Childhood Memories

I was talking to my boss today about something I've wondered about often as I raise my children. I also read an article about being frugal recently that reminded me of why I am the way I am. I was raised in a very frugal household. Truth be told, frugal is a nice way of saying my parents were CHEAP! I don't think I had a glimmer of understanding as a child or teenager growing up there. Sorry mama and daddy! I can now see the wisdom of your ways. Better late than never, eh?

So today my boss and I discussed 'then vs. now'. He killed a wild hog and made us all sausage biscuits for breakfast. That's the kind of boss I have! I mentioned that my dad killed hogs too, for food, and that I was paid a quarter per coffee can full of acorns, which we fed the hogs. I should have gotten rich but I bet I only made a few dollars worth. Then I told him that I worry about kids today, especially my kids, because they can't even understand the kinds of things I had to do growing up. Do all parents feel this way? Or is my case extreme? I don't know!

We didn't have air conditioning growing up. We did have an attic fan to pull in the cooler air at night but that was it. I moved away to college before I ever had central a/c. We gathered firewood all winter long to keep warm. We closed off our house and lived in the back half that had a fireplace and wood heater. One unlucky kid was picked every night to run up a half hour before bedtime to turn on every one's electric blanket so we wouldn't freeze solid overnight. You could see your breath up there! Our house was 100 years old and didn't have insulation.

The only way you could earn enough money to go to the skating rink on Saturday afternoons was to help get enough firewood for the week onto the side porch. I'd arrive bone tired and listen as my friends talked about the OTHER fun stuff they'd done that day.

The other extreme was to be set out in a hayfield and told to pick up rocks and put them to the side so the hay baler wouldn't pick them up. That has to be the hottest job on earth!

In the summer we tended our garden. We'd get up before daylight and head out with buckets and bags to pick so we could be back on the back porch steps when the sun got high and hot. I still remember my fingers getting raw snapping green beans. Once my sister had a little friend come visit as we shucked corn. She was a 'city kid'. I remember her eyes got really big and she exclaimed, "I didn't know you had to PEEL corn!" I admit, I was part envious that you could make it that far in life without knowing that. You couldn't escape garden patrol even if you went next door to your cousin's house. They had just as many bags of beans that needed snapping as your house did. At least Uncle Frankie made up silly songs though!

But you know, I really appreciate my upbringing now. I realize I wasn't being intentionally tortured. In fact, my parents did ten times more work than I did, working right along side me. My poor mother had to take all those snapped beans and combine them with the tomatoes, corn, okra, etc and can it all. We sure did eat a lot of homemade vegetable soup in the winter. Still a favorite of mine! And the soup had meat in it. Meat from our cows. When I say homemade, I mean all the way.

And don't even get me started about homemade clothes! Whew, some of the stuff we wore would itch a warthog to distraction! My dad worked in textiles and he brought home fabric remnants. Mostly knit, unfortunately. Then he'd size us up and start cutting. Then my mom would take over and, VIOLA, I'd have a new outfit. And both my sisters, too. And we'd all match and itch in our air condition-less house.

Which brings me to our family. My kids are clueless, and I regret that. But I am at a loss as to how I could do anything differently. We have a garden, on that fits into our subdivision yard. My kids didn't get to grow up on a 60 acre farm. Gardening is a hobby to them, not a way to eat through winter. And firewood? What's that? Just push the up arrow on the thermostat and the house warms up. Magically!

We are going to Myrtle Beach soon for a long weekend. Taking the kids out of school for a day. It is sort of our last hurrah for the summer season. Time to make our peace with the end of summer. Get a grip on ourselves and decide that fall really is upon us. It is hardly on the kid's radar screen that we are going, although we've mentioned it frequently.

Back in the day, first of all, you'd have had to have been on deaths doorstep to get out of school. I don't know of anybody who got out of school for FUN. That was blasphemy! And this weekend trip, that means hardly nothing to my kids was longer than our entire summer vacation when I was growing up. We went to the beach for three days. Yep, we all but passed ourselves on the road headed back! And the excitement was over the top. We had those paper chains counting down the days til we left for our HUGE SUMMER VACATION. My goodness. I remember seeing the ocean for the first time, between the shops along Ocean Blvd. It looked like a mountain, like it should just swallow us up as we got closer. And then the rides at the Pavillion would come into view and I wonder how they kept us from jumping out of the car! Probably the only reason was because it was daytime and no one was riding them yet. I remember eating all our own food, because just because you went on vacation didn't mean you had to eat out. I remember getting a few tickets for the rides and making what seemed like life and death decisions over what we'd ride that night. I remember water boggin' til I could barely make it back up the steps with that heavy mat. I remember renting a float, red on one side, blue on the other. I remember my dad's really white legs! (Gardens and hay fields required overalls, not shorts.)

My kids will float in the lazy river. Eat out every meal. Get a wrist band and ride every ride. Twice. And they'll grumble on the way down because it will take SO LONG to get there, as they play with their DSi XL's and feel sorry for themselves because they'll lose Wi-Fi when we pull out of the driveway.

How sad is that?

Mom Guilt

Don't you just hate mom guilt? It is never logical and it surely wasn't today. I got up early to get a jump start. Had some breakfast, okay it was a piece of Aunt Peggy's pound cake, but it was breakfast. Then I painted Natalie's bathroom pink. It has always been a fine shade of tan but she wanted pink and, by cracky, it's PINK now. So, I did something for her today. Keep that in mind. Then, I went right to work on a Halloween quilt/wall hanging. Andy loves Halloween so that was something I was doing for him. Okay, that is a stretch, but still, he has asked for it to be left to him. So, two of my children had difficult projects done on their behalf, all before lunch today. However...today isn't any ole day. Today is the last. day. of. summer. vacation. So my husband calls to see what I have decided to do on this most special of days. Even though he heard about both of the above projects he was unimpressed and didn't see any real benefit for the children. That was annoying enough, but then he goes on to suggest I take them to the local state park to swim in. the. LAKE. Eh.



Lakes. Hmmm. Let's see....I am NOT a lake person. Not at all, not in the least. Do NOT see the appeal of getting wet in a lake. So sue me, I just don't get lakes. I don't want to wade into a slimy bottomed lake! I get the whole scenery thing, to a degree. And, if I had to pick between two home sites I'd pick the one with a lake view. I'm not opposed to looking out and seeing one, I just choose not to wade out and swim in it. And I know not all lakes are slimy bottomed. I am sure the one you are thinking of right now isn't. But it is my perception and I am sticking to it.



So I stewed about whether to ruin my children's lives by having them miss out on this opportunity. Knowing Robbie was going to be hurt on their behalf because they didn't get to go wade in a lake. And then the Halloween pattern I was working on got to be exponentially harder than I had anticipated. And then I decided to poll the children to see if they were even interested in doing such a thing. Two were for it, one against.



The two who were for it immediately ran for their swimsuits. I knew I was sunk. I grabbed a sandwich and put my suit on too - as I prayed I wouldn't have to get it wet. Then I got really cranky. This was such an impromptu, illogical, unnecessary intrusion on my day. Yes, I love my children. Yes, I always want them to have fun. No, lounging around the house for ONCE does not sound like Chinese water torture. Uggh.



Let's recap the summer, folks. Key and Andy get DSi XL's for Key's birthday and we added WiFi to our house so they could get on line. Natalie has a princess party one week before we leave for FL. We stay in FL, on vacation, for a MONTH. See post below to even begin to describe the things we did there. We've been swimming with friends multiple times upon our return. Just yesterday I took them to Gatti Town for lunch where they rode bumper cars and the Merry Go Round. Last week was spent with their relatives in Hartsville and Camden. That alone would have made it a good summer. They've seen Toy Story 3, Despicable Me and The Last Airbender. They've BTDT all summer long. Anyway, you get it.



So, what did we all do today but go to the state park. Key refuses to get in, wouldn't even put on his swim suit. Nat and Andy go for it, but Andy bails pretty early. Key begs to ride the paddle boats. We suit up in stinky life vests and climb onto an impossibly hot boat. I was, of course, the only one who had legs that would reach the pedals. So for 30 minutes I paddled the three of them around the lake. We saw two turtles who, upon seeing us, bailed from their downed tree trunks. Other than that excitement, they were completely unimpressed with my tour.

Back to the beach (I use the term lightly) for more lake fun. Natalie made friends with two other little girls so they had fun together for a while. And their bathing suits all matched. Wait, no, they didn't. They just all looked like they matched because they were all lake stained by then.

The point of the story is this: Mom guilt will make you do some really dumb things. The end.

We Have a Winner

...........and her name is MISSTY! Congrats Missty. Look for your $40 gift card in your inbox soon. Thanks for reading. Come visit us again in SC too.

Random Funny Things

I realized after my children started to talk that they were hilarious on a regular basis. I loved the way they expressed things and knew I'd never remember them all. I decided to start a notebook for each of them and put all of their funny comments, questions, etc together. They each have several notebooks now and they love for me to read them the funny things they've said and done. If my house caught fire I'd want to rescue these books first. Here is a very small sample of what I've captured:

Andy

A little boy pushed you on the playground today. You told me, "I thought he was a better man than that."

Natalie was screaming and you told me, "She is about to bust my drums!"

Deep thought for the day: I wonder why grown-ups read books on the toilet? I never see kids do that.

Andy: Opening a box of Oreo's... "know what that smell says? It says, 'I need a glass of milk'."

Complaining about your sister: "She's mean like a guard dog."

You hit Natalie in the shower this morning. When asked why you said she 'pushed me up on the side like a sucker fish'.

You laughed at how scared grandmommy was when you caught a lizard. You said, "She doesn't like my catchin' skills."

You always tell me to 'Shine and Rise, mom!"

You were so excited to see so many fish this year in Florida....herds and herds of them!

Natalie

Your favorite candy bar....Greasy Cup

For breakfast you want a waffle, with plain syrup, that has NOT been mapled!

Upon waking - my breath is dirty.

Am I larry-ous? (hilarious)

Seeing the full moon - "I think the moon has a light bulb in it."

Very sleepy girl before school one morning, not wanting to get dressed: "I can't take it anymore! How long do we live?"

Wearing a new princess gown for the first time: "Does the tag say, 'Natalie is a princess'?"

You don't feel so good tonight. You have 'sticks in your throat and your brain hurts'.

Hand sanitizer = Hanitizer

I tucked your hair behind your ears and you immediately looked in the mirror and declared, "Lisa Goodson, you have RUINED my afro!"

Key

Where do bubbles go when they pop?

I asked how you slept. "I sleeped and sleeped and sleeped. Then I woke up and opened my eyes. I saw a head. It had lots of hair on it. It was Andy."

Are pigs made out of bacon?

While watching fireworks you asked if Heavenly Father was shooting arrows at us.

After your first day of pre-K: I'm not learning ANYTHING! I can't write my name and I STILL can't read!

You got a friend-girlfriend at school. You couldn't remember her name but she has 'the cutest head'.

After I got a new haircut: Your eyes were huge and you stared at me for a long time then you asked, "Did you freak out when you saw that new haircut?"

You told us that Santa couldn't bring you the Thomas the Train set you wanted. When we asked why you replied, "Because Thomas the Train is only available at Toys R Us."

You were riding your bike really fast and told us you were 'flying like a chicken.'

Worms are 'bird pasta'.

You announced you had 'man fur' on your arms.

Seeing your sister in tights for the first time: Wow, Missy is wearing sock pants!

You: Where do they hide?
Me: Who?
You: Those people!
Me: What people?
You: Those people that change the lights from red to green. Where do they hide? I never see them!

Leaving the Y
You: Who did you wave to?
Me: Yoshi
You: That is a funny name.
Me: Yoshi is from Japan.
You: Wow, she sure has a long ride home!

Florida 2010

We're back! Florida was so fun this year. Florida is fun EVERY year but this was the best so far. And, while I was away, CSN stores contacted me about another giveaway! How exciting is that? If you'd like to win a $40 gift certificate from any of their 200+ online stores just leave a comment about this post. At CSN Stores you can find everything from dinnerware to dog beds to sofas and suitcases! Good luck! I'll pick a winner on Friday.

I think one of the reasons we had so much fun in FL this year was because the kids are all getting older. Don't get me wrong, I loved my babies. I remember thinking everyone was envious of me when I had tiny newborns. A few might have been, but most were probably thanking their lucky stars that their kids were older. Sleeping through the night and everyone wearing real underwear has it's advantages. And I am enjoying this stage of life and appreciating the fact that they can get their own water from the fridge and tie their own shoes. In fact, newborns have taken on a whole new fear in me. I am eternally grateful for my three, and very glad the last one was born over 5 years ago. :)

Oh, having an 8 year old, a six year old and a five year old still has it's frustrating moments, but I think this is a much easier time than 5 years ago. For instance, this year I actually read books AT THE POOL. I glanced up often, but got a real thrill at my newly acquired freedom. Reading at the pool.....JOY! All three kids are great swimmers now and are much more independent. They don't need me to always get in with them now. One of their new skills is diving. All three can dive off the side now, which was fun to watch. There were lots of belly flops but by the end of our stay they were pros.

We also enjoyed the ocean so much this year. For most of our stay it was as flat as a lake and as clear as the pool. As far as you could swim out you could see the bottom. I had an amazing time diving down about 15 feet and collecting whole sand dollars. Andy even dubbed me the 'Sand Dollar King'. Eh, I'll take it. We also found lots of fighting conchs this year. As far as I know, we've never even seen one before. They were very interesting creatures. Along with those guys we found lots of hermit crabs as well. Again, can't remember ever finding them before. Everyone was curious as to why so many new creatures were popping up this year. Some of us are wondering if the oil spill has relocated lots of things further south. I don't know if that could even be true but it makes you wonder. Just picturing that beautiful beach covered in oil is so incredibly sad. I sure hope we find it like we left it next June.

Speaking of next June, Key will be nine years old and can take sailing lessons. He is so excited about being able to take the 2 week beginning sailing class. It will focus on water saftey , knot tying and sailing a sunfish. It was fun to watch all of the little sunfish sail around in the bay this year and realize next year one of the sailors would be Key. He plans to take his skateboard next year and skate down the sidewalk to the Marina alone. Mr. Independent, he is.

Well, this only scratches the surface of our wonderful vacation but I have to get moving this morning. That sounds like I haven't done anything yet but I have already scrubbed the screened in porch and sprayed it with bleach. That counts for something, right? And the kids just left with Aunt Nikki. (Another advantage to having older kids, people actually volunteer to take them somewhere!) They are going to see The Last Airbender today. I'm going to hit the paint store. Alone! :)

This is a short clip of Andy battling a fighting conch.

And the Winner Is.............

............Natalie! :) Congrats Natalie!!! Your name was pulled from the hat. I'll be sending your email address to my contact at CSNStores and you'll get a code to use your $40 gift card soon. We all want to know what you pick!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Do you like shopping?

For things like a bathroom vanity? Or Purses? Or adorable aprons?

I do. Especially when it's not my money I'm spending.

Well, good news: CSN Stores would like to help me say thanks for being a reader by offering one of you a $40 gift certificate to use in any of their 200+ stores!

All you have to do is leave a comment with your name. How cool is that!? By random drawing I'll chose a lucky reader on Friday.

Now, on to our changes!

School is almost over, which amazes me. In some ways it seems we just got started. In other ways it seems as if it were a lifetime ago that Andy cried because the cafeteria was too loud. One thing we could all agree on at the Goodson house is that we all changed a great deal this year.



Let's start with Robbie. His changes are easiest to pinpoint. He decided to get serious about his health and started going to the Y before coming home from work everyday. As a result we have 36 lbs. less of him. He looks better, feels better and has lots more energy. He also needs to buy new clothes, his are all too big now.



Next up.....Lisa! That's me. :) I've been working for the past year, which is an amazing turn of events. I wasn't looking for a job but one found me. I've loved every minute of it and learned so much from my co-workers. I've been involved in very interesting projects. For instance, did you know that certain trees are more routinely struck by lightning that others? Me either! Now we both know. I've also increased my ability to identify trees in SC again. When you live in South Florida for 13 years you tend to forget.



I've also had to learn how to manage my time better. That is necessary when you work and have children. My hat is off to those moms who work full-time. I don't know how you do it, really! I've also had to let some of the daily housework go and pick it up on the weekends. That is hard for me but I'm making my peace with it. I still make all the beds, even if it means doing the boy's beds while they are brushing their teeth and about to hop in for the night, but in other areas I've learned to let go.



Key was a second grader this year. He has never been a big fan of school, this year was no exception. He thinks school gets in the way of more important things that he needs to be doing. We can't get specifics as to what would be more important, but he thinks there must be something. Nevertheless, he has gotten much better at reading and writing stories. We don't have to interpret words or paragraphs nearly as much as we used to. He has also taken up T-ball and found that he loves to play. He loves to learn about the rules of baseball and I enjoy sharing my love of the game with him. He hit five homeruns this season! He also stands in the pitchers spot, which means something different in T-ball but is an important position anyway. Oh, and he is also sporting glasses now, which have changed his look a bit.

Andy-man, our sweet Andy-man. I hope that part never changes. He is truly the most caring, compassionate child you can even imagine. He tells me he loves me on an hourly basis. He had a rough start to kindergarten but after the first week he was ready to conquer K5. He learned to read overnight it seemed. He loves books and figuring out words all on his own. He can sound out anything! He was hoping to lose a tooth but still has a perfect little mouth for now. He also got glasses. His violin teacher noticed he was standing too close to his book. We took all three in for a check up and both boys ended up with glasses. Back to the violin. Andy has made amazing progress this year! He is playing so well and we are just in awe of his musical abilities. He even summoned the courage to play in the talent show at school. This was way out of his comfort zone but he did it. :)

Natalie, our princess and daily drama queen. Natalie became a formal student this year. She was in the 4K program at Furman Child Development Center. Her teacher, bless her heart, had her hands full with this one. There were days of sitting in the hall, fits to be ignored, friends to be seperated from, but it looks like she will survive! (Both Mrs. B and Natalie) My goal for her was to have her write her name. She is easily distracted and keenly aware of what we want her to accomplish. She likes to do the opposite. BUT, she IS writing her name. When she feels like she isn't being taken seriously though her name goes back to AANTIEL or some such combination just to see us get flustered. She has made friends, which to her are far more important than anything else she's learned this year. She even has a boyfriend who has proposed. :) He has no idea what he is in for!

Now you are all caught up with the Goodsons. We look forward to an upcoming weekend in Charleston, our annual time in Florida, and then back to the grindstone. We'll have a 3rd grader, 1st grader and a new 5Ker. Wow.