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