Change of Plans

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9

I am reminded sometimes that for all my planning, the best life has to offer can be found in its great interruptions. Take this past week, for instance. Last Wednesday, I was looking forward to weekend of Monster Jam, Sid the Science Kid and even a little Daytona 500. None of that happened. 

Instead, my Papaw was readmitted into the hospital -- one of a handful of visits he's made recently. It came on the heels of Mamaw just getting home from a stay herself. Needless to say, everyone was spent. Change of plans. I decided to head East to Jonesborough, asked my mom if she'd take the boys for a couple of days, and left John in Memphis to work. 

What followed was three days of exhausting trips between the hospital and my grandparents house. I was anxious, angry and tired. Irritated. Frustrated. And blessed by this great interruption.

 I want to forever remember the nights my grandmother and I slept in the same bed and talked like old girlfriends. When you've been married to someone for more than 50 years, sleeping alone feels funny. Together, my grandmother and I made potato soup, and the best chicken salad I've ever had. "Add a little white vinegar, it add some wang," she told me. Me cutting and shredding. She instructing from her seat. And as scary as it was for a while, I want to remember the quiet hours in the hospital room -- just me and Papaw, talking about everything and anything.

Jack and Ben did OK themselves. They made a trip to the Dinosaur exhibit in Knoxville, spent a day at the park and eventually ended up exploring the dairy farm my brother lives on. Great interruptions. Thanks to her new iPad, Mom was able to keep me up on the weekend. I received a photo or two every couple of hours. 

The boys and their fort

Ben is still determined to drive himself.

  

 

 

 

Jack is in the sky

Ben visits with the cows

Papaw went home today. He's on the mend. I'm back in Memphis, still exhausted. Catching up with life. Thankful for great interruptions.

Whirlwind Week

John just got back from a ski trip to Denver with a couple of his high school friends and some air traffic controllers. He's already planning our move to Colorado -- where the air is cleaner and everyone seems a little happier. I told him I'm ready whenever he is, but he's going to have to tell our moms.

 

While he was gone, the boys and I ate a lot of frozen food -- Taquitos, pizza, chicken nuggets. The really healthy stuff. Jack pretty much moved into my bed, taking advantage of my weak will to say no and the fact that it's just easier to put him to bed when he lays in my room and watches TV. One morning, I found both of them (on either side of me).  

The great comedy of the week occurred 6 a.m.-7:45 a.m. each day -- when we were all trying to get out the door for school and work. I did pretty well, except for Wednesday, when I almost missed a morning meeting at work and hit a near panic trying to get there on time. The morning was capped off by me chasing Ben through preschool -- him barefoot -- trying to put shoes on him (I'm soooo getting mom of the year for carrying my kid into school barefoot in the middle of winter.) Then, Jack took control. 

Jack: "Ben! Be still. Mom is going to be late for work and be in big trouble! She's going to have to go to timeout for a long time!"

I made it to the meeting -- slid into my seat trying to appear cool and collected. As my dear friend Julie reminds me, "Fake it til you make it." Indeed.

John made it back late Thursday, delivered by a FedEx cargo plane. As part of his controller training, he rode cockpit to Denver (commercial) and back (FedEx) to see the pilot's side of things. Pretty cool ride, I thought.



Big words

See this sweet face? Somehow, he turned into a teenager -- or maybe just an almost kindergartener. 

I heard him telling Ben the other night to stop talking because "he was trying to concentrate." Earlier this week, he kissed his friend Sophia on the elbow. And last night, John and I just went to bed after hours of chatting with a still awake Jack. (yes, Mom, I remember the days when I was sure he would never talk.)

Or, consider last Friday afternoon, when I picked up the boys from school. 

Me: (quietly buckling Ben in, asking the boys about their day, only to be ignored one more time).

Jack: "Hey Mom, Shake that ass for me. Shake that ass for me." 

Jack laughs. I can't breathe. Think, Nellann. 

Me: (with all my expert parenting skills) "Did you tell Ms. Nancy that?"

Oh please say no, please say no

Jack: "Just you mom. It's my favorite song."

Me: "Don't ever say that again, Jack. It's bad." 

Jack: Complete meltdown.

I edited a blogpost for our hospital last week on what to do when this stuff comes out of your kid's mouth. You are supposed to ignore it, no matter how hard that might seem. Turns out, Jack didn't know those were on the list of bad words.The lyrics come from an Eminem song and we won't get into what else is in that song. Let's just say we got off easy. And yes, he overheard it by accident  one afternoon in the car. Don't judge. 

After my reaction, Jack wailed for about 10 minutes in the car, probably disturbed by the look of horror that came over my face more than anything.

 For the rest of the afternoon, we had conversations like this. 

Jack: "Shake ... argghhhh, Mom, I can't get my mouth to stop singing."

Jack:" Shhh. Stop it mouth, it's a bad word." 

Me: "Yeah mouth, don't even think about it." 

Roundball Winds up

We wrapped up our stellar 5-year-old basketball season this weekend. John has really enjoyed coaching and Jack loved playing -- and learning how to read a scoreboard. We were nearly undefeated this year and dominated most games. John had a couple of kids that UT could use in about 15 years.

I spent most of the season chasing Ben around the gym or pleading with him to sit still for just one more quarter. I'm most thankful for my iPhone, YouTube and this PBSKids app I discovered. It has kept me sane more than once. 

By the end of the season, Jack scored three free throws and had lots of assists. We wrapped it all up this weekend with medals and a yogurt party at Yogurt Mountain. Now, on to T-ball.

A "Credible" Pizza Company

Whew! I have some catching up to do. John and I took the boys a couple of weeks ago to spend the afternoon at Incredible Pizza Company, or as Jack calls it, "Credible Pizza." We had parent-teacher conferences in the morning (Jack is ready for kindergarten and Ben is ready for potty training even if I'm not). After our meetings, we took the boys for pizza and games. A summary of the afternoon: 

• Jack and I beat John and Ben in our go-kart race (though I'm pretty sure the operator slowed John down because he had a 2-year-old on the track. 
• John beat me in basketball. Twice. 
• Jack ate more pizza than me. 
• Ben is a decent air hockey player.  

 

Me and my co-pilot on the track