Great News came yesterday!

Don is back working weekends! Horray! Not that I'm excited to have him out of the house on Saturday's and Sunday's, but I am relieved for our financial situation.

On to MIL stories - haven't had one of those in a while. I asked Don to ask his mom not to come over every day. He did. But she continues to come over. She comes over to my house EVERY DAY! Monday through Friday. She is there. I've asked Don why she does this and Don says that she's bored. I can appreciate that I guess, but find another hobby besides coming over to my house to fix my 42 year old husband breakfast and iron his jeans!! She not only does this, but she gives my dog treats and fixes him "special" meals. My dog has a weight problem - STOP FEEDING HIM!! I've asked her to stop and sometimes she denies that she does it - while she stands next to the evidence to the contrary.

Yesterday, when I got home from work, I saw the evidence of my MIL's presence on my coffee table (a stack of mail for us to sort through because she claims to not understand it). On the top of the stack of dead trees, was Cooper's homework. He had already done it! Don looked at it, read the directions out loud and told Cooper, "wait til Mommy gets home so she can help you". Don had to take a phone call in the office, so he left Cooper to watch tv. When he returned, Cooper had gotten his homework supplies and did his homework ALL BY HIMSELF! We were very proud - and he did it correctly! My smart little boy!

Monsters

I realize that Cooper's sleeping arrangements are probably a result of my own guilt. Guilt for working away from home. Because of that guilt, I rocked Cooper to sleep for the first two years (or maybe 2 and a half years) of his life. It probably would have been longer, but he grew a little big for my lap. So, we transitioned Cooper to our bed. We lay with him and let him fall asleep. After he is asleep, Don takes him to his room. This worked fine until a little over two weeks ago when we moved into our new house.

Cooper would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and knock on our door to sleep with us, but it wasn't often at first. Then, it got to be EVERY night. Don and I decided that we needed to put Cooper back to bed. So we started doing just that. The first night in the new house, Cooper slept with us, because we hadn't put his bed back together. The second night, he woke up and Don took him back to his room. By the third night, I thought we were home free. No such luck. I woke in the morning to find him alseep on the couch. I thought it was strange and dismissed it. The next night, same thing - sleeping on the couch.

Cooper says that there are monsters in his room and he wakes up and gets on the couch. This scares me as we have tile floor in the living room and he could fall and hurt himself.

The night before last, I was in the kitchen, Cooper was in our room, ready for bed when he yells out "Mommy, mommy - come quick - there's a monster in your room!". So I run in there to see what he's talking about. I ask him to show me where the monster is and he points to the wall by Don's side of the bed. He points right at the shadow of the lamp on the wall. So, Don and I attempt to explain to him what a shadow is and that they are harmless. Both Don and I thought it was a success.

However, that night, he woke up and was on the couch again! Man! So, we had another talk about shadows and reminded him that God is bigger than everything, and he is always protected, etc.

When I woke up this morning, there was no Cooper on the couch. I thought we had our first success! When I dropped Cooper off at Grandma's house, he was anxious to tell her that he slept in his big boy bed all night, and we both expressed just how proud of him we were. I called Don this morning to share this with him and he informed me that Cooper had gotten on the couch in the middle of the night. Don woke up at some time and went the the bathroom and decided to check to see if he was on the couch or not, and sure enough, there he was. So Don put him back in his bed. But the good news is that he stayed in his bed for a little while?

I just don't know what to do about this. We are going to get "Monster Spray" (kinda like a repellent) and see if that works.

I have no idea if I actually have any readers, however if I do and anyone has any suggestions, I'm open.

Where to begin

I hardly know where to begin. It's been forever since I've blogged and oh so much has happened since I last blogged. I'd like to say that I will try to catch up, but I'm realistic - I won't do it! But I will say that I will try harder to blog more often.

I owe my parents another apology...

Parental units: I'm so sorry for the stress I caused while learning to drive a car. I saw the agony on each of your faces and blew it off, figuring that you were blowing what ever I did wrong, or however I scared you, way out of proportion. YOU DIDN'T - AND I'M VERY SORRY!

I have come to this revelation because Joseph is driving. My first experience with him behind the wheel of the car was calm and almost pleasant. We just went to Walgreen's and right back and we took the neighborhood roads, so he didn't go over 30 mph. He did fine. This past Saturday, he drove us around for a little bit - doing much better - stopping before the actual stop sign, traffic light, etc. And Sunday, he wanted to drive us to church. I felt safe with that, praying that God would protect us on the way to His house to worship. Joseph did good, once we left the house - the driveway and the alley though, are troublesome for him. We have a long driveway (bordered by a 7 ft. wooden fence) and a narrow, one lane alley to turn into onto our street. Joseph was having a hard time making the exit, so I told him to back STRAIGHT back into our neighbors driveway, then he can just pull out. He veered a little left, which because of the neighbors fence behind us didn't leave him much room to cut it right and leave the alley without driving in the grass or hitting the big green electrical thingie at the end of our driveway. He decided to give it a try anyway and got VERY close to the thingie (as evidenced in the photo). When I screamed his name and he finally stopped, the front tire was a little stuck in the mud of recent rains. So he gave it more gas, almost backing up into the neighbors fence. Once he put it in drive again, he did fine. But he left behind this little sink-hole!

When we arrived at church, I asked Joseph what he learned with this driving exercise, he said, "when you yell like that, I need to just stop". I felt pretty good about that lesson!

Just an average evening

At our house. Joseph had his girlfriend over and they were watching a movie, I was cooking dinner and Cooper was right under my feet. So, Don took him outside to play for a few minutes. Don pokes his head in the front door asking me to come outside. And there's Cooper sitting up in the tree. He looked right at me and said, "mommy, I'm tall!". He was very proud of himself.

Other funny things he's said recently - we were all wrestling on our bed (Cooper was in his jammies and also wearing his Bob the Builder safety goggles) when Joseph walked in to see what all the noise was. Cooper stood on the bed, took his goggles off, threw them on the bed and looked at Joseph and said, "you want some a dis bubba?" Don and I just started laughing hysterically. We have no idea where he heard that from - but it sure cracked us up!

More news

Well, Don's recent showcase has resulted in a recording contract for the band! He is so excited - and I just love seeing him this excited.

Joseph has decided that he wants to live with us full time and finish up his high school career with us. I can't even express how happy we are about this. I really feel that this is a good move for him! I am a little cautious, as he made the same decision two years ago, only to move back to his moms within the first week. We were crushed. Hopefully, this will not be the same.

I just got to thinking about all the really fun stuff that goes on during his senior year, and it's really going to be exciting for him.

Cooper is doing great. We are having a little struggle with going to the potty - he would rather not do it. Other than that - just typical toddler rebellion.

Brain Malfunction

Day after day, after day I have stood in the shower and thought of wonderful things to blog about - but when I get around to blogging - my brain freezes. Nothing. Just air! Strange. I thought I would just write about weird things today.

I am disturbed that there has been more news coverage over the death of Anna Nicole Smith than of Rev. Jerry Falwell. How sad is that! Lame actually. But the good thing is that he as already gone before the Lord and is having a great time in Heaven. That is awesome!

I really can't believe that summer is here already. It seems like time is just flying by! As a family, we've started walking around the neighborhood and Cooper really enjoys it. I pull him in his wagon - which he loves - until mommy hits a big bump and he gripes. Just like a man! Oh well, he has to learn to adjust.

Joseph is recovering. He has strep throat AND mono! Poor thing. He may or may not be able to finish the school year. We will have to see. Whatever strep variation is going around is hitting hard - it has taken my boss down for three days and he is NEVER sick. I hope and pray that I don't get it.

Don has a BIG day today - he is having a showcase for one of his bands and a record label is flying out to see them. I am praying for success!! This would mean so much to Don and we could really use the commission money.

Other than that - not a whole lot of knitting. Which I really need to get on the ball - as my step sister Karen is pregnant with her first. They aren't going to find out what it is - so I'm just going to wing it. I'm thinking a log cabin baby blanket - but haven't fully decided. Either way, I need to get started.

Mini-vacation

Earlier this month Don, Cooper and I took off for Nashville. Don had business there so Cooper and I tagged along and visited with Grandpa Walt. That was Walt's first time meeting Cooper and the first time I had seen him since my wedding (which I had to quilt him into attending). It was strange visit mostly because when I mentally picture Walt, I picture him more the way he was years ago - when I was a child. He was always more outgoing than my Memaw, always wanted to do things when we visited, but as time has taken it's toll, he doesn't do as much, and much like my Memaw, he doesn't venture too far away from home. I wasn't expecting a ton of entertainment mind you, just a good quality visit, which I got, but I wasn't prepared for him seeming so much older. He wasn't getting around as well as he used to, a little limp and his stairs looked like a struggle to him and that hit me even harder. I wasn't prepared to see him so much more frail, not that he is. I don't know what I mean - it was very nice, but different.

While I was there, he gave me my Memaw's wedding ring. I REALLY wasn't expecting that. The only catch is that I have to keep it in the blood-line, so any daughter, grand-daughter or my neice will eventually get the ring - but I'm not giving it up any time soon, that's for sure! Here it it is. The photo just doesn't do it justice.

We only stayed in Nashville for a day, then we went to Memphis to visit with Nana and Pawpaw. Cooper had a ball playing with his cousins and playing golf with is Pawpaw. I think now the Easter bunny is going to bring Coop some golf clubs. Here are some fun pics from our trip. Also, Don and I went to Graceland (I've been there before, but he hadn't) and we left Coop in the capable hands of Nana and Pawpaw. While we were leaving to go to Graceland, Don and I realized that was the first time we left Coop during the day - weird but refreshing to spend time just the two of us.

We introduced Don to Memphis BBQ. As a Texan, his idea of BBQ (beef) is VERY different than Memphis style (which I prefer, but what else would you expect from a Southaven girl?).