will work for diet coke

Yesterday, Carter and I hit our new McDonald's for lunch. When we walked in, it looked like they were filming a commercial at the counter where we were getting ready to order. There were cameras all over the place, panels of lights on poles, and film-crew type people everywhere.

We ordered our food and found a table as far away from the commercial action as possible. The last thing I wanted is some director turning in my direction and yelling, "Somebody shut that kid up, he's ruining our shot!"

We got our drinks and sat down. A few minutes into our meal, the very nice director walked through the area where we were sitting and advised us they would be setting up some shots, but didn't want to be in the way. He wanted us to let him know if they were bothering us, at all.

Seconds later, a huge panel of lights on a pole was right in front of our table and so was a great big movie camera. Carter and I kept eating, but I started to sense what was about to happen when a crew guy climbed up on the counter behind us and started adding more light.

They were definitely setting up a shot all around us, I was sure they were about to ask us to move when the director popped his head over the edge of the counter next to us and asked if they could film us while we ate.

Just a few moments earlier, I'd been to the bathroom with Carter, so I knew exactly what I looked like. Ponytail, not a lick of makeup, and a ratty hot pink t-shirt. I didn't even have on any earrings. The producer smiled at me while I calculated my options for escape.

I smiled back and asked what they were shooting for. He told me it was for internal McDonald's use. Corporate training and stuff like that. I was still mortified. I knew I was sporting the dreadful mommy look and was imagining my un plucked eyebrows being immortalized on film forever. The director sensed my hesitation, so he sweetened the deal with gift certificates.

Well, all righty, then! Why didn't you just mention the free McDonald's diet coke from the beginning? Let's get the camera rolling and shoot this thing!

So, we ate and they filmed. While they were filming I could hear them talking about the focus on my face and the reflection on my shirt. Soften this and zoom that. We needed ketchup, but there was no possible way I was going to let my butt become part of the shot.

The whole thing was a little nerve racking but Carter was really nice and actually ate his hamburger. I'd forgotten to order it plain and dry, so I'm sure the part where he opened it up and said, "Look, a pickle!" made for great video.

When we finished, they gave us $20 worth of gift cards. With tax, that's 18 large diet cokes.

pumpkin: it's what's for dinner

We picked our second pumpkin on Sunday. It's a beautiful Hercules pumpkin. Bigger than the small sugar we picked a few days ago. (Grace is holding pumpkin #2 in the picture. Pumpkin #1 is on the arm of the chair.) Grace wanted to know why we weren't drinking champagne this time. Uh, because everyone already thinks mommy is crazy enough.

We also baked some pumpkin muffins this weekend (we used canned pumpkin). They were yummy. Soft, moist, spicy, with a bit of cream cheese swirled around at the top. The kids helped me with the swirling, and Grace loved the muffins.

Saturday afternoon, we were outside, Grace was on the swing, I was in the pumpkin patch. Grace told me how much she liked the muffins and asked if she could have another one. "Another pumpkin muffin?" I asked.

"There's pumpkin in those muffins?" she screamed, then continued, "YOU MEAN PEOPLE EAT PUMPKINS?"

It was as if I'd just informed her the meatloaf we'd eaten for lunch was made out of kittens. "Yes, honey, people eat pumpkins. They taste good, don't they?" I tried to steer the conversation toward something positive.

"Mom, we're not going to let anyone grind up our pumpkins and eat them, are we?"

I think my reverence for all things pumpkin may have warped my daughter, just a little bit. But still, there's no way we're eating our pumpkins. It just wouldn't be right.

gratitude

Sunday morning we all tried a new church. We've been church hopping for a while now but really need to settle down at one we all like. Our first trip to Hill Country Bible Church was a huge success.

The pastor, whom Ray and I both liked a lot, spoke about the lost art of gratitude. Specifically, telling people how much they mean to you. At the end of the sermon, the pastor asked us to each write one letter of gratitude this week. He'd discussed the fact that many of our most important relationships had become transactional -- you do this for me and I'll do this for you. As the mother of two small children, I could definitely relate and I'm sure Ray was right there with me.

After writing our letter, we were supposed to take the time to read it aloud to the person it was intended for. It was important that we actually deliver the message of gratitude with our own voice. I was imagining reading my letter to Ray, thanking him for taking such good care of the kids so I could get out of the house from time to time. Telling him how much it meant to me to be able to go away for the weekend and not have to worry about the kids...

My thoughts were interrupted by Ray's warm hand on my leg. I looked at him and smiled, knowing that he too was thinking about his letter. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Do you think there's any way Mack Brown (the Longhorn football coach) would take a phone call from me?"

That's Mack on the right : )

bath fizzers, yum

The kids have discovered these things called bath fizzers. They're basically little scented balls that fizz like alka seltzer when you put them in water. They love putting them in cups, letting them fizz, then dumping the fizzy water into the bath.

Tonight, I gave them each a bath fizzer and a cup. They both got in the bath and let their fizzers fizz away in their cups. While I was shampooing Carter's hair, Grace said, "Mommy, tonight I discovered something new about bath fizzers."

My beautiful and cheerful daughter is also very smart. As I rinsed the shampoo out of Carter's hair I asked what wonderful discovery she had made.

"Bath fizzers melt a lot faster when you pee in the cup first, then put them in."

very cool

I love this picture Jennifer took at the football game yesterday. Very cool John Steinbeck quote made even cooler by the fact that it's on the UT scoreboard.

UT, by the way, is now 9 - 0.

santa books

This morning we got started on our Santa Books. I gave Grace and Carter each a spiral bound book with a picture of Santa on it, a stack of Christmas catalogs, a glue stick and some scissors. Then, stood back as they went crazy making their Santa Book wish lists.

The beauty of the books: Every time we're watching tv and a commercial comes on for something amazing, the kids start yelling, "I want that, I want that."

My response is always the same, "That looks great. Let's put it in your Santa Book." This response works very well in stores, too. I even warn the kids before we go into a store that all the toys in the store are Santa Book toys, not toys we can take home today.

There are some possible drawbacks to this plan. The other day, Carter saw a picture of Santa and said, "I love that guy. He's gonna bring me EVERYTHING for Christmas."

So, as we worked on our books today, I was careful to stress that these were just books of ideas for Santa. Grace replied, "Mom, when this stuff I'm ordering comes in, I'm going to have so much fun."

Obviously, we're still working the kinks out of our Santa Book system. Tomorrow, we'll cut up the ads from the Sunday paper while I try to drive the wish list idea home.

gracie's kindergarten portrait

I have to admit, I was keeping my expectations of Grace's kindergarten portrait very low. Her teacher had sent home an email advising us that pictures were going to be taken after lunch and recess, so we might want to send an extra change of clothes.

The morning of picture day, we had a wardrobe malfunction right before Grace left for school. Ray was trying to remove a tattoo with baby oil and wound up spilling it all over Grace's favorite dress. We had to scramble to make sure she didn't look oily and get another dress on her before she left.

The picture's not too shabby, all things considered.