National Middle Child Day

August 12, 2017

“Each year on August 12th, National Middle Child Day is observed across the United States. This day gives special recognition to the middle child in the family” (source).

Amanda

is My Middle Childand she is a delight!

I searched google to find a National Day for the Oldest Child/First-Born and Youngest Child and I could not. It is possible that Middle Children are given a special day because they sometimes experience

Middle Child Syndrome

There was no middle child in my family when I was growing up, only myself and my sister Gina. Being the first-born in my family, it is difficult for me to imagine a disorder associated with birth order. Therefore I am puzzled by the Middle Child Syndrome being a reality that some children experience. The first-born is many times considered to be the leader, while the youngest, or “baby of the family” has his own special place. Does this leave the middle child without a special place or role? I have three children and happen to know that the middle child does in fact have a special role.

But research indicates that this syndrome is very real. These children may feel they are given scant attention and that their siblings are recognized more than they.

Amanda

in my opinion, is an exception to the rule!Amanda is special for so many reasons.

For example:

she is a natural born leader and adventurer.This picture was taken during a tour of the United States Capitol in 2007. Amanda was the tour guide. She took the initiative to go to Washington D.C. and serve as an intern for Senator Mel Martinez while she was “just a baby”. And isn’t she lovely?She also gave me a tour of the city, and obediently posed with the flowers for this picture.

Amanda is very imaginative and a lot of fun to be with.

But she also has a serious sideand beautiful blue-green eyes.

She has a Master’s Degree; graduating from UNF with honors.

I am very proud of her and hope that she is only teasing when she calls herself “the forgotten child”.

At this point she must know that she is anything but forgotten. Maybe we should start referring to them as the “Central” as opposed to the “Middle”.

Happy Central Child Day Amanda!

Note to Stephanie and Richard: Be forewarned. Even though there is no National First-Born Day or National Youngest Child Day… I’m a Blogger, and I’ll embarrass you too.

Friday Favorites

August 11, 2017

Happy Friday Everyone!

It’s my favorite day of the week and time for my favorite post…

Friday Favorites

Is it acceptable for a grown woman to like Marvel Comic movies? I just can’t help myself.

Favorite # ONE

LB and I watched Guardians of the Galaxy early in the week and we both enjoyed it immensely. This Sci-Fi Superhero movie doesn’t disappoint! The characters are an extraterrestrial team of misfits who each have their own agenda, but ban together to achieve a joint objective. During the story, their appreciation for each other leads to a heartwarming friendship. The interaction is amusing. The plot is interesting. The music is excellent! I am looking forward to watching the sequel!

Click the links to watch the trailers

Favorite # TWO

Favorite # Two is a website… susanlucci.com

I’ve never watched the soap opera “All My Children”, but I KNOW who Susan Lucci is. You know who she is too!

This woman is SEVENTY years old and drop dead gorgeous. When I found her website, I discovered that she likes to do Pilates. Well there you have it! Pilates is the secret to lifelong beauty.

I searched online for her site after I happened to see her in an episode of The Kitchen.

Favorite # THREE

Speaking of the kitchen, I spent some time in My kitchen recently to prepare for the celebration of National Raspberry Cream Pie Day. Obviously I don’t need much of a reason to celebrate.

Tuesday, August 1st was National Raspberry Cream Pie Day.

Because I am easily distractedI didn’t read the ‘Cream Pie’ part and assumed it was a raspberry cake that was the subject of celebration. Sadly, instead of a Raspberry Cream Pie, I made a Raspberry Cake.

Happily, it was a GOOD cake!

If a cake hangs around too long in my house, it gets cut into slices, wrapped individually, and stored in the freezer. Pop a frozen slice into the microwave for 30 seconds and enjoy a warm dessert that is almost as good as it was right out of the oven.

Favorite # FOUR

The Venus catalog that came in the mail this week

The Paisley Boho Dress on the cover caught my eye right away. Isn’t it cute? Must have.

Favorite # FIVE

Saving the BEST for last… this picture of my son and his sweet little girlLydia broke her toe recently and spent some time wearing this boot.

Richard has recently started blogging. His style is very different from mine, but I like it. You can find his blog here. I am very proud of him and his desire to complete that which he was called to do.

Happy Birthday Lydia!

July 17, 2017

The invitations were in the mail

and arrangements were made for Lydia’s birthday party to take place at my Mama’s house. As a matter of fact, when I arrived home from work on Friday night, the kids were at her house decorating for the next day.

Everyone was preparing for the big party… anticipating having a great time!

Then a discovery was made. Mama had a broken water pipe in her front yard. LB turned off the water at the street and began investigating the trouble. Soon after the discovery, a conversation with the water company revealed the pipe may have been leaking for 10 days. It turned out to be a tree root that had caused the damage.Luckily LB and a good friend were able to repair the pipe and restore Mama’s water, although that didn’t happen until the next day.

The plan would have to be adjusted.

Since I live right next door, the obvious and logical conclusion is to move the party over to my house. It didn’t seem possible at the time, but I was able to get the place organized. The kids brought the decorations over and plan B ensued.

The big T-W-O birthday party went on as scheduled.

There was a plenitude of people…Goodies Galore…A plethora of presents…

LOTS of presents!

Little Lydia received so many presents, her Mama and Daddy had to have help transporting them to their house.

She loved all of her gifts, and had a great time with her Mama opening each one.

But there was one gift that Glammy was able to present to the Birthday Girl… the pink princess piano

Lydia wanted me to play first, so she took hold of my fingers and pressed the keys… then we experimented with the microphoneAnd Glammy showed Lydia how to play “Itsy Bitsy Spider”It turned out to be a lovely day for a pretty little girlHappy Birthday Lydia!

Glammy loves You!

NumNell Knox

July 16, 2017

When my daddy was just a little guy, learning to talk, he heard his Mama being called Irma Nell Knox by her parents. She was a teenage mother raising a baby and living with her parents (circa 1947). Hearing the name Irma Nell Knox, my Daddy (as a toddler) translated her name to be

NumNell Knox

While you may think this is totally bizarre, I think it is adorable. Apparently she responded when she heard the full name call and he thought he would achieve like results by demanding “NumNell Knox! Get up! Breakfast!”

My Daddy and his mother, My Mema have gone to be with Jesus. But not a day goes by that I don’t give a thought to both of them. Two people who greatly influenced my life.

Irma Reid

(aka Irma Nell Knox) died October 17, 2007 at the age of 78.

She was born July 16, 1929 in Valdosta, Georgia to Alton Knox and Grace Bennett Knox. She married my Grandpa, Harold Reid when my Daddy was just a little fella. He adopted my Daddy and has loved him as his own… even to this day.Mema was an old fashioned, Southern girl. If you ever heard her speak, you would immediately recognize the southern dialect. I talk to people from around the country every day and once in a while I’m asked, “where are you from?” In every instance I will admit, I’m from North Florida… Jacksonville, but most of my people are from Georgia. They will reply, “Yes, that’s it!” If you know me, and you recognize that I have a southern accent, it’s likely due to the fact that I’m a direct descendant of Irma Nell Knox.

I’ve gone to church all of my life, (since before I was born) and my first church was a church that my Mema and Grandpa Reid helped to start.

Faith Memorial Baptist Church

…a place that was a second home to me for 30+ years.

While I was growing up, my Mema was there with me every Sunday. She sat on the second row, left (piano) side. I would typically sit with her and she always had Juicy Fruit Gum. One Sunday I commented on a ring that she was wearing. It was (is) pretty! It was a beautiful silver ring (she always wore silver jewelry). She took it off of her hand and placed it on mine. She would do that again before I graduated High School. I still have both of those rings and wear one of them EVERY day.

What I remember most is that she loved me unconditionally.

The stories I could tell would keep me typing all night.

My Mema Reid

Thank you for the pictures Mama

Wonderful Wednesday

July 12, 2017

This Wonderful Wednesday morning when I asked Alexa “how’s the traffic?” she informed me that the fastest route to work would take me fifteen minutes longer than usual. With that, I grabbed my things and headed out the door. There was an accident on the bridge that had one lane closed and the traffic backed up. That said, I started my day in a feverous frenzy that only accelerated as the day wore on. It is amazing how the start of your day seems to set the tone for it’s entirety.

I won’t go on and on about how stressful my Wednesday has been, but the fact that I have managed to keep it together and make it home by 7:15 PM is just short of miraculous.

Now I am expecting my children and grandchild to visit shortly.

Although Lydia’s 2nd birthday party has been scheduled for Saturday morning, it would not be appropriate to let the actual birth-DAY pass without proper acknowledgment…

The doorbell rings… I go to the door, open the door. There they are. FIVE of the most important people in my life.

My firstborn

Stephanie

and dearly special daughter bringing style and enthusiasm wherever she goes (Aunt Feffy)My second-born, second daughter, and Brilliant Middle Child

Amanda

(don’t sell your position short Dear)My only son (and father of my only grandchild)

Richard and Emily

my daughter-in-law (who is just like a daughter to me)and the crème de la crème of two year old Glam-babies,

LYDIA

… the Birthday Girl!With a bag full of ponies in hand, she is ready to come in and show me all of the My Little Ponies and Peppa Pig Paraphernalia she has acquired during the day Her Big T-W-O party is Saturday and I will be well rested and ready. And to her parent’s dismay, I have a large present and another Rainbow Dash to add to the collection (if they read my blog they would know, but as it stands, it will be a surprise).

It has been a long day.

Good Night to all!

Hope Your Thursday is as WONDERFUL as mine is going to be!

July Fourth Fried Chicken

July 5, 2017

Although it isn’t frequently on the menu at my house,

I Love Fried Chicken!

I know that at least one of my Memas made fried chicken during my lifetime, but I cannot remember witnessing this process first hand. The Food Network is my go-to place for cooking instruction these days. Recently I have watched several episodes of chicken frying and have been bitten with the chicken frying bug. Since allowing myself the experience, I can safely say I have it out of my system. Here is my attempt at frying chicken:

Because I made the mistake of not purchasing a chicken that was already cut, I began by cutting up this whole chicken. Then seasoned the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and I’ll spare you that horrific photo. Let me just say that I do not ever want to cut up a whole chicken ever again.

My Recipe

Taking tips from several different Food Network cooks, I began by combining 2 cups of buttermilk with 1/2 cup of Tabasco, a beaten egg, and my chicken pieces. Apparently the buttermilk mixture is what will tenderize the chicken. Good to know. All of this goes into a zip top bag then into the fridge for 2 hours up to overnight.

In my Le Creuset French oven, I added about 2 inches of canola oil (because it has a high smoke point) and heated until it reached 350°F. I’m learning a lot from the Food Network!Next I mixed together flour, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a large zip top bag to easily coat each chicken piece in the seasoned flour. It reminded me of Shake and Bake. Sort of. Then I placed 3 or 4 pieces of the chicken in the oil (you can’t do more than 3 or 4 at a time without causing the oil temperature to drop) put the lid on, and fried for 5 minutes.Next I removed the lid, turned the chicken, and fried for another 5 minutes. Then removed the chicken from the oil and placed on a wire rack.Once every piece was fried, I put it into the oven at 375° for 15-20 minutes. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. LB thought so too!

Reminiscing

July 2, 2017

Tonight we attended a family gathering in honor of my brother-in-law Stuart.

On June 29th of June he hit the big 5-0 milestone.

Happy Birthday Stuart!

We gathered at my Mama’s house and enjoyed pizza, spaghetti, and, of course, salad.We sang the Happy Birthday song, enjoyed cake and ice cream, and the company of family. This will be a moment worth reminiscing.

Speaking of reminiscing

…recently my Mama has decorated a bedroom in her house. She loves chalk paint and has taken a collection of bedroom furniture that was handed down to her from my great-grandmother and transformed it. During the birthday festivities she looked at me and exclaimed “you haven’t seen my new bedroom!” Until tonight I had only seen pictures, but now I’ve experienced the new room first hand.

As she showed me around the newly decorated room there were

stories to be told…

When they visited their grandmother, Mama and her siblings used the finials on this bed post to serve as pretend telephones. Reminiscing about life as a little girl, she described having to reach up to take the finial from the post.

The portrait on the wall is of my great-grandmother when she was sixteen years old.The bed is decorated with throw pillows, one of which is a portion of the feather pillow that belonged to my great-grandmother. My extremely talented brother-in-law took the pillow and divided it into smaller pillows for my Mama and each of her siblings to treasure. Mama has kept hers in the case that is in front on the right.

She spent time telling me about

The Mementos

on the dresser

A little glass shoe that was a gift given to my great-grandmother by my maternal grandfather on the day he joined the military. It was well taken care of and eventually passed down to Mama. A box of Coty Airspun loose powder and a bottle of Evening in Paris cologne have a place on my great-grandmother’s dresser as they did when my Mama was a little girl.

And it has an interesting scent.

She has placed a temporary mirror on the beautifully refinished dresser until she completes painting the original dresser mirror. Her plan is to place it above the singer sewing machine table, that is reminiscent of her grandmother’s.