I Can Sell That!

My little LiLi is always thinking. (What am I going to do if she wants to be a philosophy major one day?) She ponders life's little secrets, ways to help others, ways to get back at others, and ways to increase her money stash.

She was discussing one of her entrepreneurial ideas today. Her economics teacher (isn't it great that her school teaches economics in elementary school?) recently went to Beijing to see her son swim the Butterfly in the Olympics for Team USA. (Gil Stovall;did not medal) She came back from China with all kinds of goodies that she used to teach her classes about Chinese culture. LiLi brought home a set of chopsticks and talked about the eating customs of the Chinese.

She was most interested in the silk that Mrs. Stovall brought back. She loved the feel of it and loved that it was created by silkworms. She went on to explain how expensive it was because you have to import it from China. I think her words were "It costs so much because we have to trade things to China to get the silk". She wanted me to find her a pair of "fake" silk pajamas to wear since it was so soft. She then wanted me to get her some silk worms so she could start making her own silk. She wondered where we would be able to put that "machine thingy that turns it into silk fabric". She then goes on to explain how she can charge so much money for plain silk, and could get even more for colored silk!

You go girl! I love her enthusiasm about everything. She is like a little sponge taking in everything she hears, putting her own spin on it after she ponders it a while, and spouting out her views about it.

I can't wait to see her as an adult...she's gonna be quite the woman!

I'm Cool......Aren't I?

Since my kids have started school again (they are now starting their 4th week) I've made a deal with them to help get them out the door on time. If they make it to the car by the specified time they get to take turns choosing the music we listen to. If not.....then I get to pick the music. Apparently this is a big deal since their school is downtown and takes about 20 minutes to get there.

I generally pick Country Music to listen to just to give them a reason to hurry a little more in the mornings. However, I have been known to listen to all types of music. I have learned that no matter what songs I listen to and like, I am still not cool and my music is not cool.

I still monitor the television shows and the music my kids listen to so we don't get a lot of inappropriate exposure. I decided to pull one over on my 13 year old. I had his cousin, SuzyQ, make a cd with a mixture of music on it. I happen to like the music on it and would have suggested these things for BB to listen to, but it is much cooler to get the cd from his "too cool" cousin than from his "uncool" mom.
So....I still get to listen to music I like and I get to secretly be cool!

Training for the Olympics

During this past week I have come to realize just how hard the training is to participate in the Olympics. The participant has basically devoted his/her life to the pursuit of earning a medal. There is no social life. Your routine during the two weeks can be grueling, especially if you are going to participate in more than one event. It hurts me right now as I am thinking of the grueling schedule and the toll it can take on your body. It takes great dedication, concentration, and self discipline to stick with it. No wonder only the elite can make it! I'm glad that the end result is worth all the sacrifice. Just think of all the family time and personal time that is forfeited during the training and the actual events. I'm am getting tired just thinking about all the hard work.

Well, the good news is that one week is almost over and there is only one more week of the grueling schedule to go. I am patting myself on the back for the extra hours of training I put in. Yep! I practiced endless hours in front of a television, staying up late, late, late. I knew that when the Olympics appeared my kids would already be in school. Not everyone can stay up till 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning cheering the USA to victory and then getting up at 6:00 am to get the kids ready for school. I rush back home to hear all the early morning interviews of the athletes and settle in for all the prelims. I go pick up my kids, rush through a "fend for yourself" dinner to hit the prime time events. I've gotta tell ya.... I've been hanging in there! Yeah, Me!!!


In fact I have to go right now to catch the prime time events!

For Love and Money

I have been so busy watching the Olympics that I haven't had time to blog. This will be a quick one so I can get back to cheering for USA.

BB (my 13 yr old son) wanted to have a serious talk with me the other day. He doesn't do this very often because it is very hard for him to express things. He was just diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD). He has to have more testing done but they are pretty sure he has Aspergers.

Anyway, he wanted to talk to me all by himself. We just happened to be at the local library so I sent LiLi and YaYa in and BB and I stayed in the tank. He has a very hard time getting everything out but finally told me he is having a difficult time concentrating at school and has been having very strong feelings for a girl that has talked to him 3 or 4 times. He is convinced that he is in love. Yep, true love! I talk to him a little about what he is feeling and find out that he is happy because she talks to him. Not many people talk to him in a nice, friendly manner. His ability to socialize with his peers is sadly lacking.

I do try to convince him that perhaps the strong feelings are happiness because he possibly has a friend. I then go on to explain how love evolves through getting to know another person, liking that person, sharing interests with that person, and developing a relationship with that person. I explain that I am not sure that love comes after 4 brief meetings. Crisis is over...He admits that he is very happy because someone is nice to him. We discuss how he can continue the relationship to try and develop a friendship. I assure him that it is okay to be happy and lose concentration (just as long as he gets his school work done first...)because friendship is a great thing.

A couple of days later I notice that BB has a pocket full of money. I haven't given him any and can't imagine where it has come from. Of course, I ask him about the source of his money and he tells me that he has been taking extra snacks to school and selling them to kids that didn't bring snacks for the day. He is really proud of himself because he is that much closer to buying a new game for his Nintendo DS.

It was not easy explaing to him that you could get kicked out of school for selling things. He didn't quite grasp that you have to have a special permit to sell food, it is against school rules, etc. Now I get to check his pockets each morning to make sure he only takes one snack to school.

I thought my kids were going through their snacks a little too fast!

Book Tagged

1. Pick up the nearest book to you (one of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The closest book to me is Evening is the Whole Day. This is the book I am currently reading.

Valli, who was stirring the evening's dosai batter in the far corner, paused mid-stir and opened her mouth to say something. Two geckos, absorbing the tension in the air, charged at each other and began a noisy, inappropriate fight on the ceiling.
"There's trouble," Subru said before she could speak. "Going to get even worse it seems."

I tag Llewellyn, Nikki, Joe (the Admiral), Maria Mae, and Alison

Dearly Beloved We Are Gathered Together…

Saturday night my family attended the wedding of my cousin's daughter. It took place in a small town in Southeast Arkansas. I didn't even know this place existed. We traveled to a lake home for the outdoor wedding that started at 7:00 pm. I must mention that this day happened to break weather records as being the hottest day! We were able to capture a tiny breeze every so often from the lake. It was not frequent enough to dispel our discomfort. I want to give you as detailed a description of these lovely nuptials as I can. Maybe you can get the same joy/shock that I got.

We drive to the lake property to find a long fishing/swimming dock decorated with white lace and small lights mingled in. There is a long walkway to get to this dock. On the dock there are some folding chairs that, we are told, will be for the immediate family. On the bank are more chairs that are for the remainder of the guests. The wedding guests are a small number. This is to be expected since the invitation was by word of mouth and not a formal one that would have been mailed. We are a little bit early, so we take our seats on the bank of this lake and watch the ducks swim while are ears are splitting with classical music booming from a portable stereo. The sound is turned up so high that it is painful for us. I boldly walk to the stereo and turn the music down to an enjoyable level, one that allows us to actually hold conversations while we listen. We watch a motley crew of individuals arrive in various forms of dress. We saw guests in shorts (very casual), sundresses, and even two suits. I kept my eyes on those two in case I was needed to administer first aid for the heat stroke they were surely going to have in this 100+ temperature. There were people here from all walks of life.

For a little background, the bride was able to overcome extraordinary circumstances to escape the life she was born into. Her mother is an alcoholic that gets increasingly worse each day. Her father, my cousin (and it turns out not really her father) is a meth addict who has been in prison a couple of times. Her biological father, a brief affair her mother had, is an alcoholic and has served a couple of prison terms as well. The bride, K, has put herself through college, has a nice career, and put this wedding together herself because she was afraid that her mother would spoil it with her drunken high jinx.

Okay, back to the wedding….As we are sitting on the bank waiting for the wedding to start, the bridegroom's father comes over to meet my extended family. All of my mother's sisters are present as well as my sister and our kids. My aunt has also brought her grandson. The groom's father goes to my aunt, the grandmother of the bride, and gives her a big hug. Let me just mention that he looks like he just stepped out of Woodstock. He then goes to my sister and gives her a big hug and then turns to me. My nickname for him is "Cop a Feel". He totally grosses us out. My other aunts give off a "don't you dare try to cop a feel from me" aura so he bypasses them. I've gotta tell ya… This is the first time anyone has wanted to get that close to me at a wedding. Maybe he thought he could kill two birds with one stone. Attend his son's wedding and pick up a date for the reception.

Eventually the wedding begins. Coming down the aisle (grass) are two little boys in shorts. One is carrying a ring pillow and the other is carrying a fishing pole! That's a first for me too! Then two little girls walk by spreading beautiful flower petals in their beautiful little dresses and bare feet. The maid of honor comes by in a pretty gown with a small bouquet. I forgot to mention that the groom and the best man are dressed in black shirts and khaki shorts. We wondered if the bride was going to be as casual. We anxiously wait for the bride to make her entrance. Guess what? It was another first for me! The Bride and her Biological father come from quite a ways back in the property in an all terrain vehicle. It must have been the formal version because it had a top on it. The ATV takes her to the beginning of the aisle where she is handed off to her father. Meanwhile, he has to put out his cigarette to walk her down the aisle. She is dressed in a beautiful gown and looks like a Greek goddess. The wedding continues with only one small glitch. The minister says it is time to say the vows. K gets a panicked look on her face and whispers "Do I have to say anything? I didn't write my own vows." To which the minister replies, " Just say I do at the appropriate spot." She sighs her relief as a title of laughter goes around. The guests are then entertained with an idolesque performance of Love Can Build A Bridge and I'll Stand By You. Don't get me wrong…the singing was beautiful…it was just styled more for a pop performance than a wedding performance.

Did I mention how hot it was? All the guests were drenched with perspiration. I think if anyone had dared us, we would all have gladly moved our seats into the lake just to get cool. We began gathering up our things to go to another residence for the reception. On the walk back to the cars my little YaYa asks her Nana why our group was so dressed up and no one else was. My aunt replied " Because our mother taught us better!". This appeases YaYa.

We travel a few miles to the reception and see some tables decorated nicely. There is a beautiful fountain streaming out lukewarm punch (I guess to help cool us down from the oh so hot temps). They do have a beautiful wedding cake. Behind the cake table you have an assortment of ice chests with ice cold soft drinks and more lukewarm water. To the right of the cake table there is a pot luck spread to rival any family reunion or picnic. The bride's father has assembled a few of his musician buddies and they perform for us. They were actually pretty good. By this time it is dark. After about 30 minutes of being shrouded in this darkness, someone has one of those genius moments. They wheel their car around, point it at the crowd, and turn the headlights on high beam. Thus, our romantic reception lighting is taken care of. Only a few people needed to move back some to escape the harsh glare. The bride and groom join us to partake of the food and fun. She has matched her groom in an outfit of tank top and shorts. A reception outfit any beach would be proud of. The highlight of the evening was when I hear a bloodcurdling scream and see LiLi running for her life along with YaYa grabbing BooBoo and hightailing to me as fast as they can. I would have been embarrassed at their screaming and running in the midst of this reception except they are screaming "Snake, Snake" as they are running. Immediately the stoner looking men run to the area to teach that snake a lesson. It is at this point that my mind has taken in far too much excitement and shock for one day and our family takes our leave.

On the way out I see the bride and give her a hug and tell her how beautiful she looked in her gown. She has tears in her eyes as she thanks our family for coming to the wedding. At this point I realize that to me it was quite the fiasco or red neck celebration….but to this young lady it was the most wonderful day of her life. She did the best she could with what she had. I wished then that I could have flown her and her groom to a beach resort where they could have had a gorgeous outdoor wedding to rival anything Martha Stewart could do. This young deserves so much more than she has ever been given in life. I am just glad that for her, the wedding was beautiful and a wonderful success. Her mother did show up drunk but she managed not to end up in the lake or some other embarrassing situation. It just shows that we all measure success in different degrees.

Congratulations K. I hope you have a beautiful life with your wonderful, kind husband.

Surely We Don't Reap What We Sow?????

Today I took my 3 kiddos and my mother to meet my sister for lunch and a day of shopping. My cousin is getting married tomorrow and we wanted to get some clothing that could possibly help us reduce the heat that will be scorching down on us. She is having an outdoor wedding...in southern Arkansas...in August...with temperatures running in the 100's...and the humidity somewhere at 90%! I think a bikini is going to be the only thing that might help us all, but only if everyone is blind (visualizing me in a bikini is worse than a nightmare!). Oh, what fun we are going to have this weekend. If no one sees or hears from me by Sunday night, it can only mean one thing...I melted!

While we were shopping I was trying to help LiLi and YaYa pick out a couple of dresses since they, apparently, aren't going to stop growing. By the last store my sister was actually laughing at me. It seems this shopping trip brought back some old memories of me shopping with my dad. I think after the first few times of shopping with me my mom refused to go anymore. My sister so kindly pointed this out to me as I was rolling my eyes and refraining from "choking" LiLi over her indecision (about the 40th time that day) on which shoes to buy for her two dresses that she may or may not want to keep. What if she finds cuter dresses in the next store?

When I was younger I would have my dad take me to a store and l would look around at all they had to offer. I never bought anything from the first store. I would turn to him and tell him that I didn't see anything I liked and wanted to go to another store. He would patiently take me to the next store and I would look at all they had to offer and turn to him with the same statement. He would ask me if I was sure I didn't see anything I liked and then patiently take me to another store. This would go on for several stores. I can't tell you the hours he would patiently wait for me while I looked and tried on piece after piece, only to head somewhere else. After a few hours of this I would ask him to take me back to the first store and I would miraculously walk up and find just the right thing! I know this frustrated him to no end. He could never understand why I didn't like anything the first time around but found the perfect thing after hours of looking everywhere only to end up at the starting point. What a great dad he was!

Well, my sister was trying to point out to me that LiLi was only doing the very thing that I used to do. In her twisted way she was trying to tell me I was only getting what I so richly deserved!

Hey, Dr. Mom! Do you thinking he is having the time of his life laughing at me right now?