Slacker Queen

Okay- so I am the worst slacker in blog world right now (besides Mr. Paranoia)... Sorry. I am attempting to clean up the house, which looks like Toys R Us puked in it, and I de-Christmased the house yesterday- an all day affair. Today I'm gonna bathe the girls and then hit Target to see if there are any good deals left. I've also been distracted by all of the bowl games on TV lately- held my eyes open with toothpicks last night to see Mizzou beat N'Western in overtime..... But- our Christmas was great and I'll post pics soon. I've already wrapped 8 presents for next Christmas (that's right, you heard me- are ya jealous??) And we did finally find an artificial tree that I think will do at Garden Ridge last night- AND it was half off. So, even though it has been pure chaos, it has been good...... Our second floor should be framed by the end of this week, so I'll be taking some pics there, too. I've bought a ton of light fixtures online that I wanted to post, so this is gonna be one busy blog here soon. Until then- have a great week and a Happy New Year!!

Cat Torture

"Santa Claws" a.k.a.- Willie

"Mrs. Claws" a.k.a.- Annabelle

"Clyde the Happy Elf" (doesn't he look thrilled?)

"Santa Claws Willie" says "Meowy Christmas!!"

Ok, so I know this was pretty mean, but when I saw these cat hat costumes at Target I knew I wouldn't be able to help myself. Talk about a fight. Boy these cats were not too happy with me. Willie wouldn't even hold his head up when I put his on. I think the beard freaked him out. He just dragged his face on the ground like it weighed a hundred pounds or something. Hee-hee. And you can see how excited Clyde was about the whole thing. He fought me for a minute, then realized he was just going to have to cooperate, so he just became a ragdoll, but I think he was giving me the death stare..... Mean, but hilarious. Anyway- I am home this morning, with a sick Annelise. She got home from school yesterday and promptly threw up in the driveway. I can't believe she didn't do it in my car. So, after several vomits and diarrhea episodes, she got an injection of Phenergan last night and has been asleep ever since. (One of those times I am so happy to be married to a pediatrician!) She is missing her class Christmas party today. Poor kid. B had to take Emmaline to school because he is cooking the pancakes in the room for her class party brunch. All the kids get to wear their PJ's to school today, too, so she was excited about that. (However, when it gets to 70 degrees today, she is going to be a little hot in her snowman pj's....We've had the air conditioning on for 2 days now in the house!!) She gets out at 11:30, so she'll be fine. They are supposed to go spend the night with my parents tonight, but we'll see how Annelise is after she wakes up. I don't want her "spreading the joy". Hope you enjoy the cat pics. I have a feeling it will be one of the only times they will be caught in those costumes...... :0)

Christmas Memories

I don't know about y'all, but Christmas has kind of snuck up on me this year. It seemed like just last month we were starting back to school and then bam, it's Christmas! I am so so so glad to be done shopping and wrapping I could just cry. I am usually done by October or earlier, but with the house and stuff this year I've been preoccupied. I would not get out into those crowds if you paid me. I cannot stand the traffic and the craziness and the crowds and lines, etc, etc.... So, even though there are people who actually enjoy all that mess, I like knowing that I can sit at home and watch Christmas movies with the girls and just do whatever. Next week the girls and I will be doing the Christmas baking, so I am already preparing for that. Seeing the Christmas movies on TV reminds me of a funny childhood Christmas experience. I thought I'd share it. I was about 6 years old and was at my grandparent's house for Christmas Eve. Their house was my favorite place to be at Christmas so my parents would drop me off early so I could enjoy being there before all of the family arrived. This particular year I was laying in the living room floor watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". One of my absolute favorite movies. I could smell my grandmother's cooking all over the house and I was starting to get hungry. I went into the dining room to see if there was anything to nibble on. I saw crackers (boring) , cheese, condiments, etc- stuff adults liked, but I really wanted something sweet. Then I spotted them. These beautiful iridescent looking candy balls in an antique dish right next to the silverware. They were so pretty and I just knew they would taste incredible. I snuck one out and hid it in my pocket and went back into the den to finish the movie. I laid on my belly in front of the TV and slid out my luscious candy. I put it in my mouth. Hmmm, didn't quite taste like I thought it would. Then the "skin" on it dissolved and one of the worst tastes I can ever remember just started pouring in. It was awful. I ran to the kitchen and spit it out in the trash, but the liquid just stuck to the inside of my mouth like glue. I was nauseated and coughing and gagging. My grandmother came in to see what all of the fuss was about and I fessed up about what I had done. She laughed so hard she cried. She said "Jessica, that's not candy, those are bubble bath gel balls." Y'all remember those things? I don't think they make them anymore, but I will never forget them. Good grief that was so nasty. That taste was in my mouth until the next morning. Taught me a lesson about sneaking stuff before dinner, though! I can't wait to start baking next week with the girls. Along with our traditional cookies, I am trying some new recipes from another blog friend this season and they look so good! I'll post pics of our "creations". I'm gonna have to wear elastic waistband pants for the rest of this year.......

Tree Trouble

Crazy, crazy times here. House will have 1st floor walls being framed this week. (IF it ever stops raining, that is.) Last time we built it was started during a drought. We started construction and it poured and poured for weeks. Looks like the same thing, now. Rained last week and is supposed to rain all this week. Oh, well- not much I can do about it and hopefully it will fill up the lakes! Anyway- I've gotten a few good deals on stuff for the house in the past couple weeks, but that is a separate post..... I'll get to this one's subject. Ok- it's about our youngest cat, Annabelle, the little girl calico. She's pretty much my cat and sleeps beside my head at night and loves me the most, blah blah. Anyone who knows me knows that I treat my cats like they're my kids sometimes and she is no exception. So, I got concerned a couple of weeks ago when I saw that she was getting these "scab" like things on her neck and the side of her face. She started scratching them until they were the size of dimes and bleeding all into her fur. I asked B what he thought it may be and he guessed that maybe when the cats were play-fighting, she got nicked with a back claw and scratched it until it turned into a sore. I didn't buy it, because they fight all year long and this only happened twice. Once last winter and once this one. She'd also been laying around a lot and acting like she felt bad. So last night, I couldn't go to sleep and I started thinking about what it could be that is wrong with her. I knew it happened last winter. I knew it had started this time about 2 weeks ago. I knew when it happened last winter that all of a sudden it just went away. Then I figured it out. It's the Christmas tree. She must be allergic to it. Shoot. As soon as B woke up, I told him I had figured it out and he couldn't believe he didn't realize it before me. Poor little Annabelle. I had started calling her "Scabby" and it was our fault she was suffering! SO, needless to say, she's going to be getting a cortisone shot tomorrow and also be given Benadryl until the tree goes out right after Christmas. Then we will be looking for some realistic artificial trees (hopefully on sale) to get for the next 10-15 years. We've always had real trees, but we really don't have a choice, cause I am not getting rid of that cat. If anyone knows of any realistic looking artificial trees, let me know where to find them! I love the ones on http://www.balsamhill.com/ , but they are a bit expensive..... I have started reading the first book in my grief counseling curriculum. It just makes perfect sense to me, which I think is great because it encourages me that I am on the right track. I've only made it through a couple of chapters, but so far it is all making sense and clicking for me. We'll see how it goes. I'm excited about it. Well, enough for now- gotta hit the sheets. Early morning tomorrow!

Hope

Hope- my last story to tell about the patients who have a forever spot in my heart. She was named so appropriately. She was 6 when she was diagnosed with leukemia. That was in 1999. I had her her first day there and just absolutely adored her. She was so darn cute and her family was so nice and wonderful. She started requesting me whenever I was on the schedule and she would only let me poke her finger because she said it didn't hurt as bad when I did it. She never fought us on anything, and she was just so sweet. The thing that stands out to me about Hope is her faith. Man, that child had more faith in her pinky than I have total. She would tell everyone about how good God is and about how much Jesus loves them. She witnessed to the baggers at the grocery store and to anyone else who met her. There is no impact like a child whose hair has fallen out and who is only 6- with pain and sickness and all kinds of bad stuff going on- telling you about how awesome and amazing God is. Made me realize that if she could praise Him continuously, then I certainly had no reason not to. Hope got chemo treatments for 2 and a half years and was in remission after that for 3 years. Then, in 2005, at age 12, she relapsed. Her parents had to decide whether to go through chemo again or to go for the bone marrow transplant. Her 4 year old brother turned out to be a perfect match, so they went for the transplant. She was at Duke for 6 months during that time, but came home and eventually went back to school and a somewhat "normal" life. She posts frequently on her Caring Bridge site and she still talks about how awesome and amazing God is. She even talks about how she gets persecuted at school for it and she just keeps doing it anyway. If you have never been to the Caring Bridge website, you should check it out. Hope is just a huge bright spot in my life and I still talk with her from time to time through Caring Bridge. I pray that she has a long, happy life ahead. Some of the greatest examples of strength, courage, and faith that I have ever seen or will ever see have been shown to me through children, through working on that unit. It is incredible what I learned there and how it made a difference in my life. There are so many kids that have touched my heart in many ways, but I wanted to talk about these few and share them with you. I feel really fortunate to have known them and to have loved them and been a part of their lives.

Brandon

You know the saying "I love that child like he is one of my own." ? Well, that would be Brandon for me. I admitted him to the unit the first night he came in, and fell in love, instant love. He was 3 years old at the time. Pudgy little cheeks, skin as black as night, and as cute as anyone could ever be. His mom brought him to the ER after he had been awake most of the night complaining of ankle pain. She was told in the ER that it was likely leukemia. She came up to the unit shocked and crying and flipping out, like anyone would. I spent a long long time talking to her, even though we were slammed on the unit (we got 8 admissions that night on a shoestring staff). I didn't have children and I was single at the time, so work was my life. Brandon's mom was single, with him and an 18 month old at home. She worked 2 jobs and she was very young and naive. I don't think she ever really understood how serious his diagnosis was. He was the sweetest child I ever had up there. He would cooperate, no matter how painful or awful the procedures we had to do to him were. When I came in at 5 a.m. every morning to draw blood, he would sometimes already be awake and all he would ask is that I would be very quiet so as not to wake his mother because he knew she needed her rest. (A 3-year old, mind you.) That boy loved his mama. Since mom was not able to be there a lot, I would come up on my days off and stay with him, bring movies and snacks and such. He drew me lots of pictures and grew really attached. Brian and I would even go and get him and take him home with us and out to eat and stuff when he wasn't in the hospital. I loved that child..... When I told him Brian had asked me to marry him and I said yes, he was so mad at me. He wouldn't talk to me for hours. He eventually told me that he was going to come and "take me away" on a red motorcycle and that I was going to come live with him and not marry Brian. I was touched by his adorable jealousy. Eventually he went into remission and I kept in touch with his mom off and on for a while, but also wanted to give them their "normal" lives back, so I stopped checking in after a while. I got pregnant with Annelise during those years and when I went out on maternity leave Brandon relapsed. I came back to work 12 weeks later and saw a sign on the board, "Brandon S. is at Duke and has been given 24 hours." I almost collapsed. The staff all thought someone had called me. I had a new phone number so I don't know if his mom ever tried to call me or not. I was devastated. A few days later, I went to his funeral and his mom ran over to me and we hugged and just cried and cried. Brandon made it to age 7. He had found out I was pregnant and he had made my baby a "good luck" charm. It was a little peach colored ceramic heart. I still have it and it is one of my most prized possessions. I wonder if , now that he's in Heaven, he finally got a giant Clifford dog like he always wanted. I wonder if he has that red motorcycle. I know he will be one of the ones greeting me at the gates when I get there. I miss him tremendously. People may say that you shouldn't get attached to your patients, but I think if you don't have a special connection with at least a few , there may be something wrong with you in the heart department. Just my opinion. I have one more patient to tell about tomorrow and then I'll get back to regular blog stuff. It has been nice to share these kids with others.

Cindy

Cindy was 16 when she was first diagnosed with leukemia. Her mother had just had a mastectomy and won a battle with breast cancer when Cindy was diagnosed. Her parents were very sweet, very country people. They welcomed anyone they met into their world like you were family. She was a very enjoyable patient to have. Never complained much and looked at everything with a bit of country wisdom and common sense. Her favorite pasttime was talking on her CB radio. Her dad was a trucker and so she knew a lot of his buddies from that. I remember her Make A Wish was to meet Reba McIntyre. Reba came up to the hospital and went above and beyond her committment to Cindy. She was so nice and so friendly. I was not Cindy's primary nurse, but I had her occassionally and always stopped in her room to speak to her parents and see how she was doing. The reason she stands out for me is because she was the first patient I had to ever die while under my care on my shift. We knew it was going to be any time. Cindy had been in an almost coma like state for several days. She had only had 4 teaspoons of urine output in 2 days. She was on a ton of oxygen and her saturation was still really low. She had not opened her eyes or spoken in 2 days. I took her that night knowing there was a good chance she may not survive through my shift. I went into the room, very nervous and a little afraid. Her whole family was in there holding vigil by her bed. I told them I didn't want to disturb them too much and just to call me if they needed something or if anything changed. At about 1 in the morning, her mother called me in there to ask me to come see what Cindy was doing. I went in and immediately felt that there was something "different" about the feel of the room. Hard to describe, just incredible, almost peaceful. Cindy had her eyes wide open and was laying there, reaching desperately for the ceiling and mumbling something. I had no idea what was going on. I asked another nurse and she said she had seen this many times. She said a lot of the kids will reach for the ceiling when they are dying and claim to see angels. Wow. I went back into the room, not sure if I should tell her mom or not. When I got in there, her parents were crying and smiling. Cindy was still reaching for the ceiling and not really responding to anyone in the room. I asked her mom what was wrong and she said "Cindy said "There are 3 of them, don't you see them? There are 3. They're angels.'" I got the strongest chill bumps because I realized that the feeling I sensed in that room may really be that there were angels in there. Her mom said "She really wants to go to them." I told her mom that a lot of times, the pediatric patients needed their parents permission to go. Her mom nodded and she and her father both assured Cindy that they would be ok if she went and that it was ok to go. They took her oxygen off, since it was not doing any good and seemed to be annoying her and I took her IV lines off. About an hour later, she peacefully slipped away. Her parents stayed in there for about 2 hours with her, and after they left I went in to bathe her and to do the regular procedures we had to do when a patient had passed. I thought I would be anxious about it but I wasn't. I talked to her the whole time and it was not an uncomfortable thing for me. The feeling I had felt earlier in the room was definitely gone, but I will never, ever forget that feeling. I cannot describe it, but it was amazing. Some people will say that the patients are just delusional or drugged, but Cindy had not had pain medication for at least 24 hours. It's also strange that whenever any of the kids would reach for the ceiling like this, if they could or did talk, there were always 3 angels- no more , no less. So, you can make your own deductions from that, but I can sure tell you that I know what I felt in that room. I went home and cried and cried for hours. I just had no idea how losing a patient on my watch would affect me, and it affected me greatly. Cindy was a wonderful, sweet girl and her family kept in touch with our unit for years after she passed. They were a family of very strong faith and it was obvious. I am so afraid people are going to think I'm nuts after reading these posts I'm doing, but on the other hand, I don't really care. If they impact one person, then they were worth it.

Josh (This will be a long post....)

Josh was my first oncology patient. I had only been out of nursing school for 6 months and suddenly found myself as the only chemo certified nurse on night shift. I met Josh one night in the middle of a shift after he had a bad reaction to a medication. He was 16 years old and being only 22 myself, I was able to relate to him pretty well. He had rhabdomyosarcoma- a very rare and aggressive cancer. He had a reputation on the unit as being moody and trying, so I was a little nervous about taking him on. He did ask me if I knew what I was doing the first night I had him. I came back with an equally smart alec remark and we were instant friends. His mother lived in a psychiatric unit- she had been committed and had multiple issues. His father was newly married and worked very long hours to pay medical bills. He was the youngest of 3 boys. Three months before he was diagnosed, the middle brother had committed suicide. You could say this was a dysfunctional family, and Josh had been quite the rebellious teen. He was in the hospital the last time for 9 months straight, so we became his family. No-one usually stayed the night, so he would stay up late and talk with me. He began to refer to me as his "sister" and one of the day shift nurses he called "mom". I would come see him on days off and bring him things and just talk. The tumors had spread to his spine and had paralyzed him from the waist down, so he was totally dependant on us for everything. He had a girlfriend and he was as cute as he could be. One night, he gave me Jelly Bellly jelly beans and made me guess what flavor each one was. I was ok until we got to the buttered popcorn one, which was about my hundredth one that night, and I almost got sick. He thought that was hilarious.... Towards the end of his battle, we were giving him so much morphine that it was almost humanly impossible for him to be conscious- yet he would be wide awake and in terrible pain, nothing could touch it. He began to get scared about dying. We talked about it a lot. He asked me about God (the only way we were allowed to discuss it with patients was if they brought it up.) I told him what I believed and he said he believed the same. I left it at that for the moment. One night not long after that, he woke up screaming in fright, terrified that he was going to be taken that night and was begging me to hide him so he couldn't be found. He was sweating and scared out of his mind. I sat with him for a while, calming him and holding his hand until he fell back asleep. The next night, we had a code on a 3 month old infant with leukemia. (A rare thing for infants -survival rate is about 3 percent.) She passed away about an hour later. I was so sad and so upset. I went into Josh's room and just sat by his bed in the dark, thinking he was asleep. I must have made some kind of slight noise at some point because I heard him say "Shhhh, she's asleep." I squinted at him, confused and thinking he was delusional from the morphine and when my eyes adjusted, I saw he was holding -what appeared to me to be an empty towel- but it was the way one would cradle a baby. I said, "What is going on?" He replied "Can't you see her? She just got here. She's beautiful. She's asleep." I just went along and told him, "Yes, Josh, she is sweet. Where did she come from?" He said " I don't know." He was smiling and seemed to be very deep in thought. Then he said, "Where have all the children been coming from?" I asked him what he was referring to and he told me that he had seen lots of children running and laughing in the halls and some had even come into his room and that they were so happy. I just sat there, glad that he could not see my tears in the dark room. A few minutes later, he whispered "I'm not afraid anymore." Then he just fell asleep with a smile on his face. I was just speechless. I didn't tell anyone about this for a long time for fear that I would be taken out in a vest to the looney bin. The next week, he asked for the chaplain and she came and baptized him in his room at his request and he accepted Christ into his heart that day. A week after that he was gone. I had him the night before. I went into his room after I clocked out. I was so tired. It was my 4th 12 hour night shift that week and I was about to drop. He woke up for a minute and held my hand. I told him I would stay with him and he told me to go home, that he was going to be fine. That afternoon, I got the call that he had passed about 2 hours after I left. Let me tell you that knowing him changed me. It changed my life. It changed the way I viewed death. I have not been afraid of it since then. He was an amazing person. His father, stepmother and older brother were all there with him when he passed. They had mended all the broken-ness with him about 2 weeks before. I know parts of this story sound a little "out there" ,but you are free to believe what you want. I know what I know. I know he is watching me type this and probably saying "Why aren't you telling them how cool and gorgeous I am?" I miss him. I will see him again some day. I hope this story wasn't too depressing- that is not the intention. I just wanted to share Josh with you. He was my first heart-bond to pediatric oncology nursing. I'll share another with you tomorrow. BTW- Brian surprised me tonight and told me he ordered all of the books I'll need for the certification courses in Grief Counseling. I didn't tell him that I had finally decided that is what I was going to do and he did not read my blog yesterday. Guess it is really meant to be for me to pursue it, eh? Have a good night. More tomorrow.

Breathing a Sigh of Relief

Whew- this weekend is done. I am not excited that tomorrow is already Monday, but I am so glad my "to do" list for this weekend is done. B's office Christmas party was great and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. The baby shower I had here today went off without a hitch and even though we only had a few people, I really enjoyed the adult time and my house is cleaner than it has been in about a year. B took the girls to see the Nutcracker ballet for the first time while I had the shower. It was fulfilling a lifelong dream for Emmaline and she is more excited about taking ballet now than ever. I have done a lot of thinking this weekend. It was one of those "one thought leads to another" things. I had heard before the Christmas party that one of the other few privately-owned pediatric practices here was really struggling and was being bought out by the hospital. I felt for those docs. B was told when he wanted to open his practice "You'll never make it. You should not do that. Private practices rarely survive." Etc.... We had to go to 5 banks before we found one that would take a leap of faith and loan us the money to open the practice. Then it was a lot of work and prayer for several years after that. When I went to the Christmas party Friday night, I looked around the room at all the staff and it was just amazing to me at how we have been blessed. Our first party was held at our home with about 12 people (that included staff spouses). Now,8 years later, we have about 45 people in the room. God has been so good to us. I was asked several times this weekend what my plans are for my career. I know I was not "called" to do phone triage, but while the girls have been young and not in all-day school it has been wonderful to be able to do that. I really want to go back to Pediatric Oncology (where my heart is and where I spent 10 years of my nursing career). But, I don't want to go back to working weekends and holidays- that time is too valuable to me at this point. I have decided that after we move and the girls start school next Fall, I am going to get certified in Grief Counseling. I've come back to that over and over for the past year. It is something I had to do as a Pediatric Oncology nurse quite often and it was the area I felt the most equipped and comfortable in. It will allow me to work in the area God has called me to and do the thing I feel like I need to be doing. That led me to another thought. I had a few patients on the Pediatric Oncology unit that made an impact in my life permanently. I thought I would take the next few days to honor them and tell their stories. I want to share their stories as a tribute to them and also just to share the experiences I had with them with others and maybe have a positive impact on someone else through their stories. So, this week will be dedicated to the children in my heart who aren't biologically mine (not all of them have passed away). I loved all of my patients, but a few of them touched my soul and those are the ones I want to talk about. I hope I can do them justice with my renditions. I think they would be really happy that I was sharing them with other people. For now, I am pooped, so it is off to bed and up for a manic Monday in the morning. Hope everyone has a great week~

Where Is It???

Has anyone seen my mind? I think I've lost it. It's probably somewhere amongst the packing boxes and Christmas decorations and baby shower preparation stuff. Or maybe it's in the rolls of house plans or the landscape plans or the hundred thousand kitchen and bath idea books that are laying around..... All these things I am talking about are blessings, of course. It's just that we have been really blessed lately. :0) So, this Sunday I am hosting a baby shower at my house for my Hungarian friend. They have no family here and few friends (as they just moved from Florida not long ago.) So, I took it on to do a shower for her. Here. This weekend. My house currently looks like a bomb went off in it. I only took out about half of my Christmas decorations because of everything going on. Usually we really Chevy Chase it up and it is so beautifully tacky, so half is still pretty festive. I have a feeling that by the time we get close to shower hour, I am going to be throwing stuff in the dryer, under beds or wherever I can find an empty spot. Then I won't be able to find that stuff for months because I'll forget where I put it.... Oh, well. I think it'll be fun anyway. I did go out and buy some more Christmas presents today. I am usually done way before now, but the house stuff and etcetera really got me this season and I have fallen behind. I think I am going to be doing some online shopping to finish up. We are almost done, so really I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am feeling ok right now. Oh- bad news to report- Brian saw my blog about the Pedi Paws and proceeded to try it out when I was not present so I could not take pics of him. Needless to say, he has got it in a bag to be returned to Target. He says it didn't work, but I think it also had something to do with the cat's reaction..... He tried it on Willie, the most cooperative, so it must not have gone well. Hee hee. Just imagining it makes me laugh. Well- hope everyone has a good weekend. Tomorrow night is B's office Christmas party and Saturday we'll be watching the Bama/Gator game. Then the shower on Sunday! My weekend seems to be already gone......

As The Old Saying Goes....

All's well that ends well!! Woo-hoo! What a game that was. I have to admit, I was shocked. I watched in disbelief as the Tigers whooped up on the chickens. What a great way to end the season. They have looked like a different team for the past few weeks. If Clemson doesn't give Dabo a chance, they will get grief from the fans at this point. I think the man has proven that he has what it takes plus some. He has put life back into a team that people had given up on, and they have come together under his leadership. I am thrilled with the way they have played for the past few weeks. Plus I get bragging rights to my Gamecock friends and also my Gamecock parents for the next year.... :0) I know there are still bowl games to watch (not to mention the Alabama/Fla. game next Saturday) but I am already going through football withdrawal.... I cannot stand when the season ends. At least this one ended well. Hopefully a sign of things to come!!

Good Grief

I declare, these past few weeks have just flown. I don't know which end is up right now. Trying to start packing up some things and get some rooms cleaned out and new stuff is being delivered almost every day for the new house..... Just makes me wanna scream. With the holidays coming fast on top of everything else, it's just making my head spin. I do love the holidays- and I make sure to take time out to really think about the meaning behind them and enjoy the family moments, but wow- it makes for a crazy few months. I am usually done Christmas shopping way before now, and I am not done this year. Not to mention, I've lost my list and the gifts I've bought have been wrapped for some time. It is going to be a surprise all around when people open their stuff.... Oh, well. Today was a real doozy. I dropped the girls off at school, came home, cooked stuff for their Thanksgiving parties and went back to school. Emmaline's party started at 11, and Annelise's started at 12. I picked up an extra child along the way, took them all to Chik-Fil-A for ice cream and to play on the playground until it was time for the after school Explore Lab. Dropped them all off for the lab, went to Wal-Mart with everyone else on God's green earth and went back to get them. Came home, collapsed for a minute, put on PJ's at 5:45 and ate cereal for dinner. I should be cleaning or folding laundry, but I just can't bring myself to do it tonight! I've got the "Can't Help Its" . (That's what we call it around here, anyway...) I was supposed to work from home doing phone triage tomorrow (with the girls here, too)- but thankfully they don't need me. So- I will have time in the morning to get caught up on cleaning. After being roped into playing several rounds of "Trouble" and" Go Fish", I'm sure. Such an exciting life. :0) I am looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family and feel fortunate that we don't have to travel anywhere. Well- 30 minutes to my mom's, but you know what I mean. I got my Christmas cards done and ready to mail. It is against the law in my house to put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, but I did get some down and ready to go. We usually get our tree the day after Thanksgiving, but the girls are supposed to be spending the night with Aunt Libby some night this week, and if it is Friday night, we will have to break tradition and do it another day. Besides, Saturday my rear will be glued to the couch anyway-I'll be watching all kinds of football and hopefully will be pleasantly surprised at what the Tigers bring to the table. (One can hope.) Well- here's wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Hope everyone will take time to reflect on what is important and how much we all truly have to be thankful for. :0)

This Should Be Good

Okay, so my hubby loves infomercial products. I learned this the hard way right after we got married and I got a shipment of 20 Hook N' Hang hanger thingys that are supposed to save room in the closets. BTW- those do NOT work and they went to Goodwill some time ago. After that incident I sat him down and we had a talk about it and I realized that it is something he almost cannot help so therefore I have been resigned to having to watch him like a hawk whenever we go to a store that sells these "As Seen On TV" things. Anywho- after a recent trip to Target, when we were home unpacking the 4 or 5 bags of stuff we had, I pulled out this Pedi Paws thing-a-ma-bob. I held it up and looked at it and then looked at B who had the "deer in the headlights" look and was frozen in place. Man, he is getting good- he must have snuck it in there when I sent him to get the catfood.... He thinks this gadget is going to be great for trimming our 3 cats back toenails- which is one of his jobs. (They're declawed in the front.) I just burst out laughing at him at the thought. Willie may let him do it for oh, a microsecond. Annabelle runs from him if he even looks her way- and she already sounds like something out of "Cujo" when he cuts her toenails with regular clippers. Then there's Clyde- who absolutely freaks at the sound of a burp much less a giant electric nail file that will be headed for his feet. So, I am truly looking forward to watching this whenever it occurs. Oh, do not worry- I will be sure to take pictures- although I am not sure they will be clear due to the fur flurries and most likely blood splatters that I expect to be flying about. I am going to enjoy this attempt thoroughly. I can tell this is going to go badly. Very badly......

Is It Just Me....

Or is this one of the creepiest dolls you've ever seen, too? I'm talkin' about the kind that end up scurrying across the floor in the middle of the night with an evil chuckle. This is a Madame Alexander Lollipop Munchkin doll from the Wizard of Oz collection. They would have been more accurate to call it Chucky's Spawn. It's on clearance at Target right now, for obvious reasons. If I got something like this for Emmaline, she would absolutely freak. Anyway- on a better note, if anyone is looking for toys at great prices, target.com has a big toy clearance going on. Just type in 'clearance' in the search bar and click on Toys when you go to the clearance section. They had some great deals. No time to write much today. I'm taking care of B. He has the tummy bug. I had it yesterday and you know how men are- they can never let you get anything without getting it, too. :0) So, I'm off to be a nurse and make sure he's still alive upstairs. Hopefully the girls won't get it.....

Paternal Humor

I can't believe in all the craziness this past week that I forgot to tell this story. B would rather me not, I'm sure, but I can't help it- I have to. On Halloween day, B and I had just dropped the girls off at school and we were walking back to the parking lot to go begin our day's errands. (Friday is B's day off.) On our way out, one of the school employees said something- I cannot remember the exact wordage, but the only thing I do know is that the employee thought I was a high schooler and that Brian was my DAD. I looked at B and said- "What is that man talking about?" B replied "HE THINKS I AM YOUR FATHER!!!" He was completely mortified and I was laughing so hard I was crying. Seeing as B is only 2 years older than me, I found it to be totally hilarious. Now, I do have braces- but my mouth was closed at the time and so that could not have been a factor. I had on jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. Nothing to suggest I was trying to be a teeny bopper. So, needless to say, B swears he is going to dye his salt and pepper hair and I have been telling him "Who's my Daddy? Oh, yeah, YOU are!" over and over (never gets old). It made my week and I have been laughing about it ever since. I have to enjoy that now, because I am sure there won't be much longer that I will be able to pass for younger than I am..... Anyway- tonight I am having a girls night with The Architect. We will be enjoying some PF Changs and some Barnes and Noble time. Woo hoo. (Sweet Thang- we will miss you tonight!) I will also be looking for a Clemson win this Saturday and a Gamecock whippin. Hopefully both of those wishes will be granted. Other than that- still trying to pick out some things for the house- we should have a foundation next week! (Would have had one this week, but rain stopped those plans.) Really nothing new or exciting to report, which is fine with me! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sugar and Spice

These pictures were made a couple months ago, but we just got the proofs back a couple weeks back. (Only because we have been really busy and weren't able to go pick them up....) I saw them and almost cried. I know I am biased, but wow- he did such a great job capturing the girls and their personalities in the pics. We ordered over 50 proofs, so what you see here is just a small sample of what I have. They look so grown in some of them. The first 5 are of Emmaline- I love that you can still see some of her "baby" features in her arms and wrists and hands. She is so photogenic. (I know I am braggin'- I can't help it!! However, they could possibly be the ugliest kids alive and I would never know it.....) The middle 2 pics are of them together and the last 4 are of Annelise. She is such a big girl now. I can't believe she is 6. She tried so hard to look old and be professional during the photo session. They are truly blessings in our lives and before you know it, I'll be posting their "Sweet 16 " pics up here........

Quick Note

So really quick.... So sorry for the slackness (again). It has been so crazy here. The house has been started and we have had to do some emergency paperwork and get that filed, blah blah. Cleaned on Saturday and watched football (so sad about the Tigers- maybe next week.) Then yesterday afternoon B was outside doing yardwork after church and heard something under the house. It was one of our main water lines. It had burst. Great. Instead of paying a plumber 8 hundred million bucks to come out on a Sunday at 6 pm, B - being the total handyman he is- decided to fix it himself. He ran to Lowe's to get things right before they closed and came home to fix it, only to realize that one of the key parts was missing from one of the pieces. He tried to rig it, but no go. I felt so bad for him... Annelise, being his shadow, was under the house with him in the musty, wet dark, holding a flashlight for him while he worked. That child would literally attach herself to his hip if she could. So- he went to his office to shower and left early this morning to go back to Lowe's before work and get the final pieces. No shower for me this morning, which is one of my "things"- I do not leave the house without showering, so I feel like a grimy mess right now. Gotta work and then go pick up Emmaline. Hopefully B will have it fixed before time to go get Annelise! I want to post some photos from our hike and also some pics of the girls that are just awesome , but B has to scan those because I am so computer retarded and he has not had time. Maybe tonight he can do that. I'm over my Obama rant. I figured that what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, ya know? I can live with it for 4 years. I gave it to God and He will take care of us, so I'm done with it. Anyway, hopefully pics will be on here tomorrow and I will have showered by then....... One can only hope!

My Blog- My Feelings

Let me say that I do believe that it is so very important for every person to cast their vote and have their say. However, I also believe that an uninformed, uneducated vote is worse than not voting at all. I watched countless interviews of people yesterday and last night who voted for Obama and it is safe for me to say that at least 80% of the people interviewed had no idea about what his policies are and what his plans are for this country. Some of the interviewers asked the Obama voters if they agreed on this policy or that policy and the voters emphatically said "Oh, yes, of course I think that is a great thing." Would have been fine, but the interviewers were speaking of Mc Cain's policies and were proving a point. This election was race-driven and that should never be the case. (Especially considering that Obama is half caucasian- why does no-one mention that?) I am going to pray for him and for him to do the right thing just like I would anyone who got elected. But I have some serious questions I wish he would answer for me. Like why he removed the American flag emblem from his plane and replaced it with a picture of himself. Or why he does not place his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. Or how he could attend a racist/extremist church for 20 years and then try to say that he does not follow the teachings of the preacher there. As a Christian, I cannot understand how another Christian could vote for someone who supports partial birth abortion. Don't know what that is? Go look it up. It is a horrific practice that should be stopped. It is murder in the purest form. How will he handle terrorist issues? Someone who has no experience in that area? I am so upset right now. Not to mention that he is going to take all kinds of money from people like me and my husband, who have worked our butts off to put ourselves through college, sacrificed and scraped to open the practice, and now we will be forced to give hard-earned money to people sitting at home on their rears watching Jerry Springer all day. How is that going to help our economy? Brian and I give money to several different charities. That should be our choice. I believe in rewarding hard work. His plan rewards laziness. Even Democrats have said that his plan mimics those in Europe- that are failing miserably by the way. This economic crisis we are in is blamed on Bush- but no-one seems to remember that Clinton is the one who passed the bill allowing people to buy homes when they could not afford them, and now we see the results of that. I have to keep reminding myself that in the end, Obama has no power over me that I don't give him. He cannot determine my values and my beliefs. Christians are going to have to take a stand for things like never before. God will take care of those who trust in Him- I know that and take comfort in it. Anyway- I am done with my rant. If it upsets you, then don't read it. It is my opinion and my blog. I have gotten it out and now I can move on to praying for our country and genuinely praying for Obama- that God will touch his heart and that he would seek God's guidance in his decisions. I want to be able to believe that things won't be as bad as I think.........

Halloween Scene

Our punkin. It had these lite brite sticks that you poke through, then put a light bulb
in the gutted pumpkin and it lit up. Totally cool. The girls loved it.

The girls on Sweet Thang and Mr. Paranoia's porch. Getting ready to go get their loot.

Emmaline was "Bess"- one of Tinkerbell's fairy friends, and Annelise was an Asian Princess.

Daddy and Emmaline, hammering the lite brite sticks into the pumpkin.

Annelise was more into the gutting process.....

I have several more pics I wanted to put up here, like ones that included Sweet Thang and Mr. Paranoia's Star Wars boys- but the blog system was taking way too long to upload today and I am working at the moment, so not much time..... Needless to say the girls had a great time and so did we. They loaded up on candy and they have been in sugar shock for the past 2 days. :0) I have not been true to my word this week about not being slack on the blog. We have been up to our necks with stuff involving the house. We had to make all these trips to finalize paperwork and get stuff filed at the courthouse and etc...... We also went to the tile place and we actually picked out all of our tile for the whole house and came in about 30% under budget on that! We changed our hardwood floors to hickory- which will save us another 30-40% on the budget for our hardwood floors. It has been crazy, but we are supposed to break ground tomorrow, so it has been worth it! Yesterday we went on a 4 mile hike in the mountains with my parents and my sister and her hubby and their 2 girls. It was perfect weather and a beautiful hike. I'll post pics of that, maybe tomorrow. ;0) Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Don't forget to vote tomorrow- this one is going to be a nailbiter.....

They Did It!!!

They actually won a game- even with 3 freakin turnovers!! Yeah, baby that is what I am talkin' about!!! I almost had a heart attack, but it was totally worth it.... ;0) PS- Halloween pics coming tomorrow night....

Quick Update

Parent-Teacher Conferences- Went great; Emmaline: doing great, but needs to try not to get frustrated so easily (apple not falling far from the tree thing...) and Annelise is the perfect student. No surprises there. Fireproof Movie- Great because it really makes you think about what you are giving to your marriage but some parts were extremely sappy and I do not like sappy stuff. There were some really funny comic relief parts and the overall message was great. Worth seeing. Trunk or Treat at church tonight- Fun and awesome turnout. The girls already have enough candy to cause sugar shock in 3 counties- and their costumes were too cute. The Shack (book I'm currently reading) - Ripping my heart in two reading about a parent's struggle with God after losing a child. But also making me think about my relationship with God and how I see Him. Really deep. The Lots- We closed, Hallelujah. So- now we are filing all the paperwork so we can break ground. Hope everyone had a fabulous week-end! More later.....

Out of the Loop...

Wow- things have been so insane here, lately. I just spent the last hour catching up with all the blogs I read and just sitting on the couch with B. I have been dragging out the girls winter clothes and putting away most of their summer ones- a HUGE task when they have the amount of clothing they have. (My fault- I buy all their clothes at the end of the season for the next year- and at 75-80% off, I can't pass it up... so I buy a ton.) I've been going around to different places giving flu mist for our office this week, too. Plus, we are supposed to close on our lots tomorrow and so there have been some loose ends with that to tie up. The girls are out of school tomorrow for Parent-Teacher conferences and so they are spending tonight and tomorrow night with Aunt Libby while B and I go to conferences and closings.... I've also been doing some soul-searching and spending a bit more time in prayer than I had been. I know the only way to be happy is to be doing what God wants you to do, and the only way to determine what that is is to spend time with Him- same goes for any relationship. I've been reading the book "The Shack" and it is just such a thought-provoking book as far as how we view God and what He is all about. It's a very interesting and eye-opening read. It is about a man who loses his youngest daughter to a serial killer/kidnapper and he goes back to the shack where she was killed and has an encounter with God. Really deep book. I'll let you know more about it when I'm done. Between that, reading the Doxa Glory blog I read, and getting to church on a regular basis again, I have really been convicted to talk to God about the path I need to be on. I want to be the best parent, wife and friend I can be and I can only do that if I am in God's will. I also am a little worried about this upcoming election and what it can mean for our country- so I have handed that over to Him, too- since He already knows what is going to happen and He wants us to give all of our burdens to Him and trust Him with them so that we don't have to worry about anything, ever. I just need to get back to where I need to be, and I finally feel like I am doing that. It's an awfully good feeling. For now, I am going to bed. Lots going on tomorrow- and on top of all of it, we are going to make time to go see Fireproof sometime between closings and conferences! Promise not to be so slack in the upcoming week.....

The Orchard Outing

I love this pic- it shows the beautiful blue sky that you only see in the Fall and the color of the apples just adds to it!

Emmaline and Annelise must have climbed a hundred trees looking for apples.....

These apples were the prettiest in the trees. They were called "Arkansas Black" and they were so beautiful - but, taste-wise, not my fave.

This was the store at the Orchard. They had all kinds of yummy stuff, but my favorites were the apple donuts (heavenly), the chopped apples with fresh, warm homemade caramel poured over them, and the apple slushies. (No, I did not eat all of those myself- my parents and the girls and I all shared....)

This is one of the girls running wild down one of the rows of apple trees, looking for a good one to climb. They were worn out by the time we left! It was a huge orchard.

Fruits of our labor- literally. ;0)

The girls resting on some hay bales. Notice their apple shirts. It's one of the cheesiest
things I've done in a while.

Looking out of the Pumpkin House in the parking area.


We had a good time this past Sunday at the orchard. The first thing I noticed was the smell. They were making homemade cider and the apple donuts were rolling "hot off the press". I bought a dozen so I could take some home to Brian- who was on call. You could smell the hot homemade caramel they were pouring over apples and apple wedges. Mmmm- it was so awesome. One of those smells that could never be duplicated in a candle. We had a picnic lunch and we stayed for about 2 and a half hours. My parents went along, so I wasn't totally overwhelmed with the girls. We did the hay ride, walked 8 million miles through the orchard looking for good apples to pick, played on the playground and went through the store. There were a lot of people, but it was a big place, so not too bad. The weather was perfect and the sky was just gorgeous. A pretty good trip. Even though the girls were in meltdown mode by about 5 pm, it was still worth it. I have been going 100 miles an hour since then. So much to do.... I packed up all my fine china today- even though we have not broken ground yet, I do not like to wait until the last minute and I have done this so many times- I know what I can go ahead and pack!! This week will be short for the girls- they are out this Friday, so I am excited about that. One more morning I won't have to get up early! For now, I still have a couple apple donuts left, and I hear one calling my name.........

All in all, not so bad

Well, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Tigers pulled together and played today. First half was a little rough. I agree with the announcers- too much trickery attempted and too many fancy play calls for a first game after everything has happened. Once they went to simple "get the job done" plays they did much better. I also loved the enthusiasm I saw in Dabo Swinney. I like him a lot and I am excited to see what he is going to do for the rest of this season. I have to say that as much as I didn't want Cullen Harper to go on the field today- he did a pretty good job out there. A few questionable ref calls today, but what else is new... So, all in all- not bad. I'll be a Tiger no matter what happens- ever- so you just learn to roll with the bad times... Brian is on call this weekend, so I'm single-parenting for a few days. Annelise's last soccer game was this morning. Gettin' cold so I am glad we won't be running out the door early on Saturday mornings for that anymore for a while. Came home, fixed lunch, watched Clemson, now watching Alabama and then tonight I'll be watching the chickens play LSU. That's gonna be a tough one, because I cannot stand LSU, and also cannot stand the chickens, so I guess I'll just be watching to watch- not really pulling for either team! The girls have had a friend over all day, so they were well entertained. Tomorrow the girls and I are going to an apple orchard after church for a picnic lunch and some apple picking activities. That should be fun. I don't like to do stuff like that without B with me- but my parents are going, so it should be ok! Anyway- prepare for some pics from that soon. Have fun watching some football today or whatever you may be watching!!

The Sweet Moments

Ever since Annelise and I had our girls day out last weekend, she has just been so sweet. She is sweet-natured, anyway, but lately we had been seeing some 'tude coming out with some sassy mouth and some rolling of the eyes and such. She may be 6 and a half, but she thinks she is a teenager- or so she tells me all the time. So when I saw a paper in her folder from school with "Mommy" written on it yesterday, I took it out and this is what I read: "Poime by Annelise To Mommy. You are as sweet as a Plum and I Love To spend Time with you. And with you I am happy. Love AfK " I thought that was so darn sweet and I even teared up a little, which is rare for me. She spelled everything all by herself and drew little different colored hearts all over the paper. Apparantly, it is what she chose to do when she had a few free minutes in class. I think those few hours we spent together last Saturday really just meant the world to her. I am so excited about maybe doing it again sometime, soon. I truly was surprised at how much I enjoyed our girls day. She is growing up way too fast.......

The Stars Have Aligned....

We are getting ready to close on our new lots on October 24th. We will break ground pretty much immediately after that. So, it has been crunch time with the final decisions on the layout of the house and what flooring we will do where, etc.... Our builder gave us a quote that almost made us pass out because it was way higher than we expected! But when we looked at all of the stuff Brian had added in that was truly just "stuff" we were able to cut the cost tremendously. (He has this tendency to go overboard.. Sweet Thang and Mr. Paranoia can attest to that.) Anyway- I have been nervous about leaving a bigger city to go to a smaller one because I am so used to the convenience of everything. Well, this past Sunday I heard from a very reliable source that Target and Kohl's are coming to the town we are about to build in! Two of my favorite stores! It was like God spoke right then and there to let me know that we are gonna be fine. ;0) Seriously, though- I am really relieved that the town we are moving to is going to be adding so much so soon. There are several shopping centers that have been planned out and Hobby Lobby just built out there a few months ago. (Another store I love.) I also read an article about the new high school that the girls will attend one day. It is supposed to be completed in 2010 and they have nicknamed it the "21st Century High School" because of the cool design and all it is going to offer. They will have a football stadium that seats 3000 and an auditorium that seats 700 and the gym will hold 1500. (But the school max will be 1000 students- with the ability to add on later if needed.) I love that because I like the idea of the girls going to a smaller, but still good, school. I've read the ratings for the elementary and middle schools and they were wonderful, so I am feeling better and better about it. Now if I can just convince all my friends to follow us out there .................

Sad, but Necessary

Well, we all knew it was possible- I just didn't expect it this quickly! Let me say that I do think Tommy Bowden is a good person and has been a wonderful coach in the past. But, I just don't think his heart was in it anymore. Just watching him on the sidelines this year- I think he was so much less emotional and displayed such nonchalance on the field. Plus, when it comes down to it, football is a business. A big one. And if you aren't putting out good results, you're gone. Period. I don't feel too sorry for him- he's getting close to 4 million, so he won't have to do crap for years if he doesn't want to. Clemson was retarded for extending his contract that long. I do love Dabo Swinney, and the players seem to, too, so I am excited to see what he can do. I don't have any expectations for this year, because I think the team will just be upside down for a while. I feel for the players- whether they liked Bowden or not- this is a big deal for them and they will have to try hard to stay united on the field and to keep their game faces on. I will tell you what I am angry about, though. I cannot believe what Cullen Harper said about Bowden's firing to ESPN. And to make it worse, what his father said to them when they called him. First of all, they should not have commented at all to the press. Second, for them to be so disrespectful and so harsh about a coach (who praised/defended Harper when everyone else was wanting him benched, and also kept him on the field much longer than he deserved to be) was just ridiculous. Tacky, and immature. I have no respect for Harper or his father. I hope he gets zero playing time for the remainder of the season. I really hope that Korn goes out there and just shows him up. Poor Korn- no pressure there- you just never started a game in college and have gotten almost no playing time, but now we're gonna start you with no coach, no offensive coordinator and all kinds of hype surrounding you and the whole team. No biggie. Bless him. Goodness- this is the excitement of college football! I do hope they get someone in there who will take the team where they have the potential to go. People keep talking about Danny Ford. I know he did great things for the football program , but his ways were frequently underhanded and a tad dishonest at times. If you're not good enough to win without doing it cleanly, then you're just not good enough. I know, I'll probably get death threats for that, but it's just my opinion..... It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years with recruiting and stats and such. Never a dull moment!!

Done for the Day

After a soccer game this morning and 3 birthday parties , I've decided to call it quits for the day and plant my rear on the couch for the remainder of the evening and watch some football. I don't care at the moment that my house is messier than it has been in weeks. I don't care about the mountain of laundry. I also do not care that the recycleables are taking over my kitchen and garage. I am wiped out! The girls have had a blast today and Annelise and I had lunch together in the Mall (where one of the parties occured) as a special "girls day treat" for the two of us. She and I really enjoyed that. It's something we are going to do more often. She was so sweet and just thought it was the greatest thing that she and I did something alone. I sometimes just don't realize how grown she is now! She went to a party at Build-A-Bear for one of her best friends. She chose a pink and white leopard to stuff and take home, complete with a pink sequin dress, pink flats and a pink sequin purse. Those stuffed animals have a better wardrobe than I do! She bestowed the name "Alice" upon her leopard and is very proud of her creation. Emmaline is busy playing with her huge Magnetix set we gave her for her birthday and B is outdoors planting bushes. Which leaves me here on the couch alone- until I have to get up and cook something in about 30 minutes.......... ;0)

Please Explain....

????????????????

Field Trippin'

Pumpkins for sale at the orchard. They had a neat little shop with all kinds of stuff.

Annelise inside the shop at the orchard. This pic was her idea.......

Annelise milking the simulated cow. This was a huge hit with the kids!!

Annelise feeding one of the goats. Not a huge deal for her- her Poppy has a goat farm.

Pic of the pumpkin patch. I love love love Morning Glories. I know they are in the weed family, but I don't care. They are so pretty and vibrant. I plan to plant some on our new lots against the split wood fence in our backyard.

The deer family at the orchard. There were 8 of them, all different sizes. They snacked on cheese crackers and would stand on their hind legs to eat them and lick at them. Too cute.

One of two baby deer. They were adorable and the kids had a fit over them.

Totally separate from the field trip- yesterday was "tacky day" for Emmaline's class. My little anal child threw an absolute fit about wearing mismatched shoes and socks. I had to beg her to participate!!


Obviously, Annelise had a field trip yesterday to an orchard way out in the middle of nowhere. It was pretty and I had been there before- it's only about 15 minutes from where I grew up. Most of the kids were just fascinated. You could tell it was a group from the "city". Brian happens to be off this week and he got to go, too- which just thrilled Annelise. It was supposed to be 76 degrees and sunny, so I wore short sleeves. Well, it was freezing cold. Freezing. I even passed up the free homemade ice cream they gave out. You know it was cold for that to happen. As we rode through the peach trees and blackberry vines and pumpkin patch and fig bushes on the hay ride, I really wished that I was the kind of person who wanted to live somewhere like that. Out on a ton of land in a cool old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. But, I guess I can't change who I am. I would love it for about a week and then I would be jonesin' for a Target. Or pizza delivery. We can't even take care of the 5 acres we live on, now. Oh, well- I'll be perfectly content with my 1.2 acres we are about to build on. (As long as the guy across the street stays quiet... BTW- his yard was sodded this past weekend and it looks really good! ;0) ) That's it for today- I'm off to the orthodontist. He says we will no longer be friends after today. He's going to put a really strong wire in my braces that is going to make me very sore for the next couple days or so. Yay. Thank goodness milkshakes are soft.........

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

So, I have a TV in my kitchen- right beside the cooktop. That was the deal if B wanted me to cook. Anywho, I always leave the channel on Lifetime while I cook because I love Reba and Golden Girls and Still Standing. They just crack me up, even if I do know almost all the words to some of the episodes. Well, as you may or may not know, Lifetime began showing episodes of Wife Swap during some of this time frame. I never watched this show on regular TV channels, and I didn't have the energy to find a new "dinner preparation channel", so I started listening to it while I cooked. Good Lord. No way I would ever go on that show. I tried to imagine what kind of woman they would trade me with. Hard to determine, as I have so many conflicting personality traits. It would be someone who would have "anti-religion" tendencies and someone who kept a dirty house and someone who had foul-mouthed materialistic kids. Also someone whose husband was dumb as a rock and/or never around and/or toothless. Or it could be someone who was very timid and quiet and looked/behaved somewhat like one of the women they featured on TV from the polygamist compound not too long ago. Also a Carolina Gamecock fan. I shudder at the thought. No way. These women amaze me. They know they are going to be paired with someone as totally opposite themselves as the show can find, yet they are shocked at where they get placed and they end up crying. I don't know how much they "win" for being on the show, but there would not be enough compensation for me. My husband and my children get on my nerves at times, I definitely could not tolerate someone else's for 14 days. Especially someone who the show would choose purposefully to tick me off- seeing as my temper is my worst issue. I would end up in jail.... Who would you get "swapped" with? Can you even imagine? Just giving you something to chew on tonight! Have fun. ;0)

We Survived

Barely. Wow, I am so tired and just worn out! I am fairly certain that I could now try out for the show Survivor and be fine no matter where they sent us.... The baby (23 month-old) Jess, was perfect. She could not have been better. Annelise "mommied" her and they were so sweet. I put her to bed at 8 pm Friday night, she told me night-night and she didn't make another peep. Now, her sister, Reagan, and my Emmaline were the total opposite. They were like the demonic duo or something. Total defiance towards me and B and just as wild as they could be. We almost lost our minds with them. Reagan spilled something every hour, and at every meal she managed to get a ton of food in her hair. She and Emmaline drug out every toy and every what-not in the entire house- which is already a mess with all the stuff we are storing for our next house. Reagan tore up Emmaline's lamp on her bedside table (which she has had since she was born) by ripping all the flowers off of the base. We told them to stop jumping on the bed and the minute we would leave the room, we would hear them doing it again. Insert scream here. They were really mean to Annelise and didn't want her to play with them, but absolutely destroyed her room. You get the idea. On Saturday morning, either Jess or Reagan woke up at 5:45 am and started screaming, which of course woke up everyone in the house. They were so tired the rest of the day that they just cried about everything from then on. It was so bad, that I did not allow my girls to go with my mother when she came to get my neices at 4:30 Saturday afternoon. I didn't want her having to deal with what I had dealt with and I also needed for my 2 to be in the bed on time that night. Now y'all know it was bad if I was willing to give up a kid-less night! We were all just totally exhausted last night and went to bed and slept like bears. (After falling asleep several times during football games during the evening. ) We went to church this morning and now we are just all doing our own thing in the house and we will have family night tonight (a game and a movie). There is so much I need to get done, but I am just too tired to get off the couch..... After all is said and done, though, I love my daughters and neices so much and they did make me laugh a lot this week-end. They are precious. I am also glad my sister got to have a girls weekend with her bff- she doesn't get to go out much with her friends and she had a great time. I am also glad that after this weekend, taking care of just my 2 seems so easy! Well, off to figure out the game for tonight and decide what to throw together for dinner. I'll tackle the house tomorrow...... :0)