118/365 Pink Bronco

This afternoon Vaughn dragged my reluctant-to-leave-the-house-because-I-felt-bad-and-was-super-grumpy self, along with the boys, out for pizza. Okay, so the boys didn't take any dragging. Anyway, he ended up with a grinder and was very happy with it, and my mood got a little better I guess just being with these goofy people that I love so much.

His grinder.



And when we were leaving I noticed a pink Bronco across the street, which meant I just had to get a shot. I'm not happy with it, but here it is anyway.



Just to note, paid $2.81 a gallon for gas today.

117/365 Gross Things Amuse Me

I have a weakness for bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. I don't get one every day, or every week, but probably at least twice a month after I take L to school I swing by Hardee's and get one. Their newest breakfast promotion had me laughing. Previously it had been a double sausage and egg biscuit, and I couldn't help but imagine someone saying "Now, how can we make that even more unhealthy?" Of course the answer is adding gravy!



Tuesday April 27, 2010

116/365 The silly things I hold on to.

I can't remember the name of the hurricane that came through. It probably was Erin, Erin did a lot of damage. We were without power for over a week and lost a lot of trees. Anyway, at some point after whichever storm was over my nieces were visiting. They liked to go out and sit by the water, and on this day went to Wayside Park. One had to climb down a retaining wall to get this. It was soaking wet and lodged in some rocks. They brought home their "hurricane find" to give to me, and I've kept it ever since. I can't even remember what storm, but I can remember my beautiful girls laughing as they described the perilous descent to the rocks, an almost busted butt thanks to a slip, and how pleased they were to give it to me. So it's traveled from Pensacola, to Nashville, to Oakville, and back. I'm a sentimental fool when it comes to my kids.



Monday April 26, 2010

115/365 Sunday Drive

With the end of the rain and the return of the sun the plan was to go to Scratch Ankle but early in the morning Lucian woke up coughing and struggling to breath, and through the rest of the day he coughed and wheezed and sounded awful. He was still happy, and would have loved the chance to try something fun, but it wasn't an option. Running would have put him in a bad place, and not running is something he can't manage. So we went for a Sunday drive.

First stop, car wash. They love those, and they prefer Ronny's but we were out too early on a Sunday for that.




We drove through Pensacola and saw the Krispy Kreme hot sign was flashing, the only time I think they are worth eating at this point in my life, so we each had one plain glazed. The woman at the window tried to sell us on a dozen, which would only have been a little more than the cost of what we asked for, but we didn't want a dozen. She didn't seem to be able to understand that and asked if we were sure, then gave us a look like we were idiots when we said yes.

After that we headed over the 3 mile bridge and decided to take a drive along the beach. The flag was red as we headed into Pensacola beach and then as we made it to Navarre the purple was added to it. It was a peaceful drive, nice to smell the Gulf and just to see it. There was no fussing that we weren't stopping, we just all talked and looked.





As we went through one part that was very flat and had a dirty look from all the asphalt that was destroyed during the storms (you can see some in the picture above) the boys began referring to it as the poison land. "When we are out of The Poison Land can we stop and get some lunch?" "Look at that big truck coming! It looks like it lives in The Poison Land." I have no idea where they get this stuff.



Earle Bowden Way has only been open a little over a year. It took them almost 5 years to get it open after Ivan, thanks to additional damage by other storms that came along. I miss all the big dunes, and the pure white of the sand, but I missed being able to drive it even more.

114/365 It rained!

It's been the driest spring I can remember and things were getting desperate in terms of the yard. The humidity came, forcing me to finally switch on the AC, and then Friday night that wonderful sound of rain coming down hard had me and the old man smiling. Saturday provided even more rain.



We didn't let it stop us. I went out to lunch with my mom and sister. Mom took us to this local grocery where they have a lunch place. She'd been telling us about it for a while now, and decided today was the day she would share her find. It's a fill your plate, pay by the pound place and the food was was typical southern food buffet fare. Here is what my sister had. Only pic that turned out.



Leaving the grocery we ran into someone my sister and I had been friends with as children, on through the teens to the very early 20s. It was good to see her, and to see her boys.

When reunited with V and my boys (they did their Lowe's Build and Grow clinic) we headed to Hobby Lobby for a few things. While there I couldn't pass up grabbing this shot. The tag isn't Florida, but it sure fits in around here.



I don't know why I feel compelled to take pictures like this. People certainly are entitled to feel that way, I guess I just don't understand the level of unhappiness/hate/emotion that gets them to this point. Some of the stuff like this amuses me. This doesn't, it just is.

113/365 Friday Infusion

It was supposed to be on Tuesday, and on that Tuesday I showed up in plenty of time for my appointment. The place was packed, it was hard to find a parking spot and there was a long wait for check in, and then there were no chairs available for the infusion. I was sent back out into the outer waiting room where I sat and sat. A woman came out and said there wouldn't be another chair open for an hour and there was a waiting list. That was it for me, I had to be home by a certain time and knowing when I finally did get back there it was going to take 4 hours once the meds actually started, I rescheduled. I heard "Tuesdays are always so crazy! This one is the worst yet!" I wish I had been bold enough to tell the scheduler if they didn't overbook it wouldn't be like this. She was all *dramatic sigh* "I don't understand why it's always this way."

Today things went well. I was there about 5 hours total, and I'm hoping it's my last. I go for a lab next Friday, then I see the Dr. the following Monday to find out the results and if I need more.

Just crappy cell phone pics today.

View from my chair.



Counting down to freedom.

112/365 Field Trip, Speech, and Kindergarten Registration

The field trips this year at the pre-k have sucked. Granted L missed a few that wouldn't have been too bad, but this was the second trip to sing at a nursing home and I don't blame L for not liking it. I get the trips are to have the children become accustomed to riding buses and following directions outside of the classroom, and I get the budget has been cut, but the fun factor seems very low to me.

Each day leading up to the even L ask us not to make him go. He wasn't upset, but he kept coming up with fun things to do instead, like go to the zoo, or the beach. And the morning of he didn't ask not to go at all, so I knew he'd be okay.

Three classes attended, with only 8 kids in his class. 3 children weren't there because they were afraid, the rest were out sick. One little boy had spent the last visit there in the teachers arms and that is where he ended up again. Other kids sang their hearts out and danced and seemed to having fun, so it wasn't negative for everyone. Watching one little boy getting down to 'Squirrels in my Pants' was hilarious. He also did the animal sounds to 'Old Macdonald Had A Farm' at the top of his lungs and even some of the residents were laughing. They also seemed to enjoy the little girl who sang 'Tomorrow', and the little boy who did 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.'

After L was loaded back up on the bus I headed home, grabbed his before speech snack and V, and off we headed to the elementary. After he did his thing we got him signed up for 2010/2011 kindergarten. It seems unreal to do that with my baby. I know he's bigger than G, and has been in pre-k, and that we just did this last year with G, but it's different. When we left V said "You're going to be a crying mess the first day of school, aren't you?" I think that's a given.

111/365 If only that screen wasn't in his way

Noodle, enjoying the open window and watching the squirrels.

Weds - April 21, 2010

110/365 Waiting

With my awesome, can carry everything, bag to keep me company.



Yes, crappy cell phone pic.

109/365 Unhappy

One minute you're flying down the road as happy as can be



and the next you're a mess on the side on the road.



Such is the life of a 5 year old.

April 19, 2010 - Monday

108/365 Parks

It was a day for two of them. The weather was perfect, there wasn't anything we had to do, and the boys were in the mood to play.

107/365 Beautiful Spring Day

I am becoming very spoiled by these warm, but not hot & humid, spring days. The lack of rain has not stopping everything from blooming, and today, as we were backing out to hit a few yard sales, I noticed these.

106/365 Field Day ribbons

Gus had his first field day on the 15th, and was checked out a little too soon to get these so they came home with him today.



April 16, 2010 Friday

105/365 Early Morning Weirdness

104/365 Almost missed

Bedtime, and the start of a new day, was fast approaching so I looked around and settled on this.

103/365 Not into this

Tues April 13, 2010

102/365 Lunch

This was mine.

101/365 Recycling

I like when we do it here. One day I'm going to come when the nursery is open and spend time looking at all the pretty.

100/365 Fried

Everything was, and it was good. Had a great lunch with my BFF, who I don't seen often enough.

99/365 Pizza Friday

Every Friday at school is pizza day, which makes G a very happy boy. Today, at his invitation, we went and had lunch with him. They have the TVs on, something he says isn't the norm, so he was more interested in it than us, but it was still cool share part of his day that normally we don't get to. And this is his week as table wiper so he left us at the parent table to go do his thing as his class filed out.

His lunch.



Things that really stood out

The TVs. I believe him when he says they aren't normally on at lunch, but it blows my old lady mind to think about getting to watch TV while eating at school.

Very few kids chose the salad as a side. Mine went with the half an orange, but they could have chosen juice instead.

Those that did choose the salad had their dressing squirted on by the woman at the register. A couple of kids came back and said they didn't have enough dressing so she drowned their lettuce, making them happy. She gave one boy extra ranch in an empty part of the tray so he could dip his pizza in it.

One of the kindergarten girls had a Twilight lunch box.

"Chocolate Rush" and the graphics on G's milk carton. The white milk had exciting graphics, too, and the cartons each had the URL milkrocks dot com

All the trash generated was mind blowing. Everything was disposable.

98/365 Busy Thursday

It was supposed to rain today, and we very much needed it to do so, but instead it drizzled and was ugly and then it was gone. I do admit it made all the running and in and out of schools much easier, and I suppose I wouldn't have gotten to meet the "baby" the boys made if they hadn't been able to get out in the yard and play.

That blur is L tapping it with a thin, metal rod. He says it makes the baby happy.

97/365 Waiting

My camera always comes out, and he is always up to something.

96/365 Yard Work

As evidenced by the leaves in the easter shot I think you know by now we aren't stay on top of the yard type people. It's kept cut, but we haven't done much outside of that. Lately the good weather, and maybe the fact I'm just feeling perkier, has us doing more. A new flowerbed has been created, mulch brought in and distributed around, and flower planted close to the house. The new outer bed was still bare and my mom has been anxious to go to her old place (on the market 2 years now!) and get some of the plants crowding out those beds so that's what we did.



I couldn't resist getting some shots of things in bloom. This is my fav.

95/365 It was this day again

Monday April 5, 2010 / Time spent - 5:30 hours.

Good news is I am feeling a lot better already even though my numbers are still low. Bad news is my numbers are still low, which means another infusion in 2 weeks, labs after that, and then I see the doctor again.


Steroid dose is being given, next in line is benadryl, then the test dose.



I really wanted to catch the drip falling, but lacked both patience and skill.

94/365 Yes, we need to rake

Funny how things don't look bad to me until I see a picture.

93/365 47 years

I'm so damn old, but not too old to love my balloons.

92/365 Freckles

G has them.

91/365 Santa Rosa County Fair

Too much of Spring Break was all about us being sick, and then taking care of some things that didn't get done when we were sick, so Thursday was finally the day we headed off to the fair.

We arrived shortly after the fair opened, paid our admission, then bought arm bands for the boys and Vaughn. We hadn't planned on that the one for V, but they weren't tall enough to do the bumper cars by themselves, so... And I will add we weren't thrilled the price for said armbands was higher than the newspaper, as well as their own website, had listed. The people ahead of us in line were so annoyed they left.

It was definitely small as fairs go, but we enjoyed the exhibits, and were amused but not surprised to see The God Mobile was there.




The boys were all about the rides and had a great time! Things we didn't do because I didn't go with unlimited pockets were games, the Monster Truck ride, the mechanical bull ride (can you believe no pictures?) and this.