D - My 6 year old Teenager

This morning for breakfast Noah ate a cereal bar, a bowl of dry cereal and 3 hard-boiled eggs. I thought this kind of eating didn't happen until we hit the teenage years! I'd better get myself back to work so we can afford this.

M - Bumper sticker that made me laugh out loud

Playing off the 1980's anti-drug campaign, "Talk to your kids about drugs...before it's too late", the bumper sticker stated:


"Talk to your kids about Hillary.....before it's '08."

D - Belated Birthday Portraits

Slacker mom that I am, I finally took the kids today for their birthday pics. At least I got it done in the same year as their birthdays, right? Anyhow, they turned out great. Unfortunately, I don't actually know as many people as I purchased pictures for. Those Portrait Innovations people are running a pretty good racket over there. So, I guess if you're a blog stalker whom I have never met and would like a picture of my children, just let me know! And for all of you who DO know us, here's a preview of your Christmas presents. I spent so much today that I can't afford to buy you anything else!

M - Launched Green Tomatoes

At the end of the tomato growing season we had a TON of green tomatoes that were part of the freeze this weekend. Not wishing them to go to waste, we were compelled to find an inedible productive use for them. What might one do with over 200 green tomatoes? LAUNCH THEM!

We started with a lowly arm-powered launch. Noah could fairly consistently get them over the fence and I could occasionally get them to the pond. With an ever-present desire to upgrade driven by healthy levels of testosterone, the boys bought a sling-shot at Bass Pro yesterday.
In first round of ammo-harvesting, we only gathered small tomatoes that would fit in the ammo-pouch of the slingshot.
Noah sampled a few rounds in the process:


Here are some shots of Noah firing off his first few rounds. We decided to freeze the tomatoes so they'd be rock hard and not tend to squish in the slingshot. Be sure to click on the pictures for a larger view to fully appreciate the look on Noah's face.

Dad gets in on the action:

Still not shooting far enough? ABSOLUTELY NOT! It was clearly time to raise the stakes so we went to Academy and bought a water balloon launcher.



And a couple of movies for your tomato launch viewing pleasure:

M - Backyard Barber

I've been cutting my own hair for about 10 years now and figure I've saved about $1250 in direct costs as a result (I seldom go more than three weeks without a cut). When my haircuts went to $8 (gasp!) with a military discount at Pro-Cuts, I decided to try out the barber shop on the base at Tinker. This worked pretty will until I no longer had a valid military ID. When I saw that 'normal people' haircuts were over $10 (back then) I couldn't believe it! There was only one obvious frugal choice...do it myself, of course. Now that I can skillfully cut my own hair and that cut NEVER varies, I figured I'd save even more money by taking care of Noah's hair. This venture hasn't been quite as successful as my own but we are learning. Mostly I'm just not very fast and that doesn't really help the whole process. The little booger gets too impatient. I also haven't quite figured out how to deal my son's curvy noggin'. Nonetheless, I get a little better each time. Plus it saves mom's time to not have to take him in. Since I only know how to cut one hairstyle, and that style is not particularly girl-friendly, mom says I need to stay away from Katie's cute little blonde mop. Anybody else out there choppin' at home?

M - Leaf Play

Piling in the leaves is a usual Bosley-boy tradition which we gladly expanded this year to include our little lady friend Katie. At first she wasn't entirely sure if the dust and debris were really worth it but she eventually bought in to the whole concept and had a GREAT time. Enjoy the pics as we did the day!! You can click on each picture for a larger view.

M - Centennial Celebration at Cattlemen's

We celebrated the Oklahoma Centennial in part by heading on over to Cattlemen's Restaurant for a right tasty dinner with some of the family. It was BUSY but I really love going there. It opened in 1910, juast a few years after statehood. It's one of the few 'authentic' (whatever that means) cafes you can still find around town. The story of how the restaurant was lost and won around a deck of cards is a great piece of history. Here's an excerpt from the menu:

In 1945, Cattlemen's was owned by Hank Fry, a gambler of sorts. In a smoke-filled room at the old Biltmore Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City, Fry was running out of luck and money in dice game attended by a local rancher, Mr. Gene Wade. Fry put up Cattlemen's as the pot if Wade could roll a 'hard six,' otherwise known as two 3s. Wade put up his life savings, which was a sizable amount of money. With one roll of the dice, Gene Wade was in the restaurant business. The '33' brand on the wall of Cattlemen's Hereford Room became a well-known symbol of Wade's good fortune.


Here is a picture of Noah enjoying a tasty deep-fried sampling of lamb fries, not to be confused with Rocky Mountain Oysters. Sprinkle a little lemon on them, maybe some extra salt, and it's hard to beat as a treat! For even better lamb fries head on down to Giacomo's Restaurant in McAlester. Be prepared for high prices, though! There's a little note at the bottom that says, "Financing Available"!