Amanda

SHE IS HERE!!!

My sister, Amanda, flew in Wednesday. It was a very busy day, but we had a nice time. I got the kids off to school. They didn't know she was coming, although Randy snuck down the stairs before I knew he was up and overheard us talking about the train station. I think he knew she was coming at some point, but he didn't expect her yesterday. After the bus came for the kids, Brenna and I made a new CD for the car, and headed for Atlanta. About 20 minutes down the road, Amanda called and said her flight was in (30 minutes early, when does that EVER happen?) Luckily, we had planned on her taking the MARTA train to Doraville, and I would pick her up there. By the time she got her luggage and took the train, I was only about 15 minutes away.

I picked her up, and then we headed back to South Carolina. The great thing about driving through Georgia is the outlet malls. So, we stopped. We did some crazy fast shopping. We only had about 2 hours because we wanted to get back before the kids got home. I bought a huge bag of clothes for the girls and a pair of REALLY cute shoes for me.

On the way home we stopped at a Checkers. I haven't had Checkers in about 15 years, and I remembered them to be much better than they actually were. Either way, we ate.

We made it back home before the kids, and Amanda hid next to the wall when they came in. Randy walked right past her to the kitchen, and wanted to know what was for snack. Meredith walked into the living room and said "What are you doing here?" They were both very excited to see her.

Last night we had dinner at church. My friend Bill has been looking forward to seeing Amanda too. In fact, he has been asking me for 3 weeks about when was she coming. We had a nice dinner. (I cook for Wednesday night supper. I only cook what I like.)

Amanda and I started another Rummy marathon (We played when she was here in December. I won!) and Ed and I are going to teach her how to play Catan.

Also, if you look in the picture you can see some of the 36 periwinkle plants I dug holes for. Ed forgot to mention that in his blog. He didn't tell you about the 25 or so annuals that went into the ground either. Our new garden is looking great!!!

Full Moon

Yesterday was a full moon!! Or maybe it is tonight. Either way, it was crazy!!!

Brenna is usually a really good baby. She hardly ever fusses, never really cries. She loves Randy and Meredith, and will watch them play. She will sit and play for quite a while by herself. She talks and smiles and laughs at me most of the day. Sure, she is a bit spoiled. She likes me to be close to her, at least where she can turn and make sure I didn't leave her with Daddy. But, if she can see me, she is a doll.

NOT YESTERDAY!!!

Nope!! My good little girl was a terror. I couldn't put her down for 2 minutes without her SCREAMING. She was fussy, she was sleepy, she was bored. I have about 200 plants to get in the ground, my house is a HUGE mess, my other kids would like to talk to me, and I wanted to write a blog. Nothing got done.

Today, of course, is Sunday. We have church. It is supposed to rain tonight. I would like to get some of the plants in the ground before that. I am sure that if I work outside today, my neighbors will be talking about me. Today is a day of rest (for anyone that doesn't have to fight 3 kids to get ready on time) and I don't think Brenna being difficult is a good enough reason to get my hands dirty. I am going to risk my reputation, and do it though. My plan is to make it seem like I am smelling the flower, and quickly push it in the hole. If I do 1 or 2 at a time, I may just get away with it. Also, we are Methodist and we get out of church about an hour before anyone else. I need to get the holes dug before I see any cars coming.

Wish me luck. I hope they blame the craziness (you know, crazy woman going outside every ten minutes to smell the flowers with no blooms) on the moon.

Mother's Day

I have had a nice, calm day.

I woke up not feeling well, so we stayed home from church. The baby and I got up around 8 am and went to find some coffee. Taped to the cabinet door was a beautiful card from Ed. He had to work all day, so he left the card for me to find.

Randy and Meredith each gave me a pot of flowers that they had decorated. Also, they had made cards and stories at school. Meredith included a list of questions she had answered about me...
Mom's favorite food.. choklit (chocolate)
Mom's favorite color... yellow
Mom cooks the best... fugge (fudge)
Mom eyes are... blue
Mom is... 10 feet tall
Mom is...90 pounds

What a wonderful girl.

Ed will be home from work soon and we are going out to dinner. I am getting Fajitas. Mmmm.

I hope all you moms out there had a great day.

Pests

Brenna and I went shopping this morning, and then met Ed for lunch. While we were waiting for him to finish up some work, Brenna fell asleep. Ed walked up to her and I after a couple of minutes. I had been reading a sign they had posted on the wall. Some thing about a new sale for the next week. Then I heard screaming..

No, not the baby!!

Ed was yelling. "Spider! Spider! Spider!" Each "spider" was a bit higher and louder than the last. I looked around, at the wall, at the sign I was reading, on the floor.

"No, on the baby!!!"

So, I reached out and smacked the handle of the car seat the spider was running across.

Dead, flat spider.