officially redneck

i met my friend at the mall this weekend and we had fun shopping and sampling smoothies at the food shops. her husband was out mud bogging . this is an official redneck sport, where you take your truck, attempt to drive it through tons of mud, to prove that your truck is the biggest, baddest truck out there. with any luck, you won't break an axle... or chip a tooth as you get thrown about like a rag doll inside the cab.

i happen to think this fine sport sounds exciting, although i've never actually been to an actual event. i went snow bogging with a friend once, and we almost flipped his truck after he tried to jump something and we went airborne. but alas, we escaped unscathed and thought it was quite fun. but as to going to one of these events, i either have to work, or when i CAN go, nick doesn't want to. he mocks my redneck roots. but they're rubbing off on him!!! HA!

the other day, it was very hot, and he was walking around the house in just his boxers. but then i went outside to check the garden and he followed me. outside.

"you can't go outside like that!" i said, horrified.

he rolled his eyes. "no one can even SEE us way out here," he said, completely unconcerned.

so, i walked around the yard, and checked on the horses, and we talked back and forth as he stood on the porch.

after a while, a car drove by, and i waved. as they passed i remembered nick was still outside. i looked up to the house to see if he'd gone inside yet, and saw him cowering behind the house, waiting for the car to go by. Somewhat redfaced, he grinned at me sheepishly. Guess he hasn't gone compeletly hick yet.

the glamorous life of parents and pet owners

quite literally, my life consists of many things that smell at the moment. like baby nappies. but i love clay, so i don't mind those... and then we have dogs. dogs that decide it would be a good idea to chase and kill a skunk. a dog, which, i'm not very fond of at the moment at all.

cody got sprayed by a skunk and reeks. I opened the door the other morning and was hit with a blast of eau de skunk. groaning, I blocked her from coming inside and forgot about it. i have a horrid cold at the moment, and my sinuses are not working, but I could definately smell that. unfortunately, however, nick apparently could not. because i wasn't feeling well, i went back to bed for a nap. when i woke up, i came downstairs and was greeted with a powerful odor of skunk. what the...? I walk into the dining room and see cody lying there, completely happy, and completely reeking. nick is sitting in the living room, completely oblivious.

i open the door and point outside. "OUT!" I say sternly, and cody guiltily trudges out the door, while nick innocently says, "what?"

"can't you SMELL that?" I ask.

"smell what?" he says.

"cody got sprayed by a skunk," i say.

"i smelled something," he says. "i didn't know what it was."

men.

apparently, one of the perks of living in a city of some 200,000 people is that skunks generally avoid heavily populated areas; thus, my urbanized husband has never smelled skunk before. thanks to cody, now he has experienced that little joy in life.

mother's day

a letter to my son:

dear clay,

this was my first year as a mother and it was pretty special. i am so lucky, so blessed to have you. you are perfect, healthy, and you are such a happy baby. i couldn't ask for more. i remember last year at this time, i was pregnant with you and i was so happy, and so excited. i couldn't wait to have you. i would talk to you and sing to you and wonder what you were going to be like when i finally met you. you were so special, so wanted. i think that no other baby was ever loved or wanted more, but i bet every momma says that to her baby.

when your dad and i first found out we were going to have you, we were so excited. i took the test and held my breath and waited for the results. and then i was afraid to trust the home pregnancy test, so we went to the doctor's and took another test. and it was postitive. we were both so happy.

the first time i heard your heartbeat was at 13 weeks. it was the most amazing sound i've ever heard in my life. your heartbeat! its hard to explain how much awe i felt knowing that there was a tiny little life inside me; it was this overwhelming love and happiness. knowing you were okay was the most comforting feeling in the whole world. when i was listening to your little heartbeat, it didn't matter that our country was at war; for a moment, all else was forgotten, everything but you that is. only you mattered.

i didn't get the ultrasound until about 15 weeks, and i couldn't wait to see you moving around. you sure liked to kick alot! I still have your ultrasound pictures. I always will. they are so precious. you were so perfect and tiny, in your own little world, growing and developing into the sweet little boy you are today. my baby... my son.

and someday, you will read this, and you wont' be a baby at all, but a man. you'll be having your own children, and then you too, will understand the miracle of life, and the wonder of being a parent.

but for now, i get to live that wonder and know that every day is a miracle. and every day spent with you is a privilige. and with you, dear one, i'll treasure every minute.

love,

mom

icky nappy poo

my poor mother in law had a bit of an adventure yesterday while watching clay. he neeeded a nappy change; but after she had got the nappy off, he decided to have another good go, and before she could react, poo shot everywhere -- all over her hands, the floor, etc.

not that i want to get in the habit of blogging about my child's elimination habits; however, i did think this particular story was amusing (since it didn't happen to me, that is).

ponies, mad little dogs, and in-laws

yes, that was my weekend. it has been raining incessantly, which makes things quite wet at the moment. we got some horses to put in our pasture this weekend, and i had to try to clean up the cocklebur bushes -- in the rain. i kept getting the burs on me when I would try to pick up the bushes... in my hair, in my jacket, in my gloves, the bottoms of my pants, my shoes... *sigh*

nick told me, after i came in from the field, wet and exhuasted and frustrated, that it was a waste of time; the horses wouldn't go near those things anyway. right -- so on the same day the horses arrived, nick found a bur stuck to one of thier noses.

monty barks madly whenever he sees them, and they just look at him with complete and utter disdain. it drives him crazy that they don't even seem intimidated by him. he has no concept of size. its all relative to him, apparently. he feels huge, so therefore, he is.

my in laws arrived for a visit on sunday afternoon. we have the very old, very ancient hideabed up in the guestroom, but the bed has seen better days. but then again, i inherited it from my parents, who inherited from my grandmother. it was probably "second hand" when she got it. but when you're newly married, cheap furniture works, so alas... what can i say? martha stewart does not live here.

regretfully, his parents got very little sleep on that bed, because it was so uncomfortable. in fact, they offered to buy a mattress for it, seeing as how they will be staying for three weeks, and no doubt they'll be coming to visit on a regular basis. how embarrassing. you're invited -- but BYOB (bring your own bed). good thing we're not a bed and breakfast. we wouldn't get very good ratings.