Silly Rednecks

My little redneck in training

Here is the latest addition to Scott's hunting arsenal - but hey, if it assures me a peaceful hunting season I am all for it! I do so love the time of year when I become a "hunting widow", and really look forward to when Hunter is old enough to go too! My sister's new man is a hunter and she can't stand it - personally I just don't get that. She can't stand it so much that she typically goes to "the camp" with him (barf) - I can't think of anything more unpleasant and boring than that! I have absolutely zero issues entertaining myself and do so enjoy getting through both cups of coffee with nothing but the sound of Good Morning America in the background. Another thing is that I certainly don't want to see where my meat came from - if I'm going to consume it, it must have always been faceless to me. I have a real issue with that - every year after the Rodeo I have a hard time eating meat after mingling with all of those cute animals - mind you I do always make a full recovery and go back to being a carnivore. My car has currently been given the boot out of the garage so the new redneck toy can park there - this I assure you is only a temporary solution as the Princess and I do not enjoy getting into a hot car! Hunter is all excited about daddy's new toy - Scott has already let him drive it, supervised of course. With any luck the next time Scott is heading out to the ranch to work he will pack the 4-wheeler and the boy! I can always hope!

Airborne - 1 ; Scott - 0

I think I witnessed the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life last night! Allow me to set the scene leading up to this - about an hour before this happened he was sniffing and snorting around and said "great now I am getting a sore throat". He has had a scorching case of poison ivy for the last week, which he still has (one day the buffoon will learn to wear a long sleeve shirt when going out to play in the woods), and has left town today for a 3 day meeting that he is hosting and therefor doing all of the speaking for, so a cold and sore throat are really the last things he needs. We were in our bathroom at our respective sinks getting ready for bed when I noticed him popping something into his mouth - figured it was NyQuil or something like that. When all of the sudden I catch him out of the corner of my eye flailing around with this look of panic or something strange on his face. He quickly grabbed his cup and started to take a drink when all of the sudden he started foaming orange at the mouth - for a minute there I would have sworn he was rabid! Then he spits the offending substance out into the sink and it was just sitting there bubbling away - it was at this point that I noticed the tube of Airborne sitting on the counter next to him! I was laughing so hard I was literally crying! He had popped one of those tablets (which are about as big around as a quarter) into his mouth and started chewing it up like it was a vitamin C tab. Needless to say when his spit hit the thing it started to slowly bubble and fizz until it got good and wet with is drink of water and then really took off with the effervescent action! Once I quit laughing I asked him what he was thinking and he said he thought you took it like a vitamin C (it was zesty orange flavored) - now mind you he has taken these in the past - it wasn't until after the "incident" that he bothered to pick the tube up and actually read the directions (which clearly state that you dissolve the tabs in water), typical man! This is probably one of the top Aggie moments of his life!

A Picking We Will Go....

Behold the fruits of our labor - well half of them at least!

This morning Scott and I got up and headed off for our annual pilgrimage to the country to pick peaches. A friend of mine likes to remind me every year when we do this that you can indeed buy already picked peaches at Kroger; I have assured her that they are not the same. We started doing this when I was pregnant with Hunter and it is something we have just continued on with. We have a deal worked with my mom - she comes over and keeps the kids, we go do the manual labor, and then split our haul with her - it's a win win situation. Our half of the peaches are currently spread out on the breakfast room table to finish ripening - I will be spending the next week packing peaches up to freeze to turn into peach cobbler at a later time - yummy! Hunter is not a huge peach fan so I don't think he would particularly enjoy going on this outing and besides you are picking off of trees (he's tall, but not quite that tall); I did take him a couple of years ago to pick blueberries though and he thoroughly enjoyed that! The bushes we just the perfect height for him to pick his own and fill his own basket. They really should have weighed him upon entry and exit because they definitely lost money on him coming through there - he ate as many as made it into his basket. Hunter is a fruit eating fool, always has been - I think I packed two gallon sized Ziplocs of blueberries from that trip and put them in the freezer and they were gone in a month! He's a fruit junkie - but I would rather that be his pleasure than candy or some other kind of junk food. I need to see if I can find somewhere closer to take him for blueberry picking - the place we went was in Plantersville and with gas being as insane as it is at this point that makes for some mighty expensive berries!

Maisie and her Bling Bling!

Maisie and I had a little field trip today to get her some bling - some ear bling that is. Okay, so they aren't real blingy - just the typical gold ball piercing studs. Once they heal up she will have to sweet talk her daddy into getting her something real snazzy! Ha! I'm sure people will still look at her and say how cute "he" is, but maybe now it won't be as frequent. Scott was not at all in agreement with me on having it done now - he feels confident that we should have waited until she was getting married to have it done! I looked into it and pretty much everything said to do it while they are young - I never thought I would be one to pierce a baby's ears, but I guess better to go ahead and do it when you don't get all of the drama that comes along with doing it to an older kid! She didn't cry much at all - she actually cried less than when she has gotten her shots, so it must not have been too terribly traumatic. I took her into the pediatricians office to have it done - not all germy like those places in the mall - and you know me and my germ "issues". Anyway, she was telling me about what kind of earrings to buy once they are healed up and not to get the birthstone earrings from Claires - said she fishes a lot of those out of little earlobes - can you imagine? The earrings to use are supposed to be flat on the part that touches your ear - like my diamond studs are - she said "yeah like those, she can just have those"! Yeah right - I had to bear Scott's young before I got diamond studs out of him (they were my first Mother's Day gift), I will not be handing these over until they are putting me in the ground - at that point she can have them! My sister has more jewelry than any one person should be allowed (and no kids) so I guess Maisie will have to really butter her up for the title of "Favorite Niece" so that she can be the sole heir to her vast collection!

Ahhh the Sweet Sounds of Summer

If you hadn't noticed it was a little chilly out today and the sun opted to hide out until well into the afternoon. That would have been fine and all except for the little issue of a birthday party Hunter was attending today - let me be a little more specific - a pool party. The pools opened the first weekend of May and we have already been when it was HOT out and the water was cold then, so I knew it was going to be really cold today and therefor opted not to even bother putting on my bathing suit (and you know I am deeply saddened by that). Let me just add that I went bathing suit shopping the other day, a task which I do not enjoy on a normal year, but I really don't enjoy it shortly after having a baby! Although my weight is not all that far off of where it was when I got pregnant things don't seem to be where I left them! The pool was pretty much a ghost town (normally it would be packed at 1:00), except for all us party goers. The cold temperature didn't stop all of the little apes from getting right in, although they continually got back out and would come up literally shivering needing to be wrapped up in a towel; the birthday girl had blue lips by the time it was over, no joke! They all seemed to have a fabulous time - the party favors were flip flops and gum because the birthday girl is all about shoes and gum! Hunter LOVES his new baseball flip flops - so much so that he has worn them to bed- he is in there out cold still wearing the flip flops!

After we got back from the party the ice cream truck came by - I swear if he sees my car in the garage he stops at the driveway until Hunter comes running out - he is probably his best customer! Hunter has to buy his own ice cream - I think it is a good lesson in fiscal responsibility- and besides the notion of getting some coin for helping out around here appeals to him. He knows that he has to have money to buy his ice cream so he is more willing to do as you ask if there is cash involved! My mom thinks that I am just terrible for making him use his own money for his trips to the ice cream truck - she has threatened to give him an ice cream allowance! Now we all know good and well that she would have NEVER given us a recurring ice cream allowance - this is that whole "I'm the Grandmother I can do what I want" philosophy coming out! I will give her credit for the fact that she didn't make us use our money to buy ice cream, but then again the ice cream man MIGHT have come by our house once a summer - and that was on a good year! This guy is by every other day and has been since March! Hunter's little "habit" adds up, so I think it's good for him to see first hand that if his piggy bank is hungry, so is he!

No Mother of the Year Here!

Well it's official - I have undoubtedly lost my chance to be nominated Mother of the Year! Why you ask? Maisie watched TV today (I can almost here you gasping in disbelief now)! When I say she watched TV I don't mean caught a passing glimpse as we went from one room to another in the safe confines of our own house, I mean was deliberately placed in front of a TV by the hands of her own mother! What kind of a mother am I? I'll tell you what kind of a mother I am - one who wanted to get in a complete workout, that's what kind of mother I am! I've been going to workout as soon as I drop the boy at school which puts me getting there about 9:30 or so; Maisie goes back down about 10:00 so I am really pushing my luck to squeeze in my full workout and have so far been unsuccessful in my attempts - I get just about done and then she keys up so home we go. This morning we were really late getting there and she started getting fussy pretty much no sooner than we arrived (normally she sits in her saucer in the middle of the circuit and watches everybody); she was in her saucer and started to fuss so I tried putting her back in her seat and she was not impressed with those accommodations either. Then I was struck by this idea of sheer brilliance - let me put her in front of the TV and see how she does. In all honesty she is a real TV junkie, she likes to sit in Scott's lap and root for the Astros and she watches GMA and drinks coffee with me every morning after her breakfast. She was immediately content and mesmerized watching that show with the 3 toed sloth followed by the one where everything is a word (I have seen the stuff in Target but don't know the name); you must forgive my ignorance as it has been a while since we have done PBS around this house! So in the kids' room she sat contently watching the evil TV, sucking away on her binky, and playing with a sweat towel - it was a clean sweat towel, I may let my kid watch TV but I would never hand her a sweaty towel to play with (what kind of mother do you think I am?)! Never heard a peep out of her and when it was time to go she looked at me like "excuse me lady I'm not done here, this show is not over"! I think the only people who actually buy into that whole don't let you kids watch TV hooey are those who don't have kids! Hunter watched TV and amazingly his head never started to spin around nor did green stuff start spewing all over the place and I feel confident that Maisie will fare just as well! Not that I'm advocating using TV instead of interacting with your child, by no means would I ever use it as babysitter, but a little TV isn't going to kill 'em. Honestly people, it's not like she was watching Lifetime, she was watching PBS!

The End has Come

I just had to post this picture again because I

absolutely love it! He just looks so sweet and

innocent - could be because there is no sound!

Tonight was the last game of the season, YIPPEE!!! Not that I'm happy to see it end, but I am happy to be done with the whole Team Mom gig! Ask me if I will volunteer to do it again and my quick answer is NO WAY JOSE! But, we all know me and the fact that I have a real issue saying no, so if no one steps up to do it on his next team I'm sure I will foolishly step up to the plate again (do I ever learn?). There is definitely a lot of work that goes into doing the Team Mom thing, but the worst part of it is that I have to be at everything, practice included, so I rolled poor Maisie out of bed many times to head off for some T-Ball function (Scott was helping coach so I couldn't leave her with him) - thank you god for giving me an easy going one this time! It's not even all of the work involved, but the fact that I really didn't get to watch the games because I was busy getting the batting helmets in the right order for the next inning when no one was in the dugout (not real efficient with a baby hanging off your front) and keeping the little apes from killing each other while they were in the dugout; honestly I think I missed the first 6 times Hunter was at bat. I think I would far rather just be able to sit in the stands and be a spectator; maybe even one of those parents who gets into a fist fight because they didn't like the call on their kid! Are you picturing this? Guess it's best they don't sell beer in the concession stand (or "the confession stand" as Hunter calls it), otherwise it could happen! I would have to remember to first remove Maisie from the papoose before I started rolling around on the ground with someone! Could I get anymore PWT? Ahhh, you can take the girl out of the oil field, but not the oil field out of the girl. Once the team party is over we are on an official T-Ball hiatus - until the fall league starts that is.

Maisie can Riverdance!

Maisie has been sitting in the saucer for a few weeks now and was pushing off an awful lot so I thought it might be time to resurrect the Jumperoo. I bought this when Hunter was a baby and said then that it was the best $70 I had ever spent; this thought still holds true, I have definitely gotten my moneys worth from this thing! She loves jumping around and just hanging out in the thing; she looks like she is Riverdancing while she is doing it too.



It is hard to believe she is already big enough to be doing these things; seems like just yesterday she was still just sitting there being a blob, and now look at her! You really do forget how fast they grow up on you - one day they are so cute and nonverbal and the next they are little smart asses (although there is no escaping that trait coming from these genes)! I took Maisie in for her 4 month Well Baby last week (a little late I know, poor second child) and she is now 15 pounds (60%), down from the 85% at her 2 month appointment, and 25 1/2 inches (80%), up from the 55% at her 2 month. Whew, maybe we will escape short and squatty after all, we're looking for long and lean! She got 4 shots again and was just as unimpressed with them this time as she was the last - she is convinced Barbara (the nurse) is evil! I looked back to see how she sizes up to Hunter at the same age and she is quite dainty compared to the horse! Hunter was in the day he turned 4 months and was 17 pounds 13 ounces; no wonder my back is ruined, that kid has always been an oaf!

Happy Mother's Day

Someone passed this along to me on email and I thought it was so very fitting to post.
This is for all of you "seasoned" moms, for those just starting out, and for those of us who fall somewhere in the middle but have been at it long enough to know that the first birthday party is really a celebration for the parents for keeping them alive a year!


This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers
in their arms, wiping up vomit laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry
Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies
who can't be comforted?

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their
hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew
Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see.
And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on
their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at
football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars. And
that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of
course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery
store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice
cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but
realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and
explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to,
but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a
year. And then read it again, "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their
shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for
Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their
daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little
voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are
at home -- or even away at college -- or have their own families.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach
aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to
get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them
up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find
the words to reach them. For all the mothers who bite their lips until
they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the
mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of
their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school,
safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful,
and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad
hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all
at the same time?

Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache she feels when she watches her
son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the
very first time?

The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2
A.M. to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when she just wants
to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in her home?

Or the need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she
hears news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for
young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. ..And for mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us...

Magic Kingdom

Minnie, Hunter, & Maisie

Mickey & Hunter with the picture

Hunter drew of Mickey, for Mickey

Hunter and his hero Goofy
Hunter and Donald -

they share the same attitude

Maisie & Piglet

Tigger and Maisie

The family - Scott

Somebody had to take the pictures!


We spent our final 2 days in Magic Kingdom - since this is the biggest and most crowded park you can definitely spend more than 1 day there. On Thursday it was crazy packed in there - if I didn't know better I would have thought we were there in July, not April! Like I said earlier Hunter has become a huge fan of the water rides and there is one is this park too, Splash Mountain, so we spent the majority of Thursday in Frontierland riding Splash Mountain. There is also a roller coaster that he was a big fan of Big Thunder Railroad; I think Hunter rode both of these at least 4 times each on Thursday, he just couldn't get enough. When he had finally had enough of Frontierland we headed off to The Haunted Mansion which they have added some cool new things to - they describe it as being "more haunting than ever". I just love going for a ride in a "doom buggy". After we were through there we made our way to the tea cups, after all you can't go to Disney and not take a whirl in a tea cup. Our dinner reservations were late Thursday night, 7:50 (okay, so it really isn't late for normal people but we eat with the blue hairs!), but it was so worth it. We ate at Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary Resort (Hunter was thrilled that he finally got to ride the mono rail) - all of these character meals are buffets, but I think this is one of the nicest ones we have been to. We dined with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Hunter had drawn (and even autographed) a picture of Mickey and gave it to him when he came by - he was so excited that he was able to give Mickey his picture. On Friday morning we got up, packed up, checked out, and headed back to the park. Fortunately it was not crowded at all and we were able to get through rides relatively quickly. The first place Hunter headed was back to Frontierland for some more Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad action. We had late lunch reservations at The Crystal Palace - Tigger, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore were all there. After lunch we had a couple of hours until we had to head out so the boys went back to do some more rides and Maisie and I went shopping and actually got a front row seat to see the big parade. She was quite taken watching all of the floats roll by and the characters walking by that all came in close to have a look and wave. We got back into Houston about 10:00 and by the time we got our bags, got back to the car, and finally walked through the door it was about 11:30. It was a very long day but well worth it since we were able to squeeze in another full day in the park. All and all it was a great vacation (once we remedied the ear infection that is) and I look forward to heading back again next year (Hunter is already planning the trip). I don't know that Maisie will attend next year as she will be in that newly mobile stage where they never want to stay in a stroller - I guess we'll just wait and see - we can always check her in to Chez Nana's with the dogs!