My Real Life

July 16, 2010

Five Question Friday

Filed under: Five Question Friday — Amy @ 9:33 am
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At one of the blogs I frequent, My Little Life, she always plays Five Question Friday.

So, today, I figured I’d play.

If you are a blogger yourself, feel free to copy the questions and answer them at your own blog!

1. Do you collect anything?
Nope.  Not a thing.  Collections make me get tics in my eye, because I imagine having to clean them.  The closest thing I have is a collection of books, but even that has been purged and weeded down to the essentials.

2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking.
1 & 2.  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  I know.  It’s overdone, but seriously, are these two even human beings?  I am consistently stunned by the fact that no matter what they are doing, they are unbelievably attractive.  Even with the mountain man beard, Brad Pitt is ridiculously good looking.
3.  In a completely different, fresh, all-natural way, I find Jennifer Garner SO pretty.  Her smile is infectious and she just exudes a radiance.

3. Do you have any scars? If so, what’s the story behind it (them?)?
The scar from 3 c-sections aside, I have an interesting scar on my knee.  When I was probably 7 or 8, I was playing at my friend, Judy’s, house.  We were playing soccer with her older brother and sister and I somehow stepped on the soccer ball and fell onto my knee and completely ripped it open.  Her brother and sister didn’t want their mom to know, because they thought she’d send me home, so instead of getting me medical attention, they got a wet washcloth and a band-aid.  It healed, but with gravel under the skin, and I’ve always had this funky scar on my knee ever since.  Absolutely ruined my career as a leg model.

4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it’s gross or weird?
Potato chips and cottage cheese.  Ruffles potato chips, to be exact.  So good.  So freaking good.

5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life?
As  matter of fact, I have.  When I was in college, I dated  guy who lived in Indiana.  I went to visit one summer and his Mom gave me the car to go pick him up from work.  As I was driving, I noticed cars pulling over to the side of the road and looking left.  I did the same and saw a huge twister making it’s way across a field, not in my direction.  It was awesome.  Really, awesome.

Joy

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:27 am
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The screeches of laughter.

The unmitigated joy.

When you are a kid, there is nothing…NOTHING better than sitting in the surf and letting the waves knock you around.

I think these pictures might get me through any bad day I might have in the future.

Enjoy!

July 15, 2010

Tommy

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 8:53 am
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Apparently, it’s time to add something else to Monkey in the Middle’s repetoire of “stuff he rocks at.”

Skee-ball.

We hit the arcade at the Boardwalk and the arcade near our beach house and the kid took to Skee-Ball like…well, like a phenom.

Me?

I play Skee-ball with a wild arm.

Pretty much like I played softball in 8th grade.

Which was pretty much the reason I rode the bench all season.

I’m lucky that I don’t hit the cage, and the lower ring of 1,000 points is the best I can do.

This guy?

He’s the only person I know who can aim for and repeatedly hit the 10,000 spots up in the corner.

He’s got focus.

Determination.

Drive.

He’s unreal.

So, pinball it ain’t, but believe me when I say that this kid…

…sure plays a mean skee-ball.

July 14, 2010

Sometimes…

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:05 am
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…it takes every ounce of restraint I have…

…when the boys call me to see their latest project…

…and I get to the basement and they tell me it’s called “garbage dump”…

…and I see this…

…and I know someone is coming to look at the house.

It takes all that restraint to say, “Wow!  You boys are so creative!  What a great garbage dump!”

Because what I want to say is, “Oh my God!  What have you done to my house?  Do you know how long it will take to clean this up?  Someone is coming to look at the house!  Clean it up!!!”

So, I smile and say nice things and take pictures to make them feel good.

Then, I go upstairs and close my eyes for a few minutes.

And gear up for next time.

July 13, 2010

Truthful Tuesday

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:46 am
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One of the blogs I frequent has a feature called Truthful Tuesday, where she tells a truth about her life each Tuesday. 

A truth that is, perhaps, embarassing, or not something she would readily share.

So, I thought I’d play along for a few weeks.

This weeks Truthful Tuesday falls into the category of “All is Not Always What it Seems With Our Family.”

Here’s a picture of the monkeys and I on the boardwalk.

Cute, right?

Yeah, well…

So, we were walking down the boardwalk, looking for something to eat, and Real Man and I saw this old psychic woman, fast asleep, mouth wide open, in her little booth.

The fact is, she looked dead.

Without even speaking, I immediately assembled the kids into picture formation, and Real Man pulled out the camera.

Meaningful family moment?

No.

Just a means to catch a picture of the dead old woman on the boardwalk.

This was the best we could do.

Wanna see it closer up?

This was as good as we could get, as she woke up during the photo shoot.

Still, it worked.

We got the shot.

The nicest thing we’ve ever done?

No.

That’s why we didn’t tell the kids what we were doing.

But sometimes,

That’s how we roll.

July 12, 2010

Under the Boardwalk

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 11:33 am
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The highlight of the week at the beach, for the monkeys, is the trip to the boardwalk.

To them, it doesn’t matter that it is 100 degrees.

It’s all about the fun.

So, $15 for a wristband and all the rides you can ride between 12 and 6.

Some rides were for all 3.

Some were meant to be enjoyed with a parent.

Some were for monkeys to climb.

And the rest were just plain fun.

July 8, 2010

Mini-Golf

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:23 pm
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Another staple of beach week is mini-golf.
The monkeys love it, but I think this was the best moment of this year’s game.

July 7, 2010

Little Slice of Heaven

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 5:11 pm
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It ma not look like much to you, but believe me when I tell you that this outdoor shower is a little slice of heaven.
Every beach house we’ve ever stayed in has had an outdoor shower.
Some, better than others.
This year, however, I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven.
There is a little “dry” changing area where you can undress and hang your towel.
Then you step into the actual shower.
There is no roof, so you can feel the cool breeze as opposed to the hot water.
When you look up to rinse your hair, it’s just clear, blue sky.
I told Real Man that I think we should install one for ourselves at home.
I don’t think he’s down with that.
So, for now, I’ll enjoy it while I can!

July 6, 2010

Me and Him, Him and Me

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 12:51 pm

Vacation is a time for rest and relaxation.
For sleeping in and waking when you want.
Unless, of course, you happen to be the mother of Monkey in the Middle.
5 am.
Every morning while we’ve been at the beach.
He’s an early riser at home, too, but I kinda hoped the surf and sand would help him sleep in.
Nope.
But, then he comes to get me and we strap on our sneakers and head out for early morning walks so we don’t wake anyone else.
Just the two of us.
We talk about everything.
We talk about nothing.
We hold hands and giggle.
And suddenly, 5 am is my favorite part of the day.
Just me and him, him and me.

July 5, 2010

The Great Equalizer

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:41 am
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The beach is a study in human dynamics.
All walks of life, all races, all economic levels, all types of families and personalities.
You can find them all at the beach.
Fourth of July weekend is a particularly crowded beach weekend, thus the perfect opportunity to people watch.
So there we were.
On the beach.
And then, they came.
A pack of about 20-30 dolphins, right off the shore.
Beautiful creatures, jumping through the waves.
And every person on that beach jumped up and races to the water line.
Everyone.
Thongs, tattoos, piercings, pregnant bellies, big bellies with no babies, silicone body parts, young, old, teens too cool for anything, people too old to swim.
Everyone stood at the shore line and jumped up and down like we were five at the sight of the dolphins swimming off the shore.
After a few minutes, we all went back to pretending to be who we thought we should be.
But for that moment, we were all together.

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