Princesses, Fat and Flat Fish, Egg Hunts, and Tee Ball

I cannot even begin to tell you how busy this weekend has been. Oh, my goodness...let's see. First of all, before I left school on Friday, I had FIVE orders on Etsy and three local orders. Lauren and David were headed to the beach to have pictures made...the bad weather was moving in...I was getting nervous--so little time and so much to do. We cancelled going to Dylan's game because we didn't know about the weather (which has turned into 20+ tornadoes in Alabama, 7 deaths, and a family member's house being hit by a tornado.

So Friday night I sewed for a bit. Look at this cute romper!! Just adorable...
I got several things done and made ready for big company Saturday. Saturday morning we picked Dylan, Daniel, and Kaylee up at 9. The boys were decked out with fishing poles and tackle boxes. Kaylee was decked out in polka dotted "ha hops" (flip flops) and kept asking where Grace was.

We got home, and Robbie and the boys started getting fishing stuff together. good thing Kandace sent the boys in their play shoes, because the puddles from the night before were just too much temptation. Their shoes are STILL drying out :)  About 11:00, Vicki and Grace came in and we left for a bit of shopping and lots of skating princesses (Disney on Ice was in town!!).

The four "big kid" stayed with us Saturday night. While breakfast was cooking Sunday morning, in the midst of Dylan telling me he had caught two fat fish and two flat fish (don't ask me...), and Kaylee running the Swivel Sweeper, and Grace teaching Daniel a cheer, and Daniel riding the car in the house...Robbie told me that the boys' shoes were too wet to wear. So...flying trip to the dollar store for new shoes and Easter grass--the church was having an egg hunt after lunch.

After lunch and the egg hunt, Lauren volunteered for drop-off duty since she also needed baby food...and, of course, that would allow me to sew. And sew. And sew. I came in about 10:15, and was warned by Robbie to pick my way carefully through the "minefield" of our room (Note to self---get the room cleaned up before Friday). I was thinking just now that all this writing is pretty much unnecessary...pictures are worth a thousand words. So here goes...

  Kids' shoes everywhere...

 Sippy cups everwhere...

 No...there was no bomb in the bottom of the toybox...

I call it a book reader; Kaylee calls it her iphone :)

One of my sewing projects from this weekend

 Another sewing project...



Daniel cruising in Kaylee's ride.

Kaylee waved at EVERY princess!!

 

 The fireworks at the end...

 Cinderella in her carriage...

 Vicki and Grace at Disney on Ice

Grace said our cheerleaders do this all the time :)

 We ended the weekend with an egg hunt...

BFF Cousins

 Then we got everything ready for Robbie to stay at the river for the week...yeah, he has a hard life...



And Tuesday I went to watch this little cutie play tee ball!

And now, Super Mom is TIRED!!!

Important Question

Never have I felt quite so honored. Grace called a little bit ago and asked a very important question. This is the conversation:

Grace: Hello, ZiZi...
Me: Hey, Grace!
Grace: ZiZi, I was just wondering, was Jesus right handed or left handed?
Me: Well, Grace, I don't think the Bible says anything about that. What do you think?
Grace: I don't know.
Me: Well, I think that if we're talking about Jesus, He could probably write with BOTH hands? And you know what that word is? Ambidextrous.
Grace: Yep that's what He was. Ambidextrous...I knew you would know.

This Q and A session may not seem a huge conversation to most people, but Grace must have thought I had some inside knowledge if she decided to ask me for the answer!

Reminder of the day: Live my life in a way that my children and grandchildren think I know what hand God writes with.

One of my FB friends has this as her status:
Sit quietly. Breathe deaply. Hope steadily. God is working on your behalf this very moment!

So true...I REALLY needed that!

Birthday

April 9th...Robert's birthday. I've tried to stay VERY busy today. It helps keep my mind from wandering...if my mind goes that way, then my eyes leak...if my eyes leak than my face is swollen and I have a headache all day...if I have a headache then I can't do anything else. So most of the day was filled with sewing ---bloomers, burps, bibs, little outfits.

Mid-afternoon we got dressed for the balloon release for Robert's birthday. Kandace had invited us all to release balloons...the children LOVE to see balloons "go up to Daddy." It was sad thinking about the difference in this birthday party and the last one we got to celebrate with him. I know for him, though, today must have been an AWESOME day. Wonder what he did? Maybe went fishing with Papaw---maybe shot some hoops---maybe had Granny and Mamaw cook for him. He had a great day, whatever he did.

So, anyway, we stopped by to pick up the balloons-- all red and white-- I had ordered and the ones Kandace needed us to get. I ran into Will and Amber inside, and I knew they would be at the cemetery. Robert would have loved that...he and Will were such good friends. It took a few minutes to get the balloons and check out, and then the hard job was getting them in the truck. I didn't realize just how hard it was going to be.

Just as Will and Amber and I got to the truck and started putting balloons in, a lady parked and got out of her car-- headed for groceries, I'm sure. She said, " Oh, an Alabama birthday party! That is wonderful! I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday! Can you?" (At this point, I wanted to say, "Well, actually, I'd like it if he were HERE." But I didn't). My throat felt like it was closing up, and I didn't want to talk, but she was being so nice. She kept talking about what fun we would have and how exciting it was. And then she innocently asked, "How old is he?"

I swear I paused only for a second, internally trying to decide whether to explain.  And then..."He's 24 today. And he's a huge Alabama fan." Because he is 24 today. and I'm pretty sure his mansion is painted red and white and there's an elephant painted on it somewhere.

Happy birthday, BoBo! Enjoy your balloons, and -- just for you -- Roll Tide!!

Robert's 21st Birthday Party at Nannie and Papa's

Cute Stuff Happening!!

Is this not the cutest little package? The Etsy store is really taking off...both online and at home. I LOVE putting the perfect item together for my friends and customers. And what a neat spelling!!

And look at this super-cute monogram!! Hope Savannah loves it!

Check us out HERE, and then let us know what you need! Lauren and I will get right on it :)

Weather and the Radios That Let You Know

Last night was a stormy night. We had power outages, lightning, and high winds. On the way to school, Grace and I saw trees down and limbs everywhere.

Let me just say that normally last night's weather provides nature's sleeping pill for me. The sound of the wind on a tin roof is ahhhhh--mazing. It was the kind of night that would have left me rested and refreshed. But no. Not this time-- all because I did what was, in hindsight, an incredibly stupid thing and gave Robbie a weather radio for Christmas. Bad mistake.

The logic behind a weather radio is that the owner will be made aware of bad weather and have time to prepare. What is not made clear is that the warning sounds like an emergency vehicle with sirens on IN THE HOUSE. "Jolted from a deep sleep" took on a whole new meaning last night. And get this: the radio usually stays in the living room. But not last night. Nooooooo. Robbie brought it in, fresh batteries installed, and put it RIGHT BESIDE THE BED. We were aware of high winds in Wilcox county and tornado warnings in Perry county. We heard of damaging storms and trees down in Georgia. We did not sleep.

So be forewarned: if you want to be aware of the weather, buy a weather radio. Install it far away from your bedroom. Don't worry; it'll wake you up anyway.

Funny Quote: On the way to school we saw a huge tree that had been literally uprooted. I said, "Oooh Grace, look at that big tree!" She said, "Now that's a tree you could stump your toe on, ZiZi."

Let There Be Light...

Let there be light...because is is DARK on this hill with no electricity. No, I did not forget to pay the light bill. This was totally out of my control.

Robbie called earlier this afternoon and said he had already left to bring Lauren's new flooring home...that's the floor they had to replace from the flood. He didn't want to get caught in another flood with it on the back of the truck, so he left to get ahead of the severe weather coming.

Good thing he did. He got home and found that a huge limb had fallen and snapped not only the power line but also the pole. So much for his early day. The next few hours were spent calling the company and having them replace everything. I got home at 7:40 and the lights did not come on until after that. So the house was dark and stuffy; no supper ready; no sewing to be done--and on the night I was set to stay up late to sew!! I was so ready...I got several orders today and already had a few to fill. Oh, well.

Things like this make me stop and remember to praise God in all things. It would be easy to sit here and whine and fuss about how my day got turned upside down, but what would that accomplish? I choose to believe that everything happens for a reason and that God is in complete control. So who am I to fuss? Better to use my time to do something here in my now-cool, well-lit house. Thread therapy will come tomorrow.

Cute quote of the day: On the way to the gym from school, Grace offered me a cookie that she had traded her rice krispy treat for. I took it and told her thank you. She said, "Every girl needs a cookie now and then. It makes the day better." Yes it does, Grace--wish I had one right now!

Riding in the Dark

Things are a-changin' around here!! Never has it been more obvious that tonight when I went to rescue Lauren. This is the text I got: "Somebody has a splinter in her toe." I showed it to Robbie and he said, "Is it the big girl or the little girl?"...which is all relative because the "big girl" is not much taller or bigger than the "little girl." So I grabbed my medical equipment (my sewing pin magnet), put on my ha hops (Kaylee's word for flip flops), and jumped on the golf cart to go perform surgery.

Whoa!!! That's the thought that went through my head and out of my mouth as I realized that I was just inches from Travis's hunting truck. Wow!!! It was DARK down there! When the power got disconnected, so did the yard light which had served to illuminate the way path to the three different houses -- ours, Casey's, and Lauren's.

I was NOT going to call Robbie and tell him to come light my way -- I would have had to listen to that FOREVER-- so I pretended I was blind and "listened" my way. The gravel makes a very distinct sound and when I couldn't hear it I eased over to the right or left until I could hear it again.

The surgery was postponed for a day or two, so after some really good Carsyn sugar, several games of patty cake, and an emergency call for computer help, I headed back home. Words cannot explain what a complete idiot I looked like holding my cell phone out in front of me to see where to turn up across the yard.

Yep, things are definitely going to be different. I may even have to get me a spotlight.

In other news that only school people can understand, when I get up tomorrow I can say to everybody, "It's only five more Mondays until summer vacation!"

Fights, Tee Ball, and Doggy Love

I absolutely don't know why this is so funny...but Daniel got in a fight at school. DANIEL!! He is so laid back, calm, and funny that it just doesn't fit. Kandace told me he said this about the fight: "Mama, a little boy named J...... hit me and so I hit him back." He also said he did not get in as much trouble because the other boy started it. I truly do not mean to make light of it, but this is just too funny!!

This is the same child that two weekends ago got upset at me for not taking his side in something. He marched across the arbor and propped up on a post. When no one said anything, he peeked around, and then he decided to move. He slung himself over to the basketball goal and stood face first against it. After a few moments, he said, "Does anybody see me poutin' over hear?" Actually it sounded more like, "Doeth anybody thee me poutin' ova heah?" I just love to hear him talk :))

Dylan started tee ball this past week, and he must love it. I haven't seen him play yet, but he talks about it all the time and practices here and at home. I can't wait to see him play!

Today has been an absolutely beautiful day! The girls took headed off to the beach, and I sewed, cleaned up the den of stitches, and organized some things while Robbie ran the weed eater ( I can't bring myself to say weedeated...ugh!!!!) , cleaned up his truck, and played with the lawn mower.

All this while Boozer, Casey and Travis's dog, entertained romantic illusions in a loud and boisterous voice.

You must remember that Boozer is a Great Dane. And I mean a GREAT Dane. He's huge. My dog, Chiclet, is about six inches tall and weighs about six pounds. And yet Booz is in LOVE. Lord, how he serenades her!! It is pathetic, though, to see him lose his dignity. She hid underneath my truck; he flattened himself on his belly, threw all four legs out to the side, turned his head over and wiggled underneath--only to have her snap at his nose. She climbed up on the porch; he strained at the end of his chain, put his head underneath the step banister, and HOWLED. I told him he really should have more pride, but so far he is not listening to me.

So awhile ago I walked out to the den of stitches to get the computer...and there he was, standing over Chiclet, off his collar, off his chain. Still no luck. Collar or not, chain or not, he is still over three feet tall and she is still six inches tall. Oh, well. He can dream, I guess. In the meantime, she is sleeping in the utility room.