A Time to Listen

This morning began as most school mornings do... rushed and to the point of just about late. I really hate that feeling, but for some reason no matter what, school mornings go this way. Getting myself and the children dressed, fed and out the door is a major feat for me... I feel like I have accomplished something just getting them to the car seats...

Before children I was a flight attendant, and time was always first and foremost for me. If I was to be at work at 9a.m., I would get there 30 minutes early. I was afraid to be late - who wants a plane full of passengers and crew to watch as you boarded late, knowing you were the slacker who had made them late as well?!

Not me, so I became a fanatic about time. I never left the house without a watch... and going to work without one was unthinkable. As a matter of fact, if it did happen I would just buy one in the airport... after awhile I had back up watches in my carry on bag, just in case.

When we had babies I stopped wearing a watch, and something happened to the fanatical time thing...

This morning I had a MOMS Club monthly meeting to attend after dropping EJ off at Pre-K. Cub always goes with me, and enjoys playing with the other kids. I was going over the introduction for the speaker in my head when Cub began whining... at first it wasn't so much, but he continued to get more upset.

"Mommy, me go home!" he said, or really was demanding. I thought he was just using his new whining technique... he has hit me with it recently. It's the one he learned well from his sister.

"Not today, Bud (one of his MANY nicknames)... we are going to a meeting!" I was hoping if I made it sound like it was "McDonald's fun" he would cease with the incessant whining, and let me think a little.

"NO Mommy, me wanna goooo homeeeeee!" If I had been clued in I would have noted his desperate attempts to tell me something....

"Cub, we can't go home right now.... Mommy has to drop some things off at the bank, get you some breakfast and then we are going to a meeting. Now, that's really enough!"

There! I was sure after being so firm he would now relent and we could continue in "peace"...

I was on the phone, in the line for his breakfast at Chick-Fil-A when I heard something in the back seat... I turned to find my sweet baby boy covered in throw up... (I know, I know... yuck... but there just isn't a good word for that circumstance!)

Not only my sweet little boy, but the car seat, his navy pea coat, his pants, shoes - and yes, his side of the car. Covered. I didn't know he even had that much in him...

And, I felt as bad as he did or worse for not paying attention to his pleas...

Needless to say, I missed the meeting and took him straight home. I gave him a bath, put him in his most comfortable pajamas and took him to his chair in the playroom - He wanted to watch Buzz Lightyear. It's a comfort thing.

"Mommy, sit with me peas... Wanna watch Buzz with me?" he said, holding up his arms. I pretty much just melted... now that I have kids, I can see why when I batted my eyes at my Diddy he would cave. I think EJ gets it already .

So, I sat down in his chair (the overstuffed kind from Pottery Barn Kids - thank goodness it was big enough for us both) and watched Toy Story with him for the millionth time. Maybe the billionth even. Yep, I think it's the billionth...

"I threw up... it come out the hole" he stated, pointing to his paci filled little mouth. He is great at talking around that paci now... and boy do they come up with some funny ways to explain stuff!

"Yes you did, little man... I hope you feel better" I hugged him closer, hating I was too busy to really listen to him earlier, and determined to make it up to him.

I sat and watched that movie, hugging my son and answering his every question... It is now one of my most cherished times with Cub. As many times as I have sat and watched that movie with the kids, I saw it in a new way this morning... We laughed at Slinky Dog and Mr. Potato Head, and yelled at that mean kid when he "operated" on those poor toys in his room. Cub cheered his hero Buzz through it all, and I just loved on my son. I know he won't be 2 forever, but I will never forget this day as long as I live!

I love Baby Showers!

On Saturday we had a baby shower for my cousin, Renee.
She and her husband Evan are expecting a baby girl in a couple weeks, and this was the last shower before the big day... whenever that day may be!

(somewhere around Feb 12th, when she hopes to be induced if she hasn't gone into labor on her own - they told Renee last week the baby was already 7 pounds! She is a tiny bit worried because babies in our family come big...)

It was a dessert shower, and the kids were in heaven. Sugar was everywhere, and everyone loves to give the cute kids sugar at a baby shower... cookies, cake, brownies, pie and mints, oh my!

What I wanted to share with yall was this, though - see the picture below of the fruit arrangement - WOW!


It was awesome... Renee's Aunt Phyllis, who used to be BB's and my babysitter when we were kids, had this made. It was a huge hit, especially the chocolate dipped strawberries...

The shower went well... Renee got some very cute things, we saw a lot of our family and good friends, and I caught "baby fever" all over again. I try not too, but I just love all the adorable things for babies! And little girl clothes are just precious... but we are really complete with two, and I am okay with that. I have cousins and friends (and someday soon a sis in law!) who can have the sweet babies and I will go visit to get my little baby fix.

At least when the little thing has a bad diaper I can hand them back to their sleep deprived Mommies - I am still changing diapers myself, so I already have my share of that duty...

Now, if you read Reynie's blog you will see a picture of her sister Stephanie and myself with our cameras in action... here is the opposite side of that photographic standoff...


Stephanie and I were on the same cheerleading squad when we were kids (maybe 12 years old?), and Reynie was the mascot... who would have thought that someday she would marry my brother? There is a group shot somewhere of that squad, and one of them will be scanning it in as soon as they read this, I fear it. So, let me go ahead and say that it isn't flattering for me at all... the early 80's were a time of bad hair cuts and I had even bigger glasses, but I can handle it yall! Bring it on!

3 and a half days left until the LOST season premier!

Elizabeth's Nap Time Prayer

Dear God,

"Thanks you" for this beautiful day. "Thanks you" for my family, my friends at school, my Cocoa Bear and Cub's CB Bear.

"Thanks you" for letting me sing, dance and draw pictures... please tell GeGe that I hope she can hear me when I sing. Take good care of her and help her cause she is in heaven. Maddie too - is she playing with you?

"Thanks you" for the sun in the sky, the stars and the moon, and all the animals in the world... Amen!

This was her prayer at nap time. We don't always say one at nap time like we do every night, and she doesn't always nap... but today she did both. Well, she isn't exactly sleeping, but she is in her room playing quietly. Cub is really napping....

I just had to share as it touched my heart and I want to remember it always!

Tag! You're it!

My Sister in Law, Reynie (God, do you hear this Southern Girl Rambling?) has tagged me for a Meme. For most of you who read my blog (again, all 5 or 6 of you now, my awesome family and friends!) a Meme is probably as foreign to you as it was to me before I began this little blogging adventure... basically, I answer the same set of questions that Reynie did on her blog, and link to some other bloggers for their answers.

I am all for it - I love games, and it is interesting to see what other people will put for their answers. It is also a nice way to get to know someone new... thing is, I do not "know" that many folks here in the world wide web!

When Reynie began blogging I thought it was a great idea, and a good place for me to begin writing down the things I don't want to forget about our children. Besides writing for a local magazine, I haven't really written in years, and this is what I went to college for. That is, before I switched my major from journalism to broadcasting... I wanted to be the next Barbara Walters, but she has still not retired, so I was a flight attendant for 12 years, waiting... then I had babies. Maybe she'll retire by the time the kids are in school, and I go back to work full time?!

Since that first post in November of last year, I have pretty much kept to my own little space, checking out others blogs along the way, but never leaving too many comments... not because I didn't enjoy reading their blog, but because I feel like the new girl in class!

So, below are my answers, and here is my own way of tagging someone without them wondering who I am... If you are here and reading this (?!), please leave me a link to your blog with your answers... or, just answer here in my comments if you prefer. I will visit and introduce myself, stepping out of the box a little more!

Love/Hate Meme

I love to eat: Veggies! I have not eaten meat in many, many years... but my family sure does!
I hate to eat: Obviously meat, but since I don't eat it at all I will say eggs. I do eat them sometimes for protein, all smothered in ketchup!
I love to go: To Cocoa Beach with the family every summer, and to the cabin in Dahlonega with the family every fall!
I hate to go: To the grocery store with both of my kids in tow.... not the best idea!
I love it when: The kids snuggle up to me while I read their goodnight book before bed...
I hate it when: Laundry and dishes pile up - time is too short sometimes!
I love to see: The DVD Geoff made for our wedding rehearsal... it is awesome!
I hate to see: Any animal hurting or abused
I love to hear: Geoff singing with his guitar, and the kid's laughter
I hate to hear: The kid's whining and fussing with each other!

LOST - It's almost time now!

We have been waiting since last May for this, and next Thursday our wait is over... the season premier of LOST is coming on, and I am so excited!

If anyone is looking for me on Thursday night for the next couple of months (or more if the writer's strike is ever resolved), I'll be at home on the couch...

But, as a general rule, I don't even answer the phone during the show, so it won't do much good to call. Sounds bad, I know, but I have to concentrate or I might miss something! A lot of something and/or a clue to what in the world is really going on...

Geoff and I began watching LOST from the pilot episode, and were completely hooked... it is the strangest show I have ever seen, but that is what is so awesome about it. Crazy, right? You just never know what will happen next, and when you do it is something you probably wouldn't have imagined anyway...

The countdown is on!

Snow Angels

The snow has come and gone now, but it sure was pretty while it fell... but oh so cold!!!

Elizabeth made her first ever snow angel while we played at Momma's house. She was so excited about the snow she didn't want to come in to get warm... I had to practically drag her inside (seriously!) before her little hands got frost bite! The snow man was also one of her masterpieces, along with help from Momma. She got a big kick out of "rolling up" the snow balls!

I asked them what the Snowman's name was... Cub said "Frosty" and EJ said "Cinderella"... after fussing over it for a bit they decided his name would be Cinderella Frosty, and so it is...


Cub enjoyed the snow too, but he didn't have to be coaxed inside - he was ready to go when my Diddy said he was headed in. Our little man ran to his Grandiddy, practically jumping in his arms for the short trip to a warm house with a big buck stove. Not to mention the food waiting in there as well... I think that may have had a little something to do with it!

I know it really wasn't a lot of snow, but it was a treat and the kids thought it was like a blizzard... we only lost our power once (a miracle in itself as we are on the rural line and we always loose power - it's a given!) and that was the next day.

So, who knows when we will see the white stuff again, but I can wait a long while... I am now ready for spring!

May the Force be with you!

Yep, I have 3 kids. The oldest, my husband, is still a Toys R Us kid!


This is my husband and our son playing with their Star Wars light sabers...
Cub got his Yoda light saber from good 'ol Santa Claus, and Geoff got his before that, sometime last year while on a lunch break from work. It is, of course, Darth Vader's - I think it stayed at the office for a long while, but he brought it home and now the kids love to play fight with Daddy!

Snow again!?

I just heard it on the news... snow is coming our way again!

Supposedly, by Saturday morning, we will be seeing more of the white stuff... and this time it will be lots more than the "dusting" we saw yesterday. The kids will be thrilled as they were so upset to wake this morning and find what we did have was melted...

I will be excited myself... there is just something about snow here that is kinda magical, and maybe it's because we don't usually have any?

I have lived in many places that have snow on a regular basis... I worked on a ranch in Colorado for a couple seasons and the snow I saw in the Rockies was unbelievable, and beautiful. As a flight attendant I traveled to many cities that were snow bound, and lived in Boston and up in Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada for awhile as well. I have never been THAT cold in my life again, and though it was awesome to see that area, I hope to never be THAT cold again! Brrr!

All that to say is it is different here... it is unusual and therefor more exciting, I think...

Now, maybe it will snow just enough for EJ to make those snow angels she dreamed about.

Yeah!

The kids were so excited to be outside in the snow!

It really came down hard for about 45 minutes before it turned into good 'ol frozen rain/sleet, which is still coming down. As you can see, some is staying on the ground, but not much at all.

We are still going to church, so this will be quick. The kids Easter play practice is tonight, and I just wanted to share the kids fun in the "snow" with yall first!

The weather man was right... it IS snowing!!!

It is really snowing!

At Cub's Mommy and Me program this morning (it's called Laptime, and held at the county library), we talked about snowflakes and snowmen... it must have worked because it is snowing here!

The view to my parents house, through our rock garden...

Now, if it would only stick... I'd love for the kids to have the opportunity to see it all white on the ground...

I was just at Reynie's house ( God, do you hear this Southern girl rambling? blogger and my sister in law) for a meeting... after it was over we were chatting, and when I turned to leave we saw the white stuff coming down! We were like two kids, and I rushed home to see if my kids were awake.

Mom was here watching them and so we gawked at the snow a bit... we live in the south, and snow is a rare thing here. Usually we get some snow flakes, and then a lot of ice. EJ was still awake so she got up to look. Absolutely thrilled, she immediately asked if she could go outside to make snow angels!

Um, it's snowing, but not snow angels snowing... we will be lucky for it to stay around long enough to pile up anywhere. It has happened in my lifetime, but maybe twice, and not for long!

Cub's Laptime artwork...
I don't know why his snowman has a black eye!

We have church activities tonight that are likely to get cancelled , so I think I will get the kids up and go outside to play for a little while... it may be a long time before they see this again!

Did they say Snow?!

Today is one of those magic marker all over the playroom days...
I pick it up, they drag it back out just because days...
Time to clean out the bathrooms (ie.. toilets) days...
No time for a shower days...
Too cold to go out to play days...
They even said we may see some snow this week days... (!?)
One of those "it is over yet?" days...

ilovemykids.ilovemykids.ilovemykids.ilovemykids....

I really really do...

I feel better now.

The weather and other ramblings...

The weather is nice again here, and I have to say I am thankful for the warmer temperatures. I know it doesn't feel like January, but that is fine with me. After the holidays we all got what I call "the crud" (something flu like is all I can say) and at the same time it was frigid outside as well... we are still recovering from it all.

The kids playing outside on their "4 Wheelers" from good 'ol Santa Claus!

I am STILL trying to get my Christmas cards out! I have to re-write the letter I always include, but I am going to get those cards out...

This week we are getting back into the swing of our "normal" routine... but what is normal, really?

For me it is usually chaos, with planned activities included on certain (most) days. Let's see... three days of Pre-K, EJ's dance class, Cub's Mommy and Me class, church on Sundays and Wednesday nights with AWANA, nursey and Children's Choir, and various other meetings for whatever club or committee Geoff and I are on as well. Oh yeah, and sometimes I add in a freelance writing assignment for a local magazine I work with...

Our house always looks like it needs attention, and I never knew laundry and dishes could pile up so fast!

In my mind I am still organized and the house is not really that messy ... but in reality, well, sometimes I just can't face reality!

In saying all that, I still would not change this "new" reality for the old one - ever. Having this never ending mound of housework and chaos is all so worth it to be married to the right person, have two beautiful children who we love so much, and the opportunity to be involved in the things we are. Who cares the laundry is a mile high?!

(Okay, if I am honest, I do care that I can't see over the laundry sometimes, but I am working on it... )

EJ is quick to learn, and asked me today why God made the earth. I was fixing to come up with an answer I thought would be easy for her to grasp when she said "I know Mommy... God made the earth because he loves us so much and wanted us to have a home." She was so proud of that answer, and I was too. I absolutely love church Pre-K and all that she learns there. My heart swells when she sweetly sings the Bible songs I remember from childhood and being at a church school.

Cub is beginning to talk much better, and he can even say his sister's name! Elizabeth is a hard name for such a little one to say, but I am impressed with his ability to get that one out... he still thinks he is Buzz Lightyear, and is adorable when he decides to "fly" instead of walk anywhere. He'll say "Mommy, me fly like Buzz" and off he goes, arms held out like wings, into the wild blue yonder. Usually the playroom - that is his domain... and right now it is in serious need of the invader called Mommy to go in to tidy it up a bit.

So, off I go while they nap to clean up something... where do I begin?!

Sweet "Maddie Lynn"

We lost a dear member of our family last Sunday... Maddie, our beautiful dog, passed away sometime during the night and Geoff found her on Sunday morning.


Maddie would have been 13 years old this April, so she was getting to be quite an old southern lady, in dog years - especially for such a big dog. We all knew her time was coming... she had lost a lot of weight and energy this past year, but she would still love on us like she was not aching at all.

Geoff got Maddie as a puppy to be a companion for his other Rottweiller, Rick... this was back when he and I were not dating, and I didn't see him that much (so hard to imagine that now!). I believe all 3 of them (!) were "thisclose" , and when I came back into the picture Maddie was in her prime. Rick had passed on to heaven (yes - I believe in that!) sometime earlier, but Maddie was in fine shape - and all about her master. I could see the adoration in her eyes for him, and I knew he loved that dog.

I loved her immediately - she really was just so sweet and ready to please. I loved her kisses.

But my cats were not so sure.

*BIG dog (she weighed more than me!), though harmless and with sweet nature, but zilch experience with cats + large family of farm cats, some with attitude = a little Trouble

So, the blending of our little family was interesting for a bit, but we worked it out.

As our children were born they both fell in love with her too. She stayed in a large pen connected to our wooden fence, and next to the kids playground and sandbox. I will never forget her excitement when we went out to play, or the joy of the kids laughter as she offered thousands of big 'ol sloppy dog kisses. She was a big dog, and we have small kids, but Maddie was gentle and kind. She only wanted to play and love on us - and we have lots of beautiful memories to remember about just that.

That is what I tried to tell the kids last Sunday morning as we stood in Maddie's pen for her little funeral. The tears were flowing from all of us, including Ganmomma and Gandiddy. Uncle BB had come to help as well, but had left before our goodbyes began. The tears in Geoff's eyes were as heartbreaking as the kids - I think even more so as I knew the connection they had.

The rain was picking up, and it had turned a bone chilling cold, so I was thankful to God that Maddie was up in heaven with new energy, an eternity of spring weather and the chance to run and play without pain.

We will miss her greatly.

Yep, still here...

I am still here... just trying to dig out from the holidays...

I still haven't even sent out our Christmas cards!