Those Blasted Plates!

Just so you know, even after I followed Stephanie’s very detailed, very precise instructions for fool-proof (even Kaylee proof) plate-hook-hot-gluing-wall-hanging.  I still failed.  The hooks were slathered, wrapped, even drowned in glue.  They were then allowed to soak and seal overnight without even the slightest disturbance.  And then I gently hung them back up on the wall…..and within an hour, Arkansas had jumped ship.  What’s really crazy though is that the state plates are offing themselves in chronological order of which they were lived in.

Weird

Thankfully, my friend Neely reads this blog and reminded me that they make such a thing as a plate hook that requires neither hot glue nor ordering new replacement plates for the ones I am ruining at a rather quick pace.  I bought 5 sets at Michael’s yesterday and was able to save Tennessee before the unthinkable happens.   And my new Oklahoma should be here this weekend.

And while I am having a little follow-up blog post here, let me just say that my new hair-dryer, even though it’s just the mid-range one, is incredible!  Should my career as a stay-at-home mom fall through, I could probably get a gig with my new lawn guy as lead leaf blower.  My hair is almost blown into the other room each time I use it.  It’s a really good thing this stuff is attached.  And I also have to say, my hair went from pretty darn wet to completely dry in less than 7 minutes.  That’s remarkable.

And this isn’t an update to anything, but simply a FYI – if you are in need of a 9ft tall teddy bear and have $179 that you can’t think of anything else to spend it on (well, if that’s the case – the kids’ school is raising money to build a new library and that would be a MUCH more worthy cause ), then Costco has just what you need:

And just so you know, Bird teetered just a little bit and fell off the bears lap and I had a very difficult time retrieving her out of the box.  Thankfully, her fall was pillowed by another bear, but still – she was quite a ways down there.  We were a bit of a spectacle there for just a second.

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Last night was a high night for me as Adventurers Leader.  For those of you who aren’t indoctrinated in all things Adventist,  Adventurers is a little club for kids from first to fourth grade.  They work on awards that involve learning new skills, helping people, and learning about the world around them.  Up until this year, a fabulous couple from church had led our little group and done a wonderful job.  But this year, their kiddo has graduated up to the next level club, Pathfinders, and someone else needed to take over.  The rest of us parents Rock/Paper/Scissored for it and I lost, so here I am as the leader of a little band that I really don’t know much about.  But so far, we’re having a pretty great time.

Last night, the crew came over for our Fall Community Service meeting.  I spent the day Costco-ing (hence the visit with the jumbo bear) getting chili fixin’s all prepared for 14 little people and their parents, and shopping for goodies for the Kindness Kits we would be assembling.  This fall’s community service project was something that I had spent a lot of time thinking about, especially after Pumpkin Man back earlier in the month seemed so offended when I gave a stranger money in the Target parking lot.  Here in Memphis, especially, there are a lot of panhandlers. A lot! And in the past, when the kids have asked about the people standing there with the sad faces and cardboard signs, I’ve tried to use it as a teaching moment.  Many times I’ve been the person to roll down the window and hand out a dollar.  We’ve given a box of crackers before and handed out bake sale cupcakes while at a traffic light.  But they also saw the frustrated look on Pumpkin Man’s face and that led to some confusing explanations about how not all people who say they are homeless really are.  And some people who are homeless and asking for money aren’t really planning to use it to make their lives better.  So how do I show my children who are have a very right and wrong, black and white mindset, that we still have an obligation to help when we are asked.  That we are held accountable for doing our best and to help others do the same.

So Kindness Kits.  A gallon Ziploc bag filled with a few snacks, a bottle of water, a tooth-brush and tooth paste, a pack of gum and a pair of socks.  In our little worship circle time, we talked about how tough life would be if we had no home.  Even getting a drink, you don’t have a house so where do you go?  You don’t have any money so you can’t buy one.  You don’t look really clean and might even smell, so you can’t even go into a store or the library to use the drinking fountain.  People might even think you are a bad person and they might not treat you nearly as nicely.  And we also talked about how Jesus tells us that whatever we have done for anyone here on earth, we have also done it to him.  There will be a time when we are held accountable for all of our actions and we will be asked by Jesus if we fed him when he was hungry and gave him clothes when he was cold and a drink when he was thirsty.  So in our bags, food, drink and cozy socks.  Small steps, but hopefully God will take our little gesture and make something bigger out of it.  And hopefully the little people who got a kick out of decorating plastic bags and stuffing them with ordinary things, will be inspired to live their lives as little lights to the community around them.

We had a beautiful night, with the first hint of chill of the season.  Brandon made sure there was a fire to set the “mood” and for the first hour or so, the kids had the time of their lives just playing on our hammock.  Who knew one little hammock could keep a dozen kids so entertained?! And I hate that I didn’t take a single picture of any of it!

Well, except for this one of the very last few moments of our time with the fire.

It’s the littlest ladies of our group, not really old enough to even be here, but we let them come because…..well, because one of them lives with me and the other isn’t allowed to stay at home alone.

I’m hoping maybe the Kindness Kits will catch on.  After the kids pass out the 3 they made last night, hopefully the families will make a few more and maybe even tell their friends and family about the little project.  Kindness Kits could be in every car, just like atlases used to be or cd’s in the console.

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And one last little parting thought.  Tomorrow the kids are getting to have a dress down day, wearing red for Drug Awareness week.  I took to their closest tonight and crazy thing, my children do not own anything red.  That must not be one of my favorite colors because it is nowhere to be seen……except in the form of San Francisco 49ers shirts.  And Arkansas Razorbacks, but that’s more of a maroon color and it’s not the same.  So tomorrow, while everyone else is sporting their drug awareness red, my kids will look like they’re tailgating.  Go niners! And Happy Friday.

 

Pricey Hot Air

Thankfully, no other animals seem to have discovered that our yard makes a lovely hospice.  Well, I am saying that with great confidence, though I haven’t done a thorough walk-thru of our sprawling property.  I say sprawling in jest, by the way.  But as of last night, I have found zero animal carcasses.  I am very glad that Mr. Raccoon didn’t start a new trend with the other neighborhood wildlife.

Yesterday I decided it was time to pull out the hot glue gun.  I like to do my gluing in spurts because I always end up burning myself, pretty severely.  Rather than have a constant glue burn on my hand, from weekly gluing sessions – I find it more practical to just save up my craftiness for a few months, then when I know I have some healing downtime, I’ll work on several projects at once.  Yesterday seemed as good a time as any to do just that.  I have a stack of decorative plates that dear friend Steph had procured for me.  They are those lovely souvenir state plates that usually only elderly folks, but these were special because they were all the states that Brandon and I have ever lived in.  So though they are a bit cheesy, I loved their folksy charm (and the fact that my bestie had picked them out for me) and I thought they would look really great hung in a little cluster on the wall in my dining room.  A little plate homage to where we’ve called home.

I pulled out the glue gun and my little metal hooks that Steph had recommended, and set to work.  And then I started the painful process of putting nails in our lovely naked walls.  That one hurt me just a little bit, especially when a made a few mistakes and had to make more holes than necessary.  But I have to say, the finished product was pretty darn cute.  My dining room is starting to look a little bit like a Cracker Barrel dining area, but I’m pretty fond of it.  A great little conversation piece was what I thought I had just created.  “Oh, my great-grandma has plates like those, Kaylee! Did those belong to your grandma?” Then I would respond with, “Actually, no those were someone else’s great-grandma’s, but they are all the states that Brandon and I have lived in bought for me by my dear friend in North Carolina – they represent Brandon and I’s love story in ceramic dining wear.”

I might want to reevaluate Brandon and I’s love story.

Only an hour after the plates were hung, I heard a huge crash.  Thankfully, it was just one of the “filler” plates and could be easily replaced or possibly even glued back together.  But about 45 minutes after the initial crash, plate “Oklahoma” threw itself off the wall and broke into irreparable little shards all over the floor.  Because I am not completely stupid, I decided that there might be a problem and maybe I should take all of the highly breakable plates off the wall and reevaluate this little project.

And call Steph….she would know what to do.  By the way, I am so thankful that I have these go-to people in my life.  Dead animal in the yard, call the husband.  Craft emergency, call the Steph.  Who needs 911 when you’ve got friends like these?

So the plates have all been re-glued and a new “Oklahoma” one is on it’s way from Pennsylvania thanks to eBay.  But I am scared to hang them back up.  I really have lost a lot of faith in my gluing abilities.  It doesn’t help that between plate 1 and plate 2 offing themselves, I was attempting to dry my hair and my hair dryer made a loud popping sound, spit out a blue flame and then went lifeless.  It’s like the inanimate objects in my house were trying to tell me something yesterday, but I don’t speak very good plate or small appliance.  I ended up having to go pick up the kids with half wet hair, which could have looked way worse if it hadn’t been dreary and rainy outside.  At least the outside world seemed to be on my side!  This also meant a trip to Target.

Let me say really fast that hair dryer shopping is a little overwhelming.  I do not understand the price discrepancy going on there.  I totally understand that little 17.99 travel size hair dryers and why they are less – they are smaller and probably not something someone with a lot of hair would use every day.  I would imagine they wouldn’t last as long for everyday use, and are therefore, cheaper.  Using that not stupid brain again, here.  But why are some others $29.99-35.99 and then the jump to $119.99?  Just what will a $119.99 hair dryer do for me?  Hot air is hot air, am I wrong here? Just what else can a hair dryer be doing for me that I wasn’t aware of?  My curiosity was definitely perked….but alas, I am not a rich woman.  And I feel that if I am going to by a pricey hairdryer, I should actually be fixing my hair better.  I don’t need that kind of pressure or guilt in my life, so a $34.99 hair dryer came home with me.

And lastly, I am including a photo of the current state of my dishwasher.

Don’t you also have whales in the cup/bowel section of the top rack?  Or is that just me?

The Story Well Has Not Dried Up

I was afraid that I was all out of stories to tell.  That after a fun, but rather uneventful weekend, I had started a rather mundane week.  Monday didn’t really start off with too much excitement.  Lila and I headed out this morning for a little GoodWill Hunting trip, there could have been a story there, but it was actually the most unexciting venture into my favorite store that I have probably ever had.

We came home and Lila and I split a bagel….nothing to write about there.

I did two loads of laundry and paid a Crate and Barrel bill, the day seemed to be slipping me by with absolutely nothing to remember it by.

Lila and I headed over to get the big kids from school.  Reese had made goo in Bible class, Mattie gave her long-awaited book report and it kind of exciting there for a minute when a troop of young boys from the school across the street came walking in.  Last time a group of boys from the school across the street came over, they sang to us.  I thought that might have been my story for sure – but there was no singing.  Turns out they are just using our gym.  Who knew schools borrow each others gyms?

We went to Kroger after that to get a few grocery items and were thrilled to see that pumpkins have gone down from $3.99 a lb to just $3.99.  We loaded up 5 in the cart.  I was beginning to think that was my big story, to share the good news that seasonal produce is HEAVILY reduced so buy it up now!

Nothing has ever made her as happy at the grocery store as riding around on these pumpkins did. Even better than the car carts!

The car was loaded, the kids did some fighting, and someone probably cried and before I knew it – we were pulling into the driveway.  And right behind us, pulled in our new yard guys.  I was thrilled to see them because our yard has begun to look like a gigantic green muppet sprawled across our little section of the neighborhood.  Grass doesn’t usually sway in the breeze, but ours does. It was seeded a few weeks back and things really seemed to take off growth-wise!

I wish you could feel it, roll around in it, make grass angels….

So I still had no story to share, but at least our yard was going to have a spa day.  I walked out to the front yard to chat with Lawn Man Jaime and make sure the side gate was unlocked.

And then I had my story!

Two steps off the sidewalk and I saw it.  Just lying there, in the luxurious seedling grass – killing it by the way – was the corpse of a full-grown raccoon. What in the what!  Just lying there in all it’s ring-tailed glory and I had no idea what to do except stand there and stare at it.  About that time, I think Jaime got worried that maybe I was having a stroke standing there in my yard with my back to him.  He called out to me to make sure that I was okay and if I needed him.  That’s a huge yes Jaime, your presence was definitely needed at that moment.  So we stood there together in the yard and stared.  Neither one of us having a clue what to make of this.  And then the rest of the crew yelled up at us to make sure that we were still okay.

I’m sure this was highly entertaining to any other neighbors who may have been privy to all of this.

“Mapache” Jaime yelled back to the crew. Mapache means raccoon in spanish by the way. They made very disgusted noises like there was an actual person’s body in the yard and I was completely mortified.  Jaime offered to move the carcass to the street, but he and I weren’t too sure if that was legally something we were supposed to do.  So I told him I would go in and call Brandon.  I have no idea what Brandon was going to do to help the situation, considering his expert knowledge on wildlife and all, but it was all I had at the moment.

I sat in my house, feeding the kids sugary cereal to keep them from going outside and trying to catch a peek at the dead critter, and trying for the life of me to figure out how I was going to get up the nerve to pick up a probably starting to rot raccoon without throwing up. And then there was the doorbell.

Saved by the bell.

It was Jaime and he was letting me know that my neighbor, the new one who just moved in last week, had removed the creature from the yard.  I still have a lot of questions about that one, had they seen it there throughout the day?  Was it their’s?  Had they accidentally hit it earlier?  What was their relationship with this raccoon and why had they felt the need to remove it from our yard?  I am so very thankful that they did, but I have lots of questions.

I didn’t take any photos of the raccoon, but I think you all can use your imaginations to visualize this whole ordeal just fine.  Thank you raccoon for sacrificing your life to give me a crazy tale to tell.

Mama Got Sick

Kid Number 2 brought home an illness from school a while back.  It started on a Tuesday, with a really angry sounding cough and rather sluggish behaviour.  By Wednesday, the boy was leaning up against things every chance he got, like the weight of being 6 was just far too heavy for his little frame.  And that angry cough now sounded just like a seal.  This is about the time that he reminded me that his tablemate, who shall remain nameless to protect his identity, hadn’t been to school all week because he had chicken coup.  Turns out he meant croup.  Wednesday night I woke up to what I thought was surely an alien being hatched out of my sons body….that or a seal giving birth.  It was terrible!  And loud, so, so incredibly loud.  Rather than anything being birthed, it was actually Reese fully in the moment of his first vomiting experience.  Oh don’t get me wrong, Reese has vomited before – there are many a good story I could share there – but this was his first time as a bigger kid that kinda knows what’s going on to throw up.  And he was fighting it every step of the way.

We don’t need to go into all the details, so we will just conclude that Reese was successful in evicting his dinner from his stomach and then went back to bed absolutely exhausted and thoroughly traumatized by what had just happened.  He also shed a few tears when I told him that he wouldn’t be going to school the next day.

The boy ended up sleeping until 10 the next morning and by 10:30, we were at the pediatrician’s office.  And by 10:33, he was diagnosed with croup …..and at 10:40 we were on our way out the door with a sticker for him and a flu shot for Lila.  I think she felt like she got the short end of the whole deal.  Our day was spent on the couch, watching old movies on the couch in a nest of blankets.  We sipped Gatorade and slurped jello as we watched such classics as The Rocketeer and The SandLot.  For future reference, The SandLot has a bit of language that I wasn’t aware of so though it is absolutely wonderful and he loved it – I probably shouldn’t recommend it.

I will 100% honest here – though I hated that my boy felt gross – I had a wonderful time with him.  He was cuddly and would reach out and take my hand.  No words exchanged, just a reach out and grab.  He didn’t fuss and whine, there was no crying or that sort of thing, just a very passive boy who wanted nothing more than to be as close to me as possible.  It makes sense why my husband turns into a little less of a manly man when he comes down with something.  Because I know how doting I become to my little boy when all is not right in his world, I can only imagine how my mother-in-law once was to her precious little man.  I get it now Brandon and I will try to be a better nurse when it’s your turn.

Reese and I spent the following day together as well because A) he still sounded like a seal and 2) he was on steroids and I just was a little uneasy about sending him off to school like that – plus the doctor and medicine packaging recommended not. By Friday afternoon though he seemed to be on the mend and everyone else seemed to have made it through unscathed.  We would continue on with our plans to tally ho to Nashville and the pumpkin patch.

Fast forward to Tuesday of this past week:

Lila has turned into a crotchety old woman whom wants neither to be touched or to be left alone.  Who walks around making the sound that I imagine screeching demons in hell will make.  She is angry and feverish and there is a steady stream of snot puddling around her nose.  Mattie is also complaining of her throat hurting and falls asleep everywhere and incredibly early hours in the day.  She has also taken the same lunch to school for the past 2 days because she won’t eat any of it.

Wednesday, I was hanging on by a thread, hoping that my happy thoughts of denial might keep the inevitable at bay.

Thursday morning, after getting the kids off to school, I wilted back into my bed and was out cold before I even heard the garage door close.  Lila and I slept until around 9:30 and at 10:00, I called Brandon at work to let him know that he needed to call in “wife sick”.  My children had paid back all my loving kindness, my self-less round-the-clock nursing with a horrible concoction of all the variations of the illness rolled into one super bug.  I spent the day in a fog of Dayquil and the chills curled up in our hideous, but luxurious blanket Plush (side note: I have blogged about Plush before you may recall – pandas on one side, golden retrievers on the other – bought out of the back of an old van on the side of the road….but not by me and gifted to us with love.)

So thank you little boy who sits across from Reese in the Busy Bee kindergarten class – your gift of disease has spent longer with us than Nana was able to.

On a side note to start the week:

Last Monday in Sewing School, Mattie made herself and her sister matching skirts.  I think they are adorable and I am so proud!  I’m trying to remain calm and not let her see how excited I truly am at this newly acquired skill, but friends, I am about to jump out of my skin with happiness at all the cute little dresses I can have her make for Lila, and herself!  So many things that I imagine would be so easy…..if I knew how to sew…..and now this little girl living in my house does!  She’s only  made the skirts and a bag, but still!

 

Happy New week and please adhere to my public service announcement to avoid all children at all costs…if possible….the are all infected with something even if they show no symptoms.

Pumpkin Patching

We’ve just returned from a lovely weekend spent with Nene and Papa in Nashville.  We have a fantastic tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch with Nene and Papa that started back when Reese was just months old and toured the farm in a sling.  I personally love every minute of it and if it is left up to me, we will continue this tradition for forever.  We visited a new farm this year, and I think it was a big hit.  My children are creatures of habit and I half expected them to turn their noses up just because….but they seemed to welcome the new farm with open arms.  Plus, this one was free to get in and you just had to pay for the activities…..and they had an on-site blacksmith, which captivated Papa.  *Side note – when Papa becomes elderly, Brandi, you and I need to find him a nurse who also dabbles in smithing or a facility that keeps one on staff.  Maybe an assisted living center in Kentucky near a horse farm……

Something else about our annual trips to the pumpkin patch, I never do get the weather report right.  It’s either too hot and I have packed long sleeves or it ends up being colder.  Our second year going, I had to stop at Target on the way to Nene and Papa’s and pick up some jeans for Reese because as we were traveling.  When the outside temperature dropped about 15 degrees in 80 miles, I knew I hadn’t packed correctly.

I checked the weather twice on Thursday and then again a couple or ten times Friday as I was packing.  Saturday in Hendersonville, Tennessee was supposed to be sunny and a high of 71.  However, I had neglected to check the forecast for Smyrna, which is an additional hour east.  I do not know the exacts, but it was NOT sunny and high of 71.  And I had Not packed or dressed my children accordingly.  Or myself for that matter, thankfully, my husband had an extra jacket but by wearing it, I looked like a giant grey tick.  I had packed slightly coordinating, festive fall colored outfits that would be darling in photos.  Instead, I looked like a parasite  and there are no Baughman family pictures taken from the day because I was being vain.  Reese wore his sisters extra cardigan, which gave him a real hipster look, and then he sported it as a scarf which really made me smile.  Visiting the pumpkin patch with his skinny jeans and navy cardigan scarf….very classic Reese.

We did remember the can opener though this year, and that’s saying a lot.  We also enjoyed a nice little car picnic, which normally doesn’t happen because we have to hike in and out of the farm and stand in line to buy tickets.  Then we would have to try to snag a table, which was kinda hard because there was always a birthday party or 5 going on at the other pumpkin patch.  A car picnic, with a can opener and then walking in without any lines was a trade I was defintely willing to make.

There were goats

There were pumpkins still on the vine……

“I’ll take the……..corn!”

Though somehow my child managed to find an ear of corn amongst the vined pumpkins

There were the real-life, 3 little pigs

Lila kept saying, “Sooiieee” to this little piglets

And sheep

And Papa

Getting a little worn out after his day and taking a break on his favorite chair

And a huge industrial size pipe slide, which is really all my child need in life anyway

Sliding

There were tires to jump on and large stacks of hay

There was also a bunch of leaping…because we don’t have giant tractor tires at our house to leap from

Tire riding

Hay Standing

I also forgot to turn my phone off and took about 50 pictures of the interior of my pocket and this woman/ man’s wine colored purse.  I’m glad that part of my day in documented.

Inside of my jeans back pocket

1 of 27 pictures I have of this purse

There was yet another lawn mower powered train, that my girls loved and Reese acted like it pained him to ride.  But we all know that if he hadn’t wanted to be there, no force other than God himself could have got him in that wagon.

BEST TRAIN RIDE EVER

They posed for me with rusty farm metal, in flower cut-outs, on machinery and even participated in the required “Senior Pictures”

Thank goodness we are all up to date on our tetnas shots

Our little flower

Apparently, this is Reese’s smile of the season and you will be seeing a lot of it

My own little farm

That heighth difference between Things 1 and 2 is getting significantly smaller

Corn is almost a good as playing in the sand

He tried his hardest to make a corn castle….but it was not a success

And though I don’t have a photo with my body in it, here are 3 that have my heart:

On a farm full of pumpkins of all sizes, they wanted to pose with the watermelon

A fabulous time had by all…thank you Papa and Nene for this tradition

I hadn’t notice Brandon’s mustache coming back until looking through these pictures. It’s not quite so apparent in real life.

I Have 4 Minutes Before The Computer Dies

And I am too lazy to get up and plug it in.  But I wanted something happy for you to start your week with…..especially if Sunday football wasn’t a positive experience for you…..or the race in Talladega…..or your dog pooped in your car….and then threw up on your brand new carpet.

So here it is, my Happy Monday to you:

Reese’s Senior Picture

Don’t look too closely, his eyes are rather vacant and Mattie says he looks taxidermied.  I have to agree with her, but I still love it.

Tacky, Tacky, Tacky

I’m usually really good with Spirit Days at school.  I don’t want to toot my own horn, but we do have quite the arsenal of costumes upstairs in my closet and I have been known to purchase things on my Goodwill hunting trips “just in case”.  It’s not uncommon for someone to come to me when there is a dress up situation that needs to be addressed.  I even bought a shirt for Reese about 3 years ago, because I knew that he would probably need it for a dress-up day when he finally entered school.  The boy was a size 3T and the shirt could fit a 3rd grader, but I was gonna be prepared.  So like I said, Spirit Days are usually my time to shine as a parent.  Sure the kid sounds like he’s coming down with something and he forgot his backpack in the car, the girl felt her backpack in the car last night so the homework wasn’t touched, but they will be dressed up…..and on this one Wednesday a month, that’s really all that matters.

But today was Tacky Day.  I really struggle with Tacky Day, because to me, I don’t see the other kids depicting “tacky” in their outfits.  There is more of a “miss-matched, silly” theme going on – weird layering, odd color combinations, things inside-out.  When someone is wearing something that still fits them but is wrong side-out, my first thought isn’t usually “Oh now that’s tacky!” Awkward maybe, embarrassing sure, but not tacky.  Tacky to me is something that isn’t age appropriate or maybe has something written on it that is a little crass.  For example, sending Mattie to school with a t-shirt that read: “Mommy’s favorite accident” – that’s tacky….and highly inappropriate, but still tacky.  Tacky to me is usually something frowned upon, not just something weird.  So I have a hard time going through my kids closets and finding something that is inappropriate.  I try to avoid buying them things that might normally get them kicked out of story time or another such activity.

Several of the things I would go to pull out and try to put together, even though they were mismatched, didn’t necessarily look horrible.  I really wish the Student Association would name this day something different because even though I know what they are meaning, it’s not the actual title and it really throws me off.  I do not feel like I sent my best work out there today and frankly I am a little ashamed.  I also didn’t take a picture this morning because I was in a hurry to load up the didgeridoo.  Taking large, native Australian instruments to school requires that I get out of my car upon arrival, and this requires that I put on actual pants and shoes.  And that last activity takes up the 4 minute time cushion I like to give myself in the morning, so no pictures.  But I will make sure and take one before I allow them back in the car this afternoon.

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Brandon brought home caramel apple cider sparkling apple juice fun last night.  It’s from Kroger and if you have a Kroger near you, I would suggest you go and get yourself some.  If you don’t have a Kroger, well……I don’t know what to tell you.  Maybe come visit me and I’ll take you to mine.  Whatever the case, it made a delightful pairing with our chili and cornbread and I am going to go out and fetch some more this afternoon because I think it would probably be great with whatever else we eat, too.

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I wanted to include a few last Nana pictures, just because they are sweet.  Last Wednesday before she had to leave, us ladies walked around the corner to the pumpkin patch set up by a lovely little church in our neighborhood.  Lila absolutely  loved it and I think Nana rather enjoyed getting to watch her littlest grand girl mess up the piles of pumpkins that the volunteers had probably worked to hard to sort out.  Lila didn’t think they needed to be sorted by size and proceeded to spend at least 45 minutes making what appeared to be family groups instead.  The pumpkin patch doesn’t open until 11 in the morning and I am sure they weren’t exactly thrilled when they arrived to find nothing the way they had left it the night before.  All I have to say though is if it hadn’t been her, I’m sure it would have been someone else.  Kiddos see piles of pumpkins and suddenly become very fixated on moving them all around according to their own classification system.  So I will leave you with a few sweet pictures of my kid and pumpkins.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Sweet Baughman Girls

Happily sitting on a “daddy” while holding a “gucky” set of baby twins

Nana was kind enough to take a picture of me and my girl. I, obviously, was not expecting this to happen

Picking out the babies to go put them with the mommies.

This one was “gucky” she said.

When you really like something, it’s best to just sit down in the middle of it.

I think by the time she grows out of these, I will have enough pictures of these little shoes to make myself a book

This was the “sissy” section

These pumpkins are all a group of ‘bubbies”

A Bug’s Life

So….did you all go out and buy some apple cider vinegar today?  I like to think so and also, should you be so interested, you are more than welcome to come up and rub my face the next time you see me.

I love fall.  Fall has been probably my favorite season for as long as I can remember.  I don’t know if it’s my love of all things cinnamon and nutmeg or that I’m an “autumn” as far as my color palette goes, but it has always been my favorite.  And I’ve always enjoyed decorating for fall, whether that just be collecting leaves or making hand turkeys.  I like the candles and my house has always worked well with fall decor.  There was one year when I decorated for fall and some of those gems stayed permanently.  But this year, I have no idea what the problem is, but I am not feeling the whole fall decor thing.  I love it in stores and in other people’s homes.  Reese’s  classroom door is decorated just absolutely precious with a little wreath and banner welcoming the season.  You would think it would inspire me.

I don’t know if it’s the price increase of pumpkins. Crazy high this year!!! Or that I’m just being really lazy, but wowzers the attic seems soooo far away right now.  It feels like it would be easier to just lift off the top of my house than to pull that little door down.  I walk through my house every morning to get our day started and think to myself, “It sure would be nice to have the fall things out”, and that’s about as far as it goes.  Really, I think it has something to do with the fact that it still feels like summer outside.  It has been cloudy and dreary lately, a little rainy, which has actually been really nice because than at least it looks cool outside even if it is still in the 80s.  There is something that feels really wrong to be taking my children to the pumpkin patch and they are wearing sandals.  Sandals and pumpkins do not go together unless you live somewhere that has a beach bumping up against it.  And I do not.  I finally decided last night that it doesn’t matter that my child doesn’t hardly have any other shoes that match and fit, it is mid October and high time to put away the sandals even if just for the principle of it all.

Wednesday, I’m really looking forward to you and your high of 63.

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So back to my recap of field trips with Nana.

After our fun-filled adventure down by the river, the next day we headed to the Botanical Gardens where we attended a special Insect Extravaganza.  Our first stop was to watch a little play about the life of a caterpillar and though I thought it was precious, Reese wasn’t the least bit impressed.  I think he enjoyed himself on his field trip and he loved having Nana there with him, but I think the whole thing was almost overwhelming to the little guy.  He adores school, thinks his teacher hung the moon, but to have his Nana there, too and even ol’ mom!  It was just almost too much.  Reese on a field trip with some of his favorite ladies was very similar to Reese at Disney Land when the man in the Woody costume came over and tried to get him to dance.  It was all just too much and he started to cry.  So this first part of the day looked more like a boy being tortured.

Overwhelmed with all the happy things crammed into one day

I think one of my favorite parts of the first part of our day was when another group of kids was waiting their turn to drink nectar and our whole group watched in horror as one of their members laid full-out on the grass throwing up.  And the best part was her teacher standing next to her saying such encouraging things as, “Just get it all out so we can move on.” That’s some real nursing there.  Apparently that teacher doesn’t have any Ebola fears, or even issues with having a child with the stomach flu frolic through the garden all day.  My group of children was young, only Reese over 6 years old ,but without my saying a word, they all walked a good 15 feet away from the place of vomit when it was our turn to pass by. They understood that this was a toxic situation and we needed to stay clear.  And like a little line of ants, as I moved off the sidewalk making a big arc to avoid any contamination or visual of the “scene”, they followed directly behind me.  Maybe that was all a set up by the garden, for us to unconsciously act out an ant line.  I apologize, but I don’t have a picture of the vomiter or what she created.

But here are some fun snippets from our day together:

Aunt Shanni driving the bus. She’s a modern day Ms. Frizzle

Preparing to suck nectar with her proboscis (bug tongue)

This is Reese getting a bug’s eye view right before we learned the different parts of a bug, “Head, Thorax ,Abdomen ..6 Legs” sung to the tune of “Head shoulders knees and toes”

Lila and I did not wear appropriate outdoorwoman shoes

This portion of the pond looking, the kid were instructed to kneel on the edge of the mat and then shimmy on their tummies to the edge. Lady lost her marbles when kids actually stepped on the red mat or when they got up on their elbows. She was very intent on them planking.

The Nana and the Lila

Our garden docent was very intnese here at the koi pond and insisted that each child squat during this portion of the pond looking at. When Ben started to lean so that he was on his knees a bit more, she came unglued. It was highly entertaining

Forget the scary, mutant koi fish – Nana and Lila checked out the duck family

And after we got home, as was the theme for most our week, Nana and Mattie took to the flower beds.

This picture was of Lila longing to be out with Nana. but Nana desperately drying to get some planting done before the rain started

Mattie and Nana doing what they do, working in the flower bed. This is there time and I do not bother them.

Happy Tuesday !

Touch My Face, Yo Ho Yo Ho

I am on the brink of something incredible.  For the past few months I have been conducting a little bit of research.  I have been a bathroom scientist and my guinea pig has been myself.  Let me back track a little bit.  I’ve never had awesome skin.  I mean it does the job, covering my organs and what not.  But what I mean is that it’s never been super awesome complexion-wise.  In high school, it wasn’t bad enough to need prescription acne treatments.  But at the same time, it was never good enough that I felt very comfortable being without concealer.  I have oily skin that was always shiny, and even though it may have appeared clear from afar, if you were to actually touch it you would find that it was way worse than it seemed.  And when I got pregnant with Mattie, it was heinous.  I love that little lady to pieces but the things she did to my face before she had even grown arms and legs……..she better have a nice nursing home picked out for me because she owes me!

Anyway, I have always been interested in different facial cleansers that promised great things.  And this past summer, while enjoying the beautiful Atlantic ocean, I noticed a little something after about day 3 of frolicking in the ocean.  My skin was clearer and smoother than it had been since …….probably the last time I visited the ocean.  The ocean is magical…..it’s home to gigantic sea creatures that are bigger than buses and houses and Mermaids…..well, that one’s never been proven but it’s fun to imagine.  But the ocean also has salt water, which has a wonderful drying effect on oily skin.  I didn’t bother to read an information about this, mainly because I didn’t want to know if there were negative effects.  But I did conduct a month-long experiment to see if using plain, old salt water every day after I washed my face (as a toner) helped clear things up.  And I have to say,  I noticed an improvement.  I was pretty excited to say the least.  However, being 35 drying out my skin probably isn’t a fabulous idea.  I don’t know a whole lot about chemistry and ph and skin…but I do know that drying out something that is getting older usually doesn’t make it look prettier.  I am not looking to help age myself any faster than necessary.

Right as my month was coming to an end, I happened upon an article in a magazine that said that a very famous, very beautiful, very wealthy actress uses on her face.  Something shockingly simple and that I already had in my pantry.  I love trying out things that are already in my pantry!  And so I did.

And it took my breath away the very first time I used it.  Not in an “Oh-This-Stings-like-Killer-Bees” sort of way, but more of an “I-Think-I-May-Have-Just-Melted-My-Face-Off” sort of way.  And not because it stung, it was more the smell and the way it just kind of makes your lungs and heart stop for the first 5 seconds upon rubbing it on your face.  But friends, readers, family – let me tell you it works!!!!!!!!!

And what is this product quite possibly already in your possession? Apple Cider Vinegar!!!!!! Who would have thought? And it’s not drying out my face the way the salt water did.  I really can’t stop singing the praises of my little discovery and when I actually researched it to see if it was harmful to me or not, I found all sorts of health benefits to my new magical potion.  I even had my friend, my friend that I care very deeply for but don’t have a real face-touching relationship with, do just that.  I had her rub all over my face to see for herself just how smooth it was.  I’m pretty certain she too has started a relationship with apple cider vinegar now since that fateful face rub.  And I want you to know about it, too.  Go out and get your own bottle and conduct your own bathroom science experiment.  It’s been since July since I have worn any sort of concealer or liquid make-up on my face and previously, that would have been like not wearing pants.  So I want to help you be free of your facial “pants”.

Go Get Apple Cider Vinegar and rub it on your face every morning and evening.

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Now, on to other things.  I realize that I neglected to share some of the fun that was had when Nana was here to visit.  I think I may have even teased with telling you that there would be two, count them two field trips taking place while she was here and then I never mentioned them again.  So let me try to catch you up.

Our first field trip was with Mattie’s class.  I really have no idea why they were here or who they were affiliated with because I couldn’t hear a word our guide was speaking, but I know that I went downtown to the Beale Street Landing and saw two exact replicas of Columbus’ ships, the Nina and the Pinta.  I did catch that there wasn’t a Santa Marie because her measurements were too large to navigate through most rivers.  So, from what I gathered standing in the back of our group trying to read the lips of our 13-year-old docent taking a year off from college to find herself aboard a pirate ship (that’s not true, they weren’t pirate ships…but I’m pretty sure she is 13.) was that the Smithsonian had the ships constructed and they sail around our country via our nations rivers educating patriots at every port, and were even in the movie 1492.

She was so thrilled to have this grandma with her. Made her whole day, week, probably even month. Nana has been gone not even a week and I have heard it said several times already, “Remember Mama when Nana came with us……..” Made her day!

Nana and Mattie boarding

Mattie and a tiny cannon

Hello Chris!

But even more than learning about why ships were black back in the 1490’s (I just thought it was so you could name your ship something like The Black Pearl….and hate to admit it, but the whole time I was there I was humming the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean.  Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me.)  I loved getting to see how happy Mattie was getting to show off her Nana to her school and to show her Nana what a great school she goes to that lets her go and visit replicas of famous explorers.

Pretty sure the Nina never sailed the Mississippi in real life, so this was a first

Mattie, Luke and their teacher Ms. Williams

Frankly, Lila wasn’t a fan of the ships at all.

Posing with Uncle Chris, how lucky is this girl getting her uncle as her principal?

Sitting with Nana.

Loving on Uncle Chris

Lila was not a fan of walking on or around the ships….or really at all

And after the warm reception that Nana received from Mattie’s principal, whom we lovingly refer to as Uncle Chris around our house, I think that everyone is thoroughly convinced and confused about just how we are related.  We like to keep them guessing though, it keeps the story interesting.

So if you ever get the chance to have your Nana on a field trip, I definitely say take it.  And if you ever get the chance to see a replica of a famous explorers ship, take it!  And if you get the chance to have both simultaneously…well that kind of unicorn day probably only happens once!

 

Miserably Bloated Owner of Two Pumpkins

I am pregnant….with an Indian food baby.  I look easily six months along and it is neither a boy, nor a girl….but rather Aloo Ghobi (Indian deliciousness of cauliflower and potatoes).  I am slightly miserable, but taking some solace in the fact that I won’t have to actually raise and nurse this baby.  I might not ever lose this “baby weight” I’m currently carrying….but what are ya gonna do?  I would say that I will just take it easy food-wise tomorrow….but I brought home leftovers so that’s probably not true.  So should you see me in person and question whether or not I am expecting number 4…..I hope this public service announcement has saved us both a little unnecessary embarrassment.

Nana has been here since last Monday night and it has been wonderful.  I love when Nana is here.  Nana is a natural do-er and servant.  That sounds bad, really bad actually.  So I should probably explain a little.  Nana likes to do things.  She seems to feel best when she is active and gets great enjoyment and satisfaction out of tackling a project.  She always comes to our house with a specific undertaking in mind – which usually involves our flower beds.  Nana enjoys some of the things that are not my bliss, again with the flower beds – and it’s always so lovely to not only have her put tender loving care into crafting us some beautiful plots, but they will stick around as a reminder of her long after she’s returned to California.  And that servant reference – the dictionary gives this definition of a servant:

a person who performs duties for others, especially a person employed in a house on domestic duties or as a personal attendant.

synonyms:

attendant, retainer; More

• a person employed in the service of a government.
• a devoted and helpful follower or supporter.

  My Mother-in-law is not employed by me, but she is definitely a devoted and helpful supporter.  Every night since she has arrived, she’s showered each of the kiddos in that way that only a Nana can.  Getting them each all lathered up and then giving them scalp massages when she washes their hair.  I think they’ve all had massages every night as they fall asleep and at least one of them has crawled into bed for a cuddle at some point in the wee hours.  She has also woke up super early each morning to make them a Sunday breakfast (those things that I would never consider making on any morning other than Sunday – things like pancakes).  They are getting spoiled.  She has been a short order cook for three demanding little people at 7 in the morning.  They will be crushed when they wake up tomorrow morning and it’s only a bowl of apple cinnamon Cheerios on the menu.  But just as much as they have been spoiled, I have to admit, I’ve been ruined as well.  I have loved only doing about a third of my normal motherly duties.

  I’ve also really loved the company.

  I’ve probably talked her ear off because I am so unaccustomed to having someone around during the day.  She will probably be happy to get back to her regular life and get to think again without having me chattering away about something constantly.  But I am missing her.  Lila began crying as soon as we pulled up to the airport this afternoon and suffered loudly, her little broken heart wailing for the next 23 minutes as we rode in silence.  To ease our torment we decided to have a little stop at Target.  As much as I hate to say it, I participate in (and sadly believe in) the power of retail therapy.  We were going in for new training pants for Lila (she’s had a few blow outs that even Tide couldn’t conquer) and some new underoos for Mattie.  Sadly, the girl has some princess panties that she has had since she was first wearing “big girl” pants.  She has the tiniest toosh in the world! While grabbing Lila a new 3-pack of super absorbents, Mattie approached me about maybe getting her a new pack of something that didn’t have a Disney or Sesame Street character on it.  I heard her out, she made a valid point.  Even if they still fit her tiny hips, they no longer fit her emotionally.  And after 7 years, it’s probably time for some new panties in a girl’s life.  So the littlest girls got new drawers, we stocked up on natural flavored go-gurt (you would be amazed how hard it is to find flavors other than cotton candy and berry bubble gum bash) and picked up a few things for our favorite college Juniors in Nebraska.

  I also got a caramel apple cider at the in-house Starbucks and made this HUGE discovery:

  

  So clever! A cup holder….and why didn’t I think of that?

  Turns out Starbucks and Target have joined forces to develop an ingenious idea.  Shopping cart drink holders!  How many times have you needed to put your drink down, thought the only logical place was the seat and it ended up flopping over and spilling onto your purchases. Drink holders!  It’s a wonderful idea!

  As we were walking out to our car, the gigantic, inflatable pumpkin caught my children’s attention.  The giant parachute of orange is what caught their eye, but it was the primitive, hand-crafted metal barrel train being pulled by a lawn mower that lured them in.  Nothing, not even new underwear, makes a frowney face day because your Nana’s left town happy again like a pumpkin patch metal barrel train ride.  I approached the “engineer” and asked when the next ride would be.  He asked if I’d bought a pumpkin.

  “Nope, But I’d love to buy a train ride.”

  “Train rides are free with the purchase of a pumpkin.”

  Great, come on kids – let’s go find a pumpkin!

  

  4 Ft tall thanks to the fluffy hair

  

  And with the bow, 3ft tall the bigger the bow…..

  

  Not counting the bow, this one is actually over 4 ft tall….but barely

  

  Two out of three happy looking isn’t bad

  

  She pulled these two and their pumpkins in this hefty wagon around the patch….definitely earning her ride in the barrel train

  

  Two pumpkins, 15 dollars and some fantastic photos of my children later – they were happily tucked in the barrels and having the time of their lives putting around the gigantic inflatable pumpkin in an artificial pumpkin patch in the Target parking lot.

  

  Can we say Happy, Happy Happy? Again, two out of the three…..

  

  All in the parking lot of Target

  

  Reese doesn’t like to show too my enthusiasm. He was actually beaming on the inside contrary to the scowl on his face.

  Happy once again.

  As Old Man Pumpkin was helping us back to the car with our purchases, a woman stopped her van right by my car and rolled down her window.  Looking back, I’m not quite sure what her story was, I was a little distracted.  The man standing there talking to me, the 3 kids of mine that have created a dull roar around me ever since the first of 2012 and the woman in the car who now appeared to be crying.  She said something about being locked out of her house, losing her job, a husband in the military and then there was more crying and how she only needed $13 more dollars to get a locksmith there tonight.  Like I said, I really didn’t get the whole picture, but I have been locked out of my house before and desperate.  I’ve also been taught that it’s not my place to judge if they are telling the truth or not.  That’s not the part that really matters.

  Apparently Pumpkin Man didn’t agree.  He leaned over and told me that panhandlers make over $64 billion a year.  I think he made that up.  He then walked away from me, shaking his head in obvious disapproval.

  To be honest Mr Pumpkin Man, I think you did just about the same thing.  You dangled shiny, primary colored barrels on wheels in front of my children – the price for a ride, 2 overpriced gourds that I neither needed nor really wanted.  Nana leaving makes us do desperate things.

  We miss you, come back soon!