Mama's Hair

When Ben was born and everyone was staring at his face, the consensus was he looked like Mike's family. I agreed that his facial features resembled that side of the family, but one thing was for sure in my mind and that was Ben's head full of hair was just like his mama's.

I'm In Love With A New Couple

My old friends are gone and there's a new couple in my life. She cries a million tears every time she sees me, and he dries up all those wet tears with his strong, hot breath. Hmmmm, if it seems to be getting a little steamy in this post... well, yes, they do steam clean too!

My old Kenmore washer and dryer lasted 8 years. The dryer's handle broke 6 months ago, but I was still able to open it, and it dried so well still that I just persevered on. Then last Tuesday the washer stopped spinning and the door wouldn't open, so Bill had to force the door open to get my good sheets out. This spoke to me as time to get a new set. My two old friends seemed well past their prime, but were salvaged by a friend just the night before the new ones were delivered. Image our shock to learn that doing an average of 8 loads per week, it will only cost us $12 for one whole year of washing. I had to get started right away!

Interesting note is that, when the delivery man from Lowes set up the dryer, I discovered that the old dryer vent had been installed backwards 5 years ago when we moved here. hmmm, no wonder it blew so much more dust out than it had in our old house in Albuquerque. See, this flange is supposed to attach to the dryer and have the hose run from it to the wall vent. But they had installed this flange to the wall vent and only the hose connected to my dryer.

When the new pair first arrived, it seemed so overwhelming to learn how to operate them that I promptly went to bed and took a nap at 2:30 on Friday afternoon. When Bill got home and woke me up, it didn't seem so complex any more and I was able to operate them without reading the thick manual that accompanied them. Good thing I took that nap...now back to laundry duty.

Too Old For The Mosh Pit

Last night Gampy and I went to the ZZ Top concert in town. When the tickets went on sale last month while Gampy was on travel, I bought them via the Internet. Being that this was my first time to buy tickets for a concert, I hit the button for "best available" thinking the more you pay the better the seats will be. It came back with "Floor Seat, Row 20, Seats 12 & 13". So of course I hit purchase, planning to surprise my ZZ Top fan when he got home.

Now, it will make you gasp to find that at age 60, I have only been to one outside Beach Boys concert in my whole life. So imagine my surprise to find that those expensive floor-seating tickets meant that I found myself being blasted by the music while having to stand up for the whole show if I wanted to see anything. Sit down people! And the worse part was the truly loyal fans (read the ones who like to wear zoot-type suits and big men's fedoras) are the ones who will shell out the money for the floor seats, so there I found myself behind two big guys in hats that blocked my sight, as well as hurt my sensibilities!

What was there to do but buy two beers and sit down in the dark below all those over age hippies and wait out the show. The guy next to me offered me a set of earplugs, which he and his 2 companions had in their ears...why come to a concert just to block out the music? You gotta love ZZ Top fans, and I do love one of them or you wouldn't have found me drowning my sorrows in that beer last night.

What A Difference A Year Makes

Last year around Memorial Day, Mike and Jaysa were trying to get pregnant and visited Jaimee's new baby Lily. Mike looks wishful in this picture and he had to hold Wrigley every time he wanted to hold Baby Lily. Luckily, a short time later Jaysa and Mike (and Dee) found out they were going to have a little one of their own.

Oh what a difference a year makes! Mike and Dee have their hands full this year with a baby of their own to look over while Mom Jaysa is busy washing and cleaning those bottles! Dee is just as protective of her little miracle as Wrigley is of his. I love the way she keeps an eye on Ben in this picture, even while she's sleepy herself. It amazes me how these two dogs are so enamoured with their babies.

This was Jaysa's first Mother's Day as a mom, and it will be Mike's first Father's Day. Maybe we'd better proclaim a "Special Dog's Day" for Dee and Wrigley to acknowledge all the loving care they give their Bay-Bays!

Come Grow Old With Me

I've had a crush on Bill since the day I met him. His mother says I've improved him immensely, such as haircut, getting rid of those glasses with lasik surgery, and most of all, burning his polyester pants and hiding his Members Only jackets until he forgot about them. I think he was the last member of that club! But to me, he's still my "Boy Toy" as he used to like to introduce himself as (yeah, right Bill) to my family no less.

Bill and I were both in our 40's when life brought us together at work. We remained friends for about 5 years and the odds of us getting together were very low. Then, when we lest expected it, life threw us together again. Since we were closer to our 50's by then, we were wise enough to realize we might not get another chance. We were married May 9, 1997, in Idaho at The Hitching Post. A fitting place for a Texan to wed. The picture below was about 5 hours before I broke my toe in a tangle with the bed cover, which is why I was still smiling. Come to think of it, that broken toe might be why we seldom celebrate our anniversary.

We have grown a little older and wider, and maybe grayer. We sometimes don't even remember it's our anniversary until it's a month or so past. But, this year we remembered because it was on Mother's Day just like the day we were married. We still didn't celebrate this year, but at least we remembered.

So Wild Bill, happy 13th! May the words of this poem continue to be true for us:

Come grow old with me, the best is yet to be...

White Trash Fireplace

Back in early March, when Lily got sick and went into the hospital, we had quite an exciting time one morning when we woke up to see our breath fogging every time we exhaled. Jaimee and Lily had just moved into a new house when Lily got sick and the gas company was supposed to read the previous occupant's meter, then read it for Jaimee and switch the account.

Instead, as our lack of luck would have it back then, the gas company lost the "piggy back" order that was attached to the turn off order for the old occupants, so the gas company just shut off the gas. That gas was heating the house and heating the hot water. We didn't notice the lack of gas until we woke up the next morning and the house was freezing and there was not a drop of hot water.

Jaimee put Lily in bed with me and I tried my best to warm her up through body warmth and a big old down comforter. Meanwhile, Jaimee and Bill were making plans to start a fire with the firewood in the yard left by the previous occupants. Jaimee popped into the bedroom where Lily and I were huddled in bed with her oxygen tank. Jaimee let me know Bill would have a fire roaring soon to heat up the front room.... WHAT????? I made a mad dash down the hall with Lily, pulling the oxygen tank behind us.

"Are you guys crazy? You can't start a fire inside with this baby on an oxygen tank!"

My father spent his last 6 months of life on oxygen, and if I remembered anything, it was the big sign outside his front door stating no smoking due to oxygen inside...now these nut cakes were going to get a blazing fire going in the fireplace.

So, Gampy hightailed it down to Walmart and bought Jaimee and Lily this little electric heater (thank God the electric and gas companies were two separate entities or we would've been out of luck!)

She may not look so hot now, but this little heater was very appreciated at the time. Once we started thawing out, Jaimee decided to see if she could roast a marsh mellow in the "fireplace" and we had a good time joking about how classy we must look.

Mr. Wrigs decided to cozy up to Jaimee when he realized she had food. Before that he was afraid (as usual), but when food came in the picture he "thawed" a little towards the contraption.

Still, a guy can't get too close to something glowing red hot, so if Jaimee wasn't actively cooking, Wrigley kept his distance.

I'd like to think it was all fun and games, but more than a few frustrating tears were shed trying to convince the gas company that a baby just home from the hospital on an oxygen tank constituted an emergency on their part...after all, it was their screw-up...but they didn't see it that way. The best they could do was the next day by 5 pm, so Jaimee's friend Emily volunteered her oscillating heater for a few days so the baby could have warmth in her room to nap and sleep. The rest of us covered up with lots of blankies.

Party Like It's 1947

I left Jaysa and Mike's on Feb 28th. The next day, March 1, was Raymond and Jessie's 63rd wedding anniversary. While waiting between flights at Chicago and Dallas airports, I made many back and forth calls to their next door neighbors and special friends -- Pete and Peggy -- and conspired with them to surprise Raymond and Jessie with a dinner at the lake. I know The Dead Fish Grille probably doesn't sound appetizing, but it has good food, is really fun, and has a beautiful view of Lake Belton.

In order to pull off the surprise, Bill had to lie to his mother and hurt her feelings by telling her he had to work late on their anniversary and wouldn't be able to take them to dinner until 2 or 3 days later. Her eyelashes started batting real fast (a dead give away that she's upset) but she said she understood.

Bill and I went out to The Dead Fish Grille early and set up the table. Raymond and Jessie's other next door neighbor and good friend, Donna, arrived next. Soon Raymond and Jessie arrived with Pete and Peggy, who had lured them out to the lake by telling them they were taking them to dinner.

It took Jessie a while to recognize her son and I and Donna. In fact, when she saw Bill she thought he must be having a "work meeting" dinner with co-workers since he had lied about having to work late. Once Raymond and Jessie caught on that we were all there to celebrate their anniversary with them, we all had a good laugh about how many lies their son had to tell before we could pull off this surprise for them.

When I picked out the balloons at the Party Store, the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" balloon wouldn't leave me alone. It seemed to have a mind of it's own, determined to be "picked" as I was trying to find anniversary-themed balloons. When I looked up at it, I realized their adopted brother Michael (who had died about 6 years before) was sending me a message. See, "Be Happy!" was Michael's favorite saying and there was nothing Michael liked better than surprising people. And right there in the store, while I was on my knees getting anniversary balloons, the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" balloon started playing the music and singing the reggae song without anyone touching the balloon.

So, you know I had to buy that balloon even though it wasn't really in line with the anniversary theme. We gave it the center of attention between the balloons and in the middle of the table. Donna got a kick out of me complaining about how I had to listen to that song over and over on the drive home from the Party Store and then out to the Lake. Every time the car would turn, sway or hit a pothole, the balloon music would go off. Then she made the mistake of offering to drive the balloons home for Jessie and guess what she had to listen to ALL THE WAY home?

Little did we realize that day that we had so much turmoil ahead of us. I planned to post about the party that night, but life happened. So, altho I'm so late, I did want to share with you how much fun it can be to surprise people when they least expect it.

If you're wondering "why the Hawaiian leis?" Let me tell you it's one of the few things I could find in the bride and groom theme. Jessie's said "Bride" and Raymond's said "Groom". I think they were meant for bachelor parties, but oh well, they worked!

May we all have many more opportunities to party like it's 1947 ...and may these two newlyweds stay young together forever.

Sweet Dee Gets A Bay-Bay

After a few days in the hospital, Jaysa and Mike got the baby ready to go home. You've never seen so much bundling and paraphernalia involved in "baby movement" these days. When I took Jaysa home, I picked her up and held her in my lap while we drove home. Today's babies will never know how simple a ride in a car can be!

So Mike brought one car up and I brought the other, and the nurse who was certified in "car seats" came out to the front of the hospital and checked out the installations of our car seats. She gave us a passing grade...phew! Then I high-tailed it home with part of the loot the kids received while in the hospital, and Mike collected Jaysa and Ben and the rest of the goods.

I brought in my car load and got out some blankets and pillows and made Jaysa a bed on one of the couches so she wouldn't have to go upstairs to lie down. Dee was right on my heels every step of the way. She apparently sensed my excitement and kept checking the window for her parents to come home. Whenever Jaysa and Mike leave or return home, Dee is ALWAYS looking out the window for them.

When Dee finally spotted their car turning in the drive, she ran to the door to the garage and waited patiently. Mike was the first to receive her happy welcome home. Dee was beside herself when she saw that Mike had a baby. You see, Dee often spends time at her doggy-friend Olive's house. Olive has a baby at her house that was born a month before. Whenever Dee is around Olive's baby, Dee will not leave the baby's side. So seeing that Mike had a baby in his hands when he came home thrilled Dee to no end. She forgot that Mom and Dad had been missing for days and spent every effort she could to get next to that "Bay-Bay", which is how Dee pronounces the word baby.

Once everyone was in the door, Mike had a hard time getting his hands into the car seat to remove the baby as Dee's long snout was in the way.

When Jaysa tried to change the baby, guess who had to have a ring side seat? Yep, it was like an inspection of the goods around the house for the first few days until Dee finally realize this bay-bay wasn't going to escape.

I'd like to say Dee missed her mom so much she wouldn't let her out of her sight, but I'd be lying.

Whoever had Dee's Bay-Bay in the next few weeks, had Dee, either under their feet, or nuzzled up as close to the Bay-Bay as Dee could get.

To Hell And Back

So much happened when I got back from being with Jaysa and Mike for Ben's birth that I never really got to post about the time period from Ben's birth to well after Raymond and Jessie moved to the retirement community in Sherman. So I'm going to go back and catching up on the posts I would've made if I had not had so much going on.

The day Jaysa went into labor, she and I were at lunch and she was having "cramps" which I started timing at 22 minutes apart. I said I thought she might be in labor, but she said she thought she was cramping due to having just had a vaginal exam at the doctor's office.

Well...the cramps kept coming and got about 10 mins apart before we got smart and realized "yes...she's in LABOR!" So I drove us home, which was 20 mins heading in the wrong direction. We got her stuff rounded up, called Mike, and then waited for the contractions to get closer together.

When we all got settled in at the hospital, we were in high spirits thinking this was going to go quick and smooth. Mike got his doctor-garb on and prepared to deliver the baby. He even gave us a little jig to show his happiness.

I decided to get some exercise myself, and proceeded to show Jaysa and Mike my rendition of Snoopy Sale's "Flee Hop" dance. We were almost innocent in our belief this was going to be a breeze...

Then we waited...and waited...and waited. About 8 pm we started to realize this was going to take more effort than we thought.

Jaysa was tired of having contractions since about 11 o'clock that morning and she got a little sleep before the real business got at hand. Mike watched her adoringly, appearing as if he could take away some of the burden of the contractions just through breathing with her.

The night was drawing to a close and the doctor expressed his concern that Ben was caught with his head sideways, and that no matter how much longer Jaysa and Mike tried, Ben would not be born without a Cesarean section. This was disappointing news, but after pushing for so long with no results, Jaysa and Mike were ready to put their trust in the doctor.

We had arrived on Feb 16th, fresh and ready for this adventure. It was almost the next day when the nurse and doctor took Jaysa down the hall and into the delivery room.

Mike followed Jaysa's bed down the long hall and into the delivery room. I got this last shot of Mike from the window in the door. I was not allowed to go with them past the door to the last hall.

I do not have the words to convey how lonely I was at my post in that hallway. No one was there, just me and the door. I stood guard and prayed. It had only been less than a year since Lily's birth and that birth taught me the power of prayer. So there I was left, and there I stood, leaning against that door all by myself and praying. I didn't stop until the doctor came out and told me all was well at about 2 a.m.

The doctor said Mike and the baby had gone further down that hallway and into the nursery, and that I could see the baby if I went down to the window outside the nursery and knocked. I did as directed and the curtains opened, and there was the most glorious sight. Ben was worn out from all the commotion and Mike looked like he was ready for another delivery if needed!

I walked back to the room we started out in, sat myself down, and cried and cried for about 45 minutes. I couldn't stop. I never told anyone until this moment. I guess it was just all the emotion of the day and night that just were all balled up inside. I'm sure it was an "ugly cry" as Oprah describes the red-eyed, red-faced, swollen lid look she so often has. I think it had something to do with Ben not having to have tubes and machines attached to him as Lily did those first 7 days of her life. Whatever it was, here I was a grandma with a perfectly healthy little grandchild and I couldn't stop bawling my eyes out!

I made sure no one got a picture of me with Ben until I could get cleaned up and calmed down later that morning. I look so calm, it's hard for even me to believe I was so helplessly emotional just a short while before.