"Hoax or Warning?"

Ok ladies. How many times have you gotten an email that attempts to scare the “you know what” out of you by telling you that you’re going to be abducted, raped, or murdered if you do a certain thing? Well, let’s talk about that for a minute.

I used to get these types of emails every day it seems. I was the first one to forward it to all my friends and family and warn them about the latest “scam” that was taking place in parking lots.

One day, I got an email from a friend telling me that this never really happened. Here’s an example of one such email:

Imagine: You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. Then you lock all your doors, start the engine and shift into REVERSE. Habit! You look into the rear-view window to back out of your parking space and you notice a piece of paper, some sort of advertisement stuck to your rear window. So, you shift into PARK, unlock your doors and jump out of your vehicle to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view . . . when you reach the back of your car, that is when the car-jackers jump out of nowhere . . . jump into your car and take off — your engine was running, your purse is in the car, and they practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.

BE AWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME

Just drive away and remove the paper that is stuck to your window later . . . and be thankful that you read this email and that you forwarded it to your friends.

Have you seen this one before? I’m sure many of you have. This is one of the milder ones that I’ve seen.

Well, some websites claim that it’s not true. If you go to snopes.com, you can see if the email you got is actually a hoax or not.

Actually, just typing it into your preferred search engine is better. For this one you could type in hoax parking lot carjack. This should bring up snopes.com as the second entry or so. If it’s not there, chances are it’s not a popular email hoax.

I just came across a great site in my favorite search engine. Click here to read the article

Here’s the thing. Just because it’s a hoax, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay attention to it. These are usually things that could actually take place.

Even worse, they have been known to scare up the “scum of the earth” and cause copycatters.

You know, these are the guys that were spit back out from hell.

Or, the guys I used to date!

Ok, don’t get me started on that. Moving on…….

So, the moral of the story is……

Go ahead and read these emails. Just don’t open any attachments. You may actually learn something.

Be careful ladies and take heed! You’ve been warned.

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"Wal-Mart Woes"

How many of you moms dread going to Wal-Mart or any store with your kids?

Maybe it’s just because I have 4 boys that are 10 and under.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have the patience required to walk through Wal-Mart when it’s crowded.

Whatever the reason is, I just hate it!

Here’s a typical trip to Wal-Mart with my kids………

As we pull up into the parking lot, my boys start opening the car door before we’re even parked. There is always some majorly expensive sports car parked right next to us. Of course, my 4 year old slings his door open and almost hits the car. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost had a heart attack over this.

I dread the day that I have to leave a note on someone’s car explaining that my child has decided to maul their $50,000 vehicle. I’ll also have to tell them that I’ll pay for it, but that they’ll have to let me pay it in monthly installments.

I really try to be honest, but I still dread it. Who wouldn’t?

So, once I find a buggy in the parking lot that isn’t covered in chewing gum or some other foul substance, I take off running to grab it. Meanwhile, my boys are sitting in the car fighting and hitting each other. They’re fighting over who can spit the biggest loogy at the car next to us. I just hope that the sun melts the loogy before the poor man sits in his nicely polished convertible.

Ok, so I have the buggy and am on my way back to the car. All the time I have them in site. Trust me; I would never leave them unattended. I’ve learned my lesson there.

While I’m on the way back to the car to load them up, I realize that they are whispering and laughing. I don’t even want to know why. So, we load up and make our way to the front entrance. I feel like I have entered the twilight zone.

All of a sudden, a sense of doom hits me. I’ll soon know that it’s the premonition that I may go to jail today.

I usually make the 4 year old ride in the front part of the buggy. My 7 year old stands on the end of the buggy, jumping off every chance he gets. He’s daring me to run over him. Little does he know that I think that it's funny. This is one of the little things that make me smile. If I happen to have my step-sons, ages 8 and 10, with me they walk beside me. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

As we enter the store, I realize that I have forgotten to bring in wipes. Any mother knows that this can be an absolute disaster! Even though my youngest is 4, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be a mess.

I usually spend half my time trying to keep him from grabbing all the food off the sample lady’s cart. He will literally scoop and hide it until I’m not looking. So, we always bring wipes. Not only does he eat all the samples, but he also ends up getting some kind of drink from somewhere in the store.

Normally, some little old lady thinks he’s the cutest thing she’s ever seen, offers him a drink, and here’s what transpires:

Little old lady: Look at you. You’re a big boy aren’t you? He’s so cute! How old are you?
4 year old: I’m 4. I go to preschool and my mommy beat me up yesterday.
Little old lady: What? She beat you up?
4 year old: Is my mommy going to go to jail?
Little old lady: Uh, Uh, Uh
4 year old: My Mimi is old as dirt.
Little old lady: Why does your mommy beat you up?
4 year old: Because I shot a rock through my dad’s truck with my sling shot. She didn’t really beat me up. She just told me that it was bad.
Little old lady: You shouldn’t tell people that your mommy beats you up honey.
4 year old: Why?
Little old lady: Because she could get in trouble.
4 year old: Cool!

I got lucky. There were no police in the general vicinity.

Anyway, you can see why I don’t like to take them in public. Actually, my 4 year old has gotten better about embarrassing me. When I say better, I mean he doesn’t do it as much anymore. He’s moved on to bigger and better things.

Oh, and I have since figured out what all the laughing and whispering was about in the car. Apparently, this is the “planning phase” of our trip. For those of you who don’t have more than one child, the “planning phase” is when the older child tells the younger child what to do to embarrass mommy in the store.

So, while we’re trying to load our buggy up with healthy foods, my older boys are sneaking junk food every chance they get. They seem to be able to slip it into the buggy without me noticing. I wonder why that is?

Hmmm, could it be because I’m still trying to explain to the little old lady, and the other 3 people that overheard the conversation, that I really didn’t beat him?

By the time we get to the checkout line, I’m sweating like a fat man chasing a runaway M&M.

My boys are, of course, mesmerized by all the trinkets that the store has so conveniently placed in the checkout lines. I cannot tell you how many times I have to tell them, “No, we don’t have enough money for that.” That just doesn’t seem to comfort them.

Meanwhile, the clerk has totaled my grocery bill. I have managed to spend $350! What? How in the world am I going to explain this one to my husband? I don’t care if it took 3 cars to get it all home. Men just do not understand how it’s possible to spend that kind of money and only come back with what I got.

Maybe it’s because of the kids clothing that I threw into the mix.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t pay close enough attention to the prices.

Most likely it’s because of the junk food and toys that were unknowingly added to my buggy.

Whatever the reason, it will be MANY, MANY years before I ever go back to Wal-Mart with the kids in tow. That’s what I keep telling myself.

I’ll see you there next week! Just look for the woman with kids hanging off her legs and a big pile of cans on the floor next to her.

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"Meeting Billy Cannon"

Today is a good day! I’m not sure why, but I’m in an unusually good mood today. Those days are few and far between lately.

I’ve been really enjoying my 4 year old son this last month. I rarely got to spend time alone with him before. You’ll have to read my previous stories to understand why I can now.

I am starting to notice that he is getting spoiled terribly! In one of my previous posts I talked about whether or not I could be spoiling him. Well, it’s starting to show.

I know it’s not too late to reverse it. I’m starting now.

This weekend he just acted very bratty. He wanted things and he wanted them right then! He has never been one to throw fits. However, I saw a couple this weekend.

Saturday, we went to Reeves Marine to get Billy Cannon’s autograph. For any of you that were there, you know how long the line was.

We waited almost 4 hours to get his autograph.

By the way, if you don't know who Billy Cannon is.....he is only the greatest college football player ever! You can read more HERE.

My 4 year old was with us. They had a few things for the kids to do there, but when we started getting close to the front of the line, I had to make him stand with us.

By the time we got to the front of the line he was climbing on everything. It was chaotic.

When we finally got to Mr. Cannon my son climbed up in his lap. He wasn’t invited or anything. He just did it on his own. He is the kind that thinks everyone is his best friend. He makes other people talk to him. He was constantly saying, “Mr. Cannon, Mr. Cannon…….”. I think he probably drove this poor man crazy!

In case anyone doesn’t know, Reeves Marine has a great selection of LSU stuff! Anything from LSU car mats to footballs (which sold out Saturday) to pens, they have it!

Regardless of the excessive time that we had to wait in line and the excessive damage it did on my wallet, we had a great time! He seems to be a really nice guy.

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