Die Hard

Lisa and the youngin's are in Chicago getting pizza, GC is at Grandma's, and I just introduced LuLu  to this great film! Her only critique was that McClane didn't "try" the phone before slamming it down - she didn't realize a landline has an audible dial tone lol

Yesterday

Yesterday was a long day, courtesy of the hip, but it was made better by some good kids (yes, even LK), a meatloaf dinner courtesy of JJ, and a marathon of Hoarders with Lisa while I let the stretching machine do its business. #blessed

A Good Son

After helping prepare meatloaf for dinner, Smiley decided to cuddle with his crippled pop.

Cosby

Picture Pages. Fat Albert. I Spy. The Cosby Show. All washed away, even though nothing has been proven in court.

Junie, Age 8

I made Junie do extra chores after mouthing off, and she questioned why she was punished. I told her.

 "There's no evidence," she said. 

"I heard you," I said.

 "I didn't mean it."

"You walk into a bank and say you're going to rob them, and it won't matter. You'll go to prison," I said.

"Witnesses LIE Dad. What if someone at the bank hated you, and just wanted to get you in trouble. Huh? Maybe you just hate me. You can't punish someone just cuz they say they heard something," she said.

"I heard you."

"Witnesses -"

"I know how the legal system works kid. I am in law school."

"Doesn't seem like it."

****

Junie just got caught mouthing off again, and caught hell. The kids ratted her out and screenshotted smack she texted them. She's sobbing as she cleans the cat litter. This is why not everyone is strong enough to stick around 18 years.

My Thoughts - Overdraft Fees

In my opinion, a bank charging a one time overdraft charge is fine. A daily charge equal to the first is criminal. Any subsequent fee should be no greater than the going interest rate on the amount of the overdraft. (assuming the bank honored the rubber check). And no, it's not about us. The only check of ours that's bounced in the last ten years was when we closed our account after the break-in and forgot there was a valid check outstanding.

Suprise!

Just in case I haven't mentioned it, my hip hurts. #ContainYourAstonishment

An Update on the Alley

I just messaged my Alderman, who confirmed that the city DOES NOT plow alleys. Some neighbors around town contract privately for the service, but you're on your own. That's good news to me, since it means I haven't wasted nine years shoveling an alley for no valid reason.

Duh

Peace

Woke up after an hour to a suspiciously quiet house. Then I realized why the 1st floor had been abandoned - the kids had accidentally disconnected the router, rending wifi and their electronic lives kaput. With luck, they packed their bags and moved on to Wi-Fi'er pastures. #EnjoyingTheSerenity

A Snow Day

Nine inches of snow and I shoveled not a flake. Who says a bum hip is all bad?

But - Lisa fell when shoveling and went to the Urgent Care with a knee injury. Nothing broken, but we're looking like a collection of cripples 'round these parts.

update: I just returned from the first post-op appointment. The stitches were removed and he said I'm doing well, with the pain merely to be expected from the operation. The long term prognosis was less than stellar, but that's the future. The vertigo is something he thinks will pass on its own Crutches for 3 more weeks, and no driving until both the vertigo stops and I'm off all pain killers.

Hour four of a BBC America marathon of Kitchen Nightmares - with Lisa  

Stop Falling for the Scam

Blizzard

There's a little blizzard outside and Big Dog is stuck on the couch with a bum hip and vertigoo. Smiley is out there shoveling and he ain't happy. Neither am I. Huh. Whodathunk it would take a surgery to reveal that I'm not, by nature, a lazy bum?

Paranormal Activity

- watching with LuLu

Vegetable Soup

The wind is howling and sleet is tap dancing on the windows. A good day for homemade vegetable soup Lisa- thanks!

Whoohoo!

Congrats (and thank you) to the Falcons for ending Carolina's undefeated season!

Lord of the Flies (the movie version)

"He should have killed Jack at the start. Always end the threat." - Me

YaYas favorite book (read multiple times).

The Christmas Paintings

We opened our presents at midnight on Christmas, because we were just arriving home from visiting my sister. I'll spare you pictures of the gifts, except for these: paintings Lisa had made for each of the kids. She snuck out to Splash Studio four times between Halloween and Christmas (once with Trudy), wanting to create something special for each of their rooms.

Daddy's Home 2 and a Wonder Woman episode

We watched the Wonder Woman ('70's) episode "Amazon Hot Wax" with Rick Springfield and Judge Reinhold!

-and-

Daddy's Home 2 -  Obviously this isn't Oscar material, but what it is is warm, and honest, and funny - basically, everything Bad Moms was not.

Boxing Day 2015 - The Melting Pot

Every year we celebrate Boxing Day, establishing it as the day this family will celebrate together long after their own individual families carve up Christmas proper. This year however, a long planned trip to the Mall of America was nixed by my surgery. So instead, we rolled out to The Melting Pot for lunch. The kids were great, everyone had fun, and aside from the hip acting up a couple times, there wasn't a bad moment in the bunch. Thanks #TeamSlap! I love you all!

Boxing Day 2015 PT 2 - Shopping

After lunch we took some of the money planned for the trip and divided it up among the kids, letting them shop at Brookfield Square. Call it their Christmas bonus. Yes, I was self-conscious about being in a wheelchair and asked to be left behind while they shopped. Yes, I'm just immature enough to resent it when they did *what I asked* and left me sitting alone in the mall. Yes, I was enough of a martyr to FB about it. Yes, Lisa then called me out on it and I paid a terrible, terrible price.  But fear not, the day continued - just not at the mall. LOL

So, after the mall debacle Lisa drove us to Target, where I was able to use a scooter and shop with the kids. I always said I'd die before I rode in one of those things, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Junie got a MLP doll, some jewelry, and a Robolox card; LuLu bought her manicure set; Smiley bought some Pokemon cards but saved most of his cash, and YaYa bought an outfit.

Manicure Day!

LuLu is giving Yaya a manicure with the set OJ bought today for Boxing Day.

Boxing Day 2015 pt 1 of 3

A year ago, to celebrate Boxing Day, we went ice skating, and later I walked the youngest two more than a mile to the store. This morning I'm changing the diaper sized dressing on my hip and laying strapped into a stretching machine. #bitter

A Visit with Louise

Lisa and I paid a visit to Louise  this Christmas Day. It was great to see her! Plus a big thank you to Sherry, a nurses aid, who saw me struggling down the hall on crutches and found me a wheelchair to use. Give me some more gray hair and I could have passed for a resident! lol

The Tree is Down

As I write this, Lisa is taking down our Christmas tree. Despite its beauty - and personally, I think it was a stunner - it must have sat on the lot awhile before we bought it. It's so dry and brittle that when Lisa blew on it as a joke it lost so many needles it sounded like a rain storm in the living room. #ItsGottaGo

Lisa, dumping dustpan after dustpan of needles. "I've never had a tree do this. This is cartoon bulls--t."

LuLu

LuLu's new picture. Lisa and I breed well together.

Mindy and Isaiah Visit

I overdid it with the hip yesterday, even though all I really did was sit. So Lisa let me sleep in, waking me as Mindy and Isaiah were winding up their visit! (Sorry I looked like poop. I felt like it too)

Christmas Eve at my Sister's

Late on Christmas Eve #TeamSlap stopped by Christopher and my sister Chrissy to exchange gifts. Smiley especially loved his Gravity Falls hat!