Chasin' the baby and paintin' flowers....

Now that the Bubs is back at school that's mostly what I've been doing. E-man is 9 mos. and mobile. Whew, that kid can move! He landed his gorgeous brown eyes on an electrical outlet yesterday and made a bee-line for it. I thought I had them all covered, but I must've missed one...thankfully, I was right there to ruin his fun! Crisis averted.

We're heading to the doc later today to get him checked out. He's got some skin irritation on his face that we can't figure out. Hoping we can get some light -or cream- on the situation.

We've been introducing E-man to the wonderful world of solids, lately. And, yes, we all make the ridiculously goofy faces when he's being fed! Hilarious....I really should get a pic of that, come to think of it.

Anyway, if you're part of the masses being hit with this Winter weather, stay warm and safe! (The Hubs is holding out hope that we'll get snow...)

Because I just couldn't resist....

Happy Thanksgiving!

I did something soooo trashy....and in front of my in-laws, too!

There we were. Driving back to my house after spending a pleasant morning at the local Barnes and Noble/Starbucks (Pumpkin Spice Latte heaven!) with E-man and my In-laws in tow.....and then it happened. My trashy secret went public.

I'm ashamed. ASHAMED!

I have a history of picking up stray pieces of furniture that have been left by the side of the road, unwanted and doomed for the dump, and taking them home. They get a new home, some love in the form of paint or stain and I get a useful piece of furniture for practically nothing. It saves me some green and I'm being green by reusing instead of buying new. Not a bad deal to my way of thinking.

Howevah, the In-laws had never witnessed this process first-hand and were totally unprepared when I hit the brakes, threw the car in reverse and hopped out to start digging through someone's trash! I was, at the time, too tickled with my find to fully take in their confused expressions.

What did I find?

A solid wood mantle in wonderful condition. It's gonna be fabulous in our living room. I can already see our stockings hanging from it this holiday season. *blissful sigh*

Uh, sorry about the pile of whatnots behind it. I still haven't fully moved into my new little studio room. You know the room that used to house the 70's era hot tub. Don't remember? Let's refresh our memories...

I'll be doin' a before and after of that room in another post....and, yes indeedy, I used lots of very inexpensive things for that room, too!

Now what was I blathering on about before I got sidetracked? Oh, yes. My poor In-laws watching me dig through an unknown person's trash pile. Lovely.

When I finally came out of my euphoria over my free treasure, I was able to fully take in their expressions. After I chuckled, I sheepishly told them of my now not-so-secret habit. To my surprise they laughed along with me and said that it sounded like fun! They even helped me get it safely in the house and tossed around ideas with me about where and how we could hang it on the wall. Bless their hearts.

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.

Cheetos Sugar

The Bubs and I have a long standing tradition of naming his sugar by flavor. And by sugar, I mean that sweetness that a mommy can only get by tickling or kissing.

I guess it stems from when my Mom would ask me, "Do you feel like a grape or a marshmallow today?" She'd then proceed to decide which it was by getting our sugar....and lots of it.

The Bubs has all kinds of sugar. For instance, there's marshmallow on his tummy and peppermint on his back which, of course, mixes into a peppermint marshmallow on his sides. It's good sugar, y'all!

The Cheetos flavored variety are located under his neck. Being the cleverly funny boy that he is, he started telling me that the Cheetos factory was closed for the day and I couldn't have any more sugar. Ha! I told him that I had the master mommy key and could get in anyway! Big laughs ensued.

Several years later he's discovered the gross-out factor. Now he just tells me, in the most adorably serious manner, that I can't have his sugar because his Cheetos are, "old, rotten and hairy".

He just looks at me funny when I end up practically rolling on the floor laughing.

Traditionally non-traditional anniversaries

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary.

Traditionally, our anniversaries tend to be, well, not traditional.

There have been a few years where the Hubs was on the other side of the globe, others when the money was tight, and even one year when the mother-in-law was visiting...and sleeping just down the hall from us. Fun times, those.

This year seems to be following the trend of non-traditionalism. We, thanks to Dad, managed to get down to the local movie theater to see a movie we'd been trying to get to for weeks. Some of you may be horrified that we spent our anniversary at a movie theater but that's what we both wanted (and were able) to do.

We had fun and were ridiculously giddy over the fact that we didn't have to unload two kids, carseat, diaper bag and stroller from the car every time we turned around. It doesn't take much for us, does it?

I don't need a big "to-do" to know that I love the Hubs. I have other things - the boys, shared laughter, holding hands, flirting (yes, we still flirt), support when times get tough, understanding when the world seems to be a mess.....

And if those things aren't enough, I can always run up behind him and pinch his booty.

That's right, I said pinch his booty! I may get to be an old lady, but I'll still appreciate the fine line of that behind.

Like I said, not traditional.

Y'all gotta see this!!

Some of you may have seen this on the MSN website, but I just HAD to share it anyway! I laughed my way through it. The joy and unabashed fun that they're having is infectious and as such, what better people to share that kind of thing with than you, my bloggy peeps. Have a wonderful weekend.

Face Time

Yay, we've survived! Can I sleep now?

Our li'l precious has been home for a week now. With a lot of teamwork from Hubby, the mother-in-law, Bubs and me we've managed to survive. Things aren't nearly as overwhelming as they were (or felt like they were) after we had the Bubs. Maybe it's the fact that I'm a bit older or maybe because the Hubs and I now have a touch of "been there, done that" goin' on. Who knows? I'm just glad that, this time around, I'm able to simply enjoy our new precious one rather than focus on how inept I feel.

We've all been delighting in our new li'l man's many expressions and baby coos and noises. Who needs a t.v., right? When his sleepy, grey-blue eyes open we all come a runnin' and generally make fools of ourselves while trying to capture his fleeting attention. So much fun!

The Bubs is a little bummed because Gammy (the MIL) leaves to go home tomorrow afternoon while he's in school. I know that he's loved having some undivided attention after all the fuss of a new baby bro. Especially with Ammah (my mom) being in the hospital again to get rid of more harmful fluid build-up. We're hoping that she'll be able to come home in the next couple of days. Then she can get plenty of grandbaby lovin' time in!

"It smells like Jesus in here!"

The Hubs is taking the Bubs to school this morning (my back is outta whack) so I thought I'd hop in here for a moment or three. Especially since it's been a while between posts *head hanging in shame*......

I'm sure y'all are wondering what the title up there is all about. That would be what my hilarious Bubs said after church this past Sunday...Not Kidding!

After church, my Dad (who's the church musician) and I went to fetch the Bubs from children's church downstairs. He was chattering away to me and his Poppi about helping another little boy in the class. We had reached the top of the stairs and opened the door which lead to a small hallway. Out in the hallway, a couple was selling organic coffee for charitable proceeds and the whole area smelled like freshly ground coffee....along with the usual "churchy" smells -women's perfume, furniture polish, the usual half-burnt coffee, etc.

All of a sudden the Bubs takes a big sniff and says, "It smells like Jesus in here!"

Dad and I laughed almost the whole way to my car! When I told the Hubs later that day, he laughed and shook his head, "That's my Bubs."

So, if anyone out there was wonderin' what Jesus smells like...according to my son, he smells like a combination of coffee, perfumes, and furniture polish.

Just plain silly....but I can't help myself!

*goofily singing*

"Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to myse-elf

Happy Birthday to meeeeee!"

Look, Momma, I lost my toof!

The Bubs has lost his other front tooth...the last one to come out after the pre-school injury (pushed into a merry-go-round). We noticed that it was a little loose this morning. I figured that it would be ready to fall out sometime tomorrow.

Nope! The Bubs had other ideas.

For a couple of hours this evening I watched as he twisted, yanked, pulled, tongue-flicked and generally grossed me out as he tried to finagle that thing out of his mouth.

Finally, finally a pair of bloody fingers waved that tooth around in front of my face. I thought he'd be tickled with himself, but I think he was just relieved. I was too, honey! A quick phone call to his Ammah and Poppi to share the news, which was greeted with happy exclamations, and he was ready for bed. We'll do the tooth fairy thing tomorrow night. Hopefully, he'll leave it alone so his dad and I can pull the whole thing off...

I hate to be so cliche, but...

It's okay to be cliche! Today is Cliche Day, after all. I found a website that's all about cliches and I took a few minutes to pick out a few phrases that I've actually used and some that just caught my eye.

"As welcome as a skunk at a lawn party."

"bass ackwards"

"Darned if you do, darned if you don't."

"Busy as a one-legged man in a butt kickin' contest."

"You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip."

"His left hand doesn't know what his right hand is doing."

"Madder than a wet hen"

"Take it with a grain of salt"

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice."

So there you have 'em! I wonder just how many cliches we all use in a day......

I promised I would and I did....

Here it is, y'all. Proof that I wore my delightfully gaudy Halloween hat to the Bubs's school~

Yep, that's me in all my goofy, ridiculous glory! The kids loved it and everyone got a giggle. Mission accomplished and it felt so good to see the Bubs laugh right along with everyone else...without coughing until he hurt.

I hung out with him and his classmates most of the day at a carnival. A local nursing home facility put on a small event for the school's kindergarteners. It was a simple affair, which I think was just enough to keep the kids entertained but not enough to totally overstimulate them. The kids got to dress in their costumes for the carnival and they were all adorable! We had everything from pirates to a little 50's girl. David was, of course, Thomas the Tank Engine. Take a look~

Since the Hubs came home yesterday afternoon (glory hallelujah!) and it was too cold to take the Bubs out trick-or-treating, we chose to hand out candy. It wasn't a big letdown for any of us. Hubby loves handing out goodies and seeing the kids smile when he loads them down while the Bubs gets a kick out of all the people coming to our house. I got to sit back and watch all the fun ensue. Bliss, people, pure bliss!

Will she or won't she?

You bet your sweet tushies, I'm gonna do it!

*crickets chirping*

Oh, didn't I say what I'm gonna do? Whoops. Take a look and see if you can guess....

Yes, that is a purple satin Halloween hat with flowers, feathers and netting. It's delightfully gaudy and I'm going to have a blast wearing it Friday to school! Oh, and don't adjust your monitor or bifocals...the second picture is a bit blurry. I'll try and get a better picture when I wear it in a few days. The Bubs will be dressed in his Thomas the Tank Engine getup for part of the day and I thought he'd get a kick out of his mom having some fun. He hasn't quite reached the age that he'd be embarrassed by that, yet, so I can get away with it.

Besides I think it's important for kids to know that their parents can have fun and laugh at themselves. Especially for the Bubs, right now. He's been sick so often lately that, understandably, it's become a big focus for him and he's begun to act like a bit of an "old man". I want him to laugh and have a good time again. Laughter does, indeed, do us good like a medicine!

Just Kidding

Have you ever tried to talk to someone that was so indecisive they couldn't say anything outright? I've met quite a few people in my life that use the phrase, "just kidding" so frequently that you never know quite what they're trying to tell you. I found the SNL widget that you see on my sidebar (sorry it didn't fit) and I couldn't resist! ~It's the middle video with Judy Grimes.

Author's Note- And before you think I'm being snarky and judgemental I will fully admit to using the "just kidding" ploy, too. Although after watching this, I may never ever use it again....just kidding!


Peace Y'all!
Anna K.

Mommy Meltdown....Gone Funny?

I come from a family that is made up of strong-willed, smart people. My husband's family background is very similar. So, it was almost a given that the Bubs would inherit those qualities. He is a very smart, inquisitive, creative little boy who also possesses one wicked sense of humor. He is a hoot to be around.........most of the time. This week has been, um, interesting.

We've entered a new phase where he's beginning to question everything. With every instruction he's given he offers up any number of protests that begin with the words, "But Mommy....!" I'm usually able to sail right through his arguments by explaining the reasoning behind the instruction or redirecting his comments in some way. After a couple weeks straight of this behavior, however, I've been reduced to breaking out the old standby, "Because I told you to." The effectiveness of this has completely expired (there's a shocker!).

The Bubs stayed with Mom and Aunt Dianne tonight while I went to my trio practice at church. As soon as I walked in the door I noticed that he was sitting in a recliner wrapped up with a throw and looked pale and sleepy. When I walked into the kitchen to have a cup of coffee with Dianne, he jumped up and started playing with his toys again. I'm sure he thought that if I saw him play I wouldn't think he was sleepy. Sneaky booger!

After I chatted with Mom and Di for a while, I decided it was time to head home and told David to go ahead and pack his toys. "But Mommy.......! No! I don't want to! We can leave in 30 minutes!............." On and on it went for five minutes. I finally turned to talk with Mom and ignored him. He began to pack when he noticed I wasn't listening anymore. One. Blessed. Piece. At. A. TIME!! Slower and slower he went..........*sigh* Needless to say, the law was laid down and the Bubs was NOT happy about that.

I thought that the situation was back under control and turned to answer a question that Mom had asked. Boy, was I wrong! All of a sudden I hear David's dulcet tones float in from the living room bemoaning how unfair I was being. I kinda snapped. I stepped around the chair that Mom was occupying to the loveseat to her left and shoved my face into a pillow to yell out my frustrations. In the middle of my muffled meltdown I hear someone laughing. If that's the Bubs, he's totally gonna get it.....wait, that's MY MOTHER!! I turned around to see Mom with her hands slapped over her mouth, shoulders shaking and her head thrown back. All I hear is, "I'm so-oo-rry! Ha, ha, ha! I -ha, ha- can't he-e-e-lp it! It's your fa-a-ult! You're so funn-n-y! He, he, ha, ha, ha!"

That's me. I aim to entertain......

Everyday Funnies...

Hearing a quick-witted parent at the park who makes you snicker with a rapid fire retort to a child's sassiness, a shared joke with a loved one or even laughing at your own general silliness.......These are a few things that can bring about life's everyday funnies, as I call them.

For instance, I was at the store yesterday trying to finish up my shopping for items I forgot the first time around when I passed a mom and her pre-teen son. They both looked like they would rather be at home with the mother's dark hair coming out of her slightly bedraggled ponytail and her son slumped against her, both leaning over the cart handle. I wasn't overt in my notice of them, but I felt a flash of empathy and understanding with their outward tiredness. I chuckled to myself, however, when I heard the son ask his mom why they had to get groceries. I didn't quite make out her response, but I'm sure it was similar to what I tell the Bubs when he asks me - because we ate everything and need more. As she spoke to her son she was bent over her purse rummaging around for something. It quickly dawned on me what it was when she pulled out a long slip of paper. The boy shot up arrow straight and practically yelled, "We're getting all of that?!"

I couldn't help but laugh when I heard his exclamation of disbelief. Since I was further away from them I, again, couldn't make out her exact response although I did detect a note of amusement in her tone. My retort would have been, "Well where do you think all that food you gobble down all week comes from, Babe?"

When I relayed what had happened to a loved one later, she just hooted (that's Southern-speak for laugh). I wasn't looking for an everyday funny to happen while I was doing my grocery shopping, but I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Have you had an Everyday Funny today? Tell me about it......