#17 Mary Anne and the Bad Luck Mystery (or Mary Anne and the Drastic Overreaction to a Throwing Away a Chain Letter)

A MA book.  Gag, sigh, pthpthpth.  This book is full of superstition and assumptions and a little picking on Jackie Rodowsky.  Honestly, kind of boring.

The book starts with Kristy making MA sick with her descriptions of the SMS lunch.  Eesh, in the last book I snarked, she wanted to WEAR food. We get the chapter 2 stuff right away.  We finally get an admission that there might be some hurt feelings in the people the BSC members used to sit with.  MA says they’ll have to deal and make their own groups.  Nice. The chapter ends with Cokie Mason and Grace Blume staring at the table and MA feeling self conscious.

MA discourses on getting the mail and how much she loves picking up the mail.  I can’t snark this too much because I used to love getting mail too.  Now it’s all junk or bills since no one writes letters anymore.  She comments that she loves to read the Stoneybrook News, because she likes to read about crime.  This must be one heck of a scary town!  MA grabs the mail on her way to the BSC meeting and she has a letter!  Oooo, it’s a chain letter and if she breaks it, bad luck will visit her and her friends and family.  Ug, I despise chain letters and so does she.  She’s not planning on sending out 20 letters, although Mal and Jessi tell her very seriously that she has to.  No one wants her to send THEM a letter, though.  She tosses out the letter on the way out from the meeting.

The next morning starts with MA falling out of bed.  She states that she’s sort of a klutz, but she hasn’t fallen out of bed since she was four.  I didn’t realize that being a klutz was a requirement for falling out of bed.  My youngest son (9) is pretty agile, but he still falls out of bed on occasion.  Anyway, she has a rough time getting ready for the day and her day doesn’t get much better.  She hides away at home at the end of the day and forgets about a sitting job. The bad luck is just beginning….

So the next job has Dawn sitting for Jackie Rodowsky and she says it was a bad idea to try to help him make his Halloween costume.  Ok, now I take really big issue with Dawn here, because most of the issues were NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL.  There are a lot of things that fall, which can happen to anyone.  Jackie cuts himself, which I can see being somewhat of a deal, but it’s not like he’s the only kid to get a boo-boo while someone is sitting.  He spills paint; again, not that big of a deal since they were working in the basement and it was wiped up.  Then he puts on the costume he’s made BEFORE THE GLUE IS DRY.  Dawn, that’s just lack of common sense.  So, really, it wasn’t that bad.  I wish these girls wouldn’t make such a big deal about this poor kid.

MA gets the mail again and this time it is a package.  She takes it with her to the BSC meeting and it’s a letter and a bad luck charm for MA.  She must wear it….or else. The girls start rehashing all of their recent bad luck.  They talk MA into wearing it or there might be evil lurking to get them.  Muahahahaha!

More bad things keep happening and the girls decide they have to ward off evil forces.  They’re having this discussion during lunch and again, Cokie and Grace are watching them.  They go to the library to look up books on witchcraft.  MA shows off how to use the card catalogue and yet again, I cannot snicker because I remember doing that too.  They check out some books on witchcraft and feel they are ready.

Before they get to reading the books, we have not one, but two sitting chapters.  Jessi sits for Jamie Newton, who is scared of Halloween.  Claudia and Mal sit for the Pikes.  Their disasters include Byron burning dinner, a bird in the house, Vanessa losing a tooth and the parents an hour late due to traffic.

They finally get together in an emergency meeting of the BSC to find out how to counteract evil forces.  They read a bunch of impossible to perform spells, reminisce about the phantom phone calls of the previous year and talking about the Halloween hop.  It comes up that Grace Blume hates MA because she wants Logan.  Hmmm…there’s a theme starting to come out.

The night of the Halloween Hop arrives and Logan and MA are going as cats, because they’ve both seen Cats and thought the costumes were awesome.  They get to the dance, say hi to the rest of the club members and start dancing once the band starts picking up.  I say, band?  A band at a middle school dance?  Am I missing something?    The best my kids had in middle school was somebody’s older brother making a playlist on his Mac.  But then, this is Stoneybrook.  Anyway, Logan and MA are dancing along when Cokie Mason comes by and says, “Nice bad luck charm.”  Dun, dun, DUN!  MA gets home after the dance and there’s a note taped to her door:  Be at old man Hickory’s grave at midnight on Halloween.

Of course, MA is on the phone all morning with the members of the BSC and Kristy ends up calling another emergency meeting.  They all sit around trying to figure out how they’re going sneak out of their house at 11:30 at night so that they can get to the graveyard.  Kristy comes up with the brilliant idea of having a late night sleepover and instead of going to her house, Charlie will drive them to the graveyard.

Trick or treat babysitting chapter.  Kristy takes her younger siblings out trick or treating and they end up at Karen’s imaginary witch’s house…she gives out apples.

MA and her dad hang out at home, having a simple dinner while handing out treats.  MA is a nervous wreck, jumping at any little sound.  She shows her dad the “bad luck charm” and finds out it’s a mustard seed, which is a symbol of faith.  All of a sudden, everything clicks.  Cokie and Grace are behind the letters and necklace!!!!  She calls Kristy, who immediately comes up with another brilliant idea.

Charlie picksthem all up around 10:30 and they head right to the graveyard, where the girls put their plan into action.  Around 11:30, Cokie and Grace show up and the BSC proceeds to scare the bejeevers out of them.  Then Logan shows up and the whole truth comes out.  Grace wants Logan, Logan likes MA and everyone thinks everyone else is an idiot. 

The BSC retreats to Krsity’s house where the rehash the bad luck mystery.  Jessi points out that Cokie didn’t send MA the chain letter, so she could still have bad luck, but MA poo-poos that; since they’ve defeated Cokie and her minions their luck has changed.  Then she drops a jar of eye makeup on a compact and breaks the mirror.  Seven years of bad luck!!!!

#9 The Ghost at Dawn's House

Sorry, everybody.  I totally thought I had posted this weeks ago.  Enjoy!

I am not a ghost person.  I do not believe in ghosts and if they do exists, they don’t bother me.  I am not totally freaked out by the thought of ghosts.  My sister Angie is; I am not.  Dawn is in the same camp as Angie and is all about the ghosties and ghoulies.  Let’s dive right in, shall we?

The cover has Dawn and Jeff looking up a staircase that is apparently the secret passageway.  The only real beef I have with this cover is that it’s supposed to be late August and hot; I sincerely doubt that Jeff will be wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

The book begins with the reuniting of the BSC.  They spend TWO WHOLE WEEKS apart from each other.  They talk about their sitting jobs and MA and Stacey talk about some issues with the Pike boys, a little carry over from book 8.  Kristy also talks about sitting for the St. Perkins family, who are new charges in this book.  Hooray!  Children who make the other children of the world look like blithering idiots!  We get the intro stuff here too.

Dawn goes home and looks around for Jeff so that they can get ready for dinner.  Sharon got a job and dinner somewhat falls to the kids.  He’s goofing around in the barn; Dawn thinks he’s a ghost.  They decide to eat dinner outside and Dawn gets a little spooked out in the house while Jeff is out setting the table.  Their house is an old farmhouse from the late 1700’s, so Dawn is sure it’s haunted.  Which is probably why she jumps a mile when Sharon comes in and touches her arm.  The have dinner outside and just as they finish eating, a storm arrives.

Dawn decides to spend the evening reading her ghostie and ghoulie book, because she won’t be at all freaked out by it.  She ends up hearing tapping and moaning and whining and shrieks for her mom.  Sharon comes in, calmly and logically points out that they’re in the midst of a big storm and recommends Dawn go to bed.  Dawn, of course, cannot sleep after scaring herself like that.  Mommy Moment:  Sharon was calm and logical; I sure hope she also knew that Dawn was in no calmed by her logic.  Kids (in my experience) generally aren’t.

The next day is kind of a rainy day, so Dawn invites the BSC over to search for a hidden passageway.  They split into teams and start searching.  One of Dawn’s walls has a hollow thud, but nothing comes of it.  One team (Stacey and MA) decides to scare the other after some snotty comments are made.  Then the other team gets back at them.  Then Jeff scares them.  That’s the extent of the day.

A sitting chapter.  MA introduces us to the St. Perkins girls.  Mommy Moment:  Now I get that Gabby is the second child and second and third children tend to be a bit more advanced than their elder siblings.  I think we all hate these kids because the girls make such a big deal about how awesome they are compared to other kids.

Dawn has a sitting job with the Pikes and Mal is the second sitter.  Mrs. Pike again reiterates that they don’t like rules, except for safety reasons, and proceeds to explain that Nicky can go anywhere in a two block radius of the house.  Mommy Moment: Mrs. Pike says the rules are all about safety, but they won’t let Mal dye her hair or get contacts.  How are those safety issues?  It just don’t jive.  Right away the triplets decide to go swimming at a friend’s house and, rather than take Nicky, they ask Dawn if Jeff can come.  Nicky gets mad and storms off. Dawn gets worried and goes to look for Nicky while Mal stays with the girls.  She finds him later, dirty, but smug and cool.  Mommy Moment:  I might suspend the two-block rule while a sitter was there.  I don’t think that it’s a good idea to put that kind of responsibility on a sitter and Dawn’s panic kind of proves my point.

Dawn goes home and the house is hot, so of course she decides to go sit in the barn to read her book.  It’s not cool, but it is relaxing.  She finds a haybale, sits down and falls through the floor.  It turns out she’s found a secret passage that leads to her room!  She also finds a shoe buckle and a key, which of course means the passage is …HAUNTED!!  Yes, because finding junk in a secret passageway automatically equals ghost.  Seriously, Ann, if you want me to believe these girls are intelligent, have them use better deduction skills than this!

Another sitting chapter.  Kristy sits for her sibs, the power goes out and Karen proceeds to scare the snot out of everyone with her ghost stories.  (Will these girls ever learn with that kid???)

Across town, Dawn and Jeff spend the evening in the secret passage.  Sharon is out with “the Trip Man,” which no one is happy about.  When the power goes out, Dawn and Jeff grab a flashlight and investigate the passageway.  Dawn finds a nickel and an ice cream cone, tells Jeff the passageway is haunted and they run screaming out of the passageway to call their mom.  She heads for home while Jeff and Dawn try to  block the passageway with shelving.  The lights come on as Sharon and Trip enter Dawn’s room.  They look over the passageway, decide there isn’t anyone in there and plan to get a lock for the door. 

Dawn is freaked out and decides to sleep downstairs.  She finds a book on the history of Stoneybrook in her mom’s purse and decides to read it.  She stumbles across a chapter on legends.  She reads one about the Mullray family, with a mentally unstable son named Jared, who refused to leave their farm.  No one could find him; his voice seemed to come from between the house and the barn…as though he were in a passageway!.  Of course, Dawn surmises, it’s HER house and HER barn.  Jared Mullray is haunting the passageway.

Another sitting chapter.  Claudia is at the Newton’s and Jamie is a handful.

Dawn and MA are hanging out in the barn and MA says she’s too scared of things.  So Dawn tests her out by taking her into the secret passageway.  As they go through, Dawn looks for the nickel, but it’s not there, but there are peanut shells.  She starts flipping out and tells MA the passageway is haunted, which causes MA to go running out.  She and Dawn run into her room and slam the door shut.  As they sit talking, there are more thumps and thuds and Dawn is convinced there is a ghost, especially when she goes in again and there’s now a book.

Stacey sits for the Pikes and Nicky disappears right after she gets there.  Vanessa and Margo decide to shampoo Claire’s hair with a sample and Stacey is trying to get it out and is worried about Nicky, so she calls Dawn.  Dawn is sitting at the house listening to thumps in the passageway and freaking out, so she jumps at the chance to go looking for Nicky.  She finds him, smelling vaguely familiar, and returns him to the Pikes, sure she won’t hear anything more noises from the passageway.  She’s right.

A few days later, she’s sitting for the Pike boys and Mallory.  The triplets tease Nicky, he runs off and Dawn decide to test her theory.  She goes to the passageway and finds Nicky in there.  They have a talk about him coming there, he apologizes for scaring her and they head for home.  Nicky talks to his mom about needing space and she says she’ll have a talk with the triplets about their behavior to Nicky.  Mommy Moment:  I guess it’s time to break your rule about rules that aren’t about safety, huh Dee?

The BSC has a sleepover at Dawn’s house and they decide to watch movies.  The picks are Ghostbusters (holla!) and Sixteen Candles (Ann has never seen that movie, has she?  It’s MA’s pick and I sincerely believe Richard would never let that movie in the house).  They watch Ghostbusters first, then Claudia decides they should have s’mores.  It turns out they’ve brought junk food and Dawn and Stacey are a little ticked.  Dawn tells Stacey about the secret passage, so they sneak through and scare the other girls in Dawn’s room.  Then there is a rapping noise that freaks everyone out and they spend the rest of the night in the living room.  They wake up the next morning and start talking about how few days there are left of summer vacation.  Dawn’s excited; she’s not going to let a ghost get in her way!

If Jessi Really was as Good at Dance as She Claimed...

...was she as good as this girl?

#11 Kristy and the Snobs

So, this book, (imo) isn’t too overly snarkable simply because Louie’s death is so sad.:(  I pity the person who draws Claudia and the Sad Goodbye.

Now Kristy starts by saying that if there’s one thing she can’t stand is a snob.  And if there’s one thing I can’t stand is someone who instantly judges people without knowing them and creates for themselves a world of hurt. 

School has started and Kristy is dressed in what is now her uniform: jeans, turtleneck and sweater.  Isn’t that combo a bit hot for September yet?  David Michael (DM) has Kristy call Louie and they see that he is limping.  They tell their mom, then head out for the bus.  DM’s bus is on time, but Kristy’s is late.  She is approached by…THE SNOBS!!!  They ask her about the BSC, since she’s been sending fliers around.  Then they make a snide remark about her outfit and she calls them snob clones.  And the snob war has started…

Later that day at the BSC meeting, Kristy gets a job in her new neighborhood.  When she gets home, Louie seems worse. 

They end up at the vet with Louie the next day.  He is getting old and arthritic and his eyesight is worsening.  The vet sends home some pain pills for him.  After they get home, Kristy takes him for a walk and she runs into…THE SNOBS!!! She meets Shannon Kilbourne and Amanda Delaney, both of whom have purebred pets.  Louie is scruffy and smells like the vet, which Shannon comments on.  Kristy makes a smart remark; Shannon replies in kind and they storm away.  I’m saying, Kristy’s big mouth probably is contributing to her problems, along with the fact that she’s not even trying to like the neighborhood or neighbors.  Attitude has a lot to do with these things.

Kristy sits for the Papadakis family the next day, whom she knows slightly and likes.    She finds out that Shannon usually sits for them and she asks about more of the neighbors.  Suddenly the phone rings and it’s Shannon, calling to tell Kristy the house is on fire.  It’s not, of course, but the kids are upset and Kristy has to tell Mrs. P about it.  C’mon Shannon, use your noggin and leave the kids out of it.  Anyway, Kristy decides to retaliate by sending a diaper service to the Kilbourne’s house.

A sitting chapter: MA sits for Myriah and Gabbie Perkins.  Jamie Newton comes over and proceeds to tell them how he doesn’t like his baby sister sometimes.  The girls are appalled that he would dare to not like the baby.  “Cause nothing ever bothers them ever and they are the Buddy Bears and always get along.

Ooooo, token spelling word!  Ostentatious!  That’s what the Delaney’s house is.  And the kids are absolutely bratty SNOBS, just as Kristy predicted.  But….Kristy lets them get away with it because she’s afraid they’ll tell their mom she’s mean. Ummm….again, you’re bringing some of this on yourself.  Shannon calls again because she’s sitting for the Papadakis kids and Sari is crying and she wants Kristy to come help her.  So Kristy shows up and Shannon had yet again tricked her.  As she leaves, Shannon thanks her for pushing her out of all of her sitting jobs.  Ah, the real root of the problem.  What are we going to do about this?

Another sitting chapter.  This is the beginning of Jeff Schafer’s major attitude change and desire to return to California.

At the next BSC meeting, Kristy complains about her sitting job with THE SNOBS!!!  Stacey calls her out on it and asks her why she let the kids behave the way they did.    Mrs. Delaney calls for a sitter and Stacey asks for the job, for she has a plan.  Then Dawn breaks down crying about Jeff, and says she doesn’t think her dad is thrilled at the idea of Jeff coming to live with him.  She’s pretty broken up about the whole thing, as well she should be.

Kristy comes home from the meeting and calls Louie to go out.  Unfortunately Louie can’t make it out and has an accident on the floor.  The whole family realizes that Louie is really sick.

Another sitting chapter.  Stacey tames THE SNOBS!!!

Kristy babysits for THE SNOBS!! Again.  The kids are better since Kristy puts her foot down and doesn’t let them misbehave and they’re out in the yard having fun when a pizza delivery truck arrives.  Shannon has pranked Kristy yet again, but Kristy sends the pizza guy over to Shannon’s house.  Shannon storms over with the pizza and demands money.  Kristy says no, it was Shannon’s idea that backfired so Kristy’s not giving her any money.  Shannon accuses her of horning in on her sitting territory and threatens to throw pizza at her.  Kristy threatens to make her purebred dog and pepperoni mountain dog and suddenly they’re all laughing.  Ah, the whole war solved by Krisy’s big mouth.

Yet another sitting chapter.  Claudia sits for the Pikes, who are covered with chicken pox.

Back at the Brewer/Thomas household, Louie is getting worse.  He takes a tumble down the stone steps leading to the basement, bringing DM with him.  Mrs. Brewer takes him back to the vet and he’s worsened to the point that he needs special injections twice a day.  They run themselves ragged for a week before the vet says they’re not helping and the car ride is too much for Louie.

Kristy stays home from a BSC meeting because she is so worried about Louie.  She is there when Karen and Andrew arrive early, along with DM and Charlie.  Karen runs around shrieking, but the last shriek is horrid, because Louie has lost control of his hind legs and is pulling himself around the kitchen in a panic, crashing into things.  That night they call a family meeting and announce that Louie is going to be put to sleep.

DM spends one last night with Louie and everyone says goodbye.  Kristy and DM come into the vet with Mrs. Brewer and say their goodbyes in the waiting room.  It doesn’t take long and soon they head for home.

They plan a funeral for the afternoon and Karen invites THE SNOBS!!! To come to the funeral.  They are all very respectful and Shannon stops Kristy to tell her she’s sorry and she doesn’t know what she would do if something happened to Astrid (her purebred mountain dog).

A few days later, Shannon stops by when Kristy’s sitting for THE SNOBS!!  She brings along a puppy, one of Astrid’s offspring, and offers it to Kristy.  They call DM over and at first he doesn’t want a puppy, but she worms her way into his heart.  DM decides they should call her Shannon.

Now, how to solve the problem of horning in on Shannon’s sitting territory?  Why, invite her to join the BSC, of course.  Shannon declines, citing her busy-ness at school.  Well then, why the heck did you make such a big stinkin’ deal about it then?  They decide to make her an associate member.  Yay, maybe she’s not such a SNOB!!! After all.

Mommy Moments:

• I don’t know if I would have Shannon sit for my kids again after a stunt like the fake fire.  That’s just not something I’d be okay with. 
• I would hope that my sitters would feel comfortable telling me if one of my children was misbehaving.  That the BSC doesn’t feel they can tell Mrs. Delaney about her children’s behavior is a little unsettling.
• There is a time when it is kinder to put a pet to sleep than let them suffer any longer.  It’s s tough call, but it is the humane thing to do.

Common Sense Moments:

• Kristy brought a lot of grief on herself with her big, smart mouth and predetermined attitude about all of the neighbors being SNOBS!!

#8 Boy Crazy Stacey

It’s Stacey! (It’s Stacey!)  She’s back and she’s boy crazy!

 So, it’s the beginning of August and Stacey is stressing about what to wear because she’s going to Kristy’s new mansion for a BSC party.  What to wear….what to wear….She goes with a pink shirt covered with big, bright green and yellow birds.  Nothing screams sophisticated like a shirt covered with birds.  This is the best image I could come up with.

Her mother gives her a foil wrapped packet of apple slices, just in case Stacey is temped to eat something she shouldn’t, ‘cause she’s diabetic you know (Stacey comments who wants to be sick?).  Since Stacey’s been friends with these people for a year now, and has gone to parties before, where they’ve always had food for her, why should she start worrying now?Stacey exits, and we find out Ed’s favorite hobby is gardening…an excellent hobby for a work-a-holic.

 Stacey’s riding with Claud and MA to the mansion and they arrive to find Kristy is normal.  Hurrah.  Woulnd’t you know, they have a good time, but end the evening bawling because Dawn’s going to Cali, Claudia’s going on vacation, and MA and Stacey are going to Sea City as mother’s helpers for the Pikes. They are going to be away from each other for two whole weeks.  I don’t remember being this emotionally overwrought when we all went away for vacation over the summer.  Kristy has the brilliant idea of MA and Stacey writing post cards every day for the club notebook, you know, since they’re technically sitting.  That’s how I want to spend my working vacation.

The next day MA and Stacey go to the Pike’s house and they get a stampede at the door. There are eight Pike kids, after all.  You might fill out a bikini Stacey, but you're no Bo Derek.

 Mrs. Pike gives them the low down on Sea City, what they’ll be doing and what they’ll need.  This blows my mind, though: “As you know, Mr. Pike and I don’t believe in making rules for the children or forcing them to do things they don’t want to do.”  Really?  No rules?  So…there aren’t any rules about hitting each other?  What if they don’t want to brush their teeth?  You’re not going to make them?  Sorry, I’ve got guidelines for my child.  Anyway, they also cover Stacey’s diabetes and medical information.  Yes, good to know!  Stacey heads home to finish packing and her mother hovers nervously.  I might hover; I’m not sure.

MA and Stacey arrive at the Pike’s the next morning as they get ready to go.  In the days before GPS, cell phones and aps, there were maps and directions to places and places to meet in case you got lost.  This is also the era before seatbelt and child seat laws.  Claire and Margo are sprawled in the very back of the station wagon.  Let’s go on vacation!

Mallory climbs over the seats while they’re driving so that motion sick Margo can climb to the front seat.  Nicky and the triplets have a sign war.  Then….they’re finally there!!  They have a rental house by the shore; after unpacking the kids take them on a tour of the main drag and the beach.  They’re hanging out on the beach when Stacey sees a blonde, tan lifeguard.  She’s in LUV!

 Claire and Margo wake MA and Stacey at the butt crack of dawn, but they snuggle and go back to sleep for awhile.  After breakfast, MA and Stacey head upstairs to grab their things and unveil their bikinis.  Stacey brags that her top is filled out quite nicely; MA takes one look at her and refuses to take off her clothes.  It’s like the rack under the coat.  

Stacey talks her into it (or out of it) and they head out to the beach.  As they get spread out, they notice some male mother’s helpers nearby.  Then they notice Byron isn’t going in the water.  Stacey is distracted from Byron by the arrival of the god of blonde gorgeousness. 

He’s much older than she is and is surrounded by girls who are much older and fill out their bikini tops much better than she does, but she’s in LUV.

Byron starts getting picked on by his brothers and MA and Stacey try to intervene.  MA seems to have things in control so Stacey goes over Mr. Handsome and turns on the charm.  As she’s turning away, Mallory runs up with Claire, who has cut her foot on a shell.  Mr. Handsome comes to the rescue with bandages and introduces himself as Scott Foley (he’s related to a motivational speaker). 

Stacey hangs around him for the rest of the day and finds out all about him, leaving MA to mind the children.

The next day the Pikes spend the day at the beach with their kids and then go out for the evening, giving Stacey and MA money to take the kids out.  They eat at the Burger Garden and have a little fun on the drag.  By the end of the evening, MA isn’t feeling so well and they realize she has a really bad sunburn.  She looks like “a tomato with hair.”

The next day they hit the beach and Stacey starts to flirt with Scott again.  Some girls come by and he calls them kids, much to Stacey’s delight, although I don’t think Snookie and the gang would appreciate that very much.

 Stacey spends the rest of the day running errands for Scott and getting dirty looks from MA, who is pretty much on Pike duty.  At the end of the day, Scott calls Stacey his lifesaver and gives her his whistle.  Aw…..

There is a rainy day in their lovely week so MA and Stacey take the kids miniature golfing, which, with 8 kids 11 and under, was a lot of fun (sarcasm, sarcasm).

We finally hear from Kristy, and (of course) it’s a sitting job.  Apparently EVERYONE is babysitting, even if they’re on vacation.  Eesh, girls, learn how to relax!!  

 Anyway, Kristy’s sitting for Karen and Andrew and the kids wash Watson’s car with steel wool.

The next two days are amazing for Stacey, who is spending her time around the lifeguard stand, falling in LUV with Scott even more.  She and MA get Saturday evening off, so they go out for dinner and stroll the boardwalk.  Stacey drops $10 on a huge box of chocolates for Scott(adjust for inflation, $40 today) which she thinks will show him how she truly feels.  Yep, nothing screams love like sugar and partially hydrogenates soybean oil encased in a red cardboard box.  She then turns around and sees him playing tonsil hockey with a gorgeous, curvy redhead.  Stacey’s heart is broken.

 Stacey is embarrassed and humiliated and wants to hide in her room the next morning, but MA gets angry and calls her out on it.  Still, Stacey stays behind and Byron stays with her.  They go for a walk to a little bay, where Byron actually goes in the water.  He confesses to Stacey he doesn’t like the waves of the ocean and not being able to see the bottom.  That afternoon they face their fears together and go the beach.  Byron spends time in the water and Stacey spends time with the kids, whom she has REALLY MISSED while she was flirting with Scott.

The next day they split up the kids and Stacey heads back to the beach with Claire, Vanessa, Adam and Jordan.  Claire teases another kid, which leads Stacey to meet the male mother’s helpers.  She’s in LUV again!  

This time his name is Toby and he’s 14.  He’s also stellarly impressed by the fact that she’s originally from NYC.  He’s perfect for her.

Friday is their last day in Sea City.  MA and Stacey get the evening off and they decide to ask Toby and his compatriot Alex out.  The meet at a hotdog stand for dinner before the girls decide they should pair off to go down the boardwalk.  Stacey and Toby head for the arcade, then a gift shop, where Toby buys Stacey a little pink shell “to remember me by.”  Really?  Do 14-year-old boys do stuff like this?  I can’t see my husband doing something smarmy, much less a teenager.  They close the evening with a ride through the tunnel of luv and Stacey’s first kiss.

Saturday Stacey wakes up early to ponder her vacation.  Claire is up too so they go down to the beach in the early morning light.  They head back to the house and get packed up before taking one last look at the beach.  Toby and Alex stop by to say farewell; MA cries, of course, and Stacey decides to go say good bye to Scott as well. 

They finally arrive home, exhausted but happy.  The rest of the book is spent recounting their adventures to their friends.  There are only two weeks left of summer, but anything can happen in two weeks!

SAHM Portrait Collection: Tory

Victoria Maria to be exact.  I was born on a chilly Milwaukee morning at St. Joseph's hospital about 30 years ago, give or take a little; the tide of Lake Michigan had nothing to do with my birth.  I come from a family of three girls; I am smack dab in the middle and spent half my time being bossed by big sister Angie and bossing little sister Christina.  Perhaps I could have given Kristy a run for her money since not only was I bossy, but I had a big mouth.  I got in trouble a lot at school for my big mouth.  Rarely was it ever seen as a good thing.  I graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a degree in business management and was able to find a job in the area.  I took some courses in business communication as well so when I yell at the BSC for their communication or lack thereof, I know of which I speak.
Six years ago, I met my husband Aaron and then I met his two sons, Jared and Zach, who were three and five at the time.  I was surprised that he had full custody at first, but well, it was for the best.  It took some time for the kids and I to adjust to each other, but when I married Aaron, I adopted the boys.
A little over four years ago we had a son named Adam.  It was about the middle of my pregnancy when the economy tanked and I lost my job.  Aaron and I crunched the numbers and realized we would actually net money if I stayed home and took care of the kids, although Jared and Zach were in school most of the day.
Now I have an 11-year old, 9-year old and an almost preschooler.  Being a SAHM has been great; I've been there for every big event in my little boy's life and helped my older boys through a lot of their own events.  Once Adam's in school I'll look for work again, but for now, I'm just enjoying being at home, although there are days when I'd even let MA sit for my kids so that I could go grocery shopping alone.

#19 Claudia and the Bad Joke (or Claudia and the Lawsuit Waiting to Happen)

I must be lucky.  Not only did I draw another Claudia book, but I got one that was one of my favorites as a kid…then I read it again and kind of went, mrrr?  This is a good one for some parenting failss.

The cover is pretty normal, but it gives away what the bad joke results in.  I guess the mystery is in how we get there.  The walls look pretty sick too…not sure I’d want to stay in that hospital.

The books starts with Kristy wishing to get hit in the face with a pie.  The girls plus Logan are at a slapstick film festival (apparently Logan invited MA as a date and she invited everyone else…I don’t think that’s what he had in mind, MA) and Kristy’s all about wearing food.  I’m amazed Claudia hasn’t jumped on this bandwagon. She gets right into the introductions and I realize that this old copy has hash marks that show the beginning and end of what has now become the chapter long section of information on the girls.  For your skipping ease, of course.

The next day is a club meeting and, after an indepth look at how the club runs, we have the actual meeting.  There’s a call from a new client, Mrs. Sobak, looking for a sitter for little Betsy, her daughter.  Claudia takes the job, but is confused because she knows the kids who usually sit for Betsy.  Kristy admonishes her not to knock it, but that maybe they’ll get a new client out of it.  She then proceeds to squirt disappearing ink all over MA’s white sweatshirt…amazingly enough, she’s the only one laughing.

Claudia and Dawn hang out for a bit after the meeting (Dawn is lonely since she’ll be the only at her house…I kinda have to go with Tory on her scathing review of Mrs. Schafer’s decision to move back to Connecticut) and then Claudia helps Mimi finish dinner.  “The Genius” comes home and is sober, because life is tough as a genius.  They have a nice dinner before it’s time for homework time.  Now this has been a rule for Claudia for awhile, but in the last book I snarked they must have been on vacation or Claudia wouldn’t have fallen behind so much.  Anyway, she finishes the homework and then gets a crank phonecall….prank season in Stoneybrook has begun!!

It’s the day of Claudia’s sitting job with Betsy and she’s getting nervous.  She’s talked to the other kids who used to sit for her and they all quit because she is a horrible practical joker, to the point she doesn’t know when to stop.  At first Claudia is optimistic, because Betsy seems nice and her mother, while strange (her name is Cookie, which Ann puts in italics…why name your own character something you can’t believe) is also nice.  But the jokes start right away with a dribble glass and a fly in an ice cube.  Then she tricks her with some pepper gum, which really angers Claudia.  This is the kind of job you go to and when you look at the clock only 10 minutes have passed.  She agrees to go outside with Betsy to get her mind of jokes and they sit on the swingset to swing.  Claudia suggests a swinging contest in spite of some funny looks by Betsy and soon they’re going pretty high…and the bottom drops out of Claudia’s swing and she lands on the driveway.  Her leg’s at a pretty funny angle and she knows it’s broken.  She calmly instructs Betsy to call 911, then the Sobaks and then the Rodowsky home before her own parents (what?).  Dawn and Mallory arrive before the ambulance and Dawn calls Claudia’s parents, who will meet her at the hospital.  The ambulance arrives and Dawn rides along with Claudia.  Her leg is in pain now and she is given some pain killers so most of the procedures are hazy to her.  She wakes up in the hospital with her leg in traction.  The break was apparently bad enough that she’ll have to stay in the hospital for a week and home for a little longer before she can go back to school.  She starts thinking about what would have happened if she had broken her arm or hand, which potentially could end her art career.  Perhaps she should quit the club because sitting is too dangerous.

Her hospital stay is fairly eventful, with lots of visitors and flowers.  Her roommate is “a big baby” about her broken elbow and has no friends.  Nice, Ann.  (although I’d probably have said the same thing at that age).  Claudia begs for her friends to sneak her some junk food and Dawn has pity on her and sneaks some in.  MA also sneaks Tigger in, which twigs Claudia out a bit.  During one of her phone calls to Stacy, she confesses that she might quit the club…dun, dun, dun! 

A sitting chapter.  MA and Jessi sit for the Pikes and are inundated by practical jokes.

Claudia is ready to go home from the hospital and is finally released.  She is greeted by friends and family in a hustling bustling flurry and then everyone leaves for work or school.  She has breakfast with Mimi, receives a phone call from her homeroom at school and enjoys a little Wheel of Fortune.  Since she’s an art fanatic, she’s also spent time decorating her cast.  At the BSC meeting that day, her friends have a few little autographs too:  God made rivers, God made lakes, God made Claudia, well we all make mistakes.  Guess who wrote that one.  MA’s confused me at first until my mom pointed out that the car is supposed to be auto.  Then it makes sense.  Claudia springs her fears about sitting on the rest of the club and tells them she might want to quit.  She promises to think about it for awhile when suddenly the phone rings and it’s Mrs. Sobak, looking for another sitter for Betsy.  Ballsy, that woman is.  Claudia is (and rightfully so) upset that Mrs. Sobak calls for a sitter and I would have called her back and said, “sorry, we can’t help you” but these girls are fixers, so they are going to “fix” Betsy.  The best way to fix her?  By waging a joke war, of course.  Mallory volunteers for the first wave of attack, especially since her siblings are all about the jokes right now too.

Which brings us to Mal’s sitting chapter.  Betsy hides on Mal; Mal gives her sneezing powder.  Betsy gets Mal with a bloody tooth; Mal scares her with a slug.  Betsy scares Mal with a rubber snake; Mal scares her with a rubber rat.  Betsy scares Mal with her cockroach and Mal runs out of jokes just as Mrs. Sobak arrives home.  Score in the joke war: 0-0

Dawn sits for Betsy next.  Betsy slimes Dawn’s kid kit; Dawn “faints.”  Betsy gets Dawn with a pooh-pooh cushion; Dawn pretends to see a mouse.  Betsy squirts Dawn with a fountain pen; Dawn pulls out a spider.  Betsy pulls out a rubber toad and Dawn is out of tricks.  They get into a game of Monopoly and end up having a late lunch.  Betsy apologizes and makes sundaes as a peace offering…only Dawn’s is made of shaving cream.  Score in the joke war: Betsy 1, BSC 0

Claudia is currently still stuck at home and is starting to worry about missing so much school. She’s also worried about having to repeat 8^th grade (doesn’t she get sent back in later books?) but Mimi helps her calm down.  She asks if Claudia has made up her mind about whether or not she’s going to stay in the club, but Claudia still doesn’t know.  Then Stacy calls and Claudia heads upstairs to talk to her.  She asks if Claudia has made up her mind about whether or not she’s going to stay in the club, but Claudia still doesn’t know and is slightly annoyed about being pestered about it.  The rest of the club arrives for the meeting and the first official order of business is to demand if Claudia is going to be in the club still or not.  Claudia is irritated, but promises to have her decision in a week.

Kristy is the next to sit for Betsy and she claims she has won the joke war.  She and Betsy go to a viewing of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Kristy makes Betsy promise NO MORE JOKES.  Betsy instantly pulls out the joy buzzer, so it’s on.  They get into the theater and Betsy asks for popcorn.  After she leaves to get it, Kristy switches seats and Betsy can’t find her.  During the middle of the movie, Kristy slips a bloody thumb onto her finger and carefully slides it into the popcorn box.  Betsy screams loudly and some of her schoolmates (whom she joked as well) start to laugh.  Betsy is angry and says Kristy embarrassed her.  Kristy points out that’s what most of Betsy’s jokes do and that’s why people don’t like her jokes or Betsy herself for that matter.  Betsy asks how Claudia is and asks if she can go and apologize to her, even though she had sent her a note of apology.  Claudia is at home and is frustrated over some math she has to study when Kristy and Betsy arrive.  She apologizes to Claudia in person and then Kristy takes her home.  Later Kristy comes back and asks Claudia about the club and Claudia says that she’s going to stay; Betsy’s apology made her change her mind.

The book ends two months later with Claudia getting her cast off.  Her leg is pretty atrophied and she has to have crutches for a little while longer.  There’s another meeting that afternoon and Jessi says that Betsy has another joke catalogue, but didn’t play any jokes on her.  Then there’s a call for a sitter and it’s in a few weeks, when Claudia can sit again.  Hooray!  And the book closes with Kristy still wishing she could get hit in the face with a pie.

Ok, parental fails:  Sobaks, your kid is a practical joker, to the point you have a hard time keeping a regular sitter.  Now she’s played a joke that resulted in someone breaking their leg.  It’s past time to take care of this issue.  At least Betsy wrote an apology note.

Kishis, this is an actual legitimate lawsuit.  I have a really hard time believe you did nothing besides meet your daughter at the hospital after she broke her leg.  At the very least, bang down the Sobak’s door and demand an apology.

Sitter fails:  Do you really think you can “fix” a child who has no parental discipline in this issue?  #1. It’s not your place #2. it’s going to take more than a few jokes to change and attitude.  But then, this is Stoneybrook, not the real world.