Lost my passion

Hello, friends. I am trying to get back into writing some, but I'm having a hard time. I'm currently sitting at the soccer fields waiting for G to finish her soccer practice for the middle school boys' team. She and her friend D are the only girls and are having a great time. The season has been a bit frustrating, but they have enjoyed themselves. The wind is blowing so hard that it almost blew my iPad off the picnic table here. That would have been a sad day for me and a long evening for my family as I bellyached my time away about a cracked iPad. My dad is doing as well as can be expected following the loss of my mother. We all still feel as though we are living in a nightmare and are waiting to wake up and see her beautiful face...and smell her wonderful scent. But, alas, that is not to be. Since I last posted, my oldest has attended the prom with her friend. That was tough since I am the tomboyest of tomboys and am not one for dresses or makeup. She looked lovely I must say. The kids are now winding up their school year. Three-ish weeks left and then summer will explode. This week G goes to the county prelims for track. She has been a beast with the discus and will hopefully throw well again to represent her school. The boy is hoping to be a safety patrol next year, so I went to his meeting tonight to sign the paperwork. They find out on Friday, so let's all say a little prayer. I think he should get a spot, but nothing seems certain anymore, so I'm not getting hopes up until I hear the announcement. S is working hard to audition for drum captain and drum line again this year. She is drumming on everything she can. Good times.

I will try to post on a more regular basis. It just is going to take some time.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers during this time. We will survive this...somehow.

Night all.


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Heartbroken

I still can't say a whole lot right now without falling apart. I have been absent from the blog for a while. Saturday, February 11, my mother had been going through her day. Nothing out of the ordinary. They had gone to a funeral for an elderly neighbor. They returned home, changed clothes and started pulling out items for an early dinner. After a phone call, my mom told my dad that she wasn't feeling great and was going to lay down for a bit. My mom went from a perfectly healthy person to unconscious in a matter of hours. My brother and I raced to their town to find she had experienced a stroke which resulted in a brain bleed that was inoperable. The next day, the neurosurgeon gave us the devastating news that the catastrophic bleeding had damaged her brain stem beyond repair. She was gone. In our fog and despair, we worked with our state's organ donor service and filled out the necessary paperwork to donate any and all organs and tissue and blood vessels that could be used. It truly felt unreal...walking through a nightmare from which we could not escape. It still feels that way. My brother and I stayed with Dad last week while the hub and the kids went back home. We have been surrounded and embraced by many friends and family. We had a beautiful celebration of life. I have lost my hero. Did we have our clashes? Yes, but what mother-daughter duo does not. She was the best person I have ever known. I still can't talk about her in the past tense. My brain cannot wrap itself around all of this. Probably never will. I'll say these few things and then be done for a bit.

1. Hug your loved ones. You never know when it is the last time.
2. Consider being an organ donor. For our family, it is one of the positive things in this nightmare that is helping us through...the fact that our tragedy can give another family a second chance since Mom was so healthy.
3. The suddenness of this is devastating, but I am so glad she went quickly. The thought of my super active vibrant mom being disabled and dependent on others is one that she would have never been able to be at peace with. She slipped away peacefully next to my dad.

There are many other things, but I just can't do it right now. The two most difficult things I have ever done in my life I have done in the last week: kissed my mother goodbye for the last time and kissed my dad goodbye and left him alone in that big house of theirs.

I keep thinking we'll all wake up, but I know we are living a nightmare. It will get better. Day by day. WIth God's help, it will get better.

Night all.


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Not much to say

I am currently frozen and am in need of boiling myself in the shower. Sorry for that visual. The hub and I stood outside to order food from a food truck and wait for their square to accept our card. While his burger and my Cuban sandwich were tasty, I got so cold that I could not remedy said problem by zipping up my coat and willing myself to be warm. While I would normally rely on the kindness of one of the children to snuggle up with and warm up their mother, they are all currently occupied with friends for a few hours. SO I am left to rely on the strength and constitution of our water heater to provide boiling H2O in which to fix the chill.

The mirror is fogging up, so I think we are good.

Night all.


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Oops

My child wrote the blog post last night, but I didn't post it for her. Whoops. I was so out of it last night, I didn't know what was going on. We've had a busy day of errand running, bunny building and pancake making. My two extra sons(friends of S's since kindergarten)and their cousin came over for pancakes at 10:30 this morning. Their parents had to work and I had buttermilk that needed to be used, so they put away some pancakes and provided some comic relief before leaving to go to soccer tryouts for school. I had to do some work at work this afternoon and I also indulged and watched Boo! A Madea Halloween this afternoon. I laughed so hard I cried. True story.

That is about the extent of my day...oh and the oldest and I went driving in a new area. And we didn't kill each other.

Night all.


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One day of school

Hey it is G. I am writing the blog for Mom. She is really tired. I only had to go to school one time this week. It was cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday. But due to sickness we can not have it at all this week. It is nice not having school because you can actually go somewhere. Without being stuck in the house all day due to snow. But I do feel bad for the people that have the sickness that is going around. Sometimes I like being out of school, but I miss my friends when I am out. Today we went out and had lunch together. Later while we were going to church, S thought she left her jacket at Salsarita's. We have no idea where it is. So if you find it report to me!!! :)))))


Night all!!!!!!


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Day One

So here we are in school sponsored sick day number one. My sinus infection reached a new yuck point and the kids were ready to enjoy their unexpected day of freedom. The boy enjoyed some online gaming with his buddy on the xbox. The girls enjoyed sleeping in and then making plans for the day. I was able to sew up a few bunnies to prepare them for stuffing. I hit the wall by about 11:00am...just about the time the kids were ready to get crazy. Unfortunately for them, crazy turned into a trip to the grocery for more meds and a trip to Hobby Lobby to get more poly-fil to stuff bunnies. I can sit and stuff a bunny and cough and lay my head back for a little while. Then G helped me get crazy and put some stickers on the back of my car. I've had one of those removeable stickers on the inside of my back window, but nothing else. That's how boring of a day we've had...but I am totally fine with that. Currently, one has gone to the movies, one is xboxing(guess who) and one is asleep on the couch. Party animals we are.

I'm going to take some more meds and get another layer of clothes on.

Night all.


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Well, that is interesting

I got a panicked but hopeful text from my oldest this afternoon. "Is school really out the next two days?!?!?!". I was confused since there was no snow on the ground. No tornado damage knocking out power to the schools. "Not that I know of...let me check around." SO I checked Twitter and the different news websites and the school website. Nothing. Then the 12 year old texted and stated the same material. "I don't know. There is nothing out there for public consumption, so I have no clue." Then more panicked, but excited, texts. One had already been invited for a sleepover at a friend's house. "We don't have sleepovers on school nights...you know that." "But MOM, the teachers say that it is cancelled....so I can spend the night?". Ugh. Finally, an adult person with credibility beyond hearing rumors in the hallway texted that school was indeed cancelled for the next two days due to illness. Lots of the counties around us have been closed and teacher, student and substitute absences warranted a shut down and deep clean of our school system as well. I think the cheering volume level just about blew the roof off the schools. Mine are certainly happy...especially since we are having a tropical winter and those snow days are just sitting there unused.

So we will get to sleep in and I can sleep off some cold medication. Thank goodness.

Night all.


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Super Bowl Snoozeday

I did not sleep well last night or at all. Then I made the choice, questionable as it turned out to be, to take full strength Sudafed before work this morning. Not the Sudafed light, but the stuff you have to show ID for and soon, at least for our super meth making state, will probably have to give some sort of urine sample in order to purchase. The whole morning I felt like I was watching myself work while worms crawled through my hair. It was not pleasant, because I had to try and communicate with others. It was a challenge for sure. So when I got home, I really wanted to have a nap, but remembered that the Valentine's Dance is this coming Saturday and I needed to get the girls each a dress. Got that done and then I sat down to watch the Puppy Bowl with the boy. Let's just say, I watched enough to hear the one legged dog was from Tennessee and then I conked out hard for 20 minutes. Because of that indiscretion, I will probably not be able to sleep tonight, but boy did it feel nice. We rounded out the afternoon by helping the hub clean the rest of the garage(mouse count up to 7 caught in there...yuck). The girls are currently at church at the youth Super Bowl party. The boy, the hub and I have consumed pizza and are watching from the comfort of our couch. I was in pajamas before 6pm. There's no shame in that. In terms of commercials so far, the favorite so far being Terry Bradshaw with the stain on his shirt. That's all I've got.

Going to go snuggle with my boy and see if I can make to half time before cooking out again.

Night all.


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I'm Kinda Tired

We had our big fundraising dinner this evening to benefit the youth summer mission trips. It was quite the affair with beautiful table decorations, a silent auction, wonderful entertainment and gourmet food. S and I went in this morning to help with food prep. I can honestly say that the two of dealt more with sweet potatoes this morning than we ever have in entire loves. S peeled five gajillion potatoes and I chopped and peeled that many as well. We both have the inconvenient blisters on our fingers to prove it. We chopped apples and made stuffing for the pork loin with our favorite dentist. How funny is that? Yesterday he was cutting half of my tooth off to make way for a crown and today he was instructing me on cube size for sweet potato pieces. He did stop to check and see if I was experiencing pain from yesterday. I fibbed a little and told him I was fine. It may just be residual tenderness from the numbing and work that went on in there yesterday. Hopefully that white lie won't come back to bite me in the form of a root canal. Serves me right if it does. If only I could relieve my stress a different way other than clenching my teeth. Crack..crack..CROWN ME!!

Anyhoo, enough about my screwed up dental work. The entertainment was great. I enjoyed seeing my oldest get up and play her ukulele along with another player and a singer. Elvis is always a hit and I think they were successful. My favorite magician performed tonight. If you want to look him up, go to YouTube and look up "Ed Ripley Cups and Balls" and you can see him. I usually don't use the full names of relatives or friends on here since they might not want to be mentioned and I am usually writing this at night. So if I were to call relative X up at 10:30pm on a Saturday night, they would answer the phone with "What's wrong?!?! Do you need us" and not "Am I on the blog tonight, because yes you can mention me thanks for asking." It might make Thanksgiving dinner a little strained, so I just refer to them by their first initial. But Ed is an entertainer. He's also a nuclear metallurgist, a musician, a crafter, a genius and a gifted magician. He has several patents. He is friends with one of the top balloon artists in the world and he has created tricks for some of the big Vegas magic acts. And coolest of all? He's our friend. So whenever he is doing any part of his act, buddy we are THERE. My kids think he is the bomb diggity, so naturally, they enjoyed the heck out of him.

In the midst of all these preparations, my sainted husband was at home cleaning out the garage of all the crud that is providing refuge for apparently the whole mouse population of our neighborhood. As of 9:50 tonight, we have caught 6 mice in two days. He got all of the sawdust out and the old lumber and crap out and took it to the dump. So now, when we pull into the garage, we can easily see the carnage from the t-Rex mousetraps right on the middle of the garage. Yuck.

After all that, I just want to say thank you to all those who came to the meal or helped with the meal or brought something for the auction. It all is helping these kids with the opportunity to go minister to those who need God's love so desperately. What a gift all the way around!

Night all.


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Time in the Chair

I spent some time in the chair this morning. Two hours almost. I got numbed and then numbed again. I don't think I've ever had a needle in the roof of my mouth before today, but there's a first time for everything. Even with the suction, my panicked swallowing probably netted me a good cup's worth of ground up tooth powder sludge in my stomach. Yuck. I now am the proud owner of a temporary crown and a sore mouth. But at least the crack and hellish pain are no more. My dentist is the best and thank goodness he is a patient man. I behave when I am there, but it did not feel good. At all. I'll go back in a couple of weeks for my permanent, pretty crown.

The girls are gone to the movies and a party and the boys are messing with the xbox. I'm listening to a documentary about a prison break in Ohio on Easter Sunday. Really uplifting stuff.

That's about all I've got. It is getting close to bedtime.

Night all.


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T-Rex Strikes Again

Sorry to all of you out there who are against any kind of animal killing. This post will not be for you. We have a garage that is unique in that it has a door at the front and the back. Since it only holds one car, it has to have something in it to make it more palatable. The mechanism of the back garage door is held up partially by a 2x4 that runs from one side to the other. Every so often, we will see a little creature run across the 2x4 to another location. This is kind of freaky and makes us not want to be in the garage all that often. We do have woods behind our house and the neighbors have a wood pile and a yard they never mow, so there are plenty of little rodents hanging around. The pest control guy came on Wednesday and put two mouse traps called "T-Rex" traps on the 2x4. Since then, we check the status of the traps. They have not moved since they were put out...until tonight. We opened the garage and, eek, there was only one trap. Where was the other one? I was not going to look. I'm a chicken. I told the hub who said he would check it when he got home. I got a "We got one!" Text. Kind of reminds me of Ghostbusters. So glad we got it. I have no life.

I get a new tooth tomorrow. I pray I can make it through the night tonight, O thought I was going to tear the house apart it hurt so bad last night. Clove oil rescued me.

Night all.


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Laundry Lady

I was a basement dweller today.  Laundry was taking over the entire house and I had to address the problem.  SO, I took the ipad and laundry down to the dungeon and got things started.  While waiting for the load to be done, I watched a documentary and sewed a bunny.  It is closing in on bunny season and I need to get to sewing.  I need stronger glasses to thread the needle, but it is always nice to get back in front of the machine and create something. 

I did get the laundry done and even snuck into the oldest's room and got hers done as well.  She was in dire need of clothing, so it was a good thing.

Now I am going to finish up at work and go to bed.

Night all.

Good voice gone

John Wetton, one of my favorite singing voices, died today after a battle with colon cancer.  My brother listened to him in King Crimson for years and then we listened to him as the lead singer of Asia.  How much more 1980's can you get than them?  I have been singing "Heat of the Moment" all evening with a little pit in my stomach.  He had a beautiful voice that will be missed, but his suffering will be no more.  In honor of his memory, I will sing medleys of Asia music all evening.

Night all.

Tooth update

In the category of "No one cares, Jenny", I went to the dentist today. They took X-rays, which were long overdue and that is my fault. But they took them and found a nice, healthy crack in it. Nice. Basically I am practicing the art of avoidance right now until Friday. Drinking any beverage out of a straw; chewing on the opposite side; not breathing with my mouth open outside(that one is my rule); not breathing with my mouth open ever. Come Friday, the coronation ceremony will begin and I will have a crowned tooth, well a temporary until the super duper one is crafted. According to my friend and dentist, I clench my teeth. I do indeed. When I am concentrating or angry or stressed, I clench my teeth and then I crack those suckers. This is the third one to fall prey to my apparent clenching problem. Maybe I need a squeezey stress ball. Who knows. Whatever the case, I will have another piece of porcelain in my mouth soon enough.

Chew on that thought.

Night all.



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Long Day...super long

Here is a quick scenario before I conk right out(I hope).

1. Arrived at work at 7am

2. Unloaded car full of many bags with items in them for a shower

3. Worked my job and wrangled kids and parents

4. Helped set up for shower and make punch and assisted the hub in sausage ball baking

5. Helped work shower and dip punch and refill trays of food

6. Helped clean up

7. Went to church council

8. Picked up the oldest from a Guatemala trip meeting

9. Arrived home 8pm ish

10. A bunch of other stuff happened

11. Now praying for a snow day to have a rest from the weekend

!2. Night all.

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This tooth

Good grief, my friends. My tooth is going to be the true push my cart needs down the steep path into insanity. My dentist is the best and does a wonderful job. I just cannot get time to get there and they are a busy office and the dental work I face will probably be around a gajillion dollars. So I will apply clove oil every night and pray that I can put it on once without burning the crap out of my mouth. I haven't been too successful with that so far. BUT, after the intense burning ceases, there is a numbness that happens...or it may be nerve damage. I'm not sure. I'll keep you op to date with the latest on all that.

I'm going to go get a bath and watch "Mean Girls" and prepare for an insanely busy day tomorrow.

Night all.


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Tribute

We had a lovely evening remembering my uncle and crying and laughing and remembering again and crying and laughing some more. So many people came to pay their respects to the family and to tell what my uncle had done to better their lives. We were treated with wonderful pictures of him and could not believe how much his grandsons and nephews looked so much like him. His memory will live on in all of those young ones running around. I just ask you to pray for the family. It is quite a blow. He was just the best.

After that, I am going to go put some more clove oil on my tooth. The heartbeat pain in my tooth is like a metronome of torture. Ouch.

Night all.


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Watch out, vampires

It was spaghetti night at our house and I made two sauces, tomato and meat sauce and clam sauce. I may have over garlic smashed. The food was good, I must say, but I feel like I am sweating garlic right now. Dracula best stay away from this house. He won't like what he finds.

I am going to have to give in and go see the dentist next week. I went to get my tooth fixed on Nov.2 and it has never stopped being sensitive. Giving it the old college try did not work and I am giving up. I think I've going to have to pull out the clove oil and pray I can get it right on my tooth and not scorch the rest of my mouth like I did last time. It was brutal...but it worked for me like it did for Dustin Hoffman in "Marathon Man"...with out the sadistic dentist.

Night all.


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Time slow down

My oldest is looking up colleges and test scores and scholarship information.  I am not ready for this to be happening.  Just yesterday, I was watching her walk into her Kindergarten room for the first time.  Now she is planning her community service hours, looking at schools all over including TEXAS and looking about scholarship money.  I am sitting here getting queasy.  Ugh.  I am proud she is excited and proactive.  I am.  

I am going to clean up a few things and then watch the Match Game.  I have no life.  

Night all.

Short post from a sleepy mom

It is close to bedtime, so I am not much for writing anything deep or fun or anything. Two of the three children have conked out and one is hopefully winding down. I've been searching for t shirts for the family for my uncle's funeral on Friday. We are all to wear funny t shirts since he would have wanted a light and fun service rather than a down and depressing one. I have three out of the fiv located. Hopefully I can find two more that will do him proud.

Wanted to share what his coworkers did for him. He was the pharmacist at a particular CVS store for years and his employees LOVED him...who wouldn't. This was discovered:



Started the waterworks up again.

Night all.
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Get cold

I am kind of feeling cheated by this winter so far, not gonna lie. I enjoy cold weather and snow and sledding and justifiable hot chocolate and lazing around in your long johns by the fire after a good snowball fight. In the night, I woke up to the thunderous sound of a monsoon apparently hitting the area. My first thought as I was flipping and flopping around, trying to find a comfortable pillow arrangement, was "Is the basement flooding?". My next thought for a good long time was, "if it was 28 degrees outside, what a crazy amount of snow we would have right now". I thought of all the exciting things we could do and the massive amounts of snow cream and snow runs we would have. When I realized that there was no point in getting up and checking the basement at that point because it would wake up the dog and a couple of children, I just finally fell back to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. Hopefully we'll get some cold back and another couple of good snows before spring comes. Until then, I will keep watching snow heavy movies to get me through. Just maybe not The Shining...happy snow. Happy snow.

Night all.


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The World's a Little Less Everything Today

Not sure I have a whole lot to say tonight. We all have a relative or two who make a great impact upon our life and leave every door they darken a better place because they've entered it. My uncle was one of those people. I can remember as a little girl getting to go behind the counter of the pharmacy and sitting in the chair he sometimes used to count pills and fill prescriptions. He'd take us around the store and introduce us to everybody. He gave the most painless shots and got us mess inrecord time. He was one of the first to see all of my babies when they were first born since he worked right near the hospital and could swaddle like no one's business. He and my aunt were the young cool ones who drove a mustard yellow Volvo and had a cool dachshund named Andrea. He even climbed through the window to get me when I locked myself in a room and couldn't get out...and that was just last year. Ha, kidding. I was like 4 or so. He loved t-shirts with crazy sayings, Goodwill and Soupy Sales. He was an incredible cook, a hard worker and a Monty Python lover. He fiercely loved his seven beautiful grandchildren, his grog Bleu and was devoted to his high school sweetheart. He was a devoted son, brother, father, uncle, grandfather, husband. Just a stellar human being and man of God. When this whole journey started in April 2016, he put his trust in God and knew His will would be done. He fought valiantly through brutal treatments and fought like a champ to the end. Our loss early this morning is Heaven's gain. He has a new body and is no longer suffering. I worry for my aunt as she has been such a rock during this whole journey. She is tired and has lost the love of her life and needs prayers, but her hope rests in God.

Thank you, friends, for sticking with me during this journey and your patience and I have oh so often over shared. I appreciate it so very much.

Hug your uncles and aunts and moms and dads and loved ones tightly.

Night all.


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Bucket List

I got to cross an item off my bucket list tonight. My son and I went to see a concert that has been way too long in the making for me. We went to see Ronnie Milsap at the Tennessee Theatre. Sure his opening act was not our taste and sure his voice has some wear and tear on it, but it was fabulous. I would go again tomorrow and the next day and the next. Such a talent with a wonderful sense of humor. The boy recognized several of the songs that I sing all the time. He was such a sport. We ate a lovely dinner at the Tomato Head, bought binoculars at Mast General and headed over to the historic Tennessee Theatre to find our seat and gaze at the architectural awesomeness that is that place. What a lovely evening with a lovely date and a childhood dream fulfilled.

Things are getting very close for my uncle tonight. Very close. Tonight, please pray for my Aunt L. Reality is a cruel thing and it is merciless right now. He is the love of her life and she is struggling.

Night all.









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So grateful

I saw one of my favorite people in the world at Kroger today. She is one of the three readers of this blog, bless her. She gave me a big and much needed hug this morning and I am so very grateful. Uncle D rallied slightly this morning...enough to tell my aunt he loved her and pucker his lips for a little kiss. What a sweet pair they are. A love story for the ages for sure. Sigh.

The hub and his girls are at Resurrection this weekend with a gajillion other Uniter Methodist youth, so the boy and I had a dinner date of his choice and my parents relaxed on the couch after a busy day. We went to Mr. Gatti's, the pizza and pinball and punctured eardrum wonderland for kids. The boy was thrilled and played about 30 games of Skeeball, ate some pizza and decided to stop off at Bruster's for ice cream we can share with Nana and Pops and eat in our pajamas. Our big date is tomorrow night. A date that I cannot begin to express how excited I am about. A concert that has been 36 years in the making for me. One that I have searched and searched for for years. But you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. SOme people will thumb their noses, but there is nothing I love more than a gifted artist, born of humble means and differences that they have overcome to write beautiful and catchy and wonderful music. Squeeeeee!!!

Night all.


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Tired day

It has been a busy and emotional day at the ranch. I have baked lots of meatloaf and mashed potatoes for delivery to the relatives. Uncle D has taken a turn for the worse and is getting closer to being relieved of his pain. We're certainly sad, but it has been a sweet day today. I got to talk to him and tell him I loved him and visit with my cousins and other friends and family. We've laughed and cried and hugged and cried and laughed some more. As my cousin said, what a wonderful thing to have someone you love so much that your heart breaks at the thought of their leaving.

On a completely unrelated and random note, I could eat the crud out of some peanut butter cup ice cream right now. That is all.

Night all.


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A quick one

It has been a fairly uneventful day. Just the usual activities. My parents came in today to bring my aunt and uncle's dog back to them. Blue has been a calming force in all of this and they were glad to have her back. Mom was grateful to spend some time with her brother...I know it must have been hard. He's eight years younger than her and she has always been so fiercely loyal to him and protective of him. Both sisters have. They will go and see him tomorrow again. I may see him too. Just at a loss as to what to say. I don't want to go in there and bawl. That won't help anything. Here's hoping for strength and composure.

I'm going to go watch a show and take a hot bath.

Night all.


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Worried

My uncle traveled by ambulance home today from Nashville. He is very sick...running a high fever...he has been given no other options. But he is home. He will be able to see his beloved family and rest in his own bed with his sweet dog. God will provide him with a new body when the time is right. I just pray we don't have to think about that for a while. We are all very sad and angry and heartbroken and worried and everything else. I appreciate the prayers you have sent up for him up to now. It is a sobering thing to hear your mother sob for her brother...for your cousin to break down for his father. But through it all, God's plan is perfect.

Night all.


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Emotional day

Since we had a holiday today, the kids and I slept in for a bit this morning. FOr the boy, that meant he slept in until 6:22am...well, he stayed in his bed until that time. After we were all up and fed and restless, we decided to go to the movies and see "Hidden Figures". If you haven't yet seen this movie, rush on over to the theatre and get your ticket. It was wonderful! The children all enjoyed it and got to learn some things as well. It was a good movie to see on MLK Jr Day. I loved it.

Once again, I am asking for prayer for my uncle with AML(leukemia). The clinical trial he is involved with has had no effect on the bad cells in his blood. They felt there was no good reason to proceed with the second dose of chemo as the side effects may be too much to take. Discussion of palliative care has begun. We are all heartbroken. All I can ask is for prayers to keep him comfortable and pain free what ever happens. He is just one of the best men out there. Just so terribly sad.

As I was cleaning up my face after a good cry, my oldest and youngest approached me and said they had a question. "Would you go on a date with me, Mom?"...the boy asked in his most polite way as he handed me some papers. Two tickets to see one of my all time heroes, Ronnie Milsap. I cannot express how excited I am. I have loved him for decades. It was all my oldest's idea. God bless her.

Night all.


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My show is back

I have too many shows...I realize that. Luckily, most of them I record so then I can watch them and be productive at the same time. I can't begin to count how many pairs of socks and underwear I must have sorted and folded while binge watching something. "Homeland" comes back on tonight. My closest college friend, ME, got me started on it when it was in its second season and I could catch up on the whole first season. I have never, with the exception of maybe The Walking Dead, held ny breath and been so enthralled with a story line before. Sure, it has had its lackluster seasons, but it is so expertly written. Two seasons ago was without a doubt the most compelling thing I have ever watched on television. Okay, fiction wise. I know, I sound like a TV addict and need to not watch so much. I honestly don't watch that much. Sunday is a work day for me and is often stressful, so when Homeland comes on, I can't relieve some of that stress.

Ok, friends, so today a little boy came into the nursery and I have to tell your he looked like a little miniature Ed Sheehan. The only reason I really know to say that name is that he is one of the artists my girls listen to a lot. This child had little hipster pants on, a hat, a plaid shirt and bow tie. I am not allowed to post his picture, and he was too busy for me to get one in focus anyway, but let me tell you he was a-DOR-able. And he knew he was. I may get stressed out at work with the grown ups, but the children are the tops. Just excellent.

I'm about to Cocke out here soon, so I'm going to get ready for bed.

Night all.


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Stage parents/band parents

I had a child audition for a high school concert band opportunity today. SHe has auditioned before...a process that she is not a fan of but realizes the necessity of. Whether or not she makes a band makes no difference to her or me. She is glad to do it because she has a 100 on a portion of her final at the end of the school year and won't have to mess with what some of the others will. I sat in a kind of central location with her coat, stick bag and paperwork she didn't need and people watched. I was kind of uncomfortable at how many people were crying around me. S is a perfectionist I know, but she knows her inability to control her performance anxiety and understands that it hinders greatly her results. Yet she still auditions for all these opportunities, knowing the experience is invaluable. I am in no way proclaiming myself a perfect parent in any way, shape or form, but some of these parents needed to BACK OFF. Ears pressed up to the doors of the audition rooms and looks of complete disappointment when their children came out...it crushed my heart. These kids' faces fell, buckling under the pressure that not only they have put on themselves, but now their parents have placed on them as well. S kept looking at me, looking at them and looking back at me. She sat a little closer and I hugged her and kissed the top of her head. I truly wished I could have given all those kids a hug. "S? I am just proud that you worked and practiced and came here and tried. If you don't get it, don't worry about your do or me. We are just proud you tried." When she had to go to a different hallway to do her timpani and prepared piece, she asked me to walk with her. I sat at one end of the hallway, up against some lockers in a sticky spot while she got in line. Prime people watching. One man stood with his ear to the door, listening to every audition and then gave his critique to the shell shocked student as they walked out of the room, always asking where they went to school and casting judgement upon that individual's band program. I was poised and ready to have words with him if he spoke to my child saying, "Uh, my child doesn't give personal details to strangers, thank you." Luckily, he left right before mine did her last audition. There were moms raising holy hell, excuse my language, with their band directors and other officials saying that participants were using illegal band equipment and they were going to complain to the authorities. Something about extra padding on their mallets or something. Come on, people. I mean, come on.

At least it is done. And she was relieved, got some lunch and moved on with her life. Thank goodness for that.

Night all.


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Robot neck

I woke up this morning with a crick in my neck. It is so awkward when you are trying to act cool and composed around your children, especially your teenage one, and you have to turn your whole body to check for traffic when you are driving them to school. "Why are moving your body like that? You look kind of awkward. Sorry to say that." I get that. I do move like the robot on "Lost in Space". All I need to do is wave my arms about and say "Danger Will Robinson". Hopefully it will work itself out sooner rather than later. Until that time, I will fashion myself a cardboard box costume and walk around the yard entertaining the neighbors as the new resident Tin (Wo)Man.

The kids and I are currently watching "A Series Of Unfortunate Events" on Netflix. Neil Patrick Harris is such a gift. We are all very entertained. I highly recommend it.

Night all.


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Ouch

I have few words to say tonight. My head feels as though it may split right in half. I am waiting for my large dose of ibuprofen to kick in, but until then, I guess I will be looking at my family out of one eye for the rest of the evening. The Blacklist comes back tonight, but I feel James Spader deserves to be watched through both eyes, so I will wait until tomorrow.

One of my children has to write a rap for a class, so I must go be an audience member to hear what they've come up with. Here's hoping the ibuprofen kicks in soon.

Night all.


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Stirrer

I am trying to be gentle and not say bad words, but I am having to deal with a sh** stirrer. There are people in this world who have to stir the pot and get someone in trouble. In my situation, I'm not sure why people are coming to me to stir the pot, but I want nothing to do with holding that spoon. Keep away from me evil. My dinner didn't agree with me and I may barf on someone if they push me too hard. I'm hoping for a restful night.

Can we maybe have some more snow days? I want to go flying down the street on the old school sled again. I found the paraffin yesterday and am ready to wax that thing down and send it flying. I know I am in the minority on this. I'm okay with that.

Night all.


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Super salad night

I don't know why I made that the title for today. I mean, that is what we had for dinner tonight, but it was not the moving force behind my day. I had work and the kids went back to school. Nothing extraordinary. The salad was tasty though, but the pine nuts I put on mine put it over the top. I love pine nuts. Wow. I am going way off track of whatever I was trying to say. To continue on another tangent, I started watching a very interesting documentary. It is called Happy People: A Year in the Taiga. It is about the people in the taiga area in Russia. Werner Herzog followed the people who live in this area and learned how they live. The trappers and the canoe makers and making homemade mosquito repellent from birch bark and all kinds of interesting things. It is fascinating. If you have Netflix, look it up. Usually I'm one to find mystery or comedy documentaries, but this caught my eye. I'm sure glad I did. I love a good documentary. If you have any you like, please send your suggestions my way. I'm always up for a new one.

Speaking of documentaries/docu series, I will be watching Leah Remini's final episode of her series on exposing Scientology. I hope there will be a second season.

Night all.


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They're Ready

We had a snow day today which was nice and one more day to sleep in, but I think the kids finally reached their limit with each other. They miss the daily interaction with their friends and, honestly, I think they miss the routine. I am a fan of routines, so I can understand. Tomorrow there is a two hour delay, so they will get their wish of seeing their friends...just for a shorter time. I know lots of parents are ready to have the kids gone and out of the house. I will miss mine. They can make me crazy, but I love having them home. I feel much more complete when they are here. Oh well. Such is life. They go to school and I go to work. We'll get back into the swing of school soon enough.

I'm going to go to bed early and hop I can get some sleep. Our 17 year old neighbor had his super duper noisy car back. Every night he has been out messing around until 12:30 or 1 in the morning. When he comes home, his flipping muffler is so loud that it wakes me up every night. FOr the past week. Ugh. I need to sleep. So...

Night all.


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Is it bedtime?

I am awfully tired this evening. Not gonna lie. It was a little bit of a stressful morning, but a decent one. We've been getting laundry done and straightening done and back to school prep done. I made a new recipe that no one really enjoyed very much. We have gotten a call that school is cancelled tomorrow. Main roads are fine, but the majority of the back roads resemble ice sprinting tracks. So hopefully the temperature will go up enough to melt this off and get the kids back to school. The girls were actually disappointed that they didn't get to go back to school. They miss their friends. The boy misses his too, but he will always take a day off. So now, the kids are burning calories dancing to the Kinect and I am watching a disturbing documentary.and snuggling with the dog. She's awfully warm and I am warming up thanks to her.

Going to get ready and watch the Golden Globes for a bit. Woohoo.

Night all.


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Love me some Cotten

I am currently sitting with my Saturday ice cream, finally warmed up and watching "Shadow of a Doubt". I know lots of things can be said about Alfred Hitchcock, but I love his movies. I have my favorites for sure, but this one and "Rear Window" are my absolute favorites. "Rear Window" has my favorite of all actors, Jimmy Stewart. My top five actors include three who are in Hitchcock films: Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant and Joseph Cotten. Mr. Cotten is the main star in tonight's selection. I have always loved him...especially when I saw him in "The Third Man". "Shadow of a Doubt", if you haven't seen it, is just so good and Joseph Cotten is so slick and scary. Look it up and watch it. Just perfection.

We had a few inches of snow last night, so we were able to get some sledding in with the children. There were no snow people or animals to be sculpted today as the snow was too dry. We zip zopped down the hill at a nice clip this morning and even faster this afternoon. The street had melted some and then froze into a nice bobsled track consistency. We finally had to go inside when our street turned into a driving range for idiot people who think it is okay to speed and talk and talk on their phones while sliding on ice. The boy had to take quite the dive into a yard to avoid getting hit by a neighbor girl. We were not pleased.

Tomorrow will be a chilly one, so I am going to hunker down and get warm while I still can.

Night all.


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Snowy Day

So we got our first flakes of snow for the winter and the town went bonkers.  I have to say, it was pretty exciting...but I love snows both big and small.  We have had some extra kids over to play in the snow and sip hot chocolate.  My mom was always so good to make snow days the best days of the year and we had a wonderful time.  I want to be able to give those memories to my children as well.  I also realize, after a snow day, that I need to call up my mom and thank her for all the work she put into those snow days.  I'm exhausted.  Tomorrow is supposed to bring some more snow, but I have learned to not hold my breath.  We'll all be excited if it comes.

I've been messing with my new pencil a little bit more.  I'd show you my latest doodle, but my phone is not cooperating.  Maybe tomorrow.  Now, I'm getting ready for bed.

Night all.

Trying out a new toy...

Night all.
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Hmmmm

I don't know what to write about this evening. It has been a busy day, but I can't say that I got a whole lot accomplished. I do have my boy back and am so glad to see his sweet face. On our way back from getting him, we stopped to have our favorite delights at Pal's. Since moving away from my hometown, we have been Pal's deprived and always take advantage of any chance we get to have some. I am now paying the price with a torn up stomach. Nothing to do with the restaurant...just my out of shape stomach. Oh well. Hurts so good.

I ask again for prayers and positive thoughts for my uncle and friend S. One is starting a new clinical trial for cancer and the other is ailing in the hospital with DKA. They both need super prayers.

Night all.


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Day for some prayers

It is a rainy, messy day here today. Just the right day for a nap...or seven. I worked the majority of the day and the poor children were stuck at home to fend for themselves. Happy Christmas break to you, kids. I would ask you to say some prayers tonight. My uncle goes tomorrow to see his new doctor and start some new chemo in a clinical trial. I know he is getting anxious and worried. Being a pharmacist has its benefits and its drawbacks, especially when you know about the different drugs that you are being treated with. We just hope that he has success with this new drug.

Also, I ask that you pray for one of the girls who works at church in the nursery. She is currently in the hospital very sick from DKA. Her mother said she needs lots of prayers. When you have diabetes, things can go south so very quickly. We just pray she gets better very soon. It is so scary.

I am going to go get my oldest some cold medicine and see if we can attack the stuffy nose she has developed. She sounds like a poor muppet.

Night all.


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2017 Blahs

I don't know why, but I have the blahs today. I think I am dreading the end of our Winter break. It's sad, really, since it is Monday and the kids don't go back to school until next Monday. I need to get over it. I go back to work tomorrow and that is part of the problem also. My time with my children is so precious, I just hate the thought of leaving them at all while I have them home. Hopefully Incan get in and out quickly.

The kids tried on some cheap virtual reality goggles we came upon at Christmas. I am sore from laughing so hard. It was absolutely hysterical. If I can get the video up at some point, I will. Best thing ever.

Night all.


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Happy 2017

I am wishing everyone a wonderful and healthy and prosperous New Year.  My two youngest and I have taken a short adventure to my parents' house as New Year's Day is my mom's birthday.  The oldest and her dad have had an afternoon of driving practice in the yucky mist and goop.  The kids are currently in their pj': and we will be watching the viewer's choices for their favorite Twilight Zone episodes.  We are anxious to see some of our favorites.

That is about as exciting as it gets.  Woo hop.

Night all.