MomsEveryday Post: How We Roll

MomsEveryday ran "How We Roll" (retitled to "Clothes: Optional") on their site today. If you missed it the first time around, pop on over to read it on their fantastic website!

Oh, and while you're clicking, would you like this photo so we can win four tickets to Schlitterbahn? Thanks!

They're Coming to Get Me

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not a big fan of the creepy, crawly, slithering creatures that share my zip code. I've discovered quite a few of these critters - one large lizard, four or five smaller lizards, and LOTS and LOTS of bugs - in our house at one time or another, and while I HATED every second I shared space with these animals, I am proud to report that I've taken care of all of them, except for the large lizard, on my own.

On a related note, I recently encountered my first live snake. I was edging the grass in front yard and accidentally edged that little buddy right in two. Tom was VERY impressed with how calm I stayed in the moments after committing the crime, when I informed him both of the incident and that I wouldn't be doing any more edging that morning.

I couldn't figure out how the lizards in particular were getting into my house, other than the most obvious way: through a left-open-by-a-small-person door. (I wish those kids of mine were old enough for me to enforce a "if you leave the door open and a lizard comes in the house you will be responsible for removing the lizard from the house" rule.) Until a couple of weeks ago, that is.

Outside our kitchen/dining nook window is a large bush. Growing up through the bush are a number of hearty vines that when left unattended, quickly take over the bush itself and grow directly up and onto/into the window screen. Before we bought our house it was vacant for months, during which time the vines grew like the weeds they are and eventually tore holes in the screen. The best I can tell, lizards were coming out of the bush, climbing up and through the screen, and then working their way through the little gaps on the sides of the windows that allow the windows slide up and down.

Once I realized how the lizards were getting in, I used enough cotton to mop up a small flood and plugged all of the gaps. Knock on wood, but the 17 or so pounds of cotton I used seem to be doing the trick - I haven't yet had to catch a lizard in my house this season. But since we haven't fixed the screen yet, the lizards are still squeezing through the holes in the screen and making themselves at home up against the glass window.

And there they sit, watching me with their beady little eyes, waiting for the cotton to decompose and allow them entry into my safe haven.

On his way back out.

Watching.  Waiting.

Have you ever been watched by a lizard? I can tell you from experience that it is NOT a good feeling.

Flashback Friday: High School

As I mentioned last week, I didn't peak in high school. (I now recognize this as a good thing, but back then I'd have given anything to have spent those four years at the top of the social totem pole.) At least at that point, however, I'd begun climbing out of the valley that was middle school. But while I had great friends, was a member of Concert Choir, was a peer mediator, and played varsity soccer (which is what put on me on the high school map), I was still very uncomfortable in my skin.

I think many of us were at least a bit awkward and self-conscious in high school, but some kids - usually the popular kids - did/do a better job of hiding these feelings than others.  I didn't know how to hide my awkwardness, so though I swapped out my glasses for contacts, grew out my bangs, and FINALLY had my braces removed, I never really felt like I fit in.

You wouldn't know it from these pictures though.  Apparently I tossed most - if not all - of the pictures of me "not fitting in" and saved only those pictures that made high school look like the time of my life.

Except maybe this first one, which needs a bit of an explanation...  During my sophomore year winter vacation my club soccer team played in an international tournament in Florida.  My entire family came to the tournament, and then when the games were finished and the rest of the team had headed home, the four of us spent a few days at Disney World.  My dad flew home by himself to get back to work, but because we weren't in a rush, my mom, sister, and I drove home together at a more leisurely pace.

Just before we hit the road I tore one of my contacts as I was putting it in.  As (bad) luck would have it, not only did I not have a spare pair of contacts, the glasses I had with me were three years old and therefore weren't nearly strong enough (prescription-wise) for me to wear - at least while driving - on their own.

Since Sara didn't yet have a driver's license, my mom and I were the only drivers for our 26-hour trek and she needed me to periodically take a turn at the wheel.  To do so safely, I had to wear both my glasses and her glasses at the same time (which together provided me with a close-to-correct prescription).  I looked so unbelievably awesome, especially when we stopped for food, gas, etc. along the route home.

Oh, and that's a Tootsie Roll Pop stick in my mouth, just in case you were wondering.

Flashback to my super cool middle school days.

Laura, me, Laura, and Katie in my living room senior (?) year.
I wish I could remember why Laura was carrying
around that box of Cocoa Puffs cereal.

Spring Break 1996 in Jamaica
(We were there for varsity soccer spring training.  We lost to this team
because we weren't used to playing while surrounded by fans smoking
marijuana and having to dribble around cows on the field.  No joke.)
I'm directly in front of the tree in the back row.

Spring Break 1997 in Clearwater, FL
(I still can't believe my parents let me go on this trip sans adults.)
I'm 3rd from the left - the one wearing sunglasses.

Senior Prom 1997

Senior Prom 1997

 I look happy.  I think I was happy.  I hope I was happy.

Red Cross Post: Civil War on Sunday

This week on the Red Cross blog I'm talking about discovering the American Red Cross in my everyday life, appreciating the tragic historical events that led to the foundation of the American Red Cross, and making meaningful connections between the two, for myself...and for my kids. And to think, it all started with a children's book about the Civil War.

My 12th Man

Back in January I wrote about the tradition of the 12th Man at Texas A&M University.

If you recall, after an injury-laden first half that left the TAMU football team close to forfeit, the 12th Man - E. King Gill - came down from the stands, dressed, and joined his team on the sidelines. Though Gill never went into the game, his spirit of readiness for service, desire to support, and enthusiasm helped kindle a flame of devotion among all TAMU students.

Ever since that game in 1922, the entire TAMU student body has been collectively considered the 12th Man, standing - at the ready to help their team - for the entirety of football games.

The tradition of the 12th Man is recognized on and off campus in a variety of ways, one of which is on TAMU fan jerseys, all of which bear the number 12 on the back.

This jersey suits my boy.  He is always standing - ready to serve, eager to support, and enthusiastic about his life and the people in it. He may be little, but he will do big things.

MomsEveryday Post: Grocery Shopping with Kids

MomsEveryday ran Friday Grocery Shopping - retitled to Grocery Shopping with Kids - earlier today. If you missed it the post the first time around, you can read all about how my children terrorize me (and the rest of the shoppers at Target and Kroger) as soon as I set foot in a store that sells paper products, cleaning supplies, or food here. Just thinking about it is driving me batty...

Broken Bones

One year ago, when we'd only lived in Texas and Tom had only worked as a professor at TAMU for a few months, our family attended Tom's department's (ISEN) spring picnic. Well, let me rephrase that... Tom attended the spring picnic, joined in a faculty vs. student basketball game, and in an attempt to impress his new coworkers and students, saved a going-out-of-bounds ball, slammed into a cement park bench, and broke his collarbone. (If you recall, 2011 was the year of the broken collarbone in the Ferris household.) The kids, my mom, and I attended the spring picnic just long enough for my mom and me to take one look at Tom and then put him in my car, bound for Urgent Care.

The whole ordeal - both the broken bone and Tom's ability to continue to perform at his job in the days and weeks following the accident really put Tom on the map in the ISEN Department at TAMU, if not as an A+ basketball player, than as a hard-working, dedicated team-player.

A couple of weeks ago the ISEN spring picnic rolled around again, and as one might expect, Tom was dreading the annual faculty vs. student basketball game. He wasn't about to let that damn bench (still there, no worse the wear from its run-in with Tom a year prior) get the best of him though, so he suited up and took the court with his fellow faculty members.

With basketball skills not quite on par with their intellectual skills, the faculty team lost their first game quickly. As they were replaced on the court by another student team I could see a look of relief wash over Tom's face...he'd survived.

Luckily for Tom, Will had a baseball game that evening and he was able to duck out of the picnic before the faculty team was called back onto the basketball court, collarbone intact. At least for the time being...the 2013 ISEN picnic is only about 345 days away.