What a Weekend

This weekend was our annual Hardwick Cousin Family Reunion. (My mom's maiden name is Hardwick.) It was held in Allen, OK. Each year our reunions have a theme. The theme for this year was Mardi Gras. One of the activities was a Mardi Gras parade. Each family was supposed to do something. Mom left to go to Allen on Thursday with her brother. She informed myself & my SIL (Mandy) that we were in charge of coming up with an idea for the float. I have more pictures of it coming, but....Mandy & I made tutus for the girls in Mardi Gras colors. We called Mom to tell her & she said she wanted one too. So.......
There was more to the costume than this- but doesn't mom look HOT in the tutu? Speaking of hot...it was HOT at the reunion.

Since Mandy & I stayed up until 4 am making the tutus, I didn't get much sleep before it was time for us to leave and drive the 2 hours down to Allen. It was 98 degrees (at least, no exaggeration) during the day. I only got about 40 oz of water during the day. I was outside quite a bit. So, total- I spent about 6 hours driving during the day. I decided to drive home & when I got home- this is what my edematous feet looked like.
Isn't it sexy? It was starting to swell up into my legs. I hadn't had swelling that bad since I was pregnant with Quinlynne. I don't even think this picture does it justice.

Things I heard this weekend: Quinlynne "Abby, do you know what booby cracks are for?"
Abby "What?!?!"
Quinlynne "Ya know- women's booby cracks? They're so men will fall in love with them."
Me trying to not make noise laughing in the front seat.
Abby "My mom doesn't have that I don't think. I never see it."
Quinlynne "My momma has it."
Abby "I see it sometimes too."

As Quinlynne & I were driving back home last night, she was watching "Because of Winn Dixie". Just as we were getting on I-40, she started laughing. I heard her laughing & wondered what she was laughing at. She said "Momma- know why I'm laughing?"
Me "No. Why are you laughing?"
Quinlynne "I heard thunder & I it made me kinda wake up. It was in the movie, but I thought it was in our country."
I guess I'm gonna have to talk about the word "reality" & teach her the definition & when to use it. That kid cracks me up. "In our country" & "Booby cracks".

Might I Suggest

Last week I was making some cookies. My cookie scoop had gone kaput & I was somewhat distraught. I enjoy having near-perfectly round cookies. So, I ran by Wal-Mart (when my heart really cried for William Sonoma) to see if they might accidentally have a cookie scoop. Might I suggest this little beauty:

The Oneida cookie scoop. Most usually, I love anything by Oneida. I think they make a good product. This beauty was around $7.00 and has a lifetime warranty! Both my sister in-law & I have used it already. We both loved using it. So- if you're in the market for a new, cheap kitchen goody- go for this! (Notice I have more blogging? Can you tell school's not in session??)

I hate stuff like THIS

So, I have a real problem with people making money off of Jesus. Bumper stickers that say Honk if you Love Jesus make me want to rear end the person. I just think it's disrespectful to our Savior. Several things of this nature I witnessed today. But- this was the cherry on top.
I think that is so tacky. I think it's disrespectful to our Savior. I think relationships with Jesus are meant to me sacred, not commercialized so someone can make money off of Him. I saw it (sticker) in a parking lot & HAD to stop & take a picture of it for a friend who no longer lives in the Bible Belt. I know she misses seeing this sort of thing!

Funny things from Thursday

Yesterday Quinlynne had an allergy skin testing done. She was pitching a fit, she thought it was going to really hurt. I finally bribed her with Mozzarella Sticks from Sonic. She loves those. I had to take this picture so she could actually see what was going on back there.Turns out, she does not have any allergies. I know!! Weird, huh? The child does have some sinus issues, and she will most likely develop allergies as she gets older. She has vasomotor rhinitis. I'd never heard of it. The CT scan did show that she has some chronic sinus infection that has most likely been up in there for a while. She also has this inflamed area on her septum which severely impedes the flow of oxygen. We're supposed to use a nasal spray to try to reduce the inflammation.

Last night as my sister in-law & I were in the living room talking, we banned Quinlynne & Abby to Quin's room. They decided they were going to clean the room. Whatever- as long as they were out of our hair. It wasn't until I heard something being sprayed in the room that I was concerned. I asked Quinlynne what she was spraying. "It's that stuff in the bathroom that we spray after we poop." She meant Lysol. I had to contain myself.

Adorable sayings

I wanted to write down some things Quinlynne has said recently so I didn't forget them.

We went to have a CT scan of Quinlynne's sinuses on Tuesday. I was trying to prepare her for how it would work. She, of course, was concerned with whether she was going to be poked with any needles. Anticipating that she would not need any contrast for a scan I told her NO. I told her how she would lie on a table and the table would slide back & forth into a big machine, but only her head. I had referred to it as either a CT scan or a CAT scan. She was asking questions, like if it was going to be like the x-ray she had when she broke her arm. She says "Momma, am I going to have to remove my clothing?" Now I ask you, what 5 year old says things like 'remove my clothing'? So, we get to the children's hospital and check in. As we're sitting there waiting, Quinlynne says "Momma, is my kitty x-ray going to hurt?" Inside, I was dying. I thought it was hilarious. As it ends up, we had to walk over to the radiology department in the main hospital (There was no tech to come over to the Children's hospital to perform the scan.) for her scan. So, I made Quinlynne tell the people there what she was there for. The lady at the window thought it was so cute, but didn't let on that she thought it was hilarious. She went to get the other ladies in the office & had Quinlynne tell them the name of her procedure. It then evolved to a Kitty Scan. Too cute, I tell you.

Last night I made stir fry. It's nothing too fancy. I just throw in onions, bell peppers, garlic, polish sausage, and then some portobello mushrooms. I had cut the mushrooms into chunks. I then served it with some pasta (rigatoni) I had boiled with chicken flavor bullion. As I dished it up and gave it to Quinlynne, she said "Momma, I don't want the dead meat." I thought that was what she said. I looked at her bowl to see what in the heck she was talking about. She was pointing to the mushrooms & again said "Momma, I don't want the dead meat. Ya know- this dead chicken right here." I have no clue where she has seen chicken look like that. But- apparently she has.

Is This Artist MY Kid- or What?

Check out the outfit....all the way down to the feet. If you know me at all, you know how I feel about feet & toenails. Is this my kid, or what? She took the time to do Barbie's toes!!!

PRE-K graduation Round 2

I'm sure I've told you before- but since Quinlynne is a late August birthday, I went ahead and had her do a second year of Pre-K. So, she will be starting Kindergarten this August, right before she turns 6. She has been going to the same school she has always gone to, but thankfully they have 2 Pre-K classes. Quinlynne had Mr. Cody for a teacher last year and this year she's had Ms. Pam. She recently had her graduation, and she was so excited for it this year.

On a separate note, I've been trying to teach Quinlynne the art of and importance of correspondence. I really do believe it is a lost art. I can't tell you the number of gifts I've given in the last 2 years and have not received a Thank You note. Seriously- graduation gifts, wedding gifts, baby gifts, teacher appreciate gifts...it ticks me off. How hard can it be? Sure, sure- I may have let a gift slip by without a thank you note...but I can probably count them on less than one hand. (Toot, toot!) All that to get to this: there is a teacher at Quinlynne's school who is expecting a baby. I was unaware that this teacher was pregnant. Quinlynne informed me of this and said "I'd really like to get a 'Congratulations' card to her, momma. OK?" I thought it was adorable & it made this momma proud that Quinlynne is paying attention. Also- Ms. Pam's husband had a hip replacement and when Quinlynne told me this, she asked if there was a card for that. Oh- my baby is catching on!