From the town of Nash-Rock…

Ashlyn has been home sick the past few days.  Most of our days home from school have been spent doing origami, reciting the periodic table, practicing our Beethoven pieces on the piano and perfecting our soufflé recipe. 

Yeah, right…

We’ve been watching cartoons (consisting mostly of SpongeBob), playing the Wii and seeing how long we can stay in our pajamas til they start to smell funny (2.2 days, by the way).

We had a “throw back” hour today when Ashlyn found the original episodes of Tom & Jerry on the Cartoon Network. 

Here’s what happened next…

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Me:  Ashlyn, I used to watch Tom & Jerry when I was a little girl.

Ashlyn:  Really?!?

Me:  Yeah, I loved it.

Ashlyn:  That was a long time ago, right?

Me:  Mm-hmm, several years ago.

Ashlyn:  Yeah, back in the prehistoric.  You know…in the 90’s.

______________

I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time.

The Riggs Family Goes to the Fair

Yes – cheesy title.

Yes – cheesy videos.

Yes – doing this to make the grandparents happy (Christmas is right around the corner people).

This first one is from when we were in the chicken barn at the Wilson County Fair. 

This is from the fun house.  You may wonder why I didn’t help them get out of the fun house spinning wheel…

 

Well…helping them would keep me from getting funny video of them.  Geez!

Panda Bear, Panda Bear…

The 1st & 2nd Grade Book Parade was this evening.  Since Ashlyn has been under the weather, Anna and I headed to the parade by ourselves.  After hitting up the Book Fair for some highly priced educational books, we made our way to the school’s “green room” of sorts prior to the parade.  This is where we joined the other dressed up 1st graders.

Here are the results of Anna's Oscar-worthy performance and my - also Oscar-worthy - costuming and makeup abilities:

Translation:  Hi, My name is Panda Bear from Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See written by Bill Martin Jr.

Yes - those are wrist guards from my roller blading days (stop laughing) that she added to her costume as we left through the garage.  I totally think it "makes" the outfit, don't you?

Even though Ashlyn was not able to do the show (she has been sick the past 3 days), she had to get in on some acting action.  This "scene" is her as the hunter killing the poor endangered panda bear with her AK47 Rifle.  mmmm...hmmmmm...

Oh Porky…you did not die in vain…

I can’t say I’ve been to many pig roasts.  Actually, I’m not sure if I had ever been to a pig roast before yesterday.  I just love trying new things…

We packed up our lawn chairs, our cooler, the pasta salad I made, and the girls, and headed over to a neighbor’s house down the street.  They were kind enough to invite us over and we never turn down a free meal – especially a free meal I don’t have to cook.

A good time was had by all.  We met some new people, revisited with some neighbors we haven’t seen in a while and the girls wore themselves out playing with all the other “kids” (I originally had “kiddies” here and the girls had a fit watching me type it – dang it – why did they have to learn how to read).

Here are a few more pics from our afternoon of carnivorism:

Ashlyn couldn’t be bothered with putting the roll down for a picture.  Anna was pleased as punch to put on her winning smile.

I love this picture, but Chris says he “looks old”.  I think he’s nuts.  What a cutie!

Ok, men – how many of you does it take to cut up that pig?!?  You should have heard them planning the attack.  And there were WAY too many knives being waved around at this point – especially since most of them had already imbibed a beer or 2 (or 12).

It started raining at one point (luckily, after the pig massacre had already occurred) and we all ran inside – except for several kids (yes – including ours after a bit) that decided jumping on a trampoline in a downpour was a good idea.  We’re raising some smart kids in the South, I tell ya!  Anna and I took time out for a picture on the stairs.

So – dear piggy – we appreciate you sacrificing your life so we could (“EAT YOU” – Ashlyn just screamed in my ear) enjoy each other’s company and spend a wonderful Saturday afternoon.

Side Note:  I told the girls before we went over there that they would be catching the pig so we could cook it.  They actually started strategizing this endeavor before I finally told them I was kidding.  “Anna, you grab its tail and I’ll knock it in the head with my baseball bat!”  “Ashlyn, you corner it under the trampoline, and I’ll punch it in the nose.”

No ma'am...ain't no rednecks here!

What do you do in the South during football season and you can’t find your hat that holds the pop/beer cans that you can drink out of….

Why…you make your own, of course!

Murderers & Thieves = BAD / Lunch Lady = GOOD

A little background…the main glory of moving from Kindergarten to 1st Grade is you are finally given the permission to purchases ice cream as a part of your school lunch. Let’s face it – there isn’t much glory in being a 1st grader, so this is equivalent to me being given the keys to the Diet Coke machine in our office. (Hold on a second – I need to daydream about that for just a bit.)

This is supposed to be a treat.

A treat not necessarily enjoyed EVERY day.

My children did not get this memo.

To their credit, if I had a blank check (we put money into an account they use to pay for their daily lunch) and was offered ice cream, I would definitely take it. I mean, who wouldn’t?

We had no idea the girls were doing this almost every day until I recently checked their lunch account and I was able to print a report showing me their daily spending habits. Mmm…hmmm…very interesting report.

So we had a chat with mini-Ben & Jerry, and explained that ice cream is a “treat” and does not need to be enjoyed every day at school. Yes – they looked like deer in the headlights over that revelation, but they finally came to and understood what we were trying to tell them. We told them they could get it two times a week and they could pick those two days of the week. If they abused this privilege, we would not allow them to get ice cream at all. This brought on a whole other discussion about which days they wanted it. Just another one of those moments where we see how much like Chris Anna is and how much like me Ashlyn is.

Anna fretted over the decision for a good 10 minutes and decided to hoard her ice cream til the last two days of the week. Ashlyn was trying to figure out if she could actually use both her ice cream “days” on Monday – no clue where she gets that impulsiveness (har dee har har).

Having explained all this – the most important thing to remember is that ice cream, the lunch room and the lunch ladies (who hand out this beloved ice cream) have been popular topics of discussion lately.

This morning the girls were laying in our bed waiting on me and Chris to finish getting ready. The news was on and there was a story presented about a man who shot and killed two people during a robbery. Now – I am not winning Parent of the Year any time soon, but I will take certain opportunities like this and make them a learning experience if I think about it quickly enough. As I slipped on my shoes, I told the girls, “See girls, there are some very bad people in this world which is why we always want you to be careful and make wise choices. There are also lots of good people too, but …”

I didn’t even get the last part of that sentence out before Ashlyn said, “Good people – like the lunch lady!” Anna immediately agreed and all Chris and I could do was look at each other and start cracking up. Yep – the lunch lady now ranks right up there with Santa, the Tooth Fairy & the Easter Bunny now. We’re so proud.

Not Me Monday (and including several Mondays I've missed)

1. I most certainly HAVE NOT missed a plethora (I just love that word...say it 3 times fast with me: plethora, plethora, plethora - I just love it) of opportunities to post items on this blog. I have truly fallen of the wagon and am doing all I can to get my butt back on that sucker.

2. I also most certainly DO NOT have some sort of freakish affection for the word "plethora".

3. I DID NOT bring two popular vampire movies back to my buddy at church a few weeks ago. I did wrap them up in brown plastic bags so as to not offend any non-vampire loving Baptists. Yep - was just waiting for the lightening to strike...

4. I definitely did not make my daughter sing “All I Want for Christmas…” after she lost her two front teeth recently – just for giggles. I also don’t encourage her to say any words containing “s” or “th” just for laughs. (Hey - she's a ham and loves the attention - no idea where she gets that.)

5. We (yep – I’m throwing Chris under the bus for this one too) did not take the girls out of school a couple Fridays ago to go to an amusement park. Hey – it was educational! We had to count how many times we rode each ride and estimate how many spinning rides my dad would have to ride to make him throw up. There was also motor skills testing involved (the shoot-em-up Scooby Doo ride tested our laser shooting accuracy and encouraged healthy competition – dang it). PS – I totally KICKED BUTT on that ride.

6. I absolutely DID NOT forget to mention that my parents met us King’s Island in Cincy for our day of fun, and then receive the scolding of a lifetime from my mother for not mentioning said parents in my blog post about that day. Yes – my parents were with us. Yes – they rode many rides. Yes – I actually heard my mother squeal with glee on the kiddie roller coaster. Yes – I totally laughed my butt off when the ride my Dad first rode with us started spinning and then almost pee my pants when he said, “hmmm…maybe I should have watched what this ride did before getting on it”. Yes – I totally should have written a sonnet praising them for their wonderful-ness as they watched the girls that night so Chris and I could go back and ride the “big” rides. Instead, dear parents, please accept this haiku as a symbol of our thanks...

Dear parents of mine

We had such fun and great laughs

Let's do it again

7. I would never giggle uncontrollably when my water-phobic hubby (I’m talking Wicked Witch of the West hatred of being wet) got drenched on the White Water Canyon ride – twice.

8. I did not tell the man (obviously from the North) sitting next to me at "Wicked" the following after hearing him bitch and moan to his wife (obviously from the South) about "the south". "You know what you can do if you don't like the South? LEAVE!" His wife about fell out of her seat.*

* He actually laughed when I said it too, so it was all in good fun.

9. I have not already watched this new "New Moon" preview 5 times this morning:

All I want for Christmas...

You may call it slight child abuse...I call it humor...

Out of the mouths of babes...

Random bits of WAY overdue info...

1. I am not even going to pretend I haven't been on here for two months. I will only hang my head in shame and beg forgiveness (mostly from my mother-in-law & Courtney who are relentless little boogers).

2. I'm going to see Wicked tonight with my good buddy, Courtney. It is very possible she will have to hold me down from jumping up and singing with the cast (I've been listening to the soundtrack for months), but - knowing her - she will totally shove me right up on stage with them.

3. We went to the Wilson County Fair a couple weeks ago. This fair is AWESOME and is considered the state fair of TN (because - apparently - the real state fair bites). Here are a couple pics from that day.













4. I got my hair "did" a couple weeks ago (that's "southern speak" for "I have a new hairdo"). I'm very happy with the results. I may even go "wild" in the winter with some darker color - I know you're on the edge of your seat...

5. I started back to "regular" work hours now that the girls are back in school. This means the house is a mess, and my "to do" list has grown TREMENDOUSLY. At least it keeps me out of trouble (for now). Of course, it also keeps me from blogging...

6. We went to Cincinnati last weekend and visited King's Island. Man - I forgot how much fun it is to ride the Beast! I have LOTS of pics from that, but will post those separately. I'm still impressed Chris and I rode the brand new coaster - the Diamondback - I screamed the entire ride (twice). Plus, the girls were able to sleep on the "magic bed" (their term for the pull-out sofa at hotels) all weekend. I'm so glad my children are entertained so easily.

7. We spent one evening in Cincy with my college buddy - Kari - and her wonderful family. SO MUCH FUN! Every time we see them, we want to move back North.

8. We also helped with a yard sale at my cousin's house. I brought hats for everyone to wear (nothing like a festive yard sale staff to bring in the buyers), and here's what I picked out for my Dad and Uncle (aka - The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything). These pictures are SO going to come back and haunt them...

9. I'm addicted to this site. She is VERY crafty, but presents it in a way where I actually believe I can do the things she's done. Realistically, I know I'll probably never do them, but it is nice to know it is possible.

That's all for now, but I have many more thoughts & pics to post. I won't make any promises, but I will try to do better. :-)