Saturday, September 29, 2012

Potty Training in Action

Mackenzie has really taken an interest potty training since joining the Orange Shirt room. This weekend I decided to have her continue that success at home. She was so proud of her new underwear that Adam had bought her, Dora of course. We had NO accidents all day. We had Jayme and Kevin over for dinner that night. After dinner, we went outside to play. Mackenzie wanted to go across the Monkey bars. After Adam helped her across, he came over to me wanting to join in on our conversation. As he was walking over I noticed he had a large wet spot on his shirt. It took me a moment to realize what it was. We all started rolling with laughter. The only accident she had all day just happened to be while crossing the monkey bars. Luckily, it missed his face.

Visiting Mawmaw

Before leaving on the plane to fly back to Florida, I stopped by to visit Mawmaw. She hasn't been doing well lately. This morning she was dressed, had her make-up on, and her teeth in. It is rare for her to have all of those done. She enjoyed watching the little ones play. It was good to see her. I do miss her living downstairs at home, but she is happy in her new home. I am so glad that her new home is 5 minutes from mom's house. A good visit.

A Rare Occasion

Seeing as Mackenzie's birthday will always fall on the first weeks of school, we took advantage of being in Tennessee and had a last minute birthday party. Briley's birthday is 4 days after Mackenzie's. I stopped by the local bakery and picked up two little cakes for the birthday babies and 2 cupcakes for Colin and Evan. It was nice to see the two of them enjoy their birthdays together.

Mackenzie's Birthday

This year Mackenzie's birthday fell on a very busy day. We flew back from Tennessee the night before, which was Sunday. The 20th was filled with lots of emotional events. Here is the list of events for that day:
1. Mackenzie turned 2,
2. Mackenzie's 1st day in the orange shirt room (Her shirt fits like a dress. It was the smallest size. She was so proud),
3. Hunter's 1st day of Kindergarten,
4. Beginning a new year in my classroom, and
5. Grandaddy's Memorial in Tennessee.
I hated to miss the beautiful memorial, but I really felt like I was were I needed to be on this day. We did celebrate her birthday, but it was a small celebration. Adam did a great job of taking care of the cake and getting her a Dora balloon. It was a quiet and pleasant birthday party.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Samuel Hudson Pearsall

Granddaddy passed away on Thursday, August 16th. He has had a long battle with different illnesses for the past 6 years. In April, he was moved to a nursing home and has begged to go home since. He is now finally at home.

Growing up I have many fond memories of my grandfather. I am just going to brainstorm a few.
-the smell of his pipe tobacco
-spending the night listening to his tv shows from the upstairs room my mother slept in as a child
-walking downstairs to his workshop and smelling the fresh sawdust of his latest project
-watching him whittle away creating spoons, bud vases, and many more useful items
-watching him study over different articles on his desk that only he could navigate through
-listening to him chuckle as he read books that had as much dry humor as he did
-curling up on the couch on a summer evening watching a classic movie (anything with Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Bing Crosby, and Shirley Temple to name a few)
-enjoying the classic movie "The Sound of Music" around Christmas time
-ginger snap cookies. I still think the grocery store only sold them for the Pearsall family.
-feeling special because he has shown me where his secret stash of Oreos are located (only to find out years later my mom knows where they are too)
-interviewing him in college about his experiences in the World War and with the Merchant Marines
-watching him pat "Isabell" on the behind as she passes his chair
-listening to him tell their dating story over and over
-watching him keep the fire burning in the fire place (at times I always wondered if you really needed to poke the fire as much as he did, but he always seemed to enjoy tending to it)
-wondering how comfortable his chair really was (it was not very comfortable, but it was HIS chair and his work area)
-secretly wishing I could explore the drawers of the side table next to his chairs (he had a secret stash of something in there I am sure).
-Lollipop (my name to him since June 11, 1977)
-feeling proud to have my son carry his name on in our family (Hunter is only known as "Sambo" to him.)
-enjoying his fun creations in the yard -the largest tree swing EVER and the trolley in the woods
-helping him wind the 20 clocks in their house (what seemed to be)
-the taste of Baker's Bread in the toaster oven
-sneaking sausage balls in Christmas morning
-helping him taste the carvings of the ham as he sliced it
-his homemade pizza was one of a kind
There are so many more. Brainstorming these memories has made me realize even more how special of a man he was. He was one of a kind and made a huge mark on this world. Now he is making his mark in a place that is more glorious than anyone can imagine.

Beach Time

The kids love the beach. Mackenzie has decided that she is not scared one bit. It is fun watching her run straight into the waves face first. She is such a different child.

School Supplies

I can't believe we are shopping for Hunter's kindergarten school supplies. He was so excited to put everything in the cart. The past 5 years have gone so fast. I remember thinking kindergarten seemed so far away. Now it is here. I am so proud of him. He is going to have such an amazing year.

Daddy's New Ride

R.I.P. to the push mower. I am sad to report that we finally had to put the mower to rest. Frances Ann took Adam shopping for his new lawn mower while she was in town. They came home with the receipts for a new top of the line riding lawn mower. Adam had to pick it up later that next week. Hunter and Mackenzie are glad to help out with yard work now as long as they get to ride.