crossing my mind

On my jog this morning (and by jog, I mean walk...),

I forgot my headphones.

Gasp!

So I had lots and lots of time to think.

Here are the random thoughts that crossed my mind.

Will I be strong enough to pull out the bushes that need pulling out?

(I have grand plans for my garden.)

Should I have oats or a dipped toast egg for breakfast?

(Oats won.)

Was Ellie dressed "Outback" enough for school?

(Apparently it is Australia day.)

What are the movie times tonight?

(Movie date with a friend, woot!)

Should I make more energy bites?

(I love them, but as they are filled with energy, they are also filled with calories and I can't stop eating them when they are in my fridge.)

Recipe: http://gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/

Can Miss Colleen babysit this weekend?

(Yes she can!  Date night!!)

Is Chris ok?

(Pulled a muscle playing volleyball last night.  Sadly, we may be getting a titch too old to play basketball in the morning and volleyball at night on the same day...)

Is this darn walk almost over?

(No.)

Is that dog friendly?

(Very.)

What should I buy that's red for Ellie's teacher?

(Teacher appreciation week: Tomorrow is bring in something red.  I have ideas...)

We really need to redo our landscaping.

(Like, really.)

I could go on and on.  But I am sure by now you are bored out of your gourd.

Happy Wednesday!!

a good walk

A milestone was reached yesterday.

Sister walked her first 9 holes.

We are very fortunate that we have a little par 3 learning center near us.

Kids and slow play are expected and welcomed.

It's a nice little course, very well maintained.

Now, she has played many a round of golf,

but to walk 9 holes, and play every hole, is a pretty big accomplishment for her tiny little legs.

Good thing she had Daddy to carry her clubs when she started to get a little tired...

which happened on hole number 1...

 She likes to be good at what she does.

(Like, she needs to be the best.)

So we told her a little fiblet and said you weren't allowed to keep score in golf until you turned 8.

Yeah. We did.

So we just went out and played and practiced and had fun.

I have always thought Chris should be a coach.

He is so good at explaining what it is you need to tweak to get better in this infernally frustrating sport.

Thank goodness she has him to teach her.

Here is his explaining how to line up a putt.

 And watching her hit...

She played every hole from the 100 yard marker in.

 Watching her shot.

She got some good ones in!

 She was in the sand here.

Chris is telling her where to best hit it.

 She got it out first try.

I was jealous.

I rarely do that...

 We so want her to love this sport like we do.

I have visions of late afternoon rounds with our girl, and when the time comes, Chris and I taking on her and her boyfriend, like we did with my parents.

I can't speak for Chris, but it is hard for me not to push her.

We aren't correcting grip or swing yet.

Just letting her play and have fun.

I signed her up for a little clinic in June.

She is excited.

I am hoping that is a good sign.

I am hoping that by the time she is 12 she can beat the pants off me.

Ok, maybe 15.

I want some time to kick her butt...

relax

After 3 weeks of constant entertaining, I have relaxed this week.

Relaxed so much that when Chris comes home and says:

"What did you do today?"

My sprawled out self replies:

"Not nearly what I should have."

It's been glorious.

There have been early afternoon naps.

And by naps I mean dozing as I read Fifty Shades of Grey.

Have you read this? 

Holy smutty book Batman! 

I have read a lot of smut in my day, but this one takes the cake. 

 It is absurd. 

And delicious. 

 I don't even know why it is so good. 

The writing is atrocious. 

 But Christian Grey...he just gets under your skin.

Would I be oversharing if I mentioned that it has done wonders for my marriage?

I would?

Ok.

Then I won't mention that.

There have also been movie dates with myself in the basement.

I like myself.

She is a nice girl.

Add Paiges homemade salsa and myself is in heaven.

 I even whipped out the cream

(heh heh, get it??)

and added a big ol' dollop to my iced afternoon coffee.

 The mornings have been just as nice.

I have gotten myself out of bed earlier than usual.

But not before I laid there for a minute and enjoyed the sunshine.

And then enjoyed some early morning quiet time.

With Scottish oatmeal with blueberries.

 I even snuck out for 18 with my husband.

I am getting better people.

I can feel it coming.

 It hasn't been all fun and games.

The laundry is caught up.

The house is clean.

Ish.

We ate good healthy meals.

(Hello pan seared scallops with asparagus!)

I even exercised.

We also had homework.

Spelling words.

(Think words like hope, and shop, and pretty, and here, and what.)

And timed math tests and such.

Overall though, it's been a stellar week.

Ellie's 5th year!

It's kinda lengthy. She's a busy girl. Enjoy!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

tumble

Saturday, after Ellie's tea party, I was upstairs blogging and Chris was downstairs doing whatever it is that he does on his laptop.

I had just typed the sentence about being fiercly protective of her as she headed downstairs for something.

I heard a thud, another thud, an OHMYGOD!, silence, then screaming.

She had fallen headfirst down the stairs, from nearly the top.

I seriously sat here for a second, not wanting to know how bad it was.

When I worked up the courage to get up and look, she was sitting at the bottom of the steps, holding her head.

She fell this far:

Chris was right there.

The look on his face scared me the most, cause he had witnessed the fall.

He was white as a sheet and visibly shaking.

When she calmed down, we checked her out.

She could move everything.

Nothing really hurt, except her head and her wrist.

She had not a mark on her, with the exception of a small abrasion on her head.

I called Ken, he's our "go to" for medical crisis' and then called Nurse on Call.

Due to the length of the fall, we decided to take her to the ER.

It was a quick trip.

She checked out ok. 

But they were hesitant to do a ct scan on her because of all the radiation, blah blah blah.

We were sent home with instructions to wake her up every 2 hours to check on her, make sure she was coherent, not bleeding from ears or nose, etc...

She was asleep by 8.

Checked on her at 10. Fine.

Checked on her at 12.  Nose was bleeding.

Damn.

Slight heart attack.

Seriously.

Texted Ken, who basically said, take her back in you idiots!

So off we went again.

So at 12:09, as she officially turned 6, we were in the car headed back to the ER.

This time there was pain in her belly as well.

So she got not one, but two ct scans.

Thankfully, all came back well.

No bleeds anywhere.

She was back in her bed, asleep, by 2:30.

She woke up on Sunday, her birthday, totally fine.

Not even sore anywhere.

Kids are resilient.

We proceded as planned.

Breakfast out.

Chimpanzee.

Zoo.

Totally fine.

I think we got extremely lucky.

We dodged a serious bullet.

Or my mama was right there.

One or the other.

I don't think Chris will ever be the same.



for ann

I grew up in a very small town in the country.

So small we didn't have one single stop light.

Or even a fast food restaurant.

I had less than 75 kids in my graduating class.

And it took 5 towns like mine to make that many.

Although the town was small, the people of the town were anything but.

It was full of characters.

There was Jerry.

He owned Jerry's Dairy Freezer, our ice cream joint that was only open in the summer.

He looked exactly like you would expect him to.

I still have cravings for watermelon slushes and vanilla cokes.

No one makes them like Jerry.

Then there was Hillard Porter.

He had been around as long as anyone could remember.

He had the prettiest flowers in his yard and decorated one of his trees with teddy bears.

He was the town historian and everyone loved him.

There was also Larry Hall.

He was the principal at the elementary and the town benefactor of sorts.

He always scared the bejeebies out of me.

Those were the days when paddling was still allowed in schools.

I was never in danger of getting paddled, but I saw him go at a kid one day.

Scary stuff when you are 9.

I see him occasionally when I go home and still tremble a little.

Of course, he is as nice as can be, but to any kid he principaled,

he is no joke scary.

And finally, there was Ann Meister.

She was my third grade teacher and a friend of the family.

God Bless Mrs.Meister.

She lived, maybe a quarter mile from me.

As a child, her house was exactly half way between my house and Mocks.

Mocks was the old general store where we got our candy.

It was dusty and old and wonderful.

A doller could buy you a bag full of sugar.

At least once a week, my mom would give me a dollar and send my on my way.

Every single time and I mean every. single. time,

I would stop at Mrs. Meisters house for a drink of water and band-aid and a blue mint.

I didn't even really like the blue mint, but they were always so pretty in the bowl and I was convinced that this would be the time I would love it.

Can you even imagine that?

Just popping in like that and asking for refreshments?

I probably drove her crazy some days.

I would sit and visit and probably overstay my welcome.

She never made me feel that way though.

She would ask me questions and be (or pretend to be) terribly interested in the answers.

As a kid, she always made me feel so special.

At my bridal shower, she bought me water and bandaids, cause, you know, I always seemed to need them. 

It was also around then she told me I could call her Ann instead of Mrs. Meister.

I still have trouble with that one.

She will always be Mrs. Meister to me.

Ann has been having a few bad years, and I just got word she fell and hurt herself pretty badly.

I think she reads the ol' blog here.

I am thinking of you Mrs. Meister!  Sending lots of love from Cleveland.

Feel better soon!



6

She will wake up tomorrow and be 6.

I am not even sure how that happened.

It seems like yesterday I was in the tub, with my humongo belly an island in the water, wondering what she would be like.

Now, 6 years later I know that she is

funny and kind and sensitive and smart as a whip.

I know she loves to color and read and be with her friends.

I know her favorite foods are oatmeal and pasta and chocolate chip cookies.

I know she is brave and a pro at the monkey bars.

I know she plans to be a dolphin trainer when she grows up.  And a mommy.

She wants to always live with me.

And right now, boys are yucky.

What I didn't know then, couldn't possibly know at that time,

was how very much I would love her.

How she would completely change my world for the better.

I didn't know how fiercely protective I would feel or how everything would become new again when I saw it through her eyes.

I never fathomed that I would think of her as a friend, at so young, even though I never tell her that, cause I am her mom first, and she best recognize...

I can't believe she is 6.

To celebrate, she wanted a tea party.

Dance floor

 I sent the girls on a scavenger hunt for their party favors. 

One clue was clear across the street!

It was a fun afternoon.

Tea and lemonade and dancing and fashion shows.

Happy 6, kid.