Monday, April 29, 2013

Her Promenade


This past Saturday my daughter attended her senior prom (short for promenade, you know), which was held at The Inn at Opryland.  It rained cats and dogs, as we say here in the South, which made the evening eerily reminiscent of the last time the school held its prom at Opryland. 

Remember this?
 
Ren had a great time and I am so glad her father and I were able (via his job) to attend much of this special evening with her.  Allow me to go all mom on you and boast just a bit by sharing some pics of this high school milestone.

Ren and her date Austin


Austin, Ren, Caitlyn and Colby


Awwww...


More awwww...smooching on Pa Gene


Pretty girls and handsome fellas


Ren with her bestie, Lexie (who later won prom queen)


Prom 2013 was a hit!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

43


Tired, old older eyes
So, today I blew out 43 candles.  Well...I would have blown them out had we had cake but my mom made banana pudding, which is normally a favorite of mine.  I have not been feeling too well lately and did not have much of an appetite tonight.  Actually, I got to spend this morning having some tests run at the hospital.  Mom and dad went with me.  While there, it hit me that forty-three years ago my mom, dad and I were together for the first time in this same hospital.  As nostalgic as that is, I would rather not have had to be there today.

I received lots of goodies for my birthday but, aside from spending time with my most favorite people tonight, my favorite gift was the little pig keychain and coin purse that John-Heath fished out of Ma-Ma and Pa Gene's junk drawer.  I will cherish it forever.


Sunday, April 7, 2013

Busy, Busy, Busy

Do you know how I spell stress?  b.u.s.y.  The next eight weeks are going to be quite the busy ones here at Tire Swings, so I'm starting to get a little on edge.  Heaven help my family.  Really.

Hosting a bridal tea in my home. 
 
Prom (we get to go, too)
 
Hosting an after-prom co-ed sleepover (G rated, of course) and next day breakfast
 
Making sure Ren has everything needed for her school play
 
School play
 
A surprise "thank you" luncheon for some important people
 
Graduation (insert sad face here)
 
Graduation luncheon
 
Niece's wedding
 
Graduation trip

I always enjoy events such as these and look back over them with much fondness, but those last couple weeks leading up to them are tense times for me.  Is anyone else like that?  I wake up at night thinking of some minor detail which nearly always robs me of the remainder of the night's sleep.  Should I use hydrangea flowers in the centerpiece or roses?  Hmmm...Let me think that one over for about the next four hours

I use to think I would like to be a wedding/party planner, and I have many a bridal book to attest to that dream, but if the past week or so is any indication, it's a good thing I became a teacher and librarian.



Saturday, April 6, 2013

Coca Cola 1, John-Heath 0


One of the biggest lessons I've learned as a parent (especially as a parent to a boy) is that you never really know from one minute to the next what excitement will come your way. 

Do you see that Coke bottle in the picture above?  It was bottled in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1917, survived a hotel fire in Macon County, Tennessee in 1926 (the hotel was not so lucky), and managed to be dug from the earth by my husband who, while touring the old hotel grounds, spotted the tiniest portion of its neck poking above the dirt circa 1990s.  Today, it met my son.

John-Heath came into my bathroom this morning with the bottle firmly grasping his middle finger.  At first, I thought he was just holding it, playing some trick on me.  But then I noticed the look on his face.  It's a look we've seen a lot (like the time he got a coffee bean stuck up a nostril while we shopped at Wal-Mart or the time he got candle wax stuck up his other nostril because he sniffed a little too hard or the time he decided to spray paint little red dots on various items in my yard -including my house- and then decided that may not have been such a good idea, yadda, yadda, yadda...).  Yes, my friends, the bottle had a hold of him and it wasn't letting go!  In his defense, the opening to this bottle is a tad bit smaller than the openings on contemporary soft drink bottles.

My son's solution was simple...just break it.  My reply to this was that I would just as soon cut off his finger before I broke that bottle.  Of course, I would never have done that, but it didn't hurt anything making him think for a minute or two that that option was on the table.

In the end, a little warm, soapy water did the trick.  Now the bottle has been tucked back into its proper place in a cabinet, alongside a postcard from the above-mentioned hotel, an old handheld desk bell from one of our county's former one-room schoolhouses, and a few other little trinkets.  I would like to think it's safe from a repeat offense but we can't lock this particular cabinet anymore.  John-Heath lost the key a few years ago.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Attention Congregation: John-Heath Has Eaten All the Unleavened Bread, So Communion Is Cancelled.

Ren and John-Heath Easter 2013
So, two mornings ago when we arrived at church for Sunday School I passed my nephew, a deacon, as I made my way to my pew.  He was mentioning to someone (the pastor, I think) that there would be no communion.  I thought this was odd, as we always have communion on Easter Sunday.  Turns out, my son, who wouldn't think of eating a piece of cherry pie, has a culinary affinity for flour and water and has been caught eating from the storage container of communion wafers on more than one occasion.  And this morning, as my nephew began to prepare the communion table for the service, there was no unleavened bread to be found. 

Posing at church

Mild panic and rapid brainstorming momentarily ensued as all eyes turned to the suspected communion culprit, John-Heath.  I could run home and try to bake some prior to worship serviceSomeone could check and see if any of the grocery stores in town were open.  I even think someone mentioned tortillas as a possible last resort.

The many faces of John-Heath...trying to get that "just right" family pic.

Luckily, the wafers were not eaten and gone, only hidden.  Turns out, Jonathan (my nephew) had forgotten that he had hidden them a while back and found them during one final search attempt.  Crisis averted, John-Heath was vindicated, and we adults were able to participate in communion...not to mention a bit of crow-eating, too.

Monday, April 1, 2013

How a Seven-Year-Old Does April Fools...

April Fools' Day has almost come and gone, so before I forget I want to list a few of John-Heath's favorites.  In no particular order...

Hey, dad!  I like your shirt.  APRIL FOOLS!!!
 
Mom, I hate you.  APRIL FOOLS!!!
 
Ren, I love you.  APRIL FOOLS!!!
 
Mom, do you want this Reese's Egg?  You can have it.  APRIL FOOLS!!!

My father also got in on the AFD action.  He called me this afternoon and asked if it was snowing at our house because it was at his.  Since it had actually snowed last week I thought he was just confusing snowflakes with some possible blooms floating away from his Bradford pear trees.  But he insisted it was snowing at his house and I fell for it - this even after just wrapping up writing my own joke for the occasion.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful, fun start to this week.  This was our first day back to work after spring break and being AFD made it a little easier to handle.  Not much, but a little.



A New Beginning Is On Its Way (aka "California, Here We Come!")

This may come as a shock to those who know us personally, but we lifelong Southerners are heading west.  As in California west.  We've been pretty tight-lipped about it all (you know, for fear of jinxing it and then looking foolish) but John applied a few months back for an administrative position at a small private high school in northern California, and after an interview and re-interview he received word just before spring break that he had the job. 

I don't see it as being a lifelong move (so we plan on keeping our house) but it will take us out of the Volunteer State for a few years.  It was just too good a package to pass up. Of course, Ren is beside herself with joy and John-Heath is full of questions!  We've told our closest family members and we have a few others with whom to "officially" relay the news, but I just couldn't not share with you all, my faithful blog readers, our upcoming grand adventure on this most glorious first day of April.





P.S.  April Fools!!!