This one is surely self explanatory…

My two youngest called my mother and planned me a surprise birthday party this year. All I had to do was have the kitchen ready to be surprised.

Anyway, how closely did you check out the cake my stepdad picked up for me? Yeah, I’m ___ years old and it’s my very first Barbie cake! Woo hoo!

Can you guess by the candles how old I am?

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When I first posted my photo for Wordless Wednesday (oops… a little while ago) I was mostly wanting to show off the little cuties from my son’s kindergarten class dressed up for an “Elegant Tea Party”.

But then, while looking at the other photos and thinking about the entire “race debate” with Obama and Clinton in this election, one particular photo struck me:

You see, this photo of the children walking back to their classroom has several races, but there’s something even more interesting than that…

This school was once a segregated school for African Americans. It is now a Pre-K and Kindergarten with an African American principal, who by the way, is FANTASTIC.

I recently went on a field trip with the class to a ranch with exotic animals. All children were paired up with a partner to hold hands with. When I arrived, my son held one of my hands and his little partner held my other hand… not by force, but by the children’s choice.

The little boy didn’t care that my son is white. He didn’t care that I am white. My son didn’t care if his friend that held his Mommy’s hand was black. It was just really cool that Mommy came to hang out with them.

Are children color blind or are they taught racism? If it’s taught, then I’m impressed with my son’s class, their parents, teacher, principal and school. Would Dr. King be proud? I’m not an expert, but I think maybe so.

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I can’t believe you’ve been gone seven years. I miss your funny jokes, pranks and sense of humor. Your special charm never failed to bring a smile to people’s faces. The world could really use another dose of you to lighten up and get with the program.

I’m so sad that my two youngest will never know you except thru photos and that my oldest probably won’t remember enough about you. Though every grandfather is special, I know that I had the most unique and loveable grandfather a child could wish for. Boo and Uncle Keith dubbed the two youngest with their nicknames as you would have done, but I often wonder what you would have chosen for them.

Mom still struggles with you being gone, worse than others realize. She refuses to acknowledge her birthday anymore because not sharing a cake and family gathering without you every year is too painful.

I heard you and Dad talking the night you brought me home after a really low point in my life eight years ago. I’ll always remember what you said to Dad when you both thought I was sleeping. Thank you for always believing in me and supporting me. Thank you for being proud of me, no matter what I did or didn’t do.

Three days before you died, I called you from the hospital when Biscuit was born to tell you the news. You never knew it was me, as far as I know, because there were problems with the phone line and you never heard my voice. It was our last conversation and you said, “Hello, hello… hello?” and I hung up deciding I would call you when I got home from the hospital. How could I know that hello would be goodbye for us?

I took it really hard, being one of the few in the family that wasn’t able to say goodbye to you in person when you left us. Why didn’t phone work that night? Why didn’t I try to call back immediately? I wanted you, of all people, to know that Biscuit had arrived because of what you said to Dad that night. I never got to tell you. And I never had the chance to say goodbye.

Is there no goodbye for you and me? Did the phone problem happen for a reason? I’ll wonder for the rest of my life. Until I know for sure, I’ll be missing you and waiting to finish that conversation.

Love Always,
Toots

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This has been bothering me for awhile. I start it, then I delete it. It’s just such a touchy topic. The more touchy the topic becomes, the more it bothers me.

First of all, let me state for the record, I voted for one of you, but I’m not 100% certain I’d trust either of you as far as I can throw you. I could have voted Republican, but I’m not impressed with our front runner there either. I voted for the one of you I think will get the job done. It had nothing to do with your sex or race.

Despite the fact that I’m not tickled pink by either you, I took my right to vote very seriously. I even took my two youngest children with me and let them be part of the voting process to ensure they grow up and take their right to vote seriously. I’d like to think I voted for the best person, but this constant bickering and refusal to team up or bow down is enough to make a person want to slap their Grandma.

Politics are dirty. We’ve all accepted it. We might not like it, but we see a long history of proof. I don’t see that changing any time soon. So why don’t we just cut the crap and stop acting “Holier than thou”?

While we’re at it, let’s stop dancing around some specific issues. If people are dancing around these issues now, we’ll only be more divided when either of you are President. Please, give us a break. Let’s get it over with now and get this country back on track.

Let’s talk about Hillary Clinton:

I’m so sick of hearing what a bitch Hillary is. What choice have you left her? If Hillary shows compassion , you accuse her of being too soft. If she’s firm, you make remarks about hormones. Frankly, in my house, sometimes it takes a bit of PMS to get the job done.

I’m so sick of hearing what a liar she is. Maybe she is. It’s not a great trait, I agree, but aren’t we all liars to some degree? Some of our most loved Presidents were also liars. I can assure you Barack Obama has also told a lie or two.

I’m sick of hearing her say she doesn’t agree with what her supporters say about Obama to save face. At the same time, it’s not like she can agree with them or she’ll be accused of racism. Let me remind you, one of these supporters was NOT white . She was Hispanic and her feelings were valid.

Let’s talk about Barack Obama:

The man gives a good speech. It’s called Persuasive Speaking. Indeed, it’s nearly impossible to not be moved by his words, but I’ve been married to man that had a way with words. He was all talk and the beautiful dream he weaved exploded like a mine field. Can Obama put his money where his mouth is? Can he deliver or will we be left to clean up the mess after we discover he isn’t a saint?

Obama had a very unique childhoood abroad and a blended family. You’d think this would be a positive aspect for us all, but what do you really know about him? Have you read his book, Dreams From My Father ? There seems to be a denial of his true biracial self and white family background and upbringing. Can someone so conflicted with himself be the person to unite us all as a nation?

If race truly isn’t an issue for Obama or voters, why do so many tiptoe around the issue? Those that voice anything related to race are pegged a racist . Some are so diligent in trying to prove how much the issue doesn’t matter that they fail to see they are being racist in exactly the opposite end of the spectrum.

So what am I saying?

It’s all verbal vomit. Let’s stop talking about man vs. woman and black vs. white so we can fix our country or find a way to convince Oprah to run for President and solve the entire idiotic situation. We can then listen to voters bitch and moan about how a celebrity has no business running our country (Ronald Regan was an actor and successful President, so why not?).

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Biscuit: What year was Adam and Eve born?
Wrangler: Who is Adam and Steve?

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My mother-in-law made the delicious mice you saw in yesterday’s photo. They are as much fun to eat as they are to stage in the fridge to play a prank on someone!

Want to know how to make them? Sure ya do!

Ingredients for Brown Mice:
Hershey’s Kisses
Almond slices
chocolate chips (for melting)
maraschino cherries or any cherries with stems)

Ingredients for Striped White Mice:
Hershey’s White Chocolate Hugs
Almond slices
white chocolate chips (for melting)
maraschino cherries or any cherries with stems)

Melt the chocolate. Dip the cherries into the melted chocolate. Quickly attach a Hershey’s Kiss (or Hug) on to form the head and body of the mouse before the chocolate has a chance to harden. Continuing to work quickly, place two almond slices for the ears. Use decorator’s icing to decorate the eyes and nose… or skip the icing if you prefer blind mice!

Don’t forget to stage a little Mouse Party in your fridge for some fun!

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Come back Thursday for the story behind this photo!
You can participate at http://www.TellMeThursday.com

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Today Biscuit was sent home from school because he is now running a fever - the same one I keep thinking I’ve gotten rid of but returns around noon every day for the past week.

As I lay in bed, he creeped in here from his own bed and crawled up on the bed next to me. Very sweetly, he said,

“I love you, Classic Mom”

Not sure if it was just the cuteness factor or because I’m deliriously goofy lately that was making my eyes water, so I asked him what a classic mom is…

Biscuit: It means you are a mom over 30 years old
Classic Mom: Uh what? How’d you come up with that?
Biscuit: I asked Daddy what classic car means the other day and he told me it’s a car older than 30 years old.
Classic Mom: So that makes me “classic”?
Biscuit: Yeah, I know you aren’t really 17, mom. That would make you only 10 when I was born.
Classic Mom: Ugh! (chunks pillow at Biscuit and rolls over)

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