if she weren't so cute....

maybe he'd stop making her wear his cap. Nah.

It's Monday, but on a positive note.....

What a weekend!

And I mean that. Parts were great, and parts weren't so great.

J took the boys and a friend of M's to the minor league baseball game Saturday evening. Even though the team lost, I think that a great time was had by all. A visit to BK before the game and then soda and cotton candy during the game were the highlights for the little brother, that's for sure.

Work on Saturday went well, with the exception of that I couldn't get to the customer who was trying to carry three gallon jugs of water before she dropped one and it spilled all over the floor in front of the photo counter. After I called for the manager and every drop was cleaned up, she apologized to me saying that she knew that she should have gotten a cart to carry her water. And I just reassured her that these things happen and that really, it's not a big deal. She did get a cart to carry her water out to her car though; a gallon jug always loses the fight with an asphalt lot.

Don't ask me how I know that.

And for the not-so-great part, let's just say that my 13yo son is heartbroken. Through no fault of his own, a relationship that he treasured looks to be over, at least that's what I understand, and he's not happy about it at all. And there are extenuating circumstances to this too. It's not pretty.

But on a positive note.....

Beth over at Laugh Until You Cry created this carnival that I thought was great; to start off the week with something positive! So here's my entry...

....we've had more than one opportunity this last week to stress to M that it's really important that he make some decisions in life NOW and stick to them, because there can be lifelong consequences if you don't. And he seems to understand and be on board.

I wonder if it's too early to start with C.

seven quick takes Friday

1. Here we are again, Friday. Most people look forward to the weekend, I just look forward to which ever days of the week (usually three) I don't have to dress in navy and tan and go to "the pharmacy America trusts". But I'm loving my job, some cranky customers aside, AND I finally got paid this week, so that makes it even better!

2. As I'm sure you know, school starts Wednesday. C can't wait. And I can't wait! Teacher meet and greet is this afternoon. I'm so excited, yet a little sad, that my baby is in grade THREE. Where was I when this happened?

3. Speaking of my baby, my other one who's growing taller than me by the minute- he got to go to the Brewer game yesterday with his Poppa and Uncle and some of his cousins. It's always a great time, I hear, and yesterday was no exception. Except that the Brewers lost and M has never seen them pull off a win. But it's a win for Poppa, since he's a lifelong die-hard Dodger fan.

4. My mom's having her other hip replaced in October. She said that her doctor said that she could live with the pain or look at the surgery schedule, so she's taken his (at that time) next available opening. I won't travel to be with her during the first week of her recovery this time (sob!); she didn't want me to have to worry about taking time off work so she said that Dad has plenty of pto and he'll stay home and take care of her. I'm still gonna call and check on her every day. :-)

5. I'm headed next weekend for a quick trip to IL to visit some friends and I can't wait! I was lucky enough to get all of Labor Day weekend off (WOW!), so I'm gonna take advantage and go away alone for the day. I'll get to hug my friend (YAY!) and play with her adorable son (YAY!) and I'm super excited.

6. J got a new phone this week. He got the Droid, so he's been having fun installing apps and stuff. He's happy; I'm not. Why, you ask? His new toy came in lieu of a raise, and he hasn't had a raise in three years. Not cool. The phone won't buy the eighth grader new pants or shoes. Or feed the "always hungry" third grader. But whatever. Enjoy your phone, babe. (For the record, I know it's not his fault...it just ticks me off.)

7. And finally, would you believe that in just over a week I'll be the mother of a FOURTEEN year old?!? That's nuts. Even as I typed that, I don't believe it. I don't just live in denial, I enjoy every minute of it, thankyouverymuch.

Have a great weekend!

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(Almost) Wordless Wednesday- once bitten, twice shy...*

alternately titled: manicure bound!

*and if you know me at all, you're pretty amazed that it's been two weeks since I've bit my nails. Frankly, I'm amazed myself.

Monday Musings

*While logically I appreciate getting all my work hours (26.5 this week) in in a span of three days, I wasn't sure that my body was up to the challenge. Fortunately, things went well and I made it through and will happily go back to work on Wednesday.

**Don't get me wrong, I totally felt as though I deserved a reward for keeping this body on the move all weekend, so I chose two pints of ice cream from the freezer case as the final thing I did at the store last night. And then I came home and ate until my tongue was frozen and I could no longer taste the creamy deliciousness; which, for the record, was about half a pint. It awaits my return to the freezer this evening.

***Just so there's no confusion, I do sincerely hope that most of my work weeks no longer contain the 11-8 cosmetics shift Friday through Sunday. I felt as though my weekend was not my own.

****Jon was tremendously helpful over the weekend making sure that the house was maintained and the boys were still alive and fed. As a matter of fact, when I came through the back door last night, everyone was happily doing their own thing upstairs. That was a good sign that things went well.

*****And payday is Wednesday; woohoo!

******Soccer season practices start tonight. M has played every season but one since he went to Kindergarten. Check out how adorable his picture is!

He was quite cooperative when I said "Hey, can you go get me your kindergarten soccer pic? I wanna scan it in." But then when I started gushing about how adorable he was, he got all embarrassed. Teenagers!

in the dark

Somewhere around 5:30 this morning, I noticed that there was something wrong.


I was hearing intermittent squeeking and couldn't decide if the fan in the window was just set out to not allow me to sleep or if it could be a squirrel outside the window perched on the deck roof.


About ten minutes later, Jon was awake and went downstairs. When he came back up to the bedroom, he had his flashlight and looked behind the door.


Next thing I hear is "Oh, great...you're gonna want to get under the blankets."


Yep, that's right.


A bat. A nasty, disease-ridden bat.


Behind our bedroom door.


Two seconds later, I heard the "thump, thump" of his shoe making contact with the creature.


Then I could finally sleep.

sixteen or five

I've known my husband for sixteen years.

In that same amount of time, my co-worker, Aggie, has worked at four different stores. She tells me that she's not sure that she'll make it to seventeen.

I don't know whether to believe that or not.

Five years ago, Caleb was three. Matthew was in school all day and Caleb still took a nap every afternoon.

Five years from now, Matthew will be starting his freshman year in college.

How's that for a little perspective for ya this morning?

seven quick takes

1. Work is going well. Everybody's really nice and it's a small store, so we get regular customers whose names I get to learn. I'm not really looking forward to working all weekend next weekend, but hey, it's money, right?

2. I spent both of my scheduled shifts this week completing requirements for my new job. Such things as "this is how we provide excellent customer service" "everything you need to know about what to do if a robbery should occur on your shift" and so on. It was all done on the computer, complete with a narrator to complete my "beverage server/seller" class. I had to turn that feature off; I could read faster than she could talk anyway. Monday and Tuesday I actually get to interact with customers which I love. I hated being stuck back in that room.

3. Tomorrow is the annual Fireman's Parade. M is marching, of course; so we will attend. It's a pretty lengthy parade but fun for the kids. The best part of the parade this year is that afterward we're taking the boys to Grandma and Poppa's house to spend a couple of days. Peace and solitude and couple time; woohoo! Minus time spent at work, of course.

4. I didn't get her permission to tell you this, but I have to tell you anyway. You know how my Mom is a breast cancer survivor, right? Click here for the cliff notes on that. I talked to her this week and she casually mentions that she had to have a repeat mamogram. Because there was a "spot"....huh. I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing. But, thanks be to God, it's been determined by several professionals that the spot in NOT cancer; it must just be from reconstruction surgery she had this past January. whew. Talk about a scary few days. But once again, God is good!

5. No ants for a few days. And then suddenly, just one late last night. Ugh. Jon did say he only sprayed about three-quarters of the kitchen, so once he finishes it, we should be good to go. Or else we'll have to hire an exterminator. One or the other.

6. Our fifteenth anniversary is this October. Seems hardly likely, and yet, here we are. We only go away every five years and this would be the year. Normally you'd think we had plans in place already...nope. Guess Jon had a plan in his head for this year while we celebrated our tenth in '05 and he's a bit disappointed that the plan didn't pan out. But I'm not of the opinion that just because that didn't work out we shouldn't do anything! I suppose I'll just have to keep proding him. hee hee.

7. School starts two weeks from Wednesday. I can't wait, C can't wait, M would just really rather not ever go back to school. Of course, I'm sure that's due to the fact that he's been taking full advantage of sleeping very late the last few weeks. The six o'clock wake up on September first is going to be brutal. hee hee hee.

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red

Remember this post from a few weeks ago?

Well, here's the first of what our patience has afforded us.

And there are more to come!

dance

Originally published August 7, 2009


Today, August 7th, after thirteen years, our Grandparents are reunited on their anniversary.

And do you know what they're doing?

They're dancing.

I had forgotten how much they loved to dance until one of my Aunts mentioned it this week. In the last couple weeks of her life, Grandma mentioned that she would like to do several things that she had not had the chance to do in years; most frequently she mentioned dancing.

She had been bedridden due to stroke for seven years and I don't honestly think that she had been dancing since Grandpa passed away, but she remembered what it was like and that she loved it.

Mom told a story this weekend that Grandma had told her. She said that Grandma and Grandpa used to go to Lansing and dance whenever Bob Crosby and his band played Big Band music there. And they would dance the night away.

Every chance they got, they'd dance. And they were good at it too.

So today, on what is their 68th wedding anniversary, we miss them both tremendously, but we take comfort in knowing that they are celebrating together today.

Dancing.

stream of consciousness

C and I had a great time at our church's annual district assembly this week. The conventions were informative, the preaching anointed and the youth-led worship AH. MA. ZING. It's so great to be able to gather with friends from other churches and get reports about what God is doing.

C had a great time in that he got to make some new friends and he did quite a bit of swimming in the hotel pool. Props to the childcare coordinator and her team; nothing quite like dropping the boy off and not having to worry about keeping him entertained for the afternoon!

I got to bring home a souvenir of sorts from Madison too. Seems that I have come down with quite a deal of a head cold. And my throat feels as though there's a Brillo pad stick in it too. Good times. I'm hoping that with some diligence in taking medication and fluids for the next few days that I am good as new very soon. It's not the worst cold I've ever had but just the same I'd like to be rid of it.

I started my new job today. It went well. Everybody is very nice and extremely helpful in offering advice as I navigate my way through the process. Fortunately, I've worked a cash register before, so that's the easy part. It's nice to be back in the "working" world again.

Remind me of that last sentence the next time that I report that I'm completely overwhelmed if you would, please.

Seems as though we have quite a major ant problem as of late. And not tiny red ants either; nope, the big, black ones that can carry away a small pet if it sets its mind to it. Ick. Jon is bringing home traps tonight. We had some spray, but it says right on the can "hazardous to humans and domestic animals" so I don't want to use it around the kitten. Or on my kitchen counter, frankly. Hopefully the traps will do the job.

With that, you're caught up. And I'm off to veg in front of the tv until my next dose of medication.

Toodles.