Plant Answer

I guess I took the picture too close as everyone was right. It was popcorn kernels. There was only one suspect in my house that would have done that, so I asked him. Me - Little S did you put popcorn kernels in my plant? LS - Yes. Me - Why? LS - So that your plant would get more flowers and so I could grown a popcorn plant. Me - Where do you think Popcorn comes from? LS - Popcorn Tween and I were laughing and then he proceeded to explain to Little S where popcorn comes from. That kid just cracks me up sometimes. Stacy

Plants

When it comes to indoor plants, I do not have a green thumb at all...in fact it is almost black.

I have found that the only plant I can really take care of in the house is my Peace Lily. The reason I can handle this plant is you cannot over water it as they can live in just water. If it doesn't get enough water, it starts to droop. I just add some water and it perks right back up. What a horrible life for a plant. In fact if they had a humane society for plants, I would loose my rights to plants...lol

My mum on the other hand can grow anything. Indoor or outdoor. She definitely has a green thumb. We grew up with tons of plants around the house. In fact when she remodeled her last house she had a whole plant section in the dining room. She had a cabinet built in and a grow light put in above. When she built the addition on to her new house she had a huge sun room put in and it is full of thriving plants. And the outside of the house is beautiful as well. It looks as if she had a professional landscaper come in and design everything. However they did it all themselves. I will have to share some pics this spring and summer.

So the other day my plant needed water (no it wasn't drooping this time) and as I went to move the leaves to water it, here is what I found:

Can you see those little seeds in there? You will never guess what they are or how they got there. Go ahead and guess....I'll stop back later and give you the answer.

Stacy

Wednesday Would You

Last week I took my friend Laurel down to Pittsburgh for her chemo treatments. We got a lot of chatting and catching up done. One of the things that came up during our conversation made me really think. I am still not sure I have an answer so I am asking you for your opinion. So if the technology/knowledge existed: Would you rather know when & how you are going to die? or Would you rather go on with your normal life not knowing? I pondered this a lot. At first I thought I would want to know and then I changed and decided that I didn't, but then I wavered back again. What would you decide? Stacy

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I Have Done This Week



1. Applied for 2 jobs.

2. Dog sat for Laurel's son.

3. Cleaned my dining room table. (Huge chore - I am such a stacker/piler/saver)

4. Went on a date with Little S to see Gnomeo & Juliet. (cute movie and in 3-D)

5. Visited with my parents & grandma for the day.

6. Went on a date with my hubby and some really great friends.

7. Got fingerprinted for my FBI Clearances.

8. Applied for another 2 jobs. (The reason for the FBI Clearances)

9. Got my driver's license renewed and photo taken. (Does anyone ever look good in those pics?)

10. Tried 2 new recipes. (One from Pioneer Woman & One from Kraft)

11. Worked on Vacation Bible School stuff

12. Took a nap or two or ...

13. Went with Laurel to Pittsburgh for her treatment. (Always a fun time despite the circumstances)



What did you do this week?


Stacy

Would You Rather

Occasionally I watch America's Next Top Model. If you aren't familiar with the show it is basically a reality show for the modeling industry. Each week the contestants have to pose in a specific situation, walk at a runway show or shoot a commercial. So here are two recent situations.



Would You Rather:


Pose Naked but in a way that nothing is really showing


or


Walk the runway that is on fire and shooting flames along the side while also carrying live flames in each hand?



This one is a hard choice for me. I definitely do NOT ever want to pose naked and I am not sure I want to be that close to flames either.

But if I absolutely had to choose, I am pretty sure I would go with the flames. What about you?

Stacy

Games

A few weeks ago we went to my Mum's for a weekend visit. I have mentioned before how much my kids look forward to going to her house because we always play games. It doesn't matter if it is cards or a board game or something else, the kids just love it and so do we. My grandma even comes out and plays with us if we are playing cards. (She is 88 and can still beat us at times)

This is my grandma and my 3 boyz :)

While we were there this time the boyz wanted to play something different. So they went down to the basement and looked on the shelves to try and find something we haven't played in a while or perhaps not at all.

They found an old Michigan Rummy game down there. We skipped the part about the poker hand as none of us really knew the hands and ranks and such.

This is the game board. It came with about 100 chips to use. We used them in no time and needed to find something else to keep us going. Our solution was:

Buttons, lots and lots of buttons. We sorted them out and tried to use the bigger ones as my Mum had just had carpal tunnel surgery and picking up the little buttons were hard for her. We played that game for hours. And we actually just finally decided on a time and quit at about midnight.

Since the kids had so much fun with it, my parents just ordered a bunch of bingo chips that we can use the next time we are down. The boyz can't wait to go back.

Stacy

NYC Solution

Thank you for all of the feed back.

I may need to clarify a few things. The teacher that was in the room with them had just finished his student teaching at our school in the fall. He was invited along as he was teaching during the planning. He now works and lives in another school district in another state.

As for an adult sleeping in the same bed with my son, the student teacher isn't really that much older than him and is about the same age difference as he and his younger brother.

I do not have a problem with kids going on a sleepover to a friends house and them all hanging out and sleeping on the living room floor or bedroom, etc. Who really knows what goes on in hotel rooms and what could be on the floor.

I paid for a bed in a hotel room. They were there 2 nights and both nights he had to sleep on the floor. Had two people slept on the floor one night and they switched the second night I would have been a little more understanding.

Also everyone was given the option of paying an up charge to have their own bed. The student teacher and the other student did not take advantage of that.

After I have had a few weeks to cool off and several conversations with the teacher in charge and the principal this is the conclusion we have come to at this time.

** There will be a formal statement written in to all future trips that all students must be given a bed. Under no circumstances is anyone to be forced to sleep on the floor.

** Both of the students that slept on the floor will be given a formal apology by both the other student and the student teacher. (The student has apologized. The student teacher is not returning calls. I plan on continuing to pursue this.)

** Because the trip has already been paid for, the trip is over, and Tween never really said anything during the trip I cannot really recover any money. However, he will be given partial credit on a future trip that he takes.


Do you think that this is a fair conclusion?

Stacy

New York City

Tween recently went on a trip to New York City with his show choir group. He had an absolute blast and was torn between coming home and staying there forever. I am glad he chose to come home.


While he was there he got to see 'Wicked' and experience a behind the scenes workshop where they learned a song and dance from 'Wicked'.


They also got to see Ground Zero, shop in Chinatown and 5th Avenue and have lunch in Times Square.


After he got home from his trip we talked on an off about it for a few days. In the course of talking I came to find out that he had to sleep on the floor in the hotel room. When I questioned him it came out that there were 4 of them in the room, 3 kids and a student teacher from last fall. The student teacher refused to share a bed with the kids as he felt he 'earned' his own bed. And one of the other students being a junior pulled rank and refused to share a bed with anyone as well. So my Tween and the other boy had to sleep on the floor. (btw - they all paid the same amount)

To say that I was mortified would be putting it mildly. As soon as I found out I shot a text message to the teacher in charge. She had no idea that any of this happened. Tween verified that he didn't tell anyone. I ran the whole gamut of emotions from mad, to sad, appalled to disgusted and back to mad.

The next day the principal called me and expressed his sincere apologies. He was just as mortified and disappointed and appalled as the teacher and I were.

So now it is after the trip.

The principal and the teacher and Tween and I have all spoken on different occasions and have come up with the best possible solution.

But I would like to know what you feel would resolve the situation for you.

Stacy