Me and Jenny was like peas and carrots

             "Momma, tell us a story 'bout when you was a little girl-please!"  This is the plea that I often hear when the other excuses are exhausted...anything to keep from going to sleep, ya know.  I just so happened to be feeling a bit nostalgic anyway, so I gave in.  "What is it you are wanting to hear about tonight guys?" I said as I plopped down between Dawson and Wyatt on their bed.   "Tell us about when you and Uncle Brad were at Grandmas and you dropped that banana!"    Ahh...the old favorite, "We have heard that one lots of times, hmm.... have I ever told you the story about me and best friend?" 
         Dawson just  assumed I meant Daddy, and YES daddy is my very BEST FRIEND :)            "I know, it's LISA!!"  Wyatt piped up.  Also Correct~ Lisa is my best good friend, (BGF), so named as not to take away from the hubs' title.   They know I "talk " to Lisa nearly everyday on the 'Puter and/or on the phone with texting- as we have shared an amazing friendship for nearly 30 years , my true soul sister, and I thank God for her!  Speaking of God,  I have recently realized how he has always put special friends in my life,and placed them close  just when I need them.   They may fade in and out of my life quickly, but I am CONVINCED they each were placed in my path for a reason,and I am so excited to be able to stay in touch with many of them today.  Which brings me to Jenny Jo.
          Jenny and her family moved in across the street when I was 12.  I  had some good friends who lived Cadiwompus across the street the the other way, who to this day are like my sisters, and we befriended the new girl.  She was outgoing, adorable and fun, and it was always a good time with with Jenny.  Soon Jenny and I discovered we shared a love, or maybe more of an Obsession with the group, New Kids On The Block, or NKOTB :)  It's a bit ironic that as I type  one of their songs just came on the 80's and 90's music station I'm listening to... takes me back to her house, downstairs, after school, a snack, (& her sweet little sis) and a VHS tape of the New Kids  appearing as guests on some T.V show ( we knew and recorded every appearance they made) or watched their music videos as we tried to learn the dance moves, so we would have them memorized when we joined them on the road as roadies, and later on in life after we were both Mrs. Joey McIntyre.  (no clue how that was gonna work)
          Most all of our spare time was spent scheming for ways to meet them, see them, collecting all types of memorabilia and taping that to our walls, to our mothers dismay.  It was a great time and we were convinced we WERE their biggest fans.  We somehow convinced her parents to take us on a road trip to OKC and see them live, and my dad to take us to KC and see them as well.  We schemed and planned even when her sassiness had gotten her grounded ,yet again, which meant no going places, playing outside, or telephone..ugh-torture.  Good thing for our lil' brother and sis  to help us communicate by sending notes -No fancy cell phone texting back in the late 80's!!  Once we even tried to come up with a communciation system by flashing our bedroom lights to each other, which  did not work by the way, and that  is the story I told my boys about on this night.  They were entertained immensely at mom's silly antics and started in asking  all about Jenny and me.  
          Joe,   Jenny's dad was a Methodist Minister and so being a typical PK she had moved several times, but I  explained to the teary eyed boys how I was not prepared for her move, after just a couple of short years together!  " My best friend might be moving away too mom, so I understand".  I had shared with Dawson the fact that his best friend from Kindergarten may be moving away and so he was sweetly trying to sympathize.  I even told them about the day I stood in the street bawling my eyes out, waving goodbye to her as she pulled out of her drive for the very last time and moved to Canada.  It was hard enough to see her go, but moving to an entirely different country,eh?   I continued with details of her beautiful and artistic mom, her pretty little sister, and her sweet and silly daddy.  They couldn't wait for me to show them picures  and let them "talk" to Jenny  on facebook.  They couldn't imagine that I haven't seen her in person for ten whole years-ever since the night she showed up randomly at the house I grew up in, on her road trip.  I was coincidently at my parents house when the doorbell rang and my mom's dinner guest had come out back by the pool where I was sitting to tell me I had a visitor.  I was puzzled and waddled inside only to go face to face with my Jenny- the screaming and jumping we did nearly brought my Kayli early, for I was 6 months pregnant!!  There  had been cards and letters and visits- but  not in more than 5 years.   Too long to go without face time with your BFF- BEST FRIENDS FOREVER- she was the first person who I had ever used that label on, and although we both realize that in our lives we had to make other besties , much to do with the distance between us physically- she will always be my BFF :)

I will leave you with an ancient Chinese Proverb~ Never use a hatchet to remove a fly from your best friends forehead.                 ( I have no idea,lol, but it makes me smile)

                           The sweet family  that moved in across the street :)

Jenny's house!

 I refrained from posting some pics that would date us for sure, the styles were hideous- but had to add this one-
Jenny, me, my little brother, and her little sis (pretty sure this was immediately after we finished getting our hair permantly straightened)

 Okay, this one dates us a bit, the acid washed  guess jeans and shirt, the big fluffy hair-I chose it because she is probably the most amazing photographer I know!

We met in Texas for a quick visit in High School- here she is clicking again and looking beautiful even while acting goofy-  go check out her blog to see a pic of her, all grown up and her gorgeous photography and if you are ever in the province of Alberta, look her up :)

LaDiDaLane Photography

Baby I'm the lucky one!

          "Hey guys- we need to stop at the pirate store when we get to Tulsa,okay?"   I glanced over at Daddy and he had the same confused look I had.  "What do you mean WyWy?"  "YOU know, the place with all the pirate stuff so I can get an eye patch!" It was a thought from out of nowhere it seemed but,  I quickly realized  he meant the Party Supply store, but I was still trying to understand this need for an pirate eyepatch.   I looked back at him with my usual confused expression, and he dramatically pointed to his swollen, red, still closed tightly eye..."OH yea" nodding and attempting to muffle my giggle.  Daddy looks over and  I whisper a quick explanation.  Wyatt piped up from his spot in the van, as he heard me remind his dad  about the incident.  (Funny how they CANNOT hear you scream for them from down the hall, but the barely audible words that are exchanged between mommy and daddy are heard  perfectly every time???)
            We were all loading up for an afternoon  in T-town for a nice Anniversary dinner and the Driller's game that we were sent tickets  for, as an additional prize for Dawson's Storyboard contest win.  He, along with the other winners were to be recognized ON THE FIELD before the game-big deal for a little guy for sure!   The new stadium was a place we had been wanting to take the kids to see, but hadn't made it yet, so tonight was a great day to take them out to the ball game!  The excitement had been building all morning and I could only guess  because it was a sunny day, Wyatt disappeared as we were loading up.  Grabbing his visor and sun glasses, I was sure, until I heard a blood curdling scream from the back of the house..no exaggeration, daddy was even startled and we scooted down the hall as fast as we could to find an hysterical Wyatt blubbering about Daddy's 'smelly good stuff'.  We knew immediately he had sprayed some cologne in his eye-poor baby and so now after the rinsing and drops, he was still hurting and felt an eye patch would do the trick...heehee, I LOVE being this kid's mom!
        Dad started the discussion of where to eat and before long, full vision was recovered.  We all stuffed our hungry bellies and we were off to buy some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, seriously a guy was yelling that he had 'PEANUTS and CRACKER JACKS' for sale :)    It was quite warm  but we were assured that our seats would soon be shaded...and it was, but speaking of seats, I believe we were the only lucky ones to have seats that two sets of tickets were printed and sold for..uh- oh, not good on a busy night, but after about 30 mins.. the other family who were to sit in row P, 11-15, were moved.  I had mentioned I would be glad to move us as we were perfectly  in line to catch fouls and silly me , I had forgotten my glove.  
       It truly was a beautiful night, enjoying the game, a slight breeze, the Tulsa night skyline, and Of course, some Dippin' Dots :)  It was getting slightly more difficult to relax  though as balls came  flying down towards us several times,  and right in front of me, a man bruised his hand severely by catching one.  The lucky ones we were though, another one came in a bit and three rows in front of us  an elderly woman got smacked- it was so scary and she left in an ambulance:(   
         The crowd was very controlled, and so the atmosphere, besides the whole flying fouls, was nice until bonk, Kayli gets hit in the head with a flying, empty-thank goodness, water bottle-lucky her!  She was fine and quickly distracted as the camera for the big screen caught Daddy and Wyatt waving and their  big blue eyes shining- Wyatt thought that was awesome and he felt lucky  too!   Carter had been enjoying the game and sips of Sierra Mist, but had just about had enough of the ball game stuff.. he was quite taken with Hornesby the Mascot and the visit from our old friend Blaze the Braggin' Blue Dragon- didn't take his  off of them the entire time they were in his sight.  C-man also surprisingly enjoyed his first Fireworks on Firework Friday.   The whistles that daddy had made throughout the game had Carter turning his lip down into a boohoo of a cry(because he is 'Lergic to noise, Wyatt assumed) but the  loud burst of fire seemed to amuse him.  Wyatt, however,  has never been a fan of the loudness with ear issues, so we decided we had better leave a bit before the grand finale, besides, it being our LUCKY night and all , we may have gotten hit with a firework that had gone astray if we had stayed :)
           Dawson left saying..BEST..NIGHT ..EVER..I love hearing that my kids enjoyed themselves!   The luck + God's hand saved us from major  problems that could have resulted from a huge tire that had rolled into the highway traffic on the late night drive home...whew!
          The title of this post, a song by Amy Grant was definately my song of the day yesterday!

Dawson lining up on the field before the game :)

                                    Hornesby and the boys- notice Carter's stare:>

                                         The beautiful firworks and the T-town night Sky!

                                                             Frozen by the Fireworks.

"Sissy it's too loud!"

I awoke with the feeling of being Lucky I was in love with my best friend and married to him for over a decade and feeling lucky  to be the momma of these babies having a blast on our fun, family day- so indeed, "Baby, I'm the Lucky One!"

Coffee filters, Cookies, and Cascade

        Over and over I  repeat these three items in my head, Coffee filters, cookies, and Cascade..these are items ( in order of importance, mind you) that are to be added to my grocery list on the fridge as soon I hit the kitchen-my forgetter works quite well, thus the repeating.  I am in the middle of sorting my box of  5 thousand "single socks searching for sole mates"  and I'm proudly multi tasking, making the Walmart list in my head :)  I walk into the kitchen to finally jot down my items, pull lunch out of the oven, Pigs-in-a-blanket (Oh yea-I'm a health nut) and set out the chips and dip,and  pour the apple juice as I get bombarded with, "Mom, what's a barfunkle?'.."MOM, If I promise to try and remember to feed it can I have a "Giddy' pig?"..and "What part of the dead pig are we eating here,mom?"    I answer them all with a quick, "I have NO IDEA! "  I smile  and giggled on the inside, for this is a typical (never a dull moment) lunchtime on a Summer day at our house.
         I have admitted before that I tend to ramble so I will warn you now, the rambling is about to start but I do have a point I intend to eventually get to!     SO, I send the kiddos back out to play outside where daddy is mowing and I put in yet another load of laundry.   Work, work, work today, because tomorrow is a family fun day..Hooray!   I stopped and added "call about swimming lessons" to my never ending TO DO List, I uploaded recent pics to my computer ( and didn't even say a word to Dawson about his 95,yes 95 pictures in his little afternoon photo session- 17 pics of Wyatt eating string cheese, 23 of himself and a some other random shots including a few photos of photos in the yearbook) I chose NOT to sweat the small stuff and laughed it off........ since I am being honest and giving you a full view of a typical day, I logged on Facebook for a few :/   These
 little details are  important to my story to help explain  a bit how simple  our  everyday activities- normally NOTHING to brag or BLOG about, but  this is life...this is what is happening from one event,vacation or holiday to another, so this is relevent.   I LOVE it, my simple life that is,( well, not the whole sorting socks and laundry thing) but you know what I'm sayin' and I want to remember all of these little moments of  what life was like with my little people , I want to soak it all in, get it in pictures and videos and blogs- I want to REMEMBER-not only for when this momma birds nest is empty but because at any given moment it could be gone!  This has been on my mind for over a week now since the Joplin disaster actually affected people I know and love-but yesterday it stirred me enough to write this.
             I was sorting through my huge boxes of  pictures and scrapbook items  recently and  I got very nostalgic- it triggered me to find some  of these people I had forgotten about- my favorite social networks have allowed me to find many :)   I found old  pics and letters and notes and ONE drawing.  It was a fancy car of some sort, very good artistic qualities, not just a doodle paper, and it was TO: me and FROM:  a student at the first school where I worked when I was quite young.  The artist was nearly thirteen, a sweet, kind of quiet kid.  He had taken notice of the fact that  a very unhappy stage of my life had passed and now  my main focus was on me again- ( basically I had lossed angry, stress weight and was taking care of myself and he noticed)  his hormones raging I suppose, he quietly said one day,"I didn't used to think you were pretty, but I do NOW" (nothing like a kids honesty) and he went on to say  "In about 5 years I will be 18 and if you are not married, I will marry you!"  I replied, "I tell you what, you come and find me buddy !"  He gave me this picture of a car he had drawn"to remember me" he said..it was all very sweet and that was the end of that.
          Just a couple years ago I was back in town and went through a drive thru of a great little hamburger place I love and looked inside as I waited and there was this little boy, all grown up into a handsome young man, "I should go in and say hello" I thought..but I didn't.  I was in a hurry.  Yesterday, along with a few other people on my list, I did a  fb search for him, then a google....  to make a long story not any longer, I found him, an obituary.....he had been gone a year now, a terrible tragedy that made the news about a year ago.  I read the online comments on his obituary from his mom, his dad, his sister, his brother...I could FEEL the ache the mom spoke of, and when she went on to say how she missed her little boy so and as I thought of my own babies my faced streamed with tears...she mentioned that he had felt troubled and unloved but his memorial service proved otherwise.
          My head has been a mess since this finding, I had to get it out and  sorted.   This blog stuff has turned out to be quite therapeutic.   Yesterday, a tough day to several friends of mine attended a funeral of a dear friend who died too young as well, sadly it seems to be such a good reminder to  make time for the people that matter, show them u care, make each breath count , record the memories of the special times and the everyday life... I 'm sure that momma wishes she could REMEMBER more of the little moments of her little boy getting ready for school,  laughing with his siblings, the dinner time conversations..she has no more chances, but you do,so go on enjoy your ordinary days for these are the days of your life :)

                                           One of  Dawson's photos of photos...sheesh..lol!

                                               Proof of my (nearly)  5 thousand single socks :(

                                                A great little reminder  I keep in my living room.

                                  My sweet little boy..... Pic number 89,  a face I want to remember:)

Fun at the Capitol O

      Oklahoma City that is!  Last week we went to the State Capitol Building in the city to take our Dawson to receive his award for the "Be Smart, Don't Start" (smoking) Storyboard contest.  There were   only 18  children who received awards from both Western and Eastern Oklahoma, so it felt like a pretty big deal to Mr. Dawson :)  He was asked to take a picture with our area representive, Steve Martin and Senator, John Ford,not to mention, BLAZE the Braggin' Blue Dragon (mascot for Blue Cross Blue Shield).  Each child was recognized as their storyboards were displayed, and given a medal as well.  The winners also were given a goody bag with items that included a T-shirt and a $25 dollar visa gift card!  I think he felt like the star of the day and we were all happy for him and proud.
        The other kiddos and mom and dad enjoyed the day as well.  We met up with another State Senator, Rick Brinkley.  He is a friend who has been there for Lee since he was young and helped us begin our lives together by marrying us, conducting funerals for our loved ones, and was there for baby dedications.  He is a busy, busy man who has many jobs and wears many hats, but has the ability to make you feel as if you're his one and only priority and that you are important.  On this particular day, he put a meeting on hold so to take my babies on a bit of a tour of the beautiful building- it was very educational and enjoyable to my oldest Kayli, Dawson was still on a high from the BIG day he had, Wyatt  thought Rick was the coolest guy ever, who saved his day by having Oreos in his office:)  Carter was taken with him as well, I think he felt the "Peepaw" vibe he had about him!  
        The trip to OKC was actually a mini vacation, for we shopped and ate good food and went some places, met up with friends and the biggest deal of all-stayed in a hotel with indoor pool!  Indoor pool=fun  for my kiddos, and it did give our Carter the opportunity to swim for the first time!  He is a fishy like the others-he loved it!
        It turned out to be a fabulously fun little trip and by writing this on my blog now, I can print it off as I do my other posts so  hopefully my kids will remember it always!
        

Oklahoma State Seal

                                     View of the beautiful dome at the top of the Capitol building.

Waiting for the awards ceremony to start, in the Governor's Blue room.

                         Dawson pointing out his winning storyboard to Representative, Steve Martin.

                                                           Meeting Senator, John Ford.

                                                  Dawson  with Senator,  Rick Brinkley.

                                           Rick showing the us his desk in the Senate Chamber.

                                               In the Senator's Lounge, checking out the art.

                                                A great couple of guys, in my opinion!

                                                 We went some places, Bricktown.

                                                         Met up with some friends:)

                                            And of COURSE, there was the SWIMMING!

Lee's little project

 Scary pic here, I know!   We recently tested Lee's skills after watching HOURS of the DIY  (Do it yourself)network while stuck inside the house this Winter.  A small rent house .  A lot of blood sweat and tears, oh and some MONEY went into this but I think it shall turn into a good investment eventually.  Here a few before and after pics...The above is a shot of the DEN area.

Here is a pic of the DEN now, there is no longer a boarded door and the windows are going to be taken out to become a doorway to a small laundry room he is planning to build.

                                                             The lovely bathroom before:)

I only have a snapshot of the new shower here, but WOW does it look better! 

                          The smallest of the three bedrooms, it is a small house-built in the 50's but the ceilings are  high so it feels roomier.

 PINK!  Can you guess that the  little girl who is moving in chose this shade for her room.  The little bench is covering a pipe going against the back wall!

                                                 The second bedroom- YUCK :P  

                                        The nine year old moving in here loves it now, I think!

The third room.

                                               I'm loving it now, the color is very relaxing:)

                                      A look into the living area from the dining area..beautiful, huh?

 Here is that red wall now, after patching up a lot of holes and doing some texture, not too bad.

               Standing in the kitchen looking to the dining room after the nasty carpet was rolled up.

                                            The laminate floor really made a huge difference!

 Another shot of the back of the living room- I HATE paneling, so it came down immediately.

                                                         It looks much better white!



It is only a rent house, so we kept it simple and  inexpensive, but I think it looks pretty good for a first time project.  There are several more projects that need to be done, but renters are moved in- with all the  activities going on in this house of 6 it is hard to get to them or our own home's projects that are on a list a mile long- but it will happen..eventually, I keep telling myself that anyway:)

our Easter traditions

Most years we go to my grandma's for Easter Sunday, which we all enjoy, however this year we were unable to continue that tradition, so we started a new one!  The 17 of us, my siblings and their families and my parents were coming to my house- which is great bc I love company! ( What I don't love is cleaning house for company:( 
Saturday our day was filled from beginning to end with many activities-cleaning, coloring eggs, laundry, baking goodies, dusting, haircuts and sponge rolling,  reading our Easter story books, watching the Ten Commandments, and,  after bedtime for the little guys- filling Easter Baskets with treats and filling dozens of eggs with chocolate and jelly beans for E.B to get hidden before the kiddos wake up, which is always about 5 a.m. on Christmas and Easter, of course!
The rainy weather tried to put a damper on outside egg hunts and running off the excess chocolate candy energy- but we didn't let it.  We woke up to eggs "hidden" EVERYWHERE and to the excitement of the "best Easter EVER" bc the bunny had come to see them , even though we did forget to leave the door unlocked-    He somehow hopped on inside and helped to put 4 little smiles on some very sweet faces!  Thank YOU Easter Bunny!!

                                                           Our favorite Easter books:)

 Kayi loves me to roll her hair for special occasions, but like her daddy- she hates sitting still so long!

                                         Four baskets delivered by the big Bunny himself!

                                      MY PEEPS @   Seven a.m-  Easter morning at our house!

                                               Curly Top and her silly brothers:)

                                    Wyatt is asking Carter if he is enjoying his very FIRST Easter?!

We then got our tails hopping to church and focused on the true meaning of this blessed day:)  I love sitting in church with my husband and my children-even when they are restless.  When church was over, we proceeded to stuff ourselves full of all our Easter favorites including ham, homemade crescent rolls, potatoe casserole, corn of the cob, mac-n-cheese, layered salad, cupcakes, a trifle, angel food cake, pumpkin pie( yes, pumpkin-it's not just for Thanksgiving,ya know!)  & cookies!   Blechhh...so full it is hard to even type, especially while watching everyone around me sleeping..ahhh....Quiet time is nice but I am tired too and unfortunately Monday is on it's way...so as the preacher says,"In closing,..."(my kids favorite words)- I hope you all had a blessed and delicious Easter Sunday that included most of your favorite traditions!

who let the dogs out?

      NO, Really?  Who let the dogs out?    This is already the most commonly asked question in our house.  The (close) second most common is "did you wash your hands?".   They are currently  staying in the building in the back as they are so young and it is still cool- but soon they will have a nice big fenced in area of the yard , just for them.   Daddy and I have finally broken down and fulfilled a lifelong dream of a few little cuties we know.  We wanted to wait until we thought the responsibilities that come with pets were something  they were ready for.  We had fish, they croaked after a year ( sadly, someone forgot to tell Wyatt that petting fish just wasn't a good idea).  We have dino & ellie, the hermit crabs and they were pretty great for a couple weeks!  They now reside at their 2nd home, Dawson's Kindergarten classroom where they get plenty of attention and kids are excited about being able to take turns taking care of them!  We had some pet worms for , well,  a couple days, and let me just say it was a beautiful memorial service!
      A donkey, a horse, or puppies have been on the wish list forever, or at least for a year and a half ,  ever since we moved here with all this land to run and play on.  Puppies won, but we did not tell the kids!!!  They were shocked!!
        We made them leave early from their cousins birthday party, they weren't happy :(
They got in the car and we told them it was a surprise.  "Cherry Berry?" one asked, " OH, I know, to see more buffalo!"  said another- as we pulled down an unfamiliar street in the neighboring town they were all speechless( RARE moment!!!)  I urged daddy to drive slow and make this last but being a big kid himself, he couldn't wait either:)  When got out of the van at a house and stepped in the back yard.  The sweet lady called for the puppies, and several cute little bundles of pure puppy joy came waddling out.  Beside them their momma,Chiggar, a Jack Russell and their dad Skip, a Red Healer.   Kayli says, "looking back I thought it was kind of a mean trick to go looking at puppies when you guys  always said "no" because of the extra responsibility"-   "I couldn't BELIEVE it when you said we can take two home!" (Truthfully I couldn't believe it myself, our grocery bills and medical bills for the six of us were already enough- why take on more?) I took one look at the happy little grins on 5 faces ( 4 little ones and 1 big one) , I knew this was the right thing to do.   
      "Besides mom, puppies LOVE me!"  Wyatt says as he oh so gently picks up a pup- well, maybe not SO gently- but we are learning ( in fact as I type , we are learning that Carter CANNOT share the puppy's squeaky toy even if he really likes it)  ; a great life lesson I think it shall be!  So without further ado, meet them for yourself....

This one here is Chiggar, affectionately named after her momma:)

(Just to clarify, Chiggar is the smelly little puppy in front that doesn't have chocolate on their face!)

 

Chiggar on left with Dawson and Kayli has "HER" Freckles on the right!  I'm hoping they don't get tired of them too soon-(The PUPPIES tired of the kiddos that is-poor lil pups are probably already needing a break.)