So, apparently this site has a fan/cheerleader/stalker! 

This person reminded me that things are getting a little lax around here.  The exact words might have been, “OK,  8-11-11 was the post on your website, get with it!”

Oops...


Now, before you are tempted to think…”whatever”. Let me ‘splain some things to you, Lucy!


First, my fan/cheerleader/stalker does not look like this...

The big one, not the little one.

Meet my friend Norm. He is now like family, but he started out as a “bonus” friend. That’s right, a bonus friend. When I married Rick he came with some pretty good friends as a bonus and this is how I met Norm. Not all the friends are a bonus, some I don’t claim at all—I hear they drive mini vans*shudder*

 Anyway, Norm is actually an alias for my bonus friend/fan. And why do we call him Norm? Well, I’m glad you asked! If you’re old enough to remember the TV Series “Cheers” than this should explain it all. (It helps if you imagine Norm back-in-the-day, when he had lots of curly hair)  


If you don’t know the show, then please go back to your “Yo Gabba Gabba reruns, because we obviously have nothing in common.

So…sweet, fun loving, everyone’s friend Norm is/was and always will be a little
bit…well…how do I explain?......He’s the one that always has things “go terribly wrong”. He’s the one  that wakes up after a party with a baby hitting him in the head with a bottle (not his). He’s the one who chips his front tooth during a bachelor party (don’t ask). The point is, the boy means well but I don’t need him coming up here to “do something stupid”. For the love of cheese!! Who knows what would happen. 
 
So, in the spirit of keeping my favorite fan happy….Normie, this story is for you, and if any of my stories EVER make you laugh so hard that you get that little clicky noise in your throat..please tell me, I miss that sound :)

                           _________________________________________________


 So, I have recently begun the adventure of homeschooling. There is lots of words I can think to describe the experience...exhasting, exciting, insane, wonderful, fullfilling, challenging, AWESOME !
 
You get the idea…However, with all the bliss comes a few changes.



10 Things I discovered since Homeschooling

 1. $0.99 school supplies ARE exciting

 2. There are not enough cabinets in my house for all the “extra” school supplies. There is paper, notepads, folders, and books everywhere. Yet, we still
can’t find a good stinkin’ pencil! Ugh

 3.Acccording to my girl, our team name is the Homeschool Homers–cool mascot? Doubt it…and who are we playing against anyway? The Block Bullys?

 4. Homework Sucks—Oh wait, that’s ALL our work

 5. I need more wall space for timelines, maps, felt clocks. Also a chalkboard and magnet/dry erase would be good too if you have an extra laying around

 6. I am not smarter than a 3rd grader, do I really need to explain this one?!

 7. Due to the cost of copies, we may have a school fundraiser--$3.00 school supplies anyone? 
 
8.  Reward stickers are AWESOME no matter how old you are

 9. Apparently I’m scarier than Dad. The kids asked if I would be principal instead. Great self-esteem builder for me…

 10.  A little education goes a long way…we did life size body outline, taped them to the wall and cut out each internal organ while learning about it. So now every time the boy goes to the bathroom, he announces, “I’M GOING TO USE MY
COLON.”


 Love ya Norm
Sunie Dawn
 

I have a couple of faults...or as I like to call them...bad habits!

#327 involves your child. Yes, yours! I have a bad habit of getting on to other people's children. Not just the ones I'm related to but ANY child within yelling distance. (See, Sister, it's not just your munchkins!).

I don't do it out of spite or hatefulness. Although, you may think so when you see my nostrils flare. I do it for the good of mankind, I do it for world peace, and okay....sometimes I do it because your child is being a brat.

Here's where I go wrong...I assume you want your child to grow up and be a productive, well-adjusted, God-fearing adult. And when I see them hit you, kick you, talk back, disobey adults, or just be flat out mouthy. Well, well, well, let me help you out by telling the little darling where they went wrong.

Now at this point you are saying, "but Sunie, how would you feel if I got on to your kids?". Let me tell you, sister, I am embarrassed when someone else has to make my kids behave in public. Plus, chances are, you won't beat me to it!! 

Since this little habit of mine is not always appreciated, I'll make you a little deal.  You show your kids the proper way to behave (a good start would be getting off your cell phone long enough to pay attention) and I promise not to embarrass you in public!

Wish us both luck!
Sunie Dawn

*Have something to add? Awesome! Please leave a comment at the TOP of this post by the title**

For those of you unaware, my Uncle Billy is a writer. A real writer! And I know this not just because he has a book actually published, What Should We Tell Our Children About Vietnam?, but also because he likes to write.  He spends a great deal of his time writing.  I'm sure he has pages of information and bits of stories all over his home. Another piece of information about Bill, he is a Vietnam veteran. While he does not constantly talk about his time in Vietnam, he does have the heart of a veteran and the concern of a citizen.  Some of his greatest pieces are when he combines the two.  I wanted to share his latest piece with you, and he kindly allowed it...

The Good News is Also the Bad News   OR   I Couldn’t Even See Their Faces

       The good news is also the bad news. The good news is it only takes a small minority of our populace to don military uniforms and make up an armed force capable of meeting all our nation’s international concerns.

     That’s also the bad news because it means the great majority of our citizens have no real connection with the military or our on-going combat activities. Most Americans have a sense of detachment from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A relatively small number of men and women face repeated overseas deployments, while the vast majority of Americans do not know any person currently serving in the two theaters of war.

     If more people had a personal stake in the war of one sort or another we would be more likely to see more of a national outcry for ending those military adventures and for bringing our men and women home.

     On the first Friday of April I was driving into Claremore from the east and, as I pulled onto Will Rogers Boulevard I saw several blocks ahead of me, a convoy of vehicles coming my way.  It was a slow-moving parade of sorts led by a vehicle with flashing lights.

     I quickly recalled from news reports that this would be members of the Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade. They were being escorted out of town as they began a journey to Mississippi for more training before going straight to Afghanistan for a scheduled nine months of duty.

     What came to my mind was the face of one of my former students, Kyle Brinlee, who was the first member of the Oklahoma Guard to die in action in Iraq. That Oklahoma boy’s death came in the sands of Al Asad, in the province of Al Anbar, in the western part of that country. The year was 2004.

     As the cars in front of me were all pulling to the side of the street in a show of honor, I knew immediately what I wanted to do. I decided to lean out my window and look every single person on the two buses right in the eyes. I wanted to see and remember their faces. It was the least I could do.



      The vehicles approached, with the county sheriff in the lead, and I was ready.  As the first of the two buses reached me, with my arm outstretched and my heart bursting with pride, that same heart then began to sink. The dark tinting on the windows made it impossible to see anything inside. I couldn’t even see their faces.

     The buses passed, the cars pulled back onto the street, and life resumed as normal in northeastern Oklahoma.

Written by Bill McCloud (April, 2011)

Although it may seem I have disappeared, really I have just had no time for writing! "WHAT!?", you say. "Yes", I reply, "Shocking, I know!" But it seems I have learned something....a good writer is ALWAYS either writing or reading...guess which I have been doing!  Lots and Lots of reading; sometimes for fun, school, or both.  While I multi-task fairly well, I cannot do both writing AND reading at the same time!! 

However, I am on summer break, WooHoo!! Which means more writing for me...and trust me, just because I haven't been writing things down does not mean my brain is not full of great stories! Ladies and gentlemen, Sunie has re-entered the building ;-)

SunieDawn

from, Rebekah  http://www.potholesandpantyhose.com/A/Home.html
She is a fellow okie and is super funny (check out her Christmas Cards). 

To leave a comment, which makes me SUPER happy--please click on the link near the title UP TOP!  THanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

In honor of turkey day, I’m finally going to
share with you...

The Year Thanksgiving Got Physical

The Setting—My Grandma’s house

Main Characters—My Mom (the quiet one)
                                     Me (the not-so-quiet one)
                             Grandma (the family matriarch)
                             Aunt Jo (the wild card)

Supporting Cast—my kids, sisters, dad, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces; everyone except Rick who managed to be at work that year (lucky him!)

The back story—There are too many of us.  It’s a fact, just deal with it!  No one can afford to buy present for everyone and really it’s ridiculous.  So, we all decided to draw names, even with the kids (Everyone was in agreement)!  Each kid would draw a cousins name and have a $50 limit on presents. Each adult would take a child shopping.  See?!?  Everyone was still involved but no one ended up destitute.  Brillant, you say?  Thank you!!

 SideNote: Every family still has Christmas with their own kids at their own house—so this is just for the large family gathering!

Aaaaaaaaaand ACTION!

Scene:  Family is sitting around the living room.  Meal is over, everyone looks content and lethargic.  Looks can be deceiving

Sunie: “Okay, let’s draw names for the kids. We only have a month left to help them shop.”

Someone who wasn’t paying attention the first 20 times: “How does this work?”

Sunie: (huge sigh) “The kids each draw a name, each adult takes one child to help them buy presents.  This way everyone gets gifts and no one spends more than $50.”

Sister #2:  “Okay, that’s fine with me.”

The two sisters gaze across the room at each other.  Smiling.  For once the universe is aligned and they actually agree on something. Awwwww….

Paper slips are prepared and names are being drawn and recorded for future reference

Aunt Jo plops down in the middle: “Now, what are you guys doing?”

Silence...

Silence...

Sunie: (HUGE, dramatic sigh) “We are letting the kids draw names for Christmas.”

Aunt Jo: “What?!?”

Sunie patiently explains again

Aunt Jo:  “NO! I understand WHAT you’re doing, but WHY?”

Sunie: “The kids are getting older.  They don’t need all these gifts and it’s good for them to think of others and buy gifts for their cousins.”

Silence…

Silence…

Aunt Jo cocks her head sideways.  The air leaves the room.  You can hear the butts clench as everyone awaits her next remark.

Aunt Jo: “Hmph.”

She doesn’t like it.  The pressure builds and the living room is full of women stuffed with  holiday pies.  The air is charged.  It’s a showdown.  Who will break first…

Grandma blurts loudly: “They’re cheap!  They don’t wanna buy the kids presents this year.”

All air is sucked from the room as every woman gasps!

Sunie explodes: “If you don’t wanna do this—that's fine, I don’t care either way!”

More gasping…

Mom jumps in with a quiet warning: “Sunie…”

Sunie refuses to shut up: “No, Mom, why does Grandma get to say something hateful and I have to be quiet?  She was all for this idea before Aunt Jo said something.”

The entire room stops and surveys the damage.  Grandma has tears in her eyes.  Sunie has fire in her eyes.

Sunie (oh, why can’t I just SHUT UP?): “Well?!”

Then, out of nowhere, ladies and gentlemen, Mom leaps off the couch and  piles onto Sunie in the greatest Thanksgiving tackle this family has every seen.  Sunie is flattened like a pancake, she was totally taken by surprise.

Sunie: “Mom!! Get off me!”

Mom: “Not until you decide to be nice to your grandmother.”

Sunie: “Uggg! She started it!!!”

Mom: “I mean it, Sunie! I’ll stay here all day.”

Sunie: “You’re crushing me! GET OFF! I SWEAR, I WILL TAKE MY KIDS AND WE WILL LEAVE! GET OFF ME! NOW!!!”  There might have been some bad words in there, but I don’t like to remember that part.  It’s hard to think when your Mom has you down in a football tackle.

At this point Sunie struggles free and escapes outside.  Luckily the children were not witness to this mayhem as they were also outdoors.  After several hours of not quite speaking, an apology to Grandma, and pumpkin pie everyone lived happily ever after.

 

When you ask everyone about the event now (years later)—they say:

Sister #1 “I love holidays with you and Mom.  There’s always drama.”
Grandma, “Drama? What drama? I thought it was a nice Thanksgiving.”
Dad. “I wasn’t really paying attention.  You guys are always like that.”
Mom, “I’ll do it again too—if you make me!”
Me: “hmmmmm…think I’ll keep my opinions to my self.  My back still isn’t right from last time.” J

 
Remember, people, the holidays are all about making memories!! HA
Love Ya,
Sunie

PS- The sister gazing thing probably didn't happen, and my behaviour? well...I AM sorry, but, you can see how they drive me to act like that...right?!? I mean, my Grandma looks sweet but she'll wait patiently to get her 'dig' in somewhere. Don't let that little old lady exterior fool ya!  Unless she's making cookies, then she's sweet as sugar ;)
 

To join in the discussion--click on comments by the title of the story.  But be careful!  If you disagree with me--I yell stupid things and if you disagree with Mom, then she'll just tackle your butt! :)

Want to leave a comment about these cutie tootie charms?  Go to the comment link above-THANKS!!