Turn around yourself

Victoria was excited all weekend that today she would be the line leader. She talked about it before bed and when she woke up this morning. There is not set calendar for line leader at her school. They go by abc order and according to Vic, the teacher said her turn was today. I was so happy for her and excited to see her at the end of the day and ask about all the places she got to "lead" everyone too. When I got her in carpool, she wasn't smiling and seemed kind of down. I asked about the line leader and she gave this sad face (holding back tears) and said, "I wasn't the line leader, Salita was." I felt so bad for her. Salita's name is out of oder so maybe he was abset and today they let him make it up. I don't know what happened but I knew what she was feeling. I have been there before. I think we all have. The great thing about Victoria is that she bounces back. After a snack of chips and a naptime story, she was fine. After nap, she was her normal playful self. She was beboping around the house singing, "You do the hokey pokey and you turn AROUND YOURSELF" She sang it over and over. I couldn't stop laughing at it and that made her sing it over and louder again. This is one of the things I love so much about her. She turns words around just enough to make it funny and I never have the heart to correct her.

We had outside play time tonight and it was fun. Willy got out the dollar store light up spinners that Wendy got for us and we chased those until it got dark. It was fun! David had fun too just stumbling around picking up rocks and investigating the yard.

10 things I love about my brother.....

We celebrated Chris' birthday last night and that was fun. We went out to eat *What a treat* and had cake. I made him a book called "Ten Things I love About My Brother" and he really enjoyed it. I had a top ten list of great things about him with illustrations. I included all the times he "saved the day" for me and made me laugh so hard my sides hurt. He really seemed to like it. I wasn't sure how he would react because with a guy, you never know how they will like scrapbook stuff. One of my favorite stories of Chris was in college. Since he is a musician, he has a lot of musician friends. We often went to see them play in the small clubs around town. On one rare occasion, we went to a Thursday night show even though we had class the next day. We don't drink and we never drank. After a show, we went to a local gas station for a 40 oz diet coke. The caffeine would then wind us up so we would sit up and talk. I didn't live in the same town so when we went to a show, I spent the night at Chris' apt. On this night we were up talking and I had to use the bathroom. I went in only to realize he was out of toilet paper (There was NO type of Kleenex, paper towel, TP, nothing to use!!!) and the toilet was stomped up. It was past 2:00 am. I asked for Chris to fix it and he then notified me that he didn't have a plunger. He asked me if I could "hold it" until I went to class the next morning. After 40oz of Diet Coke????? NO! I convinced him we HAD to go to the 24 hour Wal-Mart for a plunger and toilet paper. SO here we are 3:00 am in line at the Wal-Mart with a plunger, toilet paper, and a box of twinkies. Did I mention the bearded lady was in line in front of us? The lack of sleep, extra caffeine, and being the silly heart that I am, I started laughing hysterically. The bearded lady is really what sent me over the edge in laughter. Get this...She was looking at us like we were weird! I almost knew this would be a story that I would look back upon one day and laugh. Would you believe that I got a little sleep, took a shower and made it to my 8:00 am class!

Today was kind of fun. Vic went to school and Will kept David while I went to Bible study. David had a yucky nose and I hated to share it with the church so he didn't go. We got a sales pitch for a multi-level marketing company at church. I didn't like that at all. It kind of made my skin crawl to have Bible study cut short to hear someone (not in our Bible study) giddy about signing us up to sell this product.
It just came across so fake. ICK! What a waste of church time.

We played outside with the kids after dinner and it was really fun. It was cool and nice outside. David liked the slide and Vic was doing great on the climbing wall. We got the kids bathed and put David to bed. Will and I did something we have never done together....We played Candy Land with Victoria. One of us plays a game with her at a time, never the two of us. It was great even though Victoria got tired of it and told us to finish the game without her...so we did. Willy won. (As Usual)

I made another binder and I really like it. That is the photo above.

You just got to laugh

I have had a nagging pain in a tooth and today I went to the dentist to check it out. I had to have a root canal. I wasn't expecting that! I figured it was just a cavity and needed a filling. I don't have dental insurance and I have never had a root canal so I was kind of in shock over the cost. They told me it could be up to 1,400! I was about in tears! I got the procedure and then the dentist gave me good news...I didn't need a crown. He just did a filling which made the total cost only $740. That is a blessing! After the work was done, I ran to my car in the rain and decided to run some errands. Last week I got some large plastic tubs at Wal Mart. I got home and realized that the lids didn't fit the tubs so I went today to return them. Now picture this.... last week I had to put the tubs in the lower rack of the buggy because the basket was full. Every time I turned or stopped in a hurry, the tubs flew out. This happened about 6 times last week. Twice in the parking lot. With that said, today was along the same line of embarrassment. I had the four tubs and lids under one arm with a huge golf umbrella and purse in the other arm. I was a sight! I kept dropping the lids, tubs, and umbrella slinging water everywhere. I just had to laugh with my numb mouth! When I got inside the door, people were standing there watching me and laughing too. This is typical Tricia for you.

I just had to laugh at Victoria too. She and her inner diva had a rough day with wardrobe. She didn't like anything I picked out and wanted to wear winter clothes. When clothes don't fit to her liking, she says, "It's not working!" in a loud shrill way. I'm sorry.... today it was funny to me and no, I haven't taken any pain pills from the root canal either! First her pants "were not working" then her shorts "were not working" and then her shoes "were not working". I don't know what really wasn't working but I guess she wasn't happy with it. What a blessing that I could laugh! Some days as you can imagine it's not so funny. When I started laughing, Victoria turned it off and snapped out of her distress. I guess she knew her fussing "wasn't working" on me. Don't get me wrong. She is a delight. We just have our days like everyone else.

David is the complete opposite. He is happy about everything. He giggles when a gnat flies around his face. He giggles when gets splashed with water in the tub. He is happy to see Mr. Lamerkins at bedtime. He is the most easy going child I have ever met! I just wonder what he is thinking sometimes. It will be nice when he starts to express his thoughts. I would also like to know where he is stashing my things. He takes off with remotes, the computer mouse, phones, and flashlights. I bet he has a treasure trove of things I have yet to find.

I help Victoria play

One of my favorite things to do on school days is to look through Victoria's take-home folder. She is so proud of her work. Her teacher must be talking about helpers at school because Victoria had some artwork with the title "I'm a helping hand". The paper had Victoria's handprint and a place where Victoria must have dictated, "I help Mommy play!" and the teacher wrote it down. Play time is very important in this home and I do need her help! If it wasn't for Victoria, I may not get in the adequate play time that I need! I love it!

We had a treat last weekend. We had a doe and fawn come right up to the window of the house. I took some photos of them. Most were out of focus because they are quick but a few were nice. Victoria loved seeing the baby.

Krispy's shower was fun! They played some cute games and I got some great party ideas.

great day!

I had a great day today. I didn't do anything really special but just did simple things with my family here at the farm. I had an awesome night sleep! I fell asleep at 7:30! I usually don't go to bed until 1:00 am and I wake up several times a night. I think a good night sleep makes such a difference! Thank you Lord for sleep! I think the lack of sleep must have caught up with me. I just couldn't keep my eyes open after the kids went to bed. I had a cola with dinner tonight so I may not get to sleep right away but we will see.

Okay, so back to the day. I cleaned the upstairs bathroom! I know that sounds silly to be happy about but it felt good to get one more thing organized. David's room is right off my bedroom so I don't get to clean it when he naps. Will played with the kids while I got to clean! I threw away a garbage bag of old shampoo, soap, etc. and put together a bag of extra baby gear for a friend. Victoria and I painted sun catchers. She really enjoyed it. Her little face was so serious. Her work table is right in front of a window so we watched butterflies too. The kids took a good nap and I helped Will with the new gutters. Later today we were all outside watching/helping with the gutters. We had the hose out to test them and Victoria had fun with that! David had a ball too. They were wet, dirty, and happy. After a while of water play, we took a bath, and drove around to look for deer/turkey. Didn't see anything but had fun looking. It was a great day!

Tomorrow I'm off to a baby shower for an old friend. She is having a girl and I'm so happy for her! I'm excited to celebrate her! I love to make baby gifts too. I usually buy a gift and make at least one for my expecting friends. Christi (I call her Krispy, or Krispito) doesn't know my blog so I can tell what I made for her. She got my old standard...baby wreath for the hospital door white with pink ribbon and pink baby trinkets attached like rattles, a bottle, nail clippers, spoon, toothbrush, etc. I also made my first actual scrapbook. It is 8 x 5 1/2 and covered with pink and green paper, ribbons, matching fabric, and a ribbon. Her baby may be named "Elizabeth" so I added a hot pink "E" to the ribbon. I will try to add photos later. Kripito is also getting a diaper champ! Had to do something practical! I started thinking about a gift that she could really use for a while and that is when the diaper champ idea hit me. I mean really, it is used for years and I love mine.

Coachwhip

After some research, I think the snake I saw was a coachwhip. There are two variations. Some are brown some black. The snake I saw was black with white tail. It held its head up the entire time. I kept checking on him and he never put his head down. That fits the description of a coachwhip. It also looks like the picture on the internet. I just don't know if they are found in Alabama so much. They are not poisonous but they bite repeatedly if they feel cornered or are picked up. I'm still looking to make sure. I hope no one is scared to come out here now.

Snake!!!

Rick and Bubba were talking about snakes the other day and Bubba referred to them as the Devil's hand puppet. I always laugh when I hear it but now I believe it's true. I almost stepped on one today when I was holding David. Will drove by on the tractor and I thought it would be fun to take the kids in the stroller to watch him disk the fields. Victoria stayed in the house to put on her shoes and I took David to the garage to get the stroller. As I stepped out the door, I felt the leaves rustle around me. I figured it was the little lizard that lives around the door. He doesn't bother me. I just want to make sure he doesn't get in the house so I'm always looking for him when I open the door. The garage door happened to be locked so when I walked over to the door to go inside, there he was. His head was up and he was looking at me. I could hear Victoria calling me from inside. I yelled to her not to open the door that there was a snake in front of it. I asked her to unlock the side door but that was really worthless. She had no clue what to do. I think we need to show her how to unlock/lock, open/close all doors in matters of emergency. After a few minutes of me deciding what to do, Victoria opened the door. The screen was still closed so I told her to back away and that I was going to jump inside. There was no other choice. Most of the snake's body was hidden so I couldn't see exactly how long he was. I could tell he was at least 3 feet, maybe more. She now wanted to see the snake so I just popped open the screen and made a leap inside. I made it! I also made a big sign to hang up to warn Willy. I'm sure he wouldn't see the snake at first either. I am pretty lucky. I have lived here for 3 1/2 years and have only seen one other baby snake. Dustin found one just about 6 inches or so and showed it to us. I'm really surprised after all the walking I do, that I have never come across a snake. The only time I find one is inches from my door. I went for a walk this morning with the kids and thought I heard a rattle. Will was with me but he didn't hear it. I bet it was a snake. They are out here! Yes, I was scared. Yes, my heart was pounding, Yes, I didn't know what to do. Wouldn't you be scared? Well at least surprised? My fear only lasted seconds until I realized it was a black snake and I think those are "good" snakes. I don't want to kill it, I just want him relocated. Maybe he would like being "relocated" to snake Heaven....No No I won't do that. Willy will do it. No, NO, Willy will hopefully remove him or at least sling him out of the doorway. I would have done it but I had David in my arms. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I'm not a 100% farm girl yet but I'm working on it.

Oh, Willy just walked in, The snake is gone.