Hand Stamps and Fake Tattoos

Every day that passes confirms the fact that my children are as beautiful and as different as two snowflakes.
Alex,  is always reaching for that one thing that is just out of her grasp, and not giving anyone peace until she obtains it.  She exhausts herself many times chasing things only to find they're not all they're cracked up to be.  I am proud of  how she is learning from these experiences and starting to make wiser choices in her life.

Abby, well, she's perched on the top of a flag pole and watches as the world parades past her.  She reaches out and plucks up the interesting, funny or weird things to examine a little more closely.  I get aggravated sometimes as she can be immature and silly and then I realize, no she's not!  She is acting like an old fashioned twelve year old.

You know, the kind that grew up in the seventies. Now don't get me wrong, she shaves her legs and likes the cell phone she bought with her birthday money (especially since our family plan has unlimited texting) but she still thinks that running around in the yard at dusk to gather up a jar full of lightening bugs to let loose in her room when she goes to bed is time well spent.  I am glad she is still satisfied with being a kid and not rushing to grow up.

When it comes to fashion, Alex always knew exactly what she liked and didn't like.  I can remember taking her shopping and at three years old she would "test" the skirts by pulling them out to see how far they stretched.  The best ones stretched way out and were good for twirling.  If it didn't twirl, it wasn't for my girl!.  To this day Alex still knows exactly what she likes and cannot be talked into or out of anything.


On the other hand, we have Abby.   Who, when she was younger, seemed to get most of her fashion tips from Punky Brewster, who apparently was dressing a lot like many gang members of today.   After awhile she then leaned more toward a Pippi Longstocking style of dress and has slowly but surely morphed into her own Abby Style.

Abby style would mean you will have on comfortable clothing, that matches mind you, and your hair in some sort of an "up do".  When she was in the 3rd grade, I thought her penchant for this particular hair style was because she didn't like having her hair fall into her face all the time.   I soon realized it was because she couldn't get the rats nest of tangles brushed out of her hair and she would just twist it up and secure it with a rubber band to hide the mess.

By the time 5th grade rolled around she decided it was better to learn to get the tangles out because sooner or later I was gonna get ahold of it and nobody is happy when mom has to brush a weeks worth of tangles out of  your hair.

Abby will also be sporting some sort of temporary tattoo, ink stamp or perhaps some stick on jewels.  So, if you see her with a diamond stud on her nose, or a big sunshine tattoo over her belly button, well one is secured by a magnet and the other will come off with rubbing alcohol.

I am going to come out with my own line of fake tattoos for adults.  I love tattoos and would have one today if I could only decide exactly what to get.  Let's face it, I can't even settle on a hair style/color for very long, can you see me with a tattoo forever emblazoned on my bod?

I  have decided with my current state of indecision, there must be many folks out there that feel the same way.  So, I will have "Temp Tatts" for the undecided of the world and open up shop next door to a real Tattoo place.  That way once you are really ready, and have given that tattoo a test run, you can then go next door for the real deal.  No buyers remorse there!  I'll be sure and make an announcement when I open up shop.  Temp Tatts, coming to a location nearby soon.....

As it stands, I go through the day with whatever "tattoo" or hand stamp Abby has put on my hand or arm while I am driving down the road or when I'm totally distracted by the computer.  Sunday when I reached down to get something out of my purse I noticed a dolphin stamped on my hand.  I wonder if my fellow worshipers wondered what club I frequented the night before that stamped your hand with that as you entered......

©  2010  Annette Bagley-Martin

Racetrac

Abby, our 12 year old,  had very few requests for this summer; swim, get a FreeFill cup, swim.  That's it.  Doesn't sound like a whole lot until you are greeted every morning before you've had your coffee by a kid wearing a  swimsuit with a pair of goggles in hand wanting to know if there will be an opportunity to swim that day.  Abby loves the water and if she passes up an invitation to swim, she is nigh unto death.

Do any of you have the "FreeFill Cup" from Racetrac?  Well, times a wastin', you better get a move on if you're gonna take advantage of this great deal!

You make a small investment of $6.99 and you'll get free refills of fountain drinks, lemonade or Icee's till Labor Day.  The ad says until August sometime, but the offer has been extended till Labor Day.  We each got one, so now no one looks for punch-buggies, we're all scanning the horizon for a Racetrac.

Wednesday of this week she got her FreeFill cup, now I am greeted every morning by a kid, in a bathing suit with goggles in one hand and a FreeFill cup in the other wanting to know if we can get an Icee and go swimming.......

Now A Word From Our Sponsors

We have lived in our home for 20 years come the 31st of this month.  During this entire time we have had cable television in our home.  What am I saying, we have had cable TV the entire 25 years we have been married.

I personally  can take or leave the TV, give me a radio or cd player.  Ray, he LOVES the TV, from the time he wakes up till after he falls asleep the TV is on.  We have TVs everywhere except in the bathroom and the inside of the fridge.  If we could afford it I am sure one would be in at least one of those places too.

When I was growing up television offered very few viewing choices; channels 2,5,11, 36 and 46.  Those were the only channels available.  On our TV and you turned a dial to change the channel.  It was a color television, but some of the shows like I love Lucy or The Three Stooges were still in black and white.

I remember a time when rabbit ears and tin foil was used to get better reception.  Vice grips were used as a quick fix when the dial broke and the first remote control in my parents home was any financially dependent child within hearing range.

In our home the remote control is a very important item.  Ray would rather walk a hundred miles looking for a lost remote than 3 feet to change the channel, from what I understand this is something other husbands do as well.  I don't care if other husbands do it, that is crazy!

My parents did not get a VCR or cable television until after I got married and moved out of their house in 1985.  For many years I wondered what that was all about, I figure it had to be for one of two reasons; 1) They were finally able to afford it  because 2 of their three children were finally out of the house.  2)  They were trying to make us think that having our own place were we could have cable TV and stay out all night if we wanted was way better than living at home with the folks.  This was very wise on their part.

Things were different growing up at Ray's house, they had cable TV there,  and he was used to a bunch of channels,  around 20 or so of them.  Remember the brown box with the black buttons that  you used to change the channel with?  That's what they had.  He even had a TV in his bedroom!  I should have realized then what I was up against.

This past week Comcast finished "going digital" in our area so now the "Basic Cable" we had subscribed to all these years was no longer gonna cut it as this digital change cut Ray's channels back from around 50 or so to 35.  Yes friends, the world as we know it had come to an end.

The funny thing is I noticed it before the rest of them because I get up the earliest.   I just kept the grim news to myself, I wanted to see their reaction and hated to spoil the surprise.  I ended up leaving the house pretty early so I missed out on their initial response, but my phone started ringing off the hook when they all woke up (Mom is indispensable in our home.  They never confer with one another, they just call me.  I believe that is their way of cutting out the middle man),  you would have thought I forgot to pay the electric bill and they were in the dark.


As of today, Ray has obtained and installed all the proper equipment and all is right with the world once again.  In fact, things are even better, we have "around 300 channels"!!!!  Whoopee......I have said it before and I will say it again, you can only watch one at the time.

The channel that has captured their attention?  Boomerang.  Ray and Abby have spent the afternoon watching reruns of Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear and the Jetsons and they were thrilled when they realized they would be able to see Two Stupid Dogs.   I expect Nielsen Media Research will be in touch with us any minute now......

©  2010  Annette Bagley-Martin