SLAG Smoothie

Boys withhold when they are young where the potty is concerned.  It isn't uncommon for them to wait days before finally doing their business.  I wonder when the magical transformation happens where they start camping out in there daily.  But for now, one of my boys isn't that regular and he was up all night with a tummy ache last night.  So, I decided to get some Miralax in his system.  To do this takes more then mere milk, juice or even ice cream.  He picks up the texture in all of them.  Today I made my own smoothie, the SLAG (shit like a goose) Smoothie.  Turned out really good, though I could only try a spoonful because I don't need to be running to the potty...  I looked on allrecipes.com and picked some that sounded good, then went from there.

SLAG Smoothie

1 medium sliced banana
1 cup Boathouse Farms strawberry banana smoothie
1 dose of Miralax
1 cup of vanilla ice cream
2 cups crushed ice

Put banana, smoothie, Miralax and ice cream in a blender.
Pulse until smoothly combined.
Add 2 cups crushed ice and pulse until smoothly combined.

It tastes great and I will be changing it up, using fresh fruit instead of ready-made smoothie liquid, maybe back off the ice a bit and increase the fruit and/or ice cream.

I would love to try strawberry kiwi with all fresh fruit, also strawberry peach, or strawberry-peach-kiwi-banana-whatever else.  The possibilities are endless!

As I typed the last sentence, GUESS WHO ran to the bathroom saying, "I gotta go pooooop!" as he went down the hall.  Mission accomplished.

Last weekend in April, 2012

We put some finishing touches on Elmer's grave.  He has a stone over his grave and I plan to get a stepping stone kit so we can put his name on it.  Thanks to my private student's mom for the idea.  We planted a rose bush on either side of Elmer.  The boys helped and got good and dirty.  When they weren't helping, they were climbing fences and tees and rolling around as much as possible.  We also went to the church parking lot to ride bikes - Jackson Wynn is weaning off his training wheels.  The big back church lot has the perfect grade for coasting and learning balance.  Hopefully, a few more tries will have him riding free.

Once we got in last night, they were both filthy.  I had to chisel the dirt off of them in the bath - they were even too dirty for showers.  JC's knees, elbows and feet were black with dirt.  I had to scrub him like a dirty carpet.  Jackson Wynn wasn't so bad, but he got a good scrubbing too.  Once the pool is open I won't have to worry so much about keeping them clean.

I've been playing with more gardening projects - starting a bunch of forsythias to add on one side of the yard and a bunch of begonias for this summer and hopefully to winter over in the house.  I've also got to find a spot to put last year's crepe myrtles and a couple of butterfly bushes that have sprung up.  My rose of Sharon bushes have come back strong and there is one spot in the yard where they have sprung up.  I'll have to eradicate them from there, as they are invasive.  I have them in big pots and so far, that's the only ones to wander into the yard.

 My rockabilly baby.

 JC's hair is too curly to stand up, but I think he looks like John Kennedy, Jr. 

Also, my roses have started blooming in my little rose garden.  So beautiful.  As usual, I've taken a zillion photos of all the blooms.  Here's one of the last ones before the rose wilted.  Loved each and every hour of this bloom...

It just keeps changing and getting better. And here are three of my ultimate favorite blooms...

Elmerisms

He would "hold hands" with me in bed.  He would put his paw between my toes and we'd fall asleep that way.

When Abbie and I first got together, Elmer would jump on his chest from the floor - as in launching himself off the floor and up over the mattress and landing full on Abbie's chest.  He did this each morning between 3 and 4 AM.  I thought it was great.  Abbie felt violated.

He loved my dad and, after Mama died, Daddy and Elmer were tight.  Daddy would rub Elmer with his shoe and pat him with his big, strong, daddy hand.  After Daddy died, Elmer hid for a while and we had to coax him out of the drainage pipe at the end of the driveway.  He had gone looking for Daddy and had been missing a couple of days.  I was so happy to see him and to get him in the pet caddy to take him home with me.  I took one of Daddy's sneakers, the ones he would rub Elmer with, so he could have Daddy's smell.  He spent a day or two in my garage, curled up with the sneaker before coming in the house to be with us. 

He was great with my kids, and would sit there and let them pet him and give him sloppy love.  He was a passive cat, but if either of the boys got too rough, he would tag them with his paw and let them know he was tired of it.

As he got older, he had claws that didn't retract.  It started on his left front paw, where he had been through surgery from a former injury.

While at my parents house, he came home one night with his flea collar stuck in his mouth.  Somehow, I woke up and went to the back door as he came toward the house.  I could tell something was wrong with his mouth in the dark, but couldn't make it out until I got him in the house.  It was still around his neck and wedged in his jaw.  He couldn't do anything.  I put him on the bed, soothed him and pet him, and gently took scissors and cut it free.  He didn't freak out at all.  He was probably around 4 or 5 years old.

One night, later, he came home lame and had either been injured or had his leg caught in a door.  We had two surgeries on his leg and he actually had plates and screws on the bone.  He wore a cast and this big metal thing to stabilize the bone as it healed.  Then he wore a wrap cast.  This went on for weeks and he did good.  My parents thought I was crazy for spending all the money on the surgeries, but I didn't want him to lose the leg.  They petted on him and took good care of him with me.

Elmer had a special bond with the father of one of my private students, Phil.  Whenever Phil brought the kids for lessons, Elmer would have to get on the couch with him and Phil would pet him tenderly and speak to him sweetly.  Elmer loved him.

Elmer didn't meow.  I don't know what happened, but after kittenhood, he just quit meowing.  Only if he was stressed or really angry would he meow, and even then it wasn't a normal meow anymore.  I don't know if he got hurt or what.  At the end, when he was so sick and lying there, he groaned some and I knew that he was really hurting.  That's when I decided not to force any more fluids around him. 

Elmer got his name after I brought him home - he would wrap himself around my feet and nearly got stepped on several times, and tripped me numerous times throughout his life.  He stuck to me like glue - hence the name. 

He would let me touch his front paws and hold hands with his paws, but did not like his back or tail touched.  Not his tummy either, though his chest was not always off limits.

Though he didn't meow, he had an incredible and powerful purr. 

When we moved to our house here, he liked to get up on the very tip top of my kitchen cabinets and look down on his world.

As he got older, he and Abbie got closer.  He would wait for Abbie to finish his shower every morning and then would curl up around his feet while he was shaving and getting ready in the bathroom.  Abbie won't admit it, but he loved it.  Elmer did that right up until the last few days before he died.  That's how we knew it was the real end. 

Elmer also liked to get in the shower with me.  He would rub on the shower door and I'd let him in.  As soon as he got wet, he'd want back out.  After the shower was finished, he'd go in and inspect it.

He was extremely clean.  Never a poopy bottom never matted eyes.  When he got really old, I'd help him with his eyes and he appreciated it and would sit still and let me rub them.

Even at the end, when he could hardly walk, he didn't mess in the house.  Never.  Not once.  A perfect Southern gentleman. 

He was gorgeous.  Coloring and soft fur.  And to be so big and so pretty, yet he didn't act like he thought he was a superstar.  He acted like lord of the manor, the Southern gentleman he always was.

He loved having his ears scratched, outside around the tops, on the bottoms and a little on the inside, and even loved having the tips rubbed. 

He was very graceful in his movements and reminded me of a regal lion. 

He was so big, you could hear him walking at night, on the hard wood floors.

He was very well behaved at the Vet and did well for them. 

He wouldn't butt heads with me, but he would head butt my feet all the time. 

Elmer would put his paw on you, a little pat, saying, "Hey, I'm here; it's time to pet me."  When you would stop petting him, he'd pat you again.  This would happen again and again, until he got ready to lie down and get comfy. 

He loved to sleep at my feet but didn't much get up by my hips or head.

He wasn't a licker at all as far as people went.  He only licked when he was grooming.  He would lick Henna though, and sniff her.  The only other animal he was intimate like that with.

Elmer

Elmer came into my life in 1995.  He was part of a litter that a friend was finding homes for.  He was the loner of the bunch.  Seemed very calm and was smaller than the rest of the kittens.  I remember being in the living room and him looking up at me, as if to say, "Please take me, or no one else will."  So he came home with me.  I started by holding him a lot and even giving him baths.  He was a calm cat, very cool.  You could say he was the whole Rat Pack of the feline world rolled into one.  He was cooler than them all.  He liked people and if he knew you well enough, he'd visit on your lap until you gave him some love.  He enjoyed all contact from the chest up, but did not like his hind quarters touched.  Not even by me.  He hated to be brushed, yet he had an incredibly thick and beautiful coat.  Not quite considered a long haired cat, but his hair was long.  He was a mixture of grays, white and some tans, just touches of black.  He had the wonderful Tabby "M" on his forehead.

He grew into a massive cat, topping out at over 18 pounds and didn't have a bit of fat on him.  He was built big.  People would mistake him for a Maine Coon, except he didn't have the tips on his ears.  He had the calm "gentle giant" temperament of that breed, yet he was a domestic mixed breed.  His paws were huge and white.  His chest and belly was white.  He had enormous green eyes.  And very big teeth.  If you didn't know him, you could be intimidated by him.  He had the look of one not to be messed with, yet he was very tolerant of all people, even children. 

He grew and matured.  At one point, he lived with my parents after I went home following a divorce.  He became an outdoor cat then.  He loved it outside.  Not much of a hunter, he was more of a lover and tried to keep the peace.  The female cat of the house, Flannel, was six pounds of pure hell and she hated Elmer.  He never struck out at her, just tried to stay away from her.  He could have eaten her like a cupcake.  But her meanness kept him at a distance, that and his "do no harm" attitude toward the world.

After both my parents had died, Elmer came back to live with me.  My dad wouldn't part with him before that.  He became an indoor cat again.  Not much to his liking, but he was always one to go with the flow.  We moved right before our first son was born and Elmer was in an apartment for a couple of years.  Then we moved again and were in a rental house.  Right after our second son, we bought a house and Elmer, once again, made the move fine.  We had lost Flannel to illness and had adopted and lost another cat, Tipsy, to the same illness.  Elmer alone had survived.  He and my husband's dog were the only two pets we had.

Elmer started looking long in the tooth as he entered his teens.  He was still huge, but had an illness that we could never figure out.  He sneezed a lot and had mucus and blood and would suffer with it off and on.  Finally, a round of steroids seemed to clear him up.  He seemed unhappy, so I wanted to adopt a female cat, a younger one, to be his friend.  We ended up with Henna.  Our Scardeycat.  She loved Elemer though.  She was very frightened of all the boys.  She loved me if no boys were around.  She and Elmer would frolic through the house after everyone was in bed.  They would wrestle.  Elmer would get pretty rough with her too.  She was much smaller, but loved his attention.  They would roll on the floor and nibble and grab and then skeeter off. 

We adopted another dog six months after Tasha died.  Mo, our poor hairless shelter dog.  He turned out to be a great addition to the family and he got along well with both cats.  Elmer was still the head of the house.  He and he alone was allowed to sleep at my feet or anywhere else he wanted to sleep on my bed.  He had full run of the house.  He liked to get out on the back porch and lay on the brick floor warmed by the sun.  He liked to sneak out.  He aged well and kept youthful with his little kitty girlfriend.  She kept him hopping. 

Suddenly, about three weeks ago, sometime in March I guess, he started feeling bad.  We went to the vet and he improved a little, but not much and not for long.  This week, he went downhill again fast and I knew it was time.  No more being dragged to the vet, or stuck with needles for fluids and meds.  I would keep him comfortable at home.  I had some pain medication to give him and tried to give it through a little dropper.  He didn't tolerate it or water well, so I did what the hospice materials I've read said to do.  I let him rest.  I kept him comfortable and I didn't try to force any liquids.  He eased and acted more peaceful, he was on his right side and resting.  He wasn't moving at all.  After the morning, I put him up on my bed.  I knew it was the end and there would be no turning this around.  This was his favorite place to lay, so it would be restful for him at the end.  And he went peacefully just like that.  I cried.  I pet him.  I told him thank you for years of happiness and I thanked God for him being in our lives. 

I picked the boys up from school and told them on the porch sitting them down and explaining before we came inside.  They went to my room and gently climbed up on the bed and said goodbye.  John Campbell took it really hard and cried a long time.  Jackson Wynn asked a lot of questions.  We wrapped Elmer in his favorite afghan and placed him in a little box.  The boys helped me carry the box to the back porch, letting him rest out there one more time before Daddy got home to help bury him.  I picked out a spot in my butterfly garden.  I can see it from my kitchen window.  We buried him there.  The boys helped.  We read the 23rd Psalm and said some prayers, and then the boys helped Daddy put the dirt over his grave.  We are going to plant some roses beside him, on either side.  We put a river rock over the grave as a marker.  John Campbell wants to get a gravestone with his picture and name engraved on it.  I may see about getting a little cat statue to go out there.  Or an angel. 

The boys have been sad, but have held up pretty well.  I think being part of the farewell ceremony helped. 

Of Mammoth Proportions

What is this, you may ask?

 

 This is a blocked door.  Painters tape turned police tape.  This is the boys' bathroom at our house.  I'm not sure what they do in there.  I clean in there.  I know for a fact that two of the suspects, the minors, have perpetrated acts that defy reason, logic, and gastroenterology.  The adult, who is referred to as "Ring Leader" is a complete mystery.  Thanks be to God.  How little bodies can produce such things...I'll never know.  Don't want to know.  I ply them with fiber yogurt as often as I can.  Still, little boys get too busy to poop and wait and wait.  And then this happens.  Nothing to see here!  Please move along; there's nothing to see here!!!

 

Christmas Came Early

I'm home waiting on a package.  I wanted to get John Campbell in the shower to get it over with.  Jackson Wynn wanted to take a shower - was adamant about a showerrrrrr.  John Campbell chimed in, "I can help him."  So, I agreed, that if no screaming or beating occurred, they could take one together.  I made John Campbell promise to over see the washing and scrubbing of all nooks, crannies and crevices.  He assured me they would be clean.

After 10 minutes I go in to check and they are fine.  Jackson Wynn says, "You are my best friend; am I your best friend?"  To which John Campbell answers, "Yeah, we are best friends, ...and brothers too."  And then a conversation about the goodness of having brothers starts up.  John Campbell tells his little brother that he's doing a good job soaping his hair and Jackson Wynn thanks him with pride and astonishment in his voice.  It isn't often the big brother brags on him.

Then John Campbell says, "Okay, our hair is done, let's do the rest."  I giggle and leave, because I know they will probably be in there for 30 more minutes.  But it is worth it.  I know it is only a matter of time until they are whupping up on each other once again, fighting over toys, or who said what to who and who started it.  Ahhh, Christmas.  It lives in the little moments.

30 things to stop doing to yourself.

Saw this link on facebook.  Wow is all I can say.  I really needed to read this today, and may need to read it nine more times before I go to sleep tonight.

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/11/30-things-to-stop-doing-to-yourself/


As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”  Nothing could be closer to the truth.  But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.
Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself.  Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.  Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive.  But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either.  You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.  Read Stumbling on Happiness.
11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet.  Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you.  But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you.  Concentrate on beating your own records every day.  Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  Ask yourself this:  “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you.  You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough.  But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past.  You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation.  So smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!  And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too.  If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.  Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out.  But making one person smile CAN change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

Lemon Cake Cookies

JC has been requesting lemon cake cookies for a week.  We made them after school today.  The boys helped and did a great job.  By the time they had cooled and been iced, John Campbell was curled up on my bed, asleep.  *sigh* I can only hope he sleeps straight through the night and doesn't wake up.  He was tired when he got out of school.  Jackson Wynn ended up being the only one awake for the photos.

And here's one of Jackson Wynn and I this past weekend.  I don't get to snuggle like this very often.