Light at the end of the tunnel

OK, on day 8, we *think* he's coming home today! The doctor has not been by yet this morning, so we aren't 100% sure. He is sooo bored. I am working from home this morning and then have the rest of the day to deal with getting him home. I'll keep ya posted!

Update on Charles

Charles is concluding day 6 of his hospital stay for cellulitis and a badly infected left middle finger. We still have no word on when he'll go home, other than "when his finger is better". They've got his left arm/hand in a sling to elevate it, and he's bored out of his mind.

My mother-in-law is here with the kids, and I'm working and spending my late afternoons/evenings at the hospital with Charles. I'm ready for him to come home!

Ho Ho Ho

Not. Where to start? Charles woke up last Thursday complaining of an ingrown fingernail. By late morning his whole finger had swollen, and by early afternoon it was past his wrist. He saw our family doctor, who put him on antibiotics and pain meds. By Friday am the streaks were up to his bicep, so we took him to the emergency room. 10 hours later, he was finally admitted. His white blood count (wbc) was 19.1, his blood pressure was low, he had a fever of 100.6, his pulse oxygen was low... he was a pretty sick guy.

Saturday his wbc came down to 16.3, and his blood sugars were at least dropping. Today his wbc is down to 9.8, but his finger is still gnarly. They did an xray of it in the emergency room, and if it's not better tomorrow, they will do an MRI. His finger getting better is the ticket to coming home.

Soooo.... our Christmas is kinda funky. I have yet to wrap the first present, and I have to do "Santa" without help for the first time in my marriage. I really hate that Charles will miss the kids' opening their gifts. We're going to pack up and take his gifts over to the hospital tomorrow morning. It just makes me teary to think of Christmas with him in the hospital.

On a happier note, Duncan did well in the 4th grade Christmas play, and Connor is missing both front teeth just in time for Christmas. Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!!

Weekday Ramblings

Ugh. It's so hard to go back to work after being off for four days. It has NOT been a good week either. I applied for a promotion on my team and found out Monday I didn't get it. This is not such a bad thing -- I lost out to a retired air force colonel so I know it was a matter of not being the best candidate, but it still feels weird.

School snet an email asking why we hadn't responded to the notes they had sent the past several days, which meant Charles has not been signing the daily stuff. Apparently he has been "forgetting" to give Duncan his medication, which is really a bad thing. So I've had to be the watchdog the last couple of days trying to get them back on track.

The school nurse, whom I despise, has been trying to track us down, about Connor. He had a potty accident at school. I don't understand what the big friggin' deal is, but she sure is hard to get back with, and Charles just pleads embarassment and won't deal with her. So in between constant meetings I've been trying to track her down.

Charles has been sick as a dog this whole week with a flu like virus, so absolutely nothing has gotten done at home this week. We had scouts on Tuesday (rephrase, Duncan & I had scouts), and tonite are meeting family friends at Chuck E Cheese for dinner. Last night should have been fellowship and choir, but Charles wasn't feeling good, Duncan has been a tween jerk lately, and both Charles and I have been disenchanted with church lately. Lately we just haven't felt welcome. So we'll see where that goes.

OK, I got a new boss to train at work, so I need to get moving.

Blog Nonsense - Blame Liz

Thanks Liz!!

Christmas Elf Name My Christmas Elf Name is Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving! Ours has been rather quiet and uneventful. The weather here in NC has been rainy and windy the past few days, so we decided not to go to Charlotte due to weather. Instead we stayed home and ate a nice family meal here. The kids are all excited about the new "Foster's Home" movie coming on Cartoon Network in a few minutes.

Tomorrow brings a day off from work, and my birthday. I am headed out to the local scrapbook store for an all day crop tomorrow, so I'll have some peace and quiet away. I really am simply looking forward to a quiet weekend.

Hope this finds you and yours having a great holiday!

TGIF

One way to truly appreciate having teammates is going three days with most of them out of the office -- what a week! I have just stayed tired this week.

We celebrated Connor's sixth birthday on Monday -- he got his presents on Sunday so he could play with them on the ride back from the beach, but then on Monday we took him out for dinner at Macaroni Grill. Tuesday marked the first time in six weeks we had hit the gym -- I was so very tired that night!! Wednesday was the first time since September we made it to church for fellowship (it conflicted with soccer), and it was packed! The kids acted up after dinner and I was tired of disobedience, so I took them home rather than hanging around for choir. Yesterday I had my hair appointment, and then tonite is scouts and a pack meeting. Tired yet? Tomorrow we have a den activity in the morning, then Sunday Duncan has a birthday party to go to, and I have to hit the gym on Saturday.

When will it end?!

Our Thanksgiving plans are up in the air for next week -- we are trying to settle them down so I can grocery shop if needed. Whew -- hopefully I'll be doing more blogging this weekend. See ya!

We're Back....

Home from vacation that is... the first of the pictures are posted over on my photo blog. I only have 554 to sort thru, so it may take a while to find some good ones to post.

A Beautiful Day at the Beach

Today's weather was the reason why I love the beach in the fall -- high of 76 degrees, sunny.... next to no wind.... simply a lovely day. We did the heated outdoor pool in the morning, ate a quick lunch, and spent three hours at the beach in the afternoon, followed by an hour at the pool. Connor's favorite part so far has been "having the waves hit me".... I have taken loads of pictures of him in the waves, I hope they turn out nice.

We have one more full day at the beach -- Charles' gaming buddies are coming down tonite, and they are all gaming tomorrow, so it will be me and the kids. We'll have the same routine, pool in the morning, beach in the afternoon. Frozen pizza for dinner, sandwiches for lunch. Then Sunday we pack up and head home. It has been nice to get away from everything, but I'm starting to be ready for my own bed, and my computer. But the kids have really enjoyed their time, despite a couple days of bad or mediocre weather. We didn't do much (didn't have the $$), but it has been very enjoyable.

Really Short One

OK, so very very sorry -- I had some troubles with blogger, and went about two weeks where I simply could not get logged in. Then.... we left on vacation. I'm actually writing this from the beach. We'll be home on Sunday.

Overall, we are having a good trip -- very low key, eating in the condo, taking advantage of the pool(s) and the beach. We had lousy weather Tuesday, not so great weather Wednesday, but today was lovely, and our last two days are supposed to be good too. Other than having to unexpectedly, in the pouring down rain, put a new alternator and battery in my car, it's been an uneventful trip.

See y'all sunday!

News

My friend P***** had her sixth baby today, a third little girl. I'm so excited for her, it's been a long pregnancy for her.

It's been a busy weekend for us -- we had scouts Friday night, and Duncan got his first award for the year, his fitness pin. Saturday the scouts did a cleanup project, and our kids got their flu shots. Sunday, we crashed and had a quiet day.

Hope this finds everyone well -- we've got another busy week with scouts on Tuesday, soccer on Wednesday, church directory photos on Thursday, and a scout camping trip this coming weekend. New soccer pictures on the photo page!

P.S. We have two people close to us that had surgery today (besides P****), so please hold them in your thoughts that things go smoothly.

"Getting It"

I have maybe four minutes to write this so bear with me today. We had soccer last night. Connor's coach, "Coach Jim", told me a couple of weeks ago that most of these kids have a moment where it clicks, where they "get it" and they improve rapidly. I think we are close to that moment with Connor and alot of the kids.

Connor improved last week, more hustle, more attentiveness, but still little ball contact. He still hasn't "gotten it", but he sure is close. Last night he had more ball contact than I think he's had the whole season so far. I had to laugh, he get the ball, stop it, and then pause to line up his shot. He'd have had four or five goals if he'd just shoot, but I am so very proud of how he played last night. He was charging after the ball, using his feet to stop it, and really hustling. All of the boys on his team are improving. I yelled myself hoarse last night cheering for them.

When I have a moment I'll post some pictures from last night on the photo blog.

Friday Catchup

Let's see... where did I leave off? My dental appointment went surprisingly well -- I was really scared when they have to numb you to clean, but it was a non-event. One quadrant down, two more to go (I don't have to do the fourth one). Dexter sailed through his neutering with flying colors, and has already seemed to chill out a little from our hyper little furrball. He's got a microchip now, and I think he's done on his shots until April. We'll find out at his follow-up visit on 10/17. Scouts went well Tuesday night -- they worked on their citizen pin. This upcoming Saturday they have a community service event, but I'm sending Charles to that with Duncan. Wednesday brought soccer for Connor -- he had alot more hustle (still not really fast but improving), and was a little more attentive.

I feel like I've bled money on the kids this week -- lunch money, book fair $$, field trip $$, scout dues & camping fee... sheesh. At the end of the month are school pictures so it feels like a never ending thing.

Duncan is about 1/3 of the way to his popcorn goal so far. We still have many houses in the neighborhood to hit so hopefully we'll make alot of progress this weekend. He got to go on a field trip to the local fair this week -- his artwork took a second place ribbon this year. I am very proud of my little artist.

Hopefully this finds all my readers well. Have a great weekend!

PMS Sucks

What a moody *itch I've been today!!! I'm hoping it's PMS. With school stuff and scouts I've got an extra $160 in bills this paycheck, and then Dexter goes in to be neutered tomorrow. On top of that, I'm starting $1200 worth of dental work tomorrow that I am NOT looking forward to. Joy oh joy.

Anyone need any boy scout popcorn? We're selling til 10/25....

TGIF!!!

Thank GOODNESS it's Friday! I don't think I had another work day in me this week! It really has been a crazy week. We had another person retire, so we are in scramble mode. I'm carrying the environment support pager until we get someone new in.

Have I mentioned yet that Connor got sent to the principal's office for blowing kisses to everyone in his class? When I asked him what Mr. Rash had to say, he said "Kisses can cause germs!" How cute is that? He's doing slightly better on behavior, but still lots of straight faces and frown-y faces. Sigh.

Dexter had his first vet visit this week, and got an excellent bill of health. He had several vaccinations, got his ears cleaned out (full of dirt), and will get neutered on Tuesday. I don't think he's going to be happy with us Tuesday.

One kid or the other has a field trip for the next three weeks running. The Cub Scout popcorn sale starts tomorrow (let me know if anyone wants to order!), so we will be canvassing our neighborhood tomorrow. Scouts has a camping trip in October as well. The Dixie Classic Fair is in town, and we are trying to decide if we can take the kids to it. Duncan will have art hanging in the fair so I'd like to at least go and see that.

I'm positive I had more to say than this, but I've run out of words at the moment. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Day 2 of "Where's the mute button???"

Ugh... I'm going to invent a cone of silence for the mornings! This morning Connor thoughtfully "had to show me something" and shoved his brothers dirty underwear in my face. EWWW!

I had alot of trouble sleeping last night -- my shoulder was all knotted up. The icy-hot patch helped (along with the wine cooler) and I finally was able to sleep. Today has soccer on the agenda. It is also my meeting all-day day so I start with an 8am meeting and end with a 3pm meeting and more in between....

See you tomorrow (I hope!)

Peace in the a.m.

Some days I could just mute all three of my "boys"... they make SOOO much noise in the a.m.!!! I like about 30 minutes of quiet to gather myself before my day starts, and they are shouting and making noises... it makes me NUTZ!!

Today is the first den meeting for scouts for Duncan this year. He's in Beth's den again, which I am sooo excited about! He got four belt loops from summer camp at the pack meeting Friday night.

Tomorrow (hopefully) will be Connor's second soccer game -- we got rained out last week and he was disappointed. Duncan will attend choir tomorrow night, and then Connor's group sings in church on Sunday. Thursday will be an "at home" night for us which I am looking forward to. Survivor has started on tv again so I have my priorities straight on that subject LOL!

Latest Blog Nonsense

If you know me at all, you look at this and go "DOH!"

You Have A Type A Personality

You are hyper, energetic, and always on the mood You tend to succeed at everything you attempt And if you don't succeed at first, you quickly climb your way to the top! You could be called a workaholic, but you also make time for fun As long as it's high energy and competitive, you're interested You have the perfect personality for business and atheltic success

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Remembering Peter Teague Milano

Born August 10, 1958. Died September 11, 2001. Grew up on Foster Avenue in Carnasie Brooklyn NY. He had two brothers (Frank and Derf) and a sister. Attended Brockport State University.

Peter was a family man from Middleton, NJ, with a wife, Patti, and a son, Peter, and a daughter Jessica. He was a corporate bond broker for Cantor Fitzgerald at the World Trade Center. Throughout everything I read as I prepared this tribute, I saw over and over again how much people remembered his smile, his friendliness, his helpfulness.

Kind and AttentiveThoughtful.

He was always thoughtful. The son of a good friend was starting high school. On the morning of the first day of classes, Peter T. Milano called the young man to wish him luck. At the end of the day, he called again to see how things went.Arriving to take the commuter ferry to New York, Mr. Milano spied a pregnant young woman waiting at the end of a very long line, carrying a package. He whisked the package from her arm and escorted her to the front of the line and onto the ferry.He never missed his son's basketball games, never missed his daughter's dance recitals. "He was an incredibly thoughtful guy," said William McGarr, a close friend.Mr. Milano, 43, was a corporate bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald and lived in Middletown, N.J., with his wife, Patti, and their two children, Jessica, 13, and Peter, 16.About 20 years ago, he played in a pretty serious touch football league in Brooklyn. The field was asphalt; when the game ended, you felt it. After a championship game, he was introduced to Patti, who had come to watch. He spoke to her only briefly. When he got home, he told his aunt, "I met the girl I'm going to marry." During every workday, even the busiest and most stressful ones, he found the time to call his wife several times, just to hear her voice and see how she was. "It always boosted his
spirits," Mr. McGarr said. Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 6, 2001.

Lauren Huber posted this tribute on one site:

Peter Milano was a kind, caring and loving person who loved his family with all of his heart and soul. He would walk on water for his family letting nothing get in his way. Thats the person he was. As well as very giving towards others. I'd known Mr. Milano, as I called him, for a long time. I have been very very close friends with his daughter since we were little and we met at Tradewinds Beach Club. Mr. Milano loved to come down during the summer when ever he could and spend time with his family. Whether it be boogie boarding with his kids, talking with friends, cooking burgers or just simply sitting on the beach with hs wife he loved being there. I remember how he would always look after all of us making sure we stayed out of troule, had enough sun block on, checked in with our parents, and always told him where we were going. One thing I will always remember is how he would make me drink cranberry juice because it's good for you and if I didn't drink all of it I had to come back later to finish it. The funny thing is now I drink cranberry juice all the time. Mr. Milano meant so much to me he was like another dad to me and I will never forget him. Although it is hard not having him here, we are all luck to have had him in our lives. Love always Lauren

Susan Haberman had this to say:

I met Pete while commuting on the ferry. We began by just saying hello to one another and eventually my friends knew his friends and so on. Over time, I learned about his love (and sometimes frustration) for crossword puzzles (and his being a terrible speller), his dedication to his family, and his general love of life. No matter what was going on, Pete always had a smile and nothing but kind words to say, to everyone. He would consistently offer his seat if one of the "boat girls" didn't have a seat, a true gentleman.

My research on Peter came from the following sites:

http://www.legacy.com/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=146278&PageNo=1
http://www.911wvfa.org/events20.htm
http://www.legacy.com/Sept11.asp?page=tributestory&personid=146278 http://www.ahherald.com/2002/ahh020912.htm
http://www.unitedinmemory.net/

I imagine many of us participating in the 2996 project have never met the people we honor. It seems so tragic that so many good people are gone. God bless them all.

To see a complete list of tributes, click here.

Soccer!

We had our first soccer practice and game. The concept of "no hands" is going to take a little while (and not just for him) but he did great! He was a good sport when it was his turn to sit on the bench (or in this case lay in the grass), he was respectful to the coach and his team, and I think he's gonna love it.

He's #2. The team name is The Bears, and I like both coaches. There are 11 kids on his team, and 10 teams in his age group -- WOW. Seven more weeks, and hopefully my photography skills will improve. I got a short movie of him playing, but it's 45 meg so I don't think it will upload gracefully!

Muesday or Tonday?

I hate working the day after a holiday -- it's like getting to do two day's work in ONE. Ugh! The appliance repair guy came today and said, "Yep, it's broke". So he's ordering a new face panel for the oven and he'll be back. After Connor got a frown-y face on his behavior chart Friday for "talking instead of reading" and "yelling out in class" he redeemed himself today by getting a smiley face... at least until dinner when he displayed the table manners of a street urchin.

Charles and Dot had a laundry marathon today, followed by a kid-a-thon making them clean their rooms. Neither one was happy, but you can see carpet again so the adults "won". Sassy and Dexter have been getting along... Sassy chases Dexter, Dexter swats at Sassy, and they have some amazing staring contests.

That's the news -- hopefully tomorrow the dragon doesn't win!

Labor Day Musings

I took Connor yesterday to go get his stuff for soccer. You'd have thought he was being outfitted for his reign as king of the universe! We had a Dick's Sporting Goods open up here and they had a "youth soccer package" which was a pretty good discount. We got cleats, shin/ankle guards, socks, and a ball for $40! HE had to carry them to the car, and into the house.

I'm so glad he's excited but at the same time it just breaks my heart that he hasn't had more of these moments by now. I offered to be "snack mom" at our first practice game so I bought that stuff this weekend as well. Now we just have to get to the first practice! It's on Wednesday!

Emotional IQ

I found this on Monica's blog...

Your EQ is 167

50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick!51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese.71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely.91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that.111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt.131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin.150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's" Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

Preview of September 11

Check it out -- and come back here on 9/11 as I'll be honoring Peter Milano.

Monday

New pictures of Connor's first day of kindergarten are up on the photo blog! My mother-in-law is here visiting, so I haven't had much time to blog. I have six straight hours of meetings today, right through lunch, so I should be exhausted tonite.

Everyone has been so complimentary about how handsome Dexter is. I got asked "how" we know he's a boy, as apparently it's unusual for males to be tri-colored. Here's our "proof" -- we determined it from his anatomy!

First Day of School

Wow, are we there already?! I put Duncan on the bus at 7:16 am -- I drive Connor to school today as there is a kindergarten assembly at 8:30 am. I was rushing this morning so the pictures are lousy so far, but there ya go:

Quickie

The computer is doing something funky, I can't get my pictures to upload of the kitten. He's still nameless, but definitely not void of personality. He seems to be settling in quite nicely.

Charles has been sick the last four or five days, I've had a miserable headache all day, so I'm not very chatty. But I didn't want anyone to feel neglected.

Thursday Thirteen for 8/17

Thirteen Things Carolyn needs to be better about 1. Teaching my kids how to l-i-v-e. It's a silly example, but I was touched at how much they don't know when my kids brought toys to the new kitten to play with, but didn't understand that he'd best like to play WITH them. 2. Budgeting my money -- I'm getting better at it, but temptation is a powerful force -- I'd really love to have a savings account so when new tires surprise me it doesn't wreck my budget! 3. Going to church services on Sunday. We've come a long way in the last year in getting involved in our church, but we need to be more consistent about attending services. 4. Investing time in my friends. Stephen Covey talks about your emotional bank account, and how your interactions are either deposits or withdrawals. I need to deposit more with my friends. 5. Keeping up my blog -- I've been so busy this summer, and I do miss taking the time to journal about what's going on, and what I'm thinking. 6. Exercise -- tonite was the first time in TWO WEEKS we had been to the "Y" to do our strength workout. That needs to become a scheduled priority again. 7. Scrapbooking -- I have barely touched my stuff this year so far, definitely barely since May. Memories are slipping away and I need to make time for that. This is also some of my "me" time, so it's important for that reason too. 8. Better health -- since we started to go to the gym I've lost five pounds, and I'm proud of that. Since I've slacked off the last month or so, I've started to feel some of the blah symptoms again. I need to make my health a PRIORITY. 9. Visiting other bloggers -- I love when I get comments, and yet I've been terrible lately about leaving them for others. I know how good it feels, why can't I "deposit" more??!! 10. Kid time -- Connor always behaves better when Duncan isn't here. I am hoping getting him into soccer this fall, and spending some quality time with him will help him realize how special he is to us, and improve his overall behavior. 11. Christmas planning -- ACK -- it's like four months away. I am MAKING some gifts -- I need to get on this! 12. Visit my parents -- it's a really long story for another blog entry, no "drama", it just doesn't seem to ever be easy to plan time to get up there. We need to go more often. 13. Take more pictures -- as I looked through what I've taken so far this year, I see that I really need to get back to taking photos every day. Some months I took hardly any -- and my kids have grown SOOO much this year! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Family of Five

Well, after seven years of no pets, we took the plunge tonite and took in a stray a coworker found. We think he's about 4-5 months old. He doesn't have a name yet, but he sure seems to be fitting right in. Whaddya think?

Sunday Blahs

I'm such a lazy blogger lately. Let's see... when last we "chatted", my Gatlinburg trip was sacrificed to fund new tires for my car. I cried Monday night, and then the pity party was over, and I moved on. Wednesday we took Connor to meet the Morton family at Tanglewood pool -- it wasn't as sunny as Fourth of July, but we had a good time. Judi and I both thanked each other for getting us out and moving. Thursday I just hung around the house, and didn't do much except watch TV. Friday Duncan came home from Dot's house, and then Friday night I went to a crop at Scrapbook Traditions. They are having a quickutz contest so I spent a good portion of my evening working on my double page summer layout. Prize is a quickutz alpha and a year long free crop pass, so we'll see how it goes.

Unfortunately, I did something to my neck on Friday, and spent Saturday with a kink in it -- very uncomfortable. This morning I am up and working on Christmas gifts and trying to get motivated to do something. Connor is about to bust a gut for me to play toontown with him, so I guess I should go do that. More later!

Brief Catch-Up

It's been an eventful week or so. Duncan turned ten last Wednesday -- I can't believe my baby is 10!! He's had a really good birthday week, spending it at Dot Dot's house. Last Friday and Saturday I attended the CK Scrapbook Convention in Charlotte, taking classes and wandering around the vendor faire. Sunday we moved a 14' truck of hand-me-down furniture from Charlotte to Winston-Salem in blistering heat, but we have a new couch and chair, along with several wood pieces.

Then yesterday my Gatlinburg trip went up in smoke when the car suddenly demanded repairs -- it's not in the shape to drive without the repairs, and if I pay for the repairs no $$ to go to Gatlinburg. Needless to say I'm not in good humor today -- I'd planned that trip for eight months. However, I'm a hard nose about our budget, and if I don't keep us on it there will be hell to pay, so there's not much I can do.

Salute to a Young Hero

I found out Tuesday that one of my friends online, Laura, lost her nephew Dennis in Iraq this week. Please hold Dennis' family in your prayers -- as Americans we should all be proud of the sacrifice these young men and women make to defend our way of life. If you don't like the war, elect different politicians -- but support our soldiers who defend US.

Laura, I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Twilight Camp

Duncan has cub scout twilight camp this week from Tuesday to Thursday. Being the scrapbooker that I am, I took the camera with me so I could get a few pictures while I dropped him off. The camp director saw my camera and said "I need a photographer, interested?" I said, sure I could take some pictures while I'm here... she says "No, I need one like the whole time, every night..."

So since I can't say no... I took 140 pictures last night, my ankles are sore, and I think I sweated off a pound. On the bright side, I have some GREAT pictures of Duncan from last night.

Needless to say, I won't be around much til late Friday!

Weekend Jibberish

It's good to know most of you had the same reaction to our friendly copperhead in the water that I did -- {{UGH}}. I'm still thinking about it...

We got home on Monday, and I managed to step on a hornet IN MY BEDROOM. I get bad local reactions so I was pretty miserable Monday night. Tuesday, 4th of July, was a gorgeous day, so we packed up the kids and headed to meet Comfort's family at a local pool. We stayed five hours, and the kids played, played and PLAYED. Unfortunately, despite rigorous sunscreen applications, both Connor and I became "crispy critters". He is now a brown little berry, and I'm red and itchy. Lucky me!

I hereby promise not to go a month without updating my blog. Please continue to visit!

Why I Don't Like Creek Swimming

Anyone give me some help on what kind of sss-nake he is? {{shudder}}

I do still exist...

I'm so sorry to be so out of it... our June schedule just really exhausted me. On a plus note, go look at the photo blog to see what the kids got to do on Sunday...

SA Blog Challenge #4

For Sale: Slightly Used Female, 41. Guaranteed income producer. Skills include cooking, computer skills, talking (top of class here!), scrapbooking. Has certification in driving, college education. Comes with current year memberships in Sam's Club, AAA, Scrap Addict Kits, YMCA. Optional accessories (available al la carte) include two LOUD small boys, cluttered house, stay at home husband. Preferred environment is urban, with yearly beach trips. Began recent refurbishment at the gym, condition will only continue to improve.

Price negotiable. Serious inquiries only!

SA Blog Challenge #3

SPLURGES ... what do you splurge on? What is your secret (or not so secret) way you spend money on yourself. No, I'm not talking about scrapbook supplies. I'm talking about something you do for YOU ... expensive haircuts, tons of shoes, massages, what?!? What do you splurge on???


I just started splurging on a more expensive haircut -- I've been twice now and love my new stylist. My most regular splurge is eating out for lunch on work days... I just don't like packing leftovers. I've got to cut back on that though... I really don't splurge on myself that often, with a tight budget it usually seems I'm always cutting back so others don't have to. I'll have to ponder this one...

SA Blog Challenge #2

I've been challenge to list 3 obscure things about me...

1. I was mugged in 1991 coming out of a local grocery store -- I had 14 stitches in my eyebrow. Not the greatest moment of my life (the black eye was the size of a softball, and swollen shut for 3 days), but a growth experience.

2. I used to be the scorekeeper for my college's swim team, and for the softball team, volleyball team, and the 45 second clock person for the basketball team.

3. I took bellydancing lessons in high school.

Thursday Thirteen for 6/1

Thirteen Things about My Week Since my week has not gone as I planned, and I haven't had time to blog and tell you about it, here ya go! 1…. Monday was a bank holiday. You always pay for holidays by twice as much work the day you get back. 2. I have Friday off to attend Connor's end-of-preschool picnic, and to squeeze in a hair appointment in the afternoon. 3. As of lunch time today I have to call in to a last minute meeting Friday morning. 4. My kids had their 2nd swim lesson on Tuesday. 5. Since the kids started swimming lessons I'm having trouble getting the cardio portion of my workout done. 6. No scouts OR church fellowship this week (or until end of summer) -- it feels w-e-i-r-d. 7. We visited my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law over the holiday weekend. 8. Connor has new, more masculine sheets etc for his bed, courtesy of his Aunt Susan, who upgraded to a king-size this week. 9. Duncan completed his end-of-grade tests this past week, and since he did his best according to his teacher, he earned a box of yu-gi-oh cards from us. 10. We got to see "X Men: The Last Stand" at the movies over the holiday weekend. 11. I assured my hairdresser (also a friend) that if she called in sick Friday I was going to cut my own hair... it's been seven weeks and I'm SHAGGY (UGH!) 12. My boss is selling her old convertible, so I went by her house tonite and took pictures of it so she'll have them to send potential buyers. 13. My oldest niece turned 10 this week -- I can't believe how fast time has gone! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Scrap Addict Blog Challenge #1

ABOUT ME

favorite color: pink
word I most liked to be described as: friendly
best meal I cook: spaghetti
favorite dessert: chocolate mousse
favorite book: Mists of Avalon
favorite outfit: an oversized tshirt & capri pants
usually in bed by: 11:00 p.m.
favorite sounds: laughter, breeze, moving water
I wish: my hubby could find a medication to better treat his bipolar disease
What I crave: peace and quiet
Surround me with: love

Thursday Thirteen for 5/25

Thirteen Things about Susan Susan is my sister-in-law, and she teased me a few Thursdays ago about how she wasn't on my list of things to do. Susan is a great lady, so I thought it would be worth SHOWING her. 1. From the first day I spoke to her, she has always made me feel welcome in the family. She reminds me of my Aunt Betts in that regard! 2. Susan has a hilarious sense of humor. 3. Even though she's one of my mother-in-law's two "sorry children", she treats my MIL very well. 4. Susan has four nephews, my two and two on her husband's side. She treats these boys better than some people treat their children. 5. Susan is an animal lover -- she has two dogs and two cats. 6. If anything ever happens to my hubby and I, Susan will take our kids. 7. She's very photogenic. Really -- go check out her website http://www.shadowknight.com. 8. She got tired of her registered domain name, and is letting me use it currently. It's a shame I haven't updated it in a year.... 9. She was one of the happiest brides I can remember. 10. One of her favorite lebanese dishes is juddreh. 11. She married a really nice guy. 12. Her birthday was May 16 -- Happy Birthday again Susan 13. She got me an awesome birthday cake last year since she hosted Thanksgiving dinner and it was my birthday... it was WONDERFUL! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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de·pres·sion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-prshn)n.
The act of depressing.
The condition of being depressed.
An area that is sunk below its surroundings; a hollow.
The condition of feeling sad or despondent.
Psychology. A psychiatric disorder characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, anhedonia, feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and thoughts of death. Also called clinical depression.

Not So Good Week

I'm sorry to have neglected all my readers... we really haven't had a good week. It was a heavy HEAVY meeting week at work (we are interviewing for a new staff member) and then Charles has not had a good week emotionally. (He has bipolar disease.) All of this, plus making it to the gym every other day has left me exhausted. We really haven't done much at all to talk about this week. This afternoon is Duncan's last pack meeting, so hopefully I'll have something more upbeat to talk about tonite!

Neglectful Blogger or Busy Weekend?

I know my readers are feeling deprived! We really did have a busy weekend! Saturday Charles and I spent three hours out shopping -- we both needed new tennis shoes, we had to hit Sam's Club and Lowe's Home Improvement. Then Saturday night was a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the scouts. Duncan has complained since February about missing the last one, so we couldn't miss this one. My neck muscles have been really bothering me so I've been sleeping alot when not at work. Sunday Connor sang at church, so we were good christians and actually went to services. Here's a picture of the preschool choir -- they sang "Mahalo" (which is thank you in Hawaiian) and then presented their mom's with leis and flowers. Aren't they cute?
We also took a picture of me and both boys -- so often I'm behind the camera, so in honor of mother's day I got in front of it for once. Hopefully they'll appreciate my sacrifice when they are older!!!

Sunday afternoon I put on my new tennis shoes and headed to the gym for the first time in ten years -- we joined the YMCA and I started my "strength" training yesterday. My muscles in my shoulders are SORE today. Charles is a week ahead of me in getting started, so we'll see how things go. Thanks for stopping by!

Thirteen Things Carolyn Wants to Do This Year 1. Take my family to the Beach (Nov 5 - 12)! 2. Take my family camping again 3. Finish cleaning my garage so I can park in it this winter. 4. Help Duncan get rid of his training wheels on his bike. 5. Send both kids to vacation bible school. 6. Enroll both kids in swimming lessons. 7. Send each kid to a day camp/special activity this summer. 8. Put each kid in an extracurricular activity this fall. 9. Send Christmas Cards (I've been bad the last few years) 10. Finish my Christmas shopping by December 1st! 11. Get a massage 12. Have a family picture made. 13. Paint at least one bedroom! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!



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Monday Blahs

I have NO motivation tonite to go bust another kit for the NSD festivities at Scrap Addict. Charles christened our YMCA membership today by visiting with a "coach" about his workout plan, and then took the kids back to play in the adventure room while he walked on the track. I forgot to pack any clothes so we didn't go after work. Tomorrow is our last den meeting for scouts so tomorrow is out... Wednesday is fellowship and choir practice so my next opportunity is perhaps Thursday.

I did my no procrastination moment when I got home -- hung up 2 hampers full of the kids clothes. Charles hates that part of laundry and I don't mind so it's my job.

Anyone else looking forward to American Idol tomorrow night? I'm hoping Taylor sings "Little Sister"... it should be interesting hearing them tackle Elvis!

Another Weekend Bites The Dust...

and I'm tired. We had two birthday parties to attend this weekend. The kids had a great time. Mom is ready for a weekend with nothing to do and nowhere to go!

I did get started on some of the National Scrapbook Day (NSD) activities over at Scrap Addict -- I'm particularly focused on their Ultimate Kit Hoarder's Challenge -- I have 25 kits to make layouts out of this weekend that I've been "hoarding" from subscription. Two kits are gone so far but I have a long way to go before the contest ends 5/31.

Charles, Duncan & I cleaned his room AGAIN today -- he's been shredding paper in his room and it makes a horrible mess. The only explanation he can give us is "his brain hurts". I think it's a reaction to over stimulation but it sure is a pain to clean up. The three of us spent about 45 minutes working on his room in general and it really looks nice. Let's hope it stays this way.

It rained ALL day today... a cold gentle rain. It made my neck & shoulders sore, but it sure makes for a lovely sleeping day.

More tomorrow!

National Scrapbooking Day

It's NSD! After a birthday party this morning I plan to be camped at the dining room table participating in the activities at my favorite Scrapbook site, Scrap Addict. They have a TON of contests going and I hope it will get my mojo going.

We took the plunge yesterday and joined the YMCA again. Charles has an appointment Monday with a "coach" to kick start his exercise routine. I'm looking forward to access to the pool again.

Thursday Thirteen for 5/4

Thirteen Songs on my MP3 Player 1. Walk In Jersaleum (Mahalia Jackson) 2. You Raise Me Up (Josh Groban) 3. On Last Night (Rockapella) 4. Come Back and Stay (Paul Young) 5. Twilight Zone (Golden Earring) 6. Kung Fu Fighting (Bee Gees) 7. Jump, Jive An'Wail (Brian Setzer Orch) 8. If You Can't Dance (Spice Girls) 9. An American Trilogy (Elvis Presley) 10. Hillbilly Rock (Marty Stuart) 11. Tarzan Boy (Baltimora) 12. Lady Marmalade (Patti LaBelle) 13. Summertime (Fantasia) Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Blog Tag

Melissa tagged me too...

I AM: a wife, mommy, daughter, employee, friend
I WANT: less yelling in my life
I WISH: I could afford to take my family on a cruise
I HATE: intolerance
I MISS: my sanity (LOL)
I FEAR: bees and snakes
I HEAR: music all the time
I WONDER: what Connor starting kindergarten will change for us
I REGRET: not knowing my father-in-law
I AM NOT: tidy
I DANCE: in my head, like the cell phone commercials
I SING: along with the radio
I CRY: when my friends are hurting
I AM NOT ALWAYS: as patient as I should be
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: memories for me, my kids, and my grandchildren
I WRITE: this silly blog
I CONFUSE: people when I talk too fast
I NEED: calm and down time
I SHOULD: be sleeping instead of on the computer
I START: any new hobby with an almost obsessive passion
I FINISH: things slowly
I TAG: those who are interested in this to tag themselves!

Hiking Kicks My Butt

I went camping with Duncan's cub scout pack this weekend -- we actually went early Friday night with two other families, and then the rest of the pack showed up Saturday morning. We went to Stone Mountain State Park, which is about an hour north of us, almost to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Saturday afternoon we went and hiked to a historic homestead in the park, and then on to the Stone Mountain Falls. For all of you in Idaho, who posted falls pictures last week, here's mine!

It was an almost 2 mile hike in to the falls from the parking lot (a moderate trail), so we did close to a four mile round trip. I am SOOO sore this afternoon. Duncan went with Comfort and his dad and did the strenuous loop that goes OVER the mountain top, so they did probably five miles. The kids slept GREAT that night -- I don't think Duncan's head made it to the pillow before he fell asleep. Here are some of the local wildlife we saw on our way from the camping area to the falls. They were just RIGHT beside the road! And they'd look at you as if to say "Yes?!"








Duncan listed his top five moments from the trip for me on the way home.

1. Walking to the Falls
2. The Creek
3. 'Smores
4. Ghost Stories by the Campfire
5. Going to the top of the mountain

I think we had a pretty good trip!

Thursday Thirteen for 4/27

Thirteen Things I'm Looking Forward to in Gatlinburg 1. Finally Meeting my FTS buddies in person. 2. Going out for a nice dinner with "the girls" (& the two hubbies coming along) 3. A few days of NO KIDS 4. Visting OberGatlinburg to see the view from up high (if the group doesn't go, I will!) 5. Working on our circle journals while we are there 6. Not cooking 7. Visting the ENORMOUS Scrapbook store nearby 8. A mini-vacation 9. The mountains 10. Swimming in the largest indoor pool in the smokies 11. Putt Putt 12. Several hours each way of only MY music on the radio 13. Memories Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Tuesday Titterings

Is titterings a word? I'm really liking the blog makeover! For those of you who have asked, I got the blogroll thingy from Courtney, and you can find it at www.blogrolling.com.

It's been an unusual week so far -- I had to go to Charlotte for work Monday so I only have four days at my office this week. I just picked up a new project that is going to slam me for a while. Today was our annual "cleanup" day -- they provide cleaning supplies, and extra trash bins for us to "clean". Tomorrow is my tenth wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe we've been married for that long -- I've been with Charles 1/4 of my life! We'll celebrate in the romantic manner of attending church fellowship dinner; both kids have choir practice tomorrow and sing in two more weeks, so we really can't skip.

Friday after work I leave to take Duncan on the Cub Scout Pack camping trip. We are going about 90 minutes away to a state park, and we'll camp for two nights. The pack doesn't show up til Saturday, but there are 3 or 4 families headed up Friday.

That's all the "titterings" I can think of for today. Catch y'all later in the week!

For My Friends That Scrap

I've been a member of a scrapbooking list since before Connor was born. We are getting together this year in Gatlinburg, TN. Here's the ticker for our trip!





I can hardly wait!!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Favorite Survivors (In No Particular Order)! 1. Rupert 2. Brian 3. Elisabeth 4. Rob C. 5. Cirie 6. Kathy 7. Stephanie 8. Lea (Sarge) 9. Alicia 10. Teresa 11. Rodger 12. Rudy 13. Twila Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Coming Soon....

to this blog is a new look! I just now have to get my customization in so it works. Right now it says "Your Blog Title" no matter what I do... so gotta figure that out. But soon!

Edited: I figured out the above problem -- it's a GIF I have to modify. But the new template is up with a few tweaks still to go! If you want to see where I got it, look at the left side for the "girliebits" link!

Temporary Makeover

OK, this is just temporary... I've found a free template I like and am waiting to see if the lady will let me have the code, but I couldn't stand the lighthouse another day.

It's back to status quo with both kids home -- fights about who sits where, which plate they get to eat off, etc.

Quickie

Duncan is home from spring break at Dot Dot's. It got warm enough here to turn on the air conditioning, and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I'm ready for another vacation week! Stay tuned for a better entry and a makeover of the blog, as soon as I figure out what I want. I did add a better link (using blogroll) so look for that to expand!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about my Camping Trip this week! 1. The kids had a marvelous time! 2. The new tent is great. 3. Jodi makes an awesome pork shoulder on the grill. 4. All five kids loved the jumping pillow at the playground. 5. I'll never EVER camp again without my air mattress. 6. You need to dress kids warmly to sleep even if they have good sleeping bags as they wiggle out during the night. 7. Don't presume that a campground that sells firewood will actually have any. 8. Fishing rocks, even if you haven't been for 25 years. 9. Fishing rocks even if you don't catch any. 10. I need to bring breakfast stuff for my kids -- they had a hard time waiting until the cooked breakfast was done. 11. There are bugs in April. 12. Being outdoors makes for great scrapbooking pictures. 13. I'm ready to go again. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Quirky?

I have Courtney beat, but can't hold a candle to Melissa!

Your Quirk Factor: 55%

You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it. Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them!

How Quirky Are You?

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about my training class (4 Roles of Leadership) this week 1. Steven Covey is a very wise man. 2. Training always rejuvenates me about work, and helps bring back my focus. 3. People that you have "awe" about at work make some of the same mistakes you do when in training -- makes me feel NORMAL. 4. I really do have some great leadership qualities 5. Shaving one hour off my day by starting at 9am instead of 8am makes the day SOOO much shorter. 6. I have a great team -- when I'm away from the office I'm allowed to be "away" and not bugged. 7. I am capable of being a high performer, in the right job. 8. I'm not positive the new stuff I'm working on is the right job. 9. I REALLY need to talk to my boss about this when we get back to the office. 10. The cafeteria at the center building is better and cheaper than ours. 11. It's great to work for a company that is committed to growing my skills. 12. For the first time in a while, I'm looking forward to going to work on Friday. 13. Classes are always better when you get out a little early on the last day! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Melissa 2. Courtney

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

The Nana

Please stop by The Nana's blog and wish her a speedy recovery; she had emergency surgery recently and is on the mend.

Home Page?

Suddenly I'm shopping for a new home page for when I launch my browser. I've used "My Lycos" for years -- I could add a list of links rather than storing them in my favorites... it showed news, movie listings etc. They suddenly discontinued the service yesterday. I'm SO annoyed. Anyone have any suggestions on another service that does that?

I had a killer grocery shopping day today. Food Lion had a sale on frozen pizzas... Tombstone Pizza was 5 for $10 -- thats a great deal when you have a pizza fiend in the house. Edy's Ice Cream, Klondike bars and something else were also on that sale. I got $214 worth of groceries for $154. I thought I did good!

Our weekend plans have shifted unexpectedly -- Charles was supposed to visit Lisa/Bob this afternoon and their son Connor has strep, so that fell through. Our friend Mike had his two year old in the emergency room for dehydration so he won't be in church tomorrow. It's such a lovely day though -- I had gotten up really early when Connor woke us up and then Charles snored and I couldn't get back to sleep so I took a lovely nap this afternoon with the windows open and the ceiling fan going.

Tonite I hope to match some Scrap Addict kits up with pictures -- I'm going to a big crop on 4/14 and I have nothing prepared.

And on a more somber, but uplifting note... ever since friend Shawn lost Reese to complications from a bone marrow transplant, I've followed several kids through the Caring Bridge network of sites about children in treatment. This is a sad one, but Cam's parents are so grounded, and so uplifting as they hold Cam close while he loses his battle with neuroblastoma... go read if you can handle it. These parents have taught me alot about what is important, and about enjoying what God gives you while you have it.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Concerts Carolyn has seen I saw this list on another blog and it finally made me try Thursday 13... 1. Barry Manilow 2. Duran Duran 3. John Denver 4. Gloria Estefan 5. Miami Sound Machine 6. Bon Jovi 7. Pink Floyd 8. Michael Jackson ("Bad" Tour) 9. Neil Diamond 10. Julio Iglacias 11. Part Time Party Time Band 12. Riverdance 13. Some punk bad in Munich that my brother ACTUALLY recognized!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

My Easter Bunny Name

Easter Bunny Name Your Easter Bunny Name is Bugs Floppy Ears Get Your Easter Bunny Name at Quizopolis.com

A whole week?

Eeek, i'm sorry! It's been a busy one. Charles' bipolar has been bad this week, and the church musical and cub scouts this week... I'll write more soon. I'm here, just slammed!

IQ?

I found this on Courtney's blog. It made me feel a little smart...

Your IQ Is 125

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Busy Weekend

We had a busy day on Saturday. Connor's best friend from pre-school, Adam, turned five on Friday and we were invited to his birthday party. Us and half the county I think, but a marvelous time was had by all. Adam's dad Mike made a great host, and my kids played HARD for 2.5 hours. Here's a picture of the cake moment:
Sunday the preschool choir sang at the 10:30 service. I think all of them are actually in this picture somewhere! They did really well. We made the kids play in the backyard Sunday afternoon. I'm glad now we did; it sleeted some today. What a way to bring in spring huh? We sat as a family and watched Dr. Who (the new show on Sci-Fi) -- Charles saw it Friday and he showed it to Duncan who liked it. Both kids were asleep by 7:15 pm last night!

The Tooth Fairy Cometh....

for Connor! He lost his first tooth today and he is so stinkin' proud. I will have a picture up tomorrow, I promise. With church tonite it just didn't get done. We are down two people tomorrow at work and I've just been so busy this week.

Hope everyone else had a good Ides of March. I'll post more later this week.

My Weekend

I don't know where to start to catch up my faithful audience on my busy weekend. The theme was "cub scouts etc"! Friday night Duncan had his long awaited sleepover at SciWorks. He and Charles went, had to be there at 6:00 p.m. They had a space theme planned for Duncan's age group -- they made a pinhole planetarium, saw a show in the real planetarium there, did balloon rockets and a bunch of other stuff. Late that evening Comfort's dad helped Charles and Duncan fix the wheels on Duncan's pinewood derby car. Why you ask? Because at 9am Saturday (the sleepover ended at 8am) the District Pinewood Derby race opened for checkin! Duncan & Comfort both wanted to go, so I met them w/Duncan at the race. We checked in, and then hung out til race time. They had 45 racers -- each got to run 8 heats, with 3 cars in each heat. After Duncan's car being horribly slow at our pack race, I was quite thrilled to see him running around 3.15 seconds each heat. He placed 2nd in most of his heats. While we didn't win any speed trophies, I was quite proud that he was 28 out of 45. Two of our pack won speed trophies, Caleb in 2nd, Ben in 7th. Then came the surprise... they boys all voted on the car they thought had the best design. They gave away 7 prizes (trophies) without designating order -- and Duncan won one!!! You can see the picture of all of Pack 752's winners on my photo blog!

Saturday afternoon we tried to go watch Comfort's brother race BMX, but they gave us the wrong time so we didn't make it. Sunday we went to Hanging Rock State Park for a picnic. I'm so tired!

Ha!

You Are Miss Piggy

A total princess and diva, you're totally in charge - even if people don't know it.You want to be loved, adored, and worshiped. And you won't settle for anything less.You're going to be a total star, and you won't let any of the "little people" get in your way.Just remember, piggy, never eat more than you can lift!

The Muppet Personality Test

Blog Nonsense -- Blame Courtney

You Are 18% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

Monday

Back to work after 6 days off with either sick kids or sick me... over 1000 emails to wade through. Fortunately 495 could be deleted without reading, but it's been a LONG day.

I give a big CHEER and HUG to my friend Stacy, who gave up her weekend to come push me through some household repairs. We got a TON done, and I give her major "props" for motivation. I was so tired last night I went to bed at 7:30.

Connor is a popular party boy -- he's been invited to another party next Saturday. We really like this family so I'm looking forward to it. Adam is his big buddy at preschool, and will be turning 5.

Duncan & Connor are both responding well to "responsibility charts" Stacy and I acquired and hung for them. Each day they meet their items they get a positive mark on their chart. Both kids are busting to get "stars". At the end of this week I'll take a picture of each kid with his chart.

It's going to be a busy month for us... tomorrow is cub scouts, and kindergarten registration, and a psychiatrist visit for Duncan. Wednesday is a dental visit for me and speech for Connor, then two choir rehearsals for Duncan and one for Connor. Nothing Thursday, but then Friday night is the cub scout sleepover at the local children's science museum. Whew. I'm tired already!

Blog Nonsense - Blame Melissa

Animated Inventor

You are an Animated Inventor.
About You
You are an Inventor

Your imagination, self-reliance, openness to new things, and appreciation for utility combine to make you an INVENTOR.

You have the confidence to make your visions into reality, and you are willing to consider many alternatives to get that done.

The full spectrum of possibilities in the world intrigues you—you're not limited by pre-conceived notions of how things should be.

Problem-solving is a specialty of yours, owing to your persistence, curiosity, and understanding of how things work.

Your vision allows you to identify what's missing from a given situation, and your creativity allows you to fill in the gaps.

Your awareness of how things function gives you the ability to come up with new uses for common objects.

It is more interesting for you to pursue excitement than it is to get caught up in a routine.

Although understanding details is not difficult for you, you specialize in seeing the bigger picture and don't get caught up in specifics.

You tend to more proactive than reactive—you don't just wait for things to come to you.

You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.

You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people's notions of style.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.


If you want to be different:

Try applying your creativity to more artistic arenas, and letting your imagination take less practical forms.


How You Relate to Others
You are Animated

You are outgoing, comfortable with others, and up for anything, which makes you ANIMATED.

Some people find crowds and parties exhausting, but not you! You are energized by spending time with others, and are able to be yourself in many situations.

Sometimes it is hard for you to understand why others feel the way they do, but that doesn't stop you from trusting them or having faith that they are good people.

You know the world is complicated and that there is often more than one side to a story, so you are careful not to make judgments about others too hastily.

You would rather experience the world than sit back and observe it—you are not one to sit on the sidelines.

You are an independent thinker and don't get too worried about how others might perceive you—you are not self-conscious about being the active, engaged person that you are.

Although you have a keen understanding of different people's life circumstances, you occasionally have trouble seeing why people get so upset and emotional about things—they should just lighten up and have fun!

In addition to having faith in the world, you have faith in the people around you—you trust others to do the right thing and to be honest.


If you want to be different:

Those who are as outgoing as you are often need to remind themselves that time alone can be just as fulfilling—take some time for yourself and you might find that there are many things in your inner world that are just as compelling as the world outside your window.

Your open-mindedness about the world gives you a great perspective on things, but your lack of trust in others limits how close you can get with them. Try opening up to others a bit more without losing your healthy skepticism.

Still here, still sick

I'm still running a fever, just like Duncan. The only positive note is coughing today seems to be productive. I'm sweating and tired. Connor is on day 2 back at school, and it has helped. We have very quiet mornings without both of them here. They actually started a physical fight yesterday afternoon -- Duncan shoved Connor away from the computer and Connor responded by throwing a punch -- UGH.

On the subject of lent, not that I've ever made a practice of giving something up, but this year I thought I'd give up "raising my voice" for lent. What do you think? *I* think I've captured the spirit of the season...

Another Day In the life of Typhoid Mary

My nose is running and I don't feel like chasing it. I think Connor is going back to school tomorrow, we'll see about Duncan. We shovelled Duncan's room today -- got four bags of trash out of it, and he now gets to earn back his yu-gi-oh cards 5 per day that his room stays neat. Charles took his bedframe out of his room so he can't stuff things under it anymore.

Sigh...

Sick Kids

Shoot me -- both kids have been SOOO sick. Connor starting coughing again Thursday, after his croup had cleared up, and then spiked a fever late Thursday afternoon. By Friday morning he had an ear infection AND bronchitis. He was miserable sick Friday and alot of Saturday. Then today, Duncan woke up with a 102 degree fever. But his is the flu -- UGH. So he's on tamiflu and hopefully we caught it early.

My whole house is contagious!

The Quick and Painless Enneagram Test

Yep, this is me to a T.

the Adventurer Test finished!

you chose AX - your Enneagram type is SEVEN. "I am happy and open to new things" Adventurers are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute to the world. How to Get Along with Me Give me companionship, affection, and freedom. Engage with me in stimulating conversation and laughter. Appreciate my grand visions and listen to my stories. Don't try to change my style. Accept me the way I am. Be responsible for youself. I dislike clingy or needy people. Don't tell me what to do. What I Like About Being a Seven being optimistic and not letting life's troubles get me down being spontaneous and free-spirited being outspoken and outrageous. It's part of the fun. being generous and trying to make the world a better place having the guts to take risks and to try exciting adventures having such varied interests and abilities What's Hard About Being a Seven not having enough time to do all the things I want not completing things I start not being able to profit from the benefits that come from specializing; not making a commitment to a career having a tendency to be ungrounded; getting lost in plans or fantasies feeling confined when I'm in a one-to-one relationship Sevens as Children Often are action oriented and adventuresome drum up excitement prefer being with other children to being alone finesse their way around adults dream of the freedom they'll have when they grow up Sevens as Parents are often enthusiastic and generous want their children to be exposed to many adventures in life may be too busy with their own activities to be attentive Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele The Enneagram Made Easy Discover the 9 Types of People HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages You are not completely happy with the result?! You chose AX Would you rather have chosen: BX (NINE) CX (TWO) AY (EIGHT) AZ (THREE)

Link: felk on The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

A Tale of Adoption

Easter a few years back was a very sad time at my work. One of the managers at work, Blaine, was just the nicest guy. He had two teenage boys, was active in his church.... We came to work on Easter Monday to find out Blaine's boys, Wes & Andy, had been out with their two best friends Friday night, and three of the four boys had been killed in a car accident that was caused by the driving of the fourth. Blaine & his wife lost their only children to a moment of teenage carelessness. It's one of the reasons I get so incensed at the teenage idiots in my neighborhood -- I've seen what can happen!

For a long while, Blaine was just... hollow. He gradually seemed more "normal", but still a shadow of sadness. Fastforward to Mother's Day 2005. Charles & the kids and I saw Blaine come into Mayberry's with his wife, whose arm was in a sling (she'd had a fall at church that morning). Long story short, as I was talking to them, Blaine shared they were working on adopting a little girl from China. (I'm getting to the point of the story soon, I PROMISE.) It really uplifted alot of us to know they were adopting -- Blaine has said he wasn't done being a parent. They are #2 in line to go, and hope to go to China in May... I had lunch with Blaine one day and we were talking about adoption... he was sharing some of the obnoxious comments he's gotten on it... "Why do you have to go to China to get a child?!" I loved Blaine's answer to this one "Because that's where she is!" I am always really stunned by people who get negative reactions when they adopt. I was reading a friend's blog today and this story came to mind because someone was asking her about her youngest who was adopted from China. Another lady at work came home in November with a son from Guatemala. Other friends from work just celebrated their adopted daughter's 6th birthday -- they got her when she was 2 days old -- their son is 12 I think. When Lisa got her daughter, she commented to me about how supportive I'd been through their process, and how few people were. It just surprises me. I always think people who adopt are like "extra special" parents!

The Energizer Bunny

Know who Mahalia Jackson is? I just downloaded a song by her for my MP3 player… “Walk in Jerusalem” (from the Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood soundtrack). Good stuff! I also picked up “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban, “Lady Marmalade” by Patti LaBelle, and “Misled” by Kool and the Gang. Cynthia, are you reading? Add Kool and the Gang to your disco list!

Do you ever look back and realize you’ve really changed from who you used to be? Does it bug you like it bugs me? I know some changes are inevitable, driven by the choices we’ve made. Getting an MP3 player for Valentine’s has made me realize how much I’ve missed “my” music. Charles and I have VERY different tastes. Somehow I’ve just stopped listening like I used to. I guess with all the “noise” of a family I couldn’t handle more.

I have some great friends. One of my very handy friends is coming up in a week or two, and we’re going to toss all three boys out and get some badly needed home repairs (like recaulking my bathtub & weather-stripping the doors)… I feel so… energized this morning. There’s a technical term for when databases on computers get locked up by conflicting requests – they can have deadly embraces or simply an enqueue. I think that’s where Charles and I are in our relationship at the moment – we just can’t seem to get forward motion. Maybe this outside influence, someone to energize me (by home repairs of all things) will be good for us?

Awesome Quote

You gotta go read it, it's great. Find it here! For those of you too lazy, here it is:

“If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned" ^Epictetus^

Read Your Phone Bills!

Mine was higher than normal this month, so I went out to read it... and there is a $14.95 charge (plus tax & some 5 cent fee) for "internet services" from ILD Telecom. I've filed a complaint with the phone company already, but I looked it up on the web and this is a company with MANY complaints to the FCC. Great... now I gotta figure out how to get them out of my life. UGH!!!

Updates...

The crop on Saturday was GREAT! I got 23 pages done, and had a lovely time. Of course I was wrecked alot on Sunday and Monday, but I really enjoyed it.

My Scrappin' Survivor team lost immunity Saturday, but I survived the vote. I've already gotten another 5 pages done and submitted them, including my favorite which is posted over on the photo blog. Our challenge for this week is to scrap about things/people that have happened in the last year -- kind of wrecks my momentum on old stuff, but I'd like to get more pages done before this challenge is up. The other team has someone on exile island, so I'm hoping we make it harder for her to escape exile.

Connor came down with croup -- he sounded horrible this morning. They put him on steroids at the doctor's office, and we have already seen a remarkable improvement. Charles had a counseling appointment today -- she doesn't see him again for a month. I really have struggled lately -- Charles and I are having differences, and while I think his current mindframe (re: Bipolar Disease) is better, I don't feel like we are where we need to be. I just struggle with the next steps.

Tonite I'm going to be a TV junkie -- flipping between American Idol and the Olympics. Last thought for the day (I saw this on Amy's blog) -- even if you don't have anything tremendous to say, drop me a "Hello" in the comments once in a while so I know you were here, ok?

"Relationship Rescue" by Dr. Phil

This book has been recommended to me as something that might improve things between me and Charles. I just looked it up on Amazon... wonder if Charles would do it?

I need to rearrange our banking situation -- he sneaked another $20 out of the ATM today. I know overspending is a tendency of folks with bipolar... but he's gonna bankrupt us!!

Now to say something nice, since I've been a poison pen lately... my favorite scrapbook store has a quarterly all day crop, which happens to be tomorrow. Charles is letting me go ALL day and keeping the kids. I did have to "bribe" him with a $23 book from Amazon.Com, but I'm sooo looking forward to a day of peace and creativity.

And then...

So after twelve minutes of effort (yes, I timed it) my sink has improved, not quite to fly lady shiny sink standards, but better, and the dishwasher is running.

And so start the tears. Is this me, that I'm just "lazy" or "selfish" that I don't just pitch in? What is HE doing to maintain our marriage and our home. What kind of mom am I that I allow our kids to be in the middle of this? Burning questions that I wish I had answers to.

I'm so frustrated....

Yes, it really is 4am. Charles is snoring like a wounded chainsaw, and I just can't get back to sleep.

I just posted some really upsetting (to me) pictures to my photo blog of the state of my house. Another blogger that I follow posted about something recently, and noted that she wanted help keeping herself honest, so I'm trying to keep ME honest that I have some issues to work through.

Two years ago, Charles begged for the opportunity to be a stay at home dad. We talked about how this wasn't being unemployed, it was making being our "domestic engineer" his job, and what I was expected to do with housework, which wasn't much. We agreed upon this.

Go look at the picture of my kitchen sink. Go look at the picture of my youngest son's room -- I've posted about shoveling it out recently, and look where it is tonite. I don't feel very blessed at the moment, yet I feel like doing it myself is allowing him to coast. I don't feel taken care of. We disagree, and sometimes even fight on a regular basis about how I don't "appreciate him". Would y'all appreciate being taken care of like this? Would you let a 5 yr old's room get to this state and blame it on him?

I know he has a disease (bi-polar depression) that can be debilatating at times. But what I don't know is how he can think he is doing his part for our family. He's so hard to fight with -- he's very good at emotional blackmail. He pouts. He sulks. He blames it on the fact that I don't show him enough how much I love him. Well I love him, but I don't like him very much right now. KWIM?