Summer Rundown

We are having an uneventful, but fun summer. No big vacation plans, but I am enjoying the downtime knowing that this fall I will be busy working again. Lots of thought and prayers going into where we will be and what we will be doing. Big changes, maybe. But change is good, right? I'm just enjoying now!

Baby T had his 2nd birthday. I am such a bad blogging mama... no big post about how I couldn't handle the day or how sad I am that he's getting so big. No post with his newborn picture and a recap of his birth. Yeah, kind of over that. (At least today.) I'm excited that he's growing up. It's fun to watch him do all the different things he's doing every day and learning all the new things he's learning. I'm enjoying 2. Still sort of a "baby" but becoming a "big boy". It won't be like this forever. Best of both worlds. Stand still, time!

We took him to the zoo (just like last year) and I hope we can make it a tradition. (At least until he's too old to enjoy it. Or too old to admit it.) We had his party the next evening at the park. There were close to fifty people there. It was almost too much for him. We opened a few gifts there until he got interested in something else, opened more the next day, more the next day and to be very honest, I think there are still a couple of things in my office that he still hasn't played with yet. The child is not deprived.

His newest interest... Cars. Not the toys. The movie. We watch that about 2-3 times a day. Ka-chow! He calls it "go car go". Wonder if we should try and take him to see "Go Car Go 2"? I'm sure he'd do ok in the theater, but we have the popcorn issue... he is still too little to have it and I HAVE TO have it. You can't go to the movies without getting popcorn. I think that's a law? His father and I have discussed this and we came to the conclusion that we could both take him... one of us could sit with him (without popcorn) while the other was a few rows away (with popcorn). Then, we'd switch half way through the movie. Or, we could sneek in the puffy, no kernel kind and mix it in the tub o'corn and let him think he's having what we're having (that was my idea, cause I'm a tricky mom like that). It's so hard raising kids today! These situations keep me up at night. Obama is so lucky he just has that little "debt ceiling" thing to worry about. His girls are old enough to get popcorn at the movies.

T1 is busy doing his usual thing. Computer, shopping, cars... He's getting more interested in driving. I see drivers ed in his future. BUT, not until he starts wearing his glasses more. How DO you get your teenager to wear their glasses? Duct tape?

T2 has a summer job. He mows my father's church lawn. Hey, it pays good and he loves to mow. I think next year he might try to find more mowing jobs. He's so good at it, too! He's been spending most of his summer at my parents' house and although I miss him, he's having a blast. And isn't that what being 14 is all about?! He has a bunch of friends around his age in their neighborhood and they all ride bikes, play basketball, go swimming and explore the creek.

Me... Well, my goal was to have a decent tan by now. Uh, nope. I had planned to have a set workout routine at the Y. Nope. Oh I know, I was busy getting the house and my new office organized. Wait, another NOPE. I really can't tell you what I've gotten accomplished because it seems like this summer my mind has been foggy and I've just been doing the basic "mom" things. Cleaning, laundry, fixing meals, watching my toddler while making my teens happy, finding time for sleep... ya know just little stuff like that. I did get my hair colored last week. And it actually turned out. It's actually as light as I wanted it. That never happens. Guess I shouldn't ask for any more this week. Or month.

Don't get me wrong, I am truly thankful for all I have. I don't need much. However, I will admit I am a little envious of all my friends who are taking summer vacations. But then I think about how we are planning another trip to Florida soon and then, while my friends are here freezing in the Indiana cold, I'll be nice and warm in sunny Florida. If I want sunshine now, all I have to do is step out on my back porch.

Happy Summer!

Happy 2011 To Me... Happy 2011 To Me...

That's right. 2011. March 23, 2011 to be exact. I swear I'm gonna get better about this whole blogging thing. Swears!

So, what have we been up to, you ask? Well, all but 1 of us is a whole year older. I turned 38 last Thursday and I gotta tell you I don't feel a day older than 37. I think once you past 35, it's just a waiting period until the big 4-0. Par Tay!

My b-day was a good one. I went to a casino for the first time in my life and actually came out $110 richer. I didn't understand the computerized slots worth a crap, but I gotta tell ya that any machine you just sit and hit buttons on has to be a brain stumper. And how I lost $5 in the penny slots in less than 1 minute is beyond me. I figured I'd have 500 plays that would keep me there with the other ladies in their Hoverounds for hours. Didn't happen but that's probably ok, when old ladies start stroking the screen and kissing stuffed animals for luck, that's when I gots to go.

My attire was somewhat disappointing. I forget I can't wear heels, but about a week before my birthday I decided I'd get more "dressed up" and I found these CUTE heels that matched my cute cute sweater (for the unexpected 70 degree day) and I just thought I was so cute and are you sick of that word yet? Anyway, those heels did me wrong! Can you say 3rd degree blister? If they don't have "degrees" they should because mine is more than just a little blister, it is a major BLISTER! But thankfully that's just the one on the side of my big toe. I have 1st and 2nd degree blisters on my middle and fourth toes. I am still wearing flip flops which has been ok for that last week but tomorrow it's suppose to snow and be in the 30's. Guess my luck at the 'Spin N Win' has worn off.

Moving on... Everyone is good. The boys are good. The parents are good. I am good. Most of all God is good! And although He doesn't have to prove that to me, He does. He has. The truth is, I had a very rough start to 2011 and it took a lot of strength to get through. Strength I didn't know I had. Strength that only the good Lord above could give. And even though I thought things were at their worst, He showed me that HE has the authority over everything. He can change situations that seem unchangeable. Praise God!

So... don't give up. You might end up a winner.

Memorial Day

Having a great time with family today! T1 and T2 spent the night with my parents and Baby T and I drove over today. My aunt and cousin are here for a few days and we have a fun week ahead! I can't believe Baby T will be ONE in two days. It flew!

Mother's Day (The Day After)

I had a blessed Mother's Day. Not because of my gifts, but because of the fact that not only did I get to spend it with my mother, but because I am a mother. It's really all I ever wanted to be. I didn't have dreams of stealing Nancy Pelosi's job, or being a lawyer or doctor, I just wanted to have babies. And I have to say that despite the ups and downs, I have loved every minute of it. Having a baby to help me celebrate yesterday just made me realize how lucky I am and how I'm sure when I'm 60 years old, I'll still wish I had babies around. Do you really ever outgrow that kind of thing?


Moving on...


I'm still sitting here in my PJs and it's 2:00. It's just one of those Mondays. Baby T is still in his PJs as well. However, when he decided to get up at 7am, he was a little wet, so technically he has had his clothes changed today. Me, not so much. I thought I had him asleep for his nap around noon, but as soon as I tried to lay him down, his eyes popped open. So, I nursed him for about another 20 minutes thinking that surely had him knocked out, but NOPE... not gonna do it. I could have sat in bed and held him. He would have slept for 2 hours, but then that would defeat the purpose of getting him to sleep so I could get in the shower and get something done. Have you noticed who makes the rules around here?

He had his follow up appointment at the Neurologist on Friday and she said that she thinks he does have extra tailbone, but at this point there's nothing we need to do about it. He will need an MRI, but it would be better to do that 6 months from now when he's a little older due to him needing to be sedated. So, we'll leave it in God's hands and worry about it in 6 months.

I am so wanting to take him to the zoo!! I can't wait! I love going to the zoo. Right now the weather is too unstable. It's either too windy, or on the verge of pouring rain. So, we'll wait a little bit longer. Hopefully we can take him on his birthday next month. That's my plan. It's on a Wednesday, so it should be a good day to go. Of course the big party will either have to be sometime during the weekend or some evening so everyone in the family can come. I already have his "1st Birthday" shirt and bib. I think I've had that since last fall. I found it at Kohl's and didn't want to wait. I also have an idea in mind for his cake. Now to figure out where to have it...

Well, he's settled down in his pack n play. No, not asleep, but settled and playing happily enough that I should be able to sneek a quick shower. Wish me luck.

First Hospital Visit

Yesterday was the last bday of the month... my dad's. Mr. R left early to go to the gun show so I headed over to my parents and got there around 10:30. We went shopping for my dad and got his cake, came home, ate a late lunch and did his birthday stuff. Then we all played The Price Is Right on the Wii. That was fun. Then we had to make another trip back to the mall because the shoes my mom got for my dad didn't fit. When we got back it was almost 7:00 so I decided to leave and come back home. I really wanted to bring the boys back with me, but as it turns out, it was probably better that they stayed there.

Friday I had my glucose tolerance test then an OB appointment. I gained 5 pounds since my last appointment but they said everything looked good. I mentioned again the fact that I'm getting contractions a lot and they're pretty strong and I wasn't sure if those were real contractions or just the Braxton Hicks. They said again that they were just Braxton Hicks.

Mr. R and I had some running around to do that day so we headed out and went over to his side of town. I had noticed sometime in the afternoon that the baby hadn't been moving much. We chalked it up to us being busy and the glucose test.

At 5:30 yesterday morning I woke up and wondered why the baby hadn't woke me up moving around at 3:30 like he normally does. I kind of got a little worried, went downstairs, drank some coke and laid on my left side to see if he'd start moving. He didn't. Thank God we have a Doppler at home, so I got that out and his heart rate seemed fine so I went back to bed.

Then, to make a long story short, he didn't really move all day. Even T2 was pushing around on my stomach and talking to him and he wouldn't move. I know babies have their off days just like us, so I wasn't too worried about it yet.

After I got home and Mr. R got there, we talked about it and he started getting concerned. He can ALWAYS get the baby to move just by talking to him and it wasn't working. So, we got out the Doppler again and his heart rate was fine again.

Then my dad called at about 9:30 and asked if the baby had been moving yet. I told him no, he said I should call the doctor on call. Mr. R and I were headed out to Kohl's and he said I should listen to my dad and call. I hate calling on the weekends because I feel like I'm bothering them, but I broke down and called.

The doctor called back when we were in the car and told us when we got home for me to lay down in a quiet room on my left side for an hour and try to get 5 movements from him. We ended up turning around and forgetting the Kohl's trip and came back home.

Well, we didn't get 5 movements, we maybe got one. So, around 11:00 we called back and the doctor said to go ahead and go to the hospital.

On the way I was having more "Braxton Hicks" contractions and they were pretty hard. We got there and got settled in and hooked up to the machine and of COURSE he started moving! I knew that was going to happen and the nurse just laughed and said that it happens all the time.

I was still having more contractions so I asked her about them and she looked at the print out and said that there were a few that were actual contractions and didn't look like just the BHicks ones. Well, there ended up being quite a lot of those during the time I was there but they weren't consistent so the doctor didn't feel like anyone needed to check my cervix or anything.

They were really nice at the hospital and told us to never feel bad about coming in and that it's better to be safe than sorry. I know Mr. R was pretty nervous and so was my mom and dad. I started to get a little nervous the more contractions I started having but I didn't really think there was anything wrong with the baby because he wasn't moving. I just didn't want my kids to worry but when I called my mom at 1am she said they were both asleep. I told her if they woke up and needed to call me at anytime, they could.

We got home around 2am, I ate a banana and some wheat thins, took a shower and went to bed. There still hasn't been a lot of movement this morning and I've had some contractions off and on, so we'll see what happens today. I'm just glad that we found out that some of the contractions I'm having are real. I thought for a minute I was just being a wimp. LOL

I'm 29 weeks... 11 more to go! :)

Yet Another Birthday

Today is my little 2 year old daycare girl's birthday. She's a doll. She can't say my name so she calls me "honey". We don't know where she got that, because we're not around anyone who calls me "honey", but anyway, it's adorable!

I can't believe she's 2 already and it just reminds me how fast kids grow up and how fast my little baby will grow and how even though I really want this to be over, I should enjoy it because it's gonna go fast! I mean, I have a 15 YEAR OLD!! I should know this by now!

I had a wonderful birthday! I worked all day and then Mr. R came over and we met my parents and kids at one of my favorite restaurants. The food was good and they gave me a free piece of cake. :) Then we came back to my house, watched American Idol, had cake and ice cream and I opened my presents.

Saturday is my dad's birthday and then we should be done for awhile. People think they gain weight over the holidays... not us, we gain all our weight in March from all the cake and ice cream we have.

My kids are leaving again today. :( They were only home for 2 nights! When I tucked them in (yep, I still tuck them in every night - well, I hug and kiss them good night, I don't really "tuck them in") last night, I was sad because I knew I wouldn't be doing it again for a few more nights. It's hard when they're gone for more than half the week. Last time they were gone for 5 nights. That's just too long!

I have my glucose tolerance test tomorrow morning. I sure hope I pass it and don't have to take a second one. I'll also see one of the doctors and I'm going to ask him how big the baby is measuring and why I feel so out of breath all the time. It's not real comfortable when something (or someONE) is pressing up against your ribs. :)

Good news! I think we may have a name... and it's funny because I had dropped the whole topic for awhile because we just couldn't agree on anything, but then as we were driving home from the restaurant Tuesday night Mr. R started talking about it and mentioned some names that his mom had told him. One of them is a name I have had picked out for YEARS! I asked him about that name and he said he's liked that name for a long time too. I was shocked! So, we may just finally have a name! I'm not going to say what it is just yet because I don't want to jinx it. But for those of you who know me, it's the name I've always had picked out if I ever had another boy.

Well, I'm off to get laundry started and think about what we're going to have for lunch.

Happy St. Patty's Day

My kids have been gone since Thursday and I really miss them. They were suppose to come home yesterday, but at the last minute decided to stay with grandpa and grandma another night... I literally cried when I got off the phone with T2. 5 nights away from home is too much! I know they're having fun, but they're my kids, darn it!

I'm sure it also didn't help that Mr. R was going back home and I was extremely tired from our long day at the hospital and I was getting a sore throat. All that combined gave me reason for a break down.

So, I did what any normal person would do... went to Subway and got a foot long sub, drove home, stuffed my face, got in the shower, called my best friend and watched tv until I fell asleep.

Yesterday Mr. R finally had his doctor's appointment with the specialist. Actually, we saw two doctors and they both agreed he really needs an endoscopy. So, we have that scheduled in April. Hopefully they'll find out what's making him so sick and can fix it.

After that we had a lot of errands and running around to do. That always tires me out. We went to a new baby store and it was really nice. Somehow we managed to walk out without buying anything. That's a first. I just wasn't in the mood to shop.

Today is my birthday and I just want to go back to bed. I'm tired, I have a sore throat, my kids aren't here to entertain my oldest dc boy (who asks every 5 minutes "when is T2 coming home?") and I'm grouchy. I'm not in the mood to celebrate St. Patty's Day or my birthday.

I guess we're all going out to eat tonight, then we'll come back here, have cake, open presents and party like it's 1999. Yeah right, I hope I'm in bed by 10:00.

You'll all have to drink green beer without me.

We're Gonna Party Like It's Your Birfday

So yesterday was Mr. R's bday. I won't tell you how old he is, I'll just say he's 5 years and 5 days older than me.

I took him out to eat, we came back here and he opened his presents and blew out his candles on his ice cream cake. He wasn't feeling good and I was stuffed from dinner so we didn't even have any of it. We checked ebay for some baby stuff, watched "Role Models" and called it a night. We're BIG party people!

Tomorrow is my mom's bday and I won't even get into how many years and days older than me she is. Cause I love her. And she's got my kids right now.

Anyhoo, I know the perfect gift for her, but they aren't in stock ANYWHERE!!! I rarely know what to get people and it figures that the year I know just what to get my mom, there are none to be got.

Tuesday is my bday. I will be 36. I was ok with 35... 36 is pushing it. I think I can make it a few more years, but then hitting the big 4-0 may be a rough one.

Next Saturday is my dad's bday. I have a few ideas for him. One I'm still looking into and I think he would really like, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it work.

PS- What's up with McDonald's and their Shamrock Shakes??!!?? Since when do you have to hunt for them? This is stupid! It's a yearly tradition (since my bday is on St. Patrick's Day) that I have one. Sorry Mickey D's, I'm not traveling all over the state to find your stupid shake! I mean it's bad enough you bring back the McRib every few months and then take it away... but this? This is just plain MEAN!

Here's some new belly shots from my last OB appointment. They are pictures of pictures because I don't have Mr. R's card.

T1's BDay - Baby Update - Etc.

Last Monday, February 23, was my first baby's 15th birthday. For his big day we went to Cincinnati with my parents, aunt Gail, uncle Mark and cousin Jer. It was a fun day!

We went to IKEA (where both boys got new beds), to the nation's 2nd largest mall (where we did a lot of walking), and then to TGIFridays for dinner (where we ate too much!).

I can't believe T1 is 15!!!! Next year this time it will be really hard to believe how old he's getting! I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to say I have a 16 year old. lol

I'm proud of T1! He's a great kid! Smart as a whip and FUNNY! He gets our family's sense of humor and enjoys it as much as gives it back. He's becoming quite the guy!

Luv ya toots!

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We had another OB appointment last week. The doctor we were suppose to see had to leave to deliver a baby so we got to see the one we've seen the most. He's real nice and told me I had "pretty" make-up on. Of course I was complaining because Mr. R was shooting pictures like crazy. (I really think it's sweet, but I can't let him know that!) At one point the doctor purposely stood in between me and Mr. R so he couldn't get any shots. It was funny!

The baby is doing good. I only gained 2.5 pounds since I'd been there a month ago. YAY!! I thought for sure I had gained at least 5-7, but I guess it's just ALL baby!

He (still no name yet) is kicking up a STORM! I was up a lot Saturday night because he was really kicking hard. I think he had me up from 2:30-3:30 and then again from about 6:30-8:00, just kicking and moving around. Needless to say we did not make it to church that morning. He was kicking so hard my sides were sore! Thankfully he's calmed down in the last couple of days.

My next OB appointment is in 3 weeks... I get to do the nasty glucose tolerance test. I hope I pass the first time because it's only an hour. The second one is about 4 hours, I think. I can't stand that stuff you have to drink. I still can't drink orange pop because of it.

After that appointment I'll start going every 2 weeks until the last month. I kind of hope it goes fast but I want to enjoy it too. This has been such an easy pregnancy! I thought for sure the older a woman got, the harder it would be... not yet. (knock on wood)

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Yesterday the boys were still at my parents so I spent the day running errands with Mr. R. We drove everywhere! We literally were in the car from about 12:30 to almost 10:00 last night. We had to go to his side of town and he had a ton of errands to run. He forgot he had an appointment with his lawyer so guess who got to go to that. :) After we were done there we went to Texas Roadhouse, did some more baby shopping, spent over $100 in MORE baby clothes at Babies R Us (this kid is going to be dressed good), and went to Dick's and both got new tennis shoes. Then we came back to my house, let the dogs out, checked some stuff ending on ebay and headed to my parents' (which is another 45 minutes away) to get the kids.

My parents bought a Wii and guess what the boys brought home. LOL My mom said her and my dad would be too busy to play it the rest of the week so we could borrow it until the weekend. LOL I've been playing bowling and baseball with the boys today and my little 4 yr old daycare boy has been playing it with us too. He is really good! They have one at home and you can tell he's played a lot.

We reserved 3 movies for tonight (Australia for Mr. R and I, Spongebob vs. The Big One for T2 and Max Payne for T1) I'm making sloppy joes for dinner. I'm not sure what we'll have with it, I'll probably run to the store after work and look for some stuff. I wish I had some of my mom's potato salad! Mmmm! I need to learn how to make that!

Tomorrow we're going to start cleaning out my room and making a place for all the baby stuff. I've got a pretty big master bedroom so it shouldn't be a problem. There's no reason for the baby to have his own room anyway because he'd never sleep in there. I keep my babies right by me for at least the first year.

Well, that's all that's going on with us! I can't wait for some spring weather!!

Someone Is 12 ?!?!?!

Wow! I can't believe T2 is 12 today! 12? Really? When did THAT happen?

The poor thing had a rough night last night with a sore throat and stomachache and didn't get to bed until after 3am, so I decided to let him sleep a little this morning and not try to make it to church so early.

We did go to Muncie later. T2 wanted to have his birthday lunch at Cheeseburger In Paradise, so we met my parents there at noon. Afterwards, they took T2 back to their house and T1 and I went to pick up the cake and headed to Old Navy. T2 requested clothes from me, so I loaded up on sweats, long sleeved tees and socks. (He loves comfy clothes.) Of course I also put $12 in his card. Tradition.

We went back to my parents' and let him open his gifts. We had cake and sat around and talked for awhile. On our way home he wanted to stop by Best Buy. He got a WWE wrestling game and T1 got a dvd.

We came home and the house was freezing... it was almost 70 yesterday and today it's back down in the 30's. Crazy! No wonder I've had a headache most of the day.

Well, I need to get my laundry out and clean the kitchen up. Mr. R is coming over tonight and we're getting pizza and will watch a couple of movies.

T1's Birthday Lunch Pics

Happy Birthdays All Around

My blog had a birthday (it's 3 years old) yesterday... T1's birthday was Saturday and my grandpa's birthday is tomorrow... he'll be 85!!

T1 is 14 years old! And I don't even know what to say about that other than, when did THAT happen?

He had a great birthday weekend. On Friday night we met my aunt at Cracker Barrel... we walked in, sat down... a few minutes went by and here came my cousin Jer. He was "hiding" at White Castle. I kind of knew he was coming because he called Thursday night and just some of the conversation led me to think he was coming as a surprise. We just all busted out laughing when we saw him, we always have so much fun when he's here. He is such a funny guy, so fun to hang out with. Of course my aunt is a blast to hang out with too, so when they both come, you know it's gonna be a fun weekend!

Saturday we went to T2's basketball game and then to O'Charley's for lunch. Then we went home, hung out, played games. Then later we went to That Fun Place to play mini golf. We also did the bumper cars and my cousin and I did Dance Dance Revolution. The kids played some games and then we went home. We had tacos for dinner and then had T1's party. He got lots of money and I bought him Photoshop Elements 6 and the book that goes along with it. He's been busy playing with it and he's starting to get the hang of things. Later that night we played Scrabble and UNO Attack.

Sunday we got up and went to church, then went to Applebee's for lunch. Came home, I had some errands to run and had to get some copies of pictures. Me, T2 and my cousin went and did that and stopped at Kroger. We got some frozen pizzas and chips and salsa for dinner and came home. We basically sat around, ate and played more games. We played Sorry and more Scrabble. My cousin started getting sick.

Today my parents and my aunt got up early to go to Michigan for my grandpa's 85th birthday. We didn't go because we would have had to take 2 cars and gas prices are just too high. Besides, my cousin was still sick and has been sick all day. Which meant that the boys and I just basically sat around. I did get my March newsletter done for the daycare, so that's one less thing I have to do now. It was kind of nice just sitting around and having a day to do nothing.

Now I'm just waiting for my parents and aunt to get back and then we'll probably play more Scrabble or something, then go to bed. They'll leave in the morning and I have to work, and then it will be back to the same ol' boring daily stuff.

We'll go down to West Virginia for my aunt's 5oth party in April, so it won't be too long before we'll get to see each other again.

So... since I know you both read this, let me say "THANK YOU" for coming for T1's birthday! We had a great time and we love you so much!!! See you in April!!

Happy Sunday!

We stayed home this weekend, so we're not at church this morning. I'm trying to find a devotional online to do with my kids when they get up. We'll probably do our "church" over breakfast. When we don't go to church, we do a devotional and make up a prayer list for the week. The boys remember that prayer list too and will pray for each name or situation before bed at night. We take turns praying at night now. Since they're older I don't have them both pray every night, so only one of us does the prayer.

We are going to my parent's later this afternoon. I need to go to the mall. Then my dad's church is meeting at Pizza Hut for dinner together, so we'll go to that and then come home. That's the nice thing about having a small church, you have a smaller close knit group of people and can do things like go out to eat, and the whole church can go.

Before we leave, I have laundry to finish up and the downstairs to clean. I also need to get my lesson plans for the boys ready for this week.

My aunt is coming on Friday, T1's 14th birthday is Saturday, and I'm taking off work the following Monday. T2 wants to go bowling when my aunt is here, but I don't think T1 wants to and it's his birthday weekend... Who knows what we'll end up doing.

BTW... I can't get my spell check to work on here or in Word, does anyone out there know how to fix that?

My Baby Is 11

I'm Still Here...

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. I thought I'd post every day in December (you know just to PROVE that I could do it) but it's just too busy around here and just keeping it together on a daily basis is all I need to prove to myself right now.

I can't believe how close we are to Christmas. I just can't get into the Christmas spirit. We even had snow last week and that didn't work either. I think it's time to make some hot chocolate and go look at some Christmas lights. I don't even have all my decorations up yet and we only have two weeks left.

Today is my ShihTzu, Chloe's birthday. She is 4. Yes, we had a little party. Yes, my dogs got hamburgers and french fries. And yes, they both got to open up presents. They're too spoiled. I found new dog beds for them... they were suppose to be for Christmas but after I got them home I couldn't wait for them to have them so I caved and gave them to them already. It's been hard to keep stuff from my kids too. I just want to give them everything right now! I love giving gifts to people.

I have so much I want to write, but I don't know how to say it all... I'm not good with putting personal info out there for the whole world to see, but let's just say that I'm working on something big. Something I've talked about on here before and something that some people would say is wrong. I've decided that I'll let God make those kinds of decisions for me and if others don't like it, they can talk to Him about it. It's my life. I need to do what makes me and my boys happy. I need to take opportunities while they're available. I need to move on and start living life again. I've been in neutral for too long. I think 2008 is going to be a great year!

I Just Couldn't Hang...

See, it's been 5 days... I knew I couldn't do the "nablopomo" thing. :)

So what's been happening in Mama T's life... not much. Just busy with work, the kids' schooling, helping my dad find a job, getting ready for Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping!!! All that fun stuff.

I miss my vacation! I am slowly becoming stressed out again. It's the job! I swear... and I'm not even going to go there because I'm just trying to be thankful I even have a job right now!

Tonight we are having a birthday party for my puppy Andy. He is 7 years old today. He LOVES pizza. He's a pizza freak. If you bring it into the house, he goes crazy. So, every year on his b-day we order pizza for dinner and he gets a piece. And of course he'll have some presents to open too. Cause he loves to take his paws and open presents. It's cute, it's adorable, and yes, I do know I need mental help.

I feel BLAH today. Nothing is making me happy and I feel depressed and claustrophobic in this house. Too many people. The weather is horrible, very chilly, about 38 degrees. Yesterday it was beautiful and warm. I think we need to move to Florida. This back and forth of nice and nasty makes me crazy.

Gotta watch CSI tonight... Sara is leaving. Sad.

Happy Birthday Andy!

Back From The Mountains

I took last Thursday and Friday off. We left on Friday for West Virginia to go to my uncle's *surprise* 50th birthday party. It's about a 6 hour drive, which isn't too bad. The kids did great in the car and we only had a few bad rain showers on the way down. His *surprise* party really ended up being a surprise so that was good. Everyone kept it a secret (which is rare these days)... when I threw a *surprise* anniversary party for my parents last year, some chic who wasn't even invited found out and told my mom at work. That just really ruins it for everyone, so I'm glad his party was an actual surprise to him!

Thursday we were going to go to the zoo, but it had rained earlier that morning, so we decide to just hang out, do some shopping and get ready for the trip. We went out to Walmart with my dad and while we were there he got a call for a van that the dealership had just gotten in. My parents had been looking at bigger SUVs and conversion vans and they thought it would be great if they could get one before our trip so we'd have more room. My SUV doesn't have a 3rd row seat. On our way home, we stopped by the dealership and the van was exactly what they had been looking for. We all got in and looked around. It was real nice with leather seats and a HUGE dvd player (screen). My dad said he'd take it, but needed to take it home to show my mom to make sure she liked it too. Well, to make a long story short, we all loved it and my dad was ready to drive it off the lot, but by that time of day, all the financing offices were closed. My dad said if he was going to get it, he'd need it by the next morning as we were heading out. They said they'd do what they could and would even come in at 8:00am to get the ball rolling. So, instead of leaving early for W.Va., we sat around until almost 11:00 waiting for this "deal" to be done. Finally my dad called out to the dealership and they said they called one place but the guy they needed to talk to was in a meeting. We weren't exactly happy to hear that, and less happy to hear that they did basically NOTHING to "get the ball rolling" like they promised. So, we packed up in my SUV and headed out.

We got down there and checked in to our hotel, then headed over to my aunts and had dinner. Then we just hung out and talked.

Saturday morning my cousin Jer came and picked me and the boys up from the hotel and we went out running around for the cakes, drinks, balloons, etc. We took everything the church hall and got it all ready. Then we met everyone for lunch. The party was at 2:00 and my aunt had the preacher of their church call her on her cell phone to tell her that my uncle needed to come to the church right away as they had a funeral dinner planned but couldn't get any of the lights to work in the hall. We were all there sitting in the dark waiting for him to come in. It was cute because when he arrived, he had his flashlight and his tools all ready to fix the problem.

My other aunt and her friend came in for the party so I got to see her. The cake was delicious and it was a fun time.

After the party we all went to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner. After dinner, me, the boys, and my two cousins (Jer and Steph) went to Barnes and Noble. We didn't get anything, but did stop at Starbucks on the way out. They had a new Raspberry Mocha Frap, so I got that and it was very YUMMY!!!

We went back to my aunt's house after that and sat around talking and looking at old pictures. It was fun. My cousin spent the night at the hotel with us. We decided at about 11:15 that we were hungry, so went out and got some food. We came back and watched tv and went to bed.

Sunday morning we met my aunt and uncle and my parents at Cracker Barrel and had breakfast, and then we hit the road. We got home around 5:00 and then it was time to clean, put things away and do laundry. Our dogs were very excited to see us! I didn't feel like making dinner so the kids and I got Applebees to go. I stayed up until almost midnight cleaning my room.

Now it's Monday, I've got some way too hyper kids here this morning and I'm wishing I was back in the hills!! They have beautiful scenery down there and I should have gotten more pictures, but we were just too busy.

Here's a pic I took on our way home... it doesn't do it justice.

Doctor Doctor

My dad ended up with the afternoon off and took T2 to the doctor for me. Thanks Dad! The doctor said T2 has a lot of inflammation in his lungs so he gave us a prescription for prednisone. I know that's the only thing that will help, but I sure wish he didn't have to take it. He's never had it before so we'll see how he does. I've heard some kids get mean and hyper, I sure hope that doesn't happen with him. He also got a refill on his inhaler (albuterol) and a prescription for Claritin. The doctor said he'd call us when he got us in with an allergist and a pediatric pulmonologist. So... that's that. I'm so happy he got to go and has something now that will hopefully offset the middle of the night flare ups. My aunt is so sweet... she said she'd come up and go to the allergy testing with T2. She just had to go through it and T2 said if he had to do it, he wanted her to go with him. If you don't know, my aunt lives in West Virginia and we live in Indiana... this isn't just a quick trip over and back, but she doesn't care. Aww, how nice is she!

My mom didn't want to go back to the doctor. Oh well, what can ya do? She's a big girl and she can make her own decisions but personally I would have liked for her to go back and get a chest x-ray. Stubborn thing!

Well, I'm off to pick up T2's meds. Have a great night!

PS - Happy 30th Gwen!!! I'm so happy you're in my age group again!!LOL Now you can't tease me about still being in your twenties!! Welcome to the 30's... where things start heading south at rapid speed! Yikes! :o)

408 Months

I have been on this earth for exactly 408 months now. In 408 months, approximately 120 months have been spent on education (give or take), 192 months have been spent working at some kind of job (the last 84 months have been spent doing daycare out of my home), 156 months have been cherished by being the mother of my kids, and about 140 months have been spent in endless relationships. I've had 408 months of having the best parents and family around, 408 months of creating wonderful friendships, and 408 months of trying to figure out what exactly I'm meant to do in this lifetime. I'm sure the Lord has something in mind and if He sees fit to give me another 408 months to figure it out, I'll be so greatful. Cause like I told T2 in the car today, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Here's to 34 years young and to getting 'Dance Dance Revolution' for my birthday! (Yeah, I rock like that!)

So... Who's coming over? I have cupcakes!!