Twidlin' My Thumbs

NOT!!!!

Below is a short list of just a few of the eleventy-hundred (a number borrowed from Richmond) events that have transpired since our last meeting here in cyberspace:

1. Visited Memphis for the first time.
2. Did not visit Graceland.
3. Did visit my favorite young newlywed couple, Heather and Paul.
4. Loved, loved, loved their little house.
5. Ate the best bbq ever.
6. Went to a place called Raifort's Hollywood Disco and danced to 70's music.
7. Received a fabulous offer for a "part-time" job.
8. Accepted the offer.
9. Had a mani/pedi with the birthday girls - Laura and Jill.
10. Because I can....because I have a new job!
11. Took Knox to the Dr. for Chicken Pox.
12. It wasn't Chicken Pox.
13. No diagnosis....must be allergic to something.
14. DUH!
15. Changed our minds on whether or not to send Richmond to Kindergarten in the Fall.
16. Again!
17. Put a backup contract on a house.
18. Panicked about selling our house.
19. Painted the front door - because if you're gonna sell your house....
20. The front door is the first thing people notice.
21. Went to pick up Richmond from his 5 day stint at Papa's and Nana's.
22. Began detoxing treatment from Richmond's 5 day stint at Papa and Nana's.
23. Celebrated Laura's birthday with a surprise gathering at Rosepepper Cantina.
24. Lost out on the house. Original contract went through.
25. Wasn't meant to be.
26. Somebody explain that to my husband.
27. Celebrated Laura's birth(month) at the lake with the kids.
28. We like to celebrate birthdays to the fullest extent around here.
29. Found out Knox has a bad case of eczema.
30. Not sure why that was hard to diagnose the first time.
31. Spent a small fortune in co-payments to our pediatrician.
32. Mourned UT's loss to Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen.
33. For 2 days.
34. Enjoyed a Sunday afternoon with my boys, playing in the kiddie pool.
35. Praised God for His many, many blessings!

I'm sorry.....did I say "short list"? That was terribly misleading!!

Celebrating My Sister

Happy Birthday to my little sister, Marcy! She is celebrating her 4th annual 29th birthday. Marcy holds a very dear place in my heart because, well.....she's had to put up with me her entire life - since day one. I was almost 6 when they brought her home from the hospital. Oh, I thought she was cute and all - at first. Then for the next 12 years, I really had no use for her at all. She totally cramped my style - following me around, wanting to do everything that I was doing. She was such a "little sister". The truth is I really had no style, and she probably made me look better. But what did I know?? She definitely suffered undue physical and mental anguish at the hands of her older sister.

Fast forward to her high school years, she suddenly became very cool in my eyes. I don't know why the sudden change, but I began to like her - even enjoy being around her. I admired the way she seemed to be so grounded, maybe because at that time I was out there doing my "wilderness walk". She was my safe place. I would go as far as to say that I began to love her during those years. Of course, I always loved her - she was my sister and that falls into the "given" category. But those were the years that I discovered that not only was she my sister, but my friend. Always.

Bless her heart, she has put up with a lot from me. There was that one incredibly stormy night that I called her up begging her to drive a half hour to deliver the community ski attire. She was in college at the time, so I promised her and a friend a free meal at the restaurant where I was waiting tables. I ask you, what college student doesn't love a free meal?? So she came. She ate. She brought the necessities for my weekend ski trip. She left. On the way home, the car decided to do a little water skiing of its own and hydroplaned into a concrete wall. Yikes! To make a very long story short, she has a fully paid for home.....in her mouth. That's right, the value of the dental work that she has endured (and is still enduring) as a result of "the accident" is equivalent to that of a small home in a nice neighborhood. Yes, I harbor much guilt. No, she has never made me feel that way. I do that on my own. Luckily, I did save her life at one point, so it all equals out. Right??

She still loves me, in spite of me. She always has. Without a doubt, she is the most loyal person I have ever had the privilege of knowing. If she loves you, consider yourself loved - big time. She has had the same best friends since she was in the 2nd grade - and they live in different states. Now that should tell you something! If you capture her heart, she loves you forever.....faults and all. It's funny, she's always considered me to be the strong one. Really, she is. She just doesn't know it!

So Happy 29th (again), Marcy! I hope you are celebrated in grand fashion - just like you deserve! I love you bunches.....

Opening the Door

I love to open the door to Knox's room in the morning. It is one of my most favorite of God's blessings each day. The unknowns lurking behind that door make my life just a little more exciting! First of all, there is the hair.....you never know what you are going to get. It's so much like his personality - quirky and unpredictable. And then there's the emptying of the crib. He likes to throw everything out of his crib when he wakes up in the morning, as if to say, "I've been with this stuff all night, and I'm over it!" When I walk in, he is quick to point to his stuff laying all over his room, much like he is explaining a crime scene. Over there is my dog, he was the first to go over the edge. Hasn't moved since he landed. He loves to come up with something new to surprise me, as if he knows the thrill I am seeking when I open the door. Sometimes it is just a word or an expression that I haven't heard or seen before. Sometimes it's a new game such as "hide the paci". He likes to hide his paci in his pillow case. When I walk in, he will shake the pillow so that I hear the paci, and then he will hold his hands up in the air and say, "Paci? Paci?" And all of this adventure while his hair is usually standing out in every direction - it totally cracks me up! But today had to be one of my all time favorites. I walk in and he has unzipped his pajamas down to the feet, which in and of itself is not too funny. But never in my life have a seen a child more proud.....of what, I can't be sure. It was tough to know if he was proud of the act of unzipping, or the unveiling of his physique. I truly think it was a combination of the two! He was dancing around his crib and clapping his hands - you would have thought he had just been cast in the latest Baby Einstein production. (Richy actually calls Knox "Baby Einstein" because....well, he's a baby with Einstein's hair. You thought it was because he is extra smart, didn't you?) Anyway, I clapped and danced too, and then I broke the news......clap and dance today, because tomorrow a big, round, white belly might not make you clap and dance. Unless you are working out with Richard Simmons to get rid of your big, round, white belly....and that's a whole other story!