The Stuff Dreams are Made Of

Those of you that have known me for a while know I have very vivid dreams and I remember them, in great detail. I have lucid dreams and I have several recurring dreams.

One of my recurring dream themes are dreams of llamas. I don't know why llamas. Llamas hold no special place in my heart, I don't often think of llamas, I have only seen llamas at petting zoos and such. I'm sure there is some sort of meaning to llama dreams but...wait a minute, one no longer needs to wonder about things, one just needs to google things...I'll be right back...To see a llama in your dream (1) represents deep trust, strength and endurance. It may also mean that you are worrying too much and carrying too many problems or (2) This is simply another animal, so will have the basic associations of less restrained or socialised impulses, emotions and sexuality. But its special associations might be that in its native country it is a beast of burden. It lives at high altitudes, so might represent hardiness or rarefied life. Also it looks so mild and gentle, but in fact can be quite aggressive. So it might be something that looks like a sheep but has more aggression...oh well, not sure what llamas mean in my dreams, I'll have to pay closer attention to what's going on in my life next time I dream of them...

Anyway, back to why I'm talking about llamas...Joshua and I went to the exotic pet show at the fairgrounds today and there were llama rides, pony rides and camel rides. Joshua rode the camel, he said it was a little scary. He looked a little scared. He also got to pet an alligator, a snake, a hedgehog, a skunk, an 80lb turtle, a fox and several birds.



I've also had recurring snake dreams in which the floors are covered in snakes and I have to climb around on furniture and jump from one piece of furniture to the next so that I won't fall on the floor. Snake dreams are hard to interpret and it's more of what you are feeling when you dream about snakes. Anyway, I don't particularly like snakes so I figure my snake dreams do not have particularly good meanings.

Today, we saw thousands of snakes for sale. Little ones, big ones, expensive ones (one snake for sale cost $10,000...why? I don't know) but no poisonous ones, thankfully. we also saw numerous lizards and frogs...and frozen mice and rats and live crickets. Joshua was all ready to bring a snake home as a pet but I talked him out of it by explaining how a pet snake would not be much fun because you can't play with it like you can a dog...it could lick you in the face like a dog though but you wouldn't really want it to...He settled on a $1 plastic snake, a bag of cotton candy and a basket of fresh peaches.

I'm on the Highway to Home

I love Fridays. Fridays are usually slow work days. And when you have a Friday, at the end of the month and before a 3 day weekend, they are super duper slow work days. In fact, I didn't do a single piece of work today. Joshua and I did ride to my work office to pick up and drop off mail, but that was as much I thought about work all day.

We did have a busy and good day. After lunch, we took Scott's truck to the carwash. Then, we went to Babies R Us to buy a booster carseat for the truck. Joshua outgrew his old carseat so I bought a new carseat for the car that converts to a high back booster and a backless booster. That carseat should be the last one he needs. But, I got tired of moving it back and forth between my car and Scott's truck and I didn't want to pay another $150 for a second carseat for Scott's truck so I went with a high back booster. We'll probably still move my carseat to the truck if we take any trips or anything, but the booster will work perfectly for those trips to Home Depot and the grocery store. And we spent a goodly amount of time in Babies R Us looking for baby gifts...My friend Carolyn had a baby girl, Emelia, around 1:30 this morning and our neighbor had a baby girl, Annika, on Tuesday...Plus, the baby girl things are so cute and I don't get to buy baby girl things for myself...

After Babies R Us, we went to the playground for a little while, and I do mean a little while. First of all, all Joshua wanted to do was swing. He has swings at home, I tried to convince him to play something we don't have at home but that made him cry. Secondly, all he wanted to do was play with me. He has me at home, I tried to convince him to play with someone we don't have at home but that made him cry. We left the park.

After a terrific dinner at Cancun Grill, we went to Blockbuster and then to Baskin-Robbins. I think I tried to make up for being stuck inside this week because of two straight days of rain all in one day. Now, It's late but I'm letting Joshua watch his movie choice just because it does not require me to do anything...Yes, I'm being selfishly lazy.

During of our travels today, we started out listening to the radio. But since we were in the truck we had access to the cd player and cds...Joshua chose his favorite to listen to...AC/DC - Highway to Hell. I'm not sure how Highway to Hell became his favorite cd but he has been calling it his favorite cd for over a year now. And, he does come by it honestly, it was my favorite album when I was about 14 yo, which is a long way from 4 yo. And yes, I do kind of worry about him going around singing "I'm on the Highway to Hell..." when he was at school...or church...or with his friends...And, I never really realized until today that all the other songs on the cd are about sex...I sure didn't realize all the songs were about sex when I was 14 yo...I honestly never thought about the lyrics until today when I was singing out loud...Anyway, Joshua was also singing along out loud..."I'm on the Highway to Home...." I truely love 4 year olds.

A quick beach trip

This weekend, we took a quick trip to Litchfield Beach. It was a long ride down but Joshua kept us entertained by talking without stopping. We arrived around 9pm.


Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the beach. It was cloudy, windy and the ocean was cold and rough...we suspected we were experiencing some of the affects of Fay...We tried playing in the ocean but the waves were just too strong so we headed to the pool. Since it was cloudy, the water in the pool was really really COLD. It didn't stop Joshua from getting in. We rode the lazy river, we played in the kiddie pool, we played in the hot tub pool (the hot tub pool wasn't turned on and the water wasn't hot, so it was just a big pool 3 ft deep) and we played in the big pool. Joshua is getting really good at swimming, with his life jacket on and face in the water. We bought Scott some prescription swim goggles and, oh boy, was he happy. He kept looking around in amazement. He even went swimming in the ocean and found the towels afterwards!...I usually have to go down to the edge of the water to lead him back to the towels...We left the pool at 4 to get ready for dinner.


For dinner, we went to one of our favorite places in Murrell's Inlet, Prosser's Bar-B-Que. If you like just plain ol' grandma food, you must try Prosser's. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet and everything is yummy. Joshua ate more than I had seen him eat in a long time...white rice, chicken 'n dumplin's, fried okra, bbq, fried shrimp, fried oysters, fried chicken, bbq ribs, collards, mac and cheese, banana pudding and chocolate pudding (yes, this isn't the place to go for heart-healthy food). Other menu items included brown rice, shrimp creole, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, brunswick stew, flounder, deviled crab, clam strips, hush puppies, biscuits, apple cobbler, several kinds of cake and pecan pie. We were all fat, dumb and happy after our meal. We ended the evening by going to the Lazy Gator to visit Allie the alligator and then we took a nice long walk on the beach.


Sunday, the ocean was much more cooperative. We rode on boggie boards for about 2 hours before we needed to get pack up to go home. We made a quick stop at Sams for hotdogs and then, luckily for us, Joshua slept for about 2 hours...it was nice to have a little quiet time.


It was a quick trip, but it will be our last for the summer. I'm glad Joshua could get into the ocean one more time.

Catching up - preschool woes and w00ts

Woe is me...
Two weeks ago, we found out Joshua's preschool was closing, in two weeks. Thursday was his last day. The church is building an addition so they felt it was best "for the safety of the children." The church itself did not run fund the preschool, the preschool just rented space from the church. We were rather shocked, sad and worried. Those of you who live in this area know how hard it is to secure an opening in a preschool...Those of you in other areas, the preschools are mostly select students by a lottery. You have to tour the facility, put your name on the list for the lottery, be present on an early February morning for the lottery drawing and hope you get in. Otherwise, you get on a waiting list. This was the 2nd week of August we found out that school was closing on the 15th and we needed to find a place for Joshua to start this fall!

w00t to Ms Anita and the new preschool...
Fortunately, the director of Joshua's preschool, Ms Anita, contacted directors of other area preschools about availabilities. We received notice that a brand new preschool had 2 openings left in the 5-day, 4-yo class...Joshua and his friend Caitlin filled the last 2 spots. Caitlin's sister Camryn also got a spot in the 3-yo class. Hope Chapel is a brand new preschool, and they probably love the fact that Grace Place closed...Not only did Joshua and Caitlin get in the 4-yo class, but their friends JJ and Ben did too. And I think 5 of Camryn's classmates moved to the new preschool too. I think we filled most of their open spots. Anyway, as I said, it is a brand new program, the rooms and things in the rooms are all new, they seem very well organized, and I think all the kiddos will be happy. Last week, we had a playdate at the park with some of the other 4-yo classmates, this week, we had snowcones in the park with new classmates from all classes and next week is the open house/meet the teacher. Joshua is excited about his new school, and very excited that Caitlin, JJ and Ben will be with him.

Catching Up - The Jimmy V Weekend

Lately, I haven't been doing a very good job of updating so I'll try to get you all caught up.

I did my volunteer gig for the Jimmy V and had a wonderful time as always. It was certainly different being at Pinehurst than being at Prestonwood, but it was an uplifting experience just the same. I basically stood on Course 2, between hole 1 and 18 and next to the back entrance to the courses by the clubhouse and answered spectator questions...Where is the nearest bathroom? Who is that over there? Where is Bill Goldberg? Do you have a parings sheet? How do I get to Course 4? Anyway, Angela, Michelle and I (this was Angela's first time and Michelle has volunteered with me every year) went to Pinehurst on Saturday afternoon, ate lunch at Theo's Taverna, which was a great taverna in the Village with nice courtyard dining, wondered around the golf course a while, lazed at the hotel a while, ate a terrific dinner at Ironwood Cafe (the waitperson at Theo's and the front desk person at our hotel both thought we made an excellent choice for dinner...a shout-out to Tom for the recommendation), went to bed early. Sunday, we were on the golf course at 7am.

My brushes with celebritydom include sitting on the veranda (in Pinehurst, it is a veranda, I have to laugh every time I say veranda...it's a porch!) next to Bob Goen (from Entertainment Tonight), getting a hello from Dennis Haysbert (the wonderful deep voiced "you're in good hands with Allstate" man and the past president on 24 - yea, I still haven't watched that show....one day though...), a hello from Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and telling Ewa Lawrence (a professional pool player) where the nearest bathroom was. There were a few others, but I don't know who they were.

My favorite person to see, besides Gregory Harrison (Gonzo Gates from Trapper John M.D. who is still a cutie) was Bill Goldberg. I had no idea who Bill Goldberg was before last weekend, but now, I am a fan. He was cute, he was funny, he was terrific with the kids, he took time to sign autographs and put people in headlocks for photos. When he was putting into the 18th hole, he chose a kid from the spectators to come up and take the shot for him. No wonder he was one of the most popular celebrities there.

Anyway, I'm hoping Michelle and I can make a trek to Pinehurst for a girls weekend out for many years to come.

While I was doing my thing Joshua went to Mimi's house for a few nights. He was able to meet Mimi's cousin Barbara and her husband Joe. Evidently Joshua was very social and who knows what all he told them...They had an outing on the boat on Saturday. Sunday, was the decoration (when you decorate the family cemetery with flowers and have a family reunion lunch) and Mimi and Joshua attended. Note for anyone planning to visit the NC mountains: Do not feed a child a hotdog and then "take the curves" unless you are prepared to stop and wash clothes and carseat in a creek. Other than that one incident, they had a great time. Joshua ate, played in a creek, caught a crawdad, met plenty of cousins (everyone he is related to is a cousin). He had such a good time that he thought they needed to have another family reunion on Monday!

The Dog is Snoring and I am Volunteering Again

About an hour ago, I got home from a quick trip to Winston Salem to pass of Joshua to his Mimi. Joshua is going to spend the weekend with Mimi. They are going to ride in the boat, swim in the lake and go to the family reunion. Joshua is excited about going to the reunion to meet "cousins."

Sunday is the 15th Annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic for Cancer Research and this will be my 5th year as a volunteer. The tournament is now held in Pinehurst so my friends, Michelle and Angela, and I going on Saturday and spending the night, eating what I hope will be a terrific dinner, and then playing Spectator Host on Sunday. This will be our first time in Pinehurst so I'm not sure what to expect. Past tournaments were held in Cary, there were 30 Spectator Hosts, 10,000 spectators and we spent the entire time telling people where to find Charles Barkley, Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell and the Hooters Girls...this year, there are 7 Spectator Hosts, a projected 2,000 spectators, no Charles Barkley and the Hooters Girls will be near the entrance. Hercules and Mr. Belding will be there though. I'll let you know how it goes....Last year, we didn't volunteer because of the new Pinehurst venue...we went as spectators but being a spectator doesn't give you that deep in your heart feeling like volunteering does. I'm not planning on missing another one if I can help it.

Anyway, I'm now hanging out on the sofa, alone, except for Buddy, whose head is in my lap, and he is snoring loudly. I miss Joshua...

What Time is It?

Joshua has a digital clock in his room. It was blinking so I was going to reset it but didn't know what time it was. I asked Joshua if he could look at the clock on the stove and tell me what numbers he saw so I could set his clock. He was excited that I asked. He yells Mommy, it's one thousand o'clock...10:00.

Action Figures are just Barbies for Boys

Since getting into his Indiana Jones phase, Joshua has been given 3 Indiana Jones "action figures." The Indiana Jones "action figures" are maybe 12 or 14 inches tall, have bullwhips, swords, guns, etc. All Joshua likes to do with them is take their belts, coats and shirts off, put their shirts, coats and belts back on...all the time...it's what he does...they have no adventures, their "actions" are not utilized, they are just undressed and dressed. Too bad they don't have more accessories and extra outfits!

Joshua's first lie

According to Websters (1913), a lie is defined as a falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive.

Today, Joshua told me his very first lie...well, the first one I know about...

We were outside watering the garden. Our tomato plants are getting top heavy and pulling the cages over. I couldn't find any string but did find some florists wire and wire cutters to use to tie the cages upright. I let Joshua help me by cutting the wire with the cutters. When through, Joshua wanted to hold on to my wire cutters and carry them in for me, said he would come in in just a minute. As I turned toward the house, I specifically told Joshua to not cut anything with the wire cutters. By the time I got to the house, he was running in behind me.

About half an hour later, we went back outside and I noticed that one of the tomato cages I had just tied up had fallen over. I thought I must not have wrapped the wire enough, but looked at it and the wire was in two pieces.

Ugh...the wire broke? I can't believe that the tomato plant is heavy enough to break the wire. Can you? (And believe it or not, I was serious, I thought that the tomato plant was actually heavy enough to break the wire, it isn't very strong wire.)
Well, maybe someone threw a rock and the rock hit the wire and it broke (said in a very slight mumbling voice).
Or maybe someone cut the wire with some wire cutters.
No, I don't think so?
No?
Mommy, I'm sorry, ok?
Do you remember mommy telling you not to cut anything with the wire cutters?
No, I didn't hear you.
...sterm, disapproving look...
Mommy, I'm really really sorry, ok?

And then I did the whole I'm just a little bit disappointed that you cut the wire after I told you not to but I'm really disappointed that you told me a lie by saying you didn't do it when you did do it and next time you do something that you are not supposed to do, just tell me, don't lie to me spiel.

I am so not looking forward to the teen years...