Libby Lately: Ten Moments

Successful Visit to the Dentist!

#1 In Sunday School, Libby's class was talking about that God is always with you. A child in the class whose Mom is expecting a baby chimed in that God put a baby in his mom's tummy. Other kids chimed in that they were once in their mommys' tummies. Libby commented that God put her in her Daddy's tummy?! Of all times, I decided to go her from the class to receive that report. All I could do was laugh hysterically, not just at the thought that she said something so "out there," but more so at the thought of Steven.....can't even finish that thought.

#2 Libby still says "Fra-dic-lee-us" for ridiculous.

#3 When I swatted her bottom the other day, she screamed out, "Hey, we don't hit others." Lately, when Steven swats her, she says, "soooo, I'm just gonna scratch..." and scratches her self or mid air.

#4 While sitting at Ben & Jerry's this past weekend on the brick couch outside, Libby decides to look up to the "blue 'ting" (sky) and scream, "God, why won't you talk back to me!?." I said, "Libby, what in the world." She said, "My teacher said if I cry out to God, he will hear me. He never answers."

#5 Lately, Libby has been watching a lot of "Wonder Pets" where they sing about teamwork. When asked to clean her room, she replied, "dat sounds like a time for teamwork."

#6 She threatened to trade me in for "a new mommy". I have no clue where she got that from, but from the way she was acting, I wanted to know where I could sign her up for the trade.

#7 When asked if she'd like a whippin' for her behavior, she replied, "no" and when told not to smart talk, she said, "oh, sorry, no 'tank' you to duh spankin".

#8 Because she blames everything on her cousin Kaylee, she has a cold this week and said, "Kaylee Mad-son gave me her big cough and sneeze." She hasn't seen Kaylee in over a week.

#9 She gives directions to her school by saying, "Turn at the milkshake store." She then threatens to leave school to stay with the 'milkshake girls'.

#10 Anytime we get aggrevated with her, she busts out in the "Smile Song" from Little Einsteins. She thinks because it makes the Loch Ness monster smile, it will work with us.

And The Relatives Came

"In a rainbow-colored station wagon that smelled like a real car, the relatives came. When they arrived, they hugged and hugged from the kitchen to the front room. All summer they tended the garden and ate up all the strawberries and melons. They plucked banjos and strummed guitars. When they finally had to leave, they were sad, but not for long. They all knew they would be together next summer. "

I love that book. It's a children's book by Cynthia Rylant and I've always been able to identify with the family coming to stay for a while. Families don't come to visit anymore. Why you have to practically schedule an appointment to let your kid see a grandparent, however, it wasn't always that way. Used to, no matter how far away relatives lived, they took the time to pile up in the car and come stay awhile. I just love that book. It reminds me of fond times when relatives came.



This weekend, we had an 83rd birthday for our Nanny Ree. She is my dad's mom and lives every second of her life to the fullest. Appetizers were: apples with caramel, cheese and crackers, or chips and salsa. The main dish was: Easy Brunswick Stew and Cornbread Dessert: duh, birthday cake! We had the party at my house, And The Relatives Came:

This is Rich and Nanny Ree

Nanny Ree checking out the cake.

Rodney, in the background doing the tacky and hiding his face, Kaylee and Nanny Ree chatting.

Nanny Ree preparing to blow out the candles.

A lady that works with Steven makes delicious cakes. It was only $35 and it was a big cake.

Anna will probably have better pics on her site. I hardly got any pics as I was running around everywhere. Happy 83rd to Nanny Ree!

Yes. I mean no.

I say yes when I mean no. It's a terrible self destructing thing. After I say yes, I think, "I really wanted to say no." I then mull around in my wish of having said no all the way until I do whatever it was I said yes to. *sigh*

At 32, I am getting no better at saying no. I belong on an Oprah self-help segment with Dr. Someone who could fix this terrible, uncurable, ridiculous problem.

Here's how it usually goes:

Scenerio 1:

Nice Person A: Hey, Meleia. Are you busy?

Me: (thinking) H-Yeah. I constantly have a mile long to do list.

Me: (say) No, not at all, anything for you. What cha' need?

That's where I get trapped. Person A follows with something I SO don't have time for or don't have an interest in.

Scenerio 2:

Barely Know Person B: What are you doing tomorrow?

Me: (thinking) I'd like to do whatever the H I want to do.

Me: (say) Why? Is there something I can help you with?

Barely Know Person B: I need someone to ......

It just makes me want to cuss. Cuss really bad, loud words. It makes me ill, and not the good kind where your 'illin because Lord knows I don't even have time to do that. Here's the icing on the fake cake---NO ONE EVER HELPS ME. *pity party starts and ends here, I promise*

I have had person after person try to help me with it.

My sister said, "Meleia, if you do something you don't want to do, you just might remove an opportunity for someone who really wants to do it." I know, brace yourself, that's the one intelligent thing she has taken the time to tell me---and I listened.

My Nanny Ree says, "If you don't break the cycle of saying yes to everything, you just may model that same behavior for Libby and she'll be stuck like that."

None of it has sunk in.

I end this post leaving to do something for someone that I didn't really want to do, but I didn't want to hurt their feelings, so I said yes.

Goodbye.

Listener Supported

As a friend of mine recently said, "If you want unsolicited, stupid advice, wear a t-shirt that says, 'I just had a baby.' " He is so right. However, I like to hear what people have to say because the normal flow of my life is that which is opposite of what most experience. You know the commericals that are like, "4 out of 5 people who chew gum don't get cavities...". I'm usually the 1 out of 5 that defies the odds in an unfavorable way. Therefore, people's advice usually lets me know what I won't need to expect.

As Libby gets older, it gets easier. Now, if you are my friend Hannah, and were on the phone with me this afternoon as my child and Kaylee performed acts that would have caused Super Nanny to wince, you could disagree. The fact that they'd been studying fire safety at school and decided to have an emergency evacuation hurling everything important down the 2 flights of stairs while I was on the phone caused me to scream an explitive. See, you weren't on the phone with me, and because Hannah is a good friend she'd have never told that about my household happenings. However, because I'm honest with my 5 readers, I will tell you, "ain't no pollyanna of an upbringing over here". Nope, but I will say that the most common thing people said from day 1 is (and please use a deep toned red neck twang to read this), "enjoy it now 'cause it gets harder."

LIE. It gets MUCH easier. I mean, the afternoon phone call that overheard the 10 on the Ricter Scale moment is a several times a day happening. However, every day gets easier. I mean when Libby was little she could only cry inconsolably and puke. Now, she can tell us to, "kiss her butt," and "no". And we can gently respond with a properly aligned punishment. Well, as the days get easier, there are good moments and moments that our parents would feel proud that we are getting the paybacks we probably deserved. So, here are a few pictures of the past few days.

Libby's first decision was to not sleep anymore and to watch TV all night. VETO The old routine of daddy rocking her in the bonus room while watching old episodes of 'Seinfeld' have been replaced by her falling asleep on her "nap". The "nap" is her mat from school that she recently outgrew, but she still loves it dearly. I have no clue what the wings were about. You pick and choose your battles. Another thing that puzzles me is that in approx 2000 sq ft, she plants herself on the 3 ft in front of the bathroom. At least she got herself to sleep.

Sunday, we were just running 15 minutes behind and couldn't make it to church. Usually, if you don't make it, you feel kinda bad for like 5 minutes and then you are over it. Not Libby, she tortured us about it for about an hour. "I want to go to chuuuuurch. I want to sing about Jesuuuuuss. You don't care about any-ting. Don't eben tok to me. Stop lookin' at me. You duh meanest people eber." Needless to say, we'll work a little harder to be on time next week.

Crampin' My Own Style

Okay, so this weekend has been rather interesting. I have 4 things to do. Notice the present tense...that's because I've done about 5 things, none are the 4 I needed to have done.

Here's why my style is cramped: I went to a NW game Friday night (realized I am not young, nor cool), ate at Waffle House (so now my thighs are cramped in my clothes, j/k-slightly..), went to Starbucks (had a to-die-4 signature salted caramel hot chocolate), HAVE NO IDEA WHY I KEEP TALKING IN PARENTHESIS, and that all sounds good, right. Wrong.

Woke up Saturday morning at 6ish am, puked---puked. I'd guess it was a hang over, but I've never drank in my life. Sorry if I'm now a bigger dose of uncool for you---but, that's true. The triple S pledge from 7th grade just sticks in my OCD head and I can't bring myself to take a plunge like that of which would nullify my memory, possibly act as a truth serum (yes, I hold SOME thoughts in my head), and make me pukey. My mom, who BTW must have dropped off my frequent readers list as I haven't gotten any attitude from her about my references to her in the blog (I suddenly hear an Ali McBeal style chorus of George Michael's song "Freedom") asked if I was preggars and besides thinking she was oblivious to my lack of life being the mom of a 4 year old, I told her, "yes, with a food baby." Gross. I know. Sorry. But after an "All Star Breakfast at 11:00 pm in the presence of a football team, I couldn't resist being truthful to you my beloved readers in the single digits. So, I puked, sent an email to someone I was worried about, took a shower and got ready all by 7:30 am on a Saturday. I went to a party with Steven, Libby and Kaylee at Chuck E. Cheese's. Well, I made a late entrance in that I was still pukey feeling and hadn't gotten a gift for the birthday boy, so I dropped them off and went to NG Mall where before buying the gift I ACCIDENTALLY BOUGHT 2 DRESSES for myself and 1 for Libby. It's better than the couch I accidentally bought in '95. How do those accidents happen? Just think what would have happend if I hadn't felt pukey. I might could have gotten some shoes to match the dresses. I did also manage to get a perfume sample of something I now have to add to my neverending wants list. Oh, the lottery. If I'd just play, I might could win and afford something for people besides myself. It's brutal, but honest today folks. I think I puked out my integrity filter.

Oh, how'd my style get cramped? The puke started it and then I slept 2 of my Saturday hours away. My sleep wasn't even a cool sleep it was one of those weird, "what kinda MSG did my food have" dream sequences where I was all over the place in my sleep.

Ewww. I need to get back to myself. My style is so cramped with this weekend's events. Fall Break, here I come. Peace out. (And sorry for the series of parenthesis......)

I'm it
I was tagged by Terri, this morning, so here goes. Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

10 years ago I:
1. didn't realize how laying up all day during the summer was such a privilege
2. was teaching my first year at Orchard Knob Elementary
3. had been married less than two months
4. worried about things a lot more
5. didn't have a clue how much Jesus loves us

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. make sure everyone is fed and bathed
2. make sure house is being maintained (laundry, clutter thinned out, etc.)
3. finish Staples grant for school at home b/c most websites are blocked at school
4. read the next chapter in the book I have to read for school
5. follow up with umpteen people about umpteen things

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. chocolate
2. almonds
3. yogurt
4. fruit
5. cheeze its

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. hide out
2. pray for clarity
3. call my accountant (aka Steven) to meet me somewhere
4. pay everyone's everything off
5. establish something that would give back to the community


5 places I have lived:
1. Browning Place, Ooltewah
2. Terry Lane, Hixson
3. Mercer Drive, Dalton
4. Mountain View Drive, Tunnel Hill
5. Rolling Hills Way, Rocky Face

5 jobs I have had:
1. Teacher
2. Legal Assistant
3. Optometric Assistant
4. Receptionist
5. Cashier

The rules say I have to tag 5 people. So I'll tag:
1. Anna 2. Carley 3. Mandy 4. Lee/April Hope 5. Sanna

Random Is As Random Does

Here's a snapshot of some totally random junk that happend today:
R-Rare Occurance: I took a personal day.
A-Assanine: I woke up at 4 am.
N-Not Happy: Lost it with the neighbor's crazy-a** dog that barks nonstop (see earlier post from months ago). Sorry about my potty mouth. Isn't lent over?
D-Directory: I couldn't find my neighborhood directory (partially because I only like the Farmers, 1 of about 20 neighbors). I really wanted to use another word for d. I confess.
O-Oh. Yes. I. Did. : I called 911.
M-Movie & Moved: Saw one. My sister did.

Moment of Confession:

Sorry, this is going to be a theraputic, poorly written

ramble for my purpose of thinking:

Steven told me that we are supposed to love our neighbors as Jesus tells us to. I told him that if I remember correctly, somewhere in the Bible it said you could dump hot coals on someone's head. He said I had misconstrued that totally. He asked me what I thought Jesus would think of our neighbors and I told him he might could get them turned to stone. He did not think that was funny. He finally tried to get me to interpret, observe and apply some verse about loving your neighbor and I decided I could love my neighbor, I guess (which he really didn't like my tone on that one), but I don't have to love their stupid dogS. (plural emphasis, there) Appreciate. Do you think I have to love them? I just really, really, REALLY, don't like inconsiderate people and they have worn me out. The only sympathy I got was from the 911 operator today. Random is as random did...........

"We Ain't Right"

Okay, let me start out by saying that I slipped on a ballpoint pen while sitting down and I think I cracked the top of my foot on a desk that was like six inches away from the chair I was in. Yes, you may need to go back and read that once more. I'm not even gonna go any further about that. What more could you even need to know? I'm getting an xray Monday because my husband's work is a rip off on the weekends.

On a brighter note: We went to the Creative Arts Guild's Annual Arts Festival today--that was before my ridiculous injury. Here are pictures from the perfect time:

Kaylee and Libby demanded to ride the Senior Shuttle bus. They loved it.

This was the childrens' art exhibit from the local schools.

The girls loved the bug sculptures.

Storytime was a big hit.

Silly Putty making was not only cheap, but fun. That's the cool thing about the art festival, the kids get to do art! You could paint tiles, make bracelets, get face painted, get painted tattoos, make flip flops and much more. Nothing was more than a couple of bucks for the kids to do. It was great fun.So, amidst the perfection of a day of arts, Libby had to pitch a fit because Kaylee wouldn't share the bench. Here's the thing.....IT WAS NOT MEANT AS A BENCH, IT IS A SCULPTURE. You can take the kid out of the country, but not the country out of the kid.

Here's Libby's painting that she did. Just kidding! This is the oh-s- cute art I bought. It's for Libby's room. You need to see it in person to really appreciate it. It's made on recycled wood, which I thought was cool. It will go in Libby's room.

I can't wait until next year's festival!

Vols, U.S.A., Jesus---What more could a parent want?

I think she is a closet Georgia fan.

Patriotic for Constitution Day Movie Clip: Keep i nmind she set the scene up herself with the jellyfish prop and suit hanger.

'Cause I'm So Happy Song Clip

Is it time to FREAK out yet?

I'm just wondering.....is it time to freak out yet? Because I stay in a constant state of OMG and freaking out is only a degree of difference for me. I'm thinkin it's time to freak out for at least 2 or 20 reasons:
1) There's no gasonline anywhere.
2) VALIC (who holds our miniscule investments) is sinking like Titanic in quicksand.
3) Our candidates for the presidential election look no more qualified than school council members.
4) The voices on the new episodes of Dora are different which freaks Libby out because she swears they are "in Spanish".
5) Our neighbors dogs bark are on month 3 of incessant barking. Yesssss, they now have two dogs.
6) Our adjacent neighbors must mow the twilight zone because we hear the constant hum of someone's mower and there couldn't possibly be any grass left.
7) I haven't taken recycling seriously and I probably should---sorting trash just seems undesirable.
...............Is it time to FREAK out yet?........................Just wondering.

MLK was a Republican

I think people who make decisions should be informed. I know that this article might not be of interest to you, but it was to me.

Why Martin Luther King Was Republican, written Rice (NBRA)

It should come as no surprise that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. In that era, almost all black Americans were Republicans. Why? From its founding in 1854 as the anti-slavery party until today, the Republican Party has championed freedom and civil rights for blacks. And as one pundit so succinctly stated, the Democrat Party is as it always has been, the party of the four S's: slavery, secession, segregation and now socialism.It was the Democrats who fought to keep blacks in slavery and passed the discriminatory Black Codes and Jim Crow laws. The Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan to lynch and terrorize blacks. The Democrats fought to prevent the passage of every civil rights law beginning with the civil rights laws of the 1860s, and continuing with the civil rights laws of the 1950s and 1960s.During the civil rights era of the 1960s, Dr. King was fighting the Democrats who stood in the school house doors, turned skin-burning fire hoses on blacks and let loose vicious dogs. It was Republican President Dwight Eisenhower who pushed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent troops to Arkansas to desegregate schools. President Eisenhower also appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision ending school segregation. Much is made of Democrat President Harry Truman's issuing an Executive Order in 1948 to desegregate the military. Not mentioned is the fact that it was Eisenhower who actually took action to effectively end segregation in the military. Democrat President John F. Kennedy is lauded as a proponent of civil rights. However, Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil Rights Act while he was a senator, as did Democrat Sen. Al Gore Sr. And after he became President, Kennedy was opposed to the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King that was organized by A. Phillip Randolph, who was a black Republican. President Kennedy, through his brother Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist in order to undermine Dr. King.In March of 1968, while referring to Dr. King's leaving Memphis, Tenn., after riots broke out where a teenager was killed, Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd (W.Va.), a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, called Dr. King a "trouble-maker" who starts trouble, but runs like a coward after trouble is ignited. A few weeks later, Dr. King returned to Memphis and was assassinated on April 4, 1968.Given the circumstances of that era, it is understandable why Dr. King was a Republican. It was the Republicans who fought to free blacks from slavery and amended the Constitution to grant blacks freedom (13th Amendment), citizenship (14th Amendment) and the right to vote (15th Amendment). Republicans passed the civil rights laws of the 1860s, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Act of 1867 that was designed to establish a new government system in the Democrat-controlled South, one that was fair to blacks. Republicans also started the NAACP and affirmative action with Republican President Richard Nixon's 1969 Philadelphia Plan (crafted by black Republican Art Fletcher) that set the nation's fist goals and timetables. Although affirmative action now has been turned by the Democrats into an unfair quota system, affirmative action was begun by Nixon to counter the harm caused to blacks when Democrat President Woodrow Wilson in 1912 kicked all of the blacks out of federal government jobs.Few black Americans know that it was Republicans who founded the Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Unknown also is the fact that Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen from Illinois was key to the passage of civil rights legislation in 1957, 1960, 1964 and 1965. Not mentioned in recent media stories about extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act is the fact that Dirksen wrote the language for the bill. Dirksen also crafted the language for the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which prohibited discrimination in housing. President Lyndon Johnson could not have achieved passage of civil rights legislation without the support of Republicans.Critics of Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater, who ran for President against Johnson in 1964, ignore the fact that Goldwater wanted to force the Democrats in the South to stop passing discriminatory laws and thus end the need to continuously enact federal civil rights legislation.Those who wrongly criticize Goldwater also ignore the fact that Johnson, in his 4,500 State of the Union Address delivered on Jan. 4, 1965, mentioned scores of topics for federal action, but only 35 words were devoted to civil rights. He did not mention one word about voting rights. Then in 1967, showing his anger with Dr. King's protest against the Vietnam War, Johnson referred to Dr. King as "that Nigger preacher."Contrary to the false assertions by Democrats, the racist "Dixiecrats" did not all migrate to the Republican Party. "Dixiecrats" declared that they would rather vote for a "yellow dog" than vote for a Republican because the Republican Party was know as the party for blacks. Today, some of those "Dixiecrats" continue their political careers as Democrats, including Robert Byrd, who is well known for having been a "Keagle" in the Ku Klux Klan.Another former "Dixiecrat" is former Democrat Sen. Ernest Hollings, who put up the Confederate flag over the state Capitol when he was the governor of South Carolina. There was no public outcry when Democrat Sen. Christopher Dodd praised Byrd as someone who would have been "a great senator for any moment," including the Civil War. Yet Democrats denounced then-Senate GOP leader Trent Lott for his remarks about Sen. Strom Thurmond (R.-S.C.). Thurmond was never in the Ku Klux Klan and defended blacks against lynching and the discriminatory poll taxes imposed on blacks by Democrats. If Byrd and Thurmond were alive during the Civil War, and Byrd had his way, Thurmond would have been lynched.The 30-year odyssey of the South switching to the Republican Party began in the 1970s with President Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy," which was an effort on the part of Nixon to get Christians in the South to stop voting for Democrats who did not share their values and were still discriminating against their fellow Christians who happened to be black. Georgia did not switch until 2002, and some Southern states, including Louisiana, are still controlled by Democrats.Today, Democrats, in pursuit of their socialist agenda, are fighting to keep blacks poor, angry and voting for Democrats. Examples of how egregiously Democrats act to keep blacks in poverty are numerous.After wrongly convincing black Americans that a minimum wage increase was a good thing, the Democrats on August 3 kept their promise and killed the minimum wage bill passed by House Republicans on July 29. The blockage of the minimum wage bill was the second time in as many years that Democrats stuck a legislative finger in the eye of black Americans. Senate Democrats on April 1, 2004, blocked passage of a bill to renew the 1996 welfare reform law that was pushed by Republicans and vetoed twice by President Clinton before he finally signed it. Since the welfare reform law expired in September 2002, Congress had passed six extensions, and the latest expired on June 30, 2004. Opposed by the Democrats are school choice opportunity scholarships that would help black children get out of failing schools and Social Security reform, even though blacks on average lose $10,000 in the current system because of a shorter life expectancy than whites (72.2 years for blacks vs. 77.5 years for whites).Democrats have been running our inner-cities for the past 30 to 40 years, and blacks are still complaining about the same problems. More than $7 trillion dollars have been spent on poverty programs since Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty with little, if any, impact on poverty. Diabolically, every election cycle, Democrats blame Republicans for the deplorable conditions in the inner-cities, then incite blacks to cast a protest vote against Republicans.In order to break the Democrats' stranglehold on the black vote and free black Americans from the Democrat Party's economic plantation, we must shed the light of truth on the Democrats. We must demonstrate that the Democrat Party policies of socialism and dependency on government handouts offer the pathway to poverty, while Republican Party principles of hard work, personal responsibility, getting a good education and ownership of homes and small businesses offer the pathway to prosperity.

WTC

Okay, I decided to catch up on my emails and the TV was on MTV's "The Hills". Okay, don't even start. Sometimes, I just need mindless entertainment to accomplish tasks that take thought. I'm so...., like, not past the 90's. I just don't get things. (It's a step in the right direction that I at least know that I'm not current with cool, right?) Anyway, the VMA's came on right after "The Hills" and I was still doing other things and didn't get the TV turned to another station. Here's my revelation. ****sobbing****I MUST BE FRIGGIN' OLD. I heard things like this:

"Game on, ...badword...."--My translation--Are we on ESPN? Which game?

"Let the sucking up begin..."--My response--Why? Ewww.

"Holla...."--My thought--Shhh.

"Busted..."---My thought--Oh, too bad, something broke?

"...Just called you out....."--My thought: You got called on by the teacher and didn't know it?

"The Jonas Brothers"--My thought: Not who, but why?

Fall Out Boy sings, "Beat It"---My response: Didn't like it when Michael Jackson sang it.
Here's a thought on the positive: Maybe when the 90's come back, I'll be totally with it. Lots of college, an epidural, a baby and life have me a bit removed from "cool". I guess I'm okay with it, just a bit amused at how oblivious I am to some things.

Precious Ella Marie Cope

So, I've been dealing with something privately, and quite honestly, I'm tired of it. So, for my faithful five readers, I'll unload it all on you. Today marks the end of so many things. My cousin, Hollie's mom died this morning. I wanted to say "passed away", but that just doesn't do the fight she fought any justice. I could go on and on about the poised, strong woman she was, but really you just needed to have the privilege of knowing her. She was one of those "cool moms" that was cool with all the kids, even if you weren't her own. I know she'd probably not love this picture of her from 2 years ago, but it's all I had on my computer and I don't have a scanner to scan the many other great pictures of her. Anyway, I am so exhausted from overthinking her struggle, not only over the last 3 years, or many years, but especially the last five days. I just have to say that man, it just freakin' sucks. It really does. I can only say that if you grieve without hope, you'll grieve yourself to death, so I choose to grieve with hope. I hate it for her kids and family. Hollie and I were best friends in junior high school so her mom was basically like my own mom for a couple of years. It's a tragic loss to me. The world will be empty in so many ways without her sassy, Southern, quick witted self. I'll miss her. I miss her.

Get Your Grill On!

Oh, in life.....there are just some things I'd think I could endure forever. Here are ten that I can name in less than 30 seconds that fall in that category:

1) Three. Day. Weekends.
2) Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream
3) A Clean House
4) Good Conversation
5) The Last Few Chapters of a Good Book
6) A Napping Baby
7) Shopping in ATL
8) A Phenominal Half Time Show
9) An Off The Beaten Path Store with Nothing You Particularly Need, But Everything You
Could Want
10) Things That End Easily (a whole 'nother story)

So, on this 3 day weekend, I hope you get your grill on (not the teeth cover kind), but the kind where your weekend is just poppin' without the plannin'. What's on your list of things you could endure for A. VERY. LONG. TIME.?

A'ight

This weekend was a'ight. We went to two birthday parties on Saturday. The first was Chloe's, who turned 7. She had a skating party. The second was Bryce's party. He turned six. He had an outdoor party with an obstacle course, lots of food and games.

This is Libby waiting to get skates. We didn't even try the skate thing. I knew I couldn't skate anymore because I tried at the nasty Dalton rink with some students at an Attendance Incentive Time---T total embarrassment. I'm sure it was like watching a train wreck. Never again will I skate.

Libby was getting a pair of rent-a-foot disease, I mean rent-a-skates. I don't know why we didn't bring hers from home. We don't really have all our sense anymore.

She had fun until the "skates attacked her". She says they pushed her down and pretty much demanded they be taken off that second. My aunt put highlights in my hair last week. I hadn't been to the beauty shop in 3 months. Would somebody please keep me together? I don't even notice things. Too bad she doesn't do restilin and lipo at the shop. I'd be set. Oh, the skates were off and now....

She opted for the safer ticket games.

My blood pressure went down about 40 points with that decision.

We went to church on Sunday, and I thought I'd take a picture of Libby at 4 years old. Rarely can you get her to look at the camera. We have rolls and rolls of the back of her head or her as a blur. Finally, we found a camera on QVC (seriously) that catches her.

This was my favorite shot.

She just had to climb the tree. That's all she cared about. She didn't much like the dress or the picture taking. She said, "I climb duh tree, MMMwwwomy."

3+1=4

We celebrated Libby's fourth birthday Saturday at Chuck E. Cheese's. This is the 3rd party she's had at Chuck E. Cheese's. She really likes it. We didn't love this year's party as much as last year's. I guess what matters is that she really liked it. The reason we didn't love it as much as last year's party is because we had to have it at either 10am, noon or later. We wanted 11 am like in years past. We also didn't have my sister there to take pictures for us which was a bummer. We also used a party host and weren't impressed with her-- or lack of her. It just wasn't the same as the past couple of years when we've done it ourselves. Oh well, it was fun for Libby. Here are some pictures:

This looks like a good idea for those times she throws a tantrum. Hey, it's no worse than those kid leashes people have. It would have a fun slide. Okay, we'll leave it as a CEC thing.

Libby didn't want to go near Chuck E. Cheese, so Kaylee posed for the picture.

Libby had a dance off with Chuck E's television camera.

Libby is going to take off on 1 token and a goodbye.

To the left is my stepdad, Xavier. To the right is my dad, Tom. I don't thinkXavier was too amused at Tom asking him if it'd be okay if he just pretended to punch him in the picture.

Libby and Kaylee had fun!

Libby and Kaylee opened presents at home. Usually, you get to open them on the stage in front of your party table, but they cut our time all up. Grrrr. She opened them at home. Some people do that now anyway, but that wasn't our original intention. She got lots of fun things. She got cards and money from family out of state, Barbies, games, puzzles, a Bike, a Dora video with herself in it, a princess tea set, baby dolls, and lots more.

EVERYONE HAD FUN

WITH

THE 1,000 TICKET

GROUCHO EYE GLASSES PRIZE.

My Mother Would Forbid This One

My mom would be so mad that I put something this personal on here. However, I think she's quit reading my blog, so the censorship is stalled. As you already know because of my precious friend T Richmond's May blog, I got Teacher of the Year at my school. I wrote that small because I get real embarrassed at stuff like that. Now, I am NOT a bragger. I don't even know how to accept a compliment. However, when I ran across my application, I thought, "What friggin' waste, man". Then it occurred to me, before I trash this, why not post it? The funny thing is when we were standing to receive the yellow copy paper certificate of which I tossed on my way out the door because I thought it was dorky, Ken Richmond goes, "I know I won't win because mine was all about Jesus, but what else really matters....." He was hilarious because of his way of saying things, but very right. So, here goes nothing, maybe it will do more for you than it did for the anonymous panel of people who haven't been in a classroom since they were a student. The award was really something I'd just totally give back to the teachers I work with, they deserve it just as much as I do. So, sorry ya'll, I threw away the copy paper, generic certificate.

THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR ESSAY SCHMESSAY

Factors that influenced me to become a teacher were quite numerous, really. All of the factors, however, centered on a belief that I could “leave it better than I found it”. I can remember watching a lesson as a student and thinking, “That could have been so much better if…” Constantly, I was realizing that I could see more about the art and science of education than even my teachers. I became very interested in how kids learned, as opposed to what kids learned. Most of these education epiphanies occurred as an elementary student.

School was a major escape for me. I moved more than 15 times in my school career. I spent time reading anything I could get my hands on because, often, we didn’t have a phone or cable. Part of my childhood was spent in public housing which also showed me that education was the only way out (and up) for kids who started with nothing, but wanted everything. The fact that education, the way it was being done, was a diamond in the rough intrigued me. I begin to think of the possibility of “teaching kids to think” rather than teaching them disconnected facts. Education, to me, was a sure alternative to changing the future for learners. So, rather than analyze my childhood, I began to focus on learning because I knew that someday, I could be the change factor that I had so desperately needed for other kids.

As a student in middle school, I began to think if learning could be the escape for kids, why couldn’t it create a desire for thinking or even catapult them into greater things? I wondered why learning couldn’t be appealing, rather than just presented. These curiosities led me to the understanding The Paideia Principle which was that “…the schooling of a people does not complete their education…” Figuring out that I could see a need for dynamic, passionate educators who recognized kids’ needs led me to want to do one of three things: take over the class and teach it the way it was meant to be taught, rebel and do something as far from education as possible, or join the frontlines of people who were intervening on a daily basis thereby impacting our future. Eventually, because I knew that learning takes nothing for granted, I decided to be a teacher.

I knew I was gifted to do more for kids than what was ever done for me. I hadn’t realized my “gift” for facilitating and guiding learning, until I was in high school. A teacher called me to the front to explain a problem’s solution to the class. She knew she wasn’t making the class understand the concept. When I explained the difficult geometry concept to the class and was asked, by the class, to “please stay at the front and teach us”, I recognized that all these thoughts about learning were a gift and that not everyone had it. From a few excellent teachers in a sea of less than desirable, my philosophy of education developed. For as long as I can remember, I’ve known that education is the cornerstone of society.

Soon after I realized how crucial education was, I gained clarity about the effects that an excellent education could have on a child. Without an excellent education, the world would become destitute. Believing in the sense of urgency, I began to focus on the learner and not the learning. I knew that when the learner was considered first, the learning would fall into place because the child would have had a desire to learn instilled that was insatiable.

All educators make contributions. Whether an educator makes a positive contribution or not happens with every second that passes. Every single second an educator spends at work, they are contributing to the outcome of that child’s future. I consider every second I spend in education my opportunity to seize the next rung a child could climb or even the next aspiration they might capture.

From implementing the first School-wide Junior Achievement Program in an elementary school in Georgia to working with our county’s curriculum committee, every relationship and partnership contributes to what is being done for children. Mentoring a new teacher, consoling a parent, or soliciting community support---it’s all part of lasting contributions that could be a child’s turning point. It is imperative to make every second a contribution. I can step into my car each afternoon knowing that I have done everything I could do to “leave it better than I found it”.

My greatest accomplishment in education has been leaving a better performing school where my days weren’t as difficult and returning to our county’s highest poverty, highest English Language Learners’ population. Why would I consider this my greatest accomplishment? Because it is proof that I know an excellent education is something I can give to kids no matter the income, race nor environment. Taking the education plunge is not for the weak at heart, it is for those believe that you should teach kids to think and charm them into learning. It is for those, like me, who know that their successes are your accomplishments. Education is to be left by educators, better than we found it.

So I read this 'prairie radical from the 60's quote' that said: "It isn't the rebels of the world that cause the trouble. It's the troubles of the world that cause the rebel."

Now, that'a a hefty quote. It's one that I'm sure won't remotely help me understand the disobedience and control issues Miss Libby is exhibiting. Honestly, other than a Dr. Brazelton book on colic, I've never read anything that prepared me to not feel like a towel shaken to remove sand regarding parenting.

I sincerely hope Libby's latest rebel acts are tied to something in which she passionately believes---because I'm SO questioning my sanity and ability to trudge through 5 more seconds of one of her rebel moments. You know how celebrities go to posh rehabs to restore themselves back to normal. I think I might need that option. I don't have a drug, nor drinking addiction, but I'd pay any dollar amount at this point for the ability not to lose it inside. People say, "oh, just ignore it when she starts." Right, her wail registers a 7 or 8 on the ricter scale. Come on. When you ignore something, you assumably have the ability to not hear or see it. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMOOOOOMMMMMMYYYYYY--uh uh uhhhh uuuuhh can't be ignored. Are you on crack?

I really wish I could insert a frequency table here so that I could visually demonstrate how often, how lengthy and how ridiculous these things are. I will spare your ears, her reputation and my appearance by not putting a clip of one of her fits in this entry, however. Let's just say that the dramatic moment occurs like this:

Mommy (hands full, doorbell ringing): Libby, would you open the door?
Libby: Not right now, Mommy. I'm busy.
Mommy: Okay, Kaylee, would you open the door?
Kaylee: Sure, Aunt Leia. (*5 year old Kaylee happily trots to the door*)
Libby: (SUDDEN MASSIVE GUTTERAL SCREAM) BuuuuuutIwantedtoopen duuuuuh dooooooor. You said meeeeeee. ***immediately resorts to an incomprehensible not even closed captioning could make sense of it wail with some type of words intertwined"
Mommy: Libby, you were busy and so Kaylee is helping you by opening it.
Libby: *see previous entry*
TEN MINUTES GO BY--same junk---trying corner, trying swat, trying ignoring......
Everyone: *drained and ill*

SO, HERE'S A STATEMENT FROM A REBEL WITH A SURE CAUSE: Heck, nooooo. We don't want anymore. My Goodness. Are you serious? Take her for a 3 day span in which you create boundries, get her to sleep, get her to wear something that matches and make an appearance on time with eveyone's hair brushed-------then, you have permission to ask: Gonna have anymore?

Baby Mama

Yesssssssssss. This going to be the shortest update ever from the "Baby Mama". In case you didn't know, according to someone who recently asked me if I was the "Baby Mama", that's me--- and that means I'm the mother of Steven's child. Interesting, huh? See, keep up with these posts and your days of White Rain and 80's lingo will be rapidly updated. Here's another one for you........ now it's a bit old, but this weekend we went to Pigeon Forge and didn't much answer our cell phone because "that's how we roll". That means we operate in a fashion conducive to what works for us or what is convenient for us, in accounting terms that's our S.O.P. (standard operating procedures). We really didn't have a good signal, so that's not how we roll, it's just how it was. You see what you pick up just by listening to others............G-AAAAHHH I am so 32. Well, here's what the Baby Mama got "burned with" today: Libby wants not a baby brother, not a baby sister, but a twin. How the heck. I actually tried to explain it to her. She heard my grandmother tell a story to me about my dad wanting to be a twin when he was little. She asked me what a twin was. I told her. Now she wants a twin. So, I suppose in the midst of my workday, Baby Mama drama, and the cloning project I have going---I'll go ahead and split her 32nd or some chromosome or something sciencey like that. So, if it works, would I be Babies Mama?

Happily Ever After

Friday, August 1st, Steven and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary. Yes. I. Did. Say. Tenth. In dog years that'd be 70 years, and, baby does it ever feel like it! It really does. Maybe I should have kept that to myself. But, I really didn't mean it in a bad way. I would bore you with how we met, but the story starts so long ago, that we'd have to get out stone tablets to verify it. I'm SO not going to type what all I love about him. If you know me.....well, yeeeeeah, that's not going to happen. It would MORTIFY him. It really would. So, see, I'll just commentate that we've been married for 10 years this Friday. Here's something I'd say to probably an audience that doesn't read this, it comes from my bff''s Facebook (yes, I am SO hung up on that right now)...she listed this as one of her favorite quotes:

Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you are just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares, and loves being with you and how he's the LUCKIEST guy in the world to have you...The one who turns to his friends and says, "That's her."

Okay, see for the record, in 1990 when SB and I met, they did not say the word "Hot", things like "Hammer Time" and Aresenio's "woof, woof, woof" were cool. Please keep in mind, that quote from dear Andi, is my "seconding" on some wise advice. If you follow that advice, you'll live happily ever after-- even ten years later after all the wedding guests have all resumed their lives and the gifts are a faint, chipped, but still useful memory-- and you are just Swiffering the floors, swishin' the potties and replaying your child's fave DVR.