I enjoyed a much needed Mom’s-night-out-to-herself and went to see the Footloose remake. I was a bit skeptical; I mean, Kevin Bacon = Footloose … but I loved it!

Dancer Julianne Hough is getting a lot of well deserved attention for her role as Ariel (and who wouldn’t want those abs?! She puts Daisy Duke to shame!), but my two fave characters were Willard and his down-to-earth GF, Rusty. Miles Teller is adorable, and I would like to adopt him if, you know, he wasn’t 24 instead of a teen like his character, not to mention the small detail that I’m already drowning in testosterone around here! :p I adored Rusty as a devoted but slightly-sassy-and-will-kick-@ss-if-you-provoke-her best friend. Besides, I am envious of Ziah Colon’s gorgeous hair! If I had ethnic hair instead of scraggly, fine, white-girl hair, I would wear long, springy curls!

Kenny Wormald didn’t seem to have the same rebellious hard edge that Kevin Bacon had in his portrayal of Ren MacCormack, but hoo-wee, the boy can dance! (And Kenny has the advantage of a fashion shift that allows jean waistbands below the ribcage. Oh, 80s … what were you thinking?!)

I also *loved* the remake of “Holding out for a Hero” as a ballad. I must get the soundtrack for this movie!

I have had the privilege of working with some terrific people over the years. (I’ve also had the dubious honor of working with some challenging people, but we’ll call those character-building opportunities.) I’ve made some mistakes as a supervisor, and I’d call out any manager who said they hadn’t as a liar. There were times when I was too lenient and times when I should have delegated more. All in all, though, I would like to think that I’ve invested in people’s lives in a positive way that has helped them take further steps in their careers.

Rapport is an important element in my work ethic, both as a supervisor and as an employee. What that means to me as a manger is that it’s important to be reachable, build trust and know your team on a personal level. Does that mean that you have to be buddy-buddy? No, but it does mean that you should know their birthdays, their kids’ names and when someone’s mother is in the hospital.

I’m feeling a bit melancholy today, because my current team has dissolved. The four of us are all still working in the same division, but the three folks who reported to me have been re-purposed into other positions. The last one is moving out (literally, to another office) today. It’s going to be very quiet around here.

On the bright side, I suppose I could crank up some music and not worry about disturbing anyone. 😉  I have to smile or else be sad.

Not too long ago, No. 2 brought his own money to the grocery store and wanted to buy a pack of gum. He asked if it would be ok if he bought extra and sold pieces to his brothers, and at the time, I just shrugged and said, “Ok, if you think they’ll buy it, but don’t be upset if they don’t.” Well, I’ll be darned … that kid made a killin’ selling pieces of gum for 25¢ apiece! (Someone has learned the value of wholesale vs. resale.)

My lil' 2nd grade entrepreneur

With his big brother’s success fresh on his mind, No. 3 announced that he was selling his silly band collection (molded rubber bands that kids wear as bracelets; they come in myriad shapes, colors and brands). He even made a sign to hawk his wares.

After the sale, he shook his piggy bank to show me how much money he made from his four brothers. It sounded like a lot, but I don’t think he bothered counting it. Not bad for a 2nd grader! 😉

Today, it’s rubber band bracelets. Ten years from now, it might be tutoring or lawn care. Twenty years from now, it might be his own business!

Ok, this time it wasn’t a dream. I have an unwanted houseguest for real, and you will be proud to know that I haven’t completely freaked out like I did the first time one came into the house. It’s a mouse. *involuntary shiver*

I know that we are in the middle of a drought; the State of Texas has lost $5.2 billion in agriculture revenue this year. When I tried to take the boys swimming at Lake Waco last weekend, we found out that the beach was closed because the water level is too low. It’s dry. It’s hot. The temps dropped down to the mid-90s today, and several people commented on how nice it felt. I even ate lunch outside!

We have a 30% chance of rain this weekend (Please pray that it comes … I don’t even care if we get wet at the football game tomorrow night!). I honestly can’t remember the last time it actually rained. We had a light sprinkle for a couple of fleeting minutes in the wee morning hours a few weeks ago that left only tell-tale signs of spot marks on the windshield.

Even the critters need refuge. I just wish they wouldn’t try to find it in my garage or bedroom closet!!

Thank you, D-Con, and goodbye, rodent.

I had a bizarre dream that Muammar Gaddafi spent the night at my house. He slept on the futon, so my eldest had to sleep on the couch. He wasn’t there by my invitation, and I didn’t appear to have a choice in the matter, either. I wasn’t afraid of him (after all, I tend to be quite the bad@ss in my dreams), but I was not able to sleep because of concerns that our house would get bombed by people coming after him. Weird.

I was about ready to hog-tie the 10yo today. He was egging on the little ones, being rambunctious when I specifically asked him to settle down and generally ignoring my instructions. I was already frustrated for unrelated reasons, and I finally just got tired of hearing myself talk and made him do push-ups. (Push-ups are the baseline discipline in our house — everyone can do them, and they are great for taking care of infractions on the spot.)

Anyway, he settled down after the little ones went to bed and even asked if he could come to the grocery store with me. (Nothing like waiting till Sunday night to realize that you don’t have drinks for school lunches the next day!) I let him “drive” the buggy, and as he started to exit an aisle, someone else came careening around the corner. He immediately stopped, backed up and politely said, “Go ahead” to the other person.

I patted him on the back and said that I appreciated how he handled that. He glanced up at me and said, “My mom taught me to do that.”

I said, “Oh, really? She sounds like a pretty neat lady.”

He smirked and said, “Yeah, she is.”

Ok, fine. Brownie points earned to redeem your bad attitude earlier in the day! 😉  A kind word will go a long way in making me remember how stinkin’ adorable you really are.

The boys went to visit family yesterday and today, which allowed me some much needed time to decompress, catch up on reading and clean house. I even bought and put together a new computer desk and rearranged some furniture, so that counts as weight-lifting exercise, right?? 😉

As I was moving dressers and bracing myself for what I might discover behind and beneath the furniture, the thought occurred to me that the boys need a visual aid to help them take their belongings more seriously. I happened to have cash on hand (because everyone’s fundraisers are due all at the same time — go figure), so, when I got the call that they were about a half hour away, I scattered dollars all around the house — in the hallway, bedrooms, study and tv room. Then, I started fixing dinner.

When they walked in the back door, of course the first thing someone asked was why there was money on the floor. Without looking up from what I was doing, I said, “Oh, never mind that — it isn’t yours, so don’t bother picking it up. Just pretend like you don’t see it and walk right over it.”

A couple of the boys started picking up the money and bringing it to me, and then the others followed suit. I said calmly, “I don’t know why you are bothering cleaning it up. Why don’t you just step on the bills or put your dirty clothes on them? Or, better yet, why don’t you just shove it between the couch cushions or under your bed?”

When everyone sat down for dinner, I asked them how I am able to buy things from the store. Of course, everyone knew the answer was money. I said that when I see a video game sitting on the floor, I don’t see Mario Kart; I see $60. When I see Pokemon cards on the couch, I see another $10. When I see Beyblades in the hallway, there’s another $20 bill just laying around on the ground, waiting to get stepped on and ruined. When a school shirt is on the closet floor, there’s another $20.

I’ve already been confiscating toys that I find out of place around the house, but hopefully today’s visual aid will help them understand that their belongings cost MONEY. I reminded them that they were very eager to pick up the dollars off the floor, but they just as quickly walk over other things and pretend like they don’t see them. Here’s hoping that they get it now.

In my effort to stay on task with weekly posts, I accidentally wrote two Foodie Fridays this week. For the couple of you who may have already read both of them, forgive my laziness for removing & rescheduling one for next week. 😉

Tonight is our first home football game, and campus is abuzz with energy. I’m not permitted to wear jeans like the other 1,143 staff members (totally made-up a rough estimate, excluding my department), but alas – there is no point in complaining about it.

The next home game is versus my alma mater (well, technically, this is my alma mater, too, but I was referring to my undergrad degree). I value my job, so I will sport my current colors and try to remember to “Sic ’em” instead of “Axe ’em” when the players enter the field.

It’s also a long weekend, which isn’t particularly relaxing for me, but I’m thankful for the day off. (Any day wherein the boys are all home together with nothing structured to do is anything but relaxing.) Perhaps I’ll plan to take the boys swimming at the lake and tempt Fate to make it rain!! 🙂

We are also celebrating my soon-to-be-12yo’s birthday tomorrow. I’m in denial and will cope with his birthday when it actually rolls around next week. I can scarcely believe that my red-faced, stout little newborn has become such a young man.

While I was out of town for Residency Weekend, one of my lil’ monkeys had an accident on an inflatable that dislocated a permanent tooth. Thankfully, the ortho was able to save the tooth, but now one of my 1st graders wears braces. His follow-up appointment is later this week, which is when I hope to learn how long he’ll be wired.

In the meantime, he is restricted to soft/mushy foods and liquids. I’ve tried to be creative with his lunches, so he usually takes things like applesauce, yogurt, pudding, Jello/fruit cups, etc. We’ve also done soup (I don’t have a Thermos, so I sent it in a travel coffee mug – LOL) a couple of days.

He also can’t participate in any rowdy activities, which greatly restricts his involvement in PE and kids’ church, but he’s still getting plenty of exercise. Long story short, I feel like he’s missing out on eating and doing things that his brothers get to do and eat. How little I knew that there was some jealousy brewing … toward him!

I guess it’s a matter of special treatment. Even though his “special” alternatives don’t seem all that great to him, most of the time, I found out this morning that one of his brothers felt left out. No. 4 came up to me after breakfast with those puppy eyes that he’s so adept at using and asked: “Mom, if someday when I’m a teenager or something and maybe I’ll need to get braces, can you make me soup in my lunch, too?”

I suggested that he ask me what he really wanted to ask me. If he wanted soup for lunch, all he needed to do was ask, and I’d try to make it happen. I told him that I didn’t know he would like that, but instead of asking me in a round-about way, just say what you need to say.

I keep a shopping list on the fridge, and now it has “Thermos” on it. I’d better buy a few.

… also known as: How To Be Three Places At Once. At least two of them are in the 1st grade, so we shouldn’t miss too much important info by splitting time between those two rooms while the other parent goes to 2nd grade.

Open House at the intermediate school should be almost as much fun, but at least there are two kids and two adults to split the time. I’ll just have to get a sitter for the younger three.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Parent Meeting Nights and Open House nights are designed for only children — certainly not large families.