Monday, March 30, 2009

The things kids say....

Daughter was cutting her grass other day and in an effort to teach the 5 year old about chores, she asked BT to pick up sticks in the yard so she could mow. Apparently they had already had a discussion about him watching his sister while Daughter cut the grass. He promptly told her she could run over them with the lawn mower because HIS job was to watch his sister while his mama cut the grass. I wasn't there when he said it, but I can just see the look on his face as he informed his mama what his job of the day was. And, watching his sister is no easy task. She is definitely an explorer, and an experimenter.. She is FEARLESS!!! But, he is up to the task.. He is usually the one who keeps us informed on her never ending antics!

We are thinking about going through swim lessons, again, with BT, and adding BK to the mix. BK has never had them, and needs them more than her brother since she does NOT hesitate to jump in the water, regardless of how deep or how brown. Going under water does not bother her at all. BT has had lessons three times, and only after the last lessons did we think he had finally learned something. Toward the end of the summer, he would finally let go of us when he was in water over his head and kick to the side. BK on the other hand, jumps in whether we are looking or not, and HATES any kind of flotation device that goes on her body... not swimmies, a ring, anything she has to sit in, etc. She WILL play with flotation devices that she controls herself, i.e., swim boards, surfer boards, etc., but do NOT attach anything to her body. Her reaction is NOT pretty... no matter how cute she is.. BT on the other hand, will happily put a ring on, and float around for hours. Not kidding.. Anyway.. there is a swim teacher that has been around for many, many years, and after 5 days, the child WILL know how to swim well enough to save his life if he falls in water over his head. I have heard "stories" about her, and how she tosses them in, and tells them to sink or swim, and apparently they DO swim, but I am not sure I could watch this. BK would handle it like a trooper, but BT would most likely NOT handle this well at all. Daughter learned to swim by this method at age 13 months, and it did work with her, but Daughter was fearless too. Sooooo, we shall see. We are still talking about it.

Weekend here was beautiful, but very windy and therefore a tad chilly.. We went to a crawfish boil at a local watering hole and the crawfish were VERY good.. I spent the rest of the weekend taking an elderly friend to get her hair done, and piddling around my house. Daughter and I did manage to shop a little and find a dress for her to wear to the wedding of a CHILD SHE USED TO BABYSIT!!! Of course, he is no longer a child, but it is hard to believe she used to babysit him, and his two sisters, when he was about 5 years old!!! Can't wait to go to that wedding..

I wonder if going to the wedding of a child my Daughter used to babysit makes me OLD!!? Not a chance!!!!! :)

Friday, March 27, 2009

Looking forward to the weekend...

I am so ready for this weekend. The week went by relatively fast, especially since I was off most of last week getting ready for Daughter's surprise guests. This week has been pretty quiet, and not nearly as busy as the past couple of weeks. Of course, it is has also rained a lot this week, with some really bad weather in these parts, and more is expected tonight. I am hoping it clears up by noon tomorrow because there is a GREAT crawfish boil that we go to annually, and I don't want it to get rained out. It is a two day event, but I would really like to go tomorrow.

The grandkids are gone this weekend, and once again, I am sad about that. I hate not seeing them for three days at a time. We took them to eat pizza last night at a restaurant where you can sit outside and eat. I am not saying they are bad in restaurants, but they are definitely better when you can sit outside with them. People don't seem to mind them wandering around and talking loudly so much when we are sitting outside. Know what I mean?! BT also requested we walk around a lake near the restaurant at least once, and I had on high heels. But, I did it. I think this counts as exercise, even in high heels.

And speaking of exercise, I started a workout regime this week. A friend at work told me about a program on Comcast Movies on Demand called the Red Carpet Workout, and I love it. It only takes 20 minutes and believe me, it works your parts.. In my case, some that have NEVER been worked before. Yesterday I could hardly move. Seriously... Today I feel much better and will probably be able to give it a go again today. I feel much better when I exercise, but I am usually willing to sacrifice that to spend time with the grandkids. Isn't playing with the grandkids considered exercise? :) Surely I can find 20 minutes a day, or at least every other day, to do this. My body certainly needs it, and when I go for my yearly check up next month, I can FINALLY tell my doctor I am "exercising" instead of asking if having a gym membership counts as exercise. All I really want is to not "jiggle" anymore. You know what I mean?!!! I got some parts that kind of jiggle and I DO NOT like that at all.

Happy Friday!!!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Daughter's Surprise Was the Best Ever!!!!

Daughter's birthday was this past Thursday and she chose to spend it with a bunch of friends sitting out on the reservoir, which was fine by me. Man and I made a brief appearance and then left. But, the best was yet to come on Friday, and she had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA!!!!! This had been in the planning for quite a while. Two of her childhood friends contacted me several, several weeks ago and wanted to surprise Daughter for her birthday. I was thrilled!!! It had been two years since we had seen them, and for one of them, Daughter was the surprise guest at her baby shower. It was time for payback, and it was HUGE! The friends arrived at about 3:00 this past Friday afternoon and we were sitting on the deck with a cool adult beverage when Daughter walked outside and realized who was there. And, if I had put my camera battery in the right way, it all would have been documented and you would be looking at pictures. But, I didn't so it is just committed to my memory and that of her friends. There will be pictures, but not of Daugher's mouth falling open when she first saw them. They had a great time, and when they left, Daughter was sad, and wished she had "just one more day" with them. But, on the bright side, we will see them again in a few weeks at a friend's wedding. We can't wait!

I have not had to work that hard to get ready for something in a very long time. I was keeping my household up and running, and trying to help Daughter finish numerous projects around her own house prior to the surprise guest arriving, and all without ever letting on to Daughter why we needed to hurry up and finish the projects. I FINALLY just said enough was enough for now, and we will do the rest later. A couple of hours before the guest arrived at my house, I even went to Daughter's house, made her bed, dusted one last time, turned on all the lamps, etc., just like she would do if she knew guest were coming. It was funny when she finally realized why I had been pushing her so hard for the last two weeks to finish everything.

I kept the grandkids all weekend so their mom could spend some time with friends she doesn't see often enough, and we had a blast. We went to the park, then got snowcones, then rode battery operated vehicles until they died, played in a large pot of water on the deck since we have not made our annual purchase of a swimming pool yet, ate lunch while we watched boats on the reservoir, ordered pizza, etc. They love to be outside and I try to take advantage of that on pretty days like we had this past weekend. I don't want them to ever be bored with G!!!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Grandkids - Part 2

The band gave all the kids blow-up guitars and BT never put his down. The drummer gave him his own personal drumsticks that he made at the end of the night. BT slept with them.
He loves music more than any kid I know. He sat in the grass and waited for an hour for the band to start playing so he could get up on the stage.. He is dripping with sweat, but he won't leave.

Just loving life!


This is the sweetest boy in the world. Of course, I am prejudice, but when I tell you he is a sweetheart, he is. He is affectionate and considerate beyond words.



I love this picture. We have several of the kids with their backs to us..









Grandkids....














Since I am still learning how to navigate the blogging system, the above pictures are in the wrong place.. I am trying to figure out how to put the words under the picture, and so far, I haven't been able to accomplish this.. Anyway!!!! This is BK. She is her mother's child. Absolutely. 100%. She was not switched at birth. She is independent, loves to be in the middle of everything that is going on, and doesn't miss a beat. She hates to sleep because she is afraid she is going to miss something. HER MOTHER'S CHILD!!!!















Daughter' Birthday!!!

Are my posts becoming monotonously about Daughter!? :)

Daughter's birthday is Thursday, and I have a surprise for her, but she can't get it until Friday. She won't be a fan of this waiting game, so I am not telling her I have a surprise for her. She would take off work and follow me around all day Friday if she knew she was getting something extra for her birthday, and I don't need that. I need her to work all day, until quitting time, so I can get everything in place to present her with her surprise. She has pretty much already received everything she is going to get from G and Man, but there is just one other thing... And, she would NEVER, EVER, NOT IN A MILLION YEARS, guess what it is.

More later!!!!

Painting...

Well, the painting is still yet to be finished. As amateur painters, we started out with really bad paint brushes, and apparently that is the key to a satisfactory paint job. So, Daughter ran to Ace Hardware, because it was closer than Lowe's, and bought two expensive paint brushes and we moved forward. What should have been two coats of paint on the front and back doors will now require a third coat because the first coat was put on with BAD brushes. Tonight we will finish the painting, at least for now. All the trim needs to be painted, but that will just have to be an ongoing project until it is complete. For now, I want a break from painting. I painted all of her bathroom cabinets, and trim in the master bath, and the trim and door in the kids/guest bath. Painting with oil base paint is very slow, but it covers better than the other options. Anyway, it is amazing what a coat of paint will do.. Everything is looking fresh and clean, and the Daughter with OCD was pleased with that for sure.

I am taking off the rest of the week, after today, to do some things around my own house, and do a few things around Daughter's house too. She has not yet developed "patience" and wants everything done RIGHT NOW, unless it interferes with an invitation to a crawfish boil or cookout. :) I told her I would dedicate a few hours to her yard and house one day this week while I am off. The kids are coming home Friday and our main projects need to be completed by then. We want it to be all about them when they get home after being gone for NINE days!!! I am very blessed in that I get to see them every day. I love it!!!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Busy, but productive weekend...

Daughter was having some work done at her house for the past week or so, and it is FINALLY finished!!! Or at least the contractor is gone. We plan to put the final touches on it tonight in the way of paint. Hopefully, 4 hours of painting will finish it and things can get back to normal. Cleaning up sheetrock dust sucks! I think she is pleased, at least for now, with the improvements made, but she is one of those people who loves a project. And, while she did get some of that "disorder" from me, her projects always seem to take longer, and she gets tired of the final result way quicker than I do. I can leave things the same way for years. She is more of a "same way for months" girl, and then she is ready for change.

We did go to a garden show this weekend, and she got some ideas for her yard. She ended up buying and planting 46 plants yesterday, all by herself. She went and got them, dug the holes, and planted every one of them, BY HERSELF... If you had known her before she had children, you would have NEVER believed she would ever have anything that she had to keep alive... not a pet, not a plant, nothing!!!! For some strange reason she wanted a hummingbird feeder in her single days, and I bought her one... I also filled it up and hung it for her. I even made her a batch of hummingbird juice so that all she had to do was rinse the feeder out and refill it. It N.E.V.E.R. happened. Not by her anyway. I would refill it when I would run by her apartment, but she NEVER did it. I don't allow her to tease the hummingbirds anymore by hanging a feeder that will never have fuel for their little bodies.

Anyway, she has come a long way since those days. I love that girl!!!!

Friday, March 13, 2009

BK is a funny girl....

Man took BK for a walk the other day. This is "their thing" they like to do. He can ask her if she wants to go for a walk and she will pat the top of her head, which means she wants to ride on his shoulders while he does the walking. We live less than a block from a fire station, and as he did with BT, Man likes to take her to the fire station to see the trucks. She likes to sit in them, and on them, and walk around them. When they returned from the fire station, Man told her to tell me what she saw. She said "Fire F^ck"... Yep, and it was pretty funny.. Her brother did the same thing when he was her age. There was no amount of enunciating the "Tr" in Truck that got her to say it properly.. So, I assume she will outgrow it, like her brother did.

Or, she may always call it that. She has been calling a popsicle a "dub-a-dub" since she started talking. We absolutely have no idea where that came from, and now we all call them dub-a-dubs, even her 5 year old brother, and her friends, and her friends' parents. Get my drift? We are forgetting how to speak like adults and talking like a 2 year old. Go figure!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

I am a tad sad today..

The grandkids are going to their dad's house for 8 days and I am really going to miss them. When they are gone for a weekend, I miss them, but I am usually so busy doing all the stuff I don't do when they are around, I don't have much time to think about it. I picked them up from daycare yesterday and took them to get a snow cone and we sat at a picnic table eating snow cones and talking for an hour. I didn't want it to end. We then went to my house and waited on Daughter so we could go to Pizza Inn. We had fun, but it was hard to leave them. Before BT would go play games, he made me promise not to leave without saying good-bye. I promised him I would not leave Pizza Inn without first getting a hug and a kiss from him and his sister.

I have plenty of things to do in the next 8 days. Not only at my own house, but at Daughter's house too. We want to have everything done before they come home so it can once again, be ALL ABOUT THEM!!! I love being a G!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"This is the Best Day of My Life"

Daughter is working late this week so I am picking up the kids from daycare so they won't be the last ones there in the afternoons. Yesterday after I picked them up, we went to the park. We watched the ducks, looked for baby ducks, and found them, played on the swings, slides, monkey bars, etc. Then we got on the tire swings. BT and BK got on one tire swing together and absolutely loved it. After swinging for about 10 minutes, BT announced "G, this is the best day of my life." I almost cried. On a sunny afternoon in March, BT is having the best day of his life as he swings on a tire swing at the local park. I hope he always finds such happiness in the simple things in life.

And, he wants a tire swing at his house.. I told him I would talk to mama about that one. He wanted to know where we could get a big tire. I told him I had some ideas. :)

BK on the other hand, in attempting to do EVERYTHING her big brother does, such as laying across the swing seat on her stomach and pretending she is an airplane.. she didn't adjust her weight accordingly, and landed face first in the sand, with her mouth open. She actually handled it really well, and she learned to adjust her weight better so she didn't fall head first into the sand again.. She did vent a little bit by whacking the swing a couple of times since it obviously tossed her head first into the sand. She brushed herself off, and decided to slide for a while instead. She is a funny kid. Not everybody can laugh at what she does, but I can. I raised one just like her.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Kids truly say the darndest things..

The grandkids were around a lot this weekend, which is always a good thing. They both spent the night with me Saturday night, which means I had to get the air mattress out and put it in the den, because that is what BT wanted me to do, and I am a G that is here to please. BK could care less. She will pretty much sleep anywhere. When BT was a baby, he used to sleep in a pak-n-play in my room when he stayed overnight. When he finally outgrew the pak-n-play, I had to come up with a new plan for his sleeping arrangements because I didn't want him sleeping upstairs, with or without me, just in case he got up looking for me (even if I was in the bed with him) and tried to wander down the stairs alone. Anyway, I bought a blowup air mattress and for him, it was love at first sight. He absolutely loved it. He had just had his first birthday and I knew it was time to graduate to a bigger bed. I put it up one weekend when I knew he would be coming for an overnight visit and there was a look of absolute pure joy on his face when he first saw his new bed. We are now on our second air mattress, and he loves it as much now as he did when he first saw it. He could sleep upstairs, and has, but he prefers it when I rearrange my den furniture and blow up the air mattress.. Kids! BK loves it too, but she loves everything BT loves.. That is just how she is.

Anyway, the evening went well, in spite of the time change.. Both kids slept til about 8. We got up, cooked breakfast, hung out, etc.. BT is fascinated with the Polar Express and was pretending he was the engineer. He was walking around with a pretend lantern, making train noises. Man asked him what he was doing. BT told him he was the engineer on the Polar Express. Man asked him how he could be the engineer and BT told him he was using his imagination. Man asked him if he could see his imagination, and BT told him, and I quote: "Man, you can't see my imagination because it is in my brain and my head covers it up." I was laughing out loud and so was Man. He truly says the darndest things.

Daughter informed me that when BK got out of the car this morning at daycare, she wanted to take her purse in with her. Daughter told her to leave it in the car. BK said, and I quote: "But Mama, I NEED my purse." How do you argue with what a girl needs?!! In the purse are her hot pink sunglasses, lipstick a/k/a chapstick, and a brush.. What else could she possibly need throughout the day? She is a truly funny kid. She makes us all laugh on a regular basis. She and her brother could not be more different, but they truly do love each other, and they play well together, most days. She certainly demands more attention than he does, or ever has. He is a sweetheart, and a thinker for sure. She is a D.R.A.M.A queen, somewhat like her mother, who is my daughter. Life is never dull around this family.. I am blessed.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Grandkids and their questions...

Last night I ran over to Daughter's house to see some home improvements she is having done, but mostly to see the grandkids. As soon as we got through with hugs and kisses, BT wanted to watch Willie Wonka a/k/a Charlie and Chocolate Factory.. I think he is addicted. He has a long black coat he wears, a tall hat, and a "cane" a/k/a one half of a curtain rod, and anytime the movie is on, he is wearing his attire. He and BK both know most of the words to this movie by heart and feel compelled to talk right along with the actors in the movie. It is actually very funny to watch and listen to them. They imitate what is being done, especially when the characters are singing. BT is one of those kids who challenges you to think. He wanted to know what "Oompa Loompas" are (if you don't know what they are, watch Charlie and Chocolate Factory). I told him they were Oompa Loompas. He said I know that, but WHAT are they. I again told him they were Oompa Loompas. Again he asked BUT WHAT ARE THEY? I finally told him, and I quote "just like monkeys are monkeys, Oompa Loompas are just Oompa Loompas." He said "Oh, ok." He bought it! After that he wanted to know of Willie Wonka was real and I told him no. He then reminded me his mama had bought him a Willie Wonka Chocolate Bar (not kidding) so he has to be real. How else can you get a Willie Wonka Chocolate Bar if Willie Wonka is not real?!! Duh on me!

He then wanted to know if Santa is real, and I told him absolutely. We knew this for a fact since he is the person in charge of making all the toys. He told me that made sense. Then he wanted to know why Santa wears boots and I told him because he lives at the north pole and there is always snow at the north pole. The boots help keep his feet dry. He told me that made sense too. He told me I sure do know a lot... :) Yep, I do..

Thursday, March 5, 2009

What the...?

I ran some errands at lunch today and while on my way back to the office, this little bitty, teeny tiny car, which had to be one of those electric cars with no real get up and go, had the teeny tiny balls to pull out in front of me!!!! I had to slam on my brakes to keep from rear-ending her teeny tiny A$$, and then I was close enough to see she was from the county that starts with an "R" which is NEVER good. Apparently they are totally unfamliar with stops signs, yield signs, red lights, yellow lights, blinkers and the lines you are supposed to drive between. Unfortunately, this idiot was looking for something that either didn't exist, or she had never driven in my great county where most people seem to "have it going on!" She turned off the two lane road I was on, onto a four lane road, and she continued to drive as if she were the only vehicle on the road, SERIOUSLY!! Unfortunately, again, she turned onto another two lane road, which I also had to turn on, and she proceeded to get in the turn lane, without EVER turning on her blinker, because again, they are apparently unfamiliar with blinkers in the "R" county, and then when I got right beside her, she decided she didn't know where the *&^% she was, and almost hit me as she proceeded to get back in my lane. I gave her "the look," to which she was completely oblivious, and she looked at me like I had a problem. My only problem was her! And, she was not even on a cell phone, just simply talking to her passenger as she roamed from lane to lane, without ever using a turn signal, an arm out the window, or anything else to warn she was going to change her mind, AGAIN!!!! GRRRRRRRRR!

Now, I feel much better. One hour til HAPPY HOUR at my house! ;0~

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Happy Hump Day...

I love the middle of the week. It means I am almost to the end of the week, and can work in the yard, play with the grandkids DURING THE DAY, and cook on the grill. I know you are not supposed to wish your time away, but I love the weekends.. especially Friday afternoons for some reason.

My niece's birthday is this weekend and we are cooking out for her Friday night. For the most part if her birthday gets celebrated by family members, I am the one who puts something together. As a rule, she will call me and ask me what we are doing for her birthday. Last year she was out of town and we didn't do anything, but this year, we are going to celebrate her turning 24. Her requests were simple: burgers, 7 layer mexican dip, some "adult" beverages, etc. I can handle all of that. It will be a small gathering of family and a few of her friends. I am looking forward to it.

I have a brand new grill and I am anxious to cook on it. Man and I are going to give it a trial run tonight to get any kinks worked out prior to the weekend. I prefer cooking on gas. Daughter prefers charcoal. I used to try to cook on charcoal, but I could never get the coals to stay hot until the food was done. So, I am a hardcore gas grill girl! And, I am pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. There is nothing I won't try to grill, but I probably cook more chicken than anything. My recipe is simple and it always gets consumed. Two of my favorite things to cook with are Moore's Sauce (or Dale's) and Italian dressing. You just can't go wrong with either of these and they work on everything. Anyway, I will be grilling in less than 2 hours, and having an "adult" beverage.. ;~

More later...