Weekend in Review

We stayed home from church this evening because Miss Allison's tummy is upset. That and she was a humongous grouch, not fit for Sunday services. I finally put her in bed for a nap, and she slept passed the time we should have left for church.

Our busy weekend probably led to her breakdown.

As is becoming typical, we rushed around on Friday. The second grade at Clay's school put on a show, so that afternoon I took Spencer and Allison to watch and to give Clay some support. He worked me over big time that morning before school to let him stay home.

"Mom, my stomach hurts."

"My throat hurts."

"I have a head ache."

And then he got the thermometer out and took his own temperature, which was normal, although I'm sometimes not certain my child is. He still said, "I can't believe you're sending me to school sick."

Yep, that's me. No mercy for stage fright.

His whole grade did great. I laughed. I didn't cry. I've never seen Cats, so no comparison.

After the show, it was close enough to the end of the day that I took Clay home with us. Just enough time for snacks and a little play time before heading to the ball fields for Spencer's practice. And then home in time for showers and bed.

Saturday the kids were outside all day. From after breakfast until bedtime. We even skipped lunch, but that was sort of an accident. I took Clay to have his baseball pictures made while Bruce continued working on our deck project. I figured he'd feed Spencer and Allison while we were gone, but he was a busy bee and didn't take a break.

Since the ball fields are near the county library, Clay and I swung by after his pictures were made. And that's when I realized that Bruce and I had had a bit of miscommunication during the week. He'd checked out three movies while I was in Cookeville a couple weekends ago, and they were due back in one week... not four weeks later like the audio books on CD. I turned those things in five days late one morning before the library was even open.

And on Saturday, when we went to check out our new stack of books and DVDs I was told we owe $12 and that she couldn't check out anything to us until the fee was paid. All I had with me was my key ring that had our library card on it. She had to re-shelve six books and four movies while I had to leave with one very disappointed boy. I'm not sure which one of us was less happy.

Those libraries are very serious about getting their DVDs back... on time. Or else.

We got home in time for me to shower for my date with my husband. We dropped the kids off at Bruce's parent's house. Bryan and Alondra and their kids were visiting, so our kids got to have some cousin time. Sharon said they stayed outside until dark and didn't give her a bit of trouble going to bed.

Bruce and I went to eat at Riverfront and then walked around the park afterwards with Bruce taking pictures now and then. I heard geese honking as they flew overhead. It made me think about the year we lived in Stuttgart, Arkansas... The Rice and Duck Capital of the World. Really. The sign as you are driving into town says so.

It's a small, Mayberry-type town, with a population just under 10,000. Bruce and I reminisced about some of our favorite things about living there. Every Thanksgiving they have the World Championship Duck Calling Contest. The town population swells for that week to near bursting. And the hunters come in droves.

The huge downfall to the town is that, in order to grow rice, you must have flooded fields. That sort of water attracts some mighty pesky bugs.

The state bird is jokingly said to be the mosquito. The town of Stuttgart actually has a mosquito control department. In the summer if you take a quiet stroll down the sidewalks off of main street, you will get hosed by the junk they spray to keep the mosquito population to a minimum, which means very little. We raked leaves in November the year we lived there and I looked like I had chicken pox the following week thanks to my sweet blood and some thirsty mosquitoes.

And the rice dust that floats around town chips in with the humidity to attract monster roaches to the area. We had a monthly contract with a bug spraying company. And I made certain each appointment was kept. I became diligent soon after we moved there when I was certain I heard a mouse walking across the hardwood floors of our home... and then saw it was a roach... nearly the size of a mouse. I am not making this up. I heard that sucker scurry across our floor.

But I loved living there. We met some fine folks, had some wonderful experiences and were members at a great church. And I got to hear geese honk on a regular basis. It was nice.

Shew! That was a big digression. Back to the weekend.

After church this morning, we had lunch at my in-laws' house where we picked up the kids. On the way home, we picked up a friend of Spencer's for a play date at our house.

Spencer and Cade had a great time. Here's a few pictures.







This last one is my favorite. Too cute!