I'm Mommy

My kids haven't really lost anyone close to them since they were babies. The one death in the family of someone they knew was a beloved older great-uncle who was well on in his years and did not come as a surprise. This could be a blessing that they've yet to experience this or maybe not really, as it hasn't given them the ability to really process death.

Prin came home today with a story that just broke my heart. A girl from her league team lost her mom this past weekend. The girl was the one who found her, according to the teachers who must not have realized that their 7th graders have ears. The mom had taken the girl and a friend to the beach and wasn't feeling good so went to sit out in the car for a few. The girl found her mom dead. Everyone found out when the girls dad came in today to withdraw her from school and begin her mom to where he lives.

Prin seems fine and I watched her closely all night for any kind of reaction. It was the smallest little tells but they were there. She popped up to say hi when I was in the tub, she followed me outside in the dark when I was out there taking the trash out. She should have been asleep but 20 minutes ago she came in here to "get a drink of water" and see what I was doing.

So I took her and crawled up in her bed. We snuggled and I started telling (re-telling really) stories of how funny she was as a kid. My oldest, my first born. From the age of six months to a year, Dave was deployed and I had her all to myself for those huge milestones. Crawling, talking, teething, standing and walking. And in typical Prin style not one of those incidents came about normally. She was my constant companion and we were a tight pair but boy did that kid give me a run for my money. We both laughed until we cried. And when I held her hand while she prayed, she snuggled under my chin just like she did when she was small enough for me to rock to sleep each night.

She also broke my heart cause when I kissed her forehead and leaned over to click off her bedside light, she whispered "I'm okay Mommy, I just love you". She never calls me mommy. It's been YEARS since she's done that and it instantly cracked me. I just hugged her and reminded her that I was healthy and not going anywhere.

It's moments like this that remind me that those precious little babies that we were given to grow with and raise, are still there......... still buried inside those messy, constantly eating, laundry making tweens and pre-tweens that they are today.

And I'll always be mommy when they need me.

Just like my mom is to me.

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Banner Day

This day can just wank it! Seriously, I'm ready for my book (ohhh new JR Ward book is in my greedy little hands), bath and a glass of wine. Too bad it ain't gonna happen cause of the tween. She is grating my last nerve! But I wuv her..............

So tonight is a typical Wed night. I commute home jamming out to my music in traffic, grab Duch from after-school (I miss my nanny damn it), get home, throw everything down, fix a soda and review homework and paper folders (yeah cause mid week is the perfect day for papers to come home right?). Then normally, we eat quickly and if it's my turn to carpool the kids, I grab my friends kids and drop tweens off at youth and little ones at awanas then hit up errands like groceries, gassing cars, etc.

Except today, roadblocks like I'm driving in Tulsa, the city of perpetual construction! Dayum. Prin got busted taking pics with her buddies and posting them via her friends smartphone on facebook during pe (busted by her mom who is her fb friend, duh) and while that may seem trival, it's just not cool in this house where school is first and foremost about the grades little missy! Then she whips out some science work and very calmly announces that all 8 pages of questions are due tomorrow. Then after trying to fib and whine her way out of it admits that the shit was given to them Friday but she didn't want to do it on her weekend off. Ex-squeeze me? Duck that crap. She also has some english due and a history test.

Fed'em sandwiches, loaded up the car........ then promptly sent Duch back inside for her awanas shirt and book to find that she has lost her brand new never used awanas book. Ummmm no. So we trashed her room, no book. We left emptyhanded. Grabbed friends kids (I can now brag that I can buckle in a carseat in under 34 seconds) and get to church. We were only 7 minutes late, cause I have to do the speed limit when I have precious cargo.

Dropped tweens off at their building in the rear of the property, dropped Duch off at tnt class with a reminder not to talk anyone to death and parked to walk in Boo who is four and my bff. Except Boo wanted me to stay and go to cubbies with her. After finally prying Boo off my leg and running for the hall, I round the corner and promptly fall into the old off duty cop with a huge gun holstered to his leg. Awkward. Untangled self, apologized and complimented his piece (really nice custom grip!) and ran for the parking lot like the hounds of hell were on my heels. Boo is dangerous. A few tears and I'm ready to sign over my life insurance to her, it's scary.

So now we're home and after re-cleaning her room, Duch found her awanas book in a play backpack. Clothes laid out, she run through the H4G economy carwash (aka faster shower on earth) and into bed. But not before she ate half my dinner, damn shouldn't have put that sausage in my omelet.

So I'm left with Prin. Her punishment was simple: I made her post on her facebook account that she is grounded from fb for a week. Public humiliation for one? Yes please. Then I changed the password. Cause I'm smart like that yo! Then to be safe, I took her laptop. Ha! And then changed the password on my laptop, louder ha!

So I"m ready for bed needing some serious sleep yet here I sit. Watching the tween yawn and drool over the science work........ "only 2 more questions mom" yep and then there's the english babe and the history study guide. Ya Mule Ya. See, she won't be going to bed until it's all done. And she'll be getting up usual time in the morning. And after school, she has running practice with her team. So lesson will be learned the hard way, through little sleep and some serious exercise. :) Mom is always right kiddo.

I can't count the times she said tonight "I'm never doing this crap again" under her breath.

Well pumpkin, that is the point, now isn't it?

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What the tweens do...

My house is dance dance everynight. It's how we stay in fighting form

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#12's Got A Little Swagger

 We had a tourney last weekend, not too far from home. Alot closer to Cajun country than we are down here on the border in Texas. It was hot and I do mean freaking HOT. But best part about the tourney's? The team, they really have become a family. We all spend so much time together and it's just amazing to watch these girls grow each time. #12 is my Princess and the girl has gotten a little swagger in her walk. It's freaking adorable. The confidence I see in this kid just blows my mind. She's got game and she can bring it. I've waited a long time to see my kid blossom like this. The rest of the "family", worth their weight in gold. I just adore them! The moms are cool as cat shit and the support this team gets is amazing to me. Very much a blessing!

 This would be my girl running home.... stealing home in fact. She went in head first with her arms stretched out in front of her body at an angle. Slid right in between the pitchers feet. The ball went wild, Prin came off that bag and the pitcher ran to cover home. She blocked home which is technically illegal but eh, Prin just went down and through. Close call but she was SAFE! My heart stopped beating for the entire play. Whew! Thank gosh for those helmets.

 Up to bat.... it cracks me up. She takes the plate like she's just admiring the view. But when the ball is right, she pulls that elbow close to her chest, pops those hips and the foot digs and BOOM. My baby got her first full slam to center field on this hit. She was almost to second when the center fielder dove in the grass and caught it. We still cheered like it was a grand slam!!!!!! The kid has come so far since March when she picked up her first glove. The other times at bat during the four games, she bunt, struck-out once, hit a line drive to short stop and walked. Never a dull moment.

 The girls wear in-field face masks. Makes them all look like Hannibal Lector but it protects them from the ball. These girls throw hard and fast plus they are hitting off 50 plus miles per hour pitches so to save noses, eye sockets, teeth and etc, they wear those funny masks. This pic, 5 seconds later she caught a fly ball at second and shut down a very tough inning where the #1 ranked team had already ran up 9 runs on us. She was grinning ear to ear.  When she's not catching, she plays second and left field. Second usually gets the least action so it was fun to watch her play there and get that out.

 In between a long stretch of games, I took some players and we went exploring in the town after a quick lunch (which consisted of getting thrown out of Wendy's when some ball players had a water fight in the restroom). It was HOT but we found water!

 And of course we got some planking in........... cause who doesn't make time for that right?

 I'm pretty sure it's illegal to do this but eh, they were quick about it. Smile for the camera! Tell me that the sky isn't just gorgeous! It was a perfect day for ball.

Ask Duchess who was my partner in crime the whole weekend. This is the first touney I've been to where you couldn't bring in coolers and/or snacks for the players. You had to buy everything on site. Wrong. I have never stuffed so much cold stuff in my sports bra, my chair bags, my purse, Duch's shorts, etc....... ever. We b smugglers ya'll.

We have this upcoming weekend off and we are really excited to have some down time. Labor Day weekend will see us deep in the heart of Texas though!

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Wow, lesson learned

 So in July of last year my kid went into surgery, removing her tonsils. It wasn't an unforeseen thing and it was done pretty quickly so we just did what we had to do. Yet another reason why God left me in Utah, my momma was onsite.... really gotta make a plan to get me and my parents in the same area again... but when my mom sent me some pics I dug these out. And damn near cried, more on that later.

My baby did great. She came out healthy and everything went smooth. She even felt well enough to play cards in the recovery room. Ummm please don't think that we be gamblers and such (come on, we b baptist yo), cause we just really like to play. Rummy, gin rummy, poker, push. We'll kick your ass. But not for money, cause we don't run like that...remember baptist.

But a few short months after this incident, my momma was in the same position. Standing over her daughter in a hospital bed. It really breaks my heart to realize that those fears and loss of control I felt when it was my baby in that bed, was magnified to my mom when I had to have my life changing surgery.

Here's to momma's.

The good ones. The ones who will kick your ass when you need it, regardless of your age. The momma's who will kick someone else's ass if they cross you. The momma that will drop everything and run, just because you sound like you might need her. The momma that will never let distance be of any importance in your relationship.

So momma, I'm your mini-me in so many ways but if I ever go to be half the woman you are...the world had better watch their back. Not only do I wanna be just like you, but I hope that my kids see me as I see you.

Love,

Your favorite daughter

(cause the other one doesn't count, snicker)

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Do you hear that?

Sounds like a stud in a big arse truck is heading my way......this week is getting better and better. Oh boy! The kids will certainly be surprised when he bursts up in here at midnight but with only 6 days down between his assignments, we'll take what we can get right now.

Now I have to go and crack the whip to make sure my 6th grader finishes her AR book tonight. I gave her enough rope and 2 weeks to get to page 56 is not enough. She's finishing the entire book tonight even if she is still awake when her daddy walks in the door. Then she's getting on that bus in the morning if I have to carry her on in her pjs.....mommy is done playing. It's getting ugly up in here peeps.

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Everyone Has One

I adore my family. I have a very large extended family that just rocks. We're a little crazy, a little strange and a whole lotta country but I wouldn't trade my family for nothing! Very few of us live outside of our hometown area but we try hard to get together sometimes and it's like a big ole carnival whenever we come into town. And make no mistake we make some big sized trouble together.

So I thought I'd put my guard down a little and introduce some of my family to you. I had very little room on my memory card so I didn't get the amount of pics I wanted but here we go.

My uncle and his grandson. My uncle is a man of few words but is always there if you need him.

So let me introduce you to this strange pic. See my momma and daddy sent me a Wonder Woman shirt cause I guess I'm not hiding my superpowers very well. And that foot belongs to my daughter as she is carrying on an age old tradition of trying on and wearing my grandmothers' shoes (seriously she came home with a pair) and this guy. Well he's my youngest uncle and he was my college roommate and there when Dave and I were doing our falling in love dance to offer wit and encouragement. I adore him. But this picture was us trying to find a way to get rid of our wrinkles for pictures. It was a diaster. snort.

So we dance. With each other. With no music. At any given time.

This little dinner was hosted by my pearl wearing, proper Southern grandmother, Nanny, and her husband, Noel, who is known as Big Daddy cause he can get anything done. They bought a house in my hometown to be near the family and are in the process of majorily redoing this house, God Bless'em.

We had a HUGE family reunion while I was there. All the family and families of my grandfather and his siblings, none of who are still with us. And cause we b the smart side of the family, we have a waterslide and bouncy house for the kids and a tent and huge industrial fans for the adults. And no beer, cause it was the smart side of the family.

So Hi girl, this is my cousin's wife and oldest son.

And again with my girl, Duchess. Who'd changed into her "real" clothes so she could get in line early for lunch. That is totally my child. We think at least 5 steps ahead of most people.

I love these peeps. I went to high school with this chick, who looks way to young to have been in my class all though school. And this is the oldest of us cousins (I'm the next in line) who is not only a vet but a cop. Cause we raise'em up good in our fam.

This is the long time beau and husband of my nurse practioner cuz. He is really the sweetest guy on the planet and so fun. My girls just flock to him.

Nanny and Big Daddy chilling in the shade at the reunion. I'm getting a thumbs up cause I was showing her my pearls. Notice the extremely hawt shoes she's wearing.

The cousin who ranks under me in the age list, he works in the oil fields similar to what Dave does and he can tell a story like you wouldn't believe.........actually we know better to believe. See his sister-in-law's face? She knows better.

Sweet baby girl and my Princess. These two were partners the whole weekend. So much fun. I swear she looks just like my cuz the cop with earrings. You can totally tell she is his little girl.

Hamming it up for the camera.

Now we are a family divided. Half of us are serious rummy players. Like kick your ass around the block rummy players (seriously, don't ever play for money with us) and the other half are domino people. It actually causes quit the friction between tables. ;) But I'm sure every family spends alot of their evening talking major shit.

At some point, I partnered up for rummy and Duchess took over as the photographer. Everything was blurry and too close up to show. Dang it.

Now Nanny is doing something extremely important here, she is showing Duchess how to properly close the bag of chips. These are life lessons people, and gives you a good idea of where I got my OCD from.

Big Daddy in his superman pose. I got a Big Daddy story for tomorrow that just kills me.

We cook from scratch, alot. We had spaghetti, purple hull peas, potato salad, cakes, cookies and pies. They are so awesome and always make sure that there is something I can eat too.

Then there's the photo ops. This is my sweet momma who is seriously the best thing ever. We're sunburnt and makeup less with bedhead but here we are. Me and my momma...who wouldn't straighten up and quit making silly faces so I pinched her. Opps. Notice my gritted teeth, I put some ompt in that pinch.

And this is my sweet uncle, my old roomie. And wow can I just say that I'm not normally so trashy as to wear a black bra with a white shirt. But it was a new present and I had to throw it on to model it. Judge not.

A better pic of us playing nice. He may be a deacon now but when I look at this man I see two things: 1. sitting in the dark outside smoking and drinking wine coolers on our back porch while signing ABBA loudly and badly and 2. a very very good friend who truly knows me.

Oh look, we look serious here! Yeah!

Hopefully I'll have more pics soon from my 48 hour trip. Cause oh boy did we have fun.

And I do have to find a pic of my sweet cousin who ripped a heavy old oak bathroom door off the hinges in the bathroom at an upscale decorative store when she got locked in. I seriously about wet my pants thinking she was hurt but turns out the lock was stuck and poor baby is worse than me about small spaces. Apparently they heard me scream in the back of the store. It really says something when I scream loudly and all the sales people in the store come running in to check on us but we had to go find our moms and aunts who were shopping and just look up and go "what'd you do now?".....sigh.......

More later.

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Imprompt

So what do you do when you have a Saturday afternoon to yourself back home? You made hay with the old buildings down on what was once a beautiful long street of antique stores and take some pics of your girls being hams. They were a little upset that we didn't bring dress up clothes but hey, you make do.

You drag out all the accessories that you have in your trunk and doll it all up. Then you turn them loose. We had such fun....

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Home....

We made it home.

I have lunches packed, outfits laid out and ready, bags prepped and the alarm set. Kids are in bed and our new school year starts in the morning. Fun times I tell you.

This weekend was amazing fun with my family.

Highlights for now, pics and stories to come later in the week:

• Someone got stabbed in the head with a fork during a push rummy tournament
• Geese attached the golf cart
• Duchess got over her fear of cemetaries
• I stole some decor from my uncle twice (I stole, he stole back, I stole again)
• I got the recipe for field snap peas, yum
• I took the girls for a photo shoot out and around, dragging my mother along for their yearly August pics
• Got to see my momma again
• Found a back way to cut time off my trip
• Found a back road that is twisting, winding lanes in the sticks and SO FUN to drive at 80 mph
• Drove 80 the entire time in Louisiana forgetting that speed limit is 55 there, opps
• Got recognized only once in hometown which is a new record
• Didn't win the Powerball
• Realized just how lucky I am to have such a family

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Revisit: Lastest Roadtrip

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