Lordy, Lordy…Yes I’m 40!
A big thank you to my mom and Jim for inviting some awesome friends to partake in some tasty Mexican food, yummy cake and some good natured ribbing. I stole this photo from Jim's blog because I love my friend, Althea's, laugh. Hey, if any of you fly Delta she is one of the best flight attendants around. Another friend, Elizabeth, just moved back to Georgia and is working at Emory so look for great stuff there...but I hope you won't need the services. Suzanne and Jason are great neighbors to my mom and friends. Lani and Guy...thanks for the cool pinwheel (it is in the front yard) and Eve has claimed the balloons. Carol...thanks for the cute card! Charlene...thanks for driving Lani and me places when we were kids. Thank you mom and Jim for the cool presents and always helping with my kiddos. To my dear husband who went shopping with me for my 5th smoothie maker...you are a patient man! It was a truly fun day!
A torrential downpour to start the week. MMMmmm the smell of runoff in the morning!
Need an inexpensive adventure...try the library:
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Autonomatonophobia is the fear of ventriloquists' dummies, animatronic creatures or wax statues -- anything that falsely represents a sentient being.
I actually think ventriliquism is pretty cool, but that is as long as the ventriliquist and dummy are on television. I really liked Willie Tyler and Lester in the early 70s so my mom was so cool to get me a Lester doll. Lester stared at me all the time, so I put him in my toy box. I wasn't sure if that was good enough, so I put my bag full of Barbies on top of that. Still I wasn't sure if he might get out and kill me, so I wedged my Barbie airplane and any other firm items on top of the toy box just to be sure. I eventually donated Lester to someone with more sense. Some unknown person mind you, but probably with more sense. I also feared my wicker chair, the space under my bed and leaving my closet open. Rachel finds it amusing that I would hit my bed after a dead run and a leap to make sure nothing could grab me a night. I know I'm not alone in these fears because I saw Poltergeist and who ever wrote the script for that listened to my nightmares, or had the same ones. Clowns are evil, people! Do I realize these are unfounded...yes...do I still get creeped out...yes!
One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes is with Tele Savalas and Talking Tina:
http://whatafind-antiques-collectibles.blogspot.com/2009/01/eg-goldberger-willie-tyler-lester.html
So long Lester...I hope you are safely resting in a place far, far away!
For My Mom…An Early Mother’s Day Present…
Welcome to the first Eveism:
This morning while helping the kids get ready for school:
Noah: "Hey, mom did they have the Pink Panther when you were a kid?
me: "Yes."
Eve: "Wow, it's really old then."
A few minutes later Noah and Rachel got into an argument because Rachel kicked him in the butt. He was howling that it really hurt, so Rachel came down to explain how hard she had actually kicked him. She was Air Butt Kicking (kind of like Air Guitar) to show that Noah was exaggerating. I was brushing Eve's hair at the time and she piped up happily, "Use me, Use me. I need someone to kick my butt in the morning!" (Truer words, people).
Let’s Get Together…Yea, Yea, Yea!
Spring has sprung and an opportunity to get together with aunts and cousins. Michael and I took the kids down to my dad and Alice's house for Easter. Saturday, the girls helped me bake and decorate a cake for my sister, Tracy's, birthday, the kids hunted eggs, and my dad grilled hamburgers and hotdogs on the Big Green Egg.Here are Rachel and Haley's toes after a spring inspired pedicure:
Haley and Rachel made and decorated cupcakes for Easter:
They also decorated some hard boiled eggs:
Rachel and Haley hanging out:
Rachel and Haley help me make fondant decorations for Tracy's birthday cake:
Me coloring some fondant:
Rachel and Haley cut fondant to make decorative spheres:
Here are some fondant flowers drying:
Here is the strawberry and devil's food cake frosted with chocolate:
Here is Tracy's birthday cake:
Michael blows bubbles waiting for the kids to start hunting eggs:
Michael snuggles up to my dad:
Dad, you aren't uncomfortable...are you?
Aaron isn't hunting eggs, so he poses with a plate of chili. Noah, Haley, Rachel, Eve, and Tyler are ready to go:
Aaron gets whacked with a confetti egg:
Haley:
Rachel runs away from Aaron:
Tracy and Tyler with the cake:
Dig in:
Happy, slightly early, Birthday, Tracy! Happy Easter, everyone!
Life with Noah…The Spring Edition
Noah and the Spelling Homework:
Noah: "I have spelling due Wednesday, will you help me?"
I pulled out the sliding shelf in my desk and said, "Come sit down. Be my friend."
Noah: "You already are my friend...(pause)distantly."
Me: (scribbling down what Noah said).
Noah: "Do you write down everything I say?"
Noah and the Book of Weird Facts
While I was digital scraping photos of Noah's Pinewood Derby he was on the couch reading Rachel's newest Book Fair acquisition Weird But True 300 Outrageous Facts. "Did you..." preceded every entry he read to me. After several entries he said, "Did you know the average yawn last 6 seconds?"
Then, Noah yawned.
Noah asked, "Did you time that?"
Me: "No."
Noah: "Crap!"
Noah and the Harp:
My mom returned my phone call this evening and Noah took the opportunity to speak with her. While they were talking she could hear Eve practicing the piano.
She asked Noah: "Is there any musical instrument you would like to play?"
Noah: (Thinks for a little bit) "The Butt Harp!"
As my mom tells me this story my stepfather, Jim, is listening in the background and adds these clever quips, "I guess you call that a wind instrument." Then, he said: "And he is going to be the one cleaning his own reed!"
I hope to post some layots this week. Later, Peeps!
Gaelic Granny Groupies
My mom went to the elementary school today to play the chanter and shuttle pipe for the kids. The amount of people morphed a bit from a couple of 3rd grade classes to the entire 3rd grade in the cafeteria.
Then she played for 2 Kindergarten teachers. Our intermission was a trip to lunch with our promoter, Crystal Powell, at the Blue Rooster Cafe. Crystal was Eve's pre-k teacher and we have remained friends. She has a child at Camp Creek, as well. Crystal treated us to lunch. The chicken salad sandwich was tasty and the lemon cake divine. While we were at lunch Michael texted me a photo of my brother out with his class at the local mall. The teachers got nervous that a strange man was taking Denny's picture, but Michael explained that Denny is his brother-in-law and Denny vouched for him by standing near him. Small world.
Our second tour consisted of Noah's 4th grade class. They were really complimentary to mom. I was proud of them all. We took an hour break and mom and I helped with some Book Fair invitations for the teachers. Our last stop was Eve's 1st grade class. Mom let Noah and Eve introduce her for their classes. They were both so proud of her. One of the boys was in Noah's class last year, as well, and said he wanted to be in Noah's 5th grade class of my mom was coming back to play next year. One of the 3rd graders from the morning event complimented mom again when he saw her in the library.
I hope y'all have had a great day too!
Miller hits the mark, yet again
If you've never met my wife, Victoria, consider this fair warning.
