ROBIEWANKENOBIE

• we just had what was probably my dad's last b-day. we surprised him with a baseball theme, and the kids snuck into the kitchen half way through and grabbed popcorn bags and peanuts to sell for free. it was low key, hilarious, and awesome. it was a sweet visit.

• aside from a can't breathe moment when i was cleaning the pond filter and he wondered who would keep up the maintenance once he was dead, the old guy has been holding up quite well. of course he got all dramatic and such, and decided to get hisself some walking pneumonia. which was exciting for awhile, but now that he's had the fluid equivalent of a two liter bottle o' pop drained from his lungs, he's doing swell.

• i manage to keep my motherfucking potty mouth under control because i am awesome. but the other week? someone pulled a bullshit move on the road, and i may possibly have let a "you've got to be shitting me," escape my lips. and mr8 says, "mom? what's shit?" see this proves that i have kept my cussing under control. so i says with a sigh, "it means poop." at which point mr6 starts exclaiming "i'm a shit! i'm a shit! i'm a shit!" uhm, sometimes that's kinda accurate, kid.

• last night the kids were yelling, "mom? mom? mom!," from the back seat. i turned and said, "hey, i'm not your mom, i'm just some lady that you picked up off the side of the road. mr6 says to me, "lady? can i have a soda?" "no," i replied. at which point mr8 says, "we don't have to listen to you. you're just some lady that we picked up off the side of the road." awwwww, snap.

• i recently packed theLeon a lunch of awesomesauce, ground some coffee (i even set the timer and put the thermos next to it), and left him a sweet card on his steering wheel. i think i need to do that more often.

• it's all transformers here. all the time.

• we had school conferences today for mr6. basically? he's tested out for the year. and above. but he's not ready for the next grade. i'll admit, i'm skeered.

• i'm working really hard to help mr8 with all his swirling emotions. some days it's better. some days it's not. but we're a work in progress. he's a cool kid. he's worth the trouble.

• i CAN NOT find enough books to read. such good adventures i've been on lately. and water for elephants? man, i know that everyone is reading it, but there is a reason for that. the characters? the plot? the emotions? dang, yo! i can't imagine anything that i could ask for that i didn't get. an absolute absolute favorite. i think i'm going to have to purchase it. got any other suggestions? put them in the comments. except for you . i've got your goodreads on speed dial.

• a internets friend just sent me a surprise package in the mail. can i just tell you how surprise packages have saved my ass again and again? at the exact moment that i have needed them, someone has given me a boost when i was in the midst of incredible pain. the miscarriage. the helljob, theLeon's job woes, and my dad's cancer? what would i do without you? thank you ever ever so much.

• the first week that i was at the new coffee shop? the diamond fell out of my engagement ring. i know it is just a material thing, but i was a tad bit crushed. my mom said that she had some old pieces of inherited jewelry that might have a stone that fit. i told her if there wasn't a diamond that fit, not to worry about it, because it was only a ring. they didn't have one that fit, so the sneaky bitch bought a diamond for the ring. listen here, people, my parents are tight asses with their money. my all time favorite story is the time my dad told my mother that he didn't want to buy gas because it would be cheaper at the next exit. she totally went along with it. they ran out of gas, so they pushed the car up mountains and coasted down them for seven miles. seven miles. at the end they coasted to an exit, hit a green light, and stopped at the pump where he looked and saw that they had saved an entire penny a gallon. the dude thought this was awesome. and this guy? and his wife? they bought me a friggin' diamond. my mother said that it is beautiful. i was all choked up. why did she do this, i wanted to know? it seemed like a mommy thing to do, she told me.