The Cellar

I heart my old house. The door knobs own me. I mean seriously the door knobs own me. But this door knob leads to the spookiest part of this old house. This cellar haunted me as a small child when I grew up here. Tonight husband had to do some home repair on a condensate drain which required a trip into the spooky old cellar. There are no steps here anymore. They have rotted away.

He put on his big boy boots and got his plumber face on and had to take the other entrance into the cellar.

Luckily, Kevin G. was at our house to provide moral support and duct tape. Notice the cat food we had laid out cause we have had missing kittens since Momma Kitty can't nurse so we were putting food in all their usual spots. (*kittens found alive and well)

This is husband getting his plumber crack on and moving into the spookiest, darkest place on the planet. Billy the Exterminator would have loved his guts. Although listening to him squeal when he encountered spiders and hissing kittens was hysterical. I am thankful to report he emerged unharmed.

Vet Success

9:42 a.m. Momma Kitty was captured by son and placed in the pet taxi without incident. Being a fantastic mother, I allowed son the opportunity to do the capture himself. One day he will thank me for that but in all honesty, she likes him the most. Momma Kitty then began to make a noise we had never heard. A type of cat distress call.




9:45 am Momma Roach began to get nervous.

9:55 a.m. Mommy Roach broke the law and drove above said speed limit fearing her life and her children's life were hanging in the balance.

10:15 a.m. After quickly ditching Momma Kitty at the door we got a room to wait on the vet to see Yoda. Yoda was so nervous. We could hear Momma Kitty in our room with the door closed.

10:20 We slowly began to lose control in the small stinky room. I personally began to think why did I shower and shave to come here?

10:21 Son began to sneeze. I encouraged hand washing. Then the vet came in and gave Yoda two shots and the injectable up his nose. We wished Momma Kitty good luck and took Yoda to Pet Smart for new tennis balls!

Don't gamble with your pet's health. An appropriate picture for a Vet's room.

The real story will be this weekend after Momma Kitty comes home and has to be pinned up for 7 days away from kittens that will want to nurse.

Momma Kitty Danger

Momma Kitty is exhausted. She is still nursing. For those that don't know we kept two of the 6 kittens. I am a SUCKER. The black one is named Ortiz after son's favorite MLB player. Daughter named the stripped one Buttercup after Butter who is no longer with us. Momma Kitty is rarely ever called Peanut. She is always called Momma Kitty. She and I are about to have the uncomfortable talk about how when the kittens ask for it they are too old to nurse. But you know cats could careless what you say, so I am taking Momma Kitty in for her big girl surgery. In the morning, I must capture Momma Kitty and then put her in a carrier. My plan is to place the carrier in the back of the car. For some reason I also thought it would be a good idea to get Yoda's rabies shot tomorrow. So he will be with us also. Oh and I have two kids. The vet is a good 20 minute drive. Oh and son is allergic to cats. If anyone comes out of their cage our life will be in danger.

I tell you all this because if this happens we are in trouble.
http://youtu.be/7VD7fQWtZgo

ALL Stars

The Roach house was excited about All Stars this year. We canceled a vacation and let both kids play. Daughter played for the 6U team and I got to coach her. She plays third base and she told me, "I own third base. Someone should put my name on it!" Confidence, she lacks none. I was so proud of her because she played double headers in the 100 degree heat ( and even pouring rain) and never asked to sit out an inning, never whined and played with all her heart.

Son whom I call Tbone on the baseball field had a blast. He played first during All Stars and he also had a big first. He hit his first out of the park homerun!!! This child can tell you how many homeruns he has had since Tball. He can tell you how many outs he made during what game. It is true that I am a loud baseball momma. I love to watch him play but I don't watch him bat. I put my head down. When I heard him hit this ball I looked at the third base coach who was making the signal for a homerun. I looked up to see the ball clear the fence and I yelled like a coyote yelping at the moon. When he touched home plate he pointed at me and smiled. Promise, I cried.

I don't think baseball or softball will matter when they are 30. I don't think Tbone will be able to recite his stats of youth ball when he is 40. I pray that what they will remember is me as their cheerleader. There is something about cheering for your child that you can't put into words. It is like cheering for your heart running around bases. I know when they are grown I won't remember how many gloves, bats and cleats I bought. I won't remember trying to get the dirt stains out of white baseball pants. I just hope we all remember the laughs, the fun and the chance.

Mississippi State Friends

I have Mississippi friends. They always turn out to be Mississippi State friends. I do have a couple Ole Miss fans on my friend list but these State friends are a rare breed. They have the cow bells and they bleed maroon and white.

I appreciate sport fans. If you are a Roach Reader you know I bleed orange and blue. However, truth be told we all bleed the same because of the blood shed for us. Meet my friends Amber and Dustin Polk. Amber and I met at church several years ago and were a part of small bible study together. My husband was in a men's discipleship class with Dustin. This is precious couple with a heart for Christ. They are in the process of adopting not one but two brothers from Russia. To help with the cost of adoption they have developed two websites. One is their blog where you can read all about their adventures and the other is way to raise money. Since moving across the state line they have been faced with a decision to choose Auburn or Alabama. The fans that raise the most money will get 6 new fans! Please go to http://www.ironbowladoption.com/ and cast your vote and money. I will be so happy to see this family in orange in blue but more importantly to have two new baby boys at their house.

End of Aubie

The school year is over and I am thankful to have survived the last nine weeks of school in a cast. I had a purple and pink cast, a black cast and then my famous Aubie cast. To celebrate school being out and the beginning of summer, my Aubie cast got around on it's last days on my leg. First stop of summer, Zac Brown Band. Meet my friend Misty. She hooked us up with tickets and pushed my wheelchair self literally all over the place. Seriously. My sister who was also with us stated she would have left me. It was 400 degrees and all up hill. Kelly gave Misty a break in pushing but Misty even said a War Eagle one time in desperation to get me through the mass crowd. It was hysterical. I am thankful for friends who have taken me places when it was more work on them. It has not been easy being my friend.

We caused a riot. Never take a Auburn or Alabama symbol to concert. We literally were stopped all night with" War Eagle!" "Roll Tide!" "Can I take your picture?" Luckily once again the firemen came to my rescue and took over the wheelchair pushing. They took us to our VIP deck seating and checked on me through the night. I think they thought something else was wrong with me cause they spoke to me very s.l.o.w.

This is my sister and I on the party deck. ZBB did not disappoint. It was a fabulous concert and one I will never forget! Say a little prayer for her tomorrow she is having surgery. My poor mother. Someone send Peggy Sue flowers.

The next morning we headed off to Lake Martin. Aubie was not as much fun at the lake. I was dying to get in the water but settled for a boat ride and sitting on a porch with family.

My kids and husband enjoyed water toys and when I go back I will be the one in the water.


I only had one week to be stuck at home with Aubie. God decided to turn up the heat and I became very resourceful. I could not stand not being in the water any longer. So I have been in my pool for a week wearing my cast cover I use for showering in the pool. It is heaven and such a blessing after last summer.

Even daughter has been relaxing. Brothers make good escorts.

Bless you if you are still reading.

Tomorrow I will get Aubie off and start the hard part. I will learn to walk again. I will put weight on newly fused bones. I am ready. I am ready to drive. I am ready to swim. I am ready to sleep. I am ready to stretch my foot. I am ready to shave my leg. I am ready.

Day Off

I had to take the day off to stay home with a sick son. After a quick trip to the Doctor we found he has Strep Throat! Which I should have known Saturday after tears during a baseball game. I was at the pool checking on the water level and I hear a scuffle. These friends were fighting at the watering hole. They have managed to break their flow valve, dump over their watering can and were eating at the hose pipe until I went down there. Son was able to turn off the water and I gave them the "that is not nice" speech. They immediately were shameful and turned their heads in embarrassment. They are currently in time out waiting until their watering hole is fixed again.