Archive for June, 2008
June 28th, 2008 -- Posted in Life at the Anderson's |
Wow, this show was so cool. I know I have seen them before, when I was a kid. But, I was thoroughly impressed. I think us adults enjoyed it more than the kids did! Of course, they were running out of steam from being awake at midnight the night before! And, we did have to wait quite a while for the show to begin. But, wow, I thought it was awesome and I thought they would enjoy it more. Oh well, you never can tell. If you ever get a chance to go see the Blue Angels perform you really should go!
This particular Airshow did have a sad ending on Sunday. A thunderstorm blew up quickly and caught everyone by surprise. It was pretty terrible, high winds, stinging rain, and lightning. People were taking cover under anything they could find, which included the wings of nearby airplanes. The wind got under the enclosed air conditioned tents and blew them over, one by one. A 5 year old child died and many more were severely injured. I can’t imagine the pain the family is going through who lost their child. They go to the Airshow for entertainment for the family and end up facing the worst tragedy any parent can imagine. My heart goes out to them, along with prayers of many in our community.
June 25th, 2008 -- Posted in Life at the Anderson's |
This was a huge hit! We covered a pizza box, inside and out with aluminum foil, gathered the s’mores ingredients and headed out into the hot summer day to bake our s’mores. We had been outside for maybe 2 minutes when the chocolate bars started melting, it was that hot! We finally got the s’mores created and the kids thought they were supposed to eat them immediately. I said, oh no! We have to wait til they are done, of course they pointed out that the chocolate was already melting, but I convinced them to wait 20 minutes or so. We went back outside and sure enough, the chocolate was all gooey, the marshmallows were squishy and they were ready! Yum-Yum!
June 21st, 2008 -- Posted in Life at the Anderson's |
The waterslide the twins got for their birthday last year has probably been the best present yet. They had tons of fun last year, but this year has been even better because of course there are more kids to enjoy it! I even took a few turns on it this time. It was awesome, I felt just like a kid as I zoomed down it. Only problem was I didn’t stop when I reached the bottom, I flew right off into the grass! fun stuff! Most of the neighborhood kids came over this day when we had it set up and it definitely got a workout, as did the grass underneath!
June 18th, 2008 -- Posted in Miscellaneous |
First, you must learn to pronounce the city name. It’s ‘Bur/min/ham’.
Driving Information: Burmin’ham has its own version of traffic rules…
1. The truck with the loudest exhaust goes next at a 4-way stop. The truck with the biggest tires goes after that. (Note: Blue haired ladies driving anything have right-of-way anytime.
2. To find anything in the city it is required that you know where Malfunction Junction is… which is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. It is one of only two ‘cloverleaf’ formation interchanges in the world. We invented it and only one other city was stupid enough to implement it again Atlanta- making them dumber than we are ..
3. The morning rush hour is from 6:00 to 10:00 AM. The evening rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. Friday’s rush hour starts T hursday morning a runs thru Saturday Noon. If the term ‘merging delays’ is ever used b y the person reporting the traffic, even in passing, call in to work and tell them that you will be at least 30 minutes late regardless of where you are in your commute.
4. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be (at the very least) rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. This applies to male and female drivers alike.
5. You must know that ‘I-459′, ‘ I-59′, ‘I-20′, and ‘I-65′ are the same road they just loop around the city. We think this was a ploy to confuse outsiders and discourage visitors after the War of Northern Aggression.
6. Always, always, always, find out if it is a race weekend before you get on any of these ‘roads’ to travel somewhere. If it is a race weekend, stay home or go to the races. You won’t be going anywher e else
7. Construction is a permanent fixture in Burmin’ham. The barrels are moved around in the middle of the night to make the next day’s driving bit more exciting.
8. Watch very carefully for road hazards such as deer, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, cows, horses, potholes, cats, armadillos, pieces of other cars, opossum, truck tires, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, and crows or vultu res feeding on any of these items.
9. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been ‘accidentally activated’…
10. The minimum acceptable speed on ‘I-65′ (see item 5 above) is 85 mph. Anything less is considered downright sissy. This is Alabama ‘s State Highway sponsored version of NASCAR, especially during rush hour (see item 3 above) when it’s 85 and everyone in the city is driving at once, bumper to bumper. If you are in the left lane and only going 70 in a 55-65 zone, you are considered a road hazard, and will be treated accordingly…
11. Do not gawk at the woman in the car beside you in tra f fic who is applying make up, talkin g on a cell phone, drinking a Diet Coke, smoking a Marlboro, and maintaining a steady speed of 85 mph on I-65 in rush hour traffic. If she is coming from North of Burmin’ham, she might be packing. If she coming from South of Burmin’ham, she IS packing and is not afraid to use it.
Weather Information:
1. If it’s 110 degrees, Thanksgiving must be next weekend
2. If its 10-20 degrees and sleeting/snowing, then watch out, Burmin’ham residents consider this ‘demolition derby’ day and will be all over the roads (front ways, back ways, etc). Please proceed with caution, as you could be their next target.
Seasonal Information:
1. If you stick to the seats in your vehicle, it is Spring.
2. If you need to let the car ‘get some air’ by standing next to it with the doors open for a minute before you can stick your upper body inside to crank it and get the air going, it is Summer.
3. If you are sweating even with the windows down, driving 55 mph, it is Fall.
4. If you finally turn the AC off and roll your windows up, it is Winter.
General Information: (and this is very important)
1. Do not ever speak to anyone during the song ‘ Sweet Home Alabama unless it is to sing along with the lyrics. This is like the State Song and will erupt in a brawl if everyone doesn’t show ‘proper respect’ to the band who gave us ‘Free Bird’. This is especially true if alcohol is present. Notice I didn’t say ‘sold at this event’ but present.
2. Yes, we know that Vulcan is mooning the entire city. It’s not that funny to us anymore.
3. I f you ask someone for a ‘coke’, they will immediately ask you what kind’? This is not a trick question. Tell them what you want: Sprite, Dr.Pepper, Root Beer, etc….it’s all ‘coke’.
4. All tea is sweet. If it’s not sweet, you have crossed the Mason Dixon Line and are in the North.
Y’all come back now, ya hear! !!
June 17th, 2008 -- Posted in Life at the Anderson's |
Whew, that saying “you need a vacation to recover from your vacation” is so cliche, I know – but so true. I love to travel and see new places and things. But, I really really despise long car trips. I am so not a good traveler in that respect. I am surprised sometimes that Todd doesn’t just put me out at some gas station along the interstate. At least all of the clothes we packed were clean when we returned home. We stopped over at my parent’s house on the way home and took care of that. So, it was easy to just unpack and put the clothes back in the drawers.
Todd had a business trip to Baton Rouge. I thought – Hey perfect time for a little trip, with hardly any cost involved. The hotel was paid for – and BONUS – Homewood Suites offers a free breakfast and dinner. I’m not talking about a continental or hors d’oeuvre thing – this was a full meal! Sweet! Anyway, we just had to figure out how to get down there since Todd was taking a rental car Saturday, and we couldn’t leave til Wed at the earliest. So, of course Todd comes up with the idea of riding the train. The kids are immediately onboard. I am skeptical – it doesn’t even go into Baton Rouge, the closest is New Orleans, which means Todd will have to drive an hour to come pick us up. That doesn’t faze him. Anyway, by this time the kids have already decided it is a done deal – so we make our plans to leave on the train from Bham on Wed at 12:00.
We leave Madison at about 9:15, giving us plenty of time and arrive at the train station a little bit before 11:00. I go to the ticket window and notice a cryptic sign – #19 ETA 1:30 Oh no, I vaguely remember that the #19 is our train! I ask the guy and he confirms that yes the train is running late. Not even close to being a surprise for me, every single experience I have had with the train, it has been late. And there have been many train trips over the past few years. Every chance Todd gets he takes the train! We rode it from Albany to NYC, from Bham to Atlanta, from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa. He and/or Chace together have ridden it from New Orleans to Bham, from Bham to Charlotte, and from Bham to Washington DC. And yes, each trip the train has been late. Anyway, now I am thinking what in the heck am I going to do with 3 kids in downtown Birmingham for 2.5 hours????? We decide to go have lunch, so we take off to try to find a restaurant I have been to a handful of times, but never actually driven myself – Niki’s. It is really fabulous food, smack in the middle of downtown Bham, on 1st Ave N. The kids devoured their food, I was shocked, but pleased. After that, we go on an expedition to the public library. I haven’t been there in many years – and am not great at driving downtown, too many pedestrians and one way streets! We drive down street after street, circle many blocks, and finally find it after I spot the pointy glass front from two blocks away. Finally, I find a parking place, a block away and dig for change to put in the meter. I fish out some dimes and nickels which will give us about 1.5 hours, plenty of time to browse! Chace puts the money in, and the nickels go in great, – the first dime gets stuck, so he shoves another dime in to try to dislodge the stuck one, now they are both stuck – and the meter starts flashing OUT OF ORDER! really great now – I figure we will prob have a parking ticket when we come back. We head off to the library and have an enjoyable time inside.
Finally, it is time for the train, so we head back to the station, and arrive in less than 5 minutes, which Chace find hilarious b/c we had driven around for nearly 20 minutes trying to find the library in the first place! We board the train and everything is fantabulous. The kids are enjoying everything and I am loving the fact that I don’t have to drive or ride in the car for 6 hours or so. Maybe Todd is on to something……
Baton Rouge was great too. The twins thought the pool was the best thing about the trip, but I enjoyed going downtown and seeing all of that cool stuff. We toured the Old State Capitol which was really neat and the USS Kidd. It is a decommissioned boat from the Navy, so Todd was totally in his element telling what everything was and reminding us that his sub was much smaller!!
Saturday arrived and with it fever and a headache for Caeden. Totally pleasant for the trip home. We had to stop at a gas station and buy some Tylenol b/c I forgot to pack meds. We got to MiMi and Poppy’s early Saturday evening, so it wasn’t a terribly long trip. Todd came on back to Madison Sunday, but the kids and I stayed an extra day so that we could go to the movies with MiMi and Poppy. We saw Nim’s Island at the $1 Movie. I thought it was pretty good, but Dad only gave it a 4. He is hard to please!
Here is one of my fave pictures, the sunset over Lake Pontchartrain.
Long story, but happy to be home!
June 7th, 2008 -- Posted in Life at the Anderson's |
Just what I needed – something to keep me busy this summer!! I have committed to help create and maintain a website for the PTA at the twins elementary school. I do enjoy doing this sort of thing, but have been known to let it take over my life. Soooooo, I am going to try to delegate a bit more this time around and let some people take part in it. We’ve got a good start – I decided to use the same CMS that I used with Scribbles, and Preschool Palace and I think it will work wonderfully. We just need some more material to flesh it out.
June 6th, 2008 -- Posted in Miscellaneous |
sounds like a good thing huh? well, no not really. Voters in Madison country voted down a proposed 1/2 cent sales tax increase. A 1/2 cent! I mean would you really even notice the increase when you buy your groceries???? I didn’t realize when they first started about the tax increase that everyone in the entire county would be voting. I thought it was just supposed to be Madison city – but no it would have affected everyone in the county, which means Huntsville city school system, as well as Madison county. We (Madison city) needed the additional revenue, of course, to build a new high school, but Huntsville and the county needed it much worse, from what I have read.
I don’t understand why the public would refuse to support our schools. These are our children we are talking about, our future! We must give them all the support we can to give them a fighting chance as they grow and learn. Madison city is one of the top systems in the state and even nation – but we still lag behind in community support. The following is an excerpt from the Madison city superintendent, Dr. Dee Fowler:
The districts that our children and schools are competing against, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, and Hoover have abundantly more local money than our district. They are able to offer additional programs, technology, lower class sizes, hire teachers above the state allocated number, and have state of the art buildings. These perks give them an advantage over our children. For example, the number of teachers over the state allocation allows them to offer additional classes and lower pupil teacher ratios. Hoover has a student population of 12,041 and 244 teachers over allocation. Mountain Brook has a student population of 4,303 and they have 142 teachers over allocation. Homewood has 3,341 kids and 113 additional teachers. Vestavia Hills has 5,833 students and 167 additional teachers. Madison City has 8,095 students and can only afford 44 extra teachers.
That is a just a glimpse of the extras that those systems have that our system lacks. Those children have a distinct advantage over ours. If you want to read more about the differences between ours and theirs read this
article at al.com
June 4th, 2008 -- Posted in Life at the Anderson's |
My firstborn is a teenager! wow, it is hard to believe it has been 13 years since I gave birth to that bald, beautiful baby. That silly cliche, “how time flies” is never more true than today as I reflect back on the 13 years Chace has been alive. Chace was the best baby a mom could ask for, which was doubly nice for me since I was too young and too clueless to be pregnant!! He was a great sleeper (as long as he had his paci), he ate anything you put in front of him, he wasn’t afraid of strangers and would let anybody who expressed an interest hold him. He behaved wonderfully when we went out to a restaurant, or out shopping for hours. He wouldn’t fuss when I insisted he wear a hat, because I thought it looked cute with his outfit. He talked and grinned at anybody and everything. As he got a bit older and more independent, those traits of his first year just got better and better. He just became even more adorable as he soaked up new experiences like a sponge. After his first word came out, (ball), it was game on! All things remotely round in shape were balls……the moon, street globes, oranges, meatballs, berries…..and of course, he wanted to throw them all. He was ready for TBall at 2 years old, I think! Once that first word came though, his vocabulary exploded, it seemed like he was trying new words out every single day. I would wonder, ‘now where did you pick that one up?’ The first 4 years of his life were as much a learning experience for me as it was for him. I was able to see the world through a child’s eyes again, and I felt like a different person. Making mud pies was so satisfying again, I felt like I was 4 as well. Then Todd came along and changed our lives forever. Now, here was a guy who was ready to step in and be the dad. Chace did not lack for a positive male figure those first 4 years, of course he had his Poppy!! But it is different to have a Dad, a Dad in the house to play Pokemon with, a Dad to watch cartoons with, a Dad to go fishing with. I felt like we had won the lottery or something, that I must have played our cards right in another life or something. Now, I had someone to be by my side as I tried to raise Chace to be as much as he could be, the excellent man that he is destined to become. He is so grown now, it is mind-boggling sometimes to listen to his voice getting deeper with each day that passes. Every time I go to buy him new clothes I feel a tug in my heart as I moved from the toddler department to the kids, and now sometimes even in the men’s department. I am immensely proud of the young man that he has become and am waiting in suspense to find out how he will put his stamp on the world.
Chace – 13!
June 2nd, 2008 -- Posted in Life at the Anderson's |
Whoo-hoo…..it is summer! My most favorite time of the year, well maybe except for the weather!! I love it, I just wish it weren’t so blazing hot all the time. Oh well, that’s what I get for living in the South, I suppose. At least we have a pool we can go to anytime we like now. I am loving that……..that was an awesome bonus surprise when we bought this house. A pool in our neighborhood!
This summer is shaping up to be busy and fun. We spent Memorial Day in Birmingham watching my nieces play tennis. I was terribly uncomfortably hot, just sitting there watching them – I can’t imagine how they played! Chasing tennis balls in the heat is not my idea of fun. But, I did enjoy watching them!! Last weekend we went camping at Lake Guntersville State Park. We had so much fun – it was a wonderful place to camp. I think we had the ideal campsite. We were in the primitive area, so away from all the RV’ers with their flat-screen TV’s and anti-gravity pool lounging chairs. Our site was right on the water, and there was a small sandy area, so the kids could build sandcastles and play in the water, and we could watch from the hammock, sweet! Next week we are heading to Baton Rouge. Todd has a business trip, so we are tagging along. Well, actually, he is going to go ahead of us, and we will take the train down a few days later. The train ride in itself will be an adventure, but I am sure there will be plenty to do once we get there also. I just need to google Baton Rouge and see what fun awaits us!
