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Here they come...home for the holidays!!!

7 days...

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J's Calendar

IF YOU SEE ME LOST….POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION !

These are the things I have to do in the next week.

Today I am working in D’s class. It will be wild because we started school late due to the snow!

Friday night is David’s office party. I took some Ralph Lauren Towels and a monogrammed Bath mat last year – wrapped them up really cute and it was the prize no one wanted. I hope this year I will have appealed to the younger crowd with my choices – a $20 Hooters Card complete with a shirt that the waitress would wear and a really cool bottle of Vodka.

Saturday am – Rockettes with Aunt Pat – I am super excited. We are going to go to brunch at Ross Bridge first.

Saturday pm – Neighborhood Christmas Party.

Sunday – Little Elves workshop at church – The kids make 8 crafts – I am in charge of one in which I have painted 120 pieces of wood then drilled 5 pilot holes in each one.

Monday – McWane Field Trip with D’s Class and Bunco that night.

Tuesday – Work in D’s class to finish up Christmas Crafts. I have already done five – and there are 22 kids in his class.

Wednesday – Help Tanya with little C’s class party – we are going to let them paint windows. When painting more than 15 windows late at night we came up with this bright idea – maybe the paint fumes were too much.
D’ has a recheck on his ears at 1:30.

Thursday – D’s First Grade Class Party - Of course I am in charge. I still have to get his book for the book swap, wrap it, get the goodie bags ready and all of the food.
Friday – Last Day of School – OH NO!

Please don’t forget to throw in the mix my college son will be home and he will be BORED and want to cook something everyday. He cooks well but he does not clean up his mess. You better hope that I have bought your Christmas present already – I do not have any shopping time left.

Reason for the Season

This past weekend we went to Nashville for a family Christmas get together. All day Friday I worked getting ready. I cooked several different things to take, J had made chex mix for me to take, I packed us and thank goodness J offered to wrap my presents. You see I am a terrible present wrapper. My theory is that if you are going to just rip it open then don't put a lot of time into wrapping it. Well J has a different theory...Her theory is wrap it like it could go to a cute art show. She is always appalled at my attitude at wrapping so she just "takes over" and wraps my presents. You might think that year after year I would get my feelings hurt but I really love it because she truly has a gift! If things were not busy enough trying to get things ready to go, big C had a basketball game and we were invited to 2 surprise birthday parties. During the basketball game I was beginning to get stressed because I didn't know if we could get everywhere we were supposed to get on time, also I left middle C at one of the parties and lots of beverages were being consumed so I knew I needed to get there as soon as possible. All of these things were going through my mind as I watched the game, there was about one minute left in the game and then I saw something...big C run to the sidelines because he was bleeding. I thought maybe it is a nosebleed (even though big C has never had a nose bleed before) I was hoping for that. Then the trainer came over and I then knew that it was not a nosebleed but he had cut his head open when he collided with another player. At this moment all plans for the night were on halt until we got his head stitched. As we rode to the doctor I had some time to think. It seems like every time that I get too busy or stressed out that God can put me in my place so quickly and let me know that I am ultimately not in control...He is. That is the reason for the whole Christmas season isn't it...it is just sad that we or someone we love has to get knocked in the head to realize that everything will be OK and we need to slow down and enjoy life everyday to the fullest. Merry Christmas!!! T

Mailboxes

I hope that it is beginning to look at lot like Christmas around your house. I went out today and decorated some random mailboxes. Some of them were friends and some family. It was great fun. Everybody’s turned out a little different. Some of you already had your mailbox decked out – you are fast. It really put me in the Christmas mood and I was determined to finish the rest of my decorating by tonight, well it is now 2:20 a.m. and I am not finished. I think I will hold off on the rest until tomorrow, I can’t wait to sit back and enjoy the rest of the season.

Merry Christmas - J

Black Friday...

Black Friday…

Year after year I get up and go out on Friday morning. In years past I have driven by six or seven places and thought the lines were too long and returned home without even going in one store. Last year because my boys had never had the experience, T and I took them out for Black Friday shopping. We started at Wal-mart – they were amazed that people were really lined up waiting for ribbons to be cut in order to get a certain item. We laughed and felt the need to buy a couple of things that we did not need. We then took them to Toys-r-us. They were even more shocked that people were lined up to the back of the store and it would take them hours to check out. My youngest son royally pissed off an older lady by saying he thought she would be paying for her items around 3:30 that afternoon. So …… this year we can’t wait to laugh and have some fun watching others. I got up at 5:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning – you know to get my stuff done before my PARADE. We have plans to leave at 4:30 a.m. and stop at Wal-Mart first. I am up with my boys and we decide around midnight to take a little nap and then go. Well then T calls and says she thinks she is going to bale out. I am thinking – wimp! At 4:30 when I get up T said text that she is not going. I tell my boys and they said if T is not going neither are they. So I have slept 3 hours and now no one wants to go. If for no other reason than to prove myself I head out. I am old, but I am tuff, I do not know what to think about the younger generation – all weaklings! I stop at Wal-Mart first and buy a vacuum – I get one every year on this day – need it or not! I buy a few toys too and then head to Home Depot. It is a different story here, 90% men and they all have their ad in hand. T calls and said she is awake now and she thinks she will meet me. Well – we lost a little control here but it was fun. We continued on to Costco and a few other stops. Please remember that when asked what we were going to get we both stated nothing – just going out for the experience. Nothing like getting caught up in the moment. Let the season begin. Merry Christmas - J

Black Friday Adventure...coming...

Coming soon...Black Friday Adventure...

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Hope everyone has a good day...J is happy today because she got to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!

Now if she can just figure out how to get there in person next year...

Good idea... but no

Well I bet you thought that J and I haven't been updating this blog because we were busy painting windows...NOT. If you know us personally you know that we can come up with some really great ideas but we can not always completely follow through with them. As much as we would like to drop everything and play...we have many other people in our lives we have to take care of and we most certainly DO NOT COME FIRST!!! So we have decided to do something fun for everyone...We have several windows left so if you want to come and paint a Christmas or not Christmas window then let us know. We will heat up some coffee or your drink of choice and kind of have our own "Sips and Strokes". How's that?
T

Wasted Away Again in Margaritaville

Margaritaville…

One Friday a while back I went with T and her friends to lunch and we shared Margaritas. The next thing I know I am having a garage sale at my house the next day. Somehow the drinks made us all think this was a good idea. We all get home about 3:30 on Friday and start digging up some things to sell. Well last night T and I are at dinner and my husband mentions that there is going to be a craft fair at his office next week. We just happen to be having Margaritas so we think it is a perfect time to paint these windows that we have been saving for a while. Today I do not seem as enthusiastic, but I am going to do it. I hope we make us a little mad money just in time for the holidays. If the painting gets too boring, I guess we will just have to make some Margaritas.

J

BUCKET LIST

So last night we had Bunco and we were discussing what we wanted to do before we die. J just wants to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. T does not know. Other friends at Bunco (Drunko) said some surprising things..... L wants to smoke pot.... whew that one really blew me away. Anyway I decided I could drive to New York and she and others could ride in the back. I did tell them they would have to roll the windows down. So what is on your Bucket List? Please comment below, so that we can really get to know you!

J and T

P.S. Car is filling up fast, make reservations now! (Shotgun is still open ! ? !)

Once upon a time...

There were two friends who believed it to be healthy to break down and have fun with their children. They sat around a fire by the light of the moon and told stories about themselves, some funny – some scary – some really dumb things that they had done. They did not think their children would go and do the same things; there are still plenty of dumb moves for kids to make. So they shared laughter and life lessons and had a really good time with their children. These are the times that will be remembered. Will we tell the stories again? Yes, over and over until they are memorized, etched in stone and the kids replace them with stories of their own - which by the way C is well on his way this week!
J

Here is how the story goes...Last Sunday afternoon we got home from church and little C hurried upstairs to change his clothes because he was in a hurry to "GO PLAY". He didn't know what he and his friends were going to play or where they were going to play...all that he knew was that they were going to ride their bikes and play. I said OK, as usual. I mean how harmless could it be...just a couple of 10 year old boys "just playing". Out the door, he was gone. We didn't discuss what time to be home. I didn't think this was necessary...it was 1:45 in the afternoon. Around 3 o'clock N asked if I knew where Little C was and I said no but I was sure he was just playing at some one's house. You see N is not around much and he doesn't know that they just play for extended periods of time and move from house to house. The afternoon got later and later and no one had heard from little C or any of his friends. I had tried to call several times to this one house, the S's, where they hang out a lot. I just kept getting the answering machine. N rode by there and he said that he didn't see anyone home. By this time it is dark and after 5 o'clock. No little C. I call the house where he said he was going first and I get the dad and he can't find little M either. He has been out looking and he was not too happy. I told him that I was going out to look too and we would be in touch. I was beginning to get a little worried. I headed downstairs to the car to look for him when the garage door flew open and little C appeared. I screamed "Where have you been? " He said " just playing at little B's house. What's the big deal?" He wasn't the least bit concerned that it had been dark outside for 45 minutes and he had been gone for 4 hours. We proceeded upstairs to call off all the search parties for the missing kids. I got little M's dad and he said little M was in his room while he gained enough composure to talk to him about where he had been. We began to discuss where he had been all afternoon. He said they played at several people's houses until they got to the S's house (little B's house) and then they stayed there. Remember I had called their house several times and got the answering machine. He said that they built a fire...with permission, and then they grilled some brats because Mr. S said they didn't have any hot dogs so he "threw them some brat's". He said the brats didn't taste very good. They weren't cooked very enough because they were frozen when Mr. S gave them to them. He said they had to warm them up with their hands in the fire before they could get a stick to poke in them to roast them. Basically he came up with a good enough story that by the end he had done his usual and had us all laughing hysterically. We still had to discuss the fact that when it starts to get dark he needs to come home then not later. Later, I called the S's house to feel out the truth in the story because I had doubt because I had called several times earlier and got no answer but I thought maybe they were just outside. This time I got little B's mom...she told me that they did have permission to have a fire but the part with Mr. S and the brats were false. She said that she was trying to take a nap on the sofa and that was why she didn't answer the phone but at some time during her nap she heard little B go to the refrigerator and look inside and say " Yesssss!!!!". That must have been when he found the brats!!! All in all everything and everyone turned out OK (except for a few bottoms). We all learned lessons. One lesson that us parents learned is that this crew of boys is going to be eventful to raise!!! You know in some groups of kids you have kids that are mixed up...some that are the youngest, some the oldest, some the middle. Well all of these boys are the little's C, M, B....and they have had sit back and wait there turn!!!
T

Life is what happens while you are making other plans…….

Last week was busy with Halloween costumes and parties, my dad’s surgery, etc. so this week I am looking forward to calming down a bit. Have you ever made plans that you never get to see happen. I have been trying for months to watch a movie with my friend D. It is a funny one and she and I share a sense of humor that not everyone appreciates. I feel as though I have seen the movie, she has made a lot of references and explained some of it to me. She even put up a Christmas tree in her house last year like the one from the movie, complete with shotgun shells. Anyway, every time we think we can watch the movie something happens. Earlier this week when we had plans to get together I met my son C at the doctor and then was a nurse for my great nephew D all afternoon after my mom had taken him to the doctor. All this and my dad is not a week out of surgery yet. C then lets me know he is bringing home a girl for dinner to cook for her. My house is a wreck. I pulled all of the clothes out of my closet to get something to wear to church on Sunday. It was cool then, hot again now – who knows what clothes I need but they are all over my bedroom floor. I will have to do some quick pick up to make my house presentable for a girl. Oh and he wants me to be sure and have both babies D and J here for this girl to meet. I am proud that he loves them, but whew…… I was making other plans. So today D and I are planning our day. I thought it was a little odd when I called her last night that she did not answer……well my friend D has lots of dogs (5) and apparently they decided to have a dog fight last night. One of them is at the vet getting stitched up today. She can’t get together because she will have to pick up her dog. As I am writing this she calls back….. the dog has to stay a couple of days. Sorry got to run. We have to take any opportunity we can get because …. Life is what happens while you are making other plans!


J

Tricked or Treated...

It is over. It was hard work but it was fun. I am not used to wearing high heels and my boots were just shy of 5 inches so...my feet and knees have been killing me. Several times throughout the night we performed our dance and each time we had to go low...well since then I have had ice on my knees several times and I have taken the limit of ibuprofen for 24 hours. But it was worth it. I hope everyone had fun.

T

Sir...have you been drinking?

This is J's great nephew D...he is not just a state trooper. He is the "Golden Trooper".
Has anyone seen the commercial where the officer asks "Sir...have you been drinking?" The car is filled up to the window with beer...well every time I see D in this costume it reminds me of that commercial!!! So, here is every one's reminder to "Be safe this Halloween and DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!!!

TINY DANCER…

Today is J’s Halloween Party at her school. My dad is having surgery today, so I get to dress up J and take her to school. I would not have it any other way. I have been costume headquarters this past week getting everyone’s costume ready. I grew up dancing and so I could not wait to dress J up as a BALLERINA. J is not your dainty little girl, she is more the ruff and tumble type. It is fun to watch her actions as she tries to remove the ponytail that I have just put in her hair. She really does not like her hair up. She does love to play in my make-up and say that she is PRETTY! I do not think her tights will survive the day at school, so we got an extra pair for Halloween night. I tried to get her to do a few ballet steps but instead she spun around and around until she fell down. Maybe when it is time for dance we will try tap or jazz instead of ballet. Enjoy our TINY DANCER!

J

“Winner – Not a Winner”

For those of you who have been following along since we started the blog, the trash or treasure question has been answered. I pulled off the Halloween decorations by spending less than $2.00 on the spider webs. My nephew D wanted to add a few more decorations so we dug up a few lights and he enjoyed making a pattern of white, orange, etc. He loves to ride on T’s golf cart and look at decorations. Our neighborhood has lots of people who go all out. One house has 15 – 20 blow-ups in their yard. Try to compete with that! Anyway D likes to rate the houses as we ride he will say “Winner” or “Not a Winner”. He wanted to be sure my house made it to “Winner”. That is why we added the extra lighting and silhouettes in the windows. We are riding on T’s golf cart he announces to her that she is “Not a Winner”. T has a huge crate with a gorilla inside (with a spot-light) and a pumpkin blow-up. We tell him he may need to find another ride if T is “Not a Winner”. He will not budge in his decision. He tells T that you have to at least have three things to be a winner and that she needs more blow-ups. D changes his mind the following day when he stepped inside T’s house and saw that it was full of decorations that made her a “WINNER”. Enjoy the photos and whatever game you are playing today….. I hope you are a “WINNER”! J

Zoo Field Trip

Yesterday I went to the zoo with D my great nephew. He is in 1st Grade. That should be enough said right there. D’s teacher assigned me 5 children, not so bad except that they were all boys. Boys like to run and run and run. I spent the majority of my day telling them not to run, which was a waste of my breath. They really had no interest in the animals. At one point we were the only people in the snake house and they were having a blast running and sliding on their knees. Too bad for me some young couple with their baby in a stroller had to come in and spoil our fun there. I acted like it was the first time they had done it, and of course made them stop. You know that baby could not see those snakes anyway. The zoo this time of year is decorated for the annual BOO at the ZOO fundraiser. There were lots of Halloween decorations which are used at night that were roped off. My boys took it upon themselves to ask me every time they saw a new set up if they could go in the roped off area. It did look appealing, Little Red Riding Hood at her Grandma’s house, The Three Little Pigs, etc. I found myself thinking all day ….. I WILL SURVIVE!!! I did survive, but I must have clenched my teeth a little too much with the stress of the day. At 5:00 this evening my temporary crown that I had put on Monday, fell off in my mouth. What time does your dentist close? I did not catch mine in the office and he does not work on Friday. Oh joy! I guess I WILL SURVIVE!

J

P.S. I did have to pay $14.00 to go on this Field Trip.

Be Frank...

Little C had a great birthday yesterday. Thanks to the energizer bunny named J that lives next door he had a Frankenstein cookie cake (not a Hulk one N) and his favorite requested meal...chicken and dumplings. When I was asking him what he wanted for his birthday to eat it took him 2 seconds to request chicken and dumplings from Mrs. J!!! A few months ago I thought I would try to imitate those famous chicken and dumplings. I thought how hard is it...I am a pretty good cook...well they were a flop!!! I had talked it up to the kids and they were so excited that they were going to get something for supper that they like. I followed the directions exactly I cut my dumplings in 1 inch squares just like it said, little did I know that J cuts hers in 4 inch squares. I also stirred it just a little too much. You are not supposed to stir at all. It turned out like chicken and dumpling soup with no dumplings. The kids were furious! So now they specifically request J cook it and told me to never try it again. What they don't know is that I am fine with that...:)

Little C is 10 today......

Today I don't have a child in single digits anymore. That makes me sad but at the same time happy. I love little kids and mine aren't little anymore. Yes they are still young but not "little" . When I was growing up I loved kids and babysat kids lots, all I wanted to do when I grew up was be a mom. I thank God everyday for letting that dream come true...even when some days I don't know if I am going to make it through the day with these kids.

OK...sappy story over... let's give the focus to little C...

He is our wild and crazy kid. We knew God was sending us something special when he sent him just 13 months after his brother. Often times I have told N that if we had just had our first 2 kids that our life would have been boring. I fully believe Little C came into this world to give us all... JOY! He is funny, smart, quick witted and loves to talk. He loves to repeat funny stories. One day he might work a side job as a stand up comedian. One of his favorite things to do is watch movies. Sometimes late at night when we think he is asleep he is upstairs sneaking watching movies on A and E channel. He gives himself away later because he has to tell us all of the details of the movies he watches. Little C's favorite foods right now are chips, Chee-zits, chocolate milk and chicken and dumplings. He hates to get his haircut. He loves to smoke candy cigarettes. I could go on and on....He is growing up so fast but at least he is making it a fun ride!

One of those days...

I know everybody has one of those days...
T

They change so fast…..

Tonight I transformed the face of C into “THE HULK”. He changed drastically tonight almost as much as he has changed in the last few years. He is no longer the little boy I still want him to be yelling “ BANG” while shooting his toy gun. C grew up on the street behind me. Our families enjoyed many fun days, weeks and years together. The old saying - IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD – comes to mind. C’s mom and I spent many hours being what we called “YARD DOGS”. We would sit outside our homes and watch our children play. We all had something different to contribute. One of my contributions was painting the faces at Halloween. C’s family moved a few years ago. Although we are not as close as we once were our families would run into each other every now and then. Tonight C called and wanted me to paint his face for the Senior Class Halloween Party. It seems unreal that he will be graduating this year. I was more than happy to paint his face. Never under estimate that what you are doing is important, it might be just what someone needs.

J

Winner... Not A Winner

Coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

RIP ...Barbie Jeep

Today I was trying to have a pity party. Some days you know you just feel like you can't win for losing and you get all sad and sometimes cry because you think that no one else ever feels like you do. Well, that was me today until I got a call from my friend C. She asked me if my trash man had come yet. I asked "Why"? She proceeded to tell me that as she was leaving this morning she noticed her trash had already been picked up and she had a strange feeling that they had picked up something extra today. She said that she remembered telling L, her youngest of 3 kids, to put up her jeep. L has been told this before and has not followed directions. The other day I was over there and I noticed that it looked like it was in the get-away position. In case she needed to get out fast. If you know L, you know this to be true. Later C chased down the garbage man to be sure it was gone. It was gone. Today L grew up a little in this big world. L learned a lesson. And she learned it the hard way...or did she.

DON’T DRINK & FLY –

Bunco was at my house on Tuesday. There was food and friends but I did not feel like it was a ton of fun. I like to have fun! Silly, crazy, laugh till you cry fun. My husband tells me that I need to grow up. Maybe that is what has happened to our Bunco Group, we have grown up. Maybe we need to be required to bring a dirty joke to tell, I don’t know. Maybe it was not as much fun because it was at my house. I tried to be creative. I went with the “WITCH” theme. There was a hat for everyone. T and I had a blast painting BROOMS for the prizes. I thought it was something everyone could use. Anyway it is over; I will move on and do my part to make the next one fun. I will research jokes and be ready. My youngest son wrote in his 6th grade journal that I was having Drunko at my house – I guess if we would all drink enough it would indeed make for a more exciting night.

Best Witches,
J

The ticket story...

The concert started at 7:30. We were on the way and it was 8:20. We were discussing if there was going to be any tickets outside still for sale or if we might be lucky and just be able to walk in. I have these certain friends who somehow seem to just walk in late and no one notices. I could tell J was a little nervous about the discussion about just walking in...say the VIP gate...you see she wants to be a rebel but at heart she is a rule follower. I told her that we would just see how the cards fall. We get to the parking lot and the man at the VIP gate is about to close it. We pull up and ask if we can park in there. He lets us because he says that the other lot is full. He asks if we have tickets and we say no. He lets us in anyways and says good luck. We park about 8 spaces from the VIP entrance. I look to J and say lets do it and she says nothing but has an I'm scared look. We decide not to go in as VIP's and start on a trek to the ticket gate. We encounter a few people on the way. They all just keep pointing us farther. We have to walk around a fence and then we finally got there. While we were walking I could here Jewel finishing up singing and I was getting excited. We got to the ticket window and I asked if there were any tickets still for sale and the man said yes. He said did we want best available and I said maybe. I asked how much? He said $61 for best available in section 202 or I have $13.95 tickets up top. I turn to Jackie and say let's just pay $61. She looks at me like I was crazy. She didn't know I had a plan. She wasn't on board yet. I try to persuade her...she's not budging. Then I asked the ticket guy exactly where the tickets were. I asked him could he show me the seating chart. J was catching on...after he had finally told me that the tickets were in section 202 row K seats 10 and 11. I thought for a moment and talked with J and we decided to buy the $13.95 tickets. We were in...for $13.95 and on our way to section 202 Row K and seats 10 and 11. J caught on with the plan and she has a great memory. It turned out when we got there that the whole row was open. We got lucky. They were good seats. The concert was great. Towards the end of the show J decided that we had been lucky so far that night and we went down to the front, "Groupies section". It was pretty dang neat being 3 feet from Brad Paisley as he sang his last 2 or 3 songs. After the concert we were just still standing there in awe and people were cleaning up the stage and they gave us each a guitar pick. For a moment I felt 16 again.

T

Brad Paisley ticket $13.95

2 Jumbo beers $8.00 each

Being 3 feet away

Getting a guitar pick

Having a fun night with a great friend..... PRICELESS!!!

Brad Paisley

A couple weeks ago I called T to tell her that Brad was coming to the Verizon Wireless Music Center. This is one place I enjoy going to concerts because it is outside. Well as things turned out I was going to go to Atlanta to see my son who moved there the later part of July. Long story short, I did not get to go to Atlanta. My father who has not been in the best health the last year or so had some test run and then my husband decided to trump my dad and get sick too. My husband has been home since Tuesday with severe pain in this stomach. They did an ultra-sound to check his appendix and his gallbladder. The way I knew he was really sick is he has not eaten anything since Monday night. He usually eats something every eleven minutes. I have timed him. Anyway, I felt as though I might be in the emergency room at any moment and cancelled my trip to Atlanta. So today, my husband is feeling much better, I remind T one more time that Brad is in concert tonight. Later in the day I visit her and she tells me there are no tickets. I tell her lets just go, there are always tickets, and she does not bite! I am having a little bit of a pity party. My trip is cancelled, I do not know what is wrong with my husband, and my dad is going to have to have surgery next week and so on. I come home and begin to cook for my youngest child who is home from college for a few hours. I miss him – he is so funny – it is good to laugh! As I am cooking I just can’t hold it in any longer and I have a good cry ------ and T will not even go with me to see Brad Paisley. Later while eating dinner I tell T that I have cried but I am over it. She can not believe I really was serious about going. She said, well LET’S GO! We are ready in five minutes or less and head out to see Brad. It was a great night. He is a wonderful country boy and I relate to all of his songs. I am so thankful GOD gave me a spontaneous friend; my stress level went way down if only for a few hours. What a fun night!!! (I will leave the ticket story for T)
Luv,
J

Mother of the Year Award 9-30-08

Where do I start...I have been out of commission for about a week. Lots has been going on in our house. My youngest son C was sick last week with pneumonia but he is finally getting better. My man was out of town last week for the 2nd time in a month...he never travels and I am not used to him traveling. Friday night I went to eat with friends so hopefully I could have some relax time and my middle son C comes running in and and his pinkie finger was hugely swollen. We have had lots of finger injuries with 3 boys so I was not running off to get an x-ray. Sometimes it is just a jam. You see I have already been to the orthopedic 4 or 5 times in the past few weeks for my oldest son. He hurt his knee in a 7th grade football game. He had to miss a game and some practice and that does not make him happy. He came out of the womb playing ball and that is his passion! Well the pinkie continued to be swollen and bruised all weekend. So we decided to go and get it checked out after much pushing by middle C. He feels a little left out in our familybecause both other brothers have broken things before. In his 11 years of life he has never broken a bone, so here was a chance that he might actually have broken something. N(dad) takes him to the doctor who says, "Yes it is broken and there may be some ligament damage and we might want to get an orthopedic consult". Middle C is elated. He has finally broken a bone and he gets a splint. He calls and texts on the way home. N and I discuss it later and we decide we will just wait and see on the ortho consult. We think...it's just a pinkie. Well, the trainer called yesterday afternoon from football practice and said big C had hurt his knee again and I needed to come pick him up and take him to the doctor who was waiting for us. By the way pick him up meant drive on the field and load him in the car because she didn't want to move his knee. Little C had football practice himself but middle C wanted to go with me to get big C. We get to the doctor and he finished examining big C and looks to middle C who has a splint on his pinkie and says " What happened to you?". Middle C answers "I was playing football at a friend's house on Friday night. My friend kicked the ball and it hit my finger and broke it. I told my mom and she said it was probably jammed or maybe broken and that if it got worse that we would get an x-ray later. You see my mom is real tired my dad has been out of town with his job and my brother has had pneumonia and...we you know big C's knee has been hurt for a few weeks. Well my dad took me to the doctor on Monday and they said it was broken and I probably needed and orthopedic consult but my mom and dad don't really know if I need one...but that is what happened". For those of you who know middle C know he enjoyed telling the doctor every word of that. I wanted to shrivel up and disappear but I couldn't. I silently prayed for "THE RAPTURE" to happen immediately but lately that has been a frequent prayer. The doctor said "Well while you are here let's just look at it". He did and he decided that yes it was broken and there was a torn ligament. He wanted to splint it better and leave it splinted for 4 weeks. He said "don't take the splint off except for bath time and it did not need to bend". At this point I was thinking that maybe this was more serious than we thought...and then I thought I heard him say "surgery". Yes he did say it! He said " that sometimes even after splinting for 4 weeks we have to do surgery". Middle C didn't know whether to be happy or sad at this point. I was speechless...until we got in the car on the way home. That is when I lost it...all of my frustration from the previous weeks came out. I said some things that I should not have said. I was just mad at the world. I wanted so bad for everything to be perfect. I wanted big C's knee to be well and for him to get to finish playing 7th grade football. I wanted middle C not to have to have surgery. I wanted little C to stop coughing and be feel better. Before I got home I had calmed down and apologized to both of them for the things I had said. I do think that there is one thing that my kids will grow up knowing about me and that is I am a "real" person. I tell them the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. That is just reality. They also know that parents make mistakes too and also have to ask for forgiveness. I was feeling better by the time we got home until later when Dad C got home and middle C ran to him to say "Mom really lost it on the way home and he might want to ask me all of the bad things I had said!" N just looked at me with disgust. All I could say to him was...

"On any given day all I can do is the best I can can do".

And that my friends is how I won "Mother of the Year Award for September 30, 2008".

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE

Today is Tuesday and I have had my great niece with me. She is precious and as a family we all pitch in to help my brother who has custody of his grandchildren. J is almost two and is talking but for some reason she wants to add an “E” to anything that ends in “R”.
For instance, a lawnmower is a lawnmowee, a car is a caree and so on. You get it right?
Well what is one word other than “NO” that two year olds like a lot? MORE!!! With J it is MOREEEE, MOREEEE. Today as I got MOREEE goldfish, MOREEE milk, MOREEEE baby lotion and MOREEE baby powder, I though of the popular book “Tuesdays with Morrie”. The book is about the old and the young together and is really great. I hope that you have read it, if not maybe you will soon. My Tuesday with MOREEE has been fun. I Hope you have MOREEE than enough of your heart’s desire today!

J

VAMPIRES

Okay, I am back in business with my spooky trees for the front of my house. Upon searching my garage I had some PVC pipe so I was able to get the trees up again. I am super excited when the VAMPIRE arrives. Not all vampires suck blood! Some suck your joy. I am so proud of myself … I am going to decorate and I have only spent $1.50. I bought two fake spider webs at .75 each. I have everything else on hand. The VAMPIRE wants to know why I am decorating and why he is asked to go get the timer that is used at Christmas for the lights. I am a little deflated, but I do let the VAMPIRE know he should not be sucking my joy because normally I would have spent a lot of money on mums and pumpkins. I am going to finish up today and post some pictures. I hope you join me in a little joy and let’s hope the VAMPIRE does not return tonight!
J

Treasure???

Well my mind is crazy and that is why I act the way that I do. When I see the branches, I think how neat it will be to make a haunted entrance to my house. I love the fake spider webs but after removing those from my actual house in years past I vowed never to do that again. Right now I have two large flower pots in front of my house that are empty (we are broke so I can’t put the beautiful large mums and pumpkins I have come to love in years past) ….. so ….. I think if I put the branches in the pots and put the fake spider webs on the branches it will look really cool and when Halloween is over I can just throw the whole thing out. So I get T to take me on her golf cart to the branches, I cut a couple to bring home (Notice we always have help!). I have a couple of large cardboard tubes from fabric that will work great as the main trunk. So creativity is in full swing. I get the trees up and I am going to get the lights and webs on them in the next couple of days. All of this for FREE!!! (Remind me later to post Halls Fix All where everything is free).

Later that night….. my husband yells from the front room of our house TIMBER….. what now? The trees are down, I need a new plan…. Maybe pvc pipe…..
To be continued when I figure out why in the heck I started this anyway.

J

TRASH or TREASURE?

What do you think when you see a pile of tree branches by the side of the street ready to be picked up?

Deep Thoughts

Wherever God has put you, that is your vocation. It is not what we do but how much love we put into it.... Mother Teresa

Where did the blog title come from?

The question you all want answered. A couple of years ago T was wanting some changes made in her landscape. The men in her world told her there was no way they could remove the existing shrubbery. They said they would be way too hard to dig up and that they had deep thick roots. When I heard this I said, “Oh Yes You Can!” This meant …. OH YES WE CAN. I seem to be the driving force behind getting something done when someone thinks it is impossible. So anyway, for this one particular day I happen to be minding my own business. I look out my kitchen window and T is beginning to dig up the rather large holly bushes. I hide out as long as possible, but she calls and tells me to get outside and help her. I go, in my Birkenstocks. I am just going to give advice, not do much. This is how I end up tearing up all of my clothes and shoes. Well everyone in our neighborhood happens to pass by that day. No one could just drive by; they stop and want to know what we are up to on this given day. I think we did have on real clothes….. a lot of the time we are in our pajamas. After a couple of people stop we come up with our title “TWO HO’s and a SHOVEL. We did have shovels, hoes, axes, picks, and any other garden tool we could find. The name has stuck and we still have people who would love to hire us out ----- but we are not sure for what kind of work.
J

Clean and... then clean AGAIN

Well...I am tired. I have 3 boys (13,10 and 9). All C's. My youngest C is sick. He has been for 3 days now. I love him and I know he feels rotten but I am ready for him to be well again. He just has a fever and a really bad cough. He hasn't wanted to eat a lot either ( that is odd for him). I finally talked him into drinking a chocolate milkshake. That was a mistake. Tonight while the others had gone out to eat I suggested he get a bath in my bath tub. I thought it would make him feel better to stretch out and relax in a big tub with lots of bubbles. ( It would make me feel better!) So C takes a long bath. While he is in the bath I didn't want to leave him alone so I decided I would do what I used to do when the boys were little and ...clean the bathroom. I cleaned the toilet, mopped the floor, put out new clean bathroom rugs. It was time for C to get out. I noticed when he stood up he looked kind of pale and stumbled I grabbed him to keep him from falling...about that time C hurled all over me, the bathroom floor, the new clean bathroom rugs and then on to the toilet. I felt so bad for him and he kept apologozing but at that moment I felt bad for myself. I got him in the shower this time and dressed in pj's and then I set out for my second clean. The phone rang...it was J. She just had to tell me about this cool "Life is Good" tshirt. I had to tell her that at the moment ...life was not good!!!
T

Kitchen Hutch continued

Ok. Here is the hutch now in my kitchen. I love it. I am sure J has a bet with someone on how long before I "junk it up"!!! I have that habit...not everyone can be as perfect as J!!! Oh... and be sure to look on top of the hutch...it is killing J that 2 tall things are beside each other. I am going to put something else up there, I just haven't found the right thing. I know J wants me to separate them until I do but...it doesn't bother me!!!

T

Dresser/TV stand

Now the pressure is on me…. I am not a good writer and my first born child would edit and cut me to the core but I am not going to let T down by not completing the story. After we got her kitchen looking great. I still have my TV on the “Free with Purchase” stand. My husband thinks nothing should ever change, “What is wrong with it?” he said. It is Saturday… Alabama has already played football and Auburn is not until the evening. I can’t stay at home watching teams that are not even in my state. I leave and go to the Foundry Thrift Store, surely there will be something there for me. I find a very funky dresser. It will work. I call T and get her to go to my house and measure and then of course come and pick up the piece of furniture. It will not fit in my car. At this point I have used all of the paint I had on the furniture that we put in her house so I have to go to the hardware store and buy more. The story of my life…….a piece of furniture for T’s house – free ….a piece of furniture for my house - $100. Oh well, it makes a good story, right?

Kitchen Hutch

Well we have been busy since the start of this blog...well J really has but I have been busy watching and talking and listening to her...J thought that a piece of her grandmother's furniture (that has been sitting in the basement) would be the perfect piece of furniture to place her TV on...but NO...looked bad. Then J came up with the idea that it would look good in my kitchen...now she was talking. Anyways, we dragged it over to my house...literally...in our pj's( our best work clothes), almost killed ourselves getting it up the stairs and into my kitchen and ...we both smiled because it looked great. Again, J had the perfect idea. J has a song that is kind of her theme song...sometimes if she is around and things are quiet you can hear Carly Simon singing "Nobody does it Better". Anyways, later she painted the furniture, glazed it and it now looks fabulous! I absolutely love it. I keep finding myself wandering back to my kitchen just to look at it...Thanks J!!!

Think we are finished there... not hardly... tomorrow J will tell her story about what she found at the Foundry...
T

the beginning

Here we go...