Daily Dose of Dottie

Rambling Part II

2011-02-11T22:55:00.004-06:00

Day 2 of my trying to write at least for a little bit to get back into the groove of writing. I sit here trying to think of something funny or moving to write about but I am drawing a blank. So basically, more rambling.

Handy Hubby is in Mexico for work training and I miss him like mad. I have drowned my sorrows in a lazy day of wallowing in endless episodes of TLC drama. "Say Yes To the Dress", "What Not To Wear", "Four Weddings" and "Cake Boss". The kids and I gorged ourselves shamelessly on Dexter BBQ. It's a Southeast Missouri thing and it is TO.DIE.FOR! Tonight I have indulged in a glass of wine and am watching the depressing stories on the ID channel. Goes along with my melancholy mood, I suppose.

I do have a good book to read so will settle in with that in a bit. Haven't had the chance to really read in quite a while. It is just one of the perks of being at Mom's where my to do list just doesn't exist, time to watch mindless television and read. Mom has my grandparent's house now and I sleep in the room that I always slept in as a child. I remember curling up in here when I was just a kid and reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open. Being back here is like enjoying good southern comfort food. Speaking of which, I think there is still a rib or two in the fridge and everyone else is asleep.....tempting!

Today I am thankful for:
1. My hubby made it safely to his destination.
2. Dexter BBQ ribs
3. A good glass of wine
4. My two crazy Boxer babies
5. The comfort of my old room at Grandma (now Mom's) house.

Recap Rambling

2011-02-10T19:38:00.002-06:00

I can't even remember the last time I visited this blog, let alone wrote a post. I miss it, I miss the outlet that it provided.

To recap since it has been so long...

Lillianne is loving kindergarten, Evan is doing well with his homeschooling, Layne is looking forward to 8th graduation and my oldest baby girl, Morgan will be graduating high school in May. Time goes by so quickly, I feel I haven't had the chance to catch my breath.

We do have soccer season starting soon and I am looking forward to cheering for Lillianne in her first year of soccer and for Morgan in her final year of high school soccer. I hope she will play college ball but we will see what the season and her choices bring. The boys don't have any interest in it this year but Layne tells me that he will play high school soccer next year. (Did I just say Layne and high school in the same sentence...surely not)

Handy Hubby has been busy with work and completed our addition this fall. This after his fall from our roof, helicopter flight from our field and his aortic tear repair. In a year I had followed two helicopters to two different hospitals. One for my daughter and one for my husband and thank God the outcome for both ended positively. I do believe that I lost a few years off of my existance due to the stress and worry.

I'm struggling with the decision to reopen The Lily Pad. Do I open in a brick and mortar location or work strictly online. I am praying for guidance and hope that I soon find some clarity. I miss my brick and mortar store and I miss my customers/friends but the convenience of working online from home is so very appealing.

I'm rambling, trying to find my writing groove...random thoughts on virtual paper. My sister envouraged me to write just 15 minutes a day until I was inspired or hit my stride again. So thus...my 15 minutes. If you have read this recap/rambling then I thank you for sticking with me. My posts may seem mundane over the next bit but I am trying out the 15 minute technique and I will probably ramble. A. Lot! :)

In the spirit of my older posts I am going to ressurect my 5 things that I am thankful for.

1. Kurt (Handy Hubby)
2. Morgan Elizabeth
3. Layne Michael
4. Evan William
5. Lillianne Grace

2009-08-02T17:02:00.003-05:00

I'm supposed to be nursing this migraine which has now entered it's second day of physical torture but I am bored. There is only so much resting I can do.

Unfortunately I just wasted about an hour and a half watching "He's Just Not That In To You". Well, I was just not in to that movie. I found it boring and predictable.

I once had some Einstein whom shall remain nameless tell me that my migraines were God's way of punishing me. Brilliant, aren't they. Good thing I don't subscribe to their religion.....the Good Book a.k.a. BIBLE tells me that our Lord is a loving, compassionate and forgiving God. He doesn't strike folks down with migraines for not conforming to family members ideas of what they should be or do. But I digress.....to step a way from religion or at least Christianity a bit.......to that Einstein....KARMA is a bitch, ain't it.

Lillianne and the boys go to yard sales yesterday with my mother in law. Each comes home with their loot (a.k.a. more crap to fill my house up). Lillianne struck a gold mine in Barbies and clothes at some sale. She didn't even have to pay for it. The lady thought she was so cute, told her so and gave her this huge zippered, comforter bag full of Barbie dolls and clothes. How fun, I love playing Barbies with my girls. Morgan of course outgrew it years and years ago so I am excited that Lillianne is entering the Barbie phase. Another lover of Barbies in my house.....Diesel. That crazy dog was just as excited about digging thru that bag as Lilli was. I had to have her zipper it shut when she left the room because he would start rooting thru the bag and haul off his favorite to keep under the bed. It is actually rather cute but I am afraid Lilli will be left without any Barbies if Diesel has free reign over her bag. LOL He doesn't chew them, just collects them and keeps them in a pile. He is odd.

I am sad to say that both of our bottle fed kittens have died. I don't think that there was anything we could do for them. I think that they were simply too young to survive without their Momma and she just went missing. We think that she was either taken by an owl that lives in the barn where she had the babies or gotten by a coyote. The kids have taken it pretty well, part of growing up in the country I guess but they are still sad. Hard lessons to learn sometimes.

I am going to go try to read, if I can see to do so with this migraine. I am medicated so maybe that will buy me some time.

2009-07-31T23:59:00.004-05:00

Another birthday almost come and gone....they sure aren't as exciting as they used to be but I can be glad that I am still having them, I guess.

It's been a good day. Yesterday evening Layne gave me a Hallmark card and a gift that he had picked out and bought using his own money, not Dad's. The gift was a "Thank You Mom" poem that is in a frame to be displayed. What a sweet boy! My Momma sent me three Longaberger baskets, love them.....my in laws gave me money and Kurt stuffed a beautiful card with cash that is to be "spent only on myself for a shopping spree". I love him.

Hubby took the day off and the kids let me sleep in, I honestly slept off and on most of the morning because I hadn't slept much the night before. Lillianne kept sneaking in to whipser "Happy Birthday Mommy" in my ear every now and then, even giving me light kisses. Morgan tried to get everyone to let me sleep as long as possible because for a birthday suprise she was rearranging and deep cleaning my living room. It looks lovely and that is a great gift from a great daughter! Evan brought me a huge glass of Diet Coke, filled to the brim with my "special ice" (Sonic Ice...yes, they sell it in the bag!!!!) that I keep out in the garage freezer every now and then. He usually greets me in the morning with a Diet Coke (great kid, isn't he) but this morning it was extra special with the special ice. I truly am blessed what the greatest kids!

The kids are all spending the night at their grandparents and Kurt offered to take me anywhere I wanted to go for dinner. My choice....I sent him out for Mexican and some movies. Perfect night!

Mom texted me at midnight (I know, isn't it weird yet great that my Mom texts!) to wish me a Happy Birthday and to tell me that she loves me. I know the day is a bitter sweet one for her since it has been 3 years to the day since Daddy died. Without thinking, I was doing the exact same thing last night as I was three years ago. I was sitting in my chair, with my puppy curled up by my feet, reading. I remember three years ago the phone ringing at 12:30 and I wondered who would be calling so late. It was Mom telling me they were on the way to the hospital, he was already gone but she didn't tell me that then. It made me feel special that last night, right at midnight she texted me. She let me know that the day still is special.

Talk about birthdays, I was listening to Morgan and Lillianne talk this afternoon and Lillianne was asking Morgan what kind of birthday she was going to have. Morgan laughed and told her you don't have themed birthday parties when you turn 17. OH.....MY......GOD..............17!!! My heart broke a little (ok, a lot) when the reality of my first baby girl being 17 in weeks hit. I don't care what she says, I am throwing her a Barney party. I think I will even torture her with the hours upon hours of Barney tapes that I used to sit thru with her. Truthfully, I would give anything to go back to sitting on that couch, snuggling down and watching Barney with my sweet girl.

It's been a blessed and great birthday....g'night.

2009-07-29T23:23:00.000-05:00

Again, it has certainly been awhile.

Summer has been, well.....summer. The kids have been home and that has included camps, friends, trips here and there and one very tired Momma.

Spent an incredible week and a half at the lake over the fourth of July and the days following. We could be as lazy as we wanted to be or as busy as we wanted to be. We had Hubby's parents, sister, aunt and our nephew over for the 4th. We took them to see the fireworks, unfortunately we weren't able to go by boat this year due to on and off again rain showers but it dried up enough to get in a nice show at one of the marinas. We were able to BBQ and boat so it was perfect. Took Evan to the water park for his 10th birthday. I can't believe that kid is 10! He is and will forever be my little man. I hated to come home, still thinking about going back over for for another week before school starts again. It is coming up soon.

Layne spent several weeks in Florida with his MeMaw and had a blast. I swear, the kid looked like he had grown a foot while he was gone. I missed him terribly but he had fun and Evan was so very glad to see him when he came back.

Morgan is all recovered (Thank the GOOD LORD ABOVE) from her car accident. That one took a few years off of my life. We were able to find her another car that is identical to the one that she had but has less mileage. She was so thrilled b/c she was so worried about her little car and we felt so blessed that we were able to get it for her. She played quite a bit of soccer on a league this summer and had some fantastic games. She also has been working part time but they can't give her the hours that she wants so is actively looking for something else. I guess she has gotten a taste of making her own money and likes it! LOL Of course, there is that insurance bill that rolls around and got a little bigger with the accident since they couldn't track down the driver that ran her off of the road.

Lillianne is Lillianne! She is pure joy and pure energy combined! We were able to spend some time with Kurt's sister and her family while they were visiting this last week. Lillianne and Ellen are close in age and make the best of friends. They were non stop giggles the whole time they were together. I was tucking Lilli in one night after she had spent the day with Ellen and she said to me "Mommy, I am soooo lucky to have cousins!". How precious she is, full of love and joy.

You wonder when in life one starts to become a little jaded. Where outside forces start to creep in and show you the ugliness of the world? What unhappiness, jealousy and bitterness can do to some people? I pray that it never creeps into her sweet life, I pray that she only knows joy and thankfulness, always.

Kurt stays busy with work and is grateful to have it in an economy when so many do not. We are thankful and do not take it for granted. He has a long list of "Honey Do's" around here and is pretty good at getting to them. He has been extra good about helping me and ever so tolerant since there have been some limitations in what I can do with my hip and everything acting up. I can be grateful that he has taken that "in sickness and in health" thing seriously. Marriage isn't always easy but I am ever so grateful for the one that we have made together. I am blessed. I have everything that I need right here at home and I am content.

Me, I am hanging in. Lots of pain, most of the time. I have good days and bad days but again, I am blessed to be alive and I am blessed to be walking. I hate to complain because then I feel like I am not appreciating those blessings. I have had a ton of tests and am going for more. Yes, replacement of the hip/hips are in my future, I am just going to have to work with my doctors on a time line since the replacements don't last forever and I am really not that old. They are running tests for MS because apparantly I have some sort of hyper reflex thing going on that can be indicitive but I am not going to go there with my thoughts. The fibromyalgia thing I could accept but not the MS. I think that it is just the fact that serious pain causes you all kinds of problems and that is that. You feel like hell....I have other words that better describe it but I'll be kind. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia years ago, they tested for MS then and it was negative. Of course living in podunkville, if you tell someone you've been tested then they tell everyone that you say you have it. Gah....brains of gnats but I digress....This time again I am being tested but it is going to come back negative....positive thinking. Don't know that I buy into the Fibromyalgia deal either, I think it is just chronic, degenerative pain. Period...

I've got lots of post ideas rolling around in my head and will get to them over the next few days, weeks or whatever. I just wanted to update what has been going on because I like to use this as a diary of my family of sorts. So if you read it because you care about me and my family or if you are just one of those nosy, busybodies (you know who you are...) happy reading and I'll be back another day.

Today I am thankful for:
1. The man that is sleeping in my bed who calls himself my husband and shows me everyday how much he loves me.

2. My beautiful, healthy children.

3. A loving, forgiving and almighty Savior.

4. My extended family

5. Honestly, today.....pain medication!

Layne Michael

2009-06-20T03:21:00.000-05:00

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY LAYNE MICHAEL!!!!!!!!!!

I know it is is a few hours after midnight but this is the time that I have finally found to sit down and write it down. I have been too busy today celebrating with you and enjoying your company to let the rest of the world know that it is the birthday of one of the BEST son's in the whole world.

I can't believe that you are 13. A teenager.....

I try to always let you know how proud I am of you and at this age, it pretty much embarrasses you most of the time but I am going to write it down so that one day, you might visit this site and read what was in and on my heart on the day that you edged even closer to becoming a man.

You are so bright, your intelligence amazes me. You heart is so tender and so full of compassion, you are a joy to everyone that knows you. You often are wise beyond your young years.
If I am sad for some reason, you become sad with me and take the time out of being a kid to comfort me and make me smile again.

You were pure joy to me from the moment that the nurse put you in my arms. Pure love and pure joy!

Yes, you are a young teenager, young boy and can try my patience as you spread your wings and test your limits but I understand that is all part of your growing up process and I will love you thru it, guide you when you might get lost, fight battles with you when you can't do it alone.....we will make this journey together as much as you will allow me to be there with and for you. I will always support you in who you are, who you may become and love you always.

You are a true gift my baby boy ( I can still call you that even though you are an official teen....b/c you are and always will be )

Love always,
Mama

Really>

2009-06-16T17:41:00.001-05:00

Weeding

2009-05-31T02:14:00.000-05:00

So it is 2 AM, Diesel and I are both having a sleepless night. This one is my fourth in a row which I am attributing to the stopping of one medicine and the beginning of another. Diesel's problem, I am not sure... He probably just senses that his Momma is awake and he might just be afraid that he will miss something. That something probably being a piece of cheese. (a story for another day)

I just let him out to "use the facilities" and noticed a newly sprung patch of weeds in my flower bed. Totally out of character, I weed while I wait. I do not care for gardening, it holds NO interest for me whatsoever. My brain tries to tell me it is because it just causes my body pain, the bending and the stooping but I know it is just simply because I find it tedious and well, just boring. Evan is the grower of all things green around here, he gets that from his Daddy. Both are well on their way to a successful vegetable garden here and Evan would love to spend his allowance at the flower/garden shop.

So why am I weeding a flower bed at 2 AM? Metaphorically I guess one could say I felt the need to remove the choking weeds from my space, from my life. Weeds that stifle the new growth, weeds that try to steal the beauty of my life. Weeds that at times seemed to be so out of control that they might steal the best parts of my garden, my life. It was at 2 AM that it was abundantly clear how ridiculous it was that I was letting these weeds even have a small space in my garden or in my life. In the shimmer of the moonlight, their true purpose was revealed. The ugliness of their purpose, to steal one's beauty, to steal one's peace and joy. Weeds can be deceiving, they may bloom and have a moment in the sunshine but their true purpose of destruction to both themselves and others is eventually made known. They lose their power when we yank those weeds up. When we choose to have faith and know the strength that we have in God's love.

I did a heck of a job on my flower bed, I weeded my garden and my heart. How fruitful it was.

Reaping what you sow.....

2009-05-30T01:21:00.000-05:00

" . . they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same." (Job 4:8 KJV)

This verse or the easily understood version of it, "You reap what you sow", has oddly given me both peace and comfort over the last couple of weeks.

There are those that are so willing to hurt others without thought to the eventual outcome. Having an unsettled and darkened heart causes one to ignore the seeds that they sow because they are blinded by their self righteousness. When harvest time comes and it is time to reap the harvest, it will be as dark and unsettled as the sown seed. One must then live with the harvest such that it is.

Addiction

2009-03-25T23:16:00.000-05:00

I am addicted....completely and utterly addicted. Maybe I should be ashamed, maybe I need a group meeting, an intervention.

It isn't drugs, it isn't alcohol, it isn't shoes or Coach bags (although I wouldn't say no thank you to a new addition to my little collection). It is my Blackberry! I love this thing, it goes every where with me, always by my side. It keeps me in touch with those that are important to me, let's me tether my laptop to it, I get the internet anywhere I am,it sleeps under my pillow and acts as my alarm clock in the morning....and tonight...tonight I realize that I can BLOG from my little addiction! Too fun!

Now if it would just do the dishes.....

Unexpected Gifts

2009-03-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger".

That seems to be the motto that life has adopted for me lately. I seem to have had no say in the adoption of that motto. No vote, no papers to sign...just adopted.

I knew that one day I would be facing choices about my health, knew that one day the pain would get to me but I was so full of youth, activity and healthy that it just sort of snuck up on me when my back was turned. I never thought that it would be so profound when it did hit, I thought that it would be a slow progression, give me some time to act like I was in denial. Nope, just as quickly as the accident that caused all of the damage happened, the pain showed up.

What has it taken from me? Well, I won't be water skiing anymore, I will never snow ski. I won't do another cartwheel, won't do the splits. Oh well, I will just ride the jet skis, I despise the cold and think that there is something moderately insane about careening down a mountain slope and my kids would DIE of embarrassment if I did the cartwheel or splits. Seriously, they might disown me.

With the help of the CPSA and their CPSIA law, it forced me to cancel the move of my store and close my business in it's brick and mortar format. That was heartbreaking but thru that struggle it gifted me with the time I was missing with my children. I didn't realize how much I was having to give up in pursuit of my "dream". Things were so much more hurried and stressed. We would still have dinner together but there was always so much more urgency. Urgency to get things done, homework finished and maybe run back up to the store to work until after bedtime. Stress!

My accident was horrible, life changing and painful, it is painful now years later.

It was also just about the greatest gift I could have received, it is a gift that unfolds more every day and year of my life. Sometimes those gifts take a little longer for me to be receptive to, for me to open my heart to but God continues to give them to me. God didn't cause my wreck but he did use it as a teaching tool, a tool to draw me closer and an opportunity to show his gift of love and forgiveness that continues.

In the moments and days following the gifts were so much more obvious. Starting the moment that I heard that voice telling me to put on my seat belt. I was young and invincible and sadly didn't always wear my seat belt but the voice was so compelling that I listened. It saved my life, there is no doubt. In the moments before my car stopped I heard that same voice calling me home, or rather letting me know that I could come home or I could stay if I chose but it would be the hardest thing I had ever done. I wanted to be a mother and that is what I fought for. Another gift came weeks before my accident. It came in the form of what I think was a Guidepost magazine. It was an article about a nurse that was injured, she knew thru her profession that she needed those helping her to keep her talking, keep her awake at all costs. She knew that there was a strong chance that she would die if she lost consciousness due to shock. That story came to me while under the tarp while the rescue workers were cutting me out of my car. I remember telling the EMT that was with me to keep talking to me, to not let me pass out. She did, she kept me talking until I was in the ambulance and under care. The Dr's in St Louis said that may have saved my life. My parents were told I would not live, the gift of determination and a bit of stubbornness let me fight hard to live. I was told I might never walk and would most likely never be able to have children. I'm walking, albeit with pain now and am the mother of four amazing children.

When I was young, I didn't know what I wanted in life, was full of frustration, anger at being moved from my "home" to a new town that was hard to meld in to, especially being so shy. I certainly wasn't prepared to know true love when I found it. I was too young to recognize it and was told I was too young to be in love. I walked away from what truly was my love...walked away because I believed it couldn't be real. Another most amazing gift from that accident was that eventually, thru a long and winding path it brought me back to that love, who just happened to need my stubbornness, love and determination to help him get thru an ongoing healing process from his own horrible accident.

Today the gifts are more subtle, I have been slowed down, forced to take my time and therefore, I enjoy more around me. I get to work while sitting on my bed with my puppy at my feet and my baby girl coloring beside me. I get to be still and listen, listen to God's plan for my life. I see that it is the quiet times with my family, the silliness that kids bring, the snore of the boxer baby sleeping, the hand of the man that I love holding mine when the pain is almost too much bear, the long phone calls with my Mom or my Sister.....those are the gifts that mean more than anything. Those are the gifts that were brought into my life thru pain in a round a bout way but are the same gifts that will get me thru the pain tomorrow.

Be thankful, slow down, recognize and enjoy your gifts.

Contentment

2009-01-30T00:14:00.000-06:00

Up late, watching "Friends" and laughing at irony.

It never ceases to amaze me at how some people can become so obsessed with someone else's life. Isn't there enough in everyone's life to keep them busy, keep them focused on making what is their's better or at least survivable and their own. Ah, what the hell.....I just have to laugh.

I promised myself that I would begin blogging again, if for no reason other than to be able to go back an read the documentation of our wonderful, insane, crazy, loving life. LOL

So here I sit watching "Friends" and blogging.

I'm all comfy in my chair, watching my sweet, beautiful baby girl sleep since she fell asleep on the couch and listening to my boxer baby snore.

It is so easy to get caught up in the "have nots" but it just takes quiet times like this to realize that the "haves" are so much more! I can't believe that this is my life, that the man sleeping in my bed is mine and my best friend, that the wonderful kiddos snuggled down are mine and that this warm, comfy, full of memories home is mine.

I am not one for keeping up with the Joneses, I am not one for making people take notice. I am just one that is oh, so ever grateful that the good Lord chose me to bestow these amazing gifts upon. Me.....how amazing is that. How wonderous is HIS love!

I thank the Lord that I have everything that I need. The love of a man that gets me and adores me, beautiful and amazing kids, family that is wonderful, my boxer babies and so many more blessings.....content.....that is me...

But really, why is there so much mention of Cheesecake? Jen mentions cheesecake and now Chandler and Rachel are stealing the neighbor's cheesecake. AGH......I am going to Sam's Club this weekend for the multi flavor cheesecake sampler. Turtle Cheesecake....you have a home!!

You eat Oreos

2009-01-07T01:38:00.000-06:00

What do you do when you are loudly and abruptly awoken by a 1:30 AM fire call? You stay up and worry about your firefighter husband. You worry that the roads are slick with sleet, you worry that he is going to be facing danger and you worry about the poor people who's home is burning on a cold, miserable night.

You listen to the three boxer babies cry and whine b/c they were awoken as well, only an hour after you have gotten them all settled in. Something about being trapped behind a baby gate causes extreme puppy indignation which illicites mini howls, shrill barks and pitiful crying. All of which are endearing for only about the first 10 seconds but they are just too darn cute to get upset with.

Because you are awake and will most certainly be that way until the hubby comes in smelling of smoke but safe and sound, you review your New Year's Resolutions and determine that this is most certainly the best time to renew the blogging that you have missed so much.

So, blogging I am. I do miss blogging, I miss the flow of words, words that sometimes only make sense to me but that is ok, I don't write to make anyone else happy or to satisfy the curiosity of others. I write because I enjoy it, I write to chronicle the crazy wonderfulness that is my life with those that I love the most. I write because I can.

I have a couple of other resolutions that I am hoping to keep. I'll probably touch on those soon.

What else do you do while you wait.....you get a snack....and I hear OREOS calling my name.

g'night

2008-09-23T23:33:00.000-05:00

Implosion is a process in which objects are destroyed by collapsing in on themselves.

The Aladdin
The Stardust
The Sands
The Dunes

All percieved to be full of life and glory during their hey day, slowly deteriorating into tarnished and less glorious emptiness. Superficial with no lasting substance. As she begins to fade, her false beauty is lost and the bare bones are revealed. The end result was implosion, it was destined to be to make way for things more glorious and rewarding.

Implosion is sad yet beautiful. Foretold.....Inevitable!

We'll see you at the bridge, Moch Moch

2008-06-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

This last week Kurt and I faced a new and painful parenting experience. Telling our kids, especially the boys that our beloved pet had passed. We found Mocha snuggled up in his favorite spot in the garage, it appears that he had passed peacefully in his sleep.

10 years ago we were finishing last minute projects and moving into our newly renovated farm house, excited about our new home and our growing family. I remember sitting on the floor, taking a break from painting and sprucing by reading some trader publication. I came across a listing for Chocolate Lab puppies and knew that I had to have one. Kurt and I had discussed getting a new puppy now that we were settling in to our new home so without hesitation, made the trek to IL to take our pick of the litter. I won't lie and say that they weren't all adorable, I would have scooped everyone of those fat, roly poly babies up and brought them all home but Kurt, being the voice of reason refused to indulge my temporary insanity. There was one sweet baby boy that started following me around, chewing my shoe lace and begging me with his soft, brown eyes for me to cuddle him. That did it, Kurt paid the man, got the paper work and we had a new family member....Mocha....or as Grandma likes to call him...Mocha Chocha. :)

I'll miss the muzzle nudges to get us to rub your ears, "shake paw", the willingness to put up with four loving kids, the tolerance you showed Sophie (our Boxer) when she refused to take no for an answer when she wanted to play. I'll miss seeing you come running when you hear the tail gate go down on the truck, ready to go wherever we were willing to take you.

Thank you for being so loving, so tolerant, so loyal and so willing to be the dog in the "boy and his dog" combination. Believe me, there are two boys whose hearts broke the day you left us. Two boys who will never forget days of fetch, swimming at the lake and just lazing in the back yard.

I'll even say thank you for the gifts you so lovingly and proudly brought to our doorstep. I have to laugh at how proud you were with each mole, ground hog or oppossum that you dropped at our feet. Truly, YOU were the gift..... Sleep well sweet boy.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Step up....it is your JOB!

2008-05-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

"Oh Good, you have maternity clothing. My 16 year old daughter is trying to get pregnant."

Your's truly takes a moment to absorb the above statement and pick her jaw up off of the floor before beginning to open dialogue with my customer. I hoped, no prayed, that I had heard her wrong but unfortunately that is exactly what she had said.

I was lucky enough (rolls eyes) to learn that Mom felt like there was nothing that she could do to stop her. Her oldest son at the ripe old age of 18 already had a one year old, the 16 year old daughter REFUSED to take the pill that Mom had put her on because she in fact, wanted a baby.

I suggested the class in school that makes you haul around one of those battery operated babies. I understand those things will go off without notice, making the life of a sleeping teen complete and utter hell. Mom says they have already done that, daughter removed the batteries and went on with her sleep.

My solution.....keep her butt home and away from the potential father until she can get her head on straight.

I mean really, there is so much wrong with this on so many levels. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand that there are going to be teens out there having unprotected sex and if you haven't worked on the whole "why you shouldn't have a baby as a teenager" thing by now, you may be a bit behind in the game but WHO THE HELL IS THE PARENT? Why do so many parents surrender their authority to their teens and even preteens? I just don't get it. There is a reason that they are considered minors by the authority, they are ill equipped to make monumental decisions, to live life on their own and provide for themselves. Give them the tools and the rules that they need to make good decisions that will affect the rest of thier lives. It is your job to say no sometimes, to set boundaries. Kids need you to do that, they seek that from you without even realizing it. I just couldn't believe that someone's attitude was so cavalier or one of defeat. Don't say that there is nothing that you can do, I just don't buy it. I think that is a complete cop out! You OWE your kids more than that!

It reminds me of the whole conversation I had with my teenage daughter. Apparantly for many parents around here it is perfectly acceptable to let your teenage son or daugther to spend the night regularly with their boyfriend/girlfriends. She was invited to a party where all were going to be allowed to spend the night since it would be so late and no one would want to drive home. Um...no...I'll haul my butt out of bed and come pick up my daughter. (thank god she just thought it was an overall bad idea and didn't even want to go) Yeah, because in the middle of the night you can supervise a group of 15/16 year olds and ensure that everyone of them is in their proper place.

Go ahead and buy alcohol while you are at it, turn your back and pretend that they aren't drinking it with the attitude that "well we did it, they should be allowed to have fun, too." (really, these words were just spoken by a parent of one of my daughter's classmates.)

I'm not naive in the thinking that it couldn't be one of my children that finds themselves dealing with alcohol, teen pregnancy or some other situation that isn't what I had envisioned BUT I will never take the cavalier attitude of some of these parents that I have encountered recently. Boundaries will be set, self respect will be taught and if I have to play the bad guy by saying NO a lot, I will just have to be the bad guy.

It just bothers me that so many parent's are forgetting to actually parent or have decided that it is really just too much work.

Stepping down off of my soapbox now but really.....????!!!

The Journey

2008-05-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day, belated... It has been forever since I have blogged but reading a few of the blogs I used to read has inspire me to TRY to get back to it. I love being able to go back and read the "diary" of my family's last few years and hate that I have gotten so busy that I have neglected to keep blogging. That really is the whole and only reason I blog, to keep a journal of these precious years. Since I was a small girl, I always have attempted to keep a written diary. Key word being "attempted" because no matter how cute, how cool or how inspiring a particular journal was, they all ended up with only the first few pages full and then emptiness. And then there was blogging, thru typing, I have a better chance of keeping up with my racing brain. :)

I will shoot for a brief synopsis of the last few months. They have been interesting....

Morgan got injured playing soccer at school, before the real high school soccer season began. That brought muliple trips to the Dr and many prayers that she would be healed before the soccer season began. She had to miss the first bit of practice but was healing nicely. She got back on the field where she loves to be only to have a reaction to the antibiotics that she was on to prevent infection in the original injury. :( That sidelined her for a couple of weeks but once she got back she was able to get that varsity jersey and hit the field for a couple of great games. The coach has been extremely cautious with her to make sure that she would be ready to go next year when they lose much of their varsity team to graduation. Morgan was doing great until a game against a "Christian" school about an hour away when she was shoved down from behind on a break away she had, once the girl got her down she kicked her in her previously injured leg sending us back to the Dr and keeping her off of the field yet again. She has been cleared to play but the coach is keeping it very low key and they are going into districts this way so Morgan is just staying out of the game for the rest of the season so that she is in top form for next season. It has been disappointing for her but one bright spot, she had a coach from a university ask about her and he is going to be keeping an eye on her. She was pretty excited about that, she has worked hard and deserves it! She has had a great school year overall, even got asked to the prom by three guys other than her Sophomore boyfriend. Of course she said no but I think it was still fun to be asked by a couple of the "Hot" older guys. LOL

Layne bridged up to an official Boy Scout and he has been so busy. They have gone on quite a few campouts with a huge one coming up soon. He is excited b/c his Daddy is going to be going along for that one. He is looking forward to the summer months, scout camp and going to the lake since he gets to bring a friend along this year when we go.

Ev has wrapped up his school year. I had the end of the year review with his teacher this morning and she had nothing but praise for Evan. He is so excited that he will be taking Spanish next year and that Layne will be taking Spanish I, too thru the same program. He is looking forward to starting cub scouts next year when school begins again. He figured out that once he gets to the fifth grade, he and Layne will be able to be in the same troop and that he will be able to go on all of the campouts, too.

Lillianne is finishing her first year of preschool. She is changing every day, she cracks me up with the things that she comes up with. She is SUCH a Princess and loves to copy everything that Morgan and I do. She will watch either of us get ready to go and mimick us putting on make up, doing our hair, carrying a purse, etc. What a gift she is to all of us, she has everyone of us wrapped around her little finger and Daddy has it the worst. LOL

Hubby is doing great, his work schedule is insane as he has been working on several different projects. The extra $$ is always nice but there is no way that I could stand him working all of the time forever. We simply have enough to make our lives comfortable and happy, there is something to be said for family time and I'm just not willing to give it up for good.

The store is now a year old and continues to grow. Of course I still get people that stop in and say that they had no idea that I was here but then I get consignors from St. Louis, Cape and Carlisle, IL so word of mouth must be working. I even had a lady come from the bootheel to buy a prom dress for her daughter. I hope that by the fall I have found someone to adequately part-time manage the store so that I can focus on a few other projects I have going on including the online store. Going into business for myself is one of the most frightening things I have ever done but looking back over the last year I can honestly say that it has been one of the best things I have ever done, too. I'm looking forward to the next year as we continue to grow and I remember to breathe....:)

Speaking of looking back over the last year and years.....Hubby gave me a diamond "Journey" necklace yesterday for Mother's Day. What a beautiful gift as it is meant to represent the journey that you have shared from the beginning of your lives together until the present. What a God "blessed" journey that it has been, too. Not necessarily always perfect but always full of love and God's blessing. I am so very thankful for our life together, the beautiful family that we have and the many blessings that HE has afforded us.

Shaking my head....

2008-04-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I am just left speechless and a little saddened by the lack of education in our society.

Today I was working on my website and working with the stat counter. Someone from a well known, world renowned university on the east coast found my website by searching "kids butic stores". What exactly is a "butic"?

After evaluation, I have determined that it was an attempt at "boutique".....

Apparently spelling doesn't come up in the employee review for this top echelon university....

Bored?

2008-03-30T00:47:00.000-05:00

Got a little time on your hands and need something to drive you nuts?

How fast can you type? I did fairly well considering I am typing on my laptop and have both hands bandaged thanks to a visiting stray cat. (another story for another day....)

79 words

Speed test

Thanks A. for this contribution to my mild obsessive compulsiveness. LOL

Finally, the real reason...

2008-03-12T11:16:00.001-05:00

that XM radio was invented. It is now officially worth an investment from me!

I Crossed My Heart
By George Strait
Best Video Codes

2008-03-05T00:45:00.000-06:00

I couldn't sleep, all is quiet in my house save for a snoring puppy and I am enjoying the peacefulness. I've been watching the elections online and have an obsessed need to see that last little red check get delegated to the victorious candidate in the Texas Caucus before I can rest.

I'm sick of ice, I'm sick of snow and I am ever so sick of this freaking frigid air. I can honestly say that I am 100% ready for spring and summer. Spring forward already, even if I have to sacrifice an hour of my beloved sleep.

In an effort to bring on the warmer weather we have started making plans to get the boat ready for use, the jet skis are going to be serviced in anticipation of FUN and I've begun a fitness/weightloss challenge with my Mom's group. That last part sounds like a hell of a lot of fun, doesn't it. LOL Seriously it isn't so bad, I really just want to lose 5 - 10 lbs in anticipation of swimsuit season so I really won't be killing myself. I have put the dear old treadmill into full time service and cuss it regularly. LOUDLY.... Much better than the year I bought Tae Bo tapes and thought that would be a good idea. Um....not a good idea, I think I created a few new ugly words that year. The only real kink in the plan has been the arrival of Girl Scout cookies at my house. There is a real gravitational pull emitting from those thin mint boxes. I will be rewarding myself at the end of the torture, um challenge with a cute new bikini from VS. Right now I am really liking this one with the matching cover up skirt and cute little flip flops. That is some real motivation :)

I know it's been eons since my last post so a brief recap may be in order:

The kids are doing great, school is going well for each of them. Morgan is beginning her first year of high school soccer and we are all looking forward to that. Layne has become a full fledged boy scout and participated in his first "older" boy campout. He LOVES it and is looking forward to his next trip. Evan looks forward to the day that they will be in the same troop when he gets older so that they can camp out together. He is doing amazingly well with his school work, he is such a little sponge. Sometimes I think that he absorbs too much information. I asked him if he wanted eggs for breakfast the other morning and he said that he had already had them that week. No big deal but his reasoning? Eggs can cause high cholesterol....he is eight. Bless his heart.
Lillianne is still loving preschool and her friends and is Evan's little shadow when they are together. She is such a walking contradiction. She is obsessed with all things princess/ballerina and yet can name almost every Pokemon charater from Ev's movies and games. Nothing like being well rounded, every girl should know her Pokemon.

Kurt and I are both staying busy with work. He has been working on a special project since early fall and for me the store is an ever evolving project. We are busy but it is a nice feeling to both be happy and content where we are in our respective careers.

Please say a prayer for my sister. She is expecting her third child and had a rough time with her last.

I'm going to ressurect the "Today I am thankful for..." portion of my blog. I think it is so very important to remember our blessings and be thankful for them everyday. It is too easy to get caught up in the woe is me part of life and forget the goodness that is already there. So with that ( and no last red check mark on CNN) I'll say goodnight. I will try to do better at blogging. I miss it.

Today I am thankful for:

1. The promise of Spring, a time of growth and new beginnings.

2. Moments alone with the man who loves me.

3. Creative, smart, funny, talented and loving kids.

4. Being loved by a Boxer, the devotion is unmatched.

5. Grace

Can any married woman NOT relate?

2007-12-07T14:02:00.000-06:00

The Walmart Birth

2007-12-02T22:51:00.000-06:00

I'm in the bathroom putting my make up on, getting ready to start the day. Lillianne is "getting ready" right along with me as she does every morning. She is carefully investigating each shade of eyeshadow, popping the lids off of the "chap lips" a.k.a. lipsticks and questioning me with out mercy as to each and every products use and of course, once the purpose has been explained she gives her inevitable follow up of "Why?" After about the third "why", my responses become rather automated and I begin to mentally map out my day.

Somewhere around the 15th "why", Lillianne's questioning changes direction.

She immediately grabs my attention with:
"Mommy, where did you get me?"

...................... Well, ummmm.....I'm remembering that three year olds really just want simple answers and don't need details.

Before I can formulate my answer, Lilli pipes in with "Mommy, you got me at Walmart. You got me in the check out". Um....

" No Lillianne, we didn't get you at Walmart, Jesus sent you to live with Mommy and Daddy, he gave us such a special gift."

Lillianne takes this into consideration for oh, about 3 seconds and proclaims, "NO, you got me at the check out, at Walmart".

That's right sweet girl, there you were mixed in with the Snickers & Hershey Bars, beef jerkey, Soap Opera digest and the little chapsticks. I just couldn't resist you.....talk about your impulse purchases. Can't you just imagine your Daddy's surprise when I had him help unload the groceries that day. :)

2007-10-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

Nearly another month.....breathe....I forget to do that sometimes.

Life is good, busy beyond imagination but blessed and good...

The family is great...growing up so quicky that I often wish I could just freeze time to enjoy each moment for just second longer.

My first baby girl is in the midst of her first highschool Homecoming weekend. Where in the hell did that time go. I remember my Freshman homecoming just like it was yesterday. She called me moments ago to tell me that she was ok and having fun. We found a beautiful gown for the dance and have elaborate hair plans for tomorrow afternoon. I'm thinking I am just as excited as she is. LOL I can't wait to see she and Nick all dressed up and ready to go to the big dance. I happened upon pictures of Kurt and I in our Junior year, all dressed up for his Homecoming dance....20 years ago this year. We didn't get to go to mine that year, my Grandpa was injured and died the night of our bonfire. I remember the excitement of cheering at the bonfire, excited and ready for the big game the next day and the dance. Kurt brings me home and Mom runs out of the house, tells Kurt to hold onto me and gives me the news that broke my heart and forever left a void. Kurt didn't let go....he's still holding on and taking care of me.

20 years ago ~ 1987

Fun times!

School is going great for everyone. Lillianne is loving preschool, she is such a little sponge. Evan is thriving in his curriculum and making all A's. God brought the most amazing woman into our lives as his teacher. I sit in awe of the fact that HE always knows what we need even when we have no idea.

Morgan and Layne are both getting all A/A-'s right now and I couldn't be more thrilled. This year has been a transition year for both of them, one into middle school and the other into high school and academics have gotten more challenging for each but they are weathering it well!

The store is still exceeding my expectations for the first year. I'm having fun and enjoying everyday. I had to just stop and smile this morning when I had 6 different shoppers in my little store at the same time, a couple of them sharing conversation with one another and several of them were repeat customers and I was able to ask them about their kids, their jobs, etc. I have one lady that comes down from Ste Gen every couple of weeks to check to see what I have new. She asked me today how things were going and if I was planning on staying. I answered her that I was absolutely staying and she thanked me. It is those moments that make all of the work, the late nights and the stress worth it. I love knowing that this is what I am supposed to be doing and that I have the complete support of my family. No amount of money could equal those random moments that Kurt will just blurt out how proud of me he is. I know that this was a big leap of faith for him, for both of us really but even more so for him b/c he couldn't neccessarily "see" my vision. He never reads this but in any case, THANK YOU for believing in me sweetie.

I'm going to bed....sleep..ahhhh

update

2007-09-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

Seriously it has been over a month since I have taken the time to blog....I can't believe how fast time seems to be flying by.

This post will just have to be a brief recap of the last month or so and hopefully I will get back to blogging regularly. I do tend to blog on my other site more often.....but I didn't want to let this one completely go.

Kiddos are back in school. Hard to believe that I had one start middle school and another start high school this year, along with a first time preschooler. Morgan loves high school, she says that it is even better than the best parts of middle school. It is funny to see how their class divided up once they weren't all together all of the time but she has a lot of great new friends, gets along spectacularly with many of the upper classman and has been invited shopping. Good sign or acceptance! LOL

Layne loves middle school, the little changes in how things done make such a difference. I can tell that he feels more "grown up".

Lillianne began her first year of preschool at M&M Kids. One of our friends works there and the moment that we announced our pregnancy, she put "baby F" on the waiting list. I am so glad that she did. Lillianne loves going to her school, loves playing with her friends and adores all of her teachers. Their program is amazing and she is learning so much, like a little sponge.

We were able to enjoy several more weekends at the lake thru the months of July and August, hope to get over there one more time before it gets cold. We were able to take several sets of friends with us this summer and really enjoyed that. Lots of good food, laughter and conversation.

Morgan chose not to try out for volleyball. She is still being really cautious with her tendon and decided she would baby it while training for soccer. She has a pretty good course load this semester, too so she wanted to concentrate on her grades. Can't argue with her being responsibile. She turned 15 and will hopefully be testing this next week for her permit. I am excited and terrified all at the same time. Kurt will get the honor of teaching her how to drive safely and correctly. It kind of falls into the category of scary or gross things that Dad gets to do. Of course it isn't gross but it definately falls into the scary category. :) Of course picking out her car is consuming much of her day dreaming time. While I agreed with her that she would look really cute in the little Beemer convertible, really cute.....it ain't happening if Mommy doesn't have one, too! Moving on the the Chevy's....lol

Evan is doing really, really well with his schooling, too. He is such a little math whiz and adores Science. While I tolerated these classes they were never on my list of favorites, I am glad that he enjoys them so much though. He loves being outside, loves animals and critters and all things boy. He is so much his father's son, he looks so much like his Daddy.

Layne is playing football. He likes it and is busy learning his plays. While I like the sport well enough I have to roll my eyes at some of the adults involved as parents and coaches. Leave your "could have been" careers back in your own high school days and let these guys learn and be their own players. Geez... Testosterone and a piece of pigskin make some men morons.

The store continues to grow and do well. God has truly blessed me, it has been a true lesson in Be Still and Let God. He continues to open doors for me now that I have let Him take the reigns. Mom was helping me mark down summer items even more before Labor Day weekend and get some fall stuff out. We were frustrated needing space and needing to get the remaining summer stuff out of the store, talking of sales and then remembered that DUH, she lived on hwy 61 where they were having a 61 mile long yard sale with individual yard sales, vendors and businesses participating. Wednesday we started organizing and moved the summer clearance stuff to her house for the sale starting on Friday. I had 500 flyers with store information and a coupon incentive printed on it made Thursday night and I am completely bowled over at the whole event. I was able to get rid of well over 60% of my remaining summer stuff, make some money for my consignors and came $200 shy of paying my months expenses in just two days. Better than all of that.....I got a flyer and coupon in the hands of 500 potential consignors and customers, serious advertising that cost next to nothing. It paid off, I have had 15 new consignors since Labor Day and tons of new customers. I was able to reach folks from miles around that normally wouldn't have been touched by my advertising.

I'm hiring my internet person tonight or tommorow. I've got the details all lined out and just need to get it all finalized. I've got an afterschool/weekend part timer and think that I have decided on my other part timer. It is hard to trust someone else with your "baby". I've got to get the other computer bought and in store for the back room, program controls so it doesn't allow for internet surfing while working. I don't intend to pay people to play on the internet while they are supposed to be working. I hear from other other business owners and retailers that this is a huge problem for some of them. I will nip it before it even gets started. Too much going on and really, too little time. I still love what I do and can't imagine not doing it. :)

Kurt and I celebrated our anniversary last Sunday, sort of... I ended up sick and didn't feel like doing anything so we are planning to do something special when we can get away. I can't believe that it has been 12 years, amazing. But then again, I can't really remember a time in my life when I didn't know and love him. Every now and then, about once a year around our anniversary I will pull out our wedding video and it always makes me cry. Do I love him as much as I did that day? You bet I do, I love him more. I love the fact that when I'm sick, he will just hold me without having to be asked, I love the fact that he will stop what he is doing to just call me and let me know he is thinking of me, I love the fact that he takes his time to help and teach our children, I love his strong spirit and convictions. Happy Anniversary Kurtis!

Well, there is a brief synopsis of our last month and a half. Nothing spectacular but it's my life and I feel blessed.

2007-07-31T13:41:00.000-05:00

As I am opening the doors to the store this morning, a delivery van pulls up and appears to be going next door to Workforce. Nope, the driver gets out of her van with a huge vase of gorgeous roses and walks right into my store. Handy Hubby sent me a dozen roses, an ivory and pink split. They are simply gorgeous and so unexpected. Every now and then he will send me flowers but he is more into getting me great, last forever or at least a long time gifts. Not getting them often makes them all the more special. I called to thank him and he informed me that there was more to come...hmm...wonder what! :) The girl from Workforce came over to ask me to take care of her flowers, she said she knew that they just delivered them to the wrong place. :)

She said that she never gets flowers, just occassionally will get one from her husband as an "I was an idiot, forgive me" gesture. My husband's "I was an idiot" gesture comes from Dairy Queen and arrives in the form of a large Oreo blizzard. This dates back to when we were dating in high school, he had done something to make me angry. The next thing I know he is knocking on the door, remorse and sadness all over his face with a huge oreo blizzard in hand. Who could resist that kind of remorse. :) It was funny years later when we began dating again, I drove several hours up to see him was waiting for him when he got off of work. I was visiting with his Mom, he came busting in the door from work, murmured hello and headed to the basement. I was a bit taken aback after driving several hours to come see him and to be greated so non chalantly but he redeemed himself seconds later when he comes up with a huge Oreo blizzard that he had gotten the night before to have when I got there. Is it any wonder that I love this man. He listens when I don't know that I'm talking, picks up on the desires of my heart be it a blizzard, beautiful flowers or just a quiet dinner together and somehow makes it materialize without me uttering a word.

Morgan got a present on my birthday (not sure how that works)...Her new RazrV3 was delivered to my store moments ago. She is going to be so excited, I'm sure it is the perfect accessory for her back to school wardrobe. LOL We are going to have a hard time keeping our phones straight, hers is just a bit darker pink than mine but otherwise they are exactly the same. I'm seeing a decorative cover in one of our futures.

So I created a myspace for the store because that appears to be the thing to do. LOL I guess it is a good way to target the juniors/teen crowd but I just don't get the whole myspace thing. It really isn't a blog, not sure what the purpose is and is really a bit to teeny for my personal use. I'll stick to blogging and let Morgan handle the myspace thing for me.

Wishing I was at the lake lounging around today. Mom and I were debating on getting a different camper, looked at a few and finally decided that a larger one was the way to go. The new one has a king bedroom and a second bedroom with double bunks. Including the sleeper sofa and the fold out dining table area, it sleeps 10. What a nice change that will be...Now I just long to go enjoy it. We had to order a new part for one of the jet skis and are hoping that it will make it in this week so we can use it. We have one to use but having two is so much more fun for us and the kids. I grew up on the lake, I'm so glad that we are able to have the same experiences for our kids.

Ahhh, now I am off to daydream ....

Girls Night Out

2007-07-30T23:21:00.000-05:00

I'm not quite as emotional as I was last night so this post will be a little more light hearted.

Mom, my sister and her stepmother in law took me out to the movies this afternoon/evening in celebration of my birthday. There is a BBQ celebration scheduled for tomorrow night but tonight was a girls night out. It was nice, I don't remember the last time I was at the movies with both my Mom and sister. We went to see "Knocked Up" with Kathryn Heigel, it was a funny movie but way overloaded with unnecessary foul language and a lot of in your face sex. Not cool when you are sitting with your sister's MIL and your Mom. It did get really funny in the last part of the movie, we were all laughing so hard we had tears rolling down our faces and were all trying desperately not to pee our pants. LOL I'm kind of thinking that we should have gone to see Hairspray, John Travolta in drag as a fat woman has to be better than seeing a hairy, bad teeth, fat man having sex. YIKES!

We finished the evening off with dinner out and lots of laughs. It was great to be together without the kids and to laugh, talk and catch up. We did have to stop by the hospital, a long time friend of our family was found unresponsive in her home the other day by her daughter. She has been declared brain dead and the family has had to make the choice to turn off life support, that will be done in the morning after more family can get to the hospital. It is just so very sad and couldn't have come on a more awful evening /day for my mother.

I'm praying that Mom sleeps tonight, that she can find peace and rest. It was just after midnight a year ago that she called me to tell me that Daddy had had a massive heart attack and that they were taking him to the hospital. She didn't tell me that he was already gone but that they were trying to revive him.

Tomorrow we will be having a BBQ for my actual b-day, my sister has put all of those plans into place so it should be fun. They will have to leave on Wednesday morning so it will be a last chance to visit and let the kids play. Lillianne so loves having her cousins here and is looking forward to a visit by her other cousins in just a couple of weeks. I know that she will miss Caleb and Faith.

I've got a crazy week ahead of me with work. I have had so much incoming for fall, have a summer clearance sale going on and trying to work on some changes in the store. I foresee a few late nighters to get ready for the back to school rush. I'll be adding some new product lines over the next couple of weeks, too so will be trying to coordinate with sales reps. I've narrowed down the list of people that I want to seriously talk to about a job so will need to focus on that, too. I'm not complaining, I love what I do and feel blessed and while I'm tired, the rewards are worth it.

Speaking of tired, I'm ready to go to sleep. I've started re reading "The Power of the Praying Woman" and plan to read a bit each night so goodnight for now!

Reflections

2007-07-30T00:08:00.000-05:00

Wow, apparantly it has been a month since I have blogged. I swear it didn't seem that long but the days really are flying by. I try to read some of my favorite bloggers a couple of times a week but am finding that time for that is slim, too.

With my birthday just a couple of days away I am feeling rather emotional. Daddy died one year ago on Tuesday and I am reminded how quickly our lives can change and how we need to appreciate those that we are blessed to have in our lives.

Today I got two birthday cards, even though my birthday isn't until Tuesday. One was from my mother and father in law and the other from Handy Hubby who just couldn't wait to give it to me. :) Both made me cry because they were so beautiful and I know the people who picked them out are the type to actually read the words and look for the ones that really apply. Thus making the two that I got mean so much more. I am so blessed to have them all in my life, that when God spoke to my heart, I listened because not only did he fill my heart with love for this awesome man, he gave me another set of parents. I hear so many of my friends bitch and moan about their in-laws, how they do this and that, blah, blah, blah but truly I can't relate. They are great people who treat me like a daughter, they are great grandparents and great friends. I can honestly say that I love them and appreciate them.

Handy Hubby's card was beautiful and personified us. How lucky we are that God gave us a second chance to get this right after high school. I think that we both needed to spread our wings, hang out with friends, find out who we were as individuals, go new places and experience life outside of this small community, realize how small we really are in the great scheme of life. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to work for a fantastic company, to gain the wealth of retail and management knowledge/skills that it provided as it is proving very useful in my new adventure. I love that I got to travel to new places. I think that we both needed the space to understand how important we truly were to one another, how much of each other's hearts that we truly possessed and needed the experience of our individual accidents to know how to value life and enjoy each day. It's amazing that with this 36th birthday, I will have loved this man and better yet, been loved by him for 20 years. Our official first date was on my 16th birthday but I know I loved him from almost the moment I met him... No matter what my gift this year, there is no greater gift than the one that he has been giving me and gives me everyday...his love and his life to share. I love the fact that even after all of these years we can still make each other laugh, still finish each other's sentences and still are as mad about each other as we were when we were teenagers, that thinking of him can still make me catch my breath..... I am ever so grateful that God used me as HIS tool to love and guide this amazing man thru the battle of recovery from his TBI, that HE thought me worthy of the job because thru the tumultous journey a stronger bond, a greater respect and a deeper passion for the life we share emerged. "it is the seed, that with the sun's love, becomes the Rose...."

Another thing this last year and Daddy's death has really brought home to me is that it is ONLY these precious people in our lives; parent's, parent in laws, spouses, siblings and children, even special friends that make our live valuable. It isn't how much money you make each day, what neighborhood or home you live in, what you drive or what designer name might be stamped across the butt of your pants that define you and make your life mean something. It is the time you spend valuing these people, appreciating the moments that you have with them and the imprint that you make upon their lives and the lives of others that you touch. Life is fragile and precious...Revel in the goodness and the blessings that are yours and choose not to dwell on the negatives. Don't allow one second of your life to be wasted giving space or thought to negative forces, it simply isn't worth those seconds, not even one.

I sound a bit melancholy tonight, I guess I am. I realize how blessed I truly am with this life, my husband, my amazing children and the rest of my family. I realize how quickly our lives can change and be altered and while I revel in the promise of Heaven, I am fearful of losing anyone. A friend in my parenting group is losing her 6 year old daughter to a terminal brain tumor, it sounds as if this sweet child will be earning her angels wings soon (How I pray for a miracle and this not to be the case). I can't imagine the loss, the pain... Please send up a special prayer for this sweet, beautiful child and for the family that loves her so dearly.

If I have nothing else, I have love...

Today is the day....

2007-06-29T15:08:00.001-05:00

that I get serious about hiring one or two employees. I can't argue with being busy but I have tons of great things to get out onto the floor and haven't had the chance to get more than a couple of pieces processed at a time. I do have someone that is going to strictly do the online portion so that should get going very soon. I'm looking forward to 6 o'clock tonight and a chance to breathe. Actually I think Hubby may have something up his sleeve in regards tonight. He calls to ask me if I have any plans tonight. hmmm.....wondering what he's planning, probably dinner out.

Speaking of dinner....I just got an e-mail today that led me to an incredible website. Normally I hate spam e-mail but this took me to www.mealsmatter.org. I recommend a visit! After spending just a few moments at the website I had found some amazing dinner ideas that gave me a run down of calories and other health related info. There is so much more that I will have to take time to really go thru the site to get the full benefits but it looks great and the very best part is that it is FREE! Cool stuff! Here is the recipe that has me hungry now, I love chicken and fruit salsa.

Chicken Breast with Mango Salsa
Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine
A great twist on a chicken dish!
Ingredients
1/4
Sweet onion
1
Mango, peeled
1
Orange, peeled
1/2
Red bell pepper
2 tbsp
Parsley
4
Precooked, grilled skinless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp
Cilantro
1 tbsp
Olive oil
2 tbsp
Lime juice
1 tbsp
Balsalmic vinegar

Pepper to taste
1 tbsp
Basil
Preparation
Finely chop onion, mango, orange, bell pepper, parsley and cilantro; combine. Mix olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, pepper and basil. Stir into fruit mixture, serve over chicken.
Nutrient Information
235
Calories
7 g
Total Fat
1 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat
16 g
Carbohydrates
28 g
Protein
2516 IU
Vitamin A
54 mg
Vitamin C
51 mg
Calcium
72 g
Sodium
2 mg
Iron
2 g
Fiber

YUM, YUM, YUM!

If you don't mind, say a little prayer from my Grandpa. He is back in the hospital for a few days with complications from surgery.

Better run, my break is a short one today but have a happy, safe weekend!

Congratulations to my Hubby!

2007-06-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

8Congratulations to Handy Hubby! His department was called into the plant wide morning meeting this last week after being told that there was going to be management changes announced. Turned out it was a ruse to get them down there so that they could announce July's Employee of the Month. Hubby was nominated and chosen from over 1000 company employees for the recognition. He got a little bonus, money to treat his dept to a special meal of his choice, his name on a plaque at work, some awesome chocolate that I claimed an a few other little things. I am so proud of him and for him. Way to go Kurtis, I love you!

The weekend, once it started for me Saturday afternoon was nice. We went to the movies Saturday night and Sunday I did some laundry, made a big dinner and Kurt redid the playyard for the kids. It was time to get new wood chips and to do other repairs, etc. He worked a little bit on my new closet, too. I can't wait for it to be done, I won't know what to do with all of that space. Finished it will be a 10X10 walk in/sitting area with a walk out to a back patio.

Friday and Saturday The Lily Pad hosted a "Garage Sale Happy Hour", with the idea of capitalizing on the fact that there would be a lot of shoppers out yard saling and I wanted to draw them in for our sale. I ran a sale ad in the garage sale section announcing 15% off anything in the store during those special hours in addition to my ABC/summer sale. I kept the store nice and cool with the temps outside in the mid 90's. I did create a $1 rack and a couple of buckets of garage sale priced things that weren't up to par with what I carry in store to put out front. But the real shopping took place inside the store, who would have thought that a $13 garage sale ad would bring in so much business. I ended up doing a weeks worth of business in those special hours. Definately will be something that I do again. I had a customer from Cape call me and want to bring in some things. She had shopped with me when I first opened and loved the store. She brought me TONS of trendy designer ladies wear, shoes and handbags along with two huge stacks of teen/ young mens Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle, etc... How fun was it to find a Kate Spade bag in the mix of all of it. I'm so thankful b/c there are several great stores down there that she could have taken her stuff to and she chose my store. Saturday ended up being a fabulous but tiring day. I did find two people that I am considering as employees, still contemplating what I want to do....

I think that we have hit the potty training jack pot with Miss Lilli. (knock on wood) She just seems to have decided that now it is time and is doing it all on her own. Her Daddy and the boys went to Walmart last night and when Daddy got home he surprised her with a Dora pillow case. He knows that she loves Dora and confessed that he almost bought the whole bed set for her. Thank goodness he didn't since I just redid her room. LOL Both of our girls have that man wrapped up.

Enough of a break, the vacuum calls. Blech...

2007-06-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

Ack....taking a break from work for a few minutes to catch up on my blog reading, clear the brain for a minute! :)

I've got so much incoming for late summer and back to school clothing to process and get out, that coupled with the fact that I have added ladies and young teen men's clothing.....I'm wondering if I will see daylight. I decided to go ahead and take both the ladies and teen guys b/c I was getting so many requests for it and to me that just equals missed sales opportunites. More work yes but it will be worth it. I've got a couple of racks of great ladies wear, full of Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Coldwater Creek, Talbots, Ralph Lauren and more. Very exciting! Again, I wish I would have listened to my gut on taking the space next door....my only option now is to create a second location or take part of the corner space in the center that I am in if I want to grow. It seems that the choice to grow is being taken away from me though. I already have over 60 consignors in just two months and am consistently meeting my break even sales goal and the "over and above" daily sales goal that I set for myself. I've definately got a lot to think about....surviving the back to school rush and finding the right employee are at the top of my list right now, as is getting the online store loaded. I have had almost 4000 visits to the online boutique so far this month, definately missing opportunities there. I'm tired.....LOL

The kids are great, Layne just had his birthday and got a Nintendo DS. I was opposed to another game system since they have a Nintendo 64, Playstation 2 and game boy advanced systems but he explained to me that he can play his GBA games on the new system so I caved. I am just seriously opposed to my kids sitting on their tails playing video games or watching TV all day. We've limited the gaming to one hour a day and they have the opportunity to "earn" more time. That seems to be working well and they have learned to be responsible with their time.

We enjoyed time with DH's family at the lake weekend before last. The cousins all had a great time playing, the weather was warm and the lake was calm. Fun stuff! Got Grandpa and Grandma on the jet skis and even got some pics. It was a quiet trip home, everyone was exhausted. I had water skiied the day before and could barely move for the rest of the week but I was excited that I could still ski. LOL

Father's Day was nice, we spent the day hanging out as a family and the evening BBQing at the park. Morgan gave Kurt the greatest gift imaginable. She wrote him a four page letter that brought me to tears, not just tears but full fledged sobbing. It was simply beautiful! I know that he will treasure and keep it forever.

Happy Birthday Bubby

2007-06-19T11:31:00.000-05:00

Happy 11th Birthday Layne Michael!

There are no words to adequately express the joy and gifts that you brought into my life eleven years ago and continue to bring everyday that I know you. I am so blessed to be the mother of such a caring, bright and amazing boy.

Your teacher once told me that being around you, talking with you is like sharing a converstation with an adult in a tiny body. She couldn't have said it any better, your insight and depth of character blows me away, the lessons that you are able to teach me daily in just loving you and knowing you leave me speechless.

You are a great kid and I thank God everyday for you! I hope your eleventh year is your best thus far, you are growing into a great young man. Enjoy the gifts that God has given you!

I love you,

Mommy

Oh Happy Day!

2007-06-14T12:38:00.000-05:00

"Mommy, it's a GOOD day today!"

The above was Lillianne's proclamation at 7:30 this morning. I had to smile, snuggle her and say that yes, yes it is a GOOD day today! What a lesson there is to be learned from a toddler....wake up with a smile on your face, hug the ones you love and proclaim that it IS a GOOD day today! God, how I love that kid!

Yesterday morning I woke up early and watched a bit of tv after starting a load of laundry. Hubby headed off to work, the kids were still sleeping and the remote was free for the taking, no small squirmishes involved in gaining control. I was flipping thru the channels and landed on a Christian satellite channel with the Evangelist Joyce Meyers. I had heard a lot about her and know that she does conferences all over but I had never seen her program on television. I sat down to listen and in those few stolen moments that I had before the rest of the house awoke, I learned another lesson from her preaching the Gospel. She was talking about God's plan for us and how we choose to pursue it. Even Jesus had a moment of impatience when he was around 12, wanting to get on with doing his Father's work but his parents took him back home for the next 18 years and it wasn't until he was 30 that his work truly began. In three years, look what he accomplished...he saved us all.

Her lesson was that God does have a plan for us, each day is a part of the journey and we are usually all so busy trying to get to the "GOOD" stuff that we don't enjoy the real journey. Each day is a gift, has a purpose and is real so take the time to live in it, enjoy it and savor it. Quit wanting more of what we don't have and enjoy what we do have because more doesn't necessarily equal better or fit into what God's plan is for us. That is a hard one but it makes so much sense and actually makes me ashamed. It is so easy to get caught up in the "I wants" that we don't appreciate the things that He has given us and has brought into our lives. It is almost an insult to Him when we don't appreciate and savor the things that he has given us. He has given me enough....and that is all that we truly need. Joyce talked about the roadblocks that we put in God's way when he is leading us down the path that he has chosen. Roadblocks such as negativity, being down on oneself, letting the hatefulness and unhappiness of others prevent us from moving forward, self doubt, etc. These stand in the way of our happiness and the fulfillment of His plan. How easy it is to get caught up in all of that and not realize that we are denying ourselves the happiness and life that God planned for us.

Deep thoughts and not a lot of entertainment value here but this has been on my heart since yesterday morning and then Lilli's comments and positiveness that TODAY IS A GOOD DAY reminded me that God teaches us to be like the little children, come to him with the open heart and mind that children have and our blessings will flow forward. Be like Lilli and know just because she believes , that Today IS a GOOD DAY!

May you be blessed with a good day today, don't forget to enjoy it.

2007-05-30T21:50:00.000-05:00

UGH...I have a sore throat, stuffy nose and a headache....just needed to get that out.

"You don't need to know the details" Quote from Evan (7) as said to his brother. LOL! I have no idea what Layne was trying to get out of Evan but apparantly what Evan had already shared, he deemed adequate.

Speaking of sharing... Evan walks by and this fragrance follows him. We wonder what the smell is as he walks back by and we catch the same scent. It is pleasant so that is good but we can't pinpoint what it is. Evan fills in the blanks for us; he has decided to wear deodorant so he can "be like Daddy and Layne." He'd found a sample of Old Spice that was sent in the mail. Too cute but please don't grow up, Mommy still prefers the "Au de 7 year old son" scent!

I'm pleasantly sunburnt, if there is such a thing. Pleasantly b/c we got to spend the day on the lake on Memorial Day so a little sunburn was worth it! It was beautiful and oh so relaxing! I have sore muscles that I didn't realize I even had (forget the thigh master and Buns of Steel) after jet skiing but I'd do it again and intend to soon.

We have 5 new family members tonight. Evan found five baby kittens in the dog house tonight when he went to feed Mocha. No wonder Mocha wouldn't go into his house, I'm sure Momma cat was not very welcoming. I'm told that we are keeping them all....we'll see...doubt it. We just recently added the iguana...don't ask. Do you know that as a defense mechanism Iguana's will ditch their tails if they feel threatened? I didn't either....now I do...don't ask.

Most commonly used Lilliannese term this week: "Me not, NO me not!" said with a healthy dose of indignation and plenty of drama. I love the age of 3...

I'm supposed to be working on a July project for the store instead of blogging....yep, getting that one done.

I'm going to bed, have a good one!

Long Time Gone

2007-05-19T12:08:00.000-05:00

It looks like I'm not going to get much better at posting, I have the best of intentions but thankfully I'm just so busy.

Thankfully because I have the kids healthy and busy and the store is healthy and busy.

The kiddos just got out of school for summer break, this year seems to have flown by. I guess because we have all just had so much on our plate, it has been an eventful year to say the least. the kids are looking forward to relaxing, spending time at the lake and various camps. Miss Morgan has six weeks of physical therapy ahead for her achilles tendon but the Dr. said that it won't limit her ability to play volleyball in the fall and soccer next year. Thankfully it wasn't worse than what it was and apparantly, it is rather common injury in soccer players. She now has a lovely hot pink cast for a souvenier. They actually gave the thing back to her...UGH

The store is a blessing....it is just so unreal how things have unfolded and God has blessed me and my family. I love watching all of the years of planning come to fruition and it is an amazing testament to what the bible teaches us. Be still and let God... Once I finally turned the reigns over to him and quit trying to control his plans, the doors began to open and things began to evolve into what is now The Lily Pad. One would think that the time that has had to go into the store would have in ways caused our family to drift but actually is the exact opposite. Everyone has contributed and shares in the excitement of what we have created. I don't know how I would have done it without their support, love and encouragement. I love that they are all so proud of me and the store. Layne just may have a future in advertising and marketing, he is a mini account exec for The Lily Pad. LOL He will tell anyone and everyone that will listen.
We all still sit down to dinner everynight, the dinner hour has just gotten pushed back a bit so we haven't had to sacrifice that time together. I love the fact that my husband now truly understands the mystery that is the ever present laundry and dish pile. I had to laugh (a bit loudly) when he announced his frustration that he had just done laundry but there was more in the laundry room to be done. HELLO!!!!!!! Just a peek into my world, sweetie:) He's fantastic though, helps get dinner finished after I start it before I leave for the day, picks up the slack wherever needed and he got me a COACH bag for Mother's Day. I had mentioned that I liked it and he got it without me having a clue. He definately won brownie points on that one. Love him....thank God every day for him!

The only regret that I have is that I didn't go ahead and sign a letter of intent for the space next to me. I really could have used it but fear of the unknown and how things would go kept me from doing it. Such is life, where one door closes, another opens.

We were able to take the boat over to the lake last weekend and even got a few trips out on it. It was awesome, there is just something about being out on the lake with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. It was like we all took a big sigh of relief when we hit the open water, like "ok, we can relax now". LOL Looking forward to spending time over there this summer, especially now that I know I can hire someone to help out with the store. I just don't look forward to that process. I've been a retail manager before and know how hard it is to find a really great employee, especially one that really cares about your business. UGH

It's taken me days to write this so it will probably be days before another one gets posted. LOL Thanks to my blogger friends who leave comments and e-mail me wondering where I am. I'm here...somewhere!

Hope you all have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend. I'm just going to enjoy my family :)

2007-04-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

Ok Christie, here is a post as promised! LOL Thank you for not giving up on me.

I have been MIA but for a very good reason. Last Monday, after around 9 years of planning, waiting (not so patiently sometimes) and plenty of stressing, I was able to open the doors of The Lily Pad in my home town. www.lilypadboutique.com and www.lilypadboutique.blogspot.com.

The response has been amazing, I have not stopped going since the store opened, I have several new consignors each day and sales have been amazing. The first week put to rest my worries about the rent and expenses. I obsess about things like that and it was keeping me up at night. I have yet to advertise other than one ad in our local paper advertising for consignors. I am almost fearful of what advertising will do. But that is a blessing I will endure. I am so grateful and I don't take it for granted. A lot of hard work, planning and sacrifice have gone into the dream and the store. I love hearing from my customers how much this was needed in our area, how they love the store and don't feel like they are shopping resale and the best feeling happens when they take their cell phone out of their bag to call their friends/family and tell them about us.

It was a long journey to get here. I took a great lesson in patience and faith away from this experience. God planted the seed years ago when Morgan was little and it grew just enough thru the years to keep me interested and learning, leading first to the online store and now the brick and mortar. Many a time I would decide that maybe it wasn't what I was supposed to be doing and back away, God would bring someone or something into my life that would help me gain knowledge or new ideas, rekindling the excitement. But it was strictly on his time table, I had to learn to be quiet and listen, wait for his plan and time table to be revealed. Those of you that really know me, know that patience is not one of my strongest virtues.

There are no guarantees in life. The store may be here only a year or 20, but the gifts that it has already brought in to my life make every moment worth it. Thru industry organizations I have met many wonderful people who have inspired me, many of whom have become friends. The journey has taught me not to doubt myself, to believe in the gifts that God gave me and let no one deter me from his plan. Hearing my husband tell me how proud of me he is continues to bowl me over and the kids willingness to help and step up to do small things makes me proud. The time that I have gotten to spend with my Mother while working on the store has been priceless. The fact that she wants to help me do tedious stuff like pricing and painting, just because she loves me and wants me to succeed means so much.

I'm reminded of the quote that I heard years ago..."Be Still and Let God". That is the hardest thing to do but a lesson that I needed to learn.

So Christie, that is what has kept me away from blogging. Well, that and all of the kids activities. We are in soccer season which brings traveling tournaments, practices and all that goes along with that. I can't believe that the school year is almost over. I'll have a high schooler and a middle schooler. YIKES!

I have lots of pics to post someday but I can't promise that it will be anytime soon. LOL!

Gotta run but promised I would post.

Today I am thankful for:
1. My amazing children and the unique relationships that I have with each one.
2. My husband...my best friend
3. My Mom...
4. Salvation
5. my life....

Bits and Bytes or just SMASHED TO BITS!

2007-03-21T01:37:00.000-05:00

Definately can relate right now. I've stayed up to work on product upload, had an awesome page designed.

Self: "Go ahead and save the page Dottie, just in case"

Dottie to self: "Oh, I'll just add one more line and image and then I'll quit for the night"

Self: "You'd better do it, you know something could happen"

Dottie to self: (hands over ears) "La, La, La, La, La......"

seconds later.......it is lost!

AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!

Snow and Babies

2007-03-17T23:06:00.000-05:00

It snowed today.....it was 77 degrees earlier this week but it snowed today....MO weather...sigh

I got the taxes finished up finally! I think that I will turn it over to the tax man this next year, too many other things my brain to process. I have to learn to let go! LOL

It's quiet now as everyone is asleep, I'm curled up on the couch with my fuzzy blanket, my laptop and my baby dog. Life is good..... it was a busy day with soccer games, work and errands to be done. The kids went to Mom's for awhile tonight, my brother's kids are there for a visit. Kurt and I were able to sneak away to Cape for dinner, actual conversation and some shopping....Life is good! :)

I found out that my friend is expecting a baby. Her only child is now 13 and SURPRISE! Now that it is starting to sink in for them, I think that the general feeling is one of excitement but as she put it today....She'll get one out of high school as she's putting one in kindergartern. WOW!!!
I can't imagine being pregnant now, I don't think that there is anyway that my body would do it now. Keeping in mind that the Dr's didn't think that my body would cooperate once with the extent of injuries I sustained, but I KNOW now that I don't have the energy to do that again.
I am so excited for her!

Nothing much to post about, just so very busy and so very tired. So........
Today I am thankful for:
1. Fuzzy Blankets
2. Laptops
3. Warm puppy dogs
4. Quiet
5. The fact that spring is on the way!

Nite!

New Blogger, Old Blogger, Google This and Google That

2007-03-13T23:23:00.000-05:00

Why must blogger now become a challenge? Somehow it appears that I got a gmail account that I didn't know about, thank you Google. That made it a tad bit difficult when attempting to log into to blogger and it tried to put in the gmail acct. Ack...just leave it alone already!

I'm on a caffeine withdrawal and things just might get ugly. It is a self imposed, too tired to go to the store for Diet Coke caffeine withdrawal. Every now and then I think that it might be a good idea to pursue the no caffeine thing but then am violently reminded by the mother of all migraines WHY it is that I don't leave caffeine out of my daily consumption. It's too late to drive to town for my evil drug but believe me, if I wasn't bare foot, in my gown and hadn't consumed a glass of nice wine...you can bet I'd be headed that way.

I have often wondered how a whole row of Diet Coke can disappear out of the big 24 pack that I buy in such a short time. Granted, I drink more than my fair share and one could see how the time frame of consumption could get blurry but I KNOW how low the box is getting. When questioned, no one around here would admit it. Someone however has perjured themselves. How can I be sure? The evidence was hidden in the basement in the form of 5 empty cans! Could be considered criminal considering the dust that this mini migraine is starting to kick up in my noggin.

The weather has been great! The kids have loved playing outside and it is one sure way that I can get Lillianne to wear clothes. Granted she insists upon dressing herself and she looks like a homeless bag lady but she is wearing more than her little Dora panties. Today's outfit involved a pink cotton, ruffled skort, her pink tee from Hawaii (inside out or side out in Lilliannese), her hot pink Dora bucket hat, one pink heeled play shoe and one nice black, zip up Mommy boot. It was LOVELY and she was proud! Of course the moment they decided to come back inside, she wasn't two feet from the door and was stripping down, leaving a trail of mismatched pink couture behind her.

I've got to go...I remembered that I have cappuccino mix in the cabinet....LOADED with caffeine and oh so yummy!

Resurrecting the 5 things to be thankful for:

1. God and faith
2. My family
3. My Mom
4. My dreams and the patience to see them evolve on HIS time table, not mine
5. Wireless laptops and Internet service! How ever did I manage before!

Long time gone

2007-03-05T07:15:00.000-06:00

I've become a bad blogger....

I'm cyclic in my love affair with writing. There are times that the thoughts, feelings and emotions are so many that the words flow and I could write pages and then there are the droughts, the times that no words come and I despise the process of wrting. I've been experiencing the later lately. Number one reason I don't make my living writing! LOL

It's been a busy couple of months. We have the bathroom finished for the most part. I still have to decide on wallpaper, I haven't yet found something that I love. Midway we were wondering what exactly was wrong with the bathroom that we had just torn out. LOL BUT, we do love the new one.

Several weeks ago we took an impromptu trip to Dallas. Great Fun! We got to see Dealey Plaza and the Texas School Book Depository, the site of Kennedy's assasination. Many years have passed since that fateful day but it is still a moving experience. Downtown Dallas is fabulous, great places to eat and fun places to see. We visited the Dallas Aquarium, hard to believe that this exits in the middle of a city, you feel as if you have been transported to the rain forest, complete with a several story waterfall the moment you walk in. Best part, you can get frozen margaritas at the concession stand. Serious margaritas, not fake flavored ones.....Have I told yet that I LOVE DALLAS! Next stop on our trip was Fort Worth where we saw the Texas Motor Speedway, spent several hours at the Fort Worth Stockyards where we got to see a live Texas Longhorn cattle drive down the brick streets of Old Fort Worth, complete with authentic cowboys. We had lunch at one of the restaraunts in the Old Stock Yard buildings, shopped and Kurt rode a mechanical bull. TOO FUNNY! I have it on video from my camera but I fear major retribution if I would post it. LOL Oh so tempting....:) We finished off our Fort Worth leg of the journey at the Fort Worth Zoo. It has been rated just below the San Diego Zoo as the best in the nation and it was awesome. We finished up the trip with a stop in Oklahoma City at the national museum commemorating the Oklahoma City bombing. I wasn't prepared for the flood of emotion that rolled over me when we pulled up. What a beautiful memorial to those that lost their lives on that hateful, ugly day. In the serenity that is the memorial and the reflection pool, walking beside the empty memorial chairs, I felt the spirits of all those that were gone and at the memorial wall/fence, I felt the pain and sadness . The fence has become a makeshift memorial to those that were lost. Small momentos cover the fence, I'll have to post my pictures when I can get them downloaded but especially moving was the tribute to the two little boys that the one Mom lost that day. Their pictures are surrounded by small tokens of love and memory...a pacifier, baby shoes, toddler momentos....It was just too much for me as a visitor to the memorial, I can't imagine how that mother survived it all.
In all it was a great little get away, took care of a few business matters and got to see places that we had never been.

It's hard to believe that soccer starts this weekend. Morgan has yet again decided to play rec soccer along with her select traveling soccer. Both start right away but it just seems too cold! I guess spring is on the way. We've already been talking about what needs to be done to get the boat and jet skis ready for summer. I feel like we just put them away but I'm not going to complain about it getting warmer. I hate this cold weather! When we were in Dallas, it reached 80 degrees...blissful. Only to arrive back in old MO to 32, gotta love it!

I'm in need of sleep and diet coke. Doesn't seem to be much chance of me getting to go back to sleep so I'm off to find my coke.

Tubs, four year plans and pigs in a blanket

2007-01-23T23:20:00.000-06:00

If ever there was a day or time that I doubted my sanity, it would have been this past Saturday.

Kurt and I were chatting over breakfast about what we were planning to do with the house, what updates we were hoping to make and designing the new master closet. Our intentions have always been to do some master bath remodeling and we've tossed around quite a few ideas. We nixed the bigger ones because we just simply don't plan on being in this house too much longer. (we did say that 9 years ago when we bought it but we won't go there, we simply have gotten pretty comfortable and the whole planning, building, contruction thing causes me to hyperventilate and have anxiety attacks! LOL) We were really brainstorming, coming up with fantastic ideas when we were struck by what we both thought was the best solution for the space and for our time table. The series of events that followed this brainstorming/planning session is what has left me reeling. At that very moment, we decided to get ready and head to Lowes and Home Depot, no big deal right? LOL By ten that night we had already spent close to a grand and had begun ripping out the bathtub. YIKES! Sunday saw us making yet another trip to Lowes and yet another today. Today's trip alone lightened the pocket book by another grand but I think.....think....that we are almost done spending and ready to start putting this room together. I'm absolutely in love with my new vanity. Morgan wouldn't believe us that it was a vanity complete with sink, even though it was sporting a lovely marble top. It is an antique cherry furniture type piece with drawers/cabinets and the claw foot base. At first glance it would appear to be a piece of furniture but it is indeed a vanity. LOL I don't think she will believe us until it is installed and working. Why is this insane? If you do know my husband, you know that there are several things in life that he is pretty set in his ways on. He will mull a plan or decision over for EVER (drives me nuts)before moving forward on it and he is TIGHT with money. He totally stepped out of character on this whole bathroom thing. He jumped right into it and hasn't even mumbled (grumbled) about the money. In fact, he is the one that has upgraded some of my choices. I'm loving it! To his credit, I say that he is tight with money, but he is a great and generous gift giver, I am lucky. He is just adament that we be agressive about planning and saving for our retirement and future and that is a good thing. (even if it sometimes is painful! LOL)

Hopefully before too long, I'll be able to post some pictures of the new bath! I'm so excited that we moved forward with it. I'm now motivated to start tearing out the kitchen counter tops! (HATE.HATE.HATE laminate!) LOL

Speaking of planning for the future.....We had to sit down with Morgan last night and do a four year curriculum outline for high school. Pardon me but HOW IN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?????? We were just commenting on the cute stuff Morgan did at Lillianne's age and now she is just a little over 4 years away from college. This from the girl who asked her teacher last year if you HAD to leave home when you graduated, her teacher laughed and said most kids are ready to. She didn't realize that she was talking to the little girl who would wake us every now and then in the middle of the night to tell us that she wasn't ever going to leave home. Think I can still convince her that that is a good idea? :) Four more years is just simply not long enough! It reminds me of the movie "Click". I don't want to fast forward and miss any parts of my life but I sure would like to hit pause and enjoy these days with the kids for much longer than we get to.

Have you ever seen a guniea pig in a baby doll stroller wrapped in a baby doll blanket? NO? Well you will if you visit our house! The Princess has taken to wrapping up the pigs and strapping them int0 her doll stroller, pushing them thru the house while she is wearing nothing but her training pants, her tiara, necklace and rubber yellow dishwashing gloves (on her feet....with the fingers wiggling around like crazy long toes). I...kid...you..not!

It is never dull here!

Tired

2007-01-10T23:24:00.000-06:00

Enough already! Too many sleepless nights and too many days of my baby girl feeling bad and now I feel like I am coming down with the same ailment. My head is pounding, nose is stuffy.....it feels as if I am doomed to get it.

All is right with the world again, according to Miss Morgan. She came home with a smile on her face and the fickleness of friends is a thing of the past (until tomorrow! LOL) I'm relieved, there were no tears, no plans to move to foreign countries or solar systems and no grouchies. She's got a soccer tournament this weekend that she is looking forward to, I think that I am, too. I miss watching her play when the season is over.

Princess is still roaming around, watching her "She-os" (Shows for those of you that don't speak Lilliannese) in two different rooms. LOL Her sleep schedule is so off with being sick. Dora is on in her bedroom while Dragon Tails is playing in the living room...decisions, decisions....I'm trying to convince her that NOW is a great time to go to sleep. She just says "Oh Mommy!".

On the work front, I haven't had the time to devote to the store that I had hoped to this last year but I did work hard into the wee hours many nights, working on Search Engine Optimization that was specific to key words relating to my boutique. I have been seeing it pay off over the course of the last couple of months. I used to get excited by a few visitors a day but now, just in the last 7 days, I have had 620 Unique Visitors and 3203 page loads. How awesome is that! That is like 620 customers walking thru the doors of my boutique in only 7 days. Those numbers may be nothing compared to the big box stores but for a unique niche like mine, I think that they are fantastic! I feel that all of those long, countless hours are being validated now. The focus now becomes loading product, both new and resale. I have children's bedding, furniture, toys and baby product vendors along with new maternity and juniors. I'm becoming very excited about the the prospects for 2007! Mom wants to help me so that she has something to keep her busy and I will enjoy having her around to help.

Did I mention that I was tired? More like T I R E D !!!!! What I wouldn't give for a couple of days of uninterrupted sleep followed by a couple on a white sandy beach.... one can always dream, can't one?

I'm being summoned to rewind Dora. Nite all!

Two glasses ain't enough

2007-01-09T21:23:00.000-06:00

of wine that is..... Lord, it has been a week and it is only Tuesday.
I guess the craziness started last week or right after Christmas. Lillianne started running a temp that escalated to over 104 and then broke out with hives all over. That resulted in a Friday night trip to the emergency room (b/c who knew you could get hives from a fever...). I didn't go to the extended family x-mas that I had actually planned to go to b/c the Dr. said that she could be contagious and she was just foul and fussy! I get her well only to have Morgan come down with the virus, then Layne and now Lillianne has something else that I am beginning to believe is the flu. I haven't slept in DAYS........................seriously, DAYS! To top it off, my hormonal, beautiful 14 year old is having 8th grade friend issues (Lord, they can be vicious) and wants to move to a foreign country, any country. Well, that was an hour or so ago and now.....by some miracle of the 8th grade mystery, they have all made up and are bosom buddies again. My favorite part is how there is no way that I could possibly understand (OH HONEY, I have so been a 14 year old girl, everything feels like the end of the world), I tell her how hard growing up can be, what I've gone thru etc but really, I think that the painful process of teenhood must just be required to help mold you into adult hood. I'd skip over that part for her if I could but on the other hand, some of the moments can be priceless, too. I guess I'll just have to stock up on tissue and make up remover.

It is just crazy................

Christmas was good, difficult since Christmas Eve was also Daddy's b-day but overall considering the circumstances, it was good. We spent Christmas Eve with Mom, Santa visited at her house x-mas morning and then we all headed to Kurt's parents to be with them as well as Kurt's sisters and family for Christmas. We had a yummy brunch, good company and lots of gifts.

The kids were super spoiled this year..... just some of the spoils for this year were PlayStation 2 for the boys, several games for it, Game Boy Micros and games for each of them, board games and each a new pet guinea pig. Harry and Teddy....too cute! Lillianne got more baby dolls, 4 to be exact, a Fisher Price Twin Time Dollhouse, doll bed, accessories and a Disney Princess Bike. Miss Morgan got tons and tons of clothes, money, a 30GB IPOD video, a new coat and tons of other stuff. SPOILED ROTTEN GROUP but I love them! :)

Overall things are looking good for the new year, I'm excited about the new year as it should be bringing some great things. We have a lot to be grateful for....wonderful, healthy and bright children, great family and friends, a home and love....what more could you want.

Happy New Year to you and yours....I'll try to be better about posting in the New Year.

Christmas Pictures: http://www.teenstweensandtots.blogspot.com

Blessings,
Dottie

Nostalgia

2006-12-04T00:37:00.000-06:00

And it's been awhile again since I've posted....I won't apologize and say that it won't happen again because it probably will. I seem to be meeting myself coming and going these days and don't see that ending any time soon.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. Ours was nice; the weather was fantastic, the food was divine and the company was great. Layne wasn't with us this year, he was invited a while back to come up to visit his cousin in MN for the holiday and we decided to let him go. We missed him but he had a fantastic time. We spent the holiday at my Grandma's house and I couldn't think of a better place to be. Just walking into her kitchen with the wonderful smells of Thanksgiving dinner wafting thru the air took me back to my childhood and memories of holidays past. Sometimes I wish that I could travel back into time and spend just one more day as the child sitting beside her while she sewed and I made my Barbies clothes from her scraps, to help her cook and to snuggle by the fire. Life passes by far too quickly and the holidays make me not only nostalgic but sad. Hands that once were strong and able are now weaker and wrinkled, hearts that were once full of joy are this holiday season filled with sorrow. I have watched my grandparent's age years in just the spanse of a few months. Actually I watched it happen in a matter of minutes when the news that they had lost their son was delivered. I literally felt the years leave as I held my grandma in my arms as she wept. I do long for those days long past...

Thanksgiving afternoon we headed out on an impromptu trip with my Mom to Branson. When I say impromptu, I mean it. We threw it all together late Tuesday and early Wednesday and were armed with tickets to Silver Dollar City and hard to find hotel rooms by mid day Wednesday. Morgan wasn't able to go with us so it was just Kurt, Mom, Lillianne, Evan and I. Mom needed to get away and I think that this trip proved to be just what she needed. We spent two days at Silver Dollar City with temps in the lower to mid 70's. Ate tons of great ( if not so good for you) food, rode rides, saw shows and generally just had a great time. We visited the outlet malls.....DANGER ZONE! LOL Thank goodness we had tickets to SDC and needed to get there b/c we could have done some serious damage to our bank balances. I did come away with a fantastic Stainless Steel 13 pc cookware set. I have had it up to here.... with T-Fal and Fabreware and took the financial plunge into stainless steel. I'm so loving it! Mom, Morgan and I along with Mom's best friend Anita (my second Mom) and her 17 year old daughter who is Morgan's friend are heading back just before x-mas for some last minute x-mas shopping and girl time. Should be fun!

Kurt had taken Monday off as the day to put up our Christmas lights. I was not so into putting them up this year but he was on it. LOL We have the house done for the most part but still have to put our outdoor tree of lights up that he made last year. I am slowly getting into the holiday spirit, although it is far more subdued than normal. I'm sure the children's mounting excitement will help motivate me to be filled with the holiday spirit.

Kurt took me to dinner tonight and asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I seriously could not come up with a single thing. I hate this question each year b/c I simply never know. He's gotten me great jewelry in the past and I don't need anything else, he's gotten me furniture for my birthday and I don't need any more of that right now... clothes are always good but he would so not want to pick anything out nor would I want him to....LOL A vacation sounds wonderful....I'd better think of something b/c Santa's running out of time.

I'll close by sharing a couple of pictures from a late fall picnic, Thanksgiving and Silver Dollar City. Here's the link:

http://teenstweensandtots.blogspot.com/

Nite!

Discombobulated

2006-11-10T23:14:00.000-06:00

2. discombobulated:
Feeling disconnected or unbalanced.

How fun is that word! In searching for just the term to sum up how I have been feeling lately, I found this one and while it may not be a perfect description of my mood; it was simply too fun not to use. I feel the need to use it randomly now...I'm discombobulated so I'm weird that way :)

It's just been a funky couple of weeks, even funky doesn't quite tell it as it is. The weather has been unpredictable; one day it is 75 and the next it barely breaks the 30's. Sometimes, today for example, it can fall within these ranges all within 2 hours. Nothing more disconcerting that starting out your errands needing short sleeves and no jacket, only to find yourself exiting Walmart in need of an umbrella and a parka. (not that I own a parka but with the wind that was happening, I would need one if I had one)

My 14 year old daughter had a classmate that lost his battle with cancer. That is just wrong on so many levels. It is wrong for any child to have to suffer with cancer and have their childhood stolen, wrong for a parent to have to watch their child suffer and not be able to fix it and wrong for young friends to have to mourn for a friend that was just beginning his life. It makes me so very, very angry. Cancer is a nasty, ugly and selfish disease.

Speaking of the awful monster that is cancer: I found out thru Michael's blog that a young girl that lives very near us is battling the demon. She is a huge fan of Rick Springfield's and he is coming to the Cape Girardeau Show Me Center to do a benefit concert for her and her family. He is donating his time and talent to help raise money for her family. How amazing for him to do so. It is heartening to see this when so much of our celebrity culture is so "Me" focused.

I'm tired....you know that bone deep, hard to shake no matter how much you sleep kind of tired. One of the valves in my heart doesn't work properly, apparently it never has but it has gotten a bit worse as I have gotten older. Nothing stays the same or stays in place as you age, such a cruel joke that life plays.....anyway.... The doctor says that this is why I am tired but it doesn't help when you are parenting four very active children, taking classes and trying to get a business to grow. The Doctor's prescription....and I really did laugh. Cut something out of the schedule, actually cut more than one thing out of the schedule. Well obviously the kids are going to have to stay (LOL), the classes cost a lot of money and I've got too much of myself invested in the business to just let it go. Also on the prescription for my health as recommended by the doctor (this is the best part): Hire a housekeeper to come in once a week and make sure that I take at least an hour a day for myself. I still laugh so hard at this suggestion that I nearly wet myself. Being me I would have to clean before the housekeeper came because I'm just weird like that, too. Also, considering the entourage that follows me to the bathroom to "potty" or to take a shower (think Sophie the Boxer and Miss Lilli), the likelihood of 10 minutes, let alone an hour by myself is laughable. It reminds me of that question that I get at least once a week based on the fact that I have four kids, several of them active in different things. The question "How do you do it?" There isn't even a question in it for me, I don't take the time to think about how my life might be different than those that have only one or two children. My mental retort to that question is "How do I not do it? We get by just like everyone else, maybe a few more activities thrown in, quite a bit more laundry that has to be washed and a bit more bickering amongst siblings but that just means that I have that much more love to give, sticky kisses to get, hugs to share and so forth. The rewards far outweigh the risks, if you will! :)

Kurt asked me out to dinner tonight. Do you think that he realized that I was a bit discombobulated? LOL We went out, just the two of us and then stopped at the store for a bottle of one of the local wineries wines. We stopped in for only a bottle of wine but left with the wine, habanero peppers, jalapeno peppers (he got a recipe at work for some hot concotion that I don't want to know about), half of a turtle cheesecake, a twix bar, an almond joy and the promise of naughty sex. LOL Catch your attention there???? I picked up the lastest copy of Cosmopolitan and when I actually looked at cover on the way home, one of the main headlines is "Naughty Sex: 8 hot new positions we've never published before". (Wondering how writing those words in my blog will affect the search stats and wondering how they keep coming up with new positions. .... HA HA). Despite those four kids, I may just have to carve out that hour by myself to read my Cosmo and enjoy my turtle cheesecake! LOL

In fact, that turtle cheesecake sounds pretty darn good right now..... Nite!

Battle lines are being drawn

2006-10-26T20:00:00.000-05:00

I'm wondering if blogging is such a good idea tonight. It is one of those days....dark, rainy and gloomy and everyone seems to have lost their mind. You know, one of those days that if one child breathes too heavily or too often, the other one is in danger of becoming homicidal. The kind of day where you run out of diapers before your husband can get home with the new pack because your two year old insists on stripping her diaper off every 30 minutes and thinks that the only thing her potty chair is good for is standing on to brush her teeth. The kind of day where all of the kids are home because everyone is stuffy and miserable.....The kind of night where two ice cold Schmirnoff Ice just don't seem to be enough.....You know that kind of day, don't you!

Did I mention that it is wet and cold? I'd had my fill of hot summer weather ( I do miss boating though) but this cold, wet miserable stuff is unsatisfactory. I understand why statistically they say more people deal with depression in the fall and winter. Your choices are being cooped up in the house or freezing your a.. off getting out to do anything. Those choices are depressing!

So, I completely redid the Princess' bedroom. It is adorable, girly and even I would love to sleep there. Lilli loves to take everyone in to show them her "pitty" room but guess who won't sleep there. She insists on sleeping on the love seat. DRIVES. ME. NUTS! And the whole potty thing.....I need help! I know enough not to force the issue, been there and done that. That method just lends itself to flat out refusal and for those of you that have had toddlers, you need to pick your battles very carefully because you very seldom win them. Our leaders could take lessons from toddlers on battle tactics, our nation would remain secure.

Speaking of battles....there is one going on right now with bedtime refusal. Better hit the front lines....wish me luck

Rambling....again

2006-10-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

I'll warn you in advance...this will probably be nothing more than rambling tonight.

I'm holding a warm, sleeping Princess in my arms while I am trying to type. I could put her down but she is far too cute and cuddly.

The other three are spending the night with Mom tonight. I knew this was going to become the new weekend ritual when she moved to town but I'm ok with it. It's good for her and good for them. Lilli wakes up every morning asking if we are going to "MeMaw's House" now. LOL

I fell yesterday and it hurts like HELL! I was looking back behind me and talking to Evan when I stepped on a plastic, tubular child's hangar. The combination of my sock feet and the laminate wood floor was not a good one. My feet flew out from underneath me and I had no time to catch myself. Of course I land on my bad side.... I was scared to move as the hip is already degenerating, I just knew that I had busted it. I'm ok, just feel like hell today. Thank goodness Kurt "opened" the hot tub this last week, it is my new best friend right now. LOL

Soccer tomorrow, soccer Sunday, soccer for the next month and a half.....

My brother is now in Korea for the next year. Talked to him tonight and all went well with the flight. He seems to like it already, even the food. It is worrisome that there may be nuclear testing in North Korea as early as this weekend. Warnings have been given but don't seem like they will be heeded. Prayerfully this can be resolved peacefully. Our armed forces are stretched far too thin as it is. The world is a scary place right now, I pray for my children's futures.

I'm tired and I have a really good novel, along with a fuzzy blanket calling my name.

Happy Weekend!

In The Arms of The Angels

2006-10-01T00:20:00.001-05:00

Everyone is sleeping, all but one tucked in where they should be tonight.
That one, that one that is loved and missed so much....
That one, my sweet little one, is sleeping with the angels
So far that I never will touch, never smell his sweet scent or kiss his pink toes
but so very close right here in my heart.
Rest softly with your Father sweet one, I'm missing you tonight.

It's one of those nights that hit me out of no where, there is just a spot of emptiness here....

What Makes a Mother

By: Jennifer Wasik

I thought of you and closed my eyes, And prayed to God today.
I asked what makes a Mother, And I know I heard him say:

A mother has a baby, This we know is true.
But, God, can you be a mother, When your baby's not with you?

Yes, you can He replied, With confidence in His voice.
I give many women babies, When they leave is not their choice.

Some I send for a lifetime, And others for a day.
And some I send to feel your womb, But there's no need to stay.

I just don't understand this God, I want my baby here.
He took a breath and cleared his throat, And then I saw a tear.

I wish that I could show you, What your child is doing today,
If you could see your child smile, With other children who say:

We go to earth and learn our lessons, Of love and life and fear.
My mommy loved me oh so much, I got to come straight here.

I feel so lucky to have a mom, Who had so much love for me.
I learned my lessons very quickly, My mommy set me free.

I miss my mommy oh so much, But I visit her each day.
When she goes to sleep, On her pillow's where I lay.

I stroke her hair and kiss her cheek, And whisper in her ear.
"Mommy don't be sad today, I'm your baby and I'm here."

So you see my dear sweet one, Your children are Ok.
Your babies are here in My home, They'll be at heavens gate for you.

So now you see what makes a mother. It's the feeling in your heart.
It's the love you had so much of, Right from the very start.

Though some on earth may not realize you are a mother,until their time is done.
They'll be up here with me one day,And you'll know that you're the best one!

This is my life...

2006-09-30T12:31:00.000-05:00

Laundry multiplies faster than the results of the most amourous of rabbit lovin' around here. I swear, I don't know how it happens. Granted with 6 people in our household, we are going to have some serious laundry going on but this is INSANE. I think that the people at Tide are working undercover with the laundry hampers in my house to boost their quarterly sales numbers. I need to be cloned just so one of me is always in the laundry room. Did I mention that I am sick of laundry?

Layne left this morning for his overnight scout campout. Kurt had to work this weekend and couldn't go along but he is going to head down this afternoon to spend the afternoon and evening with Layne and his den. Layne doesn't have a clue so I know that he will be very excited. He did not want either of us to stay the night though because it is far cooler to share the tent with your friend that with your parent. I mean, parent's aren't cool enough to talk bugs, bodily functions and all other gross things that 10 year old boys find awesome. LOL He was so excited this morning and had the best time putting all of his stuff together last night. He has a regular flashlight that he is taking but Kurt gave him a mini mag light that is camo in color to put on his belt. He is VERY proud of his mag light, his Daddy carries one with him at work everyday. The strange bondings of father and son. :)

Evan is Pokemon obsessed. Go figure.....he got into the Pokemon games for his gaming system and now everything is Pokemon. Then after a visit to his cousin's house in Minnesota in which he discovered his cousin had big books of Pokemon cards, that has become his heart's desire. Last night while at Walmart Layne and I picked up some cards for him and snuck them in his Happy Meal Box. Seriously, I almost had to peel him off of the ceiling when he dug into his food and found his "prize", he was THAT excited! Unfortunately with Layne at his scout thing, Daddy at work and Morgan at a friend's house.....guess who has been chosen to do the battle of the Pokemon cards.....Yep, that would be me. I got suckered into the video game version and now it is the cards. There is no escaping...LOL

I'm off to get ready for a soccer game. This is my life.....Pokemon, soccer, laundry and potty training adventures!

Procrastination Part II

2006-09-28T00:17:00.000-05:00

No, I have not made it very far in the reading/testing department. I ended up taking Lilli to the pediatrician office after dropping off the clothes and picking up the boys at school. Turns out what Lillianne and I have been fighting is Strep Throat, compliments of the cousins. Adam's kids are here with him and when they got here they had apparently had strep. He thought they were treated with antibiotics but they still were dealing with sneezes and runny noses when they got here. The incubation period is spot on....nothing like sharing the love. LOL No wonder she and I have been cranky the last couple of days and now the migraine makes more sense. It still sucks though, thankfully Lilli doesn't protest when it comes to medicine.

I have been uber cranky today and Lillianne has matched me mood swing for mood swing. She told the Dr. to "go away" when we were at her appt. They bribed her with suckers. :) Morgan stated this afternoon that she was sure that pretty much EVERYTHING and EVERYONE was annoying to me today. Yep, pretty much! Wise to this the kiddos chose to be extra sweet this afternoon. Well, all except for Evan and sometimes he is just a crank pot. He insisted that today would be the day that I ordered his Pokemon cards on ebay. Insisted......not a good day to insist. The card ordering has been put on hold due to 7 year old system failure and ultimate melt down. Parenthood.....where is the pause button for days that you feel like garbage? If Staples (isn't it Staples, if not you know what I'm talking about) can have an EASY button, why can't I have a pause button.

Peeve for the day: To the older couple that was in front of me on my way into town today... You are sweet and I appreciate your desire to retain your freedom to drive but......driving 20 miles BELOW the speed limit, crossing the center line every quarter of a mile and nearly having a minimum of 4 wrecks in just a few miles into town should be an indicator that it is time to hand over the keys. Seriously, I'm not trying to be ugly about this but your driving scared me and my children are on the road with me. Be Careful and Be Safe...... No chance of them reading this or even knowing that I was saying not so silent prayers behind them this afternoon but it feels better to say it, or type it....LOL I know that I will one day be older (God willing) and I just pray that I have the sense to let go and let someone else drive.

Peeve number II: To my darling, adorable, stubborn and independent 2 year old princess......for the love of all things good.....WILL YOU PLEASE START USING THE POTTY!!!!!! I remain firm in the conviction that I plan to let you do it on your own time table (past lessons learned) but surely.....surely.......the fact that you remove your diaper, toss it in the trash can and then bring me a new one is an indicator......or really a BIG FREAKING WAVING FLAG that you are aware of what is going on and are completely potty trainable....wouldn't you think? :) Hey, you just let Mommy know, ok?!

So Layne had boy scouts tonight, he just joined this year and is in a super troop with great leaders. He participated in his first flag ceremony tonight and I cried. I AM A DORK, I admit it and well....I just am! You've got to know my boy....he takes life so seriously; school, choir, sports, etc...whatever he is involved in he holds himself to high standards and those around him as well. This is a good thing really, except for the fact that he has very little tolerance for those that don't share the same standards that he does. This is the child that once refused to participate in music class b/c his partner would not listen. Layne didn't want to fail the project so he refused to work with the kid. (eyeroll) Also the reason he ended up hating soccer. The second season he played he was with some kids that didn't play well and he shut down, flat out refusing to play sometimes. NICE and annoying when you know your kid can play the darn game well if he put his mind to it. Reason we believe that individual sports is the way to go for him! LOL Anyway, he just learned the flag ceremony process and true to his nature, he took that seriously (as it should be). Most of the other little guys were doing their about faces and all of the commands haphazardly and Layne was like a little military man. He carried the American flag and you could just see the pride on his face, he knew that he had a serious responsibility deserving respect and took it as such. Hence, the mommy tears. I love it when you get those little affirmations that you are doing things right. He has his first campout this weekend with other troops. He is so excited and already preparing his things to go. His leader informed me tonight that there was much discussion over who would share a tent with Layne. I'm so glad that he is getting along well with his friends. He can be so shy and reserved. I have been that way all of my life, sometimes painfully shy and it has often mistakenly come across as being bitchy or some other misconstrued adjective. I didn't want that for him growing up and when I see him interacting so well with the other kids, it puts my mind and heart at ease.

Next....Mom called tonight (last night depending on when this thing actually posts) from the Chinese place (picking up take out) crying. I WISH that there was someway that I could take her pain away. This is when I get mad at Daddy....not rational I know but a part of the grieving process so I'm told. She shouldn't be alone at 54, crying waiting for take out. She called to tell me that we (she, Lillianne and I) are getting out of here tomorrow.(Thurs) I think that she has shopping therapy in mind, along with some good food therapy. (Most likely it's just really Mom/Daughter/Granddaughter togetherness therapy) I really have tons of homework to do that is due right away but damn it, my Mom comes first. She put us kids first her whole life, she gave up so much for us and she sat by my bed when the Dr's didn't know if I would make it, holding my hand, praying and I'm sure making some deal with God. I WILL be there for her, even if it means completely flunking. She needs me and I literally owe her my life.

I'm getting emotional now so no telling where I would take this post if I continued. Seriously, when they say smoking kills.....THEY MEAN IT!

Tonight/This early morning I am thankful for:
1. Antibiotics
2. Halls Max throat lozenges
3. That fact that it is completely and utterly QUIET in my house right now
4. My soft, soft sheets that I am about to climb in to
5. The great hubby that is already there :)

Nite

Procrasitination

2006-09-27T11:59:00.000-05:00

I'm procrasitinating by blogging this morning. I have tons of school work to get done and I just can't bring myself to go there right now. I was up until 2:30 reading and taking notes then up with the kids at 6 to help get them ready for school. I almost cried when Lillianne woke up with them, insisted on making the trip with her Daddy when he took them to the school bus and I was sure that she would be WIDE awake. THANKFULLY she agreed to snuggle back down in the bed with me and we slept until 10:30! Woo Hoo! I can't remember the last time we did that but then cumulatively it still wasn't 8 hours of sleep for me.

The downside to the crazy sleep pattern is that I have a RAGING migraine. I'm two diet cokes and some naproxin into my pain therapy but it still isn't taking the edge off. I have to get ready and run to town, too. I'm also procrastinating there :) One of Layne's classmates lost everything in the tornado that hit our county. She has a 10 week old brother and they are all living in a motel. I can't even imagine that. His teacher is collecting things for the family and while taking reading breaks last night, I laundered a huge bag of girls clothing and a bag of infant boy clothing. I wish that we could do more to help them, I can't even fathom being homeless all of a sudden. Hopefully insurance will restore them as much as possible. So I have to make a trip into town to deliver those things.

Kurt and I got the boat and jet skis put away in the barn last night. That was kind of sad, sort of like a signal to the end of summer. We have had to leave the golf cart out b/c Lillianne and Sophie (Boxer) have been insisting on evening rides. We will be out in the yard and find Lilli and Soph sitting in the "ride" waiting on one of us to give them a spin. Soph sits in the seat just like a person. Some kids drove by last night and waved at Sophie while she was getting her ride. They had their windows down and were laughing, telling each other to check out the puppy. LOL We do have a picture of Daddy, Sophie and Wesley (Mom and Daddy's west highland terrier) riding in the golf cart, just a couple of weeks before he passed away. Actually it was when we were all there for the 4th. Mom keeps it on her refrigerator and Lillianne is always talking about PaPaw and the puppies. It's really sad, you wonder if she will really remember him.

Thankfully my new digital camera battery and charger will be here this week. Somewhere in the craziness of the funeral and the days surrounding, my battery charger containing my battery went missing. We think that it might have gotten thrown out with something so I've had to track down and order a new one. I am seriously lost without that thing. I use my good SLR but I am spoiled to the instant gratification that the digital provides! LOL

I really guess I should hit the books....now would be a really good time for Calgon to take me away. Or better yet Royal Carribean would work WONDERS! :)

Have a good one~

Notes To Self

2006-09-23T22:37:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Read and re-read last post made. Continue to read last post until you do remember that you have amazing kids.

LOL! The weather has been funky and so have the kids moods. We have had tornadic weather, severe thunderstorms and TONS of rain making it impossible for the kids to be outside and they have just not been seeing eye to eye. I think everyone in the house has been hormonal. ACK! Thankfully the rain has subsided but not before our county was hit by yet another tornado and lots of rain. Kurt had to go out and clean the gutters as well as dig an impromptu trench in our yard b/c of the heavy rain. It is LOVELY.....um, not! But if my options were water in the basement as opposed to no water in the basement, I'll take the muddy mess. Kurt's been wanting to take some dirt out of that area due to high places anyway, I guess this will speed up that process.

Soccer tournaments were cancelled due to the nasty weather, too. I have to say that I wasn't sorry at 6:00 this morning when I checked the website to see if the games were still on. It was dark, thundering and rainy. All I wanted to do was snuggle back down and sleep in.

The end of summer is here, tomorrow the boat and jet skis come out of the water and are being brought home. I'm glad Mom and I were able to make that last trip over and then the rest of the family joined us. I'm afraid that if she would have waited until next summer to go over for the first time after Daddy died, it would have been even harder than it was.

I'm going to be cramming in my Real Estate continuing education this week. NOT looking forward to that. It's not hard, just time consuming.

I have nothing else.....I'm tired and ready for everyone else to go to sleep so I can watch TV with full control of the remote! LOL Just a few moments of peace, not too much to ask for is it?

Tonight I am thankful for:

1. The fact that today is almost over and the crabby people are going to bed! LOL

2. My Handy Hubby went to town for milk and came home with a pkg of Nestle Crunch bars and a big bag of M&M's just for me.

3. The fact that the rain/thunderstorms/tornados have passed and no one was seriously hurt in our community and that my family is safe.

G'nite!

My Kids

2006-09-21T23:23:00.000-05:00

I have amazing kids!!!!! I just needed to write that down so that I will remember this day and this feeling when they start bickering and fussing again. LOL Today was parent teacher conference at school which means that the kids had the day off of school. I got glowing reports on all three of the kids that are in school. Layne's grades are pretty much perfect and his teacher called him the "Perfect Student". Hubby and I have heard that each year from his various teachers. Evan is doing great and his teacher says that he is wonderful. She says that she loves seeing his big smile everyday and he is Mr. Social. Somehow I can picture that! I visited each of Morgan's teachers and got great reports from each of them. She is such a social creature and her teachers all adore her. Her grades are wonderful and she is really hitting Algebra hard this year. We are lucky in the fact that our kids don't struggle with school or socially. I was so shy in school but forced myself to be involved. Luckily for my kids it seems to just comes naturally. That has always been such a fear of mine and that I wouldn't be able to make it right for them. I guess it is a form of validation that we are doing things right, somedays you just need to be told that you are. LOL

Miss Morgan had a volleyball game tonight. They won and Morgan had some awesome hits and saves. I love watching her play ball, she enjoys it so much and at the same time has such an intensity about her. We have soccer this weekend with games starting tomorrow night. Fire up the ole minivan!

The first day of fall is here. It seems as if there was really no summer at all. The last month and a half have just been a blur. I enjoy the fall weather but really wish we would have had more time on the lake and in the warm sun. Kurt will soon be bringing the boat and jet skis home to store in the barn for the winter. How sad.... We had wanted to go camping, too but once soccer is over, I'm afraid it will be too cold. Oh well!

I'm going to ressurect my "thankful for" list tonight:

Today I am thankful for.....
1. Amazing kids
2. My mother being safe and nearby
3. Kurt......he really is amazing and doesn't even realize it
4. The power of prayer
5. Friends, both near and far

Moving Day

2006-09-21T00:19:00.000-05:00

I.AM.TIRED!!!! That is simply the only way I can describe it because I am too tired to go further into detail.

We started packing Mom up last Monday and worked almost straight thru until Wednesday morning when Hubby and I went to get the UHaul. I ran home at night to make sure everyone was taken care of and then back to packing.... The move went well but neither Mom or I could hardly walk by the time that the movers got the UHaul loaded. Our pastor had a crew of people waiting when we pulled in to help unload the truck, they, along with Kurt and my father in law, had Mom all unloaded within an hour. What a wonderful church family we have been blessed with. Mom and I unpacked all day Thursday while Kurt did all of the handy man jobs and mowed her grass. Bless his heart, he ran lines for her ice maker, hung shelves, fixed leaks and phone lines.....I do love that he is so darn handy, though! Friday we pulled an all nighter with decorating and finishing up some of the rooms. She is now safely ensconsed in a cute and cozy three bedroom, one bath home just minutes from me. The circumstances that brought her here are awful but I am so glad to have her near us. The kids and Kurt might even be more excited than I am...LOL

It does seem that we have been in overdrive since she decided two weeks ago to make the move. Once the decision was made it was full steam ahead. That is just how the two of us approach life and together we usually get it done and have fun in the process.

I still have TONS of school work to get done. This weekend will be split between soccer tournaments and study. Work has simply been put on the back burner. A hidden blessing in having a business that I run from home. I have been able to take care of the orders as they have come in but haven't even begun to think about getting the resale line up and running. I was contacted today by a jewelry maker that found my store online. She would like me to showcase her pieces. Even more exciting are the testimonials on her store site from big name celebrities that are wearing her work. I feel honored that she would like to work with me.

Kiddos are doing well. Evan's been struggling with some allergy stuff but had a good day today. Layne is getting ready to start choir and both boys are loving scouts. Morgan is doing great in volleyball and in soccer. She is on the STUCO exec board and has a convention coming up and Girl Scouts has started up for her, too. Lillianne is a mess! She keeps me laughing all day long! She is really talking now and will pull some of the funniest stuff out of her little head to share. Morgan loves to teach her all kinds of funny things, this has me worried. Her latest is mimicking the song "I'm Bossy". Lillianne's version is "Lilli Bossy, I Bossy"! I do have to agree with her there, she is a little bossy! LOL

I keep telling myself that I am going to get back into posting mode. I enjoy reading back over the last year or so as I am reminded of all of the fun we have had, the growing we have done and the blessings that have come our way so I would really like to continue blogging. I just have to get thru this school work and get everyone else in my life settled. Baby steps.....

But for now, I'm going to sleep.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2006-09-10T22:25:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been awhile again. I keep meaning to record my thoughts and life's events in my blog, mainly so I can remember and keep up but life keeps getting in the way. LOL

The kiddos are back in school, Morgan turned 14 (yikes) and my Mom is moving up here. Things are definately changing rapidly. Volleyball and soccer have both started and I don't see a free weekend for a couple of months. It is tiring but I wouldn't change a moment of it. The boys have started Boy Scouts and they are both really looking forward to that. Mom says Daddy would be very proud of them. He was an Eagle Scout, a leader and sat on the council as did my Grandpa. I hope that they will see it thru to Eagle Scout but we'll go year to year and see how it goes. Morgan has stayed with Girl Scouts so maybe....

Mom and I took off to the lake on Wednesday, she hasn't been back since Daddy died and I SOOOOOO needed to get away for a couple of days. I haven't dealt with the whole death thing yet, it is too big and too emotional. It's wrapped up in it's own little compartment in my heart and I'm sure will unleash itself on me when I am least expecting it. I have too much to worry about with the kids and Mom to take time to deal with what I am feeling. It sounds horrible but right now I think that the one emotion that is leaking thru is anger. Anger at Daddy for not taking better care of himself. He had so much to live for....BUT prayerfully he has eternal life which is promised to be far better than anything life on earth can offer us.

Anyway, we went to the lake and we enjoyed it so much. Of course Lillianne came along with us and Hubby was left to get the kids ready for school, on the bus, volleyball practice, soccer practice, dinner, homework and the rest of the fun stuff that I normally do. I called after the first full day and he raves about how well the kids listened, home work got done right away, dinner was done, baths were taken, teeth were brushed and they had even made their lunches for the next day. ALL without one bit of fussing......I'm leaving more often. Mom, Lillianne and I enjoyed sleeping in and shopping all on no one's schedule but our own. I got to read a book from cover to cover in one day and Lillianne enjoyed the one on one Mommy and MeMaw attention that she got. Hubby took Morgan to her soccer game on Saturday and then brought her, one of her friends and the boys over to the lake where we celebrated her birthday and boated. I was planning to come home Friday for her birthday but she informed me that she REALLY, REALLY wanted to go to the football game with her friends and would much rather come to the lake. The two girls babysat while we went out with Mom and another couple on Saturday night to a Seafood restaurant. All you can eat crab legs....yum. It was a fun way to celebrate our anniversary and when we got back, Mom made Margarita's. Mom really doesn't know how to make Margarita's so she was winging it. I later figure out, after the headache this morning that she mixed an entire bottle of Jose Cuervo into the one bottle of mix. Good gracious.....I was comfortably numb to be sure. LOL Mom kept saying that she was so glad that we decided to come to the lake, she was dreading coming for the first time but that it really did her good in the end. It was sad to know that boating today would be the last for this summer and that this one summer altered all of our lives forever.

Tommorow brings packing Mom up, getting ready for the movers on Wednesday. I'm so excited to have her up here with us, I just wish that it would have been under different circumstances. I can't imagine how hard it is for her. Just thinking of losing Kurt takes my breath away and causes and ache that I can't describe.

I don't know when I'll be back again. My brother is coming for a couple of weeks with his kids before he leaves for a year in Korea. We've got some fun stuff planned to do so that will keep us busy and I have classes to finish.

Well, till next time.....

Back to School

2006-08-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

Finally....I have slept and it feels glorious. Now only if I could do it around the clock for a couple of days, I might be caught up.

Yesterday was a little bit better day for Mom. The guy that does our hair came out to Mom's for the day to make us all beautiful! :) Christina got a cut and a perm, it looks like she has a ton of hair now while Mom, Morgan, Caleb and I all got cut and styled. Mom called it our "spa day", it provided a little bit of distraction for her. Sunday she and Morgan went shopping and I know that was a distraction as Morgan came home with bags of clothes.....I told her that I want to be the Granddaughter LOL Morgan told MeMaw that she really didn't need anything b/c she and I had just gone shopping before she went to Florida but I think Mom's goal is to spoil the kids rotten. They had fun and Morgan said Mom enjoyed their time and was smiling so it's all worth it in the end.

We got the kids open houses for school out of the way, I can't believe that it is time to go back already. Evan and Layne both love their teachers and are excited to find that some of their friends are in their classes. Layne's classroom is amazing, there is one computer to each two children that sits between the two desks. The emints program that they will be using in the classroom sounds wonderful and challenges the individual student. He is really excited about the upcoming year. Middle school was pure chaos when we stopped there for Morgan to unload her back pack. I can't get over how much some of these kids have grown up over the summer, including my daughter. I can't believe that she is in the 8th grade, next year is high school. That makes me sad..... It seems like just a few years ago that she would come in to our bedroom almost every night and tell us that she didn't want to grow up, that she didn't want to leave us. Last year she came home from school and said that they were talking in class about becoming 18 and leaving home. Morgan said she asked the teacher if they have to leave home at 18 and the teacher said that most kids want to leave home....Morgan said that she didn't want to and when she got home asked me if she had to. LOL I told her she was welcome to stay home as long as she wanted to but assured her that there was probably going to be a day when she would want to get married, she said she doubted it! LOL I should have gotten her to write that one down!

Lillianne is cutting teeth....it's LOVELY! Last night nothing was right, she wanted a bath but she didn't want a bath, she wanted her cup but didn't want her cup.....it lasted for hours. A dose of tylenol seemed to calm her down and let her rest. She woke up happy this morning, I'm hoping that lasts.

There is lots to do to get the kids ready for school in the morning, 6:15 is going to come early for them. I'm not looking forward to waking up Ev, it isn't going to be pretty....he simply is NOT a morning person.

I have a NESCO cooker full of apple butter that I have to get into jars, better get busy.

Trusts, wills and school shopping ....

2006-08-13T00:27:00.000-05:00

Overwhelmed, tired, sad, angry and did I say tired?......those are the different things that I am feeling right now.

There is so much to do to help Mom right now, the paperwork is unbelievable and I am being so careful that everything is just perfect when I complete it and send it in for her. Insurance companies can be pretty tedious. I don't remember the last night that I slept, really slept. I keep waking up every morning right at 2:30 with no idea why, sometimes I am able to sleep fitfully again and sometimes sleep simply evades me. I'm sad well, because we've lost my Dad and my Mother's heart is broken, I can't fix this one for her..... I'm angry because she shouldn't have to be going thru this. Cigarette's suck.............we are convinced that years of smoking stole years from Daddy's life. Who can dispute the evidence of the harm that cigarette's can cause, it is just too concrete. You smoke, your killing yourself and it isn't fair to those that you leave behind or those that your second hand smoke could kill..... Am I pissed about smoking, damn straight I am, I've seen too many of my mother's tears lately to not be.

Mom and I have been discussing wills and trusts and all of those ugly words that you don't like to think about needing but it has become all too clear to us over the last few weeks that life is fragile and can be gone well before you think that is should be. Things were pretty straight forward for Mom as the beneficiary but we got to talking about her will and probate...blah blah blah.... Which led Kurt and I to talking about what we need to do to make sure that our affairs would be in order if something should ever happen to one or both of us. We've made sure we have life insurance, but is it enough? We have a will but apparantly the courts can haggle over that kind of stuff for a year or more and extract their fees from the estate in the process. Nix the will, we are going for the living trust, it makes more sense and keeps our assests secure for our children. If you haven't read it, "Nine Steps To Financial Freedom" is a fabulous book by Suze Orman. She outlines many steps that you should take to protect your loved ones and yourself. Another important instrument to have is the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. Kurt and I have expressed to one another our wishes should one of us become dependant on life support with no hope of recovery. Apparantly that is not enough, you need to give someone that would have the strength to enforce your choices the power to do so, so that it may not be disputed by Dr or any other party. Of course we have made sure that our will allows for guardianship of our children but that can also be subjective to the courts unless outlined properly. Much work to be done before I will rest easy here, we may not be wealthy but we are blessed and certainly want to secure our children's futures. It is something everyone should really explore.

I've had to get an extension on my classes, while they may be important to me, nothing is more important than my family and making sure that my Mom is taken care of. She gets my attention when she needs it right now, plain and simple. She has sacrificed so much for me and my siblings thru the years, it is the absolute least I can do.... I'll get back to the classes when I can. Luckily I have amazing professors and a wonderful college.

We are all looking forward to Tuesday. Mom and I have the same hair stylist and he has agreed to come to Mom's for the majority of the day and cut my hair, Mom's, Christina's, her son's and Morgan's. It looks like it will be a day of pampering and laughs, much needed TLC. It's those little moments added together that will work towards healing.

Kurt and I took the boys school shopping today. Morgan is with MeMaw and MeMaw wants to take Morgan for her shopping. They enjoy that time together each year, usually Dida goes but I think she will bow out this year. I've gotten most of Morgan's stuff already, I try to buy when they first advertise the sales so I don't end up searching for the darn dry erase markers at the last minute (Been there, done that!)but I am sure, knowing my daughter, that she will find something for her MeMaw to get her! LOL Kurt's extent of shopping consisted of lunch out and us getting Lillianne's shoes. We got her a pair of sandals to finish out the summer, she's growing like a weed....and the CUTEST pair of Nike tennis shoes with a hot pink Nike swoosh. They look like big girl shoes in miniature, they actually are... Lillianne insisted on carrying my Victoria Secret bag like a purse thru the mall and refused to ride in the stroller. It was cute until she began pulling out my new panties and bra waving them around.... I thought Kurt might be far more helpful by taking Lilli home with him and letting us get the serious shopping done. The boys and I had fun shopping for clothes and found what they needed for once. We then braved Walmart for groceries and a few last minute back to school items. They were able to get all of this accomplished without arguing once....amazing! But I'm tired and I made the mistake of breaking in a new pair of Nike Shox during the shopping trip. DUMB idea, my feet are killing me!

I know that I sound frustrated and tired, I am but I am also grateful for many, many things........
I'm grateful for all of our amazing friends that have flooded my email inbox and my snail mail box with thoughts, prayers and cards. I'm grateful for the plants and angels that have been sent here, the donations to various charities in Daddy's honor and the love that they express. Morgan's soccer team that she plays for out of town even sent a card and made a donation in Daddy's memory to his hometown church. We are ever so grateful and humbled by your friendship, your prayers and your love.

I've rambled, but this is my place to do so and I needed to.
I'm off to bed, hopefully sleep will come easily.
Hug your loved ones, don't forget to tell them how much you care and put any differences to rest, you may never get another chance to do so. Nite!

At Peace With His Lord

2006-08-09T18:48:00.000-05:00

At 12:31 am on July 31 (my 35th birthday) my Daddy died suddenly of a massive heart attack at the age of 53. We are all in shock, it really hasn't hit me despite the beautiful ceremonies that were held and saying goodbye. I still expect to see him when I am at Mom's house or when we are all at the lake. I mourn what wasn't, what was and what might have been....

Daddy was honored in such beautiful ways. There were an estimated 700 plus visitors at the funeral home and the 20 plus mile processional from the funeral home to the veteran's Cemetery was led by no less than 20 police vehicles, lights on leading the way. At every intersection along the way, traffic was stopped and an officer saluted the hearse. Even on the divided highway people were standing outside of their vehicles, all but 2 or three pulled over in respect. Services were held in the outdoor chapel at the veteran's cemetery, there were no less than 50 officers lined up on each side of the walk saluting Daddy's flag draped coffin as it proceeded into the chapel and we followed behind. It was beautiful and so surreal. They honored him with a gun salute and taps was played by a lone bugler. The slow tune tore at my heart with its finality. My brother and sister released 4 white doves as I read the poem entitled "The Final Flight". Three of the doves represented the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) while the fourth, representing Daddy's soul was released to join the three.

Daddy was honored in most of the surrounding newspapers and the local TV station paid tribute to him in a way that would make him proud. I don't know if this will work but here is the clip:

http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/s...v=menu51_2

Pray for my mother, bless her heart she is the strongest woman I know. She is still Mom, getting the job at hand done while mourning. Kurt said that it is now our job to take care of her. He has asked her to move in with us, even thinking of ways to add on to our existing home so that she might have her own space. I don't think that she will move in but hopefully she will move closer. Pray for my grandparent's.....I went with Mom to tell them and I pray that I never have to witness another parent being told that their child has died, no matter how old the child. I watched them age years before my eyes and held my grandmother while she sobbed....I remember those arms that used to be so strong holding me when I would cry as a child, now she is weeping for her baby and I am holding her.

At least Daddy didn't suffer, he was a smoker and certainly was at high risk for cancer and other lung issues that could have resulted in a long, slow death. This was instant, only moments before he had told my mother that he loved her. I think that that is the way he would want it, he was a man that hated sickness, going to the doctor and medication.

I knew that I loved my husband but I never realized just how much he truly loved me. Not that I didn't know that he loved me, he has fought for me when things were rough but this time of mourning and sadness he has revealed even more what a kind, deep feeling, caring and compassionate man that he really is. I got more compliments from people that have known me all of my life that watched him with me and the children over the course of the funeral week on what a great guy he is. He took charge and made breakfast for everyone at my grandmother's house after we had gone down to tell them. I didn't have to lift a finger to do anything and he was always there to catch me when I was about to "fall". What a comfort to have such a strong husband to take over and take care of all of us. We both have vowed to really let each other know daily how much we appreciate and love each other. Time here together can really be so brief. I realized how much he loves my parent's as his own, too. He doesn't read this blog but in anycase.....I love you Kurt, I appreciate you and I am so proud of the man that you have become.....believe in yourself and let no one take what is real and right away from you....

I'll close now, I really haven't processed all that this means to me.....I have a feeling that it is going to hit me when I am not expecting it. I have tons of school work to catch up on and sleep to catch up on as I haven't been able to sleep since this happened.

2006-07-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of free time to post these days....
This last weekend was another filled with reading, lectures and tests which brings nothing too exciting.

We did take advantage of the gorgeous weather that we had on Saturday by taking a picnic lunch to a local state park to hike, play in the water, the woods and the playground. While the kids, Sophie and Kurt hunted crawdads in the stream, I read from my textbook and took notes for awhile. I couldn't get involved in their water activities b/c earlier in the week I cut my knee open. I probably should have gotten stitches but the thought of it nearly gave me an anxiety attack so the butterfly closures were employed. It is healing nicely b/c I've done my best to keep it straight and out of the water. Driving has proven to be a challenge but even with stitches my movement would have been restricted.

Let's see if this film looping thing works, these are pictures from our day.

Nothing much else is going on....just enjoying the summer. It is coming to a close far too quickly.

Freshman Fifteen

2006-07-09T23:17:00.000-05:00

Whew....long day! I have another puppy gone, three tests behind me and a paper turned it. I can call it a good day!

I had to take two test quizzes in history, a test in my bible class and write a 3 page paper for the history class along with go to Springfield, IL today. Did I mention that I had to finish reading 30 pages and take notes on it. I referenced the font size in my earlier post, it was NOT fun. The reading had to be done while riding in the van with the kids, my hand now has carpal tunnel syndrome, of this I am convinced and my hubby is really tired of hearing me say that I need a laptop. Hopefully tired enough to get me one! :)

Good news is.....I am done with the aforementioned tests and paper, all went exceedingly well :)
I missed only a combined number of 3 on the History quizzes, I took tons of notes but apparantly not enough to answer those three. I missed only one on my Bible test, I knew the answer but common sense eluded me in that moment. My gut told me to choose answer A and my hand chose answer B, thus getting it incorrect. This shouldn't bother me, I'm really working on the issue of having to get it all perfect. I haven't written a paper in eons but it even turned out fairly well. I impressed my audience of hubby and kids, they now think that I am super smart with my utilization of big words. HA HA!

On the trip to Springfield we ate at the Cracker Barrel. First we went into this little place that looked quaint and fun on the outside, it was a smoke pit from HELL on the inside. We sat down, looked at the pitiful menu, chose clean arteries and lungs over grease and smoke and told the waitress the kids wanted McDonalds. LOL Well, it's better than telling them that they were killing my entire family with poor ventilation, second hand smoke and germs. So we ended up at Cracker Barrel where I pigged out on hashbrown casserole. LOVE the carbs! :)

Layne asked me while we were eating today why I was taking classes again. Good question, Bubby! I had to explain to him that once he and his siblings were older and didn't need me so much, Mommy would want to do something else with her days. He looked at me like surely he would still need me and boy, I hope he still does. I can't imagine this job not being my purpose. I know that it will evolve and change, I'll still have a job, the description will just have to be altered a bit.

Kurt and the kids played outside tonight while I finished up my work, bless his heart he must sense that with deadlines I am teetering on the brink of insanity. He's finally putting up the pool so they piddled with that for a bit. Yes, it is July but we have been gone nearly every weekend and it hasn't gotten put up yet. Lillianne found the spring horse that was Evan's in the shed when we were getting the pool out so all weekend she has been happily riding her "Tow" aka Cow aka Spring horse.......you try to tell her any different and see if she listens to you.

I'm off to find a snack, all of this learnin' is making me hungry....hopefully the Freshman 15 doesn't apply to you when you go back to school after 30! :)

Home, Dating Daughters and the History of Our Nation

2006-07-07T17:10:00.000-05:00

Home sweet home......that's a hard one to get out when trying to come down off of five blissful, sunny days spent on the lake. Sure I appreciate having my home and all of the good stuff that goes along with it but trying to transition from wind blowing in your hair on a gorgeous lake to surrounded by fields of corn, mosquitos flying in your ear, MO humidity....there REALLY is no comparison.

We completely enjoyed our time at the lake. The kids played well together, little to no fighting and they made tons of new friends since there were so many kids over there with it being the holiday weekend. Morgan had a following of boys everywhere she went, that had Kurt on alert and me laughing at the things to come. Poor kid is going to have fun when she begins dating. Kurt's favorite line from Bill Engval (Blue Collar Comedy Tour)is the one where he tells his daughter's new boyfriend to take care of his little girl b/c he's not afraid to go back to prison. I think that it is Kurt's new motto on boys dating his daughters.

We had a nice time with Mom and Dad, spent a couple of days by ourselves with the kids and then had Kurt's family come over to join us on the fourth. One of his sister's was in from out of state with her kids and husband. His Dad, Mom and younger sister were able to come along, too. It was great to see them and share something we enjoy so much with them. It was a nice visit but far too short.

So I'm going back to college....I've talked about that here already. WHAT IN THE HELL WAS I THINKING!!!!????????? Seriously, I am excited because I am taking yet another semester step closer to my degree but oh my goodness. I love American History but reading a 1088 pg book as the text book with type smaller than this is killing me! Over the weekend I have to take two quizzes on this material, write a three page paper and read some more. I also have to take a test in my Bible New Testament class. The math class is thankfully a 16 week course that I will use the latter 8 weeks of that time frame to complete. Did I mention that in this weekend time frame, I have an Open House on one of my real estate listings and I have to take one of the boxochoclate puppies to it's new owner. Good thing I work well under pressure.

Evan turned 7 yesterday. Not sure where those years have gone, if I dwell on it too long, I get depressed. I don't understand why they get to be kids for such a short time, that we only get to hold them this close for a brief, very brief part of their lives. Happy Birthday Short Man, I love you so much it hurts!

I'm rambling, I really have a lot of work to do. Feel free to read A History of the American People and fill me in on all of the details. :)

Happy Weekend!

Now a word from Webster...

2006-06-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

voyeur

Main Entry: voy·eur

Pronunciation: vwä-'y&r, voi-'&r
Function: noun
Etymology: French, literally, one who sees, from Middle French, from voir to see, from Latin vidEre -- more at

2 : a prying observer who is usually seeking the sordid or the scandalous-

voy·eur·ism /-"i-z&m/ noun-
voy·eur·is·tic /"vwä-(")y&r-'is-tik, "voi-&r-/ adjective-
voy·eur·is·ti·cal·ly /-ti-k(&-)lE/ adverb

'nuff said

Happy Birthday Bubby!

2006-06-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Bubby!

My first baby boy turned 10 years old today....how in the world did that happen.
Last night for his birthday celebration with Grandma & Grandma, Grandma made his favorite foods. In all seriousness, he proclaimed that this was his last supper.....as a 9 year old! :) Too cute!

Here are more pictures from the party evening:

Kurt and I got him a digital camera, I am anxious to see his pictures. He takes great ones with mine already and he is so excited to get his own.

Tons to do....I'm working on the renovation of my online boutique, my college classes have started and I have four real estate deals going on at once. When it rains it pours but I'm thinking this is the good rain!

Wish I was heading to Florida with Mom on Wednesday. She and a few friends are heading down for a couple of days. She asked if I wanted to come along but I just couldn't work it out. Although it feels like Florida minus the sand here right now.

Laundry beckons, just wanted to wish my Bubby a very Happy Birthday!

rambling

2006-06-13T13:20:00.000-05:00

A few days away have improved my disposition a bit....we spent a couple of days on Kentucky Lake with the kids and Kurt's parents. The weather was gorgeous, we ate well and had a great time visiting. Morgan took a friend with her and they had fun on the wave runners and checking out the cute guys. Lord help me...... You can go HERE to see some pictures of our weekend.

Mom joined us Sunday evening and we enjoyed an evening boat ride to the beach and gorgeous sunset on the way back. I was able to read a book and a half, get some sun and just relax. Much needed.... Mom kept Layne over at the lake and I think that I'm going to load the kids up and take them back until Kurt can join us on the weekend. I have a few things to wrap up around here but that is where my thought process is right now.

My MIL kept saying how lucky we are that we are able to do this with the kids while they are growing up. I guess it's something I don't think about much because I grew up spending weekends and vacations on Kentucky Lake, boating, skiing and just relaxing. They did different things growing up but I just can't imagine not doing this with our kids. I'm glad that Kurt's parent's are able to join us every now and then so that they will be a special part of those memories (along with my parents) for our kids, too. We took Kurt's Aunt Kay with us summer before last, along with his parent's and the kids still talk about that.

Morgan is sad, her Aunt passed away this last weekend and we didn't find out about it until last night. I would do anything in the world to take the pain that she was experiencing away from her. I hate that I can't protect my kids from the bad things in life......Kurt has called me twice today to talk about what we can do to help her when she gets home, I know he is struggling with those protective emotions, too.

I'm rambling...My mind is still in the relax mode so there isn't much to blog about. Check out our lake pictures if you get the chance

Things that suck....

2006-06-08T00:07:00.000-05:00

Swim suit shopping sucks...... unless you have no cleavage or very little of it. If you are one of those people then you would have been in swimwear heaven shopping with me today. I am not one of those people and am now just completely annoyed. You're damned if you have cleavage and damned if you don't, just depends on the arena. What the heck ever happened to the underwire and why does every freaking swimsuit need built in booby padding? Oh wait, I did find a cute little black number with an underwire and no padding....it was $100....ON. SALE! Needless to say, the only thing that I came away from this shopping trip with was a bad mood.

A certain online auction site SUCKS even worse than swimsuit shopping. Seriously there must be some real morons running the show around there. I have sold over $5K worth of strollers in the last couple of months and today (I'm sure they had a little help) I get an email saying that I am attempting to circumvent fees b/c I offer my customers a color choice on the stroller. WTF is that all about? Me and the other 10 or so sellers that have been selling these things.....we all offer a color choice and have been for months. We are not offering more than one for sale or selling off site, we just give them a color choice for the item that they purchased. So I have to take a couple of words out of my listing, they were gracious, gave me my listing fees back and apologized for the inconvenience, asking me to reword the listing. So I reword it and still email them telling them to review their own policies, explaining that they have enjoyed collecting healthy fees off of my profits for months now without complaint. I copied the rules and regs and resent it to them, explained the situation and understood that they must have just been confused. LOL Seriously, there are people out there scamming the hell out of buyers and they do nothing, insane shipping fees are posted on some sales to truly circumvent fees and they turn a blind eye but they are targeting us stroller sales people who are making them tons of money. Get a freaking clue...... Maybe it is because I haven't listed auctions in a couple of weeks, I'm sick of looking at strollers. LOL or maybe it was because someone had too much time on their hands and had a bee up their butt. Either way, all is good and no worries.

While we are talking all things that suck.....weeds suck. I HATE gardening, could seriously care less about flower beds and all things green like that. I enjoy looking at and having them but do not enjoy the process of obtaining or maintaining them. Gardening is not cathartic to me, it is caustic and I really would rather just hire someone to do it all for me....but until that can happen.... I have perennials planted along with some shrubbery and while I may add a few things with more color to fill the beds, it will be done under protest. I did pull weeds tonight, the damn things are about the only thing that will stay healthy in this dry weather. I guess I'll plant something this next week, it'll hurt my hip and back but by darn, I'll have floral and foliage (insert eyeroll here)

I'm going to bed, probably to have nightmares about worthless swimwear. Nite!

Back again

2006-06-06T14:37:00.000-05:00

So I'm gonna blog here again because.....well, just because I want to and it's my blog! :)

I won't try to play catch up with you because frankly, it would take far too much time and right now, time is not a luxury I enjoy.

The kids are out of school for the summer, that keeps my days full. I have been busy with trying to reorganize my store and am evaluating a stack of suppliers trying to figure the direction that I want to go. And if all of that isn't enough with a two year old, I am taking 3 college classes this summer. FUN STUFF, I tell you! LOL It may take years but one day.....one day I will have a degree.

Why bother with a degree? It's just one of the things on my life's "To Do" list. Just something for me....

I have to shop for a swim suit this week. I haven't bought a new one in a couple of years and it is time to bite the bullet and just do it. We're going to be going to the lake and I'm running out of time.

Handy Hubby took the day off yesterday and we ended up taking the kids to the zoo in the afternoon. It was a gorgeous afternoon and we all had such a great time, Lil was so excited that we all had a time trying to keep up with her.

Plenty of random thoughts going on here but I have to run....time to start planning dinner

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T08:01:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Any special plans? Being that it falls on a weekday, we're not doing too much special tonight. I am going to go to the kid's school parties and make a nice dinner tonight. Handy Hubby and I had a nice dinner out (just the two of us) this last weekend so we'll count that.

We're still in the process of putting down the floor in the playroom. We have a little too much help, in the form of Lillianne. She insists upon being right in the middle of it and when her Daddy had to correct her b/c she was getting into the tools, she glared at him... screeched something not so friendly at him in Lilliannease and ran to Mommy saying "Daddy....and a string of more Lilliannease..." She was tattling on him!

As far as work....google is paying off, I'm waiting for my mannequins to arrive so I can take pictures of inventory and I'm waiting for images from my 3 shoe reps. It's a waiting game...

Evan had his "Pirate To Be Proud Of" ceremony last night. He was so very excited from the moment he woke up yesterday. He was going to be able to place his award next to that of his big sister and brother. He was so cute during the ceremony and so very proud. I've been thru this several times but I still got teary eyed. I hate that the kids are growing up...I love the people that they are but I miss those little years, too.

Here's a couple of pics from the evening:

Evan with his prize

Evan with his AWESOME teacher

Evan and Mommy

I'm meeting Mom for lunch today....somewhere yummy I'm sure!

I'm thinking of a move around here in cyber world....I'll keep you updated!

Enjoy your Valentine's Day...especially the chocolate!

I am alive!

2006-02-08T20:48:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am still alive and around but just haven't had the time to blog. I have those moments thru out the day that I think "I should blog about this..." and yet can't ever get here to do it. And of course, now that I have actually started to write, those blogging moments elude me!

I am working hard on launching new departments and lines in my boutique and marketing like a mad woman. Google is finally trickling customers into my store bringing the average up to around 99 per day! Now I just need to get it all up and online. Mom is home and when she gets settled I told her I would hire her to help me. She'd like the extra spending $$ and I'd love the help and company! :) I've had several people in town trying to convince me to open up a brick & mortar location but I just can't resolve myself to do it. Handy Hubby told me he would give me the $ is that is what I want but I LOVE my freedom and my hours. My sister told me why mess with something that is working so well, she makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't have the same traffic numbers that I do online. So....I'm not messing with what works! Good advice dear sister!

We didn't get to work on the sunroom this last weekend. We did go and get the doors and windows so we have them when we are ready but it was just too freaking cold and that part of our house catches a wind that will knock you down. Reason #1 that we are closing the patio in. We did however have fun shopping for the supplies. Friday night Hubby took me out for seafood..yum and then Saturday we spent the day with the kids shopping for supplies, went to O Charley's to eat and bowling....the bowling was fun but I seriously sucked! I was too busy trying to keep Lillianne from wreaking havoc on other bowlers games. Hubby on the other had was the strike king....annoyed the hell out of me! LOL Twas fun and then we vegged on the couch and watched the "Wedding Crashers". Sunday Morgan and I went shopping and I was actually able to go into Vicki's secret and come out with a bra that I love. They were having a great sale so I picked up a few other little things and got a free lipstick that was actually in my shade! I call that successful shopping!

We've had to put the sunroom on hold since the artic weather has finally arrived and is forecasted to stick around but I picked up some pretty laminate wood flooring in a light cherry to put in the playroom. Hubby doesn't escape the projects! :) We have a linoleum floor in there now and I HATE....HATE....HATE...it so is getting covered up tomorrow!

I had to turn in the kids soccer forms....I can't believe that it is time already..
Kurt was asked to coach a team in Morgan's age division but we talked it over with the guy that would help him and both of them have so much on their plate for the spring. It all sounded great, they wanted the guys to form another all star team but Morgan's commitment to the select soccer team out of town really makes that difficult. It's great that they asked and thought of him but both guys decided to opt out. I am quietly relieved! We have a lot of projects we are hoping to work on here at home and he's got some other things he will be working on and I selfishly want any free time to be spent with us.

It finally has snowed here! It was beautiful this morning but wouldn't you know it, it was a morning that I had to leave the house. They didn't end up cancelling school but on my way out to the highway I saw two cars off in the ditch. The stuff is beautiful and great if you can stay home and enjoy it.

I have had two of the kids home with what I guess is some sort of flu consisting of headache, fever and congestion. I guess that is the same thing that Lilli had last week but she can't tell me about a headache yet! Here's hoping the rest of us don't get it.

Ok, so that catches you up on the boring stuff that is my life! I will do my best to get around and catch up with you all and comment! I am off right now to read while all is quiet! I just finished the first book in Beverly Lewis' "Abrhams Daughters" series and finally got a copy of Diana Gabaldon's lastest in the "Outlander Series" which is almost 1000 pages. I'd better get to reading!

I'll leave you with of few snowy pictures from today! Stay warm!

2006-02-03T00:07:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to catch up on some of my blog reading tonight. I should be taking advantage of the fact that everyone is asleep and get there myself.

I took the night off to watch Survivor and CSI and then to go soak in the hot tub. It's good to take a breather but means more work for tomorrow! It is an eerie night here, it's been raining and is foggy.

Speaking of Survivor...not sure what that tribe of "older women"(which I take real issue with being 34 myself) was thinking by voting off their strongest member. I had read the story of her losing her son. She was supposed to be on the last season of Survivor when he was killed and she waited for this one. I can't imagine her grief....

On that note....please say a quick prayer tonight for one of Morgan's friend's Mom. She went in to deliver her baby daughter this morning and lost the baby either during delivery or at birth, we don't know the details. My heart is breaking for the entire family, I simply can't imagine. Send up a little prayer for them tonight if you will.

I'm off to make sure my kiddos are all tucked in safe and sound. Doubt I'll be around much other than trying to read a few blogs on my list. Have a great weekend!

2006-02-01T08:19:00.000-06:00

I thought I was thru with those sleep confused days of having the days and nights mixed up. It's not a baby this time causing the confusion, it's me and my work. It's been keeping me away from blogging or reading those of you on my blog list. Sorry!

I find that the best time or most productive time to work and actually get something accomplished is when everyone else is in bed. Working until 2am doesn't mesh well with having to get everyone up and ready for school/work at 6:15, thankfully the little Princess sleeps until around 9 or 9:30 so I can catch a few zzz's before she wakes up.

Burning the midnight oil is paying off though. My rankings on Yahoo and MSN now find me on the front page using several variations of search terms, often at #1 or in the top 5! I'm working on my Google campgain now and hope to be popping up there shortly. From January 1 thru January 31st my traffic counter has logged 717 visitors to the store but thru the first two weeks there was an average of 16 customers per day and the last few weeks of the month showed an average of 40 customers per day. I'm excited about what the Google campagin will do. I still have tons of stock to load, I'm in the process of changing up some of my vendors and adding a complete name brand resale line. I love this job but will be glad when all of the changes are finished and I can take a breather. I want to go to bed on time and read a book again! LOL

I'm longing for some sort of vacation... the inlaws just got back from Mexico and it sounds like it was fantastic. They were all tanned and relaxed...just to imagine myself being tanned and relaxed, I get chills! LOL Soccer season is ready to start and we have gotten the select schedule of tournaments. We are going to be all over the map this season so I don't know if there will be time for a vacation or not....

We're going to start on our sunroom this weekend. I can't wait for it to be done and I love the fact that we will be able to cross another project off of our list. The only problem is that every time we start on a project here, we get the itch to go ahead and build our home. I just have to pull out the time line to remind us why we are waiting! :)

I still have tons to do today before the premiere of Survivor tonight! Looks like it is going to be an interesting season!

I'm going to try to catch up on your blogs...give me a few days! :)

Finally Friday (is almost over!)

2006-01-27T19:44:00.000-06:00

Whew....is it over yet???? Is it Saturday yet? LOL It has been a day and a half for me.
I've been covered up in work, Lillianne has been in rare form harassing Sophie, I had to drive the truck that I HATE driving to Walmart....Walmart on Friday night is enough in itself to push one over the edge!

While at Walmart I get a call from Mom who needs to be talked down. I kept losing my reception on the cell phone so had to wait until I was leaving to call her back. Our conversation wasn't remotely over when I started to hit the cellular no man land around our house so I had to pull over in the church parking lot, listen to Mom with one ear and try to calm her down while Morgan blared something they loosely call music in my other ear as she messed with the radio controls. While watching half of the world go by wondering what the heck I was sitting there for! Advil anyone or Schmirnoff? LOL

I have Mom calmed, Kurt got the oil changed in the van while I was gone so I can have it back, Morgan has taken the "music" to her room and I'm about to fill up on Italian food....all is about to be right with the world again! :)

Not much to blog about, just wanted to wish everyone a happy weekend! Be safe!

Sticker Shock

2006-01-26T10:04:00.000-06:00

First of all...thank you all for you kind and supportive comments. I'm fine, I just have those moments that sneak up when you least expect them to.

Handy Hubby and I took Lillianne and headed to St Louis yesterday. He had worked 16 days in a row and needed a day off so we went to the Auto Show. I don't know if you can use auto show and fun in the same sentence but we had a nice time. Maybe just being together was part of the niceness. I fell in love with quite a few vehicles....my passion for the SUV has dimmed due to gas prices and space. Unless I'd get a monster one, there just isn't enough room for my growing family. Morgan is already almost 5'7" and Layne and Evan are growing overnight, it seems. It looks like the mini van will be our vehicle of choice for the foreseeable future. They had plenty of hot little convertibles there, reminded me of the Mazda Miata that I used to have. I miss that little car! I had to pick my jaw up off the ground when we came around to the Mercedes. There was this hot little S class sportster that I began to drool over until I went around to read the sticker price. Base price: $185,000 with added options.....$192,000! Like they couldn't fit all of the options in at $185,000! Holy cow! Call me crazy but who in the world spends almost 200K on a car? A CAR!!! Some would see a car sitting there on display, I saw college educations!

Morgan had her final basketball game last night. Their school was hosting a tournament and the 7th grade girls had made it to the championship game. They were facing their toughest opponent of the regular season, who had gone undefeated thus far. It was a tough match up but our girls got the first points on the board which helped set the tone of the game. The opponents were heavy foulers which allowed us to go to the line quite a few times, bumping our points up. Our girls ended up beating them by several points at the end, never giving the lead. Our girls (and us parents) were crying with joy, the other team was crying from frustration. They were all good sports though, each team shook hands and exchanged hugs. It was an exciting game and so fun to watch! We have a small (couple week only) reprieve before soccer starts up and it looks to be a busy season already with the traveling team.

Nothing too exciting but that's all that is going on around here other than work, that will never stop! :)

....................

2006-01-21T23:03:00.000-06:00

You think that you've healed, moved on and put everything back into it's proper place in your emotional bank when you slam head on.....bam...............out of the blue into that emotional brick wall that can drive you to your knees, begging for mercy and breathless with grief.

I want to scream and I want to cry..........loud, endless sobs that purge the pain from the depths of my being. Your heart is the organ that keeps you alive, they say that emotion doesn't really reside there, it's home is in your brain. Why then when pain grips you, does it feel like it is squeezing your heart? That is will cease to beat???

The questions are left unanswered....forever until I see your face in our heavenly kingdom.

Who do you look like? Your Daddy or your Mommy? Maybe one of your siblings...... do you have the same blue- green eyes that they have and the cupid's bow lips? Does your giggle melt the hearts of those around you? Are you shy or do all of the angels know your name? What would your little voice sound like calling my name?

Have you found your great grandpa's yet? Oh how they will love you! Grandpa M. will be taking you fishing in God's heavenly waters and Grandpa F. will have you help him put the chickens up when dusk arrives. I know you are well cared for...... Grandma's M & F will spoil you rotten with their goodies and endless hugs....

I only knew you for just a little while but I do miss you....I loved you before you even were. Your Daddy misses you, too. I see it in his eyes when he doesn't know it's showing.

You were just too perfect for this world. God knew that and he needed you at home with him. Little did we know that thru you he would open our hearts to the possibility of Lillianne. I bet you knew all along and I bet the day she was born, you and God were smiling.

Thank you little one for letting me hold you for a little while, though not in my arms but in my body and my heart. I never saw your face my sweet one, but I will know you in that very first moment we meet in Heaven. I love you............

I'm not much for blogging now.........this was more for me than really for anyone to read. I know somewhere in the past year of blogging, I have probably written about this before, but again...this is really me trying to work thru my feelings. I found out a friend in one of my parenting groups has lost a baby and in trying to find the words of comfort to offer her, I have fallen.... I don't think it ever stops hurting, may just dim for a bit until it is brought back by a stark reminder. Kiss your babies, make sure they are tucked in tight....I'm off to love on my other four.... goodnight

Lifeless Limbs

2006-01-18T22:24:00.001-06:00

It's no longer raining, it's not so cold anymore, it's rather windy and Lillianne has no fever! You could say we are having a better day today!

I stayed up to late watching "Monster In Law".....all I can say is OH MY GOD! That was the MIL from hell!!! It really makes me appreciate what a great MIL I have, all the more. I have "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" to watch tonight so I guess it will be another late one. I do have to say that I do enjoy the quiet along with having complete and utter control of the remote control! The power is all mine!!!! (insert evil little laugh) Everyone is asleep though so no one gets to witness my power, it loses a little bit of it's appeal. Unless you count Sophie who will wag her nub tail for a moment and then go back to sleep.

Lillianne still had a temp this morning when she woke up, or was awoken by Evan's impassioned speech about why there was NO NEED for him to go to kindergarten this morning. Late night watching movie meets loud, obnoxious 6 year old equals.....Handy Hubby handles 6 year old so things stay pretty!

Back to Lilli....she went back to sleep as soon as everyone left the house. She wanted me to snuggle on the couch with her, not the big couch...the love seat, then proceeded to fall asleep on me. My legs were at an odd angle when I fell back to sleep. Sophie thought it would be a great idea to join us (60 plus lbs or so of Boxer). She proceeds to lay on legs that are at the odd angle. The phone rings and I have had the foresight to bring it to the couch with me, only to find that no amount of foresight could have predicted what followed. I try to pick up my arms and both fling forward ontheir own free will, without any feeling whatsoever. Who knows how long they had been devoid of circulation. Flailing limbs proceed to smack into my stomach and onto Sophie (who gives an annoyed grunt and continues to snore). I try to pick up the phone but it's no use. Of course, someone has shut the answering machine off so the phone continues to ring, loudly......I'm trying desperately to turn it off but I couldn't get my hands to cooperate and I couldn't even use my toes if I had wanted to try because they were anchored down by the canine! Finally the persistant person on the other end surmises that after 20 plus rings, chances are I'm not going to answer! Braniac! Geez....5 rings, maybe 8 in case the person you are calling can't find the phone but give it up already after 10! Thankfully Lilli stayed sleeping and I was able to find a position that would allow vital life blood to continue to flow into my appendages and we slept comfortably for the next hour. When she woke she was fever free and has remained so thru out the day. YEAH!

We watched another episode of American Idol tonight. I was literally embarassed for some of these people. You would think that there was someone in the world that loved these people enough to be honest with them. Hey...I love you and you are talented in so many ways but singing just isn't for you. ACK!! It was just painful to watch! Humorous as hell but painful!

Well, it's movie time... till tomorrow!
Here's Lillianne sporting a lovely rash and the latest in hair fashions....

Longaberger accessories........not just for baskets anymore!

2006-01-17T14:08:00.000-06:00

So it's COLD here, cold and windy............YUCK!

Lillianne had a pretty high temp last night. I checked on her at 3:30 and she was burning up. Handy hubby and I put her in a tepid bath, dosed her with tylenol and ibuprofen as prescribed and settled in for some snuggles. Her temp fell a couple of degrees and I sent Handy Hubby back to bed, Lillianne requested Barney and I unloaded/loaded the dishwasher and did two loads of laundry. This was all before 5AM! I was able to lay the kids clothes out, make lunches and load back packs....the morning routine went very smoothly but I refuse to wake up at 3:30 to make that happen again! LOL

Lillianne seems to feel fine today although she is still running a temp and has had some messy diapers. It looks viral and the Dr's office said to call tomorrow if things aren't improved. I'm praying for sleep tonight....please!

Morgan's got a game tonight. I got some 'tude this morning b/c I said no to her going to the HS game with her friend after their game. The forecast for tonight is questionable and I don't want her out too late...bad mommy that I am! LOL Someday she'll appreciate it, until then it may be a rocky ride.

The kids got their report cards and they were all fabulous. I'm so proud of these kiddos. Layne and Evan had all 3's and 4's, which translate to A's and A plusses. Morgan had all A's & B plusses, which taking into consideration her schedule, is wonderful. I just don't remember being so busy as a kid. Basketball is ending but there are both soccer teams, scouts, STUCO and NJHS. I don't see a free weekend ahead but she enjoys it and thrives so I can't complain.

Layne went to the dentist the other day and his dentist requested an orthodontic consult. Here we go again....Morgan's dentist and ortho wanted to put braces on her when she was around 9, if we would have gone ahead and done it, she might not have had to go thru so many extractions before these braces and the process would have been easier. I had too many people telling me it was too early and didn't listen to the professionals.... We won't make that mistake with Layne, he is not excited about the whole experience though.

Lillianne is sleeping, I'm going to try to grab a nap!

Again....today I am just thankful!

Peaceful rain

2006-01-16T23:54:00.000-06:00

All is quiet here and I don't want to go to sleep yet and forego the peace that is all mine, if only for a little while.
It's raining and gloomy outside but there is a strange sort of comfort in the cadence created by the raindrops on my window.

Lilli's sick.....don't notice any outward sign of illness but there must be a battle being waged internally because her temp was 103.5 prior to ibuprofen and tylenol. I get freaked out when my kids get sick because so many bad things lurk out there. I've come to know about too many sick kids this year, too many with cancer and other selfish diseases that rob them of their childhood. I know Lillianne is fine but when they are sick, I'm reminded in a very blantant way of how much they mean to me.

I'm so swamped with work that I can't see the end in sight, no light yet at the end of the tunnel. I have so much resale stock to inventory and get loaded, I've got to finish lining things out with the new maternity lines and the children's shoe companies and there are several other new companies that have contacted me about carrying their products. I need to do some research to see how beneficial it would be to The Lily Pad. I've been working on my "goals" for the company for 2006. Of course I set the bar high for myself and will kill myself getting there but should be a wild ride. Marketing is going to be a big one for me in the early part of the year. I've got some great things going on in that arena, too. Until it all starts falling in place like it reads in my planner, I'm just going to be a wreck.

Basketball ends this next week for Morgan. I thought that was going to give me a couple of months reprieve until I saw the soccer sign up forms at the store tonight. Crap! Evan wants to play again, Layne could care less and Morgan is going to play here and on the out of town select team again. I keep trying to talk her into just the select but she gets a kick out of still playing the rec season here.

I THINK that our next project for the house is going to be closing in the patio and the steps going to the basement to create a sunroom/2nd family room. I hate freezing my tail off going out to the hot tub so that would keep me warm until I had to open the door to step in. Call me a baby but when it's below freezing, it's just not cool to be nearly naked outside! Tonight we were doing some measuring and figuring....I have drawn out plans and handy hubby has "ideas"........we're going with the plans but I will compromise...a little!

I just finished two great books: "Confessions of a Shopoholic" and "She's Come Undone". Confessions is a light hearted read that I enjoyed but "She's Come Undone" made me so sad. That poor gir's struggle with abuse, abandonment and being overweight and angry just broke my heart. How fragile life is and how a "perfect" existance can change in a heartbeat creating a life of anger, self destruction and bitterness. How amazing that the book was written by a man! I definately recommend it if you haven't read it, I stayed awake to read it thru last night!
I want to go and get Diana Gabaldon's newest in the "Outlander" series but keep telling myself I should wait until it hits paperback. It seems a bit indulgent to spend $30 on a book for myself...maybe the library will have it.

My peacefulness is turning into sleepiness.......I'll say goodnight!

Tonight I am just thankful!

Vehicular Suicide

2006-01-13T13:43:00.000-06:00

Friday...............thank God! What a fun week it's been around here.

My grocery getter, soccer mobile mini van has attempted vehicular suicide ............obnoxious of it to try something like that right after Christmas wasn't it.

Little did it know that I was not yet keen on another car payment and love it enough to have handy hubby breathe new life into it. I have not yet fallen in love with another vehicle that has all of the options that mine has or that everyone and their brother are not already driving, other than the Toyota Sequoia that guzzles gas but looks really HOT. The Toyota is out unless gas prices take a dive, I simply spend too much time on the road to be able to justify that kind of $$$ in gas, but this onery vehicle is going to go at least another year. It can then go on to a peaceful, kid and crumb free existance but until then, it's going to have to buck up and deal with it!

Handy hubby has determined that it is "only" a head gasket and can be resolved by throwing a little cash at it and we should be good to go.

Morgan had an indoor soccer tournament that took up both Saturday and Sunday last weekend. Morgan scored the only goal in the second game on Saturday, she was very excited about that. They ended up taking first place in the tournament again this year and we got in some shopping timeand dinner out between the games. Fun stuff!

Saturday night we went to an "after holdiay" get together at a friend's home with about 14 other couples. They had planned a fish fry and we all brought side dishes. It was a great time with a lot of good food and conversation. Handy Hubby played pool with some of his buddies and they had us all laughing so hard, the last time Kurt played pool was when he and I were in the Smokies. There was a pool table in our cabin but I was not a lot of competition. Apparantly, once he warmed up, he could actually play! LOL It turns out that when he was in college, he and his roommates played a lot of pool.

Lillianne and I are having a blast spending our days playing baby dolls and kitchen, she is just so fun and plays the little Mommy with her babies. She got a new little high chair, a mini graco, this last weekend and spent the first day treating it as a stroller, trying to push it thru the house. I've finally convinced her that it stays put in her room and she can push her strollers or her little Dirt Devil if she is in to mobile play.

I'm getting a few hours of work in each day, too, so things are looking productive in the new year.

It's a cold, dreary, snuggle up kind of day so I think I'm going to go curl up with a good book while Lillianne is napping. Stay warm and have a great weekend!

Today I am thankful for:
1. Having a Handy Hubby
2. A warm fire
3. A good book
4. Play time with Lillianne
5. Clarity.............

The Pressure

2006-01-03T22:16:00.000-06:00

After talking about New Year's Resolutions yesterday in my post, I have been a bit unsettled. If one was to have been following me around today, they might have thought me a bit disturbed as I was muttering resolutions to no one in particular.

There is a pressure here.........have you felt it? When the clock strikes midnight bidding adieu to the old year and the ball falls in Times Square to the cheers of revelers, one finds oneself faced with the blank slate that is the New Year. A pristine landscape waiting to be covered with our hopes, dreams and accomplishments with each passing month.

What is the pressure? It is the pressure to make each year better than the last, more fullfilling and rewarding and to make those impossible dreams a reality.

I'm reminded of the suburban housewife I saw on TV a couple of months back. Years ago she created a "to do" list for herself. A list of her dream accomplishments and one by one, even as a mother to young children she is bringing these dreams to fruition. She is now a 40ish, to die for in shape, professional football cheerleader. Cross that one off the list and she's moving on to mountain climbing.

I'm not that ambitious by any means, this Momma will not be donning a tiny skirt,baring my midriff and waving pom poms on any football field, but I do have a burning desire to create my list and live my dreams. I am sure that if I had made that list when I was 18, quite a few things would now be crossed off as my life has been full of blessings and wonderful experiences but I am driven to more, to take more risks (though they may be small) and live a little more in the moment, like there might not be a tomorrow. As Tim McGraw croons, to "Live Like You Were Dyin' !"

I resolve not to leave it till tomorrow, to live in the moment and to dream even bigger. I challenge you to make your lists and start crossing things off. Live it like it is your last!

Today I am thankful for:
1. Snuggle time this morning with Lillianne
2. I was able to take down most of the inside Christmas today
3. A house that is miraculously staying clean...oh wait, that is not a miracle....that's because I have OCD and can't quit dusting and sweeping! LOL
4. Fuzzy socks.....I'm still enamored by them
5. Spontaneous toddler hugs.............

HAPPY NEW YEAR and all of that stuff!

2006-01-02T21:55:00.000-06:00

Happy 2006! Where in the heck did that come from....I remember when the year 2000 seemed like an eternity away and now it is 2006!

Oh well....it's happened and we're all getting older but they say things get better with age and I am optimistic that 2006 is simply going to prove that one right!

We ended 2005 in a great way. Christmas was wonderful, the kids had a great time and all of my planning went off without a hitch. I'm knee deep in MP3 players (Morgan and Layne both got one), hot wheels, kitchen sets, Furbee's, portable DVD players and gosh knows what else..I simply lost track! LOL spoiled kids..... :) We hosted Christmas here at our home with our loved ones, ate well and too much and had lots of yummy fudge. (Thanks Mom!) Both meals got prepared without anything burning, me forgetting anything at the store or losing my mind, it was a success!

Handy Hubby even made us all cry by giving his Momma a special keepsake bracelet with her parent's photos on it that even I knew nothing about. Sneaky man but then he is the king of great gifts,(he keeps a running list of things that any of us might mention that we like or he see and thinks we might like) I'm sporting some new bling bling this New Year myself, thanks to the hubs!

On Christmas Eve we went to church at 11 pm for a candlelight service and communion. It was so pretty and moving.........I felt so in HIS presence while celebrating the greatest gift of all.

On New Year's Eve we hosted a party for Morgan and 50 (yes, you heard me....or read me right) teens. We heated the garage, decorated with light strands, stars, glitter balls and a balloon drop for the count down to midnight. The kids danced all night, played air hockey and hung out at the bonfire. Morgan was on top of the world and the entire evening went off without one incident. She's got such a great group of friends and they are all so much fun. It was mandated to me by the kids that we will host the New Year's Eve party each year from now on. Ummm......help! LOL

It's sad to see the holiday wind down. Yesterday, after waking from a long, long night, we did post party clean up....bet your glad you missed that one. :( Then we took showers, donned our pj's and all settled in for a long afternoon and evening of movies, grilled steak and ice cream. Handy hubby was still watching War of the Worlds at 11:30 when I turned in, I just couldn't get into watching Tom Cruise....he's been in idiot mode and has really turned me off.

Morgan had basketball practice at 9 this morning, we got the x-mas decorations down today without anyone grumbling and then we spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering the antique mall. I could spend hours in there,we actually did spend two... this time we ended up buying treasures for the kids. Evan found a miniature electric Amtrak train that he just had to have. We packed lunches for school and got everyone in bed....the holiday is officially over.

New Year's Resolutions:
Did you make any???? I'd love to say that I made one to exercise more but yeah...who knows if that will happen.

I guess the only real resolution, if it is even that, is that I promise myself to stay the course and stay true to myself and in turn to my heavenly Father, no matter what obstacles might arise before me. To continue to raise my children to be kind, loving people even in the face of adversity.

I'll post some pictures of the Holidays and party as soon as I get them all together. I do hope that Christmas was a joyous season for you and your families and that the New Year will be one of blessings, good health and love for you all.

Christie: A special note for you....I hope you are having the most awesome time on your cruise! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!

I think that it is so important to always be thankful, even for the smallest blessings in life. I'm going to try to continue with my "Thankful" list this year!

Today I'm thankful for:
1. My family.....hubby and the kids.....what a wonderful gift God has given me, I'm humbled when I think that He thought me worthy.
2. Laughter....we've shared so many laughs over the days off of school and work together. It's such a great thing to hear!
3. Warm fuzzy socks.....hubby was listening when he heard me say I longed for them. (He added them to the list!)
4. Friends...both near and far
5. The New Year ahead..........it's like a clean pallet waiting for me to paint the picture on...fun stuff ahead!

Again.....HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your families! Nite all!

Home Photo Shoot

2005-12-19T13:46:00.000-06:00

Last night after an afternoon filled with hair cuts, shopping, sickness (me) and laundry, I got the bright idea that I would get everyone somewhat spruced up for some home Christmas pictures. Sounds great until you actually try to implement the plan. I had the cameras ready, the tripod set up and the kids dressed but Lillianne wanted NO part of it. She had spied the bag of marshmallows that I had bought to top the sweet potatoes on Christmas and had made that her goal. Thankfully Kurt had more patience than I had and he was able to coerce her into sitting for some of the pictures. I did have to take an almost equal number of photos of her "Bebedoll" (her baby doll)
Thought I would share.........

The Hustle and Bustle

2005-12-15T12:57:00.000-06:00

9 days until Christmas Eve...................please tell me exactly where the month of December has gone!!!! Christmas Eve will begin the deluge of guests here at my house and I am no where near ready as far as menus, decorating and so forth. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Can you hear me panicking from where you are?!? It will go well in the end, it always does ... I will have lost all of my sanity but it does always work out.

Hopefully tomorrow night I will be able to get the kids Christmas picture taken in front of the tree. I take one every year to include in some of our cards but that hasn't been done yet. I am thankful for digital imagery this year, and of course the hubby that supplied me with digital imagery. LOL The family room tree still needs to be put up and the train set dug out of the attic and dusted off to put around it. Evan is especially enamored with the train and can't wait to help set it up. Touch up painting needs to be done in the family room, new trim put up in the play room......the list just keeps going. I need to calm down and realize that the people that will be here for Christmas are here because they love us and want to be with us..... not to see the trim or the paint......I just need to breathe! Once I dig into the fudge Mom or Dida will bring, I'll forget all about the "to do" list anyway.....

I am happy to report that the washer is alive and agitating.....better than ever I think. Handy Hubby made some killer parts that have it washing clothes better than it did when we got the darn thing. He is useful for so many things, good thing I keep him around! LOL

Morgan wants to have a get together of friends over the x-mas holidays so we are trying to put that together. What night works well...who to have....what to do.....what to eat..... it goes on and on but should be fun!

I'm off to pick up the kiddos from school, go to Morgan's basketball game and go to Walmart.....pray for me.......Walmart at Christmas time sucks!

I've already mentioned a few things I'm thankful for today so I will just add:
**I'm thankful that my Brother In Law is doing fairly well. Thank you for your prayers, I know that they were heard.
**I'm thankful for the promise of the Christmas fudge that will be coming to my house! YUM
** I'm thankful for a Schmirnoff Ice and the hot tub last night!

2005-12-13T08:26:00.000-06:00

It's a melancholy day around here today.........
Nobody wanted to get up for school this morning, can't blame them as it was still relatively dark outside and they were all snuggled in. I went upstairs to wake the boys and Evan had taken blankets and enclosed the lower half of their bunk beds to create a tent. I crawled in with him and snuggled and wanted to declare a snow day! No snow, don't think they'd buy it! LOL

Lillianne is chasing Sophie with the Hello Kitty mylar balloon that she conned her Daddy into buying for her at Walmart. Sophie's loving the balloon about as much as she loves the baby doll stroller. It's 50 plus lbs of boxer slip sliding on the laminate flooring trying desperately to escape the 24 lb toddler terror. And the day has just begun!

The washer died last night, something broke that causes the agitation....lovely! It must be a law somewhere that the things you can't live without must break before a holiday or vacation and more than one of those important things must break at the same time. Thankfully the hubby is handy, he took the part out and is going to make a new piece today for it out of metal. I'll have to break down and buy a new washer someday soon but I can certainly think of more fun ways to spend that $$$

Speaking of better ways to spend $$. Lilli and I went shopping yesterday and found some deals, got tons of clothes for the kids and I even came away with a pair of jeans! Fun Stuff! I avoided Walmart, during the holiday season you either emerge from Walmart homicidal or suicidal....it's a toss up and could go either way. People are NUTS!

I'm off for a date with the dishwasher....domesticity....AH, the life!

Let There Be Peace................

2005-12-10T10:47:00.000-06:00

at my house.....and there is! The older kids spent the night away from home last night so it was just Lilli, Kurt and I. Not that Lilli is ever quiet but compared to the day yesterday, it was serene. The kids had the day off school due to snow and I swear someone wired them for sound.

We were able to get the tree up in the living room, the village set up and a few other things done but haven't begun the tree in the family room yet. Maybe today, maybe not! I do have to get it done because we are having Christmas at our house this year, I have issues and want everything just so-so. Unfortunately the energy to make everything so-so is just not abundant right now. I've been tempted to paint my living room but have elaborate paint plans in mind so it's been suggested I wait, lest Imake myself even more nuts!

Here's a picture of my little fashionista this morning - sans the snow boots!

Lillianne loves the Christmas tree, she sits and talks to us about it for minutes on end. We have no idea what she is saying but I think that she approves. I thought that she was doing pretty good at not messing with it until I went to put some clothes away in my room, hear an ornament hit the floor and come around the corner to see her stuffing the blown glass heart back into the tree. She sees me and proclaims "Oh Mommy", giving me her sweet girl grin. The "no-no" speech I had in mind lost it's steam after that look.

Say a prayer for my brother-in-law today, just mention him....God knows his needs. Thanks!

Laundry beckons.........Happy Weekend!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

2005-12-09T09:36:00.000-06:00

Our humble abode and surrounding areas has been blanketed by several inches of the white fluffy stuff. Perfect for snowmen, snowballs and sledding. All of which will be taking place here today because the kids are out of school. FUN....

Good thing that I bought snow boots for everyone on Wednesday night when we went to St Louis. Lillianne is IN LOVE with her boots, I couldn't find any cute pink ones, there must have been a run on snow boots with the forecasting of snow. We had to settle for some with Pooh and Tigger but she could care less that they are blue. She put them on when we got home and has been wearing them NON STOP, insisting on wearing them over her footie pj's. I do take them off when she goes to bed! LOL She is such a little fashionista!

Admiring her new boots.....(we were trying to get her in pj's obviously didn't get too far!)

We've got snow playing to do and a Christmas tree to erect so I'll leave you with a few pictures!

Layne at his Christmas concert

Sophie, the Princess Boxer, curled up with her babies on a cold morning!

Evan on warmer days with his first trophy!

Outside my front door yesterday morning

Happy Friday, have a great weekend! We are going to be brave and visit the local dept store to introduce Lillianne to Santa.....this might not be so pretty!

No list today.....Today I am just thankful....

2005-12-06T11:55:00.000-06:00

He wore the damn boots today......

It just wasn't worth the struggle and he didn't have PE today so I didn't put up a fight. That stubborn kid....he must get it from his Dad!

Not fighting with him could have had something to do with the fact that I am walking around in a drug induced stupor. Well, is Unisom a drug?
I have another cold, as does Lillianne and haven't been sleeping. I was starting to feel the effects of no sleep and Kurt was apparently afraid that he was soon going to be experiencing the effects of me not sleeping. He came home with a box of Unisom and a 6 pack of Schmirnoff Ice. He must really buy into that "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" thing!

Before bed I asked Kurt if he had picked up some Diet Coke because I was out and would need some in the morning.
"Nope"
"Why not, didn't you get my page?" (said with an equal mix of desperation and frustration)
"Yep, I got it"
"Then why the hell didn't you get any?"
"Because that's what is keeping you up at night"
Pause........long pause.........................(I can't find the words....well I found some but they weren't nice so I had to eat them)

"Whatever" (stalks back into the house)

He gives me a kiss before leaving this morning and hands me a Diet Coke...........smart, smart man! He likes living on the edge!

Today I am thankful for:
1. DH was not such an idiot and bought the Diet Coke
2. The Diet Coke
3. The fact that I don't have to leave the house today and freeze my tail off
4. Warm fuzzy socks
5. The little house cleaning fairy that IS going to show up today to clean for me....Ok.......I'm thankful for the ability to dream!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY to my little nephew CALEB MCKIBBEN G. Aunt Dottie loves you so much! HUGS and KISSES!

Snake in a Box!

2005-12-05T11:40:00.000-06:00

Life is lovely here in my little corner of the world......let me tell you about my morning!

Woke up this morning after 30 minutes of true sleep.

Lillianne didn't think sleep was a requirement last night for herself or for Mom.
It was a balmy 15 degrees at 6:15 and nobody wanted to get out out bed. I knew things were not good when Evan came down the stairs growling. I heard him stirring quite a bit thru the night so I knew he didn't sleep well and he's been battling a stuffy nose. I innocently reminded him that he had PE today, he would need to wear his tennis shoes instead of the boots that he has worn EVERYDAY since he wore them w/ his Halloween costume. I think that he would sleep and bathe in those boots if he could, but I do draw the line somewhere. Apparently this was the wrong thing to say to Evan.....what followed had to be akin to wrangling an angry 45 lb snake and trying to shove it into a shoe box....a very small shoe box. He grabbed his tennis shoes, sat on them so I couldn't get to them. Once I extracted the shoes I had to hold down one leg at a time while attempting to keep the short man from assuming the fetal position. He's a strong little cuss......he curled his toes, kicked the shoe off that I had already got on and so on. I had to get Kurt to help and we still couldn't get him shoed....(sounds like I was trying to shoe a stubborn mule....lol...probably very similar) We finally got his shoes on and then had to move on to his hair. He was so far beyond pissed that there really was no hope. He wrapped his arms around his head and the Jaws of Life couldn't have extracted his head if they had been called in. Obviously he was not feeling well so I sent his tail back to bed, no one else needed to be subjected to the terror that was Evan this morning. He ended up sleeping 3 hours and is pretty stuffy so good call on my part.

I needed a nap and a case of Diet Coke after that ordeal....

The weekend was fairly uneventful. We took a drive along the river levies , saw a couple of deer and DH pointed out areas that were flooded in the flood of 93. We watched a couple of movies with the kids and Layne's choir had to sing at the City's Christmas party. All in all....uneventful and that is a good thing!

I did forget to do my list of things that I am thankful for in my last post....
Here's today's:
1. Christie's post......sometimes you just have to say it! :)
2. Heat....it's freaking cold outside
3. I have most of my Christmas shopping DONE!!!! YEAH
4. Comfort food....I made a huge pot of chicken & dumplin's and yeast rolls this weekend. YUM
5. Lilli hugs and kisses....even when she wouldn't sleep last night, she could make up for it by grabbing my face, saying "Awww....Mommy" and giving me a kiss and then wrapping her little arms around me for a big hug. That's worth staying awake for! :)

So far behind.....

2005-12-02T09:17:00.000-06:00

Injured and sick kids, sick 'puter, holiday plans derailed, x-mas decorations and the blahs.................all reasons I haven't been a good bloggin' girl lately.

Morgan seems to have bounced back from her soccer injuries, we did have to go back in for another cat scan but all is ok. She has jumped right into the basketball season, full steam ahead. In Monday night's home game, she scored 22 points in the first 12 minutes of the game. I'd say she's made a pretty good recovery! LOL

Our Thanksgiving trip plans got derailed this year but with reason. We were supposed to travel to see my sister and her family in SC but with the kids having been sick we just couldn't take the chance of exposing little Faith to anything. I so want to hold that sweet baby, drink in that powder soft aroma and warm snuggles. Hopefully we will be able to see them soon, for now I have to live with daily phone calls and pictures. I do "talk" to Caleb everyday....the last few days have been all about "potty talk"! He is learning to use his Royal Potty, apparently it is a potty that plays a royal theme announcement when the little one sits down on it and then when they do their business, announces it with another royal proclamation.

We did use the holiday family togetherness to do some shopping, take a few hikes, go out to dinner and decorate the outside of the house. Putting Christmas lights on the house is Kurt's favorite thing to do (dripping with sarcasm) but amazingly, he didn't grumble much at all. He even made me a huge tree of lights for the front, similar to what he made for the roof of his company. Lillianne is in awe of the Christmas lights, especially the big tree. She is saying "lights" and we have to go to the door at least 100 times a night to "ooh and ahhh" or "Oh Wow, Oh Whee" in Lilliannese over the pretty lights. I think that makes it all worth risking life and limb to Kurt.

Layne's school choir performed at the Holiday Lighting on the square, a couple of weeks ago. He looked so handsome and I cried. I'm such a sap when it comes to watching my kids.

Evan lost his first tooth this last Sunday. It had been loose for several weeks and frankly, he was ready for the Tooth Fairy to drop her loot off under his pillow. He asked me at 8:30 Sunday night to take him to the dentist to "get this tooth outta here". I sent him to his Daddy, who promptly pulled it right out. Evan's eyes got as big as saucers and for a minute I thought he was going to cry but he left that to me (yes, I cried over this,too!) We were having tornadic like weather so I wanted the kids to sleep in the basement. I have irrational fears of not being able to collect all of my brood in a storm so I like to herd them all together when the weather is bad. Evan was afraid the Tooth Fairy wouldn't find him in his sister's bedroom so he had to leave the tooth in a baggie on the table with a note labeling it "Evan's tooth". He was very pleased to wake up and find his loot in the morning, he promptly spent it on some candy that afternoon. Good stuff for the newly emerging permanent tooth! :)

The Estee Lauder thing....they ended up giving me 39 hours each week....um....what happened to the 15-20 hours???? I've lost my babysitter b/c my Mom is in NC so all of this will hinge on finding someone I can trust to watch Miss Lilli. I feel like I am going to hyper ventilate everytime I think of leaving her with someone. Again, that is irrational but I have been with her every single day of her life and if she went to a daycare she would so not cooperate with the timeline of things. Lilli does things on her own schedule, which has always worked for us but I don't think would work for the daycare at all! So we will see how this works itself out. I may just not be able to take any hours until after the holiday season and Mom is back home to keep her those "10-20" hours.
I'm not happy about it, I was looking forward to it and the money was amazing but....what to do!

Sorry so long, if I blogged more often I wouldn't have so much to catch up on. I'll do better!
Have a fabulous weekend, the kid's are riding in the x-mas parade with my Dad this weekend. He's the Chief of Police in a local town and will lead the parade while the kids throw out candy. They are hyped up about it, especially at the idea of hording back some of the candy for themselves! LOL

Stolen from Christie who stole it from Peanutt

2005-11-30T12:00:00.000-06:00

I have a blog??? It's been so long since I've posted you'd think that I had forgotten! I've finally come up to see daylight so hopefully can get my tail motivated to post a little more regularly. Thru my stat finder I see that most of you still haven't given me up for dead yet! :) Thanks!

I'll post an update later....maybe this afternoon or maybe tonight... but for now I thought this was cute. I got it from Christie who got it from Peanutt, so here goes:

8 Firsts:

First Best Friend: Paula LaBrot...we've been friends since we could walk and used to hang on the church bell rope together to ring it!
First Kiss: John U. at a 6th grade dance...unless you count Grant ? in kindergarten who kissed me on the bus and I thanked him by punching him in the tummy! :)
First Screen Name: dottisu (original huh! )
First Pet: Peppy (a little poodle my Mom had) died when I was about 4
First Piercing: Ears
First Crush: Chad Johnson in the 3rd - 5th grade....we all fought over him and would race in after lunch to see who could sit at his desk first! LOL Thing is once I got to "go out" with him, he lost his appeal! LOL
First CD: Don't remember the CD but the first album (other than the whole Barry Manilow/Mandy thing) was Blondie "The Tide Is High". My sister and I would blare that from our record player, put in funky colored light bulbs from Walmart and perform from the stage in our room (beds) to our adoring fans! LOL (Don't you wish you could have a picture of that one!)
First Car: 1986 Chrysler New Yorker...loaded with leather, all options and it "talked". LOL Mom called me at school to tell me to watch for Daddy, he was bringing something up for me and He brought me the car! I traded it (along with some cash) for my little silver Fiero right after graduation.

7 Lasts:

Last alcoholic beverage: Schmirnoff Ice in the hot tub on the weekend
Last car ride: Picking up Morgan from BB practice last night
Last Kiss: Sugars from Lillianne this morning
Last movie seen: The Longest Yard
Last phone call: My sister
Last CD played: A country x-mas CD that Layne brought into the van

Have you ever???

Dated a best friend? Oh yes...and married him!
Broken the law? I've broken the speed limit before but anything else, nope. I was a troopers kid, I would have been busted so quick even if I had been inclined to! LOL
Been arrested? Hell no!
Skinny dipped? Oh yeah! (remembering fondly!)
Been in love? Absolutely!!! Still am!

5 Things

Your wearing? Pj pants and hubby's gray sueded henly from Old Navy. He put it on for a little while last night so it smells like him....mmmmm
You did yesterday? Snacked too much, watched Barney numerous times, went to the bank, picked Morgan up from basketball and helped Layne with his Social Studies project.
Can't live without? It could be a very long list but to name 5....my hubby, my family, diet coke, Sophie girl and my faith.
Where you've been? Traveled to? Alaksa (when I was little we lived there),TN, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, TX, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Lousiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, The Bahamas...there may be more but I can't think! LOL

3 people you can tell almost anything to? (In no particular order)

Christina
Amy
Michelle

2 Choices

Black or white? Black.
Hot or Cold? Cold. I can always wrap up.

Ok, now you steal it from me and let me know you played!

"Chee Choes" and "TA TAs"

2005-11-17T09:40:00.000-06:00

Did you know that 9 out of 10 women are apparantly wearing the wrong bra size? According to the Oprah show yesterday most of us are suffering from ill fitting ta ta holders and aren't even aware of it. The advice given: go be professionally measured and fitted. Well add that to the list of things to do b/c after 4 kids...the gals deserve the best! It sounds like a great excuse to get some pretty new "unmentionables", too! So go be fitted and shop!

Kurt and I were preparing dinner last night when Lillianne began using the word "Chee Choe" rather persistently. I looked at Kurt but he just shrugged. He was drawing a blank on the meaning of "Chee Choe". He tried giving her a cracker to satisfy her but she tossed it aside and continued to demand "Chee Choe". Her pitch continued to rise and in desperation I scan the room looking for what might be a "Chee Choe". Alas, my eyes make contact with an orange bag featuring a spotted feline. Can you guess..... "CHEETOS!" After giving Kurt the glare that read "you will answer for this one buddy!" I tell him to go ahead and give her what her heart desires! My darling daughter's vocabulary has grown to include "cheeto!" instead of apple, banana or some much healthier snack, thanks to her father. Not only did he give her Cheetos, it now appears that some marketing genuis has come up with the holiday cheeto. You just can't be festive without the cheeto that turns your tongue green once it is mixed with saliva! Fa La La La La....La La La La!

Dottie's Daily 5!
1. Morgan is beginning to feel better, still very sore but hopefully on the mend.
2. The flu has left the building!
3. Warm fuzzy socks and fleece Land's End Night gowns for these cold mornings!
4. Unlimited long distance calling plans so I can always talk to my sister!
5. The green from the above mentioned "Chee Choes" does wear off rapidly!

Time to call for back up!

2005-11-15T11:20:00.000-06:00

Do you ever get too old to stop needing your Mommy?????
So many times over the course of the last few days I have understood just how important the role of Mommy is and how much having one means and really, how much I still need mine!

Sunday afternoon, during the championship game in Morgan's soccer tournament, she was going in for the winning goal in the final minutes when she was taken down hard from behind by one of the two defenders they had positioned on her during the game. After impact it all happened in slow motion, like I was watching it on a movie instead of it being reality. Morgan flew into the air, her back arching, her head flinging back and her legs out from under her. She hit the ground full force, not breaking her fall because she had been knocked out. Her pretty head just bounced and bounced on the cold, wet ground. We are used to seeing Morgan take some falls, lay there for a minute and then hop up ready to play again. I held my breath, waiting for her to stand and the seconds passing seemed like hours. She was laying completely still on the field and I heard her sobs. The refs, her coach and a parent that is in the medical field were tending to her. They don't want parent's on the field but I told the sideline ref that I was going on and he waved me thru. Kurt wasn't far behind me, he had been up in the van with Lilli so that she could watch Barney while he watched the game. They were keeping Morgan as still as possible because she was complaining of pain in her neck and upper spine. She was laying there covered in mud and tears, her head being held by her friend and team mate Ashlee. I just wanted to rewind the last 10 minutes, pick her up and head out of there. They called 911 and within minutes the fire truck with first responders were there as was the ambulance. The ambulance was brought down onto the back of the field area and they carefully loaded Morgan up. Her team mates were in tears, parents were in tears, Kurt and I were in tears....the girls promised Morgan that they would win it for her. She had already scored 10 of thier overall 21 goals during the tournament! They wouldn't let me ride with her, something about rules and procedures...blah, blah, blah..... I pray for you that you never have to watch your child being loaded into an ambulance with incredible fear on their face and calling out for "Mommy and Daddy". Our hearts shattered into a million pieces in that moment, I could tell from the look on Kurt's face he was terribly close to telling them to shove their rules and procedures. When they lifted the stretcher to wheel her off of the field, she got a standing ovation from the players and spectators. I was trying to hold it all together but that one nearly pushed me over the edge. We quickly got up to the van to follow. Our wonderful friends that we have made thru the years already had Lillianne out watching her, her car seat out and had made plans on who was going to take her and watch over her for now.
The first person I called when we got to the van??...??? MY MOMMY!

She is hundreds of miles away at my brother's but I needed her to tell me that it was going to be ok. God knows she has been in the scared Mommy shoes once or twice with me after my accidents.

When I got into the ER, Morgan was just being wheeled in and she was alarmingly calm and sort of out of it. That really scared me since we didn't know where her injuries were. They took her to CAT scan, she wanted her Daddy and I with her but again they wouldn't let us go. While we waited for her to return we walked out to the waiting room to find it filled with tearful friends. How greatful we are for their prayers and love. It turns out that the girls had won the game after two overtimes and penalty kicks! I took Morgan's trophy back to her while Kurt talked with everyone for a little bit, promising to return when we had more news.

X-rays were done and the CAT scan results came back negative. They said that really all those test would show would be if there was a break or not. Nothing was broken so the verdict was just seriously sprained, THANK GOD! We have a follow up appt this week to make sure that everything is healing appropriately but right now she is out of basketball for 7-10 days. Fine by me, she just needs to lay low!

We have had so many phone calls, including an apologetic call from the player that took her down and Morgan has been prayed for by so many.
We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and to have them a part of our daughter's life! We really don't know how to say thank you enough!

As if that experience was not enough......we get to Grandma and Grandpa's to pick up the boys and Layne is vomiting. Evan had been sick Friday night but we thought it was from something he ate. Guess not.....Morgan started vomiting during the night on Sunday night and by Monday morning Lillianne and I were both sick, too! Kurt couldn't stay home with us b/c too many guys were out due to deer hunting. Luckily all of us were just laying still, it hurt too much to move so we didn't need a lot! LOL We have to all get well soon.....we are supposed to go and see my sister and her family for Thanksgiving but with Faith being a preemie, we can't go in anyone is remotely sick.

More than once during the course of this little adventure, I longed to be 5 years old again, knowing my Mommy could make it all better. Instead I was the Mommy, cuddling my babies telling them I would make it all better and just praying to God that I could.....

Dottie's Daily 5:
Today I am thankful for:
1. Kurt.......he is my rock........always ready to fight off my demons, move the world to heal our children and he cleans up the puke! I love you Kurtis!
2. Prayer....such a powerful tool!
3. Our wonderful friends......you all have made a difference in one way or another in our lives ,just by knowing you. We are blessed and ever grateful!
4. Morgan.....your resilience and strength always amaze me. Your empathy and forgiveness of others is a beautiful part of who you are. You are such a blessing!
5. Evan, Layne & Lillianne.....what gifts you all are........so unique, so wonderful. You all have made my life so much better in so many ways! I love all four of you so very much!

2005-11-11T10:16:00.000-06:00

No mood for posting the last couple of days.......I have pneumonia, bronchitis or some equally miserable virus............thank you Lilli Grace! I'd gladly take it to keep her from being miserable but she still has it, too.

Hopefully we can get into the Dr. today, wish us luck!

Morgan has her last soccer tourn. this weekend, should be fun being sick! :(

Have a great weekend and thank a veteran that you know today for their service to our country and our freedom.

Dottie's Daily 5
Today I am thankful for:
1. Hot tea.........soothes the sore throat
2. Tylenol Severe Congestion Cold.........makes a small dent in the misery
3. Warm snuggle puppy to keep my feet warm....Sophie girl
4. A fire in the woodstove to keep the house cozy
5. I haven't died yet from this yucky stuff

Way Back Wednesday

2005-11-09T08:30:00.000-06:00

Today is Way Back Wednesday over at Mama Duck's. This week's theme is Au Natural....any thing outdoorsy.

We love to camp, boat, hike and many things outdoorsy...(no hunting though!!!!).don't have nearly enough time to do it but I was able to find some pics that would work.

Here's Lillianne catching up on the latest issue of "People" in May when we were tent camping!

Morgan Jet Skiing at the lake

Lillianne demanding that Daddy let her drive the boat! LOL

MIL enjoying the sun when they went with us to the lake/camping

This Way Back Wed. has made me want to go camping again!

Not much going on on the home front here.....I'm on Diet Coke #2 already this morning, trying to jump start the system.

Dottie's Daily 5
Today I am thankful for:
1. Last minute clothing shopping succcess: We had to make a mad dash to find something for Morgan to wear to her band concert last night. (She thought it was next week) We found something the first place we went and got lucky enough to find shoes on the first attempt too!
2. A Good Book: Lillianne was having another Barney marathon night so I settled down with a good new book to read, much better than the purple lug.
3. Drive thru: I had no time for domesticity last night so we ran thru Hardee's. Curly fries......yum!
4. Holding Hands: Often times as parents DH and I are always so busy with the kids, tending to one of them that we never have time to just connect on a basic level. The younger kiddos were at the Grandparents while we went to Morgan's band concert last night. We got to sit in the bleachers, side by side without kids in between us and hold hands! Dorky but nice! :)
5. Patience: Thankfully the Good Lord seems to know when to send some my way........and he's been doling it out to me by the truckloads lately! LOL

See ya!

2005-11-08T11:01:00.000-06:00

How many videos of Barney does it take to drive a Mommy mad? We are on video #9 since 2:30 this morning..........I'm getting close to complete and utter madness! LOL Lilli was up at 12:30 crying, I went and crawled in her toddler bed with her and we slept for about an hour until she woke up crying and completely awake asking for Barney. After dosing her w/ tylenol for the temp, we settled in to watch the big purple lug sing and dance. FUN.......um, no! After several attempts by Mommy to convince Lilli that bed was a good place to be, Daddy.....sensing Mommy's distress came to the rescue. DH let me go back to bed and he joined in the Barney fun. Lilli is still running a temp today and has developed sniffles and a cough, there is probably another sleepless, Barney filled night ahead for me.

You know that you are a wife and a mother when you get excited over purchasing a Scunci steam cleaner. My new toy was delivered yesterday and of course I had to try it out immediately. It is simply awesome but I had to put it up right away, it scared Lillianne half to death.

I got an exciting phone call yesterday! I used to be a manager/trainer/make up artist for Estee Lauder and after moving back to MO I would work in store as a promotional assistant/make up artist for store events or to help boost store sales at various locations. It's been a few years since I've done any work for them but I loved it and every once in a while I think about going back. I got a call yesterday afternoon from the coordinator in our region asking me if I would like to have some hours and do in store promotions for them in December. OF COURSE I WOULD.... I get to play with the new products and do what I love to do. The extra fun money will be nice around the holidays, too! :)
The hours are great with the kids, Mom will be able to help me out with Lillianne and I'll be home no later than 6!

Morgan's got a band concert tonight that she didn't realize was this week so I'm busy making last minute wardrobe preparations for her. Please say a prayer for one of her best friends. We are not sure of all of the details but she was taken to the hospital and then transported to a children's hospital in St Louis last night. They thought she had mono but aren't sure, something may have affected her spleen. All of the girls are just worried sick about her. If you pray, please add her to your prayer list or just keep her in your thoughts.....

Not too exciting around here today unless you are into Barney! LOL so I will leave you with Dottie's Daily 5:

Today I am thankful for:
1. Caffeine: Diet Coke is the source...without it I would not be functioning today!
2. Tonight: Sleep is only 10.5 hours away.....I hope!
3. Kurt: That even though he had to go in to work, he knew I was just too tired and got up with Lillianne so I could go back to bed! SMOOCH honey!
4. Oreos: My breakfast today.....need I say more!
5. Jeans: There is something so satisfying when you find that perfect pair.. and I have finally found them!

The 5K of Motherhood

2005-11-07T08:45:00.000-06:00

It's Monday already??? Bleh! Soccer tourn. went well this weekend, the weather was nice, the girl's didn't allow a single goal to be scored and the kids behaved! WooHoo! The behaving could have had something to do with the fact that I rented 3 DVD's for them to watch on the trips to and from the games! LOL A little bribery never hurts, does it?

Arthritis pain in my hip is kicking my tail lately. Could have something to do with the fact that one week it won't get out of the 40's and the next (this one) they forecast it to be in the 80's. I'm trying to stay away from meds as much as possible, I HATE pain killers so I have spent every evening before bed in the hot tub. DH put a new temp control unit on the tub and it wasn't calibrated correctly from the company apparently. I stepped into the tub and the water was so hot I swear it would have melted off skin! This Momma doesn't always move fast but she moved fast that night! LOL

I'll share a couple of pics from the weekend. Lillianne would steal my cell phone at the games. She would flip it open, dial (numbers lock is a good thing!) and prop the phone up on her shoulder. She would head off saying "Hi Daddy" and strings of Lilliannese that we couldn't decipher.

"Do you think she knows I've got her phone?"

"Daddy, send help now! Mom won't let me run out on the field and play with Morgan!"

Here are a couple of the boy's playing in the leaves at home.

Evan and Layne

Christie suggested that I name my 5 things that I am thankful for "Dottie's Daily 5" so here they are for today:
1. snuggles - Lillianne and I were snuggling on the couch at 3:30 this morning watching Barney. She had a fever and needed a Mommy fix!
2. conversation: There is nothing better than knowing your teen wants and likes to talk to you! Morgan and I had some great conversations about things going on in her life while we were traveling to and from the games this weekend.
3. Foot rubs: Kurt (without being asked) gave me the most awesome foot massage this weekend! BLISS!
4. Old Friends: I had a great e-mail exchange with an old friend this last weekend. We are planning a big get together with as many of our old group as we can find over Christmas! Time and distance are no match for true friendship and pinky swears!
5. Oxyclean: Now they make the wonderous stuff in the liquid form....in a spray bottle! Brilliant! What is it about getting a stain out, there is something that is oddly gratifying when you find that it has been obliberated! Victory over the stain.....the 5K of motherhood!

Have a great Monday!

Rugless

2005-11-04T15:32:00.000-06:00

Well I wanted to join in on Stuff Portrait Friday but struggled with the pictures this week!

#1 YOUR RUGS
No pictures of rugs as the kitchen rugs have been destroyed (see below)

#2 YOUR DOORMAT
This poses a problem b/c I no longer have a doormat or rugs! The last two were chew toys for Sophie and I haven't been brave enough to buy a new one yet! One may stillfind remnants of mats past buried in various locations in and around our back yard!

#3 YOUR FAVORITE SOCKS
The picture below is of my most coziest pair of socks, albeit not the prettiest of "piggy" apparel! They are being modeled on my most favorite toddler! :) She was watching Barney in her little chair and I walked in from the kitchen to find her comatose with Mommy's socks up to her thighs!

Morgan made the girl's basketball team this week. They had try outs until yesterday when the team was posted. So more practice every afternoon for the next couple of months!

Hubs has to work this weekend so I will be doing two soccer tournaments, 2 hours apart by myself with the kiddos! Should be fun!!! The IL tournament was Morgan's first committment so most of our time will be spent there.

Guess that is all of the news from around here! Here's hoping you all have a great weekend!

I've decided that although it may be a bit BBCish (wink) since it is the month of November and Thanksgiving is upcoming; that I would try to post five things daily that I am thankful for! It's easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget to appreciate the things that you are thankful for!

1. The Hubby! Second chances in life and love always are the best!
2. All four of my Amazing, Beautiful and Wonderful Children! What gifts you truly are.
3. My Parents....it's hard to appreciate your parent's until you are one!
4. My Father and Mother In Law, I got such a bonus when I married DH! They are like my parents, too!
5. Jesus

Shoes and Piggies

2005-11-02T10:10:00.000-06:00

Last night Morgan was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at her Middle School. The NJHS advisor said that there were somewhere in the vacinity of 380 7th and 8th graders at their school, 88 of those were given applications for NJHS based upon them having all B pluses or above since the 5th grade. From there they looked at extra curricular activities as well as service and volunteer activities, choosing only 36 out of the entire middle school for the honor. We are so proud of her, she continues to amaze us with her ability to juggle all of her sports, scouts, band and other activities while maintaing great grades! CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU, MORGAN! We love you and are proud of you! I'm posting a couple of pictures from the evening, my camera battery was dying in my digital so they aren't as great as I would have hoped and the girls had all just come from an hour and a half of basketball. FUN!

We had to rush to get Morgan a pair of nice shoes to wear, she had tried all of her dress shoes on the night before to find that NONE of hers fit her any longer :( We found a pair that she loved and headed over to school. I get out of the van and look down to see that I had one dark navy heel on and one off black heel on! YEP!!! That was a lovely moment! Thank goodness the colors were so similar that no one noticed but Morgan got a great laugh out of it and had to of course tell all of her friends! I sat with Samantha's Mom and told her what I had done, she laughed and said I was definately a mother of little ones. She speaks from experience having had four of her own. She told me she had done the same thing with the shoes but wasn't so lucky, her shoes were two of very different colors! LOL That's what I get for buying two exact same pairs of shoes, just slightly varied in color! Kurt had to stay home with the kids, Lillianne wasn't feeling well and was running a low grade temp. I am terrified of RSV after the boys both had it so if she is at all comprimised, she stays home and away from anyone that might be sick.

Lillianne is feeling better today, still has a little temp but is trying to feed Sophie (our boxer baby) pretend food out of a bowl with a spoon! Sophie is LOVING it! She keeps looking at me like "WHY OH WHY DO YOU LET HER DO THIS ????"

Natalie, Megan, Morgan and Megan

Samantha, Their Principal and Morgan after getting certificates

Hannah, Samantha and Morgan

I'd better go save Sophie, Lillianne had moved on to playing "This Little Piggy" with Sophie's "piggies"
Have a great day and Congratulations again sweet girl, we love you!!!

Lillianne AKA The Flamingo Bandit

2005-11-01T12:55:00.000-06:00

Maybe Lillianne should have gone as the bandito, not Layne. Halloween night was a very wet, very cool and very dreary night in our little neck of the woods. We had to pick Morgan up from basketball practice at 6 and headed over to the church for the Halloween party/carnival that they were having. They opened it up to the public and the public did show up! The rain probably contributed to the huge crowd, families from all denominations were there. They had a carnival of games for the kids,they won candy, toy surprises and had hot dogs and other goodies. The boys had a great time, Morgan played games with Lillianne's tickets and won her lots of goodies. All but one game.....we figured Lillianne could do the ring toss. A game consisting of tossing or placing the rings around the neck of an inflatable flamingo.

Lilli loved this game, so much so that after winning and moving over to the next game, she pushed her way thru the crowd of kids and made off with the flamingo. Tucking it under her arm and heading away from any sort of authority figure! We had a little ladybug bandito on our hands.....I hope this doesn't mean that she will one day adorn her lawn with pink flamingos! Should I be worried?!? LOL We made a few stops at houses that expect us to come by before heading off to Grandma and Grandpas for a few pictures and lots of chocolate. From the adult view, the rain made trick or treating a bust but the kids had a great time and that really is all that matters. (that and Mom does have plenty of chocolate to raid!!!!)

Layne, Evan, Lillianne and Morgan (No costume, just sweaty post basketball practice!)

Lillianne the LadyBug (aka Flamingo Bandito) with a mouthful of candy

Evan demonstrating "Mommy, say your prayers!"

I hope all of your little ghost and goblins had a fun time trick or treating!

8th Grade Math!

2005-10-31T11:23:00.000-06:00

Whew!!!! I hate math but of course had to take the quiz that I had gotten from Christie and Lizzie's blog. The results are good to know as I have a 7th grader to help! LOL

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Halloween Hold Up

2005-10-30T20:26:00.000-06:00

With a plastic shotgun at my back I hear these words:
"Mommy, you'd better say your prayers!"! How adorable the little stink looks in his cowboy/sheriff costume but does he forget who he's depending on to take him trick or treating? Evan has chosen to be a cowboy/sheriff and Layne is the masked bandito bad guy. Several years ago Layne was a cowboy, I should have known to save the costume but it has vanished leaving me to stay up until the wee hours tonight when it is peaceful, to sew a new vest. Ev has a leather cowboy vest that Mom got him when in Mexico but he finds it much cooler that Mom make him one. I'll be pushing for the leather one until bedtime! LOL

Not much excitement around our house this weekend. We all helped stack the firewood after Kurt cut up the last of it and I have a real problem with having to prove myself when someone tells me I can't do something. Kurt joked that I could use the splitting moll while he stacked and laughed. Of course I took it as a challenge and had to prove to him that I could do it and I did and I'm paying for it! BIG TIME! Layne and Evan got a good laugh out of it and for those of you that know me in real life or anything about me, well....you know I'm not the wood splitting type of gal so I am sure it was comical! LOL I did get a good back rub for all of my efforts so it was worth it! ;)

I took Morgan and Layne shopping this afternoon while Evan and Lillianne hung out with Daddy. They were having some great sales and I was able to get hubby the new flannel pj pants he was wanting and find three great Christmas gifts. Morgan and I will be going back this week to Kohl's. They are having some awesome sales but we ran out of time and had to run get groceries.

About x-mas gifts.....any of you that own MP3 players....I need advice on a good, affordable (for Morgan who is 13 and could lose it) and durable one. I don't know much about them so could use some input! TIA!

Tommorow of course brings trick or treating, they are calling for rain and possibly thunderstorms but our church is having a party for the kids with lots of treats, games and fun so the kids will still get to enjoy the holiday even if they don't get to do the traditional trick or treating. Morgan starts basketball tomorrow afternoon which means more after school practices. FUN! She has decided that she is so beyond trick or treating and will just help Lillianne or stay home. I told her she could help Lilli!

I started looking at trips for the first of January. We want to take a cruise but aren't sure where, what cruise line, etc. I've looked at the Western Carribean cruises and the Bahama cruises. Not sure which ones and with the New Orleans port being affected by Katrina, some of the ships are sailing from different destinations. Let me know if you have suggestions or preferences for different cruise lines and destinations. We've also been throwing around the idea of waiting until March to go to Charleston SC for the annual historical home and garden tour. We were able to go and visit some of the plantations a couple of years ago and totally fell in love with the city and have been planning to go back. I know that there are some great beach destinations there, too. Input appreciated!

There's really not much else to update on except I have a million things that I need to get done and can't find the time or the energy to do it all. I had to post though b/c I've been called out by Sarah and Christie to do so! :) By the way, I did e-mail you Christie, I hope you got it!

Well, the time change has really messed me up and my body believes that it is bedtime. If I am going to get this costume done, I'd better get to it! Have a great week and a "Spooktacular" Halloween tomorrow! LOL

2005-10-23T20:27:00.000-05:00

We have toddler bed success!
I cried as we put the crib away for what will be the absolute last time. All four of my babies have rested their tiny heads in that crib and now it is going into the attic to await the far, far off arrival of my future grandbabies. Watching Kurt disassemble the crib was like slowly closing the door on an era of our lives. We are now parents of a teen, two in betweens and a toddler, never again to be the parents of a baby. If I close my eyes and concentrate hard enough, I can still capture the pure fragrance of baby and hear their soft little breath as they sleep. Those few months of infanthood pass by us so quickly and it isn't until we have passed the sleepless nights that we can appreciate them enough and then they are gone. Those moments have been replaced by moments just as precious, just as sweet. Hearing Lilli say Mommy and Daddy in that sweet little soprano voice touches a place so deep inside that I didn't know existed, a place that was reserved just for her. It's been that way with each child, each one touches a place in my heart that until I knew them, until I saw their face, until that moment......I didn't know was part of me. This parenting......it is a journey and a ride well worth taking!

All three nights since putting the toddler bed up have been successful. She is slumbering away in her little cottage bed as I type. We've been able to put her down, tuck her in and I sing to her and she goes to sleep. (Knock on wood)

We had the last of the rec soccer games this weekend. Evan won his last game and got a trophy (kindergarten gives out participation trophies to all who play). He was SOOO excited and the trophy is now residing on our microwave for the world to see. Soon it will take it's place amongst the other trophies in the boy's room but for now, it must be displayed! LOL Morgan's rec season is finished but soccer is far from over for us. She has 3 tournaments coming up, two with an All Star team and the final tourn. with her select team. It's getting too cold for outdoor sports, I'm ready for a break.

Today was COLD and dreary, the sun peaked out a few times but it was too cold to be outside doing anything. We took the kids and spent the day messing around running errands and going to Cape, then taking Morgan to practice, getting back in time tonight to make some Chili. Perfect dinner for this cold fall day!

I'm rambling now, I'm going to go watch TV with the hubby and settle in for the evening. Hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week ahead!