Andre the Giant has a Posse!

In case you don't watch the news - Atlanta's been underwater for, oh, about 10 days! It's been cloudy and wet and downright miserable. But yesterday the sun ventured out and today a breeze came through and I tell you what - fall has arrived! To celebrate, I went for a walk on my lunch break today. Let me first say that This American Life podcasts are the greatest walking tools! I got so absorbed in the stories, I couldn't hear my internal voice that usually tells me to turn around once I hit the coffee shop. I ended up walking for 40 minutes of my lunch hour! It was fantastic!

On my way back to the office, stuck on the back of a speed limit sign, was a small sticker, no bigger than 4 square inches. On it was a sketch of Andre the Giant and scrawled in the corner was "Andre the Giant has a Posse". What a blast from the past! Andre the Giant?! In 2009?! For some reason this sticker just made me giddy. It was a treasure on a boring walk down a busy street. It's almost a better sighting than the fire next to the train tracks I saw awhile back. Almost. But then a funny thing happened. I started getting all nostalgic.

A silly little sticker brought one person rushing into my head. Grandpa Campbell. He LOVED Andre. LOVED WWF! But not like testosterone filled rednecks love it. He loved it for the comedy. So many times we'd walk into his house and see him sitting in his recliner, watching wrestling and laughing so hard he had tears running down his cheeks. The women sidekicks gave him the most amusement. The more hysterical they'd get, the more he roared with laughter. Then one day he bought us tickets! WWF was going to be in DC! What?! My 10 year old ears could hardly believe that these people who we watched on TV would actually be here, where I lived, and we could go see them! I saw Andre the Giant fight Hulk Hogan. I don't remember anything else from that day except that. It was a legendary match up and I knew it even as a kid. And people still today tell me how impressive that is when I tell them. I dutifully woke up at 7am every Saturday morning to watch "Hulk Hogan's Rock & Wrestling" cartoon and reveled in the knowledge that I had seen them in person! In. Person.

Today my grandpa is gone. And my cousin Stephen, who sat next to me on that awesome day and laughed along with Grandpa at so many things, is also gone. So many things lately flood these memories back to me since Steve left us. I always wonder, would these thoughts come back as easily if he were still here? Would I remember him teaching me the names of all the moves: Nelson, Half Nelson, Sleeper Hold. So many little things that come into my brain and they're fun, happy memories. But they make me so damn sad because I can't tell him that I saw this sticker today and it reminded me of when we were 10. I have to wonder if he would appreciate, as much as I did, a sticker that said "Andre the Giant has a Posse".

A time for firsts

Today is Mia's first day of 1st Grade. On Thursday of last week, she lost her first tooth! On Saturday, she took her first trip to Tennessee. And for the first time, my camera has stopped recognizing my memory card! So I have zero pictures of any of these events. So far.........

This blogger's absense has been brought to my attention twice in the past few weeks so I guess it's about time I put it back into my daily routine. Starting tomorrow!

Until then, let me tell you - though I have no photographic proof until I steal the photos I took with my Mom's camera - Pikeville, TN is pretty darn gorgeous! And my Great-Aunt Priscilla & Great-Uncle Ed have one amazing house sitting atop a mountain with the most amazing view from their front porch! We were only there a few hours but had a blast! Thanks to my wonderful family for a great day!

Grey Gaas

My family is Irish. Last week we lost one of our cousins. We are good at being Irish and so we drank. As we drank, we discussed the merits of Grey Goose Vodka. What happened then was a tale of its origin created by the warped mind of my cousin Joel. This is his story:

Grey Goose vodka was invented by a Mr. Goose. He married a woman name Ms. Greygaas. He made a vodka and it was fantastic. He loved his wife very much. He was honored that she had taken his name when they married because she had such a wonderful name before. So he decided to name the vodka after her and call it Greygaas. But decided to spell it Grey Goose to include his name too. But the correct pronunciation should always be like Greygaas*. So what begins as a love story ends as a story of a man who attempts to be chivalrous but just can't do it 100%. After badgering Joel for quite some time about how ridiculous his story is, he claimed to have read it on Wikipedia. So here's that link; try and find the story:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Goose_vodka

The moral of this story is. When you're feeling inconsolable about the loss of a family member, just find that "special" family member to make you feel all warm & fuzzy inside.

Look how adamant he is and how his family just laughs at him. Bless his heart.

Love you Joel!

*a spelling which I am completely making up by the way

Stephen

I keep looking at your facebook page.
You were my first friend.
I opened up the scrapbook my mom made and the very first picture is us kissing at age 1. The second picture is us in the July 4th Parade in Grandma's neighborhood.
I remember fighting w/ some kid in Kindergarten because he was sitting next to you. I was so upset. You were MY cousin and that was MY seat!
I remember talking you into walking to the bus stop the long way when there was snow so we'd miss the bus on purpose and have to stay home. That only worked once before our parents caught on.
I remember being jealous of your store bought Halloween costume. It was a cheap plastic Yoda mask with a crappy rubber band. I thought it was awesome.
I remember annoying the crap out of Megan during sleepovers.
I remember Lory chasing you around the St. Michael's playground yelling "Campbell soup! Campbell soup!" and you were so happy when you got to change your name.
I remember drinking Mellow Yellows after our moms' soccer games and singing the Donovan song.
I remember getting candy cigarrettes at Friendly's and thinking we were so cool.
I remember being a flower girl and you the ring bearer.
I remember sitting at the playground by my house until late at night, catching up on all the years we'd missed.
I remember taking Grandpa's raft out too far in the ocean. We were trying to reach the waves where they began. The current was too strong and we couldn't get back to shore. Grandpa had to swim out and drag us back in.
That's how I'm thinking of this. You had gone too far and Grandpa came and got you.

I love you and I will miss you so very much.

Merry Christmas!!

Where does the time go? Lordy, I don't' know how my mom survived with a job, three toddlers and two teenagers back in the day. It's two days before Christmas and we have yet to wrap a single present OR even get our tree up!! It's so so sad. Between hospital visits, birthday parties, Christmas parties, and plays I've done very little to prepare for this wonderful holiday and it saddens me. I mean, I've only watched A Christmas Story once and haven't even touched It's a Wonderful Life! It's a crime!!

Here's what we have been doing lately:

Visiting Santa Claus!

Chuck did a painting for his dad for Christmas. It came out beautifully! Of course I forgot to take a photo of the finished product but here's the work in progress:

We celebrated Christmas a bit early with Chuck's dad since they are in Puerto Vallarta this week (lucky dogs!) Layla was actually happy that she got this Disney Princess Calendar but not that I wanted to take a picture of it.

Mia's class had a small holiday party at school. They sang Raffi's "Must Be Santa" which was awesome since when my siblings were much younger, we hear that song ad nauseum. I actually started singing along by reflex until Chuck elbowed me in the ribs. So I let the kids have the glory.

I love the snapping.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!

I need a nap.

Blisters don't require Chemo

I've thought long and hard about what to say in this post. Everytime I've tried to describe this past weekend, I cry. My family and I walked 39 miles in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Charlotte, NC. It was the hardest thing I've ever done both physically and emotionally. So instead of recounting the 2 days, I'm going to write to you about how to best support the walkers in your area.

• Check the Avon Walk site for dates and locations. There may be a walk in your area; 2009 dates are already announced!
  
• While honking at the walkers shows great support, please be sure to do it early on day 1. If it is late afternoon, those walkers are too tired to wave back at you and too tired to care that you're honking.
  
• The Avon site will list the different cheer stations along the walkers' route. The absolute best thing you can do is go to one of those stations and cheer those walkers on! Many people had candy (the chocolates were life savers!) and signs and water.
  
• If you've sponsored a specific person, get the name of their team and make posters for them. The regular fans were good but the family & friends who had Team T-Mar signs just made our day!
  
• Please don't tell us we're almost there until we're actually almost there. There are mile markers, we know where we are and mile 5 isn't anywhere close to "almost there".
  
• Now, I am not one to condone rule breaking BUT if a friend or family member were to sneak an alcoholic beverage or two into the camp site for a walker, I would venture to guess that it would be the best beer that walker had in a long time!

To Tricia!

To support the Avon Foundation and get something in return, please visit Reebok and Avon to purchase Pink items benefitting this great cause!

Justice

When I was 5 or 6 years old my mother made us memorize If I Had A Hammer by Peter, Paul, and Mary. No, this was not as punishment. It was to be sung by us as we marched in the annual 4th of July Parade in my Grandma's neighborhood. We had sandwich board signs with lines of the chorus written on them. To this day I can sing the whole thing and I am not proud of that but it always brings me joy as the nostalgia comes rushing in.

Today Mia asked me what "justice" means. So I explained it and she was like, "how do you use it in a sentence because we sang a song about it today?" I asked what song and could she sing it and she said, "I don't remember but it's about a hammer. I hammer justice." And OH. MY. GOD. My daughter knows If I Had A Hammer.

We proceeded to belt that MFer out and as I just mentioned. I still know all of it. It was a moment very few can appreciate (hello Megan & Steve) but is the stuff of parental legend! As my cousin Shane would say, that is some justice!

P.S. I am developing quite the lyrical crush on her music teacher. She has come home singing Yellow Submarine and the theme to Happy Days. When I was a kid, I learned Hot Cross Buns on the recorder.

Foto Friday

A couple of weeks ago, my sister was in town. She's started a tradition of taking a photo of herself w/ my girls on each visit. They LOVE it!

'Tis the Season

In our family, the season is SOCCER! I, for one, am taking the season off and enjoying it immensely. I never knew how enjoyable sitting back and watching could be. I even read an entire chapter of a real book during Mia's practice last week. A. Whole. Chapter. But I'm just about the only one relaxing.

Sean is playing for Oglethorpe University (Go Stormy Petrels!) He made 1st team and in doing so, is given the privilege to travel with the team and that includes a game in Colorado! We're so proud of you Seany!

Mia is playing for a fantastic coach and so far, her team is undefeated. That looks bad when I am the league coordinator but since our first two seasons were disastrous, I'll take the wins when we can get them.

Yes, that is her own player on her tail. They haven't quite mastered the idea of teammates yet.

Ryan is a referee this season and while that thought quite honestly scared the crap out of me in the beginning, he is doing a pretty good job. For a noob.

Weekend Highlights

Saturday:
Dragon Con Parade kicked total ass! People dressed up all over, amazing groups marching. The GI Joes must not get much love because I actually heard someone say "there's someone who knows" after I screamed out "GO JOE!" Some woman was dressed up as Alice in Wonderland. My brother informs me that this is because of a recent video games where good characters go evil. We made the wrong choice by pointing her out to Mia who would not stop badgering us about when she would see the rest of the Disney Princesses. Where was Ariel? Where was Cinderella? Thank GAWD there was a "Young Adult Literature" group with several princesses including GISELLE!!! Who my girls yelled and yelled at until she came over and gave them candy. It made up for the scary as crap people from Netherworld, a local haunted house. Here's a little slide show of the parade. The pics aren't fantastic since I was trying to get as many people as possible and some were really booking it. But you get the idea just the same. It was pretty awesome.



We went home for a couple hours to recoup from the parade and then went out to sit in 90 degree heat to watch my brother play soccer for Olgethorpe University. The game was close so he did not get any playing time but he's just a Freshman so he has plenty of time to play in the future. I did get this little gem of a quote from my brother Ryan, "If they want us to pronounce Petrol correctly they need to add an 'e' or an 'a' or something more grammerical. Grammerical. Or however they say it!" I love you Ry-Man!

Then my daughter went psychic. We were on our way to Five Guys for some dinner and she proclaimed that she was going to pick our number that they will call out to tell us when our food is ready and we were going to be #1. I explained to her that they give us a number, we can't pick. As God is my witness, we were order #1 and I stared at the cashier dumbfounded and told him the story. He gave Mia some high fives and totally made her day. Five Guys dude, you rock!

And that's just Saturday. No one can say we took it easy this weekend. How did ya'll spend the holiday weekend?

The Family that blogs together

Not to offend anyone out there in the internet world but my family is the coolest. They're funny, talented and not a bad looking one among the group. My husband makes fun of me sometimes and how adamant I am about how much the Campbell Clan rocks but he doesn't get it. We're just bad ass, it can't be helped. So here are some examples and after reading these, you will probably never return to this lowly blog as they are far superior in wit and eloquence:

My sister Erin
My Cousins:
Shane
Frankie
Kellie

If there are any other Campbell members out there with blogs, I am sorry I have left you off this list.

Pay no attention, it is just another day!

My mother hates birthdays. Not everyone's, just her own. When I was little, her sisters planned a surprise party for her. To get her to the secret location, they called and asked her to come pick up my cousin b/c they needed a baby-sitter right away. We had just sat down to eat and mom was a bit stressed about that. I tried to convince her that Megan & I needed to go with her but no - we are eating dinner! Then she cursed a bit and stressed out and went over there to get my cousin. Megan and I sat, awaiting the storm that would come home when she realized she had to come back, get us, and then go all the way back to her sister's house (like a 2 mile drive btw) and "enjoy" a party in her honor. I mean can you imagine - her family wanted to interupt her day to throw her a party. The nerve! I remember her telling us to set an extra place for my cousin before she left and Megan and I debated, do we set it out? He's not actually coming over. Yeah, but she's really mad so we should at least follow directions. But he's not really coming over. I don't know!!! Last year I was thrown a surprise party by my husband and I think she may have suffered some post-traumatic stress because of it.

So for the love of God, if you see my mother today, don't wish her a Happy Birthday. Pretend I never said anything. It'll just be our little secret.

And for the record. She's 29.

I love you Mom!

Fore!

As if Rock Band were not enough to keep the boys entertained, Chuck had to show off his new golf clubs. Sean, who does not play golf, claimed he could drive farther than Chuck. Using the Happy Gilmore syle. Uh huh. It hit our neighbor's fence. Sean said, "No no no, it hit a fence much farther away it just sounded close." Uh huh.

Love you Seany!

A chorus of angels

It took us over 7 hours to make an alleged 5 hour trip to Destin last night. That put us getting in at 2:30AM. A.M. It meant my wondeful mother-in-law had to wait up for us since the house is so swanky, it requires a code just to get in the door. I have never loved a house so much as I did at 2:30 this morning and we finally had a bed to lay in. The pool, elevator, and flat screen in the bedroom helped too. We are living the high life this week.
Thank you to Chuck's grandmother, Mama Dot, for making this vacation possible!!!

Death and taxes, well maybe just death

This is Layla giving my father-in-law's dog, Goliath, some love. Goliath and his sister Georgia are adorable little Dachshunds. Who doesn't love a cute little "wiener dog"?
According to Wikipedia, "The standard size was developed to scent, chase, and flush badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature was to hunt rabbits." Unfortunately, my husband and I did not know this little fact about dachshunds but even if we did, I'm not sure we could have predicted the events that happened within 5 minutes of letting them in my FIL's house while he was in sunny CA, and we were supposed to be taking care of everything.
Dachshunds are yapping dogs. Chuck and I can take only so much yapping before we start trying to think of ways to divert their attention to something quieter. On Thursday of last week Chuck had the brilliant idea to let the dogs inside to rest on their little beds. We made sure to lock the cats up so there would be no altercations there and let the dogs have the run of the house. Oh how foolish we were. I was downstairs with the girls and I hear Chuck call to me "Baby, did you put the gerbil's cage on the floor?" Oh. My. God.
Carnage.
Cage on the floor.
Cedar bedding everywhere.
No sign of gerbils.
I flash back to when I was 9 and lost my hamster. I found it weeks later, cowering in the corner of my mom's closet. So I start searching dark corners. I turn, move the desk chair and see it.
Gerbil carcass.
I shriek and Chuck comes running. I think we stood there for a full minute, just staring at the poor dead rodent. Then Chuck speaks. "Do gerbils play dead?" No honey. No they don't.
I found the other one in a guest room.
Let me ask you. Does that puppy in the photo above still look cute?? No, not to me either.
RIP little gerbils. And thank you God for understanding in-laws.

Sing-along Saturday (Sunday)

This isn't so much as a sing-a-long as a drum-a-long but it was too good to let go. We recently acquired Rock Band for the Wii and invited my teenage brothers over to partake in the merriment that is ROCK & ROLL!! Aw yeah!
This is Ryan on the drums. I think he was paying more attention to his audience than the screen. It's kind of awesome.

Tips for happy camping

Tip #1: Make sure you pack as much crap as you can fit in your car. Don't be afraid of trapping your child in. Give them a pillow to block the tower of crap and they'll be just fine. Trust me.
Tip #2: Bring glow sticks for the kids but bring more than you think you need. They will go through an entire box in one night if you let them.

Tip #3: When going fishing, be sure to be at a lake with actual fish in it. Five year olds tend to get a little pissy when standing around for long periods of time without a tangible reward.

Tip #4: Swimming is good when the tent turns into an easy bake oven.

Tip #5: Listen to your wife when she tells you that the tarp goes under the tent.

Take me out to the Ballgame!

We got free tickets to the Brave's game on Saturday night. Four of them! And a parking pass! To a normal person, this is awesome. To a 5-year-old who'd been told she'd be going to see Kung Fu Panda that day, it is nothing less than the worst tragedy known to man. The tears, the lashing out, and the screaming brought me back to my elementary school days, watching helplessly as my younger sister bashed her head against the wall. How in the world did my mother handle that? (and how is it that my sister remains blissfully childless while I deal w/ her karma?) I can't do it. It's daddy's turn when the crazy comes out. It took about 10 minutes and her overhearing me call my mom to take her while we take Layla out to get her to calm the F down and listen to us. Then today she rationally tells my mom "Kung Fu Panda is there everyday. We can do that any other time" Where was that logic on Saturday?!
It was the first time we all went to a game as a family. I took the girls last summer to their first game. I couldn't even tell you who we played, it's a bit difficult trying to watch a ballgame with a crazy toddler and a 1-year-old. Who knew? This game wasn't much different. We stopped to eat beforehand to avoid paying $10 for a hotdog but God help me those damn vendors walk around just temping young children. "I want one of those blue things! No red thing! I want a red thing!" Doesn't even know what it is, but she wants one and she wants one NOW! I tell her at 8:00 she can have one, we just ate. Remember? That hotdog in the car? Yes, that was your dinner. No we're not eating here. No it's not 8:00 yet. See that clock? Over there on the wall. Next to the big yellow pole. The big yellow one! Ok, here's my watch. Tell me when it say eight zero zero. No that says seveN zero eight. It's not the same. You didn't miss it. No, that's 7:24. No, 7:32. Not yet, only 7:35. It IS fair that other kids have stuff and you don't, they probably didn't throw a temper tantrum at home. No, it's just 7:43. DO NOT TALK TO ME AGAIN UNTIL THE WATCH SAYS EIGHT ZERO ZERO! We were a constant form of entertainment for the lady in front of us who kept turning and laughing at this poor mom who was slowly losing her mind.
Chuck at one point asked why I would buy her something when she was obviously driving me crazy and using behavior he didn't want to reward. My logic here is that if she has a giant slushie, she has something in her mouth, making it difficult for her to ask me a question every 5 seconds. We did enjoy the game, despite the crazy. Layla for one, was very well behaved. Her favorite part was all the clapping and was sad whenever it stopped. Mia loved the Tomahawk Chop and the fireworks that happened on the one homerun (thank you Chipper!) we saw before we hightailed it out of there at the 7th inning. Since fireworks were part of the bargain of going to the game, I hate to think of the aftermath if Mia hadn't gotten to see them. I should send Mr. Jones a thank you note.

17th row baby right behind "my boy" Franceour

That was some nice scenery, let me tell you.

Donna Martin graduates!

This is almost a week overdue but Congratulations to my brother Sean on graduating from high school!! We were worried there for awhile and I'm not talking about the rain storm preceding the outdoor ceremony.
Said ceremony was pretty typical, highlighted only by making Sean dance and wave frantically for 5 minutes until Mom finally spotted him in the sea of blue. Also by the Valedictorian's speech about how he couldn't stand up there and tell everyone what a bright future they had ahead of them because he was no prophet. Erin described it as epic.
Here's a few photos of the momentous occasion. I am so proud of you Seany!!

God Loves Us for Free!

This was the motto of the Varsity Boys State Championship Soccer game last night. As Chamblee High School battled Westminster Christian School the chant often was simply "PUBLIC SCHOOL! PUBLIC SCHOOL!"

It was a very nostalgic night for me as I stood in the stands watching all the high school kids going crazy for the heros on the field. I recalled my own Senior year and St. Pius' triumph over Parkview. We stormed the field which is something I had until that point only associated with "bigger" sports like football or basketball. It was a great moment in soccer!

The following is the last 10 seconds of last night's game and the aftermath that followed. I have to hand it to the teachers and security who actuall kept the kids in the stands until the teams had gone back to the field, shook hands, and got all their trophies, t-shirts, and hats (which was SO Super Bowl!) I apologize that I don't have the storming of the field on video because it 9:45 PM and I had both girls with me and had about a mile to hike to get back to the car. But this clip is pretty awesome. Enjoy


I have to admit, I got a little teary and emotional filming this and get a lot teary and emotional watching it. It's just so awesome.