Happy Birthday Zachary!

This is a picture of Uncle Chris babysitting Zach when he was little...notice  the fly swatter (and it wasn't for swatting flies) Click on the pic and it will enlarge.

Tomorrow is Zach's 21st birthday, not sure how twenty one years went by but I guess they did.

Zach's buddy took  this pic last year and had a mouse pad made for our computer with this photo on it. He called it "Three Jack asses just hanging around."

Click on this photo...it's my all time favorite of Zach.  You  can just tell by  the look on his face he is going to be a really neat person to know...and is. He's hands down one of the smartest people I've ever met and biggest downfall is not putting it to it's best use sometimes, but he's learning.

 I'm not quite sure how my three kids went from looking like this

to looking like this without me noticing but when you are a working mom you still picture that little boy or girl in your mind when talking to or about them and seem to forget they are growing up and away way too quickly.

It's amazing how you can have three kids and all turn out totally different from each other. It certainly spices things up and makes for never a dull moment. In hindsight, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Zach stepped in some deep dodo a couple of years back and it not only broke my heart but taught me a lesson. Never turn a blind eye when you are the mother of a teen. He stepped up, paid for his bad decisions and has turned his life around. He can still be a little Snot,  but what kid isn't from  time to time?

He's a hard worker and has a sense of humor  that not only matches but goes way beyond mine. (And I think I'm pretty stinking funny)

He knows more about history, politics, the environment and random facts that it boggles my mind. We are also so alike (except for the smart part) that we often butt heads...but he's my kid and couldn't be prouder.  Even with the mistakes he's made, the joy far surpasses all the trials.

I love him and he loves me. What a great feeling for a mother. I had to include a picture of Mama, from Mother's Kitchen. This was taken the first  time we visited her restaurant. Zach eats there now at least twice a week and not only Mama but her entire family adores my skinny white boy. That what's she says every  time Zach leaves. She comes out from her kitchen , hugs his neck and says "I love my  skinny white boy." They give him free pie sometimes, and every once in a while give him another slice to take with him. They always say to me when I'm in line behind him ordering "Zach's mom, what you want to eat today?"

So tomorrow he's twenty one. How did THAT happen? Do kids use a different calendar or have I just not been paying attention?

Zach has been so good to Ham, our blind boxer. He goes with me to all Ham's appointments, be it the local mobile vet or the eye specialist. Charlie loves him too,  sleeps in his room every night and if  Zach goes to bed and shuts his door before Charlie gets in, he sleeps by Zach's door.

That's kind of the way I feel as a mother of a now grown man. I want to be there every step of the way but you simply can't. Sometimes you  just have to sleep outside their door, just in case  they want or need you.

Happy Birthday, Zachary Tyler Cotton!

I'll always be here for you, I'll always love you and I'll always be proud of you. Be careful and safe on your 21st birthday and don't forget the designated driver!

 You know what? Mama from Mother's Kitchen is right...I love my skinny white boy!

Til next  time...COTTON

My Kind of Day

One thing about having three days off a month is  you learn how to appreciate them. I've been doing better about taking more time off work but more than one day off a week seems a waste to me. I have worked six days a week for over thirty years so I'm used to it.

Today I took Massey  to school and came back home and resumed the position until 11AM. That's all I need...a little time with no one but me and a pillow.

Zach called (collect) around 11:30 and asked if I could bring him some quarters to do laundry...then  quickly added "Call work and see if they need me today." He is so ready to get out. He has grown up and realized the mistake he made. He just wants to come home (although he hasn't said it) and I want him home too. My boss schedules us so I can pick him up for work.  I had the day off so Zach did too.

I told Zach I had to cut three yards and they were fully staffed in the kitchen at work.  I told him I would drop the roll of quarters off and see him tomorrow.

Came home and jumped on Johnny like stink on poop. My buddy at B&L Tire put a tube in Johnny's back leg and I was back in bidness. I had to weed eat the front entrance which is a nightmare and most probably the reason why they pay me to do it.  I got through five minutes before I had to leave to pick up Massey  from school.

Picked up the princess and came home to cut my back yard that looked like an overgrown cow pasture. She helped me move the hammock and some stepping stones and I was off  again! I finished around 4:30. I called work and asked the owner if he would make me a batch of Chicken Cacciatore to have for dinner...since he lets me run a tab. He serves his over linguini...I serve it over rice. Either way it is the bomb.com.

As I turned Johnny's engine off I heard rumbling thunder. The sky was dark and I put the top up on my little car as Massey and I headed out to pick up our dinner from Mama Lucia's. We got maybe a mile up the road when cloud to ground lightning scared the poop out of us. We heard it pop to the left and then saw a bolt that looked like the hand of God smacking the ground to the right. If Massey could have, she would have crawled into the trunk of the car.  I will admit I have never witnessed a strike that close and it was a pretty  scary  thing.

Came home with a huge container of yummy cacciatore and made some rice to serve it over. I am fiflthy and still picking grass out of my hair. The yard work is done and believe it or not I am done.  Working a double shift tomorrow and going to soak in a hot tub.

Still on this side of the dirt...That's a good thing!

Til next time COTTON

Welcome to the REAL World

Zach looks good doesn't he? Thank goodness he never reads my blog!

He came in at 3PM and is still there (I think.) It was hard to see behind the six foot pile of dirty saute pans and stock pots that were stacked around the dish area.

I think today was an eye opening experience for him.

Dishwashers are highly underpaid in my opinion. I had a two hour break between shifts and ran a few errands. Tim dropped him off at the restaurant and he began his new job.

Thank goodness it was relatively a slow shift. The other dishwasher called out so it was the "Zach Solo" show. I came back to work at five and the first question he asked me was "What time is it?"

I'll have to hand it to him, he hung in there...only broke two dishes. When the first bowl hit the kitchen floor, Barbara appeared in the doorway and calmly said "That sounded like a $20 bowl." When the second smaller dish hit the floor Len calmly (believe it or not) said "Slow down and take your time, we have all night."

Around seven Barbara got one of the cooks to make Zach some Chicken Marsala and let him stop and eat in the back of the kitchen. He ate like he hadn't had food in a week. Once fortified he headed back to the dish area and kept on going. We close at 8:30 on Sundays and around 8:30 the dishwasher he was working for came in and helped Zach out. He's a great Latino kid that goes to school with Zach. I think one of the cooks called him and said Zach was a little behind (maybe not a little.)

When Zach saw Noe walk in, a look of HUGE relief flooded his face and he thanked Noe at least three times for coming in to help. Before Noe got there the owner asked me if Zach had to be at school at nine in the morning. I told him yes and he said "I'll just lock him in tonight and Eva can let him out when she gets here at 8:30 in the morning."

Dishwashing seems to be an easy job to every person who has never washed dishes in a restaurant. When you wash dishes in a restaurant, especially one where each and every dish is prepared and cooked to order the number of pots, pans and utensils is outrageous. Not to mention all the dishes the food is plated on and the glassware, teas urns, coffee pots and bar items.

I could tell Zach was totally overwhelmed. I could tell he was wondering how he was ever going to get caught up. I could also tell he was determined to do the job.

We closed at 8:30 and he will be lucky to get out by 11:30. If Noe hadn't come in to help...he may HAVE still been there when Eva came in at 8:30 tomorrow morning.

I know he will be exhausted but he's a youngster and can handle it. The first shift is always the hardest. He will find his groove and learn how to pick up the pace. Trial by fire is a good thing. Hope he doesn't have too much scarring from tonight's experience.

Barbara is considering making him a table buser now that he looks presentable and after tonight I bet he will want a hair cut every two weeks. Busing tables is a cake walk compared to washing dishes. She even mentioned what clothes I needed to buy for him to bus tables. I haven't told Zach yet. Let him see how hard it is to do THIS job before he moves up.

I am impressed with his dedication and it is nice to see that hounding him relentlessly for eighteen years has paid off.

I HAVE been hard on Zach...But Zach has been hard on me. I think I can finally see light at the end of a four year tunnel. And standing in that light is a fine young man with a nice hair cut and a new found respect for the working world. It ain't easy out here in the real world. It ain't easy making a buck. It ain't easy if you don't work hard unless you are born into wealth and fed with a silver spoon.

Now my man/boy knows how to WASH that silver spoon!

Til next time...A Momma so proud she could POP!

COTTON

Who CAN'T Get a Driving Permit?

Zachary's appointment for his driving test finally rolled around. I was hoping they would call to make him reschedule...preferably sometime year after next. He hasn't been driving much lately...he let his learner's permit expire and didn't want to get it renewed. Guess I can't blame him, why pay for a learner's permit only to have to turn around and pay for a license as well?



I was a little nervous because he's just not that comfortable behind the wheel of a car and I am VERY nervous in the passenger seat next to him.If anyone needs my fingerprints all they have to do is dust my dashboard...there are PLENTY of prints on them.

When we arrived at the DVM I went to the far side of the lot to teach him 'last minute' how to parallel park. He had insisted he didn't need help, even though he has never parallel parked in his life. I was driving (since he didn't even have a learner's permit) and took him through it twice. "I Got It, Mom" was his curt self confident reply.

I drove over to the DMV and parked. Zach , before I had even cut the car off said "How do you turn the headlights on?" That didn't give me much reassurance since every time he went to use the blinker turned the wipers on.

I didn't say anything sarcastic (believe it or not) but simply gave him a run through of the control panel.

When he got in line he had to ask me for his social security number. I have known mine since I was 14...of course I started working when I was 14.

When his number came up on the screen and the woman started to go get in MY car with Zach for his test I bowed my head in prayer. Massey asked me what I was doing and I told her I was just sending up a prayer. I told her I sent up two...one that Zach would pass his driving test and a second that he wouldn't wreck my car.

Massey put it all into perspective when she replied "Look at it this way, if he wrecks your car he probably won't pass his test." I don't know if that made me feel better or worse.

They were gone for what seemed like two hours. I listened for sirens, even peeked out the front windows of the DMV to see if I could see anything.

Maybe ten minutes went by when I saw Zach pulling back into the lot. I told Massey not to look at them when they walked back in..if he had failed it was really going to be blow to him and I wanted to hide my relief.

Can you believe it? They took his picture (after four tries because his greasy stringy hair was in his eyes and obviously they all knew they needed a picture to accurately identify him by at a possible later date.)

As Zach waited for his permit to be printed out, I felt like going up to the woman who had ridden with him and say "You'll give a permit to ANYONE, won't you?"

They should have a huge neon sign out front saying "Stevie Wonder got his license here.!!"

I'll have to admit since he got that little card his attitude and demeanor have totally changed. He is happier than I have seen him in over a year.

One of the dishwashers at work wanted Zach to fill in for him on Sunday and I asked the owners if it was okay. They said for Zach to come in on Saturday night around 8:30, after the dinner crush and learn how to do the job . I told Zach that if he wanted to work in a restaurant...long stringy hair was not an option. The owner's wife told him when we went to eat for Massey's birthday that she had a hair net with his name on it.

I had to go into work at 5 on Saturday and had called Zach all day (he had been with his buddies since school got out on Friday) to tell him to go get a haircut. He balked at my suggestion and I finally told him "Barbara doesn't hire people that look like you do."

He called me back as I was driving to work and said "My friend is going to cut my hair for me, I'll see you at 8:30."

I don't know if that made me feel better or worse...but I just left it in God's hands.

We got POUNDED at work and I was so busy that I didn't realize when 8:30 arrived. The owner Len, came up to me and said "Who's the new kid?" His wife came up to me two minutes later and said she was impressed. I went into the kitchen to see a handsome young man with a short hair cut who resembled the child I had given birth to. Clean shaved, hair one inch shorter than mine and dressed in jeans that weren't low enough to give him a suppository on the fly.

Just when you are ready to give up on your teen...just when you think you can't take anymore of their crap...they suddenly make you proud. They make you realize all your 'supposed' bitching and complaining was really heard and that the mesage finally got through.

You want to join the REAL world? Then GET REAL.

I got off around 11:30 and knew that Zach would be there til well after midnight. Leon, the owner's son said he would give Zach a ride home.

Zach came home and said that Leon had let him drive. I am glad that Leon didn't know Zach got his license from the "Stevie Wonder School of Driving."

My boy made me proud. It's things like that...little things that make it all worth while. You have the good, the bad and the ugly in your life but you have to take it all into it's proper perspective and hope the good wins out.

Tonight it DEFINITELY did !

Til next time...COTTON

The Worker

Zach has taken on a job with my neighbor and co worker. She has 3 small children and someone gave them a play set for their back yard. It sits right by the woods at the back of their yard and she needed someone to clear the woods from around the play set.

It's a pretty big job but Zach wants to pay me back for paying his fine . It doesn't help that he sleeps til noon before going over to her house and it gets dark before six but he is on day three and has made a lot of progress. Unfortunately when he completes the brush removal he still has to cut her lawn and bag all the clippings from the front and back yard.

I decided that I will ride my lawnmower over tomorrow when I get off work and cut the front and back for him and then all he'll have to do is rake and bag.

He has done a pretty decent job and she is going to pay him $100.00 when he finishes.

My only worry is that it may take him two weeks to get it all done. He's not the fire ball of energy that I am ...he takes his time doing every thing and moves slowly and methodically.

He said when I called home from work that he worked til dark and told them he would be back tomorrow after school. Let's see, he gets home at 4... takes him til ten after to get down the driveway and into the house...another ten minutes to eat a snack, about 8 minutes to walk to her house in the sub division behind me. That leaves him about 45 minutes of daylight to work.

Maybe I can get him a coal miner's hat with a light on top so he can work past six. I asked him when I took him over today if he needed any tools out of our garage to help. He said no, they had all the same kind of clippers and tools we have except all of theirs were sharp. Let me point out all my clippers and hedgers WERE sharp until my kids left them all out in the rain time after time or back in the woods for weeks at a time when building forts and such in the woods behind my own house.

Zach is a skinny kid but he is scrappy. It has been good to see him go over day after day and do some manual labor for a change. He hasn't complained once and I take him lunch and drinks over every day. I figure at the rate he is going the swing set will be usable by the first of Spring.

He still reminds me of the little boy he was in the above picture. A "Thinker."

At least now he is a "Working Thinker."
Til next time....COTTON

"So im no ones Bitch"

Okay, here we go...this may be a lengthy one.

My seventeen year old son was a late bloomer socially. He stayed at home for most of the first 16 years of his life but since turning 17 he has brought home more new friends than I can count and keep fed. They all seem like good kids and through much trial and error I have come to be a pretty good judge.

A few weeks ago he set out on a weekend day with four boys. They went to Cochran's Mill...a park on the outskirts of Coweta County. I was sitting at the computer when he got home... a little late but only about 9:00. He said he had some good news and some bad news. He said he didn't get arrested but that he had gotten a ticket from the police. He said not to "Freak Out" that he could explain (I could hardly wait to hear THIS one.)

The boys had been walking around the park and were headed back to the car when one of the boys stopped because his flip flop had broken, after trying to fix it he lost sight of the other boys and became lost. The other boys heard him hollering and went back to find their friend.

By the time they found him and found their way back out a policeman was waiting telling them they were in the park after closing and were subject to a fine. He searched all the boys and went back to their car and searched it as well. All good on the search...he gave each boy a ticket to appear in court. After calling the number on the ticket we were told that the fine was $250.00. I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit when I heard .

We tried to contact the District Attorney but were told he had to show up for his court date. As the date got closer I kept telling Zach he needed to pick up some odd jobs to be able to pay his fine. Heck, I am having trouble making the water bill...much less a $250.00 ticket for broken flip flops. I work with a girl who need some brush cleared in her back yard and kept telling Zach to call her. To his credit he did call her once and she said she would call him back. She is a working mother with three kids under the age of six and the thought probably never crossed her mind again. I told Zach to call her again and again.

Three days before the court date Zach said he needed to get over there and do that work for her. I told him that he hadn't talked to her in over two weeks and even if she still wanted it done I was pretty sure it wasn't going to pay $250.00.

I got a little upset with Zach (maybe an understatement) and told him that I did NOT have the money to pay this ridiculous fine. He kind of blew it off and I reminded him that this was a "COURT DATE" not a "PROM DATE" it wasn't optional and it wasn't negotiable. I told him that judges mean business and his word would be the final word.

Of course then my mouth took over (I just can't help it sometimes) and said that if he didn't have the money and the judge found him guilty he may end up going to jail. Of course I expanded on these thoughts and told him he was already a pretty skinny kid and may find himself someones bitch by the end of his first day in the Big House. A friend of mine at work said "Hey! At least it will be one less mouth to feed and tell him I'll come visit him in the Slammer." Let me interject that she loves all three of my kids dearly but is a smart aleck just like me.

Zach didn't think either one of us were funny and as the court date approached I could tell he was a bit apprehensive. He said he was going to speak for himself and that in itself made me a bit MORE than apprehensive.

Day before the court date...my oldest son's car died in the Publix parking lot and he said he needed my husband's car to go to work. At least life is never dull at the Cottons.

I had to be at work at 10:30 this morning so my husband took me to work in my car, TJ took my husband's car (with an expired tag) to work and Tim checked Zach out after lunch for his 3:00 court date.

DUM DE DUM DUM !!

It was all I could think about at work. I bummed a ride home from a friend and went to doing what I do best lately...worrying.

I sent Zach a text on his phone about 3:45 and said "Let me know what happens and I love you."

At 4:00 he sent me a text saying the fine was dropped and he just had to pay the $40 (he said fourty...wish cell phones had spell check) court cost and that he would pay me back when he did my friend's yard.

I was so relieved it wasn't even funny...until I received another text from him not two minutes later. It read, verbatim " So im no ones Bitch."

Zach is a good kid. He has wavered and sometimes struggled...but who hasn't? I love my kids like nothing else and even though they seem to be trying to kill me on a daily basis I wouldn't have it any other way.

Tim said that Zach did a pretty amazing job of talking to the judge , explaining his case and even had the broken flip flop in the courtroom as evidence.

Maybe my boy will be the next F. Lee Bailey.

Tim starts a new job tomorrow, not much money...but money! The trucking company seems to be on the verge of starting up as well and you know what I think?

I do believe the tide is finally starting to turn...right before the surf swept us totally under. Thank the Lord we all knew how to tread water.

Update on Einstein

This picture is back when Zach had his day job. The nine to five grind got to him and he decided to continue on with his studies. I am happy to report that he is doing homework EVERY day (with my constant prodding ) and has no grade lower than an 80. He's already had to correct his history teacher...she even got on the Internet to prove she was right only to find that Zach was the one exactly right. He likes a couple of teachers (BIG change for him) and Massey says he seems happy enough when she sees him in the halls at school. Some kids just do their work without any pushing. My older son graduated with a 3.85 without ever bringing home a book. Massey has to work for her grades but she does it willingly and on her own.

Zach has always been the different one. Not in a bad way...just different. He can argue a point until you simply give up and usually he has pretty valid arguments.

He just has a different take on life and his mind works in mysterious ways.

I remember the first time I realized how different his thinking was.

He was in kindergarten...we were riding to my sister's house for Easter dinner. We passed a small church that is on the way and they had the three crosses of Calvary out front. I thought I would squeeze in a quick Sunday school lesson so I said "You know , Zach they nailed Jesus to that cross with nails going through his hands and nails in his feet."
Zach almost immediately replied "I thought they hung him with a rope." Then I had to explain that they still called it hanging but Jesus was nailed to the cross. My mother turned in her grave that day, having had all of us in church every Sunday morning and night. I got slack with my kids...working six days a week and never taking the time to find a church that I liked, "Home schooled" my kids in religion.

On the way back home I got another glimpse into his intricate mind when we passed the church on the way back. He asked why there were three crosses. I told him that there were robbers on either side of Jesus. Throwing in another Sunday school lesson I told him "You know what Jesus said to all of the people that had done all of that to him before he died? He said 'I forgive you.'

Zach cocked his head to one side and said quite calmly...I would have said "I will GET you."

I was glad he was in the back of the van and couldn't see me trying not to laugh, but told him "That is why his name is Jesus and your name is Zach."

His mind never ceases to amaze me.

We have had many ups and downs along the road, but he seems to falling into sane reasoning and realizing that he needs to work the system instead of rebelling every step of the way.

He seems much happier these days and tells me often that he loves me. That means a lot coming from a seventeen year old young man.

I will have to remain diligent and on him every step of the way, but I will.

At least we are off to a good start this school year...that's a first.

I have faith in him and his tremendous ability, he just needs a little shove and baby CAN I SHOVE!

Spreading Like Wildfire

My son's poison Oak is spreading like wildfire. I am just trying to get him through the weekend and will take him to the doctor tomorrow. Bless his heart he has been really good about it (considering it was my request he do some yard work for me.)

It is all over his stomach and chest...arms and legs too. He takes at least four Aveeno baths a day and has been through three tubes of cortisone. There is a low cost clinic near me that I can take him to ...and plan to be waiting when they open the doors. Thank the Lord he bites his nails ...in other words he doesn't have any nails. At least he hasn't been able to draw blood and all the rashes are closed. I need to remind him NOT to bite them now...Pete's sake, something ELSE to worry about! I already gave him the "Handwash really good BEFORE peeing or you'll REALLY be sorry."

I've been lucky since we lost our medical insurance. All my kids have been happy and healthy and God has kept them all safe from illness and harm.

Of course they find other ways to make money disappear...kids are good at that, but at least they've been well.

I feel bad because I am the cause of Zach's need for a doctor. He DID do a really good job in the yard though and when he came down with the rash I decided to pay him for his work. I also wanted to show him how much I appreciate him letting me try a dozen or two home remedies and wive's tales on him before taking him to a real doctor (bless his pea pickin' heart, I know he's been miserable.)

My sister tried banana peels for her poison ivy, my manager at work said bleach in his bath water...oatmeal and vinegar paste and a friend said on facebook to let him wash with Tide powder detergent.

A regular of mine came in to eat tonight. She is a pediatric nurse so I sat down and told her about my 'cherry' red boy. She immediately said I had to take him to the doctor for a shot , if it got in his blood stream he could end up in the hospital (something ELSE to worry about.) I told her all the home remedies I had tried and told her that a friend suggested him washing himself in powder Tide.

I wish you could have seen the look on her face.

It reminded me of the look I got from my pediatrician when she took off Massey's diaper during a routine physical and saw that I had a quarter taped over her belly button with a band aid. When I was at work, a sweet ole SOUTHERN mother of three was watching Massey in her own home, along with Zach and TJ . When I picked Massey up the first day the kids went to her, she commented that Massey had an "OUTY" and not an "INNY."

She told me that her mother's aunt's cousin always said to tape a quarter over the baby's belly button and it will make an "OUTY" an "INNY." So I stopped on the way home and bought some band aids and kept that quarter on her belly button just as faithfully as I kept the heart monitor strapped to her little four pound body.

When I took Massey in for a check up and the doctor saw the quarter taped over my infant's belly button...the look on her face was pretty impressive. I didn't know eye brows could go up that high!

She was very sweet to me. She's from India originally ...I absolutely love her to death and she has seen all three of my kids... Massey and Zach from the day they were born. She said " Oh Missus Cotton.. you really need to take that off of her belly button, Massey will be just fine without it ."

She was right. Massey turns fourteen next month and has a really cute belly button...and it's not an "OUTY."

I used to run to the doctor for every symptom with my kids. Then as they started to grow up and I realized how hearty and resilient they were..."Wive's tales and home remedies" started having an appeal.

I would NEVER endanger my children and have been through a couple of operations (tubes) for Massey's ears, a couple of bone breaks and always trips for stitches with the two boys.

It's kind of like the "Pacifier" evolution.

When you have your first baby and they drop their precious pass eee..you rush to boil water.With the second you run it in under hot water and with the third you stick it in your own mouth . Thank goodness I only have three kids... if I'd kept on like Octu Mom ... by now I would be letting one of the dogs lick what is obviously their own dog hair off and feeling it was a win win situation.

I know when to throw in the towel though and this is one of those times. At least when I take him and the doctor comes in, he won't have a quarter taped to his belly button... he will just most likely drop to his knees and say " Doctor, please help me ... FOR REAL."

Special thanks to my boy for at least letting me try...sorry it took me so long to give up.

I LOVE YOU, Mom

My Kids Just Don't Know How Funny I Am

I just got home from work. A bit depressed this morning when I woke up .

Husband still hasn't found a job and it just seems to all be crashing in. What's worse is making sure your kids are happy and oblivious (which they are.)

I felt better after I went to work. I got a 100% shop from a 'secret shopper' sent by corporate. Hey, one more and I get a $100.00 Visa gift card!

Came home after making $114.00 in less than three hours and knew that somehow things would be alright.

My middle son (the scholar) has decided to try and go into lawn care with his cousin ... just try cold calls or taping their number on mailboxes of houses that look like they could use a cut. They are really low balling just to get off the ground and with this ATL summer, they may be on to something.

I had to get my "fabulously close to FOURTEEN" year old daughter to create some cards for them to tape on mailboxes and advertise.

I thought about the name "The Lost Boys" for their service, but Massey came up with "Cousin Cutters."

We put that rates started as low as $20.00. We typed both of their names with their cell phone numbers.

Then Massey added a cute picture of an old push mower to display beneath .

She said they needed a catch phrase.

BABY, I am all over it!

My first idea was "Cheaper than a Haircut"

Massey gave me a look like I had lost my mind.

Then I came up with "Have you checked the HEAT INDEX?"

It is an excruiatingly hot summer here and I thought that might pick them up a few lazy people.

I got the same look from my daughter.

Then I thought I had the ringer.

"Dude...Your yard looks really bad"

We butted heads and decided that until they got going, they could go without a "Catch Phrase."

I still say "Cheaper than a haircut" is a winner.

And if the heat index around here goes any higher, we won't even HAVE to mention the other slogan.

We made them 50 cards to tape on mailboxes tomorrow (although I always gripe about people leaving stuff taped to my mail box.)

HEY!! At least my boy is finding his way outside of the house...I thought he had lost the way.

With all the spring rain and the high temps now, they may end up making a killing this summer.

Let's hope they do !

The "After" Picture

As my husband says, Zach goes from one extreme to the other in the blink of an eye. I LOVE it when he cuts his hair, but from his comment I seemed to have infringed on his "RIGHTS".

Who cares? He can sue me later...

The Boy Who Knew Too Much...Or Thinks He Does

How can you not love this face? He is the sweetest man/boy I have ever met...or given birth to. This is a before pic, he walked in the door thirty minutes ago after letting the next door neighbor's son give him a crew cut. He came in from school today and told me that his Algebra II teacher told him he was her favorite student. I told him if that was the case, "Ask her to pass you".

I don't see it happening a week before school is out. But he is a good kid, just uninspired at the present time. He doesn't drink or do drugs...I could be doing a LOT worse for a kid that is sixteen going to school with 3,000 other teens.

These days I just look for the positive. I told him I would not pay for summer school.. $450.00 for one class. He can tough it up next year or deal with the consequences of his own choices.

I think that he may be rounding the corner, he is begining to realize that the only one he is hurting is himself. As a parent sometimes you just have to let them realize things for themselves and figure their own way out.
My responsibility is to love him every step of the way and to be there when he finally DOES ask for help.

Boy am I looking forward to THAT day!

Will post his new haircut tomorrow...Stay tuned!!! COTTON

Oldest Son Moves Out... (AGAIN)

Almost two years ago, our eldest child came limping back home with a broken heart and an English bulldog in tow.

He left his girlfriend after she cheated on him...took the $3000 puppy she had given him for Christmas and headed back to the nest for some TLC.

He was almost as sad looking as the fat little "UGA" he had brought with him.

We took both of them back into our home and heart, and gave up the cozy den we had made in his former bedroom.

He said he just needed to be somewhere that he was loved. (He got me with THAT one).
He only needed a couple of months to regroup and he would be moving on again.

Two years later...He regrouped.

After the first year, we decided to get him a bed to sleep in, we were hoping that the uncomfortable couch he had been assigned to sleep on would encourage a quick move (it did NOT).

During this time, we began to get weary of his presence(when he DID decide to stop by for clean clothes, a free meal and to pat his dog on the head).

His room was always a wreck, and if he didn't have a sweetie at the time, he'd be home. If his love life was swinging...we wouldn't see him for days on end, all we had to remember him by was the total wreck of a room that he left with dirty clothes piled four feet high and empty soda cans and chip bags.

When he FINALLY found a place with some frat bros. we started to dread him taking the dog. We are all big dog lovers and although it was tough to make "Charlie" realize his pecking order with my two boxers...after he got his butt beat a few times from jumping on my dogs, they settled into a happy co existence. We came to call Charlie, and my male boxer, Ham... our own little "Sigfried and Roy". Their game was 'I'll hump on you for a while, and then I'll give you your turn'. Meanwhile, my female boxer Rosie...just lay in the yard and looked at them like they were idiots (which they are, but we love them anyway).

The big day arrived...THE MOVE OUT!!

I was just waking up for my Friday day shift, when my sixteen year old son came into my room and forlornly said "Well, TJ is all moved out".

I leaned over the side of my king size bed and looked underneath...the bulldog was snoring loudly, happy in the spot that we referred to as "his cave"...because my two boxers were too big to get under the bed. I got up to start a pot of coffee and looked into my son's room. All the furniture was still there, his computer, shoes,trophies, plaques, radio and all his books and such. I remarked to my younger son "You mean that your brother took some clothes and left".

My young son said "Oh, he'll be back for his stuff tomorrow".

I had already bought a couch from a co worker, two nice club chairs and had a butterfly table in the garage ready to re assemble my den.

When I got home from work, I told my two younger kids that we were going to help TJ by moving all of his things into the garage so it would be easier for him to pick them up the next day. We took apart his bed (that he wasn't taking, because it was my parent's and he had already gotten another) and I had Zach move it upstairs piece by piece to re assemble it in his room, where he had been sleeping the floor after out growing the futon he had had since he was nine.

We moved every bit of sports equipment, posters from the wall , trophies clothes and shoes out to the garage and dusted vacuumed and cleaned the entire room and began to move my couch, chairs and table into my new den.

After one hour, I had my den back , and if I can say so myself...it looked GREAT!!

The next night I got home from work, and TJ was sitting on my new sofa in my new den, watching TV (he came back to wash his four foot high pile of clothes while he still had access to free detergent and a washer and a dryer).

I could tell that he was a little miffed at how quickly I had changed things, but he had the good grace to say "the room looks nice".

My daughter told me later that when TJ first came back...he made the comment "It looks like an old lady's room".

Guess what? It is NOW !! and 'This' ole lady is LOVIN it!!

My only regret is that he took the bulldog... we miss him.

My son seems happy in his new digs...and I know that I am happy in mine..."My ole lady's room".

You never know with kids...he may be back...and we'll let him come back, but if he does, he will be sleeping in an 'ole lady's' room and it will stay that way.

I love him, and we do actually miss him now that he is gone, but it is nice to not look at a mess of a room; but be able to walk into my 'ole lady's paradise and feel comfortable and put my feet up, give myself a manicure and enjoy doing my laundry while I watch whatever channel I want on the TV.

But I still miss the dog...

Til next time... OLE LADY COTTON

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

This blog is dedicated to two of my favorite people... my oldest son and my sister. Her birthday is the 9th, my son's is the 10th. Let's start with my sister (I've known her longer). She has recently survived open heart surgery...her husband's! I love her dearly...but Florence Nightingale, she ain't! It was a traumatic time for us all; mostly for my brother in law...but not easy on any of us. He is in the early stages of recovery, and she is in the early stages of "sometimerz's". I consider myself her own personal memory stick, she has NO capacity to remember the smallest or biggest detail, but I am there for her, and feel grateful for the fact that I have her in my life. (Even if she forgets that I am her sister....I remind her of the fact with all my phone calls and emails). She is my ROCK, she is my best friend; and most luckily of all..she is my sister!

On to my son... where should I start? Maybe with a "Balance Owed" sheet!! Kids have a marvelous way of sucking you dry at every point in their life. I know this from experience... I did a GREAT job of it with my own parents, and obviously it has trickled down to them as well. But I do truly love him, respect him and only want the best for him. He is a handsome, smart and headstrong young man that not only gives me heartaches, but heartfelt love . I believe in him; have tremendous faith in him, and feel that once he finds his path...it will be the right one. It is hard to believe that he is turning twenty two.... am I REALLY that old? I guess that I am , because I have three kids that are wearing me out on a daily basis; and would not have it ANY other way. My "TJ" is a special one to me... my first child, my oldest and not only my son, but my friend. I hope that he knows how much he means to me... and how much I want for him to live up to all the expectations that I have for him. He has his entire life ahead of him. If I knew then, what I know NOW... my life would have been such a breeze. Well, maybe not a breeze...but a whole lot easier. But as a parent...unfortunately you have to let your kids find their own way in their own time. If only; ONLY they knew how fast life flies by you, how quickly things can change in an instant. But that is not a part of being young..it is a part of being older and wiser. I remember when you used to wake up with nightmares in the middle of the night. Now it is me waking up in the middle of the night, hoping that you make the right choices, and that I have been a good parent to you. Enjoy your youth, but make the most of it. I mean this so sincerely, and with a heart full of love and emotion... feelings that you will not experience until you have a child of your own. You make me proud every day, mad every day, and happy every day that you are in my life, and that I can call you my son, and feel honored to do it. GODSPEED.... Go take the world by the horns, and show it JUST WHAT YOU ARE MADE OF!! Happy Birthday, you "little squirt" from my past, and make not only me and your father proud...but yourself as well. I have ALL the faith in the world in you, and I know that you won't let any of us down. We'll always have your back...and YOU will always have our hearts. Go out there and grab life like it was meant for you to have... you deserve it, and know that I will always love you... always be your mother... and more importantly... that it will be my most amazing accomplishment in life so far.. to see you make a mark on the world that I know you are capable of, and to make a future for yourself that is worthy of your great desires and ambitions. MAKE ME PROUD... more importantly...make yourself proud... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Till next time..COTTON

My 15 Year Old Son is Having "Text"

How can this happen? How can it be? He is on his phone constantly... always with girls. I just pray that they are having "safe" Text. At least he has a social life; and one that luckily requires no picking up or dropping off at the mall or theater. How in the world did we get to this point? When I was 15, it was still notes passed back and forth in school with a "check YES or NO" box at the end. He is basically a good kid, far too smart for his own good, and dragging his feet at showing it in his school work. He is a video game fanatic, one of the things that ADD kids are best at...( My boy is the KING of it). I was in the car with him yesterday, I was driving and attempting to find a contact in my cell phone. I was really just thinking out loud when I said "where is the letter V"? My son immediately said # 8. I turned to him and said "what"? Low and behold the letter "V" was located under the number 8 on the cell phone. How can he fail "ART" in school, but know the corresponding number on a phone for a letter in the alphabet? ... I guess that all fifteen year olds have their priorities. They know how to do things with their phones that I did not even know existed. By the time my youngest graduates from high school, they will probably be transporting their bodies VIA cell phones, and I will NEVER be able to track them down! It is almost scary...this new technology. To think that I thought I was lucky to have "CLACKERS" when I was their age....remember the two glass balls that hung from two strings that you bounced together, eventually going from bottom to top quickly...if you were good enough! For Pete's SAKE...HOW OLD AM I ? and how quickly are my kids growing up? Hopefully, by the time they are all grown, they will still all be safe, healthy and able to do at LEAST SOMETHING on their own without the help of a cellular or computerized device. But at the rate things are progressing... I am not taking any bets on it. I just hope that they don't put me on their "NO CALL" blocking. Now THAT would really hurt!! Till next time... COTTON