a discussion about the green goblin

shafted

My sis and bro-in law have been living in our wonderful and cozy basement for a few weeks. their house was not ready to move in to and they needed some temporary lodging. "cheeto and sassy" (my kids call them) are super easy to have around. they come in and out with little noise, it is fun for me because my sister is around and we get to hang out. cheeto is awesome and the kids think he is freakin' SUPERMAN. they attack him with hugs and love, and sword swats. they chunk toys at him.... which he catches and chunks back at them. he wrestles with them which is as great as SIX FlAGS without any lines! once, they even helped us clean the house. that was good. they are pretty easy house guests...and if i did not miss walking around the house in my birthday suit so much i would say they could stay forever. well, that was UNTIL they were STOLEN outright by my mother. and now there is a small battle for the "hosting" position.
SEE, they had to leave for the weekend to make room for my in-laws. we waved goodbye to them for THREE NIGHTS and sent them over to my parent's house. SEE Y'ALL IN THREE NIGHTS. well.....they have disappeared. into the abyss of my mother and her "BREAKFAST MEALS"...and her "LAUNDRY SERVICE" and her "WHAT DO Y'ALL WANT FOR DINNER BECAUSE I AM GOING TO THE STORE AND YOU CAN JUST TELL ME AND I WILL BUY IT AND COOK IT UP ALL NICE AND YUM YUM FOR THE BOTH OF YOU!!!"
Mother, i know you are reading this and you are SHAMELESSSSSSSSSSS!
my sister actually told me that there were more perks over there and they were going to stay over there for a while. OUCH. that stings a bit and if i have to make a breakfast burrito or two i will to get them back.
the battle is ON....MOTHER!
right now our basement still houses ALL of their hanging clothes and if they think that they can just LEAVE them here and come and go as they please to change out clothes WELL......they can't because i am going to WEAR YOUR CLOTHES, SASSY! OH YEA, I said it! OH YES I Di-id. So, come home to the place that was THERE FOR YOU from the beginning of the construction and destruction of your house. we are here. missing you. come back to the stomping over your head, the early morning wake-up calls, the late night wine and theological discussions. the PRECIOUS discussions with butter about star wars and all of the characters. the admiration of an 8 year old that thinks her aunt is miley cyrus herself. AND let us not forget the constant entertainment by a delusional 4 year old that is SURE he IS the one and only SPIDERMAN.
Cheeto and Sassy, we give you THREE MORE DAYS (on your "vacation")to come to your senses and return before we change the locks.

Faulkner's

when i lived in oxford i definitely did not understand what a unique place William Faulkner's Rowan Oak was (especially to live a stones throw away from). my friends and i would go on these long walks around oxford and it sometimes included a stroll through the cedar and oak trees, sometimes even a stop to sit on one of the big tree roots. i used to hear about people getting engaged there under the trees. once, i took an actual tour of the home (i am told by my father in law) i do not remember it very well. Maybe this was because the most i cared about "literature" was the fact that i saw John Grisham at Square Books a handful of times.

why do I write about this now? well....i am going to paint a painting of Faulkner's house! the line off trees that walk up the sides of the path, the white house that holds much history! this history i plan on catching up on while i paint. i am sure to google Faulkner and how long he lived in Oxford and who lived there with him etc... i will say this, my painting is going to be different from others like it because, well you must wait and see!! don't get too excited. i have not started this painting yet and there is always a chance that it will take me a while to get to it. BUT, i am hoping that by posting this....well it will speed me up.

FUNNY TIDBIT
when we visited Rowan Oak, the kids were running around like maniacs..... and Crunch, (because he watches Scooby-DOO and surprises me with hilarious sayings that would only come from a cartoon with stoned characters saying things like "jenkies!") says to me, "Mom wook at these CWEAPY, CWEAPY TWEES!" i happened to get a picture of him "posing" next to them. i am sure he thought he was at a haunted house and needed to find a clue for a "scooby snack"!

(experimental video demo) pumpkin patch

i think i just shot video footage? i want to send a shout out to my husband who missed the Ole Miss v Ark. game for the pumpkin patch. and total "nucks" to my father in law who paid BUCKS for all 7 of us to ride a train to the pumpkin patch, eat some boiled peanuts, let the kids pick out pumpkins, and then ride back. it was actually super fun and Ole Miss won anyway, EVEN without us watching.

show and tell

peanut and butter had a day off from school. so, we piled into the stink-mobile to take crunch to pre-school (30 minutes late). seeing that peanut had brought RICO, we thought it would be fun for crunch to show the hamster for "show and tell" to his class. he was king for the morning, RICO the hamster was sweet and did not bite anyone, we got pictures and then i read to the class (because i do voices). the only bad part was that i actually had to put my own child in time-out because he was NOT interested in the book and was covering his neighbor's eyes and poking him in the face. i guess crunch is used to my "voices" and was not impressed by them anymore. when we picked him up from school in the afternoon they said he had his best day yet. i do not if it was the fact that he got in trouble with me in front of his friends, or if he was just excited that we let him show RICO OR maybe he is growing out of his naughty ways, let's pray for that!

the greatest ole miss student!

after freezing our butts off at the game this weekend in Oxford, we to dinner at one of our favorite hang-outs, Proud Larry's. it is one of the only restaurants in Oxford that has not changed. the SAME PAINTING of an african villager is in the ladies room that was there in 1996! it is a cool place, great calzones and an awesome atmosphere. part of the ambiance that we experienced this time at Proud Larry's was "William", the college sophomore that was "three sheets to the wind" when we got there. the bar was somewhat crowded and our seat backs were connected to him and his date. it did not take him long to notice our adorable children and begin to talk to them.
(Will's voice read in a slurry voice)
Will- please don't think i'm weird, i just LUUUV kids! we are nice college students i promissssss. i just really like kids i want like sixxx or seven of em! really, i do. are ya'll alumni'''s?
Bert- yes we are.
Will- oh really, awesome, were you in a fraternity?
Bert- yes, i was a Sigma Nu.
Will- Dude, i was a SIGMA-CHI!
Bert- oh, great. i had a lot of friends that...
Will- (interrupting and turning to me) were you in a SORRRORRITY???
Me- yes, I was a Tri Delt.
(prepare yourself for Will's next question)
Will- (excited) NO WAY, MY MOM WAS A TRI DELT, WAIT...WHAT YEAR WERE YOU!?

oh. no. he. did. not.
oh. yes. he. did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am OLD it is official. i have gone from thinking that i might blend in to this cool college bar but the three kids, coloring books, novelty cups and a new set of crows feet gave me away. i am giving in! i am exposing this kid's photo to the world wide web and the few people that read my blog! SHAME, william, SHAAAAMMMME! EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME!!!!!

thrift store score!

I went to the Salvation Army yesterday for a little retail therapy! "at the THRIFT STORE?" you ask......yes! oh yes you can't imagine the shopping endorphin that i get when i find something awesome or totally quirky. it is the thrill of the hunt! i found a bag of Electrolux vacuum bags that i normally have to spend about $30 on!! i also found the color cartridges that fit my color printer that also retail for an arm and a leg. i have found Seven for all mankind jeans, True Religion, and the MAMA of all finds from yesterday, a pair of hot pink UGG's that are seemingly unworn, and in my size! i find great t-shirts and clothes for the kids also! Peanut's ski jacket from last year was from the thrift store and she was the cutest kid on the slopes!
There are items for the entire family! i find games and books for the kids. if they break them or lose pieces, for a buck? who cares? i have found great hardback books and some really fun RANDOM BOOKS! my FAVORITE is the (boy)Scout Handbook from 1976. this is a guide for life, it coaches you on everything from how to dress a sprained ankle to sexual maturity! a quote from the "manual" on this subject says, "Don't rely on advice of friends who think they know all the answers, but may not really know as much as you do. In these matters, it is always smart to get facts and not fiction." LOL! so true!
for the record, this thrifty hobby of mine drives Bert CRAZY and i just tell him that it makes me happy and it is MUCH cheaper than therapy! besides, who could LIVE without a coconut fisherman?

and after

little clara after a traumatizing trip to the beauty palla and many "oh CLARA" comments at school. this is the best it gets after the chopparooooo of the century! see "a cut above" for the before pic.

a cut above

my dear friend's youngest and only daughter decided to take up the trade of hairstyling..... a pair of scissors, a hiding place, daddy watching alabama football, all mixed together for the perfect ambiance for creativity and determination. some girls just need a CHANGE. i mean, if we want a mullet and we are not gonna get one by asking, it is only natural for us to do it ourselves!! sheeeesh!
this is a before pic of my little "clara belle".
we shall see what happens today when her grandmother picks her up from school to take her to the "beauty PALLA". nothing works better than an "old lady" hairdresser fixin a mullet into a fancy short dippidy dooooooo.
"WELL, I DEEEE CLARA!"

new paintings for the BEACH!!!

i am excited about the paintings that i am sending down to Destin, Fl. i have practically LIVED in my studio for the past week getting some really FUN paintings completed. i was inspired by a photo that i found of my little friend Katie's bike! i remember when she got it i flipped out over it and said, "that bike would make the BEST painting!" each painting has a bike in it. they all remind me of the heavenly white beaches of the panhandle, and the feeling of sand in between your toes and bike riding along the beaches of 30-A and in Baytowne Warf. they will be at Beverly Mcneil Gallery in Destin.

fashion tips in a "crunch"

i am sitting here on the computer when i need to be getting ready to take the boy to pre-school. the fight will begin about what to wear and i guess i am procrastinating. Crunch will want to wear his whithering spiderman costume that has no zipper and i have to fasten with a safety pin. i will say, YOU ARE GOING TO SCHOOL AND YOU HAVE TO WEAR SCHOOL CLOTHES! I know that i need to be consistent, it's just that sometimes i care if he is wearing a spiderman costume with permanent skid marks on the butt and sometimes i just DON'T CARE. i think this is JUST fine! the sign of a good mother is not what the kid is wearing but if they are happy and loved.
phone rings...............................................................
MY dear friend "uny" just called and came to pick crunch up EARLY for school! so, i threw some pants on him (cow print size 3 too small). these are my FAVORITE pants, i can't let go of em, and now they are capri's. in the summer they will be shorts. GOOD RULE OF THUMB for busy moms: the shirt they sleep in is their shirt for the next day! it eliminates about 2 minutes and a fight for what they WANT to wear. this being said, crunch has on a long sleeved grey t-shirt with a big yellow rectangle sticker that is upside down and says "E W ELEMENTARY VISITOR." he pulled it off yesterday's shirt and slapped it on this one! oh, he's got his cowboy boots on too! all day long, people might think that he dressed himself when in fact, it was me all along! ha!
the house is quiet now, i am fighting my urge to go back to bed!
coffeeeeeeeee! please work! too much to do!

Your hands made me and formed me; give me your understanding to learn your commands. may those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for i have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119:73

starting my busy season!

just trying to write this post is difficult! i have the kids standing around me chanting, "I WANT CEREAL!" they have all had one big bowl each but as they watch their morning cartoons they get that couch potato-eeee hunger. so i fill their bowls up again. i just need an increment of about 30 minutes to post something to my blog as it has become a sort of therapy for me. "theirs no crying in baseball," tom hanks belts from the tv. i love how his chew is hanging out of his mouth as he has this totally confused look on his face. i am watching "a league of their own" on my tv" whilst (i love that word) i work on this post. peanut has been up to me twice already to put her hamster on me. butter comes in and begins his daily endless whining to go over to some one's house! can i go to sam's or webster's or what about lane's? "BUTTER," i say, "you can't just wander around the neighborhood asking yourself into peoples houses! we will have to call them in a little while."

my art SEASON has begun. i have three shows coming up. i am painting little churches, angels, and crosses. a lot of them. they are all "recession" sizes! affordable for everyone. but they take time and there are going to be a whole lot of little ones to cover my market space or i will look super puny. last night i stayed up until 12:30 because it is my only quiet time. i can watch whatever i want on my little studio tv. last night it was "clean house"! my favorite! i will be in my studio between now and january. i have to get a babysitter to help with the kids or it will be impossible to finish my paintings. i will be posting some of these paintings on my blog so stay tuned!
crunch just crawled in my lap with an unsolicited hug and a kiss that was as sweet as the frosted mini-wheat's on his breath. gotta go now!!
Love, Liz

i've got "the grove" blues

we are missing yet another home game in oxford. it HUUUUURRRRRTTTSSS!!! i love that place. i will say that the alabama vs. ole miss game is probably going to be a blast but VERY PACKED. when I was at ole miss "the grove" was still a pretty well kept secret. when i arrived as a freshman in '92 it was one of the first seasons that they had done away with ACTUAL "tailgating" with CARS all pulled into the grove. can you imagine? a huge parking lot of cars under the oak trees? no hope of getting out of there until long into the night. the cars were trenching the grass etc. so, things changed...someone made a decision, and the grove was closed to cars. so, people brought there "picnic" tables in and tried to make the best of it. long time traditions are hard to break. it was kind of weird at first and it took a while to set in. i remember when i first started noticing the tents. one year, probably the second year of this new "tailgating" without an actual "tailgate" there were tents just sprinkled trough the grove.
i remember thinking, "that is a great idea to have a tent". well, it "cotton balled"! each year more and more tents. NOW they are touching one another. in the past couple of years the university started roping off little pathways in the grove before the tailgaters show up. now, one can actually give you "directions" on how to find their tent. "go to your third left turn from the union, take a right at the tunica tent and we are four tents in towards the pharmacy building...yes, the one with the white stars and 'go to hell LSU' written on the side.
a few entrepreneur "ish" students got smart one year and started businesses where they set your tents up for you, in your favorite spot in the grove. these dudes show up at the crack of dawn and fight for your spot for you. they store your tents all season. all you gotta do is show up with the food and (ahem)...beer, wine, bourbon, margarita machine, etc. the university police department hardly enter the grove and as long as you have your toddy in a cup you are golden.
the secret is out, this weekend there will be crimson tents mixed heavily in the grove. ole miss fans are very hospitable and have no problems sharing the grove, as long as you take a spot that is NOT OURS, share your food, don't yell "ROLL TIDE" in the middle of the grove and for heavens sake, keep it friendly! you ARE in the most "southern" town in Dixie!

click on the title of this post to watch a great story on the grove in action!

dr. P

i, along with crunch and butter, went to my favorite ENT to see about our throats. i love to go there and get my ears cleaned out. i am fascinated by what comes out of my ears! GAG! but,i can actually hear when i leave. i always wonder (hindsight) why i WANT to BETTER hear the crying and fighting? a little bit of deafness that i could turn off and on...would be a plus at this point in my life! peanut and butter had already been to the pediatrician to find that they had combos of viral stuff and strep. So, when i started feeling icky...and crunch had a raging fever...i thought i might have a way to kill two birds with one stone. we would go to the ENT and BOTH be seen.
NOW, let me explain something. I KNOW that I adore my ENT but i had NO idea how much of a response i would get when i POSTED on FACEBOOK that i was going to see Dr. P!
FACEBOOK PANDALERIUM!
here is what i posted as my status along with the photo of him:
going to dr. P. at 3:00. just look at that face!! i feel better already! yes, i happen to have a photo of my favorite ENT in my files.
7 people put a thumbs up "i like this"
and there are 26 comments!
let me share a few:
he is the best,God love him!
that's classic, liz...was there friday am to see him too...love me some dr. P!
o.k. that is hysterical! i feel like i see him enough, i don't need a photo in my file :)
DR. FEEL GOOD!!! MY FAVORITE!!

Why is this man so adored? you might ask. well first of all, look at him! he is a character! one that could definitely be written into a comic or cartoon. the "knowing" smile. the glasses! the big silver thingie on his head. the bow ties!!! o my! you gotta love it! he is more than an ENT. he is the source for everything you need to know that is happening in society. he knows EVERYBODY and has sucked the snot out of all the big wigs in town! he has a MASSIVE art collection. if you ask him he will give you a tour through the back rooms of his office and show you all of the incredibly valuable art there! i have invited myself over to his house PLENTY of times to see more but that has never ended in an actual invitation!
it is hilarious when you go to him because when he examines you he gets a SHOCKED look on his face, his mouth drops open, EVERY TIME he looks in any of the three orifices that he specializes in (ears, nose and throat). HE WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT YOU HAVE! he just shakes his head and either goes for the sucking device or gets out his prescription pad. if you ask him what your diagnosis is he says, "You ah sick" (deep suthen accent). then he sends a nurse in and before you know it you have a shot on your butt cheek and a script in hand. you are then sent to check out. this is where you can ask the receptionist your diagnosis! "OHHHHHH, strep? really? OK. can i have a dumdum?"
He asked butter where he goes to school. then after getting a 6 year old mumbled answer he leaned down and said "I went to 'double u and elll' do you know where that is? it is in Lexington Virginia". butter just smiled, i think because you can't help it when you look at him. he was great with crunch and every time he would try and slide out of the exam chair dr. P would say, "now, i am not finished with you yet, sit back up, now lemme see your ears, wow what FABULOUS ears you have". butter, crunch and i left the office with smiles on our faces, a few prescriptions, and blue raspberry "dumdums".

status?

i love my friend Mac! she is so dear to me. an artist too. she is older than me, wiser in many ways. BUT i think we probably are the same in how old we "think" we are. she has been through more in her life than me. she has more depth to her because of those cavities left behind from pain. she is a believer. but one of those believers that has probably said to God more than once, "I don't know if i believe you, Lord. do you REALLY love me OR do you just wind me up and watch me spin around in circles". SHE investigates, draws conclusions, based on facts. her facts always point toward the Lord. i LOVE MAC!
she wrote this GREAT post on her blog about status updates and how really peculiar the word "status" is for what we actually "post". i fall into her category of people that post what they are doing because they like communicating communally. it makes me feel less alone in this world of little ones, and rated G TV. ANYWAY, the word "status" for me just means "what are you doing, thinking, feeling etc. since i am an open book with everyone anyway, i do like to post my status....often. sometimes very often which can give the world a view of me that i have nothing better to do. also, it begs the point, (as asked by my friend bee) if you are having such a hard time with your kids then how do you have the time to be on stinkin' facebook all the time? a great response to bee's question is "how do you KNOW i am on Facebook if YOU are not also INDEED on Facebook yourself?
Mac, in her post, takes time to write what she is ACTUALLY doing and what a REAL status update would look like IF we filled it in with the real stuff. SO, to steal her idea here goes:
STATUS UPDATE
i sit here, pillow behind my back, Bert's back is to me. he has been snoring pretty bad lately but it almost lulls me to sleep in a weird way. frannie is at the end of our bed and she is breathing loudly. i go through things i said and did today and beat myself up over them. either i think i have come across too pushy, way too honest, or embarrassed someone, OR said the very wrongEST thing. i will think over this for a while. my eyes drift closed between thoughts. i can't pray because i will fall asleep in the middle of it. written prayers have always been the better bet. i can keep my train of thought a little bit better. so here goes with that,
dear Lord,
thank you for this day and for the kids. Lord I am so sorry for the pain that i might have caused___today. Lord, help me to be more humble. my life needs to be a focus and a pointer toward you! not me. Lord you have showed me so much grace in my life. why me? why is our home so blessed while others suffer? Lord thank you for the church, the pastors and their lives. thank you for Bert. PLEASE give him some relief from his stress. i pray for beau and Em. Paul too. Help this blog to glorify you LORD! point others towards the cross. in Jesus' name, amen.
So, i finish praying and then i will publish this post hoping that i have not gone too far, been too open, hurt any one's feelings etc. decide if there is a good picture to publish with it.
Mac, don't be mad at me but i am going to point people over to your blog.
click on "Existing is just Existing" on "sites i likes"

beau

"beau is my best fwend!
he is soooo big!
beau love me because he is my cousin.
he is my best best fwend."

MY BLOG READERS!
pray for my sister and brother in law. and for beau.
he is very energetic!
he wants to run and play and LAUGH!
hard to keep him from wearing his muscles out!
wearing his mama and daddy out instead.
God has BIG PLANS for beau.
we know this is true.
thank you for beau, mil mil and maddie.
thank you for your indescribable gifts DEAR LORD.
The HOLY SPIRIT is great within us. our Mighty Counselor you are!
GREAT WITHIN US!

Click on the title of this post to read my earlier post about Beau, "God is Bigger than DMD". You can also click on Parent Project on my "sites i likes" to see how you can help us fight for a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy! thank you for your prayers!

the pampered frannie

when the nice lady dropped frannie the dog back off at my house i noticed that she was not as nappy as normal. i even thought to myself, "she's not as nappy as normal". i even made a comment about how sorry i was that she had my stinky dog all night. the nice lady responded with, "oh, i think she smells sweet". i thought, "that is weird, she does not smell AS bad as normal". ALSO, here is the odd part....her hair looked shorter. i wondered if i had forgotten that i had groomed her recently and was only remembering her in normal "nappy" state. i was also wondering if maybe just some of her hair had fallen out during the trauma of being away from her loving home! When Bert returned from being out of town (he missed the WHOLE lost dog EXTRAVAGANZA!) he said, "did you go and have her groomed?" this is when i figured out (two days after frannie's vacation) that she had been GROOMED by her rescuer!!!! she had been on a vacation, hung out with fellow "rescue" dogs, eaten some sort of gourmet food and enjoyed SPA TREATMENT! and i had insulted the nice lady by saying that she stinks!
Frannie does have a new tag with a rubber silencer thingie on it. it is a heart tag that reads
"frannie"
blind, deaf, loved...
and a phone number of course!

I took the kids yesterday to the thrift store. it is fun for them to find something to buy that does not break the bank. it gets us out of the house and I get to look for my newest thing, old salt and pepper shakers! everything was fine until Crunch needed to go to the potty. I LOVE the thrift store BUT the bathroom is disCRUSTing!
Crunch and i stand there waiting on the one stall to come available. of course i am wispering to Crunch "don't touch ANYTHING. not a thing, just stand. don't move". toilet flushes, and a tall large woman walks out. one of those panicky feelings comes over me because i can hear the wheels turn in Crunch's brain....................he says before i can blink,
"Mom,look at that BIG FAT MAN!"
oh. my. goodness...think fast liz
"yes you are BAT MAN aren't you? are you BAT MAN today?
i think that i might have recovered this horrifying moment but you never know if the words of an unfiltered child hurt the feelings of a seemingly nice lady. I have had to recover from all three of the kids saying something of the sort to unsuspecting citizens just minding their own business.
Peanut pointed to a woman at the zoo and said "that lady's bottom is on the front".
Butter told a blind lady in a doctor's waiting room that she was "weawy weawy big".
We do not say things about weight in our house! i do not know where they have gotten it or if they are just stating obvious observations. but OH does it do a number on ME!
KIDS, they say the darndest things!!

a valid question

Peanut asked me a question
Mom, is my friend "Sally" a Christian?
I don't know Peanut, it depends if she has asked Jesus into her heart.
Does God love her anyway? Even if she did not VOTE for Jesus?