April 25, 2007

Family Reunion















This past weekend we traveled to south Georgia for my grandmother's family reunion. What a trip! Each year we get to hear all about how my aunt and uncle gave us our preacher, about their new Lincoln and how high functioning their children are. The other 85% of white hairs in the room talk about their doctor's visits, how they made each of the 16 dishes they brought, how good Jean looks and how frail Betty looks. My uncle Jerry pulled the kids around on the train and they had a great time. Thank goodness for the playground and entertainment. Lillee Grace and Baxter had lots of fun.






April 20, 2007

Over & Done

I will try to make this a little more interesting as I have been told this past week that my writing has been a bit stale! Well, here goes my Kerouacian way of thinking and writing. I am so happy to report that the CRCT is over (for our grade) and life is about to wind down at school. We are about to begin the fun things, the science experiments, the math-a-thons, the FUN journal writings and centers. THings we have done all year but this will not be interrupted by conjugating a verb every second of hte day and writing with pronouns and adjectives every 6 seconds. Yes, the test is over and done! Only three kids' heads exploded during the process. Honestly, on #65 of the math test I thought my students were going to levitate above their desks. Or fall out from sheer exhaustion. TOday, we must celebrate. I shall turn my plywood palace into the Internation House of Pancakes and cook on a griddle. I just love saying that word. Kind of risque'.

After cooking and maybe a little cursive writing, the family is headed for Brunswick. My family reunion is tomorrow so there should be great coverage from that. This is my mother's family so my grandmother's 8 brothers and sisters will be there. It's kind of like the Huckstables meet the Clampetts. Scott likes to go just for the material for his book that he says he shall someday write about all of the family reunions and funerals he has been to since he met me in places such as Browntown, Hortense, Sterling, Jesup...That's south Georgia for you - food and funerals. They go hand in hand.

April 18, 2007

Scott and I sat for an hour or so last night watching the coverage from Virginia Tech. What a senseless tragedy that is so hard to wrap our minds around. It's hard to know how this could happen and all of the issues that surround it. I assume one would want to have someone to blame - the university president, campus police, even guns. The media coverage is somewhat overwhelming. Then there's the analyzation about why and all of the details that you're not sure those families want released. What a tough situation. The families of these people really need our prayers.

Scott and I decided to watch something else and since he's had a big hearing this week and I've been doing CRCT, we needed a brief respite. Going with the Love & Logic theme of our house, we had two choices: a PBS special on how Tasmanian Devils are born and survive in Australia or the Country Music Television Awards. I won, of course. So when Kenny performed, Scott expressed that he was perplexed as to why any man would "try" to act sexy. Obviously, he has no clue! By the way, there is a great story I read this a.m. from another blog I read. I thought you would enjoy it, Marty - and Viki too! For my other friends, it's a little long for us and to tell the truth - you know I didn't read it in it's entirity (sp.?)

April 16, 2007

Testing...

This week we start CRCT testing. This can be a stressful time for teachers - if we allow it! After our Pep Rally on Friday, my students were extremely excited. My good ole room mom made cupcakes with CRCT written on them. She just doesn't stop with the decorating - very cute. Hopefully, today will be the beginning of a calm and peaceful week. We're doing breakfast and snack for Tues, Wed and Thurs and I promised a pancake breakfast on Friday. What was I thinking? Any incentive to focus I'll try!
Lillee Grace had a friend over this weekend to play. It's hard to believe she can have someone over and they play together without much supervision. We took them to lunch on Saturday and Scott and I both decided tres children would not be gracing the Key home anytime EVER! Baxter usually hangs out pretty well but with his ear infection and being held around the clock, he's been extremely clingy lately. Hard to put him down.

The house was shown yesterday afternoon, or so we think. The cleaning crew has not been in two weeks (don't get me started) so Scott found the mop bucket and I ran over to the neighbor's house to borrow her vacuum cleaner. We made Lillee Grace sleep on top of the covers which really made her Sunday afternoon nap confusing. I scrapbooked for two hours which really made me remember how much I enjoy it. Just haven't done it in so long and I'm so behind it's hard to know where to start. However, Type A now has all pictures arranged and filed accordingly and ready for entries, all the while thinking though about all of the things I could be doing which I must overcome. Question: need a prioritized schedule.

I put Lillee Grace to bed last night and sat down for a minute to watch TV. Little feet came pitter pattering in the den and crawled up in the chair with me. Scott was taking a glass or something to the kitchen and she looked and me and said, "Sometimes you like to watch TV while daddy cleans." I'm thinking she was sleep-walking.

April 13, 2007

Death and Taxes

Tax week:( Very sad time around the Key home. Actually, it was a really sad time when the figures came back. Well, guess who went to the accountant ALONE??? Yep - and told them, "Oh, it's fine - nothing has really changed this past year." When he called with the final count, I said, "Um, did you mention I gave birth last year?" Nice. He couldn't get off the phone with me fast enough. I just sat waiting for the phone to ring again. 2 1/2 mins. later the phone rang with him asking if we could PAY someone or send off to the pediatrician's office for Baxter's SS#. I said, "Get a pen, *#!%*."

Death is something Lillee Grace has just discovered this week. Hereafter referred to as "sleeping." Please link to Sarah's blog for full coverage. I don't know how the caterpillar ever stood a chance with a 2 and 3-year old with yard tools in hand. Meanwhile, an ear-infected Baxter played underneath the trailer to haul yard debris. Baxter started off the week with a continuous fever. After another $20 co-pay but a chance to see our Dr.'s new coiffe, we determined he had an ear infection in both ears. We were just at the Dr. last Fri. for shots. Next time someone in our home needs a vaccination, we're calling a home health nurse. Eckerd was glad to see us come through the drive-through with Rx out the wa-zoo. We knew he was on the road to recovery however, when he pulled LG's Dirt Devil vacuum from the playroom, through the kitchen to the den last night at 9 p.m. He's a little trooper. Come on Bax, it's CRCT next week - no time for sickness.

Comments on the previous blog have been very interesting! I had wanted to make dooce.com status and by George, I think I'm there! Donna, just keep posting two or three times so I'll think I've got a fan club!! Reading the friendly banter is funny - now I have to watch my material so I don't get kicked out the Southern Baptist Convention.

April 9, 2007

Easter Sunday






















Easter started out with Lillee Grace and Baxter waking up to find their Easter bunny surprises. While LG spread her loot all over the kitchen floor, Baxter had other plans. While unattended for 4 1/2 minutes he managed to get LG's paint from one end of the room to the other. Scott commented about how much she would enjoy getting a bunny and I commented back that he must need meds like me. Thank goodness the dear old bunny found a pair of pj's for her because if the pink nylon contraption does not get lost very soon, I'm afraid her future may include a life of crime. Scott and Lillee Grace left for church and I was sad we were not able to go. Unfortunately, Baxter had a fever so I stayed home with him to give him yet another bath and clean rugs and items destroyed by paint. It's a good thing because our home was burglarized by our neighbor Isabel trying to retrieve her vacuum cleaner I borrowed the day before. If you did not know our family, I swear you'd think we were the Clampetts. Bax and I donned our Easter garb anyways and headed to lunch. Scott taught LG how to sing, "Meet me at the Club ... it's going down" so she sang this throughout our lunch at the country club. Lucky for us an Easter miracle happened and our children were perfect at lunch thanks to lots of peeps and one wal-mart lion. I think the peeps were for table decorations but hey, whatever works. If only they had a booth for us to sit in so we could hem them up. After an afternoon of egg hunting at the neighbor's, we settled in for an afternoon of napping. Knock at the door - Scott's parents and his brother came by for a visit. It was quite pleasant considering we haven't seen them since Baxter was oh, 6 hours old. Another Easter miracle.



***footnote: Marty, please comment! I am so sorry I have neglected to post our fun pizza supper on the blog. However, I appreciate your brutal honesty and your faithful reading!!!

April 7, 2007

Spring Break '07 - SPF 45
























This spring break was nothing like a MTV special but it was a lot of fun! With the wedding behind us, Bethany and I headed down to the coast sans Scott. We stopped off first at my Grandmother's house to color eggs. Lillee Grace and Bethany enjoyed this and LG even hid the eggs for herself. Bethany found several interesting hiding spots. Monday we were off to the beach with Baxter in tow. He enjoyed himself and crawled right to the water without stopping. This was the first time we'd been that he truly got down and dirty! LG and Bethany built sandcastles all day and after naptime, my dad and I took them to the playground on Jekyll. That's one thing about Jekyll, all young tourists think it's the "Cocoon Island" but really it's not. The beaches are larger and the sand is prettier but Tuesday we decided to crowd in with every Tom, Dick and Harry on St. Simons beach. We hung out with Becky at her condo and got in the pool. Ran into a friend from Griffin at the pool. Only in Georgia! The girls had a fun time and we stopped by for a frozen yogurt treat after that. Bethany is allergic to seafood so we had to stick to places that served a variety but Spanky's has the best shrimp quesadillas in town! Our last night I drove my grandmother back to her little "community" and met Melissa for some TJ Maxx time and a beverage. Lots of sun but even more sunscreen so everyone came home burn-free. One thing about staying with my parents: nothing like a free Spring Break!

April 5, 2007

Wedding Bells




Amy's wedding was a big hit! I was a little unnerved not knowing the exact requirements of a wedding director. However, it went off without a stitch. Since our kids were away, Scott and I were able to sleep in a little on Saturday a.m. and watch a Dianne Keaton/Jack Nicholson movie on TBS. How rare is that!! Got chunky highlights in my hair. The 1st time in 30 years my hair has ever been colored. Figured it was time to join the club. I made my directorial debut at the church around 2 and all grandmothers/mothers were seated by the correct escorts, all candles were lit, programs handed out and the bride and groom were married. Not bad. I would have liked to go on over to the beautiful farm they had the reception at and party the night away. However, I think every time I go down to my parents, I must catch some sort of epizoodee. Felt kind of cruddy so I left the partying to Lelia! Besides, almost the entire Futral Road staff was there and Mrs. Smith continued to remind me that she did not want to be associated in a picture for the blog! Come on! The band was awesome and there was plenty of dancing. Amy was a beautiful bride and Clay is such a nice guy from a fun family! His dad, Butch is a real character! We were home quite early and up watching SNL til the wee hours!