Girl Monkeys



Lidia - 3 years old
When she was in her "Lover of Oatmeal and Monkeys" stage.

Girl Monkeys and all its glory is dedicated to Lidia….the child who can make my heart do things no other can.

Backstory: I was talking to Emily the other day about the post I was doing on Sawyer and Lidia spoke up and asked why I wrote so much about him. My heart sank! I never thought about that, other than the fact that Sawyer says the funniest things.

All.The.Time.

So, how do you explain that to an 8-year-old….especially one who thinks she is being slighted somehow? I did the best I could. I told her that I talked about her too, but just a little differently. I promised her that I would write about her next. Let me tell you, the pangs of guilt have weighed heavily on me this week. So, without further ado…..I’m sharing this story that I wrote about Lidia when she was 3 years old. It may be a repeat for some, but I hope you enjoy it just the same.

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  Girl Monkeys

Some children will eat anything, but not Lidia. You have to give her a choice. It can be from the same box, but a few choices none-the-less.

Case and point......This morning I offered to fix Lidia some breakfast and after offering her several things, I mentioned the Fruit and Cream oatmeal that she likes. "OK", she said. So I pulled out the box only to find that she had already eaten all of the Strawberries & Cream and Blueberries & Cream. They were her favorites. So I told her that we only had Peaches & Cream or Bananas & Cream left. I could see her pondering the choices I gave her. This could be good or it could be bad. I was thinking, please be a good thing, please be a good thing......and then she looks straight up at me with those big brown eyes and tells me........

Oh, I need to make myself a mental note here to contact the Quaker Oatmeal people because apparently they don't know that their Bananas & Cream oatmeal is for "Girl Monkeys".

Laurie

  

I've Been Nominated For the Liebster Award

I have been nominated for a Liebster Blog Award by Cindy over at http://cindygambill.blogspot.com/. Thank you, Cindy.

I accidently stumbled into Vicki’s GYBP. Although, I do crafts from time to time, my blog is not one about crafting. However, after following so many of you, I have started crafting again. I just recently picked back up a knitting project that I was working on 2 years ago. So, let me just say thank you for the motivation. I only had five followers before Vicki's Grow Your Blog Party last weekend. My blog has grown by leaps and bounds…..I now have 63. I was also nominated for this award before, but decided not to participate the first go-round. But since then, I’ve seen how much you get to know fellow bloggers. So I thought, why not give it a go…… If you decide it’s not for you, that’s ok. Like I said, it took a couple of nominations before I decided to participate. But I sure hope you do. I would love to get to know you better.

Of course, there are rules to follow for the Liebster Award:

1. You must post 11 things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 new blogs & link them in your post.
5. Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster award so I can learn more about YOU!

Ok, here go the 11 things about me:

1. I’m an Army brat. Although I was born and raised in the south, my first few years were spent in different areas of the country, while daddy served in the Army.
2. I read excessively. I have with me always my iPad, a book, magazine or my kindle.
3. I love to research my family history, scrapbook, sew and garden. I do each of them at different times of the year or when the notion strikes. Oh, I love to cook, too.
4. I, also, love to be outdoors. Among my favorite outdoor activities are kayaking and running.
5. I have a small place near the beach in addition to my primary home.
6. I collect rocks from my many travels to place in my flower beds as mementos.
7. I play the piano a little.
8. I ran my first 5K in Oct. 2012
9. I married my soul mate.
10. I am an x-ray tech by trade, although I do not work in the field.
11. I am deathly afraid of snakes. If they don’t kill me, I can certainly come close to killing myself or break my neck trying to get away.

Moving on, Cindy’s questions for me:

1. If you could have any job you wanted, what would you want to be? I always wanted to be a writer and a college professor. Didn’t pursue either. Although, I guess I could be considered somewhat of a writer now that I blog.
2. What was the last movie you saw, what did you think of it? I saw “The Life of Pi”. It was a great movie. The first half hour was slow, but after that it was fantastic. The cinematography was awesome. A must see. Also, I have to say another must see is “The Impossible”…a true story about the tsunami that happened a few years ago.
3. Do you prefer to cook, bake or go out to eat? Although I love to cook, I prefer to go out to eat. I hate washing dishes!
4. Do you like to watch sports-live or on TV? I would have to say live, I guess. My husband is a Triathlete, so I follow him to his events.
5. What was your favorite Christmas gift you’ve ever received? My husband once gave me a car for Christmas, but he was only my boyfriend at the time. It was a brown MGB. I liked to have fainted when he gave it to me…..actually, he made the down payment on the loan for it. I made the payments. But it was a total shocker!
6. Do you prefer to vacation by yourself, with your family or your girlfriends? Definitely, family. Then I wouldn’t mind taking a vacation alone sometime. I’m a planner and love to steal away privately to do this. And I am looking forward to a getaway with the girlfriends sometime this year.
7. What is your perfect vacation? My perfect vacation is just to be on the beach watching my grandkids play and explore.
8. Are you a one project at a time person or a serial starter? Oh Lord, I am a serial starter for sure!
9. Do you prefer to be inside or outside? Outside. Love to run, kayak, explore, travel….you get the idea.
10. Describe your decorating style. I love anything Pottery Barn. If I win the lottery, I’m dumping my whole house full of furniture and decorations and heading over to Pottery Barn.
11. Who is one famous person you admire? This is a tough one. One person I admire is Billy Graham. To have such a conviction for a sinners heart and to spend years and years spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ….tops my list!

Next, 11 questions for the people that I nominate:

1. Do you exercise and if so, which exercise do you prefer?
2. Do you prefer winter or summer?
3. What has been your favorite book to read?
4. Which type music do you listen to?
5. If you could go back and meet your 20-year-old self, what one piece of advice would you give her?
6. Have you ever visited any of the National Parks? If so, which one?
7. Have you ever traveled outside the United States? If so, where?
8. How do you spend your quiet time?
9. What is your favorite quote?
10. Which do you prefer, sunrises or sunsets?
11. What is your favorite food? (Can you tell I’m hungry?)

My nominations:

1. Gin at http://keepsakemoments.blogspot.com/
2. Jan Powers at http://stonewellgarden.blogspot.com/
3. Shirley at http://shirleystitches.blogspot.com/
4. Michelle at http://boulderneigh.blogspot.com/
5. Sharon at http://fitandhealthybabyboomers.blogspot.com/
6. Anita at http://goingalittlecoastal.blogspot.com/
7. Nell at http://momentsinmapleglen.blogspot.com/
8. Beth at http://oneoldgoat.blogspot.com/
9. Eileen at http://robinhillquilts.blogspot.com/
10. Karen - Alaska Blue Moose at http://www.karendorcas.com/
11. Beulah at http://sowingstitches.blogspot.com/

I encourage you to stop by and check out these blogs!

Thanks,

Laurie
111 LaLa Lane

Slip Sliding Away....An Upstate Adventure

I'm from the south and when we get weather other than thunderstorms, it's a big deal. Winter weather? Even bigger. Sleet? Well...that just begs for us to come out and play.

So Friday....we head upstate. Straight in to the sleet and rain. Good thing Cliff's jeep is a 4-wheel drive with nice grippy tires.

Sleet didn't start to accumulate on the road until we got to Spartanburg. We took I-85 for a short route over to Sista's.

You know, I'm sure one way to weed out the folks that text and drive is to throw 'em on a sleet covered interstate. No lie, we saw 7 accidents within a 3 mile span. All single car accidents. It looked like they had spun out of control.

Experiment: Cliff wanted to see how easy it would be to spin out. He slowed down and waited until no traffic was coming and then hit the brakes. Nothing. His tires grabbed. They did spin very slightly, though, when he hit the gas to speed back up.

Conclusion: I'm going to be a little presumptuous and say that clearly these accidents were the result of someone not paying attention. Don't text and drive, people!

Finally, we made it to Sista's. Let's call her Terri. Now, she's not a biological sister. She is a cousin, but has been adopted into my clan as a bonafide "Sista". And we sistas love an adventure (weather permitting).

Now, if you read my blog about "Cracking Up", you'll know it was over some chili. I hope my laughing at Terri the other night over the chili didn't hurt her feelings. Terri was planning to make it for dinner Friday, but when we got there....No Chili!

I was silent. Thought to myself, let's not stir this pot. Ha! No pun intended. We had pasta instead. Turns out she was accommodating my athletic husband who had a Triathlon the next morning. Gah, she's so sweet?

So, Terri informs me to eat hearty. We are going to slide into an adventure after dinner. Huh? It's 27 degrees F outside. No matter! We are going sledding in the sleet covered hills that she lives in. Oh joy! Oh boy! Wait, this could get dangerous.

Scott, Terri's boss husband, has this thang about wives submitting to their husbands. Well, let's just say, "ain't happening". He just does what Terri says. And Terri said, "Honey, go get the sled." OMG!


Disclaimer: Cliff has videos coming out the ying yang. But for space and time's sake, I've only attached one.

"Said Video"

Jan 25, 2013 Sledding at Terri's.

Yep, that's me. And nope, I didn't die.

Good thing Scott told me how to turn the thing or I would have ended up in the bushes like Terri. Ha!Ha!

Cliff had his Triathlon Saturday. It was one of those that take place inside the YMCA. Lap pool, treadmill, and stationary bikes. Kind of a bummer. This dude likes the outdoors, but he'll take what he can get. He's in training for yet another Ironman. Tri results - Cliff took 3rd place in the 40+ age group. Pretty darn good, considering he hasn't been in his 40's for some 7 years now.

I'm so proud!

Now we had to go feed this man. He needed some major calories. So off to Ryan's we go. Everything went smoothly here, until.....

Terri walked off with a serving utensil.

I don't think she has Alzheimer's. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it. She has what my mama calls half-heimer's.

Hey Scott......maybe drawing up some papers might not be a bad idea, right about now.

I'm thinking of purchasing my own metal detector.

Like I said, weather affects our adventures. You do the best you can with what you have. Spring adventures....coming soon.

Til next time,

Laurie

Oh, wait......in case you were wondering:

I ran 2 miles last week. That's it.

This week's plan (knee permitting): Run 2 to 3 miles every other day. I've got a 10K to train for, people.





I'm Still Cracking Up

This is what it looked like on the night of Feb. 11, 2010

at my house.

And this is what it looked like the next day.

This is going to be short, but I just had to tell ya. One liners can make a world of difference. So maybe I'll make a difference in yours.

Cliff and I are heading upstate for the weekend. Cliff has a mini triathlon so we're going to visit with my Sister-Cousin, while up there. Lord have mercy, we have a good time when we get together. It's always an adventure. I mean people fall outta boats, lose flip flops, diaper wipes and Pepsi's in the river, get chased off private property.....you just never know what's next. Can't promise what will happen this time. It's supposed to be icy weather. Probably very much unlike the pictures above. Just come on by Monday morning to see. K? Anyway, Sista is making chili and beans for dinner tonight and when she told me about it on the phone, I started cracking up.

Oh law, now Sista's not sure if she wants me to come or not. Ha!

Anyway, it's been 4 weeks since the incident and I'm still cracking up. 

Said incident.....

Christmas Eve was spent with my side of the family. We all gather at Mama's for dinner and each sister brings their signature dish. My sister, Sheran's, dish is chili.

Well, it was buffet style that night and I was ahead of Sheran in line. I stopped off by the collard green pot, then the squash casserole, next was pasta salad and mac-n-cheese. Yeah, I know it's a conglomeration. Anyway, I passed over Sheran's chili. I guess she was watching and wondering what in the world?

This is how the convo went.......

Sheran said: What's wrong? You don't like my chili?

Laurie said: Of course I do, but you know I've been a vegetarian for a year now and it has meat in it.

Sheran said: Well, just pick around it.

HaHaHaHa!!!

OMG! I'm laughing just typing this. Every dang time I even hear the word chili. I crack up.

Obviously, it doesn't take much.

Happy Friday Y'all!

Laurie



He Was Supposed to Be Mine...

Brandon and his big sister, Kaylan
December 2012

Disclaimer: I have several male viewers and just for them, I have toned this post down a little. Can’t have em heaving up their dinner, now, can I?

See Stats at the end of this post.

Yesterday was my nephew, Brandon’s, 15^th birthday. He is the most lovable and handsome young man I know. He still gives his Aunt LaLa big hugs. Did you know that he was supposed to be mine? His mama, my baby sister, pulled the rug completely from under my feet.

I still hurt.

I should have gone to therapy!

To preserve my side of the story and for posterity’s sake, let me tell you what happened.

On the morning of January 20, 1998, I was getting ready to walk out the door to take my girls, Emily and Whitney, to school. They were going to school in the next town over from ours and we needed to keep some semblance of a schedule to make it there on time. Just as we were about to leave, the phone rang. (Pre-caller ID). We were already running late, so Whitney asked me not to answer it.  But, SOMETHING told me I had to.......

Hello? ........OMG! All I could hear was screaming coming from the other end.... it sounded something like, “alone with Kaylan, Wade already gone to work and getting ready to have a baby!"  My baby sister, Mandy, was the one expecting a baby, but when I heard the screaming, I thought it was another of my sisters, Carla.  I said, "Wait, Carla, calm down, calm down, where is Mandy"?

And just as calm, as if nothing was happening, she said, "This is Mandy".

What in the world?

Then she told me what happened.....She had gotten up to go to the bathroom, felt something, reached ........"OMG it's a foot! The baby's foot has popped out and Wade's gone and I'm by myself!"

So she called ME! Her big sister. Oh, joy!

I told her to just calm down, I was on my way.

OK, so now I go into mild shock. My mind is saying.......get to her, and that’s it.

Now, mind you, I had raised my voice so that Mandy could hear me over her screaming and my husband, Cliff, heard all this. He came to see who I was talking to and when I told him I had to go to Mandy and that he needed to take the girls to school, he asked, “Have you called an ambulance”. Stunned, I asked ever so calmly, "Do you think I need to call an ambulance?" "YES, what are YOU going to do!?!", he asked. Oh, I hadn't  thought about that. So he called EMS and told them that I would meet them and they could follow me.  It was easier than trying to give directions to Georgetown County EMS who needed to go deep into Williamsburg County. I mean, we’re talking boondocks, y’all.

Of course, I felt the need to drive fast. I met EMS and told them to follow me. I wish I had a video of what happened next. I’m pretty sure I would win some kind of award for the footage. Ha!  I drove a Town and Country Chrysler van at the time and let me tell you, I had that gas pedal on the floor. You should have seen that mini van and ambulance flying down back country roads, hitting pot holes and dips in the road. We were rocking and rolling.  Thank heavens it was early in the morning and there was hardly any traffic on the roads. We skidded up sideways in the yard and nearly took out a couple of mail boxes, but we made it.

So many miracles happened that day.

1) The first, when I felt like I had to answer the phone.

2) The next was that the Georgetown County EMS followed me into Williamsburg county to take Mandy to the hospital in Kingstree. Normally, they don’t cross county lines. But, since EMS didn’t have an address and was following me…they had no choice.

3) The next miracle was that when the EMS and I got to Mandy's and walked in, I could hear her phone making a funny noise. It was off the hook so I hung it up and as soon as I did, it rang. It was Mandy's doctor calling to give the EMS instructions to take her to the nearest hospital. Otherwise, I’m not so sure that they wouldn’t have taken her to the hospital in their county. This would have taken at least 20 minutes longer. Things may not have turned out so well.

EMS got Mandy loaded into the ambulance and left for Kingstree. All the important phone calls were made and I was going to stop by home to change my clothes before going to the hospital.

By the time I got to the hospital, miracle number 4…..little Brandon had made his entrance into this world. I think they said that 7 minutes after Mandy arrived at the hospital, Brandon was born. I cried then, when I found out they were OK.

A few days after she and the baby had been discharged from the hospital, Mandy developed an infection and had to be hospitalized, again. Apparently, one of the EMS guys had tickled Brandon’s little foot before loading Mandy into the ambulance. She had to have a c-section, so Brandon’s little foot was pulled back through…..EMS finger germs and all. Bless it!

I was so privileged to get to keep Brandon, while Mandy was in the hospital. He stayed with me for a week. I took him to see her one day. He was indifferent. But then, of all things, they wanted me to take him back home to Wade when she was ready to come home.

What? I thought I could keep him and make him mine. I cried, again!!!

Reluctantly, I drove Brandon home. I drove slowly. I was in denial. In my mind, he was already mine. I thought....If I take long enough to get there, maybe they’ll forget about it and this won’t have to happen. Wrong…..When I arrived at Mandy and Wade’s, there stood, Wade, his daddy with open arms. Oh man! Do you have to look so happy to see him?

I gave him back. Bunch of Indian givers!!

I left Brandon with his daddy and drove away. Tears came like someone had opened the flood gates. I took myself home and off the road before I ran into a ditch or hit a tree. And then and there…cried some more!!!

End of Brandon’s baby story. However, a few years later, when he was acting out about something, Mandy called to ask me if I wanted him now.  So I said, “Not now, you have to suffer the consequences of your actions”!   HaHa!!!

Anyway, Happy Birthday Brandon. LaLa loves you! And always remember, you were supposed to be mine!

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For those of you who read my blog and didn’t know…..I spent this weekend at a blog party. It was a huge opportunity to grow my blog audience. Let me just say……I. Am. Overwhelmed.

I’m overwhelmed at all the visits. The sweetest comments were left for me and best of all, I have new followers! The stats as of this afternoon….

Pre-blog party - 560 views and 5 followers

Post-blog party (Currently, because they keep coming! Yay!) - 1229 views and 49 followers.

I owe a great deal of gratitude and appreciation to Vicki for the monumental task of pulling the blog party together. I will never be able to thank her enough!

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Oh wait, before you go……and in case you were wondering:

Ran 2 miles today…the knee felt ok. I knew I needed to keep the miles low. But can we say, Log Legs? Gah…..

High Temp today….64 degrees F

Watching on TV…The Presidential Inauguration 2013

Clouds I’ve been on….1229

Take care and I’ll talk to you soon,

Laurie

On The Road Again

OMG......major opportunity!  I'm so stoked, I can hardly see straight!

Vicki from vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.com is hosting a blog party. I’ve joined her with literally hundreds of other bloggers interested in growing our blogs.

Remember when I said in my first blog, I started this because I liked to find the humor in everyday things…..from family life to my many adventures? I wanted to share my love of story telling and my dream was that one day, you would get up in the morning and wonder what LaLa was talking about that day.  Well…that may happen sooner than later.  I put my hopes out there in the blog-iVerse and lo and behold, I’ve been warned. Vicki said, get ready. You are going to grow! No sooner did I get that comment, I checked my blogs stats and I had a new follower and I’ve had more than 550 page views, all in the course of a couple of months. What?!?

This, my friends, is what I’ve been waiting for.   Welcome to my blog! I’m southern born and bred; sweet tea runs through my veins.  I love my family and I love adventures. Heck, I’ve been known to cause a few. I hope you enjoy my stories and please, come back anytime. I’ll leave the lights on for ya.

(Please read ahead to today’s blog where I’m “On the Road Again”)

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Oh first, in case you were wondering……

1. I haven’t run in over a week. This IT Band thing is frustrating. Going to try again this afternoon. Will keep you posted.
2. I’ve made 9 trips to the next town over from ours to take the grandkids to and from school.
3. Conversations with Sawyer and Lidia? Too many to count and loving every one of them.
4. This week’s theme song… “On the Road Again” (I’ll explain later).



This picture was taken Monday morning on the way home from dropping the grandkids off at school.



When my girls were little, it was my conviction to be a stay-at-home mom. And, I was very fortunate to be able to do that. Back in the 90’s, when my girls were in elementary and middle school, they attended a private school in the next town over from ours. So, my days mainly consisted of driving them back and forth. For four years, I was in my car so much so that, Willie Nelson and I became one. His song, “On the Road Again”, was my theme song. But as tiring as running up and down the road became, I enjoyed every minute. The girls and I talked about everything imaginable from homework, to grades, friends, cheerleading and the birds and the bees….to name a few.

Now, fast forward some 18 years later and Willie and I are “On the Road Again”.  Only temporarily this time, though. The Hubs and I have had our grandkids all week, while my daughter has been out of town for work. And have mercy, I’m exhausted y’all! But listen, I wouldn’t take a million dollars for this time with them. So, I thought you might like to hear about a few of our highlights.

Disclaimer: My husband, Cliff, is a bonafide Paul Bunyan who thinks children should be raised in the woods (aka The Camp) instead of indoors watching TV. For the most part, I do too. There are those unexpected creature sightings that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up, though. Not to mention, Cliff gets a big kick out of “the shock and awe factor” that causes said hairs to stand at attention.

Sunday – Cliff and grandkids were chased by a rabid opossum. (Still can’t confirm that this is true)

Monday – Today was calm. The grandkids played with Bear Grylls, who they have nicknamed Camp Dog. Bless it….they wore him out. See picture below.



Bear is so dark that he looks like a big black hole laying there on the camp floor.

Tuesday – Camp creature sighting – Salamander. Cliff told the grandkids, who loves to catch lizards, to steer clear of this one. As told to me by my 8-year-old granddaughter, “Papi said not to touch salamanders because they’ll bite the “C” word out of you.” ……OK, need to talk to Cliff about the language.

Wednesday – Topic on the way to school…..Bullies.  Apparently, Lidia has been bullied by a girl in her class. The girl tries to push on Lidia, when she refuses to do the things the girl demands. For instance, said girl wanted Lidia to tear down some dance stuff other little girls were playing with. Lidia wouldn’t do it so the girl pushed her.

I explained to Lidia that usually kids bully because there is something troubling going on in their life or that they don’t feel good about themself. They will choose someone to take it out on that they don’t think will fight back.

Lidia definitely fits this bill. She is the sweetest, kindest little thing you’ll ever meet. BUT, we had some changing to do.

I told Lidia that the best way to deal with a bully was to meet them head on. Don’t back away from the girl, but get in her face and tell her in your own words that you’re not afraid of her and that if she didn’t stop that you would go straight to the teacher for help. Well, Lidia went to school that day with a renewed sense of confidence and when I picked her up that afternoon, she told me that she, in fact, stood up to the girl. The girl had pushed Lidia in the lunch line, telling her to hurry up and move. So Lidia said, “NO, YOU MOVE”! The little girl said, “Geez!” and then walked away.

Victory! And a visit to the school for a 'come to Jesus meeting', averted. The awesome part….they became friends. You never know, this is probably what the little girl needed all along.

Thursday– OK, what’s the world coming to? Mid January and you can’t even play in the woods without seeing a snake or getting ticks on you. All three…Cliff, Lidia and Sawyer had ticks on them. I freaked! I commenced to vacuuming everything they had touched prior to being hand-dunked in the tub a few times. Have mercy, if they get Lyme Disease while their mama is away….well, she would just never forgive me.  Oh wait, they cooked chicken on a stick. See picture below. Well, actually, it was already cooked. But you know you have to heat stuff over a fire….like Bear Grylls does. You have to know these things, if you’re going to survive in the woods. They made me proud.

A leg and a thigh. Ha!

Topic as I was tucking Sawyer in bed….Marriage. On a previous post of “Conversations with Sawyer”, someone wondered what Sawyer’s take on marriage would be. Why they wanted to know this…..I have no clue. But anyway, I decided just for the heck of it, I would ask him. Six-year-old Sawyer’s view of marriage….

“Well, I don’t really know what getting married means. But, I don’t think I want to because you have to get a job and I don’t want to get a job. I want to be a kid”.

Well, there you have it.

Friday – Topic of the morning…..Bear Grylls, of course. Here’s how the conversation went:

Sawyer:  LaLa, I wish Bear Grylls could come visit our camp. I think he would like it.

Me:  I think so, too.

Sawyer:  And, I would tell him that I ate an ant. It was a fire ant. It got on me and I ate it. It tasted like rotten cheese.

Me:  {Speechless}

Sawyer:  LaLa, can you text Bear Grylls. I really want to tell him and I can’t wait any longer.

Me:  Ummm, Sawyer, I don’t think I have Bear Grylls number.

I love this kid. He cracks me up constantly.

And Bear Grylls, if you happen to read this blog….you have a huge fan in Sawyer. He really wants to meet you. I understand that you are very busy with your TV show and all. But maybe, all it would take is sending me your cell number and we can text, instead.

Middle-aged motherhood revisited comes to an end today. I’m kinda sad. But let me tell y’all……..I’m exhausted. It might take me til next week to get rested up. For now, Willie Nelson, The Road and I will part ways. 

I hope you come back for regular visits. I’ve got a feeling there’s an adventure coming soon.

Until then,

Laurie

Sawyer’s Cup

This is one of the older stories about Sawyer from July of 2009.  It still makes me laugh. Hope you get a good little chuckle, too.

Sawyer - July 2009

Sawyer doesn't drink from a bottle anymore, but occasionally he wants a cup of juice to take to bed. And then there are the nights when he wakes up in the middle of the night and wants a refill. Sawyer and Lidia spent the night with us last night and it was one of "those" nights.

Now there is just something about a 2-year-old's perception of the world that just cracks me up. To start with I had stuck his cup of juice in the freezer to get it a little colder, but forgot about it. By the time he was ready for it and I remembered it, the juice had frozen. So I stuck it in the microwave for a couple of seconds to thaw. It didn't thaw all the way, but enough for a couple of sips. He drank all the thawed juice and came to me wanting more. So I took it back to the microwave for another couple of seconds. Sawyer looked up at me while the juice was thawing in the microwave and asked, "You filling it up?" Ha!

Then...........it was off to bed and Sawyer had to have his cup. I gave him a nice cup full of strawberry-banana juice and he fell off to sleep. (I know, I know…you should never let a child go to bed with a cup full of strawberry-banana juice or any juice for that matter, but I’m the LaLa. And LaLa’s can do these things.) Worn out, as you might imagine, I was off to LaLa land myself. Sleep, peaceful, drifting sleep. And then….Bingo, right on cue Sawyer woke up at about 3 a.m. wanting a refill.

Half asleep, I stumbled to the kitchen to get it. I opened the fridge and peeking one-eyed into the bright light grabbed the bottle of juice and filled up his cup. He settled back down with it and not 10 seconds later was back up whining. He said he didn't want that cup! He wanted milk! Oh man!

To avoid a full-on melt down, I got back up and stumbled back to the kitchen to get milk this time. I started to pour his juice down the sink, but decided to drink it myself to keep from wasting it and then……….

Oh Yuck!  Spit, Spit! No wonder the poor child wanted milk. I had taken the wrong juice bottle from the fridge. I was expecting strawberry banana-juice, but what I got instead was V8 Vegetable Juice.

Sometimes you just have to giggle at yourself, even at 3 a.m. in the morning.

Laurie

Kayaking the Inlet

Cliff and I went kayaking last Wednesday. Usually, some sort of  adventure/horror story comes out of our kayaking trips, but this time was quiet and serene.  We almost thought that someone had found Drunken Jack's treasure, though, from the hords of people that were at the landing. But on closer inspection, they were just digging for clams and gathering oysters. We left at dead low tide and paddled to the jettys.

Are you confused yet? We didn't leave from this landing, just wanted to show you what it looks like at low tide. We left from Oyster Landing, which even at low tide is plenty deep enough to kayak in.

I wanted to paddle around the tip of the beach to where the jettys begin to empty into the ocean, but it was a little too rough. So, we settled for pulling the kayaks ashore on the creek side.

These were the only treasures I found. I get so danged excited when I find a piece of beach glass and conch shells.

But dear gussy, I couldn't have been more excited to see this little guy. He did the happy dance for me. See!!

 

As we headed back to the landing, the tides had changed making it easier to paddle. I was able to stop paddling for a few minutes to take the following pictures.

Disclaimer: These photos were taken with my cell phone. One of these days, I'm going to take my real camera with me. But, considering the fact that someone usually flips their boat on our trips, it might be a while before I get that brave.

I wish you all could go with me. Kayaking, by far, is one of my favorite things to do.....even more than running.

Laurie