I just gotta brag.......

Ok....
I hate to boast, but I am so proud of my daughter I just HAVE to!

We went to visit the school she will be going to this fall, and the coordinator for the IB program asked for her CRCT scores, which I do not routinely carry around with me so I had to call him back with her scores. After finding her results, (egads!) Jamie placed a quick call and Mr. Todd told us.......

Brace yourself.......

HE HAD NEVER IN ALL OF HIS YEARS AS A TEACHER OR COORDINATOR SEEN A SCIENCE CRCT SCORE AS HIGH AS HERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am just about to burst with pride! That's my baby!!!!!

This weekend

Sigh.....

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday! Jamie gets off the tugboat about 8:00 tomorrow,and I am so glad. It has been a long week! I have missed his much more this week than usual, and that's a lot!!! We will get Marissa off to Music Camp, and then we are going to meet with the IB coordinator at her school. It will be a good time for Jamie to learn about the school and what they offer. We are so incredibly blessed that Marissa has been granted this opportunity to attend this school!!!!! I am praising God for it! Also, we found out her friend Dasnee has been accepted there too, so we are jumping for joy! The only thing is that Rissa is not so crazy about the whole plaid skirt issue.....oh well.....

We have several fun things planned for this weekend. Tomorrow Jamie has planned to take Rissa on a special outing (I can't elaborate in case she reads this before he gets home tomorrow). Tomorrow is her last day of Music Camp which she has LOVED and the class will be doing a play/performance thing at 11:30 which we are excited to go see. My Mom and Papa are planning to come too if they are in town.

Saturday, our church is taking the kids group to Oatland Island. Marissa loves it there. All of the animals are so cool! Saturday is also my Mom's birthday. HAPPY B-DAY MOM!!!!!!

Sunday is church....YAY!!!!!.....and that is always a good day! We will probably end up at El Potro after Church, as usual. YUM YUM YUM!!! I love how Mexican food gives me an excuse to eat sour cream.....

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!!

MEOW!!!!!!!!

*****UPDATE*******
As of now, I think we need a home for just one cat.

Ok everyone, I need your help!

I have a good friend who is in need of a home for his 3 cats. He has to get rid of them and it is breaking his heart. They are his babies. Here is what he wrote to me:


I am desperate to find homes for my 3 cats. I have a new job and will be moving to a room mate situation out of town. The land lord will not allow the pets. I have tried every place that I can think of and no one has been able to help me. One is a 7 year old female that I rescued from abuse. She is spayed, de-clawed and up to date on shots. One is a Male, he is 5 years old,neutered and is up to date on his shots. He too, is a rescue. The third one is a little under 2 years old and I saw her get hit by a car when she was 8 weeks old. So, I stopped and rescued her.

She is spayed and up to date on shots. I have tried every where. Please, if you or if you know some one that can help me, please let me know. Thank You I don't want them to be abused, abandoned or put to sleep.

If you know of ANYONE who can take a kitty please let me know!!!!!!

Please check with your friends, coworkers, neighbors, church members, anyone you can think of. Let's give these fur babies a chance!

YIPPEE!!!

Oh my goodness I am so excited! Army Wives comes on tonight, and I don't know when I have EVER been this excited about a TV show!!!! I mean, yeah, CSI gets me wound up what with Nick looking all handsome and HOT and Grisson being all smart and sexy in that whole father-figure-don't-go-there kinda way. And CSI Miami....Eric is all smooth Latino heat and Horatio, while not all that attractive to me, is so strong and confident and in control......

Is it the south GA heat that is making it so warm in here tonight????? WHEW!!!!

Where was I? Oh yes.....

Anyway, Army Wives is on tonight at 10:00 and I am countin' the hours. It's my little refuge....my time to watch my show. The guys have wrestling, football, Mythbusters, and whatever the heck that is they watch on Sci Fi, but for me.....sigh.....I have my Army Wives. A band of women who stick together and form friendships so thick, it's almost like family. I think part of what draws me to Army Wives is that the women there are so much like my real life friends. Debbie, Brenda, Sandra, April, Amanda...they all have little bits of Roxy, Claudia Joy, Denise, Pamela and even a little bit 'o Roland thrown in.

So watch Army Wives tonight and see if you see any similarities between these ladies that I have the privilege of knowing in real life and the actresses on TV. If you get hooked, like me, visit the Army Wives blog at www.mylifetime.com. Watch for my comments, I am there like every day! :)

Is there a support group for people like me? Army Wives Anonymous?

Blue Rolie Polies

"MOM! Come look! I painted a Rolie Polie!!!!"

Does this happen at anyone else's house?

Sure enough, Marissa found a rolie polie bug while she was drawing with her chalk and playing in the sprinkler in our front yard. She likes to play in the water and use her chalk on the asphalt because it looks like paint and the colors get intense. (my artist!)

The bug was blue, sure enough, but he happily scampered along. A few minutes later, she rinsed him off with a couple of drops of water and put him back under the azalea bush....good as new!

How did this happen?

I know my daughter is growing up. I see changes in her every day. I know she is starting Middle School this fall. But honestly, when I saw this picture, I was astonished. Where has my baby gone? She doesn't look so much like me anymore, and she has such grown up expressions, especially in her eyes. How did this happen?

Honor's Night

With our school closed for two days with the Mercury incident, Honor's Day got blipped. This was out year's end awards program, which was a big deal to a certain 5th grade lady I know. :)

The school arranged a make-up Honor's Night at a nearby school last night, so we were very please to go! Marissa received the following awards:
~outstanding member in Junior Beta Club
~successful completion of band
~Honor Roll with Distinction all four marking periods
~Excellence in student conduct for all four marking periods
~Super Citizen in her class for the entire year

We were very proud! Way to go Baby Girl!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!
We had a great day yesterday! After Church we met my Mom and Step Dad at Cracker Barrel. It was LOUD!!!! The food was good though, and we got a whole strawberry pie to bring home where it was quieter and we ate it after we opened gifts. Jamie got a t-shirt that Marissa made him at school, a drill set, and some chocolate golf balls. He was a happy camper! We got Papa a card and bought his and my Mom's lunch. Everyone had a good day! The pics I took of Marissa and her Daddy are very cute, and the one of my and my Step Dad? Long story.....but let's just say he is the man my own Dad should have been and chose not to be.

Hope you all had a great one!

It's over!

WHEW! After several days of scary news reports and misinformation, it seems that the Mercury business is over...for us at least. We took Marissa's clothes, shoes, backpack and clarinet up to the school yesterday and had the EPA guys test her stuff for Mercury vapors. When they extract the air from the bag into their little read-o-rama machine, anything below 1000 is fine. Marissa's stuff tested at 55 and 60, so she is GOOD TO GO!

It seems that the highest concentration was in the gym, where I heard that some kids' belongings tested as high as 22,000. EPA is testing people's houses, cars, work places, daycares, etc. to make sure everyone is safe and sound.

To celebrate, we took Marissa to Chuck E. Cheese. Now any of you who know me know that that place is probably number one on my list of all time most likely places to trigger an anxiety attack, so you must realize the sacrifice I made for my baby girl! However, we were so happy she is ok that it just didn't matter. And by the way, the old Chuckster has a pretty decent salad bar after all. I think the day was pretty much a success, at least until the car broke down. But that is a post for another day....let's just concentrate on the GOOD STUFF!

another update

AUUUUGGGHHH!!!!
This lack of information and poor communication is making me crazy!!!! Ok the whole Mercury thing is stressful enough, but could we please get some answers?

Yesterday I was called about the lockdown at school, but not until it had been in place for over an hour. Jamie never got that call. Then I got the all clear call, which Jamie never got either. (Factor in that Riss has a super cool teacher who was letting her call me personally, which happened before the school ever called) Now, maybe it is just me, but when HAZMAT gave the all clear and dismissed students, I foolishly assumed it meant that all was clear. Following me?

It wasn't until last night at 6:30 and I was in Food Lion that I got a call saying that school had been cancelled for today and that the EPA guys from Washington DC were truckin' their bootys down here to do further testing. This was the first call Jamie ever got from any official. We came home, tied up the bookbag, clothes, shoes and clarinet, and all the artwork she had brought home. Washed hands, took a good shower, and went to bed.

Now this morning I get a call saying "Attention 5th grade parents. Yesterday your child received their school t shirt. Please be sure that this t shirt is also placed in a bag and placed outside of your home. Thank you." No other details. Jamie has not received this call either. A quick check on my email, and I find an announcement dated yesterday that didn't come through until today, about the testing and school being closed. I trotted over to the WTOC website and found an announcement that school is closed for tomorrow as well but no other details. Well, the shirt was still in her pack when we put it outside yesterday so that wasn't a concern, but.......

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON??????

Why are we getting info from the news channel and not the school officials? Why are our kids clothes and belongings tied up in trash bags? Why is school closed again tomorrow and everyone is acting so nonchalant about this? What are we not being told?

And while I believe that the school automated calling system is good, it is also obviously flawed as we are not all getting the calls! What's up with that?????

******UPDATE*******
Just checked the email again and found the email that states the school was undergoing a hazardous materials cleanup. That announcement was made yesterday about 1:30!!!! It just gets emailed alomst 24 hours later? Also, oddly enough, I got an emailed "parent satisfaction survey" from the school board? BWAH HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Totally freakin' scary!!!!!!

I am completely freaked out. Today Marissa's school was under lock down for two hours. Hazmat came, CEMA, local police, county sheriffs, the fire department, EMT units...all with lights blazing. Barricades were set up, blocking all entrances to the school by anyone except emergency personnel. I received a call from Marissa's teacher first, telling me of the situation. Marissa is prone to be anxious in certain situations so of course, she called me to have to calm Marissa down. I was so thankful for that! All that she could tell me was that the school was under lockdown, noone could enter or leave, and that the student in question was not in Marissa's homeroom and the item brought in was NOT a gun. Next the school called with a recorded message saying that a student had brought in MERCURY and that several 5th grade students and a teacher had been exposed and were being evaluated by HazMat and EMT. Talk about freaked out!

I began searching online for info on what Mercury was, what it did, and why it was so bad. I couldn't really find out much, but a quick check to all 3 local news websites showed me that the news hounds were hot on the trail of this story. I called Jamie and let him know what was happening, and Debbie and Marty. Then I waited.

After what seemed an eternity, but was in reality only about an hour, Marissa called me again crying and saying "It's over Mama! It's over!" Lockdown had been lifted, school was expected to release at regular time, and the school was trying to return to normal. A call from the school followed shortly, with another recorded message saying that HazMat had cleared the scene and school would release at regular time.

So now my child is home and playing outside. It is a crazy world we live in and it seems to get wilder every day. I am just thankful my daughter was not exposed and it home safe! I pray for the families involved, and that each and every child will be 100% ok!!!!

*****UPDATE*****
Ok, about 6:00 I got a call from the school again. This time I was informed that the guys from the EPA are flying in from DC tonight around 11:00pm to further evaluate the threat of any type of contamination at the school. We were told that school for tomorrow has been canceled, and that we should take Marissa's uniform, shoes and backpack and tie them up in a plastic bag and place the bag outside of our home.

Needless to say, this activity totally freaked Rissa out. After changing clothes and tying up said articles in a black trash bag, we hopped in the car and drove to our neighborhood fire dept. where the three firefighters on duty helped out by answering questions, reassuring Marissa that the threat of contamination is small, and in general giving us an idea of what the EPA is looking for and how they will rid the school of Mercury if any traces are found. These 3 guys were awesome!!!! They talked directly to Marissa, and treated each question with the utmost consideration. They were helpful, kind, and really did a lot to ease my baby girls' fears. Way to go guys!!!!!

I AM SO FREAKIN' FAMOUS!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOSH!!!!! I logged onto the Army Wives blog yesterday to see what was up after the premiere, and casually posted a comment. I logged on today....AND GUESS WHAT????? The blog host commented about my comment and called me by name! That's right! I have now become a talked about subject on a national blog!!!! WOO HOO! Go me! Go me! ~Does a little dance~

Whew! Ok...so trot on over to the Army Wives blog (there is a link on my blog list) and read what the blog host said about me. I will give you a hint.....I WAS RIGHT!!!!!

My head is swelling.....

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!
Did you watch last night's season 2 premeire of Army Wives????? Oh wow how great was that??? I sat and cried like a baby all the way through! What surprises! What drama! What action! What a nice shot of Roland's bare chest as he lay in the hospital bed....oh wait...where was I? Oh yes...the show. If you missed it you can go to www.mylifetime.com and watch the full episode there. Also, I think they are showing the premiere again on TV, just check the listings.

Let me know what you thought! Were you surprised by the ending? Also, is that a new actress playing Emmy, Claudia Joy's youngest daughter?

Stuffed turkeys

Oh my goodness! For MONTHS now a certain individual in our circle of friends has bragged about lunch at Mrs. Wilkes Boardinghouse. On and on and on it went, making us drool with stories of the delicious food served up there. I had been once, when I was a child, and all I remembered was sitting at a big table with several people I didn't know.

Well, I don't know if it was guilt or what, but for some reason this person finally invited us to go to lunch today at Mrs. Wilkes. Alas, Brenda couldn't go due to some errands she had to take care of and Sandra had a doctor appointment and couldn't go and Debbie is short handed at work and couldn't get free, but April, Amanda, Tiffers and I loaded up in April's Jag and headed to East Jones Street. Now it should be said that the individual that invited us DOES NOT stand in line at Mrs. Wilkes....oh no.....this person walks right in the back door ahead of the hour long line spilling down the sidewalk out front. Could it be because this person is rumored to eat there 3-4 times a week that allows this priviledge????? Oh who cares...we went right on in the back door and sat down to CHOW.

Oh....the food. Heaping bowls of succotash, rice, collard greens, cabbage, green beans, squash, sliced cucumbers, rutabagas, stuffing, au gratin potatoes, mac and cheese, corn, beef stew, BBQ pork, and platters of biscuits, cornbread and fried chicken were placed on our table as we sat down. The plastic pitcher seemed bottomless as we poured glass after glass of the best iced tea I have ever tasted. And so the carnage began....plates were filled, laughter was shared, and tummies were nearly bursting when we left. Tiffers ate 3 chicken legs and tons of veggies! It was wonderful! We finished up with bowls of banana pudding and strawberry shortcake.

As we stood, belched,and waddled back out through the ally, our host left us and we piddled around doing some finishing stuff for Amanda's wedding. But we were so full, even our visit to the Cupcake Emporium was moot. Wedding goodies were ordered but we couldn't even have nibbled up one crumb of those moist and delicious cupcakes. What a shame!

We must do this again soon........

So dear friend who shall remain nameless.....thank you from the bottom of my still full tummy for an amazing lunch. It was wonderful, just like YOU!

WHEW! I found her!

Yup, Marissa wasn't really lost, she was just hiding from us in fear that we might pack her up or worse yet, make her work! Just joking,......she has been a HUGE help in getting things set up and cleaned up. She has cleaned her room and is working at organizing her new playroom the way she wants it. She has done laundry, emptied the dishwasher, vacuumed, carried out trash, moved boxes, and has been an all around BIG HELP! I am proud of my girl!

I also found my camera. Things are getting close to me taking pictures for you all to see. I can tell you this:

The man cave is done, with the exception of curtains. I will be sewing the manly plaid curtains next week.

The dining room is done.

The playroom is done, just some bins to sort and decide what goes, what stays, and what is being donated to our Church nursery or sold on eBay.

The scrap room.....well......that is another story. I can say that my desk is in place and my lights are installed, but that is about it.

And OH YEAH!!!!! My computer is set up in my scrap room. WOO HOO!!!!!!

Schlepping stuff......

We have been busy! I had the brilliant idea to rearrange the house. Not just the furniture in one room mind you, but just about the entire house is in shambles with my crazy plan. Jamie came home off the boat Friday and has been busting his cute bottom trying to get things in order. Who knew we had so much stuff?????

Just a quick run down here.....the playroom is becoming a den/man cave, the old den is becoming the dining room, the spare room is becoming the playroom, and the dining room is becoming my SCRAPBOOK ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right, a whole entire room of my own to play in! It used to be the garage so it is a big room...plenty of room to play! I used to have half of the playroom for my stuff, but I wanted my own space and Jamie readily agreed to provide me with it. So, in exchange...he gets the man cave, all decked out in golf decor.

I will post pictures once all of the renovation is complete. Right now I am not even sure where my camera is....

By the way, has anyone seen my daughter? She was just right here. Wonder which box she is in....OOPS! :)