Ho-ho, hack- hack, but we are back

The holidays are fun when little children are not flushed, fevered, and full of phlegm. Alex and Charlie had a rough week. Then their older brother's class had a winter concert, and Liam came down with the crud, too. I have already had it and recuperated.

Since Bill has been barking like a seal for more than a week (on anitbiotics) I decided to drive to the boys' home so the little guys could stay in their own beds and sleep all day. Nothing like a back rub from Nana to help the healing. It's been an exhausting week. But we are back!

They were so excited to learn THEY could cut and lace a paper stocking and cut an oval. When they weren't looking I turned the oval into a mouse and added a candy cane striped paper straw for a tail and inserted the mouse into the stocking with the tail exposed. I read them Mouse's First Snow, then I handed them their craft project. They squealed, "A candy cane!" Their frowns turned to laughter when they saw it was a mouse with a candy striped tail. Alex loves stuffies, and he kept saying, "I love this so much."

Charlie was into bling. I colored a tree on a piece of cardboard and covered it with contact paper (inverted so sticky side is out) and they did math activity: roll the dice, place corresonding amount of jewels on the tree. This is a fun group game if each participant counts out 20 jewels. First one to place all gets a real candy cane! 

I hope you are enjoying the pre-holiday fun with you and yours, and steering clear of those viruses floating around. 

I am getting the urge to bake cookies. I always make multiple batches of peanut butter, but I know if I do, I will eat too many, too soon, and I will be sorry. 

Do you bake holiday cookies?
 

Kitty has a new best friend

Sassy Boy, also called Buddy, is a lazy, old cat. He loves snuggling with Bill. You should hear Bill sweet talk this fat cat. 

I just heard him say, "You are making me live longer, Buddy."

I'd have to agree with that.

This eight-year-old mewoer is interested in what I am doing, watching me putting up decorations and the tree. He was very curious about the blue-eyed Santa, and then I figured out why. A few minutes before I picked up Santa, I had grabbed a handful of kibble to put in kitty's dish. He must have smelled his food on the jolly old elf. He is ever hopeful he might find another bite.

I have trained him to say MAMA when he wants food. He sits by his dish and meows. When I walk over he says Mawww Maww. It is so cute, and annoying because he would eat non-stop.

Happy holidays from our house to yours. I am grateful for my blog friends. Is your house decorated?
 

Almost a tragedy

Yesterday at 2:30, we heard the school bus pull up in front of our house on a four lane street to drop off the two middle school boys next door. Then we heard an awful boom, grinding, and metal on metal collision.

Seems a BMW driver driving at high rate of speed passed the bus on the right side at our curb and drove up on our sidewalk, just as the bus driver opened her door to let the boys exit. Before they did, the car driver nearly ripped the school bus door off and sent shattered glass imploding into the bus. Kids screaming, but unhurt. Female bus driver shook up and in disbelief that the BMW would deliberately pass on the right on the sidewalk.

We figured the driver didn't realize the bus was stopped (along with two lanes of traffic) and tried to avoid rear ending a vehicle at a high rate of speed.

Can only hope nobody would deliberately ... It was a hit and run. Busted up our concrete sewer; rebar exposed.

We are so thankful the neighbor boys are unhurt and alive.

What a fright.

How much turkey can one woman eat?

 Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I am grateful for my readers. I have so many blessings for which to be thankful.

I have to share a Charlie quip. I did a paper plate turkey craft with him. He snipped eight colored feathers and I wrote on each one. I asked him something he was grateful, thankful, happy, glad for.

He named his family members, yougurt, sour cream, gum, outside, parks, playgrounds. He was stumped. Finally he said, "I know! I am thankful I finally quit peeing my pants at night." He's had a few accidents.

It was difficult to keep a straight face and acknowledge his blessings. He was so serious.

We cooked our turkey Monday and have been feasting on it and all the trimmings for days.

Today we will be celebrating with Bill's daughter, Robin and her family, joined by Bill's other daughter Michele and her family. We will be visiting with their kids. All of our "babies" are grown, but they will always be our babies. Some are newlyweds, or recent college graduates, or home from out-of-state university where they are doing research and pursuing advanced degrees. 

Their hugs are gentler now that we are older. Their bodies are big, but their hearts remain kiddos. We are still Paw-paw and Nana.

We will be visiting my children later this week, eating two more turkey dinners. THEN, I diet.

Saved by a bird and monsters

 Imagine minus fifty degrees, whipping wind, and pitch dark at 2:30 p.m. when the school buses rumbled down our gravel road plinking loose gravel at the sides of our faded green, old trailer on School Road. The stars looked so bright and close you could almost reach up and pluck one. But going outdoors caused breath clouds that froze in midair.

Entertainment was limited to personal interaction with other army wives who played Yahtzee, or watching the only television show, Military History Channel on T.V. Boring! 

In the evening, the six o'clock news was aired live from Fairnbanks, 100 miles away. When the male newscaster came on live, he was often caught licking his palm and slicking his hair down. After local news, Walter Cronkite broadcasted DAY OLD world news. The news reels had to be flown from Seattle to Alaska EACH DAY after the late news in the lower forty-eight. 

You could say we were a day late and a dollar short. We seldom had six cents left over at the end of the month for a postage stamp to write home about our daily lives in Delta Junction, Alaska, a small frontier town at the end of the Alcan Highway.

I discovered two major things in November 1969. I was expecting a baby. YAY! A new television show made its debut. In the first episode, Gordon took a little girl, Sally, on tour of the set to meet Gordon, Susan, Bob, and Mr. Hooper. Names not familiar? How about Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch?

Suddenly my TV viewing options improved. I snuggled in long johns, pajamas, socks, wrapped myself in an olive drab, woolen army blanket, and sat on our couch (a discarded school bus seat with a spring popping up) for most of winter that year. Sesame Street saved my sanity when everyone was going stir crazy from the deep freeze and dark days and nights.  

Happy fifty-third bithday, Sesame Street! 

One ringy dingy; one hour or two; volunteers needed

 Ashley, my great grandson Charlie's mama, looked just like him when she was his age, except she had shoulder length blonde curls. She was as smart, talkative, bold and bubbly as Charlie, too.

I saw a commercial on TV today for the Salvation Army bell ringers. They are  notorious for their red kettles in which they collect donations for the needy. They are in need of bell ringers.

          This is not Ashley. Photo credit: Salvation Army website.

I was reminded of when Ashley was three years old and verbose. My daughter and I were holiday shopping, and at each store we gave Ashley a handful of coins to drop into the red kettles to help the needy. 

Each time she did, the bell ringer would hand her a Salvation Army magazine and say, "God bless you!"

After the third time, she stopped and looked directly at the man and said, "Why do you guys always God Bless me when I don't even sneeze?! And why do you keep giving me the same Karate Kid magazine?"

The cover was a shepherd wearing a head band.

Oh that girl has given me some laugh lines over the years. The hilarity continues. Her two littles are four and five, and they say exactly what they think, too. Thank goodness for eight-year-old Liam who tries to temper his little brothers' freedom of speech. LOL 

Just no stopping it!

There is no stopping some things.  

The boys are growing like weeds. The littles are reading simple words and so proud of themselves; they are very interested in learning. 

Liam is going to be taller than me by his ninth birthday. He was off school for voting, so I took him and his brothers to Suson Park/Farm. They played at the playground, walked around the lake, visited farm animals, and then we headed to Wendy's for $5.00 meal deals. Home for a nap for the littles. Liam thinks he's too big, so he played video games. 

No stopping it. When your body talks, listen! After Charlie and Alex woke up I couldn't find Liam anywhere. Discovered him completely under the covers, stretched across the foot of my bed, snoozing. Had to wake him when his mom came. 

My story, Grease Generously is being read around the world in Chicken Soup for the Soul, My Wonderful, Wacky Family. This one is hilarious. Every family has a wackadoodle. In this case, it was ME. I hope you get a chance to read it.

I also had an essay published in Prairie Times, above the fold, front page! This story is near and dear to my heart about zooming. No, not what you think. This is about a winter day with my son and grandson when I took a dare. 

I have been missing from blog reading and posting because I foolishly ate popcorn with chocolate drizzle. No stopping it, diverticulosis as a result.  Ouch! A week of liquid diet and rest. I am better now, and I am back. I missed you.

The weather in St. Louis, MO has been delightful. Today it is going to be 80 degrees. Can you believe it? But there is no stopping it: winter's arrival. Tomorrow and thereafter, 40s for highs and 20s for lows.