5 Things I'm Looking Forward To This Summer

1. Wearing less clothes ... I hate wearing jackets, coats, sweaters, long sleeves, shoes.... Come on Summer. I do have the right to blog my complaints about how hot it is this summer and how much I'm ready for Fall.
2. Fresh Veggies .... Nothing like a fresh tomato. I've discovered I'm a tomato snob. The store bought ones taste horrible after eating fresh grown and picked ones during the summer.
3. Going to the Water Park... Ours opened up just 2 years ago with it started off at 0 and going up to 12 feet. It is so wonderful and the kids love it. We used go to the lake but I hate swimming somewhere that has things that like to nibble my moles. Stupid fish.
4. Doing family cookouts .... 1 to 2 times a month we have friends over to eat. We supply the meat and they bring side dishes. It is so wonderful to spend time with them.
5. High speed internet! ... We have decided to bite the bullet and upgrade our internet. Now we are getting it free through work but slow is not the way to go with a busy family. Ok, I just want to surf faster and post on my boards more. Selfish but I'm ready. ~grins~

I Did It.... Grandma Would Be Proud....

I made her wonderful Chocolate Gravy and Biscuits! Don't knock it until you try it. Let's go down Memory Lane for this one.....

My Grandmother was a wonderful lady and she showed how wonderful every time my Cousins came into town. They lived in Georgia and we only saw them 2 times a year. My Uncle was a teacher and every summer and Christmas, when he had time off, they would load up and come to Arkansas. It was a huge highlight that we all looked forward too. I have so many wonderful pictures and memories of their visits. One day I'll post a few of my favorites. At least once during their visit my Grandmother would get up and start cooking the most wonderful breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, chocolate gravy and bisuits. As kids, there was nothing better than chocolate gravy and bisuits. Our plates were always clean by the end of the meal. I can still see all the dishes of food in the middle of her table and all of us sitting around waiting to dig in. My Grandmother was the best!

So incase you need to have some yourself, here is the recipe I used. It is not her exact recipe, that was on my computer and the cousins were playing computer games, so I found this one in my recipe book. The kids' plates are clean.... well, except for Georgia. Refer back to the previous post about chocolate pudding. The kids just isn't right when it comes to chocolate!

Chocolate Gravy
2 c. milk
2 heaping Tbsp. cocoa
2 heaping Tbsp. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter

Mix together cocoa, flour, and sugar. Add milk, stir, and cook over low heat until thick; add butter and stir until melted. Serve with hot biscuits.

It worked and I was happy. The kids were happy. I might cut back a little on the sugar but I'm not loving sweet, sweet things right now. I also added a little extra cocoa. I"m all about that deep chocolate look. All I know, what a wonderful memory and I glad I could pass it on, thanks to my wonderful Grandmother.

A Few Family Happenings That Makes It Worth While....

I have to say last night was pretty funny. Since I'm not much for making dessert to go with a meal (because that would mean more cooking and I really do not like to cook unless I have too) my older kids are the one to push to have dessert. My oldest daughter, Catherine, wanted to make pudding. So after a wonderful supper that I made (haha), we dished up the pudding. I tried to give some to Georgia, my 5 year old. She looked at it and said "no thank you" and went back to the computer. I tried to get her to taste it. Again, "No thank you, it looks yucky!". So then I tried to pass it to Charlotte. She closed her mouth and ran. Jeff, thinking this is just not right for a kid to not like pudding, started chasing Charlotte with a spoonful saying "Just try it! It's Chocolate!". He finally tricked her into opening her mouth where he then shoveled it in. She looked up, smiled, grabbed the bowl and took off. Georgia still held out and refused.

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Fast forward to this morning..... After all the school craziness was over I was ready to take my shower. Charlotte was gazing at the TV with love since Diego was on. I knew I could get a shower in without having to play peek-a-boo with the shower curtain. I was almost done when ?I hear Charlotte saying something. I called out that I was in the shower. She never came but kept calling out my name and saying something. Finally after minutes had passed I realized I needed to go and check. I went into the living room and found that she had kind of fallen onto the floor. Her hands were on the floor while her legs were on the couch. She couldn't move! Sad to say I giggled and felt a little guilty because I didn't want to get out of the shower and I delayed getting out of the shower and my poor little girl was in the living room being a bridge. Sigh. Parenting. Nothing like it.

The Railroad Tracks.....

My home town was a wonderful place to grow up. As a teenager there wasn't much to do there but as a kid, it was paradise. My friends and I would grab our bikes and take off to explore every day (unless grounded from our transportation). We did everything; rode doubles, rode with no hands, lined up from one side of the road to the other side and held hands, compared banana seats. That was the life. Our only barrier was the railroad tracks. We couldn't cross them.

The tracks split our town. Some of the schools were on one side. It was a very happy day when our school bus got caught by a train and made us late. We were the envy of all the school kids, or at least WE thought we were. I loved those tracks. I loved the sounds of the trains. I loved going over the tracks. I loved counting the train cars. I loved seeing the caboose. I loved walking on the tracks. They were everywhere.

Our church (think very small, had an outhouse, sometimes more wasps than people) was out in the country and very close to the tracks. My Dad had to stop preaching when the train was crossing. I can still feel the church seats and see my Dad standing up there smiling and waiting. After church we (the kids) would go to the tracks and use them as balance beams. Not safe, but fun.

When my Grandmother moved to town, she moved in on the other side of the tracks from us. Right by the park, how cool was that! And I was finally allowed to cross the tracks. It was a big production of calling my Grandmother and asking if I could come over then telling Mom. I then had to call my Mom as soon as I got there. My Grandmothers house was close to the tracks. When I stayed the night I loved to listen to the trains go through during the night. I think that is memory I remember most when I hear a train whistle and the clacking. Laying in my Grandmothers spare bedroom, in the bed I have right now, and hearing the trains. Some days I don't know who I miss most: My Grandmother or My Dad. I can hear a train right now. How funny is that!

Conversations With Charlotte......

My cutie pie. After she looked at the picture (because when you have a digital they ALL have to look at themselves and they get mad when I use my 35mm camera) and started twirling around singing "That's me! That's Me! That's ME!". You have to agree with me, she is a cutie pie.

Her new humor has kicked into gear. The other day she was jumping on my bed while I was folding the mountain of laundry that I have (it's still there, just different clothes). While jumping she kept saying something to me. I finally figured it out. She kept telling me that "I Catkin. You Gogia." Aw, she is starting that imagination play. Love it. So I finally agree that She is Catherine and I am Georgia. She bounces some more and tells me "Hi Gogia!". And I, loving to play along, say "I Catherine" to which she proceeds to die laughing and telling me (like I was a moron) "I not Catkin! I Charlotte!!!" and walks off. So it begins at the age of 2 1/2 that kids start treating their parents like their brain is dead. I will admit that a few brain cells have been destroyed in the raising of these kids but I still have a few left. Let's hope they make through the teenage years.

Dang Pregnancy Hormones......

Pregnancy + Hormones + TV Viewing = crying. Tis a sad truth. My hormones are getting the better of me. I happened to turn the TV to the Disney channel last night and Mulan was on. Mulan has to be my favorite movie yet that they have made. So the two scenes that set me off was the one where Yang spared Mulan's life and she looks into the helmet and says that she sees nothing. Poor Mushu tries to help. Then the scene where the Emporer bows to Mulan and everyone else does too. Don't you just love pregnancy hormones? I can't wait for Mother's Day when they do all those Hallmark card commercials. Not going to be fun. My favorite (HA!) memory of pregnancy hormone induced sobbing was during my last pregnancy. My Mom had to put up with a mess that time. She was down helping out but she also causes me stress. Every 10 minutes she would ask if I'm ok! Drove me nuts! So I decided to load up the kids and go have fun. Had the kids loaded and couldn't find the keys. I lost it. Sobbing for my keys. Not being helped by my Mom telling me it was ok. I finally called Jeff and he brought me his keys, hugged me, laughed (because it really was funny) then ran back to work. I ended up taking my Mom with me on the outing because I felt guilty for snapping at her over keys and her "helping" me.

The only thing worse than pregnancy hormones is the After Birth Hormone rampage. I don't need keys or a movie for me to cry my eyes out. After Andrew was born they hit about day 3. I did not know what was going on. I would look at him and cry. I would look at Jeff and cry. I would look at the tiny diapers and cry. Then Jeff had to buy me a sweet mother bear and baby bear figurine and I really cried. At the time it freaked us out because I couldn't tell him why I was crying. We were prepared for the others. Now I'm having to go through it one more time. I'm not a crying person. Not that I don't but there usually is a VERY good reason for me to cry. Not because Mulan is having personal problems. Ah, the ride.

He Said, She blankety Blank Blank........

That is supposed to be the title of the wonderful book I'm supposed to write about how we communicate but alas we can't remember what that title was supposed to be. The 'we' here is my husband and me. We were having this brilliant conversation about how men and women communitcate so differently. I've been talking in my classes this past week about Social Interaction and how gender plays in that came up. My illustration about how different we are when wanting the trash taken out. I come into the kitchen and notice the trash bag is full. I tell my husband "The trash sure is full" and my job is done. My husband reacts by thinking "yep, it sure is!" and walking away. Now me in my ignorant bliss thinks I have told my husband to take out the trash. He thinks I was just making a statement and walked away.

So when I finally take out the trash (griping at him all the way) he pipes up and says "Why didn't you ask me to take the trash out!". Um, hello! The trash can was full. Response: Take out the trash! But I didn't TELL him to take it out. I just made a statement that he would agree with or not agree with. I marvel that we haven't killed them all off yet! ~grins~

Another Sociological fact is that is a wife is going to off her man, she will more than likely do it in the kitchen. I told this to my friend Mary and now when she is really mad at her husband she will ask him to "Come into my kitchen, Jim!" You just had to know that one.

My husband loves that we are having #5 (inbetween freaking out that is). When we met he told me he wanted 6 kids. I didn't think he was serious! He has a favorite phrase that he uses when people ask him if he knows how "That" happened. We have been getting that question since child #3 was on the way. So after they ask he responds "I've narrowed it down to 2 things. Water and Sex. I'm not giving up either!" Gotta love that man of mine.

One more interesting fact about us. We will be married for 18 years this June. I find that amazing. I'll have lived with him for as long as I lived with my parents.