Snack Time on the way to Loganville

I took my morning nap in the car on the way to Loganville, and slept for nearly 90 minutes, but when I woke up I was very hungry. So we stopped at a place with a big yellow M sign and a playground place--we stopped there before earlier this week for a snack. Nammy got me the apple walnut salad, which is really a dish with apples and grapes in one side, and a whole dish of white yummy yogurt just right for dipping. The walnuts were for Nammy--we also got milk (me), Diet Coke (Nammy), and some chicken nuggets (we shared).

I got a little messy, as you can see...which is why we could not answer the phone right away when Mommy and Daddy called me from far away. Then they called back when we were in the potty washing our hands. So it took some time--but Mommy and Daddy finally talked to me. It was nice. I waved to them and smiled.

Mommy's garden, Day 5

Mommy--Nammy took some pictures of your hydrangea and your daylilies for you to see--the flowers are very very pretty. And we watered everything, and Nammy made some watering bottles and put them in the ground around the tomato plants.

P.S.--I did not kill any lady bugs this week. But Nammy did kill a spider.

My last day with Nammy, Day 5, Sunday May 15th

0630--Well, I woke up and Nammy was there, as usual, and she looked at me and smiled and changed my poopy diaper, and then we had breakfast--nothing fancy. Just milk and oatmeal and fruit, then some cheese and meat later.

Next, we watered the garden (I got to go outside!) and we cleaned up the house, and Nammy took me upstairs so she could get dressed and put stuff on her face again. She let me have some too. Then, we went downstairs, and started taking stuff to the car. Then, she remembered she needed to get Mr. Pig and the monitor for Grandma Carolyn, so we went back upstairs. Then, we both vacuumed the house, and wrote Mommy and Daddy a note.

Finally, by 0950, we were finally ready. Nammy put me in the car, and then loaded up the other things. Then she took some pictures of me with Mr. Pig--and then she looked sad and got in the front seat. Here are some pictures of me with Mr. Pig.

Sorry, Daddy--we didn't win

Well, the results are final...Nammy and I did not win the 2011 Honda Fit, or the $1000, a TV, a recliner, or any of the gift certificates (Nammy said I could have the car if she won.) Oh well. Better luck next year! Guess Daddy will have to drive his Honda for another 250,000 miles!

Here is a super picture though of me, Daddy, and Mommy with Quacky,taken a week before the race


...and a picture of me and Nammy at the event--yes, my face is a bit messy from my fruit smoothy, and yes, Nammy has her mouth open and looks like she is going to bite my ear, but we really are having fun here.



More posts later...

Duck Derby

After my nap, and after a lunch of cottage cheese and plums, we went to the 10th annual Duck Derby. There were lots of people there, music, and a man kept saying something about going to the river to see ducks. So Nammy and I went over there and saw people in orange shirts holding baskets. We saw some geese swimming, and some tubes in the water, but no ducks. But the man said there were going to be 25,000 ducks. That is a lot of ducks. But all I saw was some yellow dots floating around. I was tricked! I thought there were going to be 25,000 real ducks! People were hollering and clapping and i don't know why

We later saw ponies and a petting zoo but they were charging $3 for petting sad goats and a camel. Nammy says camels spit and the ponies looked hot. We also got a fruit slushy--made with strawberries and bananas, no artificial sweetener--and a hot dog on a stick. Yum.

then i had a major blowout--time to go!

Saturday and Lydia is ready for anything

7 am and I wake up hungry--why am I so hungry? What is that lump in my diaper? Man, that is stinky--smells like old fish. Must be all that fish I had last night. Nammy! Nammy! Come here! Oh, there you are. Look what I made you! Yes, it is poop--aren't you glad I made you that?

So, I got a clean diaper, and then had applesauce and the rest of the cottage cheese and some oatmeal for breakfast, plus water with ice. Nammy always puts ice in my water because she has ice so I want ice. And I had a piece of bread that she cut off as she was slicing the loaf of bread she made last night. The rest is in the freezer for Mommy and Daddy.

Then we got dressed in jeans and we went outside and cleaned out the compost bucket and watered the garden at the same time. Clever Nammy. Then she picked all the peas and put them in a pan and I took them out and laughed and she tickled me. 

Day 3--Swim like a fish and Eat lots of fish

After the visit to see Mrs. Duck and her 12 babies (new babies, Mommy--the other duck families were under the deck thing), we came home and played, and then I went to sleep for a little bit--about an hour or so. Then, I had a snack of cottage cheese and animal crackers and water. And then guess what we did? Yup! SWIMMING! In the pink pool! Nammy put on a swimmer diaper with nemo on the bottom, and a shirt because my bathing suit was still wet. My pink pool water was nice and warm from the sun all day.

I played with a cup, some bowls, and a cooking spoon--it was very fun. Today Nammy kept the pool up by the door away from mean Mr. Wasp. Much better. I played in my pool for a long, long time, and cried when Nammy took me out--she said I was getting cold...I think she was right. So she wrapped me all up and hugged me tight, and then gave me warm milk to warm me up. Then I had dinner--two cups of cottage cheese, two whole pieces of fish (one was supposed to be for Nammy, but I was very hungry from swimming), and part of a plum without the peel. My belly was very full. I was very very happy.

Then we went for a walk and came home and talked to PopPop, and I had my milk, and my story about God and my prayer, and I went to bed--no fussing at all. What a day!

Off to see the Ducks!

After gardening we played and read books, and then Nammy washed stinky diapers. Then we went upstairs and we made s circus out of all the animals in the basket, and I made almost all their noises. Then we played blocks and legos, and then Nammy caught me rubbing my eye…so it was nap time for me! Off to bed I went with Mr. Pig and pink pig. Two pigs with Lydia! I slept very good. I was tired from being at the circus.

When I waked up, I had rice and cottage cheese and banana and water, and then I got dressed and Nammy took a shower. I helped her—we played peekaboo with the shower curtain—it was fun! My hair got a little wet, too. Then we drove to the park and saw baby ducks and geese and grass and trees and water. We ate lunch there too—some milk and chicken and apples and grapes. When I came home I hugged my big duck!

Day 3, Lydia takes over the world

I slept so well (thanks Nammy!) that Nammy woke up twice to come check on me! I did not get up until 0645—and then I was just fussing a little because my diaper was very, very VERY wet. We had to put on my purple polka dot pants that match my whale shirt. Next, we came downstairs and had breakfast—bananas and oatmeal and cheerios and pancake with peanut butter. And milk. Very yummy. Then we went out and filled up the pink pool but I could not get Nammy to let me swim yet, so we gardened instead. I saw three school buses and twelve trucks, and a brown thrasher getting worms for her babies (Nammy said it was a brown thrasher--no rufous sided towhee, tho). I wonder if Grandma Carolyn was on any of those school buses?

Go to Nammy's facebook page to see the video of me gardening...the silly Mr. Blogger is all messed up. but here are some pictures!

Future Olympic Swimmer, Lydia Anne Stock!

After a long nap and a snack of PB, oatmeal and cheerios, I was ready for a swim.

Today I got very very bwave and poured water on my belly, my legs, my head and I crawled around in the pool, and kept sticking my face in the water. Nammy was very amazed. The water kept getting grass and dirt in it, and a mean wasp kept trying to drink my water so Nammy shooshed it away. Pool time is one of my favorite things now. Better than peanut butter, even. I did not want to get out—I think I will want to stay in the pool longer tomorrow. Maybe all afternoon. Maybe until I look like a prune or a raisin—look how cute I am!

For dinner we had chicken and rice and we tried to have peas, but I just am not in the vegetable mood this week—so I just ate the rice and the chicken. I think tomorrow I will have sweet potato. After dinner, we went for a walk to the store and bought all the Zagnut bars for Great Grandma Pat, and some more Diet Coke, and then came home and got ready for bed—more poop, PJs, milk, Bible story, and prayers. Off to bed at 7:35 pm—see you all in the morning, blog fans! 

Lydia's Adventures, Day 1

At 1330 we dropped off my mommy and daddy at the airport. They hugged me and kissed me a lot. Mommy looked sad and then she put me back in the car. Then Nammy (who keeps calling herself Nana--I do not know why) said "let's go Lydia!" and off we went to Chic-Fila!" I had my own big girl milk and some chicken and some waffle potatoes, but really all I did was suck the ketchup off them. Then I slept all the way home. Here is a picture of me at Chic Fila.

From 2:45 on....

After my nap in the car, Nammy mixed some applesauce with Greek Yogurt...hmmm. I wonder if the yogurt came from Greece? It sure was good. I wanted to do it myself. As you can see, I did really well. Then, we went swimming in my pink pool (and yes, Mommy, Nammy put TONS of that sunscreen stuff all over me...). I put grass and bugs in the pool, and saw two buses, ten trucks, a helicopter, and lots of birds and bees. And bees go BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Well, that swimming is hard work. Nammy watered the garden--mommy told her to make sure to water the veggies. It was funny because when she turned off the hose it squirted her in the face.

We then had dinner--fish, cheese grits, and more yogurt with applesauce. I ate all of Nammy's fish. She is going to get nice and skinny! Then we folded diapers, and I put on my new whale PJs...see? And then we went for a walk, and had my milk, my Bible story, prayer, and bedtime. I was sound asleep by 1845. (that is 6:45 for you non-military people...)

Good night! Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite. Dream of the angels. Don't take any wooden nickels!

Love you,

Lydia Anne

Day 2 of my adventure

0513--
I woke up crying this morning because it was dark and I could not find Mr. Pig. Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, oh where are you Mr. Pig. It is dark and I cannot see Mr. Pig. Hey, where is everyone? Where is Mr. Pig? My pants are very wet!!! Get in here!! I am too little to reach the clean dipes!

Whew! Here comes someone...it's NAMMY! Yeah! Not as good as Mommy or Daddy, but at least I can get my pig and a clean, dry bottom. Nammy changed my diaper, Mommy, and you will be pleased to know I did NOT p**p this time, and Nammy did not put the flip shell in the pail. Nammy rocked me like you said, but then her back started to hurt, so we lay down on your bed for a little bit. Just a little bit....Then about two hours later, the sun came up, and we were both smiling at each other and we went downstairs to have breakfast! Yippee!

First breakfast for me was a big bowl of oatmeal and plums. I ate all of that. Second breakfast was eggs with cheese, and then cheese on cheese (cheese on cottage cheese). Silly Nammy thought it was her breakfast.  Here's a picture of me eating my breakfasts

After that second breakfast, I made that face, Mommy--you know the one--and then said my new favorite word...let's just quit with all the asterisks, kids--the word is poop. So, Nammy looked, and sure enough, there it was. So, she changed me, and then we played peekaboo, she read the book about Oswald and Weenie about ten times, and then it was nap time. I slept really good--from about 0900 till 1015. Then, I waked up. And guess what? I was hungry! Again! So, I had banana, then I had fish. And ice water.   Here is a picture of me enjoying the last of the fish.

Then I helped Nammy clean. She likes to clean...a LOT! Then we got dressed, and she put stuff on her face--I tried to help her but it made her one eyebrow fatter than the other one. We laughed. Then I made that face again and I pooped...again. I feel much better now.

You say tomato, I say tomahto

My husband Alex is constantly coming up with new ways build a better mousetrap--in other words, to prove he can do something better and cheaper than the commercial industry. He also is convinced he was born to be a vegetable gardener. Those of you who know us both realize this is hilarious, for Alex is a champion procrastinator, and he always has lots of well-intentioned projects he starts, but then they somehow never get finished. Some examples--an end table he had to have because it was "on sale" so he could refinish it the following weekend; an occasional table he got for free the following month to, you guessed it, refinish during the winter; hooks to hang bicycles in the garage to get them out of the way right after we moved in; and speaker mounts for the bonus room. All of these projects? Still awaiting his attention.

In the past he has started tomato plants but I always end up taking care of them--watering, weeding, debugging, and pruning. I swore two years would be the last year for home tomato raising, but this year he wants to try upside down gardening. No, he won't hang upside down while gardening--the plants will grow upside down. Does he buy the commercially available upside down container kits? Nope. He created his own out of an empty, 25lb Purina One bag, one of my pants hangers, and some dirt. Add one tomato plant, and voila! He is already looking up recipes to use his tomatoes in. To try to get him motivated to keep taking care of it, I told him I could raise better, bigger tomatoes the conventional way, i.e. in a pot right side up. The wager was on. But then I found my tomato plant, root ball and all, in the middle of the yard. Thinking the wind had blown it or a tomato plant-loving pelican had grabbed it for nesting material, I repotted it. Two days later, same thing happened. Haley, our Brittany Spaniel, looked very guilty, so I scolded her. Then, two days later, Alex came in from outside and announced "well, I guess I won!". I ran outside, and found the root ball in the yard, an empty pot, and one lone tomato leaf. Meanwhile, his is doing just great.

Personally, I think he trained Haley to eat my plant because he is afraid of my uber gardening skills....either that or Haley is upset about his tomato in her Purina dog food bag. 

Below is where my tomato plant used to live

And here is Alex's ingenious creation

Home again...

Home again...back to laundry and vet appointments and pulling weeds. Back to baking bread for my sweetheart, and going to Mass on Sundays. Back to traffic and 7-eleven big gulps, walking the dogs, emptying the dishwasher, and using tap water without any worries. Back to talking to my daughters, putting together the latest Lydia photos, and going through junk mail. And through it all I am so thankful that God saw fit to send me to another world, to open my eyes to see His beauty in everything, His purpose in all that transpires. God is so good.

Leaving on a jet plane

Well, we thought we were leaving many times last week...for 96 hours we kept getting put on different flight manifests, given different show times (always at least 4 hours before the flight), and for what should be a 4 hour flight it took nearly 5 days. Five days of mud and lugging bags back and forth (and they get heavier every time). Five days of sleeping on a floor or cot or crappy mattress (usually about 2 hours of sleep max). Five days of traveling with the same 20 or so people--but that was actually a good part (except for a couple of incidents where an Army officer got a bit overzealous with his perceived authority). Anyway, here is a picture of me being extremely excited that we may finally (after 2 days) be taking off. Little did I know we'd get stranded somewhere worse...for 2 more days! Next time I have a delayed Delta or United flight, I will laugh at the folks who get impatient when they have to wait for an extra hour!

Kool and the Gang

This is a picture of me and my boss, Mr. Tom Tutt, plus a couple of other co workers, outside our building. I think that is my laundry bag I am holding...not really sure...and I felt like wearing pink that day

Deployed to Afghanistan

One of the biggest reasons I left my old job and took on my new job a little over a year ago was for the challenge, to be needed, to do something meaningful. I love being a part of CENTCOM, I love helping my country, and I love being a part of the military mission again. And when the chance to get more intimately involved with that mission arose, I grabbed it. Took me a week to get here, the place is filthy, the air is so dirty you can actually taste it--I've been to a lot of places, but never ever have I seen a place like this. I am going to have to be more awake and a lot less jet lagged to describe it.

Later--

Drinkable water, talking to my family whenever I want, driving,7 eleven big gulps, my granddaughter's laugh, holding my husband's hand, watching TV, going to Mass, facebook, McDonalds 24/7, roads without concrete barriers and barbed wire, not having to have roommates at the age of 55, clean air, the ocean, a washer and dryer, my own refrigerator, a microwave, a cool breeze, a comfortable chair, being able to turn on the light when I want to because no one else is sleeping, being able to sleep because no one is turning on the light when I am sleeping....

it's the little things you miss when you are gone from home, the little things you wish you had with you that you appreciate all the more

Birthday Girl

I cannot believe it--a year has gone by and Lydia is a year old (well, she will be in 6 days--we celebrated early this past weekend. And boy does that kid love cake!

Disturbing television

I was channel surfing as Alex was snoring in his chair tonight, and found a very disturbing show on TLC--TLC used to be one of my favorite channels. Stands for The Learning Channel--used to have some nice vanilla, safe shows, mostly about home improvment, family, home, style, and cooking. Now there is a show on called "Sister Wives"--wants us to believe that a polygamist who is only legally married to one woamn but "spiritually married" (whatever that means) to three others is perfectly okay. Glorifying adultery...great. I don't really want to "Explore the complex daily life of a polygamist family." ANd putting it on a TV channel called "the learning channel" is an insult to my intelligence and my sensibilities. Polygamy isn't mainstream and shouldn't be treated as such.