The lunch time drama returns.

Earlier in the year, K- was being bullied by a particular child over some things in her lunch.  We haven't had an incidents in quite some time.

Well, turn the calendar a few pages, move a few squares over and you have today.

Earlier in the week, I stopped by the bread store just up the street.  It is a Hostess/Wonder outlet and they had some boxes of the 100 calorie snack cakes on sale for $1.00 a box.  I thought that they would be a nice treat for K- to have.  The same student who was bullying her for the dehydrated marshmallows in September was now begging her for some of her snack cakes.  K- told her no and she continued to beg.  K- didn't give her any and that particular child announced that K- was no longer her friend.  Then, she decided to try to talk the little girl next to K- into not being her friend.  Her friend didn't bite, but still. 

Rrrr.

K- had talked to me a couple of days ago about this particular child.  She told me, "You know, Mommy, I have something to tell you but please don't say anything to --- ."  "What's that?"  "You know, --- can be mean sometimes."  "Yes, I know."

We talked about knowing that was an issue today and I have to laugh.  When the lunch bully told K- about not being friends with her anymore, K- said, "That's okay, I don't mind."

Good for her!

Smiles in my day:
-  This week, K- aced her math, spelling and vocabulary tests.  That is a very good thing.
-  I got my table all set up for the Christmas Tea.  It only took a couple of trips to actually remember everything. 
-  Speaking of, Hubs hauled my heavy tubs up from the basement and loaded them into the car for me and I didn't even ask!  He got out of bed this morning to do it and went back to sleep for a while.  I thought that it was very thoughtful!
-  We have a big winter storm coming! 

Have a great weekend!

The one where I admit to watching far too many episodes of Kitchen Nightmares.

My grandmother's funeral was today.  It was a beautiful service followed by a rather crispy short bit at the cemetery.  My car thermometer registered 26 degrees, and that didn't factor in wind chill.

Anyhow, the family traveled on to do ye ole traditional post funeral meal.  They chose a mom and pop joint.  The one and only time I had been there was probably about 15 years ago with my grandmother.  I had ham and au gratin potatoes and a slice of peanut butter pie.  I don't recall having been terribly impressed, but it was what everyone settled on, so I went with it. 

When we got there, my silverware was dirty, but since everyone seemed to be on a first name basis with the waitress, I just traded with the silverware next to me. 

I decided that as crispy as it was today, chili sounded wonderful.  It was one of the specials and I was good with that. 

My sister needed some culinary guidance, though.

"I think that the crab cake sandwich sounds great!"

"Um, LeAnne, you live in middle America far away from any ocean.  I don't think that is your best bet." 

Insert more detail:  My sister lived in and near Baltimore. Her crab cake obsession started there.  It took her through pregnancies.  There is an ocean nearby.  Crab cakes in Baltimore are fresh.  I was certain that the ones here were canned/frozen . . . certainly not fresh.

"Good point.  I'm a crab cake snob."

"Here is not your place, then.  It is not even a fish joint.  You don't want to do that."

Then she decides to settle on the ham and au gratin potatoes. 

"Um, LeAnne, I don't mean to veto another for you, but the potatoes are not homemade."

"Are you sure?"

"It's what I had here years ago."

"I'm sure that they've changed.  I'm sure that they are homemade!" 

So her dad asks the waitress that he is on first name basis with and bingo!  They ARE from a box.  "But they are pretty good, though."  I can tell you that they are box, they taste like box and if that's what works for you, you are in business.  If homemade is what your heart longs for, box ain't gonna cut it.

She finally decided on the grilled chicken breast salad.  It had to be a full head of iceberg lettuce served up in a severely chipped woven wood salad bowl.  Mine was a lovely bowl of chili that was great and even better when they dressed it up with sour cream and cheese. 

It takes me to the day after Grandma died.  It was the funeral prep day.  It was another day where they had settled on having a meal together and they went to a different mom and pop.  I hadn't heard shining reviews, so I got the chef's salad.  I also got homemade rice pudding that was beyond delightful.  (With a healthy sprinkling of cinnamon and a dallop of real whipped topping.)

I'm glad to report that neither establishment had photos on the menu, but they did have a span of choices which left me thinking, "Chef Ramsay would have a field day in this place."

Smiles in my day:
-  The beautiful service for my grandmother.  Of course, the pastor joked with me about people "stealing all his material," but that is what happened to me.  Most of what I was going to say overlapped with what he said, but I still had some tidbits. 
-  My sight impaired and mobility deficient aunt got up from the family seating at the cemetery and decided to lean on my grandmother's casket to steady herself.  That sent grandma swinging wildly back and forth in her box and we thought that she was going to take an early header into the hole.  If you can do nothing other than laugh, why not?

Have a great day!

My sweet little Hanukkah dancer.

K- had her holiday program this evening.  She had volunteered for a special part.  She told me that she would be a dancer.  She started to spin about the room and sing her song.  She sang and sang and I said, "Hold on, K-.  Are you singing about Hanukkah?" 

"Yup!  I'm a Hanukkah dancer!"

My little Baptist Hanukkah dancer did a fantastic job!

They danced in a circle, in and out, holding hands and in one part, they parted hands long enough to really get down and then they reformed their circle.  So funny! 

What a fun night!

Smiles in my day:
-  K-.

Tales from the Trenches: Living in a shovelable world.

I'm good with snow.  I'll take it in any amount.  The more, the better.  I'm thrilled with blizzards, Nor'easters, Pan Handle Hooks, Lake Effect snow-- it's all good.

Y'all, it's shovelable out there. 

K- and I walked to school today.  It took us a bit longer than I estimated.  (She was a few minutes late for breakfast, but not late for school.)   I used my gaiters for the very first time and needed a little instruction from Hubs on how to put them on.  (Initially, I had them on backwards and tucked into my shoes.)  They were wonderful!  They are perfect for walking K- to school.  It isn't a snow pants kind of situation, but I definitely need to keep my pants and shoes dry.  The LL Bean clearance rack comes to the rescue again!

People are complaining, though.  It's Ohio.  It is the weather here.  If you live in NE Ohio, you have to embrace snow. 

K- loves it.  She'll go outside and play, roll around and make a variety of snow things.  I was out much of the day on Sunday dealing with Grandma things and K- said that she was in and out all day.  Fantastic! 

So how much snow do we have so far?  Well, probably 6-8".  It is hard to measure since it is blowing and drifting.  I'm just eyeballing what accumulation we have on top of the swing beam on the swing set. 

Snow.  We've got it.  Apparently, we're getting a lot more.  It's all good.

Smiles in my day:
-  Though I have no window treatments in the bedroom, I do finally have woodwork around both windows, the paint was touched up and the little holes have been filled in from the time that Hubs put our windows in a little over 6 years ago. 
-  Giving a call to Grandma's pastor and speaking to him about the service that he is preparing.
-  K- reading the Advent Jesse Tree reading each evening to me/us.  She finds the ornament and hangs it, then reads to us.  Truly, there aren't many words that she doesn't know, so she can read through it pretty well.  Yes, I count it as a part of her 100 Book Challenge Reading.
-  Buddy hasn't lost his charm.  She still loves looking for her Elf. 

Have a great day!

Fly, Grandma! Fly!

Last night at 11:25 PM, my sister and I walked my grandma to the Great Door and dropped her off.  I watched her go from labored breathing, to the infamous rattle to calmer, shorter breaths.  We were there as she walked into the arms of Jesus.

I am not sad.  I could not want grandma to exist in her state any longer. 

Human nature is to miss someone.  It is my Christianity that rejoices in her passing.  Grandma was in a state that she would never want to be in and we encouraged her to make the rest of her journey. 

I kept thinking, "What is Grandma waiting for?"  We had all given her permission to go.  It seems like a self-centered thing to say since death is a happening and not a permissive something.  It hit me.  The Pastor was there and we were talking.  He was saying about my grandmother's concern for my aunt.  As soon as I talked with grandma and promised her that we would take care of my aunt, within 10 minutes, she had left us. 

I have no tears.  Truly.  Why would I want to take her back from her Heavenly Home?  I rejoice that my grandmother, a woman of great faith, is now with her Lord and Savior.  I had tears for grandma for what she was going through, but now that she is gone, my tears are gone.

Grandma's suffering has ended.  What a great day!

Thank you so much for your kind words and prayers.

Simple things that have made my day.

1.  My living room is D-O-N-E!  Hubs finished sealing, grouting, sealing and putting the trim on the slate tile at the front door.  I cannot explain how happy this made both of us.  He also finished putting the woodwork in the kitchen and in the back entry.  He made a Pergo landing and it looks wonderful!  He's worked so hard on his vacation!

2.  We have about an inch of snow right now and K- was aching to get out and play in it.  She rolled around.  She pulled out her new sled.  Her snow pants from last year still fit wonderfully well.  Oh!  And she had enough snow to make a fairly decent sized snowball. 

3.  I took Grandma a small Frosty, knowing full well that she loves them.  I asked her if she wanted some and she said yes.  I could only spoon out very small amounts to her, but it was like I couldn't get it in her mouth fast enough.  She took hold of my arm and was guiding my arm to get my hand to her mouth. 

4.  Grandma gave me a couple of big hugs today. 

5.  K-'s interim pick-up was today. We were in and out lickety split.  Her teacher told me that she knows that I had math concerns a few weeks ago, but when reviewing the flash cards with the class, K- is about the only kid that doesn't use her fingers or a number line to get the answer.  She said that she works it out in her brain and that is great.  She said that she is exactly where she is supposed to be and to keep doing what we are doing.  Hooray!

6.  The PTA directory, thanks to the help of Kay the wonder secretary of the PTA, is printed, stapled and folded.  Now all I have to do is to print the cards, pile things up by class and distribute. 

7.  I'm getting a bit of a rhythm with the 100 Book Challenge prize distribution.  All the teachers know me well and I think that the kids see me as the prize lady.  Either I'm handing out prizes or standing on a bench, updating our 100 Book Challenge board.  I keep getting kids coming up to me and hugging me.  They know that I hook them up with the goods.  ;)

8.  I had a talk with K-'s teacher from last year on what to buy her teacher for this year.  I told Mrs. H- that I didn't quite think that an art gallery gift certificate would be a good fit for Mrs. S-.  She agreed, then told me that she would be happy to have it.  We determined that Kohl's is probably a great thing for her.  It is great that I had the opportunity to be able to consult with Mrs. H- to get a great gift for K-'s teacher.  I know that she'll be honest with me. 

9.  It seems that the stress of the week (stress?  What stress?) has caused a gigantic (and I mean HUGE) cold sore to bloom on not only my lip, but the right portion of my pie hole.  My sister suggested hitting it with tea tree oil.  While the tea tree (applied with a wet Q-Tip) is not necessarily the most tasty thing around, it completely halted the nasty burning that I had.  I'm going to apply more before I go to bed.  Hopefully, it will make this size-of-Arkansas cold sore magically go away.  Overnight would be spectacular, but I don't see it happening.  Darned stress!

10.  My truck, complete with new tires, didn't slip once on the icy roads last night. 

11.  Though it appears that stress may also be causing a lovely sty on my eye, a good dose of Advil Cold and Sinus seems to have taken the boulder-jammed-into-my-eyeball feeling out of my optical orb.  It's just one eye, which is a great thing.  It feels much better, which is a fabulous thing.  Now I'll rub my gold wedding ring over it just like Grandma-ma taught me and it should be all gone.  She was very specific and I can't recall if from the outside in or from the inside out.  I'm sure it makes no actual difference, but I'll do it both ways just to be certain.  I can tell you that I don't have Pink Eye, so that's a positive for sure!

12.  My mother-in-law shared with me some electric tea lights that she purchased.  Hubs bought me a snowman lantern years ago and I plunked one of those little lights in it.  It was lovely!  It flickered like a real candle, so it didn't have that fake kind of look about it. 

13.  Though I slipped a little in the parking lot of my Grandma's apartment complex, I didn't fall.

14.  I think that Hubs has finally settled for the night and has stopped obsessing about his craftsmanship.  Maybe.

15.  I got the insurance re-certification papers filled out and ready for Hubs to take to work.  That's been another one of his obsessions, so I'm glad that I tackled the paper beast.

16.  I have a toasty bed awaiting my indentation.  'Night all.

Smiles in my day:
-  Above.

So, I had that chat with my grandma.

You know the chat.  The one where you tell them that they don't need to hang out for you.  Yup.  The tears rolled down my face.  Grandma held as tight to my hand as she could.  I talked to her about how she could wear all the red that she wanted, about how Jesus would have his arms out for her and about how she could be our angel.  I asked her if she wanted me to pray with her and she said yes.  I told her that I hated to see her feeling so bad, to be in pain and I know that she didn't care much for it either.  I told her that we would miss her, but we would be happy for her to not be sick anymore.  I told her that we hate to see her suffer, but know that God has her here for as long as she is supposed to be here. 

Her night aide came in not long after our talk.  My eye make-up was still probably a little smudgy.  I told Grandma to make sure she behaved.  She told me she loved me. 

It's all good.  Whenever that day comes, we'll rejoice because she'll no longer be suffering. 

Until then . . .