Haves

That's the Georgian term for hives.

And I've got 'em.

And it ain't pretty.
(I'm sure my mom is cringing. She was an English teacher and she worked very hard to make sure we spoke correctly. And yet it seemed necessary for emphasis. Really mom, it did.)

It takes me back to the time when we had been in Georgia just a couple months and my oldest son broke out into full body hives. After taking him to the local emergency room one night and then his pediatric physician the next day, we still ended up in the Pediatric Hospital in Atlanta that next night.

The physician came in and promptly diagnosed....

"He has haves."

It was close to midnight and I had not had much sleep the night before and so I was tired and confused. He haves what?

So I asked her again what he had.

"Haves."

I'm sure my mouth formed a silent "O" as I figured out she was saying HIVES.
(which I pronounce with the "i" saying it's name)



So now for the second time this week, I have had haves.

And I must say that there is a direct correlation to having hives and a decrease in my patience meter which directly corresponds to my child tolerance meter.

Let's hope the Zyrtec kicks in soon! And hopefully I'll be back later with a Thankful Thursday list that includes that I am thankful I haveth no haves.

Much Excitement Still Abounds

So that you do not become concerned that a lack of posts equals no excitement, I submit this picture.


These little guys have given us much excitement.

The first day we saw one, I was vacuuming the living room and saw something small and agile scrurry across the floor.

I promptly yelled.

My 5 year old does a fairly good impression of the event.

We tried to capture him and actually had him cornered when he proceeded to crawl up the wall.

That was exciting.

He was finally captured and was in captivity for about 12.5 minutes before his tail was parted from his body.

We felt terrible but could actually see how this tactic could work in the wild as all 3 of our children were absolutely fascinated with the wiggling tail and completely forgot about the creature it formerly belonged to.

We released him to the wild but fear not for the extinction of his kind because since we have moved in, my 4 year old daughter has successfully captured and de-tailed 5 of them. The last one she actually had in a basket for about 2 hours before his tail came off.

I believe we are making progress.

(Only the first one was found in our home, thankfully. The rest have been found in the garage and in the back or front yard.)

**We believe these are Mediterranean Geckos. If you know what they are for sure, please let us know. And I'm sure you will be much relieved to know that one was held in captivity for several hours yesterday and released back into his natural habitat (which is apparently our back porch) with his entire tail intact.

*** And I'm also sure you will find much relief in knowing that their tails do grow back. Which is what they need to keep predators distracted from eating them. But I'm pretty sure that their only local predator is a 4 year old-blue-eyed girl. And she hasn't eaten one yet.

Thankful Thursday

I was talking with Mrs. Troop this morning about the fact that I just don't feel like I can blog about things when I still have boxes to unpack and rooms to organize.

And quite honestly, there are many amusing things that have happened recently but none which I would consider to be appropriate for blog material.

I think keeping up with everything would have been a little easier had we not moved right as homeschool was starting and as we were gearing up for fall activities.

But at least I am back today for Thankful Thursday.

So here is my list.

1) I am so thankful for a husband who sets a godly example for our children. Ever since we have been married, my husband reads his Bible in the morning at breakfast. He has also read the Bible in it's entirety every year for as long as I have known him. Recently my 7 year old has been getting up when we get up, around 5:45am sometimes, and he sits at the table with his dad and reads his Bible also while I make them breakfast. He wants to know exactly what book and chapter his dad is reading. He wants to be like his dad so very much and I am so blessed that his dad has a heart for God.

2) I am thankful for the AWANA's program. This is our 3rd year to be involved in an AWANA's program and I am very excited about the motivation it gives my children to memorize verses. It has been a tremendous blessing to our family. My husband and I are both signed up to be AWANA helpers this year. It is so nice to have him in town on Wednesday nights!

3) I am thankful for the UPWARDs basketball program. It is a very non-competitive, Christian organization where the emphasis is to learn about Christ, learn about good sportsmanship, learn basketball skills, and have fun. Both boys are playing this year. We'll see how that goes.

4)I am thankful we live on a flat street. I know, seems odd, but in Georgia we lived on a hill and we didn't allow our children to ride their bikes on it because it was steep enough and busy enough that we didn't feel comfortable. We are now living on a flat, quiet street with a cul-de-sac at the end and they LOVE it.

5) I am thankful for friends who are encouragers!

6) I am thankful that the bunnies in the yard don't seem to have an affinity for daylilies. Although they have found that my newly purchased coneflower has leaves that make a tasty snack. My husband was concerned that they may suffer from lead poisoning if they eat too many. He may be correct.

7) I am thankful for the nice weather. I am really enjoying being able to go outside and not feel that I am going to melt into a puddle.

Okay, that's all I've got this week.

Have a Thankful Thursday! We have so much to be Thankful for!

Y? Because we like you!

I honestly cannot believe it is already Thursday again!

Between still trying to get boxes unpacked and organized, and birthdays and guests and homeschooling, I've gotten a little swamped in blogland.

So for thankful Thursday, I am thankful for this little girl who just turned 4.

It started out that she wanted a Minnie Mouse birthday.
It ended up that she WAS Minnie Mouse for her birthday.
She ADORED the skirt that I made for her.
Just don't look too close.
I don't like sewing with patterns and I'm sure it shows.
But it WAS awfully cute. I made a circle skirt and she could twirl around in it.

This is her birthday cake.

I really wasn't for sure how to do her gloved hands so I tucked them behind her skirt. My daughter was just tickled that Minnie had on yellow shoes.

And yes, it looks a little odd in the right lower corner because I whited out her name.

Our tradition on birthdays is that when you wake up there is a birthday banner on your door and everyone says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!" to you all day long. You also get to pick your birthday dinner and theme. We always try to have balloons, cake and ice cream. The cakes are always homemade. We have so far only had one "birthday party" where we invited friends and that was for my son's 6th birthday. Up until we moved to Georgia, we always had enough family over for parties that we didn't invite friends. We try not to go overboard, but we also try to make their day special.

So what birthday traditions do you have?

Big parties with lots of friends or just family?

Do you feel pressured to hire pony rides and a band (which I SO would do if money were no object and my husband was agreeable and we had already saved up $200,000 for each child's college education) or are you a relaxed, low key birthday kind of family?

Well, have a Thankful Thursday and hopefully I'll make it back on before another whole week goes by!