Monday, June 29, 2009

Well she's gone!

And I didn't even shed as many tears as I thought I would. I miss her already. :o( The hardest thing was watching her say good-bye to Danielle and Sean. Danielle's going to be lost without her best friend. So now I'll have to become one of those crazy facebook addicts and stalk her.

And now the next day....

Liz should be at her new place in Norway. They were due to arrive at 4AM. Or at least her temporary new place since I'm not sure if they have her permanent placement yet. I was laying in bed with Danielle this morning listening to her "dumb" dream (she meant bad) and I mentioned that Liz was at her new house. Laughing, Danielle insisted...NO! She missed her airplane and she's at her old house. She runned home! Danielle has actually been pretty good about all this. I know she misses her. I think it helps that she doesn't fully understand how long Liz will be gone.

Getting Liz packed took some doing. We rolled, we stuffed, we space bagged (thanks to Allison), we weighed, we tucked, we redistributed, we weighed, we ran to Walmart, we repacked and started all over again. Yep, at 12:30am I decided the broken zipper on the bag we'd borrowed from my parents was too hard to deal with and that she needed a new bag. That meant a run to Walmart with Michelle while Liz stayed here and did some things she needed to do. The new bag wasn't as deep as the original one but was bigger in size so it took some finangling. It also came with 4 other bags which proved to be nice as the carry on had a LOT more room then the backpack she originally was using. We were wishing there wasn't a 17 pound limit on carry ons since she had tons of room in that thing. I'm not really sure they're so picky on the carry on weight as they are with the checked baggage. Still we didn't want her to have any problems and have to decide what to dump (since her checked bags were JUST at the 50lb limit and had no extra room for things). I'm already starting a list of things to send to Liz when I can. I found at least 3 of the 4 socks she had in her carry on, so I'm guessing she has none in there now. Must've fallen out in the shuffle/repacking. Hopefully they didn't lose her luggage and she has her other ones.

LOL! I just got a text from the mom of one of the other girls traveling with Liz. Seems they already had a training class and are scheduled to start work tomorrow. Welcome to Norway (and the real world) girls!

Having only had a few hours of sleep I was exhausted Monday. Unfortunately life wouldn't stop or slow down for me. I took Luke over to school to sign up for summer school, he starts on Wednesday. Carrie and Sean had a 1:15 doctor appt. All I wanted to do was take a nap. Carrie begged me to cancel and it's all it took. I called and canceled. Then I took 2 naps. I also worked on my crochet which I've been dying to get to. On top of my naps, I dozed between stitches. Luckily Michelle had the day off and I didn't have to drive into the city (another reason canceling the dr appt was so easy).

Today is a more relaxing day. Drew is borrowing the van and taking Michelle to work so no going out the door for me. We have plans to do some things around here. Much to Liz's chagrin we are moving rooms around. Carrie doesn't need the huge upstairs room to herself so we're moving her into the little bedroom that's used for toys and the treadmill. Luke and Jake are moving out of the library and up into Carrie and Liz's old room. The toys, books and treadmill (and Liz's things) are moving into the library. Eileen and Olivia are staying put but they are getting their room painted. It's never been repainted before and I've been promising them it'd get done for way too long. So it's at the top of the todo list along with getting the pool swimmable again. It was neglected and turned into pea soup.

Well I'm NOT letting this sit around another day. So I'll end it while I can.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

I drove all day long

It was an insane day Saturday. Michelle had to be at work at 8:30am. Liz and I realized that we never stopped at the eye glass place so she could get her frames fixed (lens keeps popping out and the arms are loose). So I grabbed her glasses before running out the door and added it to my list of things to do. It shouldn't be too hard, I just have to get my dad something for his birthday and I already knew what that thing was. Problem was, it was impossible to find! I ran to Walmart, Payless Shoes, and then Marshalls without getting him what I was looking for. I HAD to be home because Tom had to go to the dump and I still had some running to do before the graduation party at 1. I almost forgot to stop at the optical place and had double back, but they got fixed.

I ran home, Tom had the garbage all ready to go. He popped out a seat, filled the van and ran to the dump. He then had Luke and Jake load it with my the table and chairs we borrowed from my parents. I really should've returned them yesterday but I never got to it. They needed them for my dad's birthday cookout and I wouldn't be there until late because of the graduation party. So into my parents I went, unloaded the van and then immediately back home. I jumped in for a quick shower, threw some things in a backpack/diaper bag and back out we went. Next thing I knew it was 3:30 and I had to leave to pick up Michelle. The two hours I was there seemed like minutes. I left Tom and the kids at the party to enjoy themselves, no sense in all of us missing out. I got Michelle and we ran back to Walmart for a few things and then dollar store. We got back to the party about 5ish. I gathered everyone up while Michelle jumped out and said a few hellos. As I was heading to the van I had a sense that I was forgetting someone. It quickly hit me who I was missing...TOM! I had no idea where my husband was and had almost left him there! I finally found him hiding in the kitchen talking military experiences. I managed to drag him away and get him into the van. Then we were back on the road to my parents' house. We got there just before 6 which was a good thing since the firemen's field days parade was about to start. It passes by my parents house so we'd have been blocked from my parents' if it had started.

We watched the parade, had more yummy food, sat and talked. Liz said her good-byes and left with Pat and Alex to go in their hot tub for a while. I think I finally pulled back into our driveway around midnight. Needless to say, I was more then ready to go to bed. But as you can see I'm still not sleeping, don't ask me why. I'm as dumbfounded as you. Maybe I'm stressing because Liz still hasn't packed. I think my head is just so full of things that it can't shut down.

I decided that since a chicken dinner is very rare in Norway, and it's Liz's favorite meat, we'd have it for dinner tonight (Sunday). I'm going to grab a 50pc box of fried chicken from Walmart. There's also been requests for mashed potatoes. I was thinking it might be nice to try to get some ears of corn too. I already have a watermelon that we didn't eat at my dad's party. The boys are going to come over and we'll have a late dinner after Michelle gets out of work at 8.

When we were talking about Liz trying to pack everything in her two suitcases, Patrick had a brilliant idea. He suggested I get the space bags! It'd help a lot with her bedding, winter coats and hoodies. I'll try to get some when I drop off Michelle at work at 4.

Oh and did I mention we still have church in the morning with another graduation party immediately following church. I know I don't plan on sticking around the party for very long. But it's going to be hard for Liz to drag herself away from everyone so she can come home, do laundry and PACK. I'm hoping things will be cut short because the graduate who the party is for will have to leave so she can pack too. lol

I really should try to get a tiny bit of sleep before the day starts again. It's almost my wake up time!

And the week just keeps on going

Talk about last minute planning. I didn't really think through Liz's money situation in Norway until the last few days. On Thursday I decided she should probably have a bank account with a debit card so we could get her money quickly if she needs it. So Friday afternoon we were off to the bank. I wish I had my camera to take a picture of her as she walked out of that bank...she was beaming. Guess it's official now, she's an adult, she has her own bank account. :oD We ran to the store to pick up a few last minute things and then rushed back home so she could get ready for the graduation ceremony. Michelle was nice enough to stay home with the little kids so that Luke and Jake (who originally were babysitting) could go see the new transformers movie. So it was Liz, Tom, Carrie and me. Val and John came on their own a little later.

The ceremony was crowded, hot and boring like always but still, it was great to see all those kids. They were so nervous walking up to their seats on the stage. I kept thinking...they're just little babies! All the scholarships and awards were given out. I was amazed at how many of the recipients were girls. It's safe to say at least 80% of them were. I'd say it was more like 90%. All through the ceremony there were two people in the row behind us that kept having conversations. Not just comments or small tidbits but full blown, mouth running a mile a minute conversations. The amazing thing was...they were faculty! I know who one of them was, I'm not sure about the other. If I'd been sitting directly infront of them, I'd have said something. (they were behind Carrie and Val) As it is, I did shoot them a few really nasty looks. I'm thinking I may mention something (without naming names) to the principal or guidance counselor (although he's not the type that'll act on the complaint) on Monday when I take Luke in to sign him up for summer school. As much as I think they owe the parents of the graduates an apology. What I really want is for them to be reminded of proper ettiquette in those types of situation. I realize it has to be unbearable for them to have to sit through those each and every year. It's hard enough for me and I have a personal interest in it! But still, it was so rude! They could've easily slipped out into the hall...no one would've noticed or cared!

Ok...enough ranting...onto the pictures. I didn't get too many during the ceremony because my batteries were dying.

Liz just before she walked down the aisle to her seat
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Liz and my nephew Pete (had another nephew graduate too but he didn't attend)
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Liz and her friends...(left)Page who's going to Norway with her, (right) Jen who wishes she was going to Norway. Hopefully she'll get there in December.
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Tom and I with her
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Val and Carrie with her
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John, Liz, Val and Carrie
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Liz and one of her favorite teachers, Miss McD
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After refreshments and getting pictures taken, Tom and I headed home. John took the girls to get ice cream. They then stopped home before heading back out to the movies. They went to go see the new Transformers movie too. I guess they all got in pretty late. I don't know how Liz isn't freaking out by now. She has nothing packed and she leaves in a few days! At least she knows she has everything bought that she needs.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Day at the Beach

We couldn't make the beach trip on Wednesday due to Michelle's work schedule and graduation rehearsal which Liz had to attend if she was going to walk across the stage on Friday. So I decided we'd take a trip up to the lake on Thursday. It was going to be 90 and really muggy. I HAD to pay attention to the house before we went so departure time was set at noon. We didn't do too bad and left at 12:20. Most of those 20mins were spent applying sunscreen to everyone. lol Michelle had to work, Luke was at Della's and Jake was at a friend's house so it was only my niece, us girls (me, Val, Liz, Carrie, Eileen, Olivia and Danielle) and Sean.

The beach was busy but I've seen it a lot worse. Unfortunately it was also stinky thanks to a huge section of unused beach covered in seaweed. It was so bad that we had to move out of our perfect shady spot. The kids still had a ball though. Some of Val's friends ended up showing up and hanging out with us.

Sean and all the girls
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Danielle doing her fish impersonation
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Cowboy Sean
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Olivia and Danielle on the seesaw
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Sean and Val's friend Ashton racing on the slide
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Eileen and Olivia having a peaceful time on the tire swing
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And then in motion
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Big kids playing with Val's beach towel (it's a real game of Candy Land)
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Danielle as I was trying to get her out of the car
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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Fun on Wednesday

Liz had to be at school at 1 for graduation rehearsal. The kids begged to go to the playground since we couldn't go to the beach (Liz due at rehearsal and Michelle was at work) so we did, and a few other things.

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Olivia and Danielle
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Taking a break in the shade...Olivia, my niece Jess and Eileen
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Hot days require ICE CREAM!!!
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Lazy Monday

Being exhausted from the graduation party we kind of took it easy the next day. Val's best friend Janna came over with her son Kolson (I was at his delivery as her birthing coach/doula)

Tom enjoying Kolson and Sean
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Danielle lounging
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Val just after she crawled out of bed (shhhhhh she'll kill me if she knows)
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Sean and Kolson "playing"
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Joe leaving
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Sean on playground
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Tom doing a little cleanup
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Graduation party pictures

The graduate...Liz


Cousins having fun on the trampoline...Kathryn, Eileen, Sonja, Suzanne
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Pat and my mom
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Jon and Danielle
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Xbox buddies... Jake and Argon
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Drew
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Brothers... Bob, Joe and Tom (Tom is between Bob and Joe in age)
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My dad and Michelle
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Sean copying John
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Cousin and 2 other girls going to Norway for a year... Ellen, Erica, and Page
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Tom showing off his father's day present from Michelle (has all the kids' names on it)
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Danielle and Oreo (notice how BIG he's getting?)
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Evelyn and Olivia
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Sean, Danielle and Charlotte
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My dad checking out Tom's work in my front garden
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Olivia and Sean
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RUN! RUN! RUN!

I don't get it....it's summer vacation! Why has my body decided it doesn't care about no stinkin' vacation? I'm up before the sun again. At least if Sean cooperates I should get some quiet time to myself. (he senses I'm not there and wakes up but is getting a lot better about it)

Tuesday we ran errands all day. I was only home about an hour between 9:45 am and 9:45 pm. We did double doctor appointments for Luke and Liz. Liz was REALLY happy because Luke's checkup caused the dr to suggest she get her tetanus booster and the meningococcal vax. She HATES needles and I was accused of torturing her. I told her...Hey! A mom has to have a little fun sometimes! Then it was onto shopping. Unfortunately Sean was NOT cooperating in Kohl's so Luke and I took the two little ones out to the van while Liz shopped. Guess I should thank them since they probably saved me some money. Still I think Luke could've used a look through the clearance rack. His wardrobe isn't very big. He'd have NO problem packing for a year. It'd probably fit into one suitcase. lol

We went to McD's for lunch (ate in the van since we didn't have time for the kids to play). I splurged on Happy Meals for the little ones. Liz ran into the shoe store and found her comfortable black shoes she needed (but she found out they are FAR from comfortable right now). I also ran into radio shack and bought her a European plug adapter for her laptop. Then we RAN through Walmart because I had to be home to get Michelle. So it was home for a quick bathroom run, dump the little ones off on Luke and Carrie until Tom got home and then back out the door with Liz and Michelle. After dropping off Michelle at work we ran back to Walmart to finish what we'd started earlier. We were racing the clock again because Liz had to be at a youth girls' gathering by 7. They were having a surprise going away party for the 3 girls going to Norway. With minutes to spare we ran into Marshalls so Liz could find the elusive black pants she needed. I was throwing pairs at her saying....try this on, and this one and.... We were in and out of there in record time. Although we had time for her to pick out a new purse and me to grab a few packages of clearance tights and a gift for my niece who's already in Norway. We were also drooling over the luggage. I may have to go back tonight and buy a big one.

We got home, I defrosted the shrimp I'd bought for her to bring, threw it on a tray with a container of cocktail sauce, covered it with foil and ran back out the door with the big kids. Liz to my nieces house down the street. Luke and Jake to the church grounds for some manly activities. (I think they played baseball) I finally got to go home and sit down but only for an hour. After that the 4 little ones and I headed back to the city to pick up Michelle from work. I was SO happy to pull into the driveway for the final time! (Liz, Luke, Carrie and Jake got rides home from church activities or managed to get invited to spend the night somewhere else)

While in Walmart it hit me....Liz really didn't have time to go spend the night at my sister's house this week. Liz and Jess (sister's oldest) are great friends and they wanted to spend some last minute time together. I suggest to Liz that she call Jess and see if she could come over to our house for a few days instead. I was going to pick her up after picking up Michelle but my sister decided it was best for her to drive her out....she was right! I think I'd have fallen asleep while driving if I'd had to do that. I was SO tired and conked out shortly after getting home. I hate when people say it but...I'm getting old!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Tossing and Turning

I finally decided it was stupid to just lay there and waste time so got out of bed. I guess it was a good thing too because Oreo REALLY had to go out. Now he's sitting here whining for some BBQ chips I'm stuffing in my face. (do 3am calories count? I hope not) Oreo amazed me on Sunday....he was a perfect gentleman! I was so sure I was going to have to tie him up or lock him into a bedroom for Liz's graduation/birthday/going away party but no...he just laid under a table and watched everything going on. The other amazing thing...he didn't even attempt to nip anyone on Monday! It was like it finally clicked in his noggin'. Although he started getting frustrated in the evening when I decided to work with him on the stay command and it wasn't going well (will have to go another route with him...he was clueless). And then someone decided to start playing a little rough with him before they went to bed but after the little ones went to bed, which is a BIG no no! Hopefully today he continues to maintain his demeanor. I noticed he got a lot more attention last night then he normally does and it was so nice not to have to listen to everyone telling him no bite all night.

I survived Liz's graduation party. I didn't get everything done I wanted, but that's normal. I hit a few snags (like getting zapped when I plugged in the industrial sized coffee pot!) but managed through them. She had a LOT of youth girls here which was awesome. I was putting out the food as they arrived and it hit me...I forgot to heat up the meatballs for the subs!! OOPS! Luckily they are an easy fix which is why I chose to serve them (and they are the favorites of some here) and were out shortly afterwards. I had decided to put out smaller amounts of food because last time I lost a good bit of food to the heat. Unfortunately that meant I had to replenish things more frequently. With the big influx of girls in the beginning it meant that I was busting my butt and didn't have much time for chitchatting. It also scared me because the first pan of baked beans were gone in about half an hour! (I'd only made two) I thought for sure I was going to run out of food. I actually did ok on the buying/reheating front. The only thing that I may waste is the salad....no one seemed to go for the tossed salad so I have a large amount left. I may write more about the food aspect of the party on my food blog, but not sure yet. We'll see how I manage here first.

One thing is for sure...I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I sat down after everyone left and my hips froze up. I couldn't stand straight and I could barely make it up to the the house and into the livingroom. Luckily the couch was open enough for me to lay down. Then I crashed and was out like a light. I managed to wake up ok and get the kids to school that needed to go. Although I was dragging all day long and my hips were screaming at me. All I wanted to do was to lay down and take a nap but I never made it to the nap stage. After the kids got on the bus I was dozing on the couch and Danielle would yell MOM! When I'd respond she'd say...Don't sleep! I want you to stay awake with me. BRAT! I don't blame her though, I wouldn't want to be "alone" if I was her either. Because of how exhausted I felt all day, I was a bit surprised at the tossing and turning I was doing this morning. Guess my mind didn't get the memo from my body that we were in shut down mode. lol

Today is an exciting day...Last Day of SCHOOL! Woohooo! Unfortunately the vacation may be short lived for some of us because they're heading to summer school. Part of me wishes I could forbid to let them go because it's going to put a huge damper on the rest of our vacations. But I don't want to see them have to redo everything next year. Part of me wants to homeschool them so they don't have to go and can work through their school problems. Yet here I sit still mulling it over and not acting on it...which is one of the reasons I'm not so gungho on that option...I know my faults. Plus I'm not so sure Carrie would be ok with homeschooling once school started back up in Sept and I don't think that's fair...to me. Nor do I think the school district would be ok with her progressing onto 9th grade in Sept, even if I could prove she did the work and would've passed summer school.

To top it all off, I don't really have the mental capacity to think about what I need to think about either. Time is ticking for Liz's send off to Norway for a year and there's not enough time in the day! Her and Luke have a doctor's appt today and I hope to take them shopping. BUT then I have to be home at a certain time so that I can get Michelle to work and the kids to their activities tonight. I think I caught wind of a going away party for Liz and the other two girls who are leaving for the year, but shhhhhh. Wed is graduation rehearsal and then Liz is spending the night at my sister's for a last hurrah there. My niece wants her to stay for two nights but there's no way Liz is going to miss her last youth meeting here which is Thursday night. Friday is packing and last minute shopping and then the graduation ceremony in the evening. Saturday is two of my nephew's graduation parties and then onto my dad's for birthday cake and ice cream (he turns 70 on Friday!!!). Sunday is church and another grad party immediately afterwards. I'm hoping to have a nice family chicken dinner (Liz's favorite meat which she won't get so much in Norway) Sunday night. Then Liz has to finish packing because she'll be heading out to Newark bright and early Monday morning. Wish I could say things will calm down after that, but there's still more doctor appts, school to decide about, vet appts to make and whatnot. So much for a relaxing summer.

I haven't really found myself sad that Liz is going. I know I'll miss her...that's an understatement. But to be sad about it? Not too much. Oh there will be tears on Monday, have no doubt about that...I cry when ice melts. But to sit here and cry over it, nope. I'm so excited for her. It's an awesome opportunity and I'm hoping she realizes just how awesome it is and gets the most out of it (I'm pretty sure she does/will). Besides the technology today makes the distance seem a bit less. I do worry about her being homesick, but she will have a bit of home there with some of her friends being there. So hopefully it won't be so bad. I guess the one thing that does bring tears to my eyes though is the thought of her homecoming. How much she'll have matured and grown. How she'll be her own woman. Hopefully one who's assure of herself and full of God's calling. I know she already has plans of places to go and people to see when she gets back. lol OK... I lied. I started thinking about how much Danielle and Sean will miss her and how much she'll miss of them growing up and now I'm crying.

Oh look! It's starting to get light outside and the birds are singing. Guess I'm not going to get back to bed so I'm going to go make coffee and start my day. I'm hoping to put up some pictures from the graduation party later although it might not be until tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

My internet connection is giving me fits right now. Don't have time to figure out why. Too much to do

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Hmmm now how did that happen

While apologizing to Tom I somehow pushed just the right keys on my keyboard and published my post midpost. So I guess I'll be posting twice today. :o) Where was I? Oh yeah, the drive-in. There's also rumors that a REALLY fun church activity may be being planned for Saturday that my kids will NOT want to miss. (We're a fly by the seat of our pants type of church) If the church plans fall through...we'll go to the drive-in. I'm not sure if my cousin will still be here but if so...we'll take her too. I don't think they've ever been to a drive-in before. I'm sure the place will be packed. They're showing UP, Hannah Montana Movie and Confessions of a Shopaholic. We probably should've gone this weekend and seen UP, 17 again, and the newest Transformers. But oh well. (and now Tom is out the door...will have to wake the kids in about 15 mins)

It really is kind of a crazy time for my cousin to be visiting. My kids are still in school and are getting ready for finals and such. Lots of last minute outings, parties and activities...I really don't like this time of the year. The district hasn't allowed field trips this year to save money. Well most of them. This wasn't good for Eileen's teacher who usually does an annual Seward house for 4th grade. (she alternates between 3rd and 4th, taking the kids with her) So she's planned a trip for this Saturday and is having a picnic for everyone afterwards. With our plans up in the air for this weekend I haven't sent in my reply yet. So she called me last night. How awkward, to have to tell her I still don't know. I'm sure she can't understand how I could possibly not know what I'm doing in a few days. She's very much the type A personality and a planner. So not like me. She said she'd just say I wasn't coming. It felt awful! I asked if our plans fell through would it be alright for Eileen to still come? She got a slight panic in her voice and asked how MANY would there be. She relaxed a bit when I said I'd just bring Eileen and said sure, no problem. It never occured to me that my family would probably take up a whole Seward House tour ourselves. And I'm sure the thought of feeding us all wasn't a very pleasant one either.

We're dog sitting for Patrick this week. I was leary about having Ioreck here. He pretty much only listens to Pat. Well that part wasn't so bad, he listens pretty well to me. At first this seemed like a good thing. He was listening, keeping Oreo busy and we were enjoying him. Then Oreo and him kicked things up a notch in their playing/wrestling. Then two nights ago Ioreck seemed to be getting antsy with all our the kids around and in our small space. It didn't help that we were pushing the furniture around and cleaning either. Yesterday morning he grabbed at Sean's arm. So now I'm constantly keeping Sean distanced from him and watching him every second. Like I didn't have enough to do. I agreed to watch him before we got Oreo and I'm pretty sure it wasn't such a good idea. I know I'm going to have to start all over with Oreo on the nipping thing. We haven't been working on commands a few times a day like we were so we'll have to catch up on that too. And for some strange reason Oreo decided he had to pee all over the livingroom last night. He peed like 6 times in an hour which he has never done....even as a new puppy. I'm hoping he was trying to dominate over Ioreck and that it won't be a problem once Ioreck is gone. On a good note, Oreo does listen fairly well so getting back to where we were shouldn't be as much work as it was originally. I hope. I'm really looking forward to only have Oreo to work with though. It'll seem a breeze after this week. lol

I have been busy around here. Mostly making messes trying to clean. (story of my life) We cleaned out the little bedroom which ended up being the catchall room for things no one knew what to do with. It also has the treadmill in it. Eventually it was going to be Danielle and Sean's room. With Liz moving to Norway for a year though I think it might turn into Carrie's room, her room is too big for one person. We'll then move Luke and Jake up into Liz and Carrie's room and out of the library. We'll reclaim the library for books, the treadmill and toys. Danielle is ok to float around for now (she goes between carrie and liz's, or eileen and olivia's or mine and Tom's room). Sean is no where near ready to leave our room, he's still wanting to nurse all night which drives me at absolutely bonkers at times. I just keep reminding myself that in the grand scheme of things it's a short time and it'll be my last...so try to enjoy it as much as possible. Making progress around here is nice. It'll be nice to start summer vacation with the house in order. Plus on the 21st (father's day) we're having Liz's graduation/18th birthday/bon voyage party. I'm trying not to stress and just figure a picked up house is good enough, anything above that is icing. Still getting the leaking sink drain reputtied and the bathtub faucet drip fixed would be nice before people come here.

I'm also trying to temper my work with my crocheting. Or should I say trying not to allow my crocheting to take over from my need to work. I finished the body of one baby afghan, need to buy an accent colored yarn for the border. I started a second one last night and got as far as I could without another needed color I don't have yet. So then I started on a small hooded baby blanket. Although I didn't get to far on that before Sean started crying and I climbed into bed with him. I'm really enjoying the crocheting so not having computer time isn't such a huge ordeal right now. Still it would be nice to have my laptop back much less to have the 2nd computer going so there's less wrestling for the one working one.

OK...Big kids are up and getting ready for the bus. Time for me to go pay attention to things here. (and maybe do a few rows of that hooded blanket lol)

Finally some computer time!

I do believe this may be the longest time I've gone without sitting at a working computer (although I've been known to sit and just stroke the keyboard when our computers have been down or there's no electricity lol). Sharing one computer for all of us just sucks! Not that I'd have tons of time to be on here anyways.

Tom was on call last week so ALL the running was on me. And wouldn't you know it, Michelle's schedule has her in and out of work almost all week before Tom even gets home. Oh well, at least I'm not gone during the evenings, I hate to be gone then.

Having said that, I won't be around here much this week. My cousin from Florida is due at my parents' house for the week. So I'm sure I'll be over there. I'm already planning on the little girls staying home on Friday (it's field days/spring olympics) and making pulled pork for everyone for dinner. Of course we'll have to be back by 7 so the kids can go to activity club. They wind down activities for the summer and are having their last meeting this week.

We WANT to go to the drive-in on Saturday although things seem to be working against us. We were originally we going to go on Friday but see note above. So then it was Saturday which I wasn't too keen on since there'd be no way we could drag ourselves out of bed for church. (OOOPS! I was so busy typing that I lost track of time and forgot to wake up Tom for work. So now he's running late. BAD WIFE!)