"SAY HELLO TO MY LIT-TLE FRIEND!"

Some people have a guard dog.

Some people use the blog frog.

Me.....

I am blogging about my guard frog!!

Meet Bugsley

I think he might be the same frog that Elijah caught and trained. It might not be but we prefer to think that he was so well trained and loved our flower beds, which sadly for the first time in 5 years don't contain many flowers, so much that he decided to stay. Every single night he can be seen sitting on our ugly large step of afront porch! I don't mind since he is eating bugs. He is a welcomed guest and I like to think that although he couldn't really harm an intruder he could at least hop out and scare one!! He stays there all evening through the night (trust me I've stepped outside to check before I've gone to bed between 2 and 3am) and doesn't leave until late morning.

Wow such a hungry and lazy dedicated watch frog!

DEAR.....

Dear Creator of the little rain diddy,

For decades children of all ages have been saying your little diddy ~ "Rain, rain go away come again another day!" My seven year old son who is highly afraid of storms has discovered a problem with your little diddy.

IT. DOES. NOT. WORK!

It seems that lately here in Oklahoma the skies are not listening. Now being a life long resident of the state I have learned that Oklahoma weather can change on a dime but we are stuck in a rut. The past few weeks have been constant rain and by constant I mean 20some days in a row of rain. Our yard can absorb no more water and has taken on the appearance of a swamp. Not so great for "curb appeal"! Mosquitoes love standing water and are multiplying before our eyes. My wood floors have taken on the not so fashionable Mud Paw Print look from the dogs walking in mud anytime they go outside. This Mud Paw Print look will have to remain unless I mop several times per day which is not going to happen. My children want desperately to play outside. I honestly believe they would live outside if possible. Yes, I have debated this issue and at times have thought about buying them a tent or shed to live in so I can have silence. We just want a break from the rain that lasts more than hours. We are beyond playing in the rain puddles since now our yard and streets are just one GIANT puddle.

If you have spent any length of time in Oklahoma, then you know that sunshine directly after a heavy rain although nice for a moment is not a good sign. Instead it is often a sign of tornadoes to come. My seven year old boy HATES tornadoes or even the mere thought of tornadoes. Then comes the weather man with his weather map full of red, green, black and spinning circles indicating tornadoes. I've thought about contacting him also to see if we could switch up the colors in hopes that my son will stop panicking anytime he sees RED on the map! We watch to know when to take shelter but it makes my son a wreck. The only good thing about those moments is I know he can read a map, he can locate our town and tell us if we are in the "red" zone. The bad news is he clings to me and asks about every half second if a tornado is coming. He was fine until I had to put them in the closet twice last year and now he is terrified. If you are an Oklahoman, then during the heavy storms you are doing one of three things ~ (1) taking shelter (2) watching the weatherman on TV (3) standing outside looking at the sky. YES, we stand outside observing all too often. We haven't just been getting "April Showers" in May but instead STORM after HEAVY STORM after THUNDERSTORMS after FLASH FLOODS and TORNADO watches and warnings EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!!! We are tired of it and your little diddy is not doing a thing!

Last night my seven year old and I altered your little diddy until we had it perfected then we chanted it many many times. We are hoping it will work and are letting you know about the not so minor changes so you can spread the word. It goes a little something like this:

"Rain, rain go away!
Come again another day
preferably not tomorrow, the next day or the day after that!

Not so many days in a row
our poor Daddy hates to mow!

You make our yard all muddy and wet
so bad that all dirty we get!

Tornadoes make us tend to fret
so go away, try Tibet!

We know you make the flowers grow
but all this rain just has to go!!

Sprinkles daily would be fine
but to that you are confined.

No storms, tornadoes or flash floods
if this is done we could be buds!

Daily storms are such a drag
I'm sorry we don't mean to nag.

We hope you listened to what we ask
and hope you can complete this task!"

THE END!

I know your little diddy has been a time honored tradition for many but due to the lack of response we were forced to make a few alterations and clarify our needs. I am hoping this clearer version of our expectations will take hold and the constant rain will cease. Maybe the clouds did not understand "another day" does not mean each and every single day for about a month. We hope this mends our situation here in Tornado Alley/Green Country/Oklahoma and chanted it again this morning JUST IN CASE! I am writing to let you know about the clarifications in hopes that you will spread the word. We have to admit it is long but quite catchy ~ don't you think!!

Sincerely,

Angela and Elijah

Our "little diddy" creator name shall be Waiting for Rays

(Sun rays if that needs to be cleared up too!!)

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY ~ MOTHER'S DAY

My Grandmother, two Uncles and my Aunt were supposed to come from Missouri on Saturday for a big Mother's Day celebration with my entire family plus my Uncle and cousins who live here. However, we received a call Thursday morning that changed the plans. A bad storm hit their town and on the way back from the shelter the wind blew into my Grandmother's umbrella and threw her to the ground breaking her pelvic bone. We went ahead with the Saturday plans for all of us here then my parents and Uncle drove there Sunday morning to visit my Grandmother in the hospital. Pray she recovers quickly!

Sunday was a GREAT day!

The boys and Martez bought me flowers and a pretty cake (more about the "top secret" cake ordeal in another post). Then we got ready and went to the zoo. The weather was PERFECT! The best weather for a visit to the zoo.....much better than summer weather. It sprinkled a bit but we just went into the buildings. Weird for Oklahoma in May but it was actually chilly. Fine by me! We had a great time then went to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant where the unusual bad service didn't even damper my day!

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MY LITTLE MONKEY!

If you are unable to find a certain seven yr old boy, then look in any nearby trees! He climbs this tree daily and that is no joke!

Avani finally learned how to get up but then needed help down. Needless to say I was not to pleased when I took her out and my hands were in her sweaty armpits, but not realizing it was sweat I smelled my hand! *gag*gag*gag

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY ~ NOTE TO SELF

Before handing Isaiah a container of chalk, remember to specify you are handing him SIDEWALK chalk to play with!!!

Our front door:

The side of our house:

The rocks on the outside of the house:

And I didn't even take pictures of the line down the entire hallway wall after he got caught and was on his way to his room!

Oh the joys of motherhood!

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY ~ REAGAN JOY IS HERE!

She is finally here.....well actually she got here last Friday but I haven't been posting! The first baby girl in the Bryan family (well the Oklahoma Bryan's) in 14 years! Wow! We love baby girls but we can't seem to learn how to make them! The week before Reagan's birth I was talking on the phone with my Cousin Cassie when she said, "I don't know but I have this strong feeling I am going to have an easy labor!" My response, "Oh okay!" and let her try out that positive thinking. Well do you know how bad it irks me that she was right! Ugh! I could have just vomited! She arrived at the hospital to be induced when her water broke shortly after arriving. Then later on I heard she was "uncomfortable"! Ok! Then she began pushing at 3:05pm, pushed something like 5 times and she was born around 3:26pm. SICKENING ~ especially for her first baby ~ just sickening! I gave her a time frame in which to have the baby and she did not work with me. I could not be there between 2 - 4 pm on account of having to pick up my own children from school.

When did she have it?

Between 2 - 4pm!

Ugh!

Come on people work with me here!!

It is like she couldn't just hold it in a little longer......lololol!

Then I walk in to see this:

Cassie looking like she hadn't done a thing! Sickening! I thought about slapping her just to rough her up a bit but alas she was holding the baby! Ha!

Proud Poppa and his new baby girl!

My cousin Kris is a wee bit excited to be an Uncle! This is how it went! My Dad holds her ~ Kris holds her ~ my Mom holds her ~ Kris holds her ~ Kendra holds her ~ Kris holds her......get the point. He couldn't get enough of her! We'll see how he does when his own baby arrives in August! He said, "I've been reading books!" ~ cracked me up though when we were all telling baby and birthing stories and he was pretty much in shock!!

So what do you do after your "easy labor"......

.....eat Chick Fil A!!

Uncle Kris kissing Reagan

My Dad is her Great Uncle

Isn't she cute!!

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

May 2008 @ Elijah's end of season soccer league party

THIS......

.....is truly Isaiah.....

confident enough to wait in line by himself with the big kids!!


THIS......

.....is truly Isaiah......

strong, determined and stubborn enough NOT to give up when climbing those stairs with his short legs and long shorts. It may have taken FOREVER but he would NOT give up!

THIS........

.....is truly Isaiah......

....happy, proud and full of fun!

I love this boy!

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY: BUBBLES

What can I say besides this boy loves his bubbles!!

If all else fails tell him you will turn on the bubble machine if he takes a bath!

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Prizes include $25 and $50 gift cards plus other goodies!!

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

October 2008 ~ I love this picture! Elijah played his first season of tackle football last year and I love this picture because although he is running for a touchdown somehow he looked RIGHT at the camera ~ woo hoo Carolee! I can not believe I am about to say this but I can't wait for football season to start again! Yep you read that right! The self-proclaimed "not footbally" Mom who still does not understand the game, hated the practice schedule and was really sick of driving to far away games is missing football. Please hold back on the "I told you so" comments because I can always edit the post to delete the admission! I don't miss the game! I miss seeing my son play the game! I understand our boys first "fairytale" season isn't promised to repeat but wouldn't it be awesome if it did. I miss seeing him run his little heart out juking along the way and the joy on his face each time he got a touchdown. I miss seeing him use his amazing defense skills to plow down the other players. I miss watching him play from start to finish without complaining and never giving up when the score was down. I miss photographing him and his team from up and down the sidelines. I miss downloading all the pics to see if I got any good action shots. I miss the other parents ~ we got very lucky and we all got along. I miss cheering on our boys and getting them pumped up if they were down. I can't believe it and I never ever thought I would utter these words ~ I. MISS. FOOTBALL. (well at least watching my kid since I hate watching it on TV) I was the Mom that did not want her child to start tackle football yet. I was the Mom about to puke on the sidelines watching them in the playoffs and the championship game because I was just that excited and nervous for them. I was the Mom in shock when an opposing coach offered us money not to let our son play in a playoff game against his team. I was also the Mom who thought "you are kidding, right? This is 1st grade tackle football not the NFL but then wondered how much he would have been willing to pay since he was serious!" NO I would NOT have accepted just a little curious! I was the Mom who ran out after they won a very tough playoff game to scoop up my baby in my arms and spin him around telling him how proud I was. I was the Mom crying when they WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!! I was the Mom who did NOT have a "footbally" bone in her body and hated the mere idea of her son playing but now I am the Mom who can't wait for it to start all over again! How crazy is that? I wish I could be the Mom who didn't worry though ~ good luck with that one! I have a feeling that instant "stomach drop" feeling when Elijah hits so hard that the helmets crash and my first thought is bones breaking might last his whole life or at least until he gets up safely ready for the next hit! BOYS!

THAT'S MY BOY!

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

I trying to find some good....well actually I was trying to find some bad funny pics of friends that I could scan....yep that's how I roll....when I came upon these pics of Elijah! He was by far the cutest baby boy I've ever seen! My Grandmother got him this giant bear to take his photo with every month to see how much he would grown each month on his birth day! Fun project and interesting but it go harder to do the older he got! Anyhow I found them, I fell in love all over again even after 7 years and here they are:

One Month ~ so tiny, sweet, calm, peaceful and cute as can be!

Four months ~ all smiles and still cute as can be and although his Daddy thought this outfit was girly it was a boy outfit ~ closest to a girl outfit I'll ever get!

Six months ~ so so happy, loved his thigh rolls! I love this picture because it captured his mini mohawk! He was born with a full head of thick hair but the sides and back just stopped growing. His hair was still thick and grew like crazy.....only on the top!! This was right after his first haircut in hopes that if we cut the top maybe just maybe the sides could catch up!!

Ten months ~ my little brown baby boy is so handsome and I just love his eyes in this picture!

OH THE MEMORIES!

NOW he is SEVEN and even though the baby/bear pics stopped six years ago he is still the cutest baby boy I've ever seen!

Not biased at all I tell you!

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY: BEAUTY

Sept 2007 - This is from one of our many trips to Branson ~ our home away from home! One of my favorite pictures from the Butterfly Palace and trust me I took a ton of pictures! It was really neat to watch them eat up close and personal and have them flying all around and landing on us. I liked this one so much that I added some text and now it is my screen saver that way I can see my work....ahem....the beauty of nature!!

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WORDFUL WEDNESDAY: ICE ICE BABY!!

Attention: WW readers several pics and definitely WORD FULL but good!

Sunday evening Chai went with me to Wally World on a little grocery run only to discovery they were out of almost everything either of us needed. It was ridiculous how bare the shelves were. I wondered if yet again I had made it there on the 1st when the state issues food stamps but alas I had not. We noticed at the front of the store that they had ice melt, shovels and ice scrapers and immediately said to each other is this storm supposed to be worse than we originally heard or is everyone panicked the ice storm from 13 months ago is again headed our way.

WOW!

It brought up so many memories.

You can't begin to imagine how wierd it is to be in your town with no power.

Not just a block or two but the whole town.

Wally World ~ closed!

Quik Trip ~ closed!

Gas stations ~ closed!

Target ~ closed!

Grocery stores ~ closed!

Banks ~ closed!

No stop lights, no street lights and no where to buy the necessities!

Then when Wally World finally opened they had nothing! NO candles! No gas heaters! Not much food! ALL stores had to discard refrigerated/freezer items which meant NO milk, dairy....you couldn't even buy hot dogs for petes sake....how was I supposed to feed the boys....LOL.....OK seriously!

The storm severity was completely unexpected!

YES we knew we were getting ice but not enough ice to SNAP power poles!!

We were out of firewood and you just don't realize how cold the house can get without any heat source except body heat...ooh lala...~ well at least we didn't! ALL the stores had hundreds of people waiting to buy generators before they could make it off the trucks!

Yes it was nice to finally get firewood, snuggle on the couch with the boys to do puzzles, play board games and read books by candlelight

FOR THE FIRST 8 HOURS OF THE FIRST DAY BUT THEN I WAS DONE!

I am not a non-electricity living girl!

I couldn't even go to work to escape because there was no electricity which also meant NO income!!

No school to send the kids to and even after the schools had power they couldn't have school because they had to clean the kitchen from the melted frozen foods and totally restock their kitchens.

It was unreal the damage done to Oklahoma and the other parts of the midwest struck by the storm. Ancient trees split in half and reduced to nothing by the shear weight of ice ~ I never imagined the damage ice could do! The storm debris pickup from the Dec 2007 storm did not get finished until June 2008....maybe it was July.....anyway THAT gives you some idea of how many trees GREEN COUNTRY lost!!

WHY can't we just get some snow?

I am so sick of ICE here everytime we get wintery weather!!

Some people were without electricity for over a month and crews came from all over the US to help restore power to our communities.

I LOVE THOSE GUYS AND I LOVE ME SOME ELECTRICITY!!

I totally appreciate street lights and stop lights because I quickly learned there are hundreds of people out there that have NO CLUE what to do at a four way stop!!

SO NEEDLESS TO SAY I don't think we were the only ones freaking out because the store was empty on the grocery side.

Fast forward 13 months to NOW.....

YES we are having a bad ice storm, yes the kids will be out of school for the second day today and yes many things have been closing in fact I had to go to 3 gas stations this morning before I found one with gas BUT we still have power because I am posting this!!!

I have to admit I panicked at the mere thought of not getting to be on blogger for a few days!!!

Sad but very very true! Here are a few pictures from our Dec 2007 Ice Storm:

This is the view from the street looking into our yard! Our house was completely hidden!

I thought I might cry at the thought of losing our Magnolia tree in the front yard especially since it is the only tree on our property that I even like!

Isaiah's car was covered in "stuck" water as the boys put it!!

How about that chair.....obviously we were using it as lawn furniture at the time! LOLOLOLOLHow cool is it that our basketball goal froze in the "swoosh" position!!

What can I say we've got it like that and the net is so used to that position from all MY swoosing!! Stop laughing I am so serious!!

Look how thick the ice is on the little berry lookin' things!

I didn't want to say they are berries then get comments telling me how stupid I am because I really don't know what in the world they are, I just love the picture!

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