the odd couple

no, i'm not talking about me and the hubby.

year before last, shortly after i found out i was prego with #3, my two young daughters and i packed our bags and moved to Mississippi - in with my parents. not because of marital distress but so that our oldest daughter could attend a specialized speech program at the university of southern mississippi. at the time, there were no programs that met her needs for education AND speech therapy in the great state of texas. for an explanation of her challenges, click here.

so off we went - and it was a long, llllooooonnnnngggggg school year that year.

imagine moving back in with your parents. uh huh. ok.

now imagine moving back in with your parents with two small children. yep, that too.

finally, imagine moving back in with your parents, two small children and hormonal mood swings from hell because you are pregnant with your third child at the ripe age of 36!

now you kinda have the full picture - as long as i point out that hubby stayed here in texas to work, avoid me pregnant and to hold down the fort. he traveled to mississippi about twice a month to visit and calm me down.

and let me state for the record - MY PARENTS ARE SAINTS. i would never have put up with me and my prego, hormonal boil-the-bunny psycho bullsh*t. NEVER! i was a living, walking nightmare. TRUST me. i am not sugarcoating this. i am indebted to them for the rest of my life. and of course being the saints they are, they act like it was nothing. crazy people.

it was worth it. the program was fabulous and sam made measurable progress. a new pilot program was started at a private school here in dallas so we were able to move back home after that school year. THANK GOD!

but there were several things I learned and am thankful for from that school year...
1. i already mentioned - my parents are saints. my dad - every day, faithfully, drove sam to and from school. 45 minutes one way. he had a horrible time understanding her speech on those rides. it frustrated him. it frustrated her. but they stuck it out and forged a strong bond between granddaddy and granddaughter.

2. my grandmother died that year - while we were home. and since i was local, i got to spend more time with her before she passed as well as be with her at the end.

3. i learned that my mother gets smarter as she gets older. or perhaps i recognize it more as i get older. it's prolly me. i'd be willing to bet she's been brilliant my whole life and i have been in denial.

4. i learned that it is never, ever a good idea for a 3 yr old and a 5 year old to share a bedroom.

5. i learned that sending a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old to their room does not prevent them from going outside to play. especially when there is a window available for them to crawl out of. i am not kidding.

6. i learned that you can not gain a single pound for 6 months in a pregnancy but when they open a new Krispy Kreme doughnuts across from your Dr's office, 20 pounds jumps out and attacks you. my son's first word was 'doughnut' - he was 3 hours old...

7. finally, i learned that a husband, bored to tears in the absence of his family, will do just about anything to entertain himself. i have proof.

while we were gone, hubby became attached to one of our chickens. the kids named her Mama Chicken. we call her Mama for short. he fed her by hand. she hung out in the garage with him when he worked. followed him around the farm. by the time we moved back home, he had this chicken convinced she was a cat. much to my amazement, she let the girls pick her up and tote her around like a cat. they even put her in their swimming pool with them - before i could intervene - and while she did not enjoy it in the least, she did not scratch their little eyes out.

so now, Moma is the only chicken we have left now. she pretty much lives on the back porch. with our real cats. sometimes she sits at the kitchen window and watches us go about our lives. which is fine - unless i am cooking chicken and then i can't look her in the eye.

and we do feed her chicken food. regularly. but i noticed the strangest thing the other day. had to grab my camera. bloggie love and all...

Happy Valentine's Day folks!

from Moma and me........