My grandmother is more hip than I am

Photographic evidence. She keeps up with fashion trends way better than I do.

My grandmother lived in Baton Rouge for all my life...until the last couple of years.  She moved to the same town I live in now, and I get to have her in my life and my boys life on a much more regular basis.

And that warms my heart.

6:15pm on a random Tuesday

This child gives me five hugs in the morning before I leave the house for work.

Then he follows me out of the house to give me one more hug at the car.

Remy really loves his mama.

This photo makes me smile.
Because Texas Homeboy and Donny are both wearing Longhorn burnt orange...
and watching Remy play baseball.

Donny is 12...and just as tall as I am.
His feet are bigger than mine.
He beat me at chess the other night...which has NEVER happened before.

I can claim exhaustion because I'd just finished working a 12 hr day.
More on that later...

This photo captures my family in a normal moment.
Remy packing up his bat bag after baseball practice,
Texas Homeboy chugging his Gatorade,
and Donny checking Annie's collar.

And me at the camera.

Sweet Annie dog loves her boys.
And we try to take her wherever we can.
She's a full member of our family.

A slobbery, hairy member of our family who snores.

NO, not ME!!

ANNIE.

Try to capture a normal moment in your routine...it's fun!

Did I tell you that I made manager at work?!
more on that later...

Simply Savoring Life at Silverado

We all need to escape life's responsibilities and pressures every now and then.
We all need to stop and breathe in fresh air.
We all need to take a moment to relax and savor life.

UpTake is offering up a contest with Silverado Resort to one lucky blogger and the three people she chooses to accompany her.

I'm not more needy or more deserving then the next person.
I'm just your average person, wanting to get away.
To explore something new.
To take the time to remember why I love life and what I want out of it.
To spend time with those I love.

Who would I take with me?

My sister, who spent most nights of our childhood in my bed, surrounded by stuffed animals, listening to the bizarre bedtime stories I made up. She understands me better than anyone. She knows me in my entirety. She moved halfway across the country, and I miss her!

My mother, who inspires and amazes me. Who taught me I could do anything. Who showed me to approach life and everything in it with all I've got. She's someone I will always respect and admire and strive to be like.

My grandmother, who has always loved me unconditionally, and who I will forever associate with creaking porch swings, singing and the crickets of summer. Someone I'm still getting to know, even now, and treasuring every second.

These three women are part of my past, present and future. They've shaped me, and I've shaped them. We're intrinsically intertwined, and I want to savor life with them at Silverado.

My Grandmother bought a car on Ebay

and she bought an exercise bike on Craig's List.

I'm so impressed.

Have you bought things off Ebay or Craig's List?
Have you sold anything there?

It's OK to make fun of your relatives on the Internet, right?

If I go missing or undergo a "mysterious" accident, you know who did it.

It's the relatives in these short clips.

Relatives who may or may not have had a little too much holiday cheer...and are playing with a new iPhone that is supposed to recognize the tune and name that song if you hum or sing to it...

A theory that was tested over and over and over again.
Much to the delight of a certain blogger.

It's OK to make fun of your relatives on the Internet, right?

Christmas Punks

If you're looking for further continuation of the Anna Mannequin story
(here are part 1 & part 2), I will have more on that soon,
but for now, here's some random jibber jabber and punk photos.

Not the usual SWEET Christmas photos. Just us having fun.

Remy making his infamous armpit farting noises.
That boys has SKILL.

And we finally had a Christmas photo session at my mom's house two nights ago.

Here are some of the photos we're NOT using.

East of the Mississippi

Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday were all scheduled posts,
because I had to go out of town.

My grandmother's husband died, so we got in the car and drove to Baton Rouge.
He was old and in declining health, so it was a blessing that he's in a better place now.
But, my grandmother, it's been tough on her,
and she needed family support.

My husband had to stay behind in Texas.
I took the boys with me and caravanned with my mom and stepfather.

It's a long drive from Dallas to Baton Rouge.
8 1/2 hours long.

I have lots of photos and posts-worth of stories to share, but for now...

Here are the boys posing east of The Mississippi River...in Baton Rouge.

The Mississippi River, the second largest river in the United States.
It's 2,340 miles long.

What's the biggest river in the U.S.?

And here's us driving over the same bridge from the above picture, on our way back to Texas.

The Missouri River is the longest river in the U.S., 200 miles longer than the Mississippi.

I think this is one of the biggest bridges I've ever been on.
My boys were suitably impressed.

You also have to cross miles and miles of swampy area on bridges in Louisiana.
It's the Atchafalaya Basin.
Say that three times fast.
It's the largest swamp in the United States.

My boys imagined gators swimming below us.
Ready to eat us at any moment.

They're dramatic like that.

At least they weren't alien gators.

8 1/2 hours is a loooooong time to be in the car.
with two bickering boys.

They're so lucky I didn't leave them on the railroad tracks like I was tempted...

We played lots of car games.
Cow Counting.
I Spy.
I'm going to Louisiana and I'm going to bring with me...
20 questions.

And then there was plenty of reading, coloring, movies in the DVD player and handheld video games.

What car games did you used to play on road trips?
What do your kids play now?

Why are there flowers in their pants?

My mother recently learned a lot about her family roots.
Someone traced them from Alabama back to Scotland in the 1600s.
How cool is that?

She also was given a lot of old, old, old family photos to scan and preserve.

We came across one that completely boggled our minds.

The man on the left is my great-great-grandfather, and I have no idea what he's doing.

So, I've decided to call on you guys to help me out.
What's going on in this photo?
I'm at a total loss.
It's so cool, but completely confusing.

Just a man enjoying his meat

My Dad.

He doesn't need no stinkin' forks and knives.




He's a Longhorn fan, a meat fan and a wine fan...and he's a character.

This photo says it all.


He's had two ex-wives, both of which he's still on good terms with.
He has six grown & married children
and 11 grandchildren with the possibility of more.


He's almost 80 and has a lot of stories to share.
Some are actually appropriate.

I've blogged about him before with our crazy conversation

and how I almost sneaked him out of the hospital.

He makes for good blog material...but I try to restrain myself.


What do you have to restrain yourself from blogging about?

Mixed Signals: Just say NO to Indecision

At age 15, with a learner's permit, I was able to drive as long as there was another licensed driver in the car. And, luckily, I had some patient drivers willing to ride with me and help me learn; my father, my older sister & my boyfriend, Texas Homeboy.

Thank goodness for their willingness and guidance!


I remember being in my older sister's Peugeot, driving around Austin, and totally panicking when I hit yellow lights. In that split second you have to decide, I wasn't sure whether to speed up or slow down. Most of the time I was already in the intersection, so I needed to go through with it, not slow down.




As moms, as humans, we're faced with decisions daily.
An entire gambit of different choices need to be made, big and small.
What to feed the kids for breakfast? What to dress them in?
What time to leave the house to get to school on time? What manners to teach the kids?
How best to show by example? What sports to enroll the kids in, after school activities? Which schools are best? How should they deal with bullies? what if they become bullies? How to mend their broken hearts or when to get involved in situations?


These decisions affect our health, how others perceive us, who we ultimately are.
How do we know which ones are important and which ones aren't?
Some are obvious, but not all.

Hindsight is helpful but non-existent at the present moment.

Do you make grown-up decisions most of the time?
Do you decide things with your heart or your head?

I've found most of my decisions are navigated by my moral compass...





and my logic and desire to be a productive member of society.

Emotions can mess up my carefully drawn lines...sometimes this is good,
sometimes this is bad.

I find the decisions I need to make about my kids are the easiest, most straight forward and clear for me. The ones about myself...the hardest.

Sometimes the childish little princess inside of me makes decisions.
And those generally get me in trouble.

I think one of my biggest weaknesses can be my indecisiveness.
I'm working on it.
Trying to make decisions in a more timely manner.

I usually zoom through yellow lights these days, not sure if that is good or bad...
but it certainly says something.



Do you struggle with Indecision?
Do you make decisions with your heart or head?
Or both?
Are you struggling with a decision right now?

Tita's Treasure Chest

My mom lives in the same town we do, here in North Texas.

And sometimes my boys go over there to play.

Tita has a treasure chest.

Remy hasn't quite outgrown it.

But I think Donny has.

Some of the toys in there the boys played with when they were babies.

I have wonderful memories of playing at my grandmother's house.

But she lives in Baton Rouge, so I only visited her a few times a year.

My boys are so lucky to have grandparents so close.

Did you have a special relationship with your grandparents?
Do your kids spend time with theirs?

The Nut House

I'm not sure where to begin.

My house is crazy.

Let's set the scene. I'm making dinner in the kitchen.

My elderly father, who lives with us, comes squeaking in with his rollator
to fix himself a drink...a special concoction of ice cream and Crystal Lite.

Did I mention he's diabetic?

He's gotten very spiritual in his old age
and if you're not careful, he'll corner you and go on and on about the newest guru he's reading.
Regular religion is not enough for him.
He's enjoys doom & gloom, conspiracy theories and esoteric avatars to follow.

His shirt is stained with Crystal Lite, but he can't see it, because he's practically blind.

I point out that his shirt is dirty, and this is what he tells me,
"It's a new design. It's the Father, Son & the Holy Spirit."

And then he precedes to laugh, until the point of choking, at his own "joke."

I tell him it's a good thing he finds himself entertaining.


He heads back to his room, chuckling, where his TV is louder than a full marching band.





Next, there's Donny.
He's doing his homework, part of which consists of trombone practice.
He only knows a note or two, and I have to admit, it sounds like a dying cow.





Then there's Remy. He's either with me or Donny, never alone.

And he's always up to something.

He's been lying a lot lately. He's admitted he likes to tell stories.
I told him I like his creativity, but that I need to know when he's telling the truth or not.

He just smiles.

I'm in so much trouble with him.



Then there's Texas Home Boy, who's off watching
Mad Money or The Daily Show in our bedroom.
Or some horrible gangster movie with violence and cussing that scares the kids.
Sigh.


When I show up with my camera, I get THE LOOK.

You know, this one:

And, Annie, sweet Annie, just looks at me in confusion.

I know, Annie, this IS a nut house.
She follows me around, hoping I'm going to pick up her leash and my keys so we can go for a ride.

Sorry, Annie, someone's gotta keep these guys in line. It's up to you and me, sista.

I think I had a point with this story, but I've already forgotten it.

Scary, huh?
If you stand too close to me, I might rub off on you.
No, not rub ON you.
Get your mind out of the gutter!

I was telling someone today (can't remember who) that sometimes creativity strikes me upside the head with a steel bar,
but other times it sneaks up on me, pulls my pants down and laughs at me.

See, I told you this was a NUT HOUSE.

So, let's have a giveaway!!

I just finished reading a GREAT book, and I want to share it with you.

I'm willing to pass it on, because I want to share my addiction love of reading with others.

So, leave me a comment if you want to win!
Leave me a comment even if you don't want to win.
I love comments.
They make my day.

Did you know you don't have to have a Google account to leave a comment?
You can comment as "anonymous" or just put in a name, any name.

Stephenie Meyer, the fabulous author of the Twilight series, wrote this book also:

I'm not a real big science fiction reader, but this book, The Host, ROCKED MY WORLD.

It's Friday, thank goodness.

What does the weekend hold for you?
In what way is your house a Nut House?
Do you want this book?

Oh, yeah, this giveaway ends...whenever I feel like it.
That's how I roll right now.