Friday, April 30, 2010

Tuesdays With MeMe

A couple of weeks ago
I noticed this sign
on the girls bedroom door
I thought it was so cute

Notice
Daddy is allowed
that means
John Brady
isn't
I wonder what JB3 did!


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Our "A Day" Story

IT BEGINS LIKE THIS


We parked......free...that was a nice surprise

Rode the bus to the Quad

He doesn't look happy but he was just

aggravated because I wanted him to look at meBig John was gone, once again, on a turkey hunting trip.
Dave was gone to South Carolina to play golf and celebrate

the birthday of one of his college friends.

So, Courtney and Lawson met MeMe

and we headed down to

National Championship Celebration #2

aka

A Day Game


Here he comes

"The General"

leading his "captains"





After the ceremony to put the hand and footprints of the

captains in cement at Denny chimes

We headed to one of Courtney's favorite college

eating places

"Pepitos"


It looks like Lawson approves!

By the time we were through eating

the bottom gates were full

So, we headed up the ramp.

Lawson loved running/walking up the ramp!

For a while anyway

Our first glimpse of the UPPER DECK

Uh Oh

we may not get a seat!

At the top

Courtney took Lawson to see the crane.

One of his newest interests

We watched from the aisle

for a little while

And then headed back down the ramp

We sat down to rest outside of the

stadium

and

Lawson was fascinated with the

tower of X's

It took Court and I a minute

to zero in on what he

was talking about

Taking another break

and discussing statues


Riding the Bama Bus
Lawson loves to do this

and even though I must admit...

I was so against this move to ride buses

onto the campus.....

I absolutely love it now!

I feel like I am riding into

"the happiest place on earth"






As we were walking back to our car

Lawson decided he had to "tt"

At his age

when they ask to go

you let them go

Now

there were

port a potties

about a block away

but after a little discussion we decided that

a visit to a port a potty

might set potty training back

MONTHS

So

Lawson "tted" right there

at The Stallings Center

after all who would be more

understanding than Coach Stallings!







Then, Lawson wanted to investigate the beautiful little garden

at the center.























As Paul Harvey always said

AND HERE"S THE REST OF THE STORY



If you read the "A Day" post

You may have said

It looks like they had a great day

Well yes, we did

but

since I like to call myself an honest person

I feel the need to tell

"the rest of the story"

so here goes



EVERYTHING THAT WENT WRONG


I never over sleep. I never set my clock because I always wake up so early

5:30 or so

Now I may stay awake for a few minutes and then

allow myself to fall back asleep

So

I was not worried about meeting Courtney

I was going to leave Berry at 7


I woke up at 8:45


So...we got a late start.


That was okay

we still had plenty of time

except

the traffic from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa

started slowing down right outside of Bessemer

But, we made it

got to see Coach Saban and the captains


Okay, so that's not so bad


Courtney wanted to eat on the quad

Lawson loves to eat on the quad

and play while he eats


We left the blanket in the car

the ground was wet

Okay

we will just go to Pepitos

Court had not been there in years


Sit down

whew

everything is okay

until

Lawson grabs a table knife off the table

and his arms slips

and he jabs his eye with the knife


Panic

everywhere for a few minutes

He was okay

it hit right at his eye brow

a little cut and a little bruise

and some hurt feelings and MeMe and Mommy's food starts flopping around in our stomachs


We head to the stadium



We get in line for the only lower level gate available

We are getting in

until

they tell me my purse was too big

What

we get out of line

go to another gate to see if they will let my purse in


Yes, yeah!

but

it is upper deck

That's okay

we take off

Lawson is loving it


until

he falls and skins both knees

he calms down when his Mommy tells him

that he can have some jelly beans from

the concession stand

We take off to the top, again

Oh No

this can't be

It was so crowded that you had to get into

a line to even go out and hunt a place to sit


No Way

with a baby

So

we hung out a while and peeped in to watch a little action

bought Lawson his jelly beans

and headed back down.



Back on the quad we went to take pictures of the captains

hand prints in the cement at Denny chimes

They had it blocked of, of course, since it

was wet cement


Guess what happened



You won't believe it


Lawson spilled his jelly beans

they fell on the ground

But

3 fell in the cement

Court and I gasped

Oh no, not on our captains

But

it got worse

Lawson

upset over his spilled jellybeans

ducks under the blockade and heads for

his jelly beans

Major police movement

Courtney grabbed him just

before he became a

Alabama Captain

But

3 jelly beans were still in the cement

when we left

quickly with our heads ducked

to the bus stop


We rode the bus back to our car


Lawson needed to "TT"

After our discussion about port a potty

we decided to get him behind some bushes and let him "TT"

I mean surely the cops won't arrest a 2 year old

for indecent exposure

except that Lawson likes to take his pants completely off

when he "TT"s


So

there he is bottom shining

in the bushes at the Stallings Center


Luckily

our first luck that day

no one came by


By this time Courtney and I were getting silly

We both know that Lawson will probably be an Auburn fan


That is fine with us both

we tell Lawson he just has to respect our love for Alabama

So...in our silliness

we start talking about the likely little Auburn fan

"TT"ing on the grounds of Alabama at their A Day game

you can see that we were getting delirious!
While Lawson was in the bushes "TT"ing he noticed
the cute little flower garden at The Stalling Center
He wanted to go in
There was no stay out sign
so we went in
It was a beautiful little garden
peaceful
until we looked around and Lawson had pulled up a nice little bouquet
of tulips!
Can anything else happen?

We get to our car fast and go

We were going by Brady and Kim's house

to check on their animals

They were at Disney World

Lawson was so disappointed because the kids were

not there but happy to play on their swing set

I let the cat out and we sat outside to let

Domino stay outside and stretch his legs.


We went in after about 45 minutes

Lawson was wanting to play with Domino

Domino is still a kitten and swats at

everything that moves

So

you guessed it

Lawson was in the line of fire for one of those swats

He was fine

his feelings were just a little hurt

until

we noticed that the spot was swelling

and
he was breaking out

ADD one more thing to Lawson's allergies


Courtney gave him some benadryl

he seemed better

but he said his stomach hurt


Uh Oh

start the bath water

Poor Baby

It was then that Courtney noticed the warning

on the jelly beans that she bought him

They were sugar free
and

it says to only eat 8
or it may cause diarrhea

are they kidding!!!!


Lawson had eaten most of the
package

Anyway

the benadryl started taking affect

his stomach eased

Courtney gave him a bath

while I tried to find some of John Brady's clothes

that wouldn't fall off of Lawson


We locked up and headed home


Courtney said for us to go 55 mph

stay in the right lane and go straight home

and hope tomorrow was better.


AND...THAT"S THE REST OF THE STORY





UPDATE****** I knew I left some things out....Read Courtney's comment
for the rest of the story....yes it get worse******

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

QUOTING ELEANOR

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt came from a longtime
affluent New York family. She was a niece of Theodore Roosevelt,
26th President of the United States, and 6th cousin of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States,
who became her husband.

She was a shy child who experienced death at a
young age. Eleanor's Mother died when she was 8 and
she became an orphan, at the age of 10, with the
death of her Father.

Eleanor attended school in England when she was a teenager.

When life is too easy for us,
we must beware or we may not be
ready to meet the blows
which sooner or later
come to everyone,
rich or poor.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I Lv U - I Lv U2

About ten years ago, while on a ladies trip, a young woman about
13 years younger than me, made a statement that I still think of regularly.
We were in a restaurant in Gulf Shores. She pointed out a older couple sitting at a table across from us and said that she had not seen them say a word to each other.
She said she hoped that when her and her husband got older that they
always had something to talk about.

I have often wondered why I can't seem to forget the statement
that she made. It did not hit home. John and I always had plenty to talk about.
I have thought about it often and if we sit at a restaurant for any
amount of time....I wonder if some young person is looking at us and saying they
hope they aren't like us someday.

And there it is.....

That is what bothers me
I luckily have the hard earned wisdom of almost
38 years of marriage to my high school sweetie
There is nothing new with us
We know each others thoughts inside and out
We have a happy life

And guess what
We can be happy
just
being quiet!

But according to this comic
we will never look old and unhappy

We text all the time
How cool are we!
but then, I have to say it again
not cool
never have been
never will be

But, we are quietly in love
and
we text it to each other everyday

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

QUOTING ELEANOR

Eleanor Roosevelt
had a very true concern for others.
She taught at a school set up for poor people,
She ran a factory for the jobless
and
believed in human rights
when it was an
unpopular stand!

People grow through experience
if they meet life
honestly and courageously.
That is how character is built.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Look Who Woke Up

Guard Lizard

John opened the door
"Easter Morning"
and
Guard Lizard jumped out of the wreath
on my front door
but
he stopped long enough to give us
a head nod

Turkey Slayer

John recently took a hunting trip
to Oklahoma
Turkey hunting
is one of John's favorites
He loves the challenge
The Turkey Hunters



Friday, April 16, 2010

The Karate Kid

Yep, the tallest one
in the middle
is our
Karate Kid
JB3


John Brady had his test for his first belt stripe
He did great and we were sooooo proud of him!!!



Paw Paw congratulating John Brady





MeMe's "Little Big Man"



Go'in to the Zoo-Zoo-Zoo

How About You-You-You

Lawson kept singing this song
after we told him we were
going to the Zoo

Our littlest man is
growing up!

I made sure I had money in my
pocket to buy a popsicle!


When we walked into the gorilla room and
saw the gorilla walking on all fours.....
Lawson declared to the whole room
"Look at the big bear, MeMe"

This gorilla is being kept by the Birmingham Zoo
as a favor for another Zoo but we are going to get a new
gorilla when construction at the Zoo is over









Lawson was
amazed and a little scared in the bird house. But he loved the birds landing on MeMe






Lawson absolutely loves the snake
and turtle house. UGH































After eating at the concession stand Lawson headed to the water













Stop and Look Around

We had a full house for Easter lunch.
14 people and Josh wasn't there with Erin and Courtney, Dave and Lawson
weren't there.
I love to see my table full and overflowing
and
hopefully, everybody enjoying the food.
We were blessed to have Brady, Kim and family and the Albea family
along with Steve Fowler his friend Sherry
Harrison and John Fowler

After lunch, all the eggs were hunted and then hunted again
and then everybody headed home

I stuck a load of dishes in the dishwasher and John and I took out to go 4-wheelin
our favorite way to relax
It was a beautiful day to enjoy God's Great Creation!


Can you see the strange limb in this picture