I am SO PYCHED about the month of months this year! Little Bills is TWENTY-ONE on the 11th!!
Molly Kate is * * EIGHT* * on the 22nd!!
Aubrey Jo is ON HER WAY!! She should be here by the end of the month (if she waits that long)
I'm on VACATION with Aubrey's birth!! My mom and dad are even threatening to come down! or maybe we'll swing out to Nebraska during that time, too...as it's been TOO LONG since we've seen them! IM SO HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! so many big events!!
Shauna ran the Capitol Hill Run 1/2 marathon, and officially did the 10 miles in UNDER 50!! wowser!
Gabe pulled a 3.75 for his final grade of the semester, and is GONNA BE A DADDY!! (he has know idea why I'm so psyched as he's just VERY nervous...I can FEEL IT! but I know that Aubrey Jo is gonna have THE best DAD in the world, and that IT'S GOING TO BE PHENOMENAL!!) Hang on son, it's a whole nother story once she GETS HERE!!
Little Bill and Angela are coming home for a week, next week! (to coincide with his birthday!)YAY!
I'm trying to fit Springfield into the weekend, and a girls day at the mall, and at the SEX AND THE CITY opening!! Gonna be tough as Ally is wayyyyyyyy pregnant, kelsi is 16, and I'm driving!! HOW will i sneak a COSMOPOLITIN into THAT mix???? :-)
And Amy, who thought her and Ben we're going to miss brother Jack's birthday, because of Ben's cancer and being stuck in the hospital??? THEY GOT OUT!! and got home in time to surprise everyone and blow out candles!! YAY AMYYYYYYYYY!!
Kelsi is home for some summer R&R, and the pool man is coming this morning!! It hit 90 degrees yesterday, so YAY!! TIME TO FLOAT!! We had to hide all of molly's floaties...cuz she keeps donning them and nagging me! TODAY, little chicky, TODAY!
This is the story of the week, though...and no, I'm not a "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE" fan, by any means...but this young man captured my HEART!!
Thanks Ally and Gabe for calling my attention to him!
Ok off off off to do the house cleaning chores and prepare to open the pool and oh yea, commando girl had to try on the new dora swimsuit!
WELCOME SUMMER!! I've been waiting SOOOOOOOO LONG!! I think it's going to be the best one OF MY LIFE!! WOOHOOOOO!!
My house revolves around food. At the end of the day, no matter WHAT happens in our lives, the 'good or bad' meter seems to rest on what kind of meal I whipped up. Times 4 when the boys are at home!
Molly seems to have a tiny stomach and dull taste buds so she eats weird food every two hours.
Vlasic garlic pickles, pretzels (regular and cheese) french fries, plain vanilla ice cream, sometimes plain meat, but NOTHING mixed up (casseroles) and of course the main staple of her life, ketchup and sugar-free popsicles! We sneak supplements and medicines into juice/water/milk as we worry about her nutritional intake. I am thankful she loves fruit, and that it's all IN SEASON now.. yay.
The sarge is a different story all together.
This morning, it's the "Troopers Special". You've seen it at every truck stop you've ever ventured into. Its shredded hash browns, fried up crisp with onions and green peppers, bacon/sausage, or whatever leftover meat you have in the fridge...and served with Tabasco/picante sauce, and biscuits & gravy. There are no eggs involved in this breakfast, as real cops don't eat eggs. (I know, that one?? I still haven't figured out) They do, however, layer on the Tabasco for breakfast!
I believe that it's called the trooper's special, because it would tear an ordinary man's stomach into shreds...but all cops have stomachs of steel. Ironically, they all are on Prilosec or some other type of gerd medication.
He only eats 'weekend' breakfast...just black coffee during the work week....fixes his own light lunch (fruit and cheese)...but supper needs to be big, and it's not complete till dessert is served. His favorite is RHUBARB PIE! Jeeeeeeeeeeze Louise... WHERE does he come up with this stuff??? Rhubarb is seconded only by Key Lime Pie. I have learned how to fix both, and thanks to the Pioneerwoman.com now can make the beloved bread pudding. Larry's tastebuds seem to be stuck in the 50's, however his tri-glycerides are stuck in the 300s!!
Besides that, how can an woman, who decided to have a baby in the late years ever expect to lose the weight, when the majority of my time home is spent whipping up delectable dishes?? Thank goodness it's comin on summer, and we can switch to barbequed meat, and farmer's market veggies. It'll be good to get away from the bad stuff.
The sarge is very deserving of the extra effort, however, as he has great husband attributes-ie..he takes out the garbage, knows how to run the vacuum, and LOVES to mow and maintain the grass.
Yesterday, our kickoff to Memorial Day Weekend, it rained solid for a few hours in the early morning. He obsessively kept stepping out to check the grass-moisture level, so that he could jump on the mower at EXACTLY the precise time when it was 'dryer' as oppose to 'damper', grabbed the snake-stick, and got it all done by 4pm. (he timed himself)
I never get that excited about my 'duties', nor do I appreciate enough the extra 'help' I get with them...not as much as daddy does.
We finally have a new lawn growing in the back and *thanks gabe* a new pellet gun to scare off the pigeons, which came out of nowhere to eat the $$$$$$ grass seed buried under the straw! I have NEVER seen a pigeon out here, until the new grass was seeded in...can they SMELL IT?
My puppies are loving the fact that the back yard and new kennel both seem to be off limits and now they're runs now involve the woods around the house and the FRONT yard!
My girlfriends called...we're stealing away some time in October for a mom's weekend-out, and since American Airlines has announced they are gonna DOCK ME for each piece of luggage, it seems that I need to lose 100 pounds before October or fly NEKKED!! That is IF I can decide to buy the 'doubling by the minute' airline tickets!
This gas thing is getting under my skin!...the boat is still tarped (the flooded and dangerous lakes and the fact that it runs on premium fuel) and in the garage, and although I really wanted to get out of here this weekend, I spent $100.00 on gas LAST weekend, to go visit the kids...so I think we are going to stay put...and ....*shutter* clean house! BOOOOOO!!! The big event this weekend will have to be the opening of the Water-Park in town....Molly will love it, but only IF it gets warm enough for mommy to sink her white-whaleness into.
I got the new tank to our pool ordered...it should be here in a week, which is probably one week sooner than the pool will be ready to open. It takes so much work to get up and maintain, but Miss Molly loves it SO MUCH, that we continue the effort! Besides, since we won't be traveling much this summer, we need to make the yard as pleasant as possible!
With that I'll stop my selfish grumbling, and honor our serviceman this Memorial Day. We will do our part to sacrifice our pleasures in their names, as they are giving up WAY more than we are! We pray for the leaders of these nations to get this conflict under control, and bring our boys home QUICKLY and SAFELY! Special thanks also, to my dad and his WWII buddies...for their contributions to the "big one" ...the one that is quickly fading away in my generation's memory,and almost unknown to todays young soldiers.
Oh, and the butt water?
Every since molly was old enough to sit up in the bathtub, she's wanted to suck on the washie/sponge, and swallow the water that they hold...which is GROSS beyond WORDS! I tell her, "NO MOLLY!! YOU CANNOT DRINK THE SAME WATER YOUR BUTT SITS IN!! EEWWWIE! ACKY ACK!! NO!!"
Yesterday I put her in the tub and she threw up her hands, sprinkling bubbles and water drops all over and proudly squealed......
What a week! I was scheduled for a late shift today, THANK GOODNESS! because we buzzed to Springfield for ally's shower on Saturday, transporting a stranded boss back with me...and then had the 1st Grade Picnic on Sunday!. I just finished uploading the pics, molly is back in school, and I'm going to do a short update, and go try to regain control of the house before heading to work.
Ally's shower was adorable. Her sister really put a lot into it, even though she was also hosting a college graduation party that weekend. THANK YOU, MICHELLE!
It was great to spend some time with the kids afterwards, although I stayed worried about Molly. I'm so glad gabe shamed me into coming, despite my worries!
(ally, sis michelle, and their little cousin)
Molly is still having "issues" with her lower colon. We have some new meds, but given the experiences of the last weekend, have opted to wait to start them till this coming weekend. School is out on Friday.
Sunday, her first grade teacher hosted a picnic at children's park. The food was Fabulous, the day perfect, and all the kids had a BALL!! Mrs. White honored them all with a "If you gave a pig a pancake" book...and medals and hugs for each and every one!
She then honored the parents with Certificates and hugs! She makes it easy to be an active parent, and WANT to be at each and every event with her class. She really is an Awesome Lady...and we're going to miss her!
Yes, Molly is going onto the 2nd grade. The IEP was also this week, and honestly, it's the first one i walked away from NOT CRYING! These ladies have learned not only on how to handle molly kate...but how to handle her mommy! YAY!
We did not specify a teacher for next year, just that she be in class with Robert, and we nixed all the year end testing. YAY!
Shauna ran a 1/2 Marathon (the capitol hill classic) which was her first since she started training...and did it with style, a great time, AND managed to stop and grocery shop on the way home. WTG SHAUNA!
Everyone is running hard, and finishing up the end of school. We pray for John Eric Bartel's family, as they stayed here on earth while he went to heaven.
This past week also marks the passing of Sierra Kesler, one particularly close to my heart as she had down syndrome. Her's was an unexpected passing, one of the cases where the cancer didn't get her....the cure did. *sigh*
Remember to keep these families close in your hearts....and never to take ONE SECOND of your time with your children for granted!
There are many relay for life and torch runs happening right now...be sure to participate, donate, and pray!
Love you all....see you next week, and please keep that week of starting new meds for miss molly in your prayers. Mommy is too stressed over this, and anxious to get it resolved. The whole thing is hindering many progresses for her, and outings for us!
Dear Diary...Today I tried to go to the bathroom. Probably not a big deal, right? WRONG! Mommy time is fleeting and precious. Privacy is unheard of!
I did the usual 10 minute prep before even DARING to steal time for myself, which includes setting up a dora dvd, locking the doors, grabbing the phone, etc.
Daddy is in the radio room calling the net. PRIVACY is but one latch away.
I just get comfortable, when i hear the German Shepherd start in with the "im gonna eat a delivery man" rabid bark. I'm not moving...this one is on daddy.
It seems that the siding guy came by to talk to daddy. Now in these circumstances and when i am mobile...i lock the dogs up on the mudporch before answering the door.
They don't like it. This is them sticking out their paws in protest:
The shep is still a pup and as meek as a lamb, but seems to turn into wonder-guard-dog anytime ANYONE steps into the yard.
Daddy does things his own way. He slides out the front door, leaving the storm door open, and unlatched. Although miss molly kate is usually so immersed into her dvd the house could implode and she wouldn't look up... "MOM AND DAD ARE BUSY!!" announcements must flash on the screen, calling her attention to prime opportunities.
Not only did she let the dog out to visit with the siding man (EEK!) but the dog keeps making the "duck and dodge" maneuver when daddy was trying to grab him! Desperate times call for desperate actions. Daddy forgot his german commands! PLATZ! (although he was commanding some new words that i'm sure the mollster will be repeating to her teachers tommorrow)
AFTER clearing the house of her 'informers' she then took down a cake and carefully sliced it into many, bitesized morsels, enjoyed a pre-dinner snack, turned the news to spongebob in the livingroom and dumped out the toybox. I'm still not sure this was the only damage...we'll probably find evidence of more later. I was pleased to see the cat was not shaved.
I hope the siding stays put for awhile...looks like i'll be on the hunt for a new repairman....meanwhile, the sarge is ON DUTY!
********************************************************************************** This week we went to Springfield, sold both of pops vehicles and watched Larry and his brothers put up a new ceiling in the sunroom. Yes, we're still working on the estate house. It takes everyone 4 or 5 years, doesn't it?
We took Bill and Ang with us, who were home for Ang's 21st birthday. Usually this would be a big deal in a youngn's life, but since Bill doesn't turn 21 until June 11th...the pub crawl celebration will have to wait a few weeks.
We woke up Gabe, Ally, and Aubrey Jo (the baby bump)...and all enjoyed some laughs (coffee spurting out your nose laughing, with my crew) and a great meal. Speaking of great meals...Little Bill whipped up a fantabulous lasagna while at home! MY BOYS CAN COOK! *bows* thank you...thank you.
Molly had some difficulties at the end of the day, so a quick goodbye, buzz through a phramacy and fly back home ensued....Sorry we didn't have more time kiddo's.....she can be a wet blanket at times!
For our prayer kids with cancer...this week sees the sudden loss of one child, and the funeral of another....one family prepares to lose their precious boy, and my girlfriend starts the 2nd round of chemo with sweet bennie....and it's horrible...worse than horrible....indescribable. The poison and pain these children have to endure, the side effects of the poison, and the impotancy that parents feel as they stand by and watch it happen....all for a slice of hope at total recovery is INSANE! The ongoing nightmare.
Please remember to pray, donate, and hug your kids tonight. These are all just parents like you and me, that drew the short straw...and in case you weren't aware....there are millions of short straws.
Have a great week..and be ever so thankful for what you DO have!
