I must begin with an "Ode to Home". There are two places that have made indelible impressions upon my heart, mind, perhaps my very soul. The essence of these localities have become a part of who I am. Without them I would not be me. They have influenced my life; they inspire my heart. They are very different from one another, and made their impressions upon me in very different ways, for very different reasons.
Tonight I sit in the house that I have considered my "home" for most of my life - though I've never really lived here - and I ponder what makes this place so wonderful. I know instantly the answer to that is the people who inhabited this place. For all those who never knew my Grannie and Granddaddy, I am sorry. They were truly remarkable people. This month marks the one year anniversary of Granddaddy's passing and it has been a hard year, in many respects. I miss him so very, very much. The life that has filled these rooms is almost tangible. When I wake each morning I think of Granddaddy waking me up at 5:30 am in the summers to eat breakfast with him before he went to work, and I would crawl back in bed. As I drift off to sleep I think of Grannie sleeping on the floor with me, my brother, and our cousin, giggling until who knows how late and finally offering to pay the first one to go to sleep $5.00. Every inch of this house holds such fond memories for me. But it isn't just the two whom I miss and love so dearly who made/make this place so wonderful... it's the family I still have here.
It was here that I learned to ride a horse. To drive a car/truck/tractor. The right way to eat a watermelon (go to the garden, pick one, bust it open, eat the heart out of it, feed the rest to the cows). To wave to everyone who drives by. And what FAMILY really means. Last night as my cousin and I were coordinating our plans for lunch today, our phones were not cooperating. My cell gets sporadic service on a good day (the house phone got switched back on today - hurray) and her phone was having issues as well. I was standing on the back deck, in a chair (picture really bad cellphone commercial - Can you hear me now) when I hear very faintly... Taaaamaaarrraaa! I look out across the field and my cousin is standing on her porch. She yells - I'll see you at noon tomorrow!. We proceeded to make our arrangements the old fashioned way and then each went inside.
Sound country? It is. And I LOVE it. I love that my family expects me to just walk in and holler "Hey!" and that they do the same thing. That my uncle checks on me at least once a day to make sure I'm okay and see if I need anything. That Whiddon sees me at the barn and takes me by the hand and says, "let's go inside" because he wants to play with the vaccuum cleaner (which I still don't know why we have because we have NO CARPETING). I love that when I have a headache it is considered stupid of me to drive to town for medicine when there are at least 5 houses within 1/2 a mile that I could (and am expected to) raid the medicine cabinet when I need something.
Can you spell dreamy???
So I got on to post on something else, but the following phone conversation occurred while I was trying to get started so I HAD to write it.
Kaileyn: No, we don't have any milking does available for sale.
Person on the phone: mmmmmwwwahhh (I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation)
Kaileyn: Yes, we have a website, you can look up. It's "Dreamy Hollow dot com"
Person: mmmmwwwahhh
Kaileyn: No, D.
Person: mmmwwwahh
Kaileyn: No. D
Tami: Say D as in Dog
Kaileyn: No. D
Tami: Say D as in Dog
Kaileyn: D...... R
Person: mmmwwaahh
Kaileyn: E.
Person: mmwwahh
Kaileyn: No, E.
Person: mmwwahh
Tami: USE ANIMALS
Kaileyn: A..... No. A.
Person: mmmwaahh
Tami: USE ANIMALS, E as in Elephant.
Kaileyn: M as in Mammal.
Tami and I laughed at this: Not quite what I meant.
Kaileyn: Y as in Yak. Hyphen. H like Horse.
Person: hmmmsh
Me: Ooooh! Use Octopus, use octopus!
Kaileyn: O like Octopus. L like Lama. Another L for Lama. W for Walrus.
Person: mmmhhh
Kaileyn: Dot.
Person: mmhhhhh?
Kaileyn: Dot..... No. Dot
Person: chhdms
Kaileyn: Dot (now I won't actually write the fact that I think she had to tell the lady "Dot" 5 or 6 times before moving on, but I promise she actually did).
Kaileyn: C as in Cat. O for Octopus. M for mammal.
Person: mmchchhchc
Kaileyn: Okay, have a nice day. (hangs up). I promise she asked if we had a website!
I laughed hard! It was really entertaining.
Kaileyn: No, we don't have any milking does available for sale.
Person on the phone: mmmmmwwwahhh (I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation)
Kaileyn: Yes, we have a website, you can look up. It's "Dreamy Hollow dot com"
Person: mmmmwwwahhh
Kaileyn: No, D.
Person: mmmwwwahh
Kaileyn: No. D
Tami: Say D as in Dog
Kaileyn: No. D
Tami: Say D as in Dog
Kaileyn: D...... R
Person: mmmwwaahh
Kaileyn: E.
Person: mmwwahh
Kaileyn: No, E.
Person: mmwwahh
Tami: USE ANIMALS
Kaileyn: A..... No. A.
Person: mmmwaahh
Tami: USE ANIMALS, E as in Elephant.
Kaileyn: M as in Mammal.
Tami and I laughed at this: Not quite what I meant.
Kaileyn: Y as in Yak. Hyphen. H like Horse.
Person: hmmmsh
Me: Ooooh! Use Octopus, use octopus!
Kaileyn: O like Octopus. L like Lama. Another L for Lama. W for Walrus.
Person: mmmhhh
Kaileyn: Dot.
Person: mmhhhhh?
Kaileyn: Dot..... No. Dot
Person: chhdms
Kaileyn: Dot (now I won't actually write the fact that I think she had to tell the lady "Dot" 5 or 6 times before moving on, but I promise she actually did).
Kaileyn: C as in Cat. O for Octopus. M for mammal.
Person: mmchchhchc
Kaileyn: Okay, have a nice day. (hangs up). I promise she asked if we had a website!
I laughed hard! It was really entertaining.
A visit to historic Fort El Reno
We visited Fort El Reno and Naithen told me all the things missing in the room. Of course he had amnesia when we went to video it. My battery died right before he told us... "Oh, and they don't have any pants!" Enjoy...
La, La, La, La, What?!?!
So I keep telling myself that I need to post on something or someone other than Naithen and then he does something really funny. This morning we were working on saying the L sound because he calls his brothers Wance and Wayne instead of Lance and Layne.
Tami (Naithen's Mother): La, La, La, Lance.
Naithen: La, La, La, Wance.
Tami: No, La, La, La, LLLLLance.
Naithen: La, laaa, Laaaaa, Wance.
Tami: La, La, Laaaa---
Naithen (interrupting): La, La, La, Shain is going outside can I go with him?
Since we were laughing so hard, we had to let him go. Lesson over - or at least I think we learned that while practicing sounds, Naithen isn't connecting that the La, la, La is the first sound in Lance.
Tami (Naithen's Mother): La, La, La, Lance.
Naithen: La, La, La, Wance.
Tami: No, La, La, La, LLLLLance.
Naithen: La, laaa, Laaaaa, Wance.
Tami: La, La, Laaaa---
Naithen (interrupting): La, La, La, Shain is going outside can I go with him?
Since we were laughing so hard, we had to let him go. Lesson over - or at least I think we learned that while practicing sounds, Naithen isn't connecting that the La, la, La is the first sound in Lance.
The Future
Today, Naithen told us what his future was going to be like. --In his own words, or close to it--
1) I am going to marry my wife. (Point in fact, this will probably happen, only she won't be his wife until after they are married).
2) We are going to make breakfast and eat it. (Chances are good this too will happen).
3) We will get a two-person bed and both sleep in it like Mommy and Daddy. (Another one to most likely come true).
4) We will have kids, but she isn't going to have kids today, tomorrow, or Sunday or Wednesday, and tell them what to do. (What else are kids for :-) )
5) We will go shopping and buy food and eat it when we get home.
So I think he may be 5 for 5. It's nice to know he can be fairly confident that his plans will happen the way he hopes they will. Of course then again, yesterday he told me he was going to be Batman when he grew up, so I guess nothing is set in stone.
1) I am going to marry my wife. (Point in fact, this will probably happen, only she won't be his wife until after they are married).
2) We are going to make breakfast and eat it. (Chances are good this too will happen).
3) We will get a two-person bed and both sleep in it like Mommy and Daddy. (Another one to most likely come true).
4) We will have kids, but she isn't going to have kids today, tomorrow, or Sunday or Wednesday, and tell them what to do. (What else are kids for :-) )
5) We will go shopping and buy food and eat it when we get home.
So I think he may be 5 for 5. It's nice to know he can be fairly confident that his plans will happen the way he hopes they will. Of course then again, yesterday he told me he was going to be Batman when he grew up, so I guess nothing is set in stone.
Naithen and the Coyotes
Sometimes life is hard when you are number 9 in a line of 11. First off, you don't get away with very much because there are so many people older than you keeping you in line. Second, in Naithen's own words "why are there so many people in charge of me?" - there are lots of people older than you who feel free to tell you what to do. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, like when you keep trying NOT to do something and 5 people in succession give you the same "Naithen, you need to go clean up your toys."
One day Naithen told his Mommy, "I want to go to my REAL Mommy's house."
"I don't know where that is," replied his mother.
"It's past Mimi and Granddad's, past guitar, go south, go north, go east, go west and keep going past everyone and then you get there."
These, by the way, are the same directions to get to his soccer practice, because at 4 he's too young to play on a team here, but would really like to play like his big brothers.
So that was a really long rabbit trail to tell you of the plight of little Naithen one night, when everyone wanted him to do something and he just didn't want to comply. So, he got sent to bed. Now I must preface this by telling you that he really is a sweet little boy, with a sweet spirit and the following is NOT normal for him and because of it's unusualness I did find it kind of funny. After sitting on his bed for a while, I went in to tell him goodnight and tuck him in. This is when he told me he wanted coyotes to come and eat his family (I had visions of Home Alone run through my mind).
Me: That would be very sad. I don't want to be eaten.
Naithen: Then they couldn't tell me what to do anymore.
Me: Let's have pleasant thoughts and go to sleep.
Naithen: I need my blankie.
Me: Okay, I'll go get it. It's not in the freezer, is it?
Naithen: No, but when you get it will you call the Coyotes?
Me: So they can eat us?
Naithen: Yes.
Me: No. ( I went and got his blanket and came back in the room)
Naithen: Did you call the coyotes?
Me: No. I don't want to be eaten.
Naithen: Fine. Goodnight. (Then he gave me a kiss).
Me: Goodnight.
The next morning he told me he was glad the coyotes hadn't come to eat us. I told him I was glad too.
One day Naithen told his Mommy, "I want to go to my REAL Mommy's house."
"I don't know where that is," replied his mother.
"It's past Mimi and Granddad's, past guitar, go south, go north, go east, go west and keep going past everyone and then you get there."
These, by the way, are the same directions to get to his soccer practice, because at 4 he's too young to play on a team here, but would really like to play like his big brothers.
So that was a really long rabbit trail to tell you of the plight of little Naithen one night, when everyone wanted him to do something and he just didn't want to comply. So, he got sent to bed. Now I must preface this by telling you that he really is a sweet little boy, with a sweet spirit and the following is NOT normal for him and because of it's unusualness I did find it kind of funny. After sitting on his bed for a while, I went in to tell him goodnight and tuck him in. This is when he told me he wanted coyotes to come and eat his family (I had visions of Home Alone run through my mind).
Me: That would be very sad. I don't want to be eaten.
Naithen: Then they couldn't tell me what to do anymore.
Me: Let's have pleasant thoughts and go to sleep.
Naithen: I need my blankie.
Me: Okay, I'll go get it. It's not in the freezer, is it?
Naithen: No, but when you get it will you call the Coyotes?
Me: So they can eat us?
Naithen: Yes.
Me: No. ( I went and got his blanket and came back in the room)
Naithen: Did you call the coyotes?
Me: No. I don't want to be eaten.
Naithen: Fine. Goodnight. (Then he gave me a kiss).
Me: Goodnight.
The next morning he told me he was glad the coyotes hadn't come to eat us. I told him I was glad too.
"To eliminate a necklace would have taken another half hour"
That has always been one of my favorite lines from Simply Irresistible. Today, Natylee had a day like that. She came to get me from the kitchen to tell me it was time to get dressed. We went to her closet and started looking at outfits.
Me: Do you want pants or a dress?
Natylee: Yes.
Me: Well, which one?
Natylee: That one.
Me: This one?
Natylee: Yes. (I hand her a hot pink skort and yellow shirt with pink lollypop on the front).
Me: Do you want help.
Natylee: Me do.
Me: Okay.
Natylee: I want that one. (pointing at denim jumper with light pink and blue flowers on the front).
Me: You can't wear both. Pick one.
Natylee: Okay. (then she runs out of the room and comes back wearing the following - white leggings, Hot pink skort, YEllow longsleeve t-shirt, AND the Jumper).
Yes - you read that correctly - she wore two complete outfits all day today. I'll try to post a pictre.
Me: Do you want pants or a dress?
Natylee: Yes.
Me: Well, which one?
Natylee: That one.
Me: This one?
Natylee: Yes. (I hand her a hot pink skort and yellow shirt with pink lollypop on the front).
Me: Do you want help.
Natylee: Me do.
Me: Okay.
Natylee: I want that one. (pointing at denim jumper with light pink and blue flowers on the front).
Me: You can't wear both. Pick one.
Natylee: Okay. (then she runs out of the room and comes back wearing the following - white leggings, Hot pink skort, YEllow longsleeve t-shirt, AND the Jumper).
Yes - you read that correctly - she wore two complete outfits all day today. I'll try to post a pictre.
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