Bear in There

by Shel Silverstein

There's a Polar Bear
In our Frigidaire--
He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He's nibbling the noodles,
He's munching the rice,
He's slurping the soda,
He's licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there--
That Polary Bear
In our Fridgitydaire. 

I loved Shel Silverstein as a kid...he's poems still make me laugh!

-Sheryl

Couches & Coffee Tables

After Kate was born we decided it was a good idea to take the coffee table out of the living room for fear of falling and hitting her head on the corner.

Right before Isabelle was born we bought a new couch. That is another story in itself.

I decided 3 weeks ago that both of the girls can now walk fairly well. Although sometimes I wonder. It has been 7 years, so I put the coffee table back in the living room.  Now it has turned into a craft table, weekend breakfast table while watching cartoons, and a t-total mess. Small pieces of food are trapped on and between the table and the couch. Dribblets of milk stain the couch and edge of table because we can't seem to get the spoon to our mouth while watching tv because we don't take our eyes off of the cartoons while putting said spoon to our mouth. It has turned into a quick way to access the couch. Rather than go around the table Isabelle has decided to step on the table to the couch. And also jumping over the back of the couch as opposed to walking the 6 ft around is another entry point. Standing on the couch is fun. As is jumping into your cousin and head butting each other causes screams of pain. And of course an hour later, after headache subsides, we forget and do the same thing again. The table also serves as a hiding place for Isabelle as she likes to climb under the table and ask 100 times, "Daddy! Do you know where I am?"


So as I sit and look and a pink Nintendo DS, an Dooney & Burke change purse, small amount of change, a Chirstmas cup, a half eaten bowl of Froot Loops with small dried pieces of cereal around the bowl, and a eaten go-gurt package on the table. A snorkle, a pen, a homemade cape, and a pair of tennis shoes under the table. A softball helmet on the couch. I hear 3 children in the kitchen making hot chocolate as I type. I pose this question. Was it a good idea to bring back the coffee table?

My First Book Review

Okay, so I was completely surprised when one of my favorite authors, Amanda Hocking asked me to review her new book Torn, the second installment in her Trylle Trilogy.  I had been waiting for months for this new book because I loved Switch, the first book in the trilogy so much.

Wendy Everly, the main character is a changeling that was born a troll and placed in a human family at birth.  In this world, though, trolls are beautiful and they have paranormal powers such as persuasion, telekinesis or mindspeak. At seventeen, Wendy was returned to her Trylle (troll) family.  To top it off, she is the Princess of the Trylle.

Amanda immediately makes you fall in love with the characters in Torn, you eventually even fall in love with Queen Elora, Wendy's overbearing and often times cold biological Trylle mother.  Wendy really develops during this book into a good person and begins to master her magical powers.  A new character named Loki is introduced and I am excited to see where Amanda goes with him in the next book.

If you are looking for a fun read with a bit of romance and magic then you'll really enjoy the Trylle Trilogy.

Read Amanda Hocking's Blog for more information on the author.

-Sheryl

Things My Kids Say

Seems like the best quotes come on our ride to school in the morning. Sheryl called and the kids listened to our phone conversation. That is only time they listen. Maybe that should be a new medium in talking to the kids because you get their undivided attention when you don't necessarily need it.
After hanging up with Sheryl Kate asks, "Why do you call Mommy baby?"
"They are pet names. I call her sweetie, baby, sugar lump. What names do I call you guys?", I said.
Without a beat, "Kate."
"Isabelle"
And that was all that was said.
-Thomas

Martinsville Speedway

So I attended my very first NASCAR event on Sunday. The weather was great and I had the opportunity to spend the day with Grand Jack.

I was amazed at the track, the people, and the sound of the cars. TV does no justice to show just how fast those cars really go.

The day started out as usual. We did leave the house by 9am. But after having to go to my office to get a soft sided cooler, then to the Cook's house to borrow a camera, and in typical Thomas fashion, Jack and I had to come back to the house because....I forgot the tickets. So we hit I-81 by 9:40.

Good drive up. Made there by 11:30. Got all of our gear together. Headphones, sunglasses, and coolers. Headed toward the track and made it 30 yards and guess what....forgot the tickets in the car. Can you see where this day is going? Made it into the chaos and the first place we went was to the vendors trailers. As I do not have a favorite driver (actually I guess it is Dale, Jr. but he doesn't drive for Budweiser anymore) we toured all of the trailers. Jack, the racing veteran, suggested I invest in a seat cushion. He told me to get the noise cancelling headphones with built in AM/FM radio the week before. GREAT INVESTMENT. So back to the vendors. I settled on a Dale Earnhardt #3 seat cushion and purchased a Wrangler hat that features Dale Sr. and Jr. Time for the race.

Got to our seats. Then I made a trip to the concession stand for a famous Martinsville Speedway hot dog. I can now say I had one. It turned out to be one of those weird, dark red hot dogs. So add in a bag of salted peanuts in the shell, nachos, and 3 hot dogs (for Jack too) and it was "green, green, green, green,"

LOUD is all I can say. I had to ask Jack, "Do you look at all the cars or do you pick one?" It is hard to watch all of them. 110 laps in and next thing I know Jack is nudging me to wake up. Yes, I fell asleep at a loud race. I do it when I watch it on tv as well. Watch the beginning, fall asleep, and wake up for the finish.

I had a great time watching the fans. They are definitely passionate about their drivers. It is a short track, so when their driver came by they stand up and scream then sit down. Then 30 seconds later they do it again. This goes for 500 laps. When Jr. took the lead the stand began to rumble with excitement. He lead for a good while. His fans would stand and scream and wave down the track. When he lost the lead they stood up and showed their support to the new leader with middle fingers.

Denny Hamlin, Richmond native, won the race. Jack told me he "owns that track." Race over and we got to see all the intoxicated fans scream at their boyfriends for not walking back with them. Others yelling because their driver lost. Fun stuff.

Got to give credit to the Martinsville and State Police. They had the traffic moving beautifully and we were back on to Rt 220 within 30 minutes. Long ride home but in the end well worth the trip. It was the first time Jack and I have done something together. We had a great time. Worn out today but definitely something I would do again.

Oh yeah. I won these tickets from Kroger by using my Kroger card. So to all who read this post, check out your receipt. You never know what you might win.

Earnhardt rules and pink hotdogs suck!!
-Thomas

Canning vegetables

So yesterday I decided to try my hand at canning tomatoes.  We had a successful garden this year (even through the drought) and had tomatoes and peppers well into October.  Therefore, now that the temperature has dropped, I decided to try to save some of that summer goodness.

Canning vegetables reminds me of my childhood.  My mother and my grandmother canned vegetables including tomatoes, pickles, chow chow, etc., but I had never done it on my own.  I got some pointers from my mom and my Aunt Hilda and just decided to go for it!

My dozen tomatoes resulted in two jars and I must say I was very proud of myself.  I hope to pass this newly found skill on to Kate and Isabelle.  And now that I have some confidence in it, I can certainly let them help me next time.

I actually have sixteen green tomatoes that I picked yesterday that I've decided to let ripen in my window sill and then I'll let the girls help me can those. I know I can use these to make chow chow, but I just don't know if I'm ready for that.

-Sheryl

Why are we blogging?

Thomas and I have been thinking about blogging for some time now.  Primarily because we would like to record our lives, more specifically, our kid's lives.  Thomas posts on Facebook quite often about "Things My Kids  Say" and we constantly post photos of Kate and Isabelle, but we wanted a place on the web that is dedicated to the ups and downs of parenthood in the Wagner household.  Our plan is to share this blog with our friends and family....and to have a little fun while we are at it.

So, wish us luck and enjoy!

-Sheryl & Thomas

In spite of the six thousand manuals on child raising in the bookstores, child raising is still a dark continent and no one really knows anything. You just need a lot of love and luck - and, of course, courage.
-- Bill Cosby