Away for a bit...

Sorry I've been away for a bit. I was out of town most of the week for a training conference. I'll post more over the weekend.

I Thawt I Thaw a Puddy-Tat!

Today was pretty uneventful. At least for the human element. BTK had an adventure. Let's just say it involved RTD (Rudy the Dog) and a tree. Marv comes in the house and says, "Billy just ran up his first tree." Now, I know this is somewhat normal in the feline world. You would have thought Marv had told us Billy had packed his little kitty-sized suitcase and was hitting the dusty trail never to be heard from again. Sissy and I went running (Okay, Sissy was running. I was hobbling) out the front door to see Billy halfway up a tree, holding on for dear life meowing for all he's worth. "Oh, Billy, you poor baby!" " Billy, can you get down?" Like he's going to answer us. "Sure, I'll be down in a few. I just have to pry my claws out of this tree. They're sunk in about ten inches, so it might take me a minute." I, of course, being concerned for Billy, grabbed the camera on the way out the door to document the entire event. For your viewing pleasure*:

* No kitties or doggies were harmed in this incident. Except for BTK's psyche. All his friends are going to mock him because his mommy had to come rescue him. And yes, that is Billy's booty in the 2nd picture. Instead of coming down the easy way, he decides to go over the branch above him and come down on the other side.

A Busy Weekend...

Why is it the week always tends to drag on interminably but the weekends seem to last two seconds?

Sissy got her first day at a new school over with and it went reasonably well. The Niece and Nephew start school tomorrow. Scootie goes Tuesday to the recruiter. Sister L goes back to school soon. And the Little Man came down from A-Town after getting his stripe for karate. So, we had a good bit of celebrating. The PLAN was to have lunch, swim for a few hours, play some baseball for a couple of innings(Little Man loves baseball and is a fan of the Mets - seriously. He can name the entire roster, their stats and tell you who's on the injured reserve list. Did I mention he's like 6?).

We started out with the Little Man wanting to eat at Burger King and everyone else wanting Chick-fil-A. The majority won out, with the Little Man having an appetizer from the BK Lounge (ala Dane Cook) and the rest us of us having Chick -a -Flay (as the kids used to call it). Since it was Saturday, the whole free world was there to get their fix since the place isn't open on Sundays. Everyone has to get their fill so they can make it for a WHOLE DAY without their chicken.

At this point, it's like eleventy-billion degrees outside and we are going to the pool. I attempted to take some pictures of all the kids in the pool and was mildly successful after borrowing Scootie's flip flops. I think I left a layer of skin on the concrete when I ventured out of the shade with no shoes. Needless to say, they didn't quite fit.



It took about 30 minutes before all the fun went out of the waterguns and everybody was done with swimming. Maybe it had to do with the pool feeling like bath water.

Next up: front yard baseball. Did I mention it was now about 50 bajillion degrees with no relief in sight? If we were smart, we would have done the baseball first. Duh! Baseball lasted about 10 minutes with Sister D complaining about her seats and saying she was never returning to the venue again. I personally think she had the best seat. You can't get a baseball to the face if you're behind the tree!



Sister L wanted to go to the movies but Little Man wanted nothing to do with the movies. The game was over with a score of 3-2 ( I have no clue who won) and all participants scattering to the four winds. Scootie, Niece, Nephew and Sister D headed South, and Sissy and I headed to Mammy's.

I need to post this now because no one will believe it and I might forget. I can't believe I didn't get a picture. Sissy and Nickel (her cousin twice -removed) helped Mamy with her mulch project. Sissy PERSONNALY HAULED 21 WHEEL BARROWS FULL OF MULCH TO THE BACK OF MAMMY'S PROPERTY!!! I had the easy job. Making chili fries for Nickel. Ahh, air conditioning.

It's Scary ... and it smells good!

I bought it to freshen the air. I've found out it has a greater benefit. Apparently, it scares the bejeebus out of people because it's motion activated. Nephew and Marv were both caught quite by surprise at a most inopportune moment. Score!

Sissy is a Sophomore!

Sissy is ready for back to school...on FRIDAY. Again, who starts school on a Friday?! Apparently, Sissy.

Scootie took Sissy to town today to get her schedule and meet the teachers. Her first class of the day is listed as Visual Arts/Fiber I. Does this mean she'll be watching cartoons and eating things that are good for her? She also has been placed in an advanced drama class. Apparently, this class is usually for Juniors and Seniors. The teacher did ask Sissy if she thought she could handle the course. If I had been there, I could have told her Sissy is quite capable of holding her own when it comes to drama. Some of her performances in the past have been Oscar worthy.

She'll also be in a Chemistry class that is for Juniors. Apparently, she's a little ahead of the curve in the Science department. Bunsen burners and cool eyewear here we come! Whoo hoo!

The only thing about Sissy going back to school ... Who's going to hang out with this guy?

These Feet

Oh how these feet have grown in the last 18 years. When you were a baby, I used to watch your little hands and feet for hours and marvel at how little and perfect you were. As the years have gone by, these feet have taken you through a multitude of sports that you ended up realizing were just not for you, through adventures with your family and friends, through arguments with parents who just seem like the most unreasonable people on the planet ...

These feet have taken you through your first day of kindergarten all the way through graduation from high school. And now, these feet are taking you on one of your most important journey's yet. Next week you will be taking a huge leap toward your future when you take your oath to become a member of the United States Air Force. We are so proud of you and the steps you are taking.

We can't wait to see where these feet take you next...

Big Weekend in Little Town

First, let me apologize for the lengthy post. My fams was lambasting me for not having posted in a few days.

So this weekend we finally celebrated the Nephew's 17th birthday (they were on vacate last weekend...LUCKY!) and his actual bday was this past Tuesday. Anywho, on Saturday the sisters and I took off with the kids to the mall (or I guess I should say MALLS because we had to go to both ... both had Charlotte Russe [can you say "student discount"? Much love to CR!] for Sissy but only one had Justice for Niece) for some BTS shopping. I still CANNOT BELIEVE I went out to the mall(s) on TAX-FREE weekend two days before school starts for most of the free world. Sissy gets to start on Friday. Who starts school on Friday?!

Niece and Nephew spent the night with The Family that evening. To tell you the truth, I don't think they had much choice in the matter. Sister D practically threw the boys out of the car when we got back from the stores with a quick, "Okay, see you later...have fun...miss you" a wave and a cloud of dust. Apparently, the boys were in fine form. I know this because Sister L refused to ride any further in the car with them and we couldn't very well leave her at the mall (although I don't think it would be so bad...there's a CinnaBon -- 'nuf said!)

So, Birthday boy awoke to the smell of bacon (mmmmm....BACON) and had a strawberry muffin set ablaze right under his nose with all of us crazies singing an award-winning version of Happy Birthday at the top of our lungs. Needless to say, it wasn't one of his finer moments.

The day moved on and I took the kids to "town". It took about five minutes to go 'round town, but the most exciting part of the whole trip was the kids getting to see a real, original WalMart. Seriously, this thing only has six check out lanes (don't get excited -- only two were open). The kids had never seen anything less than the "Super-Duper We've Got Everything Under the Sun" WalMart. Our other adventure in town was me straight up messing up Scootie's game when he tried to get a phone number from the cashier @ Taco Bell. He WAS NOT HAPPY. Oh, wells. I needed my Chalupa and some caffeine.

Next up on the schedule was the "OFFICIAL" celebration complete with homemade German Chocolate cake (thanks to Sister D, aka Nephew and Niece's Mom) and some ice cream (thanks to Edy's) with another great rendition of Happy Birthday. After the festivities, we ran by the old house to check the mail (thanks US Postal Service for putting my old address as my new address. I guess that means the carrier has to take the mail out and then put it back in again? And for this, they are complaining that they may have to close some offices?!).

Back at the house, we just vegged out, except for Sissy. She proceeded to follow Billy The Kitty (BTK) around with the camera. Yes, I know I nicknamed the kitty after a serial killer. I'm sick like that.