Neglect-O-Blog

The Lefebvre Party of 4 coined it best!  When one is busy with living life and puts the updates for blog-land on hold you get some serious neglect-o-blog.  There has been plenty to blog about lately for The Hanson Hat Trick; however, not enough time in the day to do everything.  I'm sure this will become the status quo as back-to-school approaches and reality sinks in for this teacher who would love to just be a mommy.  

Here's some highlights of what's been going on in our world:

Manda was a bit bummed that "the best photo" didn't make it onto the blog.  Of course she left a comment and also had to mention it during a phone conversation or two.  So to appease her and show all just how goofy she can be,  as if you didn't already know, here it is.  I like to label it, "Hey, Mom!  My first day at Hired Hands went swell today!"

Speaking of Manda, my little sister is a complete rock star!  She has been doing double duty for over three weeks now. She works her day job in Grand Rapids and then heads up to mom and dad's house almost every night to help with demo and keep up the spirits of our parents.  I've really appreciated all that she's done and wish that I lived closer so I could help out as well as share in the hard work and family bonding/family moments.  

Be sure to check out Team Tuttle to see the latest photos.  The house has certainly gone through many different stages and now it just looks completely bare.  The good news is that every day of work gets them closer to getting out of their temporary housing situation and back into their home.  I know it will feel good to get past this exhaustive process.  

Even though I had mixed emotions about leaving up north, it did feel good to be home and get back into a normal groove.  It was especially nice to get some meaningful time with friends who stopped by to visit.  Their visits were just what I needed.  I appreciated their concern as well as hearing about what's been going on in their world since we were together last.  Thank you Jenn, Alexis and Laura for stopping by.  

In the last week I've watched three movies, which is quite amazing these days.  

Last Friday Mark and I went out on a "date" while Anthony had the pleasure of hanging out with Lauren all night.  (On Saturday afternoon we went to get A some pickles - only two remained.  I'm convinced they just ate pickles and played. No wonder why he loves his babysitter so much!)  Mark was super pumped to see The Dark Knight.  Even though I really enjoyed the last Batman movie I had my reservations about paying $16 to see this one.  Good thing he talked me into it!  I thought it was so well done - the acting, story line, etc. I actually left the theater contemplating character and what would I do faced with something horrific.  Would I stick to my values and morals or become something I'm not.  (Yes, I'm being serious!  I know.  I've turned a great comic flick into something deep and philosophical.  What's wrong with me?)

Thanks to the Tuttles we were able to watch the movie Cars as a family.  (Okay, Anthony lasted maybe 30 minutes tops before yanking on Zoey's tail and running around.  This little boy definitely doesn't like to sit still.  Mark and I finished it after he went to bed.)  Now I know what the hype was all about a few years ago when it first came out.  There are so many lovable characters and a great story line with the big life lesson at the end.  (It made me miss the days of watching shows like Andy Griffith where there was always something important to learn regarding life and your character.) Once again Mark was rolling his eyes at me while I contemplated the meaning behind Pixar's masterpiece.

Just tonight I went to Mamma Mia! with my mom.  (She so graciously came down for the week to watch Anthony while I taught the second session of summer school.  Hopefully being here away from the chaos and harsh reality of life in DR is a good thing for her.)  Before we went I did some investigating on how well the movie was being received by the critics.  Roger Ebert and many others didn't like it; however, they stated it would be popular for a "certain" audience.  I guess mom and I are that "certain" audience.  I'm sure we were the loudest of the eight movie goers tonight -- yes, I said E-I-G-H-T -- with our laughing and need to sing or at least hum along to the music.  There really isn't anything to contemplate because the story line is too whimsical for that.  However, the moment wasn't lost on me.  I give thanks for having another opportunity to spend time with my own Mamma; things could have been very different.

Last Saturday we took a drive up to Little Falls for a nerdy family outing.  I have always wanted to go to the Charles Lindbergh museum.  (Yes, you've heard me correctly.)  I've taught a unit on the baby Lindbergh kidnapping for years now and thought it would be neat/beneficial to get some more background for myself and my classroom.  Through a bit of research Mark found it was children's day so my day had finally come.  Yippee! 

Well, sort of.  To say I was a bit disappointment would be an understatement.  It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, but it was still an adventure to say the least.  The best part of the day was just spending time together.

Anthony is really loving his sunglasses that he got as a gift earlier this summer and needed to wear them most of last week.  Sometimes he puts them on upside down, but doesn't seem too bothered by it.  

I thought if Sanjaya could pull off a frohawk on national television that A could definitely do the look.  Mark just shook his head at me, but I thought it was rather fitting for our little rock star!

The highlight of the museum tour was the simulated Spirit of St. Louis that Anthony was able to become a pilot on.  It made noise and there were a bunch of buttons and levers to push.  He was in heaven!

The most interesting part of our nerd outing came as we were driving home.  Mark stopped at a local SA to buy some beef sticks for Anthony who loves them and was getting kind of hungry.  I decided to have one too and quickly discovered it was too hot for my taste.  Because I think everything that isn't bland is too hot or spicy I didn't think much of it.  We didn't even make it out of Little Falls and onto Highway 10 before Anthony started saying hot and sticking out his tongue trying to cool it down.  Then he started crying and rubbing his eyes with his hands that were just holding the stick.  I shouldn't say the situation was funny, but we did have to chuckle in spite of his tongue being on fire. Luckily, some cold water and listening to his favorite moo tunes helped to calm him down a bit.  

In other blog news:

My pal and cutest four year old boyfriend EVER, CJ, certainly has made me laugh this week with his antics.  His ability to mess up lyrics and stating he's not a deer still makes me crack up. I look forward to the day A will be talking up a storm and coming up with interesting stories and reasoning behind things.  I hope you enjoy the CJ stories as much as I did.

I have to agree with the Bain Blabber on this one.  I, too, am excited that New Kids on the Block are back together and touring.  (October concert anyone with me by your side?  I promise not to get too emotional at this concert and cry because Joey didn't see me.  Any takers?  You know the concert will totally ROCK!)  Anyway, I will not be jumping ship on this new/old fashion trend.  AND if it starts happening with students I'm teaching I might need to die of laughter/cry because I'm truly old.  Old enough for an old fad to come around once again.

I might be bragging, but I love these photos Manda took of her godson and the flower girl from their wedding.  Aren't they great?!  I love that she captures kids being kids.  No frilly dresses or stuffy outfits.  It's all about having fun.  

Lastly, dear Alexis, I officially hate your Face Book account for what it has done to BeadsOnOneString.  Your last update was June 18th.  

Now that's some serious neglect-o-blog!