Boogaloo

BOOGALOO. I have decided that BOOGALOO is a word that needs to be used more. Please join me.

My All Time Favorite Movie Characters

Cyber Sisters weekly topic a la Jenn - My favorite movie characters

1. Indigo Montoya from “Princess Bride.” “My name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
2. William Wallace in “Braveheart.” “Freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
3. Frank the Tank in “Old School.” “It just tastes so good on your lips.”
4. John Keating in “Dead Poet’s Society” “Oh Captain! My Captain!”
5. William Miller and Penny Lane in “Almost Famous.”
6. Donkey and Puss in Boots from “Shrek.” “Onions have layers.” “Eeet’s not mine.” (Puss in Boots speaking of the capnip when they get arrested.)
7. Rachel on “Friends.” I know it’s a TV show, but she’s my favorite character ever. Her lines were always so quick-witted. I love her hair – long or short. Paul and Staci, my hair lady, have to remind me that Rachel is not a real person. Ross is another of my favorite Friends characters.

Paul’s favorite movie characters
Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) - Caddyshack
Cal Naughten Jr. (John C. Reily) - Talladega Nights
Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci) - Goodfellas

The lovely and talented, Mrs. Codd

The Cyber Sisters weekly blog topic. . . your talents and specialties

1. Out of all the red fingernail polishes, I could always pick out OPI Red. Every time. Not sure it’s a talent that pays well, but it’s something I can say I can do.

2. I am pretty darn good at remembering birthdays. I can remember the birthdays of my friends from elementary school and high school.

3. Paul would agree that I am talented at making salmon patties. It’s his favorite dish I make. Whenever the subjects of weight or dieting come up, Paul always blames his current state on me being a good cook. I am so glad that my mom taught me how to cook and that I enjoy cooking. I’d say it’s one of my favorite things to do – plan and prepare a meal.

4. I am a good multi-tasker. I think most moms, are though. I consider it to be a talent to be able to cook dinner, make lunches, change the laundry, make sure Patrick is eating his dinner, get his bathwater running. . . you know how it goes. I think I have always had some amount of talent in multi-taking, but it has become an even stronger talent having Patrick around. Do you think the multi-tasking tasking talent gets stronger exponentially with each child?

5. I think I can sing. I sang all throughout high school and was in show choir with Natalie Maines. How ‘bout that! I sing occasionally with the St. E’s Joyful Noise choir, usually just at Christmas. I also sang on their cd. I enjoy singing in the car with Patrick, too. He actually has a nice voice, too, for a 3-year-old. You can hear pitch changes in his voice and he knows what the song is supposed to sound like. His newest favorite song to sing is the Star Wars theme song.

6. Once upon a time, I used to know the dance to NKOTB “Right Stuff.” I actually performed it with another cheerleader in our 9th grade talent show. It’s been over 15 years since I have done it, but I think I remember some of it. Yikes! Why is THAT still in my brain??!!

Happy Birthday, Paul Raymond Codd, Jr (2 days early)

MOM'S the word

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Here’s to moms. Especially MY MOM. Reasons, things, memories I love about my Mom, Grandma and Mammy…

1. She’s MY Mom. No one else – other than Josh – can say that.

2. She knows when I need to hear “I love you, sug. It’ll be okay.” (Sug is short for Sugar. I still insist the shortened version should be “sHug" with an H.)

3. She taught me how to cook from scratch and from the heart. Or should that be from the stomach? She passed along her “sense of spice” – we don’t necessarily need a recipe to cook. We can both just kinda make it up. She’s also the queen of cooking new meals with leftovers. Her Chinese low mien or turkey enchiladas are her best leftovers.

4. She’s pretty crafty with a sewing machine. She can hem my pants and skirts, fix Patrick’s holes in his jeans and sew on Paul’s work patches. She’s also much better than me at making bows. She has tried her hardest to get me to be crafty in a sewing way, but I know my level of patience and it’s just not there for sewing. I’m sure glad she was in 4-H.

5. She was adamant that Josh and I take piano lessons. It was a chore, but it taught me how to read music. Knowing how to read music was a bonus when I got into choir. I was in choir all 6 years of junior high & high school and I owe my singing talent all to her. It’s funny . . . when I sing with the choir or even in the congregation, my voice naturally sings what she is singing even if I don’t necessarily know the part. The only song we can sing 2 different parts on is “Silent Night.”

6. Along with the musical talent she passed along, I also got her dancing gene. Oh, Marsha can shake it. And LOVES TO. I have heard many stories about her dancing adventures. If we are at a dance, I know I can count on Mom to be by dancing machine partner.

7. She’s a first-class hand shark concert puppeteer. That party at Jenn’s & Eric’s was SO MUCH FUN! Who knew that hand sharks could sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” John Denver and the Mamas and the Papas. I am laughing right now thinking about that one. I don’t know if everyone else found it as entertaining as we did, but that was some concert.

8. Her “Marsha-isms.” Just a few. . .
a. She thinks it would be fun to play “short base” not shortSTOP, but short base.
b. She thinks she’s a good “fluffer.” And by “fluffer” she means of bows and flowers -even though Paul & I have told her what a “fluffer” really is.
c. She was telling us a about a meeting she was in and said they were “knocking ideas off the wall.” What she actually meant was “knocking around ideas” OR “bouncing ideas off the wall.”
d. After 4 years of watching Tech football, she asks “Who’s Taurean Henderson?” Season ticket money well spent.
e. She thinks she is allergic to tequila. We have tried to tell her everyone is “allergic” to tequila after one too many, but she thinks she really is allergic to tequila. Paul and I made her a “Tequila allergy” medical alert bracelet for her birthday last year. It’s been a drawer ever since.
9. She’s the best “Doodah” a daughter could ask for. She has stepped into the role of grandma with such enthusiasm and delight. It’s fun to see her (and Papa J) interact with Patrick in ways I was never able to interact with my grandparents. I am thankful that they are young enough and healthy enough to be able to play tackle or horse or catcher with Patrick. And that they are close enough to be able to enjoy him everyday if they wanted. I am thankful that she can be a Paddy taxi when Paul and I can’t. I am thankful that she asks to keep Patrick when she knows Paul and I need to reconnect. I find it humorous that she can’t say no to a 3-year old who wants just one piece of chocolate before bedtime. Or one more episode of Blues Clues. She (and Papa J) has truly embraced what being a grandparent is all about.

10. She’s MY MOM. I think I already said it, but that’s a big enough reason to mention it twice.

On grandmas. . .
Grandma – my mom’s mom- could always remember birthdays. And there over 60 of them on that side of the family! She was also good with just “just because” notes and pass it on cards. I think I inherited my birthday-remembering, card-sending talent from her. She also had such a strong faith and commitment to the Rosary. I want to become stronger in my faith one day. I know she is one of my guardian angels who can help me strengthen my faith. I definitely didn’t get her baking ability. She could always bake the perfect dessert and baked almost every day.
Mammy – my dad’s mom – is one with-it 89-year-old. She can hold a better conversation about the Rangers and Tech sports with Paul than I can. She often calls us while a game is on TV to ask about plays. I love that she is an avid Jeopardy! watcher and Ken Jennings fan. I think of her on the days when I get to watch it. She always has a cross-word puzzle lying around and she and I have actually finished a couple. I appreciate her for her no-nonsense way of life and that she just calls out of the blue.
These are 2 more ladies that I owe a lot to, but still have a long way to go to be the example they set.

On friends. . .
I am so fortunate to have so many “cool mom” friends. Each one of them has taught me something new about what it means to be a mom. I hope I am a good “mom friend” in return.

Patrick run-ruled us

After planting the salsa garden and eating dinner, Patrick wanted to go out front and ride his bike. He's gotten really good at it. Riding his bike soon turned into a game of baseball. He found Paul's umpire chest protector and mask in the garage and talked us into being catcher. Doodah just can't say no. He was really hitting the ball. Seriously! I was sitting on the sidewalk by the street and he hit three line-drives right to me. He'd hit it and run run run the bases, and then slide home. We were getting him to tap his bat and "wiggle wiggle." We must have played for at least an hour. We said he run-ruled us, which wasn't hard because he was the only one who got to hit. When we pooped out, he put on Paul's ump gear and said "strike 2, 1," which is what Patrick says when he's being an umpire. It was the prefect end to a perfect Sunday.

Inaugural Tye-Codd Salsa Garden

Paul and my dad decided they needed to plant a salsa garden - all the veggies that go into salsa. Saturday Paul, my mom and dad went shopping for tomatoes, jalepenos, serranos, cilantro and onions. They came home with 3 different kinds of tomatoes, peppers and garlic and onion chives. It's too late for onions. Sunday afternoon Mom and Dad came over and Dad and Paul planted the inaugural Tye-Codd Salsa Garden in our alley. We should have homemade, literally from the ground up, salsa by July.

Then we let the ladybugs go in the flower pots. You can see one on Patrick's sleeve. Time to order more larvae.

Sunny Sunday

Man, did I need a day like Sunday. I LOVE SUNDAYS BY THE POOL! We got out the blow-up pool for the first time. And Patrick did the slip & slide by himself for the first time. I think he's going to want to slip & slide every day! Paul worked in the yard. I planted flowers and herbs. We got some apple mint and spearmint, in addition to basil. I got just enough sun to get a great start on a tan. It was just a perfect day. Totally perfect Sunday afternoon.

Patrick's muy bueno Cinco de Mayo

What a saturday for Mr. Patrick! We started the day with a special viewing of Spiderman 3. Our buddy Armen, a DJ at Z102, hooked us up with free tickets. Patrick got his picture taken with Spidey, and Patrick decided his costume was better because it had built-in muscles. This was Patrick's first-ever theater movie. He was so good especially since the movie itself - not including preview - was 2 hours and 10 minutes.

After naptime, it was time to party hop. We started at Big Patrick & Averi's. Patrick had fun running around with Tea, Gunner and Blaise. Then they slowed down a while to watch Shark Tale. Then we went to Caroline's 3rd birthday party. Yeah, we got lost on the way out there. Without me having to say anything, he said "Mom, are we lost." He's so perceptive. I told him yes. The he was so excited when we got to Caroline's house. He announced that we weren't lost anymore. Last stop for the evening was the grand opening of the new River Smith's with Doodah & Papa J. They have a huge freshwater aquarium in there with 3" catfish. Patrick told me the catfish said "I love you" when they open their mouths real big.

All in all, a pretty muy bueno Cinco de Mayo for little Patrick.

Celebs I want to hang out with. . .

Here's my scenario. . . me, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, Drew Barrymore and Kate Hudson are chillin' on a backyard patio somewhere in South Texas - lush garden, pretty flower pots, just enough sun to make you happy, but not enough to make you hot- drinking Shiner Bock and pinot grigio while Emeril is cooking for us. Lots of stories and laughing.

I like these ladies because they just seem so down-to-earth. Like my real girlfriends. Nothing too fancy, just fun. Chicks you could wear jeans and t-shirts and a ponytail with and not feel intimidated.

And I think Emeril would be a blast to be around. Especially in a smaller setting. Although I think he'd be fun to hang out with in New Orleans.