Run With The Fishes

Today I was on the phone trying to solve some errors our server was having. Things were really out of whack and the call lasted for about 5 hours. It didn’t seem like there was any end in sight so I called Greg and asked him to bring me some lunch. No problem. He would get Allison dressed and they would walk up here to drop it off.

15 minutes later, Nikki went to the door and carried Allie in. Allison loves Nikki and I just thought she was giving her some hugs. No big deal really. I placed the tech support person on hold and went to tell Allie hello. That’s when I noticed that she was wrapped in her blanket and had no clothes or shoes on her feet. Nikki told me that I needed to call Greg and tell him Allison was with me because he was looking for her at home.

HOLY CRAP!!

That little stinker walked from our house to the front door of my office (about 3/8 mile on a gravel road) with no shoes or clothes. Just her blanket and her underwear. All of the possible bad situations flash through the mind. What if there were wild animals? There are big trucks that drive between here and there, with big trailers attached, what if one of them hadn’t seen her? What if one of them had and decided they wanted a cute little girl?

The first words out of her mouth were, “Where’s dad? He’s meeting me here. I thought he left me.” It was no concern to her that she made that long walk by her near naked self. “My blanket was like clothes mom”. You could here the “duh” in her voice. Greg had told her that he was going to get her clothes and shoes and then they would bring my lunch to me. I guess she didn’t hear him and just thought he left without her.

Of course she got a lecture that she is not allowed to walk up to Mom’s work all by herself again. That we would not leave her alone at the house, she’s just a kid. And, for goodness sake, at least wear some shoes! That is one brave, tough kid.

Have you gone outside today? It’s beautiful out there. At least it looks that way from my windows. It looks like the kind of day that bosses should just close up and say, “Take the day off with pay. It’s way too nice to get anything done in here”. If not that then maybe give everyone laptops to work outside. At the very least put in windows that open to the fresh air.

*edited to add pictures. Just for Amy!

Donna Mae is not at all my brother’s type. He has always gone for petite, blonde bombshells who weren’t exactly the brightest on the block. She is the exact opposite (with the exception of the bombshell part). Donna Mae is a tall, dark-haired Hawaiian beauty who is also very intelligent and super funny. She is perfect for Stephen. She is a great stabilizer in his life and you can still tell by looking at him how happy he is just to be near her.

They were married at a bed & breakfast in Oklahoma. It was a great backdrop for the whole weekend. Almost everyone was right there to visit and get everything set up. The guys could drink their beer and no one had to worry about driving anywhere to get home.

As soon as we got there, I made some last minute adjustments on mom’s dress. Did I mention I made it? Because I did and it didn’t look half bad. I also made my dress, which turned out quite nicely. The dresses that took the cake though were made by Donna Mae (who finished her own the morning of the ceremony because she did everyone else’s in the months before first instead of her own). Zoey looked like a little lady

and Allison looked like a big girl.

Even without the perfect veil, Donna Mae’s dress was amazing. The pictures don’t really do the side panels she added in justice. The look on my brother’s face as she was walking up the aisle, however, does.

The ceremony was just about flawless. Who wants a perfect one, where the preacher can read and everyone says each line perfectly anyway? You need some little quirks to make the day even more memorable. Allison spent just about the whole ceremony saying, “Where is the music? Why isn’t the music playing. This is a marriage. It needs music!”

Donna Mae and Stephen had 2 different colors of sand that they poured into one bottle. Nathan’s spot was right by these glass bottles and everyone was sure he would bump into them and knock them over at some point during the ceremony. He didn’t though and all was well.

There was much food (a whole roasted pig), a custom cake topper (which was awesome) -Stephen & Donna Mae in their BDUs (I think that’s what they’re called) holding mini versions of their planes with the dogs at their feet. There was lots of bell ringing and kisses, and tons of dancing. Along with the traditional hula dance* by Donna Mae, Nathan and Caleb showed off their fancy breakdancing moves.

When it was time for group pictures, Allison let us know that she was done taking pictures, “They have enough!”. No matter how hard the photographer tried, I’m not sure that he got a single “official” picture** of her.

I’m so glad my brother married his best friend.

*Donna Mae takes great pride in being Hawaiian, which I think is very cool. It makes me a little sad that I have no strong heritage or long-held traditions that I can pass along to my kids.

“I never give hugs, I never give kisses, I never say goodbye”.

This is Allison’s new motto. Those three are the ones we hear most often, but if there is something she really doesn’t want to do, she lets us know, “I never drink milk.”, or, “I never wear shoes”.

She is so stubborn. she will scream and cry for hours and still not give in. This just wears us down so that eventually we let her have her way. Totally defeating the purpose of bending her to our will. I wish there were a way to make it easier on her and us. If I tell her that I’m the mom, that’s why she has to do something, she will respond that she’s the big kid, and big kids never [insert whatever it is here].

Occasionally I do win one but I wish it weren’t a struggle every time.

“Mo-mmy! I need some string cheese”
“No, you have to wait for dinner. I’m cooking it right now.”
“String cheese will be my dinner” as she walks towards the refridgerator.”
“Allison, don’t get any string cheese, I told you no”
“I’m getting some”
“If you open that door, you will be in trouble and will have to sit in your chair”
“I’m going to do it”
“Then you will be in trouble. One…”
“Oh, alright”

Anyone have tips on getting your stubborn 2 1/2 year old to mind without a fight?

My brother’s wedding was this weekend in Norman. It was beautiful and I will write all about it in a later post. On Saturday, a few hours before the wedding his wife-to-be asked if we would try and find a veil because she wasn’t happy with the way the one she made turned out. We looked in a phone book and decided we would go to each of the bridal shops listed to try and find the perfect one.

We had to call to get directions to the first because our phone book was 2 years old and they had changed locations. When we got there you could tell right away it wasn’t a bridal shop, more like a prom dress/ evening gown type of place. Why didn’t we think to ask if they sold bridal items when we had them on the phone? Because then the lady would never have gotten to tell us, “Hold on while I ask the guys if we have anything like that.” then turn around and ask, “Kayne, do we have any veils?”

For like a second I didn’t think anything of her calling out “Kayne”. Then my mind flashed, Kayne, Oklahoma, Evening gown shop. I looked up and it really was Kayne from Project Runway. Only one of my favorite tv shows on right now.

They didn’t have any veils. One of the other customers let us know that there were not really any bridal shops in town but maybe Michael’s or Hobby Lobby would have something that would serve since we were limited on time. This is the part where I should have said, “This is a new challenge, you have to make a stunning veil with light blue trim in 10 minutes. Make it work”.

What would you have done? Gone up and talked to him yourself? Asked if he won and was keeping it real by staying in Oklahoma? If it didn’t look like he was busy with teenage girls trying on homecoming dresses I might have overcome my semi-star struckedness (that’s a word, right?). Instead I asked the woman helping us to let him know how much I enjoyed the show.