Family Adventures Family Adventures When my children are grown and gone, I hope that they will look back on their childhood and remember the sound of their mother's laughter. Sometimes that is easier said than done. 
Articles
Friday Shuffle
2008-12-26 17:59:00 Dixie, Sari, Katya have all been doing the Friday Shuffle for years. I don't actually have an ipod but I listen to Pandora. Here is the first 10 songs Pandora picked for me to listen to today. I hope you all have a great weekend.Welcome To Wherever You Are by: Bon JoviCracklin' Rose by: Neil DiamondDon't Stand So Close To Me by: The PoliceI Just Want To Be Your Everything by: Andy GibbAlone Again by: Gilbert O'SullivanAll Right Now by: Queen + Paul RodgersTruly Madly Deeply by: Savage GardenLive and Let Die by: Guns N' RosesGive A Little Bit by: The Goo Goo DollsDon't Stop Believin' by: JourneyI follow comments. Leave a comment and I will come visit your blog.
Merry Christmas
2008-12-24 16:00:00 Jeff and the girls have been off this week and it has been non-stop fun. This morning we woke up with a sick little girl and a thrown out back momma. Guess we will slow it down a bit. I am also trying to keep up with my job and Christmas . Sounds stressful but it really isn't. Plenty of hours in the day, it is all good.Driving down the road to Mobile on Monday we got a phone call. We were on our way to tour the USS Alabama. The call was from Jeff's work. Remember how I told you that if a woman he works with gets pregnant he will be deployed? Well she got pregnant. However, the person on the phone said Jeff has to volunteer to go or they will send someone else. One person said Jeff is going whether he wants to or not, another says Jeff has to volunteer. Currently we are under the impression that he will not be going. It is my understanding that speaking of troop movements, telling exactly when and where military members are going is frowned upon. The when is soon. The ... More About: Merry Christmas , Merry
Lily Monster
2008-12-18 15:03:00 At Lily 's school the way kindergartners are disciplined is with colored tickets. Everyday they start on green if you have a behavior problem your ticket is pulled and you are on blue, then yellow, then orange, then RED. At red you go visit the principal.Lily had her ticket pulled one time on August 15th. She remembers the date and talks about it all the time. Until last week that is, last week Lily had her ticket pulled three days in a row. She came home on blue: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Last Friday there was a special treat for Kindergartners, they were allowed to come to school in Pajamas and watch the movie Polar Express after the movie the kids had hot chocolate with marshmallows and cookies. Everyone could go to the party except kid's whose ticket was pulled MORE than three times in that week. Lily thought the teacher had said if your ticket is pulled three times you cannot go, I thought that too. So she went to school on Friday thinking she was going to have to stay... More About: Parenting , Monster
My Arrogance
2008-12-17 14:20:00 I am still a huge Survivor fan. I don't get to see all the episodes anymore, even though you can watch them for free on CBS.com the next day I still don't always make the time to see. But, I try to catch the majority of the show. This season one of the characters was a guy named ACE. He was very arrogant during the show. At the end of the season reunion where people explain themselves, apologize or whatever; Ace was a complete ass.He said something to the effect that he is a world traveler and it was hard for him to have to associate with people who have never left their neighborhood let alone their country or continent.I think of myself as a world traveler. What I have learned is that everywhere you go most of the people you meet are not well traveled. The effect of having traveled is to make a person more tolerant. Ace was being intolerant, not a very good representative of world travelers. Everywhere I have ever gone the point for me is to learn about a different culture. It is... More About: Arrogance
The Giving Tree
2008-12-16 19:57:00 by Shel Silverstein is mine and Lily's favorite book. We hadn't read it in awhile. Her reading has advanced to the point where she was able to read much of the book to me this time. Having a book that we take from the shelf and each time we read it together she is able to read more and more of it herself is magical.The first time we read the book she was mesmerized by the repetition of words and seeing those words on the page she noticed that apple and happy both contain app. She fell in love with learning the spellings of words and she memorized dozens of words. Now she is reading in school and skims over the apple and happy not even noticing the app in both. This time she is hearing the story. She is asking me questions, who is not really happy? Why aren't they happy? Read this page again mommy. Tell me again why is the tree not happy. Why did the boy take her apples, branches and trunk. Tell me again mommy.We talked about the story, the meaning, for a couple of days and then i... More About: Parenting , Giving , Tree
Nutcracker
2008-12-13 16:20:00 It is that time of year again. Mandy and I are off to see the Nutcracker tonight. She had to work today from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. the show is at 7:30 p.m. We have to drive to another city about an hour and a half away. A very full day for both of us. I have to work and take Lily to a birthday party. Last night I got up around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. because my belly was giving me a lot of trouble. I thought perhaps a bit of tums might help me get back to sleep. I noticed that the light in Mandy's room was still on. I have the feeling that Mandy is going to be grumpy and not a lot of fun tonight. Working all day after having been up all night. We will be in the car together driving on the freeway in the dark for a total of three hours. I hate driving by the way.Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. Seems to me that we are not going to be having a whole lot of fun on this trip. Why bother. So we can say we did? This is what I hate about Christmas, you do a bunch of crap you don't really fee... More About: Parenting
Thanksgiving
2008-12-04 16:27:00 Cooking is one of my favorite things. I love to try new recipes. I love eating out and then coming home and trying to recreate what I have eaten. I love traveling the world and learning all the different ingredients and techniques used in different places. This is one of the most ardent passions of my life, the creation of good food.However, I dislike cooking the Thanksgiving feast. I hate spending the entire day in the kitchen all alone and then sitting all stiff together at the table, eating, and then spending another hour or so cleaning up all alone again. I love the discovery part of learning to create all my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I love adding, subtracting and finding the perfect combination of foods for my table. But, I get lonely.This year it was just the four of us for Thanksgiving. I have accepted that we are never going to spend the day with either of our families and we have not lived here long enough to be close enough with anyone to share such an intimate holida... More About: Daily
Pink
2008-12-02 15:07:00 Lily is having some belly issues as a result of her current antibiotic. She has had an ear infection and sinus infection forever and therefore her doctor is advising we keep her on the medicine. Poor Lily is not always able to make it to the bathroom in time due to these issues. One of the casualties of not making it to the bathroom on time was her favorite pair of underwear. I was not aware that this was her favorite pair of underwear. She has a thousand pairs of underwear. After a particular pair did not get completely clean in the washing machine I tossed it in the garbage. Lily happened to be there and was distraught. She cried for ever about her pink panties.It turns out this is her only pair of pink panties. All the others have patterns on them. Lily feels that these panties are her most precious of all her belongings, after I threw them away, and she was grief stricken.I offered to drive to the store and buy her a new pair right away. Jeff said, put it on your Christmas list ... More About: Daily , Pink
The Bookstore
2008-11-28 17:35:00 When I called to wish my parents a happy Thanksgiving yesterday I was informed I had not updated my blog in ages. Feels like just yesterday. Time has been slipping by so quickly I hardly know where in time I exist. The other day I saw a sign telling me to vote no on something on November 4th. I told Jeff, are we voting about something again on November 4th. He looked at me and informed me that I already voted on November 4th it is now the end of November. I looked at him a little puzzled for a moment before I remembered that it is actually the end of November in 2008. Wow, seems like it just turned 2000. Remember when I'm gonna party like it is 1999 was about a long time in the future instead of about a time in the distant past.Life here in Mississippi is going well. Lily is still sick. She is on her second course of antibiotics, this one seems to be working. Mandy is still deciding about college, a local friend of mine went to the college Mandy is thinking of attending and gave me... More About: Daily , Bookstore
I am about to freeze to death
2008-11-17 15:38:00 I got up at four this morning to drive Jeff to the airport. Upon arriving home I found that my mouse was no longer working. I got Lily off to school. She was in a mood. She did not want to eat, or take her medicine, or wear her jacket, and she cried all the way to the bus stop because we left the house four minutes later than she likes to leave. All the morning crying combined with her sinusitus caused a lot of coughing. For Lily coughing often leads to throwing up. However she has been at school for an hour now and no phone call to come get the sick kid. She is also upset that I am coming at lunch time to give her a dose of medicine. Not about the medicine but about me disturbing her during her lunch. I am planning on staying and eating with her, won't she be thrilled. My conclusion is that Lily is feeling better and she now has enough energy for the demons to come out and play. Only kidding, but I have noticed that she is meaner and onrier when she is less sick. Heav... More About: Daily , Death , Freeze
Ponders of a Muddled Housewife
2008-11-15 14:50:00 Lily and Jeff are currently at the ER having Lily's ear checked for an infection. She has been complaining of an ear ache off and on for about a week. Yesterday she came home from school and went to straight to sleep. She didn't wake up until 11:30PM and that was only long enough for some more Tylenol and drops in the ear. She doesn't have a fever though. Military doctors are so dissmissive toward me, or that is my impression, so I sent Jeff. He seems to get better results from the doctors. She hasn't ever been on an antibiotic, not because she hasn't been sick more because the military is stingy with allowing us to get appointments and giving out medicine. Or so is my impression of the whole being insured by the military situation.Did I tell you that I am a team captain for the Relay for Life this year? I asked everyone I know to be on my team. They all said yes, but at the first team meeting only two came. So we will see how successful I am as a team captain. I did... More About: Daily
The Thoughts Dripping From My Busy Brain
2008-11-07 19:58:00 Decisions that effect the rest of your life are always the decisions of the young. My decisions only effect dinner. Mandy is still debating her decision between community college and university. She is leaning toward community college. She is also trying to decide her major. She has it narrowed down to becoming a nurse and joining the peace corp or becoming a marine biologist and trying to get a job at sea world training the dolphins. Coincidentally we stumbled upon an intern opportunity this summer studying wild dolphins. I think she is leaning toward the dolphins.I believe Mandy got her spirit for adventure from her father. Maybe all those trips we drug her on while stationed in Europe and Asia have effected her. It is very nice that she has finally getting excited about becoming an adult and actually thinking of options. I love seeing the sparkle in her eye.Little Lily is still doing well in Kindergarten. As all my wise friends advised me, while she is a rebel at home,... More About: Thoughts , Brain , Busy
The Voting Line
2008-11-04 15:29:00 Every time I vote it reminds me of my grandma. She used to go and work at the polls every election. I always miss my grandma on election day.Today I had to stand in line for about an hour in order to cast my vote. Where I had to stand in line, I bet some people would pay for that view. We were right along a bayou with beautiful birds coming to drink. I saw heron, storks, and lord knows what else. I even saw a fish jump. Didn't see any alligator today, but I know he is out there - somewhere.As I stood in line the election officials were calling out, N-Z anyone with the last name starting with N-Z - they all got to move to the front of the line. At one point a different elderly gentleman with an election official sticker on his shirt came outside and called M-Z. Many of the folks with a last name beginning with M had been turned away from the N-Z line previously. They were hesitant to move forward and try again, they asked the gentleman calling M-Z - M as in Monkey or N as ... More About: Voting , Line
Univ. Dorms or Community College
2008-10-28 13:20:00 That is the question which is currently plaguing Mandy's life.Turns out we did our best but we were only able to save enough money for about one semester of tuition for Mandy at a Univ ersity. Which means if she goes away to college it will be with loans. I actually applied for financial aide in order that I could finish my degree this year and I was denied. We make even more money this year and I am pretty certain we will not be able to get any grants. Mandy will apply for some scholarships but we are doubtful in that area as well. She got good enough grades to get into the college of her choice but beyond that scholarships are not likely.Mandy could save $24,0000 dollars if she went the community college route instead of the living in the dorms at the university route. I crunched the numbers and living at home all four years, going to the local community college the first two years and then going to her university of choice from home via a satellite campus just down the roa... More About: Parenting , College , Community
Entitlement Anyone - Who Me?
2008-10-23 14:32:00 A few days ago Jeff was off from work on a school day. We had the opportunity to have the house to ourselves. Which is not something that happens very often. We decided to get some lunch to go from one of our favorite spots and then watch a movie at home. Jeff called in the order while I drove the 20 minutes to pick it up. This spot is a bit of a drive from our house and it is a little more expensive than our normal fare.I ended up getting bad service and the food ended up being edible but not as spectacular as usual. We are currently having to tighten the belt with our finances quite a bit. I was extremely disappointed that I had spent so much money and time to get this special lunch and then it was not a pleasant experience. I told Jeff that I was over that restaurant and I had no plans to ever go back. He agreed.Later I was driving Mandy to work and told her about the experience. When I got to the part about never wanting to go back, she got very upset with me. For the... More About: Daily , Entitlement
Recptive and Expressive Language Delay
2008-10-16 23:53:00 Many of you have been urging me to speak to Lily's teacher. I have been putting it off. I am a wuss when it comes to confrontations. To recap, Lily's teacher tested her ability to read and recognize letters etc - Lily did poorly on the test. This came as a shock to me because she if very good at doing these types of things at home. We had another incident. The kids started coming home with books to read. They are cute little books containing three letter words the kids can sound out based on the letters they have learned so far this year. Lily read the book and had so much fun she has read it to me more than 100 times. The first time you read a book on your own its a little magical. Once the child could read the book we are supposed to send it back in so they can be tested. Lily did not do well on the test.Another book comes home. This one I am supposed to read to Lily because it is supposedly beyond her reading level. She read it to me no problem. I was a little ama... More About: Parenting , Language
My Independent Kids are Annoying Me
2008-10-08 14:25:00 I thought that tarot card thing in the last post was freakishly correct. That sums me up with a tidy little bow. I am always falling in love with something or someone. Could be anything but I get all excited like a new love. Oh well, I may be a dork but I am LOVING life.Lily woke up this morning around 5AM. Her usual time is 6AM. Last night she fell asleep around 5PM. I couldn't wake her up. She missed dinner and her bath. She really didn't eat as much this morning as I expected having missed dinner. We normally spend 40 minutes getting ready. There is actually only about 10 or 15 minutes of getting ready and the rest of the time is spent meandering. Lily is not a rushing type of person. She gets crazy if we have to hurry. So, I get her up probably earlier than most parents and we have a silly time together in the morning.Today we added an hour to our morning ritual that is already stretched out pretty far for what we have to accomplish. We ate two breakfasts. We re... More About: Daily , Kids , Independent , Annoying
The Lover
2008-10-07 02:10:00 You are The Lover sMotive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse.The Lover s represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made.Originally, this card was called just LOVE. And that's actually more apt than "Lovers." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that the you have or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, w...
The $50 Book
2008-10-03 00:46:00 Last week I got a letter from the library telling me that we had two overdue books. They were both books I had checked out for Lily. I searched the house and didn't find them. I felt sure that I must have returned the books and the library must have made a mistake.Sunday, Lily woke up with three large bites on her legs. This has been happening a lot lately. It has really been driving me crazy because here in Mississippi, in my county, we have cases of West Nile and malaria. Every bite concerns me to no end. I check the animals for bites and fleas daily. I had the yard professional sprayed, etc. Lily is the only one in the family who gets bites. I keep the house clean, I keep the porch etc swept, there is no standing water. I just don't know why she keeps getting bites. I decided there must be something in her room.I spent the entire day Sunday cleaning her room. We, Lily and I, took every item out of her room including her bed, mattress, and headboard. This is when I... More About: Book
Don't Vote
2008-10-02 20:05:00 I follow comments. Leave a comment and I will come visit your blog. More About: Vote
Three Posts in One
2008-10-01 05:24:00 I am having trouble adjusting to this new work at home lifestyle. I went from having too much time on my hands to having not enough. Where is the happy medium. I never realized how busy I am being a wife and mother until I lost all the contemplation time I had. I love contemplation time. You might call it watching TV, reading, blogging, gardening, staring out into space thinking of things.I have been so busy today that here and now at 10:30PM I am drinking wine and writing a blog post instead of going to bed. I have to get up at 10 til 6AM tomorrow and I usually like to have a good bit of sleep. Today I am feeling like I need a good bit of contemplation instead.Lily's school thing seems to be working itself out. She loves school. Her teacher works harder than most 20 teachers put together. Lily comes home and works hard on her homework, wanting very much to get it right. Who am I to throw a wrench in the mix. I may have taught Lily to read, but. I taught her the memori... More About: Daily , Posts
Blue Skies and Sunshine
2008-09-26 16:48:00 Lily came home early from school on Tuesday for throwing up and has been home with me ever since. She has been battling a fever. I have been battling a cough. My cough is keeping me up at night. The combination of worry for her and lack of sleep has left me in a fog. Today is better. Lily's has been fever free since 1PM yesterday. I did keep her home again from school today just to be sure and she is doing very well. I slept last night too. The sun is out and the sky is blue. Do you think it would be bad for us to enjoy the weather when she is home sick from school? I am so very grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to drop everything and be here for her until she is completely well. Lily just got herself a glass of water while I was typing this out. I love five!I follow comments. Leave a comment and I will come visit your blog. More About: Parenting , Blue , Sunshine
Lost My Voice
2008-09-23 14:21:00 I cannot seem to shake this cold I have. Which is annoying because the rest of the family got it and got over it just fine. I must be the weak one. I lost my voice over the weekend. After awhile the family gave up talking to me and I went into Lily's room and took a nap. All by myself for about 3 hours. Every morning Lily asks if I have my voice back or not. She doesn't want to have anything to do with a whispering mom. Trying to talk makes me cough. I think my sign language and funny faces are hillarious. Lily not so much.People keep calling me on the phone asking for me to volunteer. I have been staying away from the school while I am sick. They normally nag, but with the voice I currently barely have they just tell me to get well. I have to work at the office today. Hoping I don't cough all over the boss. Better stop for cough drops on the way.I hate being sick.I follow comments. Leave a comment and I will come visit your blog. More About: Lost , Voice
Kindergarten Testing
2008-09-18 17:54:00 Lily's school has thus far given her two standardized tests. One was administered by the school counsilor and Lily scored very high, way above average on her ability to read for a kindergartener. The other test was adminstered by her teacher and on that test Lily scored about average or even below average on her ability to read. The teacher wrote in the note that the kids were sat at a computer and had to listen to the computer asked questions and then respond. The school says that these tests are given in order to establish where the children are when they enter the school in order to monitor if they are improving. I guess to assess if the teacher is actually teaching the kids. In the first test there isn't a lot of room for improvement as she maxed out on the test. They were not testing if she could write her name, because she definetly could use some improvement on that. This was a test to see if she could read and she can read apparently very far above her grade level.T... More About: Testing , Kindergarten
At the Bus Stop
2008-09-18 17:54:00 Neighbor Lady: Just to let y'all know I am having a party this Saturday.Me: What time should I be there?Neighbor Lady: ..... {blink.blink}Neighbor Lady: You can come if you want to.*****************My first invitation, aren't my southern neighbors lovely?I follow comments. Leave a comment and I will come visit your blog. More About: Stop
Procrastination is the Cornerstone of Productivity
2008-09-18 17:17:00 This morning I could not tell if Lily was too sick to go to school or too well to stay home from school. She ended up going.In other news I am getting a bit burned out on all this work, work, work. Adding 4-5 hours of work to my schedule 7 days a week is starting to get on my nerves.My bosses are very nice though. They are appreciative of how hard I work, they have amazing work ethic. I get my first pay check tomorrow maybe that will perk me up.Yesterday, the Kindergarten at Lily's school had a picnic to celebrate the letter p. We brought foods that begin with the letter p for our picnic. Parents were invited. One of my new friends whose daughter is in Lily's class and they also live around the corner, her husband has been deployed to Iraq and came home yesterday in time for the picnic. I cried. I cry just talking about it. The kids didn't know he would be there. What a moment. The dad is a critical care nurse. I always find it amazing how strong some people are at ... More About: Productivity , Cornerstone , Procrastination
Hurricane Ike
2008-09-13 20:53:00 A gallery of photos cataloging the destruction left in Ike's wake, taken by Austin American Statesman can be seen here.The Red Cross:Has 25 mobile kitchens moving into the ike affected areas, ready to serve up to 500,000 meals. Are ready with 1 million ready to eat meals for those impacted by Ike.Have 2, 000 disaster relief workers on the ground. 1,400 more on their way to help those affected by Ike.Here in Mississippi on Thursday Morning the Gulf of Mexico rose up about a block from where it normally gently laps the shore. Roads, bridges and homes were flooded. During high tide it was impossible to get in or out of my neighborhood. This flooding continued through Friday until Ike made landfall in Texas several hundred miles away. We did not get any rain that I know of the flooding was the entire Gulf of Mexico being pushed inland. The storm was so big it lifted the Gulf up and pushed that enormous body of water about a block inland. It was unbelievable to see.It has been m... More About: Hurricane
Feeling Needed
2008-09-10 14:28:00 Just a quick note about my new job. I love it.Now I am off to shower and voluteer at the school. Someone has to cut out all the letters for the kindergarten teachers and coalate all the construction paper for the first grade teachers. I am pretty sure I am going to be asked to continue to count the fund raisier monies. I guess I like all that too. Is it posible to be more boring than me?I went to the home of my new employers yesterday. They work out of their home. I got to hear their Katrina story which is that they stayed, their home and cars were destroyed, they found themselves with a shopping cart full of things that were salvagable from their home and covered in dirt and scratches, with no where to go and no way to get there. What a story. What a run-on sentence!They got a new home after Katrina, one that needed a lot of work. They are so busy with the new business that the new home is still under construction. It is also their office.I was there for about three and a... More About: Feeling
Good at School Bad at Home
2008-09-10 01:56:00 The Friday before Gustav, whenever that was, Lily came home with a note from the teacher saying she had been chosen as Star Student of the week for doing a great job. You could have blown me over with a feather. Her teacher and assistant teacher describe my Lily as being sweet and bright. This same girl gets off the bus everyday with a smile. She gets on the bus with a smile. However, on the short walk from the bus stop to our home she has almost always begun to cry about something. This crying usually continues off and on until she goes to bed. She seems to be able to behave beautifully at school, but she saves it all up for me. How sweet of her. I do realize this is entirely my fault and the child needs more discipline. I am slowly holding her more and more accountable at home. I cannot tell you how happy I am that she is doing well at school.Today Lily started asking me questions like, "what would happen if ...." .... If I run in school?.... If I yell in school?.... If... More About: Daily , Home , School , Good
So Ends the Summer
More articles from this author:2008-09-08 16:25:00 I never got the chance to tell you the story of how swim lessons ended. To recap: Lily took three - two week sessions of swim lessons over the summer. That is a total of six weeks of swim lessons four times per week or 24 lessons. Lily had a blast and loved every minute of it.At the pool there is a big slide. Lily had wanted to go down the big slide since our adventures in swim lessons last summer. The slide was closed due to damage it sustained in Katrina. However, this summer on the last day of our first session of swim lessons the slide was re-opened and all the kids got to go down the slide. All the kids except the little ones in the mommy and me swim class. Lily was so upset because everyday she had been asking me if she could go down this slide for over a year and now others were going down, but not her.The second session of swim lessons Lily was now in the level one class and eligible to go down the slide. It is all we talked about for the entire week. One of the m... More About: Daily , Summer , Ends 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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