Crazy Day

Melissa called me this afternoon to let me know they made it home safely. Amazingly, it feels like a week has passed since I dropped them off at the airport...yesterday.

There were kids everywhere today. Tyler's 2 friends spent the night last night and were here most of the day, the neighbor's 2 grandsons came over to play, 2 boys from down the road came over, another boy from around the corner came over, and then Travis had a friend come over to spend the night tonight. That's what?...10 boys running around my front yard and in and out of the house, not counting Tommy. They all got along, for the most part, but when they didn't it was not good.

I cut my hair this morning. I called Rainbow right afterwards, and she kindly reminded me that your supposed to call your support system before you pick up the scissors. Oh well, I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. Shari loved it, she raved when she dropped her son off this afternoon. When Desiree came to pick up her sons, she said it was cute, but that my hair was so pretty before....there you go, mixed reviews.

So my day was cutting my hair, cleaning my house, cooking for kids, visiting with fellow moms, and talking on the phone...between Rainbow, Melissa, Jeff, Rainbow again, and Mom my phone battery actually started to die. It doesn't sound like much, but I am exhausted.

Oh, and Jeff's heart was doing that flip-flop thing again. He called his doctor who had him meet him at the ER. After running some tests he sent Jeff home with some potassium and instructions to lay off the caffeine.

We had tostado salads for a late dinner, and are now trying to settle down for the night. I promised I would post a picture of new do...so here it is. Rather shocking, I know.

Tomorrow comes early, I need to leave earlier to get gas on the way to church and to turn on the heat in the nursery. Our volunteers for tomorrow are first-timers. I hope it goes smoothly.

Oh, and the safe trip comment was for Manny heading back to work this morning. I guess that wasn't clear, that's what I get for blogging so late at night.

Good Night All!

Is it Friday again?

Another Friday, another sleepover night. Not that I mind, I'm glad the kids are entertaining each other. It has been the last 3 Friday nights though, so I think I'll have to say no sleepover next Friday. I need some quiet.

The boys were using their camera, and took these pictures tonight:

I did mention he's a climber, right? I found him on top of the monitor one day. He just wants the telephone.

Travis to the rescue. Tommy didn't really want to be rescued, and I was snatching him back down less than 2 minutes later. Do any of you have any advice for dealing with a climber? Or for keeping my patience in check?

We took Melissa and Geoff to the airport this afternoon. Safe flying, you two! We'll miss you, and love you always. May God bless and protect you while you are away....

I am a little irritated with my 11-year old for growing so quickly. Almost all of his jeans are too short for him now....how annoying! Not that he can help it, but wow! He is becoming a big help again. You know how little kids like to help their parents, then they grow out of it? Well, I'm hoping what I'm seeing lately is growing back into it. Today he made lunches for all of us to take on our airport journey. I asked him to make the sandwiches, but he bagged them all in lunch bags, packed oranges, and even wrote our names on the bags. How sweet.

Tyler doesn't mind Travis growing so fast, he just inherited a batch of dress shirts last week, and he dresses up every day. I'll have to make a point to get a picture soon. His usual uniform is slacks, a dress shirt, tie, and vest. He's adorable. I often think of him as a little Alex Keaton. We are working on the emerging attitude. God knows just how much I can take. As a rule only one of the kids gives me attitude at a time.

Hey Manny, thanks for the laugh tonight. I needed it...."drag", right. Have a safe trip tomorrow. Rainbow......BLOG! You should come up for my birthday, or your birthday, or Valentine's Day, or Travis's birthday...lol. The point is, come visit soon.

Alright, love you guys! I gotta close this. Good Night.

Who is That?

That's what my kids asked when they saw this picture...Who is that?

Thanksgiving 1994

There's another incentive to keep on losing weight!

We were talking about favorite belts the other day, after Tyler's belt broke. He was upset and said I don't know how it feels to lose your favorite belt, so I told him that I have a favorite belt that doesn't fit me anymore, so I do kinda know how it feels. Well, he found that belt today, and we discovered that it doesn't fit Travis either (at least not to the holes I had to drill in it to wear it back then).

I am going to buy Chalene Johnson's newest program, Chalene Extreme, and give it a whirl. I figure I love Turbo Jam and it's effective, so I'll see what the new one does. It's a 3-month program that is supposed to be super effective. I don't imagine I'll be able to start it until March, but I should make progress before summer. In the meantime, I need to get back to Turbo Jam on a regular basis, I've been pretty hit and miss lately.

The boys and I did get our walk in today. We walked up to the store and back. Travis always saves his serious conversations for our walks. Today it was the rapture....wow!

Before our walk, we went and bought Travis a new reading workbook. I actually gave him his choice between reading and a word study/phonics book. He looked through them both and chose reading...okay, that surprised me.

Yesterday we went bowling. That seems like forever ago now, it's been a long day for some reason. Anyway, we went bowling with our WOW! group, and we had a good time. Tommy sat with a lady from church and didn't complain much at all while the boys and I headed to separate lanes and bowled with our respective peer groups. It was nice hanging out with the 30-somethings. I need more of that.

One of the ladies is arranging a monthly family fellowship time, so we can do more hanging out. Another lady is arranging a ladies night that will take place every-other month, unfortunately it will be on Mondays. She said she tried to get the committee to change it to another night, but it was a no-go. At least I'll be able to go to the one in July, maybe.

I know there was more I wanted to blog today, because I thought about it several times, but I have forgotten. Tomorrow I'll take Melissa and Geoff back to the airport. They're going home and getting back to life, which is a good thing. I'll miss them, I've become accustomed to having them around. I know they need to go home, though. They are talking about coming back in another year or so....I'll be hopeful.

My little climber, diving off the headboard!

Just being cute.

Being like "B0-Bo"

I don't always understand boys....

I really don't always understand boys.

I made these yesterday.

All of those pens, pencils, scissors, etc... were laying around on my desk, on my dresser, being lost. So, I made pen holders that would look decent in my bedroom. I'm rather proud of how they turned out, and decided I would show them off. Not bad for something that held peaches just a few days ago, huh?

7 Stages of Grief

Shock or Disbelief
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Guilt
Depression
Acceptance and Hope

Everybody Busy?

I guess we all must be doing our own things these days...nobody seems to have time to blog. Rainbow, I haven't heard from you lately.

My kids are keeping me busy, as usual. Friday they had a friend sleep over. His grandma came out and dropped him off, she stayed for a cup of coffee and the next thing we knew 3 hours had passed. Oops!


Saturday we took the friend home, and stopped by Melissa's family home for the Memorial...they seem to be doing okay. It snowed a little Saturday night, just a dusting, but Tyler was excited. He went with me to take books to the book drop and was really excited to see it start snowing.

I didn't get any sewing done this weekend, but I did get the material ready to cut. I also moved the sewing machine back into my bedroom. Small steps.


Sunday was a busy day. We went to church, Melissa and Geoff joined us. It was Ken's last sermon. After church we went with Melissa and Geoff to her Dad's place so we could kill some time. They were kind enough to let me print something since I am currently without ink. Wal*Mart was sold out when I went to buy it, and I didn't have time to run around town. I need to tomorrow though, because Travis was given some homework to do for Scouts....but I digress....When we left Melissa and Geoff we went to Silverdale for a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. That turned out to be more fun than I had anticipated. After the birthday party we went home and found my brother-in-law and sister-in-law waiting for us in our driveway. They stayed for a bit, but left just before Melissa and Geoff arrived for dinner. After dinner, Melissa and I went to the store while Jeff and Geoff watched a movie.

Today Tommy was up before 5, and I was way too tired to deal with it. Jeff got up with him about 6:30 or so, and I went back to sleep. When I woke up again later, my eye was sealed shut. Ugh! My eye has been bugging me all day since...not fun.

The heater repair guy came today. Our heater broke on Friday, it wouldn't shut off. We've spent the weekend turning on and off circuit breakers. Now it's fixed, but I still want to get a new thermostat, preferably a programmable one. I hate the ugly, broken, 30-year old one that sticks out of the hallway wall.

I walked Travis down to his Boy Scout meeting (which I never do) and ended up being stopped by the Asst. Scoutmaster regarding the B&G Banquet next month and the Scoutmaster regarding the Court of Honor and advancement stuff. When I finished with them, I discovered the Cub Scouts were locked out of our meeting hall. I waited around with the growing crowd of boys and leaders, then went back to interrupt the Scoutmaster in his conference so I could borrow his keys.

We had a Pack meeting tonight, and all the Bears got the awards they have been working on. Way to go Bears!!! Actually, almost all the boys in the Pack got something, they have all been working hard. We didn't have a Pack Meeting in December, so some of these awards have been earned for awhile.

That's about it. I need to go get the baby ready for bed now. Tomorrow I need to fix Travis's bedroom doorknob so he doesn't keep getting locked in.

Today is my mother-in-laws birthday. A few days ago, I asked her if she had any plans. She said she didn't, so I asked her if we could take her out to dinner. We decided we'd go to China Sun Buffet, and told her we'd call her the night before (yesterday) to confirm plans.

Jeff called his sister yesterday, and we found out that everybody in the family was coming to dinner. Not really, but it felt like it. It was actually a really neat thing. Marlene ended up having her birthday dinner with all 3 of her kids, their spouses, 5 grandkids, 2 spouses of grandkids, and 1 great-grandson. We left Tommy at home, and Danielle didn't bring Kegan, so the under 2 crowd was missing. It was fun, it was casual and relaxed and nice.

Tommy was cranky, and he fell asleep as we were getting ready to leave. We had about 40 minutes before we needed to be walking out the door. I called Mom and basically asked her if she could get in her car right then and come babysit for us. Naturally she asked what was up, and when I told her she was very willing to come over. Thank you, Mom. I don't think it would have been quite so relaxing with a grumpy 1-yr old along.

Tomorrow Tyler has a friend coming over for the night. Sunday is going to be crazy. I wanted to make a skirt this weekend, but am not sure that will happen. Maybe Saturday evening? I honestly don't know.

I hope everybody out there is doing well. Manny, thanks for the warning. Melissa, can you believe I am out of printer ink, again?????? Good luck with that birthday present you want, Rainbow. Good night everyone!

Counting Calories

I keep saying this; over and over and over again, I need to log what I eat! When I log it, I lose weight. Why? Because I'm eating too much if I'm not paying attention? NO!!!!

 

I still have a hard time believing that I need to eat MORE if I want to lose weight right. I found a website last night that helps to explain how metabolism works and what the minimum calories you should consume are http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

The absolute minimum calories I should eat on a daily basis is 1600. Today, I wrote everything down:

 

Hash brown =140

2 eggs = 150

Olive Oil = 120

Coffee (w/cream & sugar) = 30

Breakfast total = 440

 

4 oz. ground beef = 240

Sloppy Joe mix = 80

Hot dog bun = 110

Cheese = 60

Lunch total = 470

 

Apple = 80

Peanut Butter = 190

Snack total = 270

 

Normally I would have a salad in the evening and call it good. Maybe add in another 60 calories for coffee throughout the day. That would be a maximum of 200 more calories. This brings me to a grand total of 1380 calories for the day! And that's a big eating day. A normal day would have started with a bowl of oatmeal or cheerios, at a mere 120 calories, and a 100 calorie yogurt. However, we were all hungry when we got home from church tonight, so I cooked us all food.

 

Hamburger Patty = 150

Egg = 75

Hash brown = 140

Cheese = 30

Pineapple = 40

Dinner total = 435

This brought my daily total up and over the 1600 calorie minimum! I reached a whopping 1615 calories eating all that food! Tack on the coffee and I get to 1675. Granted, I did not eat right today. There is way too much protein on the list, and there were no dairy or vegetables. This is not a typical eating day for me. I normally would have consumed far more veggies and at least 2 servings of dairy. I don't normally eat nearly that much meat. A normal day's calorie count would have been much lower. It would have been around 250 for breakfast, 450 for dinner, 80 for a snack, and 150 for a salad, bringing me in at about 1000 calories. When, oh when will I learn?????

What Happened to Days Off?

I know there must be days that I don't work, but I don't remember any. Actually, as far as working goes, I didn't do much today.

The boys made breakfast this morning: hash browns, eggs, yogurt, and fruit. Good job, boys! I was sure to tell Scott that Josh made breakfast for everybody.

There was another membership application in my mailbox at church this morning. LOL! The nursery seems to be under control. I still need to do some shopping for basic supplies, but the schedule is printed and I think I have the heat figured out. It was warm in there today, anyway. So far, so good.

We left church, dropped the boys off at home w/Mom, and went over the airport to get Melissa & Geoff. They arrived a little early, no problems, we were back on the road after paying way too much for a Diet Pepsi. We dropped them off at her parent's house and came back home. By the time we got back home, we'd been on the road for 3 1/2 hours.

Melissa will probably call in a few days, after she's had some time to process. Wow, I feel so sad for her. They did arrive safely, and they are now with their family.

When we got back home I made dinner and watched the Steelers game. There was one heck of a collision toward the end of the game, I pray that Raven is going to be okay. Now we know the Cardinals and Steelers will be facing off in the SuperBowl. Go Cardinals!!!! The Steelers will probably win, though.

Yesterday I took Travis's friend home, took Travis to the skating rink, watched a movie with my mother-in-law, chatted on the phone with my sister-in-law, picked Travis up from the skating rink, did the shopping, made dinner, did Scott & Amanda's taxes for them, got the paperwork done for the nursery at church, and ???? I'm sure there was more...tomorrow is schooling and Scouts. Josh will be hanging out here while Scott & Amanda go do some work. Aunt Lori is going to make him work on his book report while the other boys are learning about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rainbow, I have the boys dreaming Disney dreams now. Jeff seems to be okay with the idea, if we can come up with the cash.

Alright, I have dirty dishes calling me. I need to go teach Ty to make corn-on-the-cob too. Later!

That friendship poem was for you too Melissa! I'm working on putting together a slide show to play with "Friends are Friends Forever" by Michael W. Smith. I've been working on it for a couple days.


I keep meaning to blog about this: Travis, at the age of 11, has decided that he needs a little more rocking music in his life. Don't misunderstand me, he still blares my Craig Morgan CD, and others, but he really wanted something else. Unfortunately, something else was getting old, fast. Melissa came to the rescue. For Christmas she made Travis 2 mixed CDs. He loves them! I love them! He wants to play them every time we get in the car, he blasts them from his bedroom CD player, and even his friends think the music is totally cool. At first, I had a hard time getting used to Mozart exploding out of the speakers, but it's been very inspirational. She included Stryper and Michael W. Smith, nothing for a Christian parent to complain about, and the boys just love it. Thank you again, Melissa. Travis will write when I give him a chance.

Melissa....

Melissa,

I am so very sorry for your loss. My heart, my deepest sympathy, goes out to you and your entire family. I can only imagine the pain you must be feeling. I was honored to be considered even the most minuscule of help while you were unable to be here. Your mother loved you, loved all of her children and grandchildren very much. She will be sorely missed.

I'll see you and Geoff on Sunday. I love you!

~Lori

Interesting Meeting

Just playing with the camera's timer setting.

That was one intense meeting. It turned out not to be a "staff" meeting necessarily, so much as a staff, deacon, trustee, elder board meeting. Basically, the people who make the decisions and handle the running of the church. There are a whole bunch of changes going on in the church right now, and this meeting was to find out what direction everybody thinks the church should be headed, and to discuss our options, concerns, ideas, etc.... We have some serious issues going on. I had mentioned being bothered that I didn't know what was up in the church, well now I know.

So anyway, about 90 minutes into the meeting (after we'd all spoken up about our biggest concerns, voiced our opinions on matters, discussed the meatiest issues) the moderator of the elder board said we needed to discuss non-members' rolls in the church. The by-laws state that non-members may not hold leadership positions in the church, can't be teachers, etc... they can be helpers, but not leaders. That makes perfect sense. You don't want somebody who isn't committed to the church making decisions for the church. Basically, effective immediately all non-members must either apply for membership or step out of any leadership role they hold. There was also a BIG deal made about not wanting non-members in on the central leadership meetings such as the one we were having. As he was saying this, he said it's okay to have this discussion because everybody in the room was a church member, and then his eyes fell on me..."almost everyone" he amended. I was so tempted to offer to leave. Instead, I informed the room that I have asked for a membership application, twice, and have yet to receive one, and the head elder had enough class to look momentarily guilty. I didn't leave the church without an application tonight.

Melissa, you called again????? Tomorrow, I have no plans except for our walk. It felt so good to get out and walk today. It was only 34F, but it was dry and it was fresh air. The boys were chatty, it was nice. It seems like Travis and I always have our serious conversations on our walks. The stroller cover is a true blessing! Tommy stayed happy not having the cold wind in his face. Travis gave him some chips at the store, and he fell asleep half way home. Tyler rode his bike.

Well, I should either start planning the Court of Honor for next month, type up the nursery schedule, or go to bed. I think I've spent enough time here.

I hope you are all doing well! Get better soon, Geoff!

What Made Us Friends?

What made us friends

In the long ago

When first we met,

Well I guess I know...

The best in me

And the best in you

Found each other

Because they knew

That always and always

Since life began

Our being friends

Was part of God's plan.

--Author Unknown

That poem hung on my grandmother's wall as long as I can remember, I memorized it when I was a teenager. I told Rainbow I'd post it tonight, she knows why.

I Have No Time

I just realized that I am a pretty busy lady. Rainbow, you are not the only person to comment on the fact that I am never home to answer my phone anymore. Melissa, you called again???? I'm playing phone tag with Stephenie...people from TOPS....

Travis is complaining that there aren't any pics of him on the first page of my blog. I need to remedy that, but not tonight.

We aren't doing sports club right now, we'll probably start again in the spring with baseball. One of the mom's told me the other day that she noticed we weren't at basketball this year. Her son had told her that his team might stand a chance to win this year, because Travis isn't there. That brought back memories of some of the kids complaining last year about Travis being too tall, too fast, too lucky....and the coaches trying to convince Travis to lay off the 3-pointers and play it a little safer. It's a little sad that somebody is actually glad Travis isn't there, but I understand it.

School was a struggle today. Tyler was dragging his feet, again. I finally had Travis do the lesson with Tyler so it would get done. I told him it was his good turn for the day, helping his younger brother.

WOW! went well. I managed to recruit all but one person needed to round out the 6-week rotation. God is good! He does provide. I spent most of the evening sitting in the nursery chatting with 3 other adults, watching the only child in the nursery play--Tommy.

I got offered office space to share. The youth director offered to share his space with me if I need it. I thanked him, and laughed. I don't know how much office time the nursery coordinator needs. I'll know better after the staff meeting tomorrow, I imagine. I've never been to a staff meeting before.

I had to send out e-mails to my Scout parents to make sure we're all on the same page. These boys are trucking along. Tyler and Sam should both earn rank next month when we finish up our last "country" requirement during den time.

I need to answer some e-mails tomorrow, it's my down day. Or, it will be after my workout, school, cooking, housework, laundry, and walk are done. Sigh.... Oh, and February is fast approaching...birthdays, Valentine's Day, Blue & Gold, and a Court of Honor I'm responsible for!

On that note...I'm getting even more tired and need to head for bed.

I promise, it was a Thomas Kemper....

...and it was an empty Thomas Kemper at that. We couldn't resist taking the pictures though.

Tyler's marble shoot was tonight. He didn't win this year, but that's okay. One of the new Scouts won, and he was extremely pleased about it. Everybody else played well, and there was good sportsmanship all around.

The parent/leader meeting for Boy Scouts got moved to next week. That works a little better for many of us.

I was wrong about Jeff's appt. this morning. Apparently it wasn't blood tests, but an echo test? echocardiogram? I don't know, something like a cat scan and the doctor has to review it before we know the results. It was probably to see that the stent is still doing what it's supposed to be doing, check the extent of heart disease, etc....

Oh, we went to price the bed that I wanted to buy Travis, yeah, right. $750.00. That is not going to happen anytime soon. It is cool though, has built in speakers and a plug in for his MP3 player, bookshelf headboard, and storage drawers underneath. Sorry Travis. Tyler fell in love with the twin bed next to it, also with built in speakers for MP3, but it was a loft bed....all chrome with drawers and storage beneath it, for $1000.00. Keep on dreaming boys.

Time to take some Nyquil. Thank you, Melissa.

Terrible Head Cold

I have a terrible head cold and all I have wanted to do for days now is sleep. Of course, that's not a very popular idea when you have a husband and three kids in the house....

Quick catch up: The boys had friends sleep over on Friday night. They were all pretty good, or I was pretty out of it...I don't really remember much. I know that when I told them they had played enough video games they were very quick to shut the machine down and go play outside.

On Saturday, I went to a baby shower for a couple that I know from Scouts. That may not be a big deal for most people, but for me it was a big deal. I was surprised to be invited in the first place, and I didn't know anybody else at the shower when I got there. I said hello to the proud parents, got myself a cup of coffee, and found a seat. I did get to hold the baby, and I said something about her being the first baby girl I've ever held, at least the first baby girl under a month old.

About the same time they opened the salad/chili/potato bar, another lady (Hope) I know from Scouts and Sports Club and Co-Op and swimming (yes, I guess I know her) did show up. She sat with me to keep me company. By then, I had managed to strike up a conversation with somebody else though, and managed to not feel like an outsider throughout the entire party. Hey, I even came in 2nd place for both games we played.

By the end of the party Hope and I had both managed to invite new boys to visit our Cub Scout Pack this Monday. They would both be joining the youngest den, which is good since we need more in that den. It was incredible easy to tell them how to find us...I just told the lady I was talking to meet me in the room we were sitting in, and look for the only lady in uniform. Maybe my world is too small....

Which reminds me of something Ken said during his sermon this morning. If you don't have any non-Christian friends then shame on you. How are you setting an example for Christ, or sharing his love if you only spend time with other Christians. There was more, but you get the idea.

My first week as Nursery Coordinator with other people working the nursery...first thing this morning I was told the heater isn't working. Ugh! They also made me a list of things they would like to have, or we need to have, in the nursery. Actually, I appreciated it. These ladies have been working the nursery a lot longer than I have. They kind of laughed about it, saying their next shift isn't for a month so I have time before they start complaining.

On the upside, I had a few more people approach me and volunteer to work the nursery. I am on my way to my goal of staffing a 6-week rotation. I can staff a 4-week rotation now, which is so much better than having nobody in there. God's will....he will provide....in his time.

I have a busy week coming up, and two days that require me to be at two different meetings simultaneously. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

Monday is Scouts, of course....we're supposed to have a parent/leader meeting about becoming merit badge counselors from 6:15-6:45 over at Boy Scouts, while Cub Scouts are having their marble shoot and hot dog feed starting at 6:30. As Advancement Chair for Boy Scouts, I really should be at the merit badge meeting, but at Bear Leader for Cub Scouts I need to be at the marble shoot.

Tuesday, Jeff goes back to work. Last Thursday he went in for his DOT physical and was told that everything looks good, but the law says he can't drive a big rig for 2 months following a heart attack. Okay....so now they are going to find busy work for him to do. He'll be working on the trucks, making phone calls, misc. stuff both in Bremerton and Tacoma. Anything to keep him working. It'll be good for him to go back to work and good for me to have my house back to normal, kind of. See, he'll be working days which is not normal, and he'll be doing that for the next 6 weeks or so. What happens if we decide we like him working days and then he goes back to nights? Anyway, I don't have any plans for Tuesday.

Wednesday is WOW! and youth group.

Thursday I have my Woman's Circle Bible Study at 6:00 p.m. in the South Room at church. Thursday I have a Staff meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the Fireplace Room at church (which is directly under the South Room). Guess which one wins....the staff meeting. I also realized just today (only because I read it in black and white) that I am now fall under the "Christian Education" heading at church and I need to find out if that means I'm supposed to go to the CE meetings on Thursdays.

Friday I have no plans, yet. The boys might help with that.

Jeff has some blood tests in the morning, just to see that everything is going well. They'll probably check out all his levels and decide if they need to change his doses or anything.

I need to go to bed. Have a good week everybody!

The Key

Okay, the boys were thrilled to get school supplies, yesterday, I was thrilled to get handed a key to the office today and referred to as staff. I didn't realize I would appreciate it so much, it's been a long time since I was on anybody's payroll. I can now go in and make copies anytime I feel like it. LOL! Actually, I went in to ask the office ladies some questions about getting things put in the bulletin, etc... I got easy answers, which I expected.

Jeff's Dr's appt. was this afternoon. He got the all clear to go back to work on Monday, which is good. He's getting bored, and things just aren't the same around here. He has to go in for a DOT physical tomorrow to get the all clear for his CDL. It shouldn't be a problem.

Everything went well at church this evening. I hung out in the nursery with Tommy and Jeff, going through things and making notes. There weren't any other babies in there tonight. The main group had their Christmas party, which was cancelled due to snow last month. The youth group played pool, I think.

I asked my grandpa if he has a dresser he can spare for Tommy's clothes. He must have at least 8 dressers in his house. He couldn't think of one that would be easy to empty and offered to give buy us a new one or give me $ to go buy a new one....I refused. I told him I would be happy to help him empty a dresser and get stuff organized if he's willing, but I would not let him buy a new dresser. Well, he called tonight and said there was one in the basement that he had already emptied, and we are welcome to come get it tomorrow. Thank you, Grandpa.

I moved Travis's old dresser into his new room tonight. Now I need to get him a bed, or next month I do. That's the plan, to buy them both new beds next month. Anyway, the dresser was done up to match the buffet that's in his room, so I wanted to keep them together. When the weather is nicer, this summer, I'd like to sand them down and repaint and varnish them. Then they should last through most of his teen years. He'll need new bedding too...$$$$$ Maybe I should just buy a large piece of Polar Fleece and make it into his bedspread....thinking....maybe. We'll see.

So, that's all for now. I'm tired. Good Night!

Just another day.....

I gave the boys their "New Year's Gift" today. They were more excited than I thought they would be, considering the contents. Who knew that a kid would be thrilled to get his own stapler? It was an easy transition into starting the school day.

Travis was funny with his math today. He's working with fractions, common denominators and such. He kept calling me in to check his work and ask what he was supposed to do next, and I kept telling him that was it...he didn't have to do anything more than what he was doing. I like it when it seems too easy to him. After the 3rd time, he finally believed me and finished the assignment in record time without missing one.

Tyler is plugging away on his reading. He's getting there, but he gets hung up on little words. It doesn't help when he is constantly interrupted by his two brothers.

Thomas is getting into everything! He's a climber, and he's trying my patience. He actually climbed up on the chair, onto the desk, over the keyboard, and grabbed the phone off the top of the stereo! I don't know what he intended to do from there, because I snatched him down.

Travis was the chef today, he made pancakes. They turned out good too. He was a little disappointed that we are out of chocolate chips, but we made do with peanut butter and jelly. Tyler helped me make chicken and veggie soup for dinner.

We went for a drive this evening. We don't go anyplace special really. We checked the times the aluminum recycling place is open, looked at the lights downtown, and drove over to Wal*Mart to see if they do those memory books. They do all kinds of picture items, but I didn't see memory books.

We have a busy day tomorrow in Bremerton. Jeff's going to the Wednesday night events with us, for the first time ever! Jeff is also having his follow-up appt. with his doctor tomorrow, and we'll find out when he may be released to go back to work or if he will be staying out on disability for awhile.

The kids aren't in bed yet, I need to get them settled. Here are some pictures of yesterday's snow play. I may have to get an igloo building kit for next year. Good to see you blogging again, Melissa!

Good Night.

Back to Scouts

The rain managed to wash away most of the snow. There was no problem with driving today. This means there was no problem getting to Scouts today.

I have to say I am very proud of the boys in my den. One of them worked very hard to complete many achievements over the holidays. He was practically bouncing, asking me to look at and sign his book, I love that he was that excited about it. Tyler wanted to lead the flag ceremony, but because he led it at the pack meeting the last time it was our turn, I wanted to get the boy who hadn't had a turn yet to do it. Well, this other boy is the smallest and the shyest in our den, and he hid his face and said he didn't want to, so I let Tyler do it. However, after the opening ceremony the smaller boy said he would be willing to do the closing ceremony. We practiced it together during our den meeting, and he did a great job during the real thing! It's amazing to watch these boys growth over the years.

Our theme for the month is "Amazing Games." We're having the pack marble shoot next Monday, and we had a short practice time tonight. My plan for the other den meeting we'll be having was to have each boy bring their favorite board/card game from home. Well, instead I had all the boys ask me if they could bring in their various collections to show. Okay, it's their den…if that's what they want to do that's great. They'll get something else signed off in their books that way too, and maybe even earn a different belt loop.

I made an appearance at the Boy Scout meeting. Eric had e-mailed me asking me to make up some permission slips for this month's outing/activity. Okay…I met one of the new parents too. Travis said they are working on their Citizenship Badge. Cool. He was also telling me some of the plans they have coming up, including various camps and activities. He let me know very clearly that he does not want to go back to Camp Piggott. I think he may go to Wash Jam though, that sounds like fun. I may even get to go to Wash Jam, we'll see.

I have a board of review on Thursday, followed by a committee meeting. We'll be going over the calendar, and I think we'll be planning another Court of Honor. This time it is my job to make sure the boys get all of their stuff. I'm wondering if the Court of Honor is going to be around the same time as the Cub Scout's Blue and Gold Banquet. I wouldn't think so, as the Boy Scout Asst. Troop Leader is also the Cub Scout B&G chairperson, but you never know. I'm just glad I'm not supposed to be planning it this year.

We got home just after Grandpa pulled in the driveway. He went grocery shopping, and brought us the stuff there's too much of. That was nice of him. Fred Meyer is having a good sale on milk and orange juice, so we benefited from that. We also benefitted from Costco selling big blocks of cheese and giant bottles of honey.

I found some cool social studies books on Amazon.com that I want to get. Maybe in a few weeks I'll be able to order those. Travis was asking me again about making our own books, so we still need to do that too.

That's all for now. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow, all this text is getting boring! Good Night!

Getting Back To Normal

I got up this morning, looking forward to church, we all were looking forward to church. It feels like forever since we did anything "normal" for us. I suddenly realized that I have been feeling like I was living somebody else's life for awhile.

It was nice to be back with our friends. Watching Travis and the girls play their pre-teen flirting games, we parents were commenting on the years yet to come. Deep sigh. I pray they will not be too difficult. One of the girls' moms made a comment to me about "potential future daughters-in-law", and we both realized it was only half-joking. No, there are many years between now and then.

As we were coming home I commented on how hard it was to believe we were buried under snow for so long, since it was almost all gone. I say almost, because over the last few hours we have accumulated nearly 5 inches of snow and had a 90 minute power outage. It's still coming down out there. I haven't seen a weather report lately, but Melissa did mention more snow.

There's even more out there now, I took these just after the power went out, so a couple hours ago.

I do want to get back to normal, I hope we can make it to Scouts tomorrow. Someone on my home school list said it's supposed to turn to rain tonight. Time will tell.

It's Been a Long Day

I got some quality time with each of my kids today. I also got to watch most of a movie...I can't remember the last time I did that.

The day started with teaching Tyler to make pancakes from scratch. We made chocolate chip pancakes, and everybody raved. They were so easy, he wants to make them from scratch from now on. I want to make him a chef's uniform, and I do think he'll appreciate it. I just don't know that I can wait until his birthday.

Tommy was very clingy today, but we did have some fun playing ball and playing with water. He ate better today than he has been the last couple days. I don't think he was feeling well before, but now he seems to be okay. Maybe he was just reacting to all the stress around here.

Travis attacked me with a pillow when I stopped by his room to see if he wanted to play a game. That led to war, which burned off some energy and made everybody laugh.

Tyler went to Zoo Lights this evening with the Cub Scouts. Noah's family took him with them, because they had an extra seat in their car. Thank You! I bundled him up in his snow pants, coat, ski mask, and gloves. It was snowing off and on here all day. He had a really good time.

My mother-in-law came over for a couple hours this afternoon. My grandpa came by this evening. Desiree stayed and visited for about an hour when she dropped Tyler off. Yep! It's been busy. I have a load of laundry waiting to go in the dryer, or I'd be off to bed already.

I am so looking forward to getting back to our normal routine. Good Night!

The Week Comes to a Close

Next week we get back to our normal schedule, or as normal as we can with Jeff off work. I am looking forward to that, the kids get restless when they don't have school work to do.

They have a friend over tonight. We bought a few new video games this week, so that's probably what they will be doing for most of the evening. Next week we go back to no video games on the weekdays.

I gave Tommy a haircut today. He didn't want to sit still at all, so I still have a few stray strands to take care of.

Wow! Nothing interesting going on around here. Rainbow? Melissa? I want to hear about your lives....blog!

Off to a Good Start, Kinda...

We woke up to a dusting of snow over everything. Tyler was excited, you could tell he wanted all the snow to come back.

I got my workout in this morning, and added a 10 minute ab workout just for kicks. We didn't get our walk done though. It was pouring most of the day, it still is. It keeps going back and forth between rain and snow.

Nothing terribly exciting happened today. We had salmon for dinner, except Jeff, he had Talapia, he won't even try salmon. We bought an air popper for popcorn yesterday, so Jeff won't have to give up that snack altogether.

Scott, Amanda, & Josh are here, and they brought fruit and veggies for snacks. I'm wondering how long this enthusiasm is going to hang around.

As far as I know the not-smoking is still going strong. Congratulations to them. I hope this sticks.

The kids are starting to get tired of being in the house. I think they need some one-on-one attention, or some schoolwork! Gotta Go!

Happy New Year!

May we all have a fantastic 2009!

Geoff & Melissa called to welcome us to 2009, they got there a little bit ahead of us. I'm pleased to hear they are settling in back at home, and hopefully Melissa will be blogging again soon. Not that I have much room to complain, how long did I go between blogs?

We ended 2008 with a good day. I got my workout in, the whole family went for a walk together, and I got my shopping done. Tyler and Travis went to the store with me, because their Christmas money was itching to be spent on new games.

We had a yummy, healthy dinner. Scott, Amanda, & Josh came over to ring in the new year with us. They brought a veggie tray, wonderful. We went through most of that, and most of the box of chocolates Melissa left behind. Better to get them eaten. It was also a completely smoke-free night, totally cool! Good luck guys!

Mom called to wish us a "Happy New Year!" and so did Grandpa. We played Rock Band, watched the fireworks off the Space Needle, and said good night. I am currently the only person awake in my house, and I should head of to bed myself.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2009!