Marie's Place

Things That Make Me Smile

2011-11-22T13:32:00.000-06:00

Last week, Amy got some of their winter clothes out of the attic. Eamon put on one of the hats and asked if Brady had one like it. Amy told him no, so he asked her if she could get him one. Then he said, no, call Mama Marie, she'll get him one, she buys me lots of stuff.

Sunday, Eamon was with Aunt Jen and he noticed he was getting holes in the knees of his pants. He told her to call Mama Marie and let her know.

As we were walking into church on Sunday, we were walking alongside of a lady we didn't know. In the time it took us to walk 10 feet, Eamon had told the woman that his daddy is a fire fighter and he helps people and he plays softball.

A PIRATE AND HIS PARROT

2011-11-03T15:59:00.000-05:00

Eamon wanted to be a pirate for Halloween, so Amy decided Brady should be a parrot. She tried to get a picture of them sitting or standing side by side, but once again, that attempt was futile.

Oh, those wiggly boys!

Oh, and yes, I made both of their costumes.

A TALE OF TWO FROGS

2011-11-03T10:12:00.000-05:00

I bought the Boyz some frog pajamas recently. They put them on after their baths Halloween night and I asked Amy to get a picture of them together wearing them. Well, she tried and this is what she got. Not exactly what I envisioned but by far, much funnier.

Oops we're missing one.

One up and one down.

One down, one sinking.

Sit up, Eamon.

That's better, but we can't see your face.

Somebody sit Brady up again.

No, Brady, stay on the chair.

This is better, but we can't see Brady's face.

One pretending to be asleep,the other on trying to get away.

Brady still trying to escape.

Hold on to him, Eamon.

Ok, I guess we're done.

A Wedding

2011-10-28T14:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I haven't posted anything in a long time and I'm trying to catch up, so some of these things will be out of order.
Last month, Ely was in a wedding. His friends, Ashley and Jason got married. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Ely and his friend, Rachel.

Walking down the 'aisle'.

During the ceremony. They little girl is Jason's daughter, Kaylee.

Ely and me

Lee and Ely

Ely looking pretty sharp in his tux.

A fantastic reception followed the ceremony at B&A Warehouse. It was one of the best I've ever been to. Food and music were outstanding.

Brady's Birthday

2011-10-28T13:12:00.001-05:00

We celebrated Brady's first birthday last Saturday with a costume party. Amy had the house decorated for Halloween and had lots of yummy food. I contributed a couple of snake cakes.

Brady wore the parrot costume I made for him.

Pretty cute,huh?

There was bobbing for apples.

There were balls to jump in.

There were cupcakes.

Another, please.

There was a pumpkin.

A mad scientist.

A poodle and a turtle.

There was a gheko.

A grandma.

A papa

A leapord

The weather was gorgeous and the kids got to spend a lot of time playing outside.

FUNERAL EXPERIENCE

2011-07-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

So, I attended a funeral in North Louisiana this week, very sad. However, I do like to see the humor in situations where ever I go. In this case, I was struck by the casket flowers that contained deer antlers and turkey feathers. This is not the exact one, I thought it would be tacky to take pictures at the funeral (yeah, I know when did I start worrying about being tacky.) Anyway, when I got back home I decided to search the internet to see if this was a one of a kind item of if this is something that goes on in other places. Voila! I found one. Do you find this as strange as I do?

Oh, and there was a picture of a deer on the inside lining of the coffin lid. I guess this all makes since to someone since the deceased was a hunter and fisherman.

Note to my family: Do not put needles, thread, measuring tapes and or fabric in my funeral flowers.

Memorial Day, 2011

2011-05-30T19:47:00.000-05:00

All the kids (except Nick, who had to work) came over for a Memorial Day celebration on Sunday. Ed went with Lee to Home Depot to get us a new grill, as the old one was falling apart. When they got back Ed finished cooking a brisket he had brought. I had fixed a layered salad. Lee boiled some corn and potatoes with crab boil. And, we had some baked beans and brownies. Alan and Kim got back into town from their vacation trip to San Francisco a little while after we ate and joined us with Emily. She is starting to walk now and Brady is getting ready to crawl. They are growing up so fast.

Eamon played in the sprinkler. I bought some cheap thing at the dollar store that fell apart early in the day. We pulled out a couple of regular lawn sprinklers and one of those did the trick.

Today we just sort of hung around. I sewed some. Ely left around 2 and then Lee and I ran some errands. Can't believe the weekend is almost over. Well, at least, it will only be a 4 day work week.

Ely

2011-05-28T08:05:00.000-05:00

So, Ely went to Washington DC on Tuesday for the tests/interview for a job with the Foreign Service, his dream job. Well, he passed and got a conditional job offer. Next he will have to go through a medical screening and a in depth security check. The government actually sends agents out to interview Ely and relatives and friends. People he has come in contact with over the past 10 years. If all goes well with that, and I can't imagine it wouldn't, he'll be put on a list. He'll be something like Information Systems Manager, doing IT and communications work in embassies or consulates around the world.

Initial Foreign Service training would be in DC/Virgina area for 16 weeks. Then he would have 6 months of additional IT training. Then, he'll be assigned to some country. His assignments would be anywhere from 1 to 3 years.

HOLY CRAP! This is real. Ely was so shy and timid as a child, it so remarkable to see the man he has become. Backpacking for 5 months in Australia, backpacking in Europe, sea kayaking in Chile, 500 miles on the Appalachian Trail.

I'm hoping he gets some nice assignments like Ireland, England, France, Italy.... You know, those places where they don't eat strange food and don't want to kill Americans, so I can go visit him. He really doesn't care, he's up for anything.

Church Picnic and other things

2011-05-22T08:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning I got up early and did some sewing. Jenni and Lovie have both asked me to make dresses for them to give as gifts. Jenni's is for the granddaughter of a co-worker and Lovie's for the bank teller at the bank where she has her account. I'm making each of them a smocked day gown.

After sewing for a while, I went to an antique store near the house, that I've never been in before. Looking for some pictures for my bedroom wall. They had some fun stuff to look at, but alas, no pictures for me. Next, I went to Thimbles, my favorite fabric store because they were having a sale on material and some other things. Got some real cute stuff, including some Cat in the Hat flannel to make jammie pants for Eamon and Brady.

Next I went to a paint store to find some paint to finish painting my spool holders for my sewing room. I had started them with a can of paint I've had for years, but ran out before I finished. They didn't have Dusty Rose or anything except black, red and white. Then I remembered that I probably bought my paint at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. I'll try one of those this week. Probably won't find Dusty Rose again, because it's been quite a while since I bought it, but anything in the pink range will do.

We watched Brady yesterday evening so that Amy and Eamon could go to a crawfish boil at a friend's house. Ed was at the fire station. Brady is such a sweet little boy. Aunt Jen came over and played with him for a while. Amy said Eamon didn't eat any crawfish, but did eat a piece of 'chicken' (fried alligator!)

So, today is our church picnic. Some people probably wouldn't call it a picnic. We eat our barbecue in the gym and then play bingo in the gym. My kind of picnic! No heat, no bugs, no sitting on the ground. Of course, there are other things going on like the cake walk. And, there are bouncy things for the kids to play in and face painting and some kind of pretend train thing for the kids to ride around on. Maybe I'll remember to bring my camera and take some pictures. I know Eamon will be playing hard all afternoon in the bouncy things.

MORE SEWING

2011-04-22T13:41:00.005-05:00

Amy is great at finding things on the internet that she wants me to make. Recently, she saw some t shirts with pictures of dinosaurs on the and kids names like 'Eamonosaurus'. She decided I needed to make some. So here is my version of the 'MamaMarie Osaurus' collection:

Eamonosaurus

Emilyosaurus

Bradyosaurus

DO THEY LOOK ALIKE

2011-04-22T13:32:00.002-05:00

People tell me all the time that they think Brady looks just like Eamon. I see it sometimes, but not very much. Amy posted some new pictures of Brady today. So, I went back in her blog and found a picture of Eamon from when he was about the same age, and I'm not seeing that they look so much alike.

So, what do you think?

(Hint, Eamon is the blond.)

SEWING FOR THE BOYZ

2011-03-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

Amy wants me to make some matching outfits for the boys so I bought some of this:

I going to make an all in one, John-John type thing for Brady and make some shorts for Eamon. Then I think I will decorate a tshirt for Eamon with some fishing applique on it. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

I've also been working on Brady's Easter outfit. It is a bubble made out of light blue batiste. It has a big white square collar with him name embroidered on it. It's almost finished, just have a little handwork to do and then add the snaps at the bottom.

Soccer MamaMarie

2011-03-23T14:30:00.002-05:00

Action shot.

Amy recently posted that she is now a Soccer Mom, I guess I'm a Soccer MamaMarie, or as Eamon would say 'Soccer Arie' since he doesn't use the mama or the 'M' before my name. We attended the Soccer Jamboree the other evening and it was one of the best free shows I've ever attended. I'm not sure how many little kids were there, 50, 75, 100? They were so cute.

This is my favorite shot of the day. Notice Eamon holding his right foot with his right hand. The task at hand was to hop on one foot. He would hop on two feet and then pick up the right foot and hold it in his hand. Drop the foot and repeat the whole process. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Flying?

Chaos?

Action shot.

Some kids ran around, some hung on to their mother's hands and never participated at all. Eamon did a lot of running around, but would occassionally come over to where I was to sit down, rub my belly and watch for a minute, then he was off again.

The Garage

2011-03-23T14:13:00.000-05:00

So, recently our cat disappeared. No one is very upset about it. She was very old and had been moving very slowly for a few months now. The kids brought her home years ago from Girl Scout camp , then when I got Sparky the dog, the cat moved out and refused to let anyone touch her again. That was about 11 year ago. Since then, she has been an outside/garage cat. She invited the cat from next door to move in, which was fine except that he is a male and has sprayed all over the place down there. So, my garage smells like cat pee. And, to compound the problem, my husband is a hoarder. He has never met a piece of paper or a box that he felt he could part with. Junk mail, flyers, you name it, he saves it. The mail is in the den downstairs and that's a subject for another day.

The other day I was going out and looked in the garage and decided to take action. I loaded up my car with about 10 boxes and drove to the top of the driveway and quickly put them in the garbage can that husband Lee had already put out for the next day's pick up. Unfortunately, I got busted. He had to know what I was throwing away and why and didn't I have anything better to do. Well, yeah, I do, but since you won't throw anything away, I'm going to do it. When I got back from running my errands I checked and the boxes were still in the garbage, I really thought he would retrieve them.

I have a dream that one day I will be able to put my car in my garage. Is that too much to ask for?

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY,NICK!

2011-03-16T16:12:00.002-05:00

EAMON THE BUILIDER

2011-03-16T15:44:00.000-05:00

Eamon came into the kitchen the other day with his shirt off and his play tools stuck in his belt and gave us a little pose:

We asked him if he was Bob the Builder. He answsered, no, I'm Eamon Walsh.

Wrong Feet

2011-03-16T15:41:00.000-05:00

Amy brought the Boyz over on Sunday and I was sitting in my recliner with my feet up. Amy told Eamon to look at my feet because he and I both had Clogs on. I said, yes, but mine are on the right feet. He said, 'I fix it' and came over to me and moved my shows to the opposite feet. I guess everybody has a different idea of 'right'.

AWESOME

2011-03-01T12:44:00.000-06:00

This morning I spoke with Eamon on the phone and told him that I would pick him up after school. To that he replied 'That is awesome'. What can I say? Of course, I have to be honest and admit that he says lots of things are awesome, but I will choose to believe that he really does think it's awesome that I'm coming to get him.

Weekend

2011-02-28T08:40:00.000-06:00

It was a busy and fun weekend. I went to Sit and Sew on Friday night and started making Brady's Easter outfit. Saturday morning I went with Amy and the Boyz to the Botanical Gardens for Hikes with Tykes. Eamon wasn't very interested in the guided tour and all the talk about early signs of spring, so we conducted our own tour, with Eamon as our guide. He loves to fun free. His favorite thing there were the big fish in the Japanese garden. After our hike, we asked Eamon what he wanted for lunch and it was french fries and ketchup. Of course, we knew it would either be french fries, pizza or quesadilla, his three favorite foods. We ended up at Purple Onion and got a table outside on the patio and all enjoyed our food. Brady was very happy and content all morning, as he always is.

After my busy morning, I went home and took a nap. Saturday evening, I picked up my friend, Pat and we went to LaVoy's for dinner and the to see a play called Bubba's Revenge. It was a comedy with lots of country music in it. My favorite tune was 'You're the Reason Our Kids are Ugly'. After the play we ran into Amy's friend, Kristi and her date who has also been at the play.

Sunday morning I skipped church and stayed home to cook brunch for the family. I fixed Monkey Bread, Eggs Florentine casserole, some other egg casserole and cheese grits. Everyone but me seemed to enjoy the food. The Monkey Bread had not baked long enough and was a little chewy. There was sausage in both the casseroles, which I don't like but fixed them because I thought everyone else did. I've decided that this is my last attempt at brunch, next time I'll do lunch instead. I think I'm better at that.

I took a long nap after everyone left and then woke up and read a bit. I've discovered and author that I've never read before, Catherine Coulter. She writes FBI thrillers and I'm hooked. I read three last week and started a fourth over the weekend.

Lee and I went to see True Grit last night. A good movie, but a little too gorey for me.

Back at work today. Bad weather in the forecast, wating for the tornado sirens to blow.

Eamon's Third Birthday Party

2011-01-19T20:23:00.003-06:00

Eamon's third birthday party was at Gymboree and lots of his little friends (and some older friends) came to play.

Tracy, Jennie and Ashley

Emily and Kim

Eamon under the parachute

Grandma and Pat holding the parachute

Kathleen and Emily

Sadie and Pat

After Eamon blew out his candles he decided he only way to eat his cupcake was to dive right in.

Sewing Fun

2011-01-19T20:11:00.001-06:00

Here are some little pants I made for a little girl named Sadie for her birthday. Aren't they fun?

Winter Storm??

2011-01-10T15:45:00.001-06:00

We were supposed to have a serious winter storm here this weekend, but it didn't turn out to be such a big deal afterall. I came down to Amy's yesterday afternoon to weather out the ice and snow for a couple of reasons, first because Ed was at the fire station and Eamon was running a temp and I didn't want her stuck her alone, second because she doesn't usually lose power (selfish, I know). Ed was able to get home this morning, but officials are asking people to stay off the streets unless they really need to go somewhere, so I'm going to stay here one more night. I'm sure I can get out of this neighborhood, but I'm afraid to drive over the bridges and also afraid of driving on the hills in my neighborhood. Hopefully, tomorrow morning things will begin to thaw out and I can get home, get ready for work and then get there.

Visiting New Orleans

2011-01-04T14:21:00.000-06:00

Visiting New Orlenas sounds like it should be a fun time, but as the years pass, it's not so much fun anymore. Visits back now entail visiting the sick. My brother, Newell, who has lymphoma and was receiving chemo recently accidentally set himself on fire and is having a hard time recovering. The chemo was taking it's toll and the burns just added to the misery. He is pretty much disabled and it was hard for me to see him like that. He has aged so much since I saw him in May. One encouraging thing is that he doesn't feel sorry for himself and is not wallowing in self-pity. He's pretty much a person who takes things as they come.

I took a bunch of pictures of abandoned houses and empty lots. The abandoned houses tug at my heart, I guess the word 'abandoned' says it all. I feel so bad for those who have come back, remodeled or rebuilt to have to live next door to an empty house with it's doors and windows gaping open. No sign of life, no sign of hope. How can they cope with seeing that day after day. Maybe you just learn to ignore it after a while. Although, one person I spoke with whose street has only a handful of rebuilds and mostly empty lots and empty homes, spoke of the dismay of his neighborhood not coming back. He's back home, but not really.

At least one family member has lived to regret rebuilding in the old neighborhood because of the crime level. It was bad before the storm, it's bad now. The storm washed away a lot of things, but not the criminals. Maybe these are new ones, who knows. Cars are stolen, shots are fired, police cars with spotlights shining search for culprits....everyday. I sat in the living room on the sofa with my back to the window expecting to feel a bullet pierce my skull at any minute. And, I can't tell you the angst I felt knowing my cute, shiny red car was sitting outside, unprotected.

My brother, Newell. I can only see a glimpse of the man I once knew.

My nephew's new home built where is old home used to be.

Two empty lots and an abandoned house on one side of my nephew's house.

On the other side an empty lot and a house that someone is still restoring. While I was there he spent most of the day cutting his grass and edging his lawn. He lives in a trailer in the driveway on the other side of his house.

Another view from the side of my nephew's house.

A random abandoned house.

Looks like someone might have been doing some work on the house on the left, but no one was there when I passed by.

Note the writing on the bricks that was put there by the searches right after Katrina. I can't remember what the codes meant, but one stood for a body count, I beleive.

More desolation.

I did manage to get one delicious oyster poboy and some king cake while there, both comfort foods to me. However, I was so glad to be back on the road to my home, my loving family. I am so blessed by all that I have.

Jenni and our littlest elf

2010-12-26T22:49:00.002-06:00

Christmas 2010 still more

2010-12-26T22:39:00.000-06:00

I was soooo sick on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but we all had a good time anyway.

I managed to put up the Victoria Station from my Dicken's Vilage.

Eamon making cookies.

Nick and Jenni.

More Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T22:31:00.000-06:00

Guess who got a new camera for Christmas? Guess all those hints paid off.

Seen here: Eamon's feet and Ely's arms. Eamon just attacked Ely.

Whoops. Where's Eamon?

Looks like the attack backfired.

Christmas Decorating Update

2010-12-20T07:39:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas tree is decorated, there are lights on the front porch and even some little caroling mice in the front yard. Victoria Station and the train and some little trees and people are out in the living room. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Ely came in for the weekend and he and Amy made Christmas candy yesterday. Eamon helped by smashing the peppermint sticks for the pepperment almond bark. Finally, something he can break and not get into trouble for.

There are no pictures because my camera has finally died. RIP camera. Maybe Santa will bring me a new one.

Still trying to decorate the Christmas tree

2010-12-13T09:04:00.000-06:00

Amy and Ed had a party to go to last night, so they brought Eamon and Brady over for us to keep. Eamon brought his sprinkles with him, so we had to make cookies first. Eamon decided that Goldfish would be a good addition to the sugar cookies.

As you can see, he is very serious about this project.

Goldfish and sprinkles, yum! Do you think there are enough green spinkles on that cookie?

One ornament on the tree. Then he lost interest.

He quickly decided he would like to fry some fake bologna in his kitchen.

Serving dinner to Papa.

A little wave of the spatula for the camera.

Decorating For Christmas

2010-12-11T17:44:00.001-06:00

I haven't really been in the mood for decorating the last few years, but this year I am. Knowing that Eamon will be so excited about the decorations this year is a big incentive. However, it's been a slow process. We got some things out of the basement last week and Lee went and bought us a tree at the Boy Scout Tree lot (where else?) He did a good job, it's a beautiful tree.

Tree without lights

Some of my little stuffed critters on the stairs

The stockings hung with care. Yes, there is not one for Brady yet. For sure by next year. Amy bought a kit for him, but I decided it's not fancy enough. I also think Eamon's is too small (smaller than the others) so I might make him a new one, too. Asked Amy how many children she was planning to have so I could order several in the same style (see Amy and Ely's match), but she didn't have an answer for me. She said I should call Ely and ask him how many he's planning to have so I can make matching ones for his kids, too. I'm not going there!

Initial decorating attempt was Tuesday night, but most of the lights were dead. Are those things disposable or what? Seems like you should just throw them away every year and start over with new the next year. Since Tuesday we've made a little more progress.

So, since Tuesday, we've made some progress:

Tree has some lights, but realized not enough so that's one of the things I went to Hobby Lobby for today.

Notice new tree skirt, also curtesy of the 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby. It's hard to see, but there are reindeer on the roof tops.

Play Day

2010-12-11T17:23:00.000-06:00

Today Amy and I took Eamon (and Brady) to see 'New Shoes For Christmas' at the Children's Theater. It's part of the Wee Ones series, so perfect for little ones like Eamon. We started the morning at Krispy Kreme.

Eamon and his chocolate sprinkled donut.

Brady and me

We met my friend, Pat and her sister Jane and her granddaughter, Sadie at the play. Sadie is just one day older than Eamon.

How cute are they? Someone asked us if they were brother and sister. Eamon had to go to the potty and Sadie took his hand and led him there.

We all enjoyed the play and later went to Chappy's for lunch. Ended the outing with a trip to Hobby Lobby to buy some 50% off Christmas decorations. Fun day.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-02T13:16:00.000-06:00

Look, I figured out how to change my background. I'm so proud. No pictures to post lately, can't find my camera. Hoping it will turn up soon.

Thanksgiving Cooking Day

2010-11-23T07:32:00.002-06:00

Ely is home and Amy and Jenni are coming over today for pre-Thanksgiving cooking. Should be a great day.

Sunday, November 14

2010-11-14T10:02:00.000-06:00

Today is Emily's christening after 11 a.m. mass. Can't wait to see her in her dress.

We had supper club last night and Ro and Ko's. Fun time. Unfortunately, Kathy joined us without Rick because he went to the Alabama game. Some good friends of Ro's, Chip and Randy joined us. I enjoyed meeting and visiting with them. Ely came in from Huntsville so he can go to he UAB library so he stopped by and joined us for a while.

OPD

2010-11-12T10:23:00.002-06:00

OPD is a term I heard years ago on Designing Women. It stands for Obnoxious Personality Disorder. Do any of you have co-workers with that disorder? Do you often wonder how/why they remain employed? I keep telling myself what my grandma would say, 'what goes around, comes around', meaning people who do rude or bad things will have something bad happen to them at some point. I would really like some feedback here.

TGIF

2010-11-12T10:20:00.000-06:00

Going to meet my friends, Pat and Donna for lunch today at Zea's. Looking forward to that.

Ex-husband and family coming to stay at our house this weekend to attend Emily's christening (I made the dress, pictures will be posted later).

Amy and 'the boys' coming over tomorrow to watch the Auburn game, our friend Jennie will also join us. Should be a fun time.

Tomorrow night is supper club at Ro's house, can't wait. I know the food will be yummy and the company perfect. Alabama fan, Rick, will be absent from supper club because he is going to the Al. game. His loss.

Emily's christening on Sunday.

Busy weekend.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

2010-11-10T15:19:00.000-06:00

Just haven't been feeling the muse lately. But here's what's going on in my world. My brother, Newell, burned himself in his kitchen a few weeks ago and has had a pretty rough time of it. He was already weak from chemo for his lymphoma and this really knocked him off his feet. Luckily, my aunt, Lovie, has been able to go over everyday and sit with him. She says he is getting better, but still very weak.

Ely has been looking for a job in Huntsville since August. He got a job offer this Monday from the City of Huntsville. Although, I think he really wanted a job in accounting, this one will be IT work, but at least it's work. He still has to wait for the police to do a background check, so he may not be able to start for a couple of weeks. Needless to say, I am thrilled about this.

THIS IS NUTS!

2010-11-10T13:49:00.000-06:00

Today at lunch there was a squirrel in our cafeteria. Really! There is a decorative ledge on the wall near the ceiling and he kept running back and forth, occassionally stopping to look down on us. It caused quite a stir for a few minutes, then everyone went back to their conversations. At one point, one of our maintenance guys showed up with about a 5 foot ladder and just looked around and left. For one thing, the ceilings in the caf are about 15 or 20 feet high and for another thing, I don't think the squirrel was going to stand still and let the guy pick him up.

BABY BRADY

2010-11-10T10:36:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, I was priviledged to witness the miracle of birth. Yeah, I know it's a cliche 'the miracle of birth', but sure seemed to be a miracle, a wonder, an amazing thing.

Amy began having contractions on Sunday morning, October 24 at just 35 weeks and remained in denial all day. She fnally agreed to go to the hospital to get checked out, but insisted they would send her home. Well, she wasn't in what they call 'active labor'. Apparently, you have to be dilated over 4 centimeters to be considered 'active', but the contractions were coming regularly so they admitted her to labor and delivery. Although she was given something for the pain, she had a very miserable and restless night.

Finally around 10 a.m. she began to progress and got an epidural around noon and was able to get some sleep. For some reason, I was never really concerned about the safety or condition of the baby. I knew we were in the best place we could possibly be to deliver a preemie.

Amy's doctor suggested Amy try to deliver the baby vaginally because she was progressing so well and the baby would be small. Amy was a little apprehensive but agreed because the doctor said if the labor stalled out, she would do a c-section. Around 3:30 she was fully dilated, the doctor was called in and after about 30 minutes of pushing, little No-name Walsh was born. Lee and I were able to be in the room during the entire birth. Amy's nurse and doctor were amazing. Her doctor was so excited and supportive, she was almost like a cheerleader. She encouraged and praised Amy the whole time. She was so relaxed and made us all feel that everything was under control, which it was.

Right before the baby was born, a team of pediatricians and nurses were called in to attend to him. They took him right after he was born and started working on him. He was what they call 'floppy' and was breathing a litte funny (they called it 'grunting'), but they explained this was all very normal for a preemie. Baby was whisked off pretty quickly to the NICU where he spent only one night. We were able to visit him at any time and Aunt Jen actually spent most of the night with him.

Next day he was moved to another place called the CNU where he had a private room with a bath. Very classy. By that afternoon, he was in the room with him mommy. On Wednesday afternoon, he was named Brady Edward Lee Walsh. And, on Wednesday afternoon was both mommy and baby were sent home.

Oh, Eamon was allowed to visit Brady shorly after he was born and has been in love with his Baby Brudder ever since.

Babysitting

2010-11-10T08:31:00.000-06:00

Last night, Lee and I kept Brady while Amy went to class. Ed and Eamon were having some one on one time together. Around 6 p.m. I got a phone call from Eamon:

Marie, you got my baby brudder?
Yes, I'm watching him while your mommy is in school.
Marie, bring my baby brudder to my house.
Mommy will pick up baby brudder after school and bring him home.
No, you bring baby brudder home to my house, Mommy house, Daddy house, baby brudder house.

I guess he likes his baby brudder.

Visit to Uncle Ely

2010-09-08T12:59:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, I took Eamon to visit Uncle Ely at his new house in Huntsville. We had a nice ride up there (Eamon occupied himself by trying to take apart his DVD player). He was a little reluctant to get near Ely when we first got there, but I later realized he had never seen Ely with a hair cut and no facial hair. He soon warmed up to him and we went to a nearby playground to play. This lasted about 30 minutes because it was SOOOOO hot.

After our outing to the playground, Ely took us to an old section in Madison across from a railroad track where we ate in a Mexican restaurant. There was a freight train parked on the track, so Eamon was in heaven. (Trains and fire engines are on the top if his favorites list.)

Eamon had been singing Happy Birthday to himself all morning. During lunch, he looked at me and said, 'Hey, Marie, you got my present?' What a funny boy. (Most of you know his birthday is in January.)

Old Madison - across from restaurant.

Mexican restaurant where we ate is on the left. Check out the old time hair dryers in the window of the salon on the right!

Mexican restaurant actually takes up two store fronts.

After lunch, Eamon fell asleep, so we dropped Uncle Ely off at home and we made the trip back to Birrmingham. It was a wonderful day.

MOVING DAY

2010-08-10T10:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Ely moved to Huntsville last week and because Lee had to go to Atlanta for work at the last minute, I was called into action. Here is a recap of our day.

We finished packing up the Uhaul trailer, the Expedition and the Vibe by around 9:30 and took off with Ely driving the Expedition pulling the trailer and me driving Ely's Vibe. I thought we would caravan there, but I caught a red light and lost Ely and assumed he was way ahead of me. After a while, he called to let me know he has stopped to get gas, so it turned out I was way ahead of him. The drive to Hunstville was uneventful and smooth.

Ely caught up with me in Hunstville and I followed him to his new house where we dropped off the Expedition and the trailer.

Next we go to meet Carl (Ely's friend and new roommate) to follow him to the rental office so they can sign the lease. Things started to go downhill at this point. On our way to the rental office, Carl realizes he need to go to his office to pick up his pay check, but he left his office keys at his apartment and had to go back to get them. Ely and I decide to go eat lunch while we wait.

Finally, Carl meets us at the office, where they find out that the carpet has not yet been replaced in the house. This means, that Ely will have to put his stuff in the garage until the carpet is installed. We get the keys and head to the house. Keys won't open any of the doors. No problem, she also gave us the combination to the lock box, which has a key in it. Carl uses the combination and gets the lock box off the door, but ......the lock box won't open. Can this get any better? Did I mention it was 105 degrees in the shade???? Carl calls the lady and she tells him to make sure his turning the combination to 7's and not 2's. Well, they've been to college, they can tell the difference between a 7 and a 2. She says she's send the locksmith out to meet us. I suggested that we go sit somewhere cool, which we did.

We went to an ice cream parlor and sat for a while and waited for a call from the locksmith. Finally, after about 45 minutes, Carl just drives to the real estate office to get the new keys. Meanwhile, Ely and I went grocery shopping at Kroger's. I'm not a big Kroger's fan. It was sort of dirty. I told Ely he should shop at Publix from now on.

Carl calls to say he has the key, so we head back to the house. So, I think the day is getting better. But, oh no. We get in the house and it is filthy. It was supposedly cleaned beforehand, but not so much. There are also quite a few things broken. For example, the oven door won't close all the way. Carl called the realtor and she agreed to meet him there the next day to look over the problems.

We move Ely's stuff into the garage and put a few things in the kitchen. Strangely enough, the refrigerator was clean. And, more good news, the electricity was on and the AC was working.

After we got the trailer emptied it was time for me to drive the Expedition and trailer back to Birmingham. Didn't really want to do it, but had no choice. It was a white knuckle drive allthe way back. I was afraid to go to fast, so I stayed in the slow lane behind a tanker truck all the way back.

The Uhaul place in Pelham was going to close at 7 p.m. and I pulled in their lot at 6:58, finally something went right! Got home, and took a long soaky bath.

How I spent my weekend

2010-08-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

HOW CUTE IS THIS????

I made this cute little froggie outfit for Two (Eamon's name for his baby brother). It's made from a new pattern I found that I think is the greatest.

Also did some reading, finished Janet Evanovich's latest. Read 'Murder List' by Julie Garwood and one other, but I can't remember the name. Went to water aerobics Saturday and then got my nails done. Lee and I went to see 'Salt' on Sunday. Lots of action and violence, but pretty good.

SUPERHERO

2010-07-16T09:31:00.002-05:00

I found this in my front yard yesterday.

If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will.

EEEK!

2010-07-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

This morning when I was walking through my garden to get to my car, I saw the tail of a small, grey snake under the rhododendrum. Of course, it would be a morning when I had my hands full and the dog by her leash because I was taking her to the groomer. So, I didn't get to take a picture. I stood still for a moment and then he slithered away. Since I am not a snake expert (or lover), I don't know what kind he was, all I know is he was grey. I looked for a picture of a similar looking snake that I could post, but decided that if I put a picture of a real snake I would freak myself (and others) out everytime I saw it. So, here is a picture of a fun snake, just for illustration puposes. Blogs are much more fun with pictures, don't you think?

Getting Ely to the Appalachian Trail

2010-07-11T23:39:00.001-05:00

Lee and I drove Ely to Blood Mountain, GA, so he could continue his trek on the AT. We drove up Saturday afternoon and stayed in a neat little cabin. It had a living room, kitchen, bath, bedroom and another loft bedroom. Nice deck off the back with a breathtaking view.

How cute is he?

We got in late and had to drive to Blairsville to find dinner. Luckily, we found a cool place called FATZ. People were friendly, service was good and so was the food. After dinner we went to a grocery store so Ely could get food for the next 6 days.

Lee and Ely on the front deck of our cabin Sunday morning before we dropped him off on the trail.

Ely had a problem with one of his walking poles, so he had to spend some time trying to fix it.

And he's off! What a remarkable guy. Today he plans to walk about 12 miles to the next shelter where he will spend the night.

WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

After we left saw Ely off, we went back to the cabin to pack up. Lee found one bag of Ely's food on the table and was quite upset thinking about Ely stopping for a meal later on only to discover he was missing half of his food. I tried to make him feel better by saying we knew he had some food with him and he would just have to get to a town and get some more sooner than he planned. As we were checking out, I mentioned it to the owner and he said that after Ely hiked 5 1/2 miles, he would come to a highway and that we could drive there and wait for him. So, we did. Ely was so surprised to see us. We he saw us, he yelled from the trail 'Ya'll get lost?' He didn't know he had forgotten his food until we told him and he was so glad we had brought it to him. He plans to hike for 6 days before stopping in a town, and he would not have been able to make it without this stuff.

Ely taking a break after he got his food.

Me and Ely on the AT before he takes off for the second time. See, I was actually on the Appalachian Trail

Lee and Ely on the trail.

Bye, Ely. Again. Hope he has a great trip.

Lee and I went to Helen, GA after we left Ely and wondered around a bit in the little shops. That place was packed with people. Lots of people tubing. On the way out of town we found an antique shop and a winery. We got some free samples of wine and bought a bottle for our next supper club. Next we went to Dahlonega, and looked around a bit. It was a neat little town, we walked around some and bought some candy. There was some gold mining museum that Lee was interested in but it was almost closing time, so we didn't go in. Our next stop was the outlet mall, but we were pretty disappointed in the prices. All we bought was some tongs to use for grilling. All in all it was a great weekend, that area of Georgia is beautiful.

CHATTANOOGA

2010-07-07T13:06:00.005-05:00

Several weeks ago, Lee and I took Eamon to Chattanooga for the weekend while Amy and Ed went to Georgia for a wedding. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium and rode the Missionary Ridge train. I think Eamon's favorite event was riding the luggage cart at the hotel.

Eamon pointing to the sting rays.

Lee and Eamon (Eamon sampling the sea water).

Mousse for Dessert

2010-06-28T15:23:00.001-05:00

So, I saw a headline today about 'Mousse Patties' washing up on the beaches. I got a little excited until I realized they they were referring oil blobs and not chocolate. Guess I won't be making vacation plans!

THIS WEEK

2010-05-28T07:56:00.002-05:00

We had a great supper club gathering last Saturday night. I fixed Pastalaya (using Emeril's recipe) and everyone said it was great. Lee baked his Sour Cream Pound Cake and we ate that for dessert with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream.

Sunday was our church picnic. Of course, our version of a picnic is you get your food, go in the gym and eat it and then play bingo. Amy spent some time outside with Eamon as they had some bouncy things and a train for the kids to play on.

This week has been pretty uneventful. We're heading to New Orleans this afternoon so we can go to Katie's dance recital tomorrow night. I'm hoping my gall bladder takes the weekend off, or else I will be miserable.

HEY!

2010-05-21T08:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday evening, my anniversary, Lee went to the ballpark to sell beer for Jesus. What can I say, I don't want to come between my husband and his religion. So, on my way home from work, I called Amy and we met near Eamon's day care at Jim and Nicks for dinner. While the waiter was trying to take our order, Eamon kept trying to get his attention. He said "Hey,....Hey....Hey....Hey'. The guy kept ignoring him. Finally, Eamon starting tapping him on his arm saying 'Hey'. The guy looks down at Eamon who then says 'Daddy drive fire truck'. I guess he felt like the guy really needed to know.

FROM THE WOODS

2010-05-21T08:16:00.002-05:00

News from the woods is that they are both fine. Nick will be done with his part of the trip on Sunday in Boiling Springs, PA. His aunt will pick him up and he will fly home on Tuesday. Ely will continue on. I've spoken to him a couple of times and he sounds great. I'm thinking maybe he should just live in the woods, he seems so happy there.

In the mail

2010-05-21T08:12:00.003-05:00

So, yesterday in the mail we got an invitation to a high school graduation. So nice of the family to think of us, unfortunately, I have no idea who the child is. I swear! I just can't figure it out. Then I wondered if I should just send a check in case it's somebody I really should know and am just having a senior moment. Then I wondered if this might be a money making scheme by some senior. Just think, you order a couple hundred extra graduation invitations. You pull up some random list of names from some random place from the internet, it's easy enough. Mail them out and chances are about 25% of them will send you a card and some money, just in case they know your parents and don't want to hurt their feelings. Think about it. This could be true. Meanwhile, if anybody knows Chelsea from Kenner, let me know.

Is it the middle of May already?

2010-05-18T08:15:00.002-05:00

Time seems to be flying by so fast. Seems it took months (or was it years) for Ely's graduation to get here and now it's history. Ely and Nick are out on the trail. They crossed into Pennsylvania on Sunday. Today they should get the first package I've ever sent to 'General Delivery'. Ely needed his sleeping pad and his long underwear pants.

We had Kim and Alan's baby shower Saturday night. I cooked red beans and rice and pastalaya and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Amy made a diaper cake that was very cute, she decorated it with receiving blankets. Kim and Alan are so sweet, I'm so glad we could do this for them. Harry and Debbie and Kelly and Alan's Aunt Kim all came in from Louisiana for the event. Kim's mom, Sandra, drove in from Mobile. Wehad brownies and eclairs (E. Claire's) for dessert. The eclairs were in honor of baby Emily Claire (aka E. Claire).

My New Car

2010-05-11T10:26:00.002-05:00

Have you seen my new car? I got it a few months ago and just love it. The other day I took it to the car wash and was a wreck the whole while afraid that they were going to damage it. When I left I found some smears by the radio and turned around and went back and made them buff them out.

Report on the Sister's Lunch

2010-05-06T14:15:00.003-05:00

Ok, so they gave us a little chicken breast (maybe from a sparrow), a little rice and a bunch of salad greens that might have been in the vicinity of some salad dressing at some point, but not very close. Water to drink, no tea. After we finished lunch, one of the ladies at my table asked about dessert was told that the two pieces of candy in the little box at each place was our dessert. Well, then what was the damn spoon for? We didn't even get coffee. I left there hungry and had to stop at McDonald's to get a McFlurry (really could have eaten a burger and fries, but I didn't.)

Ok, in case you are inclined to remind me it was for a good cause, I do know that, but I would have been $40 instead of $30 for some extra food.

Got back to campus and spent 10 minutes and a gallon of gas trying to find a parking place. There was one right next to the building but our campus mail guy had it blocked. I drove around and came back, he still had it blocked. Parked a block and a half away, trudged up hill in the heat to find, yes, you know it, the place was now open!!!!!

Ok, I must go now and put together a grocery list for Ely's party.

Sister's Luncheon

2010-05-06T10:25:00.003-05:00

I'm headed to the Sister's Luncheon for breast cancer in a little while. Meeting my friends, Pat ( a cancer survivor) and Donna there. In previous years it's been at They Club and the Wynfrey, but this year is at B&A Warehouse in town. Not looking foward to parking and catching a shuttle bus to the place, but that's the plan.

YES, I KNOW IT'S BEEN MONTHS

2010-05-03T12:46:00.003-05:00

I haven't had much inclination to write since Johanna passed away in early March. So much sorrow. Didn't know I could hurt that much. I guess we've been lucky or blessed or whatever you believe in that we haven't had much tragedy in our lives. This was truly the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my adult life.

However, life does go on. Spring has been beautiful in Hoover, the flowers made a great show this year. Wish I could keep them all year long, but alas, my azaleas have seen better days.

Most of you know that Amy is expecting again, this little one will join us around Thanksgiving. We've asked Eamon several time if Mommy has a baby in her tummy and he just laughs and says, 'nooooooo' and shakes his head. He's just too cute. Poor Amy has been sick again with the pregnancy and I'm hoping it doesn't last much longer. If she loses any more weight she'll be buying smaller clothes instead of maternity clothes.

Ely will graduate this weekend and then he and Nick will take off for Harper's Ferry, WV to begin the AT hike. Nick plans only to do two weeks and then come home. Ely will hike until he has to get back to start grad school in Huntsville in August or until he breaks something, whichever comes first.

Party at our house Saturday night after graduation. Come if you can.

Jenni has picked up some extra work at a place called the Puzzle Piece, she'll be working with autistic children and is very excited about this. She certainly has a special gift.

I'm sewing again, another thing I just wasn't able to make myself do for months. It sure feels good. I'm working on a special gift for someone's baby but I won't say what it is because she might be reading this.

I'll try to be better with posts in the future.

Happy Birthday, Eamon

2010-01-14T08:57:00.002-06:00

We had Eamon's birthday party at our house on Saturday. It was a very cold day, so we had to do everything inside. Jenni donned her Party Fairy tutu and organized all the games and entertained the little kids. They all seemed to have a good time. They especially liked the big bouncy thing full of balls that was in the great room.

Eamon seemed to know it was all about him and was delightful. He was so funny when he opened his present from his Grandma Kathy. He opened the box and it was three large white cushions. They were the inside to a little arm chair that had to be assembled and then covered with the cover. He had no idea what is was all about but climbed on the cushions and loved them. He was perfectly happy with them in that form. We had to forcibly take the cushions away in order to assemble the chair. Once it was put together, he liked that, too.

We had lots of great food and a delicious cake from Edgar's. Yum.

Finally, a job.

2010-01-14T08:56:00.003-06:00

As of last Wednesday, I have a permanent job at Samford. I've been doing the job since July as a temp. It feels good to know it's for good now. It's basically the same job I used to have, but with less responsibilities. How great is that?

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T06:31:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Lee and I took Eamon to see Santa at the mall. Eamon decided he was not sitting on the fat guy's lap, so Lee and I had to sit there, too. Oh well!

Nunsense

2009-11-17T08:33:00.005-06:00

Last Friday night I went to see Nunsense in Montevallo, put on by a local theater group. It took place in the library theater. In attendance were: me, Kathy, Jennie, Kristi, Jenni, Amy and Kim. It was very funny and we all had a good time. The weakest cast member was the person who played the Mother Superior and she should have been the strongest. In the version I've seen on TV, Rue McClanahan plays the Mother Superior and she is fantastic. But, of course, we only paid $10 to see this, so we got our money's worth. The other 4 cast members were great. If you want to see some of it, you can find it on UTUBE (the real play, not the one in Montevallo.)

Before the play, we went to the Eclipse Book and Coffee shop for dinner. It was a quaint little place that looks like it was once a house. They serve soups, salads and sandwiches (and milkshakes). After the play, some of decided to go back for milkshakes. Well, we go there to find a Poetry Slam going on. The whole restaurant part of the place was filled with people listening to the 'poetry'. After each recitation, the audience would rate them on a small dry erase board and hold it up for all to see. We listened to several of them while we waited on our shakes and Amy summed it up by saying the all needed to be on antidepressant. It reminded me of seeing those poetry readings in old 1950 and 1960 movies with beatniks in them. The beatniks were always in that setting. The only difference was that in the movies everyone applauded by snapping their fingers. I don't remember if anyone actually applauded these 'poets' or not.

Moss Rock and other things

2009-11-10T08:14:00.003-06:00

Amy, Eamon and I went to the Moss Rock festival on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day. We say Aunt Jen, and some of Amy's church friends there. Eamon got to pet a snake and pounded flowers to color a wrist band.

In the last few weeks, I've make Eamon's holiday outfit and his Christmas stocking. I'll post pictures soon.

For those of you who have been keeping up with the slow pace of our bathroom remodel, just wanted to say that the skirt and trim on the tub and the trim on the vanity were installed yesterday! Hooray. I plan to look for a pretty shower curtain this week and then paint. Hopefully, I can get the painting done this weekend. It's a small bathroom, shouldn't take too much time. If all goes well, it will all be finished and decorated by supper club next weekend.

Race (well, walk) for the Cure

2009-10-16T09:31:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday, Amy, Eamon and I walked one mile in the Breast Cancer Race for the Cure. The weather was not ideal, misty and drizzly, but never really rained while we were there. We werew supposed to walk with my friend, Pat and her family, but they decided not to because of the weather. We met up with Amy's friend, Jennie, her mom Mary, who is a breast cancer surviror and Ashley, Emily and Rowan and walked with them. It was overwhelming to see the number of people who showed up and staggering to thing about how many people are impacted by breast cancer.

I haven't done much, but go to work this week, since I've been fighting off some kind of sinus/allergy crap. Feel much better today and hope to have a great weekend of sewing. Also need to straighten up the house. Since we got the new TV, I've got stacks of movies on video tapes that I need to decide what to do with.

I'm still working as a temp and still looking for permanent work. Had an interview last week at UAB that sounded promising at first, but then found out they wanted me to actually do some fund raising - asking people for money. Withdrew my application immediately. Not my thing. Hopefully, something will come up at least by the time my services are no longer needed at Samford.

An Unexpected Trip to the Beach

2009-10-05T15:52:00.003-05:00

Amy and Ed decided to go to the beach for a few days before Amy started her new job. Did I mention Amy got a new job at UAB? Hooray! Anyway, they invited me to go. At first I was a little hesitant since I was worried I would be in the way and also didn't want to take off from work since I have no vacation. After Amy reminded me that my dear friend, Debbie, lives right accross the bay on Dauphin Island, my mind was made up.

We drove down on Sunday, September 27 and got down to Foley in time to do a little shopping before check in time at the condo in Gulf Shores. Ed got us settled in at the condo and went back to the main road (about 12 miles away) to buy groceries. They fixed fajitas that night. The condo was very comfy. The only disappointment was there was no washer and dryer, but that turned out to be no big deal.

Eamon loved the beach, the birds, the pool, the other guests and the food. Amy packed his trains, tracks and trucks and he played with those anytime we were inside.

The weather was great, I thouroughly enjoyed my vacation. Debbie came over from Dauphin Island and visited with us on Monday. It was so good to see her. We had a great visit.

We ate out some, we ate in some, no real schedule, just what a vacation is supposed to be.

And In Other News

2009-09-25T12:31:00.003-05:00

I was contacted by a recruiter about a temporary contract job with AT&T. She interviewed me over the phone and then the next day I had a phone interview with her boss. She said she thought I might have a shot at it and is sending my resume in to them today. My chances are probably slim to none, but it was neat to called. Apparently, my 31 years at BellSouth impressed somebody. She said she is going to keep my resume on file in case something else comes along.

I'm still a temp here at Samford, so I might as well be a temp somewhere where I can use my experience and make more money.

What's new with me

2009-09-25T12:26:00.002-05:00

Not much. I went with Amy and Eamon and Kristy and Jennie to the Leeds Folk Festival last Saturday. It was a rainy day, but we had fun. We went to a drum show especially for kids and Eamon had a blast, he danced and danced. Everyone was looking at him and laughing. Ashley, Clarence and Rowan met us there. We walked around a while and found a cow, which Eamon got to pet. Decided not to eat at the fair because it was too wet. Stopped at a local Leed's barbecue place on the way home and it was pretty good.

Went to a friend's house Saturday afternoon for an Open House in honor of her son (an old friend of Ely's) who was home from DC. After we left there, we went home because Amy had invited her whole crew from earlier in the day over to watch the Auburn game on our new big flat screen tv. They grilled hot dogs. Rowan and Eamon played, they were so cute to watch. Eamon calls Rowan, Bebe (baby).

Success

2009-09-17T07:37:00.002-05:00

Went to yet a third Walmart after work yesterday, found what I wanted, found someone who waited on my and brought it to my care. Out of there in 5 minutes. Hooray! Now to get somebody to get it out of my car and into the house......

WALMART HELL

2009-09-15T20:13:00.001-05:00

So, we ordered a new flat screen tv yesterday. Found a deal on one with free shipping. Of course, one thing leads to another because now we need a new console thingy to hold the Uverse box, dvd player and whatever the hell else Ely has hooked up to the tv. Not wanted to spend more on the console than we spent on the tv as that would completely negate the savings, I went to Walmart to find one. The had two that I liked in my price range.

Walmart number 1, didn't find any in a box by the display, so I asked a clerk to find someone to help me to find out if they had any in the back. Waited 15 minutes, no one showed up, I left.

Ok, yes, I was dumb enough to try another Walmart, I was a woman on a mission.

Walmart number 2, again they had a display model, but none in boxes. Even if they had, it would have been to heavy to pick up, so I would have needed assistance. I went to customer service. The person there made a call, then walked somewhere. Finally she came back and told me to follow her. She takes me to the back by the package pick-up counter and the bathrooms. She goes in the back, comes out with a manager. He goes with me, looks at the furniture, takes down the number and goes about for about 10 minutes. Comes back, tells me they don't have any. Then he offers to scan the bar code and see if they have any on order. We go to electronics and he gets some guy to scan it. This guys say that according to the scanner, they have 9 of them in the back. He notes the bin numbers where they are and tells me he'll get me one. 45 minutes later (yes, I know, I'm a fool, why did I stand there for 45 minutes?), he never came back, so I left.

Oh, did I mention that this all occured after I had to wait 30 minutes past my appointment time in the dentist office to get my teeth cleaned??

Bottom line, I still have no console to hold all the stuff and the old case won't accomodate the new tv.

I know this story had captivated your attention and your are so sympathetic to my plight, but I just had to vent and if you can't vent on your blog, where can you??????

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

2009-09-15T08:46:00.002-05:00

Couldn't think of anything clever to name this post, so just went with the day. Here's what's been happening, not necessarily chronologically.

Ely got a full-time job (yes, he's still going to school full-time, but his classes are at night). They don't pay much, but they have free cokes (anyone who knows Ely, knows they are going to go broke on that one), free sandwich stuff for lunches and uniform shirts and a service that cleans them. It's some kind of IT company.

I am still working as a temp at Samford in my old job. I really would like to stay, but there is some mystery thing going on and they can't make a commitment. My take on it is that there is or is going to be some changes on campus that will result in an extra secretary and they are going to place her in this job. I was upset about this for a while, but realize it is out of my control. Everyone in my department keeps saying how glad they are that I'm back and what a great job I'm doing. I just organized and pulled off a gigantic office rearrangement of people and desks that went extremely well. So, I may not get the job, but things will not go smoothly when I leave and they will miss me. How's that for ego?

I spent Labor Day with Eamon and Amy and we went to Jim and Nick's for lunch. Amy got Eamon an order of fries, but he really preferred the ketchup. He uses the fries as a tool to scoop up the ketchup and then after a while just dips in with his hands and get's it without the fries.

We all went over to Amy and Ed's on Saturday night for football. Have you ever watched football with Ed? It is an experience that I can't describe. I've never known anybody to get so intense about a ball game. Anyway, we had fun and all of our teams won (Georgia, Auburn and LSU).

I've been getting back into smocking lately after over a year of making boy clothes. The smocked dresses are so cute. Next, I want to do some more heirloom sewing, that's pretty intricate work, but the finished products are worth it.

Lee went down to MS and LA Labor day weekend to visit three of his sisters who are all having health problems.

That's about all that's going on.

Birthday Celebration

2009-08-31T20:28:00.002-05:00

Eamon doing a little jig.

A wild game of Cranium.

Birthday cake from Publix.

Did you know that dip was a full body experience?

More, please.

Yesterday, we celebrated 3 birthdays, Kim's, Ely's and Ed's. I cheated and bought a cake instead of making on, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. The highlight of the day for Eamon was the onion dip. That boy loves his dip.

Everyone played Cranium after we ate, except Eamon and me, we napped.

Not sure why, but we didn't get any pictures of Ed or Ely. They really were there.

Bathroom Trauma

2009-08-18T15:06:00.002-05:00

Ed came over Sunday to continue the bathroom tile job. Our bedroom closet is connected to teh bathroom, so we have to do that floor, too. We soon realized, much to my dismay, that the whole closet system had to come down in order to get the carpet up and get the tile down. The prospect of emptying out my closet caused me a lot of stress, so I had a big glass of wine to ease my nerves. Amy and Ed helped me pull everything out.

Currently, all of our clothes and other paraphenalia, is strewn around the bedroom, dining room laundry room, living room and guest bedroom. Finding clothes and shoes to wear to work in the morning has been quite a challenge.

This whole operations made me realize that I have too much crap and I am going to think long and hard before I put stuff back in there. The closet is gigantic and we couldn't hardly walk through it before.

Ed is tiling today, so, hopefully, I'll be able to get my clothes back in there soon.

Working

2009-08-07T08:38:00.002-05:00

I'm still working at Samford. Sitting at my old desk, it's just like I never left. They've moved a lot of the work on to other people, so it's not busy at all. In fact, I've been sort of bored so I got someone else in the department to give me some work to do. Being busy makes the time go by faster. I can't stand to just sit here and do nothing.

Sunday at Home

2009-08-07T08:36:00.002-05:00

Kim and Alan and Amy and Eamon came over after church on Sunday. Lee and I were too tired to cook, so he picked up bread and cold cuts and we just had sandwiches. Of course, I did make the requisite brownies. Kim and Alan always look for the brownies when they come. Kim did bring over a cake she made from scratch with a cream cheese icing and some blueberries. It was delicious, good job Kim.

Supper Club - August, 2009

2009-08-07T08:33:00.003-05:00

We had supper club this month at Ro's and Ko's. Ro fixed a great pasta dish and a wonderful chocolate torte for dessert. She babysat Gabriel so Renay and Niko could go out to dinner. He is such an easy baby. He stayed up for a little while, but was really never fussy. He amused himself for a long time.

We didn't stay long. My neck was killing me from my marathon sewing event, so we went home early. Took some advil, slept through church on Sunday but my neck was fine when I woke up.

Bathroom

2009-08-07T08:23:00.002-05:00

All of you know that we have been redoing our master bath for many months now. For some reason, all projects at our house take 100 times longer than they do at anyone else's house.

We (Lee) agonized over what tile to put down on the floor. I tried to give some input, which he said he wanted, but that wasn't true. I finally said pick a damn tile and let's just go with it, I don't care anymore.

Ed got started on the floors this past weekend. He's never done tile work before, but he just got in and got to work in typical Ed style. He's not afraid to tackle anything. I know it's hard work and I can't express how much I appreciate what he is doing for me. If left to the men who live in my house, the floors would never get done. Of course, they can both tell you how to do it because they believe they know how to do everything. It's the actual execution of the work that seems to elude them.

Of course, meanwhile, my toilet is on my front porch. It rained the other day and filled up the tank and the next time Eamon came over he so enjoyed flushing the toilet. Why didn't I take pictures of that? I must be slipping.

Ed's coming back today to work on the floor some more. Hopefully, he'll get the toilet back in soon. I've been sleeping upstairs so I can use that bathroom. I have to pee so many times during the night and just don't want to have to climb up and down the stairs 4 or 5 times each night.

Next step, have the electrician come in and wire my new lights. I've bought a smaller mirror than the old one and are having side lights put in.

I'll post pictures of the new bathroom soon.

Sewing

2009-08-07T08:17:00.003-05:00

Sit and Sew was last Friday night. I thought I could finish two outfits I was making for Heather's baby shower, but I messed something up and had to rip things out and yada yada yada. Needless to say, I didn't finish, so got up early Saturday morning, determined to get them finished for the 11 a.m. shower. Didn't happen. I got everything done except the buttons and button holes. So, I ironed them and wrapped them and gave them to Heather but told her she had to give them back so I could finish them. She got a kick out of that. They are finished now, I just have to get them back to her.

Supper Club, July 18, 2009

2009-07-20T10:40:00.003-05:00

Very successful evening. I cooked Braised Short Ribs with gravy and served them over Swiss Chard and Pearl Onions. Lee fixed mashed potatoes. For dessert, I fixed a Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle (used Amy's trifle bowl). Everyone seemed to enjoy the food. As usual, company was excellent.

Friday, July 17, 2009

2009-07-17T13:42:00.003-05:00

Well, I really don't have anything exciting to blog about today. This will be my last day as a temp in the Pharmacy school. On Monday, I will move to my old office to temp in my old job. How strange is that? Katy, who took my place, is moving to another job on campus, so I'll fill in for a while. Looking forward to being back with all my old friends.

Tomorrow is supper club at our house, which I'm looking forward to. The menu is a secret, I'll let you know next week how it turns out.

Eamon and the Golf Cart

2009-07-09T08:02:00.002-05:00

Yesterday evening we kept Eamon so that Amy and Ed could attend their church group meeting. We were letting him play outside when an elderly couple from down the street, that we rarely see, came driving by in their golf cart. They stopped to talk and were immediately drawn to Eamon because he was waving to them. The lady got out (poor thing is 80 years old and walks with a cane) so that Lee and Eamon could take a ride in the golf cart. The went to the end of our short street and back. Eamon got out, blew a kiss, waved, told the man bye-bye and then climbed back into the cart. The man wound up taking him on a couple of more rides just around the cul-de-sac. As they left to drive home, the lady said about Eamon, 'You can't get any more precious than that!' Well, of course, I agreed with her.

What's Cooking?

2009-07-05T20:59:00.004-05:00

Amy brought Ellen over today so she could sew. Ed kept Eamon at home, since he probably wouldn't have allowed much sewing to go on. Ellen made a very cute apron and then she tried out the apron while making brownies. The brownies were great. Thanks, Ellen.

Happy Birthday, Jenni and Amy!

2009-07-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrated Jenni and Amy's birthdays. Jenni will be 40 later this week and Amy turned 30 on Friday. We started off with bacon wrapped shrimp, a family favorite. We fixed chicken kabobs and warm potato salad. It was mostly family, but Jennie and Kristi came over, too. Jennie brought mint brownies, yum. Ed brought a cookie cake.
Ely had to work, but he got home while everyone was still here.

July 3, 2009

2009-07-04T10:36:00.000-05:00

Today was Amy's 30th birthday. Hard to believe. I remember the day she was born so clearly. What a fat, beautiful baby she was!

Jenni came by with Isaac and Liam today (Kaia's boys), she has them for a few days. Such beautiful children, and growing up so fast.

We took Eamon and Ellen swimming at Kathy's house today. She has very nice to have let us use the pool. Eamon seemed to enjoy himself, but I think he would have had more fun if he had taken a nap before we went.

Friday night, typical summer night at the Guess home. Lee at the ballpark, Marie sewing and Ely studying Persian. Yes, Persian. See that's what's so great about our home, you just never know what will be going on.

Just another day

2009-07-01T19:56:00.000-05:00

I went down to visit Amy and Eamon last night for dinner. Ellen is visiting from N.O. and was making pizza. Alan and Kim came and then Ely showed up. We all enjoyed watching Eamon entertain us. Ellen had made a praline cheesecake that we had for dessert, it was awesome. I am declaring Ellen the 'Cheesecake Queen'.
Ely had class tonight, but had left his wallet home, so I went down and brought it to him and he bought me dinner at Al's.
One more day to work this week, hope I can find something to do there tomorrow.

Phone Call

2009-06-29T14:41:00.003-05:00

My husband calls me today. Here is the conversation:

Husband: "Do you have a mastercard or Visa with Excalibur (can't remember the name of the company he said)? They keep calling me on my cell phone about an account."
Me: "No, my Visa is with Lancelot (made that name up)."
Husband: "Well, do your check your balance daily?"
Me: "No, I don't. And, I've never heard of the company you are talking about."
Husband: "Well, you need to check. I'm getting bad vibes from these people. I think it's a scam. You better check your account ."
Me: "I don't have a VISA with those people."
Husband: "Yeah, well, you need to check everyday. I think this is a scam."
Me: "Well, tell them not to call you anymore and do not give them any information."
Husband: "Check your balance. I know this is a scam."

So, just to shut him up, I go online, check my balance with MY VISA company. There is no problem. I call him back.

Me: "I checked, there is no activity on my account. If they call again, tell them to take your number off of their list and to not call you anymore."
Husband: "I think it's a scam. You need to check everyday."
JMe: "Ok, fine, I'll check 6 times a day, but I still don't have an account with that damn company!!!!"
Husband: "I think it's a scam."

Holy Crap! Somebody help me out here! The man is going crazy because of these phone calls. And, what part of 'I don't have an account with these people', can't he understand?????

As I said earlier today, the worse thing about getting old is being married to an old person.

WWMD

2009-06-25T16:12:00.002-05:00

I visited some of my old co-workers on campus this morning and some of them told me that they wished I was back because I was good at handling things and getting things under control. One of them said he was going to get some bracelets made that had 'WWMD' on them for 'What Would Marie Do'. Apparently, there are and have been some things that happen that they feel I wouldn't have put up with. Yeah, I had a reputation for not putting up with much crap. I told some friends yesterday that I worked with years ago, that I am and never have been a team player. They laughed and agreed. I really work best when I am in charge and can boss people around. It's a gift!

Today I was sealing some envelopes and thought to myself, 'I used to have people who did this stuff for me'.

Anyway, it was good for my ego to hear that they still miss me and wish I was back.

Temporary

2009-06-23T07:39:00.002-05:00

Usually when you start a new job you clean off the desk,dust it off, clean out the drawers and organize in a way that is logical to you. As a temp, especially if the incumbent is returning, you pretty much have to leave things the way you found them. I'm finding this very difficult. But, I have no choice but to keep my hands off.

Working again is ok, there really hasn't been very much to do and I would rather be busy. The days are just dragging by. Hopefully, things will pick up.

I got to see Eamon on Sunday and we even took our nap together, just like old times. Ed cooked shish-kabobs and ribs, Amy made brownies (a Guess household staple) and we just sort of lounged around. Kim came over right after church and stayed a little while. Alan and Ely had to work, so they weren't around.

Amy took some pictures of Eamon eating ribs, hope she posts them soon.

Transitions

2009-06-17T08:07:00.000-05:00

I read once that the only thing certain about life is that things will change. Since Amy has lost her job and doesn't need me to watch Eamon for a while, I've taken a temporary job at Samford. I'll work 1/2 day tomorrow and then all day Friday through July 14. It's hard to describe my feelings about this whole thing. Anger and sadness that my precious child lost her job. Happiness that Amy will have some time to spend with Eamon. Sadness at not seeing Eamon almost every day, he grows so fast and learns so many new things everyday. Pleased that I was able to get a temp job so quickly and that everyone I know at Samford seems to be genuinely happy that I will be back for a while.

Today, lunch with my good friend, Pat.

Nap Time

2009-06-11T12:50:00.003-05:00

I found some neat fabric in my sewing room that I've had for about 5 years. I started to make a quilt for Eamon and then Amy suggested I make a sleeping bag. Well, I couldn't find a pattern for a sleeping bag but did find one for a nap map. Eamon liked it so much and I had so much fabric left over that I made another one so he can have one here and at his house. Here's some pictures, don't have any with him in it yet.

Here's a close up of the fabric.

This is the mat ready for use.

It rolls up and buttons and has a shoulder strap on top for easy carrying.

And, yes, it has his name on it.

Anonymous Matrimony

2009-06-08T07:37:00.000-05:00

So, we attended two wedding on Saturday. It amazed me, as it has in the past, how impersonal some weddings are. I know it would be impossible for all ministers, priests, etc. to personally know all the couples they marry. But, how hard would it be to ask a few questions beforehand to find out a few things about the couple? For one of the weddings, the couple has asked the chaplain from their university to come to town to officiate. When I found that out, I thought, good, this will be good, he knows them. Well, maybe he knew them, but he sure didn't act like it. He told a story about a couple who always repeated their vows on their anniversaries, it was very touching. However, he never made any personal reference to the two young people pledging their love that day. Those types of weddings leave me feeling empty.

When Amy and Ed married, Father McDade made it his business to get to know them and, at the rehearsal dinner, asked people questions, so during the wedding he gave a very personal and touching sermon.

Ok, I guess I've preached about that enough. I'm going to the zoo with Amy and Eamon and a friend of Amy's and her baby and mother. Should be fun.

Let me tell you aout my grandkids...

2009-06-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

No pictures today. Sorry. Nick has spent a lot of time with us this week and it has been so nice to have him with us. He went with me to take Eamon to 'swim' in the baby pool at the 'Y' yesterday but the pool wasn't cleaned yet. So, we came home and Nick got Eamon's plastic pool out of the garage and turned the hose and filled up the pool. Eamon got in and out of the pool and had a grand time.
Last night, Ely, Nick and I went to the dollar show and saw 'Taken'. Wow, I don't think I breathed from the time she was taken until the end of the movie. It was truly action packed. Enjoyed it so much, I'm checking to see what else is playing.
Nick went home this afternoon. Eamon went to visit his Auntie Rae with Amy for a couple of days. It's very quiet here. Thought I might get a lot done, but besides mopping the kitchen floor it didn't happen. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

Heartache

2009-06-03T16:35:00.003-05:00

I have to keep reminding myself of all the blessings that I have. I have three smart, hard-working, healthy children and two beautiful grandchildren. I do not live in an appliance box. I have a refrigerator door connected to a refrigerator that I can put notes on. Even though my 401K took a big hit, there is still some left. I've had two long term, great jobs in my life. I have some wonderful friends. My husband loves me.
My heart breaks when something bad happens to any of my children. I wanted so badly for them to have easy and happy lives, an impossible idea, I know. Some of you know that the nasty recession has claimed another victim in our family, which makes me very sad.
An old friend sent me some words of wisdom, out of the blue today. Here are some things I need to remember:

Life is not fair, but it is always good.
It's ok to get angry with God, he can take it.
Don't compare your life to others, you have no idea what their journey is all about.
Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.
Whatever doesn't kill you really makes you stronger.
No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
Frame every so called 'disaster' with these words, 'In five years, will this matter?
Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Don't take yourself too seriously, no one else does.
Believe in miracles.
If we all threw all of our troubles in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
The best is yet to come.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Life isn't tied up with a bow, but it's still a 'gift'.

Dinner with a Friend

2009-06-03T16:33:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday night I met my good friend, Pat, for dinner at Jackson's in Soho Sqare in Homewood. The weather was delightful and we were able to sit outside and have a leisurely dinner. It was good to just sit and visit for a while.

Back to Aldridge Gardens

2009-05-25T08:42:00.003-05:00

Lee and I took Eamon to Aldridge Gardens Friday. He chased the geese and wasn't the least bit intimidated when one of them hissed at him. All went pretty well until we came upon a puddle and he wound up laying belly down in it. He's so funny around water, just loves it. So, we had to drag him away from the puddle to continue our visit.

We looked for the ducks but all we saw were geese and one snake. Where have all the ducks gone?

Supper Club

2009-05-25T08:36:00.000-05:00

Saturday night was Supper Club night with Rick and Kathy and Ro and Ko. This month we met at Rick and Kathy's and Rick fixed Fajitas and Sangria. Dessert was plantains over ice cream. Yummy. Everything was great. After dinner we played Wii bowling and Ko won.
Supper club night is a very special event for us. We've all become so close over the last couple of years and we look forward to our time together.

CARROTS - Utensil or Vegetable

2009-05-18T16:03:00.000-05:00

My biggest daily challenge is what to give Eamon for lunch. There are things he likes, but it might not be the right day for it. He may want mac and cheese today, tomorrow he might throw it on the floor.

Today I tried backed beans ---- not interested. Tried some yellow rice ---- no sale. Barbecued pork ---- not today. Baby carrots and ranch dressing, now this was a big hit. Well, the dip was a big hit, he used the carrot as a utensil to get the dip out of the bowl. Then he would lick the dip off and put the carrot back into the dip to get more. He also had some goldfish, but that's a given, he'll eat those anytime.

Now, what will I offer him tomorrow. Probably frozen pizza, that's always a winner!

Church Picnic

2009-05-17T17:42:00.001-05:00

So, today was our church picnic and, yes, it rained all day. But, you have to understand that our church 'picnic' is held at the church and is mostly held inside. We got our barbecue and ate in the school gym. Usually, some people do eat outside, but it wasn't really an option today.

Amy, Ed, Eamon, Kim and Alan attended at sat with us. Felt bad for the little kids because there is usally a moon walk, fire truck, merry-go-round, etc. Most everybody played bingo after lunch. Alan won once but had to split the $25 pot with somebody else. Eamon enjoyed running back and forth on the bleachers with Papa close behind.

There was popcorn and cotton candy (which was very good, hadn't had any in years.) There was also a cake walk, but I didn't play.

Home chillin' now. Need to put down the computer and do some smocking.

Mother's Day

2009-05-14T15:20:00.000-05:00

This is out of order, but I failed to post about Mother's Day. All the kids came over including Kim and Allen (except Ed, he was in Atlanta). Ely cooked jambalaya and Amy brought home made chocolate chip cookies. We played 'Last Word'. Alan took a nap on the sofa, he REALLY love our sofa. It was a great, relaxing day. Sorry, but I forgot to take pictures.

Breast Cancer Luncheon

2009-05-14T15:11:00.001-05:00

Today I attended the breast cancer luncheon with my friend, Pat, who is a breast cancer survivor. Our friend Donna was there with her amazing mother, Frances. Pat's daughter, Amy and her sister Jane were also there. The food was very tasty, amazing for such a big event. All the breast cancer survivors got a prize, Pat got a great looking purse that her daughter seemed very impressed with. Donna won the center piece ----again this year because it goes to the person whose birthday is closest to the date of the luncheon. So, she may have to sit at another table next year!!! Just kidding.
It was very sobering to me to see the number of women who stood up that were breast cancer survivors. Too many women get this awful disease.
Ed was going to bring Eamon over after the luncheon but he fell asleep on the way here (Eamon, not Ed), so Ed took him back home to put him to bed. Since I have some free time, I guess I'll go upstairs and sew.

Red Hat Day

2009-05-07T17:45:00.002-05:00

So, this morning Eamon spotted the red hat that his Aunt Dianne made for him and decided he needed to wear it.

Lunch with Old Friends

2009-05-07T17:37:00.000-05:00

Today, Eamon and I had lunch at Chick-Fil-A with my friends Ronne and Mike. We used to work together and formed a great relationship. It's not often that you work with great people like them, it was a rare experience and I enjoyed every minute of it. We worked hard and had a great time doing it. We traveled a lot and had some wild times. The stories are all funny (especially when Ronnie tells them).
Eamon was great at lunch. Sat in his chair and ate french fries.
After lunch, we came home and took a 2 hour nap.

Wonderful day!

Dinner, Reading and Ribs

2009-05-05T07:26:00.000-05:00

Kim and Allen came to dinner tonight, we hadn't seen them since Palm Sunday. Lee grilled ribs and chicken and made potatoes au grautin. I made bread pudding and a cake. Amy and Eamon stayed for dinner and Jenni came over. At Amy's suggestion, we put a candle in the cake and sang Happy Birthday because Jenni will be in Mandeville all summer and not here for her birthday. It's always fun when the family comes over.
Poor Eamon was up way too late and Amy called a little while ago to say he was up for two hours last night so she is letting him sleep and will bring him over later. So, I'm going to get some reading in before she comes. I'm reading 'Unlucky For Some' by Jill McGown. Not really crazy about her writing style but have decided to finish the book to find out 'whodunit'.
Oh, the Braised Short Ribs turned out great, I'll put in a link to the recipe later. I didn't follow it exactly and may change some things when I cook them next time. The key to the success, I believe, is to cook them for a long time so the meat just falls apart.