I Swear I Wasn’t Kidnapped – A Crazy Week in Recaps

I knew it was going to be a crazy couple of weeks and not only was I right, it was even MORE off the charts than I thought. So let’s see… what can I tell you…

Last Friday, Little Red “graduated” from the 8th grade. Well, we THINK she graduated. She at least walked with her friends in the awards ceremonies. The final grades should be around soon and I’m sure she’ll be fine. It was held at the beautiful Wait Chapel on the WFU campus and there was a lot of sitting and clapping and name calling. I finally turned to the Rooster at one point when I realized that the only people who should be here were the 8th graders. Then I asked Syd if she’d be upset if we skipped hers since we know what it’s like now. She was not amused.

Congrats to all the 8th grade kids for making it thru. Best of luck to you this Fall when you hit the big time. And remember… with few exceptions.. there is NOT an elevator in the Freshman hall.

8th grade Collage

Unless you’re blind and deaf and missed me telling you 5 million times, you should know that last weekend was FINALLY the weekend where I was getting to judge the Twin City RibFest. What’s that mean? Basically, I had the esteemed privilege of sitting with 7 other people for a blind tasting of 9 RibFest contenders. Most were good.. a couple were so-so, but no matter what, I was as happy as a pig in.. oh wait. I guess in this situation, there are no happy pigs. Well, thanks for your sacrifice Piggy.. you sure were good.

ribfest-Collage

Next up on the crazy week was a stop at the studios of The Less Desirables show. Tim, Brian and Eugene do a great podcast of all things Pop Culture in our area and apparently, someone told them that I should be included in that grouping. I had a blast (even with the swollen face crashing our photo-opp) and was pretty pleased that I didn’t make a complete ass of myself AND kept my voice out of the top part of my throat (actors and singers know what I mean). If you want to hear the podcast, you can catch it on The Less Desirables page and if you’re in the Triad, you should be listening weekly.

The-less-desirables Collage

Unfortunately for me, on Saturday I developed the worlds worst headache. I diagnosed myself as having either a sinus infection, tooth issue or brain tumor. I figured it was a sinus infection as I’m prone to get at least one good one a year. It got progressively worse so I headed to the Doc on Tuesday and she gave me the “it’s probably viral but just in case, here’s a script for amoxicillin”. (Check out my scary selfie that I sent to the Rooster.) I am sad to report that of those 3 options, it ended up being a dental thing. Thankfully, I have an amazing client that is a dentist and has the best demeanor which helps when you’re going into a full blown panic attack at hearing words like “angry molar” and “root canal”. He even tried to make me laugh with “you should pick which kid you want to sell to pay for all the work that we need to do”. (he didn’t really say that but I was thinking it.. ). Dr. Civils always says… there are 2 kinds of dental care prices. Cheap and expensive. No in between. Sigh. Guess which one I have?

when good teeth go bad

And last but FAR from least… guess where I’ll be tomorrow??? Yep! Auditioning for the next season of The Amazing Race!! Adrienne and I are going to take a stab at it so wish us luck that we make it! Or at least that we make it thru the auditions! Or at least that the swelling in my face goes down enough to take a photo!!

amazing race audtions

So see? Now you know why I’ve been missing! What did you do this week??

Til next time! Kristen
Posted in family, Friends | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

A is Not for Apple: Old School Blogging

I don’t know if it’s because school is (kind of) out, but all of a sudden, there’s a flurry of people reciting their ABCs. It’s been a while since I’ve done a “getting to know you” activity and since I’ve met so many new people who may not know all the craziness that makes up me, figured what they hay when Michelle tagged me to participate. So, without further ado, I give you…

The ABCs of Me….ma_and_pa_daukas

A. Attached or Single?

Attached. Very. The Rooster is the one person who equally keeps me sane and drives me insane, but I couldn’t do it without him. Well, I could but I wouldn’t want to.

B. Best Friend?  

The Rooster and Jenfa

C. Cake or pie?

Cake. I like a good pie, but I’ve turned down more pies in my time then cake.

D. Day of choice? 

Sunday if it’s done right. Friday is usually exhausting to me and Saturday tends to be spent running around. Sunday is the day that I/we really try and do only what WE want to and on our own schedule.

E. Essential Item? 

After my contacts (I’m blind as a bat) my iPhone.

F. Favorite color? 

My favorite color is purple but the color that I wear the most is orange.

G. Gummy bears or worms? 

Don’t really eat them but if I did, it would be the bears. Although, those 5 pound versions scare me…

H. Hometown?

People are often surprised to find out that it’s Greensboro, NC. I’ve moved around so much I can see why they’re surprised. We now have kind of completed the circle and live in Winston-Salem.

I. Favorite Indulgence?

Garrett’s Popcorn. I don’t get it as often as I used to when I lived in Chicago, but when I do I literally hoard it. I hide that stuff from everyone and dole it out in little pieces like they’re Oliver.

J. January or July?

Well, no one likes January so I guess I have to go with July. Even though July really sucks when you live in NC.

K. Kids?

Three. Girls. Three girls. Threegirls.

L. Life isn’t complete without?

My husband, my girls, Little Mama and closest friends.

M. Marriage date?

April 29, 2000

N. Number of brothers/sisters?

Two sisters.. Carla and Erin

O. Oranges or Apples.

Apples.. but only if they’re tart(er). Can’t stand those mushy yellow apple posers.

P. Phobias?

Dying while the Rooster’s traveling. I just have this awful fear of the girls coming home to find me dead. Morbid and extreme, yes.

Q. Quotes?

With a teen in the house, the one that’s most used lately is “Don’t make someone a priority who considers you an option”. That goes for mates and friends.

R. Reasons to smile?

Other than my family? Meeting new people.. especially those with similar interests like my girls that write like me and the BWTs.

S. Season of choice?

It used to be Fall but I’m slowly digging summer more. I think it has to do with having 3 kids in school and the insanely hectic schedule of school. It’s nice to slip into chill mode for a couple of months.

T. Tag 5 People.  

I hope I can find 5 that haven’t already done this. I’m going to go with Dawana, the Dose Girls, Arminda, Nikki and Gaye. Revised… Michelle made me break the rules, so I’m adding Chris to this list, too!!

U. Unknown fact about me?Hip Chicks Wedding

Most people don’t know that I got married in Vegas. With 25 of my closest friends and family. And while I don’t have the 20 pound photo album or preserved wedding dress, I would do it again in a heartbeat :)

V. Vegetable?

Sadly, potatoes are not a vegetable, so I have to go with a runner up which is hard. I would have to say asparagus at this point. We seem to have it in the house more than others.

W. Worst habit?

My worst habit used to be smoking but now I’d have to say it’s thinking I can stay organized without help. And by help, I mean an old school pad of paper and pen.

X. Xray or Ultrasound?

I don’t think I’ve had an xray (other than dental) but I’ve had at least three ultrasounds :)

Y. Your favorite food?

Comfort! Soul food!! Mexican food! Which is pretty much comfort food once you look at the amount of cheese and sauce involved.

Z. Zodiac sign?

I’m a Sagittarius through and through.

Okay, so now what? If you’ve been tagged, copy and paste the questions, answer them (although my answers fitting into your life could be funny) and then link up with Elaine at the Miss Elaine-ous Life or Jennifer at Jennifer P. Williams.


Til next time! Kristen
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Five on Friday – 5 Lessons for High School

I can’t believe that I’m writing this. Today is the day when this little girl closes the chapter on another part of her life and graduates from middle school. 8th grade graduation

I cannot believe that I will be the mother to a High School student next year.

To coin a very well-worn phrase, where does the time go? It was just a few breaths ago that I put her on the bus for the first time and last week, I signed her up for drivers ed. Oy. In honor of her graduation, I thought I would offer up…

Five tips for High School:

  1. Unless something goes really wonky, high school will be so much better than middle school. Middle school sucks for everyone. Combine hormones with the fact that you can’t put two coherent thoughts together to save your life and you’re got the equivalent of teenage spontaneous combustion.
  2. There will always be asshats who surround you. Now is the time to learn how to be bigger than them and move on. Don’t feed into their insecure attempts at bringing you down with them. Remember how I always said to “just ignore it”? Well, now you get to perfect that. Luckily, there are a lot of kids in high school so they’ll quickly move on to the next person to try their “charm” on. You’re going to have teachers that you don’t like as well. And guess what.. I love you dearly but not everyone is going to like you, either. It’s part of life. Don’t waste your time trying to win over people who don’t like you and don’t waste your time thinking that other people will change. There are over 7 billion people in the world.. believe me.. a few who don’t like you won’t change a thing.
  3. Dating will come into play now. But please do not think that you are going to hit your first day of high school and your first date at the same time. Let’s wait a while. I’ll write more about dating in another post, but above all else – stay true to yourself. I promise, you will be wowed and mesmerized by the upper classmen, but don’t even think about it.. it’s not happening.
  4. It’s show time. The past 8 years of school have led up to this moment. Now is when your grades COUNT. You need to buckle down and take it seriously. There are no “do-overs”. When you sit down in a couple of years to apply to colleges, yes.. they can and probably will look atfive tips for highschool

    your record all the way back to day 1 of the 9th grade. Do not mess this up. As trivial as it may seem, it’s critical to helping you get into a good college.

  5. You really CAN be whatever you want to be. Going to a new school is kind of like a clean slate. Sure there will be people who have known you a really long time, but there will be more who don’t. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something – and that includes yourself. Try new things. Play new sports. But whatever you do – give it your all. There is nothing wrong with being awesome. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty awesome being awesome. Go show the world how awesome I already know you are. You just need to believe in your awesome self. And if you don’t think you’re awesome, FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT!!

These next 4 years will be forever engraved in your mind. I hope that they are wonderful for you. I know they’ll be full changes as you begin the final preparations to go out on your own. I know that we’ll fight. I know that we’ll go thru some tough times. Just remember that this time is just as hard on me as it is on you. You see me as a burden.. I see you as one of the three most incredible things that I have ever done with my life. It’s hard for me and your Dad to know that our time with you is almost over.. at least in the context that we know it now.

Congratulations, Little Red. Dad and I are proud of you. Now go kick some ass :)

Til next time! Kristen
Posted in Teens | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Dear Old Dad: Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party

My friend, Michelle over at A Dish of Daily Life asked if I would be interested in being a co-host for what we bloggers call a “link up” which is when a group of writers collectively share their posts on the same topic in a central location.

Basically it’s like one-stop-shopping but you’re reading.

This week on the Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party we’re doing a shout out to dads everywhere. Since Father’s Day is just around the corner, it’s a time for all of us to celebrate the patriarchal accomplishments, outtakes and special moments of our own dads and the men who have fathered our children. You can also share the story of a special man or someone who has been like a father to you. We’d love to see those new posts, but if you have to dig into the archives, that’s okay, too. Since tomorrow is 8th grade graduation for us, I won’t do my 2013 Father’s Day post til later this week, but here’s a throwback post that I did for the Rooster last year. We look forward to reading your Dedicated to Dad link up! And Happy Father’s Day to all the great guys out there!

In addition to myself, this link party is being hosted by the following ladies. Please be sure to visit their sites, follow them on Twitter and like their pages on Facebook. We all will be doing the same for each and every one of you who join the party.

 

Michelle at: 

dish-of-daily-banner

Crystal at:

MommiFried

Tamara at:

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Angela at:

writers-mom-bannerSM

Let Me Introduce You To… 

My co-hosts and I also like to take the opportunity to introduce you to some fellow bloggers and I thought it only made sense to tell you about a few of my favorite DAD bloggers! In no particular order, here they are.. please take a moment and check them out. These guys are awesome and a couple of them help me over at Ten to Twenty!

The Jack B: I can’t remember which post led me to Josh aka The Jack B. It may have been one of the ones when he takes on the Mean Moms of the PTA or where he dotes on his relationship with his daughter (and son). Crap, knowing Josh it could have been one of the ones where he didn’t blog about sexual conquests. i really don’t care, all I know he’s amazeballs, I adore him and can’t wait to meet him in person.

ThreeFiveZero:  My friend, Scott Rigdon is a single dad of two great kids who I’ve been lucky enough to watch grow up. His son and my middle have been thick as thieves since Kindergarten and we’ve all teased them mercilessly about being an “item”. He gives his son lessons on “womanly things”  and some of his stories about his daughter leaves me a little misty at the magic life he creates for his kids.

Jon Lowder: Jon is my go-to guy these days because he has 3 kids like me but 2 of his are in college. So he gives me all the glorious things that I get to look forward to with raising teens. Little bits of wisdom of the stupid things they do as well as the evil helicopter parents whose antics will be the death of us all.

Let’s get started!

Have fun and visit the links below. We ask that you try to visit at least three. Remember to leave a thoughtful comment on the new blogs you’ve discovered and let them know you’re visiting from the Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party! Feel free to pin your blog post to the Ladies Only Blog Share Pinterest board, too! In the URL field, place the link to your post. The name field should contain the title of your post. And if you’d like to co-host a future link party, give me a shout at Kristen@FourHensAndARooster.com.

fathers-day-link-up

Four Hens and a Rooster
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Til next time! Kristen
Posted in Ladies Only Blog Share | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Welcome to Text-as: 8th Grade Graduation Edition

funny texts from my family

If you’re new around here, Welcome to Textas is where I show you my favorite text that I’ve received lately.

Closing in on 8th Grade graduation and after having a few conversations, I think I can confidently say that I am not the only mom in our area walking around shaking their heads over the “needs” of their daughters in “order” to graduate. This text shows you what my daughter and her friends are expecting and hoping for. I usually only have one screenshot for this series, but I couldn’t stop at one this time…

 

graduation texts

To fill you in, what was being requested was this:

  1. Go to Monkee’s (high-end boutique in our area) for a pair of Jack Roger sandals (ARV – $110)
  2. Go to the store our friend works at for a Lillie Pulitizer dress (ARV – $200 but this was consigned, so probably $40)
  3. Go to the hair salon for cut and hi-lights (Average cost – $130)
  4. Pedicure – $35 after tip
  5. Make-up done – $50 (making  her come to our house at the buttcrack of dawn? Additional $25)

That, my friends, comes up to a grand total of $365 and that’s with the used Lillie. For 8th grade graduation. I’m not even sure we dressed up for my 8th grade graduation. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure we HAD a graduation as much as it was an awards ceremony. I know there was no pomp and circumstance like these guys are getting and I’m not even sure my parents (or any others) even came. Pretty much we got our awards and a slap on the back with a “good luck in high school” thrown in for safe measure.

While I am confident there are plenty of girls whose parents buckled to their insane demands, rest assured I did not. She did get her Jack Rogers that I found on eBay for $60 and they were her graduation gift from us. Instead of a used Lillie, she got a new dress that was the same $40 and, in my opinion, a lot cuter (a burnt potato sack is cuter than a Lillie Pulitizer in my opinion, but that’s a different post) and a pedicure because I needed one.

How is 8th grade “graduation” in your area? Big hullabaloo or just another day? Love to hear if we’re unique or everyone is going thru it.

 

Til next time! Kristen
Posted in Teens | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments