baby, it's hot outside

i'm fairly sure i'm going to melt at any point.  it's been about 100 degrees here for the past week and there is no relief coming.  as my boys and i were driving, it occurred to me how spoiled we all are in the year 2011.  we were driving home from my mom's and i realize that i have the air conditioning in the front seat spewing at full blast with all the front vents aimed directly at me.  my hair was actually blowing from the force of it.  i also have the air conditioned seat on full blast too so my tush stays properly cooled.  i looked in the rear view mirror at my boys, each in their own "section" of the car.  the rear air conditioning is blowing at full speed, and my boys begin complaining that the air is making too much noise and they can't hear their movie.  it must be nice - i haven't listened to my own music in months.  but i can recite every line from toy story.  it must be nice to be a child in 2011.

me and laura in our backyard oasis - note all the code issues in the bkgd

when i was about 10, my mom and stepdad asked "us kids" a choice - me, laura, and jay were living at home at the time.  we could either choose to get a pool installed in the back yard or have central air installed for the house.  the air conditioning was tempting...

laura and i had lived in that house on 58th street our whole life without air conditioning, and it was h-o-t in there.  the windows only half worked, so we had to prop them open with sticks or books or whatever we could find.  my mom had this system worked out with these brown metal box fans.  during the summer, she would put a fan in our window (which also held the window up) and that is what cooled our room at night.  i also created a little cooler for my pillow - i would wet down a washcloth with cold water and put in inside my pillowcase.  initially, it was great for cooling my face, but by the middle of the night, the cloth felt just plain sweaty.  zane actually created something similar this year with a ziploc baggie filled with water - i was impressed.  i saw a little bit of myself in him at that moment.  but, yes, my childhood home was hot in the summer no matter what we did.

zane, living the good life

of course, as children, we obviously chose the pool.  that pool has been one of those life defining moments for me.  as an adult, my biggest wish was for my own pool.  john made that wish come true, and now my boys and i spend our summers in the pool. 

me and the boys in our pool

my parents did however realize the NEED for air conditioning and it was installed a couple years later.  life with a/c is good.  i can't imagine how we made it without the a/c.  but i also think as a result of air conditioning, we sacrifice a lot of the summer fun we had without it.  when i was little, my mom sat outside and watched us play and all the neighbors were friendly.  it was too hot to sit inside, so everybody was outside and chatting with each other.  i have to literally force my boys outside (unless we are in the pool).  and truth be told, i like sitting inside in my well chilled, 68 degree home.  i guess it's nice being an adult in 2011 too.

the cat's in the cradle

i've always really thought zane was the most like me.  he talks like me, he's helpful like me, and he's compassionate like me.

this week, a second stray cat appeared IN our house.  not just on the front porch.  this little guy was actually IN the house.  he's a little grey baby, and he's so sweet.  i discovered him on sunday night snuggled up next to zane in his bed.  and since it was midnight, i couldn't just throw the little guy out on the streets. right?

zane with october

in september, the same thing happened.  an orange tabby appeared and just walked in the house with us one evening.  he immediately loved zane too.  he watches out the window for the bus every afternoon, and this guy lets zane carry him around like a baby.  zane named him "october" because of his coloring. 

so this week, we've have "shadow" living with us.  john most definitely does not want another cat.  the litter boxes are unbearable as it is, so i hate to force another cat on him.  plus, it's just weird to have 3 cats. i think it is anyway. right?

but i just can't bear to send him back out in the wild.  clearly, this is my mom & dad's fault.  right? they must have over taught compassion to me.  it should be noted that all of my cats have been strays.  hannah, my first cat, came to me during college.  i found her under a car, and i couldn't just leave her there. ;)

zane is so worried about the new little cat.  he's worried that john will throw him out.  he's pretty sure that i won't, but john could go either way.  zane tries to keep shadow hidden - i think he's hoping john will forget he's here. he's been making sure their food and water is full.  he's even cleaning up the water messes that october makes by dumping the water bowl.  i keep waiting for him to clean the litter box, but no such luck luck.

shadow watching tv

tonight, we had a scare with october and shadow though.  they disappeared. 


zane came home from school & was devastated.  i actually thought he might cry.  the kid launched an amber alert for these two.  he was outside looking everywhere he could think, and he was just really upset that they were gone.  (admittedly, i was slightly upset too)  and then, we heard them...  they were stuck in the basement.  zane couldn't stop hugging them when he found them - he was like a mama reuniting with her babies (except that he's a boy).

now he's got 2 cats following him around like he's a can of tuna.  he's feeding them and giving them water.  he shares his bed. he strokes their backs.  he loves them and wants them to be happy.  it's really a beautiful thing to watch.

shadow making himself comfortable

zane has definitely acquired one of my favorite traits of myself - compassion.  although, i suppose when we have 42 cats living here and are featured on the show "animal hoarders," perhaps that won't be a good thing.  but for now, i am happy that i taught compassion to zane. with more compassion in it, the world can only get better.  i have a feeling john quietly taught this as well - i just found him watching tv with shadow lying on his arm...

and they were singing... bye bye...

when i was little, my mom constantly had music playing.  in the house, in the car, outside - everywhere.  until about age 8, we listened to 61 country - am radio, baby.  everything we listened to then is now considered old school country.  dolly, barbara mandrell, juice newton - ahhh the classics.

one of our favorite songs was "family tradition" by hank williams jr.  i very clearly remember me and laura (probably around age 4 and 7) dancing around our living room in cutoff jeans and vinyl-appliques t-shirts singing about getting drunk with jim beam.  very age appropriate.

a classic shot of laura singing

another one we LOVED was "nobody" by sylvia.  another example of a perfect song for young girls to be singing - it's about cheating.
...well, your nobody called today
she hung up when i asked her name
well i wonder
does she think she's being clever?...
laura and i knew every single word to this song, including the background vocals.  background vocals are the forgotten jewels of a song.

at some point, in the 80's, i clearly remember my mom asking us if we wanted to listen to a new radio station - WHB.  uhhhh, no.  i was perfectly happy with 61 country, no need to switch.  well, i soon realized that wasn't really a question from my mom - we were switching stations.  so we were introduced to "oldies" at that point - the beach boys, franki valli, buddy holly.

laura and i really took to the beach boys, and "barbara ann" was added to our repertoire.  i was even known to give free concerts to my infant cousin, nick (who lived next door).  i would stand under his bedroom window and belt that song out until he woke up from his nap and sang along.

after a few years with WHB, my mom switched us to KUDL.  this time she didn't ask - she just changed the dial.  KUDL was light rock - jim croce, joni mitchell, simon & garfunkel.  we were well-rounded in music variety by the ages of 12 and 9.

my point is that we were never without music, and we were always singing along.  laura and i knew all the words to all the songs - from "ring of fire" to "duke of earl" to "rhiannon."  as an adult, i assumed this was normal.  i always have music playing in my car - always.  now that i choose the tunes, it's typically dave matthews band, counting crows, coldplay, a little hootie now and then....

so why is it, that my boys can't sing one song in it's entirety?  they can't even sing the chorus to one song!!  since zane was born, i've quizzed him on "who sings this song?"  it's always one of 6 choices - dmb, cc, coldplay, hootie, u2, or pearl jam.  i may as well be asking him who invented the radio.  he has no clue.  and neither do zander or zaiden!  how can this be?

is this a generational problem?  is it a boy thing?  i mean, their dad looks at me like i'm crazy when i open the sun room and rip out my version of "no sleep til brooklyn," so maybe it is a boy thing.  i have no idea.  it's devastating to me. 

last week, on a road trip to ikea, i made a special cd for my mom and sister to listen to.  we had 3 of the 5 boys with us in the car when air supply's "making love out of nothing at all" faded in.  laura and i screamed out that song (with background vocals) and even nailed perfect air-guitar and air-drum solos.  the boys never even looked up from their video games.  never. looked. up.  either they aren't impressed by our spot-on performance or they don't like music.  (i guess deafness is always a possibility too) 

where have i gone wrong??  i suppose i should find happiness in that when i am ready to change the station someday to "oldies" music from the 90's, i won't have to ask the boys for permission.  they won't even notice.

saying goodbye to old friends

first off, no laughing.  but, i openly admit that i love soap operas.  it is truly one of things i look forward to on my workdays from home.  at 11am, i turn on the tv for "the young & the restless." at noon, i flip it abc for three glorious hours of "all my children", "one life to live", and "general hospital."  i used to watch "days of our lives as well," but when marlena became possessed, i just couldn't take it anymore.  i mean, come on, we all know that couldn't really happen.  especially in a town named "salem."

now, before you judge me even more, i don't sit and stare at the tv.  i do my work and listen to it.  i mean, i do look up whenever nikolas or jax or sonny appear on gh, but who wouldn't.

me & my mamaw are on the right (my mom and sister on the left)

i have seen characters on these shows evolve for 35 years.  i guess actually 36 since that is how old i am.  my mamaw would have the shows on when she babysat me, and whenever i was home sick from school, she'd let me watch then too. 

the summer of my sixth grade year, i discovered that i could actually watch the shows independently, and i was hooked.  if i remember correctly, that was the summer that cricket and nina on y&r were tricked into a baby-selling scheme, and nina's baby was stolen and sold.  oh it was devastating.

in high school, i was super excited because we got out of school at 2:27pm, and if i drove fast enough, i could get home for the last 15 minutes of general hospital.  let me just say - i didn't waste any time hanging out at my locker after school. 

when i left for college at MU, i was ecstatic because i could plan my schedule around my shows.  i forced my roomate, christine, to fall in love with general hospital.  she was able to understand why i loved frisco and felicia so much, and her heart broke too when tony & bobby agreed to let maxie have bj's heart when she unexpectedly died.  oh it was gut wrenching to watch tony lying on bj in the o.r. after she'd died.  we sobbed.

the sobs of our freshman year were nothing compared to the shrieks of our junior year.  by then, we'd sucked our other roommate, leigh, into our shows.  this was the year of robin and stone.  there may never have been a more beautiful storyline.  robin was always the girl good, and stone was the bad boy.  stone unknowingly passed his h.i.v. to robin, and it was devastating for all of us.  robin was able to get her h.i.v. under control with meds, but stone was just too far in to be saved.  his death was one of the saddest times on television.  the day stone died, leigh, christine, and i recorded the episode so we could watch it in primetime and really concentrate on it.  the three of us sat in our living room and sobbed for 60 straight minutes.  and it wasn't normal sobbing - it was full-on hysterics.  tears, snot, sucking air - all of it.  we cried for days.  we still cry when we talk about it.  and when a blind stone squeaked out his final words to robin, "robin, i see you..." in the moments before he died - oh, that was it for us.  we lost it.  i could cry now as i write this.  i have never seen a better love story.

i've watched a lot of love and loss on these shows, but i've been loyal through everything.  some of it seems unbelievable, but that's what makes things exciting.  my mom teases mamaw and i for watching these shows because she says "this could never happen."  however, i would argue that her favorite shows probably couldn't actually happen either.  take "csi", for example.  do we really think that as a crime scene investigator and scientist, mac taylor of csy:ny would actually be the one chasing the criminals into empty warehouses, guns ablazing?  really, i think not.  everybody knows that's andy sipowicz's job.

soaps are just a fun way for us daytime viewers to sneak a peak into the lives of other families.  perhaps the chandlers, the buchanans, & the quartermaines were the first reality tv families.  we all know it's not really true to life, but it's fun.  and for me, it's a connection to my mamaw.  my mamaw is 82 now, and we've shared this passion since i was born, literally.  mamaw is as clear about soap storylines as she is about her own childhood. 

most of her "cronies" watch soaps too, and i think they like to talk about it during coffee & donuts on monday mornings.  i believe the art of the soap opera is a dying one, sadly.  i just read that in 1970, there were 19 soaps airing, and by the 2012 there will be 4.  that means that either soaps are just too far fetched for the world today, or more likely, the world thinks they aren't real enough. the influx of reality tv and talk shows seems to prove that point.

today is a very dark day in history as abc has just announced the cancellation of "all my children" and "one life to live." they are being replaced by 2 new talk shows.  i love a good talk show, don't get me wrong, but i really don't think we need 2 more.  at least let us mourn the departure of oprah for one year before we have 2 more thrown at us.  i can't imagine what my day will be like without amc and oltl.  there will be a huge chunk of time in my day with nothing to listen to.  my mamaw's vcr is going to be all sorts of confused.  she's been recording these shows since the vcr was invented (literally). we would give her cases of vhs tapes for christimas & birthdays.  mamaw never has enough tapes - she may be the last person still using a vcr instead of a dvr.  we have had several vcr emergencies where myself or my mom has had to run over and reprogram it so she doesn't miss her shows.  but, of course, it's worth it because we all know that if you miss one episode, you will be totally lost for the rest of the week.

so now that the news has broke that my shows are no more in a couple months, i'm sad for two reasons.  i'm sad that i will no longer be able to follow the romances of erica kane, the shady dealings of the chandlers, & i guess i will finally give up hope that zach is coming back from the dead.  i will also miss the split-personalities of viki buchanan, & i will miss watching david and dorian and their crazy love escapades.  and now, oltl has only a few months to prove that john mcbain is the real daddy of natalie's baby.  i am just so sad to have to say goodbye to all these characters.

i'm also more sad that mamaw and i will no longer be able to chat about the goings-on in pine valley and llanview.  for the two of us, this is a huge connection that will be lost.  we'll still have port charles to discuss, but llanview was always mamaw's favorite.  maybe some of the characters can move to port charles - the buchanans, the chandlers, jesse & angie (who were just reunited after 20 years apart), the mannings...  surely this isn't their swan song.  port charles would welcome them all i am quite sure.  i'd like to see todd manning up against sonny corinthos - now that would make for interesting story-telling.  or viki buchanan hanging out with tracy quartermaine - that could be pretty cool too.  what about jr chandler going into a business deal with luke??  and a love triangle, we'll need one of those.  hmmm.... what about blair and jax and amanda?  could be fun, right?

i'm not sure i'll be able to officially say goodbye to these shows.  they have been a part of my life for too many years.  i don't want to say goodbye.  saying goodbye would mean that i'm letting go of a little bit of my childhood.  i loved being able to watch these shows with mamaw.  it was our thing.  as i've grown up and she's grown older, this was something that was constant.  i guess as the years go by, we can continue to talk about old storylines.  or heck, maybe we can pull out some of her old recordings and rewatch them.  i think i still have the "stone's death" tape in one of my memory boxes somewhere...

giving the tree some roots



my zander



does anybody remember exchange city in kansas city?  when i was in fifth grade, we got to go to exchange city, which was a miniture city that i remember to be very cool.  as i remember it, this place was gigantic.  it had a city hall, restaurants, a bank, jewelry shop, & plenty of businesses.  we spent weeks in school preparing for exchange city - we even got to have checking accounts with real checks!  it was so much fun, and it was a huge deal because we only got to go in fifth grade.  we applied for jobs & we were elected for certain positions.  i was hired as a newspaper reporter (which oddly enough was my first major in college).  we worked all day for a paycheck, and we were able to shop and spend on our breaks.  it was so much fun!!  i remember buying jewelry and coming home with a bunch of treasures.

here's zander buying my ice cream

nowadays, our school disctrict goes to the school of economics.  for the kids, it's

zander spending some of his money

 the highlight of the year, and they get to go every year.  it's a similar concept, but i just don't think it's nearly as cool as exchange city.  it could be my adult eyes deceiving me, but it's a much smaller scale than exchange city was.  the kids love it though.  there is still a town with shops, but everybody works in the shops.  when i volunteered last year with the third graders, we had 3 restaurants with hot dogs, ice cream, pudding, and pizza.  there were also shops selling jewelry (although at SOE it was plastic beads, and i'm quite positive at exchange city we were using real emeralds and rubies), candy (the homemade pixie stick was a favorite - those lucky teachers), and stationery.  there is also a bank at SOE, and the kids are able to bank their money

every year and earn interest, which i think is a great idea.

all the kindergarteners at school of economics

today, i volunteered to help with zander's kindergarten trip to SOE.  i am so glad i did. i was able to zander in a completely different light.  zander is the child i struggle with - he is very stubborn like me, and he never gives.  it's part of his charm, but it also makes life difficult at times.  our field trip t

oday showed me a side of zander i've never seen before.  he was calm and cooperative and sweet-natured.  he walked in with his friends and followed all the directions to hang up his coat and sit with his class.  i did distract him a bit by kissing his cheek as he walked by.  he sat quietly with his class and listened intently.  i was shocked.  this is the exact opposite of the zander i know and love! 

one of zander's prized masks

i was assigned to help with the mask making shop, which apparently was a hot shop in the world of SOE.  we had a line all afternoon, and the third person in the line was my zander.  he was just so cute.  we made his mask, and off he went to buy more treasures.  about 10 minutes later, he reappeared to make another mask.  i loved that my baby wanted to be with me.  then, he said, "come on mommy.  i'm treating you to ice cream."  it was my favorite moment of the entire day.  he wanted to spend his money on ice cream for me.  he didn't get any more himself - just me.  we sat together in food court and enjoyed our ice cream.  i asked zander if he was going to buy a raffle ticket, and he said no because he wasn't guaranteed to win anything.  i hope i never forget this afternoon together.  it's rare that i get to spend one on one time with my boys, and these moments with zander were eye-opening.  i saw him as a totally new child.  he was independent and charming - everything i hope he'll grow up to be.  while i wish i could be with my boys every minute of their lives, they deserve to go off on their own and discover themselves.  i suppose i'm giving them the footing for who they'll become, but ultimately, they choose who they will become.  zander showed me today that he is fully capable of growing into exactly the kind of adult i dream he'll be.

crazy love

today is my 12th wedding anniversary.  i'm looking around my life and thinking how much is changed.  john is lying on the couch capturing pokemon characters for the kids' video game.  zaiden is sitting next to john watching his every move.  zander is reluctantly doing his book report, and zane is on the floor playing legos.  it's actually snowing tonight, but on our wedding day, it was super pretty outside.  it rained a bit in the morning, but the sun came out for a perfect day. 

john and i love to tell the story of how we met because our stories differ slightly.  the only part we agree on is that we met at the Blue Note in columbia, mo and that john was wearing a light blue shirt.  if you ask john, he'll tell you that i was eyeing him all night and couldn't wait to get him on the dancefloor.  then he claims i lured him in by unbuttoning his shirt.  i can assure you that is not what happened.  the real story is that i was dragged to the blue note by my best friend christine, and i was just hanging in the corner of the place with my friend jeremy.  jeremy, it should be noted, looks like a bouncer, so i figured i'd have a quiet night with him.  john must not have noticed jeremy because he approached me carrying not just a plastic cup of beer, but an entire pitcher.  apparently, he couldn't be bothered to pour the beer into the glass - it's much easier to drink straight from the pitcher.  so he and i eventually made our way to the dancefloor.  luckily we both had had a few beers by this time, so our lack of rythm wasn't noticed by the other.  however, i do remember buttoning the second button on his shirt so he didn't look like travolta in saturday night fever. 

that first night meeting led to 4 years of dating through college and first jobs.  john finally "engaged me" in august 1998, and i spent the next 7 months planning every detail.  our wedding sure was perfect.  all our friends were there, and all of our family was too.  i remember crying after the wedding was over because it was such a perfect day.  i felt so much love that day, and i hope i never forget that feeling.

i had no idea what to expect after the wedding day.  everybody talks about engagements and weddings, but nobody mentions the day after the wedding.  my world was totally different on march 28, 1999, and i had no idea how to cope.  john and i were 23 and 25 when we got married, and the master plan called for our first child to be born in 5 years.  (zane decided he wanted to surprise us 2 years later instead.)  the master plan really fall apart probably by, oh, april 1.  we learned very quickly that life doesn't follow a master plan.  we've learned all kinds of stuff about each other that we never would have expected.  we've learned to adapt to each other and the crazy stuff that happens every day around here. 

twelve years ago, i tried very hard to be what i thought was a good wife.  i actually spent an entire sunday ironing john's work shirts.  i hung them in the doorway to our bedroom when i was finished.  after about 4 hours of ironing, john walked through the door and knocked them all to the ground.  those shirts lay on the ground for the rest of the day (if not the week), and that was the last time i ironed.  i've tried many many times to cook, and i always end up wounded.  i've learned though that none of that stuff really matters.  my laundry skills stink, my cooking skills stink, my cleaning skills stink (well maybe that's just laziness), but john loves me anyway.  he always says that he sure landed a winner. i never know what makes me a winner since i am so terrible at all that stuff, but whatever it is, i'm glad i found the one person who can see that in me.

the one thing i know i'm good at is loving my family and putting family first.  we've got the greatest 3 boys, and i like to think they chose us.  john and i are layed back about everything, and we just want to hang out with the boys.  in a few months, our 4th little guy is arriving, and i am sure he will fit right in with our little gang here.  well, i sure hope so.  i look at my life, and i couldn't have dreamed it any better.  (well, i wouldn't have minded be able to use a pink bow on my own child every now and then, but i think i'm doing okay with ballcaps and dirt.) 

twelve years ago, i planned every detail of our wedding and our life with precision.  i've learned now that details are worth nothing, and life is much more exciting when we go with it.  as long as we are together, i know we can handle just about anything.  as a little girl, i had a dream of what my life would be like.  the details are a bit different, but the overall picture is exactly what i dreamed of - a husband who loves me, stability, and beautiful kids.  i think i've got it all.

the most valuable treasure

i might be in the minority, but i actually love to go to the dentist.  i love the way my teeth feel after a cleaning.  sometimes i try not to eat for the rest of the day after i get my teeth cleaned.  some might argue that i'm teeth obsessed.  i dream about my teeth quite often - i dream that they have fallen out.  it's horrible.  a nightmare.  as a result of my obsession, i've been taking my kids to the dentist since they were very little.  zane has always done great in the dentist's chair, zander is lucky to be invited back after every visit, and zaiden usually requires a bribe to open his mouth for dr melanie.  today was our twice yearly scheduled appointment. d-day had arrived.

let's preface all this by me describing our last visit to the dentist.  zane rocked it.  he was perfect.  zander, not so much.  since his first visit, zander has required prescribed relaxants to survive his dental adventures.  we've been feeding him "magic peanut butter" for a few years now, and it's taken careful calculations to get his doseage right.  the first time we tried the peanut butter, i assured him he would see fairies and butterflies, so he was afraid to relax because he didn't want to miss the show.  the kid not only faught through the valium, he also fought through the nitris.  it was a nightmare - screaming, lurching, kicking.  had he been in a hospital, he would have been strapped down and sent to a padded room.  it was completely awful. 

two visits ago, i had his dosage just perfect - 1 3/4 pills.  he was relaxed enough that he wasn't screaming, but lucid enough that he could walk and talk.  however, his reaction time was a bit delayed.  the hygenist told zander to bite down on the straw-sucker thing, and he looked at her, but never bit down.  so she just moved it around his mouth and sucked out the water manually.  then, about 2 minutes later, her command registered in his brain, and zander bit down.  the only problem with this was that there was no sucker-straw thing in his mouth - it was her finger.  she came up out of that chair so fast and furious.  literally.  furious.  i mean, i felt bad for her.  but, zander had no idea what he'd done.  he thought she told him to bite down.  needless to say, that visit probably got him a mark in his chart.  eventually, he's going to be like elaine from seinfeld trying to sneak into vets' office for oral care.

this visit, i was prepared.  we had our happy peanut butter ready to go, nintendos, ipods, angry birds qued up on the cell phone.  i was set.  and then, zander refused the magic peanut butter.  what?  don't you want to see fairies and butterflies?? oh please, son, take the peanut butter.  nope, he was having none of it.  so we went in clean and sober.  the hygenist (a new one) seemed slightly nervous when we told her.  she put the bib on him and timidly got her tools ready.  i'm not sure, but i think i saw her put thimbles on under her gloves.  as she was about to begin, zander looked straight at her and said, "i don't like the water part.  can you please not shoot the water in my mouth?"  he sounded so grown up.  she looked at him and said that was fine.  no water shooter.  and that was that.  zander was perfect for the entire appointment.  he sat there like a big boy, got his teeth cleaned, and he manually rinsed with a cup of water.  it was great.  i was so proud - and relieved. 

zaiden waiting for his turn

next up was zaiden, and i had no idea how he was going to react.  to my surprise, he did awesome too.  he opened his mouth wide, he didn't bite anybody, and he even took the flouride treatment like it was an everyday occurance.  it was glorious.  all of my boys did great, and i didn't have to sneak out the back door with my face covered.  we were able to walk through the lobby and even got to stop at the treasure box.  zander makes his own rules at the treasure box.  he figured that since he was super great, he should get 2 prizes.  i think the staff would have given him the whole box after this day.

as the boys were digging through the treasure, i was reminded how my sister and i used to love the treasure box at our dentist when we were little.  now, in my mind, this treasure box was full of gemstones, gold, silver - true treasure.  i remember that we would leave with something super cool (and no doubt, extremely valuable) and a toothbrush.  as we strode out the FRONT door, with heads held high, my boys carried their goodie bags of toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and their priceless treasure.  it was certainly a proud mommy moment that i hope to never forget.