May 31st, 2014

Sheesh!  It's been forever and a day since I've been on here.
We've been crazy busy with school, church, work, soccer, and life in general that I haven't even thought about posting.  But now, it's Saturday, the boys are gone for a little while - how 'bout a little review and a few random thoughts?  Don't mind if I do.

It's finally summer and my favorite time of the year!  Ben is out of school; he finished fourth grade and leaves his elementary school for a new intermediate school next year for fifth grade.  Fifth Grade!! Unbelievable. 
As we went through visiting his previous teachers on the last day of school, I snapped pics of him with each of them and gave hugs - I never once thought I'd get teary-eyed, but I did!  He had such wonderful teachers there - I'm going to miss the family atmosphere.  The school he's heading to is muchmuch larger, they'll have sixteen 5th grade classes!  I'm already overwhelmed, I can't imagine how he'll feel.

My 'baby' turned 10 the first of May.  TEN!  We celebrated with a birthday party in the back yard. We called it the "Food Fight Rematch" - called a rematch because 2 years ago I lost my mind and had the first birthday party + food fight.  That party was such a hit with the boys that I thought, heck, why not do it again?!  This time, we invited 10 boys (and they all showed up! eek!).  I made sure to have lots of stuff for the boys to throw - Jell-O, mashed potatoes, flour, whipped cream, cheese puffs and pork n' beans.  We also had lots of silly string and I'd made 25-30 sponge bombs and put them in tubs of water in the yard. Now, when I had the bright idea to make them for the party, I thought the boys would use them sort of like water balloons; they'd throw them at each other, and the water would help wash off some of the yuck.  Uh.  Not so much.  They got downright violent with them!  I made sure to stay far away during the melee, but they had a ball.
I made Ben's birthday cake and if I can figure out how to post a picture, I'll do so.  He wanted a Minecraft cake, so I hit the internet looking for ideas.  I found a wonderful YouTube video and followed it exactly - it was awesome if I say so myself.  He was so excited to show it off to his friends.  Am I a cool mom or what?  :)
After dark, we roasted marshmallows over the fire pit and made s'mores, then went inside for showers and to cool off a bit before bed.  Oh, I didn't mention it was a sleepover?  Yes. Another brilliant idea on my part.  Ha!  Greg had the camper and tent all set up and ready to go earlier in the afternoon, so at bedtime the boys drew straws to decide who got to sleep where.  (the camper has AC and actual beds......the tent?  Doesn't.)  A good friend (and Dad to one of the kids) slept in the tent with half the boys and my sweet husband slept in the camper with the other half.   Not sure how much sleeping went on out there, because I slept in blissful peace and quiet inside ~ that's the advantage of being the only girl!
The zombies started peeling out of their caves at around 7:30am,  ready for breakfast.  We formed a buffet line for them after making approximately 750 pancakes, 245 pieces of bacon and 22 dozen scrambled eggs.  Give or take.
They fueled up and then headed back outside.  They ran, they screamed, they used anything and everything as weapons, they hollered, they ran some more, they went out in the woods and built forts, they explored, and they ran and ran and ran. 
When it was time to leave, we handed them over to their parents tired and filthy, eaten up with bug bites and scratches from running through briars in the woods.  Just the way boys are supposed to look. 
After the dust settled, we pronounced the party a big success and I vowed to never do it again.  :)


We're gearing up for vacation in a couple of weeks - I think we're all more than ready for a little R&R.   We'll be spending a week in Orlando with a few hundred thousand of our closest friends.  Can't wait.  :)   Then later on in June, Ben and I will be headed to the beach with Mom, Toni and the boys. That's always a fun trip when my sister and I get together.  Silliness abounds. 


Ahh.  Summertime.  I'm actually sitting on the back porch right now ~ ceiling fan is on, feet propped up on the table.  Greg and Ben came back earlier, now the hubs has started demolishing the deck and I'm supposed to be supervising. 
Guess I'd better go make sure everything is up to snuff.  

Have a wonderful summer!




 

Crawfish and Sausage Soup

 

This is the recipe for the soup Ben loves - we made it for the first time way back in 2010.  I was in the kitchen trying to figure out something to make for supper (hmm...is there a theme here?) and Ben was 'helping' me.  So, we literally started throwing things in a pot, and this is what we came up with!  The measurements are approximate - it's basically a dump-it-in-to-taste recipe.

 Crawfish & Sausage Soup
  
Medium-dark roux, using 1/2 of a stick of butter and 1/3 cup of flour

1 lb  Cajun Smoked Sausage, sliced
1 package crawfish tails, rinsed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 T dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Pasta of your choice, cooked
Louisiana Hot sauce, optional *

Make a medium-dark roux;  when done, add onions to roux and cook over medium heat till done.  Transfer to a medium sized stock pot.  Add sliced sausage, chicken broth, bay leaves and parsley.  Bring to a boil.  Add cream of mushroom soup, whisk to combine.  Add crawfish tails and cooked pasta, season with salt and pepper.  Heat through, remove bay leaves and serve immediately. 


*The sausage has a bit of heat to it, but if you want to add hot sauce, go for it.  Because I made it with Ben in mind, I didn't add the hot sauce.





 

Choices

On the way to school this morning, I asked Ben if he wanted anything special for supper tonight. (yeah, it's sad that I have to get supper ideas from an 8 year old...)

Well, I'll give you three guesses as to what his first idea was.  It starts with a p and ends
with an a.  Has izz in the middle....

I tell ya, at 7:45 am (that was really 6:45, due to the whole Spring Forward event of the weekend)  pizza was not high up there on my list of ideas for supper. 

So, I tried to talk him out of that - I crinkled my nose and said how about something else? 

     How about my Honey Chicken?   "Nah."

     Chicken and Sausage Gumbo?  "Nah."

He thought for a second and said, "Shish kabobs?  Without.....?"   (*)

     Without what, bud?

"Without the vegetables.  Just the steak and onions?"

     Um, I'm not sure I have any steak, but if I do, yeah, I guess we could have that. 

He was quiet for a minute and then said, "Hey! What about that crawfish and sausage soup?  That's my most favorite food ever that you make!  Could you go to the store and get some crawfish and make that?"

     Really? That's your favorite?  Um, sure.  I could do that. 

"AWEsome!  I love you, Mom!!"   Kiss!!  :)

So, I guess I'll be making a trip into town for crawfish.  Nah, he's not spoiled at all.






*We have a friend who has introduced Ben to the wonders of Mediterranean food - he thinks Mr. Sam is cool, so he's tried several new things and, lo and behold!  he likes it!!!    In fact, he was walking around the house the other day, saying, "Baba ganoush!" 
But even Mr. Sam can't get Ben to eat vegetables - cool as he is.

 

Dread.

 The definition of dread, according to Mr. Know-it-all Google:

      Verb - Anticipate with great apprehension or fear.

 

 

Oh, it's not something that I've thought about every waking moment, or even all that frequently - but when it would pop into my head, dread would be the perfect word choice. 

 

The question I've dreaded for 8 years has finally been asked.

 

We were driving home from somewhere last weekend, and for whatever reason, we were in two cars - little man rode with his Dad, while I drove alone.   As we gathered our things from the cars to go in the house, Greg pulled me to the side and told me that Ben had asked who his Birthparents were.  My first thoughts were:  Ooh, thank goodness he asked his Daddy and not me!  And, oh dear Lord, what brought this on??  Why now?  What do we say??

We huddled in the garage for a minute, deciding finally that:  if he asked, he's ready to know.

(nobody asked me if I was ready!)

 

We've had the adoption conversation before - he knows he's adopted, we use the word adoption freely - but he's never asked about Birthparents.  My baby is somewhat naive about the whole birds and the bees thing; he hasn't been around many pregnant women, so the whole idea of where babies come from is waaaaay off his radar.  Thank goodness.  So, for him to ask - out of the blue - about Birthparents?  (we found out that he'd watched an episode of Wizards of Waverly Place featuring an adopted character, who referred to their Birthparents....go figure.) 

 

So, we put all our things away and called a Family Meeting.  Ben hopped into my lap, happy-go-lucky, while I felt my stomach start to digest itself.  My sweet husband took the reins and brought the subject up again. {Because of privacy, I'm not going to go into specifics  - the folks that read this blog (most of you, anyway) know us and our family story personally, so specifics aren't necessary.}  

 

After a few minutes, with all his questions answered, the subject was closed and he was satisfied.  That, which I'd dreaded for so long, was much easier than I could have dreamed. 

I know this won't be the end of the questioning, but I think the groundwork has been laid nicely. 

Now, I'll have to find something else to dread.....
 

 

 

Mother's Day 2012

Thank you, my sweetest boy for my 8th Mother's Day as your mom. 


You are my precious angel and I love you more than life itself.



Mom

Growth.

Sheesh.  My baby is growning up and I'm not too sure I'm all that happy about it! 
The boy has just about outgrown every pair of jeans that he owns!  This morning, I helped him get his clothes out for school -  as he pulled the jeans on I could tell they were a bit snug.  He couldn't snap them...."Mom, can you get this for me?".......let's see.....ok, suck it in......uh, no.  Too short and too tight!
To make matters worse, they were semi-new!!  (read: they didn't have holes in the knee)
Did he have a growth spurt that I missed?! 

Speaking of growing up.....

We took our new camper out for our inaugural camping trip this weekend!  We didn't go far, just up the road 20-30 minutes to FDR State Park.  Lovely place, lovely weather.  We hiked, biked, fished and roasted marshmallows over the fire.  Oh, and the boy found a girlfriend. 

Our campsite was across from the play area, so my Social Butterfly son spent a good bit of time over there playing with the other camp kids.  When he wasn't at the playground, he was whining that he wanted to go play with his new friends at the playground.  We soon found out why. 
Her name was Abby.  Or Addie.  Or Allie.  Something like that.  Anyway.  I believe it was love at first sight.

After breakfast Sunday morning, we heard the sound of kids on the playground, so he asked if he could go over to play.  He got dressed, then asked if his hair was still sticking up (he had a bit of The Bed Head going on).   I told him yes - did he want me to fix it for him?  Yes, please.
So, I moistened it a bit and tried to make it behave, which led to nice flat wet hair.. 
I asked him if he wanted me to dry it a little with my hair dryer.  Yes, please.
A few knowing looks over his head to the Daddy and we were done.
"Is it ok, Mom?"
"Is it flat?" 
Yes, baby.  You're perfect.

And just like that, my baby grew up.  He wanted to be sure his hair was ok before he went out to meet his 'friends', particularly, one girl.  As we watched through the camper screen, he walked toward the playground and the kids flocked to him.





We were thinking, though.  Our Social Butterfly who worried so much about whether his hair was flat, never thought to brush his teeth. 

Maybe I've got a few more years yet?

yo quiero taco mio!!

 

Every afternoon, on our way home from school I typically ask Ben a few things - how his day went, whadja' eat for lunch, any problems at school, etc.   Tuesday afternoon was no different as we drove the short distance home....lunch consisted of pb&j, his day went 'fine', and no, there were no problems.  Then:

me: Want anything special for supper?
him:   Can we have tacos?
me:  Sure!  I have taco stuff! 
him:  Can we have tacos tonight and spaghetti tomorrow night? 
me:  Sure,  no problem!

We get home, argue over homework for way too long, and then I piddle around a little til it's time for me to start supper.  Fast forward 30-45 minutes or so, the Daddy walks in the door from work.  Ben comes in from the living room - where he's been glued to the tv - to greet his Daddy.  As he's walking around the bar into the kitchen, he asks me if the tacos are ready. 

Crickets.

Tacos?!

Ah!  Oh no!  Giggle!

I made spaghetti!!! 

Somehow, when I opened the pantry door to get out the taco kit, I must have had spaghetti on the brain and pulled that out instead!  It nevereverever even occurred to me as I was up to my elbows in noodles and sauce that I was making the wrong meal! 
All was forgiven, though, as long as I promised we could have tacos tomorrow night - Wednesday.

Now, normally we try to eat Wednesday night supper at church - it's always good, it's cheap, and easy on the Mama - but yesterday the meal they had planned was something that I knew Ben would not eat, so I intended to go home and make the promised tacos.  Wednesday afternoon riding home from school same routine - same answers too, now that I think about it......anyway......

We get home a little later than I had intended when I made the plan/promise to make tacos for him, so I asked him would it be ok if we skip the tacos (again!) and maybe have some hot dogs?  He laughed and said, sure.  (why yes, I'm catering to a 7 year old.....what?)  So, hot dogs it was! 

And another promise for tacos 'tomorrow night'. 

This morning I was reminded of my taco promise.   My baby wants tacos!! 




Just got a call from the Daddy.  Looks like we're gonna have to skip the tacos again tonight.....







Who wants to break the news to the little man?

Seven

Dear Ben,

You, my little man, are now seven years old.  Seven.  S-e-v-e-n!!  Oh dear. 

To top that off - in just a few short days, you will be finished with first grade!  Now wait just a dang minute.  There's no way you're already seven and finishing first grade?!  How is this possible?  

Your feet are almost as big as mine.  I know: I tried on your flip flops. 

You're getting taller by the minute!  All of your jeans have obviously been stolen and replaced with another child's much shorter jeans (who also have the propensity to rip the left and only the left knee....amazing coincidence, yes?)

You're getting stronger and faster every day.  We wrestle on the couch and I have to remind you that I'm a girl, and we're more gentle with girls!  Then you whack me on the head.

You have your own crazy sense of humor.  You kill me with your booty-shaking dance moves.  Everything is better loud and fast.   And loud. 

You're hungry ALL THE TIME.   My ears bleed from hearing, "Mama, can I have a snack?", or after supper: "I'm still hungry".  

You have amazed and astounded me with your mad baseball skillz this season.  To see the difference over such a short period of time - what a change!  All in stride for you though. (I love watching you play!!)

You're open and honest.  A true friend and social butterfly: you've never met a stranger.

Your laugh is still as infectious as ever.  Your energy is non-stop.  (And loud.)
You meet life head-on, and wide-open, bubba!  Your sweetness is over-powering.  You grow more beautiful each and every day.  You still allow me to hold you and snuggle from time to time;  these are among the minutes I treasure.  

You are and always will be a very special little boy.  You were my gift from heaven,  I am blessed beyond measure to be your Mom.   Happy Birthday, my sweet baby boy!

me:  "I love you."
you: "I love you more."
me: "I love you most."

With all my love,

Mom

silly tiger

A couple of weeks ago, the little man had a project to do for school.  This particular project was assigned by the Media Specialist.....um, for those who went to school (like me) prior to the super-secret-renaming of faculty-event,  that would be the Librarian.  Now, why and when the name changed, I don't know.  Remember we're late to this parenting a school-aged child thing.  Anyway....

So, this project was a research paper of sorts.  The librarian, oops,  media specialist (!) helped him research his subject:  tigers.  She had helped him write out several key points and then sent the information home for him to use to write his paper.   As we sat going through the information together, well....somewhat together....SOMEone wasn't too thrilled to be sitting at the table doing homework, when, quite possibly he might be missing his very favorite show that he's seen a thousand times and  ohmygoodness! I-just-can't-sit-here-any-longer-Mama-because-I'm-soooooo-tiiiiirrrrredddd-and-do-we-have-to-do-this-noooooowww?????

Around this time, the Daddy came in to save the day; my glaring and threatening of bodily harm obviously wasn't working.  He sat down at the table, reviewed the instructions for the paper and we all worked on it together. We had a pretty good system:  Ben would read the information, we'd discuss it and then we'd decide if it needed to be included in the report.   It only needed to be three paragraphs, so it wasn't all that detailed.  Our paragraphs were to include what tigers eat,  where do tigers live, and how many cubs do tigers usually have.  To make sure the finished product was as neat as could be, Ben dictated the information  - in his words -  to me,  as I wrote it onto a separate piece of paper.  

We'd finally finished gathering the information, so he started to transfer the information over in his handwriting.  Roles were reversed: I dictated, he wrote.   I allowed him to have some freedom with his spelling,  that is, unless he was really off on a particular word - I allowed a fair amount of mistakes,  planning to come back at the completion of the paper to make corrections.  

Minutes pass.  Time to proof-read and correct mistakes; more groaning and whining ensue.  Ok, so maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let him write everything out and then expect him to correct his mistakes afterward.  Whatever.

At the point in the paper covering what tigers eat, I observed the following portion of a sentence, as written by Ben:

   ".....a tigers diet can include beer, badgers, rabbits...." 

As I'm reading the sentence aloud to him,  I say,

     "...a tigers diet can include beer and pretzels...."  

By now, he's sitting on my lap, so he snapped his head around, giving me a surprised look  and tells me that's not what it says!  
I picked up the paper to peer at it closely and said,  "Oh! Just beer!  Ok, I see.  A tigers diet can include beer.  Hmm.  I didn't know that."

It takes a few minutes of giggling and me forcing him to re-read his sentence for him to see that he'd written beer instead of deer.    

Yes, we corrected it. 


Even though I do know a few Tigers whose diets consist of beer and pretzels.  Just sayin'.

Maxine's Mystic Revelers*

Good Monday Morning!  Spent the weekend on the Gulf Coast for what has become our family's annual Mardi Gras trip - and boy, we were paraded out by the time Sunday rolled around!  It's so nice to get together with the extended family for a time - lots of laughter, food, and definitely noise!  We are one loud group!  Just ask the neighbors!  Ahem.

Brought home bags full (literally) of cheap Mardi Gras stuff - beads, stuffed animals, plastic crabs, candy, Moon Pies, cups, dubloons, etc etc.   The little man wanted to take some beads to his classmates this morning, so I counted out 40 strands of the multicolored beads, explained to him that he would be able to give each friend 2 strands and that he needed to make sure it would be ok with his teacher before he started passing them around.  I sent a note with him, addressed to her, regarding the beads.  I hope he's able to give them out without causing too much of a ruckus in the classroom.  I threatened told him absolutely no throwing of beads in the classroom!!!  
I hope he listened. 

Happy Mardi Gras, everybody! 



*MMR - our 'Offical' Krewe name.  :)

Love is.....

• changing the oil in my car...
• taking the garbage out that I leave sitting by the door - 8 steps away from the garbage can...
• sweeping up packing peanuts in the middle of the night because you said you'd clean up the mess...
• buying Valentine's cards for me from you and our little man...
• building a fire because "I'm cold" is something you hear repeatedly - AND we can roast marshmallows...then, making the perfect marshmallow for yourself...
• going to work every day for our family...
• our little family...
• taking care of things...
• never giving up on me...
• sentimental...
• thoughtful...
• sweet...
• funny...
• sometimes stressed-out...
• never forgotten...
• always calling on the way home from work...
• insisting on date nights...
• a wonderful Daddy to our son...
• comfortable...
• for always...

Love is: You....and so much more.

Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetie.  I love you.

You are:

Celebrating your birthday today.  And might I say, you absolutely, positively do NOT look this new age you're trying on for the first time today.

A wonderful wife, mother and grandmother (to grandbabies biological and adopted).

A truly gifted musician.  Your talent, with true humility, has touched me more times than I can remember.  

A fellow coffee and chocolate lover.  'Nuff said.

A priceless gift from God to those who know you and love you.

A beautiful person, inside and out. 

An awesome fish..er..person.....fisherwoman?....fisherlady?

The owner of the most infectious laugh!  Your joy shines through your eyes, overwhelming mere mortals like me with its warmth.

The most eloquent prayer warrior.  I picture God smiling from ear to ear whenever I'm blessed to listen in on your conversation with Him. 

Obviously a saint - for putting up with your trouble-making husband for all these years.

A wonderful teacher - your love of music is your gift to the children you teach.

A true friend.

An absolute blessing to me and my family.  


Thank you for all that you do (and have done) for our family; for being right there with us during a really sad and confusing season - comforting when needed, always praying, and loving us through it all.  Then, rejoicing with us when a crazy little monkey boy came into the world and into our hearts.   You were there all along - loving him from the day he was born.  Thank you for being a very special part of our lives.

Happy Birthday, sweet Nonny!

Good morning

Woke the little man this morning with a kiss and a back scratch. 
The usual: "up, down, over" directions started long before all the cobwebs were cleared. 

Scratch.  Direct.  Rub.

"No, Mom!  Scratch!"    Oops.  Pardon me, sir.

More directions:   "down, down, down".   Down to the perfect little boy bottom covered in tighty whities. 

"I am NOT scratching your bottom, mister!"  as I poked it with my finger. 

Giggling, he said, "That's not my botttom, Mama, those are my bottom boobs!" 

No, that's not a word we normally use. I've heard him say it before referring to my, um...lady parts....and have corrected him immediately, but this morning I didn't.  I laughed. 




I'm probably gonna regret that.

football

This snippet of conversation heard Saturday morning between Nana and Ben, on our way to Ben's Very First Ever(!) football game.  Topic?  Obviously: the upcoming game.   

Nana asked Ben, "Did you know your Daddy was a football player?" 

Ben:  "But I thought he was an Engineer!"

:)

Top this, 5-star restaurant!

Last night's supper was basically a 'Fend for Yourself' affair.  Leftovers, check: just heat 'em up yourself.  Well, except for Ben - even though he makes a mean scrambled egg (with supervision!) I didn't force him to fix his own supper...I'm not that bad of a mom!  Sheesh!
As I'd had a cup of coffee late in the afternoon that sort of took my appetite away, I didn't eat, thinking I'd just grab something a little later. ha

Probably an hour or so later, as we were sitting at the kitchen table working on spelling words, math problems and sight words, I decided to finally fix myself something to eat.  But, before I could throw anything together, something else came up and the opportunity for me to eat was lost.

More time passed.

Even later, at Ben's urging, we trudged outside to listen to the night sounds on the back porch - we had lots of rain this weekend; happy frogs make lots of noise!  After we'd oohed and ahhed over the frog songs, The Daddy said sweetly, "I have an idea! Why don't you go make us some chocolate chip cookies, Mama?" 
To which, The Son jumped up and down saying, "YES!  Cookies! Mama!? Make some cookies!?!"
I answered, "Um. I don't think so. I still haven't had supper.  Remember?  And besides, it's after 8.  No cookies tonight."   As I laughed maniacally and shuffled off into the dark woods...
The Daddy agreed, saying he didn't realize it was that late.  Well, not five seconds after that, Ben jumped up to go inside.  I peeked in on him to see what was so important that he had to run inside, only to find him in the kitchen - obviously up to something.  So, we waited.

A few minutes later, my baby boy walked outside with a little plate.  On that little plate was a sandwich and one of his snack bags of pre-cut apples with grapes.  He'd made my supper!   The sandwich?  Grape jelly and apricot preserves.  He said he'd looked for the peanut butter in the cupboard but couldn't find it, so he just used apricot preserves instead. 
After a quick hug, he rushed back inside to make me something to drink (and so Daddy could show him where the PB was).  He returned with my drink (and the PB) and stood there,  just beaming.

I lost it.

My sweet baby made my supper!

Daddy had to explain that Mom's tears were happy tears.  I told him it was the best sandwich I'd ever, ever had.  And it was. 

I love him. 



ps - this morning, as I helped him out of the shower, he said, "you're welcome for the supper last night" and gave me a warm, wet hug. 

You did WHAT??

Sitting on the couch Thursday night, long after the kiddo had gone to bed (and I presumed was fast asleep) I had a visitor.  He came walking into the living room in his underwear, crawled up on the couch with me, and said, "I can't sleep.  Can I sit with you?"  
Absolutely, baby.

So, after a few seconds of shuffling pillows, fleece blanket, Mom-parts and little boy-long-legs around - we're all comfy and snuggled in front of the tv.  I'd been watching something on the Food Network, enjoying the thoughts that, hey! I could totally do that - if I had all the time in the world, a chef's kitchen, unlimited resources and someone to clean up after me!!  (and a son that wouldn't turn his nose up at real food)
Well, I guess the show we were watching was bought and paid-for by Outback Steakhouse, because every commercial break included one from there.  We discussed how yummy the steak and shrimp looked, then decided that we would talk Daddy into taking us there for supper Friday night.  More snuggles n' cuddles and then it was back to bed for the little man. 
Fast-forward to Friday afternoon.   I had to make a mad dash to town before we went to out to eat,  so I picked Ben up after school and off we went.   We're about to get out of the car at the pharmacy when he informs me he'd had an 'accident' at school.  Now, this is something we've been dealing with for a looonnng time.  I think we have it licked, then it happens again.  I just don't understand it at all.  Well, this day, I may have over-reacted.  A little.  Ahem.

I couldn't believe it.  We'd (meaning: he'd) done so well over the summer - a few accidents here and there, but for the most part, clean as a whistle.  I've heard boys are at times tough to potty-train, but, geesh!  He's 6 now!  Potty-training has been over for years!   I've come to the conclusion that he tries to ignore the urge.  Ignore.Ignore.Ignore.  Oops!  Can't ignore anymore.  Then, to top it off, when he can't ignore it anymore and he has an accident, he doesn't bother to tell anyone.  Not that it's much of a secret anyway! 
So, I was Angry Mommy.   As we got out of the car and walked into the pharmacy, I threatened him to within an inch of his life with the ever popular: ifyouevensteponetoeawayfrommesohelpmeI'mgonna.......!!  
We made our purchases and back out the door we went.  

In the car on the way to meet Daddy, he was Mr. Chatterbox in the backseat.  I still fumed in the front seat.   Terse, one-word answers from me, interspersed with a few Ican'tbelieveyoudiditagain! and whatonearthwereyouthinking? spoken through clenched teeth...it doesn't take a rocket scientist...he knew I was NOT HAPPY.  

Even though it was against my better judgment, we still went to Outback for supper.  Remember up there where I mentioned the snuggles n' cuddles and talking about Outback for supper?  Yeah.  Well, that warm fuzzy feeling somehow evaporated, leaving behind an angry, not-nice person.  Me.  Mom of the Year.

I pulled into a parking spot, put the car in park and start to gather my things to get out, when I hear from the backseat:  (you'll have to imagine the heartbreaking, shaky, I'm-about-to-bawl voice) 
"Mom?  Even though I stinkied in my pants, can you at least look on the bright side?" 

The bright side?!  And what is that? 

"We're still a family and I still love you."

Maybe it was the August heat in Georgia.  Maybe it was the little manipulator with blue eyes.  Certainly, though, I melted.  Right there in the Outback Steakhouse parking lot: a big puddle of Angry Mom.  I leaned over and looked into those big blue eyes, welling with tears, and said "I know, baby.  No matter what, we're always gonna be a family and I'll always, always love you." 
Big hugs and kisses ensued.  All was right with our world.  

Bring on the steak and shrimp!!

*forgot to say that when we picked up the Daddy, HE was the one to take the stinky boy into the restroom at the office, strip him down and clean up the 'accident'....I might have drown him....just sayin'.

my sweet boy

Oh, kiddo, you're all boy.  You amaze me with your energy and your imagination.  Unless you're sleeping, you're generally moving in some manner.  Every spare second is spent using your imagination; usually fighting bad guys - complete with sound effects.  Anything can be a weapon in your imagination, sometimes it's just your own super 'moves' that'll take 'em down.  Karate, jujitsu?  Who needs 'em?  I've never felt more safe than when you're defeating the bad guys in the living room.

You challenged your Daddy to a race tonight because you're convinced that you're faster than him now.  Because we'd just eaten, the race had to be put off for a little while (somebody probably would've thrown up).  But when that day comes, I'll be the referee.  You're pretty quick - Daddy has his work cut out for him! 

At supper tonight, you spent most of the time talking and dancing instead of eating.  So entertaining - we laughed and completely enjoyed your little show. 

When we had to make a trip to the grocery store this afternoon, you grabbed my hand in the parking lot without me even asking.   And I got a sweet, sweet hug in the meat department for absolutely no reason.  Mommy needs those from time to time - even in the meat department!

You're growing up so fast.  You are a such a pleasure to have around, little guy.   I'm unbelievable blessed.

 

Vacation question and answer session.

Setting:  Post-vacation-loaded car - somewhere between Orlando, FL and Waverly Hall, Ga.



Question:  "Hey, sweetie - what was your favorite thing about vacation this year?"

Answer: "Swimming!"

Um.  And how much money did we spend on theme park tickets again??



Question:  "So, what was the next favorite thing about vacation?"

Answer:  "Sleeping in the bed with y'all!"  

O-kay...



Question:  "What was your least  favorite thing about vacation?"

Answer:  "When you got sick." 

Aww.  Who cares about how much money we spent.  That's just a sweetie right there.

rednecks-r-us

Sitting here at the kitchen table, enjoying my coffee for breakfast,  while I wait for the tv antenna (antennae?) installers - who were supposed to be here at 8 am...drums fingers on the table....

Just got buzzed by a visiting hummingbird!  I'd noticed them this weekend, out front - going back and forth to the (empty) feeders.  But this morning, he/she came right up to the kitchen window and peeked inside!  Methinks he's trying to tell me something.  Wonder what it could be? 


Had a really nice weekend, thanks for asking!  Friday night, the little man and his Daddy camped out in the back yard.  Yeah, they really roughed it out there in the wilderness.....DH had to have his fan and  they slept on a queen-sized inflatable mattress. 
Me?  I wasn't invited.  Boys only. 

Saturday morning, we had breakfast and then had to hurry over to the soccer field for little man's last soccer game of the season.  So much fun watching the kids run and run and run.  I'm jealous of all that energy!  All in all, I think soccer was a good experience for Ben - he really seemed to enjoy the game and certainly enjoyed all the running.  It's been so sweet to watch him out on the field - he kept a perpetual smile on his face, and would cheer his friends when they'd make a goal.  Then, to see him run with his hands in the air, cheering after he'd made a goal was just priceless. 

(oh, the installers just got here - it's 8:58 am)     (grr)

A few errands then back home for the day.  Around lunchtime, we were overtaken by the sleepies while sitting on the back porch listening to the birds and enjoying the breeze.  Being the rednecks that we are, we pulled the inflatable mattress (from the aforementioned tent) onto the back porch,  and that's where my napping buddy and me had our Saturday afternoon nap.

Saturday night, I had a date with my hubby while little man had a date with his girlfriend(s)
B, C and of course, Nonny.  We are so thankful to that wonderful family for welcoming little man (and us!) into their family.  They overlook the fact that he's a wild child and laugh at his antics just like real grandparents/aunts would!  :)

Sunday morning:  church, then lunch.  I got to take another nap - not on the porch this time, though - and no napping buddy.  I had to force myself, but I did it!
After supper, we had a really nice thundershower come through the area.  There's few things we like more, so we went outside to enjoy it.  Little man kept trying to stick his hand/head out to get them wet, so I told him just take your clothes off and then you can stand under the run-off from the roof.   He looked at me like, really?  I said sure, go ahead.  (redneck, yes)
So he did.  Crazy kid.  It was cold!   After he'd been playing in it for a little while, I asked him if he wanted to 'take a shower', when he said yes, I went in to get his shampoo/body wash.  So, to cap off the weekend, my little Harris County-redneck-son took a 'shower' on the back porch - in the rain.   Are we classy or what?  He said he was going to tell his Kindergarten teacher today that he'd taken a shower in the rain.   Great. 
Nice to meet ya, we're the Clampetts.

So, thats a recap of our weekend.  How'd you show your redneck roots this weekend?

love

Had a great weekend with both sides of the family for Mother's Day.  Spent Sunday morning at church with Nanny and Pop,  then went to eat lunch with Granny at her assisted living facility, or her "house" according to Ben.   After we stuffed ourselves on good, old-fashioned Southern cookin', we went down to the river to celebrate with my Mama. (where we had the opportunity, again, to stuff ourselves - I think we were pretty good, though.  I only had strawberry shortcake, little man had 2 more deviled eggs....adding to the 4 he had at our first lunch) 

It was really a beautiful, if not a little chilly, day.  We had a fire in the fire pit where we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  Man!  They're sweeter than I remembered from when I was a kid.  (Oh yeah, I had s'mores too; guess I didn't do as well as I'd thought) 

Our brother-in-law J brought his and the boys' kayaks.  My little daredevil decided he'd like to try to kayak, too.  So his Daddy snapped him in a life vest and helped him in his cousin's kayak.  J taught him how to hold the paddle and off they went!  This child knows no fear!  He had a big smile on his face the entire time he was in the water....

We all got a little tickled when he got a bit too close to the pier across the inlet from my Aunt's place - bless his heart, he couldn't figure which way to paddle, so he pretty much crashed (gently) into the pier.  Then, he couldn't quite figure out how to get out of his predicament, ie: how to "back it up".   Uncle J came to the rescue though, then he was off again. 

We left around 6 pm or so to head home.  We weren't in the truck for 20-25 minutes when I looked in the back seat and the little guy was out cold;  and yes, he then slept the entire trip.  When we got home, his daddy carried him in the house and as we were walking, we asked him about his day and told him how proud we were of his kayaking 'abilities'. 
His daddy said, "Boy, you can do anything, can't ya?"
Ben replied, "No.  I can't do a back flip." 

LOL!  I guess everything else is a breeze, but those back flips - can't do 'em!!


________________________________________________________
My Mother's day was wonderful, too.  I got a lovely card and some sweet-smelling lotion, shower gel and body spray from my little man (and his daddy).  I also got hand-made cards and goodies that he made at school.   My favorite gift of all?  My baby climbing into bed with me Sunday morning, a sweet smile, and a whispered, "Good morning, Mama".  Complete with hug and kiss.


I love being mama to this sweet, sweet boy.