4.14.2009
Kitchen Update
The kitchen remodel is rapidly taking shape. Everything has been measured, sketched, contracted, ordered, etc. Still a few last minute things to pick out, but overall, we're waiting for the big stuff to start. In the process of getting the backsplash tile ordered, we went ahead and ordered tile for the kid's bathroom and Jack/Jill areas. Carpet is currently in those areas (who carpets anything close to a bathroom? OLD PEOPLE, that's who,) and I'm very happy to be getting rid of that. While we wait on things to start arriving, PDad is installing new lighting in the kitchen. Very, very scary!
4.09.2009
The Dark Side of Barnes and Noble
I'm afraid things got ugly tonight at Barnes and Noble. One of the clerks felt compelled to yell at my children. She and I had a discussion about the correct way to a.) treat your fellow man/child and b.) other options for relaying to children that their behavior is inappropriate and even, oh yes, c.) that it is extremely rude to scream at one's children when one is a few feet from said children attempting to correct their behavior but can't be heard because insane checker person is screaming at them. It was a very informative conversation for her...after which I rounded up my children, marched them up to her, and even though she was 4 times my age, I schooled her like she was 12 and explained again for her benefit, as well as my kids while they listened, about how we are to treat people and be treated BY people, and how it was incredibly rude to scream at anyone. I then told her, "Now. Let's try again. This time, without yelling, explain to them what you wanted them to know. Which she did. I then approached the store manager and explained the situation to him while giving him a plethora of other ways that Miss Crotchety Pants could've approached the situation. He explained that she was "a little jumpy." To which I told him, "Right. And now I'm jumpy....and when I'm jumpy, I don't feel like buying books." So then I bought a hot chocolate and left. The End.
4.05.2009
Chicken and Dumplings
I wonder if the woman who birthed me would make me some chicken and dumplings sometime soon.
4H, piano lessons, flying tents, Crazy 8's, good drugs and such
First off, thanks to Chingon for the info/comment on the Pre v. Iphone. I appreciate it! I think the Iphone is pretty darn neat (but then again, I think electric can openers are neat,) but PDad is all for holding out a bit to see what comes of this techno war! You're right, there is always something better out there..or on the way! C, do you have a Flip video? I love it! I'm curious if you have had one and what you think. (Also, I forgot to include the link to this article about the DSi. Jack has asked for one for his birthday, but we weren't sure how to compare to what he already has. Sounds like if you have the DS lite, you should stick with it as game play is the exact same...and that's what we're interested in, after all. If you don't have an DS, it's worth it to definitely get the i for the added features. The camera stuff sounds cool. Sophy would love that.)
I've just ingested a Relpax to make my migraine go away. Any minute now, I'll feel like a normal person again. Already I feel it starting to work. Miracle drug, for sure. God bless the makers of Relpax...and may they never stop making it (or find out that it's causing my internal organs to rot.)
I just looked in the backyard and saw Sam's tent (which is a full-sized family camping tent) inflated like a balloon and slowly gliding across the yard about 6 feet off the ground. I hope Sam wasn't inside...and no, I don't think Relpax causes hallucinations. It's just pretty windy here today. Windy, ha! This is a slight puff compared to west Texas wind. I never thought I'd say thank goodness for Pine trees, but at least they buffer the wind. Speaking of Texas that is west of here, I think I'm having withdrawals. Wish we could've visited longer. The younger girl cousins are planning to get a family reunion together this summer, so I know we'll be out there before we know it. The kids had such a good time this visit. They're getting old enough to remember places and faces. Sophy is already begging to go back to eat at Underwood's.
Sophy has become a card game fiend lately. Go fish, Uno, Crazy 8's, you name it. As I type, she's trying to teach herself how to shuffle while she waits for me to play another game with her. I'm so tired of card games!
Sam recently played his first song with both hands! He is so proud of himself, and I have to say that I almost cried when he played it for me the first time. Coming from a boy that eats dirt and collects sticks and rocks, I'm happy to see that maybe one day...MAYBE ONE DAY...there will be a bit of refinement. Haha. Sam. Refinement. HAHHA! Anyway, we're planning a recital for the end of the school year. He is thoroughly excited!
The boys have both asked to join 4H, so we're looking into some things for them. Sam recently learned about the competitive skeet shooting team, and he almost had a stroke. He has to be in third grade to compete, so we're still getting info on that. He will be playing football this fall, so we'll have to see what conflicts. Jack wants to show an animal (oh, I soooo don't want any part of that...,) but we'll see. Maybe Jack can shoot skeet too!
We played hookie from church this morning. The kids were seriously over-tired from the days on the road, so we're doing laundry and relaxing. Piano Girl will be here in a bit, so I'm off to order a pizza for lunch.
PS Happy News! This is a 4 day week, and then my SIL will be here! Tea party and girl fun!!!
I've just ingested a Relpax to make my migraine go away. Any minute now, I'll feel like a normal person again. Already I feel it starting to work. Miracle drug, for sure. God bless the makers of Relpax...and may they never stop making it (or find out that it's causing my internal organs to rot.)
I just looked in the backyard and saw Sam's tent (which is a full-sized family camping tent) inflated like a balloon and slowly gliding across the yard about 6 feet off the ground. I hope Sam wasn't inside...and no, I don't think Relpax causes hallucinations. It's just pretty windy here today. Windy, ha! This is a slight puff compared to west Texas wind. I never thought I'd say thank goodness for Pine trees, but at least they buffer the wind. Speaking of Texas that is west of here, I think I'm having withdrawals. Wish we could've visited longer. The younger girl cousins are planning to get a family reunion together this summer, so I know we'll be out there before we know it. The kids had such a good time this visit. They're getting old enough to remember places and faces. Sophy is already begging to go back to eat at Underwood's.
Sophy has become a card game fiend lately. Go fish, Uno, Crazy 8's, you name it. As I type, she's trying to teach herself how to shuffle while she waits for me to play another game with her. I'm so tired of card games!
Sam recently played his first song with both hands! He is so proud of himself, and I have to say that I almost cried when he played it for me the first time. Coming from a boy that eats dirt and collects sticks and rocks, I'm happy to see that maybe one day...MAYBE ONE DAY...there will be a bit of refinement. Haha. Sam. Refinement. HAHHA! Anyway, we're planning a recital for the end of the school year. He is thoroughly excited!
The boys have both asked to join 4H, so we're looking into some things for them. Sam recently learned about the competitive skeet shooting team, and he almost had a stroke. He has to be in third grade to compete, so we're still getting info on that. He will be playing football this fall, so we'll have to see what conflicts. Jack wants to show an animal (oh, I soooo don't want any part of that...,) but we'll see. Maybe Jack can shoot skeet too!
We played hookie from church this morning. The kids were seriously over-tired from the days on the road, so we're doing laundry and relaxing. Piano Girl will be here in a bit, so I'm off to order a pizza for lunch.
PS Happy News! This is a 4 day week, and then my SIL will be here! Tea party and girl fun!!!
4.04.2009
PS Don't buy an IPhone!
For all of you techno wizards out there, here is an interesting article! I had all but sealed the deal at Christmas time on an IPhone for PDaddy. In asking some last minute questions in an attempt to get our plan finalized, etc., PDaddy caught on to my plan and begged me to wait. He had heard that now "wasn't the time" to buy. So, being the SOOO not-caring-about-techno-gadgets type, I waited. Then this weekend, my cousin told me that she had just bought one, but that she had heard that Palm Pilot was coming out with a competitor phone that would rival the IPhone. Great, I thought, PDaddy will want one. SIGH! So, we looked it up for funnsies to compare and found this article. Nothing really pushes one over the other, well, actually it does. However, the new IPhone software that will available this summer, sounds like it will be over and above what is available now and an upgrade would be quickly inevitable if you bought now. Which means...if you get the Palm Pre, then their upgrade is imminent, I'm sure. The answer? Haha, keep waiting? Not sure! I do know, if nothing else, hold out for the new IPhone...or try the Pre. Or wait for the new Pre. Or the newer than new IPhone that will surely come after that. Pffft. I think the technology is so emerging that it would be beneficial to wait, at this point. PDaddy, for instance, continues to wait. HA! In the meantime, I'm getting an Ipod touch...with no waiting. So there.
Finally home..
Are you aware that it is closer from El Paso to California than from El Paso to Dallas?
Don't believe me? Investigate. I lie not.
We made it home tonight from a mad, and I mean M.A.D, dash across the fine state of Texas to my Granny's funeral. If you drove north or east from my house for the same amount of hours as it takes you to reach where I call "home," you would either be in Kansas or almost North Carolina, respectively. As it is, we were still in Texas when the driving was said and done. Albeit, the part of Texas that is filled with cactus, deer, lots of wind (think hurricane-and I wish I was kidding), sandstorms (O.M.G.)...amongst other things.
We had hoped to make it to my Granny in time to at least see her before she passed, but my mama called as we were on the road (about an hour or so away) that she was in the process of passing away. Several of her children and grandchildren were there. My cousin, April, who is an R.N. was able to be there in Granny's hospice room to help the family tend to her and help make those last hours more comfortable for Granny. Instead of heading to San Angelo, we went to her hometown, Brady, where our family is and where the funeral would be held and went ahead and checked in at The Roach Motel because Best Western was full to overflowing. Brady is the hub of turkey hunting at this time of year, and we were out of luck for a room at the "good" choice. And by Roach Motel, I mean. The. Roach. Motel. You know, the one with hair and food between the sheets, a hair in the coffee pot, fecal matter on the toilet, dried food on the sink counter and questionable stains on the carpet. Yes. THAT roach motel. (My mama, who hadn't slept in a NUMBER of days from helping tend to and fight my Granny in her final days, confronted the "inn keeper." Poor man. We stayed, virtually, for free. He never saw her coming. Bless his poor Middle Eastern heart. I'm sure he knew why his motherland makes women submit and wear burkas.) Where was I? Oh, yes. So, my Granny passed on, and we headed straight on to the hotel. Over the course of the last couple of days, the kids and I were able to see new faces, old faces, and faces in between. We ate at our family restaurant that was founded by my mama's aunt Pearl (the world famous, Underwood's, in Brownwood. Divine. I ate myself stupid. Sam thought he was in food Heaven, and PDaddy wept because he wasn't there. I'm sure many of you have eaten there,) saw a portion of my (atleast*) 27 first cousins and their "host" of children, showed my children the teensy house where I grew up--as well as our farm, etc. It's an absolute blur, but one thing I can't believe is how amazingly similar all my Granny's grandchildren are--even though some we haven't seen in 10-12 years, and how quickly all of the first cousins' children fell in line with each and started plotting a plan for world domination. Birds of a feather, and all that. Yeah. Sam and his cousin, Seth, need NEVER...N.E.V.E.R. spend any amount of time together. Oh my. World altering would be the words that best describe those two together.
It's so very weird to go "home" and be in Walmart and see your second cousin. To go eat at a restaurant of your second cousin. To be at the mall in town and see a man who graduated from a teensy, west Texas high school with and used to steal watermelons, most likely, with your daddy. Even stranger, are the people there. I live in Texas, but this part of the world is different. Somehow, I ended up in town with only a checkbook and a credit card that had been demagnetized. The darned thing wouldn't work anywhere. Everywhere we went, it seemed that I needed to buy something that we had forgotten, or gas, or shampoo, or dinner, or dress pants for the vistation, etc. At every turn, I was amazed at how many people/business owners, not knowing me from Adam, would know that we were in the area for a funeral (not even knowing my family) and would say, "Don't worry about it. Write a check." Strangers would find out we were in town for a funeral and inquire about who, when, where and hug you, say they were sorry, and "tell your family we said hello." As we drove in the funeral procession (in Texas all traffic stops until the procession has passed...well, at least they still do in west Texas,) we went past a tiny shack where a man was push mowing the weeds in his yard. As we pass him, I saw him standing there--lawnmower turned off--hat over his heart. As we passed a gas station, men pumping gas into their trucks---hats off of their heads and over their hearts. If that don't make you cry, nothing will. Anyway. Like I said. A different world.
So, my Granny is now safe in Heaven with the 4 children and husband she lost so very long ago--which is about as happy as you can be, I'm sure--and we'll forever smile at her last hours, and how she stayed herself right up until the very end--fighting like a tiger, physically (oy) and mentally....and verbally. You know you have a priceless grandmother, when the eulogy is given at her service and the following statement is made, "As many of you know, you either loved Mama or you didn't. On the same hand, you also know that Mama either liked you. Or she didn't. Can I get an AMEN?" to which those in attendance (a large family crowd) emphatically and enthusiastically responded in unison, "AMEN!"
God bless my Granny.
Don't believe me? Investigate. I lie not.
We made it home tonight from a mad, and I mean M.A.D, dash across the fine state of Texas to my Granny's funeral. If you drove north or east from my house for the same amount of hours as it takes you to reach where I call "home," you would either be in Kansas or almost North Carolina, respectively. As it is, we were still in Texas when the driving was said and done. Albeit, the part of Texas that is filled with cactus, deer, lots of wind (think hurricane-and I wish I was kidding), sandstorms (O.M.G.)...amongst other things.
We had hoped to make it to my Granny in time to at least see her before she passed, but my mama called as we were on the road (about an hour or so away) that she was in the process of passing away. Several of her children and grandchildren were there. My cousin, April, who is an R.N. was able to be there in Granny's hospice room to help the family tend to her and help make those last hours more comfortable for Granny. Instead of heading to San Angelo, we went to her hometown, Brady, where our family is and where the funeral would be held and went ahead and checked in at The Roach Motel because Best Western was full to overflowing. Brady is the hub of turkey hunting at this time of year, and we were out of luck for a room at the "good" choice. And by Roach Motel, I mean. The. Roach. Motel. You know, the one with hair and food between the sheets, a hair in the coffee pot, fecal matter on the toilet, dried food on the sink counter and questionable stains on the carpet. Yes. THAT roach motel. (My mama, who hadn't slept in a NUMBER of days from helping tend to and fight my Granny in her final days, confronted the "inn keeper." Poor man. We stayed, virtually, for free. He never saw her coming. Bless his poor Middle Eastern heart. I'm sure he knew why his motherland makes women submit and wear burkas.) Where was I? Oh, yes. So, my Granny passed on, and we headed straight on to the hotel. Over the course of the last couple of days, the kids and I were able to see new faces, old faces, and faces in between. We ate at our family restaurant that was founded by my mama's aunt Pearl (the world famous, Underwood's, in Brownwood. Divine. I ate myself stupid. Sam thought he was in food Heaven, and PDaddy wept because he wasn't there. I'm sure many of you have eaten there,) saw a portion of my (atleast*) 27 first cousins and their "host" of children, showed my children the teensy house where I grew up--as well as our farm, etc. It's an absolute blur, but one thing I can't believe is how amazingly similar all my Granny's grandchildren are--even though some we haven't seen in 10-12 years, and how quickly all of the first cousins' children fell in line with each and started plotting a plan for world domination. Birds of a feather, and all that. Yeah. Sam and his cousin, Seth, need NEVER...N.E.V.E.R. spend any amount of time together. Oh my. World altering would be the words that best describe those two together.
It's so very weird to go "home" and be in Walmart and see your second cousin. To go eat at a restaurant of your second cousin. To be at the mall in town and see a man who graduated from a teensy, west Texas high school with and used to steal watermelons, most likely, with your daddy. Even stranger, are the people there. I live in Texas, but this part of the world is different. Somehow, I ended up in town with only a checkbook and a credit card that had been demagnetized. The darned thing wouldn't work anywhere. Everywhere we went, it seemed that I needed to buy something that we had forgotten, or gas, or shampoo, or dinner, or dress pants for the vistation, etc. At every turn, I was amazed at how many people/business owners, not knowing me from Adam, would know that we were in the area for a funeral (not even knowing my family) and would say, "Don't worry about it. Write a check." Strangers would find out we were in town for a funeral and inquire about who, when, where and hug you, say they were sorry, and "tell your family we said hello." As we drove in the funeral procession (in Texas all traffic stops until the procession has passed...well, at least they still do in west Texas,) we went past a tiny shack where a man was push mowing the weeds in his yard. As we pass him, I saw him standing there--lawnmower turned off--hat over his heart. As we passed a gas station, men pumping gas into their trucks---hats off of their heads and over their hearts. If that don't make you cry, nothing will. Anyway. Like I said. A different world.
So, my Granny is now safe in Heaven with the 4 children and husband she lost so very long ago--which is about as happy as you can be, I'm sure--and we'll forever smile at her last hours, and how she stayed herself right up until the very end--fighting like a tiger, physically (oy) and mentally....and verbally. You know you have a priceless grandmother, when the eulogy is given at her service and the following statement is made, "As many of you know, you either loved Mama or you didn't. On the same hand, you also know that Mama either liked you. Or she didn't. Can I get an AMEN?" to which those in attendance (a large family crowd) emphatically and enthusiastically responded in unison, "AMEN!"
God bless my Granny.
4.01.2009
A few things
(Edited to say: Check out my new Flip! This time I sprung for the underwater case, so we'll be able to record Jack's swimming to play back and allow him to see what he can change underwater!)
1. We're all packed to head out in the morning. I maybe should've gone to school today, but if things with my Granny prolong, our visit may stretch into the weekend. I used today to get things done that HAVE to be done in order for next week to function properly. No rest for the weary. Oh, and on top of getting things in order to be gone for a few days, I also got the closets all rotated out from cold weather clothes to warm. Nice, clean closets. For like a day, I'm sure. But they're so pretty and clean.
2. Not sure when my countertops will be here. I think I get to pick out a new sink too! Hehee. Ahhh, a sink! I'm very excited to see what it will all look like when it's pulled together. I sort of wing a lot of this and make gut decisions....then I hold my breath and hope I like it. No going back now!
3. I think I'm going to use the Book Club excuse to get a Kindle! My brother has had one for a year, and I was convinced that after a time it would burst into flames and make me glad I had never bought one of the cute little things. Alas, no flames. Perhaps???
4. About Book Club, I have finished 2 chapters of the MONSTROUS book we're reading. I'm enjoying it thus far, and that is good news! Wouldn't it be horrible to be strapped to a giant, horrible book for the next 4 weeks? With any luck, it won't take me half that long to read it. But it is huge, so I can't promise anything.
5. I'm looking forward to our annual Tea Party next weekend. My SIL will be here, and we have much to discuss. Not to mention, we're past due on a day to leave the kids behind and go do fun SIL stuff together! Lets see...Toes, Tea, etc. Fun, fun!
6. Speaking of next weekend, it's the 3 day kind! Hooray!
7. I'll be out of pocket for a few. Try to control your sadness, okay?
1. We're all packed to head out in the morning. I maybe should've gone to school today, but if things with my Granny prolong, our visit may stretch into the weekend. I used today to get things done that HAVE to be done in order for next week to function properly. No rest for the weary. Oh, and on top of getting things in order to be gone for a few days, I also got the closets all rotated out from cold weather clothes to warm. Nice, clean closets. For like a day, I'm sure. But they're so pretty and clean.
2. Not sure when my countertops will be here. I think I get to pick out a new sink too! Hehee. Ahhh, a sink! I'm very excited to see what it will all look like when it's pulled together. I sort of wing a lot of this and make gut decisions....then I hold my breath and hope I like it. No going back now!
3. I think I'm going to use the Book Club excuse to get a Kindle! My brother has had one for a year, and I was convinced that after a time it would burst into flames and make me glad I had never bought one of the cute little things. Alas, no flames. Perhaps???
4. About Book Club, I have finished 2 chapters of the MONSTROUS book we're reading. I'm enjoying it thus far, and that is good news! Wouldn't it be horrible to be strapped to a giant, horrible book for the next 4 weeks? With any luck, it won't take me half that long to read it. But it is huge, so I can't promise anything.
5. I'm looking forward to our annual Tea Party next weekend. My SIL will be here, and we have much to discuss. Not to mention, we're past due on a day to leave the kids behind and go do fun SIL stuff together! Lets see...Toes, Tea, etc. Fun, fun!
6. Speaking of next weekend, it's the 3 day kind! Hooray!
7. I'll be out of pocket for a few. Try to control your sadness, okay?
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