No Tears Today Please

KK is back home now and Mommy and Daddy have school duty today. (Whew! Don't know if I could have done it one more day!) It has been a rough week with school(for me) and the little guy. We started out in the floor of the car before I coaxed him out to get into the car seat. Grandmothers don't like tears! We just want to fix it but nothing seemed to be working this week. I pulled out all my silly "stuff" and bribery and even though he would buy into it for a few minutes, he would revert back to the tears and begging me not to leave him. It was soooo hard leaving those big blue eyes filled with those big crocodile tears. When I picked him up he did seem to be having a good time dancing with the other 2 year olds. (even though the teacher said he had been crying and asking when KK would be back to get him) They have "dress up" the last 10 minutes of class and he was a sight to behold. He had on basically the same outfit both days with the exception of the top half of a cheerleader uniform on one of the days. Oh and he was wearing fireman boots and a few other pieces of clothing I did not recognize. I want to share a few pictures with you and I am sure you Mommy's and grandmothers out there have had a few of these tearful moments. Oh, by the way, his mommy saw Wednesday's blog and sent me a message last night saying, now she realizes why he doesn't want to go to school. ( she said she would like to stay "home" with KK too!) Pop Pop is having withdrawals as he has not seen his little boys for three weeks. Guess who will be staying with us this Labor Day weekend?? Pop Pop and I will be getting them Saturday afternoon right after T-ball practice. We have some fun things planned so you can surely expect to see pics in my upcoming blog.

Terreckly,

Kathy

Hangin with my little guy!

Oh the joys of being a grandmother! After getting the kindergartner off to school this morning, the little guy and I headed out for a day of fun and sun. I told him it was his day and we would do whatever he wanted to do ( within the perimeters of St. Augustine). He wanted to go to the "pirate ship" park and the beach (and get a toy, of course). There is a great park near his home and the boys refer to it as the "pirate ship" park because there is a big wooden ship on the playground. We packed a couple of snacks, water and apple juice and headed out. After spending about an hour at the park, playing, feeding the ducks, and taking pictures, (I am posting a pic of me that the two year old actually took and he almost got my face in the pic.), we headed for the beach! Oops, KK forgot the sand bucket but I did happen to have a plastic bag in the trunk of the car for our shells. He has a little head cold so I didn't bother putting his bathing suit in this time. Hurricane Earl is kickin up the ocean quite a bit so there were signs posted to stay out of the water anyway. (Didn't stop those surfers, you know, hurricanes create the "best" surf conditions!) It wasn't a very good day for picking up shells, tide was all the way in, so we only spent about an hour before giving it up and heading to one of our favorite stops. (That was my idea!) He either orders an original with fresh diced mango and strawberries or just an original plain. Today was a plain day. After yogurt, we went down by the bay to watch the workers repair the bridge.

He loves to read, draw, color, paint (basically, do anything that involves markers or the little water pens that color on those special paint books) so I knew I would be able to afford the "toy" he would choose. He did not let me down, he picked out a poster with markers that could be erased and colored over and over again.

Before going home, we had a couple more stops. First was Publix! I consider it my second home! We got our groceries then headed to the elementary school to pick up his big brother. The kindergartner explained to me all the way home that his teacher had written a long note and put it in his folder and in his words, it wasn't about him not being a good listener like the day before. It was only for not following directions. The reason he wasn't following directions is because he didn't know what directions he was supposed to be following. He said, when it's that kind of not following directions, you are not supposed to get in trouble for it. He is so full of it, sometimes he can almost convince me he knows what he is talking about. I just listen, smile and say, okay, Mommy and Daddy will take care of it when they get home. (Been there, done that, not my job anymore!) Funny when Mommy got home and checked the folder, the teacher did write a long note and he was right, he wasn't following directions. Seems as though, Mommy had sent a note to the teacher asking why the Ziploc bags, markers and glue sticks she had ask for in the "open house" letter kept coming back in his backpack. Guess he was supposed to take them out and put them in a specified place in the classroom. In other words, he had not been following directions. He didn't get into trouble, just a little lesson in why you need to listen and follow instructions.

I tried to help him with his homework yesterday and when Mom checked it, she let me know that I had shown him the wrong way to do one page. I also had made him do all 12 pages as the note said to do them before Wednesday. Well, I said, it is Wednesday. Not today Mom, by next Wednesday. Oops! Oh well, right or wrong, he is done with it and now she doesn't have to worry about forgetting. Right ? Okay, so maybe KK's not smarter than a kindergartener, but she can cook. (and she knows how to have a really fun day!)

Amazingly, with those two monkeys, I managed to prepare dinner for us and the neighbors. (They just returned from South Carolina and her Mother's funeral). They are a sweet young couple with two adorable children. I prepared chicken and dumplins, rice, fried okra, green beans, broccoli corn bread and peach cobbler. (All homemade mind you and I snapped the green beans myself.)

Terreckly,

Kathy

picture collage

I was visiting a great blog last night (http://www.kevinandamanda.com/) they had a link that explained how to make a picture collage. I wanted to put all of my pictures of grandchildren in a heart shaped collage but I am having trouble dragging and dropping just the pictures I want. I was able to make one using every picture on my camera card so I will share it with you so you get the idea. These are pictures I have taken to use on my blog. (many of them I have already used). There are over 650 pictures included in this image and it is hard to tell much about each picture. I think about 150 pictures would be ideal. I will keep trying and upload the picture on my blog when I master it.

Terreckly,

Kathy

Gone to Church!

Prayers For The Ronne Family

I had planned to post on my blog today but I have not been able to get my mind off of a family that needs your prayers. If you want to be inspired by a love story of a young couple and their faith in Jesus please, visit their blog. Ryan and Kaci were missionaries in Albania for 17 months. They have a son and two daughters. In March, when their youngest daughter was 2 months old, they began a mission of another sort. Kaci was diagnosed with a very aggressive malignant brain tumor. The blog was started by Kaci while doing mission work and is now being updated daily by Ryan. You can go back to older blogs if you are interested in following the family before the diagnosis. Be sure to click on the many comments at the end of each post as they are heartfelt and inspiring. I have been following and have learned so much from him about my own faith. God Bless!

the blog is: www.theronnes.blogspot.com

Shhh...A Few of St. Augustine's Best Kept Secrets

Ahhhh, it is a gorgeous day here in St. Augustine!! I want to share a few of my favorite hangouts with you. First things first, FOOD! If you are hungry, St. Augustine offers an array of tasty choices. If you want something healthy and light, Diane's Health Food is on A1A near the Lion's Bridge or my favorite organic yogurt shop is located downtown. (see last blog) If I am on the beach, I usually throw on a cover up (not necessary) and head to "Stir It Up". They share a building with a surf shop just off the beach at Anastasia Island. I recommend the turkey avocado melt. Yummmmy! They use an entire avocado on one melt. I promise you won't be disappointed. Another favorite lunch spot is Stephen's Fine Foods, located in the Treasure Beach Plaza. He is only open for breakfast and lunch and serves fresh fried fish, (caught locally) and fresh vegetables (locally grown) along with hoe cake and sweet tea. The food is very "fine" indeed in my opinion. If I am going out to dinner and craving seafood, Osteen's has the best fried shrimp around (for the best price around, too). Expect at least an hour wait, no matter what time you go. They also serve some scrumptous fresh southern veggies. Trust me, it is worth the wait! Salt Water Cowboys on the inter coastal is delicious as well, just expect a wait. (esp. on weekends) If I am in the mood for Italian, it is Napoli's at Crescent Beach. (Don't be surprised if you run into a coach or two on the U of F staff). When I am in St. Augustine on Sunday, it is brunch at Cafe Eleven after early church service. (The french toast is out of this world!) It is located on Anastasia Island and it was once a 7-11 store that was converted into a restaurant. (hence the name) These are just a few of my personal favorites.

If I have some free time to browse, I like to go by the Drift Ashore resale shop. My daughter has purchased a couple pieces of furniture there in turquoise that I absolutely love. They sale on consignment and always have new things. If you like consignment shops, Christie Blue (named after her daughter) has good "stuff" and great jewelry.

If you are fishing and need bait, etc. Devil's Elbow at Crescent Beach has everything you need, including a boat ramp and adorable cabins.

When I have my little guys for the day, we can usually be found at the beach or a local park. A couple of great places for kids that are totally free would be Fort Matanzes National Monument at Crescent Beach. They have a boat ride across the inter coastal to the fort and the kids loved it. Another is the splash park located beside the St Augustine pier. Parking is good and bathrooms are there, too. The five year old loves going up to the top of the St. Augustine lighthouse but my little guy is still not tall enough. (He keeps asking me to check and see if he is tall enough yet) If we are downtown, my boys love to take the train ride. There is a fee for the later two, but it is not too bad.

St. Augustine has been a favorite city of mine for many years. As a child, we would spend most weekends and vacations at St. Augustine and Crescent Beach. Love the city, love the fishing, love the beach!!!!!

Terreckly,

Kathy