Happy Birthday Savannah

Today is Savannah's 15th Birthday. And as has been the custom for the last 15 years, it is icing outside. Every year during the week of Savannah's birthday, we usually have some of the worst winter weather for our area. This birthday was no different, so the "going out" plans that we had, had to be moved until tomorrow. She didn' bat an eyelash, though. Not a hint of discouragement. Just, "That's O.K., mom. Today will still be fun. And now we have something to look forward to tomorrow!" Sweet, sweet girl.

I woke up this morning wanting to see everything layered with a blanket of snow, and instead saw that everything was encased in ice, and it was still coming down. So, I got out of bed, headed for the coffee machine, and then went around doing all the winter-check-list things that you have to do when you could be without power. Then I fed the birds, read my Bible, and hit the treadmill.
*Before I typed that sentence, we had not actually lost power, but I kid you not, just as I typed that...the power went out enough to reset everything, so we may not be out of the woods yet!!*

I made Savannah pancakes for her breakfast, and before I could get my one bite of my OWN breakfast eaten, Jackson bounded into the room to cheerily tell us all that he had discovered that he had 3 actual armpit hairs.

The day hasn't really gotten a lot better.

These are my happy place right now. I got them a few weeks ago at the JCrew outlet store for practically nothing. I Love them. And everytime I have to have a congratulatory discussion with Jack about his armpit hairs, I sneak into my room and pull these beauties out of their box and smile at them. (It's all I got right now, people.)

Cheers!

Melissa

Profane R Us

So, I have been working my fingers to the bone in this house rearranging, cleaning, sorting,etc. And for the past few weeks, there has been stuff all over the dining room table, so we have been forced to eat in front of the TV. Which I HATE. So, today, one of my goals was to get all the stacks of books and things cleared off the table so that we could have a nice family dinner this evening. I planned ahead and put chicken in the crockpot this morning, freeing up my afternoon to clean, sort and organize.

I was feeling prrretty good about myself come dinner time, as I served up lovely platefuls of chicken caciatori over rice, side salad, and lightly toasted garlic bread. Little did I know what was in store for me as I sat down to partake of this lovely meal with my three children.

Let me just add right here: I am SO, SO, SO, sorry Mom. Yes , you DID raise me better. And I am SO, SO, So sorry Grandmama (Race's mom). No I will NOT be the ruin of Race's offspring.

At the dinner table, as I have mentioned on here before, we play a little game called "high-low". We have done this ever since the kids were little. After we ask the blessing, each person says the very best thing about their day(their high), and the very worst thing about their day,(their low).

We went around the table as usual and finally came to Jackson. Now, let me stop here and quote him directly:
"My high was being able to play "line rider" today on the computer. My low..(and here he paused for emphasis, and spoke in a deeply, overexaggerated, dissapointed tone)"My low....was finding out.....that....my mother curses."

Of course the other 2 went absolutely wild with gut-splitting laughter while I tried to figure out from whence this ambush came.

Apparently my youngest son had been listening in on a phone conversation that I had earlier in the day with Race. I was lamenting the pathetic fact that we have no back-up heating system in place and I was forced to go out and pick up a kerosene heater....just.in.case.

This was all fine and good, except that I am an idiot, and I seriously had NO IDEA that you actually have to PUMP kerosene into your OWN little blue can. OR that you would have to ASSEMBLE the kerosene heater yourself.(All the while reading about the dangers of explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning if you should screw it up!) OR that you would have to let the wick SOAK for an hour BEFORE you ever light it!!!(Shyeah...imagine reading THAT by the light of your headlamp in 8 degrees) All of these revelations today, had combined to create quite the difficult and humbling day for me.

The man at Lowes actually laughed right in my face when I asked him so innocently, if they sold kerosene. He laughed right.in.my.face. I wanted to scream, "I DON'T LIVE IN A TRAILER PARK, O.K.??!! I SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE TO USE THIS!!(and then in a smaller voice),"we're gettin' a woodstove next year."

So anyway, Race called right about the time that I had locked myself in the bathroom reading about the whole "wick-soaking" thing.

In the course of explaining to him the whole ordeal, I said, "And...THEN....I mean...who KNEW you were gonna have to ASSEMBLE the damn thing!"

So, Jackson chose the dinner table tonight, to tighten the old screws on his mom, in a somewhat humorous manner. He had me. He KNEW he had me and he was enjoying it.

I started back-pedaling.

"O.K, O.K, you're right. *I* shouldn't talk like that. But sometimes, when I am under a lot of stress--"

And Jack in total sarcasm interrupted-"No, noooooo mom. It's perfectly O.K. for YOU to talk like that. I get it.Or- hey- maybe you have tourettes"
(thank-you "What About Bob").

Me: "O.K-NO. I do NOT have tourettes. And I shouldn't talk that way, but keep in mind kids, I grew up in a house with PAP-PAW as my dad."

They all nodded knowingly, as they had all heard the expertise with which Pap-paw sprinkled profanity in his speech, that made it sound as natural as a babies cry.

But then one of them interjected, "But Mam-maw was your MOM!"

They had me once again. My mother has never uttered a curse word. EVER. She once said "dang it!" and it was as if you could FEEL the arctic blast from hell freezing over.

So. I accepted defeat.

My children have a mother who uses profanity.(Even though I *try* not to).

A swearing, cursing, card-carrying member of the Profanity Club.

But you know the thing that really struck me??

I can't believe the little guy is just now hearing this.

I mean he is ELEVEN and he has never heard me swear before??

Damn. I'm a better mom than I thought!

Cheers!
Melissa

What do I win??

I remembered how to log in!! It's a start.

I've gotten lazy on Facebook. It's just SO EASY, ya know? Just pop in, type a few lines, talk to a couple of friends. (sigh)
I gotta admit it has been so much fun to catch up with old friends and see how everyone is doing.

I have been thinking about Race lately and so concerned for his well-being. I know that it is all in the Lord's hands, but it occupies a lot of my thoughts these days.

So I look around for things that I CAN control, and I do stupid things like ripping the kitchen cabinets off the wall, spackling, sanding, painting, installing new shelves, a new range hood, etc. I rearrange rooms, closets, and furniture like it was rearanging a knick-knack shelf.
The kids have learned to try to be quiet and just stay out of the way, but it doesn't really work. And any of the three of them could get an honest-to-goodness job as a furniture mover as we speak. So....ya know...a fall back, just in case the whole homeschool experiment doesn't pan out.
Well, Savannah and I went jeans shopping tonight. It was quite successful. In fact...we were both surprised to learn that we now wear the same size. Doesn't that sound great? I mean I'll be the number that shall not be named this year, and I can wear the same size as my soon to be 15 year old?! Yep...it's all good. Except for the fact that we can never actually swap clothes because she has an actual "girl shape". Me and my stupid Asian butt(Yes, somehow I was cursed with a super-flat ASIAN ass. I continue to believe that there is some Korean gal wandering around somewhere with an absolutely, traffic-stopping butt) will never fit into her clothes. (sigh)But, it's the little things at this point, right?

In other news around here, Jackson has taken up cursing. Yes, that's right...cursing. (sorry Grandmama...I try)
O.K., i's not EXACTLY cursing, but he has definitely developed an interest in the subject. SO we talked about it and discussed that you really don't need to be AFRAID of words, but cursing certainly wasn't very uplifting, and it usually just showed a lack of vocabulary for the person who was trying to explain themselves.
Now, lets keep in mind that Jackson's mother, yours truly, has been known....on stressed -out occasions to let the occasional "damn" or "hell" fly. (Sorry again, Grandmama) And Jack's Pap-Paw wouldn't even be understood if his speech were not punctuated with the gentle, southern, curse word here and there.
Anyway, he has taken to making up his OWN curse words. He dropped something the other day and exclaimed "DAMSEL!". (You can imagine the shock and awe that followed.) He continues to make up curse words and we continue to snicker quietly as he uses them.
Keep in mind that this was the same kid who 2 years ago, upon returning from a trip to Israel kept shrieking EVERY time we passed the field on the way to our house, "LOOK AT AT THAT ASS OUT THERE!!" "YEP! JUST LOOK AT THAT ASS JUST STANDING THERE!"

Cheers!
Melissa