Friday, May 26, 2006

Out of pocket

We're off to Tennessee for the Memorial Day weekend. A 'cow' picnic with Mark's online buddies. And we're going to Graceland, baby! To see, as Anna puts it, 'Dead Elvis'.

I don't have the luxury of a laptop so I won't be able to post until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. So, y'all have a great holiday weekend!

Peace out.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

20 months


My boy is 20 months old today. On the dot. I've done so much posting about his lack of verbal skills, that I thought it only fair to post now about how that boy has made a complete turnaround and talks like the dickens.

Some of John M.'s favorite words:

Juice (dooce) -Maybe a future Armstrong fan?
Outside (ah-sid)- He requests this about 100 times daily
Swing (wing) (Ah wing) - His favorite pasttime lately.
Bike (bike) - he says this one right!
Bye-Bye - said with a heavy southern accent, as if he grew up in East Tennessee
Cow (dow) - I think it's a mix between dog and cow.
Dog (dawwg) - same accent as bye-bye
Mine (mine!!) - everything is his, all of it, according to him.
I want to ride (ah wan wide) - as in the Kawasaki mule, the four wheeler, the horse . .
I want to eat (ah wan eat) - mostly mac and cheese and blackberries. I've NEVER seen a child eat blackberries as fast
as this boy can.

What gets me is he can say just about everything now, or something close to it. He went from 5 words to 500 in the blink of an eye.

My favorite is Mama though. And it always will be.
Have I mentioned he has me wrapped all the way around every one of his fingers?

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Bet I was the only one doing this on a Tuesday evening



Holding a squeeze chute open for a cow, so her calf could be taught how to suck from her.
Can you believe it?

I just have to draw the line at getting fresh cow poop on my shirt, like Mark did.

I'm not that dedicated.

I'm becoming such the farm girl, eh?

Not really.

RENEE'S FARM FACT OF THE DAY (Okay, I didn't know this, maybe most do, but it was news to ME):
Anyway, here goes.
When males cows (is there such a thing? or is it just a bull? anyway . .) are young, you can put this little
ring dealie on their private part and it cuts off the circulation to said part and slowly, it shrivels up and falls off.
Why, do you ask? (I bet the cow is asking the same damn thing). So that they're just a 'steer', and not a 'bull '(used for reproducing). Mark taught me this today, while pointing out a male calf ding-a-ling. I felt bad for that little calf, but Mark swears it doesn't bother them. But really, how does he KNOW that? They may need some serious counseling in the future.

Twins, approximately 52 years apart

Emma is evolving into my mom. I have people tell me all the time how much Emma looks like her. It started with the exact same eyes and now each piece of Emma is morphing into Adele.

But just look how great Emma will look in 50 years!

I love them both so much, I can't tell ya.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Some kids . . .

John M. loves corn. He also has taken a liking, lately, to babies. Baby dolls, that is. He decided that he was going to feed his 'baby' some of his corn last week. But finally gave up, in frustration, after the baby refused to eat it.

I'm simply trying to prepare him for having kids one day. The kids being uncooperative is just part of that lesson. ;^)

Friday Feast Day with Emma

Friday was Feast Day for Emma at school.

I just loved this little pouty-about-to-dig-in face she has, so I thought I'd share.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Vacation on the fly ...

Our summer vacation this year has been up in the air, undecided, not set in stone, you get the picture. We're still trying to pay for our summer vacation of 2005! Yikes, not good.

But I HAVE to go somewhere on vacation; I need something to look forward to, count down to. We were planning on maybe doing a short, close, cheap vacation to a nearby location. Only Biloxi (where we used to go every year when the girls were little) has been done in, in large part by Katrina, as has our other preferable close vacation spot, New Orleans. Houston is close, but we did a Texas vacation last year. We were thinking about Arkansas, but it's still a long drive through all of North Louisiana.

So, after seeing a Universal Studios TV commercial about kids staying and playing for free, I decided to check it out via the internet. Sure enough, for every adult ticket purchased at Universal Studios Orlando, you get a child's ticket free. AND not only that, with the purchase of a 2-day ticket, you get 3 more days free! Woo-hoo. 5 days at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure for 200 bucks total. For the whole family! That got me looking into hotels. . . I went to my favorite, Priceline (name your own price) and found a hotel room at a Radisson right near Univ. Studios for get this, $45 a night! The thing with Priceline name your own price, is once it finds your hotel, it books it, charges your card, it's done. No turning back.

So, here I sit with an Orlando vacation booked. Only I hadn't checked with Mark at all. Whoops. My bad.

But there is a good ending to the story. I talked to him, he's up for it. We're in. We even get to visit with Uncle Keithy and Aunt Emily (Mark's brother and sister-in-law) who live with Mickey Mouse in Orlando. Bonus!

So, I went from no vacation to total vacation in an hour's time.

Now, I'm counting down the days. 40, as of tomorrow!

Friday, May 19, 2006

My favorite Stingray


Anna is in full swing with softball season (she's on the right in the picture). She pitched two innings at the last game and did a great job! I was so proud, I almost did a cartwheel.

We have such a great time watching her play. I was NEVER into sports until my girls started playing. Mark is coaching this year for the first time ever and Anna loves it.

Here's one of her biggest fans at the game:

Monday, May 15, 2006

Brought To You By the Letter 'L'

I came across this over at Nothing Important (Chesney's site).

I asked to play and she gave me the letter 'L'.

Here's how it works: If you wanna play too, let me know in the comments or send me an email and I'll assign you a letter. Then you write about 10 words that start with that letter that are important to you and explain why.

Hmm . . L.....

1. This is the first thing that came to mind - Love. That doesn't need an explanation, does it?

2. Lemonade! I love it, especially freshly squeezed. I love watching my girls set up lemonade stands to sell it also.

3. Lists! Few things make me happy like a good list. I like to make budget lists, shopping lists, gift lists, whatever. I also like reading lists made by others.

4. Lazy - this is something I love to be, whenever I get the chance which isn't too often these days. I love to lay around in bed and watch reality tv, and look at catalogs or magazines for hours on end.

5. Lunch - the favorite part of my workday. A few of my favorite lunch spots: Chili's, Moe's Southwestern Grill, Chick-Fil-A, Harrington's (a good little seafood place here)!

6. Livin' in Fast Forward - one of my favorite Kenny Chesney songs!

7. Louisiana - I can't believe it took me this long to think of this one! As I've written before, I love this state. I know we get lots of bad press, and we're at the bottom of every nationwide list, but it'll always be home to me.

8. The word 'little'. I use this word all the time (usually accompanied by 'cute), in describing things, as in 'Look at those cute little shoes', 'Isn't that a cute little purse?', etc.

9. Little House on the Prairie - one of my all-time favorite shows.

10. Laptop - as in 'computer'. I want one of these so badly, but will probably never have the extra funds to get one.

Hey, that was surprisingly easy! Those 'L' things just came to me.

Does anyone want to play? I'll give you a letter.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Total opposites

(hard pressed to find a recent pic of me and Anna)
Anna participated in 4-H Achievement Day today at her school. Her favorite award was a small silver medal for placing first in a demonstration she did with a friend of hers. They presented how to make Mississippi Mud Cake. She didn't think twice about it. She even looked forward to doing it.


Renee's biggest fear: Any type of public speaking. Anything. I've had this fear for as long as I can remember. Anna totally does not understand it.
That's her daddy in her. She's Mark inside and out.

I love it that we're so different in so many ways. She does things that I would never dream of doing. She has no fear when it comes to the things I fear the most. She also makes me prouder than I ever thought possible. She's my girl, my polar opposite, but mine all the way.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Thankful Tuesday

I'm thankful for the following:

1.) The girls playing together NICELY in Anna's room for over an hour Saturday. This is a rare event in my household. I almost had to pinch myself.

2.) Mark making a real effort in spending more time with the kids, and coaching Anna's softball team.

3.) The above team winning their first game yesterday and all the girls playing so well together.

4.) The yummy grilled chicken sandwich I ate from Blimpie's today.

5.) My mom helping Anna with all of her 4-H projects for Achievement Day tomorrow, since her youngest daughter is craft-disabled.

6.) Online shopping!

7.) Remembering to be thankful.

Peace out.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Very cheesy


John M. started saying 'Cheese!' for the camera a couple of months ago when his little friend at the babysitter's brought her toy camera and started taking pretend pictures of everyone. He learned 'Cheese' that day, and has used it in the correct context ever since. The 'cheese' opportunity hadn't come up in a little while until this week when John and Jenna were sitting on the stoop at my mom's house and she figured it was a perfect Kodak moment.

She got her camera and pointed it at them and John started 'cheesing' it up. He must have said 'tees' (that's cheese to him) about 30 times in a row when she was taking the pictures. 'Tees! tees! tees! tees!'. I couldn't stop laughing. Look at him with his little cheesy smile and pointy chin. And apple-shaped head. Lord knows the boy doesn't look like me, but those 2 qualities are mine! He does have a genetic link to me, even if all I have are a pointy chin and apple cheeks to show for it.

Cheese!

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Big ol' yard

As I've mentioned before, I live in the country. I literally have cows, chickens, and horses right behind my house. I also live next door to my mom and my sister. If you put all of our yards together, we have a really good-sized playground. The kids love it because they have a big wide-open space to ride their various vehicles. And also a good ballpark when they need it. All seven of them (my 3 and my sister's 4) were outside Monday having a little ball game. I pulled three of them away to share a picture with me here.

Sometimes I wish that we lived in a real 'neighborhood' where the kids could ride their bikes and mingle with the neighbor's kids. But then I remember what a fun childhood I had, growing up in this very spot. I, too, used to play with my cousins who lived a few houses down. We would play ball, swing, swim, make our own secret clubs, etc; the same things my own kids do now. I think of all my great memories from back then, and I know that my children are making their own memories now. They've developed a special bond with their first cousins that hopefully, will never be broken. We're here to stay, all of us, and that's something you don't find just anywhere.

So, in the early 1970s with Todd, Kelli, Renee, and Jamie to the present day, with John, Anna, Katie, Emma, Andrew, Jenna and John M., the "big ol' yard" holds a special place in all of our hearts.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Nasty Summer Feet

I'm trying to revitalize my feet. They are nasty little suckers. I go barefoot way too often so the soles of my feet are dry and scaly. My heels and outer big toe are really dry and cracked. The problem with this is I wear sandals every single day to work so I get to share the nastiness with everyone. Aren't they lucky?

In an effort to combat this, I ordered various foot care products from Avon. I ordered one of those little foot file jobbies, some sloughing cream, some cracked heel repair cream, and a bottle of callus remover. All for the low, low price of $12.

I officially started my foot repair regimen this weekend, and even got the girls involved. They walked in as I was starting my routine Saturday night. They started to examine their little perfect, beautifully-skinned feet. But still decided they were in need of repair too. We worked for about 20 minutes, and came out with rejuvenated feet!

So, last night, as I was kissing Emma goodnight, she said, 'Mom, I love you so much, even if you do have rusty toenails'. Amen, Emma. Now THAT's love!

FroggieMom Avatar

Yahoo! Avatars

This is me. Only you can only get in so much detail. It doesn't allow for meatier thighs, knobby knees, smaller boobies and a touch of cellulite. I tried. It wasn't an option. But hey, I'm much cuter as an avatar. Don't you wanna date my avatar? We could sit in the gazebo there and sip mint juleps and chat the day away.

Peace out.