Two days in one post.......Multitasking?

Friday, July 4th

I don't know why, but I get the most satisfaction out of watching the Bubs struggle to stay awake at the end of a fun and busy day.......like he is right now as I'm typing this (don't worry, he's going to bed in a few minutes). We spent the day with family to celebrate the 4th of July. The Bubs splashed around in a little pool that his Poppi and Daddy set up for him and then came in to eat and play to his heart's content. By the end of our visit, he was laying all over his Dad and me while singing a lullaby in a soft voice. Precious!

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Sunday, July 6th

The boys are bowling on the Wii, so I thought I'd hop on here for a few minutes...I'm beginning to go through blogging withdrawals, it's been so long since I've been able to get on here and gab!

The Bubs has begun a new adventure since last week. His school, in an effort to ensure that incoming kindergarteners have a smooth transition into "real" school, have a kindergarten readiness program that runs in the mornings for 4 days a week. This is a total Godsend for us after that preschool fiasco a few months ago. We were all concerned that his less than stellar experiences there had discouraged him about starting school this fall. To see him enthused about school is awesome and such a relief! He's become especially attached to a little girl that sits next to him in class. So attached that we've already had to have the "it's nice that you like her, but kissing her isn't a good thing to do" talk. Our family is an affectionate one that freely gives out hugs and kisses so, for him, it was natural to love on her with a kiss on the cheek. At least he's making friends!

In celebration of this new chapter in the Bubs' (and our) lives, we're giving his bedroom a facelift. I've picked out paint in a nice shade of blue like he wanted and will, hopefully, be slappin' it on his walls sometime this week. I think the blue will go lovely with the comforter he picked out for his bed and the darker wood of his bed. I'm having a hard time deciding what and where to hang things on his walls, though. I'll do my usual room sketches that I always do before a room re-do and somehow figure out an arrangement that will work. Y'all have any ideas?

I'll be posting pics of the room's progress as I go.....and I hope the Hubby doesn't take any undignified pictures of me bending over to paint the trim! Of course, just because he takes them doesn't mean I have to post them!!

Bling, B'day Confusion, and Emotional Roller Coaster Rides

Y'all, I just got some bloggy bling from Joanna over at Bugs In My Teeth! She sent the bling my way 'cause she said I "know how to do southern sass". Thanks a bunch, Shug. I've enjoyed getting to know you through your hilarious posts and our emails. I look forward to more fun, sass and shared hilarity, m'dear!

In other news......I'm having trouble with the Hubby's birthday. Presents were no problem to figure out (the latest seasons of his fave tv shows) and I got a definite answer on the cake (ice cream cake from DQ or Cold Stone Creamery) but the man won't give me one more hint about what he wants. Bless his heart, he's so adamant that nobody go out of their way to do anything for him that he's tight-lipped about his B'day wants. So, I guess we'll just go out to eat with a couple friends tomorrow to celebrate. We'll do something with family on Sunday after we visit Mom in the hospital........Oh, yeah. She's in the hospital again. With the same infection that keeps happening every time she goes to get chemo. To say she is frustrated doesn't even begin to cover how she's feeling. We're all right there with her. Please add her to your prayer list, y'all. If she's not able to complete her chemo, it's leaving her open to a return of the cancer.

So in the midst of celebration we're all caught up in a mix of different emotions. Life goes that way sometimes and I know that God will see us through.....just like he has in everything else that we've gone through ('cause He's cool like that). Life is worth celebrating no matter what's going on in our lives that may be distracting (or distressing) ~ and that sharing some laughter and smiles is even more neccessary in those times. I think that's why I've had to learn to treasure those little everyday occasions - the Bubs's laughter, my Hubby's delightfully wicked sense of humor, Mom's forthright sassiness, shared laughter and talks with Dad, Aunt D's unabashed delight in her two nephews and the pleasure of friends (some of whom I've met through bloggydom)- those are my treasures and the things that help get me through.

Summer Vacation....Prep, Packin' and Mem'ries

Alrighty, my lovely readers, I decided I would attempt to blog my way through our family's summer vacation/trip this year. Thus the fun graphic on my left sidebar....and somewhere in this post if things work like they should. The entries may be just a paragraph or two with lots of pics or just pics alone. Who knows? So I'm starting out where every trip does - prep and packing.....and this year, moaning about the ridiculous price of gas that mysteriously seems to go up right when everyone's going to be traveling! Um, sorry. I lost my head there for a second. I'm okay now.........no, really.

We're not heading anywhere exotic or jaw-dropping but we're going to see the Hubs's family and some of his friends (a few of which have become mine, too) that we haven't seen for a year or so. Hubby's lookin' forward to getting away from the base, havin' fun with the Bubs at a zoo we're going to, and chillin' with his loved ones. I'm excited for us to get away and have some fun......hopefully without any unforeseen "oopsies" popping up. You know what I'm talking about, right? Taking a wrong turn, running out of gas in the middle of a wicked traffic jam with no gas station in sight, someone getting sick or hurt, losing money..........and the list goes on, unfortunately 'cause the possibilities are endless! Murphy's Law and all that jazz. Thankfully, I'm great at making plans while the Hubs is great at following through with them and keeping a level head when something (or someone, ahem) spazzes out of control.

Anyway....where was I? Oh, yeah. Packing and trip prep. I'm already beginning to tackle laundry and, to my Hubby's amusement, have already written out several different lists so I won't forget anything. As I'm doing all this I start to think back to family trips when I was a kid. Those trips were such a luxury for us. Not only for the money I knew it took to go on them, but to find time in our family schedule to get away. Back then we were all heavily involved with our church in addition to Mom working full time at our middle school's library and Dad working three jobs- teacher, accompiniast at the local Methodist church, and being the Music Director/Praise and Worship Leader at our, then, home church. Needless to say, we really needed those times away to chill out with one another. Later on, we started heading up to my Uncle R and Aunt C's house. Uncle R and Aunt C are Boondock Ramblings and Unfinished Person's parents. Yes, they really do live up in the boondocks but, oh, how peaceful and lovely they were to our family! It became an oasis of sorts for us. Especially, I think, for my parents. Yes, the prep for the trip and the trip itself were a lot of work but it was worth every second of it to just get up to that house in the valley and smell the air that was sweet with recently cut hay and grass. If I never thanked you then for letting us invade your home for a couple weeks every summer, I'm thanking you now Aunt C and Uncle R (and you, too, Cousins).

So, my lovely readers, do you have any fond family trip memories? And while I'm thinkin' about it, do y'all have any good travel tips to share with me? I'm listenin'! I love hearing what you all have to say........

"Forced Fun" that actually turned out to be fun........

I loathe going to the "forced fun" events that come with the territory when you're in the military. By forced fun, I mean that when an officer "invites" you and yours over to their house or out to eat, you go. No ifs, ands or buts about it, and you better have a life threatening or work-related reason for not showing up. Ugh. I hate standing around in a room full of people feeling out of place and not knowing the first thing to talk to anyone about. It makes me especially uncomfortable when people think, because I smile occasionally and act like I've been raised right by being mannerly ('cause I was, y'all), that I'm going to be the one that's outgoing and get the conversations started. As if!!

Well thank the precious Baby Jesus, it wasn't like that at the BBQ we just went to! The hostess was so friendly and relaxed that she immediately put me at ease. We ended up talking about everything under the sun in between our mommy duties and her hostess duties. Even Hubs commented on how well we got along. I actually had a good time which, believe me, NEVER happens. The Bubs had so much fun playing with the other kids that were there he didn't want to leave.

Sounds like someone I could be friends with, right? *sigh* They're moving in 6 days.

That's what it's like around here. Friendships are for a season......we loose touch because of relocations, and then eventually end up renewing aquaintances after a few years when everybody's back at the same place again.

As we were talking about her family's new duty station and the surrounding areas, I could tell she was excited and looking forward to the change. She wasn't even really fazed that she had to get a whole house ready for the movers in just under a week. She's my new hero, people! Moving with the military is an involved process. Part of what is required before a move is a house inventory. Every item in your house has to be enumerated and a weight guesstimate for each has to be included. The weight requirements are set by rank and you cannot go over. We would have to have a yard sale to end all yard sales to get rid of stuff in our house if we had to meet any weight requirements right now!

Well, I'm glad and a trifle relieved that we were able to have a good time, but a little sad that a potential friend is moving away so soon. I wish them well and look forward to possibly meeting up again down the road.

Wonderful Family + Sleepover 4 Bubs = DATE NIGHT!!!

Well hang me upside down, paint me pink, and smack me silly!! I've got a date!

"How?", you ask.

'Cause I've got a fabulous Mom, Dad & Aunt D. who are keeping the Bubs overnight so Hubby and I can stare at each other over dinner and try to think of a topic of conversation that doesn't revolve around parenting. Wish us luck. I kid of course since we are usually able to find things to talk about that don't totally center around our Bubs. We love him, but we have vowed not to be the couple that, as their marriage continues, suddenly realizes that we don't have a thing to talk about and nothing in common.

Thinking about dating takes me back to our first few dates....fun, relaxed and uncomplicated. To put it simply, he got me. There's a quote by Drew Barrymore that comes to mind about dating, "Let your freak flag fly, and if someone doesn't get you, move on". Thankfully, he got me and my odd sense of humor and my weird southern way of talkin' so I didn't have to move on. He was the first man I'd met that was honestly interested in me as a person and didn't take off runnin for the hills once he got to know me. Quite the opposite, in fact. He told me he loved me after about a week and trust me, Y'all, I felt the same way. Ahhh.......Excuse me while I have a moment of silence to remember that moment.........................

So I'm off to break out the bushhog (aka my razor), slather on some smell goods, slap some makeup on, blow out my frizzy locks with a ginormous round brush and figure out what to wear. It's been so long since I've felt like a girly-girl with my hubby, it's pitiful! Don't get me wrong, the man tells me I'm beautiful when I've got bed-head and not a lick of makeup on, but it's always fun to get all beautificated and know he appreciates the effort.

The only thing is, we are having a hard time deciding what to do. What do you do when you folks have a chance to go on a date night?

I saw this pic and I couldn't resist.

Sandwich Thursday

We do a lot of sandwiches in my house. Most of the time they aren't that complex, but every now and then we like to rock out at dinner by having a sandwich that takes longer than 2 seconds to throw together. A favorite of ours is a chicken sandwich.

We, and I say "we" 'cause Hubby likes to get in the kitchen right along with me, start with boneless and skinless chicken breasts that have been marinated for at least 30 min in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, onion, Paul Newman's light balsamic viniagrette and lemon juice. Once that's done, we break out the George Foreman grill (a hot frying pan drizzled with olive oil is fine, too), take the marinated chicken out and season them with my Mom's Sassy Salt (recipe to follow). Once the chicken is sizzlin' away, we toast the buns in the oven for a few minutes. Our buns of choice -insert inappropriate giggle here- are Pepperidge farm with the onion bits on top.

After your buns are toasted -I couldn't resist!- and the chicken is cooked through we usually assemble our sandwiches with some honey mustard that I've whipped up, tomatoes, lettuce and a fave cheese. We tend to like a bolder flavored cheese on this sandwich, like a sharp cheddar, to stand up to the strong flavors of the onion buns and chicken but, really, just about any cheese you like will do fine. We serve with baked chips and, if we're really starving, a cup of my baked potato soup. Oh, yum! I know that this isn't fancy (pronounced "fain-cy" down here), but I'm here to tell ya' that it's some good eatin'...perfect for a Saturday afternoon chow down or a rainy evening.

Well, Megan, I hope I've done your Sandwich Thursday justice, Shug. It was a lot of fun and I'm lookin' forward to see what everyone else's favorite sandwiches are, including yours which I'm positive will be drool-worthy! Have your blog call my blog and we'll do lunch! ;0)

Momma's Sassy Salt:

Deleted per Mom's request....Sorry, Y'all!

Excuses for Being Slack, etc.

.........So the few, but fabulous, readers that I have have probably noticed that I haven't been very prolific lately. I could take the easy way out and blame it on the Bubs, but that wouldn't be truthful. It was me, all me....and my bad internet connection. It did a bad, bad thing. Every time I would settle down in my comfy office chair, beverage in hand (let's keep that tidbit between us, shall we-the Hubby gets tense when I do this) and my music on low ready to write an entry....nothing. Just the darned internet icon with a red "X" , telling me it wasn't connected and to try again later. Y'all, after the third or fourth time this happened, there was some serious fussin' goin' on! I had to pray and ask forgiveness after....*sigh* Thankfully, Bubs was fast asleep when all of this went down.

For now, I'll be sticking with my laptop (it's new) that seems to be much more sympatico with our wireless connection. Let the blogging continue!