It's that time of the year again.

Summer can only mean one thing. Peaches! Fresh from the tree. A few friends and some family went out this morning and picked (and ate) peaches. Yummers.

Below is a slide show of our goings-on. Bright Boy took a bunch of the photos. Enjoy.

There's no sound so hum to yourself.

sweet CORRECTION! Correction!

Nope, a whole stick is what you need. And this time I used an 11oz pack of chocolate and peanut butter chips. (Not the swirls.) Mmmmmmm dee-lish.

(I just made a test batch and realized I needed 1/2 stick butter not a whole one! A whole one will work, but the base layer isn't as sticky-togethery as it should be. I'll make another batch tomorrow with 1/2 stick and let you know. I also used a whole 10oz. bag of chocolate/peanut butter swirl chips and it was just right. So far, the family (*cough* Bonus Son *cough*) has eaten a butt load of them. Now I must go have another. Peace out.)

I'm making these for our par-tay at work Thursday. My Papa used to have me make them for him everytime we got together so I'm naming them for him.

Papa Byrd's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1/3 box cinnamon graham crackers, crushed
1 cup peanut butter
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar

Mix well and press into a 9 X 13 inch pan.

Melt 1 package of chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate. You use whatever you want.) and spread on top. Chill in fridge until the chocolate is firm enough to cut into bars. Return to fridge to harden chocolate and then enjoy. Keep the leftovers (if there are any) in the fridge.

Very rich, but Oh. So. Good.

Let me know if you make them and what you think.

Who are you people and what have you done with my family?

The Commander came home last night for a couple weeks vacay.

This morning he and BB brought me breakfast in bed.

I had mixed emotions about it.
1 - WooHoo! Breakfast in bed!
2 - Ack. I'm sleeping here. Come back later.

(I went with #1 so no feelings were hurt.)

Question.

If, instead of talking to your plants, you yelled at them, would they still grow, only to be troubled and insecure?

We're waaalking. We're waaalking.

While my computer is processing some horrible, vile, putrid, gastro-intestinal projectile hurling, cattle video, I thought I would catch you up on what's been happening around here.

Not much.

So, thanks for playing and come back soon!

As you know, I went to a real, theater-sittin' movie last Friday (BTW - Pay no attention to the "professional reviewers". They have all slammed the movie.). Saturday we did as little as possible and Sunday we went over and saw my mom and dad. (Note to self: Don't go to Bass Pro Shop on Father's Day.) Monday was liquor store and league bowling night. Last night I cooked (!) meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans and then we hopped in the pool for a while. (I know! How more thrilling can my life be?)

But this morning? Excitement! I woke up before the alarm went off (I know!) and in my sleepy, 20/800 eyesight impaired, haze, I saw a big blob of something on the wall. Wazzat? I sat up and squinted to about 20/600 and thought, "That's not on the wall, that's HANGING DOWN FROM THE CEILING!" OMG! The hugest spider ever was hanging down from my ceiling about four feet away from me! Aaaackkkkk! I grabbed my glasses off the nightstand, slapped them on my face and WOOHOO! not a spider, but a badly placed peacock feather winking at me.

Nice way to wake up, wouldn't you say?

(A friend of mine recently went to Quebec City for a conference and brought me back a couple of pieces of candy he picked up at the registration desk. The are little, maple-leaf shaped candies and are yum-to-the-me. Sadly, not readily available in Oklahoma. Any peeps up toward the north that can lay your hands on some of these tasty treats or know where to get some?)

Wanna come to my room and have some toast?

Last night, another mom picked the kids up to take them to VBS. I took mondo advantage of this and partied like it was my birthday. Okay. Not really. But I did go out.

One of my best buds and I had Español night.
First - Taco Bell. (We consider that "our" place and sit in the same booth everytime. We're dorks like that.)
Second - Nacho Libre!

I had been watching Jack Black's podcasts so I knew the movie would be funny, but I didn't realize just how funny it would be. I laughed so hard I had tears running down my face. I had to take my glasses off repeatedly to wipe the tears off. Plus, I found that as I get older, I tend to snort more when I laugh. My friend says he has noticed he does that as well, so I was in good company. Luckily everyone was laughing so loud, I don't think our snorts were noticed much. There was a slight problem with the alignment of the film and the top of the frame was cut off for 10 minutes or so and when we left, the manager was standing there apologizing for the technical difficulties. He handed us little coupons and said the next movie is on them. Bonus!

I give Nacho Libre! two snaps up and will definately be purchasing the DVD.

Why can't we have VBS every Friday?

Oooops! heheheheheh

So I pick up BB and his friend Red from Snob Hill Day School* and take them to eat before dropping them off at VBS. I called Red's mom and was talking to her while the kiddies were eating.

RM - Let me know when you need your lawn mowed and I'll come over and do it for you.
Me - Okay. I'll bring the liquor.
RM - Ha ha ha!
Me - I'm down to one Hard Cider. Maybe I'll drop the kids off at church and head to the liquor store.
Us - Ha ha ha!

Later that same day...

I get the kids to church and am standing in the fellowship hall with some other folks waiting for the kids to finish their cokes so they can go into the Sanctuary.

BB - Mom? Are you going back to your office?
Red - No. She's going to the liquor store! Aren't you going to the liquor store?
Me - Ack. Errrr. Ehem. Uh. No. Heheheh. I was just teasing your mom. Heh.

Geez.

*Not its real name, but it might as well be. (I got into a "discussion" with the wife of one of the University's football coaches on why she couldn't park where she parked because it BLOCKED THE DRIVEWAY FOR THOSE OF US WHO PARK IN THE PARKING LOT WHERE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO AND NOT IN THE STINKING DRIVEWAY BECAUSE WE DON'T FEEL THAT WE ARE JUST A SKEENCH BETTER THAN EVERYBODY ELSE! And by discussion I mean as much of an argument I felt I could get into while I escorting three small kids to my car. She was the one yelling at me that she could park anywhere she wanted. Oddly enough, she never got out of her Stupid User Vehicle the whole time she's yelling this at me. PLUS, I'm standing a good 10 feet from her vehicle and she tells me, "And don't you come up on me like that!" I guess she has a little larger personal space than most people. So I tell the kids, "Come on, kids. Let's go back in." and we turn around to go back into the building to tell the director about this crazed woman in the parking lot when said crazed woman pulls out of the drive, turns back into the parking lot, drives all the way through the parking lot and parks down along the edge of the building. Now she is not blocking the drive, but she is having to walk waaay farther than she would have if she would have just parked in a stinking parking space! Hey, whatever floats your boat, lady.) I'm surprised those "B" word women don't just park under the portico and toot their horn and have someone walk their kid out to the car.

The Teeth! They're Dropping Like Flies!

Yesterday, I answer my phone at work.

Bright Boy - Mom! Guess what? My other tooth fell out!
Me - How did it fall out?
BB - Pretty much the same way the other one did.
Me - Wrestling?
BB - Yeah. Can you call Dad?

My heart melted a gajillion times after I got home yesterday. I love him.



He is *so* cute with his teeth out. And his temporary speech impediment is cracking me up. I had him say, "Sister Susie sitting on a thistle." He did pretty good until the thistle part.



Hahahahahah. Quick! Where's the dog. We need to get some more of those goofy photos of him. Cooper! Coo...uh, never mind...

Stuff and such

1. What childhood vacation do you remember the most fondly?
Wow. There are a few that stand out. We used to cram everything in our Chevy Nova and off we would go. But the standy-outy-est is probably the time we stayed in Denver for a month or so while my Dad was going to a school for his company. There were two other families who were there for the same reason and they both had kids around my age. We lived at the pool. One night, this guy we had met while we were there offered to take all of the kids (six of us) across the street to a restaurant for a coke. The parents said okay and off we went. But we decided to go down the road a bit to the arcade. Not a good idea. The moms came looking for us and when they didn’t find us, they started to freak. No one in the restaurant had seen a guy come in with six kids. There was a cop in the parking lot and they told him what was going on and he called in a “possible kidnapping”. Zoinks. Not a good thing to say in front of three already freaking out moms. (Why would someone kidnap six kids anyway?) The moms put their heads together and finally thought of the arcade place. Sure enough, there we were. My mom was livid with the guy. (Looking back, I don’t blame her.) To make up for his error, he took the moms to the bar in the hotel and they stayed out most of the night. Krazee. Also in Denver, I heard the song “Funkytown” for the first time and watched “Grease” on HBO 13 times. Of course I held up my cassette recorder to the speaker of the TV to record the songs. After Dad finished that school, he was sent to one in Columbus, Ohio. He drove there by himself while my mom and I flew out to California to visit her family. Then we flew out to Ohio and met up with Dad. I had my first Shirley Temple drink in Ohio. After that school, we loaded up and drove to Pittsburgh, PA to visit one of the families we hung out with in Denver. He is Polish and she is Italian. Small town me was not very impressed with big town Pittsburgh. 22 houses on one block and you could barely walk between them. How is that fun? But the Polish/Italian food rocked! Piled back in the car and drove down to Tennessee to visit my Dad’s family then back home. Good times.

2. How many colors has your hair been?
Naturally brown. Brown with a blonde streak down he middle. Black. Chocolate Peanut Butter (Garnier Nutrisse). Currently brown. For some reason, my hair turned from its natural brown to a wonky ash black color. ????? So I color it back to brown.

3. Would you rather be placed in a tub filled with water snakes or covered with ants?
Snakes. I actually had an ant bite me last night and it hurt. I can deal with snakes. Small critters, not so much.

4. Are you camp Jessica or camp Nick?
Nick. He’s hot.

5. Do you have a swimming pool? Can we come over?
Yes and yes. Bring snacks. And pick up some hard cider on your way.

6. Salty or sweet?
Mmmmmmm. Both.

7. When did you last get a kiss?
Yesterday from the boy. More than a month from a grown-up human man person.

8. Do you play a musical instrument?
Nope. Wish I could.

9. What's your favorite kind of weather?
Fall. Cool. Rainy/cloudy. Good sitting on the porch swing with some French Vanilla Cappuccino, a good book, and a kitty cat in your lap weather.

10. What are you wearing right now?
A black ribbed tank top with a black, tan, and maroon whispy blouse type thingie over it, black jeans, a pair of the Commander’s black Nike socks, and what I refer to as my nurses’ shoes (black, clunky-heeled mules). This is what I call my “fancy clothes”. I’m usually in blue jeans and a casual top with tennis shoes, but we have someone coming in to assess our unit at work today.

Can I call Dad?

Sniff. And my two front teeth were really loose, but I was gonna be patient and let them just come out like I did the others, but me and Brother were wrestling and he hit me and my tooth came out and I started crying and went running to Mom and told her what happened and asked if it would ever quit bleeding and she said yes, but it hurts. Sniff.
(If you click to bigify, you can even see the tear in his right eye.)


Fun with Cooper to ease the pain.

Rabbit ears!


Wha?


Listen, Lady. I don't care if they boy gets ALL of his teeth knocked out next time, those poses are humiliating. And don't you even think about blogging them, you hear me? I mean it. Don't you dare.

Tru Dat

Your movie mom match is My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Maria Portokalos


Maria Portokalos may not have been the focus of the movie, but that's the only way she would have had it. You, like Maria, are the backbone of your family, but you do it without ever wanting to be the center of attention. You know what we're talking about — your kids always seek out your well-thought-out and sincere advice, and your husband knows who really wears the pants in your house.

You consider motherhood a delicate balancing act — you're strong and tough when necessary, but it's tempered with love and respect. Fiercely loyal, you always act with your family's best interest at heart. And that's just the way you want it.

Which Movie Mom Are You?

Brought to you by Tickle

Bless you, child. Here's $100.

Little did I know when we moved into our house seven years ago? A former Mrs. Stillwater title holder lived right next door. Luckily, she's not like most slender, blonde-haired, ample-bosomed females I have encountered. No smugness what-so-ever. (It is real funny to watch The Commander suck in his gut whenever he sees her outside. Hi Commander!!) Her and her husband have two kids, a 8-yo boy (Polite Pete) and a 6-yo girl (Chatty Kathy). (Names changed to protect the innocent.)

Tonight I was out front catching fireflies with Bright Boy when the kiddos came over and started playing with us. BB ran over to the hammock and yelled, "MAKE ROOM FOR MY BIG, FAT MOM!" CK proceeded to set him straight (bless her ever-lovin' heart), "She's not fat. MY mom's fat."

It brought a tear to my eye.

Now all three are snuggled down in the front room watching a movie and drifting off into peaceful, firefly-filled sleep.

I think I'm going to go have some ice cream.

Yeah, I know.

I know. I know. I missed doing the Thursday Thirteen. I thought about it, but I just couldn't think of 13 interesting things to post. I had to drive a co-worker to the Tulsa Airport in the torrential downpour yesterday morning and it pretty much threw my whole day off. I had stayed at work until after 10pm the night before helping him with his presentation materials for the conference he was going to and then I had to get up early to go pick him up and drive him to the airport so my brain wasn't cooking on all four burners.

Sue me.

Anywho...here are 13 random photos to make up for it. Enjoy.

The Commander and his Command Sergeant Major watching the Dwight D. Eisenhower pass by at Ft. Monroe.


Statue of the Spirit Rider at Oklahoma State University






Rainy Day


Love them some puddles.


Birthday Weekend
The Commander ponders sound and frequency.


Bonus Son on a bed of nails. (I tried it. It was cool.)


He wasn't drinking. I promise.


First train ride.


Headed home.


And a bonus artsy-fartsy one...

Clematis and the tree.