AARRGGHH!

Can I just say that parenting sucks this week? One kid is adjusting to her first week of kindergarten, and has to sit still all day long there, and the other kid is adjusting to his first week without his playmate since she's at kindergarten, and we just drove to and from Indiana this weekend and they are both freaking driving me nuts! All fidgety and fussy and fighting! Ears as deaf to my voice as ever! I hate feeling this way about them, but I know that it's normal. It's like they are looking for ways to hack Dave and I off. Thank God he and I were able to have a date this weekend, otherwise it would feel that much more frustrating.

We were able to go see "Lady in the Water". And we really liked it as well as other M. Night Shamalan movies... (sp?). "The Village" is still my all time fave... guess I'm a sucker for period type pieces.

Anyway, no more grandparents to entertain... Now I have to work again.

All things new.

Today was Hannah's fourth day of Kindergarten. Little miss independant decided she wanted to walk in to school all by her little self...and so she did. What a cool thing, and a sad thing all at the same time. I'm so thrilled with her sense of independance, and yet I already feel so left behind. She's gonna do great! Her teacher just emailed me to say she was well prepared for kindergarten... and that she is a great example to the other students... what mom wouldn't want to hear that!?!

Dad came home from the hospital yesterday. Sounds like he is doing well. He and mom are taking walks down the street and back. That will benefit them both.

I rescheduled my stampin up party. I just email invites last night and already have 7 people coming! I hope it's a good turn out. I'm ready to have some of that yummy spinach and artichoke dip!

So far, So good.

Well, surgery seems to have been a success! Praise God! I'm so relieved. Dad is talking and may have even walked already. He has been out of bed a few times at least. He will be discharged on Monday provided all continues to go as well as it has.

We are taking the kids up to see him in a bit. Dave is on his way home. A friend of his Dad's called and his wife is stuck in downtown St. Louis with very little gas to make it to Oklahoma. A huge storm blew thru both Wednesday and today and knocked power out in several counties. She can't fill her tank cuz all the gas stations are down. So we'll take some to her in a few minutes and then go see Dad will we are over the bridge.

Hannah's first week of Kindergarten has gone great! I'm so happy she is liking it!

Gotta run!

Ok, so I lied AGAIN! :-)

Mom just called and the infection seemed to not really even be an infection, but rather an infiltration, where the IV was never in the vein--only under the skin. His blood cultures came back normal, and no fever or anything, so they are going to do it tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. CST. Anyone who prays, can add Dad to their prayers and it will be much appreciated. Will keep updating. Thank you!

I lied. :-)

Okay. So Dad is making things complicated... just kidding! He developed an infection in the IV, so they had to postpone the operation. Looks to be on Thursday. Nice. On Hannah's first day of Kindergarten. Ah well. Get all the scary things done in one day. Will keep updating. Going to go make dinner before we go meet Hannah's teacher. Toodles!

Big day tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the day Dad gets his new heart valve, and gets the aneurism repaired. I cannot believe it's really happening, and I'm trying really hard to think positively. He is in great spirits. All 5 of us kids, plus four spouses (or almost spouses) have been up there for the last two days. We've laughed a lot and all. Tonight, friends from our church came and we all gathered round Dad and prayed over him. It was a special time. I wish my brother would have still been there.

Anyway. Pray for a wonderful outcome to the operation tomorrow. I am.

Dad

So here's the deal.

Fourth of July weekend, Dad was having some palpitations and so he finally was able to get into the doctor this past Monday. After an EKG, the doc noticed some skips in the heartbeat so he ordered a chest X-ray for the next day. Tuesday the X-ray showed something unusual, so he then ordered a CT scan and that was done today. What they determined was that Dad has an aneurism in his aorta. So they scheduled an appointment with a surgeon next Wednesday. However, upon further review of the test results, the primary care MD said to head straight to the ER.

Aneurisms of this sort are rated on their size. 6 and under are monitored by a yearly exam unless complications arise. Dad's is measuring at a 9. This means surgery is eminent. He received his mechanical heart valve 21 years ago and has had no complications since. If the aneurism were to have burst, it would mean worst case scenario. HOWEVER, it was discovered and will be repaired on Monday morning. Since Dad's last heart operation, he has had to take coumadin to thin his blood. Since his vitals are good and since it appears that this has been a slow progression, they are going to wait until Monday and they will give him some meds to reverse the coumadin, making his blood thicker and more easily clotted for an operation. They are also going to replace his mech. valve.

Right now, since I've spent the evening at the hospital and talked with Dad and with docs, I'm feeling fairly confident. I am thankful that it was caught and that he is at the hospital under excellent care. Yet, I am still terrified of all that could go wrong in surgery. So I ask that you pray not only for my dad, but for Satan to not be allowed to use this to mess with my insecurities and fears. I love my dad so much and I just want him to be okay. Thanks for all your prayers.

And a special thanks to my dear friends, Jamie and Lisa, Lillie, Tevis, and Sally. Also to my great in-laws. You all have been incredible today and I thank God for your love and friendships. We'll keep you updated.

It's almost Friday!

Oh man. This has possibly been the single most SLOW week of my life. I don't know why, but I'm just ready for a break, or a vacation or something. It's really hot here today. I also had Maddi today. She is 15 months old and a fiery red hed. Her favorite word is 'No' right now. Hubby is working late tonight. We will all be starving when he gets home. Tomorrow is going to be a busy, busy day. I have a ton of errands to run. I have to get the rest of Hannah's school stuff, and a new outfit. She starts Kindergarten in just 6 days! I can't believe it, and yet I think we are all ready. I think she is bored out of her mind and needs some new buddies to play with. It's all day Kindergarten, so she is gonna be whipped next week.

I'm also really hopeful that my big ol Stampin Up order will come tomorrow. I really, really, really am ready to get my hands on it! We have to travel to Effingham, IL on Saturday for my cousin's wedding and I could assemble lots of stamps on the way there. :-)

Forgot to mention that my dad is having a CT scan tomorrow a.m. He's been having discomfort in his chest and lots of coughing. They did a chest Xray and put him on a portable heart monitor for 24 hours. My sister is a nuclear medical technician and she said what they are probably looking for is an aneruism. She siad that many people walk around with these types of aneurisms for many years without being detected. So she says there is no reason to panic now. It can be corrected by surgery if necessary. I'm trying hard not to panic. But this does not help with my anxiety issues. And since my BIL just died 7 months ago, I am very worrisome about illnesses and accidents and such. Like I was just devastated wathching the new this week. A local youth group was having an event at a park, near a very popular floating river (like for float trips and such), when one student went under water, 5 others went in to find him/her. And in the end 5 children (4 from only one famly) drowned. Life is so short, and I take it for granted way to often.

Have a great weekend.

VANDALS!!!

Okay, I am at the height of frustration right now. So tonight, my blog is a place for a rant. On Tuesday last week, 7/4 someone paintballed the front of our home. This was the second time this happened. Only this time was worse. Probably a dozen hits of yellow paint. Filed a police report, but I have NO earthly idea why we were the target. My oldest child is just beginning kindergarten next week, so we have no "enemies" that I know of. Anyhow, fast forward to today. I grabbed the mail around 2:30 and all was fine. About 6:15, my husband called me upstairs to say that our mailbox was destroyed!!! I mean totally taken out!! Someone would have had to have dented their car when they did this, yet no one came to our door and apologized or anything! I would feel a lot less put out if there had been an admission to a hit. SO FRUSTRATING!! So, if anyone reading this is house hunting... I would advise AGAINST a corner lot.

Okay, on to a different rant. I am dog sitting for my friend Lisa. Her little bitty thing of a dog is being really good, but my KIDS are driving me nuts with it! They will not leave the poor thing alone and she will be here till Saturday! Oh my word! It definitely seals the deal on waiting on a pet of our own for a while!

Okay, deep breaths... thanks for the vent time!

Whew! SU order completed!

I just emailed my friend/demo my $400 order! OUCH! Even tho I specifically sold some stamps on ebay and earned all this money for stamps, it still stings to order that much at once! So what did I get? Well, I got all the new paper and ink pads. Two packages of Watercolor Wonder crayons to try. The new Paisley background, letterpress alphabet. Several spools of ribbon and some buttons. Lots of other stamps too.

I have to let Dave go and buy a sander this weekend so that he can make my ribbon holder. He made them for Christmas gifts for two girlfriends of mine two years ago. I'm still waiting. May be a good weekend project for him.

Anyhow, now I just have to sit patiently and wait for my friend/demo to get back in town next week, so that I can play with all the new goodies!

Date night!

Tonight, my mom took my little girl to the Muny to see the Wizard of Oz. And my dad took my son for a playdate. Whatever does that leave for my dear hubby and I to do??? DATE NIGHT! We dropped Spence off and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings. We sat on the same side of the table and watched the miserably slumping Cardinals play Houston on the big screen. After a decidedly unhealthy dinner, we dropped of my Rx for my blood pressure meds (don't tell my doc what I ate for dinner) and went to downtown St. Charles to Main Street. We parked the car and took a short walk, where we listened to the Municipal Band play for a while. Then we picked up the meds, and picked up Spence. Came home and put him to bed, vegged on the couch. Dave surfed the net and I sat planning out my Stampin Up order. I need to order in the a.m. cuz my demo is going outta town for a week! I am dog-sitting for her, in fact. I sold a lot of stamps that I either no longer wanted or could live without in order to splurge on the new catty. So I have a huge chunk waiting for me to spend. However, it is weird to me to think about writing a check for that amount. Even tho it is a direct transfer of sold stamps to purchased stamps... I can't help but thinking what else I could spend it on! So we'll see. I'm still making up my mind. I have till tomorrow!

Tomorrow is Friday! TGIF! We are having a low key day tomorrow. I'm taking the kids to the library. We are participating in a summer reading program and I have read nearly 30 books to them over this past week. For every 15 books I read to them, they get goodies from the library. Other than that, I plan on placing my stamp order and stamping.

Dave is talking about taking the kids fishing on Saturday. I know they would love that. Here's hoping tomorrow's a good one for us all!

4th of July

On the 4th, we enjoyed a quiet day at home with no company. We'd had company all weekend, and as fun as that always is, it is always good to just have the house back to ourselves. The kids actually both took naps. Late that afternoon we headed to my parent's house to gather with all the sibs except for my youngest sister and her fiance. My parent's neighbor, who is single, for some reason has an inflatible bouncy castle. The only kids were my 5yo daughter, 3yo son, and 4yo niece. They had an absolute blast! And I know my two slept like angels that night.

Holiday weekend.

This holiday weekend was supposed to have been a joyous event. My brother in law and his fiance were supposed to be married this weekend. However, last December, my brother in law suffered a fatal head injury when he fell on the ice responding to a 911 call. So, instead, this weekend was spent with my in laws, his fiance and her family, and a LOT of emotional eating was done. All in all, the weekend was pleasant. A few tears were shed, some stories were told. New adventures were had, as my in laws car was struck by lightning on the way out from Indiana. Thankfully only the car suffered. Jalinda, the fiance, is so sweet. I just pray that she will heal and be able to fall in love again someday. I cannot imagine what she must have been feeling. She did take Jeremy's wedding band and had it made into a lovely charm for a necklace, and wears it close to her heart. A very special treasure indeed.

My kids are wild from the constant attention over the weekend. Right now they are both in their rooms. One playing quietly with his leap pad. One sitting on her bed listening to books on tape.

Okay, nevermind. Got interrupted and this is about 45 minutes later, and all is chaos, as usual. Spence fell and scraped his knee while saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. We officially have the house to ourselves again. I so enjoy when we have company, but equally, I enjoy when the house is back to normal again. :-)

Tonight we will go down to the riverfront in St. Charles to view the fireworks. They are threatening rain tomorrow, so I'd rather get it over with tonight, just in case. Happy Independence Day!