A Good Fortune.

Fortune from my fortune cookie I had after dinner tonight:

I like that.  Think I'll save this one.

I Have Returned.

In case you noticed, I've been missing for a week now.  And in case you're thinking I was on some wonderful tropic vacation,  you could not be more wrong.  I was home alright.  Home with two boys sick with the dreaded H1N1, swine flu.  And let me tell you, last week sucked.  

Last week sucked big time.

The boys are fine now, but last week was a whole different story.  Headache, fever, body ache, sore throat, coughing, tired.  They were miserable and it's always terrible to see the boys sick.  But they had exactly enough energy to argue over who had more couch space, who got to choose the next television show, who was the sickest.  Be happy I spared you of a week's worth of "boy B has a fever of 103.5 today" and "boy C has a fever of 102 and won't stop asking me for McDonald's" and "when in the hell is this swine flu going to leave my house".  We watched movies, "Full House" marathons, we played video games, we watched game shows (who knew you could find an episode of "Family Feud" on at any given moment).  I was subjected to a 1st grade spelling test (which, according to my son, I failed miserably).  My friends on Facebook became my lifeline.  They humored us by playing along with our game show questions, they offered to leave Starbucks on my porch.  It was a very long week for all of us.

But I'm back now, the boys are back at school, H1N1 has left our home,  every surface in the house has been saturated with Lysol.

It is so good to be back.

3:33 p.m.

Ridiculously busy day today.  So just for fun, I asked my son to pick a time, anytime.   I then set the alarm on my phone to go off at that time.  The plan was to stop what I was doing when the alarm went off and take a photo wherever I was at that point in the day. 

He chose three o'clock in the afternoon.  

As it turned out, in my fascinating life,  I was at Walmart flying through the aisles with my oldest son at 3:00 p.m.  And I did not hear the alarm over him repeatedly telling me we needed to hurry home (his sleepover guests were scheduled to arrive at 4:00).  The photo above was taken in the parking lot at 3:33.  The exact moment I checked my phone and realized not only had I missed the alarm, I had missed 3 phone calls as well.

Yes, it's a very fascinating life I lead.

Corn Maze 101

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, on Tuesday I was a chaperone on my son's pumpkin patch field trip.  I also mentioned the corn maze.  

I need to elaborate on the corn maze.

Ariel view of the awesome maze.  I tracked down a farmer and asked how it was created.  

Here's the rundown.

1. Corn is planted in a criss cross X pattern.
2. Drawing of the maze is created on paper.
3. The farm actually has a surveyor working on the property who is able to translate the drawing into the field of corn.
4. GPS devices are used to map out the maze.
5. The appropriate corn stalks are then removed from the desired paths.  If done early enough in the season, this is an easy task.  If they wait too long, an ax needs to be used to cut down the stalks.  I got the impression the ax was used more often than not.

Maps were provided should you need them.  You need them.  It's very disorienting in that sea of 7-8 feet tall corn stalks.  We had a guide, a map and there were marked signs with John Deere Trivia to let you know you were on the right path.

I still got lost.

Little Things.

Today was a good day filled with lots of little good things.

• Yoga. The day started off with the best yoga class ever.  I mean ever.  Made me remember why I need to continue to go.  And why I need to go more often. 
  
• Sunshine.  The rain stopped, the sun came out, the air warmed up.  It was wonderful.
• Candy corn.  Officially cracked open bag number 4 today.  I so love candy corn.
• Clean house.  The house is clean.  Until the boys came home from school, anyways.
• Chicken nuggets.  All 3 boys are buying lunch tomorrow.  Such a rare occasion to not pack a single lunch.
• Survivor and Grey's.  Both new episodes.
• Short list.  Totally tackled the to do list.  Not completely, but crossed more off than I have in months.
• Soak.  I love a good soak in a perfectly hot, bubble bath.
• Fresh.  Freshly laundered sheets.

I need more days like today.

I loved this day.

Lessons Learned from a Fall Field Trip.

Chaperoned my son's field trip to a pumpkin patch today.  And what a perfect day for the trip. Couldn't think of anything I would rather do then spend the beautiful fall day with my little guy and his classmates.

And of course, there was much to be learned today.

1. I learned that if you scratch a farm dog in exactly the right spot, he will pee all over an unsuspecting 6 year old.  Can I mention how relieved I was this child wasn't riding home with me?
   
2. Prickly burrs grow in pumpkin patches.  Something I wish we had learned before we let loose a group of 1st graders into a field to find a pumpkin.
   
3. Prickly burrs also grow in corn fields.  Again, something I wish I knew before I spent 15 minutes removing the burrs from the pumpkin expedition.
4. There is one strand of corn silk for each kernel on an ear of corn.  Did not know that. 
   
5. If there is one cat and one person with cat allergies on a 100+ acre farm, the cat will indeed find and stalk that one person.
   
6. This rule also applies to bees and children terrified of them.
7. I learned that the inside of a green pumpkin is orange, the inside of a white pumpkin is white.
   
8. Soybeans eaten directly out of the shell taste horrific.  Trust me, they need to be roasted first.
   
9. If you've watched or read "Children of the Corn", you'll find corn mazes a lot less charming and a lot more frightening.  Stupid, scary movie.
10. Speaking of children and corn, if you are responsible for 5 boys in a corn maze, chances are they will all choose different paths in the maze.  Some will even make a path of their own (at which point the map becomes completely useless).

No bee stings, no allergic reactions to soy nuts, all children returned safely home.

A very good day.

Cool Bottle with a Mysterious Lid.

That's pretty much the reason for this week's selection in my "Cheap Wine with a Pretty Label" series.  

See for yourself.

I'll keep it short but sweet this week.  Bought the wine because I was curious as to how I would get it open.  Screwed off, by the way, and there was also a cork under that silver cap.  Voga Italia is a very tasty Merlot in a cool, sleek, slightly curved bottle.  Loved the wine, loved the modern design, loved the way the half empty bottle looked (the glass is clear instead of the usual tinted red).  Most importantly, loved that it didn't make my face break out into a nasty rash (whew, not allergic to wine after all).

All this and under $10.00.  Told you I'd keep it brief.