my free moment

(Okay, I couldn’t post the other day... I’ll cram everything together because this stupid machine is flaking out again…and so am I.
It may be several more days before I can muster up the patience to do this again.)

This month seems to be flying by almost as fast as November did.
I enjoyed a trip to L’burg with the boys on 1st and 2nd. I was able to do some scrapbooking AND attend a ladies night. It was a nice break from routine.

I’ve been working 20 hours each week… and sticking to my guns about my departure time at 11:30pm. The other employees have generally been leaving around 2am. One night they stayed till 4am!! Can you imagine!?!?!
Even my 20 hours seems to be a lot this year. Christmas shoppers are SO needy. Ugh.

I have not shopped very much at all this year. I can remember the rush and panic of other years as I attempted to get gifts for everyone under the sun. But this year, I am keeping it simple. I have purchased a few gifts for us, and a few polyanna gifts for our family And I’ll do a few little teacher gifts. It’s been such a nice year. Not that I don’t enjoy giving to everyone… we just don’t have the money or time to go “all out” this year. And it has made things a lot less stressful.
I’m learning new ways each year to make things go smoother.

T and the boys went out to cut a Christmas tree this past weekend. They picked a great little tree that fits perfectly in our little living room. AND they decorated it while I was at work on Saturday night. I missed the process of decorating with the kids but I’ve got to be honest that it sure was nice that I didn’t have to fool with all of that. T was hard at work this weekend picking up the slack from my over-busyness.

I was busy with important things this past weekend:-)
I was privileged to be able to go and help out with the triplets on Friday night and Saturday. I had a great time!! M and C are terrific parents and I really like to brag about how organized they are. C is SO super organized that things seem to be running very smoothly around their house. The boys are on a great schedule which makes things very predictable and relaxed. The babies are perfect and they are such a joy to hang out with. I’m looking forward to going again in January.

And finally…
I got my hair cut on tuesday. I was intending to get a trim because I couldn’t stand the length anymore. But after I had heard several people, over a course of days, mention “Locks of Love”… I agreed to chop it all off and let someone else use it. It’s shorter then I’ve ever worn it, but I really like the light feel of it. It feels so refreshing to have perky-ish hair. Especially since there’s not much else that is “perky” on me.

I’m back! Maybe for just a day… I don’t know. The computer seems to be working a bit today so I figure that I better get to blogging while I have a chance. I have to use T’s identity on our computer because the internet explorer won’t even show up on my screen. Go figure.
T did some kind of work on this machine last night so I hope that I’ll be back and running at full speed again soon.
Keep your fingers crossed.

I’m encouraged to hear that several of you have missed reading blog entries. It’s neat to know that our frivolous activities are interesting to you.
I’ll post a few today… just for fun.

hey there!
please be patient with me! My computer is really screwed up and I don't really have any internet capabilities these days.
I miss blogging, emailing, and keeping everyone up to date.
keep checking back. Hopefully my hubby will get a chance to fix things soon. (hint hint)
until next time....

just a brief update for this week (and then I'll be taking a vacation from blogging till after thanksgiving)

I got to meet the triplets yesterday!! They are beautiful boys. And really good babies. I'm looking forward to visiting again soon. M and C seem to be doing super well. They are, and will be, super parents.

Today L's preschool is having a Thanksgiving feast. The kids have prepared a song to sing and the families gather for lunch afterward. It will be a nice break from our usual school routine.
There are only two days of school this week for D as well. that's nice.

This week, in general, is a nice break from our regular routine.
I only have a few errands to run before we take off to visit Granny J in SC. I feel like our mini vacation is already starting.
looking forward to seeing T's family and relaxing for a few days.

We were able to see my mom and dad this past saturday. They came up for a visit and took us out for lunch. It was good to hang out and chat with them.

I hope that everyone has a great thanksgiving!

I just tossed our family letter into the mail today and it occured to me that some people may actually be curious enough to check out this blog site.
So...if it's your first time reading... welcome.
Please check in often. I will try to continually update about the family. And you will also get a dose of my own thoughts about random day to day things.
I usually update every few days.
Thanks for your initial interest in us :-) Hope you check in again soon!

The boys are here!
Congrats to Matt and Cherie.
Can't wait to meet them:-)

I received the following forwarded email from my mom today. It's another reminder of how God works in our lives.


Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her
interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

That's cool.
Happy Friday!

There is an Andrew Peterson song that refers to the mountain ranges on the ocean floor.
It’s so amazing to me that there are huge mountains under that water that only God can see. He knows every inch and detail of their formations and he is in complete control of what the ocean does to them and how they grow or crumble.
It’s a great reminder of how God is in involved in our daily lives. If he can take such care over the unseen in the bottom of the ocean… shouldn’t we realize the intricate involvement that he has in our own lives?!

As I have been trying to organize my calendar for the next few months, I feel like I am moving my own personal mountains to get every event scheduled and taken care of.
Today may be a good time to remind myself that God is going to move my mountains and form my days to fit into His plan, not just my own idea of how things should be.
I should probably take a breather and see what he has in store. I know that is easier said than done… especially since I am such a maniac about planning.
I just need to remember to be flexible when God may have other things planned for my days.

I just got home from work and thought that I should blog before I head into my weekend.

Tomorrow I’ll be going to the elementary school to see my “book buddy”. I’ve been volunteering Wednesday and Friday mornings at the elementary school , basically as a tutor for a 2nd grader who needs some extra help with reading. It has been fun but also challenging.
I realize that I don’t particularly know anything about the English language.
I’m starting to wonder how any of us learned to read. I have found myself learning things right alongside my buddy. And I’m amazed at the times that I’ve been unable to explain why some words are pronounced certain ways.
The kids are encouraged to sound words out, but what do you do with words that have silent letters, and words that follow different rules? How do you determine which letters are silent or not? And how do I explain the rules behind that?
I should probably get my own tutor.
All that to say: I’m really enjoying the time with my buddy and I’m also learning a lot. While I'm there, I follow a lesson plan that the reading specialist has prepared. So don't worry!! The kid is actually learning something! :-)
I’m hoping that I can grasp onto some ideas and activities that will help my own kids learn to read.
D is doing pretty well with sight words and the sounds of the letters. I think he’ll be reading by this spring. At least that’s the plan.

Tomorrow night I am going on a women’s retreat with the ladies from my church. I am excited about the time away and the chance to build friendships with those gals. It should be a fun time.
The boys at my house will enjoy a “men’s weekend”. They will probably have a great time as well.

Always looking forward to the weekends…

Halloween is in full swing around our house. Last night we had our annual Halloween/Pumpkin party. We managed to pack 30 people in our yard and house. Thank goodness that the weather was beautiful and that most activities took place outdoors.
We had a chili dinner and everyone brought goodies to share. Everyone enjoyed playing in the yard (especially jumping on the trampline), playing Frisbee, eating all the yummies, hanging out, carving pumpkins, etc. I’m pretty sure that people had a good time.
I don’t know how our parties have morphed into such a large group. This year’s crowd was twice the size of last years. I don’t plan on doubling for next year… so I hope we don’t make any new friends! Haha!
Today I plan to have a few little games and activities for our neighbor kids since they weren’t involved with our group last night.
Tomorrow, we’ll do some brief Trick or Treating at a few houses and then head to a nearby church that hosts an event called “Trick or Trunk”. They have a big production of games, pizza, a moon bounce and ‘trick or treating’ out of car/van trunks. T took the kids last year while I worked. This year, I’m happy that I can tag along for the fun.

D and L will be dressing as Power Rangers tomorrow thanks to the b-day costumes from Grandma and Papa.
I’ll be dressing as a hip mom and T will be a cool dad. Like always. Tee hee.

I know that many of you read the blogs that are listed in my margin.
I wanted to be sure that you kept up to date on Cherie's blog.
This is truly an exciting time for them and big things are about to happen. So... I ask that you keep them in your prayers over the next few weeks... and over the years to come!! They will have alot of excitement and emotions to deal with over the next few months especially.
I am so encouraged as I read her blogs. God has truly blessed them, and the babies. (15 pounds of babies!)
And to know that she may carry them to term is an exta blessing.
so keep them in your prayers!

I managed to put D on the bus this morning and go downstairs with L. He was finishing a video about Tom Sawyer. I told myself that I would just nap a little on the couch while he finished the video and then we’d start to get ready for our day.
It turns out that I napped through Tom Sawyer AND a two hour DVD of Sponge Bob Episodes.
I decided to wake up and get showered at 10am!! Poor little L… his brain is probably full of mush today. It may take weeks to get him back to normal. Amazingly he’s been very nice after his tv marathon. He may have needed the Sponge Bob mindlessness this morning.
I hate to say it but I am secretly proud of my nap this morning. I never get to nap like that in the am. This was the first day that I can remember that we didn’t have anything planned. It was a good lazy morning. We did manage to drag ourselves out to Walmart to buy some fire-starter bricks. They’ll come in handy if it gets cold tonight.

It’s amazing how well our wood stove heats up this house.
Yesterday morning we woke up to a chilly 61 degrees inside. Granted, it was about 34 outside, I know.
T got the wood stove up and running last night and we woke to a toasty 73 degrees and even have a window cracked now. It often seems like we go from one extreme to the next. I figure that we’ll get things regulated as the weather continues to cool down. I’m just thankful that we’ll have the free heat this winter. I’d hate to think about our electric bill if we had to solely use our baseboard heaters.

Thinking of extremes. My lovely hubby is going to an extreme today and traveling to meet his buddy, Norb, in Kentucky.
(T recently got his motorcycle license).
Norbert decided to let T use his motorcycle during the months of the year that it’s too cold to ride near Chicago, where Norbert lives. Meaning, T could ride now and most of the spring… until it warms up in the north.
And, it just so happened that Norbert would be traveling for business this week to Kentucky. So these two planned to meet up and swap the bike. T will bring it home in his truck.
This happened to all come about this week, but ya never know what these guys are thinking…
I suppose it’s a lot better than T buying his own bike. So I’m trying to bite my tongue and smile.

L and I are going on a field trip today to the pumpkin farm. Last Friday, the farm was extremely muddy so our trip was postponed until today. We are looking forward to the corn maze, the hay bale maze and picking a pumpkin.

I’m glad that it’s Wednesday.

I think that our cat is human. Or atleast very similar to a dog.
He has always been an odd sort of cat. Very interactive and involved in our family.
In his young days he would retrieve cat toys and bring them back, like a dog playing catch.
This morning, I was especially amused as Mr. Q (that's his name) sat in the empty chair at breakfast, in an upright sitting position, and just watched us eat. He had a very thoughtful look, similar to an older gentlemen who may be sitting with his family. he would look at each of us as we talked and even follow the food with his eyes as we ate.
I made sure that his food dish was full and that he had plenty of water. So obviously he wasn't hungry. He just felt like joining us for breakfast.
This is a new thing for him and I admit it's a little peculiar.
It's always interesting to see what he does next.
Currently he lives at our house but makes frequent visits to our neighbors... who also have a bowl of cat food available to him. Some afternoons, he'll nap at their house and then decide to come home and use the litter box. What a brat.
We've been pretty lucky to have such a dog like cat. All the attributes of a dog but not all the hassle.
I love cats.

Reasons for me to be glad that it is Friday:

-I finally got a hold of the new Janet Evanovich book, 'Twelve Sharp'. It came out in June, and I was 26th on the waiting list at the library. Getting it in October was quicker than I expected!

-I bought cool stamps today at the post office.

-Lucas’s field trip to the farm was postponed today (which is sad, but it is rescheduled for next Wednesday). And since I have a free morning, I can vacuum and get things done around the house. Huge weight lifted because…

-We are having small group tonight.

-I am making cookie bars for small group. Yummy.

-I can stay up late tonight and watch tv.

-I can sleep in late tomorrow!!

-And we don’t have any plans for tomorrow. That is extremely rare for a Saturday. I suppose we’ll do some work in the yard, etc. I’m looking forward to a nice weekend.

I think that I’m just not supposed to blog these days!! I wrote the following blog LAST night (Monday) and I have been trying to post it ever since. Trying for almost 24 hours… I’ve just had extremely horrible connection for the past few days!!
So if you are reading this… I finally got online:

I really wanted to post a blog tonight. (Monday) But it looks like I’ll be writing tonight and posting tomorrow morning (Tuesday). I am slowly loosing my mind as I deal with this slow computer connection!!!

Speaking of loosing…. I lost money tonight. And not at a game of poker.

I hired a babysitter tonight while I went to work. For what it’s worth… She made more money babysitting my kids than I made at work. Interesting. I suppose the kids are worth it though, right? Hmmmm….

On a brighter note:

It’s officially my opinion that it is okay for everyone to start decorating for Halloween as of today. (Monday)
We did.
(I am physically unable to do anything regarding Halloween until we get D’s bday done with each year. We celebrated that on Saturday, so naturally I wanted to jump feet first into my Halloween planning today!!)
I have my party invites ready to mail!!
I always get so excited about Halloween decorations and then I pull my boxes out to discover that I just don’t have many. Luckily the kids are fascinated by the fiber optic pumpkin-headed scarecrows that we have. They were a great clearance bargain a few years ago… only $4!!
I’m hoping that I can stock up on clearance things this year.

Night night. (Monday)
Or I suppose I should be saying Happy day. (Tuesday)
Actually. Good night (Tuesday)
FINALLY!!

deep thought for today:
Chicken with bones is not as gross as I previously thought.

I have recently cooked chicken that I purchased with bones and skin... still on it. I know that is a foreign concept to many of you, as it was to me.
I first attempted to make bbq chicken legs like T's granny makes. That turned out pretty well, and I've done that twice.
And tonight, I am making a one dish recipe with bone-in chicken and potatoes. So far, so good.

The thing that always grossed me out was the possibility that I'd actually have to touch the chicken!
But when it came to the moment of truth, I told myself to be brave!!
What an accomplishment.
It's actually quite simple to prepare.... someone told me to use a paper towel, grab onto that skin and just yank it off. I know.... yuck... the first few times I got the same feeling you get when someone scratches their finger nails on a chalkboard. But after a few chicken pieces, I've gotten the hang of it.

I'm confident that if we ever had to grow chickens to survive, I could atleast skin one. maybe. Someone else would have to take care of the killing and draining... or whatever people do to chickens.

I can remember stories of my grandmother growing up on the farm. And I think about how pitiful our generation is!!
Think of how lucky we are with our american culture and our fast food mentality. We are So spoiled. I feel pretty selfish even writing about the woes of skinning chicken when people all over the world kill and prepare their own meat. What a wimp I am.

anywho.
just wanted to give a shot out to the chicken with the bones and skin. I highly recommend it.

I happened to be shopping at Target on Friday morning. Wearing normal clothes… not red and khaki. I ran into a few young guys that I work with. We chatted briefly and I continued on my kid-free shopping excursion.
I showed up at work on Saturday and was talking to one of the same guys, named Tony….
Somehow we started talking about kids. We confirmed that I had two kids. He said that he had disputed that fact with the other employee, Torian, on Friday morning after they had talked with me. The other guy thought I had three.
Anyway… as the conversation continued Tony says “Yeah, Torian and I were thinking that you were probably pretty hot before you had kids”.
I agreed that I was thinner before kids. And he continues to say “yeah, It’s just a given that things change after women have babies”.
Hmmm…. Am I supposed to dwell on this comment now??
Ummm…..Maybe I was “probably hot” before kids.
Was that a compliment or an insult??
I just kind of laugh to myself when I think about this lovely conversation. (And in a way I am flattered that I was a topic of their conversation. I made some kind of impression, right?) :p
Luckily I work with Tony and Torian a lot and their comments are fine… Atleast I know that they may have thought I was a hottie in my younger years.
Maybe it’s just a hint of what I should strive for in my older years. I know of other hottie moms. Perhaps I need to get motivated so I can impress my young co-workers. Oh…or impress my husband too.
:-)

We are all back on track today. L is feeling fine and he went back to school.
I am feeling productive today! I ran tons of errands this morning… that I’ve been waiting for weeks to do! I’m feeling good.

I need to get invigorated about taking the kids for a hair trim this afternoon. I’ll take them to the barber that is close by… but I already know that I will be sadly disappointed in their work. The barber happens to be the boyfriend of my friend but that still doesn’t mean much. No one can cut boy-hair as well as our lovely Alison in L’burg. I am really tempted to make a special trip to see her for the next trim.
D has picture day next Friday so I need to get him looking sharp. No time for a trip to the burg this week. The man barber will have to do.

A completely random story:
I had a dream the other night about Paris Lenon, whom I went to school with. No idea why I dreamed about him but I decided to Google him and see what came up. To my surprise- he’s been playing NFL football for the last 5 years! He plays for the Detroit Lions. Go figure. Little do I know about my classmates.

Back to my blog thing:
Believe it or not… I’m starting to plan for our Pumpkin Party. I need to pick a day and make a guest list. Then I’ll be on a roll.
T heads to a men’s retreat tonight and the kids and I will probably go to a movie night at the school.

It’s feeling more and more like fall. L noticed the many leaves that were starting to change colors today.
And let me tell you how much FUN I had at the stores today checking out the fall and Halloween decorations! Hallmark has wonderful ceramic pumpkins that are designed to look like little cottages. All that autumn stuff gave me warm fuzzies today. Amazing how much the color orange can brighten my day!

Day number two at home with sick little L. He’s got the same illness that D had for five days last week. I am prepared for the long haul this week.
Luckily the hubby comes home this evening and I can head to the store for food!! We ordered pizza last night because there was no dinner food around. My usual standbys didn’t work well (pancakes or grilled cheese) because we are out of margarine. Oops.
My mom suggested that I borrow from my neighbors…. But ordering pizza seemed to make more sense. Of course!

I have enjoyed having time off from work this week while I stayed with the little guys. I did a pretty good job with being a mommy too. Kind of makes me want to stay home more often in the evenings. I really enjoyed reading and praying with the kids before bedtime. I guess I miss it more than I originally thought.

Onto a different subject:
I am SO excited that fall is officially here. And I am starting to get a feel for the fall weather. It seems to be right around the corner.
I always enjoy telling D how October is my favorite month because I can remember the day that I brought him home from the hospital. It was a beautiful, blustery day, and the leaves were falling along the road as we were bringing him home. I can still remember the feeling of having that little newborn in the autumn and bundling him up to go out for a stroll. Ahhh…( those were some of the better memories of that newborn stage… the ones that I like to remember).

And along with the fall comes all of the beautiful fall colors, pumpkins and parties!! Again… My FAVORITE time of year!!
It’s about time to start planning our annual pumpkin party! This year I will actually have planned games to accompany our pumpkin carving contest. Can’t wait!

I Love the fall!!

D recovered from his illness last week in time to attend school on Thursday and go on the field trip to the orchard with his class. I happily attend his field trip as well. Two time in one week to the same orchard was fun.
All in all we obtained 2 pecks of apples and 4 little pumpkins. A pretty productive week!

My parents came to keep us company this weekend. We went to the civil war reenactment on Saturday. It was pretty interesting to see the folks dressed in their civil war garb and their campsites, etc. And it was good to see my sis and bro-in-law too!
The battle was much slower than I had anticipated. I was expecting fast paced and exciting… like on TV. Not so much. The kids got restless and we had to leave before the battle was over. I would have liked to stick around and see how long my bro-in-law survived but I had already lost him in the crowd of fighting soldiers.

Just when I thought that things would be getting back to normal today, we came home from church and L has a fever!!! Ugh. I hope that his won’t stick around as long as Ds did. But chances are it’s the same virus. We’ll see how it goes.

Off to nap-

L and I went on a field trip to the orchard today. It was a beautiful, blustery day. A great day to pick apples. We each got a pumpkin, a bag of apples and a ride on the hay wagon. A trip to this particular orchard would not be complete without buying a dozen apple cider donuts. Yum yum.
We came home and I was able to go to the grocery store before we took T to the airport. I was stocking up on food for my parent’s visit. They will be keeping us company while T is away. Don’t worry Dad, I got Diet Dr. Pepper for you! And Coke for Mom!

Another sick day at home for D. (T was able to stay home with him since his flight didn’t leave until 3pm). This sickness has been hanging on for 5 days. Yuk. I talked with his teacher today and she confirmed that other children have missed 3, 4 or 5 days as well. I’m glad to know that it’s the normal time frame for it and that D will hopefully be on the mend soon. I’m contemplating about just keeping him out of school for the rest of the week. The field trip would be fun on Friday but the orchard is a chilly, windy place. Not really a place for someone who’s been under the weather.
We’ll see how he is tonight and tomorrow…

I’m also thinking about cleaning the bathroom today and getting this place in order for some company! I’m hosting my parents for several days, and my small group on Friday night. Lots to do…I just need to get started.

As an update:
It’s currently about 9:50pm and I haven’t cleaned an inch.
Hopefully tomorrow!

I’ve been a bit flustered lately due to a hectic schedule. But things are starting to fall into place.
We were able to visit L’burg this past weekend for a “ladies night” and my niece’s bday party.
We brought my niece home with us on Saturday so she could be here for L’s bday party on Sunday night. For the celebration we had a “pretend sleepover”. The party guests arrived in their pajamas and brought their pillows. We had cake and icecream, opened gifts, played ‘hide-and-go-seek’ with a flashlight, watched a sort video and ate popcorn! And THEN… I sent them home to sleep in their own beds. :-)
I think that everyone had a nice time.
Except for D… who was sick with a fever that day and couldn’t join in on the fun. Poor guy. His fever hung on for a few days with it topping at 104.6 degrees last night. I took him to the doctor today, just in time for the fever to be completely normal. That’s just my luck- every time! He seems to be getting over the worst part of fighting a virus but the fever may come and go a little over the next few days.
Both kids have field trips this week and I’m hoping that they’ll be healthy enough to participate. I am scheduled to go to a local orchard with them on Wednesday and Friday if they are able.
My parents are coming to stay for a few days this weekend while the hubby is out of town. They’ll watch the kids while I work. And we plan to go to a Civil War Reenactment that my sis and bro-in-law will be a part of this weekend.
Lots of fun activities in store.
I’ve got grocery shopping and cleaning to do in my spare time too! Wish me luck.

T and I had decided that the boys needed new comforters.
Today, L and I went out shopping for a comforter that was to become his birthday gift from us.
We first stopped and looked at some posters at Walmart. L wanted one to hang in his room. His first two choices were black posters with goblins and really gross creatures on them. Very evil looking. I wouldn’t let him choose those… so he settled for a poster with Yoda from Star Wars.
We continued on our way for a comforter and first L wanted a navy blue one.
Cool.
Then he quickly changed his mind and was really excited about getting a black one.
Okay.
I was going to give him the choice of colors to add for the bedskirt and he insisted on black again.
No way.
I convinced him to get a green bedskirt so that we could bring out the colors from the new poster…. (which is black and green, you know.. Yoda.)
Then it occurred to me that his current curtains are a light blue.
Not so cool.
So we went and bought black curtains as well.
Kind of dreary.
But as of now it is looking really cool.
It is a pretty major transformation with a minor cost.
Go Yoda!
Nice :-)

What is a lipoma?
A lipoma is a growth of fat cells in a thin, fibrous capsule usually found just below the skin. Lipomas are found most often on the torso, neck, upper thighs, upper arms, and armpits, but can occur almost anywhere in the body. One or more lipomas may be present at the same time. Lipomas are the most common noncancerous soft tissue growth.

What causes a lipoma?
The cause of lipomas is not completely understood, but the tendency to develop them is inherited. A minor injury may trigger the growth. Being overweight does not cause lipomas.

What are the symptoms of a lipoma?
Lipomas usually:

Are small [0.4 in.(1 cm) to 1.2 in.(3 cm)] and felt just under the skin.
Are movable and have a soft, rubbery consistency.
Do not cause pain.
Remain the same size over years or grow very slowly.
Often the most bothersome symptom is the location or increased size that makes the lipoma noticeable by others.

The doctor visit went well today. It turns out that my new doctor is a young guy- that goes to my church! How about that?! I’ve never seen him there… he says that he sits in the back.
I suppose I’ll be on the lookout for him this Sunday. T probably will too.. so he can see the only other guy that has seen my private areas. Of course, the doc probably saw more than T has! Haha! (I crack myself up!)
Anywho. Enough really personal stuff. Whew.

The thing in my shoulder is actually called Lipoma. It’s absolutely nothing. Just a collection of fatty tissue. That sounds great, eh? The doc says that it just picks a place and stays there, perhaps forever. They are typically the size of a walnut. Nothing to worry about. That’s good news.
Now I can just be glad to know that I have a fat shoulder. Gross.

Everything else was fine at the appointment. I got a tetanus shot and they drew blood to check my cholesterol.
I hadn’t been to the doctor in forever and this was an extremely easy appointment. They were also VERY quick!! I was in and out within an hour. NO waiting at any time. That was great service.
Now if I can just get T to go in for a check-up… our whole family will be doctorized for this year.

So… it’s been days since I have emailed or blogged and I’m still feeling good about kicking that habit.

Both of the kids have settled into school routines and things are running smoothly around the house.

Today, L and I attend a program called “Tuesdays Together” at a local church. They are offering free classes for parents and kids to attend. We will get to attend four classes, over a 2 semester time period, this fall. I am excited to do some active learning with my little man.

Tomorrow I go to a really long awaited doctor’s appointment. It’s about time that I take care of “me”. I’m anxious to find out if I’m doing okay health-wise. I’m sure that he’ll say I can loose a few pounds…
And I’ve got this knot/cyst type thing in my shoulder. I have a feeling that he’ll want to do tests, etc. Please pray that it will be minor, whatever it is.

We head back to L’burg this weekend for a “ladies night” event and my niece’s birthday party.
The rest of my week has become packed with activity as well.
Keeping busy these days…

I have gone almost 5 days without checking email or accessing anything online. And I haven’t even missed it!! I’ve had more time with the kids and I feel like a normal person these days. I haven’t had headaches from looking at the computer screen either!! I totally recommend a sabbatical to anyone that is addicted to email, like me!
I am aiming to check my email, and/or blog, every two to three days. So write to me accordingly or give me a call if it’s urgent.

L started preschool today! I am so proud of my little guy!
It is SO freeing to have both kids in school for part of the day. The fog of “baby-hood” is starting to lift and I am enjoying the aspect of school age kids. And loving it!! They are both capable of so much and they are truly fun to be around! I’m loving this window of life. So far, so good!

I’m getting geared up for a ladies conference this weekend. Looking forward to hanging out with some gals and enjoying a nice retreat from regular life. I’m praying that it will be spiritually uplifting for us all.

I’ve decided to go on a three-day email sabbatical.
This is a major feat for me so don’t make it harder than necessary. Don’t email me for the next three days (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday)… please!! Or if you do… don’t expect a quick response!
If I can be off-line for three days, and if my inbox can stay rather empty… then I have hope of weaning myself off of the daily email mania.
Right now, checking my email is a complete involuntary response. I walk by the computer and sign on… even if I wasn’t planning on it. It is just too scary to think that I am that controlled by my hopes of getting email from you people!

It would be cool if I could get onto an every-other-day type of habit. We’ll see how it goes. I know that the withdrawal process will be difficult so I’ll need all the support I can get. Help me out… no email please!

(deep inside I know that I will be extremely hurt if I don’t have any emails waiting for me on Monday… so use your discretion) :-)

Yep. I’m blogging about YOU today, Kelli J!
I just don’t get it. I read Kelli’s blog every day www.kellimjohnson.blogspot.com and that girl talks about creating things all the time! She’s got more scrapbooking time and creating time than I have time to think… I think.

I was trying to think of the last time that I created something.
I did have to think long and hard this morning to create a unique lunch for my son. I wouldn’t want it to be the same ‘ol thing every day, ya know? PB and J yesterday… ham today…
And I thought about how I could create better smelling clothes by buying different fabric softener. I even took some time to smell the choices at Walmart this morning.
I’m thinking about creating a cleaner bathroom this afternoon and possibly creating spaghetti for dinner…again.
I am totally not bashing Kelli (so roll with me here) I’m just longing for a time that I can create something. Whatever something I can think of. (I do have a ton of pictures that need to be put in albums.) It’s encouraging to know that Kelli is a mom and that she still finds time to do things for herself.

Things have just been so busy with the new school stuff, the lone three year old at home, my work schedule, etc.
This blogging thing takes up my “free moment” in the afternoon and it’s often procrastination to that cleaning thing that I need to do.

I used to really enjoy my time at the gym but I let my membership run out in May. I was thinking of rejoining for the fall but I just heard that it went out of business!! The employees and patrons turned up one day and it was closed for good. Interesting…. God knew that I shouldn’t have renewed in May. It’s always nice to see how His plan turns out for good (even in the little details).

So. Perhaps when L starts preschool next week… I can start some kind of hobby or get things done… for myself! I already have a Dr. appointment. And I’m really excited about finally going out and getting my hair cut!! And even going to the dentist! All of the little things that you can’t do with kids around your ankles.
I’ll have about 6 hours per week of ME time! Looking forward to it.
I’ll keep you posted on if I create anything during those hours…

Oh my! I don’t have to work tonight!! What a miracle! I am cutting back to 4 nights per week and I am so excited!!
What in the world comes on tv tonight?!? I may actually get to sit down and veg out later! This is thrilling news for me.

I did enjoy a great episode of Cold Case this past Sunday. I used to think that Cold Case was a lame show but now I realize that it has good story lines.
Or perhaps it’s so good since it’s the only show that I see on a regular basis. I’ll have to compare it with what I find tonight.

I know, I know… I shouldn’t use my only night off to watch tv. But really, I try to get all of my work done around the house during the day and certainly by 9pm. Then I think I deserve some time to sit back and relax.
So, if that is the case… I’ve gotta get moving. Getting dressed and ready for the day would be a good start, eh?

This could count as blog material, I suppose:

What you may not know about me

A). Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Hardees
2. St. Johns Day School
3. Georgetown Pool Monitor (haha)
4. Elizabeths Early Learning Center

B). Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Ever After
2. How to Deal
3. Under the Tuscan Sun
4. Little Women

C). Four places I have lived:
1. Crestwood Circle
2. Campbell county
3. other l’burg locations
4. Charlottesville

D). Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Cold Case
2. Crossing Jordan
3. Las Vegas
4. (That’s it… I’m only off from work on Friday and Sunday)

E). Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Ocean Isle, NC
2. Colorado
3. Cancun, Mexico
4. my parent’s house

F). Four websites I visit daily:
1. Kelli J’s blog
2. Cherie S’s blog
3. Kit’s blog
4. Regina’s blog (I’m still waiting!!)

G). Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2 Spaghetti
3. Popcorn
4. Pizza

H). Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. out to a movie
2. traveling and sleeping in a hotel
3. out with friends
4. sleeping in bed

The bus got here about 20 minutes late but Daniel got off with a big smile.
We were greeted with a hug and an eagerness to talk about his day! Yay!!

Here are the highlights that I can remember: He said lots of things but this sums up the day, I think:
-He said that the bus ride was long but he enjoyed sitting with two neighbor boys (I didn’t know that three kids could fit in those seats!!)
-He did lots of “work” regarding the color red. They played with red play dough, read Clifford books, made a red Clifford, etc, etc.
-He ate lunch in the cafeteria. And he requested to buy lunch tomorrow. (I talked him into waiting until Friday for pizza day)
-They had music class today where he had a turn to play the piano. He liked that.
-They went outside for recess.
-He made a new friend named Jillian (she sits next to him in their classroom)
-He brought home a behavior log which marks behavior issues and he had no marks against him today. (he was able to tell me in detail about another boy who had issues today… I told him not to hang with that kid) haha

I asked him questions about normal routine things… hall passes, bathroom locations, lunch money etiquette, etc etc. He was able to answer all things pertaining to classroom structure in general.
I was THRILLED to get so much info out of that kid.
It must have been a great day for him.

We were up and moving around 6:30am and then proceeded to go out and catch the bus around 7:25. Luckily the bus passes by our house, once, before it comes back to pick up D… so we’ll always know when to head outside.
The neighbor kids also came to stand with D so it looks like our house has become the official bus stop. That’s such a relief for me. I like to have things on my turf… especially with the nutty dogs next door. I didn’t want to cross the dog’s turf every morning. (Not that the dogs are a huge problem but I just wouldn’t want to bother them.)
So… D should be arriving home this afternoon around 3:20. I am curious to see if he’ll talk about his day. He tends to be a vague type of guy, unless something is really cool or memorable. I’ll see if kindergarten falls under the “cool” category.

I was able to ship him off on the bus without mushy emotion today. I’m proud that I held it together. Even other “tough” moms have told me that they cried. So I wasn’t sure how I would react to my baby going out.
I got a little choked up when I was walking back to the house… for about 2 seconds or less, but then I was fine.
Does this mean that I am a cold-hearted mom?? Some may say so.
But I am just so darn excited for that kid!!! I am so proud that he can go out and make a way for himself. Riding a bus is cool! And school is cool! Right? (haha)
I know, I know, kindergarten is such a weenie thing, you may say. But in the scheme of things… D is stepping out and doing new things, on his own, for the first time! How cool is that?!? He’ll be making friends, making decisions, following rules, and being his own little man.
I’m just so proud that he has come to this stage in life.

I’ve made cookies for a snack when he gets home. I’m hoping that cookies and milk will coax some discussion out of him. I can’t wait to hear how the first day went!

Yesterday I implemented my new work hours. I have insisted that I leave at 11:30 (due to my family's changing schedules).
So, who would have thought that I started my new hours on a completely "piss-poor planning" day? (as my manager gracefully stated.) hehe

The store managers decided to stay open last night till 11pm for back to school shoppers and students from UVA.
UVA sent FIVE shuttle buses to our store, filled with 'first year' students, between 9pm and 11pm last night.
Talk about a disaster. The store was a wreck... worse than I have ever seen. And the kids were just... um... dumb. They were shopping in masses.
It's scary to think that these UVA kids will be the future leaders of America. One of my co-workers stated that they are more likely to be the trophy wives and drunk lawyers of our future. Her statement is probably more accurate.

Anyway, I left work around 11:50 last night. Leaving my co-workers with over half of my 'domestics' area to finish and about 25 overflowing carts of things that needed to be put back in place. SOooo glad that I got to leave but I felt horrible for those that were staying till the wee hours of the night. I'll be curious to hear what time they finished up last night.

I'm headed to work again tonight.
Already looking forward to 11:30- :-)

We and D went to Kindergarten Orientation this morning. The principal gave a little talk and then we proceeded to the classroom where D’s new teacher, Ms. Parkins, gave a little talk as well. They mentioned a few things about classroom things, ways to communicate with the school, etc.
A bus driver also came in and talked about bus safety and behavior.
Afterward we went outside to check out a school bus.
We paid a $5 supply fee and I signed up on all of the volunteer lists.
All in all a productive day:-)

We started getting up at 6:30am today to practice for our new routine. It went well. We’ll make another go of it tomorrow and then the real deal will occur on Wednesday morning!! Yay!
I’m so excited for my boy.

I have recently been forced to come face-to-face with my fear and disgust of ants.
We have been invaded by random, teeny tiny, ants.

It started with just one or two that would appear out of nowhere. I was constantly in search of their buddies because I thought those guys always traveled in a line. To my surprise I couldn’t find their source so I just sprayed everything with ant spray. (Ant spray has become a good friend to me). Unfortunately the spray doesn’t work as expected. We’ve also put out little ant traps that are supposed to knock out the whole colony.
Right.
So, I’ve learned to deal with those little guys and I was killing them as they appeared. To make matter worse, our counter tops AND floors are BLACK! So it’s hard to catch them all AND I think that they are multiplying.

I’ve told myself that it’s okay as long as they are not in my food.
We visited some friends last week who had also been invaded by ants. The poor kids poured milk on their cereal and then picked out the ants that floated to the top. Icky!!! I certainly couldn’t tolerate that!

So all was well until today.
We had D’s friend over for a play day. The kids were hungry so I hurriedly made a cheese sandwich for the friend, and a PB& J sandwich for my boys. As I was putting the peanut butter jar away I noticed that there was a squished ant on my hand (yuck) and I made a mental note to rinse the peanut butter jar off after lunch.
The kids ate and then headed downstairs to play and I cleaned up the lunch dishes. I proceeded to rinse the PB jar off but I notice several ants on the plastic. I opened the jar to see LOTS of ants INSIDE the jar!!!
AHHHHH (I had a silent scream in my head)

Boy… Am I glad that I ate tuna for lunch!

I quickly tossed the jar in the trash. And then looked for ant buddies in the cabinet. None.
It’s starting to creep me out now. I think that the ants are plotting against me.
Can’t wait till cold weather hits.

I have decided NOT to tell my kids about their sandwiches today.
I think I'll start silently training them to be on Fear Factor.
It’ll be our little secret. ;)

I woke up this morning at 7:25 realizing that next week at this time, my boy will be catching the bus!! Talk about an early morning! I’ll need to prepare myself for getting up earlier and being responsible. T already gets up at 6:30 but I’ll make sure that I get up too and help send the kid off in the mornings.
I have altered my work schedule to help with my moods in the mornings as well. I will only be working 4 set nights each week and I will not work later than 11:30pm. We’ll see how that works for the upcoming weeks.

I am super excited about school starting. D starts next Wednesday and L will start preschool in September. L and I are also enrolled in a “Tuesdays Together” program at a local church. We’ll be taking courses in cooking, storybooks, faith and Spanish. It should be neat for us to learn some things together.

Our summer is starting to wind down. It has certainly flown by this year.
Almost time to start planning birthday and Halloween parties! haha

We finally got a new bike for L. It’s kind of weird since D had to wait until his 5th birthday in order to get one of those nifty Huffy bikes with training wheels. We decided not to wait for that certain rite of passage age for L. It’s about time that our family can get out and ride bikes together. I’m super excited that we all have bikes now. I’m hoping to find somewhere to ride this fall and get out there. I am still amazed that we are approaching a time when my kids are actually big enough to DO things! Yay!
L loves his new bike and he insists on riding every waking moment. This morning he woke me up at 7am to ask if he could ride his bike while I cooked “dinner” (meaning breakfast). What a nut.

The boys have enjoyed their little vacations this week. L had finally gotten used to the idea of being the only kid at home and he was anxious for the switch today. He was ready to go with grandma and I’m sure he’ll have a super time. I kind of doubt that he’ll miss D this weekend. They will have plenty to keep that kid occupied.
D on the other hand has been a holy terror for the 2 hours that we have been home. Perhaps he is going through withdrawal, or perhaps he’s going to miss L now that he is home with boring old mom and dad. We’ll see.
Either way, this little vacation for the kids has been great for me!! Having one kid is such a breeze!
I’ll get a kid free weekend as well as I head to L’burg on Saturday. Ye-haw!

D left yesterday to spend a few days with the grandparents. We will switch kids on Thursday so that L can have his own vacation as well.
By last night L was mentioning that he missed D and he kept predicting that D would be home any minute. When someone knocked on the door, he ran to the door saying "He's home!"

Today was an interesting “only child” day. I loved it! Everything was much easier and I enjoyed my uninterrupted time with L.
But he was going nuts! He is really missing his brother! He even had a brief breakdown and cried before lunch today. He then wanted to draw a picture and mail it to D.
How sweet!!! He drew two sad boys... D and L, who missed each other.
Ahhh…. I just love to see this caring and loving side of my kids.

I am hoping that the time apart will help them to appreiciate each other more. We’ll see.
I always say that they are best friend and worse enemies. And they can’t live with each other and they obviously can’t live without.

I don't think that D is having such a difficult time. I have a feeling that he is living it up with the grandparents. He's had practice at being an only kid and he's probably remembering the good old days.
:0)

I had sent out an email to some of my buddies about the “no tax” weekend that is coming up on August 4th.
There has been big talk at work about this weekend and they are begging people to work overtime to ensure that they have enough staff on-hand.
It seems as though everyone will be shopping this weekend.
My advice to you:
Do all of your shopping before or after this weekend!!
In the grand scheme of things…. If you spend $100, you will only save $5. Is it really worth the hassle of battling the crowds to save 5 bucks? I don’t think so.
I’m staying far away from retail this weekend. (I’m off from work this weekend too!)

yesterday I purchased tons of toys that were on clearance at Target. Most of them were 75% off!!
I am really proud to say that I paid a mere $34 for toys that originally would have cost $152!! (that's $118 in savings!!)
isn't that great?!?!
I think I'm set for fall birthdays and a few Christmas gifts as well.
I am totally excited. I don't run across bargains like that very often.
just wanted to share my good news.

For several days I have thought about blogging but nothing really comes to mind that I can write about.
I’m really not sure what we have been doing lately. The days are passing without many stories to relate.
Whenever I sit to blog... everything seems foggy in my head. So...

Some miscellaneous things:

The kids and I were able to go and visit our friends earlier this week. T had to fly out of town for work so our visit was extended for an extra day. It’s always nice to see regina and boys. Getting the four boys together is usually quite an experience.

The boys and I also started doing a “letter of the day” in order to refresh D’s mind for kindergarten and in hopes of preparing L for preschool. I’ve got flashcards that we post on a magnetic board and then we hang a picture that accompanies the letter and we spell the word with alphabet magnets. So far so good. We are currently on the letter F… but I couldn’t find any of our “F” magnets (they must be under the fridge)… so we couldn’t spell a word with magnets… bummer. I think I have plenty of Gs for tomorrow.
It’s interesting to see how many words we can come up with each day. We try to think of words while we are eating or playing with sidewalk chalk. D seems to be on a roll with it but L forgets things amazingly fast. Typical for a 3 year old, I guess.

My sis and husband will be packing a moving truck this weekend and I am planning to go down and help. It will be a nice little break from the mommy thing. I’ll leave the kids here with their dad.

Off to bed-

For those of you who checked in on Baby Jack (from our church) after one of my posts...
I have added the link to their family website in my margin. (Saville family)
Jack has since had complications, more surgeries, good days and scary days. He just returned home after a third and fourth surgery, and things seem to be going well the past few days.
so... catch up on their journal if you have the time.
It's amazing to see how God is working in, and through, this family and this special kid.
Remember them in your prayers as well!
thanks:-)

We went shopping for Kindergarten supplies today. Most things were very minor until I came to the glue stick line on the list. They want 12 Large glue sticks (.77oz). These jokers are $1.42 a pop! That’s just weird. I even called the school to make sure that 12 was the right number.
That’s about $17 worth of glue!! And if there are 20 kids in the class… that’s 240 sticks of glue!! And that total rings in at $340 of glue for a school year.
I still find it rather hard to believe.
The secretary at the school agreed that was a lot to ask for, up front, but she went to check on it. She confirmed that it really said 12 sticks. And she went on to say that they use a lot of glue in kindergarten.
Holy cow! What are they making? It seems as though they could glue the space shuttle together with 240 large glue sticks!!
I’m still pondering about buying those suckers. It just seems too weird.
I saw tons of smaller glue sticks in packages…. 6 for $1, etc. That seems more like it. Perhaps I’ll have to chat with the teacher at orientation…. I may just be a naïve parent but it just doesn’t feel right.
What do you think?

On a positive note:
My big guy picked out an X-man backpack (on sale!) and a camouflage lunch tote (on sale too!). Now he’s all set.

I think that the backpack will be big enough to carry the glue.

I’ve enjoyed being “SINGLE” the last few days!!
T left town on Tuesday for a business trip. We had some friends from L’burg come for a visit on Thursday morning and I sent the kids with them back to my parent’s house. My Mom and Dad agreed to watch the kids while T was gone, since I had to work a few evenings.
So….Thursday night I came home to an empty house! I got to scrapbook until I ran out of tape and then I watched late night talk shows till 2am!
Friday morning I slept until 11am!!! Yay!!
I pulled myself together and made it to a 1:45 showing of the Pirates 2 movie. It was very good. I just love Johnny Depp.
I got home around 5pm and proceeded to cut the grass. I was done with that at 7pm so I showered and put on my pjs. Just in time to eat some pizza in front of the TV!! WOW!!
Ahhh… the freedom!!

My sister reminded me that I have never been “on my own”. I lived with my parents until I got married to T. And we had kids shortly after.
Man…look at what I missed!!
I absolutely LOVED having some time to myself!!!
I don’t know what single people complain about. (unless they get lonely sometime).
The freedom is just amazing. It was just so cool not to worry about other folks and their schedules.
What a refreshing experience!!

My friend Cathy is coming to visit today and I’ll go to work again tonight. T will be home tonight too. The kids return tomorrow and we’ll have to go back to “playing house” again.
But I sure enjoyed my days of singleness!

Little L is somehow learning that being cute often lets one “off the hook”. I’m not sure how this has come about because his lovey-doveyness has always been appreciated but I didn’t think it let him get away with much. He’s a little rascal just like the older one and I try not to let his mushiness change how things go down around the house.

The boys had a rough afternoon with fighting, irritating each other, and me. I was giving a pre-lecture of what was expected as we visited the Taco Bell play place. After I stated my first expectation, L slyly says, “I love you mom”.
As if that were going to stop the lecture and we were all going to have a group hug?!?! Hmmm… what is he expecting here?
I did stop briefly for a giggle (to myself) and returned my love for him but then continued to talk about our evening.

Is it true that the cute kids always get the breaks?
When I taught preschool, those were the kids that annoyed me the most! I had an assistant teacher who drooled all over the cutsie kids and let them get away with murder. It really annoyed me and it encouraged me to give all of my attention to the ones that lacked some of that social pizzazz. I think it’s the cutsie ones that we should be looking out for! They seem to have something else up their sleeves.
Perhaps I am glad to have boys that don’t really fall under the “cutsie” meter. Usually the little girls are guilty of being so cute that they can do no wrong. As for my boys… They’ll have to live in the real world where people have to take responsibility for their actions.
I have no idea where I am going with these thoughts.
Just random wonderment of how this weird world works.

T and I have a bet going on.
We are going to see if he can finish the basement laundry room first, or if I can loose 15 pounds first.
I think it will be a close call.

I’ve put myself on a water diet. I know it sounds completely stupid. But, I haven’t been drinking enough water each day. So on top of my normal orange juice, etc I have been drinking a 2 Qt. pitcher of water every day. So far I’m feeling much better and full during the day. I’m hoping that it will cut back on my portion sizes.

In support of my water diet:
I was recently taught about “soft addictions” while watching 20/20. The doc who was talking gave examples of soft addictions such as biting fingernails, messiness, tardiness, and compulsive shopping. I think that my soft addiction must be food… I love it.
Anywho: To beat a soft addiction they say that you have to ADD another activity while SUBTRACTing amounts of the bad activity. So, in my case, I’m adding the water and subtracting the amount of food. It makes total sense to me. We’ll see if it works.

I’ll keep you posted with both of our challenges…

Imagine walking through the store and hearing:
“Attention Target guests- would everyone who shopped for curtains tonight please come to the front of the store- where I will personally break each and every one of your fingers. Thank you.”
I was REALLY close to making that announcement tonight.
I must have refolded and re-packaged every single curtain in that store tonight!! People can be so dumb!! Ahh!!

Here is a warning for all: DO NOT remove curtains from a package at a store. Or sheets, or blankets, or pillow cases, or shams, or socks, or underwear… you get the picture. It’s completely ignorant.
Thanks for letting me vent.

Night night.

I’m back from the beach and I’m finally getting back on track with emailing, blogging, etc.
It’s been great to read about what some of you have been doing over the past week. I was especially excited to read and find out that the triplets are boys!! That made my week.
The vacation was nice except for the fact that we passed around a stomach bug… starting with me on Sunday morning. I was back in the swing of things by Wednesday but the bug traveled to both of my kids, my niece, my mom and my sister. Being sick was totally not on our agenda for the week. Who would’ve thought!?!?

It was a relaxing week. We hung out around the beach house, played in the sand, “bobbed” on the waves, rode the ferry, visited the aquarium, watched movies and played lots of Scrabble (my favorite!). And we probably did lots of other stuff that I’m just forgetting right now. (I want to keep this brief.)
Overall it was a nice week away.

I was back at work last night after having to leave a 4th of July party, early. T and the kids stayed for fun and fireworks. This was the first 4th of July that I think I’ve ever missed. I heard lots of fireworks while I was working but that certainly doesn’t count. I sure hope that the holiday pay will make it worthwhile…. Haha!!

The week is winding down and things are falling into place for our beach trip.
I only worked two nights this week. I feel like the vacation has already started.

The kids have enjoyed vacation bible school this week. Tomorrow will be their final day.
I will spend that precious time sitting at the garage waiting for my van to get inspected. I plan to take a good book along and entertain myself.
Can anyone tell me why some places estimate the time for an inspection to be 45 minutes!?! Last year I sat at some place for almost two hours… WITH my kids!! I think they finally did the inspection when my head started spinning like the Exorcist gal.

I can remember when I was young and cute in L’burg… I’d drive up to a garage, they would inspect and I’d be on my way in about 5-10 minutes.
This place where we live is weird. Some things are just “off”. But, I’ll make the most of sitting and waiting. Perhaps I need to learn some patience.
Either way, I’ll enjoy the quiet time and the time ‘away from it all’.
Happy vacation.

So. A week has passed and I have neglected my blogging audience.
Not sure what to report today. I seem to be wasting perfectly kid free time… on the computer. Ugh.
The boys are in Bible school this week. This is the first year that both kids have been old enough to attend. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I LOVE having “big” boys.

Anywho. Last week was full of friends and fun. This past weekend, my bro-in-law and nephew came for a visit. My nephew stayed for a few days and went to Bible school too.
Today we are planning a water play day after bible school. I think there will be about 10 kids. We bought a Slip ‘N Slide yesterday and I’m planning to wear my kids out in order to have a super naptime this afternoon.

We have another new yard toy that makes kids tired.
T set up a trampoline one night while I was at work. ( a neighbor down the road gave it to T).
For future reference to all males : you should consult with your wife before you turn your back yard into a circus arena.
I really don’t like trampolines and I have really strict rules for my kids to abide by. They can only jump, one at a time, when an adult is present.
So- grandparents… don’t worry. (it's got the safety nets on the side too)
so far, so good.

We are counting down the days until our beach trip. Can’t wait!!

I’m raising a smart ass. (excuse my wording) He cracks me up.
I was asking the kids for their dirty clothes this morning (like I do EVERY morning before I put clothes in the washer) and I said… “bring me your pajamas”.
My eldest, brightest kid came into my room carrying ALL of his pjs from his pj drawer. Then he played dumb, with a real serious face, and said “mom…you said to bring our pjs”.
Funny, eh?

Customer: I’m looking for sheets.
Me: there are several aisles of sheets here.
Customer: they are brown sheets, maybe these… no this wasn’t the price.
Me: Did you see them in the advertisement?
Customer: Maybe they are over here.
Me: what exactly are you looking for?
Customer: (dumb look)
Me: Are you looking for a set of sheets or individual, fitted and flat?
Customer: they are brown. I am returning them. They are at guest services.
Me: So you need to have a match to the ones you are returning?
Customer: no, I’m returning them because they shrunk in the wash and they don’t fit my bed.
Me: so… you don’t have the original package and they sent you back to find similar sheets to refund your money. Was it a sheet set or did you buy each piece individually?
Customer: It’s just a flat and fitted. You can come to look at them… maybe that will save me time so I don’t look a lot. I should have brought them back here. They are wet.
Me: Wet? why are they wet?
Customer: I was trying to stretch them… to fit the bed.
Me: so you brought wet sheets to the store?…(?? look)… I’ll walk with you and see if the tag is on the sheets.
Customer: I don’t have the tags. That’s why I’m looking for them.
Me: I’m pretty sure that there will be a brand name on the actual sheet. Then we can find a matching set.
(We continue to walk to the front of the store where she retrieves brown, wet sheets from the guest service counter) (I immediately see a “Waverly” tag on the sheet.)
Me: They are Waverly.
Customer: Waverly?
Me: What size are they?
Customer: King
Me: okay. I know where these are. I’ll bring them right up.
Customer: No, I’ll go too. It’ll be good for us.
Me: okay. (??)
(we walk back to the sheet section and I retrieve the Sheet SET that matches)
Me: This is a set. So if you don’t have the pillow cases, it’s no good.
Customer: oh, I’ve got them in the car. These are the sheets?
Me: Yes, they match. see? (as I point to the wet ones that she is holding) They only come in a set.
Customer: thank you so much for your help. Now you can walk way back over there where you were working.
Me: No problem. That’s what I’m here for.

Me : (still thinking): I wanted to ask if she put those wet sheets on her bed when she was stretching them to make them fit? And why would you bring wet sheets to a store? And why would you leave the wet pillow cases in the car??
Seems like a total “return scam” to me. Or else she was drunk. I have never had such a dumbing conversation with a customer. I gave her plenty of “what the crap?!” looks. Did she know how dumb she appeared to be??
But…That was probably her plan….

The days are passing and I’m not blogging. There must be lots of exciting stuff happening, right?
Well, this past weekend I had a slumber party!! I had four great friends join me for a girl’s night. (I sent the hubby and kids to L’burg).
We had a pizza dinner, chatted, played games, and laughed A LOT. It was a much-needed celebration and a refreshing time to be ourselves.
It was a cool girl’s weekend.

The hubby and kids returned on Sunday, in time for the Baptism of our family friend, Sarah. The Baptism was held at another friend’s pool and I was semi “in charge” of the refreshments. The baptism was very nice and everyone had a nice time celebrating Sarah’s decision to follow Christ.
It was a superb weekend.

Today, we took the cat to the vet for shots. He seemed fine until the vet arrived and started to fool with him. She wasn’t very gentle with him… and I have never seen him SO angry before. He was hissing and drooling on the table like some kind of rabid animal. Kind of humorous, I think. Luckily he was back to his cat-dog self again when we got home. Silly animal.

Today was my birthday. I now only have one year left to be in my 20s.
I was serenaded quite a bit.
Our good family friends sang to me on the phone this morning, my best buddy sang to me via email, my kids and hubby sang tonight,
and I’m sorry that I missed the annual song from my Dad. (He and my other buddy left phone messages today but I didn’t get to call them back.)
It was nice to be the center of a sing along for the day.

T and the kids surprised me with a cake that they made. (I wasn’t aware that T had gone to the store and was prepared to make a cake.) L woke me up bright and early this morning to show me the cake and cards that they prepared. I sure would have enjoyed sleeping until 9am on my birthday but it was great (I think) to be up at 7:10am and see the cutsie smile on their faces.
We had a good day.

We had an awesome weekend.
Our small group went camping on Saturday night. One of the families is an “owner” at a local resort area so we got to camp in luxury. There is a place for tent camping that felt pretty remote but still close enough to a bathhouse. That was nice.
We rode in on Saturday afternoon and set up our tents. Our friends, that are a family of 6, had an enormous new tent that T helped put up. We laughed about the giganticness of it while his was pitching it but then realized how cool it was… and how big and useful it was for a large family. Meanwhile our little tent was wall-to-wall bed since I had brought along our queen air mattress and a twin. I was determined to be comfortable this go round.
We set up camp (Well, T did most of the work), started a fire, had dinner, ate S’mores, played a game of baseball, etc. The kids loved exploring in the camp area and romping around.
Night fell and it was time for bed. L got extremely terrified of a few bugs that were crawling on the outside of the tent… thanks to D who exclaimed that beetles bite. Ugh.
We were all comfy on our air mattresses until the chill settled. At that point, all four of us snuggled together in a huge mass to stay warm. T took the brunt of the squish, I think.
Morning rolled around and we woke to a breakfast of bacon, eggs and donuts. We sat by the fire for a while and then headed to a playground area. After that, we headed to the pool. Nice things for roughing it, eh?
We left early afternoon and went home. The kids got to nap for about an hour before we yanked them out of bed to attend an evening church service and potluck.
Busy, busy day, but fun. We all slept well last night. And I convinced myself that I was due for that two-hour nap this afternoon too.
I’m ready for work tonight-

The first of June has always felt like an official start to summer for me. I can remember back in elementary school… when June arrived we anxiously started counting the days until summer break. And my birthday always fell into the excitement of it all. Now that I’m grown the birthday and school excitement is a bit subdued but I still LOVE the summer feeling that accompanies the lingering smell of sunscreen and the sunkist feel of being outside for a bit too long.
Ahhh… the lazy days of summer have arrived!!

Today was our first official water day. Those of you who know me, know that I am a sucker for “water play days” for my kids. It’s kind of a big to-do around here. I am keeping it simple this year. Today our neighbor (whom I now affectionately call “the daughter I never had”) came over and I hooked up the water slide. The kids had a blast!

On a completely unrelated side note: My mom has been in the hospital for a few days now. She is suffering from Bacterial Meningitis!! Isn’t that horrible?! I think it can easily be a life-threatening thing but it sounds like they caught it early enough. They are pumping her full of antibiotics and they hope she’ll be home by the weekend with her own personal IV to administer the medicine.
Please pray for a quick recovery for her.
I’m counting the days to our family beach trip and I hope that she has recovered fully by then. (about three more weeks!)

A recap of our weekend for those of you who care:

-Friday night we had small group. The men met at our house and me and one other gal met at her house. The rowdy kids stayed with the men. Good time for us ladies.

-Saturday we met my bro-in-law and nephew at a campsite. They were staying in the middle of nowhere (near a trailhead of the Appalachian Trail). We stayed the afternoon, played, ate dinner (steak, veggies, corn, hotdogs and chips),we met some hikers, visited the water hole, etc. The boys even got to dig a hole to poop in. Lots of fun. We didn’t spend the night because we had plans for Sunday.

-Sunday we went to church. We watched some kids in the afternoon and evening. T washed the van, and made it sparkle. All of the kids were attacked by the water hose.
Another fun time.

Monday I went grocery shopping, T cleaned the inside of our van. (It looks fabulous). And we went to a cookout with our lovely friends who live an hour down the road. We enjoyed a few more hotdogs, hamburgers, baked beans, pasta salad, chips and dip!
Another fun time.

It was a great holiday weekend!
Back to normal today. We visited the library and had a picnic at the park with our neighbor lady and her daughter.
I’m back to work tonight.

I have recently obtained new insurance through my work and I was expecting that I would need to switch the boys over to another pediatrician. I finally worked up the courage to research this matter and was thrilled to see our Doctor on the list of providers!! Yay! What a relief that I didn’t have to go through the hassle of changing things over and finding another doctor.
Right now, their doc is youngish and very hip. He wears neat little bow ties. I like him.
Grant it, we’ve only been two times since we moved here… for well child check-ups. But if my kids get sick, I want them to see him!
I’m getting ready to make appointments for school physicals. I’m glad that I’ll only need to make one call and be done with it.
Whew.
Now I can enjoy my summer. hehe

First of all: D had a super graduation program at preschool today followed by lunch. He looked rather cute in his cap and gown. He did great singing the songs, he received his ‘diploma’, and stated that he wanted to be an “army man” when he grows up. I thought he was pretty impressive since many of the other boys wanted to be plumbers, electricians, cowboys, and racecar drivers.
All in all, a precious time for my little guy. It’s neat to think he’ll be heading to Kindergarten in just a few months.
Great memories, eh?!
But here’s the disappointing part-- My camera is broken and T was going to bring his work camera to take pictures. Turns out that T was held up on a conference call at work and he missed all of the above!! I won’t have any pics for my scrapbook (I was really looking forward to having a preschool page in there) and I don’t have any way to formally remember this cute occasion. Not cool.

Secondly: We “inherited” a recliner chair from my grandmother’s house and it is now officially called the “stinky chair”. Quite possibly the chair was musty from sitting in an unoccupied house for so long… I dunno. I have tried several things to de-smell it. Nothing worked.
I was pretty excited to have an extra seat in our family room and now it looks like the chair will be taking a trip to the dump on Saturday. What a shame.

Two perfectly fine things have gone sour this week.
I will just roll with the punches and carry on with life.
Hopefully there will be better luck next week.

I have always stuck to the thought that using plastics in a microwave is probably what caused cancer. And probably just the microwaves themselves.
More recently I have come across emails that support the info about plastics that are heated or frozen. When the plastic container, or plastic wrap is heated, it releases some kind of chemical that is harmful.
T has started to become convinced and has been taking his lunch leftovers in glass and ceramic dishes. Good for him.

I ran across another article today at work. I’ll print it just for fun:

Is Plastic Affecting Our Fertility?

The findings: Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical in plastics that mimics estrogen, causes health problems in animals at far lower doses than most people are exposed to every day.
What you need to know: Polycarbonate, the hard plastic that contains BPA, is found in many products, including baby bottles and the inside coating of food cans. Heating and repeated washing can cause leaching, and significant levels of the chemical have been measured in humans. Of the 115 animal studies reviewed in a recent Environmental Health Perspective article, 94 showed that even small amounts of BPA can cause infertility problems, hyperactivity, altered immune function, and early sexual maturation. Plastics makers maintain their products are safe (of the 11 industry-sponsored studies, none found evidence of harm), but there are efforts to ban BPA from children’s goods. Frederick vom Saal, PhD, the paper’s lead author, calls BPA “ a poster chemical for ADHD” and recommends avoiding foods sterilized in the can, such as tomatoes (“massive amounts of BPA,” he says). Also be cautious using clear plastic baby bottles- find out more at environmentcalifornia.org.

I checked out the website. I put the word “plastic” in the search area and several articles are there.
This is just another interesting thing to think about.
I’m sure that there are a ton of things to find, if I took the time to Google it. I have a feeling that they will link lots of diseases to this type of stuff in the future. Think about it… we are a generation that has been raised on a ton of man made chemicals.

Did you know that some folks are already finding the faults in the Splenda product?? I must I must say that I haven’t bought Splenda because I figured that they would find it faulty just like Nutrasweet and Aspartame. You just can’t go around altering things with chemicals and call it healthy.
This is kind of turning into my soapbox.

I came in contact with a lady tonight who refuses to buy anything that is Made in China.
She was at Target looking for shoes for a wedding, a little box, and a little pillow for the ring bearer. She noted that all of those items were made in China and that she’d have to look elsewhere.
(Target has cute wedding items in the DOLLAR spot right now… who could pass that up!?!)
She had made the decision to boycott China made items sometime back in the 70s. I asked her if she ever has any luck with it. She says that she does a lot of thrift store shopping (which I wondered how she knows where that stuff is made) and she also shops at some store that sells things made in other countries with good labor practices. (??)

Hmmm.

What a difficult thing to stick with. And for what? I personally don’t see how that type of conviction could save the world. It just sounds a bit anal to me.
(This encounter was also a gentle reminder of the type of people that live in this area.)

I have never even looked to see where things were made-- so I continued working tonight and checking the products that I dealt with.
99% of all the products were made in China. A few others were made in Pakistan and India (nice sheets and bedding).
I guess I’ve never paid attention to that before.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I’d like to think that we, as snotty, rich Americans, are employing half of the rest of the world.
How do the poor folks in China feel about making fancy things for us Americans?? Something to think about… but I certainly wouldn’t change my purchasing habits.

My friend, Kelly, and I were just discussing the other day how “no news is good news”. I guess that’s why I haven’t been blogging too much lately. There’s nothing dreadfully new to report. And that’s great news for me!! My mind has been pretty at ease and things are going well. I’m glad that the month of May has been pretty steady and emotionally secure.

My poor folks have been working a ton this month in preparation for a sale at my grandmother’s house. We had a chance to walk through and “inherit” a few items. The rest was up for sale today.
I walked through my grandmother’s house on thursday and it was really difficult to see all of her possessions laid out and priced for sale. All of the things that I can remember her using each day…I never knew that items could hold so many memories. I know it was extremely difficult for my parents and aunt to sort through it all. I’m anxious to hear how the sale went. I hope that they can begin to sort through their emotions once things settle down again.
I still can’t believe that Froggie is gone.

(So much for my “emotionally secure” statement.)

On a brighter note: T gave me a gift certificate to Lowes for Mother’s Day.
But it wasn’t for power tools!!
We went to Lowes today and bought flowers and bushes for the yard! I worked this afternoon at planting them.
I hope that it will brighten up our little area for the summer.

Things have been calm around our house for a couple of days. I like to remember, “God will only give us what we can handle”.
I assume that He thought I needed a few days to recover from the ‘neighborhood kid breakdown’.

Today I was the assisting parent at D’s school. It’s always an easy job in which I find myself yawning a lot.
I was able to put my creative genius to work in decorating a sign for the graduation day.

Yes, believe it or not… these guys will have a formal graduation next week.
Today - I got to watch as they tried on their gowns, got fitted for paper hats, and practice the program. At first I thought the idea of a graduation was entirely dumb but I think that it will somehow turn out pretty darn cute.
It’s neat to see my kid close one small chapter in his book and head toward bigger things. It’s one of those rewarding parent moments. I’m looking forward to lots more in the future… I’m sure that this is just a taste of what’s to come.

I lost my cool today when the neighborhood kids wandered into my neighbors yard. The neighbors next door are an older couple who don’t necessarily want kids around. The couple had given my kids permission to ride their bikes in their paved driveway.
But…
It’s a blessing and a curse (probably more of a curse) that the other neighborhood kids follow my kids around like puppies. As soon as my kids step out of doors, the other kids appear as if they had been watching our doors with their binoculars. (I’ve even had to make a sign to keep them from knocking on our door during naptime!!)
So on several occasions the other kids have shown up and want to play in the driveway with my kids. (Keep in mind that one boy next door doesn’t know how to use a talking voice. Everything he says is a yell.) So everything results in a loud ruckus that I have to break up and send to my backyard.
This afternoon I asked my kids to stay in our yard with their friends but D came up to ride his bike. Another little girl followed and started meandering through the neighbor’s yard and disturbing the yard decorations. I immediately sent the kids back into our fence but the neighbor lady came out and had a few words with me. She voiced several “concerns” that I confirmed as well.
After that I was pretty ticked off, embarrassed by my own kids, and the neighbor kids and felt frustrated with our whole living arrangement.
I sat all the kids down and made a new rule that no one was allowed in the neighbors yard or driveway. I’m going to have to bust my rear to enforce this new rule, especially with my own kids, but I hope it becomes a quick habit for them.

I know you’re thinking that the neighbors yard is an obvious boundary that shouldn’t have been crossed but it just slowly happened… inch by inch until it became a larger problem. Everything was fine with my two kids but when the group is larger… it’s just too much.

I know you’re also thinking, “where are these kid’s parents?!”. I wonder the same thing.
I know that one set live next door and it’s fine for their kids to be over. But the other two live behind us somewhere. It’s amazing to me that they let the kids wander around!!
(I have an adult friend who has had similar situations in her neighborhood. She says that I need to look at it as a ministry. You never know what kind of impact you can have on a child’s life). So for now I can offer them a safe place to play and to be among friends.

Some days I really struggle with all of our new “friends” that come to play. I think as long as they stay in our yard I’ll be fine. I would much rather have my kids in my yard and know what they are doing. It’s a safe environment that I am happy to share with others as long as they behave. We already have certain rules that work well with the group. (ex: if anyone cries, fights, or whines… they have to go home). For the most part, everyone plays very well together and they have a good time.
I know that I should just chill and see how things go over the next few months. I think the process of making the boundaries and setting the rules will be the hardest part. We’ve never had to deal with groups like this before and I’m sure it’s preparing us for when our kids go to school and become more social beings. I know that problems with neighborhood kids will be low on our list as our kids get older. It’s just a stepping stone and a small problem-solving issue that will hopefully prepare us for future social encounters with our kids.

Whew.

It has been confirmed that kids grow up so quickly. I’ve always heard that but now I’m starting to realize it. It seems like they hit a certain point and then just take off!

I was reminded of this today as I watched D ride his bike without training wheels.
Just like that.
T took off the training wheels a few days ago. And today, D was able to take his bike to “bike day” at school and ride around like a pro.
How’d that happen so easily? It seemed like I just blinked and now he rides a bike. I know it’s a small step for boyhood but it’s a big step for me to see my baby do “big kid” things. It seems that the ‘learning to ride a bike’ milestone just slipped by, with no effort on my part. (T practiced with him for a little but D caught on really quick).

I’m just really proud at how quickly D can pick up on new skills.
(Did I ever mention that he read a book about how to tie shoes, once, and then has tied his own shoes ever since??)

I know I probably won’t be as fortunate with the younger kid (because God made each kid special) but I’m certainly counting my blessings and I’m just so super proud of my big guy.

My sis finally had that baby!
I am now the proud aunt of a new baby boy!
Ethan Michael was born yesterday at 5:10pm. He weighs 9 lbs. 12 oz and is 21.5 inches long.
I'm looking forward to meeting him... hopefully this weekend!!
Congrats to the new family of four!

I must apologize to my readers. I have blogged twice about the lack of birthdays in May and have been reminded twice that my Bro-in-law has a May birthday.
Sorry Jim! I totally forgot to transfer birthdays onto my new calendar and I haven't known Jim long enough to remember on my own.
Today, I marked his bday on my calendar, in ink!! It will be remembered from here on out.
:-)

A few years ago I realized that the month of May lacked reasons for our family to celebrate. All major holidays are in other months and there were no birthdays that would be cause for a cake.
So... I created a birthday for our cat, Mr. Q.
May 7th is "Mr. Q's birthday observed".

Don't get me wrong and label me on of "those people"....
Personally, I can't stand people who treat their pets like people and throw birthday parties and give gifts. what weenies!

But!!! I needed reason to celebrate so the birthday plans were developed.
Today the kids and I made little cupcakes and tomorrow we are observing the occassion by eating out at Red Lobster.
Mr. Q sure wishes that he could have shrimpys (as my kids call them).
But alas, he is not a person and he can not celebrate as we will.

I was able to buy him a nice can of cat food and a cat toy.
I didn't want to leave him out completely :)

Next year Mr. Q will get to share his birthday month with my new niece or nephew. We'll have two reasons to have cake!!

My sister sent me this great article today:

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060503091309990011

Also check out this link....

http://www.mom.salary.com

I suppose that in the worlds view, I am technically not a stay at home mom. (People at work refuse to call me that since I work there part time.)
But if we must be really techincal about it... I stay home "full time" with the kids and then I work "part time" when they are sleeping.
I think that I'm doing pretty well to manage both!

We were out late last night at a baseball game and I am letting D sleep in this morning.
Sounds nice, right?
But he is missing preschool!! I’m starting to feel guilty about this.
I sure hope I’m not setting the stage for all future school mornings. I’m trying to tell myself that it’s just preschool… no huge commitments yet. It’s a different field than elementary school, right?
Can I just let it slide today??
I’ll have to have a big talk about school attendance and make it clear that it’s unacceptable to miss Kindergarten days. I hope that will cut it.
What do you guys think? Have I totally ruined my hope for a perfect attendance kid?
I’m telling myself that it’s okay… this one time.

My lovely sister was due to have a baby today.
But her nutso (is that really a word?) husband has been expecting this kid for several weeks. She's been having contractions for a while now and he thinks that she'll drop the baby at any second.
Feel free to check out his blog http://tubbyrower.blogspot.com and see how his thoughts have developed over the past month :)

(casey, you crack me up... don't be offended that I'm writing about you!) ;0)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy so anxious for a baby to be born. And I just can’t imagine how my sister has held on to her sanity for so long. I think that Casey even suggested that Sherry could control when the kid came out. That's probably right. I'm sure that sherry's just holding the baby in to annoy her hubby.

I smile every time I think of those two.
I'm looking forward to meeting my new niece, or nephew. (hopefully a nephew) ;) but a niece is okay too.
I'm anxious for the call... but probably not as anxious as Casey! hee hee
I'm praying for you guys!

Upon inspecting a coffee machine and filters that are in their original boxes…

Daniel says to Lucas, “ You put coffee salt in, and you put it in the oven, and it comes out like that." (pointing to the picture of the coffee pot with freshly brewed coffee in it).

That made me smile big today.

Our swing set is officially up and running. This fine day comes after several weeks of waiting. T has set the posts in about 400 pounds of concrete. Believe it or not, the set still shakes a little when the heafty kids from next door are on it. The weight limit per person is supposed to be 105 pounds. (the 7 year old from next door is probably close to the limit) so we'll see just how long this equipment will last before the boys and their friends destroy it. It looks pretty sturdy for now. The kids are having a blast with it.
T and I are in the process of coming up with rules for the swing set. I started a pretty good list as I watched the kids today.
So far... no broken bones. You can keep these kids in your daily prayers :-)