Mum's the Word

I had the strangest experience today. I decided to stop by the university greenhouse and pick up some mums as decorations for Carson's party next weekend. I took my time perusing the long aisles of brightly colored mums, thinking someone would be out to help me transport the giant pots to my van and write a ticket for me to pay inside. After nearly giving up and preparing to go inside to get someone to help me, I came across a woman, kneeling on the weed mat, working with a hose. I was still several feet away from her, when I asked if she would mind helping me with some flowers. She looked at me, put her head down, and continued her work. I tried again, asking if there was someone else who could help me. She again made eye contact, and said, "I water," then returned to her work. I decided to try one last time and asked her, "Is anyone else here?" She jumped up from her work, marched over to me and shouted, "I water! You yourself!" At this point I realized that she was an Asian student and determined that something was obviously getting lost in translation. I turned and quickly walked away, loaded my flowers, and went inside to find another worker. When I walked back outside, a lady with a thick Southern accent had arrived and was speaking to the Asian girl in a thick drawl, saying, " Sugar, could you fetch me some chrysanthemums?" The Asian girl hopped up, said, "Sure, " and fetched the woman's flowers. Weird. Even weirder is that tomorrow I'm going to work with a child who speaks only Chinese. Guess I'll turn on the Southern charm and hope for the best. Have a great Tuesday, Sugar.

Happy Birthday....on the road

The last two weeks have been an absolute blur. With Greg working out of town and me having a St.Louis doctor's appointment, a meeting in Jefferson City, and a trip to take Carson to see Greg overnight, I am exhausted. We'll start the process over on Monday morning. Carson is being farmed out to various relatives after school and often overnight while I work. He came stumbling into the living room half asleep one night last week, rubbing his eyes, to ask me where he was going the next morning and who he should look for to pick him up. Poor guy. On the bright side, Greg is officially half way through his training and will be home for good in two more weeks.

Because of this crazy scheduling, Carson is set to have the longest birthday celebration in history. We started off with an ice cream party for his class on Thursday, since school was out on Friday, his actual birthday. I picked him up after school and we drove to St. Charles to stay with Greg for the night. We visited Chuck E Cheese for dinner. I had never noticed before how much Chuck E's is like a little kiddie casino. It was packed with very overstimulated kids who had very little supervision. Definitely a once a year place for us. Friday morning, Carson opened his presents over breakfast in the hotel dining room, then he and I met my friend, Katie, at the St Louis Zoo for a beautiful day of visiting the animals. We drove home in time for dinner, and Carson chose to eat at Golden Gate, our favorite Chinese place in Jackson. On Saturday, he and Greg spent the afternoon launching Carson's new rocket, then we went to yet another birthday dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Penny. Tonight we'll be celebrating with Greg's parents, who returned from their cruise to Nova Scotia last night. We'll finish the celebrating with a hayride party next Sunday, where Carson will finally get to blow out some candles!

I am hoping to get to take some vacation days to stay with Greg and scrapbook in the hotel this week. I really want to get at least this year completed in an album and attempt to stay more on track with my scrapping. I may never get caught up on years past, but I would like to stay current from now on. (I'm probably dreaming!)

Have a fantastic week and enjoy the lovely weather if you're local!