well, i haven't touched the computer in a couple of days.

no my hands aren't broken.


i got the next 5 (that's right) charlaine harris books...and i read them all. all 5, on sunday and monday.


yes, my house is pretty dirty. thanks for asking.


and i think i dropped a couple of pounds. well, when i do a reading marathon like that...well, i forget to eat...and drink...and pay attention to any one or thing.


bad mommy! bad!

i have the next book due to arrive in the next week. (thank you walmart.com) and i can't wait.


i think i may have to read all 5 over again. very slowly this time.

they are like, um, romance type sci-fi type supernatural books.


and yes, the hubby has been reaping the rewards. dirty house and all.




on another subject.

terry's memorial is tonight. my mom picked up a picture of him and i from hubby and my wedding. i was sitting in his lap, and he has this huge smile on his face. he was pretty cute. of course he has his mouth wide open so you can see his tongue piercing. it's going to be a sad night. when i get it back from my mom, i'll post it.


maybe

miracle monday

i have been thinking about this post for a while. i guess trying to figure out the right way to put this out there.

when i started high school, my mom asked me about some of the people in my school...you know, names, in case she knew anybody's parents. it is a small world, and as it turned out, she actually knew a couple of people's parents.
one in particular was terry. he was in a wheelchair. our moms were friends in high school. as terry put it "we rode in car seats next to each other". terry's mom had lost her brother tragically, the year before he was born. she named him after her brother. she was young, i think 16 when she married terry's dad, and had terry.
our moms lost touch after both of them moved. they kept up with each other a little through a mutual friend...but really didn't keep up as they should have.
and then we had to move, and i went to high school. and there was terry...in a wheelchair. he had been diagnosed with MD when he was a pre-teen. he had been athletic..played sports, and was a pretty outgoing kid. his parents were told it would be a miracle if he lived to be 18.
terry was a party guy. my husband and several others would go and pick up terry and take him to all the parties. he had lots of friends, even if he couldn't walk, and you had a hard time understanding him sometimes. high school was great for him. he wasn't left out, as some may have been. he lived his life to the fullest.
funny thing about doctors, they aren't always right. terry lived to be 18...and 21...and 30...in fact, he's still around. it hasn't been easy. his MD has progressed.
for his privacy, i won't go into how he's doing as of now...
please pray for him. i had no idea how much pain MD can cause. please pray for his mom, she is having a really hard time right now. please pray for his sister, and the rest of their family.

today, my hubby called me to say some a friend of ours' spouse has moved out. this friend is one of the kindest people i have ever met, and i don't think i have seen a better parent...

i feel so badly for him. you hear so many stories about husbands that don't help much with the kids (like from me for example). this guy takes their 4 kids to their games and practices, gives them their baths, takes them to church, cooks...

their youngest was born 3 days after my littlest, zack. their oldest is a year younger than my oldest. these kids are some of the most well behaved and nicest kids around. their 3 child is my grace's bestest friend. i love them like family, and it hurts to see them going through this.

i guess it brings back that fear of being 30. the wife is only 3 or 4 years older than i am. she is repeating old family patterns...her mom left her dad with all 5 of them, her being 18 months old at the time.

why do people do that? i don't want to sound like divorce is evil, and always wrong, but how do you go from loving someone enough to not only marry them, but create 4 beautiful children together...and then decide it's not what you want? i just don't get it...and i hope i never do.

best vacation spot?

hey everyone! just a quick post/question. please leave a comment!!!!
we are trying to plan our vacation. it's with 3 other couples, in feb and keep in mind these other couples like to drink. we went on a cruise. that was lots of fun, but we had to pay for our drinks. while that wasn't a big deal for us, there were a others that spent quite a bit more than they expected.
please tell me of some of your best vacations. or some great spots in your neck of the woods. just keep in mind that we are talking feb. we would love some place you can drive to. (we can drive anywhere! so far we've driven to new york, canada, new orleans...so you get the picture!)
we are up for pretty much anything. most of us are coming from missouri, but one couple will be coming from new jersey.
anyway...please leave a comment or two. tell your friends, ask them to leave a comment too! so far, we are looking at colorado...but feb? not so sure that would be a great plan.
thanks everyone!

ok, maybe 30 isn't as bad as i thought..

last night my family threw a surprise birthday party for me. i was TOTALLY surprised. i had no clue they had this going on. it was at my dad's house. i thought we were going over there because we had started this tradition of the adults going out for an adult's birthday. even when i saw all the cars, i still had no idea. it wasn't until i saw the crowd on the front lawn. my wonderful husband started planning this in may. he did such a fabulous job. i guess my kids had known for a while too...well, at least the older ones. josh and zack had no idea what was going on. the boys and i had had the day to ourselves. we went up to the fairgrounds, we went to a feed store, we went out to lunch, zack helped me wash the pig. it was a great day for us. they were just as shocked as i was.

this is my 3rd surprise party. i have had no idea anything was going on at any of them. my best friend jessica (she was there last night) threw me a surprise going away party when my parents split up and i was having to move away. well, she and her mom (we were like 13). her mom was there last night too. she was like a second mom when i was growing up. i actually called her mom and her husband dad for a time. i practically lived at their house for months before my parents split. i was so glad to see them, and jess's 2 kids. i hadn't seen them since they were like 4 and 2. they are like almost 9 and 7. beautiful, well behaved, and i could totally pick them out of the crowd. brady looks just like he did, jenna is the spitting image of her mommy.
i think jessica threw the second one too. for my 14th or 15th birthday . she and shawn. maybe sara helped too. and my mom helped of course. i can't remember my teen years to well. i want to say my 14th birthday because i wasn't into drugs at that time...and shawn was around a lot then...but i don't remember that well. i just remember thinking (before the party) wow, the house sure is clean. then friends started showing up. i can't believe i have been so blessed with family and friends that find me so worthy of all that planning and sneaking around.

what's funnier is i had told hubby i didn't want a party. no thanks. not because turning 30 bothered me so much. more because i don't like putting my mom and dad and diane in the same room...or town. it is too nerve wracking. i spend the night hoping mom doesn't drink enough to decide she wants to start something. my dad and diane, i don't worry about them. mom, well, she's another story. i would have been sick for weeks had i known about this party. (like i was before my wedding and my sister's wedding...and jeff's 30th party). mom "had a little captain in her" but she was well behaved. i am so glad. (maybe i'll put this in for my miracle on miracle monday)

thanks to my dad, diane, hubby, mom, sister in law deb, for putting this together for me. i have truly been blessed with you all in my life. thanks to all the friends and family that came. you people totally rock! for those that couldn't make it, i'm sorry you missed it, it was a great time.
thanks to my kiddo's. you didn't spill the beans, you decorated the house so beautifully, and you got along! i couldn't ask for more (except you to help clean the house and your rooms once in a while!). i love you all! thanks to God for putting you all in my life!

miracle monday

hello dear readers! i would like to share what happened to a friend a couple of years ago. jeff (the friend not my hubby) is the step dad of one of alex's friends. he's a really nice guy, very "faith" filled man. he lost his mom to breast cancer when he was pretty young. he's a great dad. he's also a duck hunter. a very avid duck hunter, as are many men out in our parts. (not my hubby though) he and several of his friends have a really nice duck blind...complete with a cooking stove and chairs, a lower level...very nice. this cook stove is a propane stove. he arrived early one morning so he could get some breakfast cooking before his friends got there, and when he went to light the stove....

BOOOOM!!!!!!!

the stove had been left on a little, or there was a slight leak in the tank, no one is really sure, but the result was the same...the lower level of the blind had filled with propane. when he went to light the stove, it exploded and blew him into the water. his friends heard the explosion and called 911 on their cell phones, as they rushed to him. he was in the hospital for over a month recovering from the burns on his arms, hands, and face.

there are so many miraculous things that came together here for this man.
1. he was the only one in the blind, it could have been so much worse had they all been there.
2. he didn't bend down to light the stove, he just lit the match and lowered his hand. his burns would have been so much worse, possibly could have caused his death.
3. he was blown into the water. had he not hit the water, his burns would have been worse.
4. his friends were right there.

this man's wife spent every day at that hospital with him. they had friends that spent every day with them, helping them with their kids, helping them at the hospital. they had our parish praying for them constantly.

today, i am so happy to say, he has really no visible scars. there are no scars on his face at all. there may be slight scarring on his arms, but you can't tell. he is a different man. before his accident, he was involved in so many church committees. he is taking things a little slower now. he's appreciating life more now.

this man is truly a miracle.

i went to a party, and who knew....

i'd find a drink that i like! i have discovered amaretto sours. debbie is a lady i babysit for, and she was also the bartender where we went last night (baby shower). she wanted to get me a drink, but, being the wuss that i am, i can't stand the taste of alcohol. so she thought about what i might like, and gave me an amaretto sour. it tasted like lemonade. very sweet lemonade. i LOVED it. so she ended up buying me 3. she has been trying to get me out on the town for a while now, and wanted to make sure i had a good time. i had a great time.
the shower was for another girl i babysit for. my friend lana, a girl she works with, and i got it together for her. cindy is great. she just had her 4th baby, and i get to watch her! yippee! i can't wait. she has a son that is alex's age, a daughter that's a year older than haley, and another daughter that's right between grace and josh. they weren't planning on having anymore kids after their third, and got rid of all their baby stuff. the baby is absolutely beautiful! a thick (and i mean no scalp showing thick) head of black hair, and a clear darker complexion. gorgeous!

so, other than the raging headache i have right now (not through alcohol, i had it before then), i am having a pretty great weekend. alex has a soccer game tonight, haley has a girl scout thing, and then we are playing cards tonight too.

the pig is doing pretty good. she's been eating well, and alex has been taking her outside alot and walking her around. i was worried that she'd try to run off, but we have more trouble getting her away from the basement door than trying to get her back in. she likes the basement. i think this may become a problem when she's 200+ pounds, but right now, it's ok.

the power of prayer

another miracle monday thanks to beth at http://beth-amomslife.blogspot.com/. she is truly an inspiration. anyone that has any miracles they can think of, post about it and link it to beth. there are some truly amazing stories there!

*warning, this post contains a bad word. if that offends, then this may not be the post for you!

i would like to tell you all about some friends of mine. kathy is a pe teacher. her husband dan is a great guy. they have 3 girls. one is a freshman in college, one is a senior in high school, and their youngest is in 3rd grade with my haley. as some of you who read my blog may know, dan was diagnosed as having ALS back in august. they decided to tell no one, not even their kids. at least not until after christmas. they lived with knowing he had a terminal disease, a horrible debilitating disease. after the start of the new year, they told family first, then friends. when asked by his twin brother if there was anything he could do, dan answered "make sure my girls don't marry assholes". he still had his sense of humor.
of course as soon as we all found out, the prayers started. we all prayed for, if not a total mistake, at least a misdiagnosis. dan started seeing doctors after telling everyone. he went to 3 or 4 different ones for different opinions.
why is this a miracle? after all the prayers, it turns out, he doesn't have ALS. he has parkinson's. while that isn't a great and wonderful thing, it is sooo much better than ALS and the 3 to 5 year life expectancy.
this man, through the grace of God, was given a reprieve. thanks to the many prayers of a loving community, he will get to stay around longer...if for nothing else than to make sure his girls don't marry assholes!

this is so not fair!

all 5 kids have those thick dark eyelashes...just like their dad. why couldn't i get them too? is it too much to ask? i mean, i did give birth to all 5, i nursed all 5, i cook their meals, drive them to their sports practices, friends' houses, and oh so much more...is having some thick luscious eyelashes too much to ask for? i guess so. i guess getting my old metabolism and my flat stretch mark free belly back is not going to happen either.
i guess i can live with that.
i do need to lose some weight though. not for health or beauty reasons, but for the "youngest child uses my belly roll as a security blanket" reason. he has to rub my bare belly when he is near me. in fact he has even gotten to the point of pulling his shirt up and exposing my unsightly belly and laying tummy to tummy. this was so cute when i was nursing, but the kid is going on 3, and my belly is not something i want out there for the world to see. i don't know what to do. the hubby thinks it is not normal. then again, he thought nursing a baby was not "normal" either. i changed his tune on that one! so maybe if i lose the weight, get a flat (uh i should add an er to that) stomach, he won't be so interested in it.

ok, i want to give a shout out to hawaii, texas, missouri, north carolina, and new jersey! thanks for coming by regularly (or not so regularly) to see my little old blog! much appreciated!
and amanda, i would be down there in a second if i could! that is one of the places i want to see so badly!
thanks to all who comment, and those who don't.

what's going on...

today i saw a guy i used to work with as a teenager. jabari went to a neighboring high school. he and i are the same age. he is like 6 foot 4, and funny. he could make a crappy day turn into a riot. he was also hard working. he taught me how to make biscuts (we worked at hardee's) and how to work the "back line" after i made the jump from front line to back line. (that's fastfood speak for cashier to food maker) i loved working there. the guys were all fun. the girls never stayed long though. i think i may have been the only girl that worked there from the beginning to mid "96.
there were a few guys there that may have had a thing for me. only one i ever had a crush on. but i am a firm believer in the old saying "you don't poop where you eat".
the only problem i ever had...and this is why i quit working in the front...was men who would say inappropriate things to me. one example (and the last straw) was i was working the front line in the middle of a lunch rush. there were about 4 other girls/women working it with me. we were bagging and taking orders, and the place was packed. all of a sudden, i hear "hey blondie". well, there are like 2 other blonds (besides me) so i figure he's talking to someone else. "no, not you her." one of the girls taps me on my shoulder, and i turn around. "you have a nice ass". i am pretty sure i turned 8 shades of red. you see i was pregnant with my oldest at this time. i was mad. i stormed off the line towards the back yelling "i am not going back up there with a$$holes like that!" i know, i know, very unprofessional of me. but i was a 17 year old pregnant girl, and very hormonal. i think i even started to cry. one of the boys i worked with ( his name was jason, he went to school with us, short, shaved head, sister named casey that died) saw me crying and cheered me up. (something along the line of "i'll go kick his a$$ if you want me to")
i didn't realize i would be using such crude language in this post. sorry if i offend, but it is true to what i was like (and maybe still am a little).
anyway, jabari was so very funny. he was also a really great guy. hopefully i will see him again soon!

last night

in case i haven't said this before, i am not a basketball fan. i've never played it. i never really enjoyed watching the pro's and i didn't really like watching my son play the first couple of years. now, that being said, i do actually find myself getting really involved and interested in the games now. my oldest daughter is going to start playing this year. basketball has been in my family for a long time. my uncle had a basketball scholarship to college (he is only 11 years older than me) and my aunt played when she was in high school. i remember going to watch them play. i was never really coordinated. i still can barely get from point a to point b without tripping. so i never played any sports.
ok, that being said, i went to a high school basketball game last night. my sister in law is the assistant coach for the local catholic high school girls' varsity basketball team. she is also the head coach of the jv team. the girls are playing in the districts. they went to state last year and took 4th. we are hoping that they make it that far again. a friend's daughter is one of their star players. she is a very sweet, very talented, very beautiful girl. her little sister is one of haley's friends. i got to say, i was really into the game. it was amazing. the people who turned out to watch these teams play. the gym was packed (and it's a big gym! troy's gym) and most of them were cheering for our team. it was a great time. we brought the 4 younger kids (alex had his own practice that night) and haley was the only one interested in the game. but even she was distracted from it. she had about 4 girls from her class at the game to hang out with. the gym was filled with alumni-most of which didn't have a kid on the team...they just wanted to support their school and team. it was a really cool experience.

*their was one girl on the other team that reminded me of you rachel. she was 6ft 2inches and a really cute girl. her team lost though. so since i don't think i ever saw you guys play, i'll stop the comparison there.

so to summarize, i will no longer talk about my dislike of basketball. i have been made a fan.

we have returned!

hello all! have you missed me? we had a great time on our cruise. i would recommend carnival cruise lines to anyone! this is actually the second time we have traveled with them. the staff they have is the nicest and hardest working bunch. we met people from Indonesia, India, Belarus, and many other countries too. it is amazing when out of the 2600 guests on the cruise, they know you by name...and that's half way thru a 5 day cruise! we did get sunburned (some more than others) and we had bryan getting sick 2 separate nights. well, then jeff was sick the whole ride home. yes the entire 10 hour drive home. it was great getting to reconnect with bryan, and getting to know michelle better. bryan actually enjoyed dinner, and had *gasp* compliments for the chef! believe me, he is very picky about his food (being a chef, that's understandable), so the fact he called several dishes "fabulous" was pretty high praise indeed! we had 2 stops, one in progresso island(?) which was ok. there wasn't many shops, and there didn't seem to be a lot to do. granted we just went to a beach party, but we arrived at 9 am and had to be back at the boat by 3. it just wasn't enough time. nathan took a pretty nasty chunk out of his foot trying to climb a telephone pole for a bottle of tequila (contest on the beach). the man who actually won was like 50 years old, drunk as a skunk, and went all the way to the top. of course on his way down, he tore up his foot and his shin. we saw him a couple of nights later, he said he couldn't even sleep because of the pain. anyway, cozumel was really fun. we went on a dune buggy tour of the island. our tour guide was awesome. he was so knowledgeable about the history of the island. we got to see some crocodiles in the wild. they built a walkway and observation tower out over the water. we saw around 5 crocs close up, and they were around 6 to 8 feet long. pretty cool! after the tour, we hit carlos and charlie's and senior frog's. lots of fun there! and we got to do some shopping. it still didn't seem like we had enough time. we left the boat at 9 am and had to be back by 4. the entertainment on the ship was good. the comedians were funny, and the singer they had by the casino bar was amazingly funny, or we were all really drunk...one or the other.
i have a different opinion of new orleans now. the first time we went (last year), it was smelly and you wanted to take a shower after being down there. this time was much more fun. we hung out on bourbon street sunday night ( the same night as the NBA all stars game) and had a great time. when we got off the ship yesterday, we went back down to the french quarter and went thru their market place. it was really fun. we would definitely go back.
now, we came home around 1am, and their is snow and ice everywhere. the kids had 2 snow days while i was gone. ( ha ha) the kids were good, and no one had any major problems...well except for the fact alex and haley argued quite a bit while we were gone. (no surprise there)
i think we are definitely going to do this again. in fact bryan and michelle want us to start planning another one for next year!
ok, this has been long enough...and i don't want to make anyone too jealous!

am i jumping the gun?

i found out over the weekend that dan's diagnosis has changed. it isn't als, it is parkinsons. i guess after telling his family, he started to go to wash u for treatment, and they determined that it is parkinsons. now, parkinsons isn't great, but it's a hell of a lot better than als. i don't know how many more opinions they are going to get, but i think i would get at least 2 more. how crazy is that? after holding it in for months, and finally telling people, you find out that you have something else. but thank god it is!

that's all i have time to post about right now. i'll try to put some more on later.

why i love my little town

last night, jeff got home really really late. he had been pretty busy with customers all day. in fact his day, which was supposed to end at 3:30, didn't end until 10. yeah, it was a long day. and yet he came home in high spirits. believe me, that is not usually the case. he told me his boss showed him something pretty amazing...
i'm sure you remember my friend kathy's husband was diagnosed with als, and they have known about it for months, but just told everyone recently. my community, my fellow church members, my friends,(they are all one in the same) are building a house for dan and kathy. you see, they have been dreaming about building a house for years. they have the property, but were waiting until the older girls were out of high school to build. right now they live in a small 2 story home, and their bedroom is on the 2nd floor. that works for right now, but unfortunately it won't work well when the disease progresses. once people in our community found out, several started to think about what they could do for them. we have several builders, and contractors in our community, dan and kathy have lots of friends, like us, that are willing to help, so hopefully soon they will have a new home.

this is not an isolated incident. the generosity of my community is awe inspiring. when our principal started at our school, she had just lost her son to lung cancer. he was in his 20's. he left behind a wife and young daughter. his daughter was diagnosed with cancer while her daddy was still fighting the good fight. this family had struggled alot. his daughter beat the cancer (in her jaw area). unfortunately, it came back within 2 years...this time in her leg. her mother is one of the strongest people i know. parents of the other kids in the girl's class, teachers, and just other community members, got together and threw a benefit for her. they raised over $30,000 in one night for her. people donated so much stuff, and then spent so much money, all for a little girl they had only known for a couple of years. she beat the cancer again. she is doing well.

i know there are other communities that are just as generous out there. but this is my town. these are my friends. and this is why i love it here. i hope everyone can find a place where they are so inspired by their neighbors and friends.

same stuff, different day

i found out the other day that a friend of mine's hubby has ALS...that's lou gehrig's disease. i think he is 50. he's got 3 daughters, one is a freshman in college, one is a senior in high school, and one is in 3rd grade with my haley. his daughter is my haley's best friend. this guy is the nicest person. he's coached the girls in softball, and is planning on coaching basketball. i don't know how advanced he is, but they found out in august. they didn't tell anyone (he and his wife) until after the holidays. he has a twin brother. when his twin asked if there was anything he could do for him, his response was "don't let my girls marry assholes". while i cracked up when i heard this, it also broke my heart. please pray for dan and kathy and their girls. shoot, pray for anyone with this disease and their families...but please keep these guys in your thoughts and prayers too.

have i become debbie downer or what? it feels like every time i post, it is asking for prayers for someone who is down on their luck. i know that this is a great way to "get the word out", but i need to think of more witty (perhaps "witty" is not a word best used to describe them) observations or something.
ok, here's a "witty" observation. i don't know if this is all husbands, or just mine.
i was relating to my hubby that i was really really stressed out. i just felt like everyone wanted a piece of me, and i had nothing left to give. i didn't know what i needed, but i just had to vent. he tells me to take off my clothes and get in bed. i'm thinking "ok, i get to go to bed, relax, awesome". that wasn't what he was thinking. he thought that when i said i was stressed that was code for i want sex. seriously. he really thought this. he didn't understand why i told him to go ____ himself and walked out. later when i calmed down, he told me he thought he was helping me...you know sex is a great stress release. that may be, but when you already feel like everyone wants a piece of you, that doesn't help. now, i don't know if other husbands are like this, but that is how mine sees things...

back by popular demand

last night a good friend came back in town. bryan and his daughter brielle were visiting his mom and stopped by for dinner. well, it was bryan, brielle, bryan's brother mike, and mike's wife, denise, and their daughter paige. we had a pretty nice night. we ate pantera's pizza, and talked about old times, new times and times yet to come. the guys went to nathan's house to see all the changes he's made since he bought it from us. (nathan is in australia for the next 5 or 6 weeks for work) you realize how much you miss people like that when you get to see them. i know bryan was always jeff's favorite brother, mine was always mike. but honestly, it was more because i got to know mike more. bryan was living in AZ when i started to date jeff. when he came back, well, i thought he was a bit full of himself. i haven't changed my mind either. when he came back, he was. now, he is married and a father of 2. he's more down to earth...a real person. his wife is great too. she's so nice. the kids are adorable. zack followed brielle around all night. we had a great night. can't wait for the cruise in feb!

today is my grace's birthday. she's 6 today. it is amazing to me that she's gotten so big. she's my littlest princess. she is smart, funny, beautiful, talented, and talkative. she is one of those people that gets joy out of everything. she is such a great kid...and she's mine.
god definitely blessed me when he gave me my grace.

where have you been all my life?!

these are a few things i just recently found out about. i love them. really, if i could marry them, i would.

mucinex. i probably just butchered the spelling, but i love it. i haven't used anything that worked this good in a...well, ever! it didn't just shift everything around. you know like when you can breathe, but don't bend over because your head will explode. i love this stuff.

ammonia. i love smelling this stuff. it really cleans the palate. yes i am kidding...about the smelling part at least. i never washed clothes with this stuff before. oh my gosh! i was totally missing out. you see, i am not that good at laundry. it probably has to do with the fact i hate doing laundry. so sometimes i don't get the clothes out of the washer right away...or even the same day i started them. occasionally, they may sit in there for a few days...never more than a week! but anyway, as you know, laundry starts to stink if it is wet for too long. ammonia is the answer. it even works on pee smell. (kids, people, not me) i love it. it does a great job with the smells and everything actually ends up smelling cleaner than before. why didn't anyone ever tell me about this stuff?

on to the daily buzz...

we went to jeff's work party last night. we closed down hooters. jeff and i were the last ones to leave. i had a few daiquiris and (not much, i was driving) got to meet some of jeff's co-workers. they seem nice enough. definitely different. very different. but very entertaining. everyone had a great time.

time to go...the kids took all the cushions off the couch and are now jumping from the steps to the couch. i need to catch them before we end up needing an er visit!

stress extravaganza

i just have to hang on until the 11th. if i keep telling myself this, maybe i won't go totally nutso. of course i may already be.

what happens on the 11th? well you see, i called my step mom and asked her if she would mind if i made an appt for a haircut. seeing as she owns the shop, i always like to call her first. she tells me she will call me back about what day and time would be best. long story short (because the long story is long and boring) i am now going in at 9:30 for a pedi, facial, oh yeah and a haircut. is she not the best ever?

dawn's new girlfriend is in town. she is really nice. she had a horrible car accident last month. i say horrible because if you saw the car, you would have a hard time believing anyone lived. she had no major life threatening injuries. but she did have extensive damage to her left hand. the doctor said it looked like she stopped her car with her hand. she lost her index finger because it was so damaged. she broke no bones. she just had muscle trauma and major road rash on her hand. she is lucky to be alive.

i was not good company last night. we went out for jason's birthday to o'charley's. home of the kids eat free deal. being as i have 5 kids, this helps when going out as a family. but wait there's more. i also had 4 extra kids. why? well one of the girls i watch, her mom goes to school in the evening. her mother watches the kids normally because her hubby works until 9 or 10. her mother couldn't watch the kids. she had no one else to ask, so of course i said yes. she's a nice lady trying to better herself. her kids are nice kids. they were all fairly well behaved. i just was done with kids. you know you can tell when you are getting pretty stressed. i can atleast. i can feel it in my chest. i had that feeling last night. my sister in law (kim the funny one) asked me if i was ok. sure i am. but, i was thinking i might like another table...closer to the bar. she cracked up. she knows. she's lots of fun. we are definitely getting out for a girls night sometime soon.

oh rachel, no one knows about this, and i hope they never do. i wouldn't be able to make fun of them as easily if they know i'm saying it for the whole webworld to see. so shhhh!

oh yeah, i found out my dad had colon cancer. he had it removed on monday, and found out yesterday it was cancerous. they got it all, and he doesn't have to do anything else right now. but he has to have another colonoscopy done in a year. thank god my step mom kept on him about getting the test done in the first place!

family

i went to my aunt's wake last night. she was a sweet woman, and it showed! the place was packed the entire time i was there. i got to see my aunt nancy and her husband kevin, my uncle bobby and his wife shirley, and my uncle gerry and his wife terri.
nancy is one of my dad's younger sisters.
my uncle kevin is a great guy. he was always nice to us kids. now my aunt nancy...not so much. she wasn't mean, but she wasn't nice either. she always seemed like she was uncomfortable. they have 2 kids that are 16 and 17. it makes me feel so OLD, i used to baby sit these guys!
bobby is the oldest of the 11 kids
my uncle bobby and aunt shirley are the nicest people. they were never able to have children, so they spent their time building their business up. when they sold it a few years ago, i believe they made several million dollars plus they still made a salary as consultants.
gerry is the second oldest.
my uncle gerry and aunt terri are really nice too. out of the above named aunts and uncles, i know them the best. i am around the same age as their kids, my dad and uncle gerry worked together for years, and we all got together alot when i was a kid. i found out my cousin ben (gerry's oldest son) and his wife are expecting another baby. their first child has had major health problems. i believe he stops breathing when he gets upset, or sleeping, or just plain stops breathing. his first year he was in and out of the hospital all the time. he has a trachea tube to be hooked up when he sleeps, and he is very behind developmentally. he doesn't talk, just started walking a year or two ago (and i believe he is 4 or 5). they have him in a school for autistic children now. he just started a month ago. please everyone, pray for this new baby to be healthy, and for their oldest to improve!

from what i understand, my uncle kenny and his wife ann were there too. it's a shame to say it, but i didn't recognize them. they decided several years ago, they didn't want to be a part of the family anymore. well, his wife decided anyway. we haven't seen their kids in 15 years. well, except for amanda. i saw her for the first time this past november. she happened to be at the same restaurant we were at. she went to college with my brother, so he knew who she was. i guess it's silly, but when i think of those kids, they are still little kids. last time i saw amanda, she was, i think, 8 or maybe 9. she was the oldest of their kids together. ann had a son from a previous relationship, and i believe he was a couple of years older than me. ann never got that being in a big family is different than being in a regular sized family. my grandparents had 11 kids. my youngest aunt is 9 years older than me. and i was only the second grandchild. grandparents have a harder time doting on grandkids when they still have their own kids at home. unfortunately, some people don't get that. when you marry into a large family (as i did) you have to be a little more understanding and flexible.
perhaps, i can give you my thoughts on this another time, right now, i have kids to get ready. bryan freeman is in town (his mom broke her leg really bad and is in a wheelchair) and we are going to see him and his mom.

kids and puppies and a couple of jens

my friends, the jens, just left. jen f. is a nurse with 4 kids and a great hubby. she stays home during the week and works weekends in the oncology ward. she has a definite calling. i don't know that i would be able to work there. she came over with her 2 youngest. benny is an adorable newly 3 year old boy. he will be in my zack's class. and meggy (meghan) who is around 7mos. beautiful kids. jen s. is our vet. well, she and her hubby are both our vets. she has 3 kids. she brought over joe (who will also be in zack's class), cora, and syd (he is her friend jessica's boy). this was the first time they had gotten to see the pups. they were all very impressed with the size and friendliness of the whole litter. jen s. said she thinks they will be at least 80lb dogs. if you have ever seen a newfoundland, that is what our fluffy pups look like. if you haven't, just google it, and look at those pics. adorable, i know!

rachel, thanks! i hope i didn't sound like a total freak in my last post. it's just with guy friends, you can get that male perspective. i love my husband, but it's hard to talk to him about him. my friend chris was fun to talk to, but when he started on the whole "well amy, if you stay home, maybe you should do more things like keeping up with all the house work, and doing laundry". i totally dropped him after that. i mean really! he's supposed to be my friend. i'm just kidding chris! you are still my #1 back-up plan if jeff decides that he can't handle the dirty house and annoying kids. (you can still afford a maid right?)

i hope anyone reading this gets that i am just joking about that. (unless it's you reading it chris)

i guess i could go into a little more detail about alex, haley, and grace's report cards and my meetings with their teachers.
i'll start with alex. he made high honors. what that means is he had all a's and only 1 b. (basically a 3.9 gpa) now this is impressive even if you didn't know how much harder the grading scale is in a catholic school. 90% to 92% is a b+. lower than 70% is failing. i was very very happy with his grades, and his test scores on his iowa basics test. that is the standardized test all catholic schools in the arch diocese take. he scored better than 98% of all the 5th graders nationally. congrats alex!
haley didn't make honor roll only because they don't start honor roll until 5th grade. she had all a's. her teacher said she is a great student and always very dedicated to getting her work completed and very neat. the teacher is also going to start her and some other students with some harder math. she said that haley is doing so well, that she is afraid this math that she is teaching is way below their level, and they need to move up to multiplications now, before they get bored. and she was the kid i was worried about. she is my child that has a hard time sitting still. always fidgeting. not in school apparently. she also took the iowa basics test and scored better than 98% of the 3rd graders nationally. who would have thought i would have such intelligent kids?
now we come to grace. kindergarten doesn't have letter grades, but the teacher was very happy with her progress. she is now bringing home books to read, by herself, every night. how awesome is that! she is a reading fiend now! all the time, this book, that book. it is awesome!

i am sooo proud of those kids. not just because they get good grades, but because they try hard and are just good kids. i was so happy yesterday when one of the moms from the field trip told me how good alex was. not that i was surprised he was good, but apparently he was great. he helped her out with directions (he's been there enough, he should know his way around), watched out for his 1st grade buddy, and just a huge help to her. i am so happy with that. it's nice he's that good for strangers. now if only he could do that for ME once in a while!