Summer memories...

School pictures! Miss Madeline sat up straight, put her best smile forward with happy eyes/smile & has a fantastic Kindergarten picture!  Super Sam, as always, has a fabulous school picture, what a smile! 

This morning as we were rushing around with oatmeal, dog walking, backpacks, OJ, shoes & missing socks...oh, and Noah Baker saying at 7:26AM (we leave at 7:30) I want my 'real breakfast now'.  Nope. He refused to get up, refused to get dressed, refused to put on shoes, refused to get on his jacket, while refusing breakfast the hour before. I gave him a cheese stick, guilt set in about sending him to Reba's on an empty stomach.  So after the cheese stick was gone, he wanted his real breakfast...sorry!

Meanwhile the big kids & I were moving on while Noah was 'refusing', both Sam & Madeline were reminiscing about the days of Summer, Sunday adventures (won't they be excitited to know that adventures happen all year long?!) and of course most of all..weekends at Mozingo Lake.

"My booty is on fire!" & more...

Every day things heard @ the Ferguson Estate...

(Madeline) "Ready Mommy? I'm ready to write my song, how do you spell crack-a-lackin?"

(Amy to Noah Baker) "SIGH...stop licking your sister's hair/shoe/plate/ear/hat/spoon/book!"

(Sam to Madeline)    "That was so inappropriate Madeline, I'm totally telling Mommy  & she is going to tell you that was not a good choice!"

*After Madeline said in the van recently, "Holy shit!" and the van nearly drove off the rode and angry eyes & serious words were exchanged between mother & daughter (meanwhile Sam is having a near anxiety attack at the thought that she ACTUALLY said it out loud!) this is what she had to say:  Mommy, I did not mean to say shit.  I won't say shit ever again. Shit is a really bad word. Shit is not something that I should say. If anyone says shit they should probably go in time-out.  Shit is a really naughty word."  Now readers you have to understand the girl did not seem sorry at all, and was very aware that I was buckled up & in traffic while she was calming explaining to me her reasoning.  Sigh.  So I finally say, "That's right Madeline, we DO NOT say shit. Ever."  Sam says, "Now Mommy I'm about to say some bad words, because they really go with this conversation, okay? Okay? (Amy is busy praying Noah some how fell asleep) Madeline, you also can't say, "Shit, Hell, Damn, or really really really not (in a whispered voice) God Damnit."  SIGH.  I say, "Yes Sam that is absolutley right, we do not say any of those words...ever (the ever was hissed)."  Luckily this conversation does not happen daily.  So I focus on the funny ones.

When Sam was 3 & I was very pregnant with Madeline Sam/I were on an elevator (of course we were) with a pretty, young, black woman.  This young woman happened to have a very tall crazy wild hair-do.  I notice the hair & Sam's reaction to her right-away. Sam pulls on my maternity shirt & whispers in the loudest whisper voice that sounds like a small roar bouncing off the elevator walls, "Mommy-why does that lady have scary-bad-guy-hair?" I say something like, "She must like it that way, let's say hi instead?" Sam is glued to my leg with wide eyes, the elevator took about 587 minutes to go down 2 floors that afternoon.  Finally, Sam says as we are leaving (luckily this gal is smiling at the power of his cuteness) "Well, WHY does she like scary-bad-guy hair?"    That was the beginning of "Let's talk about this when we get back to the van".  Has been great for all three kids; and they do remember to mention it once we get back out of ear-shot.  It has saved many an uncomfortable situation.  Although there is an occasional, "Mommy (loud whisper with wide eyed stare/glare at subject) when we get back to the van, I want to talk to you about something!"(finger pointing @ subject). 

Smiling? Me too!

She's a Daisy

So Madeline (as a new Daisy Scout) & I had our first real Girl Scout adventure over the weekend.  There was singing, giggling, running, playing, sack-racing and snacking; thus-no sleeping.  But! Fun was had by all.

Next on the list of fun things, Noah Baker vs. the leaf pile.

Here we go!Last but not least...my kitchen.

Before...

During...

*Rob & I started picking at one tiny spot on the wall that needed some attention (in the future); in the only room left with wallpaper.  Soon...that room...will be wallpaper-less. Good thing we like change.  Updates will come, well, as we get to them between football, boyscouts, girlscouts, weekend commitments, jam sessions, and of course, planning our big (driving!) Christmas Vacation to Arizona!

"Rebel Yell"

I can't imagine many things in this world that could possibly draw the attention away from my almost 8-year-old boy while eating his spectacularly tasty warm apple pie with it's ice-cream topper at Grandma's house.

Except that is...Grandpa with the promise of shooting a BB gun.

She loads, she points, she aims...she fires! So long says the can in the pasture. Time for some baseball, Madeline ponders while waiting her turn to bat...Noah in the outfield.

Later on in the weekend Sam discovers the base guitar. Now, he says, we are talking! Rob shared his pinnacle moment at 10/11 years when he & his cousin heard 'Rebel Yell' by Billy Idol. It was his moment of clarity...he knew he needed to play music. Well, Rob pulled up You Tube & told Madeline & Sam to prepare

for their socks to be knocked off!

Knocked off they were indeed. Sam said he had his moment of clarity...he wants his own base guitar, with his own amp. A future Scientist no-longer he says; I reminded him that being a mad-scientist could totally be a hobby...he has his whole life to decide. He wanted none of that; only an amp. So now we hunt through the classifieds for a used base guitar...and amp.

Meanwhile Noah is just enjoying the show...

and Madeline continues to knock all of our socks off...stay tuned to a music store near you featuring Sam's debut album ???

Cousins!

Noah started off his weekend with a cow-boy-bang! Well, and a runny nose...just to throw any bad guys off track. Then it was off to Savannah! The amount of fun that was had over Saturday/Sunday was so plentiful I don't think I would be giving it justice to sum up the amount of 'awesomeness' . There was ice-cream, swimming, giggles, memories, and life-long bonds were made, seeds for the future & hope of a reunion next summer were born.Noah Baker
The 1st grader, 2nd grader & Kindergartener...calculating the most extreme jump that would ever be jumped by these plotting cousins.

Madeline jumps....
It's a 10!
Now off to the football/soccer field for Sam's first game of the season. Madeline practicing her soccer moves.

Sam practicing throwing...(terrific throw!)
Meanwhile Rob comes over & chats with Sam while he awaits his turn to jump in...

Swish!

Sunday Drive

Rob showed the kiddos where he & his buddies in high school used to jump off the bridge into the river; when the water was up. In between the corn & some soy beans lay a small bridge, that has since been fixed. It is no longer the old iron looming kind.The kiddos started on the journey down, down, down...Madeline started out, but then some poke-y plants poked her...and up, up, up she came! Now it was off to explore a few different places in the country on our Sunday drive.
We found a great patch of wild flowers...

Madeline decided they smelled alright; but were pretty...spidery & buggy. Now to look way down at the river from the bridge...

All the while Noah looking for bad-guys...

He checked out this spot; coast was clear, we were on our way. Ended up going to Grpa/Grma's for a picnic in the back-yard; it was a great way to end our weekend!
Yum!

Madeline scores the first pumpkin @ Grma's of the season...well, between her & Noah Baker it may be replaced by the 2nd pumpkin of the season soonish...Which brings us to the end of last weekend. My favorite thing to see these days- is Sam in the recliner nose in a comic book. It has just occurred to him (almost over night) that he can read! Such empowerment, now he's off & running. He reads me the online comic strip in the mornings before school...it's really really really great to have a 2nd grader.

MRI part II

"Left frontal atrophy"

AKA brain shrinkage.

What the *%$@?!

So this, dear reader, is the part where I take a deep breath and assure you that it looks worse than it is. Probable. But still. Look at it. Ew. In case your not sure what your looking at...it's that chunk, piece, bite out of the top middle part of my brain. Weird huh? Overwhelming at best. BUT, a few very good points to be made here. Yes there were several white spots this time (I don't have those slides downloaded yet) but those come & go. I had a neurologist once tell me that he has seen people with one spot on the brain that have been wheel-chair-bound while in the same day he will see someone with 30+ spots & they are absolutely fine. So, there's that.

The Dr. as very informative. She will see me again in three months. I am to start Rebif; as soon as the insurance folks get around to approving it (so annoying!) Rebif has an 'auto injector'-hurray! Quite a few years ago I was self injecting Avonex shots; this will be nice that I just have to push a button & it does the rest. I will probably let the kiddos be involved & set a rotation on who gets to give mommy her shot tonight :). At least they won't grow up afraid of shots/needles, hopefully they will be compassionate & understanding adults (with an absurd amount of knowledge about how the body works)...maybe doctor's? Sam wants to be a mad-scientist like his Uncle Dan.
Here I am. Happy. Smiling... I am, and will continue to be, good. In good spirits. This writer is okay, super actually. So you, dear reader, need to be okay as well. Try super...it's quite satisfying!