Deliverance: Revisited

Kim:

Julie graciously invited me and my boys to her father's cabin for a week.  A week of what?

Rest?

Relaxation?

Nope on both counts.  We were to bring all six of our kids.  The plan was to do some "school" and have a week long field trip...and visit with each other after not seeing each other since law school graduation in 2002.  However.....

I should've known when Julie told me that this "cabin chalet" wouldn't show up on GPS, I was in trouble.  I also had some inkling we were "done for" when Julie also told me we would be in the location where the movie, Deliverance, was filmed some many years ago.  She also told me that if I needed her "help up the mountain" to call her....if I still had cell phone reception.

Uh.....

I survived the trip to the cabin, despite two kids puking in the back of the van and one screaming.

Julie and I have big plans for this week.

Today was DAY ONE.  I had this big plan for all of us to do some "homeschoolin'" out at Unicoi State Park.   I found out that the kids could go on a nature field trip while on a hike through the woods, learn something...and get an official badge courtesy of the National Parks.

Not everyone was in the mood to hike.

However, we managed to earn some very cool Junior Ranger badges and meet a very nice forest ranger named Smith.  Of course, we ended the day with a trip to the grocery store for more Little Debbie Snack Cakes because Julie feeds her kids all organic food and Dollar General for some cap guns because we don't have enough mayhem.

On the agenda for tonight?  Roasting hot dogs over an open flame (Lord, please watch over us 'cause we're insane) and making S'mores (more nutritious food) before putting all of the children in bed by 7:00... no that's too early....7:30 p.m.

Julie:

I'll quickly recap the day from my perspective:

5:00 am wake-up call from four boys playing "war" upstairs.

Breakfast of champions:  pop-tarts and capri suns.



Unicoi State Park excursion....let's just say there was so much madness around us that we didn't even notice the random kid in the red jacket who joined our group.  Six kids?  Seven kids?  Whatever.

[caption id="attachment_2341" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Whose kid is this????"][/caption]

Induction into the Jr. Ranger program....





We asked the Ranger....or the Power Ranger as the kids kept calling him.....to take a picture with all of us.  He promptly left and went into counseling.



Oh...did I mention he gave the kids snake skins?

Excellent.

The best part of the day though....while Kim went into the grocery store I sat in the car watching the two van fulls of  (thank you Lord) napping children.  I looked up to find the Starbucks worker standing at the window delivering me a latte.  Compliments of the other half of Mommy, Esq.

What a friend.

What a week.  And it's only been one day!

24

Location:  middle of nowhere, N.Ga. mtns.   The Mommies, Esq. are together again...after eight long years.  The last time we saw each other we were each 20 lbs., two minivans and three kids lighter.  

Some numbers from the past 24 hrs include:

Six children under seven in one small cabin.

One child with strep throat.

Two children with car sickness puking all the way from TN to GA.  

Five boys playing war at 5 am this morning.

Two dear friends chatting over a glass (or two or five) of wine until into the night.

It's loud.  It's crazy.  It's madness and mayhem.

It's wonderful.

White Trash Monday

Today was a weird day.  We did a field trip to the pumpkin patch.  After a sleepless night and a tiring morning picking pumpkins and swatting gnats (gotta love living below  - or is it above - the gnat line?  whatever it is...they are pesky and persistent and as annoying as bamboo shoots under your fingernails), this Mama was toast.

So after "quiet time" (aka mommy-needs-a-short-nap-time) I made a sweet latte and sat on the porch while the kids played in the backyard and pondered what to fix for dinner.

Daddy was working late and wouldn't be home so it was the perfect night for something kid friendly.  In other words, something gross and borderline offensive.

I came up with the perfect recipe.  My kids love corn dogs.  Which I refuse to buy in the store and only let them have when we occasionally fast-food-it.  But I had some hot dog weiners (gross).  Nitrate-free mind you,  making them only mildly gross.  And some cornbread fixins, giving this recipe the June Cleaver stamp of approval.

Corn Dog Casserole, y'all

2 cups cornmeal

2 cups flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp oil

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 hot dog wieners (can't even type this without laughing)

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix dry ingredients together.  In separate bowl, beat milk, eggs, and oil and add to dry ingredients, stirring until well mixed.  Stir in cheese.  Put hot dog wieners in baking dish, pour cornbread mix over wieners and bake for about 20 minutes or until it looks done!

This is what the finished product looks like:



As is our usual custom, I texted Kim with a picture of this lovely creation after talking to her earlier when she told me it made her want to gag  just thinking about it....but when I told her how the kids sounded like Cookie Monster devouring it, she changed her tune.

Somewhat.

She told me I needed to serve it with a salad made from iceberg lettuce with small pieces of chopped up tomato and mayo for dressing, red jello for dee-sert and red kool-aid stirred with my bare hand in a large mason jar.

Little does she know that exact dinner menu will be waiting for her next Monday night when she arrives at the cabin.

To Meet a Princess....

Survivor ~ Disney

Whew!

We're back.  We survived!  Not necessarily un-scarred (emotionally speaking).  But we survived!

Still trying to come up for air from all the laundry and unpacked suitcases...and will have more stories and pictures forthcoming....but wanted to share my favorites so far.

We convinced the three-year-old to ride a roller coaster.  It was a mini coaster...but a roller coaster nonetheless.    Actually I convinced him.   His mother.  The one he trusts (or trusted, rather) more than anyone else.

It will be fun!  I'll be right there with you.  We'll ride together.  You'll love it!  I promise.

So we stood in line.  And he counted my teeth.



We....well, he, actually....thought it was a fun game.  I thought it was kinda gross considering his little hands had just touched every ride in Fantasyland and he was probably depositing some influenza germs in my mouth.  But. Whatever.  He was happy.  And sometimes that's all that matters.



We settled into our little car on Goofy's mini coaster ride.  He still wasn't sure he would like it.   He asked if it was scary.  Nah, I said.  Nothing scary at all about this little old ride.



This is the before picture.



This is the "after" picture.   After he caused what could be a permanent hearing loss in me and the unfortunate passengers on our ride.



From the moment the coaster started moving he buried his head under my arm and screamed like  he'd just encountered Freddie Krueger in a dark forest with the hockey mask and an ice pick.

He didn't speak to me for the next two hours.



Good times.

Making memories, y'all.  It's what it's all about.....

Disney Bound

So we're leaving tomorrow morning for Disney World.  Our first trip with children.  We promised them when the last one got potty trained, we'd go.  In fact, it's how we potty trained the last one.  We told him that Mickey doesn't like diapers in his clubhouse.  And Mommy was sick to death of changing them and Daddy was going broke.  But Mickey was his motivation.

The pot of gold at the end of the pot...I mean....rainbow....was a trip to the big DW.

Somehow we've managed to keep it all a secret though.  They think we are leaving tomorrow to go with Daddy on a work trip.

I couldn't be more excited if tomorrow was Christmas morning and I still believed in Santa.

I've put together a series of clues to send them on a scavenger hunt tomorrow when they wake up.  At the end they will find a letter from Mickey along with t-shirts and some other fun treats.

We're staying at the Nickelodeon hotel which we've heard is an adventure in and of itself....apart from Disneyworld.  My cheap thrifty husband even suggested we just stay at the hotel the whole time and tell them it is the magic kingdom.  Just think of how much we'd save on tickets!

Kind of like how we used to take our beach vacations every year at a resort with a big water slide and lazy river at the pool....we told the kids that was the big water park at the beach all their friends raved about.  They never knew the difference.   Somehow I think they'd suspect something if we tried to pull the same stunt in Orlando.

I can't wait to see the look on my girl's face when she sees her favorite Princess.  Or baby boy's when he sees the Little Einsteins.  Or Daddy's when he sees the price of tickets.

Should be priceless.

Nature Walk Redeemed

So about a month ago, my oldest son started begging to go on a nature walk to the "story tree."  He had discovered said tree on a nature walk with a neighbor who led him across the golf course to a giant oak tree with low limbs on which little boys could climb....and listen to stories, assuming there is a story teller present.

So on our inaugural quest to discover the story tree, I set out with all three of my children on a steaming, humid, south Georgia morning....story book for reading, blanket for sitting, and water for hydrating.  It seemed like a grand plan.    Until we got lost.  Something like three miles from home.  And it was hotter than hades, the three-year-old got a sore foot and had to be carried, the five-year-old got a whiney, annoying attitude and had to be beat with a yardstick ignored, and we all had to be rescued by one of the groundskeepers who happened upon us just prior to my collapse and gave us a ride home in his golf cart.

Whew.

After that episode I texted Kim with a picture of my motley crew after our failed expedition and entitled it "When Nature Walks Turn Evil."

But today....

Oh today.

It was a cool, beautiful fall morning.  The birds were singing.  The sun was peaking over the tree tops.  And the story tree was calling our names, save the three-year-old who was away at preschool.

Hallelujah!!!!

Darn.

Anyway....

This morning we had no problem finding the tree.



Instead of water we took hot chocolate.



We decided it was Silly Sock day, to go along with Story tree day....in celebration of the letter "s."  So we (well, they...) wore silly socks.

See?



Speaking of attire....

One of us took the sudden burst of cooler air to an extreme....one would have thought it was snowing from her wardrobe selection.



Then three minutes later she was barefoot.

One of the great things about fall in the south.



True to its name,  the tree inspired us to read stories.



And just enjoy being together.  In the quiet of the morning.



Until our quiet was interrupted by technology.  Grrrr.  I would have left it at home....



except I'm still having flashbacks from our near demise during the last nature walk and I wanted to make sure I could call 911 and get us life flighted out if need be.