Beep

At a little after 5 o’clock this morning I thought I heard a beep. However, I was only half awake and so I determined that I had dreamed the beep. Beep. There it is again. Why am I dreaming a beep noise? Beep. Ugh, okay. I will sit up and if I hear it again, I know I am not hearing things. Beep. Joshua, wake up, something is beeping. Beep. Josh, “it is just the smoke detector.” And he rolls back over. Um, we have been married for almost ten years and you think this is the end of it? No, sir, it is not! So, I get up and stand under the smoke detector in our room and wait. Beep. No, Josh, I really do not think that is it. Loosely translated, get up and make it stop! So, I go looking around the house. Beep. Okay, so it is the smoke detector in the hallway. And by the way, I am now realizing that the writers of FRIENDS are not as creative as I thought. The stupid things do just continue to beep. Poor Pheobe, I am starting to feel her pain.

So, Josh is now out of bed and messing with the smoke detector trying to get it apart. Beep. Ugh, this is really annoying and now Josh is annoyed that he cannot get the thing apart while standing on the floor. Now standing on the chair he is still messing with it and for some reason, I decide that I should give instructions from the ground and that this is a good idea. Nope, not really. Josh is getting perturbed with me now. Beep. Goodness gracious, get that stupid thing apart!! Okay, Josh has it apart and the battery is out. A 9 volt?? Who the heck has a 9 volt laying around the house? Not the Stewarts that’s who!! So, Josh puts the detector on the shelf, I say thanks, and take the chair back to the kitchen.
I get back to our bedroom. Beep. Did that thing just beep? Josh, “yes, it sounds like it.” And he is back in bed!! Beep. Oh my gosh, it is like I am living in a ridiculous comedy! Our house is by no means huge, but not small either. I believe that if I take it to the far end of the kitchen I will not be able to hear it in the bedroom. Beep.
Back in bed, finally, I am tired. beep. REALLY?? Are you kidding me, I can hear that stupid thing beeping?!?! And now Josh is snoring. How can he already be back in bed and snoring? And now, to make matters worse, I need to go to the bathroom. Beep. UGH!!!!

While in the bathroom, I realize I can no longer hear the beep. I am not lying I am now considering making a pallet on the bathroom floor and sleeping in here. While I am thinking of sleeping on the bathroom floor, I suddenly realize that this stupid comedy I am living in, The Stewarts, Episode: BEEP, has a sound track. I hear Carrie Underwood singing, you stole my happy….. You are darn right, that stupid beep has stole my happy of sleeping on a Saturday morning!!!
Back to bed, again. Beep. Seriously, I am tired. However, I am now reminded that my wonderful husband is already back asleep and snoring. Snoring….I never thought I would say this, but thank you God for the snoring. If I move a little closer to him the snoring is drowning out the beep. Beep. Aww…..and now King George is starting to sing. Thank you Joshua and Kind George for the sweet sounds to put me back to sleep. Beep.

i stole your goodness

luke and i have been on a cupcake making kick. my little chocaholic decided this week it would be chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. we added sprinkles to some and coconut to others. when we were done icing them, he was eating his and i decided to have one as well. there were some crumbs left on my paper cup and i intended to eat them when i was done with the cupcake in my hand. i turned around for a moment only to find that luke was quickly grabbing all my crumbs and shoving them into his mouth. "i stole your goodness." is all he said. yes, he did. oh well, it is hard to stay upset with this chocolatey face.

mutton bustin'

this past friday night we went to the rodeo with our friend liz, her two boys, and her cousin cory. we had been talking to luke about mutton bustin’ and he was excited to sign up. when we got to the sign up both, we were told children 55 pounds and under could enter to ride and i told luke, “for once, you not weighing much is going to work in your favor! Horray!!” they made him weigh in and he was a big 39.7 pounds. i filed out the entry form and dropped it in. not going to lie, i did not for one minute think he would be chosen.

from the moment we sat down to watch the rodeo luke kept saying how he really wanted to ride the sheep. i continually reminded him that only eight kids would get picked, but we would see. i also reminded him that he would not cry if he did not get picked.

liz had taken one of her boys to the bathroom and returned with a big smile on her face. the list of mutton bustin’ riders for the night had been posted and luke was chosen!! i could not believe it and luke was thrilled!!

i took luke down to get ready and josh stayed behind to watch from the stands. liz brought her camera and came back with us to take pictures. luke went over to get his helmet and vest. he wore vest number five….so fitting for my five year old little cowboy! he was so excited to be behind the scenes. he was watching the cowboys, the bulls, and dancing to the music.

at one point, i told liz, i do not know about luke, but I am getting nervous i am so excited! we had a wait a while, but finally, they lined up the children to walk to the chutes, and luke would ride last. i reminded him to hold on as tight as he could, and for as long as he could.

when the kids went to the chutes, the adults were allowed to walk out into the arena and watch from the wall. i could hardly stand it waiting for luke’s turn. then he was announced, “and from mesquite, texas, we have five year old Luke Stewart!” he was out of the chute and rode a pretty good ways before falling under. one of the cowboys picked him up and brought him over to me.
luke was shaken up a some and crying. i asked him what was wrong and he said he did bad because he fell off. we all assured him that he did great and all the kids fell off at the end. he received a trophy for riding and when we returned to the stands cory told us luke was only one point behind the winner! in all he hustle and bustle in the back, we had not heard his score.

it was a great night and a fun time. our only regret was later we realized josh could have videoed the entire thing from our camera and he did not! oh well.....maybe there will be a next time and we will film it then. liz took many great pictures, here are some of my favorites.


my cute little rider.

mommy tellling luke to hold on tight.

a great ride!

a good cowboy to pick him up

a proud mutton bustin'rider and his trophy

tuesdays at the stewarts

tuesdays at the stewarts are my favorite weeknight. we have friends over for dinner and then the 80s movie club convenes for a movie. sometimes dinner is very simple, at times it is me trying out a new dish (ha ha - my guinea pigs), but if everyone is lucky i will actually put forth some effort and make a great meal for us. and if the stars and moon are aligned just right, there is even dessert! last night i put forth the effort and the galaxy looked good. i am not really that fabulous of a cook, i just know where to find great recipes and for the most part, i can follow directions.

our main dish and one side dish came from the pioneer woman. i love her recipes and her website is a hoot with wonderful photos. http://thepioneerwoman.com/

our other side dish was the spectacular secret recipe for mashed potatoes from my friend liz. these are hands down the BEST mashed taters that have ever graced my lips. thank you much to her for sharing this recipe with me!! ;-)

throw in some rolls and salad….this meal was great and the time with friends was even better.

and for dessert, a peach cobbler from hamm’s orchard. it may not be homemade, but boy is it good!!

the 80s movie club started up a several months back and we compiled a list of a couple hundred movies we need to see. it is going to take us a while to tackle them all, but we are a determined group. Last night i picked top gun. i L-O-V-E, LOVE, this movie! when i was a kid, my brother’s nick name was goose. at the time, i had not seen the movie and all I knew was that he looked like a person in it. fast forward a few years and the first time i saw the movie i cried like a baby when goose died! my brother did look just like anthony edwards and had been in the navy so i got all carried away thinking he could have died…..however he did not fly jets or anything…..my mind just gets going sometimes. shocker, i know…

i feel the need…….the need for speed!!!!
(sorry, i could not resist)

hardy biscuits

this past spring my dad asked me if I would “babysit” his hardy hibiscus (hardy biscuits as luke calls them) this year as he was going to redo his flowerbeds in the back. i said yes that i would love to…… because he said i keep half of them! who can turn down free flowers and beautiful ones at that? however, with the new plants came the pressure not killing them as my daddy has had them for over ten years!! i would not only have to buy him new plants if I killed them, but i would have to live with it for the rest of my life. and i knew that he would not let me live it down.

well, the biscuits are doing great and are so very pretty to look at. here they are from little sprouts to gigantic flowers. thank you daddy for the backyard beauty for the summer!!

ps—these things multiple like crazy……SO, if anyone wants to swap some plants let me know! i will give half back to my dad next spring and will still have plenty to swap if the opportunity arises.

my luke

luke goes to preschool, and for the most part, this is a great thing. he has a wonderful teacher, the staff is great, and he has learned all kinds of things. however, i have a complaint: they let these kids talk to each other. what is the harm in this? let me tell you:

1. he knows that we did not go to see toy story 3 on the day it opened, friday. but, that we went a day late and saw it on saturday.
2. he knows that the wii exists, and that we do not have one.
3. he knows that little brothers and sisters exist, and he would like a sister.
4. he knows that there is a sea world, and we are not going this summer.
5. he knows that it is funny to talk about your bottom, poop, and farts.
6. he knows that you get a LOT of money when you lose your first tooth, and he can hardly wait.
7. he knows there is a disney world, and that he has not been. and that he wants to go….now!

i think it is great that luke can read, count to 100, spell, and write clearly, but along with these great things, he has also learned that he does not have everything he wants and that he does not always get things when he wants them. wait a second, maybe that is not such a terrible thing to learn at five after all. hummmm……..you do not get everything you want in life, and sometimes you have to be patient and wait. i take it back, no complaints at all about preschool.
i forget these two things so many times.

here is my sweet and smart luke. i love him more than there are stars in the sky.