What is this world coming to?

If you've been under a rock somewhere and haven't heard, the Phillies won the world series. Its very exciting due to the fact that it is the first major 'title' win for Philadelphia in 25 years. That being said, why do Philly fans have to be such inconsiderate jerks!? OK, I know that fans anywhere can get out of hand. But Philly lives up to its reputation of being the city of Brotherly Shove. Its pretty bad when they have to send in bulldozers for clean up. Its beyond my comprehension that anyone, let alone hundreds if not thousands, of people would go out and damage other's property in the name of celebration. Since when is defacing storefronts, tearing down city light poles, and overturning people's cars celebration? Its embarassing, frankly. The night of the game, my brother's car was vandalized. As he said, they used his car as a 'Phillies pinata.' He came out to find his car pretty much totalled. His insurance doesn't cover stupid drunken idiots destroying people's property, so now he is out a car or however much money it costs to get it fixed. I don't know what is worse, the vandals themselves, or the fact that everyone laughed as they walked past his car while the police was writing his report. What are people thinking? The sad truth is that they were probably everyday people caught up in the excitement and fever surrounding the win, and hopped up on too much overpriced beer. Argh! As you can tell, I am pretty disgusted with the fanatical fans right now. Not just because of Nate's car, mind you. I am just disgusted in general with the absolute lack of any human consideration that happened that night. Alright, I think I'm done now. Hope I haven't scared anyone off. I promise to post something nice and flowery sometime soon.

Rejected at the Library

During our trip to the library yesterday, the librarian invited us to attend story time this morning. She informed us that it was on Wednesday mornings at 10, and that the kids were encouraged to wear their costumes. Thinking it would be a fun little thing to do on Wednesdays, I dressed up the kids and headed over. James, by the way, was in nearly in full cowboy regalia when he exchanged his boots for snow boots and his cowboy hat for a fireman's hat. Katie wore James' old tiger costume because it was nice and warm. Being a fairy just isn't an option when its 44 degrees out. Anyway, when we arrived, the lady was checking each child against her list of names. I explained that we were just invited to come yesterday and that I hadn't been aware I needed to sign up. I must have had a neon BAD MOMMY sign above my head judging by the way she looked at me. OK. So it wasn't quite that bad, but she did look at me like I was an idiot. She told me, no joke, that she would let us come in this time, but that we couldn't come back. My son has been rejected from library story time! I explained to her that the other librarian had just told me yesterday that I could come and she said, shaking her head and shrugging, 'Well, I don't know why she said that. We're all full. There are just too many kids. You'll have to wait till December to sign up for the next one.' So, I took my little cowboy and my baby tiger and we trudged in to story time, the uninvited red-headed-step-visitors. I guess next time I will make sure to sign my kid up 6 months in advance. Who knew story time was by reservation only?!

Houdini

Katie pulled a disappearing act at the library today. After weighing the merits of putting her on the floor where she wanted to be versus trying to hold her and look for books, I decided that the floor didn't look half bad and I put her down. She was happy as a clam. I was too, since I actually had a chance of finding a book for myself. I was busy checking out the crafty books while Katie was playing at my feet. James stood waiting quite nicely. All the sudden, Katie was no where to be seen. Then I saw two little feet just barely peeking out of the the bookshelf. She had climbed all the way into the bookshelf and was almost through the other side. She sure thought it was something else. There was a guy at the table nearby who seemed to think it was pretty funny to see a baby pop through the bookshelf. It was a good laugh for all of us.

And as a strange side note, it is snowing outside. It's been snowing all morning and much to my surprise it is actually sticking. There is a good 3/4 to an inch of snow in the back yard. James wants desperately to make a snowman. We'll see if it keeps up. I can't believe its not even Halloween yet!

Its Been Ten Years... ***Long, Rambling Sentimental Post Ahead***

...since our first date. Well, ten years and 2 days, to be precise. Jeff says that the first-date-date no longer counts because now we have an anniversary to remember. Grandma kindly pointed out that we would never have had a wedding had it not been for the first date. Prior to the actual occurrence of the first date, our mutual friends had been trying to set us up on a blind date. I was not interested. I am actually sort of shy, especially when it comes to going on dates with boys I've never seen. Our friends persisted, and finally gave Jeff my phone number without asking me. He called me up and explained that my friend had given him my number, but that it was raining and the number was in his truck, and he didn't feel like going out to get it, so he just called my friend to get my number again. Way to make an impression. In hindsight, it was just part of Jeff's tendency to add way too many details to a story. After this explanation, he asked me if I wanted to go out to a movie sometime. (***by this time I had met him once, only once***) I was racking my brain for an excuse as to why I couldn't go, but I was stumped. I figured if I went out with him once, I would satisfy my friend and she would leave me alone. We made arrangements to go out to the show after church. Somehow, we decided to go see Night at the Roxbury. Dummest movie EVER. Jeff and I met at the theater and he paid for our tickets and we sat down. I was impressed when he excused himself and came back with two cokes and a big bucket of popcorn. I hated popcorn, but ate it anyway since I didn't want to hurt his feelings. It wasn't till after we were married that I told him about that. We watched the movie, again, the dummest movie EVER. Afterward, the plan was to go back to the farm and hang out with our friends. We talked on the way home and decided that we both wanted to see more of each other. Jeff reached over and held my hand as I was driving my lovely gold station wagon past the feed yard. Oh, it was a sweet moment. Little did we know that our first date was soon to turn into the date from H-E-double hockey sticks, if you get my drift. Not because of Jeff, mind you. Or me. No. It involved a lot of things not blog-appropriate revolving around the people who set us up and happened to double date with us. Lets just say it ended in an underage relationship expose, and some jail time. It was one of the hardest experiences I had ever gone through at the tender age of 18, and it all came to light the evening of our first date. Talk about trama. Looking back, I am amazed that we made it through all that and managed to stay together. Jeff was not a Christian at the time and here was his Christian friend messing up big time. Instead of letting it deter him, he saw past it and ended up being drawn to the Lord anyway. It was all a crazy time of so much hurt and change and growing up. Did I mention we were 18 and 17 years old at the time? Anyway, here I am rambling on and on about our first date. All that to say, its been ten whole years. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday, and other times it seems like a loooong time. We've been through a lot in the last ten years, and I can't believe how far we've come. Who knew we'd be here today, married with two purdy little babies!

And speaking of babies, as if this post isn't long enough, Katie stood up today for a few seconds and she climbed over the side of the bath tub and slid in head first. Luckily there was no water in it. She's making such progress every day. I am amazed!

My 500th Post: WOW

Here we are at the 500th post of what? A lot of nonsense, that's what. Here is really another cheater blog entry: PICTURES! Today was busy and fun. Us girls went shopping this morning, then we all hung out at Mom and Dad's doing various things. Rachel and I finagled Mom into cutting our hair. Rachel straightened my hair which led me to a strange out of body experience: I looked into the mirror and saw my sister! I don't think our husbands were too overjoyed by the look. Jeff laughed and thought it was funny and honestly, I think Phil wanted to run and hide. We just had to take a few pictures of ourselves looking more like each other than usual:

Picture Fiesta!

It feels like Christmas here at Newspapers and Broccoli, Inc.. Grandma and Grandpa are here to visit and Jeff is has taken a few days off of work to spend time with them. He has ended up working on the car the whole time, but that is another story for another day. Cars. Ugh. Anyway, here's what we've been up too these last few days:

And a random bonus picture I found on Mom's computer:

"Un-tull Feel", these are for you...

For those of you who aren't 'un-tull Feel,' that is James-speak for Uncle Phil. It used to be 'un-tee ball.' That has somehow evolved into a little southern-accented 'un-tull Feeeeeeeel.' Anyway, Phil, you wanted more pictures. Hope this helps you get a niece/nephew fix to last till the weekend. There aren't too many James pictures because he is on a 'Do NOT take my picture!!' kick.

Mmmm...waffles with peanut butter!

'Playing' with Katie...doesn't look fun to me!

Reading a book

Ready to stand up!

I think I can, I think I can!


Katie getting ready to stand up

Up close picture of the brace

Turning the radio on and off. She and James think that is hysterical!

Standing up!

Progress! And Randomness...

After only 48 hours out of the cast, Katie was able to pull herself up to stand with the help of the bath tub. Yesterday she stood several times, a bit wobbly, but she was standing!!! Today, she is even stronger and has pulled herself up to stand quite a bit and for longer periods (several minutes). I am amazed at how quickly she is trying all this stuff, although I guess it was what I expected her to do. She's a wee bit determined, to say the least! Today she also slid/walked a tiny bit holding on to a stool. I know it won't be long before she is walking like that again, and walking on her own!

Grandma and Grandpa are here and we are having fun with them. James has been reading with Grandma, and climbing up in Grandpa's lap. I am so glad that they got to come up and visit!

In other news, our car is still inoperative. Jeff spent his day off yesterday working on the car. He still isn't sure what it is, although he has an idea. Of course, it is not an easy part to get to. So, instead of spending his days off with Grandma and Grandpa, he may be fixing the car. If its not one thing, its another!

And in one more bit of random randomness, James has been wearing his 'chapters' everywhere. He wore them to the pig roast, CHOP and the store. I promise I'll try to post some pictures soon!

No cast or brace!

The brace

The Scoop

***LONG POST WARNING!***

Yesterday...we headed for the hospital around 1:15. The plan was for the kids, or at least Katie, to nap on the way. Katie did not nap. Apparently that was not on her agenda. James, on the other hand, surprised me and took a snooze. We got there, checked in, and waited to see the doctor. There was some sort of scheduling mishap because their trusty scheduler transferred to another department. Fortunately, we hardly noticed that anything was 'off.' Dr. Speigel sent us to the cast room to have the cast removed. The saw, I have to say, was scary. It just looked bad sawing away at my little baby's cast. I just didn't look much and I knew that it wouldn't cut her skin. Katie laughed at first because it tickled her. When the nurse had to flip her on her side to cut it there, she started crying. It went very quickly...about 5 minutes. Under the cast she smelled. Bad. Fortunately her skin is in good shape, no sores. She immediately reached down to touch her legs. It was very cute. She made sure to keep her legs in 'SPICA' position. After the cast came off, we went down to the brace shop and got Katie's brace adjusted. They were so organized that she was in and out in about 15 minutes. The brace is more flexible than I thought. Part of it is rigid plastic and most of it is foam and velcro. After the brace shop, we headed to x-ray. We had to wait a bit longer there, but when the time came for her x-ray it was very quick. Finally, we headed back to see Dr. Speigel. He came in and gave us the good news that Katie will only have to wear the brace full time for about 3 weeks!! After that, she will go to night time only. Originally, they told us that she would wear it full time as long as possible, then during naps and night time. So that was exciting! He also told us to take her out of the brace for breaks during the next three weeks. I was very excited to hear that she won't be in the brace as much as we thought! After all this, we were all tired, hungry, and ready to be home. My plan was to take my kids home (Mom and James came along), and give them a nice warm bath. NOT! We had planned it so I could drive Jeff's trusty car to CHOP. Turns out, his car is not so trusty. We were on the ramp from 676 to 95 when the car lost power steering, the brakes went semi-AWOL and the car died. Did I mention it was rush-hour? I managed to get the car half way out of the road, but it wouldn't start. I was only about 15 or 20 yards from 95. I am glad it was there and not actually on the interstate. I called my trusty mechanic/night-in-shining-armour Jeff who asked me all sorts of questions like 'can you push it off the road? Did you try starting it again once it died? Can you try this? Try that?' My thoughts consisted of 'get over here and fast! I am starving, my kids are starving and I am broken down in the middle of rush hour. I want to go home!' Once Jeff realized that the car indeed was broken, he headed over. He was about 35 minutes away. In the meantime, and friendly police man showed up to make sure we were OK. He pushed the car off the road and waited till Jeff showed up. Jeff couldn't get the car started and had to call the tow truck. We left him in the dust in the interest of taking the kids home. There was a 45 minute wait for the tow truck. On the way home we called Jeff and said he was still waiting for the tow truck. What a turkey! We got home and Dad told us that Jeff was on his way home. What?! Apparently, he got the car started right after we left. He walked in 3 minutes later. At least we saved $125 for a tow truck. The funny part, well not really funny, but the car didn't start up at the 'rents, so we had to leave it over there. At least we got it back to the 'hood.' So...that about sums up our day yesterday. Long, encouraging, discouraging...and Katie didn't get a bath. We put her to smelly little self to bed and figured we'd deal with it today. As for the sleeping...well...things have got to improve, right?! She didn't sleep well at all last night. She was up six times. I'm tired, she's tired. Fortunately she's sleeping right now, which is better than I can say.

Alright, I'll end this blog. Its getting less and less coherent. I'll post pictures later. Peace out, homies.

Today is THE DAY! Starring Katie the Sumo Wrestler

Tonight, Katie will be able to take her first bath in 3 months! I'll get to see her legs for the first time in 3 months! Hold her without the cast for the first time in 3 months! You get the point. We're heading down to CHOP this afternoon. Yeah! And here's a parting shot of the cast. Happy (early) Halloween. Behold, Katie the Sumo Wrestler. (Jeff's idea)

Its like the night before vacation.

You know when you are about to go on vacation and you just get so excited its all you can think about. Yeah. That's what I feel like, except because the cast is coming off tomorrow! TOMORROW!! I can't believe its finally time. The next few days will be fun of fun for us. The cast comes off, our church pig roast is Saturday, and Grandma and Grandpa get here Sunday. I am looking forward to seeing them.

Yesterday was very busy. I did two batches of applesauce, made granola, swept and mopped, did a load of dishes, 4 loads of laundry, took the kids on two walks, made dinner...and figured out how to make James a pair of 'chapters.' He has been asking me to make him 'chapters' and I had no clue what he meant. Then I realized he meant chaps. I had the perfect fabric for them...fake suede from the mother lode o' fabric/supplies I got from Candi's mother-in-law. They are almost done. I'll post a picture when they are totally finished. Anyway, yesterday was one of those days when you sit back and think 'did I really squeeze all that into on day?' Here's to another productive day! Maybe it'll keep my mind off tomorrow at least a little bit.

Random-Randomness, Part 297

Only 3 days, 4 hours and a few minutes till...you guessed it...the cast comes off!!!!

James has started to say the following: 'Sure thing,' 'Sure nuf,' 'Holy Tow!,' 'Its o-tay, chitchy-pie, I know,' or 'Hey, swee-pea, here, its o-tay.' He also says 'Chet dis out!'

Katie seems to be a bit more outgoing than James. Yesterday we were taking a walk and she was waving at random people or passing cars. I have a hard enough time getting James to wave at the neighbor.

And I finally got a bit of video of Katie scooting along in her cast. At least you'll get the idea:

Over the River and Through the Puffer, To the Nuclear Plant We Go

Jeff spent 4 days last week touring a nuclear plant. I can tell you one thing: you need not worry about the security of the country's nuclear facilities. Jeff and his cohorts spent a day and a half going through training and testing before before being certified to enter the nuclear side of the plant. This training including reading several hundred pages of documents and taking multiple tests, which had to receive a score of 80% or better. One of the guys from the shop in Canada had an especially rough time, since he speaks French and had to translate everything in his head. It took him 3 1/2 days to complete the testing. So, as a result of his efforts he got to spend exactly 1/2 a day in the plant. In addition to the testing, there is security out the wazoo. Upon entry, the car is inspected very thoroughly for explosives and such. Each person/group must have an escort at all times. One escort can only have a few people in his charge, so they had two or three escorts. Each visitor must go through airport type security and a 'puffer.' This device blasts you with puffs of air from all angles. Above is a vacuum that funnels the air through a testing device that looks for explosive residues. After all this, and I am sure I am forgetting stuff, they document everything that you have on your personage. They even document the color of ink in your pen. Seriously. After all this, they finally got to tour the plant. They got to crawl around inside. After that, they had to go through more security to get out. They had to be scanned for radiation. Then each person's badge number is radio'ed in to security and they release one visitor at a time through a series of gates. It was all quite a process and Jeff is not eager to go back. The testing is good for only a year, and if he goes after that time is up he'll have to do it all again!

How could I forget to mention that all the guards were heavily armed with handguns and M-16's, and large amounts of ammo. There were guard towers everywhere and extra safes with ammo in strategic spots. The plant works with the Green Berets and the other super-secret-forces-whose-name-I-can't-remember to try and break in to the plant.

Its the final countdown!

Less than 5 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah!!!

Jeff got home last night. He called at 8:30 saying he was on his way home. Since James was still awake upstairs, I let him come down and wait for Daddy. Katie was a chipper little chicken too, so she stayed up. The above picture is what happens every time Jeff gets back from a business trip. He stops at W@wa for his dinner: a chicken and bacon melt, because as we all know that is way healthier than filet mignon. Seriously, after you eat filet for four days in a row, you have to have something different. Anyway, he gets the sandwich, two blueberry donuts, a quart of orange juice and a can of Pringl3s. James and I steal chips and a bit or two of the sandwich. Now Katie is old enough to join the mooching, and she liked the chips. It took a while especially for James to wind down, but we all slept really well!!!

This morning, we went to the pumpkin patch. James told me that he had to go with DADDY, not just me. So we went with Daddy. We picked a bunch more apples, and made the kids pose with the pumpkins. James actually picked out an itty-bitty ornamental pumpkin as his pumpkin instead of a big one. I got a big one to cook up. The weather was beautiful and it was a lot of fun.

Finally...

Jeff should be landing any second and then heading home. He's been away since Tuesday touring a nuclear plant in South Carolina. All in all, it hasn't been too bad here on the home front, although I am tired and James is in serious need of some Daddy time! Jeff called and said that they spent a day and half just training to enter the plant. It involved reading a few hundred pages of stuff and being tested on it. Should be interesting to hear all about it. I am glad to say there were no accidents, and I am hoping he comes back without an extra arm growing out of his head. Actually, they really put you through the ringer to even set foot near the plant, and they are very careful about your exposure limits.

We're Making Bets

How long will it be before Katie starts walking once she gets the cast off? Leave your guess in the comments and whoever is closest wins!! What do you win? I haven't thought that far ahead yet actually. Maybe a good ol' fashioned at-a-boy. Maybe the lovely fish statues we inherited from the previous owners of our house. Or whatever I find under my couch cushions, which will probably be a few cheerios, some lint and a M@tchbox car. Who knows. The point is, leave your guesses in the comments and see who gets closest!

Next Up: Conquer the World!

I was talking to my friend Erin yesterday about canning. She unknowingly inspired me to get back on the canning wagon and make some jam. And applesauce. And peppers. We stayed with her for part of our time in Grand Junction this summer. It was on her floor that Katie pooped. On her kitchen chair that James peed. Yep. And she still talks to me! :) So I was telling Erin her house was like staying at a spa. Seriously, it is. Its nice and quiet. She has lots of cookbooks. Good food. She and her hubby are down to earth, 'good peoples' as Phil would say. Did I mention it was quiet? And relaxing? While we were there, we spent a lot of our time discussing canning, cooking, gardening and the book AnimalVegetableMiracle. Anyway, she sent me home with the book and a newfound desire to can my buns off. That hasn't actually happened. But, I have successfully canned 86 jars of stuff, with plans for about 2 dozen more. I would keep going, but alas, I ran out of jars and everyone is sold out. I estimate that the Groves pigs, I mean family, have consumed upwards of 25 to 30 jars of canned goods already, and I just keep filling the jars back up. Some of that was jars that weren't quite full enough to can. But we're going to have to reign ourselves in or we'll have eaten everything by January. That applesauce is just so good! Next year, I will conquer my pickle fears and maybe even get a real canner and a food mill. After that, I'll conquer the world!



Here is a list of what I have canned this year. I can think of a whole two people who read my blog who will be interested in this, but hey, its for posterity. Here's the list: applesauce, peach applesauce, cinnamon pears, peaches, jalapenos with garlic, jalapenos with cayenne peppers, hot peppers, blueberry-lime jam, pear honey, strawberry-rhubarb syrup, blueberry-orange syrup, strawberry jam, pear jam, peach jam, blackberry jam, raspberry-chocolate spread

I just realized I canned no salsa! The tomatoes didn't do so well this year. Next year I'll have to make sure I plant more tomatoes!

Pictures/Video

The video of Katie walking did not come out. Bummer! Here's one of James reading to Katie. I'll try to get a video of Katie getting around so y'all can see how mobile she is.

Sleep: It's Highly Overrated

I think its been three weeks now since I really had any sort of decent sleep. Katie worked very hard to bust out three teeth in about four days. I think she is still working on a few more. Up until last week, she only had two teeth. Then, she caught a cold from her big brother, who likes to share. The cold went together with the teeth to keep her, and me, up at night. On top of that, she has apparently decided that between 5:45 and 6:00 am is a great time to get up! Yipee! I am overjoyed. Nothing like being dragged out of bed that early after a night of cruddy sleep. But enough venting! Just one day at a time...that's my motto.

In other random news, Jeff is touring a nuclear plant today for work. The weather hear has cooled off considerably. It has actually been cold in the mornings...cold enough to make me want to turn on the heater...UNTIL I REMEMBER the price of oil. Then I just tell myself to deal with it. Katie slept in James' footy PJs last night, since they will actually fit over her cast to keep her warm. She looks like a blue tank in them. I'll try to post a video of her walking with the aid of a paint can last night, when she was supposed to be sleeping! Did I mention she didn't want to go to sleep last night?! Anyway, she has really figured out her cast, but I am happy to say there are only 9 days and a few hours left!! And since we are on the subject of countdowns, only 11 days till Grandma and Grandpa get here! Yipee!!! Alright, enough of the sleep deprived ramblings. As James is fond of saying, "Peace out, homey!"

In Keeping With My "No Plan" Plan, I Now Present to You....

Children of the Corn: A Franch Tale

I will never forget the many summer evenings we spent tearing through the cornfields chasing each other, playing hide and seek, and just having fun. My parents were friends with a few other couples who had kids our age. We’d all get together and eat dinner outside, with things like corn on the cob, watermelon and pop, which was a big treat. The parents would settle in to their lawn chairs or around the kitchen table and talk late into the night. Us kids were all thick as thieves. We’d spent many hours together and had gotten into many shenanigans. While our parents talked, we’d chase the barn cats, ride bikes or sheep, play with gasoline and matches (that’s another story for another day), or play hide and seek in the cornfields. Playing in a cornfield is different then regular hide and seek. First off, it’s a big area to play in. Second, it adds an air of creepiness to the game. The sound of the rustling corn and the fact that you never know where someone is going to pop out…it just adds to the fun. We’d run through the field, between the rows, the thick leaves from the stalks scraping at our arms and face. Sometimes if you miscalculated, you might get smacked in the head with a ear of corn. In addition to playing hide and seek in the corn, we’d also run willy-nilly through the rows, chasing each other and laughing. One particular evening, it was dusk and we were all tearing around at 100 miles an hour. Several of us came bursting out of the cornfield to find a skunk in very close proximity to us! We all screamed and took off in different directions. Some of us ran back into the corn, and others jumped the irrigation ditch and took off down the road. Luckily, we all escaped the skunk un-sprayed. Things like this never deterred us. We thought it was wildly fun to narrowly escape danger, and got ourselves into many a tricky situation. Amazingly, no one was hurt during the making of these childhood memories!

Its Me Again: The Broken Record

10 Days! I am getting so excited I am not past telling random strangers that her cast is coming off in TEN DAYS!!! TEN DAYS!!!! TEN DAYS!!!!!!

In other news, Jeff keeps harassing me about the purpose of my blog. He tells me I need to have a clear direction...a purpose...a plan. Although he doesn't read the blog very often, he says all I ever write about is the kids. He tells me people will stop reading if I keep it up. First of all, I told him I'm not really trying to have a prize-winning blog. I just think its funny that people read it at all. Second of all, with a name like Newspapers and Broccoli, how can I come up with a serious blogging plan. Really? The very name of the blog shouts RANDOM!! So anyway, this conversation has happened now about three or four times. I finally told Jeff that I did have a plan for my blog. My plan is to have no plan! Jeff shook his head and looked at me and said 'Why does that not surprise me?' Ah, yes. That's what happens when an engineer marries an artist-type.

Ses@me Street Time Warp: Part Two

I mentioned before that watching Ses@me Street with James is like a blast from the past, plus J@mie Fox. This morning we were watching it, and I am fairly certain that they played the exact same segment that I remember watching as a child. It was about giving elephants a bath, with the tune Splishin' and a Splashin' playing in the background. I don't know why I remember this segment, but I do. I don't think they've changed a thing. Flashback circa 1984. Its kind of weird that now James is watching it. Anyway...James asked me if I'd ridden an elephant. I told him I had. He told me he never had ridden an elephant, and 'we need to dit one of dose tings so I can ride it.' Yep. I'll be right on that. I think it will fit in our backyard, don't you?

It wasn't till Tir@ Banks came on to teach the kids the word 'struggle' that I was rocketed back to 2008. Ses@me Street: Its like a time warp on crack...its 1984, its 2008, its 1986, its 2008. I don't know how much I can take.

The James: Everyone Should Have One

But...you can't have mine. He's too cute and lovable and makes me say 'Awwwww.' He told me today "I lost my star when its good morning time." Each night, we look up at the stars outside his window. We always find 'our star.' Apparently he looked this morning and couldn't find it, so he thought he lost it.

Franch Tales from an Old-Timer

Back in the day, we had the good fortune of getting the owner of the farm, Melvin, to talk about his childhood. Boy, did he have some stories to tell. Each story was funnier than the last. Here are my two favorites.

***Names changed to protect the innocent!***

One of the chores that Melvin had to do as a child was to feed the chickens. Unfortunately, with chickens usually comes a rooster. Roosters are not always very friendly. This one was particularly cantankerous. The rooster would chase him around the yard, and Melvin’s patience wore thin. Being chased by an angry rooster each morning was not on this five-year-old’s agenda. Melvin decided to take care of the problem. He caught the rooster, doused it in gasoline and lit it on fire. What Melvin hadn’t planned on was that the rooster would run right back into the hen house. Instead of merely doing in an ornery rooster, he managed to do in a flock of chickens along with their coop. Can you imagine how he explained that one to his parents?!

*****

As Melvin explained it, there was a bridge near his home where lovers used to go to park. I believe this bridge may have also been known as the kissing bridge. Anyway, you get the drift. It was a teenage night-time hangout. It was this bridge that became a target for a farm boy and his friends who were left with too much time on their hands. Apparently, Melvin or one of his friends came into something every boy dreams of: dynamite. Wanting to see what the explosives could do, they decided one Friday night to rig up the bridge. At this time, the fact that it was the Lover’s Bridge was far from their minds. They figured that no one would be crossing the bridge at night and it would be a ‘harmless’ endeavor. They rigged the bridge with dynamite and went home to wait. Suddenly, Melvin felt overcome with the realization that there may be some unsuspecting teenage couple heading for the bridge. Unfortunately, it was too late to change plans. In the end, no one was hurt. No one ever found out who did it. Melvin never told his parents. I am not sure of the extent of damage to the bridge. We were too stunned at Melvin's revelation to ask too many questions.

Two Countdowns

16 days to go! And now, I have two things to count down. Katie's cast coming off, and my grandparents are coming!!!!!!!!! I am so excited. They've bought the tickets and they are coming two days after Katie gets her cast off. I have been missing my grandparents and I am excited to see them. I am also excited for the kids to get to see them. I don't think Grandma is going to set Katie down for a minute. Right, Grandma? It should be fun, and I can't wait!

....And I know I've been slacking off in the Franch department, but I am working one for the blog. Coming Soon!