Don't Lie.....

So this may turn out to be more of a rant than a post. Be warned.

Yesterday, my darling, charming, sweet, gentle, white haired, blue eyed, Apple of my Eye Boy.... LIED to me. Now,if you know me- even the LEAST little bit- you know that if you lie to me, it will never end well. NEVER. Wreck my car, rob a bank, misplace my dog..... BUT DO NOT lie to me. When I was little, my momma used to say, "Emily, you don't have to tell the truth about Everything!" But, I did and I have and I will til I die. It's who I am. And I am also a terrible liar so I rarely practice in areas in which I don't excel.

Here's the deal- it wasn't even something that merited lying. He messed with the top to a spray bottle and the contents emptied out onto the kitchen floor. When I asked both children, both replied "Not Me!". BaileyRose held fast to her story. After I repeated the question a few more times, Isaac began to waver. Oooooo honey! Don't even!

Now, here is a tip if you Live in my Life..... If you suspect that I am angry and I stop yelling- Leave. Run. Get far away from me and anything breakable. So, when I started speaking very low and controlled, Isaac got a tad freaked out. And rightly so. The "Yes Ma'ams" and "No Ma'ams" started flowing freely.

Tears ensued, along with restriction from the tv and a very clean bathroom (compliments of Isaac) and things were back to whatever is Normal around here.

Then I got to thinking......my amazing Husband has been traveling for the last three weeks. Mike and Ike are VERY tight. When Mike comes home from work, I pretty much become invisible. And that totally works except for when Mike isn't here. You know that feeling when you are leaving for a trip and you feel like you forgot to pack something or you wonder if you left the stove on? That is what it feels like When Mike is Gone.

When Mike is gone, it always feels like something is outta whack. It feels like something is missing. When Mike is gone the house just feels off balance. When Mike is gone.... lies get told...... about lids and spray bottles.

So, while it doesn't excuse it, it DOES explain it. So, even though he doesn't get TV back right away at least I know he probably won't become an axe murderer. When Dad comes back home and our family is together again, maybe.... just maybe my spray bottles will be safe once again.

It's been a while....

Well, I finally decided to re-join the world of all that is Blog. I am a faithful follower of several wonderful blogs but for some reason I slacked off on my own.

The "trigger" that snapped me back into blogging was this nice person:

BaileyRose made me a momma for the very first time exactly eleven years ago today. Turns out, she is a super cool person and is WWWAAAAYYYY more fun as an eleven year old than she ever was as a newborn.

This year BaileyRose entered middle school. In Cabot, 5th/6th grade is considered Middle School. She was super excited and Momma was super nervous. Ask anyone.... the weekend before school started I was NOT a pleasant person to be around. The first day of school Michael had to travel so it was just BaileyRose, Isaac and me. I asked Rose if she wanted me to walk her in and her "a little too quick response" was an enthusiastic "YES"! So, we braved the traffic, found a parking spot and piled out of the car. We made our way through the (really big!) halls and came to the double doors for the courtyard. This is something of a common area where ALL the kids in the ENTIRE school gather before the bell rings. There are a LOT of kids.... and BaileyRose didn't know ANY of them! She turned around and looked at me and gave me a sheepish wave and..... went out onto the courtyard. GAH! Can you say BRAVE? As she was about half way out onto the yard, two girls from our church came running up to her.... "BaileyRose! BaileyRose!" She turned around one last time and gave me a thumbs up. And I left her there.... for a whole day.

Flash forward to week 2 of Middle school. BaileyRose came home on Monday and said there was a girl in the lunch room that no one talked to/sat with. "I wanna take some extra cookies tomorrow and sit with her and try to get her to talk to me....ok?" And she did... and the girl talked. BaileyRose asked her if she had a church. She didn't. BaileyRose invited her to youth group. She told her the location, the time and dates. She mentioned that "We have free pizza and talk about Jesus." A couple of days passed and BaileyRose told me the girl's name was Ivy and that she liked Hello Kitty. "Don't you have a Hello Kitty hair clippe that you made Momma? Can I take it to her?"

Today, I went to eat with BaileyRose...... it was her birthday and I wanted to surprise her with a special lunch. After we found each other in the mass of kids, BaileyRose asked me if I wanted to meet Ivy. "Sure...." We started walking toward a table where two girls were seated. They were both dressed, head to toe, in black. Black hair (dyed), black nails, black pants and shirt.... all black. Ivy was quite a bit larger in size and height than BaileyRose. We sat down and they looked at me like my hair was on fire. I smiled and introduced myself. BaileyRose chirped to them about classes, the lunch and her birthday. She talked to them like they were both characters in a Disney Movie. Bailey's little sidekick, Shelby, sat right beside her chirping in unison. Both Girls-In-Black spoke very little. They were polite when they did speak. Pretty soon, Rose spotted a girl sitting by herself at a corner table. "Oh, poor LaRae..... " Pretty soon, LaRae was sitting with us too. LaRae is scared of EVERYTHING... other kids, boys, speaking outloud, her shadow. She sat down, shoved her lunch box in her lap and looked at the floor until she left for the courtyard.

Lunch was over by this time and so BaileyRose and Shelby walked me to the door. We hugged goodbye and I left. And as I drove away I thought "Wow! This is her life everyday!" What a friend, what a ministry, what a JOB!

I am pretty much blown away by who my daughter is becoming. I certainly didn't do this. All this stuff that is coming out of Rose was in the Original Recipe. What a cool chick...... and she is only eleven. Heaven help us!