The Original

The original Alabama Mama, my grandmother Martha, passed away a few days ago. She was 91. She was something else. It is definitely from her, through my mother, that I learned strength. I'm not sure what she was like before I knew her, but I can assure you that she was no fool. Raised in Midway, Alabama in a hardworking rural family, I know that she had a keen eye and a suspicion that kept her from skipping naively into potentially embarrassing situations. Anyone who was ever in her home on Magnolia Road will likely remember the faint background noise of a police radio that ran almost constantly by her bedside, lest she be forced to hear about the latest criminal activity from the late news or morning paper. But she wasn't harsh, just wary, and fiercely loyal to her family and friends.During a time when most women stayed in the home and took care of cooking and cleaning, my grandmother did the chores and more. For over 40 years, she worked full-time at Dr. Zeiman's office in downtown Mobile, learning quite a lot along the way. From her confidence in medical matters, you might have mistaken her for a nurse, and her grandchildren often did. She wasn't a believer in the spoon-full-of-sugar medicine, however, and on more than one occasion made me soak in near-boiling water to soften a scab on my knee that she then ripped off. That I still have scars to prove that these things happen should make me angry, but the fact that I delivered my first child without drugs of any kind makes me think that all that pain might have been good practice for the bigger trials I would have to face. And she was a sports fan. Baseball was always her first love. When she was a young woman, she would pass Saturday afternoons watching double-headers with players like Hank Aaron. More recently, she would pass time watching the Atlanta Braves on television. She might have been quite a talent on the field, had she ever played, since a few of her grandchildren made it to the Little League World Series more than once. For herself, she chose cycling, a passion discovered after being diagnosed with diabetes in her 60s. Never one to involve herself in something casually, she joined a cycling club and convinced her husband to purchase a camper that would be their mobile home on long rides across the country. When I played soccer in middle and high school, she was my most loyal fan, attending games in the rain and cold, though I'm not sure that she had ever seen a soccer game in her life before that time.Whether headed out for a weekend at their second home on Fish River or on a journey to Branson, Missouri, my grandmother loved to be on the move. At the time, it must have been considered quite a journey for a young woman to leave her small life in rural Alabama for the big city. She was a country girl at heart, without grand ambitions, but with a strong, quiet desire to see the world. She lived and travelled simply, preferring to stay in their motor home rather than a nice hotel. Even on days when a trip wasn't practical, she would take the preteen me on a tour of the fancy neighbors of Mobile to see the flowers or to check out the newest construction going on around town. In her late 80's, she even accompanied the women of our family on a cruise to Mexico out of the port of Mobile, and though she would have liked to be more agile, she showed less wear than the younger women after four days at sea.In her later years, I heard a lot about her desire to be on the road again. On the way to a catfish dinner and "just one cold beer" at David's Catfish House. Or on the way to Fish River to build a campfire and catch up with friends. Or on the way to her daughter's house because families should be together. Or on her way anywhere with her husband, Ferris. She told me once of driving in a pick up truck, alone, with her infant son Charles on the seat next to her, all the way to Texas to see her husband while he was stationed there. And while I know she hated to leave her family here without her guidance, I hope that she is feeling relived to be with her husband again, and excited about the opportunity to eavesdrop on all of us with her little police radio in the sky.

More Vacation Photos

Matthew just loved spending time with his PawPaw. PP figured out pretty fast that the way to Matthew's heart is through balloons. Second only to his obsession with airplanes/helicopters, his love of balloons keeps him talking. Most days, "ba-oo" is the first word out of his mouth when he wakes up and one of the last requests he makes before bed. PawPaw always had balloons in his pocket and acted as Matthew's balloon dealer for the whole trip! Here they are playing basketball.
On another morning, we headed over to Unka Dents and Aunt Patty's place. Matthew chased chickens, fed goats, and ate oranges right off the tree.

Back Home

We're finally back from the-longest-vacation-ever! It was wonderful to be back in Mobile for Mardi Gras, and to show Buster Brown all the fun of the Carnival. We picked up nasty beads all over downtown on our walks. These are shots from one such excursion.

Hang in There

We're on vacation for the next few weeks, so don't lose faith. I'll be back with more posts as soon as I can!

Beachin' It

Tuna Face

Buster Brown is very funny. He has a wonderful sense of humor. One of his favorite things to do it to point to my drink/food and say, "Mine." When I say, "No, that's Mommy's food/drink," he points to his own food and waits for me to say, "That's Matthew's food." Then he points to my food again and I say, "Mommy's food". This goes on like that for a while until sometimes he points to my food twice, in hopes that I'll say, "Matthew's food" and he'll be in business. Sneaky boy.

My favorite new thing of his is the Tuna Face. The way this started is a long story, but suffice it to say that I once asked Jeff to show me his tuna face while snapping a picture of him. Somehow, Jeff remember that moment from years ago (he didn't change his expression AT ALL, by the way) and recently taught Matthew to do a tuna face. It involves him pursing his lips, touching his chin to his chest and looking up with his eyes. It's the funniest thing. Every now and then I'll looking in the rear view while I'm driving and I'll catch him sitting like that!

Scratch Built

Jeff just finished building another plane from scratch so we took it out for the maiden flight. It wasn't completely from scratch, of course. He didn't have to cut down the balsa trees himself, but it takes so long to follow all the instructions in the kit of pre-cut sticks that you might be fooled. The finished product us always so beautiful and worth all the extra time and effort.

I have to admit that the only reason I accompany Jeff on these journeys to the flying field is in the hopes that he might crash. It's not really him crashing that I like, so much as seeing the crash. They are quite spectacular, usually, and worth watching for. I much prefer if someone else crashes so that I can oogle them guiltlessly, but Jeff crashing isn't bad either. He always takes it in stride.

For instance, the last plane he built from scratch crashed on the SECOND flight. He flew it a fence, where it cartwheeled and landed on the sidewalk on the other side. Excellent. I felt pretty bad about that one, though, because it was only the second flight and it wasn't like he was trying to do something crazy. He just wanted to test it out and the wind took it and BAM! Still, I did enjoy all the post-crash discussions about how he wasn't going to built another plane again ever, and he was done with the hobby, and here we are: at the flying field with the next plane. I love that man.

Matthew was a big help to his papa. He helps tighten screws, or at least holds the screwdrivers for Jeff. He carries the radio for him, until Jeff gets tired of telling him not to fool with the antenna and takes the whole thing away. He also managed this day to hide some tools so well by sticking them in hidey-holes in the tool box that we spent an hour looking for them in the grass in disbelief that they could have simply vanished. What a helpful little guy!

Bucket Fun

Here are some pics from our morning at the beach the other day. I'm posting these to insight some jealousy among the folks who are suffering from the worst winter in decades. We are also experiencing some bad weather here in Hawaii. It's really windy. It's so windy that school is closed tomorrow. (I'm not kidding.) It's a big deal because we don't have air conditioning and we depend on gentle breezes to cool our homes. So we're really worried about big wind. What if it blows back the curtains. It could be scary.Just so that you all don't think that life out here is always paradise, I'll have you know that I have taken apart our carseat TWICE this week because Matthew peed buckets all over it and my upholstery. Buckets of pee. I'm not going to go into all the reasons that Matthew was in his carseat without a diaper on, but suffice it to say that the reasons were valid and any of you would have done the same thing. (I hope that at least some of you who are parents have, at some point, found yourself without a diaper in the middle of a blowout. If not, count yourself lucky - and well-prepared - and feel free to laugh at me until it happens to you.)

This Weekend

This weekend we had some house guests and went to a birthday party in the park. All in all, a wonderful weekend. Matthew and I went shoe shopping the other day because apparently children outgrow shoes instantaneously and will no longer move in too-tight shoes. The sight of him in big-boy shoes AND socks is still bringing tears to my eyes, but that's probably hormones. Still, doesn't he look like a little man with his muscle shirt, tennis shoes, and football?

I love the pictures of everyone in the tree, though the exposure didn't quite work out right. Our family will soon be four, which feels right, but I still want to capture this all-too-fleeting moment of our family as a threesome. Matthew even knows to look at the camera and smile, sometimes. So sweet.

Baby Hui

Here's a shot of the ladies (and gents) in the baby hui (pronounced who-ee) I hosted from October through December. These ladies were so great, and their babies were, too! I was hoping for a few trouble infants that I could help sort out - using all of the wonderful knowledge I gained with Mr. Matthew - but all of these little ones are sweet and healthy! I couldn't join them this weekend at the zoo, but here they all are in front of the keiki (children's) zoo. It really makes me happy that they are still getting together, even though our program is over. I think the little ones like it, too!

Pre-Christmas Fun

I really had a great time this holiday season. I'm not sure why, but I bet it has something to do with Matthew not destroying the tree. He's such a good little dude all-around. He has a whiney side that can drive me crazy in a matter of seconds, but over all he's very easy-going and compliant. I'm glad of that because it seems that we will be adding to the family some time next summer and I'm going to need all the easy-going toddler I can get. I have a feeling that things might be a bit different by then, but we're all very excited about the coming attraction (i.e. an enormous belly, I mean BABY)!This pregnancy is quite different than the first, with lots of nausea, pain, and fatigue that I wasn't prepared for. Things have ebbed somewhat in that department for now, and I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging and taking pictures of Matthew, two things that seem to slip my mind when I was so sick. There were lots of funny things to write about in the days leading up to Christmas, like the time that Matthew beheaded a flock of light-up, Christmas penguins at the Coast Guard holiday party, but I guess I haven't had it in my to share. I appreciate your patience and hope that I'll have some more to post in the coming weeks. For the first time in 5 years, the end of the holidays doesn't mark the end of the chaos. You'd think that a new baby coming would be enough the get used to for one family, but in the true style of my family we are stepping it up a notch on the transitions. In the spring, we'll be moving to Florida (We hope!) to start a new chapter in Jeff's career. We're so looking forward to being back in the south (sort of) and closer to family and friends. We are not looking forward to 10 hour plane rides with a 30+ pound 18 month old and a 6 month pregnant mama. Nor are we looking forward to the first few months after the new baby's arrival when we struggle to survive without the nearby help of close friends or family. Still, I like to think that we'll manage better this time. Won't we? Maybe the reason that I'm so into the holidays this year is that I know this marks the last few months of calm before the storm of planning, packing, shipping, travelling, searching, and settling begins. I knew that something was different when I thought to myself sometime early in December, "I should download some Christmas carols to listen to." Fifty-three carols, and countless hours of listening later, I still can't get enough. Poor Jeff and Matthew have had to endure this craziness, but they've also reaped the rewards in the form of homemade gingerbread, Christmas Eve melt-in-your-mouth pot roast, and brownies!

My favorite Christmas tradition is our tree. First of all, I love having a real Christmas tree, falling needles and all. I love the smell and the look and the ritual of picking it out. For ornaments, we only use handmade ornaments of things that can fly. Right now, we have 6 birds from our first Christmas together, a bi-plane and a flying fish from a couple of years ago, and a butterfly from this year. I can't remember when this tradition started, but I'm pretty sure that the theme comes from Jeff's love of flight. We have many ornament-designs in our heads that we haven't made yet (roaches, bees, kites, reindeer) and I can't wait until Matthew wants to make Superman for the tree. Above is a picture of the ornament he made this year. It involved markers, pipe cleaners and a cookie cutter. Isn't it cute?
So I guess that's about it for the few weeks before Christmas. Matthew is as cute as ever, though he has developed a very nasty habit of biting and hitting us when he doesn't like something we've asked him to do. Of course, he's also developed the very sweet habit of touching gently when he's saying he's sorry for letting his emotions get the best of him. And he likes to scream at the top of his lungs when his blood sugar spikes. That's a lot of fun when we're eating out. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Mele Kalikimaka!

Now I know what everyone is talking about when they say that Christmas is much more fun when seen through the eyes of your children. We had a great Christmas season, topped off by yesterday's toy-extravaganza. We got Matthew a small train set, which said it was appropriate for 3 year olds and older. Oh well. Matthew loves it; he's very into Thomas the Train, you know. And Jeff had more fun setting it up than I anticipated...

All the fancy toys around and all Matthew wanted to do yesterday was play with this wind-up Santa in an airplane. He's certifiably obsessed with airplanes, which comes as a big surprise to everyone, I'm sure. Jeff, of course, is trying to keep him mind off of them a bit since he knows how all-encompassing an obsession like that can be. Hence the train set, which is another favorite hobby.

Jeff really wanted Matthew to have a football because he's seen him at the park across the street chasing after them and being wowed by their unpredictability. Did you know that a new, regulation-sized football costs almost $100? Needless to say, that's not the one he got, but I do have some insight now into why pro-football tickets are so expensive.

This is a totally candid shot I took of Matthew who had thoughtfully surrounded himself with presents and then decided to sit still long enough for me to snap the picture. I tried to get him to actually look at the camera, but that made him want to stand up and walk away, so this is the best I could do. As you can see, he's STILL playing with the wind-up flying santa. Good work, Nana.

After all the presents were opened and Matthew was totally overwhelmed with newness, it was time to hit the park in our pajamas to play some football. Matthew wanted to wear the rain jacket his Banana (great-grandmother) sent. Isn't he adorable? After playing in the park, it was back home for some shrimp frittata that I whipped up. (After careful consideration of quite a few recipes.) So yummy and I made enough to feed an army, so we'll be eating frittata for a while...

Mele Kalikimaka, Everyone!