Hiding the markers

To Hide..or not to hide, THAT is the question!

Yesterday an exasperated daddy came flying into the sanctuary
(my bedroom) where i was solving all the worlds problems
(learning how to play bejeweled) and he could not even speak.

Molly was sitting next to me with her books.

Larry is not the best communicator...and as much as it irritates
me sometime, I stop what I'm doing and dutifully follow him out
to the livingroom, to winess sign language at it's best.... the point and scream.

Oh yea...it's so screamable, that i forgot to grab the camera. Molly had taken it upon herself (did i mention that she was WITH ME?) take a black sharpie out of the computer desk...and draw not only all over the oak rolltop desk...but all over my flat screen monitor!

Mr Clean's Magic eraser works well on both oak and flatscreens by the way, but in retrospect...i need a little help with the question.

Do you teach her NOT to do it? Or hide the markers?

Maybe right after I teach her that is is not polite to disrobe in the
kitchen.



(blurry but you get the gist) Do you say no? Or just hide everything your child could possible get in trouble with?
********************************************
I was off last week....we joined the nation in celebrating national Flu Week. For the first time i can remember..since having molly..even the MOMMY had to make a trip for anti-bi's and cough syrup. Little Bill joined me in the celebration...ending up with a trip to the ER, Shots and Medications. Molly was off for FOUR DAYS with PINK EYE!! we could NOT get it under control!

It hurt....EVERYONE was hurting, and as if to throw salt on our winter wounds...it snowed here on Saturday morning!! Then I looked out the front window and saw this...














Those are robins eating what's left of my lawn.

HURRY SPRING!!

What do you do with your oreos?

What do you do with your Oreos?

Weird question...but just this week, i found out my boss puts them in a bowl and eats them like cereal! BLASPHEME!! Here i thought there were only 2 ways to do it....dunk or twist, and now my WHOLE WORLD is up in the air...

Are there other ways to eat oreos that i cant fathom??? Do tell.
***************************************************************

This week, Molly and I accompanied the Sarge...who was off to Tenneessee to study what would happen communication-wise, should the New Madrid Fault decide to bless us with a ten spot on the richter scale. Did you know that there were large groups of people, that get together on their weekends and stayed honed in response if the unthinkable should happen??



This is the big bridge across the Mississippi River, and did you know, that if we do have a big quake, it would be the first thing to go?? Yea, TMI, Sarge...some stuff i just don't NEED to know!(particularly when I'M ON THE BRIDGE!)



We stayed at a resort on Reelfoot lake, and i was pumped that we had a lake, and beautiful, warm weather to play with! NOT!





I thought that everyone had recovered from the storm, like we had...and had NO IDEA how horrible the areas south to us STILL ARE! The lake was covered in limbs, the marina trashed and our resort (should be off season) was filled to capacity with power guys shipped in to get them back online.



Oh well, it's Eagle Fest! We can go bird watching....NOT!!

The planned pontoon boating excurstion was cancelled due not only to the tree limb destruction...but to the WINDS! It was 73 degrees and I'm sure the winds were gusting up to 73 mph! All the eagles, who should have been there on a layover from migration, put on scarves and headed for cover.



We busied ourselves outside (wish i would have remembered the scooter) at the gift shops and with the laptop. It's a trick keeping her occupied...not as difficult with the rest of the crew...we pay a squirrel to keep them entertained!



I see in the near future...rescuing the squirrel from the jaws of a german shep...and replacing the big window.

Although the trip didn't turn out how i planned, I can't feel bad about it...there are too many people down there who feel bad for good reason. I hear it's worse in Kentucky, and these crews will move south as soon as they're done in Tennessee.



The ice snapped highline poles at the base.



Today, I'm fighting a virus...i will NOT be SICK! Totally believe in Zycam and G-2 water and am hitting both hard (along with traditional meds) While stumbling around to find those...i cleaned out molly's med cupboard...EEK!!



Double EEK when you figure at LEAST 5 bucks a bottle, and those aren't the amber ones! Into the trash with the out of dates!

My mantra for the upcoming week? stay safe...live healthy...pray for those less fortunate...and COUNT MY BLESSINGS!!

PS..throwing this picture is, cuz my eldest sis's name is Patty Ann...and not only did we find her diner...there was a 51-52 Law vehicle outside! Maybe someone (cuz she STILL isnt ONLINE) will print and take this to her! ha!



love ya.

The Storm of '09

That's what it will go down as....the Storm of '09. People will speak of this for decades. It was one that tested us, took us to our ultimate last straws mentally, scared the fire right out of us, and made us revert to caveman tactics for survival.







I'm sitting in a warm house now, and it's quickly fading as to that one week we lost. The above photo is of my 10 yr old tree. We've watched it grow from newly planted to the majesty that it is now. My only tree in the back yard, much valued for the shade it provides us in the brutal summers.




On day two...it started to droop....the sheer weight of the ice pulling it down. That same ice was working on the power lines.

On day 3...it snapped in 3-4 different places...I nearly snapped with it




I had worked Monday and Tuesday...but left early on that day. We had plenty of warning, and we're well stocked on "snow day" comfort foods...but oh man...if I could go back again, I would have done it all different.

This storm was different than any i had ever experienced in my 20 years down here. It started by raining little hail. It rained these little ticky tacky sounding hail balls...no bigger than bb's....and it rained them for 24 hours straight.

They covered everything like rain, and then joined together, like some horror movie objects coming to life, to coat my entire world in clear, slick, wrap-around ice. Then it started to snow, and iced the slick beauty in about 3 inches of white blanket...

THEN WE LOST POWER!!!...something that has never happened before...we were iced in, too far and dangerous to try to get to town...and we were without power. I have an all electric house.

The irony of the fact that I moved my parents down here with us, to enjoy a temperate winter did not escape any of us. Larry's antenna's for the ham radio came down...the verticals...the beams...all of them. The dollars to replace that mess are still being tallied:








We were without power for 4 days...food supplies drained, emotions raw...and when the thaw finally came it came in the form of a 55 degree day...it only made things more dangerous. The missiles of icicles that were firing down at us made it impossible to get to the vehicles...the thought of 4 inches of a solid sheet of ice on my roof, just waiting to dislodge makes us run out of the house a safe distance even now.

At the top of this pic, you can see where baby tree had split at the top.

We had a small generator, that provided space heaters to keep the chill off, but we did not use it at night. SO COLD! We had a little tv, and the laptop powered to run molly's dvds...and we had coffee or the microwave alternating...but microwave food was NOT what i had purchased!

We ended up moving the propane grill into the house, and blowing the tank on one night of warm. We got the house all the way up to 60 degrees.


Out the front door...it looked magnificent...I can only start to enjoy the beauty now that power has been restored. There are still thousands of homes without...especially our neighbors to the south in Arkansas...They caught the brunt of it...we were but on the fringe of that storm.






Little Bill and Ang made it home, and made everything better. We lost power
again for the entire day Saturday while they were home, but it was back on at the end of the day...It still blinks, and my breath stops for the duration of time until it kicks back on.



Bill made everything better...all it took was some laughs, a snowball fight, and some sledding....and all was well again.





Today I will go replenish the pantry, and then come home and shop for a whole house generator that runs on a tank of propane. We may never have the opportunity to use it again....but...just in case

we are healthy!!

WE ARE HEALTHY!

Such sweet words! after the hell that was last week, miss molly
has bounced back to 100%! I cannot believe how fast our lives
can go from 0 to SCARED in 0.5 seconds. I cannot remember
being SO grateful the first time i walked into my bedroom, and
found toys and pretzels all over the floor! YAY! SHE'S BACK!

We have been keeping everything pretty low-key..have had some
early bedtimes, and just one morning at school where she was
"out of sorts" but she bounced back quick from that without
"mommy intervention" Shout outs to her team at school!!

Saturday, we decided to venture up to Springfield, and check on my OTHER baby! Aubrey Jo is growing in leaps and bounds, and her parents are constantly in a state of growth. They are realizing their dreams.




(check out those gams...that little girl does NOT miss a meal! OMG! She has my THIGHS!! :-)

They have found a house to lease, close to where Ally is student teaching, and one that has a big back yard complete with privacy fence. There will be a spare room (as they have lots of company)as well as a nursery!! It's beautiful, and in a beautiful, quiet neighborhood on a cul-de-sac. CONGRATS! Move day is set for February...although since the house is empty they are going to try to do it over the next month...one load at a time.

In the meantime, before their cat can be an outdoor kitty, they
got him little rubber toenails, so he can't accidentally scratch Aubrey's
face! hahahah who knew? When he scratches at the glass door to get
out now? He goes...squeak squeak squeak!! Too funny and amazing to me!



This is a shot of the angel's eyelashes



and the look on gabe's face as molly picks Aubrey off the floor, and
carries her to daddy. No pics of the incident, as we all just FREEZE!!
But Molly is careful, and just wanting to do what's best! EEK!









Aubrey loves her gramma, but is obsessed with Molly (and molly's long hair)
I see a long life of friendship between Aunt and Niece...and it warms my heart)


Diesel the dog took a liking to gramma and grampa, and settle in for
a quick nap with them, after a big lunch at red lobster!! YUM! He
is so goofy...here he is with one of Aubrey's toys he stole...laying on
his back and throwing it up and down! We have weird animals!





Then some playtime on the floor. Molly is LOVING all of Aubrey's
developmental toys...and the big ugly baby got to take a ride in
the Jumping seat...although her feet couldn't reach the floor. Cracks
me up as soon as Aubrey went down for a nap, molly sniped the
boppy pillow in traditional DS leg position!



Molly took care of the whole "too short of legs" problem...as well has adorned
BUB with a tiarra! (teething ring)





This week we are facing another winter storm watch...UGH! i am
SO READY FOR SPRING!! so there are movies, puzzles and a
beef stew brewing on the stove.

A short clip of a typical day at Ally and Gabes...as you can tell
as much as molly loves the baby....sharing of the SpongeBob
Back pack?? ohhhhhhhhh that's a tough one!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Life is good when everyone is Healthy....I won't take it for granted again!

WHAT A WEEK!

I didn't get last weeks blog copied over here, so you'll
just have to go to myspace and read it there I'M TOO TIRED.
I think I'll just direct them all over here from now on, as
this one shoots to facebook, and i only have to type it once!

ok, here we go...this is my life (my kid's lives)

First Molly got an infection...we were quick to diagnose it
(ok, she did throw her pretzels at the bus driver TWO MORNINGS)
and then got her on some penicillin. GUESS WHAT?

Molly has developed an ALLERGY to PENICILLIN!! I dosed her once,
and this is what i got:

Day One


Emergency trip to the doc, got an antihistimine, and
had to have compounded a new anti bi (molly won't take pills)
and this is what we had day 2:



PLUS she is now in a world of pain, as NOTHING is touching the
original infection! EEK! We go back to the doc and get a blast
of steroids (IM) in office, and then to the hospital to get BOTH HIPS
hit with clindamycin! Molly was NOT HAPPY!

Day 3


She's swingin a monkey there the nurses got her at the hospital...quick side note...nursey kept asking me if there was any health issues with molly aside
from the current emergency....i kept saying no....FINALLY she came right out and asked if molly had Down Syndrome! hahahahah i guess i just ASSUME
everyone knows that....but her eye swelling was such that it could be confusing!

Only one side of her face was affected, which was really freaking me out...looked more like bell's palsey than a reaction to meds...

She is back to terrorizing the cats, dumping her toy boxes, and leaving pretzels crumbs all over the house today.... YAY!! Mommy and Daddy actually slept last night!! DOUBLE YAY!! She is still a little swollen on one jaw, and her eye is discolored (looks like a red shiner) but her ATTITUDE is BACK!

Shauna??? Shauna ran her first marathon in Orlando last Sunday, and finished strong with a 3:44:50! She kept up an average pace of 8:26 min/mile! I AM SO PROUD OF HER!! (this is a shot of her last 1/2 marathon)



Her and Fritz also wanted to be in on this weeks Inauguration, but tickets were expensive and non-existant! So (drumroll please) After a $900.00 fee for the both of them, and background checks complete....Shauna and Fritz will be vending Tee Shirts/pens and other Obama Memoriabilia at the Fountain next to the Capitol Building!! These two crack me up....they are the epitome of 'WHERE THERE'S A WILL... THERE'S A WAY!" Congrats all the way around, shauna, and we'll be watching for ya!



Gabe? not to be outdone with the others keeping my heart working overtime... GABE PROPOSED TO ALLY!! I know he's been working on this 'ring thing' for quite some time, and was SO STRESSING over the whole ordeal! D-Day was SUPPOSE to be on Ally's birthday (Jan 20) but her mom and stepdad came down this weekend (Gabe had asked her mom's permission some time ago) so he went ahead and did it at supper with them...(yes, the waiters had champagne waiting) I KNEW YOU COULDN'T WAIT, GOOBER!! CONGRATS!!






And my beautiful Bill and his Angela are home this weekend. I have no doubt that as soon as he saw molly's pics being text'd around, he had to get here to see about her on his own. He also has in tow a new Australian Shep/border collie puppy. She took a likin' to my mama:



Not to worry, they still have the little SHITzu with them, the new puppy will be raised to help with the cattle. Yea, my bill has cattle, horses, chickens...ALL the works on a hobby farm IN ADDITION to everything else he does...*beam*



as well as the monkeys:



So how's about THAT for a WEEK!!

Thanks to my co-workers for covering me while i had the meltdown with Molly, to my boss for being so understanding, and especially to my Doc and his staff.

I KNOW when i am in "freak out" mode that it is just no fun to be around..your caring, empathetic professionalism is OUTSTANDING! Shout outs going to THE BEST DOC IN THE WORLD, Richard Bowles...as well as Shelly and Jo Beth! THANK YOU!!

To the nurses at OMC that made an awful day better for my little miss, complete with rides in a wheelchair, and a new purse with a ty monkey in it!! THANK YOU!!

To my sisahs? thanks for all the prayers and just being there with me while i waited for this to play out. Nice to have someone there with ya, when walkin a path like this!

Next week? I'm hoping i have NOTHING TO REPORT!! ha! j/k....I'll fill you in on the Inauguration then, and if you want some authentic souvenirs??? I gotcha covered!!