Showing posts with label birthdays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthdays. Show all posts

Friday, October 02, 2009

Dear Anna Marie,



Eight years ago, I was awakened in the middle of the night with an impossible amount of pain.

After trying, in vain, to get back to sleep, I went to the couch to see how quickly that pain was recurring. After all, I was a whole week past due, and I was scheduled to be at the hospital in a few hours to have my labor induced.

(That means they were going to give me some medicine to make me have you, by the way.)

However, you had decided, on your own, that you were coming. NOW. Not sometime later in the morning. NOW.

As I lay on the couch, I picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and my watch. I timed the pain as I watched QVC, and wished like heck it was really the real deal this time, because I sure was ready for it to be.



(What? Of COURSE I was watching QVC at 3 a.m. It was a fashion show - Susan Grave Style maybe? It was October, and I was looking forward to new fall fashions!)

After about an hour, I tried to get your dad to get out of bed and take me to the hospital. Showing an COMPLETE lack of understanding of the situation, he advised me to go back to sleep - it would make me feel better.

Ha. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Ha. Ahem.

When I finally convinced him to drive me (the threat that I'd drive myself if he didn't probably played into his decision) we put your carseat into the van and went into the dark South Carolina night - we figured we were leaving a family of two, and we'd return a family of three.



I didn't even bother waking up your Gramma or Aunt Manda, just in case.

After getting stopped by the train which ran outside of the hospital - a scenario which we'd joked about many times en route to my doctor's appointments - we were put in a room just as the sun was rising.

Many hours, and much pain (and not very much medication AT ALL) later, there you were - the spitting image of your dad, Gramma's little Pea Snap, nothing like me at all except for your blue eyes - which your Nanny was convinced were only temporary.

What Dr. Middlebrooks said about you after he met you for the first time - that you were the "brightest baby in the nursery" has proven to be truer than we could've imagined. From the beginning, you were inquisitive, strong willed - and always afraid you'd miss something if you allowed yourself to fall asleep.



Being your mother has been more challenging, and more rewarding, than I could've imagined then either. I shudder to think of all of the lessons from God that I would have missed had you not come into my life.

Happy birthday, Little One. I hope that eight turns out to be as great as you thought it would be. I am excited to see how you'll grow - and how I'll grow - over this next year.



Love, your mom (who would have been HAPPY to be called "mama" for a few more years, except you decided on your fifth birthday that you were too big to do so. Not true!)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The birthday boondoggle


It's official - our annual magazine was approved today, and hopefully will be published next week.

(By the way, in newspaper-speak, that means we hope to insert it in next week's paper. The paper "publishes" on the day it hits newsstands/mailboxes. It doesn't mean that's the day it's printed.)

And I have run into the same problem I've run into for the past four years, or, in other words, every year that I've been responsible for getting this thing put together: I emerge from a two- to three-week long magazine-induced stupor, and go, "Oh my goodness! Anna Marie's birthday is like, next week!"

And I hate it, because it means that she gets short changed every year, or at least I feel like she does.

Dare we remember last year's ill-fated trip to Cedar Hill Farms?

We dare not.

Every year, I promise myself I'll do better, and every year is a big pile of EPIC FAIL.

Last night, I had this conversation with my mom, and I got off the phone feeling really anxious. And then I remembered that the Bible says "be anxious for nothing" (Phil. 4:6-7), and I just prayed about it.

And then today, a plan started to come together.

There is a performance of Disney on Ice coming to Memphis this weekend, and we got free tickets at work. But, I'm going to be out of town this weekend, on a ladies' retreat with my church, and so I figured it was too much trouble to try to get Jason or someone else to take Anna Marie and just gave up.

But then, I happened to get on the website of the venue, and notice that they'd added a show for Sunday afternoon, at which time I will be back in town! I quickly texted a couple of cousins with kids Anna Marie's age, and they're game if I can get tickets.

(Which is where this gets slightly complicated, because I've got vouchers which must be exchanged for tickets at the venue box office - which is 45 minutes away. And Jason is working tomorrow, and then we have church, so he can't go. And I'm leaving Thursday night, so I probably won't have time to go.)

(But don't worry. I didn't get this far to give up again!)

So, for Anna Marie's birthday, it looks like she and some cousins will be taking in a performance of Disney on Ice. Because we had exactly the number of vouchers left that I was going to need for us to go. And because it's (say it with me now): FREE.

Amanda has also suggested that next weekend, on her actual birthday, we go out for dinner and all dress nicely - because she's getting to be so grown up.

I can dig it.

(Well, the dressing up part. The growing up part? Not so much.)

Let's just PRAY that this year's plan turns out better than last year's, m'kay?

Thursday, October 09, 2008

What a week, what a week!



(Did you catch that, in The Wizard of Oz? As the Wicked Witch is melting, her last words are "What a world! What a world!" I love it!)

Once I recovered from the outrage of last Saturday's failed trip to the farm, a whole new crop of nastiness sprung up in it's place. But enough about that - let's get to those pictures I promised you, oh, about a week ago!



This is Macy, my brother's three-year-old stepdaughter. Cutie Patootie! Also, not used to getting her picture made, unlike Little AM who has been getting hers done since she was about five minutes old.



Two years ago, we brought Anna Marie to this same park, and had her picture made in the same place. One day when I'm not feeling so lousy, I'll grab that from Amanda's Flickr photostream.

She spent a lot of her time at the park swinging…





While Macy, well, she ran around. She's three. That's what she does.



Obviously, those two had a spectacular time. I was still a little put out about the previous unpleasantness, but at least the girls enjoyed themselves.

The rest of my week has consisted of meetings, and sickness, and a "perfect storm" of events which ended in Anna Marie sleeping on top of me on the couch during a thunderstorm.

At least she slept - once she quit talking to me.

I don't know what I've got, but I feel achy and yucky, and my throat is sore. No fever, and not really "stuffed up" either - and let me tell you, it's darn near impossible to figure out what will make you feel better when standing in Walmart's Health and Beauty Aids in that condition.

I made an Executive Decision to stay home from church and rest last night - I hated doing that, and Anna Marie hated missing, but I felt so awful I didn't feel safe driving up there and back.

There will also be no Official Thursday Weigh-In today, because I've made a second Executive Decision to skip WW tonight. I have good reason - one of the boards I cover has had to change their October meeting to 6 p.m. tonight, and trying to weigh in, eat, and get to work in 30 minutes or less is just not some stress I'm about to put myself under. I've come this far - I'm not dropping out, and I know I'm not going to gain five pounds in a week because I didn't know exactly how much I weighed.

(Yes, I've come a long way in the last three years.)

To top it all off, my coffee maker died. Yes, I know, I've sounded that alarm before, but I think this is it this time. Now, it won't even take the water out of the tank to pretend it's going to make coffee. Thankfully, I have a stash of Target-brand pods for my Senseo to get me through until such time as my budget will allow for a replacement.

This is one of those weeks which I'll be glad is over - and not the least because next week is fall break, and I'm thinking I'm going to take a little vacation of my own.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Caveat emptor.

In other words, "Buyer beware."

Also known as, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

(Before I go further, did you know that in the book Gone with the Wind Scarlett opens up a store, and calls it "Caveat Emptoreum" or something like that, because she likes the sound, but doesn't really know what it means? I don't remember if that's in the movie or not, but if my BFF Marcia wasn't probably in bed right now I'd call and ask because she used to watch that movie at least once a month.)

(But I digress.)

So, last night Jason decided that today would be the day for Anna Marie's birthday celebration at the aforementioned Cedar Hill Farms. After some finagling and making sure that Amanda could make cupcakes on such short notice, we agreed to meet there about 2 p.m.

I thought there would be picnic tables nearby, but I couldn't find any, so we popped open the back of the Amazing Technicolor Dream Van (funny story coming later on that), unpacked a table which happened to be back there, and had a picnic right there in the parking lot.

After she opened presents, we prepared to enter the farm proper.

Unfortunately (especially for a "word person" like me) the tickets were not as clear-cut as one might expect from a door-to-door salesman.

The ladies at the admission told me that those tickets were only for the "night time" attractions, and that they didn't start until next weekend.

Wait. What?

After some discussion, it was clear that we were not getting in to Cedar Hill Farms on my hey-look-at-me-I-got-a-great-deal tickets.

Was I disappointed? Sure I was. But I managed to keep my cool, and think on my feet, and lots of other cliches.

I remembered that Anna Marie's favorite park in the whole wide world was just a couple miles up the road, and that there was plenty of shade there, and that she (and my new niece, Macy) would be more than happy to play there.

So that's what we did. My brother and I sat on a bench and watched the kids play, while the others stood around and talked or wandered around taking pictures. And, for the record, I have a few pictures too, but my camera is in the living room, and I'm in bed, and well, I just didn't feel like getting up to get the camera. You'll just have to wait.

Remember, patience is a virtue.

I promised Anna Marie that we'd go back in the evening in a week or so, and reminded her that if she knew anything at all about me she knew that I was NOT about to let $30 in tickets go to waste.

Oh, and the funny story - Anna Marie had spent the night with mom last night, and we planned a trip to the kitchen supply store in Memphis for this morning. We took the van, mainly because it had gas in it, and it's a good thing we did - because when we were in the parking lot at the park, there were no spaces. (Funny how a family reunion and two birthday parties will do that.) Another car figured this out, and tried to back out of the parking lot.

Which resulted in their backing into the side of our van, despite Jason's vehement protest on the horn.

The driver got out, as did Jason, and offered his insurance information. When Jason looked at the "damage," he realized that there was just a bit of paint transfer from the other car and told the other driver he wasn't worried about it.

"Are you sure?" the guy said.

At which point Jason simply pointed to the Amazing Technicolor-ness of our van.

Guess he thought that white paint was just one more for the collection.

After the problem at the farm, that little exchange was just what we needed to lighten the mood.

Dude just better be glad we weren't in my car, because it's all one color and he wouldn't have gotten off so easily.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Holding steady - that's where I am this week.

Holding steady at 147.

I wonder sometimes if this is as far as I'll get, if my body's "default" setting is right here, around 150.

At what point will I know that? At what point will I say to myself, "Self, this will do."

(That, by the way, was a line from a song we learned for youth camp one year, which had to do with the house built on sand and his next door neighbor, the house built on the rock.)

(But I digress.)

Anna Marie has had a fabulous birthday - I sang to her when she was getting up, per her request; she had a sausage biscuit for breakfast, which is her favorite; I ate lunch with her at school and brought the mini cupcakes, which were a hit; and she stayed on GREEN.

She was a little bummed that the only gift she received today was the electric pencil sharpener which Jason presented her with after school (because she can never find her smaller one at homework time), but I reminded her that she hadn't had her party quite yet.

Seven. I can scarce believe it, just like I can scarce believe that 90 pounds is gone.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Seven.







Monday, September 29, 2008

Riddle me this

Why is it, that when Peasnap Catering (you know, that unlikely pairing of my husband and my mother, sounds like fodder for a reality show) needs help, I take off from my cushy desk job and pitch in?

Not that I mind helping. I enjoy working with the food stuff. Maybe a little too much, but that's not my point.

My point is - who helps me at my job? Who is there when I have to be in three places at once, or I have to work late every night for a week?

Hmm?

In case you haven't gathered, I'm going to the auction tomorrow. My aunt's mother-in-law passed, and she (the aunt, not the mother-in-law) hired us to cater the funeral - no, I'm not kidding - so my mom is going to do that, while I fill in for her in the cafeteria.

Looking over the menu for tomorrow, I think I'm going to have some herbed chicken breast and vegetables, and I'm actually looking forward to it.

(Who am I kidding - after I spend an hour behind the steam table dishing that stuff up, I'm going to want no part of it. I'm going to head straight for the salad bar.)

Jason, mom, and dad catered the visitation tonight - at the funeral home - while I stayed home with Anna Marie and made the cupcakes for her birthday. No, it's not until Thursday that she'll be taking them to school, but she's also taking some to church on Wednesday night and I know I won't feel like cooking them tomorrow.



I'm no Amanda Raney, but those are (Pillsbury Reduced Sugar) yellow mini cupcakes with vanilla icing I tinted orange, and candy corn or pumpkins on top.

(Don't tell Jason, but I ran out of the cheap stuff and had to dig into his name-brand stash, which includes the newly-discovered and previously-mentioned caramel flavor.)

(Serves him right for keeping the stuff in a giant glass pumpkin in the middle of the dining room table.)

I also sprang for cupcake liners this year, since I figured out that not even silicone bakeware is completely stick-proof. They're cute and fall-themed.

It's my mom's birthday today, but she's going to have to get Amanda to make her something. I'm all tapped out.

It's a good thing I only make these things about once a year - otherwise, due to my penchant for licking the bowl clean, I'd be bigger than a house.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Birthday crisis averted!

So, remember two days ago, when I was all freaking out about the impending seventh birthday of everyone's favorite red head?

Random door-to-door solicitor to the rescue!

I was about to walk out the door of my job yesterday afternoon, and this guy came by. And he had some stuff to sell. And normally I don't give these types the time of day, but I knew he was legit (mostly because they'd come around last year too, and I think someone else in my office had bought what he was selling.)

And what was he selling?

Tickets to this place:



Cedar Hill Farms is just a few miles north of here, in the next county.

Anna Marie had brought home a flier from school this week, and asked to go. And then this guy comes by, and sells me 10 tickets for $30, which would cost me about $15 each if purchased separately. (Serendipity!) And with those tickets (which he assured me can be used all at once if I so desire) we can go on hayrides, and through a corn maze, (or MAIZE as they cleverly call it) and all sorts of other fun, fall-ish stuff.

Instant birthday party!

And I'm pretty darn excited, because they have picnic tables, so we can just bring some food and have ourselves a good old time.

Now all I have to do is figure out a date and a time, and narrow down the 10 guests, and we're all set!

Woohoo!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Today is Thursday, September 25, 2008

This means several things.

1. According to QVC, we have approximately 90 days until Christmas. And I have made no preparations! What is wrong with me?

2. It is four days until my mother's birthday. And I have made no preparations! What is wrong with me?

3. IT IS ONE WEEK UNTIL ANNA MARIE'S BIRTHDAY. AND I HAVE MADE NO PREPARATIONS! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

(Can you tell I'm feeling just a wee bit stressed? But what else is new?)

Once again, we probably won't have a birthday party for Anna Marie, because, well, we still have some rather awkward family situations, similar to last year but also somewhat different. And once again, the magazine has taken all of my energy (and it STILL isn't quite done yet). So I'm trying to make it up to her, by taking her to the circus that's coming to town the next week.

(Buying her love! Yes!)

Also, she has fall break and a doctor's appointment that next week, and I'm planning to take her fall break off from work and maybe use our buy-one-get-one-free Japanese food coupons to get her first Hibachi dinner.

(Big spender buying her love, no?)

Maybe, one of these years before she leaves the house, the awkward family situations will cease, and she'll have bonded with some of the kids at school or something, and the magazine won't bleed me dry, and we can have a proper party.

Maybe. Or maybe, this pattern will repeat itself year after year, and Anna Marie won't have any memories of birthday parties, but she will have done every special event in Memphis and the Mid-South.

Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so…

Thursday, August 07, 2008

That which shall not be named

Well, if you must know, this is what is going on today, but we shan't talk about it.



Instead, we shall talk about yesterday, which, being my birthday, I took off from work.

And, since Jason had to work, Little AM and I had a little mom-daughter time.

We went to the auction for lunch, and, wouldn't you know it, I got pressed in to service - first as a cashier, and then on the serving line.

Such is the pitfall of a family-owned business.

I had promised Anna Marie we'd do something special, since it was my birthday, and it was the last day of summer break, so we went to the movies to see Space Chimps. Cute movie, lots of pop culture references, yada, yada, yada.

And then the main event - the obligatory dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse.

Where Anna Marie's preferred method of eating spaghetti was this:



Which resulted in this:




And Anna Marie pretending to return the favor:



Of course, there was the other birthday girl, coyly sipping her Diet Coke with no ice:



And the obligatory Anna Marie posing on the giant dragon carvings in the entry way.



So, we won't talk about this morning - because some of us are still recovering, and have lots and lots of paperwork to fill out between now and tomorrow morning.

Nope, we won't talk about it at all.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Dear little sister


You should know by now that, on this your birthday, I'm going to raid your Flickr account and find the rare picture of you, and use it to illustrate your obligatory Happy Birthday post.

(You should also know that I spent a good time over at that Flickr account yesterday, scouting for a picture, and saw lots of Anna Marie photos that I didn't know existed. Good on ya.)

And, you should know that our relationship makes me kind of sad that Anna Marie doesn't have a kid sister for when she grows up. Notice I said "for when she grows up," because I don't think anyone would want her to have a kid sister now whom she could potentially treat like I treated you when we were kids.

You should know that I'm really proud of you, for all the "big things" you've done in your life - going to England alone, seeking out a VW when that was the car you really wanted (and who knew it would later save your life?), moving in with that frat house full of boys, and now, taking on a ministry position.

Some people might say that you haven't accomplished much in your 28 years. Those people would be wrong. Those people (and I think we both know of whom I speak) need to learn to look past their own limited view of what life is, and what it can be.

I'm proud that you recently told me that you were "super content" right now. That means more to me, I guess, because I know that "right now" is a transitional time for you, and that things are a wee bit difficult, but you're content anyway.

That's awesome. And it makes me a little jealous.

You should know that you're the best Aunt Manda ever (and I should know, because my kid currently has three of them. If we could convince Becky to change her name before she marries Jonathan, we'd be four for four.)

(And yes, Jason has four brothers, but they're all currently married to women not named Amanda, and have been for a while. So I guess Jonathan is our last hope.)

You should know that any "hipness" I lay claim to probably came at your hand - Catherine Tate, David Tennant, Ricky Gervais - all were introduced to me by you.

(Well, not literally, but how awesome would it be to meet them? All of them in the same room, even? I can barely stand the thought of it.)

Happy Birthday, Amanda. You are teh awsim.

* You should probably also know that I expect full payment for all the nice stuff I said in this post, preferably in the form of baked goods.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

We interrupt this blogging dry spell

To bring you an update.

It's one of those paradoxes - when life happens, and you have much to blog about, you don't have much time to do the blogging.

If only I had an iPhone! Then I could blog from anywhere!

Thankfully, Anna Marie had a better day at school on Friday, so that she could go to her cousin Aaron's amazing birthday party on Saturday.

Yes, I got pictures, but no, I haven't had time to deal with them yet.

She and the other kids got all harnessed up, and jerked around by a bunch of teenagers. They ran down a ramp into a pit full of foam blocks! They jumped on a trampoline strapped to bungee cords! They flew across the room on a zip line!

Then they got pizza and a Transformers cake! I told you it was amazing!

(And you'd be real proud of me - I ate CORE for two days, and got in some activity points Saturday afternoon, and spent a few points on just one slice of pizza. Then I ran to SuperTarget and got some pre-sliced apples and a cheese stick. Yum!)

Anna Marie, by the way, has been a bit under the weather of late. No fever, just some coughing and nose issues. All the usual for this time of year.

Wondering what we did on Sunday, since our church no longer exists?

I was too, until Saturday when Jason said he wanted to visit our old church in Southaven. The one we attended for a year, until we started the church down here. I really liked going there then. It was big, for sure. But we were just starting to get involved - we were attending a couples Sunday School class taught by the pastor's wife, and my sister and I were keeping the nursery.

The main reason Jason wanted to go was because since we'd left, they had built a new sanctuary. At the time we were going there, they had to hold two services to accommodate everyone on Sunday mornings. And Jason is very interested in church "set ups" - what lighting and sound systems they use, and what software they use to project their song lyrics. (He determined that they use the same program we did, by the way.)

I can't say for sure that it's the church God has for us on a permanent basis, but I knew - you know how you just know sometimes? - that we were supposed to be there Sunday. It was really amazing, how much of what was said/done applied to us. I found myself secretly wishing that we could start attending there again.

And Anna Marie had a great time as well - they've converted the old sanctuary into the childrens church, and the pastor's eight-year-old daughter (who is adopted from China, also named Anna, and also wears glasses) took AM under her wing to show her around. She was excited when we left, and asked us if we were coming back next week.

(Of course, I have to take that with a grain of salt - she'd say that just about anywhere there were kids!)

I do know that wherever we go, we won't just be "pew sitters." No matter how large a church is, they always need folks to get involved - in this week's bulletin, there were listings for half a dozen teachers for the girls' Wednesday night classes. (One of which is the one I taught at our church, by the way.) Even in a church of a couple thousand, there are still places to serve!

Anna Marie also had another performance with the Baptist church choir on Sunday night. As hoarse as she was, I really don't see how she made it through!

Anyway. This is my busy week, with lots of meetings. And Anna Marie just woke up and is coughing, so I need to go see about her.

And, when you pray, please say a little prayer for a situation you've no doubt heard about from Memphis - a family was found dead yesterday evening, two adults and two children dead, and three more toddlers alive but in critical condition. There's no word yet on what happened, except that neighbors think they heard gunshots on Sunday night.

That means those babies were hurt, alone, in that house for nearly 24 hours.

Like I said, we really need to pray.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Some other stuff we did this weekend

No, the fun never stops at Melz World, my friends!

I told you in my last post that we went to the first birthday party of my cousin's daughter. I also told you how impossibly cute she is. See for yourself:



Posing for the camera! She's a natural!

And, with a red head of my own, I'm sorta partial to this Strawberry Shortcake cake.



Cheree (my cousin) had a really great idea for a craft. She found some foam picture frames, and sticky foam cut outs, and let the kids decorate. Brilliant!



And, of course, my kid zooms past the princess and undersea cutouts, and goes straight for the race car.



Even little James, who is only three, could do it - with mom Alison's help, of course.



Unfortunately, Amelia is still at the age where she's easily distracted and the grownups have to finish the present duties.



Of course, you know what we did after the party: Christmas pictures.

And that was just Saturday! On Sunday, I attended a bridal shower for my BFF Marcia at her sister-in-law Wendy's house. It was so beautiful - it looked like we'd stepped into an issue of Southern Living Magazine!



These were my gifts - a cake pan she'd registered for, plus a photo album. Because you can never have too many of those!









After the shower, I came home to get Little AM ready for her choir concert. As you may know, she's been riding the choir bus to the local First Baptist on Tuesdays after school. (The pastor's son is a friend of hers). They had their Christmas program last night, and, as you could expect, the adorableness was out of this world.



We were pretty far back, so getting a good picture was hard, but as you can tell my daughter is once again the center of attention. Literally. And, she's looking down because that's where the choir director was crouching. The pastor's son is behind her, and the mic was conveniently placed right over him. Wonder how that happened?

I'm kinda glad this weekend is over - we've been so dadblamed busy. And next weekend, it's more of the same - a waffle breakfast on Saturday morning, a wedding Saturday afternoon, a church Christmas dinner Saturday night, and another Christmas program on Sunday night.

Tis the season, I suppose.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Just call me Gil Grissom


'Cause I'm in CSI mode.

You will all remember that Anna Marie has been coughing of late. And that we've tried several different medications to treat said cough.

And that she went to the doctor on Monday, who suggested that we continue with the Delsym because it was pretty effective. It does, after all, have six times the concentration of cough medicine that the Dimetapp did.

What you don't know is that she has been acting absolutely terribly the past two days. In fact, I got a call from the teacher today.

The teacher, y'all. This is some serious stuff.

Yesterday she got in trouble for talking to herself at naptime. That wasn't a big deal with me - I've been known to do the same thing. But when I got her from choir practice after school, she was just awful.

Her "listener" was broken.

She got in trouble at the office, and then again when she got home because she still wouldn't listen. She wouldn't sit still, and she was climbing on everything.

We had a long talk last night, and a "reminder" before school today. And then when I got back from lunch, I had a voicemail saying she was on "yellow #2" and that I needed to call the school.

Uh oh.

Seems she wouldn't sit still at lunch. She kept getting up out of her seat, even after being told to sit down. And on the way back, there was a puddle the teacher told them to avoid. You can guess what happened next - Anna Marie looked straight at the teacher and stepped in it anyway.

Her teacher even put her on the phone with me when I called back. She offered no explination for her actions. I did ask her if she needed to go to the bathroom, and she said yes. So I told the teacher that she'd been sick, and what kind of medication she was on, and that could be the problem. I also told her that AM had been drinking more since she'd been sick, and that maybe she was needing a potty break.

Oh, and also that her dad and I would deal with her when she got home, because that behavior was unacceptable.

I felt like I sounded like I was trying to excuse her bad behavior. Honest, I wasn't. The teacher called to see if I knew why she might be acting up all of a sudden, and I was trying to help. By the way, the teacher doesn't normally call the parent until the problem gets to "red" but she felt like this was unusual, even for AM.

So, after school Jason brought her to my office so I could get her ready for dance. And she was still in the same not-listening frame of mind.

We started to really think about the possibility the medication was causing the problem. I know that antihistamine/decongestants can cause either sleepiness or excitability, but she didn't get that prescription filled until yesterday. She didn't have any until bed time. And the other medication is amoxicillin, and seriously, who's ever heard of that kind of effect from an antibiotic?

Not I.

So, after some dilligent research, I've come to this conclusion: it's the cough medicine. I've left a message with the nurse to ask if she thinks this is a possibility, but really, I think I'm right. I know she's had a problem with this behavior in the past, but I don't know if it's ever been this bad.

We're quickly running out of consequences, so I think I'm going to skip that particular cough medicine tonight. Because really, I'm at my wit's end with this situation.

And besides…



Today is Jason's birthday. I was going to enumerate all the wonderful things about him, but, of course, that was all overshadowed by the recent unpleasantness. I'll have to wait for another day - I'm all exhausted now.

(Slightly off topic - did y'all know that's how many people in the South during the Civil War referred to the hostilities? "The recent unpleasantness." Also popular was "The War of Northern Agression.")

(Do I know a lot of useless information or what?)

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Six.


Yes, she is six.

(That's her giving Rose a "bath" at Build-A-Bear. Don't worry, there's no real water, just the sound of it and some brushes. And yes, she's supposed to do that before she dresses the bear, but in all the excitement over finally getting A GIRL we sort of forgot.)

(Oh, and what's that on her arm you say? It's a "temporary" tattoo she bought from the high school cheerleaders. TWO WEEKS AGO. It's still there, as is the other one on the other arm that's been there for THREE WEEKS. Yes, we bathe our child. And it's getting harder and harder to convince her, and ourselves, that these aren't the real deal. If I could scrub her arms as she slept at night, or rub alcohol on them, without waking her, by golly, I'd do it.)

Anna Marie woke up before her alarm this morning. I heard her stirring around, talking to herself, and went in.

"I can't believe I turn six today! I stayed up all night long (um, no, she didn't) and waited until the sky was blue outside so I would know I was six.

If you want to get technical about things, she wasn't born until 2:48 p.m. So, technically, she's not six. But who was I to tell her that?

She told me about a bazillion times this morning that she was going to get a Happy Birthday visor at school today.

And, can you believe, I baked these:



All by myself.

I know, the all-by-myself part isn't so surprising when you see them.

Yes, I could've gotten store bought cakes - and I like nothing more than a load of buttercream so sweet you can taste the sugar with your teeth. But I'm trying to set a better example. So these are made with Devil's food mix, and pumpkin and a half cup of water in lieu of the eggs and oil.

They are blow-your-head-off good.

For the frosting, I got the whipped kind - both because it had fewer calories than the other tubs, and because I figured it would be easier to stir in the food coloring.

I was going to buy the coloring and mix my own orange, and then on the Wilton aisle, I found actual orange gel coloring.

Brilliant.

It cost a bit more, but it also eliminated the pressure on me to get the red/yellow mixture just right.

And we know I'm all about less pressure.

I was trying to figure out how to frost the tiny morsels, when Jason breezed through the kitchen and said, "Why don't you put the frosting into a ziplock bag, and cut a tiny hole in the corner, and pipe it on?"

Again, brilliant.

He's been watching Alton Brown, you know.

I've never, ever baked cupcakes before, and I learned a couple of lessons (i.e., even if you have silicone bakeware, and you use no-stick spray, you still need cupcake liners, you cheap slacker.)

To keep the cupcakes from tumping over in transit, I cut strips of cardstock and put it between the rows. I still had a little tumpage this morning, but the cardstock helped mitigate the damage.

Anna Marie doesn't know that I'm coming to eat lunch with her today. And after school, she has a few presents to open - a scarf knitted by Aunt Manda, a "Dance Dance Revolution" mat from Gramma (which, by the way, I've been wanting for myself) and a Leap Frog cylindrical math-game-thingy from us.

Because we're all about the learnin'.

She also got Rose already, as well as a new fall wardrobe.

She's six now. Six years old.

And time is going way, way too fast.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

I give up

I can't do it this year.

Nominate me for the Bad Mother Of The Year award. I don't care.

After the rousing success of last year's robot party, we're going party-less this year.

Y'all, I just don't have it in me to plan a party, or host one, or otherwise be party to a party.

The magazine we produce every year took way, way too long. We still haven't gotten the proofs back from the printer, and the thing was supposed to have been published a month ago.

There is quite a bit of topsy-turviness in my family right now. Although I'd like to say that everyone involved would be adults and come together to celebrate Little AM's sixth birthday, I also don't want to put people in awkward positions of having to "make nice" when they don't really want to.

I want her to remember her sixth birthday, not the tension of the grownups in attendance.

Also, there are several scheduling conflicts, since my mom has to speak at a women's conference and Amanda is now singing with her church's praise team on the weekends.

So, we (the Anna Marie Raising Committee, comprised of Mom, Amanda, Jason, and me) have made an executive decision.

We will celebrate her birthday, but not with a big party.

We're going out to lunch at Moe's, and then we'll take her to Build-A-Bear. They were kind enough to send her a coupon, so I'm going to see if I can talk her into a FEMALE bear this time - as opposed to her other two, Power Ranger Bear (with a flaming T-shirt) and Spike (who sports the Harley Davidson insignia on his clothes.)

I'm going to surprise her on her birthday (a Tuesday this year, just like the original one) by coming to school to eat lunch with her.

And the next week, when she's on fall break for two days, I'm taking some time off. And we're going to the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis.

(So named because the original part of the museum is built in a pink-stone mansion, built by Clarence Saunders, founder of Piggly Wiggly and inventor of the modern-day grocery store.)

She's never been, other than to the Festival of Trees a couple of years ago. We didn't go inside the rest of the museum that day.

Unless you count the trip we made when I was pregnant with her. But I don't think she got much out of that experience.

For those of you who are family members and read this, I apologize. I'll be calling you to explain myself, to take my mea culpa.

Because I just can't do the birthday party thing this year.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Can you read what this cake says?


Click photo to enbiggen.


I guess when you bake your own birthday cake, you can write whatever the heck you feel like on it.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Happy Birthday Amanda!


She is totally going to kill me for dredging up this picture from last summer. Especially since she donated her hair to Locks of Love and got a cute haircut in return.

Problem is, she's always behind the camera. Never in front of it. So, not many pictures of her exist.

Like the Loch Ness Monster. Or Bigfoot. Only she's a better baker. And, of course, she isn't a monster.

Oh, what's this? Something I found in an old email? Tee hee!



She's one of the most giving, loving people I've ever met. She'll do anything for anyone.

And the sad part is, from what I can tell, there are those in her circle who don't appreciate her. Take advantage, in fact.

But she keeps on doing and loving anyway.

Because that's the kind of person she is.

She's filling in at the paper this month, not because she needs the money (which she probably does) or because she loved working here so much (which she definitely didn't.) She's here to help me and the GM, Shirley, because she knows what a strain it would be on us without the regular graphic artist here.

She loves to bake birthday cakes - in fact, she's made herself one this year. Strawberry. MMMM!

And she's making me a Boston creme pie for mine next week (did I mention, we're exacty three years and 51 weeks apart?), because she's got a new recipe she wants to try out. Even though I've never eaten BCP, I'm sure it'll be delicious. And vegan. And not-at-all points friendly.

For her birthday this year, I secured an official coach's notebook. From the coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. Autographed by the Grizzlies.

Yep. Those Grizzlies. I had to fight a little old lady for it. (No, really, I did. And seeing my obvious superiority, she gave up.) And if I see it on ebay, I'm gonna kill her.

Amanda's had a dream for years to go to England. So she saved her money, quit her job, and went.

Just like that. Like it was just that easy to go to the other side of the world, all by yourself.

She's the best Aunt Manda in the world. And Anna Marie should know - she's got two of them.

Everyone needs an Aunt Manda.

She's such a great Aunt Manda, that as soon as she found out I was pregnant with Anna Marie, (and we lived 500 miles apart) she started trying to figure out how to be with us when the kid was born. So she spent nearly a year with us, going to school at the University of South Carolina at Aiken. And all she ended up with from the experience was $6,000 in student debt.

And the first year of Anna Marie's life. Totally worth it in her book - being there in the room when her first (and so far only) neice was born. Being able to take the baby's very first photograph, in which the 15-minute-old looked straight into the camera lens. It was love at first sight for both of them.

It was Amanda, not me, who chronicled Anna Marie's first year of life in pictures. Without her, I wouldn't have a completed first-year scrapbook, but a bunch of empty pages. Because I was in no shape that whole year to do anything constructive.

I'm sorry about all the time I wasted, when we were younger, being awful to her. And the occasional awful moment we have now. I'm just glad that we've been able to have a relationship as adults.

Because my sister is one of the coolest people I know.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Happy Birthday dad!


That's my dad, holding Anna Marie on a family trip a couple of years ago.

Today is his birthday! He's 56 years old.

No, he isn't a biker, despite the do-rag. He does like motorcycles, and has owned a couple in his life. He wears the bandannas to protect the delicate skin of his bald head.

Love ya, dad.

Last night we traveled about 40 miles to meet him at an Italian restaurant he really likes. He was supposed to come there after he got off work, but as we pulled up, we realized the place had gone out of business.

Oops.

Guess where we ended up. Go ahead. Guess.

Give up?

Cici's Pizza.

Yep.

He really likes Cici's. It was his idea. He gets them to custom make his favorite pizza - tomatoes, onions, sausage, and green peppers.

So there we were - awash in a sea of noisy kids. It was great.

Afterwards, he wanted Cold Stone Creamery for dessert.

You'll never believe what happened next.

They were out of business, too!

We came back to my house, and ate a peanut butter pie (made with tofu, by the way) that my sister had made. Peanut butter is just about my dad's favorite thing in the whole world, so that worked out well. He doesn't even mind the tofu. Much.

He spent his birthday helping others - he looked at an electrical problem at my house, and then he went to get lumber for my aunt who just had a new manufactured home moved onto my parents' land.

That's my dad. Always helping every one else.

At supper time, he decided to go to Western Sizzlin. When we got there, the most wonderful thing happpened.

He got to eat for free!

Seems that if you come in on your actual birthday, they give you either a steak or a buffet for free. He decided on the steak.

So all in all, he had a pretty good birthday. I don't know what other folks got him, but I found him a clock shaped like a tire. He's a mechanic, so of course, he loved it. I don't know if mom will let him put in the house, though, or if it'll be relegated to his shop outside.

Let me say it again - Happy Birthday dad!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Hooray for Build a Bear!



Gah - I can't believe I just typed that title.

I wish I had a picture of Anna Marie at Build a Bear, but I left my camera at home! And yes, I have a camera phone, but it gave me an error message about too many applications open or something. Huh?

Anyway.

I never would've guessed how much fun my little one had at that store. I even had a good time.

I'm taking her back soon to make a lamb for Easter.

So, if you ever have a chance to go to one of those parties, or to just take a kid to Build a Bear, I highly recommend it.

Here's how it went down:

All the kids sat in a circle with their "party hostess" and got a name tag. (Funny, but the "hostess" kept calling Anna Marie "Anna Nicole." Too much E News, huh?)

Then they tell how they know the birthday kid. And under the plan we had, they got to choose a bear - either a "chocolate" or a "vanilla."

Anna Marie took the chocolate bear. She's my kid, alright.

Then, they got their flat bears and took them over to the stuffing station, where they took turns pushing the foot pedal as the hostess stuffed the bears.

Those Build a Bear folks, they're friggin' geniuses. They devised a game for the kids who weren't stuffing to play - hot potato, except with a little satin heart. That way, the kids were occupied while someone else was stuffing their bear, and it was an arbitrary way to decide who went next.

Speaking of the hearts, each kid got two - one for the birthday boy, and one for their bear. They each put a heart into Aaron's bear, after wishing on it and such.

Then, before they stuffed their bears, they put their hearts in.

Anna Marie's wish - "That I would be with my bear FOREVER!"

Aww.

I always wondered how the bears were sealed in the back, but they've thought of that too. The bears are pre-sewn, and the hostess pulls it tight and ties a knot. I'm thinking that part taks LOTS of practice.

When the bears are stuffed, the child tells the hostess what the bear's name will be. True to form, Anna Marie named hers "Power Ranger Bear."

The bear then got a T-shirt. Instead of a pretty pink one, you guessed it, we ended up with one with flames that said "All Star." She said Power Ranger Bear was a boy's name, so she would have a boy bear. And although the pink Supergirl shirt looked tempting, no self-respecting Power Ranger Bear would be caught stuffed in one.

Flames it was, then.

After each bear was issued a Cub Condo (a cardboard box - the bears are apparently bums) and a birth certificate, we went across the road to McDonald's for the rest of the party.

It wasn't an "official" McDonald's party, so we just grabbed tables and took over half the restaurant.

I'm enjoying that some of my cousins have kids not too much younger than Anna Marie, and it gives us another excuse to get together. Especially since Anna Marie's other cousins live 500 miles away.

And I finally got to see Ameila, the baby sister of the birthday boy and daughter of my cousin Cheree.

Oh my gosh - I don't know how my aunt Esther, the youngest of the 10 Coleys, ended up with more grandkids that look like that side of the family per capita than any of her other siblings. I guess the rest of us cousins just married people with stronger gene pools or something.

But! My camera phone was working at McDonald's, and I got a picture!



Just look at those cheeks!

And I think she's going to have the Coley blue eyes!

(Pardon me for the baby excitement, will you?)

So, to sum up: Build a Bear was fun. We're going back - maybe not the "99 times" that Anna Marie wants, but at least once more to make the lamb. Even Jason is on board with this one.

And Amelia is cute! And I finally got to see her!

Saturday was a good day.