The Chore List

This is the chore list from this post.

You may have to click to read it [you think?] And although it is only Thursday everything is going according to plan with one exception - Spot keeps missing out on breakfast. :( The eldest is supposed to feed her in the morning, but forgets. She has her dry food all day, but she is missing her special moist food. Oh well...if your Momma is too busy making her coffee then you don't get fed Spot. [Momma being the eldest].

I love that I don't have to say anything. YAY! Just click if they do it . . . and we add up at the end of the week.
Y/D - youngest daughter
E/D - eldest daughter

[Color] Blinded by Your Love

[The origami wreath I was attempting to recreate in Christmas colors - This one was made as practice]

It goes without saying that I have a wonderful husband. True fact. One thing that Pooldad does for me and actually enjoys [don't ask] is pick up stuff at the craft store for my various craft projects and swaps. As long as I write him a detailed list he is fine and 99 % of the time he comes home with exactly what I ask for.

Then, there is that little bitty 1% where I just kind of look at him and say "Um, yah. ohhhkay." Yesterday he was off to the craft store, yet again, with a list. One of things on the list was a pad of scrapbooking paper in Christmas colors. I told him either Red/Green or Blue/White or Silver. Those are Christmassy right? The cute origami wreath would look great as a Christmas ornament made in those colors I thought. Add a little ribbon, a few jingle bells...nice ornament.

Well..........this is what he brought home:

[yes, the 70's just blew up all over your monitor]

It is lovely. No denying. But...the pages are patterns of blue, orange, green and white.

Did I mention Pooldad is colorblind? Hee. Yes he is. And I seem to forget that.

The kids thought it was GREAT! Oh, boy.

Now I can use this in other projects so it isn't a total loss and he doesn't have to return it.

But, seriously?

I Had Fun with This

A question I received in a recent Journal Swap was "If you wrote your life story what would you call it?"

I think this is apropos, yes?

Didn't See That Coming...

I am pretty good at gauging*** my kids reactions to situations; I usually can tell how they are going to react before they do. I guess it is a Mom thing - heck I have been doing this for 21 years now :)

Yesterday my Mommy intuition failed. Hard. But it's a good thing. :)

The kids have certain chores they have to do each week. Nothing extraordinary - clean the kitchen, their own bathroom, their rooms, etc. But they argue all the time about who's turn it is to kitchen or who did the bathroom last. It drives Pooldad and me bananas.

Last night was the final straw. I didn't want to hear it anymore, so I sat down at the computer and wrote up a very, very detailed chore list and being that I was little bit peeved I decided to add on additional chores that they don't usually do, but need to be done [i.e. yard work, closet organization]. I printed them up on pretty paper and handed them to the girls. They could see their schedule and the other's on one page. I told them to go study them and then their father and I would talk to them.

We figured they would start in immediately whining about the extra chores or the fact that one has the bathroom permanently and the other has more kitchen duty. Something, y'know? It is a chore list after all.

We called them down to discuss it and we braced for the barrage of complaints to begin.

Imagine our surprise when the girls walked in smiling! They both came up to me, gave me a kiss and said "Thanks Mom. This is so great! We always wanted a list like this."

HUH?

A Night at the Movies

Pooldad and I were discussing movies and the subject of the oldest's favorite movie came up.

He was boggling his mind to remember the title - here's how the conversation went:

P/D: What is that? I know....that period piece...18th century?
S/M: Yes...you're on the right track, sort of ...we bought it for Christmas. With Kiera Knightly?
P/D: Oh yah! it is....[snapping his fingers] I got it! "COURAGE AND COURTESY", right?
S/M: [literal *headdesk*] Ouch. Damn.
P/D: What?
S/M: Um....honestly? It is "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE".
P/D: Really?! Oh. [crestfallen]
S/M: It's okay honey [pats his hand] You mean well.

And that was my big ol' smile for Sunday.

On the other side of the coin may I ask? Is it wrong of me to allow my shark obessed 11 year old to own the "JAWS" poster [remember that? the big ol' shark going for the woman with the word Jaws in big red letters] but not allow her to watch the movie yet?

I think she is too young for the movie itself - but the poster is so darn neat [what? Americana.] and I was thinking of buying it for her. Thoughts?

Then Again....

[click pic' to read]

I might as well go all the way and tell you all how I really feel about the Bush Administration.

Pick Your Poison

Paging Condi Rice....Paging Ms. Rice. Dick? President Bush?...hmmmm?

Happy, Happy!

Yes, these are Polaroid pics, but my computer is being freaky and I wanted to show y'all just how big Mr. Scooby is.

To wit: My daughter is 5'1" tall. She weighs less. LOL And here is Spottie, in all her big dog glory, trying to be the same size.

She barely hits his shoulder blades. Hee!

For being as enormous as he is I have to say he is the most gentle, house trained, obedient and LOVING dog [my GOD this dog is loving....lapdog anyone?] that I have ever met.

I am so happy, happy I stumbled upon him to adopt and he is all ours.

He is so wonderful.

Thank you :)

Thank you for all the kind words and support. They made me feel much better.

We have left messages for my sister and Mom, but so far we have not heard whether they have been evacuated. I am sure my sister has been - but my Mom is a bit farther north so she is probably still in her home [which is a good thing]. I am thinking that sis' went to stay with Mom, but the smoke might be a bit much for Mom and sis' had to transfer her to a hospital - who knows? They won't call!!!!

No word on my brother either, but I don't have his new phone number and he has changed jobs. [this is normal for him, so I am not worrying too much about him]

I am sticking with the "No news is good news" mantra - because otherwise, wouldn't they call?

Everyone have a great day and thank you again, truly.

Wow. Just Wow.

You don't think of the east coast of the US as a place that experiences wild fires. That is a west coast thing, rigtht? Well...imagine my surprise when I woke this morning to the news that Myrtle Beach, SC is on fire; 5,000 acres in North Myrtle Beach with no end in sight.

I am sitting here shaking. And crying. Because, well...My Mom, my sister and my brother all live in North Myrtle Beach, SC. They have already evacuated 2,500 residents, but not in my Mom's area yet. She is a concern because she is on oxygen and is pretty much homebound.

They said the only way to stop this from spreading is 1. The Inner coastal waterway acting as a firebreak and 2. Heavy rains - which aren't in the forecast until next week.

I am trying not to let the kidlets see me cry because I don't want them to worry all day in school, but I have to say:

This sucks.

Our Little Pony

Scooby is home! Isn't he gorgeous? Do I say that enough? LOL...we are thrilled! To give you an idea of how large Scooby is - here is Dad petting him while sitting down. Scooby is standing.

Yes, his head is parallel to the table top. I can't wait for dinner! LOL

Honestly? Scooby is the biggest Chesapeake Bay Retriever I have ever seen. They usually max out at 80 lbs for a male. Our little pony? 110 lbs. The nice lady we adopted him from was NOT kidding.

He is a sweetie. Great on a leash, loves the kidlets and I can guarantee my floors will be mopped on a weekly [hourly] basis - 'cause when this dog drinks water? This dog DRINKS water.

Who am I kidding? It is puppy love all the way around.

Wish, Wish, Wish

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Scooby is coming home tomorrow!!!! WooooooooohoooooooSay HI to Scooby!

He is a 7 y.o. male Chesapeake Bay Retriever that needs a new home.

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Guess who wants him? If you said "Skippy" you would be SO right.

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I am asking all my tadpoles to please say a wish for me and hoping we give Mr. Scooby a forever home this weekend.

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Isn't he gorgeous? That face? What a darling. If you have never touched a Chessie's ears you do not know what you are missing. I can just imagine their soft velvety texture. sigh.

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Just say "Wish, Wish, Wish" one time each and I bet I have a new forever friend by Monday.

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Please do this for me? You don't have to comment or say it out loud...just wish it, please? :)

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Thanks. Scooby and Skippy thank you.

Puhleese!

Why do so many people that I read on the 'net think this Bunny is a real Easter type costume?

If you look closely it is just a scary bunny face/ears superimposed over a Santa Claus photo that was probably taken at the mall.

I have been stunned by the number of people that thought this kid was actually subjected to this.

Reuse, Recycle and Save!

Look at the neat envelope I made today! I needed something sturdy to send photographs in since I didn't want them to be bent in a regular paper envelope. Can you guess what this is? It is an old calendar. Cool, huh? And so easy. I especially like it because my calendars depict things that I love - in this case my favorite breed of dog. Now, don't go rubbing your eyes, it isn't a dachshund and Spot is fine with that, okay? It is a Chesapeake Bay Retreiver. Isn't she gorgeous?

This is the back showing the inside.
It is so easy, really. Take a 12x12 calendar page. Trim 1" off the top and 1" off the bottom. Fold "Sunday" at the line on the left. Do the same with "Saturday" on the right. Fold the bottom up approximately 2 3/4" and fold the top down approximately 2 1/4".

Place goodies inside and glue shut accordingly. You can either write addresses directly on the front or use address labels like I did.

It is so much fun to send and receive, I think.

In This Economy - Who Does This?

It may [or may not] be a well know fact that my husband works in the swimming pool industry. He has for over 30 years. He works for a company that cleans and repairs residential swimming pools.

In this economy one would venture to guess that this would not be the most stable of markets, correct? Swimming pools are a luxury - and what is one of the first things that is cut in a homeowner's budget when the economy sours? Their daily Starbucks? No....Their $700 Lexus payment? Nope. The childrens' monthly text messaging bill? Heaven forbid.

No...things like having your pool cleaned once a week by a professional is something that is cut in their cost saving measures because they figure it is something they can do themselves. Wonderful! I honestly respect that and have no problem with them cancelling their contracts.

As we come into Spring and the pools are being opened and the contracts signed we have all been collectively holding our breath to see if, in fact, the people in our area are going to pull their contracts. So far it looks good! [yay!] Pooldad actually sold two new contracts last week and a $3,000.00 repair on a pool - so the money is coming into the company and no one is being laid off.

Yet.

Here is the point. Pooldad works alongside a woman named Bee. They are both equal management in the day to day operations of the Home Pool Maintenance Department [the faction of the company that does the weekly cleanings]. They split shift so as to not have to work 14 hour days like Pooldad and I used to at our old job. One works 7 am to 3 pm and the other will work 11 am to close. And they alternate days. Good? Good.

Their calendar year begins on April 1st. Since everyone's vacation and sick leave kicks into "new" status on this date Bee had 2 weeks of paid vacation fresh on the books. She decided that the first week would be last week.

Rule #1 in the POOL business: You do NOT take time off in the Springtime, for any reason - it is too busy opening the pools. We have scant weeks until Memorial day to have the pools opened and cleaned. April is a no-no.

Still, the bosses allowed her to go and Pooldad was no worse for it last week working 7 am to close to cover both shifts. He was able to straighten up a lot of stuff and get other things done without her there. [Sidenote: He is used to doing this job alone with double the amount of customers this company has - so this was easy peasy for him - except he has been spoiled by how good the company is with the schedule, etc.]

Bee arrived back from her weeklong vacaction yesterday and worked her 7 am to 3 pm shift while Pooldad worked the afternoon/closing shift.

Today Pooldad was "early guy" - No problem, right? Wrong. He receives a phonecall at 7:15 from Bee telling him that she had an appointment and would be a little late for work. He said "No worries. See you when you get here."

He just received a TEXT MESSAGE from Bee stating that she WILL NOT BE IN TODAY!

Bwahahahaha! Who does this? Who takes a week off of work in the middle of the busiest time of year to go on vacation and then takes their second day back to work off via TEXT MESSAGE. Let me say it again - she contacted her coworker [not her bosses] and TEXTED him to tell him this.

She has a history of abusing her sick leave/vacation time to the point of just taking off and not being paid, but has never pulled a stunt like this. So we are all pretty sure it isn't a dire emergency that is keeping her from work or I don't know? Actually PHONING the bosses?

Pooldad has no complaint covering. He is capable and he likes it, but seriously tadpoles? WHO DOES THIS? In this economy? Where does she think she is going to find another job?

Pooldad had to send a company wide email informing everyone that she would not be in. He received a terse phonecall from their boss asking "So she sent this via text?" When Pooldad answered "Yes" the boss replied "That is all I need to know." Click! and hung up.

This boss is the easiest, nicest guy I know. But....ah, I think he is a little perturbed, don't you?

Anyone have pool management experience?

Yes, No, No, Yes.....

YES - Nuclear Egg Salad made by the kidlets with the Easter Eggs they dyed. So Yummy. And Purple. And Green. And Blue. And Pink. And Multicolored. It was a plethora of Jackson Pollack culinary skill. Did I mention yum?

NO - I realize I live behind an Elementary School. I know it has a basketball court. I expect the lovely sound of "thump, thump [air ball] thump, thump [air ball] 12 hours a day. I also know the school has security lights, but NO it does not allow you play basketball at 11:45 PM on Saturday night. No. It does not. The Police say NO too. Go home. [I was woken up at 11:45 pm by 3 grown men getting their "Shaq" on and was awake until 7 am. Nice Easter morning...I was soooo good to go in church, let me just say. Ever hit your head on the pew because you accidently dozed off? No? Well, it hurts AND it is really loud.]

NO - Turbo Tax. DO NOT use this with the offer of free service. It is not. And if you agree to the $29.95 fee to file your Federal and State taxes they suddenly add on an ADDITIONAL fee of $30.99 to the total bill. I always do our taxes, but it said I could do a "free" evaluation and by the time I had been mauled by their software I thought "What the heck? We are getting money back...pay the $29.95." Oh, no, no tadpoles...do not fall for it. Do not succumb to the easy "Continue" button. WALK AWAY.

YES - Watching the Masters Golf Tournament with Pooldad. Although Phil Mickleson and Tiger Woods were -9 back they did make a run for the money. [We are big Phil fans :D] If not for that double bogey Phil made on the back 9 holes he could've been in contention. We still love him tho'. It is a traditon to watch it - besides great golf - the course is just spectacular to watch on TV.

I hope everyone had a nice Sunday and a great Easter. Hugs to all of you!

Well...The Mail Wasn't Very Promising Today

We found out the cost of Wallene's accident today.
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$5,972.86.
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That is with the self-pay option, which translates into "No, we don't have insurance."
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If we had insurance the company would have been charged over $9,000.00. I guess this is the way for the hospital to help us out. Nice.
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Why do we not have insurance on her? Because our option is over $600 a month. This is a cost that was hugely out of our league a few months ago [due to us paying child support for a child that wasn't eligible for it] and will not be an option until September, 2009 when the other child turns 18 and we no longer owe on him.
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We have been holding on, praying that nothing happened, but life - as it is wont to do - DID.
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Are we sorry we took her to the Emergency room? Nope.
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Are we beyond thrilled that all she had was a concussion and a broken nose [as opposed to the more nefarious results of running into a cement wall at high speed]?

What do you think? Of course we are thrilled that she is fine and we made sure of it.
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Still ... I have to wonder - that is $2,000 per hour for her to be seen in the Emergency Room. I actually shudder to think if her wounds hadn't been minor - how would we ever, ever had dug out from under those kind of bills?
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Unfortunately she heard Pooldad and I talking about the bill [at 11:30 pm deciding what kind of payments we could afford - Friday is bill paying night, dontcha' know!]. Wallene? You're supposed to be asleep you lil' snit.

What was sad/weirdly funny was her ensuing question:

"Momma, if someone dies in the Emergency room do you still owe the money?"

I responded, "Yes." And then thinking to myself "But it wouldn't be worth paying because you wouldn't have been here anymore."
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It made me cry.

Waitress There Is A Goldfish in My Beer!

True story:

Way back in the day I was a waitress. It was a wonderful job with flexibility for school [then family] and afforded me nice money on a nightly basis.

One Thursday evening I was working the cocktail shift at our restaurant which was located near a business park. Every evening M-F we had our regulars. Folks that worked in the park that would stop for a beer or three before heading home. This particular Thursday I had a party of 10 regulars that came in to celebrate a co-workers birthday.

And these folks were hell bent on drinking this guy under the table.

They were a fun group of people I had waited on in various groups of twos and threes, but never all 10 of them at once. They weren't exactly running me into the ground, but they were drinking so much that by the time I dropped off one round of drinks I was headed back to the bar for another round.

Then one of the gentlemen sitting at the opposite end of the table from the birthday boy stood up and followed me back to the bar where I was ordering their drinks from the bartender. He asked if he could please have the birthday boy's next draft beer order. I asked him why as I didn't want him drugging the poor man [they were already plying him with shooters, shots and beers - he was wasted and the night was still young.] The man held up a plastic bag with water in it and showed me a goldfish.

A live goldfish that he now wanted me to put in birthday boy's drink.

Um....No. I did hand him the beer tho' and wished him luck. And wouldn't you know? Luck was on his side that night because he managed to get that poor fish in the guy's drink and serve it too him. The birthday boy took a few sips while the table broke down in hysterical laughter. Then he noticed the fish and all of a sudden he starts yelling,

"Waitress! OH WAITRESS! There is a goldfish in my beer! Oh waitress!"

As the rest of the restaurant went completely silent I ran over to remove his glass and apologize but he wouldn't let me take his glass. He thought it was great and he was going to drink that beer. Ohhhhkay sir you are seriously inebriated. I convinced him to relinquish it, grabbed him a new beer and managed to get the poor fish out the beer and into a cup of tap water.

The best part of the night? My tip! Since it was a party of 10 I was allowed to add 15% gratuity -to a $400 bill- $60.00! Cha-ching. That was a lot of money for me at the time and I was so excited. Still, it was to get better.

I always explained to my "auto grat" tables that the tip was included so there wouldn't be any surprises. This table wasn't having it. They insisted that I go back to the kitchen and find a bowl. A bowl? Again...ohhhhkay? [Drunks, gotta love 'em] I retrieved the only thing I could find - a huge pail we mixed greens in. I handed it over, wished them a happy evening and proceeded to go and check on my other tables.

Do you know what they did? They passed the pail around the table and everyone was to throw in additional tip for me because I had "done such a great job"! The total that came out of the pail?

$196. One hundred and ninety six dollars. I am not kidding. I still remember the total to this day as I did try to argue and return some of the money because, seriously, they were drunk and they didn't realize how much it was until I pointed it out. They said nope, bid me a good night and proceeded to pour themselves into various taxis lined up out front to ferry them home to a sure to be had hangover the next morning.

So for a few hours of serving drinks I made $256 and I got a goldfish out of the deal! :D

And do you know? That little sucker lived for about six more months.

Mini Meeeees

I was chatting with the kidlets today regarding our Easter dinner menu. I listed off the options and asked them to agree on one and Pooldad and I would get to vote too. These are always the choices, but since we had just had ham I thought they would veer towards lamb.:

• Leg of lamb
• Lamb chops
• Prime Rib roast
• Ham

Their unanimous response? Corned Beef and Cabbage.

I'm so proud. :D

Sweet Sound in the Middle of the Night

Don't you dread the phone ringing in the middle of the night? Nothing good has ever come of these phonecalls, I know. Someone is hurt, someone is dying or someone has died.
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Not last night. I knew why my phone was ringing at 11:30 pm.
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The girls went to spend part of Spring Break at their Grandparents' home. I must have received a bazillion kisses from our youngest, Wallene**, before she left. She was convinced that it wasn't a good idea to leave me alone for a few days; that I would be too lonely and she was worried about me if I fell or wouldn't be mobile enough to take care of myself [hey, it happens. Lupus sucks at this stage]. I assured her it would be okay and to go have a great time. She deserves [as does her sister] to be spoiled and pampered by their Grandparents

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I finally scooted them out the door. And she was right. I am terribly lonely without them here, but it is okay. They are having fun. Wallene promised she would call and wish me goodnight, "not to worry Momma, I will call you."
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She was falling asleep around 11:30 pm last night when she realized that she had, indeed, forgotten to call me. She sat up and told her older sister that she was going to sneak in the kitchen and call. Her sister told her to go back to sleep and be quiet that I would understand that it was late. [Her sister was right....but....]
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Nothin' doin'. My pup got up and called me.
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I heard the phone ring and knowing it was her I jokingly answered "Hey, what took you so long?"

"Oh Momma, I am so sorry...I forgot." [she was whispering so as to not wake anyone up]

"Sweetie, that is okay - you shouldn't worry so much. I knew you were thinking of me."

"I know, I was, but are you sure Momma? Are you okay?"
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I assured her I was fine and then we sang "our" little duet. It is a Beatles' song that I used to sing to her when she was a baby and was sick. It would settle her and over the years I have sang it for her often [poorly, I might add] and she has memorized the words. It is one of her favorite songs.

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you.
Tomorrow I'll miss you.
Remember I'll always be true.
And now, while you're away I'll write home everyday and I'll send all my loving to you.
~
Then she said, "Momma that was the song I was listening to that made me miss you even more and it told me I forgot to call."
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I will take this late night phonecall anytime.

~
**credit to Bulletholes for renaming my daughter :D

It's All About the Lemonade....

In this economy? When life gives you lemons. . . send your daughter out with a lemonade stand. I am kidding about sending her out, but she did set up a stand on Sunday and it was pretty neat.

[side note: sorry for the generic pics, but the computer isn't allowing me to download anything and I can't figure out why]

Our youngest spent the morning baking cookies and making signs for her grand adventure in sales. She set up shop about 30 yards outside our backdoor on the edge of the playground behind our home.

As Pooldad and I watched from our back deck [beautiful weather, trees in bloom, cold beverage? sweet!] we were afraid she wasn't going to have any customers. Sure there were a lot of people playing basketball, running on the track and goofing around - but they don't usually carry cash to the playground, right? About the point that Dad was going to walk over and purchase something to make her feel better customers started to show up. So we sat back and for two hours watched as lil' Ms. Trump raked it in. She was having a blast!

The final total? $10.98! At a price of a cup of lemonade for .25 cents and 2 homemade cookies for .25 cents? I would say a win!

She is so excited because she is off to her Grandparents' home today and shopping, manicures and lunch are in the offering, with her own money to spend.

Makes for a nice memory, don't you think?

Puppy

Pathetic, but a puppy nonetheless. Hope this makes everyone happy today.

I Call BULL

Sorry. The New York Times had best be kidding for April Fool's Day on this report:

Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens released from guilty verdict due to Prosecutorial Misconduct

Y'all said don't talk politics and I took that post down, BUT I don't see this as politics in such it divides parties - this is just stupid. Is ANYONE - ANYWHERE going to be held accountable for being liars and theives?

This is ridiculous. Really.

You Want the Good News or the Bad News?

I have waited until the three month mark to let y'all know - and well ...the good news is Pooldad still has it. :D [Taking a bow on his behalf]
The bad news? He is going to be collecting Social Security for the last seven years of the baby's jr. high/high school years.

Think about that and please comment. :D