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

New Year nearly here

For those who are curious, my sweet friend Laura actually was in town and we did get to spend several hours togethers this past weekend. I had the pleasure of meeting her sister, Leigh, and her other sister's husband, Matt. We had dinner and drove around Huntington a bit, before I had to grudgingly let her return to Charleston. I am sure that I nearly squeezed the life right out of her each time I hugged her, but I could not help myself. It was the perfect Christmas gift!

In the coming year, I am going to give a new craft a test run. After calling around, I was forunate enough to learn that the local stained glass shop is open and although they don't give formal lessons, would be willing to give me a quick tutorial on cuts and soldering... I am certain this will be a quick foray into this artsy endeavor, as I don't have much of an artistic flair, but I am intrigued nonetheless.

This Friday is our annual New Year's Brunch. So many more people from different areas of my life have agreed to come this year, it's sure to be a full house. What better way to start the newest decade than to be surrounded by wonderful people, with good food and excellent conversation?! I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!!

Love
Hippo Lady

Remember this?

Remember this?

Well, this week Laura really is coming... And I am going to get to see her!! The last time I saw here was shortly after 9/11, when I traveled to TX and spent a long weekend with her. When you have been friends with someone for almost three decades, but they have lived away from you for nearly two of those, it is an epic event to get to see them!! She knows all sorts of things about me (little me anyway) that I don't even have to tell her. When we talk about being hermits and building cabins, we both know the backstory. WOOT! If I mention her treehouse, she is right there with me and has a mental visual!! And I am stoked to get to fill in the gaps of our adult lives.

Now, please, please, please....let us all send up the happy ju ju's to the great beyond that this is also not a prank. I believe I have checked it out and it is valid, but one never knows!!

Hurry, Laura! Come on to WV and let's play in the snow before it all melts away!

Season's Greetings

Today was my nephew's birthday, my cousin's wife Tanya's birthday, and my late Pawpaw Elvin's birthday. Most of the time birthdays pass by and I don't remember until it is too late to even get a proper birthday wish out. With Facebook and it's handy little reminders of birthdays along the side, I will never again have a reasonable excuse.....

So when I got home, I was already in a nostalgic mood, thinking about my Pawpaw... He was such a serious guy...But he LOVED babies... There must be a million pictures of him with all the grandkids and extended family in his old recliner...

My husband had taken the tree out of the basement and set it up in the dining room before leaving for work. I dug around in the basement and got out all the ornaments and let the little ones put theirs on. Each year, everyone gets their own special ornament... It was like a little time capsule to pull out the ones they love so much.. And I know it sounds hokey, but pulling out things that date back to Cory's wee baby days made me feel connected to all those who had passed. Regardless of beliefs in great beyonds and all that, I know that the presence of those I love and miss is with me each time I take the time to linger on a memory.

Sadly, my little ones don't have any memories of my Pawpaw. He passed when Cory was five. Nor do they have any of my grandma Helen (my mother's mother), my great grandma Aurelia (her namesake), my great grandpa Charlie, sweet Anna Mae, or any of the others that have gone, but as we decorated that tree together and talked about times long before they were born, you would certainly never know. They know the stories of these people, they miss them without ever having met them, and it makes them happy to hear all I can tell them.

Belated Giving of Thanks

This year I am thankful for:

My sweet family. Our kids are rotten, my husband is a goofball, but every day I am thankful for them. The tinkle of the little ones laughter when they are getting along and plotting world domination in the back room. The occassional softening in my oldest's eyes when he looks in my direction and offers up a playful hug or joke. The steady knowledge that no matter what the situation, when I look to see who has my back and is there to catch me when I fall, I see Ted.

Community: While it is true that the NBC show is fetching and I really enjoy it, I am actually referring to the wonderful network of friends and acquaintances developed over years and years. To have such a diverse and rich group of people to weave into the fabric of our lives (Did I just hear a cotton commercial... perhaps...) is more than I could have thought to ask for and I am immensely grateful to have it.

History: I am fortunate enough to have a deep well of memories with the people that I love. Anytime and anywhere, something reminds me of something that happened with someone and it makes me smile. Usually.

Joy and Laughter: Even though I am an untamed heathen, I believe that there are gifts in our lives. When I was very young, for whatever reason, it occurred to me to be happy. Just to be happy. Nothing earthshaking. But each time life has taken me down a dark and windy road and I have had to make a choice about which fork in the road to travel, a little tiny bit of me remembers just to be happy. Being happy doesn't fix anything, doesn't make all the woes disappear, but by golly, it makes crawling back out of the muck more palatable.

Happy Birthday

Today was my husband's birthday. That makes him older than my by two years for the next couple of months, but that hardly matters when I reach for my ID at the liquor store and no one bothers to ask for it. And before you ask, I certainly do not frequent the liquor store. After our weekend away, I started wondering if I could make a decent daquiri at home that didn't require a second mortgage. At present, the answer to that question is no. I digress, back to Ted's birthday. After wishing him a happy birthday and all that nonsense, I made sure to call his parents and thank them for creating him and raising him to be who he is. While I am sarcastic and full of jokes about my Ted, he is by far and away the sweetest, most devoted, loving, honest, decent man in the world. He would have to be to have married me and continued that silliness for over ten years. He my rock, the one that stands behind me even when I am wrong, takes my crap and gives it back in just the right doses. We've been able to laugh and work our way through our life together, so that the bad times don't seem so bad and certainly don't appear to have been numerous. I could ask for nothing more...

Happy Birthday, Ted. I love you and I am so glad we found each other and made this life. This blog will self destruct in five seconds, so savor it.

Cinnamon

I love the smell of cinnamon. I love the taste of cinnamon. Walking down the aisles of the various stores between Halloween and Christmas and smelling all the spices (especially cinnamon) makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. So why is it that I cannot find any cinnamon mints? There used to be a lovely selection when you were in the checkout line. Now there are fruit flavored, spearmint, peppermint, but no cinnamon.... The only option is Big Red... occassionally a little Dentyne... but no breath mints...Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have a logical explanation? Personally, I believe there is a conspiracy at hand, but I have yet to settle on the responsible parties... Aliens or Ann Coulter?

Letting Go

Recently, I have been concerned about my children and how suitable they are for public consumption. I am letting go of that. I don't care what the public at large thinks of my children, if they are happy, well, and not hurting anyone. So whether I feel like they are getting the hairy eyeball because I am paranoid and have low self esteem or because they really are, it no longer makes one iota of a difference to me!

I want to make decisions for my oldest to help him. I want to guide him to the best life he could have in the pursuit he deems most appealing. I want to shake him until he realizes that things that are worth having never come easily. But instead, I am going to swallow the tremendously large lump in my throat and sit back to wait for his decisions. I will earnestly try to refrain from a constant stream of my advice unless he has asked for it. (TRY, TRY, TRY). But I must let him go. He must make his decisions and mistakes and reap benefits and repercussions all by himself. SO much harder than leaving them at kindergarten, watching them walk unassisted, discover the world outside of your arms... SO much harder.

I've been searching for ways to help my little one out of her perpetual baby phase. At five years old, she wants me to help her eat her soup and oatmeal. She speaks through a small hole in the top of her head that makes her voice high and squeaky. I want her to grow up.... until I turn on the tv and see that people take children and throw them in the garbage. Then I remember, she is MY baby. I'll make her feed herself, but I'm not going to hurry her along anymore.

Hug your babies, no matter how old or young. The days fly by, even when they seem to be dragging, and that old saying "the best is yet to come" is wrong. The Best is already here and we'll miss it if we don't take the time to look.

Musings

Recently, Aurelia has become enchanted with Dancing with the Stars. She asks me to put it on and "dance her". This entails my holding her by the hand and allowing her to flop around, twirl herself, dip herself into a near concussion (by bouncing her head off the floor and causing me to lose my balance and fall on her). She conned her daddy into a bout of this "dancing" over the weekend! TOO FUNNY... When he was tuckered out she switched gears and danced on the doorjams until the music stopped...

After coming home from school today, that little bean pole ate a cosmic brownie (otherwise known as the tasty lard rectangle), three bananas, an entire can of chicken noodle soup, a Hershey Bar, several glasses of juice, and was still claiming to be hungry at bedtime... We need to locate the tapeworm!

Such is my underprivileged life, that I enjoyed a massage today and have my bed pre-heating under the temperature controlled electric blanket. Not to mention the little gadget that Ted has on the Jeep that started and warmed it before I had to go out with the kids... I am being robbed of my right to complain to my kids about how hard I have it by the abundance of readily available luxuries at hand!! ARG (oh poor pitiful me)!

I had actual conversations with my oldest son today... and enjoyed it. I am happy to have gotten to the point that our exchanges are not always barks or disagreements. He is an adult on the path to a responsible and happy life and it makes me happy to see him doing things and enjoying himself. Now, if he would just stop saying his eyes were green when they are so clearly blue... life would be perfect.

Aurelia has also adopted her cat mode. She crawls around on all fours and meows like a cat. She nuzzles faces with the cat, climbs on the coffee table like a cat, etc etc etc like a cat. She asked me to get her a flea collar.... I am frightened...

Baby boy has hit the big 18!

Wrap it up

My husband's only job in the morning is to make sure there is 35 cents for the girl to buy her milk. A week or so ago, he presented her with a baggie full of pennies.....

This is why I am on the Christmas shopping kick right now. I have high tech boys who love high tech things and those things cost the buckaroos. My daughter is easily pleased with shiny pink things and that is fortunate for me.

Right now I am on the hunt for Ebay treasures and things that will surprise them and make them happy at the same time.

If my husband reads this, and I know he will not because he is too busy playing Mafia Wars, I know what I want for Christmas. But it requires time, patience, knowledge of my likes.... but it is inexpensive... That is your first and possibly only clue.

Family of the extended variety will be discovering that I am a shopping GODDESS when the tinsel is finally on the tree... Oh yes... a GODDESS... I hope.

Hustle and Bustle

Wow... Summer ends and the year just steamrolls toward December. Everywhere I look there are decorations for holidays that are are two or three holidays down the line... Geesh... The kids started school and seem to be getting along well. Daniel gets frustrated that his sister will not allow him to mother her like he wants to. But he has been with her long enough to know that she will knock the socks off him when tries... that girls is tough as nails... Cory turns eighteen soon... Man that is blowing my mind... I started as the CASA volunteer recruiter this month. In case there is any doubt, I LOVE IT. Maybe one day, there won't be any abused and neglected kids, but until then...sigh...

My grandma had her birthday yesterday. Things seem to have worked out so that I can go to the beach with her this year. I can take or leave the beach, but getting some one on one time with my grandma is something that I cannot pass up. She is a spunky lady and I love her.

Beside me the clock is ticking down the minutes until I head home. Aside from a little trip around town to pass out some brochures and things sometime this weekend, I am considering shutting down my phone, ignoring my emails, and giving my kids the one on one time they deserve.. Rotten though they are! :0)So if you don't reach me this weekend, take no offense... I am vegging out!!

My quiet corner of the earth

When we moved three summers ago, I couldn't help but be nervous about living in a new place. What if there wasn't anyone I connected with? But I quickly realized that I didn't need to worry about such things. Over the past three years, I have been fortunate enough to know the majority of my closest neighbors on a first name basis... something I didn't even have where I had grown up my whole life.

As I walked out the door yesterday evening, hand in hand with my daughter, a cool breeze washed over us. We could hear children playing in their backyards...we waved at neighbors lounging on their porches... we strolled along our bumpy sidewalks talking about our day and the week to come. After we returned, we picked the ripe raspberries from our meager front garden and I carried the harvest to Neighbor Jenny.

We are so fortunate to live in a place where we feel at home, know our neighbors, look out for one another and have a sense of community. I can't imagine a better thing.

NOT shy

During yesterday's orientation, there was a space on one of the MANY forms to relay information you might think the teachers would like to know about your child. I wrote, "She has older brothers, and is NOT (underlined four times) shy." I think if I was her teacher I would want to know!... LOL

This morning Neighbor Jenny relayed that while the children were being asked if they would be "trays" or lunchbox kids at lunch, there was a child that responded in a hushed tone. The teacher said, "Now children, you will need to speak up so I can hear you." The next to answer was Aurelia, who very loudly and very clearly, responded, "LUNCHBOX>>>>>>". Fortunately, this highlights her ability to follow directions!! Thanks for that story!

Hippo Happenings

This week has flown by as Cory started Marshall, Aurelia turned 5, Daniel had his first day of school.... Things are just racing ahead of me and I am trying to keep up! :0)... Fortunately, Cory only had to endure two days of campus life on his crutches. His cast was removed on Wednesday morning and he will wear a walking boot for another three weeks. I think he was most relieved to be able to scratch and wash that forlorn foot! Aurelia had orientation on the first day of school and made sure everyone looked at her new shoes, that light up, you really cannot miss them. It was also her birthday, so she told everyone we saw that day, the police officers guarding against speeders in the school zone, the crossing guard, the teacher, me (although I did remember without the help...)... On our way out of the orientation, we ran into Daniel and my first day fears were soothed when he announced, "Ms. Perry is AWESOME!". My boy had a great day and was anxious to get back to school and try to get a pass (one of the many incentives she has available) by having his name drawn out of her bowl... Thank goodness for good teachers! We had an impromptu neighborhood cake party and Aurelia now has to wait another 364 days to be the birthday girl!

Verbal diarrhea

I was out in the woods of Wayne County (not really the woods, but close enough) last week with a friend and we got a little turned around. Basically, I said "Sure I can get us where we are going, trust me!!" Previously, I would have said that those words from me could be relied upon to deliver, but today I would say that is something you should question... My over certainty and absence from my GPS having Prius took us on a "scenic" tour of the county. Being misplaced and having extra time to gab apparently opened up my internal databanks, because poor Sandy now knows more about me than 98% of the general public. Granted, our exchange was mutual in places, but I haven't had that sort of verbal diarrhea in quite some time. I like to lurk in the background with a Cheshire cat grin and observe people (the observation is intentional, the grin is not). On an average day, I'm not what one would call a sharer. Now that there is one more person in the world with intimate knowledge of my life, I may have to relocate!

Time just dashed on by

My baby has her first day of kindergarten in a few short days. We'll get her picture taken, walk her to school, meet her teacher... all the normal things... but I think the thing that will really get my emotions rolling is that our big boy will start college that same week. If he holds still long enough, I might snap a picture of him on his "first day of school" too. Then I will scan in all his first day pictures... and it will hit me in a more complete way that this portion of his life has passed... that we are finished with this section of involvement... morphing will occur in our exchanges... he will venture off to parts unknown in so many ways... I wish him all the best in the new things that he will experience and discover... Now where the heck did I put those tissues...?

We are in the home stretch

Recently, our oldest broke his ankle in an attempt to obtain a Taco Bell Volcano Box in the wee hours of the morn. We have had some ups and downs with that injury, including his going off to camp, walking on the non weight bearing cast, and not healing at all. But also we should not leave out that he was exposed to the swine flu while he was there. Thankfully he did not come home with that particular virus, but he did come home ill. After our trip to DC, our neighbor's pre schooler went ill and it has been dominoes throughout since then. In the last couple of nights our daughter has been up with alternate expulsions beyond her control. Gratefully, those things seem to be winding down. Cory has a new cast (albeit he does have a head the size of a basketball that ate two baseballs from the wisdom teeth coming out), and Aurelia is convalescing. School draws near and some prospective changes in my life have me more than a little giddy. All in all, life is good and I am glad to be here.

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Lost in Translation

I do my best thinking in the shower... Sometimes I have whole conversations with people in my mind there. Some are recreated conversations that have already happened and I have just figured out what responses would have been better, so I need to imagine the whole thing again. Some are conversations yet to happen, that need hashed out and fine tuned in the old grey matter before I try to put it out into the atmosphere in that same general way. Never works. No matter how many times I have tried, or how articulate I believe I can be on certain issues, the ones that matter the most always seem to get lost or mixed up or misunderstood. So in my dreams and in the shower, I have the right ones, I say the right things, I get all the words saturated in the meanings I want and I lob them right into the grey matter of the ones that I love and there is no dead air in between... there are no hurt feelings, no miscommunications. And the worst of those conversations come when my people are no longer around to hear the real words... when they will really never or most likely never get to hear or feel the things I meant to say, should have said, needed them to know... Loved ones you must know my heart... if I can't get it out right... look a little harder... and I will do my best to reciprocate...

This reminds me of someone.... hmmmm

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Shocking

Things that might surprise you about the hippo:



1. I enjoy postmortem photography. Not that I enjoy the postmortem part, and I don't enjoy modern Kodak instacam versions of it (like NOTHING IN COLOR Please)... but photographs that were taken in an era when those may be the only photograph a family had of their deceased loved one... that intrigues me. I also like learning little tidbits about the method of photography and knowing that the flowers weren't for decoration they were to mask the odor of the corpses.

2. I stink so bad at general math that I must use a calculator to add 2 and 2. But I can calculate the tip upside down across the table to make it an even dollar amount at a restaurant.. Not only can I do that but it will be within the required tip percentage of the server... Not much marketability in that skill... sigh.

3. As a child, one of my favorite daydream scenarios of my grown up life involved me living in the woods in a lone cabin with a horse... I would have the longest hair ever and only see other people on my rare forays into the nearest town for necessities. I could completely visualize each and every detail of how my house would be and how I would spend my time. It, at the time, seemed like the most perfect way to live. If I wasn't so spoiled on amenities now, it would probably hold a pretty decent appeal.

4. I have never eaten a salad in my life. As a matter of fact, the only lettuce that I have ever eaten was accidentally on my taco. Contrary to the fact that one has never been eaten by me, I would actually like to overcome whatever mental block I have to salads because I think I could grow to like them. Sadly, I doubt this will ever happen.

5. I love chocolate SOOO much that I used to eat cookie sandwiches (made of Chips Ahoy cookies, chocolate icing and Hershey Bars), BUT I loathe chocolate milk, fudge, and ganache. They belong in chocolate solitary confinement for being so bad.

6. When my oldest son was younger, I tried to teach him Braille JUST IN CASE.... (I can add nothing of value to that revelation!)

7. Pickle is one of my favorite words to use frequently, but I cannot stand actual pickles... They are gross.

8. I never learned the Electric Slide or any other choreographed group dance outside of my 9th grade chorus class.. unless you count the Time Warp... and I only barely do...

Family Fun

What we did this weekend...

Conversations with the weirdos

My children are silly.... Examples below:


1. On the way to a local store, Daniel looks over at me in the car and gets a puzzled face. "Mom", he says, "um, you know those hot, flat iron things that straighten your hair? Are you gonna get one? 'Cause sometimes your hair is crazy...........No offense."

2. Last night was a bath night. The kids have such dry skin that if they don't get dirty, we skip a night. Anyway, Aurelia was bathed and tucked in and Daniel was playing in the tub. I told him goodnight and went downstairs knowing that when he is done he gets out and can handle all the post washing duties himself. Around 9:30, I went back up to retrieve my robe for my own shower. His room light was on, so I went to say goodnight again. He was standing by his bed, shivering, wrinkled like a prune, muttering he'd lost track of time... I thought he meant he hadn't meant to be up so late... NOPE... he had JUST gotten out of the bathtub... TWO HOURS in the water... So I tucked him into bed, and covered him up, hugged him, and he says,"Ahhhhh, your hugs are sooooo warm..."

3. The name of the volunteer group that I work with is CASA. Whenever my son hears me talk about it, he gets a puzzled look on his face. Some time back, he asked me what CASA was and I tried to give him a child-friendly version of what CASA's do... which sometimes involves going to people's houses. A look of recognition spread over him (they dole out a little Spanish at the public school) and said "OH you go their casa's?"... And so that is what my little man will believe for as long as possible. I really hope that innocence lasts for some time to come!!

Possibilities

Recently I got wind of something that made my happy go over the ten! It is a total 11! And yet, in an attempt to obtain that something I picked and worried over something all day long... took it out, looked at, put it away, thought about it some more, took it out... poke poke poke all day long... I finally finished with it and sent it along to see if it could bring me the happy. I don't know if it will work or not, if my attempts to seem professional and light hearted were successful, but I do know that the mere thought of the happy that is possible beyond the 11 makes it all ok. If things are meant to be then they are, if not my quiet little goofy life will roll right on along. But, boy oh boy, that happy sure is shiny!

park21

park21
Originally uploaded by hippoxmas

Sweet little duckies.. are the birds are cute too!

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park15
Originally uploaded by hippoxmas

Baby Peach striking a pose...

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park26
Originally uploaded by hippoxmas

Dan the Flower Power Man..

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park32
Originally uploaded by hippoxmas

My babies, pretending they love each other!!

Random tidbits

I can never find cinnamon gum or mints anymore... what is the flippin' deal?

Aurelia says lasterday and callipiter... I love that...

Ore Ida's Garlic Steam and Mash potatoes are nearly the grossest thing I have ever eaten..

Long Johns Silvers has an ad on their sign that says "Try our new fish tacos for only 99 cents"... that is disturbing to me...

We are still under a boil water advisory... I just don't know how I am going to boil enough water for five people to BATHE... and it really cannot be put off.

Took my youngest two to the library... I love that they love that.

The funniest thing you may ever see is Daniel folding himself up to ride in the grocery cart that has the little car on front... He honks the horn even though his knees are behind his head...

Spiderboy

My manchild got a wild hair up his heiny the other night and decided he was going to take an excursion to Taco Bell at 12:30 am with his friend. Instead of trying to sneak down the stairs and out the back door, he decided to be super stealthy. He opened his window and climbed out. Oh, did I not mention that his bedroom is on the third floor? Well it is.... His window looks out over the porch roof in the front of our house... two stories down.... He climbed out and once on the roof of the porch had to make some decisions.... When he realized there was no real way down but to jump he did just that. From the second story he jumped onto our concrete driveway, landing just in front of my car... then went on to Taco Bell and wound up sleeping in his friends car. The detail that caught him was the return to the house. He had injured his foot (I think both feet) and couldn't walk in... He had to call his dad to come out and help. His initial story was he had gone to have breakfast at McD's, but no one was biting. After a trip to the ER, the regular doctor, an MRI in his future and a meeting with a specialist, it seems he has ruptured something in his left ankle. Floating fragments were mentioned. Surgery was discussed as a possibility... with PT as a definite. And again we revisit his third floor situation... no way can he go up and down the stairs... just getting to the second floor for a bath (the only one he can use) was a hassle and took over an hour...So the boy has to sleep in the downstairs playroom on an inflatable camp mattress and has to be tended like a sheep. In addition, he may have to quit his job (depending on the extent of his injuries), is definitely missing this month's camp and possibly the remaining two camps in July. Now we are considering moving Daniel to the third floor and Cory to the second floor... we'll have to see what the doctor predicts next week. I just hope this experience is eye-opening in ways that a lecture from Mom and Dad couldn't possibly achieve....

Balloon Ride Photos, Round 2

Round one can be located on my Facebook page, but will be posted here later today....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hippoxmas/sets/72157619754173694/

Speaking to me tonight

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Maya Angelou

Parking lot duckies

This little mama duck and her babies wandered across the shopping plaza parking lot this morning... it was SOOO adorable...

Weekend contemplation

Inspector Aurelia dons the uniform appropriate to the occasion and peers into the green abyss...

She is startled by the findings....

She attempts to get a closer peek...

Ewww.... a hole in a pool liner says our plans for summer water fun will be done elsewhere...

Aurelia spent a vast majority of our time at mom's this Sunday peering in and declaring she had found fish, snakes, whales, spiders, you name it and it was in that pool....

Raspberry Harvest

Initially I thought our front berries would bloom first and produce, however, the side plants produced GINORMOUS berries over the weekend. Pictured is the first harvested berry of the summer. Daniel declares dibs on said berry and scopes it out for an angle of approach.

He prepares his taste buds for the incoming berry-fest!

Savors the explosion of yummy summer goodness....

And gives it a whole hearted thumbs up!!

Now we can look forward to the other berries, and our friends should prepare for gifts of fruity goodnes...

Walter the Farting Dog

Um, really must I say more?

(link here)

A change is gonna come

Many things at the hippo lair are changing and shifting.... I've tried to capture how I feel about it all in words during the course of the day, but nothing fits. What I keep coming back to is, that while so much has been afoot, honeysuckle has been thick in the air. The sweet scent drafts into each moment that I am trying desperately to hold onto, to preserve, to cherish. It haunts me with the memories it brings, woven as it is in the fabric of my life. No single emotion, but all whirled up in a meshy hodge-podge.....

Graduation 2009!

My boy has pomped and circumstanced... He walked across the stage, shook the hands, got the paper. He is a bona fide adult. Congratulations, man child. I love you!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hippoxmas/?saved=1

Everything is amazing, nobody is happy...

Thanks to my friend E for passing this along to me via email!

It is so terribly true!

Lily Allen - LDN Acapella

India.Arie - Little Things

Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen! (ORIGINAL VERSION)

also to my boy.... wear the danged sunscreen!

vitamin C - graduation (friends forever)

To my boy...

I Love Rocky Road - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Another One Rides The Bus - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Aurelia's school pics from 2009

scan0006
Originally uploaded by hippoxmas

My baby graduates from her preschool entirely this year. She will begin kindergarten in the fall as her older brother enters college. Man, oh man... are we in for it!! LOL

Prom Picture

Prom Picture
Originally uploaded by hippoxmas

My sweet boy at his senior prom. I tried to convince him that a tux was a good choice, but in the end he opted for what you see there. He's making his "I'm a total cheese" smile... :0)

Upcoming Events

My oldest graduates from high school on May 30th at Big Sandy Superstore Arena at eleven am. It doesn't seem possible. It seems like it was just 3:44 pm October 5, 1991 yesterday. That tall brooding man that lurks around my house can't possibly be the sunshine haired boy that brought me rainbow pictures and talked with a lisp when his teeth fell out. He can't be the same boy that loved to cuddle and read bedtime stories and sing and dance with me in the living room like crazy people. But he is. Just bigger, more distant, more ready to roll his eyes at me. But every time he does... I have an image of him in my mind... running across our yard, laughing his fool head off, yelling "Mommy, Mommy!" Oh the bittersweet heartache of watching my child grow into a man. Cory---even when I am upset with you, disappointed, angry... know always that I am proud of you, that I love you and I am looking forward to seeing what you do with your life because I know it's going to be gooood!

Aurelia on a pony

Aurelia on a pony
Originally uploaded by hippoxmas

My sweet girl on a pony ride at her school carnival this year. Now I have a photo of all my kids on a pony....

Hither and yon

Way back when I was a teensy person, I started staying weekends with my grandparents. I would stay on Saturday nights and my brother would stay Fridays. My brother would hang out with my Pawpaw and I would cling to my Mawmaw. I would follow her around, asking her questions from her big question book, cleaning her glass tables, rearranging her newspapers, arranging her Wild Wonderful West Virginia magazines in the correct order. The high stools at her kitchen bar would turn and I remember spinning until I was dizzy. Every meal was fried ham and macaroni and cheese (because I am a picky picky girl) and breakfast was either canned biscuits or frozen waffles. As a kid, everyone always told me how much I looked like my dad (still do). But my dad has three sisters and I formed a working kid theory that his youngest sister must be my real mom (how else could I look so much like them all) and had given me to my parents to raise. That's the way my mind worked... there was always some other thing in the regular things... My aunt Penny, real name Cheryl, was always something of a mystery to me. She had moved out of state before I was born and that alone was enough to make me think about her every day. Mawmaw had told me once or twice about what she did for a living (travel related.. very exciting), and that she had been a hand model once and had even competed in the Miss USA (or Miss America ?) with Vanna White... Oh dear god, that woman was enchanting. My other aunts (my mom had six sisters) were amazing to me too, but they were all so close in proximity to me that they were everyday amazing. Penny was a goddess to me. I never aspired to be pretty or fashionable or adventure-seeking. I was content to be me, wallflower extrordinaire, jeans and tshirt girl, ponytail, sans makeup, nose in book. But on the rare occasions I would pretend, it was always Penny I was pretending to be. The hand model thing stuck in my mind (Palmolive commercial, maybe) and even though my hands were scratched and the joints were swollen, I could look at my long fingers and pretend that they would be perfect for that sort of thing. I would write letters, pages long, to Penny about what I was doing in my boring life. I never sent them. It was too boring. :0) Now in my life, I still think about her everyday. She still seems more exciting, exotic, and well-traveled than I will ever be. But I am thankful for the getting to know her part. When she calls or emails, I don't feel like a little kid writing her a secret letter about her boring life. We talk. We converse. Because she is three dimensional to me now. She is a person, not an idea. And I love her even more.

I desperately want to blog about the Folk Sampler broadcast that I heard tonight on the way home from Charleston (it was the Mother's Day songs...), but I cannot link to it and I am losing the battle with sleep.

Reminder to self... I also want to blog about Appalachia and the things that make me part of it.

Update: Here is the link to the playlist for that broadcast.

http://www.candacecorrigan.com/songs/mixed/mothersblues.mp3.

Michael Thomas “Mike” Ray, 38, of Charleston gained peace with God and passed away, surrounded by his loving family, Monday, May 4, 2009, at a CAMC Hospital.
Mike was born May 19, 1970, in Charleston and was a son of Susan Perrow Ray of South Charleston and the late Donald Allen Ray.
Mike was a member of Rock Lake Presbyterian Church, South Charleston. He was a 1988 graduate of George Washington High School and 1993 graduate of WVU with a physical education degree. He was employed by Means Landscaping Company.
Besides his father, Mike was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Tom and Lucille Ray; and maternal grandparents, Bill and Louise Perrow.
He is survived by his mother, Susan. Mike was a wonderful and proud dad of his children: two daughters, Gretchen Ann and Emily Elizabeth; and one son, Michael Thomas II. They were the light of his life.
Also surviving are four brothers and their families, Jeff, his wife, Sandi, and their children, Amber and Morgan, of Charleston, Donald, his wife, Lisa, and their children, Greg and Trenton, of Pearisburg, Va., Doug, his wife, BJ, and their children, Kelly and Holly, of McKinney, Texas, and John, his wife, Carol, and their children, Devon and Dylan, of Indianapolis, Ind.; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.
A tribute to Mike's life will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 8, at Rock Lake Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Rick McGuire officiating.
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church.
The family wishes to extend a special thanks to the Rev. Rick McGuire for his love and support and the many friends and neighbors who have shared their hearts and concern.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Rock Lake Presbyterian Care Fund, Ray Memorial, 905 Village Drive, South Charleston, WV 25309, for the Ray children's future needs. The church will be administering these funds by custodial accounts. Envelopes will be made available at the church.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.hardingfamilygroup.com.
Harding Funerals & Cremations, 514 50th St. SE, Kanawha City, is serving the Ramsey family.
John 14: 1, “Let not your heart be troubled.”

Today's ponderings

Why does my dog want to run full speed down the street only when I am wearing the pants that are loose?

Why does my teenage son schedule a follow-up visit with the Mormon elders that stop by when I am not home?

In times of grief and sadness, I find my natural tendency toward humor to be less than useful.

Does anyone besides Daisy believe the streamers on Aurelia's bike are edible?

:0)

How to get worked over by a teenager

First you tell them something that is irrevocable. You stress how irrevocable it is. You really make it clear. Then you wait.

Months later, confusion will show its head. There will be a story about something Dad may or may not have said and how it might have been translated. A girl will have been invited to her senior prom. A mother's guilt will take over.

Then you will tell your teenage son that he may go to the prom he had been forbidden to go to because of his devil lies. BUT you hold your ground and insist that even if there is a pre or post prom party, he may not go. He may take the girl to dinner, but if she wants to party it up outside the perimeters of the prom, not our problem.

Then you spend the rest of the evening trying to make the son feel guilty. It does not work. Hang head in defeat, walk away.

;0)

Slow ride home

Apparently the slowdown on I-64 this evening during my ride home was due to a body being found by the interstate inside a trash can and duct taped.

The story is here!

Vacations are heaven, travel is HELL

We returned from our long awaited vacation on Saturday evening. Our travel time was approximately eleven hours.... with two children under the age of 10 in the backseat. Making barely audible noises, fighting, farting, telling bad jokes, fighting, sniffing, being hungry, and overall driving us up a wall. We had a great time at the beach and have decided our next family vacation (Aurelia says we will go to the desert) will be taken by plane!

Top Ten Porterfield Field Trip MUST HAVES

10. Snacks----easy to eat, minimal mess, munchies... the kids like cheese sticks, cereal, bread, and anything manufactured under the Little Debbie brand name.

9. Comfortable clothes.... no crotch eating jeans, no hot shoes. It's gym shorts and worn out shirts all the way....

8. Simple packing... it all has to fit in the trunk and I don't really care how that happens. I have never met a wrinkle I truly hated and I don't believe I'll start now.

7. Leg room... goes with simple packing... NOTHING can be in the leg room... it must all fit in the trunk...

6. Functioning A/C.... I know when we were young the windows could be rolled down and the air would flow through our hair and we would feel so much COOLER, but I am flying across several states at 60-75 mph and I want to be cool for real...

5. DVD player.... kids are like drunks in d/t's after a couple hours with no visual stimulation save for the roadside livestock and dilapidated buildings.... thanks heavens for the digital age.

4. Map.... preferrably directions, a sense of direction, or something remotely kin to those things would also accompany an actual paper map. GPS is great when you can figure out how to use it, where you are in relation to whatever it is telling you, or if you haven't wandered off the face of the planet accidentally.

3. MP3 players, audiobooks, playaways, crayons, .... necessary for the under 10 crowd to secure their safety.

2. Potty breaks.... I have an iron bladder...I work in an office where the only bathroom is reached through two locked doors, a keypad, a padlock and climbing over yard equipment... but I need me a potty break.... gotta stretch the legs... breathe that polluted highway air... be tempted to sit, but always squat....ahhh... the beloved rest area...

1. D-R-A-M-A-M-I-N-E...... in any form, under any brand name, Dan the man must have this wonder of the drug age, lest we should be forced to adhere a chuck bucket to his face with a heavy duty adhesive (aka DUCK TAPE). No one wants to see the man get motion sickness... and he has been sick on a drive from here to Charleston (which is about as straight as you can get in the hills of West Virginny). TWICE....

We will be enjoying our extended family time with four generations under one roof... Many pictures will be taken and shared.... Have a happy Spring Break!!

FOUND

She was located several blocks away this evening. She was missing her collar and tags, but seems otherwise unscathed!! Happy day!!

MISSING

Last night at around 9:30, Daisy went missing off of our front porch. She had been outside for less than 10 minutes on her lead to go potty. She should still have her green collar with her pink heart ID tag on that has her name and our contact information. I have placed a missing dog ad in the Herald Dispatch and with Little Victories. I was able to place a missing dog ad on Petfinders (our local animal shelter uses that service to show the pets they have available). I have a huge gripe about our local shelter. I called yesterday to report that our local deviants had returned to their rental house with the pit bulls that were removed from them on the 18th of the month. I called no less than a dozen times and there was NO ANSWER.... not even an answering machine. Later in the afternoon, it was necessary to call 911 to report the unmuzzled pooches were out of the crates and walking about again. When they paged animal control and I finally spoke with someone, I was told the "owners" had come in to claim three out of the four dogs that were removed. WTF?!! No one from animal control came by that I am aware of. Definitely not in the time frame needed to get those dogs back into reasonable custody. Now understand that I have nothing against the breed of dog, but these idiots were keeping them in crowded conditions and manufacturing drugs to boot... it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know they were not given the best life. I'd like someone to explain to me why I have to call 911 to get a response from animal control before 5 o'clock. Why is there no hotline, no answering machine, no anything? If those dogs had been attacking someone, or if there was a true animal control emergency, what then? I would have to call 911 and get a response by phone more than a half hour later??? And to beat the band, now that I am trying to report my own sweet puppy missing, there is still no answer.... NO ANSWER. I cannot even check to see if anyone brought her in to their office, because no one can be reached...

If you see Daisy, please let me know. We love her and miss her and would like to have her back before we go on vacation. Thank you.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

The plague has been making its way slowly round our neighborhood. I thought we had dodged the bullet of sickness for the winter, until Aurelia developed a 104 fever a while back. She rallied after a few days of reclining on the couch in fevered Victorian fashion, with her pale white skin and her fluttery movements to indicate her needs. The following weekend, I developed some sort of head cold thing that fortunately lasted just a little while. Aurelia then fell back into her sickbed. Daniel followed suit after dropping a padlock on Aurelia's head in our back playroom. Apparently he caught the attention of good ol' karma. I think everyone is on the mend, but both are still home with Ted today. It strikes me that each time the children get sick, Ted and I develop the stomach whirlies. Not sickness, but we are tensed and ready for getting our fair share of the pukes, which by default makes us a little queasy. It's raining today, and that makes it just a little harder to find that peaceful sunny spot in my soul that reminds me how fortunate we are and thankful we should be. But I am determined to find that spot, bask in my good life, and come away at the end of the day with a sunny disposition... rain and sickness, be damned!

Silly Rabbit

Each evening on my way to bed, I stop in to check on the little ones. I usually turn off Aurelia's fake fish tank, resituate her blankets, and brush the hair out of her face. Daniel usually reads at bedtime, so I turn off his lamp and move the stack of pillows from under his head. Last night, as I moved the pillows, he started talking. Most of it was unintelligible, but I caught "changing into the Earth/dirt." Not sure if he was awake, I said "Huh?"... He shifted in the bed... and then mumbled for 30 seconds about.........chipmunks. That was the only clear word I caught, but it was repeated over and over. I have never laughed so hard, so silently, for fear of waking him. When I told him about it this morning, on the way to school, I wished I could bottle up that laugh he has!!

The day has come

Anyone who has known me for very long will know that this is something I never thought I would say........ "Can you help find a cheerleading class/group?"

Now there is nothing wrong with cheerleading, but I have never been girly. NEVER....

My daughter, on the other hand, was born with a powder puff in one hand and pom pom in the other.....

Spaghetti Dinner and Book Fair

My son's school has an annual spaghetti dinner and book fair. I applaud the resourcefulness of raising money this way, but I personally despise spaghetti. If they had pizza, I would be in like Flynn, but spaghetti makes me gag a little just thinking about it. My son likes spaghetti at home, but at school he just eats the noodles plain... even grosser. And the book fair that accompanies this dinner gives me pause. The term "book fair" to me means that there should be books, not junk erasers, high dollar toys, light up pens, scented pencil sharpeners, etc... I have to tell my son every time they gear up to sell him these things that the money I have provided is to be used for books only. He pouts, I pout, we gnash teeth.. and generally I find some piece of dollar store junk stashed in his back pack anyway... OR a book about farts, a book with a toy on it, a book about the most annoying cartoon character currently in fad. WHY must we need to tell the children to only buy books? WHY can't the book fair JUST be books? I really think it isn't that much to ask...