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Monday, November 28, 2011
Holiday card
Flashback
I heard this on the radio the other morning and it took be back to high school. I loved Weezer back in the day and even saw them with No Doubt. Good show!
Now you can have Buddy Holly stuck in your head all week, too! You're welcome!
Thanksgiving
Our holiday weekend was a blur of activity. We hardly sat still long enough to do anything. We started Wednesday night- the kids always decorate their tree downstairs so that we're not trying to do two trees plus all of the decorating on Friday. They love having their own tree with their own ornaments.
Wednesday was also the day we realized that the fuel pump was NOT what was causing my car to die after 2 incidents in one day. Sigh. Now we have to find a Ford dealership and see if their tester can find something wrong. I doubt that there will be any difference between Ford and GM, but we've got to figure out something...
Thanksgiving day was non-stop. We had lunch at Keith and Dee's with way too much food. I totally over stuffed myself, but isn't that what you're supposed to do? We went to Granny and Pa's for dinner and were late. Apparently the time had changed from 5:00 to 4:00 and no one told us, so they called at 4:30 when we still hadn't arrived. We missed seeing Greg and Sierra since they had to be at the Krueger's for dinner at 4:00, too, so that was disappointing. But we had a good visit and good food, and a lot to be thankful for.
We also turned on our outside lights that night! It had been a few years since we've hung lights. Christopher's RA had always kept him from doing it, but this year has been a little better. The kids loved it, which makes it all worth it. And check out those bushes... I did those all by myself!
Friday we made our visit to the tree farm which was less than pleasantly memorable. It was not good, which set the entire day into a downward spiral that just kept getting worse. We got our tree, we got it up, and after several hours, a trip to Wal-Mart because the lights from last year wouldn't work, everything was done and I did not take a picture that day.
Saturday was Thanksgiving/Christmas with Chritopher's mom's family. They usually don't make it down for Thanksgiving, but this year they did and decided we'd have Christmas the same day so they wouldn't have to make another trip. There were 14 kids. Enough said!
We always play a game called cut-throat at Christmas with them and this year everyone brought their own gift for the game. We stuck in the turkey hat I won last year and Grandma Lou got it! She thought it was so funny- and Aunt Debbie did, too!
Yesterday we went up to Granny and Pa's. Mom had made some sugar cookies for the kids to decorate and they had fun with their creations. They made a royal mess, but had a lot of fun.
And today, well, we have officially gotten our first snow!!!! Look closely, click it to enlarge if you need to, and you'll see a few fat snowflakes in front of the tree. It was really coming down for a while! But considering it was in the mid 60's Friday and Saturday, there won't be any sticking. But it has arrived, and I'm excited! Too bad the kids were already at school!
And I ask that you keep my grandpa in your prayers. His heart has been acting up lately and he isn't feeling well at all. Last night he barely talked and he's usually got a lot to say. He sees his cardiologist tomorrow and Granny is going along to make sure something is done. His heartbeat is so irregular, going from 70 bpm down to 30 bpm. He needs a pacemaker but his dr. just keeps putting him on meds to regulate it. Please pray that he is able to get something done and that he feels better. I hate seeing him like this, and I know he doesn't enjoy it either.
Wednesday was also the day we realized that the fuel pump was NOT what was causing my car to die after 2 incidents in one day. Sigh. Now we have to find a Ford dealership and see if their tester can find something wrong. I doubt that there will be any difference between Ford and GM, but we've got to figure out something...
Thanksgiving day was non-stop. We had lunch at Keith and Dee's with way too much food. I totally over stuffed myself, but isn't that what you're supposed to do? We went to Granny and Pa's for dinner and were late. Apparently the time had changed from 5:00 to 4:00 and no one told us, so they called at 4:30 when we still hadn't arrived. We missed seeing Greg and Sierra since they had to be at the Krueger's for dinner at 4:00, too, so that was disappointing. But we had a good visit and good food, and a lot to be thankful for.We also turned on our outside lights that night! It had been a few years since we've hung lights. Christopher's RA had always kept him from doing it, but this year has been a little better. The kids loved it, which makes it all worth it. And check out those bushes... I did those all by myself!
Friday we made our visit to the tree farm which was less than pleasantly memorable. It was not good, which set the entire day into a downward spiral that just kept getting worse. We got our tree, we got it up, and after several hours, a trip to Wal-Mart because the lights from last year wouldn't work, everything was done and I did not take a picture that day. Saturday was Thanksgiving/Christmas with Chritopher's mom's family. They usually don't make it down for Thanksgiving, but this year they did and decided we'd have Christmas the same day so they wouldn't have to make another trip. There were 14 kids. Enough said!
We always play a game called cut-throat at Christmas with them and this year everyone brought their own gift for the game. We stuck in the turkey hat I won last year and Grandma Lou got it! She thought it was so funny- and Aunt Debbie did, too!
Yesterday we went up to Granny and Pa's. Mom had made some sugar cookies for the kids to decorate and they had fun with their creations. They made a royal mess, but had a lot of fun.
And today, well, we have officially gotten our first snow!!!! Look closely, click it to enlarge if you need to, and you'll see a few fat snowflakes in front of the tree. It was really coming down for a while! But considering it was in the mid 60's Friday and Saturday, there won't be any sticking. But it has arrived, and I'm excited! Too bad the kids were already at school!
And I ask that you keep my grandpa in your prayers. His heart has been acting up lately and he isn't feeling well at all. Last night he barely talked and he's usually got a lot to say. He sees his cardiologist tomorrow and Granny is going along to make sure something is done. His heartbeat is so irregular, going from 70 bpm down to 30 bpm. He needs a pacemaker but his dr. just keeps putting him on meds to regulate it. Please pray that he is able to get something done and that he feels better. I hate seeing him like this, and I know he doesn't enjoy it either.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Dear Santa
Kate is at that age. Really, I think she's way past that age, but she's a kid at heart no matter how old she gets. This year, though, she's been especially skeptical, which I fear will cause Preston to not believe. He still needs a bit more time of the magic of Santa. Because Kate is so skeptical, she did not want me seeing her letter to Santa. She quickly sealed it up and insisted that when we mail it, that we take it downtown and put it in the mailbox outside of the post office. She even took it to school with her so that I wouldn't peek during the day. Curious to see what all she had, and the trick she said she added that would prove Santa's existence, I made a substitute envelope and put it in the mailbox instead of hers. I can't tell you how stressful that whole ordeal was, wondering if I'd start a huge panic in the mail room with an envelope that only says, "Santa, North Pole" on the front. Then what if they take it to the police and they finger print it... I tend to over think things. Anyway, here it is in all its glory.
Dear Santa,
I have a few questions, requests and gift ideas for you. First of all, I would like Harry Potter Legos. I really hope you can safely deliver my toys. I am not sure if you are real. More than half of me believes in you and a part of me doesn't. I have started a program called S.C.E.P. or Santa Claus Existence Program. I would also like a cell phone and a new D.S. The old one got washed and now it doesn't work.
I have one last trick for you. I will be placing a Mr. Happy Hanky in the Christmas tree downstairs in the middle of the tree slightly hidden but just so mom, dad and Preston can't see it. I want the Mr. Happy Hanky to be gone and $10 in its place. I hope I can continue to believe in you with no doubt whatsoever in your existence. I can't wait to get my wishes. Also I would like some new paints for my easel. And a giant milk-free chocolate Santa.
Sincerely, Kaitlyn
Dear Santa,
I have a few questions, requests and gift ideas for you. First of all, I would like Harry Potter Legos. I really hope you can safely deliver my toys. I am not sure if you are real. More than half of me believes in you and a part of me doesn't. I have started a program called S.C.E.P. or Santa Claus Existence Program. I would also like a cell phone and a new D.S. The old one got washed and now it doesn't work.
I have one last trick for you. I will be placing a Mr. Happy Hanky in the Christmas tree downstairs in the middle of the tree slightly hidden but just so mom, dad and Preston can't see it. I want the Mr. Happy Hanky to be gone and $10 in its place. I hope I can continue to believe in you with no doubt whatsoever in your existence. I can't wait to get my wishes. Also I would like some new paints for my easel. And a giant milk-free chocolate Santa.
Sincerely, Kaitlyn
Monday, November 21, 2011
Let's be random, shall we?
It's been a week... You all heard about our breakdown at the school and needing to be towed and the big ordeal that was. With no definitive cause other than a suspected fuel pump that was going to cost us $600, we really didn't know what to do. We called around to see if other garages could do it cheaper, and I'm sure they were seeing dollar signs as soon as I said fuel pump. I even asked them if it would be cheaper if we bought our own pump and brought it in, but was told they'd have to raise the labor rate because they wouldn't make any money that way. Niiiiiiiiice. So my ever-so-handy father-in-law decided he and Christopher could do it themselves. And do it, they did! My car now has a brand-new fuel pump/filter and is running like a champ. And the check engine light is off for the first time in years. YEARS, people! The best part, it only set us back about $120, so it's MUCH better than $600! So thankful!
Friday night was Olde Tyme Christmas downtown. It's always fun to walk around and go into stores we ordinarily wouldn't go into to browse around. It was cold, though, and we came home smelling like smoke from all of the fires they had set up in barrels to keep warm. It was nice to see them put the tree back in the road this year after it being gone for two years. We wanted to donate our big blue spruce out front but didn't get the city called. Hopefully next year we will because you can hardly see our house because of it, plus they do the cutting for free and it benefits the town. A win-win for all!
Christmas shopping has begun, and all from the comfort of our home. I do NOT plan on going out of town to shop for any reason this year. I am so not into crowds and with free shipping, why even bother going somewhere? We're getting close to being finished, which is nice. Our first Christmas is this Saturday, and I still need to buy another gift for it, so I do plan on going downtown for it this afternoon.
Preston has a nasty, soupy cough just in time for Thanksgiving. He's actually had it for about a week, now, but it just lingers. Thankfully his asthma hasn't been affected, he's not run any temps and it's not uncomfortable to cough, so we're just watching it right now. Praying that we make it through the holiday healthy! He has a history- 3 years ago he woke up with a 102 degree temp and a raging ear infection Thanksgiving morning, then turned around and did the same thing the next year! But with his new tubes, they shouldn't get infected, but with Preston, there's no guarantee.
I'm trying to prepare myself for going up to the attic and bringing down all of the Christmas decorations. I always have the kids' tree set up for them to decorate on Wednesday after school so that we're not trying to do two trees in one day. Been there, done that, not doing it again!
I need to go through all of the snow clothes and see what fits and what doesn't. This is the week of our usual first snow fall. I'm not expecting anything this week since it's supposed to be 65 by Thursday, but snow will be here before we know it. I know they both need boots and gloves, but who knows what else!
I'm excited that my cousin Greg and his fiancee, Sierra are coming home for Thanksgiving! Greg was here last year but I have yet to meet Sierra. My family loves her, so I can't wait to meet her. They are getting married in Savannah, GA this coming May and I soooooo want to go. But Christopher's cousin is getting married in Gatlinburg, TN in June, so we don't know what we're going to do.
This morning at breakfast, Kate reached over to pick up an oven mitt and knocked her entire bowl of cereal on the floor. Rice milk is sticky as it is, but fill it with Pops and it's like a melted Snickers bar all over the dining room. Thank goodness for oak! I don't even want to think about that if we still had the carpet in there! So that led to the need to get on my hands and knees and mop the entire dining room/living room with vinegar/water. Maybe it really needed it to begin with, but it really needed it after that! I had to mop over that area 3 times to get all of the sticky off. Yuck. But the floors look really nice now, just in time to decorate for Christmas!
Friday night was Olde Tyme Christmas downtown. It's always fun to walk around and go into stores we ordinarily wouldn't go into to browse around. It was cold, though, and we came home smelling like smoke from all of the fires they had set up in barrels to keep warm. It was nice to see them put the tree back in the road this year after it being gone for two years. We wanted to donate our big blue spruce out front but didn't get the city called. Hopefully next year we will because you can hardly see our house because of it, plus they do the cutting for free and it benefits the town. A win-win for all!
Christmas shopping has begun, and all from the comfort of our home. I do NOT plan on going out of town to shop for any reason this year. I am so not into crowds and with free shipping, why even bother going somewhere? We're getting close to being finished, which is nice. Our first Christmas is this Saturday, and I still need to buy another gift for it, so I do plan on going downtown for it this afternoon.
Preston has a nasty, soupy cough just in time for Thanksgiving. He's actually had it for about a week, now, but it just lingers. Thankfully his asthma hasn't been affected, he's not run any temps and it's not uncomfortable to cough, so we're just watching it right now. Praying that we make it through the holiday healthy! He has a history- 3 years ago he woke up with a 102 degree temp and a raging ear infection Thanksgiving morning, then turned around and did the same thing the next year! But with his new tubes, they shouldn't get infected, but with Preston, there's no guarantee.
I'm trying to prepare myself for going up to the attic and bringing down all of the Christmas decorations. I always have the kids' tree set up for them to decorate on Wednesday after school so that we're not trying to do two trees in one day. Been there, done that, not doing it again!
I need to go through all of the snow clothes and see what fits and what doesn't. This is the week of our usual first snow fall. I'm not expecting anything this week since it's supposed to be 65 by Thursday, but snow will be here before we know it. I know they both need boots and gloves, but who knows what else!
I'm excited that my cousin Greg and his fiancee, Sierra are coming home for Thanksgiving! Greg was here last year but I have yet to meet Sierra. My family loves her, so I can't wait to meet her. They are getting married in Savannah, GA this coming May and I soooooo want to go. But Christopher's cousin is getting married in Gatlinburg, TN in June, so we don't know what we're going to do.
This morning at breakfast, Kate reached over to pick up an oven mitt and knocked her entire bowl of cereal on the floor. Rice milk is sticky as it is, but fill it with Pops and it's like a melted Snickers bar all over the dining room. Thank goodness for oak! I don't even want to think about that if we still had the carpet in there! So that led to the need to get on my hands and knees and mop the entire dining room/living room with vinegar/water. Maybe it really needed it to begin with, but it really needed it after that! I had to mop over that area 3 times to get all of the sticky off. Yuck. But the floors look really nice now, just in time to decorate for Christmas!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
And the verdict is...
"We can't find anything wrong with your car." (thankfully they didn't charge us)
Same thing as last time. Apparently, right after we left the dealership Monday, they started the car right up and drove it into the shop. They tried and tried all day yesterday (using almost 1/4 tank of MY gas) to get it to act up and nothing. NOTHING. It shows up no codes. They said that if they had to guess, that they'd guess the fuel pump, but that it was just a guess, and one to the tune of $500- $600. Certainly not a guess that I want to take on a 14 year old car. But whatever this is, it's nearing it's final lap, and will be completely finished in the near future. So I don't know what to think at this point, and I'm not very happy about it. I certainly don't feel comfortable driving it out of town anymore, and unfortunately with living in a small town, it's often necessary to do that. Soooooooooooo...
I got my hair done yesterday, so no one has to worry about losing their eyesight from my glaring greys. I went two shades lighter in hopes that it might not be such a contrast between the two, but it's still pretty dark, but not nearly as dark as it was! I do love this new color better, though! I thought it would be rough, and I'd mulled over it for weeks since my other color was pretty much identical to my natural color. I had a really rough time mentally with changing something that was part of me. Now I'm thinking about going even lighter next time!
Lat night was a ROUGH homework night. It happened to fall on a girl scout night so she wasn't able to start on it until 6:30. It was after 10 when she finished. I can't say that there weren't a few tears shed (by both parties) out of sheer frustration because none of the answers were in the book or her notes, which we finally resorted to the internet to find. She's also developed a bad attitude about math, which is keeping her from really paying attention and learning the new material, so she had less than half of her math done because she claimed she didn't know how to do the problems. If you haven't reached the point of jr. high math homework yet, be thankful. It's rough. And of course, it has to be done the "new" way. It doesn't matter that we can get the same answer doing it the way I was taught, which is much easier. It has to be done the way the teacher teaches it, or it's wrong.
Today's shaping up to be an equally frustrating day. We'd been trying to get our neighbor's lawn guy to come take care of our leaves with his Cyclone but he's unable to get to us because he's swamped, so that means that Christopher is outside trying to tackle the mammoth job of clearing our fenced in backyard full of *20* broadleaf trees that have dropped all of their leaves and they have no where to go. How's that for a run-on sentence?
Same thing as last time. Apparently, right after we left the dealership Monday, they started the car right up and drove it into the shop. They tried and tried all day yesterday (using almost 1/4 tank of MY gas) to get it to act up and nothing. NOTHING. It shows up no codes. They said that if they had to guess, that they'd guess the fuel pump, but that it was just a guess, and one to the tune of $500- $600. Certainly not a guess that I want to take on a 14 year old car. But whatever this is, it's nearing it's final lap, and will be completely finished in the near future. So I don't know what to think at this point, and I'm not very happy about it. I certainly don't feel comfortable driving it out of town anymore, and unfortunately with living in a small town, it's often necessary to do that. Soooooooooooo...
I got my hair done yesterday, so no one has to worry about losing their eyesight from my glaring greys. I went two shades lighter in hopes that it might not be such a contrast between the two, but it's still pretty dark, but not nearly as dark as it was! I do love this new color better, though! I thought it would be rough, and I'd mulled over it for weeks since my other color was pretty much identical to my natural color. I had a really rough time mentally with changing something that was part of me. Now I'm thinking about going even lighter next time!
Lat night was a ROUGH homework night. It happened to fall on a girl scout night so she wasn't able to start on it until 6:30. It was after 10 when she finished. I can't say that there weren't a few tears shed (by both parties) out of sheer frustration because none of the answers were in the book or her notes, which we finally resorted to the internet to find. She's also developed a bad attitude about math, which is keeping her from really paying attention and learning the new material, so she had less than half of her math done because she claimed she didn't know how to do the problems. If you haven't reached the point of jr. high math homework yet, be thankful. It's rough. And of course, it has to be done the "new" way. It doesn't matter that we can get the same answer doing it the way I was taught, which is much easier. It has to be done the way the teacher teaches it, or it's wrong.
Today's shaping up to be an equally frustrating day. We'd been trying to get our neighbor's lawn guy to come take care of our leaves with his Cyclone but he's unable to get to us because he's swamped, so that means that Christopher is outside trying to tackle the mammoth job of clearing our fenced in backyard full of *20* broadleaf trees that have dropped all of their leaves and they have no where to go. How's that for a run-on sentence?
Monday, November 14, 2011
Towed
What a day... This morning when I went to take the kids to school, my car would not start. I tried 3 times before calling Granny to come give us a ride. We only had 10 minutes to spare so I wasted no time. I tried once more when I hung up and sure enough, it started right up. It tried to die on me once we got to town at the 4-way stop, but we made it through and back home with no issues. I even went to town again and made several stops and it did just fine.Well... When we parked to pick up Kate and went to start it, it would not start. I tried and tried. Kate was so embarassed because a boy in her class was standing right next to our car and she did not want him seeing our car not start because he'd say something about it in class the next day. We waited until he got picked up and tried again with no success. I decided to call Pa and have him come see if it was the battery. It was not the battery because the car would turn over, but it would not run, it just died right then. He tried and tried with no luck. I called Christopher and we decided we'd have to have it towed to the shop. Pa drove to the shop quickly to tell them we were on our way in case they closed at 4:00 while we waited for the tow truck. The kids just loved this! They got the car on the truck and to the shop.
The car did this earlier this summer and they found nothing wrong. They said they thought it might be the fuel pump going bad but they can't test that until it's absolutely dead, which it wasn't then. Now it looks like this may be the end of the fuel pump. I'm praying this is not the fuel pump, but something cheap and easy to fix. That car is a month shy of turning 14 and by the end of the month will roll over to 117,000 miles. I don't want to put a lot of money into something that old. But at the same time, it's paid off and we're trying to hold off on buying a new car until the other is paid off, which is not for 2 more years. We don't want 2 car payments. We'll just have to wait and see what they find out tomorrow.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Cold, Wind and Busy
That pretty much sums up our weekend. With Veterans Day Friday, the kids were out of school, so it was a long weekend for us. We had big plans of a photo shoot Friday afternoon but it was just too cold. It never made it over 50 degrees and the wind was fierce. So the shoot was moved to Saturday which promised a lovely 65 degree day. But you know how that goes, especially mid-November when we're usually getting snow. The wind was even stronger and the temp. only 57 degrees, but we pushed forward and went ahead with the shoot. It. was. COLD. Thankfully, all parties cooperated and we did manage to get a few good ones for a special cause...
Preston's just too stinking photogenic even when he's not trying! He was set on looking for snail shells between the ties and even though our hands were numb, he wouldn't leave until his pocket was full.
Any ideas why these 4 cousins are raising their hands?
After the shoot and dinner, we joined mom for a trip to see Puss in Boots. Cute movie, but left a lot to be desired. They hyped it up so much that it just didn't live up to its claims. But we had fun though, and that's all that matters!
Today. Well, today was absolutely wonderful weather-wise! Other than very strong winds, the temp reached 72 this afternoon and it was nice to send the kids out to run off some energy. This late in the game, there won't be too many more nice days and they'll be bored out of their minds indoors, so this was refreshing!
We spent the afternoon up at mom's with the kids playing. They got to see Glen so that made their day! Little Cooper has really started talking in the three weeks since we last saw them. He is such a sweet little guy! After dinner we got to work going through last year's leftover coats and shoes for the Coats and Shoes ministry to see what we had so when they get the lists next week they'll know what they need to buy. It's always such a humbling experience to see those coats and shoes- the hundreds of them- that go out to children in our small community and surrounding towns. It's something near and dear to our hearts and it's always a joy and fun experience helping with it. The kids helped tonight and are READY to start wrapping shoes as soon as the lists roll in and shoes are purchased.
Let the new week begin!
Preston's just too stinking photogenic even when he's not trying! He was set on looking for snail shells between the ties and even though our hands were numb, he wouldn't leave until his pocket was full.
Any ideas why these 4 cousins are raising their hands?After the shoot and dinner, we joined mom for a trip to see Puss in Boots. Cute movie, but left a lot to be desired. They hyped it up so much that it just didn't live up to its claims. But we had fun though, and that's all that matters!
Today. Well, today was absolutely wonderful weather-wise! Other than very strong winds, the temp reached 72 this afternoon and it was nice to send the kids out to run off some energy. This late in the game, there won't be too many more nice days and they'll be bored out of their minds indoors, so this was refreshing!
We spent the afternoon up at mom's with the kids playing. They got to see Glen so that made their day! Little Cooper has really started talking in the three weeks since we last saw them. He is such a sweet little guy! After dinner we got to work going through last year's leftover coats and shoes for the Coats and Shoes ministry to see what we had so when they get the lists next week they'll know what they need to buy. It's always such a humbling experience to see those coats and shoes- the hundreds of them- that go out to children in our small community and surrounding towns. It's something near and dear to our hearts and it's always a joy and fun experience helping with it. The kids helped tonight and are READY to start wrapping shoes as soon as the lists roll in and shoes are purchased.
Let the new week begin!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Because it's never too early to start planning for the future
So maybe I still have 5 months until April, and maybe I'm a little bit too excited about this theme and the fact that I was able to easily convince Kate of its potential. But we have decided that for Kate's big *13th* birthday, it will be a photo booth theme. People, this is going to be so cool! I can't wait to see what kind of fun we come up with for this one!
Entangled
I've been reading Amy Bennet's blog, Permission to Peruse for a while now, and she's written and E-book called Entangled. I've read the introduction on her blog and it was really great, so I have faith that the rest of the book will be equally as enjoyable!
Entangled is about her journey through an emotional affair in her marriage and her way out. She hopes that this book will help women that are in similar situations, but also to deter women from entering into emotional affairs. If you'd like to get this E-book for free, click the link and get it now! Today is its big release!
http://www.entangledbook.com
Thursday, November 10, 2011
This week's goings on
It's been another busy week in our household, but busy in a good way as opposed to last week! No one is sick, no chipped teeth, although I did just get back from the dentist with Kate.
So Kate had her cleaning today. No cavities! She did get new sealants and more x-rays, but everything looks great! Our next appointment is her orthodontic work-up- extensive panoramic x-rays, impressions, etc. and then it's on with the braces!
Preston had his second grade musical Tuesday. He had been SO worried about this for weeks since he had to be in a dance in front of 300+ people. Well, he got out there and looked like he'd been doing it forever! It was a square dance and he was out there swinging Riely and Molly like nobody's business! He had the biggest grin on his face the whole time, so I know he had fun! I can't lie, I was grinning ear to ear the whole time, too! SOOOOOOO proud of him for getting out there and doing his best and having fun!
Girl Scout cookies came in yesterday and I have a table full of boxes of cookies in the dining room. She only sold 61 boxes this time, 210 short of her record, but I'm not complaining. That's less that I have to schlep around town delivering!
We're also supposed to be in the middle of fundraising for school- Preston is selling cookie dough for his school and Kate's selling pizzas for the band's trip to Chicago. I will tell you though, that we have not sold one single item. Not one. Why? Because since September, they've sold Girl Scout cookies, soup supper tickets and candy bars. We've hit family up so many times already that I feel guilty asking them to buy more crap. It's ridiculous! And they'll have another one at least before school is out. Not to mention Kate's scout troop is selling cookies again in January, which we won't be participating in. I understand the need for fundraising for field trips, etc., but come on! I'd much rather give them a check that they can keep 100% of, instead of paying the same amount for some product that they get 10% of. And paying $15 for a tub of cookie dough that only makes 4 dozen when I can buy the ingredients to make just as much for $5 is insane. Not to mention that my kids can't eat any of that dough anyway because of allergy warnings.
I can't wait for tomorrow to just sleep in and relax. We're attempting another grandkid picture tomorrow, so we'll see if it goes better than last year! We took nearly 300 pictures and seriously only came out with *ONE*.
I've also been cleaning out my pictures on the computer in an effort to free up some space and have deleted over 2,000. All of them were pretty much from shoots that weren't edited, like the 300 of the grandkids that had to be scrapped.
So Kate had her cleaning today. No cavities! She did get new sealants and more x-rays, but everything looks great! Our next appointment is her orthodontic work-up- extensive panoramic x-rays, impressions, etc. and then it's on with the braces!
Preston had his second grade musical Tuesday. He had been SO worried about this for weeks since he had to be in a dance in front of 300+ people. Well, he got out there and looked like he'd been doing it forever! It was a square dance and he was out there swinging Riely and Molly like nobody's business! He had the biggest grin on his face the whole time, so I know he had fun! I can't lie, I was grinning ear to ear the whole time, too! SOOOOOOO proud of him for getting out there and doing his best and having fun!
Girl Scout cookies came in yesterday and I have a table full of boxes of cookies in the dining room. She only sold 61 boxes this time, 210 short of her record, but I'm not complaining. That's less that I have to schlep around town delivering!
We're also supposed to be in the middle of fundraising for school- Preston is selling cookie dough for his school and Kate's selling pizzas for the band's trip to Chicago. I will tell you though, that we have not sold one single item. Not one. Why? Because since September, they've sold Girl Scout cookies, soup supper tickets and candy bars. We've hit family up so many times already that I feel guilty asking them to buy more crap. It's ridiculous! And they'll have another one at least before school is out. Not to mention Kate's scout troop is selling cookies again in January, which we won't be participating in. I understand the need for fundraising for field trips, etc., but come on! I'd much rather give them a check that they can keep 100% of, instead of paying the same amount for some product that they get 10% of. And paying $15 for a tub of cookie dough that only makes 4 dozen when I can buy the ingredients to make just as much for $5 is insane. Not to mention that my kids can't eat any of that dough anyway because of allergy warnings.
I can't wait for tomorrow to just sleep in and relax. We're attempting another grandkid picture tomorrow, so we'll see if it goes better than last year! We took nearly 300 pictures and seriously only came out with *ONE*.
I've also been cleaning out my pictures on the computer in an effort to free up some space and have deleted over 2,000. All of them were pretty much from shoots that weren't edited, like the 300 of the grandkids that had to be scrapped.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Memory lane
Two weeks ago, the kids and I joined Granny to take pictures of the house that she was born in. It had been almost 20 years since I had seen it from a distance, and I'd never been on the grounds. It was a great experience.
Getting there was an adventure. Granny tried tracking down the owner to get permission to go on his land, and that led her to the bar he owns downtown. She was given his cell number and finally got a hold of him. Once there, we had to climb a 5 foot high gate, crawl under an electric fence, and had to avoid many cow patties. The grounds are now the middle of a cow pasture and they roamed freely all around. But it was all worth it to see this...
Sadly, the previous owners let it go to shambles. It was like they just got up one day and left, never coming back. Everything was still inside. This house could have easily been taken care of and would still be in great shape for it's age. That was the only hard thing. But seeing the house where Granny was born was nothing short of amazing. I could imagine Ma-ma and Pa-pa Party Pooper living there, the family history that it lent. History. I'll never get tired of it.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Backing it up a bit
Sorry folks, no pics again. I know, I'm slipping. And I just realized today that I missed a very special picture of the day and am kicking myself in the seat.
At last count, our week had not gone so well. Thankfully, things have been going much better and we were able to enjoy a nice weekend. And a lazy one at that. Saturday turned out to be a do-nothing day. We had big plans to go hang ribbons around town for Veterans Day with the girl scouts, but when we showed up, NO ONE was there. Not one single soul. I don't know what was up with that. And it's too bad, too, because it was such a nice day! So we went home and spent the rest of the day pretty much doing nothing. It was nice.
Today, I was disappointed to have not benefitted from the extra hour of sleep. Not only did I wake up several times unable to fall back asleep, but the stinking alarm clock went off TWICE at 3:30 because we failed to set back any clocks last night. For some reason, the alarm clock has a mind of its own because it goes off every day of the week regardless of whether it's set to or not. Then Preston was up at 6:40. Sheesh!
We went to Granny and Pa's tonight and had a small party for Pa's birthday tomorrow. It was so much fun! We had THE BEST meal I've eaten in ages- it was all my favorite, and Granny is the best cook ever. We had roast beef with gravy, potatoes, carrots, slaw, fried apples and Granny's homemade noodles. Then she made a German chocolate cake... Heaven. I've got three slices upstairs calling my name! Preston had been talking about card houses lately. Seth and I used to build huge ones when we were little, so after dinner I got out all of the cards and started building. Preston kept begging for me to build it bigger, but it was late and we needed to get home, so I promised him next week that I'd start as soon as we got there and make it as big as the living room. Then he got to knock it down and that made his day!
Thankfully, no one has managed to catch Kate's nasty cold and that is a miracle in itself! Let's pray that this week goes MUCH better than last!
At last count, our week had not gone so well. Thankfully, things have been going much better and we were able to enjoy a nice weekend. And a lazy one at that. Saturday turned out to be a do-nothing day. We had big plans to go hang ribbons around town for Veterans Day with the girl scouts, but when we showed up, NO ONE was there. Not one single soul. I don't know what was up with that. And it's too bad, too, because it was such a nice day! So we went home and spent the rest of the day pretty much doing nothing. It was nice.
Today, I was disappointed to have not benefitted from the extra hour of sleep. Not only did I wake up several times unable to fall back asleep, but the stinking alarm clock went off TWICE at 3:30 because we failed to set back any clocks last night. For some reason, the alarm clock has a mind of its own because it goes off every day of the week regardless of whether it's set to or not. Then Preston was up at 6:40. Sheesh!
We went to Granny and Pa's tonight and had a small party for Pa's birthday tomorrow. It was so much fun! We had THE BEST meal I've eaten in ages- it was all my favorite, and Granny is the best cook ever. We had roast beef with gravy, potatoes, carrots, slaw, fried apples and Granny's homemade noodles. Then she made a German chocolate cake... Heaven. I've got three slices upstairs calling my name! Preston had been talking about card houses lately. Seth and I used to build huge ones when we were little, so after dinner I got out all of the cards and started building. Preston kept begging for me to build it bigger, but it was late and we needed to get home, so I promised him next week that I'd start as soon as we got there and make it as big as the living room. Then he got to knock it down and that made his day!
Thankfully, no one has managed to catch Kate's nasty cold and that is a miracle in itself! Let's pray that this week goes MUCH better than last!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Holy moly, what a day
You never know what your day is going to turn out like when your morning starts off like this:
I got out of cooking tonight thanks to tickets to the Methodist Men's fish fry to raise money for their coats and shoes ministry. This is such a special ministry to my family since Pa started it over 20 years ago. It's been amazing to see what they do for the community and the kids are already chomping at the bit to start wrapping shoes again!
- By 7:30, I managed to clog the drain by trying to shove a lemon-sized piece of ham down the garbage disposal. Then when I tried to take the pipes apart, Christopher had tightened them so tight after the last time I clogged the drain that I only managed to unhook the "U" part. I then spent the next 20 minutes using a thing to pull out hair clogs to pull out the ham while under the sink.
- As soon as I unclog the kitchen sink, I go upstairs to find the one of the kids had clogged the toilet.
- I go to the grocery store and as soon as I step out of the car, realize that I have on one slip on flowered sneaker with a big bow and a ballet flat. Not to mention the fact that I also had on argyle socks. I tried to make it a quick trip, but kept running into people I knew.
- I tried to make one single cupcake along with the cake I was baking for the fish fry in a foil liner that said no pan was needed. Well, the thing decided to collapse in the oven, spilling batter. Lovely.
I got out of cooking tonight thanks to tickets to the Methodist Men's fish fry to raise money for their coats and shoes ministry. This is such a special ministry to my family since Pa started it over 20 years ago. It's been amazing to see what they do for the community and the kids are already chomping at the bit to start wrapping shoes again!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Bad day
I'm a usually happy person. I try to see the good in things. I try to make the best decisions. I try to be a pleasant person to be around. I try to be the best I can be. I try to live a Godly life. But there are days that drag me down so low that I can only wallow in my emotions. Today is one of those days.
It all revolves around Kate's chipped tooth and it needing to be pulled. It was a baby tooth, that was not going to come out on its own. The permanent tooth had grown out all the way on the side of it, only taking out 2 of the 3 roots, leaving the other firmly attached and not going anywhere. The tooth was chipped down into the center and was very painful. It had to come out. Right next to it was another baby tooth in the same predicament, so he decided to spare her another round of stress and just pull it too. Makes sense to me. Also saves us another copay on an office visit.
Well, apparently, I shouldn't have let the dentist pull her teeth, especially one that wasn't chipped, even though it would eventually have to be pulled. And I also shouldn't have let them use laughing gas which insurance doesn't pay for. And I should have told them to wait because the braces package *may* (and I don't think it does) cover extractions, and then we would've only had to pay for the braces package and not both. And instead of him discussing this whole situation with me *BEFORE* I took her to the dentist (even though he was home all day to do this or even take her himself), he did not, and just assumed I would know this and tell them not to pull her very painful tooth.
So I have been made to feel pretty bad tonight for making a decision to help Kate, which had to be done. It couldn't wait until the first of the year when they want to start her braces. It really couldn't wait until next week when she has her scheduled cleaning. And it's not like we don't have the money to pay for it. That's not an issue at all. It's that this whole "common sense" situation was NOT common sense at all, and I was simply thinking in terms of Kate's best interest. You know, I've scheduled 4 surgeries for my kids without so much as one bit of input from him, and never had an issue or a question as to why. Yet when I have the dentist pull a broken tooth, it's a big ordeal.
It all revolves around Kate's chipped tooth and it needing to be pulled. It was a baby tooth, that was not going to come out on its own. The permanent tooth had grown out all the way on the side of it, only taking out 2 of the 3 roots, leaving the other firmly attached and not going anywhere. The tooth was chipped down into the center and was very painful. It had to come out. Right next to it was another baby tooth in the same predicament, so he decided to spare her another round of stress and just pull it too. Makes sense to me. Also saves us another copay on an office visit.
Well, apparently, I shouldn't have let the dentist pull her teeth, especially one that wasn't chipped, even though it would eventually have to be pulled. And I also shouldn't have let them use laughing gas which insurance doesn't pay for. And I should have told them to wait because the braces package *may* (and I don't think it does) cover extractions, and then we would've only had to pay for the braces package and not both. And instead of him discussing this whole situation with me *BEFORE* I took her to the dentist (even though he was home all day to do this or even take her himself), he did not, and just assumed I would know this and tell them not to pull her very painful tooth.
So I have been made to feel pretty bad tonight for making a decision to help Kate, which had to be done. It couldn't wait until the first of the year when they want to start her braces. It really couldn't wait until next week when she has her scheduled cleaning. And it's not like we don't have the money to pay for it. That's not an issue at all. It's that this whole "common sense" situation was NOT common sense at all, and I was simply thinking in terms of Kate's best interest. You know, I've scheduled 4 surgeries for my kids without so much as one bit of input from him, and never had an issue or a question as to why. Yet when I have the dentist pull a broken tooth, it's a big ordeal.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Poor Kate
Usually, it's Preston that can't catch a break. Well, now it's his sister.
I posted the other day about her coming down with a nasty cold and fever that just wiped her clean out. She hasn't been that sick in a long time. Then we found out Monday that her ear was infected. Well, today she went back to school, although she really didn't want to. I mean, REALLY didn't want to. She hadn't eaten mush more than 3 hoagie rolls in as many days, but her fever was long gone, she'd already missed one day of school and I knew she'd already have enough homework. I tanked her up with a syrupy pancake and juice, motrin, and sent her off.
Well, it turned out not to be a good day. Two math lessons and a reading lesson all due tomorrow. But to make the day even worse, she chipped her tooth on a flour tortilla of all things! She brought home the chip in a plastic container. I called Christopher and since it was on a loose baby tooth and she already has a cleaning next week, he said they probably wouldn't do anything. But when he got home and looked at it, he could see the inside of her tooth! So I'll be on the phone with the dentist first thing tomorrow to see what they want to do.
I feel so bad for Kate! She's taking it all in stride, though, but with still feeling off, all of the homework due tomorrow, and then the whole tooth ordeal, she did have a little break-down this evening. I'm praying things start to look up!
I posted the other day about her coming down with a nasty cold and fever that just wiped her clean out. She hasn't been that sick in a long time. Then we found out Monday that her ear was infected. Well, today she went back to school, although she really didn't want to. I mean, REALLY didn't want to. She hadn't eaten mush more than 3 hoagie rolls in as many days, but her fever was long gone, she'd already missed one day of school and I knew she'd already have enough homework. I tanked her up with a syrupy pancake and juice, motrin, and sent her off.
Well, it turned out not to be a good day. Two math lessons and a reading lesson all due tomorrow. But to make the day even worse, she chipped her tooth on a flour tortilla of all things! She brought home the chip in a plastic container. I called Christopher and since it was on a loose baby tooth and she already has a cleaning next week, he said they probably wouldn't do anything. But when he got home and looked at it, he could see the inside of her tooth! So I'll be on the phone with the dentist first thing tomorrow to see what they want to do.
I feel so bad for Kate! She's taking it all in stride, though, but with still feeling off, all of the homework due tomorrow, and then the whole tooth ordeal, she did have a little break-down this evening. I'm praying things start to look up!
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