Although the popularity of the McRib sandwich has been enormous, I have never had one.  This is why I don’t get that it is a phenomenon!  It’s going nationwide for a bit, so if you like it you might not want to miss it. From PopFi,

The McRib, everyone’s favorite McDonald’s sandwich and a personal favorite, is one of those rare treats that’s worth going out of your way to get.  It’s a part-time menu item at McDonald’s, meaning it’s not available everywhere all the time.  Individual franchisees choose when they’re going to roll out the McRib, and it’s rarely available across the entire country at once.  Well, this is one of those rare times.  McDonald’s has released the McRib nationally, and you’ve got until November 14 to get your hands on that delicious, ribby goodness.

What’s a food you have always wanted to try out, but never have?

Photo by jencu.

In my little Kentucky hometown, students from the high school got to paint windows at Halloween.  Different age groups won prizes for scariest, best overall, most creative… rather like a costume contest!  I hadn’t thought about those windows for awhile since it’s been at least 25 years since I lived there.  But Mama Bird Diaries reminded me,

… instead of a coveted spot on our main street where you can chat with friends, grab coffee at Starbucks and listen to a local band – we were assigned this gem of a location. ….we commandeered another window where the girls could actually paint without being strangled by some kind of Kudzu plant.

I think the girls win for best window in worst location!

Babies have been in my world these last few days!  My former Girl Scout had her little Kayleigh.

This precious little one was just over seven pounds and 20 inches long. Her Momma is mad because the photographer popped in a pacifier after the picture and now the baby won’t stop crying without it!  Whoops!

Another story about a baby today is about a family whose lives were saved because of a doll baby simulator. Designed to make teens think about how a pregnancy and subsequent baby will impact their lives, a local girl brought one home over the weekend.

This morning at 3:30 a.m., the baby started crying.  She woke up to care for it and heard another noise outside her bedroom – a crashing noise.  When she opened the door thinking her Mom dropped a plate or glass, she was met with a wall of smoke.  The house was burning and she managed to save her Mom, another adult, the family pet, AND the baby doll simulator.

The smoke detector did not activate even though it had been tested the weekend prior because it was a detector that worked better in detecting FLAME rather than SMOKE.  Our local fire marshal recommends getting the ionization detector and the photoelectric, along with a heat sensor.  The extra cash is worth the investment because you just never know when you’ll need it.

Here’s a photo of the house that I took this afternoon.

One of my former girl scout’s is in labor.  She went to the hospital yesterday at 12:30 p.m.  It is now 8:30 p.m. the next day.  The sweetie has been in labor now for 32 hours.

I hate this waiting!

Photo by Family O’Abe.

Fall Break ends tomorrow for the college girl.  She came home tonight.  It’s 10:00 p.m.  Baby is growing up when she opts to spend her fall break with everyone except her family.  But you know… I’m just grateful that as an adult my child wants to spend time with us at all.

<3

While I doubt I’d call 911 if I was lost in a corn maze, I believe it’s perfectly understandable why the family with did call last week.  They had a new baby and it was getting dark. They were lost.  They panicked.   I do understand, but would have probably done something differently.   From PoliceOne.com,

Authorities in Massachusetts say a family that got lost in a seven-acre corn maze called 911 for help, apparently taking advantage of the police department’s motto that says “We Want To Be Bothered.”

The maze at Connors Farm in Danvers has pathways totaling seven-miles long and can take up to an hour to navigate.  A police officer and his dog entered the maze with a farm manager on Columbus Day to search for the disoriented father, mother and two children, including a three-weeks-old infant.

I think the newborn could have triggered panic with any mother.

Photo by the Art Institute of Oregon.

First a disclaimer – I have never gone through a divorce and only one person in my family has so I am *not* an expert at all in this area.  However, I have seen my friends suffer through this and I believe it’s one of the most traumatic times in a person’s life.  You do lose a loved one even though the spouse is perhaps not THE loved one – you lose their family, friends.

A friend of mine is going through a divorce right now and I had felt badly for his wife.  But her behavior during the process answers the question about why he left her – the lady has mental issues.  Living through and surviving a bad divorce (even when the former partner is not psychotic) is an emotionally charged time and can cause what Stacy of Smiling Mom Blog calls Post Traumatic Divorce Disorder.

Whenever anybody mentions anything about child services, even if it has nothing to do with me, I get terrified.  My heart races, those people make me so nervous.  By the time they were called in for things happening in my divorce, I was 8 months pregnant (it was a lonnnnnng divorce).  The social worker assigned to my case completely lit into the wrong parent:  Me.  She threatened to take both of my children away if I didn’t stop “lying” about things that were happening.  I never lied.  I never would.  She automatically took to my ex because of his employment and took it out on me.  She even was his only witness to show up at the courtroom to testify against me.  Kind of odd, she never even listened to my side of things.  How can you make a decision based solely on one side of the situation?

The experience Stacy suffered really did impact her psyche and I applaud her strength while she recovers from the ugliness of the divorce.

Photo by Bart Everson.

This has been an eventful week at my casa!  Two days ago my oldest daughter turned 21. Today my youngest baby got her drivers license. Look out other drivers… here she comes!

Erin was extremely nervous this morning.  It was raining. She had a pimple. She has friends – smart friends – who failed their drivers tests!  The report came back from my husband that there was a problem. They did not have her social security number. That was no biggie as I keep copies with me.  Then she got in the car and it was a MALE tester.  Apparently the drive went “okay” but when they got back to the parking lot, he proceeded to tell Erin everything she did wrong.  She stopped ON the line painted on the road, not before it. She didn’t make a full stop at the railroad track.  She tilted the steering wheel a little to the right when she looked over her right shoulder to merge.

Erin was freaking out as the tester gave her critique. Then he said, “But you passed!”

My husband said he has NEVER seen our child so happy.  Baby got her wings.  She drove herself to the library.  She gets to drive to school one day next week when she has a half day.

On the other hand, I’m totally stressed and worried about the little angel! She’s driving!  That’s scary for a parent.

This was a milestone birthday for Annie.  She turned 21 today – a big milestone for her, but for Momma here it just brought back memories.

She was a bouncing 9 pound, 1 1/2 ounces at birth, 21 inches long, and jet black hair. She was born au naturale as my curved spine didn’t allow for an epidural.  Between that and having a dry delivery (my water broke 22 hours before she was born), Lordie Lordie… it was like popping a bowling ball out of a sandpaper lined pool table pocket.

I had been awake for about 32 hours before I finally started to doze off at the hospital.  Just as the blissful relief of sleep came to me, a former colleague of mine walked into the room and said, “HI KATHY!”  He and his wife were at the hospital taking a Lamaze class.  I was not a happy camper, for sure.  After that it took another grueling two hours to doze off, a sleep interrupted by nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, hallway noises.

I was pretty sure that when I got home with my precious baby girl, I could finally sleep while she slept.  Instead I found myself always holding her, even when she slumbered.  I sat in my bentwood rocker and looked at the leaves turning gold outside while I cuddled my newborn.

Sleepy. Exhausted. Sore.  They were the happiest days of my life.