Jack and Kay

This is the wedding picture (I think) of my maternal grandparents, Jack and Kay. Kay was actually born Catherine/Kathryn/Cathern. We are not sure how it was actually spelt. My niece is named after her. My grandpa always called her Katie. My grandpa was Jack but not until late in his life did he find his birth certificate and find out his birth name was John. Oddly, he named his first born son John! I am struck by how beautiful my grandma looks here. Of course, I never knew her like this. I am also moved by how much my mom looks like her. My grandpa was so handsome. By the time I came along he had eyebrows that could allow him to take flight and these horrible military issue glasses he wore because they were free or super cheap. Interestingly, I think my brother looks very much like my grandpa. If you take his features separately they are more like my dad's side but the whole package looks like Grandpa Jack.

My Grandpa Jack served in the Navy all his life. In fact, he lied about his age to enlist at age 17. He was retired in the late 60's/early 70's. They moved to Oregon and built their own house by themselves. They lived there the remainder of their years. As long as I can remember my Uncle John and Aunt Linda lived on the 20 acres also. This proved to be quite fortuitous as my grandparents aged and became sick; John and Linda were invaluable in caring for them. My grandpa died about 8 years ago. All my life they lived on this rural property and had a small amount of cows and chickens and such. They loved to travel in their RV. They would come and visit us for weeks and months at a time. Grandpa was always sort of gruff and rough on the outside but deep down he was a sweetie. He would walk a mile to get the newspaper every morning and it was always great fun to be up in time to go with him.

My Grandma Kay seemed quiet and sweet and caring on the outside but was also very strong and tough on the inside. She raised four kids with a military husband gone quite often. Plus, she put up with my seemingly often grumpy grandpa! :) She made the most wonderful blueberry syrup for pancakes when we were there from the blueberries out of her yard. She would let us go get the eggs out of the hen house. We played cards alot and she taught me how to play cribbage (not that I remember now). My grandpa died before her, right before their 60th wedding anniversary. She gradually declined in health. My mom, Double A and I were flying to visit her in late September 2004 (I was pregnant with BumbleB). As we got off the plane, my aunt and uncle met us and told us in the airport grandma had passed away that day while we were on the plane. It was quite the shock as she had been ill but nothing more than usual. It was just a regularly scheduled visit, not one due to illness or anything.

My cousin and his wife and family live in their house now. They have redone some of the necessary things in the house. I have not seen it yet but hear it is nice. I am glad someone is living there so the house does not deteriorate. My aunt and uncle still live in their house on the property. I miss my grandparents. I have wonderful memories of playing with my cousins when we visited. Spending time together as a family and just hanging out around the property or doing other activities in the area. So many memories: the farming game, bumper billiards, being chased by cows for apples, picking blueberries, go cart racing, crazy shaggy rugs in the twin bed room, the awesome spinning chair with that horrible squeak in the kitchen, sleeping in the various RV's or the basement and on and on and on.

I want to go visit with Husband #1 and my kids but just have not seemed to find the time. I want to see my family who are still there but maybe in a way, I am hesitant because it will be so different with both of them gone.

(If you are one of my family members and I have some facts wrong, please let me know. Or if you have a great memory to add, please comment!)

Snow Daze!

So, we got some snow last week.

Actually the first day we got just a little snow and it did not even cover all the grass. However, that did not stop Husband #1 from getting out there with the kids and making them pull and push him in the sled! He is such the taskmaster!

No, actually if you will notice the sled marks back and forth across the grass...that is where Husband #1 was running as fast as he could in snow to pull Double A back and forth across three yards. She loved it but Bumble B was still a little under the weather from his stomach flu and would not get on the sled.

Well, that all changed when two days later we got more snow. Double A did have school but no one else did so I kept her home. One reason was I did not get up early enough because I thought it would be cancelled like everyone else. The other reason was she slept until 9am, which NEVER happens. I was worried she was getting the stomach thing Bumble B had over the weekend and Husband #1 had on Monday. She did not have it, thankfully but by that point more snow was supposed to be coming so I just kept her home. We went sledding with some friends. It was the first time the kids have ever been sledding on a real hill. It was sooooo cold and ice pellets fell from the sky the whole time but we had fun. It is hard to tell in the pictures but this was a really big hill. So big I had trouble climbing back up the steep parts.


This is Bumble B getting ready for his first ride down the hill by himself. Double A was great about taking him and then pulling the sled back up. He wanted to go on his own but I told him he would have to pull the sled up and he changed his mind. Then I felt guilty so told him I would meet him at the bottom to help with the sled.

Not sure if you can see his little face but he was grinning ear to ear. The funny thing about this picture is he was going down backwards at this point! This hill had two parts...the first part was a pretty good slope then you hit a drop off and went even steeper from there. This was taken right before he went over the drop off backwards. He did great and stayed on all the way to the bottom.

Double A loved sledding. She always loves the snow which always surprises me for some reason. She was borrowing our friends disc sled in this photo. She did not want to go home but Bumble B was crying hysterically he was so cold and i was pretty miserable myself after a little over an hour out there.

Then Wednesday Double A's school was actually cancelled but there are no pics of that day because we did not leave the house! I found out later that Double A's school has not had a snow day in three or four years and in fact are one of the local schools that almost never closes. We got bunches more snow Tuesday night which caused the school closing (and the first pic in this blog post).

Well, today is Monday again. We still have snow in the shady parts but it was in the 40's this weekend so much of it turned into a slushy mess. But never fear! We have more coming tonight! UGH!

Fourth Birthday Drama

So yesterday was the long awaited BIG DAY for Bumble B...his fourth birthday. We started the day off with his new big boy booster seat instead of his old car seat. He was so excited and even buckled himself in on the first try. We brought cupcakes to school to celebrate...pink with white icing and sprinkles by his choice.



After school Double A was eating pretzels and her tooth fell out!! Not the one we have been waiting for since about October, the one we call Snaggle, but one on the bottom! She looked horror struck at first and I asked if she swallowed it and she said "I fink so". Turns out we were able to fish it out of her mouth amongst the pretzels.



After Husband #1 got home we ordered Bumble B's choice of dinner...pizza. Bumble B refused to eat more than one bite. Then came cake with candles and what not. He ate one bite and said he did not like it.

How old are you?

Then we moved on to presents at which point he perked up and was so excited for his remote control Jeep and his new watch, among other things. We played for a bit and then started in with the movie he had picked at Blockbuster that afternoon. The kids always want to "stay up late" so I told them they could and we would watch a movie. About 15 minutes in Bumble B was restless and asked to go to bed at 8:15. Then the drama began...maybe 30minutes later he went to bed he screamed and began vomiting...all over the bed, himself, the floor, the area rug, the bathroom floor, the bathroom door...pretty much anything in his path. We got that cleaned up as best we could and sent him back to bed. He proceeded to wake up at least two more times during the night with vomit. The last time about half of it made it in the trash can by his bed.


After a pretty sleepless night between vomit and pages for Husband #1 I was awakened at 7:15 by Double A near tears tapping me standing on the side of my bed. The Tooth Fairy did NOT COME!! Seems with everyone being up all night the Tooth Fairy was unable to get into the house safely without being seen. We are hoping for tonight. Or at least that is the publicized version here at our house!! Wow, did I feel like a crappy parent!


So far we have been vomit free for almost 8 hours. We have seriously limited fluids this morning and made Bumble B drink out of a shot glass! You know nothing settles your stomach like a hefty shot in the morning!! He has just asked for some food so we will see what happens. I am really hoping he is done with the vomit and we can still have the McDonald's birthday party on Sunday. Poor guy.

'Nuf Said

It was 20 degrees below zero with the wind chill. INSANE!!

Check Please!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love a coat check? I never knew I loved a coat check until we moved to the "god forsaken north (GFN)." In fact, I am not even sure I had ever even seen or used a coat check until we moved to the GFN...at least not with any regularity. Growing up most of my formative childhood years in the Deep South pretty much limits your availability of coat checks. Now they are everywhere. Pretty handy at all those socialite type parties we go to...all the time...you know...twice a year at the holidays. Anyway, it is such a pain to have to hold your coat (cuz you CANNOT go anywhere here without one...not even to the driveway to get something out of your car. Did I mention the low tonight is supposed to be 2? that would be Fahrenheit degrees. Tomorrow the high is 13 and a wind chill of -10 below 0. UGH) Anyway, I digress...coat checks...I was saying it is a struggle to hold your coat at a function, and your plate of food, and your cocktail. Coat checks come in really handy. The best thing about coat checks here in the GFN is they are EVERYWHERE. All the places you would go. We went to the butterfly house in January and they had a coat check. It was awesome! It is so nice to not have to lug your coat, your kids coats, your purse, your diaper bag, the crap your kids HAVE to bring and then don't want to hold anymore and so on and so forth. Just shove it in this special room and hope it is there when you get back (they are not always manned by the coat check girl...different than on TV and movies where there is always a coat check girl.)

Anyway, I was just thinking the other day about how cold it is and how much I hate the cold and how hard it is to get out the door with coats and hats and gloves and such. I was struggling to come up with a reason to not leave Husband #1 behind for the next two months and jet off with the kids to some tropical locale (you know other than school and the fact we would miss him). All I could come up with was coat checks. Guess I should be grateful there is that one little refuge in my four month interlude of bleak, freezing dreariness in the GFN. Anyone else want to share what keeps them plugging along in the cold? I could use some more incentive.

The pictures

So, I finaly go the pics uploaded and onto the blog. There are tons more, of course, but these will have to do.

CHRISTMAS MORNING - SANTA CAME!!

SO EXCITED ON CHRISTMAS MORNING

FALLING ASLEEP WITH DADDY'S IPOD


TWISTER - WHAT A GOOD SPORT DADDY IS!!

THE KIDS COLLECTING CAMELLIAS IN GREATMOTHER'S YARD. HER CAMELLIA BUSHES ARE TWO STORIES TALL!!!

SPENDING TIME WITH BUMBLEBEE!!

Aught Nine

Happy New Year!! Well, it is the last of the "Aughts" for us. Unless some weird twist of fate or advanced medical techniques come about, I will not see another aught year. Most likely, neither will my kids.

Husband #1 and I laugh frequently about the term "aught" so I thought I "ought" to use it here...hee hee!!

We are currently on the last leg of our holiday trip through the southeast. Since the last installment we have traveled through the Mississippi coast and seen the Golden Eagles beat Ole Miss at basketball, went shopping at some outlet malls, visited tons of relatives in George County and rung in the new year asleep in our bed at my in laws in Laurel.

And yet, I am still too lazy to upload pictures for this post. Oh well!

I do have something I thought was interesting I saw on another blog somewhere. A list of things to do in your life. I have not come up with the list and I really think I would change some things but the ones in red are things I have done so far in my 35 years.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (DisneyWorld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Comment and let me know which ones you have done!!! Would love to hear!