Cha-cha-cha-changes!

Apparently, I don't do too well with changes.  If I had been much of a blogger last year, I'm sure the posts for six months before August, or maybe even more, would have been all about Dub and how I just wasn't ever going to be ready for him to start Kindergarten.  I made my peace with Kindergarten after the thought of homeschooling popped into my mind one day.  I don't see how in the world you do it, Ashley!!!  Dub would drive me insane every second of every lesson I ever attempted if that were the route we chose.  We are very blessed to have awesome public schools in our county, and Dub got a perfect-for-him teacher, so Kindergarten turned out to be a really fun year.

Dub and his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wix

Then it was summer vacation.  We got to hang out together, ALL of us, for most of the day, every day.  I wish I could say we got to sleep late, but thanks to Dub that never really is an option.  Bo got really used to having his "best friend" around, and they played together so well almost all the time.

We've had popsicles, snow cones, ice cream, pool parties, mud ball fights, fireworks, and countless bicycle races.  We were able to come and go as we pleased...not that we really always did that, but it was fun to know that we could.  I love a good routine, but I get into the unscheduled routine pretty well, too.

And now on Monday Dub will start first grade.  I haven't dreaded it nearly as long as I did Kindergarten, but it's hitting me pretty hard that this is his "last week" of summer.  How in the world did these two month go by so quickly?  Especially since the 15 (or so) days of the fireworks tent went by sooooo sssllloooooowwwwlllyyyy?

Alright, Dub, I'll let you go to first grade; I guess I kind of have to let you.  But I don't have to like it!  Thank goodness I get two more full years with Bo before I have to let him go to Kindergarten.

By the way, this week we had Little Lady's 1-year pictures made (she's so cute!!!):

Birthday Time!

Sweet Little Lady is now a one-year old! We had a great party for her actually on her birthday, Saturday, July 24. We were so glad that both sets of grandparents and even one set of cousins could come party with us! There was so much barbeque that I think everyone in the family could have had plenty if they were able to come. :'(

And the CAKE!!! We'll be eating cake until Bo's birthday in November! What? We could freeze it? I'm going to pretend I never knew about that.

Little Lady got her own little cake:

It's yellow and sunshine shaped because she really is my little Sunshine.

I am smarter now than I was when Dub turned one: we didn't have any cute little candies on her cake for her to choke on (like Dub did...):

Of course, Bo's didn't have any either, but his was just too cute without them:

I wish the party could have gone on all night, although as it was all three kids slept later than usual the next morning (but they had to get up anyway for church!).

I love having a daughter! My boys are wonderful but I love getting to decorate in pink. And Little Lady's oldest cousin is so happy to finally have girls in the family again!

That picture was after Little Lady ate almost all of that cake (see above), so she's probably feeling a little bloated and uncomfortable. But Little Lady handled the party and all the attention so beautifully.

Happy Birthday, sweet Little Lady! I am so thankful for this year, and I pray for many, many, many-to-infinity more!!! I love you, Baby!

Road Trip!

There was a time, in the BC years, when I looooovvveeed to travel. I've never really gotten my fill of it, but it's just kind of not worth it these days. Earlier this year we took a trip to Gatlinburg; that was fun, but since we stayed at a hotel 10 miles from "the strip," we had to PLAN too much, especially around Little Lady's nap schedule. It just gets to be more work than fun.


I KNOW we are blessed to live near both sets of grandparents, and even one set of cousins. I wish all of my other brothers didn't live so far away. And really, you would think that with family spread out all over that we would be traveling and visiting all the time! No. It's a shame really.

But having said all that, we got to take a road trip this past weekend! We went to "Alabama!" Dub and Bo were so extremely excited when we told them we were going. We told them on Friday that we were planning to go on Saturday; the rest of the time before we went, they randomly said, "ALABAMA!!! YES!!!"


Dub finally asked why we were going to "Alabama." "There's a store there..." I began, and Dub groaned. I tried to explain the Unclaimed Baggage store to him, which he totally didn't understand, but still - we're going how far for a store???

The day of our big trip, as we were sitting in the driveway still, Dub and Bo started shouting, "Alabama, here we come!!!" Seven miles from home, we stopped at a gas station, and Bo says, "I think Alabama is starting!!!" We managed to make the 2 1/2 hour trip down in one piece, especially since we rigged a DVD player (our laptop) and took plenty of Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry DVDs. The boys were so cute when we finally passed into Alabama: "Mama, do they talk like we talk in Alabama?" "Is Alabama in America?" "Is there a desert in Alabama?" "Are we near Hawaii?" "Will there be other people in Alabama?"

But we loved every second we could squeeze in for the Unclaimed Baggage store, as always. Dub & Bo each got to pick a toy, so that made the entire trip worthwhile, regardless of it being "just for a store." Unfortunately (?) we had to come on back home to make it to a birthday party at the pool. I mean, what better ending to a fun road trip than a birthday party with pizza, cake & ice cream PLUS a swimming pool?!? Of course, I could have stayed at the store for another week or two, just looking around at everything.

Hopefully as the kids get older we'll do more traveling again. And if Jason reads this, don't forget our 10th anniversary next year, hint, hint! As for now, if all we get to do is go to Gatlinburg and the Unclaimed Baggage store every once in a while, I'll be ok. Y'all are the reason it's fun anyway (and also lots of work...)!!!

She Made It Before Her First Birthday

Little Lady's birthday is a week away. She has randomly taken a few steps here and there, one or two at a time, but that's only with a LOT of coaxing.

Dub walked officially 5 days before he turned 10 months.
Bo walked very soon after he turned 11 months.

Y'all, I really, really thought Little Lady would walk when she was about 6 months. She was able to stand on her own from about that age. And since she could see Dub and Bo going by her so fast, I just thought she would get up and go herself.

Oh, no. This little Prissy girl wants to be chauffeured. She could probably be called Miss Daisy. Honestly, though, I was not worried at all. Besides the fact that I know that every child is different and will walk whenever their own selves decide they are ready, she's really petite (get your jaw off the floor, YES, Jason & I made a petite baby). She wears 6-9 month clothing, so imagine a 6-9 month old walking around.

But last night, we were shopping (for her birthday!) in Providence, and decided to let the boys have a little fun in Books a Million. They love to play on the Thomas table there, so even though we rarely buy anything from BAM, we are kind of frequent patrons. I was holding Little Lady, and I put her down at the Thomas table so that she could play too.... She decided to have a look around the store for herself, and WALKED like she owned the place!!! I'm not saying a step or two. I mean, she walked from the table, to the chairs, to the bookshelves, to the other kids playing there, EVERYWHERE, never breaking stride. Maybe once did she falter. It's like I said, all along she probably knew how to do it, she would just rather be chauffeured!!! I can imagine that she's been strutting around her crib whenever we shut the door. I bet she can converse like royalty, tie her shoes, cook gourmet meals, balance a checkbook, and build playgrounds too!

This morning, she's back to taking a few steps here and there. But I'm on to her now. And I can OFFICIALLY say that she walked before she was one!!! We're three for three!!! :) But not that it matters, of course.

Dental Bliss

My boys have cavities.

We went for a routine cleaning at our regular dentist two weeks ago. It was Bo's first time, but Dub had been several times before. All of a sudden, they have cavities. PLURAL.

They referred us to a pediatric dentist, who proceeded to tell me that they have cavities. (In case I forgot.) In fact, Dub has I think three of 'em, and Bo has two. What in the world???

Do you reckon it's because we make them eat Sugar Babies for breakfast, Tootsie Rolls for lunch, and make them chew their Jolly Ranchers that we make them eat at supper? Or probably it's the candy apples they have to eat at snack before they get to have any pancakes with syrup for a treat.

And since we're so poor and uneducated, we buy toothpaste and toothbrushes only at Christmastime. They have to ration the toothpaste, so they save it for special occasions.

Oh yeah right.

But here's me, feeling like a terrible mom, taking both of my children with teeth in to have them filled. And trust me, I tried to scare the snot out of Dub and Bo, hoping they would stop whining at tooth brushing time and step up and take some responsibility, which they have by the way. I told them about the shot they'd have to give them in the mouth to numb them so that they wouldn't feel the drill, which is just like Daddy's drill, when it makes a hole in the tooth. And how if they didn't take care of their teeth now, the dentist will have to yank the bad teeth out and leave a big hole.

Dub and Bo did not dread this visit to the dentist one bit, despite all my scare tactics. Come to find out, at this pediatric dentist they don't use shots and drills, they use "Circus Gas" and "Mister Bumpity." And while they are "feeling all tickly inside from the circus gas," they get to watch whatever they want to on the TV on the ceiling. 30 minutes after going in, they come out extremely happy and excited to come back. Oh, and clutching a gift certificate for a free ICE CREAM CONE. That's going to ruin their candy apple appetite!

I guess I'm glad that it was so easy on them. But honestly, I wish it wasn't so much FUN! We, the "responsible party," had to pay $250 for this cake walk. And what did Dub and Bo learn? "If we don't brush our teeth and get some more cavities, then we'll get to go back to that fun place and get some more ice cream!!!"

By the way, in my defense, my kids apparently have "Groovy Teeth" - they have extra deep ridges in them that traps everything worse than most people's teeth. So we know now to brush extra special on those back teeth...at least on those special occasions.

I'm Changing their names!

I have a complex about using my precious children's real names on a blog that is accessible by anyone, possibly including all the weirdos and pedophiles that could come in contact with us any time. So when I started this blog, I hastily chose names for them: RocketFire, Lightning McB, and Little Lady. But y'all...I never really liked the names I chose.

RocketFire was given that name by himself. He loves to think of himself as a superhero, and RocketFire is his super alter ego. But really, we hardly ever call him by that name, so it felt weird to call him that on this blog. So from now on, at least until I decide to change his nickname again :) I will be calling him "Dub." Dub is a name he's had almost since Day 1; this poor child has more nicknames than most people on earth, but Dub is one that we use maybe even more than his real name. I'm surprised at myself for not thinking of this one first.

As for Lightning McB, it's obviously because he loves the movie Cars. Sometimes he asks to watch it several times a week. He sleeps with Lightning McQueen or Mater most of the time, but NEVER Chick Hicks ('cause HE'S the Bad Guy!!!). He's a super-cool, super fast boy, but that is also a name we have rarely called him. So he will be called "Bo" on this blog now. This boy also has tons of nicknames, but most of them involve his real name. Bo is a good name for him, especially since we do use it quite a bit around here as a nickname.

Little Lady will keep her nickname. She is such a sweet little dainty lady that it is a perfect name for her. Of course, Firecracker might also be appropriate, or Loud Mouth, or PUNK...no, I'll just stick with Little Lady.

So Dub, Bo, and Little Lady, I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! And I want to keep you all safe, even as I air out all your dirty laundry. Your nicknames make me smile, but your SELVES make me happy and proud.

Well, it's over...whew

The 2010 Summer Fireworks Season is officially in the books. Well, technically not officially, since Jason is still out there at the moment taking down and cleaning up, and hopefully even selling. And we don't actually settle with the company until tomorrow afternoon, but it's pretty much over, and THANK GOODNESS for that!!!

This season has probably earned me an ulcer, I'm sorry to say. We had obstacles at every single turn, and all along they seemed insurmountable; that is, until now when I have the benefit of hindsight. I will never understand how Jason kept his cool (even in the heat) the entire time and did not give the Hatchet Face woman across the street from us the satisfaction of either cowering in the face of her evilness or lowering himself to her level to strike back. He has the gift of watching and waiting, which has earned us (him) huge credits with everyone in Cheatham County who has anything at all to do with fireworks tents and all their various licenses and regulations. They are all sick to death of Hatchet Face also; as a matter of fact, they have even been known to commiserate with Jason about her.

According to Mr. Hatchet Face, we (our tent) are to blame for the fact that they lost $11,000 last year. Whether or not that's actually the dollar amount, I don't know. But we (Jason) do every bit of the advertising to get customers to our tent/area, and it kind of makes us sick to see anyone leave our tent and go over to theirs. But it happens, we swallow it, and that is that. And last year even we did not have a great year, so it's absolutely absurd for them to blame us. This year, the Hatchet Face family pulled out every big gun they had to try to get us shut down, and I'm so proud to say they did not succeed.

Our tent has been there at the Shell gas station for much more than 10 years (because we've been running it for 10 years); their tent has been there at the BP station maybe 6 years (?). We watched the BP station being built about 6 years ago. So Hatchet Face's behavior is like BP coming in after the Shell has been there for 15 years or more, and BP doing everything in its power to get Shell put out of business because BP isn't making as much money as they want. It's exactly the same!!! And it makes NO SENSE!!!

The Vice President of Operations for Shell (maybe the regional one, I don't know) went to talk to Ms. Hatchet Face; he asked her why she she's doing what she's doing. Her answer: "Greed." Straight from the horse-face's mouth!!! He told us that she said it emphatically and with a straight face. Well, at least she knows. What she doesn't know is how big of a hornet's nest she has stuck her horse-face into, messing with both Shell and Mid-America Distributors; neither of them is going to let anything at all happen to this tent. She ain't big enough to stand up against them, and she has annoyed everyone else so much that she doesn't have anyone to stand with her.

Who knows what next year holds...and it's not for me to think about right now and especially not to worry about. I need to catch up on my prayers of thanksgiving!!! We really did have a good season, nobody got hurt, and we were not shut down. I really hope I learn a lesson from this episode, and even from Jason. He is an incredible salesman, an amazingly hard worker, and among many other good things, a level-headed manager. One thing he is not, however, is a complainer. Now that the storm is over, we can relax for a while (until football season at least) and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Including.....Little Lady's One Year Birthday on July 24!!! Oh great, now I'm going to go worry about that. Just kidding.