You'll be gone how long???

As many of you know, I am staying with Bailey & Maverick for the weekend while Jen & Jake take a trip to Phoenix. Here is what my daughter thinks is a fun weekend for Grammy. First, Maverick is cutting teeth and subsequently has diarrhea. Then she suggests "we" begin potty training Bailey while I'm here! The first day "we" potty trained, she went to work. The second day "we" potty trained, she went to Phoenix. Are you seeing some kind of pattern here??

Yesterday, Bailey was very resistant to wearing the underwear. But after we finally ignored all his attempts to get us to put a diaper on him, he finally gave up and let us put the underwear on him. Maverick thought wearing the underwear was lots of fun. He wet two pair in a span of 10 minutes and his potty training days were over. Bailey was able to go for about an hour before he had an accident, and after rushing him to the potty chair several times, he finally got the idea. I felt like Anne Sullivan with Helen Keller. Remember that great scene in the movie where Helen finally understands what's going on? I danced and sang and Bailey laughed and we clapped and hugged and made a big deal out of his success. He did it two more times before the day was over.

I'm sleeping in the bed with Bailey, so naturally, my daughter asked him if he wanted to sleep in his underwear or a diaper. The same kid who threw a fit for a diaper that morning chose to sleep with Grammy in underwear. I'm sure you can see where this is going. Thankfully the bed has a plastic sheet under the regular sheet. Grammy, however, has no plastic night gowns with her. Bailey actually made it through most of the night before I felt something very warm and damp under me. I just went back to sleep until he woke up. I'm sure it's not the first wet bed I've slept in.

This morning, it was like a different kid got out of that bed. He refused to sit on the potty chair no matter what I tried. He wet several pair of underwear and actually seemed to be doing it on purpose. After several hours of playing outside, then giving them a bath (they are like giving an octopus a bath - when you grab something out of one hand, they are pouring a cup of water on you with the other hand), then playing in Bailey's room (where you are forced to watch Monsters, Inc. over and over and over and over again), I had to get out of here. I said, "Bailey, let's go to McDonalds." Of course, he was all for it and started putting his shoes on. So I said, "We can't go until you use the potty." Keep in mind, he has been violently resisting the potty for several hours. He pulled his pants down, sat on the potty and peed, pulled them up, and said "I'm ready!" Does anybody think he has been toying with me all day??

Tonight we had the dreaded bowel movement in the underwear. The look on his face was priceless. I put him on the potty chair, even though it was too late. I rinsed those out and added them to the other five pair in the laundry. Good thing we bought another package of underwear.

So, if you need someone to keep your teething, sick, children who need to be potty trained, for a weekend, while you go to a fabulous resort to relax and enjoy yourself, just give me a call. I'm sure I can make some kind of arrangements to be busy that weekend.

Anyone who knows me, knows this post is an attempt to be funny. I have enjoyed every single minute with these two boys, even the screeming fits and the dirty diapers, because I know I get to go home next week, but Jen has to stay here and carry on.

ONE MORE DAY!!!

Just one more day and I'll be flying to El Paso to spend a week with my two favorite little boys. I can hardly wait!! I've already bought them some new pajamas and some other new outfits. Now I just have to pack a few toys. Then I have to figure out how to get my stuff in the suitcase that is full of their stuff. I love them dearly, but I'm not paying to take an extra bag on the plane!!

Here are the pictures I was trying to download the other day. Bailey playing his computer game and Maverick showing off his hair.

And speaking of that blond hair, my mother found this picture of my father when he was 2 years old and I was so excited to see his pale blond hair. You can't tell it in the picture, but he had blue eyes, too, just like little Maverick. This picture was taken about 1922. Maybe someday Maverick's great-grandson will look back at the pictures we took and he'll say he get's his blond hair and blue eyes and good looks from his great-grandpa, Maverick. How time flies!!

Little Einsteins

I've been trying to upload some pictures this morning, but my connection is not very good, so things are not working out for the pictures. We stopped in El Paso Saturday and spent most of the day with Jen & Jake and the boys. I have some pictures of Bailey playing a computer game and some of Maverick showing us where his hair and ears and nose are. I'm sure everyone thinks their grandchildren are smart and beautiful, but mine really are exceptional. I almost hate blogging about them because I know it must give other parents and grandparents a complex or something when they see Bailey and Maverick, but I just can't help myself.

Watching three year old Bailey point, click and drag things with a mouse on a computer is so funny because I think about my sister telling me about a woman she trained with who picked up the mouse and pointed it at the computer screen. Kids today have no idea how much things have changed in the past 50 years. Or even the past 10 years for that matter. But when it came time for bed, Bailey wanted me to get in his bed with him and read (from a plain old book) "Horton Hatches an Egg." I guess some things never change (thank goodness).

Maverick has started learning his nose and ears and hair. He has no idea at this age how beautiful his blond hair and blue eyes are. He just likes to see us clap and laugh when he points to the right parts. I think he's going to be some kind of mechanical engineer when he grows up. He carried a vacuum cleaner extension tube around all day, and when we stripped their muddy clothes off at the back door and sent them up the stairs to take a bath, he carried the tube with him. When he got in the bath tub with it, he immediately put it under the water faucet, allowing the water to run through the tube onto the floor of the bathroom. You may not agree, but I think it takes some kind of genius to figure that out when you are only 19 months old.

Bling at Beijing!!

Did anyone watch that opening ceremony?? It was awesome!! I didn't expect to see it but we just happened to get home last night and since I'm a night owl, I started watching it about 2 am or so (in high def) and at 6 am I was still glued to the TV. I was fascinated by several sets of over two thousand people being able to move in such perfect unison. The drummers, the dancers, the tai chi exercises, those boxes moving up and down, the green people all lit up, the fire works, those paddles with the boats painted on them, the huge electronic scroll, and on and on. Then when all the countries started marching into the stadium, I loved all the different outfits and colors. I thought China's red and yellow outfits were the best. I was disappointed with the US's blue blazers. Too boring. I loved Australia's outfits that faded from top to bottom, white to dark blue. Some wore the traditional dress from their countries and others wore sedate gray suits. I heard the names of at least 10 or 15 countries I'd never heard of. I was so proud when the US team was applauded. I really don't follow sports, and probably won't watch much of what is televised from China, but I was totally caught up in the ceremonies last night.
GO USA!!!

Don't Throw that Away!!

This post will undoubtedly please my daughter, who has trouble throwing things away. My sister found this in a drawer she was cleaning out and we have been reading over it like it was the rosetta stone or something. You may not be able to tell, but it is a tourist map of St. Augustine, Florida. It has a list of all the sights you might want to visit and shows where they are located. The larger red print says "You May Have this Map with our Compliments."

But the part we are so fascinated with is on the back. My mother wrote down the dates and travel times from our home in WV to a number of cities along the way, and finally to St. Augustine.

We left home at 4:15 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 1956. I was 2 1/2 years old. My three sisters would have been about 8, 10 and 13 years old. According to Mom's records, my dad drove non-stop for 17 hours and 5 minutes. She should work for an airline with arrival times that exact.

My favorite part was the record of gas they bought. They filled up 5 times for a total of $16.23. I'll just bet they were complaining about the high price of gas during the summer vacation months, too.

Did I mention that I'm a truck driver??

I know this is a long post, so if you don't have time to read it all, at least read the blue part.

Last summer we had our family reunion in Myrtle Beach and as part of the "entertainment" several of us talked about our jobs and how we ended up in that field. Kirby and I were talking about the speech I made the other day and I realized several people who read my blog didn't get to hear me talk about truck driving, so here's the speech my family heard last year.

When Kirby and I moved to WV, the job he had lined up didn't work out, so when he had an opportunity to attend a truck driving school I encouraged him to do it. He was convinced that he would never be able to learn all the information required to pass the written tests, but I promised I would help him study. He passed everything and after the 4 week course, he got a job driving for a tanker company out of Charleston. It wasn't long before he started seeing a lot of husband and wife teams on the road and he got the idea that I should get my license. After several months of discussing the pros and cons, I enrolled in the same school that he had attended.

The first week of the 4 week course consists of classroom work, reading handbooks, and taking written tests. I ended up taking a written test for general knowledge, air brakes, combination vehicles, tankers, and hazardous materials, as well as memorizing the 50 or so items that you have to check on a pre-trip inspection. I was not the least bit worried abou all this because I have been a straight A student all my life, and besides, I had just learned all of this information when I helped Kirby study for the same tests the year before.

Week 2 of the course is the beginning of actually driving the truck. Now I'm getting worried. I knew how to drive a standard transmission car, but the truck has 10 gears and you have to double clutch to change gears. In other words, you have to push in the clutch, pull the shifter to take the truck out of gear, release the clutch, then push in the clutch again, put the truck in the next gear, then release the clutch again. I spent a few sleepless nights wondering if I had made a big mistake signing up for truck driving.

During the time that I was in driving school, I was also doing a Bible study in the book of Psalms. I know you don't know where this is going, but hang in there, it is relevant. On the Monday morning of my first day behind the wheel of a big truck, when I was worried sick about double clutching (see above paragraph if you skipped to the blue part), the Bible study verses were in Psalm 121. The first verse of Psalms 121 says:
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help."
The second verse says:
"My help cometh from the Lord, which made Heaven and earth."
So far, I'm just reading along, and it's pretty typical praise language for the book of Psalms. Then I read verse three. I don't even know how this verse got in there. It doesn't seem to fit with the rest of this Psalm, but isn't it just like a loving God to throw in a message written thousands of years ago that became so timely on that Monday morning? Verse three says:
"He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber."
If that isn't a promise about double clutching, then you don't know how to read the Bible.

Needless to say, I learned to drive the truck, and we've been driving together for 10 years. It isn't all fun, but some of it is. We've been to all 48 contiguous states, and more WalMarts than I can count. We've been to Disneyland and many other landmarks over the years. We get to visit family members who live thousands of miles away on a fairly regular basis. And we've eaten at more dives than Guy Fieri.

Most people consider the CB radio as a "must have" for truck drivers. We got our first radio shortly after we started driving, and when you talk to other drivers, they always ask who you are. Every driver has a "handle" or name they use on the CB. We were talking to some people at a truck stop and they asked Kirby what his CB handle was. He had told me several times that he was calling himself the dragonfly because our truck drags up hill and flies down hill. After he told them his handle I could tell the guy was turning to me to ask me what my handle was. I almost never talk on the CB, but I didn't want to ruin their image of truck drivers and CB talk, so I said the first thing that came to mind when he asked me my handle, without missing a beat, I said, "They call me the flyswatter."

So, the next time you're doing double nickel on the five & dime out in shakey town and you're dodging gators with a smokey on your back door, praying that chicken coop is locked up, and you get your doors blown off by a blue and white pipeline on wheels, put your ears on and say hey to the dragonfly, but he's gonna have to catch you on the flip side cause he's got the hammer down, he's got mama riding shotgun, and he's gone.

And just in case you are tempted to get yourself a CB, the term "good buddy" is no longer used by truckers because for some reason it now refers to a gay man.

My Favorite Little Boys!!

Here they are - my two little grandboys! We were eating lunch with them in El Paso on Thursday and I couldn't resist taking a few photos. Aren't they the most beautiful little things you ever saw?

This is Maverick giving me a silly grin. Pop had so much fun helping him climb up the jungle gym and come down the slide, while carrying a beach ball. Maverick was determined to have the ball go with him when he slid down. And with Pop's help, he was able to do it. He is so sweet to hug and kiss on. Even if he's trying to get away while you do it.

This is Bailey being his silly self. He loves getting behind Grammy and putting his head under my shirt. I walk around saying "Where's Bailey?" to which he laughs and laughs. On this trip, he took my sandals off my feet and put them on. I chased him around trying to get them back, which he loved. Then he hid them under the chair in the living room. He had Jen and me both looking for them under the covers on the bed and in the closet, all the while knowing they were in the living room. He only has two speeds - a mile a minute or sound asleep!

It sure was nice to get to see them for a little while. Jen and Jake, too. Hope another west coast load comes up soon so we can pass through El Paso again.