Three Cheers For The Red, White and Blue

First and foremost, this being Memorial Day, I would like to take a moment to say thank you to those men and women who have and continue to go above and beyond to keep our country safe – both here at home and on foreign soil.  To those who have sacrificed more than I will ever understand, my feeble thank you doesn’t even seem like a drop in the bucket for what you are owed.  I will never understand what you have given up, what you have seen or the courage that you have.  But I will be eternally grateful and will do my best to never take for granted the liberties and freedoms that I enjoy because of you.

And because this is my own personal blog, I am going to give a little shout out to our family’s own personal heroes

First, is my grandpa Charles Leon Reese, who I never had the privilege of meeting, but am terribly proud of just the same.

He was a Lt. Colonel and commanding officer in the Army and served 28 years on the Oklahoma Highway Patrol

My Grandpa Whitt, who served his country in the Navy.

(I am not at my house and don’t have access to all of my pictures, unfortunately)

My Grandpa Jack, who also served his country in the Navy – he’s the handsome fella on the end

Uncle Alex – who served his country in the Army during Vietnam

(I will also be editing this when I get home, to add a picture of Uncle Alex)

My father in law – who served his country in the Army during the Navy

Picture from our wedding

Our brave cousin Michael – who served his country proudly in Iraq

Cousin “Uncle” Mike giving a much younger Reesie a shoulder ride

And my dad, who still continues to serve his country as a Paramedic for the city of Nashville

I had to put up a picture of him looking all fancy in his dress uniform, with Uncle Frank getting an award because that’s what they do.

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I hope that you have all had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, doing something special with your family…..or by yourself if that’s what you prefer.  My little crew and I headed over to my Uncle Marvin’s house for a little mini-family reunion.

Grandpa and Birdie lounging

My cousin JR, who now looks just like his dad, and his girls with my cousin Jason and Aunt Evie

Uncle Tom and Momo

Grandpa and Jason – Jason was always one of my brother Matt’s best friends….and cousin…it was great to see him again.

My Great Uncles Jay and Richard

My Grandma and her little brother, my Great Uncle Jay

Mom giving her great-niece Momo a little swing

My Uncle David, Uncle Lloyd and cousin-in-law Kumiko

As you may recall from previous posts, Uncle Marvin brought the freeze-dried rattle snake over at Christmas and was the one who introduced Mattie to pigeons.  He did not disappoint this time either, bringing out a bucket full of wood chips and two baby garter snakes.  My children carried those snakes around like they were kittens or something.  I was both proud of their fearlessness and a little disturbed all at the same time.

Reese sharing his snake with Birdie

Marvin also brought some little tiny chicks out, which the kids thought were darling, but they weren’t nearly as taken with them as they were those silly snakes.

Cousin Addie showing the Birdie the baby chicks – I taught Addie in kindergarten, little side note there

The real show began when Uncle Marvin decided to bring out his pet rattlesnake.  By the deafening sound that was coming from the paint bucket being used as a snake carrier, I don’t think the reptile was quite as thrilled about the “show” as all of us were.

I’m sorry, this isn’t very close up but I don’t have a great desire to be bit by a rattle snake

We used to have tons of fireworks at our family gatherings, like a whole stand full that usually resulted in a giant fireball b/c the boy cousins liked to light them all in a barrel….now we have venomous snakes

My Uncle Marvin and cousin Dan, the father/ son snake handlers

Now lets take a look at the fangs and venom

Reese being eaten – not really, Uncle Marvin thinks its funny to have a rubber snake handy to scare people with when displaying his rattlesnake

You know you’re in for a real treat when not only are there lethal animals hanging out, but one uncle passes his firearm over to another for “just in case.”

And after Rita the Rattler went back to its home, an old, rusted metal trunk was brought out.  I think there were great hopes of it containing treasure or at least  old letters, but mainly there were just old receipts for property taxes and canceled checks.  But we did find an old Christmas list with all of our family’s names written out, which was sort of fun.  Mine and my cousin John’s names weren’t on it so either we were left off intentionally or it was written right before we were born.  Since no other cousins from me and beyond were there, I am going with the later.

I like pictures of people’s hands

My mom and my (Great) Aunt Evie

Riding off to take back the snakes and chicks

We got home just in time to catch the second half of a much-anticipated race, which our driver won – so other than my husband being here to enjoy all this snake-filled fun and excitement with me, I can’t think of when I’ve had a better Memorial Day weekend.

To Grandmothers House We Went

I really don’t have too much excitement to share.  Though coming to Mumsey and Poppy’s house is something that we always look forward to and enjoy very much, it’s not usually action packed.

We like it that way.

There has been playing with Uncle Matt’s Legos.

Getting out all of Poppy’s Nascar’s and comparing them with the ones we also have.

We watched NASCAR qualifying for the Coke 600 on Sunday.  It just so happens that our guy qualified fastest and will be leading the pack on Sunday, which we are very excited about.  And just about 2 hours ago, Reese and I set up all 43 cars in the order of which they will start the race.  They are up on the tippy top of the mantle so as not to be disturbed until they are needed Sunday at 5.

Mattie has already watched The Princess Bride at least once, and Lila has finished all of Mumsey’s strawberries.

Yesterday, we went over to our original homeland of Tulsa for a visit with some of our extra special people.  We had lunch with our Auntie Jessica, who is currently pregnant with a new little cousin.  All little babies are special and treasured, but this little guy has been especially miraculous in his arrival into the world (even though he hasn’t even been born yet).  Though he was just a bump in his mommy’s dress, I couldn’t get over how magical it was to have him there with us.

After lunch, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  I always get a little turned around in the neighborhood, as every single house has the exact same floor plan.  I have finally figured out for sure which street is theirs, but the actual house can still get me a little confused.  They keep their yard very neat, there isn’t a car parked in the driveway and they have rose bushes.  Those are the details I can usually remember, so that’s what I look for.  Several of the houses on their street have many cars in the driveway that even spill into the street.  And not as many care about immaculate yard maintenance as Grandpa does, so that is a big help for narrowing down the field.  I pulled up to what I was about 85% sure was their house, but the driveway seemed more slanted than usual.  Also, there was nothing wrong with the outside appearance of the home, but something wasn’t quite right.  Since I wasn’t completely positive that this was their house………I had Mattie get out and check.  Isn’t that what anyone would do, send in your child to see if a stranger or your grandma comes out?  Turns out it wasn’t our grandma and grandpa, but these kind people did answer to those names.  We were also just 2 houses away.  Personally, I was pretty proud of myself.

We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Cheese

Hanging out with Grandpa

I consider myself very lucky to still have both of them and for my kids to have been able to grow up to actually know them, not just know of them.  Lila and Reese will probably never be as close as Mattie is to them, but then again, they kept her every day from the time she was just 6 weeks old until she was 2 1/2.  I think the other two have done pretty good though as far as bonding goes.  There doesn’t appear to be any shortage of lovin’ going on with anybody.

Insisting that Grandpa help her with her new shoes.

Playing Barbies with Grandma

Reesie and Grandma attempting to play Monopoly. He can’t read and she can’t see without her glasses. I think it was a tie

Lila insisted that Grandpa play dolls with her. And he did, even brushed their hair

It was also very fun having my cousin John and his sweet wife Kumiko come over with their little one.  John is my only  cousin.  Oh, I have gazillions of distant cousins as my grandma is one of 12 or so – but first cousins, there was just the one.  So cousin John has turn into “Uncle John” and I really don’t think he minds the promotion.  And as far as we are concerned, our kids are first cousins because it’s the closest thing they’ve got.

Puzzles with the girls

I don’t think they mind, either.

Cousins

And I think Grandma and Grandpa are pretty happy, too.

A couch full of happy

Now I just remembered that the girls’ dresses for church are still folded up in their suitcases.  I should probably go and iron them before I make us really late tomorrow.  Have a restful weekend and if you get a chance, hug your grandparents.

Messes and Boats and Driving Down I-40

The kids and I have made it to Mumsey and Poppy’s house.  We have been here for maybe 3 hours and already, their living room looks like this is our actual home.  Maybe even worse than our actual home.  They got out of the car, shook the cracker crumbs off of their bodies and came in on a mission.  Lila pulled out everything with wheels and any sort of handle for pushing, as well as every babydoll and even a few stuffed animals that looked like they might need some mothering.  Oh, and the dress up clothes.  She put nothing on, just scattered them out in a nice pile on the floor.  Reese quickly set up his cars in race track fashion surrounding the mat at the front door.  Not exactly an out-of-the-way location for a speedway, thankfully, he relocated to around the dining room table.  And the track went from being just speedway, to a super speedway.  The Legos have also been spread around the table…..just so they know he’s back.

Mumsey currently has a new foster baby that is still young enough to love being cuddled and stared at.  She is a little darling and is sturdy enough for you to not feel like you need to have your hand behind her head, yet is still very immobile….just the age that Mattie prefers.  So while Lila and Reese have set to work like little toy tornadoes, Mattie has kidnapped Mom’s baby.

All 3 of them just might attack me when I tell them that A) the baby is going to daycare tomorrow and 2) we are heading to Tulsa so all of these wonderful treasures they worked so hard to get our and distribute all over the house aren’t going to be played with…and might even get put away while we are gone.

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So we made the journey today.  It used to only take me about 2 hours to get from Memphis to Mom’s house.  That’s not true at all, but it feels that way.  When I first started driving from that direction to this direction, I was starting from Chattanooga so by the time I actually got to Memphis, it felt like the trip was reaching and end.  It was the downhill portion of the trek and the first place where you started to feel closer to home than to school.  Now days, I wonder how in the world I managed to make it all the way to Chattanooga in one day.  Actually, I don’t have to wonder at all….I know exactly how it was done…or better yet how it wasn’t done.  I have 3 special guests in my vehicle these days that weren’t with me back then.  I love these 3 special guests, but they do not make for a speedy arrival anywhere.  They are also very loud, require lots of luggage and tend to make more of a mess then is their fair share.  In their defense though, they never complain about my car singing, never ever, and that is how they get to keep their tickets for adventures with mom.  They also rarely ask to go to the bathroom and have learned that I probably won’t stop to feed them even though I say I will at the next exit.

Our journey took a little longer than expected.  Again, that’s not really true….I fully expected it to take even longer than it actually took.  I had no doubts in my mind that there would be road work and people trying to get a jump-start on their holiday travel.  I knew it would take forever….but I brought snacks this time, Lila was wearing a diaper, the iPad was charged and there were some really wonderful 80’s and 90’s classics on the radio.

There were also boats………

I saw the first boat just barely into Arkansas and I think I actually smiled on the outside, not just in my thoughts.  You don’t see too many boats behind trucks being pulled to the lake in my neck of the woods.  But growing up and during my teenage years, I did and it meant summer was here.  I dated a boy back when I was in college who bought an old ski boat.  It wasn’t very pretty, but it got the job done and I myself had no sorts of expectations of what a college boy’s boat was supposed to look like so it was just fine by my standards.  On Sundays, we would stop at the gas station by his house and fill it up.  And while it filled, which usually took about half an hour (just kidding….sort of), we would get donuts.  Because doesn’t everyone eat donuts on their way to the lake for an afternoon of wake boarding?  It made sense at the time….

Later in college, while working at camp in Florida, my dear friend Angela and I would spend our weekly days off at our pseudo aunt and uncle’s who happened to live on a lake.  Uncle Ken would take us out to wake board, but insisted that we learn how to pull each other.  I’m going to let you in on a little secret here, neither Ang nor I was especially fabulous at wake-boarding or skiing anyway.  And neither of us has ever boasted about our driving abilities.  By driving I am referring to anything that can be driven…nails, cars, golf balls, boats….golf carts, especially not golf carts…..but Uncle Ken wanted to give us a skill, something that we would use in life.  So whether we wanted to or not, we were going to learn how to drive a boat…..and to drive a boat with someone hanging on for dear life behind said boat.  We also had to learn how to go back and get the rope close enough to our skier.  Now, I can only speak for my self here, but I have to say that I have not made very good use of that skill, Uncle Ken.  I do not think that I have driven a boat since the last time I was in your lake and that was very many moons ago.  But thank you for taking the time to teach me.  I don’t know that I could remember how now, even if my life depended on it, but it’s always possible.  At least I know the knowledge is there, even if I have no idea where I put it.

But boats mean summer.  Boats mean long days out on the water, with your hair pulled into a messy ponytail and cheap sunglasses because if you wear expensive ones, they will definitely either get sat on or fall into the lake.  Boats mean spending the whole day out in the sun and using muscles you didn’t know you had, then coming back and eating your weight in some sort of carbohydrate wonderful because all that riding around on the beautiful lake, even if you didn’t get in the actual water, made you ravenous.  And then there’s the sleep….the kind of sleep that only comes after spending the day outside playing…on a boat.

And everyone looks cooler sitting on a boat.

Brandon and I used to talk about getting a boat….when we were finally grow-ups.  As soon as he got a real job, we were going to buy a boat.  We used to joke about not being able to afford a vacation home or even a slip at the marina and how we would have to keep our vessel in our driveway.  And at the time, our driveway was about the size of a typical parking spot at Target.  But a boat we would have.  We would drive our cars until they drove no more if we had to, so we could afford the boat.  Well, we are staying true to that promise, but there is no boat.

We didn’t take in to consideration our 3 children….that might have something to do with the lack of boat….maybe……

But just the same, I smiled watching the boats go by on their trailers today, knowing they were headed to the lake and to summer.  Doing their part to make up someone else’s memories and visions of what summer and childhood are supposed to be.

Put that on your to-do list for the next 3 months, go for a boat ride.

So Far, So Good……

Late Sunday evening I did something that I don’t think I’ve done in months, since last year probably.  I completely turned off the 6:20 alarm on my phone.  Moved that little switch from on to off, not to be touched again for another 3 months.  Oh, the alarm for church is still set to go, but that pesky 6:20 (and the 6:40 back up alarm) is dead to me.  And life has been wonderful without it, let me tell you.  I  know that this time next week I am probably going to be begging Mattie’s teacher to take her back….but for the present we are savoring this whole summer-no-schedule-nowhere-we-gotta-be-lets-where-pajamas-all-day kind of life.

Yesterday we got up, had a leisurely breakfast, and then when for a long walk.  A walk that Crosby was not physically prepared for and we were afraid he was going to have to ride next to Lila in the stroller, but a great walk otherwise.  Mattie is our bike rider, Lila hangs out in her pajamas in the stroller, Crosby will not be joining us any longer and Reese, that boy prefers to run.  I have NO IDEA where this comes from.  I think I have mentioned before that I won’t run even if you chase me.  I am more of a hider.  Who needs to run if you can just hide?  Brandon has never really hustled much since I have known him.  He is a laid back, care-free character and running just doesn’t really fit with his lifestyle.  Also, he has a bum knee so running isn’t an A+ idea.  So coming from that pedigree, we have no idea where our little Forest Gump has come from.  But for the duration of our walk, that boy kept right up with Mattie on her bike, even stopping at the curbs and doing a few push-ups while he waited for me to catch up.  Mattie would ride beside him shouting out orders like, “leap, squat, and kick”.  I don’t know if they were playing some sort of ninja training game or what, but either way I got no complaints about dying or feeling like their legs were coming off or that it was too hot, etc. Today’s walk didn’t go quite as happily, maybe because I took them halfway around Memphis…on foot….but still.  We are enjoying getting some physical activity in before it turns too hot to breathe outside.

It has also been so nice not to be tied to a strict schedule.  After a fun walk, some lunch and a visit to the bank, we headed to Goodwill because it had been over 7 days since we were there last.  If nothing else, we found a new Captain American costume and Reese loves his super hero costumes.  And for $1.00 I will take it.  A few other stops and a neato bird house that sticks to the window so you can actually see into the house where the birds will hopefully lay eggs (fingers crossed on that) and we were home.  After playing outside for a while (I’m telling you, it’s like the end of the world is coming and we are going to have to go underground or something – July and August in Memphis are no joke), we went in for quiet time.  Who cares that it was 3:30 in the afternoon and the kids usually go to bed at 8ish.  I got all of the kids settled and then I too climbed in for a little siesta.

It was lovely!

I haven’t had an afternoon nap, well since last Saturday, but that’s different, that was a weekend Mother’s Day nap.  I’m talkin’ a during the week middle of the afternoon nap and it was definitely something I could get used to.  Fact is, I think I plan on working really hard to make it a habit as soon as possible.

Tomorrow we are heading out on the first of several little trips that the kids and I have planned.  Brandon will be accompanying us once in a while, but it’s going to be lots of mama and her babies exploring America.  And one more thing before I go.  I would like to introduce you all to breakfast popsicles.  My children love smoothies and popsicles.  They’ll freeze just about anything in their plastic popsicle molds, even water, and be excited about it.  They also love smoothies in the morning and it’s our chance to jam a bunch of good for them stuff in to their little bodies without them realizing it.  So we came up with breakfast popsicles – make a smoothie full of fresh berries, some spinach and yogurt, a little flax-seed and maybe some wheat germ and of course a banana – then pour the smoothie in their little plastic popsicle mold and freeze it over night.  In the morning, they have to fun of a popsicle and the goodness of spinach and flax-seed.

You’re welcome.

We Are Proud and We Shall Now Rest…..And Decorate

Well here we are, about to close the very last day of 3rd grade.  We made it.  She made it.  And come Monday morning, we will all lie in a our beds a few moments longer because the alarm has been silenced for 3 months.  We will lie in our beds and it seems like there should be a sort of reverence, a moment of silence to say a word of thanks and to ponder on what we have all experienced.  Third grade was no joke.  And Reese in Kindergarten is going to kick my emotional drahonkus (our family word for the booty).  So for now, we are going to savour in the summer.

No battle is complete without a metal.  It’s not exactly a purple heart, but it is signed by the president of this country and we will take it and be proud:

This one is only slightly more important to us then her perfect attendance award

The official signature!

I’m not even sure what this award is for, but I am extremely proud just the same.

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And while we are on the subject of Mattie, let me share a little something with you.  She keeps a calendar on her door so that she can write upcoming “events” and then cross off the days with permanent marker…..I have no idea where she gets this need to cross things off with a big, thick, forever marker…..no idea at all.  Anyway, some of her “events” are kind of funny.  Not so much the even itself, but rather the way she writes it.  For example, today Friday May 16th it says, “Last day of school  – gonna party for a long time!” I cringed a little reading it and cringed a whole lot just now as I typed it.  It’s just so embarrassing to think that my offspring wrote that, where people might read it and I can just imagine in her little mind that she thinks it sounds really cool.  I wanted so bad to confront her about this and ask just how exactly does a 9-year-old “party for a loooong time?” But I didn’t want to embarrass her.  I was already embarrassed enough for the both of us.  Oh the things we write and do and say when we are young, very young, and trying to sound cool.  I kinda think maybe I should hang on to this calendar, sort of like a diary for her when she gets older to look back and read on what was important in her little life.  What made the cut to be put on the calendar – things like 5th and 6th graders selling bread today…oh yeah!  That one is on there, too.

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Another thing I would like to share is my Mother’s Day gift.  I thought my gift was my lovely outside area…boy WEdnesday night Brandon brought home a little something that trumps everything I have ever done for him and probably for anyone else.  Except maybe my kids, I did share my body and then birth them, they will have a very hard time ever one upping me for that….but this was just incredible.  I suppose before I share with you, I should say that this was amazing to me, and you may not give a care at all about it.  But it was the most heartfelt thing I never even imagined.

I love our dog, Crosby.  He is wonderful and calm and quiet.  He acts like I am his favorite thing in the world and he has been with me for 11 years now.  Brandon and I got him at the end of January in 2003 and he has been with us through pretty much our entire married life.  He has weathered 3 pregnancies and 3 new family members that have all mistreated him.  He was with me, never leaving my side, when my brother passed away.  Always, when I have felt tense or nervous or upset, he has seemed to sense it and out of nowhere, here he will be.  But he is getting old.  He’s older and it scares me because he has almost died on me a few times and I thought my heart would break.  And I know that when the inevitable happens, my heart will be shattered.

I had noticed over the last few weeks Brandon taking several pictures of Crosby on his phone.  This was weird to me, but not dangerous weird or worrisome weird, so I let it go.  But Wednesday, when I heard the door open and Mattie squeal with delight, then was summoned downstairs by Brandon, who was holding something very large and wrapped in a white trashbag….things started clicking.  He explained to me that someone who does something somewhere had a picture of something and he asked about it and I have no idea who paints because I really wasnt paying attention at this point because he had pulled the canvas out from behind his back and I was staring at this:

The real thing giving it the once over

She did a pretty fantastic job

It  might not seem like a big deal to you, but it made me cry.  The big, ugly, I’m happy because it’s beautiful and wow someone did that with paint cry, mixed with I’m so sad because this dog means so much to me and the thought of only having this picture when he’s gone makes my heart hurt, mixed with feeling so loved because my best friend did something for me that I would NEVER do for myself and showed me that he is paying attention to at least half of what I ramble on about.  I just had to share because things like this don’t happen every day around here.  Now, I just have to figure out where to put it.

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And while we are on the subject of artwork and home decor.  I found something yesterday that I was drawn to and it may have come home with me from the store.  You all have probably figured out that I have a thing for items with a certain nautical flair to them.  For as long as I can remember, I have picked stripes with presented with a choice.  And if it came in navy blue, there was no question what my choice would be.  If it’s navy blue and striped, I feel giddy.  Anchors and whales, as long as they aren’t cartoony, just seem to speak to me.  So when I found a giant, weathered wooden life-preserver in navy and cream – my kids just automatically loaded it into our cart without even asking if I wanted it.  They know me oh so well.

But Brandon wasn’t as thrilled about it.

He likes my ring of happiness, but he is worried that I may have themed our house a bit too much.  There is a giant, wicker anchor hanging on the wall above Lila’s high chair in the kitchen, so I can kind of see where he’s getting this idea.  He is also a little concerned that the fact that I have an intense fear of whales, was never in the navy,don’t even eat seafood, have never even been to a lighthouse, and live in a land locked state – might make our maritime decor seem a little out-of-place.  My first thoughts to these concerns was that it was silly….my home, children, and all clothing doesn’t have a theme!

Then I looked down at what I happened to be wearing, navy and cream stripes with gold sandals….hmmm.

And this is what my two youngest were wearing:

Reese’s shirt actually says, “I run this ship” just in case you didn’t catch that.

I think he might be right.  But I’m gonna be really honest, I don’t know that I care.  I  kinda like the fact that instead of becoming the weird cat lady, I have become the weird seafaring lady.  I like to think it entertains people to see how many ways I can wear the same thing only slightly different, or that if they look closely, at almost all times, you will be able to find and anchor somewhere on my person.

I’m not sure if the magnificent life-preserver will stay….I worry that I may have crossed a line, gone a bit too far.  It definitely won’t be staying over the mantle, but I think I will probably love it forever whether it’s at my house or back at HomeGoods.  You will have to stay tuned to find out the fate of my little boating booty.

And on that note, I think it’s time to go.  I burned my arm taking lemon bars out of the oven and the pain meds I may have taken for the searing inferno that was my skin seem to be kicking in.  Good night and have a wonderful weekend!

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

The bad news is………

……..the Mother’s Day pie is officially gone.

The good news is……….

…..while perusing Costco yesterday for lunch, I came upon this:

Of the many bits of advice and wisdom that Steph has shared with me, I think one of the greatest was introducing me to Chicago-style popcorn.  And this bag is about an inch and a half taller than Lila.  Great news…..or maybe terrible news.

I have told myself that I may enjoy one regular-sized portion of it a day.  And to keep myself from eating the Lila-sized goodness, after I have had my portion, I have insisted that Reese hide the bag somewhere.  He seems to be enjoying his job as mom’s portion police.

I am a little nervous that when he brought my bag from its hiding place today, he came from outside…..but I have just decided to not think about that.

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Today is the last spirit day at Mattie’s school.  The theme is Mr. Chris…..Mr.Chris is her principal (also her uncle).  The kids were encouraged to dress like Mr.Chris or in his favorite teams, colors, fabric (plaid).  You would have thought it was Christmas morning when Mattie came bounding in, dressed from head to toe in San Francisco 49ers gear.  But the best part of the day is happening as I type this.  Chris has been growing a beard for the better part of the year and it has finally reached Duck Dynasty proportions.  For the past few weeks, each class has been raising money to be the class that gets to actually help de-beard him.  Who in the world would think that one of our school’s most popular fundraisers would involve a razor?

This was in March, sadly, it’s the most recent photo I have of Uncle Chris

I hope it’s everything she was expecting and more.

The First of The Last…..For This Year

Today marks the first day of the last week of 3rd grade….forever…..For Mattie Belle.  And it’s a pretty big deal.  Just how big of a deal, we have not yet assessed, but she told me at least 4 times this morning before leaving that it was indeed a pretty big deal.  I am waiting to receive instructions regarding my responsibilities for this last, big deal of a week.  I’m hoping it’s something I can just write a check for because I’m worn out from last week.

I hope all of you had a beautiful Mother’s Day yesterday, either being celebrated or celebrating that special lady who helped you into this world.  I will admit, I was spoiled by my family and I got an entire weekend, not just a day.  We went out to dinner Friday, something we do not typically do.  Technically, I think it was a good-bye dinner for our dear Chelsea who is moving back to Oregon, but it felt like a prize for me because I didn’t have to come up with a meal.  My husband also took the kids out prior to this and they did a little bit of Mother’s Day shopping.  They were gone quite a while, and though I’m still not really sure what they did for that whole 3 hours – they came back with three pieces of chocolate pie from my favorite bakery – a piece for every day of the weekend – so I’m not questioning their whereabouts.

Sabbath, I was treated to a lovely nap…though to be completely fair and honest, my dear husband makes sure that I get a nap for as long as I want, completely uninterrupted most ever Saturday afternoon…so this was not something special just for Mother’s Day.  I did enjoy it immensely though either way.  That evening, the husband also took the older two kids to a Mystery Dinner Theater that Mattie’s school’s drama team was putting on.  This meant I got to spend the evening at home almost alone (I had Lila).  I enjoyed a piece of my pie and watched Jeff Gordon win his 89th race while lounging quietly on my couch.  It was fantastic.

And Sunday morning, the big day.  My little family prepared biscuits and gravy for brunch and then set to work on a project for the back deck.  This setting to work allowed me to have a little bit of time to myself to do some Good Will Hunting with Shannie for a few (3) hours.  And we topped everything off with a private dinner, though I don’t think it was private on purpose – but we enjoyed the idea of what if we had rented out the whole place to ourselves.  Turns out that though there are half a million things that Mattie turns her nose up to, she seems to be smitten with massaman curry.

I feel very loved and appreciated, and especially rested…though I can’t wait for my nap again this coming Sabbath afternoon.

Secret’s out…I am Peter Parker’s mother. And Spiderman finds gardening relaxing

There’s a Mattie back behind those lilies

Getting kisses

Wrangling them

My precious husband with my wonderful “Lowes” colored umbrella

The best Mother’s Day bouquet ever!

Taking her watering job very seriously!

I think the turquoise pots are my favorite part

So happy and cheery

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And because I was busy enjoying the little people who make me a mommy yesterday and didn’t update this then, I want to send a little Happy Mother’s Day greeting now.

To the lady who I call Mom:

To the lady who my mom calls mom, I call Grand and my kids call Great:

To my bonus mom:

Making crafts with Nene

To the amazing lady who mother’s my child more hours of the day than I do, her school mom Ms. Williams:

Mattie and her school mom

To my friend of forever, who pretend to be a mommy with me and our dolls so many years ago and gives me daily pep talks that I am not ruining my children:

To the mom who raised my baby daddy, and adopted me as her daughter:

Brandon and my mom-in-law

And lastly, to the lady who takes care of me like a mom, who makes sure I’m taking care of myself and has been known to crawl up into bed next to me should I get sick, but yet who is younger than me:

She probably isn’t going to love this photo, but this is Shannie helping me find the best natural light

Thank you all ladies for everything you do and are for me and for countless others.  I am so grateful to have you as a role-model, as a helper, and for the individual parts you each play in my life that makes it so much better.  I love you all and wish you the best of Mother’s Days.

I’m Ready For A New Week

So here we are in the last few hours of the week and I am proud to say that I have accomplished most everything on my list.  Even a few things that weren’t on the list and somehow I remembered them anyway.   But with all that productivity, I haven’t had nearly as much time for “Fun Adventures With Kaylee”.  And since I have been in a focused, business state of mind, I have not a single funny story to share.  I guess I do have one…..

I had to go to Michael’s the other day, to get some supplies for my mother’s day gifts, and when I came out of the store there was a very attractive man standing somewhat near my car.  He started grinning the closer I got to him and though he was incredibly handsome, it was really starting to weird me out.  Then with his perfect teeth and perfect hair, he asked if I was driving the Acadia….I told him maybe.  I’m pretty sure that he knew that meant yes, but with the kind of luck that I have almost all of the time, it seemed best not to commit until I knew exactly why he was asking.  Turns out, I had dropped my car keys while attempting to load my gaggle of children into the tiny Michael’s shopping cart and this kind man had noticed them.  The little old lady who was also in the parking lot, getting into her convertible and wearing a shocking amount of orange lipstick, let me know that the handsome man had stood out there with my keys for a good 10 minutes, waiting for me to come out.  She seemed rather smitten with Mr. Car Keys.

I think when he saw our little motley crew heading towards him, it probably made perfect sense as to why I may have dropped my keys.  That was definitely one of those moments that when we say our prayers at night and thank God for the ways he took care of us, the things we know of and the things that we don’t,  well that little incident was a big thank you.  And it didn’t hurt that our “angel” was easy on the eyes….as opposed to some of the other folks that often roam the parking lots of Memphis.

Crisis averted….at least that day

I did manage to run into our piano teacher’s parked car, while not even in my car, when I went to pick up Mattie from her lessons.  I’m still not quite sure how that one happened, but I had just stepped into the foyer of her house when I heard this horrible crunching noise.  My first thought was that Reese had somehow rolled down the window and dropped his or Mattie’s booster seat out.  I know, after typing that, it seems like a very specific, crazy thought to be my first thought….yet it was.  Unfortunately, it was not a car seat, but rather a car bumper.  I’m still not completely sure this happened, but I guess my car wasn’t completely in park and did a little joy riding.  How it went slightly uphill, that still has me perplexed, but if anyone is going to have possessed cars….it’s going to be me.  I kind of wish I had just lost my car keys the day before.

But on a happier, lighter note….we were reminded last week of how easily Mattie gets embarrassed.  She not only gets embarrassed, but she gets really angry when we her parents are the ones doing the actions that are embarrassing her.  A few weeks ago, she angrily stopped out of the room and wouldn’t talk to me for about an hour because we were singing “Let it go” too enthusiastically.  Last weekend, you would have thought that she was about 16 and I had shown up wearing the same outfit as her, she was so upset at me, carrying on and all but screaming at me for being so embarrassing because there may have been some excessive dancing at a birthday party we attended.  In my defense, it wasn’t actually dancing, I was trying to boogie 6 ping-pong balls out of a kleenex box tied around my waist….but whatever, no one else’s parents do such horrible things and she was mad.

So this one’s for you Mattie, this is how you used to insist on going to the grocery store when you were 2.  Was it an outfit I would have preferred? Nope.  Did it maybe draw a little extra attention that I wasn’t necessarily hoping for, you bet?

Barbie pink cowboy boots are not exactly subtle

You can’t tell, but she was wearing her pajamas under this Cinderella dress

Riding the horse, in her boots and princess clothing

Exhausted….and wearing sunglasses upside down. Classy Mattie

Hopefully Mattie will learn to lighten up and enjoy her parents quirks because I don’t see us straightening up any time soon. This also just happens to be 7 years ago today. Happy End of the Sabbath and Boogity Boogity Boogity, mom…you know what that means.:)

To Do Lists With Sharpies

I don’t have much to talk about today.  I have been focused.  Doing things that I have been putting off.  I do not like to put a lot of heavy items on my “to-do” lists.  Frankly, I don’t like a whole lot of heavy in my life period.  I keep myself very busy, but not with anything that is life or death or has real deadlines that might affect too many other people.  That was one of the things about having a job outside of my house, one that paid me, that tended to stress me out.  But there have been several little things that have needed my attention and I finally made them a priority.  I got out my handy-dandy notepad and starting last week, I made a realistic “This Week – Do or Die Trying” list.  And with the exception of two items, I crossed everything off.  I did not enjoy it one bit and I am going to admit, there were many times that I actually said out loud, “No one’s paying me to do this, no body is going to die if I don’t finally make Mattie’s birthday book (her birthday was in January, remember.)” But I plugged on.  I think getting rid of the burden of laundry, really freed me up.  Probably not, but I felt like I was getting away with something.

But I’ve been busy.  Mostly with taking care of my Mother’s Day presents for the 50 mother’s I have.  Not really, but when it comes to making crafty gifts for them, sometimes it seems that way.  This was a project I have been mulling around for 2 years now and at Christmas, I decided to finally act on it……so I bought the materials.  They have been sitting in a  plastic bag from Michael’s, under my office desk since mid-December.  But as of right now, I am about 85% finished and I figure if I lock the kids outside for a good 3 hours tomorrow morning or let Reese play video games non-stop while Lila eats all the granola bars in the house, I just might get it done.  Lila loves granola bars and as long as you keep unwrapping them, she’ll keep shovin’ ’em in.

Today’s special activity was to take Lila’s pictures.  I have planned to do this every 3 months this year (like I did with the other 2 kids…though it was so much easier when there was only one or 2 of them).  The only problem is that my camera doesn’t have a functioning flash and I have to rely on natural light.  The best natural light in my front yard comes at around 4:45 in the afternoon.  Which meant that I had to try to keep Lila relatively clean and in a pleasant enough mood until then.  It also meant today was my only day to do this because tomorrow we have Mattie’s Adventurer meeting and then Thursday there are piano lessons…so it had to be today.

Things started off a little rough and then Daddy came home and I completely lost her.  The pictures weren’t some of my greatest, but I love that I captured a little something I will always remember as “Daddy’s home”.

Playing with the props, just starting the photo session

“What’s that sound I hear?” Sporting headband number 2

And she’s off!

Daddy!!!!!!

Brother gets there first and she gets a little distracted by the dog walking by

Getting’ the Daddy love

There is a really sweet Taylor Swift song called “Never Grow Up” and there is a line in it that says,

“Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home”

This is my way of making sure she remembers.  This wasn’t on my list, but it probably should have been.

 

So Harry And William Came For A Visit……

By a visit, I mean they were in my neck of the woods….but not necessarily my particular woods.  Though they were excitingly close.  Thursday afternoon I was spending “nap time” getting caught up on my ebaying when I heard helicopter-esque sounds. Living in a city that has a significantly high crime rate, I will admit, my first thought was that someone who had done something very bad was hiding in my back yard.  I will also admit that I may have sort of slithered out of the couch and onto the floor where I then army crawled to the door to make sure it was locked…..and then resumed my ebaying.  After all my items were listed, I then started googling our local news channels to see if there were any serial killers hiding in my neighborhood.

It wasn’t until later that night that I saw on the news that princes Harry and William were in town for the weekend for a dear friend’s wedding.  And it was until later the next day that I learned that the wedding venue just so happened to be ridiculously close by…..that explains the helicopters scouting out the area the day before.

I’m not really huge into tracking down famous people.  But I’m not gonna lie, my heart leaped just a bit when I was reading the local news and it stated that the royal family was staying in a private, East Memphis residence.  I too am staying in a private, East Memphis residence! And as I walked through Target Friday afternoon, I probably looked my fellow Target patrons over a little more thoroughly then necessary.  I don’t know what the independently wealthy, royal and British look like….but I didn’t want to miss them should they have decided to hop across the street from the Hunt and Polo Club and do some big-box shopping…..You never know.

I also may have taken the more scenic route to church Saturday morning…..the route that goes by the wedding venue.  Again, I had to expectations of seeing celebrities just standing out in the street waving to gawking Memphians.  But I have never seen real paparazzi before………..they have very lovely cameras by the way.

I have no idea when the wedding actually took place, we weren’t exactly on the “need to know” list for these particular details.  But we liked to imagine that Harry and Wills stayed in town to catch the final Grizzlies/ Thunder game and then made a quick trek to Alabama this morning to catch the running of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega.  When in the south……..

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On a completely different note, Friday morning the kids and I loaded up to go to a play date/vacation bible school planning meeting at “Aunt” Sara’s house.  A few days prior to our visit, Reese had packed up his backpack with his necessary items.  He let me know there was nothing bad in there and nothing breakable, just some things he wanted to make sure not to forget. Fine, knock yourself out Reese.

It wasn’t until our drive home from the play date that I learned exactly what had been inside that backpack.  Actually, it wasn’t until we arrived home and he got out of the car.  The boy who left my house was wearing a navy blue polo shirt and plaid shorts.  The boy who left Sara’s house was also wearing the same polo and shorts combo.  But when I pulled into my garage and got out of the car to get the mail, a small alligator costumed boy sauntered out of my trunk.

Where had that even come from?!

And why?

The why is what really got me.  He doesn’t dress up regularly and when he does, it’s typically in superhero type outfits…..not so much reptiles. And why did he stuff it in his backpack and take it to his friend’s house….where he didn’t wear it?

So strange.

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Lastly, the kids brought out the slip n’ slide for the first time this season.  Mainly, they strutted up and down it.  There wasn’t a whole lot of slipping or sliding going on.  But they smelled like summer when they came to the door for towels and popsicles.  Like wet bathing suits that have been freshly laundered and sun screen.

We also dined outside for dinner and enjoyed the aromas of many of our fellow neighbors preparing their supper outside.  Summer 2014………. We our anxiously awaiting your arrival………for now.