It's MY Birthday!

"WHAT?"

 

"You're 6? When did this happen?"

 

Yep, I turned 6 on Tuesday.

My Mama gave me a lot of options for Birthday celebrations, but I chose a family dinner at....

 

 

Nice choice, right?

Listen, I love crab legs. I can't eat them fast enough.

My poor Mama barely gets to eat because she is cracking crab legs for me.

 

My Nana & Papa came.

Aunts, Uncles & cousins too.

 

There were presents!

 

"SKYLANDERS!"

 

Cards with money!

 

 

Lego sets. I love Legos!

 

Look at these awesome Birthday Cookies.

Minecraft, BABY!

 

 

MMMMM, The Creeper!

Silly BB.

 

It's not a party without balloons.

Thank you Nana.

 

I had a great night.

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who came.

"I'm going to big boy school!"

He's been asking since he was about 2 when HE would go to big boy school.

That would be Hyde Park Elementary.

Go Tigers.

 G's Nana was a Hyde Park Tiger.

Many moons ago. (About 1959ish)

 

I, myself, was not. Golden Rule Eagle & Mayes Mustang.

Hubby didn't even go here. (Name that movie)

 

Well, after much deliberation, we decided to enter the world of public school for Kindergarten.

The first day rolled around.

Backpack & mandatory school supplies purchased & packed neatly.

Lunch packed.

We all loaded up in the Ram & headed to Hyde Park.

We both walked him in & took the mandatory 1st day of school pictures.

 

 

"But WAIT, he's just a BABY!"

 

 

Seriously, this was taken about 2 months ago. I swear.

 

Anywhooooo, those of you that really know me would have been proud. I saved my tears for my drive to work. Never let 'em see you blubber, I always say.

 

He's had is "card pulled" 3 times now for talking in class.

I honestly don't know where he gets it.

One of his parents might have had the nickname "Miss Busybody" in 1st grade.

I don't know who though.

One of his parents might have got in trouble for getting out of their seat & helping the other children with their work when "they" got done with their work early.

I don't know who.

 

The apple doesn't fall far from the proverbial tree, does it?

 

Let's see how the next 7 1/2 months go, shall we?

Granny

This is my Granny. Johnnie Francis.

 

She is the matriarch of our family. 84 years old.

This picture was taken last Mother's Day at my Mama's farm.

She loves being outside.

I spent a lot of time at her house when I was little. I remember spending the night at her tiny, 2 bedroom house. My Aunt L & Uncle D still lived at home. Granny, L & me would pile in the bed at night and she would tell the best stories.

 

I remember one series of made-up stories about a baby chicken named BeepBeep who tormented the next door neighbor's hound dog. I have told the same story to G-Man & made more adventures for sweet little BeepBeep.

 

Granny was a good cook. She never ever used a recipe.

I went to her house about 15 years ago so she could teach me how to make her famous fudge candy.

I was so frustrated because she couldn't give me the exact measurements.

"You just add it until it looks right."

"You'll know when it has cooked enough."

 

Yep. She would pour peanut butter fudge candy onto her Corelle dinner plates.

Remember these at your Granny's house?

 

 

Yep. Every single time I see these, I think of my Granny's house.

I remember stealing sips of her coffee. Or should I say milk and sugar with a splash of coffee for color. Guess how I like my coffee?

 

They didn't have a grill back in the day, so if you wanted a hamburger, she would fry it up in the pan and serve it on square sandwich bread with good 'ol American cheese. With mustard, because that's how I liked it. Have I mentioned that I was the only grandchild for 20 years? Granny spoiled me. Just a little.

 

 

Oh, and they didn't have air conditioning.

I can't even fathom that.

BUT they did have a water cooler.

They would close off the living room & turn that sucker on.

We would be freezing, huddled under blankets.

Watching television.

 

And TV.

Andy Griffith Show

I Love Lucy

The Waltons

Little House on the Prairie

The Flintstones

Bugs Bunny

 

The Young and the Restless

("Now hush, my stories are coming on!)

You didn't dare talk or make loud noises when Mrs. Chancellor and Victor Newman were on.

Who was Nicki sleeping with this week?

Did anyone know she used to be a stripper?

How many times has Jack Abbot been married?

Who was discovering who was their long lost father was?

 

Can I get an amen?

 

Granny smoked like a freight train.

Like lighting one cig off the other smoking. Not just cigs.....Winchester Little Cigars.

Seriously.

She went to the doctor when my cousin Chels was little.

She was diagnosed with early stages of emphysema in 1995.

Her doctor said "If you keep smoking, you are going to be chasing that sweet grandbaby around with an oxygen tank behind you."

She quit cold turkey. Never looked back.

Amazing.

 

 

 

She had a porch swing under the carport.

Many hours were spent playing in the sand in that carport.

Searching for doodle bugs and driving my Uncle's matchbox cars around.

 

Lingering under the giant trees in her backyard while looking for 'horny toads'.

Hanging laundry on the clothes line.

Sitting in lawn chairs with the water sprinkler on your toes.

 

If you got a cut or scrape or stung by a bee or ant, she applied a healthy dose of Monkey Blood.

Don't know what that is?

 

Oh, yeah. Monkey Blood.

 

I'm telling you this because I'm feeling sentimental.

You see, we put Granny in a nursing home this week.

She has Alzheimer's.

She had been walking with a walker, but has progressed to needing more help.

My uncle Dan has been caring for her at home.

Cooking, bathing, shopping, cleaning, laundry. The whole nine.

He has done a fine job. It became too much.

 

She asked no less than 10 times "How long will I be here?"

Heartbreaking.

How strange to be in the same home for 35+ years, then boom. New home.

With a roommate, a strange bed, strange people, strange routines.

 

When my Mama went to visit her yesterday, she was fully dressed, sitting in a wheelchair at the Nurse's station, clutching her photos of her 3 grandchildren. When my Mama asked what she was doing, she replied "I'm waiting on Danny to pick me up and take me home."

 

Sigh.

 

Many times over the last few years, she asks "Who is that little boy?" (referring to Grayson)

I swear, when Danny brought up some pictures to put on her dresser, she pointed to a picture and said "Well, there is Grayson."

 

Alzheimer's is a cruel, cruel disease. My Granny was the storyteller in our family.

It is gone. She sits quietly most of the time, occasionally asking a few questions.

Not the oral historian I remember from my childhood.

 

On our way to the nursing home, she was looking intently at a building on Spur 503.

"Didn't that used to be a church?"

It was the building that used to be Trinity Lighthouse Church.

The church my family grew up in.

 

It's so weird how the brain works.

 

Soooooo, pardon my trip down memory lane. I'm missing the Granny of my childhood.

People, listen to your parents and grandparents.

When they are telling the same old stories over and over.

Listen.

One day, they may not tell those stories anymore. I promise you'll miss them.

Write them down. Take pictures. Ask them questions. You won't regret it.

 

Until next time.....

Herding Cats Spring 2013

Well, howdy there folks. It's been almost a full year since I've posted.

I'm not proud. I've been a little busy.

I'm working full-time.

It's been weird, crazy busy at work.

I can't imagine where all these pregnant women are coming from.

We are switching to a new computer system at work come June 16th.

I'm contemplating having a minor procedure that requires me to be gone until about June 30th.

I am NOT joking.

 

Anywho, the G-Man wanted to play t-ball again this year.

Please see last year's post about herding cats.

If you have 4-6 year olds in any type of sports, you know what I'm talking about when I say this.

 

Here's my boy on Opening Ceremony day.

 

He looks super psyched, don't ya think?

 

Here's Hubby.

He's assistant coach this year.

Why is that, you ask?

Because they were short a few coaches.

(And I totally threw him under the bus & volunteered him)

Ahem...

 



 

Swing away, son!

 

I think he gets stage fright when he steps up to the plate.

He forgets everything we've worked on.

He holds the bat with his hands reversed.

Its comical, really.

 

 

We get 3 coach pitches.

If they miss, they get to hit off the tee.

We hit off the tee.

A lot.

Sometimes we hit it.

 

 

Sometimes we strike out.

 

 

But he's getting better every week.

AND....

this year he didn't hit the ball & then go GET it.

 

Last week, he actually hit the ball from the coach.

While he didn't make it to 1st base before they tagged him out, he sent 2 of his teammates HOME!

 

I was so proud!

You'd have thought he had hit a triple grand slam or something.

 

Oh, and I get to see my sweet boys like this...

 

 

I've missed blogging.

I'll be back more, I promise.

 

 

 

Happy Father's Day!

Hey, Dad.

Just wanted to take a second to tell you & everyone else how lucky I am to have you as a Daddy.

Mama says this is one of her favorite pictures of us together.

I look so tiny in your arms.

You take time to teach me new things.

Sometimes I know I test your patience, but thank you, Daddy for all that you do for me.

You're my best buddy.

and thank you for being supportive of my Mama.

She's done some crazy things lately.

You always cheer her on!

You're the best.

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy Ever!

"Mama, Why are you messing around in the mud?" (A Mommy Post)

So, against my better judgement, I signed up for a MUD RUN.

Don't know what that is, you say?

Well, let me tell you...

Last summer we had what the weatherfolks called an Exceptional Drought.

The heat was ridiculous.

Everything was shriveled up & dead.

Texas was ravaged by wildfires.

This put a strain on all of our local fire departments.

In order to raise money, the lovely people at Run for the Hills Charity Run put together...

One of our Docs sponsored our team.

He even bought us some awesome team shirts!

Thanks Dr. C!

They began to post pictures on the FB page of the newly designed course

and I started to get a little nervous.

5 kilometers = 3.3 miles.

What's the worst that could happen?

How bad could it be?

Hubby shook his head.

One of my co-workers said "You could break a femur!"

Thanks Amanda.

I have health insurance, long-term & short-term disability.

Really, what's the worst that could happen?

Exhibit A, your honor...

Ok, so that doesn't look TOO bad, right?

Then they start posting pics like this....

Still not scared?

So, I swallow hard, put my big girl panties on & head on up to Loose Wheels to register & pick up my race packet.

Much to my surprise, they assigned me the number

Well, then I got all cocky.

I started quoting lines from the movie "300".

"Tonight we dine in HELLLLLLL!"

"SPARRRTTTTAAAAA!"

I'll stop now.

So, Saturday morning, I got up & ate a small breakfast.

(I got a nice little pep talk from hubby about how you want to make sure

 you won't mind tasting that breakfast in reverse when puking guts up later.

Thanks, honey)

Put my sassy pink zebra headband on.

Because that's what matters...

how cute you look when you are puking.

I joined my team for the big day.

As we arrived, we saw 3 of our teammates running up after finishing.

"How was it?"

"Brutal."

Well, ok.

Thanks to Miss Amanda who gave us the following tips:

Stay on the outside.

Duct tape your shoelaces.

Don't even try the cargo net.

Wear gloves.

Hay bales suck, gotta use teamwork.

The slide is awesome.

Thanks, Amanda.

(She's also the very one who told me I could break a femur.)

Here we go!

10:15 came & we started off strong.

Can I just say that people asked me if I trained.

I thought about training.

Really, I did.

Took the stairs at work.

Rode the bicycle a couple of times with G-Man.

Ate some chocolate.

Boy, that wasn't helpful at ALL.

I made if over the big wall with no problems.

I was channeling the part in An Officer & a Gentleman

 where Louis Gossett Jr was yelling at the girl to "GET OVER THAT WALL!"

Didn't even try the cargo net, but trudge through the mud instead.

Made it to the tires and got through that.

Right past the tire obstacle, I felt my right leg sink down about 3 feet into the mud.

Ok, just step up.

I kept sinking.

Now, I'm up to my thigh in mud.

It wouldn't budge.

Everytime I tried to pull my leg out, the mud was sucking my shoe off.

I was hell-bent on pulling my leg out WITH my shoe on.

I was NOT going to race without my shoe.

Hubby said it was about this time that he overheard some of my teammates saying:

"Um, what is she DOING?"

"I think she's STUCK."

G-man piped up & said:

"What is Mama doing, Daddy?"

Hubby:

"I think she's stuck in the mud."

G-Man:

"Mama, quit messing around!"

Believe me people, if I could have got un-stuck, I would have.

Angie, my team-mate, who is also my Boss, came over to help.

Pulling, tugging, cheering.

Nothing was working.

I almost gave up.

I almost cried.

My husband was watching.

My son was watching.

My co-workers & teammates were watching. (and laughing)

 "SPAAARRRTTTTAAA."

I starting cursing & digging.

Mud. Quick-Mud as I like to call it. Handfuls of it.

Under my nails. In my gloves.

I dug to the bottom.

Then, 2 lovely gentlemen came over, pulled me by both hands & literally drug me out of the mud.

Thank you lovely gentlemen.

Sigh.

Only 19 more obstacles to go!

And 4.5 kilos...

Belly crawling through tires & concrete drainage tubes

=

very scraped up knees & elbows.

But alas,

I trudged on.

My teammates were out of sight.

I was alone.

I walked the next 2 kilos.

I talked to God.

I thanked him for getting me this far.

I apologized for not talking to him as often as I should.

I tried to breathe in the moment.

To appreciate the wildflowers, the poison ivy, the cool water on my feet in the shallow creeks.

I actually began to welcome the water obstacles.

The water was cold & I can swim like a fish.

I caught up to my teammates at the 2nd pyramid of hay-bales.

(They took a breath & waited on me. Thank you.)

They helped me over.

We hummed the Rocky Theme Song.

We giggled.

We cheered each other on.

Soon, there was a dude that told us:

"You're almost done!

Go up that big hill to the waterslide.

Then one more really big hill &

YOU'RE DONE!"

I love him.

I don't know his name, or really remember what he looked like.

I was distracted by his angel wings & glowing halo.

THIS WAS AWESOME!

87 foot slide into a pond of muddy water.

It was my favorite part of the race!

I would have done the whole thing again just to do the slide.

BHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Who am I kidding?

Anywho, I was walking up the hill to the finish line.

I saw my Hubby & G-Man.

The tears started to flow!

Here's my team!

Angie, me, Anna & Carroll!

Way to go, Girls!

"Mama, you got a medal!"

Yes, baby, Mama got a medal for messing around in the mud.

REALLY?

BAHAHAHAHAHA!



Mother's Day (only 4 days late)

Well, this past Sunday was Mother's Day.

Mama made a giant, deep-dish Dutch Apple pie,

we loaded up and went out to my Nana & Papa's farm for a celebration.

There were presents.

My Granny looks like she's ready for the beach now.

Or the Kentucky Derby.

anywhoooo

Daddy & I bought Mama a really cool purse.

Nana got everyone lotto tickets.

We drank sweet tea out of Red Solo cups.

'Cause that's how we roll.

There were ice cream cones enjoyed on tractor seat stools.

And then...

a whiffle ball game broke out.

Everyone joined in.

Here's my Nana!

GO Nana!

Not to be outdone, my 83 year-old, great-Granny wanted to give it a go.

She grabbed up that walker, shuffled out to the yard....

And guess what?

My Granny can HIT!

She probably hit 8 out of 10 pitches.

My Nana said she's always been good at it

and she remembers her playing when they were little.

It made me proud!

My Mama got a little teary-eyed when she saw this.

I'm not really sure why.

We love you Granny.

If it weren't for you,

we'd have no Mother's Day in our family

Happy Mother's Day!