December 20, 2008

My Day in Numbers


50: percent I overpaid for 5 tickets to the Duke v. Xavier college basketball game by buying the tickets through the Duke Alumni Association instead of Ticketmaster.

4: number of hours we spent together today as a family...on the New Jersey Turnpike (the game was played in northern New Jersey).

4 million: number of hours the same drive felt like listening to three kids sing every Christmas carol known to man in Giglimish, a make believe language.

33: number of DVDs and CDs that fell into a gigantic mud/ice puddle when I opened my car door in the arena parking lot.

15: number of people who were excited to learn that my family was sitting in their row.

3, 453, 876: number of calories consumed within in two hour period by my three children in the form of popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, chips, and M&M's.

4: number of times Kellen went to the bathroom during the first half.

1: number of contact lenses that inexplicably fell out of my eye as I was changing Cameron's pants on an empty seat on the top (abandoned) row in our seating section during halftime.

2: number of my husband's former classmates who stopped by to say "hi" while Tim was holding a screaming half-dressed baby and I was on my hands and knees digging through candy wrappers and peanut shells looking for my missing contact lens.

200: number of my husband's former classmates who will hear through the alumni grapevine how well we are handling four children.

0: number of moving blobs I could distinguish as life forms after failing to find my contact lens (I have 20/400 vision).

523: number of times Cortlen accidentally kicked the back of the man's chair in front of us.

523: number of times I asked the man in front of Cortlen if I could buy him a Coke, soft pretzel, nacho plate, or illegal narcotic.

3: number of children who asked me with a straight face if they could have ice cream when we got home.

Googleplex: Number of times we'll do this again if we get the chance. It was worth every penny, tear, apology, and minute of temporary blindness.

23 comments

Mrs. Morty said...

Sounds like ... um... "fun." At least the kind of fun we are used to having.

Stephanie said...

15: the number of times I smiled while I read this. Go Devils. :)

Diane said...

I love your blog! I just discovered you a couple of days ago. I laughed 15 times while I was reading your post.

I'm a mean mom too, mean moms need to stick together.

April said...

glad you have fun! i love family outings, even if they're stressful and a major pain in the butt :-)

April said...

have = had.

although, i'm sure you continue to have as well. at least, i hope.

Kelly said...

Wow, what an awesome trip. I am from Durham. You must have lived there then, right? I was in the Durham I ward. Good times.

Malea said...

"523: number of times I asked the man in front of Cortlen if I could buy him a Coke, soft pretzel, nacho plate, or illegal narcotic"

Lolol...Always a good time for me!

Just Jaime! said...

Perfect day!

Marissa said...

LOL, I love it! And you look way too good for just having a baby.
Jealous----------------->

Dolly said...

I'm smiling and thinking of the fun you'll all have in Sacrament Meeting singing those Christmas hymns together too :)

Ilana said...

100: Percent of this post that was hilarious and made me laugh

Melissa Berberena said...

Your blog gives me the laugh I need to make it through the rest of my day with my 4 kids. Thank You!

Thanatos said...

You know, this makes for a very compelling argument for birth control. Will make the future missus read it...

PS : awesome post

Ethington Family said...

Jana-
Can't tell you how excited I was to see you on my comments. It made me think of the stars and their crazed fans (i'm not crazed though- promise). I feel for you with the blind thing. I have the same vision, and my husband (who btw has perfect eye sight) can't figure out why I hate not having a clean trail to the bathroom at night (while my contacts are out)so I don't trip on anything. Anyways, loved the post and thank you for the kind things you said.

Momma-of-5 said...

eh hm...so you were in NORTHERN NJ...my stomping grounds...my home...and you didn't ask for my help/advice/bathroom?

Glad you had a blast. Did Duke win?

Carey-Life in the Carpool Lane said...

Very funny post and cute idea with the numbers.
Sounds like you had a great time and I hope you get a chance to do it again soon.

Anonymous said...

You guys ARE the Griswolds...

Liz said...

Ha.. I love it, sounds like every family outting we have. (and we only have two!)
I'm excited to see how the drama will mutliply for us when number 3 comes along.

Tonya Staab said...

Hilarious. Sounds like an outing our family would have.

Angie said...

My husband is also a Duke alumni. We've been to one basketball game together - several years ago - but I would love to do it again! I know he would like to take the kids one day, but your experience makes me a little hesitant to do it any time soon!

Momlissa said...

Thank you so much for the laughs. That was brilliant, just brilliant. You captured beautifully the unique chaos of a family outing with a big family. :) It really helps to hear how other people handle these situations.

JaniceMemoracion said...

So I just came to your site for the first time. I read your day in numbers. I think it's great. I would like to subscribe to your site but I'm not quite sure how. Do you think you could help me through this?
Your family sort of reminds me of mine and my husbands... we have five kids, the oldest is fourteen (boy) then we have 11, 8, 6, and 15 months; the last four are all girls!! We've got a crazy, loud, house full of children and there smart little mouths lol I've got to tell you, that whole thing about your kids taking what you say LITERALLY, my god, I thought I was reading about my own children. I just love those moments. So yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I really like your site, and that I would love to join.
Janice Memoracion

Unknown said...

Each one of these made me smile. =) I love how you kept offering the guy in front of you food when your kid kicked their chair. I laughed aloud about identifying blobs after your missing contact lens and hearing every christmas song on the Jersey Turnpike. And I throughly enjoyed the amount of calories your kids consumed and then asked for ice cream! =)