It's 4:08am....

.....and I have a stinkin' migraine.
(it's you and me, Kerry)

THIS SUX!!!


So, I've taken some Excedrine Migraine (because if I take my prescription migraine medicine at this hour....I'll be comatose until after noon.....and heaven knows, I need to be up and ALERT to watch the wild pink monkey ~aka Marinne~

and protect my home and my scrapbooking area at 7am, when she will be up!)

So, let's hope it kicks in VERY SOON!!!

In the meantime, some thoughts.....

Number 1 -
WOO HOO! I rocked it again at Weight Watchers!!!

I lost 3.0 pounds this week!
FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF 23.2 POUNDS!!!


Uh HUH! Oh Ya! Uh Huh! OH YA!
(that's a victory chant!)


Number 2 -

I've really been thinking of some things I miss about Savannah.....

~my girl friends!!! (need I say more?!)

~the outlet mall w/ Carters and the bookstore outlet 5 min. from my house

~Houlihan's (right, Tammy?! mmmmm.....creme brulee')

~my log cabin pines that surrounded my house

~the possibility to decide to go to the beach and pack the car, the kids and be on the beach in an hour (I've got all these beach toys I paid to move to Kansas....what the heck was I thinking on that one?!?! I paid to move them to a land-locked state! Idiot!)

~my pediatrician (have I mentioned recently, I luv Dr. Seibert?!)

~my job at Savannah Scrapbooking (could this be so I can replace my ruined cat's eye chalk inks at 25% off?!?!)

~scrappin' with the funnest people on earth

~the marsh (I know it can be stinky, but it is pretty....)

~high and low tide (that always amazed me)

~downtown Savannah

~River Street

~the mild winters (could this be that 12 days ago we were in our pool--which was freezing--and today it's 51 degrees?!?! seriously....can you believe that 51 DEGREES?!?!)


Number 2 ~

Have you seen Yo Gabba Gabba ?

I know a lot of mom's where bashing it when they first started playing the previews....but dang it, I love that show!! My favorite one so far is called Eat. (no, not because I want to....)
It's just so dang cute w/ these catchy little ditties, storytime, dancing (which M loves) and
even some "celeb" visitors.....and since I'm a "secret celeb obsessor" .....I love it!


Well....crap....can't figure out how to post my video.....see next post......


Anyway.....Yo Gabba Gabba is very cool, hip-hop and FUN!!!

Marinne and Griffin LOVE IT!!!! (momma, too!)

And it's got "Biz's Beat of the day..."
(Biz Markie....remember him?! ........ You, you've got what I ne-eeed.
You say he's just a friend, you say he's just a friend......)

**again, see next post for video**
(why can't I figure this out....possibly that it's 5am?!)

And the guy that does the "drawing segment" ....Mark Mothersbaugh....
he's from the 80's group, Devo!

(the 80's girl I am....I MUST SUPPORT YO GABBA GABBA!
I'm glad these people have work again! It sux to have no job!)

So, where do I begin to tell you about Savannah???


It was FABULOUS!!!!!!


I started out my “journey” on Wednesday night by driving to Olathe to my BFF Michele’s house. Since she graciously agreed to let me park the car at her house and take me to and from the airport for my trip, I decided to take the opportunity to spend the night with her and get to hang out a little.
And I’m so glad I did.


I had been meaning to go down and spend some time with her, but I guess I haven't been able to get my act together to go see her yet. (quite possibly, it’s just because I suck….) She even came and helped us move in! (but, she’s awesome!)


So, while I was at her house….her youngest daughter graciously gave up her bed to me! (Thanks for giving up your bed, A! You seriously rock!!!) But, on the bad side, it big-time stormed all night long and the lightning and thunder kept me awake most of the night…. So, I started my trip sleep-deprived.



Both flights on the way to Savannah were mostly uneventful, except one BIG THING…… I DID NOT HAVE TO HAVE A SEATBELT EXTENDER!!! This, my friends, is a MAJOR VICTORY!!!! The past few times I have flown, I have had to have one and it has been extremely humiliating!!!!
So, YAY ME!!!!


I arrived at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (which, for the record, is a nice airport, but is certainly not international!!) to a smiling Sherry! It was great to see her and she had an adorable new haircut, too! We risked getting run over by a wayward taxi or a late passenger for a great big hug! Has it really only been 2 months since I had picked her up at the Kansas City airport?! It seems longer......
I miss her so much!


Anyway, S and D had to take their son to Meet the Teacher night, so they went to do that and I went to dinner with my good friend, Tammy. It was really great to see her again!Well, Tammy suggested we go to Houlihan’s....
mmmm...Houlihan's!

And since I love it, I quickly agreed! (Yep, I was tempted by the Crème’ Brulee! It is my favorite....) It was delicious and Tammy even enjoyed a couple of Chocolate Martini's!!
She deserves a night out!!


Tammy and I have also kept in touch since I’ve moved, so it had only been about 3 weeks or so since we last spoke, so we caught up on the latest happenings in our lives. It was good food and good company. I miss her very much. I only wish I had been able to see her house and her boys….. for so long they were almost like my own children…..and I think of them fondly.

When I came back to S’s house, we stayed up a good, long time talking and laughing!!! (read: WAY TOO LATE!!!!)



Friday, Sherry had to get her boys off to the first day of school, bright and early! And she kindly let me sleep in since I hadn’t slept much the night before! (ps…thanks for the super comfy bed, Michelle R......it slept great!!!)



For lunch, I was excited to go meet Karen and Ginger for lunch. Unfortunately, Ginger wasn’t able to come. Apparently, there are some cases of meningitis being passed around. So, if people in Sav would just stop passing around germies and leave the health dept. alone…then they wouldn’t have messed up my lunch date w/ my friend…. the Health Dept’s Public Relations Goddess!! (Someone’s gotta do it, right Ginger?!)


Despite the loss of Ginger, Karen and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Chili's Bar and Grill....
and we much enjoyed the flirting our cutie waiter gave us!! (and yes, he got a nice tip!!) Anyway, it was nice to catch up with the latest on her family and give her a great big hug! (For the record, I was good this time….I had a low-cal salmon, steamed veggies and a side salad!)



When we were thru, I dropped her off to her next interview/shoot, which was at….the health department! So, I was able to go up with her and get a big hug from Ginger! And it was really nice to see her!!



(Big Daddy misses both of these girls, very much. Along with some other previous employees including another girl who now lives elsewhere in Georgia….a certain, NV!!)



After lunch, I could wait no longer….I was off to see Savannah Scrapbooking’s * new * location! You see, they moved back in the Spring and Jamie has a rockin’ new store! So, I went to drop off my stuff for the crop and to check it out.


When I saw Jamie, she gave me a great big hug….and she’s not a hugger!! She even got tears in her eyes…and it touched me so much! She was very sweet, complimenting me and loving me up! I was so happy to see her! I’m here to tell you…this woman has a heart of gold and believe me, people like this can be hard to find in this mean ol’ world!! So, if you find one, you better hang on to them!!


So, I picked my spot or the “big dog chair”, as Jamie used to call it, and got my scrapbooking stuff settled in. And I much enjoyed looking around at the beautiful new store. Although, much had changed, it sure felt very familiar and comfortable to me. And based on all the awesome product she has....I knew I'd be going home with a little less money in my pocket!!!!


I went back to Sherry’s and we changed and got ready to go. (Normally, I wouldn’t change to go to a crop, but since the temperature w/ heat index was like 119 degrees on Friday, I felt it might be a good idea to start out afresh!!


For dinner we went to Chick-Fil-A drive-thru, which we often did on crop night. That was a splurge for me! But, within my WW points. And I much enjoyed every single bite!!

Here's me outside the new store....sheesh, now
I look like a tourist!!!!


The crop room was oversold….and I was flattered!
(although, I know not everyone even knew me....I hugged the old friends and new friends, alike!) But, it was a large percentage of all my croppers…although, a few were missing! Where oh where were Joy, Stacia, Angela M, Trish R and some others? (Deiha and Jill came to crop on Sunday...so since they live in South Carolina.....that's where they were....) I missed Beth H, but I knew she was moving this weekend, but I missed her anyway!!!


I got to see and hug….Amber, Christy, Trisha, my PEMBROKE GIRLS (except Brandi…missed ya girl!!,) Angelica, Hunter's Grandma (ha ha, couldn't resist!) Veronica, Peirinna and Amanda J. (Sherry, too, of course!!) And I met a bunch of new friends, as well! All in all, I think we ended up with a group of 18 and it was AWESOME!!!! It was the night of boob jokes....
and that was funny, too!


Of course, we went home and stayed up way too late again, laughing and talking, but it was well worth the sleep deprivation!!


Some Fantastic Friday Crop Pics:

I hope to crop again w/ you guys....soon.....


On Saturday morning, we got a late start. Or rather, we just took our time getting around. When Sherry and I finally left for the day, it was around 2pm. We decided to go get Mexican for lunch and we settled on Jalapeno’s! Yum Yum! (yep, here comes another splurge……)
Chips.
Salsa.
Chimichanga.

Need I say more?

It was delicious!!!!



Anyway, on our way into the restaurant, we notice a new business next to Jalapeno’s. The business is a Tattoo Place! I teasingly asked Sherry if she wanted to get a tattoo. She emphatically insisted that SHE DID NOT!! So, we ate our yummy lunch and continued to talk a little about the tattoo place.

I told her I’d been wanting to get another one, but had chickened out. She wanted to know if it hurt. How could I best explain this? Well….I came up with this…..well, tattoos are not licked on by kittens, so yeah, it hurts. But, it’s not as bad as labor…. She found this to be hilarious! So, I said, “ Come on, If I can do it, you can do it!” To which, Sherry replies, “Nope!”


So, we finish lunch, pay the bill and leave. As we walk by the door of the tattoo place the conversation goes like this:

Me: Hey, ya wanna get a tattoo now?

Sherry: Ummmm….NO!

Me: Ya wanna go look around at what they have?

Sherry: Ummm….ok….but I am not getting one.

Me: Ok, let just go look.

Here is the sign for the Enigmatic Tattoo Company.
The place the will permanently change us forever.


And we go in.


And within 5 minutes of looking, Sherry has picked out a design she likes and is talking to the tattoo artist about it. Then he goes to draw it out so she can see how it will look.


Here I am while we wait on the artist to draw the and talking to Amber, letting her know we will be late to the crop.


When he's finished, I am surprised how big the sketch is. The sketch is a little big for a 1st timer, so I let Sherry think about it and come to that decision on her own. (I would have told her before she was in the chair…..I just didn’t want to influence her about something that's permanent.)


Meanwhile, I pick out my own design, which Sherry likes even better when she sees it. So, she asks if I mind if she gets the same one. And of course, I don’t mind.


So, the next thing I know, Sherry is signing the waivers and getting prepped for the tattoo! She wanted to go first.


She did really great, but really suffered quite a bit of pain on one side of her back. She was biting her leg, digging her nails into the table and even said a few colorful words. (I’ll leave them to your imagination to protect the tortured!) I actually felt really bad that she was in so much pain. I kept asking her if she was ok. She's a trooper and she insisted she was just fine.....)

Sherry and Roxann, still smiling in the tattoo room!



Then, it was my turn.



So, I signed the papers and got prepped for my tattoo. I’ll admit it, I was scared. I got my last tattoo 8 years ago and I’m sure my exact memory of what it felt like is seriously lessoned.


But, I've had my last 2 kids with NO epidural...
so I can handle this, right?!?!



Once I got in the chair, I was honestly freaking out a little. You see, I have a serious phobia of needles. (I know, I know....then why would I even consider getting a tattoo ever, let alone, twice?!) Well, the short answer is….Big Daddy thinks it’s hot. I did it both times to surprise him. And honestly, I think they are cool, as long as the tattoo can be hidden when I want it to be.

First, they have to get all the ink colors ready and prep you for the tattoo. Prepping includes having your back shaved and your skin sanitized. It doesn't hurt, but it does burn a little.


Then, they place the stencil.
Yep, I turned into a human coloring book!


Here's me looking awesome before he starts tattooing me...
don't I totally look like a bad a$$ to you?!


So, as they are getting started, I am seriously freaking out. Once he touches the needles to my back, I start breathing hard. At first I was doing pretty good, but that outlining was just plain evil! And as he approached my spine, the pain was seriously horrid! In fact, because the pain is almost completely continuous with no break, I think it may actually be .....
worse than labor!!!

Sorry, Sherry!


Anyway, as he neared right on the spine with the black outlining… I was in major pain. All of a sudden, I started really trying to control my breathing….which turned into me holding my breath. Ummm….that’s a bad idea. I started feeling reallllly weird. I was dizzy, nauseated and disoriented. It seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. And then, it sounded like everyone talking was down in a bucket. I became panicked and scared. I thought something had gone wrong and
I thought I was dying.
Seriously.


(Drama Queen…of course, that’s the tattoo I wanted, but they didn’t have a crown….)


It appears what had happened was that I was trying to deal with the pain, that instead of trying to “control” my breathing to help deal with the pain…..I may have stopped breathing completely…like holding my breath because it hurt so bad.

I guess sometime during this stressful moment, I must have sorta “checked out” because I said a few things I have no memory of saying. For instance, I told him to STOP and announced I was DONE with this tattoo. Ha….I only had half of the outline of a 6 inch tattoo!!! (Sherry was freaking out when I said that!)


The guy quickly grabbed me a ginger ale and told me to drink it. Because it turns out, as a diabetic (if I actually am one) extreme stress and pain can cause large fluctuations in blood sugar, which could also be part of what happened. Who knows…. All I know, for me (and Sherry, too) it was super scary!!!!

So, thru the rest of the tattoo, I was screaming for a large part of it. It was so painful. But I kept trying to make jokes about it because that somehow made it hurt less. At one time when he was doing my spine, I screamed, “That was SO wrong in so many ways!!” And it really was!!
I mean....look at my back.........OUCH!!!!


So, here it is, in all it's *awesomeness*:

MY NEW TATTOO!



Here I am getting dressed after it was finished.
So proud of myself....

So, this whole thing has convinced me that it will probably be a while before I attempt to get another tattoo. (maybe that’s why it’s been 8 years since my last one….and my last one was a cake walk compared to this one….)

Here, Sherry and I are with our tattoo artist.... Nice chops and stretched out earlobes! That's what I'm getting next time. NOT!!


By this time we were late for my crop party. So, that sucked.



And everyone could not believe what we had done! It was hilarious!!! For the first hour we were there, I was still feeling quite strange, but it eventually went away.


The crop party was just like they always were, except instead of only store employees, we had some special guests that I had invited to be there. And it was super fun!!!!


{Tiffany and my sweetie, Michelle}


We had hilarious conversation and I have never been so happy to be with a group of women! These girls are all fantastic!! I only wish I could have invited every single person I miss from Savannah....


Have you ever watched Sex in the City? Well, in many ways this crop reminds me of the women in that show. We are good friends who feel free to discuss just about anything. And at times, it can get over the top with the conversation, but it also extremely hilarious. We laugh until we cry and from time to time, it is confessed that someone unnamed may or may not have tinkled in her pants.



I have never learned as many things as I have at these crops. Seriously, am I that naive? I guess so!
(No comments necessary from you about that, Big Daddy!)

But, we also have serious conversation, too.
And I love that!
And I love these girls!
I miss them!!!


And we cropped the night away, too! Bonus!!!


(For the record, I did not eat the pizza they ordered while we were late getting tattoos. Sherry and I went to Subway!)



Here are the supplies we had to get during the crop for "tattoo care." And believe me....we take this very seriously.

We followed their written instructions to a tee! We didn't want our backs to rot and fall off......that would be bad! So, Sherry and I had to cleanse and rebandage our tattoos while at the crop. And of course, we could count on our friends to give us a hard time while we were doing it.....

Here we are laughing at some inappropriate jokes being made about our "tattoo care" by our friends. You big turds!!

Big squeezes for my Tiffany!!!

Me and my Stacy!

Stacy is hilarious! And she gets the award for funniest comment, the comment that made as laugh till we cried.

(see 2 strange pics above!!)


Then on Sunday, Sherry and I had to unbandage and “air out” our tattoos. So, that’s what we did. Well, until Doug called and told us to meet him and the boys at the new restaurant in Richmond Hill. It’s called Beef O’Brady’s. It was really good, although not so good for my diet. But, I enjoyed it nonetheless.


Then, we hung out Sunday afternoon until Kristine’s wedding shower at 6pm. It was an “Around the Clock” shower, so everyone was assigned a different time. Sherry and I had 1 o’clock and 2 o’clock. So, of course we got some “sexy” gifts, which I will leave to your imagination to protect the innocent!!!
But I will tell you….
they were gooooood!!!!

Hilarious!!!!

***I have more pics, I'm just waiting to get them from various people......more to follow soon!***


Monday morning Sherry and I hung out. I was packing everything up to go. This made me soooo sad!!!


At about noon, I went to Amber’s house. Amber and I were catching up. She took some photos of me. Then, we scrapbooked the rest of the afternoon away. Amber is just so talented. She really inspires me….Isn't she awesome?!?!


So, about 6pm we went to the airport.


Everything was fine until I got onto the airplane, which for the record was a little late. Now, believe me, I have nothing against children. I have four. But you can bet your a$$ that on an airplane my children will be the most well-behaved children you've ever seen! You won't even know they are there!


But, I was sitting behind of a woman who had 3 children. The boy was about 5, a girl about 3 and another baby girl about 19 months or so. And because the plane was empty, she let them move across the aisle to sit by themselves, while she sat in front of me with the baby. But these children were all acting crazy and misbehaving. They were up and down and moving all around. They would not keep their seatbelts on. They were screaming. Yes, screaming. And we haven’t even moved from the gate yet. And the mother, just looks at them and quietly says, "Stop." With a half-grin on her face.


Um....yea....like that's gonna work! NOT!!!


The next thing I know, the 3 year old girl throws up everywhere. No warning. Just everywhere, just as we were moving away from the gate. The mother doesn’t do anything, but throw a pile of wipes to the older brother and tells him to clean up the sister. (of course, you know where this is going…..) So, the boy protests, but she tells him to clean up sister anyway. Then, he announces he’s gonna puke. So, I grab a barf bag out of the seat pocket in front of me and hand it to the mother. She hands it to the boy and tells him to throw up in it. Which he immediately does. And I got the first row show to that one. Darn it! The mother did NOTHING!!!
I felt sorry for him, but gross!


Within minutes we are in the air and the barf bag is sitting next to him on the seat. (remember the mom did NOTHING to help) So, I was just waiting for him to knock it over! Anyway, within minutes these two children are kicking the chairs in front of them, unbuckled again and the little girl is now standing straight up in her seat! The boy gets tired of sitting with the vomit, so he puts the bag on the floor. It REEKS in our plane!! The bag is sitting on the floor just waiting to be kicked over. I was so angry about the behavior of these kids. Then, when the mother gave them both some crappy junk food cinnamon rolls to shut them up….that was it. I had enough. I told the girl sitting across from me to pick up her bags before he knocks over the vomit onto all her things. She was sick from smelling the vomit, too. We were in hell!


The little girl started crawling around on the floor. Yes, on the floor! And the mother thought it was funny. I had enough! I got up and I marched back to the flight attendants and insisted they do something. I felt sorry for them and I told them so. But, they had to do something. They did. They went up there. Helped clean up things. Got the kids in their chairs and buckled (not that it worked for long) and moved all of us who had been tortured for way too long! It was awful!!! I never did get that smell out of my nose!


Now, these kids were naughty, don't get me wrong, but it's not their fault. It's this mother's fault. These children have very little, if any, discipline. They don't meet the expectations of their mother, because they aren't expected to. And from what I saw, she wasn't much of a "mother." It's HER fault, not the kids. But, the kids did know better. Especially the oldest one. And they refused to listen to the flight attendents either. Perhaps if the flight attendents were sitting where I was, they would have kicked them off the flight.... Who knows? But it was certainly annoying to pay for a "getaway" without my children only to be faced w/ these kids! Oh, joy!


We were late arriving in Atlanta, so I had to run from the end of one concourse to the other, trying to keep the computer from hitting me in the back where my tattoo is. Once I make the long run and grab some “unhealthy” dinner, I find out my flight is delayed. Bummer! I hate that. They are doing a repair on the front lavatory of the plane, so I figure that better get fixed before we take off on this oversold flight! It was miserable, only because it was so full!! The kind of full where you are trying to stay out of the lap of the person sitting next to you. Uck!


We finally arrive in Kansas City about 15 minutes late. It was a pain, because Michele was driving around waiting on me.


I went to baggage claim and waited for like 25 minutes, only to have ONE of my suitcases. Thank goodness it was my scrapbook bag...otherwise I'd be seriously angered! Clothes I can replace. Pictures and my scrapbooking, I can't. My big suitcase was missing, along with the suitcases of 100 or so other people. We all ran to the Delta office to figure out what to do. I was so angry! This flight was late and they didn’t get all our luggage on the plane?! At this rate, I’d be in this line for hours. After almost 10 minutes in line, a worker comes up from the tar-mac and says they have more luggage from the Atlanta flight. Thank goodness! The luggage belt started up again and low and behold, my bag was about the 10th one up. I was so glad to not have to deal with a lost bag!!


So, Michele and I head on to her house. Then, I started to head on home. I got home at just a few minutes before 2am.
And I was/am exhausted!

HOLY MOLY....

I'LL BE IN SAVANNAH TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!

Aaa Haaa Woo Hoo Aaaa Haaa!!!!!

I bought a PLANE TICKET today!!!


Woo Hoo....I'll see you in August!!!!!!


I CANNOT WAIT!!!!

THIS is where I am going......

WOO HOO!!!! That's all I have to say about that!!!!!!

The Top Ten Things I WON'T miss about Savannah!

10. The crime in Savannah.

I can honestly say I have never lived anywhere that crime was such an issue. Yes, we had crime in Oklahoma, but not at a level like this! Savannah is one of the highest rated crime areas in the nation. Sad, but true. Such a beautiful city, tainted with shootings, car jackings and other various felonies.

Believe me, I freaked out the first time Ike called me from work and said, "Guess what -- there was just a shooting with a triple homocide on the next block over from the station. I could hear the gunshots." WHAT ?!?!?

I WILL NOT MISS THAT!!!!!

I also hate it that because of this high crime rate, I feel like there are things we can't do...just because it wouldn't be safe. That makes me mad. I've been a victim of a violent crime before and I don't want to be again....but it makes me mad that criminals "keep us hostage" if you will, by keeping us in fear.

9. The traffic.

You know, I come from a big city (Tulsa) and traffic was something you could expect when you were in rush hour, but I'm here to tell you the traffic in Savannah is worse than anything I ever experienced in Tulsa. It can take me 45 minutes or more to get to work sometimes....and it's only like 10 miles away! Blah! I won't miss that a bit! Everything in Topeka is 5 minutes away, maybe 10 minutes tops if there were a little traffic.

Not to mention, I will not miss Ike having a 45 minute commute, one-way.

8. The road construction on HWY 17.

When I flew out here in February of 2004 to buy our house, we discovered all this horrible construction on Hwy 17 (about 2 miles worth) on the way to Richmond Hill. I thought, "well, that's annoying, but it looks like they might be done pretty soon, so it won't be too bad!" WRONG!!!! Here we are a few weeks short of 3 years later and the construction on that stretch of the road is STILL NOT FINISHED!! Can you believe that?! According to ~S~ who grew up in RH, this construction has been going on for like over a decade!!!! That is ridiculous!! Bye bye construction zone!!!!

7. The Smelly Marsh smell.

In the summer, when the conditions are just right, you can smell the reek of the marsh. It's not pleasant. Enough said.

6. The hospital's inconvenient location.

At this point in time, the best hospital in Savannah is a 35-45 minute drive (on a good day) from our house in Richmond Hill and there is no "really good" way to get there from here. The straight shot involves going right thru the above-mentioned constuction zone, then cutting off to hwy 204 (Abercorn Street,) which is the main vein all the way thru Savannah and also the street with the most heavy traffic.

Believe me, there is nothing worse than worrying that you may have trouble reaching the hospital in an emergency. (and with 4 kids, we have been to that emergency room more than once!)

And, there is nothing like being pregnant with your 4th child and wondering if you might actually end up giving birth on the side of Abercorn in the marsh. For several months, we had a joke that we might need to name baby ~M~ Savannah Marsha Smith, for this was my fear, that I'd give birth to her in the marsh! Thank goodness I had low amniotic fluid and they took her a little early!

5. The Bryan County school system.

Yep, I said it. I know some people are freaking out reading this right now, but this school system is not all it's made out to be and I WON'T MISS IT AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!

From the moment we set foot in that mid-elementary school to just this week, it's been a place where you are judged by your social class, where simple things are made into a big deal and finally, they don't live up to the fine reputation they somehow have.

Actually, when you compare them to the City Schools in Savannah, you can see why RH public schools are considered to be excellent, but trust me, that's not saying alot!

Have you ever seen a school where the counselor judged us for the neighborhood you live in?? Yes, it happened to us the first day we set foot into this school. And she did it right to my face. (don't worry, my husband eventually put her in her place and even made her cry)

Have you ever seen a school where they fail you by not placing your "gifted" child in the "gifted education" program, when he had been in it since 1st grade? Yep, that happened here too. (What? He's gifted in Oklahoma in 1st and 2nd grade, but not in Georgia in 2nd and 3rd grade, but then amazingly gifted again when he leaves the mid-elementary and goes to the upper-elementary for 4th grade!!!!) Can you say.....THEY dropped the ball?!?!? Yes, this happened to our oldest child, despite our best efforts to get him in the program.

Have you ever seen a school that when a father comes to the school to see his child and speak to the teacher about a misunderstanding, they tell him no....you can't go to your child's classroom, even though the bell HAS NOT wrung. And when the father announces he's going to see his son, they call the police! Yep, this happened here, as well.

Last but not least, I hate their over-zealous dress code, which starts at Kindergarten. I understand the need for a dress-code. But, why not make the dress code, age appropriate????
I know they don't want the pants to touch the floor to avoid having boys wear pants that are 5 sizes too big, with their boxers hanging out of the top. I know we need to have rules that prevent a 8 year old from dressing like Britney Spears. And I welcome it. But, please, please, please make the dress code reasonable!!!!

According to my oldest, he says they showed them a movie about dress code, in which, it showed how a gun could be hidden by a student under clothes that are "too big." Well, that's just great!! Give them ideas how to do it.....give my child nightmares in the process, why don't you?!?! Idiots!!!!

Obviously, whoever made up this dress code has never been the parent of a child who is different than the "average" size child. We have a child who has a little roundness to his middle and requires bigger pants that are a mile too long. Shoot, this Fall, I could barely even find jeans that would fit him at all. And then, I had to pay over $20 a pair for them. (he only has 5)I'm sorry, but I can't afford to have every one of his jeans tailored to meet your ridiculous dress code....that pants can't touch the floor. And I dare you, just dare you to send him home because his pants are too long!!!!!

Then there is the whole..."tuck in your shirt and you must wear a belt if you have belt loops rule!" Now, I'm all for looking "put together," but when you have a boy....many of these shirts are made, tailored, if you will, to wear untucked. They have hems meant to be untucked. In addition, if your child has a belly, this can be very unflattering. But, is any of this taken into consideration, HECK NO!! So, my poor child is forced to follow these rules and even though it could be damaging to his self esteem, he has to do it for the sake of the DRESS CODE!!

Good bye sucky Bryan County School District.....we won't miss you at all!

(Ok, well, we will miss the good teachers we have had......Mrs. Seiler, Ms. Farthing, Mrs. Emerson, Mrs. Blocker, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Mozier, Mrs. Berry and Mrs. Howerton! And a special shout out to Joye Johnson, one of the best Principal's I've ever met! You guys are awesome!!!!)

4. The "ghetto" Wal-Mart.

Quite frankly, I am embarrassed for the Wal-Mart corporation that they own and run a Wal-mart that is this "ghetto." It is by far the skankiest, dirtiest Wal-Mart I have ever been in and I HATE IT!!!!!

For the first 2-3 months we lived here, I drove 16 miles one way down I-95 to get to the Pooler Walmart that wasn't quite so skanky. Then, when I was sick and pregnant, that stopped pretty quickly.

One time, I was here with a my friend Tammy. I accidentally barely brushed my Wal-Mart sack against an African American girls' 1999 Ford Bronco and she jumped out and threatened to "kick my ass!" Not very often do you have that pleasure, but at the ghetto Wal-Mart, it's an actual concern.

Right before we got here, there was even a car-jacking at gunpoint at the Wal-Mart gas station, at the gas pump closest to the bus stop at the end of the Wal-Mart building. I never forgot that story and even though it was cheaper...I almost never bought gas there. Just not worth it!!!!

The good news is....when I was in Topeka last weekend, I spied the biggest, nicest Wal-Mart I have ever seen. Seriously, this place had FOUR main entrances, with complete checkout areas at each one! Now that's crazy!!!! I can't wait to check it out!!

3. The BUGS!!!

Is this Savannah or is this Texas?! I'm not sure. Rumor has it that they grow everything bigger in Texas. I beg to differ. Texas has nothing on these Georgia BUGS!!!!

First of all, if you've ever been here, you most surely have met the Palmetto Bug. Well, let me just tell you, the first time I saw one of these, I about DIED!!!! Palmetto Bug, my ass! THAT'S A ROACH!!!!!! At least, that's what they look like to me. And the debate goes on! I don't think it matters, they are NASTY, whatever they are!!! I'm sorry, but that Palmetto Bug could have carried me off on it's back and I'm a big girl!!! GROSS!!

These darn things give me the heebie - jeebies and I want to kill them, but they are so big, I'm actually afraid to do it, for fear of them exploding all over the place! And nothing is worse than chilling out in your living room and all of a sudden catching sight of one of these nasty things high-tailing it across your wall or floor. BLAH!

Living here, I have seen mosquitos the size of a Buick, with a bite that will leave you a welp the size of a quarter!!! I've even had to take my kids to the doctor to seek medical treatment for mosquito bites that were huge and making them sick!!!

And don't even get me started on the SAND GNATS! Apparently, the problem with these bugs is so prevalent, they named their stinky baseball team after this lovely bug that bite's the crap out of you. These bugs are particularly pesky, because sometimes they are small enough you can't really see them. (hence: the nickname...."no see-ums")

The first few months we lived here, Ike and I got bit by these sand gnats and because we had never been exposed to them before, we had major reactions to them. I can remember laying in bed at night, itching all over, crying and miserable. Feeling feverish. It was AWFUL!!!!

I tried everything I read that might help....for the record, Witch Hazel seemed to be the most effective thing for relieving them.

In addition to these other delightful creatures of God, I'd like to complain just a little about FIRE ANTS!!! These little boogers I had not met until my arrival in Georgia. More than once, poor ~G~ has landed in a pile of these nasty insects and ended up eaten up and blister up by their bite! I hate these things. Every time I see one of their piles, off to Wal-Mart I go to get the fire ant killer.

(Since I don't have a mouse problem here, these fire ants are like then new "mouse" for me. And if you've never heard my mouse stories....just ask me, but be prepared to laugh your butt off!)

And last but not least, there seems to me to be an overabundance of little centipedes here, for I am always finding them in my house and yard.

And although these aren't bugs, they do "bug" me....all these tiny lizards. Being the mom of 3 boys, believe me, I've been UP CLOSE and PERSONAL to these lizards more times than I care to think about. They just "bug" me and secretly give me the heebie-jeebies, even though, I'd never admit this to the boys. They'd use that info against me, for sure!!!

2. The lack of Seasons.

In my opinion, everybody needs to live somewhere that you have Seasons. You know...Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Savannah doesn't really have that. There is basically one main season....Summer.

Just last week, it was 80 degrees and it was the end of December!!! Now, this isn't to say that it doesn't get cold. It's even been kinda cold (if 40's count) this week. But, it's short-lived.

I can remember being amazed that when we moved here on March 8th, 2004, people were swimming in the outdoor swimming pool in the hotel we lived in. Yes, I said swimming in the water in early March! That was weird.

According to my boss, Jamie, it hasn't snowed in Savannah since she was in high school like over 15 years ago. Now, that 's just a tragedy. I bet the city nearly shut down when that happened!

1. The Heat and Humidity.

Yes, my number one item I WILL NOT MISS is the heat and the humidity. When we moved here, I knew it was going to be bad. I had read about it. I had heard about it. I was not prepared for the reality of it.

When I first landed in Savannah, I learned first-hand, that you can actually experience humidity in the "Winter."

It's bad enough just normally, but what I hadn't counted on was getting pregnant in the first few weeks I lived here. And believe you me, every single pregnant woman who has been pregnant over the Summer in Savannah deserves a freaking medal for surviving it! Believe me, between the heat, the humidity and the bugs, coupled with having 3 kids cooped up in the house all Summer long and me nauseated and vomiting repeatedly every single day....those people on Survivor have nothing on me!!! After surviving the Summer in Savannah, circa 2004, I can SURVIVE anything! (Not like I'm asking to, though!)