On Sunday I almost did it. I almost had all my hampers empty! Note that I didn't say I almost had all my laundry done, just my hampers empty. I'm sure there were dirty clothes in the bedrooms, I know I have some in mine. According to the hampers though I only had ONE load of light clothes to do by Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately time ran out on me and we had to leave for the Harvest feast at church. By the time I got back there were darks and lights dirty again. So I'm back to normal with clothes in all the hampers lol.
Oh yeah and before I forget...I posted again over at Largerfamilies.com. I answered a readers question about the comments we hear. It's a revised edition of a post I wrote here in March. Q&A...How do you deal with comments and questions? I'll be posting again this Friday. The topic is how we deal with all the activities and commitments the kids have.
Saturday was a pretty productive day. Besides doing tons of laundry I made bread, rearranged furniture, started cleaning little kids bedrooms, helped devise costumes, cleaned in the nooks and crannies where it doesn't show. Tom was gone ALL day until after 2AM. He was working on the van at one of his friend's house. It's not all completely done but rides a LOT better (and safer). I still need to buy 2 new front tires, maybe Wednesday.
Sunday was a FUN day! The youth kids made it a great day for all the little kids. The Harvest feast started out with a children's meeting. It was followed by wheelbarrow races, games for all ages (including the adults...have to give them opportunities to make fools of themselves lol), pizza dinner and then trick or treating door to door in one of the dorms. Costumes this year were...
Danielle - unicorn (costume I bought 75% off last year after Halloween)
Olivia - angel (kimono that was a christmas gift last year, wings and feather crown from the dollar store)
Eileen - cheerleader (skorts and tshirt with pompoms from the dollar store)
Jake - Pirate (vest with stuffed parrot velcro'ed to it, cardboard hat, sword and eye patch from the dollarstore)
Carrie - princess (Val's prom dress from the thrift store, crown from the dollar store)
Luke - karate student (his grandpa's old Gi, green bathrobe belt lol)
Liz - Gorilla (Drew's gorilla mask, all black clothes)
Me - parrot (multicolored feather mask from the dollarstore, homemade parrot outfit I made 2 or 3 yrs ago for Luke)
Jake will be using the Gorilla mask at school on Tuesday (only elementary kids...3 youngest, dress up for school) His attitude is, if you can't bring a sword to school what's the sense of being a pirate? lol He'll switch back to a pirate for T or T'ing though. Liz is going to be a fairy for T or T'ing. I bought her wings at the dollarstore tonight. She'll be wearing a dress she bought this summer for a friend's wedding. We'll be T or T'ing around my parents' neighborhood. My sister with 2 of her girls will be going with us.
It looks to be a beautiful day for T or T'ing. Today was absolutely wonderful! After having lows in the mid 40s for almost 2wks it seemed like summer again. The van became downright hot at times. Danielle took a nap after lunch and I enjoyed reading my book. I also enjoyed a short 15min powernap.
We received some exciting news here today. Pat called this afternoon and told me he now has a job!!!! :o) It's good to see him excited about it. He visited the college last week about getting a waiver for his financial aid. Now he has to write a letter explaining why he should be given it (I think that's what it has to be about). He'll have to do that soon. He has to know whether he qualifies for funding for the January semester before he registers.
Also we are getting DSL!!! I don't have to surf the net by horse and buggy anymore! By Friday evening I should be FLYING around here! I'll be able to see whole pages, pictures and videos! Woohooo!!! The promotion right now is that with a 2yr commitment we get a free computer! It's almost 3x as fast as the one I'm using now. That means we'll have 2 machines and I won't have to share as much anymore. (not sure how long it takes to arrive though) It'll be even sweeter if Drew and Michelle buy their own computers/laptops like they've been talking about.
Well my extra hour this weekend is starting to catch up. I just rescued my forehead from meeting my keyboard. Hope everyone stays safe while/if they're T or T'ing.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Sunday Morning Musings
First an update on my FIL. He's doing ok and has double pneumonia. I hate to say it but PHEW! Not that I'm glad he has it but I'm glad that's what it is. What was going on was SO much worse in my mind. (relapse or myelodysplasia...yep the same thing Carrie had). There's talk of him being discharged on Wed. :o)
Tom told me something someone said to him concerning this blog. They said they've read my blog and I paint our life all rosey and great. Ummm guy....this is MY blog!!! I decide what goes in here. If I decide that I'm only going to write about everytime I fart....that's my perogative! If you don't want to read it....that's your's.
I admit I don't share all the nitty gritty stuff here. Reason being...it's the internet! (no offense to my cyberfriends) I try my hardest to not bash my husband in public so I certainly try not to do it here. My kids, especially the teens, have their own lives and a right to their privacy...I respect that. Also this is ONE side/version of the story. I would hope that anyone reading this would realize that.
Believe me there have been times when it would've been SO easy to come and just let everything out here. But that wouldn't have been fair to those involved. There were times when I couldn't blog because heavy private things were too close to the surface and effected me so much. I'd try to write but I felt the situation always showed through in my words...so I'd delete.
So X, if you're reading this. You're right to a degree. And no, I won't change a thing. It's your call whether you want to read this or not. I'm not really sure why you'd want to though, since you have an upclose and personal view of the whole thing (not to mention your own opinion on it that you've freely shared).
Now I'm off to clear off the mounds of things on my computer table. Have a good day :o)
Tom told me something someone said to him concerning this blog. They said they've read my blog and I paint our life all rosey and great. Ummm guy....this is MY blog!!! I decide what goes in here. If I decide that I'm only going to write about everytime I fart....that's my perogative! If you don't want to read it....that's your's.
I admit I don't share all the nitty gritty stuff here. Reason being...it's the internet! (no offense to my cyberfriends) I try my hardest to not bash my husband in public so I certainly try not to do it here. My kids, especially the teens, have their own lives and a right to their privacy...I respect that. Also this is ONE side/version of the story. I would hope that anyone reading this would realize that.
Believe me there have been times when it would've been SO easy to come and just let everything out here. But that wouldn't have been fair to those involved. There were times when I couldn't blog because heavy private things were too close to the surface and effected me so much. I'd try to write but I felt the situation always showed through in my words...so I'd delete.
So X, if you're reading this. You're right to a degree. And no, I won't change a thing. It's your call whether you want to read this or not. I'm not really sure why you'd want to though, since you have an upclose and personal view of the whole thing (not to mention your own opinion on it that you've freely shared).
Now I'm off to clear off the mounds of things on my computer table. Have a good day :o)
Friday, October 20, 2006
Debunking the myths
The current topic over at largerfamilies.com is putting some myths about large families to rest. I picked the older kids are mini parents as my myth. So head on over to LF.com and read Mini Parents
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Look out world!
Here she comes! Danielle is walking!!! She started on Saturday, taking 4-6 steps between things and people. On Sunday she spent all day walking around whenever she could. One of the kids asked me....why is Danielle walking around everywhere? I asked how they got around? She's having tons of fun with it. She even stands back up when she falls. BUT if there's something she REALLY wants...as soon as she falls it's crawling all the way. LOL
Today's been a busy and nerve wracking day. In the middle of my errands Pat called me to let me know Janna was in the ER of the local hospital. I knew she'd gone home (Val called me) but didn't know why. I called the school and asked them to have Val call me. Then I stopped by the ER to see if Janna or her mom needed anything. She was really glad we stopped by and was just telling her mom she wished we were there. Val called when I was there and asked to be picked up so she could be at the ER with Janna, so I did. They think she passed a kidney stone during the day and still has one in her opposite kidney. We were joking that she just wanted to be like Val and a copycat. lol She's resting peacefully at home now.
Ontop of that Tom's dad has been running a really low grade fever which spiked a bit today. With his counts low he's suppose to report ANY fever at all. He's in the hospital and not doing so great. Everyone is a mess. (why I'm still up at such a horrible hour of the morning!) I'd appreciate any prayers and positive thoughts you could send for Tom, his dad and his family.
I was thinking there was more I wanted to share but can't think of it ATM. I'll post more tomorrow if I think of it.
Today's been a busy and nerve wracking day. In the middle of my errands Pat called me to let me know Janna was in the ER of the local hospital. I knew she'd gone home (Val called me) but didn't know why. I called the school and asked them to have Val call me. Then I stopped by the ER to see if Janna or her mom needed anything. She was really glad we stopped by and was just telling her mom she wished we were there. Val called when I was there and asked to be picked up so she could be at the ER with Janna, so I did. They think she passed a kidney stone during the day and still has one in her opposite kidney. We were joking that she just wanted to be like Val and a copycat. lol She's resting peacefully at home now.
Ontop of that Tom's dad has been running a really low grade fever which spiked a bit today. With his counts low he's suppose to report ANY fever at all. He's in the hospital and not doing so great. Everyone is a mess. (why I'm still up at such a horrible hour of the morning!) I'd appreciate any prayers and positive thoughts you could send for Tom, his dad and his family.
I was thinking there was more I wanted to share but can't think of it ATM. I'll post more tomorrow if I think of it.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Found some photos
Drew downloaded Allison's camera onto my computer. I'm snitching some to share since I don't have any of my own to share.
The first is Drew's band. They were playing at the local Marina's good-bye party (last day opened for the season).
Drew on bass, Brian on vocals, Nate on drums and Mitch on guitar
Of course I HAVE to share a pic of Danielle whenever I can. So here's a pic of her with her first ice cream cone.
The first is Drew's band. They were playing at the local Marina's good-bye party (last day opened for the season).
Drew on bass, Brian on vocals, Nate on drums and Mitch on guitar
Of course I HAVE to share a pic of Danielle whenever I can. So here's a pic of her with her first ice cream cone.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Status Symbol?
I posted last week that the current topic at largerfamilies.com was how and when to know you're done. Luckily for me that weekend the blog was featured in an article on larger families being a new status symbol. The hit count soared at LF.com and here. I got a negative comment or two about my irresponsibilty toward society and the earth.
I don't get how kids can be used as a status symbol. If they are, they are one of the most costliest symbols around. Not only in the all mighty dollar but in blood, sweat and tears. WHY would anyone put 18yrs worth of responsibilty infront of them just to up their standing amongst their friends? Not to mention while it might be cool to have a larger family now, it hasn't and won't always be. So what happens when the status isn't such a great thing anymore? They can't be thrown away, sold or pushed into the back of the closet. These are kids' lives they are trivializing!!!! Thanks for making my "extra" 8 or 9 kids seem like props. I'm sure they appreciate it.
There's something else people forget when they make having a family that goes above society's norm whimsical and fun. People lose a lot because of their decision to have a larger family.
* They're subjected to every Tom, Dick and Harry's opinion about their lifestyle decision because it's so apparent. Everyone seems to think that because of this they are free to voice their opinions or wisecracks. (Oh the things people say) I don't know of any other life choice that is so obvious and has this happen. (I'm most likely mistaken and am willing to be corrected)
* They lose friends, invitations to social events, etc. People think they can't relate to them anymore. The idea of including so many people into a social event is daunting so they're overlooked. People assume because you have so many kids you don't have the time or money to socialize/participate. We can be seen as too stupid to be bothered with or "intimidating" and are avoided by others in a social setting.
* Time and time again other TOK (tons of kids) moms have mentioned how their families put them down for their decision. They've even had family break all ties with them because it. :o(
Yep, we're just trying to out do our friends and neighbors. After all, that's what's most important in life.
I don't get how kids can be used as a status symbol. If they are, they are one of the most costliest symbols around. Not only in the all mighty dollar but in blood, sweat and tears. WHY would anyone put 18yrs worth of responsibilty infront of them just to up their standing amongst their friends? Not to mention while it might be cool to have a larger family now, it hasn't and won't always be. So what happens when the status isn't such a great thing anymore? They can't be thrown away, sold or pushed into the back of the closet. These are kids' lives they are trivializing!!!! Thanks for making my "extra" 8 or 9 kids seem like props. I'm sure they appreciate it.
There's something else people forget when they make having a family that goes above society's norm whimsical and fun. People lose a lot because of their decision to have a larger family.
* They're subjected to every Tom, Dick and Harry's opinion about their lifestyle decision because it's so apparent. Everyone seems to think that because of this they are free to voice their opinions or wisecracks. (Oh the things people say) I don't know of any other life choice that is so obvious and has this happen. (I'm most likely mistaken and am willing to be corrected)
* They lose friends, invitations to social events, etc. People think they can't relate to them anymore. The idea of including so many people into a social event is daunting so they're overlooked. People assume because you have so many kids you don't have the time or money to socialize/participate. We can be seen as too stupid to be bothered with or "intimidating" and are avoided by others in a social setting.
* Time and time again other TOK (tons of kids) moms have mentioned how their families put them down for their decision. They've even had family break all ties with them because it. :o(
Yep, we're just trying to out do our friends and neighbors. After all, that's what's most important in life.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Bullet Time!
*** It's an invasion!
Yep Sunday was the start of the annual "lady bug" invasion. My mom told me if she'd known they were out she wouldn't have come for a visit. They (the ladybugs, not my parents) are stinky and pesky. They land on and in everything including food, drinks and faces. I told her it had just started and was getting worse by the hour. Luckily they've calmed down and have mostly settled into their corners.
*** Never assume
Tuesday I heard a truck pull up to the house, then a tiny knock on the door. I assumed it was Tom with his hands full. I ran to the door, whipped it open and yelled...Waddaya waa.... Standing there staring at me was a tiny timid Fed Ex man with a package in his hands. I was so embarrassed! I was also laughing so hard that I couldn't get a proper I'm sorry or an explanation out. Bet he's hoping we don't get anymore deliveries for a while. LOL
*** I found it!
I found a Walk Away the Pounds Express DVD yesterday! I've been wanting for it for a while. Last year I'd ordered it from someone online and never received it. Everytime I'd looked in WM they didn't have it. I figured since it was an older program it'd never come in. I even started looking for it in the 2 for $11 bin. LOL Our Super Walmart has gone through a huge renovation which makes that section of the sports department easy to get to. On a whim I decided to check to see if they had something I'd want and there it was! I was a happy shopper!
*** One chore off my list
I hate tire shopping. I feel like I'm going to get taken for a ride. Then there's all those extra fees involved. I never know which I need. My van really needed new back tires at least. They kept getting soft and one was almost bald. I put it off and put it off although I'd been browsing the ads for prices. Finally I decided to bite the bullet and run over to the tire store to get a quote. They didn't have any extra charges and the price was right. So now I have 2 new back tires and the van is driving great. Although it was bit hard to tell with the monster winds throwing me around like a paper cup yesterday.
*** I'm not ready!!!
Yep, it's that time of the year again. Time for the dreaded white stuff to start flying. I'm not ready for it! Well I'm more ready for it coatwise then I've been in a while. Bootwise I'm not sure about but that can wait. Mentally though...NO! Take it away! I don't want to see the stuff! I want everyday to be like last weekend....blue skies, sunny and mid 70s.
***Let the stripping begin
Danielle is learning to take off her clothes. She fights me tooth and nail over wearing shoes....takes after her mother. lol They don't last long and then it's time for the socks to start flying. Running errands while waiting for Michelle yesterday I had to put her socks on 4 times. Then while she was sitting in the cart at Big Lots she tried to take off her shirt. Luckily she's not too adept at that yet. It's gonna be tons of fun trying to keep her bundled in the van while waiting for Michelle this winter.
Yep Sunday was the start of the annual "lady bug" invasion. My mom told me if she'd known they were out she wouldn't have come for a visit. They (the ladybugs, not my parents) are stinky and pesky. They land on and in everything including food, drinks and faces. I told her it had just started and was getting worse by the hour. Luckily they've calmed down and have mostly settled into their corners.
*** Never assume
Tuesday I heard a truck pull up to the house, then a tiny knock on the door. I assumed it was Tom with his hands full. I ran to the door, whipped it open and yelled...Waddaya waa.... Standing there staring at me was a tiny timid Fed Ex man with a package in his hands. I was so embarrassed! I was also laughing so hard that I couldn't get a proper I'm sorry or an explanation out. Bet he's hoping we don't get anymore deliveries for a while. LOL
*** I found it!
I found a Walk Away the Pounds Express DVD yesterday! I've been wanting for it for a while. Last year I'd ordered it from someone online and never received it. Everytime I'd looked in WM they didn't have it. I figured since it was an older program it'd never come in. I even started looking for it in the 2 for $11 bin. LOL Our Super Walmart has gone through a huge renovation which makes that section of the sports department easy to get to. On a whim I decided to check to see if they had something I'd want and there it was! I was a happy shopper!
*** One chore off my list
I hate tire shopping. I feel like I'm going to get taken for a ride. Then there's all those extra fees involved. I never know which I need. My van really needed new back tires at least. They kept getting soft and one was almost bald. I put it off and put it off although I'd been browsing the ads for prices. Finally I decided to bite the bullet and run over to the tire store to get a quote. They didn't have any extra charges and the price was right. So now I have 2 new back tires and the van is driving great. Although it was bit hard to tell with the monster winds throwing me around like a paper cup yesterday.
*** I'm not ready!!!
Yep, it's that time of the year again. Time for the dreaded white stuff to start flying. I'm not ready for it! Well I'm more ready for it coatwise then I've been in a while. Bootwise I'm not sure about but that can wait. Mentally though...NO! Take it away! I don't want to see the stuff! I want everyday to be like last weekend....blue skies, sunny and mid 70s.
***Let the stripping begin
Danielle is learning to take off her clothes. She fights me tooth and nail over wearing shoes....takes after her mother. lol They don't last long and then it's time for the socks to start flying. Running errands while waiting for Michelle yesterday I had to put her socks on 4 times. Then while she was sitting in the cart at Big Lots she tried to take off her shirt. Luckily she's not too adept at that yet. It's gonna be tons of fun trying to keep her bundled in the van while waiting for Michelle this winter.
Monday, October 09, 2006
How things have been faring lately
My posts have been sporadic and mostly about how I haven't been handling things well. Now that I can catch my breath and think straight I thought I'd update about how everyone's been doing here.
Daniellewise...she's growing by leaps and bounds. She's at such a fun age! My latest walker she's taken a few tenative steps from here to there but not walking yet. Give her a pushtoy or something to put her hand on though and she's off like a rocket. She's so cautious I'm sure once she does start walking she'll be pretty sure footed which is fine by me. She's turned into a little monkey and mimics everyone and everything around her. While she's a little girls and likes to play with her dishes and babies, her favorite toy is a little car....complete with appropriate sounds while she drives it over everything.
Schoolwise...We've been to the school quite a few times with open house celebrations. This year homework has been going well for everyone!!!! Which hasn't happened in quite a while. Luke is continuing to do his homework well on his own (started it midyear last year). Carrie has joined him and is doing great! I haven't had to get on her case about starting it yet and she's always done early enough to participate in youth activities at church. (unlike last year when she would sneak it into bed to finish). It makes for a much more relaxed evening. Jake, Eileen and Olivia are naturally pretty self motivated so no problems on that end.
Last week I actually had Pat take over a few days of driving Michelle to school for me. It made a HUGE difference in how I felt and what I accomplished around here. I even started digging out my bedroom (always the last room I attack). I'm feeling ready to face the chore of driving again.
Drew's band is pretty sought after. They're booked for quite a few weekends in the next month or so. They even have a date set in January and for St Patrick's day. Between going to school, band practice and seeing Allison he's staying really busy and isn't home much. Allison is in her last year of school and has mentioned going abroad to teach English. I guess she really enjoyed Italy last semester. Drew asked what I thought about them moving overseas. I told them I'd miss them but if that's what they want and can do, then go for it! As of right now I'm thinking we'll be having a wedding next summer.
We couldn't have asked for a better 3 day weekend weatherwise. Tom took the kids to the apple farm, bird sanctuary and a playground on Saturday. The kids took advantage of it and were in and out all day. It led to Danielle throwing a few fits because she wanted to be big and go outside too. I don't want to see this weather end. I actually heard the "S" word in the forecast for the coming weekend. Waaaah!
I brought my book into the house tonight. It's Fannie Flagg's "Standing in the Rainbow". The main character is Neighbor Dorothy who was a character in her book..."Welcome to the World Baby Girl!". I'm just starting it but it's good like most of her work. D has already read it and just finished the next one in line called "Can't Wait to get to Heaven". She's wanting me to hurry up so we can talk about them.
Something that made me go hmmm while reading the book. Dorothy is what was called a "radio homemaker". A housewife who ran a daily 1 hour long radio show out of her home. In the book it's described as someone who dispenses tips on child rearing, home, garden, cooking. Someone who talks about news and entertains. Most of all it was a daily visit from a good friend. I thought....hey! that's what bloggers do and are!
I've had a chance to do some blog touring this weekend. It's nice to catch up with some good friends that I've missed in the last month.
Daniellewise...she's growing by leaps and bounds. She's at such a fun age! My latest walker she's taken a few tenative steps from here to there but not walking yet. Give her a pushtoy or something to put her hand on though and she's off like a rocket. She's so cautious I'm sure once she does start walking she'll be pretty sure footed which is fine by me. She's turned into a little monkey and mimics everyone and everything around her. While she's a little girls and likes to play with her dishes and babies, her favorite toy is a little car....complete with appropriate sounds while she drives it over everything.
Schoolwise...We've been to the school quite a few times with open house celebrations. This year homework has been going well for everyone!!!! Which hasn't happened in quite a while. Luke is continuing to do his homework well on his own (started it midyear last year). Carrie has joined him and is doing great! I haven't had to get on her case about starting it yet and she's always done early enough to participate in youth activities at church. (unlike last year when she would sneak it into bed to finish). It makes for a much more relaxed evening. Jake, Eileen and Olivia are naturally pretty self motivated so no problems on that end.
Last week I actually had Pat take over a few days of driving Michelle to school for me. It made a HUGE difference in how I felt and what I accomplished around here. I even started digging out my bedroom (always the last room I attack). I'm feeling ready to face the chore of driving again.
Drew's band is pretty sought after. They're booked for quite a few weekends in the next month or so. They even have a date set in January and for St Patrick's day. Between going to school, band practice and seeing Allison he's staying really busy and isn't home much. Allison is in her last year of school and has mentioned going abroad to teach English. I guess she really enjoyed Italy last semester. Drew asked what I thought about them moving overseas. I told them I'd miss them but if that's what they want and can do, then go for it! As of right now I'm thinking we'll be having a wedding next summer.
We couldn't have asked for a better 3 day weekend weatherwise. Tom took the kids to the apple farm, bird sanctuary and a playground on Saturday. The kids took advantage of it and were in and out all day. It led to Danielle throwing a few fits because she wanted to be big and go outside too. I don't want to see this weather end. I actually heard the "S" word in the forecast for the coming weekend. Waaaah!
I brought my book into the house tonight. It's Fannie Flagg's "Standing in the Rainbow". The main character is Neighbor Dorothy who was a character in her book..."Welcome to the World Baby Girl!". I'm just starting it but it's good like most of her work. D has already read it and just finished the next one in line called "Can't Wait to get to Heaven". She's wanting me to hurry up so we can talk about them.
Something that made me go hmmm while reading the book. Dorothy is what was called a "radio homemaker". A housewife who ran a daily 1 hour long radio show out of her home. In the book it's described as someone who dispenses tips on child rearing, home, garden, cooking. Someone who talks about news and entertains. Most of all it was a daily visit from a good friend. I thought....hey! that's what bloggers do and are!
I've had a chance to do some blog touring this weekend. It's nice to catch up with some good friends that I've missed in the last month.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
I seem to have caught up with things around the house. Having company (my parents) is a great motivator. :o) Tomorrow most of us have a day off. I don't have to drive Michelle to classes!!!! Yeah me! It'll be nice to get up and not have to think about where to start around here. I'm actually sitting here thinking about baking cookies and apple pies, revving up my sewing machine, starting some projects to sell on ebay or to give for Christmas presents. Believe it or not I'm even thinking of bringing my "waiting for Michelle" book into the house and disappearing into it.
Don't get me wrong, things aren't perfect here. I have things to do. But it's better then it's been in a long time! I even managed to do 8 loads of laundry today(may even do more before bed). That means I have less then 3 loads waiting for me to wash! If tomorrow is as nice as today I'm hoping to wash all the bedding and hang it. Nothing like climbing into a bed with line dried sheets.
We had a nice visit with my parents. My mom brought us the scrapbook she made of our trip to Orlando and all the area parks in Oct '99. It was Carrie's Make a Wish wish. The kids had a ball going through it and remembering everything. They all got a kick out of how little they looked. Tom and Pat BBQ 4 chickens for dinner. Even though we had 6 extra people here to feed we ended up with enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :o) My dad brought me out some more plants for my garden including YUMMY smelling Russian Sage! Tom's preparing my circle garden to act as a nursery until next spring. My dad has offered to sit down with me and map out exactly what to do and where. I'm always at such a loss where to put things even though I have tons of choices (we own 7+ acres)
Last Monday we celebrated Michelle's birthday (Her birth story). Actually she had a multiday celebration. lol We had pizza and wings on Sunday while C (her boyfriend) was here. He was heading back to school on Monday morning. Monday we had her birthday dinner (she picked cheeseburgers) along with cake and ice cream. Wednesdays I took Michelle, Val, Janna and Kat to the mall. We hit a great sale at Wet Seal...buy 1 clearance item, get 1 free. I wanted to go back and do some Christmas shopping!!! I bought Danielle some much needed clothes at the Children's Place...additional 50% off clearance prices. Poor thing, most of her clothes were geared toward summer.
I'm starting to think that I might have a handle on things now. Just in time for the hoiday craziness to start! LOL Hey! Isn't Columbus Day the new "first day of the Christmas shopping season"? Let the jolliness begin! :oD
Don't get me wrong, things aren't perfect here. I have things to do. But it's better then it's been in a long time! I even managed to do 8 loads of laundry today(may even do more before bed). That means I have less then 3 loads waiting for me to wash! If tomorrow is as nice as today I'm hoping to wash all the bedding and hang it. Nothing like climbing into a bed with line dried sheets.
We had a nice visit with my parents. My mom brought us the scrapbook she made of our trip to Orlando and all the area parks in Oct '99. It was Carrie's Make a Wish wish. The kids had a ball going through it and remembering everything. They all got a kick out of how little they looked. Tom and Pat BBQ 4 chickens for dinner. Even though we had 6 extra people here to feed we ended up with enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :o) My dad brought me out some more plants for my garden including YUMMY smelling Russian Sage! Tom's preparing my circle garden to act as a nursery until next spring. My dad has offered to sit down with me and map out exactly what to do and where. I'm always at such a loss where to put things even though I have tons of choices (we own 7+ acres)
Last Monday we celebrated Michelle's birthday (Her birth story). Actually she had a multiday celebration. lol We had pizza and wings on Sunday while C (her boyfriend) was here. He was heading back to school on Monday morning. Monday we had her birthday dinner (she picked cheeseburgers) along with cake and ice cream. Wednesdays I took Michelle, Val, Janna and Kat to the mall. We hit a great sale at Wet Seal...buy 1 clearance item, get 1 free. I wanted to go back and do some Christmas shopping!!! I bought Danielle some much needed clothes at the Children's Place...additional 50% off clearance prices. Poor thing, most of her clothes were geared toward summer.
I'm starting to think that I might have a handle on things now. Just in time for the hoiday craziness to start! LOL Hey! Isn't Columbus Day the new "first day of the Christmas shopping season"? Let the jolliness begin! :oD
Michelle's birth story
Her Stats....
Michelle Lynn
October 2, 1987
7:10pm
8lbs 15oz
For my pregnancy with Michelle I went to my regular family practice dr. I LOVE this guy! He's so laid back and easy to talk to. I'd have had all the rest of my kids with him but the HMO is was through would only allow OBs to deliver babies shortly after Michelle's birth.
I had my first ever sonogram. The tech said it was girl then told me....I can only be 75% sure of a girl. It might be a boy who's parts haven't descended yet. I then went on to have a dream that I had quads....3 girls and 1 boy. lol
About 7mos into the pregnancy while visiting my parents I suddenly announced that Valerie didn't sound right this pregnancy. We'd had Valerie picked out for our girl's name when I was pg for Drew and Pat. Tom was shocked since he really loved Valerie. He asked what name I did want to use? I don't know is the only answer I could give him. My dad was standing at the stove cooking dinner and said...I've always like Michelle. You never hear it used very much anymore. I jumped up and shouted...THAT'S IT! I like it, let's name this baby Michelle! Tom agreed. :o)
As was par for the course for me I was still very pregnant as my due date came and went. After being overdue for 16 days my dr decided he'd admit me the next day for an induction.
I arrived at the hospital bright and early like a good little patient and found that there wasn't really any room for me. They decided that they'd make room and put me into one of two birthing rooms they had at the time. (they considered it substandard lol) I was given an IV, hooked up to the monitors, checked and told nothing remarkable was happening. The pitocin was started about 9am and we were on our way...or so I thought. Tom and I sat around all day and NOTHING happened. I'd feel a small contraction here or there but nothing to report.
My dr came in to check on me after office hours were over. (5pm'ish) He asked if I was tired and wanted to take a break for the night. I told him I wasn't tired...all I'd done is laid in bed all day. Let's go for it! Around 5:45 he broke my water, announced he was heading home to grab a bowl of cereal and would be back soon. 15 minutes later the contractions started...and they were huge! I was having a hard time concentrating through them. The nurse came in and told me that I needed oxygen and placed the cannula. I told her...I needed to throw up and did! lol
Around 6:30 I decided I'd had enough and asked for some pain medication. They told me that I'd just started labor and it was too soon. I waited about 15 mins and asked for it again. They checked me, declared I was a 4cm and it might be ok to give me some but they'd have to call my dr to see.
I started feeling pressure around 7'ish (and still without my pain medication I might add). I told Tom he should probably go out and tell someone that I think I might be ready to push. He said I can't be ready, they said it was too soon. I convinced him to go out and tell someone anyways...they said they'd be right there. He walked back in the room, I then grunted and said...Tell them I need them NOW!!!! He ran back out into the hallway and yelled for someone to come NOW!
A nurse saunter into the room, took one look at me, lifted my sheet and yelled.... I NEED SOME HELP NOW!!!! We have a head here!!!! All hell broke loose and everyone flew into action. A resident came in and told me to go ahead and push. I did but nothing happened. He told me to push again....I did again and nothing happened. While holding Michelle's head he placed his second hand just under my ribcage and PUSHED! I SCREAMED!!!! He then did it a few more times and the rest of Michelle was born.
Just a little side note. The room I was in was seldom used. It was also right behind the admitting desk. While all the above was happening a very pregnant young girl in labor was sitting at this desk getting admitted. They'd put a screen up to block her view but she could hear EVERYTHING and I knew it. After I would grunt loudly or scream I would then say....oh that poor girl. I'm so sorry. I'm probably scaring that poor thing to death. Oh that poor girl.
We were told that my uterus had shut down after I delivered her head. I wasn't contracting anymore. They had to push on my stomach to help expell the placenta. I was bleeding quite a bit and they were working pretty hard. They opened up the pit all the way, gave me a shot in my bottom and massaged my stomach trying to get my uterus to contract. They swept my uterus a few times just for good measure. Each time they'd push, knead or sweep I'd give a yelp and then an apology.
Michelle was beautiful....full, round and bald! Her scalp did show a tiny hint of red hair which tickled my MIL who was always hoping for a redheaded grandchild to be born...it never happened. I noticed that all the girls in the nursery had pink bows in their hair, except Michelle. I asked my nurse why that was and she told me she didn't have enough hair to put one in. :o( Next time they brought her to me though she had a bow attached to a few stray strands of hair. I was instructed to not breath on it or it would fall out!
After delivery my blood pressure started going up and wouldn't come down. I was put on bedrest and given meds to help. After 4 days it started coming down and I was discharged. We headed to my parents' house for a few days (they'd been taking care of Drew and Pat) While there I started running a fever, I had mastitis. The dr called in an antibiotic and I lived with hotpacks. Then we headed to our trailer. I left their house in tears because I knew that our trailer was going to be cold since it hadn't had a fire in it for days. It didn't help that I was also dealing with a mean case of the post pregnancy blues. Luckily it only lasted a few days.
Michelle Lynn
October 2, 1987
7:10pm
8lbs 15oz
For my pregnancy with Michelle I went to my regular family practice dr. I LOVE this guy! He's so laid back and easy to talk to. I'd have had all the rest of my kids with him but the HMO is was through would only allow OBs to deliver babies shortly after Michelle's birth.
I had my first ever sonogram. The tech said it was girl then told me....I can only be 75% sure of a girl. It might be a boy who's parts haven't descended yet. I then went on to have a dream that I had quads....3 girls and 1 boy. lol
About 7mos into the pregnancy while visiting my parents I suddenly announced that Valerie didn't sound right this pregnancy. We'd had Valerie picked out for our girl's name when I was pg for Drew and Pat. Tom was shocked since he really loved Valerie. He asked what name I did want to use? I don't know is the only answer I could give him. My dad was standing at the stove cooking dinner and said...I've always like Michelle. You never hear it used very much anymore. I jumped up and shouted...THAT'S IT! I like it, let's name this baby Michelle! Tom agreed. :o)
As was par for the course for me I was still very pregnant as my due date came and went. After being overdue for 16 days my dr decided he'd admit me the next day for an induction.
I arrived at the hospital bright and early like a good little patient and found that there wasn't really any room for me. They decided that they'd make room and put me into one of two birthing rooms they had at the time. (they considered it substandard lol) I was given an IV, hooked up to the monitors, checked and told nothing remarkable was happening. The pitocin was started about 9am and we were on our way...or so I thought. Tom and I sat around all day and NOTHING happened. I'd feel a small contraction here or there but nothing to report.
My dr came in to check on me after office hours were over. (5pm'ish) He asked if I was tired and wanted to take a break for the night. I told him I wasn't tired...all I'd done is laid in bed all day. Let's go for it! Around 5:45 he broke my water, announced he was heading home to grab a bowl of cereal and would be back soon. 15 minutes later the contractions started...and they were huge! I was having a hard time concentrating through them. The nurse came in and told me that I needed oxygen and placed the cannula. I told her...I needed to throw up and did! lol
Around 6:30 I decided I'd had enough and asked for some pain medication. They told me that I'd just started labor and it was too soon. I waited about 15 mins and asked for it again. They checked me, declared I was a 4cm and it might be ok to give me some but they'd have to call my dr to see.
I started feeling pressure around 7'ish (and still without my pain medication I might add). I told Tom he should probably go out and tell someone that I think I might be ready to push. He said I can't be ready, they said it was too soon. I convinced him to go out and tell someone anyways...they said they'd be right there. He walked back in the room, I then grunted and said...Tell them I need them NOW!!!! He ran back out into the hallway and yelled for someone to come NOW!
A nurse saunter into the room, took one look at me, lifted my sheet and yelled.... I NEED SOME HELP NOW!!!! We have a head here!!!! All hell broke loose and everyone flew into action. A resident came in and told me to go ahead and push. I did but nothing happened. He told me to push again....I did again and nothing happened. While holding Michelle's head he placed his second hand just under my ribcage and PUSHED! I SCREAMED!!!! He then did it a few more times and the rest of Michelle was born.
Just a little side note. The room I was in was seldom used. It was also right behind the admitting desk. While all the above was happening a very pregnant young girl in labor was sitting at this desk getting admitted. They'd put a screen up to block her view but she could hear EVERYTHING and I knew it. After I would grunt loudly or scream I would then say....oh that poor girl. I'm so sorry. I'm probably scaring that poor thing to death. Oh that poor girl.
We were told that my uterus had shut down after I delivered her head. I wasn't contracting anymore. They had to push on my stomach to help expell the placenta. I was bleeding quite a bit and they were working pretty hard. They opened up the pit all the way, gave me a shot in my bottom and massaged my stomach trying to get my uterus to contract. They swept my uterus a few times just for good measure. Each time they'd push, knead or sweep I'd give a yelp and then an apology.
Michelle was beautiful....full, round and bald! Her scalp did show a tiny hint of red hair which tickled my MIL who was always hoping for a redheaded grandchild to be born...it never happened. I noticed that all the girls in the nursery had pink bows in their hair, except Michelle. I asked my nurse why that was and she told me she didn't have enough hair to put one in. :o( Next time they brought her to me though she had a bow attached to a few stray strands of hair. I was instructed to not breath on it or it would fall out!
After delivery my blood pressure started going up and wouldn't come down. I was put on bedrest and given meds to help. After 4 days it started coming down and I was discharged. We headed to my parents' house for a few days (they'd been taking care of Drew and Pat) While there I started running a fever, I had mastitis. The dr called in an antibiotic and I lived with hotpacks. Then we headed to our trailer. I left their house in tears because I knew that our trailer was going to be cold since it hadn't had a fire in it for days. It didn't help that I was also dealing with a mean case of the post pregnancy blues. Luckily it only lasted a few days.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
As is par for the course....I'm behind
Michelle celebrated her 19th birthday on Monday. I have to write out her birth story yet. Hopefully by the end of the weekend. We're heading over to church for the weekend. It's the October/Canadian Thanksgiving Conference.
It's my friday at Largerfamilies.com. The topic is knowing when you're done growing your family. Hear my lifestory at I've learned never to say never
It's my friday at Largerfamilies.com. The topic is knowing when you're done growing your family. Hear my lifestory at I've learned never to say never
Thursday, September 28, 2006
733
According to bloglines hat's the number of blog entries I'm behind in reading. Needless to say most of them I'll be skipping and it makes me sad. I can't remember the last time I went on a blog tour. I have 50 feeds that I follow which with the help of bloglines I managed to keep up on fairly easy. Since I've started on the net I've never had so little online time before. (well except when I went a month without a computer). It seems like the world is just passing me by. Although I know it's not really.
Even when I do have the time I find myself waiting in line for my turn on the computer. Drew's computer is down for the count so it's only this one now. Add in the fact that Michelle's boyfriend is away to school and has no phone right. Their main communication is IM'ing at night when he can borrow someone's computer. Then there's homework assignments online and research needed for projects. I WANT ANOTHER COMPUTER!!!!
I joke that I need a laptop so I can go to the mall and use their WIFI. I can see it now...me sitting in the food court with glazed over internet eyes, nose stuck to the laptop screen. Danielle sitting in her stroller or a disgusting highchair whining to get out, me throwing cheerios or pretzels at her to appease her for a few more minutes. Oh wouldn't I win the mother of the year award! ;o)
I'm not even suppose to be here now. My house is SCREAMING at me to take care of it. I did manage to get a few things done here before I sat down with my coffee and snack, but it's not nearly enough. I keep thinking we'll make a huge dent in it after dinner but there never seems to be time. Like tonight...there's elementary school open house anbd a youth meeting at church(which my older kids will probably miss).
I knew open house was Thursday but I failed to realize that TODAY was Thursday in my thinking. Poor Jake, he has a science project due tomorrow. He's been waiting for (and bugging) me to hook up the printer so he could finish it. I've been putting it off figuring we'd work on it Thursday night. Now he won't be home until 5:30, has to eat and be back out the door by 6:30 and won't return until after 8. :o( Why would teachers put a deadline the day AFTER a big school function? GRRRR! I feel bad becuase he's always been one of my better self motivated homework doers. It's not a matter of him avoiding it.
Well at least my van is clean! LOL Monday was a beautiful day but the ground was too muddy for Danielle to crawl around. We went for our walk and then hung out in the van. So I had time to clean it AGAIN (did it a week or so ago) How does it get so messy in so short time? I bought a tote to replace my carboard box held together with string. Hopefully that'll make things a lot easier to maintain.
I feel like I've written this post before. Problem is...this is my life right now. Even when I'm not doing something it seems like I'm hurrying up and waiting. Some things have gotten easier, others just keep on keeping on. I just wish my brain would shut off once in a while. All these running thoughts are enough to make me exhausted!
Well my coffee cup is empty and Danielle's done nursing...so back to work! Guess I should start with hooking up the printer.
Even when I do have the time I find myself waiting in line for my turn on the computer. Drew's computer is down for the count so it's only this one now. Add in the fact that Michelle's boyfriend is away to school and has no phone right. Their main communication is IM'ing at night when he can borrow someone's computer. Then there's homework assignments online and research needed for projects. I WANT ANOTHER COMPUTER!!!!
I joke that I need a laptop so I can go to the mall and use their WIFI. I can see it now...me sitting in the food court with glazed over internet eyes, nose stuck to the laptop screen. Danielle sitting in her stroller or a disgusting highchair whining to get out, me throwing cheerios or pretzels at her to appease her for a few more minutes. Oh wouldn't I win the mother of the year award! ;o)
I'm not even suppose to be here now. My house is SCREAMING at me to take care of it. I did manage to get a few things done here before I sat down with my coffee and snack, but it's not nearly enough. I keep thinking we'll make a huge dent in it after dinner but there never seems to be time. Like tonight...there's elementary school open house anbd a youth meeting at church(which my older kids will probably miss).
I knew open house was Thursday but I failed to realize that TODAY was Thursday in my thinking. Poor Jake, he has a science project due tomorrow. He's been waiting for (and bugging) me to hook up the printer so he could finish it. I've been putting it off figuring we'd work on it Thursday night. Now he won't be home until 5:30, has to eat and be back out the door by 6:30 and won't return until after 8. :o( Why would teachers put a deadline the day AFTER a big school function? GRRRR! I feel bad becuase he's always been one of my better self motivated homework doers. It's not a matter of him avoiding it.
Well at least my van is clean! LOL Monday was a beautiful day but the ground was too muddy for Danielle to crawl around. We went for our walk and then hung out in the van. So I had time to clean it AGAIN (did it a week or so ago) How does it get so messy in so short time? I bought a tote to replace my carboard box held together with string. Hopefully that'll make things a lot easier to maintain.
I feel like I've written this post before. Problem is...this is my life right now. Even when I'm not doing something it seems like I'm hurrying up and waiting. Some things have gotten easier, others just keep on keeping on. I just wish my brain would shut off once in a while. All these running thoughts are enough to make me exhausted!
Well my coffee cup is empty and Danielle's done nursing...so back to work! Guess I should start with hooking up the printer.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
A scary and exhausting evening
Today was a busy day although it was quite enjoyable...for a while. This weekend is the fall youth soccer tournament at church. We play different fellowships from all over the Northeast US and Canada. The moms' jobs are to make fools of ourselves as we cheer much too loudly.
It looked to be a normal soccer weekend....WET! Luckily the temperature decided to be nice to us and hovered in the mid 70s. They started playing at 10am with a light rain. By the time lunch time hit at noon it started clearing up and becoming a bit muggy.
During our last regularly scheduled game (quarterfinals were next) I decided to take Danielle for a walk. It was after 2 and she'd been up all day. I thought riding in the stroller over the bumpy gravel would put her to sleep. WRONG! She was too nosey to relax enough to sleep. We got 3/4 away around the outer circle when Danielle started crying.
She was trying to turn around and stand up in the stroller. The whole time she acted like she ate something gross and was trying to spit it out. There were tons of yellow jackets out today so I thought maybe she got stung. I got her out of the stroller and checked her over (even in her mouth) She calmed a bit and I finished our walk carrying her and pushing the stroller. I stopped at a boulder so I could sit and nurse her which she did fine....for a few minutes. Then she started crying again. So we walked some more. I finally got back to where my camp chair was set up amongst the moms watching the game. I nursed Danielle until she fell asleep...or so I thought. She bit me hard while nursing and started SCREAMING! Her face was red, her eyes were puffy and she wouldn't stop.
I took off her clothes to search for a sting, no welts. She did have a few big patches of hives on her upper chest and arms. Her ears and face were beet red and looked puffy. I really couldn't be sure whether it was from crying so hard or not. Her spit was thick and she did the spitting out thing again and then threw up. I kept watching her throat and chest to see if she was having a hard time breathing but she wasn't. My SIL, D, told me she had an epipen in her diaper bag if I needed it.
I couldn't calm her down for anything. She refused to nurse. We left the area and walked. I talked and tried to soothe her. After she threw up I decided this was getting too close to needing medical help and went to my van for my first aid kit and some benedryl. I couldn't find a medicine dropper but found a unopened straw so used that to give her some. She's a terrible medicine taker and fought me tooth and nail. I did manage to get some in her and then she threw up again! So I'm not really sure HOW much she had.
She continued to cry and her face still looked red and puffy. I finally managed to calm her a bit right before we were to eat dinner at 5pm. She sat in my lap while we ate and whined on and off. She was looking a bit better by the end of dinner. I was going to leave at 7 instead of going to the meeting. By 7 she decided she was ok. As time went on she became more active and whined less. Her eyes still looked pretty swollen. Around 9 she even smiled at and played with one of the adults.
She's now sleeping soundly (I think) I feel like I've been playing soccer all day. It totally drained me. I didn't realize it until about 8'ish while sitting in the meeting hall. All I wanted was to crawl into bed and go to sleep! I have NO idea what she had the reaction to and I hope I never find out again!
I'm just hoping she's ok and back to her smiley self tomorrow. At 9:15 starts the semifinals of the tournment. For the first time ever out youth have to play! YEAH THEM!!! Finals are played at 11, then it's lunch. At 2pm we're having my MIL's memorial feast until about 5. Then back home to finish homework and get ready for the week ahead which is looking to be busy at first. Monday I'm driving Michelle to school, have an appt after I pick her up in the afternoon and then a baby shower in the evening.
It looked to be a normal soccer weekend....WET! Luckily the temperature decided to be nice to us and hovered in the mid 70s. They started playing at 10am with a light rain. By the time lunch time hit at noon it started clearing up and becoming a bit muggy.
During our last regularly scheduled game (quarterfinals were next) I decided to take Danielle for a walk. It was after 2 and she'd been up all day. I thought riding in the stroller over the bumpy gravel would put her to sleep. WRONG! She was too nosey to relax enough to sleep. We got 3/4 away around the outer circle when Danielle started crying.
She was trying to turn around and stand up in the stroller. The whole time she acted like she ate something gross and was trying to spit it out. There were tons of yellow jackets out today so I thought maybe she got stung. I got her out of the stroller and checked her over (even in her mouth) She calmed a bit and I finished our walk carrying her and pushing the stroller. I stopped at a boulder so I could sit and nurse her which she did fine....for a few minutes. Then she started crying again. So we walked some more. I finally got back to where my camp chair was set up amongst the moms watching the game. I nursed Danielle until she fell asleep...or so I thought. She bit me hard while nursing and started SCREAMING! Her face was red, her eyes were puffy and she wouldn't stop.
I took off her clothes to search for a sting, no welts. She did have a few big patches of hives on her upper chest and arms. Her ears and face were beet red and looked puffy. I really couldn't be sure whether it was from crying so hard or not. Her spit was thick and she did the spitting out thing again and then threw up. I kept watching her throat and chest to see if she was having a hard time breathing but she wasn't. My SIL, D, told me she had an epipen in her diaper bag if I needed it.
I couldn't calm her down for anything. She refused to nurse. We left the area and walked. I talked and tried to soothe her. After she threw up I decided this was getting too close to needing medical help and went to my van for my first aid kit and some benedryl. I couldn't find a medicine dropper but found a unopened straw so used that to give her some. She's a terrible medicine taker and fought me tooth and nail. I did manage to get some in her and then she threw up again! So I'm not really sure HOW much she had.
She continued to cry and her face still looked red and puffy. I finally managed to calm her a bit right before we were to eat dinner at 5pm. She sat in my lap while we ate and whined on and off. She was looking a bit better by the end of dinner. I was going to leave at 7 instead of going to the meeting. By 7 she decided she was ok. As time went on she became more active and whined less. Her eyes still looked pretty swollen. Around 9 she even smiled at and played with one of the adults.
She's now sleeping soundly (I think) I feel like I've been playing soccer all day. It totally drained me. I didn't realize it until about 8'ish while sitting in the meeting hall. All I wanted was to crawl into bed and go to sleep! I have NO idea what she had the reaction to and I hope I never find out again!
I'm just hoping she's ok and back to her smiley self tomorrow. At 9:15 starts the semifinals of the tournment. For the first time ever out youth have to play! YEAH THEM!!! Finals are played at 11, then it's lunch. At 2pm we're having my MIL's memorial feast until about 5. Then back home to finish homework and get ready for the week ahead which is looking to be busy at first. Monday I'm driving Michelle to school, have an appt after I pick her up in the afternoon and then a baby shower in the evening.
Friday, September 22, 2006
LF day
You know the drill...My day to post on the largerfamily blog. You're time to click on the link below and see what I had to say.
The current topic is Dealing with Chaos. Welcome to my world!
Remember to visit the dropdown box over there ---> to see a list of all my other posts at LF.
Oh yeah, and feedback is always appreciated. :o)
The current topic is Dealing with Chaos. Welcome to my world!
Remember to visit the dropdown box over there ---> to see a list of all my other posts at LF.
Oh yeah, and feedback is always appreciated. :o)
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Tossin and Turnin
My mind is a whirlwind and I can't sleep. All that keeps running through my head is what I could be doing instead of sleeping. Top of the list is to come here and WRITE! So here I am.
My computer time is at an all time low right now. Not only am I hardly home during the days when the computer is free. We're down to one computer now! Drew's computer is down for the count so we're all sharing mine. Michelle has a class that requires her to take an online quiz after every reading assignment. So that tends to take precidence. Driving Michelle isn't SO bad. Although I can see it getting worse once the weather changes and my options dwindle. (MJ...Michelle doesn't have her license and isn't anywhere near ready to take her road test. So no on giving her the van, as much as I'd love to! LOL)
Monday was a BEAUTIFUL day with tons of sun and temps in the low 80s. After Danielle and I went for a walk we set up camp near the pond. Me in my camp chair with snacks and a book. Danielle with some toys, lots of crawling room and her stroller to take a nap in. If every day was like Monday I'd feel thankful for such a task. It felt like a mini vacation and I was feeling a tad guilty for wasting the day away. I keep debating if it's worth it to stay in the city. Is 3hrs waiting worth the $10 in gas it'd cost me to go home? Would I actually get anything done knowing I had to run back out the door again in a few hours? In the winter I could see me staying in the city, especially since they tend to get less snow then our house does. But now...I'm not so sure.
I'm happy to say that I'm getting a bit more done around the house nowadays. Not that it looks it but things are getting done and the important people know it. I always find I feel better about everything when I get back into the groove of cleaning. Not that I like to clean, just that I feel better.
This weekend the kids finally begged enough to get me to agree to my nieces spending the night. With the crazy summer we had, there wasn't much of a chance for them to spend time out here like they normally do. The oldest was at a friend's house so didn't come so I only had 2 extras. My sister drove them out here and I'm sure she was dumbstruck on the state of the house. When sharing a bedroom we were often referred to Felix and Oscar. Oh well the girls had fun and that's all that matters. I think her oldest wants to come out this weekend, I'm not sure how that'll work out but we'll see.
Tonight was the last soccer practice before the tournament this weekend. Tomorrow (Thurs) night they'll have a youth meeting and pep rally with Friday off. (Although there are activities planned for the adults) I'm hoping without a nightly 7pm deadline (time they need to be at church for practice) we'll be able to do a bit more around here. The kids have been asking me to drive up to the cemetary and visit MIL's grave. We've been wanting to use our rec center membership. The little kids want to go swimming, older ones use the weightroom. Of course there's reading time and practicing spelling that tends to get pushed aside when time's short. Oh yeah and fun time! lol
Pat's still looking for a job. I've put him on notice that he's driving Michelle to Jess's house tomorrow and then going into the other city/suburbs to look for a job. They've had better luck at the hiring agency in that direction then the one out near the college. (where he's already applied and not hear anything from) I'm pretty sure he's feeling the crunch of having empty pockets. He's also dying to get a puppy which Tom won't even entertain the idea of as long as Pat's broke.
Drew's band seems to get more and more calls. September 30th they're playing at a Tex-Mex restaurant/bar. They were suppose to play at a showcase tonight but not sure if they did. Today was Allison's birthday and Drew was spending the day with her. Also last time they played there they didn't get on the stage until midnight. Closing the place down is too late night for school kids!
Carrie had a checkup at the TODAY study. They were really pleased with her glucose numbers and her weight. (which was the same as in July) Her blood pressure was a little off. Her dystolic (upper) number was too high for someone her age. It's the second appt that it's been like that. They rechecked her at the end of the appt and finally got a number that they could relax a bit on. So for now she's pre-hypertensive instead of hypertensive. We're watching sodium intake and trying to get her moving more.
My meds are driving me up the wall. The new one has some side effects that are similar to what I dealt with after having my gall bladder removed. Gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It's supoose to diminish after a while. Also it helps when I stick to my food plan...so there's a motivator. I think it's adverserly effecting my numbers though. Carrie's gotten better numbers then me and she's never done that before! My fastings were in the high 80s and 90s. Now they are in the 106 range. My after meal numbers are just borderline where they were fine before. I'll going to give it another week or so and see what happnes. The only good thing about this is that it may help me lose weight because it blocks the intake of carbs/glucose. I haven't decided if that's worth the adverse effects or not.
Danielle is growing like a weed and keeping us entertained. She's found her screech, much to Tom's chagrin. Her mouth is going constantly. For the most part it's blah lah labaglaba stuff but I hear a word slip out once in a while. She's not walking yet and I'm ok with that. I think she'll be our oldest walker. She's on the verge of doing it, just hasn't gotten bold enough to do it. Once she does though she'll be running!
Her newest ploy is to throw a temper tantrum everytime someone gets in the van without her. We've had the front door open because of the nice temps. She'll make a mad crawl for the front door and watch to see if whoever went out it is getting in the van. If they do she SCREAMS like she's hurt and then puts her head to the floor for just the right dramatic effect. Tuesday it made Pat come running back in to check on her...Then carry her out to her carseat for a ride to pick up Michelle with him. Naaaaah she's not spoiled! I'm SO in trouble!
The kids seem to be adjusting well to school. They all seem to be self motivated to do their homework and studying. It's a first! Especially for Carrie. I still have to prompt at times when time is short but all in all they've got it down. :oD Eileen was SO proud of herself on Friday when she brought home a 95% on her first spelling test! She has 10 regular words and 10 sight words on each test, double the amount from last year. They aren't all in the same word family like last year either. I was really worried she'd get overwhelmed by it. She scored better then any pretest I'd given her at home!
The new bedroom arrangments seem to be working out well too. I've noticed that Liz and Carrie are spending more one on one time now. I'm sure they really appreciated having their room to themselves on Saturday. I woke up at 7:30am to find the little girls and niece playing Barbies. They'd gone to bed after midnight! They were dragging around dinner time to say the least. lol
Well I've rambled long enough. My eyes are finally realizing it's late and we need some sleep. I've been missing coming here and visiting my blog friends. I haven't gone on a proper blog tour in weeks! Hopefully I'll have time soon. I hope everything is well with everyone out there.
My computer time is at an all time low right now. Not only am I hardly home during the days when the computer is free. We're down to one computer now! Drew's computer is down for the count so we're all sharing mine. Michelle has a class that requires her to take an online quiz after every reading assignment. So that tends to take precidence. Driving Michelle isn't SO bad. Although I can see it getting worse once the weather changes and my options dwindle. (MJ...Michelle doesn't have her license and isn't anywhere near ready to take her road test. So no on giving her the van, as much as I'd love to! LOL)
Monday was a BEAUTIFUL day with tons of sun and temps in the low 80s. After Danielle and I went for a walk we set up camp near the pond. Me in my camp chair with snacks and a book. Danielle with some toys, lots of crawling room and her stroller to take a nap in. If every day was like Monday I'd feel thankful for such a task. It felt like a mini vacation and I was feeling a tad guilty for wasting the day away. I keep debating if it's worth it to stay in the city. Is 3hrs waiting worth the $10 in gas it'd cost me to go home? Would I actually get anything done knowing I had to run back out the door again in a few hours? In the winter I could see me staying in the city, especially since they tend to get less snow then our house does. But now...I'm not so sure.
I'm happy to say that I'm getting a bit more done around the house nowadays. Not that it looks it but things are getting done and the important people know it. I always find I feel better about everything when I get back into the groove of cleaning. Not that I like to clean, just that I feel better.
This weekend the kids finally begged enough to get me to agree to my nieces spending the night. With the crazy summer we had, there wasn't much of a chance for them to spend time out here like they normally do. The oldest was at a friend's house so didn't come so I only had 2 extras. My sister drove them out here and I'm sure she was dumbstruck on the state of the house. When sharing a bedroom we were often referred to Felix and Oscar. Oh well the girls had fun and that's all that matters. I think her oldest wants to come out this weekend, I'm not sure how that'll work out but we'll see.
Tonight was the last soccer practice before the tournament this weekend. Tomorrow (Thurs) night they'll have a youth meeting and pep rally with Friday off. (Although there are activities planned for the adults) I'm hoping without a nightly 7pm deadline (time they need to be at church for practice) we'll be able to do a bit more around here. The kids have been asking me to drive up to the cemetary and visit MIL's grave. We've been wanting to use our rec center membership. The little kids want to go swimming, older ones use the weightroom. Of course there's reading time and practicing spelling that tends to get pushed aside when time's short. Oh yeah and fun time! lol
Pat's still looking for a job. I've put him on notice that he's driving Michelle to Jess's house tomorrow and then going into the other city/suburbs to look for a job. They've had better luck at the hiring agency in that direction then the one out near the college. (where he's already applied and not hear anything from) I'm pretty sure he's feeling the crunch of having empty pockets. He's also dying to get a puppy which Tom won't even entertain the idea of as long as Pat's broke.
Drew's band seems to get more and more calls. September 30th they're playing at a Tex-Mex restaurant/bar. They were suppose to play at a showcase tonight but not sure if they did. Today was Allison's birthday and Drew was spending the day with her. Also last time they played there they didn't get on the stage until midnight. Closing the place down is too late night for school kids!
Carrie had a checkup at the TODAY study. They were really pleased with her glucose numbers and her weight. (which was the same as in July) Her blood pressure was a little off. Her dystolic (upper) number was too high for someone her age. It's the second appt that it's been like that. They rechecked her at the end of the appt and finally got a number that they could relax a bit on. So for now she's pre-hypertensive instead of hypertensive. We're watching sodium intake and trying to get her moving more.
My meds are driving me up the wall. The new one has some side effects that are similar to what I dealt with after having my gall bladder removed. Gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It's supoose to diminish after a while. Also it helps when I stick to my food plan...so there's a motivator. I think it's adverserly effecting my numbers though. Carrie's gotten better numbers then me and she's never done that before! My fastings were in the high 80s and 90s. Now they are in the 106 range. My after meal numbers are just borderline where they were fine before. I'll going to give it another week or so and see what happnes. The only good thing about this is that it may help me lose weight because it blocks the intake of carbs/glucose. I haven't decided if that's worth the adverse effects or not.
Danielle is growing like a weed and keeping us entertained. She's found her screech, much to Tom's chagrin. Her mouth is going constantly. For the most part it's blah lah labaglaba stuff but I hear a word slip out once in a while. She's not walking yet and I'm ok with that. I think she'll be our oldest walker. She's on the verge of doing it, just hasn't gotten bold enough to do it. Once she does though she'll be running!
Her newest ploy is to throw a temper tantrum everytime someone gets in the van without her. We've had the front door open because of the nice temps. She'll make a mad crawl for the front door and watch to see if whoever went out it is getting in the van. If they do she SCREAMS like she's hurt and then puts her head to the floor for just the right dramatic effect. Tuesday it made Pat come running back in to check on her...Then carry her out to her carseat for a ride to pick up Michelle with him. Naaaaah she's not spoiled! I'm SO in trouble!
The kids seem to be adjusting well to school. They all seem to be self motivated to do their homework and studying. It's a first! Especially for Carrie. I still have to prompt at times when time is short but all in all they've got it down. :oD Eileen was SO proud of herself on Friday when she brought home a 95% on her first spelling test! She has 10 regular words and 10 sight words on each test, double the amount from last year. They aren't all in the same word family like last year either. I was really worried she'd get overwhelmed by it. She scored better then any pretest I'd given her at home!
The new bedroom arrangments seem to be working out well too. I've noticed that Liz and Carrie are spending more one on one time now. I'm sure they really appreciated having their room to themselves on Saturday. I woke up at 7:30am to find the little girls and niece playing Barbies. They'd gone to bed after midnight! They were dragging around dinner time to say the least. lol
Well I've rambled long enough. My eyes are finally realizing it's late and we need some sleep. I've been missing coming here and visiting my blog friends. I haven't gone on a proper blog tour in weeks! Hopefully I'll have time soon. I hope everything is well with everyone out there.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Only have a sec
I'm not handling driving Michelle and the kids going back to school well right now. My house is a mess, dinners have been not so great, and we're totally unprepared in the mornings. It doesn't help that I was barely home this weekend so I couldn't play catch-up. It doesn't help that Danielle has hardly been napping and has no one to pay attention to her but me. It doesn't help that the big church soccer tournament is in 2wks. The kids are having big time soccer practices every night ontop of their regular church things. It doesn't help that I haven't been sleeping well and am exhausted during the day.
I thought our new chorelist would help. Things are so bad they can't take care of it in the short time they have at night. I'm trying to get them to chip at it every day but it doesn't seem to be effective. I need to get organized!!!! Planning meals before hand, getting laundry done and outfits planned ahead of time so we're not searching for something every morning.
I hate to say it but....I NEED a schedule! Waaahhhhh! Snack time, chore time, homework time, dinner time, running out the door time, BED time!
On the plus side. Monday after dropping off Michelle, Danielle and I went for a walk. Danielle fell asleep and I was able to sit in the shade a read a book! I haven't read a book in a while. Right now I've just started the Red Tent. I've been tempted to run out and bring it in the house but I know that's not smart. If I did that then I'd get absolutely nothing done. So it's a Mon and Wed read only.
I mentioned this weekend was busy. Here's the highlights...
Fri night... Drew's band played at a "block party". They set up outside one of the bandmember's house and had a nighttime concert. We were there from 8-11.
Sat... The first of our church's youth got married!!! She was BEAUTIFUL! The ceremony was touching and the feast afterwards was uplifting. The girls and I got home about 9'ish. After Tom and I went to bed we ended up starting to talk. We were a bit shocked to see the clock say 4AM! Tom decided he wanted a snack so we got back up. Danielle woke up and I climbed back into bed between 4:30 and 5.
Sun...Tom's work called at 7:30am!!!! Wouldn't you know it I couldn't get back to sleep. I was zombie all day. We went to church at 11 and stayed for lunch. Afterwards we tried to finish up school shopping. We got home about 9pm.
Other notes... Drew's band has been asked to play at quite a few places lately. They're really excited and have even been paid for some of them. 2 wks ago they played at a wedding and a benefit. This weekend was a Founder's Day celebration on Saturday and a benefit on Sunday. Tonight they're playing at a bar.
Well since this is still sitting here open since 9:30 this morning...I'll update.
I went to the OB today :o( It was a little rough sitting there and affected me a bit more then I thought it would. I was asked what I'm going to do now and said....proceed as normal...whatever that is. lol Everything checked out ok. My weight was the same as it was at my last appointment. My blood pressure was 106/80. I have NO idea how she always gets such unbelieveably low numbers like that. My glucose numbers while acceptable weren't really where he wants them. (I thought they were good and I my A1C is only 5.1!!!!) So I'm back on glucophage and he's added acarbose. I'm also back on my non pg high blood pressure meds. We wants me back in in 2mos. I'm hoping I may need to go in before that. :o)
I thought our new chorelist would help. Things are so bad they can't take care of it in the short time they have at night. I'm trying to get them to chip at it every day but it doesn't seem to be effective. I need to get organized!!!! Planning meals before hand, getting laundry done and outfits planned ahead of time so we're not searching for something every morning.
I hate to say it but....I NEED a schedule! Waaahhhhh! Snack time, chore time, homework time, dinner time, running out the door time, BED time!
On the plus side. Monday after dropping off Michelle, Danielle and I went for a walk. Danielle fell asleep and I was able to sit in the shade a read a book! I haven't read a book in a while. Right now I've just started the Red Tent. I've been tempted to run out and bring it in the house but I know that's not smart. If I did that then I'd get absolutely nothing done. So it's a Mon and Wed read only.
I mentioned this weekend was busy. Here's the highlights...
Fri night... Drew's band played at a "block party". They set up outside one of the bandmember's house and had a nighttime concert. We were there from 8-11.
Sat... The first of our church's youth got married!!! She was BEAUTIFUL! The ceremony was touching and the feast afterwards was uplifting. The girls and I got home about 9'ish. After Tom and I went to bed we ended up starting to talk. We were a bit shocked to see the clock say 4AM! Tom decided he wanted a snack so we got back up. Danielle woke up and I climbed back into bed between 4:30 and 5.
Sun...Tom's work called at 7:30am!!!! Wouldn't you know it I couldn't get back to sleep. I was zombie all day. We went to church at 11 and stayed for lunch. Afterwards we tried to finish up school shopping. We got home about 9pm.
Other notes... Drew's band has been asked to play at quite a few places lately. They're really excited and have even been paid for some of them. 2 wks ago they played at a wedding and a benefit. This weekend was a Founder's Day celebration on Saturday and a benefit on Sunday. Tonight they're playing at a bar.
Well since this is still sitting here open since 9:30 this morning...I'll update.
I went to the OB today :o( It was a little rough sitting there and affected me a bit more then I thought it would. I was asked what I'm going to do now and said....proceed as normal...whatever that is. lol Everything checked out ok. My weight was the same as it was at my last appointment. My blood pressure was 106/80. I have NO idea how she always gets such unbelieveably low numbers like that. My glucose numbers while acceptable weren't really where he wants them. (I thought they were good and I my A1C is only 5.1!!!!) So I'm back on glucophage and he's added acarbose. I'm also back on my non pg high blood pressure meds. We wants me back in in 2mos. I'm hoping I may need to go in before that. :o)
Friday, September 08, 2006
My turn again....
It's my Friday over at Largerfamilies.com.
The topic is making your kids feel special. Run on over and read my post...I'm her favorite!
The topic is making your kids feel special. Run on over and read my post...I'm her favorite!
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Carrie's birth story
Her stats...
Carolyn Marie
September 7, 1994
1:31pm
8lbs 7oz
I found out I was pg when Luke was 10mos old. I was due on Labor Day (Sept 5th). I went to my OB's office for the first time when I was 10wks along. Unfortunately for me I was assigned to the OB from hell! She was only there for a year and for that I am THANKFUL! She micromanaged everything and drove me (and the lab ladies) crazy. My blood pressure was a little high at my first appointment but was fine most of the pregnancy until near the end. BUT because of that one high reading the OB insisted I had chronic hypertension...not pregnancy induced hypertension. I suggested maybe the inital high reading was due to nerves but was poo-poo'ed.
Due to her thinking of Chronic hypertension she had me doing lab work everytime I turned around. The lab ladies hated to see me coming since the OB ordered them to do EVERY test they could. According to the lab techs there was no need to do them all and she was the only dr that ever did that. I failed my 1 and 3hr GTT at 26wks and was put on a GD diet. My sugar numbers never went high while on the diet and monitoring it.
Starting at 34wks the dr decided weekly dr visits wasn't enough and I needed more monitoring. I had to do weekly NST and biophysical workups. My blood pressure started creeping up at 36wks. I decided to be crazy and camped in a tent with all the kids at our church's annual summer conference when I was 37wks. After a few days I had one of the nurses check my pressure because it didn't seem right. She got a reading off the roof. She told me to gather the kids and get home on the couch NOW! It helped a bit but was still a bit high at my next dr appt. The dr started really pushing the induction. I talked her out of it as long as I promised to put myself on bedrest.
Tuesday after Labor Day I had my next appt. It was early so that there was time to be admitted and an induction started. She examined me and told me I was 2cm and 50% effaced. I agreed to head to the hospital for an induction. It was about 1'ish when I was hooked up and the pit was started. Nothing happened all day. About 9pm Dr T (same OB who delivered Luke) came in and suggested we stop the pit for the night. She explained I was till thick and closed and hadn't progressed at all since being admitted. I was livid...thick and closed!?!?! I was told I was 2cm and 50% effaced! It was the only reason why I agreed to come here today.
Dr T responds with...that's ok I was told you were 3cm, 75% effaced and your blood pressure was high (it was fine!) Seems they'd told my regular OB that they were full and unless it was necessary they didn't have room for me. So it seems she told us what we wanted to hear. After doing the inital exam after admitting me, Dr T thought since I'd already had so many kids all I needed was a little pit. I replied with...if anyone had bothered to ask me (or tell me the truth) I'd have told them it was useless unless my cervix was ripe!
We decided to turn off the pit and do cervidil (or something similar) applications every 4hrs. What a pain. I had to lay flat in bed while we were doing it. I was allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and walk around for a few minutes before the next application. About 6am I felt my first contraction. :o) I'd sent Tom home after midnight to get some rest. I called Tom and told him to come up as soon as he could. It was the first day of school so he had to get the 3 oldest kids on the bus. BIL was staying with the kids who weren't in school.
The pit was hooked up about 9'ish and the contractions picked up quickly. We were all joking and taking bets whether the baby would be born before or after lunch. I picked after, Dr T picked before. Shortly after 1 the nurse was in checking things. She watched me through a contraction and said she was going to get the doctor. What an angel! By the time the dr got there I was feeling ready to push. They broke down the bed while I reported that I could feel the baby coming down. It was an uneventful, 2 small pushs delivery.
Carolyn Marie
September 7, 1994
1:31pm
8lbs 7oz
I found out I was pg when Luke was 10mos old. I was due on Labor Day (Sept 5th). I went to my OB's office for the first time when I was 10wks along. Unfortunately for me I was assigned to the OB from hell! She was only there for a year and for that I am THANKFUL! She micromanaged everything and drove me (and the lab ladies) crazy. My blood pressure was a little high at my first appointment but was fine most of the pregnancy until near the end. BUT because of that one high reading the OB insisted I had chronic hypertension...not pregnancy induced hypertension. I suggested maybe the inital high reading was due to nerves but was poo-poo'ed.
Due to her thinking of Chronic hypertension she had me doing lab work everytime I turned around. The lab ladies hated to see me coming since the OB ordered them to do EVERY test they could. According to the lab techs there was no need to do them all and she was the only dr that ever did that. I failed my 1 and 3hr GTT at 26wks and was put on a GD diet. My sugar numbers never went high while on the diet and monitoring it.
Starting at 34wks the dr decided weekly dr visits wasn't enough and I needed more monitoring. I had to do weekly NST and biophysical workups. My blood pressure started creeping up at 36wks. I decided to be crazy and camped in a tent with all the kids at our church's annual summer conference when I was 37wks. After a few days I had one of the nurses check my pressure because it didn't seem right. She got a reading off the roof. She told me to gather the kids and get home on the couch NOW! It helped a bit but was still a bit high at my next dr appt. The dr started really pushing the induction. I talked her out of it as long as I promised to put myself on bedrest.
Tuesday after Labor Day I had my next appt. It was early so that there was time to be admitted and an induction started. She examined me and told me I was 2cm and 50% effaced. I agreed to head to the hospital for an induction. It was about 1'ish when I was hooked up and the pit was started. Nothing happened all day. About 9pm Dr T (same OB who delivered Luke) came in and suggested we stop the pit for the night. She explained I was till thick and closed and hadn't progressed at all since being admitted. I was livid...thick and closed!?!?! I was told I was 2cm and 50% effaced! It was the only reason why I agreed to come here today.
Dr T responds with...that's ok I was told you were 3cm, 75% effaced and your blood pressure was high (it was fine!) Seems they'd told my regular OB that they were full and unless it was necessary they didn't have room for me. So it seems she told us what we wanted to hear. After doing the inital exam after admitting me, Dr T thought since I'd already had so many kids all I needed was a little pit. I replied with...if anyone had bothered to ask me (or tell me the truth) I'd have told them it was useless unless my cervix was ripe!
We decided to turn off the pit and do cervidil (or something similar) applications every 4hrs. What a pain. I had to lay flat in bed while we were doing it. I was allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and walk around for a few minutes before the next application. About 6am I felt my first contraction. :o) I'd sent Tom home after midnight to get some rest. I called Tom and told him to come up as soon as he could. It was the first day of school so he had to get the 3 oldest kids on the bus. BIL was staying with the kids who weren't in school.
The pit was hooked up about 9'ish and the contractions picked up quickly. We were all joking and taking bets whether the baby would be born before or after lunch. I picked after, Dr T picked before. Shortly after 1 the nurse was in checking things. She watched me through a contraction and said she was going to get the doctor. What an angel! By the time the dr got there I was feeling ready to push. They broke down the bed while I reported that I could feel the baby coming down. It was an uneventful, 2 small pushs delivery.
Joke Jakey style
I came home the other day to the kids all trying to tell me a joke that Jake made up while I was gone. It's one of those times when you try really hard not to laugh but can't help but end up ROFL'ing.
It started off that that Liz had said "A!" (meaning Ass)
Someone says....Awwww! I'm telling mom you said A!
She starts reciting the alphabet....B...C...D...E...F...G and says...
THERE! Now you can tell mom I said A through G.
Jake immediately shouts out...Well you can tell mom I said F to U!
It started off that that Liz had said "A!" (meaning Ass)
Someone says....Awwww! I'm telling mom you said A!
She starts reciting the alphabet....B...C...D...E...F...G and says...
THERE! Now you can tell mom I said A through G.
Jake immediately shouts out...Well you can tell mom I said F to U!
We survived!
The first day of school has come and gone. Everyone got out the door when they needed to. I still have a few things to get for them but all in all we're good. Olivia tried to stay home this morning...her belly hurt. I made her go. I hope she doesn't try this too much this year. I don't really have negotiating and cajoling time in the morning.
Pat went with me to drop off Michelle. We ran to the dollar store and while there I started getting a headache. I realized I never had any coffee before we left. At the same time we both said...DUNKIN DONUTS! We shared an XL cappuccino and 2 donuts.
It was a bit too early to go grocery shopping so we decided to kill some time at the pet store. As were we getting out of the van I realized I didn't have my diaper bag. I'd left it at Dunkin Donuts!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?!?! How come I've been losing/leaving my wallet/bag everywhere!?! Normally I'd have to have my bag to leave since my keys would be in it. This time was different because I was letting Pat drive so he had the keys in his pocket. We ran back to DD and luckily they'd seen us walk out and put it behind the counter. PHEW! We went back to the pet store and oogled the animals for a while. Danielle really enjoyed it.
Shortly after we got there Jess called Pat and said she was almost out of class (Michelle still had 3hrs to go). He told her to meet us at the pet store when she was done. She called back about 10mins later. Seems her exhaust pipe had fallen off and was hanging under her car. We jumped in the van, drove up to the college and Pat wired it up. Now we had to find a muffler place. One place gave her a $200 estimate which her dad and I told her was too much. About half an hour later we found where we wanted to be and they had a $140 estimate in hand. I left them at the shop and headed out to do my errands.
I stopped at Wendy's (which I will NOT being doing on a regular basis!) ordered a jr bacon and side salad for me, and a sm fries for Danielle who had fallen asleep. So I sat in Walmart parking lot and enjoyed my lunch while she slept. After she woke up and had a few fries we headed in to shop. We have a nasty cold with a cough going around here so I needed some meds. I felt like people were thinking I was a drug dealer/manufacturer with all the different types of cold meds I was picking up. Damn you backwoods meth labs for turning innocent homemakers into suspects!
My phone rang as I was starting into the grocery area of WM. It was Pat telling me that they were still waiting for the car to be fixed. Hmmm I thought they told them it wouldn't be long. Next thing I know he's RAAAA'ing me. What a jokster. Just as we were finishing up Michelle called to be picked up. So much for not knowing how to kill time while she was in class. I hadn't finished my errands so I dragged her along for another hour.
We got home at 4:30 which is prime afterschool crazy time. Being the first day of school EVERYONE had papers for me to fill out. So like a good girl I did my homework. Then I finished putting groceries away and started dinner. I want dinner to be ready to serve by 6:30 on school nights, it was 7. I have some work to do. I'm thinking of starting to use my crockpot more. One small problem is my 18qt slowcooker/roaster is too big for a meal and the 4qt is a tad too small. I can use it to make sauces or parts of meals I guess. Maybe Monday I'll hit the thrift stores and see if I can find another 4qt or larger one.
We're in the middle of switching some rooms around here. That means tons of things out of place, tons of things that have no place to be put, bags of stuff that no one wants anymore and a huge pile of clothes that seem to have gotten dirty without being worn and need to be washed. I can't wait until it's all taken care of! This place is a disaster area right now. At least my front coat closet is clean and organized! (did it last weekend) Unfortunately I found out just how small it is....it can't even hold 12 winter coats much less enough winter and spring ones for everyone...NOT TOK friendly!
Today is Carrie's 12th birthday (will write out her birth story later). It means she can now join the youth group at church. She's been bugging me, trying to get me to send her to the meetings early. Big bad mom wouldn't break the rules. I hope it's as exciting as she thinks it's going to be. lol She wanted chinese for dinner so we're ordering sesame chicken. I'm making lo mein here so there'll be something filling to go along with it.
Bus is here. Time to see if everyone survived another day.
Pat went with me to drop off Michelle. We ran to the dollar store and while there I started getting a headache. I realized I never had any coffee before we left. At the same time we both said...DUNKIN DONUTS! We shared an XL cappuccino and 2 donuts.
It was a bit too early to go grocery shopping so we decided to kill some time at the pet store. As were we getting out of the van I realized I didn't have my diaper bag. I'd left it at Dunkin Donuts!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?!?! How come I've been losing/leaving my wallet/bag everywhere!?! Normally I'd have to have my bag to leave since my keys would be in it. This time was different because I was letting Pat drive so he had the keys in his pocket. We ran back to DD and luckily they'd seen us walk out and put it behind the counter. PHEW! We went back to the pet store and oogled the animals for a while. Danielle really enjoyed it.
Shortly after we got there Jess called Pat and said she was almost out of class (Michelle still had 3hrs to go). He told her to meet us at the pet store when she was done. She called back about 10mins later. Seems her exhaust pipe had fallen off and was hanging under her car. We jumped in the van, drove up to the college and Pat wired it up. Now we had to find a muffler place. One place gave her a $200 estimate which her dad and I told her was too much. About half an hour later we found where we wanted to be and they had a $140 estimate in hand. I left them at the shop and headed out to do my errands.
I stopped at Wendy's (which I will NOT being doing on a regular basis!) ordered a jr bacon and side salad for me, and a sm fries for Danielle who had fallen asleep. So I sat in Walmart parking lot and enjoyed my lunch while she slept. After she woke up and had a few fries we headed in to shop. We have a nasty cold with a cough going around here so I needed some meds. I felt like people were thinking I was a drug dealer/manufacturer with all the different types of cold meds I was picking up. Damn you backwoods meth labs for turning innocent homemakers into suspects!
My phone rang as I was starting into the grocery area of WM. It was Pat telling me that they were still waiting for the car to be fixed. Hmmm I thought they told them it wouldn't be long. Next thing I know he's RAAAA'ing me. What a jokster. Just as we were finishing up Michelle called to be picked up. So much for not knowing how to kill time while she was in class. I hadn't finished my errands so I dragged her along for another hour.
We got home at 4:30 which is prime afterschool crazy time. Being the first day of school EVERYONE had papers for me to fill out. So like a good girl I did my homework. Then I finished putting groceries away and started dinner. I want dinner to be ready to serve by 6:30 on school nights, it was 7. I have some work to do. I'm thinking of starting to use my crockpot more. One small problem is my 18qt slowcooker/roaster is too big for a meal and the 4qt is a tad too small. I can use it to make sauces or parts of meals I guess. Maybe Monday I'll hit the thrift stores and see if I can find another 4qt or larger one.
We're in the middle of switching some rooms around here. That means tons of things out of place, tons of things that have no place to be put, bags of stuff that no one wants anymore and a huge pile of clothes that seem to have gotten dirty without being worn and need to be washed. I can't wait until it's all taken care of! This place is a disaster area right now. At least my front coat closet is clean and organized! (did it last weekend) Unfortunately I found out just how small it is....it can't even hold 12 winter coats much less enough winter and spring ones for everyone...NOT TOK friendly!
Today is Carrie's 12th birthday (will write out her birth story later). It means she can now join the youth group at church. She's been bugging me, trying to get me to send her to the meetings early. Big bad mom wouldn't break the rules. I hope it's as exciting as she thinks it's going to be. lol She wanted chinese for dinner so we're ordering sesame chicken. I'm making lo mein here so there'll be something filling to go along with it.
Bus is here. Time to see if everyone survived another day.
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