say what?

there once was a delinquent blogger
and everyone threatened to flog her
she said gimme a break
I just want a steak
And an unhurried game of soccer

news

Please note the new link to Beau Powers' blog. You can see his lovely wife and three sweet children. They have moved back to the Continental US after being in Hawaii with the Coast Guard. Welcome back Powers family!


In other news, our house is under contract, we have a contract on a new house, and my husband is serving with the Coast Guard in Cuba. He was supposed to be back in time for the closings, but that has changed. This equals a new level of craziness for me. I never, ever knew there was so much involved with moving. Growing up the Navy always moved us, which, let me tell you, is the way to do it. My learning curve is straight up. And my only prayer lately is, "Oh God, help me." He says "Be anxious for nothing," and I say, "Really? I think you're going to have to help me on that one. That is tough."

conversations with a 2 1/2 year old

Ruthie in the tub, pouring water from a little cup into a bigger cup. Jay and I watching.

R: It's juice, Mommy!
M: Neat, Rootie- is it orange juice or apple juice?
R: It's penguin juice. (very matter-of-factly)
M: Oooh. Wow.
J:Does it have feathers in it?
R:Yes!
J: Does it have beaks in it?
R: No, just feathers.

It's a miracle!

Before: AAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!





After:Thank you, Morgan!



Listen up all you sleepy housewives who wear makeup once a week, you bleary eyed working women wearing year old crusty mascara! Morgan Spivey of Mary Kay Cosmetics gave me a new face, and even plucked my eyebrows! She will help you!

poison

The couple approached the huge, pulsating amphitheatre that reeked of beer and sweat. One had misgivings, not being a huge Poison fan, but having enjoyed several of their songs from the late 80s and early 90s. She was expecting some scary die-hard fans all glammed out and ready to rock their heads off. She was expecting some people like herself, just looking to hear some of their favorite songs, ready to have fun. She was expecting her husband to let loose, wave his arms, and scream his head off. Not really, but that's what happened. The smoke was thick as they entered, and they picked their way through the crowd; people dressed to impress, including the bleached blond with the thigh high boots and jean shorts. The shirtless men all slicky with sweat had turned out, and they preyed on the women with their eyes, throwing back their adult beverages with great aplomb. You could see the anticipation in the eyes of the stringy long haired rockers with black shirts and ripped jeans. The increasingly entertained couple walked on. Standing outside the restrooms she spotted one of her high school coaches. He nodded, she nodded and smiled, and he kept walking, pressed into the mass of bodies and unable or unwilling to come over and strike up a conversation. Hilarious, she thought. The couple kept weaving through the crowd, finally finding their section, when one of their names was called. He turned and saw two people from his hometown, now married, calling his name. They are a similar couple, half of the couple knows all the words from the old Poison albums, and half knows some. They sat and chatted and the concert began. It was high energy and the couple was swept up into the excitement of the crowd and the amazing displays of wailing guitar talent, relentless drum talent, lights, flames and smoke on the stage. They watched the girl in front of them who wore pink knee high striped socks and danced as if the world was coming to an end. They sang every word to the songs they knew and generally acted as people do at a great rock concert. Fallen Angel, Something to Believe In, I Won't Forget You, Look What the Cat Dragged In, some great covers, and then the moment she'd been waiting for, Every Rose Has it's Thorn, one of her favorite songs. If only she'd had a lighter. The couple walked out of the amphitheatre behind the big woman with the pink mini-shorts that read poison across the butt, trying to ignore her wedgie, and the fact that her shorts were two-sizes too small. Next year the couple will know how to dress.

sell this house

Well, it is official. Our house is on the market. I'm not going to wax sentimental about this sweet house, I just know it is time to move, and I hope we can sell quickly and profitably. I will wax sentimental later, I know, because so much life has been lived in this house, but not now. As for the next house, we haven't found it yet, but we're looking.

fridge poetry

Yesterday I stripped my fridge of all it's kitschy decor: magnets, Ruthie's artwork, photos, clippings, comics etc. It is a heavy bag of stuff. Now my fridge looks naked and very white. One of my favorite things on my fridge was my fridge poetry-hundreds of words that you can put together to say things. I can get lost standing in front of the fridge rearranging, hunting, pondering and creating for longer time periods than I am willing to admit. I grew attached to some of our favorites so I thought I'd write them down and share them:

those shadows could chain them
leave their bitter road
smooth the frantic storm
with the light



rock you delirious goddess moon



your love is what I ache for



when tv is out tell a thousand lies



eat chocolate death symphony



heave after smelling his ugly facial sweat



whispering weak in love language



together think about blue blood show swim
after asking the purple sky



she is a true easy friend



crying boy wants mothers breast juice
she wants sleep
aaaah...milk drool


we sing away for sweet her


a retreat in winter please

(Those last three were from my newborn days with Mac. There were many months when Ruthie had to have us sing "Away in a Manger" every night at bedtime.)

A Day in Fairhope, Alabama

keep it frigerated

I pulled up beside this refrigerator today. The sign on it says, "Take Me."

what's goin on in the kitchen? but I don't know what's cookin

Tonight I made Fish Tacos. They turned out to be very beautiful and tasty as well. This is the second recipe I've taken from Martha Stewart, and this one is my favorite. Her recipes tend to have obscure ingredients and are often pretty involved as far as preparation and cooking time, but this one was pretty easy.

I guess it's time for an update in general, so here goes.

-The hydrangeas are blooming. They are my favorite flower and I have loved the bush in my yard that so generously produces the gorgeous blossoms. I cut several to put around the house. Fresh flowers in my house make me happy.

-Last week I woke up one morning, looked out on my back deck and saw a mother cat feeding her four little kittens. They are adorable, and they played for several days on the deck, but I haven't seen them this week.

-Memorial Day weekend was spent at my parent's house in NW Florida. Saturday I got a day off from the kids and worked at my brother's nursery. (Ironic however, one nursery to another nursery.) It was fun to be working out in the sun, sweating and getting my hands dirty. It was also good to be around Alan. It brought back lots of fun memories of the two summers I worked for him, doing landscaping and lawn maintenance. Sunday was my niece Annabelle's 2nd birthday party. There was much eating and swimming and general felicity. Monday our friends Tim and Kelly Garland came over with their two boys and we swam and talked and played croquet and watched our children play together. It was a very good day.

-These last two days have been like a hangover for me. It is always tough coming home from out of town because the kids are crankified and exhausted, and I usually am one or both of the same. Plus it goes back to me taking care of the kids as opposed to six potential people available throughout the day. I guess it's always a readjustment.

-Potty training update-we were doing so well, but now we're having some relapses. Plus, Ruthie just refuses to do #2 in the potty. I'm reaching desperation on that front. Overall, the whole process has been easier than expected.

-Cute Ruthie story/facts: we were sitting out on the back step and I was talking on the phone when an ant crawled up on my toe. Ruthie said "Don't bite my mommy, bug!"

Ruth is into Dora the Explorer. She walks around saying "Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping!" And she asks me where some of the characters are randomly throughout the day.

Her favorite songs for us to sing lately are the Micah 6:8 song which we call the "Humble Song" and "Are You Sleeping, Bro John." She made up a song last night. It is called the Bum Bum Song and she gets hysterical when she sings it. So silly. I love it.

-Cute Mac facts: He is adorable and completely precious and kissable. When I lay him down to sleep and then return to get him up later, he is usually in the exact opposite position from where I laid him down. He loves to sleep with a silky blanky on his face. He is 6 1/2 months old! We call him Mackiedoo. When people ask Ruthie what her brother's name is, that's what she tells them. Mac is rolling around, and almost able to sit up by himself. He is at that stage where he gets so frustrated by his lack of mobility and cries and cries because he wants to be on the go.

-Jay spent two hours in line today renewing our car tags. He is my hero.

-I am ready for bed. Night Night.

(This is long, and I had it broken up into paragraphs, but when I post it it squishes it all together into the mother of all paragraphs. Sorry.)

potty training 2007

I finally decided to bite the bullet and start really potty training Ruthie this week. She has been going on the potty about once a day, and getting a treat for it, and I would keep asking if she needed to go and telling her that when she feels that feeling to let me know so we can go to the potty. She has started really not wanting to be still for diaper changes, and that is what made me decide on Monday that this is the week. Half-way training has been good to build up to this week, but it had to become an all-out assault. So far we are 0-3 for #2, but doing well with #1. She went on the floor twice Monday(I am so thankful for hardwood floors), and not at all yesterday or today. She's 3-0 for #1 today. She has figured out that peepee running down her legs is no fun, and she doesn't want to mess up her big-girl panties. I'm very proud of her, and I'm liking the money we're saving on diapers.

Ruthie is such a big girl, more and more. She is talking up a storm, becoming very opinionated and wanting to do things all by herself. She can express herself, and is really growing up in so many ways, which is bittersweet for me and Jay.

Yesterday Jay was cleaning out our nasty outdoor garbage can and Ruthie and I were playing in Jay's truck cab. (This is one of her favorite pasttimes. She steers, adjusts the radio, puts up the sunshade and takes it down, and we pretend to go get ice-cream. We asked her what flavor she would like and she said, "salami." Yummy.) So as Jay was hosing out the garbage can Ruthie asked "what's Daddy doing?" I said, "He's cleaning out the stinky garbage can." Her reply- "that's sweet of him."

Best Wishes, Hanno and Lauren Vanderbijl!

The sweet couple (sorry they're sideways)
The reception was held at the Eastern Shore Arts Center, and the art was full of flowers.
Mallory, Hanno, Lauren and Me
All Ruthie wanted to eat was strawberries. The wedding was beautiful!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Sorry, I know it's Siete de Mayo now, but, as you can see by my postings, I'm playing catch-up, and alot has been going on lately. These pictures are from our favorite Mexican place, Los Rancheros. We celebrated the Cinco with our friends Jen and Brandon. Brandon has been out of town, well, out of country for many weeks so we were glad to see his smiling face across the table. It was muy divertido to hang out and eat some frijoles y enchiladas y guacamole con amigos. (Note Ruthie's hand stealing my cheese...Hey Ruthie, that's Nacho Cheese! And her appropriate for the occasion sippy cup with Dora the Explorer on it...Vamanos!)

Happy Belated B-day, Dad!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Our anniversary was April 20th, but we celebrated the weekend before. I forced Jay to take me to my favorite restaurant and we had a lovely dinner without the kids! Special thanks to Jen for baby sitting...you're awesome, Jen!

Five years of marriage, two kids, one cat, and here we are. I love you, Jay!

oh great ocean

Another thing to add to my list of things I don't want to run into while swimming in the ocean:

sea serpent/sea wormy thing

List includes:
hungry shark
angry manta ray with barbed tail
man-eating jellyfish
man-eating squid
men in speedos (especially hairy men in speedos)
men in thongs (gagging sound)
electric eel

Saturday morning I went to Bellingrath Gardens, a beautiful place to visit in the spring. My friend Jen had invited me to help her out with one of her Girl Scout programs, and I was excited to be a part of it. The theme revolved around the book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, which is one of my all time favorite reads. I read it over and over as a child and I keep revisiting it as an adult because of its wonderful characters and themes of regeneration and redemption. Plus I love gardens and growing things.

Jen's program started with a discussion of the book, then a tour of the gardens with a scavenger hunt, lunch, writing haikus, and creating tussie mussies. It was really a well-put-together event, and I enjoyed seeing Jen in action. I hear alot about her programs but I've never actually been to one. Jen is really amazing in her organization, planning and execution of these events. She is really gifted, and I was very impressed! The gardens were wonderful, and it was fun to see the little girls enjoying the different flowers, fountains and all the winding trails as they walked about.

Here are my haikus:

The water is clear

See the fish swimming around

Blue green gray fins shine

----

Green is the great lawn

Bordered by tall blue foxgloves

Bees hover weightless

----

Mermaid in the sun

Cascading water droplets

Will you make a wish?

Bellingrath Gardens

Somedays I am just frustrated. I feel thwarted in most of my pursuits. Some days I just want to do something that I want to do. Today I want to work in my yard. It needs a lot of work and I've been itching to do it, but Mac rarely naps long enough to get it done, and I doubt I could get it done with him out there with me. So these days of frustration build up and then I end up in a full scale pity party.

Right now Ruthie is lying in her bed saying "paint my toes, mommy," and Mac is working up to a full scale wail.

Now Mac is asleep and Ruthie is wailing. She has started fighting naptime. This is not a good development.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping and usually when I go into a store people admire or come see Mac and comment on how cute he is or something along those lines. Yesterday this sweet old couple, probably in their 80s came to see him and ended up telling me how they had three sons who died from various causes. It was sort of awkward, and very sad, and they were saying to enjoy the children while I have them. I mean, what do you say to people? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Wow. They were really a sweet couple, and I took what they said to heart. So then TODAY I'm at Lowe's buying a few plants and this lady in her 50s says, "Look, Mom, (to her mom) a baby boy." Then she turned to me and said, "I lost my grandson three days ago." She proceeded to tell me how he had fallen into the pool when no one was around, and basically drowned. This may sound horrible, but I was annoyed. I am sorry for her pain, which I'm sure is consuming, but I just don't think you tell complete strangers things like that. What a horrible story to tell a complete stranger with two children(unless it is meant as a warning to watch out for pools). It is an unthinkable tragedy, and I'm not sure what she wanted me to say. So two days in a row I stood there, sort of dumbfounded, saying I'm sorry, I'm sorry and trying to get away. I am not going anywhere tomorrow.

But I love my son and my daughter and I hold them close. I hate to draw a cheesy lesson from these morbid moments, but maybe that's why they happened. I don't know.

I think people these days have no sense of propriety. Everything is revealed; for example, I was sitting in my pediatrician's waiting room one day, and a lady came in with her little two year old girl. She saw someone she knew and here's the gist of their conversation (names have been changed to protect the innocent):

Mom #1: Hi So-and-so! How are you?
So-and-so: Hi, what're you here for?
M: Little Mary has a lesion on her butt and it just won't go away!
S: No kidding? Do they know what's causing it?
M: They think it's a staph infection. It's been going around. What's wrong with little Johnny?
S: Oh, just an in-grown toe nail.
Continue small-talk.

I was directly in between the two women, and I was really surprised at their lack of discretion in revealing their children's health issues. Seems like they could have waited to discuss it when Mom#1 sat down beside So-and-so, on the "well" side of the waiting room. I think our world of "reality shows" and news shows revealing everything about everybody has fostered the creation of a society of people who have no tact and no shame. On the other hand, I know some people are too closed-off, and invulnerable, building walls to keep other people out. But some things need to be handled gracefully. The lady at Lowe's showed no emotion, it just seemed like she wanted attention or some sort of sympathy from me, someone who doesn't even know her name. It was not as if she was crying out for real help, but merely sharing a sensational, shocking story in order to satisfy some sort of pain that maybe she doesn't know how to deal with. By doing so, she created an awkward situation and cast a dark cloud on someone's day.

Now Mac is crying and Ruthie has given up and is resting. Oh the drama of it all.

Now I'm holding Mac and I suppose I won't get my plants planted today. That's ok. And Mac just pooped on me. That's ok too.