My little man

We are just about ready for Christmas here, but we must first get through a greatly anticipated "skate party" on Friday for my two kiddos. Some will skate, most will scooter. But either way, it should be a fun time.

Ansley is doing well on her heart monitor. The worst part is the affect of the sticker leads on her skin. We air her skin out as much as possible - but there is only so much surface we can move the leads around on.

Pictures to come....

Life according to Reba....

I am a quote person. I like quotes. I like to read books that are full of quotes. I end parent bulletins at school with quotes. I stick them in our yearbook. I just like them. Mother Teresa is one of my favorites. Another is Kermit the Frog (he has some good stuff out there - look it up sometime)
There are so many great leaders, thinkers, and writers who have given us wise words by which to live our lives.  I saw one today by Reba McEntire and I liked it. It spoke to me today.  Wise Reba McEntire. Hey - she has to be pretty smart to manage singing, acting and a shoe career. So here is the quote:
To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone. ~Reba McEntire

This is brilliant. Today, I saw all three of things. So here goes:
1. Wishbone: I wished ALOT today. I wished I could blink myself to Ansley's school when they called to tell me she had passed out and hit her head. I wished I could blink the EKG maching to her school and take a reading immediately. I wished that she would not be scared. I got one wish. Maybe one and a half. I made it to her school in record time, there was no EKG maching there, but she was not scared. She knew we would be headed to the dr. And we went home to get some clean clothes for her and she carefully chose which baby doll would be the lucky companion of the day.

2. Backbone -I really found my backbone on the last round of investigation into Ansleys issues. I always try to be very respectful and polite to medical staff (as they have to deal with the public daily and I feel their pain) but I am also not afraid to say I need someone to listen to me. And I need it today. Now. And they do. I am not scared to ask questions or to send Jamey to find someone - anyone.

3. Funnybone - this pops up in the most unexpected places. On the way to the hospital, my mom and I laughed as I groaned when she hit every yellow light on Springhill and immediately hit the breaks. She was not going through a yellow light - as much as I hit the pretend gas pedal on the floorboard of the passenger seat. But of course, she was right - there was no need to drive like a NASCAR driver. Ansley was fine in the backseat.

So we are home  - Ansley has her heart monitor for a while. Hopefully we will catch something on the monitor and it will give us some answers. But she is a happy girl tonight. Watching tinkerbell and planning our breakfast menu for Thanksgiving day. Our menu for breakfast is a surprise for her daddy. I love planning events with my girl. I am blessed.

The left side of the tracks....

We are home late from the last Jags game of the season. It was lots of fun this year - tailgating, parades, lots of great food on the menu - This has really been a great thing for the Univ of South Alabama. Jamey and I both graduated from USA for our undergrad and our graduate degrees - and through Sallie Mae and alumni association dues- we still feel a strong connection. As we were leaving Ladd tonight, they were directing traffic away from the stadium toward Michigan Avenue. "I have no idea where we are." My west mobile born and bread husband tells me. "Keep going." I tell him. "We will hit the interstate in just a few minutes."
From the backseat Ansley asked, "How come Daddy doesn't know which way we are going?"
"Because mommy is from this part of town and I'm not. I grew up on the right side of the tracks." Jamey said.
"So mommy is from the left side of the tracks?" Stephen asks. Um - yes. I guess I am. Raised down Navco in the 36605 zip code - Dunbar for middle school - Murphy for High School - after school hours at the Dauphin Island Parkway library near the cemetery. Years spent in these areas mean I am way more comfortable than most in certain areas. I may not can name every street, but I know where I am and where I am going. I have never feared the downtown area. In fact, I really like it actually. In another life I could see myself living in the downtown area. Maybe when the kiddos have moved on to their own things.

A few random things are on my heart tonight:
1. My brother and his precious wife. heroes - both of them. Thinking of them this Veterans Day.
2. My sweet friend Kelly. Her daddy is having some health issues and he lives a long, long way from her.
3. My mama - who cares for so many. Who deserves so much more than life has given her. I could never have asked for a better mama.

We celebrated Stephen's birthday this past week.  Lots of good pictures to come soon.

Monday Funday....or something like that

Here is a list of the Duke family's most recent updates:

1. Stephen has decided that he will not be attending school. Ever. K4 next year? No, thank you. I am not interested. Going to big school with other big kids? Nope. Not for me. Ok - so we have a few months to work on this.

2. Ansley and I were riding in the car listening to the radio. Dave Matthews' song "You and Me" came on so cue Ansley and I to sing along through the entire song. At the end of the song Ansley comments, " This song makes me think of Daddy. You and Daddy sing this song." This makes my heart happy. She sees that we love each other, and that is healthy for kids, right??? She then continues, " Also, that Toker song makes me think of Daddy. I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm midnight toker." yes, baby, that song also makes me think of Daddy. This makes my heart sort of confused.

3. I can barely type this without gagging, but Tilly (the newest member of our family) is in ......HEAT! Blech. There. I said it. Ugh. She was literally scheduled for her "fix all her business" surgery one week after her hormones started going crazy. So now we have a 6 month old hormonal hyper puppy. Y.I.K.E.S. So Tilly is in confinement until her delicate condition improves. Oh yes, you can have a dog fixed while they are in heat, but guess what?? It costs about triple the price. So she is just gonna have to make it through this stressful emotional time. I am hoping I make it too. (GAG.)

4. Fantasy football is a completely separate world that many people have no idea even exists. Fantasy football means Jamey not only watches pro-football, but also participates in "pretend" , I mean "fantasy" games. Long telephone conversations about things that are not actually happening in real life take place. Setting lineups, checking scores, staying up until west coast games are over at 1am to see your score at the end of the night. All fantasy football inspired actions. Secretly, I kind of want to play next year just to see if I can beat any of these boys and make their blood pressure go up.  I can't watch this much football without some of it sinking into my brain. My mom says my competitive side is getting the best of me. And honestly, the last thing I need is another reason to pick up the laptop.

5. And finally, we all had a lot of fun this past weekend enjoying Halloween activities. Stephen dressed up as Cat in the Hat. Ansley was Tiger Lilly (The Indian from Peter Pan - NOT Pocahontas - don't confuse the two). Stephen very much liked his costume, but his hat would become itchy after a little while so he would take his hat off and say, "Do not call me Cat in the Hat. Because I am not in the hat. I am now Cat out of the Hat."

Happy November, everyone!