52 Weeks of Weird

Week 51 of 52: Actually, I Tell You What

We celebrated George’s fourth birthday last weekend. We talked about having a party in town with church and childcare friends. George wanted his cousin Colton to come. Colton lives in another state, so we celebrated here as a family, then took the show on the road.

Yummy caramel cake from Cecilia’s. Actually wasn’t so yummy until 11 seconds in the microwave, then oh my, oh my.

Watching him play with all the big boy toys was bittersweet.

Georgisms:

1. He starts every other sentence with “Actually”. Context: Anything. He even begins phone conversations with my parents, not with “Hello”, but “Actually…”

2. He will be talking and before he states a new idea, he says, “I tell you what,” I do this too, and I wonder if it's a mountain colloquialism.

3. “The Deal Is…” Context: I'm stating my opinion so listen up. Used only if "I tell you what" didn't sway the audience.

4. “Well, that’ll show us Samuel.” Context: Samuel dropping pacifier on the floor.

Speaking of Samuel, we are seeing more of his personality come out.

Having an "Excuse me Audience, may I have your attention over here, yes, over here on center stage." moment. I can't imagine where he gets that from (ahem, Walter).

Feet on table, ala Gregg Gibson style at this age. I couldn't get the tones right, but alas.

Week 50 of 52: Suck It Up if you want a Smore!!

Yes, I growled those words in a hushed tone to my child this week. One of my finer moments in parenting, indeed.

We visited the Christmas in the Garden display at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this week. We packed PBJs for the ride, dressed the boys in pajamas under their clothes, and trekked into Atlanta. Anytime we start a car ride with two toddlers, we tell ourselves, "this better be worth it." And worth it, it was...

The boys seemed to enjoy it too. Samuel would say, "oooh, oooh" with each new sight.

One of my favorite moments was with George when he spied this frog on the bench. I'd seen the sculpture before, but never through his eyes. He lingered with his new friend for a few minutes, and then exclaimed, "Kim, I just had to stop and look because you know, I've never seen a big frog just sitting on a bench."

He also shared my hobby with me - nothing is technically right about this photo... I had my camera on the tripod, and was shooting at 1/3 second, so the lights are blown, and he is blurry of course. But everything IS right with this photo. Every time I see it, I will remember his excitement to capture the beauty around us. Never mind that tonight he deleted every image on his camera because he likes the cool noise it makes while trashing photos.

And in the end, the tantrum was averted with my suck. it. up. threat. We enjoyed tasty Smores while managing to keep Samuel out of the fire pit. An observer of his wiggles and near escapes smiled and commented, "He's one who will learn things the hard way." Hopefully he wasn't prophesying an omen or anything.

We enjoyed it, the kids were enthralled, and we made it safely home, returning with everything we left home with - which is more than I can say for most of our outings. We may have found a new tradition for our family!

Week 49 of 52: Just a Hunk, a Hunk of Burning Love

That's right folks, meet our elf: Elvis. He's a handsome little chap, and like the real Elvis, occasionally gets the munchies. Poor elf, since he ended up at a dietitian's home, he has to improvise from his preferred peanut butter, bacon, and sandwich.

So last night Elvis settled for Cheerios and dried cranberries. George was thrilled to find him in the cereal bowl, but did ask, "How did he do that? Did you do that?" I decided next time I won't lie to him, but just remind him the story says if we touch him he loses his magic.

My favorite lines from George's letter to Santa (as dictated to me):

Samuel has been grouchy, and George has been good.

Please bring me a backhoe and a new elf. Please bring Samuel um, um, a piece of paper. (First thing he saw.)

Then I asked, don't you want Santa to bring Samuel something?

Please bring Samuel AND ME a four wheeler.

Please get mama and daddy two bikes and a couch. Wait a minute, if the couch falls off the bike, it will make a hard sound and a big hole."

Trust me, if I made this up, it would make more sense.

Week 48 of 52: Tallying It UP

I had a rough idea of what I’d spent this year on my photography hobby. Oh, rough idea indeed. I recently tallied up every little thing I had purchased.

When I finished, even I was surprised. No wonder people go in to the photography business to support their habit! I told Walt I should write a blog post about my purchases, but wasn’t sure how to make it interesting.

He said, “Just tell the raw numbers, THAT will get attention.”

I said, “No, context is important. I didn't just buy, I sold a ton of stuff this year – all my old photography gear, baby items, and things we no longer used.” (Including several things of his which he never noticed. Solid proof he wasn't using them!)

He said, “Write about how you won a camera bag, then didn’t like it, sold it, then bought and sold how many camera bags this year? Seven?”

I rolled my eyes and told him, “I can't write an entire post just about camera bags.”   He said, “Of course you can, write about this week’s dilemma – how you managed to get TWO camera bags in the "sell out in minutes" sale and can’t decide which you like best. And how I will listen to you say do I sell this one, or that one, do I send one back , or do I keep them both? for the next week.”

I scowled and said, “How's that relevant?”

He said, “I don’t know, but do you really have to write a blog post in the middle of the SEC Championship game?”

So 2012 will begin with a camera bag (or two) I like (for now), and a promise to better plan my “fun” money throughout the year.

And maybe just maybe, I will promise to share pre-purchase discussions with Walt while he is still listening, instead of 20 minutes into conversation when he has begun nodding to whatever I say. But for now, the 2012 SEC Championship game seems like the perfect time to talk about the future of these two camera bags.

This Week In Photos:
We went to the Pink Pig to celebrate George's birthday and the holiday season. For my photography friends, the interior lights were overwhelmingly pink (surprise, surprise) so I didn't fight the color casts. Part of the atmosphere!

We enjoyed the scenery and the boys seemed to as well.

A good friend met us there, so we even have some shots of us all together...

I was intrigued by the photos of the original Pink Pig, and wondered how many of my Georgia friends rode the original?

Week 47 of 52: Chattering Delights

Traveling this week, so a quick image with no musings. George fascinated by the talking turkey. One of many chattering figures his grandmother has bought to entertain grandchildren.

Week 46 of 52 - Where has 2011 gone?

Only 6 weeks left of 2011 and with the holidays, it will seem like 6 days.

As I reflect on the last 46 weeks, I recall our goal of accomplishing Baby Step 2 of Dave Ramsey’s plan. By God’s grace, we finished this in July. We paused for celebration and vacation, and then began cranking into Baby Step 3: 3-6 months of expenses in the bank.

I must confess, I’ve needed a jump start, so Walt suggested a new sign – SAVING FOR EVERYTHING and we color in a letter every time we save a certain amount. I’m such a kid; I’m surprised he didn’t buy smiley face stickers. Of course, another sign on the wall delays painting the bedroom walls…possibly his ulterior motive?

As we chip away at this goal, distractions are inevitable. One of the TVs has broken, the couch cushions have ink pen marks, and our little table is elbow-to-elbow crowded. We are trying our best to ignore these things. Heck, with 2 boys, I might as well hone my “ruined furniture” ignoring skills for the next decade.

My aging laptop is the one distraction I cannot ignore. The hard drive and memory are pushing their limits, and when I edit, it spins in circles and sends me a love note: “not responding, not responding, not responding”. I hold my breath, hoping today isn’t the final crash. So we will pause a month, replace, and move on.

Anyone who knows me isn’t surprised I’ve invested countless hours deciding… Mac or PC… laptop or desktop… buy used to save a little now, or buy new to avoid re-visiting for a few years. And anyone who knows Walt knows he would have made the decision in 5 minutes by running to Wal-Mart and grabbing the weekly special. So if anyone loves or hates their computer, do tell, because Walt is beyond tired of talking about it.

As for this week’s photos, our life group visited a lake retreat near Monticello, GA. It was rumored to be a getaway for Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood! I couldn’t resist checking out an aging cabin on the property.