one of these kids is not like the other

back to my purse...

So you know, after that last post, my purse didn't get cleaned out. I mean, REALLY, who has the time for that? But it should have. Because it was the source of embarassment yesterday.

I had the opportunity to tour a new facility opening, on behalf of the Senator. Apparently, they have to 'search' to make sure that their top secret distribution technology and product is not compromised during these events when the public is welcomed inside.

Security officer: "Ma'am, I'm gonna need to look inside your purse."

Me: "Hmm, okay, great."

Security officer: "Well, you do have some interesting items in there."

(Laughter errupts from the Good-Old-Boy-Network behind me.)

Me: "Well, i like to be prepared. You never know when a GoGo Magic School Bus is going to create a bond with a new business contact."

tiny town tour

Floyd and I have a fondness for what we call a 'tiny town tour' date. All to rarely we find a town, and hit it up for a date. Some popular spots have been Tryon, NC; Landrum, SC; Hendersonville, NC; Dalonega, GA; Highlands, NC; etc. Saturday we drove over to Brevard, NC for a lovely TTT date. The munchkins were with their Granddad & KK.

We rode through the blue ridge mountains into Brevard, and enjoyed piddling in and out of the Antique Mall, O.P. Taylor's, art galleries and nick-knack shops. We knew that The Co-ed Theatre had a showing at 7 o'clock, so we grabbed an early dinner at the Jordan's Street Cafe. The food and atmosphere were perfect. We sat on the back patio, and sipped wine, enjoyed brie, and devoured our amazing entrees.

After the movie - the co-ed theatre is so charming - I convinced Floyd to enjoy a Coke Float with me. Hard to believe he'd NEVER had a float. We sat in the car during the thunderstorm and enjoyed our treat and listened to the music of Josh Ritter's latest album, "So Runs the World Away" which has an ethereal quality that absolutely perfected our moment.

I love dates with him. I love new experiences and making memories. I am grateful that we still have such a ball together after many years together.

Red Marshall, in a picturesque conversation with Granddad while watching wildlife on the back porch: "Kaye Kaye is gonna pop that squirrel with the gun!!"

juggling thoughts

sometimes when i look in my purse and see the varied contents mixed together, i think, "Hey, my brain must look like this too." this morning when i looked in my purse for sunglasses, they were naturally missing. but what did i find? let me enlighten you:

playmobil sailor
hardware to my recalled safety gate
canon camera
wind-up school bus
one black sock, size 12-24 months
business cards (both mine, and other random sorts)
packet of sugar
chapstick
three-week-old grocery list
pacifier clip (note, none of my children use pacifiers)
bib clip: device designed to convert restaurant napkin to bib
coupons
gift-card to stax grill that i won
five dollar bill


**missing? Wallet. Sunglasses. Car Keys. Notice a pattern?**

You may be asking, how is this like your brain? Ah, I'm glad you asked. Ah-hem:

Thoughts, GO:

i fed my son chocolate chip banana bread this morning because he was going to the School of the Little People, and what do i care if he has a sugar high there? the justification was whole wheat flour. not to mention the fact that his working mother made said breakfast from scratch.

our local airport just landed a huge low-cost carrier, which is huge economic news for the state. when most of our leakage to other airports is going out of state (ATL, CLT), our ability to retain flyers out of GSP because of price competition from Southwest Airlines is going to dramatically change the process by which other investment comes our way, and the way we sell our state. our community leadership is over the moon!

buggle is on antibiotics. P-T-L. i had a doctor (our parents' age) tell me that whenever one of his kids would get sick (20-25 years ago) he would just line them up, tell them to open wide, and eye-dropper amoxicillen in their mouths like baby birds. i realize that might be a bit liberal, but sometimes, i just wish we could do that. she's feeling much better already.

we're going to get to see Aunt Billie and Uncle Al this weekend with Grandad and KK. They have never met Junie, so it will be really fun to visit.

i met with a ukranian scientist today, judged senior projects for a local high school yesterday, get to attend the Pro-Am charity event later this week, and am about to get on a conference call to discuss the Supreme Court approval of properly designed release-time programs for public schools in the state with a religious freedoms group. If that's not bouncing around a lot, i don't know what is.

Happy Wednesday!

two and a half

being two and a half is SO much different than two. everyone warned me how fast the development stages would happen, but until I stop and think about it, the changes are difficult to quantify. looking at this shot reminded me just how much he's changing. Oma caught this image of him 'praying' on Sunday. This morning he was reading. "I'm gonna read the Bible. H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P, The End," he read. Then situated the ribbon page marker, shut the book, and tucked it under his arm.


don't you just love how bright his hair is getting? i get at least one comment a week from someone about how much more intense the color looks now. and the personality matches, for sure. :)

firsts for the second

so, in true second-child-syndrome fashion, I have neglected to record the fact that the Bug has reached several 'firsts' in recent weeks. it's pretty exciting when i stop and think about it.

1. Crawling! She finally took off before we went to the beach. It brings her great joy to be mobile. We enjoy watching her maneuver around. Her tiny little frame looks very strange.

2. Pulling up. She almost simultaneously learned to pull up on her knees. Not to her feet yet, but she pulls up to her knees almost everywhere. The iron spindles above the stairs, the stool in the bathroom, the toy shelves in RM's room. So much to investigate!

3. "Bye, Bye!" We're waving and saying our first word! I can't believe it, and honestly thought it was a fluke, but she's really consistent No credit being taken on the parenting front here. They taught her at the School of the Little People. I love them.

4. Food. We're making end roads there. She went from a strict bottle only and cheerios diet to penne pasta with marinara, sweet potato fries, freeze dried fruit, and rice cakes. I've discovered that the rule for the Bug is that texture has the most surpreme importance to her. If it's slimy, forget it.

5. Fever. Sadly, this first is NOT fun. Wednesday night she spiked to 102.5. According to the pediatrician, they've seen dozens of fever virus cases this week, and Clementine has it too. Hopefully she'll be feeling better soon. The fever hasn't been as high, but she's definitely not herself still.

similar, but not identical

We finally found a picture circa 1982 to compare a baby picture of Evelyn with the Junebug. Here's the side-by-side. This picture of her was taken after she was baptized on Sunday.