News that isn't

This just in: Ball pits at restaurants are full of germs and your kids can get sick.

Umm, if you are thinking “Duh!,” we are on the same page. That was my exact reaction when I heard that “newsflash” on the news yesterday. Anywhere that requires kids to take off their shoes and then swim around in a pool of plastic balls is going to be disgusting. Kids are gross, feet are gross, and I’m sure plastic balls are gross.

I learned first-hand back in 1997 just how nasty those balls pits are. I was working my first gig at Burger King and the owner came in one day and said the play area was going to close for about a week for a deep cleaning. At first we thought nothing of it, though it was strange because I worked there almost 2 years and this was the only closing for cleaning I ever witnessed. Well, the burger rumormill started spinning and apparently the story was our nighttime porter guy (the guy who came in after closing and scrubbed the grill and emptied out the fry grease) and one of the front counter girls – who was 2 pickles short of a junior whopper (there are only 2 pickles on a junior whopper, so that’s saying a lot) decided to take their “relationship” to the next level…in the ball pit.

They got caught because the owner had cameras installed all over the restaurant (he was concerned that all us grubby teenagers were not paying for our meals ---and he was right). Apparently grease guy and junior whopper girl didn’t realize that if boss man doesn’t want folks stealing in his chicken tenders, he probably doesn’t want them getting their freak on in the ball pit.

The funniest part: they weren’t fired!

I remember talking to junior whopper girl. I gave her my words of wisdom (well, as much as a 16 year-old could): The ball pit?! That is NOT romantic!

Potluck Friday

Never thought this day would get here!

1. First my apologies for the lack of blogs this week. Of course James made me feel guilty every day with "Why haven't you posted?" and "You really have been slacking this week." Well folks, i have no excuse. Well, yes i do. I've been going in at 7 a.m. every day and trust me when i say you don't want to read what's on my mind that early in the morning. It ain't funny or family-friendly! But i feel refreshed today and can't end the week without a potluck!
   
   
2. Words are not enough for the joy i have now that Jersey Shore is back on! My life is now complete: Big Brother and Jersey Shore!!! Some folks are embarrassed to admit they love these shows -- but not me!
   
   
3. I've been at a summer camp program for pre-teen girls all week. They learning about all kinds of stuff -- staying away from drugs, healthy relationships and apparently how big your ankles get when you are knocked up. Earlier this week one of the campers decided to tell me the obvious:
   Camper (in country-boony twang): OMG! Your ankles are so swollen.
   ReRe (amused, annoyed and a little offended): Yes, yes they are . I'm 7 months pregnant.
   Camper: Are they supposed to get that BIG?
   ReRe (once again amused, annoyed and little offended): Yes. It's normal.
   
   Then the camper proceeds to go up to the other camp instructors (who are also pregnant) and point out that their ankles are no where near as big as mine are. I wanted to point out that their pre-pregnancy a$$es were no where near as big as mine either, but i just smiled.
   
   
4. Today is the first day of the third-trimester -- 12 more weeks to go. Some days it feels like pregnancy is flying by, and some days (when it's 90+ degrees) it feels like it will never end. I'm officially nesting. The crib is up, the changing table and dresser will go up tonight. I will soon start packing my bag so it will be ready. I told James that his next duty would be clearing out some cabinet space in the kitchen so we'll have a spot for bottles and all the other baby stuff babies apparently need. James' reply:
   He's not kosher. We just just stack his stuff on top of our.
   
   Ok then!
   
   
5. In honor of the return of Jersey Shore, and because i love this song, my jam of the week is Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It" featuring PitBull.