Voices From the Backseat

No, I'm not going crazy. Well, no more so than normal. Tonight TheBoyWhoDidNotTalk(much) and I picked up cousin Graham Cracker and headed to the local splash pad. These two are the best of friends and have been since they were knee high to grasshopper. Look at these faces from about seven years ago.

New Wheels

Some things they don't share.

Playing with Lane's kitchen

Look at these innocent faces!

 On the way to the Splash Pad TheBoyWhoDidNotTalk(much) told Graham Cracker about how we went to play at a nearby lake the day before. "Oh man! You got to go to the lake?" Graham Cracker exclaimed. "All I did yesterday is sit. I don't know what else I did. I'm really good at forgetting."

We all have to be good at something kiddo.

The boys of course had a blast. One woman there with her twin granddaughters asked if mine were twins too. Twin cousins perhaps, though their features are very different. At almost eight they're still about the same height, same size, same coloring, even similar hair color.

After shutting down the splash pad we got back in the car to head back to G's house.  Along the way the boys were discussing their favorite subjects in school which are P.E. and Art, of course. They're the easiest according to both boys. Neither of them are as fond of Music as the other "easy" classes. "But if they had more harmonica in Music, I'd like it more," G announced. "One day, I picked up a harmonica, put it to my lips and blew. And what do you know, I can play that harmonica good. I just know how to do stuff like that, you know?"

Then the subject moved on to TheBoy's 10 hologram dogs. What I love about these boys is how easy they get along. They don't argue and say the other can't be right about whatever he just said, they just accept that their friend would never tell them anything false. They don't try to out do each other with the I-Can-Top-That stories. TheBoy just starts talking about hologram dogs and G asks him how many are in the car now, because obviously that is a possibility, right?

Pure. Easy-Going. Innocent. Those three words describe these boys and I hope with all my heart they never lose those qualities. I pray they will always be the best of friends and depend on and watch out for each other.

We're Not Doing Community Service...well not THAT kind of community service

One of the really cool things about my new job in the Big City is how much my employer encourages giving back to the community. Annually, millions of dollars are pour back into the community for education, healthcare, food distribution programs, and road repairs. Along with those things at any given time employees can participate in raising money for charities, attending blood drives, and clean up adopted highways and parks.

Yesterday our whole team went to my hometown where we cleaned out flowerbeds, planted flowers, mulched, and other tasks at one of the local museums. After lunch we headed downtown where we set out as teams to pull the largest weeds, spray all the other weeds coming up in cracks near store fronts, along the sidewalk, and near seating areas. We swept up trash- mostly cigarette butts. My team for this part of the adventure consisted of two of my closest work friends. Along the way one store owner came out of her shop to ask where we were from to thank us for what we were doing. We spent a few moments visiting with her then proceeded with our task. After we completed our hot task we met up with other members of our team. Their experience wasn't quite the same as ours, as they cleaned near a law office a gentleman came to the door, and quietly locked it! Guess he thought we were doing that other community service. HA!

 

Goodbye School Year, Hello Summer

What a difference a year makes! Twelve months ago we were in the process of saying goodbye to our life on the Plains as we anticipated our move to Big City. Peanut and TheBoyWhoDidNotTalk(much) were preparing to leave the only place they had ever called home. Early in June I shipped the children off to The Land of Dial-up where they spent a couple of weeks with my parents and attended church camp. On our sixteenth anniversary, Nickel and I packed up the last of our belonging and headed East. We had friends and family to help us move, thank goodness.

When school time came around, I knew the kids would adapt, with time. TheBoyWhoDidNotTalk(much) had some major anxiety. I don't blame him he would go to a building he didn't know the layout, sit in a class with total strangers, get on a bus driven by a stranger with other strangers to learn a sport (Karate) of which he knew nothing! Poor kid, it was overwhelming. For months when I asked him about his day he would say "boring" because he didn't know how else to describe his loneliness. Slowly he made friends soon it was Ricardo this, Jack that, Evie, Seven, and many other names. Finally, this boy had friends. His teacher, who was very concerned about his beginning test scores started to notice the change in him as well, and the blasted test scores came up.

Peanut was very excited to move. She wanted the chance to reinvent herself and make new friends. Things didn't happen quite as she anticipated. Classes were much more difficult in Big City than the Plains. Then drama happened. The class I mean. She had a nice camera and without planning it, she became the unofficial drama department photographer. She made a few friends then added a few more. She got her driver's permit. She started a job. She started exploring her independence.

This year has been full of change, but these kiddos have triumphed, and I couldn't be more proud.

Begin As You Mean To Go On

“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”― Charles Haddon Spurgeon, All of Grace

I don't know where I first heard this saying, but it is stuck in my mind and plays on repeat almost daily. Begin as you mean to go on. 

Peanut is now at the ripe old age of sixteen. She has her driver's permit. She has a job, a checking account, and a debit card. Begin as you mean to go on.

I'm a pretty mean mom. I've instructed Peanut that she will put the first half of her paycheck into savings. Doing this will teach her to pay herself first and create a habit of saving money. I've also told her she needs to have 5k in her savings before she can move out. WHAT?! You may say, is that even feasible? Well, at the rate she's making money she can easily put $100 into her savings account each paycheck, biweekly. That would be about $2600 a year. She has two more years left in school so yeah, I think 5k is possible. As anyone who has ever moved, you know how expensive it can be. There are furnishings to buy, deposits to pay, and groceries to buy and rent to pay for the first time. Hopefully, when that day comes she'll already be in the habit of setting aside part of each check and will manage bills. Begin as you mean to go on.

With the other half of her paycheck, she has to pay her bills. Using 25% of her total paycheck, up to $200 a month she pays me back for the bills I pay on her behalf. She recently upgraded her phone, and though I pay for the line, she has to make the monthly installment. Her car, which is my old car, isn't quite paid for yet, so she helps to make that payment. I say she pays up to $200 a month but she doesn't earn that much money, that's just what her phone and car cost her parents each month. If by some crazy turn of events, she earns more than $800 a month she would get to keep that extra money. Perhaps this is incentive to work more? Begin as you mean to go on.

The final quarter of her paycheck is hers. All hers and she may do with it whatever teenagers do with money. Buy crap. Get her hair colored. Buy her mom coffee. Her little splurges. She's learning that that money goes fast. Begin as you mean to go on.

My parents didn't teach me about money, saving, or budgeting. I'm not blaming them for my money mistakes. I think it just didn't occur to them. As far as I know they didn't have a budget, and we were so poor I doubt they had much in the way of savings for many years. I did see my mom balance the checkbook, and she gave me the first lesson in reconciliation, but it ended there. For Peanut, though, I see these financial lessons as training wheels for life. I know there will come a time when she forgets to write a transaction down, and it will start a little domino effect. It has happened to us all. And of course, we're always here to help her pick up the pieces. Begin as you mean to go on.

And just to show you how mean I am, I've put a hold on this book at our local library and am going to insist she read a chapter a day this summer and then we'll discuss what she learns. Oh, the torture! 

While I'm not sure everything in this book will be applicable, it will introduce her to a whole new world of money. She will learn what a 401(k) is, perhaps ways to avoid the credit card debt so many young people find themselves in, and how to set and achieve financial goals.  Begin as you mean to go on.

And if all goes well, we'll do this again in 8 years when TheBoyWhoDidNotTalk(much) is in a similar situation. Begin as you mean to go on.

Crab Legs Are No Longer On The Menu

*Note: this blog was actually published on 7/28/17 in an effort to regain some of my memories.

Move to Tulsa, they said.
It's great in Tulsa, they said.
You'll have fun in Tulsa, they said.
There are lots new and tasty foods in Tulsa, they said.

What they didn't say is that TheBoyWhoTalks(much) is allergic to shellfish. In my defense, this has never happened before. A night in the hospital for observation and all will be well.

My poor baby.

The Mom Files--Dealing With Static

I wok with a handful of 20-something year olds at the library. They are full of fresh new ideas, know the lastest lingo, and understand social trends. However, when it comes to practical life skills, they're still learning. A few weeks go one of the girls was having an issue with static in her hair. The question was asked in a room full of women what she could do to control it. As if on cue, three of us said "dryer sheet" in unison. The two 20-somethings stood with mouths agape at how quickly the response came. They decided that because the three women who answered were all moms that we must have "Mom Files" downloaded into our brains when we give birth. I prefer to think that we're just cool, sexy aunts who are here to help guide our little nieces into the world. Hey! It's my imagination.

So, for those of you who might have some static issues, I'll give you the Aunt Leslee's guide to dealing with static.

First, what to do when you're already 10 minutes late for work and your just won't lay down and taking another shower is completely out of the question--yes, it's happened to me.

1. Grab a dryer sheet on your way out the door. It helps control static in your laundry, why not your hair? Just run it over your hair, clothes, coat, hats, whatever is near your hair. It may not solve your problem 100% but it should at least get you through the day. As a bonus your hair will smell spring fresh.

2. Another cheap trick is to use lotion. It never fails that I get fly-aways when I'm out and about and seriously, who carries dryer sheets with them? Well, I don't generally. But something I do have my purse is lotion. I don't have a preferred brand, generally whatever someone gave me for my birthday or Christmas. Put a small amount your hands and rub it in like normal, your hands get a fresh dose of moisture that they crave during the winter months. But as you finish up, rub your hands over the top of your hair, or wherever the static is strongest. This will not only give your hair a little bit moisture but will also hopefully weigh the fly-aways down for the remainder of the day. The trick is not grease up your hair. You don't want to look like you went swimming in lotion, this is why I recommend rubbing into your hands first. Another bonus is if it's a good smelling lotion you'll get compliments on the nice fragrance all day. Win-Win.

On a side note, I've also been known to use coconut oil instead of lotion and it helps as well. Again, the trick is not overdo it. Greasy hair is not attractive.

So now that I've told you about my secrets for controlling static how do we simply nip so it won't come back.  Well, it's not that hard really, but it will take a little bit of effort and you have to do ALL of the following steps.

Step one: Wash your hair.
Yep, washing your hair will get rid of static, don't forget to use conditioner.

Step two: Wash your hairbrush.
Give all of your brushes and combs a bath whenever static pops up. The static in your hair will transfer to the hair in your brushes and the brushes themselves so give them a little soak. I fill the bathroom sink up with warm water and a bit of shampoo. Throw the brushes in to soak for a few minutes. Then remove all the hair from the brushes. Rinse them off and you're good to go again.

Step three: Wash your clothes, coats, hats, scarves, etc
As with the brushes, static will transfer to anything it comes in contact with. This includes your coats, scarves, shirts, and hats. Check the washing instructions for every article of clothing you wore while experiencing static and wash accordingly. If you fail to wash them the next time you put them back on the static will transfer right back to your hair and you're having another bad hair day. Those are NO FUN!

Now, I know I don't know everything so if you have a trick to calming or avoiding static let me know in the comments.

A Ghost Story

"A long time ago there was a ghost that made the rain and thunder. It also liked to eat people."

by TheBoyWhoDoesNotTalk(much)

He just might grow up to write mysteries for his Mama.

Who's the Boss?

Nickel and I were doing our best imitations of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck's "Rabbit season/ duck season" argument when TheBoyWhoDoesNotTalk(much) interrupted us.

"Hey! If you two want to fight, go to my room!"

I guess we were told.

So, what is microfiche?

I don't consider myself old, sure I used computers with 5 inch floppy discs (briefly-more so the 3 1/2" discs), phones with cords, cassette tapes and AOL Dial-UP, but today a lovely young coworker was perusing some binders that I inherited with my office and ask me, "What is microfiche? Is it something Microsoft use to make?" I asked if she remembered microfiche or microfilm from elementary school to which another lovely young coworker replied, "We're not that old."

I started weeping then proceeded to Google "microfiche" for her to see what she missed out by being born so recently.
Rub it in ladies, just rub it in.

Summertime Learning and Fun

The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) as you may have gathered has a few speech delays. I didn't start to worry about them until he was 3 and even now I'm not overly concerned.  He talks when he has something to say.  He started working with a Speech Pathologist, who happens to be a very dear friend of mine, at the age of 3. After several months of progress she asked if I had considered putting him into the school system. At age 3. I had never heard of such a thing. There was testing to be done but we soon discovered that he did in fact qualify for school services at the age of 3. The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) enjoys school and it has helped tremendously. However, as we all know, summertime is when even the brightest children can have some regression.

To combat this Peanut has accepted the challenge of helping The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) during the summer months. I have come up with some "lesson plans". I use the quotes because nothing is really set in stone.  I have divided the summer up into units that have a specific theme.  For the first two weeks the theme centered around camping because the second week we spent at a cabin in the woods down by the lake.  Peanut and I read stories to him like "Curious George goes Camping" by Margaret Ray, "Just Me and My Dad" by Mercer Mayer, and "Fred and Ted Go Camping" by Peter Eastman.  There were crafts that could be related to camping like painting with marshmallows, making an owl out of feathers I found on clearance at Walmart.  Pinterest led me to some great activities such as colorful pages with rows of fish.  The fish were in a certain pattern and the fish at the end were in black and white and could either be colored but we used the colorful Goldfish Crackers and this lesson was fun, delicious, AND helped with math skills.

Check out this link to painting with marshmallows.

The second unit was about dinosaurs.  This is not The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much)'s favorite subject.  He thinks dinosaurs are mean and scary and I had hopes that during this unit he would come away more brave.  Dinosaurs are still not his favorite, and that's ok.  He was able to work on his fine motor skills with a giant coloring book I found at the Dollar Tree. It only had 30 or so pages, but that was plenty for our two week lessons.  Each day I also prepared three lines for him to read and then rewrite in a writing tablet I purchased at Walmart. His Kindergarten teacher was kind enough to send home a copy of the sight words he worked on (and will continue to work on next year when we do another round of Kindergarten).  With these sight words and a few extra here and there I've come up with a few sentences.  During the Camping Unit his sentences looked something like, "I like to fish", "We like to camp",  or "I see a red fish". Fish and Camp were not a sight words but they fit the unit. I only add one or two non-sight words to his writing pages.  For the Dinosaur Unit I threw in the word "dinosaur". My goal here is that the more he writes these words the better chance he'll have at remember them.  I've noticed the words I used more frequently were the words he was able to read during a little quiz I gave him yesterday.

As a reward, Nickel and I took him to a local museum where they currently have a dinosaur display. Peanut was sound asleep when we left so we gave her the afternoon off from all of us.

Pictured here with daddy, The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) was a little nervous at the sheer size of the beasts that actually moved (albeit robotically) and roared.

This little gadget allowed you to put a "real" dinosaur egg in to be scanned and you could learn what sort of dinosaur is inside. There were four eggs and of course The Boy had to do them all.  We stayed in this area just long enough to see them but quickly moved on to see the rest of the museum and to play.  Outside, across the street there is a castle that with admission to the museum could play at as well. The Boy led Nickel and I to the top of one tower and around in circles.  I should have taken a picture of the castle as it is quite impressive.  At the back of the castle we found some xylophones and the The Boy wrestled with an alligator!

We concluded our Dinosaur Unit with a trip to Cherry Berry where we cooled down a bit.  Up next is the most anticipated Space Unit, which happens to be high on The Boy's interest list.  We're considering taking a trip to the Science Museum in OKC in a couple of weeks.


"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin

Career Options

Last night The Boy Who Does Not Talk (much) came into the living room and though he didn't exactly say "Look at me! Look what I did" he had a bit of a smug look on his face. He was proud of himself. At first I noticed the blue maker on his leg as if he had gotten a little carried away. Then I saw the perfect "D" on his foot along with the now blue toenails. His fingernails were all this same shade of dark blue.  There was no way I could yell at him for what he had done. No sense in explaining that boys don't paint their nails, many boys do these days.  Besides, I only buy the washable markers and even if it didn't come right off what's the big deal, he's a little kid!  So I did what any good mother should do. I took his picture. I call the whole family in to see his accomplishment. Thank goodness this kid has some career choices.

  "Being a kid and growing up is such a cool part of life. When you're young, you have no worries, no drama, on your imagination. It's the best!" -Devon Werkheiser

The Blog...take nine

Sometimes things require more than 140 characters or a status update that will be scrolled past for a day, maybe two before it's forgotten.  Sometimes things require a lengthy explanation so that years from now each moment, each emotion can be remembered and treasured. And this is the reason I still have my blog, long after they hype of blogs have worn off. Oh yes, lots of people still have blogs but I don't see very many personal blogs actively being used, but there are a few. Mine hasn't see much traffic over the last six years.  It seems a little crazy to me when I stop and think that this blog is almost a decade old (July 29, 2005 was the first entry). Through the Fresh-Cut Flowers I have shared some highs and a few lows.

Peanut was five years old when I started writing here. The same age The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) is now.  I feel this is significant and it is time to start again. Again. To pick things back up that I've put down for a season. Much has happened over the quiet years. I finished my Associates Degree and am continuing towards my Bachelor's Degree. I hope to accomplish that little goal in December of 2016.  Peanut will start high school in the fall and The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) will give Kindergarten another go. Nickel is still plugging right along. Recently, I was given a promotion at The Land of Books. While I enjoyed my job at the Circulation Desk and will miss seeing my regulars every day or week, I have moved into the roll of Administrative Assistant. I will like this job very much. I get along very well with the director and I believe we will make a wonderful team.  With this move I hope to be able to sit and blog again from time to time. The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) is as entertaining as his sister at that age (and what kid isn't?) so I will have stories to tell and maybe even a few pictures as well.

In the meantime I plan to clean up the blog a bit. Some of the 495 posts in my archives need to be weeded through for content sake.  That project alone might take a month. Eeks.

"The most effective way to do it, is to do it." Amelia Earhart

Coaxing Creativity

I am suppose to be writing an essay on Hamlet and how I see him as the "flawed and unique individual" that is expressed throughout the play, what devices win my sympathy for Hamlet and whether or not I think that Shakespeare thinks Hamlet can make a difference. I think it safe to say that Hamlet might be the most picked apart man of literature. For that, I almost feel sorry for him. Here he is, grieving for his father, cannot believe the audacity of his mother marrying his uncle-which is gross, and there are people spying on him at every turn. And there's a ghost. I might go a little mad as well, both real and feigned. Hamlet does pull at my heart strings and poor Ophelia is caught in the middle not knowing where she really stands with this man whom she loves to the point of madness. Her own father is killed accidentally by Hamlet and she is then left alone because her brother left for France near the beginning of the play and Hamlet is shipped off to England to be killed (which uncle dearest plotted).

So, instead pulling all my loose thoughts together for this essay (which I will probably end up writing over the differences between Catholic Baroque and Protestant Baroque in the end) I am trying to force my poor lax brain into controlled creativity. By the way, this 6-7 page essay is due on Sunday.

I use my brain all day in the library answering all sorts of questions but it's not the same as critical thinking for writing. I even put my bookkeeper hat on this week and created some invoices. I put my 10-Key skills to use and that was fun. However, that's not the same as critical thinking for writing either. Not that this little writing exercise here is very critical and minimal on the thinking part as well, but I'm stringing words together to form sentences and paragraphs that I hope in some way makes sense.

I need to focus. I need to decide on which essay I'm really going to write and begin planning it. I have to work tomorrow so that's 8 hours I won't have to write, but if I know what I'm going to write about I could research. Think. Think. Think.

Love is in the Air

The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) has a girlfriend.

The Boy has a hard time with transition. He doesn't like going to P.E., Music, the cafeteria, or recess. He would happily play in the classroom all day. One particular day when the teachers were insisting on fresh air a little girl took The Boy's hand and together they ran all over the playground. The Boy isn't overly fond of touching. This was significant. The teachers told me this girl would probably be moving into their classroom soon.

Today, Nickel asked me if The Boy told me about his girlfriend. He hadn't so of course I asked. She gave him some conversation hearts today. Apparently she is pretty and has brown hair like Mama. He's not giving up her name though. Somethings are private.

I will, of course, ask his teachers tomorrow.

He reminds me of Peanut at this age and the time Pokes Fan proposed. Such a fun age. 

Three Magic Words

The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) has made leaps and bounds in his vocabulary over the last two years. When he was about three and a half he started seeing one of my best friends an hour a week for speech therapy. That helped, she not only helped him but she helped me learn ways to help him One day she asked if I would be interested in having him tested to possibly getting him into the school system early where he would get more help. This sounded like a great idea to me so we proceeded. With just a few weeks left of school The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) started going to school half a day Monday through Thursday.

He loved it.

When he turned four and started Pre-K he had the same teacher and went half a day Monday through Friday. More progress was made. He started calling me "Ma" and Nickel is "Da". To him, the word "no" comes out "nay".  I tease that he's obviously Scottish and we should get him a kilt.

Kindergarten brought us to full days all week but he has mostly the same kids in his class this year as last year. This helps. So far this year we've seen him pretend to talk on the phone to some of his classmates as well as an abundance of new words. We still don't understand all of what he says, it's sort of like talking to a two year old at this point. But we're getting there. Patience is a skill I am perfecting.

His whole life I have waited to hear those three magic words from him. The best three words there are. I tell him over and over, "I love you." I whisper it in his ear when he's sound asleep. I tell him when we're playing on the floor. I tell him when we're standing in the check out line at the store.

He has never said it back. I don't doubt that he loves me. Somethings in life you just know. But still, it would be nice to hear those words

Today, I needed to leave the house to work on some homework. I find it much less distracting if I hide in a corner of the library. So I was digging in my closet for my backpack (that I've had since my first semester of college in 1997 thank-you-very-much) when he came up behind me.

"Hey Ma."

"Hey Baby, what's up?" I asked without turning around.

"Iloveyou" He garbled.

"What was that?" He repeated himself twice before I realized exactly what he was saying. My son, the boy of very few words told me loves me. He ran off to play giggling over the whole interaction.

I held it together while I packed my bag but as soon as I got in the car the tears started to fall. Two hours later they still threaten to overwhelm me.

He told me he loves me. Those three magic words from the keeper of my heart.

We take words for granted. But when someone is stingy with their words you should always stop and listen. And appreciate. And love.

Mama Says

I just spent a very nice weekend with my mother. Just the two of us. No husbands. No little distracting children. I drove over to the pretty side of the state on Wednesday and Thursday morning we took off on our adventure to Northwest Arkansas.

We followed the directions I had previously printed out and made it there without incident. After a little bit of driving around to get a feel for where the hotel was at and what was nearby I asked Mom what she wanted for lunch. We had seen an Olive Garden as we exited the highway so of course my mama said, "Olive Garden." Being unfamiliar with the town and not entirely sure how to get back there I whipped out my phone, turned on the GPS and typed in my destination. The directions would have made more sense if we had been familiar with the town but we got there. We decided since our hotel check-in time was still a few hours away we'd go ahead and go to the craft show we had specifically come for. Again I turned on the GPS and familiarized myself with the street names and we took off. If you ever have a chance to visit Northwest Arkansas, the Ozarks, I recommend you go. Late October early November should be even more beautiful as the trees were just barely starting to turn.

The next day we did some shopping and decided to head to up Eureka Springs. Again, another lovely town. Mom really wanted to see the Passion Play but due to the terribly windy roads (without many guardrails) she decided it would be safer if we drove back to our hotel during the daylight. We decided next time we'll do better at finding a hotel closer to Eureka Springs. The town just begs to be explored. We ended up going back a different way than we went. This was only partially on purpose and GPS kept us from actually reaching Missouri (the wrong way). But Mama said she preferred it this way. Seems my dad only knows one way to wherever they go and she enjoys all there is to see.

Saturday brought an end to our trip. We checked out one more craft show (they're really big in Northwest Arkansas during Fall Break) and headed home. At lunch I consulted with the GPS again. I had planned to take the way back but didn't realize until it was too late that GPS was taking us home by a different route. I confirmed that the road we were taking would in fact get us there and just drove. Mama said she didn't mind and eagerly soaked up the scenery as it passed by.

After exiting the interstate highway we drove a two-lane road the rest of the way home. We went through several small towns that looked very interesting. "This is Summer, Arkansas!" Mama said as we passed by some old abandoned looking buildings. "My daddy brought us here one time. All the way to Summer, Arkansas." She told me how my grandfather would get an itch to go for a drive from time to time. Seems he too liked to see different scenery from time to time. So he would load up my grandmother and the four kids, pick a direction and just drive. Sometimes they would stop and buy a loaf of bread and a package of bologna. Grandma would bring a jar of water and they would have a picnic where ever they stopped, then they would load back into the car and drive home. Restaurants were fewer and farther between back then, but they didn't have money to stop at them anyway."Those were the best times! People don't do stuff like that these days." Mama reminisced. "Can you imagine four kids in the back seat?  We probably enjoyed it more than he did." Mama said looking out the window, no longer seeing what was passing her by in the present.

"Mama," I said though I never knew my grandfather, "I imagine he liked it just fine." I'm sure he liked it because they were together. And they were happy. What more could a person want for their family.  I'm glad my GPS took us home that way.

Please, Never Grow Up

My Heart. My Joy. My Reason.

The Dark Side Has Cookies

The Boy Who Talks (much): Ma, why those cookies there?
Me: Um, because I was eating them.
The Boy Who Talks (much): Put em up. (waits a beat) Can I have some?
Me: Welcome to the dark side.

The Smartest Stupid Thing I've Ever Done

I pride myself on not being a total idiot. Sometimes I am an idiot but I'd like to think that perhaps I'm not a total idiot. When I graduated from high school all those moons ago the State of Oklahoma said to me, "You're pretty smart and you're pretty poor why don't we pay 100% of your tuition to any school in the state for 5 years!" You know what I did? Of the 10 regular semesters I could have used that FREE money I only went for 4. See, stupid idiot.

My thinking on this was simply that I just didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up and wanted to take a stab at being a wife and mom. Not that I'm complaining about either of those decisions. Nickel and I still get along after all these years and Peanut is a pretty awesome kid.

A few years later I thought, well, why not finish up that Associates degree and so I did. Slowly, but I did.  Ironically it was while taking the last of those classes that I got pregnant with The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much). A few years after the last course I actually applied for graduation and they said, "It's only been 4 years since you finished, why not have the piece of paper to go with it." See, stupid idiot.

But this latest decision I've made is perhaps the smartest stupid decision I've ever made.

I'm going back to college.
Again. But no more children this go around!

The University of Oklahoma says to me, "You only have 42 hours left why not take classes online? They're just 8 weeks a piece. Take a couple in the fall and see what you think." Ok, sign me up.

The website for OU is vast. The course outline for my first class scares me to death.

I have to write eight 1250 word essays in two months. Eep. Well, you know, I like to write. But I like to write like this. From the top of my head where grammar doesn't matter. Well, it does. For the most part but it's not like all 4 of you that read my blog are going to comment about any grammar faux pas unless they're really out there. For this class I have to make sense. I think. I mean, it's college they probably frown if your papers don't make some sort of sense, right?

But getting a college edu-macation isn't a bad thing. It might help me land a better job or a promotion somewhere along the line. Nickel's auntie wants me to continue on to get my Masters. I say, "Whoa Nelly!" Let's make sure I can survive the next 42 college hours before we go tacking on another.... I don't even want to think about how many more hours (and years) it would take to get my Masters. So, if you need me, I'll be around looking for an excuse to avoid my homework. Maybe this is the spark I need to really get blogging again. I have lots of The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) stories to tell.

Until then.

The Best or the Worst, Take Your Pick

After today, my children will only attend school for 8 more days. Then they will officially be on summer vacation. They are both very excited. Though it means a lot more to Peanut than her brother as this is his first year of school. But he senses the excitement in the air.

It doesn't seem real. For instance today was the first day The Boy Who Doesn't Talk (much) wore shorts to school. Mother nature has lost her mind and refuses to let go of winter. I try, I really do try not to complain as I know any moment now she will snap back into reality and the lows will be in the upper 80s and the highs hovering around 110.

The weather isn't the only reason it doesn't feel like the end of the school year, time just seems to pass by quicker all the time. Remember when we were kids and the school year seemed to drag and drag and we thought we would NEVER get to summer? I sort of miss those days.

Because I work every other Saturday I get every other Friday off. That may change in the future but I'm going to fight it with all I have. Fridays off are the best. It's practically the weekend. I especially love them during the school year because I drop my kids off at school and then have 7 hours ALL. TO. MYSELF! It is glorious.

During my 7 hours I run errands here and there in town and sometimes do other mom stuff like laundry or house cleaning. Sometimes I go to the grocery store and buy just the food I want to eat without anyone else throwing silly stuff into my basket. I never buy Nerds unless some child is with me. Sometimes, if I'm lucky and plan ahead I have two hour visits at a local coffee shop with one friend (sometimes local author Lucie Smoker who is amazing and you should read her book if you haven't already) followed up by a two hour lunch with another friend! Those days are my favorite but on those days I don't get any laundry done. It's all about priorities.

But during the summer my Fridays off are spent with my kids. I'm not in anyway saying this is bad. I'm just saying there are no 2 hour visits over coffee and lunch is out of the question because it's just not the same with children there thinking they need to either be included in the conversation or dominating it. And that's fine too. It's just for a couple of months, totally doable.

But this year I have devised an evil plan. I'm either the best mom ever because I'm taking care of my sanity or I'm the worst mom, you can pick but don't tell me if you think I'm the worst mom.

This year, next Monday in fact, I'm taking a vacation day. WHILE THE KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL. A stay-cation because where would I go with only one day off? I'm trying to squeeze in the last little bit of school days that I can before summer hits.

It's like the Labor Day of the school year for this mom. Bwahaha!!!

Next Monday I plan on drinking coffee, having lunch, and who knows what else I'll get into. The kids might be counting down the number of days left in school but I'm counting down the number of days until my day off! Woot!

Wish me luck!