day 12. a picture from your day.

Seriously....it's May 12th!

I wish I could find that lady I told, "when you live here, don't plant flowers until after Memorial Day". She looked at me like I was crazy! At least the tulips tolerate the snow!

day 10. a photo of you as a baby

About one year old. This is the only baby photo I can find.

Time

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."- Carl Sandburg.

Life

Yes, I am a total slacker!  It seems like the only time I get to this blog is when I am catching up on Elle's and Heather's blog :)  I love to read about other people's lives. So, speaking of other people's lives. I have a new passion. I am following the journal of a family (from Caringbridge.com) I feel that I have known my whole life, but I have never met them. The story goes like this (sorry for the run-on sentences):

Spring Break, family of four coming home from a wonderful time. Next, family hit head on by a man that was allegedly on prescription drugs and way over the influence. Both cars burst into flames. The man died at the scene. The father and one of the sons in the other car, died at the scene. The mother and other son escaped the car with over 60% of their bodies burned. The mom was actually able to grab one of her son's from the car while she was on fire. A person that pulled over to the accident put out the flames on her body. The family lives in our neighborhood. Middle J knows the boy that is still surviving. I do not know this family, but they have truly changed my life.  L is the mom and K is the son that is still alive. They are both at separate hospitals and have been for the last 7 weeks. They are recovering. They have had countless skin grafts and last I counted L must have already received over 40 pints of blood. They have just started to walk. In the past 3 weeks L & K have been able to Skype with each other.

I cannot wrap my mind around any of this. Not even a movie could make up these kinds of details. I receive a journal entry each day on the progress of L and K. L's sister writes in it each day and then it is sent out to people following their progress. This family is truly an inspiration.

I often read the comments left by their friends, family, and people that have never met L&K, wow, they are loved.  Our neighborhood has had multiple fundraisers, had a blood drive, and other people continue to donate to the fund. From what I gather, they had little if no life insurance on the father. Definitely not enough to cover the costs of everything they are going through now.   But I feel like that isn't enough.

So, while many people are out celebrating over a death of a terrorist; I am choosing to celebrate life. Death should never be celebrated, even if the person is devil-like, responsible for other deaths, or just truly evil. I have seen life end and I did not celebrate. I have seen life begin and that is truly a celebration.

I celebrate the inspiration that L & K have given and give me each day. The sister of the journal for L & K always ends her journal with something uplifting, whether it is from the Bible, her own opinion or something L or K says to her. I want to try and uphold their fight for their life, even though their lives have changed forever and their journey is only just beginning.

K posted his first journal entry yesterday. This 13 y/o boy, that has been hospitalized for 7 weeks away from his mother, has had night terrors remembering his brother in the car, has undergone unimaginable pain and will never see his father or brother on Earth again journals this, "Hi, it's K! I am actually doing fine emotionally there is things to be sad about but I look at the smaller joys in life and keep my head held high and love living."

Enough said.

day 8: a picture of something you dislike.

Moving. I dislike moving. More than most green veggies and scooping dog shit--I dislike MOVING...I cannot believe I do not have a picture of a moving truck, moving crates, boxes--anything that proves that we have moved  8 times in the last 15 years. Maybe I did not want a record of these moves actually happening. All of these moves required serious ass pain and usually resulted in damaged stuff. This is a picture of furnitture that made it thru 7 moves including one to Japan (on a boat!). Our last move, it was unloaded from the truck looking like this:

I dislike broken things resulting from moving. On the bright side, one move resulted in the loss of all of my scrapbooks for almost 2 months. They found the box in a shipyard in CA..really, I am not kidding.

day 7: a photo of someone you love

Seriously, someone I love....there are too many to list. They know who they are and I try to tell them as often as I can. This is someone that I can't tell  how much I love him (except in my thoughts and prayers). I loved him so much. The BEST Grandpa a daughter could ever ask for her children.

These are the last pix I took of my Dad in October of 2004, before he died at the young age of 52 in February 2005. Yep, the kind of Grandpa that gets on the floor and plays with his grandchildren without them even asking.



Day 6: a photo that makes you laugh

I had no idea I could preorder my butt in Alabama!! I need to go return mine :)

Day 5. A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.

January 29, 2011 Keystone, CO

1. I have a lazy eye. I had Bell’s Palsy as a baby and when I am really tired my left eye gets droopy. It also winks funny when I chew (according to MiLove).
2. I love to bake and hate to cook.
3. I love, love, love to browse office supply stores!
4. I love shopping @ garage sales.
5. I know how to fix almost anything; I will work on fixing something for hours before I give up.
6. For months, I hand sanded, and puttied the body of my first car so I could have it painted bright yellow!! It was gorgeous!
7. When I was 11 we had 20 dogs, 2 rabbits, 2 goats, 3 or 4 cats, 2 peacocks and over 100 chickens.
8. I love sushi.
9. I can stick my entire fist into my mouth.
10. I married and am still lovingly and happily married to my high school sweetheart.
11. I love to work in the yard and would much rather mow the yard than cook dinner.
12. I wish I could duplicate my 3 Js and have 20 Js.
13. I do not know how to swim (I can sort of float and doggy paddle).
14. Friendship means the world to me and will do anything possible to protect my friends from being hurt by others.
15. I am growing in my faith with Jesus despite the daily struggles of life and death.

Day 4. a photo of the last place you went on vacation

Our last vacay wasn't technically a vacay, but driving across the US for 5 days, make it a road trip vacay. The joys of moving :)  This was our main stop during our last move. We made a point to drive out of the way to ND to see my mom. We rarely see her. Mostly because she chooses not to travel. She likes to make excuses. The biggest excuse used to be that she couldn't leave her dogs...seriously...dogs!  Now the latest excuse is she takes care of my Great Uncle. Except...he has been out of state since October 2010 and she has yet to come visit us since we moved back. Now, he will back in ND in a couple of weeks, so that doesn't leave enough time to visit. Anway, my grumbling over that and our "mother-daughter" relationship would require a blog of it's own. That's an idea!  An open blog for any fellow bloggers to blog about their mothers, mom's, mother-in laws...etc. Ok, I am off track again. The Js are starting to understand that their Grandma doesn't like to travel, however she loves them even if they only see her once every 2ish years.  I like this pic of 3 generations.

Theodore Roosevelt Park July 2010

Day 3. a photo that makes you happy

Yes, I am behind on the photo challenge!  This picture makes me happy for a number of reasons. First- the smiles on the Js faces, makes me happy. 2nd-when we lived in VA the closest Sonic was nearly 90 minutes away. Now, there were many a time that I considered driving all the way there in the midst of 100 degree weather with 100% humidity (remember, I am not a humidity girl!), but this was worth the wait. On our way to VA beach we stopped @ Sonic. It was blissful and to see the happiness on the kids faces over something as silly as Sonic Ice...that makes me HAPPY.

By the way, this was one of four times we went Sonic in the 3 days we were en route to and from VA Beach :) 

Day 2 A photo of yourself a year ago.

I combed thru pix around this time last year and there is all but one or two that even have me in the pic!  Ah, that is how it is as the mom. Always behind the camera instead in front of camera. We had a great time this day. My two favorite things: a short road trip with the fam and chocolate!

Blog design

I know, I keep changing the "template design" of my blog...I can't figure out which one I like. Dang, it's like trying on jeans, does this one make my butt look big?

day 1. your facebook profile photo

I have to admit, I have changed my profile pic on Facebook, many times. Here is my absolute fave:

I had to cut/paste the pic from FB, but I hope to find the copy on my computer and respot.
Note the precision placement of the fabulously beautiful children in front of me. Also, I had been outside for less than one minute and the VA weather did not have time to wreak havoc on my hair!

Photo Challenge

So, I am going to copy Homestead, who copied Elle, who copied Heather and try this photo challenge. I really want to blog more. Truly, I feel better after typing madly on the computer. I still have this fear, that someone out there is going to get to really know me...that's scarey, but since I have my settings on high security, it should be alright...right, Elle?  My other fear, people might really get to know me and really know how I feel about them!
Here is the list:
day 1. your facebook profile photo
day 2. a photo of yourself a year ago
day 3. a photo that makes you happy
day 4. a photo of the last place you went on vacation
day 5. a recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
day 6. a photo that makes you laugh
day 7. a photo of someone you love
day 8. a picture of something you dislike.
day 9. a photo of your family
day 10. a photo of you as a baby
day 11. a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.
day 12. a picture from your day.
day 13. a photo of your best friend(s)
day 14. a photo of one of your favorite family members
day 15. a photo of you and someone you love
day 16. a photo of you at the last party you went to
day 17. a picture of something you cannot live without.
day 18. a photo of one of your classes
day 19. a picture of your room & don’t cheat by cleaning it.
day 20. a photo of something you enjoy doing
day 21. a photo of you standing up
day 22. a photo of your town
day 23. a photo of your friend as a baby
day 24. a photo of you that your hair looks nice in
day 25. a photo of a night you loved
day 26. a photo of your favorite weekend
day 27. a photo of last summer
day 28. a photo of what you ate today
day 29. a photo of someone you find attractive
day 30. a photo of you when you were happy.

All dressed up and even somewhere to go!

MILove had a work Christmas party to attend. It was actually fun to get dressed up. I even painted my  nails my favorite shade, "I'm not really a waitress".  It took a LONG time to prep, esp to put on the knock-off Spanx (?).

Gasp!

I am giving up LAZINESS for Lent. We are not Catholic, but I really like the idea of giving up something and sticking to it. So, I am giving up laziness...I know it isn't like coffee or cussing or the occasional yelling @ the Js but it is something that I should sacrifice. Church taught me, my body is the temple of Christ, so I better start treating it that way. So...yesterday I did push-ups and crunches. A whopping 10 push-ups, but they were "manly" push-ups and I didn't stop. I did about 60 different kinds of crunches. Small little steps, but I gotta start slow.

Today I walked the little J and B to school. Then I grabbed my tunes and began to walk. I told myself I would do my best to run too. So, hence the gasp. Sheesh I am out of shape. But I did run about 1/2 of the 22 minutes. I am going to drive the loop and see exactly how long it was...please let it be at least 1 mile. baby steps, baby steps.

I admire my friends that run in races. So, instead of watching them on the sidelines, I hope I can eventually work up to walking behind them!  They have much nicer asses than me!

Need to read this everyday.....

S posted this on her Facebook page. I am going to read it and believe it and try to live it.

‎"Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it......" ~Anonymous

writing

I have this dear friend that I met when we moved to God-foresaken AL 3 years ago. The first time I saw her, I felt immediately intimidated. We were at the "Y", pretty much the only thing to do in Pratteville. I drug the J's with me because everyone told me, "You have got to join the Y especially for the pool."  Anyway, she was signing up too. She was standing with her 3 kiddos signing up for the "Y". She was tall, thin, dressed super cute and had that fabulous silky black hair I have always wished for.  We didn't make eye contact, thank goodness or she would have thought I was a stalker!  Fast forward. BigJ and Middle J go to school for a couple of days and Middle J comes home and says, "Can I have a play date with my new friend Grace?". I am not a big fan of play dates for my kids in which I have not met the kid or the parents. I don't do play dates unless I really know the family. For some reason, I called the mother and started chatting. We chatted for quite a while. They were living in AL for the same reason, her hubby was going to the AF school, however he was in the Navy. After we chatted I decided it would be ok for Middle J and I to have a play date at their house.  Yep, you guessed it, it was the tall, thin, dressed super cute, with fabulous black hair person! I will refer to her as "M".  We instantly connected. The girls became the best of friends and still write to each other 3 years later.  "M" and I became work-out buddies, book club buddies, we chatted about everything and nothing. We watched chick-flicks together. I even got her started on StarBucks!  After we moved away, they to FL and us to VA, we talked nearly every Friday afternoon. I loved it. I actually had a friend that made no judgement of me EVER. I have had friends that have truly judged me and I am very gun shy about making friends with people. She was and never has been that way. She wants me to gush about the Js, our new house, MILove's job or just simply whine.  I just love her.

Over the past 18 months, we have really lost touch. Go figure...kids activities, work, life. By the way...she calls her kiddos the 3 Gs. The similarities about us are uncanny. We joke we live in parallel lives. Silly things like, "I just watched this movie...."shut-up" I saw the same movie. Or our TV just died and we bought a new one. I shit you not, we bought the same TV!!!  We took forever to breakdown and buy a laptop...seriously we bought the same laptop. I just read a great book and she just finished the same book--and the most important of all (because it is a purse). We bought the same Vera purse, same color withing a week or two of each other.. All of this with her in FL and me in VA.
M wrote me a long typed letter at Christmas to catch me up on what is going on with her. I loved it. I couldn't remember the last time I had received a letter.I read it many times. I keep it in my  nightstand and pulled it out today to reread it.  I kept telling her, I would write her a similar one and send it "soon". Well, today I finally wrote it. It was 3 pages typed!  It was so nice to be able to type freely, brag freely, bitch freely and know she would not judge me at all.  Writing to her inspired me to write about her tonight. I miss you "M"!!

Bullying

Bullying. It's been on my mind a lot. I have had a couple of friends whose children have gone thru this, as the ones getting bullied. With all of this education supposedly happening in the schools about preventing bullying, why is this still going on? I feel like it is the trendy thing to do, put up posters and have parent meetings on bullying. But it is still happening, yes, the education is out there to report bullying is someone sees it. If your child witnesses bullying they should report it. But if it is your child being bullied, what then? We contact the staff, the parents, try to talk things out; ok I get that. But what happens after this "talking"? The child can be hurt to the core, that doesn't go away. I still remember being bullied in Jr. High...it changed me for a long time...sometimes I still have flash backs to that feeling of being hurt.  Things other people say when you are child chip into you, sometimes leave a scar. How can we make that stop? Would educating children on what the effects of bullying have on people help? Rather than just say "don't bully", how about say, "how does this person feel when it's all said and done. Wow, look at the papers and magazines...suicide because of bullying. I am constantly thinking there has got to be a better way to help these children that are victims of bullying. Even more so, educate the actual bullies that what they do is detrimental to a persons life-their character, how they feel about themselves, how they will grow up.....How do we educated the parents of these children? To not say, "oh my kids wouldn't do that." and walk away. More thoughts on this later. It's late and my mind is fading....

13!!

So, we were in church Sunday and the pastor talked all about Mary. That was refreshing, focusing on the woman ( female), the mother, and the wife.  A focus on actually-- the girl that brought about one of our values. She was so knowledgeable about things that even I have no idea about. I think our children are the same way. They bring insight to me almost everyday. Anyway, she was 13 when God told her she was going to give birth to Jesus. MY BIG J turned 13 today! Can you imagine?? Whoa, that was a huge awakening!

My first teenager. I just love him. So sweet, so thoughtful and the typical big bro that sits on his sisters and farts on them!  My favorite was when Middle J came downstairs screaming that Big J farted on her pillow!! Seriously, how do you get mad at something like that. ManIlove and I could not stop laughing!
13 things I love about Big J
1. thoughtfulness
2. he's a thinker
3. he tells us when he needs to be left alone, instead of lashing out.
4. he does his best in school all of the time
5. he plays his heart out in soccer to help his team-not to be the star
6. he is polite
7. he is a gentleman (except for those things mentioned above & most bodily functions!) :)
8. he does things to be kind and for no other reason or to benefit himself
9. he reminds me of my brother in all of the good ways my brother was
10. he is true to himself and his family
11. I can read his mind :)
12. he is a leader without needing to be recognized as a leader
13. he was created and given to us by Him--I just cannot express how blessed we are to have him.
Ok, I am sniffling now...it must be from all of the dust in this house. :)
Happy birthday Big J!

one of those days

WARNING: this entry is just pure whining....

Have you even had one of those days where you call people to see how they are doing and the entire conversation is you going "uh, huh", "oh", "that's great", and then the other person says, "well that's is all the news I have, talk to you later." Uh, I know I called that person, but it would be nice to have them say "how are you?"  It has been like this lately. I feel selfish for wanting them to ask about me how I am doing, BUT...isn't that what a conversation is supposed to, reciprocal? Even if I have nothing huge going on, other than "the weather was beautiful today." Ok, there are definitely the calls that all that person needs is to vent-I totally get that and if anyone ever needs to vent, cry, yell I am their girl-I am all ears. But seriously....with a routine phone call with a relative/friend shouldn't there be at least a "how are you?" I should be used to it with one person in particular, I guess, but I don't want to be!
Grrr......

On another note. I love it when a friendship is so solid that even if it has been months since we talked or a year since we have seen each other--that when we do talk/see each other it truly feels like yesterday.

ok

Random thoughts...because I am a slacking blogger!

Ok, we are here and settled and feeling home. Hmm, maybe not settled. We have been saving the boxes that appliances, tvs, computers stuff, etc since we bought them. Meaning we save them every time we move, they live in storage, then when we move everything goes back to it's original box when we move. My idea is get rid of the boxes because I am never moving again...ha! This is my plan. The Air Force's plan may be different but MIlove knows my plans :)  He is doing great in the AF and is finally being appreciated for all of his hard work. His new job next summer is top notch!

So, we have hung a clock a name sign and 3 pix. That's it. I have stacks of pictures in frames waiting to be hung, but is it so much pressure! I haven't really decorated a house in about 10 years! No need to, we would move in a year or two anyway.  Middle and Little are ready to paint and decorate their rooms. They are so thrilled to have their own rooms!  ManIlove is not thrilled with painting. If it was his choice everything would stay beige. :)

I thought moving into a new house would be easy, no need to change anything. Well, except put in landscaping, put in a fence, finish the back splash, drywall the garage (not my idea!), hang curtains, choose other window coverings...and the wallet keeps purging out what little it has!  Ok,enough about the house. We are in it, we love it and we are so blessed to have everything that we do.  I wanted to blog about something else.....

Check-off

I have done the major purging!!  We had a yard sale on Saturday, we sold quite a bit and we sold the bunkbeds today!! We hope to sell the dining table and 4 chairs this week. Come on Craigs list!! The money we made we are saving for the trip/move. This will be the $ we will use to buy souvenirs, buy a silly treat etc. The Js are so excited about that. MiLove went thru the crawlspace. It was scarey @ first, but it is mostly just empty boxes. We keep the boxes for everything!! It saves breakage on small appliances, electronics and dishes during the moves.  This week I will begin pulling stuff aside that we will need between the 1st and 19th....ugh...TBC

Still going....

MiLove and I keep adding to the list. Here is our major dilemma. We need to forward our mail...but we don't have an official address yet. We are researching get our mail forwarded to a post office in COS, holding the mail, then when we get an address we start sending it there??? We have never dealt with this before. We usually move from door-door...hmmm, still thinking on that one. I guess if there is a dilemma to have that would be it.

All hotels have been reserved!!! Yowza it is expensive around here. Hotels are 2-3x the price here-for the same type of room.  Now that I think of it, everything here is 3x the price as AL and 2x the price of CO!

Ok, I got sidetracked.  13 DAYS until the packers get here!!! It doesn't look like we have done a lot around here, but I have really been purging. Girls room-almost done, just need to purge Julia's bookshelf--my pack rat. Playroom purged and good stuff set aside for yard sale. Jacob has purged his room, however a quick walk thru wouldn't hurt. Last night I pulled MiLove and Middle J aside and asked them to not do this:

do not ask me "are you sure we shouldn't keep this, really you want to sell this, really you want to give this away?"  They promised they wouldn't and I am holding them to it. I am taking the Elle approach and getting rid of "stuff". Moving is the best way to do this.

I had a freak out session the other day. Elle caught me in the middle of it via text. All that matters is that session is done, I am more @ peace today. Turns out I have to ask MiLove for help??? He is willing to help, but has not idea what to do. I actually make him a list and he LOVES it. It is my "honeydo/do it now/do this or pay the consequences" list.  He has never complained about it! For that I am thankful today.  My next dilemma is I am selling this ginormous desk. It was a hand-me-down from the broinlaw. It does not suit me. It has a drawer, so I cannot sit up high enough, therefore my shoulder sags..blah, blah.  I have a beauty of a "work table" in mind from crate/barrel. I have also found work tables with adjustable legs!!! What a concept for a girl that has a freakishly long body and stubby legs!  Elle, anybody have any ideas for a desk that isn't a gazillion dollars? Gotta run and purge the bookshelf. Here is something that is making me dream sweet dreams--even in the daytime!

Did you know that there are tubs that have different lengths?  MiLove surprised me with a 6ft length tub! I feel so spoiled!  I haven't had a chance to take an actual bath for over 2 years We have a very scarey dark brown tub that does not hold water here....I think the Js will end up using this more than me...but I will keep dreaming :)

Too funny not to post!

I totally needed this email the other day!!

Can Cold Water Clean Dishes?

This is for all the germ conscious folks

that worry about using cold water to clean.

John went to visit his 90 year old grandfather

in a very secluded, rural area of Saskatchewan

After spending a great evening chatting the night away,

the next morning John's grandfather prepared

breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast.

However, John noticed a film like substance on his plate,

and questioned his grandfather asking,

'Are these plates clean?'

His grandfather replied,

'They're as clean as cold water can get em.

Just you go ahead and finish your meal, Sonny!'

For lunch the old man made hamburgers.

Again, John was concerned about the plates,

as his appeared to have tiny specks around

the edge that looked like dried egg and asked,

'Are you sure these plates are clean?'

Without looking up the old man said,

'I told you before, Sonny, those dishes are as

clean as cold water can get them. Now don't you

fret, I don't want to hear another word about it!'

Later that afternoon, John was on his way to a nearby town

and as he was leaving, his grandfather's dog

started to growl, and wouldn't let him pass.

John yelled and said,

'Grandfather, your dog won't let me get to my car'.

Without diverting his attention from the football game

he was watching on TV, the old man shouted!

'Coldwater, go lay down now, yah hear me!'

Meet Coldwater !

Have a fabulous STRESS FREE day!

Life is too short for negative drama & petty things. So laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly! From one unstable person to another... I hope everyone is happy in your head - we're all doing pretty good in mine!

Home

Seriously; we have bought our "forever" house. In the military it's the house that hopefully we will live in for a long, long time.  It's a house that I will feel comfortable actually hanging pictures and planting flowers, because I will get to enjoy them for more than 2 years. It's the house that I hope the Js will remember as "the house they grew up in".  It's the house that will be home when we move back home....4 more weeks!

So far...

I have decided to keep track of what exactly I have done this week...so that maybe I can see that something is getting done around here.
Yesterday
   Js breakfast,
   Js to school,
   dunkin donuts/bagel with Alice-we do this every Tuesday a.m. We have one of those friendships that we may not talk all week, but on Tuesdays it is like we saw each other yesterday. She brings her 3 y/o and afternoon K son. We are able to sip coffee and catch up on how being a military wife can well...suck!  But we also talk about the great things our kids are doing. She is one of my few friends that I can actually brag about my kids to, and she is truly excited! Her kids last about 1 hour...thank the good Lord for portable DVD players!! :)  Of note...the ladies @ dunkin donuts, know us by site, they are pouring our coffee as soon as we walk in the door. Yesterday I tripped them up because I ordered a large coffee!
   Work
   Tried to fix my stinkin fax...and failed...
   Stepped over some laundry thinking...dang...Little J owes me 2 quarters for those 2 socks I just picked up
   Arranged how I my girlfriend (3 hrs away) and I are going to get a baby shower planned and delivered to a another friend this Sunday...logistics, food, gifts.
   Called MiLove-to figure out where we can get the broken window fixed, if we should have a cleaning service do a final cleaning once the movers leave...there was more...what was it
   Big J to soccer
   Sweat a lot!!!  90 degrees with at least 200% humidity!  I am not a humidity girl--bring me some dry air and chapstick and I am good to go! My naturally wavy turns into an afro--truly in this humidity! I should post a pic of just my hair sometime!
   Pet the dog
   Realized the dog is out of food and it is time to get the Js from school
   Called A while waiting in the kiss-n-ride. Just when I think about "how busy I am", she tells me she had to put their dog to sleep today.  Heart wrenching....I went home and hugged the Beagle and squeezed her and told her--"sorry, I forgot to get more dogfood, I am a terrible Beagle owner".
   A little more work
   Supper-consisted of pasta, strawberries, bananas and milk....for the love i need to go to the store
   MiLove got home, hugged him, said "hi" while he played with the Js.
   Email
   Js to bed
   watched a little of "wipeout". MiLove laughs his butt off. I think I watch it mostly because I love his laugh.  I am not sure how I feel about watching people get hurt...more about that later.
   "Researched" on the computer about platform beds for Big J, a new work station/table for me, and gazed @ the Ikea website...note to self--must get to Ikea one more time before the move
  Went to bed
  Got out of bed..forgot to email about something.
  Went to bed
  Got out of bed to check on the Js. It's something I have done since they were born. Cover them up, turn on Big Js radio if it isn't on already and watch them for a bit while they sleep.  If for some reason I fall asleep without checking on them, I wake up in a panic and go check on them

I guess that's it...hmm....I need to review this list and eliminate the stuff that didn't really matter.

  

Today

Rewind to Monday.  I have had little J on my lap for the past 2 hours. She had been experience vomitous eruptous for the last 24 hrs. We are cuddling and watching the very 1st episodes of Hannah Montana--you know the cute ones where everything isn't about boys and dating!!

Anyway, my cell rings for work. Then my home phone rings--I don't answer it. On caller ID I see, it is the kindergarten teacher. I thought, "oh that is nice, she is calling to check on Little J".  Then my home phone rings AGAIN!  It is the teacher AGAIN. So, I answer....it is Big J. Big J says..."um, mom it's Monday, we get out early on Mondays"!!! For the past 2 years we have had early release on Monday.I begin picturing  my "mother of the year" award. It is going to be huge this time!!  Shiny, gold, maybe the statue will have a lady holding a phone to her ear.  Fast forward-- I race to find my shoes, grab Little J, upon grabbing Little J says, "I have to go potty". My foot is tap-tap-tapping, my mouth is trying to keep shut, while my mind is thinking---fabulous, she is peeing, she is not dehydrated!!

I get Little J in the car, buckle up and speed thru my 20 MPH neighborhood going....21 MPH...there are a gazillion kids walking home. Including the safety patrol....which reminds me of just how late I am.  I pull into the kiss-n-ride and there are the 2 cutest blondies waiting for me with smiles on their faces. They aren't even the only ones there!  I gave 20 "sorries" and they said "that's ok mom we knew you were home taking care of their Little J."  I love those Js!!

Fast forward to today. The Js are loaded up for the drive to school. Middle J says "Mom did you set the alarm on your phone to pick us up early today. We have the 2-hr release". I kindly respond, "yes I do, thanks for the reminder". We all snicker and I drop them off @ school, all of us with smiles on our faces.

Fast forward....Running out the door to get the Js!  I am looking fwd to a long weekend!

Skin

I am not sure where my "skin" post went...it was before my checklist.  This time of year the sun gets brighter, the weather warmer and I am outside A LOT!  Not only am I self conscious about my ass, my arms, my lovehandles and my legs (I DO NOT WEAR SHORTS), I also worry about this ginourmous patch on my face. I think it looks like a Groucho Marx mustache. Milove says he can't "see anything"..(that is what he is supposed to say). The Js say "we see something, but there isn't hair".  The mask of pregnancy lingers long after pregnancy.  I have melasma on my face...it almost disappears in the winter. The first time I go outside in the spring BAM (just like Emeril) it is there staring back @ me. I use creams, cleansers, lotions etc...they might work a bit....I know there are much bigger worries out there...but for during the few seconds I look in the mirror today applying make-up...this is my worry.  Elle, can you teach me how to use Bare Minerals...you have fab skin?  Homestead (if you are reading), have you tried it yet?

Checklist

1. Freak out -we are are driving out of VA in 35 days!!!!
2. Freak out while continuing this checklist
3. Send email to Elle that I am freaking out-(she doesn't judge and always replies!)
4. Wonder how many time "freak out" will be typed in this checklist.
5. Clean out the garage-done
6. Have BigJ go thru his toys that he no longer plays with (boo hoo) and get them in the garage on the garage sale table.
7. Ponder, do I really have enough for a garage sale...YES...and I told the Js we could use the $$ for our roadtrip trinkets :)
8. Make reservations @ the 4 stops we will make on the way to ND. Make sure they are close to the interstate, take dogs and have @ least a 3.5 star rating!-- DONE!!
9. Make reservations here for the last 3 days we will be w/o beds etc. 
10. Make reservations for one week in COS while we wait for the house
11. Freak out....we are buying a house!
12. Stop...I have to go shower to go to Milove's "going away" lunch, except he isn't going away for 3 more weeks....
13.to be continued.

grrr...

I hate snow.....that's all I've got today.

One Flaw in Women

This was passed to me by one of my favorite friends I have met here in VA. Thanks SH!

One Flaw In Women

Women have strengths that amaze men......

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy

and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in..

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer

when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel

and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about

a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they

think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss

can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

to show how much they care about you..

The heart of a woman is what

makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideas.

They give moral support to their

family and friends.

Women have vital things to say

and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS

ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Be careful what you wish for!

Ugh, I just read my previous blog posting. Well, it is definitely snowing. We have approx 15 inches on the ground now and we can barely see the neighbor’s house because it is still snowing. Thankfully we are taking the train tomorrow to NYC. I guess it takes a lot for the trains to stop. The airports are a mess and most of the flights are cancelled--YIKES!


The Js are having a blast, I keep shoveling and we moved the car so that it faces the street! The Coloradoans are ready....say a prayer for us! The only thing that worries me is the show @ 6:30 tomorrow night in NYC....I will keep you posted :)

rain, rain go away!

Seriously...I know I have bitched & moaned about this...but does it have to rain so much??? I bought some cute rain boots last week and thought they would bring some fun to the rain...they are super cute and help a little...but Geez the rain it puts me in a funk. My body is craving sunshine! Lucy and I napped today, it was nice...but I am still groggy. I did get some laundry done and the rest of the Christmas decorating done. I ordered my photo cards for Christmas. I was a complete slacker on that this year. My goal every year is to mail them on Dec 1st. I am just hoping they print ok. It is so hard to tell if the picture looks good until it is in hand.

Good news!!! It is supposed to snow on Saturday. The 3Js are praying for it...please oh please: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

breathe in ...breathe out...

Ok, how serious is a "naughty or nice" list???
Horrible day with the Middle J: woke up c/o nothing to wear, that doesn't match, the socks don't really fit right, this part of my shoe (that she has worn for 3 months) has felt weird since I got them. (yes we forgot to pick out our clothes last night!) and on and on. She didn't know what to eat for breakfast, her hair was too ratty and she refused to wear her raincoat or a coat. I rarely force the issue of a coat, if they want to freeze..well then...But I could not take anymore whining out of her today. Well, after school she got out of the car and said "I need a new umbrella for Christmas" this from the kid that received her first ever umbrella last year. "I don't really like the flowers on it anymore." She also said that MY new very stylish rain boots "look huge and I don't really like the color." After that I set the timer for 10 minutes and told her neither one of us would speak to each other for 10 minutes. It worked!! She was a brand new kid; not speaking is the worst for her, that is the punishment that worked as a toddler. "Go sit on your bed and no talking", that was the end of the world for her :)

breathe in, breathe out....tomorrow is a new day and we are going upstairs to pick out the perfect outfit for tomorrow!

Check

Making the list and checking it for the first time.

PJs-bought
Slippers-bought (a must for this freezing house with wood floors)
BigJ ornament bought
BigJ b-day present-bought
3Js Amazon wish list sent to GGJ
MIlove-small gift bought--no other presents except NYC!!
3Js presents bought by me for GA
4Ks presents bought
Multiple other presents bought-just need to figure out what goes to whom
GGJ-combo gift bought--know what other to buy
MiddleJ-some b-day presents bought

The packages are stacking in my closet and I am looking for more hiding spaces!

Anxiously awaiting my new pretty rain boots!! UPS says they will be here today...not a moment too soon. Hopefully they will pull me out of my "rain funk" @ least for a little bit :)

P.S.

I forgot to mention; we are taking the trip now..because it is looking extremely likely we will be moving this coming summer. I am dreaming of mountains, hopefully MILove's job is too!

NYC!

Holi canoli! We have broken down and are taking the plunge to go to NYC. The breaking down is the head shaking of how much money it is going to cost for our family to all go! We are taking the train! About 2.5 hrs long-we are thrilled to see the sites as we travel and not have to worry about traffic. We found a fairly inexpensive hotel, far enough from Time Square that it isn't too loud but close enough for us to walk. We are taking a serious plunge and have bought Lion King tickets!! Yowza....$$$$!!! But this is one of those family trips that I hope we all will cherish.
3 full days and 2 nights. We will go to Lion King, would like to go to the Empire State Bldg, more than likely the Statue of Liberty--(I am seriously worried about frost bite on the ferry), going to Rockefeller Ctr to see the skating and "the tree". Going to American Girl store, see some other stores and just take in the city! I have been there 2x and can walk for miles...the 3Js will be another story.

Does anyone have any suggestions for things to do on an extremely limited budget? I knew I was saving the travel section of Family Fun for several years for a reason!! Thank the Good Lord that we are able to afford this trip in this time of recession. We are truly blessed.

Yucky sickness & he still makes me laugh!

I hate being sick! I hate being isolated to my room to be sick listening to the Js have a blast with MILove. But guess what, the Beagle was with me wherever I went-mostly to swipe a piece of candy, squirt something with Lysol or just lay on my bed! I've got to brag a little about MILove, he can still make me laugh even when I am trying to hack up my lungs! He called me from the pharmacy to ask if it was called a representative spirometer....no honey it's an IS, "oh good, this lady tried to sell me rectal thermometer!!"

WHY??

Why does an old lady feel the need to hide in her bushes on Halloween and cackle like a scarey witch @ the little kids that come to her door? seriously....I am looking for the bark collar!

I love Lucy

I love my dog. Truly...she follows me wherever I go. She whines to take the Js to school and pick them up. She knows what time it is to leave to pick up the Js. She whines when the Js get out of the car and walk into the school. She has laid on the bed with me all week while I have been sick. When I try to hack my lung up...she puts her head on my belly.

Beagles...yes they bark--we own a bark collar; show her the bark collar and she stops barking. Yes, they like to chase anything. You know the movie "Up", where the dog gets distracted everytime he sees a squirrel..that is my Beagle!! So, she is not allowed outside w/o a collar or on her tie-out: problem solved! She also can sniff out any sort of food..ANYTHING! I came home to find she had sniffed thru my purse and found a piece of gum!

I got "The Beagle" about 4 months after my Dad died. It made me feel closer to him, because we had beagles growing up. He loved them, my mom, not so much (because of the traits above). I think of my Dad a lot when the Beagle is everywhere I am. When I am working, she lays on my lap with her chin on the armrest and will lay there for 20 min. When it gets uncomfortable (or I get uncomfortable), she lays on the floor in my office. For Christmas, I am getting her a dog bed just for my office.

She is a kennel dog. She was since we brought her home. We bought a kennel that would fit her until she was full grown. I will find the first picture we took of her in the kennel. When we leave the house, we just say "kennel" and she runs upstairs and lays down in her kennel. She also has a time-out place..I know just like a kid. But it works. The downstairs bathroom. She hates it, because she is separated from us; she doesn't stay in there long.

We do not give her ANY table scraps or anything other than her dogfood and dog treats. If she eats anything else (including gum) she vomits! At dinner we have her lay on the rug in the living room and she stays there until we leave the table; I cannot stand it when dogs breathe on your leg when you are eating..yuck! As soon as we are not looking she attempts to get on the table!!! Yes, I get pissed; yes, I want to kick her butt...but I love Lucy!

it has been too long

Ok, this blogging thing...I just read Elle's latest post. Totally agree with the reasons to blog. I need to get stuff out of my head and into the computer. Maybe it will help me sleep better @ night. I could even make silly notes in my blog...

Big J
I admit it, I was the mom who bought the kids' costumes a month or two in advance. With BigJ, always a superhero of some sort. He was Harry Potter for 2 years. But now, he is @ that limbo age, does he dress up? Well he has to if he wants to go trick o' treating. But what is he going to be??? Last year a skateboarder. I loved creating the mohawk and spraying it blue and green. But it made me a little sad wondering, would this be the last year; would next year be the year he would be handing out the candy while Middle J and Little J were out? Wow, much to my relief he is going to be a secret agent. Love it!!! He has everything to create it! Phew...at least one more year of pictures for the scrapbook. (scrapbook...HA!!)

We only had one vacation-she says

Last night during supper, Middle J says, "We only had 1 vacation this summer." Remember this is my party planner/agenda setting queen. I reminded her it was summer vacation and going to VA beach was only part of the vacation. I reminded her we have:
1. Gone to a Nats baseball game
2. Yes-we went to VA beach for 3 days
3. Visited one of the oldest lighthouses in the U.S. (and climbed a gazillion stairs)
3. Went to the Air/Space Museum-saw a space shuttle and @ least 100 actual airplanes/jets in the museum.
4. Joined the Nat'l zoo and have gone once so far
5. Toured the Pentagon with her daddy
6. Have gone mini-golfing 2x
7. Have gone bowling 2x (one time it was glow in the dark!)
8. Went swimming an average of 3-4x/week.
9. Went to dunkin donuts nearly every Tuesday with our friends
10.Went to the Smithsonium Museum of Art and portraits
11.Toured the national mall and visited all of the monuments (we have done this several times already)
12.Went to National Harbor-looked at the amazing boats and the water.
13.Had countless playdates, pooldates, lunchdates with friends.
14.Had mommy and me and daddy and me special dates.
15.Grandpa and Grandma came to visit for a week.

I don't want to count some of these as vacation. The special dates are priceless and the Js absolutely love them. Playdates..well we have them all the time; but they can be exhausting unless I can "farm" out the big kids :) All of it was so fun! We had a memorable summer, now on to the crazy school year.

Soccer practice starts tomorrow. I am still trying to figure out carpools, because there is no way I can get everyone to practice and games. Sam should be able to help a lot, but you know how that can go! School lists come out tomorrow, open house is Wednesday, and school starts Tuesday. I wonder what Middle J will try to put on the agenda for this long weekend?? :)

16.I know there are some other things, but I just got a call for playdate for little J and now I am planning the rest of the day.......sigh :) First stop-dunkin donuts-sugar for the Js, me-"coffe now please!".

"WOMAN

I was fwd'd this by my dear friend SC in Fort Collins! It made my morning!

Subject: Woman
"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit."