smile!

There, now isn't that a lovely way to start the week?
How many teeth do they lose anyway?

Bluberry Picking

Color or black and white?


The girls and I went with some friends yesterday to pick some blueberrries. Yum! I loved that every possible generation was reprented in that field. It was one of our exquisitely beautiful summer mornings we sometimes to have here. Magical light with the air still a little chilly and the dew so heavy it was dripping off the pecan trees in the yard and just covering the berry bushes. The only way it could have possibly been more lovely is if the bushes hadn't been completely picked over! Probably by those experienced old timers that were there when the sun came up. We only came home with a1/4 a gallon. But oh were they tasty.
I just loved the way the sun made the dew covered webs look - it gave the berry field this mystical feel.

Guest spot by Mimi

Lesson from a 3 year old.

I totally enjoy reading Rae’s blog. Of course! She is my lovely daughter and has given me 2 most precious grandgirls and the blog is mostly about them. But just this once I’ve asked if I could have a guest spot on her blog. This just has to be shared.

Last Monday I drove up to see Rae and the girls. We had plotted out the day for a house hunting trip. (read - lot’s of time confined with a 5 and 3 year old) So we spent the ENTIRE day in the car together looking at different areas/houses in and around Cartersville. The girls were wonderful. So patient and good. By midafternoon though a little crankiness started. So Mimi promised a shopping trip to the store with the big red circle, if we could find it, so they had to look very carefully. (Rae will always behave for the promise of a trip to Target – just kidding baby.) Anyway, 2 little girls spent several hours looking for the store with the big red circle – it has horsies you know. It took us quite awhile to find it. Imagine that, it wasn’t in any of those subdivisions we looked at!

We actually did not find that store until after we met Daddy, he had to show us where it was. (read – somebody had to stay in the car with Chloe – it was like 95 degrees) So, Target and horsie shopping with a little side trip to the dollar aisle to pick up a tiara or two. Then back to the car and dinner – then it hit me, who was going to sit in the car with Chloe while we ate. So Mimi declined dinner to start for home. With Chloe. From the back seat came a little Evie voice – “Mimi, you don’t want to leave us” and a Rosie voice – “I go to Mimi’s house!” Quick change of plans – Rae and Nate go out to dinner ALONE* and Mimi heads southeast with Chloe and 2 little girls, promising “just about an hour more in the cars girls.” BUT we headed southeast into one of the worst thunderstorms I have ever driven through. Our trip took more than 2 hours – driven in horrendous rain causing flooding roads with thunder and lightning cracking all around us. I hate driving in the rain anyway and add to that 2 precious little girls that were already tired and cranky. A nightmare for me. They were perfect. I think the storm totally awed them. I did not hear one single peep from them and when I glanced back their eyes were HUGE. About 10 miles from home the rain began to let up and within a couple of more miles it was gone – totally. That’s when I learned that Rosie had really been pondering the mysteries of life. Because from the backseat came this:

Rosie: Mimi where you come from?

Mimi: ummmmmmmm (rapidly sorting answers in my head – Alabama?, Texas? Um my mother?)

Rosie: Da God make you Mimi?

Mimi: umm – Well yes Rosie I guess he did.

Rosie. Da God make me Mimi.

Mimi: I know he did Rosie and I’m so glad he did.

Rosie: Da God make Ebie & Mama & Daddy AND ChloeClo.

Mimi: (trying to hold back a chuckle) Yes, that’s right he did.

Rosie: Da God make da wain & da twees & da plants & da peoples – short pause – AND da shoogah.

Mimi: (trying to hold back more than a chuckle) That’s so right, Rosie.

Rosie, with a heartfelt sigh: Da God’s a bery busy mens.

Mimi: (no longer able to hold back anything so a choking) uh huh, very busy, Rosie.

Silence from the back seat. I was afraid she had figured out I was laughing and that offends her but I knew she couldn’t see the tears streaming down my cheeks. About 5 minutes more passed without a “Why you laugh at me Mimi?” so I relaxed and managed to get my self under control. Thank goodness. Because the pondering wasn’t finished, that little voice popped up from the back seat again.

Rosie: AND da dishes Mimi!

Mimi (humor starting again): uh huh Rosie.

Rosie: Mimi, da God make ebrysing!

Mimi: Oh yes, Rosie he did.

*Just to add : We quite enjoyed our alone meal. $7.00 beers in an Irish Pub that served organic fare while listening to a jonny cash cover band. Slightly strange but enjoyable.

Something a little less pitiful...

Being pestered for posts again. Here's the thing, Rosie's haircut is bad enough to break a lens (although I suppose I should record it for posterity) and umm, I sort of didn't want to tell y'all that I cut Evie's hair. Again.
See, my reasoning is that she wanted so badly to get it cut "like Rosie's" that she would probably find a pair of scissors and just do it herself. Why my children can find scissors in this house when I can't, I don't know. They just do, okay? And they're stealthy. When I found Rosie with her shorn locks, she was under the covers, pretending to sleep.
Now that my confession is out of the way I can share some new randomness from our lives.
Trying to capture the cuteness of the new cut, the collar kind of swallowed it up though.
Part of our pathetic pepper pickings. If I had only know I could have had a REAL garden instead of the sad pathetic containers I have. Although the giant ground hornets did invade the garden spot again. I know it's not our worry anymore but how do you get rid of them? They're aggressive little boogers.
Again, the peppers are hiding the hair, lol!
I must say that this picture really makes me feel like I've done something right. She knows how to eat her chocolate cake and read at the same time. (okay "read" but we're working on it....)
I hope she never reaches a point in life that she doesn't have to hold up her pants when she jumps. Although that afore mention chocolate cake+reading habit might catch up to her. Also, I've come to realize why trampolines are for kids and men. Trampolines don't like Mama's bodies.

Oh, and the realtor came today. So it's official. The little yellow house it looking for new owners. Poor thing doesn't realize it will probably be bought up by the big bad relocation company :(
I did take the opportunity to shoot my favorite parts of our home while it was all clean and shiny, so look for that soon.

Just a little conversation I had with Rosie this morning.
We're sitting on the couch, I've got my coffee and she's got some life cereal in a ziploc bag.
R: look it's got shoogar!
Me: hmm, it does, doesn't it?
R: Where does shoogar come from?
M: I explain abt sugar cane
R:Where does cereal come from?
M: tell her they make it w/ flour, sugar etc... and bake it
R: The man makes it with the shoogar? And bakes it with the pants?
M: mhmm
R:Where does coffee come from?
M: explain about coffee beans and tell her Daddy's tea is like that too.
R: God made Evie, Me, Daddy, Momma etc...
M: mhmm
R: God made the computer?
M: tell her God gave somebody the idea but that a man made the computer. Explain that the computers not alive etc...
R: God made Word Girl?
M explain about cartoons etc..
R: God made the shoogar?

At this point Evie woke up and joined us, thank goodness! I think I was running out out answers.
She does make us laugh even if it's bittersweet because we never got that with Evie.

Rosie also cut her hair yesterday. I know,I know. It's not even upsetting at this point, it's just happened too often around here. So I wouldn't let her use any scissors yesterday and they cut up paper all the time so this was a huge punishment. Well, as I'm typing this she comes running in. She has her head hung and she's all sad looking. She says "Momma I want to tell you something . I sorry to cut my hair." I'm thinking "ooh how sweet". HA! She pops that little head up and says "NOW I cut with the scissors?"

Our toothless wonder. Love, love that smile. And I can't believe how fast that tooth is coming in! Do you suppose it hurts?
For our IL peeps. Sweet corn is practically a national past time up there. Eating sweet corn in IL is like being at a wine tasting. I'm pretty certain they can tell you what variety and how old and what the farmer sprayed it with... I eat it and I'm like "hmm, it just tastes like... corn". Actually, I'm not certain this even qualifies as sweet corn since it was Alabama corn.
Hmm, okay. I had some of her actually shucking the corn and they didn't load? I'll try tomorrow - I need to be in bed now!
Ahhh sparklers. Don't you love it when you get to play with fire and it's okay?
Yum! An edible history lesson.

We had a GREAT weekend,( hehee that's totally a lie ). Dad and Nathan rewired the ENTIRE house. Yep, that's right. I said the entire house was rewired. (Thanks Dad!)
Now we just have to fix the foundation, the roof , the bugs and the standing water issues and we're good for the relocation company to buy the house. Shouldn't me too difficult, right? It is supposed to go on the market this week so we'll see. Maybe somebody else is wacky enough to want a 150 year farm house? Please? Activities start up in Aug for the girls, double mortgage payments do not sound like a fun thing.
I promise Rosie celebrated with us! Our schedules ave been all out of whack since Nathan started this new job - she fell asleep on the couch before dinner and would not wake up. And of course it was the only time I had my camera out! She even slept through us dragging her outside for fireworks.
Okay, well if you read all of that you must be as punchy as me. I need to go sleep now so that tomorrow I can vacuum up all the insulation that's covering my house. And all the other stuff that needs to be done before you sell a house.

blessed

Whew, things have been downright rocky around here lately. It's nice to stop and remember that despite all the bad stuff going on that we really do have quite a nice little life.