What is normal anyway?

Da-da, da-da Dude looks like a lady...

2012-01-29T19:06:00.002-05:00

What do you do when you're the only girl in a sea of boy cousins? When in Rome... You decorate yourself...

...the cat...

...and your mother.

*le sigh*

"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks...One can never have enough socks"

2012-01-21T23:01:00.008-05:00

Anyone besides me know where that quote is from? I'll give you a hint that my kids will know what book it's from.

So here it is in all its glory: Sock Basket. I don't think I've discussed it directly in the blog so I'll give you a brief run down. January 1, 2006, I took a stand. I do all the laundry for the family which is actually a job I enjoy. It's all warm and smells nice. The only thing I can't stand is matching up the socks. Six years ago, I told Aron that from January 1, 2006 and on, it would be his job to match up socks.

You can see how well that's turned out, right? Like the mature adult I am, I refuse to back down and take care of the socks. I just continue to pile them higher and higher into the plastic tub they are stored in on Aron's side of the bed. Periodically, the kids and I go through the basket, take out our socks, match them, and put Aron's back in the basket. I swear to you that man would rather go out and buy new socks than go through that basket.
Luke had to knock one back once he took a look at how many socks were really in the basket. Drinkmas ain't just for Christmas anymore, Jeanne!

There were some general hijinx in association with the matching event (see also The Boy with the empty Christmas paper roll getting ready to whack his sister)...

I believe this pic was after the initial whomp...

After the crying, they decided to pile the socks back in the basket so they could sit in them like our kitty does...until Luke decided to kick Ella in the bum on her way in...

And then Luke said "Hey! Take a picture of my butt!" which was such a proud moment for me and likely foreshadowing what his high school life will be...*sigh*

Then they dumped them out again...

And got down to bizness...

Until this point, poor Luke had never seen so many matched up socks in his life.

After we were done, we threw all of Aron's socks back in the basket and put it back on his side of the bed. Who said that no one ever keeps their New Year's resolutions? I kept this one for 6 whole years, baby.

Be proud, people. Be proud. Viva la Sock Basket!!

Trying New Things

2012-01-15T18:14:00.004-05:00

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. I had all ingredients on hand so today was the day.

Armed with the ingredients and my handy, dandy computer...
Black beans: check

Sugar: check

Eggs: yup

Cocoa: of course

Vanilla: Only the finest Mexican variety

Oil: Cause I didn't realize I ran out of butter (You don't expect me to completely follow a recipe line by line with no variations, do you?)

Attach food processor lid: check

Puree.

The puree of batter.

The doubter

But the most important thing was how it tasted.

My vote is for (drum roll, please):

Not bad. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the texture given that I don't like black beans (really, any beans of any variety other than green beans). Next time I think I'll cook them a little less to retain a little more of their moist texture.

The New Guy In Town

2012-01-15T17:47:00.003-05:00

In case you haven't heard, we've got a new addition to the family! Aron's sister, Annie, and her husband, Kevin, had a little guy on January 2 (yes, yes, I know I'm behind in my blogging. Quit judging me). Want some cute baby pictures? Here you go!

Um, can I escape if I go that way?
Hey lady! Aren't you supposed to use those arm thingys to actually hold me?

Somehow, I got trapped by The Boy...

Holy cow! Have you seen the size of that thing?!

Well, hello, Aunt Annie. Why, yes, yes you are super awesome.

Honestly? Honestly.

2012-01-05T17:31:00.006-05:00

Most people that know me know that I am pretty honest. Sometimes brutally. Sometimes gently. But all times honest.

I was sick a few days earlier this week. I spent most of Sunday on the couch sweating and sleeping (as well as not showering). Aron decided to take the kids to my Mom and Dad's house. He told the kids to give me a hug and say goodbye. Ella gave me a hug (but I didn't feel much oomph in it) and walked on. Luke started to give me a hug, stopped, and told Aron "I don't want to give her a hug. She smells weird."

Me thinks that apple didn't fall too far from this tree.

Camp out!

2012-01-02T17:38:00.003-05:00

You should all know by now that I'm not much of a camper but the rest of the family is. Periodically, I like to let the kids camp out in our living room watching TV as much as they can all night (and they can watch a lot).

Look who's starting early?
In the ready position...

Oh Shrek-yeah!

Dancer-rina

2011-12-27T19:54:00.006-05:00

I don't believe I've posted about this for awhile but Ella's still doing ballet. She continues to love it.

Her dance studio is wonderful. They're very reasonably priced and very laid back. Her instructor is also the owner of the studio. The recital costumes are always very tasteful and at a decent price. She's been with quite a few of the girls for the majority of the time she's been doing it.

Memba this 3 y.o. girl from her very first recital? Love her baby chub!
She's in the purple leotard with the pink flower headband.

I'm not well versed in ballet but I think Ella's doing one of the positions. Something about opening the window and closing the window.

Group skipping in a circle. They seem to do that a lot. This must be important to the team dancing competition.

I told E this was the move where it looks like she's pinching her own bum. She didn't find it as funny as I did. I think that might be a ballet move, too. Who knows. I just pay the tuition, ok?

This might be first position...maybe...

I think this is where she was one of the Lords a Leaping...

This might be an arabesque. It's sad that after almost 6 years of this I still don't know anything about it.

Party Rock Anthem

2011-12-27T18:49:00.005-05:00

I took a day off work last Wednesday to help out with Ella and Luke's class Christmas parties. The kids insisted as part of the day that I join each of them for lunch with Subway in hand (they're not spoiled or anything, right?).

The day was pretty packed and went a little something like this:
7:40 AM I dropped off chocolate milk, cups, and marshmallows to Luke's class so his teacher could make hot chocolate in a crockpot.
7:45 AM-10:15 AM I joined Ella's class for their Christmas breakfast and games.
10:15 -10:45 AM I ran to Subway to get some yummies.
10:45 -11:15 AM Ate 1/2 my lunch with Ella and her buddies.
11:15-11:45 AM Went to my car to make some phone calls.
11:45-12:15 PM Ate the other 1/2 of my lunch with Luke. Realistically, it was only about a 1/4 of my lunch because Luke helped me eat my lunch as well as all of his.
12:15 -12:45 PM Ran back home to see if the roof repair guy had come.
12:45 -2:15 PM Joined Luke's class for his party.
2:30 PM I left the building.

Here I am in my car before the day started. Yes, it was dark when I arrived at the school. That can't be good.

Gettin lunchy in the cafeteria.

Gettin her drinky on during her class party. Merry Drinkmas!

Ella and 2 of her friends.

Luke and I hanging in his classroom.

Would I do this again?? Hmmm....

Round and round she goes...where she stops, no one knows!

2011-12-19T20:22:00.006-05:00

As part of our tour of Mansfield, we stopped at the Richland Carrousel Park.

The non-riders...

The riders sprinting to their rides...(Ella's in purple and Luke's running after her in red)...

Ella's on the left in purple doing an exaggerating acting job like she's trying to catch up to Luke...I don't know where she gets the pretend-drama acting job that she does...yup...don't know where at all... (zip it, Jeanne. I said I don't know where she gets it and that's that.)

Again with the pretending, this time I think they were supposedly acting like they were falling off...

Coney Island is in Ohio?!?!

2011-12-19T15:16:00.004-05:00

They're pretty excited about the prospect of Coney Island being in Ohio....can you tell?

That's right! The Coney Island Diner of sunny Maaaaaaansfield! Aron had been there before but the rest of us had not. It's super cute and in the middle of downtown Mansfield. A fun little side fact is that my Grandma grew up in downtown Mansfield. My Mom's family lived there until she was in early grade school (second grade maybe?? I'm sure she'll correct me if I'm wrong.) Also, sorry Jack and Connie but my roots don't go very far back on this side of my family tree.

A fun little side fact: I did not enjoy coleslaw until I was pregnant with Luke and my hormones made me want it really bad. I also enjoy cream cheese now thanks to Luke.

My cod sammy with tons of pickles (me likey) and some fries.

Aron's meatloaf sandwich with fries.

Notice the complete lack of teeth for one of these individuals.

Ella said he was hogging the shake because he had two straws and she only had one.

Someone else got in on the action, too.

Sigh

2011-12-19T15:04:00.003-05:00

Sometimes this guy right here comes up with some doozys. Like when I took this picture of him drinking a milkshake. He said "This is so hard to suck that it makes my eye do this." See also freaky, turned in eye.

Or when I bought a can of Chef Boyardee and he had some of it over the weekend. He said "Is this Chef Boyardee?" I said "Yup." He blissfully said "He's my favorite chef."

Or like a couple weeks ago when he asked me "So when do I get to see this naughty list?" I said "Why? Do you think there's going to be an issue come Christmas?" He said "I'm pretty sure I'm ok but I'd like to know for sure." I said "Why don't you just pretend like you're on the naughty list and are trying really hard to get on the nice list by being extra well behaved." He paused and said "I'd rather just see the list."

Pics of my finished living rooms for my Mom

2011-12-05T17:17:00.005-05:00

As much as my Mom has recovered, she still has unfortunately not been able to come into my new house. (Timeline: Sometime in late Feb/early March 2011, we decided we wanted to buy our new house. Mom drove by it a few times and Dad came in it once before she went into the hospital.) She's not able to get into my house since her release because there are too many stairs to navigate. She likes to be updated on Aron's progress but I thought I would post some pictures, too. We have plans to build a ramp or something in the spring so keep your calendars open...we might need a little help.

As a side note, the yellow color in the pics is not quite right (sorry, you'll just have to picture a different yellow, Ma)

**Footnote: Aron bought the trio of paintings for me for our anniversary from a woman on Etsy. They are perfect!

She's sugar and spice and he's, well, I think you know what he is at this point...

2011-12-05T15:44:00.004-05:00

Ella was going to bed last night and was trying to force KiKi to sleep with her. KiKi was resistant and decided to be with Luke instead. She looked at me with woeful eyes and said "Seriously?? Why does she want to sleep with him? Mommy, he farts! He burps sometimes, too!"

We were driving in the car the other day and there was discussion about how Grammie had watched the kids for the first time since she got sick. Luke said he had a great time being there with her. He told me "Mommy, Grammie makes me happy in my heart."

Buck-nuts

2011-11-28T17:52:00.006-05:00

We had a family date day yesterday. So we did a little shopping, little hanging out, and a little Buckeye basketball action. For the first half, we didn't have 4 seats together, so we had to sit 2 and 2...
The ladies sat together...
And the gentlemen sat together... Then Luke found a new friend to sit with...(Aaron Craft)...

After the first half, we conned Aaron Craft's Dad into letting us use his seats (super nice guy, btw) so we were able to sit together right behind the bench... (the guy pointing behind Luke is some relative of Aaron's--I'm guessing an uncle because he looked very similar to his Dad, the girl in pink is his sister, and the blond woman beside his sister is his Mom)

Yup, this is how close we were (so fun)...

Cuties...

I have to admit, we don't really follow OSU Women's basketball very much. However, I'm such an OSU nerd that I knew exact who she was without knowing her name. I recongized her face because she looks just like her father (click me to see him). I was pretty little when he played at OSU but I still remember watching him and Troy Taylor hoop it up.

I guess she's an XBox...and I'm more Atari...

2011-11-21T21:04:00.007-05:00

I don't always play the Mommy role well (aka I'm not setting the world on fire with my parenting skills) but on a rare occasion, I manage to get something right. This time, I knocked one out of the park.

This little girl turned 8 over the weekend. To celebrate, I took her to Sweet and Sassy to get her girly on. She got her hair done and ears pierced by a lovely girl named Maggie....

Mid hair do-ing
Consultation with Maggie about her options (options being glitter color and hair spray scents)

Prepping her face for glittery stars on the side of her face

Hair done. On to piercing.

Getting ready for the main event complete with Birthday Girl sash and everything.

Marking her ears.

Double checking and then checking again.

Maggie and her piercing buddy came at her with both guns blazing.

Success!

She did so well with the ear piercing. She's wanted to get it done for a while now but I told her she would have to wait until she was 8. Because she's older, I think piercing her ears means more to her, and she can take care of them herself. Ella's very proud of herself because she didn't cry or even flinch a tiny bit. She just sat down and did what she had to do. Reminded me quite a bit of this event (click on the link for an entertaining back story on my little cutie).

Stumbled across this on Facebook...

2011-11-17T21:27:00.002-05:00

This is the composite of Aron's 1st grade class. Can you pick him out? I'll give you a hint...look for the one that looks like Luke. Picture's a little small so you can click on it to enlarge.

Party Rockers in the House Tonight...

2011-11-17T18:11:00.006-05:00

I just realized I never posted pictures of the awesome pumpkins that Robin (and I guess I did a couple, too) carved for our party.

I did this one...it's meant to be the pumpkin version of The Scream by Munch

What can I say...I tried.
Rob did this one (a spider)

I did this one--it's supposed to be an artistic-looking "boo" Can you see it?

Rob did this trio of ghosts

Rob free handed this haunted house (show off)

I did this one along with one for Ella but I forgot to get a pic of Ella's. Note to self: Carve pumpkins with your nephew's names on them next year to avoid extended rounds of tears from said nephews.

Rob did this one.

One of the candles blew out on the right but otherwise this is what my front steps looked like Halloween night.

As always, click on the pic to enlarge.

Next year, I think I may have to bring some adult beverages to our carving party.

I like to move it, move it

2011-11-14T15:51:00.002-05:00

Caught this kid in the kitchen today, smacking his butt and dancing around in circles singing "I got the moves like jenga, got the moves like jenga, I got the moooooooooves like jenga."

Poor Mick Jagger. I guess you just don't rank with my son like jenga does.

How do I love thee...let me count the ways...

2011-11-09T15:52:00.011-05:00

Aron and I have been together a long time...about 18 or so years total for those of you keeping track. We even just celebrated a wedding anniversary recently. As awesome as I keep telling him that I am, some days I don't think he buys it. I say I'm "quirky/fun." He says........................otherwise. I say he just doesn't recognize my perks since he's been around me too long.

You know, perks like this blog.

Or like the fact that I produce beautiful children.

Or that I remind him to stop working around the house in his $80 a pair Banana Republic jeans (not that I've ever nagged, of course). That's just being helpful.

Only sometimes do I fold the laundry inside out because I'm too lazy to turn it the correct way

And yeah, I hang things on the hangers inside out, too, but not like frequently (frequently as defined as less than 2/3 but more than 1/3 of the time) or anything.

Yes, there is the Sock Basket but he agreed to that a long, long time ago. It's not my fault that he didn't keep up his end of the deal as agreed on January 1, 2006.

There is that one-sided love affair between The Oak Ridge Boys and me but I blame that on my aunt who bought the Elvira record for me in 1981 (the B side was Ozark Mountain Jubilee for those of you who are curious). That's endearing and certainly not "weird" or outside the range of normal.

And while we're at it, I like The Gambler, too. Don't judge me--only God judges me and I choose to believe he likes a little Kenny from time to time, too.

But back to topic.

What was I talking about again?

Oh yeah, I like to cook. This makes him happy.

Yeah, he did think I was trying to kill him that one time with that really bad chicken dish but it wasn't on purpose. Even Michael Symon has a bad day every once in a while, right?

Now that you mention it, I do make Hamburger Helper every once in a while but I'm sure it's because the kids like it not because it makes him want to scrape his taste buds off his tongue with a knife. Certainly not because he's made me mad in some way and I'm just getting back at him. Not everything's about you, you freakin narcissist.

I do nice things like hide food in his car so that he's not such a crabby a-hole when he gets home in the evening. Think about it, finding a previously unknown candy bar in your glove box is kinda like finding a $20 in your jeans when you do laundry. I don't want to say it's like winning the lottery but it's pretty great, right?

Back to the perks: I appreciate the little things in life. Like the fact that all the money I find in the laundry goes into my pocket and no one else's. I assume it's a tip for all the great work I do (see also folding the laundry inside out, hanging them inside out, and not matching the socks for nearly 6 years) You don't get that kind of service at Swan Cleaners, thankyouverymuch).

I'm funny

Some days I'm funnier than others but most days I can categorize myself as funny. Like how I've labeled my in-basket at work "Amazing Anna." When my supervisor asked what the deal with the label was, I was truthful; it's a daily affirmation that I'm good enough...I'm smart enough...and doggone it...people like me. " Sure, my supervisor wasn't sure if I was serious or joking but I told him I would like it incorporated into my next eval. I left the details of how to best accomplish this up to him.

I think these are highlights of the fun that is me. I'm sure there are others but we'll stop here for tonight.

Alternate music-based titles for this post that I considered:

Your love is like bad medicine
Gives you hell
I said what about Breakfast at Tiffany's?
Man Eater
She Hates Me (lalalala)
Not Gonna Write You a Love Song (cause you asked for it)
Going off the rail on this crazy train

Luke-isms 4.0

2011-11-05T11:28:00.004-05:00

This face will strike fear into the heart of the masses some day. Yup, this guy all freshly bathed in his hoodie towel.

He thinks in ways that others do not.

#1: We saw his kindergarten teacher at Subway the other night. She came up to me and said "Do you know what your son said to me today?" (Instant fear comes into my heart. With Luke, it could be any number of things~My Mom walks around the house naked~My Dad drinks milk straight from the container~I wear my sister's Cinderella underwear on my head when I want to make her mad............ANYTHING...)
She said that he had received a sticker for doing something nice for a little girl in his class (I think he had gotten a chair for her to sit in) and she told him that was very nice of him. His response was something along the lines of "Yeah, I know. I put the "kind" in kindergarten." I don't wanna say that he already knows how to work his teacher but let's just say she might be a little wrapped around his finger.

#2: While looking intently at a pair of scissors and opening/closing them repeatedly (yes, I know, I won't win mother of the year for this one but did you ever really think that I would? Don't bother saying the answer out loud, please.), he said to me "Did you ever think that scissors are kind of like 2 big knives with a hinge in the middle?"

And tonight's gonna be a good, good night...(I gotta feelin')**

2011-11-01T14:33:00.004-05:00

The kids had a great time at Halloween again this year. The theme for Halloween 2011 was Phineas and Ferb. Not as many people knew who we were this year but the kids had a blast turning into their fave characters.

Agent P (as always, click on the link if you don't know what this is)
L to R: Phineas/Luke,
Candace/Ella
Agent P/Myles
Ferb/Chase
AKA the gang from Phineas and Ferb

After the trick or treating ended, we invited some friends over (in costume) to hang out and play in the big leaf pile in the backyard. We had Batman and Robin, a Clone Wars trooper guy, a 50's chick, zombie baseball player, a Transformer and Darth Vader amongst others. They were too cute. Click the photo to enlarge.

Leaf piles are awesome.

Aunt Robin even had some tricks up her sleeve for games. The object of this game was to try to eat the donut from the string without using your hands. Let's just say it's not easy!

**lyrics attributed to that Black Eyed Peas song, of course.

Halloween Party 2011!

2011-10-31T20:12:00.009-05:00

Um, yeah. What the board says.

Luke and his buddy b.s.'ing over round one of candy consumption.

The soup corner. 10 different varieties, thankyouverymuch (couple of corn chowders, couple of chilis, white chicken chili, tomato basil, mushroom barley, hamburger soup, chicken and noodles, and one other I can't remember)

Milling around the homestead

More milling and talking

The big table

The big table (better attended and with great lighting)

Talking Hammocking

Sugar coma

Ella's last soccer game...

2011-10-31T19:42:00.001-05:00

They've got it rough

2011-10-30T12:59:00.003-05:00

It's hard to root for your brother when it's 35 degrees at 9 AM on a Saturday morning...
It's hard to want to play when it's 35 degrees at 9 AM on a Saturday morning...(this is his Occupy Wall Street mode)...

He didn't really want to be goalie...

All is made better with a team trophy...

American Woman...Momma let me beeeee*

2011-10-30T12:50:00.002-05:00

Nothing beats getting the latest edition of American Girl magazine and pouring over it with your Daddy.

" I love reading this from cover to cover."
"I think Grammie should buy this accessory for your birthday, Ella."

"Stop taking pictures of me!! Go away Mommy paparazzi!!"

Even the cat won't hang out with me. No love for the lady who isn't interested in American Girl.

*Lyrics attributed to Lenny Kravitz's song

Who's Mommy's little jack o'lantern?

2011-10-30T12:38:00.002-05:00

This girl! How delightfully seasonal of her.

Stupid, stupid blogger

2011-10-20T15:40:00.002-05:00

I've many different days in many different ways to make Blogger (the thingy that powers the blog) to let me add a video and it just won't do it. I finally broke down and set up a youtube account.

Here's a video of Luke laying down the law about how dessert will be handled next time we go out. Can you tell that they were hot desserts? Both kids kept trying to take huge bites and burned the insides of their mouths. And can someone get that kid on the right to stop talking with his mouth full? Drives me crazy.

Birthday Dinner at Boston's

2011-10-20T15:10:00.003-05:00

We took Luke to bullriding for his birthday last weekend (thanks Grammie for a couple of tickets). Anyone who knows Luke, knows that you've got to include food with any venture into Columbus. We took him to Boston's for a pre-bullriding meal. Because it was a special occasion, we even ordered a yummy trio of mini desserts (on the left is the strawberry cheesecake, the middle is some sort of brownie, and on the right is apple crisp).

You know what's the most awesome about going to PBR?

2011-10-18T17:11:00.002-05:00

Not being this guy who clearly tossed a couple back before the show and decided to strip for the crowd...

Second most awesome would be the lady above in the black sweatshirt who also partook of ye ol' brew but thankfully, did not strip for the crowd.

Ella vs Luke: Soccer Edition

2011-10-12T19:04:00.005-05:00

Ready for some action.

Throwing the ball in (plus her coach's butt. Sorry, Coach)

Aron told them to act tough toward each other. This is what they came up with.

Gotta stay hydrated.

The keeper of the goal.

"Did you see me??"

Ella and Luke played each other in soccer last weekend. They have been looking forward to this all season. What made it even sweeter was that their Grammie was able to come and watch from the car. There were frequent checks with Grammie to ask "Did you see me?"

Who won, you ask? Neither. It was a 0 to 0 tie.

Why can't he just be normal?

2011-10-12T18:47:00.003-05:00

All the other kids can just go back and forth on the swing. Why you gotta flip it and fly like Superman?

*sigh*

(and yes, Jeff, I realize the answer is "because he is your child.")

Pumped up kicks

2011-10-05T15:24:00.003-05:00

Ella and Luke are both playing soccer this year. They're on different teams but in the same age category which means (drum roll please) they're playing against each other this Saturday 10/8. The game has been very anticipated all season and it's finally here. It's at our local soccer complex at 10:30. I invited some people via facebook but let me know if you want more details so you can see this spectacular display of athleticism.

Sweet genius

2011-10-05T14:52:00.005-05:00

So I made some of these the other day...
I happened to have an extra dozen or so cuppies around so I let the kids use the frosting gun thingy and play with the leftovers...

As a side note, please ignore the hideously decorated kitchen in the background. We haven't been able to remodel it...(yet)...

Aaaand he volleys it right back to me...

2011-09-28T09:39:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, Aron and Luke were chillin together watching PBR. One of the riders was kicked off in about 2 seconds (apparently, you have to stay on 8 seconds to be considered successful). The rider was pretty mad about it and was saying a few choice words. Luke looked at Aron and said "I think he just said 'shit'. " Aron said "Oh yeah?" Luke said "Hey, look! He said shit again."

*sigh*

She's baaaaaaack!

2011-09-27T18:55:00.003-05:00

Very near 6 months to the day, my Mom has been released from her rehab hospital and made the long journey back to her house.

How long do you think it will take for my Dad to drive her crazy? (Smart money is on a short time period. Even smarter money is betting on her already being crazy)

You're gonna wish you...never had met me...

2011-09-22T12:47:00.007-05:00

(does anyone else really love that counter melody line from Adele's Rolling In the Deep or is it just me?) As always, feel free to click the links if you would like

A couple weeks ago, I went grocery shopping on a Saturday. I felt like being by myself so the kids stayed home. It had been a while since I had gone (don't tell anyone that the kids were living off a box of raisins and a bag of dried navy beans for like three weeks, ok?) so when I came home there was a lot of stuff to carry in. I saw the kids playing in the yard and asked them to help carry in my purchases. Luke was a bit resistent to my pleas for help even after I asked him for the second time. The third request was framed with reasons why I would like his help and that I would not longer be asking in a polite way. Luke responded with:

"I said I don't want to help so just you don't worry about it. Mmm'k?"

Worry about it I shall, Luke. Worry about it I shall.

At that point, I explained to look that he had two choices 1.) He could stand in time out for a really long time--we have hardwood floors and anything over 30 seconds is torture--and think about how what he said to me was inappropriate. Or 2.) He could listen to little story and then we would talk about how it related to the situation on hand.

He chose Option #2.

I told the story about Henny Penny and how she found the wheat seed, planted the wheat, tended it, cut it, made it to flour, then into bread. She asked her friends to help her all along the way but no one would help her until it was time for the fun part--eating. I droned on and on about how Henny Penny was similar to me in that I searched the cupboards for what was needed (virtually everything), wrote a list of needed supplies (on an old homework sheet of Ella's), drove to the store (uphill both ways with no shoes on), bought the items (at Walmart but don't tell Aron), brought the groceries home (to our palace), and needed help unloading groceries (from my wonderful children). I pointed out multiple times along the way that it wasn't fair for him to only get to participate in the fun part of eating the groceries.

At this point he waved his little hand to stop me, carried a couple bags of groceries in, and stood in the corner on his own because he just wanted to get away from Henny and his Mommy.

Circle gets the square, Luke. Circle gets the square.

You're beautiful....it's true...

2011-09-21T18:23:00.004-05:00

Ella's world beautification/world dominance project has started up again. This week's beautified thing was blueberries. Each divot in each blueberry got a tiny little star planted in there. We then chomped on them for dessert.
*sigh*
Is she really mine?

(as always click on the picture to enlarge)

Overheard At Our Dinner Table...

2011-09-20T20:36:00.004-05:00

I made Swedish meatballs with egg noodles last night (the kids looooove them, btw. Like super duper love them.). Even thought they enjoy them, there is typically an exchange of food between the kids once I give the ok (once I make sure Ella eats some protein and Luke eats some carbs). Ella took her fork and started reaching into Luke's noodles. He was in no mood to share last night. He blocked her fork with his and said "Hey! Back up! Me and my noodles need some alone time."

Swedish Meatball recipe (how's this for inexact)

1# ground beef

1 palmful of wheat germ

around a tablespoon of Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle (link)

1 egg

1/2 a box of beef broth

1/2 small container of sour cream

Couple big pinches of parmesan cheese

spoonful of garlic paste

couple spoonfuls of cornstarch

Make meatballs by mixing the ground beef, wheat germ, cheese sprinkle, and egg together. Form into a bunch of meatballs (if you're looking for consistency, I like to use a cookie dough scoop to keep them the same size). Heat a big saute pan with a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom over medium heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Once browned, pour the beef broth over the meatballs and cover with a lid for 5 minutes. While the meatballs are steaming, mix the sour cream, parm cheese, garlic, and cornstarch together. After the 5 minutes of cooking, mix the sour cream mixture into the beef broth in the pan. Let thicken a minute or two. Serve over hot egg noodles.

We don't need no ed-u-ca-tion

2011-09-20T19:41:00.006-05:00

He finally did it. Luke started kindergarten a few weeks ago. He's started reading a little bit and picking up on some bad habits of the other kids from school. Things like (in no particular order):

Whining

Crying around

Talking like a baby

Being a smart mouth

Not listening the first time

I will re-break and mold him back into the cute little sweetie pie we all know and love soon (I will win). In the meantime, enjoy the pics.

Yup. I'm ready to go.

Ta da!
Poised on the edge of the school (it's not too late to turn back, sweetie!)

Waiting to get into Mrs. P's room

Waiting in line to check in with his teacher (P.S. That's one of his new besties at school in front of him)

Which cubby is mine?

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

2011-09-13T15:40:00.005-05:00

Ella circa late 2007/early 2008. Everything in that picture has been "beautified" by her in some way. The lamp has a ribbon and a Christmas ornament on it, the pig truck has a couple ribbons on it (she even made me put a ribbon seat belt on the pig because she was horrified by his blatant lack of safety and she has a hair band (multiple ones if you could see the back of her hair).

So for many moons now I've complained about Ella and her dang girliness. Long time blog readers may remember complaints in posts such as this one. I've also expressed my displeasure with her desire for world beautification/world dominance in posts such as this one (I complained about it in the previous link, too) or these. I've complained to multiple people about how I don't understand where this crappola came from and my wish for it to go away.

However, I recently made a discovery.

I was in the lobby of my work place visiting with the lovely Natalie. You may know her from blogs such as this one. For those of you who don't know, Natalie uses a walker. So when she was in the lobby the other day, she was demonstrating how awesome she is with it. She tried to run me over a few times because, quite frankly, I'm just too slow and my reflexes have dulled in my advanced age. Anyhoos, I digress. I looked at her walker and made the observation to her Mom that it was a little plain looking. I may have even said that it needed to be tricked out a bit. You know, like Pimp My Ride or something. I made suggestions of bedazzling it, using ribbons and various bits of awesomeness that could be done to enhance the standard metal walker.

After I got back to my desk I realized what I had done. Either Ella is rubbing off on me or there may be some nugget of girly qualities buried deep down in me that I didn't realize I had.

Crappola.

Fair-tastic!

2011-09-04T21:12:00.005-05:00

We went to a fair this past week with a couple of neighbor friends. We found tons of fun stuff to do...

They milked a cartoon cow...
Posed as farmers with their cows...

Played on some tractors and combines...

Sat in some gigantic wheels...

Posed in some gigantic wheels...

Played some dart games...

Rode some rides...

Slid on some slides...

And rode on some big kid rides (Ella is on the far right, her friend is to the left of her, and Luke's friend is to the left of her--he's short enough that you can only see the top tuft of his head)

Yup. That's what they were riding on and they loved it!

Camping Experience 2011

2011-09-04T20:19:00.007-05:00

There were some good times...

Aron making meals...
Myles resting from swimming in the pool (it was technically at the campground so it was still considered "camping" in my book)...

More swimming...

Leaving the campsite to get some lunch in the neighboring town...

Super tasty lunch (fish sammy with pickle and mustard along with fries--yummers)

There were some bad/questionable times...

Myles decided to play with a hatchet so I took his picture (seems like some sort of responsible adult-type should've stopped him. Too bad there were none around)
One of the kids dropped a gooey marshmallow on the ground and Aunt Robbie stepped in it (thus the mass of leaves stuck to her shoe)

Luke almost ripped his toenail off (he opened the bathroom door at the campground and his toe was almost able to go under the door. Almost only counts in horseshoes, Luke.)

Chase got 30 mosquito bites on his head and neck. Click on the pic to enlarge

Myles fell multiple times on his bike with one abrasion to the head, one on the ankle, and one on the derriere.

We're thinking about giving this place a shot next year (click the link for Letchworth State Park)...if anyone has any insight, let me know! I'm really pushing for a cabin next year, though, if we go (surprise!).

Aunt A/Uncle K: We're ready for you to say it's your turn to camp with us...

I finally figured out how to make the most of your camping experience

2011-08-30T19:33:00.003-05:00

Step 1: Leave the kids and Aron at the campsite.
Step 2: Enlist the aid of a driver that 1.) Has no interest in drinking and 2.) Is willing to park himself in an open field at a local winery and read a book. See also below:

Step 3: Buy yourself a wine tasting sampler platter because it's a better value.

Critical: DO NOT SHARE
Step 4: Complete your goal

Step 5: Be the happy camper you've always wanted to be.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Someone's got a new sidekick...

2011-08-29T08:59:00.002-05:00

She's a 2nd grader?!?! When did that happen??

2011-08-29T08:45:00.004-05:00

Ready to take off...
Time for one last picture at home...

She delegated holding her backpack (good girl)...

Walking down the alley headed to school...

Gimme a happy smile for the classroom...

MOMMY SAID MAKE IT A HAPPY SMILE SO LET'S TRY IT AGAIN!!

That's better, sweetie. Now get your rear out there and have a good year.

Lake Erie

2011-08-23T11:04:00.003-05:00

We went to Lake Erie for a couple days so here are some cute pix of the kiddos splish splashin around.

Luke has a friend!

2011-08-18T20:37:00.004-05:00

Turns out that when we moved into our new house a couple months ago, it came along with a built in neighbor friend. I love to watch Luke and his friend ride bikes together in our driveway. They're so stinkin cute together. It's his first friend that Ella hasn't made first and then let him borrow. He's the one in the neon yellow t-shirt.

The view out of my front window includes these 4.
Why is Luke's friend wearing snow boots and gloves, you ask?

Well, apparently you didn't know that the boots are his "safety" boots and the gloves are his "motorcycle safety gloves."

Love it!

Dinner at the New Sandusky Fish Company

2011-08-18T19:49:00.004-05:00

We took a recent trip to Lake Erie and enjoyed eating at this fine establishment (aka hole in the wall) in Sandusky, OH. It was super tasty.

New Sandusky Fish Company (click on the link to learn about it)

Yes, this was an exaggerated shot of his eating...
So of course, this guy had to do it...

and this one, too...

It was our mini vacation so we even let the kids get a soda for dinner. Notice his death grip and stink eye...

Yeah, this one's got a two handed grip and the stink eye, too.

Might as well tell on myself, too

2011-08-15T21:04:00.004-05:00

Just so you don't think that Luke has fallen too far from this, ehem, tree. I'll share with you a little interaction from my own childhood.

My Mom to an estimated 9 year old me: You are not allowed to say "damn" or "ass." I don't care what you hear at school or coming out of your grandfather's mouth.
9 yr. old Me: But when can I cuss? How old do I have to be before I can use those? I need to know when they can enter my vocabulary.
My Mom: Uhhhhhhhhhhhh...
9 yr. old Me: When? I need an answer.
My Mom: (laughing) Um, how about high school.
9 yr. old Me: Sounds good.
Flash forward to a 14 year old me getting off the bus on my first day of my freshman year.
14 yr. old Me: My ass hurts from riding on that damn bus.
My Mom: Of all the things I tell you, that's the one that you remember?

Boys and Girls Part 2

2011-08-15T15:48:00.004-05:00

Scenario #3

Kid: Hey! Did you know that "pooted" is the same thing as "farted?"
Me: Yup.
Kid: Ok. So can I eat a whole box of squeezy sauces? (don't know what a squeezy sauce is? click the link)
Me: Nope.
Kid: I just pooted.
Me: You're still not eating a whole box of squeezy sauces so move on.

Scenario #4
Me: Hey you wanna go to Macy's and smell all the perfumes?
Kid: Sure.
(Five minutes and 7 scents later...)
Me: You want to smell this one next?
Kid: No. My sniffer's broken. Can we go?
Me: Yup.

Boys and Girls

2011-08-15T08:37:00.006-05:00

In our house, we have a clear division of boy and girl thinking. I'll let you figure out which is which.

Scenario A:

Kid: You're a nice mom.

Me: Oh yeah?

Kid: Did you know that not everyone gets a nice mom?

Me: Yup.

Kid: That's what I thought. I'm lucky to have you, huh?

Me: Yup.

Scenario B:

Kid: Knock knock

Me: Who's there?

Kid: Poop, butt, fart

Me: *Sigh* Poop, butt, fart who?

Kid: Ha! Dad doesn't like it when we say those words!! Tricked you!

Might not be a gender difference I guess. Might just be the difference between a child who is 7 going on 40 and 5 going on.......well........5

The finale: Softball edition

2011-08-07T22:31:00.002-05:00

Ella's by the girl standing up (she's eating her ice cream)

Ella's the 2nd girl from the right (no visor on)

Ella had a great time with softball this summer. The girls lost their first game, won the second, then lost the third and were out. She was happy because she got a trophy (who wouldn't be?!).

Field trip--Canoeing edition

2011-08-07T21:52:00.006-05:00

L to R: Ella, Luke, Allie, Arlene, and Vincent
Ice cream face, Ella

Luke with a black hole for a mouth.

Ice cream noses: Allie, Luke, Ella, Vincent

Preparing to canoe

Swimming at the beach

A couple weeks ago, we teamed up with our old friends, Arlene and Vincent, as well as a new buddy, Allie, to go canoeing. Sorry, I have no pictures of the actual canoeing. It was super fun, no one tipped over, and many fish were fed goldfish crackers as we ate our lunch in the canoe.

After the canoeing, we went to Alum Creek State Park for a bit of swimming at their beach. When the splashing and general hijinx were completed, we went for ice cream.

Clippers!

2011-07-30T21:05:00.006-05:00

We went to a Clippers game a couple weeks ago. Here are a few of my favorite pictures...

Random things about me

2011-07-28T20:53:00.010-05:00

I've seen others do this in their blogs so I thought it would be fun to do here. Part of the purpose of the blog is that my kids will get a chance to know me in non-Mom mode. I might scare them a bit but here we go:

1. I think Luke's funny.

2. He secretly scares me

3. I don't enjoy my job and it makes me sad to think I've been there so long.

4. Don't worry, I have an exit strategy.

5. I listen to the radio in the car and think "this would make a good blog title" and then forget about it 2 seconds later.

6. I'm not warm and fuzzy (surprise) but I do consider myself to be kind and nice.

7. I don't like holding babies. This is no surprise to anyone who really knows me.

8. I hate dogs. Yes, this means your dog.

9. I enjoy laundry.

10. When someone doesn't like me, I enjoy making them make polite small talk with me. I once cornered someone in the bathroom at work for about 10 minutes with this strategy. This is what I call "entertainment."

11. Speaking of the bathroom, I have issues. When I open the door to the bathroom at work, I literally cross my fingers that it won't have a weird smell or mystery stuff on the floor.

12. I tend to nickname everyone and everything. I went through a phase where I would only call Aron "Larry" and greet him with "Hey Asshole." No reason.

13. I don't enjoy the responsibility of a purse. Too much carrying and what not. If I could have an assistant to carry it, I would be a happier person overall.

14. Speaking of purses, I don't care about them. I have no desire to have a Coach purse or any other expensive brand.

15. Being in the dark freaks me out.

16. I cannot watch a 48 hours Mystery or Dateline without getting too creeped out to walk upstairs to bed by myself. I make Aron go upstairs, turn the lights on, then come back down to get me, then I walk upstairs into the lighted room, then he follows me up after turning off the downstairs lights. True story.

17. I hate being outside. All these kid field trips with outdoors stuff: hate it.

18. Fairs are not fun.

19. I remember weird, random stuff from childhood. Like the fact that I threw up orange juice on my special dress for the Christmas program at school in kindergarten and that a girl in first grade used to eat her snot when she had a cold. I could give you her name but I choose not to (be thankful, Clarissa Bradley).

20. Aron asked me to mow our grass once. I said ok but purposefully did a bad job (like big bald patches in the middle of the front yard and no true pattern to my mowing).

21 .I don't feel bad about my passive aggressive nature.

22. Until a couple weeks ago, I had never eaten a meal by myself in a restaurant.

23. I've never been to a movie by myself

24. I hate ketchup and non-melted cheese.

25. When in a dark parking lot by myself, I'm paranoid. To counteract this, I tend to put my keys in between my fingers as a "just in case" defense mechanism and tell myself I could totally poke someone's eyes out if I had to. (I coudn't really)

26. My right foot is significantly smaller than my left and I kinda like it that way.

27. I have one really long eyelash that it gray and I trim it periodically so it doesn't hit my glasses.

28. Why won't super rich billionaires just give me some money? It's impossible to use it all so why not just give every person in the United States 1 million dollars? YOU STILL HAVE PLENTY LEFT OVER!

29. I remember watching Good Will Hunting for the first time and thinking "Wow, you totally can't even tell that Minnie Driver is British! Her American accent is so good!"

30. I want to know how to play the bagpipes.

31. I let the kids use straws to eat their applesauce.

32. I'm more like Ella than I let on.

33. Once in a parking garage, the person in the car ahead of me couldn't get their credit card to work so they could pay to get out. I got out of my car and tried to help her but I couldn't get it to work either. I went back to my car, grabbed 2 bucks and put them in the machine. She thought I was being nice. I just wanted to get her out of my damn way.

34. I think friend break ups are harder than boyfriend break ups.

35. I don't get our budget crisis. If we don't have money, how can we spend it? If I have $25,000 of income, I can spend $25,000 not $256, 746.

36. I don't enjoy talking about myself.

37. When driving on the freeway, I alternately sing really loud to the radio and scream at other drivers to "Get out of my way, asshole!"

38. This cannot be attractive in any way.

39. I enjoy acronyms like PITA and KMA.

40. I think that everyone I meet looks like someone else. I asked Aron the other day if the woman we had met had a Marisa Tomei quality to her. His response? "If Marisa Tomei had 4 kids hanging on her legs and looked a little scraggly like that then sure."

41. I think Larry's funny.

42. He secretly scares me.

Scioto Mile!

2011-07-25T20:48:00.006-05:00

We finally made it the Scioto Mile. It was nice and steamy hot that day so it was extra refreshing. My creative juices are just not flowing tonight so I'll just let the pictures do the talking...

Columbus Museum of Art

2011-07-22T21:45:00.008-05:00

This week's field trip was to the Columbus Museum of Art, the Scioto Mile, and a Columbus Clippers game.

First and foremost let me just say I was super impressed with the Cols Museum of Art. I went in with low expectations for how much the kids would get out of it. Given Luke's, ehem, lack of attention for anything less than hands on (I love him I love him I love him I love him--just keep saying it and breathe), I envisioned him running from room to room like the little wild child he is, ripping paintings off the walls and knocking over sculptures like he's bouncing down the final challenge on Wipeout. Admission for the months of July and August is free (as is parking...giddy up!) so even if I had to whip out the credit card for an art mishap or two, I could still come out ahead.

The museum had quite a few stations of interactive kid stuff to do. First off was the twist tie exhibit. The challenge was to make something creative with the big piles of twisties. (See also below and click on the pic to see some of the things created by other people on the shelves)

They spent quite a few minutes just twisting them around and not really making anything but they really enjoyed it.
This was my creation (psst! If you look closely, you can see that I twisted my ties into the names of the kids. You might have to stand back and squint your eyes a bit)

Art!

One of the next stops was big wads of modeling clay. For the record, Ella made a kitty to remind herself of her kitten that I gave away. She never misses an opportunity. (Click the link to remind yourself to feel guilty again and again and again)

More kitten making...

There was a big playroom where you could make mix-and-match wooden animals.

More mixed up animal parts.

Luke, to no one's surprise, found the display with pretend food and promptly stuffed the asparagus in his ears (*shakes head and smacks forehead*)

There were also numerous stations with questions posed like this one and post its of responses from the various people. Ella's response to this one? Ice cream.

I'll blog the rest in more posts. There was just too much for one.

Why so serious?

2011-07-21T19:40:00.005-05:00

**lyrics attributed to to P!nk's "Raise Your Glass"

So raise your glass if you're all wrong...

In all the right ways...
All my underdogs...

We will never be, never be anything but loud...

Nitty gritty dirty little freaks!

I like the night life, baby

2011-07-20T19:28:00.005-05:00

She's out there somewhere but I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea where.
Luke was more interested in snuggling with Lindy then watching the game.

To the victor, go the spoils (ok, so she didn't really win that night but whatever)

For one game for each season, the school's softball/baseball teams get to play under the lights and feel like big kids. Ella has been waiting all season for her turn under the lights. She was so excited, she even talked me into providing watermelon for her team. I'm a sucker for a cute face, I guess.

Gorman Nature Center

2011-07-18T10:34:00.009-05:00

Welcome to the Gorman Nature Center near Sunny Maaaaansfield (only my local friends will understand that. Heck, maybe just Aron will understand that)
Aquariums full of goodies like snakes, turtles, etc.

The happy trio (Ella looks less than thrilled, doesn't she? Maybe she missed the part where I called us the "happy trio." Mommy said look happy so let's make that happen, shall we?)

Ok, so here she's happy in what she refers to as her Super Ella/Super Kitten pose. Sometimes it's Ella that's super, sometimes it's kittens that are super. Whatever.

Jump, Luke. I will certainly catch you. I will most definitely not let you drop even though you ate all my pie the other day when I got up to run to the bathroom. No, I'm not mad that I reminded you not to eat my pie because I wasn't finished yet and that even though I was leaving it unattended it was not actually yours to consume. Nope. Completely over that now JUMP

Look out below!

We went to the Gorman Nature Center last week on the same day we went to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary. They're pretty close to one another so it was easy to lump them into the same trip. I'm not much of a nature girl (zip it, Tori, I can hear you snickering) but the kids love it so I've been trying to do more of that this summer with them. The Nature Center has trails, a welcome center with aquariums full of turtles, snakes, etc, a look-out tower, and a lake.

We missed the Scioto Mile and Santa Maria last week. I think this week's adventure might be the Columbus Museum of Art, the Scioto Mile, and a Columbus Clippers game.

Ohio Bird Sanctuary

2011-07-15T20:32:00.004-05:00

Greetings! Welcome to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary!
There were 12 or so cages with birds in them as well as information about the species.

Mr. Blue Jay! Come sit on my arm!

Seriously. Come and sit on one of our arms!

Here birdy, birdy. I've got an arm for you to land on, too. Kiss, kiss.

Part of this week's field trip was to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary (click link).

Cutiest Little Cutie Pie

2011-07-14T20:04:00.002-05:00

He almost acts like he likes me in this picture. It's a miracle.

Hardly seems fair that I get to have this guy. Him sooooooooo cute.

Mr. Swimmer

2011-07-11T21:00:00.002-05:00

Luke on the left
Mid-jump

Jumpin in!

Luke's really taken to the water this summer. It's probably because he's tall enough to stand up comfortably in the shallow end. He's doing lessons for the first time, too. He started at Level 1 on the first day but quickly was sent to Level 2 because he was too skilled (i.e. he could put his face in the water, jump in, and didn't need to use a bubble on his back to hold him up). Today, he even got to go to the semi deep end to give treading water a try.

Field trip!

2011-07-11T20:26:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to do a field trip with the kids once a week since school let out. We've done quite a few fun places so far but I haven't taken many pictures. Here's a few from our trip to a batting cage/go cart place.

A sweaty threesome
Staying hydrated (always important)

Super excited

Crazy driver #1

Crazy driver #2

Ready to drive some balls.

I believe this week's trip will be to the Santa Maria replica and the Scioto Mile with a quick stop by Aron's work to say hi. Shhhhh! Don't tell him!

She's Out!

2011-07-09T08:06:00.002-05:00

Most of last week was spent trying to find just the right facility for Mom to transition to after being at the LTAC. We settled on a facility closer to home which will be nice for my Dad since he visits daily. She should be in this rehab nursing home for about a month then will be able to go home.

HOME!

The kids have already gotten the ok to call her on her cell phone now that the trach is out (oh, did I forget to mention THE TRACH IS OUT!!!). If you have her number, I'm sure she wouldn't mind a call or two :)

If you want to know where she's located for a visit, just let me know by comment or email.

We're super excited for this next phase.

Bob barker and happy gilmore fight

2011-07-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

My little Happy Gilmore (the price is wrong, BOB!!)

2011-07-08T21:25:00.005-05:00

Be afraid...

Our God Is an Awesome God.

2011-07-08T20:58:00.005-05:00

Ella and her buddy, Riley.

Click the above pic and I've drawn arrows down to Ella and Luke.

Oh Luke. You fool no one, Sweetie, with that cute little gaze towards the sky.

We sent the kids to a couple local vacation bible schools this summer. Both churches had the same curriculum (Galactic Blast!) and the kids loved it!

School's Out For the Summer!

2011-07-08T20:11:00.005-05:00

Good behavior in school is important and I believe in rewarding it. At the end of every school year, the kids get an item of their choice at the store if they have behaved well. (click the link for past trips to the store). For Ella, that means she needs green cards all year and for Luke, it means no notes sent home from pre-K. It doesn't matter how long it takes to pick it, each child can take as much time as they want to make their selection. Here we are at Target for about an hour and 45 minutes.

Visitation

2011-07-07T20:37:00.003-05:00

Poppy sat on poor Ella. And he wonders why the kids squeal and laugh so much at the hospital (don't they know they're supposed to be more serious in a hospital!!)
Yup, that's a stinky, dirty Ella foot.

Who knows what Ella is telling Chase but he finds it amusing.

We've been trying to visit Grammie as a family once a week. She was getting a little respiratory assistance with the therapist (I think) the one day we were visiting so we were entertaining the kiddos in the waiting area. Things got a little rowdy (psst! it's Chase...he's a bad influence on us all! If he weren't so darn cute, it would make things easier!) as always.

What are they teaching these kids?!?!

2011-07-02T08:55:00.003-05:00

As a part of his Safety Town program, the children learned about electricity and stuff. We've all seen this guy before, right? Luke came home and told me that he thinks that this guy poops light bulbs and pees electricity.

My kid's nothing but classy.

I'm a safety boy!

2011-07-02T08:35:00.004-05:00

Here he is sprinting across the baseball field to get to the school. Sniff, sniff. He doesn't need me anymore.

Big sister showing him the way into the school.
Some children enjoyed the graduation more than others...see also the poor girl in the bottom of the picture. She cried the entire time. I hope this is not an indicator of how her schooling years will go for her.

Luke receiving his Safety Town graduation certificate.

"Hey! Do you see this awesome certificate I got? Here, let me just put it in your face so you can see it."

Luke participated in our local Safety Town. Not familiar with Safety Town? Click here (as an interesting side note, check out what it has to say about Safety Town in Oklahoma. Oklahomans/Oklahomians/Oklahomies scare me a little--that's for you, T).

Luke had a great time and can't wait to get to kindergarten. Be afraid, kindergarten teachers. Be very afraid.

Put me in, Coach! I'm ready to play...today...center field...

2011-07-01T20:50:00.016-05:00

Ella's on the right
If you click on the picture, you will be able to confirm that, yes, she wears white socks with little pink hearts on them. I keep trying to tell her that no one fears a white sock with little pink hearts on them but she won't listen. SHE JUST WON'T LISTEN!

Get ready to run, Sweetie. Mommy likes a child who scores. Children that don't score have to run laps in the back yard.

You should never be leaning over, Sweetie. You should always be in a ready position which does not include lazing around as such. Mommy likes winners, Honey. Losers drink protein shakes.

Ella started her summer softball league. She had to move up to the coach pitch level which we were unprepared for (Aron took it a lot better than I did). She's been doing pretty well with it so far. I've been trying to teach her to be more aggressive with her running of the bases. There may have been some practicing of the running in our backyard...there may have been some whining...there may have been grumbling around... but there was no crying cause
(as I channel my inner Tom Hanks)

THERE'S NO CRYING. ARE YOU CRYING? THERE'S NO CRYING! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASE-BALL!!! (click for the link to Tom)

And Mommy wants to win and stomp all those other little girls into the ground. There will be crying in baseball for them, Ella. Oh yes, there will be crying for them**

**she says at no one in particular staring with a cocked brow with her voice a mere whisper by the end

Zooooooooo!

2011-07-01T20:27:00.003-05:00

L to R: Ella, Sasha, and me

I hadn't been on a bus in YEARS. Yup. Can't really say I missed it. It was just as awesome as I remembered. The kids kept singing songs the WHOLE WAY THERE. I kept wanting to start 99 bottles of beer on the wall but Aron wouldn't let me (buzz kill)
Ella petting a snake

Wellllllll, at the end of May, Aron and I both took the day off work to be chaperones for Ella's class trip to the zoo. In the weeks leading up to the big trip, the kids had to do projects on an animal of their choosing which included doing research and a 3-5 minute oral presentation. What did Ella chose for the subject of her project?

Bats.

Surprise! This girl loves bats!

Yup. That's what are hanging upside down and sleeping in the above photos. I secretly love it that she doesn't feel peer pressured into liking something more "girly" and cute. She marches to the beat of her own drum and I love it!

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated

2011-07-01T20:10:00.002-05:00

(Ella (L) and her buddy, Sasha (R))

We're baaaaack!

Long time, no blog

2011-06-09T20:48:00.007-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates but we recently moved and have been trying to set up our internet connection.

We've been so incredibly busy lately that it's not even funny. I joked to someone the other day that if it weren't for my birth control pack, I wouldn't know what day it was. I find it impossible to find time to do fun things (like attend the graduation ceremony for my brother-in-law--super sorry about that Kevin. I would've loved to be there), the mundane things (anyone want to grocery shop for me? Right now I have a jar of pickles and an expired tub of yogurt in my fridge and that's about all. Yes, Sarah. The same pickles and the same yogurt), and the required things (like actually getting my stuff in boxes to move. Thankful to my sisters-in-law for tossing everything in boxes when I hadn't). I even had to say no to helping out with our church's vacation bible school which I'm pretty bummed about. I feel stretched in 10,000 different directions. But enough of my complaining (because who likes to listen to a complainer? Not me!)...

Soooooooooooooooo...

I'm sorry to say that I'm going to sign off the blog for a while. I'm officially on vacation from today--whatever the heck today is (where's my birth control when I need it??)--until July 1. Hopefully, I'll return to the blog a little more rejuvenated and a little more energized at that time. I might even schedule a haircut for myself. Seriously, have you seen how out of control it is lately??

Catch you on the flip side on July 1... XOXO

Mom and I don't see eye to eye...but do you?

2011-05-31T11:23:00.006-05:00

I remembered the other day that I never remembered to blog about this and a friend requested that I put on a poll about it.

My Mom and I agree on some things, kinda agree on other things, and completely disagree on others (it's a perk of having a Mom, I guess). A while ago, I was telling her that I cannot stand participating in fundraisers at the kids' schools. I hate toting around candy bars to sell, magazines with wrapping paper and tins of gummy bears, and every other crappy thing I ever had to sell as a child (deep down you thank me for not making you buy stuff that you don't need so don't sit there looking so indignant at the screen). So, in the spirit of being taking a stand for what I believe, I refuse to sell a single thing.

That's right. I'M AN AWFUL PARENT WHO REFUSES TO SELL YOU CRAPPY STUFF IN THE NAME OF GIVING MY KIDS A BETTER SCHOOL LIFE.

However, I'm also the parent that when the teacher asks for donations for a class project, I donate a large chunk of money toward it (just don't tell Aron that I'm the one that donates that much...you know what I'm saying). I'll also tell her to let me know if they don't have enough stuff/money/supplies from the other families and I'll give more. I would rather donate money directly to the cause then buy or sell crappola that I'm never going to use/just throw away/sell at my garage sale next year/store in my closet/etc ** I'll even donate money directly to the PTO before I'll sell anything.

When I told my Mom about my blatant rejection of school fundraisers, she looked at me like I had grown another head and told her I wanted to move to Canada to mud wrestle bears in the circus (I hear they allow mud wrestling bears there). She was fine with the donating of money toward projects because quite frankly, that's totally something she would do.

What do you all think? Is it ok to not sell or buy things from school fundraisers? Vote in the upper right hand corner of the blog.

**With the exception of my friend, Connie, son's fundraiser last year which was awesome. They sold Yankee candles. Super smart of those PTO people.

Recital pictures!

2011-05-24T08:16:00.006-05:00

Here's Ella's To Do list for the day of the recital. I think you can sound it out.

Ella is on the right...

Luke apparently wants to be a ballerina, too (or his sister threatened to beat him up if he didn't pose for her)

Put this picture in mostly because it was the best pic of her hair. Yes I did it myself

There was a whole lotta hand holding with Auntie T before, during, and after the recital. She's a popular gal in our house.

I'm working on getting the video of her dance in here but Blogger is being a pain in my rear today. Will try again later.

Proof that he was there, Mom

2011-05-24T07:38:00.003-05:00

Yes, Mom. Dad did actually go to the ballet recital on Friday like you commanded. He didn't just go home and take a nap.

Mom update--things are rolling along

2011-05-23T08:19:00.004-05:00

I haven't updated in a while mostly because there hasn't been a ton to talk about. Mom's still in the LTAC (long term acute care) where she will likely be for a month or so. After that facility, she will be released to the nursing home rehab place where she was before.

She has gone for long periods of time with no machine helping her breathing but eventually, she gets tired and needs to use it again. She has a thingy (love that technical name) that she can use with the trach that helps her talk. Her voice is still pretty raspy even with the thingy but when you consider she hasn't really used her vocal cords since the end of March, it's not too bad.

She's still fairly swollen in her feet and hands which seems to come and go. Her renal function (kidneys) isn't awesome but is holding steady. It's complicated but the doctor thinks that the lasix they are giving her for the swelling is messing with her kidneys so hopefully, it's still just temporary.

She had a nasty rash last week but it's gone now. Who knows what the cause was but it's gone now (yay!)

She's in decent spirits but hanging out with Dad on a daily basis is taking a toll on her (KIDDING! Yeesh!). She's very thankful for all the cards--seriously it's a HUGE stack of at least 50 or maybe more--and I'm sure she'd love some more as she continues to plod on through recovery. Feel free to send more to her house or my house. Just let me know if you need an address by commenting or sending an email to me.

Who's missing from this picture?

2011-05-18T15:31:00.002-05:00

Hey Gram! We saved a spot for you! XOXO

Trikeathon 2011

2011-05-17T10:54:00.006-05:00

He's the one giving the "all systems go" (aka the thumbs up)
He's the goofball right in the middle with the brown Tom and Jerry tshirt on the red trike.

Yup, that's him.

Way out ahead of the pack. Speed? He is speed.

Luke did a trikeathon at his preschool on Friday. I was unable to go but Aron went in my place.
Luke did more laps than any of the other kids (16) and he had a BLAST!

Luke was seriously p.o.'d when he realized a couple weeks ago that Grammie would not be able to attend. Don't worry, she still managed to make a flat donation. Good thing she didn't pay by the lap!

Enjoy the video. I think you'll be able to pick him out by the speed he's going. You'll see what I mean...

She's out!

2011-05-13T20:12:00.003-05:00

Mom was transferred from Riverside last night into her long term acute care rehab facility. Blogger (the thing that powers this blog) was having issues last night so I couldn't post this when she was released.

We're anxious to get her on the road to recovery even though it will be a long one. Please just let me know if you want a room number or any sort of specifics about how to see her.

XOXO to both Mom and Dad as they start this journey together.

Love me, love me (say that you love me)

2011-05-09T08:07:00.009-05:00

With Mother's Day yesterday, I wanted to share something someone told me a few months ago about the kids. This person told me that my kids were the most well-adjusted and genuinely happy kids she had ever seen. Sure, I think the kids are superstars but it was nice for someone else to acknowledge their awesomeness, too.

As a new parent, you notice right away that people are very quick to be critical about what you should and should not do with kids in how you raise them:

Give them a bath every day? Shame on you that's too much; you'll dry their skin

Give them a bath once a week? Shame on you! Why would you let your baby be dirty?

Letting them cry it out in the crib? Shame on you! How could you not cuddle and love on that baby?

Letting them be held every time to fall asleep? Shame on you! How can you spoil that baby?

Believe me when I say this is just a small sample of the criticisms you will get. You can do nothing right to please everyone because everyone's style of raising children is different.

Too infrequently, do people stop to give you a sincere pat on your back. You really want to compliment someone for Mother's Day? Don't give them a card or flowers or a "Hey, Happy Mother's Day," think of a way to give them a personalized compliment about the job they are doing. Find something that you truly believe they are doing well and tell them you've noticed it.

Full disclosure: I am that weirdo that sees a crazy-eyed Mom with a toddler in full meltdown mode in a grocery store who tells her that it's ok, we've all been there, the tantrum phase will not last forever, and no, you're not crazy for wanting to give this child away to a band of gypsies.

Dude, my Mom is gonna be pissed it's Mother's Day

2011-05-08T18:41:00.011-05:00

She's going to be mad because she has missed many occasions this spring season while she's been in the hospital. I saw her last night and told her I would not be visitng the following day for Mother's Day (bad kid, I know). I'm not even sure she realized it was going to be Mother's Day because you lose the concept of days/time in the hospital very quickly.
Here's a little recap for you, Mom, in no particular order:

~Easter. You didn't realize it had passed for a long time probably because you were sedated through it (but that's no excuse, Mom!)
~You didn't see the opening of the season for the Braves on TBS (viewing the Braves on TBS is a must for her in the spring/summer)
~Luke graduated from Monday School. His first major accomplishment as a 5 year old.
~Myles had a program at his elementary school.
~All this rain! Who am I kidding? You're lucky to have missed it all.
~Aron and I bought a new house. We had just started the process of getting everything together for the purchase when you went in the hospital. So far, there's been wallpaper torn down (Yes, yes, everyone is invited over to help us with this gloriously fun task. Please, no pushing or shoving to get in the door. There's room for everyone), carpet ripped out, and sub-flooring pulled up.
~Jeff was called by Archie Griffin to ask if he wants to be on a board at OSU. In Jeff's cell, Archie's cell number is now alphabetically flanked by Aron and me (Annie, Archie, Aron). He showed me Archie's number in a moment of showing off. Too bad for Jeff, I have a photographic memory...let the prank calls begin... I know you would want it that way, Ma.
~Ella started softball. First scrimmage is Tuesday. (As a side note, for those interested, I will get you a list of dates of her games.)
~Kirstie Alley fell on Dancing With the Stars. You would've laughed your butt off at this one because we all know you can't stand Kirstie.
~Chase turned three! The little guy's practically a big guy now.
~Dad's started texting. That's right. The man now has his own texting plan and he's not afraid to use it. Be afraid, Ma. Be very afraid.
~Your bills have started getting paid online, Mom, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Long gone is your weird system of timing bills being sent out a set number of days before it is due. Oh and I'm working on getting Dad to obtain an ATM. That's right, Mom. AN ATM CARD. Deal with it, baby.

Family Date Night~yay!

2011-05-08T16:36:00.003-05:00

The troops and I went on a family date night. We saw the movie Rio (cute), ate some yummers food (Molly Woo's) and generally had a fantastic time. I highly recommend this to everyone periodically to rejuvenate the soul!

Updater

2011-05-05T17:14:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates on Mom but my computer got a virus and has been in the shop. She moved to "step down" today which is still within Riverside but is on the way out the door. She should be there a day or two then it will on to the LTAC which is still in Columbus. She's doing pretty well with her breathing and is mostly spontaneously breathing which means she is doing it on her own. There has been an issue with her kidneys but the doctors are hoping this has plateaued.

We are quite anxious to get her there so we can start the recovery process. Well, the recovery process plus we're hoping to get my Dad to leave the hospital to get a good night's rest once he leaves.

I feel like I could nap for an entire weekend myself so here's to recovery and rest for everyone!

Update on Mom

2011-04-30T08:36:00.006-05:00

The trach and g-tube placement went well. She can't talk yet because she'll need some time to learn how to control the air flow with the trach. The doctor told us that she would likely be at the hospital until Monday. From the hospital, she will be on to the LTAC (long term acute care) facility for about a month and after that will be the rehab center (hopefully where she was before as long as they can handle a trach) for a little while to continue her recovery.

Some people have asked why she had a trach and g-tube put in. The doctors and all the respiratory therapists believe this will give her the best chance at a better long-term recovery. Before the trach, every time she had a hard time with her breathing they would have to put the ventilator in which brings sedation and hospitalization with it making the forward progress harder. With the trach in, when she has a hard time with the breathing, she will just be hooked up to a machine to assist her with taking the best breath she can without the sedation and down time. The trach brings some increased risk of infection because the body's natural filtration system, i.e. your nose, nose hair, mouth are no longer part of the equation. This risk of infection, however, is not as great as the risk of having another breathing set back that would require a vent again. She will learn to talk with it in which is just a matter of figuring out how to control the air flow in the trach. The g-tube was placed so she can get the nutrition she needs while she learns how to use the trach that's now in her throat--harder to swallow right now and getting used to different pressure/feeling in her throat. She needs the best nutrition to make her stronger so she can do all the intense rehab that will be necessary soon.

An important side note: WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT BOTH THE G-TUBE AND TRACH WILL BE TEMPORARY. She should not need to have either of these for the rest of her life but they will be in for months as she recovers.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you some more for all the kind thoughts, prayers, cards, emails, calls, etc. I may be slow in getting back with people when you call or email but it's been hard to find a lot of spare time. Please know that we appreciate every single one of them.

Quickie

2011-04-28T21:35:00.003-05:00

Mom is going to have a trach put in tomorrow as well as a g-tube put in at some point tomorrow. The procedure should take just 1/2 hour for both as they will be put in by 2 doctors at the same time. Both of these items should be temporary and allow her to recover more quickly. She will be in the hospital about another week recovering and healing from this. After that, she will be off to an LTAC which is a Long Term Acute Care facility where she will likely be there a month. Following the LTAC, she will return to the rehab center where she was a couple weeks ago.

I'll update more tomorrow and give more information then but quite frankly, right now I'm tired and I want to go nighty-night.

C ya!

P.S. Click on the links if you don't know what a trach and g-tube are.

Pomp and Circumstance: Luke's Monday School Graduation edition

2011-04-27T07:21:00.011-05:00

Long time blog readers will remember a couple years ago when Ella graduated from her beloved Monday School along with Myles. This time it was Luke's turn and he was super excited! All day long he asked how much longer until we could go to graduation. He was most excited about getting the diploma and the cake/ice cream after the ceremony. If anyone in my local area wants more information about this great (and practically free) program, just let me know!

I have some cute videos of the kids singing their songs but Blogger is giving me a hard time putting them in here. Will try again later.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Mom

2011-04-25T16:20:00.013-05:00

10.) She calls my Dad "Dick." Not because his name is Dick, Rick, or even Richard. It's Dick just because she calls it the way she sees it and she usually sees things in a funny way. She calls him Dick so much that my long-time BFF's Mom thought that my Dad's real name was Dick (it's actually Mike for those who don't know him).

9.) She lets my overdue library fines slide. Yes, yes, I know I should always return them in a timely fashion but sometimes life gets in the way. Right now, I'm sitting beside a stack of books that I got out of her library before she went in the hospital that I haven't returned yet. Please forgive me, Library Ladies at PCML* (You know who you are).

8.) She tells everyone that she does my laundry, dishes, and cooking when she's at my house. In all actuality, this is mostly a lie but I don't see the harm in it. Ok, yeah, so she did a couple loads of laundry when Ella was a baby (7 years ago) and she puts together a meal in a crockpot when I get all the ingredients together for her. It makes her feel good to tell everyone she's such a Superstar Grammie.

7.) She calls me constantly to let me know what the weather will be like the next day (sometimes even multiple times a day depending on how Jym Ganahl switches his predictions). I haven't watched the weather in 34 years--true story. Remember a few weeks ago when it snowed randomly on a Wednesday? I only wore a light shirt to see her at the hospital because I had no idea the weather was going to be bad that day. I was a little miffed at her that day for not telling me to wear a coat.

6.) She has the ability to make me feel like Luke is normal despite his weirdness (need I even mention the poop-bot?) and that eventually I will be able to relate to Ella despite her girly qualities.

5.) I can call her anytime day or night and complain about whatever is pissing me off at the moment (with the converse being true, as well). She always unquestioningly takes my side about everything even if I'm doing a 180 from my previous day's opinion. She's my Yes Man.

4.) I just do

3.) Cause she's my Mom

2.) And I want her back

1.) Right now

Damn it.

You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no

2011-04-25T08:16:00.003-05:00

Update on Mom is that she was able to come off the ventilator for quite a few hours yesterday but had to go back on during the night because her oxygen level had fallen to the mid 80's (normal is 95-100). They've sedated her again since she's back on the vent.

Dad talked to the doctor who is coordinating her care a couple minutes ago. The doctor told Dad that they probably just tried a little too early. They'll leave her on there a couple more days or so and give it another shot.

Ok, let's see if I can get this correct

2011-04-20T07:58:00.003-05:00

Update on Mom is that the pneumonia is back and along with it is another complication. Mom isn't getting deep enough breaths in and out just with the oxygen mask on. Because she's not getting enough of the breath back out, carbon dioxide (CO2) is getting left in her lungs. The CO2 is then combining with water (H2O) in her lungs making carbonic acid (which if I remember correctly from my high school chemistry class is H2C03 with the chemical equation being H2O + CO2=H2CO3 *thank you Mr. Cline*). From what I understand, the lungs always have some carbonic acid in them as a biproduct of breathing--she just has it in excess because she's not getting enough of the CO2 back out.

So, bottom line is they have to put the ventilator back in so they can get gunk out of her lungs. Will keep everyone posted as I am able. Thanks for the thoughts, prayers, etc.

Ella has a new hobby

2011-04-18T08:45:00.004-05:00

Just a little more proof that Ella might actually be Aunt Robbie's kid instead of mine. Aunt Robbie decided to teach Ella how to rug hook over spring break. You might recognize rug hooking from Aron's Aunt Alice's blog on the side of this one.

Ella designed this little beauty all by herself and wants to hang it in her new room. She already has plans for the next one which will be mostly text: "Ella's Room. No Lukes allowed" Wait a minute...she might be mine after all...

Cannnnnnn-deeeeee!

2011-04-18T08:31:00.004-05:00

Ella with the grades 1-3 crowd Ella implementing the strategy

Ella showing off her candy-filled rewards

Aron's hands cracking into Luke's goodies

The Three Stooges: Myles, Ella, and Luke (Chase declined the photo opportunity)

Grammie is officially at her rehab facility. They had an Easter egg hunt there over the weekend. My kids decided it would be a good idea to coordinate a Grammie visit with the hunt (those kiddos are so smart). Aron took Luke to the Pre-k/K section and I took Ella to the grade 1-3 section. We talked a little strategy before it actually started. As you can see by her stash, the strategy worked well. Yes, I took a toll of candy as mastermind of the strategy.

Luke's end of basketball season wrap up

2011-04-18T07:23:00.003-05:00

" You see it, Stevie? This is my new sports bible and right next to it is my new basketball trophy. I already have a space cleared in my bedroom to hold both of these in a prominent position. Why yes, I do have plans to sleep with both of them tonight. How did you know?"

"My peeps and our trophies."

Luke's team finished the season with just one loss. He had a great time and was super excited about the trophy and sports bible he received for participating. As a part of the closing ceremony for the basketball season, all the kids get to run across the gym floor while their name is announced. I can't get blogger to let me add a video right now but I will add it soon. In the mean time, enjoy the pics.

We're springing Mom out

2011-04-13T07:01:00.003-05:00

Mom's being let out of the hospital today (YAY!)! She's going to a rehab facility this afternoon where she will be working on building up her strength. No clue how long she'll be there (we've heard varying reports from a couple weeks to a couple months...who knows) but at least she'll be closer to home and family. The kids are ready to start seeing her on a more regular basis. Her voice continues to get stronger each day but she's still very hoarse. Her lungs remain weak but she is working on building them back up, too.

I'm going to try to get back to my regular blogging. If something major comes along with Mom, I'll update here. Otherwise, it will be back to Ella and Luke adventures.

It's a beautiful day both outside and inside

2011-04-10T21:23:00.005-05:00

It was gorgeous outside today. Aron and I decided to take a "day of rest" and not visit my Mom at the hospital for the first time in two weeks. We did some laundry (wow did we need that), dishes (yikes it was scary in there), took big naps (can you say "exhausted"), and took the kids to the park. I told Dad to call me if anything big happened with Mom and we would be right there. Well, something big ended up happening.

She was moved out of ICU. And you know what it means when you get out of ICU and go to the regular part of the hospital, right? Right? Right?

KID VISIT!!
We hopped in the car and took a little drive to see her new digs with the kiddos. When we told them where we were going, it was like it was Christmas. Imagine a lot of whooping and little arms being waved in the air. They were a little shy for about 30 seconds because Grammie looks a little different (nasal cannula, IV bag, etc.). Soon Luke was sitting on the end of her bed tickling her feet and she was kicking him back. Good therapy for everyone involved. Mom should still be there a few more days then she'll be off to her rehab facility to get her working out started. I'll let everyone know when Dad finalizes her location for cards and visitors but you can still send them to their house or mine in the mean time.

Yeeeeeee-ha!

2011-04-09T07:37:00.004-05:00

MOM IS AWAKE. Super duper awake. She gets tired easily but I was able to have conversations with her last night for the first time. Before this, she would nod yes or shake no but not really engage in conversation and preferred to watch TV more than anything. A few days ago when she was first waking up, Dad asked her if she knew how she got there and she said no. He then asked her if she wanted to know and she also said no. Yesterday, she waited until Dad left the room and asked me how she got there. Knowing her response to Dad just a few days ago, I asked her if she really wanted to know and she said yes. I told her she went to our local hospital and that after they got her ready to go, she got to Riverside by helicopter. I avoided using the word Life Flight just because I wasn't sure if she knew exactly how bad it was and I didn't want to frighten her. She was amazed--she had no recollection of any of that.

Yesterday, she had a barium swallow study because she's having a hard time swallowing, her voice is weak, and her cough is weak as a result of having the vent in for so long. The study showed that she's having a hard time swallowing thin liquids like water but does fine with thicker consistencies like honey. With the weakness in her throat, liquids like water could just trickle down into her lungs and she would never know it. As her throat and everything continues to heal, she will eventually be able to drink water and other thin liquids again.

She also had physical therapy and occupational therapy evaluations yesterday. They want to start in on her therapies right away. They were very hesitant to give an estimate for how long she would need to be in a rehab facility building her strength back up but eventually my Dad wore them down. The therapists estimated that it would take 2 months for her to be able to go home. We don't want it to be that long but we all realize this is the best thing for her. The severity of the pneumonia and sepsis was just so bad that it took all she had to survive. My Mom's a tough cookie...she'll kick ass at all that therapy and come back home stronger than she was before.

Quick, brief update for Mom

2011-04-06T10:41:00.003-05:00

The ventilator is out! She spoke a few words to my Dad. She still has a lot of "pneumonia stuff" in her lungs but things are looking up! Very excited to have her achieve this milestone and we continue to pray for her in this transition.

As an FYI, I think I might be having some problems with my cell phone ringing when someone calls. I've been getting voice mails when the phone hasn't actually rang and it's not showing up that I missed a call. So, if you need me, don't rely on me seeing that I missed a call. Leave a voice mail and I'll get back to you or try again.