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...

My new office!

Finally!! A picture for everyone to see - can you believe it?? Here are a couple of pictures of my office and desk. The second picture is there primarily so that you can see what the ceiling looks like. I really love the way the plank ceiling turned out - it looks fantastic irl. The floor is great as well. I'm looking forward to officially moving all my scrap stuff, but first I have to go through and donate or sell a bunch. I am planning on keeping this office neat and I can't do that when I've got a ton of stuff I don't need or use.

A whole houseful...

Of sick people. All four of us have strep throat. I talked to my brother and all four of them have it as well. Nothing like sharing over the holidays. I'm not feeling great, but I'm on my feet. Lee's doing better than I am. Matt was in really rough shape today and Adam's not showing any symptoms, but tested positive. I wonder how long the strep bacteria can live on surfaces... All the doctors said that we'll be contagious until we've been on antibiotics. I guess I'll have to start disinfecting everything tomorrow.

On a happier note, I'm partially moved into my new office/scrap room. My computer and bill paying stuff is down here, but all my scrap stuff is still upstairs. I have nothing to hold it all in yet. I need to decide on a system soon. I'm considering a cube system, but those don't look as nice as I would like. My new desk is fantastic - I'll post a pic of it tonight after I get the boys to bed.

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We sure did. We had dinner at my parents' house Christmas Eve. It was the traditional Lithuanian dinner - 12 different foods, no meat and lots of traditional foods - several types of pickled herring, some salads, Lithuanian bread... It's been a few years since I've done this, so it was really nice. Growing up with it, I tend to miss the strange dishes this time of year. Lee did ok through it - there was shrimp cocktail, tuna casserole and several other less traditional dishes that he was willing to eat. Adam tried just about everything I had and Matt had mac and cheese. It was quite the houseful at my parents' house - 2 of my 3 brothers came with their wives and it made a total of 5 grandsons there for the evening. We did miss my other brother and family (and the only granddaughter), but they couldn't make the trip this year.

Christmas day, we went back to my parents' house and Matt and Adam got to decorate a gingerbread house. My mom baked a gingerbread house for each family who had kids old enough to decorate a house and they all had a different day on which to decorate. It was lots of fun seeing the boys work on their house - and actually cooperate!

We're all fighting colds right now and Matt's running a bit of a temp. Hopefully, we'll be over it soon. Happy holidays to everyone!!

Christmas is only a few days away!!

And I'm so not ready! I've had my Christmas cards done and addressed, but haven't mailed them - I usually try to include a newsletter, but haven't had a chance to write it. I think I'm done with Christmas shopping, but I've been so forgetful that I'm not really sure. :-/

I got my packages mailed to the in-laws, but nothing else has gone out. I've got several other gifts that need to be mailed, but I just can't seem to get it all together. Last night I worked like crazy getting sets of cards made for Adam's preschool teachers so that I could run them by today since he doesn't have school tomorrow and I remembered that I had to do that at 1 pm - they're all gone by then. I'll just have to give them to them after Christmas. I just hate it that I the gifts ready in time, but messed up on the follow-through. I've been baking cookies for most of Matt's teachers, but I've got a house full of cookie monsters and I lose half of what I bake to them!

Matt's home from school - gotta go bake some more cookies and get him going on his homework. His holiday concert is tonight, so he can't goof around all afternoon and not get his homework finished...

We finally saw Santa!

Well, I had resigned myself to not being able to see Santa with the boys this year. My favorite scrapbook store usually has Santa come and visit for a few hours every year, but they didn't this year. I was so sad. I loved it there because the boys could take their time, I could take as many pictures as I wanted and everyone left happy. And I got to go to my scrapbook store and look at all the goodies!

Anyway, I was driving around on Saturday and heard that Santa would be visiting the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Sunday, Lee wanted to get the boys out of the house (so they would stop fighting), so we went to the botanical gardens. It was such a fun day! The boys got to spend some time with Santa - as much time as they wanted and I got to snap as many pictures as I wanted. Rudolph was visiting as well. I guess Santa had Rudolph bring him down from the north pole. After we visited with Santa, Adam followed Rudolph around outside. It was hysterical! We also saw the train exhibit they had set up. I think Adam liked that more than talking to Santa, lol. I got to see the Chihuly exhibit. I've been wanting to see it since it opened here, but have never gotten around to it. It was really great to see. It's amazing what can be done with some glass and talent!

Here's a link to Chihuly: http://www.mobot.org/chihuly/default.asp and http://www.chihuly.com/

Here's a link to the train stuff: http://www.mobot.org/hort/activ/hs8.shtml

Coming up for air

<<>> It's been a crazy week here. I spent two days sick - one day I spent in bed literally all day. I'm mostly over it, but if I overdo it, I can really feel it. I've been madly working on calendars for Christmas gifts, but I've gotten July done and life intruded. The calendars will have to be late this year.

Got Christmas packages wrapped, packaged and shipped out today. Had some technical difficulties with some of them and almost didn't have anything to send, but dh being the technical guru that he is came through for me. He's such a sweetie when he's not being all Grinchy.

FINALLY got the Christmas tree up today. Nothing like waiting for the last minute! Since things in the basement are all crazy, I just went and bought new lights and ornaments for the tree, since I couldn't find the lights and the Hallmark ornaments take forever to put up (each one is still packaged in its original box). The boys helped with the tree, dh not so much. He did help with the lights for about 10 minutes, but I just don't get him. He disappeared into the garage to get greasy and I had to ask him to come back in to distract Adam who was "helping" and breaking ornaments.

Anyway, I'm still stressed out for Christmas, but things are getting done little by little. Now, I wonder if I can get Adam to help me in a productive manner when I bake cookies...

PMSing

Ugh!! I hate this time of month. I just turn into a very unhappy person - little things that everyone does drive me bananas and I have no patience. This is a bad thing with two little boys. I just seem to get pissed off for the smallest reasons and I have a hard time letting it go. There's really no reason for me to be so pissy. Things are going well and I can tell myself that, but my emotions think differently. It's like if things don't go the way I think they should (and with Adam, they rarely do), I just get pissed off and bitchy. Hormones suck.

Merry Christmas to me!

Well, I went and bought a die cut machine today. I found a 50% off coupon for Michael's in my purse this morning that was still good, so I thought I'd go and browse around. The first thing I saw as I walked into the store was a Cuttlebug. The last one they had in stock. It's supposed to work with all types of dies and comes with all the adapters you'd need. I thought I would give it a try. This will be Santa's gift to me. :-) It was a great deal with that coupon and I think it's more versatile than a Sizzix. If it doesn't work as I think it should, I can always return it, but I've heard good things about it.