One Fish, Two Fish

Possibly redfish, but no blue fish!

Here at Casa de Aggie, we have fish for dinner on Fridays during Lent. But fish every Friday can be boring. So, I have decided to make it into a gourmet holiday for the kids, making sure to serve different kinds, and involving them in the preparations. Eldest really likes to bake, and Son has gotten into sautéing. Little One is still in the “just eating it” stage. But I have hopes for her.

This evening’s offering will be salmon. Now, I prefer salmon raw, but I hear cooked it’s pretty good, too. I will make sautéed grape tomatoes with basil and mozzarella, steamed green beans, and homemade rolls. And if the kids were good today, I may be persuaded to make dessert. Perhaps a cherry pie to celebrate the beginning of Spring Break!

And the beginning of my descent into madness 😉

Feeling Pretty

When Eldest was very young, she liked to wear pretty things. Like all girls do. We’re talking flowers in her hair, dresses, frills, the works. I loved to take her shopping and dress her up. It was like having my own living doll. Which was awesome, because most of my dolls were Barbies that I bent in half to make into “guns”.

Then Hubby decided to take over. And the feminine little girl transmogrified into a snake-charming, target-killing, bug-loving, dirt-digging tomboy who, like her father, preferred the comfort of black clothing and jeans. My sphere of influence shrank into a miniscule ring the size of a penny almost overnight. I was crushed, but hey! At least I had Little One still in my so-called grip.That lasted…oh, about two weeks. Once she saw that Eldest had her own unique style, she too, was done with me.

I just gave up...

So, imagine my surprise when Eldest asks me to take her shopping for new clothes. Now, normally I try to instill a bit of influence over what my kids wear. I am adamant about modesty, but have pretty much given up on the whole feminine thing with the girls, since every time I would try to get them in a dress I would get the inevitable eye roll accompanied by the always popular, “Moooom!!!”

Eldest: Mom, can you take me clothes shopping?

Me: Do you need jeans again??

Eldest: I want a new dress.

Me: …..

Eldest: Maybe some pretty tops to wear at school.

Me: You mean in other colors besides black, grey, or more black?

Eldest: *rolls eyes* Yes…

Me: LET’S GO!!!!!!!!

So, a dress, some tops, and heels later, she is enjoying her new look.

I don’t know how long it will last, but I will be enjoying it the whole time!! 😀

Seuss Sithy

Today finds me running errands and wincing at the fact that Mass Effect 3 is now available. For those who need a translation, it’s a videogame. Unfortunately, that is all I know. Anyway, a friend sent me this, and I just had to steal creatively borrow it, so I could share it with y’all!

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, and his wit. Courtesy of my friend Kenneth!

Y’all have a great Tuesday!! 😀

The March Hare

This is a great title to my post. Why? Because I am going nuts over all the stuff happening this month here at Casa de Aggie. This week brings dental appointments, tax prep, birthday party, and then, just when I thought Spring Break meant just that, I find that two kids have ROTC commitments and then family portraits, and then Son’s birthday, and after that I may be able to go out of town to visit family and deliver last Christmas gifts.

And this is all before the 18th of this month.

And after they go back to school, it’s Spring Concert season. YAY ME!!

This is what I look like, only with a sweatshirt. And clean shaven.

Sadly, the one thing I had to look forward to is no longer on the schedule, but at least the year is winding down, and the countdown goes on.

I’m just grateful to have coffee.

When is Easter?? 😉

I Need a Laboratory in This House

The other day I mentioned that one Home Truth™ is to never “taste” anything you find on the kitchen island that you have not placed there yourself, because that is the current site of home experiments. I encourage this for the most part, especially when Eldest decides to cook. I must say, she is getting good at the whole cooking thing. I just wish she would do it more often.

Anyway, last night as I was pouring the last glass of wine for the next forty days and forty nights, I noticed that the last “experiment” was still on the counter. Here is the photo of the experiment before:

Pretty innocuous, right? Looks like a bowl of water, which is what I thought it was, and almost dumped out, until I reached inside it:

I have to thank my friend Nicole for this. These are reconstituted “spit balls” she sent Son for Christmas. This turned into a water refraction experiment which they used to explain this to their younger sister:

They get this from their father.

The drama that resulted from me almost spilling this? That they get from me 😉

There is Never Enough Coffee

Last night was  the AFJROTC Military Ball for Eldest and Son. Normally the Ball is a smooth affair. This year proved to be a challenge, but only to my sanity.

Eldest, being the sweetie she is, invited three other girls to come over and get ready. Now, Eldest is not the fastest person in the house. Combine that with three other girls and one bathroom, and only ONE hair iron thingie, and you will have chaos. Son? He gets ready in less than 20 minutes, including the time he took to iron his pants and shirt. The girls, however, began getting ready three hours before, and still managed to run late. Nevertheless, Chauffeur Aggie managed to get them there on time after a few applications of fire under their…feet. And that’s when the fun began…

It wasn’t just the Ball, but also going to IHOP afterwards, and since it would be late, that entailed the girls spending the night, too. Which meant me getting the upstairs room ready, and staying up to be the chauffeur, and not imbibing at all!! Oh, and one gal showed up late, so it became five girls, and surprisingly, Son wasn’t as disgusted as he would have been three years ago. After fetching them home, they decided it was just too early to go to bed, so the giggling and the screaming and the “NO WAY??”s kept going until 1 AM.

And five hours later, the little dog woke me urgently.

So, two small pots of coffee later, my nerves are going through some repairs, hoping for some peace and quiet by noon. Of course, the caffeine in my system will make the world seem like it’s shaking, but that’s a small price to pay so I can function 😉

Mother’s Pride

Yesterday was a Red Letter Day here at Casa de Aggie. Both Eldest and Son were promoted in rank in AFJROTC. Getting promoted is a big deal in itself, but on top of that, Eldest made the rank of Cadet Captain as a junior, and Son was promoted two ranks for his service, from Cadet to Airman First Class.

They worked hard and are very involved in ROTC, and I’m proud to say they are fine examples of the program at our school. What they learn will help them achieve success in their future, no matter what path they take.

If only they would work half as hard on their rooms. That would be awesome!!

That Sound? That Was The Grey

This morning found me sleeping in well past the time I usually get up, though I did manage to let the dog out at 6 AM and crawl back to bed. I didn’t have much of a quiet time as usual, but I figured the kids wouldn’t be very loud anyway. Which was nice, because at least I got to enjoy part of my day, before Little One and Eldest ruined it for me.

Me: (holding Little One on my lap) I remember when you were a baby, so adorable.

Little One: No you don’t.

Me: Yes, I do!

Little One: No, your memory is not that great…

Eldest: Oh, c’mon! Mom’s like, 50 years old. She’s entitled to not have a great memory.

Me: …..

Girls: (laughing and giggling).

From this day forward, Son is my favorite. At least until such time as he screws up like his sisters did 😉

Compoopers, and Why I Stay Away From Them

I am not a fan of computers. Don’t get me wrong: I do enjoy using them (obviously, I’m here!). But the darn things are still a mystery to me, and one that should be respected along the lines of dark matter and voodoo.

Christmas night had us all relaxing after a wonderful day. I was chatting with friends on the laptop, when from upstairs there arose such a clatter. Eldest and Son were locked in a battle of wills over the Monster. That’s what I call Hubby’s computer. I screamed for them to come downstairs and explain what is going on. Eldest tells me Son has been monopolizing Monster all day, and she has to upload photos for Hubby. Son explains he has been “tweaking” the Monster so it can handle a game better.

This is where my heart came to a slow thud and then died.

Me: Do NOT “tweak” anything on that thing!!!

Son: But Mom, I’m just making the computer work faster.

Me: DON’T TOUCH IT!!!

Eldest: (smirking)

Son: Don’t worry, Mom. Dad showed me how–

Me: (Totally panicking) JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!

Son: Ok, ok…but why?

Me: (so past the freaked out stage that “making sense” is only an album title) Because that thing will end up like SkyNet and come to life!!

Son: (laughing by now) Wow, Mom…

So you see, I have a healthy respect for the things, and would rather leave them alone to their own devices than “tweak” anything on the off chance of bringing the Apocalypse. It is almost 2012, after all.

ENGLISH!! DO YOU SPEAK IT??

No, I’m not going to quote Samuel L. Jackson in its entirety here. I admit to having a jones when it comes to the English language. I came here not speaking a word of it, and worked hard to learn it. So sometimes I get a bit… frustrated when the kids get sloppy.

Last night at dinner we were discussing family stuff when the subject of my BIL came up. For some reason, Eldest was confused about his role in the Army, and Little One decided to set her straight:

Little One: He just came back from a deployisation!

Me: Deployment!

Little One: That’s what I meant.

Trust me, if it were once in a while it wouldn’t be a big deal. But each kid had an Engrish moment yesterday. It was like the stars colluded with Fate and threw a touchdown homerun. Between using slang and this, I don’t think my ears stand a chance.