Thursday, February 25
observation number three today
I should really blog more from home where all my pictures are... its really depressing to just see type in all these entries... I'll try to do better.
Disdain, part 2
a new bed
I got some video of her but of course I haven't gotten it online yet.. but don't you think for one minute she doesn't know what the bed is for... her first 3 requests were "cov" "pill" and "baby" (covers, pillow, and her favorite lovey) ... but I do anticipate some problems with the no bouncing or jumping... those were her first reactions to it... I can't decide if that was pure excitement or if it was deliberate monkey action!
(And no, we didn't pull a Santa Claus night... Mom found it at a consignment sale in Dothan for cheap and the delivery girls didn't get it home until after she was in bed... and its not like we've got abundances of places to leave a bed outside of the bedroom!)
Monday, February 22
Not me, Not me, Not me!
Yesterday I did NOT finally wash the bathroom rugs that have been underneath our carport for more than 3 months... I would NEVER leave the rugs out that long if I had intentions on returning them to the house.. I just would NOT!
I also would NOT have forgotten about the rugs until 11 p.m. when I was pouring out the last of my decaf sweet tea in the sink and see them "drying" on the boat in the backyard... then I would NOT have looked at the rugs, looked down at my pajamas and decided to get them in the morning.
I did NOT wake up this morning to find out it had been raining for a good portion of the night meaning that my rugs were once again soaked. I did NOT contemplate just throwing the rugs away, since any logical person would have already made that decision based on the fact the rugs have been outside unattended for such a length of time. I also did NOT look at the rugs in distain and mumble the same words that started the rug ordeal 3 months ago... "I guess I'll just wait for them to dry."
I also did NOT further that thought process by thinking about throwing the rugs in the dryer when I get home from work today.... to which I definitely did NOT plan an answer of "I didn't know you couldn't dry them" if they get torn up from the process... because that would NOT be the wifey/spousey way to do things...
I also do NOT have an attachment to two of the rugs that were picked out by Michael despite the fact that I have mistreated them so over the past few months...
*I also did NOT just lose the closer to this post and have to pick right back up right here. NOT ME!*
**and I did NOT just have it happen again!**
I also did NOT just share this story which is evident of my lack of housekeeping skills with the blog world which now has a less than stellar ending because I can NOT get my computer to act right!
To see where the NOT ME! inspiration comes from, clicky your way over to MckMama's site.. its one of my favorite... to see what other wonderful, thoughtful blogging family members like me didn't do this week.
a ramblin' morning
This weekend was a pretty good one for us... Friday night Zill and I spent the night with Aunt Mischa and helped her with a shower she was co-hosting on Saturday morning... Zill loves her Aunt Mischa and its so much fun to watch them together... she even let Uncle T read her night-time book (Raindrop Plop) to her... it was super sweet..and probably the longest she's ever spent with Uncle T without pulling away... he's growing on her.
Saturday afternoon, Mama, Mischa and I hauled Hayley over to Wicksburg, AL to see our cousin Christi and her new store Two Peas in A Pod where Hayley got all dressed up and took her picture for some promos and advertising... she did pretty well for it to be her first "shoot" as we've never had her in a studio setting of any kind for staged photos... I've only seen two of the pictures and of course I'm partial, but they are great! I share that to share this... turns out my family is just as crazy as I thought they were...
As we were leaving Dothan towards Wicksburg Mischa said... "Isn't this where we broke into that subdivision with Mama Mary?" ... to which my mom pretty much went nuts "WHAT?!" ... and then we started laughing... because its true... we were in Dothan with grandma, it was close to Christmas time and someone had told her about this new subdivision and how beautiful and big the homes were in it... so we went there... and the gate was locked... so we waited on a car to come up and then followed them in... um, yea... and anyway, I had forgotten all about it and we evidently had never told Mama of our adventure in the forbidden subdivision...
fast foward 10 minutes.. We are getting close to Wicksburg, we've turned on the GPS because Mischa likes it better that way and it was the first time we'd been to the store... as we reach this veer in the road the GPS says to veer left, while I'm telling Mama just to go straight the email directions didn't say anything about veering... well, Mama decides that she wants to veer even though the GPS has already calcuated that we can take the next left and be at the store... so she turns into this flat-space grass driveway with the intention to turn around, you know, because its somebody's yard and all... then she sees that the driveway (more of a semi-driveway, it wasn't all worn down like they use it often) is flat over to the other road which was the left side of the veer... so Mama just drives through the yard... with the house less than 5 feet from the passenger side of the vehicle and the road about 3 carlengths away... I'm in the front seat with my face covered saying "I can't believe this..." and Mom is just cackling in the driver's seat... Mischa's in the back saying "you know, we're probably going to hit a hole or run over a water tank or something".. so as she's still laughing Mom turns onto the road at which point I hear from the backseat "MAMA! There is a man standing under that carport!" ... y'all, I'm not making this up... to which Mama says "Don't Make Eye Contact!!!!" and keeps laughing as she drives on...
oh my. you can't make this stuff up, it just happens with us
so as we're driving the remaining half-a-mile to the store, I look at Mama who is basically in hysterics and say "And you wonder where breaking into subdivisions comes from!" and we all cracked again!
Suffice it to say, nothing stays boring for long when we're all around.
Saturday afternoon, Mama, Mischa and I hauled Hayley over to Wicksburg, AL to see our cousin Christi and her new store Two Peas in A Pod where Hayley got all dressed up and took her picture for some promos and advertising... she did pretty well for it to be her first "shoot" as we've never had her in a studio setting of any kind for staged photos... I've only seen two of the pictures and of course I'm partial, but they are great! I share that to share this... turns out my family is just as crazy as I thought they were...
As we were leaving Dothan towards Wicksburg Mischa said... "Isn't this where we broke into that subdivision with Mama Mary?" ... to which my mom pretty much went nuts "WHAT?!" ... and then we started laughing... because its true... we were in Dothan with grandma, it was close to Christmas time and someone had told her about this new subdivision and how beautiful and big the homes were in it... so we went there... and the gate was locked... so we waited on a car to come up and then followed them in... um, yea... and anyway, I had forgotten all about it and we evidently had never told Mama of our adventure in the forbidden subdivision...
fast foward 10 minutes.. We are getting close to Wicksburg, we've turned on the GPS because Mischa likes it better that way and it was the first time we'd been to the store... as we reach this veer in the road the GPS says to veer left, while I'm telling Mama just to go straight the email directions didn't say anything about veering... well, Mama decides that she wants to veer even though the GPS has already calcuated that we can take the next left and be at the store... so she turns into this flat-space grass driveway with the intention to turn around, you know, because its somebody's yard and all... then she sees that the driveway (more of a semi-driveway, it wasn't all worn down like they use it often) is flat over to the other road which was the left side of the veer... so Mama just drives through the yard... with the house less than 5 feet from the passenger side of the vehicle and the road about 3 carlengths away... I'm in the front seat with my face covered saying "I can't believe this..." and Mom is just cackling in the driver's seat... Mischa's in the back saying "you know, we're probably going to hit a hole or run over a water tank or something".. so as she's still laughing Mom turns onto the road at which point I hear from the backseat "MAMA! There is a man standing under that carport!" ... y'all, I'm not making this up... to which Mama says "Don't Make Eye Contact!!!!" and keeps laughing as she drives on...
oh my. you can't make this stuff up, it just happens with us
so as we're driving the remaining half-a-mile to the store, I look at Mama who is basically in hysterics and say "And you wonder where breaking into subdivisions comes from!" and we all cracked again!
Suffice it to say, nothing stays boring for long when we're all around.
Friday, February 19
snow musings
As I promised before... here are my hodge podge thoughts on snow.
I absolutely love the absurdity it brings to small towns in south Georgia... aka places that only see snow "stick" once every 30 years or so. I think its interesting, as I look through the hundreds of pictures posted by everyone who was in town on Friday, the "snow day," that there are tons of pictures from mid-morning...when the snow was falling and just barely sticking... not even close to half-an-inch ... that my friends, is because if that was all the snow we would have gotten that day it would still have been a "snow" day...and in the past 10 years that was enough to assure a small child's wonderment of seeing snow in real life... We don't expect snow here... we marvel at it... we pull out every random piece of winter clothing to piece together something that's suitable for snow... it'll probably involve some duck or hunting boots... I wouldn't be shocked to see some waders... everyone will have on a ball cap.. everyone except the age group from 15-23 who've been skiing with their youth group sometime in the past 5 years... most children in the 5-8 range will have on their rain boots that look like animal faces... children under 3 will look like the goodwill version of the micheline man...we'll all walk ridiculously slowly... that is if we get out, at all, ever.
If you're lucky you'll see an icicle tree... made, quite obviously, by a daddy who sticks a sprinkler in the top of a tree in the front yard because the freeze will make the whole tree covered in icicles in the morning... its quite the sight... although I've always regretting not seeing the daddy actually get that sprinkler up to the top of the tree.. you may even see a young man on a boogie board behind a four-wheeler or a golf-cart...that's just how we roll...
We will also sit in our houses and complain about how dangerous the roads are, how the country bumpkins who compose our neighborhood legitimately for the remainder of the year are going to end up in the ditches flyin' that fast... we'll listen to the Mayor on the local news talk about "sanding" the bridges... salting is not something we prepare for... we'll see rock salt on the steps of the post office, unless of course, the stores are out of rock salt since its general purpose in this area is for supplementing the homemade ice cream makings in the summer, then you'll see table salt on the steps... And we'll take 200 pictures before the snow really comes down and sticks. We'll make snowmen that have pinestraw and leaves sticking from them... because despite the fact that its the most snow in 30 years, its still not enough to warrant a completely clean snowman... or even a snowman that stand much more than 2 feet tall, if that...yards and driveways and cars will have vast wipes of confiscated snow for our attempted snowmen... there will be snowballs frozen in our freezer for the next two months.
We'll be in love with the snow the whole day. Then the next day, we'll look at what's left, at least this time since there was some left over, say to ourselves "how pretty" and stay inside one more day for good measure. Then come Monday, we'll all talk about how much fun it was but how glad we are that we don't have to deal with it everyday. Now that just wouldn't be any fun at all!
I absolutely love the absurdity it brings to small towns in south Georgia... aka places that only see snow "stick" once every 30 years or so. I think its interesting, as I look through the hundreds of pictures posted by everyone who was in town on Friday, the "snow day," that there are tons of pictures from mid-morning...when the snow was falling and just barely sticking... not even close to half-an-inch ... that my friends, is because if that was all the snow we would have gotten that day it would still have been a "snow" day...and in the past 10 years that was enough to assure a small child's wonderment of seeing snow in real life... We don't expect snow here... we marvel at it... we pull out every random piece of winter clothing to piece together something that's suitable for snow... it'll probably involve some duck or hunting boots... I wouldn't be shocked to see some waders... everyone will have on a ball cap.. everyone except the age group from 15-23 who've been skiing with their youth group sometime in the past 5 years... most children in the 5-8 range will have on their rain boots that look like animal faces... children under 3 will look like the goodwill version of the micheline man...we'll all walk ridiculously slowly... that is if we get out, at all, ever.
If you're lucky you'll see an icicle tree... made, quite obviously, by a daddy who sticks a sprinkler in the top of a tree in the front yard because the freeze will make the whole tree covered in icicles in the morning... its quite the sight... although I've always regretting not seeing the daddy actually get that sprinkler up to the top of the tree.. you may even see a young man on a boogie board behind a four-wheeler or a golf-cart...that's just how we roll...
We will also sit in our houses and complain about how dangerous the roads are, how the country bumpkins who compose our neighborhood legitimately for the remainder of the year are going to end up in the ditches flyin' that fast... we'll listen to the Mayor on the local news talk about "sanding" the bridges... salting is not something we prepare for... we'll see rock salt on the steps of the post office, unless of course, the stores are out of rock salt since its general purpose in this area is for supplementing the homemade ice cream makings in the summer, then you'll see table salt on the steps... And we'll take 200 pictures before the snow really comes down and sticks. We'll make snowmen that have pinestraw and leaves sticking from them... because despite the fact that its the most snow in 30 years, its still not enough to warrant a completely clean snowman... or even a snowman that stand much more than 2 feet tall, if that...yards and driveways and cars will have vast wipes of confiscated snow for our attempted snowmen... there will be snowballs frozen in our freezer for the next two months.
We'll be in love with the snow the whole day. Then the next day, we'll look at what's left, at least this time since there was some left over, say to ourselves "how pretty" and stay inside one more day for good measure. Then come Monday, we'll all talk about how much fun it was but how glad we are that we don't have to deal with it everyday. Now that just wouldn't be any fun at all!
Tuesday, February 16
Identifying Ourselves As Beloved
This month has me thinking about identity a lot… not only my identity, but the way in which we identify others and how we identify with them. For most of us, upon initial meeting of someone, we class them by what we know of them now, for instance, general life stage, current occupation, perceived salary, known family, social contributions. This initial perception generally defines our interactions with that person, it also determines on what similarities we connect on, and what perceived differences we attribute between “us” and “them.”
We are fairly content in this web of knowledge and assumption in our interactions with others… with our identity of who they are in themselves and who they are in regards to us. Its comfortable, its relatively flexible but mostly unchallenged… and if we take a deeper look, its mostly assumption. We assume that someone in a different age bracket, or a different family arrangement, or a different worship style, has very little point of comparison with ourselves in whichever state of being we are in. we reside in these comfortable assumptions when making friends or enrolling in Bible studies or even in aerobic classes.
But all this thinking has me looking at relationships in my own life… I’ve been blessed to hear so many people share their stories with me… some while I was in Youth Group, some I know from growing up side by side, some from family gatherings, some from small groups in college, some from small groups in recent years… and I’ve found, through all those stories… we are all more similar than we have programmed ourselves to believe. Many of us share similar paths when it comes to our spiritual lives; many of us may not share similar faith experiences, but have family circumstances that mirror closely; still others, whose stories have no direct correlation with our own share the same burdens and struggles that we have carry or currently carry.
The unfortunate truth is that in most cases, majority, I’d say even 90% of cases, we never take the time or initiative to ask for someone’s story...or to listen fully when they share it. We instead rely on the perceived identity we gleamed from our initial introductions...whether they talk like us, walk like us, live life like us. What a disgrace to relationship, to community! God calls us all “beloved” and that is the way we should form our own identities and the identities of each other. As the beloved, the chosen, the faithful, then we should choose to meet in love.
We are fairly content in this web of knowledge and assumption in our interactions with others… with our identity of who they are in themselves and who they are in regards to us. Its comfortable, its relatively flexible but mostly unchallenged… and if we take a deeper look, its mostly assumption. We assume that someone in a different age bracket, or a different family arrangement, or a different worship style, has very little point of comparison with ourselves in whichever state of being we are in. we reside in these comfortable assumptions when making friends or enrolling in Bible studies or even in aerobic classes.
But all this thinking has me looking at relationships in my own life… I’ve been blessed to hear so many people share their stories with me… some while I was in Youth Group, some I know from growing up side by side, some from family gatherings, some from small groups in college, some from small groups in recent years… and I’ve found, through all those stories… we are all more similar than we have programmed ourselves to believe. Many of us share similar paths when it comes to our spiritual lives; many of us may not share similar faith experiences, but have family circumstances that mirror closely; still others, whose stories have no direct correlation with our own share the same burdens and struggles that we have carry or currently carry.
The unfortunate truth is that in most cases, majority, I’d say even 90% of cases, we never take the time or initiative to ask for someone’s story...or to listen fully when they share it. We instead rely on the perceived identity we gleamed from our initial introductions...whether they talk like us, walk like us, live life like us. What a disgrace to relationship, to community! God calls us all “beloved” and that is the way we should form our own identities and the identities of each other. As the beloved, the chosen, the faithful, then we should choose to meet in love.
Read, Cov, Book, Plop Plop, Read, Baby, Back, Cov, Read, Back, Baby, Cov
That stream of words were Zill's instructions to Mama on Friday... since we were all snowed in, Mama came by to see Zilla's enjoyment of the snow.... since we had just unbundled for the second time, they sat to play in the floor together before going back out into the backyard... you should be well-aware that Zill has entered a bit of a bossy stage... she's not altogether rude, but she definitely has her own plan of what is going to happen and what all is going to be involved.
Mama sat down in the floor with what she thought was a simple request "read" from Zilla. As she came over, she asked for "cov" known to its full enuciation as covers, then called for her "book" specifically her favorite "Plop plop" known in its entirety as Raindrop Plop... during this course of one-word conversation Hayley is fully sitting next to Mama pulling on the covers and book as she talks about them...she continues to figet..Mama gets about two words into the book and Hayley cries "baby" so she (Hayley) has to get the baby then she tries to sit the baby between her and Mama... and the baby is not doing right.. so "back" comes out, meaning put the baby's back to the couch... then Hayley had to get her own back against the couch.. and then the process starts over, the pulling of the"cov" the uncovering of the "book" situating the "baby" and instructing Breezy to "read"... this is all happening in about 1 minutes time...like I said, she doesn't sit still well... so Mama gets about three words into the book again and Hayley gets back to fixing and figeting, pulling and rearranging...Mama breaks off reading and says "Girl, you are about drivin' me crazy!" to which Hayley has a simple response... she sticks her arms out and goes "bbbbbbdddddnnnnn"
It was the perfect moment of innocent antagonism...timing doesn't get any better than that!
Mama sat down in the floor with what she thought was a simple request "read" from Zilla. As she came over, she asked for "cov" known to its full enuciation as covers, then called for her "book" specifically her favorite "Plop plop" known in its entirety as Raindrop Plop... during this course of one-word conversation Hayley is fully sitting next to Mama pulling on the covers and book as she talks about them...she continues to figet..Mama gets about two words into the book and Hayley cries "baby" so she (Hayley) has to get the baby then she tries to sit the baby between her and Mama... and the baby is not doing right.. so "back" comes out, meaning put the baby's back to the couch... then Hayley had to get her own back against the couch.. and then the process starts over, the pulling of the"cov" the uncovering of the "book" situating the "baby" and instructing Breezy to "read"... this is all happening in about 1 minutes time...like I said, she doesn't sit still well... so Mama gets about three words into the book again and Hayley gets back to fixing and figeting, pulling and rearranging...Mama breaks off reading and says "Girl, you are about drivin' me crazy!" to which Hayley has a simple response... she sticks her arms out and goes "bbbbbbdddddnnnnn"
It was the perfect moment of innocent antagonism...timing doesn't get any better than that!
I LOVE HIM
Today's title comes from actual words proclaimed during the valentine's weekend.... no strange observation, until you hear the context... I am paraphrasing some parts because its been 2 days and I can't remember the details.. but the intention is all true I'm afraid.
Cousin Jan: There are these people down the road who have the cutest miniature donkey... I've nicknamed him Eeyore... I want to steal him.
Us: A mini-donkey.. wait... did you say steal him?
CJ: Yes, but I can't get anyone to help me!
Us: Where are you going to put him?
CJ: In the backyard! He's just so cute! I want to steal him.
Us: But won't they notice that its their donkey?
CJ: I don't care.. I say we steal him.
Us: really? I mean..its a mini-donkey
CJ: BUT I LOVE HIM! (and if you've seen the Will & Grace episode where Jack is saying "But I love him..." and someone else says (I can't remember who) "But you don't know him...." it was kinda like that..except louder.)
cue hysterical laughter... she is oh-so-very serious.. and she also qualifies as a Senior Citizen and is a member of an auto club, which has parties, and writes letters in German accents.
And I say all of that in all seriousness.
Cousin Jan: There are these people down the road who have the cutest miniature donkey... I've nicknamed him Eeyore... I want to steal him.
Us: A mini-donkey.. wait... did you say steal him?
CJ: Yes, but I can't get anyone to help me!
Us: Where are you going to put him?
CJ: In the backyard! He's just so cute! I want to steal him.
Us: But won't they notice that its their donkey?
CJ: I don't care.. I say we steal him.
Us: really? I mean..its a mini-donkey
CJ: BUT I LOVE HIM! (and if you've seen the Will & Grace episode where Jack is saying "But I love him..." and someone else says (I can't remember who) "But you don't know him...." it was kinda like that..except louder.)
cue hysterical laughter... she is oh-so-very serious.. and she also qualifies as a Senior Citizen and is a member of an auto club, which has parties, and writes letters in German accents.
And I say all of that in all seriousness.
Friday, February 12
Tuesday, February 9
when is it ok?
for your standard reply to any question or direction to run screaming from the building...
because that is what I am seriously considering doing for the rest of the week.
My highly esteemed executive decision maker recommends the following: (and please ignore poor picture quality)
because that is what I am seriously considering doing for the rest of the week.
My highly esteemed executive decision maker recommends the following: (and please ignore poor picture quality)
yes, folks, "Hide Under Desk"
I think I'll try that tomorrow
Monday, February 8
A Whole New Life
*So I know I said I'd do this around the 15th of the month, that would have been the 15th of last month, which I obviously missed, however, I promise to do better this month.*
We now find ourselves in the middle of the first month of a new year, but not only a new year, a new decade, which means most of us are still trying to get used to putting 2010, or some version thereof, as the ending digits of our dates.
Each new year brings about the tradition of resolutions, reflection and self-evaluation. The baseline of the
resolutions we make is pretty common, this year I pledge to change something about myself for the better because the way I’ve been before just isn’t good enough to make me happy… or something along those lines. Basically, January 1 just serves as a kickoff, a jumpstart, a Point A for making a newly defined journey, or in some cases, continuing on a previously defined journey.
I think that New Years Resolutions are very similar in basic nature to the types of resolutions Christians make as they go throughout their lives and their walk with Christ. Believing in Jesus and living as the Bible instructs is something that takes deliberate effort on our parts. It’s a continual cycle of improving ourselves, of identifying the parts of us that are still consumed with sinful habits, and of making conscious actions to rid ourselves of those habits and practices. For every Christian it is different, our struggles unique in balance to ourselves and our
nature, but our goal is shared and common.
To love Christ above all else. To share His love through our love to other people. To live a life that is pleasing in nature to a Holy God. To make daily choices which
reflect our belief and love of Christ to others. To choose grace, mercy and love over judgment, hatred and
separation. To be as Christ-like as we can manage and to fall on our knees when we fall on our faces.
A New Year’s resolution rarely leads to a perfect New Year… sometimes it leads to improvement for a few days, a few months.. But even then, it requires a daily devotion to our goal, a conscious choice to deny our desires in
order to see improvement in an area of our lives.
Whether you make resolutions or not, and whether they pertain to your spiritual life or not, don’t miss out on the opportunity to know God a little more this year. To trust Him and His plan for your life and the life of your family. To be deliberate in love, careful in deed and fearless in faith. That would be a whole new world worth living for.
Don’t you agree?
We now find ourselves in the middle of the first month of a new year, but not only a new year, a new decade, which means most of us are still trying to get used to putting 2010, or some version thereof, as the ending digits of our dates.
Each new year brings about the tradition of resolutions, reflection and self-evaluation. The baseline of the
resolutions we make is pretty common, this year I pledge to change something about myself for the better because the way I’ve been before just isn’t good enough to make me happy… or something along those lines. Basically, January 1 just serves as a kickoff, a jumpstart, a Point A for making a newly defined journey, or in some cases, continuing on a previously defined journey.
I think that New Years Resolutions are very similar in basic nature to the types of resolutions Christians make as they go throughout their lives and their walk with Christ. Believing in Jesus and living as the Bible instructs is something that takes deliberate effort on our parts. It’s a continual cycle of improving ourselves, of identifying the parts of us that are still consumed with sinful habits, and of making conscious actions to rid ourselves of those habits and practices. For every Christian it is different, our struggles unique in balance to ourselves and our
nature, but our goal is shared and common.
To love Christ above all else. To share His love through our love to other people. To live a life that is pleasing in nature to a Holy God. To make daily choices which
reflect our belief and love of Christ to others. To choose grace, mercy and love over judgment, hatred and
separation. To be as Christ-like as we can manage and to fall on our knees when we fall on our faces.
A New Year’s resolution rarely leads to a perfect New Year… sometimes it leads to improvement for a few days, a few months.. But even then, it requires a daily devotion to our goal, a conscious choice to deny our desires in
order to see improvement in an area of our lives.
Whether you make resolutions or not, and whether they pertain to your spiritual life or not, don’t miss out on the opportunity to know God a little more this year. To trust Him and His plan for your life and the life of your family. To be deliberate in love, careful in deed and fearless in faith. That would be a whole new world worth living for.
Don’t you agree?
Friday, February 5
All In A Name
So as I mentioned yesterday or the day before, the nicknames for my girls (girls... I'm still getting used to the plurals!) have their own stories.... now, if you recall we have already had a revelation about nicknames as you can read all about here. But that post really has little to no bearing on my girls and their nicknames other than showing a previous family history of utilizing nicknames.
As supplemental evidence I will provide you with the childhood nicknames given to Mischa (Catfish and Moo Moo) and my own childhood nickname (Cottontop). Neither names were stretches given our Southwest Georgia raisin' .... Mischa called all cows Moo Moo and we lived on a farm so that one came pretty quick on from my grandparents (as best I recall)... when the same grandparents put in a pool when we were 4-5ish she earned her second nickname, Catfish, a name that Daddy's buddies still call her today... she could shimmy down and swim the bottom of the pool for the longest time, even when she was that little, just as one sees a catfish hug the mud of a pond... mine was simple enough, my hair was a white as cotton, and we lived on a farm, therefore, Cottontop.
But that's enough on that, let's talk about my girls and their nicknames...I was going to start with our newest nickname but then figured that wouldn't make as much sense since the new nickname is based on the philosophy of the first nickname... and all that jazz.
Anyway, here we go:
We found out we were having a girl around Easter 2008... because its no fun to already have your names picked out before you know the gender we didn't have a name ready by Easter Sunday to share with the family (that would be all three sides, both of mine and Michael's, who all eat lunch together at my Mom's house for Easter, its just what we do)... Michael, being the proverbial antagonist, decided to get creative and came up with a name on the spot...a name that was deeply seeded in his family history... it was honorary of both his great-grandmothers, and thus, befitting to be used... and he announced quite loudly (not that it would have to be all that loud since all my aunts were within 3 feet because our family also has no concept of personal space) that in honor of those great-grandmothers we would be naming our firstborn, Willie Arzilla .... silence (a whole 10 seconds or so, which is basically a record if you've ever been to a family gathering with us) ... and then Mom, creator of her own middle name, comes to the rescue... "We'll just call her Zilla, that will be cute" ... to which someone stated that sounded like Godzilla (a response we got often in the next month or so as people heard the nickname) but it was too late... the nickname was born. So the nickname continued well until Mothers Day when we announced her TRUE given name... but the nickname still stands... its used in emails and text messages and to talk about my firstborn over the phone and the like. Zilla.
Fast foward to this month and finding out our second child will be a girl... also, once again, we are nameless at this point in the game... while we're in the doctors office Michael decides that we'll tell everyone that we're naming her Maude.... to which I say absolutely not, even as a nickname, Maude is not acceptable for this child... I spent the remainder of that night and the next day with Mom... if you can't see where this is going see the above paragraph and the Middle Name story from earlier this week... she decides that since Zilla's nickname came from Michael's side, it would be necessary for baby 2 to have a nickname from our side... Hattie Mae was born in that instant of conversation, as Hattie is my mothers grandmother's name...and I know we had a great-great-aunt Mae on my dad's side.
So those are my two children's nicknames... neither of which will probably ever leave them... although Hattie Mae doesn't have quite the same roll as Zilla, so she may just get the short end of the nickname stick... if I could just figure out a given name for her before its too, too late.
As supplemental evidence I will provide you with the childhood nicknames given to Mischa (Catfish and Moo Moo) and my own childhood nickname (Cottontop). Neither names were stretches given our Southwest Georgia raisin' .... Mischa called all cows Moo Moo and we lived on a farm so that one came pretty quick on from my grandparents (as best I recall)... when the same grandparents put in a pool when we were 4-5ish she earned her second nickname, Catfish, a name that Daddy's buddies still call her today... she could shimmy down and swim the bottom of the pool for the longest time, even when she was that little, just as one sees a catfish hug the mud of a pond... mine was simple enough, my hair was a white as cotton, and we lived on a farm, therefore, Cottontop.
But that's enough on that, let's talk about my girls and their nicknames...I was going to start with our newest nickname but then figured that wouldn't make as much sense since the new nickname is based on the philosophy of the first nickname... and all that jazz.
Anyway, here we go:
We found out we were having a girl around Easter 2008... because its no fun to already have your names picked out before you know the gender we didn't have a name ready by Easter Sunday to share with the family (that would be all three sides, both of mine and Michael's, who all eat lunch together at my Mom's house for Easter, its just what we do)... Michael, being the proverbial antagonist, decided to get creative and came up with a name on the spot...a name that was deeply seeded in his family history... it was honorary of both his great-grandmothers, and thus, befitting to be used... and he announced quite loudly (not that it would have to be all that loud since all my aunts were within 3 feet because our family also has no concept of personal space) that in honor of those great-grandmothers we would be naming our firstborn, Willie Arzilla .... silence (a whole 10 seconds or so, which is basically a record if you've ever been to a family gathering with us) ... and then Mom, creator of her own middle name, comes to the rescue... "We'll just call her Zilla, that will be cute" ... to which someone stated that sounded like Godzilla (a response we got often in the next month or so as people heard the nickname) but it was too late... the nickname was born. So the nickname continued well until Mothers Day when we announced her TRUE given name... but the nickname still stands... its used in emails and text messages and to talk about my firstborn over the phone and the like. Zilla.
Fast foward to this month and finding out our second child will be a girl... also, once again, we are nameless at this point in the game... while we're in the doctors office Michael decides that we'll tell everyone that we're naming her Maude.... to which I say absolutely not, even as a nickname, Maude is not acceptable for this child... I spent the remainder of that night and the next day with Mom... if you can't see where this is going see the above paragraph and the Middle Name story from earlier this week... she decides that since Zilla's nickname came from Michael's side, it would be necessary for baby 2 to have a nickname from our side... Hattie Mae was born in that instant of conversation, as Hattie is my mothers grandmother's name...and I know we had a great-great-aunt Mae on my dad's side.
So those are my two children's nicknames... neither of which will probably ever leave them... although Hattie Mae doesn't have quite the same roll as Zilla, so she may just get the short end of the nickname stick... if I could just figure out a given name for her before its too, too late.
Wednesday, February 3
baby talk
So we don't have a baby name for this next little girl... but we do have a bedding set, See Here: Winnie the Pooh from Walmart . And yes we already bought it, because I was excited, back up off me. But if you do want to keep with the Pooh theme I just saw This Little Nifty that I will take with much excitement because 1. I love a basket and 2. I love a door hanger and 3. this little one will probably need a few blankets of her own to grow into since Zilla has dibs on all the "covers" currently at our house
I actually bought the set after I saw this adorable blanket, which I can't show you since I haven't taken a picture of it and I can't find it on Walmart's site... just give me some time.
If you are planning on shopping for me, I also need a double stroller, so y'all all team up together for that... and diapers, Pampers to be specific, because I am a diaper snob after all. And, preferably in the Swaddler variety that are solid white thank-you-very-much.
Oh, and I suppose it is time to introduce the new baby by her new nickname (another story for another day which will also explain Zilla's nickname): Hattie Mae
I actually bought the set after I saw this adorable blanket, which I can't show you since I haven't taken a picture of it and I can't find it on Walmart's site... just give me some time.
If you are planning on shopping for me, I also need a double stroller, so y'all all team up together for that... and diapers, Pampers to be specific, because I am a diaper snob after all. And, preferably in the Swaddler variety that are solid white thank-you-very-much.
Oh, and I suppose it is time to introduce the new baby by her new nickname (another story for another day which will also explain Zilla's nickname): Hattie Mae
the family way
Since I started sharing my "Southern" stories many of my family members who had given up on this blog because of my rather lengthy absences during the last year and half or so are making their way back to checking in... in honor of this, I will share the story I mentioned in my Southern Story which relates to my grandmother hating her middle name and thus giving none of her girls middle names.
Yes, she hates her middle name so much that not only is it the name in which no one dares say in front of her, but that when she bore her 4 children, all girls, she gave none, no not one, of them a middle name. They have the name they are called and their last name (now their maiden name). For the oldest three girls this fact was evidently accepted without question, because the only one with a story about it is my Mama. And this is why we love her.
As you well know, one of the main tasks of kindergarten is to learn to write your name on the nice thick lines that look like streets. When the time came for Mama to begin practicing her name she noticed something unusual. She only had 2 names... and all the other kids had 3 names! Severely disappointed in her lack of a third name she did what few kindergarteners think to do... she made one up. And not only did she make one up, she used it... on everything... on all her name writing papers... and we have them to prove it. Obviously the stress of having kidneys (another story for another day) and only having Channel 4 (also for another day) and riding in the back window (did I make this up or is this legit? I can't remember), and giving up the part of Dorothy so she could be a hula dancer in the school play (yes, that really is a full story in one line) ... either way, the stress of all these things, coupled with the fact that she had to take piano and couldn't take dance, empowered her to take the name matter under her own control. And that she did.
Yes, she hates her middle name so much that not only is it the name in which no one dares say in front of her, but that when she bore her 4 children, all girls, she gave none, no not one, of them a middle name. They have the name they are called and their last name (now their maiden name). For the oldest three girls this fact was evidently accepted without question, because the only one with a story about it is my Mama. And this is why we love her.
As you well know, one of the main tasks of kindergarten is to learn to write your name on the nice thick lines that look like streets. When the time came for Mama to begin practicing her name she noticed something unusual. She only had 2 names... and all the other kids had 3 names! Severely disappointed in her lack of a third name she did what few kindergarteners think to do... she made one up. And not only did she make one up, she used it... on everything... on all her name writing papers... and we have them to prove it. Obviously the stress of having kidneys (another story for another day) and only having Channel 4 (also for another day) and riding in the back window (did I make this up or is this legit? I can't remember), and giving up the part of Dorothy so she could be a hula dancer in the school play (yes, that really is a full story in one line) ... either way, the stress of all these things, coupled with the fact that she had to take piano and couldn't take dance, empowered her to take the name matter under her own control. And that she did.
Tuesday, February 2
this morning
This morning I found myself in tears wanting desperately to be on my knees again in my office. Broken again by a story...
Another family. Another child. Another burden that while it is not mine directly I will carry again.
My blog has given me such divine insight into the perils and strengths of families who have given their life, and often their children, over to God in uncomprehensible ways. And it has changed my heart forever.
I only wish I knew these women in real life so that I could find them and hug them and cover them with my tears and my prayers.
How great the Father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure. That He should send His only Son to make a wretch His treasure.
Another family. Another child. Another burden that while it is not mine directly I will carry again.
My blog has given me such divine insight into the perils and strengths of families who have given their life, and often their children, over to God in uncomprehensible ways. And it has changed my heart forever.
I only wish I knew these women in real life so that I could find them and hug them and cover them with my tears and my prayers.
How great the Father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure. That He should send His only Son to make a wretch His treasure.
Monday, February 1
A Southern Experience
So this story was prompted by a visit by my aunt and cousin this weekend... its a part of our family history that adds to our... well.... uniqueness.... I would guess. It is probably not uniquely a Southern phenom, but since it comes from the Sweet Milk Grandma I'm gonna link it together with my Southern stories... because its just better that way.
So my Grandma doesn't have the best memory when it comes to details... part of this is because she's had two strokes (both relatively minor in the scale of strokes since they've left only memory lapses of past events, no current aftereffects) and part of this, we think is just her way.
A few years back we (my aunts, cousins, etc) got into a discussion over Grandma's last name... because her mail comes in about 3 different ways when it comes to the middle initial... some comes with A, some with L, some with T. We all know what the A stands for... its Alice.. her given middle name, which she despises so we don't even really talk about it. She actually despised it enough that none of her 4 daughters were given middle names... which will be a story for another day about my Mama and her middle name adventures in kindergarten. But I digress... so we (the cousins) began asking our mothers what the L and the T could stand for... T was for Teal which was Grandma's maiden name we thought... but then one of the aunts remembered that she used to use the L, not the T, and that the L was not for Lumpkin (my mothers and aunts maiden name, my grandpa's last name) but for Lewis, that alot of her family was Lewis-es. So we asked Grandma... and she told us that her mother had been married several times... she was a Lewis and a Teal and I actually think another name before it was all over. Scandalous I know! So my grandma remembers that the husband named Teal *note: my aunt says it can't be the Teal man, so maybe it was one of the others, anyway, one of them* raised her when she was little and gave her a doll (random detail to remember, but she does) and it was the only doll she had. So she used Teal as her name... but it turns out, after much digging by one of my cousins... that the Teal man wasn't her father and never adopted her either... so her actual maiden name is Lewis. And that my great-grandmother had been married/live-in with too many people for her (my grandmother) to actually remember which one was her biological father. A scandal I do say! (Grandma was born in 36)
Oh, but it gets much, much, much better.... so much better that it now bears the mark of permanent family history.. you see one of my aunts, gave one of my cousin her middle name based on Grandma's maiden name... but it turns out... it wasn't her maiden name at all!!
So my Grandma doesn't have the best memory when it comes to details... part of this is because she's had two strokes (both relatively minor in the scale of strokes since they've left only memory lapses of past events, no current aftereffects) and part of this, we think is just her way.
A few years back we (my aunts, cousins, etc) got into a discussion over Grandma's last name... because her mail comes in about 3 different ways when it comes to the middle initial... some comes with A, some with L, some with T. We all know what the A stands for... its Alice.. her given middle name, which she despises so we don't even really talk about it. She actually despised it enough that none of her 4 daughters were given middle names... which will be a story for another day about my Mama and her middle name adventures in kindergarten. But I digress... so we (the cousins) began asking our mothers what the L and the T could stand for... T was for Teal which was Grandma's maiden name we thought... but then one of the aunts remembered that she used to use the L, not the T, and that the L was not for Lumpkin (my mothers and aunts maiden name, my grandpa's last name) but for Lewis, that alot of her family was Lewis-es. So we asked Grandma... and she told us that her mother had been married several times... she was a Lewis and a Teal and I actually think another name before it was all over. Scandalous I know! So my grandma remembers that the husband named Teal *note: my aunt says it can't be the Teal man, so maybe it was one of the others, anyway, one of them* raised her when she was little and gave her a doll (random detail to remember, but she does) and it was the only doll she had. So she used Teal as her name... but it turns out, after much digging by one of my cousins... that the Teal man wasn't her father and never adopted her either... so her actual maiden name is Lewis. And that my great-grandmother had been married/live-in with too many people for her (my grandmother) to actually remember which one was her biological father. A scandal I do say! (Grandma was born in 36)
Oh, but it gets much, much, much better.... so much better that it now bears the mark of permanent family history.. you see one of my aunts, gave one of my cousin her middle name based on Grandma's maiden name... but it turns out... it wasn't her maiden name at all!!
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