A certain little face has been at my house all week because her school was closed for spring break so I might have tried to get a few pictures. Ha! Y'all know I went crazy. This little girl is all of 21 months old and makes me feel every single one of my own years. Today is our last day of spring break and I shall miss her terribly next week. Once I awaken from my recovery sleep. Ha!
Spring break, 2018
The number one thing I hoped for my grandkiddos was good health. Number two on the list is to be happy. Oh goodness, that childhood happiness is the best, isn't it?
Do y'all remember laughing at the seemingly slightest things with big hilarity?
And the constant jabbering. I usually tune most people out when they talk but when this little cutie talks, I listen because everything she shares is so interesting!
We've been outside a good bit this week having bubble parties, playing soccer, being cute...
Singing songs...
Scaling the fence (yep, she figured out how to get up there and back down all by herself because all by herself is just the way Bug prefers to do things)...
To play with the neighbor's doggies...
This little stinker has been all over the place this week. We've had big fun but this grandma is exhausted. The good kind.
April Fool's Day means hi-jinx for most folks. We're no different in our family so we have to be very, very careful each April 1. Especially around DoodleBug and Birdie. They're the best at fooling everyone. But that doesn't mean that Breezy and Deanie don't get us too. It's just that DoodleBug and Birdie go all out in their efforts.
And school? Let's just say that I'm quite happy that spring break is upon us this week. Because the students have way too much fun with April Fool's pranks. Translation: I am a sucker and fall for the pranks played on me by the students.
There is one other thing about April Fool's Day in our family though--- it is also Deanie's birthday!!! That's right- she's my April Fool's baby.
I've posted about each of the lovelies on their birthdays before (Deanie's birthday posts are here and here), so I'll keep this one short and sweet. And pictorial.
Happy Birthday my sweet Deanie girl! I love you!
I'm linking this post to the first post of the April, A-Z Challenge!
Just click the badge below and see what everyone else came up with for the letter 'A'.
And, it's also Monday listicles day!
This week, our topic is 10 Places You've Been Kissed. I hope Stasha will forgive me for taking liberties with this week's topic- instead of the mushy, I'm going to list 10 Things About Deanie that Begin With the Letter 'A' since it is her birthday.
Next week's list will be 10 Things You Did That Made You Feel Like A Super Hero.
All you have to do to join in with this week's list is click on the button!
1. Adorable. Not just in the 'cute' way but in her actions and attitude.
2. Appreciative. She's always so grateful for everything and to everyone.
3. Active. Without a doubt, Deanie's unending energy amazes me. She works as an interior designer with a huge firm in VA, bartends in DC and has a ridiculously busy social life. On top of that, she's training for her first half marathon. Ah, youth.
4. Amiable. That's putting it mildly. She's friendly and outgoing enough for all of us!
5. Affectionate.Deanie is a loving person- giving and kind. She reaches out to those in need and cares deeply for so many.
6. Ardent. Deanie is devoted to family and friends and to worthy causes and goes all out giving 110%.
7. Artistic. In SO many ways- her voice will blow you away, when she dances it truly is poetry in motion and her creativity in the craft and art areas are astounding.
8. Articulate. Ha! By articulate I mean, talkative. All. The. Time. This child's mouth never tires. NEVER. But I love it- she still calls me every single day.
9. Aesthetic. Deanie sees the beauty in practically everything and everyone.
Ah, spring. That time of year for allergies, heat and the standardized testing of students.
Thank goodness there are several good things to look forward to in our family this spring! Else I might lose my positivity altogether.
One
thing I know that I can always look forward to with a positive attitude
is the Hodge Podge! A big 'Thanks!' to Joyce for hosting this for us
every Wednesday!
1. March 20th is the first day of spring...is she a lion or a lamb in your part of the world? A lamb. A sweet little nothing-good/fun/interesting-weather-wise-is-going-on-here lamb. In other words- no winter. Again. Of course, during hurricane season, I'm always grateful for that sweet little nothing-good/fun/interesting-weather-wise-is-going-on-here lamb.
2. What's the most dreaded task on your spring clean to-do list? Do you have a 'plan of attack'? The windows. I am not a fan of cleaning windows. Especially since we still have those outdated storm windows just like the ones I had growing up. Are you familiar with them? You have to take out both glass parts and the screen and clean them and then clean all those panes and then put that b%#@$ back together and start the next one. Plan of attack? Put it off as long as possible? Try to talk the husband into doing it? HA! I'm most likely going to wait until summer break and then go at it until I'm finished.
3. Peas...love 'em or hate 'em? What's a favorite dish you make using peas? I like the baby ones but I don't make them often. And, when I do, I just like them plain, all by themselves. Raw is even better.
4. Do you feel under appreciated? No. There have been times over the last nearly 30 years that I have felt this way, but I haven't in quite a long time. We're all (the lovelies and I) pretty good about appreciating each other and not taking one another for granted.
5. Have you been using Google Reader? If so, what are you switching to
now that GR has announced retirement? If not, how do you read your
favorite blogs? I have it but I mostly look on my sidebar and read from there. I don't know what I'll switch to. I haven't had much time to give it that much thought. Ok, scratch that. Since Joyce put this here it did get me thinking about it and I've joined Bloglovin'. Thanks, Joyce!
6. Anne Bradstreet is credited with the following quote~
"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did
not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
Agree or Disagree? Why? Hahahahaha! I mentioned that a while back- how I might appreciate spring had I experienced winter. So, YES. I agree. Sometimes though, as far as adversity goes, I try to appreciate the good fortune that I do have because, to be honest, I'm not thrilled with the idea of experiencing adversity in a lot of areas. Maybe, with me, it's the fear of that experience that keeps me appreciative??? Then again...oh my. This is going to get way too wordy. I'll just stop here. You're welcome. LOL
7. When did you last 'spring for something'? What was it? Yesterday. DoodleBug's groceries. :)
8. Insert your own random thought here? I'm counting down the days 'til SPRING BREAK! It will be certainly be welcomed and appreciated after the adversity of dealing with students every single day. Hahahaha! Have a great rest of the week, y'all! Happy Spring for those of you who appreciate it because you actually HAD a winter. I'm not bitter. Or resentful. Really. I'm not. At all. HUGS! :)
During my college years, my spring breaks were nothing like Beach Blanket Bingo, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini or any other bad 1960s beach movies. [There was the Bahamas cruise during my junior year but all I did there was discover that it is a REALLY BAD IDEA to enjoy tequila shooters while tossing around on rough seas. REALLY. BAD. IDEA. REALLY. Just take my word on this one.] Our laid back breaks were probably due to the fact that we partied so much focused so diligently on our studies during the semester we needed spring break to recover rest. So, the year that I flew to Tennessee to visit a friend for the week, was nothing out of the ordinary. Our plans were to spend the week hanging out in Nashville (I had never been there before) and drive back to SC the weekend before classes resumed. We enjoyed nice weather and exploring Nashville and, at the end of the week, we packed up Sheryl’s car and began our eight hour journey back to school. The trip should have been pretty much uneventful, and would have been had it not been for the NEAR BLIZZARD that had suddenly decided to descend upon us through the Great Smokey Mountains (which could easily have been called to Great Ican’tseeadamnthingthroughallthisblowingsnow Mountains. Oh, did I mention that Sheryl’s car was a ‘67 Volkswagen Beetle? No? Is it relevant, you ask? Ha! What it meant was that we cruised up those curvy mountain roads at a staggering 25 mph. And THAT was with us leaning forward. It also means that our 8 hour trip back to school turned into a 12 hour ride. Of course, as college students, we pretty much took everything in stride and, once out of the mountains, (no, we didn’t think of going back…we were COLLEGE students for Pete’s sakes) resumed our uneventful return to school. Until approximately 30 minutes from campus.
We were on the last stretch of two-lane road before reaching campus, just tooling along at the actual speed limit when we thought we saw something up ahead in the oncoming lane. It was difficult to tell just what the object was because there was no visible moon nor street lights which meant that the only light hitting the road was from the ’67 Beetle. As we got closer we were both leaning forward and squinting to see what was in the road. Sheryl slowed the car down to a crawl so we could get a better look. Apparently we both realized what the object was at the same time because, in unison, the screams began! Holy Crap! It was a body! A male body lying across the width of the oncoming lane. And it was NOT MOVING. At. All. We didn’t know what to do. Our minds were racing just as quickly as our hearts. It’s almost comical looking back now on the ensuing conversation if for no other reason than we were shouting:
“WHAT DO WE DO?!”
“I DON’T KNOW, GO BACK?”
“NO!”
“THEN WHAT?”
“I DON’T KNOW!”
“WHAT IF IT’S A LIVE BODY? OR A PRANK?”
“WHAT IF IT’S NOT?”
We didn’t make it much further up the road when we turned around to go back and investigate. We decided to drive slowly, but not stop. If the body was there, we would turn around and go get the police (remember, no cell phones back then). Almost as comical as the shouting during the first conversation is the fact that we began whispering as we got closer to the dreaded spot in the road. We made sure the windows were closed and the doors locked as we traveled at a snail’s pace towards the place we saw the body lying. After all, we would have to go into the other lane to drive around the body and, if it was a prank and it jumped up---well…
“It was here, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it had to be right here.”
“Where is it now?”
“I don’t know, I don’t see anything.”
We continued our slow search until we were absolutely certain we had indeed come to and passed the exact place in the road that we had seen the body. Sheryl turned the car around and we cruised back one more time. Nothing. Just the black of a night with no visible moon, the silence of two stunned college co-eds, and the putter of a ’67 Volkswagen Beetle.
Being a transplant to the low-country of SC for 31 years is still not long enough to be called a ‘benyeh.’ If I stay until I’m dead I’ll probably go a ‘comeyeh’ since I am, originally, ‘from off’ (which is the upstate but, rules you know). By day I take care of my sweet little granddaughter, Baby M and do all those things I did when I was a SAHM raising four daughters which has translated to, ‘by day, I am exhausted.’ By night I blog, blog, blog, and blog some more or I sleep, depending on my level of exhaustion (do they still make Geritol?). I have a very unhealthy addiction to sweets (nearly any kind will do) and all comfort foods not covered under the ‘sweets’ category. I’m known for speaking my mind so, if you don’t want to know, don’t ask me. I love to find the humor in my empty nest life. I live life hard and smack into that brick wall almost daily because I’ve always had to learn the hard way. Why change now? I’m so glad you’ve come to laugh with me as I do this middle age, empty nest thing like a BOSS!
