We went on a daytrip out of town and decided at the last minute to go to their local beach a couple days ago. Here are my favorite pictures from the day.

Here is my favorite...my preschooler dancing around in the water.



My baby loved feeling sand on his toes.


Chasing the seagull (while making bird sounds.)


Loving to get dirty!

Little bumps in the night lately have had me 'on edge.' I'm sure there have always been noises at night like the ice machine in the refrigerator dumping cubes, wood floors cracking, freezer compressors making noises... Now that our dog Fatty has passed on and is no longer with us, I lack the security I once felt when I knew she always barked if someone knocked on the door. Often, I'm the only parent at home with the kids and now that my younger daughter works (and usually until late hours,) I am essentially home alone. I think I began feeling more insecure just this week when my daughter spent the night with a friend a couple nights (it's Spring Break.) Just knowing she was gone made it even more lonely. I can see why she 'gets scared' if we go out of town and leave her home alone (which we've done twice...hey, she's 18.) There hasn't been any safety (or rather non-safety) issues around my house, per se, but I think I'll check into more lighting outside the house. That reminds me, I haven't changed my smoke detector batteries lately (not since we moved here a year ago.) I need to add that to my list to make it more safe at home.

Ignorance is bliss... I was watching the news recently when I heard a story about a man who pled guilty and was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murdering someone a few years ago. What made it seem familiar was that I knew the man...I had worked with him as a teen many times over and over in my job in my former life (before resigning to have more children.) Everyone I worked with was on juvenile parole and since there are so many people being charged and sentenced, my vaguesness helps protect his identity. This particular teen was one of the first ones I worked with and I got to know his entire family as well. Long after he outgrew the parole supervision, and then moved on to adult probation for more offences, I still saw his mom here or there and spoke with her. He never changed and still had the same types of behavior that got him locked up and paroled in the first place. About three or four years ago, he and his family moved into a housing project close by my house and he was walking by my house on my road. He recognized me (playing with my kid in the front yard) and stopped to talk. We spoke for about 15 minutes. While I was friendly and jumped into my former probation officer role while talking, I couldn't help thinking...OMG, he knows where I live! He was one of those kids who smoked weed way too much, hung out with the wrong crowd, didn't do well in school...those kind you know won't make it and didn't have the consistency from home or the resources to keep him in line. And you can't do anything about it because there were others just like them going down the same road to failure and I had to do as much as I could in as little time as possible.

It's interesting to watch the local news as I listen for names and many, many times, I recognize someone I used to work with. I have lost count of the ones I've worked with at one time who were sent to prison for life or for the majority of their lives. Even a couple on death row. It's not that I or my agency didn't do a good job, per se, but most of the time, by the time I started working with them, the damage had already been done.

While I really miss what I used to do and that career, I don't miss knowing those criminals and their crimes. I have since been able to drive down a road and not know this newer generation of kids and their crimes/families/background. I don't want to know, actually. I prefer to be ignorant. I know too many people who've done terrible things and too much about what goes on behind closed doors, so to speak.

But, I do stay in the back yard now, not in the front, just in case.

I love tomato plants! I don't necessarily like to eat tomatoes, love them cooked, but am just starting to like tomatoes themselves. I love, love, love the smell of the plants (and tomatoes as they grow.) This year, I mentioned something to my husband who was so nice to plant some for me. We spent a few hours planting them: finding pebbles for the bottom of the pots, then he put a layer of sand, then a layer of a special dirt, a garden mix. My husband has a special kind of dirt that he uses for all his plants. As he shoveled some to use for the pots, it was full of huge worms (which means it's really great dirt!) I am so grateful for him to spend so much time on a simple request. If we get lots of tomatoes, he can use them to trade for haircuts as his barber loves tomatoes too. In the past, he's bartered haircuts for vegetables. Now that both he and my preschooler get haircuts at the same place, it's a great idea! And I don't have to walk far to enjoy the great smell that I love so much. It was a great family project that we all enjoyed.




Lots of worms!

We went to a get-together with co-workers from my husband's work yesterday in Louisiana. I had only met one guy he worked with and was a little anxious. It was a crawfish boil and we needed to travel a few hours to get there. We planned on spending the night afterwards. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. It was really cold and rainy. Fortunately, they had a tent outside next to their carport so there was room for everyone to stand where they wouldn't get wet. The co-worker harvested the crawfish that morning from his crawfish farm located right next to his property just across the yard. My preschooler loved walking over to see the crawfish field and the horses roaming near it. There was a huge dirt pile in the yard too and a couple other boys so he was in heaven all afternoon. It was nice meeting many friendly people (not too many, which was good) and eating lots of crawfish! They also had sausage, corn, potatoes and mushrooms that they boiled...yummy! Luckily, I had brought plenty of warm outerwear for the kids (complete with hats, mittens and slippers for the baby to go over his socks.) After several hours, we couldn't stand the cold anymore and just wanted to get warm. The hotel was nice enough to cancel our reservations and we weren't out that money so we drove back home last night. It was good to be home again and sleep in our own room.

Time to clean out my pantry and cabinets! NO, not my idea...but since my little crawler has, in the last few weeks, become mobile and curious, everything has been emptied!!! And my floors...I can't count the times I've swept and vacuumed more in the last week. I have no idea where little pieces of whatever show up on my floor but I guess having a big brother who loves to play outside and go in and out has something to do with it! I am currently listening to my cabinet door opening and closing, over and over again (and then a sound of a pan hitting the floor.)

Pinatas and brisket! We went to a birthday party yesterday for a friend's son who turned two. My friend spent eight years trying to have this baby (and that time included another child who was born premature and died within hours of being born.) Finally, they have a wonderful child who is strong and has survived at least two heart surgeries. He is precious, handsome and definitely loved. It was nice going and celebrating his life and spending time with his family/extended families. There was lots of food and pinatas (of course, he's Hispanic!) I had no idea how much fun pinatas were. Lately, I've been to two parties which included them. This one allowed kids to line up from smallest to largest and take a whack at the pinata. By the time the oldest kid got his turn, he was able to break it and they all politely rushed in to grab some candy. Little bags were given so they could collect their treasures. It took place in my friend's back yard and they had an inflatable bouncy thing for the kids to jump in. My preschooler spent most of his time in there. It was a good day!

My daughters obtained jobs this week...just happened to be the same place! They both went job-searching on Monday together. Luckily, they each obtained positions at the same place at a local upscale restaurant (the older as a server and the younger as a hostess.) My oldest daughter is one of those people who are very friendly, fit into any situation and is an extrovert, a perfect choice for a server. My other daughter can pretend to be sincere very well and has a great smile. She's not server material (that's too fast paced and stressful so the hostess position is perfect for her.) I'm hoping it works out for the both of them.

Independence! My baby has just begun to crawl and turn over. He's 11 months. He's never really needed to before. I realized months ago that sometimes in the middle of the night, he wanted to turn over because he was uncomfortable. So I would turn him over after he woke up and he continued to sleep. With this new found independence, now when he wakes up, he starts crawling around or just turning over. Luckily, I have babyproofed the area. Last night, when he woke up, he made no noise. Apparently, he woke up, closed the door all the way and moved around a bit. I woke up at 3:46am to use the bathroom and found this cute image.

It's Survivor night! I love watching Survivor. Not so much because it's a fun reality show but because it always means I'm getting together with people I love. We used to go to a friend's house and cook/eat dinner and then watch it together. After I started having kids again, their nighttime schedule didn't mesh with our plans so we started staying home instead. Then, my brother and his son started coming over and we started the ritual over again. I think I'll make chili later...

I'm no Betty Crocker! I'm barely an average cook. I haven't really taken a lot of interest over the years to become really great at cooking. Now, baking is another story...as evident by my extra pounds and my love of 'licking the bowl.' I love to eat someone else's cooking. I like to sit and watch them cook too. I love that people can just add this or that to make food better, like an artist.

I've noticed lately that I look forward to going to a nearby grocery store because it has an area where someone actually cooks something (and hands out samples.) They do it in such a way that if you like it, they give you the recipe and everything you need for that dish is sitting right there as well (you don't have to backtrack and find ingredients.) I've now enjoyed at least three different dishes and would have never thought to make them had it not been me sampling them first. Today's dish was southwest chili which included chicken and black beans. It was yummy! Of course, I'm going to be trying it out probably tomorrow evening at home.

My preschooler has been coughing for about three weeks now. Not too bad, that is, until yesterday. All day long, he coughed and coughed! I finally got the right recipe together to get him better...because for this cough, medication, cool mist humidifier and triaminic vapor fan. After 12 hours, in his room all evening and night, I woke up to hearing nothing. I even laid with him for over an hour between 1 and 230am last night listening to him cough. It was so quiet that I actually walked in to make sure he was breathing. What a sigh of relief. It was nice to hear him not suffer anymore.

Meanwhile, the baby went from grumpy to sick. I ended up calling the nurse at our pediatrician to give his symptoms and ask about a rash that had been on his back a couple of weeks. It didn't seem to concern me, per se, but I figured that I ought to kill two birds with one stone by asking questions. They suggested I go ahead and come on in. It ended up being a type of excema and hopefully it'll go away after the dry winter. Poor thing also had an ear infection. I had no idea. No wonder he wasn't himself. He, who usually wakes up smiley and happy, had just a half smile this morning.

What's that, yep, it's my voice cracking as it feels like I'm getting a sore throat. Joy.

I helped my husband cut down our neighbor's branches off of her tree (they were huge pecan limbs hanging off) because they had been damaged since Hurricane Ike. My husband has about 4 chain saws (maybe more?) and my neighbor had just moved in about 6 months ago or more and lives there with her pre-teen daughter. We spent all morning there cutting limbs into small pieces to pick up and attaching lines to make sure they fell in the right spot (I helped on that part but did a lot of watching overall.) It was nice to help out someone who really needed it. She offered to pay but it was what neighbors do for each other. We did accept the dozen cupcakes she brought over yesterday though. Mmm...

You know that smell that brings you back to a specific memory! Well, Early this morning, while I was laying down nursing my baby, I smelled 'my dad' on my shirt. Dad died in 1994 and he was a hard worker. Even after a long day's work at his job, he often worked outside in the garden and had a certain 'smell.' It wasn't body odor, per se, but a smell/scent of hard work and fresh air. I had smelled it once before while I was at the zoo years ago. It was a warm day and while walking through a corridor, I smelled him. I stopped in my tracks and to try to catch it again. I walked back and forth and finally realized that it was me. I had sweated in such a way, combined with my shirt and detergent that it smelled just like him. And again, last night, I smelled it again. It was such a comforting smell because I loved my dad and it was a wonderful treat to be able to smell a smell that brought me back such vivid memories of him.

I'm just so sad today. Moreso than yesterday when we had to euthanize our sick dog. She had been battling tumors in her sinus cavity and subsequent infections surrounding the area. She was a trooper though. Without going through a lot of detail, I know it must have been uncomfortable for months. We would have gone on until it became too much for her but then she stopped eating. It seems odd to just call her a dog, she was a member of our family for 9 or 10 years. She had her routine in the mornings (something I really missed this morning) and was such a great companion. While I am not a dog person, I think sometime in the last decade, I became one..... My eyes water just writing this... I think I'll watch a dvd or do something so I don't have to think of her right now. I miss Fatty.

I went on a trip today and hit the jackpot! I found the cemetery where many of my dad's ancestors were buried. I found my grandfathers, great grandfather(and great grandmother's) grave along with great aunts and uncles. A few others are probably related but I'm not sure yet. I took pictures for further examination and just because I was so psyched that I actually found them!!! Gotta love the internet!!! I would still be in the dark about my father's whole branch of the family tree without all the resources from the web. I am really enjoying this researching stuff!

I snore!! I didn't know that I did (well, when I'm really tired and sleeping on my back, I do.) Apparently, I do more than that (and when I'm on my side) and even woke the baby up. Maybe that explains his frequent wakings in the middle of the night?!? So, I bought some breathe-right strips and tried them (last night was the second night) and we actually slept late - he only woke up about 3 times! Perhaps that was the problem all along, and it wasn't the baby after all! Ugh!! I've lost so many hours of sleep not knowing that I was the cause of his wakings?!? I am keeping my fingers crossed that his brain forgets to wake up at all hours of the night and goes with his tummy and sleeps deeper (and hopefully he'll transition to not waking at all!!) This is such a revelation!

Batman lives with me now! He wears his Batman costume all day long (and today, he even went with the baby and I to Target, my mother-in-law's doctor appointment and the grocery store.) He helped open doors, waved at his fans and enjoyed his popularity. Right now, he is wearing his pajamas (along with his Batman gloves and belt...only because I said he couldn't sleep in it all.) It's great to be 4!!

I got into a cleaning mood today! Ok, so it was because my baby found 'something' on the carpet and decided to chew on it. I have great carpet that hides everything so I didn't even see wherever it came from or how he got it. So, I began vacuuming the carpet, then took the hose and went around every little corner of each piece of furniture and baseboard. My mom used to always say, 'a job worth doing is worth doing well.' Today's chore would have made her proud. It definitely made myself proud!!! Now, on to another room tomorrow. I'm not ready for any kind of 'flylady' habit, but this is a tiny little start.

Sometimes I just get caught up in researching ancestry. My mother did a paper in college about her relatives (names and anecdotes)but no dates or places. She called the only relative left to have accurate information and wrote everything down and drew a family tree. That was 20 years ago.

Shortly thereafter, before my dad died, I asked him the same kind of questions. My dad has always been terrible about dates, times and names. He couldn't even remember his kids' birthdays. Not that he didn't care, but he just wasn't great at that kind of information. I got as much information as I could. Basically, I know his dad's name and a probable grandfather's name. That's it. Since he was born in 1911, the information isn't as readily available. That just may be a short branch.

Regarding my mom's family, I found a whole patch of relatives from St. Johns Newfoundland (and spots to find records there.) It's just so time-consuming. Just when I think I find something, it doesn't match up. Then I realize, my kitchen really needs cleaning and then I stop. While I really enjoy researching and imagining life then, I have to organize my time better. The best time is when everyone is asleep at night (I don't have to fight over computer time or stop to get someone a drink) but then, by that time, I'm tired and sometimes just want to do nothing.

But, it's something new and exciting...something that makes me happy this week.