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Candy Cane Christmas Christmas

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2 pounds of butter.

Holidays can be tough around here without our most loved family and friends. School makes it tougher questioning the children about their upcoming plans and quizzing them about the events when they return to school. When we set off to our new home in Tennessee, I never imagined not visiting the home state in the time that has passed. Every time someone complains about being with their family for the holiday, I want to cry.

I think we pulled together a great 3rd Tennessee Thanksgiving. I used 2 pounds of butter and cooked enough for 30. All the children participated in the meal preparations even though it would have been easier to push them out the door. I took a nap. Movies were watched. Walks were taken. Cat soaked in the sun in the screen porch.  Scott played hide and seek at dusk with the kids. Pumpkin and Pecan Pie was ate. Tummies are full.

I could have pushed the kids out of the kitchen, but where else are they going to learn their Grandma's mad cooking abilities. Hopefully, I have a few of them.

There may be a lot to grunt and be sad and worry about, but there are so many things to be thankful for. The overlooked things that are big. Food, shelter, clothing, love, life, health, family, friends old and new. Today proved how fortunate and happy we are. We have each other. We have you.  Even if miles and money separate us from you, you had a place at the table in our hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Missing Kindergarten Pajama Day

Good news: I don't think I will have to sleep with Hello Kitty tonight for the first time all week. She hogs the bed. Seriously. Or maybe it is the two children, cat, and Hello Kitty. I am not sure.

Good news: Singular has been helpful in controlling asthma attacks, maybe. Little girl hasn't missed a day of school all year. Oxygen readings have been great despite the scoughing and vomiting at night.

Bad news: Little girl's body finally gave in after her trigger, whatever that is. We know the tiniest of viruses or allergens cause chaos in her body.  Fever. Congestion in her chest. Likely settled into bronchitis or pneumonia.

Tomorrow is the first Kindergarten Pajama day in her classroom. Most of the time, big boy skips it because he finds teasing, bullying, whathaveyou, to wear pajamas on the bus, in the lunch room, at recess, and everywhere it is outside the classroom to be intolerable. I find the whole thing silly, and I am thankful I never had to wear my pajamas to school. I may have to let her wear her pajamas to the Pediatric clinic tomorrow. Or maybe just go out and buy her new pajamas to make up for this "missed" opportunity.

Or perhaps I will wear my pajamas in solidarity.

Turkey Vultures and Andy Griffith

We all have favorite moments in our day, if we take the time to pause and reflect about it. There are always moments of defeat, sadness, loneliness and anxiety. Those are the moments that are easy to sweat about and keep us up at night with worry. Then there are always those little things in life that tend to be overlooked that bring much meaning to our journey.

I could write about another Saturday morning where the kids are up before the last owl in the neighborhood sounds and bored before I get the chance to brew coffee, but I will save that for another day when I identify the said owl(s) or brew coffee quick enough.  I could write about seeing my first turkey vulture while exclaiming, "OMG, there is a turkey vulture!" I had no idea there was, indeed, a turkey vulture. I thought I named it myself. I felt proud until I googled it. 

But today's favorite moment didn't come from hearing owls or seeing turkey vultures or the kids sleeping past 7 a.m.. My children never sleep in. Nor do I think you are all bird watchers and are interested in Owls or Turkey Vultures. I didn't spot either today. My favorite moments came from the most unexpected visitor.

We were all in the yard picking up, tossing footballs with our children and friends, playing with leaves in the early evening. I look down the hill, and I spot a neighbor from down the road. He is walking up carefully with a walking stick. About a yard away, he calls out, "You really do live up the hill." He gets to the boundary of our lawn and pauses. Scott and I joined him. The kids rushed in the house to gather the walking sticks he crafted for them to show him how much they appreciate his gift. I quickly rush them back into the house to put them in their safe keeping places. They are special and beautiful. Mr. Bill is self reminded he wants to make one for the little bear of our house.

What makes this moment a favorite was not only the effort he made to make it up the hill, but what he shares with our family. He is sharing stories of his Native American and East Tennessee heritage. Stories we are yet too unfamiliar with. He shares gifts from his hands in the form of walking sticks. He shares time sitting outside with my children telling stories. Teaching lessons. Tales from the past. Tonight he had stories to share that were worth the walk up the hill.

He spoke about where he grew up in the coal mining towns of East Tennessee. The stories he told could have been right out of a The Andy Griffith Show. He was a very young "dispatcher" in a small coal mining town. Scott and I looked at each other when he said the town had no segregation issues in the day, because they lived on that side of town and we lived on the other, but we all were friends and came and went as we chose. Perhaps the last part is the key as they were able to share the community? I cannot do justice to the story about the night Ms. Agnes, a colored woman, happened upon some moonshine. How the judge fined her upon her plea guilt for public intoxication -  $17.50 for her and $17.50 for her dog - after the teen-aged Mr. Bill was so kind for allowing her to keep the dog in the cell with a mattress without searching if she had matches. He believes that the licence to sell moonshine by a regional distiller has hurt the locals in the mountains to sell it on their own for profit. (maybe this is why there are still dry city and counties?) He hurts for all the people left in the area he grew up on living on hope after all the coal had been stripped and there is no jobs. He is a kind, educated man with a big heart. Maybe pushing 80 years old or many more. 

Since tomorrow will be nice, I will have to return the favor. We will walk down and visit Mr. Bill. I am certain he will be carving more walking sticks and ready to tell more stories. Whether his stories are from life imitating art or art imitating life, it does not matter. They play The Andy Griffith Show reruns daily on my antenna TV, but this the favored form of storytelling and most honest. There are stories to be told and need to be heard. The little things in life. 

Ho. Ho. No!

Santa arrived at the local mall today. One week after Halloween. They invited us with temptations of cookies, holiday writing stations, activities and photos we could waste money on. No. Ho. Ho.

No.Thank you, Santa. You should be busy with all your elves right now and not creating unnecessary drama in children. I am going to celebrate my favorite holiday first. I am going to continue with my laundry piles, cooking, grocery shopping and hoping for a day of rest and relaxation with friends and family on my favorite holiday.

I have no idea how Thanksgiving became my favorite holiday, but it is. Maybe it is the lack of snow in Tennessee that tipped it over the edge to me loving a leaf raking, windows open and cooking all day sort of day. I have worn flip flops on Thanksgiving Eve downtown twice now since moving here. This year may be different since my blood is getting cold.  It may be the invitation to sit still and provide for your family with an indulgent meal, if you are able. No gifts, no credit card bills, no frantic madness...nothing. Cooking is not madness to me. I cook every day. Maybe it is the excitement of turning on holiday lights and decorating a Christmas tree. Maybe.

I knew my Dad proposed to my Mom on Thanksgiving as there was always flowers and kisses, but I didn't hear the real story until tonight when I fact checked. My investigative reporting revealed  how he had the ring in his pocket at the Wagon Wheel the Saturday before that Thanksgiving Thursday. With undue pressure from his brothers, he waited.  I think you chose the right day, Dad. Owen and Aidan - take notes, from Grandpa. There is nothing to be more thankful for than your Grandpa and Grandma. Or your Mom or Dad. Your Aunts and Uncles or your future partner in life.

I think Thanksgiving is about the simplicity. About love without obligations. The family gathers or the friends-givings are priceless. Even if we sit again at a table five or a table of 30, we are going to link a chain of Thankfulness that will carry us on until the next year and years to come.

I just have a lot of weight on my shoulders to make it less lonely for us all for the next few months  Thank goodness for stickers and paint and play dough. And I hope that years from now the kids will not want to miss Mom's cooking and are able to return home. Because I would give anything for my mom's cooking again.

Gobble, Gobble. And be Thankful. No Ho, Ho, Ho, just yet.

Boo at the Zoo Take 2

We went to our 2nd Boo at the Zoo in Knoxville last weekend. We skipped a year so it was remarkable to me how much the children have grown up in that time! No strollers for me to push and no diapers to change. Zero temper tantrums. Perfect!

Last year I missed out on the good clearance deals for costumes, but I still managed to pick up some vampire gear for less than $10 for all 3 kids. (I try to shop each holiday a year ahead if I can to save $) The kids loved dressing the same because they are at the stage where being alike is still pretty darn cool. We had a lot of fun taking a whole day preparing and dressing for our appearance. And after a lapse in the zoo membership, seeing the zoo without many of the animals was fun. I need to work on that zoo membership and clearance costume shopping soon.


I had amazing fun walking around with my little vampires.

Scott asked us tonight we plan to go trick or treating on Halloween. I stared at him with the evil mommy eyes. Of course we will, but someone needs to stick around the house here to keep the fun tradition alive and well in the neighborhood.



Edit: We did miss the juggler. My kids still don't know you juggle and don't believe that you do. You know who you are ;)

Blog Reloaded

The last computer we purchased was after a claim on our insurance policy. True, I was a licensed insurance agent at the time and had scheduled computer equipment on our policy so it didn't cost us nothing. Yet, I never imagined the scenario that would cause us to make a claim. Someone broke into our home through the back door and stole my husband's laptop and my diaper bag from our kitchen while I was asleep feet away with my first born baby on the living room futon. I had awoken from the rustle and called out to Scott thinking he was just up late as usual, but quickly fell back to sleep from new mom exhaustion. I awoke to a propped open door, items missing and the worst feeling of violation.

We managed to keep our mini-mac, which is at least a decade (15?) old. Still runs at a crawling speed, but only supports half of the PBS sites my children enjoy. I am fortunate to share a hand me down laptop with my children, which I am forever grateful. My kids long for technology. As they are exposed more to friends with their devices, jealousy is viral. We just don't have it. No cable, no land line phone, no game systems, no flat screen tv. Not a choice, just reality. We just bought a little DVD player to replace the broken one circa 1998 and feel special to be able to watch movies on the TV again. Seriously, it is f special.

After months of preparation, we entered the world of a BYOP program with my husband's employment. In other words, dump the unused blackberries, bring your own phone to work and we will subsidize it. We are now a smart phone house. It will work out in the end with the subsidy, but the upfront costs are a killer on the grocery budget for the next month or two or three. Hopefully, we will catch up to celebrate the December holidays.

Being connected more means I yearn to be connected more. Not connected to twitter or facebook space of randomness. But connected to our friends and family who want to be connected more. The camera on the phone is highly superior to my little old point and shoot from long ago. I can share a photo in seconds instead of having to wait until after bedtime to drag out the cables and download slowly. It is revolutionary here. I even heard words I never thought I would hear today. "Maybe I should get a facebook account." Yes, that was my husband who occasionally hijacks my account yet vowed he would never use it. I am still in shock. I have to admit, we are having fun with the ease of communication and sharing we able do now with messaging and pics.

Over two years ago, we left our home in Minnesota to travel to our new home in Tennessee. The first photo my phone grabbed off from space was the picture of loading the van and my big boy in tears. Silly me thinks it was some sort of symbol. We were unable to travel as we wished this summer, but hope to soon. Most days are good. Many days are still very sad missing loved ones. I hope reloading the blog will not only serve as a means for me to connect to others who wish to see and read, but for the little people to share their special and not so special moments of the little things in life.


To see the blog/pics of our move...http://tennesseevalleymom.blogspot.com/2010/09/from-lakes-of-minnesota-to-hills-of.html

Discounted Education and Health Care

I hate to get political on social media. It never makes friends.

Do not call it vouchers.

Maybe call it educational discounts at your local private school if you have the money. But it doesn't work for everyone.  It works only if you have money and can afford the extra expense.

Maybe if you are rich and can afford preventive medicine, health care vouchers will keep money in your pocket. But what about the 70 year old uninsured who just was diagnosed with cancer. What about my parents who would be sent to the private market to find insurance. What about my daughter who no one will insure for her health due to her allergy and asthma history. What about me?

If you don't have the money for education or insurance, well.....vouchers are the new death panel.

Cat Fever

I have Cat Fever. It may be self-diagnosed, but I am sure of it. I have been sitting in the sun for over a month  at the pool without sunscreen, because I was sure the sunscreen made the hives worse. The itching and scratching at my flesh due to sun exposure is unbearable. Every few minutes at the pool I think to myself that I know I am getting skin cancer right now and will die soon. Having an allergy/immune response to the sun is less fun than having a cat purr on your lap. I prefer to think that it is cat fever and not be west nile virus that seems to be worth the effort of spraying chemicals into the already polluted air or maybe not. Yet, I do have a few mosquito bites and have been sitting in the sun. Spoiler alert: I will die someday. Everyone does.

The city animal shelter has a special on all the cats because they are flooded with them. They are forced the euthanize the animals, because they do not have room for due to the overpopulation. Bob Barker didn't get his message across to everyone apparently. According to their facebook status updates, they may be having "K-Mart Blue Light Special" sort of happenings if you are there at the right moment. Not that "THEY" used that term. I just remember as a child shopping at K-Mart and running to the blue light special when it was announced. I figure it may or may not be the same. Running to the blue light to pick out a discounted veterinarian checked cat or a two for one special is a little strange. A lot strange. But so was socks or Christmas lights or fake jewelery. I only wish people would use commonly used birth control methods on their pets so this Blue Light Special thing wouldn't be an issue and Cat Fever would not be so painful. It is an epidemic.

If I had a choice, I would get a dog. Like Dharma, but without epilepsy that was a result of a car accident prior to her landing in the shelter where I adopted her from. Her first seziure was painful for both Scott and me. Her 100th was unbearable for both people and canine. I asked for her when I gave birth because she was my BDFF (Best Dog Friend Forever). She saved me from bears in Chester Park while I was having a miscarriage on a walk. May she rest in peace. I still miss that girl like crazy and get teary eyes thinking of her.

Even though I wish for a medium sized dog that could stomach table scraps, help me keep my floor licked clean and listen with loyalty with ears perked to my childish rants, my most promising wish is for a pet from the feline species of animals. It was dismissed rather quietly by my husband, so I don't really know what that means. I spend so much time closing entrance doors to our house to know that it would be a tough road. Yes, it may be a tragically bad idea. Or a great one.

I miss cat purrs on my feet at night. Someone, please drop on off for me. I have Cat Fever and may die. See earlier spoiler alert.



*****UPDATE******

Meet Emma.

This lucky lady hit the jackpot on the day the temperature in Knoxville hit the all time ever recorded temperature since the 1930's. We have now reached it two days in a row at the time of this writing. Official temperature is recorded at the airport. I don't believe that the airport is in the city of Knoxville. I live in Knoxville, and only it reached 106.9 on my digital in the shade thermometer which is higher than the official reading. We all survived heat stroke in the barely air-conditioned van to go get her and bring her home. Barely. I have never seen a three year old sweat so much. She is pure luck.

She is luck because nobody else wanted her. She is luck because Scott finally caved and told me to go get my darn cat. I loved that movie as a kid. Everyone was adopting kittens to be picked up on Wednesday, but she had her suitcase packed. Literally. She had a suitcase emblem hanging on her tag on the cage because she has been ready to go for weeks. The white out on her health history shows she may have almost been adopted once or more, but who knows. Who cares. She is the perfect fit for us.

Oh, yeah. One last note. Everyone who has recommended a pet for Big Boy, you were absolutely correct. He hasn't been this calm forever. And the cat enjoys spending time with him, too.


*****UPDATE, #2*****
The shelter was running a special on stripped cats. Only $3. It felt like K-Mart. However, we fell head over-heals in love with this one. She was just enough spice and sweet. We adopted her unknown of the stripped cat special or the great people who already paid her adoption fees. Most likely at full price. Other people LOVED this cat enough to pay her adoption fees to spare her from death and we came home with her. With no litter box or food.

****UPDATE, #3****
Legos and silly bands are not safe in this house unless they are under the refrigerator where the cat hides them. For safe keeping, I am certain.  I LOVE this girl. I may never step on a lego again because they will be immediately tossed under major appliances and furniture. Wonderful .

****UPDATE, #4****
Apparently, she is litter box trained. I now need to litter box train the children. Sigh.

***UPDATE, #5****\
She loves honeydew melon.

***UPDATE, #6****
She is now tearing apart her bag of cat food. Ugh. What did I do?

Periodic Table of Elements

Big Brother of the house is always on a quest to learn and do. He never sits idle unless he is sitting with Daddy watching a movie or reading. Spring time at school was a challenge for him as they were reviewing old material of the year to prepare for testing and that proved to be boring. After testing was complete, school life was a behavior nightmare resulting from watching PBS kids on the active board and doing nothing new. Behavior reports were the norm.

Summer presents a different challenge for mom. How to wake up un-coffeed and jump into the day faster than he can get bored. Mission Impossible.

Latest adventure of the soon to be 2nd grader: The Periodic Table of Elements.

Thanks to Barnes and Noble and Scholastic, we now have a complimentary poster picture of the periodic table of elements hung above Big Brother's bed. Bed times are now filled with questions like...what makes water? What about air? What elements is this made of? What if you mix these three? Fortunately, I have taken college level chemistry and can answer most questions with a simple yes or no or maybe you can do that. Dad is thrilled and fueling the fire of curiosity. I am starting to spin as questions become more complex.

He is now on a quest to collect each element similar to a treasure hunt.

I think I need to brush up on the chemistry or enroll him in soccer camp.

The future with my son

Owen asked me recently if I knew what things would be like when he was adult. You know. Things. Cars. Computers. Candy. What new things would be around.

Today I started a new lawnmower we didn't have money for but needed. It starts with a push button..

No, Owen. I have no idea. Let us find out together.