A Very Special Angel

I am convinced there is a very special angel in heaven whose (?) sole responsibilty is to watch over the most prized possession of children. An angel who knows how important a certain blanket, doll or stuffed animal is to a child even though it is disgustingly dirty, missing an eye or a limb. There is no way an adult could possibly understand its importance. How many times do we throw things away only to have them reappear weeks later?

The other day I picked up my son from school and as we were walking home, I asked him what he was going to take to school the next day for show and tell. He immediately said, "Pinky". I was quiet for a moment because I had not seen Pinky for a couple of days. He is a stuffed dog, brown and white with two bandaids on him for when he went to the 'vet'...a small round bandaid on his head and a regular one on his back.

I said, "Do you know where Pinky is?"

Son, "Yes, he is right up there, on that guy's lawn!'

I looked to where he was pointing, and sure enough, there on the lawn was Pinky. What? I was trying to rack my brain to figure out how he got there and then I realized he must have fallen out of the stroller two days earlier when it was raining. I had taken my son and Pinky in the stroller which has a rain cover, dropped him off and thought Pinky was safe in the stroller but he must have fallen out as I walked home.

We did not see him the day before because we did not walk home that day, we had left from the school to go to the doctor.

So, there he was, still with his band aids on and in pretty good shape even though it had rained (God washed him). So, we got home and I threw him in the washer and the dryer and he was all set for Show and Tell the next day.

Thanks, angel.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning....

Last night the kids slept with me since the hubby is gone to New Orleans. The 11 year old wanted four pillows so she could sleep with her head up so I searched high and low and came up with them. An hour later when I came to bed, the pillows were all on the floor and her head was flat on the bed! But she was sound asleep and so was the boy. I put him in the overstuffed chair with a blanket and I crawled into bed and went to sleep. Around five a.m. I woke up and heard some giggling in my ear. My son had crawled back into bed with us and was having a funny dream and he kept giggling, sound asleep. It was such a great noise to wake up to. That is the sound we should put on alarm clocks to wake people up!

I got my daughter off to school...she is feeling somewhat better. We did the whole sending off and she was out the door when I realized she forgot her poster board project so I had to yell and tell her to wait while I ran and got it and off she went. A little while later the doorbell rang. It was only eight o'clock so I did a quick check to make sure all body parts were covered and hair was not sticking straight up and answered the door....it was a big, beautiful bouquet of flowers from my hubby! They are the most beautiful flowers ever! My son thought they smelled pretty good.

Then, it was time to walk him to school. No rain today...the sun is shining and it is so nice outside.

Now, I am coloring my roots. I am not sure if it is a good idea for a blind woman to color her own hair, but what the heck. What I am really concerned about is how to get the hair off of my big toe....gross!

Later, I will make a cake...because, it is my birthday!!!! Whoo - hoo! I am glad the sun came out today, I am glad my daughter is feeling better, and I am glad hubby comes home tomorrow (hopefully he will not notice a dramatic hair color change).

Have a good one, people!

Another Day

It was a challenging day yesterday. Hubby is out of town for a week so the kids slept with me. My daughter started coughing during the night and I thought "Oh -oh". Sure enough she could not go to school. Since I do not drive, I had to find a driver to take us to the doctor. I called my mother. I really hate to call her because she is a half hour away and she does not like to drive but she came.

It rained all the way to the doctor's office (downpour). Then the doctor took her pulse ox (93), did a treatment and retook the pulse ox(95). We joked how she is like Grandpa and has to take a breathing treatment. Now she is back on all kinds of medication and also has a sinus infection. She felt so awful, she was crying on the way home. We finally get the meds in her and she threw it up....so now what do I do? I washed the blanket and hope some of the meds stayed in her.

She slept on the couch, the boy in the chair, and me on the floor between them.

In the morning I had to walk my son to school in the rain. When it rains sideways, it is hard to stay dry!

It sure sucks I do not drive....but I am glad my mother was there and the school is only two blocks away so we only got a little wet.

I hope today is a better day.

Another Day

Today was a challenging day. Since hubby is out of town, the kids slept with me last night. My daughter was coughing a lot during the night and this morning she said she could not go to school. She really likes school and had a field trip planned after school so I know she was not feeling well.

Around two, she said it hurt so much she wanted to see a doctor. I called and got her in and called my mom to take us. I hate to call my mom because she lives a half hour away but she came and took us. Turns out the munchkin has a sinus infection and her asthma was aggravated and got worse last night so they did a pulse ox check (93), gave her a breathing treatment and then the ox. was 95. We laughed about how she is like grandpa and she needed a breathing treatment. Then it was off to the pharmacy to get a prescription (another half hour wait) and then we ate at a restaurant but the daughter did not eat much so we left. On the way home in the car she had a coughing fit. We could not get home soon enough.

We got all the medications taken and now she is alseep on the couch, the boy is asleep in the chair and I will probably sleep on the floor between them. Poor kid.

Hubby called from New Orleans and things are going fine there. I talked to my dad and he is doing ok. (Fell and hit his head a couple weeks ago and needed a bunch of stitches in his head so he is recovering from that). I walked my son to school in the rain this morning.

Sometimes it sucks I cannot drive. But, I am thankful my mom was there to take us to the doctor and the school is only two blocks away so we only got a little wet (with the rain coming at you sideways, it is hard to stay dry!).

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Quote of the day

Last night we were taking the kids to my mother's house so she could watch them while hubby and I went out for our anniversary dinner. While we were in the car, my son, age 5, said, "Hey, Mom....I like your mom."

"Me, too" I said.

Family Update:
We decided not to get the dog. We are not ready.

We had a very nice anniversary dinner last night. We talked about football and what we would do if we won the lottery.

Hubby is off to New Orleans.

We are going to my daughter's school tonight to meet the teachers.

The project I am going to get done today is to pick up all the toys in the backyard.

Have a good one, people!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 13th anniversary so this gives me a good excuse to brag about my hubby. I met him because he worked with my brother. Our first date was to see the movie"Aladdin", the Disney movie. I really enjoyed it because he laughed out loud during the movie and was not afraid to. We were a little early for the movie, so we went to store in the mall to check out lawn mowers, computers and BBQ'S. He had just moved into a house and needed a mower and bbq, and I was thinking of getting a computer. We look back at it now and think it was a funny thing to do on a first date.

After the movie, he took me home. Since I cannot see in the dark, he walked me to the door and I invited him in for soda. We talked until 4 a.m.! He told me his whole life story...all the girls who broke his heart, all about his family etc. Finally, the dog looked at me like when is this guy going home?! So, I said I had to get up and go to work so he left.

I thought it went well and if he asked me our again, I would say yes but I was not sure how he felt so I was not getting my hopes up. I went to work and came home to a flower truck dropping off a bouquet of flowers for me!!!!! The card said, "Something beautiful for someone beautiful."

And all is right with the world....I still feel that way about him.

Happy Anniversary, Honey!!!!!!!!

This one is for Grandma and Grandpa

We went to see the in-laws today. On the way home, my five year old said he forgot to tell Grandma and Grandpa the story he 'wrote' (I have to write it down for him since he is only five). I told him I would post it so they would see it.

The Dog in Space

One day a dog went into space. He got into a cannon and the cannon shot him into space. He looked for moon rocks and aliens. It was very dark in space. Mom and Dad looked up and saw the darkness but it was not space, it was a dog!

The End

Meanwhile....

...on the way to see the in-laws we stopped to see a one year old golden retriever named Charlie. He was abused by his former family so the breeder took him back. (This is the same breeder we got our other dog who passed away about a month ago).

We stopped at the local Piggly Wiggly and bought some doggie treats before we went to meet him. Wow, what a bundle of energy!!!! He needs a lot of obedience training (who doesn't?) but the thing that bothered the hubby and I was the fact that he ate my sons toy....we got it out before he swallowed it but still, we had flashbacks because both of our previous dogs ate things and both had surgery which is not cheap. We can try our darndest, but with my sight I would not be able to see if he gets a toy or not and he will be with me most of the time.

But, he so needs a family to love him. My 11 year old wants him but so far the vote is 2 in favor (the kids) and 2 not in favor (the parents). Hubby said it right when he said, "He sounds perfect for us, doesn't listen, eats stuff he shouldn't, is more than we can handle....all things we have dealt with in the past."

Supposedly he is house trained and he is already neutered, both things are in his favor plus he has a year of puppy-ness out of his system.

I will pray about it and see what happens.

We're off the see the wizard

Not much new around here. Today we are going up to see the wizard.....er.....in-laws to gather more boxes for the great move.

Yesterday as my son and I were leaving the school, we were almost to the end of the playground when I heard my son say, "Hurry, mom, the teacher is coming for you!" He then said really quickly, "I got three strikes in gym....hurry mom, let's go home".

I stop and turn around and sure enough his teacher is trying to catch me. Turns out it had nothing to so with three strikes in gym class(we will talk about that later at home) but it was picture day and he did not get his picture taken because he was in the wrong line so he will get it on re-take day.

Moral of the story: Do not fess up until you are sure why the teacher is calling you.

Anatomy of a Napper

I am one of those people who loves to take naps. My napping skills started when I was a baby and then stopped until I was in high school and got a job. No, I wasn't sleeping on the job, either! I would get home from school and had a hour to kill before I had to leave for work so I would nap. In college, I worked right there on campus so in between classes and work, I would nap on one of the many napping areas.The campus had a lot of carpeted studying areas. (It helps to be hearing impaired because I do not hear all the whisperings and snickering of the people around me). Then, when I started working after graduation, on the nice spring days, I would sit in my car, put the seat back and nap for 20 minutes.

Then came the kids. I could never nap when they were napping because I was always worried I would not hear them, even with a monitor it was so noisy. If I did manage to sneak one in, the phone would ring or the doorbell or the dog would need to go outside. So, most of my naps took place on the weekends while hubby watched the kids.

Fast forward ten years later and now both kids are in school. I have taken one nap since then and I felt like a truck hit me when I woke up so now I am thinking maybe it is not such a good idea. The couch sure looks comfy.....oh. but it is early release day and my daughter is due home any second and then we are going to walk to get my son. There is always tomorrow....

Quote of the day

Today I went to pick up my kindergartner from school. When we got home his 11 year old sister asked how he did in school today and he said,

"I accidentally glued my eyebrow to my lip."

Sister said, "Well at least you didn't hit somebody."


I guess either statement could be the quote of the day.

Merry Christmas - sort of

Remember months ago when I tried to do a weight loss program and was posting about it every Tuesday? If I recall, it lasted about a month. I think I lost five pounds total before gaining it back and then some. Then summer came and the kids were home all day eating and I gave in. Well, now that both are in school, I have started again with a '100 day countdown'. At the end of the 100 days, it will be Christmas and I hope to post at least half of the weight loss I hope to lose by then. Plus, I will have a good head start on the New Year's Resolution, right? Hubby has already taken the 'before' picture and I will post the before and after pictures on Christmas.

Yesterday was the official 100th day and I will admit I started the program on Monday but I am allowing myself five days to eat what I want between now and Christmas so that is why I started five days earlier.(Stop laughing!!!!!) This will give me five days to look forward to and the first one is coming up soon! The 25th of Sept. is our anniversary and hubby and I are going out to dinner at a steak place (My favorite meal is filet mignon,fries, and a salad). We have not yet decided if we are taking the kids yet.

I really wish I could be like my brother who 'forgets' to eat.....what???? Then I went on my walk this morning with my walk friend and we got to talking about who has great cheese curds and so on....I was so hungry when I got home I made my lunch as soon as I walked in the door (but kept within my points. For those of you who do not know, I follow the Weight Watchers point system which gives every food item a point value and each person is allowed so many points per day which I have figured out is about a third of what I usually eat!).

Plus, to avoid eating at night I am going to bed really early. Looks like I will be going to bed around noon by the time Halloween rolls around (My second 'eat what I want''day).

My daughter is trying her allergy/asthma medication but there has not been much change in her yet. I know.....give it time.

More later....

My poor daughter

My daughter is 11 years old. She is having a tough time not feeling well. Hubby and I are frustrated because whatever we give her does not seem to work. She has a very runny nose this past week but at the same time sounds so stuffed up like she cannot breathe. Thursday she was so frustrated she came home early from school. We are on a new medical plan for insurance and I tried to get into see someone either Thurs. or Friday but everyone was booked. Today when hubby came home from work, he took her to the new walk in clinic.

The doctor who examined her said for a sick kid, she is too happy. She has allergies and asthma so she prescribed some inhalers, steroids, and some other stuff. I hope by the Monday she is feeling better. The doctor also made us an appointment with a reg. doctor next week to make sure what she has taken has helped.

We are all glad we finally are able to treat this (hopefully) becuase we did not know if she had a cold, infection, asthma or what. She was not running a fever and not coughing so that complicated things even more. In the past when she has these sympotoms she also had a fever and was coughing and is prone to bronchitis or pneumonia.

Meanwhile I picked up the five year old from school and he did well in class but not in gym so we talked about it on the way home. I went for a walk this morning with a friend after I dropped him off and it felt good. I had not walked since our dog died and it was good to talk to my friend about it who is very good at listening. People have been so wonderful and are truly sorry to hear about her passing it makes me realize how important pets are to families.

Have a good one!

Almost a scary moment

Sometimes I wonder if I even know my kid. I know what he looks like, I know he likes candy a lot, I know he is very active. I know there are some things he does better than anyone else in the family such as putting things back where they are supposed to go. I also know he has a mind of his own which leads to what happened when I went to pick him up from school.

I was standing right in front of the door about 25 feet away so I could watch all the kids come out. I thought I saw his class, but no Luke. I waited and some more kids came out. My first thought was he was in trouble and the teacher wanted to talk to me and that is why I had not seen him yet. Finally, he came out with an aide and there were two women who walked with him up to me. Apparently, he got in the bus line to get on the bus because he wanted to ride the bus! I thanked the women for catching it before he got on because I would have been frantic if he did not come out the door. (The kids who ride the bus go out the front of the building, the ones who walk, go out a side door to all the waiting parents.)

So, I bent down and talked to Luke...

Me "You never, ever get on the bus. You always wait for mom or dad to pick you up...ok?"

Luke: "I wanted to take the bus home. All the other kids take the bus."

Me; "The bus goes to their house, the bus does not go to your house. You would never get off the bus and never get home!" (Put a little fear in there)

Luke; "Ok, mom, did you make brownies?"

So, all night and this morning I asked him how he gets home and he said, "I walk!"

"Who do you walk with?"

"With you or dad!"



Now watch when they go on a field trip and he will not get on the bus!

Splish Splash

Today when I went to pick up my five year old from school, it was raining....more like sprinkling. We only live two blocks away so it was not too bad on the way there except it was windy and my umbrella was hard to hold on to. (Is it ever raining and NOT windy???)

I waited a few minutes trying to watch for my son to come out but he found me before I found him. The first thing he asked me was if I made brownies and I said "No, we are out." so we headed on home. He saw a puddle and his eyes lit up. I considered telling him not to splash in the puddle, but we were not on the way to school and just going home so I let him. To get him to leave the puddle to get closer to home I would look ahead and see another puddle and tell him, "Oh, I see another one, come on!" He would go and splash in the next one until we finally made it home.

We got in the house and he took off his wet shoes, his socks and his pants in the laundry room and put on some dry ones and went to find his sister.

Thinking about all the kids who lost their parents on 9/11, I am so glad I am here to watch my son splish-splash in the puddles.

Let the games begin...

Well, it is finally here, the start of the football season so now we have something to do on Sundays after church when there is a blizzard outdoors in addition to eating junk food.

Today we went to church. The kids had a "Rally" to get ready for Sunday school. The hubby was kind enough to go to that while I went to a bible session. I have never gone before and since this one started with the book of Genesis and I want to know more about the bible, I decided to go. Just like when I was in school, I was the first one in class. The group is led by an older gentleman (by older I mean older than me) and his wife brought homemade cookies which I politely declined and noted that all the people who took a cookie were thin and all those who declined were on the heavier side. But, that is not why I was there, I was there to be a part of a discussion on Genesis. I brought my bible given to me by my grandmother, I brought my magnifying glass and I sat in front of a window so I would have adequate light to read (You can see how having RP makes me plan ahead all the time).

We started by introducing ourselves and saying our favorite ice cream. Hoping there would not be a test on the names and flavors mentioned, I did not really pay attention to the names but noted a lot of people like some form of chocolate in their ice cream. Mine is choc. chip cookie dough.

FInally we went around the room and each person read a verse. I was going to pass when it came to my turn but it ended before it got to me. The leader of the group posed interesting questions followed by two or three people who offer their views or opinions in between eating the cookies. I think the most interesting was God created light the first day but did not create the sun, the moon and the starts until the fourth day (or was it the third???? Already I am failing this class). So what is the light on the first day?

The confirmation group joined us today and some of those kids had some great questions and answers.

It ended on a good note and I will look forward to going again. Now we are getting ready to watch the Packers....let the games begin.

Family Update

Not much new around here but I wanted to update for the family members who like to know what is going on here. Breanna has started middle school and she really likes it so far. She and a girl who moved in across the street last month are walking together so that is nice because she never had anyone before when she went to elementary school except me to walk with. Today she joined a multi-cultural group which meets after school a couple times a month. She comes home and talks and talks and then before I can say anything she disappears to the basement to play on the computer,

My five year old had his first full day of school today. I am hoping my hubby will post a picture with this post. I was a nervous wreck all day but his teacher said he had a good first day. When we got home, he said all the girls in his class were good but all the boys were naughty. Sounds like at least he listened to the teacher when she told him to do something or not do something. Since he did well, when we got home we made brownies. He likes to crack the eggs and stir the mix. I think brownies should be nominated best invention because they are so good and so easy to make.

Tonight we went to Target to get some more school supplies, a birthday gift for my nephew and some household supplies. It was a good trip because we found everything we needed.

This was my first day home alone, all day and I sure missed our dog, Maya, especially after the vet office called to say the 'paw print in clay' momento was ready for us to pick up.

Have a good one!

Welcome Wednesday Marathoners

I will keep this short so you do not have to spend too much time reading it and can get on to the next post. THis is a joke my daughter told me.

Knock - knock

Who's there?

Little old lady...

Little old lady, who?

Why are you yodeling????

Ha-ha...it is better if you say it out loud to someone. Your job is to tell someone this joke today in person, not through the computer.

Crikey, what a loss!

Today we woke up to the shocking news that Steve Irwin, The Croc Hunter, died due to a freak accident when he was stabbed in the heart from a barb from a sting ray. It is like when Princess Diana died or JFK Jr. I still cannot believe it.

It really upsets me that the media is constantly showing the incident in which a lot of people were upset when they thought he put his son, baby Bob, in danger while he was feeding a croc. He has done so much good through his show and his enthusiasm for not just crocs, but animals in general.

I really feel bad for his family and the people he worked with and the animal kingdom because they really lost a true advocate.

We watched the show for several years but lost touch the last couple of years mainly because of my son who was born and we started watching more cartoons but I had planned on going back to watching the show again once my son started showing interest in animals again because I thought it was an educational show and Steve was such a fun guy to watch. I loved doing impressions of him. "Crikey, have a look at this! He's a good daddy, playing ball with his son."

Thanks, Steve, we will miss you!!!!

TAG - Five Unusual Things About Me

Tagged by Quilldancer, I list the following things I think are unusual about me.

1. The only fruit I have tried is an apple and pears. I still eat apples but not pears.

2. Both of my kids were born five weeks early. With both kids, my water broke just after midnight, first contractions were at 12:21 and hard contractions started three minutes later at !2:24 and were every two minutes for eight hours - no epidural. Both were born healthy enough to come home the next day.

3. I have worn hearing aids since I was five years old. I was diagnosed with RP when I was 18 and told I would be totally blind by the time I was 30. I am now 40 and although it is close, I am grateful for the sight I do have left. Normal periphial vision is 80 degrees, mine is less than five degrees.

4. My greatest personal achievements are graduating college without debt and walking the marathon three years ago.

5. I did not really like kids until I had my own. Now I love all kids, even ones I do not know.

I tag Crazy Object B, Pete, Pennie, Pat and Betty.