Ode to Ted (aka The Odor)

Once upon a time, I met this dude named Ted. He seemed like a cool cat, so I said,"Let's hang...".

Ted had better save this for posterity, because I cannot guarantee that I will continue to be so generous with my compliments.

This guy is solid like a rock. He always has my back, in or out of our house. If I want something, he does his best to get it. If I need something, I get it. If I am embarassed, he has the good sense to look away or do something more embarassing himself to distract the attention from me. If I am hurt, he locates the source and extinguishes it. If he can't do that, he holds me and tells me it will be alright. He takes care of everything. The poor boy even mops!

And in return, he has been allowed to breathe! But only when it doesn't bother me...

He is a wonderful husband, father, and friend. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky... then he asks me if I have ever been to Holland and farts under the covers. So it sort of evens out.... :)

Enya... Only Time Lyrics

Who can say
where the road goes
where the day flows
only time
And who can say
if your love grows
as your heart chose
only time
Who can say
why your heart sighs
as your love flies
only time
And who can say
why your heart cries
when your love lies
only time

Who can say
when the roads meet
that love might be
in your heart
And who can say
when the day sleeps
if the night keeps
all your heart

Night keeps all your heart

Who can say
if your love grows
as your heart chose
only time
And who can say
where the road goes
where the day flows
only time

Who knows - only time
Who knows - only time

Open Letter

First and foremost, I would like to thank to truly caring and dependable people who have been here for my family and I since my brother passed. We appreciate you more than words can say and love you with all our hearts. The following message is not intended for you.

My brother has been gone for a month now. Our family struggles every day to keep our heads above water emotionally and be there for each other. The least helpful thing toward that end is chatterbox gossip hounds spreading conjectures and lies throughout our community. DO NOT assume you know how he died, since even those closest to him do not know yet. The rumors have ranged from the average and mundane to the extreme and beyond belief. Go take a long look in the mirror, then look around at the people you love. If today was your time to go, are you sure that the negative assumptions couldn't be made about you and spread to the people left grieving. If you lost someone you loved and out of nowhere you heard something that cut you like a knife, would you not also be outraged? In life, my brother was a private person. You may have known something about him, but you did not know him unless he wanted you to know him. STOP HURTING HIM AND US. In the end, it will make no difference the cause, because the result is the same. He is gone. We miss him. There is a hole where he used to be and I refuse to have it filled with hate mongers and petty people. Find a new way to entertain yourselves. Learn to read, volunteer with the homeless, help a child. Put something positive back into the world. You'd be surprised at how much good it will do you.

I AM FREE

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God laid for me
I took His hand when I heard Him call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day, to laugh,
to love, to work or play.
Tasks undone must stay that way
I've found that peace at the close of the day.

If parting has left a void, then fill it
with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah, yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish for you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been full, I savored much
Good friends, good times,
a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all to brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and share with me,
God wants me now, He set me free.

Camping

We spent this weekend at Grayson Lake in Kentucky. I felt kind of bad leaving and doing something recreational. But it was the last time we could take the kids out for the year and it needed done. There wasn't a cloud in the sky the whole time we were there.

We took the kids out on the pontoon boat and let each kid have a turn driving. The reflection of the sun on their faces and the wind in their hair was so sweet.

We went through the woods and searched for geocaches, or treasure hunting. The kids played on the playground and ran around practicing with their foam bows and arrows. After we were done and settled in for the night, we could hear the other campers singing around their campfire. Sweet guitar and many voices mingled to make the most beautiful hymns you can imagine. The sky was so clear with just a sliver of moon. As I sat there listening, disconnected from everything, with no idea of the time and no need to know, I felt like this was the closest I could get here on earth to the place those I love have gone before me. To have no rush, no worry, no need for anything but the admiration of the simple beauties that are all around us. I know one day I will get there and share it with them. It will have to be enough for now.

Another year... the boy is now 19!

http://hippoxmas.blogspot.com/2009/10/baby-boy-has-hit-big-18.html

My little brother

This week my little brother passed away at age 33. It doesn't seem possible. It doesn't seem fair that the world just keeps going on, that we keep eating, breathing, talking... I know in my heart that his pain has ended and my tears are for me and my own sadness. I ache for his son. I ache for my parents. I ache for my kids. If you ever met Shannon, you were probably greeted with his silly smile and some goofy thing to say. Unless you were on his bad side. But generally, he was a sweet guy. As kids, I can remember sleeping in his room because I was scared (he had bunk beds). For all the fighting we did, we were just as protective of each other. He couldn't stand it if his friends said anything guylike about mom or me. He was always a backwards kid and would get me to call for anything he wanted out of the ad bulletin. We played Atari together. He held my hand and led me out of the woods when I stepped in a yellow jackets nest and was stung over a hundred times. He hid in the wood box at our old house by stretching out his legs and arms and shimmying up to the ceiling. He made fun of me when I sat on our picnic table and pretended to play guitar and sing to the animals. I took him out of his crib when he was little and took him to my closet to play. We peeled each other's sunburns and bragged over the biggest pieces. He caught a baby turtle and put it in our spring behind the house. I let it go, made turtle tracks with a stick and told him it ran away. He grabbed a vine when we were in the back of the Spradling's truck and flipped out of the bed flat on his back in their driveway. He said groovy all the time and it drove mom nuts. We made up crazy stories on the long and winding drives we endured in the backseat of whatever car our parents were driving us around in. He used to crawl into the space behind my bed and hide. He made me a purse that said "I love you" while I was on my sixth grade trip to DC. He folded a piece of fabric over, sewed the sides, sewed a button and wrote it on...I wish I still had it. I wish I had kept everything he ever gave me. I wish I could hug him again, I want to hear him say something insulting and rotten, I just want to see him. I just want to tell him I love him. That I always loved him, flaws and all. I just want to hold him and tell him it's ok and I hope he is alright.

People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive. It is as though they were traveling abroad. ~Marcel Proust

Heather Porterfield: Child advocates needed for court cases - The Herald Dispatch

Heather Porterfield: Child advocates needed for court cases - The Herald Dispatch

Hospital A Go Go

Daniel had an appendectomy Monday, after his appendix ruptured. We were in the hospital from 7:30am Monday until 5:30 yesterday evening. During the course of our stay these things happened to poor Dan Man:

1. Many people pushed on his sore belly to ask if it hurts..... DUH... the answer is always yes.

2. During an attempt to draw blood and start an IV, they struck an artery. Boo.

3. Because he has thin, deep, thready veins like his mother, his IV was in his shoulder. UGH.

4. He had to try to drink contrast for a CAT scan... mixed with Fruit Punch Gatorade. EPIC FAIL.

5. He was scared he was going to die.

6. His choice to eat a hot dog after surgery.... also, EPIC FAIL.

7. The nurse in the ER had the nerve to ask me if Daniel normally wears diapers. She is lucky to be alive.

But he did get to meet many lovely and kind people who took great care of him while he was there. He did get visitors, including his wonderful teacher, and received gifts, from former teachers and friends and family, and got to see how many people truly care about him. And now that he is on the mend, he takes the time to tell me how much he appreciates it all and he includes me in that. He melts my icy little heart. He even tolerates his little sister petting him to make him softer, to reassure her that he is indeed alive and well.

Generation gap

My idea of artistic expression:



Daniel's idea:



Aurelia's idea:

Summer Hijinks

If anyone heard a sound this evening that they believed would herald the end of the earth, fear not, it was just my daughter getting her first ever bee sting on her toe. There was much wailing and sobbing and rending of garments. Visions of pearly gates were professed to be in her sight and there was much concern that she would get "swelled". We have returned home, bathed the afflicted foot (and the rest just for good measure), applied insect bite wipes, and given her a bandaid. I believe the Earth may be close to returning to its normal spin.

On the way home, we did have to make a pit stop in Kroger. I wound up putting more than just bread and milk in the cart, but was shocked at the nearly $200 tab that was run up. I checked the receipt over, surreptitiously, as the ENTHUSIASTIC cashier (sarcasm heavy here) bagged my things. I had been charged TWICE for a single watermelon.... at $55+ dollars a pop! When I brought it to his attention, he insisted it had been adjusted off. I took the kids over to customer service... a feat in and of itself, as I am prone to leave these things alone.... and received a $106 refund. GREAT SCOTT...


After that fiasco, we got in the car, both kids anxiously eyeing the candy bars they had been given. Aurelia was allowed to devour her Kit Kat, since it was already opened, but Daniel had one of those Baby Bottle Pops.... not car friendly with all that sugary dipping junk. I told him to wait til we got home. At the stoplight, he said " I just can't get that song out of my head".

"Which song", I gullibly asked....

To which he replied, " Nananananananana, nanananana, nanana..... Eat it!"

Home sweet home

Four years ago, we packed up our family and made the great journey from Charleston to Huntington. We snuck into this neighborhood and began to claim it as ours. I have been recalling the hectic days and weeks before the move today and the pleasure of meeting our new friends. I was nervous. Unsure of how to fit with people who hadn't known me their entire lives. Unsure what silences on what days would be appropriate to fill in backstory and how much to share.

When we came to this house, Aurelia was not even two. She will be six this summer. She has been housebroken, sleeps through the night, and can form intelligible sentences. We are still working on her high pitched speaking voice and finger chewing.

Daniel was so sad to leave Elkview. Now, he would gladly trade our house for the beach or any other exciting prospect, in theory at least. Meaning he is more open to change that does not require month long mourning. He will be in the last year of elementary school. I cannot bear it.

Cory was a sophmore in high school. Now he is grown and on his own. Little does he know that each time he crosses my mind during the day, I say a little prayer that he will see the great man he can become.

Ted and I will celebrate our eleventh year of marriage and in this house, we have built a home. Full of crazy kids, wacky pets, laughter, and love. I hope to see forty years... fifty years... or more in this house. So thankful am I to have such great family and wonderful friends.

Girls Weekend

This weekend, Aurelia, my mom, and I are going to fly to Orlando and then drive down to see some of our family. It will be the first time baby girl has flown on a plane. She has been reporting to all who will listen that she is flying to America with mommy and grandma this week. Silly rabbit.

Daniel seems to have accepted that we are not taking him with no trouble at all. There is the prospect that he may get to go camping and that always pleases him, but even more, he realizes that he is in complete control of all entertainment devices and will not need to wrangle his sister for snacks. Life is good. Besides, he got his trip last summer when we went to DC.

Can't wait to get on that plane and spend a little down time with them!

Some of the places that I visited last week:

Blue Grotto Sushi and Tapas

Five Seasons Brewing (Prado)

Azio's

The Colonnade Restaurant

The Hearth

I had a wonderful visit with my family and was pleased to do this child free. I missed the little rats, but this is only my second solo trip in nearly eleven years. It was refreshing to know that I can still function as a an individual outside of motherhood.

Shrapnel and home surgery

This past week it was spring break. Since my husband and I work opposite shifts, I took our daughter to work with me so that he could sleep. A couple of months ago, she injured her finger in a bizarre accident involving an air hockey table and the dentist's office. The result was a pointer finger with the nail gone black and hooved.... She has worried over this nail, because it was ugly, and wondered many times when it would fall off. You will recall that Daniel did this same thing to his big toe, several summers ago, with a stone wheel at my mothers... Weird children.

Anyway, on the last day she was at work with me, she announces that she sees an opening between the gross nail and the newly grown, bumpy nail underneath. Before I can respond, that wee little child just ripped the darned thing off.... like it was no big deal. AND IT WAS... because it was GROSS!!! She has big ol cajones!

After we returned home, my wooden floors decided to give a piece of themselves to me... through my foot... A large splinter embedded itself in my heel and landed on a nerve that traveled through my body and into my brain. Ted was able to pull it out, but there was a piece that was holding it's ground. Just happened to be the piece that was on the nerve. So after Ted tried and failed, I visited my mother. She broke out the trusty sewing needle, a pair of tweezers, and her Rite Aid reading glasses and commenced to surgerizing my foot. My children watched in awe... she tried to persuade Daniel to help her remove the shrapnel, but he was having none of it. So I turned around (this involved bends I no longer considered myself capable of), grabbed the tweezers as she squeezed it out of it's foxhole and plucked the offender out!! And to make sure I didn't suffer from gangrene, she swabbed it with the only antiseptic available..... LISTERINE!!!

Don't mess with the women in our family.... is apparently the moral. We will rip off our own flesh and beat you to a pulp! BAHAHAHA

Days like this

Spring has sprung, and my, ain't it grand? On days such as this, when there was a gentle kiss from the heavens in the form of a cool breeze, cloudless blue skies, good health, funky kids,.... ahhhhh.... that's what I'm talkin' bout.

These are the days that I could spend every moment on my wide front porch, admiring the beautiful trees on our street, listening to the happy yells of children in the yards, watching prowling cats hunt squirrels, the chirp of the birdies, and the 1950's feel of it all....

These are the days that technical junk and all that comes with our modern life just melt into the background. On my porch, with my tall glass of milk and my turkey sandwich, everything is just fine.

Hippo Birthday

35 is gonna be a good year. I was surrounded by the people that I love and who, fortunately for me, love me right back. There were wishes of love and gifts of great thought and I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Because I forgot I needed to renew my license this year, we spent over an hour at the DMV before dinner.

I had a big lunch with my momma, so I had fries and dessert with Ted.

Then we went to Satan's Den... aka Walmart, to buy ANOTHER fish, an aquarium, light bulbs, contractor trash bags, birthday gifts for parties. We were unable to locate a fish net or car charger. Whatever will we do?! LOL

The romance continued with a trip to the shoe store where I bought an identical pair to the ones I was wearing, just cleaner and newer. Then off to Target for expectorant...

Came home... visited with Mom and Dad, who had kindly cared for 2/3 of our motley crew and sent them safely on their way home. Broke open the Tropicana bottle and mixed a nightcap, listened to sappy songs and waddled off to bed like a fat sassy cat full on the rich cream of my life!

Bring it 40!! I dare ya.

Hippolings

Recently, Daniel was asked to clean his room... ok, maybe he was told approximately a hundred times. After his final warning to go back and get it done, he sort of gave me the stink eye and slunk toward the stairs, muttering to himself as he went. Innocently, I asked him what he said. Imagine my surprise, when my sweet boy rushed into the room, clenched fists at his side with the devil in his eyes to declare, "I HAVE RIGHTS!" What rights do you have, I inquired. "THE RIGHT NOT TO BE FORCED TO CLEAN MY ROOM EVERY DAY!!" Well, son, you have the right to get your happy hind end up to that room and clean it before I have to start taking things away. AND I might just add that I won't be talked to that way in my house... Thank you. "JUST KICK ME OUT!! I WANT YOU TO!!" Well, since you are nine years old and GOOFY... let's don't. Just go on up to your room before I get up and it will all be fine. " YOU DON'T SCARE ME!" One... Two... Three.... Mom stands up and the brave Daniel runs like a jackrabbit and locks himself in the bathroom. Mom strongly suggests he unlock that door before Daddy has to come take it off the hinges and Mommy decides to institute its use during some heinous corporal punishment. That door flew open in a flash. Apologies were had and the day ended without bloodshed. That guy is SILLY.

His sister, A-dog, on the other hand has some issues I may need to seek treatment for. After I received a sweet little hippo cookie jar (in a pink bikini and a swimming tube), Aurelia was overheard by her biggest brother saying " I hate you", as she strolled through the kitchen. Thinking she had aimed it at one of them, I sent her to be with her daddy until dinner was ready. When she came back in to eat, she was weepy and declared, " I wasn't talking to CORY, I was talking to your hippo!" Dumbfounded, I asked her why she hated my cookie jar. "I can see it's boobies!" Um... no... she is wearing a bikini, pink and white polka dot... see.... " What is a bikini?" It's a two piece bathing suit. She sits, ponders it over, gives the jar a sneer and mutters under her breath "I hate it." Perhaps we will just appreciate that her modesty may keep her from the pole dancing future we fear!

Kiddos

Yesterday Aurelia swam all by herself... She has thanked me profusely for being proud of her, but it is really my pleasure.

Daniel forgot the name of his swim instructor, so instead asked if he could just call him "Treasure". The instructor, whose name is Forrest, oddly enough agreed.

Daniel wants me to make Sloppy Joes by adding shredded Slim Jim's to the ground meat... I love him, but that is so gross.

Aurelia's angel food cake smells like socks. Yuck.

I am debating if Cory Adam still qualifies as kiddo... my verdict is yes. But he refuses to do anything bloggy funny... dang him..

:0)

The simple taste of sunshine

This weekends lovely display of sun has started up the engines that lie idle in the winter months.... A crank, hiccup and then the roar of imagining how to spend my wonderful warm days...

Perhaps on our forays into the backroads and hidden trails in search of treasure this summer, I may find a rock suitable for sunning myself. It must be a large rock.. smooth and friendly, with a dip on the top. Once found, I will return there many times over to absorb the suns rays and let my bones and muscles lengthen and loosen and feel even the teensiest bit close to their former glory. That is the treasure I seek.

But what we will likely find is many afternoons together, sharing a bagged lunch and communal water bottle. Giggles at who finds the treasure first, wildflowers plucked for hair decorations, discussions over what tracks go with what animals. Stumbling across the wild berry bushes for an unexpected natural dessert.

Time will be spent recklessly, with wild abandon, with each other. AHHHHHH.......come on with it, I am ready for you summer!

Well alrighty then

Since my kids were traumatized yesterday by the tragic and not so pretty death of the fish Daniel was allowed to bring home from school (Goldybones), I was trying to think of ways to lighten their little days. I asked Ted to get some more fish (at a quarter a pop, let's balance the scales with MORE) and he did... Four... Then Daniel wanted his friend to spend the night... not my first choice, but I said AOK..

This morning, I fixed waffles. They LOVE waffles... with peanut butter... cause they are cool like that. Filled their little bellies full of the yummalicious waffles and peanut butter.

Then I thought it would be a good day to watch ET together. A little throwback from my days as a young person, in the land before electricity. I gathered together on the couch with the cretons and Daniel was the first to speak up...about fifteen minutes in.... " I think I am going to throw up.." He clearly understood what it was going to take to be excused from this family together time... About ten minutes later, Aurelia took her cue and announced that she may toss cookies.... I started to catch on... I said you'll be alright... To which she responded... can't I just play on your Ipod? This movie is BORING....

See if I try to mend their little hearts again... ingrates! :0)

My babies

I spent a lot of time this week uploading pictures of my kids on Facebook. It was easy to get started with Aurelia, there are so many images of the kid. She catches sight of a camera and feels compelled to strike a pose. And all we have really ever had since she was born was a digital camera.

Daniel is a bit more reserved, even though he actually likes his picture to be taken. He wants to appear as if he doesn't... But he is four years older and we didn't have as many baby pictures in digital form.

Then there is Cory... that big manchild who is barely seen these days. Like a Yetti. When he was born, digital photos were either on the horizon or not available to the public at large. Fortunately, I had already scanned some younger photos in for another project, but as I got started on his album it strikes me how vividly I can see him in my mind. And this is really for all the children, but he's the oldest, baby years far behind, and I can still feel his wispy hair tickle my nose as we snuggled, I can feel his hand in mine as we crossed streets. I can smell his baby breath when he fell asleep in my arms and I had no heart to put him in the bed. I can see him collapsing in fits of laughter and dancing with me in the living room with no shame. Sigh....

No more babies for us, and man am I relieved, but looking at the pictures of the baby fat cheeks, the pudgy hands, the compact little beings that they are growing so far away from... doesn't break my heart... just bends it real hard...

hangin with Dan the Man

Daniel was my companion on a trip back home to Charleston today. He's a pretty good traveling buddy, despite his immense need for Dramamine.... He likes all my music and can sometimes be spotted doing a little jig.

We met some friends for ice cream at Baskin Robbin... he was crushed to learn they didn't have his favorite... Love Potion #31 in stock. Fortunately, it only took ten minutes.. lots of cajoling... threats to help him leave flaming poo on the doorstep of the corporate pigs who had stolen his joy... and a waffle cone with two scoops of vanilla and M&M sprinkles to make it all better...

Mr. Man's song choices are hysterical... his most recent favorites have been Paul Simon's Ways to Leave Your Lover and America's Sister Golden Hair... On the trip home tonight, I could hear him singing the chorus to Lay Down Sally, saw him dancing to Buckwheat Zydeco's Whatcha Gonna Do... and his final song choice for the evening...Terence Trent D'Arby's Wishing Well, with full singalong and dancing accompaniment... That kid rocks my socks!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Rewind

I like to think of myself as a responsible adult. I have always tried to do things as they should be done. I am a little eccentric in my tastes, but for the most part I go through life with a bit of a filter and do my best to remain palatable for the world at large. Recently, I have begun to consider what my life would be like if I had made lots of different decisions. Don't get me wrong... Love my life now, but what would it be like if I had stuck with my childhood dream of being a hermit? Back in the day, I dreamed of a cabin in the woods, a horse, and rare trips to the real world for supplies. Or what if I had never married or had children? As we move through what I hope is the last of Aurelia's baby stages (for crying out loud she is ready to be done with that)... I imagine alot what a quiet life of a single person would have held for me. Maybe travels, a completed degree, loneliness... who knows. But while I listen to a tantrum thrown by a five year old terrorist, I will use that mental escape and conjure up all the woulda coulda shoulda's for fun!

Fond memories

The other day I was in a conversation with my father in law (Ben) about Peggy (my mother in law) making Aurelia some dresses. It reminded me of all the times my grandmother would make me dresses with pinafores and jumpers, etc. When asked where I got them, I would pat the outfit and say "Mawmaw made it!" proudly. That same evening, I watched a little video on a distant cousin's Facebook page that traveled my road in my hometown at least a good twenty years ago.... it evoked such memories that I had strong dreams that night.

I dreamed about and could smell the sausage and gravy cooking in my grandmother Helen's kitchen while all the sisters (my mom and aunts... there are many) played spoons on that table....together and laughing.

I dreamed of drinks of water out of Anna Mae's metal pitcher from the refrigerator in her kitchen, such an old, but reliable appliance. That water was SO cold and I could never get enough. The only rival in my memory was great grandma Stella's well water with a metal ladle....

I dreamed of the feel of grandma Aurelia's braided rugs under my toes. Of the smell of the tanned hide that served as a drape across the sunporches leather sofa. The settling softness of her hugs and the smell of granpa Charlie's aftershave.

Into my dreams, wafted the aroma of papa Elvin's cigar. The smell of his "candy", when he would mix peanut butter and syrup together. The insulin shots he would give himself after. The smell of diesel and oil and machinery on his hands. The sound of him teasing us about belonging to the Shinn's.

The smell of my grandma Frances' fabric shop. The sound of her machine whizzing along and the radio tuned to 58 WCHS talk radio with Dr. Dean Adell. Knowing she would have peanut butter and crackers in the little fridge in the back. Her Mary Kay lipstick samples in the bathroom are likely what led me to never wear makeup.

The smell of the wood burning in the cast iron buck stove that warmed our house. The sound of the spring that ran in the back corner of the house. The feel of the sun on my hair as I watched my mom and Anna Mae in the garden. Anna Mae always made me chocolate cake, because she knew it was my favorite.

The smell of Windex and newspaper when I would clean my granmda Frances's mirrors and table tops and straighten her collections of Wild Wonderful West Virginia magazines. The sound of the her sitting room television battling to override Papaw Elvin's television in the living room set on volume level 4,000.

Fighting with my brother so furiously that we were sent to our rooms, then climbing into my closet so that we could talk through the adjoining wall. I believe those arguments could have been over whether Buck Rogers or the Dukes of Hazard and who was going to watch which on our single television.

The sound of my mother singing "Consider the Lilies" in the car. My father and his rendition of Be Bop a Lula in his silly moments.

All these things... and so many more...

Tax Man Cometh

Every year, because I am a freak, I get excited and happy for tax time. I love to gather all my information and sit down to calculate my return. Because I have always had a return, even when it was a little one. This year, I owe the state money. And that makes me mad. I checked my math several times (even though I was using Turbotax), I swore, I paced around unbelieving.... but, alas, it is true.... I owe the state money. By April 15th, one of the adults in our house is going to have to write a check to West Virginia. And quite frankly, I cannot think of anything the state has given me recently that is worth the amount we will pay. So after seventeen passionate years together, my secret affair with tax time begins to cool. It was bound to happen, we had so little in common. He was all numbers and data, and I am all free and wild.... Sigh.... but oh, how I shall miss it.....

Excitement and jubilation

Over this past weekend, my aunt and her granddaughter have been in from Florida. I had the privilege of taking Helen to see her first snow and watch how excited she was to wallow in it by the side of the road. Spending time with Helen and Dot was wonderful, since we rarely get to do it. And now that there are just nine more months until Dot and Nikki and my mother and I go to Hawaii I am getting SO excited. Dot used to live there, Nikki was born there, and my mother has been several times, so I am the only one who is going for the first time!!! This will be the first major vacation that I have taken alone, no kids, no husband... I am looking forward to luau's, helicopter rides, beaches, and lots of SLEEP!!! WOOO HOOOO

The tooth fairy book

As dictated to me, by Aurelia. Her book for the tooth fairy (left under her pillow in lieu of a tooth) entitled "Henry and the Boat Cleaner".





The robot had a play for making prize, so he can be some gooder guy. He wanted to write a cat, but he couldn't even. He tried to but he couldn't. He tried to put a pig on paper. There was hearts and sparkling moons.







I don't believe I could have said it better myself.

Fairy Dust

Yesterday evening, Aurelia plopped herself in her bed, surrounded by her brother and her stuffed animals. Daniel read her a chapter from his book and then they both watched her movie from Christmas (Tinkerbell's Lost Treasure). This morning, she came to tell me that her tooth was loose.... Not only was is loose, it was completely gone! No idea if she lost it in the night and swallowed it or what... We had discussions about the fairy novelty and she insists that a dolly, NOT a dollar, will be left for her. After all this wishing that she would abandon baby land and begin to embrace big girl world... sigh, here we go. No turning back. You should have seen her face when that commercial for the new movie about the tooth fairy with that big guy in a tutu came on just before bed!! BAHAHAHAHA