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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