i'm sensing a theme

first, i have to thank PJ for triggering this memory via text yesterday.
sometimes blog-worthy things happen, and i don't jot it down.
those who know me well know that if it doesn't get written down, it's long gone in the recesses of my mind.


back in October, anth lovingly suggested i join the cast of The Biggest Loser.
for the second time.


this experience was commemorated in this post.


more recently, bern and i joined a gym.
it was a treat to ourselves to celebrate his graduation, and a small gesture to recognize that fact that we "have our lives back."
mind you, i haven't entered a gym since 2004.
and before that since i was in gymnastics in elementary school.


the gym we chose is close to home and offers two hours of daycare a day with their family package.
genius.
bern had been several times while my parents were here.
me?
not so much.
the three savvy boys and i made our first journey to the gym as a family this weekend.


the facility is built into a variety of focused areas, and we were passing a large area of elliptical machines on our way to the childcare room.
it was saturday morning, and the place was rather crowded.
so, thankfully, there were approximately 42 people around to hear anth suddenly declare,
"mom! it's like you're own Biggest Loser!"


yes.
yes, it is.
except i look like a different kind of loser in this scenario.

quickly approaching the top of the hill

like most women, i started to go grey at 19. 
oh.
wait...


unlike most women, i started to go grey at 19. 
this was sort of a non-issue at the time, as i recall dying my hair for the first time, a la hydrogen peroxide, in junior high. 
it was a super classy look. 
during high school i colored my hair a number of shades from cherry to black with forest green highlights. 
yep. 
you read that correctly. 
i then made the stellar move of starting college with black hair and white, purple and electric blue extensions i had put in during a trip to London. 


...by the time i graduated and was living on the boardwalk in Newport Beach with four English and Theatre majors (a year worthy of it's own blog), working at Verizon Wireless and figuring out "what was next," i had a noticeable amount of grey. 
enough that i recall my roommate Joy(OUS!) being jealous that her two greys did not stand out well in her blonde curls. 
being a creative writer, it would have made her look more the part. 


*sidenote...this same roommate (and dear friend/generally amazing person) has since moved on to instruct creative writing in the college setting and do some of her own...here are three of my favorites that she has up on Apple Valley Review...in case you want to read some legit writing while you're here. :) 


pageant queen
the spirit of houston county

love they neighbor

anyway...
flash forward a decade and some change later, and they grey has multiplied at a rate comparable to, say, bunnies. 
and because i don't find it terribly troubling, i tend to slack off a bit on keeping up with my roots.
i assume anyone taller than me knows this. 
i had not thought much about it working in the other direction as well.


last night, the boys and i were sitting on the couch watching a Smithsonian Channel documentary on Kuru. 
(yes, this is how we chose to spend our first Saturday night as a fam sans homework.)
(and yes, hooray, our service is working again! a post to come on that fun...)
Anth was sitting on my left, munching on a pre-bedtime snack of banana. 
Benny was on Bern's lap to my right, and had just managed to stick his foot in the banana he was eating. 


yes, you also read that correctly. 


at about that moment, an ad came on for Silver Singles. 
it is, apparently, an online dating community for "mature" singles. 
aka, those who identify as 50+ in age. 
i made a comment to the effect of this being an interesting service. 
then anth, mouth full of banana, chimed in to say, "yeah, mom will need to get that soon." 
bern and i both looked at him and he pointed at the part in my hair. 
bern, cracking up, leaned across me to offer anth a high-5. 
which is open to a variety of interpretations. 
while hilarious, he has also just indirectly condoned mommy joining the "mature" online dating community. 


i think i'll pass. 

bound

preface: anth has a Nintendo DS that he received for Christmas.
bern and i have agreed to limit his use of this piece of equipment.
typically, it is not used on school nights, but can make an appearance, based on behavior, on weekends.
anth refers to weekends as "stay home" or "stay at home" days.

anth and i share the guilty pleasure of american idol.
i tell myself that this is okay because:
1. i DVR it and we watch it at a reasonable hour the next day, and
2. i chalk it up to exposing him to the performing arts.

just go with me on this one.

back while were were watching the city-based auditions, the little we're-about-to-go-to-a-commercial-voice-over-guy came on and said something to the effect of "there were bound to be some good auditions in Los Angeles."

anth paused the TV and asked me what "bound to" meant.
i explained it to him.
and we talked a little bit about things like "binding agreements," and the commitment to certain things definitely happening.

as usual, anth seemingly went back to what he was doing, and restarted the show.
a few minutes later, he paused it again.
"well, mom, then you should know i'm bound to play my DS a lot on my stay-home days this week."

the realities of reality TV

so...with bern in classes over the last few years, i have picked up a ridiculous amount of shows that i enjoy.

like...
comedy: modern family, community, GLEE
drama: house, grey's, make it or break it, the event, parenthood, life unexpected, pretty little liars (if ER, Gilmore Girls or Ally McBeal were still on they would be here, too.)
reality: aside from the biggest loser, my weakness is performance/talent based shows...So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway, Top Chef, American Idol...
other: jeopardy. (and NBC nightly news when bern is home...)

clearly, i can't physically watch all of this in any given week.
thankfully DVR let's me decide what shows are actually critical, but yes i do tape them all.

this is relevant.
kind of.
just stay with me.

so...bathtime last night.
anth tends to go from 0 to 60 on deciding it is time to get out of the tub.
last night, i was trying to shove a still-slightly-damp ben into his winter pajamas when anth suddenly declared he was ready to get out of the bath.

my feet had been chilly so i had grabbed a pair of socks earlier.
i realized i was still holding them and that they don't do much for improving the warmth of my feet until they are properly applied.
so, as i stood in the doorway of the bathroom, i told anth, "hold on, i just have to do this really quick."
as i started to apply said socks to my person, anth literally sounded like a balloon leaking air as he let out a long, dramatic, "oh noooooooo."

the kid is born for the stage, i tell you.
laughing, i told him, "anth, i'm putting on my socks, not writing the next great american novel."
in the time it took both of these sentences to happen, i was already at the side of his tub.
anth said ok and we went about toweling him off and getting him outfitted for bedtime.

later, anth asked, "hey mom...why are you writing a book about American Idol?"

tragic, i tell you.

what would we do, baby. . . ?

back before i had two little men of my own, i used to think i would never be that parent who would throw their kids in front of the TV in order to get something done. 
that was a noble idea. 
but, it wasn't all that well thought out, as i'm not exactly sure when i thought i would actually accomplish the daily to-do list. 
this week, bern and i let the boys watch a new version of Transformers on The Hub while we tried to catch up on cleaning around the house. 


as i have said many times, we can trust anthony to follow rules.
this includes the job of monitoring TV. 
we simply have to tell him that something is a show that is "off-limits," and he will forever avoid watching it. 
this system works nicely for us. 


so, as we were rounding out the 30-minute mark while desperately moving piles about the house, anth suddenly shouted, "mom! dad! come here! quick!"
assuming someone was injured, we made the mad dash toward the boys. 
while on the move, we then heard anth shout, "there is some REALLY WEIRD show on TV!!!"
and as we rounded the corner into the room where they were quietly sitting, bern and i heard the familiar tune that accompanies the lyric "...and there ain't no nothing we can't love each other through."


i can see how the cast of Family Ties could come across as somewhat out of place in comparison to Transformers and The Avengers and Phineas and Ferb. 
but the look on anthony's was was truly one of horror. 
maybe it was the hair...

sha la la la. 

Tuesday Nights equal GLEE!

and, apparently, benny shares his love of the show with his momma. 


recently, benny has discovered that i can record his vocal stylings on my phone, and he likes to put in requests for songs that he will sing. 
i will then play them back to him until he wants to record a new one. 
tonight, benny wanted to record the theme song to Go, Diego, Go!
if you are familiar with pre-school age television, you will know that his variation of this songs makes a sudden, and apparently unintentional, transition into the theme song for Little Einsteins. 
which benny soon realizes and stops himself, reflecting out loud on what the Diego song should actually sound like...
(warning, yes the screen in this video is black. it was recorded in his room at bedtime and the lights were out. this rendition was sung from his crib to my phone in the dark. precious.)

in glee terminology, this would be a loose interpretation of a "mash-up."
that's my boy. 

hard-wired

so...last night i managed to get benny into bed in enough time for anth and i to make some popcorn and watch Glee before he had to go to sleep. 


we are about 4 episodes behind, so no, i don't have an opinion on last night's show. 
and i probably won't until january at this rate. 


so, we are sitting there quietly eating popcorn and listening to a rendition of Losing My Religion, when anth suddenly faux-yawns, stretches his arms out, and puts one around my neck. 


i can't think of a show that would have exposed him to this maneuver. 
nor do i imagine that he learned this in kindergarten.
and though bern might find that funny, he wouldn't have taught him this. 


so, really, gents...do you just come standard issue with this one? 


just curious. 

gratitude

i just wanted to publicly thank my eldest child for, once AGAIN, suggesting that if i like the show Biggest Loser so much, I should probably go on it. 


mind you, i also watch SYTYCD, Top Chef and Project Runway. 


he has not suggested i try out for any of these shows. 

WISH LIST REJECT

the residents moved back in to the halls last weekend. 
welcome week is nearing its end and classes have begun again. 
for some unknown reason, this reminded me of this...


July 20, 2010


anth came into the kitchen and asked me to come to the living room. 
here, he had the television on pause. 
he asked me to rewind it. 
he wanted to show me a commercial for the new game he wanted. 


...called Cuponk


which is, essentially, beer pong with a board game included. 
this is what i get for raising my child in a collegiate setting. 
superb.