Quality Mother-Daughter Time

My mom is here visiting us this week. At her request, we have kept our schedule light. We have only dragged her to 3 football games, 1 volleyball tournament, an Emmaus event, a couple of trips (or three or four) to the store, and to church so far. We have even fed her occasionally.

She told me while she was here she wanted to take me out to get a pedicure and manicure, so yesterday we were running some errands when she saw a nail salon and seized upon the moment of opportunity. I still had my camera with me since the kids participated in the See You At The Pole event, so I took a few shots.

It wasn't easy getting us both into the viewfinder when we were a couple of feet apart in massage chairs, but we finally got it done. (I am going to insert a PSA here. If your mom takes you to get a pedicure, don't wear a dress and open-toed wedge sandals. One can ruin your freshly painted toes and the other can make things uncomfortable for you and the nail technician. Thank goodness they keep towels in salons.)

Then the technicians got to work. I have never had a pedicure before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I knew the hot water would feel good on my extremely swollen feet. I didn't think of how ticklish my feet are, though, until Jaydon started buffing them. I tried to hold still, I really did, but occasionally he would hit a spot that made me jump and then he would look at me the way the anesthesiologist who was poking my ticklish spine did when I was having Kyle. (Which made me laugh more as I heard, "Mrs. Wellborn, if you really want this epidural you HAVE to sit still!" running through my head.)

Mom is a better customer than I am, given that she isn't ticklish at all.  She also didn't jump when they pulled our feet out of the warm water and suddenly dumped a very cold liquid on them.  I am sorry, Jaydon, I truly didn't mean to splash water all over your face when that happened!

In the end, I had ten very swollen piggies that were cut down and painted pink, and then adorned with flowers that Jaydon painted to match my tattoo. (Please excuse the picture of my ugly feet. I do try to keep it family-friendly around here and refrain from posting gruesome photos, but this one slipped in somehow.)

Thank you, Mom... it was a fun afternoon!

Tonight I have been thinking about what I can do the next time Mom comes to create another quality bonding experience, and I have found the answer. If we are going to let strangers color our body parts, we may as well make it a lasting memory, so I am taking Mom in to get a tattoo. I even designed one for her tonight that we can have wrapped around her ankle.  (Don't tell her, it is a surprise!)

After seeing it all typed out, though, it does look a little long.

I better shorten the "Jennifer" to "Jenn."

The Coconut Experience

A few weeks ago Todd  asked me to buy a coconut for him. Somewhere along the line he had read about drinking coconut milk from the coconut, and decided he wanted to try it. In fact, he even asked me to make sure it had "fresh milk" in it.

How does one ensure a coconut is fresh? I truly don't know, so I offered to go on a tropical vacation and pick him one straight from a tree. To my deep consternation, he didn't want me to do that. It would take too long.

So I went to Walmart and found my monkey a coconut. Then he had to wait three days due to back-to-back football games to try it. When we got home from his Saturday game, he immediately got his coconut out of the fridge and got Jack to drill it open for him.

Then he found a straw, and with every ounce of pent-up anticipation in his little frame, he took a deep drink of his coconut milk.

The verdict?

He wasn't impressed. So Beth tried it...

and wasn't impressed.

So Kyle tried it... and wasn't impressed.

This has me thinking I really should go on a tropical vacation and bring home a coconut with fresh milk to see if we might get better results.  I would make that kind of sacrifice for my children because I am a vacation-starved loving mom that way.

Don't worry about the rest of the coconut going to waste, though. After his initial disappointment, Todd perked right up. "Mom!" he said, "If you can find me some long grass to make a hulu skirt out of, I can turn this into a coconut bra and do the hulu dance for Halloween!"

On second thought, maybe I better stay home and make sure my boy isn't going out in public wearing a coconut bra.

Extortion in Church

As we sat in church yesterday, I noticed Kyle and Beth passing notes. When they went up to the front for the children's sermon, I read the notes and discovered a hot bed of extortion and conspiracy.

I suppose it started out innocently enough. Kyle wanted some more paper to draw on, but he wasn't asking for it very nicely.

Beth responded with a terse "no", wherein Kyle proceeded with his extortion tactics.

This apparently did not sit well with Beth, who threatened to blow the whole thing wide open with an ill-timed screaming match.

She even drew a picture to let Kyle know how this would not be pretty.

Thank goodness the Children's Sermon began when it did. Who knows how far they would have taken this!

Betsy McCall

 One of my favorite memories of my childhood was playing with paperdolls at my gramma's house. She would get them out of the McCall's magazine, and I spent hours cutting them out, gluing the dolls to the chipboard from cereal boxes for strength, and dressing them up in all their outfits. Gramma even had a special box she let me keep the dolls in.

Over the years, I have found variations of paperdolls that I was able to let my girls play with, but none of them were as nostalgic or as wonderful as my own Betsy McCall dolls.When Gramma died, I asked if I could have the box of paperdolls. Papa would have let me, but the box is nowhere to be found.

Today I found a site that made me smile all the way down to my toes. Betsy McCall printables. They are all there. Betsy from the 50's all the way to Betsy in the 90's... including "my" 70's Betsy.

I think I am going to print and cut some out to create a collage for my scrapbook room. I might even fill up a box with them just to pull out and reminisce over sometimes. I might even let my girls play with them. Or better yet, they can fill up their own boxes of Betsy dolls.

It's the little things that make life great, isn't it?

My Doppelganger... almost

I don't have pictures with me right now, but if you put the women in my family in a room full of unrelated people and then asked a stranger to pick out which of us was related, the stranger would have no problem figuring it out. My mom and her sisters, while different in many ways have facial structures that clearly define their relationship. My aunts' daughters look like their mothers as much as I look like mine. My mom came to visit a few months ago, and she walked into church before I did and people who had never seen or met her knew exactly who she had to be by looking at her.

I spent my whole life assuming my daughters would look like me as well. It just seemed obvious to me. Boy, was I wrong. Except for Chet, who is the spitting image of my brother, my kids look like their dad and grandparents. They have their dad's ears, his curly hair, his height, his long feet, his father's eyes.  Kyle, with the exception of my green eyes and freckled nose, looks exactly like Jack. Faith doesn't look just like Jack, but she doesn't look like me either. (When she was little, she told people we adopted her from a family in the North Pole. I like to tease her and tell her she looks like her polar bear cousins.)

As a baby, Beth looked like another cookie-cutter version of her dad. But something has happened as she is growing. She is starting to look like, dare I say it... me. Oh she still has those ears her dad has imposed on his kids, and she has my mom's brown eyes (although they show the signs of turning green like mine did), but she has my nose. She has those lines around my mouth. Her hair is the same color mine was at her age. She is  starting to grow some of my freckles, and she even has the same cowlicks I do. And those cheekbones, those cheekbones that I associate with the women in my family, they are mine.

They are my mom's cheekbones. And my aunts'. And my gramma's. And my great-gramma's.

And for some reason, that really struck me when I saw this picture Faith took of Beth and I the other night. It makes me wonder about unanswerable things, such as how many generations in my matriarchal line previously have passed those cheekbones to their daughters'.

I think the frog-obsession come's from Jack's side, though. I can't take the credit for everything!

She'll never be a farmgirl.

To date, my daughter has lived less than half of her life in a city, and the rest in the mountaintop country. She has learned many farming and agriculture terms out here, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have all sunk in. Sometimes the call of the city is just too strong to override a countrified education.

Occasionally we wake up to the escaped horses grazing on our front property. As long as the escapee isn't  MY horse, this is a fine and pleasant way to wake up. I love watching them ramble around.

So does Beth. "Look, Mommy," she called and pointed. "They brought their calves with them!"

While she may be a renowned herpetologist when it comes to frogs, I think it is apparent that her equestrian vocabulary needs a little work.

Cleaning Up The Yard

Today we did some clean-up in our front yard. With our engine blown on the Expedition, and the damage to the green car when Jack and Mom took it sledding in the snow, we had some ugly yard ornaments. In fact, we were teetering badly on becoming a Jeff Foxworthy redneck joke.

So we called the salvage yard, and once they arrived they loaded up the Expedition.

Then we had to sign the titles over.

Next it was time to load up the green car.  This little car was such a good car. It made dozens of cross-country trips, and only ever asked for oil and gas in return. I was so sad to see it go.

After the green car was safely buckled for its ride to town, I bid my final adieus.

And then the towtruck drove off with the last major physical vestiges of our life in Vegas.

Who knew sprucing up your front yard could cause homesickness?

Fields of Wishes

Spring has kicked into full-speed ahead, and the fields and roadways are full of dandelions. I love seeing them. I have friends who live in cities that hate these things. I know some people who even get upset if their neighbors leave them in their yards because they don't want the seeds contaminating their grass lawns. Not me. I love seeing the dandelions growing wild and free.

There are tons of wishes available for the wishing around here.

What would you wish for?

I can think of a million things I could wish for; some silly, some serious, and several just-for-fun wishes. More time, more money, better health, the Wolfgang Puck products on sale this week. (Jack just turned off HSN to watch the Cardinals play the Giants. Who would rather watch baseball when you can watch Wolfgang cook and drool over his products??)

McClacken is making wishes, too.

He is wishing somebody would hurry up and bring him some grain.

Now.

Chet's Literary Compositions

Chet has been writing poems in his English class. I love it.
I thought I would share one of them with you.

Tell Me a Story
Chet Wellborn

Tell me a story
where the brave knights fought.
Tell me a story
where the wise men taught.

Tell me a story
where blazing swords are.
Tell me a story
where dragons aren’t far.

Tell me a story
where sirens have sung.
Tell me a story
where the spears are flung.

And when you are done
tell another one.

This is a story he had to write. I had to laugh, because this is exactly what he would do.

The Wish of Mine

One afternoon, on a sunny Tuesday, my family and I
went to the park.

When we arrived, we met Tyler and a few other people.

Kyle and Todd went to the swings with hard
seats.That were painted red and would squeak with each push.

Faith and Beth went for a run for the entire time, walking
every now and then.

Matt and I raced each other to the stream's bank. The water
was ice cold.

There I saw a 12 foot long a fish, colored like a rainbow,
that would grant one wish.

So I wished for more wishes.

The fish did as I asked.

Then I wished for a billion dollars.

I got my billions dollars, and the fish tried to leave for some reason.

So I just had it for dinner.

A Quick Layout to Share

There is a lot going on, and I don't get to blog - or read, or scrapbook, or sit and do nothing - nearly as much as I would like to.

I did get a layout put together, though. Maybe there will be more to come. I hope.

Window Shopping

I am in the mood for summer skirts and pretty dresses, but my favorite stores are an hour away and there won't be a chance to go shopping anytime soon. So as I sit here watching American Idol with my family tonight, I am drooling window shopping on the net. Here are some of my favorites.





This one's only $24. I wish they had it in colors, though.

I love this one.


I think I could fall in love with this one.


Cute!




I adore this one. It's on sale if you adore it too.














Okay, this isn't a dress or skirt, but I love it anyway.



I have to know.... are people really wearing these???? Bleck.


Okay, American Idol is over. I need to stop now before I start looking at shoes. Or jewelry. Or shrugs. Or camera equipment. It's a good thing window shopping is budget-friendly.

Patience is a Virtue

The elementary school focuses on a positive character trait every month, and then awards certificates to the kids whose teachers select them for modeling that trait. These are called the Kid With Character awards. January's word was patience. In January all three of my little kids were independantly chosen to receive the Patience award.

Ironically, January had so much snow that the monthly assembly was cancelled. The kids had to be patient and wait until February's assembly to be recognized. When Beth was called to the stage for her award, she could hardly contain her excitement and was beaming from ear to ear.


After passing out the awards, the principal commented on how impressive it was that all 3 of the Wellborn kids were chosen for the patience reward, particularly since the teachers don't discuss their selections with each other. She said something about asking Jack and I how we raised patient children.

I suspect it has more to do with having so many brothers and sisters than it has to do with any one thing we have taught them. With six siblings sharing everything (bathrooms, bedrooms, vehicles etc) you pretty much HAVE to learn to wait your turn. Add to that a zero tolerance policy for hitting/kicking/wrestling and you have a pretty good recipe for raising some fairly patient kids.

As proud as we are of all of them though, we had to laugh when they were all chosen for this award. It is obvious that none of their teachers have ever seen them have to wait their turns for the video games.

Congratulations, my little ones. We are proud of you and love you!

The Sweetheart Dance

A week or so ago, Faith's classmates elected her the queen of their class for the upcoming Sweetheart's Dance. I think Faith had mixed feelings about this. She was flattered and excited to be chosen, but it meant she would have to wear a dress.

Getting Faith to wear a dress these days is a struggle of epic proportions, but we went shopping last week and found a very pretty dress that we could both agree upon. I couldn't get her to curl her hair, though. I don't know where that stubborn tomboy streak comes from.

When she got home from school today she got ready to go.

While this picture doesn't do her justice, she was stunning. Simply stunning.


Chet came home and announced he had a date for the dance. After dinner I loaded them up and drove my youngest teens to the dance.

The first part of the night consists of introducing the court. This boy was Faith's king.

Faith was an extremely nervous girl during the entire time they walked to the stage.

In fact, she never really smiled during the whole ceremony. She pretty much looked like this the whole time.

You know what calms nerves? Friends. Best friends.

Chet introduced me to his date, and we had pictures taken. She is a very sweet girl.

His friend Sheldon was there too.

After the court was introduced and I had taken pictures, my sweet docile (cough) children told me I had to leave.

What? Leave? Why?

Apparently they thought it could be potentially embarrassing to have your camera happy mom running around the junior high dance. So I left, but I made plans. I called Jessica to see if she wanted to come with me when it was time to pick them up. If a mom is embarrassing, surely a mom and an older sister could make some toes curl!

We got back and found Faith dancing with somebody else's king.


And one of our weekend kids was dancing with her boyfriend. This picture cracked me up.

Apparently our presence wasn't too embarrassing. Chet danced with Jessica.


Then Faith danced with her.


This just might be my favorite picture of the night. I love the big smiles on their faces.

After Chet's date left, Faith convinced him to dance with her friends.

That must be one of the pros of being friends with somebody who has a cute big brother.

You know what makes school dances so fun?

Friends. Best friends.

And a camera happy mom who knows you'll be glad I was blinding you with my flash when you look back on these photos years from now!