Smoke

Life with a 15 year old son .... Skeet and I leaping out of bed at 1 AM to the smoke alarm screaming and the smell of smoke. Run downstairs to see Dylan standing guiltily over a smoking pan of burned scrambled eggs. Without blinking an eye he says, “Buddy did it.” Nice try!! I told him that the next time he needs a middle of the night snack, it should be a PBJ. 😮😂

Scratch and Sniff

This post from this day in 2015 made me laugh out loud!
“Tonight I was reading several stories to Dylan and Lily, one of which was a book about the nativity.  Dylan was super disappointed that it wasn't a "scratch and sniff" book ... WHY we would want to scratch and sniff a donkey, I just don't know!!!!”

A little kindness...

I had the funniest and sweetest thing happen tonight when I stopped in Kohl’s to pick up a last-minute gift. I was super tired from a fun, but long day at school, and had been standing in a ultra long, slow line waiting to get to the cash register.  Believe me when I say there were a lot of tired, grumpy people waiting in that line. When I was finally next up to be helped at the cash register, this very big, older man stepped right in front of me with two packs of Lindor chocolate truffles in his hand to purchase. I was a little surprised, but decided to be gracious and just let him go ahead, seeing that I had just read a devotional the other night that talked about “not sacrificing kindness on the altar of your impatience,” especially during the busy holiday season. (Plus I was wearing a huge Santa Claus Christmas sweater, so I couldn’t really be mean wearing that. 😂😂) I figured he must not have noticed the long line and had just made a mistake. After a few seconds standing in front of me, he turned back and looked at me questioningly, and I just smiled. Then he started laughing. What I didn’t know was that his wife was actually in line behind me, and he was just playing a joke to see how I would react if he cut in line! He said, “I’m just playing! I’m not really cutting in front of you!” I started laughing and said,  “It was OK! I was going to just let you go ahead! I figured you were in a serious rush to eat those chocolates!” The whole line started laughing at this point, and the man said to me, “I was expecting you to get really mad, I was even a little nervous, but you have a beautiful spirit. I’m glad to know there still people like that in the world.”  It was so sweet! When I left the store, he was sitting on a bench waiting for his wife. I waved goodbye to him and told him, “’You better be good from now on because Santa is watching!” and we laughed again. It really shows how just a little bit of kindness and grace can bring out the best in everyone, even on a late night Christmas shopping errand after a very looooong day! ❤️

Fluff

I don't want to watch any Christmas movie that is described as "a searing holiday drama” where the town has to rally to solve  some gut wrenching, super depressing problem. All I want is fluff and happiness and folks dancing around and singing in a small town where it snows on the night they light the town tree and everyone is friends and someone adopts a shelter  puppy then falls in love with their long lost hometown boyfriend who is a secret war hero and then gets married on Christmas Eve by a magical Santa disguised as a traveling handyman after they go ice skating and Christmas carolling and stop by the town bakery for homemade gingerbread and hot chocolate and everyone is smiling under a big glowing star at the end.  As you can see, my demands are few.  😂😂

Contact

I am seriously losing it. This morning I put my contacts in and could have sworn that I put in TWO contacts. However I realized I still couldn’t see anything out of my left eye. So, I searched all around the bathroom counter and couldn’t find the contact I had obviously dropped on the counter. In a hurry to get to work, I opened a new contact and put it in my left eye. All day at school I could barely see anything, and kept wondering what in the world was wrong with my contacts! When I got home this evening and took out my contacts, I realized I could still see perfectly out of my right eye, which never happens when my contacts are out. Lo and behold, I had NOT lost a contact on the counter this morning, but had put TWO contacts in my right  eye,  and then a third contact in the left eye. What on earth???!! Yes, friends, I am losing it. It is indeed time for a Christmas break!!! 😂😂😂😮😮😮

Blank

Typical Skeet/Jen conversation ...
Me, setting the table for our grade level Christmas party on Friday: “Skeet, should I use crackle glass votives in this centerpiece or pillars?”
Skeet, looking completely blank: (loooong pause) “I have no idea what any of that  is ...”
😂😂😂😂 #nohelp #callmom

Squirrel

One of my favorite Dylan moments from 8 years ago ...😂😂😂
Only Dylan!  He told us this evening that he wants to quit his basketball team.  Of course we said NO and gave him a big speech about making commitments and keeping them and not letting your team down, etc.  We finally asked WHY he wanted to quit, thinking it was because he thought his team wasn't good or because he wanted to stay home and play video games or something.  His exact words for wanting to quit were ... "Because someone on my team's breath smells like a squirrel."  What?!!!  How does he even know what a squirrel smellls like?!!!  Dylan definitely keeps life interesting around here!!!

Challenge

I have an extremely hard Christmas challenge for all of you. See if you can select the correct answer below…

A man asks a woman on a holiday date. They stop off into a closed flower shop at night to create a gorgeous floral arrangement together, at the man’s  suggestion. While making this gorgeous, elaborate Christmas flower arrangement together, the man chipperly tosses flowers and bows back-and-forth to the woman, discussing his deep love for sketching and making flower arrangements. The two begin laughing and dancing around the shop to jazzy Christmas music, putting flowers in each other’s hair. The woman almost slips on a stray pine needle, but the man catches her just in time! After a long, awkward moment of bewildered staring, the mood becomes very serious and the man tells the woman that when she is near, his heart melts like marshmallows in a cup of hot chocolate.
Was this man ...
A. Robert Skeet Taylor?
B. A guy in a Hallmark movie in a script totally written by women that Jen watched tonight?
I know it’s a very difficult choice and may be a bit tricky to figure out, but just take your best shot! 😂😂😂

Wedding

From when Lily was three ...
I just asked Lily to go get in her nightgown and pull up for bed and she told me she couldn't because she was busy brushing her hair for her wedding.  Oh my.

Love

(2012) I love Skeet for a lot of reasons, but right now I love him because he's watching the whole movie "My Little Pony A Very Minty Christmas" with Lily Claire!  She's in heaven!

Neighbors

(2015) Lily's bedtime question tonight, "Mama, are God and Santa next door neighbors?" Oh to be seven again.

Reindeer

So the guy in the Hallmark Christmas movie I’m watching just said that to find true love you must go into the wilderness under a full moon and spot a reindeer together.  Would a possum or raccoon count? Otherwise I don’t think there’s much chance of finding true love here in Georgia! 😂😂😂

Fluff

I just feel the need to say that I hate any Christmas movie that (A) has the same day repeating itself over and over again until the character learns some lesson, (B) stars Meredith Baxter Bernie, or (C) involves any type of storyline where someone is sick and the whole town rallies to give them one last tear-jerking holiday. All I want is complete, total, 100% predictable, happy fluff for the holidays! NO REALITY, PLEASE!  I know I can always count on you, Hallmark Channel.

Dead

(2012) Tonight we walked all around Bass Pro Shop with the kids and Dylan kept trying to scare Lily about the "stuffed" taxidermy-ish animals that were all around.
She screamed when he shouted, "Look, Lily, there's a REAL bear ... but he's DEAD!!!!!" And, of course, there stood a huge, growling bear on its hind feet staring down at us.
 "Dylan," I scolded, "Stop telling Lily that the animals are 'dead'. You are scaring her!"
 I should have known better. The next thing we passed was a huge "stuffed" moose. When Lily cringed at the sight of it, Dylan whispered reverantly, "Lily, there's a REAL moose ... but it passed away." Only Dylan.

Sign

(2013) Dylan keeps going in Lily's room to jump and wrestle around and he keeps messing up her bed and knocking over all her dollhouse furniture, etc.  She is getting REALLY mad about it, so tonight, this sign (meant for Dylan) was hanging on her door!  I laughed out loud!  It says, "You are not allowed in my room ever again!" Ah, yes, ... brotherly/sisterly love.

Sign

Economics

(2014) Shoot me now ... Dylan "forgot" to tell me about a test he has tomorrow in economics until ten o'clock tonight. Nothing like a grumpy, tired mom trying to teach a grumpy, tired eleven year old about command and market economies and the factors that affect the Gross National Product at eleven at night.  Ug! Is it Thanksgiving break yet??

Balloon

Someone felt the need to put a helium balloon that said "Get Well Soon" on a dead dear on the side of the road! Sick humor, I know, but I am cracking up!!! 😂😂😂

Bible

(2016) Laughing so hard after talking to Bran tonight!  He had to take his final in Bible class today and he didn't realize until yesterday that part of the exam was to write down all the books of the Bible in order!!  He said exhausted, "Mom.  I was up all night singing some song I found of all the books of the Bible and I had to sing it like 1800 times all night long to remember them!!!"  The mental image of that had me rolling ... and think about his poor roommate!!! He's up for sainthood after putting up with that all night!!

Torture

(2013) Hahahahahaaa!  It is so fun to torture teenagers!! Bran was laying on the couch and the old version of Footloose was on TV.  I kept walking through the room singing ALL the songs, culminating with a very dramatic rendition of "Almost Paradise."  For some reason, he DIDN'T enjoy my singing, so he changed the channel!  With a stroke of good luck, the next channel had on the old "Karate Kid" so I was able to continue with a bunch of  Mr. Miyagi advice.  Not sure why Bran left and went upstairs ... :)  I'm STILL laughing!!

Mini Me

(2013) This is Lily pretending to be me, reading glasses and all!  She's just about got it right ... just needs a few more dark circles under her eyes from exhaustion!  Ha! Ha!

Heaven

Lily and I are snuggled in our PJs tonight sipping hot chocolate with rainbow colored marshmallows ... pretty close to heaven on earth, I'd say!

Hero

How to be a hero in two easy steps...
1. Receive a text that says “I’m starving” from your 15 -year-old son who is on the school bus heading home.
2. Make a giant family size pot of Kraft macaroni and cheese just for him.
VOILA!! Instant hero!!! 😂😂😂

Hot Rod

(2017) My friends have always told me that God was laughing when he sent me two rowdy boys, being the "girlie girl" that I am and after growing up in an all female household (other than Papaw, of course)!  That was proven yet again this weekend!  Bran has been driving on a spare tire for several weeks and he brought his red Mustang home for the weekend to get it fixed.  I graciously offered to take the car up to the DREADED Discount Tires to get it fixed while Bran helped his dad in the backyard. FIRST of all, I needed a hazmat suit to even get IN the car ... there was about three weeks of dirty laundry thrown in the backseat and the floors and trunk, not to mention all the old Gatorade bottles, baseball tape and bats, dirty cleats, and empty fast food bags!  And, the zillion old, black Christmas tree air fresheners hanging from the rear view mirror were doing absolutely nothing for the air quality in the car, to say the least, except making me gag! THEN, as I drove up the street, I realized that there was some long, black wire hanging on my foot to make the floors glow a bright red color and that Bran had done something to the muffler so it was making this SUPER LOUD ROARING sound whenever you pushed the accelerator!  Good grief. I then made a quick detour into the Kroger shopping center to get my nails done and buy flowers for the kitchen, and as I am trying to quietly pull out of the parking spot with my cute pink nails and tulips, the car ROARS super loud again and some man in a flannel shirt and white beard standing on the sidewalk screams "YEAH!!!" and gives me a big thumbs up at the roaring sound!! Seriously?!  Not to mention the stickers all over the back with deer heads and hunting rifles and a "Don't Tread on Me" warning!  And, of course, Discount Tires couldn't get a tire for the car until today, so Bran has MY car at Emmanuel, and I had to take his to Mulberry today, where I proceeded to peel out of the elementary school parking lot in my turkey earrings and unicorn slippers with a HUGE Indy 500 roaring, thundering boom!  Can I please get my car back now?  Pretty sure this is the LAST time I graciously offer to take Bran's "hot rod" ANYWHERE!

Woo

(2012) Wow ... I came out of work today and noticed my car was parked in a different spot.  When I got in I saw that Skeet had come and gotten my car while I was teaching an afterschool club and got the emissions done, an oil change, and filled it up with gas.  Now THAT is how to woo a woman!

Fluffy

(2012) The boys have been picking on their poor baby sister tonight ... she decided her new name is "Fluffy" but they keep "forgetting" to call her that and are calling her "Gaylord" and "Achmed" and "Red Hot Joe" and a host of other names that are making her VERY mad!!!  I hate to say it, but I'm cracking up! "Fluffy", however, is NOT laughing!

Whistle

(2013) Whoever gave Dylan a basketball ref whistle that's been blowing nonstop since 7 AM better sleep with one eye open tonight ...

Clear

The lady next me at the Nail Shop is showing impressive restraint! We are both getting a pedicure and while my person is slathering “Ultra Neon Pink Bubblegum Pop Fantasmic” polish on MY toes, the lady next to me just ordered “clear, because it’s winter.”  I can guarantee I will NEVER EVER pick clear, even when I’m dead!  Life is too short for clear, folks. 😂😂😂

Joy

One of my students came through my door today and said, "Mrs. Taylor, your room is just filled with so much JOY!"  Made my day!!

Grateful

A grateful post for today ... Lily and I were placing an order today and they asked for a name for the order. When I said Taylor, it dawned on me how grateful I am that I’ve had the name Taylor for 28 years. I’m so grateful that I married a man named Taylor all those years ago. Because of him I have a beautiful home,  three children that I love more than anything in the world, a sweet puppy, and more comforts than anyone truly deserves. He’s a man of few words but shows me every day how much he loves me and is my number one fan and protector. And he cleans, cooks, and does laundry to boot! Can’t  imagine life without him and I probably don’t thank him enough. ❤️ Robert Skeet Taylor

Princess

(2012) This was so sweet ... Lily asked Dylan to draw a picture for her of Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  Even though he's not too keen on drawing princesses and would certainly rather be drawing WWE wrestlers instead, Dylan drew this to make his little sister happy!

Ballot

Skeet Taylor ... you are NUTS!  He couldn't get his ballot to work today at one point when he was asked to vote for THREE folks for Water and Soil Commissioners and there were only TWO choices!  He told me later that he wrote in MY NAME so he could get the machine to go on to the next one!  I'll probably win!!!!

Song

I have this odd thing about me that every day I wake up with a song running through my head ... and I mean EVERY day.  Sometimes it drives me a little nuts!  I'm not ever sure why it's that particular song ... and sometimes I even have to look up the lyrics that go with the tune.  But, today, this has been my song ... one I actually haven't sung in years!  It's made me feel at peace today.

God is still on the throne,
 And He will remember His own;
 Tho’ trials may press us and burdens distress us,
 He never will leave us alone;
 God is still on the throne,
 He never forsaketh His own;
 His promise is true, He will not forget you,
 God is still on the throne.

Ronald

(2013)  I have bus duty in the morning and have to check off the buses as they arrive.  If cars pull in the bus lanes, I have to go ask them to move, which is a job I HATE because the folks are all stressed and sometimes mad, etc.  Anyway, today, a blue van was blocking a whole row of buses from getting in, so I went over and tentatively knocked on the tinted windows to ask the driver to please park or go around the back of the school instead.  When the window rolled down, it was this big, creepy Ronald McDonald CLOWN guy staring back at me!  Scared me to DEATH!  I completely did NOT expect his scary smiling face through the window!!!  Come to find out, the Kindergarten was having some special Ronald McDonald program this morning. Teaching elementary school is like living in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE on most days ... where else does this kind of stuff happen?!  :)

50 Shades

So glad I FINALLY got to color my hair today before it got the starring role in 50 Shades of Blond, Orange, Gold, and Gray!!!

Possum

WHY can we never have a peaceful, uneventful night around here??!! For the past two nights Buddy has been going crazy by the downstairs window barking nonstop, and I haven’t been able to see anything out there.  Tonight Skeet finally discovered what he’s been barking at ... a creepy possum sitting behind one of the deck chairs!! Yuck! Skeet went out on the deck and kept trying to swat at the possum with a broom,  but it just sat there staring at him. Lily and I were watching through the screen window, screaming when the possum tried to bite the broom and suggesting Skeet lure him away with a piece of lunch meat. (Skeet found all that very helpful. 😂😂) No such luck. Now we’re stuck for the rest of the night with an unwelcome visitor on the deck, and Buddy insanely barking and howling over and over and over! Just another typical night at the Taylor circus!

Daddy

(2010) It's official ... Skeet has been out of town WAY too much the past few months.  How do I know this?  Because tonight a very scraggly pizza delivery man with a white stubble beard and no teeth came to the door, and Lily ran down the hall towards him screaming "Daddy".  Nice awkward moment for Mommy, to say the least!

Crossfit

Driving Bran up to CrossFit tonight ... I'm going to sit in the car and eat a cookie while I wait for him.  Hahahahahaaa!!!!

Tires

Today I had to take my car to Discount Tires to get a tire replaced that had a nail in it.  (Me + Discount Tires is already the beginning of a horror story in my book.)  At any rate, though the guy helping me was super nice, I just wanted to get in and out of there with a fast quote on how much it would cost to order my new tire so Robert Skeet Taylor could go get it later.  Unfortunately, Enthusiastic Tire Guy had different plans.  He proceeded to teach me everything I never wanted to know about tires and tire pressure.  He showed me a whole bunch of stickers on the inside of my car door that I didn't care about, he told me all sorts of numbers for correct air pressure in my tires, he showed me a bunch of charts about green, yellow, and red tire tread zones, and then he talked for over thirty minutes about the Georgia Bulldogs and their football season.  Anyone who knows me well knows that if there are any TWO things in the WORLD that I have NO interest in AT ALL, it's CAR PARTS AND SPORTS TEAMS. Though I smiled and said "cool" to this barrage of "fun facts," I began secretly wishing I had nails in my ears instead of my tire!  For that hideous hour, I truly thought the Ascension had happened and I had not been chosen, because I'm pretty sure I got a glimpse of HELL today at Discount Tires. 😂😂

Cake

(2013) Grammie and Papaw are coming over for supper tomorrow for the FIRST time since Mom's fall and surgery!  We're all excited and we're making one of their favorite meals, roast with potatoes and carrots and onions in the crockpot. We're also baking a special cake ... but I am driving all of us insane because I can't quit singing "If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake."  It's a curse really!!!

Bribe

(2011) Had to "bribe" the kids to get in the tub tonight by adding some red and yellow food coloring to the water ... they now have a bright orange "Halloween" bath!  They jumped right in after that!

Ug.

(2010) Remember my new pink cell phone I was so excited about?  Brandon left it on the back of my Jeep and I ran over it this morning.  Ug.

Trick or Treat

(2011) I am losing my mind!  Lily Claire has rung the doorbell about 1000 times now and keeps screaming "Trick or Treat!"  She's not quite understanding that today is NOT Halloween!!!!  AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Fortune Cookie

Hahaaa! A funny memory from a few years ago! ...
We went to our favorite Chinese restaurant tonight and when it came time to read the fortune cookies, we had a hilarious faux pas!  Lily asked to read Skeet's fortune out loud to all of us and, without any help, proceeded to read, "You will have good-looking personal affairs."  WHAT?!!!  Skeet was LOVING that fortune, until I snatched it and said, "Sorry mister.  It actually says, 'You will have good LUCK in your personal affairs!"   Oops ... letting a first grader read your fortune may alter your fate quite a bit, apparently!!  Hahahaaaa!

Men’s Sunday

(2011) GREAT Men's Sunday service at church today!!!  The theme was  "God's Power Tools" which Dylan really loved and listened to.  One funny thing though ... a men's chorus sang the upbeat chorus  "At Calvary" and Dylan thought they were singing "At Halloween."  He was very inspired!  :)

Costume

Sooooo much work ahead of me to make Bran into decent husband material one day ... case in point:  Tonight I walked into his room with all this highlighting product goop in my hair, my head covered with a huge plastic bag, moisturizer cream on my face, my pink robe on, and my black glasses.  My husband is smart enough not to comment (years of training).  My son, however, says, "What the heck, Mom?!  Is that your Halloween costume?!!!"  Yes, I did swat him!

Dress

I have a sweet hubby ... You know I've been searching for a formal dress this week and I was bemoaning the fact that I'd tried on a dress I had ordered and it looked HORRIBLE when I actually put it on.  I texted Skeet dramatically, "UG! My new dress looks super horrible on me and now I hate myself!!!"  He instantly texted back, "Must be something wrong with the dress."  Made my day!  Thanks, buddy!

Dora

(2010) Lily Claire has recently gotten interested in watching Dora the Explorer ... Dora asks us all these questions and pauses a long time so we can shout out answers.  I got a bit too theological for Dora last night when she asked, "Who do we ask for help when we don't know which way to go?"  I screamed "GOD!" but Dora, Boots, and Lily screamed, "The map."  Oops!  I thought my answer was better.

Burping

A funny school story today...
In our classroom, we have lots of talks about being polite and
using manners, especially when ladies are present. This is a whole new concept for third grade boys in particular!!  Today, we decided to eat lunch together in the classroom, and halfway through the Magic School Bus episode, I noticed two of my boys had left the classroom and were standing out in the hallway. I called out to them and said, "Guys ... why are you in the hall?"  Very seriously they said, "Mrs. Taylor, we had to step outside because we were burping A LOT around ladies."  I could hardly keep a straight face while thanking them for their admirable courtesy!! 😂

Parenting

Had a heartfelt moment with my teenage son tonight, which for those of you who live with "stoic" men like mine, know those can be pretty rare.  Bran had gotten in some trouble this week and we had doled out the consequences, which were a lot more stiff than others.  Bran accepted the consequences without argument and faced up to his mistakes in a brave and honest way, but it was a tough on all of us.  Tonight as he and I were quietly talking things over again, I said, "I know we're probably the strictest of all the parents."  Bran replied, "Yeah .. but I think it's because you care the most."  Parenting is a tough job and I teared up hearing that from him  ... not something you think your 15 year old son would understand or realize in the moment.  He will never really know how fiercely we do love and care and how very, very proud we are to be his parents.

Oldness

Today I was sitting outside on a bench at recess and had my ankles crossed.  One of my students was talking to me and then looked down at my ankle and said, Oh no, Mrs. Taylor, what happened?!”  She had seen an unsightly spider vein on my leg and thought I had been injured.  “Oh it’s nothing,” I said, “It’s OK. I’m  not hurt or anything.” Another student who was standing nearby overhearing the conversation rushed over to reassure me. “Don’t worry, Mrs Taylor! That just happens because of oldness.” Wow.  I felt much better thanks to that encouraging diagnosis! 😂😂😂😂

Love

A father's love ... Bran called home around 8 PM and said,"Mom, I'm as sick as I can ever remember. My head and chest and eyes are hurting so bad and I can't stop coughing."  My next words, "Come home. You need to sleep and go to the doctor in the morning."  Bran replied miserably, "I don't think I can drive home feeling this bad, and I don't have any cough medicine left. What should I do, Mom?"  Without batting an eye, Skeet said, "Tell him I'm on my way."  An hour and a half drive one way at night to EC after a long day at work ... but not a moments hesitation. I love how much Skeet loves us and shows it in a million little ways every day. And I'm so relieved Bran will be home soon to get well. I wouldn't have slept so well tonight otherwise!❤️

Lovely

Guess Lily was giving me a hint that I've been cleaning the house too long today in my raggy PJs with my hair a wreck when she said in a very sweet voice, "Mom, are you going to get dressed soon?  You always look lovely when you're not in pajamas."  Hahahaaa!

Chick Fil A

(2013) The boys are all at the BHS football game and Lily wanted me to take her to Chick Fil A.  When we got there she wanted to stay and play on the playground but I had just planned to go through the drive thru.  I told her, "Lily, I didn't bring my Kindle or any book to read while you play!  I won't have anything to do!"  She thought a minute and suggested, "Well, you could sing a little song and play with my pink Webkinz beaver."  Hmmmm ....  I'd like to see the looks I'd get in Chick Fil A if I were to sit alone in a booth and do that!  Hahahahaa!

Bored

Lily complaining while doing a page of math out of her math book tonight ...
“What is WRONG with this McGrawHill person?! Does he just WANT us to be bored??!!”  I’m cracking up!!! 😂😂😂

Five

(2013) I love five year olds.  I showed Lily an online picture of the baby panda cubs from the Atlanta zoo and she stood by the computer petting them (on the screen) and talking to them in a soft, high, sweet voice for about five minutes.  Precious.  Wish she could stay little forever.

Grits

(2011) I have succeeded in raising my kids as true Southerners!  I told Lily I was going to go order pizza for supper and she said, "No, Mom, let's order grits!"  That's my girl!

Tater Tots

I am amazed at the apparent rapid rate of tater tot evaporation ... Anytime I send Brandon Taylor to Sonic to get some for me, half the pack is somehow gone by the time it gets home to me!!!!!  Hmmmmmm......  :)

Girl Cheese

(2011) Grammie and Papaw came over tonight for homemade chili and to watch a movie. I was asking everyone if they wanted a "grilled" cheese sandwich with their chili and Lily shouted, "YES! I want a "girl" cheese sandwich!" Papaw laughed and said, "I want a "girl" cheese sandwich, too!" Lilly put her hands on her hips and said, "No Papaw, you have to have a BOY cheese sandwich!"

Old School

I am an old school elementary school teacher and proud of it!  I am pleased to say that tonight I rummaged out my "candy corn" earrings and my pumpkin vest for the upcoming season!  Now all I need to find are those cute socks with ghosts and black cats on them!!! Eat your hearts out, you young whipper snappers!!

Glue Globber

(2013) Lily loves to make crafts, but tonight she came to me looking completely dejected with some sort of foam ball drenched in Elmer's glue and moaned dramatically, "OH NOOOO!!! Mom .. I am a GLUE GLOBBER." It is apparently a TERRIBLE crime. I just can't believe my sweet baby girl has turned to a life of glue globbing villainy at such a young age.

Glitter Glue

(2013) Lily is laughing so hard she can hardly stand it .... she needed me to open a glitter glue pen for her and I couldn't get it open, so I squeezed it, thinking it might have a hole in the top where the glue came out.  Of course it did NOT, and the lid popped off real loud and flew off, and the glitter glue splatter all over my face and hands!  We both just sat there stunned for a minute, then Lily Claire died laughing!  Yep ... she's my child!

Waffle House

So I’m going to make a confession. Waffle House grosses me out, and I hate to go there.  My husband knows this, so he was in shock today when I texted him that I took the kids to Waffle House for breakfast because the boys LOVE it! One of those sacrificial mom moments, I guess. 😂 Anyway everything went fine, it was SORT OF clean, we ate our food (though they only have cold syrup and serve hashbrowns with everything, even a hamburger) and I was starting to think, “Ok, this wasn’t so bad...”.  Just as I was entertaining this positive thought, the waiter next to me dumped an entire gigantic bucket of bleach water on the floor right next to where I was eating. Classy. Couldn’t quite swallow down anymore waffle with the bleach fumes floating over the greasy floor by my feet.  Check, please.  😂😂

Bears

(2011) Great.  Dylan talked me into watching a show with him on Animal Planet called "Viking Wilderness."  One whole part was this long footage of these big bears mating and Dylan said, "Awwwwwww!  Mom, look!  That bear is hugging the baby bear!!!"  Of course I quickly agreed it was "super cute" and then tried to change the subject!!!!

Texts

I signed Bran up a few years back for text messages from a Youth Group at one of our local churches.  They text Bible verses, etc.  Anyway, his phone went off right in the middle of class today and the teacher looked mad.  Bran said, "Sorry, church is texting me" and the teacher said, "Oh ... ok then, go ahead and answer."  That cracked me up!!!!  Guess when God texts, by george, you ANSWER!

Crazy

You know you've been raised by a Southern mama when .... your husband rehires the cleaning service to help you around the house and you are frantically cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen so they won't be dirty when the cleaning lady shows up!!! 😂😂😂 As we say around here, "Your crazy is showing .. better tuck it back in!!!"

Jail

(2015) Funny story from today!  Dylan and Lily were playing "cops and robbers" and they had created this fort thing out of blankets, etc, that was supposed to be the "jail."  Apparently, Lily was the criminal who had been apprehended and put in the "jail."  A while later, Dylan crawled in the jail with her and I heard her say really seriously to him, "So ... What are you in for?"  I laughed out loud!!!!

British

(2013) Dylan walks through the family room tonight and asks, "Mom, why do all your shows have British people in them?"  Guess I've been watching too much PBS lately!!!

Ebola

(2014) I know the disease is not a joke, but Bran just asked me if he'd be able to skip school if he got Ebola. Nice try, Bran ... You ARE going to school tomorrow!

Buffalo

(2012) Got a huge laugh at Dylan's parent/teacher conference today!  His teacher was sharing with me a piece he had written about which Native American tribe he would like to have been part of in early America.  Dylan chose the Pawnee because "he wanted to hunt buffalo and use buffalo for his tent and clothes and he really loves eating buffalo wings."  He seriously wrote that and was dead serious!  We were cracking up!!

Ring Pop

Funny conversation in my class today after handing out a small treat that the kids had earned ...

All the kids ... “Thank you, Mrs. Taylor!!! You’re the best!!” 

Me: “We’ll it’s because you guys are the best...”

One student after taking a big lick of his Ring Pop and a long, thoughtful pause,”No ... actually you’re really a lot better than us, Mrs. Taylor.”

I completely cracked up!!I’m sure the big Ring Pop candy swayed things in my favor considerably!!!! 😂😂😂

Mom

(2017) There is one very happy 18 year old college student in Franklin Springs, GA tonight.  I got a call around 9 PM from Bran ..."Mom, we just finished baseball practice and I am starving, but the school cafeteria is closed, no one delivers here, and I have no money."  About 10 minutes later after making a phone call, I sent him a text ... "Go to the Pizza Hut at Franklin Springs Circle.  There is a large pizza and a 2 liter drink waiting for you in your name. It's paid for. Love you, Mom". Took him a half second to text back, "ON MY WAY!!!"  He may be 18, but it still makes this mom's heart happy to take care of her boy.  I don't get that chance too often anymore! ❤️

Five

Was stopped at the grocery store tonight by a GROWN MAN WITH TWO CHILDREN who said, "Mrs. Taylor!  Do you remember me?  You were my 5th grade teacher!"  AAAHHHHH!!!  I obviously was five years old when I was his teacher!!!!

No No

(2014) I am laughing sooo hard!  There is a commercial on for that hair removal product called the  "No No" and Lily said in all seriousness, "Daddy needs that." She can never understand why the guys have hair on their chests and legs and refers to it as their "fur."  Guess the "No No" would take care of their unfortunate "fur" problems!!! I cannot stop laughing!!

Skunks

Of course. I’m being eaten alive by mosquitoes sitting at quite possibly the worst field in Gwinnett County and the two men next to me are apparently professional exterminators and keep talking about how they can smell skunks all around us in the woods. Living the dream out here ...

Research

(2014) Things you hear yourself saying to a 7th grader supposedly doing his homework at the computer .... "Since when can you research biomes on Itunes?"

Chipmunks

(2013) Lily is loving Wizard of Oz!  So far, her favorite is Glenda the Good Witch (the big sparkly dress and wand gave her a big advantage), but she said she does NOT like the "chipmunks" (aka,  the Munchkins). Cracked us up!!!

Snuggle

(2014) Lily and I were snuggling in the bed together and I said, "Doesn't your bed feel the best when it has these soft, clean sheets on it?"  She put her little arms around my neck and said, "My bed feels the best when you're in it, Mama."  Nothing better than being loved by a little girl.

Thugs

Cracked up at the bookstore today ... there was seriously a book on the shelf called "THUGS ...and the women who love them."  Hope I won't need to buy that book any time soon!  I think I'll stick with Pride & Prejudice.

Grandmas

(2011) Dylan was in the room while I was watching "Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta" and this bride's grandma kept saying no very emphatically to every dress the girl put on. Dylan got mad and said, "Grandmas aren't supposed to act like that. They are supposed to say "yes" ... to EVERYTHING!"

Grandbabies

When I was paying to get in, the lady at the gate at Lily’s game asked me if I was here to watch my grand babies play. Ummm ... super. 😂👵🏻☹️

Family

Nothing like having your sweet 80 year old Dad show up at your front door just to give you a hug and be with you after hearing you've had a really rough day.  Enjoying having him sitting in the recliner chair, watching football and just chatting and laughing. I have the best family in the world.

Pink

Stopped to get my toes done after school today and sat next to the sweetest older lady.  She laughed at the very bright pink polish going on my toes and told me she only dared wear neutral colors on her nails.    She kept looking and looking at my polish and finally I said, "Go ahead!! Try the hot pink!  You only live once!"  And she did!!!!  We both walked out of there with the brightest pink toes you've ever seen and that sweet, little lady was grinning ear to ear!  Love it!!!!

Whale

(2013) Social graces aren't always the strong suit of my gifted children.  Case in point, today one of my boys was telling us all about beluga whales and in his attempt to describe them to the class and me, he said, "And they are a little smaller than Mrs. Taylor."  What?!  Anything with "WHALE" in its title shouldn't be SMALLER than me!  Thanks, guys.

Symbolism

(2014) Life with 11 year old boys ...We are trying to fill out Dylan's book response form for school which is entailing searching for symbolism and poetic language in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Wish us luck!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! said every baseball mom ever.

Win

(2016) Bran ... Concert
Dylan ... Gwinnett County Fair
Lily ... Pool
Me... Pjs on the couch watching Mrs. Marple
I win!!! 😀

Sleeping ...

Dylan is laughing his head off because Lily Claire is playing with her princess dolls and keeps calling Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Booty."  Oh dear!

Sticky Note

I was walking around monitoring the 5th graders this morning while they took their CoGat test and I noticed one of my little girls had a sticky note taped inside her desk in her own handwriting that said, "2 Timothy 1:7, God does not give  a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  Truly encouragement I needed to hear at the beginning of a Monday morning.  Funny how God always finds a way to speak to us, even in the most unexpected times and places.

Slime

Lily just proudly showed me some huge blob of slime she made and then I realized she was carrying it around on top of her children's Bible!! What?!!
Me: "SLIME on your Bible, Lil? Really?!
Lily: GASP!!! Oops!!!!
Me: I'm calling Jesus right now to tell on you.
Lily: (running to get it off) Nooooooooo!!! I'm sorry, Jesus!!!!!
😂😂😂😂

Vice Versa

My second graders were writing today, and I saw some of the kids making capital letter mistakes, which had been a little mini lesson previously.  I said, "Uh oh!  Be careful everybody. I see some folks putting capital letters where they don't belong, and vice versa."  One of my little ones looked up in surprise and gasped,"Mrs. Taylor!  I didn't know you spoke Spanish!"

Cinderella

(2010) It's a special day for the Taylor girls ... Lily and I are watching Disney's Cinderella for the first time together and Lily is captivated!!  Every time Cinderella comes on the screen, she shouts "What her name, Mama?"

Kitty Cat

(2011) Saturday, I made the mistake of shopping early for Lily's Halloween costume online and she ended up picking out a sweet kitty cat costume.  HOWEVER, now she is asking me every day if I can draw whiskers on her face and put on her costume (which, of course, we don't have yet!)  She just came storming into my room huffing and said, "WHEN is Halloween?  I've been waiting and waiting!"  Oh dear.  October is going to be a loooooooooong month!

Cool Like That

(2011) Life with a 13 year old son:  On my way home this evening, I called Bran to remind him to get his homework and chores done.  Typically, Bran never "remembers" to do any of his chores without lots of "reminders." So I say, "Bran, don't forget to take down the trashcans from the curb before football practice."  To which he replies, totally seriously, "I already did it, Mom, because you know ... I'm just cool like that."  Uh huh ... we'll see how long this wave of "coolness" lasts!

Beard

Lily just said, "Mom, remember in the old, old, old times when everyone had to wear a beard?  Well Daddy must have looked HORRIBLE!"  Sorry Robert Skeet Taylor, but I am cracking up, you old timer, you!!

Cheese Straw

You know you’re in the South when the focal point for all spoken directions of the day starts with, “Well first take a right at the cheese straw stand...”  #yellowdaisyfestival #goodtimes

Memories

(2012) Realized what a sweet moment it was tonight as I sat out at the baseball field for the millionth time.  Skeet and Bran are BOTH coaches for Dylan's baseball team this season ... so proud to see my oldest son helping out Dylan and all his buddies on the baseball field.  Bran looked exactly like his Dad out there, sitting on the ball bucket, encouraging the boys and helping them with their gear.  I couldn't help but smile as I watched him.  We're making some special memories together out on that old ballfield these days.

Freon

You know you're getting old when .... you try and type a text message on your son's very tiny phone WITHOUT your reading glasses and instead of sending a message that says, "We need to check the freon in the red truck" you send a message that says "We need to heck freeing in the red truck."  Laughed out loud when I got a message back from Skeet that simply said, "WHAT?"

Skirt

(2013) Lily and I were pulling in our garage and our new neighbors were outside ... the dad and two of his children.  Very sweet people!  They are from a Middle Eastern culture and the dad was wearing some sort of traditional clothes/outfit from their country.  Our windows in the car were down and I waved and smiled as we passed them, and so did Lily.  Except she also smiled and happily shouted, "Hello to the dad wearing a skirt!"  Oh lord. I'm pretty sure we've single-handedly set back the status of current world relations.

Sealed

(2012) Brandon just asked me how well Obama did in college.  I said nobody knows because his records are sealed.  Bran replied, "I wish MY school records could be sealed."  Cracked me up!!!

Fashionable Styles

Grammie was helping at school today and a little girl in my class asked her to help her spell a difficult word that she wanted to use in her writing.  When Grammie helped spell the word, the little girl smiled real big and said, "Grammie is sooooo smart and awesome ... AND she has fashionable styles!"  Cracked us up!!!  We girls know what's important!!

Tomatoes and Dogs

Last night I watched an old movie and the men kept referring to all the women as "tomatoes" and "dogs"!!! One guy even told a girl she wasn't as much of a dog as she thought she was, and apparently that was a compliment!  Then, the guy's mom, who had a gray bun, glasses,and knitted in a rocking chair the whole movie, was worried that her son would kick her out of the family home when he got married because she was so old.  She then revealed that she was 50!! What??!!!! Hahahaaaa!!!

Homework

Lily was sitting on the couch reading a history article for school about cattle drives.  Out of nowhere, Buddy leaped up and tore off a hunk of the article paper and ate it!! We are in hysterics because we just witnessed a dog ACTUALLY eating homework!!! 😂😂😂 

Rainbow

(2010) A scary glimpse into the minds of seven year old boys: At the drugstore, I let Dylan pick out some candy.  He picked out this HUGE multicolored lollipop, of course.  He said, "Mom, I bet I'll be the first person EVER to be able to eat all this at once."  I replied,"If you do, you'll get sick."  He thought a moment and replied cheerfully, "Well, if I throw up, at least it will be rainbow!"   UG!!

Trained

I already have Buddy perfectly trained. He’s spending this lazy Sunday afternoon riveted to The Love Boat! I knew he was a genius! Obviously the apple doesn’t fall far ... 🐶🐶😂😂

Crisis

I had to get creative tonight ... Lily couldn't find any of her Barbie's shoes and her Barbie "HAD to go on a walk and was going to get splinters in her toes" (according to Lily).  It was a full blown Barbie crisis!  Anyway, after a little aluminum foil, Barbie now has some awesome silver boots!  Fashion emergency SOLVED.

Waxing

I hate when I go to get my eyebrows done, as I did today, and the lady asks, "Your lip? your lip?" meaning, do I want my upper lip waxed. I always say "no thank you" and then the lady shakes her head and looks at me with shock and despair like she's looking at some huge, shaggy mustache on my face!  It makes me so paranoid!!!  Here's how I think I look and then how the waxing lady makes me THINK I look leaving the shop!!!!

Jaguar

So Bran calls and informs me that he accidentally backed his truck into a car tonight. What kind of car? A Jaguar, of course. What are the odds of this in Royston, Georgia?! You can’t make this stuff up.

Gun

I am watching a cute movie made in 1968 starring James Garner and Debbie Reynolds. They have a teenage son who wants to bum around Europe all summer and the kid just said, "Dad, I will be fine going by myself because I believe that all around the world love and trust protects us all."  The dad replies, "I've been all around the world ... Take a gun."  Cracked me up!!!  Sounds like a conversation that would happen in my house!!!!!

Sport Talk

(2014) This is why Bran hates to have sports conversations with me ...

Bran:  Mom, wouldn't it be awesome if I went Alabama to play for Nick Sabin?
Me:  That would be cool, but I hope that guy would have GRADUATED by the time you get there to start playing football!  That'd be sort of sad if he was still in college that long!
Bran:  Mom ... Nick Sabin is the COACH.
Me: Oh.

Sweet Talk

(2013) Note to self ... do NOT take a 15 year old boy to the grocery store with you!  I was running in to pick up one or two things and came out with a TON of stuff that I got sweet-talked into buying ... a case of Mug rootbeer, Chex mix, Pringles, Fruit Loops with marshmallows, a family sized bag of Chips Ahoy, chocolate chip PopTarts ... a hoard of neverending snacks for the bottomless pit named Brandon Taylor!

Brown

I hate when I'm trying to buy makeup online and they try and use real creative names for the colors  ... I just need some BROWN eyeliner, but the choices I have are "Dance Fever", "Ice Pixie" or "Brazen Rain".  Can I just find BROWN, please?! Which of these is BROWN??!!

Football

Adding to the roasting heat and biting bugs at the football field is a New York lady sitting right next to me angrily SCREAMING in my ear after every play.  Really??!! Apparently her son’s name or nickname is “Megatron.” I know because it’s ringing in my ears.  She keeps YELLING “Watch the ball” but it sounds like “Watch the bull” which is annoying me even more.  I must have been mistaken that this is 10U rec football ... it’s apparently the Super Bowl. I’m about to commit a second felony at the ball-field already this season, but this time NOT involving snow cones.

Bunnies

(2012) I love the imagination of 4 year olds ... I was laying with Lily Claire last night in her bed while she fell asleep and she said, "Mama, let's pretend that you are the mommy bunny and I am the baby bunny and we are down in our little rabbit hole underground."  So we did!  We had a lot of fun in that little rabbit hole together!

Lifetime

So I've decided I'm much more of a Hallmark Channel girl than Lifetime.  Lifetime movies always make me feel creepy and are either scary or depressing, though it's supposed to be a channel that most women love!  I'll stick with the somewhat cheesy, sentimental, feel good Hallmark movies any day! Guess I'll go watch "Operation Cupcake" now rather than "My Teenage Babysitter's Secret Life As An Alcoholic Axe Murderer Who Seduced My Husband's Brother Who Has a Chronic Illness."

Mean

(2010) Lily Claire was playing with my cell phone (which was turned off) and I asked her who she was "talking" to.  She happily answered "Santa Claus".  A few moments later she slammed the phone down and said, "I hang up because Santa Claus was being mean to me!"  That's a two year old for you!!!

Skippy

(2013) Dylan, Dylan, Dylan...  I don't know where he comes up with half the things he does or says ... you just NEVER know what is next.  Today at school, his teachers told me that in all seriousness, he has asked all of them to call him by 'the nickname that his entire family calls him' ... "Skippy."  SKIPPY??  I, nor ANYONE in our entire family, has EVER called Dylan "Skippy"!!!!!!  What on earth?!!  He could have at least chosen something a tad less nerdy!!

Loaf

Ummm.... Dylan just informed me that we need a new "loaf" of toilet paper in his bathroom. Boys crack me up!

Bamboozled

(2013) I think I'm being bamboozled ... Lily crawled in my bed tonight and said, "See how much I love you, Mama, that I want to sleep in here with you, rather than all alone in my own room?"  Of course, after looking at her little face, it worked.

Aristocats

(2013)Lily had a VERY exciting moment last night when she realized that our family is "exactly like" the Aristocats ... a mom, dad, two brothers, and a sister!  Now we are all being called by our cat name, since apparently we ARE the Aristocats!  Sincerely, Duchess

Bribery

(2014) Mwah ha ha ha haaaaaa!!!!  That is my DEVIOUS, EVIL MOTHER LAUGH!! Yes, I have stooped to bribery  and it WORKED (don't judge a desperate woman).  Brandon has wanted me to get him a subscription to Netflix for a LONG time, so I told him that when his summer reading was done AND the WELL DONE report was finished, I would order Netflix.  Guess who's reading his book as we speak?!!!!!   Unless you know my boys, you have NO IDEA the miracle of which I speak. Thank you to a dear friend for the BRILLIANT bribery, oh, I mean "motivational incentive," idea ... pure genius!  Mwah ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Tattoo

(2013) Hilarious teacher moment today ... My skirt today had a slit on the side and one of my 4th grade girls saw the unsightly veins on the side of my calf and said, "COOL TATTOO, MRS. TAYLOR!" Nice.  I am now WAY cooler than I thought I was!  Hahaaaaaaa!!!!

Cheese Fries

Being the non-sport person that I am, I may not have ever really WATCHED any of the kids’ football or baseball games n the past 15 years, but I’ve been a world champ at eating concession-stand cheese fries. Pretty proud of that long standing commitment to my children. 😂😂😂

Charcoal

After a long week, I decided I looked like I’d been run over by a truck, so I decided I'd indulge in a little self repair, including coloring my hair (NOT that I have any gray to cover or anything), taking a hot shower, and trying out this new charcoal face mask product that's supposed to make your skin really clean and soft. I'm doing my thing upstairs and had been settled into our bedroom recliner chair for about 20 minutes, looking quite lovely I might add, in my old robe, glasses, hair coloring goop, and a super thick layer of black charcoal mask drying on my face that's supposed to gently peel off when ready. Now those of you who know my husband, Robert Skeet Taylor, know he is a man of few words. For 28 years he has quietly and patiently put up with all my ideas and antics and shenanigans with school and with the kids, etc, with nothing more than maybe a quiet look of bewilderment or silent resignation. Tonight, however, he walked into our room and took one look at me and stopped dead in his tracks. "WHAT is THAT?!!" he asked SUPER loud, looking at my charcoal face. Well, of course, this got me tickled, and when I starting laughing, the whole dried mask cracked and fell off, which I think threw Skeet into further shock!!! So much for trying to have a beauty spa night in peace around HERE!!! 😂😂😂

Soda Pop

Sorry friends who are not from the South, but I hate the words  "pop" and "soda" ... Down here we say, "Y'all want a Coke?" And then you ask, "What kind? (Coke, Sprite, Orange, etc)  #nixthesodapop

Invention

I know that Gutenburg's printing press gets the credit most of the time for the best invention of all time,  but I think the guy who invented air conditioning deserves to be sainted or knighted or something! Let's face it, you can't even enjoying reading a book fresh off the printing press when you're roasting hot!!

Glug

(2014) Should I be concerned that the toilet downstairs was making a loud "glug, glug, glug" noise and when I went to check it out, foaming bath bubbles were coming out of the bowl????  How and why???!!!

Mountain Men

Watching "Mountain Man" on the History Channel with Robert Skeet Taylor ... Completely fascinating,but I think the show should be called "Forever A Single Lonley Mountain Man" since one of them is getting frozen skunks out of traps in his henhouse, another took an all day ride to a junkyard to find screws for his makeshift wood shack house, and another is picking up dead squirrels that "aren't too old" off the road to take home for dinner.  He said eating road kill is a good way not to be wasteful. The Mountain Men are definitely NOT chick magnets!!!

Roast

(2017) Tonight I was miffed when Dylan came home at supper time with a big bag of hamburgers after I'd made a roast. Halfway through dinner I look over and see that Dylan has put huge hunks of roast on each hamburger and is eating them!!! "See Mom! The roast didn't go to waste!" he proudly informed me. Only a 14 year old boy!!!!! 🙄😂😂

App

Which Taylor male subscribed on MY Apple account to “Manly Pro Body Muscle” app??? Really?! I don’t think an app is the answer here guys.  😂😂😂

Burned

(2011) One of the many reasons why I love Robert Skeet Taylor ... while helping the kids get baths and do homework tonight (AND not feeling good), I totally burned our whole supper.  I called Skeet, who is at the football field with Bran, and he just laughed and said he'd pick up something for everyone on the way home.  I love that guy.

Instant Message

Lily and I were heading to the grocery store today and got behind a driver who was going 2 miles an hour and not turning at the signal, etc. Lily and I were getting annoyed and yelling real meanly  at the driver inside our car to “hurry up” and “pay attention.” At that moment we passed at church that had a HUGE sign on its lawn that said,”Love God. Love people.”  From the backseat Lily said, “Oops. I guess God was sending us an instant message. “ 😂😂❤️ We were much nicer to fellow drivers the rest of the trip!!

Favorite

(2013) Bran was pressing me to say which of the kids was my favorite Of course, he wanted me to say it was HIM ... instead I said they were ALL my favorite. Then he asked who was my least favorite! I said, "None of you is my least favorite. I like all of you. I have three favorites" Then, in one last attempt to get me to say that HE was my favorite child, he asked, "If you had to be stranded on a deserted island with one of us, who would you pick?" Without skipping a beat, I replied, "Daddy." And that, my friends, is the TRUTH ... far, far away from all my "favorites" for a day or two!!

Jeep

(2014) So, Skeet got Bran a truck so he could hold onto his beloved red Jeep Wrangler.  I hesitate to tell him about this conversation in the car today between Dylan and his buddy, Jackson, as we pulled into the driveway this afternoon ...
Jackson:  Who's truck?
Dylan:  Brandon's
Jackson:  Wait.  I thought the Jeep was Brandon's.
Dylan:  Nope.  It's mine now.

Watch out, Skeet!!  You may have nothing to drive once the boys are through!

Grammie & Papaw

(2010) I was sitting in with Lily and Dylan tonight as they were going to sleep and I mentioned that Grammie and Papaw would be coming over for dinner on Thursday.  Lily said, "Good cause I like Grammie and Papaw."  Then she asked Dylan if he liked Grammie and Papaw.  Dylan replied, "OF COURSE, everybody in our WHOLE family likes Grammie and Papaw ... and I think everybody in the world likes them, too."  I had to agree!

Bacteria

Buddy was very excited when we got home tonight and was licking Lily all over her face.  Skeet said, "Lily, don't let Buddy lick your face.  He has bacteria!" to which LIly replied, "Oh Dad!  Those are just LOVE germs!"

Snow Cones

I have come to the realization that without air conditioning, I would be a mean, lonely hermit with NO friends or maybe even be in JAIL.  I get SO grouchy and irritable when I'm SUPER hot!  Case in point, after Lily's cheer photos last week on a SCORCHING HOT turf football field in the dead middle of the hottest afternoon in August (and I was stupidly wearing sweat pants), Lily asked if she could have a snow cone when we were done.  OF COURSE, the snow cone truck was parked RIGHT in the sun and I was already super grouchy from sweating to death in the 100 degree afternoon sun in sweatpants!  Sweat was actually dripping down my nose, which made me SUPER grumpy and irritated!  At any rate, I begrudgingly got in the line (no shade, mind you) for a small, Coke flavored snow cone, and the lady in front me proceeds to order SIX LARGE SNOW CONES!!!  Are you kidding me?!!  THEN, she asked the guy to name ALL the sugar free flavors first before choosing.  She then sends her daughter to inquire about what flavors all the siblings want, which fluctuated about ten times from Pina Colado to Blue Raspberry! After an eternity in the boiling sun waiting for her snow cone buffet to be ready, she looks at the snow cones the man is setting on the counter for her and says she needs MORE flavor on ALL of them!!!!  THEN, she takes sample bites of each one and starts to walk away, but NOT before coming back to the window to ask for extra napkins.  I literally almost committed a snow cone FELONY at the window before that lady was finished!  THANKFULLY we got into our air conditioned car to leave and narrowly escaped my hot, angry descent into a life of crime.

Heaven

(2011) I overheard Brandon and Dylan talking in their room after I had put them to bed last night ... Dylan leaned over the bunk bed and enthusiastically said, "Brandon, Heaven is going to be AWESOME!  There are going to be talking dogs and you get to play video games with Jesus!"  He then paused and thought a moment before saying, "I sure hope He knows how to play."

Hot Dogs

(2010) While having our gourmet dinner of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese tonight, Lily informed us all that they weren't "hot dogs", they were "warm dogs."

Mars and Venus

Hilarious exchange between Grammie and Brandon tonight ...  I call it Brandon is from Mars, Grammie is from Venus ....

Brandon:  I put a Browning sticker on the back of my new truck.
Grammie:  A brownie sticker?
Brandon:  No, BROWNING.
Grammie:  What is Browning?
Brandon:  It's like a hunting and gun brand at Bass Pro Shop.
Grammie:  (Frowning with disapproval)
Brandon:  I also put one of these stickers on it (pointing to his shirt)
Grammie:  What is that?  A bomb?!
Brandon:  Um, no ... it's the Oakley logo.
Grammie:  Oakley?!  I've never heard of that!  What do they make?!!!  Bullets?  Knives?!!
Brandon:  Sunglasses.

Fan

I am cracking up ... I "liked" a page that said "Like if you are a Jason Aldean fan."  Well now I'm a "fan" of some page called "I Love Southern Boys" and there hasn't been ONE post about Jason Aldean, but there's been about 100 posts of photos of muscle-y cowboys with no shirts on!  Not exactly what I thought I was signing up for!!!!!!  I kept scrolling down my page wondering, "WHO is sending me all these cowboy pictures?!!!" 😂😂😂

Kitty

(2014) Lily sang along PERFECTLY with every single country song that came on in the car today as we were running errands ... Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan ... the only problem was that instead of the lyrics to the songs, she would sing "meow" to EVERY SINGLE WORD!  It was her day to be a "kitty" and I thought I would lose my mind on what became the longest car ride in history!

Melted

We took Bran to a Japanese restaurant last weekend and it reminded me of a hilarious story. When Dyl was about four, he was terrified of the big fire at the hibachi grill at our local Japanese restaurant. While the cook was preparing the grill, Dylan was happily playing with this super cheap, large plastic tiger we’d gotten at the Dollar Store. When the big fire ensued, Dyl was cringing and obviously really frightened so the cook guy was trying to reassure him and make him feel better.  To be funny, he took Dylan’s tiger and waved it through the flames saying that the fire was not scary and wouldn’t hurt him. We were all laughing and smiling during this display UNTIL he handed the big plastic tiger back to Dyl and the whole face had melted off in the flames!!! You should have seen the look on Dylan’s face!! 😂😂😂 I still laugh out LOUD remembering how shocked we all were, including the chef guy,  at the melted tiger blob he pulled from the flames! We bring it up EVERY TIME we eat Japanese food, and crack up every time!!!

Robber

(2011) We were reading a "Dear God" book tonight before we went to bed about having a bad temper.  After the book, Dylan pondered very seriously, "Mom, God even loves robbers, though He's kind of depressed about them."  VERY true, but cracked me up!

Baa Baa Blacksheep

(2011) Lily Claire's version of "Baa Baa Black Sheep":  "Brandon black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full.  One for the magic, one for the dang, one for the yellow boy who lives down the lane."

Badge

(2014) I was excitedly telling Lily tonight that she is going to join Sunbeams in  the fall.  It's a program similar to Girl Scouts that we have at our church.  I was a Sunbeam as a little girl, so I was explaining that she could earn lots of badges for things like art and camping and gardening, etc.  She thought a minute and replied in all seriousness, "I hope there is a badge for unicorn spotting."  Hmmmm ... don't recall that one  ... but it would make a cool looking badge!  :)

Stressed

Why am I always 100% stressed about the boys finishing their summer reading and they are 0% stressed?!!!  I am getting the feeling that Dylan isn't being too meticulous with reading his chapters of "Who Was Neil Armstrong?" since he just informed me that Neil had two brothers named Wilbur and Orville.  Sheesh.

Aim

Observation about the male species .... They spend their lives perfecting aiming a ball through a six foot high net, or aiming a teeny tiny white ball into a cup sized hole onto a green hundreds of feet away, or nailing a ball right into a hand- sized glove way,way,way out from centerfield.  The Taylor males succeed at ALL of these almost 100% of the time.  So my question is, how is it that these skilled males have NO AIM IN THE BATHROOM???  As I clean the bathrooms yet again this week, I ask you,  WHERE is the expert aim and skill, guys????  Step up your game, boys ... PLEASE!!

Go Figure

Just can't understand why Robert Skeet Taylor doesn't seem interested in looking at pics of a bunch of cute stuff I saw at Hobby Lobby while the Braves game is on ... oh well, his loss! 😂😂😂

Whiskey

(2015) Oh dear. I may need to cut down on the country music songs in the car since Lily just informed us that at Longhorn tonight she was going to order "whisky."  We couldn't stop laughing, and she had no idea what it was!!!

Sweetest Thing

(2013) I had the sweetest thing happen this afternoon as I was leaving school!  The maintenance guys from the county office were on our hallway ALL day trying to fix problems with our air conditioners, and mine was having a LOT of issues, so there were three or four of them in my room all afternoon.  Very polite and helpful crew.  Anyway, when I was gathering up my stuff to leave, one of the workers in about his mid-20s who had been in my room almost all afternoon said to me, "M'am, I would have loved to be in your class when I was a kid.  Your room is so animated and welcoming.  I sure would have loved it here."  Those kinds words from such  a totally unexpected source completely MADE my day.

Steve

We have home phones that will "announce" who is calling once the phone rings.  It's a lady computer type voice that can be hard to understand sometimes.  Anyway, the other morning I was super busy trying to arrange haircuts, get house chores done, etc.  And, of course, the phone kept ringing and ringing all morning.  Every time the caller ID said, "Call from ... Steve."  I never actually looked at the phone or number since I was busy and by the third call from "Steve," I was shouting back to the caller ID, saying things like, "STEVE, I don't know you!" ... "Steve, Quit calling me, I'm busy!" and "STEVE, GIVE IT UP!  STOP CALLING!!!"  Finally after about four or so calls from Steve, I stomped over to the phone as it rang again and I actually READ the caller ID ... which said "SKEET" NOT "Steve," as the lady computer voice kept saying!  (Guess she didn't have anything in her database for the word SKEET.)  Poor Skeet had been calling all those times from Pep Boys, needing a ride home while they worked on his car.  Oh dear.  I will definitely be taking calls from STEVE from now on!  Hahahaaa!  Sorry, Skeet!  :)

Lucky

I am one lucky gal to come home EVERY evening after all these years and be COMPLETELY idolized and adored and smothered with undying love and kisses; to have a best friend who NEVER leaves my side, loves and appreciates everything I cook for dinner (even if it’s reheated McDonald’s chicken nuggets from lunch), hangs on my every word, AND watches Hallmark movies with me without EVER complaining or changing the channel to ESPN ... yes, indeed, you are the BEST puppy ever, Buddy Taylor!! (What? You thought I was talking about someone else??? Robert Skeet Taylor 😂😂😂)

Scarred

Recieving the "mother of the year" award again today (hope you note the sarcasm there)!!!  Went to a different Walmart than our usual one and proceeded to march Lily Claire straight into the MEN'S RESTROOM!  It was on the left where the WOMEN'S restroom is at OUR Walmart and did I read the sign? Of course not!!!  Lily Claire stopped in her tracks and stared at the urinal and asked, "What do we do?"  "RUN!!!!!"  I said.  Thank the LORD there was no one in there or we both would have been scarred for life, I'm sure!!!

IPod

(2012) Lily confirmed today that I am successfully raising her to be a true "girl raised in the South."  She came into my room today and said, "Mom, put on some awesome music on your Ipod!"  "Like what?" I asked.  "Like country!" she said.  Did my heart good!  :)

Moms

(2012) Lily Claire asked me if God could hear us.  I said, 'Yes, God always hears us and watches after us and takes care of us and loves us!"  Lily replied, "No He doesn't ... that's what MOMS do!"  :)

Sweet Tea

My first words in California in the place where we are having lunch, "Do y'all have sweet tea?" Hahaaaa!  You can take the girl out of the South ....

Security

 Skeet and I have a joke because no matter where we travel, I ALWAYS get picked to get the extra airport security scans. ALWAYS. I must be very suspicious looking!!  Hahahaaaa!  Anyway, today, OF COURSE I got chosen for a "chemical wand" scan on my palms, waist, and shoes.  That's me ... Always covered head to toe with bomb residue!  And I ALWAYS make my bombs wearing lime green cardigan sweaters and rhinestone covered flip flops!  Hahahaha!  Really???

Reset

I am a genius!!!  Skeet is out of town and I single-handedly fixed the disposal by myself!!! (Of course I just had to push a reset button ...)

DVR

Ummmm... WHO in my house DVR'd the Hooters International Beauty Pageant?!!!!  ....  Brandon?!! Dylan??!!

Sharks

Lily and I were playing an elaborate game with these sharks today, pretending that she was babysitting them at the pool. She named them Fin, Flip, and Flop, and we had a running conversation with them using all these funny voices. At one point, Lily had the baby sharks telling me that they’d be coming home with us for supper. “Ok,” I said to the baby sharks. “You can come home with us for dinner. I guess you’ll be wanting some fish and shrimp.” To which the baby sharks (Lily) replied matter of factly, “Nope. We eat spaghetti.” 😂😂😂 I can pretty much guarantee that we were the only folks at the pool, or anywhere for that matter, having a super long conversation with three, spaghetti-eating, rubber, diving sharks!!! 😂😂😂

Ancient

What?! Most of the items in the antique store we visited today were from MY teenage years (see exhibit A below)!!! Seriously?!!!  Pardon me while I get my ear horn to listen to some ancient Bon Jovi or Van Halen on my Walkman! 😂😂😂

Communication

(2013) Ahhh, yes ... ever since the dawn of time, men have a hard time communicating with women.  Today, a little boy at the pool kept wanting to get Lily's attention and play with her in the water.  His tactic?  Hitting her with a beach ball in the head and getting right in her face and shouting over and over "LET'S PLAY DEAD BABY SHARK!"  Needless to say, Lily went kicking away angrily in the OPPOSITE direction with her Mermaid Barbie and My Little Ponies screaming, "NO!  I do NOT want to play dead baby shark!!!!"  Sorry fella.  Better luck next time!

Twins

(2014) Just told Dylan that the panda at the zoo had twins!  "Aren't ALL pandas pretty much twins?"  he asked.  Good point.

Hell

I've died and woken up in hell.

Oh no, wait ... I'm just trying to get my boys to do their summer reading with the dreaded assignments.  Same thing, really.

Sky Zone

Last night as we were reminiscing about the day, Dylan says to Lily and me, "Wow ... Sky Zone was so awesome!!! .... Except that one time in dodge ball when some kid pegged me in the jingle bells." Ummm ... Thank you, Daddy Taylor, for teaching the boys such accurate scientific terminology.  And thank you, Dylan, for sharing this fascinating tidbit with your mom and sister. 🙄🙄😂😂

Put Away

(2011) The boys were gone all week and they joined us today up in the mountains.  After about ten minutes of their loud wrestling and goofing around and shouting, Lily Claire ran up to me and asked "Mommy, can we put the boys away now?"

Pockets

Watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and I am here to announce that I hate wedding dresses with pockets. What on earth do you need to carry in a pocket to walk down the aisle?!  Chapstick? Bandaids? Your phone??? Hate it. That is all.

Swimmer’s Ear

(2016) Lily came home from the pool last week saying her ear hurt.  I told her it was probably water that was still in her ear, which we call "swimmers ear."  Tonight Dylan was showing me a tooth that's been hurting him when Lily walked into the room. With great concern and authority she said, "Well, it's probably swimmers tooth. " 😂😂😂

Citizen’s Arrest

(2014) We bought a special promo cup for Brandon at RaceTrac that you can refill through August 1st for free every time you are there.  Today he drove past there and went in to fill his cup and leave.  Some older man (another customer) chased him out of the store screaming, "Hey!  Hey!  You didn't pay for that drink!!!  Come back and pay!!!"  Bran turned around and said, "It's a promo cup you can refill for free."  The guy said, "Oh." and went back in the store.  Guess it was a Mango Slushie Citizen's Arrest of some sort!  Sheesh! :)

Success

Got tickled today at Walmart observing a teenage worker who was moving so slowly that I was concerned if she even had a pulse!  When we encountered her again in the store, I noticed her t-shirt said "Rushing Toward Success." It's going to be a long, long journey at that pace!!! Hahahaaaa!!!

Artists

I was dusting the boys' room today and couldn't help but notice their clay projects from elementary school art class. Then it struck me .... WHY am I spending so much time worrying about good grades and hoping for sports scholarships when OBVIOUSLY a full ride awaits them in ART SCHOOL?! Donatello and Michelangelo really can't hold a candle to these quality sculptures.

I Spy

(2012) A glimpse of what it is like to play "I Spy" with Lily Claire ...
LC:  I spy with my little eyes something rainbow!
Me:  Rainbow?  Ok ... (I guess about 20 things that could possibly be "rainbow" and none of them are it)  Lily, give me a hint!
LC:  Mom, it's rainbow WITH red, white, and blue and stars!
Me:  Is it that flag flying outside?
LC: YES!!!
Silly me!  I didn't know to look for the "rainbow, red, white, and blue with stars" item first thing!!!

Jerky

(2015) Brandon Taylor made me laugh out loud today at Walmart!  He was begging me to buy him some $6 bag of Beef Jerky and I happened to spot a $1 bag of "Great Value" brand Beef Jerky instead. (FYI, I almost ALWAYS buy store brands.)  "Mom!" he groaned with disdain, "That is probably made from giraffe meat."  .... We bought the $6 bag to be safe.  Hahahahahaha!!!!!

Unfortunate

(2016) OH NO!!!!  Major unfortunate event for today... I was coloring my hair (NOT that I need to cover some gray or anything) and AFTER the 30 minute wait and rinse, I realized I had picked up DARK BROWN at the store instead of DARK BLOND!!!  My hair is now darker than my sisters and I am in shock.  I wondered why it looked black when I got out of the shower!!! Robert Skeet Taylor, please brace yourself when you get home!!!  I am going to have to go get a highlighting kit PRONTO at some remote shopping area where I won't be noticed, except maybe by an Elvis talent scout!  Good lord.

Dad

One of life's simple pleasures. ... Calling my dad late each evening just to chat, talk about the weather or what we had for supper, check in on Mom, and laugh about a bunch of goofy stuff!  One of the best parts of my day. ❤️

Blonde

(2014) Lily had us so confused today, and it was hilarious!  She kept mumbling things and when someone couldn't hear her, she'd say, "Oh no.  You're blonde."  What?!  Finally I asked her what that meant and she said, "Being blonde means you can't see!"  Hmmm .. that's "blind" and you meant "deaf," Lil.  Comedy of errors!

When I Am Afraid...

Sweet conversation with Lily in the car tonight ... she was a little worried about the thunderstorm warning that kept coming up on the radio.  After a while she said to me, "You know what's a good thing about being a Christian? When you are scared you can say a prayer to God and He will help you not be scared and always be with you."  Exactly right, sweet girl.
"When I am afraid, I will trust in You." Psalm 56:3

Scorpios

Watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and when they were interviewing a "groom to be" about how he met is future bride, he said that they were perfect for each other because "they were both Scorpios and their tails were so easily intertwining."  Um ... Okay.

Bitmoji

Lily was choosing an outfit for her Bitmoji and chose one that was tight jeans with a crop top. She showed it to me, then said,”No, I better change that. Grammie wouldn’t approve.”  😂😂😂

Beach Blanket Bingo

(2013) Had SO much fun with my neices, Meg and Katie today!  They came over and watched for the first time an old Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello beach movie and then we went swimming!  The movie totally cracked us all up!!!  I know for a fact that today was a "way-out, side-splitting vodoo shindig" for the girls! (Yes, sadly, that was one of the lines from the movie!)

Moose

(2014) Lily Claire asked me tonight if I remembered the time when she was three and we all rode on a moose in the hay on Christmas.  ..... um ...  no memory of THAT whatsoever!!!!  ?????  :)

Pioneer

I was trimming some big tree branches today and started contemplating all the strenuous jobs I've completed in the yard this summer BY MYSELF in the blazing heat... chopping down several small trees, pruning all the giant bushes in our backyard (at least 50 or more), cutting back 15 or more prickly overgrown ugly bushes in our side yard by hand, using a chain saw to cut back 35 foot crepe myrtles then chop them up, hauling dead trees away, planting and transplanting dozens of bushes, tackling the poison ivy in our woods, cranking the gas blower BY MYSELF (after only about 300 yanks on that stupid pull cord ...who's dumb idea was that?) ... the impressive list just goes on and on.  I realized that indeed, I COULD have survived back in the day as a pioneer.  ... a grouchy, irritable, bitter pioneer, but a pioneer no less.

Weird

I have the weirdest children ... which means the apple didn’t fall far! 😂 Lily informed me today that she has two BIG dreams she hopes will come true ... 

1. To have a pet anchovie 

2. To have a T-shirt that says “Gee whiz”

Marching to the beat of her own drum ... or something. 😂😂😂😂

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Crushed

Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!  Brandon apparently doesn't know his own strength!  We drove through Sonic for him to get a milkshake and when the lady handed it to him out the window he accidentally crushed the entire cup and the shake went all over his arm and hand!  I am STILL laughing!!!!!!!!!!

Descent

Well everyone .... It has begun. My descent into the golden years.  After a visit to the eye doctor today, I am the proud new owner of ....BIFOCALS!!! What???!!!!!  How did this happen??  Well, at least my new lenses have NO lines and my new frames have lots of sparkly rhinestones!  May as well "bling out" those golden years as much as possible and enjoy the ride!

You’re Welcome

(2015) Bran has a movie date tonight with a very sweet girl from school. A glimpse into a mother/teenage son conversation in the car today ...
Me: What time is the movie?
Bran: Seven. Can we pick her up in my truck?
Me:  Sure. Do you have money?
Bran: A little but did you know it's SIXTEEN DOLLARS for popcorn and stuff??!!!!
Me: I'll buy the tickets so you can buy her some popcorn     ...
Me again: and be sure and take a shower before you go ...
Me again: AND put on deodorant ....
Me again: and fix your hair so it won't look weird from your baseball hat ...
Bran: (giving me bad looks more frequently now)
Me again: and don't wear a tank top ,,,
Bran: (wishing he could jump out of the moving vehicle he's stuck in with me)  ...
Me again: and ..
Bran:  (with great disdain and eye rolling) MOM!! Ok!!!!! I'm good!!!! Duh!!  I'm not going to wear a TANK TOP!!!!!!!
Me:  I just had to check to make sure that wasn't in your realm of possibility.
Bran: Defeated sigh.
The moral of this tale:  All women of the free world should forever be grateful to the mothers of malekind that they have money to pay for popcorn, they do not stink or have smashed up hat hair, and they do NOT show up in raggedy Bob Marley tank tops on said dates. You are welcome.

Oodles

Wow! My backyard is twinkling and shimmering with oodles of fireflies! #southernsummernight❤️

Kids

(2014) In our rush to have kids do everything earlier and faster than ever, I love that the true timetables of child development  can not and will not be rushed, no matter what adult agendas may be. Seeing a group of ten year old boys having sleepovers and filling the bunk bed with stuffed animals makes me smile... This is exactly as it should be.  Here's to letting kids be kids for as long as they can.  The adult world with all it's worries and pressures will ensnare them soon enough, but for today, I'm just as glad to protect that elusive world of childhood for them as long as I can.

Snacks

When you open your son’s dresser drawer to put in some clean clothes ... 🙄😂

Math

Five fifteen year old boys + four pizzas + ten Gatorades + one basketball = summertime at the Taylor house ❤️🙂☀️🍕🏀

Summertime

(2013) I can tell it's summertime when my Walmart bill includes bubbles, suncatchers, fingerpaint, Captain Crunch, and Hi Ho Cherry-O!

Jingle Bells

One of my all time FAVORITE Dylan/Skeet stories from several years ago popped up on my time hop today ... heaven help us!!! 😂😂😂

Fellow moms out there will know that, every now and then, those "teachable moments" crop up when we can impart some sort of "life lesson" or "wisdom of the ages" to our children.   Case in point, the other day, Dylan and I were in a store, and he had to wait outside of the ladies room for me.  I told him to stay right by the cart and keep a careful eye on my wallet and keys while I dashed in and out. When I came out of the restroom, he had done just fine and had been sitting there, diligently holding my wallet in his hands.

As I was saying, "Good job" it dawned on me that I also needed to impart one more bit of motherly advice in this moment.  So I added, "Now you know, Dylan, if someone had come by and tried to take that wallet from you, I would want you to just give it to the guy so you would be safe.  I'd rather you be safe than worry about my wallet.  Anything in the wallet can be replaced, but you are irreplaceable."

Looking confused, Dylan responded, "So I should just GIVE the guy the wallet if he tries to steal it from me?"

"Yes," I said, pleased that my impromptu life lesson was obviously a smashing success.

"That's not what Daddy said to do,"  Dylan replied.

My heart warmed in that moment as I realized that Robert Skeet Taylor, too, had taken it upon himself to pass along some fatherly advice to Dylan about this very thing.  "Good job, Daddy," I smiled and thought to myself as I waited for Dylan to elaborate with some timeless nugget of fatherly wisdom.

"No," Dylan continued cheerfully, "Daddy said that if someone ever tried to steal something from me, I should kick the guy in the jingle bells and run like crazy."

Long silence (by me, as I am now speechless) ......  as I stare at a proud, grinning Dylan.

You know, somehow I just don't recall any such father/son wisdom between Andy and Opie or Ward Cleaver and the Beaver, or even one single "jingle bells" episode of  "Father Knows Best"...  I mean, imagine that!  Leave it to the sheer eloquence of the Taylor men of MY household.  Skeet Taylor ... REALLY?!!!  🙂

Future

(2012) Lily Claire informed me today that she is going to grow up and be a "gorgeous fairy", have a wedding, and have a little baby named Pinky Flower.  She's got her future all mapped out apparently!

Teenagers

During the summer months, a lot of teenagers are working at the stores and fast food restaurants, which can sometimes lead to some pretty funny experiences. (To get the full effect here, you have to make the teenager voices below sound like a sort-of clueless surfer dude ...) ANYWAY, the other day, Papaw drove through Sonic to get a large strawberry limeade drink, and after he ordered, the teenage worker piped through the speaker asking, "So ... would you like ketchup and mustard with that, sir?"  Ummm .. no thanks.  Trying to cut back on the ketchup on my limeades these days.   THEN, Bran and I drove through Sonic a few days later and ordered a "vanilla ice cream with hot fudge."  The teenager voice came back through the speaker, "So ... like ... that will be one diet coke with hot fudge?"  Ummm ... no.  We don't usually get hot fudge ON our diet coke.  We were CRACKING up!  Keep up the good work, teenagers!  Feeling real confident about ALL of our futures with you guys next up to run the world.

The Highlife

(2013) Bran just informed me that he "has it made" tonight ... he's laying in his bed watching the MLB channel on TV, he's got ESPN showing on the IPad, and he has a glass of sweet tea. He's living the 15 year old boy version of "the highlife" apparently!!

Home

(2017) What was my first clue that Bran was home from college for the summer? Hmmmm.... 😳😳😳

Over the Hill

Tooday's weird but true event:  There is a small white church up the road from us that has a small graveyard beside it.  Today one of the gravestones was decorated with all sorts of helium balloons, which to me was sort of funny.  But then I noticed the balloons said "Over the Hill'!!  What on earth?!  Maybe the balloons should have said "Under the Hiill!"

Mistaken

Am I mistaken but is this a “turquoise men’s bathing suit size Medium?” Because THAT is what I ordered, but THIS is what I got!! Can’t wait to see Dyl at the pool in these “looking trim and feeling slim!”😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Friend Request

Oh my goodness! What a huge honor!! JESUS requested to follow me on Instagram!! Guess I’ll DEFINITELY confirm that one!! 😂😂😂