It's not everyday that someone you know and grew up with ends up being in the midst of a controversy that receives national attention. Of course, we all wish this had never happened in the first place.

I truly wish Kim and especially her daughter the best.

Note: If you're interested in reading more on this story google "**Alvin** cheerleader**".
The show will air on Monday, January 21st.

The Tattletale

I’m normally a mind my own business kind of person, unless something directly affects me, but not today. I told on someone today. Yes, I tattled.

We were at HEB and there was a lady in the store with a dog in her basket. It was a small to medium sized dog, sitting in the basket of her cart. The dog was minding his own business and not hurting anyone, but I must admit, I was very annoyed with the situation. Come on, everyone knows you can’t take animals into a grocery store. I thought it was pretty bold of the woman.

To be honest, I just couldn’t let it go so as we started to check out, I asked the cashier what their animal policy was and was told it was absolutely “no dogs”. I proceeded to tell her about the dog and she went semi-ballistic saying the health department could close them down for letting a dog inside the store. A woman checking out next to us turned around and said she had seen her, too and was just as appalled as I was over it.

Then, the lady with the dog walked up in line directly behind us. Luckily, I had already paid so we were walking off. Turns out we were parked right beside her in the parking lot, too. As we were unloading our groceries, she walked up and made a joke about them being kicked out of HEB. I admit, I felt a little bad, but then I kept thinking about how much Abby and Jaxon would love going out to the grocery store with me, but I’m a rule follower, unlike some people. I got into the car feeling a tiny bit of guilt, but continued to argue my point with Les, who had been ducking and embarrassed from my actions inside the store.

When we got home he told the kids and they unleashed on me for tattling “on the poor puppy who wasn’t hurting anybody”. I suppose I’m just a big tattletale, but what would you do? I hate it when people think rules don’t apply to them!

Merry Christmas!

We've had an awesome Christmas. Tonight concluded our fourth family get together of the month. We have a huge family and have been very busy. We'll do Santa in a few short hours and then lounge around all day tomorrow in our pj's, exhausted and just relaxing.

I'm including a new photo of "The Panari Tribe", taken after the candle light service at church tonight. (The two youngest are still nameless).

My parents are probably moving within the next year and we were all well aware that tonight was likely the last Christmas we would celebrate in the house that we grew up in. Before we opened presents, my mom asked everyone to take turns sharing their fondest memory in that house, including the grandkids. Everyone reminisced with lots and lots of laughter. Of course, no one had just "one" special memory to share, but several and it made it an extra special night.

I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas.
Jesus is the reason for the season! God Bless you all!

It's About Time!

Tomorrow is my last day at my current job. I will go to work for the school district on January 7, 2008.

I currently have a great boss. He’s put up with a lot, especially during some of my personal problems, and I am somewhat sad to leave. However, the numerous holidays and awesome work hours I will now have make it hard to be too sad. I am so looking forward to the extra time off with the kids during spring break, summer vacation, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Not to get all sappy, but I truly feel this was an answer to prayer. Les and I had been discussing how hectic and chaotic life had become, especially getting anything done around the house with us both working full-time, and were actually considering the prospect of me quitting my job altogether and going back to domestic engineering. However, it would’ve been a huge financial sacrifice and one we weren’t sure we could handle. This new opportunity will basically allow me the best of both worlds. I will now be getting off work everyday at 3pm as apposed to 5pm, but still bringing in an income. I will be working four days a week and not five. Having a three-day weekend every week is truly going to be a blessing. I can get so much more done around the house and just in general with that one extra day off.

Did I mention that I’ve been trying to get on with the school district for about four years now? I can’t help but wonder if they didn’t hire me because they felt sorry for me. After all, I’d only interviewed with them about six times in the past four years. I think they decided they may as well hire me or I might never stop showing up on their doorstep. I really don’t care why they hired me. I’m just ecstatic about my new gig. I will miss some things about my old job, but it’s time for something new and especially with such great perks. I can’t wait to be off with the kids this summer.

I am definitely taking a pay cut to do this, but money isn’t everything.

Oh, did I mention I will be off for three weeks before starting the new job? Yes, I said three weeks! Wuhoo! I am so excited! As of 5pm tomorrow, I will be on a three-week hiatus, enjoying myself, deep cleaning and sleeping in, which by the way is one of my natural talents.

My Three Elves!

Click here and laugh with me!

Update on the Kiddos

After much thought and careful consideration, Lauren has decided to stay home for one more semester. She weighed the pros and cons and decided it would be more beneficial on us all if she stayed home for the spring semester before transferring to College Station. I must admit I am very happy with her decision and proud of her for really thinking it through.

Cassidy made the basketball team. Not only did she make it, but she’ll be the starting point guard for the A team! Go, Cass!

Caden is not only addicted to buying stuff on ebay, he’s now also a seller. It’s actually very impressive. I think he's going to be rich one day.

Watch Your Eyes!

Lauren’s going to kill me for this, but I just can’t resist. She tans, but not to the point of being too dark, mostly just to keep some color on her naturally fair skin. The other night she decided to try a different method of tanning where you stand up in this room and your body is sprayed with some chemical to make you really dark and it lasts longer. It was her first time to try it, and possibly her last.

The following morning she walked into our room with her eyes as big as saucers and asked, “Do I look orange?” At the time I had no idea about the tanning so I was really shocked when I saw her face and answered, “Yes, you do. Why? What happened?” She proceeded to explain what she’d done and was panicking about her face and hands looking so orange. Her body looked fine, it was just her face and hands that looked really, really orange.

Well, I couldn’t help it but I called her Magda (from There’s Something About Mary). She didn’t remember who Magda was so she didn’t appreciate my joke but I thought it was quite fitting and humorous.

She tutors junior high and some of the kids gave her a hard time yesterday. She wasn't a happy camper. She used lemon juice and salt and scrubbed her hands and face yesterday hoping this home remedy would help lighten it up. By the end of the day it did look better but she’s still got an orange tint. She could always go to one of the football games since our school color is ORANGE! Bahahaha!

She’s actually mad that the lady at the tanning salon didn’t inform her that she needed to wash it off when she got home so she slept with it on for eight hours!

I love you, Nawen! You’re still beautiful and way better looking than Magda!

Happy Birthday, TeeDee!

One of my BFF's (since 6th grade)is celebrating her 38th birthday today. Growing up, it was always me, Teresa and Carla with our birthdays during a two-week time frame. We always celebrated together. Luckily, I'm last, so I always like to pull the "I'm the youngest" trump card on them whenever possible.

TeeDee,
Have a great day. I love and miss you, girl!

PS. There's an awesome picture of TeeDee with a mullet from a previous entry in case anyone missed it before. :)

Clever Engineering Caden Style

This morning Caden was making himself two slices of peanut buttter toast for breakfast as I was making a cup of coffee. I saw that he was struggling and trying not to make a mess so I offered to finish it for him. He'd already done one piece and as I took the knife from him, said, "Mom, don't do that one, I already did it and I left a clean spot for my thumb to hold onto it".

He'd spread the peanut butter all over, leaving a small spot on the corner of the bread uncovered, so that he could hold onto it without dirtying his fingers with peanut butter. Smart Boy!

We got a good laugh out of it and thought it was quite clever on his part.

Happy 13th Birthday, Monkey!

Happy Birthday, Monkey!

It's official, I now have two teenage daughters. How many times have I said that time flies? Well, it does.

Thirteen years ago I was awakened by a sudden gush and actually thought I'd wet the bed. I immediately jumped up and ran to the bathroom. It was early morning, but still dark outside. As I reached the bathroom I felt another big gush and looked down to see a wet liquid on the bathroom floor. I jumped into the shower to keep from making a bigger mess and hollered at my mother-in-law, who was staying with us in Hawaii for Cassidy's birth, to come assess the situation.

We decided to let Les sleep a little longer while I showered and got ready to go. It turned out to be a leak, my water hadn't officially broken, but it trickled all the way to the hospital. Her labor and birth was the easiet of the three. She was born at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii and they took better care of me there than at any civilian hopsital I've encountered.

She was born wide eyed, looking around and holding her head up. From day one she was not going to sit still for anyone and no one was going to hold her back. It was all we could do to keep up with her. She was so different from our other two, and by no means an ordinary baby. She no-doubt earned her nickname.

She started playing ball as soon as she could hold one and it never really mattered what kind, whether it was a baseball, softball, basketball, football, volleyball, etc., although she prefers a basketball these days.

She's always been our strong willed, stubborn child. I've always heard the saying, "if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", and wanted to appropriately change the words to "If Monkey ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". We so need that hanging on a wall somewhere in this house!

Cass, we hope you have a wonderful birthday. We love you and hope 13 is a great year for you. (I'm posting this a little early)

All Grown Up!

I knew it was coming, but deep down, I was hoping she might change her mind. I have to stop thinking of myself and realize what an opportunity this is for her to go out into the world and experience a new chapter in her life. It’s official. Our baby girl signed a lease on an apartment this weekend. She’s moving to College Station on January 1st. How’s that for starting the new year?

I’m both excited and happy for her. I’m just sad for us. She’s gone much of the time now, but she still lives here. Having her move out will be so strange! At least now I can just open her door or peak onto the driveway to see her car and know she made it home safely.

She’ll have her own bedroom and bathroom with three roommates. The apartment is furnished so her room here will be kept “as is” for when she comes home to visit.

She’s not too happy that Cassidy will be moving into her room. It’s bigger and there’s no point in letting it sit empty, except on the weekends when she visits, so we’re just switching their rooms. Cassidy is already planning the décor and arrangement of her furniture and will probably volunteer to help her pack next week!

We’re all going to miss you, Nawen. Maybe we’ll all just go with you! Ha!

Ebay Addiction

Question: What do you call an eleven-year-old eBay addict?

Answer: Caden

Do they have support groups for this? It all started about two months ago when Lauren made the mistake of introducing Caden to eBay. He hasn’t been the same since. It was like love at first sight. Baseball cards, baseball stuff, DVD’s, (like a full season of Everybody Loves Raymond), old coins, etc. He’s used up all of his own money and now has a running tab with us. (That’s okay, it’s better than us owing him for a change).

He sits with the laptop for what seems like hours tracking bids and surfing the latest items. His first order was 1,000 unopened baseball cards for $25. He checked the mail everyday until they finally arrived. Then he ordered a glow in the dark Arizona Diamondbacks baseball and an 1892 coin.

He actually told me one day that he was going to stay off of eBay because he just couldn't take the stress of seeing all of the cool items and not having any money to bid on them. That didn't last long. He still can't control the urge to browse. He has new items to show us everyday, hoping we'll get soft and offer him additional credit on his outstanding payment history.

I'm sure he'll eventually get over this obsession so I'm not too worried, yet. If not, we may look into that support group, after all.

Diagnosis: Dishwasher Anxiety Disorder

I have obsessive-compulsive disorder about many things. Too bad it isn’t a spotless house. I do try, but some people (ahem....no names mentioned) make that an impossible task.

One thing I just can’t seem to do without my OCD rearing its ugly head is loading the dishwasher. It absolutely drives me insane if I can’t fit everything into the dishwasher before starting it. I also hate to run it if it’s not at least to full capacity, which probably contributes to the other problem. I will literally spend fifteen minutes rearranging the whole thing if it means I can squeeze one more bowl or pan in. I think I could be considered a dishwasher loading professional. In spite of that useless quality, there are still times, like tonight, when I just have to accept the fact that I am going to be forced to start it with a few extra things staring back at me from the kitchen sink.

Lauren ate with us tonight, which is rare these days, and on top of her joining us for dinner, she also helped me clean up a little without any prompting on my part. It was during my futile attempts to cram every last thing in that I shared my disorder with her and she laughed that I actually spend time on this.

I also tried to talk her into not making any cookies because then I would have more dirty dishes waiting on me in the morning. She won that battle and I’m off to enjoy a warm cookie. I hope I can walk quietly away from the kitchen without trying one last time to make everything fit.

Taste Buds

This is a list of the many foods that I missed out on for years because I was so picky and afraid to try new things. Most of these things were introduced to me by my husband, though he would now like to kick himself every time our restaurant bill is placed on the table. I used to be so simple minded and easy to please, not to mention a cheap date.

As a teen I lived on salads with lots of cheese and ranch dressing. On our first date I ate the salad bar and nibbled on some chicken. Oh, how he wishes that was still the case.

When we spent three years living in California and he used to go down to Fisherman’s Wharf to get fresh clam chowder. I never even wanted a bite. I now love clam chowder and can’t believe I ever passed it up. This was also the case with seafood gumbo.

I didn’t eat shrimp in any way shape or form until we moved to Hawaii. I was 23 or 24 at that time. What was I thinking? Now I eat it every chance I get. I had my first lobster five years ago and have been hooked every since. I started eating crawfish about seven years ago at the age of 30!

I didn’t eat strawberries until I was in my late twenties. I recently discovered that mango and papaya taste pretty good, too.

I used to never dream of eating a mushroom and now I can’t get enough. I tried my first sweet potato just a few years ago.

I have always loved corned beef sandwiches but sauerkraut? No way. About two months ago he talked me into trying a bite of his Rueben sandwich and I almost ripped it out of his hand to finish eating it. We went back to eat there three times that week just so I could have a Reuben before finally buying the ingredients to make them at home.

The list could go on and on.

As expensive as it’s been for me to try and like new things, he actually loves it when he turns me onto something new, especially if he gets to do the “I told you so dance”!

I'm It!

Ronni tagged me back several months ago, but I procrastinated and never got around to posting. Now Darla has tagged me so I better go ahead this time and share eight random things you may or may not know about me.

1. I really like old people. They really touch my heart, even more than most kids do.

2. I’m terrified of parking garages, even in the daylight. They totally creep me out, especially if I have to do the elevator or stairs all alone.

3. I still love Urban Cowboy, Breakfast Club, Footloose and Steel Magnolias. I can’t change the channel if I come across any of them playing.

4. My first bike was a pink Huffy. My brother’s friend broke my seat and my dad replaced it with a blue banana seat. It was very mismatched and I was so mad but still rode that thing all over town.

5. I loved Barbie’s. The last time I actually played was my ninth grade year of high school in Susie Hiskey’s attic. I never wanted to outgrow Barbie’s!

6. My first real kiss was Tater Cox during spin the bottle at a party in seventh grade. He was later accidentally shot and killed by a friend the summer before his senior year. The entire town was shocked and devastated. He was an all American boy. I always think of him when I hear two Kenny Chesney songs.

7. I was afraid to spend the night away from home until Jr. High. I would go, but call home when it was time for lights out and mom would always have to come and get me. I was a big chicken butt!

8. I was President of Student Council my seventh and eight grade years. My mom made me the coolest campaign signs with catchy slogans, like sticks of gum with wrappers that read “Stick with Carri for President”. I had to speak in front of many schools from all over Houston at this one event and had terrible stage fright but I somehow got through it.

Now I have to tag eight people. I don’t know eight-bloggers who haven’t already been tagged so I’m tagging my blog-less friends and they can just post in my comments section. (unless like Jenn, they have a blog to post to)

Teresa (teedee)
Kelli
Jennifer (Preston’s Girl)
Carla
Iptnetworkers (Come on! Don’t be shy. I’m curious to know who you are, Cottleville, Missouri!)
Mom
Stephanie W.
Shelli