Saturday, November 30, 2013

Preemptive strike

After I signed off last post, the carnage began with the hub and G. Alternating bathrooms and trips to deposit yuck in the big trash bag, it was like a choreographed dance of the sick and I was just trying to avoid getting hit, waking the other kids up or my parents downstairs. I luckily avoided the need to use the laundry facilities as my patients were efficient and tidy with their sick moments. As most moms can attest, I slept little and waited for the next wave to hit, while trying to plan for my work day on Sunday seeing as how S and I have big bullseyes on our tummies so to speak.

It has been a pajama day today, for the most part, and I have done laundry, dishes, fed the boy and S, tried to hydrate the hub and G and get them some jello and saltines. I have tried to advise my oldest who is in that time of life where she has hollow legs and cannot be full easily, that she will most likely be revisiting these food choices down the line and she needs to choose wisely. As the hub and I have called it since the first stomach virus came through the house with a little person, I am now feeling "aware of my stomach". This is not a good thing, but we are praying that it will pass. I figured I'd better write this sooner before the carnage begins again.

Here's hoping that this will be the last of our family's illness for a while and we will have an incident free Christmas break. Just file his post in the TMI category. Sorry....


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Friday, November 29, 2013

Quick post...

The stomach virus has taken its second victim. The hub is currently getting very sick and G is feeling stomach awareness right now. I can deal with almost most illness stuff, but I cannot take vomit. I can deal with dog vomit better than human vomit. What complicates things is that we have people staying with us who are sleeping in the basement with the washer and dryer. I just pray no projectile anything hits or we are screwed. If I miss a post due to having the crud, please know that I tried my best to write one. I will keep you updated on "Pukefest 2013". Sigh....


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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Can't be a normal Turkey Day...ever

Part Deux: It's all fun and games until someone empties the contents of their stomach on a major holiday.

'Twas early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day, when we heard a pitiful little boy say... "Oh NO! Something's wrong with my tummy I think. I got confused in the darkness and puked by the sink." The hub and I rushed in a groggy sleep fog to aid our poor boy who was sick as a dog. He really was serious about his poor aim as evidenced by the large spray pattern that was too tame. The hub took to cleaning, the man is a saint. "You're cooking the meal, food you must not taint." So the boy got in bed, one surface free of vomit. I raced for the Lysol and Resolve as fast as a comet. My mom was buttering Tom Turkey to put in to bake, and wondered what on Earth was I doing awake. (I told her and we expressed sadness and then decided to make the best of this for the second Thanksgiving in a row of a sick boy). The sick cot was laid out, the sisters fled the room. They determined they would try not to meet the same doom.



I put on The Goonies for sick boy to view and then rushed to the kitchen to cook for a few. Stuffing and turkey and gravy and beans were just a few of the dishes to pop the buttons on our jeans. Our family arrived to the girls' pure joy. "Tell some of those people, 'Hello'" said the boy. Our family's newest adoptee, Abraham from Nigeria, was a good sport to try all dishes even ones quite mysteri-a(ous). Then the bulk of the diners played a game "Wits and Wagers", while others cleaned up the carnage like pros from the majors. (That was really bad...I'm sorry).



Then soon we were off to my uncle and aunt's, to eat lots of sugar making us loosen our pants. The bounty was plenty, the company was sublime. We had so much fun, didn't notice the time. Celebrating successful surgeries, survival from trauma, impending graduations and enduring stomach drama. Our family is blessed as a family could be and those blessings they are, undeserved, but appreciated I hope you see.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving...

'Twas the day before Thanksgiving, we woke to the sound of children screaming, "There's snow on the ground!". It was beautiful, yes, but I had no time to play...I needed to bake and cook all the day. What to work on first, I thought, sausage dressing I guess, but the kids pulled out snow gear creating a mess. I finally gave in and dressed them in bibs, while the hub got a sled and the boy called dibs. We sent them outside and I sauted some veggies, when one child appeared, "These bibs give me a wedgie!". "Wear them or stay in!", I said like a grouch, the other adults called me on it for that I can vouch. They played and I cooked feeling like Betty Crocker, while the children went sledding and played some snow soccer. G came in first, her face frozen and red. "I've had enough!", she icily said. A five minute warning was given to the others, from the meanest of all of the buzz killing mothers. The oldest and I went to run to the store, while my poor loving husband nailed luan to the floor. Our bathroom downstairs has been under construction, currently in a partial state of destruction. She and I picked up friend gifts, pecans and some light roast, while the youngers at home ate super lunches of toast. (They'll get good stuff tomorrow). We arrived back at home so I could get back in the kitchen, to construct a dessert that sounded quite bi-----, um, good. The oldest went upstairs to wash up her hair and then dried it and rolled it taking great care. A long time tradition she dances this night so our schedule and prep work is always quite tight.



She looked oh so lovely and had a nice dance and even ran into her best friend by chance. We walked back to the car, chilly people all four, and arrived safely home hungry people for sure. After wolfing down food, the girls got in their 'jamas while I cooked some more dishes and had a talk with my mama. Jollof Rice was my new dish to try for the 'morrow, I hope it turns out or there'll be lots of sorrow. Our Nigerian "nephew" is coming to eat and Google said this dish comes from his country...sweet! I worked on this rice dish for almost two hours, habanero steam burning with its super powers. I parboiled and fried and pureed all the stuff, while the hub he was feeling a litttle bit rough. After working his head off getting plumbing set right, he watched a cataract surgery dvd...that's not right. Weak stomached he felt, but a better soul than moi, for just hearing the description made me want to go blaaaahhhh. You gotta love family, cooking and such, though admit that DVD was just a wee bit too much.

Enjoy your Tom Turkey, tofurky and more. With family around, it will never be a bore. I give thanks for my family, our blessings year through...and don't ever forget I am thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve for 19 more minutes!
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Strange things abound near Turkey Day

The day is almost over and I am tired...as is probably every other adult person who has any part in any kind of Thanksgiving celebration in the next few days. My oldest dances tomorrow as has been tradition for years, so we will be concentrating on trying to get all major cooking done tomorrow before she goes to trip the light fantastic with her cronies. After her practice tonight, we went to her favorite place in the world: the grocery store. Even on the eve of Thanksgiving Eve, she wanted to venture into the vortex and go for the deals. I just needed to get some last minute ingredients for my offerings on Thursday, plus some lunch meat for sandwiches tomorrow. Due to the major threat of possible millimeters of snow after midnight tonight, there was a substantial line of people getting their emergency sandwich and French toast makings. I saw the writing on the deli case and knew I would be there for a while, so I sent S on little trips to pick up items to speed our trip along. Clear plastic forks? Those were for something else, but I needed to get them anyway. Two items down. Pie crusts? I don't make great pie crusts, so she went to get some Pillsbury pie crusts for me. When she returned, her face was pale but excited. Apparently, in the spirit of love and caring and giving, two women got in a fight over a Butterball turkey. Said turkey must have been very a substantial one, because others were thrown and colorful words were exchanged. So glad she got to witness that...and the carnage that was the Cool Whip freezer section. Apparently no one likes Lite, but the rest of the freezer area looked like a cold cavern. We got out alive and didn't forget anything that I know of, I think. At least until I wake up tomorrow and find I have left out the ingredients for half a casserole. Cheers everybody!


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Monday, November 25, 2013

Pre-Turkey panic

When I went to pick up the kids from school today, I was feeling pretty good about the state of our house and the cleanliness and all that jazz. I took G to her class , took S and the boy to Walgreens to capitalize on some deals. We got back home after a long mess in traffic, I turned on some music and prepared to bake some cornbread. When I went down to the basement for an ingredient, I realized that the basement looked like it had blown up. Then I did. I think I shook the house. Between the toys and dress up clothes and debris from the bathroom remodel all over the clean clothes and washer and dryer, I hit my cleaning up limit. So now I am committing the sin of sloth, blogging, watching yet another episode of Homeland, avoiding work and waiting for The Blacklist to come on. I will at least watch and tidy up in our room, aka, the coat closet for Thanksgiving Day. I am beyond exciting.

The debris has since been cleaned up, the extra beds made with clean sheets, the boy's lack of aim has been wiped from our one toilet and the carpet sprinkles have been applied to get the funk of children and life out of the family room. When the kids come home tomorrow, they can play and I can bake. Happy almost Thanksgiving...ooh The Blacklist is on now! Squirrel!


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Sunday, November 24, 2013

New app addiction...crud

So thanks to my friends, J and B, I am now addicted to a new app called "Quiz Up". In the few short hours I have had it on my phone, I have already gotten in a "General Movie" trivia match with what I am imagining is a 12 year old girl with an ipod Touch in Great Britain. I may not know what Miley Cyrus said in a Nicholas Sparks movie, but I can crush the, again imagined 82 year old from Canada, in Indiana Jones questions. Don't try me, Ethel. The downloading of this app was very poorly timed as I am attempting to get Thanksgiving cooking and cleaning and prep underway as well as serve as the carpenter's helper to the hub in the bathroom remodel. It is not so easy to speed answer who played "Fredo" in The Godfather while using a crowbar to hold the cast iron tub up and away from crushing hub's hand. You think the necessity of a downstairs toliet would be in the morefront of my mind...not knowing that Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were in It Happened One Night. But yet, I kept answering...and answering....until that creepy little British 12 year old beat me to the quick on a Fight Club question. Ego bruised, I had to put the phone down and walk away for a few minutes. But as soon as I finish writing, I will continue in my quest for Quiz Up domination of children a fraction of my age. They need to be schooled on something. When you play movie trivia, lady, you are in my house...right after I make some dressing to put in the freezer.


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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Glutton for punishment

Today was super deep psycho cleaning day at the ranch today. In my explanation to the kids, I told them it would be better to do it now than when they were off for Thanksgiving Break and fun people were coming to play. This persuasvie reasoning was very effective for all of about 15 minutes before the fighting started. Sorting and scrubbing and cleaning and grubbing for an hour and a half. I pitched and tossed crap all morning. Then I made the dumbest decision that I have made in quite a while...and that's saying something for me. I decided that it was the best idea and right time, at 1:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon before Thanksgiving, to go to the grocery store and take three children shopping for turkey day supplies. Wow. Best. Decision. Ever. One child had a spontaeously sore foot that hurt at the most opportune times for her. One child felt the need to whip out coupons for everything in the weirdest places. As I looked for Ritz crackers, I hear, "I have a great coupon for corn pads. Do you need any corn pads?". "No, honey. We don't need any of those." "Well, it doesn't expire until March, so you're good if you need it." "Okay. I just need Ritz crackers for the broccoli casserole right now." Then the last child discovred the wealth of recoverable coupons right underneath the shelves. Apparently people don't want to bend over and look under there to find their dropped coupon. So he basically scooted along the shelf line, reaching under the shelves, finding coupons and yelling, "Hey, Sissy? Is this a good one?". "Yes, bubby. That's a great one. Keep digging!". "Uh, no son. The floor is dirty...please get up." "Here's another one. And what's this, mom?". I look up from my list to see both of his hands up: one with a coupon for Triscuits or something and the other hand with two, yes two, RAZOR BLADES. I calmly took them from him, decided to retire him from the coupon scrounging/floor mopping with his pants business and proceeded to look for the store manager. He was very conerned about the boy's discovery and thanked me for letting him know. We continued shopping, one limping, one rattling off "I have a coupon for that" and one saying, "Razor blades...ra--zor---blaaaades" over and over in some sort of Spanish/Snidely Whiplash kind of accent. If I could have burrowed deep back into a pocket of the paper towels, I would have. Instead I lost my gimpy child and her little cart somewhere in the cleaning supplies, had to double to find that she had gotten trapped between two rather buxom grandmotherly women deep in converstaion about the merits of Dawn vs Palmolive. The poor kid looked a little stressed, so I safely extracted her nd we sought asylum in the frozen vegetables. By the time we left the store, over two hours had gone by...and it felt every bit of 7. The cashier was so very kind to us all, I know we must have looked rough.

We got home. Gimpy put her feet up. Coupon kid studied the receipt with great fervor. The boy kept saying, "Ra--zor---blaaaades. Razor blades." All I know is this: the dressing and other stuff I am making better be good after all that.


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Friday, November 22, 2013

I want to binge...that's all

Tis the beginning of the season of busy-ness and stress. Schools and church and extracurriculars decide that this is the time to stuff in every possible activity and program, you know, fit 29 hours worth of activities into a 24 hour period. Trying to decorate the house, get all the last minute projects done, teacher gifts prepared, presents bought and wrapped while keeping an ounce of sanity is pretty hard. And now, thrown into the mix is my demon of a friend who recommended a program for me to watch. She knew as soon as she gave her rave review that I would have to watch at lest one episode to proved her wrong...and then one more to solidify that decision...and then a third to try to have an open mind...and then a fourth to realize that I need to find out what happens in episode five...which causes me to cuss said friend, look at the clock and realize that I went from coffee after drop off to it is almost time to get in the pick up line. Now I have to wait to view season two and catch up on the current season. In the midst of all the stuff, I really want to binge watch Homeland. I want to sit under my snowman down throw, put my feet up on the ottoman and watch Carrie and Brody and Saul thrill the audience with mystery, action and deceit. I am absolutely hooked. There will be time over the holidays, I hope, to hide away and watch. Maybe I'll even let the hub come in there with me.

I'll end with another weird question the boy has cooked up today. He is currently sitting in the floor playing with his Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. He asked the hub, "So Dad? When you crash and flip cars over, why do your windows pop out? Have you had to put them back in the car yourself?". The hub, puzzled by the out of context question seeing as how he is in the bathroom ripping out the floor and not watching the Hot Wheels session, says, "Well, son, I've never flipped a car before. But they do that for safety. Why do you ask?". "Just needed to know, that's all." He's got a million of them. Come on over. I'm sure he'll tailor a question just for you. Night all.


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Thursday, November 21, 2013

An exercise in temper control

Eight months ago when all of this illness business started with S, we made a trip to our allergist in hopes that we could get some answers. After a three hour appointment, the conclusion was that of mild asthma and a slight mold allergy. Hellfire, we live in East Tennessee. Who doesn't have a touch of that business? So when we went again to the allergist a month ago to have testing to see what caused this:



...they had not reviewed the paperwork we had worked so hard to get them ahead of time to review. Okay, so review them and get on with it. Nope, we got a "Come back one from now." Felt kind of like "NO SOUP FOR YOU!". A special scratch test was to be made and administered upon our return. Yesterday, I received threee different phone calls and had the appointment time and location changed three different times. Annoying, but okay. Well today was the return and we pulled her out of school early. The hub and I were very excited, in a weird way, to find out the results. After this long, we just want an answer. Welllll, apparently a month was still not enough time for them to properly and thoroughly read the results. After a series of rapid fire questions about other allergy possibilities by me, the NP went to talk to the doc. She arrived back 30 minutes later to tell me that they would not be giving any skin tests today. The doctor had decided, after reading her biopsy results from MAY that he has had for over a month, that she needed a patch test instead. When I inquired as to when she could have that done, I was told another month. S immediately shot me a look like, "Oh crap. Mom's gonna hurt somebody." The NP felt that as well and immediately started apologizing. While I did not burn bridges, I made sure the NP and the doc were very clear about my disappointment with their "studying the material ahead of time" skills. I just want to find out what caused the reactions that were so very severe, especially knowing that reactions from here on out are going to be even worse.

Strep Boy returned to school today and seemed to do just fine. He talks a big game, but I heard not one protest when he was asked to go to bed. And speaking of bed, no one will get a protest out of me. Night all.


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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

The boy can milk it

The boy was home today with, as they call it down here in the Volunteer State, "The Strep". By the way the kid acted, you would have never known he was sick. He was slow to get up this morning and was a sweaty mess, so I knew his fever had broken. Breakfast was interesting as I felt the need still to keep everything separate in terms of the girls away from the boy while they were eating. His coat was being cleansed of strep germs, so he wrapped up in a "vintage" WIggles sleeping bag and got packed in the car for drop offs. When we got home, he took full advantage of the fact that he was sick and got to watch television during the week. One can watch only so many minutes of Avengers cartoons or Spiderman. We paused to work on homework a few times and then he felt so faint, cough cough, that he had to watch some more Hulk. Then I bundled him back up to just get some fresh air and take a little ride. During this time, he said that it would probably be a medically responsible decision to get him a milkshake to soothe his sore throat. Good grief. After all that verbiage and effort, I kind of felt obligated. So he got one and I am sure it did help soothe his throat. The afternoon was nice with him. He certaily makes me laugh. I'd love to spend another one like it, but simply because we have the time...not because of illness.


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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Aw come on...really?

So thumb report...the day after home surgery. My phone apparently rang during staff meeting today, but since I work in the fortress of solitude, it did not register. As often is the case, I forgot that I had set the phone on silent and went about my work day clueless, okay more clueless than usual. So when I looked at my phone and saw that I had missed a call from a number I did not recognize and that did not leave a messge, I figured they would call back if they really needed me. Then when I picked the youngers up at school, the boy looked rough. Really rough. I knew he was sick by the way his eyes looked. Through a series of shuffling kids around, I got the two oldest taken care and was on my way to the pediatrician's office. Our favorite nurse took care of him and, of course, had to do all the dirty work by giving him a strep and flu test. He did ask her if she would have to "touch his uvula" with the long cotton swab. That gave Nurse K pause to look at him like he had grown a second head and then ask, "Who taught you that word?". That's my boy. Between that and trying to get a urine sample from a child who could barely support his own weight due to his streppy-fevery headache, I was a twitchy mess by the time we got out of there. They gave him a good healthy dose of motrin while we were there, so once that kicked in he was like a new man. The NP's determination was that his ripped nail on his thumb may have picked up strep infection from some random surface(the school is bubbling over with it)and it kind of manifested itself in the thumb and elsewhere. He never had a sore throat. He thought he had an ear infection. Either way, it was not the FLU, which would have officially put me in the home where you could come and visit me, bring me books without staples, crayons and soft foods, while singing me nursery rhymes. November was a sucky month last year and I pray it won't be quite as bad this year. We'll hope we can avoid another child with a broken wrist this time.

Now I'm going to pick up S from dance rehearsal, feed her some hearty soup at home, make sure everybody is taken care of for the night and collapse. I may even watch an episode of Homeland if I can stay awake. It is my new obsession...I am trying to be strong and not binge watch. Try it. It is very engaging. Night all.


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Aw come on...really?

So thumb report...the day after home surgery. My phone apparently rang during staff meeting today, but since I work in the fortress of solitude, it did not register. As often is the case, I forgot that I had set the phone on silent and went about my work day clueless, okay more clueless than usual. So when I looked at my phone and saw that I had missed a call from a number I did not recognize and that did not leave a messge, I figured they would call back if they really needed me. Then when I picked the youngers up at school, the boy looked rough. Really rough. I knew he was sick by the way his eyes looked. Through a series of shuffling kids around, I got the two oldest taken care and was on my way to the pediatrician's office. Our favorite nurse took care of him and, of course, had to do all the dirty work by giving him a strep and flu test. He did ask her if she would have to "touch his uvula" with the long cotton swab. That gave Nurse K pause to look at him like he had grown a second head and then ask, "Who taught you that word?". That's my boy. Between that and trying to get a urine sample from a child who could barely support his own weight due to his streppy-fevery headache, I was a twitchy mess by the time we got out of there. They gave him a good healthy dose of motrin while we were there, so once that kicked in he was like a new man. The NP's determination was that his ripped nail on his thumb may have picked up strep infection from some random surface(the school is bubbling over with it)and it kind of manifested itself in the thumb and elsewhere. He never had a sore throat. He thought he had an ear infection. Either way, it was not the FLU, which would have officially put me in the home where you could come and visit me, bring me books without staples, crayons and soft foods, while singing me nursery rhymes. November was a sucky month last year and I pray it won't be quite as bad this year. We'll hope we can avoid another child with a broken wrist this time.

Now I'm going to pick up S from dance rehearsal, feed her some hearty soup at home, make sure everybody is taken care of for the night and collapse. I may even watch an episode of Homeland if I can stay awake. It is my new obsession...I am trying to be strong and not binge watch. Try it. It is very engaging. Night all.


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Monday, November 18, 2013

Turning Sequoias and Sored Thumbed Boys

It has been a very busy afternoon with pick ups and classes and jazz shoe fittings. This is going to be the state of our Mondays for the time being, I suppose, so we will just have to make the best of it. I have been noticing for the past few days, that my vehicle has been coming up on a very important milestone in its ten years on this earth. As I saw it approaching quickly this evening, I felt the milestone needed to be documented for posterity. The kids, on the other hand, wanted to get out of said vehicle and go inside. This is what I was working with:



I tried to go up and back down the driveway several times. The kids begged to get out of the car. They did not understand the gravity of the milestone. So I released them out of the car and into the house with the hub. I drove around the block and up and down the driveway again. I know the neighbors thought I was crazier than usual. And then, after what seemed like 20 miles:



Happy Turning Day, Sequoia!

In other equally riveting news, the boy has had a sore thumb. He tends to rip the skin on the sides of his fingers, not unlike his mother. A broken nail that ripped down the side went bad. And when a 6 year old thinks he is a doctor, it makes things go bad. So pre-thumb surgery by the hub, his thumb looked like this:



Then the hub took tweezers and barely, and I mean barely, scraped the side of his thumb. The gore that escaped from his thumb made him scream. Lots of soaking and inspecting and soaking and stuffing of cotton under the nail happened. It still looks pretty awful, but we are hoping that it will look better tomorrow. All of us were trying to make jokes to make hime laugh and distract him from his pain and make the tears stop. He would start to giggle and then get mad and say, "You all are not understanding my pain...this is not a funny situation." That made us laugh harder. That kid is going to be a comedian someday.

Ending on a somewhat low note, G has been having trouble with some girls in class. One who says mean things and one who sits, knowing that it is wrong, and lets the girl have at her. Tonight G prayed for the girl to be her friend and that the girl will stop being mean to her. I pray that will happen. What an amazing heart that kid has.
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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Out of the mouths of babes...

It has been a super busy day. Sundays usually are, but today was a little bit extra busy with lots of rain added in for extra fun. Soggy, cool and busy. Not a great way to spend the day, but oh well. I also just realized that I had gone through the whole day with my ringer off, so for the two people who tried to get in touch with me, I am sorry. I always turn it off while I am working in church so as to not disturb service or a Sunday School class. Just one of those things. The hub and S were having "Dam Day #2" in the basement. As soon as I arrived home from work, I was sent back out for glue sticks and paint. When I arrived home with the specified items, I found G splayed out on the couch conked out, the boy nursing a sore thumb and S covered head to toe in papier mache' goo. She got cleaned up so we could go to visit our friend MC at the funeral home. Her sweet father passed away rather suddenly last week and we wanted to check on her, her daughter and family. She is S's dance teacher and our good friend and we are so sorry for her loss. We left from there for S to go to handbells and choir, leaving to go home just when the rain picked up to that of a mini monsoon. We arrived home to find the hub had prepared a nice meal for a rainy day including nice warm soup. The kids requested mugs to drink their soup today and asked me to pick them out one. Digging into the back of the cabinet, I pulled out a blast from the past that I really thought had broken and been tossed years earlier:



The boy looked at it and said, "That's before she started doing that 'twerking' thing right?". I was horrified, but said yes. I felt better when he then asked what "twerking" was. I never got to explain to him what it was because he suddenly said, "Can we throw that thing away? She's not for this house anymore." After that it became a sort of drawing of straws situation to see who would get stuck with the thing. Sorry, Miley. The recipient was not pleased.

Not a very exciting post tonight. I feel like I need to go to sleep very soon. The threat of thunder tonight may bring one of the kids in to visit in the night. We need to get a head start on sleep. Night all.


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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Dam day

This is blog post attempt number two. My Blogger app crashed and deleted three lovely, and somewhat humorous, paragraphs, never to be retrieved. It is funny how my previous attempt at a post talked about how I try very hard not to use profanity in front of my children, and I should attempt to not use it ever...and when my writing got deleted, well, some words were said. Luckily the children had retired to their rooms upstairs and their sweet, sensitive ears were spared the "foul filth filth and fouly filth foul" that escaped from my lips. It is certainly no excuse, but I am pretty tired. S had to make a model of a hydroelectric dam as part of a major school project, so she and the hub have worked and toiled on it all day. Words have been exchanged. Dam words. I chose to save myself and went outside to move the mass of leaves from the back to the front gulley, while the boy "peeled" sticks to turn them into "real wood" for his father. After moving several tarps full to the front, I went inside with the boy, sent him to Home Depot with his dad and sister and started walking G through baking some pumpkin muffins for our neighbor who was injured in a cycling accident. G is quite a little baker and immediately took over with only minimal instruction:



Sorry for the messy kitchen. It had dam stuff all over it. The muffins were baked and delivered along with the super leaf blower. We visited with our sweet buddies, A and CR, played show and tell with their new boot purchases and arrived back home in time for the Depot-ers' return. They got to the dam building project:



Before you cast judgement on cleanliness, they were in the hub's workshop in the basement. The massive lathe is right next to S. Behind them is our Christmas decoration shelf. Anyhoo...they did that so I then took the youngers outside to play in the front yard while I raked leaves out of the flower beds. S soon cale out for a break while the dam project dried in the oven. A sibling fight broke out, so the two youngers went to the back and S and I played soccer in the front yard. The across the street neighbors blew leaves with the massive blower. S kicks the ball to me...I trap it and try to do something I have done a thousand times before. Time 1001 was a massive fail as I learned that I am not destined to play soccer in Doc Martin boot, caught my foot on the flat ball, had my legs fly up in the air and busted my hump in front of the whole neighborhood. S had a split second look of horror which quickly turned into crying laughter. I did the same and popped right back up, noting that my hip and shoulder were screaming a bit. I have already informed the hub that he will truly have to kick me out of the bed tomorrow.

The bulk of the dam project is done. The kids are in bed and the hub has had his Saturday night bowl of ice cream. I am going to enjoy a cocktail of motrin and Airborne and hit the hay...if I can drag my sorry self up the stairs.
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Friday, November 15, 2013

The search officially begins...

Our beloved sweet puppy dog, Cosby, died June 23 of this year. It was her time and she was ready. Since then, we have navigated her loss in a bit of a fog. The house is so quiet and the habits of dog owners are hard to break. This morning, as I was cleaning up the crumbs from breakfast pumpkin muffins, I took the tablespoon of crumbs and turned to throw them in the dog bowl that wasn't there. I stood for a few minutes in the breakfast room, my breath gone, contemplating her loss like it was yesterday. My oldest has taken her loss the hardest as she was considered one of Cosby's pups and had been with her the longest of the children. The hub and I decided long before Cosby met her great reward that we would follow the lead of the children as to when we decided to start the search for a new companion. Some people worried that the kids would want a new puppy immediately, but I trusted their hearts. They have needed time as much or more than we have. So when S decided last month that she was ready to consider a new furry friend, we started online research. Yesterday, a friend sent me a picture of Rex, and English Lab mix who had been surrendered by his moving owner. His description called him a "leaner". I loved that. Sooo while the kids were in school, I paid old Rex a visit. He was leaning in his cage when I got there, looking bored and ready for some action. They took him outside so we could play for a bit. Bless his heart, he needed to lose a substantial amount of weight and was a bit of a mouthy guy. He never bit me, but he liked to taste my arms and hands with his whole mouth. We found a ball and played fetch for a bit. He faithfully brought the ball back every time, wearing out quickly due to the barrel he ate, based on his shape. He finally flopped down on the ground, eyes begging me to put the blasted ball down. As much as I wanted him to be the one to come home, I knew that we were not the right family for him. While I know he is totally trainable and can be free of his arm chewing habits, I feel that the kids would be too nervous around him during the training process. He will make someone an excellent pet. Sadly, just not ours.

Our journey has just begun and I know that we will find the right pup to join our family. It will be fun to play with a few litters before making a final decision. There could be worse jobs.


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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Things I've learned today...or again

I've had kind of a lonely day today. Never been one to just call someone out of the blue and ask if they want to go to lunch, well except my brother and sister in law. Fear of rejection? Maybe. Just never been good at that, so I hang at home by myself a lot. I got some cooking and baking done and took some experimental pumpkin muffins to a friend stranded inside with a sick child. I looked at some shoes I couldn't afford. I spoke with a neighbor, went to the grocery and watched a TV show that no one else in the family would watch without great complaint. I looked at the clock...12:18. Good grief. This day is dragging on and I am going to lose my mind. I picked children up from school, helped the boy with homework and put my inaugural batch of homemade meatballs in the oven to bake. I went out and blew leaves and raked and froze my toes off. I had various other things going on and I was bummed that I couldn't go see a concert with my friend, A. I have helped with bath time drama, school drama sadness and little known African country research paper tedium During my different travels and cooking and whatnot, I learned, or relearned, some things. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Just because a recipe says "Easy to make" doesn't always mean it is going to taste good. Sometimes effort and multiple ingredients really are essential to make a tasty dish.

1a. Don't promise to bring a sampling of said recipe to people before you have tasted the final product. You don't want your cooking skills judged by a new awful recipe.

2. Meatballs are fun to make and the meatball sandwiches we had for dinner tonight were a big hit. My 9 yr old called them "Mini meatloaf ball sammiches". Whatever it takes to get them to eat.

3. No matter how many of your childrenhave gone through it and come out the other side, when mean girls start their BS it breaks your heart every time. I just want to hide my baby away and reason with the others. But I know that is a waste of my time. I thank God for parents who loved me through it many years ago and so appreciate the love they gave me.

4. When you work for a church, friends near and far assume that this means you immediately become an expert on church doctrine. Thank goodness I have patient pastor friends who patiently answer my questions and steer me in the right direction.

5. People are very possessive of their place in the pickup line at school. Because I had a day like I did, I got to school early and got the first spot in line. The Jetta that usually gets the spot was ANGRY. Oh well.

6. And the topper of the evening. When sitting in the tub and playing in the water, sometimes one gets bored and "great" ideas come in your head. When experimenting on how fast the drain works and what will slow it down, 4 is the number of soggy sheets of paper it takes before the tub will no longer drain water. Yes, I said paper in the tub. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Still shaking my head on that one.

Time for the evening to come to a conclusion soon, I hope. A research paper is due tomorrow on a country that has very little information available about it...at least here. I have a feeling tonight's episode of Scandal will be viewed tomorrow. Oh well. Nothing new.


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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

I am creeped out...totally

So for some reason, I have started watching this season of American Horror Story: Coven. When I was in middle school, high school and college, I loved scary movies. The scarier the better. I don't know what it is, but after I had children I lost the stomach for the really scary stuff. I would watch action things and the serial crime drama, but none of the real hard stuff. The other day, in the midst of folding a mountain of socks and underwear, I went on demand and started watching this program. It has become like a spectacle...I can't take m eyes off of it. I am now completely caught up with the season and will be watching tonight but not sleeeping afterward. Jessica Lange has never been one of my favorite actresses though I completely appreciate her talent. She is fabulous in this.

On a completely different note, I got my hair cut today and got ingredients to make a new kind of pumpkin muffin. That is as exciting as my life is. Maybe tomorrow will be different.


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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Call from the past

My heart is heavy for many people today. Illness and sadness and tragic loss has been heavy on the menu today. My troubles and complaints seem so very small. Facebook was usually my lifeline to keep up with and lend typed commentary support to those who I don't see often or don't live near going through these situations. Once I got off there, I kind of felt off the cliff of knowledge and was even more clueless than usual. Every once in a while, I send a text to some people to check on them and make sure life is going as smoothly as it can go. I sent one of those texts to my friend Wes just to check up. He sent back a text saying they were dealing with childhood illness issues. I sent him a brief synopsis of our Spring and the still unresolved uncertainty surrounding what all happened to S's body. Tonight I got a sweet phone call from him, checking up on her and telling me the scary story surrounding his child's health crisis. I, truly, had not spoken to him since the day we graduated from high school, more than ahem cough cough years ago. It was nice to trade ideas and concern as parents and grown ups, not in English class together, but as people well past the immaturity of high school. I appreciate so much his and his wife's concern for our child and feel the same for his. In the midst of the negativity I feel towards lots of the aspects of social media, I am grateful for the support it gives during times of fear, of worry, of joy and of sorrow.

Say a prayer, hug the special special people in your life. Life is just too short.


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Monday, November 11, 2013

Gatti-land is not parent friendly

It has been a different day. Not bad, just different. The hub was off due to Veteran's Day, so we got to see each other for some quality time, you know, grout color selection at the Home Depot...for two. "Isn't it romantic...music in the night...". Since brevity is not my strong suit, I am going to do a list tonight in hopes that it will shut me up sooner.

1. My oldest and her soccer team won the championship in their particular soccer division. They were honored during halftime at the boy's basketball game tonight. I learned some things:
a. I knew there was a reason I didn't let her try out for the dance team. Skills they have, sure, but oversexualized dancing and pouty lipped seductive faces made me very uncomfortable. Creeped out? Yes.
b. I could never be the parent of a cheerleader...especially the flyer. I was so concerned that they were going to drop one of those kids, I needed nerve meds and none of them were mine. Besides that risk, the gym is so small it provides the perfect place for a tween boy to launch himself into one of said cheerleaders and get to second base without even meaning to do so. Awkward.
c. In regards to the after party for the soccer girls, I consider Mr. Gatti's maybe the 6th ring of hell as compared to Chuck E. Cheese's 3 or 4. Cold pizza with hair in it and playing $5 to get enough tickets for a Tootsie Roll a step smaller than a "midgie" is not my idea of haute cuisine. I am all for a good and fun celebration. Let's have it somewhere that parents can enjoy themselves and not go into the fetal position.

2. The hub and I went to the Depot to pick our grout color for the bathroom tile. Another experience that is not in my columns marked "Likes" or "Strengths". If someone would just give me three options that are acceptable, I would happily make a decision from three. This is the same reason why I should probably never build a house from the ground up. Too many decisions make me mentally turn to oatmeal.

3. I ask prayers for someone we are getting to know. His daughter is suffering from a rare form of cancer, She has beaten it once and will do it again. Such a burden for any person to bear, but they have such faith. My little quibbles seem so small in comparison. Hugging mine a little tighter tonight.

Night all. I will be up for a while after watching, against my better judgement, The Blacklist. Of course I turned on John Carpenter's The Thing to fold laundry and take a little snooze this afternoon, so clearly I am lacking in the good judgement department.

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Sunday, November 10, 2013

Odd trip to "The Kroger"

Our leftovers ran out today. Sigh. After a shoddy night's sleep and work this morning, I was pretty darn tired and not wanting to cook. The hub called and asked if I could pick something up before S got out of choir. I could do that. A good activity to keep me awake for sure. The right before dinner crowd was hustling and bustling, trying to pick those last ingredients for dinner and lunch fixings for the week. Feeling the pull and trying to resist the allure of discounted Halloween candy, I went to the random grocery cart filled with candy and searched for Reese's peanut butter pumpkins. Others felt the attraction as well and were gathered in a large crowd around the cart. Okay I didn't need it, so I decided to move on...tried to but couldn't due to the crowds scavenging for candy. One man was talking to two managers, trying to get accurate prices on the discounted candy...a bag of assorted Mars Co. candy offerings and Hershey bars. Someone tried to get the man to take a box of Brach's brand Turtles. He put his hands up in protest. "No, man. I stay away from those things. They are like heroin. I lived in the 60's and I would know." The two employees laughed nervously. "No, kids. I REALLY know." He moved on with his two big bags of candy leaving the two employees with priceless faces. So, candy lovers, stay away from the Turtles. You have been warned.


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Saturday, November 9, 2013

I may never walk again

My mother and I have just returned from an overnight trip to the land that Dolly built, Pigeon Forge. While I tend to avoid this place ten months out of the year, there are a few times I do find myself there. Field trips to the aquarium that is actually in Gatlinburg and Christmas/school shopping. Now, for those of you who have not met me or who have only read this blog a few times, I am not a shopper. I am not the stereotypical female portrayed by Hollywood who shops til she drops, whipping out the credit card in a flash and burning through piles of cash she doesn't have. Even on a girls weekend several years ago where we got a cabin and shopped, I petered out after two hours. I have the stamina, but lack the patience. Starting at about 10am yesterday we shopped until 3pm, checked into our hotel, turned around and got dinner and shopped until 9. We got up, ate breakfast, started shopping at 9am and shopped until we arrived back to the ranch at 7pm. By the time we were at the mall trying desperately to find boots for G, we ran into one of my coworkers who saw us and, in our frazzled and exhausted state, probably questioned how sound my mind was for working with children. I was about one more "Would you like a massage, lady?" from cracking. And while we are on that subject, I would love to have a massage after shopping like we did. That would be Heaven, I think. Never had one. But I cannot fathom having a massage in front of the Hollister and Pottery Barn stores while 7,000 of my closest friends stared, thinking only of that infamous Modern Family episode.

I will be working tomorrow, walking the halls of the preschool wing and checking on little people. If I am limping like a cripple, there is a reason. Pity me and move on...words are not necessary. And I may cry.


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Friday, November 8, 2013

Guest Blog Post

Yes, the hub has been entrusted to post to the blog... What shall I write about:

1. The two trips to Home Depot
2. The trip to the barber shop
3. The plumbing job gone awry
4. The food delivery to Jenny's Uncle D
5. The unplanned conference calls for work.

I guess the day didn't go as planned for me. The barber was an angry man... He had planned a weekend away, but his help didn't show up. I sure hope he didn't take out his frustration on the back of my head. I was a little concerned that my head is going to have the inverse trucker mullet like Jenny's Uncle D after neck surgery. Speaking of Uncle D, he seems to be doing fine for a "Miracle Man." I was the driver and Pops made the drop off of food goodies. Uncle D came out to say hello to the driver. I was impressed!

Home Depot trip one: After working on the downstrairs bathroom, I thought I had discovered the way to get water back to the upstairs bathroom. We went to Home Depot. I thought... now is the time to buy the shower set, but i had questions. I sent my trusted accomplice to find someone. He seemed to disappear for about 5 minutes and I saw him walk by saying, I am still looking. He found someone to help. As she approached, she handed me a pad of paper and said hello in a different tone than I was used to hearing. It wasn't East Tennessee, she was a person who was deaf. I took a deep breathe and remembered working with someone from the deaf community. We went back and forth several times on the notepad and she ended up ripping open the box. I got the answer I needed and away we went.

Got home and started working on the plumbing and then realized I had a conference call at 1. I listened for a while and eventually the call stopped and I could go back to focusing on plumbing. I cut the copper pipe, spliced PEX with a fancy coupler and ran down to turn the water on. I turn the water on and went to check the toilet. No water... CRUD... I studied it for a while and then it was time to pick up the kids from school. Fortunately, G's tutor had to cancel so I had more time to focus on plumbing. I went back to workon the plumbing with G and F as helpers... as in, It would be a great help if you stayed out of the way. The accomplice went off and picked up Sarah. I started to tear into the wall with the plumbing. TIle and plaster everywhere, the accomplice appeared and started vacuuming and carrying stuff out. I then discovered the problem. There was another pipe hidden. It wasn't going to be easy, unless I went back for trip 2 to the Depot (or the Home Despot as a former boss used to call it).

I got the parts together and standing in the aisle, I ordered Pizza for the kids to be delivered. I continued to shop and planned out the remainder of the plumbing for the day. Pizza was waiting as I returned from the Despot. I think I turned on my stomach vacuum and inhaled. I then went about plumbing... With a few gentle reminders to WRITE the GUEST Blog post.... I got both the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms functioning again. A shower is calling my name, and then I looked up to see G reading the Christmas Lists that J had called me about earlier.

It's another day in paradise... I have great respect that J gets as much done as she does around the house. Juggling 3 kids, their schedules, their cares and their fears is not easy basis on a day in and day out basis.

I truly LOVE my wife. She blesses me everyday.

Goodnight all!



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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Is it really time start decking the halls?

According to local retail, Christmas season started about a month ago. I went in Hobby Lobby to get some wooden cut outs for a school project only to find Mr. Jack O'Lantern sharing conversation with Saint Nicholas and the holy family. I think Miles Standish might have tried to get in on the conversation by offering some sort of turkey dinner, but Frosty wasn't having it. Whatever. My mother and I are leaving tomorrow for one night and are going to the land of outlets and Dolly, of airbrushed t-shirts and Pfaltzgraff, to try and get a large chunk of Christmas shopping and general winter clothing shopping done before "Black Friday" arrives...well, this year it is more like "Sell Your Family Thanksgiving Dinner Out for a Cheaper Flatscreen at Kmart Thursday". By the wee hours of the Friday after Turkey day, the hub and I are fighting the throngs to find the few deals we still need while feasting on coffee, more coffee and the pure entertainment value of people watching during the madness. We never fail to be shocked and impressed when seeing some deal-thrill seeker with a cart full of crock pots or three baskets full of spatulas because, well, "you just don't see deals like that every day." Kind of like my mom and I today at Kroger. Since we are entering the season of holiday baking, we jumped on a Land O Lakes butter deal and ended up splitting 10lbs of butter for a ridiculous price. Hey...HEY! Don't judge me. Or if you want, you can. Just don't expect any baked goods left on your porch.

So just say a little prayer that we have success tomorrow and Saturday and that our sanity is in tact when we leave the land that Dolly built. It should be interesting.


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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Nefarious use of meds

I am writing this late after having had a crazy day and ending it with a nice conversation with my father. My oldest came home early from school, complaining of a sore throat and sinus issues. I was praying that strep was not striking again. I have kind of hit my limit of Purell and Lysol this week. While she was draped on a sheet on our bed, I was frantically trying to finish work on baby doll "D" so she could be reunited with her little girl this evening. I ended up giving her a skirt to help keep her legs from falling off:



I also gave her a bonus accessory if her owner wanted to dress her up a bit:



A little rag ballet skirt. D's owner was just happy to have her back. I think the moms enjoyed the skirt. I was just relieved that her stay at the hospital and her treatment was little girl and mother approved.

The hub took S to th NP to get some relief from her health issue. I was guessing sinus infection...and I was right. No strep, thank goodness. Upon her insistence, the hub, against his better judgement, let her get the pill version of antibiotic. This pill was the size of her pinky and, for someone who could barely swallow a pill the size of a Tic Tac, she had a horrible time swallowing it. Words were exchanged between parents and child and a call to the pharmacy was made. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the liquid version of her antibiotic without a new prescription. I offered to return the tablet meds with no expectation of reimbursement and pay the agreed upon amount for liquid, but no dice. If she continues to have issues with the tablets, they may try to talk to the NP tomorrow and see if they would write a new script. "You see, m'am, you would be in possession of double antibiotics." Um, what does that mean? I have never been accused of nefarious use of Augmentin, but there's a first time for everything.

Hopefully everyone is sleeping well, S with her crushed up antibiotics in her gullet and the little girl reunited with her baby doll "D". I will hopefully have sweet dreams of my apparent misuse of anti-sinus infection meds. Whatever. Night all.
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Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The hub's a pin cushion

Today the hub went to the surgery clinic to start the process of injections all over again. November 12 of lst year, he had major back surgery on his L4-L5 region. Unfortunately, we are back in the land of bad back pain and epidural steroid injections. Today was one of three he could possibly have. While he was IV'ed up and in LaLaLand dreaming of happy pain-free backs, I was in the waiting room laughing out loud at season 4 of The IT Crowd. I had to bite my tongue a few times or risk getting dirty looks for the guffaws coming from my belly. Afterwards, I took the hub to get lunch in his empty belly and then home for a nap to try and sleep off the rest of the sleepy juice. Praying this goes well and takes this time.

On another health note, my Uncle David had surgery today to remove a tumor/cyst/unwanted mass from the base of his neck. After a longer surgery and bigger incision than previously thought, he is out and being called the "Miracle Man" by his docs. They did not have to cut any nerves and the growth did not go into the bone. We are just waiting to find out the results of the biopsy. Our prayer is for no cancer.

Completely different note, my son informed me, as I was peeling potatoes to make soup, that potatoes can be male or female...depending on if they have make up on their eyes. It is a good thing the knife was not in my hand. I would have cut my hand off laughing so hard. Night all.


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Monday, November 4, 2013

Germaphobe is my new name

Okay, I'm not exactly a germaphobe, but I am getting to that point. I've had a kid home with strep today, one who called for an emergency Mucinex dose during school and one who can't keep his hands away from his face...so something's coming. Our family has become somewhat of a joke or punchline here lately. With my oldest constantly injured in sports and the three of them seeming to catch everything that comes down the pike PLUS my poor husband with the back that will not get better, people just shake their heads and laugh upon hearing the scourge of the day. So not a surprise that I was sitting in the residential sick ward most of the day. I did go get the super duper leaf blower for the neighbor and discussed doll repair strategy with my friend D. In that vein, I think I am going to make baby doll "Dee" a skirt. She needs to hide her raggedy little bum and update her look just a bit.

Tomorrow I take the hub to get another injection in his back. We were supposed to go two weeks ago, but sinus infection nixed that dream. I'm just really praying that this one will give him some relief. If not, we will regroup and figure out his next step. Either way, prayers and positive thoughts would be appreciated. The man has got to get some relief. And so do the rest of us.

Going to check the laundry and get myself ready for The Blacklist. Hope I can awake for it. Love me some James Spader.

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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Repair of great importance

So, as I have put on here from time to time, I sew. But unlike my friends D and A, I am not one who can sew any kind of clothing. I even took a beginner's sewing class to learn how to read and interpret the lingo on an actual dress pattern. I made two dresses, but I can't honestly tell you how that happened. Our instructor was nice, but she took the pattern as a mere suggestion and wanted me to do it her way. Because of this, I still don't know terms like "selvage" and think bias tape is created by the devil. But, I can sew creatures, puppets, bunnies and bears...and the occasional "Substitute Creature" hat. Okay I lied, I did make pants and a makeshift bathrobe for Walter and Jeff Lebowski dolls I made. Not the greatest example of my skilss, but they were awfully funny. Well, you can imagine my surprise when a little girl at church entrusted me with her doll baby "Dee" that she does not go to bed without. She is well into her elementary school career, so this doll is a serious companion. Dee's legs are full of batting, or polyfil of some kind, and they look like they are on their way to possibly falling off. So here is my chance to make her some little pants that will fit her nicely, look stylish and, most importantly, keep her legs on. And it needs to be done in a timely manner. This girl needs to be able to sleep and her companion needs to be by her side.

I feel honored and burdened to be the one to help her with the repair. I don't want to do anything that will injure or mar the sweet doll, but she will be different after the process. Often when we are entrusted with something of great importance to another, we feel the wieght of responsibilty and the honor of the trust. Just say a little pray I don't ruin this poor child's childhood by giving her doll pants that are not conducive to good sleep at night. Dolly "Dee" has a big job and needs to have her legs on right to up her game.

Enjoy your sleep. I will be int his bed wide awake and trying to figure out how to do the best surgery on her that I can. Eeek.


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Saturday, November 2, 2013

How bazaar, how bazaar

Our church had their every other year bazaar today. I feel guilty, because I didn't make anything for it this year. I truly just ran out of time. Instead, the boy and I made a trip down there to spend some money and support missions. He made out like a bandit. Got a little Lego set, a book on drawing whales and sharks and some chocolate-peanut butter fudge. I stupidly picked up a very unique old pitcher, put it down to think about it and had a lady swipe it. Newman. I really wanted that thing. Oh well. Afterwards, we made runs to Home Depot for the Kids' Workshop and a "bagsy". The boy enjoyed constructing a boat:



After a quick birthday present purchase at Target, we returned to the ranch. The boy was to make a birthday card and then construct his Lego set. I set to fill the bagsy with tile removed from the bathroom and then blow the leaves in the front yard. At one point, a nice Acura SUV drove slowly by the house. He waved, smiled and gave me a thumbs up. The wife, I assume, shot me a death look and gave me a thumbs down. This has happened before and for two reasons. (1)The husband has admired the leaf blower we have. It is about a good 15 years older than I am easily but just like a full force gale(nod to Van Morrison) on wheels. It will put a hurt on some yard leaves. (2) I enjoy doing yard work for the most part. I like to mow and get the leaves off the grass and ready to be sucked up by the giant trucks. Apparently in my neck of the woods, wives don't like to do the leaf blowing so much as maybe the husbands want them to and this is a picture to show the wives that they can indeed do the lawn. Two things more. (1)You cannot have our blower and (2)I am not the poster wife for yard work and the role it plays in marital strife. I have a husband with a horrible back problem. This is something I can do for him.

After the yard work came the house cleaning. I listened to music that was designed to help me work and annoy my children all at the same time. A little bonus tohelp me whistle while i work, so to speak. I folded clothes and put away easily 25 pairs of socks and 35 pairs of underwear. I know that is a lot. Just know I lost the game of chicken with my family as to who would put the clean laundry away first. Apparently they could be carpetbaggers indefinitely. I could not. Oh well. They are now safely tucked into bed, the boy grinding his teeth and G is coughing a lot with allergies. Looks like it's gonna be a vap-o-rub on the feet kind of night. Great.

One last thing. I have gotten an unusual amount of hits to this blog in the last few days. While I hoped it was because of my witty anecdotes, I knew better. There is apparently a woman with my same name who is battling breast cancer in the, what I would call, northern midwest. Her friends have set up a site to raise funds for her surgery and treatment. As I have stated before, breast cancer hits very close to my heart. Two of my aunts, several friends and acquaintances are survivors and a couple friends of mine received their complete healing, but not here on Earth with us. I hope you'll add this Jennifer Cook to your prayers. Good night, all.
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Friday, November 1, 2013

Corn is not my friend

Not a whole lot to report today. We all woke up with a candy/Halloween hangover. Wrangling children and dodging cars while trying not to get them to eat fun sized Snickers until they puke is exhausting. The coffee was a big help this morning...as was the tiny little snooze I took between jobs. A friend and I took a trip this morning to TInsel and Treasure, the Junior League's Christmas craft and gift show. We saw some neat things and I picked up a few presents. Anything I can do to knock a few gifts off the list is great. There were some strange things. Lots of weird chair cushions and bathtub fixers. There was a woman advertising a book about the Christmas tree angel. Appropriately, she was dressed as the actual angel in the book. She sat still and stoically, staring ahead and creeping me out. I wanted to get a picture of her, but I just couldn't do it. There was another person, a gentleman, advertising his book. Interesting title:



I did not purhase the book or talk to its author, but I thought about it. It was a thing.

With everyone else engaged on some sort of activity this evening, the boy and I decided to go to dinner with my brother and sister in law to Senor Taco. While I enjoy aspects of the Mexican food, the heavy corn aspects do me no good. The boy and I are both feeling the hurt right now. I have taken a Tagamet or something like that along with milk and Tums and whatever else I can find. Tonight is not going to be a fun one. I guess the fact that I am watching "Witness" and will be freaked out about bad guys with sawed off shotguns in silos, well, I'll be up for a while. And the fact that I just had the revelation that the mustachioed corrupt police officer in this movie was also the hockey player, Rosie LaRose, in Strange Brew....mind blown.  It is also the movie wheere I learned what asphyxiation was.  Never to early to learn about that, but that is a story for another day.

I need to go to bed. My brain is going all kinds of crazy. Blame the corn.




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