Top of the medal stand?--no.... Top of the World?--YES!

Who doesn't feel on top of the world after competing well AND getting to ride out on your Daddy's shoulders.....like the princess you are?

Well, just to let you know, we had a very tiring and EXCITING weekend. Chocked full of events. Special events that the grandparnents came into town just to see!!

The eldest had his first experience as a "sideline" player for the high school football team...as a 7th grader, there was no threat that he was going to actually take the field, but he was allowed to dress out...and did a great job looking good in full pads and helmet on the sidelines!! :) Plus, we won! :)

However, Friday night football makes for late nights....and that doesn't coincide so well with extremely early mornings for gymnastics meets. But that's how life goes, and we try to roll (no pun intended) with it! So, after a few, and I do mean few, hours of sleep, we headed out for yet another sporting event.....TB's first competitive meet of the season!

You want to know how early it was....TB saw the sunrise while I fixed her hair this morning! Not our usual Saturday morning ritual by any stretch. We all stumbled out into the car and settled in for a nice little sunrise ride. I hate sunrise rides. I know the Lord has beauty all around, but believe me when I tell you that I completely favor Day 4 of creation, not for the bright ball of light he created for day, but for the blessed moon and stars and am not ashamed to admit it! :)

At any rate, I digress....and I'm sure you are not surprised. So, the gymnastics meet. It was great. TB did a fantastic job. She did not score high enough to make it to the top 3 on the medal stand in any event. However, we were very proud of her because she did actually "place" in every event, which meant she came out to the floor to receive her ribbon, and have her name announced with the winners. And the great news, she placed 6th in the all around, with a total of 18 gymnasts in her division.

She did have one little bobble during her bar routine....which was sad, because bars is her favorite event. But overall she was very consistent and we could see improvement....and with this her first meet of the season, we are hoping she continues to do well!


Now, let me just go ahead and get this out of the way, before the SEC begins this week. Some of you are already aware of it, some of you will see her in person at a meet possibly one day soon and stare at it, and all of you can see it right now in these photos.

I'm certain many of you will notice the ribbon in her hair. Normally, after paying a lot of money for shiny, sparkly, slick, leotards and new warm-ups and new backbacks, etc... we also receive a shiny scrunchie (jacked up ponytail holder) for our gymnasts hair. Well, we did receive a red one, as usual to match our new competition leo. However, earlier last week, while leaving gym, TB held up a ribbon and announced that I was to put it in her hair for competition.

It is a HOUNDSTOOTH ribbon. And while I actually like the houndstooth pattern, we never use it as we are an AUBURN family. But I love my sweet gymnast baby girl a lot more than any school...

It hurt me, but I did it. Lord, forgive me. :)

Like I said, it was a very full weekend. We had special family visitors on Saturday night....photos to come later....I'll give you a clue, she has the cutest little baby cheeks you have ever seen!!! A great meal from the grill too. A good sermon at Church followed by a big Sunday lunch with pork tenderloin ( I totally need to share that marinade recipe on the recipe blog because it is divine), general's rice, green beans and fruit salad.

Yep, it was one of those weekends that made T-5 and I take a 2 hour nap, during the drizzling rain, on Sunday afternoon. But it was also one of those weekends that after resting just a bit, you want to do it all over again....knowing exactly how tired you are going to be in the end. :) How was your weekend?

Who said slavery was abolished?

The car needed a wash.


The kids were hot.


They requested to cool down with the water hose.


I agreed, with one rule....wash the car while you're at it.


And I even paid them....but not with money....with these:

It's much cheaper, by the way. What with minimum wage going up to $7.25---you can get a whole case of these suckers for like five bucks....and they'll last all summer!!! Plus, my slaves love them.

From babysitter to seamstress....where did the time go??

We have a wonderful family friend, Bentley, who was the babysitter for our children when they were small, wee little ones. Instead of the larger, high-school aged one, like the oldest is now. Yes, Bentley was that "cool guys" first ever babysitter, outside of family, back in our days of living in Gadsden, Alabama.

And here's how old I am. Back then, she was young enough that she couldn't drive yet, so the "cool" babe, strapped in his car seat with bottle in hand, and I would go pick her up from off "the mountain" and bring her back down to our lovely abode. She was a very qualified babysitter...about as qualified as they come. She was the oldest girl, and second oldest sibling in her family....which had 7 children total. Basically, she had already had more practice with babies than me, when I gave birth to the little mister.

She was/is just the sweetest gal you could ever imagine. I'm serious. I wouldn't be surprised if honey does, in fact, drip forth from her mouth. And to top it off, she has the cutest little baby girl of her very own now. That's right. She grew up. Learned how to drive. Went to college. Got married. And now has a family of her very own.

And the best part....she started sewing a few months ago for her little one....and I loved everything she did. So I asked her to sew a few things for my sweet TB. And she was more than happy to oblige. You've probably seen them all in photos before, as they have all made an appearance on the blog, but I wanted to show them to you again.

I would have tried to make my model try them all on again, for photographic purposes. However, as to avoid the huff and puff that may have caused....you're getting these lousy shots instead. Just know that these dresses are TONS cuter than the pics offer. She actually posted them on her blog for me to see before they arrived in the mail, so you can see them better, HERE.

I have talked sweet Bentley into sewing a few more things for TB for the fall.....so I'm sure you'll be seeing another round off the runway before you know it!!

Thanks, Bentley. We loved them all, and TB has already worn each piece a half-dozen times or more!! They are great and you did a fantastic job! We can hardly wait to see what little creative masterpieces you come up with next!!

I could be losing my mind....if I had one to begin with.

So, a few weeks ago, I wrote this POST, concerning the painted room surprise that awaited my dear husband.

Who, by the way, had no knowledge of the painting, until AFTER it had been done. And then, because I am no good with ladders and such, I left the high spots for him to touch up. I love it when a plan comes together. Hey, that'll teach him to say he doesn't like all the khaki walls, now won't it?

But I completely forgot to post any photos. Forgive me. I know many of you have seen the new paint job, but to appease those who haven't, here's a few shots. Now realize, this is the laundry room. I wasn't a huge risk taker, I started out with a small job, but it's leading to bigger ones, just you wait and see!! Our house may look like Rainbow Brite threw up all over it before long. :)

• The Before...

• The After....

Don't you just love the color??? I do. It reminds me of the beach. I love the beach. I try to remember how much I love the beach while I'm doing the laundry. Because I do not love to do laundry.

T-5 was happy with the color choice, really was happy with the fact that I had painted. I didn't get in any trouble at all. Surprise, surprise. He finished all the trim work, hard to reach over the cabinet spaces, and even hung some art, shelving and a new mirror.

Now, I have to include this little tidbit, because I think it's pretty neat. Do you see that yellow wooden piece of art hanging above the mirror which is above the laundry sink area?

Well, my dear husband's folks brought that to us a few months ago, along with a plethora of other items of interest from their attic/closets. Stuff of his from his childhood, high school and college years. Much of it we kept, others, we did not. Hey, if his mama doesn't want it, why would I?

Anyway, the point is this: That piece of art is from his early college days at AUBURN. He had a class in the School of Architecture where they had to take a simple object and make a piece of art in a wood carving.

Can you guess what it is? Before looking at the photo below? I'll give you a hint, there's a reason why I hung it in the laundry room......



Keep thinking hard.........






How about that? Who knew, way back when, we'd have a little place to hang a wood carving of a Tide bottle?? And while yellow is not my favorite color, I just love that piece. It helps make even a boring laundry room feel like home.

The glory of a birthday sleepover...they can only come as often as once a year.

Y'all....I'm getting worse than old. Check me directly into the nursing home, skip the assisted living facility, I can barely survive a slumber party. I have friends who've done it....several times (Hello, Kim, Michelle, and others) and I admire them. Maybe they can come paint my toenails in my hospital bed on Sunday visits at "the home".

I did have a good plan....Friday night....getting up early for school and having a full day of activities already....but girls, they have lots of energy, I don't know where they store it, maybe in their purple, glitter-y painted toenails.

They thought those foam toe holders were a hoot!! However, please also look above and notice that orange nerf blaster gun thingie of the boys. Yep. Girls may be girly girls who love raspeberry scented foot lotion, body glitter, fashion shows, fixing hair, coloring flip-flop magnets, iron-on butterfly decals, etc......but they still know how to play hard when it comes down to it.

So, although it wasn't on my "itinerary" of things to do at the sleepover, they broke out the nerf guns and went to town taking hostages and putting them in various holding cells.

Which caused for the smudgery of the purple glitter-y pedicures I had just spent 40 minutes producing. At one point in the night, when Broken Leg Boy's leftover crutches came tumbling down half a flight of stairs, I made a rule of no romping with nerf guns after 11:30 p.m.

Because I like to open another window of fun when I close the door on gun shooting after hours, I offered to allow the birthday girl time to open presents. And I threw in another round of punch!! Simply because I'm crazy and at this point had realized there wasn't enough Xanax in the world that would make me do this again, so you might as well make the best of this one shot at sleepover success.

This year, we opted to ask the party guests to NOT buy Tyner Beth gifts. Seriously, we have enough toys, books, movies, board games, etc. to fill a few hundred shelves at the Toys R Us.

I talked with Tyner Beth about the whole "it is better to give than receive".... she understood and although a bit apprehensive at first, she warmed to the idea quickly. Instead of gifts, we asked everyone to bring school supplies (since school just recently began) and Tyner Beth is going to donate them to her school's principal. She had fun unwrapping....isn't that the best part anyway, ripping into a gift??

And she received LOADS of school supplies to help out those who were unable to bring in all the needed items. Who doesn't love a brand new box of Crayola Crayons???? She was happy with our decision, but I know she will feel even better this week when she drops them off at school, and even better in 30 years when she has a child of her own to tell the story of the gift of giving.

On to other important matters: The cake. The cutest sleeping bag cake of all time.

I didn't have a lot of suggestions for the "cake girls". So, I just passed along these few facts TB requested via email.

"Mama, tell them I want good colors....you know like "hot" blue, "hot" green, "hot" pink, "hot" yellow (etc.etc.) (which translates into normal words such as "aqua" or "lime".....) And I want it to have polka dots."

"Okay TB, is there a certain shape you'd like or design on the cake?" At which point we are looking at the Dessert Box blog and I'm saying how totally neat their Karoake machine cake was....

She pipes up and says, "oohh, mama, tell them to surprise me and make me something really cool like that."

And indeed that's exactly what they did. They made her something really cool. An all "hot" colored polka dot sleeping bag for her sleepover party.

Isn't that just the cutest thing, all folded back waiting for a little girl to climb right in??? And please notice the details. It was "zipped" up and the zipper has her initials!!Fab job, ladies. It looked, smelled and tasted FANTASTIC. I can't thank you enough for your creative talents!!! They have been added on my side bar blog list.....definitely worth taking look.

• It was a wonderful night, really. To listen to little girls giggling. To see them smile when we would do one craft or another. To realize that fun is what you choose to make of it, even when nerf guns are involved and you can only find two foam bullets.

• I enjoyed it. I'm not ready to do it again this weekend, but I enjoyed it. And I don't guess I have to check into the nursing home just yet. But if any of you gals feel like coming to give me a pedicure anyway, I'll be glad to take you up on that offer. And by the way, I like cucumber melon foot lotion, and prefer a french pedi, but will settle for a pop of color, but nothing glitter-y. And while purple is a favorite of mine, I don't necessarily want to see it on my feet.

And don't forget the punch. And any extra medication you can find in your cupboard.

Have you ever seen that tv show, "I survived a Japanese gameshow"?

Well, I have big news. Even bigger than a Japanese gameshow.

I survived a sleepover party!!!

Which may not sound like much to you right now, but try it for yourself sometime....or not, if you want to maintain a normal level of sanity and not have an enormous case of fatigue from sleep deprivation.

A slumber gathering that involved 6 little girls, lots of glitter-y toenail polish, iron-on decals for pillowcase design, and enough punch to sink the Titanic, or at the very least, an Evinrude fishing boat.

Plus the absolute cutest sleeping bag cake you have EVER seen.

Which I promise to show you, real soon. As soon as I regain consciousness. Or pep up with a glass of spiked punch and another sniff of acetone.

Thanks and now I have a request...

Thanks for all your sweet comments concerning the big leap over into high school for my tender hearted firstborn (who should really still be home with his mama learning sight words on homemade flash cards like he did when he was 2)...it does help a Mama's feelings. I appreciate you taking the time to offer a few encouraging words...they bring a BIG smile to my face and put a warm feeling in my heart.

And they help combat the anxiety almost as much as chocolate and Mt. Dew.

Which leads me to this lovely question. In regards to all the dang chocolate and Mt. Dew....and the sympathetic symptoms of raising a child in high-school....know any good dermatologists???

Ha. I've not really been eating tons of chocolate and drinking Mountain Dew....although at times, I have wanted to. However, that's partly true though...some times my complexion looks like I'm all 9th grade again.....well, 9th grade without the taper rolled jeans effect. You know you did it too, don't laugh at me.

Plus I have some moles that may need some attention, because I love the sun, even though it doesn't love me. And I have these red moles? I don't know what they are, but that's what they look like, moles and freckles, except they are red, and they multiply like rabbits. Mostly during the summer. Because I love the sun. Some dermatologist suggestions would be a nice addition to your sweet comments. Thanks.

It was the best of times and the worst of times....and I barely survived.

Well, I've decided I better write about this before my memory fails me and I forget. It's mostly just for motherhood purposes, so I can look back and see how far I've grown in a few years when I have to go through it all over again.....ugh. I don't even know where to begin for these feelings I have. This new episode in the reality of our life.

Excitement. There's one of them. I am completely excited, now as always, for the adventures in the life of my kids. And starting high school is a pretty big ADVENTURE, to say the least.

I just hope he hasn't been stuffed in the garbage can yet...you know, the whole rite of passage of the lowest on the totem pole thing. Usually manuevered by some older upper classmen who are fellow athletes. I will attempt to explain to him that it means they like you, not to take it personally and all, but I'm just guessing that the embarassment and the melted snickers, already chewed blob of gum and pencil shavings that will be stuck to his clothing will speak a different message to him.

But what do I know, I'm just the mom, remember. And being a "mom" means you must have just skipped teenage-hood completely, or at least that's what those munchkins like to think once they reach the "cool" stage of life.

Well, guess what, I didn't get to skip over being a teenager. But I did survive. And I guess that means I will survive this too. Although, I'm beginning to think that being a teenager was actually a lot easier than raising a teenager.

But in order to be transparent, just let me say, concerning the leap up to high school....I don't like it.

I don't like having him start all over again.

I don't like having to let go piece by piece, little by little, watching him mature more and more each day, and thus consequently, need me less and less.

It sucks. How about that? I said it and I meant it.

Although I really shouldn't have said it. My kids read this and that phrase is not allowed at our house. Of course, neither is chocolate for lunch, but I've actually had it for all 3 meals before.

So call me a rebel. It still sucks.

Anyway, it's hard. Parenting. Being a mom.

Giving your heart to a tiny being that you alone provided nourishment to sustain it's life for 9 months....only to find out that same being will grow up to become a high schooler and ask you to drop him off 500 feet from the door. Instead of wanting you to hold his hand and waltz right up to his desk.

Which brings me to the photo I included. His first day of high school. He informed me I was NOT allowed to come in taking photos like some crazed mother full of love. Who Me?? He did offer this small compromise:
"okay, here's the deal, you can take a picture of me walking into high school, but only from the car...."

Ha. He thinks he's in charge...and I let him keep thinking that, too. In order to save face, mine and his, I didn't take my camera inside. I took the photo, from the car. The misty morning you probably notice in the pic was merely a perfect match to my misty eyes behind the lens.

See there's the problem with hard core first day of high school + photography. My car was climate controlled, but when I stuck the camera outside in the morning air....to try and capture that exact moment of letting go....the lens fogged up.

And it would have been beyond embarassing if I would have even thought twice about asking the high schooler in the photo to stop or slow down or wait until my camera acclimated itself. Beyond embarassing. So he kept walking and I kept taking foggy-eyed pictures from both sides of the camera.

It's hard. The letting go is overwhelming.

No, I'm not being dramatic. Try it sometime. You'll see.

So, here's what I've decided. Wholeheartedly. I'm not letting go. I can't. I won't. And you can't make me. So there. I feel much better now.

I kind of think I liked it better when his backpack was a smaller size and hung down to his knees as he walked in for his first day of school.

Oh my word! I may have to start on something a little stronger than Mt. Dew to get me through.

Happy Birthday, T-5!!

The three Temples..... IV, V, and VIth. (+AK in #4's lap) :)

Over the weekend we traveled to TN to see family (not run marathons, like his sister intended) to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of my mother and father-in-law. While there, we were also able to celebrate the birthday of TB and the upcoming birthday of T-5, with lots of good food from here there and everywhere.

Pappy and TB served up some good pancakes and sausage for breakfast on Saturday. This would be a lefty and a righty working together in the kitchen.

We celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at a nice Italian restaurant before heading to Aunt Elizabeth's to eat that heavenly chocolate mousse she had made. Heavenly....except I'm sure it's a sin eating something that rich. But, the Lord, he forgives. So, we ate. I don't have a photo, I was too full from the meal to even worry with pictures...I just wanted some elastic waisted pants and a nap.

However, I did manage to get these fun pics of our sweet little niece, AK. She, (as the kids always say), is just the "cutest thing in the world". However, being cute is not always what it's cracked up to be. She couldn't have any pasta torrino, or ravioli, or fettucine, or lasagna, or eggplant parmesan, or bread with oil, or ribeye, or chocolate mousse. It's the drawback of being the youngster in the crowd....at a mere 7 months of age, it is frowned upon eating a ribeye from the table.

• So she did the best she could at the restaurant while the rest of us enjoyed the culinary gift of PASTA.

She is no party pooper. Sure alfredo would have been great, but she made do with a cloth napkin.

And then on Sunday when Nana had fixed a wonderful birthday meal, complete with poundcake and homemade ice cream.....she sat basking in the glow of being "the cutest thing in the world" and sucked on her arm. Which may or may not have been laced with a little ice cream.

But back to my post at hand....just because I have a gazillion pictures of AK from this weekend on my camera and only one of my dear husband doesn't mean I love him any less, on this, his day of birth.

It just means she's cuter than he is at this stage in life. And she doesn't roll her eyes when I pull the ol' Nikon out and start clicking away.

We love you, T-5. And are blessed to call you husband, father, brother, uncle, son, friend. Happy Birthday --- you are the man. The man who makes dreams come true.

You can blame my husband's sister for the way I smell.

She's really a wonderful sister-in-law, aside from all the bad feelings I have for her at the moment. They too, like the odor of mentholatum ointment, will pass, eventually.

Over the weekend we traveled to Tennessee to celebrate with family. For reasons that will come up in a later post. Why? Because every pore of my muscles hurt too much to write about it all right now.

Knowing we would be in town all weekend, and would no doubt be eating some fabulous, although not low-fat, food rations, I e-mailed Elizabeth. What began as a modest attempt at communicating my desire to "take a walk" with her, quickly turned into what felt like a training session for the Boston Marathon. (If I had a clue what training for a marathon would feel like, which I don't.)

I simply stated in the aforementioned e-mail...well, here it is, let me just show it to you and you can see for yourself:

~~~Hope all is well with you this week....can't wait to see you this weekend. Have your walking shoes ready and a trail picked out. I need to walk all three days...but I'll settle for just one if you can squeeze it in!! ......

and her seemingly harmless reply:

~~~Hey! I already thought we need to walk. I’m making Mimi’s chocolate mousse for dessert. Can’t wait to see you all........

It looked like a simple agreement to meet my needs. We would walk and feel better about trying to be a healthier us.

Maybe I should have read between the lines. Somewhere in between "chocolate and mousse"....there was a clause in fine print. I've never been good with fine print. She's a lawyer....they created fine print.

She arrived Saturday morning to begin our walk. Announcing at the breakfast table that she had mapped a route for us, which at the end of the first leg, would bring us to an auction in a nearby neighborhood. Where upon we could rest for a bit, taking a gander at the wares available, and then trek back home again.

The auction was 3 miles away from point A, where we sat. Which meant, using all my best mathematical skills, that would mean, it would also be 3 miles back....which would be a total of 6 miles. In the heat of the day. At noon. Right when the sun decideds to perch itself directly overhead so that all of your body is completely enveloped by it's heat-emitting light source. In August. In the South. At noon. Without cloud cover or shade trees. Which we traded for pavement and sidewalks.

Did I mention that there were moments, while going uphill, when she smiled and said in a jovial tone...."okay, now it's time to run. I know you feel like running. Just lean into it and you'll do fine."

I'll tell you what I feel like....I feel like laying down on the road and letting something run over me....because that would feel better at the moment than running uphill.

But you know what, I love her, and decided to do what she suggested. I leaned into it and followed along assuming I would be fine, as long as I didn't perish. Which I thought I might. Perish, that is. I never really, for an instant, thought I would be fine. Not an instant. Even when she allowed us to start walking again, and I realized, as my heart was beating outside my body that I was in fact, still alive, I still never thought I would be fine.

We arrived at the auction destination, stayed a few minutes, I managed to buy something in the 12 minutes we were there, and then it was time to turn around and go home. On our way out, we passed an elderly woman near the auctioneer's stand, a white-haired, hunch-backed, elderly woman, who was holding tight to an oasis of sorts in her left hand. I have never been more ashamed to admit such sin as when I turned to Elizabeth and my thoughts spilled out of my mouth.

"I covet her bottle of water. Really, I do."

Forgive me father, for I have sinned, but I wanted to snatch it from her, and run. Except, I hate to run. And I was afraid Elizabeth would mistaken that for an enthusiatic burst of energy and make us continue with the running.

She did manage to find some people she knew outside enjoying their Saturday, in two different neighborhoods, who were ever so kind to give us water. God Bless their souls. I have never loved anyone more who offered me a water bottle in my entire life.

I managed to survive. Even though she made it feel at times as though we were trying to make an attempt to break Usain Bolt's record. And I'm not even a Kenyan. Oh, wait, he's Jamaican. I'm not that either. Whatever, my point is this.....I survived, but you will never see me as a sprinter in the Olympics representing any country.

However, you may see me on an upcoming IcyHot or BenGay or TigerBalm commercial soon. If I can stand the smell long enough. However, if you are in need of clearing your sinuses, come sit by me for a while. Just don't touch my legs. They hurt.

By the way, the chocolate mousse....it was worth every mile.

FUN FRIDAY--- It's a birthday post!!

Turning 8 is really GRR-EIGHT......for anyone except the mom.

My baby. I should have put her in a box when I had the chance.

This morning before school, the boys and I celebrated her birthday, as we do everyones, with presents, candles, song and dance. Basically, I'm the only one dancing, and we all sing monotone because it's early. We aren't real big "morning people" at our house.

Of course I set them up for a very productive day of higher learning with this breakfast of choice: toaster strudel with icing, strawberry cake, some trix pebbles thrown in for color, and a glass of leftover punch (made by their Granny, who makes the best punch around, which consists of two ingredients--sugar and more sugar, or, Mt. Dew and pineapple juice).

Hey, if you can't go to school on your birthday with a sugar rush, then really, what's the point?

The state laws have it set up now that you can't just show up with a 24 pack of frosted, sprinkled, chocolate laced cupcakes, a big iced chocolate chip cookie, and bags of candy to give your classmates..... Something about obesity rising in America's youth, and that we should make an attempt to offer a more nutritious sampling at school...blah, blah, blah!!

A few years ago, I thought about protesting. I was going to call our group the "Cupcake Brigade". But then I decided that there were more important issues that needed to be addressed first. Like maybe adding into the curriculum week long beach field trips twice a year, opting for one of those mist sprayer thingys on the playground for when it gets so hot (if we aren't at the beach already for a field trip), and maybe even pushing the school year to not start until after Labor Day for a change....you know so we could go to the beach, again...etc.etc.etc.

But instead, I just ate the cupcakes at home. And decided to comply with their stupid regulations by sending other snacks to school for birthday celebrations. My kids always ask for the same thing, a box of Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix, made into cupcakes, with no icing. And usually a fruit dip, because we are complete HEALTH nuts as witnessed by punch for breakfast (it did have pineapple juice).

TB skipped up the sidewalk this morning carrying her basket of treats. She looked just like Little Red Riding Hood.....without the red cape, and she wasn't going to see grandmother, and there was no big bad wolf (unless you count her brothers). But she did enter wth a basket of goodies, state approved goodies.

Red's basket full of sweets would have never met the nutrition guidelines of today and sadly, she would have never made it past the threshold of the elementary doors. I'm not completely sure on the amount of sugar in Trix cereal, but it made the treat bags look much better, so I threw in about 21 pellets...and assumed that it could be counted as a fruit. They do come in lemon, strawberry, lime and orange flavors.

• Happy Birthday, you precious little girl! We are blessed to have you in our life.
  
  

Praise Report for Broken Leg Boy....

Well, well, well, it has been a hard summer. Let me just get that out of the way up front, no point in pretending any differently.

Sure, it has flown by, for which I am equally sad and grateful. Like a double edged sword, so to speak. Sad that time seems to pass like sand through our hands, very quickly. However, I am grateful for Broken Leg Boy that this span of time where he has been "broken" has seemed to sneak right on by, without hanging around too long in his young life. You know, the "bad" part is over for the most part.

He has been such a terrific child through each and every moment. Never complaining from point of injury, to surgery, to recovery, to crutches, to any deterring factor it placed on "summer break" for he or his siblings. A very stoic individual, indeed.

I don't really like a lot of change. And I had grand visions of all our activites/vacations/road trips/family outings/etc.etc.etc. that would take place in these few short weeks the education system gave us for free time. Obviously, when your child breaks their femur the afternoon school is dismissed, plans and visions change. We survived, and just like the old cliche, we are stronger because of the adversity it brought.

We are thankful for the moments of bonding it caused to occur. Little moments that may have been shuffled around and rarely seen had it not been for the "closeness" this accident brought.

I was briefly able to go back to carrying around a child. It's a feeling you long for, actually my heart aches for it at times, once your child is old enough to not require it. You miss it more than words can say, but I'm sure it would look funny if I hoisted my 5th grader up on my hip while traveling the aisles at Target. People might talk. In fact, I'm certain they would talk.

But for a few short weeks this summer, I was able to "tote" my child again, to cradle him in my arms, with his trusting arms around my neck. And I couldn't have been more thankful for those tough moments because they brought along some great memories.

So, what's the big report you say? Get on with it, and stop all this dribble, just tell us the praise.

Okay, okay already. I'd like to present to you Broken Leg Boy minus his trusty aluminum sidekicks:

That's right, folks, NO MORE CRUTCHES. Raise your hands and shout HALLELUJAH along with us!

We visited the surgeon at the end of last week for another check up. And we were glad to have it occur before school began so we would know all his restrictions. The bone is healing nicely, very nicely, in fact. So much so, that it looks like it's straight to me, all mended. Except for maybe where there's still a crack in it....

Anyway, Dr. Doyle said he was pleased and asked Broken leg Boy to set aside the crutches and walk without them. Which we knew he could do, because he had shown us at home a few times before. Then he asked him to squat and then jump. Walt had not done either of these to my knowledge, prior to the visit. But he did them for the doctor. As we were pulling out of Children's parking deck, I commented about how well he did, and that I had no idea he could do that. He replied, "me neither, mom".

Then I asked, "well, how did it feel to jump and land on your leg with the rods in it? Did it hurt? Were you scared?". And my clever Broken Leg Boy responded with, "you see, I was scared, and didn't think I'd be able to even jump when he asked me to from the squat, so when I did, I just sort of landed on my good leg, and acted like my other foot was touching the ground too." :)

So, he passed this round with the surgeon and is to report back in a couple months. For now, he is still very limited in his activities. Obviously. He is walking great without his crutches and only has to use them if his leg gets really tired from walking a long distance or at the end of the day. And I think he has not used them at all the last 3 days, so we are making big progress. There is still a limp, and he kicks his leg out to the side for some reason, which has given him the nickname "Peg Leg Pete". Both actions were deemed "normal" by the surgeon, saying that most all patients do this and it rectifies itself after a few weeks.

The surgeon also has restricted him from PE until mid-October. Possibly into November, but we'll just have to wait and see. No activity at all, except swimming. That is what he "prescribed" for Broken Leg Boy to do for therapy to strengthen his leg muscle. It will probably be a long couple of months on the playground, watching his classmates run, jump, swing, and slide....but he'll get through it with his head held high, just like he has thus far.

I'd like to think in the end that this experience brought out some good qualities in us all. Some endearing moments that were purposeful for all sorts of reasons we would have never known before. Stopping to really experience the small, but GRAND, moments of life.....laughter, compassion, tenderness, and many hearts full of love.

It has been a hard summer. But it has been a joyous one. Thank you Lord for carrying us through yet another season of life....and bringing us out safely to the other side.

Cooking Camp...OH ME OH MY...It's MUD PIE! (more commonly known as Mississippi Mud)

Scrumptious MUD PIE, to be exact. I don't know how in the world my kids have managed to live on this earth for so many years and not have experienced the chocolate sensation known as "Mississippi Mud". It's a terrible parental mistake on my part, I know.

However, the guilt was lessened after we made a pan full....and licked the mixing bowl, and the icing pot, and all 6 spatulas and spoons that were used, and then ate as much of the stuff as we could without sending our bodies into diabetic shock.

We even gave away TONS of the stuff, and still managed to have enough for several nights of chocolate overdoses to call our very own!

I found it most funny that my kids kept calling it Mud Pie. ...because it's a lot of chocolate folks, and I must say, at various stages in the baking process, it's looks a lot like MUD. Kind of reminds me of that Mother's Day in the Mud post from the spring.....fun times.....except, this MUD is totally edible, and not at all gross like the other.

Here they are....mixing up the 'mud'.

• Once again, Rivers saw an ingredient that said "chocolate" and smelled like "chocolate" and insisted on tasting it without checking with me first....only to find that UNSWEETENED chocolate is, you know, NOT SWEET!!! But when coupled with a little sugar and butter, it becomes Oh. So. Good.

I know. I know. Almost every single cooking camp post we make includes an egg cracking photo. What can I say....my kids LIVE for the moment when a recipe calls for eggs, to be cracked, by them. And they always inquire of the egg count on the ingredient list...crossing their fingers in hopes that there are a minimum of 3 eggs listed.

Here you will see Rivers has perfected the "one-handed" break....and is eager to show it off to his siblings every time.

Master Marshmallow sprinkler, if you ever need one, she's definitely your gal to call. And she can probably hook you up with some great tasting lip gloss as well.

Then we mixed up the icing. Which took a little too long to thicken up for the guys, so they left me with it to finish on my own. In all honesty, I was fine with that....that meant I had first dibs on licking the spoons!! This is the best chocolate icing....I love it. I wonder if it would work well as a darker lip gloss substitute?

So there you have it, another successful cooking camp session. I'm thinking we need to stop with all the chocolate madness for a while and focus on fruits and veggies again.....if you looked at our recipe blog, you would notice we are a tad heavy on the dessert posts this summer. :)

Go on over to HERE and get the recipe, although I'm sure all you fine southern gals (even if you don't live in MS) have this recipe already. I do wish you had some of ours we made. It was fantastic.

I've been drowning my sorrows with a bottle of Mt. Dew and Reese's Cups.

I guess I really have to accept the fact that summer's over and school has begun. Because I bought all the supplies, 117 binders, 423 pencils, 15 packs of loose leaf paper, 78 folders, too many crayons and markers to count, etc.etc.etc.etc. And I spent a lot of money on some new shoes...sadly, not for myself. And we arose very early this morning so that they could dress in some fine attire.

And they carried their teachers an apple, just like Laura Ingalls did at the beginning of every school year on Little House on The Prairie. Except ours were covered in caramel and dipped in chocolate and then decorated with whatever sprinkles and toppings the kids so desired to offer and finally bagged in their color of choice with complimentary ribbon. But other than that, just like Laura Ingalls. :)

I'm thinking her mom had a better idea when she suggested she just pick a red delicious right off the tree in the apple orchard.

Anyway, it's been our tradition for...well almost forever, I suppose. I mean isn't that what you are supposed to do on the first day of school---take an apple to your teacher? I don't like breaking traditions. I don't really care how old you are, or how cool you think you may possibly be at this very moment, or any other lame excuses you can obtain. Apples are given to teachers, regardless. I may have to let Tyner Beth (the socialite) deliver them all. I may have to deliver some. And we may have to rope in a guidance counselor every now and then to do the job for us (thanks Danyell)....but the apples, they will be delivered.

Now. Look closely at that lovely first morning photo again. Can you find the high school-er in the crowd? Here's a clue: He is NOT the one with two pink bow pigtails. Here's another clue:

He's the one with an ink pen poking out of his pocket.

Because that my friends is how you roll when you cross over to the porch where the big dogs are. Seriously? Who knew the pen in the pocket was such a fashion statement for the youth of today? I'm totally buying into it. It may only be a fad, but it's a cheap fad. Stock up on blue and black....10 pens for a $1.00. Just think of all the outfits that can be accessorized for under a dollar.

If only that had been an option during my decade of glory days. I could have saved my mom a ton of money but instead I wasted it all on Coca-Cola shirts and a pair of blue jeans with a little triangle on the fanny. And about a million cans of Rave hair spray. Because the hair was big back in the day. In fact I could have used it to store a few dozen pens if necessary. Or probably even an apple.

So, clearly you can see that I'm avoiding talking about important things like this child that went for his first day....of high school....today. There's plenty in my heart I could tell you, but for now, this will have to do:

Just know that he did great.
I survived.
That's all we could have hoped for.

Make-up advice from my 7 year old....

While on the road traveling this summer, (looking at herself in the side mirror and pretending to be Taylor Swift again with her hair blowing from the air conditioner vent) my sweet baby girl offered me this beauty tip:

• "You know Mama, if you are ever somewhere and you don't have your lipstick or anything in your purse, you can use a lollipop for lipgloss. You just lick it and then rub it on your lips and they will turn all shiny and smell good, too."

And I would be selfish not to share this informational tidbit with all of you. So there you are. Go stock up on lollipops....because if e-harmony isn't working for you, maybe some sweet smelling, (albeit sticky), lipgloss is the way to go! Cheap on your wallet and a snack all at the same time.

My girl, she has a very bright future in the cosmetic industry....I'm sure of it.

SATURDAY SHOWCASE....TB's little masterpiece for a special teacher.

Aren't y'all excited....you haven't seen a SATURDAY SHOWCASE in a while. I get side-tracked, a lot, in life. My brain only functions at it's optimal level, occasionally.....the rest of the time it's just in survival mode.

So, here are some photos that were taken back at the end of May. In fact, just mere days before the accident of Broken Leg Boy, which sent our summer into a whirlwind, and made me lose all sight of what pictures I had taken for cute little SATURDAY SHOWCASE posts.

School is gearing up again, although I'd like to protest and picket the campus and demand they wait to open the halls of education until after Labor Day....I feel as though my requests would go unheard. In fact, I know they would, because I've mentioned it before, to a board member even, and nobody has changed the dates yet. We are still encouraged to bring our children and report for school while it's still August. Ugh.

So, while it has been on my mind all summer, I have yet to make this post. Maybe in the back of my head, I didn't make the post on purpose, because I feared that it would make it more real. And it is in fact real. A sad reality. A tragedy of sorts. But I'm going to talk about it, and in the words of Dr. Seuss, "today is the day".

TB painted that beautiful fish to give her teacher at the end of school. I think it is an actual toothbrush holder, but TB thought it would work great on her teacher's desk as a pen and pencil holder. And we always like to leave them with something they can remember...a special something to bring back all the great memories. It was a wonderful year. We had one of the best teachers on this planet. We've had her before. Three times, in fact. It's a first for our family, for each child to have had the same teacher at a certain grade level. And it was remarkable. A blessing for all.

Every one of my kids would rate her very highly....maybe even all three would say she was "the best". Although, more often than not, they really can't decide, as they begin to speak their "favorite", it turns out more as a list instead of just one name. Which, I think, is a wonderful way to think of their educators. I love that they have a list instead of a name. It gives me hope in the education system, in the ones that I allow to help in molding our children for the future.



Okay, so maybe that photo isn't a great representation of "molding the minds". But she sure looks like she's a fun teacher, right? Oh, she is. The kicker, not only is she fun, but she makes learning seem fun....IMAGINE that. Who knew learning could be fun? Remember the time I told y'all about TB spending all her free time at home, in the car, wherever -- hand writing 32 pages, front and back, of multiplication tables....for fun. That's because of this teacher. She challenged my kids, and they rose to the challenge, every time. And were better for it, every time.

Once, and this is a BIG deal at our house, she even wore an AUBURN shirt for my kid. It was several years ago, and she had our oldest child in her class. That year was our first experience with her, and where we realized we hoped and prayed our other children would have her as well. Rivers had been reading really well, in the top readers group, and was trying to meet a big goal at the end of the year on reading a certain number of books. He was just a few books shy of breaking the 100 mark, and she really encouraged him to try hard. She pulled out all the stops. Setting her ALABAMA allegiance aside, she gave this final boost he needed in this one challenge: "If you make it to 100, I will wear an AUBURN t-shirt to school, all day."

He was 7....He loves AUBURN....that was all the incentive he needed. She had joked with him all year long every morning he would come to school wearing anything orange and blue, or his AU shirts, (which was about 3-4 times weekly as my boys practically LIVE in Auburn shirts daily) that it gave her a headache to see it. She had a lot of headaches that year.

I think he actually read over 100 books....and she did in fact wear an AUBURN shirt, all day. We even made her stickers on the computer that said things like "I LOVE AU"..."WAR EAGLE" "TIGERS #1"....etc. to add to her shirt. She even smiled in the photo I took of her with Rivers in her AUBURN shirt.

Now I don't know about you folks who don't understand the SEC, especially the AUBURN/ALABAMA rivalry, but that was a big sacrifice folks. That is a remarkable teacher. That is a special teacher. That is a blessing.

So, to this very special teacher, who makes a difference in the lives of so many, and to others all around who reach out to the youth in an effort to inspire, challenge and truly teach, I say THANKS.


TB loves just about everybody. Sure she's sassy at times, but she has a sweet, tender heart, and aims to please. And as I've said before, all my kids had this same teacher. They all love her, as she does them. However, this little brown-eyed girl really took up a spot in her heart. It was a year I hated to end. I begged and pleaded with Father Time to slow down....why the rush? But as you know, once again, nobody listens to me, not even Father Time.

TB did say she wouldn't have minded staying around with this teacher another year. We had this discussion one day in the car this summer. She informed me that she could have made it happen. Although she did add, that she would have had to not do her work and fail, so we would have probably been upset, so instead, she forged ahead, passed with flying colors, and brought us to a close in this chapter of life. Like coming to the end of a good book. A great book. It was a super-fantastic, terrifically-wonderful read and you absolutely hate for it to end.

The end means that I have no other children to offer this teacher. At the end of this year, she jokingly sent me an email requesting I have more kids so they could be in her class. Oh, if only I could. Or if only I could bottle her up and tote her from grade to grade, with each child, every year. Except I guess she'd be pretty tired at the end of a school day if I did that. But I bet she'd give it a try, if I could figure out a way....maybe I'll put in a call to my board member and see what he can do about that. :)

But I guess I won't upset the apple cart just yet...it seems as though we are blessed with some awesome teachers again this year. TB will probably do a lot of "visiting" to see her sweet teachers of the past....she is our socialite. And she LOVES her teachers. She just flat out LOVES school.

So there you have it. A few months late, but the story was told all the same. Do you have any favorite teachers? Ones that stick out in your mind from your childhood? Again, this was only one on the list of my kids favorites, but she's a keeper, rest assured of that. I have several I remember from the "good ol' days" myself. Wasn't Elementary School fun?

Summer is leaving....I hate it. But I embrace the new school year ahead and all that it will offer. Just don't get me started on the whole I have a child starting High School thing. I'm avoiding that topic all together. I'd like to have kept him in 2nd grade for the rest of his life. Of course with all this recent activity with all the chest hair he might have started looking funny in a child desk, eventually.

FUN FRIDAY------ If you'll just lend me your finger, please.

Thanks. That's much better.

Just because I think it will be "fun".... aren't Fridays all about FUN?

You will see a post tomorrow titled "FUN FRIDAY". Something new I'm trying out. Mainly because I had a cute post and didn't really want to just throw it out there, and have it lost in the shuffle of nonsense that I call "postings on my blog". :) Plus, I can hardly get enough of cute photos of our sweet little niece, AK. Such a doll.

I still have "SATURDAY SHOWCASE"---although not a weekly post, it rolls around every now and then. When something special happens or when I really want to 'showcase' some event, activity, artwork, conversation, etc. that's in our lives.

I don't know if I'll make it around every week for a FUN FRIDAY post either, but thought it might be a good time to try. So, I'm inviting you to join me if you want....for FUN FRIDAY. Go ahead, find something fun to post about. Pics or not, who cares....you can find something to smile about in every day, you may have to look hard at times, but it's there.

So get ready....tomorrow is FUN FRIDAY here on the HOUSE OF BOWLING!!!

"Staycation" fun---where the cousins acted like kids in a candy store!

Aunt Karisa was nice enough to buy some "real" goggles for all the kiddos at the pool + some for Kevin and I as well! We looked so cool in our Michael Phelps goggles....and we swam almost as cool as he can too!! :)

The cousins had a blast playing a thousand rounds of Marco Polo, Catergories, and Spider in the pool. And our synchronized swimming routine was pretty excellent as well. I hate you all missed it, really, the Olympics may be contacting us any. day. now.

One morning we set out to see what treats could be found at this fine establishment:

No, we didn't travel all the way to NEW YORK CITY to find some sweet treats....instead, it was just down the road. And boy did they all ever enjoy the candy store.

• Kids + Candy = instant love

I have a cute story to post later about lollipops.....don't these look so lovely????

Candy is Broken Leg Boy's love language. He was in complete sugar high heaven.

Mom, could we just get one of everything?

And I put in one last photo of how it looked when we were asked about a million times to tighten goggles.....do any other mothers share in this repeated request?? Why oh why can't they just make them easier to adapt to the faces of small kids.

I mean, they can put flexible rods inside the bone marrow of my son's leg, but we can't figure out a better way to make goggles more user friendly??