Monday Again

Monday's aren't as bad right now because school hasn't started back yet and we can still sleep in. And they aren't nearly as bad as they were back when I had to get dressed and go to work.

Ok, done with it being Monday, I've got a Jilly Beans story to tell.


On Friday I took Zach over to swim with the Beans and Chick, and Jaylen and Jordan and they were all happily splashing around in the pool before 11 a.m. Jillian is an in and out kid, she's get in and swim around and play, then get out and play around in the yard. She knows, kind of, that if she's going in the pool she has to have her floaties on. We watch her close when the ladder is in place because sometimes she forgets.

She'd gotten out of the pool and wanted her floaties off before going back outside so I was standing at the door watching to make sure she didn't climb back in with the others. I saw her wiggle a little and then she reached down and took her swimsuit bottoms off. I thought maybe she'd peed but no,,, she shook the bottoms and then took them over to the wading pool at the bottom of the ladder and was swishing them around. I knew then what was going on and started laughing. I called Jerri over and we both stood there laughing at this child who was trying to hide the evidence.

She gave up the swishing after a few minutes and just threw the bottoms into the wading pool. She looked around and found her little watering can, went back to the wading pool, and dipped out some water to take over to where she'd been shaking the bottoms. She sprinkled, and then sprinkled some more. Then she looked around, saw her little bear float, walked over and grabbed it, and threw it on top of what she'd been sprinkling with the water.

When she finally thought she had the evidence hidden well enough, (and at this point, Jerri and I could hardly stand up straight from laughing so hard) she came inside to get her butt wiped and have a bath.

I can see the future is going to be full of stories from this family!

I've just been over to visit Miz Pea where she has a link to 5 Mintues for Mom who has a contest going on. The prize is a Insignia® 37" Flat-Panel LCD HDTV from Best Buy. Ya'll go on over and leave a comment so you can be entered to win.

Such a Wonderful Surprise!

It's always a wonderful day when you go to your mailbox and find something in it thats just for you!

Thank you Miz Leslie!! It's still a few days until my birthday but I just had to open the package. I'll wear the earrings with pride!

Aren't they BE U TIFUL?

Survivor

I've never watched a whole episode of Survivor and I probably never will because reality TV just isn't my thing. Another reason is reality on a television program doesn't seem to coinside with what I consider true reality.

In real life, how many times have you had TV cameras hanging around when REAL diasters occur?

• The toilet overflowing because one of the little tykes in your family flushed the plastic deodorizer holder thingy.


• Another overflow because the suspected, same, unknown, tyke wanted to see if a banana would flush, with skin on.


• Having to buy a new cell phone because the youngest tyke-lett gave it a dunking,,,in the toilet, or the river, or the pool.


• Having to dig the fish hook out of your ankle after the oldest tyke got too excited with his fishing pole.


• Artistic expression diasters, ie, painting self, or the walls, windows, or doors, with sharpies, markers, ink, lipstick, nail polish, or my personal favorite, purple soy candle wax(hahahaha, Jerri, I still laugh every time I see that photo).


• The pain and misery, and screaming fits that occur from stepping on leggos or that wicked little dinosaur.


• The heart-stopping fear that occurs when you hear voices and singing during that 2 am trip to the bathroom (from talking Grandpa Bear who's been buried in the toy cupboard).


• Being locked in a windowless bathroom, without tools, while your 2 and 3 yr old children are rolling the living room and kitchen with the roll of toilet paper they grabbed when you shooed them out of the bathroom that they locked you in. (before you ask, the old great wise one,,, who isn't me,,, turned the door knob around so these same kids wouldn't lock themselves in)


• The sinking feeling and near heart attack you have after you've rushed your 10 yr old to the hospital after he's been bitten by a cotton mouth and finding out that they don't know what to do for a snake bite. (luckily he only got a trace of the venom)

The list could go on for dayssssss, but they've never offered a million dollar prize for surviving any of those diasters.

Maybe I should write in to some of those TV execs and offer my kids and their kids as contestants. I'd offer myself but I'm getting too old for that stuff!

Hear That???

That's the sound of total and absolute QUIET..well, almost, both televisions are still on but I've turned the volume down really low and the only sound I hear right now is my little fan blowing cool air on my tired, old, feet.

30 minutes ago it was not so, I was so close to tears it was scary. This Nanaw almost bit off more than she could chew today by hosting 4 of our little granddaughters for the night.

I picked them up, picked Zach up from church, came home and put away groceries, then we all toddled and rolled across the yard to the neighbors for a swim which kept them busy for a couple of hours.

Then it was time for Nanaw to get supper ready, everyone fed, and the dishes done before going outside again to run and play so they'd be nicely exhausted enough for bed later on. This worked somewhat except that I think they were a little too tired and got a bit cranky, (Jillian was kicking her sister, Alexis, in the head) and whiney before they finally conked out.

I didn't want to press my luck cause PopPop was getting sleepy and antsy, so I inspected and wiped off the ones I could easily catch, and decided to wait until morning to line them up for baths.

Zach, Jordan, Jaylen, Alexis, and Jillian are all sleeping like little angels now and I promise, I didn't cry out loud.

I've been REALLY Cranky Lately.

I think I need a warning label on my forehead but I reckon that wouldn't do much good to forewarn the ding-dongs you reach sometimes over the telephone. Forgive me Kat, but I've been connected to some doozies lately. (Every company could use several Special Ks). I must be in the throes of PMS, Peri menopause, menopause, tick fever, and CRS.

Maybe some of those mosquito born diseases too.


Cranky Episode #1

For 2 weeks I've been given reminders about Day Sports Camp the Methodist Church was having for the kids this week and next. Each time they've told me that teens from a church out of the area were doing this camp and they'd be picking the kids up before and bringing them home after and would be responsible for keeping the kids entertained for 2 hours each day of the camp.

From what I saw today these young people are doing an excellent job and they're having as much fun as the younger kids. The adults in charge, however, are dropping the ball, or maybe they never had it in the first place,,who knows?

So, they called yesterday and I was told to have Zach ready by 12:30 today and they'd pick him up. We only live 3 miles or so from the church so I'd told them that it wouldn't be a problem to take Zach and pick him up, but they insisted that this was part of the program and they'd pick him up.

I started herding him towards getting brushed and dressed at 12 and he was ready and waiting at 12:30. At 12:40 the phone rang, it was one of the adults with the news that since we lived on a gravel road, and they were picking the kids up in a Greyhound-like charter bus, and they needed a mile to turn it around, could I please meet them at the highway in a few minutes?

When I reach the highway I'm only a mile from the church! Didn't these folks think this stuff through beforehand?

I told them, program or not, I'd be taking him and picking him up since I have to get in the truck and drive him almost 2 miles to the highway anyway. Besides, I am a little worried about letting him ride on a bus who's driver needs a mile in which to turn around!

Cranky Episode #2

I've been waiting for weeks for my DIRECT TV statement to come in the mail. I always make the check out when I do the other bills near the end of the month but I have to wait, every month, for the statement to come.

Today it finally arrived.

It's due tomorrow.

I paid it by telephone ACH payment yesterday because I thought it was lost in the mail.

I called those fine folks at DIRECT TV to ask them why, if the statement date is the 5th of the month, and the due date is the 24th of the month, they don't mail the danged things so that they can be received and paid before the due date?

I still don't have the answer. No one seems to know. They did say it was probably the fault of the US Postal Service. Every month.

I asked them if they knew the toll free number to DISH NETWORK.

Cranky Episode # 3

It's not a good idea to make a snide remark and then ask, "What's for supper?" with your next breath.

My answer was Decon.

Tomorrow Will Be a Jilly Beans and Nanaw Day

Today I was up early and eventually got busy canning some pickled okra and some peppers for a young college student that works on the farm with James. I finished up around noon but still had a total mess in the kitchen that had to be cleaned up.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to wake early so I can be awake when Miz Beans comes to visit. I'll have to stay on my cranky, arthritic, toes to keep up with that little miss but she makes it all worth it with her hugs and her sweet, wet, sugars.

12 Valid Reasons Not To Come In To Work

1. I can't come in to work today because I'll be stalking my previous boss, who fired me for not showing up for work. OK?

2. When I got up this morning, I took two Ex-lax in addition to my Prozac. I can't get off the john, but I feel good about it.

3. My mother-in-law has come back as one of the Undead and we must track her to her coffin to drive a stake through her heart and give her eternal peace. One day should do it.
4. I can't come to work today because the EPA has determined that my house is completely surrounded by wetlands and I have to arrange for helicopter transportation.

5. If it is all the same to you I won't be coming in to work.The voices told me to clean all the guns today.

6. I have a rare case of 48-hour projectile leprosy, but I know we have that deadline to meet....

7. I am stuck in the blood pressure machine down at Tom Thumb.

8. Yes, I seem to have contracted some attention-deficit disorder and, hey, how about them Skins, huh? So, I won't be able to, yes, could I help you? No, no, I'll be sticking with Sprint, but thank you for calling.

9. Constipation has made me a walking time bomb. (This is my favorite!)

10. I just found out that I was switched at birth. Legally, I shouldn't come to work knowing my employee records may now contain false information.

11. The psychiatrist said it was an excellent session. He even gave me this jaw restraint so I won't bite things when I am startled.

12. The dog ate my car keys. We're going to hitchhike to the vet.

Happy 36th Anniversary TOOOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEE!

Since James forgot the day, again, (he remembered, briefly, last week that the date was some time this week) I spent it the way I have on most of the previous 35 anniversaries, I piddled around doing a little housework. I also canned another cooker full of tomatoes. Thinking back on it for a second,,,,I've probably spent more anniversaries canning tomatoes or some other form of vegetable or fruit than I have actually celebrating.

If I had a bottle of booze on hand I'd drink to this life sentence.

There wouldn't have been much money to spend celebrating anyway since HIS DANGED TRUCK has eaten up over $500 bucks in less than a week for parts.

I'm in sort of a bad mood.

Does it show?

Oh well, at least we won't be hungry.

Who's 2?

Jillian and her big cousin Kyle had a birthday on the 8th so they had a Swim Party on Saturday. Jilly Beans is now 2 and Kyle is 15.

Sometimes I Wonder

What men want can be summed up in 3 sentences.

1. They want food.

2. They want women.

3. They want women who can cook food.

Their, almost constant, simplicity can be counted on and I think that's the reason I can really appreciate this commercial.

Just Call Me Noah's Wench

Near 'bout floating here. This is how it looks in my front yard after it rained 5 inches in just under an hour. (about 20 minutes ago) . That stream over on the far side of that bare tree there has a road under it. The back yard looks like a lake too.

Not Bad,, Just Not Right

I'm tired and I hurt every single minute of every single day. I know it's mostly just "old Arthur" up to his old tricks in the pain department and I know I gotta keep moving or he'll take over completely, the old devil. I think a lot of the tiredness is due to the blood pressure pill I have to take every day to keep my heart from skipping around. My blood pressure has always been in the low/normal range so that little blue pill makes it even lower. The couple of times I've checked it this week it's been like 96/60 or thereabouts and it's making me feel like it's a chore to pick up one foot and put it in front of the other.

I was reading something or other the other day and this jumped out at me cause it's exactly the way I feel at times,

"As if traveling down a road and having someone shove you off. Still traveling in the same direction as the road but walking in the brush and rocks beside it. The road's right there, but damned if you know how to get back on."

Pooped!

We've sho' been havin' some fine vittles down here in redneck country.

Jerri and I washed, screwed through a manual strainer, and processed about 13 gallons of tomatoes today. We ended up with 12 quarts and 9 pints of juice. I'm thinking I may can a few jars of cubed tomatoes tomorrow, or I may wait until Monday cause my old butt is tired.

I sure do appreciate her grandmother for loaning us her food strainer! I've been looking at an electric one online and leaning towards buying one if hubby is going to keep growing this enormous amount of tomatoes every year. They've only just begun getting ripe so the major harvest isn't even here yet,

(Lord give me strength!)

Another Day of Celebration

Our little Red, White, and Blue, cherry tomato pickers.
Smilin Zach!
Sweatin PopPop
Sometimes ya just gotta wiggle.

This and That, and Code Orange Ozone Pollution, And Happy Birthday U.S.A.!

Here are a few of the different colors of moss rose that are growing in my flowerboxes on the front porch. I also have some red, white, hot pink, and and reddish orange colors. (click em for Be U ti ful close-ups)

I thought I'd post this picture of Spidy for Miz Leslie. There was no danger of his coming closer, so I bravely took this shot.

Children of the Corn.

Zach doing the sparkle thing.

I think the air pollution around here is messing with my mind, we've just come in from outdoors,,,in the country,,,surrounded by corn fields,,,where we became skeeter bait for a kazillion of those blood thirsty demons, just to watch a few fireworks. Had to be "touched" in the head to do battle with those little blood suckers.

Just Sittin'

and watching rain clouds in the North, in the South, over there in the East, and even in the West and nary more than a drop has landed in my yard. I can even SEE it raining over yonder! Yesterday we even entertained ourselves by sitting outside in the shade to watch the rain miss us.

I'm truly thankful for the 3 inches of rain we got over a week ago, but it sure would be nice to get a little more every so often.

Maybe someone around here isn't living right.

I bet it's this farmer who's got me surrounded with corn fields.

The 2 Headed Mayfly

The other day James took Zach and his buddy, Michael, over to the river to drown some bait for a bit. Zach is a serious and intent little fisherman and will hang out with a fishing pole beside a body of water for as long as you'll let him. Michael, not so much. Michael gets bored easily.

So, on this day, Michael was catching bugs instead of fishing. James said he came running over to him and said, "I've found a really RARE bug Mr. James. He's got two heads!" His face fell when James had to explain to him that it only appeared to have 2 heads because it was actually 2 Mayflies making little baby Mayflies.