Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone! Anyone setting resolutions this year? I usually don't but I've been thinking that I've got several things I should to do help improve my life. Stuff like, take steps to minimize yelling at the boys, making it easier for them to listen and not get in trouble, spend quality time with the hubby, spend time doing what I like and want without feeling guilty... I need to spend some time reflecting on this stuff and try to come up with a plan to get things going.

What are your resolutions? I think someone once told me that it takes 6 weeks to create a habit, good or bad. I guess I should revisit how things are going in the middle of February once I figure out what I'll be doing.

Update on Dad

My dad was released from the hospital yesterday and is glad to be home. He sounded good and said that he had an infection or inflamation of his stomach. He's still on several different meds and has promised me he'll complete the entire round. He's got a bad habit of not finishing antibiotics and "saving them for later". I think many seniors tend to do this, but it drives me crazy!

My mom has an ear infection and will be going to see her doctor soon. She'd been running a fever and wasn't able to visit my Dad in the hospital. My older brother was able to visit with him and bring him home. My other brother in the area was busy taking care of his family, who caught a stomach bug shortly after we left. They're also all recovered.

Been busy...

It seems like I've been running at top speed ever since it snowed. We did get out and sled and had a great time. We ended up with a total of about 7 inches, which is really a lot of snow for December around here. The news said that it was the 3rd heaviest December snow on record. We tried to build a snowman, but the snow wasn't sticky enough - I couldn't even get a decent snowball...

We went to Chicago for Christmas and had a pretty good time. It was a very short trip, but we left at a good time. My brother and family all came down with a stomach bug last night and we're all still healthy (knock on wood).

We're still celebrating Christmas. A good source tells me that Santa will finally make his visit to our house. He left the boys a couple of gifts when we were in Chicago, but said that he'd make a late run to our house later. Of course, Matt realized that he hadn't left the special Santa Key out for Santa (we don't have a fireplace) and we never left cookies either. We rectified that situation tonight, so we'll have to see what the morning brings.

I've spent a lot of time on the phone with family today. My dad was admitted to the hospital last night. It turns out that he has some sort of inflammation of the stomach lining which has been causing him some problems. It's serious enough that he's still in the hospital tonight, but my dad thinks he'll be released tomorrow. I'm glad that it's not life threatening. I think they wanted his fever to break before they release him and maybe run a few more tests. Thank goodness that he's at a good hospital. It's the same place that he transferred to when he had a heart attack and bypass surgery back in 2003.

I'll post pics of the snow and others when I get the chance. It's just been a bit too crazy around here for me to spend more than a few minutes at the computer.

SNOW!!!

Yahoo!!! We're finally getting a significant amount of snow!! As you know, I'm a big fan of the white stuff. This storm is perfect, since it's over the weekend and we can all just play. Or we could if we were all willing to put on our snow gear. For some reason, Matt decided that he didn't like his snow pants or his boots this year. He's really been out of sorts lately and won't listen, so he ended up staying in most of the day. We did all go out this evening and it was really coming down quickly. I'm glad that we can all just play around tomorrow and not worry about having to go anywhere.

We'll be sledding down the big hill in the back yard tomorrow. I hope we really have a nice deep base of snow - makes it more fun. I'm wondering if Matt would like snow skiing... He really took well to ice skating, so I'm wondering if he'd do well with skiing. Maybe we'll stick to skating for now. Well, sledding, too.

I'll get the camera out tomorrow and take some pics. Everything is so gorgeous with the white stuff on it. I'll make up some nice soups for meals - hot and easy, too. That way, I get to have fun outside as well.

Man, was that fun!!

One of Matt's classmates had a birthday party yesterday at the ice rink! Since Lee doesn't skate, I got to take Matt and teach him how to skate. After about an hour, Matt was going off on his own. He still had plenty of falls, but he was balancing on his own and doing really well. It was the first time he had ever been on ice skates (and he doesn't rollerblade either). I had the best time!! It's been a long time since I've been on skates. I think the last time was when there was an outdoor rink in downtown St. Louis one year. A bunch of friends and I would go on our lunch hours.

Matt's all set on going again. He also says that if he could learn that quickly, so can his Dad, so he has to come along, too. I'm not too sure Lee's that willing to try it, though. We'll see. I'll definitely be taking Matt back and I'm going to try taking Adam so he can try it, too. I'm so glad that we got the chance to skate and that Matt enjoyed it so much. This will definitely be a good activity when the boys get stir crazy this winter.

Happy St. Nick's day!

Our household was visited by St. Nick last night. Although St. Nicholas day was officially a few days ago, I read somewhere that St. Nick starts his visits on St. Nicholas day, but may continue to visit all the way up until Christmas, since it takes him a long time to get to everyone. I'm glad that he came to visit us on a weekend. :-)

The boys got some fun things in their stockings. They each got a handheld massager. They've been giving massages all day. :-) Each got a Blue Angel airplane - Adam's wanted one since the St. Louis County Fair and Airshow a few months ago. They even started giving air shows using them. The big hit (other than the candy coins they got) are the wind-up flashlights. They complain every time I turn on a light in the house.

Lee got a DVD set of Ghost Hunters shows and I got a neat little techie toy - read the next post about that! It caused quite a bit of aggravation, but now that it's finally working, I think it'll be loads of fun.

Technology...

Lee got me a little GPS thingy for my pocket PC as a St. Nick's gift for my stocking. Yes, he was being extravagant, but I don't think he could have waited for Christmas, lol! Anyway, this thing sounds so cool - I could get voice directions for anywhere from my pocket PC as well as use it as a portable GPS walking around.

This little thing has gotten innovation awards and all, so it should be cool - if we could ever get that dang thing to work!!! We've been playing around with it off and on all day. As I'm writing this, Lee just finally got it to get a satellite signal. You know, if it takes someone who works in IT almost an entire day to get something like this to work, what chance do the rest of us have? The online support for this company was useless and I even tried calling them. They're only open during regular business hours Monday through Friday.

Well, at least it's working. We'll have to take it out and see how it works. I just have to figure out how to tell the software where home is, lol!!

Pretty funny....Now

So yesterday, Matt got off school early and we had lunch with Lee. When we got home, I went to grab the mail and Matt took his time getting out of the car. Adam, on the other hand, ran inside and locked the door. I never carry a house key, since I always go through the garage. The little turkey wouldn't unlock the door for anything. Here I was, banging on door, yelling all sorts of stuff and what does he say? "What's the password?" When I finally got into the house, I was furious with him. He got to spend a good long time in his room alone.

It's funny now, kinda. It's ok if you laugh. I'm over being angry over it now. :-)

I'm still here...

I'm still around, but have been busy with activities with the boys, holiday preparations and Christmas shopping. I'm also trying to find the time to make Christmas cards... Nothing bad going on, just the usual busy stuff.

I got this wonderful handmade album from a friend in the mail today. It's all rainy and cold today and it really made my day. I can't wait to get pictures in, but I'm out of paper for the photo printer... Should be coming soon.

Halloween cookies

Adam and I made Halloween cookies yesterday. I rolled out sugar cookie dough and we cut the cookies. After we baked them and they cooled off, I put frosting on them and Adam put sprinkles on them. We had a great time! I see some serious Christmas baking in our future.

We're also playing with Tinkertoys today. I had a big tub of them in a closet and the boys needed something to occupy themselves with. Matt had a hard time believing that I used to play with Tinkertoys when I was his age, too. Matt is having a little trouble getting something build the way he wants - I'm going to go help him. It'll be fun playing with these things again.

Strep...

Again. Matt just finished a round of antibiotics for strep on Saturday. By Sunday evening, he was complaining of a sore throat and was running a temp. Took him to the doctor and he's got strep again (or still). He really wanted to go to school today, too. He had a homework project in which he needed to create a creature with characteristics from mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. He spent a lot of time thinking about this creature and some of the ideas that he came up with were great. Then, he had to either make a 3-D creature or draw one and he chose to make the 3-D model. We had a lot of fun shopping for parts and making them - he even practiced his oral presentation last night. Hopefully, he'll be able to do his presentation later this week.

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday. It was warm, but very windy. By the end of the day, I was tired of having pieces of hay blowing in my face. I haven't downloaded the pics off the camera yet - I'll post some after I do.

My in-laws (fil and his wife) are in town and they've offered to babysit the boys so that dh and I can go out to dinner for our anniversary. I'm so glad they offered. I tried 3 different babysitters, but no one could make it. School conferences are this week as well. I can't believe that it's been 14 years!! In some ways, it seems like yesterday while at the same time it seems like longer. We've come a long way from where we were back then. I'm so thankful I have a great dh. After seeing firsthand what bad marriages are like, I'll never think this one bad. I was around a really toxic relationship earlier this year and it really shook me to my bones. I don't know how anyone can live like that.

My mil is in the hospital again. She had a stomach bug or something and let herself get dehydrated. The interesting part of this whole thing, though, is that after not taking any of her meds for 4 days, her mental state has improved dramatically according to her sister. We've been very worried about that, since it seemed like she was getting very unresponsive in any kind of social situation (talking to doctors is included in this). Hopefully, this will shed some light on the situation for her doctors.

Bridge to Tarabithia

I had no idea that this movie was soooo sad!! Matt really wanted to watch it, so we let him and he practically sobbed after the movie was over. I guess it's not a bad thing for Matt to learn that bad things can happen, but I wish I had known about it ahead of time. It took us almost half an hour to cheer him up even a little - I didn't want him crying himself to sleep over a movie. I'm just going to have to be more careful in screening movies for him in the future. I would probably let him watch it anyway, but I think I would have warned him so he wouldn't be blindsided by it, kwim? It was never billed as anything but a fantasy movie for young audiences, so it was a surprise to me to have that kind of drama. The parts I did see hit me harder than many movies billed as dramas.

Boys...

Matt has been so moody the last few days. The smallest thing sets him off. Thursday night, he got all upset because he didn't want to wear his uniform to a den meeting. Last night, he got upset because he didn't like the duffel bag that I got for his Tae Kwon Do sparring equipment. Of course, he gets all upset and refuses to tell anyone why he's upset. Today he didn't want to turn off the tv and leave the house... You'd think I had a hormonal girl on my hands...

I'm not sure if he's overwhelmed with all the activities that he's got going on, if there's something at school or if it's just another stage. When I ask him if there's anything wrong, he says no. When I ask him why he's so emotional, he says he doesn't know. I wish there was a parenting tool you could buy that would tell you what's going on in your kids' minds. Sure would make parenting easier. ;-p

We're off to play the Dragonology game. It's a game that Matt really enjoys and it's nice to do something together. Adam likes to help by rolling the die and playing with the dragons who have been tamed. He's adapted it to his own level of abilities. Works for me.

Happenings

Life goes on whether you want it to slow down or not. I remember back when I was a kid how slowly things used to go by. Adulthood sure gives you a different perspective, doesn't it? I think our kids' lives are busier than ours used to be, at least my life.

Matt is really enjoying taking his tae kwon do classes. I hope he gets a lot out of them. He was a bit unhappy one night last week when an instructor spent almost half an hour with him correcting his forms. These are movements and poses that they get tested on when they progress in the belts. He didn't think he was doing anything wrong and to find out that he was really didn't sit well with the perfectionist in him. I'm glad that he's learning, though. He also learned a new kick last week. I think he'll need to know this for his next belt test in a few weeks.

We went hiking at Graham Cave state park on Saturday. It's not a very deep cave, but the park itself is pretty nice. Matt tried to go across some monkey bars at a playground they had there and slipped. He landed really hard and his wrist and tail bone are still sore today. There's no apparent swelling, but I think I'm going to call his doctor tomorrow anyway to see if we need an xray of his wrist... I feel bad, because I encouraged him to try it. I didn't realize how sweaty his hands were...

Lee and I are having a tough time convincing Matt that he wants to go camping with cub scouts. His pack overnighter is coming up in a few weeks and he says that he doesn't want to go. I know that he's afraid that he'll get stung by a bee - it's happened to him a couple of times and it's not something he wants to repeat. I think he's also afraid that he'll run into a wild animal. How do you explain to a seven year old that those animals are much more afraid of a crazy bunch of boys? I suspect that all those boys will be making so much noise that any wild animal within a few miles will be running in the other direction. I've got another week to convince him to go. I know Lee wants to go. I think it would be a really fun experience for them both. Matt's half convinced that he wants to go. I just need one or two more things to encourage him...

How cute is this!

I took a pic last night of Matt in his uniform before he went to class.

We ended up not going to the balloon glow last night. Lee was late at work and there were too many things going on with the in-laws here visiting and my sister-in-law coming in as well. I hope we get to the balloon race this afternoon, but my sister-in-law just went to lie down since she wasn't feeling very well. It's an absolutely beautiful day outside today - perfect for spending the afternoon at Forest Park and watching the balloons.

Clothes...

So, I went shopping for clothes today. It's been a long time since I really bought any clothes for myself... Unfortunately, I seem to be firmly between two sizes in pants. Oh, well. I did find some great bargains at Kohl's though. I found a fun pair of shorts for $5 and a pair of capris for not much more. I love a good bargain. I found myself really drawn to all the new fall clothes, though. Fall has my favorite color palette - the browns, greens, oranges, rich reds... It also helps that it's finally cooled off here a bit and the mornings are actually chilly. My favorite type of weather!

My father-in-law and his wife are visiting. They've got the RV parked in the driveway. It is so wonderful to have them here - it's been two years since I've seen them. They live on the New Mexico side of El Paso. My father-in-law's health has been steadily getting worse over the last few years, but he seems to be a bit better this year. His biggest drawback is that he needs to have his oxygen all the time now, rather than some of the time.

Matt went to his first Tae Kwon Do class last night. He got interested in it over the summer when he went to a camp. The class is a lot of fun. He got to spar with an opponent for the first time ever last night. It was almost comical at first, but he quickly got a better idea of where his kicks would land. He also got his uniform last night as well. He went to put it on while I was finishing up paperwork and payments. He came back and he just looked soooo ADORABLE!!! Now, I know he doesn't want to look adorable, but he did. I'll have to take a pic of him next week when he goes to class again. It was really fun to watch him go through his forms and then practice other moves as well.

Adam is well on his way to finishing potty training, FINALLY!! It's taken me saying that he can't have pull-ups to poop in anymore and letting him get really uncomfortable, but we're almost there. Matt never had these issues, but he was in daycare and all the kids in his class were doing the same thing, so I guess it wasn't such a big deal...

Curriculum Night

It was curriculum night at school tonight. I got a chance to chat with Matt's teacher for a few minutes. Matt has the same teacher this year that he had for kindergarten and he's really thrilled with it. I had my reservations, but after this evening and the last few weeks, I'm feeling much better. She seems much more relaxed this year and it's very obvious that all the second grade teachers are working as a team. She's got more volunteer opportunities open for parents to come and help in class as well, which I'm thrilled with. I'm really looking forward to being in the classroom to see how things are going for Matt. It may be that second grade is a better match for this teacher, too. Maybe all that really matters is that Matt loves his teacher and is willing to do what is required of him. Last year, he just didn't want to do certain assignments so he would let them sit and sit and sit... I'm not seeing any behavior like that so far this year. It's going to be a great school year for Matt!

Ouch!!

Today has not been my day... I had cookies stick to my baking stone this afternoon. I let them cool too long and they had caramel in them. I couldn't get them to unstick using the spatula, so I decided to try something thinner. You guessed it, not my best or brightest moment. I used a knife, and a sharp one to boot! It's a good thing that I don't have super short finger nails. I did manage to cut my left thumb and it would have been a much deeper cut had it not been for my nail stopping the knife. It bled a bit and it sure hurts, but not very serious.

As I was getting the boys ready for bed, I somehow managed to throw my shoulder out. Now, it's not out of joint, but I seriously tweaked it. I can't move my arm in certain directions without some serious pain and I've got point tenderness on one spot. I've taken some ibuprofen, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to move my arm in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Then, I'm sitting at the computer playing around and the cat decides that she wants to sit in my lap. This is not really unusual, so I let her up and she settles down for a nap. Then, all of a sudden, she decides that she would like to play with her tail. Cat in lap, cat with sharp claws on all paws, me in shorts, cat deciding she wants to play - not a good combination. I got her off before it got too bad, but my legs look like a pin cushion in spots...

Tomorrow will be better. If not, I'm going to the doctor for my shoulder...

Yet more toy recalls

You know, I'm getting really tired of all these toy recalls. How in the world can any manufacturer, whether it's in the US or in China, even contemplate using lead in the paint that goes on toys? It's gross negligence as far as I'm concerned. Either that, or there's some sort of conspiracy to hurt our children and I find that hard to believe since I'm not really into conspiracy theories.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for Christmas this year. We've been extremely lucky in that we haven't owned any of the recalled toys. Most of the toys that Adam plays with are old toys that we had gotten for Matt. The toys that Adam really likes are the little model planes and they make me a bit uneasy. They're painted metal and made in china. Unfortunately, they're not made by a major manufacturer, so I don't think that they'll be recalled, even if they're unsafe. I've read that the home lead testing kits can be unreliable. Maybe I'll just take the boys to the doctor and have them tested for lead...

What's a parent supposed to do? I guess I'll be searching the shelves for toys not made in China for starters. I'm just totally disgusted that this could happen.

Amazing!!

The Blue Angels are simply amazing!! We went to the St. Louis County Fair and Air Show today and the highlight of the air show was the Blue Angels. We saw them practicing on Friday afternoon when we had lunch, but the full show was great. We also got to see a Harrier jet demonstration. It's amazing to see a jet hover and fly sideways and land without a runway.

I'm always awed by airplanes - the engineering to develop them just leaves me humbled. Air travel is something we just take for granted, but a century ago, that just wasn't the case. Then the progression from the original airplanes to the fighter jets of today...

We had a great time. The boys got to climb through several different airplanes and sit in several helicopters. Great photo ops. And where's my camera? sitting at home right next to my computer where I had cleaned off all the old pictures so that I'd have plenty of room for today's pics. **Sigh** I'm sure I can find some good Blue Angels and Harrier pics online, but it would have been nice to have some of us by the planes. Hopefully, we'll get some great pictures next year.

School matters

Matt is really enjoying school this year. He seems to be able to sit and do his work, too. He's really matured a lot over the summer and I'm so proud of him. He's come a long way from the little boy who couldn't control his temper. He's also grown a lot over the summer - I'm going to have to get him new clothes soon. Last years jeans are a bit on the short side. He's going to outgrow me awfully soon if he keeps this up!

Adam is doing really well in school. He loves his class and his teacher. He's even getting pretty good about getting dropped off. I am making a point of enjoying time with him while he's in preschool, though. We went to the zoo yesterday. It was an absolute beautiful day and we spent it outside having fun. We didn't get to see everything, but we'll be able to go back soon. I'm so glad that the heat broke for a bit.

I never truly realized when Matt was in preschool how little time I would have with him once he started elementary school. Of course, Adam was a little baby when Matt was 4, so we were a bit more limited in the things we could do...

I'm really enjoying the boys getting older. Matt and I enjoy reading the same book and then discussing things and he really enjoys his time at CCL (center for creative learning). He comes home with all sorts of new information. This semester, he's learning about space, rockets and the moon as well as kaleidoscopes and how they work. As Adam gets older, we also play different games that are more complex. The boys were adorable when they were babies, but not exactly intellectually stimulating. As they get older, we get to do more fun things and I'm really enjoying it.

Scrap Happy

I had such a great time with Lori, Laurie, Tammy and Trina last weekend. We scrapped Friday night and all day and evening Saturday. Lee was wonderful all weekend as well keeping the boys occupied and happy. He even took them out of the house on Sunday afternoon so I could take a nap since I had stayed up way too late the night before. I "heart" my hubby!! He's great.

I started scrapping our trip to Arizona from June of this year. I've got them posted in my gallery at All American Scrapbook Company. I think this link will take you to my gallery. If not, just look for my name in the user galleries and click on it. http://www.allamericanscrapbookco.com/gallery/index.php?cat=10017 It was fun to spend the weekend with friends and not worry about keeping the boys fed and entertained.

Company's coming!!

I'm really excited about this weekend. My friends Lori and Laurie are coming to town and staying with us. We'll be scrapbooking all weekend with Tammy and Trina. It's going to be a really fun weekend.

We're settling in with the new school schedule. Adam's first day was yesterday. In his classroom, each child has a name on a shape in a specific color. Adam's name is on a blue circle. These shapes are also repeated on the carpet in the form of a circle. This gives the kids an idea of where to sit during circle time. Adam was all unhappy because a girl was sitting on the blue circle. He has it in his head that the blue circle is his spot and his spot only. The little girl was happy to move so Adam could sit in "his" spot. He wasn't very happy when I left, but he had a great day anyway. When I picked him up, he told me that he had a great day and that he really likes school. Then he proceeded to tell me all about his day. It was so great to hear about everything and see that huge smile on his face.

Now all I have to do is finish planning what I'll be scrapbooking this weekend, get it packed and finish cleaning the house. Sure looks like a short list. Looks is the key word here...

My neighbor asked me...

So, who's the cute guy riding the bus? This is a neighbor who has a 4 year old daughter. It turns out that the school's principal rode the bus with the kids today (and he's the cute guy). They've had staff riding the buses this week because of the heat to make sure the kids are ok. It's really nice to have school staff that care that much.

Matt's excitement was that he lost a loose tooth while riding the bus home today. And he had a great day at school. Adam got to meet his preschool teachers and explore the classroom today. He liked that they had cars to play with, made some artwork for me, but he liked that they have toilets just his size the most, lol! Ah, the life of a three year old.

Woo Hoo!!!

It's the first day of school!! Matt had a great morning and was looking forward to his day. He's got his kindergarden teacher for second grade this year. He really liked her, so I'm happy for him. I hope the excitement doesn't wear off.

We were in Chicago last week. Didn't do much. I was planning on going to the Field Museum, but Adam got sick and was on antibiotics that upset his tummy, so a day downtown was a little daunting for me. We visited with two of my brothers and my parents. The boys had a great time spending time with their cousins. When we were in Gurnee, we did drive up to Kenosha, Wisconsin where they had two small museums that we took the boys to. We went swimming one day, too, but got rained out.

I got to go to Ikea while visiting my other brother. I love that store! I'm going to order a desk from there for my scrap room, I think. Their prices can't be beat and they have fun stuff. I got both boys new comforters. I got two different patterns and it just figures that they both want the same one. I also got some really cool organizers for my scrap room, too. I put one together with Adam and have yet to do the other one. I want to sand them a little - the finish isn't as smooth as I would like. Then I'm going to either stain or paint them. I've heard rumors that they're going to open one in the St. Louis area, but so far, nothing concrete. It would really be nice. Of course, I'm sure the novelty would wear off eventually, but they have such cool stuff!

Baby, it's HOT!

Oh, I'm ready for fall in more ways than one. It's been a pretty mild summer, all told, but we're at the beginning of a monster heat wave. The boys refuse to even go outside to play because it's too hot. We were planning on heading to the pool yesterday, but the little guy fell asleep in the car on the way home from lunch with dad. School starts in less than two weeks! Both boys are pretty excited about going back to school, which is a wonderful thing. Matt's going to start practicing getting up early this coming week, so he's ready for school.

Matt has finally mastered riding a bike! He really hasn't been motivated to try, but suddenly he wanted to try again. It didn't take long - only a couple of runs up and down the street and he was cruising. He still needs some help getting going, but once he's moving, he's great.

It is possible

To burn mac and cheese - the microwave kind. It's been a busy weekend and we had a huge lunch, so I was making mac and cheese for the boys for dinner. I got Matt's made and put Adam's into the microwave to get the pasta to cook. I went out on the deck to see if the cat would come in and I came back about a minute later (really, no joke, only a minute) to smell something burning. I stood there thinking that it can't be the microwave, but being the cautious person that I am, I checked anyway. It was the microwave. In my hurry to get something made for the boys and the various other distractions, I had forgotten to pour the water into the bowl with the pasta and I was nuking dry pasta. There was smoke, but thankfully, no flames. Now the house smells and it's hot outside and I don't want to open the windows, but it smells...

So went my day. We had pancakes for breakfast, though. The boys' favorite is with mini chocolate chips, but I like mine plain. Yum!

Not a vacation post

I thought I'd take a break from the vacation posts, although there's only one day of activities left, really. I've been busy with the boys - running myself ragged while trying to tire them out, lol! Actually, I'm doing pretty good, but I'm tired of dh being on the road. I miss him and the boys miss him, too. DH will get back to town and he'll have about a week to prepare for the family visit.

My niece is being baptized in a few weeks and the family will be making the trip down - parents, two other brothers with their families... Now we have to figure out where to put everyone. We'll be able to house two groups pretty comfortably. Not sure where the third group is going to go.

I took the boys to Bounce U (http://www.bounceu.com/) last week for an open bounce session. There was only one other child there with his mother. We practically had the place to ourselves. It was a lot of fun. I had to get in and play around with the boys as well and let me tell you, after 75 minutes of bounce time, I was ready to quite. The boys were just as exhausted. It was well worth the admission. I'm going to try to organize a session for some school friends to come out and play sometime next week, too.

Adam fell asleep at 5 pm yesterday and wouldn't get up for dinner. He promptly woke up at 10:30, just as I was getting into bed for the night. **Sigh** I finally got him to sleep and at 2:30, Matt comes into my room in tears. He's got an ear ache, poor baby. We got some analgesic ear drops today and we're going to see the doctor tomorrow. He was fine a good portion of the day, but as the day wore on, his ear started hurting more. I hope he can make it through the night without too much pain. I'm pretty sure it's an ear infection and not swimmer's ear. He described it as starting as pressure building into pain...

My vacation, day 4

Well, we were really tired out by the Desert Museum, but we went ahead and went to the Pima Air and Space Museum (http://pimaair.org/index.php). They've got an actual SR-71 (http://www.pimaair.org/Acftdatapics/Lock%20SR-71.htm) that you can see and I really wanted the boys to be able to take a look at a real spy plane. The fates were against us, though. You could see the plane from a distance, but the hangar it was in was closed to the public. Apparently, they've just built a new hangar and the grand opening was later that week. :-(

We did get to go through the Air Force One that President Kennedy used. It was pretty cool being able to go through the inside and see where a former president flew and worked. The cockpit of the plane was pretty cool to look at as well. The interior pictures didn't turn out, but here are my boys doing the presidential wave.

One of the downsides of this visit was that they were only accepting cash - apparently, their credit card processing equipment or connection was down. Of course, we don't carry much cash, so we didn't have enough cash to go on the trolley tour of all the aircraft. We tried walking part of it, but it was so bright, the surface was faded blacktop and concrete or white gravel. I couldn't look up, I couldn't look down and I didn't have my sunglasses. I just didn't come prepared. That and it hit 108 while we were out there. We did go to the space exploration hangar and that had a lot of really neat stuff. Not just space craft, but information about what the planets are like (and it was dark and air conditioned, lol). I could have spent another 2 or 3 hours in there. The boys seemed to enjoy themselves, which was the main point of the trip, so we accomplished that.

My vacation day 3

On our next day in Tuscon, we drove out to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (http://www.desertmuseum.org/). This is actually a combination of a zoo and a botanical garden. However, it's limited to animals and plants that grow in the desert for the most part. I've been to the Desert Museum several times in the past, but this was by far the most fun and rewarding visit.

When we arrived, one of the keepers was feeding crickets to the lizards in the lizard enclosure. I'd never seen so many lizards out and about in the enclosure before and Matt actually asked if he could feed them as well. The keeper let him help. It was pretty funny, though, since the crickets "tickled" his hands.

When we went in, there was a docent talking about saguaro cacti and how slowly they grow. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro These are the cacti that you tend to see as a standard cactus in cartoons, etc. The tall ones with the arms. It's kind of interesting to know that these cacti only grown in very specific areas and one of those is around Tucson. These cacti grow slower than trees - in order for them to flower, they have to be around 50 years old and they don't grow their "arms" until they're around 75. Anyway, while I was talking to the docent, Lee and Adam went down one of the paths and had a Gila Monster cross right in front of them on the path and climb up the wall on the other side. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_monster) Lee spent his school years in Arizona and had never seen a wild Gila Monster in all those years, so he was really excited about it. Of course, I was holding the camera.

There was a booklet that was designed for kids to take through the museum that the boys wanted. It essentially took you through the entire museum (it's all outdoor) looking for stamp stations where you could stamp a footprint into your book of some of the animals that are kept there.

At one point, we were walking along a path that had a wall covered in some sort of ivy. It turns out that there was a little rattlesnake taking a nap in this ivy. We stayed until someone came to get it out. They said that it was a young one - probably from last year's hatching. It was nice and calm the entire time - it didn't even rattle when they took it out of the vines.

After lunch, we saw a presentation about venomous animals of the desert - namely the Gila Monster and the rattlesnake. The boys loved it when the Gila Monster relieved itself on the table in front of everyone. The thing to know about Gila Monsters is that they don't attack people - if you know someone who was bitten by one, they were bugging it and put their hands too close to it. My personal favorite was when they were talking about snake bites. The poison center in Tucson profiled snake bite victims. 75% of bite victims were considered bites that shouldn't have happened - the snakes were not avoided when people knew they were there. The vast majority of these bite victims fit the following profile: 1. male, 2. young, 3. alcohol was involved and 4. the victims had tattoos. For some reason, this profile just really struck me as amusing.

The variety of plants blooming were pretty great, too. I got to see the saguaro's blooming, although it was the end of their bloom season. Of course we were there during the hottest and driest time of year. The temps were hitting 108 just about every day we were there. It wasn't bad in the shade, but once you were in the sun, it felt like you were just baking.

Some of the other animals that we saw were: wolves, mountain lions, beavers, deer, bears, rams, river otters, coyotes, javelinas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peccary). I think we saw every animal that they have on display at some point or other. It was really great. The boys had a great time, too. Those stamp books really motivated them to want to see everything.

My Vacation - day one and two

I had spent the week before we went on this trip trying to clean up the house - I hate coming home to a mess. When we got home, I was so glad that I did! It was refreshing to come home and not feel the weight of all the chores that were left undone descend upon my shoulders.

I got up before it was light out - which is really early during the summer! I got the boys up about 5:45. My friend, Tara, offered to drive us to the airport so we wouldn't have to park there. She's a great friend. We got to the airport a little before 7 am. Our flight was leaving a little after 8 am. The boys were very good through the airport, checking baggage and through security. Matt was really responsible and a huge help with Adam. I took a folding stroller for Adam, so he just enjoyed the ride. Once we got on the plane, Adam got nervous and a little scared. I managed to distract him with some books and he did fine. Matt did really well too. We flew to Dallas where we had to change terminals. I was a bit worried about that, but if you have to change terminals, Dallas is the place to do it. They have a little train system that will take you around without having to leave the secure areas of the airport. It took is only about 15 minutes. We had time to grab some lunch and then headed to our next flight. This time, Adam wasn't afraid at all. We got to Tucson and dh was there to pick us up. We were a bit tired, but in good shape. We took a detour to the rehab facility where mil's been staying to say hello. Adam fell asleep in the car and slept through the whole visit. Since the boys and I were still on St. Louis time, we grabbed an early dinner (late lunch for dh) and headed back to mil's house to get settled.

The next day, I woke up early, Tucson time. I got up and went for a run. The altitude just about killed me! When I mentioned this to one of the many walkers that I saw that morning, she said that they weren't that high - between 3,000 and 3,500 feet. I think St. Louis elevation is about 500 feet, so it made a big difference to me. It was beautiful out that morning, though - it was in the mid 60's and no humidity. I didn't even break a sweat. Well, I probably did, but it evaporated so quickly that I didn't feel like I was sweating.

After everyone was up and ready, we drove out to Tombstone. DH went there all the time as a child and I'd been there once before, around 10 years ago or so. I was shocked by how much everything had changed. I was disappointed by how commercialized everything was. You couldn't even go into the OK Corral without having to pay an admission fee. It was all really expensive, too. We paid the admission to go into the Bird Cage Theater - dh wanted to go in there since it had been highlighted in one of the Ghost Hunters episodes and he wanted to see it again. It was kinda cool to be standing where they had seen a ghost. The highlight of the trip was a mine tour that Matt convinced us that we needed to take. I'm really glad that we went on it. They took us down to the Good Enough mine. I believe that it was the first mine that was opened in Tombstone. The silver mines were the reason that the town was there. Our guide was very knowledgeable and a wealth of information, as well as a good sense of humor. It was amazing that the whole mine was cut by hand. Both boys were exhausted by the end of the day. We drove back and went to visit mil, but both boys were asleep, so dh just went in and dropped some things off for her and we went "home".

Some recent layouts

I've been scrapping off and on a bit lately. Sometimes it takes me a while to get something finished, since I get interrupted a lot.

This one was a quick one. Sandylion patterned paper and stickers, Hambly Studios overlay and Lil Davis clay tiles.

Adam was such a cute pirate! The overlay reflected a lot of light and this was the best pic I could get - sorry about the poor quality.

This next one is of Matt when he was 4. DH threw a frisbee at him and Matt didn't duck. He came in, carried by Dad, bleeding from the eyebrow. It was a pretty deep cut, but didn't need stitches, thank goodness. The circle pp is Paper Studio (I think). I used my Just Rite Stampers monogram stamp on this. I made the round stamps that say OUCH in the middle. The outer ring of text says "killer frisbee". I really love this stamp - it's incredibly versatile. I really liked using the circles on this layout. The arrow was something cut out by my friend Tammy for me - she sent me a huge set of all kinds of arrows.

This last one was of Matt holding Adam when he first came home from the hospital. He was such a protective big brother. The insipiration for this layout came from an idea book called Layout Blueprints. I really enjoyed using the ovals. The paper is from Piggy Tales - love those patterns!

I'm back

I survived flying with the boys, lol! They were actually very good on the flights, although I did have to sit between them to keep the peace. Adam was a little frightened at first, but then enjoyed the flights.

The visit actually went very well. MIL was in a rehab facility the whole time we were there, trying to recover from her back injury. DH, the boys and I would run and do stuff during the days and then at the end of the day, we would stop by and visit her for 30 minutes or an hour. It was just enough visiting time - both for her and for the boys. We ran around just about every day we were in the Tucson area. Here's the list of places we visited: Tombstone, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Pima Air and Space Museum, Reid Park Zoo. By far, the most fun day was the Desert Museum and I'll post about it later. I was really disappointed when the battery on the camera died, though. For some reason, it just won't hold a charge. I guess it's time to replace it.

Our flight home was cancelled, so we had to come home a day later. I didn't know this until we got to the airport ready to go home on Tuesday. American Airlines cancelled the flight because of bad weather in Dallas (we were connecting through Dallas) a day or two before our flight. And because it was "due to weather" we were not compensated in any way for this major inconvenience. The weather was just fine in Dallas on Tuesday and the flight leaving an hour after ours was just fine, but we couldn't get on it because it was full. I'm still pretty steamed up about it. In the future, I will avoid flying american airlines if at all possible. This cancellation was totally a load of *&^%.

Anyway, more on our trip another time. It's really strange being home and Tasha not being here. I really miss her. I keep thinking that I see her out of the corner of my eye, but there's nothing there. The distraction of the trip and being away from home has put some distance on the whole thing, but it still hurts.

What a depressing beginning to the summer

Well, all I can say at this point is that the summer has got to get better. I had to put Tasha down today. She had quit drinking and was at the beginning of kidney failure. I know it was the right thing to do, but I just wasn't ready to do it before my trip. It was a really tough trip to the vet's office. It was actually easier to go home, but it's been a really tough day. I'm going to miss that kitty.

The good and the bad

The good news: the sectional finally arrived today!! They had a tough time getting it in, but they did it. Our basement walkout door was too narrow to bring the couch in that way, so they had to come through the front door and carry it down the stairs. It was really tight with the biggest piece. I sure am glad that it fit, though. DH was joking around that we were going to have a new family room sectional since they weren't going to be able to get it to the basement. It's a very good thing that it fit, though. After all the expenses this month, we can't afford to buy new furniture in the near future.

More good news: Adam is doing really well with the potty training. Once I got him to go on the potty once, he's doing really well. I knew he was ready, but he had himself convinced that he couldn't do it. To get him to go on the potty, I moved the potty chair to the family room, sat him down on it in front of the tv and then pushed as many fluids as I could. Eventually, he just had to go, hee, hee. Might not be the way the experts recommend, but it worked for him and that's all that really matters right now.

The bad news: MIL fell in the shower on Monday. She called her sister to come and help her. MIL just wanted her to help her get to bed, but her sister called the ambulance and they took her to the hospital. Good thing, too. It turns out that she fractured a vertebrae in her back. DH is out there now. He already had a ticket to fly out on Tuesday, which is a very good thing. He's now trying to convince her that she needs to go to a rehab facility rather than come home. Ideally, he would like her to move closer to us in the midwest, but that's not going over well with her. She needs to move to assisted living, but she's fighting that as well. It's really stressing me out!!

More bad news: Our 16 year old cat Tasha has kidney disease. We're not sure of the extent yet, but I may have to put her down if she doesn't respond well to treatment. The poor cat is down to 6 pounds and it hurts me to see her so thin. It's going to kill me if I have to put her down. As irrational as it may seem, I'm angry with dh for not being here to help me deal with things. I really understand that he needs to be there for mil right now. Unfortunately, I think that it's the right thing to do, but I'm also upset at the same time because he's not here.

WOW!! It's been over a month!

Yes, I'm a bad blogger lately. I have no real excuses other than I haven't been on the computer much lately. It's not just my blog that I've been neglecting.

The weather's been nice out, so I've been working on the gardens a bit. I still have a pile of compost in my driveway that I need to move. It's much smaller than it started out. I originally had 3 cubic yards and most of it is gone. My plants love the stuff. I'll have to take some pics of my garden and post them. It's raining out right now, so it'll have to wait a bit.

My mil's health problems are getting worse. She's taking some medication to suppress hormones to keep the cancer from growing. I think it's causing her other, more immediate problem, though. She's developed neuropathy. It's something wrong with the nerves and she gets lots of pain in her arms and legs. It's a constant thing and it's really wearing her down. Her doc has her on some medication to help control it, but it doesn't seem to be working. She complains that she's weak, in pain, has lost coordination... It just goes on and on and I'm so frustrated that I can't do anything to help. I looked up the drugs she's taking and they both have those possible side effects and the cancer drug might be causing the neuropathy. A big concern that I have is that even though she can hardly make it down the driveway with a walker, has to lift her legs into the car, she's still driving! She's going to end up hurting not only herself, but someone else as well. It's tearing dh to pieces. Mil's sister is going out of town next week for two weeks, so dh has decided that he needs to go for a visit and take care of her. She does need someone and I'm glad that dh can do it, but he also can't jump on a plane and fly across the country each time she needs someone to be there. I would feel so much better if she moved into an assisted living facility. She's talked about doing it, but has also commented that the units are too small and what would she do with all her "stuff". DH needs to try to help her sort out what's going on with her health (I'm not sure she talks to her docs like she should - i.e. tell them what's going on, really) and try to convince her to get into the assisted living facility. I really think she'd like it. She's a very social person when she's feeling better and would enjoy the atmosphere there. Then again, maybe I'm just trying to convince myself of this and I'm full of s*^t. Seeing your parents age and their health deteriorate sucks!!

School gets out next week and dh wants me and the boys to meet him out at mil's the week after. I can't believe that school's almost out. It's crazy! Matt is growing up so quickly. He's not a little boy anymore!! Adam's been working on potty training. He kept telling me that he was too little to use the potty, lol! Once I got him to go on the potty once, he's been doing really well. He goes when he needs to without my having to prompt him. I'm so glad - the end of diapers is in sight!!

I've been scrapping a little here and there. I've had a layout that I've been working on off and on for about a week now. It's not that I'm having problems, it's finding the time... I'm going to try to update here more often, too.

I'm sad today

I found out today that a good friend of mine is getting divorced. Surprisingly, the divorce is amicable and she says that since they made the decision, they've been getting along better. I guess some people just aren't meant to live together.

For some reason, I'm really sad about it. Sad for her, sad for him, for the kids... It's a good move for her, it really is. So, if this is a good move for them, why is it affecting me so much?

With divorce as prevalent in our society as it is these days, I'm surprised more of my friends aren't divorced. I guess I live a charmed life and when reality rears it's head, it takes me by surprise. Makes me look at everything a little differently, I guess.

Life's looking up

I sure am in a better place this week! I went to help in Matt's new class - the one he goes to on Wednesdays as part of the gifted program. I spent a little over an hour there and was very impressed. With the teacher, the program and with Matt. I was so happy to see Matt pay attention, stay focused and get his work done. It's been a real worry for me - hence the ADD evaluation. If I had seen him in this classroom before we did it, I wouldn't have even bothered to do the evaluation. Granted, this classroom is much more active and students are encouraged to do things their way, as long as they get things done, but Matt wasn't getting in trouble, he was doing his thing and working just fine. I can't even put into words what a relief that was! I think that the problem in his regular classroom is that he's bored and hasn't figured out how to sit quietly and not get himself into trouble, but that should come with age.

It feels so good to be getting back into my routine this week. Adam is feeling better - he didn't start getting better until Saturday. We went to the gym yesterday, he went to school Monday and today, I got some errands done. In essence, I feel like my life is back to where it should be - or at least in the ballpark. ;-)

Frustrated...

We had Matt evaluated for ADD and the results are inconclusive. The doctor said that it's really difficult to diagnose really bright kids because they don't have the problems of keeping up in school. Last night I went to a seminar about the differences between boys and girls relating specifically to gifted children. I got a lot of information out of it, but the biggest thing I got was that most of the boys were very high energy, impulsive, etc... Well, that seems to be the general description of ADD as well. The parents of boys who were there were also complaining that the schools were trying to label so many of the gifted boys as ADD, but the parents didn't truly believe that they were. It's just so strange because Matt show some signs of ADD such as getting easily distracted, not finishing work, fidgeting and not sitting still. However, he excels at spelling, reading and math, which ADD kids don't tend to do. We're not ready to medicate him, but our pediatrician didn't have any other suggestions of where to get additional help. It's so frustrating to not have a direction to even look to get help. My game plan is to check with the school counselors and see if they have any suggestions and to do a lot of reading.

On the other hand, I've been practically holding Adam during all his waking hours for the past 3 days. He caught some sort of stomach bug and it's just really doing a number on him. It started Monday night and seems to come and go. Today, I thought he was getting better - he was hungry mid morning and ate some saltines, almost a full waffle and a bunch of nilla wafer cookies and managed to keep them down. Tuesday and Wednesday, the only things he could keep down were popsicles, so I thought this was a great improvement and was thinking that the end of the tunnel was in sight. This evening, he had no appetite again, drank some sprite and then got a really bad tummy ache. Then he managed to lose everything in his stomach, which wasn't much, thankfully. I don't know how, but he's managed not to get dehydrated, thank God! I felt so terrible when his stomach was hurting, though. It lasted a long time and practically had me in tears because I was helpless to do anything to make it better. Lee tried to help with Adam, but the little guy wanted Mommy and there was no changing his mind. He was exhausted, so now he's sleeping peacefully - I hope it lasts all night, at least. We both need the rest. I hope that tomorrow will be another improvement.

Rambling...

I recently "ran" into someone I used to know when I was growing up. I ran into her on an online scrapbooking forum and we got to chatting - I asked her if she was Lithuanian and then we figured out that we knew each other. It was pretty wild to run into someone like that.

It got me thinking, however. I had told her that I left for college and never went back, which is really what happened. She's still active with the Lithuanian community and so are her kids. She's very active in scouting, which is part of what I miss in my life here. I have so many good memories of my younger years in scouting, especially camping. Things changed quite a bit, though, as I got older. There weren't many girls my age for some reason and I got grouped with some girls who were a year older than I in scouting. To make a long story short, they made my life uncomfortable and I never have figured out why they didn't like me. The only thing I can think of is that one had a crush on a guy I dated, but I can't imagine that could be the only reason, but who knows. Anyway, after chatting with this other gal (we knew each other, but she was my older brother's age), I got to thinking why I never felt like I wanted to move back and a big part of it seems to me to be these experiences in my teen years. Now, don't get me wrong. I had some great friends in high school, just not in the Lithuanian community like my parents would have wanted. I had a lot of fun in high school and had a good overall time. I never felt like I didn't fit in anywhere - I always had some good support and friendships. I just knew that there were some places I didn't fit in, but that was ok with me for the most part.

I think we all want to be accepted and valued - it's part of human nature. We tend towards activities and groups in which we are accepted and appreciated. I guess that the friendships that I made later in my life (I did have high school friends that I kept in touch with through college) were stronger. Well, that and I met dh while in college and he had no desire to move north.

I just found it interesting that we all seem to find or make a place for ourselves in which we're comfortable. I'm very happy with my life - I love my dh and boys, I love where I live, my neighbors are great and I've got some great friends, although not all are local. It's just interesting to take a look at how I've arrived at where I am.

Friday, finally?

You know, I've been thinking since Wednesday that it's Friday, lol! I think it's a combination of having a lot of stuff going on this week and the time change. My body is protesting this time change - there's just something wrong about getting up so early, lol!

Matt started his classes in the gifted program this week and we had two meetings in the evenings in relation to that - one a parent orientation and the other a presentation on what they'll be working on for the rest of the year. The program seems fantastic. I guess it should be - it's gotten all kinds of awards nationally. I picked Matt up Wednesday and he talked all the way home about his day (this was a half hour car ride). He never talks to me about his regular class this way. It's nice to see him so excited about something at school. We also had parent teacher conferences with his regular teacher as well this week. He's doing really well academically, but has trouble with being able to sit and finish work if he's not interested in it. Matt seems to really like something until he feels he's mastered it and then he doesn't want to do it anymore. I guess he gets bored.

Adam and I went swimming (more like splashing) yesterday after I worked out. He's been in swim lessons and really doesn't want to get in the water, so I thought this would help him out. He loves getting a noodle and kicking his feet while holding on to it. We spent about an hour in the pool before I got too cold to stay longer.

Adam told me yesterday that he doesn't like kisses anymore. :-( Hopefully, this is just a phase. Hugs are still good, though. It's funny that I don't want Adam to grow up. I always expected Matt to be more mature. I guess it must be something to do with Adam being my baby, lol! I don't know if it's because I don't think I'll have more kids or because he seems so much younger than Matt that I think he should stay little for a bit longer. No wonder there's all this psychological theory with respect to birth order. Much as we try, I don't think we can treat our kids in the same manner. That's a good thing, though. Each of our kids is an individual and should be treated as such. Sometimes I need to remind myself of this and give the boys the time and attention they deserve. It just seems so easy to get bogged down in the not so fun details of daily life (cooking, cleaning, etc) and forget why I'm staying home.

The doorknob caper

So, this morning, Adam's not listening to me. I'm trying to get him dressed so I can go work out and he's not cooperating. He shut himself into my old office (soon to be his new room) and locks the door. Nothing I say or do convinces him to open the door or even unlock it. Me, I'm royally pissed. I go down and get my screwdrivers and try to pick the lock. I checked every @#%#$#$ doorjamb in this entire house and no key for the door. Picking the lock doesn't work and Adam's still not unlocking the door. So, I look and see that the screws to the doorknob are on my side of the door.

I unscrew the doorknob and take it off the door. Still can't open the door because the other part of the whole thing is still keeping the door closed. Of course the operable part of the doorknob is now in the room with Adam... I called my neighbor to see if she had any suggestions and she had none, but was going to come over to take a look anyway (and probably see if she could make me see the lighter side of this whole fiasco). Just as I get off the phone with her, I hear a door opening upstairs and closing again.

The little stinker just put the doorknob back in the door, unlocked it and opened the door just to show me that he could. I finally managed to get him to open the door again. Of course, he comes out of there so proud of himself for opening the door after I took everything apart. He's got this grin on his face. Good thing he's so dang cute! It sure makes it easier to get over my temper, lol! I got to the gym, though, and had a great workout - it's amazing what some anger can do. Hopefully, I won't be too sore tomorrow.

Woodpecker!

I finally managed to get a good pic of one of the woodpeckers that visits my suet type feeder! It's the smallest woodpecker that I've ever seen. The other has a red patch or stripe on its head, so I figure that this one must be the female. Sure is pretty!

Splat!

So, I'm making spaghetti sauce for dinner tonight. I finished making it and needed to transfer it to a saucepan because I have to use the pot for the pasta and while I'm doing this, the saucepan starts getting heavy. I put it onto the counter, or so I thought. I put it half way on the counter and suddenly everything in the kitchen is covered with spaghetti sauce. I mean everything - me, the floor, the cabinets (some upper cabinets, too), the cat. Poor Miss Cuddles was in the kitchen with this happened and got splattered as well. She didn't get hit too badly and got to have some people food, but she does have a couple of orange spots that weren't there before... I think that I might even have some in my hair. Good thing that I had jeans on. If it were warmer and I had been wearing shorts, I'd probably have a few burns, since it was hot.

I think this one tops the barbecue sauce incident in which I shook a bottle of barbecue sauce that had it's lid on, but not screwed on. This was during Adam's birthday party and one of the guests placed the cap back on the bottle without twisting it on. Sure surprised me!

So, since things come in threes, I'm wondering what's next for me. So far these have been messy, but not serious - no one got hurt. I'm hoping my luck holds...

for Jen!!

I'm posting some of the pics I've taken at my bird feeders for Jen's benefit. I think the first one is of a house wren - I know, pretty boring, but I never seem to catch the fun birds... If you look carefully at the second (you probably have to click on the pic to get a bigger view) you can see a variety of birds in the tree including the house finch that builds a nest in my hanging flower basket every year in front of the house. I think I may need to find a decorative birdhouse or basket just for the bird family this spring. The third one is a mocking bird. It was odd to see this one at this feeder - I usually see the wrens and woodpeckers at this one. The mocking bird can be often seen at the green feeder at the front of the house. The last picture shows one of the resident cardinals at the feeder and you can see the female in the tree close by. Enjoy Jen!!

I'm still here...

Well, it's been ages since I last posted something... It's been busy, but I should be used to that by now, right? I wonder if I'll ever get used to the business that is my life these days...

We took an extended weekend trip to Hot Springs to visit some friends. It was wonderful to visit with them. I would love to live closer to them, but then we wouldn't have a fun place to visit, right? We did some shopping, hanging out, visiting, the usual thing. There's only so much you can do in two days.

Adam and I had our last visit with our Parents as Teachers educator last week. Amy's not getting rid of me so easily, though. She's not only been a great educator, but she's become a friend. She used to scrapbook, but hasn't in a long time. I'm planning on getting her started again. I made a set of cards for her as a small thank you gift. I was really struggling for inspiration when I was working on them. I don't know why, but I just couldn't seem to pull it together that night. Of course, she's much more girly than I (and she has two daughters rather than two sons) and I had no pink embellishments to put on the cards - not even any pink ribbon. See, I recently cleaned out my stash and thought "why would I need a bunch of pink ribbon?" and so I gave it away... I managed, though. I wish I had scanned the cards, but the scanner's not hooked up and by the time I was done, I was exhausted.

I'm managing to work out at least a couple of times a week. I need to increase that to 4 or 5 days a week. When it gets warmer, I can start running outside again, so I won't be tied to the gym. For some reason, I have no problem getting up at 6 am and going for a run, but I can't get up to go to the gym at that hour.

I've been couch shopping. Of course, the couch that hubby and I can agree on is outrageously priced - $2400 and it's not even leather! That doesn't include the ottoman either. It's a good manufacturer, but I can't figure out why the newer conversational sofas (they're curved) have to be so much more expensive than traditional sofas. I'm just venting - I'm frustrated.

I was bad at Hobby Lobby on Monday. They're having a paper sale this week and I went to pick up some cardstock and ended up with a bunch of additional paper, rubons (which were also on sale) and a Sarabinder which was on clearance. I think I'm going to try to create something tonight - I've got a bunch of new stuff to play with and it's still actually pretty early tonight. I'll post if I'm successful. ;-)

And we have snow!!

Yes, I'm so happy - we actually have snow! I'm one of those weird people who like the white stuff. School was cancelled today, so the boys are both home. It was still just raining this morning at 6:30 - I should have gone to work out then, but I got lazy. Lee's working from home today, so I could have had the time to get a good workout in... I did shovel the entire driveway, though. That must count for something. We were very lucky - the changeover from rain to snow was very quick in our immediate area, so there's only a little ice under the snow on the driveway. I haven't driven anywhere today, so I have no idea of what the roads are like... The boys came out with me, but we didn't go sledding today. They got a little discouraged when they realized that the snow didn't stick enough to make snowballs or snowmen.

The bird feeder's been busier than a McDonald's today. I filled it this morning and the birds haven't stopped. I've seen an amazing variety as well - finches, sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, juncos, woodpeckers, doves to name just a few. Every time I glance out the window, there's a different batch of birds out there. The cat's been at the window all day just staring at the feeders, lol!

I need to get another bird feeder to put out where I can see it from my office. I've got a beautiful window and can see a good portion of the back yard. I'm looking forward to spring when I can put in plantings around the new patio. I love the winter with all the snow, but I'm really looking forward to watching my gardens bloom and grow. I'm so glad that I live in an area that has 4 full seasons - I love the changes.

I'm back?

Well, at least I think I'm back. ;-) I had a good visit with my parents. It was nice to be able to just sit around and chat - not something I get to do often with them. My Mom is doing much better. I saw improvement each day I was there, which was really good to see. I left their house on Tuesday morning, expecting to stop by my brother's house and head home. The weather and my car had different ideas.

I had to take the Mustang, since the boys were staying home with Lee and the car seat doesn't get along well with the Mustang. Unfortunately, the Mustang doesn't get along with snow and it was snowing Tuesday. I could barely keep the *%*$&^** car on the road on the way to my brother's house. Luckily, they didn't mind me spending the night with them. I got to visit with my nephew as well. He was very excited to show me his room and we watched a movie together. I also had a wonderful visit with my sister-in-law - we had all afternoon to ourselves. Overall, it was a really fun afternoon and evening. Until around 10 or so. That's when the water pipe burst and flooded the basement (did I mention that it was cold?). So, I helped clean up the basement and got more visiting in with my brother. I wouldn't wish burst pipes on anyone, but I'm glad I got the time with my brother. It had been too long since we had time to visit and catch up. I usually stay with my other brother when we head up because our boys are closer in age and they've got more space. I guess this was God's way of making me take the time to catch up. I'm glad that I had the chance.

I've been catching up on housework and life in general since coming back. Tomorrow, I'm heading over to my friend Tammy's house to scrapbook with a group of friends. I'm really looking forward to it - I just have to figure out what to pack...

Oh! Almost forgot to mention it - Adam's MRI came back just fine. The ortho is recommending some physical therapy to see if we can alleviate the problem. I'm so relieved.

Hello from Chicago!

All I can say is BRRRRRRRR!!!! It is COLD!! I doubt it ever got out of the single digits here today - and that's not counting the windchill. I had to get gas and by the time I finished, I couldn't feel my face today.

Adam's MRI went well - he was nervous, but he had a great nurse who kept him distracted until it was time to put him under. He wasn't quite as happy coming out of anesthesia, but he woke up quickly. He never even knew that he had an IV - just wondered why he had a big bandaid on his hand. We'll be finding out the results in a day or two.

My Mom is doing ok. She's got some pain and her sciatica's acting up. I've been having a good visit with both my parents. I had lunch with one of my old college roommates. It was great to see her and she and her husband live pretty close to my parents now. It had been way too long since we'd seen each other. Two of my brothers came down today for a short visit as well.

Nervous Mama

Well, tomorrow is the MRI and I'm a bit nervous. I think of Adam as my little guy and having to sedate him is making me uneasy. Now, I know things are going to go well, but I keep thinking that he's so little to have to go through this. I'm probably babying him too much on other stuff as I reflect on my feelings about this. Matt was about the same age as Adam is now when he was hospitalized for almost a week. He had an IV and I didn't keep thinking that he was just too little for this... Of course, I was worried about other things at the time. I really tend to expect a lot out of Matt and I'm wondering if I let Adam get away with too much because I think of him as being so young. I just hope that this doesn't scare Adam so much that he won't be able to get past it. I don't want him to be afraid of hospitals and doctors as he grows older. One of my nephews had a traumatic experience when he was about the same age - he fell on his face and hurt his nose. He was too young for a broken nose (it was still almost all soft cartilage at the time), but the ER experience has made him extremely reluctant to go to the doctor for anything...

Musings

I wonder if once one is put into a purely bureaucratic position if one is required to loose all common sense. I scheduled Adam's sedated MRI last week, but they were only scheduling them for 2 pm. Then, they tell me that he can't eat anything for 8 hours prior to that. Huh?? That would mean that Adam wouldn't get breakfast, snack or lunch the day of the MRI. I complained up a storm. Turns out that it's a new scheduling policy and many departments are unhappy about it. I got it changed for Friday morning, so I just get Adam up and out the door for the MRI. Some manager thought it would make sense to schedule the little kids in the afternoon... Good thing I didn't get to talk that person. The person who got to reschedule my appointment actually thanked me for complaining about this...

I've decided that Lee has no patience once he decides that he wants to do something. He just about cried when I told him that I went and ordered the entertainment center that we wanted and that it would take 8 to 10 weeks to get here. He wanted it all here in a week or two at most, since he's picked out the tv that he wants... Now if we could only agree on seating for the basement. He found this pit group that just has "man furniture" written all over it, lol! Recliners everywhere (which is ok as long as it doesn't look like a recliner, lol), cubbies for storage (more junk to clean out for me), a massage chair, maybe there was even a cooler, I can't remember. He thought it was cool, but didn't really want to get it (I think). The boys loved it too - they were fighting over the controls to the massage chair. We'll get there, but we need to do more shopping and we're having a hard time finding time to do it.

I'm heading up to Chicagoland this weekend to visit my parents. My Mom had surgery Monday and I'm going up to help out as much as I can. Lee's staying home with the boys. I'll be gone Monday and Tuesday of next week as well - Lee will get plenty of quality time with the boys and I'll get a much needed break from them. Hopefully, they'll behave for him with regards to school, getting up, etc...

The MRI that wasn't

Well, we went to get the MRI done and Adam was just too scared. I got him to lie down and we were ready to move him into the scanner part, but he was just too afraid. I don't blame him, though. That machine is pretty intimidating. I guess we'll have to reschedule and have him sedated. I was really hoping that we wouldn't have to, but that's life.

I heard from an old, old, old friend of mine today! We were really good friends in college (ummmm over 15 years ago) and we've just been exchanging Christmas cards over the years. I didn't have his or his wife's e-mail or phone number, he didn't have ours... You know, all those excuses we all use when we drop the ball with friends. It sure made me feel great to hear from him again. Hopefully, we'll do better at keeping in touch this time around.

Matt said that his testing was fun today - he even enjoyed taking his IQ test, lol! He likes things that make him think and allow him to be creative in his solutions. We'll see how things go. Adam was dancing around the family room again this morning. This time it was to the Rolling Stones. I think Lee got tired of my Hip Hop cd and gave Adam the Stones instead. He was so cute - he even asked me to dance with him. I can't remember the last time someone asked me to dance, lol! It's been a while since I've been to a wedding, which is usually the only place I can get Lee to dance...

Oh, and I still haven't found that picture that I've been looking for. I've put that layout to the side because I really want that pic for it. I might find it someday...

Stuff...

Well, I seem to be keeping busy and mostly off the computer with misc. stuff. Last week was Matt's first Pinewood Derby. He and Lee worked on his car together and it turned out pretty neat. Matt was more concerned about how it looked than how it worked, lol! At least until the race itself. I was a bit disappointed - his car was pretty slow. It turns out that one of the wheels was rubbing on the body of the car itself and really dragging it down. Lesson learned - we'll do better next year. All the Tiger Cubs got a trophy, so Matt left happy. :-) Adam loved watching all the cars race, too. He's been telling everyone about it since.

Matt's being tested for participation in the Gifted program at school. My fil is dead set against Matt being part of the program. That's partly because one of his wife's sons was considered gifted and then has had some major problems in life. I've never heard anything but fantastic things about the gifted program in our school district. Everyone I've talked to has had amazing things to say about it. There's always the argument of not labeling a child as "gifted", but that's already being done to an extent. When I asked Matt if he was interested in going into this program he said "Sure. It's where all the smart kids go and I'm smart." To me, it already seems like he's labeled and he knows it.

Adam is going in for an MRI of his full spine tomorrow. He's been complaining about back pain since November or so and we haven't been able to figure out what it is so far. His pediatrician ran blood tests and took x-rays and both came back fine. We saw an orthopedist who ordered the MRI. She couldn't see anything in the x-ray, either. Because Adam was so cooperative during his exam with the orthopedist, we're going to try a non-sedated scan. I'm not sure how that will go - a full spine MRI takes an hour and a half, not to mention all the noise that goes along with it.

Matt's home from school and Adam's up from his nap - quiet time is over for me. :-)

Missing pic?

Ever spend the day looking for a pic that you just can't find? I'm working on a layout of some pics that I had of Adam with me and Tasha (our cat). While I was working on this, I swear I remembered a pic of Mickey (another cat) on the couch right next to Adam when he as just a newborn. Mickey died just a month after Adam was born. I thought it would be a perfect pic to include, but I have searched through all the stashes I can think of and just can't find the pic. This pic was very unusual, too, since both cats avoided Matt when he was a baby (as well as when he was older). It was just very strange that Mickey, or Tasha for that matter, would voluntarily lie down right next to a new baby. I've even dug through the old negatives and still can't find the pic. Now I'm beginning to think that I'm imagining the picture. I can even see the outfit that Adam was wearing in it.

Ugh!!

Ok, I was going to post all about my miserable afternoon, but it's too depressing. It's been one of those days that makes you feel like a terrible parent. Thank goodness that the boys are finally in bed. I was ready to call Lee and tell him that we're going to start looking at daycares and I was going back to work full time.

Anyway, I ordered some cubes for my scrap stuff - they'll be arriving Tuesday of next week (if they're not delayed by weather). Here's a link: http://www.organize-everything.com/whmocu.html We'll see how it works and if it's durable.

I renewed my membership at the gym this week! I'm so excited - I love working out. I went yesterday and felt great. I went back today and tried a new machine - a wave something or other. Boy, did that ever hurt!! It's like skating or rollerblading uphill. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow. I want to get back into shape so I can run this spring and summer. It's so nice that this gym has a babysitting service and Adam likes it. :-)

We're facing another ice storm tonight continuing through the entire weekend. It's raining pretty steadily right now and the sidewalks and driveway are only wet for now. However, the trees are already freezing. We're right on the edge of the bad stuff, though. It might not be as bad as last time. It's going to be ugly, though. Freezing rain all weekend and then really cold temps next week. This ice will be around for a long time. If you don't hear from me, it's probably because we've lost power. Keep us in your thoughts.

Harlem Globetrotters

Matt and I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters last night with his cub scout pack. It was a lot of fun and we both enjoyed the show. Lee was supposed to take Matt, but accidentally scheduled a trip to Atlanta on the same day. I tried to take pictures, but nothing worked with the camera. When I had the flash on, the flash wasn't strong enough (big surprise) and when I turned the flash off, the camera was too slow and all the pics came out streaky. :-( DH was going to get me a digital rebel for Christmas, but I asked him to hold off for a while yet - we've had too many big expenses lately. Maybe for my birthday.

Speaking of expenses, Lee wants to buy (of all things) a paddle boat. I'm not sure where he got this wild idea from, but I personally think it's a bit off the wall, lol! I think he's looking for a fun way to get some exercise, but this just isn't practical if you ask me. He gets home from work at 6 (if not later) and the boys go to bed by 8 and we have to eat dinner in that time as well. We don't live on a lake, so he'd have to transport it somewhere, get it in the water, etc... He told my brother about it and he thinks it's an odd idea as well (guess the opinion runs in the family, lol). I would probably think a whole lot differently if we lived on a little lake or something, but not as things stand now. And he hasn't elaborated on why he thinks this is a good idea, either.

I'm still searching for what to do in my office for my scrap stuff. I'm seriously considering using cabinets and counter top, but that gets pretty pricey (of course, I want the expensive stuff). I just haven't found any sort of desk that would have the type of storage I want...