Mommy when were you born?

The children can tell you how old Grandmommy, Granddaddy, Tracy and I are. They are also understanding the months of birthdays. AnnaLea is getting the dates memorized too. AnnaLea knows my birthday is in July.

Well one night at Tyler's basketball practice, Tracy was holding Tucker and I was listening to AnnaLea read Social Studies. She was reading about one of my favorite times in history and that is the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. It was real fun listening to her try to say Paul Revere. :) I got a kick of that. They really did not get into his story but did mention he had a famous ride that helped the settlers. Well she got to the Declaration of Independence. They book says that we celebrate Independence Day on July 4th because the Declaration was signed on July 4, 1776. A light instantly went off in her mind and her head shot up and there was this oh my goodness look on her face as she looked at me. I was so excited that she was getting into learning history. Yeah right, "Mommy when were you born?!?!!!"

That got some chuckles out of some sitting around us. I looked at her and said, "AnnaLea I was born July 29, 1977, TWO HUNDRED YEARS after the signing." It is harder every year to add another number to my age but it is discouraging and funny to hear what the children say about our age!

Transitions

Sorry, been busy getting back into the swing of work and home then home and work. Going back to work has been a big transition but I work with a bunch of awesome people who have really made it as easy as possible.

Tucker is staying with a friend during the day so that makes it easy on me and takes a lot off my mind about his well being. He is being properly spoiled! Tracy has been getting used to getting Tucker and the kids to where they need to be in the mornings and we have been working out the pick up part of the day. Tracy was worried about the morning ritual since he has to feed the animals but Anna Lea is in charge of Tucker while Tracy feeds and Tyler is in charge of Laci. Well I really think that Tracy gets to get Laci in the pen and fed in the morning while Tyler sits in front of the heater. We are still working on responsibility with him. He is responsible when he wants to be and 6:30 in the morning is too early to be responsible for more than getting dressed and getting teeth brushed! Thankfully Tucker goes back to sleep after his 4:30 - 5 feeding so usually he sleeps until time to leave. Tracy has had to take care of Tucker in the afternoons and commented on the fact that Tucker does cry as much as he remembers Tyler crying. I could tell this was a big stress relief for Tracy. Tucker is REALLY little compared to Tracy so he can be a little scary for Tracy.

Basketball is winding down and we might have a few weeks off before tee ball and soft ball seasons start. AnnaLea and Tyler are already excited about ball. They have been practicing with Tracy in the house. We had bought Bugs who is now called Laci a small rubber ball that has a bell in it. (it was really a cat toy but Tyler thought Laci would like it) Well this ball has become the practice ball. Tracy throws the ball to the kids who have to catch it in their gloves. They are learning pop flies and that is fun. Tracy started to make them dive for the ball the other night. Mind you they are in the house and with 3 kids, 4 dogs, and 2 adults there are plenty of obstacles lying around to dodge and dive over to get the ball being thrown. The kids and Tracy are really enjoying it and I don't mind because it by the time we can get to playing it is way too dark to play outside. Tucker really enjoys watching the ball and kids dart around the room!

Why....

Why does my verizon network stop at my neighbor's driveway?

Why do I have to pay long distance charges (or according to Bellsouth "local toll charges" that do not count as nationwide calling) to call my neighbor who lives next door? So basically I can call Alaska for free but next door I have to pay.... How does that make sense. You should have heard the Bellsouth guy try to explain how my neighbor is not part of the nation. He ended up taking off the charges....

Why do I have to pay more money for satelite internet (which is slow) than the people in town who pay less for the faster internet?

I thought living in the country was suppose to be cheaper?!?

These are the little questions that plaque my mind at weird hours of the day and night.

Bye Shaggy...Hello Bugs

Well, the other part about farming is when animals are sold. When Shaggy the goat was born, I told Tracy a home would have to be found for the goat. I am going back to work and will be unable to feed the goat during the day. Tracy had not realized how attached the kids got to the goat. He was able to find a family that wanted the goat and were able to bottle feed it. Well, upon announcing the news to the children, Tyler had a hissie fit!!! In order to calm Tyler down, Tracy promised a dog. Tyler was inconsolable and told me he was ready to quit the family.



Good to say that Tyler is still in the family. A night at Grandmommy's house and a day of fun visiting Aunt Laura helped to get over the upset.



Only one little problem..., I do not have statistical data to back up my theory, but children's memories are better than elephants!!

Meet BUGS

• She is the new dog that belongs to Anna Lea and Tyler. She is a mut that we got from the Vet Clinic in town. She has some lab it looks in her but her legs are short, so the vet is guessing a medium size dog. She is black with white on her feet. I am unsure of living arrangements at this time. She will be sleeping with Tyler then I would like for her to stay in the pen during the day. I get vetoed quite a bit on dogs and living arrangements, so we will see.

Tyler had 3 requirements: Must listen, Must follow me around, Must catch ball and bring it back. So really 4....

Well glad to say Bugs follows the kids every foot step, can chase a ball, and so far listens. Wish I had a couple of kids that followed those same requirements. :)

Farm Lessons

Meet Shaggy.... Baby goats are one of the sweetest things about farm life. One of the most difficult is when Momma goat dies. Shaggy was born with a twin sister. Momma died the day after delivery. Most baby goats that have to be bottle fed do not make it. The sister died after a couple of days, but "Shaggy" is holding on strong eating his 3 daily feedings out of a Sundrop bottle and with a goat nipple from good ole Tractor Supply. YES, the goat is in my house in this picture. The goat can get out of the barn since it is so little and will come up to the house around 3 pm for the 2nd feeding. "Get that goat out of my house" is my new slogan that I say repeatively! He is a cute little goat and the kids are getting a good education about the unfairness of life and also the responsibilities of farming. They love the goat but have learned that the chore of feeding it daily after school is no longer fun after the first couple of days.

Farm life has helped the children to learn the cycle of life. We at Moore County lost a very wonderful teacher this week. She was 32 and left behind a husband, a 1st grader and a 5 year old, as well as a bunch of 7th and 8th graders and a community that loved her zest for life. Tyler wanted to know how she died because she is not old. I told him she got sick. "Why did she not go to the doctor?" "She did Tyler but the doctor could not fix her." "Why Momma?" No parent likes to explain this to a child especially becuase of the fears it could provoke but I was honest and told her that sometimes doctors and hospitals cannot fix people. I used Uncle Stacy the vet as an example. We will have sick goats and Stacy will come out here but sometimes the goat will still die.

I pray for Jenny Mason's family and her young children. No matter how old a person is, death is hard to comprehend. It does leave us behind to understand that we are not promised tomorrow and to make sure we live today to the fullest.

My bathroom buddy

I was at my mother's house and my niece was there visiting. Well, I needed to go to the little girl's room and was accompanied by my niece who has her mother's knack of talking quite a bit. Well, Madeline's stories are very interesting and she was rattling on about me and going to the bathroom but I was unable to understand the exact story or her fascination in going to the bathroom with me. A couple of days later I was at her house and her mother was telling stories of us when we were younger in the "good ole days!" Well my sister in law has blackmail pictures of me going to the bathroom. She says that I would like them b/c my legs look real small.... That sort of made me feel better. Anyway, she had shown Madeline the pictures and Aunt Amy was recognized. Well all the pieces started to fit in, and I quickly understood some of what Madeline was talking about and why she wanted to go to the bathroom with me. Well during my mom's birthday dinner I went to the bathroom and here came my bathroom shadow, "Aunt Amy, where you going?" "To the bathroom." "Oh, I go with you." In the background I could hear my loving brother and sister in law laughing.

Thats ok, I have pictures of the good ole days too. I think I need to pull them out and take a look!!

hee hee hee titties!!!

The other day in the car Tyler told me about his dream. Now mind you, Tyler has an excellent imagination, so no telling if it were a real dream or a story. Apparently in the dream, Tyler dreamed of seeing the dogs naked and was able to see the dogs "titties." Well that got AnnaLea and Tyler in a tizzie of laughter and then talking about titties was endless between the two only causing more laughter. I told Tyler not to call them that and he was laughing hard and saying sorry but he could not remember what to call them. I had to remind him that they are boobies not titties. The term most likely came from his father who likes to use funny terms when answering Tyler's questions about what he sees around the farm. I really enjoy my children's stories but always cringe to think about what imaginative stories they tell others.... In this case, I believe in the saying, "Ignorance is bliss."