'Twas the Week Before Finals

And all through the house
All the creatures are stirring
Coughing up a lung, or two!

So I was never really good at poetry. However, it's time to post something new, say goodbye to James, and focus on finals. And, oh yah, Thanksgiving. All of that is hard to do when 66% of the household is blowing noses and coughing all night long. It makes it difficult to sleep. And the lack of sleep makes it difficult to be very effective at anything during the day. And the lack of effectivity (is that a word?) causes huge piles of unfolded clothes and sacks of groceries laying about.

Yes, it is laying, not lying. Just taught this concept to my wonderful freshmen this past week.

And no, there are no pictures of laundry or groceries for your viewing pleasure as it seems I've lost my digital camera. Lost. Let's not discuss it because I'm prone to tears.

So how does that poem end?

And I heard her exclaim
As she drove out of sight:
I'm driving away!
Have a good night!

I told you - I'm no good at poems.

Bond. James Bond.

I love James Bond. My husband loves James Bond. My dad and four brothers love James Bond. In fact, they love him so much that two years ago, that's how they threw my youngest brother a bachelor party. They took him to see James Bond.

I started watching Bond flicks when I was younger. I'm not sure how much younger, but probably 11 or 12. Who lets their 11-year-old watch James Bond? My dad. I'm sure it counted as quality time for him. I'm sure I didn't get the inuendos at that tender age, but I knew that Bond always escaped calamity and he always got the girl.

I started watching Bond when Roger Moore was Agent 007. As Bonds go, he was a good Bond. If you disagree, you could compare him to the idiot that came after him. Oh-that would be this guy:Timothy Dalton. He was a hottie...NOT! Dalton did two Bond films. The second one, "License to Kill" is my least favorite Bond flick. Too much gore in that one. As long as we're talking least favorites, let me just point out that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" starred George Lazenby and is my second least favorite. George only got to live as Bond once. Incidentally, George came between the King of Bond. Sean Connery. Sean was the original James Bond. Then George did that one, and Sean had to come back to save the franchise. All total, Sir Sean Connery (who is Scottish) did seven Bond films. After the unfortunate Timothy Dalton, though, the Bond people decided that they really needed a MAN to play Bond. Ahhh. Pierce Brosnan. Yeah, that picture just makes me sigh. However, if you have seen the recent movie "Mamma Mia," you may never look at this Bond guy quite the same. Pierce did four Bond films and then we got to move on this hottie:The jury is still out on Daniel Craig, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE those blue eyes. And really, with all these guys, how can you resist that accent? Is it any wonder that James always gets the girl?

Quantum of Solace opens this weekend in America. You can bet we'll be there to see it. Are you kidding? More gadgets (still miss Q), more of Dame Judi Dench (love her as M), and Bond. James Bond.

Locks of Love

This is my Kilee on her 6th birthday last June. Notice the long blonde hair. (Why is blonde sometimes spelled with an "e" and sometimes not?) Please do not notice the sweet little neighbor girl with her dress pulled up. If I were any good with a camera or picture software, I would know how to edit that out. But I'm no good and I'm waiting for Vicki to buy Photoshop and figure it all out and then teach me. When that happens, I'll edit my photos. Until then, please ignore the sweet neighbor girl.

Kilee has been letting her hair grow for quite some time. I can't remember, exactly, when we started just letting it grow, but I do remember when we decided to cut it.

Last March, one of Kilee's friends, Behle, cut off her beautiful long brown hair. But Behle didn't just let it fall to the floor in a pile of discarded hair. Behle put it in a pony tail and then Jenn, her stylist, literally chopped her hair off above the rubber band. Then Behle's mom sent the beautiful pony tail of hair off to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a not-for profit organization that provides hair pieces to disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. It takes six pony tails to make one wig.

We let her hair grow until we had ten inches to cut off. Then off to the stylist we went. One last look at the pretty hair that I loved to braid. Kilee didn't hesitate. One pony tail and some serious chopping through the hair and wa-la! One sixth of a wig for a disadvantaged child in need of hair.

And now, cute, short hair that requires a lot less shampoo and conditioner, dries twice as fast, and she can fix herself. Keeping it short? Nah. This mom misses the braids.

Playing Dress-Up

I don't remember much about Halloween costumes. I think I went as a hill-billy once. I do remember a Pippy Longstocking. But that's about it. Does that mean that when my kids are grown they won't remember what they were?

Does it mean they won't remember the search for swords, the cutting of sashes, the feathering of hats? Will Tanner (on the left) remember the fit he pitched over wearing tights? Will Braxton (middle) remember looking at images of the Three Musketeers online? Will Logan (on the right) ever figure out that the "colored pencil" we used to draw on his mustache really was eye liner (make-up! ewww!)?





Will Kilee (in the middle of her brothers now) remember adamantly refusing to let me spray black on her hair? I thought she would have liked the black hair. Don't witches have black hair?

Will Jess (here with older brother Logan and older vampire sister Behle) remember that he was Spider Man two years in a row?

No, I don't think they'll remember any of that. I'd like to think, though, that they will remember trick-or-treating with their friends, taking care of Dalmation McKay (for two years in a row), staying up late, and sleeping on the floor. Those are the memories that I hope stay with them for a life time.