New Header

The new header on my blog is a white rose...to symbolize the wonderful hope and optimism that is the new year!

Traditions

Strangely enough, in spite of the fact that we have very few Christmas traditions set in stone, we have very specific New Year's traditions that we follow every single year. Several years ago, we developed new friendships here in the town in which we live...parents of our kids' friends mostly. We all wanted to celebrate the New Year, but we all had our own traditional New Year's eve plans that none of us wanted to give up. We decided to get together on New Year's eve eve (December 30) and a new tradition was born! We hosted last night, and even our friends who moved away last summer were home again for the holiday! Tonight we get to spend New Year's eve with our dear, dear friends. We hosted last year, and this year our youngest son's Godfather volunteered to host. We are so looking forward to seeing everyone! And tomorrow, etched in stone, is the fact that I sit on the couch and do nothing at all while watching football ALL DAY. I am so looking forward to all of this. Happy New Year!

Chrismas break

It's hard to believe that Christmas break is winding up here. We still have today and tomorrow and then of course the weekend. I guess I'm ready to get back at it, but it's been a nice break. Sunday we had the extended family Christmas at my parents, and as always, I loved getting to see my cousins and the little ones. Monday we had breakfast with my in-laws before they drove home and then we did some shopping of our own. I was surprised how many people had the same thought, both about eating and shopping! That afternoon JC spent with a friend, then that same friend spent the night here that night. Tuesday was spent getting the house ready for guys' poker night. I had originally planned to take the kids up to the lake, but felt lousy so we stayed home. Yesterday was a totally unscheduled day and today we are getting ready to host friends over this evening so cleaning/picking up is happening again. Tomorrow we'll be venturing out for New Year's eve at a friend's house, then Saturday is one of my favorite days of the year...college football ALL DAY! Sunday will find us getting ready to get back to school and all of the responsibilities that come with life. In the meantime, we are enjoying some quiet time!

The day after

Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful Christmas. I had hoped to get on and write last evening, but the one downside to hosting a meal for 13 people is the exhaustion that hits in the evening. We had the five of us, my in-laws, my parents and sister, my grandmother, aunt & cousin. I think the kids would tell you that Santa brought nearly everything they wanted, and the few things that he didn't bring were filled in among the other gifts they received, in addition to magical things they didn't even know they wanted. It was really a wonderful, wonderful day, and I hope that everyone out there had as special a day as we did!

Excitement is building!

The kids are really, really getting excited about tomorrow! It's fun to watch them and listen to them talk about what they hope Santa will bring them. I'm not sure our oldest still really believes, but I think he's wanting to believe to hold onto the magic for another year. Normally today would be spent at my parents, but it's a quiet day at home just the five of us. Tomorrow will be our big meal with twelve of us all together. My wonderful husband and I are finishing up some cleaning and he's doing some cooking prep to make tomorrow easier, but all in all we are having a relaxing day. Merry Christmas!

The OTHER twelve days of Christmas

I've written before about my youngest son's obsession with farm equipment. We've never entirely understood where this came from since we couldn't possibly have a smaller lot more in town if we tried. Granted, we live in a farming community, but we don't have any connections ourselves. However, going back to my great-grandparents, I come from a long line of farmers on both sides of my family, so I'm happy to reinforce my little guy's obsession. The other evening we were sitting down talking about Christmas and humming a few songs. My little guy (with help from Dad and I) decided to rewrite the 12 Days of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas, Moline* gave to me, a John Deere plow in a tree.

And on it goes, until we had a complete list:
12 family farms
11 earthmovers
10 green golf carts
9 John Deere gators
8 farm wagons
7 green hat farmers
6 corn threshers
5 GREEN TRACTORS
4 hay bailers
3 riding mowers
2 green combines
and a John Deere plow in a tree.

It's been very entertaining!

*FYI - Moline, IL is the home to John Deere headquarters

The definition of classic

We were sitting at the dinner table Tuesday evening. The kids were very, very excited as it was the last day of school before the break. They had mostly watched movies and had a pretty laid back day at school. They were discussing some of the things they wanted to do while they had all these unscheduled days at home. My husband asked if they had ever seen the movie "Miracle on 34th Street." I said I didn't think they had. My husband stated, "They need to see that movie. It's a classic." HT was sitting beside his dad at dinner, slowly turned to him, and said (in a somewhat irritated tone), "DAD, classic means OLD!" I had to laugh pretty hard at that...I love the perspective of children!

They are going to drive me insane

I am happy, happy beyond words, to report that there was indeed school yesterday. Nothing major happened here as far as the weather. And it's a good thing too, because today, their very first day of winter break, I am absolutely ready to come unglued on them. I have informed them that we are not spending the next 12 days with the TV on, so they need to go find something to do. In spite of the closet full of games and puzzles and shelves upon shelves of books, all they can manage to find to entertain themselves is CHAOS. They are running around upstairs like a herd of elephants and making more noise than I thought a small number of children could possibly make. My, oh my! I don't know what else to say...I'm just going to try to hide out here at my computer for awhile.

One more day?

There is supposed to be one more day until the kids are officially on their Christmas break. Given the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow, we'll see how this works out. To be on the safe side, my wonderful husband and I ventured out today to finish up our shopping for the kids. Stunningly, we were not the only people out and about at the stores (sense the sarcasm). We really didn't have much to finish though, and I'm so glad it's done! Now I can start wrapping after the kids go to bed each evening. The best part of my day was after the shopping, when we ate lunch at my favorite steakhouse. What a great Christmas present to me!

Grandma is home

My grandmother (who had her hip replaced two weeks ago) has been able to return to her home. She is doing amazingly well...I just can't believe that she is going to turn 80 in about two weeks. She's an amazing woman and I'm so blessed to have her in my life. She's got good genes...strong German farmers... and I know exactly which side of the family my Dad gets his traits from. Those are the same traits that have been passed on to me. I just hope that someday I can be half the person my Grandma and Dad have shown me how to be.

Getting excited

I am really starting to look forward to the Christmas holiday! Not that I wasn't already, but it looks as though we will be hosting our first big holiday this year. Because of the fact that we have family and traveling is involved, we've never had a set tradition about when we celebrate with whom. And because there is still so much of my extended family, Christmas celebrating often ends up lasting at least a week. This year, my in-laws are planning to be here again on Christmas Day. In years past, my parents have hosted a meal for various family and friends who would otherwise be alone that day. However, some circumstances with my parents made that a more difficult situation this year. Yesterday, I mentioned to my mom that I would really enjoy it if she and Dad, and whomever in the family wishes, would join us at our house on Christmas Day for a big meal. She is very excited about this! So it appears as though we will have my in-laws, my parents, and my aunt definitely here, along with possibly my grandmother, sister, and a cousin. I'm really looking forward to being able to use my Christmas dishes! I'm so looking forward to such a special day!

Another snow day

Everyone was home today. I was amazed how much the kids slept in, so I'm very grateful they were able to do so. My husband hadn't been feeling well at all, so it was also nice for him to be able to sleep in as well. We really haven't done anything exciting. The kids played outside for a couple of hours and came in to enjoy some hot chocolate. I've been working on finishing my Christmas cards and wrapping gifts. I think everyone will be back in tomorrow, even if it's a delayed start. Tomorrow is the last day for my husband before he's off for two weeks for Christmas. Can't believe it's the middle of December...where has the year gone?

More snow on the way

We are under another winter weather advisory here...the county in which my husband teaches is actually under a winter storm warning. I had to work in the fourth grade today, and the teachers at the kids' school were all functioning under the assumption that tomorrow would, at best, be a short a day, and possibly not a school day at all. In some regards it would work out best if my husband didn't have school tomorrow, as he is currently feeling pretty lousy. I wouldn't mind having everyone in school, as long as I can run around and get errands done. If it's icky out though and I don't want to be out and about, I would just as soon have everyone at home with me. It's supposed to start in about six hours...guess we'll see what the morning brings!

Br-r-r-r-r-r

I love living with seasons. I even love the extremes of seasons. And yes, I still prefer bitterly cold to August heat. But don't get me wrong. It's way beyond freezing here. Tonight the low is supposed to be 6 degrees, with wind chills below zero. Everyone was in school today, but got to stay home for an extra two hours before getting there. Last night was actually warmer than tonight, so I'm not going to be surprised if there is another two hour delay in the morning. I'm not going to mind either...sleeping in is always a nice treat!

Snow day!

As it turns out, we did have a snow day today! It's fine here in town now, but I can only imagine what the township roads are like. I'm cautiously optimistic that everyone will be back in school tomorrow.

We've been spending our day trying to get a little ahead in homework and also wrapping some Christmas presents for the grandparents and other relatives. We are also on the search for some Christmas cookie cutters so we can make some Christmas cookies. We are basically just enjoying the gift of time!

Delayed!

School is already on a two hour delay for tomorrow. The weather advisory doesn't end until late tomorrow morning, so I'm not even a little bit optimistic that there will be school tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it though. I wasn't scheduled to work anyway, so no big loss there, and I've got things out to make sugar cookies with the kids. It was a tradition that we did every year with my grandmother when I was a kid, but I've never done it with my kids. Part of it is that our schedules have always been insane, and part of it is because I'm not really into baking. I'm ready to give it a go though, and I'm looking forward to (maybe) starting a new tradition with the kids!

Blog change

I've gone with a new color for the blog...the color is supposed to represent the temperature here. It's been unseasonably cold this past week, and in a couple of days our high temp is supposed to be 16 degrees. And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I still like it better than the hot days of August.

We are also expecting 2 - 4" of snow here overnight with wind gusts of over 40 mph. I believe that makes the term "blowing snow" an understatement. Given the extremely poor condition of the back roads around here, I'm less than optimistic about school tomorrow. I guess we shall see how it all pans out!

Home today

I'm so grateful to not be working today. I'm sitting here right now enjoying the peace and quiet that is the silence of my house. I even have 2-1/2 hours until the kids come home from school! I've been running around this morning trying to get some shopping finished up. I got a good amount done, but still have some things to finish. As is the case every year, JC proves to be the biggest challenge. She's getting a lot of clothes this year, and I know she'll like that. In fact, our entire Christmas is going to be mostly toy-free. Even our youngest this year, with the exception of a few John Deere's, isn't getting many toys. I guess we are transitioning to the next phase in life!

Not sure where to begin

I am still here, and certainly never intended to go this long between posts. But, many of my intentions in the last two weeks have not panned out, and that is just life. First of all, I've been working A LOT. Again, I'm grateful for this opportunity, and it turns out that I LOVE being a substitute teacher. Sometimes though, I wish I could allow myself to say no. I want this to be a part-time job, but I'm not allowing myself the freedom to keep it part-time hours. Anyway, that has occupied most of the days since I've last written. Friday morning I awoke to JC and vomiting. I was supposed to spend the day at the hospital with family because my grandmother was having her hip replaced. Instead, I was home with a sick kid. I knew my grandma was in good hands and my sister was with the family to help my dad get around, so I allowed myself to see the "upside" that having a sick kid also meant that I was home and able to get some cleaning and Christmas chores accomplished. It also worked out well that I was able to be home when the call came from my in-laws that my brother-in-law was in the hospital and they were planning surgery that evening. I was able to contact my husband, and after much discussion it was decided that he did not need to make the long drive, but they would be in touch in case things changed. THANK GOODNESS he didn't go, because Saturday morning JC took a definite turn for the worse. While she had not vomited a great deal on Friday, she hadn't eaten anything since Thursday evening, and by Saturday morning was complaining of severe abdominal pain. My husband took her to Children's urgent care and after some anti-nausea medicine she began to feel better. She had a popsicle and they sent her home. The popsicle came back up as soon as she was home, and she was crying about the pain. My girl has a really high pain tolerance so we took no chances and off to Children's e/r we went. After some blood work and a urinalysis they determined it was still just the stomach virus, and she felt so much better by the time she got home that evening. The next morning she woke up feeling great and called several relatives so that they could hear her voice and hear for themselves how much better she felt. Unfortunately, after making those calls the pain began to return, and after an hour I was calling my husband home from church so we could go back to the e/r. This time many more tests were run, and more iv's were given. After everything, it still seemed to be nothing more than a stomach virus, and that does indeed seem to have been the case. They even mentioned that several additional cases had come into the e/r with similar symptoms. She got back home late Sunday evening, and we were all pretty exhausted. We kept her home from school Monday, and I've worked every day since then. As far as the rest of the family, my grandmother has been moved to rehab and will be there another nine days. She is really doing great! My brother-in-law has also been released from the hospital and is back at his house. We are very grateful that about two months ago he moved to within blocks of my in-laws, instead of being two hours away from them. And, with the exception of being exhausted after her long ordeal over the weekend, JC has felt normal again. I'm still trying to get caught up on the things that didn't get done while JC was so sick, but although it was dramatic for awhile, we are very blessed!

McDonald's and Burger King

I can almost guarantee you that this post is not at all about what you are thinking it's about!

Saturday evening we were driving home from my dad's place at the lake. It was 7:30 by the time we left, so it was definitely dark. We were driving on a particularly wooded stretch of road, and my husband noticed two deer along the side of the road. He wasn't driving all that fast to begin with, so he stopped, put the car in reverse, and backed up so that the kids could see the deer. We sat there for about a minute, looking at the deer, and then realized that there was another one on the side of the road. We discussed that one side was probably waiting for the other side to cross the road, and we were obviously in the way. We continued on our way, and as we were driving HT announced that when we get our own pet deer, he's going to name them McDonald's and Burger King. My husband and I laughed out loud! We have no idea why he thinks those would be good names for deer, why he thinks we would ever own pet deer (is there even such a thing?), or why he thinks he get sole naming rights! He is something else!

Not Sure How to Get it all Done

I am experiencing another "first" as a working mom...running out of hours. I realize that Thanksgiving just ended, but I am already panicking about Christmas. I realize I still have plenty of time. Part of my neurosis is the fact that I simply prefer to be way ahead of schedule. I worked today, and will work again tomorrow. Friday my grandmother is having surgery and I'll be at the hospital all day. I REFUSE to go to a mall or do any shopping on the weekends. I'm beginning to wonder how I'll be able to accomplish everything in the next 26 days. That really seems as though it ought to be plenty, doesn't it? I know that I can always tell the school that I won't work on a certain day, but I really hate to do that. I hate to turn down the opportunity to earn some extra money. I know that it will all turn out just fine, and if I'm so worried about it, I should probably be doing some wrapping right now instead of blogging! =)

Where is the time going?

I can not believe the last week has just flown by so quickly! I didn't have to work at all, but felt lousy at the beginning of the week and really didn't get anything done. Tuesday I spent all day doing laundry and packing and Wednesday we drove to the in-laws. Thursday we had a very nice Thanksgiving with that side of the family. It had been seven years since we had spent Thanksgiving there so it was nice to do that again. Friday we got up and drove home, and we were home about an hour before we were out the door again. We had plans to visit our dear friends who moved away this summer but were home again for the holiday. Oh, we miss them so much! That was a very late night, and yesterday we were up and at 'em early to hit the road to the cottage. We were there in time for the noon kick off of the Ohio State/Michigan which was dominated by the Buckeyes! We were all dressed in our red and thoroughly enjoyed the game! By the time we got home last night it was about 9, and the kids pretty much tumbled into bed. Today is decorating. I am determined! I am so looking forward to getting the decorations up. I know I'm working Tuesday, and there is a good chance I'm working tomorrow, so I'm hoping I can be extremely productive today!

Short week

Thank goodness it's a short week here! I've just returned from the doctor and I have a sinus infection. I've had it for about a month and tried to fight it off myself, but it just hasn't gone away. In about an hour I'll be able to pick up my prescription and I'm looking forward to feeling better!

The kids only have school today and tomorrow so there shouldn't be a lot of homework headed our way. Tomorrow evening JR will go to karate, and then Wednesday morning we are headed to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws. We'll be back Friday to spend the evening with some friends who are here from out of state, and then the rest of our weekend will be spent in a decorating frenzy!

What a week!

It was quite a week here. I'm definitely part of the world of working moms. Tuesday, when JR was home with the stomach flu, was the only day I didn't get called into work. I got to sub in fifth grade Weds & Thurs, which meant for one class period a day I had JR. Very interesting experience! I wouldn't necessarily let him know this, but I've got a pretty good kid here at home based on some of the things I saw those two days. I couldn't believe how mouthy the kids are! Yesterday I subbed in as a music teacher. Thank goodness for those years of piano lessons. I could pound out one note at a time! Anyway, my house is an absolute disaster, and we've been eating less than healthy dinners as well. I'm not superwoman, and I don't want to try to be. I'm really, really hoping that there aren't many four day (or five, gasp!) workdays in my future. Don't get me wrong, I'm very, very grateful for the extra money and if called I'll go in. But the person I most want to be right now is mom. That job is my favorite!

Home with the stomach flu

I knew the stomach flu was going around the kids' school yesterday. I was able to choose from my choice of substitute assignments because so many teachers were out, and I was also aware of more that "bit the dust" as the day went on. I knew it was just a matter of time before the germs set up shop in our house, and I was pretty sure it would be with me. After all, I'm the one who's really in the schools for the first time this year, and being exposed to all these germs without any immunity. However, it was JR who woke me up at 3 this morning after getting sick. Poor guy feels pretty miserable today. Hopefully it's a quick moving bug and will exit our house quickly. I'll be disinfecting today to help it out the door!

Apparently my house keeping is lacking

I've never been the best housekeeper out there, but I do try to especially keep our living room picked up and keep the room clean. I'm finding that by working again, things aren't getting done as frequently as I may like, but for the most part we are hanging in there with the housework. The last month has had some challenges, because in addition to the working, the kids have had lots and lots of activities, and I've had a sinus infection which really wears me out. I always wanted to have a house where anyone could drop in unannounced, but in this day and age of cell phones and schedules, no one really just drops in anymore. That was my justification in kind of letting things go. Last week though, I noticed that the dust in the living had started to develop layers and I just couldn't take it anymore. I spent my two days off last week cleaning and cleaning, and I was very pleased with how much I managed to get done. Apparently I've really not been doing well with trying to keep up because when JC walked in after school, she looked at the living room, noticed how clean it was, and asked, "Are we having company?" Yikes!

A trip home

Yesterday I got to go back to my hometown. This isn't exactly a rare event...after all I only live 40 minutes away. However, yesterday's trip was different. My husband and JR had gone up so that JR could participate in a rocket class. He got to build a rocket and then launch it...he had a blast (literally, sorry couldn't resist)! This weekend is also a winter festival where all of the downtown shops are open and with discounts, and many community organizations have little booths throughout as well. I love my hometown. It could not be more like a Normal Rockwell painting. It's historic and cozy, and well, it's home. I was also the eighth generation of my family to live there, and when I married my husband and left, it was somewhat by kicking and screaming. I couldn't wait until our life circumstances changed and I could move back home. Our life circumstances changed all right, of course not at all like I had envisioned, and of course now I couldn't imagine leaving this cozy little town that I now call home, and the friends that have become our own little family here in town. Anyway, yesterday my mom wanted to keep the younger two kids while I did some shopping throughout town. Not being a shopper I wandered only briefly, but then I decided to just drive around town. We are having an indian summer, and my little hometown could not have been more quaint and cozy. Although I'm there at least once a month, my parents now live outside of town and I seldom get to go into town, and I almost never get to do it by myself. In some regards I couldn't believe how much things have changed in just the few years since I've been gone (especially since the little town I live in now has changed almost not at all). I enjoyed driving through housing developments where I spent so much time visiting friends. I remember I used to be able to name who lived in each house...another benefit of a small town. After all these years though, I could only remember where my good friends lived. With the others, I would think, "Oh that's where the Smiths lived," then see another house and think, "Or was it that one?" It was amazing to me the feelings and memories that came back to me as I drove though the town, and it was also amazing to me the things I couldn't quite recall anymore. I realized we never really can ever go back home again. At the same time, it helped me to feel even more peaceful about the life I currently have...it's my life and I get to share it with my amazing family!

It's Friday

I am so happy that it's Friday. Not because it means I get to spend a fun filled weekend with my family and some friends (although it does mean that) but mostly because it means I don't have to nag anyone to do homework this evening. I had to work today, and on top of that I have a miserable head cold. All I wanted to do was to slip into warm pajamas (which I've done) and go to bed (which I will be doing earlier than normal).

JC also seems to be "done" with her week. I'm not sure exactly why, but she is one of the least pleasant people I've ever been around this afternoon. Hopefully a good night sleep will serve her well and she'll be cheerful again tomorrow!

Apparently the color matters

HT seems to be having difficulty holding onto his school supplies. I was getting a little annoyed by the notes coming home from his teacher, asking for refreshed supplies for him, but by being in there yesterday, I realized it's not just my little guy who seems to be having this problem. We never had this problem with the older two, so I'm not sure what is happening in this room, but regardless, HT needed glue sticks and pencils. There were some Halloween pencils laying around so I sharpened them, wrapped them in a rubber band with some glue sticks, and handed them HT to put in his backpack. He grabbed a pencil that was striped orange and black and exclaimed, "Mom! Why did you give me this one? It's Bengals colors!" I was very proud of my little Steelers fan!

Loved every minute!

Today, at the last minute, I was called to be a sub in my youngest son's classroom. I had already been scheduled in a preschool room for the morning, and didn't mind staying to be in first grade this afternoon. I loved every minute of getting to be there! My little guy is used to having me in his class from when I would volunteer in pre-k and in kindergarten, so I wasn't really concerned about how he'd behave. I had such a blast getting to see him as he is every day. I loved getting to put faces with the names of friends I didn't already know, and I loved getting to see how the routine worked in his class. I'm so grateful for the opportunity!

Another work day

I have to work again today, just as I did yesterday. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to earn some extra money, but my house is about to drive me crazy! I feel like I've completely fallen behind in my everyday chores, let alone the things I was hoping to get finished before the holiday season descended upon us! But all-in-all, everyone is plugging along okay, and I am very much looking forward to the holidays. Last night my wonderful husband had a meeting and tonight he has his second batch of teacher conferences, so I'm on my own. But the rest of the week looks light on the calendar and I've got a mission to catch up!

Decisions, decisions

We've spent a great deal of time this weekend mulling over some decisions that need to be made. These are decisions that truly only affect our immediate household, but they are long term decisions that will have a tremendous impact on our family. Just when we think we've made a decision and are feeling good about it, something comes along to make us re-think. It's stressful, but I am grateful that we are dealing with options of opportunity. It's truly a blessing!

One decision that was easy to make yesterday...we got to sleep in! And of course last night, we gained an hour of sleep by moving the clocks back, so I'm almost feeling rested!

Catching our breaths

We've had a heck of a week around here, but the end is in sight! On Sunday, I awoke with the stomach flu. We had spent Saturday evening with several other families, and between everyone five of us awoke Sunday with the flu. After much discussion, we can't pinpoint anything that all of us ate, so we can only assume it was some sort of bug. Yuck! I felt much better by Monday, just in time to begin our whirlwind week. I spent Monday basically disinfecting the house and trying to get things back in order after our weekend. Tuesday I was scheduled to work, and that evening my husband had dinner plans with some guys from work. I had to drop JR off at karate early so that I could get JC to girl scouts. They had a field trip to the Auntie Anne's pretzel place at the mall. She loved it, but didn't get home until after 9. Even today, two days later, she is still dragging and I'm just hoping she can keep herself together to behave at school. Wednesday I had to work again, and unlike Tuesday's angelic class, it was a heck of a day. What a group! I also had a conference with a teacher yesterday afternoon, and my wonderful husband had conferences of his own at school. Everyone crawled into bed very tired people last night! Fortunately, we had an hour delay here this morning, and I was pleased that the kids actually slept the extra hour. They obviously needed it! Today I need to get some errands accomplished and some laundry folded because I'm scheduled to work again tomorrow. HT also has scouts this evening, but in about 30 hours our weekend begins! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend!

Happy Halloween!

I'll be honest, this is my least favorite holiday of the entire year. I even get more excited about Groundhog Day than this one. Even as a child, I was not thrilled. I remember still being in elementary school and announcing that I was no longer dressing up. My mother explained that I wouldn't get any candy that way and I said that was fine with me. I also refuse to spend oodles and oodles of money on costumes. Every year, with very few exceptions, we have used things that we have around the house to put together costumes. I was really impressed with JR last year. After we informed him that we wouldn't spend $20 on a store costume, he decided to be a school crossing guard and borrowed the outfit from school. This year my little guy wanted to be a John Deere driver. It was a simple outfit to put together, and then I even got a cardboard box and painted it green and decorated it to look like a tractor. I'm biased, but he is the cutest John Deere driver ever! The kids are currently out trick-or-treating, and I'm home manning the candy disbursement. I'm looking forward to hearing their stories when they return!

Asking for prayers

I've received some very sad news this week, and am asking for my friend's family to be lifted up in prayer. I received an email from my college friend yesterday explaining that her ten year old nephew had been diagnosed with cancer. Because this friend and I were inseparable through college, I was close with the entire family and my heart just absolutely breaks for them. Unfortunately, the news was even worse this morning. This young man is completely full of the cancer and it is in stage 4. They are still working on biopsying the many, many tumors and are focusing on keeping him comfortable as they establish the best route for treatment. I can't even imagine the horror his parents are feeling right now...it just makes me sick. Looking forward to giving my healthy kids extra hugs today, and praising God for them in my life. I ask for continued prayers for this family.

37 years ago...

I was born. Yep, today is my birthday. I was feeling a little melancholy about it, because frankly, the last several haven't been so great. Last year on my birthday I was the sickest I've been in years, and the year before that my wonderful husband was sick. There are some other not-so-great recent birthdays, but today has been very nice. My husband surprised me with some gifts and the kids were so excited to share in our little celebrations. I had lunch with a good friend, and dinner was take out...no cooking for me! I keep telling the kids that I hope I'm around at least another 37 years. JC informed me that would be a really big number! For the first time in years, my dad didn't remind me of the night I was born. Things have changed a great deal since then, and at that time fathers weren't permitted in the delivery room. My dad informed me that my mother was in labor for several hours and there wasn't a comfortable chair anywhere at all in the waiting room. I always knew though, that he didn't really mind. I'm feeling very blessed today!

Glad I stayed home

As it turns out, not venturing out was definitely a good idea. First of all, I'm battling what I'm fairly certain is a sinus infection and just haven't felt well for several days. Secondly, the whopper of a storm that was supposed to hit was by no means overestimated. I started noticing shortly after 11:30 that there was a tornado warning for the area where my husband works. I decided to turn on our local "go to" TV station, and sure enough there was continuing weather coverage. As they kept pointing out, the challenge about this weather was that there was not just a single storm cell that was capable of producing tornadoes, but an entire line of storms that spanned over 100 miles in length. My husband texted me at one point to let me know he was okay, but that they had taken cover at the school. I just kept thinking about my kids, and how terrified I was afraid they would be, especially the youngest. It turns out, based on what I'm hearing from parents, because the sirens went off the kids were all taken to the basement of the school. However, because there was no indication that our community was actually in the path of the severest of storms, they were allowed to look at books and apparently they tried to keep it "low key". I'm very grateful to hear that. While I know many people in town who did seek shelter in basements, I stayed tuned into the weather. While what we had was scary, it was by no means major compared to surrounding areas. There is lots of damage throughout many counties, but most importantly, there seem to be no injuries.

Change of Plans

I'm off work today after being in Kindergarten yesterday. Originally, I had planned to visit the outlet mall about 30 minutes from here. There are a couple of things I wanted to pick up, and I had hoped to do it before I have to work in preschool tomorrow. Plans have changed though. There is apparently a heck of a storm headed this way, and it just seems as though the smart thing to do would be to stay home and be on alert. There are already early morning tornado watches to our west, and I think I'd rather be safe and sound at home. I kind of wish the kids didn't have to go to school today, but I trust that they will be safe, and fortunately we live close so it's a short trip back and forth. At the same time, I'll be grateful when the worst of things is over today.

Season over

Soccer season ended this morning. HT had his last game. While I'm happy to know that our Saturday mornings are now unscheduled, I was a little sad in that HT actually had his best game of the year this morning! He's ready to be finished though, and I'm glad that he isn't sad about it. I also attended the game of one of our friends' sons and enjoyed watching him play as well. I don't think anyone is playing basketball in this house, so until baseball season starts in about five months we will have more free time...or as much as you can have with three children!

Not impressed

We have signed JR up for a baseball clinic that will run in February and March of 2011. Baseball is a game that he really enjoys, and he loves having his dad coach him, so we thought we'd see what this clinic could help him develop. He will receive an hour of hitting instruction and an hour of catching instruction each week for six weeks. JR was asking at dinner last night if anyone famous was going to be instructing at the clinics. I said that the spring training will already have begun for the big league players so I don't think JR will recognize any names. JC announced that she certainly hoped the Reds players wouldn't be instructing the hitting session because they struck out WAY too much. My husband and I both had to chuckle at our nine-year-old criticizing major league hitters. In her defense, the last game she got to see was where the Phillies pitched a no-hitter against our Reds, and there she definitely saw lots of strike outs!

My Monkey

On Thursday HT had a soccer game. At the end of the game, the kids were playing around with some friends and a soccer ball ended up in a tree. Way up in a tree. As the ball did not belong to us but it was JR who had managed to get it there, I was not at all pleased. JC was on the job though. She was convinced that she could climb that tree and get to the ball. I was a little hesitant to let her, but I quickly realized it was probably our only chance of retrieving the ball. A quick boost and she was on her way. I was amazed! She is so light and flexible that she had almost no problems getting up into that tree. She got a little scared at one point because she couldn't find a foothold, but after that was resolved she was going along just fine! She even managed to get down without any problems. I was so proud of her for being brave, and also amazed at her athleticism.

Of course, our friend Cameron was less pleased by the entire situation. It was his ball, and he couldn't stand the fact that a girl had managed to climb the tree and save the day. Yesterday at another soccer game JC and Cameron were climbing the same tree together, and Cam had to make sure that he was always higher than she was. Well, welcome to life as a female, I suppose. Anyway, I enjoyed seeing JC be my little monkey.

Lunchbox Monster

Obviously, with three children in school, we have three lunchboxes in this house. I really don't enjoy packing lunches. In fact, it's one of my least favorite chores. However, if I allowed each child to buy every day it would cost me over $135 a month in school lunches alone. Needless to say, I can pack them lunches for significantly less than that over the course of a month. Anyway, it seems as though HT forgot to bring his lunchbox home today. He is absolutely insistent that it did come home though. He even showed me where he thinks he put it on the counter and "accused" me of packing it already and forgetting. I explained that I hadn't seen it at all this afternoon and that I really, really think he accidentally left it at school. He was still convinced though, and finally announced that perhaps the lunchbox monster had taken it. Now that made me laugh! If only that darn monster could also pack the lunches, then I'd be all set!

Daily chores

Nothing terribly exciting is going on around here. HT felt well enough on Tuesday to go to school again, although he and I both had an intestinal bug yesterday. Mine lasted all day, his was only in the evening and not enough to miss school again. I had worked Monday and Tuesday, and yesterday I basically just sat on the couch all day. It wasn't really what I had planned, but every time I would get up to try to get something accomplished, things got ugly. Today though, I'm feeling motivated and actually getting things accomplished. I'm also realizing, again, the routine of life. I just ran and emptied the dishwasher yesterday, but it needed it again today. Folded two loads of laundry last night and this morning, but had another load to wash and fold this morning. At times it feels so discouraging that, as a mother, there is always more to do and seemingly never enough time to do it. But I keep remembering the song "You're Gonna Miss This" and I know someday I'll be sad that the only clothes to fold belong to my husband and me, and it will be several days between dishwasher runs because he and I won't use nearly as many dishes by ourselves. I told them all yesterday that my four favorite things (including my wonderful husband) were all sitting at the table with me.

Learning the Lesson

By the time my wonderful husband arrived home Monday evening, I was feeling much calmer about life. As I sat there and ate my dinner of rice with BBQ sauce (yeah, still doesn't compare to that steak dinner!) I gave him a run down of how the evening had gone at home. He was rather sheepish and very apologetic. He said that he realized after hearing about my day from my perspective that there really were some additional things he could have done to help out. I know it's a learning lesson, and we both calmly discussed how things could have gone differently. The thing I love most about my marriage and my husband is how well we communicate, and I'm grateful we have that in common.

Pushed to the brink

I'm going to warn you now...this post is full of whining and complaining. Please feel free to stop reading. I will not be offended, and I might even be relieved!

I will further preface this post by stating that many things that I'm going to write happen to working moms everyday. However, this is all new to me so please allow me to indulge in a little, well, self-pity.

On Saturday, I noticed that HT was really sniffling. Yesterday, he awoke with a really bad cough. I mean, one of those, coughing-up-a-lung-body-wracking kind of coughs. We pretty much knew by the middle of the afternoon that he wasn't going to be going to school today. I was scheduled to sub, and had been for weeks, so my wonderful husband agreed to stay home with the little guy. He even agreed to take the night shift of sleeping downstairs with him since I was the one going to work today. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to my wonderful husband for doing this. This morning he informed me that he didn't sleep much last night. I completely understood (having been the one who handled these situations up to now) and thanked him again for being willing to do this. Before I left, I gave my wonderful husband the phone number of the school so he could report HT's absence, reminded JC to turn out the lights in her bedroom, and handled about a million other little things so no one else had to think about them. Between Kindergarten classes, I called to see how the little guy was feeling. I had awakened my husband. I felt badly, I truly did, but him being annoyed with me didn't really help. When I got to the afternoon class, the school informed me, jokingly, that my husband had forgotten to call about HT and they'd had to call him. I'll be honest, this irked me a little bit, but again, I was so grateful for him being willing to take a sick day, that I promised the office staff that I wouldn't get to sore at him. It was tough to fulfill that promise, however, when he mentioned that he had just been too tired to remember to take care of it. Okay, uhm, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. Or maybe only if you're mom is that in the job description.

My husband and I both agreed that due to my work schedule the rest of the week, and the fact that we weren't sure if HT was going back to school tomorrow (and the lack of medications in the cabinet) that I would go right after work to do my weekly grocery shopping. Normally I would prefer to go later, but since HT wasn't going to be able to play in his soccer game this evening, my wonderful husband really wanted to attend this meeting that had been scheduled because they were serving steak dinner tonight (I'll try not to sound bitter as I have yet to eat). Both boys were home with my wonderful husband, and I took JC because I had seen a winter coat on sale that I thought she might like and wanted her to try on. I got home about 20 minutes before my husband had to leave. Of course, he needed to change clothes for his meeting, so he wasn't really able to help with the eight bags of groceries I had brought home. And no, it hadn't occurred to him to get something ready for the kids to eat either. JC and JR both decide that they want ravioli. I get that heated in the microwave, and pack their school lunches for tomorrow while they are eating. HT decides that he wants an english muffin with honey. I get him that, and suddenly notice that JC is not at the table and had not been excused. It turns out that she had waited too long to use the restroom, and had peed over everything. Since she is nine years old, I was NOT pleased. I understand that accidents happen, but when you are home, all bathrooms are available, and you are NINE, this particular accident should not have happened. As I'm in her room, I notice that several things I had asked her to put away no fewer than two times already were still not in their place, the lights I had specifically requested she turn off had been left on all day, the bed wasn't made, and I'll be honest, it pretty much unraveled from there. Then I come downstairs and everything I touch in the kitchen, cabinets, handles, EVERYTHING, is sticky. Suddenly, I remembered that HT had asked if he could have something else to eat, and it occurs to me that he'd had honey on his muffin. So, out the come the scrubbing rags. Of course, during all of this JC is upstairs tantruming, and HT is refusing to take the cough medicine that I hope will allow him to sleep through the night.

I decided that the best place for JC, for her own safety, was her bed (as an aside, we allowed her to stay up an extra 1/2 hour to watch the first inning of the Reds game last night, and her teacher hunted me down at school and mentioned that there had been some incidents involving her behavior). When I put HT down (also prior to his normal bedtime) she was sound asleep, which shows me that, yet again, bad things happen when she's overly tired.

If anyone is still reading, please know that I feel totally, totally better after writing all of this down. I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off my chest, and I will no longer feel the need to explode at my husband when he walks in the door from his steak dinner meeting (hopefully I'll have eaten my bean soup by then). I really am grateful that not only does my husband have a job where it's okay to stay home with the sick kids, but he is willing to take that day as well. I'm grateful that I had the money to purchase the eight bags of groceries that I needed to put away, and more than anything, I'm grateful for my family, even when they push me to the brink of insanity!

Another week gone by

Hard to believe the first week of October is already in the books. Wow! Where is time going? It was another busy week, but this weekend we are headed to the lake. My husband decided to get a sub at Sunday School, and we are actually going to stay over Saturday night. I often find that staying over just one night is a lot of work, but it means I'll get to sleep in on Sunday so I can get excited about that! We have no soccer games this weekend, and the Steelers aren't playing so we can just relax and enjoy the weekend. Dad will be up there tomorrow, and apparently Mom & my sister will be joining us tomorrow afternoon to watch the Notre Dame game.

Our Reds played their first game Wednesday evening. Didn't quite go according to plan, but it was neat to see Roy Halladay pitch a no-hitter. It's only one game, and that's why it's called a series. Unfortunately, none of us will be home this evening to watch the game, but we'll be cheering for our Reds anyway!

I survived art class

I've never enjoyed art class. Not one thing about it. My grandmother is a very talented artist and even my other grandmother is just about the most creative person I've ever met. She'll say that she's not talented, and that may be but she just amazes me with her creativity. Me, yeah, uhm, not so much. I'll be happy to share my penchant for obscure sports facts or my love of identifying cars by their headlights, but nothing in the creativity department. In school, art was always my least favorite subject, and I took only the basic minimum that was required. Today I got a desperate call from one of the schools where I work. School had literally just begun, and a teacher had come to the office requesting a sub so she could go home sick. I was happy to rush in. Oh yeah, and by the way it was art class. Yikes! It was definitely an interesting experience. We accomplished everything the teacher asked for, and the kids all seem to have a good time so I classify the day a success. And I even survived the lunch room duty that was also required of my day. I'm starting to feel like a veteran!

Switching sports

It seems that HT, as with the others, is really not into soccer. This is not terribly surprising to me, although it is somewhat disappointing. We had thought that maybe the lack of enthusiasm was due to the 9AM game times, but even the 10:15 game times aren't exactly bringing out the zest for soccer. I asked HT if he thought he would be playing soccer next year, and he announced that he would prefer to try badminton. I got quite a chuckle out of this...how on earth we'll find a rec badminton league for seven-year-olds is beyond me!

Weekly tidbits

Whew! We survived the week! It was a pretty daunting one, and I apologize for any repetitions in this post from earlier ones. It was just a really long week!

Monday - I worked again. I'm really enjoying subbing and am so grateful for the opportunity to earn some extra money. I'm not working quite as much as I would like, but I'm sure as flu season begins that will change. There was a cub scout pack meeting in the evening, and HT got to attend for the first time as a cub scout. He's officially signed up and very excited!

Tuesday - HT is now cast free! He is required to be in a brace for a week, but the good news is that he's using his thumb frequently. We had some concerns that he would be "lazy" with it, but it all seems to be going well. That evening JC attended her first girl scout meeting. It is a fairly laid back group, and I'm grateful for that. Girl scouts is very different than the cub scouts...some good, some I don't like as much. But I think it will be good for JC and that is the important thing. JR also had his first karate lesson Tuesday evening. I think this is going to be really great for him. He is excited about learning everything there is to learn about karate!

Wednesday - This was supposed to be our "easy" day, but it turned into feeling like total chaos. I was babysitting Sarah, the daughter of some friends. She has started preschool, so I still had the morning to myself, and she took a nap in the afternoon. She was not the part of our day that was chaotic. After school, all four kids (including Sarah) were out playing in our back yard. I was sitting on our front porch, and they came running up to me announcing that there was a dead animal in our back yard. Yuck, yuck, and yuck! Almost right away JR's nose began to bleed and as I was tending to that I hear JC announce that she couldn't take the buzzing anymore and turn around to find her standing there with a dead fly on the bottom of her shoe. While this actually made me happy, her little brother was very squeamish about the whole thing (this is the same little brother who was happy, however, to help dispose of the dead animal later). It was a lot to absorb in a five minute period of time! Fortunately, my husband said the dead animal really only appeared to be a squirrel's tail, or something similar, and he's already scoured the back yard to be certain that there are no additional body parts scattered around!

Thursday - This was a fairly normal day. JR had a meeting after school so that he can be on the safety patrol again this year. He really loves doing it, and I've got to say (again) that he is one of the most responsible 11-year-olds I've ever known. I'm so proud of him! We all got our flu shots yesterday, and I was so proud of HT. He never screamed, cried, or even teared up! This is a first for him and needles! JR and I both agreed this was the worst shot we've ever had. I'm pretty sure it was due to a nurse who wasn't very good at giving shots. JR and I both took some Tylenol yesterday, and we both agreed that it's still a little sore today, although much, much better than yesterday.

And that brings us to today. We have lots of fun plans for the weekend and it sounds as though the weather is going to be beautiful. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

NL Central Champs!

The Reds did it! Last night, they clinched the NL Central title in very dramatic fashion. Very suitable though, as it seems the Reds have done everything, win and lose, in dramatic fashion this season. The game was tied going into the bottom of the ninth. Jay Bruce hammered the first pitch he saw out of the park to not only win the game, but to officially send the Reds to the post season for the first time since 1995. Very, very exciting!

I am truly a lifelong Reds fan. While I am too young to actually remember watching the Big Red machine, my family jokes that my first words weren't mama or dada but were Pete Rose and Johnny Bench. I do remember being sad that Johnny Bench was retiring and that at the game where he was honored they gave him a new car. I remember rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies in the early 80's because they had Pete Rose. I remember those really, really bad years of the early 80's where Mario Soto pitching was pretty much the only bright spot. I remember Pete Rose returning to the Reds in the mid-80's and breaking Ty Cobb's record at old Riverfront Stadium. I remember so many years where the Reds were in second place at the end of the season and at the beginning of 1989 Marge Schott (owner) stated that she was tired of being a "bridesmaid". I remember thinking "Careful what you wish for" and sure enough, that was the year that the Pete Rose scandal broke and the Reds finished in fifth place.

But then along came 1990. For the first time in major league history, a team won on Opening Day, thusly beginning the season in first place, and maintained first place throughout the entire season. It was such a magical season, going wire-to-wire, and after beating the Pirates for the NL title, they had an improbable sweep of the Oakland A's to win the Series. I remember being at my high school gym decorating for Homecoming and listening to the game as the Reds finished off the Pirates, and rushing home to be with my sister, because I knew it was no fun for her to celebrate alone. I remember watching game four of the World Series, and I can still see in my mind Todd Benzinger making the final catch of the game and jumping into the air. The Reds again won the Central in 1995, but because I was 21 and in college that year, I really don't remember much about it...too busy having fun to follow along. I do remember that the Reds lost to the Braves, although I didn't remember it being in the NLCS (I thought they had lost in the first round). I do remember following devotedly along in 1999. They were a team that wasn't supposed to go anywhere. But they came together as a team with great chemistry, and heading into the final weekend were all prepared to clinch the wild card spot in Milwaukee. Never happened though, and it forced a one game play off for the spot with the Mets. The game was played in Cincinnati, and I was fortunate enough to be able to go. The atmosphere was amazing, but the game itself not-so-much. Al Leiter pitched brilliantly for the Mets, and the Reds' season came to an end.

This century has not been kind to my beloved Reds. Many years, early on with Ken Griffey, Jr., they would jump out to a lead in April and May, and maybe even into June. But then Junior would wind up injured and other things began to fall apart, and by the end of the season they wouldn't even have a winning record. The last couple of years they couldn't even manage to accomplish the strong start and I would usually declare them "done" by the end of July or early August. Last year though, they had the best September of anyone in the game, and we were cautiously optimistic for what that might mean for this year.

And now that we know that last September was indeed an omen of the fun to come this year. It has yet to be determined who the first round opponent will be or when or where the games will begin, but the Reds will continue playing into next week, and that was the most exciting thing about Jay Bruce's dramatic home run last night.

It's getting rougher

Our mornings are definitely getting rougher around here. No longer is the school day exciting, or any of the activities that may happen at the end of the day. We are in our routine, and everyone is tired. The fact that the weather has changed didn't help this morning at all. It was a very cool day yesterday, and rained all afternoon and into the evening. It's still cloudy and rainy this morning...a perfect day to remain under the covers!

Getting it done

Somehow, someway, we seem to be accomplishing in this house everything that needs to be accomplished. It's been tricky sometimes, and has required the help of additional adults, but we seem to have all of the kids where they need to be and, for the most party, when they need to be there. My husband's schedule this time of year is particularly challenging, even though he is no longer coaching football. He's still gone many Fridays helping out at the games, and at least one night a week he is scheduled to work at the concession stand for a soccer game. Add to that his Lions Club, Parish Council, and union meetings and there are days when we barely see him. JC will be officially joining scouts this week, and JR is going to begin karate. And then there is the homework. I'm truly amazed by how much homework is assigned at the elementary level, especially in the 3rd grade. I remembered how tough it was when JR went through, and things haven't changed much for JC. But we are trying very hard to work through it all as a team, and in that respect I'm very proud of the kids for pitching in. Eventually it does all get done!

Weather change!

It's been pretty warm around here again. In fact, on Thursday, we tied a record high for the day at 93. Yuck and yuck! I was grateful that I didn't have to work at the end of the week in our schools without air conditioning and could stay at home and be comfortable. Fortunately, a cold front moved through last evening. We are having absolutely beautiful weather here, and this time I'm truly optimistic we are finished with weather in the 90's. In fact, this week we will struggle on some days to get to 70. I'm even looking forward to those yucky, rainy fall days. We are officially in a drought and besides that, the thought of a warm fire in the fireplace is just spectacular!

Overwhelming

We are all feeling a little overwhelmed and exhausted here. I'm not even sure I completely understand why. I don't feel that my children are overscheduled, yet we all seem to be edgy and a little tense. I'm beginning to remember why last year I so didn't like the month of September.

We did have a rather busy weekend. Friday evening my wonderful husband took JR and several friends for a "guys night" of miniature golf and ice cream. From the sounds of it they all had a wonderful time. Saturday morning, bright and early at 9, HT had a soccer game. My little guy is so not a morning person. Either that, or he really, really isn't into soccer. That afternoon, the kids stayed with my grandmother while we spent a couple of hours at my cousins' house. Some relatives were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. It was great getting to see so many people! That evening my in-laws arrived and we had a nice dinner with them. Sunday morning was Sunday School and church, then we spent the day at my parents house with more extended family. I could tell by that evening that everyone was just worn out. We got everyone into bed at their normal bedtime, but had to be up early Monday so that I could go to work. My in-laws generously volunteered to take the kids to breakfast, and that was enjoyed by all! The past two days have really been nothing but our normal school and soccer routine, but I knew it was a bad sign when JR fell asleep before 7:00 last night. I'm grateful that he did though. Today, we have absolutely nothing on our calendar. Here's hoping we can all get some much needed sleep!

Lots of germs

In spite of the fact that I have done my fall cleaning in both the living room and dining room, it seems as though there are some germs floating around here. My ailments are mostly allergy and sinus related, although I think I've gone and developed a head cold. Fortunately it's staying in my head and not settling down in my chest. HT on the other hand, has a horrible cough. I still think it's somewhat sinus related, but I'm only giving it a few more days before I take him to the doctor. No sense in him being miserable. And poor JC has been vomiting since 1am this morning. It's been several hours so I'm hoping that maybe she is past the worst of it. She seems to be sleeping soundly now, and for that I'm grateful. I'm hoping so much that we can keep anyone else from getting it. My in-laws arrive tomorrow and I would hate for any of the kids to be sick while they are here. Hopefully we will all have a healthy weekend!

Not the best of days

I'll be honest. Today was a rough day. Actually, for the 6-1/2 hours that the kids were gone, it was fine. Then they came home and things got ugly. They wanted no part of that nasty word: responsibility. I know they are still adjusting to routine, and I don't mind gentle reminding, but when I have to remind them that I've already reminded them once, I get a little less pleasant. My personal "favorite" moment was when I asked JC to get me some hangers from her closet and she rolled her eyes at me. Seriously?!!!! She is eight years old! AGH!!!!! On the upside, tomorrow is another day!

Weekend recap

We had a really nice weekend, but I had forgotten how short the weekends are during the school year. After HT's soccer on Saturday, we pretty much sat around and watched college football. SOOOOOO disappointed that our Irish couldn't hang on to a victory over Michigan. It was so close, but just didn't happen! OSU prevailed over Miami though, and our Reds took two out of three from the Pirates (I could write a diatribe about the series, but maybe that's another post). The Steelers had an overtime victory yesterday, and the Bengals lost. As a Steelers fan, it is always fun to watch the Bengals disintegrate before our very eyes, and by adding T.O. to the mix, well, it might be as much fun as prime time television dramas (sorry to all (any?) of the Bengals fans reading this)!

JR also got to go to his first ever group sleepover. If I could hand pick kids for him to hang out with, it would pretty much be the ones who were at this sleepover. Such a nice group of boys! It sounds like he had a really great time, although sleeping wasn't really on the agenda. I have to say, I'm really proud of how well he managed to hold himself together throughout the day. It wasn't until about 6:30 last evening that he really hit a wall and just kind of became an emotional, crumbling mess. We put all three to bed at 7:30, and since they were all asleep by 8:00, I think it showed we made the right decision.

Our church's Sunday School program began again yesterday. Church is often a struggle for me, because I was not raised in the same faith as my husband and often find myself disagreeing with some of the teachings of the church we attend. But one of the things that I really do enjoy about the church is that it's a small church, and I love the sense of community that really comes across in the church. I really enjoyed getting to visit with so many other families. My wonderful husband is a Sunday School teacher, and I know that he while he's not always crazy about getting up and going each Sunday, he's also happy to do his part.

This evening we will be signing JC up for girl scouts. She's very excited and has been counting down the days for weeks!

Seasons

I really can't believe how quickly it is turning into fall around here. As miserable as the weather was during August, and I mean really miserable, it is just as beautiful here now. We could use some rain, but it's hard to complain when we are having such gorgeous weather. The humidity has been low and the evenings and nights have been very cool. Things are turning so brown here because it's been so dry, and it just really, really looks like fall. It's very peaceful!

Soccer success

Today was the beginning of soccer season for HT. He is the only one of our three playing this year. It was a successful beginning to the season! His black cast even matches his uniform. After his game we joined some friends for lunch, then went to watch their older son play his game this afternoon. Right now we are getting ready to settle in for the ND/Michigan game, played at the same time as the Miami/Ohio State game. Thank goodness for remote controls!

Enjoying a day off

Having worked the last two days makes me appreciate my quiet days at home all the more! I loved the Kindergartners, but they are such a high energy group! I'm so glad that I enjoyed subbing though. Both my husband and I were concerned that I was counting on this to be a part-time job while the kids are in school but that I would end up hating it. Not at all! I loved it, and like I said, it makes me even more grateful for the quiet days.

It's really looking and feeling like fall around here. We had such a hot and dry August. One of the driest on record in fact, so everything is turning brown and dying already. I don't think we are going to have a very colorful fall at all. The temps have been wonderful this week. Once we got past Tuesday, and what is hopefully the last day of 90's, we've been in the low 70's all week and down into the upper 40's at night. It's really enjoyable!

I survived day one

Yep, I made it through my first day of subbing. To be honest, I'm exhausted. I got to sub as a Kindergarten teacher, which leaves absolutely no time for being bored (or for sitting, as my aching feet can attest). I think the hardest part of being a sub for Kindergarten is that we are only in the second week of school, so they really have no clue what they are doing either. They are so cute though, and make it hard to ever get angry. I'm ready to go back again tomorrow, but first I'm ready for a nap!

Going to work

Tomorrow is my official return back into the working world. I'm so excited, and definitely a little nervous as well. It also required some logistical planning, because I actually need to be at a different elementary school than the one my kids attend. Normally I would not agree to work over there, but I was specifically requested by the Kindergarten teacher who works there in the morning and at our school in the afternoon. She also happens to be a friend, and I'm grateful for her requesting me so I have another friend who is willing to help me out for the next two mornings. Hard to believe after nearly five years, I'm going to be earning a paycheck!

Great ending to Summer!

This weekend was really a great ending to the summer. Saturday was a beautifully cool day...we actually needed jackets and long pants! I felt sooooo lousy thanks to allergies and sinuses, but there was college football on ALL day which made the day tolerable. The kids were content to hang out and do their own thing all day long, and of course a big fuss was made by many over HT's new cast. Sunday was an even more perfect day. The temps were in the low 70's, low humidity, and bright and sunny. Days just don't get any better than that. We spent the entire day at the lake with my dad. I can't imagine any day that could have been more perfect. There were lots of bike rides, golf cart rides, yummy foods to eat, and for JR, two solid hours of fishing. For dinner we built a bonfire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. The kids eventually went inside and watched a movie, but my husband, dad and I stayed outside well into the evening. I think I saw more stars in the sky that night than I may have ever seen in my life. I know I'll never forget that. It was after 10 before we left, and nearly Midnight before we were home. The kids slept on the way home, but there were still lots of grumps yesterday. We managed to accomplish many errands and chores yesterday and everyone got a good night sleep last night. I really think this past weekend is going to go down as one of my most favorite ever!

All casted up

HT had an appointment with the "bone doctor" (as HT calls him) this morning. There was no debate whatsoever, the thumb was being put in a cast. Only for three weeks, but a cast none the less. HT chose black in honor of the Steelers and is walking around proudly to show it off. I'm happy that he can still play soccer and actually is safer running around now than he was before, and on the upside (in my opinion only) is the fact that because his thumb is now completely immobilized, he can no longer play video games!

It's really too soon

The kids are off school today. They were off yesterday. And of course, they will be off Monday. So yes, their school calendar had them going for three "long" days before they were rewarded with a five day weekend. Way, way, way too soon to be experiencing this much togetherness again. There aren't words to describe how "too soon" it is. I'm pretty sure my blood pressure is up. It would be nice to have them home if they actually behaved like responsible human beings. Instead, they are behaving like wild monkeys at the zoo, and I have reached my limit for zoo animals today. The kicker is that JC is actually behaving the best, but that might be because she is spending the day with her aunt and isn't actually in the house (she is actually at the zoo, by the way, so who knows what behavior she will imitate upon her arrival at home). I have no idea who devised this school calendar, but I would bet a large sum of money that it wasn't a stay-at-home mom!

Or, maybe it is...

We just received a call from the urgent care. In spite of the doctor assuring us HT's thumb was not broken, upon review by the radiologist, there is a hairline fracture. AGH!!!! I feel awful that we haven't been more careful with his thumb, but my mother assures me that we did the best we could with the information we had. I know it isn't like he's been writhing in pain, but I still feel badly. I'm working on locating a pediatric orthopedist now!

It's not broken

In the midst of all of the back-to-school excitement, I neglected to post about HT and his weekend experience. We were at the lake enjoying our time with my dad on Saturday, and my mom even came up to join us as well. This was a rare treat and we were all very excited! Although the older two were planted in front of the TV, HT was out enjoying the scooter that is kept up there for the kids. Mom had just arrived, my wonderful husband was out front grilling, and Dad and I were enjoying the sunroom. All of a sudden, I heard my husband yell for me in a panic, and my Dad said, "Uh oh, something happened to HT." As a mom I went running with my heart in my throat. They are allowed to ride on the street up there because it is rarely traveled and even though he's always careful and wears a helmet, I still pictured the worst in my mind. Fortunately, although he'd taken quite a spill, it only involved himself and the ground. He held his hand gingerly for quite some time, and we put lots of ice on it throughout the evening. The tough thing is that, at his age, it's very difficult to determine what is real and is "drama". Sunday morning though, he was still in a lot of pain and there was still lots of swelling. To urgent care he went! He was very excited about getting to have an x-ray taken and being able to see the bones in his hand...which very fortunately were not broken! He just has a sprained thumb, and already today feels much better. Of course, he got to have it wrapped for the first day of school, and I'm sure he loved showing it off!

Successful beginning

It appears as though school is off to a successful beginning for our crew. In fact, HT announced when he got home yesterday, "Mom, my first day was awesome!" I'm very happy that he was so excited about his first day. JR has a big transition this year...his classes are being run more like middle school where everyone has their own schedule. He only has three teachers for all of his subjects and they are all located close together. He's really excited about the teachers he has. And JC loved the mid-morning snack that her teacher provided.

As suspected, HT is having trouble adjusting to his early mornings. The other two do fairly well, but he's all about trying to continue sleeping!

First day of School!

It's here...the first day of school. I've been so excited for the kids to be back in a routine, and of course for me to have some quiet time. I've got to tell you though, it feels so quiet. Six entire hours of just me. I miss the kids, and I especially miss the happy-go-lucky little one. My trips to the grocery are definitely faster and quieter by myself, but that doesn't necessarily make them better. My husband and I have realized it's official...we no longer have "little" children. I'm happy to see them grow and mature and develop and learn, but I miss the days of my kids being little.

Saturday morning tidbits

We are headed up to the lake shortly to spend the day with my father. We've been having absolutely gorgeous weather lately, and I'm really looking forward to getting to spend the day up there. Of course, the heat is supposed to be in the 90's on Monday, just in time for the kids to return to their schools without air conditioning.

I'm officially employed! My contract arrived from the kids' school district this morning for me to be a substitute teacher in their school. I'm really excited about the opportunity to earn some extra money, and at the same time to totally be on the same schedule as the kids. I'm nervous about some of the changes that will take place in our lives because I'm not home all day, but I'm also grateful for the opportunity not to have to be home all day missing the kids.

Last night high school football kicked off and the weather could not have been more perfect. In fact, it was actually chilly by the end of the game. Our school district continued their winning ways, but the game we were at was my husband's school district where they are just not good. Going to be a long season for them I think.

Haven't mentioned it lately, but my Reds are in first place, four games in front of the Cardinals. Loving it!

HT and his toys

A toy catalog arrived yesterday in the mail. HT was on it right away as he is by far the most excited about such things. JR is entering the phase where "toys" aren't the first choice...more like "electronics". JC is still into toys and playing, but HT is still a little kid. He was pointing out all of the things he wants for his seventh birthday, which is still many months away. I finally said that I thought that was too many requests for just his seventh birthday and he informed me some of them could be for his seventh and a half birthday. I said we don't really celebrate that and his response was, "I think we should." Not going to happen but I've got to give him credit for trying!

There was definitely one thing he didn't want included among his presents though. It's some kind of dinosaur thing and he pointed to it and announced, "I don't want this. This disturbs me!" Ah, he makes me laugh!

The End of Summer

Today is the last day of summer vacation. Of course the kids don't start school until Monday, but at this point Saturday and Sunday are just a regular weekend. I've had such an emotional reaction to this week. I've been SO ready for the kids to start so they can get out of the house. At the same time, I LOVE having them home with me in a relaxed environment where they can make drawings and play games. Sometimes I wish I had the patience or endurance to home school them so I could always have them with me, but I am very aware that is something that would never work for our personalities. My kids love going to school and for that I'm grateful. I'm a little melancholy that my youngest starts first grade. I know he's more than ready, but in so many ways it makes him all grown up, and I'm not ready for that! I've even had a tough time adjusting to my husband being at work this week. I really miss him. I'm so grateful for these mixed feelings though...while I'm excited about moving on, I'm so glad that I'm happy enough with my life as it is that I'm a little sad to see it change!

It's Gonna Be a Long One

It took all summer, but boredom has officially set in for the kids. We are kind of having a rough week of it, with Dad back at school but the rest of us still in summer mode. I personally feel no motivation for accomplishing anything, and that certainly isn't helping our cause. And combine it with the fact that my wonderful husband is not only gone all day, but almost every evening as well and you can imagine that we just kind of feel like we are in a funk. This evening I am taking the kids to watch a cousin play soccer. Because of travel, this will kill a good two hours! Tomorrow is lunch with my mother and grandmothers, and then I think we will travel to Dad's school and have dinner with him between the end of his school day and the beginning of his open house. Thursday is lunch with my sister, and Friday we'll be driving back to Dad's school to meet up with friends for the opening of the high school football season. At least we are getting out and about! The kids are so excited about school starting next week, and right now it just feels as though it is forever away!

A Week to Go!

Just a week until the school year begins for the kids. No sleeping in this week as we are "in training", but still mostly carefree days. My wonderful husband is officially back at it today...I miss having him home during the day, but enjoying the beautiful weather that we are having. JR has a dentist appointment today, and we are accomplishing other small things during the week. I can't believe all my "babies" will be in school all day every day, but looking forward to the freedom that will provide as well. Life is very blessed!

Family Fun Day

Today our family is spending the day together, doing fun things, to mark the end of our summer. At least, we will be, as soon as I am finished with the three loads of laundry calling my name. We will be taking the kids to a movie and to someplace fun for dinner...someplace where they serve ice cream. The kids are all still off next week, but my husband is officially back at it on Monday, and our evenings are full with open houses, etc. So today is it, and I want to cherish it all day.

Starting the Transition

Two weeks from tomorrow, school begins for the kids. Given the heat here lately, we've all been kind of cooped up indoors and I think school will be good for us, and I think everyone is ready to get back at it...even myself. The one thing that really makes me sad is that it's back to the clock watching...kids have to be in bed by a certain time so baths need to begin by such and such and I need to have dinner on the table by this time in order to make it all "flow". I love the fact that in the summer, we just eat whenever we get around to it, and if it gets late they can always take a bath in the morning. I suppose this would get old after a while though, if we didn't have the school year to make us better appreciate the freedom of summers! Anyway, because the little one is definitely not a morning person, we are beginning our transition to school mornings tomorrow. We'll have two days of making sure everyone is up by 8:30, then the rest of the week by 8, and then next week it will be a normal 7:30 wake up. UGH! I haven't missed that either! Because I'll be subbing in the schools, there is a chance on some mornings the kids will have to be up even earlier than that, so it's really important that they are in bed the night before at the correct school bedtime...and losing our fun loving, stress free, hanging out summer evenings, is what I'm going to miss the most.

I surrender!

It's hot. It's unbearably hot. I do not like heat. I don't like it at all. One or two days, that I can get through. This, though, this is ridiculous! Right now the heat index is 97 degrees. I guess I should be grateful we didn't hit 100, at least that I am aware of. This is about the fourth day in a row it's been absolutely miserable. And tomorrow you ask? Yep, more of the same. UGH!

Last Hurrah

We are kind of having our "last hurrah" this week. After HT's soccer practice last evening, we made the 90 minute trek to my dad's cottage. It's so peaceful up here, and we, as always, are having a wonderful time. Sadly, it's really almost too hot to enjoy the outdoor activities, but there are still plenty of other fun things to do. We just can't believe how quickly the summer has gone by, but we are so grateful for the wonderful memories!

Sweet Corn

One of the really awesome things about living in our rural community is the abundance of the roadside sweet corn stands. I have great memories of my childhood, where my mother would buy corn on the cob at the local farm market and we'd sit on the side porch getting the corn ready for the boiling water. Now, I don't have a local farm market, but there are plenty of farmers who just set up on the side of the road. My husband had picked up some the other evening and commented that the sign said it was the last week. Yesterday, I just kept remembering how sweet and juicy that corn had been, and off I went on a mission. I returned to the exact same stand my husband had visited earlier in the week and picked up two dozen ears. I didn't make all of it last night, knowing that it would cover a few lunches that way as well. It was just as sweet and juicy as it had been earlier, and I loved watching the kids devour it with the same enthusiasm I had at their age! It's always nice to make a dinner they actually like to eat!

Free Friday

We are having kind of a "free" day around here. My wonderful husband is working on the garage organization project, but other than that we are just kind of hanging out. We had friends over yesterday which required us to clean the house, and since that was accomplished I'm just enjoying the fact that it's Friday...and trying not to think about the fact that school begins again in a little over three weeks!

Hotter than, well, you know

Yes folks, it is sizzling here! I have come to truly understand the meaning of oppressive heat. Today I checked weather.com at noon, and it was 93 degrees, with a heat index of 112. That is completely insane! The dew point was 80, which I'm not sure I've ever been aware of before. We had a shower around 2 this afternoon that cooled things down to a heat index in the low 90's, but by this evening the regular temps were reaching that point again. As I write this after 7:30 PM, the heat index is currently 102. Thank goodness for a/c!

Home sweet home

We are all very happy to be home! We had a wonderful trip last week to Gettysburg with the in-laws, and then stayed through the weekend until yesterday. I'm not a person who enjoys traveling, so July was rough on me. Now it's August though, and we are looking towards a new school year. What? It can't be happening already!

Gettysburg

We had a wonderful trip to Gettysburg. Fortunately, almost everything we did was indoors as it was in the upper 90's. The kids took part in a junior ranger program on joining the army, and we went through the museum, saw the film, and of course visited the gift shop. We decided to do the audio car tour through the battlefield. I enjoyed hearing the commentary, but we really didn't get to see much because by that point we were all tired and hungry and didn't really want to get out of the car. I also really enjoyed the cemetery...what an unbelievably moving experience. I was really proud of the kids who seemed to grasp the meaning of everything we were experiencing. It probably helps that they have a dad who is a high school history teacher! This morning we decided to tour the Eisenhower National Park, also located in Gettysburg. I personally enjoyed that much more than the battle portion of our trip, but that's kind of my personality. Three more days visiting the in-laws and then we should be home for the summer. I'm really looking forward to my own bed soon!

Pack, unpack, repack, unpack, laundry. Repeat.

This is pretty much where we are at with things right now. I spent Wednesday doing nothing but laundry and packing. We drove to PA Thursday, dropped the kids off at my in-laws, and turned around and drove back to Zanesville, OH to meet up with friends for dinner. We stayed in a motel there, then got up Friday morning and drove to Dresden, OH to tour Longaberger basket country. Loved, loved, loved it! Even my wonderful husband enjoyed it. Our friends had been there before and it was nice to have them along to help us find our way. After spending the entire day there, we drove, along with our friends, to Columbus for the next two nights. This morning we had brunch together, and then took the scenic route home. I'm in the midst of laundry again, as tomorrow we drive back to PA. Tuesday morning we'll be getting up to drive to Maryland, then we'll spend Wednesday at Gettysburg before returning back to my in-laws on Thursday. Next weekend is a surprise party for my father-in-law (needless to say he isn't a blog reader!) and then we'll return home on Sunday. I'm sure I'll be plenty tired of living out of my suitcase by then, but we are very blessed to be able to make all of these memories!

Scout Camp

JR returned this morning from three days at scout camp. He absolutely loved it! Just as I suspected, he came home very tired. He told me that he got to do lots of swimming, some bb shooting, and made a key chain. These are just a few of the things he's had a chance to mention to me. On the downside, he was also stung by a wasp the first day he was there. By yesterday, the swelling had become pretty bad so they took him to the nearest town and he saw a doctor. He's on an eight day steroid to help with the inflammation. He tells me that it looks much better today, and my thought was, "Yikes!" I think it still looks pretty swollen so I can only imagine what it looked like at its worst. He got along really well with his tent mate and overall it was just a great experience for him.

While he was gone, we enjoyed our family reunion on Sunday, and then headed to my dad's place at the lake for just one night. There are some chores we need to accomplish up there and we just haven't been around much to get them done. We are about to hit the road for a week and a half, so today is all about laundry and packing!

And yet more family

Today we are off to yet another family reunion...this isn't even our last one of the summer! I love that the majority of my family lives within 50 miles, and I love even more that various relatives are willing to host large gatherings and we get together roughly once a year. Usually there is one group or another that takes a "skip" year, but this year every group has a reunion scheduled, and most of the hosts have pools! We are enjoying visiting with so many relatives, my kids love getting so much attention, and we are all enjoying so much pool time!

More fun with family

Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day spent with my family. We were joined at my aunt & uncle's place by my grandmother as well as two cousins, and between them four of their children, including the newest at just five weeks old! The kids got to go out on the pond in the paddle boat, and each took turns swimming. I think the highlight though for JR, was the endless hours of fishing that took place. That boy is perfectly content with a fishing rod! He was able to catch one of the catfish that has been stocked in the pond and everyone was excited about that. I know that my grandmother absolutely loved getting to spend the day with six of her eight great-grandchildren, and spent a great deal of time down at the dock with the fishing and boating crew. I'm just so amazed and grateful for such a wonderfully large extended family!

All Star Game

Tonight I'm continuing a tradition with my kids from my childhood. My sister and I have always been huge, huge fans of the Cincinnati Reds. I remember being a kid and my sister and I would make a big bowl of popcorn and sit in front of the TV eagerly anticipating the evening's festivities. Our favorite part was always the introduction of the all star teams, and it was always time to cheer when the Reds player(s) was/were introduced. I still follow the Reds closely, and my kids have also become fans. Tonight, I'll pop a big bowl of popcorn, and we'll all sit in front of the TV watching the introductions and the beginning of the game. For the first time in quite awhile, there will actually be four Reds players involved in the game! Go National League!

Better day

I'm happy to report that today is a much better day for JC. I'm not completely convinced that she didn't have a little touch of something, as not only did she take a little nap yesterday, she went to bed at 7 and went to sleep. Not very much like her. The boys were up until 9 because we were playing a mean game of Monopoly. Anyway, her behavior has been much better today, and I smile as she likes to keep pointing that out to me. Tomorrow we are headed for another adventure...a two hour drive to my aunt & uncle's 23 acre summer home complete with a pond. Got to remember to take the camera!

The downside

We had a wonderful day at the family reunion yesterday. The pool is the perfect size and even has a slide...fun for all ages! HT even went down the slide for the first time. JR was especially tired after all the fun and slept on the way home. All three got a good night sleep, but apparently it wasn't enough for JC. She has had more than her share of meltdowns today. It breaks my heart to see her rail out of control, and then after she realizes how much she's lost it she just sobs even harder. It's really awful, but I've encouraged her to try to settle herself by reading, and maybe even closing her eyes for a little bit...hoping that helps!

To the Pool

Today continues a tradition that has become one of my favorites since I became a parent. My aunt lives about an hour away, and while I see her often enough, I see my cousins and their children less so. My aunt decided she didn't want the kids growing up and not knowing each other, only seeing each other at Christmas. So we are headed to her house for a pool party today! For the fifth consecutive year, it's been absolutely gorgeous weather (actually, last year it was almost too cold) and the kids are excited about it. I enjoy getting to reconnect with relatives, especially the two 14 year-olds who were born my senior year of college and I got to see them as such young babies...hard to believe they are entering high school! Looking forward to a fun day.

One of my favorites

This year's vacation really was one of my favorites. For one thing, everything we did was something new...I'd never been there before. For another thing, we only did one thing a day which gave us plenty of down time. And lastly, my kids enjoyed it so much, and seeing the looks on their faces was amazing. We loved sharing the week with friends, and I furthermore loved how well the kids got along. And for a moment to brag, I was so proud of how well my kids behaved with all of the chaos around them. I know my kids think that we are tough on them, but seeing how other kids don't behave reminds me that we are doing the right thing.

This week we are getting JR ready for scout camp and hoping to accomplish a few other things along the way. Summer is just flying by so quickly, but we are enjoying it!

Vacation fun

We've had a wonderful trip so far. It's been great to visit with our friends, although driving here made us realize how far away they've moved and it makes us very sad. We are spending lots of time together though, and the kids are doing really well. There has been lots of pool time here at the hotel and yesterday we visited such a cool science museum. It was totally awesome and entertained us all...from the oldest mom to the youngest at age 4. Tomorrow we check out of the hotel and spend the last two days with our friends. We are looking forward to lots more fun times in the next couple of days. Happy Independence Day!

Checking in

Just a quick checking in between road trips. We were at my in-laws for the weekend and loved getting to spend a few days with them. It was really nice to be there, not for any big event or reason, but just to be able to visit with them. Normally we would have just taken our vacation with them, but this year our plans are a little different. We leave tomorrow to join another family in visiting some friends who have just moved away from our town. We are excited about getting to hang out together! Not sure how much I'll be able to post while we are gone, but we'll be off having lots of fun!

Champs!

JR's baseball team brought home the winning medals last night. It was a great game on both sides...we only won by one run. I was so excited for our boys, and I was so impressed with the sportsmanship shown by both teams. We were behind almost the entire game and won it in our last at bat. We truly didn't expect to win either of the last two games so we were pretty amazed at the end. I watched my son interact with all of his teammates as part of the team and I was so grateful that my husband had been willing to coach this year, and had been able to give JR this opportunity to play as part of a team, to truly be a part of a winning, successful team. It was such a different experience than last year where the coach provided no concept of team and players ridiculed the weaker ones. Last night I watched a boy who struck out nearly the entire season, and had done so again last night. Even though it was the last inning and we were still down by two runs, that young man came off to high 5's and nice tries by the next two batters, two of the teams' best. That speaks so highly, I think, of the young men that played on this team, and of their parents who have taught them to be respectful...and as a bonus it also makes them very coachable. I'm just so happy for JR and the whole team!

Science Camp

JR has finished his week of science camp put on for two hours each day by our school district. He had a great time! They dyed tshirts, did magic tricks (I'm sure with a scientific explanation) and did lots of other fun projects. His favorite was today when they made slime...how cool! He's been sharing with his brother and sister and they are all excited to hear how it works. It's been a great program for him!

Another victory!

Against all of our expectations, the boys won again last night! We really didn't expect to beat this team because they had a pitcher that is pretty unhittable. Fortunately, we managed to manufacture some runs, and our starter gave our four solid innings which is what we needed to do before we brought in our guy who shuts 'em down in the late innings. We play for the championship tonight. My mom will be watching the younger two because their behavior has been so awful at the games that it's embarrassing, and ruining it for me...so off they go to Grandma's!

Three exciting hours

Last night JR's team played their first tournament game. They were playing a team in the league that had only won one game. I kept telling my husband that at some point the law of averages was going to catch up and I was concerned that last night was going to be that game. After two innings, we were down 8-2. It was a very exciting last two innings though, and we prevailed 13-9. It took three unbelievably hot hours to complete the game, but it was fun to come out on top. There was even a young man who got his first hit of the entire season! We had planned a team pizza party after the game regardless of the outcome, and it was a very fun celebration. The boys play again this evening, and if that is a win, another tomorrow!

Loving the new blogger!

I really, really love the new designs that are available in blogger. How fun! There are so many more choices, and I don't think I've seen anyone use the same standard template twice (I don't follow that many other blogs). It almost makes me feel as though I have a clue with how to be technologically savvy!

It's really too hot

I have never claimed to enjoy hot weather. I have always, always, always stated my preference for cold weather. Cold weather can be tolerated, just bundle up. Still cold? Add more layers. Hot weather, well, there is only so much that can be done with hot weather. There are only so many layers that can be taken off before it is inappropriate (and/or illegal) to go out in public. I just checked and our heat index is 97 degrees. And what are our plans for the evening? We are going to go and sit out at the ball field and watch JR's tournament game. I can literally think of thousands of things I would rather do instead, and to be honest, visiting a dentist, or even ob/gyn is on that list. Those things have only a short, temporary time frame of being uncomfortable. I understand that this game tonight is also only going to cause temporary discomfort, but seriously...it could be hours long. We are treating the team to pizza afterward. I'm hoping I haven't come unglued on anyone by then...meltdowns (by both children and adults) are abundant today!