What Do You Do On A Girls Day Out?

Hmmm…….what do you do on a girls day out? Well, you go to a benefit to see friends and family for one.

Then you go across the state line to see your momma and daddy.

My daddy is doing good for the most part. He has slowed down some though. He has the right concept of doing things but he gets some motor skills backwards. Like, he can put his shoes on, but wrong feet. He is still going to therapy twice a week  and my momma is working with him alot.

Things have been going good around here. These girls keep me busy. Caroline is crawling and pulling up on things now.

She really wants that apple

Like father like daughter

Its hard to do exercises when you’re being mauled.

 

Last night I threw supper in the pressure cooker and made corn and potato chowder  and some homemade bread.

This morning I used the left over bread and made homemade cinnamon French toast sticks.  And I kind of threw in some breakfast burritos.

I have to say it was all yummy.

The boys have not got to work on their fencing business for a week. Dakota has been sick and working his full time job in the cold and rain. Not to mention, it had rained on and off for a month and alot of areas around us are still flooded.

Things will pick up again soon.

In the mean time, Chuck and John will be rocking on. Lol.

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Scary Situations

Well, so far, in the past two weeks, we have had two scary situations.

First, my momma calls  me one morning and says she has daddy in the ER  with possible stroke. Sure enough, they admitted him and results showed a blockage on the left side of his brain. He was confused, could not answer questions, agitated every time he couldn’t complete a sentence or thought and his right hand had no grip.  The next few days are a blur to  me because I dropped what I was doing and went to the hospital that day and the next. My mother was not eating and getting very exhausted already. I made my momma go home and get a shower and some rest and anything else she needed to do. While she was gone, I fed him and helped as much as I could. He would just talk out of his head sometimes.  I came back on the weekend and stayed while momma went home again but she wanted to be with him at night so we swapped places. I went and stayed at their house and got up the next morning and went back. As long as I went to the hospital, I would make sure she ate good. I would take her downstairs to the food court. I told her she could either eat or it was going to get shoved somewhere.  Needless to say, she ate. 😂😂😂. After a couple of days his speech was getting better and his memory, enough to start cracking jokes again and we had a little fun

 

They said he could not go home until he could do some things for himself. So momma worked with him and so did I. They agreed to move him to the rehab floor so he could finish his therapy.However, as soon as he got down there he got the flu. So they had to quarantine him to his room and do therapy in there. This was driving him crazy. He wanted to go home so bad. Obviously and with much prayer, he improved enough to be released. I have so many friends and family that work in that hospital, that they kept an eye on both of them for me and visited. I use to work there years ago myself. He got discharged today and I will get more details tomorrow from my momma. It was in the evening when they got home and they just needed to eat and get settled in and get some rest. Atleigh colored him a get well picture and I will get it in the mail to him.

The next scare came when after so many days of rain and flooding in our area, we knew potential tornado activity was coming that evening so we were prepared. I had watched the news all day that evening an alert came through the tv that rotation had been spotted in our area.

When the sirens were going off, I yelled, “Grab your gear and get your shoes on and let’s go!” to Dallas. We get to the back door and Dallas says, “Rule number 1 in an emergency, always remain calm!” Then, we get outside he says, “I’m driving cause you’re gonna drive like a maniac!” Me, “Um, No, now get in!” Bless him. He says, “We are going to Nanny and grandmothers cause they’re gonna need someone to take care of them if something happens.” We were at the same time worried about my momma and daddy in Tupelo, but they were at the hospital, so we knew they were in a structurally sound building, so we were ok and we couldn’t be in two places at one time. We get to Nannys and a few minutes later, here rolls in Dakota and all his girls. Dakota and Dallas sat on the front porch watching, waiting and listening to any threat of danger and watching over all of us in the house like I’ve seen their dad do all these years for us. I was very proud of their compassionate, unselfish hearts. Our boys always call and check on their grandparents and make sure they are ok or if they need anything. That warms my heart too that they are that close no matter how old they get.

When the threat of danger was over, we left and went back home. It had rained for a week straight and so much flooding in our area caused school to be dismissed. You can Google Flooding at Pickwick Dam and see the devastation.  School is back in tomorrow.

In amongst all the scares, on a good note, dear hubby got to come home a few days.  He let Dallas skip, well, I mean, stay home from school to spend the day with us. You see, dad played a trick on him. Dad has been looking for Dallas a truck ever since last summer for his birthday. It took him forever because he was just never happy with what he found, so he finally found one and said he was coming home to go look at it and take Dallas.  However, Dallas didn’t know what dad was up to so basically Dallas helped look at his own truck for his bday, he just didn’t know it yet, if that makes sense. Dad wound up buying it and they drove it home while I followed. The next night we had Dakota, Jossie and the girls come over so dad could celebrate a late bday with Dallas since he missed it. Needless to say he loved his gift….😂😂

Then we got to celebrate a late Valentine’s Day.

Poppie got to play with his girls while he was here. When a toddler brings a hair brush and a blow dryer, you be still.

Atleigh turned 20 months this month:

We are learning so many things and words and best of all potty training is successful. He Lolly helped with this last week and 6 days later she has has very few accidents. She let’s you know when she has to go. I went and bought some tic tacs to serve as candy as a treat so they dont fill her up and we are learning our colors that way too. She loves to play in the water and do dishes. She is our goofy one. Her ears seem to be better. She doesn’t hold them anymore.

Caroline turned 6 months and she has learned so much. She grabs the spoon now and tries to feed herself, she is sitting up and can get on her hands and knees, it want be long until she will be crawling.

She is getting more interesting to play with around Atleigh. They play good together until Caroline wants something Atleigh has got. Lol.

Waking up from nap is fun with these two…

I had to change the way we sleep at naptime. Atleigh has always cuddled up beside me and went right to sleep, however, I started putting sissy in the middle so she wouldn’t fall off. I could tell Atleigh didn’t like it much and just settled for holding my hand. She never fussed but I knew it was hard on her. So what do you do when they both want to lie beside you? You get in the middle. As soon as I did this, Atleigh smiled, laughed,  grabbed my hair and was asleep in 5 minutes. Bless her. She has to learn to share Gmaw now. Caroline will try to pull up on me to get in my lap and Atleigh kind of slides her off my lap. She will get use to it.

The sun was shining so good and warm today. We had all been cooped up so long.

It was 65 degrees here today and we made good of it after nap time. Got the girls out in the Gmaw mobile today and the cat wanted to come too.

They both love red velvet cake and Atleigh loves M and M’s.

This is the look you get when you have to tell a couple of Princesses NO.

When sissys cup looks better than your bottle

Never fails, this is what happens after deer season…..right in my front yard.

I finished a blanket for Jossies little brother

Dakota and Dallas got our old blue tractor running. They have worked hard on it.

They are doing really good with their fencing business. They are booked all the way up til May. I love the fact that Dakota wanted his brother to do this with him and he includes Dallas in decision making. He asks for his ideas. It makes Dallas feel very grown up. I am so proud of them both.

Well, it is getting late and tomorrow we get back to normalcy.

Hope everyone has a blessed day.

Busy Weeks

Phew. If we could just stop the roller coaster  for a bit. 😉 It has been busy around here.

Last, I left you hanging at Dallas birthday. Well, a few days later, on a Saturday, we took him out.  He got some birthday money and wanted to go spend it. So we took him to Boot Barn. His brother bought him a new cowboy hat. He loves it. These boys may not care if their cowboy shirts are wrinkled,  but boy, you let that hat get bent or dirty and you will never hear the end of it. 😂😂 . Then we went to an Habachi grill to eat. I love how they cook it right in front of you and pure entertainment.  When we got home we had a Manly 16th birthday cake for him. And of course the girls had to taste test.

Dear hubby has been kind of depressed that he didn’t get to be here for his 16th bday, but when he comes home for a few weeks, he is going to celebrate with him. I’m so glad he has a big brother because Dakota really fills dads shoes when he is gone. Dakota has always been a second dad to his brother and he has always stepped up to the plate when I need him.

These girls love their Uncle Dallas.

Dakota has got a small business started on the side and he has got Dallas to help him. This gets Dallas out of the house, learns work ethics, teaches him responsibility and how to provide, and most of all, spending money. We only have a few short years to finish preparing Dallas for the real world and we’ve got to make every moment count.

This is them out in the cold mending a fence for a customer.

Our boys have always been good at working. For us, not so much, but for others, yes. We want our boys to be able to take care of themselves and provide for their families.  I don’t think they will disappoint.

Dallas is doing better at driving. He has got to drive a few times in drivers ed in town and that’s what I was waiting on. Now,  I feel more comfortable letting him drive in town with me. You know, we have to protect Ms.  Daisy when you are chauffeuring her around. 😁. He is really enjoying his welding class and FFA.

Dakota has taken on the job of getting one of our old tractors up and running. It belonged to one of David’s brothers and he has gotten down in health so he passed it down to David. Dear hubby has not had the time to do what is required to get it going and Dakota wanted to tackle it so dad said go for it. He has really done a good job. Dakota is just naturally good at things like this. And of course, he included little brother. They amaze me.

I’ve been busy with the girls everyday and got use to a somewhat routine. I drop Dallas off at school to catch the bus to the high school, and I drop by and pick up the girls so Jossie can get to school at 8am. Her courses this semester is harder than she thought they were going to be. She hardly has time to get homework or assignments done. I know it’s hard when you have two babies demanding your attention and a husband wanting attention. 😂

We get home and I make us breakfast and then we play for a bit til its little sissies morning cat nap. Atleigh quietly plays while I get a little something done or she helps me. She loves to help do anything I’m doing. I don’t care if its cooking,  laundry,  mopping, sweeping, or dusting, she wants to “hep”. However,  she does not like the vacuum cleaner but little sissy does. She will run and hide partially because she doesn’t like sounds like that or any loud noises partly because of her ears which I will get to in a minute. When little sis wakes up from her morning cat nap, I get to get a few more things done while she plays. It’s getting a little easier now that she’s learning to sit up by herself. So I’m not having to hold her all the time. But somedays she can be cranky because both girls are cutting teeth. 😱😱.

Then it’s time for all of us to rest.  I am trying to help sleep train Caroline so their night time routine will be smoother on mommy and daddy at night. After a nap, we get up and just do our own thing. Play. These silly girls, one minute they are loving on each other, the next big sissy is picking on little sister.

I have the best helpers and I want to teach them all I can so they can be independent and good wives someday. Not that we’re gonna let them……😂😂😂

They are learning and growing so fast.

A few days we actually got to get outside and play. Yes, TN  can have all 4 seasons in one week. It got up to 70 one day. So I uncovered the sand box.

Then a few days later it was raining and turned cold.

Now that little sis is sitting, I let her use the high chair and let big sis use her booster seat at the table like a big girl. Of course, this is the face I got. She is getting use to it though.

We have good days and bad days. We don’t always see eye to eye. But at the end of the day, you kiss and make up.

This week was so busy because Jossie came down with strep throat and we had to separate her from the girls so they spent the night with me. She went to the dr and got shots and antibiotics which worked quickly which we needed them to because Atleigh had to have minor surgery to remove her adenoids taken out and tubes put in. So Caroline had to spend another night with me so they could get Atleigh to the clinic early the next morning. I was able to go because my momma came and stayed with me and the girls. I had had a dr appt the day before Atleighs surgery, so my momma, aka Granny, got to stay and play with both girls.  Then the next morning we all left for Atleighs surgery.

Before and after surgery:

My momma had a ball with them and they were good as gold. Of course they are. They are always good for grandparents and great grandparents.  We all were as kids.

My daddy celebrated 75th birthday this week. He is doing really well in his retirement.

I’ve been able to get some things done in the house that has been needed to be done for a while. I was taking some things out to one of our buildings when all the sudden: well, this is what I put on Facebook:

So…I fall in the yard and twist my ankle and break some glass jars. Then I hear coyotes howling in the not so distant woods and makes this girl think, “Clumsy girl down for the count!” All I can say is, “Come at me bro, I will crawl back to the house!” Then is see 5 deer in the bottom and they didn’t even come to my rescue either. Like, come on, Snow Whites life matters too. Just when you think your life might be somewhat valuable to someone, it takes coyotes and deer to show you you’re not worth it. At least the cat checked on me. Oh wait, she was just hollering at me cause her bowl was empty. 🙄🙄

Needless to say, it’s been busy like I said around here.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday. Cya and God Bless.

Happy Sweet 16

You know that song, Bad To The Bone? Well, I think they wrote it just for this guy. His personality consists of, stubbornness, hard headed, truthful (even if it hurts your feelings), a good debater (he can argue with a brick wall), independent (wants to do his way), flies by the seat of his pants, logical, private, tough exterior. But at the same time, loyal, sensitive, soft interior (he wouldn’t want you to know that), determined, moody, witty, goofy, and has a protective instinct and an “I got this” mentality. These are all good qualities that gets him into a little trouble right now, but someday, out in the real world he will do great. I always prayed that God would use my boys and they would have a great testimony, but didn’t know how much my patience would be tested and that I’d hit my knees in prayer more. This one has made me pray the hardest, and longest soooooo….his testimony better be GREAT.
Son, always do the RIGHT thing, always trust God to lead and guide you. I want you to dream big, but at the same time play it smart and safe.
I hope you have a very Happy Sweet 16.
We love you very much and never forget that. We just want the best for you and for you to grow you into a respectable man full of honor, dignity and integrity. Always do your best even if you don’t know why you’re doing it.
We love you son. HAPPY SWEET 16.

Playing With My Pressure Cooker

Well, I said I was going to play around with my pressure cooker and let ya’ll  know how it went. Here is one I did tonight:

I cooked pizza stuffed chicken breasts on the bottom, put my trivet in next and put mac and cheese on top and cooked for 15 minutes. I can lessen  the minutes a little next time but it was yummy.

A few nights ago I tried spaghetti and it came out wonderful. Still gonna see what all I can put together and cook to save time.

While I was cooking, Dakota and the girls were playing tractors in the floor. These were his tractors from about 18 to 19 yrs ago.

Enjoying My New Year

I hope everyone is enjoying their new year. I know I am.

We took down all our Christmas decorations so we could get our living room back for our grandkids. 😁

January has brought about changes for us. First, new semester in school for Dallas which he is loving by the way. He has drivers Ed for which I’m excited and relieved. And he has Welding and FFA classes. He is enjoying these classes very much. He is going to check on the skills team in FFA where he will be in cattle and soil judging. I’m relieved he is taking drivers Ed. I’m relieved because it’s been a little harder to teach him to drive because he didn’t get to grow up driving things like Dakota did on the farm. He grew up driving things with handle bars. 😐 The concept of a round steering wheel was akward for him. Plus, he never showed an interest in learning so we waited until he was ready. Months ago I started out small then worked our way up to back roads. I felt uncomfortable getting him in town around heavy traffic. I did want to take him to get his permit so when he started drivers Ed he would have it. I made him take the practice tests 3 or 4 times online to understand some things. Then I took him to get his permit which he only missed 4 questions. Now that drivers Ed has started he’s got to drive once already in town to which I am relieved. The drivers Ed vehicle has more safety features on it than standard vehicles like, the extra brake on the passengers side. 🙂 He said he did good and obviously he did, they are still alive. Lol. I will let him drive a few more times in class for him to get comfortable and not stressed, then I will take him out. I am highly adamant about wanting my kids to be safe drivers. I see so many kids today being irresponsible and do not know the rules of the road. I sometimes wonder where they get their license. But that’s another story.

Jossie has started her new semester in college so I have the girls more. She has gotten depressed a few times because she is trying to work too and is away from the girls alot during the week. She is a good mom and doesn’t want to be away from them. She is determined to hang in there though. We will all make it.

We have fun everyday. We play, bake, and have tea parties and my favorite, naps. Lol. I have the best taste testers ever.

Some days are better than others. Some days we’re grumpy and don’t see eye to eye. Lol. But we’re making memories.

 

Caroline is 5mths old today. She is learning so much from sissy.  She loves bananas, carrots, and green beans. She loves to be sung to and played with.  However, she does not like chaos, loud noises or alot of heavy stimulation. She is growing like a weed.

 

The days that I don’t have them is the days I try to get stuff done on my bucket list. I cleaned out and organized one of our buildings yesterday. I froze my tooshie off though.

We have had some crazy weather here. TN can have all four seasons in one week. Go figure.

I’m holding down the fort here while dear hubby had to go to LA.  He really was trying to avoid this but God had other plans.

Before he left we were able to move and prune some of our rose bushes. It was time to.

He is hoping he will be here more this summer.

I haven’t had a chance to play around with my ravioli maker yet but I will. I have however been playing around with my pressure cooker to see how many things I can cook at onetime. I have had to tweek and play but when I figure some things out I will let you know.

Well, I’ve got some things to do while I don’t have the girls. Hope everyone enjoys their day.

 

Enjoying Christmas Break

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.  I know we did. It was a very busy time but we enjoyed time and fellowship with family.

Christmas at Nannies.

After we left Nanny’s,  we went down to Dakota and Jossie’s house so we could read the girls the Christmas story for bed time.

We had some very tired girls.

We finally got home and got in bed.

Dallas said he would let us sleep in Christmas morning. WOW!   One whole minute longer. He woke us up at 5:31 am. He started the coffee and turned on all the lights. He was so excited. Little did he know, I was already awake thanks to an excruciating calf cramp that shot me out of the bed trying to walk the floor.

Oh well, we got our Christmas on.

Dakota text us to tell us the girls were waking up so we got ready and went to their house.

We left there and came back home and I got a roast in one pressure cooker and a deer stew in the other. Then we layed back down and took a nap.

That night it was Christmas at my momma and daddy’s aka..Granny and Poppa

It was late again getting home. Most guys had to go back to work the next day. I know dear hubby did. He had to drive back to AR.  I’m still adjusting to him being gone this time of year. Usually he doesn’t  work during the month of December.

I have been enjoying the girls company.  She played in her kitchen sink for an hour and a half. Boy, she could teach teenagers a thing or two

Slobbery kisses are the best, if you’re a baby that is.

First tea party

Thought that was John Wayne there for a minute

I’m going to have so much fun with this

I also got Pioneer Womans book. I love this book. Her story is just like mine and my sweethearts. I can’t hardly put it down.

We are beginning to wind down. I want to go ahead and take my decorations down so I can have my living room back. Lol.

I will take Dallas one day to take his permit test. When they go back to school he will be in Drivers Ed this next semester. 😱😱 I am not ready.

School goes back in session January 7 th. Jossie starts her spring semester January 10th. She has also been promoted to third manager where she works. She is going to be busy.

Well, we are going to enjoy the rest of our break.

I hope everyone enjoys theirs  too.