What a parent will do for a child

This was me this afternoon.
 

Well, not exactly "me" per se because I was taking the picture, but this is where I was sitting when I chaperoned Rosie's drum line rehearsal today.

Being a chaperon involves the highly-skilled task of sitting in an empty junior high school hallway for 2 hours while the drum line practices in the adjoining gymnasium. My role then, was to be the security force that prevents ne'er-do-wells from infiltrating the... uh, the... er, well the 100 feet of hallway behind me.

So... while I was sitting there, this is what I was hearing:

a-tink! a-tink! a-tink! a-tink!
a-tink! a-tink! a-tink! a-tink!
a-tink! a-tink! a-tink! a-tink!
a-tink! a-tink! a-tink! a-tink! etc... ad infitatum
(sound of excruciatingly loud metallic metronome)

bump-bump-bump-bump BUMP-a-ba-bump-bump
bump-bump-bump-bump BUMP-a-ba-bump-bump
bump-bump-bump-bump BUMP-a-ba-bump-bump
bump-bump-bump-bump BUMP-a-ba-bump-bump... repeat 4000 times
(sound of snare drums ON TOP of excruciatingly loud metallic metronome)

Rosie on the far right

After only 45 minutes, I realize that this inhumane abuse must be added to the congressional list of currently debated torture, right along with waterboarding and electrocution.

Forget about what you've seen in the movies. Remember that scene in Marathon Man where Laurence Olivier took a dentist drill to Dustin Hoffman's teeth to get him to spill it? Ya... this is worse.

Or how about when Daniel Craig was tied to that chair in Casino Royal and that guy whipped him in his naughty bits with that huge knotted rope?

Worse.

Or what about when they put those creatures in Chekov's ear in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan?!

Still worse!

So what I'm saying is - loud metallic metronomes are painful. They're loud and they're loud and they never stop. NEVER! For 2 hours!

Still... I survived. And my daughter is doing something she loves. And I love her, so that's why I was there.

And now I know just how much I love her.

It's a lot.

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Mystery Monday

You ever see those puzzles where they show you two pictures side by side and you have to try to figure out what is different about them?

Well I've got a good one for you. Here are two different photos of Austin, virtually indistinguishable in every way. But I've added some subtle differences to fool you. See if you can spot them.

I know... this is a tough one. It's like you're looking at the same picture twice. Well, let me help you out.

What's Different?
1. The hat
2. The extra shirt
3. The picture over the other shoulder
4. The crucifix
5. The hand railing

Oh, and one more slight difference...

6. The angry look that says I want to bite your face off versus the smiling, happy face.

I guess some people are just not morning people. It's amazing what an hour can do, isn't it? Oh, and also having your braces removed after 3 years. Yeah, that helps too.

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Rosie and her creepy friends

Last night Rosie and I went to a local "Haunted Acres" and had a ghoulishly fun time. This place had a 20 minute hay ride through the woods where scary monsters jump out at you and climb up on the wagon. Rosie was like a creep magnet for these creatures because ever single one of them decided to stop, get in her face, and stare her down before they moved on through the rest of the wagon. Perhaps it was the ear-piercing scream she let out EVERY time she saw one? Just a guess.

They also had 3 haunted houses and a scary corn maze as well, all with the same premise... ugly/dead/grumbly/creepy/clowns that jump out at you when you least expect it. It never gets old. No, really.

But seriously, these places are a lot of fun. Especially if you're a 13 year old girl. I haven't had my daughter snuggle up that close to me since she was 5. And as you can see in this picture, these places are also very popular. This is the hour long line we had to wait in for our turn.

While we were standing in line, I decided it would be kind of fun to snap a picture of my beautiful daughter so I would have something to remember this night by, but apparently Rosie decided she actually was 5 and didn't want to have anything to do with it. It wasn't until I threatened to not repay her for the admission (I didn't know they took cash only so I had to borrow it from miss moneybags herself) that she quickly succumbed to the "relatively normal" last picture in this series.

Thanks Rosie... you're such a sport.

No, I will NOT open my eyes!

 

Rosie... I'm gonna kill you!

 

Ok, but only ONE eye!

 

Perhaps some dork-lips?

 

Or how about some squishy face?

 

Sure dad, I'll smile nice. Now... give me my money!

Unfortunately the place didn't allow photographs once you were outside of the building, so all I have of our lovely evening are these. But that's ok... I also have the ringing in my ears from the 2 hours of teen-screams to remember this by.

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Happy Birthday to my 5 year old?

Every year, on our kids' birthdays, we give them a free pass to eat whatever they want for the entire day.

Usually this is an open invitation for them to indulge in foods they would never normally eat at our house... or more accurately, foods we would never buy for them.

And so Austin turned 17 today, and this year is no exception. When we asked him yesterday what he wanted to eat he made this list:

breakfast - chocolate covered crepes
lunch - Space Aliens restaurant
dinner - corn dogs and macaroni and cheese

I imagine the only reason he didn't request a Happy Meal is because they won't sell him one at his age.

yes, he's wearing a knit cap... yes, it's June

winning hundreds of tickets - so he can buy a pencil eraser

So happy birthday, my big giant 17 year old. Maybe after we eat lunch we can go to the petting zoo and feed the little duckies. But we'll need to head home after that because you always get cranky if you don't get your nap.

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Band on the run

Guess what Charli and I did this weekend? We went to not one... not two... but THREE parades!

Why? Because we don't have enough Dubble Bubble, Dum Dums and Toostie Rolls of course. Duh.

Actually, the real reason is because Rosie has joined St. Cloud's All City Marching Band - and as parents we are contractually obligated to attend all parades no matter how far away, how rainy or how long they last. But that's perfectly ok with us because Rosie is a great kid and we are great proud parents.


This band is unique in that it's city-wide, and accepts kids from any school in the area, grades 7-12, whether they have experience or not. For 4 weeks they rehearse like mad until the week before the first parade of the season. Then, the entire band heads out of town to a rural middle school where they spend five days at "spat camp" practicing their marching routine and songs 12 hours a day.

This is the marching band equivalent of military boot camp, and by the time these kids are done they have been transformed into obedient little toy soldiers who can perform a choreographed routine in perfect unison while executing a complex musical score.

Rosie in perfect form

The entire week Rosie was there we only received 2 short phone calls from her. At first we thought she was being inconsiderate by not returning our pleas for daughterly communications, but when we unpacked her bags and saw that she had never even opened any of the Doritos or Oreos we sent as treats, we knew she was simply too busy and/or exhausted to worry about updating us. And every other parent we talked to said the same thing.

On the surface it sounds like a pretty rough ride for these poor kids, but as Rosie has said... "I LOVE IT!"... which also explains why the majority of them end up signing up for the entire 5 year ride. Of course it doesn't hurt that they get to go on cool band trips either. This year, they are headed off to Colorado for a week of sight seeing, amusement parks and white water rafting.

"uh, thanks mom and dad... but feel free to sit down anytime now"

So, if you're ever at a parade in rural MN this summer, look for the littlest kid on the end of the mellophones. Then look for her parents walking along the sidewalk taking pictures and generally embarrassing the crap out of her. That would be us.

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The Joys of Parenthood

Uh.... OK. And just what the hell is that you ask?

Do you remember when I was whining about the fact that I lost my camera? And do you remember how happy I was when I finally got a new one for Christmas?

Wel l l l l l l l...

What you're looking at up there at the top is a cell phone picture of my camera WITHOUT its SD card. That's because the last time I tried to use the camera it returned the message "No memory card." Of course when I asked my darling children if anyone had taken it, I got the exact same response from each one of them.

I'll give you one guess what that was.

Then today, in an unrelated incident, I received this gem in the mail from Austin's high school

I do have to admit though that I got a chuckle out of the fact that their main complaint was that he was "taping another student up in an area that is off limits during lunch time."

Lesson here is that if you're going to tape up another student, you need to do it in an approved area.

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Won't Get Fooled Again

Ok... sue me. I like those stupid CSI shows on CBS.

Not because I think they're so real or informative. And certainly not for the acting (yes, that means you Caruso) but because they provide an hour of mindless entertainment that you can make fun of while working your way through dozens of neatly packaged implausibilities.

In order to be a fan of these shows, you have to have the ability to suspend reality and just let them do their thing. When it comes to the plot I'm ok with that. But when they start messing with the production, I have a little less patience.

Now for some reason, their new thing is to get all clever with their dialog scenes by breaking up the shots into multiple little window panels, or running blurred horizontal pans or some other graphical nonsense. Look... I'm not 3 and I don't have to be visually stimulated every 5 minutes in order to stay tuned.

But the other night they went too far. Right in the middle of a lab scene they started playing this ridiculous song in the background. It totally didn't fit the shot and just kind of grated on my nerves. Then 30 seconds later they did it again. THEN AGAIN 30 SECONDS AFTER THAT! I couldn't believe how irritating it was and how completely out of context it was to the show. But eventually they moved on and so did I.

The next morning as I got ready for work I grabbed my cell phone off the night stand and noticed I had 3 unread text messages from my daughter from the night before. Here's what they said:

From: Rosie --------------- i need a towel --------------- 9:24 P

From: Rosie --------------- upstairs bathroom --------------- 9:25 P

From: Rosie --------------- nevermind --------------- 9:25 P

Apparently CSI wasn't to blame for that irritating music after all.

So sorry honey. I hope that tee shirt you had to use from the clothes hamper wasn't too dirty. And I especially hope it wasn't one of your brothers'!

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Everyday Conversations - Food Crisis

Starving Teen (staring into the refrigerator as he hangs on the door with one arm):
We don't have any food.

Me: What are you talking about? We have bread, 3 kinds of deli sandwich meats, tuna, a crisper drawer full of vegetables, hamburger, chicken, cheddar cheese, noodles, sauces, 10 varieties of soup, and the ingredients to make a 14-topping salad.

ST: Yeah, but we don't have anything to eat.

Me: No, what you're saying is - we don't have corn dogs, macaroni and cheese, Twinkies, Pop Tarts, sugar cereal, Doritos, Hot Pockets, frozen pizza, pizza rolls, pizza burgers, pizza wheels, pizza bites, or pizza Pringles.

ST: Exactly.

Me: I see. Well then, I recommend you contact Unicef. I'm sure they'll be very sympathetic to your plight.

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The wheels on the bus go round and round

In exactly 3 hours my first-born child, my baby boy, my now grown-up son - will turn 18.

All I can say (besides, how the heck did that happen?) is... wow.

Brandon, your mom and I couldn't be more proud of you. You are one of the brightest, most thoughtful people we've ever known. You are destined to do great things, and we have no doubt you will.

We love you Brandon, and hope you have a wonderful and VERY

Happy Birthday!

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Uh... how is this my problem again?

So Brandon smacks up his car. Yes we're all thankful no one was hurt, but beyond that - this is really just his problem.

He is the one who has to buy another car

He is the one who has to pay the insurance increase

He is the one who has to pay the fine

He is the one who has to figure out how to get back and forth between two different jobs and school without it affecting the rest of the family. FAIL!

Take this morning for instance... he needs one of our remaining two cars because he is taking finals this week and the first test didn't begin until late morning - so the rest of us have to figure out how to get: Charli to work, Roseanna to her school, Austin to his school and me to my job with one... count em... ONE car!

Me thinks the bus schedule will be showing up on the kitchen counter tonight.

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Item Number 2

I wouldn't be surprised if most of you were wondering, Hey... what tripped Jeff's trigger on that last post?

Well, here's one thing:

On Friday night my son Brandon totaled his car when he drove into the back of another car that had stopped suddenly in front of him. He was fiddling with his radio and most likely following too closely. A typical young driver mistake.

Fortunately, neither he nor the other driver were hurt, but he wishes he could say the same thing for his car.

And his wallet.

Not only does he have to figure out how to buy another car (no, he doesn't have full coverage insurance), but the police also gave him a $123 ticket for "inattentive driving." Apparently that's a new law here in MN specifically designed to add salt to your wounds. In addition, he also has to pay the $75 tow truck charge. Ouch!

Anyway... my last post was something I had been thinking about for a while now as Brandon approaches his 18th birthday, and this little incident was enough to trigger the post - specifically item number 2.

So yeah, parenting is a great and wonderful thing...

...but it can also be scary as hell.

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10 Things They Don't Tell You About Parenthood

Ahh, I remember it well...

I remember when my kids would eagerly climb up into my lap with a book and snuggle in for a nice long bedtime story.

I remember when they couldn't wait to open their backpacks and proudly show me their Kindergarten art.

I remember when they would wrap their arms around my neck and give me a big giant goodnight kiss AND tell me they loved me.

But things are different now. In a few weeks my oldest son will be turning 18. A year and a half later his brother will follow. Things are different now because these guys are no longer kids. These guys are young adults.

And now that my wife and I have raised two of our three children to adulthood (nearly), I feel I'm qualified to share some parental wisdom with those of you who are still in the earlier stages of parenthood - those of you who have yet to be blindsided by the surprises your children are surely going to spring upon you.

With that being said, I'd like to share a little list I put together for you. This is not a warm and fuzzy happy list, the kind found in the parenting books that people buy before they have kids... this is a cold reality list, the kind written by a real parent of grown-up kids.

THIS is the list of:

10 Things They Don't Tell You About Parenthood

1. At some point after 5th grade you will no longer hear the words "I love you" voluntarily. Don't take it personally, they still love you... they just won't say it.

2. Your kids will do things many times over that will scare the living hell out of you. And when they've finally reached the age of 18 you'll wonder how they managed to make it that far, and you'll thank God they did.

3. No matter how much money you think it will cost to raise your kids - it will only be a fraction of what they really cost.

4. Your children will, at some point, tell you they hate you. Guaranteed.

5. No matter how many times your kids disappoint you and break your heart - you won't love them any less.

6. Your kids and their friends are not as innocent as you think. This bears repeating....
Your kids and their friends are not as innocent as you think.

7. You will never be able to strike a balance of discipline that will satisfy you. If you're too easy on them they will take advantage of you. If you're too hard on them you will feel guilty.

8. You will, at various points throughout your parenthood, feel like you're a failure as a parent.

9. You are not alone. All parents struggle with these exact same issues.

10. No matter how much pain and heartache your kids cause you over the course of their childhood... IT'S STILL WORTH IT!

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Let your kids try things

My wife and I are big fans of letting our kids try things, and then seeing how they play out.

For example, over the years Austin has shown a variety of obsessions with things. When he was 3 the only thing he could talk about was wanting to be in hockey. Then the day that we signed him up he decided he hated the helmet (with the face mask) and promptly decided he didn't want to be a hockey player anymore. Luckily, we were able to return the $300 worth of gear we had purchased.

In middle school he wanted to be on the football team. But after 2 years of repeatedly getting pummeled by kids twice his size he wisely decided that wasn't his game either.

Following that he spent several years taking guitar lessons (which I thought he was getting pretty good at) until skateboarding entered his life and that was that. From that point forward his entire existence has revolved around nothing but the almighty skateboard.

Now, his latest interest is spinning off into videography as a result of the "footy" he and his friends have been gathering while skating. I'll be posting a video of his latest project in a few days once he's finished with it.

The same thing goes for my daughter.

In the last several years she has tried viola, piano, skateboarding, soccer, baseball, and basketball. Some things she comes back to, others she has abandoned. It's all based on what floats her boat at the time.

But her latest interest has been in karate of all things.

After receiving a free 30-day trial membership in the mail, Roseanna decided she wanted to try it.

To say she likes it would be an understatement. Classes are offered up to 4 times per week and students are encouraged to attend at least 1, and hopefully 2 times if they can make it. In the last 3 months since Roseanna has been signed up, she has been going 3 times/wk and sometimes 4, and still can't seem to get enough!

Now, in addition to learning the basics, she has advanced far enough where she gets to don all the padded gear and engage in sparring as well.

Not only is karate good for you physically, but it also builds self confidence and provides self defense skills that you can draw on if necessary.

Here she is below receiving her latest promotion to gold/green belt. If she keeps attending at the rate she is right now, she will receive her black belt by high school. I think that would be awesome if she stuck to it and reached that goal.

The point is, not everything your kids try will pan out.

I used to get frustrated when Austin didn't practice his guitar because as a musician, I wanted him to experience the artistic release I feel when I am able to make music. But eventually I bit my tongue and just let him move on to other interests.

Oh sure, we had to ask him to make a decision at some point. Because spending $20/wk on lessons that he wasn't taking advantage of didn't make sense for either of us. But in the end he found another passion which has taken him to new and exciting levels in his life.

So I say let your kids try things. They might just find something they didn't even know they were looking for.

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The List

What do you get when you mix a disrespectful teen, a fed up mother, a punishment and a video camera?

A pretty funny video actually.

But before you watch it, allow me to explain first.

The other day Charli called Austin on his cell phone to ask him to be home in time for open house.

"But mom, open house is for freshmen! I don't need to go to that!" And then he started talking back to the point of where Charli had heard enough.

Now, since Charli began working full time, we have been leaving the kids a small list of 2 or 3 chores every morning to accomplish before we get home in the evening. But on this particular morning, Charli decided to assign Austin just a few extra duties as a reward for dissing her the night before.

Here's what he woke up to yesterday:

Austin - Since you seem to think speaking to me with disrespect is acceptable, I decided to let you live a small portion of my life today. I will expect you to stay home today and accomplish the following chores. 1. Put your clothes away neatly and bring down laundry basket (to basement) 2. Make your bed 3. Use magic sponge and a chair and clean ceiling in upper bathroom 4. Bring all trash (except Brandon's) down from upstairs then take out the trash can 5. Bring down all laundry to basement 6. Sweep living room and kitchen and stairs 7. Vacuum family room 8. Dust living room, family room and both dining rooms 9. Bring towels and washcloths up from casual dining room table as well as any clothes 10. Spray window in kitchen back door and get rid of hand prints 11. Wipe down all kitchen cabinets (do this well) 12. Vacuum basement 13. Clean up your sleeping spot I will check these when I get home and you will redo what isn't done. Mom

So what was Austin's response?

Well, here's what was waiting for us on our computer when we got home.

I must say, this cracked me up. Instead of the typical reaction of grumbling about how unfair this punishment was etc, Austin instead decided to swallow the pill and have a little fun with it at the same time (with the help of his sister).

And even though I'd like to, I doubt I'll ever see this type of response again. But if this is how he wants to handle his punishments in the future - I'll certainly take it!

Oh, and Austin?

Mom says "apology accepted."

* * * * *

If this made you smile, please don't hesitate to smile back :-)

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Feeling baaad for my kid

So yesterday afternoon I came home from work and noticed that $20 was missing from our kitchen counter.

Since my daughter was the only one home I asked her if she knew what happened to it. When she immediately dropped her head to avoid looking me in the eyes I knew right away she had something to do with it. Then when I pressed her about it, she eventually confessed to taking the money.

Right away I started to lay into her about trust and how I didn't appreciate that she was trying to get away with taking money from us. It was then that she finally piped up and said, "Dad, I borrowed that money so I could buy you a birthday present because I don't get my next paper route paycheck until next week. I just haven't had time to tell Mom because she's not home from work yet."

Nice.

I hope she bought me a picture frame, because I have the perfect self portrait to put in it.

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Don't feel guilty about stopping by humor-blogs.com

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High School Snoozicle Too

My dad is 6'4" so it stands to reason that his kids would end up fairly tall as well.

But as of my 9th grade this wasn't the case. Sure my sister was a bit taller than average for a girl, but my older brother was shorter than average - and I was just plain average.

But then something changed big time. Almost to the day I started the summer vacation after 9th grade my body started changing. Suddenly I couldn't eat enough, I was tired all.the.time. and I was bursting out of my pants like Bruce Banner on a bad day. Except of course instead of looking like the Incredible Hulk I looked more like Alfalfa, but that's not the point.

The point is, I grew a full 6 inches that summer and my body was taking a beating.

Sometime around mid summer I began to wake up in the middle of the night with severe calf cramps and as I would lie there screaming in pain, my loving mom would come rushing into my bedroom to help work them out. God bless her for that.

But instead of enjoying my newfound height, I felt like a freak. Like a human giraffe. Ironically it was only a year later that John Merrick cried out in angst: "I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!" I know of which he spoke.

So why am I telling you this story?

Because now that Charli is working every day and not waking the kids up in the morning, THIS is what I come home to at lunch time.

Still asleep from the night before

Every day.

Yes, Austin is doing the same thing - minus the leg cramps (so far). He eats like a horse, and just like I did, sleeps about 12 hours a night. And he's sprouting like a weed too. I know this because I'm one of those dorky parents who keeps growth measurements on the closet door frame - and since May, he has been growing at the rate of one inch per month.

Still, even though I'm sympathetic to his plight, I can't resist teasing him.

Today when I went into the living room at lunch time to wake him up for the day I pulled the blanket off of him and said... "Hey slug, time to get your butt up and get ready for work. And try not to leave a trail of slime when you do."

He didn't laugh.

I don't think he gets me.

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Humor-blogs.com is changing too. Click here and then click the maniacal-looking smiley face like the one you see here on the left to help keep me growing in popularity over there. Thanks!

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Chills and Thrills

So this morning my wife opens up the freezer and there's a 1/2 gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream in there.

"When did we get Moose Tracks?" she asked.

And that's when I remembered hearing our kitchen door slam last night around 11:00 p.m. while I was lying in my bed watching Stephen Colbert. About 20 minutes later I heard it slam again.

Apparently during this time my boys decided they needed ice cream, and did what was necessary to make it happen.

I don't remember authorizing that transaction.

But my kids are growing up and there's really not much I can do about it - except maybe take pictures. For example, here's a picture I took last week of my 12 year old daughter jumping off a 25 foot cliff at a local swimming hole.

If Roseanna jumped off a cliff...

Yes, it really is as high as it looks. But it's also safe. This is an old granite quarry and the water is over 50 feet deep below that jump.

Even still, you won't find me trying that anytime soon... or EVER for that matter. I way prefer the less dangerous activities, such as eating Moose Tracks for example.

But hey, don't minimize the danger of doing that either...

... a guy could choke on a chocolate chip you know.

* * * * *

*** Update *** I found this cool video someone made of the quarry cliff Roseanna was at. Of course the people in this video aren't necessarily as intelligent as she is about it.

Take the leap and stop over here for a really good laugh!

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76 trombones did not lead this parade!

In my last post I mentioned that I had a busy weekend planned - and then later in the comments revealed that my son Austin was going to be one of the Grand Marshals in St. Cloud's Granite City Days parade on Saturday (read about it in our newspaper here).

As I'm sure most of you are aware, Austin has received some very positive recognition for leading an effort to build a skateboard plaza for the youth of our city (you can follow this series of posts for more information if you're interested).

As part of that recognition, our Mayor appointed Austin and another St. Cloud teen, Alise Post (the 2006 National BMX Women's Champion) the distinct honor of being co-Grand Marshals for our annual summer festival's parade.

And, as an added bonus for the entire Lee family... my oldest and dearest blog buddy Jennine just happened to be in town covering a story for her city's newspaper (from which she was hired as a result of her first class blogging and photography skills) and stopped by for a few minutes just to meet my parents and see Austin lead the parade.

I was deeply touched by the fact that she, her husband and son, took the time to squeeze in a visit to see us even though she had to be on the other side of town only a few minutes later to start covering her event.

And thanks to Jennine, I now have this awesome photo of Alise and Austin to remember this moment.

Before the parade

After the parade commenced, I quickly headed a 1/2 mile down the street to where our chairs were set up and waiting. A few minutes later this is who I see leading the parade.

Hey... somebody get that skateboarder off the parade route!

Dad! You're embarassing me!!!

Austin was lucky though. The weather had threatened the entire day to rain during this parade, but he made it through to the end without getting wet. His sister Roseanna on the other hand wasn't so lucky. She was in position #80 out of 93 floats and the rain started coming down before her karate team even left the staging area. By the time she got to us, she was drenched.

Still in good spirits though!

Oh, and here was my brush with fame for the day...

As the usual political suspects were walking by, I saw Team Franken handing out fliers but didn't think much of it - until I turned to the right to see Al himself approaching me at a pretty fast clip. So naturally I stuck out my arm and shook his hand. I was actually surprised to see him there. I really wasn't expecting it.

He's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggonit, people like him!

So as you can imagine, it was a pretty exciting day for everyone - rain or not. My kids were in the parade, my folks came down to visit, I got to see Jennine again, and The Receders played to a packed club later in the night - after which I didn't hit the sack until 3 a.m.

And now today I'm spent. But hopefully I can now get back to seeing what all of you fine folks are up to again. So until then...

Have a great week!

* * * * *

Update: Stop by Jennine's place to read her side of this event along with a very touching tribute to my parents.

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The other woman in my life

Ok, granted a very young woman, but as of today - one year closer to the real deal.

Roseanna is a sweet girl with a huge beautiful heart who never gives us any problems, worries or reasons to see her teachers during conferences. And after her two older brothers, she also is, let's just say, a refreshing contrast - and leave it at that.

So Happy 12th Birthday sweetheart! Your mom and I are extremely proud of you and we love you to pieces.

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Look out... here comes the teenage son

Ever have one of those times where do you don't know if you should be mad at your kid or give him a high five for ingenuity?

Well I did, just last week.

I was at a customer site and my work cell phone started ringing. But - instead of the normal professional ringtone I usually have it set to, I hear this instead:

On one hand I was like, "what the hell?" and on the other hand I couldn't stop giggling about it for the rest of the day.

Here's a sign I created that pretty much sums up my feelings about it.

D'oh! Don't forget to stop by homer-blogs.com!

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