Future Daughter In Law??

Okay you can not deny that this is one of THE MOST ADORABLE PICTURES EVER!!

This would probably have been just a picture of Spidey and MissSS, she had specially asked me to take the picture of them together when we were snapping those "goodbye" last minute pictures you take before you leave people that you love. Spidey was not at all reluctant - and he even smiled without making a crazy face (which is rare these days).

Now the thing that makes this THE MOST ADORABLE PICTURE EVER!! Is that right after I snapped this pic - and before Spidey could move away - MissSS asked me, "Should I tell him now?" Not being certain what she was talking about, but knowing that MissSS only has sweet things to say (to me - perhaps her mother would say dif) - my response was, "Sure go ahead and tell him."

MissSS then promptly turned to Spidey and said, "Someday I might marry you Spidey." He said, "What?" and MissSS repeated herself. She has crushed on him for awhile now - we talk cake flavors and where they might live (she feels strongly they should live with her parents once they are married) every once in awhile. Anyway....after she repeated herself Spidey said, "Oh, well okay." and promptly walked away. I think he might have been a bit stunned.

As Spidey walked away MissSS hugged me and said, "I think he liked that."

On the way home I asked Spidey how he felt about what MissSS said - he said, "Well I guess I could think about it, but she talks a lot."
Being a talker perhaps I find that as a strength - and they do say boys marry their mother - so there is hope for a MissSS and Spidey marriage in the far off future. Maybe.

Our Poor Poor Jakey

We Love Jakey - really we do - but I have to say...........I have never met a dog with OCD until Jake. He has it bad for his blue ball - so bad that he has played with it until it has pretty much cracked up and fallen into pieces. If you have ever been a lucky visitor to our home - and spent time on the back porch relaxing...........you know that Jake has a serious thing for his ball. He will flop it at your feet and expect you to pick it up and toss it. If you should choose not to toss it then he will pick it up and drop it again - then crouch down as if you were about to hit him - only it is really the stance one takes while standing at base waiting for the next hitter and totally prepared to jump off base and run. And this is EXACTLY what he is waiting for............he is Certain that you will be throwing that ball at any second................any second...........wait..........aren't you going to throw the ball?...............sad pathetic dog look (and dang he is the cutest dog ever).........and finally you throw the darn thing thinking, "okay now he will go play." Nope. After you throw the ball it starts ALL OVER AGAIN. He is OCD for his ball. Just that one - can't be any other one - has to be THAT ONE BALL that is falling to shreads. He is so desperate to play with this ball that he will force small children to help him with his addiction............. said video...............



Poor OCD Jake - his ball just died.........what will he do now?

Jungle Jane went to Camp

Sheis off to camp again - SuperStar worked hard for the time too. Very close to 800 boxes of cookies this year (thanks to the helper sellers too - although most were done in the cold door to door sales). She was soo soo soo soo soo soo excited to go to camp that I am quite amazed she made it. We had to distract her with a trip to STL the week before just so her little head didn't explode. Shoot - we got home from STL on Thursday night and she was found at 11:30pm (when BigGuy and I went to bed - we stayed up way too late that night)Packing For Camp!! Camp was not until Sunday.............she was soo soo soo soo soo excited - have I mentioned that?

This picture is of her in the Jungle Dress we made for her. Might I say that it looks very very impressive in the photo - but really.............it is two pieces of fabric cut the same and then simply sewn up the sides. No finished edges at all. She wanted it to look kinda raggedy so it looked like she lived in the jungle and someone happened by and found her Tarzan Like swinging around. On Saturday afternoon at 3pm when I told my mom I needed to sew SuperStar a dress for camp I think my mom thought I was insane - then she was what I did and more funny was how impressed she was that so little could be done to make something that made SuperStar soo soo soo soo very happy. We made a matching one for her bestest friend ever CO (MO's daughter). The fabric was only $7.00 all together. Total deal. But this isn't so much about my amazing creative abilities.............perhaps it should be though. I rock. There - I said it - someone has to. I Rock!!!

Tomorrow I will Rock more and post drop off pics - and then some pics from our STL trip - and then maybe some pictures of corn.......that should be exciting. Anyone want a special corn picture? Anyone? Think creatively..............how can we picture corn............?

Gone

We are back in our favorite place for the next few days. Visiting friends, family and seeing places that are totally cool, but free to see. I didn't preset any blogs so there won't be things popping up until later this weekend.

Sorry

Know though that we are having fun. Although BigGuy did NOT come with us and I AM alone with the kids. SuperStar is planning to be very helpful (she is sitting next to me and I am very very Hopeful that she will be very very Helpful).

Enjoy your free time!

Omigoodness - He Did It!!!

I know.........in the scheme of things we have NOT been potty training all that long. I dabbled in it really - bought the stuff - stuck him on the potty - had some success, but really never got very far with it. Even started into the anger phase of it all personally. Well...........TheKing probably got a bit peeved too since there was no consistancy for what he did - BigGuy and I dangled rewards over his head that he never achieved - and he really never learned WHY he should use the bathroom. So in all fairness to TheKing - BigGuy and I were stinkin' up the joint when it came to being good Potty Trainers.

and then came a simple suggestion attached to much LOVE and PRAISE for a book by my friend F.................she writes Stranger Then Fiction. In a Facebook comment to something I wrote about potty training she suggested the book Toilet Training In Less Than A Day. (don't click and look inside - this is just a pic I found on a website) I will be very honest - love F, but really thought "what fool would think you could train you kid to use the potty in a day?" I knew there was a catch. And then the week from awful place happened (the kids don't like it when I say H - E - double hockey sticks). I was just an awful mom. I was in tears almost everyday because I was certain I was the worst mom ever. And most of it was directed at TheKing because he was being the worst too. Only I am the big kid in this so really to blame a 3 year old didn't make much sense. I stepped back a bit - looked at what was going on - and figured that if we could potty train successfully it would take some of our edge out - and if we could spend more time snuggling it would take the rest of hte edge out.

That was the plan.

The only flaw was - potty training sucks (sorry kids had to use that one) and I had tried all my tricks. We (TheKing and I - because let's be honest - BigGuy is lucky enough to get out of this shit (used as a pun - I am not a big curser) were to the point that HE was bartering his pee and poop to me - "I will pee on the potty if you give me a cookie."

BigGuy took the kids to SuperStars softball game. I had TheKing. We went to the bookstore. We only have 2 and a half bookstores here - you big city kids are Sooooooo Lucky in that respect. Anyway.........first book store I can't find it......helper dudette looks it up - hmmmmmmmmmmmmm seems to have been sold out for eternity with 4 orders and a full order of 9 books coming in next week. "It is a very popular book. Hey, did you know Dr. Phil had a thing on potty training just this week. I think he based his suggestions on this book. Want me to order you a copy?"

Of course NOW - because it is sold out and completely unavailable to me - I totally HAVE TO HAVE this book. Crap (pun intended) figures Dr. Phil would do a thing on it - now every mom that watches his show will be buying this. Speaking of which - I have never ever seen Dr. Phil on tv around here - when is that on?

So I order a copy and push on to the .5 book store. Also known as Target. No copy there. So I move down the road to Borders..............no helper dudette or dude there. And find the book - tucked into a place it doesn't belong - which is probably good for me because I found it. Why? Who knows.........I knew it was there somewhere and didn't want to leave without it. Why it was in the breastfeeding section I have no idea - don't really even care - just glad it was.

And it said - you have to have a potty chair & a baby that pees. I am 1 book in now - so we go buy the toilet - BabyDaddy can pee if we make him.

I showed BigGuy the book. He had little faith - but he wasn't the one that was dealing with the shit - so he said "Go for it". Then he left with Spidey to BoyScout camp for the weekend. SuperStar and I were left.

Sunday morning came and we began training...........I could bore you with all the details............but really haven't I bored you enough already? Instead I will say...........he was trained by 1pm!!! I Kid You NOT! And in the afternoon he came to me and said, "Mommy I need to poop on the potty". And I looked around for my child - recognized him - embraced him - and thanks F for the book.

But I still thought...........tomorrow is another day. We will see.

And the next day.....he woke dry......went on the potty.......we went shopping and he said, "Mommy I need to poop on the potty" and he did...........

And now he says things like, "I want to keep my body clean" and I think I may have bought my last package of pull ups.

The Invisible Train

Those of you who know me and LOVE me (because you can't really KNOW me and NOT love me - I mean seriously - the only people who DON'T adore me really have no clue what I am about - take the time, get to know me and you will totally LOVE me) know that I am always thinking something in my head. Always. There is not a moment that I am not thinking. I will admit that a lot of that thinking probably is not comprehendable by anyone but me..............and that much of it might not seem connected..........but it is ALL connected.

So what is this a picture of? Well that is obvious..........an Invisible Train!

Clearly you can see it can't you? It is Not Right There!

We sat at this train passing three times this week. We almost never see trains unless we are downtown near the train station and Amtrak comes in. So it seemed somewhat odd to me that this particular week we would see three at this crossing and another one at the crossing out near our house. So by the time this train came by I was already wondering.............why am I seeing so many trains this week?...........what is the significance?...........is this supposed to be a sign of something?

And then it hit me...........this is an Invisible Train that symbolizes something I have been thinking of a lot lately............the Divorce Train.

No, I am not thinking about getting a divorce - well I am thinking about getting a divorce - but not a divorce for myself. In the past year I have known 7 Couples who have decided to get a divorce. It is almost like an Invisible Train is making its way down the tracks through all my friends and they are getting on - quietly - and I do mean quietly.............five of those couples didn't even seek to look at trying to work things out. One said that she felt it coming on for two years - but didn't let her husband in on the feeling until she was ready to jump on the train. And apparently he jumped on too before it could pull out. Which completely surprises me.........

Aren't we the generation that loves to go to get Therapy? Or is that our parents generation? I would have to google that.

Anyway.........seems to me that people who once loved one another - and who are married for more then a few years - and who are not in an abusive or hurtful relationship - would seek some type of couples counseling or SOMETHING before calling it quits. Maybe I am wrong though. Maybe since the train isn't coming for me I don't really understand...........

So I sit here on the side of the tracks........thankful for my happy marriage........knowing that marriage is a hard, very hard, sometimes impossible relationship that takes a lot of time and work.......and sometimes takes no effort at all.......and is a wonderful, comfortable, bestfriend and lover relationship that I am thankful for even in the harder moment............wishing that others wouldn't jump on the Invisible Divorce Train until they sorted through the baggage first.........because each of them seemed like good loving couples.....

Oopps We Did It AGAIN!!!

I forgot to mention our neighborhood Stepford 4th of July Parade. Okay, maybe I should lose the "stepford" reference.............while it does seem far beyond perfect around here......now that I know many of the neighbors better I know better then to make fun of them being perfect.



So instead I will refere to it simply as the Neighborhood 4th of July parade - 1 day removed - because it rained ALL DAY LONG on the 4th this year. For a second year in a row the kids voted to decorate the truck instead of individual bike entries. I LOVE this idea because everyone finishes the same - everyone has the chance of getting the Same Exact Prize. BigGuy was a good sport and let us tape things to the truck - although weirdly he felt it important to be very clear that we Could Not Use Duct Tape (like I would do that - someone hide the duct tape please).




It was a fun time though. This year they had 3 bounce house dealies. So we got a call a bit before the parade letting us know they were out there for the kids to play on. And play they did...............jump jump jump...........until they noticed the water balloons............jumping ceased - water balloons were embraced. I quit playing near the kids. It was NOT warm enough for water balloons. It was warm enough for Margaritas though - thank you CK!!

After a bit we lined up in the procession. There were the Fire Trucks, Golf Carts, bikes, a few dirt bike things, 1 other car undecorated, 1 dog and a few walkers.


Our Kids Invited
A Few of their neighborhood friends & piled in the back of the truck. They threw candy again - what they didn't eat. It was all from our Family Candy Box - that is a box we keep (nice plastic one) that holds ALL the candy that comes from parties, halloween, class stuff, etc. It holds A LOT of candy & it was FULL.


After the parade everyone gathers to dig into all the different ice cream treats that are our - sandwiches, fudge bars, bomb pops and push ups. Yum Yum. Then we all sit in the grass - listen to the singers perform and await the moment Spidey & SuperStar are on the edge of their attention spans for...............AWARDS!!
My friend CM (pictured here) took 1st for her Dog Joey - who did a wonderful job in the parade - but he is a good pup!






And Then The Moment We Were
Working Toward ALL YEAR LONG (or at least for 1 day prior).........
The Winner for Best Truck/Car..........drum roll...........
Our FAMILY!!!!
Keep in mind.........we were 1 of only 2 entries.......and we were the only one that was actually decorated in anyway...........



Still.............a win is a win is a win...
and SuperStar & Spidey both love the event.....

We will just add this trophy to the other 2!

The Ever Popular SuperStar

SuperStar is every grandparents summer entertainment around here. Apparently - and I wouldn't know anything about this - grandparents like to invite their grandkids to stay with them for weeks at a time during the summer months. It is a very odd phenomenon as it is nothing I have ever seen happen personally. I do remember that my grand would take us camping for a week at a time in the summer. She was part of a group called The National Campers and Hikers Association. They went camping places and did stuff together. We were a bit older when we went though. Other then that my grands never did much more then have us over for a weekend night.

Around here however - kids get shipped off to other states to spend time with their granparents. And I can only imagine the things the parents do while they are alone. TheB's kids went to Virginia. Wonder what T&C did that week? We have seen a bunch of kids coming TO our neighborhood to spend time with their grandparents.

And that is where SuperStar comes in.

Selling GirlScout cookies has made her noticed by the grandparents. And as she has walked through the neighborhood this spring and summer - they have come out to greet her and invite her over....................to play with their visiting grand daughters. SuperStar has no problem with this.............because TheB's daughter is really the only other girl her age that she plays with - and as I mentioned MissB is out of state.

SuperStar has been swimming at a neighbors, to the Zoo with another neighbor (I know this family personally), over to lunch, had the girls over here for sleepovers, play all the time..........it is a nice treat for her. And I dare say it is a nice treat for the grandparents too. Spidey had even gotten into the act this year - as one of the girls has a little brother. Last year we tried to get them together, but the other little boy hit Spidey with a bat. That didn't go over so well............so it wasn't until this year that it was tried again. From SuperStars reports Spidey did pretty well.........except for excessive burping at the table during lunch.

Perhaps I should list the kids in the neighborhood newsletter - and put a price on thier time..........like the kids who babysit & petsit.......Spidey & SuperStar can be Grandchild Companions for Hire.

What is a good asking price?

Summer

Do You Know What This Is?

This is a picture of Summer Catching up to TheKing.

The day was still early - maybe about 11am. We had visitors all weekend for the 4th of July. Then friends came in from MA & Peoria. His self stated "bestest friend" Little O. And he played his heart out. The next day our friends left early. We took the Olders to camp. Returned some movies to Blockbuster. I picked up Wall-e for him. He sat down to watch and I skipped upstairs do gather laundry. And he was out like a light.

How Sweet Is That????
If only I hadn't needed to wake him up.

Up Up Up............Climbing Pics

You might have already seen this on my facebook stuff.........but I wanted to make certain to share it with those of you who are "Non" facebook users too - because it was just too cool for the kiddo's. Even TheKing had fun.........although he was only ever there for drop off and pick up - he charmed some of the instructors and played around during the times that we watched the kids climbing.

Anyway...........this place is just toooooo cool in my eyes. It is kinda like the City Museum because it is a recycled building that is giving tons of fun back into the community instead of just being an empty eyesore. I don't know much of the history and because of camera battery issues I didn't get many pics...........but have I mentioned how cool it is? An old Grain Silo turned into a rock climbing company WITH a house inside? Yes seriously..............the larger silo at the end is also a house that was built by the original owners. The years of architecture classes makes me really really really want to see that..........but the person who lives there was never present to ask.

This was one camp that BOTH of the Olders LOVED. There was not a single morning the whole week where either of them complained - that I had to encourage them to get ready - that there was bickering..............they were both totally into it the whole time.

SuperStar made it all the way to the top of one of the skinny grain silos - and of course that was when my camera battery failed. Arrhghghgh!!!! She was very very proud. It was so fun to watch her do it. Both kids learned to tie their own knots to harness themselves - which completely impressed me and BigGuy too (he was secretly proud of his BoyScout knot tying stuff).

Spidey was a bit more reserved. He spent a great deal of his time on a lower wall - climbing part way up and then throwing himself down onto the mats. Figures. He did however, make it up to the top of one of the lower walls. I had come in that afternoon to pick them up and was almost shocked to see him so high up because I knew he had reservations about doing that - then SuperStar came over (while rooting him on at what a great job - I swear to goodness my jaw was on the ground hearing her root him on) and said, "I told him if he made it all the way to the top he could have a sleepover in my room tonight." Darned if he didn't make it.

Have I mentioned how completely cool I thought this was for them? We will most certainly be signing up for this again. And probably doing it ourselves too.

Funny - You would have thought they would work wouldn't you.......?

One of the First things I remember wondering about when I came into our town were the No Racism signs they have. I had never seen anything like them before.

Well..........I have seen No Racism signs, but they were huge billboards that were up temporarily......or they were a logo type sign that was placed on a business that works on equality for everyone.....that kind of thing. I had never seen a simple sign that was similar to a STOP sign or a YIELD sign. I thought it was a nice thing. Must have meant that the town was pretty even minded about their racism - or at least forward thinking about addressing it.

Few years later we moved here. Then I had to pay more attention. Our family had grown and it was more of a mixture so we had to look at more then one side of racism now. The stats on the town leaned way white - by 84%. The first realtor we met at an open house offered up that the town is very liberal in the belief of equality. I mentioned that the town didn't offer statistics that presented a very diverse population and she said something along the lines of, "Well town statistics change and we have a very large Hispanic population. If you go to any restaurant and look in the back you will see Mexicans there."

It was so blatant I think I blanched because I remember BigGuy turning to look at me and giving me the "Let it go" look a spouse gives you when they know you are about to react. Needless to say we did not choose her as our realtor.

The next sign of the NO RACISM signs not working was during the search - so many people told us to stay OUT of the donut hole. See there are 2 school districts - one is maybe the original (? help me local friends) and it is in the center. However, the outer rim area of town has grown through the years and that school district is now encompassing the other one. Thus creating a donut & donut hole type appearance. The donut HOLE has more diversity - maybe more lower income (although I haven't searched that) - and perceived to have more problems (due to diversity and income). That was clearly racism...........and we searched pretty hard to find a home that was in the donut HOLE. Nothing in our price range and size need at the time. Now there are some really GREAT houses. I would move if the change didn't mean moving schools - that would be pretty not be fair to SuperStar.

This spring there was another sign the signs were failing. BigGuy was in the school volunteering with popcorn making for a special "Movie" day they were having. He was in the teachers lounge prepping popcorn and listening to people talk. One teacher was saying (now you need to know that we have a high poverty level in our school - but not much diversity - most all of our diversity is due to first generation Hispanic kids being bussed in so they can put all the money into supports in one place) that a white student in her class was making a ruckus because his parents told him to stay away from the Hispanic students to ensure he didn't get the Swine Flu. Seriously!!

My most recent experience of the NO RACISM signs not working has not been color related - directly. Which is why I find it so disappointing. This is within our school district. They are redistricting. And it tends to lean that the schools on the South side of town have more lower income families then the North side. The stats are very tilted - 60% lower income in our school - to 3% lower income at a friends school. That is a huge difference. And some people in the schools with more lower income (there are basically 3 out of 17 elem. with more then 50%) would like to see the numbers of low income more evenly dispersed through the district. And the local town paper has published article after article about the redistricting on line...........and there are these people who post comments............and they are so racist it is crazy!! It is stomach turning..............

I want to ask if they haven't see the signs? There is NO RACISM here. The signs say so.

Oh, I fear the signs are not working.

I mean these people post about how they have purposely moved to the North side so they don't have to live near "those people". They say things that are so mean that I wish we weren't in this district because I don't want any of my kids bumping into the kids of these parents!!

Why does it bug me so much? I think because we are so white here (84% remember) that I see this as a direct reflection of my own person. I don't want to be grouped in with these people. It makes me crazy that even though we have so few minorities most of these goofballs think that poverty ='s some shade of brown skin - and it can't possibly because we don't have that many non-white kids in the district.

How can they be so crazy as to think that our small percentage of minorities can make up all the poverty?

How can they NOT want to help? That makes me really crazy. How can they feel that they do not have any responsibility to give back to the world - let alone to KIDS??? It is not like they are giving money away to adults who are ungrateful.........these are kids in schools.............what is the cost to them?

The signs are just not working..............we need billboards.......no we need - gosh I don't know what we need.............we need help.......we need to work together more...........we need to be less selfish.................we need to see the world as our responsibility instead of our own world as the whole world..........we need to pray......a lot.

BigGuy

So BigGuy gets a lot of guff for Forgetting Things - mostly from himself, but I give it to him too. Plus I tease him about things like the earlier post and what not. So I thought it important to post something about how Great He Is too.

He is really. He will spend hours in his head and not notice what is going on around him. But he is always thinking of us. And he will drop anything at a moments notice to help us out.

Example - and it is funny that this example would come up because when my Dad and stepmom were here we were talking about companies not being friendly to family needs (although BigGuy and I did say that his company is very flexible and family friendly).

Tuesday morning - BigGuy is off to work - a few hours later it is time for me to take the Olders to RockClimbing Camp at a local cool place (because it is oh so cutting edge cool here - seriously, you just have to look for it) - kids go out and load into the totally cool family van - I trail behind picking up every item of thing that they forgot (which is Everything mostly) - get in the very cool family van and.................Nada..........Nothing.............Zilch...........Zip

The van is dead dead dead dead gone.

The Middle Son is whimpering............."what are we going to do now? we are going to be late" and he says this like he is a person who is ALWAYS worried about his timeliness to which the inside of my brain begins to cackle hysterically with laughter.

After quieting my brain - I order everyone out and into the front yard - and I phone BigGuy. Tell him what is going on and he says he is headed home. Now......since I do worry about my Timeliness all the time we have plenty of time. BigGuy is 10 minutes away - the camp is 15 minutes away - and it is 30 minutes until camp starts. So we are safe enough. TheKing has swim lessons scheduled for just after rockclimbing camp drop off is. This is what I am worried about getting to.

BigGuy swings in - kids pile in giving frantic instructions to him to "get there in time". And he does. Then he takes TheKing and I home and we try to charge the dead battery.

No Luck. So the battery comes out.

Then he takes TheKing and I to the gym for swim. He takes the battery to the store to have it checked - then buys a new one because it is passed on into the past. He comes to the gym and watches TheKing do the Front Crawl (seriously - he can now do the front crawl about 10 feet!).

We leave - pick up the Olders from camp after watching their last 30 minutes of the day. Swing through and pick up lunch for everyone. Head home. Have the meal together.

And he heads back to work. Where he stays 2 hours late to make up for the time he lost making certain everything worked out.

How many husbands would NOT have done that?

How Lucky are We?

Why Was That So Hard?

Lately there has been plenty of time to blog - kinda - but I don't anyway. Most likely this is because my brain is fried being with the kids all the time. NOT that it is hard being with the kids (well it is in some ways - but it is not in most ways - does that make sense?). Partly because most of the things I want to blog about I don't want to have to:
a) explain later to people
b) worry that they will be worried about me just because there isn't always a happy ending
c) think less of me because I am honest
d) all of the above

I mean - it is SUMMER TIME!!! As Snoopy would have said, "Summa Summa Summer Time!!" Well............now that I write that out he would never have said it because he didn't talk now did he? Huh. Wasn't that cool how Charles Stultz made him talk without talking? Yet I do remember him doing the happy feet dance to that phrase............maybe Linus said it because Charlie Brown was kind of a depressive wasn't he?

Oh, and my camera has been out of commission due to battery problems - for a long time we didn't have any - then BigGuy bought a new set of chargeables for me, but we think the charger or the batteries are broken - and the saga continues. I like having pictures to work off of - unlike Franchesca and HouseFullofBoys - I am more like JeanetteEatsSpaghetti - visuals helpful thank you.

So anyway.........in a nut shell - this is why I don't blog serious things lately - too many competing thoughts in my head and in the end nothing makes it to the top.

This morning...........while everyone sleeps.........I will try.

Juneteenth. That was about 2 maybe 3 weeks ago. It is funny...........we have talked about going to this event for 3 Junes - since we moved here and discovered the event (because we never found one in STL - although there must be one because STL is so much larger). Then the first year we had to leave town for moving tie up stuff. Then last year a bday party in STL happened and we really couldn't not go (do those "nots" cancel each other out? not not go?). This year we had not a thing going that weekend - even said "no thank you" to an invite to camp (okay, honestly I said "no thanks" because we do not yet have a pop-up camper and I am boycotting all camping trips until I do - it is an issue with me). And we were excited that Juneteenth Celebration stayed on our calendar uncontested.

That morning we had a baseball game for Spidey. Easy enough - Juneteenth was from 10:30 - 4:30 - game was at 11am and then it was cancelled for a simple 1 hour practice. Gave us TONS of time. But it was hot. So we sat (well, BigGuy & Spidey did the running around of a practice, the remaining 3 of us sat and watched & chatted up the others sitters watching) in the sun and sweltered. TheKing was getting cranky and by the time practice was over it was his nap time. And we started to waffle on going. You know the thing where you and the other adult start talking about why it isn't the greatest idea to go to whatever you are supposed to go to............

* "gosh the kids are all cranky now" - but if you don't go they will just be as cranky only at home and totally needing to be entertained by you yourself.
* "it is so close to lunch we should go home at eat" - but they are serving food for free at the event.
* "do we need to spend the money?" - when we had planned to have money for this & we had a pretty good idea that it was all free and sponsored by the company BigGuy works for.
* "it is so hot out" - and we knew it was in the shade and if it were any other event we would be going regardless of heat - plus who were we kidding, if we did go home we would be working in the yard anyway.

So we decided not to go to Juneteenth. And we left the ball fields for home. Only I felt REALLY REALLY guilty about this because I knew why we were changing our plans to not attend this event. We were changing our minds - no, we were Talking Ourselves Out of Going - because it was hard. We were nervous. We were basically going to be Out of Our Own Comfort Zone. So we were Quitting.

And I knew it because I was saying it in my head. So my guilt drove us down that passed the park that the event was being held at. And as we passed I told BigGuy we should at least check it out - meaning see how crowded it was - not meaning get out and walk around. He agreed and we pulled into the park. It was crowded in a Small Park Area kind of a way, but it was Tiny in a STL Festival kind of a way.

Then the kids spotted the bounce house thing. Then I said - outloud - admitting it to myself and my best friend, BigGuy (who I can say crap things about myself to and trust he loves me anyway), "The only reason I don't want to go is I am uncomfortable about the way the people here will perceive me. Like I am only here because my son is African American" and he said it was the same for him and we both knew we were getting out of the car - because the reason we needed to be here was BECAUSE our son was African American and that was the basis of this entire celebration.

It was hard because..............gosh I guess because we are white and still find ourselves being somewhat insecure about it. Yes, this is normal and understandable - but it is not acceptable - because look where TheKing is. He is very very often The Only African American in sooooooooooooooo many situations we place him. And we don't think much about how that makes HIM feel. Sure he is little and cute and doesn't see that it makes much difference now..........but eventually he will.......and eventually he will most likely find himself as uncomfortable as we found ourselves..........and if we are going to present him these situations.........then we have to put ourselves in the same ones.

In the end it was easy. Everyone was friendly. Well, there was this guy who was in a FULL suit, leather shoes and a bow tie outfit - he looked very much like Louis Farrakhan - no joke. His wife wore an Islamic type female garb too (and did I mention it was REALLY HOT out?). I got a distinct vibe that HE did not care for us. But absolutely every other person was outwardly nice to us. There were a smidge of adoptive parents there - although single parents. Otherwise there were few white people. BigGuy knew a few people from his work as many were from there. And it was nice. And we would have been wrong to not attend. And we will go back and probably have more fun because we have been honest with ourselves.

On an interesting side note..............there is a local politician that shows up at EVERY SINGLE EVENT the area has. If you live here you totally know who I am talking about. He is incredibly white looking on any day - this day he looked really really pink and white (because it was so hot). All events have a politician at some point come and talk about the history of the event. As he got on stage I thought it was unfortunate that such a pink & white guy was going to speak at this one, but that is probably my own prejudice. So he gets up there - remember Juneteenth is about the announcement in the most southern states (which it took from Feb. when Lincoln made it so - to June 18th for the South to hear about it) and the celebration that came after they found out. Mr. Pink Politician did not do his research. He got up and wished everyone a Great "June Tenth" - several times if I remember correctly. Didn't talk about what the celebration was about - or address the black community in anyway that was special to the day..........just kept saying how great it was to be there on "June Tenth" (although it was June 27th at the time).

Since I am admitting shallow things about myself today - I have to admit that made me feel superior to the Pink Politician. Although I suppose perhaps I shouldn't because I am sure it is only a matter of time before I find myself in a similar spot.

Here is Another Fun One

It says, "Get that Camera Out of My Face" all over her face! I love how serious she is. How cute is she?

My Current Favorite Picture

This is just the coolest picture. There were cows on the other side of the fence eating apples that we were throwing them. The kids were having a blast - as were the adults that wandered across the road with them.


At first they just kinda kept their distance - the little arms weren't flinging the apples quarters quite far enough - and the momma cows were not 100% certain about how much to trust us. Most of the babies - are there are 6 babies this year! - are pretty young. I imagine the mommas are thinking of safety. Then, once one cow came up and found an apple slice - they were all moving a bit closer. The kids started squealing then though - so the cows backed off a bit. It was sweet. And it was cheap entertainment being it was in our backyard and the apples had "icky we can't eat them" spots on them.













But honestly, the cows are really kinda gross - all those flies and all that poop just all over the place. Eck!

Forwards

Usually I don't much go in for Forwards, but my friend SH sends at least 100 of them to me everyday and since I love her I read them - and 1 out of every few hundred is a keeper. This one is kinda sad and depressing, but the message is exactly dead on right.................for me it is more about words and time in......


Used vs. Loved

While a man was polishing his new car, his 4 yr old son picked up stone and scratched lines on the side of the car. In anger, the man took the child's hand and hit it many times; not realizing he was using a wrench.

At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures. When the child saw his father.......with painful eyes he asked, 'Dad when will my fingers grow back?' The man was so hurt and speechless; he went back to his car and kicked it a lot of times.

Devastated by his own actions......sitting in front of that car he looked at the scratches; the child had written 'LOVE YOU DAD'.

The next day that man committed suicide. . .

Anger and Love have no limits; choose the latter to have a beautiful, lovely life..... Things are to be used and people are to be loved,

But the problem in today's world is that, People are used and things are loved... During this year, let's be careful to keep this thought in mind: Things are to be used, but People are to be loved ... Be yourself....This is the only day we HAVE. Have a nice day

Best regards

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions.. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits they become character; Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

I'm glad a friend forwarded this to me as a reminder. God bless you; I hope you are having a wonderful day! If you don't pass this on to anybody, nothing bad will happen; if you do, you will have ministered to someone. The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not PROTECT you....

Stay FAITHFUL and Be GRATEFUL

Connections

This picture is from a trip to Peoria last year. We were headed to the O's - right about this time of year - for a bday party when a huge storm hit our path. Nothing crazy, but forceful enough that it scared the buggers out of Spidey (and he is already afraid of storms). So he asked me to hold his hand. And I did. And TheKing did too. And they were comforted. Because of the Connection. This is what I mean by the title - Connections. Not networking, but reaching out.

Last night I was talking to a friend from school that I haven't talked to for - gosh - forever. Those of you who know me well are very aware that I have few boundaries when it comes to asking you things about your life - what makes you who you are - and so on. As we talked - and he answered questions (which he gave me full permission to ask) - he made the comment that he didn't understand why he was allowing himself to share so much. That he normall doesn't. So I asked about that - what would hold a person back from sharing what they are thinking or how they feel about things - anything. He said something totally simple - No One Ever Asks.

And he is right.

Why don't we ask? Why don't we make that Connection to other people? We are too busy? We are too burdened by our own STUFF that we can't be bothered by other people's stuff?

Then after talking to him I sat with me - because everyone else was asleep - or at least pretending to be (ah hem - ). I have tons of Connections - but not tons of Connections that really stop to ask me what is up with me. How am I. I mean I DO have those people who will ask me that - but I don't have that many who really want to sit and listen to the answer. Does that make sense?

How many of those people do we get? There are days when I feel like I could use a million of these people just to regain my sanity. And then there are days when just one will do. How many can I ask for without feeling very greedy? How wrong is it for me to want some of my Connections to be More There? And is it wrong for me to tell them that I am demanding it (so you know that isn't about BigGuy - least not this month).

In the past year we know 7 couples who have been touched by divorce. SEVEN. 2 of those couples sought counseling - 1 of those couples sought it simply to figure out how to be friends because their change was not one that could recover the marriage. That means that 1 out of 6 of our friends marriages were not taken to the doctor.

Was that a Connection Snap?

Then there are my computer connections. I have some wonderful computer friends. You know who you are.........I linked you or I play FarmTown with you or I send you messages........if I don't then you ain't one of them (so you better work harder - see? was that mean?). But my computer friends can't hug me. They can't sit out at a sidewalk cafe and have a few drinks until we are giggly and start to talk goof about our kids and hubbies - and then leave not judging one another for the crap we have said about our marriages or parents (because those were our 2 top topics). They can send me drinks on facebook. That is nice - or a cow for my farm. And they can have deep and meaningful conversations that brighten my day. But it sometimes isn't the same.

Why am I thinking this stuff? Probably because the Shams were here for 24 hours - and MO showed up with her 4 kids in tow - and 24 hours just ain't enough. Just ain't.

Yes, I have good friends here. I do. CB, her hubby who brings me mint because I mention it (thank you TB) - CM, MC and a few more being built up. And with a few I am getting to the point that I can talk smack about my kids and hubby and they know I love them more then is possible when they walk away.

So I have no room to complain. So I won't.

I am very very lucky. Really really really.

Happy 6th of July!!

Happy 6th of July!!!!

Let us all celebrate the day that is 2 days AFTER the highly celebrated 4th of July. Why? Well...........I decided to do a search on the 6th of July to see if there was anything interesting about that date......I mean we all know what is special about the 4th - let's focus on a day that might mean something else and would be new to all of us.............this is what I got:

* It is the 187th day of the year
* There are 178 days remaining in the year

Kinda interesting

People born on this day:
Della Reese
Burt Ward
Sylvester Stallone
Some sports ppl that mean nothing to me
A bunch of politicians I have never heard of
Some Canadian actors I have never heard of
50 Cent - I know him, he is from the STL area, but not personally, that I remember
Janet Leigh - I know who she is
Nancy Reagan - that is familiar too

Events that Happened this day:
* Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.
* John Lennon and Paul McCartney (The Beatles) first meet at St. Peter's Church garden fete in Liverpool, England.
* Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
* The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeats the National League, 4-2.
* In 1785 the dollar is unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States.
And a bunch of other stuff that would probably bore you into not reading this any longer.

What am I doing today? Well the S's are coming to visit from Massachusetts - yea!! Lucky us (seriously - really lucky - I am very excited). And the O's are heading over from Peoria to hang - we will grill and watch the kids destroy the house and fight with one another over the riding toys - maybe bonk their heads together on the trampoline all the while drinking..........because these are drinkin' people (I hope).

Happy 6th of July!!!!!!!! (pics to follow)

I need a Blog Assistant

I totally need a blogging assistant..................any one want to apply for the job? I will pay home baked and designed cakes............hand crafted cards..........rent out children to do half-assed housework for free...........be willing to mow small expanses of lawn (because I am learning that an acre takes far too long - and I don't think we have even a full acre - anyone want to measure my lawn?).................what else can I use for incentive?

Ideas? Takers?

Oh! I also need drinkers. So I have had the makings for Jessica's Mojito recipe for 3 days..........and NO takers! BigGuy said he would drink them with me......but an entire bottle of Rum split between the two of us? Hmm......might make for some interesting times, but those kids still live in our house and that does NOT sound like a great next day........so I am putting out an add for drinkers - preferably women because they are very funny when sauced.

Takers?