December 7 - Pearl Harbor Day

Frank & Pearl with their children

Virginia, Gaylord, Frank & Charley (my dad)

68 years ago, my grandmother had just found out that she was pregnant with my dad. Being 40, she thought she was way past the 'baby' stage. Grandma even feared that she had a tumor growing inside of her! So, everyone was relieved when the doctor told her that she was going to have another baby. My grandparents, Frank and Pearl, already had 3 children - the oldest (my Aunt Gigi) being 18 and the youngest (my Uncle Frank) was 11, with Uncle Gaylord in the middle.

So, on that chilly December 7, 1941 morning, the family of five traveled to church. My aunt told me that the radio announcer relayed the news, "Pearl Harbor has been bombed." My grandma turned to grandpa and said, "We're going to war."

That strikes me as a mother. When I was pregnant with Daniel, our nation lived through 9/11. I was fearful of terrorists and even had a dream that bin Laden shot at me as I was getting the mail out of the mailbox. "What kind of world are we bringing our child into?" I asked Dean. I wonder if my grandma had the same worries at that moment.

On this day, especially, we want to say thank you to those that serve in the military, fighting for the freedoms that we take for granted.

God bless America. And may America bless God.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time!

Grey, the kitten, has been living with us for 6 months now - so, he's half grown. Our two cats come and go as they please and then sleep outside at night. Grey has been sleeping in the glider on the front porch. Since we've been having low temps lately, I decided he needed to be introduced to the barn loft.

So, this afternoon, I carried Grey out to the barn and showed him the ladder, which he slowly climbed. Once he got up to the loft, he looked around and then took off! He loves it!

I climbed up the ladder to stand in the barn loft, too. We have pigeons that live up there and I heard them flying about. Then, I glanced up and locked eyes with the barn owl. He's back! Which, is a good thing....except, owls eat kittens, right? That owl was moving his head at an odd angle - was he looking at me or at the kitten? He flew out of the barn right then and didn't return. Now, I'm sorry that I showed Grey the barn loft. Have I introduced him to an early death?

I'll keep you posted.

Mommy, Is.Santa.Real?

I've heard this question for the past couple of years and always answer the question with a question..."Well, do YOU think he's real?"

"Yes!" Daniel quickly replies.

But, last night was different. I posted this on facebook and one long-time family friend said, "Oh, Shelley, he's too young!" (He'll be 8 in January). Last night we were driving to different Lowe's looking for a new refrigerator! (Hooray!) and Daniel asked me this a couple of times. I answered with my usual suave, "Well, what do you think..." and Daniel says, "You always say that. You never answer my question." He knew. He just wanted me to say it. But, I didn't want to say it in front of Luke.

So, in my hometown Lowe's, I break the news to Daniel, "No, Santa is not real. There was a man named St. Nick..." I could tell that he was disappointed.

He asks, "Well, who made those tags that said to Daniel from Santa?"

"That would be me."

"Well, who ate the cookies - you?"

"That would be your dad."

You can tell he's just processing all of this. I said, "Nothing will change. You will still get presents, they'll just be from me and daddy. And, you WILL NOT tell your brother, classmates or kids on the bus about this."

I said some more stuff about growing up and this is another step, etc. trying to make him feel good about this new revelation. As we were finishing up (remember, we're still in Lowe's...) I reminded him, "And you realize there's no flying reindeer or Rudolph."

"NO RUDOLPH?"

Why did I say that?

Conversations Overheard

It's amazing the information a parent learns just by paying attention to the 'background noise'.

We recently took our kitten, Grey, (a tomcat) to the vet to get him fixed. The boys kept asking us why Grey had to have an operation. I wasn't quite ready to get into the particulars so I talked my way around it. On the way there, I heard Daniel explaining to Luke that they were going to "cut Grey's stomach and take the tom out of the cat".

Good explanation!

On a separate trip, Daniel and I were the only two in the mini-van and he starts asking me questions about daytime here / night time on the other side of the world. That led into gravity and "How do we stay on the earth when we're on the bottom of the planet?" I told him, "Gravity," thinking - wow, this is a good conversation. We talked about no gravity on the moon. I used the example of the astronauts floating and having to be tethered to the spaceship. Daniel informs me that there IS gravity on the moon, just less.

Hmmm...impressive. "Did you learn this in school?" I asked, again, feeling proud of all they're learning in 2nd grade.

"Nope. I learned that on Scooby Doo. Velma said it."

That Velma...she is a smart one.

We Met PW & MM!

Yesterday was a great day! My sister, Sharla, and I got to meet The Pioneer Woman (we call her by her name, Ree, now!) Ree recently wrote a cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. She was having a book signing in KC and we had tickets!

Sharla and I had a wonderful evening. We were able to eat dinner (without children!) on The Plaza and walk back to the church where the event was held. There were over 600 women (and like 10 men) in attendance. It was amazing.

The event started with the owner of the book store leading a Q&A session with questions that we asked. Sharla asked her about rinsing the chicken (you need to read Ree's site in regards to this.) Then, they drew names for door prizes. Sadly, neither of us won a door prize - but, gee whiz, in the whole scheme of things, who cares?

Ree answering random questions from "Which cookbook would you take if you were stranded on a desert island (Mastering the Art of French Cooking...to what is your favorite skillet? ScanPan). *I told my husband about this and he just knew her answer would be an iron skillet. I wonder if she might change her answer...

Ree's husband (named The Marlboro Man on her website)
and their 2 boys were there, as well!

Time for autographs! Sharla and I had tickets #123 and #124. We were told that they would take 50 tickets at a time, so everyone should just sit back and relax.

Poor MM - he tried to walk down the aisle and women started handing HIM their cookbooks to sign. The boys even got in on the act. I wonder what they're really thinking about all of this ... "Hey guys, my mom is famous!"

They were very good. My two would have been hanging off of the balcony before the evening was over.

Sharla gets the little one's autograph - except, he asked if he could draw a picture of his sister's dog...which he did.

I went ahead and got in line for MM's autograph. And then actually talked to him about farming! I told him our farm wasn't nearly as big as their's. They have THOUSANDS of acres and HUNDREDS of cows (and wild horses) and we ... don't! But, hey - a cow's a cow, right! I was proud that I actually have something in common with their family!

And finally, the moment we've all been waiting for...it's our turn and I'm suddenly sitting next to Ree...and I don't have a thing to say. But, I gathered my wits about me and told her that I enjoyed reading their love story online and that I appreciated her good attitude about everything. We were having a nice conversation, when the photographer asked us if we were ready to take our picture. Ree told him that she was enjoying having adult conversation. I "knew" we could be friends!

Sharla was next...they talked about the picture Ree's youngest had drawn in Sharla's book.

Sharla and I had a wonderful evening. If I had to choose one word to describe this couple, it would be gracious. I'd do it again tonight if I could! I close with a video. Sorry that you have to tilt your head. I forgot about that when I began to record. Ree is famous for her Ethel Merman impersonations. (I think I can tilt it clockwise w/software. I'll work on that.)

In Less Than One Week...

Next Monday night, my sister and I will get to meet one of our favorite bloggers! Yes, The Pioneer Woman will be signing her new cookbook near Kansas City and we get to go!

Hopefully, I'll be able to post a picture of Sharla and me with PW....I know...you can't wait!

I Don't Want To Grow Up!

This weekend, my mother and the boys & I were able to go to see Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby.

Earlier this summer, I purchased 4 tickets for $50...TOTAL. One of the local radio stations was promoting the show and I was in the right place at the right time. One ticket alone costs $48 (according to the ticket stub!) I made sure that Dean knew that I saved LOADS of money by purchasing these tickets from a radio station online. You know that he was very impressed by my money-saving ways! (Or maybe he was THANKFUL that my mother wanted to go with me...)

The show was great. Cathy Rigby was awesome. You really believed she could be a little boy flying through the air.

Luke, our 6 year old, did inform me of two misconceptions: 1) They really can't fly - they had cords attached to their backs. 2) That isn't really pixie dust - it's glitter.

He said it so matter-of-fact...like he hated to be the one to break the news, but "someone has to do it."

Youtube is an amazing website. I searched for Peter Pan Cathy Rigby and came up with several clips. If you would like to see part of the show, click Peter Pan - this will take you youtube.com.

Isn't that amazing? Makes me wish I could fly!