*SNIFF SNIFF*

I finally did it. I finally got my wedding ring cut off. :o( I took the 6 youngest kids to the mall for a round of school shopping. It wasn't really bothering me today but it's been a thought quite a few times the last month or so. My finger tends to get raw under my band. Also with the heat of the summer my edema has caused my fingers to swell more then normal. Usually when it's bothering the most is at night, on weekends or when there is NO WAY I can get to a jeweler to get it off. So, while there I decided I'd get it done. It HURT when they did it and I had to ask for a break in the work for a bit. I almost started crying once or twice (because of emotions, not pain) but made it through without tearing up all the way. The kids got a kick out of watching it...I'm sure we made quite the picture.

Before I forget...B UPDATE...He's HOME!!! He's doing really well although a little weak from being in bed for so long. All is brothers and sisters are loving him being home and are treating him like a King...at least last I heard LOL Thursday is his dr appt, so they should know how long to expect him to be laid up and such.

Patrick Soccer update....There will be no more updates this year. :o( He emailed the college's soccer coach, explained about his back and that he'd need a week or two to recoup. Coach suggested he keep working out and try again next year. Patrick said today that he'd like to join an evening adult soccer league and also a volleyball league. He seems to be ok with it. I almost wonder if he's TOO ok with it. I think he was surprised by the quality of players at the college. He mentioned almost all of them were from England and South Africa. Oh well, maybe he needs to be playing it just for fun for a while.

Oh yeah....forgot I wanted to mention the pool. I FINALLY got the thing to register a chlorine reading! Of course I've had to feed it TWO chlorine tablets at once and it's been on the chilly side out with us hardly using it...but it's a reading nontheless. As soon as we start using it I'll probably lose the reading again. LOL Figures the year a family with 10 kids finally gets a swimming pool it's one of the mildest and rainiest summers. Always seems to work out that way.

What have we been up to lately??? SHOPPING! It's the dreaded school shopping time. I decided last year that I would NOT take them all shopping for sneakers at once ever again. Well this year I've HAD to break them up due to the van not working properly (it wouldn't start for a time at my parent's on Sunday either). Yesterday I took Michelle, Val, Liz, J and K to the mall. We found a few deals. Val and Liz got their sneaks. We closed up the mall then went to a pizza place and grabbed a sheet pizza and 50 wings...YUM!!! There were wings leftover for those at home and we all had pizza for breakfast.

This morning I got up about 8:30 to find Michelle, Val, J and K up and all made up for the day. Seems they called J and K's mom at 8am (woke her UP!!!!) and convinced her to take them to the mall again. Michelle and Val never came home, they're spending the night at J and K's...they should be home early tomorrow morning.

I took Pat to Jess's house for the day and then came back home and picked up the rest of the kids (Drew is still at Allison's). I hate putting more kids in the car then there are suppose to be, but I didn't have much of a choice unless I wanted to leave Liz home alone. She wasn't too keen on that and neither was I. So we doubled up Eileen and Olivia in the middle back seat. *looks for her BAD mommy award*

The kids were pretty good while we were out and I didn't notice too many gawkers toward us. Although I was pretty busy shopping and herding kids through the crowds to notice/care anyways. :o) When we were first shopping all Jake kept asking is...are we going to the toy store now? Are we going NOW?!? My mom and dad gave him money for his birthday and it was burning a hole in his pocket!!! He wanted to buy another Yu-Gi-Oh card starter pack. Then after he made his purchase it was....are we done now? Are we going home now? Can we be done now and go home? LOL He got what he was there for....let's GO! Poor guy had to wait until the mall closed before he got his wish. We stayed until closing again, I never did get to Sears. I feel like I've walked a marathon though!

I'm so thankful that the kids I was shopping for are NOT the picky ones. We seem to have found quite a few deals including Reebok sneaks for Eileen for $10 and some cool looking ones (not sure the brand) for Luke for $11. So 4 pairs of sneaks down....3 (or 4 if Olivia gets her way LOL) more to go. Tomorrow Luke and Liz have an appt to get their eyes examined and new glasses. The plan is to hit Wal-Mart afterwards and try to get the shopping mostly done. The little boys, especially Jake needs some jeans!!!

I'm starting to feel the heaviness of using the credit card though. I won't be carrying a balance on it at 20% interest...but still...there is a heaviness there. It's weird to be using a credit card again after not having one for almost 4yrs. I guess I should consider that a good thing...so I don't take using it too lightly.

I've noticed a few times tonight that I've tried to twist my wedding ring on my finger. Waaaaaah! I didn't realize how often I use to do it. It still feels and looks like there is a ring there. There's a huge dent in my left ring finger. Guess I'll have to talk to Tom about covering it up soon. The jeweler said it would only cost $20 - $25 to resize it. Not too shabby! Much cheaper then buying a new one, especially since Service Merchandise is gone from the area now (if not completely gone from existance). Still, even then it would cost me at least $50 to get a new one from there. OH! Just hit google. Service Merchandise is still around. I see they don't even sell my cheap ring anymore. (10K gold...only sell 14K or better)

Well, dragging my exhausted, swollen body (you'd think I was 9mos pg! LOL) to bed.