The Maladies of "Nunya" and "The Tick"

Well, I started this post a couple weeks ago and am just now adding the text! Helllllllo, Summer Self, wake up and get with the posts! Anyway, let me tell you about the maladies...

"Nunya": def.: what i tell my kids when they butt in on my conversations with Daddy. In other words, "It's NUNYA business!" Anyway, Annie had Nunya. I know sweet, sad, quiet (yeah, right, I'm quiet), somewhat depressed and definitely not tan, Winter Self did not tell you about Annie's Nunya. But, my baby had Pneumonia in February. It was very scary for all of us (me), first because it snowed on that Friday in our little town in Alabama. Now, if you haven't been in Alabama when it snows, let me fill you in. Everything SHUTS DOWN! So, it snowed, my mama had been here, Annie had been coughing a little and mama told her not to play in the snow or she'd catch Pneumonia. I am a firm believer in knocking on wood, which no one did at that particular moment in time, unfortunately. At 11 p.m. I ventured out in the "blizzard" to get some Tylenol to alternate with the Motrin that my precious neighbor gave me. Thanks K! So, point is, Annie had Pneumonia, which she affectionately has renamed "Nunya". It sounds the same and it was hilarious when she told me, after the tick incident, "Mommy, remember when I had Nunya and had to get a shot!?!" Furthermore, when we were leaving the wonderful Chuck E. Cheese the other night after A's 5th birthday party, we walked out with Mimi and Pawpaw H, A's grandparents. Mimi and Pawpaw live at the lake and we went to visit 2 summers ago. Pawpaw had taken care of Aunt Lele's pet bird Sunny since she moved out long time ago and Beebs fell in love with the bird. Well, as we were walking out with them, I was reminding Beebs of our visit and playing with Sunny. As she, in the sweetest 7 year old way, was remembering, Pawpaw said, "Yep, Sunny's dead. I left him downstairs all Winter and he got too cold, caught Pneumonia and died!". Beebs was horrified, but all Annie had to say (once again), was, "Hey Mommy, member when I had Nunya and had to get a shot?" Only from the moufs (again with my previous posts, you'll have to go back and read it if you haven't already!) of babes!

On to the Tick! Summer self sends Beebs to Day School with Annie, because I must tackle the commercial real estate world (I really don't tackle, just take care of 3rd child - previous post). There was one day where I had to ask our sweet Mrs. F and precious Baby M to bring them home. That was the day we were leaving to visit Granny in Kentucky, or just plain ole "Tucky" as Annie calls it (could be worse). Anyway, Mrs. F made sure to tell Daddy that she had checked them for ticks because some of the Day School kiddos had them after being on the playground. Daddy failed to mention this to me and you know what happened...guess...Beebs found the tick on her own head. Now that was not immediately after F told Daddy to check, noooooo, it was 2 days later, while we were at Granny's (Daddy's mama), at around 11 p.m. as they were STRUGGLING to go to sleep. So, we carried Mr. Tick all the way from our little town, over the river and through the woods, to Granny's house. And, we played with cousins with Mr. Tick, and we had meals with Mr. Tick and we swam in Granny's pool with Mr. Tick. Anyway, in true Beebs fashion (she's a little bit like her mama, God love her), she was taking down her ponytail, rubbing the back of her head and then, screaming bloody murder. Well, Daddy in his infinite talk radio wisdom, told us that he needed baby oil STAT, which Granny promptly returned with. I didn't even know they made baby oil anymore. We used to use it for "sunscreen". Daddy had heard a doctor on the radio talking about ticks and using baby oil to make them back out of the skin they were attached to. (My skin is crawling just typing this.) After several douses with the baby oil and several very long minutes of freaking out (Beebs and me), and several suggestions (by me) of using the tweezers, Daddy finally caved on the baby oil gig and asked for the tweezers. Yes, I am the expert on tick removal as I had to pull one out of Aunt D's ear on our way to the beach in, oh, about '97 or '98 and let me tell you that the tweezers saved us. That story is what calmed Beebs after the tick had been flushed! But, Aunt D's tick is another story for another post.

Thank you Mommy (patting myself on the back), for taking care of me through the Nunya, for always being the expert on all things tweezers and tick removal, for finding my DS charger, for having Sponge Bob Band-aids when we have pool toe, for letting us watch Sweet 16 on Disney, for making us separate dinners so we can each have what we want, for helping me clean my room, for letting me eat the ice cream I just fixed for myself, and most of all, for letting us sit in the way back of your car! Mommy, you rock, and your tan is awesome!!!

Did I go a little overboard? Sometimes somebody's gotta pat ya on the back, even if it is yourself...

"Annie's lights are out...", said my precious Beebs

"Mommy, Annie's lights are out!" Only from the moufs (see earlier post) of Beebs (no, not babes, but Beebs). Annie, after a small (in Annie's grand scheme of things) fit over me making her take off her panties so she wouldn't poop in them (again, earlier post), a large dinner of fish sticks, fries and black beans and corn (and no, Annie didn't "crap" corn - sort of our little take on "Jimmy cracked corn"), and an even larger bath full of Barbie's and whatever else they can find to put in the tub, Annie decided a little "America's Funniest Videos" was in order for her in Mommy and Daddy's big bed. While Beebs and I did a small craft for a teacher gift (please see the picture below - very impressed with ourselves!), Annie laid up in the king size to watch a little AFV. After some time, Daddy asked, "Hey, where is Annie?" Yes, we do a fantastic parenting job! Who knows, she could have been next door! Anyway, I mentioned to Daddy her plan that involved the king size and AFV and we all decided that she was either a. engrossed in TV, or 2. (Fletch reference) "out like a light". Now, out like a light is our little term for "Thank the Good Lord this child is asleep!" When Annie is asleep, we know that nothing (body parts, walls, sometimes - rarely - paper) is being written on with a black Sharpie, no fingers are getting stuck in syrup bottles, no arms are getting stuck in the handle to the oven door, no heads and shoulders are getting stuck in the Dora potty seat, and best of all, NO HAIR IS GETTING CUT!

So, Beebs and I finished our craft/teacher gift and she looked at me and said (spoken like a true 7 year old), "I am SO not going to check on Annie!"

To which I replied (spoken like a true, um, well 7 year old), "I SO don't expect you to!"

She disappeared down the hall to put her teacher gift in her backpack. A few minutes later she returned to inform me, "Annie's lights are OUT!"

I said, "Don't you mean she's out like a light?"

"No, Mommy," she replied, "her eyes are closed, her brain is sleeping, that means her lights are out!" Ahhh, the logic! And then she ran off to watch another Justin Bieber video on YouTube.

I just thank the Good Lord that Beebs didn't knock her lights out. It could happen...

Now, tell me what you think about our teacher gift. In case you can't tell from the small picture, they are note cards with animals, bugs and shapes made out of the little angels fingerprints. Daddy thinks we should make a bunch and sell them on eBay. It could happen...but, would you buy them?

Oooo y'all I do love a day at home by myself...

So, I worked from home today until (about 10 minutes ago) about 11:00 a.m. In between taking care of my 3rd child (I'm an Executive Assistant to the same man for 15 years, so yes, I can call him my 3rd child, 4th if you count Daddy), I managed to mop the hideous kitchen floor (another story for another day), which is already destroyed again and do 1 load of laundry, which I haven't folded yet...Anyway, I was at home by myself. I know you are saying, "How, how in the world did you manage to be at home by yourself? I have seen all the complaining you do about your jobs and volunteering," (again, need to have a happy heart!). Thank you for your concern, but, I managed. I texted 3rd child (or 4th, however you want to look at it) at 10:30 last night when we were wrapping up our day and politely asked (begged) him if he minded me working from home since he was travelling. Third (or 4th) child graciously offered me that small sacrifice. I do love my 3rd (or 4th) child!

Anyway, after 11 a.m. (and walking the Beebs to school, which made both of us very happy:), I got a wild hair and decided to paint my blue table. Now, I bought that blue table from neighbor Nini's (that's her grandma name, but she is soooooo not grandma"ish") garage sale about a year ago and it fits perfectly for the spot I chose. I loved the turquoise color of it and that's why I bought it from Nini. Still do. It was the color of our dining and living room in our first (very tiny) house. But...it needed some freshening and since I like to reuse the leftover paint that we have in the garage, I painted it Homestead Resort Moss. Yes, that is the color of my bathroom and the little (in very bad shape) antique table that I got from Daddy's grandparents house (told you I reuse paint). I still have half a gallon left, so who knows what else will be painted Homestead Resort Moss. Anyway, the messy blue was killing me because I couldn't (no matter what I did) fix the stains, etc. I do love all things weathered, but this was just TOO much for me to deal with. So, (drum roll) there it is. Still in it's blue form. Please excuse the garage:). The top is already painted green in this picture, but apparently, my fantastic photography skills did not capture that. Tomorrow, I will finish it and show you the beauty that it is in my next post!
















The other thing I got into (my wheels were turning as Daddy would say), is painting Aunt Sunny's birdcage. It was green, and now it is a beautiful baby blue with two beautiful baby girls holding it. Oh yeah, they have beautiful baby blue eyes (just like their Daddy)! Again with the drum roll, here it is with the beautiful blue eyed Beebs and Annie holding it...
















Oh my, I can't wait to hang it in it's perfect little corner in the den. More to come...

Summer Rose, Summer Rose the 2nd and Summer Rose the 3rd

My old friend is returning from the frozen tundra of wintertime. And here she is, summer self! I knew I should have named one of my kids Summer Rose! Perhaps I'll change my name to Summer Rose! Seriously, the winter time was depressing! Nothing made me feel better! I have been sweating here in Alabamy now for a good two weeks. That is, up until yesterday when it was 56 degrees. I'm sorry, but once it's been 89, there is no turning back for me! School is almost over. Dance is almost over. The other VARIOUS things I have volunteered for (and bitched about, which doesn't make a true volunteer because I wasn't giving of my time unselfishly and next Fall remind me not to spread my time so thin) are almost over. And, the neighborhood pool opens next weekend. Friend Susie has her pool open, and oh yes, Summer Rose the 2nd and Summer Rose the 3rd have both been in Susie's pool!

Annie (aka for this summer, Summer Rose the 3rd) is making huge strides in going to the potty. I know you that know her are thinking, "She is 4 and 1/2 years old!" Don't judge me, she's spoiled rotten and lazy. Basically, she should have been a boy and may be just like her Daddy! I don't know what else to do, but I am making huge strides! She has made it through the night dry for the past three weeks only because I took a stand against the racket that is what you and Target may call Pull-Ups. "I'm a big kid now" my thumb! Anyway, Annie is moving up to the 4K class, so we have another year to make sure she is good and trained before she goes to Kindergarten. Also, that means that I only have one more year of doing the Day Care's books in exchange for free Day Care. Free Day Care, my thumb!

Beebs has made it through 1st Grade like a champ. There were some times I wasn't so sure about her, but the last spelling test proved me wrong. 11/10 and 100% on sentence structure. You can't ask for more than that (although, I would if I knew how). I want her to make all A's. Don't we always want better for our kids! She only had one boyfriend this year, because I told her it wasn't allowed! Get this though, when he asked her to be his girlfriend, she said, and I quote, "I don't know, I'll have to ask my mom." How awesome is she!?! I ran through all of the questions, like why would you want to be his girlfriend and why do you like him. Her resounding answer was, "Because he's my friend." What more can you ask of a precious 7 year old!?!

Daddy's (our) A&E Landscaping & Lawn Care is taking off! We have a couple of new clients this year, so we are slowly building it up. I found a great deal (at www.Vistaprint.com) on everything marketing. We have car door magnets, yard signs and business cards as well as our very own logo! More on that later. Maybe I can even upload our logo to my blog. What a concept!

I am planning minor home redos, not renovations, but redos. Renovations take too much time and should be saved for the winter. Thanks to my new friend "The Lettered Cottage", my first project is to paint my steps that were covered in carpet. You see, when we moved into our house 5 years ago, we had the carpet replaced. Daddy told the carpet layers not to put carpet on the stairs because he was going to refinish those. Yep, they're still in the same sorry state. And, it wouldn't be so bad, but ours is a split foyer home, i.e. the first thing you see when you come in. So, I'm going to paint those according to the step by steps I found (no pun intended), re-paint the entire downstairs: den, entryway, bathroom, bedroom and all ceilings. Grandmama and Daddy are going to be contracted to help and Lord only knows what we'll do with the children! I promise to add before and after pics. I think I finally figured it out...

So, here I am, back in your good graces, with my bathing suit in one hand and my Corona Light in the other! Life could not get any better than life with Summer Rose...