Flight suggestions

Does anyone have suggestions for first time flyers? We are going to Walt Disney World in three weeks and Ty (6 years old) is scared. He has made numerous comments about just staying home with Dad. John is dreadfully afraid of flying and it has rubbed off on his son. I want him to enjoy the flight but am scared of the scene once we arrive at the airport.

Come on Perri I know you can come up with something original :)

Weekend at the ball park

Every year on Father's day weekend (which is also Ty's birthday weekend usually) John plays softball in the Plumbers and Pipefitters national Tournament in Cincinnati. It is always a good time and we all look forward to the weekend away. We had cake out by the pool for his birthday and will have the family over this coming Saturday to celebrate.

But back to the tournament, different locals from around the United States and Canada come and bring small metal pins for the kids to trade. Ty has more than 30 pins now and placed them all on John's straw hat.

We had excellent times for the games. The first game was at 6pm on Friday which they won. They then played at 10am on Saturday morning and won that game as well. We didn't have to play again until 7:30 Saturday night so they were able to avoid most of the heat. John's cell phone rang at 8:50 this morning and it was one of the players wondering where we were. We thought the game started at 9:30 but it was actually at 9. Needless to say we had to speed to get there in time. John ran up to the field with his sandals on, cleats in hand and no socks! One of the wife's had a spare pair of socks but he only had time to put one on. So his first at bat he had one sock on and one sock off- He hit a home run. His next at bat he hit a Grand Slam which was awesome. His third at bat they intentionally walked him. I felt like I was married to Mark McGwire. They were scared to pitch to him :). We lost the game but he played well. It was a great time for everyone.

The tale of two kittens

On Saturday we decided to get a kitten. It was a little 8 week old black and white male. They said it weighed 2.4 lbs but it was TINY. Ty chose to name him Charlie. The kitten wouldn't eat so I called the adoption center and they said to take her to the vet. After hanging up with them, she began to eat. YEAH!!! Well on Tuesday night she had the worst diarrhea I had ever seen for a kitten IN OUR BED! Yes we were in it. Gross I know. So Weds morning off to the vet we go.
John checked on him Weds afternoon and the vet said he wanted to keep him a couple of days. When I hadn't heard anything by Thursday I called the vet. Well they had been so busy they hadn't had time to call to tell me that he had died.
As you all know, Ty is pretty sharp but he is only five. So I call my friend with the rescue agency to fill her in on what has happened. They have another kitten from a different litter at Petsmart if I want to check her out. I do, I bring her home and Charlie is now a she.
Ty says "Charlie is missing a spot." I responded "I don't remember a spot being there." Ty states "Where did the white go, down here? (pointing to his belly). I don't answer because I am about to start laughing hysterically. I then walk in the other room so he doesn't see me. I return a few minutes later and Ty says "Charlie's voice sounds different." To which I replied, "He is better now so his voice is stronger." I think at this point he had caught on but decided not to explore further because he was just happy to have a kitten back in the house.
Children are much smarter than we give them credit for :)

Tagged by Perri

1. What is your first and middle name? Amy Sue
2.How did you get your name? Named after my Grandmother's best friend, Francis!! They called her Amy thank goodness.
3.What are your kid's names? How did you decide on your their names? Clayton James- My maiden name and his dad's first name but we call him C.J. when he isn't in trouble. Johnathon Ty-Dad's name is John William Tygre . The Tygre was from a dream that his dad was having when he was awakened and told Gayle was in labor. So we came up with Johnathon Ty.
4.Do you like your name? Could be better, Could be worse. It has worked for 37 years so I guess it is OK.
5.What was the most popular name (according to Social Security) the year you were born? Lisa was #1, Amy was #6.

Living a "normal" life

As many of you are aware, for the past sixteen years I have not had a "normal" life. I know there are not many people that do but I have have always worked a job where it required working some weekend hours. John and I have been married for 7 plus years. During our first year of marriage, I worked full time and was recovering from brain surgery. During our second year of marriage I worked full time and was pregnant with Ty. During our third, fourth, fifth and sixth year of marriage I worked full time and attended school to become a nurse. I am now a nurse and just recently landed a Monday - Friday 9-5 job. This was such a blessing that after I was offered the job, I hung up the phone, thanked God, and cried. I had been working night shift five nights a week and it was NOT working for me or my family.
This was my first week of working straight days with the weekends off. IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. Saturday we had a kickball tournament with our church, saturday evening was spent at my in-laws for a picnic. Today we went to church and hung out at home and tomorrow we are going to a pool party/graduation party for a friend's daughter. Life is Good!!

One stop shopping

Many of you reading my post already know that Perri is a tastefully simple consultant. Well as I was heading home from a day at the amusement park I remembered I was to bring an appetizer to a party I was supposed to be at in 3 hours. I stopped by Perri's house to hopefully pick up the mix for a key lime cheese ball. Well I was in luck. She had an extra box so all I had to do was to stop by Walmart for cream cheese and graham cracker sticks and I was ready. It gets better...Perri just happened to have a box of cream cheese and a bag of coconut bars (kind of like graham cracker sticks). My total grocery bill was $10.50 and I didn't have to stand in line. It doesn't get much better than that....The cheese ball was a hit and a breeze to make. I definately need to stock up!

One wish

If there was one thing I would love to do in this lifetime it would be to own a pumpkin patch. My favorite season is fall and my fondest memories with both boys are of going to the pumpkin patch. There was a pumpkin patch near where I used to live. It was run by an elderly man and his wife. He would have all of the pumpkins set up on the hill and I could spend hours picking out the perfect pumpkin. Unfortunately he became ill and was unable to keep up with the patch. I have not found one yet that is as close to home. We do own some land in the country. I wonder if my husband would plant me a pumpkin patch near his deer camp?