Best made plans

Well, I had plans to clean my very messy house today, but it never happened. Here I am on this infernal machine again. Why is it that less than 12 hours after my hubby comes home from a trip, my house is 50% messier than it was? How is that possible? He's just one person. One big, messy person with a LOT of crap! This man has more equipment, or "gear" as he calls it, than anyone I have ever met. Really. It permeates every room of the house and trickles out into the garage. His truck is full of it. Sam's room is full of it. My tiny little bathroom in the back of the house is currently packed, our bedroom holds little treasures as well. When the computer guy was here trying to get us set up I was looking in this plastic bin where I keep all of our disks and setup stuff and there were bullets in there. Sheesh! He's just pulling into the driveway so I better stop talking about him.

Ranger has to go back to the vet tomorrow. They wanted to make sure that the swelling was going down, so I made a follow-up appointment. It's a good thing because the swelling is worse instead of better. He's through with his antibiotics and all that, but his nose is still looking pretty bad. I'll let you know what they say and how much it's gonna set me back.

Sam just tried to do a little celebration dance. It was basically a circle, but he couldn't complete the entire thing because he lost control and spun out. Too cute! He LOVES his Dada. He was so excited when Vince came home from California. He just starting screaming, "Dada, Dada!" And if you've ever heard Sam scream, you know how crazy the homecoming was. I never thought it was possible for one little boy to be louder than his 2 sisters combined. Anything's possible I realize now. His latest cute trick is "nigh-nigh". He grabs a stuffed whatever or his favorite blanket that Aunt Bonni made for him and cuddles with it and says "nigh-nigh, nigh-nigh". Or when you put him in the bed he starts up with it. And he says love you. "Ah-voo". His favorite word is still no. Typical.

I will be making another trip to Wisconsin soon. My Grandfather's funeral is set for Oct. 15th and they are having a burial for my Grandmother's ashes on the 16th. So, I will fly out there by myself for a couple of days while my mother-in-love flies in to watch the kids since V will be out of town--AGAIN! Busy, busy.

They are predicting snow for later this week. Snow! October 1st. Snow! Oh, I miss the south. We still have summer clothes out. Not that we've gotten to wear them much. It's been so cool here all "summer". I've already scraped ice off the windshield once a couple weeks ago. It's nuts. I'm beefing up the Halloween costumes so the kids can wear their snowsuits under. The heater has been on for a couple of weeks now. Let's see. The heater was on until June and then comes back on in September. Is that insane, or is it just me? No wonder there's a bar on every corner up north.

Well, Vince and I are supposed to have a date tonight, so I guess I should get off of here and get dinner for the kids, get myself ready and the kids dressed. I have 30 minutes. Think I can do it? You betcha!

Need to lighten things up a bit

Today I feel the need to laugh. So, I thought I would share some funny things that the kids have said or done lately.

Vince and I have been thinking about what to get the kids for Christmas, particularly the girls since their room is already stuffed full of toys. I have been wanting to get a trampoline for a while, but we move so much that it's just not practical right now. So, I was thinking about a bounce house (that could come in or go out and folds up nicely) or a playhouse. I asked the girls which one they would rather have and of course they said both. I explained that we didn't have the money to get both, so they would have to choose. Audrey shrugged at me and said, "Just go to Wal-Mart so we can get both. Save money, live better." Who says advertising doesn't work?

Then a few days later Katie was telling Audrey to do something and Audrey goes, "I'll take that under advisement Katie."

Poor Katie has been having to wake up earlier than normal so that we can take Audrey to school. This kid requires more sleep than my other two so I always try to let her sleep the longest. One morning, she was getting up but I could tell that she was still half asleep. She looked at me all sleepy-eyed and serious and said, "Mom, why can't tonight be tomorrow?" HUH? She kept looking at me like she was expecting an answer, so I said, "Um, well, because that's they way God wanted it." That's my one-size-fits-all answer to really tough questions. Works like a charm.

This morning was a pretty rough morning for all of us. I know what my problem was, but the kids all went to bed early last night so I'm not sure what the deal was with them. After we dropped a VERY upset Audrey at school today, Katie came home and curled up in a clothes basket with a pillow and blanket and fell asleep. It was cute. Here's the picture.Well, I know part of Audrey's problem was that Sam puked on her right before we left for school. I would be upset too. The other issue had something to do with a stuffed animal that she wanted in the car with her. I don't know. I refuse to acknowledge those ridiculous tantrums.

On Saturday night Audrey went to stay with a friend and Katie was upset that she didn't get to go too, so I declared it Katie night. I told her we would go grab something to eat and go to the park. She chose Chuck E. Cheese. Dang it. Since we hadn't been there in a while and I did tell her to pick whatever she wanted, I dragged my skanky, t-shirt and Croc wearing, crazy-haired self and 2 white-trash looking kids out to CEC. It's nice that I can take a book and keep only one eye on the kids because I know they can't escape, but really? Why is that place fun? It is the only restaurant I know that can mess up a hot dog. Are hot dogs that hard? Why are they always burnt on the outside and cold on the inside and served on a stale bun? I realize that I'm ONLY paying $5 for this crappy hot dog, but c'mon. Katie had a good time and that's all that matters I guess. Sam even had fun crawling around and ignoring his $5 crappy hot dog. You know it's bad when Sam won't eat it! And, of course we ran into people we know. I never run into someone I know unless I'm not wearing make-up and I have 3 giant zits that are ready to be popped and my hair is so frizzy that no amount of hair spray is going to rein it in. And I have on my Crocs that I usually only wear in the yard or in the car. And a ginormous t-shirt with stains on it. My bad luck is going to become legendary if this keeps up! Audrey was mad when she found out that Katie got to go without her and insists that I take her as well. Sorry, sister! I've had all the Chuck E. Cheese I can stand for a while. But ain't she cute?

Ranger is doing better I think. He better be because I'm pretty sure I spent more money on him at the vet in this one trip than I have ever spent on the other dogs in their entire lives. Turns out he had an abcessed tooth that had spread into his sinuses. Did I spell abcess wrong? Who cares. Anyhow, they had to do dental surgery and pull 4 teeth and do some other dental stuff and keep him overnight. It actually cost less than they quoted me to begin with, but when they get into the hundreds of dollars, does a $30 savings really matter? I can tell you for a fact that it does not. Stupid dogs. I almost asked how much it would cost to put him down instead, but I didn't think the people that work in a veterinarian's office would appreciate my attempts at humor. I'm so over dog ownership at this point. I have had dogs all my life and have never brushed their teeth nor have any of them ever, ever had to have dental work done. Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh! Give me a moment to cool down and breathe...(insert elevator music here).

Sorry. I get a little worked up. Time for a shout out. This is for my girl Heidi who definitely knows the way to my heart! She knows all about my run of bad luck because she has had to listen to my rantings ad nauseam and has, I'm sure, suffered through the same stories over and over and over again. She left donuts on my doorstep this morning. Bless you, Heidi. I am happy to report that they are all gone already and I have no remorse. Okay, I did share one with the girls. But I ate the rest with abandon--and glee I might add. They were so good! So, thanks. Love ya and thanks for listening.

For the rest of you, I really appreciate all the well-wishes and prayers that have been sent my way. I have a super, awesome, lovely group of friends and family who put up with me on a daily basis (I don't ask why because I'm afraid you guys will stop to think about it and decide I'm too much work) and I just want you to know that even though 99% of the time I am a selfish, flaky, forgetful person, I do love you back and wish I could repay all your kindnesses and then some.

Goodnight.

OMG!

That's the only title I could come up with tonight. I have nothing to start with except "Oh, my goodness!!" Seriously. My aunt called today to tell me that my grandfather died last night. It's not that it wasn't expected because he has been deteriorating pretty rapidly, but it's still not easy. It just hit me this afternoon that I have no grandparents left. My maternal grandparents died when I was in high school and college. My mom and dad left for Aruba this morning. I guess they finally got a hold of my dad this afternoon. I don't know what they will do. Come home? Stay? I would like to go to the services in Wisconsin, but now that I have a big-ass television and the vet bill from Hell (more on that later), can we afford it? Vince is working 16 hour days with no days off for 3 weeks. Ugh. And Audrey has school. I just don't know. My grandpa was such a wonderful man. He used to make homemade pizza for us when we would come to visit. So yummy! And still when I smell pipe smoke, I think of him, I look around for him. His laugh was infectious. And he gave great hugs. I'm so glad that we took the time to see him at Easter when we visited. Even though the dementia was getting worse, he knew me and was so happy to see me and the kids. The girls were giving him hugs and he just smiled so big. We took some pictures with him and with my Grandma too.

Just look at their smiles! They will live in my heart forever and I know that I will be with them again some day.

Just breathe

Hello all! I know I haven't written in a while, but it's been so crazy around here that I have to remind myself to breathe some days. I think I am having a harder time adjusting to this new schedule than Audrey is, although she does have some mornings when she pulls the blanket back over her head and doesn't want to get up. I feel ya, honey! I was getting up to run before coming home and waking her up, but since my treadmill died the first week of school, I have been walking her to school with the little ones in the stroller and then going for a walk/run while she's in school. This half day Kindergarten is a nice way to break them in, but it certainly messes up my day. It's just long enough that it's hard to find something to do for the whole 2 1/2 hours, but short enough that you can't really get much done. I know that sounds weird, but it's really true. So, basically what I do is just walk/run most of the time and then take the little ones to the park or something for 45 minutes or so. It's nice because there are several nice parks and places to run within 10 minutes of our house and Audrey's school. So I don't have to load everyone in the car and take them some place to exercise. School and dance and YMCA and play dates and errands and MOPS and church and doctor's visits and... I feel like I never sit down! Plus, we have to squeeze in meals and naps somewhere. My house is, naturally, a total wreck. Instead of Vince sleeping next to me (he's in California for 3 weeks), I sleep with a pile of laundry. Usually it sits in the chair in the LR, but I moved it because we had company last week. What's that you say? I should fold it and put it away? Ha! That would be quitting.

I am happy to report that dance classes are going very well so far. *knock on wood* Katie's first class she danced halfway through and then quit. I talked to the teacher afterward and she told me to give her at least a month and that she thought Katie would stop being "shy" and start participating more. She was right. This week Katie danced the whole class and not just by herself. I mean she fully participated in the class. This is a different studio that we are enrolled in now. It's better. Nothing against the other one, but this teacher is much better with the little kids. Audrey really enjoyed her class too. I'm glad they are having fun. They also started AWANA on Wed. nights. Audrey was going to a little church up the road on Wednesdays, but they didn't really have an organized program. My friend Michelle takes her kids to AWANA at a church right up the road from us. (She lives around the corner). They love it, so we decided to give it a shot. Our regular church is about 15 minutes out of town and I hate to drive that far. See what city living has done to me? Anyway, the girls are LOVING it! They have books and have memory verses to learn every week and it's just a great program. They earn patches to put on their little vests. It's really cute.

Sam landed himself in the ER on Labor Day. This kid, I tell ya. I told you that he was running a fever. Well, it kept shooting up to 104+under the arm. I could not keep it down. After 2 days of temps that high, I took him to the ER. Of course that was the same day that V left for Cali, so the girls went next door with Jim and Sherri-bless 'em-and Sam I and went to the hospital with every other Joe in town. Gosh, was it busy. By the time they took his temp it was 104.5 so they popped him with Tylenol and Motrin all at once and then took him back for a chest x-ray and blood work because they couldn't see anything outwardly wrong that would be causing those kinds of temps. His lungs looked a little cloudy, so they gave him an antibiotic and there was nothing in his blood work that was off, so they sent us home. His fever broke in the hospital after they gave him the Tylenol and Motrin. The next day, he seemed better but he started developing a rash all over his belly and back. I called the Dr. and they wanted to see him, of course, so they could tell me that it looks a lot like Roseola. Classic. Another virus that they can do nothing about. That'll be $15 please. I asked the Dr. what the deal was with Sam. Why does he keep getting sick? He said it's nothing to be concerned about, just normal childhood illnesses, but that Sam seems to be getting them all at once. Tell me about it! He said they would be worried about his immune system if he was getting sicker with serious problems like pneumonia. But these viruses are really common. He said by the time he's 2, it should slow down. Fabulous. Sam is better. For now. He's a little spitfire. He's talking even more than he was a week ago. At his well baby check this week (that'll be another $15 please), the doctor was surprised by all his words and everything he understands. He said he was a sharp kid. It's nice to hear that from the doctor. He also said we were very loud. Thanks doc! Don't I know it. Here are some pics of him getting into trouble. He is demonstrating how to eat Shepard's Pie without a fork and the proper use of the computer. Yes, that is meat in his nose and yes, he climbs up there all the time by himself to play with the mouse. Perhaps that is why my computer died not too long ago!

Yesterday was our 9th anniversary. I was at the YMCA and was having a pretty crappy morning when I got roses delivered! They are beautiful. I bawled. Thanks, honey! They really turned my day around. I thought I'd post a picture since he hasn't even seen them and won't get home before they die. Today I have to take one of the dogs to the vet. He has been sneezing blood and has a big lump under one eye on the side of his nose. I never could determine where the blood was coming from until I noticed the lump last night. Great! The only reason this is happening is because I went and bought a big-screen TV the other day. It never fails! We think we have a little extra and BOOM! Out the window it goes. Some day I'll learn. Maybe.

You can't get rid of me that easily!

You thought you got rid of me for good, didn't you? Well, too bad! I'm baaaaccck. Our computer went kaput right before we left for my Grandma's funeral. This has been a very expensive couple of weeks. Getting ready for school, fixing up the flower beds, traveling to Wisconsin for the funeral and kenneling the dogs for 5 days, and fixing the computer to name a few things. Good thing we got Vince's overtime check from Sturgis week. It's gone and then some!

First things first. My Grandma died on August 26th. My cyber-granny is gone. I called her that because she got a computer within the last 10 years and really embraced the technology. She e-mailed, bought and sold stuff on E-Bay, and surfed for interesting items. She got a kick out of my nickname for her. Her funeral was the following Monday, so we headed out of town on Saturday morning. The service was nice and afterward we had a big family dinner and then some of us headed out to Grandma's apartment to sort through some stuff. It was weird being in her home without her there. We found some really neat stuff that she had made or was in the process of making. Like this Christening gown. I know my kids will never wear it, but it was too beautiful to send to the Goodwill. Maybe if one of the other cousins has a girl, I can send it to them.

It was a whirlwind trip, very tiring, but a good one because we got to see all the cousins and aunts and uncles. We even spent one evening with some cousins that we rarely see or hear from and had a great time getting to know each other as adults and swapping insults. That's the norm in our family. If we like you, we immediately begin to bring you down to our level and make fun of ya. Took a while for Vince to get used to it and he still tells me to cool it occasionally. We got home late Tuesday night.

We got our computer back on Thursday, but it wasn't fully functional until Friday evening. I have been trying to catch up. Life without a computer stinks! How the heck am I supposed to know what all my Facebook friends have been doing and eating and thinking for the past week?!

Audrey started school on Friday. They had a week where the teacher had small groups of 5 or 6 kids every day instead of the whole class so that they could get to know each other and she could introduce them to the classroom and show them how things would go. This Tuesday, they start with the entire class. Audrey had a blast on Friday. She picked out her outfit and was ready to leave by 7:15. It takes us about 5 minutes to get to the school because it's just a couple of blocks away and she doesn't have to be there until 8 of course. It was cute. And I am happy to report that I DID NOT CRY!! I know, I can't believe it either. I'm guessing that pre-school last year did me some good. Audrey said school was lots of fun and she even got a mouse stamp for being quiet. I think the teacher got mixed up! This is a kid who never shuts up! She's gonna put me in an early grave with, "Mom, watch this. Mom, are you watching? Mom, can I... Mom, play with me. Mom, let's do crafts. Mom, mom, mom!!!"

Of course, the first thing she gravitated to was the farm and the horses. Didn't take her long. I love her little outfit. She picked it out at the store. It's corduroy with poodles on the bottom. It was 80 degrees on Friday. She insists she wasn't hot. Whatever. At least she was cute! She and Katie are starting dance classes next week. I think I might be crazy. They are both totally pumped. I asked Katie a million times if she was sure and told her that she was going to be in trouble if she quits in class. She has assured me that she's going to do it. Then she added, "But what happens if I get really tired and don't want to dance anymore?" Uh, oh. I did tell the lady that she might get shy all of a sudden, but they told me that was fine and that she could drop out with the proper paperwork. Wish us luck. Audrey is taking a ballet/tap class. I think she's really going to like it. She thoroughly enjoyed the dance camp she took this summer and this class will be with the same studio. Katie is taking Creative Movement. I really hope she does okay.

Sam is doing well with the walking. The night that we got home from Wisconsin, he hadn't walked since that morning, so when I put him down in the house, he was funny. He couldn't walk. He just kept falling like he had forgotten how to use his legs. He is talking some too. He says thank you ("ah ooh"), bless you (sounds just like thank you, only he says it when you sneeze), hush up (to the dogs) which sounds like "up", Dada-of course, and Nana. And he likes to give kisses. Big, open-mouth, wet kisses. He is officially the cutest kid who ever lived. No bias whatsoever! He's not feeling well today. He started with a high fever last night. It was 102.4 under the arm, so it's probably more like 103.4. He's been off his food for a couple days and just kinda cranky/tired. Don't know what's up, but I'm sure it will pass in the next couple of days.

Well, it's time for me to get off my duff and mow the lawn. It needs it bad. I will be back again. Soon.