In Search Of...

I am in search of an extra set of grandparents or extended family for our kids. My dad is dead and my craptastic mom, who I have severed all ties with lives in Alaska. Wes' parents live 5 minutes away, and love to watch Hunter play sports and hang out with the kiddos for short periods of time. However, I don't recall them ever inviting the kids to their house. Anytime the kids go over there, it's because I ask them or the kids ask them--which is fine, I just really wish they would initiate spending time with them once in a while. I usually feel as though I'm putting them out, and several times they've asked for a "raincheck". I love my kids dearly, hence our decision for me to be a stay at home mom, but sometimes, Wes and I really crave some alone time. You know the kind of dinner where I don't have to cut up anybody else's food, or where we can talk about something other than wrestling and Dora. As it is, we have this type of alone time on average..3...maybe 4 times a year.

I can vividly remember my grandparents calling to invite me over to stay the entire weekend with them. I lived in Richardson. They lived in Mesquite. So, we were only about 20 minutes apart. My grandfather would stop by a few times a month on his way home from work in Plano to bring me a bag of M&M's. Every time he came he would say, "Now, you don't like M&M's, do you?" And I would beg and plead for that bag telling him how much I loved M&M's. I spent almost every Spring Break at their house and would often spend a week or two with them in the Summer. I would sell lemonade and apples from their apple tree in a stand my uncle made for me. I would help my grandmother peel potatoes for dinner and I always got to eat as much macaroni and cheese as I wanted when I was at their house. My dad and grandpa would take my on fishing trips with them, despite the fact that I talked too much and never caught more than a baby perch. They never had a lot of extra money, but they would always keep me the week before school started and take me to get a few new outfits and some school supplies. I cherished this time with them and some of my fondest childhood memories are from my time spent with them. They loved being grandparents and savored every minute with me.

If you are interested in the position, this is what I am looking for:

1. Someone who will call my kids to see how they're doing.

2. Someone who will occasionally invite Hunter to go fishing, play ball at the park, or to a movie.

3. Someone who will occasionally invite Grace to go play at the park, to the movie, or walk around the mall.

4. Someone who will occasionally invite the kids for an afternoon at McDonald's or a trip to get ice cream.

5. And someone who will occasionally invite the kids to spend the night.

Here's a picture of me circa 1985 peeling potatoes in my grandparent's kitchen. Yes, I realize it looks like Hunter in a dress.

Santa was good to us!

The kids are enjoying their new toys and games. Hunter is busy playing his Guitar Hero III, and Grace is learning to ride her new bike. Enjoy the pics and video.

Merry Christmas

Well, I hope that everyone is enjoying their friends and family right now. It's been a great year here at the Pittman house, and we are feeling very blessed. I finally took Hunter to see Santa today. On the way there, Grace said, "Mama when is the angel coming to see us?" I said, "What angel?" And she said, "Member. The angel that comes on Christmas." It seems she's been listening at school. I told her that angel only came the day that Jesus was born and that it would not be coming to see us tomorrow. I thought that was really cute though. Last week was super busy with class party's at both kids schools, as well as Grace's X-Mas program. She did so good and remembered all of the hand motions to the songs. However, she couldn't remember all the songs so she would just lip sync. It was hilarious. I totally forgot to pull my camera out at Hunter's class party and am kicking myself in the butt now. Oh and guess what else I did. We exchanged gifts this year with the Owen's family kids. Derrick is Grace's best friend. You've seen me blog about him before. Well, one of his gifts was an apron with his name embroidered on it to go along with the kitchen Santa is bringing him. I spelled his freakin' name wrong!!! All this time I've been spelling it D-E-R-E-K. Nope. It's D-E-R-R-I-C-K. Shirley (his mom) has never once corrected me. And of course she said it's fine b/c he doesn't know how to spell his name either. Yesterday, we headed over to Wes' parents to celebrate X-Mas and exchange gifts. It was a nice break this year for to not host any of the holiday gatherings. Well, I'll leave you all with a few pics. Have a safe and happy holiday.

The kids with Santa

Grace & Ms. Mindy her teacher The kids before Grace's X-Mas program
The Pittman Family

White Trash Wednesday #4

Well folks the moment you've all been waiting for. It's time to meet Cecilia! Cecilia is a single, but actively dating, mature woman with a thick southern drawl who lives in Emory, Texas. She bears a striking resemblance to Amy Sedaris' character Jerri Blank http://www.furisdead.com/pdfs/sedarisFUR72.pdf as pointed out to me by a few of my friends. She told us all kinds of stories, none of which made much sense. She and her entourage arrived at The Waffle House shortly after 2:00 a.m. after a night at Fairfields, a local C&W bar. Cecilia was quite an animated storyteller.

This first picture of her is when her mullet man carried her into the Waffle House. This was of course after she had put her shirt back on while standing in T.W.H. parking lot.

This is me with my "good listener face" as Cecilia tells us stories about a guy Wes used to work with that lives in Emory, Texas. Cecilia used to "rent from his Mama".

And here I am with my silly face. That, however, is not Cecilia's silly face. That is just the face she makes when she really gets into her storytelling.

CWA Local 6171 X-Mas Party

Saturday night we headed to the Main Street Liquid Company, a bar in Richardson, for Wes' Union X-Mas party. It was a blast! Everyone that came brought a new unwrapped toy to donate to Toys for Tots. I got to see several people that I already knew and also had the chance to meet some really cool people for the first time. (Shout out to Kevin and Lori!!) The service was great at the bar and so were these broccoli cheese bit things. Damn, I wish I could have some right now. So, of course I have pics and stories to share, but some of those will have to wait until this weeks installment of White Trash Wednesday. This may be the best week ever, so be sure to check back in.

Wes and I before ordering any drinks.

Me & Kathy

Jody & Wes

New York Pete & Wes
FYI: I loved getting to talk to Pete. We had met a few times before, but never had the chance to talk much. Wes loves him b/c he talks like Tony Soprano, and I love him b/c we're both glad we don't live on Wisteria Lane.
Randy & Wes Kevin & Lori
Me pretending to slap Kevin's ass while dancing
Wes and I once I had some devil juice in me
The group shot
Okay and now for the segment many of you have been waiting for. There was a woman at the party from the Care Center who apparently was unaware that this was not a frat party. She showed up looking for any man she could find that was not wearing a wedding ring. Although, I did spot a decent sized rock on her left finger. So this girl, who I like to call "Drunk Ass" went through all the stages of drinking that many 18 year olds go through. She was slutty drunk, then lovey "every one's my best friend" drunk, then sloppy drunk, then weepy drunk, until finally she was passed out drunk. A family member finally had to be called to pick her up and take her home. Classy.

Yep, that's her laying on the floor after she lost her balance.
And here she is trying to get back up.
You may want to click on this picture to see the larger version. This is when she became weepy drunk.
And finally, she's out....
So after all this excitement, we decided to head over to the Waffle House at 2:00 am for some breakfast. Little did we know, the best entertainment of the night would be there. Here's a pic of us with Kevin and Lori.

The rest of the Waffle House pics will be up on Wednesday. I'll give you a little hint about this weeks W.T. Wednesday though. The winner is a woman named Cecilia from Emory, Texas. We first spotted her in the parking lot when she stepped out of her car and put her shirt back on in the parking lot. She was quite a character, and I'm looking forward to sharing more about her with you all. So, don't forget to stop back by later this week.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

I'll get to Santa in a minute. First I want to tell you guys about the football tournament Hunter particpated in Thanksgiving weekend. The Mesquite Steelers hosted it, and overall it was completely craptastic. There is a chat board for Mesquite Pee-Wee parents and coaches and I posted this top 10 list on there:

Top 10 Reasons NOT To Participate in a STEAL-ers Tournament:

10. The Steal-ers tried to play an 11 year old in an "E" team game.

9. They thought it was really hard to make a bracket with 3 teams, and wanted us to play 3 games, them to play 2 games, and the Gators to play 1 game, rather than everyone playing the 2 games they were guaranteed.

8. They told our "E" team during our huddle after a game, where ALL the parents were standing around, that we would play today at 12:30. Then later said, "We NEVER said that. Ya'll play at 3:30."

7. It was $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for children (including toddlers) to enter EVERY day. No weekend passes were offered at a discount.

6. When we arrived yesterday morning, nobody from the STEAL-ers organization was there yet. Needless to say, there was never much of a warm welcome.

5. The STEAL-ers "C" team was either unable or unwilling to provide copies of players bith certificates.

4. A parent from the STEAL-ers verbally attacked a pregnant mom from our organization, going so far as to threaten to run her over. Then continued to harrass and try to intimidate that parent throughout the weekend.

3. Did I mention that the STEAL-ers were appalled at the idea that we would request to see birth certificates? Despite the fact that we happily had given them copies of one of our teams birth certificates when requested. Apparently we were crazy to think that their "C" team might try and cheat even after there "E" team was busted trying to cheat.

2. The president of the Texas Raiders, who I'm told had boys playing with the Steelers, felt it was appropriate to talk trash to one of our kids about that kids father.

1. Despite paying our tournament fee, parking fee, and buying from concessions, they were unable to provide toilet paper in the bathrooms. Today they were kind enough to give a ration of 1 napkin to the women who went to concessions asking for some. There was a roll of toilet paper spotted in the concession area, but apparently you have to be a STEAL-er in order to be given that ammenity.

Anyways, Hunter was oblivious to all the bs and was awfully proud of his 2nd place medal. So, here are a few pics. I was really proud of him too. It was freezing all weekend, along with rain and sleet, and clearly my child has no fat to insulate his body. He did great toughing it out though, and even caused a few fumbles.

Now, on to Santa. The last time Grace sat with the big jolly guy was in 2004 when she was 6 months old. The following year she allowed me to park her stroller next to him while Hunter sat on his lap, however she wouldn't even look at the guy.

Last year she would not even go into his area. She screamed simply at the sight of him and hung on to Wes for dear life as she watched Hunter go and sit with him. Well, what a difference a year can make. She was totally excited to go see him this year. We met her best friend (or her boyfriend if you ask her) up at the mall. We arrived at the mall before Derek and Grace was getting very impatient. She kept waving to Santa and saying, "HEY! Where's you reindeer?" So, the first picture is of Derek and Grace both sporting fake smiles. The next one is my favorite though. Derek is done, but Grace is ready with her show stopping smile. I'm hoping to get Hunter by to see St.Nick sometime this week. I fear this may be our last year with him as a believer. I must take full advantage of it.