Lady and The Spencer

In the Dollar Tree store, the public address system made a scritchy-scratch sound, then a woman's voice from the ceiling said, "I need..." scritchy-scratch sound again, and that click of disconnect.

Spencer and I continued shopping, me checking out the Christmas clearance.  PA system came on again, scritchy-scratch sound, woman's voice, "I need a waaa-waaa-waaa...." scritchy-scratch sound and click of disconnect.

Spencer and I are laughing, "Come on, you can do it, lady.  Try again."  Of course, she was at the other side of the store and couldn't hear us, but we were sure sending her motivating vibes anyway.  Finally, scritchy-scratch sound, woman's voice, "I need a manager, please", and click.  We gave each other a nod of approval, "good job." She got it done.

We are done shopping and in line at the check out, and I announce how I don't like to handle those little black stylus pens on the side of the credit card reader.  It's a new thing where the cashier asks you if you want a paper receipt or not, but you have to answer by picking up that stylus and touching yes or no on the screen with it.  "Ugh.  I hate using that." Turning to Spencer, I clarify, " Do you know EVERYBODY HAS to use that now, whether you want a receipt or not, EVERYONE has to touch it.  People with colds, men who've picked their noses, women with hankies in their hands or that have just wiped their toddler's face.  It's gross."

Well, he got me.  He got the cashier, too.  He got her to laughing, heartily.

As we walked out the door, he said, "Did you see her face when we walked through line?  She was ready to quit.  She was about to walk out the door.  But we made her laugh, now it's not so bad, she's gonna have a good day."

Want to know what he said?  And, btw, what does he know about it?  He's a single guy, never married!

He said, "Mom, just look at the money she's handing you in change!  Just think about it, Mom.  You don't know where that money's been.  It could've come out of a stripper's g-string!"

POOR THING, TREETOP ANGEL

Never, ever, has this happened before!  In all my years of raising toddler have toddler after toddler never, ever, has this happened before!

We've hung the Christmas tree upside down from the ceiling, decorated with red ribbon and a star on the bottom (or should I say the top).

We've secured half a Christmas tree firmly against the wall, strung with multi-colored lights.

We've surrounded the Christmas tree with decorated cement blocks to resemble presents to keep the toddlers' walkers at bay.

And this year, for only the second time ever, we put a short Christmas tree on top of a table. We adorned it with crystal orbs and reflective icicles and silvery glittery garland.

It stood there a month.

Now, Christmas Day, sitting on the floor playing with grand babies, Miss Lilly toddles over to me and  pushes something in my face, asking, "What's this?"  I pulled my head back to put an eyeball on it -- focus, focusing -- IT'S THE TREETOP ANGEL!!!!!

"WHERE'D YOU GET THAT??????"

Raising my head a bit higher, laser seeking eyes looking towards the Christmas tree, "OH MY LANDS!"  It looked quite sad laying in front of the picture window on it's side.  Settled over some forgotten presents, across the couch's arm rest, drooping white & silver garland, there were pieces parts scattered in its crash.  Poor thing, it had a broken leg!

Without notice, and ever so softly, the Christmas tree had fallen.

AND THE EGG YOU SPY MAKES FIVE

Miss Lilly came in, bringing Christmas with her wearing a little red jumper and candy cane stripped shirt.  She hadn't had breakfast, yet.  It was no one's fault just the circumstances.

Our table was set with pretty dishes, red poinsettia napkins, pedestal crystal fruit bowl full of grapes, and foods that didn't need warmed like cranberry jello, walnut banana bread, and deviled eggs.

Miss Lilly looked it over, "I want egg."
So, I fed her one.  

Then, I fixed her a plate of cranberry jello, partial banana, and sausage link.  Ta-daaa, a breakfast of sausage and egg, right?  (Convoluted thinking, but like hubby told our son, "When kids come here hungry, I'm gonna feed 'em.")

Later, sitting around the Christmas table, there were 9 of us for dinner.   I did wiggle in a separate 3-chaired kids' table.  That totaled 12 mouths to feed.  While filling our plates with turkey and mashed taters, Rusty says, "Why only one plate of deviled eggs?  You ALWAYS make 2!"

I looked to the end of the table and there's only a couple deviled eggs left.  Raising my eyes I meet Clint's twinkling eyes and spy a half eaten deviled egg in his mouth as he's poking the rest in. He raises his other hand and spreads out the fingers like a high five, but no, after the egg goes all the way in, and his now jobless hand points to the finger-spread hand, he nods his head in affirmation to say this egg was his FIFTH!  HIS FIFTH!

After swallowing, he asks, "Can I have one more?" and he laughs, "that would make it even.  I would've had 3 whole eggs then."

There are no words to express my Shock and Awe!

Awed that he could and
shocked that he would!!!

My quiet, non-troublemaking Clint, the biggest EGG of all!

ISLAND MAKING LILLY'S WAY

Miss Lilly decorated the church, yep, she did!   Five adults prepped the stage for the little kids Christmas program coming up this weekend, and Lilly helped.  

Remember that old Shake and Bake commercial, where the little girl with her southern twang happily chimed in, "And I helped."  Well, that was Miss Lilly.

On that Sunday after church, after a quick meal at Subway, a few of us traipsed back to the church to put up a curtain rod and a backdrop.  That's all that was needed from the men.  But, you know, with all that help, and their willingness to stick around to do more, we did.  We did more.  And don't forget Miss Lilly, she helped.  And I mean, she de-cor-ated...!


The theme?  "I Saw Three Ships".  The stage would be set as a pier with a palm tree hanging over a trunk, a fence roll, a barrel, some crates, and some wooden boxes.  Painted in the center of the backdrop would be a big brown ship moored to shore.  

While I sat on the blue carpeted floor to cut nylon fishing line to length to hang some jellyfish, Miss Lilly was busy, too.  She dismantled my 10 inch palm tree!  

Yep, that palm tree became a tower on her island in the middle of the sanctuary.

I didn't realize what the mess was all about until her daddy, told me, "Well, yah, I knew that.  That's what she said it was."  She'd pulled 3 foam play mats from some other kid's pew and dotted it with jumbo legos, her houses.  

When I got up to find some nails for the men, she unrolled a ball of large rope down the length of the church, but when she started on the nylon fishing line I'd left lay, I said,  "Uh-uh, girl, that's not happening!"  

An unfolded step ladder became a mountain to climb, a nativity wiseman became a lost man on that island, and an open pocket knife got preemptively snatched when we spied her chubby little hands reaching out, "What's this?"

As we walked up and down the church looking for her misplaced green teddy bear, there were obvious evidences of unobserved play -- boxes askew, pencil laying on scribbled paper, books flat open, and...hey, wait a minute, "Oh, Miss Lilly!"... there on their sides laid two little brown boots..."Are you missing your shoes?"  

At this point, she not only had lost her shoes, and her green teddy bear, she lost her good mood, too.  She didn't want to go home.  There were too many fun, unhindered by parents, things to do; and lots of space to do it in!

When an overly large white wooly sheep can be your pony, who needs a children's Christmas play?

Decorating is much more fun, just ask a wiseman.