So, I was driving home the other day, minding my own business, when out of nowhere, I got this terrible, nasty, horrible surprise.
What happened?
Well, I surprised this really big bird as I came around a corner. The Farmer thinks it must have been a buzzard, but said bird dropped a bunch of dead animal guts all over my car -- I would liken it to having chum, just in this case it wasn't fish, dropped all over your car!
That's right. All over the top of my car. All down the windshield. Chunks in the windshield wipers. All over the hood. On my driver's-side window. In the air intake right under my windshield wipers.
All over the car.
My car immediately filled with the smell of dead, rotting flesh, and I had to cover my mouth and nose with my hand to make it the rest of the way home so that I could escape the smelly inside. I kept thanking God that I am not particularly squeamish so that I didn't have the smell of barf to add to the smell of dead animal in the car...
I pulled up to the house, and ran out of the car as fast as I could to get some fresh air and find a hose. Only, no hose. So, I ran inside and called The Farmer. Only I couldn't get him. So I found a pitcher in the kitchen and went outside and turned on the spigot and went to work going back and forth between the car and the spigot trying to get the chunks of dead animal off the car. Only it wasn't really working because the chunks were too big. And it was really starting to stink in the hot August sun.
So I ran back in and called The Farmer's office and begged them to call him on the radio and have him call me immediately -- at this point I had to leave to pick up Miss Priss from school in fifteen minutes. Luckily they got him, he called me right away, and was not far from our house. I got back in the car -- dry heaving the entire way -- and drove over to the shed where The Farmer was working. He used this big, powerful hose to blast as much of the guts off the car as he could, but he ended up having to pick some of it out of the windshield wipers and air intake with his hands (bless his heart, but better him than me).
The car smelled better -- though not normal (I was trying to take very shallow breaths -- and when Sassy got in the car later, she said "Eew, disgusting, what is that smell?") -- and I was on my way. But, every time I see a big bird now, I sure cringe!
To make matters worse, that night The Farmer and I woke up to BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!! Once we turned on the lights, we realized that our ceiling fan had fallen out of the ceiling and was whacking the post on our rice bed! Thankfully it woke us up when it was hitting the bed and not hitting us...
Like I said, these things happen...right? I feel like I'm on some kind of hidden camera show...
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Drop-Off Blues
Bubba hates to be dropped off anywhere. School, the church nursery, anywhere. This is more than the normal separation anxiety, and, really, he is too old to be going through separation anxiety anyway.
This is because he is a big, fat Mama's boy.
He cried every single day I dropped him off last school year, and that was at our church -- a place where he should be completely comfortable, because he is there all the time. In fact, halfway through the year, I made the nanny start to take him to school because I couldn't handle all the screaming and crying at drop-off, and he started to go in just fine.
So I know the problem is me.
He does the same thing when he is dropped off at the church nursery. It is a fight every Sunday. He knows everyone in there, and he is fine 2 seconds after I leave him, but he has to make this huge scene every single week like I am abandoning him.
So, this year, the kids are at a new school. Parents drive up to the side door of the school, and a teacher comes up to the car and gets the kids out in the mornings. The first week went fine -- or, at least, it went fine as far as the car part was concerned. I pulled up, Bubba and the girls hopped out, walked in, and then Bubba would stop in the doorway of his classroom and refuse to go in. His teacher would have to literally pick him up and make him come in the class. The tears would start, and he would cry for a bit. After a while he would calm down and start his day with the rest of the class, and he would have a great time.
This week, however, has been a totally different story.
Monday, the teacher came to get the kids out of the car, and Bubba jumped up and hid in the back so that she couldn't reach him. I opened the back gate, and he ran up and jumped in my lap, so the teacher had to come up to the driver's door and pry Bubba's hands off the steering wheel as I pushed him out to get him out of the car. Meanwhile the line of parents waiting to drop kids off is getting longer and longer...
Tuesday I didn't let him unbuckle until the teacher came to the door, and Bubba started screaming and swatting at her hand as she tried to get him out of his car seat. She had to force him out of his seat because he was hanging onto it for dear life. That afternoon I got him a big fire station for his Thomas set, and I took it home and made this huge deal out of it and told him that he could have it as soon as he could start going into school "like a big boy." I made it clear to him that he couldn't get it after just one day; he had to act like a big boy going into school and church several days in a row before the fire station was his.
Bubba was so excited, and promised that he was going to be a big boy. I just knew that this plan would work!
Wednesday came around, and we headed to school. Bubba was in a great mood on the way there, and he talked about being a big boy. Everything was going great until Miss Jessica came to get him out of the car. Then he started swatting her hand and saying "No!" and crying all over again. I tried to remind him about his fire station, so he kept telling me "I'm not going to cry!" as he screamed and cried.
I talked to my friend, Margaret, after that failure, and she suggested that we role-play so that Bubba could practice how he was supposed to act at drop-off. So, yesterday afternoon we practiced and practiced. And we practiced again this morning before we left for school. Bubba was ready to try again to be a big boy.
We were on the way to school, and right before we got there, Bubba started screaming. My heart sank. But then he said "I've got to POOP!!!!!" I told him that we would be at school in just a minute, and he could go as soon as we got there, but he said "No, I've got to go NOW!" However, there was no place for me to stop; the school is in the middle of cotton fields. So we kept on, and we got in line behind 2 other cars. Bubba was in the back seat screaming and crying, but for a different reason this time. I reached into the back and unbuckled him and told him to take some deep breaths. When it was our turn to get out, Bubba was standing at the car door waiting for Miss Jessica to get him out. She opened the door, and he yelled "I gotta go POTTY!!!!" She grabbed him out of the car, and shut the door -- she didn't even let the girls out!! (Luckily another teacher was there to let them out).
So, I have no idea if our role-play helped Bubba at all, but our drop-off blues were at least solved for today; Bubba didn't have time to think about whether he wanted to get out of the car or not! Maybe I just need to pray for a potty emergency every day...
This is because he is a big, fat Mama's boy.
He cried every single day I dropped him off last school year, and that was at our church -- a place where he should be completely comfortable, because he is there all the time. In fact, halfway through the year, I made the nanny start to take him to school because I couldn't handle all the screaming and crying at drop-off, and he started to go in just fine.
So I know the problem is me.
He does the same thing when he is dropped off at the church nursery. It is a fight every Sunday. He knows everyone in there, and he is fine 2 seconds after I leave him, but he has to make this huge scene every single week like I am abandoning him.
So, this year, the kids are at a new school. Parents drive up to the side door of the school, and a teacher comes up to the car and gets the kids out in the mornings. The first week went fine -- or, at least, it went fine as far as the car part was concerned. I pulled up, Bubba and the girls hopped out, walked in, and then Bubba would stop in the doorway of his classroom and refuse to go in. His teacher would have to literally pick him up and make him come in the class. The tears would start, and he would cry for a bit. After a while he would calm down and start his day with the rest of the class, and he would have a great time.
This week, however, has been a totally different story.
Monday, the teacher came to get the kids out of the car, and Bubba jumped up and hid in the back so that she couldn't reach him. I opened the back gate, and he ran up and jumped in my lap, so the teacher had to come up to the driver's door and pry Bubba's hands off the steering wheel as I pushed him out to get him out of the car. Meanwhile the line of parents waiting to drop kids off is getting longer and longer...
Tuesday I didn't let him unbuckle until the teacher came to the door, and Bubba started screaming and swatting at her hand as she tried to get him out of his car seat. She had to force him out of his seat because he was hanging onto it for dear life. That afternoon I got him a big fire station for his Thomas set, and I took it home and made this huge deal out of it and told him that he could have it as soon as he could start going into school "like a big boy." I made it clear to him that he couldn't get it after just one day; he had to act like a big boy going into school and church several days in a row before the fire station was his.
Bubba was so excited, and promised that he was going to be a big boy. I just knew that this plan would work!
Wednesday came around, and we headed to school. Bubba was in a great mood on the way there, and he talked about being a big boy. Everything was going great until Miss Jessica came to get him out of the car. Then he started swatting her hand and saying "No!" and crying all over again. I tried to remind him about his fire station, so he kept telling me "I'm not going to cry!" as he screamed and cried.
I talked to my friend, Margaret, after that failure, and she suggested that we role-play so that Bubba could practice how he was supposed to act at drop-off. So, yesterday afternoon we practiced and practiced. And we practiced again this morning before we left for school. Bubba was ready to try again to be a big boy.
We were on the way to school, and right before we got there, Bubba started screaming. My heart sank. But then he said "I've got to POOP!!!!!" I told him that we would be at school in just a minute, and he could go as soon as we got there, but he said "No, I've got to go NOW!" However, there was no place for me to stop; the school is in the middle of cotton fields. So we kept on, and we got in line behind 2 other cars. Bubba was in the back seat screaming and crying, but for a different reason this time. I reached into the back and unbuckled him and told him to take some deep breaths. When it was our turn to get out, Bubba was standing at the car door waiting for Miss Jessica to get him out. She opened the door, and he yelled "I gotta go POTTY!!!!" She grabbed him out of the car, and shut the door -- she didn't even let the girls out!! (Luckily another teacher was there to let them out).
So, I have no idea if our role-play helped Bubba at all, but our drop-off blues were at least solved for today; Bubba didn't have time to think about whether he wanted to get out of the car or not! Maybe I just need to pray for a potty emergency every day...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Normal...Or Something Like It
Wow, it has almost been a full month since I have posted!
I keep thinking that, at some point, my life is going to return to normal.
When we were packing up our house, I thought that life would return to normal once we got everything all finished up.
During packing season, I thought life would return to normal when I got out of the packing house and back to my normal office and normal hours.
However, life never seemed to get back to normal. There always seemed to be some new, crazy thing going on this summer.
And then it finally hit me -- there is no normal for me anymore. I have taken everything that was normal and changed it. We have sold our house, decided to move to a new town, put our kids in a new school -- nothing is the same, so I have to learn a new normal. I'm just having a little bit of a hard time putting it into practice!
The kids started school yesterday, and we finally have gotten ourselves (mostly) settled in the new (temporary) house. We have also finally gotten phone, tv, and internet -- we were living without all of those things for a while, and I felt like I was cut off from civilization. Even my cell phone was (is) useless in our house in the middle of a field!
So, I hope I have at least a reader or two to stick with me through my absence -- hopefully I will be back to normal soon!
I keep thinking that, at some point, my life is going to return to normal.
When we were packing up our house, I thought that life would return to normal once we got everything all finished up.
During packing season, I thought life would return to normal when I got out of the packing house and back to my normal office and normal hours.
However, life never seemed to get back to normal. There always seemed to be some new, crazy thing going on this summer.
And then it finally hit me -- there is no normal for me anymore. I have taken everything that was normal and changed it. We have sold our house, decided to move to a new town, put our kids in a new school -- nothing is the same, so I have to learn a new normal. I'm just having a little bit of a hard time putting it into practice!
The kids started school yesterday, and we finally have gotten ourselves (mostly) settled in the new (temporary) house. We have also finally gotten phone, tv, and internet -- we were living without all of those things for a while, and I felt like I was cut off from civilization. Even my cell phone was (is) useless in our house in the middle of a field!
So, I hope I have at least a reader or two to stick with me through my absence -- hopefully I will be back to normal soon!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Look-Alikes?
The other day we were watching GAC (I actually got to change the channel away from The Disney Channel for 5 minutes!!!), and Luke Bryan's video for Rain is a Good Thing was on. Bubba came into the room and saw Luke Bryan on the screen and said "That's my Daddy!"
Yes, it's been a while since Bubba has seen The Farmer, but, really, there is no reason for him to be thinking that Luke Bryan is his father other than a slight resemblance...
What do you think?
Luke Bryan:
The Farmer doesn't think he looks at all like Luke Bryan; he thinks he's much better looking (oh, that guy!) -- but he did say that at least Luke Bryan puts out some good country songs!
Yes, it's been a while since Bubba has seen The Farmer, but, really, there is no reason for him to be thinking that Luke Bryan is his father other than a slight resemblance...
What do you think?
Luke Bryan:
The Farmer:
The Farmer doesn't think he looks at all like Luke Bryan; he thinks he's much better looking (oh, that guy!) -- but he did say that at least Luke Bryan puts out some good country songs!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Prayer Request
Today at 2 am our time, and 2 pm their time, my dad arrived in China for his first mission trip.
I meant to post this in time for y'all to pray for him on his flight over there, but I never got the chance yesterday.
Daddy will be in China for about two weeks travelling all over the country and teaching English to children, which is really kind of funny, because when he gets to talking to some of the guys on the farm, I wouldn't call what they are speaking English. ;-)
He and one other man from our church are with a group from another church in town. The other man from our church went about a week earlier, so Daddy went over there with a group of people he doesn't know. He was a little nervous about the actual trip, the food, and being in a country where the people aren't free like we are here in America.
Anyway, I know that he will do great on this mission trip, but I would love it if y'all could keep him in your prayers until he gets back on the 28th.
Thanks!!
I meant to post this in time for y'all to pray for him on his flight over there, but I never got the chance yesterday.
Daddy will be in China for about two weeks travelling all over the country and teaching English to children, which is really kind of funny, because when he gets to talking to some of the guys on the farm, I wouldn't call what they are speaking English. ;-)
He and one other man from our church are with a group from another church in town. The other man from our church went about a week earlier, so Daddy went over there with a group of people he doesn't know. He was a little nervous about the actual trip, the food, and being in a country where the people aren't free like we are here in America.
Anyway, I know that he will do great on this mission trip, but I would love it if y'all could keep him in your prayers until he gets back on the 28th.
Thanks!!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Never A Dull Moment
I think that I have mentioned that the kids and I are living at my in-law's beach house this summer. What I may not have mentioned is that their beach house isn't the come in with your feet sandy and sit out the couch with a wet bathing suit kind of beach house. Instead, it is the brand new, all-white furniture kind of beach house.
The Farmer didn't want us to live here because he didn't want the kids to mess anything up; he knows that our kids are kids, and that they don't exactly live like neat little adults. But, we sold our house and needed a place to bunk for the summer, and, as we are moving back to his farm and I work around the clock here in the summer, this will be a recurring summertime problem, so here we are.
And, honestly, no matter how fabulous this house is or how beautiful the view is, after this summer, I am with The Farmer -- next summer we will be looking for another place to live, because my stress level has been maxed out after the responsibility of living in someone else's brand-new house.
Why? Well...
We had been here for maybe a week, and we were coming home after church one Sunday. We stopped to get some sandwiches for lunch, and then we were going to spend some time on the beach. The Farmer called to find out where we were because there was an alarm going off at the house saying that the house was on fire!! All the way back out to the house -- a 20 minute drive from where we were -- my legs were jello because I just knew that I had left on my flat iron and burned my in-law's beach house down to the ground.
We got out to the house to find two fire trucks and half the neighborhood in front of the house. I left the kids in the car in the middle of the street and ran up to the nearest fireman to ask him if the house was on fire. Luckily it was just a false alarm, but the alarms were still going off. It took forever for me to get the alarm off as three fully-suited firemen and a neighbor stood around watching me.
And it took forever to get my heart rate back to normal.
We have also had a case of MRSA this summer. Our nanny and her daughter -- I am not sure which one had it first -- had it and passed it on to Bubba. Poor Bubba got a huge, nasty infected toe, and I had to spend many nights after I got home from the packing house (at midnight!) disinfecting the house. Neither of the girls ever got it, so I think that I have managed to kill all of the germs around the house. I just hope it's not lurking around here somewhere -- that stuff is nasty!
Bubba slept with me one night and wet the bed, and, of course, it went through the mattress pad and soaked the brand-new mattress. Luckily, the nanny found some kind of wonderful stuff that got the smell out of the mattress.
We have also learned the magic of the Magic Eraser.
The knob came off the cabinet in my bathroom.
I could keep going, but it is too stressful.
It's one thing when it's your own house; it's totally another when it's someone else's. So, basically, I have spent my summer working, worrying, stressing, and cleaning.
And I live on the beach in a beautiful house with a beautiful view...it doesn't make any sense!
The Farmer didn't want us to live here because he didn't want the kids to mess anything up; he knows that our kids are kids, and that they don't exactly live like neat little adults. But, we sold our house and needed a place to bunk for the summer, and, as we are moving back to his farm and I work around the clock here in the summer, this will be a recurring summertime problem, so here we are.
And, honestly, no matter how fabulous this house is or how beautiful the view is, after this summer, I am with The Farmer -- next summer we will be looking for another place to live, because my stress level has been maxed out after the responsibility of living in someone else's brand-new house.
Why? Well...
We had been here for maybe a week, and we were coming home after church one Sunday. We stopped to get some sandwiches for lunch, and then we were going to spend some time on the beach. The Farmer called to find out where we were because there was an alarm going off at the house saying that the house was on fire!! All the way back out to the house -- a 20 minute drive from where we were -- my legs were jello because I just knew that I had left on my flat iron and burned my in-law's beach house down to the ground.
We got out to the house to find two fire trucks and half the neighborhood in front of the house. I left the kids in the car in the middle of the street and ran up to the nearest fireman to ask him if the house was on fire. Luckily it was just a false alarm, but the alarms were still going off. It took forever for me to get the alarm off as three fully-suited firemen and a neighbor stood around watching me.
And it took forever to get my heart rate back to normal.
We have also had a case of MRSA this summer. Our nanny and her daughter -- I am not sure which one had it first -- had it and passed it on to Bubba. Poor Bubba got a huge, nasty infected toe, and I had to spend many nights after I got home from the packing house (at midnight!) disinfecting the house. Neither of the girls ever got it, so I think that I have managed to kill all of the germs around the house. I just hope it's not lurking around here somewhere -- that stuff is nasty!
Bubba slept with me one night and wet the bed, and, of course, it went through the mattress pad and soaked the brand-new mattress. Luckily, the nanny found some kind of wonderful stuff that got the smell out of the mattress.
We have also learned the magic of the Magic Eraser.
The knob came off the cabinet in my bathroom.
I could keep going, but it is too stressful.
It's one thing when it's your own house; it's totally another when it's someone else's. So, basically, I have spent my summer working, worrying, stressing, and cleaning.
And I live on the beach in a beautiful house with a beautiful view...it doesn't make any sense!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
God Bless America, Land That I Love!
Happy Fourth (er, Eighth!) of July!
For the first time since we have known each other, The Farmer and I had two days off together over the fourth! Being farmers who harvest during the summer months, we are usually very busy during our nation's birthday, so this was a great treat for us.
We spent our whole weekend on the water.
Saturday morning I took the two younger kids to a birthday party, and that afternoon The Farmer and I spent some kid-free time on the beach during nap time. That evening LP and The Minister. and their daughter, Lily, came over, and we all went to a big Fourth of July party.
Sunday we had more friends over for a day at the beach, and our friend, Jen, brought out a wonderful brunch spread complete with great, festive drinks for the grown-ups. That afternoon Sassy began a love affair with water skiing. She was too scared to try to ski last year, but after watching people go all afternoon Sunday (including her mommy), she decided that she wanted to go -- and she popped right up! Now, the ski that she and Miss Priss go on is more like a sled in the front and skis in the back, but the point is that she went behind the boat -- we'll work on the whole getting up and balancing on two separate skis thing later. And she hasn't stopped asking to go again ever since she went. She loved it.
Our weekend was rounded out by church that evening, then we came home and grilled out, again with LP,The Minister, and Lily, and then watched the fireworks from our backyard. As I mentioned earlier, I am usually working on the fourth, so I cannot tell you when the last time was that I saw fireworks. This year we got to see several different fireworks shows from the backyard, and it was so fun to see them all.
It was really a fun, festive fourth!
And I took nary a picture (and I could just kick myself for not having the camera when Sassy went skiing, but I didn't want to run inside and miss her in action, but the neighbor, Nancy, did get some pictures)...maybe next year!
For the first time since we have known each other, The Farmer and I had two days off together over the fourth! Being farmers who harvest during the summer months, we are usually very busy during our nation's birthday, so this was a great treat for us.
We spent our whole weekend on the water.
Saturday morning I took the two younger kids to a birthday party, and that afternoon The Farmer and I spent some kid-free time on the beach during nap time. That evening LP and The Minister. and their daughter, Lily, came over, and we all went to a big Fourth of July party.
Sunday we had more friends over for a day at the beach, and our friend, Jen, brought out a wonderful brunch spread complete with great, festive drinks for the grown-ups. That afternoon Sassy began a love affair with water skiing. She was too scared to try to ski last year, but after watching people go all afternoon Sunday (including her mommy), she decided that she wanted to go -- and she popped right up! Now, the ski that she and Miss Priss go on is more like a sled in the front and skis in the back, but the point is that she went behind the boat -- we'll work on the whole getting up and balancing on two separate skis thing later. And she hasn't stopped asking to go again ever since she went. She loved it.
Our weekend was rounded out by church that evening, then we came home and grilled out, again with LP,The Minister, and Lily, and then watched the fireworks from our backyard. As I mentioned earlier, I am usually working on the fourth, so I cannot tell you when the last time was that I saw fireworks. This year we got to see several different fireworks shows from the backyard, and it was so fun to see them all.
It was really a fun, festive fourth!
And I took nary a picture (and I could just kick myself for not having the camera when Sassy went skiing, but I didn't want to run inside and miss her in action, but the neighbor, Nancy, did get some pictures)...maybe next year!
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