Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Today's post has no pictures.

I'll tell you about my day yesterday...

I started off knowing it would be a tough day. The principal of our school, due to parking limitations had proclaimed that only the room parent of each room could come to Thanksgiving Feasts that took place at school. We have a very active parent body. This news did not go over well. I was prepared for battle.

Due to generous people who gave of their time yesterday morning, delivering food items to classes while I dealt with normal everyday tasks that happen every morning, the first part of the day went well. Then, thanks to a constant flow of yummy goodies delivered to my desk during the day, the rest was bearable. Until...

...about mid-morning, Aaron (whom I had tasked with making the red beans and rice for dinner) called and asked if I had any bandages. I asked him if he cut his finger and he said "No, I just sliced off the tip of it". I, of course, repeat that for confirmation and the people around my desk all stopped and looked at me like I had 3 heads or something. I told him I would have the cavalry on the way and hung up and called Lisa (my neighbor) and Kelsey (her daughter) took him a band-aid (I think). The day only got busier so I never had a chance to check. I talked to Mumsey not long after that and she told me she was going to Albertson's so I had her pick up a box of band-aids for him.

Regular run-of-the-mill-no-parents-can-go-to-feast-day frustrations from there but Jackie and I made it through with flying colors (well, at least we made it through with our sanity - such as it is - and all our limbs). Then, when I left work, I called Conrad to let him know that I was now off for 5 days!! And he asks me if I'm finished talking to the police. I'm thinking "what the heck is he talking about? So I ask and he tells me that Madeline called 911 and the police showed up at our house.

Now, I am no expert but I'm going out on a limb here and saying about 2 out of 5 children are going to do such a thing because 2 out of my 5 have. Jon did it and would not even look at the police when they got there.

My mother was about to walk out the door to take the girls to dance and the police were there when she opened the door. She thought they were the community patrol just dropping by until they told her they had a 911 hang-8pup from this address. She turned to the girls and said "OK, which one of you did it?" Madeline stepped up to the plate and admitted it saying "I dialed it but I hung up". So, like a big girl, she listened to the police. Then my mom tells her that she, Madeline, will have to tell her father and I that Nonnie was not going to do that. It took her awhile but she did it. I'm sure the facing of the police officers and our stern talking to were punishment enough and I doubt she'll ever do that again. Now, Anna? I guess we'll have to see about her.

So, that was my day yesterday. I am happy you went along memory lane with me.

For today, I've been thinking about all the things I'm thankful for. Here's a few:

My family (All of 'em! - in case any of you were worried.)

The fact that I have many friends and that I was able to invite some for Thanksgiving dinner without worrying if we would have enough.

That I lived long enough to see a woman make a great run for the Vice-Presidency (yeah I remember Geraldine, but I don't remember the race being so close and I don't think she changed the race like Sarah did. And, that I saw history made in this country when an African-American was elected to the Presidency. I may not like it but that's also what I like about this country. I can NOT like it and live to tell about it.

That my family loves me with all my foibles and faults and I overlook theirs.

That my mother-in-law has a safe place to live in with people to take care of her and she now has constancy in her life. And that her children care enough to visit.

That my mother is able to come over for holidays such as this and that we're going to celebrate her 70th birthday this December. (And that she is catching up my laundry even as I write this - THANK YOU, MUMSEY)

That my sons are grown up and making their own way in this world. I am so proud of them.

That I am able to write things that happen to me and write my opinions on this blog and people read it and I'm not persecuted (except for grammer mistakes) for it. What a great thing this freedom of speech thing is.

That no one is going to care that I did not actually make any of the pies that will be served tomorrow for dessert but that we were able to provide them in the first place.

There are a million more things but I'll leave it at that. Please pause a moment, tonight or tomorrow and remember all the things you are thankful for. It will make you feel better!

My hope and prayer for all of you is that you are surrounded by loved ones, that you are helping those in need in some small way, that you feel the love from friends and family and that you get at least one piece of your favorite pie this Thanksgiving. Remember: BE THANKFUL!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A mother's fear

OK, so ACA had a fundraiser and first prize was a scooter. A real scooter. A scooter that has a motor and goes while you sit on it. A scooter that every mother hopes her children don't want for fear of the repercussions. You know, riding, falling, breaking (limbs and scooters). Well, my fears were realized yesterday with the immortal words "and the grand prize winner, Sadie Wangler". Yes, Sadie won the scooter (with help from her sister - that's a story for another day) and now the flaming beast resides at our home.
Here's Madeline, she got the first ride, because without her, Sadie wouldn't have won.
And, Sadie.
I rode it, too. and I have to say, it's fun! It just scares me when Madeline, who can't even reach the ground while she's on it, wants to go. Pray for me and the safety of my children.
Happy Birthday to my Seester! Who is in Nashville this week and I'll get to see her tomorrow when she flies back and I pick her up at the airport! I've visited with her car this week since it's parked in my driveway. The girls get so excited when we drive down the street "is Nanny here?" I get asked everyday. Her birthday was yesterday but I only just now got to sit down and update.
And, congratulations to our nephew Nathan. Cindy and he had a baby this week, he was born at 32 weeks so he's very small, 2 lbs. 11 oz. but Nathan says he's pretty healthy for being so small. He had a hole in his lung which they fixed and he'll be in the hospital until January, probably. His name is Payton Lee. I can't wait to see him. Keep him in your prayers, too.
Y'all have a good week!


Sunday, November 09, 2008

Tammy Markham

Growing up, I was friends with a girl named Tammy Markham. She was a beautiful person, inside and out. She had a lovely voice and a beautiful smile and she was my friend, no matter what. Her family was my family. Her momma was the one who got me to like fried shrimp and I'm sure a whole host of other fried foods. That woman could cook and I was always excited to be included at their table. Tammy also taught me the joys of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. My hips and thighs thank you!

I spent many a night at Tammy's house and when I ran away, it was always to there. Not that I did it too many times but when I did, Mumsey always knew where to find me. I first watched the movie "Somewhere In Time" at Tammy's house, it is a favorite of mine, still.

Tammy had two cars. A Volkswagon Bug and a convertable "Thing" (remember those?). We were driving down the road one night and decided to put the top up or down and did it while driving. I learned that night that you should stop to do such a thing. One time, a youth group was visiting our church and they were staying at several houses in the neighborhood. Tammy and I were taking them there and we were in her "bug". I'm sure you know those cars hold at most 5. Well, (brace yourself, mother) we probably had 8 in there. I ended up in Tammy's lap steering, her doing the foot pedals at my command since she couldn't see. We got everywhere safely, though how, I don't know. We had more fun together.

Her sister, Sherry, called me today to tell me Tammy had passed away on Tuesday, she went into cardiac arrest and never recovered. A while back, she had suffered some sort of "episode" that left her paralyzed and rendered her essentially speechless so this was a blessing in most ways. But, it was comforting to me knowing where she was and if I had some extra time going home I could always stop by Longview and see her. But, I didn't do it often enough and for that, Tammy, I am sorry.

But, please know that tales of you and I will live on and I will always remember you as a beautiful soul, lovely singer and the best friend a girl could have.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Can you believe I've updated?

Well, howdy folks! Long time, no update. As you can imagine, the life around here has changed drastically. Long days filled with work, dance, piano, driving here and there, then dinner, then homework, blah, blah, blah. I'm enjoying the new life, however, it does put a damper on updating the blog. However, here I am updating you on the last few weeks. Starting with...

The State Fair! We went, courtesy of free tickets from school (a perk of working there is I get a free ticket, too!)
Big Tex...the trademark of the Sate Fair of Texas.

This is Anna on the Merry-Go-Round. It went fast and she loved it.

Sadie the little flower.

And Mads, too. I actually like Mads picture better because of the sunlight and shade in the picture.Madeline, Anna and Sadie on a ride, having lots of fun.
Anna won a big ol' stuffed animal at a game and she didn't last much longer after that. Her head is on it, if you couldn't tell.

A neighbor of ours who has BIG dogs and know we have cats and love cats always comes to us when a cat is stranded at his house. This time it was a baby that was probably 4 or 5 weeks old. Precious little thing and, of course, we all (except Conrad) fell in love with it (I don't know the sex of it, can't tell). Our neighbor, Ruth, took it in and is loving this little baby to health and happiness. We're so happy it all worked out. Oh, it's name is Zoey.
On to Halloween.



Sadie's pumpkin. It's a dog. Can't you tell?




Anna's pumpkin. She had a little help from Daddy.
Madeline was a lollipop (not a sucker!). You can't really tell it from here but she was pretty cute.


Sadie was a dead veterinarian. And, Brady was a ....
Anna was "halloween girl". I went to WallyWorld with the intent of getting her a ladybug costume but they had nary a one. So, I got her a cute little outfit to wear after taking off the ladybug costume that I fully inteded to go buy at Party City when I got a free moment. When I got home, I showed her the outfit and she said "I love my costume". Ding! I said "yes, that's your costume! And you are?..." "Halloween girl!" She said. Problem solved. We did get her a crown and a scepter to add to her outfit and she was very happy being "Halloween girl". She didn't even make it around the block trick-or-treating before she fell asleep. Still, she wasn't lacking for candy.

On Saturday, the girls and I went to Shreveport. Anna and Madeline stayed with Nonnie while Sadie and I went to see Romeo and Juliet at NSU. Aaron was the "Master Carpenter for the show and here is the gorgeous set he built.



It was a lovely show and very well done and that set? Man, it rocked!


We also got to meet his girlfriend, Jamie. She was in the play as a dancer. She was very good. We also got to meet her Mom and Dad. What a lovely weekend.
Although, the drive over to Shreveport was not without incident. We stopped at a rest area to use the facilities and Anna told me she had to go so I got her out. When I did, I noticed quite a bit of "tasted" halloween candy. (Here's a free tip: Don't let your children take their halloween candy on a long drive, you'll regret it) So, I took a moment to pick up all this unwrapped, tasted and discarded candy so it wouldn't melt onto the floor of the van. Anna runs up to me with her pants and panties in hand. I said "what are you doing?" She said "I had to go potty". I looked over at the picnic area and there was a big puddle right there, for everyone to see. So, I guess Anna has left her mark in Van, Texas.
Y'all have a great week! Hope to update again, soon!