Weekend Everyday Occasion moments...

We were all hangin' out in the living room yesterday afternoon. The Steelers, at that moment, were winning against the Bengals with the Hubs cheering them on and the boys were sprawled out on a comforter on the floor. The Bubs was watching Thomas vids online while next to him the E-man was happily chewing away on one of his toys. After the mess and upheaval of last week with all the continued construction, my being laid low with a nasty stomach bug, and all the usual craziness that goes on with having a busy family we needed to just BE. Be in our house, be together, be at rest...BE.

I happened to glance down and catch the funniest expressions on E-man's face as he tried to figure out what his big bro' was up to. And, as most of you have guessed, the camera came out! The Hubs snuck it to me so that neither of the boys were distracted. We needn't have worried. They were both so intent on what they were doing that neither of them noticed what we were up to.

Oops! I hear the E-man waking up from his nap...I'll leave you with these pics. Thanks for stoppin' by!!

An unlikely friendship...me and my toilet.

*spraying the Lysol sanitizer*

Oh, hi! I couldn't see you for the Lysol fog! I've been out of commission with the stomach flu and I am determined that the buck (or bug) stops with me.

And with that, pathetically, my little spurt of energy is spent. I'll be catching up on all your fabulous reads this weekend...in between catching up on everything else that's been neglected the last few days. Laundry and dishes wait for no man, er, woman!

Peace, Y'all!

Bubbles

Aunt D. (Mom's youngest sis) sent the Bubs a bubble blower. What she may not have realized, though, was that she sent us some joy and laughter at just the right time. You see, it arrived the day before Mom's birthday.

The package came Saturday and it was promptly ripped open and put to use. It was a beautiful afternoon and the Bubs and I ran around the front yard making gads of bubbles...well, the Bubs did the bubble thing and I snapped off pics left, right and center!

I didn't realize how much tension I had been carrying around until we started laughing together and just being silly in general. It was wonderful!

And the perfect way to celebrate Mom.

She loved to find the beauty in simple things and take notice of the wonder in the world around us that we can often miss as we go about our busy lives.

I have vivid memories of her exclaiming over the beauty of a sunset or saying, "Oh, look!" when she'd spot a cardinal (or a "red bird" as she called it) outside her window.

My Aunt C (Mom's oldest sis) reminded me Sunday that Mom remarked once that she loved the colors on a bubble. That sounds exactly like her.

So Aunt D, many thanks and a great big hug from us for sending us some joy in the form of that little bubble blower. Your note was precious. I put it up on the Bubs's memory board per his request as that's where he likes to put all of his favorite and most important things.

P.S. I know I'm late in getting this posted (Mom's b'day was Sept. 20th), but I wanted to go ahead and do it anyway. My apologies!!

Um, what am I supposed to be doing? What day is it? Where's the coffee?!

Yep. It's been that kinda week around here! I'm going through blog withdrawals and I'm excited about catching up on your posts. I've missed you. Have you missed me? (Needy, party of one?)

Sketchpads, paint sample cards, and home improvement websites have taken the place of my bloggy time this week. After I take the Bubs to school, I skedaddle back to the house to let the workmen in and go through their goals for the day with them. Then, E-man and I pile into the car and head out to take care of errands and/or go to Dad's house to chill while the work is going on. Staying at Dad's isn't easy. See, up until a few months ago, it used to be Mom and Dad's. I still see her everywhere when I'm there. Her chair, her things on the dresser and in the bathroom, her decorative touches around the house......like I said, not easy.

Anyway, E-man and I had a conference and decided that we were too pooped to sling everything in the car and go anywhere today. Well, I was too pooped and E-man was just poopy, but you get the idea! So we're back here in the master bedroom/home office. We have a bathroom, t.v. and all of E-man's baby stuff back here, so we're good to go.

However exhausted I am, I'm totally stoked about the work that's getting done....even with the occasional hiccup that comes from the odd miscommunication here and there. The new floor is almost finished in the Bubs's room with the hallway floor to follow. My little studio has been stripped of the 70's hot tub and is well on its way to being complete. We now have a fan in our livingroom to help dispell the stuffiness.

Now, we only have the entire kitchen to go, floor to ceiling, the work under the house (insulation, etc.) and all the finishing details.

Seriously, where is that coffee?!

My Boys~

E-man~ a.k.a. "Precious"

Likes his bahbah (bottle), a clean diaper and his Mom to sing when he's fussy. His hangouts are as follows:

Mom/Dad's lap

His saucer

The co-sleeper

The Hubby~ a.k.a "Sweetness", a.k.a. "Slick"

Likes to play his XBox (but keeps it rated G while the kids are awake), is a computer/technology geek, and his wife thinks he has a nice tushy.

His hangouts are as follows:

With his family

Home office where all of his "toys" are

Work

The Bubs~ a.k.a. "The Brain", a.k.a. "The Engineer", a.k.a "Mom's GPS"

This one is the brainy type with a bent toward silliness. He's in first grade and loves to give his Mom directions while she's driving...and is almost always right.

His hangouts:

If he's not in his playroom building massive train layouts for his Thomas trains, he's at school or in the living room setting up every cartoon on the Boomerang channel to record on his parent's DVR.

There they are. My boys. I love them each and every one.

Myrtie, Ida and the Lizard

Now, I've had a request to share some of my (and my family's) funny church stories. Yes, they are all true and there are a plethera to choose from. I simply must start with the much retold story of Myrtie, Ida and the Lizard, one of my favorites, that took place when my Dad was a boy.

It was another Sunday service at the tiny Bear Creek Pentacostal Church. The preacher was preachin' up a storm, his veins poppin' out all over the place. The congregation, made up of no-nonsense country folk, sat on the wooden pews unsuspecting of the hilarity that was about to unfold.

For perched upon Sister Myrtie's Sunday hat was a lizard suggestively blowing out it's red throat lookin' himself a lady lizard...and Ida, a few pews back, had spotted it.

Maybe the people thought Ida was working her way up to the altar, having been so moved by the boisterous sermon.

Maybe they thought she was switching seats, having found hers to be lacking in some way.

Nope.

Yes ma'am, that lady was on her way to get her a lizard.

She crept up the aisle and kept an eye on that lewd lizard, all the while removin' one of her size 4 pumps.

The lizard, having spotted his impending doom in that little pump-toting woman, got wise and hopped down off his lofty perch onto the aisle floor. Ida cornered it and went in for the kill.

WHOMP! WAM!

"Ida, what are you doing?!" the preacher hollered.

"I got him!" she hollered back.

"Hear Ye, Hear Ye!"

I'm writing this from my throne (not that one!) in the land of Ifeellikecpraplandia.

My throne made of used tissues and empty Sudafed packets.

My royal robes are more in the line of old, comfy pj's and a warm throw.

My royal sceptor? Why, a t.v. remote.

My new royal decree........

The common cold is to be banished from this land by order of Anna K., Queen of Ifeellikecraplandia.

Waiting out the storm...

Galen Rowell

Storm on the Ocean

I love to go to the beach or be near the water. You wouldn't think so to look at me...pale and not of a size to grace a bikini. Yet, I do.

I like to go when most everyone else has left for the season. Yes, some may think that the beach looks lonely without all those baking bodies and frollicking young'uns but, to me, it's peaceful. I feel as if God is right there walking with me in rolled up jeans, barefoot, looking for seashore treasures and listening to the constant ebb and flow of the surf. Oh, sweet peace.

Yet, being someone who's lived near the water for some years, I know how that peaceful shore can errode under the ceaseless pounding of wave after wave during a hard storm.

I have moments in my life that are like that peaceful seaside walk. I treasure them. The smiles of my boys, a shared laugh with Hubby, catching up with family...my moments generally don't come with fireworks or any sort of grand display, but they are to be treasured, none-the-less.

Then there are times when that seaside walk, both figuratively and literally, seems a million miles away. Sickness, grief, self-doubt, endless chores, words spoken...words not spoken....they all combine to turn that peaceful shore into an erroding sandy strand in the middle of a fierce, merciless storm.

So here I am on my hands and knees looking for those sand-covered treasures despite the fact that the waves are getting higher and the wind is picking up beneath threatening, purple clouds. Yet, I know that the storm will pass and joy will, indeed, come with the morning. If you need to find me, I'll be the one sitting on the beach with my treasures of love and joy gathered around me watching the horizon for the break of day....

I got bloggy award love, Y'all!

I've had a bloggy award bestowed upon me by the lovely and irreverently funny author of Speaking From The Crib! Thank ya, babe!

If you haven't checked out her blog, you must. You simply must.

I would, however, recommend reading it when you're not drinking anything as it might spurt out of your nose when you start laughing...

So, I think I'm supposed to spread the bloggy award love around to a few peeps. Let me think........

Boondock Ramblings~ Not 'cause she's family, but 'cause her blog is always a good read!

Bugs In My Teeth~ Even when circumstances are tryin' to kick her butt she kicks right back...with a great, slightly warped sense of humor.

3 Boys + 1 Hubby = What's Next~ I have only recently discovered her blog, but I knew I'd found a gal after my own heart when the first post I read was about a good glass of Southern sweet tea! I look forward to reading more...

Peace, Y'all!

Separation Anxiety...not just for tots.

The Hubs has left for his round of tests. I'm already missing him.

We're both glad that, after so many reschedulings, the appointments are finally going through but I find myself pining for him.

I actually found myself standing in the hall outside our bedroom a few moments ago, just staring at the wall and wondering what to do now that the boys are asleep and I'm alone.

Should I paint?

Edit some of my photogs online?

Read my J.D. Robb mystery or play the new Batman game on the X Box?

Simply go to bed or watch t.v.?

I have all those things to choose from (including some chores, but I'm turning a blind eye for the mo') and what did I find myself doing? Staring at a wall while pining for my Hubs.

What can I say? Despite how we may sometimes irk one another, he's my best friend and I miss him when the man ain't here.