1 down....179 to go......

It was the first day of school.....

And while they won't thank me for it..I did not take the on the way to school pic. I took the coming home on the bus pics. But the bus was late leaving a school this afternoon, 24 minutes late, I am not sure which school but when you pick up at four schools there are going to be logistical issues the first day, and so they got home at around 4:50 instead of 4:26. They were not happy....but the driver assures me tomorrow will be better...I can only hope. Popstar and I sidewalk chalked till thay got home.....

Do you sense the relief....

I guess it could be worse.....except that it's day one...179 to go.....

Home the conquering Hero.......

OK Must catch up really quickly...lol. The last two weeks before school have been busy. My baby brother came home for a visit and of course his new wife, Heather.

Here she is with my sisters youngest son:

I say new wife but it has really been over a year since the wedding. It was just an awfully quick year. They are stationed on the West Coast so they don't get home much. But this particular weekend he had just graduated from Ranger school here in GA and so they came home to visit on what little leave he had. And OMG!!! What a guy. They say he has 2% body fat....I never found it.

Chris has been in the Military since he graduated from High School. Literally.....two or three days after he walked he was on a bus to Paris Island, SC. (Boot camp in SC in the summer...can you say GUNG HO!!) And he has always done so well. Went to a Military college. Top of every class, awards and accolades all the way. Did a tour of Iraq and some time in Korea. Ribbons, medals, coins, rank and hard earned privileges all the way. He is truly the perfect Soldier...dedicated, determined, responsible. He is who will keep us safe and sound. He will assure my children a safe place to raise theirs. He will also be remembered for all time by those children as the Dude with the MRE's. I coulda died. Poor guy has been eating MRE's for 3 months. But did he shirk...nope. When the conversation came up he was up and into his car and brought back assorted varieties for the kids to try. Even did an impromptu presentation on how they work for we the civilians who have never cooked food in boxes before:

*****UPDATE: I can not get the video to load and I don't know how to edit it....Sorry guys..It was really good.**********

Note to those at home: Very little that was edible made it past Chris that weekend. It seems they don't feed you nearly as many calories as you burn so I have at least 6 shots of him that look just like this:

But not a single bite of MRE touched his lips.

The Middle Wife

The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher.

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back. When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, and pictures of fish they catch, things like that, and I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing child, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'
'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.' She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'Mom walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.

'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Pizza Hut man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.

'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.
I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.

Now you have two choices...laugh and close this page or pass this along to someone else to spread the laughs. I know what I did!!!

Wow What a night...

*** You'll have to scroll to the bottom and pause the music***

Started off wonderfully..I got to chat with Amy from RIHOT the Mom of the cutest kid in the entire Yankee world...Her blog is private but trust me...Kiddos cute. Amy has a business called Book My Blog. And it is exactly what it sounds like. Totally cool. And really reasonably priced for all the effort that goes into it. Check it out at http://www.bookmyblog.com/ Once I get my blog a little farther along I will be looking into this. Mostly so the kids can have it when they get older.

But then in mid conversation:

Wham...phone starts crackling and power flickering. It was awesome!!!! So we found some candles and the camera (cause everybody should be out in a storm- and just so you know my Mother did teach me to come in out of the rain..it just didn't stick). It wasn't so much the lightning but the almost constant thunder. You could literally feel it. But one of the kids pointed out that my camera is not H2O proof so in I came. And got the camcorder. Cause why risk the cheepie camera when you can ruin the more expensive electronics? But I had too...really. Just in case I had water logged my camera I would still have footage......am I sick or what?

Hello...my name is Cindy and I have issues.

(PS...no electronics were harmed in the making of this post:

cause God protects fools and their cameras.)

I love being a guinea pig....

Note to self...Take photography class......

Our neighbors (AKA The Landlords) Rolf and Elaine make cakes. Professionally and they are so good. They made Popstar a cake for her birthday:

And Mrs. Elaine just dropped off this beauty. Apparently they are practicing for a wedding on Saturday and figured instead of throwing it away they would bring it to the kids. WOW! The kids are happy:And who wouldn't be. Their frosting is beyond compare and the cakes are light and moist...what gets me is the patience it takes to do this. All of it is free hand. I would be pulling out my hair....

So Thank you Mr. Rolf and Mrs. Elaine..from the bottom...well at least from my bottom...the kids tend to run it off.

*****UPDATE*****

Not only was it gorgeous from the outside- check out the inside!! I swear I am not a huge cake fan but Mr. Rolf and Mrs. Elaine may convert me. It's like baked velvet- thick and smooth but substantial...Per the kids : Moist and fluffy(kid one)...and heaven on earth... except better(kid two). I have said it before and I will say it again...Life is good.

PS It was actually too tall for my cake plate........Aggggg! What now?????

Another gem from the desk of Dad

We have enjoyed the redneck jokes for years It's time to take a reflective look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and God. If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up. Tire irons, squirrel guns and grit -- that's what rednecks are made of. I hope I am one of those. If you feel the same, pass this on to your redneck friends. Ya'll know who ya' are.

You might be a redneck if: It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, 'One nation, under God.'

You might be a redneck if: You've never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.

You might be a redneck if: You still say ' Christmas' instead of 'Winter Festival.'

You might be a redneck if: You bow your head when someone prays.

You might be a redneck if: You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.

You might be a redneck if: You treat our armed forces veterans with great respect, and always have.

You might be a redneck if: You've never burned an American flag, nor intend to.

You might be a redneck if: You know what you believe and you aren't afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.

You might be a redneck if: You respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same.

You might be a redneck if: You'd give your last dollar to a friend.

You might be a redneck if: You believe Jesus is the Son of God.

God Bless the USA!

The Lord must surely love Rednecks, why else would he make so many huh?

Whoops....

OK So Hubby got home last night and I got excited...no not like that....well ok I'll give ya that one...but at this moment I mean in the family friendly sense.

Alright I am either in the gutter or I need to choose my words a bit more wisely. Or both cause that didn't sound much better.

Let me try this:

Hubby called from the interstate and said come on and I did. In a screaming rush (We had to pick him up at the truck as it is WAY too big to bring to the house). So being the organized soul that I am I forgot my camera. And Popstar's camera. And my purse which had both cameras. Thank god my license is attached to my keys......wanna guess why?

HEY.... be nice....!!!!

So tomorrow we will go and take my purse and god willing (AKA Hubby will remind me...lol) I will have pics of the truck for your viewing pleasure. And so should Popstar....I can't wait.

*****UPDATE*****

Nope didn't happen....We didn't want to risk meltdown so drop off was quick.