Back to School

Go Get'em, 6th Grader!

Oh, and don't you worry one iota, Kiddie.

You've made it through another summer.

Your Christopher*Robin will be back home before you know it!

Happy Anniversary: 11 Years Together Forever

Yet another year has passed, my precious Boy Wonder, and after 11 years,

you still hold my hand.

Some days it seems like yesterday when I first held you in my arms

and other days it seems like a lifetime ago.

I marvel at how you drew me to you

and how my love for you

completely changed my life, our lives,

in one single day;

FOREVER.

I am so incredibly blessed to be your mother;

to spend every day with you,

watching you...

remembering our past,

savoring today

and dreaming of our future.

I love you with every single ounce of my heart.

I wouldn't change one second

of the last 11 years we have shared together.

Thank you for being my son.
Happy Anniversary!

Special Treat

I'm not a soda drinker.
Never was.
The only time we ever had soda in our house
when I was growing up was for parties.
On my father's to do list before each event

was pick up soda from the local soda vendor.

He'd bring home 2 (sometimes 3) cases from a local mom and pop (punny!) shop

filled with all our favorites:
Kola (with a K), Orange, Birch Beer, Half and Half, Wild Cherry,

Lemon-Lime (it was a green color, not like Sprite or Mountain Don't),

and who could forget Cream!

They were in glass bottles that we'd have to return the following week

under penalty of...well, of something.

And when the party was done...the soda was gone

until the next time.

My mother's no soda mandate from way back actually saved our teeth and
we all know now, proved to be a much healthier approach.

Since I never acquired a taste for soda on a regular basis,

I carry the same mandate in my own house today.

Special Occasion = Soda

Occasion Over= Soda Gone

Surprise, Surprise...WonderBoy pushes the limit on this

almost every time we go grocery shopping.
(He doesn't win but he is a persistent little bugger!)

The other evening while out at our favorite sushi joint,

we had the opportunity to try Japanese Soda.

Lemme tell you, I'm a marketing sucker; hook, line and sinker!

This soda made such an impression I let both kids

have 2 bottles each (EACH!) at dinner.

It wasn't that it tasted so different from most soda I have tried,

its that it was packaged in the coolest way.

It comes in glass bottles and you need to peel the plastic shell from the top of the bottle.
Once you do that, you uncover a plastic lid with a plunger that you punch out for use as a tool.

By doing this, you've exposed the top of the bottle which is plastic and

has a clear round marble in it.
(it kinda looks like a roll-on lip gloss with a ball/marble in the neck that doesn't come out.)

You line up the plunger over the marble and give the plunger a pop with an open hand

and BAM....the "marble" shoots into the soda and

creates carbonation inside the bottle.

At $2.50 a "pop" (excuse the pun) at dinner, I was enthralled

but $10 on 4 sodas hurt my inner Thrify Girl.

Since then, I was on a mission.

On Sunday, WonderBoy, Sweetie and I set off

with two of our best buddies in search of our booty.

BEHOLD.



We found the mother ship of Cool Japanese Sodas (and exploding gum, but that's for another post!)

We bought one in every flavor...actually, we bought MANY in every flavor.
And, at $1.39 each; we're stocked up for the next several special occasions!




(look closely and you'll see the marble just below the neck of the bottle, it can't come out because the top has a smaller diameter)

Now I can't say that it'll give you "wings" but I can say that WonderBoy told us after his special treat he felt like he was on top of the world!



I actually had to number and keep a running tab (sign out list) of these sweet treats

or my little Soda Monster would devour them in a day!

At last count there were 9 left in the garage refrigerator!

If you have the opportunity to try one, don't pass it up.
Marketing Genius and Sugary Yumminess at its finest!