Practically Perfect

Well, the rain didn't come as expected today. My school children were glad. They had recess outside and then we went out for what I refer to as "Movement Time" or "Get Your Wiggles Out." The afternoon temperature, breeze and sunshine were delightful.

Usually I end my school day with a mile long walk with a precious friend. We are lucky to find a safe harbor with each other. For twenty minutes we can throw out each thing from our workday that made us cry, or cringe, or snort and spit. Out it goes, and is gone, and our spirits are comforted, renewed.

Today my walk was calling me. It wasn't a fun afternoon. In spite of my hearfelt desire to do good things, keep everyone informed, offer the best of myself each day, some parents can't be impressed, even with your most stellar efforts, can't be appeased regardless. It's hurtful. But alas, a faculty meeting was calling that didn't end until 5:35. Handy Man Pappy had to pick up Bugg and Bean.

When I arrived home, they were already in the creek.

Bugg and I had a tea party. She drew water from the magical fairy fountain, that later became the angel fountain. Such variety like mandarin orange with mango, strawberry and grape, lemon, blueberry and watermelon were politely sipped by the creekside. Her hair is likely at it deepest red for the year. The sun will slowly turn it back to strawberry blond.

Clearly, we weren't the first creek visitors of the day.

Bean made stone soup, which led to a discussion of that story. Our soup contained not only stones, but brick, crystals, sticks, moss and the most special ingredient of all, wrecked car.

The moss led to a discussion of vascular and non-vascular plants.

No stone soup is complete without a many legged critter to add some protein.

Bean had to skip a few rocks before calling it a day. One of them skipped about six times.

We stayed until the last of the day's sun slipped behind the hill. My brave creekers travelled back home through a very dark tunnel. Coming out on the other side brought a confrontation with the swing. Each sweet child got ten pushes each before the lingering twilight deepened.

They had been too busy playing to have a snack, so they both ate all of their green beans, and one and a half oranges. Bugg ate two eggs she cracked and cooked. Bean ate three with two slices of bread and three pieces of bacon.

And just before packing them up to send home with 1st LT., I read my favorite Cinderella type story, Smokey Mountain Rose.

After lots of hugs and kisses, they said goodnight. I realized that big ol' bad day had retreated in the fun, learning, love and sweetness of my little gramerlings. I am blessed.

Could It Be?

Is spring finally here?
Rae-rae and Michael came over for dinner on Sunday afternoon, and we talked much about all we hoped to plant in our gardens this year.
Later Buttercup came for a visit. She was ready for some outside fun and wanted to swing right away.
My big pooch is growing up. Arwen was so good with Buttercup. As soon as she'd start to get a little distance from me, Arwen would get on the other side of her and herd her back without any pawing or jumping.
Buttercup has quite a vocabulary for one so wee- just seventeen months. She noticed I wouldn't let Arwen bound off without calling her back. On a long walk up the hill, as long as Buttercup was near me, Arwen would traipse off to investigate something. Buttercup would throw both little arms out ( in the "hold me" pose) and yell, "Doggie, come uh me, no, no." She knows Arwen isn't to wander off and Arwen knows Buttercup isn't, so it works very well.

Ahhh, at last.

Look at my lovely little spot, tilled by my Handy Man. It is full of swiss chard, lettuce and arugula ( umm, and chickie girl poop). So exciting.

I threw a black raspberry near the garden a few years back. I also have a few strawberries. I've never paid it much mind, as I primarily wanted a few of this and that for the kids to experience plucking and eating. The patch grows ever bigger and this year I thought it might be a good idea to find out what you are actually supposed to do with them. So, following directions, I removed all the dead and well over half of the living brambles.

In the coop, I recycle cardboard by placing it in a couple of areas where the chickie girls make the most deposits, then I pitch it in a compost pile. This weekend, after attacking the raspberry brambles, I put the cardboard, deposit side down around the canes. Now I'll cover the tops with some additional compost. I'll let you know the difference in the yield this year.

The girls are loving being outside. This is a favorite spot. I had to cover the roots of Handy Man's blue hydrangea with that chunk of wood, as I feared they were going to dig it right on out of there.

To me, there just isn't anything more amazing then the ability to turn bugs and grass into eggs. Production is picking up with a dozen eggs yesterday and thirteen today. Oh, last night, just before closing them up, Handy Man found another one of those rubbery eggs. So, the weird eggs continue.

Oh the Wonder of Wednesday

No new pictures today, just journaling about.... you'll never guess, I bet..... the gramerlings!

I'm doing a study with my fourth grade students on Cinderella stories from around the world and I had to go pick up 20 or so at the library last evening. While I was there, I wandered over to the children's books on war. I found three books about the Hunley- the first sub to destroy an enemy ship ever, used in the Civil War. I knew Bean would be elated. Sure enough, we had to read all three books to him. I wasn't through the last one before he needed to go find his own sub and the poor Hustonia that was destroyed by the Hunley. He is the great pretender. Of course, he also had to draw a picture of the whole drama.

He told me he is to bring his favorite book to school on Friday and dress as his favorite character. He is going as Huck Finn. He commented that he'd have to tell his teacher not to read it, cause it was a little long- perhaps so.

On Saturday, I fixed lunch for Rae-rae, Michael and Bean and Bugg. We had fajitas, and as in every meal for them, green beans and fruit. As soon as Bugg saw her plate she yelled, "Gramerly, you forgot something" I asked what I had forgotten and she exclaimed, "Where are the eggs?" All three of them usually eat at least one every meal they are here. I told her if she wsn't full from what was on her plate, I'd be most happy to cook her up an egg.

She wants to play princess much of the time. Tonight we ended up going upstairs where the dollhouse lives, full of princesses and babies. A little girl's delight. We couldn't go to the ball however, because there was a pirate there.

Bean, like us, celebrated Dr. Suess birthday at school this week, so wanted to have a party for his pet leopard beanie baby. We blew up balloons, then science took over as we rubbed them in our hair and stuck them to everything.

They both played so nicely and it was a fun time.

MISCELLENEA

Handy Man didn't have to work this morning, so in an unsual turn of events, I have no real explanation for, we didn't wake up unit Drummer Boy was knocking on the door to drop off Buttercup at 9 am. We were both sound asleep.

She stayed and played until about noon. She and Pappy discovered a new swinging game that she remained interested in long after Pappy's arms had given out.Swing low, sweet Butter cup!

She says Gramerly like Mamalee. So cute.

1st Lt and Ceece are still sunning themselves in Cabo somewhere today. Rae-rae picked up Bean and Bugg at their Oma's and brought them by to get Bugg's nite-nite and carseats. Bean told me his Oma fixed him eggs, but she didn't know how to fix them like I did, so, he told her.

I said, "What did you tell her?" He replied, "Put a little butter in the pan, mix the egg in, add pepper." Too funny.

Speaking of eggs, I thought we were past strange eggs when the girls got into the egg laying habit. Obviously not. We found this teeny tiny one. Bugg said it was a princess egg. I don't know if it means fit for a princess, or there is a princess growing inside.

Either way, she thought it worth smiling over.

We had a big time coloring this afternoon after building with Michael. Rae-rae and Bugg were creating moats and castles, while Bean and I did battle illustrations. I put an alligator in my picture and when Bean asked me why I said, "Remember what they used the alligator for at the Battle of New Orleans?"

I couldn't believe when Bugg piped up " We fired our canons till the barrel melted down," At which point we all joined in, "so we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round." Bean goes, " Oh yeah, that's when they put the powder in it's butt." Uh,huh, that's the story.

He wasn't terribly interested in writing or coloring for a long time. Now he is. I'm very pleased at his detail. Do you see the green alligator with bumps on the left, just below the halfway mark? There are two American fighters powdering it's behind while the Redcoats look on. They are fighting all over those green hills. There's a black cannon, and a flying cannon ball. Just above the cannon ball is a Redcoats head that was in fact, knocked off by said cannon ball. I told Rae-rae that a picture like this will land my five year old in the school counselor's office. But, it is what it is - war ain't pretty.

Then he did a picture of a big whale and a whaling ship with Bean himself as the captain. He colored in the whales head to show three hundred gallons of oil. A happy afternoon.

Happy Birthday Ol' Mother Hubbard

Long ago and far away on a cold winter's evening, an anxious ten year old walked the floor, waiting to hear the news of a new arrival. Kaye was expecting the end of January, so this day had been a long time in coming. Finally, the phone call came announcing a new baby girl, my first niece, seven pounds and thirteen ounces if I remember correctly, though I may not-it's been forty years.

I remember the first time I held her and how precious and delightful, looking for the world like a little China doll. I was instantly smitten and loved her dearly. For most of this journey, I've continued to find her precious and delightful and still love her dearly.

Kaye was 11 when I was born, and was very much a mother to me. I had always spent a great deal of time with her and Pete, and continued to do so. Kaye and I are about as different as two people can be. We laugh and say Kaye chased her kids with a wash rag. Her house was always neat as a pin. Nary a hair out of place on her wee cherubs. I spent a lot of time with them through their childhood and then, when baby girl was about ten, I got married. She loved Handy Man Pappy and would visit us often and spend the night. We liked to spoil her. She slept between us and everytime she came over, I fixed her a coke and homemade fries.

One of my favorite memories was taking her with me to my Papaw's in Corbin when she was maybe 6 or 7. I gave her a break from being tidy. She didn't comb her hair, or brush her teeth until it was time to go home. Umm, yes, it was more than a day- or two.

I made her prom flowers and took all of her pictures through the teenage years. She always knew to me she was the beauty queen.

I was estatic when she hooked up with a fine fellow to spend her life with.

My heart was broken for her when months with no baby turned to years.

Then, I held my breath for nine months until I walked into the hospital and saw that wide-eyed boy in her arms, my joy for her nearly rivaling that of my own children's birth. I was amazed at baby two, incredulous at three, and out of words when Baby Boy entered the world last May.

She is exactly the kind of mom I knew she would be. I've not known anyone as devoted to her kiddos as she is.

Interestingly enough, she also is a neatnik, and now it's her kids who come to my house to be spoiled and get messy.

But the relationship is far from one-sided.

Together we share foundational beliefs that hold us together, otherwise, we're quite different. I trust her to share a side I might not have considered. I know she will know when life's a little harder than I'm able to handle, and remind me I'm loved and appreciated. I know she trusts that I only want the very best for her and hers, even when it fits differently than her ways.

What I didn't know when we had Ol' Henry, that every single last thing I did for him (thinking he'd be the only one after so much "getting with child" trouble) I'd have to repeat it all three more times.

Which is why I was scrubbing a wash tub in February and Handy Man and I were dragging out cords, and heaters, shoveling snow etc. so Baby Boy could have his tub pictures at relatively the same age the other three did. The things you do for love.

Happy Birthday Ol' Mother Hubbard.

Buttercup and Tumbledown Elves

On Saturday, Buttercup came to visit for a few hours.

Before Bean and Bugg left on Wednesday, one of the tumbling elves was dry enough to try and both the kids, along with Handy Man, 1st Lt. and I got a big kick out of watching it turn head over heals down an incline. I had them all finished by Saturday and was anxious to see what Missy Buttercup thought.Rae-rae had stopped by to pick up some eggs, so Michael, Rae-rae, Buttercup and I raced our men down the couch cushion. Good activity for lots of laughs. After several races, Buttercup decided she would try sliding down the cushion. Then she found a bucket and it was time to play peek-a-boo.

Are you ready?


I'm about to disappear under this bucket.

She is such a dolly and quite talkative for 17 months old. She's come to expect scrambled eggs when she visits. Already having had mango and graham crackers, I only fixed her one egg. She ate it while I was fixing some for her Daddy. When I turned around from the stove she was holding her plate up to me, saying, "Please, please." So I fixed her two more and she ate most of them. The words I remember her saying are please, help, up, pizza, Addie, doggie, mommy, daddy, thank you, what's that, bubble, bottle, ball, and book.

Crafty Wednesday

Ol' Mother Hubbard is thinking she might want to give homeschooling a whirl. I'm thinking mayhaps she's a tad bit daft, but I'll support whatever decision she makes.

I visit a lot of blogs of folks who homeschool and a new book called Joyful Movement was getting some press. Since this month is the Ol' Mother's birthday, I thought that would make a good gift.

I found it at a rather bohemian site titled A Child's Dream Come True, of the type for which I am a sucker. As you might know, it had a special of free postage and gift if you spent so much money, so I took a few minutes to peruse the site, and, well, spent so much money.I thought Bean would love this little transport vehicle for playing army and the little tumbling elves were too adorable to resist and could be played with various age poopies.

Bean is always interested in anything that causes his Handy Man Pap to break out the tools. Together they put the little cart together and hooked it up between two chairs.

While Bean and Pappy-O were busy gluing, Missy Bugg and I were making cookies. The adorable little apron she's wearing is one Pappy brought home to her from a lady who makes them where he works. We'd both forgotten the apron, until about half way through, when she shouted,

" Oh, no!" " I forgot my baker." She then proceeded to find it, put it on, spin around and declare,

"Now, I'm beautiful." Being beautiful is an important ingredient in good tasting cookies you know.

I didn't know if Bean could stand the supense long enough for his little cart to dry, but he did. Soon he was busy moving weapons to strategic locations down the mountain. He soon began to play with the weight, figuring out some interesting cause and effect with balance. Hmm, exactly what I hoped he would do.

Miss Bugg is enthralled with overseeing a military manuever. I erred in thinking the baking and fashioning of tumbling elves would distract my wee Bugg from the excitement of the moving cart. No such luck. Bean had to reluctantly part with it for a bit and hand over the reins to his sister. She's not much into military. So, Pap was stationed in the mine, deep in the mountain, and once the princess sent her gnome to dig, Pap was to help fill the cart with jewels for a tiara. After many, many trips into the deep dark mine, there were enough jewels for a stunning tiara fit for a Princess Bugg.

Handy Man says they put at least fifteen miles on that tiniest cart in just a couple of hours.

Sometimes, things just don't work out no matter how wonderful the attention, or best laid plans. Other times, it's even better than you could imagine. So much fun, learning, and pretending.

Thank you Lord for such a sweet evening!