NOT Madame Tussauds

I feel REALLY bad about laughing at this news story, but these pictures have to be the creepiest things I have seen in a long time. A forensic artist reconstructed the skull of a man who died a decade ago. They are hoping to identify the man based on these images. Our family had the sound on the TV turned down, and we burst out laughing when the news station aired these renderings. After hearing the story, I am embarrassed that we laughed. But they are like really bad wax figures!

 

If you do happen to recognize this man, you can find contact information on this website:
http://www.newson6.com/story/19397427/osbi-tries-to-identify-man-who-died-under-mysterious-circumstances

Hamburger, anyone?

And you can't see the third family member in the picture, wearing the same shirt. SuperD had to ask them why they were dressed this way. We thought it might be a statement about fast food or the obesity epidemic in America. But they said they were wearing these shirts "just for fun".

Coincidence?

What does it mean when the toaster we received as a wedding gift dies the day after our 19th wedding anniversary?

RIP, faithful toaster.

Take Two

This is C's first day of fourth grade. He's such a big boy!

And then he goes and says something ridiculous like, "I wonder what it would feel like to be a pencil."

Meet Robo



I started school on Monday of this week, but my children didn't start until Friday. (Technically, my son hasn't started yet, since he attended VomitFest on Friday.) As I left each morning, I gave my daughter the standard sister-babysitter instruction. "Don't boss your brother. Treat him like you would any other child you would care for. Play with him." And I gave my son the standard mother-to-slothful-son instructions. "Don't watch more than 2 hours of TV. Don't spend the entire day playing on the Wii by yourself. Play with your sister. Play in your room. Work a puzzle. Read a book." I was hopeful, but I knew my instructions were probably falling on deaf ears.

That's why I was so surprised when I arrived home on Wednesday. Meet Robo. Robo is my son's creation which greeted me in our living room. I am astounded by C's creativity. He didn't just build himself a friend. He built an armed guard. Robo carries a badge and a gun. He has gloves for hands and wheels for legs. But Robo's most interesting feature is his mouth. It opens wide to hold a small stash of LEGOs, and when C is finished playing with the LEGOs, he gives them back to Robo via a convenient slot in his head.

Robo is just one example of why, when Super D and I received a letter from the school district telling us that C had qualified for the Gifted and Talented program, we decided to enroll him in it. C may have many attention problems in class. He may be one of the most disorganized, distracted kids I've ever met. He may not have the best study habits. He may not earn the best grades. But I'm proud to say that he is incredibly creative. He asks the most interesting questions. He says the funniest things. He looks at the world differently than mosst 10-year-olds. He poses an interesting viewpoint. Once he's taught to harness his creativity and energy, I think he'll do great things for our world. Good luck with that, Mrs. H!

I'd rather have donuts

It's Saturday. It's Sleep-In Day. Its 7 a.m. So why is the entire justjenniferd family up so early? It's probably because we were all so exhausted from the First Day of School that we all went to bed early.

But when I asked the family that question, C's answer was, "It's probably because the early bird gets the worm."

Thanks, C, but I'd rather have donuts.

The Great Adventure

I had no idea when I left for the first day of school today, that the word "adventure" in my Facebook status would be so appropriate!

Low points - slipping in the kitchen on some water and landing on my hip, going back home so that my son could attend VomitFest at our house, getting stuck in the car drop-off line because VomitFest made me late, sitting down to lunch only to discover I had accidentally grabbed my son's baloney instead of my peanut butter and honey, and getting stuck at a railroad crossing on the way home.

High points - getting to know my 22 new students, hugging last year's students in the lunchroom, drinking Jitter Juice with my class, having Frito Chili Pie for dinner, eating homemade funnel cakes from Chef Super D, and starting the ninth season of Smallville with my family.

C and me, minutes after the Kitchen Slip-N-Slide and minutes before VomitFest

A, on her first day of high school, and I didn't even have to ask her to smile!

Yuck!

What looks like snot and tastes like banana pudding?

Why, slime, of course! C loved being slimed tonight at church!

Marriage

C: Mom, when I grow up, I'm going to marry a cheerleader.
Me: A cheerleader? Why a cheerleader? What makes cheerleaders different from the other girls?
C [with a grin]: They wear cheerleading outfits.

Guess who?

Does this face look familiar?

This is my dad in 1953, at the age of 9.



This is my son, at the age of 9.

Freaky familiar, huh?

Big Man

As we're riding in the car, my little man said to me,

"I have a really little chest hair."

THE Most Popular Name

The year I was born, the most popular girls' name was Jennifer. My mom swears that she and Dad had my name picked out long before 1971. But there are now throngs of us out here in our 40's. There were dozens of us in my graduating class. I was one of 4 Jennifers on my girls softball team. We made up one-fourth to one-third of the team! My name was so popular that I could rarely find a personalized license plate for my bike or notepad with my name on it because the store was almost always sold out of Jennifer. It's disappointing to a child who finds an empty hook by their name. At least everyone knows how to spell it.

As my name has waned in popularity, I have finally come to the point where I am not tripping over other Jennifers everywhere I go. I can finally smile when one introduces herself, and say, "That's my name, too!" I work in a school with not a single other Jennifer. No more Jennifer D, Jennifer M, and Jennifer P. I am unique.
Well, until this year. As always there is some turnover in an elementary school. I know of at least 8 new teachers to our school. I found out today that 5 of them have some form of my name: 3 Jennifers, 1 Jenny, and a Jenna. It seems I can't escape them. It is my lot in life. I'm surrounded by Jennifers.