Random Musings Friday: Say What? And Get a Picture of That!

Hello Friday...my sweet, luscious lovah. I know I used to ignore you when I worked in retail and didn't get the weekends off, but now I greet you with open arms and offer you peeled grapes and a eunuch to do with as you please.

So this week has been part train wreck, part bliss on a stick. And several moments that have made me go hmmm....

1. Let's start with this conversation between me, Neal, and Big Mama that occurred while we were giving Big Mama a driving tour through University of Richmond's campus.

Big M: Did you know that the University of Richmond "Spiders" is the only collegiate team in the country that has spiders for its mascot?
Neal: Well that's not very scary. Don't spiders get squashed all the time? Why didn't they choose something different? Like a bear or something?
Big M: I don't know.
Neal: Is it because they're a private school? Do you have to be a state university to get a mammal?
Big M: Probably. Private schools have to choose between reptiles and arachnids. I'm sure that's the rule.

I don't know why Mom co-signs on his horse manure. But she not only encourages it, she spreads it around. Which is exactly what I need.

2. This past Tuesday was a day straight out of April's weather playbook. I packed up Baby Blue and our 3 wheel stroller SUV and headed to the Petersburg battlefield for some exercise. Later in the day, we had plans to meet the wife of one of Neal's classmates and her daughter at the park. While bebe and I were stopped at one of the battlefield exhibits (a convenient place for a bottle because it's set up like a confederate soldier encampment, complete with log stumps and all), I started chatting with a lovely woman, about my age, who had her 3 kids with her. As I picked up my phone to check the time, it slipped out of my hand and caught Baby Blue on the temple.

ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. Bebe is pretty coddled and babied. He does not fall off of furniture or get bumped against anything because I'm a helicopter mom of alarming proportions and he is pretty much never out of my sight...or arm's reach. So the fact that an iPhone caught him on the side of the head as it gave way to gravity was intense for him. He screamed for what must have been at least 3 hours. Or 3 minutes. But definitely 3 hours. And I couldn't get him to stop crying. So I texted the wife and told her that I'd have to reschedule...that I somehow had to get bebe to the pediatrician...although I was in the middle of a battlefield and he would not stop crying. Ultimately, I called the doctor, he called in prescription for the headache he knew he would have, Neal left school early to help me get him home, and we all survived the ordeal.

But seriously....who nearly concusses their child with their phone?

3. Wednesday was pretty fabulous, weather-wise, too...if a bit windy. OK...hurricane-force winds. But they were warm, so whatever. Off to the park in Richmond we went. Keeping a firm grip on my phone all day, we had a lovely 2 hour stroll around Byrd Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. As it started to rain about 3, we headed back to the car. I laid Baby Blue down in the back seat and stood over him, with the back door open and my Blue Moon of Kentucky stuck way up in the air (emphasized by the leggings I had donned that morning during a "skinny moment"). At just that moment, a school bus of high schoolers went by, less than 10 yards from my car. I would love to think that the cat calls were of appreciation, but I'm pretty sure not.

Needless to say...I was killin it this week.

And now some pictures....

"Forget the politics, drink the wine..." As I giggled with a new friend (who went from blogger friend to in-person friend today when we finally met for lunch) over our respective Congressional representatives (Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell...yay for living in red states *ahem*), I remembered this cork - pulled from a bottle before we left Georgia. So so so true.

As seen at a gas station on our way to get a pizza last week. I would expect this kind of behavior from a Celica. Not a BMW. The car bras are bad enough but at least they save you from hours of elbow grease scrubbing bugs off the front. This? Is someone who needs a charity to fund.

As seen leaving my awesome bloggy meet-up today. I guess it's a thing. Georgia drivers have an alarming fascination with those stick figure families and Virginia drivers feel the need to associate a gender with their vehicles. Should I pull up behind a giant vagina on I-95 next week, I'll let you know.

Yes, Baby Blue is 6 months old. Yes, we watch Sesame Street. Sometimes twice a day, because it's on at 7 and 10. We said he was not going to be exposed to any TV before he was a year old. That's when I was pregnant and we were naive. Television lets me make myself a cup of coffee and empty the dishwasher every morning. Sometimes it even lets me get dinner started in the crockpot. But usually, I sit next to him and reinforce everything he's seeing on TV. But I can't sign off on this. Ryan Reynolds dressed as the letter A was OK. I mean, aesthetically pleasing, but kind of a forced performance. He was either nervous about being a giant A or intoxicated. The singing angel monkey with crazy eyes and a harp wasn't helping the situation, either. I get it, A..."angel...but I'm not so sure they nailed it. Although I guess traumatizing is just another form of learning.

And lastly...

this is my new favorite place. I finally gave in to the 3-year urge I've had to purchase this Echo Jaipur duvet cover from Bed, Bath & Beyond. And for good measure, I picked up a couple of bedside lamps from Hobby Lobby to match. I love it. Once I realized this week that we will most likely be renting for the next 12 years, as we are moved about at the whim of Uncle Sam, and that we will probably always have white walls, I decided that it was up to our decor to give personality to our space. HGTV is full of fabulous rooms that are painted with rich hues of chocolate and gray. But that's never going to be us. So we'll just bring our own color to this party.

Have a glorious (albeit snowy if you're back home in the K-Y) weekend. Cheers to you and your politics, which doesn't matter anyway if you drink enough wine!