Puddles and Peanut Butter

Puddles and Peanut Butter

A page from any given Mommy appointment book would likely appear to others as a multitude of unending tasks with too little time to do everything. There are activities for the children like preschool and soccer, and a few activities for herself. But my appointment book doesn’t include the other things I’m responsible for, like cleaning, cooking, shopping, bills and laundry. No wonder I feel frazzled!
My son’s day reads much differently. He spends his time playing, experiencing, exploring and testing. He doesn’t have any concept of time except when he’s bored or hungry. He doesn’t need to be constantly busy. He doesn’t have a list to check off. His perfect day is filled with his bike, the park, Spiderman, ravioli and not napping.
I often get impatient with my son because he just doesn’t seem to understand that we’re on a schedule. But, one day I stopped and watched my son play in a puddle. Maybe he wasn’t the problem. Maybe my schedule was.
His laugh was contagious as he tromped in a puddle; for that moment all he wanted to do was have fun. It didn’t matter to him if we were late or didn’t accomplish everything on our list. He just wanted to enjoy the moment.
Later that day he ate a few bites of his peanut butter sandwich, and proceeded to make balls out of it. Again, the look of accomplishment and his intense desire to make the perfect sandwich ball was enough to squelch the words, "Stop! You’re making a mess!"
Sometimes we need to let puddles and peanut butter get in the way of our orderly, scheduled lives. We need to let our kids be kids and not fall in line with our plans. We should schedule in more time or realize that messes and delays happen.

Updates....STUFF

Well, I haven’t blogged in a while. I did the 100 question thing a while back, and just copied and pasted it to my blog on Friday. Finding the time to devote to sitting down long enough to blog has been difficult. WE have had a unbelievable amount of STUFF going on, some happy & some sad:
I guess I’ll start with Heath’s birthday! He turned a whopping (lol) 34 on Wednesday the 25th of March. The Saturday before though, I threw him a surprise party at Margaritas. The biggest surprise was that I pulled it off without him knowing too much of what was going on! If I remember correctly, there were 44 of our friends and family there to celebrate. (plus 9 kids) He was very excited! He hadn’t seen some of the friends that came into town for the party in about two years! We had a great time chatting and hanging out with everyone that came. I have a few pics (before my camera battery died) that I will upload at a later date.

Then, Sunday we set our new church in order. The evangelist that preached the tent revival was there to ordain Dad and Mom as ministers in his organization, as well as a few others from our congregation as Christian Workers. He then said that there was someone in the congregation that had been called to preach, and if this person was also feeling that calling, and feeling that tug, the they should come to the front right that minute. Without hesitation Heath went to the front! I think everyone was a little surprised, but so happy!! Deep down, I think Heath is happy about it as well. Bro. Corley then also asked that if anyone else felt that God was calling them to be workers, and leaders in the church that they too should come to the front. More than ever in my life, I felt that calling. Myself, along with a handful of others went forward. We are so excited, but are definitely doing some major praying for direction and guidance as to where and what God wants us to do.

In the middle of our excitement and celebrating, we got a phone call that a close family member was in the hospital and not expected to live much longer. He had been sick for a while and on a respirator. He asked that the respirator be removed and that God’s will be done. Although I was not related to this man by blood, I have known him my entire life and have always considered him family. He was actually my cousin Lauren’s grandfather:

Mr. Claude Bueil “CB” Rightmire was born on May 8, 1927 in Groves, Texas. On July 21, 1927, he baptized at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Port Neches. Mr. Rightmire was the second of four brothers born to Dewitt C. H. and Zula DeVellier Rightmire. The family later lived in Houston where he attended Jeff Davis High School and starred on the football team. On April 5, 1945 he enlisted in the US Navy and served on destroyer escort USS Acree. After the war, he met and later married Olive Marie Harbison on July 8, 1950. Mr. Rightmire and Marie had three sons – Mike, Robin and Jeff. In 1967, the family moved from the city of Houston to Houston County Texas. After a lengthy illness, Marie passed away in 1988. In 1991, he was married to Eunice “Sissy” Dickey. The couple lived and worked in Houston County until he passed away on March 22, 2009 at age 81 years, 10 month, and 14 days. For most of his adult life, he was a carpenter and building contractor. He worked as a millworker and finish carpenter on many of the homes in the River Oaks area of Houston. He built three homes for his family in Houston and Houston County. After 1967, he built many homes in Houston County and neighboring counties. He loved the craft of creating with wood. He was a master mechanical tinkerer and could build or repair almost anything. He enjoyed the outdoors and the camaraderie of hunting and fishing in Texas and Alaska with his sons and many friends. He was a good Father, grandfather, husband and neighbor and we will all miss him greatly. Survivors include his wife Sissy Rightmire, of Grapeland; sons Mike Rightmire and wife Evelyn, of Plano and Jeff Rightmire and wife Kelly, of Mabank; grandchildren Lauren Rightmire, of Lubbock, J. J. Rightmire, of San Diego, Joshua Rightmire, of Washington State, Brandi King, Vanessa Petters and Megan Melson, all of Palestine; brother Donald Rightmire and wife Tommie, of Calvert. Preceded in death by his wife Marie Rightmire; son Robin Rightmire; brothers Robert Rightmire and Jerry Rightmire; and parents Dewitt and Zula Rightmire. Funeral Services for Mr. C. B. Rightmire were held Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in the Callaway-Allee Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Eddie Atkinson officiating. Interment followed in the Evergreen Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Macular Degeneration Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 531313, Henderson, Nevada 89053 or American Stroke Association, P.O. Box 15186, Austin, TX 78761.

“Papaw CB”, as we fondly called him, will be remembered always and loved. While we were saddened by this loss, we are also comforted by the fact that we know Papaw is no longer sick, or in pain. After the visitation at the funeral home, we went to Aunt Gayle and Uncle Bill’s for dinner. We had a small birthday cake for Heath, and sang to him ( he turned red of course) A few pics from the evening:

After things got back to normal, for the most part anyway, we finished up our work week and welcomed the slow pace of the weekend. Yesterday morning at church we voted on the name for our ‘new church’. We are now Remnant Faith of The Trinity. Nice ring, eh...well, it's growing on me anyway... This coming Wednesday we will hold our first official business meeting, where we will elect deacons and other officers.

Of course, I can’t post without giving a little update on my Lucas. As usual, his wit and sense of humor impresses and cracks us up daily. You never know what to expect! He learned the hard way this weekend though that an attitude in combination with a smart mouth will get him grounded from playing outside! Our little boy is growing entirely too quickly. He is such a Jackson, from looks to personality, and ATTITUDE!

100

Whew...I finally did it. The infamous "100 things" post that nearly every blogger seems to have. It was a lot harder than I thought to come up with 100 unique facts about little 'ol boring me...I really tried to include things that not many people know…Enjoy!!
1. I'm crazy when it comes to germs.
2. I have never broken a bone.
3. I love to bake.
4. I could have gone to school to be a pastry chef.
5. I knocked out all of my front teeth when I was 3.
6. I would love to be a family counselor.
7. I have been to Disney World like 5 times, literally.
8. I love going to Major League baseball games.
9. I don't like being stuck on freeway bridges because they 'shake'.
10. I absolutely love caramel.
11. I have a serious addiction to chips and salsa, I ate them constantly when I was pregnant...
12. Lucas is an avid chips and salsa eater and I am convinced that this is my fault.
13. My grandpa had a tattoo on his arm of a black cat sitting on the number 13 and I would love to have the exact tattoo on my ankle, but I’m a chicken.
14. I love coffee.
15. I love road trips, with the right person.
16. I'm 5'4", but wish I was at least 5'8".
17. I have read all 7 Harry Potter books & am sad that there are no more.
18. I often wish I had a bigger family.
19. I love, love, love, love fishing.
20. It's pretty much a guarantee that I'll puke if I get drunk. I don't drink anymore.
21. It’s almost pretty much a guarantee that if I get drunk, I’ll get mad.
22. I had a lot of questions during 6th grade sex education class.
23. I am completely addicted to email & the internet.
24. I long for the day I leave for my Australian vacation.
25. I’m extremely proud of my inheritance – the ghetto booty.
26. I always thought I'd be more than I am career wise.
27. There are a lot of things I miss about my friend Chris, some things that no one knows.
28. I know how to be alone comfortably.
29. I worry too much about what people think of me.
30. I frequently think about my dad & wonder how he is doing.
31. I love roller coasters, the higher & faster - the better.
32. I've found that giving a 2-week notice is often more painful than just up & quitting a job.
33. I planned to nurse my son for 6 months but did it until he was a year old.
34. I have two younger brothers.
35. I hated crawfish until one time I ate ten pounds by myself when I was pregnant. Now I love it.
36. I do not like my handwriting.3
7. I wish I had worked as a Camp Counselor during a Summer.
38. I would wear sneakers everyday if I could.
39. It drives me absolutely NUTS when people don't use their turn signals.
40. My favorite color is green.
41. I the only girl on my dad’s side of the family. Period.
42. I was often confused for a boy when I was younger, I was a tomboy, what can I say?!?
43. Sometimes I think I disclose too much about me & my life, need to work on that.
44. I wish I had more close girlfriends.
45. I would not change a single thing about my life – I love it.
46. The first concert I went to was George Straight.
48. I cannot stand Oprah.
49. My hubby and I are in the process of getting our ministers license- scary huh?
50. I am not very patient.
51. I have always had a secret crush on Clint Eastwood and John Cena.
52. I was prom queen. ‘Nuff said.
53. I love taking pictures.
54. I miss staying up late.
55. I have contemplated going to nursing school many times.
56. I sometimes think I'd like to train to run a marathon.
57. I love crunchy peanut butter.
58. I am not a fan of cold weather, at all.
59. When my mom was pregnant her and my dad had a huge fight because he wanted to name me Angelica. Thank GOD she won.
60. Had I been a boy, my mom wanted to name me Matt.
61. I don't understand why people set their clocks/watches fast 5-10 minutes.
62. I over-analyze just about everything.
63. I wish I could write certain people off, but I’m to tender hearted.
64. I have a scar on my left eye from where I ran into an open oven door.
65. I often wish I knew how to play the piano.
66. I cry a whole lot easier since having Lucas, than I did pre-baby.
67. I am blessed with my mom’s long legs and my grandpa’s blue eyes.
68. I have little to no communication with my biological father.
69. I have the world's best in-laws.
70. I should join the local women’s soccer team, but I don’t want to give up any time with my family. And I’m kinda lazy sometimes.
71. I love to sing. But not in front of anyone else.
72. Wet locker room floors really creep me out. I would say it's a phobia.
73. My favorite, favorite place to be Is the beach...
74. I played golf in high school, but promptly quit when my partner was mean to me.
75. I'm not a fan of confrontation (see #74).
76. I wish Sex & The City would last forever.
77. I love Captain Crunch cereal, but rarely eat it.
78. I love smoke-free restaurants, cities, you name it, if it's smoke-free, I love it.
79. I like guns, and hunting or any activities outdoors.
80. I'm right-handed.
81. I am constantly putting on hand lotion.
82. I love rainy nights. Days too, if I don't have to go anywhere.
83. I love making lists (obviously). If I don't, I'll forget.
84. I love Texas.
85. I love black olives but my husband hates them. I am so used to ordering pizza without black olives for him, that I order things for myself without them too, even when he isn’t with me.
86. I love scary movies.
87. My first car was a maroon Ford Tempo.
88. I get nervous speaking in public.
89. Chick Fila is my favorite fast food restaurant.
90. I sleep with socks on 3/4 of the year.
91. Misspelled signs, menus or any other misspellings, drive me crazy.
92. I hold grudges or stay angry for a while, however you want to word it.
93. I am a nail-polish junkie.
94. I get bored easily.
95. I just started keeping a diary/journal.
96. I don’t want neighbors.
97. I love cheese.
98. I once slapped a guy who called me a *it**.
99. I hate the idea of tanning beds…but secretly sneak in one occasionally.
100. I could spend countless hours @ Barnes & Noble or Borders.

When you are a mother, you will understand

Chances are if you ARE a mother, you are internally agreeing with the sentiment of my title. If you aren’t, you are undoubtedly rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself, “Seriously? Did she really have to go there? So cliché. So condescending. “ I know. I was you not too long ago, thinking the same thing every time anyone uttered those words in my presence. I mean, what on earth about being a mother automatically makes you so insightful? What is it about the task of motherhood, the diaper changes, the swaddling, the stench of crusted baby puke on your shoulder that no longer phases you (sometimes not even enough to wash the shirt before wearing it again) that makes YOU think you know and understand something the rest of the population does not? I vowed to never utter those words when I became a mother. Well, you know what? Consider that vow broken.
When you are a mother, you will understand…
That those annoying shoes toddlers wear that squeak when they walk actually serve a purpose. They are like the poor mom’s LoJack.
That, try as you might, chances are your child will end up falling in love with one of the many obnoxious versions of Elmo. Turns out, he’s popular and practically has his very own aisle in every toy department for a reason.
That sometimes the only way to clean a pacifier your child just dropped in the parking lot and is screaming for is to put it on your own mouth and suck on it for a few seconds.
That your baby’s poop is just not THAT gross to you, and you actually don’t freak out and run to the nearest bottle of sanitizer and bleach when you get a little on you. In fact, sometimes you don’t notice it at all, which makes it a little awkward when you find a spot of it on your sleeve at the grocery store two hours later. (This, however, does not make other baby’s poop less gross to you. Poop from children other than your own is still disgusting.)
How you can laugh at someone peeing in your face.
How you can focus so hard on the tiny up and down movements of your baby’s chest while he’s sleeping, and then, when you are convinced he’s not breathing, scream his name while jerking him up from his bed and rushing to the bathroom to splash water on his face. When he wakes, you are pretty sure he has perfected the “go to hell” look at a very early age.
Why, for a few months at least, when you go out to dinner with the little one in tow (if you are even brave enough to do so) you are limited to the portion of the menu that includes a side of mashed potatoes.
How people become “those parents” you despised as a waitress in college when you take a baby starting finger foods to a restaurant. Sometimes, getting him out of the restaurant before the bedtime meltdown ensues takes precedence over cleaning up the hundreds of Puffs left below his highchair.
How easy it is to dread shopping for clothes for yourself when shopping for baby clothes is so much more fun. They are cheaper, cuter, and you don’t have to worry about finding the right style to hide that troublesome midsection.
How, no matter how little sleep you had the night before or how many times you had to make the trek to the nursery to replace a pacifier, tighten the swaddle, feed the baby or change a diaper, it is impossible to not be a morning person when your baby greets you every day with a smile that makes your heart melt.
Yes, it’s true you understand a lot more when you become a mom (or, in general, a parent). You understand why all those mothers you used to think were crazy did the things they did (most of the time, sometimes there really are just crazy people out there). You will do things that at the end of the day you can only laugh at, sigh to yourself, and acknowledge out loud, “I am SO that mom”.

Lucas and I, nice and sweaty after 'jumpin'

for about 2 hours!

Lucas has really been on a roll these past several days. I guess after having a nasty, horrible, wretched stomach virus for nearly a week he is making up for lost time!! He Is so funny. Heath and I have been laughing with him for days now it seems like. It’s partially so funny because a good percentage of what he says is so true in one way or another. Like when he and Heath pretend to be mad at each other for “not getting any sugars”. Too cute. And, the fact that he supposedly doesn’t like girls, except for Mommy. But, he has one friend that lives nearby, and plays with nearly everyday, who is a girl, and she is OK too. Or, when he saw a pretty girl on tv and decided that it might be ok to kiss her ! ( I didn’t particularly like this comment, but Heath thoroughly enjoyed himself). One night this past week, Heath and Lucas were sitting together in the recliner and he proceeded to tell us that JJ had come to see him again, and told him how much he loved him and couldn’t wait to see him in Heaven. And, that he missed Heath and was ready to wrestle with him again. It was so innocent, and I’m willing to bet every bit of it was true. It really hit home for Heath too, I think he is very proud that his little brother may possibly be Lucas’ guardian angel.
Lucas experienced his first water baptismal at church this past Sunday. He was very interested in Papaw being in that big bathtub with that boy. He asked what was going on, and I told him that Papaw was baptizing the boy. Lucas responded, “bad disguising?...What’s that Mommy?” Haha. Of course I explained that they boy had accepted Jesus as his savior, and now he wanted everyone of us to know it, so he was getting baptized. Lucas said, “Oh, like when we go up front at church and eat that little baby cracker and drink that stuff that we pretend is blood? That’s how we tell our ‘selfs’ that Jesus died on the cross so we don’t forget and so our friends know it too, and God knows that we don’t forget, right Mommy?” He never, ever ceases to amaze me.
He also informed me recently that WHEN he has a little brother, he is going to teach him how to do all the cool things that Daddy taught him. Like fishing, and riding his bike, and playing batman, and jumping on the trampoline. But, first he had to learn how to take a bath and walk. And that’s going to be a really long time, he said. He also thinks that he will tell him it’s ok to burp, as long as you say excuse me. Our little boy is most assuredly going to make an excellent big brother. I don’t know how he will take it if he ends up with a sister…I’m sure she’ll be as tough as nails if that’s the case!




Trying to put whipped cream on my face at my

birthday lunch with office.