Halloween

I have found that it is really hard to decide what your child is going to be for his first Halloween. Especially when he has an awesome head of hair that broadens your options and makes them more fun. A few ideas that we've had so far:

I'm pretty sure I know what I want him to be, but I'm still thinking. I welcome any suggestions!

Ghost Cat

Today marks a week since Ponce has been seen... or does it?

This whole week I have been hearing things. There have been so many occasions that I think I hear Ponce meowing at the door, wanting in. I have heard his little scratch at the door that he always did. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten up and gone to the door, totally expecting to let Ponce in. Of course he's never there. It has just been really weird. I have walked around the yard and the neighborhood and thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye - so many times. I just figured it was all because he was on my mind so much and I so wanted to hear him or see him.

Well, we went to the Georgia game Saturday and my parents kept Bennett. They just stayed at our house rather than taking him to their house. When we got home Sunday morning, Mama said, "I hesitate to say this, but I think I saw Ponce this morning." She said she was over at Grandpa's (which is next door) and was walking toward our house when saw him come around the corner of our house and head toward our basement doors. She called out for him, but by the time she got to the basement doors, he was nowhere. She looked everywhere. No sign of a kitty at all. She wasn't coming from far away, so it's not like he could have gotten far. Even if it was some other cat (even though no other cat in this neighborhood looks anything like Ponce), where did that cat go? There was nothing there, she said.

When she gets done telling us that, Josh says, "Well, I didn't tell you this, (looking at me) but the other night I was getting ready to come up to bed and saw Ponce sitting at the back door wanting in, and I thought, 'oh, good, he's back.' But when I got to the door and turned on the porch light, there was nothing there."

How weird is that? All of us have either "heard" him or "seen" him. Is he really still around, or is he haunting our house? I have wondered if maybe his sickness finally got to him and he is still alive and just doesn't know his home anymore. I don't know if I'd rather believe that or believe that he has died. It sucks not knowing. I can't imagine these people that have had their children go missing and never know what happened to them. Wow.

Okay, well, maybe my next post won't be such a bummer. I just thought I'd tell you all about our ghost cat.

Ponce de Gibson

Any of you that have ever met our cat Ponce know that he is our little handicapped kitty. He was sick when we got him as a kitten, and he just never got well - for 4 years. He has always had what I call "kitty asthma" and has a neurological issue as well. He has trouble balancing, and when he runs and then stops, his front end stops but his back end does not. It just keeps on coming around until his butt bumps into something and he falls down. It's actually pretty funny. For the first year or so that we had him we took him to the vet, and took him to the vet, and took him to the vet. They gave him all kinds of medicine, ran all kinds of tests, and nothing worked. Ever. So, we just decided to stop taking him and spending unnecessary money. He was the happiest kitty you've ever seen, so we just decided to let him be. So for the past 3 years we have just let him be and his status has not changed one bit. Still sick, but still happy.

He used to curl up with me no matter where I was - in the bed, on the couch, on the floor, wherever. He would get as close to me as he could and plop himself down. Since Bennett has been in the picture, he pretty much only tries to lie next to me in the bed. But he doesn't just jump up on the bed and lie down. First of all, I can always hear him coming. I can hear him coming up the steps (remember, kitty asthma - he constantly wheezes - he couldn't sneak up on you if he tried), then I hear him come into the bedroom, then around to my side of the bed, and then he jumps up onto the bed next to my head. He then bumps and rubs his wet nose against my face. Eww. And not just eww because it's wet. All kitties' noses are wet if they're well, and that's not gross. Ponce is not well. His nose is wet because he is constantly sick and snotty. Eww. But he is my handicapped kitty and I love him and I wash my face first thing every morning anyway and wash my pillow case often (I have a thing with pillow cases - they must stay clean). Anyway, then he plops down (another thing with his balance issue - he can't just lie down easily like any other cat - he leans as far as he can and then plops). Well, he'll lie like that for, oh, about 10 seconds and then he decides that he's not comfortable. He gets up, noses me again, turns around, noses me, turns around, plops down. 10 seconds later, repeat. This will happen at least 4 times before he finally decides he's comfortable. And then if I make the slightest move or noise, he's outta there. He bolts off that bed and out of the room and down the stairs so fast you'd think he was being chased by something. Maybe he thinks he is. Strange little cat.

Ponce is the blonde one, Stewie is the orange one.

Once Bennett came along I got a little annoyed with Ponce. Yes, my sweet, sweet Ponce. I just couldn't take his snottiness. He was getting it everywhere. That's the other thing he does - and this is gross, but I'll tell it anyway. He sneezes all the time... and slings snot. Most of the time he finds it and licks it up himself (what a sweet cat), but a lot of the time I have to go find it and wipe it up myself. Gross, I know. Do you see why I got annoyed? I didn't want Bennett to be crawling across a floor that had Ponce snot on it. And it has seemed to get worse in the last couple months or so. I kept telling Josh and Mama - once these cats are gone, I may not want anymore. I'm tired of snot and kitty litter and kitty puke. I mean, I'm glad they enjoy eating the occasional bug that they find in the floor, but their stomachs don't like 'em. I'd rather kill and clean up the bug than the bug covered in the cats' supper. So, I told them I was done with kitties. And the comment was especially geared towards Ponce. He is just so much messier than any other kitty.


Well, how horrible do I feel now that I have not seen Ponce in 4 days? He stays inside most of the time, but when he does go out it's usually not for long. He'll be back at the door scratching on it or meowing wanting back in. He'll stay outside overnight every once in a while, but he is always sitting at the door in the morning waiting for someone to let him back inside. He loves to sit on the wall in front of our house. I love to look out one of the front windows and see him out there, just lounging, checking out what's going on on our street. As soon as I open the front door to say something to him, he whips his head around and jumps off the wall and runs to the door.


Every morning when I go downstairs I hope I'll see him sitting at the back door wanting in. Throughout the day I'll walk to the front of the house and look outside to see if he's sitting on the wall. At night I hope to hear him coming up the stairs to come get in bed with me. No such luck. I think Mr. Ponce is gone. I told Stewie to find him, but he hasn't been able to yet. He has been very affectionate lately. Cats know when their brother is missing. They're sad. He hasn't started going around the house meowing yet, but I bet you he will if Ponce isn't back in a week or so. I grew up with cats - I know the process.


So, this is an ode to Ponce. The sweetest little handicapped kitty ever.

Premature Organization

I have a problem.

I have spent a good hour yesterday and today making a list of people that Josh and I will send Christmas cards to this year. I have a list of 60 names right now that will get a card. I had 64 but decided to cut it back to 60 since the cards I bought (yes, already – hey, they had them on display at Sam’s – they got me) come in packs of 15 and I don’t want to have to buy a 5th pack. I have actually only bought 3, so I already need to go get one more to make 60 instead of 45. Should I just cut it down to 45 and not have to spend that extra money on more cards and stamps? No, I can’t do that because who in the world would I cut? It’s kind of like making a list of people that will be invited to your wedding. If you invite so-and-so, then you have to invite so-and-so. And then if you invite so-and-so, you can’t not invite so-and-so. It’s a complicated situation.

Anyway, I have typed up all the addresses in Word and have been changing the font, trying to decide if I will print them, trace them, or just write them myself. But if I do print them or trace them, which font is most appropriate for Christmas and what will be easy to trace and should I do it in black or red?

My whole point is… this is what I’ve been doing today. September 23rd. Christmas is 3 months away. It’s Sam’s fault. They put those cards out on display right there in the middle of the aisle where you can’t miss them. Those little tricks don’t usually get me, but they got me this time. These were such cute cards! I couldn’t not get them. I get excited about these types of things. I love sending invitations or cards or thank you notes or anything along those lines. I love making lists, I love planning parties, I just love all that stuff. Which is probably the reason that I planned our entire wedding, worked as an event coordinator for 2 years, organized my ten year high school reunion and have hosted 3 weddings (besides our own) and 4 large parties at our house.

I’m also beginning to think about what I want to do for Bennett’s first birthday. I’m trying to keep those thoughts in the back of my mind, but they keep creeping up to the front and I can’t help but think – do I have a big party and invite lots of people, or do I just have the grandparents over to watch him stick his face in a cake? Do I do it on his actual birthday, or do I plan it for the weekend before or after? Do I send out paper invitations or just send an evite? What will the theme be? What kind of cake will we make him? Are we going to cut his hair as part of the festivities? Are we going to cut his hair at all???

Yeah, it’s all a little premature. This is how my mind works, though. Give me any other task and I’ll take forever completing it. But if you ever need a party planned, invitations or cards bought (or made), addressed and sent, I’m your girl.

Four Score and Seven Years Ago...

... I was not alive.


But Four Years and Seven Days Ago...


... Josh and I were married. September 4, 2004. What a day. Man, what a day. The best day of my life. I remember every little detail of it, and I give credit to my sister-in-law, Lauren, for that. She and Matthew got married earlier that same year, and her advice to me was to make sure I took it all in. She said that with all the excitement, stress and chaos of the day, her wedding day was a blur. So she told me to take it easy and make sure to take in every moment and don't let it be a blur. I remembered that advice and really did stay calm and take in every last moment of our day. The whole year, really. I just love everything to do with weddings. The showers, engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, decorating, giving and receiving of gifts, and just having all of the people you love around non-stop. So with Lauren and Matthew's wedding being in June and ours in September, 2004 was a blast for me. So many showers and fun parties, and so many family members and friends around throughout the year. I loved it.

So as not to write a book, I will touch on a few key memories of mine from that year.

*December 31, 2003: Josh proposed to me. It's funny that he chose to do it that night, because I told him that if he didn't ask me by the end of 2003, I was history. We had been together nearly 6 years - it was time. What a procrastinator!

*January 2004: Grandpa not only says that we can have our reception at the house he owned on Price Avenue, but offered for it to be our home after we were married. And so starts the hardest and most stressful thing I've ever done: completely gutting and renovating a house while planning a wedding, all in 9 months.

*March, April, May of 2004: Lauren's showers and luncheons begin and I am able to attend 5 of the 6 events (I was her maid of honor).

*May 2004: As soon as Lauren's showers concluded, mine began. The first two were in the same day, one at the old Le Jardin Blanc and one at Sandi's house in Smyrna. That one was especially fun for us because it was a Jack and Jill shower for all of our friends. Friends from high school as well as college.

*June 19, 2004: Lauren and Matthew were married in Snellville, Georgia. I had no idea I would be so emotional! My stomach was in knots as we lined up and got ready to enter the church. And when I saw her coming down the aisle, my bottom lip began to quiver. The tears didn't come then, but when Josh sang during the service I couldn't hold them back. It was amazing.

*June, July, August of 2004: My showers continued, and I continued loving every minute of it.

*September 3, 2004: One day left. I so clearly remember everyone being at the house working that day. My aunts (Judy, Nancy, Joan and Sarah) were all working on the flowers (the flowers that almost didn't make it due to Hurricane Charlie), and uncles Ricky and Andy were cleaning up, painting, placing pots of impatiens around outside; whatever needed to be done. Me, Josh, Mama, Daddy, Steve, Lynn, Miranda, Kiesha and her boyfriend (now husband) Derrick, Jeff, Greg, Grandpa, Mary, you name 'em - everybody was doing something. It was hustle and bustle around there, and it was great. At least for me. Everyone else might have been cursing me. I remember that Derek (another Derek - Josh's best man) went at the last minute and got our programs printed for us, and I rode in the backseat of our car to the rehearsal dinner so that I could wrap the girls' gifts that I was to give them that night. After the dinner, back at Mama and Daddy's house, they locked me in my room at midnight so that Josh and I wouldn't see each other when the clock ticked over and it was September 4th. Josh and Derrick were at the house making the groom's cake. The 3 dimensional bulldog groom's cake that wound up stealing the show. They were up until 3 or 4am working on it while I snoozed in my bedroom.

*September 4, 2004:

*I remember waking up that morning and having Virginia fix my hair at about 7am and then having a Mimosa toast with Mama, Kiesha, Miranda, Ashley, Derrick and Greg. After that, Mama very calmly asked if I was ready for her to hem my wedding dress, and I very calmly said yes. Talk about waiting until the last minute! We never got stressed or nervous, though.

*I was just taking it all in, and I don't think anything could have upset me that day. Except maybe if Josh had seen me before the wedding when our wedding directors led me right past the room in the church where Josh was standing with the preacher! I saw him, but he didn't see me, thank goodness.

*Speaking of him seeing me, I was nervous about him seeing me. I was so afraid he wasn't going to like my dress. I had nothing to worry about, though. He said I took his breath away, literally. He got choked up as soon as the church doors opened and he saw me standing there. He loved the dress.

*The service was wonderful. Derrick sang and played guitar; it was beautiful.

*I remember that Mama was distraught because she kept looking out the window before the service and didn't see any cars in the parking lot and thought that we were going to have a very low turnout. She never said anything to me, but it was breaking her heart. When we got to the sanctuary, it was packed. All of the cars were in the lower lot that she could not see. She was quite relieved.

*The reception was the most fun I have ever had. It's funny, because Josh and I hardly saw each other. He stayed inside for the majority of the time, and I stayed outside. Stay inside and miss the 10 piece Motown band? No way! Give me a peach daiquiri, bustle my dress and let me dance! I had a blast. I think everyone did. My little cousin Owen actually wrote about it in a report he had to do for school about a "favorite family memory" - 2 years later! My cousin Tammy sent me a copy of it; it was adorable. It proved to me that it wasn't just me that thought that day was terrific. A fun time was had by all.

*It took a few people dragging us out of there, but finally at about 2am, Josh and I left for our hotel in Atlanta. Little did we know that Dragon-con was going on at the Marriott Marquis that night. It made for an interesting trip to the room!

*And how can I talk about our wedding day without telling this story. When Josh and I arrived back at the house the next day, we sat down with Mama and Daddy, Greg, and Grandpa and opened our gifts. Well, Grandpa is famous for going to sleep sitting in a chair. No matter what is going on, he almost always nods off. Well this day was no different. So we're all sitting around and Josh and I start telling everyone about the wonderful breakfast we had in our hotel room that morning. I was telling them that we had scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, toast with butter and jelly, sausage, bacon, pancakes with syrup, etc. When I finished listing off everything, Grandpa, with his head on his chest, asleep, blurts out, "and an egg biscuit." We all turn and look at him, he wakes up, looks around at us, realizes what he has done, and we all burst into laughter. It was hysterical. I think he laughed the hardest. I can hear that laugh as I'm sitting here writing this. He thought he was ordering his breakfast. So funny. We actually named our trivia team "and an egg biscuit" in honor of him one time, a couple years later.


On that note, I will end this one. We miss you, Grandpa. Thanks for everything. You would be proud to know that after 4 years, Josh and I are happier than ever, and we have a beautiful baby boy named after your family that was conceived about 5 days before you passed away. I wish he could have known you, and you him.

"Benny and Liz"

Not much wording needed here. I just wanted to share a video of Bennett and Elizabeth having their first real quality time together. There has been a lot going on in the last couple of weeks, and this was a very enjoyable day that we all needed. There is a better video that I intended to share, but for some reason my computer doesn't want to load it. So, this one will have to do.

Note: If it looks like Josh is very dirty and nasty, it's because he is. He and Steve worked very hard cleaning and painting our gutters that day. *thanks, guys!*

How Many Licks Does it Take...

Last Monday, September 1st (which happened to be Mama and Daddy's 35th wedding anniversary), Mama, Josh, Bennett and I walked up the street to join Douglasville's finest at the Labor Day parade. We thought it would be a neat experience for Bennett. It turned out to be one of the events that Josh says is just for the adults' amusement, not the child's. We just figured that since Bennett so loves to watch cars go up and down the street from our front porch, what better thing for him to observe than a parade full of cars and floats. All was good and well until one of the trucks going by rang out its extremely loud and obnoxious train horn. Bennett did not like that at all, and he screamed as the very colorful and crazy clown approached him to give him a piece of candy (that Josh swiftly intercepted). Well, we (Mama) were (was) determined to stick it out and have him enjoy the parade. So, we calmed him down and tried our best to avoid any very loud noises or very scary clowns. I should mention that it was very close to his nap time, so he was very tired.

I don't remember whose idea it was to give him the Tootsie Roll Pop to play with, but one of us did. It was still in the wrapper, and it was just supposed to occupy him and keep him happy while he (we) enjoyed the rest of the parade. Well, silly (stupid) us didn't consider the fact that the little man already has 8 teeth and that the wrapper was not made of steel. It wasn't long before Bennett had his first taste of sweet, sweet candy. He hardly ate any of it; just enough to make a mess of himself and me. But what better item for it to be than a Tootsie Roll Pop?

For any of you that don't know, the Tootsie Roll Pop has been a staple in the McLeod household for a very long time. I can picture Daddy (whether it be 10 years ago or last night) sitting on the sofa with his feet propped up on the ottoman, watching a movie with a Tootsie Roll Pop in his mouth and about 3 balled up wrappers next to him. The very first time I saw him on my wedding day, there was that little white stick in the middle of his proud grin. Just today, I looked out the window and saw him over at Grandpa's house on a lawnmower with one sticking out of his mouth. I think rather than putting a handkerchief in his hand or a rose on his chest, we'll put a Tootsie Roll Pop in his mouth at his funeral.

ANYWAY, the point is, that was the perfect first sweet for Bennett, and if he didn't enjoy anything else about that parade, he enjoyed his first (and second) Tootsie Roll Pop.