Learning about BT's days at school..

Last week I kept the grandkids one night while Daughter went to school.. BT taught me a few things he had learned in Kindergarten... Apparently the teacher will write the numbers down one by one, as pictured above, and then skip a number and write the next number to see if the kids actually know their numbers when they see them, or if they just have them memorized. As you can see BT did the same thing to me, and then told me it was a "trick".. and he spelled "trick" so I would more fully grasp the concept of what HE was trying to teach ME.. Same concept with the alphabet..

Then, because BT wanted me to experience school with him, he drew a picture of the music room at school, complete with a tambourine, cymbals, maracas, etc. The music notes were drawn to see if I could guess what they meant. I am still trying to figure out what "Feel Up Your Orchestra Good Behavior" means..

Late summer fun..

One tired princess...

Riding the train..

Reviewing the zoo map to make sure we don't lose our way..

Checking out the bear.. or he might have been checking her out..

Sitting in the cave under the beaver dam..

Gotta make sure our Monster Truck is ready for the leap over the pool..

When diving for "alligators," a girl needs her goggles.

BT and his friend "K"..

She told her mama she wanted to be cute for BT..

I think the red cowboy boots complete the outfit...

This girl knows what it takes to look good...

..eat lots of salad... and always wear your lipstick...

My Treasures...

Picture day at school is today.. BT is wearing his "collarn" shirt for this special ocassion and BK broke out the bracelets..

"You be in BIG trouble mama."

A couple of weeks ago, Daughter and I were taking the kids to eat and in the process of getting everything ready to go, Daughter may have forgotten something. She started her car prior to our getting everyone in the car and buckled up in an attempt to keep our hineys from sizzling when they came in contact with the leather seats. It was the day the temp reached 105. BT, for some unknown reason, got in the car when Daughter started the car. I guess sweating is not one of his issues. I was in the house dealing with BK and some random issue she was having at the moment. When done, I walked outside to put her in the car, and Daughter was walking back toward the house. All of a sudden the car starting rolling forward, TOWARD MAN'S CAR that was parked in the garage!!! Thinking that I might be way stronger than I actually am, in spite of carrying a 3-year old around, often, I grabbed the door handle in an attempt to stop the car. Yes I did. I actually believed I had the ability to stop a car with one hand. I could not get the door open for some reason, since I was thinking I could jump in and save the day, IF I COULD GET THE DOOR OPEN. Might have been that I panicked since Daughter and Man are both beyond ANAL about their vehicles and all these visions of what would transpire if their vehicles actually touched, acccidentally or otherwise. Dealing with both of them would have simply been too much. Daughter finally realized what was happening, or she heard me scream really loud "YOUR CAR IS NOT IN PARK, YOUR CAR IS NOT IN PARK!" She came running and was able to open the door I had previously been unable to open, jump in and hit the brake. And, BT who was sitting in his car seat UNBUCKLED, never realized what was going on. And the car was rolling UP a hill... After we all calmed down, and the sweat had dried, we headed to the restaurant. BT, in listening to us talk about the catastrophic incident we had just avoided, finally realized what had happened and told his mama that Man would have grounded her if she had actually hit his car. He followed it up with "you know how Man is about his car mama." And, BK picked up on what was going on and said, "You be in BIG trouble mama if you hit Man's car."

Sniff, sniff...

BT spent the night with me last night. He wanted me to take him to school this morning. We hung out last night, watched Big Brother, and then watched Santa Clause 3 for the 74th time in BT's lifetime. He loves it. He didn't go to sleep until almost 10. Way past my bedtime for sure. But, he woke up on his own this morning about 6:15 and was ready for his second day of school. We got dressed and when I asked him what he wanted for breakfast, he said donut holes and apple juice. So, we headed to the the Donut Barn and got just that. We were a little early for school, so we made a practice run through the drop-off area since I wasn't sure where to go. 15 minutes later we came back, still about 8 minutes too early to drop him off, and parked and waited until the teachers came out to get them. He repeated the rules to me about dropping kids off. Say your good-byes and get your final hugs in before you get to the drop off area. We did that while waiting on the teachers to come out. When the teacher opened his door, he got his back pack with his lunch stored inside, told me he loved me, and jumped out of the truck and never looked back. I cried as I drove very slowly away from the school. I watched him look around like he was not sure exactly where to go, and then a teacher took his hand and they went inside. I am not ready for him to be a big boy yet. Sniff, sniff... :(

First Day of School...

I really thought the first day of kindergarten for BT would be similar to our first ballgame. He wouldn't want to go, would walk in the his room, and then run out crying for his mama, etc. You know the story. But, I could not have been more surprised. He was excited! I went over to Daughter's house so I could take BK to daycare so Daughter could take BT to school, since I feel sure if BT was going somewhere new, BK would want to do it to... Strangely enough he wanted me to take him to school, but I told him only moms could take you to school on the first day, and I could take him any day after that. And he bought it. But, BK couldn't understand where her "brudder" was going when only she and I left for daycare. She was sad. And, when I dropped her off at daycare, she cried. She kept asking where he was going. It broke my heart.

Anyway, BT had picked out what he wanted to take for his lunch for his first day of kindergarten. Most kids would want PBJ, chips, pre-packaged cookies, capri sun... but, not BT. He wanted a cheese sandwich (not grilled), toast rounds that I got at Fresh Market, a slice of a cake I baked that he said is the "best cake ever," peanut butter crackers for his snack, apple slices, fruit chews and apple juice. I am sure when he started pulling everything out of his lunch bag, he got a few stares. But, he is an individual, and is not swayed by what everybody else is doing, eating, wearing, etc. That is one of the MANY things I love about him.

When Daughter asked him how his first day of school went, he said it was fun, he didn't remember what they did, he liked his lunch and was ready to go back. Unfortunately they don't get to go back today, but they do go back tomorrow and then they are on a regular schedule after that.

And I don't know why that one picture is turned sideways.. And, I can't figure out how to remove it.. Another DUH moment..

A trip down memory lane...

If Man could go back and live his teen-age years again, he would do it in a heartbeat. He loves me and the life we have, but in his mind, he had the perfect life from 12 to 19. The "Mayberry" kind of life. As for me, I didn't think being a teeanger was good, much less great, and would never, ever want to re-live that time of my life. My mother was very strict, especially on me, and nothing about those years was pleasant.. but, so you won't think I am in need of counseling to get over that time in my life, I won't go there. And no, I don't need counseling. I am good now, and my mother and I get along now because I can actually tell her my side of the story without fear of being grounded for a minimum of six weeks for "talking back" a/k/a having an opinion.

ANYWAY... Husband and I took a drive down to the town of D'Lo this past Saturday. He would probably ride down there every weekend if I would go with him, but the population of that town is less than 300, and in my opinion there is absolutely nothing to do there, and I mean NOTHING, except ride around and talk about what happened at the park, or on the rocks at the Strong River, etc. more than 35 years ago. You can only do that so many times before I start dozing off. But, I tried to be attentive as he told me his stories for the umpteenth time, since these were obviously happy times in his life. I heard about the horse he had that wouldn't cross a certain bridge without the rider (Man) getting off the horse and pulling him by the reins. I heard the cat story, again, and I won't even go there. I heard about his pet hawk that used to ride on the handle bars of his bike. I heard about who used to live in that house, and who used to live down that road, who owned the store across the street from his grandmother's house, and I heard about the "dark woods." I heard about the hole in the rocks in the Strong River that bascially had no bottom. And they used to trick people to stepping off in the hole while crossing the river. He thought this was funny, and I told him what I would have thought had he let that happen to me. We looked at the trees where Husband and friends carved their names and/or initials many, many years ago. I took pictures of the names, but they didn't turn out very well.. We rode on down the road to Mendenhall, which is where he went to school. We stopped in the Mendenhall Grocery and Grain which is now a gift shop, and visited with one of his friends, who is also the owner. I actually enjoyed this part because I got to shop... and I found two really cute LSU huggies (one for me and one for Daughter) and some jewelry that I could NOT live without. When we left there we made a pass around the town square and he talked about how busy it used to be in the middle of the day on a Saturday, and how not busy it was in the middle of the day on the Saturday we were driving through, almost 40 years later. He remembered the diner his grandfather had, and he talked about sitting there many Saturday mornings just watching the cars go by.

Then, we made a pass by his high school, and then we headed home. And, he thanked me for going with him. I just smiled.

He truly was the "Opie" of Mendenhall. He roamed the streets of D'Lo and Mendenhall, without a cell phone, and his dad (Sheriff Taylor) and grandmother (Aunt Bea) never worried about him or gave much thought about anything bad happening to him. He was always safely home by suppertime every single day. He would sit at the dinner table with his dad and grandparents, have a home cooked meal, then watch a black and white TV until bedtime. And, just like my family, they didn't have air conditioning. They had an attic fan and slept with the windows open. And he wouldn't have had it any other way..

Was it necessary to do all the cleaning?

Last week was busy. I was supposed to be off today and tomorrow, and therefore, I was extra busy at work, and at home, in an effort to make sure my desk was clean before I left work Friday. On the homefront, I was busy cleaning.... some was necessary cleaning, some just because I am a compulsive cleaner at times. I cleaned light fixtures, windows, floors, moved some things around.. not furniture.. just lamps, pictures, and other things I have sitting around that cause me to have dust.. sometimes more often than I want too. It is kind of like getting something new when you move things around a bit. Or at least that is what I tell myself so I will stay out of T.J. Maxx and Marshall's.

I have an outdoor rug under my table on my deck. It was in desperate need of a good scrubbing after being out there for two years. Man wanted to know how I was going to accomplish this since it was his opinion it just needed to be replace. I think not. I told him I was going to clean it just like we used to clean my grandma's front porch when I was growing up. Pour some washing powder on it, wet it, and then get an old broom out and scrub it until it is clean. Rinse. And, that is exactly what I did. I laughed when I was doing it because it brought back memories of cleaning my grandma's front porch this exact same way, almost every Saturday morning. And for whatever strange reason, I enjoyed doing it.

And, just when I thought I had cleaned everything, I noticed a splatter of something red on the front of my white kitchen cabinets. On closer inspection, with my glasses on, there were other splatters in various places from the grandkids dropping things, or Man dropping things and it somehow making its way to the front of the cabinets. So, I cleaned the fronts of all the cabinets as well. When I finished with that chore, I took my glasses off because I didn't want to see anything else that needed to be done. And, I went and got a shower before I had time to change my mind.

The Beach...

We spent most of last week at the beach. We headed out Tuesday morning with Man, Daughter, Niece, BT, BK and of course, G. Needless to say we had to buy a turtle to put on the top of the SUV for all of our stuff. And, we took less stuff this year than last year. Seating arrangements, as designated by BT were: Man driving, Daughter front seat passenger (she SAYS she gets car sick if she rides anywhere other than the front.. not sure I believe this since it didn't happen until she had kids), BK in carseat in "middle backseat" as BT calls it, right behind Man, niece in "middle backseat" behind Daughter, and BT and me in the "very back seat".. Yep, I am ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK because BT wanted it that way. And, 2 hours into the trip, BK decided it was just not fair that she was not sitting by me like her "brudder" was and we moved her to the "very back seat" too and I sat between two carseats for the next 4 1/2 hours. Woohoo!!!! It actually worked out fine since I could tend to their every "whine" without any interference from any of the other adults who seemed to aggravate all situations involving small children in a confined space for multiple hours. We watched five movies, some more than once. I can now read the lips of Willy Wonka since I opted not to wear headphones. The funniest thing was listening to the kids sing along with the music while they had their headphones on. We couldn't hear the music but they could.

I would have taken a nap, but when BK caught me napping, she woke me up and told me "You no take nap G." If I dozed off again, she would pat my face to wake me.

We arrived at the beach earlier than expected, and spent a good bit of time trying to get the condo we specifically requested, and were told was available at the time we made our reservations. Man doesn't take no for an answer and we finally got what we had requested. Not sure why they tell you one thing when you make the reservation and then try to give you something different when you arrive. We finally unloaded our stuff and then Man and I headed to the grocery store. Once we got that over with we headed to the pool. BK is the exact opposite of her brother. He watches over her like a hawk. She is fearless while he is extremely cautious. We could leave him by the pool for hours and never worry about him getting in over his head. You have to be in the water with BK because even when the water is covering her nose, she is still smiling and headed for deeper waters.

We eventually made it to dinner which was fantastic. Steamed lobster, crablegs, shrimp, clams, etc. BK ate whatever we put on her plate, including the clams. She will eat ANYTHING! We had to special order BT chicken strips from another restuarant so he would have something to eat other than crackers. Can you say "picky eater?" Once dinner was over, we headed back out to the village for armbands and lots of bouncy things. The kids were loving it, and so were we, when the bottom fell out and sheets of rain starting falling. We ran for cover and stood there for about 30 minutes thinking it would let up, but it did not. BK went to sleep in my arms and I ended up walking back to the condo, barefooted (didn't want to ruin my shoes), carrying over 30 pounds, up hill, in the rain. And, she woke up as soon as we walked in the door. Go figure. I finally got them both to sleep, again, only to be awakened hours later by BK, who had wet the bed. Lovely. I put dry towels over it, changed her, got them back to sleep, and then I returned to my bed. 2 hours later, BK joins me and Man in our bed. And, she wants to snuggle. And she snores. And, I am in the middle. I don't like being in the middle. I get up early, as usual, and she sleeps til 8. Lucky her.

And yes, I did wash all the sheets and blankets the next day, only to do that every day we were there because she wet the bed every, single, night. Lucky me.

We headed to the pool again, and we stay all day. A good friend (former neighbor) and her daughter (who my Daughter used to babysit) drove down from Alabama and we had dinner with them. I love these people!! We had lots of fun together when we lived closer, and I miss that. They left too soon, and we headed back to the village to get tattoos, and listen to the band. The end of another fun day.

Thursday we traveled east to meet more friends from Alabama for a few hours at the pool. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit with them too. The kids had fun, and we had to head west way too soon. We spent more time at the pool and then got dressed for dinner again, and headed to a place outside of Baytown. It was not as good as I remembered it being. Next year I will vote to try somewhere new. The kids enjoyed it because it was on the beach. When we got back to the village they were showing a movie and we got to see the last hour of Lemony Snicket.. Yes, I spelled that correctly. BT wants his own copy. I am working on it.

Also, BK was standing at the pool while we were with friends, and an EXTREMELY large man walked by her and down the steps into the pool. She stared at him for a long time and then said "He's big." And when I started laughing at her for observatoin, she put her hand over my mouth and told me to SHHHHH....

Friday we spent the day at the pool, ate some of the best pizza ever on the lake, made a wasted trip to the outlet stores, went to dinner again, and listened to a band while the kids danced, danced, danced. When the kids showed signs of being tired, and they should have been worn out, we headed to the condo. We had another night of wet beds, and BK joined me and Man again. Funny thing is, she wet the bed, got up, took her clothes off, and came and got in my bed completely naked.

Saturday we headed home bright and early, and yes, I rode in the "very back seat" between two carseats for 6 1/2 hours, and at times I had a towel wrapped around each arm so they could rest their heads on something while staying strapped in their car seats. We watched five more movies, again, some more than once, again, and then we FINALLY arrived home. Fun trip. Tired G.

Can't wait until next year.

P.S. Daughter realized she didn't have access to Facebook shortly after we arrived and could barely function. Thank goodness she could still send text messages. I am not sure she could have survived being competely disconnected from "her world."

As if anyone cares....

I don't have time to post anything about my vacation since it would take too long, so I will post a little information about myself.. Sounds kind of vain doesn't it?? Whatever! Here goes..

1. What time did you get up this morning. 5:00 A.M.

2. How do you like your steak? Medium.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I can't remember. I usually wait until they are on pay-per-view and then I can have a beer(s) and watch the movies, and be close to my own CLEAN bathroom.

4. What is your favoirte TV show? Right now it is Big Brother. That is about the only thing that is not a re-run this summer.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? The beach.. in Florida.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Not a thing.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican.

8. What foods do you dislike? Right now, I can't think of a thing I won't eat.

9. Favorite place to eat? Cazadores's Mexican Restaurant.

10. Favorite dressing? Ranch with a little Italian mixed in. Weird, I know, but I love the combo.

11. What kind of vehicle to you drive? Ford Explorer.

12. What are you favorite clothes? Silver Jeans.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Again, the beach.. my favorite place to go for any ocassion.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Always 1/2 full!

15. Where would you want to retire? Duh! The beach!

16. Favorite time of the day? Morning. I am definitely a morning person.

17. Where were you born? Franklin, LA.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? LSU Football!

19. Bird watcher? Yep.. I can sit on my deck for hours, with my favorite adult beverage, and watch birds, especially humming birds.

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning, morning, morning!!!

21. Do you have any pets? Yep, three pomeranians.. Boo, Dooley and Taz..

22. Any new and exciting news you want to share? Nothing new or especially exciting going on right now.

23. What did you want to be when you were little? A nun. And, if you knew me, you would think that is hilarious!

24. What is your best childhood memory? Hmmmmm... Can't think of a "best" one, but we did go camping a lot and I enjoyed that.

25. Are you a cat or dog person? Dogs.

26. Are you married? Yep, for 25 years.

27. Always wear your seatbelt? Absolutely!

28. Been in a car accident? Yep.

29. Any pet peeves? Rude inconsiderate people. I have more, but you might think I have issues if I list them all.

30. Favorite pizza topping? Anchovies. Yep, I love anchovies on pizza!

31. Favorite flower? Sunflowers.

32. Favorite ice cream? I prefer yogurt, but I do like me some Blue Bell.

33. Favroite fast food restaurant? Wendy's.

34. How may times did you fail your driver's test? None.

35. From whom did you get your last email? Debbie.

36. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? There are too many too lists, but I would definitely give I.O. Metro a try. And then go down the road to White House/Black Market.

37. Do anything spontaneous lately? Does buying new reading glasses today at Dollar General count?

38. Like your job? Love it!

39. Broccoli? Had it for dinner last night.

40. What was your favorite vacation? The beach! Just got back.

41. Last person you went out to dinner with? Hubby, daughter, niece and grandchildren, at the beach..

42. What are you listening to right now? Trace Adkins sing the Honky Tonk B' Donka Donk!