The World According to Leslie

Today, I have no pictures to share. I have no funny stories. I have frustration. I have anger. I have a desire that the world my daughter, my brother's kids/grandkids, and my sister's kids are growing up in was different. Earlier this week, in less than 30 minutes, the lives of my sister and her kids changed forever. My sister works in the office at a child care facility. She has the privilege of having her kids in classes there while she is at work (mainly before and after school for the middle one!)!! A couple of days ago, she had to run an errand for work.  When she got back to work, it was time to go home.  In the 20 minutes or so that it took for her to gather her things from her office and get her two youngest daughters from their classes, someone busted out the back passenger window of her car and stole her purse. Yes, we are thankful that she and the girls weren't in the car. No one is hurt..... physically. Luckily, she keeps her ID and stuff with ...

I'm getting a little (sometimes a lot) slower with age. I didn't forget that my child had a birthday. I just didn't post anything here about it. On Friday, August 18, The Princess turned 14. She stayed up until midnight on Thursday just to be able to say "It's my birthday!" NO! I can't believe she's 14! What did we do for her Birthday?  EVERYTHING she wanted to do!! After getting up later than normal (she wanted to sleep in), we ate pancakes for breakfast. We went bowling. She's in a bowling league now and wanted to practice before the first games on Saturday morning! We met my parents at Sweet Frog for fro-yo. (YES! She got Birthday Cake flavored fro-yo!) Then we picked up her best friend to spend the night (after she got out of school). We picked up my parents. We went to Remedy Church for Kidz Krusade.  At the end of the night, they silly stringed her as everyone sang Happy Birthday to her!  (It was AWESOME!) Then we all (my...

Yesterday was Father's Day. I spent 90% of the day with my Daddy!  I spent 100% of the day with Tony! I even got to spend about 10% of the day with my brother!  (Even though she's not a dad, I got to spend a lot of time with my sister yesterday too!) It was a good Father's Day! Tony, the Princess, and I  took him and Mom to my Papaw's church yesterday morning.  It was awesome! I sang, which I don't get to do often any more. Best of all, my Daddy sang. I haven't heard him do that in a long time. It's one of my favorite things to do.... listen to him sing.  After church, we "kidnapped" (not really) Papaw and took him to lunch. We went to this awesome Mom and Pop home-cooking place in Maiden. There wasn't even a sign out front to tell you the name. So... I don't even know the name of the place we ate, but I hope we go back again! After lunch, we came home (about an hour's drive) and we did some laundry and rested before going b...

"Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present." Bil Keane Over the past couple of weeks, I have still been on autopilot . I have just been going through the motions. Mother's Day is bittersweet for me. On May 9, 2002, Tony's mom passed away. That was on Thursday before Mother's Day. We buried her on Saturday, May 11. Now, every year, it's hard to face Mother's Day. Don't get me wrong, I love my Princess! This year, she got me an awesome card.  It said to relax and have time for myself. Then on the inside it said, "for about 10 minutes because I need a sandwich!"  Loved it!  We got together with my parents on Friday night for Dad's birthday!  Then on Saturday, the whole family was together for Mother's Day.  All of us, including my brother's kids were there!  Papaw Paul even got to come hang out with us! The quote I chose for today is one we h...

I guess it's better late than never, right? HAPPY EASTER! Spring Break started here on Friday.... Good Friday.  The day care was also closed, so the Princess and I didn't even have to set an alarm!  IT WAS AWESOME!  She's out all this week.  That means NO ALARMS all week!  So nice! It also means that when she goes back to school on April 24, there are only 34 days of school left! You all know how I love my countdowns!  (Yes! I still do them...even though I'm not in a classroom full time!) I may even put it up on the wall in the house.... this has been a tough school year! Anyways.... Saturday, we went to a few yard sales. Then we went to find the Princess a semiformal dress for some stuff she has coming up. Sunday, EASTER, we went to church. Since everyone was all dressed for Easter, the pastor had it set up for one of the ladies at church to take pictures of families. Since my parents and my sister and brother (and all most of our kids) we...

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" Robert Schuller Wow!  Just wow! I have a list, a mile long, of things I want to do. Things I want to try. Things I'm afraid to try. What if I knew I couldn't fail, what would I do? First, I would audition for The Voice.  I love that show. I love singing. If I knew I couldn't fail, sign me up!!  Second, I'd get my dream job. I have a lot of dreams, but my dream teaching job has always been at my alma mater! I'd love to be able to walk into the doors of my old high school every day and teach the kids that come from the same place (background, neighborhoods) as me. I'd be able to relate to kids that understand the history of the school and who understand where you are coming from more than teaching kids that are totally different (socio-economically, location, background) than yourself. It wouldn't be easy, because today's kids are totally different than the kids when I wa...

Since the year The Princess was in third or fourth grade, every year, about this time, I start looking at options for school for her. I have friends and family who homeschool. I always peruse that as an option. I have gone online and figured out what subjects we would need, where we would get them from, and (unfortunately!) the costs. There are some places I can get things online (like secondhand) but I won't start looking in earnest until we make a decision. Homeschooling (probably) gives us the most flexibility with subjects and schedules. When she is listed as a Junior, she can start taking Dual Enrollment classes at the local Community College for high school and college credit (for FREE!!)!!!!  Her fifth grade year, she was at a local Charter school. It didn't work out so well. (We went through 3 teachers and 2 principals in one year.)  I guess we could always look at going back there (now that they have been open and running for a few years) as an option. It's n...

One day.... 24 hours.... 1440 minutes.... 86400 seconds..... No matter how you figure it, one day is not that long. It really is amazing how so much can change in 24 hours. About this time yesterday morning, my mom called me. The she was a little frantic on the other end of the line. The conversation went something like this.... Me: Hello Mom: What are you doing? Me: I'm at home. (Said because she called my cell and not my house phone) Mom: I was on the phone with Lisa. She said she was in the middle of the road. I heard a noise. I yelled 'Lisa, Lisa,' and she didn't answer. Finally, she said, 'I've just been hit.' She was at a meeting for work at the DSS place on Cabarrus Avenue. You know where that is, right? And she was going to get food over by Big Lots. I don't know where she is for sure. Can you go find her? Me: I'm gone! I'll call you back. Then I grabbed my water and ran out the door. (I try to never leave home wit...

I live in NC! I live near Charlotte.  Sometimes we get snow.  Sometimes we get ice. Sometimes we get rain. Sometimes we get nothing! For the past week, the forecasters have been predicting snow. It's supposed to start late this evening and go into the morning tomorrow. Some say 2-4". Others say up to 6". Me? I want as much snow as possible!  :)  I love snow!  The only difference in this year and all the previous years is that I get cold now. Actually, I stay cold now. I wear hoodies and long pants all the time. I wrap up in blankets when I'm on the couch. I freeze often!  I used to make fun of people who were cold all the time. My sister is one of them. I think I may still be warmer than her, but I'm cold all the time. That does NOT mean I don't want snow!! Living in NC, people go nuts when they hear about snow!  The hardware stores have lines of people getting ice melt, snow sleds, and shovels. Grocery stores have people lined thr...

I took a few days off to spend time with my family for Thanksgiving!  I hope you all enjoyed your time with family/friends/co-workers--whomever you spent Thanksgiving with! There are links to all the other Writing Challenge posts on Day #7 . I know in the beginning I said there are 60 days to this challenge.  However, I have thought about it, and I think I'm going to do the first 10 days. I have started writing on a regular basis.... which was the point. So, now, I'm going to write about other things.... not just the challenge topics. Today's Challenge is actually quite appropriate.  It's about Thanksgiving. Today's Challenge: "Make a list of 10 things for which you are thankful." Making a list is easy. Leaving it just in list form is hard for me. :) I'm Thankful For.... 1. God--He is so awesome. He supplies everything I need. He is there no matter what and loves me no matter what. I have failed Him so many times, but He has never fail...

I have not been in hiding for almost two weeks. Although, there is a chance that I have avoided doing anything that could remotely be considered “routine” during this time.   December 19th was the last day that I worked for 2013.  (It was supposed to be Tony’s last day for the year too!)   December 20th, Tony and I spent the day at the Princess’s school assisting with the in-class parties. I am the chair of the Social Committee at the school for the PTC (Parent Teacher Committee).  My committee and I planned the in-class parties for 39 classrooms and 700 kids!  OMG!  (NOTE: This is not a top of the list thing to ever do again!)   Dec. 21-24, we worked on getting everything ready for Christmas. Our tree was up and decorated over Thanksgiving break, but that was all we had.  We had not purchased gifts or anything.  We had had NO TIME!  So…we crammed it into 4 days!  We got it done!   I did have to go to Walgreens on C...

I’m a little behind on here posting my “Thankfuls”.  I have them all on Facebook though.    Yesterday, we went to Mom and Dad’s house around noon. We were supposed to eat at 1pm, but someone ALWAYS has to be late! lol  This year it was my sister.   We had about 20 people at the house.  It was crazy.  After lunch, the guys all crowded into the living room to watch football!      My sister-in-law took a nap. My sister laid down with her two babies (foster daughters) to get them to sleep.  Mom and I worked on sewing things that the Girl Scouts are going to sell next weekend.    Then…once everyone finally woke up, we finished discussions for Mom and Dad’s anniversary party. The party is tomorrow. I’m just hoping I can get everything I need done by then so that I can get some sleep!  I need REST!  But….  I’m thinking I won’t get any of that until January!

Today, I’m thankful for my siblings. Donnie and Lisa are awesome people. They are always there when I need them. We have a lot of fun together, when we actually have time to be together.   Donnie is 3.5 calendar years (4 school years) older than me. In some ways, until I graduated,  I lived in his shadow. That made me a better student. I tried really hard to prove that I was just as good, if not better than, he was.   Lisa is 9.5 years younger than me. She’s very different than the rest of us. She “marches to the beat of her own drum”. But, most of the time, I actually like her.   Growing up, there were days they both got on my nerves. Now, I don’t know what I would do without them.

There are some people that it is really hard to keep a secret from. You all know these people. It’s the people that you see daily… or at least talk to daily.   My sister and I have been working on planning something. We still aren’t ready to reveal details, but it is starting to come together. We finally have a location. We locked it down yesterday. That means that my brain was free to think of other things.    So….what did I think of? Invitation wording….planning the food….writing a poem for the event….the cake or cupcake debate!   So….  we are getting the planning done. It’s going to be AWESOME!

I can’t believe that I haven’t written in over a week. How could I let that happen?  I have had so much to talk about in the past week!   1. Yesterday was my brother’s birthday. He is now 39 years old.   2. School has been great. The students are good. They announced yesterday that they are officially finished with schedule changes, so I should not have to worry about any kids moving into or out of my classes now.   3. Over the weekend, Tony, my parents, the Princess, and I went to Boone. We stayed in an awesome condo. I now have more things to check when I ask about places to stay. Internet….check. Handicap accessible…sorta check. (It was all one level, but the doors were very narrow and there was no walk in shower.) Central heat/AC….NO! Well, I don’t know about heat because it was in the 80s while we were there, but there was only a WINDOW unit in the place!  Can’t believe I didn’t see that on the description!   I will check better next time. ...

So…I’m a day late on Father’s Day.  But….that’s because I was with my Father!     There is a running joke in our family.  I have an older brother and a younger sister.  We tell everyone that Donnie is the favorite.  DUH!  We all know that!  Then Lisa and I “fight” for favorite daughter.    Since I do a lot of stuff for my parents, more than my siblings, I tell them I know I’m the favorite.  I don’t do it because I want the attention.  I do it because I know they need the help.  I get a couple extra drinks at the store and take them over because I know my parents can’t carry them.  Mom’s knees are bad, and Dad is on a walker. (But…that’s a different story!)   So yesterday I posted on Facebook a Happy Father’s Day message to my dad and said it was from his “Favorite” daughter.  One of my friends accused me of trying to start a fight in the family.  I had to explain that it was all a big joke...

Went to church yesterday.  Loved it.  Visited my brother’s church.  Their new pastor rocks!  (Might have to go back!!!!)   Went to Mt. Airy to take flowers to Tony’s mom’s grave.  Beautiful day.  Stopped at my favorite place in Winston-Salem to eat!   Put the flowers on her grave.  Started for home.   I started to dose.  I had all intentions of sleeping the entire drive back.    All of a sudden-----*BAM*!   I sat straight up!  “What was that?!” Tony said, “Something hit the car.” I said, “You just hit something?” (Still a little dazed!) T said, “No.  Something fell from the bridge and hit us!”   We got out to look.  There is a chunky crack in the front of my van.  YES!  The van I haven’t even had for two months yet!  It’s only where a license plate would go in the front though.  (If we had been driving any faster, it would have shattered the windshield ...

Apparently, yesterday was National Sibling’s Day!  I had NO idea!    My sister tagged me and our brothers in a post on Facebook.  That was the only way reason I found out.   So… let me tell you a little about my siblings. Donnie—3 1/2 years older than me; married; 5 kids (ranging from 17 t0 9—every 2 years); works in the school system; my daughter’s softball coach; 6’4”; loving; kind; awesome!   Lisa—9 1/2 years younger than me; married; no kids, yet; 2 dogs—Toby and Dozer; works in a daycare (and has since she graduated from high school!); nanny in her “spare” time; 5’4” (on a good day); wears the same size shoes as my 9-year-old Princess; loving; fabulous; a little airheaded sometimes (but aren’t we all?); lives around the corner from me (literally—we could walk there!)   Cody—4 months older than me; “adopted”—great family friend; lived with us (when we were in high school) for about 2 years (on and off); talented singer and songwri...

This   morning, the alarm went off at 4am.  We all (except maybe the Princess) were up and trying to get ready for Easter SONrise Service at church.  It started at 6am.   Afterwards, we had breakfast with everyone at church.   We came home for a nap and to change into our church clothes.  (We wear jeans and sneakers to SONrise Service!)   After regular service, we went out to eat with the family, as usual.  There was also a new friend with us!   Then we came home to rest.  We were supposed to work on the house.  However, we all crashed (except for the Princess!)!!  I think she might be wide awake because she slept through SONrise service…only waking in time to eat breakfast.  Then she slept through the regular service—waking up only in time to eat lunch!    That’s the Princess!    HAPPY EASTER!

As of 11am yesterday, I am on SPRING BREAK!  One rule for Spring Break is DO NOT WAKE ME UNTIL THE SUN IS UP (except Easter Sunday when we go to SONrise service)!!! This morning, I slept until 8:15!  It was so awesome!  The sun was coming in my window!  The alarm never went off--wasn't even set!  Now, we have softball at 11am! We have an Easter egg hunt (with a local church and 20,000 Easter eggs!) at 2pm!  Then we have to come home and get cleaned up to go to my parents for dinner.  Supposedly all the kids (Donnie, Lisa, and me) and our families are going to be there! In between those, we might go help my parents with some yard work if they want us to (if they are ready to do it today!)!!!!  It's going to be a busy day!  Can't wait to see the WHOLE family! :)