Sausage Waffle!!

Those who spend time with my children quickly learn that they are creatures of habit when it comes to breakfast. They each ask for – and devour – two links of turkey sausage almost every morning of their lives. Along with fruit, breakfast is generally rounded out with a wholegrain waffle, cereal or lately mini pancakes (proudly displayed in the photo above!)

While Parker continues to struggle with his speech development and articulation, there are two words he can say loud and clear – Sausage Waffle!

Over time, this has become his “go to” phrase when he isn’t sure what else to say or when he doubts if he can say the correct phrase properly. And when he says it, he shouts it – proud and strong!

Ask him to name a stuffed animal, he’ll answer “Sausage Waffle!”
Ask him what he did at school, he’ll answer “Sausage Waffle!”
Ask him what he dreamed about, he’ll answer “Sausage Waffle!”

I think you get the idea. Bill even composed a song during guitar time in tribute to “Sausage Waffle!” – which gets both kids rolling on the floor with uncontrollable laughter!

While “Sausage Waffle!” generally makes no relevant sense to the discussion or situation at hand, most people in his life have been given that answer one time or another.

So, for all you folks wondering what the hell Parker’s talking about when he randomly starts spouting out breakfast foods with vociferous gusto… now you know.

Stop, Drop and Hug

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." Stacia Tauscher

A few days ago Brady’s morning started as usual… “Eat some breakfast – that includes your fruit. Change your clothes. Brush your teeth. Get your shoes. Go to the potty…”

Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. Try as I may, I know I sound like a nag on school mornings. I don’t intend it, but getting out of the house with two fed, clothed, and cleaned children is still something I’m not sure I’ve mastered.

So here I am, bustling about, slightly stressed and kind of annoyed that while Brady is up and moving as requested, Parker sits like a rock on the couch – three minutes before we need to leave for school.

Brady comes to me, wraps his arms tightly around my waist and hangs on. I hug him back, though I admit it was one of those condescending quick-squeeze types.

He clings tighter. I try to pry his arms open, and he responds by hugging me as tight as his little 43 pound body can.

“Brady, could you please let me go of me?” I ask.

“I can’t help it. Mommy, you are just so beautiful that I can’t let go.”

Dropping to my knees so I could snuggle him whole-heartedly, I didn’t care if we were late to school.

It grows on trees, right?

I understand that money does NOT buy happiness, things do NOT compensate for love and material items do NOT define us. I have no misconceptions about this. I am also clear in the belief that I want my children to learn these lessons early in life and fully in heart.

That said, Bill and I enjoy being able to provide our children with books, games and toys that help to fill their lives with fun and learning. We are thankful that (when we choose) we are able to purchase items our children desire – within reason, of course.

Parker, however, made it clear the other day that he has not yet learned these monetary truisms. Parker went with me to the mailbox, grabbed a few of the random catalogs out of the box and headed inside. Little did I know that among his pile of uninteresting MicroCenter fliers and Papa Johns coupons there hid the new Fisher Price Toys Catalog.

He spotted the toy extravaganza immediately upon walking through the front door and instantly dropped to the dining room floor to study it. He had hit the kiddie lotto!

“Mommy, look this!” (turn the page)
“Mommy, look this!” (turn the page)
“Mommy, look this!” (and so on…)

He rushed through that thing with such gusto that you would have thought it was the JC Penny Christmas Catalog of the 1970s! Forward, Backward, Forward again. The pages flew like a flip-o-rama, until in an instant, everything went still.

He had stumbled upon the holy grail … item #NO457, aka the A.T. Rex with Monster Traction. Whoa… Life would never be the same. And in that instant, “Mommy, look this” became “Mommy, buy this!” With the change in wording and tone, I looked more closely at the treasured find and read:


“Transforms from cool ATV to awesome A.T. REX with light-up eyes, ferocious mouth that you can open and close, and a fearsome T-Rex “ROAAARRR!” Equipped with Power Wheels Monster Traction drive system to claw through rough backyard terrain. Ruts, grass, gravel, mud and more, it won’t get stuck where the others do!”

Well, for $316 I would also hope that it mows the lawn that it traverses! Hoping to quickly move him onto something else, I simply said, “Yes, that is nice, but it costs $300. That’s a lot of money, and mommy doesn’t have $300.”

Parker just looked at me and said “OK.” He continued to stare at the picture, but didn’t say another word. Really? Was it that easy?

Not so fast…


“Mommy?”

“Yes, Parker?”

“DADDY BUY THIS!!”


And with Christmas right around the corner, we apparently have some more work to do.

Are you ready for some?

We wait all summer for it. We make our weekend plans (beginning Thursday night!) around it.

We scream. We curse. We cheer. We celebrate.

It is College Football!

While we generally celebrate the season sitting on our couch in the basement watching the big screen, sometimes the thrill of the game pulls us to actually attend - though this act is often (jokingly) traumatic for Bill because while watching live football one inevitably misses other games being simultaneously played around the nation!

That said, this past Saturday Bill and I hit the GA Tech game with our great friends Jennifer, Dave, Liz and Tim.

The weather felt like quintessential fall football, the Bloody Marys were tasty and strong, the babysitting was free (thank you Ginny and Al!) and the Jackets kicked butt all over MS State! It was a beautiful day all around.

P.S. Please don't mind the Irish green.... She can't help it.

Fun Fridays Revealed

One of our most treasured events is Fun Friday. It is the day when neither child has school or classes, and for the most part, we avoid scheduling appointments whenever possible. With weekends often filled with games, birthday parties, random events and family errands, Friday belongs to the kids.

I have come to understand that my early years with the boys are extremely limited and fast-flying, and soon enough the 5-day week will dictate our lives. So, in the meantime, we rejoice in the unstructured experiential learning that Friday offers.

We have been celebrating Fun Friday with a revolving group of friends for years, and it generally goes something like this:

“Hey Mom, can we go the Aquarium on Friday?” asks Brady.

“Hey Mom, can we go to the Childrens’ Museum on Friday?” asks Emma.

“Hey Mom, can we go to the Zoo on Friday?” asks Olivia.

Or, as this past Friday unfolded, “Hey kids, the weather is perfect. Let's go to the Botanical Gardens on Friday!”

So off we went with Shannon, my longtime friend from Emory, 4 year old Kevin and 1 year old Riley. The skies were bright and warm, and the Garden was a flawless setting to allow three (and almost four!) little ones to run free.

After lots of sliding, checking out the honey bees, finding the bullfrog, visiting the farm and running through the caterpillar life-cycle maze, it was time for lunch. With a much needed stop at Moes, we ended our Fun Friday with some quesadillas, chips and a chance for the mommies to sit down!

I wonder what next Friday holds in store…

The Tigress Turns Five

Fall is filled with the birthdays of Brady’s friends, and last Thursday was the fifth birthday of a very special friend – Olivia. Olivia and younger brother Zach are regulars in our car, our house and our daily activities … and vice versa.

Olivia is an animal lover. And I do NOT say that lightly. She is as part of the animal kingdom as Bindi Irwin. Olivia can catch a butterfly or a dragonfly in one easy, gentle movement, and she can track down and capture lizards, frogs and fish as if she boasts a sixth-sense the rest of us lack. Her fascination and love of animals spans from tadpoles to horses, from dolphins to dinosaurs. But her most favorite of all is the cat.

Olivia, Zach, Brady, Parker (and whomever else they can coerce) play kitty cat almost every day. While this game certainly includes crawling around on all fours and meowing like a cat, it runs much deeper. There are complex intricacies of sleeping, eating, training, ownership, etc. And most of all - kitty cat can drive the moms (and dads) insane!

Luckily for us grownups the kids had quite a distraction from kitty cat for Oli’s big celebration – Ariel came out of the sea to attend the party and to paint faces and blow balloon animals! And while she didn’t sing or – much to Brady’s dismay – bring Prince Eric or King Triton, she sported that clamshell bikini top, long red hair and glittery green fin ... and was enchanting nonetheless!

Beaming with delight, Olivia has grown beautifully from little girl to big girl. Happy Birthday, Tigress!

Girls! Girls! Girls!

The joys of motherhood truly are countless. And yet believe it or not, Candy Land gets boring (very boring), Playdoh is often ho-hum, snacktime feels like revolving visits to the pantry, whining quickly becomes maniacal, and “go play together” time often ends in tears over a prized truck and a sword.

Enter GNO! My buddies and I will search high and low for an excuse to celebrate Girls Night Out. Luckily there are generally birthdays close enough to foot the bill. This week, Happy Birthday to Liz and Jodi! After a night of giggly talk (just don’t ask, boys!), margaritas and fabulous food at Nuevo Laredo, we headed home revived and renewed.

Good morning, half eaten breakfasts!

Good morning, piles of laundry!

Good morning, “MOM!! I had it first!”

Oh, and good morning dull, pounding headache. Happy Birthday dear friends!

The "nothing" moments are anything but

As I rush through errands, chores, commitments, email, work and work-outs, I often forget to stop and just enjoy the moment and the experience at hand. Luckily, I have two little stop-watches to remind me.

At the mall yesterday, while running from one store to the next with a "To-Do" list in mind and a looming speech appointment time, Parker stumbled across an electronic interactive video screen on the floor outside of Macy's. When he stepped on it the images either moved away from him or blew up - creating an instant and irresistible game of chase.

While initially urged to smile and move on, the look on his amazed little face cemented my feet to the floor. For the next 20 minutes, Parker squealed with such exhuberant delight that several passersby stopped and laughed with him. His fascination was contagious, not to mention the fantastic aerobic workout he got from all that jumping around! Luckily my new-blogging brain thought to grab my camera during the last few minutes of Footloose.

Thanks Peeky for leading me (and all those strangers) to stop and smile. It sure felt great!

Well, here goes nothing…

My family blogs. My friends blog. Millions of people around the globe blog. And, of course, I love to read blogs (and knowing the blogger is completely unnecessary.) So after much angst regarding whether or not I have anything interesting or important to say to the world, I’ve decided it’s time.

Welcome to the Just Plum(mer) Lucky world of Amy, Bill, Brady and Parker. I don’t promise that this blog will inspire you, anger you, motivate you or affect you in any way. What I do hope it does is keep you at least mildly entertained with the daily events of the Plummer family – which with two young boys can be pretty nutty.

It is my wish to share with you the silly, the crazy, the frustrating, the amazing and the happy life of this family, as well as the wonderful people who are a part of our lives. I do believe we are blessed and “just plum lucky,” and I look forward to sharing both the humdrum and exhilarating.

So with that, welcome.