Aloha Friday...#77...

Today I usually participate in Photostory Friday but I have been a bit remiss in my picture taking this week. Instead I bring you my first Aloha Friday.

Finding a gray hair has been discussed on a message board I belong too. More specifically finding a gray hair on a young child. Now it is possibly a fluke stray gray and nothing more. That's what I told myself when at the age of 13 my BFF who sat behind me interrupted my daydreaming deep concentration (ha) during algebra by yanking out a gray hair. I stared in horror at the stark white offender. I knew it was highly probable that something like that would happen, after all my mom went gray early too, but still, 13 years old. Just. Not. Right. That's the last time my hair has been it's natural color.

So now when I recently filled out an application that asked me for my hair color I had to think about it. Do they want my natural hair color? That would be some shade of brown with gray highlights. I hardly ever color my hair one single color, that just too boring. And never use the same color twice in a row. It is usually a shade of red but I've done a dark blonde a couple times. I considered just filling in Feria shade #77 in the blank on the application but instead just went with brown.

So my questions are this...

Do you color your hair? Do you do so to cover something or just to change the color?

Have you ever had a self color job go bad? (I have matched my mother in laws burgundy couch before and told how cool my hair was by a girl wearing blue lipstick)

If you are brave enough to admit it, how old were you before you saw your first gray highlight?

And finally what would you tell your 8 year old daughter if she asked to have pink hair?

Visit An Island Life for more Aloha fun.

Ladies And Gentlemen, May I Direct Your Attention To The Center Ring...

*The crowd quiets, the lights dim. A spot light follows a tiny little car to the middle of the ring. After the car stops the door slooowly opens. The suspense builds...*

Hello all you blog partiers!

I'm Missy, stay at home mommy to three gorgeous, smart, funny kids (no, I'm not bias) , wife of 14 years to my best friend, and owner of one stubborn, trouble making little furbaby. I've spent almost my entire life in the same 20 mile radius in the Midwest and am currently living in a beautiful rural community. Although I love where I live now I am a total beach bum and would love nothing more than to sit on the sandy shore of Destin, Florida. I dream of owning a pastel pink stucco house, sitting on my balcony and smelling salty sea air. I have never figured out what I want to be when I grow up, maybe that means I'm already doing it. I love to read and love animals and would probably have a small zoo if my husband allowed it. I attempt to find the funny in whatever happens. Even though I throw some of our personal life out there in cyberspace on this blog I really am quite shy, at least until we get to know each other.

My husband Dave and I are high school sweeties and he has been my best friend since I was 17. I think that is my one bit of advice to the unmarried set out there. The guy you can call you best friend and share everything with makes great husbands. He has been everything from a trash man (for two whole days) to upper-middle management of a large corporation where he can work from home. He worked hard and made lots of sacrifices to get where he is today and I am very proud of him. He is one of those people that just ends up in crazy/funny situations. He has fallen asleep on a jet and woke up landing in the wrong city, told off by a little person (is that the p.c. term for midget?), slapped strangers for touching cheese, and went on and on about most alcholi (you would have had to been there for that one) written on a sign at a local eating establishment.

As I said I have three adorable kids who never fail to entertain me.

First let me tell you a bit about my teenager Eddie. He recently turned 13 which was a bit hard for me to accept. So far, the ugly teen attitude has pretty much been non-existent. I ask you allow me to live in my denial that this is as hard as the teen years will be. He looks very much like his daddy. But to make up for not having any outside appearance of his mom he has my personality completely. Both the good and the bad. He is very laid back, is not a worrier, is extremely sensitive to those around him, and a master of sarcasm. But do not ever expect him to be in a hurry. His one liners are so funny at times that if he decides to rebel and not go to college he better go into stand up. One evening as my husband and I were trying to watch TV Eddie walks in and gets distracted by the show causing him to stand right in front of us. My husband said "Dude, you make a better door than a window." Without missing a beat Eddie looks over his shoulder and replies "Yes, but I make a pretty picture." Yeah, we could have gotten mad but it was just so funny all we could do was laugh. For the record he did move and find a better place to watch. Right now he is involved in Boy Scouts, karate, youth group, band (plays the trombone) and chess team at school.

Next is our only little girl. Erica is one of the Millenium babies born in 2000. She is my little mini-me in appearance except with blond hair. But 100 times more confident and self assure. She does have her daddy's organizing gene. That girl is always concerned about the time and being on time. She is a planner and is very good at taking charge. She hasn't decided yet what she wants to do when she grows up. She has talked about being a police officer, personally I think she'd make a great lawyer. She will argue a point until she just wears you out and you see it her way. She is also very sweet and thoughtful. She will take her award "dollars" at church and when they have their "store" she almost always buys gifts for her brothers. She was also recently awarded the student of character at her school for the month they practiced caring. As her teacher announced her winning the award she said that she not only walked in with a smile everyday and gave encouraging words to other classmates but she also volunteered to stay in from recess to help a classmate clean their desk. I had tears of joy watching her get that award. She is involved in Girl Scouts (where I am a co-leader), dance, gymnastics, and AWANAS.

Next is my baby (and last), little JonJon. He is the spitting image of neither mom or dad, but of his Aunt (my baby sister). Strawberry blond, freckles, gigantic for his age, and mischievous green eyes he went from the easiest baby ever to a walking pile of trouble. I don't know if he was just that much busier than his siblings at that age or I was just more tired and not on top of him like the others but those toddler years were a series of one crazy mess after another. We had doors colored on, a peanut butter covered living room (and dog), permanent marker on a Mercedes, shoes thrown away and Leapster cartridges flushed just to name a few. Thankfully he is past that stage now (I hope) and will start school this fall. That thought breaks my heart so I refuse to talk anymore about that. He is a very happy little guy that is always quick to smile. He is always the entertainer and is always having fun. He can melt your heart in one second and make you bust out laughing the next. Right now he is a huge momma's boy. I'll take that for now because I know not much longer it will be all about dad and then slowly it will be all about his friends. He is in swim lessons and Cubbies.

Being pregnant with Erica is what opened my eyes to online communities and friendships. I found a message board of other moms pregnant with babies due the same month she was. At first I was unsure and a little weirded out talking with strangers but 9 years later a good portion of us are still together now sharing more than just tales of morning sickness and baby kicks. And although I have still yet to meet most of the girls I still laugh with them, cry with them, share their joy, and pray for them. I consider them great friends. Eventually I found my way to the blogiverse.

So all you wanting to party join me and a whole lot of others at 5 minutes for mom and their Ultimate Blog Party.




PS- if I were to win one of the prizes I'd love the Kitchen Aid mixer or the mom/daughter flip flops.

Wordful Wednesday...Dare I Say It...

I think winter might be over.

Mind you we are still on the weather roller coaster but our highs have been almost summer like and there doesn't appear to be frigid freezing temps in the near future.

The grass is greening up.

My daffodils are coming up.

The trees are budding up.

People who we've not seen in the past 5 months are outside again. Kids are playing outside.

The birds are singing.

Shorts have been dug out.

Sandals have been bought.

Life is grand.

I love spring.

Goodbye Winter! Don't let the door hit ya.

For more Wordfulness visit Angie at 7 Clown Circus.

Look! We're Vandals...

A few days ago spring was teasing us with a taste of warm sunny weather. Being that we are suffering from last days of winter cabin fever, we loaded up our kids and headed out for a hike at a nature preserve near us. This particular area has cliff carvings done by ancient Native Americans. There were pictures of men hunting deer and buffalo. There was also some carvings of horses, a dragonfly, and a bird that resembled an ostrich. There were signs warning against defacing the cliffs punishable by hefty fines. And then I caught my son Eddie standing near this.




Busted?



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

* Just so the FBI doesn't raid our house to take my oldest away, the cliff was like that when we got there.

Wordful Wednesday--The Worried Little Boy Part II...

Today for Wordful Wednesday I give you the conclusion of my prior blog entry. While holding a toy in his mouth JonJon's first tooth fell out. He wasn't upset at all and instead very excitedly handed me his baby tooth. I handed him a cup to place his tooth in. We don't do under the pillow thing here, the Tooth Fairy has told me she is afraid of waking up people when it's time to collect (said she is a bit clumsy). The next morning JonJon was the first to wake up and found a five dollar bill left in his tooth cup (Tooth Fairy has gotten generous, I got a quarter). Later that morning mommy bought her big boy some gummy letters to show him his sweet tooth was still there.



For more Wordful Wendesday visit Angie at 7 Clown Circus.

One Worried Little Boy...

JonJon has his first loose tooth. It's been wiggly for a while now. He has been a little concerned about it hurting when it falls out or that he won't get a replacement tooth. So far I've been able to relieve his fears, until a couple days ago. Over the weekend the little guys walk up to me after just eating a brownie that I baked. He has tears in his eyes and chocolate on his face as he says, "Mommy, I'm going to lose my sweet tooth. Then I won't want to eat anything sweet anymore."

Well that notion both made me smile yet horrified me. To not like sweets anymore? How awful. Imagine being 5 years old and thinking you won't like ice cream, cakes, cookies, or candy anymore? Isn't it written somewhere as a childhood rule to gorge oneself on all the sugary goodness one can find when ever possible?

I try to explain to my depressed little boy that the teeth only chew the food, it is the tongue that does the tasting. He sighed and said "Good I still get to eat sweets but I bet they won't taste as good."

Would it be wrong if I left a note for the Tooth Fairy saying along with the five dollar bill to please leave a sugar coated treat too to prove he hasn't in fact lost his sweet tooth?

That Will Teach Her...

A little over a year ago we brought home an adorable little ball of fluff that was part Poodle and part Schnauzer. A Schnoodle, so my creative children named her Noodle. I would love to say she is well behaved and never causes any problems. But along with being a four legged paper shredder, a destroyer of plastic army men, and a stuffed animal hunter she is also a trash digger. She is just tall enough to stand on her hind legs and get her head in the trash can to look for discarded goodies. She knows this is bad because all we have to do is say her name and she tucks her tail and gives us that "I'm so sorry." look. But like children at her respected age she suffers from "I forgot mom said don't do this"itis. The other night after our long drive home from Kentucky I was making the kids a quick easy dinner of chicken nuggets and fries. After I get dinner in the oven I head upstairs to do some quick unpacking when suddenly I hear loud laughing and my husband telling me to come quick and grab my camera. Apparently Noodle was trying to get herself a little snack and she somehow managed to get the fry bag stuck on her head and she couldn't get it off. I did get it off her but not until I snapped a couple pictures.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Wordful Wednesday By Royal Decree...

We took a little trip over the weekend. By the look of the picture one would almost think we had gone to Europe. But no, we drove out to Lexington, KY where surrounded by acres and acres of horse farms stands this oddity. According to what I could find on the Internet a couple had gone over to Europe around the 1970's and the wife fell in love with the castles they saw. Her spouse who must have been an extremely generous man said "Sure honey I'll build you one of your very own when we get home." The story turns sad then and apparently the couple divorced prior to completion of the castle. The gorgeous and large home has never been occupied. A few years ago the castle burnt to the ground after a possible lightening strike. The irony here is the fire department couldn't reach the flames because of a moat like ditch. From what little I could find, it sounds as if a new owner has bought it and has rebuilt it with the possibly of turning it into a bed and breakfast.

For more Wordful Wednesday visit Angie at 7 Clown Circus.

Time For A Brag...

Erica was required to write a story for Young Authors a couple months ago. Being that it was right before Christmas she opted for a story about some of Santa's little elves. I helped her type it up and together we looked up some clip art for the pictures. She turned it in and that was the end of it. Up until last week that is. Last week she bounces in the door from school all excited and shows me a sheet of paper. It seems The Three Little Elves won a regional award. She will be going to the Young Authors award/conference in late March. She will have a writers work shop, get to meet a real life children's author, and have her book put on display. We are very proud of our little writer. We made this trip a few years ago with Eddie and his Adventures of Sockman book. See, they take after their Momma because I still have my little book that won at the state level. The Magical Unicorn, look for it at a bookstore near you. (ok not really)

CONGRATULATIONS ERICA!

Mushy Momma...

Yesterday my sister in law needed me to watch her 10 year old son after school while she was working. I love EJ dearly so it was my pleasure to do so, but I had to pick him up early so I could be back in town when my two got out of school. My kids knew he was coming to spend the evening with us so they were very excited. While on my way there Jon was telling me all the fun things he wanted to show EJ.

Then just as we get within a mile of EJ's school Jon very seriously and cautiously says "Mom, when we get there" *pause* "please don't say that thing to me."

I'm a bit confused so I ask him what thing he is talking about.

His reply "You know," *another pause* "that thing" *pause again* "when you tell me you love me and you say I'm a cutie."

Nooooooooooooo.....my heart sunk. He's only 5 and already embarrassed by me? I think he could sense my sadness and said "I still love you and you get to still love me but just don't say it in front of EJ." I guess that made me feel a little better.

"Oh yeah and no holding my hand and huggies or kissies either."

Talk about twisting the knife already.

He did give me permission to give him a good-night kiss and tell him I loved him after I had taken EJ home.

P.S. 28 days until spring!

Teenagers And Broken Hearts...

Friday was Eddie's Jr. High dance. Earlier in the week he had me run him all over the mall to find the perfect outfit. I didn't mind that so much, I'm always up for a good shopping trip especially when a kid is eager to hang with me. After much prodding from mom he admits he is wanting to ask a girl to the dance but she has been out sick with the flu all week. Friday evening he cleans all up and gets dressed to bust a move (yeah, I'm that old) and informs me that said girl made it to school that day but he lost his nerve to ask her but she was going to the dance too. I said "Well you don't have to show up with her to dance and hang out with her". He thought that was a great idea and was very excited to go. He wasn't too excited though as we dropped him off at the front door of the school his dad and I rolled down the windows to profess our love for him LOL. Parents, how embarrassing. A couple hours later I go back to pick him up and he looks like someone ran over his dog. I asked him what was wrong and if he had a bad time. He said it was fun all the way up to the last ten minutes. He said he danced with his friends and the girl. But towards the end of the night he asked the girl if she would go out with him. She said no :-( and he was crushed. I had conflicting emotions. Upset that my sweet, funny, caring son had his heart broken but at the same time glad that we escaped the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing for a little longer. But overall I'm hate to see more evidence that my first baby is growing up.

Wordful Wednesday On An Eagle Hunt...

A couple weeks ago, while the weather was still in the twenties, we headed out in search of bald eagles. Every year around this time they migrate to the area. This year has been reported as being one of the largest populations of eagles in many years.



We ended up going to the Missouri Bottoms Confluence which is where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet. As we were driving to the river area we watched this guy. Being that it doesn't usually stay cold enough long enough to freeze bodies of water we found this very cool.

We saw at least 5 eagles flying around and swooping into the river for fish but they were so far away I couldn't get a good picture of one.

After we left the confluence area we took a drive up the Great River Road in Illinois. The Mississippi River was covered in a thick layer of ice in many places and that is where we saw this guy hanging out just as the sun was setting.

Want to see some more Wordful Wednesdays? Visit Angie at 7 Clown Circus.

P.S. 36 days until Spring.

37 Days Till Spring...

That is the glorious sign that is on one of our local landscaping companies. Finally a countdown that makes me deliriously happy much unlike the the Christmas countdowns that just makes me anxious. The last couple days have been wonderfully springlike too. After what feels like endless months of twenty degree days the sun has popped out and we have had highs in the upper 60's-low 70's. I know this won't last, it is only February after all, but I am enjoying it while it is here. I am leaving the heavy winter coats on the coat rack. I am not bundled up head to toe in sweatshirts and sweaters.

I am letting my little tootsies see the sunlight by wearing my beloved sandals. Ah yes, spring is just around the corner so kiss my toe winter.

Turn Around And Let Me Take Your Picture...

Over the weekend the weather was nice so we headed out to Southern Missouri to go hiking. While out there we stopped at this Missouri Mining Museum so I thought it would be a great opportunity to whip out the camera and take some shots of the kids.

They really were not all that cooperative.

Erica just did not want to do this today without being goofy. Any time I even pointed the camera in her direction she hollered "STALKER!" and would run away.





I was able to get one non-silly shot of JonJon. The rest he decided were a good opportunity to use the dance moves he inherited from his father's dna.

And this, *shakes head* this is what I end up with when I have my camera set on continuous shooting and say "Hey Ed, turn around let me take your picture."

"Yikes Scoob! It's the Creeper!"

Wordful Wednesday From The Sick Ward...

Let's do the math. 5 people - 3 kids down with the flu = 2 parents on Tamiflu to try to avoid the flu. It's been a feverish, snotty, coughing, medicine taking time at our house. Hope you and yours have escaped this.

Visit Seven Clown Circus to hopefully see some healthier Wordful Wednesday.

Music Monday On Groundhog Day...

I can't think of a better song for today than the one that Bill Murry's character woke up too day after day in the movie Groundhog Day. Enjoy!

I Guess I'm A Little Stiff...

Today was my nephew's birthday party at a local roller skating rink. Dave and I took the kids fully intending to sit on the sidelines or help JonJon in the little beginner's rink (which does not require skates). We get there and get the rental skates on the kids. Let me tell you they are ickier than rental bowling shoes (who really wants to stick their foot in a pre-sweaty skate?) . Eddie takes off and does pretty good. In my opinion if you are upright in a pair of skates, you are doing good. Erica takes off and hugs the wall, but she remains upright too. Hey, whatever it takes right? Dave sacrifices his toes and takes JonJon off to the beginner's rink, so I think I'm getting off easy. Well it isn't long before JonJon says he is ready for the big rink. As much as I try to talk him out of it, he wants no part of the kiddie area. This requires Dave or I putting on a pair of skates. He has a bum ankle, I have a bum thumb. Guess who wins a pair of sweaty skates. I rent the skates and try not to think about all the feet that have been in there before mine. After I'm all laced up I very carefully make my way to the rink. I tell JonJon to let me make a lap around first to get used to skating. Just an FYI I only went skating a handful of times as a kid and only once since getting married, so it has been a while. I get out on the floor and scoot my way around very slowly. I'm like the little old gray haired woman going 3o mph in freeway rush hour blocking traffic. There were tiny little three year olds skating backwards faster than I was. I finally make it around doing my little shuffle the whole time muttering things like "watch out" "show off" "whoa, whoa, whoa" but I stay upright. I gather JonJon and we make our way around the wall a few times. I also went a few more laps solo.

After the party was over (and I was back in non-rolling shoes) Dave said he was impressed with my skating. He said that "I never fell even though I looked like a mannequin on roller skates" .

Bulls Eye...

My husband was looking for something to chase away the winter blahs and came home with this little dart board. Lots of fun although I'm lucky to hit the board and not just bounce my dart off the wall. The kids are pros. They walk right up and stick the dart right on the bulls eye every time. Now why didn't I think of that?

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Here's A Bit Of Nostalgia For You...

I was about ten years old when I got my first camera. Santa brought me a Polaroid One Step and a three pack of film.

It was big, bulky, and loud but I think I went through all thirty pictures within the first hour. I took pictures of everything. Pictures of my sisters, my dogs, my toys, my parents absolutely no one and nothing was safe until that last picture was spit out the front. I still have my photo album from then and still have pictures of my little sister dressed in kooky outfits that I talked her into modeling for me (if I posted them she'd kill me). I eventually graduated to a little 110 Kodak then to a 35mm, a couple little point and shoot digital camera and most recently to a dslr Pentax k200d (my baby). But none give that same excitement of two giggling little girls standing over an undeveloped picture sitting on the table waiting for the picture to appear.

Sadly Polaroid is going to quit producing the nifty film that you had to shake to make the picture show faster. Everyone knows the faster the shake the faster it developed. Just recently though I found out about this very cool site called Poladroid. It is a free download where you can take your digital photos and turn them into Polaroid looking pictures, complete with the "polaroid noise" (you know the one) and gradual fade in. You can even shake it. Granted, it isn't the same but fun none the less.

Wordful Wednesday All Covered In Snow...

Well this is the result of 24+ hours of snowfall. We have about 8 1/2 inches of the white stuff covering everything. It's a really dry powdery snow so everything just glitters in the sunlight. And can I just say how happy I am to finally see sunlight. A couple days of clouds is just so blah.
















But, the snow gave us two snow days in a row and the kids are out there throwing snow, sledding, making huge piles and rolling around somehow able to ignore the fact it is cooooold.

JonJon is all smiley with little pink cheeks and nose.

Erica climbing Mt. Everest or at least a big pile of snow from digging out the driveway.




And the teenager, oh so happily (you can tell from the huge smile on his face) digging out the rest of the driveway.

You can see more Wordful Wednesday here.

Quick We Need French Toast...

The snow is falling rather heavily right now and has been for a couple hours. It started out with freezing rain and sleet. Now it is those big, fluffy snowflakes (Dave called them angry snowflakes) falling quite rapidly. The forecast is for up to 8 inches, all you that live up north can just go ahead and call us big babies ;-) . Tonight was supposed to be karate for Eddie and swim class for JonJon at the YMCA. After driving on slick roads to picks Eddie up from his chess tournament Dave and I decided it would be best to skip the YMCA since that would give the roads two more hours to get messy. We made a pit stop on the way home at the grocery store instead to make sure we had everything we would need for tomorrow. As we walked by the dairy case I couldn't help but laugh. The normally full egg and milk area was practically empty. Dave and I made bets with the kids if the bread aisle was ransacked. It was, but we saw people looking lost by the lack of dairy and bread. Apparently french toast is the food of choice for snowbound people. We decided to buck the system and buy stuff for spaghetti.

Wordful Wednesday In The Woods...

Like I said a couple posts ago, Sunday was our anniversary. Just the two of us went out on Friday night to dinner at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate (sorry no pictures of the yummy steak and loaded sweet potato). The weather wasn't completely frigid on Sunday so we all bundled up in coats, gloves and Auntie Jenny hats and went on a hike. We used to do this more often and trust me my body knew it had been a while. But it was fun and really nice to get outside for a little while. The kids ran way ahead of us so it was almost like just the two of us going for a walk. What did we talk about? Well, we talked about how it seemed like for years we were always having to carry one of the kids when we'd go on a hike. (talk about a workout) It's bittersweet but those days are over. Now we just have three kids telling us what slow pokes we are.

Check out the other Wordful Wednesdays over at Seven Clown Circus (no relation).

Totally Inappropriate Response To A Crisis...

I'll start this post by saying I'm a very, very good cook. I can whip up all sorts of yummy stuff that my husband loves. The kids on the other hand really only like about three things hot dogs, pizza, and chicken nuggets, but I can nuke a mean dog too. Anyway, last night I was really wanting some cabbage so I decided to make my beef and cabbage. I dug out my big 6qt pot to find that when the kids emptied the dishwasher they put it away with some crusties in it. So I hand wash it and then just set it on a hot burner to dry while I mince some onions. Dave was sitting on the other side of the counter chatting with me as I chopped. When I was done chopping I grabbed the bottle of olive oil and poured a bit into the hot pot so I could saute the onions. Suddenly, WHOOSH there is a foot and a half flame out of the pot. I jumped back a bit and squeaked then doubled over and starting laughing. Why I found this so funny I don't know. But Dave apparently found it hilarious too because he was laughing too. There is this huge flame threatening to take out the kitchen cabinets while our kids are innocently watching TV and we are laughing our butts off. Finally I decide maybe the kitchen isn't the best place for a campfire so I grab the flaming pot as Dave opens the garage door for me and grabs the fire extinguisher. The whole time we are still are still laughing like fools (intermittent by me saying "Ow! Hot! Ow!") We get the pot outside and Dave hits it with a shot from the extinguisher. With one final fireball (that singed the hair off Dave's arm) the crises was over. We were still giggling as I finished dinner using a different pot. I'm thinking it's good we never became firefighters if that is our response to a fire. Some poor victim screams "Help me! Help me! My house is on fire!" and we fall on the ground laughing. Not good.

Fourteen Years...

January 11th, 1995 I married my best friend. It was a small wedding that was squeezed in right before Wednesday night services at church. In fact, we were still taking post wedding pictures as parishioners were finding a pew. But it was wonderful. Since then we've added three lovely children, managed to get Dave through school, been broke, been not so broke, moved (a lot), been on many family vacations, laughed, cried, and just had fun. Fourteen years ago we had no idea the path that was ahead of us but we wouldn't have changed a thing. And the next fourteen years are a journey waiting to be seen without any idea what the next corner will bring, but we will see it together.

Another Point In Favor Of The Donut...

January 5th Erica got to celebrate her birthday (half birthday to be exact) at school. She requested Krispy Kreme donuts for her treat (ahhh, she is my daughter) to be delivered to her classroom at 2:30. Since the 5th happened to be the first day back from Christmas break everything I did was way behind schedule. So at 1:30 in the afternoon I rush out of the house with JonJon to drive the 20 mile one way trip mostly little back twisty roads to the nearest Krispy Kreme. I just get out of town and am at my usual cruising speed. JonJon and I are jamming to the local country station as a county police officer passes me going the opposite direction. I do what most people do in such situations, I tap my breaks. I look in the rear view mirror and see him do a u-turn in the middle of the road and turn on his flashy lights. "Perfect" I think to myself. I pull over to the side of the road and dig out my license and insurance card while he walks up to my car. All the while JonJon is asking me twenty questions from the back seat. (Mommy, why did the police man pull you over? Are you getting a ticket? Are you going to jail? I'm telling daddy.)

I roll down the window and plaster a big old silly smile on my face.

Me: Hello, officer. (you know just in the off chance he was bored and looking for some small talk)

Officer: Hi there. You in a hurry?

Me: Ummm sort of. Not really. (as I hand him my cards)

Officer: Where you heading?

Me: Honestly?

Officer: *smiles* Sure.

Me: Well... to get donuts. (now I'm worried he is thinking I'm making a wise crack or a bribe. For the record the man looked as if he might have tasted a donut or two.)

Officer: Donuts huh?

Me: Yeah. My daughter requested Krispy Kreme for her birthday party at school. (I'm feeling mighty silly by now)

Officer: *chuckles* Are they hot?

Me: They're always hot aren't they?

Officer: I'll be right back.

He takes my stuff and heads back to his car. I sit pondering how much this little trip to the donut shop is going to cost while JonJon is still adding his two cents from the back seat. After a couple minutes the officer comes back to my car and says "Since your going after donuts for your girl's birthday I'm giving you a warning but slow down."

I went on my way albeit at a slower pace and managed to buy 4 dozen donuts drive back to town and still made it to the class room by 2:36. Although I half expected to get pulled over on the way back with the officer asking for a donut.