From Inmates to Playdates

Posts Tagged ‘McDaddy’

To: My Two Sweet Babies

From: Your Mom

Date: March 8, 2010

RE: Just So You Know

Dear Boys,

So much has happened in the past two weeks that I wanted to get it all down while the information is still fresh in my mind. You boys are the light of my life and even though I say it all the time, I am so thankful to be your mama. You are both growing up so quickly and with everything in me I would love to stop time. This season in our lives is so very special and I am trying to take it all in because I know it will pass so quickly.  

Like today when the two of you climbed up on my lap. As I hugged you and kissed both of you on the top of your sweet little heads, I inhaled because I wanted to remember the smell. I wanted to feel your short stubbly hair on my cheek. I wanted to remember the moment forever. I love those moments. The moments when the two of you climb up on my lap or into my bed and we talk and laugh and act silly. Sweet babies, those times are precious to me and I want to remember them always.

Love, Mommy

——

Dear Stevie,

We were told when you were two years old, that you needed glasses. I cried on the way home from that appointment. Not so much because you needed glasses, but more so because I wanted your eyes to be okay. While your right eye is normal, you are far-sighted in your left eye and have been for five years. During our visit to your eye Doctor last week, she was pleasantly surprised that your left eye is getting better. So much better in fact that your Doctor reported that in six months you may not have to wear glasses any longer. She also reported that in small children where there is such a drastic difference in the eyes, they rarely ever get better to the point where a child no longer needs glasses.

I say glory!

Your glasses are a sort of trademark now and I can’t hardly imagine you without glasses. We will leave it in the Lord’s hands and pray about it.

This has been an exciting month for you.

For the father/son Scout cookoff, you and daddy prepared a Beach Cake….

And YOU were so excited when they called your name and presented you with a 2nd place trophy…

Sweet boy, I was so proud of you (and Daddy) because I can certainly tell you that you did NOT get those cooking skills from your mama. So yes, winning an award for your baking is a pretty big deal. You were so very proud of your trophy and are still talking about it.

After a couple of weeks of practice, you have finally mastered the art of tying your shoes! You want to be the best at everything you do and that motivates you to be better, and faster.

You are such a joy, Stevie. You are kind, and funny, and cute, and loving. And on top of that you are a great big brother.

I love you!

Mommy

——

Dear Alex,

One day a week or so ago, Stevie and I were practicing his memory verses for the Pioneer Club Youth Service. The same verses that you have – time and time again – refused to practice with me. After reciting his verses perfectly, I was so surprised and proud to hear you recite those verses without prompting and with a beautiful, big smile on your face. Daddy and I are so proud of you for learning Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 12:2 and the Pioneer Club aim (that we may glorify the Lord Jesus) sweet boy. Way to go!

I love your smile, your giggle, and your sweet hugs. I can always count on you to give me a hug for absolutely no reason whatsoever and my favorite thing is when you ask me to rock you. I know those opportunities are going to be few and far between now that you are four, but sweet boy, I will rock you any ole time you ask me. Gladly.

Last week, both of your Sunday School teachers (independantly) made a point to report to us that you were kind to a little boy who was having a very bad day and crying in class. They both mentioned how patient you were andtold us what a good friend you were to him. My heart leaped with joy and I would love to have been secretly hiding in the room to see it for myself. For a little boy who has two speeds (wide open and asleep) it is great to know that you have a caring way about you.

You have learned to fasten your seat belt on your own. One of the funniest things about you is how much care you take in matching your socks and shirts. My OCD appreciates that so much and more often than not, you match them nicely. You are also really good about picking your toys up and putting them away after playing.

Oh, and you were thrilled to be star of the week at school a few weeks ago.

Sweet boy, you are a bright shining star and we are so proud of you!

Love, Mommy

Each week I try to come up with something creative and intriguing for Thursday Thirteen and each week I wonder if I’m hitting the mark. While I have a whole list of Thursday Thirteen ideas to choose from, the fact is, I’m not in the mood for any of them. It’s been a difficult day and my nerves are shot, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.

Remember last week when I mentioned that me and my van had some sort of disagreement on the big honkin’ hill?

Well.

While driving home today (at a high rate of speed on the interstate mind you) the van and its gas pedal decided it might be fun to play a trick on this ole’ gal and it got hung up somewhere between 68-70 mph.

Shut Up.

I’ll give you a minute to re-read that sentence to make sure you read it correctly.

Yes. You. Did.

Two words for you.

Scared. Todeath.

The cruise control was set at 70 mph and I had just hung up with McDaddy who was headed home from his second home Pennsylvania where he was been working 3-4 days each week for the better part of 2010 when I tapped the brake to disengage the cruise and change lanes.

Only the cruise did not disengage and the van did not slow down even though my foot was attempting the shove the brake through the floor board.

Within seconds I became keenly aware of every vehicle around me. I assessed how much room I had to get stopped, how close the vehicle behind me was and the fact that ten seconds or so later the van was still not slowing down.

Quickly I ran through my short list of options, which included, throwing it into park, throwing it into neutral, and freaking out. I can tell you that freaking out seemed like the easiest option. Which is exactly what I did shortly after getting into the emergency lane and throwing the gear shift into neutral.

The conversation with McDaddy on my beloved iPhone went something like this.

ME (WITH HEART RACING): Hey, the brakes on the van went out and I’m sitting on the side of the interstate in the emergency lane.

MCDADDY: Did the brakes go all the way to the floor? Is the cruise control still on? Is the van in park? Did the idiot lights come on? Can you drive it at all?

ME: Um, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know and I don’t want to at all because ITS NOT SAFE AND I MIGHT DIE!

MCDADDY: We’ll its obviously time to trade that thing in on a Jeep.

ME: Um, okay. As long as it runs.

MCDADDY: Keep your foot on the brake and start it up.

The engine ran as if it were still going 70 mph.

MCDADDDY: Keep your foot on the brake and push the gas pedal.

The engine returned to normal and I watched the tachometer (or whatever its called) decrease from 3 to 1.\

It is worth mentioning that a situation such as this would not have been a challenge for McDaddy. He possesses the wherewithall to take charge of emergency situations and make quick decisions. I, on the other hand, require a list, a sharpie, a calendar, and at least a 24-hour notice.

This was seriously one of the scaredest (yes, its a word!) events in my life and no, before you ask, I do not drive a Toyota.

I am happy to report that the van is now tucked safely away in the garage and as is always the case in a situation like this, the thing ran perfectly normal for McDaddy as he brought the hunk of junk thing home.

So, with that being said, I do hope you’ll excuse the fact that I am walking down Random Road tonight.

1. One of my favorite iPhone APPS is Words With Friends. It’s a Scrabble type game and if you are a member of the iCult, er, I mean iClub, you can do a search for JulieWV and we can get a game started. Oh, and if you’re looking for about 72 points, play the word Jeep on the triple letter, triple word spaces. YeeHaw!

2. My heart is heavy for my BFF, Becky and her family, who lost their aunt earlier in the week. Death is so stinkin’ tough. Cancer, you suck!

3. While I really love watching American Idol, I do not have a clear favorite this season. I like Big Mike and I think Crystal Bowersox rocked it out tonight!

4. My McDaddy is the original McDaddy. 

Just sayin.

5. While she would not have been my first choice based on her lack of musical experience, Ellen is doing a pretty good job as Judge #4 on Idol.

6. And speaking of crazy words, I learned a new one today – encopresis.

I’ll give you a second to look that up. Never heard of it before but saw it on the Facebook and did what I do when I’m on the hunt for something. *coughgooglecough*

7. Apolo Ohno will be on Jay Leno tonight. I will have to DVR it because sadly I’ve spent one too many late nights in front of the TiVo watching my boyfriend Apolo Ohno go for the gold, which he looks good in by the way.

Well, he does!

8. Some girlfriends are coming over tonight to decorate my newly remodeled basement walls. I have purchased some really great stuff but have no idea how to make it all work and pull it all together. So, weather permitting, I might have some pictures to show you very soon! (Hi, Susan!)

9. At this very minute, McDaddy is sitting on the couch with his laptop looking at used cars on the internet because that’s what he does at the first hint of a car situation. He’s found a copper colored Mazda 6 that is a six-speed. Oh, and it is a front wheel drive that will “do just as good as your van if not better on the big, honkin’ hill!”

Can you say Saturn Sky?

10. This post is at 1,011 words, so much for short and sweet.

11. My nephew, Isaac Cade is 2 years old today (as of this writing on Wednesday). Happy birthday, buddy!

12. The random isn’t flowing as easy I thought it would. Of course American Idol and Words With Friends are battling with the randomness, but still.

13. More snow today, are you kidding me? Enough already!

I hate to end things on such a cold note, but, that’s just the way the random rolls, I suppose.

Care to share something random today?

Weeks before McDaddy left for his six month sentence deployment to Guantanamo Bay, we  made some plans involving  our basement which included some major renovations we wanted to complete. I had some grandiose idea that heading up the construction of the basement would help pass the time and that somehow, I could have it all completed before he returned.

Ahem.

That’s a little much even for me!

Shortly after that idea I discovered first hand how difficult utterly impossible exasperating it is to peel wallpaper from a wall. Wallpaper that had no desire to be separated from the wall it had been attached to for the last ten or so years.

Needless to say the removing of the wallpaper was a slow job that was not finished when McDaddy returned home. My sanity however, was finished, especially after McDaddy announced that peeling the wallpaper was not necessary because based on the shady construction of the basement walls, we should just go ahead and replace the drywall.

Alrightythen.

Sometime between the period of plotting and peeling of the paper, I was introduced to Wall Words by my URL friend, Darcie. I knew then that I wanted the Wall Words in our new area.

Even though the Great Basement Remodel of 2009 2010 is nowhere near completion, I wanted to at least share the Wall Words with you. I ordered Wall Words for the Laundry Room and for our new playroom/music room. And speaking of peeling paper off of the walls, Wall Words are pretty simple to apply. After some preliminary measuring and leveling, all you do is apply the words, rub the words and then peel the paper away.

But I will warn you though, there are colors and fonts, and colors and fonts, and colors and fonts which means that the hardest part of the Wall Words might be deciding between the colors and the fonts.

First up is the [clearly unfinished] laundry room which is actually more of a walkway between the playroom and soon-to-be-mudroom… but still, it’s where I do the laundry -

While we would never actually ‘Drop our drawers’ here (unless of course McDaddy has been working on his heap, ahem! I mean Jeep in the garage and needs to ditch the dirty clothes before entering the rest of the house), I love the saying. It makes me smile everytime I see it. The whole ‘Laundry Room – Drop Your Drawers Here’ is actually a ready-made quote from Wall Words. Don’t you just love it?

I love these daisies on the opposite wall too…

And yes, before you ask, the walls are very bright (Valspar Chickadee) and for some reason these pictures appear as though they were taken in a room full of smoke or steam.

Too bad I’m way too comfy in my big, blue, bloggy chair watching the Olympics (Oh TiVo, I do love you so!) to go back down and attempt the pictures again, so I do hope you’ll excuse the below average photography.

Just around the corner from the laundry area is the 2nd kitchen turned playroom/music room that now houses the drums, the piano and ultimately 523 versions of Lightning McQueen and his posse of course lots of  TOYS. Oh, andI still have two red mirrors to hang up but I want them to hang in a diamond shape instead of a square shape which means McDaddy will have to do some modifications to them, so I’ll post again once we get those up. (And hopefully the photography will be better!)

The picture on the wall is my favorite picture of my fellas and was taken seconds after we landed in Cuba after being away from McDaddy for over 100 days.

And my favorite part of the room, the Wall Words…

No truer words have ever been spoken written on our walls.

Very true indeed.

—–

And guess what? The kind folks at Wall Words Dot Com have graciously offered a $5.00 discount for any of my readers who might have some words they want to put on their walls. Just enter the code (2010JLY) at checkout.

Simple as that.

—–

Visit Rocks In My Dryer for other Works For Me Wednesday Posts.

I am a happy girl tonight.

The folks from Slowes, er, I mean Lowes showed up here at the McResidence with two ginormous rolls of carpet for our new playroom/rec room. Remember this red and yellow walls I showed you a few weeks ago?

Well, I learned that while the red and yellow paint does indeed look fabulous, adding the white trim will make the paint pop. And then earlier today I learned that having the carpet installed transforms the room completely. Seriously, the room looks wonderful.

Then about thirty minutes ago, I conned McDaddy into applying the Wall Words in the playroom. Great words that are so fitting for our family.

Just after that, while McDaddy showered, I decided to take matters into my own hands and hang some pictures. I am smiling just thinking about the pictures and how awesome they look hanging around in there. I don’t watch much HGTV but the room rivals (in my humble opinion, mind you) the rooms you see on that network and I’d be willing to bet that we did it much cheaper than they because we did most of the work themselves.

I would love nothing more than to post 423 pictures of the finished area but it is late and I am tired. And, on top of that, I have four boxes of girl scout cookies hiding out in the corner cabinet and I intend to show one of them some love in a bit. Taking all of that into account, I’m sorry to say that the big reveal will have to wait. And, dare I say that my mind is already racing about our next remodel project which will include new flooring in our laundry room (area?) and a newly reconditioned bathroom. After that, we’ll turn a huge junk room into a beautiful mud room which I have already decorated in my mind.

So, just to recap, I learned that fresh paint makes a room look good.

Crisp white trim makes the room look better.

Carpet, wall words and pictures make the room look better AND COMPLETE.

Oh, and I also learned that the more girl-scout cookies you buy, the more girl-scout cookies you will eat.

Just sayin.

Visit Musings Of A Housewife for more lessons learned this week.

Oh, and I also learned that when there are girl-scout cookies on the mind, it is totally possible to publish a post without giving it a title.

Ahem.

Just like most of y’all who live here on the East Coast, we’ve had more than our share of snow.

I, for one am sick of it. Especially since we live on a big honkin’ hill with a steep curve.

On Friday, I worked the Book Fair at Stevie’s school for a few hours and then headed home. As I made my way up the big, honkin’ hill, it dawned on me that the hill was much worse than it was two hours earlier when I took Stevie to school. I made it half-way up the hill when the trouble started.

It wasn’t me who started up the big, honkin’ hill singing along with the blaring stereo to Selah when the van decided it was the little engine that couldn’t. It also wasn’t me who sat frozen with my foot on the break while summoning the courage to make another attempt at getting the van up the darn hill.

Shortly after deciding I did not possess the knowledge courage to get the thing up the hill, it wasn’t me who sat in the passenger seat mentally calculating how long I could possibly sit in the middle of the road before someone would need to get past me. Seconds later, I did not quickly pick up the phone to call McDaddy to ask him how in the heck I was supposed to get the van up the big, honkin’ hill.

After being instructed by him to turn the traction control off, it was not me who put the petal to the metal just before the thing started to slide BACKWARDS TOWARD THE LAKE. At that very second, it wasn’t me who silently thanked the sweet soul who decided to install the guardrails around the lake last fall.

So, it couldn’t have been me who cried out to McDaddy that “I JUST SLID OFF THE ROAD AND ICANTDOIT AND CAN YOU PLEASE COME DOWN AND GET ME!!!!”. And as you can imagine, it wasn’t me who recalled every bad thing I’ve ever said about McDaddy’s heap, er, I mean Jeep, as I watched it round the corner coming to my rescue.

When he arrived on the scene, it was not me who could have kissed him right in the middle of the road because hello? he is hot and he is mine and he would most certainly get the van safely out of the ditch without incident. When he began to back the van down the big honkin hill, it wasn’t me who smiled while thanking God that McDaddy was working at home on that day instead of 300 miles away as he does 2-3 per week.

And it wasn’t me who felt my eyes bug out of my head when McDaddy asked if I felt comfortable driving the van while he winched it up the hill.

No sir. Not a chance.

Twelve hours later, it was not me who sat in the passenger seat of that very heap, ahem! I mean Jeep when McDaddy slid it off of another big, honkin’ hill after a fun evening at our friends’ house. And once again, it was not me who was so very thankful that McDaddy is a skilled driver who kept his family safe in spite of the snow and the ice and the slush.

We weathered another storm, me and him, and I couldn’t be happier that he is mine!

Visit MckMama’s place for me Not Me! Monday posts.

I am very easy to get along with.

Just ask me.

But, even I have my moments.

During the marriage enrichment seminar that McDaddy and I attended recently, we learned how to effectively argue using techniques outline in a book entitled Fighting For Your Marriage.

As if I needed any help.

Oh, I kid.

Sort of.

My main problem when arguing is the volume of my voice.

And my temper.

And my ability to get over it.

Not good odds if you’re on the other side of an argument with me.

Don’t judge. I’m just keepin’ it real.

The session taught us how to argue effectively and we were given a square yellow and white magnet called “the floor”.

When we find ourselves in an argument, the key is for the “speaker” to have “the floor” before speaking and for the “listener” to do their best to focus on the techniques listed on the magnet until it is their turn to be the “speaker”.

The techniques listed are;

Speaker Listener Technique

RULES FOR THE SPEAKER

• Speak for yourself, don’t mind read. (Ahem!)
• Keep statements brief. Don’t go on and on. (and on and on and on and on – remember what I said about my ability to get over it!)
• Stop to let the listener participate.

RULES FOR THE LISTENER

• Paraphrase what you hear. (In other words, the listener should say, “So what you are saying is”… to make sure the point is clearly understood.)
• Focus on the speaker’s message. Don’t rubut.

RULES FOR BOTH

• The speaker has the floor.
• Speaker keeps the floor while the listener paraphrases.
• Share the floor.

We had a practice session during the conference, but chances are it went nothing like it would go if we were really arguing or disagreeing about something.

Our marriage is important to me.

And I respect my hubby.

So, for the sake of my hubby and our marriage, I plan to learn and follow this technique the next time we, um, you know, argue about something. 

And you can bet the farm that I’ll be running to grab “the floor” first! 

Visit THAT family for other things that might work for you!

——-

Before you go skipping along on your merry way, please take a second to visit my giveaway page where I’m giving away an 18×24 poster print. I’ll choose a winner at random 11:00 pm ET.

Kisses.

That’s this week’s You Capture challenge.

I tried to figure out the best way to shoot me kissin’ my fellas, but ultimately I figured y’all might not appreciate pictures of my playing kissy-face, so I movedrightalong to something else.

Yes, you are welcome.

I couldn’t pass up the chance to shoot these because after all? They are Hershey’s ace in the proverbial hole.

And because no post about kissing would be complete with my three favorite fellas, here they are in all their glory!

And this?

I kissed this bad boy the minute it met my finger. It is my Birthday/Christmas/Deployment present and I love it! Sadly, of the 412 pictures I attempted, I was unable to get the flash, the macro, and the zoom to love on eachother.

Clearly, I’ve got more learning to do.

You Capture is hosted by I Should Be Folding Laundry.

McDaddy and I spent the weekend enriching our marriage.

Among other things.

It was a military sponsored marriage conference and it. was. perfect. Even though McDaddy and I have a wonderful marriage, I feel like we were definitely enriched. I feel like I know him a bit better than I did when we left home on Friday. One of the best parts of the marriage seminar was the DVD portion entitled Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage.

Before arriving for the weekend, we were asked to complete a flag page.

The Laugh Your Way website says this about the flag page;

I’m packed.

The itinerary is printed.

I attempted (unsuccessfully, mind you) to complete the online personality instrument required for our strong-bonds marriage weekend.

Power-cords, laptop bag, and iPhone are packed.

Clothes for the boys are laid out.

Lists are completed for medicines, and breathing treatments.

The boys’ Valentines are packed and ready to take to Sunday School.

I am ready to spend an entire weekend with McDaddy. A glorious weekend.

A weekend free of wiping bottoms. A weekend free of taking someone to potty in the middle of the meal for pete’s sake. A weekend free of the words, stop, no, zip your lips, and yes, you have to eat your vegetables.  A weekend free of Lightning McQueen and his posse.

A weekend of learning more about myself and my sweet McDaddy.

A beautiful Valentine’s Day weekend with my Valentine.

See y’all on Sunday.

Tootles.

This weekend, McDaddy and I will be spending the weekend at a local state park resort attending a marriage conference.

The prospect of spending a kid-free weekend with the love of my life has me all giddy. I am hoping that the weather cooperates and that Alex’s croupy cough is gone by then. Not that the weather would ever stop McDaddy (and his heap, ahem, I mean JEEP) from going anywhere, but it would certainly make my trip more enjoyable if there wasn’t, um, I don’t know, snow, sleet and ice to worry about.

For today’s Thursday Thirteen, I though it might be fun to share some Valentine’s Day fun with y’all. The following 13 things all refer to my sweet McDaddy. We have been together for 18 years, and have been married for 12 years. He is a wonderful husband, father, and son!

Very easy to get along with

Always does the right thing even when no one is watching.

Loves chocolate chip cookies better than any other food

Educated in the Electrical Engineering Department at West Virginia Tech

Nice and good and thoughtful and loving

Tinkers in the garage with his JEEP and other automobiles on a daily basis

Instantly likeable by everyone who meets him

Not to crazy about my DVR docket

Expert at dealing with reading my moods, my flair for the dramatic, and emotions

Saves before he spends

Devoted to his wife and very involved with his boys

Annoyed easily at people who use the word amazing

Yes, he is a dream and he is mine!