The Huffakers

NPR finds

2011-09-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

A man I work with cringed the other day, dreading an upcoming segment airing on NPR. It was about the oddball coupling of Reggae and Country music. Michael, the guy I work with, is a big country fan. He likes the real old stuff, the classic stuff like...well the only guy I know is Johnny Cash. He even occasionally anchors a local program called "Not Necessarily Nashville", which features twangy hits from the south.
NPR was playing this upcoming segment with lots of ads. I would not have thought too much about it except Micheal's annoyance peeked my interest.

Opposites attracted years ago in Jamaica when RASTA's fell in love with COUNTRY!

I know what you are thinking: How could these dreaded, sandal wearing, islanders fall in love with the polar opposite; the diesel drivin', gun totin', baccy chewin' country music that up until now I have never really appreciated?

So I kind of love it.

Check out the great story here.

Silly Fridays

2011-09-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

William and I are both so excited that we have nothing we HAVE to do today. We have a lot we OUGHT to do but William doesn't have preschool and I don't have to work. YEAH!
We spent the morning playing in the spare bedroom on a empty mattress. It was actually the Millennium Falcon. William was Luke Skywalker, obviously and I was Princess Leia. We huddled in sleeping bags which protected us from the attacks of the death star.

William bought a lightsaber on Wednesday. He has been saving all his sleep quarters to get it. (He gets a quarter if he sleeps in his bed all night.) He has slept in OUR bed everynight since we bought the star wars weapon. Not real effective, I know.

So I was going through old videos and found this. It is pretty ridonk-ulous. There is just no way for this kid to be normal with a mother as crazy as I, which is fine. Normal is overrated. Normal people are boring.

Apparently i was feeling a wee bit of that fighting irish in me that day. My 4-year-old is playing with laundry baskets whilst listening to Black 47 sing about THE TROUBLES in northern ireland. I may have never been there but that irish blood runs deep.
I swear some days I wake up just looking for a fight even if its not mine.
(Can I blame that on my ancestry?)
Anyway- I thought the video was random and funny.

Locked Out!

2011-08-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

(you can kindof see the patio in our new place)

William and I spent three hours this afternoon locked out of our new condo on the patio. We yelled for help but no one heard us.(I have a sneaking suspicion that my neighbor heard but at present can not confirm.) Finally we hollered down some nice neighbor who called Tyler to "save us", as William says. The neighbor left a message for tyler.

"Hello Sir-
I am your neighbor, You've never met me.
Your wife has locked herself on your patio with your son
You're welcome to call back
My name is Greg."

William and I waited.
We played our longest ever game of "I'm thinking of an animal"
William cheats. He gives me one or two clues and becomes impatiently annoyed at my inability to guess immediately then he cups his hand and whispers the answer in my ear. He resumes the game as though nothing has happened and when I tell him the answer he congratulates me like I'm...well...a four-year-old.
"Good job, mum, you are a great guesser!!!"

We watched a turtle surface and submerge and resurface in the lake. We observed a family of ducks paddle up and down the dock that runs parallel our building. We saw half a dozen hummingbirds. We watched what looked like a herring perch himself on a boat and then fly lazily away.
I tried to get William to take a nap. I tried to teach William some Spanish. We sang our favorite songs. I sang
"sitting on the dock of the bay watchin' the tide roll away" unfortunately for William those are the only words of the song I know.

Check out our favorite song HERE
William loves to sing "ALABAMA ARKANSAAAAAAAAAAW"

Of course Tyler did not have a second all day and did not get the message til it was quitting time anyway. He came and "saved us". I was amazed at a few things. Firstly how little William complained. He never really did that I can remember.
Secondly that I can't recall the last time I spent three uninterrupted hours with my son doing nothing but just being with him. After such a busy week paying so little attention to Will as I packed up the old house, it was actually really nice getting locked out with him. I cant think of anyone else I would rather be locked out with than William. He is a fun boy even if he is a cheater.

Mainahs, gotta love 'em!

2011-08-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Get it together Beth!

This morning at work I listened to Scott Simon talking with the Maine women who just swam the English Channel at age 60. (Scott Simon is host and journalist for Weekend Edition. He is brilliant.) This was the women's third attempt. She chatted with Scott about her experience. She had a great Maine accent and when she started to talk about why she swims I started to loose it, a little bit. (That's how Mainers say I was crying like a baby.)

She said that her son encouraged her to swim by saying "mom you can do anything you want to". I don't know why, but something about her sons confidence in her mingled with her Maine accent when she said "Pohtlind" sent me off.

Four minutes before I am to go on air and do a newscast and I am in the radio booth blowing my nose like a fool and desperetly trying to pull it together.

"I just love Maine," I slobbered.

I managed to clean up before the newscast but I sounded a little fragile for sure.

I am really overtired.

We just spent our second night in our new home and moving is brutal.

Ok...and I might miss Maine which equals my family because Maine is Family.

Check out the 60 year-old Mainah here.

Missing My Voice...

2011-08-23T09:57:00.001-07:00

Are you missing me, are in need of a little Beth? Chances are you are not however, If you are, you can listen to me online at kuar.org. I am a part-time reporter for KUAR FM 89.1 in Little Rock. I have been working for the public radio station since February. On Saturday mornings I work as a board operator and you can hear me at 7:04 a.m. and 8:04 a.m. deliver a state newscast. You can listen to me live Saturday mornings from the website. But lets face it the only people who will get up that early to listen to me are my parents. (Thanks mum and dad)
I just finished my second feature piece. It aired this morning at 6:05 and 8:05. Listen to it here. Its only 4 minutes and 32 seconds but it took a surprising amount of time to research, interview, write and produce.

In other news, we are moving this week into a new condo. Who would have thought that we would be condo people? It is a really nice place and we are happy to leave our current "cocoon" neighborhood.
(My pool rights got revoked today because I let William sit in the hot tub and they caught me on video. I am too much of a rebel for this place apparently.)

(This picture is unrelated to my post. William in April 2011 sitting in Dad's new kayak, watching TV and eating yogurt in our almost old condo. This picture just makes me happy. What a funny kid.)

I started teaching Spanish at the preschool where William goes today. It was extremely comically trying to convince three-year-olds to call me Senora Beth. I know I looked like a fool singing about saying "hola every time we meet" but the kids were mesmerized. Not so much by the Spanish songs but the wild eyed crazy lady dancing to them like she was on Broadway. At least I kept their attention for the 30 minute class.

William came home from the Baptist Preschool last week and wanted to say "grace" before dinner, then when we said amen he said grace. I also overheard him singing to himself "God is good, God is great!"
My son is turning southern.

Positively Pitiful

2011-08-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

Ok so I just looked at my blog for the first time in ages and realized how pitiful it looks. No updates since February and even before that they were very sparse. So I will attempt a little recovery, not that anyone is reading this anymore.

Today was William's first day of preschool...sort of. William has been going to "First Baptist Preschool" (say this with an accent) since February when I got a part time job at KUAR, a public radio station in Little Rock. Every preschool down here is in a church. Actually you can't find a preschool that isn't affiliated with a church, i think its against the law or something. William has continued going one day a week all through the summer but today was the official start of fall semester.

(Rachel, Walker and William on Aug. 16, 2011)

William is lucky for lots of reasons, but one is that he has a great new teacher named Mrs. Dawn. Another is that his very dear friends Walker and Rachel are in his class too. Walker and Rachel were in the little co-op that some friends and I did all last year. Now every tuesday and thursday he gets to make new friends but has some old pals at preschool too. Lastly William is lucky because there is a little boy in his class who is allergic to peanuts and that means no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, but pepperoni with cream cheese instead which is his favorite.
(Honestly I am lost for what to make a kid for lunch excluding peanut butter,
if you have any good ideas let me know.)

Missing My Voice...

2011-04-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

Snow Day

2011-02-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

11 days ago it was 70 degrees. Today everything was closed including the gas station nearest our house, all the schools, the YMCA, the grocery stores, Tyler's office, everything! I am not complaining. I did put winter coats away after our fishing trip because I thought spring was on our doorstep, however, I welcome the snow. I welcome the reminder of being a Mainer and for Ty, a Utahn. And I welcome finally putting to use the ridiculous amount of winter gear that we have in our Southern closets.
After a lazy morning, we ventured outside. We made a snowman and went sledding down the hill behind our house. We walked to the store where we were the last customers before it closed at 3 pm. (They had only sold $23 worth of food all day) We tried to shovel out ourselves and our neighbors with Ty's tiny backpacking shovel. This evening we cuddled up by the fire that Ty made and crafted our valentine cards and ate yummy soup, also made by Tyler. It was a fun snow day and I was happy that Arkansas only has 4 plows so that Ty could stay home and play with us.
(Tomorrow maybe another story)

(William's snowman. The rocks represent the snowman's stomach and all the food in it, according to Will)

Fish

2011-02-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

William and Walker examining and poking a caught fish.

On the last Saturday in January, Tyler took us fishing, us being, myself, William and Will's best friend, Walker. We all got in the car, bought some lunch and went to a river about 1 hour away from Hot Springs. It was beautiful day in the low 70's. The sun glistened upon the water as it gently swayed down the river. The birds were singing sweet melodies of spring. The air was fresh and vibrant, full of budding cheerfulness and the impending growth of winters end.

As the boys fished in the river, loading one miniature marshmallow after another on their hooks trying to entice the trout, I had an epiphany. In this serene setting, as I now became the one hooking the marshmallows and casting the line for the 4 year old boys who wanted to fish, I realized with an absolute clarity, the kind that is so clear it is life altering, that I HATE FISHING!

I dislike everything about it! I dislike the sitting or standing while waiting for a poor little trout to bite, I dislike the casting and tangling of lines with little boys heads and fingers and clothing. I dislike the actual catching of the fish or the disappointment when you don't. I dislike retrieval of the hook from the fishes mouth or worse its stomach. I dislike the smell of the little fish and the way they look at you and squirm in the hands of their captor, pleading to be set free. I dislike the way my sweet little boy smells after fishing. I dislike listening to the other fishermen on the bank speculating about the fishes whereabouts or taste buds. In short I am not a fisher. Fishing is not for me and I am not for fishing.

The boys did catch a trout each, they brought them home in a cooler full of ice in the hopes of eating them. I truly wonder how much Tyler actually likes fishing himself, because upon arrival home, he decided that we should not eat the fish but just throw them away. After all it is Arkansas and fish die here with no explanation; probably nuclear waste poisoning or second hand smoke or something.

I asked Tyler to kindly never invite me fishing again. He quickly accepted the request a little too enthusiastically. I used to frown upon segregating outings, daddy trips and mummy trips. My mind has changed. Fishing will be for the men in my house and that is fine with me as long as they don't dirty my cooler again.

Four!

2011-01-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

We can't believe that William is 4 now. It really stinks this growing up business. This is how we celebrated.

Birthday morning William blew out some candles on his pancakes to celebrate with Dad before he went to work.

Dad always picks out the best gifts! He got William a transformers race track!

William and I headed to Play by play which is an indoor gym for kids. William had all his best buds there including Walker who William calls his best friend...well depending on the day.

William with his friends Nathan and Darla in the hamster like play place. The kids even roped me into going in there, whew was it stinky, but the slides were fun.

Hanna, Rachel, William, Walker, Smith, Nathan and Teran all waiting for cake.

Finally we wrapped up the party with cupcakes, juice boxes and opening of presents. Everyone had a wonderful time, especially the birthday boy.

In the car ride home William sighed and said , "Mom, that was so cool!"

Mondays

2011-01-04T23:49:00.000-08:00

On Monday the dentist found two cavities in Williams mouth! As we drove away from the dentist office I suggested to Will that we go get sundaes, you know, to soften the blow of the bad news. William became thoughtful.
William: Mom is today Sunday?
Me: No today is Monday. Ice cream sundaes are ice cream with hot fudge on them, remember?
William: pause... Mom?
Me:Yes
William: can we get mondays instead?

wedding cake

2010-05-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

do you ever assume that because your mother can do something well, somehow you can too?
I do,
I did,
I don't know that I ever will again.

everyone knows mom makes beautiful cakes. heck all the food mom makes is beautiful. i was asked to make a wedding cake for a girl i am supposed to visit teach but do not. we are friends with her family. it actually did not go as bad as i anticipated, luckily i had mom on strict orders to answer her phone immediately all weekend if i was calling and she did, thank you mum. you were wonderful cake life support!
although I think I made her nervous when I asked “what temperature do you cook the cake at?”
mum said, “Beth are you kidding me?”
I replied “MOM, don’t you teach special ed?”
“yes but I didn’t know this was sped cooking.”
I told her to pretend it was.

at first the requests from the bride were as simple as the little town we live in,
"i don really care as long as it doesn taste bad and looks ok"
(re-read that with a southern accent),
yeah now you got it.
then…a week before the blessed day she says that she has tasted a cake that she loves and wants for her wedding cake and could she come over and have me taste it and figure out what it is. I suggested she call the baker of the cake and just ask her what it was and then tell me.
so in the end we had a three-tiered coconut cake with coconut “icing” that I thought tasted very good. even tyler liked it and that is a very good sign because his usual opinion of food is “fine”! I know, how could I have married a man who doesn’t say things like “its to die for” in reference to food?
in the end, I was glad to do it to see if I truly could, (I figured if it had been a huge disaster I would only have had to live with the embarrassment for a few more weeks because we are moving soon)
but I realized something in the process; no one is born with cake decorating genes. too bad. I wish I had been born with that one and maybe a sewing gene too. the old adage is true: practice makes perfect. I just don’t think I need to be perfect at this one. we’ll see

2010-05-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Our nice neighbors went on a church bus tour to our Nation's Capitol a few weeks ago. I have become friendly with most of our neighbors and as such Ms. Carolyn from across the street asked if William and I would come over while she and her husband were away and give her three dogs, Ring, Honeybun and Sissy, treats. Another neighbor had the responsibility of feeding Ring, Honeybun and Sissy but Ms. Carolyn wanted us just to play with them, supply them with ample treats and change the water in the birdbath.

I of course said it would be not trouble at all, even though I don’t really care that much for dogs, especially hers, and we went over to her house to see where the treats were kept. While there Ring, who is so fat from too many treats he can barely walk, would not stop barking. He really wanted to play with William and William just wanted me to hold him, being very intimidated by Ring on account of his enormous girth. Ms. Carolyn has been bestowed with the gift of gab and was talking away to me shooing and shushing Ring as we walked around her yard and patio. Finally at the end of her southern wits she turned around and very loudly yelled,
“Ah, SHUT UP Ring!!” And then turned around to us as though she had forgotten we were there and giggled a little embarrassed at loosing her patience. William, who is holding on to my neck for dear life, afraid no doubt that at any moment he will fall from my arms and Ring will devour him whole, then proceeds to whisper in my ear,
“Can I sha she she at?” he asks
“What William?” I ask.
He whispers again inaudibly.
“Honey I can’t hear you. You don’t have to whisper. What do you want to do?”
Now his lips are in my ear, “Can I say Shut Up to that dog?”
“No”
“Why?”
Good question, Ms. Carolyn just said it. “Because, well Ms. Carolyn we must be going.” I excused us from the yard and back to our own where we could still hear Ring’s longing bark wanting so badly just to play with William who really just wanted to say “Shut up Dog”. I guess William is a little bit like his mother after all, not much of a dog lover.

Flying PJ's

2010-02-04T12:35:00.001-08:00

Today I was in the bathroom

Me: William will you please get out and give mum some privacy

William: I want to watch you poop

Me: (sigh), William I am taking a shower. Get out please and give me some privacy

William: OKAAAAAAY! (he says as he walks out the door) but I don't know where the privacy is.

These pajamas used to be Kellers'. The first time I put William in these red long johns with complimentary butt flap, he wanted his blue pj's with the superman logo on front, which is what he wants to wear every night to bed. So I told him that these were Superman's pajamas, this is what superman wears to bed. Now months later he hasn't forgotten. He thinks he can fly when he wears these.
(He put my shoes on to "stretch" which means exercise in William language)

Oh Keller!

2009-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Erinn and Dave took the kiddies to Disney World. Every kids dream, right? They went trick-o- treating last night in MGM. Keller was a storm trooper, Dave, Darth Vader and Maddie was...a teenager?...from the 80's?...her mother?, oh yeah, Maddie was her mom!
While there, Keller asked Erinn, "Mom if I give you a hundred bucks can we leave?" The next day Keller stayed at the hotel with Dave while Erinn and Maddie went to Epcot. While the girls where out Keller asked Dave to make a promise, "Dad, please promise me we don't ever have to go back to MGM."

Man I love that kid!

William and I have been having Keller withdrawals. William is coping with it by asking to watch the youtube video of Keller getting in trouble. He asks to watch it everyday. "I watch Keller gettin in trouble outside, pease!"

This is a picture of when we lived in Maine and it was for the most part, how we started everyday, with a shower, some breakfast and a good helping of Keller. Usually in reverse order. We loved it.

William has learned so many valuable lessons from Keller, like who Indiana Jones is, and how to shoot, the importance of "star bars" and droids. (William doesn't really know what droids are but he is constantly talking about them)
Keller, William will never be the same without you, none of us will be for that matter. We love you and we miss you. Can't wait to have you making us laugh at Christmas. You truly are a funny kid!

New Nephew

2009-10-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Luke Desmond has just arrived. Isn't he adorable? I am a little dissappointed because it wont be until Christmas that we get to see the wee lass. So stay cute little Dessie, (I already have a nickname for him, hope you don't mind Malinda). I can't wait to smother you.

Bowling Night Out

2009-10-13T16:19:00.001-07:00

Has anybody ever heard of strip karaoke? We saw this place in Hot Springs when we went camping over Labor Day weekend.
Am I just naive or is this another southern thing? And how does it work anyway? Do you sing and strip at the same time or is it like strip poker, if you sing poorly you have to remove an article of clothing. Or is it just a marriage of two American pastimes; sing karaoke while watching strippers? I have probably spent too much time wondering about it.

In other news, Tyler and I had our bowling night last night. I almost didn't go but am so glad I did because I bowled a new personal record best, 147. Sweet. We played the "Wolf Prairie Farms" last night. They are a seasoned family bowling team of a mom and dad who are about 300 years old combined and two sons in there 40's, there grown daughter comes too but for support only. They are always the last team to finish no matter who plays them, they are serious bowlers and they are very legit with matching t shirts.
The mom and dad can hardly walk.
They wear arm braces and leg ones too. It takes Momma Wolf about 7 minutes to get herself and her ball up to the line where she simple drops her ball like she's unloading a bag a bricks . Upon which her ball travels at an equally slow rate right down the center of the lane to strike out. Its sad because she bowls better than me and Tyler most games and she looks like she is four minutes from death.
There sons strike out just about every time and one of them insists on you giving him a high five when he does always saying, "here let me share some a dat wit ya'll".
Then he was trying to make conversation with us talking about his brother and how he is a "butter bowler". He said it about three times so finally I asked, "what is a butter bowler?"
My teammate interpreted, "no a BETTER bowler"
oops.
After three games we lost. Our teammates who are two very colorful southern brothers who have the funniest stories in the world and a comment or nickname for everybody in the league usually don't care at all that Tyler and I are awful bowlers, except for last night. The Wolf Prairie Farms really annoy these two and they really wanted to beat them. Sorry guys.

Our fearless team captain

What a Tyler?
Nate our teammate
Can you guess what score is mine

The Truth

2009-10-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

This post is in response to a friends comment about Williams cooking mess. She said "wow Bethie you seem so calm about his mess".
The truth: I was on the phone with At&t, whom I despise, arguing about a mistake on my $245 cell phone bill. I put a movie, "Dennis the Menace" (I know, it was a foreshadowing) on for William while I talked on the phone in the office with the door open. I never heard anything, probably because of my...heated voice. I realized that some time had passed and so went to check on William. I stepped into the living room only to behold
an entire bag of flour
one bag of white sugar
two cans of cocoa
one bag of brown rice
one box of spaghetti
one dozen eggs cracked and separated
and one entire bottle of balsamic vinger
poured on my brand new couch, coffee table and pottery barn rug.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, William what have you done? I cant talk to you anymore. Because of you my son has made a mess. This is not over I will call back and when I do I want to talk to someone more intelligent than YOU!" I yelled at the at&t guy.
Then I started to cry. I scared William with my crying and he began to cry. I thought about spanking him.  Then I realized that would just make me feel much worse so I took William by the hand and put him in his room. Of course he came right out. I marched to the tool closet, found a screwdriver and reversed the door handle on his door and then locked my 2 1/2 year old in his room whereupon he began to wail. 
I sat on my clean love seat and balled some more while I admired my sons handiwork. I couldn't think of anything to do so I called Tyler. I was crying pretty hard so all I got out was, "I'm having a mental breakdown, I locked our son in his room". Poor Tyler who deals with crazy people all day hung up the phone immediately and rushed home believing that I had really gone nuts! Poor guy.
I got William out of his room after less than 5 minutes when I had stopped sobbing.  We cuddled together as I tried to calm him down. I tried to call Tyler back and tell him not to come home but he didn't answer.
I looked at William and told him that Daddy was going to come home and see what he had done. He looked at me with those sad teary baby blues and whispered, "Mumma, lets get the vacuum". I started to laugh.  Tyler came home relieved that we were both alive. When he saw the mess he understood my call. When he asked William what he had done, he said, "I was makin dinnah".
My mom thinks I might be stifling Williams creative energy by not allowing him to cook anymore. "He could be the next Emeril or the next naked chef," she says.  Oh well. he will just have to settle for being a janitor or something because there is no more cooking in Williams future, atleast not until I get my new couch cushions that are on order.

Where's Linda?

2009-10-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

Dale and Linda came to visit us last month and it was so wonderful to have some familiar faces around, especially theirs. Just the other day, a good friend pointed out that both of our parents have always visited us wherever we have lived, no matter how far or weird (aka Arkansas). Tyler and I are truly grateful to have such good parents. Mom and Dad McEvoy are coming to Arkansas for Thanksgiving, along with Uncle Ryan and I am very excited to host my first holiday.

You can't even tell they're related, can you?

Grandma and Grandpa of course spoiled William and us. William got a new automatic baseball server. It even cheers for you. We love it. William wont go anywhere without either his baseball bat or glove. Bytheway, he's pretty good!

Grandpa let the ladies sleep in one morning to "shish" with William in our backyard. Nothing like 6 am pretend fishin in a diaper. Will and Grandpa were two peas in a pod. William is still referring to the spare bedroom as Grandma's.
Linda I am sorry I have no pictures of you. I think that you avoided all pics. Just for the record, she was in Arkansas.

My aspiring CHEF

2009-10-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

October is a special month. We have a lot of wonderful people having birthdays in October. Aunt Erinn and Aunt Malinda, Uncle Ryan and Grandma Huffaker.
William thought he would make a cake for "ya'll"...

...and he didnt even get any on his shirt.

McFearless

2009-09-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

"Come here kitty, come here kitty"

William loves to visit the Cars farm and play with their black kittens.  He also likes to pretend that I am a kitty. 
Usually in the morning or before nap time Will pats my head and says, "its ok kitty, its ok", and then he cuddles up to me. Anyone who knows William knows he is not a snuggler so I welcome the once a day ritual where me being a cat affords me a few cuddles.

If the kittens look like they re trying to escape, that's because they are!

Fishing and Flea Markets

2009-08-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

I have to give a talk at church in the morning, so naturally I thought I would update my blog at midnight. (next on my list, must finish talk).
Today was a wonderful day because we finally got our furniture!! Yeah!! We are all happy to have a place to rest our bones. It was not hot today in the 80's with a slight breeze, a perfect day for flea market shopping of which I did all afternoon, buying nothing but scheming up great projects that I will probably never do but would be fun just the same. (Other than Walmart there are very few stores but literally 15 flea markets in town. I visited all but two)

Tyler fulfilled one of his dreams, when he took William fishin' this morning. They went to a members farm, The Cars, who are very dear southern folk and have been very welcoming and kind to Tyler and I. First a trip to Walmart where they purchased one transformers fishing rod and a fishing license, then to the Cars farm where they caught not one, but two brim fish, of which William said, "I not to dad, too scary". William also enjoyed the horses and chickens and played with the three black kittens that Mr Car brought home from his last business trip. (Mrs Car is not too pleased with the cats.)

William sat on Tyler's lap while they fished.

Isn't he getting huge? William looks like such a big southern boy posing in front of the chicken coop.

WE'RE ALIVE!!

2009-08-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

We are here in Monticello Arkansas for our second week, enjoying the blazing heat and humidity that seeps into your bones and make you lazy in places you cant even imagine. Man is it hot! Even late at night. Thank heavens for central air.
We are starting to enjoy our house but Tyler is having anxiety about not sleeping in the same room as William. And we are in desperate need of some furniture.

Unfortunately I have no pictures to post of this colorful southern town because my camera broke.
However, I will share some tidbits I've learned in my schooling of southern ways.

1.) don't impersonate an accent when relaying a story of one southern to another. They dont find it amusing.
2.) Lunch isnt lunch anymore, its supper, and supper is dinner and breakfast is still breakfast and dont try and be cute and ask if they call breakfast lunch cause they'll say
"no ma'am, breakfast is jus' breakfast"
3.) I am an old ma'am to everyone even boys and girls my age.
4.)Wal-mart is the most wonderful store in the world, (well ok I still hate it but thank heavens they have one in Monticello or else I really dont know what we would do.)
5.)If a young, furniture store owner looks like he has a tumor on the side a his handsome face and you start to feel bad for him, give it a minute, he'll spit and then poof the tumor is gone.
6.) (learned from #5) Tobacco awareness has yet to reach this part of the union.
7.) when children are crying at the store or at the park there is sure to follow an angry mother saying, "pick youself up girl, dust youself off and shut up or I's goin to shut you up ooowww."
8.)clean is a relative term
9.)so is poor, southern poor is different than even beans of Egypt Maine poor.
10.) People of Arkansas at least Monticello are multi-taskers.
Our furniture delivery guy was also a preacher and said about 100 times "God bless ya"
Williams new mean hairdresser is a barber and owns an embroidery shop. One Window of her store says barber and the other says "three sisters embroidery". Silly me I thought it was too stores, no ma'am. I think she might also pull your teeth out in the back too.

(sidenote: I asked her where the other sisters were, she said that she had two sisters but they were never in business with her she just named it that. hmm, makes "southern cents")
10.) lastly somethings just dont make no cents till you move to the south.

i FEEL LIKE MARVIN K. MOONEY

2009-07-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

an arkansas weddin cake

The time has come

the time is now

just go go go

I don't care how

-Dr. Seuss

Tyler got a job in ARKANSAS and so we are leaving our beloved MAINE and going where no McEVoy or Huffaker has ventured before. We are going to be living in Monticello Arkansas, or so we think.

We are moving in 10 days and we still have no home. Tyler keeps asking me why I am so stressed out? (insightful)

Anyway if anyone actually reads this blog and I like you, lets get together before I leave because I am seriously worried I may never see you again. I mean I am a anti republican MORMON moving to a very right wing, BIBLE belt town in the deep south living in the deep woods in the shadow of the mightah mississippi. I hope this goes well. eek.

Shishin', those darn F's

2009-07-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

I am on the phone with my mother yap yapping away, when out of the corner of my eye I notice William. The house is messy because I am trying to pack and he has found his way into the clothes basket, (which is my mothers and she is constantly asking me not to steal, oops sorry mum) and is playing some sort of game with himself.

Me: What are you doing William
William: I trying to get it
Me: The ball you mean are you trying to get the ball.

William: No the shish!
Me: what, the ball.
William: No I shishin'
Me(not very quick on the uptake even with my own offspring):What is a shish?
William: I shishin'
Me(finally): oh your fishing.
William: Yeah I shishin'

Maybe we will fit in in Arkansas after all.

I love that all it takes for a 2 1/2 year old to make a game is a household staple like a basket, an old fashioned toy, essentially a ball with string and some imagination. I love to watch William play and see what he conjures up.

It is amazing to me that if television is simply not offered as a option, children will find something else to do usually much more engrossing and fun. I love that William knows how to play.

Finally some sun

2009-07-15T13:42:00.001-07:00

Finally some sun came through and we went to the beach. It was a little cold but who cares when you havent seen sunlight for over a week. Collin and Will like the tide pools

Tyler with Jackie and Maddie. Tyler will go to the beach no matter how cold or windy. He is a true beach goer

Do you think she knows how cute she is?

Tyler brought all his toys. kayak, surf board, wetsuit. He is not a lite packer to the beach. Arg!

Caleb loves walking around in a wetsuit.

Can I kayak yet?

Staycation: Adult night out

2009-07-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night the adults went out to delicious Alison's to enjoy food obviously and some live music. Taste of Lace was supposed to be there but they sent their two sons instead. They we really great

Erinn made immediate friends with the band. They even dedicated a song to her. They were both not a day over 22. You know Erinn, robbing the cradle. (Guess who raised the annoying fork? Tyler of course)

Matt and Jen were very busy all evening landing planes via Erinn's iphone. They took timeout of their busy schedule to pose for one photo. Thanks lovebirds!

I know, I know. I read this article this week that said life was short and to wear your hair different everyday to add spice to life. I tried to add some spice but just ended up looking like a polygamist from St George. Oh well I tried. Thanks for sitting next to me Ty.

Mom, DAD! Slow Down on the booze. JK

WE went back to Erinn and Dave's and played a little friendly poker which I won. Good think Erinn and Dave were drinking.

Staycation: Day 3 , "when is staycation over?"

2009-07-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

For most of the staycation, it RAINED!
We didnt let that get us down. We went bowling. When I went bowling in Utah for the first time, I was like,
"Wow, these bowling balls are so big, there like the ones on TV."
Tyler Huffaker developed his own theory upon seeing small bowlin balls for the first time which is that Mainers like to make fun things a little hardier, so we use tiny little balls that make it much more difficult to strike out.
We had fun anyway.

William sportin his new bowlin shoes. He was not a great bowler. His balls went about .001 mph down the lane. He has loving cousins that waited patiently for him.

Keller was a serious bowler. He outscored everybody including his dad. Granted he had bumpers but just look at that form.

Look at that mug. Is that cute or what?

Some people bring a certain flare to bowling that cant be replicated. Thanks Matt.
Bowling was fun and we were all glad that Tyler McEvoy was here from NYC and Dad and Dave were home from work.

Staycation: Day 2

2009-07-07T03:15:00.000-07:00

Instead of vacation this year, our family had a staycation; where you stay at home but do fun things like you were on vacation everyday. It would have been a brilliant idea seeing as we live in a tourist town with beaches and lots to do, but it rained the entire week.
Despite the rain and fog, we all, or a lot of us, went hiking at Mt Major on our second day of staycation. Some loved it more than others.
It was quite an adventure.

Lucky for mom, Keller found her an excellent walking stick. She has become so adventurous in her...um...well, mature, I mean adult life. (Her and Dad just finished a 3 day canoe trip, where they camped and even went to the bathroom in the woods. We already know Dad likes that sort of thing. You go mom!)

Erinn, Caleb, Andrew, Paige and Jackie resting at the summit. We were so glad that the Ladlows came with us. Erinn has inherited our father's cheeseburger smile.

Don't be deceived. Malinda IS pregnant and it WAS foggier than spit on a dry day, but it was still very hot and humid, and Malinda is not going to let a little thing like pregnancy get in her way; she is one tough cookie.
We looked a little ripe when we finally reached the summit, many of us having carried one of the little kids up part of the way.

"Dude if you fall out, I'm not picking you up".

Keller taking a rest with Uncle Hippie at the summit. After slowly making it to the top, Keller rested for only a minute and then ran around while everyone else ate and sat. Oddly enough, as soon as we started out down the Mt, Keller's energy boost had been exhausted and by the time we reached the car he was delirious with giggles and whining.
Keller on the way down the Mt: "We're lost I know it, we re lost and now we have to live in the woods forever,"
"If I see David dead in the trail, I am really gonna freak out"
Luckily David was fine and Keller finally started having a laughing fit when his mother started singing,
Erinn: "Over the river and through the woods and down the hill and in the stream and then down some more to Grandma's house we go"
We definitely went the long way down the Mt. By the end, I wasn't so sure that Keller hadn't had good reason to believe that we might live in the woods forever.

Paige and Jackie are two peas in a pod and had a fun time together, in this case they put William in there pod.

Maddie brought her...friend, wink, wink, Chris on the hike. We all liked Chris, he is a very nice boy and Maddie didn't complain once about the hike. I wonder why?

Summer tastes sooo good!

2009-07-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Oh my word, What are we getting ourselves into!

2009-06-30T17:04:00.001-07:00

This is a video of the town where me and Tyler might be living. I cant even say anymore. Watch the video and you will know what I am talking about. Did you know I HATE country music?

HELP!!!

2009-06-29T15:00:00.001-07:00

Sorry. I started this post and then didn't finish last night. I was wondering if anybody knew anything POSITIVE about ARKANSAS. Tyler has a potential job there and upon researching the area where we might live I got scared.

This photo is courtesy of Monticello town website.

We would be living in Monticello if Tyler takes this job. The town website says for things to do, "fishin', huntin', and there are some fine churches to visit." I am not kidding. There is a lake there but it doesn't look like one you swim in. Apparently you just fish in it, my favorite pastime. I agree with Jay Leno when he said, "fishing is like a nap with a stick". ACK.
Anyway if anyone anywhere knows something wonderful about Arkansas let me know. If not please don't tell me, I have already read enough awful websites that stand as testimonies why NOT to live in Arkansas. Maybe I could be like the nice lady in the picture with her cute visor and 50 lb fish.

S

Huffakers in Maine

2009-06-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Stacie, Josi, Linda and Dale all came to Maine in May to watch Tyler get his Masters Degree, and finally be capable of "original thought". We were so proud of Tyler.

We decided to try and give the Huffakers a taste of Maine, well rather a shot of Maine because they were only here for 3 days. Among other things, we took them to Fort Williams in Portland.

All the Huffaker men!

Keller had a really hard time warming up to Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Stacie who he revered to as "Rex" all weekend. I think Stacie, the world champion speed talker, finally met her match with the Keller, who holds the record for the worlds longest storytelling without breathing award.

Of course William didnt get enough attention the whole weekend.

Erinn was a wonderful tour guide.

We had so much fun with the Huffakers it was hard to see them go. Can't wait til the next visit.

Philidelphia Trip

2009-06-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

William and I set off for our very first road trip in April and I am just now blogging about it. ACK! I am bad at this. Will and I visited the Bostons in Philadelphia and had a wonderful time. We went to the Children's Museum and the Zoo and the Aquarium. Unfortunately I only remembered my camera when we went to the Aquarium.

I couldn't believe how close we got to the Hippos. They are so fat yet graceful. Kel and I finally realized why they are ballerinas in Fantasia.

William and Xander both touched yucky sea stuff, mainly because their mothers wanted them too.

I felt like I was walking my child with the monkey leash backpack Kelley lent me to put on Williams , but truth be told he is really really fast. He actually liked it too and wouldn't let me take it off.

Poor Lil was so good even though we dragged her all around Philadelphia with strange rashes and fevers. Sorry Lil, sightseeing is a little more important.

If those partitions had been any shorter, I really think the boys would have swum with the penguins.

MS Walk in Kennebunkport

2009-04-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

On April 25th our family and friends walked in the MS walk in Kennebunkport to raise money for the MS society. Team Brenna was our name and our captain was Erinn, ofcourse.

Team Brenna made sure that we had enough water for our 6 mile MS walk (it was only 4 but some people are saying 6). We also loaded up on doughnut holes to help hold us over
Tyler, Nicole, Beth, Maddie, Keller, Caleb, and William on the push bike posing before our walk.

John, Matthew, Jennifer and Aunt Sue. (Jennifer is making sure Matthew looks dashing for the walk. "Here honey let me get that doughnut off your face.")

Erinn's good friend Lynn with one of her students

All of Team Brenna! (Minus team captain who was taking the picture, and Uncle Hippie who was in the bathroom) There were a lot of us, and we had a great time. Thanks to everyone for your support and for walking for Bren.

Help Fight MS

2009-04-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, my sister, Brenna, passed away a year and half ago from MS when she was 32. Brenna fought MS for 13 years and was an amazing example of perseverance. Our family is walking in the Annual MS Walk in Kennebunkport on April 25th. Please copy and paste this web address to help us fight MS. Every little bit counts.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/MEMWalkEvents?px=6340418&pg=personal&fr_id=10355&s_tafId=103325

For those of you who already supported me, Thank you so much!

We are having custom Brenna's Team t-shirts made for the walk that are Andy Warhol inspired. They should be pretty cool. To purchase a custom T for $20 contact me at bethiemac1@yahoo.com More pictures of the walk to follow.

Grateful

2009-04-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Last night at 4:00 am, shortly after William had weaseled his way into our bed and snuggled comfortably in between us, Tyler got up to use the bathroom. I assume that William is asleep and wait for the bathroom lights to go out before I resume my sleep. Then I hear this perfectly awake voice.

William: "Mommy, Daddy peeing".
I think about ignoring him so that he will think that I am asleep but I cant resist his adorably innocent and completely inquisitive voice.
Beth: "Yes William, daddy is peeing".
William: "Daddy flush ed the toilet".
Beth: "Yes William Daddy flushed the toilet, now go to sleep please".

I gave William a kiss and then lay in bed a long time thinking about how grateful I am and wondering if he was really going to sleep, which he did. We are reading books about potties and bribing William everyday to pee on the potty for a jelly bean. So far no success but as you can see there is a lot of interest in the potty.

Its so funny being a parent and how just two sentences in the middle of, well, the morning, can actually make me smile and be so grateful for this little man and his personality that is growing and learning so much everyday.

Last night I watched a program on Discovery Health, about autism. (I probably shouldn't be allowed to watch Discovery Health because it makes me so paranoid.) The program said that 1 in every 150 children born has autism. I can't even believe it, I mean I don't really know that many people with autism, do I? The more I thought about it, those odds are horrible, really horrible.

This mother on the program had 4 children and her youngest had autism. She seemed like a normal mom, living in a nice but modest home, living an average life. She got her son involved in speech therapy, occupational therapy, one on one special play therapy and even oxygen therapy where her and her son lie in an oxygen chamber for a couple of hours a week. She accompanied her son to all of these therapies and was involved during hours of appointments daily for him.

She cried when she said that he, a 3 year-old, had never played peek-a-boo. The little boy doesn't respond to his name or look into his mothers eyes. The mother said when he was very young, he would wake up in the middle of the night laughing and that is when she knew that something was terribly wrong. My heart really went out to this women and other parents I personally know who have children with autism. I cant imagine not being able to connect with William, through looks and cuddles and now words.

I told Tyler a long time ago, before we ever had William, that I wanted to be grateful for my life, myself and the things I have not because I notice someone else's lack thereof, but because I truly love what I have. I feel like if we are only or most often grateful when we see the lack in others lives then the opposite happens too, that we feel envious or jealous or treated unfairly when we perceive that others have more, or are happier than us. As I watched the program last night I was reminded of the goal I had set so long ago. The truth is I am grateful for William everyday and seeing these children with autism didn't make me more grateful for him but increased my gratitude of his health. I think however, that William maybe the only part of my life that I am almost always grateful for. I remembered last night as I heard this mothers sorrows, that I need to be grateful for all I have not because she has less compared to me but because I have everything important that I ever wanted.

Fun with Friends

2009-04-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

In March we went to the Children's Museum with our good friends Kelley, Alexander and Lillian Boston. Alexander and Wild William (who runs from one exhibit to the next) had a great time.

William was a little preoccupied in the Greek kitchen and insisted on wearing an apron. (no joke). Mom always said, "a good cook is a clean cook". I think it finally sunk in a generation late.

William has a very natural cheese face.

Can you count how many times Kelley says "Alexander"? (JK)

We had so much fun but towards the end of the day the boys started to get a little disoriented, as you can tell.

In this video, William is thinking, "Hey he has shoes on. How do I get these blasted things on? Oh I give up, where is my mom, she will do it. Oh, your not my mom".

William thinking, "oh crap, I just got these suckers on".

Skiing with William

2009-04-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

In March, Tyler finally got a few days break from school and so we loaded the car and went to Sunday River in beautiful Bethel Maine. Tyler spent the first day skiing with John. The next day he was ready to just lay back and ski with me and William. We had a great time and even found a covered bridge where Aunt Sue and Uncle Larry went parkin' in their wild and crazy teenage years.

drivers license

2009-03-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

i have been dreading the expiration date on my drivers license for two years now. I turned 26 on Feb 22, 2009 for those of you that didn't know and for those of you who did and forgot to say Feliz Cumple, shame on you, (just kidding I probably forgot your birthday, now we are even.)

i realized last week that my drivers license had expired on my bday and I really didn't want to get a Maine license because the picture on my Utah license is cute (also, my health goal is that I will someday not let the numbers on my drivers license make a liar out of me.)

my wonderful and non procrastinating husband has been waking me up every morning before he leaves for work saying, "now Bethie, what is your top priority today?", and wont leave until I have mumbled, "get drivers license". This morning he even left the renewal website up on the computer as an added reminder.

so i called Utah because I couldn't renew online and they said it wasn't possible to renew because i am in Maine and the license is already expired, upon which I explained that I was not staying in Maine and was only here until my husband finished school. Upon which they said, we still cant help you but call salt lake. i called salt lake and used my nicest voice and finally some girl named Hollie gave me the codes i needed to renew online, i am pretty sure she was sick of my sweet voice.

i am feeling pretty good that a new license is on its way. i call my husband to hear is accolades for finally doing what he has been asking me for days to do and which a grown adult shouldn't have to be asked to do anyway, and hurry on my way to take William to the Children's Museum.

i am almost home from meeting friends at the Children's museum with William when i look down and realize i am going way too fast. my speedometer reads 50. i think to myself, slow down you have no license and even though i am literally 1/2 mile from home where i never see police, i look up and there is a laser gun pointed in my direction, what are the odds? i must have just slowed down in the nick of time because i got away unscathed. Later that night I went out to meet my girlfriend and was so involved in deep thought about nothing that I ran a red light at a busy intersection in Portsmouth. I mean the light wasn't turning red from yellow it was red and I never saw its yellow or green.

the moral of the long drawn out story is
1.) that you should renew your license on time like an adult
2.) when in the mood to blog people will make absurd attempts to turn trivial daily happenings into stories, which other people will not read or be annoyed when they finish reading and realize there is no middle or end to the story.
3.) most people care what there drivers license picture looks like except my husband
4.) when thinking too hard about not to do something we inevitably do that something we were trying to avoid, like not drive poorly to avoid police attention

Well maybe the 4th one is just me. Either way until my new license comes I am thinking of alternative forms of transport.

The POWER of BUBBLES

2009-03-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

I am so bad at keeping up on the blogging thing. But I promised Stacie my sister-in-law that I would blog at least once a month so that our family and friends could see William. I am only three months late, oops.
This last month we were hit pretty hard by some big storms that once again knocked out the power for three days, just long enough for us to come to our senses and get a hotel. Actually, I was on my way to my brothers house to take a shower and Erinn just happened to stop by the Hotel to see if we could get a room. "You can check in right now", were the words that sealed the deal, and so at 7:00 am in my BATHROBE, we checked in to the Hampton Inn in Wells.

Of course in the typical McEvoy style, directly after Erinn and I had rented the hotel room and returned home to pack up bathing suits and clothes, the power was on. We made the best of it and stayed in the hotel anyway. When the power goes out on you, we say, go out on the power. Out brilliant plan to stay the night, swim in the pool as much as possible so that we feel like we are getting our moneys worth and eat pizza went well until about bedtime, when we realized that Beth and Erinn have different temperature levels for sleeping, and that two adult women, one preteen and two preschoolers in one room make a lot of noise even while sleeping. It was fun and the kids loved it, bad sleep and all. Much thanks to the many wonderful people at the Hampton Inn in Wells for the discounted rate for residents who lose power. Even if it comes on two minutes after they check in.

Here is a video of Little Wills just a few days ago doing one of his favorite things which is to slay the Bubbles in mommy and daddy's comforter. He is pretty good at it.

Grandma & Grandpa finally come to Maine

2008-10-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma finally came to visit Maine and Us. William had been missing Grandpa and Grandma soooo much that they came to visit us in September.
We took them to the White Mountains in the hopes of finding some foliage to show Linda, but unfortunately we were a little too early.
I don't think she minded she was too busy adoring her little William.

We had a wonderful time with Dale and Linda and were very sad to see them go. They were so good to stay in our tiny apartment and listen to William crying all night. Oops, sorry about that. We were happy to show them a little part of New England and can't wait to see them at Christmas. We love you guys tons

William really wanted Grandma to know that he loves her so he decided to tell her and then tell her again and again and again. This was by far the first time he ever said it so clearly and it was all for Grandma so she would know that he always remembers her.

Matt & Jennifer's Maine Reception

2008-08-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Matt and Jennifer had a wonderful and beautiful reception a few, well...months ago. Oops someone hasn't been blogging very much. It was a wonderful night. We had a great and cute band and a beautiful tent. We had a Chef come and make us delicious food.

And of course mom made a gorgeous cake like always. Jennifer also made a special "groom's cake" that was very perfect for Matt and represented his personality and maturity... a teenage mutant ninja turtle cake, what else?

Maddie had the great idea to have a candy bar at the end of the reception and everyone could make a goodie bag of candy. Good Idea Mad!

Everyone looked really good especially all the grandkids. Arent they cute. They just loved having their pictures taken by the photographer, can't ya tell?

It was a lot of work and many thanks go out to the Stearns for hosting the reception and to Mom and Dad for as always working very hard for their children. Everyone helped, we even put Ryan and Tyler to work even though they were only in Maine for a few days. In the end everyone had a lot of fun, the weather was awesome, the dancing was wierd but great and we ate fish and chicken for days. Thanks to all those that came to celebrate Matt and Jen's special day.

Acadia National Park

2008-08-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

July 31- August 1 we went on our first camping trip since William was born. We had a wonderful time. William slept really good in the tent until about 4:30 in the morning when he came in and took over my sleeping bag. We all got up at 6 ate breakfast and took down camp, which William loved. He helped dad take down the tent.

We went on a beautiful short hike up Acadia Mountain. The views were amazing and William made lots of friends on the hike including a cute dog named Lily. We explored the park via car while William slept off the exhausting effort of the hike, (he was carried up in a backpack). Cadillac Mountain is the highest peak on the Atlantic coast and the first place in the US to see the sun every morning. We went to the top and took some great pictures.
Then we had a lovely picnic and went to the beach. It was drizzling and overcast by this time. Tyler was tired so William and I went swimming while dad played in the sand. Mainly I wanted to go swimming to get somewhat clean, and salt water tends not to give you that oh so fresh feeling but hey we were camping. We all got changed and dusted off the sand to head to wonderland, which are tidal pools when it really started to rain. Tyler and I decided that setting up a tent in the rain wouldn't be too much fun so we left the park and started the four hour drive home.
Uncle Larry will be happy to know that we ate a Moody's Diner, or should I say dinah on the way there and Kelley will be happy to know we stopped at Friendly's on the way home. William had a wonderful time and loved camping. He loved getting dirty which of course drove me crazy as I tried to wipe down every inch of him with baby wipes. (I used a whole case on the trip) Overall it was a very fun trip, short and sweet.