It's a good thing

I bought sunglasses to match her Easter dress.

She's going to need them.

Colored eggs

Last night we colored Easter eggs. I set everything up on the kitchen floor. It was easier for the kids to see down into the cups. I was a little less nervous about spills, too.

I didn't get any pictures. I was too busy watching flailing arms and crazy legs to take any pictures. Also, I made my kids strip to their undies to prevent stains. That's probably way overboard, but they run around here in their skivvies anyway.

I'm going to put their eggs in little bowls with green grass so I can get a picture of them with their eggs. I'll let them color on them with crayons or put on little stickers today if they want to.

Is it weird that the part I like the best is seeing the broken colored shells in a bowl? Is there a craft or something I can do with them? I'm going to look online. I just think they are so beautiful.

I'm going to teach the kids with the Resurrection eggs tonight. DH is supposed to have the day off, but he has to go in on 2nd shift today. Pros/cons situation: 17 hours red time this week; kids' shower time by myself.

Who killed the cat?!

O MY WORD. I just heard a dead cat on my recorder where my voice should be!

I am working on my song for Sunday. I decided to record myself on my little Kodak camera. I need to know if I'm singing flat or sharp, and if I'm keeping in time with the accompaniment.

I sound horrible. I hope I sound better than that in real life. It has to be the recorder, right? I sound like I'm 10. Do I sound like I'm 10?

I found the flat spots. And the rest was tinny. Yikes.

Good thing this Sunday is Resurrection Sunday, because that cat needs a miracle.

Genealogy stuff

So I've been sucked into the vortex of family tree mania again. Thanks to the new show "Who Do You Think You Are?" My husband told me that he had signed up for a free 14-day subscription to Ancestry.com. There are only a couple days left. So now I feel this rush to find information while I can.

I found a marriage record for my maternal great grandparents! And I found a death record in TX for the right date parameters, but it's for an Unknown person with the correct last name. No other information listed. So I may have to send for the death certificate to see if there is any other information. And I keep searching for a birth record for my grandmother to see if there is any information on it.

I get so frustrated when I can't find the information that I have to walk away from it, or I'd be hopping in my car and driving to TX or MO or GA to search. I'm looking forward to going to WI this summer so I can do some research on my other maternal gr grandmother.

So while the kids nap, and the race is on but muted, I'll be surfing the net. Searching for clues and information.

I dare you to keep a straight face!

(Click on this picture to make it large!)

Can we make the sun wait

just a little while before waking us up?

Last night I woke up to see Baby standing by my bed. She said her belly was still hurting. She had an icky episode in the bathroom late last night. I was afraid to let her go back to bed alone. So I grabbed my pillow and got into bed with her. She went to sleep very quickly, and I lay there looking at her, rubbing her back and arm. She really can be a sweetie. At least while she's sleeping. LOL She woke up early, and I tried to keep her quiet while I dozed and while Daddy and Little Boy slept.

I'm going to pay for it all day with being tired and sore - that mattress kills me.

But just the chance to lay there and watch my baby sleep was worth it.

Is it even possible

to catch up on lost sleep? Or will I be tired and sleepy forever?

I've started trying to get to bed earlier, but I still can not wake up in the morning. I'm one of those people who really need at least 8 hours, but I've been trying to function on far less and it's not working.

Last night, DH and I went out to eat. Alone! We went to Denny's and then Walmart. I passed on dessert at the restaurant and opted instead for a candy bar at the grocery checkout. Less carbs - quicker - more selection. :0) It was a nice time away from the little people.

When we got home, DH called next door about the little people. They were getting baths. :0) Sweet. They didn't get into bed until after 10, but they were sure to get up just as early as ever. How is it that they look perfectly refreshed?

Yawn!

This is the set of Resurrection Eggs I bought online. They came in the mail today, and they are cuter in person than they were on the website.

The carton is plastic, and the cute little figures inside the eggs look pretty durable. I will be able to use these for a long time if nothing gets lost.

I'm going to use them with my kids and with the kids in my Sunday school class. Each egg has an object that teaches about one aspect of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The last egg is empty, just like the tomb.

Cool beans!

I'm confused

Someone I know is either senile, confused or evil. And I'm afraid to find out which one it is.

See, we have a big family reunion coming up this summer. One of my great aunts, who is evidently in contact with my mom, let her know about it and asked for my and my siblings' addresses. I sent them back to her the same day. And then I started wishing I could go. And I looked at some possible ways to get there. And then I approached my husband about going. And he said I could take the kids. We'll be gone for more than 3 weeks. As much as I'll miss my husband, I'm so excited to go.

So I've been impatiently waiting for information about it. I wrote back to my great aunt, and waited for a response. I wrote a couple of my aunts. One aunt said she was pretty sure it was on Sunday, August 8. The other aunt didn't respond. I started wondering why it would be on a Sunday. So I emailed a different great aunt. She wrote back right away. Saturday, August 7. Ok. I felt like she was a more credible source. She called the first great aunt who emailed me back. Her daughter said she mailed out the invitation 2 weeks ago, but none of my siblings have received anything. Great aunt 1 wrote that it will be on the first Sunday in August. That's the 1st. My cousin saw a post on Facebook and wrote that she thought it was Saturday the 7th. My second finally aunt wrote back, and said that's the correct date.

So I'm waiting to see if I get the official information. The paranoid part of me thinks Great Aunt 1 is up to something. Did she change our addresses so we wouldn't get the information? Is she telling me it's on Sunday so we will miss it? Is this all being orchestrated by the Evil One - my mom?

Or she could just be confused, and for whatever reason our information wasn't sent out. Or she could be senile. Although her emails didn't seem like that.

I DON'T KNOW.

But the fact that I needed to make sure I had the right dates before reserving our cottage made it all a little more urgent.

I think I can safely assume it's that weekend, and I can call about the cottage.

On a different note, it's raining here. Again. There is flooding north of us along the river. Thankfully we live high enough that we don't have to worry about flooding. Our back yard will be very soggy, though. I can still see patches of snow up on the hill across the street.

Little Boy was looking out the window and said, "Mommy, I can see little sproutlings in your garden!" Cute.

And the weather explains the painful hands and feet this morning.

Looking forward

to some sunshine!

My Sunday school lesson for tomorrow is about having a cheerful heart. I need to study and apply my own lesson, because I'm surely not feeling cheerful.

Kids got to play in their playhouse today. It was a nice break for us all. They got to play with toys they haven't seen for awhile, and Daddy had a quiet house.

I was in the bathroom for some "me" time. I colored my hair and got an overdue shower. I think my hair turned out ok. It's lighter than it was, but the gray is covered.

Daddy is working second shift. So after he left, I put the kids down for their nap. And then I took a short nap this afternoon. The kids came out and not-so-kindly woke me up. So they got to play in their rooms for awhile.

Tonight was showers. Daddy usually does shower duty because it hurts my back so bad to lean in and help them. But they did quite well, and there were no tears when we washed hair. They are playing now, and soon it will be bedtime. I love to hear them play (when they aren't fighting). A couple minutes ago they had a small squabble, but they figured it out.

We have to remember to change our clocks tonight. I'm not happy about losing an hour of sleep. I guess it's a good thing I got a short nap.

Baby told me the other day that I should call her "Big Girl" on my blog instead of "Baby". I don't know if I can do that. She needs to stay my baby a little longer.

Looking forward to my quiet time tonight after they are in bed and before Daddy gets home. But I'm looking forward to him getting home, too.

Never thought he'd say

"Stop chewing on the missiles!"

Daddy said to Baby who was chewing on Little Boy's missile launcher.

Rain

We're getting a cold rain today. I told the kids it was a perfect day to play in their playhouse if they would promise to stay in it.

I don't know if they will get out there after their nap or not. It's already getting dark.

So this morning my husband went to get the results of his bloodwork and to get the rest of his physical. His bad cholesterol is a little high, but everything else is good. I dread my turn!

It's been such a dreary day. I have been in more pain lately, and I'm sure the weather has a lot to do with it. I took a little nap this morning when DH got back from his appointment. I sleep with the heating pad as long as I can stand it. But when I get too hot it has to go.

My flowers are poking up out of the ground. Hopefully they will survive the starving deer. Maybe the food being put out by my neighbor across the street will keep them over there? We can hope!

Typical Day

Counting carbs, protein, fat,
mixing fruit, veggies, snacks, treats,
juice for lows, shots for highs,
lather, rinse, repeat.

More excitement

Little Boy has decided he wants a fireman birthday party this year. I'd like to make it a surprise party at a fire station.

So, "luckily" for us, Daddy's sister is married to a volunteer firefighter at the lake. So I sent her a message asking about renting the fire hall for the Saturday of Little Boy's birthday. She called me this afternoon. If Uncle reserves it, it's free. So now he is just going to check to see if the date is available.

I had some fun today looking at party supplies.

Now if Little Girl could narrow it down from the 5 or 6 themes she wants, we'll be doing good.

I did it

Tonight I let the pastor know I won't be "doing" VBS this summer. I also told him that I won't be teaching Sunday School for more than a month in July and August. He said he was sad; that they would miss my "expertise" in regards to VBS. "But you'll be able to help us out with teaching, right? ...If we move VBS to June?"

"No - I need a break." And Little Boy is going to be doing some summer school. I don't want him starting 2nd grade with his weak reading skills.

I explained - exciting news, here - that I'm planning to take the kids to Indiana and Wisconsin for 3+ weeks! I'm so excited, and anxious, and dreading some of the drive, but mostly excited. I already have a large portion of my packing list written. I'm expecting a couple brochures this week for cottages on the lake near where I grew up. 2 weeks at the lake. And then there's a big family reunion at the end of the 2 weeks that I want to take my kids to. It will probably be their only chance to meet many of my family members who are older. The big downer is not being able to go as a whole family. We're going to have to leave Daddy at home to work and hold down the fort.

I'm hoping he'll enjoy some peace and quiet, and not miss us too much. And I hope we don't miss him too much. Ok. I'm making myself sad.

But I cannot WAIT. 19 weeks and counting!

It's a beautiful day!

Yay! Spring could be on its way!

Saturday morning

Baby woke me up early this morning. I took her out to the living room so Daddy could sleep a little longer. It wasn't long until Little Boy was up, too. They watched cartoons while I dozed on the couch. I finally got up at 8:30 and went to McD's for breakfast. (They ALMOST messed up the order, but I caught it on the screen!)

Nothing makes Mommy happier than not having to fix breakfast on a Saturday morning!

Unless it's not having to cook Sunday lunch! LOL

Grapefruit, take me away!

I use a preprinted shopping list when I grocery shop. I put it together when Little Boy was an infant. I had gone to the store to get formula, and a couple other things, and I got home with a trunkful of food and stuff, but no formula. That's when I knew I had to make a list.

I wrote down the words on the aisle markers, and then listed the things the things in those aisles that I buy with an extra "other" spot. There is a check box by each item. Many times as I look at the list before I go shopping, the list prompts me to check on basics.

There's a separate column for toiletries, household and baby things. And there's space at the bottom to write special items.

I found some amazing deals at Walmart - I bought some clothes in bigger sizes for both my kids. Wrangler cargo jeans were on clearance for $5! So I bought two pair in Little Boy's current size, and a pair in a larger size. The larger size fit around the waist/rear, but were a tad too long. The current size pairs were snug around his belly. I took the other two back and bought his current size in a husky size. They were too big. Thankfully they have the adjustable waist. I didn't know fitting boys' pants was so complicated. I mean, it's not like they have hips or anything.

I found some cute tops for Baby for $2 and Hanes sweat shirts and pants were on clearance for $1. I don't worry about her as much since I could always sew her clothes much more easily than his.

But back to my list. I start at the back of the store and work my way forward. Milk, eggs, butter, cheese. And then I work my way through the aisles to the front. Many times I can skip a couple aisles because there is nothing on my list. That seems to help me not pick up unnecessary food stuff. I stop before the frozen section and work my way down the meat section, and then back up the center aisle of frozen foods - usually I don't buy anything from there - it's mostly quick convenience food and we don't eat much of that. I look at the fruit and veggies; I sometimes shop at another store that has better produce if I don't like how the stuff looks. And lastly, I get any frozen food I need.

But back to the produce section. I stopped by the citrus fruit and it was all so fragrant! I picked up a large grapefruit and smelled it. Ahhh. I love the scent of grapefruit! In my mind I'm trying to figure out why I like the scent even better than the other citrus fruits. I don't know. But as I was smelling it, I kept thinking, "I'd love to be sitting somewhere warm, eating a fresh grapefruit off the tree - alone. Ahh!"

Don't get me wrong (especially you, Dear, when you read this). I love my kids and I LOVE my husband, but there's just something about being alone. Even if it's just in your imagination. Completely carefree and relaxing - not worrying if the others are ok or safe or healthy or happy. In the smell of that grapefruit, I was THERE. And then I thought, "I hope no one is looking at me right now. Smelling this grapefruit I don't plan to buy. With a goofy smile on my face and my eyes closed." And I was back to reality from my quick trip.

I should have bought that magical grapefruit and figured out a way to wear it around my neck! LOL

Irritated

This is supposed to be my husband's week of vacation. But "we've" scheduled appointments this week like "we" didn't realize it was a vacation week. Even though it's marked in "our" appointment book very clearly in the margin. I mean, we didn't make any plans to leave town, so why not, right? Because I'm an idiot?

What was I thinking?

Monday - DH's school
Tuesday - Little Boy's Art class in the AM and Baby's Ballet in the PM
DH's haircut in the evening
Wednesday - Little Boy's therapy and Insurance agent meeting
Thursday - Ladies' Fellowship meeting at church
Friday - Clear for now
Saturday - Clear
Sunday - Clear

And because it's a long weekend b/c of DH's shift, we actually had an additional 2 1/2 days. But they're filling up, too.
Monday - DH's school
Tuesday - DH blood work appt., Art, Ballet
Wednesday - Little Boy dentist appt. in the AM

I think we need to pack our bags and leave town Friday, and come back Monday. Even if we only go to the nearest hotel. I think we need a break.

As for the insurance lady coming tomorrow morning, I hope my attitude toward her is better by the time she gets here.

I know I wrote a post about her last year, but I couldn't find it. I wanted to throw her out the door when she told us Little Boy wasn't eligible for life insurance. It had not been very long since his diagnosis, and I don't think she was very tactful. I don't want her coming into my house. Oh. And she called to me from the other room, "Tammy, you can come in here. You don't have to be afraid of me."

First of all, I'm not afraid of people. I was fixing dinner, avoiding her b/c I was feeling grungey (sp?) and I don't like insurance stuff. Her tone of voice was condescending. I wanted to come out and ask her to leave.

I don't think one day's notice is enough. Why didn't she make the appt. earlier? I have to scurry around now and clean up my messy living room b/c of her. So she's not walking into the friendliest environment tomorrow.

Fraud?

So yesterday we went to the dog breeder’s house. We were looking at the puppies he had, and I zeroed in on a cute, little, fluffy white dog. It had the brightest eyes, and such a sweet smile. You know what smile I mean – the one that says, “Take me home, and I’ll love you forever.”

We don’t want a big dog, so before I got too wrapped up I asked the breeder how big the dog would be full-grown. The guy laughed a little, and said, “I’m surprised you picked that breed.” See, he had a couple different breeds, which is unusual. Most breeders pick one breed and stick to it. But he had different ones. I asked him why that was so unusual.

“His first wife had one of those from us.” Huh? Whose first wife, and why would I care?

“HIS.”

And he nodded toward my husband.

“Huh?” Cloudy, foggy brain. Can’t compute.

“His first wife’s name was Sydney. She bought one of our dogs. Not long after that, she was killed. It was awful.”

I was completely stunned. What was he saying? I looked at my husband in disbelief. This guy had to be nuts. There was no way. My husband had never been married before. When we got home, I called my MIL. I asked her about Sydney. She was really quiet. Then she sighed a huge sigh of relief. “I’ve been holding my breath for ten years waiting for you to find out about her. She was the most wonderful woman. And beautiful, tall and skinny.”

I was just numb. Devastated and numb.

So this morning when we woke up, I asked him about her. I told him what the breeder said, I told him what his mom said, and he shook his head. He was lying there denying EVERYTHING.

“You have some crazy dreams, Dear.”

LOL. I sure do.

"And NO dog!"

Sure. His first wife can have one, but I can't. Humph.

How do you like that?

I was just informed by my son that I can't be the Tooth Fairy. When I asked him why he told me it has to do with not being young enough to be the Tooth Fairy. And he also told me I'm not skinny enough to fit into her skinny dress with wings.

Well, maybe next time one of his rotten little teeth falls out, I'll remember that.

Ha.

Little Boy's good report

I mentioned Little Boy's good report from his endocrinologist. His blood glucose levels have been very stable. I read some blogs of moms of Type 1s who talk about the way their child's numbers fluctuate drastically. I would be freaked out by that.

Little Boy has occasional lows, but more often we're dealing with mild highs. It seems like his 2 am readings tend to be in the low 200s, but his doctor was pleased with how those numbers drop to an acceptable number by breakfast. We do occasionally have to give him a very small shot, but unless his number is over 250, we let it go.

The range we aim for is 80-150.

Here are his numbers from the last month:

7 day avg - 120

14 day avg - 132

30 day avg - 150


That puts his A1C between a 6 and a 7.

Little Boy thought it was a great visit because he didn't have to have blood drawn. It seems his endocrinologist doesn't do blood tests very often. He says it traumatizes the child, and the information he gets from looking at Little Boy's readings is sufficient. If his numbers weren't so consistent, he would be more likely to do the testing.

So Dr. Jones is Little Boy's new best friend. LOL

Quiet Saturday

It's been a long week.

Daddy's long days

Our trip to Morgantown

Unpacking 3 people's things

School work

Bad weather keeping kids inside

Arthritis

Messy kitchen calling my name

Sunday school lesson to write

The list is endless, but all in all, it's been a good week.

Daddy survived his long days.

We got a great report from the doctor.

I got to do some shopping.

Little Boy was challenged by his diabetic educator to read books she'll send him.

We ate out a lot this week; something I often miss.

The weather is supposed to clear for a couple days before our next storm.

And Arthritis. Well, Arthritis will always be with me. Kinda like that person who latches on to you like you're their best friend.

Off to the kitchen. Ugh.

Little Boy's joke

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Orange.

Orange who?

Orange you glad I'm not still in your belly?

LOL - YOU BETCHA!

My beautiful children

The calm before the storm

Today is a busy day for my husband. He worked last shift, came home, looked at my dying laptop and got it to restart. He's sleeping now, but he has to get up to go to a class at work at 3 this afternoon. He'll get out at 7 pm. Then he has to go back to work tonight at 11 pm.

We don't have anything on our schedule today besides schoolwork. But tomorrow the fun begins.

Little Boy has art class from 11 to noon. Then we have to rush across town to the salon where he and I will get our hair cut. Then home to eat lunch and pack. He and I will go to Morgantown tomorrow afternoon for his 8:30 am appt. Wednesday morning. Daddy will have to take Baby to ballet (a first), and then drop her next door for an overnighter with Grandma and Granddad - since he's on last shift. Wednesday morning, I'll have to get up, get us ready, eat breakfast at the hotel, pack up our things, check out, and get my son to his appt. Thankfully, the hotel is about 5 minutes from the hospital. Then we'll go see his diabetic educator, go to Sam's Club, eat lunch, and come home. And we're praying that the snow on the radar waits for us to get home.

Thursday, Baby has a haircut, and a make-up ballet lesson that night. And Friday we're back to a clear schedule.

On a different note, my friend Elizabeth is having surgery today. She has to have plates and screws put into her neck from her c5-c8 discs. She's a little younger than me, and has 3 small children. Her husband isn't in the picture right now - it's a sad situation. I know it's difficult to go through these things without him. She'll be out of commission for awhile after her surgery. Thankfully, her parents are coming to help her out. I wish I lived closer; I'd love to go help her out for a day, at the very least.

I lost a pound. Woo. I need to get completely serious about losing weight. But I think our trip is going to postpone that for a couple days.

I wish you could hear my son. I can't even type the sound he's making while he plays Mario Kart. Now he's telling himself, "Ok, Little Boy, keep it clean, keep it clean, keep it clean." Baby is climbing all over me because she wants to snuggle. Or because she's bored and wants attention. Apparently, Little Boy doesn't like her bazillion smooches, and she needs another target.

Incoming!

My silly kids

A bunch of really random stuff:

I was going to post some more pictures from Valentine's Day morning; when they were opening their gifts. But I need to do some editing on them first. See, Little Boy is only wearing his undies, and Baby is wearing a shirt with her undies. There is one especially cute picture of my son holding Pez dispensers. Any time he can have candy, his little eyes just light up. So after I get the pic edited, I'll post it.

Speaking of undies, yesterday I was looking at little boy undies at the store. I looked at the size chart, and almost laughed out loud.

The size he was wearing was for whatever weight to 58 lbs. My son weighed 71 lbs. at his last doctor's appt. No wonder he was having issues. I thought they might be a little on the small size, but that poor little boy! And then I thought, "I better check Baby's size." Yep. She was wearing a size smaller than she should be, too. So yesterday was new undie day.

I also bought Baby some more ponies. Nope - not the My Little Pony ponies. Little elastics for her hair. I have bought at least 2 packages before, but I could only find 3 elastics. Dark purple, light purple and white. At least they were in the same color family, right? And while I was looking at ponies, I saw a package of sponge curlers. Ooooo. We could have some fun! I sprayed her hair with a spray bottle, put the rollers in, and we waited a good 2 1/2 hours. When I took out the rollers, she had pretty curls. But about 20 minutes later, droopy waves. Her hair wasn't freshly washed, and I didn't use any product on her hair, so I'm hoping our next experiment will work better/last longer.

I was looking for the other camera, because there were some pics on there I wanted to look at, but DH must have put it away. It's in the case in our room where he's sleeping after working last shift. Kinda should let him sleep.

I got to be the hero this morning. Apparently, our Mario Kart CD/DVD/Game was missing. I looked through every DVD case we own. I've been known to pick things up and just put random DVDs in a case when I'm overwhelmed by the MESS. Nope. Not there. I looked at a couple places where I stash things when I'm overwhelmed by the MESS. Nope. Not there. And then my eyes wandered around the room. Where would I have put it? I looked at the lamp table in the corner. Ah-ha! A small stack of discs - and we found Mario! My kids were so happy; they played nicely all morning for 5 minutes.

I woke up this morning feeling completely vomitous. New word for me. I've learned it's not a good idea to eat pork rinds and later chocolate chips before going to bed when you have acid reflux. Middle of the night - well, it was gross. Woulda been grosser if I'd let it out, but you know...

My kids decided that today I was their short-order cook. Order #1 - Eggs to dip in, toast, waffle, milk. Order #2 - Egg to dip in, toast with no crust, pancake, milk. Sure. Just what a nauseated mom wants to do. Fry eggs. But I did it. DH offered to stay up and do it for me, but he really looked tired. Besides. There are at least a couple places in the kitchen if I couldn't make it to the bathroom to barf if necessary.

My kids wanted to go outside to play. But Baby's snowpants have been bugging me lately. They are just a tad short, and ride up - allowing snow into her little boots. So I've been thinking I should sew some elastic on the hems to go under the bottom of her boot to keep that from happening. But that means digging out the sewing machine, finding the pedal and power cord, finding elastic - GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE - and figuring out how to operate it after so long of NOT operating it. I found everything I needed! Wow. And after one snarly looking seam where I didn't put the presser foot all the way down, I did really well. And my melodramatic/rotten son who told Baby with a very sad face, "You might never get to go outside today" was surprised and impressed when I allowed him to come out of his room when I finished.

So my kids are outside pestering their Granddad. (evil sinister laugh - bwa-ha-ha-ha)

I told DH the other day something I'd heard before. "Having kids is like being pecked to death by ducks." Oh yeah. Now I remember where I heard it. Kate Gosselin said it. I googled it, and it's a book. She must have seen the title, or had someone else read it for her or something. LOL

So now that my sewing machine is out, and I have all the necessary pieces, I don't have an excuse to not start my projects. Unless it's that there is NO space on my messy table. Hmm. I wonder if Baby's magic wand works....

Rats.

In my partial defense - the end of the table is covered with stacks of DVD cases and video tapes. Oops.

So what are you supposed to say?

What do you say when someone tells you that you are so sweet?

I am NOT sweet. At least not very often, I don't think.

Today ugly words came out of my mouth. We were running late to get to Little Boy's therapy session. I told my kids to put on their coats and shoes. I came out of the bathroom, and they were not ready to go. I told them to go downstairs and get in the car. I was right behind them. I go downstairs, and they were NOT getting in the car. So when I lost my temper and yelled, you'd think they would hurry up and get into the car. But instead, it looked like these guys on the other side of the car.

And I lost my temper. And I said some things I grew up hearing on a regular basis. And I don't want my kids growing up with those words in their heads.

So I finally got the kids in the car, and realized the garage door opener wasn't in the car. (DH usually parks his vehicle in the garage and it was in his vehicle.) So, out of the car, open the garage door. Pull out, get out, close the garage door. Get in the car, and ... spin. The front tires were on ice. Out of the car, in through the side garage door, open the door, back the car in. Remembered my cell phone was upstairs. Ran upstairs, came back down, got in the car, and drove out of the garage faster to zip past the ice. Called DH to let him know that I left the garage door open.

And we pulled into his appointment 2 minutes late. I HATE to be late. But it was ok.

Anyway. I know how I've behaved today, and it wasn't very sweet.

Valentine's Day pictures

I tried to get Little Boy to smile.

Aren't they so sweet?"No more smooches!""You slobbered on me!"

Isn't she lovely?

I woke up cranky

I have been staying up way too late at night - visiting with my husband when he gets home from work. I usually end up falling asleep on the couch. Then he wakes me up, and we go to bed. Usually after 1 am. This morning he got up and left for work. And then it starts.

"Can we come out now?"

"NO."

"Can we come out now?"

"NO. Go back in your room, close the door, and play quietly."

"Can we come out now?"

And so on, and so on, until I told them they could play quietly in the living room.

It was about 5 minutes later that the Teradactyl (Baby) started screeching.

So I had to drag my big butt out of bed.

And that cranky feeling just hangs on. And it has joined forces with a sinus headache.

Joy, joy.

Overtime?

I'm not wishing that DH would get stuck working a second shift; it would mess up his work schedule for tomorrow as sit-in Union Pres. But the money would be wonderful. Since it's a holiday, he's recieving holiday pay on top of his shift pay. If he worked tonight, it would be considered red time. I think that's double time and a half. That's a LOT of money. So when I looked outside, and saw the snow had just about quit, I figured that wasn't going to happen. But I just looked outside again, and it's snowing again.

Is it bad if I start chanting, "Snow Faster! Snow Harder!" ?

The 14th

My husband gave me these beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day along with a card he made.

I gave him a bag of Duncan Donuts coffee and a large candy bar and a card.

I know it's Valentine's Day, and not Christmas, but I got my kids some gifts. Neither of my kids can have chocolate (caffeine) because of the whole head-spinning, acting like they're on crack reaction they have. And since Little Boy doesn't need extra sugar/empty carbs, I tend to try to compensate. They each got a board game (Operation & Candy Land), a card game (War & Crazy Eights), a stuffed bear, socks and Pez dispensers.

They were very appreciative; that is always nice.

We went to church, and navigated our way through everyone giving candy to our kids. It bugs me to no end, but I guess I'm not much better. I gave heart-shaped lollipop bouquets to my students. We didn't stay at church for the Valentine's Day banquet. It's so hard to do that; Husband doesn't enjoy church dinners anyway, and who knows how many carbs are in those mystery dishes. We couldn't stay since we didn't bring insulin. I know people don't understand. There are three other insulin-dependent diabetics in our church. They don't count carbs, they don't seem to keep ahead of the situation. One man has part of his foot amputated, one lady eats whatever she wants, checks her sugar and tries to bring her numbers back down to normal, and the other man basically eats what he wants and takes the same dosage of insulin no matter what.
I don't get it.

So we got our Sunday treat of McDs on the way home. Ate lunch and the kids wanted to go next door to deliver valentine's cards. No answer. Little Boy left a message. We finally let him call again an hour later. Granddad told them they could come. I told my son to be home in a half hour - 2:45.

I was puttsing on the computer, and dozed off. I roused and looked at the clock. 3:10. Sigh. I called. "He said 2:15, so we figured he meant 3:15." No biggie. We're not going to church tonight, so it's ok. "We gave him a snack. It was only 19 grams of carbs, and it was made with Splenda." I asked if he was low. "No. We gave one to Baby, and so we didn't want to leave him out. It was only 19 carbs."

Great. Now what? He gets one unit of insulin for every 10 grams of carbs. So, I should have to give him 1 1/2 units at least. I called Daddy. He wasn't happy either. While we were discussing what to do, the kids came in. I had Little Boy check his sugar. He was at 88. So either he was low when they gave him the snack, or the carbs haven't kicked in yet and he'll be high in a little while.

Husband asked what we're going to do (about the situation w/his parents). I don't know. I told him we'll just not ever go anywhere without our son. "We already do that."

I know.

Oh well.

My first hero

I look forward to Heaven for many reasons, but seeing my dad again is one of the biggest. 25 years ago today, my dad went to Heaven. I miss him every day.

I finally got out

I've been in the house (or in the yard) for a week and a half now. Today, I got my break. And I "got" to go to the grocery store. :0) It's a good thing I went shopping before the big storm.

I picked up some things for the kids for Valentine's Day. I have to try to be a little more creative since the kids can't have chocolate or a ton of candy. So I bought them each a board game, some Pez dispensers, a stuffed animal and some socks. LOL When in doubt, when you need a filler, buy socks. Besides, they both really need socks. Little Boy would wear the same pair of socks for a month if I'd let him. But after a couple days, they start to get very floppy. And for some reason, I get irritated when I see them like that. Baby's feet are growing, so she needed the next size up. And between the two of them, they keep the black hole that eats our socks very well-fed.

The kids are next door at Grandma and Granddad's house. So the house is quiet for another 35 minutes, or so. Ahh. Sweet.

The volume button is stuck

on REALLY LOUD.

So I sent him to his room.

It could be a long day.

God has a great sense of humor!

Due to wintry weather, the global warming meetings have been cancelled.

Pretty funny!

How do you spell "relief"?

M-O-T-R-I-N-S.

Ok. I know Motrin is the singular and plural form of the word, but it just didn't flow correctly without another syllable.

With the front that is moving through, I am in severe pain tonight. Throbbing, searing pain in my lower back on both sides, aching in both legs and feet, but the more intense pain is radiating down my left leg.

I want to know what the logic of that is? Why only pain on one side? Isn't that discrimination? Not that I really want both sides to hurt like the left side, but I don't know how that happens.

Looking forward to falling asleep when I don't know how much I hurt.

Averages don't always tell the whole story

Little Boy's numbers have been a little more up and down than we'd like. But his last month/2 week/1 week averages are very good - all in the 110's-120's. But he's had a couple highs that we don't "get" and some lows that are likely the result of playing outside in the snow. We have been trying to get him to stop and check how he's feeling while he's playing, but we haven't been very successful.

We've had a couple meltdowns, but they have mostly been schoolwork related, and not to do with checking his blood sugar.

His last counseling session was focused on dealing with his frustrations by using words and a breathing technique. I've encouraged him to do this, but unfortunately, once he's in the middle of a fit, he isn't cooperative at all.

I don't know that he is getting bored with our menu of late, but I am. I need to spend a little time doing some menu planning. And hopefully, we'll be able to get to the grocery store one of these days. We're supposed to get another 10 - 15 inches of snow on top of the 27" we just got.

yay.

I dream of being strong, too

I was sleeping; dreaming about going on a surprise tropical vacation with my family.

But when we got to the port, I realized I didn't have the kids' picture IDs. I didn't have their birth certificates. Even though, through the magic of dreams, I was home tearing through papers searching for them. We went to the ship, hoping they would look at us and KNOW that these children belong to us. How could they doubt it? The kids look like US. And then in my dream, my daughter fell off the platform into the water, and my husband dove after her. I woke up at this point; I don't know what the result of that was. But I lay there trying to rework the events into something pleasant. I prayed that God would take the false fear away. My pounding heart was not cooperating.

I finally got up. Maybe a little stupid surfing would help me relax.

I've been sitting here for awhile - looking at blogs, Facebook, the weather.

And then I heard a door open, and little feet padded to the bathroom.

A minute passed, and I heard, "I'm DOOOOooooonne." She needed help.

I went in there, and helped her. She is so cute in her soft, comfy Christmas jammies. She told me she had a dream. I told her I had one, too. She wanted to know what mine was about. I told her it was about getting on a big boat.

"I dreamed I was really strong. And Little Boy and Daddy were there too."

I didn't ask where I was. I didn't need to know. It was comforting to know that while I was dreaming scary things, she was safe and secure in her dream - with her two favorite guys there with her.

I tucked her back into bed, gave her smooches, and told her to go back to sleep and have sweet dreams.

I think I'll be able to get back to sleep now.

Maybe I'll dream of being strong.

Super Bowl picnic

Daddy had to go in to work today. He was relieving someone who had worked a double. I was sad to see him have to go in, but if I were the wife of the other person, I'd be thankful someone came in.

Little Boy, Baby and I had a Super Bowl picnic on Daddy's big Steelers blanket. Sandwiches, chips and ice cream. Little Boy told me it was a great dinner. I think it was more that we were sitting on the floor. :0) Maybe we should do that more often! LOL

Little Boy picked the Saints, and Baby picked the Colts to cheer for. If they had both picked the same team, I would have picked the team that was left. The way it was, I cheered both teams with them, explaining what was going on in terms they could understand. And I ran the remote; skipping inappropriate commercials and the horrible half-time show.

They had to go to bed before the end of the game, so I'll have to break the bad news to Baby in the morning.

Saturday morning

I think we'll be using the garage door for awhile. Baby in the snow.

Little Boy loves snow!
Daddy clearing the driveway for the third time since the storm began.

Big Snow

My son starting the sled track.

Standing in the snow. Little Boy after a ride down the driveway.

Here he is "luging" down the driveway.

Our pine tree in the side yard.

AWWWW

That's what I heard first thing this morning.

My kids were disappointed that they didn't wake up to two feet of snow.

I told them to not be too upset yet because the storm is on its way.

And I have to run to the pharmacy this morning for insulin, so I'm hoping the storm holds off until 9:30 am.

Kinder than necessary

Just a thought I read on another blog:


"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."


I think I'll post this on my fridge; it's something I need to remember.

I'm so excited!

Took Little Boy to his counseling (?) session this morning. His therapist has all kinds of games for the kids to play with her while she gets to know them. Sounded like they were having a lot of fun. Then they take time to do "brain work". He is going to work on using words when he's frustrated instead of throwing a fit. And then he is supposed to do what he's been asked. He's also going to work on using a breathing technique she showed him. We'll see. I hope it works.


THEN - yippee - we went to Joann's. I picked out fabric to make some aprons and I found a fabric I loved so much, I bought enough to make Baby a pillowcase dress in addition to the aprons.


We stopped at the hair salon on the way home, and I made long-overdue appointments for us all. I don't know. By the time our appts. roll around, we may all look like this.


We picked up McDs on the way home, and I splurged. I've been pretty good lately, so instead of a grilled chicken wrap, I got a quarter pounder with cheese. And.... back to my "diet" tonight. Not worried about it, and I'm not going to feel guilty.


Got home and I got the mail. And in the mail? More fabric. I bought some online the other day, and for the most part I am very happy with my purchases. I got some embroidered fabric that has a lot of threads hanging from the embroidery. I'm very particlular. I think I'll have to line the little dresses, and I'm going to spend time putting fray-check on the fabric. But the dresses will be very cute.

So I need to finish getting the tree down, move the chair to the open spot in the living room, move the dining room table a little closer to the LR, and set up my sewing stuff in the corner. For now, that's the best I can do, I think.

I'm excited.


The kids are excited too. Big snow on the way tomorrow and Saturday, followed by more snow next Tuesday.


Wonder how excited Daddy will be?

Funny Girl

My sweet daughter has a new preoccupation with pigtails.

I think she's adorable.

She loves to get her picture taken.

Sometimes she likes to be UP CLOSE.

She loves to be silly.

She came up with a new use for Happy Meal boxes.

She has decided that this is a funny face.

She likes to make "big eyes".

She is more-often-than-not wearing her clothes inside out AND backwards.

And I gave her the opportunity to smile, but she kept looking at me like this.

I can't stop laughing.

But she does have a good teacher, and a natural bent towards humor.

Pinched Nerve

I was taking Baby to ballet tonight, and it was a complete fiasco.

It had started snowing. I got her dressed and finished my hair. I grabbed some magazines to read during her lesson b/c it gets boring. I got her a drink to take, I let her go out to the vehicle. I remembered her ballet shoes, the charger for my dead cell phone, and got out to the vehicle - finally. I lifted her up to put her in the back seat, and I felt a stab in my neck that went half-way down my back. It hurt so much it brought tears to my eyes. I went in to take some Motrin, and DH came out to buckle her in. I could barely turn my head to the left to look for traffic.

We should have just stayed home.

But we got there with a couple minutes to spare.

And we were the only ones.

Apparently, the teacher had sent out an automatic message - to my dead cell phone.

So we went to Denny's anyway. And went home.

And now I am miserable. I've had the heating pad on and off for awhile now.

I'm going to take some more Motrin and try to go to bed.

Ouch.

Valentine's Day is coming

Here is a decadent recipe that you might consider for your sweetheart.

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 c. chocolate wafer crumbs
2 T sugar
1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted

Filling:
1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. whipping cream
3 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. baking cocoa
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small bowl combine cookie crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 1/2 in. up the sides of a 9 in. springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 min. Cool on a wire rack.

Reduce oven temp to 325.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips, stir until smooth. Remove from the heat, add cream and mix well. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat all 3 pkg. cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add cocoa and beat well. Add eggs; beat on low just until combined. Stir in vanilla and reserved chocolate mixture just until blended. Pour over crust. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set.

For topping, melt chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in cream and vanilla; mix well. Spread over the filling. Refrigerate overnight. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Just before serving, garnish with whipped cream and miniature chocolate kisses if desired.





















Makes 12 servings. Maybe. If you don't eat more than your fair share. I'm just saying. It could happen.

Church Cookbook

Yikes. I started working on this last October? I think? And here it is the first of February, and I'm still working on it.

I asked everyone to have the recipes turned in the middle of November so that I could have time to get everything done and sent in before January 1st.

Yeah, right.

People are still handing me recipes.

The pastor's wife informed me that there are people who she hasn't reminded to turn in recipes.

So I don't feel badly that I only have half the recipes entered that have been given to me.

At this rate, maybe we'll be done by July 4th.

Staying home from church - again

DH went to work this morning, and was supposed to call home when he got there.

He forgot. I think the cold weather froze his thoughts in mid-air. LOL

I talked to him, and he wasn't sure if I should go to church this morning or not. We live on a "hill" - it's a mountain - and from our house to Main Street is all down hill, and the roads were still slick. Like this angle \ . Ok - maybe not quite that steep, but close.

Seeing that the car isn't 4-wheel drive, I opted to stay home. I might be able to navigate down the hill, but coming home might be a different story.

I'm going to miss McDonald's for lunch. Too bad they don't deliver.

Taking a Break

I am pretty sure I'll be taking a break from FB. And from the local chat boards. I just have to.

I find my day too filled up with who, what, where and why, and not enough time is going to things I need to do. Like take down the Christmas tree. Or start on one of any bazillion projects I need to do.

I'm going to move my laptop from the living room to my bedroom. That should help some.

Next year, I am seriously planning to go with my husband and kids to Disneyworld. I have to be generating some money if that is the case. I've found a couple more projects to do to make some money.

Pillowcase Dresses - they are as beautiful as the fabric chosen, and should be an easy assembly line project. I think this one is very cute.

Aprons - I found a simple pattern that I really like, and again, the fabric will be key. And I can use an assembly line technique.

And my felt food. I have 2 or 3 sets already cut out; I need to start sewing.

I've already ordered some fabric for the dresses. I want to go to Joann's to look for apron fabric. I need to figure out a place to set up my machines. I need to inventory my thread. Once the fabric arrives for the dresses, I need to purchase ribbon for the ties.

I am hoping I can make enough money to pay for the majority of the cost of the trip.

We'll see!

Fired up

So I could post this on my burns me up blog, but it's part of my day, so here it is.

One of my former students is a friend on FB. He's a liberal Democrat. I love him - he's a responsible dad and husband. He has a sweet personality - usually.

Last night he posted that disgruntled right-wingers crack him up. I posted that I'm past disgruntled. Another student from that school posted that the right is only concerned about their taxes and not helping the poor like Christ did.

I find that very judgmental, and completely false. My husband and I give generously to charities, and we give regularly to our church. We gave more last year than Joe Biden gave in multiple years - about 17x's what he gave in fact. We gave more last year than Obama gave in multiple years - before he was a politician and realized his giving would be public record.

If the government would tax us less, we could give more to charities we choose - personally. I believe that giving my own money directly to a charity or to a person shows Christ's love much more than expecting the government to do it for me.

The Wind is Blowing!

Wow. 50 mph gusts. And when the wind isn't gusting it's a steady 25 mph. But it isn't super cold so it's kind of refreshing.

My kids.

Some days they drive me absolutely nuts. But then they say or do something that cracks me up, and I think I'll keep 'em a little longer.

Last night when we pulled the pizza cardboard with sauce out of the oven, I put some sugar cookies in. DH took them out, and set them on the porch to cool. Little Boy and Baby got very upset, and DH and I mentioned that we hoped the deer wouldn't smell them. The deer could come up on our porch and gobble them up.

Little Boy started hollering, and Baby started crying. I told them we were joking but she kept it up. "Now our cookies are going to freeze TO DEATH!"

She can be so dramatic.

Like when I tucked her into bed for her nap. She left her large, black horse in the living room. I told her it was Fluffy Ruffy's turn anyway. She started crying. I asked why. "Because it's Fluffy Ruffy's turn, but I LOVE my horsie! I told her she could play with the horse when she woke up. The tears stopped and she snuggled with her doggie.

Little Boy is looking especially tired; such big dark circles under his eyes. I hope he's not getting sick. Like I'm afraid I am. :0(

WHAT was THAT?!

Ok, I'm going to confess something. Sometimes I'm not the bravest person at night when DH is working last shift.

Saturday night I went to sleep LATE. I was up late, and I looked at the clock. It was almost time to check Little Boy's blood sugar. So I decided to just lie down. When the alarm went off, it scared me half to death. I checked his sugar, and went back to bed.

But about 5:30 am Sunday morning, I heard a noise that woke me up. I could hear a guy's voice. I laid there listening; maybe it was my imagination. But no, I could hear it still. I opened Little Boy's door to see if it was him. No. I opened Baby's door - maybe a toy was talking. No. But I could hear it standing in the hall. It had to be in the garage. Couldn't they hear me walking around? I called DH at work. I was quite freaked out. He told me I could always get the gun. And we hung up. And I didn't hear the voice anymore.

Did they hear what DH said? Was it a toy that just quit? If it was a toy, why did it start talking in the first place? So I laid there in bed with the phone in one hand, and a gun in the other. Wide awake. Eventually I dozed off, just as DH got home. We've determined it was a talking bank the kids got for Christmas from G & G that is still in a box in the garage. I should have gone down and shot it.

Last night when I went to bed, the wind was blowing pretty hard. The wind was making the house creak. After I checked Little Boy's blood sugar, I had a hard time relaxing. Did I just hear the side door on the garage close? Great. I had the phone in my hand again. And just as I was dozing, I heard a loud crash. I couldn't place what the noise could be. It wasn't glass. It wasn't wood. It sounded like a plastic toy or ornament being stepped on and crushed? I laid there, scared, watching the bedroom doorway. DH HAS to put a security door between the garage and basement if I'm ever going to sleep peacefully. (It's just a wooden interior door.) I finally fell asleep. And this morning, I was in bed, waiting for DH to come home, listening to Baby jabber away at me. She had to go to the bathroom. And it dawned on me. The little toilet seat she sits on must have fallen.

Good grief, people.

Wind and Rain

That's what I'm listening to right now. The rain is hitting the window and the wind is making a roaring sound in our chimney. And I can hear the clanging of the flag clips on the flagpole - our patriotic wind chime. In the kitchen, Greta van Susteren is talking about something.

And I don't hear my children.

And it's about time.

It's been a long day.

Lasagna hurts my back

Ok, so lasagna doesn't hurt my back, but standing in the kitchen for a very long time cooking lasagna does.

But everyone loved it, again. And I love that I have a baking dish in the freezer with more lasagna rolls for a future date.

We got snow the last couple days, but then it rained. There was a coat of ice on top of the snow. Made a fast track for the kids on the sled. But that proved to be a little dangerous. Thankfully neither child lost an eyeball when they ran into Grandma and Granddad's shrubs.

We ran up the mountain this morning to get cat food. Expensive, gourmet cat food. Venison & Green pea in a can. Stinkin' cat. I'd sure like some venison, but I'm not about to touch THAT.

And tonight we're playing Wii - with the "Wii man". LOL

Funny Son

Little Boy got up from his nap, and told me that he wants to do schoolwork.

I looked at him with a startled expression.

"Are you sick?"

"No. I'm just nuts."


NO KIDDING. IT'S HEREDITARY, KID!

Monday...

I was awakened this morning by my son crawling into bed between my husband and me. He was wiggly from the start, and was trying to get more elbow room. Well, we have a full-size bed. There's not much elbow room, as small as my husband is. It wasn't long before he became somewhat claustrophobic and left. Baby woke up, and soon they were in our room, next to the bed. They came to say good-bye.

"Huh?"

"We're leaving today; we're moving to Grandma and Granddad's house."

I don't know why, but this hurt. I remember wanting to move to my grandparents' house, but I think I had more to run from. So I played along.

Here are my dear children, leaving home. You can’t see what they are carrying, but they did make sure to take a couple pair of undies, a stuffed animal to sleep with, and a couple little toys. And Baby took her pink feather boa.



















"BYE!"

They were home for lunch.

DH has been pretty faithful about working out/playing on the Wii Fit+. Here he is hulla-hooping with the kids. Precious.

Today the Dish Network guy came – 5 minutes after DH left for work. Perfect timing, huh? DH decided to get a DVR through the dish. The one we have is full of recordings. We now have another 359.9 hours of hard drive space. And a new remote to learn.


I think we need another remote. Or two.

Seriously gotta get serious

if I'm going to lose weight before the middle of August!

I've lost just under 5 lbs. in the last 3 weeks. That's not fast enough. I need to get moving, and I need to figure out what to do in the middle of the afternoon and late evening when I get the munchies. Tonight I ate some carrots. Fine. It worked, but I don't think they will satisfy me every day. And what if I turn orange like Baby did when she was tiny? I tried to find a picture of her to link, but I can't get to it from my laptop. Ugh. But I'll find one.

My list of things to do and get whipped into shape just keeps getting longer.

Did I say ugh?

Running the Race

I teach a Sunday school class that is a bit unique. I have students who are 2nd-6th grades. I usually have 1-2 boys who come regularly, and occasionally have a couple sisters who come.

I also don't enjoy the Sunday school curriculum that the church uses. So I write my own lessons.

Our lessons are revolving around the verse in Hebrews that tells us to lay aside every weight, and the sins that drag on us so that we can finish the race.

I feel an object lesson coming on...

Jamming and Twirling

A good laugh

Little Boy just told Baby, "Pretend that you're actually a normal person..."

I laughed and they both just looked at me like, "What?!"

Oh boy!

What's for supper?

So what do you make for supper when you are sick? Daddy already fixed frozen pizza for lunch.

I think we might go with chicken nuggets, or something else that is easy and not too stinky pungent fragrant.

But what I'd really like to eat is this:

Simple Chicken Noodle Soup in a crock pot

1 chicken in pieces (3-4 leg/thigh quarters) I take off the skin & as much fat as I can
2 Chicken bullion cubes or 2 cups chicken broth
2 quarts water (less 2 cups if you use broth)
1 T. salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
¼ c. fresh parsley
½ tsp. Marjoram or basil
1 bay leaf
6 oz. Wide Egg Noodles

Directions: Place all ingredients except noodles in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and bay leaf. Take meat off the bones & dice – return meat to the pot. Add noodles. Cook ½ hour on high.

We buy the large bag of leg/thigh quarters from Wal-mart. Great with garlic cheese biscuits (recipe on Bisquick box).

Would anyone volunteer to come make this? I don't think I could stand that long. Blah.

Not feeling so great

I got up this morning and didn't feel wonderful, but a mom's job is never done... So I got up. While I was checking email, I felt a cold sweat come over me. And I tagged DH - his turn. He's on 2nd shift this week, so I went back to bed, and let him deal with the kids. The very loud kids. Who decided to sword fight with lincoln logs. @@

I should have closed the bedroom door and put earplugs in my ears.

I got up close to noon and got a shower. I'm feeling a bit better, but I'm very thankful it's almost naptime.

It's not that far into the month, and I have missed a couple days of my 365 project. But I did get some cute pictures. I'm going to keep trying.

Here are the kids after eating pizza at lunch - making "big eyes".

You might be asking yourself, "Why is Little Boy curled up on the floor like that?"

Here's why:

Haiti

Tragic what is happening in Haiti.

But after offering up a quick prayer, I got online and applied some action and made a donation through Samaritan's Purse.

Samaritan's Purse delivered its first shipment of relief supplies yesterday.

Here's their article:

Catastrophic Earthquake Hits Haiti

The first Samaritan’s Purse cargo plane arrived in Haiti Wednesday with emergency relief supplies for victims of the massive earthquake that rocked the country on Tuesday. The initial shipment included shelter material, hygiene kits, and water purification kits, as well as members of our disaster response team.

Our team is comprised of veterans of many disaster responses, but even they were shocked by what they encountered when they arrived.

“The streets are full of people that have no home to go back to,” said Dr. David Gettle, medical advisor. “They’re running out of food, fuel, and water. The situation is desperate and tense, and there is tremendous suffering.”

Samaritan’s Purse deployed a disaster response team just hours after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Caribbean in decades to help with water, shelter, medical care, and other emergency needs.

“The damage is staggering in a nation where three out of four people live on less than $2 a day,” Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham said. “The people of Haiti need our help like never before.”

We are partnering with HCJB Global, a medical ministry out of Ecuador that will be sending six doctors to join Dr. Gettle. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is deploying chaplains from its Rapid Response Team to help our team meet spiritual needs.

Staff with Baptist Haiti Mission, our local partner, report severe damage throughout the area. Power is out, and there is no water.

"It's overwhelming," said Kyrk Baker, director of operations for Baptist Haiti Mission. "We have a 100-bed hospital, and right now patients are lining the floor. There are big box vans coming in with people to see a doctor. It's just unbelievable the amount of people that are lined up trying to get basic medical care."

Baptist Haiti Mission is located in the mountains outside the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, about 20 miles from the epicenter. The hospital and other buildings are operating on generators.

The massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake was the strongest to hit the country in 200 years and was felt as far away as Cuba. The tremor sparked widespread panic as it brought down buildings including the presidential palace, hotels, a hospital, and the UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince.

The city “is flattened,” said Haiti's consul general to the U.N., Felix Augustin. The death toll could be between 45,000 and 50,000, with a further three million people hurt or homeless, a senior Haitian Red Cross official said on Thursday.

The earthquake was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. Some panicked residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled from their shaking homes.

Samaritan's Purse responded in Haiti with emergency food and shelter material in September 2008, when four major storms including Hurricane Ike slammed the Caribbean nation.

“Being able to help people in a time of need demonstrates Christ's love,” Baker said.

Armoire

This may be our next big purchase.

Or something similar.

Sometimes Christmas gifts are expensive.

What I can do

I can only do what I can do.

That may be a cop-out. Or I may just be giving myself permission to not be the perfect person my head (Satan?) keeps telling me I should be. And I'm trying to not live a life of guilt for falling short.

So my Christmas cards will go out in the middle of January.

My Christmas tree will be put away after the Christmas cards are done.

I won't feel guilty for taking my daughter out to eat after ballet instead of going to the Ladies' Fellowship meeting.

I won't beat myself up, or allow anyone else to beat me up, for not taking my kids to Wednesday night church.

There are many other things that I look at every day that need to be done or taken care of or cleaned, and I'm giving myself permission to get to them when I get to them.

Right now I'm focusing on losing weight, keep my son on track in homeschooling, and spending enough time with my daughter.

I feel like my husband is getting the leftovers. Poor guy.

Epiphany?

I've been really determined to lose weight this year. I was thinking about how difficult things are for my 6 year old son to deal with. He has to... wait for it... wash his hands before each meal. Some days he acts like I'm asking him to do something very difficult.

Not so terrible, but then he has to poke his finger, squeeze out a drop of blood and test it with his meter. OUCH. And after DH and/or I calculate his carbs, he gets a shot of insulin before he eats. He acts like that doesn't even faze him, but I know it must sting at the very least.

And realistically or not, we expect him to do this without fussing.

So if I can ask all this of my son, I can control the food that goes into my mouth!

I need to type this out and post it with a picture of the dress from my last post, this pic, and Philippians 4:13 on every flat surface in my kitchen to remind me.

My goal and reward

I want to lose weight this year. But it's so hard! I fix food for the kids and sample as I plate it. I snack without realizing it. But I found this dress last night. Our 10 year anniversary is this year. If I can get down to a size 18, I am going to reward myself with this dress. It is totally ME.

Frustration

School.

Son.

Reading.

Crying.

Yelling.

Threats.

Completion.

Lunch.

Naptime!

Ahhhh.

Cranky

So I have what the kids have been kindly sharing with me. And my head hurts. And I have NO patience. But I'm aware of it, and I'm trying to be kind.

But I haven't been overly successful.

"Little Boy - I'd like you to..."

"NO."





Patience flew out the window.

Thankfully, it's naptime. For all of us.

Maybe Daddy will fare better when he gets home.

Truth or Lie?

I told my son I didn't want him to play with his Playdoh until he felt better. I told him I'm afraid he'd get germs in it, and then the next time he played with it, he'd get sick again.

I did a quick Google search, and didn't find anything definitive.

Was that the truth, or am I just avoiding that nasty stuff?

I guess a better question is: "Do I care?"

LOL

Brrrrr

I've been happy that we have snow on the ground. But today was COLD. I don't remember the last time it was this cold, but that could just be because I can't remember well. :0P I had to go grocery shopping, and I about froze putting stuff into the Explorer. It's 10 degrees here, but we have 25+ mph winds. Making it well below zero. One of the neighbors was commenting to me before Christmas about the weather/snow. Then he stopped himself and said, "But you're used to this." Yeah. Right. 10 years ago. I don't know that I'm used to it, but I'm much less impressed than locals, I guess.

Did I say, "Brrrrr"?

New Backgrounds

I put new backgrounds on my blogs. It just felt like a good way to start the new year.

So many things I need to work on improving this year.

But I'd say one of the major ones is losing weight. I just cannot stand it.

I had DH order some Reliv weight loss stuff for me. So it looks like I'll be "eating" shakes a couple times a day for awhile.

I just hope I can stick to it.

Inspired

My friend Bessie has started her Project 365. Every day she takes a picture of herself.

She's inspired me. I'm going to try to do my own Project 365 - a pic of each of my kids every day. Or a pic of them together. But at least one every day. We'll see how well it goes.

Christmas pics

So I spent about 3 hours yesterday (might be a bit of an exaggeration) waiting for pictures to upload into Photobucket. I even downloaded Firefox to see if Explorer was the problem. And I put the pics into a slideshow and waited for the slideshow to load. And put it here.

And this morning realized I put the Tinkerbell pic in twice.

OH WELL.

We had a very nice Christmas, and the kids were both very well-behaved for most of the day.