So here is the dress for my sister's wedding. I like it, actually, more than the one I originally had chosen. Shannon and I will be wearing a color called Pool, like a light/medium turquoise. Amanda, Megan, and Caren will be wearing more of a teal color. All of our dresses are long, so Caryn said we can wear whatever shoes we want. Which is cool. I think I'll start tanning once a week to get some color over the next 3 months.

Anyhow, tomorrow Spencer and Hannah will both be at school all day. My only plans are to have lunch with my dear friend Lisa. We are going to a fantastic Italian place, called Frankie Tocco's pizzaria. They have really yummy pizza. They also have an appetizer called a rice ball. It's so yummy. It's risotto, peae, meat, cheese, all rolled up into a ball and fried. So tasty, dipped in marinara. I cannot wait to hang out with her too. She's been my right arm this year. Not only does she provide me with my stamping addiction, but she is an amazing friend.

Now, I'm gonna finish watching Grey's anatomy and veg on the computer while hubby gets on a work call. Thank God tomorrow is Friday!

FAMILY--Can't live without them-Can't shoot them!

I need to have a shooting night with my hubby. My family (not the ones that live IN my house) is driving me bonkers. Literally, I've felt like pulling my hair out and screaming. My youngest sister that just had a baby was upset about a wise crack I made, (which, looking back, I realize was probably not appropriate even meant in jest), HOWEVER, she failed to tell me this really bothered her and instead pulled the silent treatment, not returning phone calls act. WTF!!! She is 21 years old and a mother! She should be adult enough to let me know that I upset her enough to ignore me for 2 freaking weeks! Really frustrated me, cuz not only do I NOT want to hurt her, I don't want her to be upset with me, and not tell me, so I can fix it!

My other sister, the one getting married, seems to still be bent out of shape over my comment of having to starve myself in order to feel good about being in her wedding. Bottom line there? Skinny people don't understand fat people. I, of course, am not literally going to starve myself, but she got a size 4 dress off the rack, while I'm trying on size 18 tents... excuse me if that makes me feel crappy about myself.

I'll admit one of my faults is that one, I cannot hide my emotions well. And two, I speak sometimes before I think. And even when it's not directed at someone, like when I said "I'm gonna have to starve myself"--it can still start a land slide that my emotional self is never prepared for.

Let's see, my dad and I went to lunch with my little boy today. Yeah, Dad proceeded to tell me that he and my mom were about to split back in July. Nice. I needed to hear that. I don't have enough anxiety in my life, what with the death of my BIL, the heart operation of my dad, one sister having a baby, one getting married, my kid starting kindergarten, ...... JEEZ!

What is it about a person that makes them handle stress in a healthy way? Why can't I figure it out? I feel like a basketcase 75-85 % of the time. Over whether I am succeeding in parenting and marriage. Over whether my family thinks I'm doing a good job and are proud of me? Over whether my siblings give a rat's ass if I dropped off the face of the earth, except they'd be outta free childcare that they never reciprocate? Whether or not I'll ever feel about God the way I thought I did, and whether the feeling of trusting Him in all situations will ever happen.

Naw, I've got nothing going on.

Anyway, gonna go try to do something fun with my two children, so they don't remember me as the crying basketcase that I have been today.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!!!

My sister Caryn is a nuclear medical tech at a cardiology clinic here in St. Louis. Earlier this year, she did a heart scan on Auggie Busch, a former owner of the St. Louis Cardinals. He gave her eight tickets to last nights game agains the Chicago Cubs. Caryn invited all four of us siblings, Mom and Dad, and her fiance', Ken. Ken, by the way, proposed about two weeks ago, and they are getting married on December 10th! Anyhow, these tickets weren't just any old tickets. We were in the front row, along the first base line, looking into the Cardinal dugout!!!! OMG, it was absolutely incredible! It was as if we could reach out and high-five the players!

Anywho, here are some pictures from our fun night at the ballgame!

She's HERE!

On Tuesday, August 22nd, my baby sister, Megan and her fiance' Patrick welcomed their daughter, Haley Jane into the world. She is just precious. Cutest little dimple on her chin and very alert. She was 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Just beautiful.

It stirred emotions in me that I was NOT prepared for. Dave and I have decided our family of four was perfect the way it was and we took precautions to keep it that size. Well, being at the hospital just plain made me sad and long for that feeling of a newborn experience. Even though I know we made the right decision, the feeling blind-sided me. I'm recovering though and will get lots of time with Haley when Megan goes back to work. I'm the only sister at home during the day. And my SIL, Shannon is expecting in January. I know I'll be busy with nieces and nephews!

How would YOU respond?

Background: DH and I have been very involved in a small group Bible study for nearly 6 years. The last 2 have not been so fulfilling as before. Too much drama, not enough heart. Troubles with wife of the couple that leads.

Anyhow, last December, we suffered a very tragic loss of my BIL. Life has just not been the same, which is totally normal, according to my counselor friend, and another friend who lost her brother 2 years ago. This woman, and a handful of others from church just don't seem to understand why we aren't just bouncing back into everything we had been involved in before.

Fast forward to this afternoon. This woman asked me to keep her 3yo DD while she worked with a homebound student for about 2 hours. I have a 3yo DS and so I agreed, and they were great, played together. Well, she comes back to get her, and I TRY to make small talk to be friendly. As she leaves, she asks whether we are coming to small group picnic on Sunday. I say no.
She then asks when are we coming back to small group? I say, "I don't know." Then SHE SAYS... "well, I'll just keep asking til you feel guilty."

WHAT????? Seriously, does she think that makes me want to come back sooner? I responded with a simple. "I don't feel guilty." I refuse (at least I'm trying to refuse) to let ANYONE guilt me into anything!

So, how would you have responded?

I mean, I am just sick to death of trying to befriend this person. We just don't mesh! I can't feel "safe" sharing with her in an intimate setting... it's impossible! So I really feel that when we DO decide to return to a small group--it will be in a different group. GRRRR

Updates

So, I guess I should update this thing, huh? Lots going on.

Dad is doing great. It's been nearly three weeks since the operation, and he's getting around good. I'll be anxious to hear what the cardiologist and the surgeon say at his check ups in a few weeks. By my untrained eye, he looks to be doing awesome. Stir crazy, but awesome. :-)

Mom is doing fine too. I know she went to get a massage today (much deserved and needed).

Caryn, still waiting for Ken to pop the question. Not that he's stalling... he's just holding out for his parents to come up to meet Caryn. I cannot wait! I am so stinking happy for her. She and Ken met on Match.com. They began emailing each other in January, and met in person (since he was stationed overseas) on Mother's day. I think they will be married by the end of this year or early next year. She said three to six months tops from the time of the actual engagement.

Amanda will start her new job this Thursday. She will be teaching in Jefferson County. Hoping to get an apartment really soon. I know she would be happy to move out of my parent's house. And I'm thinking they would be happy about it too. :-)

Dwight and Shannon and Sarah are doing well as far as I know. They will find out what the baby is on the 17th. Will it be Gunter (Grandpa's pick, only a joke, thank goodness) or Marla Hooch (Dwight and Uncle Jesse's joke name) ??????? Sarah got new pictures done and they are WAY cute and they remind me that I am WAY overdue for pictures of my children!

Megan and Patrick are expecting Haley Jane any day now. She is dilated 2cm.... but not much else going on there. I'm hoping she's gonna get here before Mom goes back to work. And I can't wait to watch her once in a while, and snuggle the little baby!!!!

My little family here is doing well. Spencer had a stomach bug on Sunday, but seems fine now. Back to his wild self. Hannah is still acclamating to Kindergarten. Tired girl in the afternoons. She seems to like all the extras at school, like music, gym, art... but seems really super bored with her regular class. I know it's true, but I have a meeting with her teacher on the curriculum. The main problem is that it's so early in the year, that they haven't really started a curriculum yet..the teacher is still doing very basic stuff to evaluate what each child is able to do. Hannah is already reading 1-3 grade books from the library. So she is most likely very bored...which means she might start being a trouble maker, talking and stuff. Hoping they'll get going on something challenging soon.

Dave is working A LOT. He didn't get home till after 6:00 tonight. He is quite miserable at work. But he's holding out till after our vacation in late September to make any decisions about whether to stay put and stick it out or to pursue a new job. I hope that he can find something that will be more fulfilling to him.

I will have Maddi tomorrow. I have a trunk full of things to take to resale shop tomorrow. I'm hoping to sell a bunch quickly. Also have four bags for goodwill. While Hannah was at school today, I did a major purge of clothes, papers, and toys in her bedroom. When Spencer starts Mom's Day Out in Sept., his room will get it too. I have to control the junk overload!!!

Anyhow, got a ton of work done on the house today. Laundry, kitchen, mopped, dishes, cooked... tomorrow I can stamp!!!!
Need to maintain the clean for the week... hosting a stamp party on Friday night. Gotta work on swaps tomorrow... oh and Dave wants me to make him a "how NOT to be a fat ass" notebook to log his food consumption. He's determined to lose 20 pounds... and I need to do the same!!! Especially if my friend moves her wedding up from June to November!!!!

TTFN

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!

First Glimpse of the new SU Catalog

Oh my. I have to sell a lot more stamp sets on Ebay. There are so many new and fun things in this new catalog that I can totally live without what I had considered selling but then chickened out on. I can part with probably 20 more sets to get some of that new stuff! :-) There are six new colors too!! They are really pretty, especially the cool caribbean color. It's a really soft turquoise. Lovely. There are lots of new letter sets. Tons of new papers, two sided, no less! I'm gonna have a good party even if I'm the only one buying anything, cuz I'm gonna save up! :-)

Tonight Dave and I finally got out alone for a bit. We grabbed a roast beef sandwich after dropping of the kiddos at my folk's. Then we headed to the shooting range on the wildlife preserve. I shot really well tonight. Dave seems impressed and I don't think he is just being kind. My thumb is sore tonight from loading the magazine for the 22. It is really more fun than I thought it would be. It makes me focus. I really have to concentrate on the target and line up the sight. I was able to get two or three bullseyes. It was fun. The weather was GORGEOUS to boot! We finished our evening with a blizzard from DQ. I have gravitated to the chocolate dipped strawberry, with extra strawberries. MMMM. I could do with liss chocolate and more strawberried even. MMMM.

I need to get some shut eye now. I have a teeny baby coming to stay in the morning. Her name is Ava and she was born dramatically on April 11th. She is a very dear freind's grandbaby. I watched her on Monday and I truly enjoyed the infant snuggles, without losing sleep!

Hope anyone reading this has a great sleep and a fabulous day tomorrow!
Good night!

All's Quiet on the Homefront.

It's Tuesday. I usually have Madison today, but her daddy decided to take a day off, so it was just me and my two today. We had a lazy morning. In fact, Spence slept until 10:30!! We re-measured them on the wall downstairs and OH MY they both grew so much in only a month. I suspected Hannah would've because of how she's been eating. But even Spence has grown at least 1/2 inch!!

Tonight Dave and I are going shooting. It will be fun and it will be good for him as he has had two very stressful days at work. The kids will go and play at Grandma and Grandpa's. They will have a blast, and probably get Happy Meals to try to get some more toys from the movie, Cars.

Now, I'm going to try to stamp at least ONE thing today. The new Stampin Up catalog is getting to my friend Lisa's house today. But I probably won't see it til Friday, unless she's feeling like sharing early! :-). Sold a bunch of my stuff on Ebay so I could splurge in the new catty. I can't wait to see what there is to choose from!

Okay, off to find a snack and do some stampin! Can't believe my kids are sleeping!

Nature Girl- NOT!

So the other night, Wednesday, after seeing the dress that my friend picked out for the wedding next year, I decided that we should take a family walk that night. Keep in mind that it was about 95 degrees and humid at 7:00 in the evening. We chose to head to Bush Wildlife, a MO conservation area that has a paved trail through the woods. Thought it might be a bit cooler in the shade the whole time. Wrong. It was just as miserable. At first we were having fun. We stopped at the fishless pond, which is filled with toads. We like to watch for them to leap into the water and have yet to catch one. We then walked along the path and came across a deer--quite close to it even. After that, it turned into a not so fun or relaxing event. Try as I do to enjoy the great outdoors, I am just an indoor kind of girl, or at least not a woodsy type of gal. As the trail got a little steeper, I began to get attacked by a horse fly. Over and over it kept buzzing my head, until at some point I became frantic trying to get rid of it. I started running, not good for an out of shape gal, and waving my arms like a lunatic. Made my kids anxious and worry about me and we were all out of breath and sweaty by the time we reached the car again. It was nuts.

On Thursday, Mom and I went to the Muny. The Muny is an outdoor theater in Forest Park here in St. Louis. Each summer they feature seven musical shows. This week was The King and I. It was great. It rained and rained Thursday, so I was worried that it would be a washout. But we were pleasantly surprised that it let up and the weather was much more comfortable than the day before. If you're ever in the St. Louis area in the summer time, check it out. You can even sit in free seats for each performance, only you have to be there earlier. Their website is www.Muny.org.

Friday was spent running all around town. Mom and I were getting stuff for my sister Megan's baby shower on Sunday. Thankfully the weather is turning out to be lovely and we will certainly be able to enjoy an outdoor shower.

Today I have given my aunt a haircut, weeded some "weed" beds and Dave has cut down a bunch of brush out of the corner of the backyard. We are closely watching our ebay auctions as they end tomorrow. I'm hoping to make a bunch of bucks to be able to spend on the new stampin up catalog. Still need to mow the yard (Dave's job) and make some individual cheesecakes for tomorrow. Also need to clean up but since my shedding neice (my sister Caryn's dog) is here, we'll wait on the major cleaning, cuz otherwise it will just need to be redone tomorrow. :-)

So, now I'll just rest a while and surf Splitcoast and think about what to do next.

Happy Anniversary!

Eight years ago on this day, I married the love of my life, David. I am so blessed by God to have been given the gift of my husband. He and I have so much fun! We love to be silly and stupid together. We love to just hang out together. We have perfected the art of dating. At least once a week, we try to go out, even if it's just to have a quiet dinner without kids. We have two children. They are such fun.

Today Dave stayed home from work, and we will take the kids with us to lunch. We go to Steak-N-Shake each year on our anniversary. On our wedding day, we were starving by the time we finished pictures, so we went to our apartment, and changed into regular clothes, and stopped at Steak-N-Shake to eat lunch. It was so tasty!! Now we go there each year to celebrate. It's a fun tradition. Later on, the kids will go hang with Grandma and Grandpa, and we'll go out for a nice dinner alone and catch a local ballgame possibly. Whatever we do, we'll just enjoy doing it together. We just like to be together.

If you read this sweetie, I love you a ton!

Father's day.

Today is Father's Day. Dave is an awesome dad. One of my favorite things about him is how he lets me get out for "me" time. He encourages it. Our kids are 5 and 3. Fun times in the discipline department. :-) NOT! Our kids are really super good, but they do test our patience when we are at home. I love them. Dave loves them too. I'm so blessed to have a husband who will go to a job that he doesn't really love, to provide so much for us. He takes excellent care of us. Today we let "daddy" choose whatever he wanted to do. He chose to go shoot in an IDPA tournament. It's a pistol shooting tournament. He said it was harder than usual, but he did have fun. When he got home, we hung around here a little while. Then we took the kids to see the movie "Cars"... it was a WAY fun movie. The kids had seen it while spending a week in Indiana with their grandparents. But they still had fun. Then we met my folks at an ice cream place and treated my dad to ice cream for Father's day. It was a really fun day.

Yesterday we worked in the yard all day. We've lived in our house for 5 years now, and we've really been slow in the landscaping department. Well we got a lot done out there yesterday.. At least in the front yard. We had some ornamental grass that was dying off, so we broke it apart and hopefully 4 pieces of it survived. Also got a hydraenga bush and some wave petunias and a couple magnolia bushes. Oh and peony plant. I have one at my mailbox and I LOVE it in the spring...Big ol pink blossoms...smell just like roses. My aunt has some lovely flowers in her yard, and she also said she may have some to share with me, perennials, which would be very exciting to have! I would love to have some that I didn't have to plant each year.
My sister has a knack for gardening that I wish I had. But at least I am trying. My mother in law is an excellent gardener as well. I hope that it will rub off on me sooner or later.

Tomorrow is Monday. The kids and I are having a playdate with some friends. Then in the afternoon, we are venturing to the swimming pool for some fun. They should be good and tired tomorrow night.

I'll be working on cleaning house this week cuz I'm hosting my baby sister's baby shower on Sunday. There will be a, pardon my phrase, butt-load of people here. We're gonna have it in the back yard, because I know I cannot fit potentially 50 people in my house. I'm looking forward to it, though. I cannot wait till my new niece is born, Haley Jane. I look forward to a baby fix! :-)

Okay, off to finish watching a really good movie... called, "An Unfinished Life" with Robert Redfort and Morgan Freeman. It's really good. I highly recommend it.

What a day-Wednesday!

So, today started out pretty normally. Got up, got ready for the day. Met our friend Lillie and we hung out most of the day. It was fun, and we got to see her pictures from her trip to Indonesia to visit her brother and sister-in-law. She saw some amazing things, and barely missed some really scary things, like earthquakes and volcano erruptions. God was protecting them. So anyway, we ended up getting my friend, Lisa's daughter Courtney too. Lisa was not feeling well, and having some numbness and pressure on the right side of her head, so she was going to the ER. They found nothing wrong and sent her home, with a snide comment about, "if it's a tumor, it won't change before you see your regular doctor on Monday." CRAZY! I think my husband would flip if anyone said that to me. Most likely they say it was a migrane without the pain. I hope that is all it was.

My favorite part of today was sharing the news of a very dear friend. She is unofficially engaged. She and her intended are planning a June 2007 wedding and I am helping her with a lot of it, and most excitingly, I have been asked to be the matron of honor. I am SO excited! It's the most exciting thing to me because she is like the most beautiful friend I have, who thinks she's nothing special. She has found a wonderful man, who thinks she is the BOMB. And he is treating her like a princess and I just think it is so cool! She told me about all of this before her mother! That makes me feel so special.

She went with us to dinner, which was fun. We flipped through a bridal magazine while we sat there waiting for our food. However, the kids! Wow! They were a mess tonight. Hannah actually cried because, get this, Spencer got a scrape--and it was worse than hers! I cannot believe she cried about it! THEN she told us that she thought she would have more fun here when she came home from Grandma's. Talked to Grandma tonight and she mentioned that she got to experience for herself that special dose of drama that our daughter is so gifted in. *insert eye roll*

I'm looking forward to a slower day tomorrow. Will have Maddi, but other than that, pretty uneventful. Oh, except for the fact that my sister returns from Florida tomorrow...which means our doggie sitting is ending tomorrow. We've really enjoyed having Belle here. I know the kids will be bummed.

Well, off to bed I go. Three kids keep me busy. Need that extra sleep, and I've already enjoyed a relaxing hot shower. Here's to a good night's sleep.

Tuesday Morning.

*Yawn*

It was too short of a night. Dave was up late working, and so I stayed awake too long for having to get up this morning. I'm whipped. It was a great night to sleep with windows open. Very unusual for MO in June. Almost cool. So sleep was wonderful last night. We are dog-sitting this week for my sister's dog, Belle. She's a large black shed-like-crazy lab. Sweetest dog evah!
She woke me right at 7:00 to go outside. Ah well, had to get up anyhow to greet Maddi, the little one-year old that I watch. So we are ALL up now. Dave is back off to work and we begin our day.

My goals for today, if all children are co-operative...go to this awesome resale shop, where I've been making lots of money selling the kids' and my clothes. I have $90.00 waiting for me. Next, head to Hobby Lobby, where the acrylic stamps are 1/3 off. I just discovered them while working on my wedding album. I'm really liking them, especially the fact that I can see through to where I am stamping exactly. Aside from that, I'm hoping that Spencer and Maddi will take naps today. Hannah, being 5, is not really into napping any longer, which is fine. But I'd like to have some stamp time this afternoon.

Tonight, Dave and I have Base Camp, which is a small group Bible study with our church. We are just starting to get into it again, at least we are trying. We have participated in it for 5 years now, and have just taken the last 6 months to lay off for a while, and it's been nice. Mostly because my parents keep the kids every Tuesday night, which means we've had date nights at least once a week for 6 months. Can't argue with that! I love date nights with my hubby! But we will make every attempt to make it there tonight. Our friend, Lillie has just returned from a trip to Indonesia and I'm anxious to hear all about it. Sounds like it was an amazing trip.

Well, off to get this day going. It is 10:00 afterall! :-) Here is to a peaceful and productive day!

Something New

Well, this whole blogging thing seems to be taking over the world. "Everyone's doing it!" Oh, that may not be the best reason to start this. Actually, one of my reason's for beginning this is to make myself, hopefully, accountable to some things I've been thinking of. Like losing some weight. Being consistent in some areas of my life, such as exercising, journalling(which is why I'm trying this), and just keeping track of some thoughts.

I'm certain this will not be as interesting as some blogs I've read, but my hope is that as I grow accustomed to it, I will venture into more creativity in writing and that that creativity will weave its way into other areas of my life.

I think it will be fun to post some pictures and some of my stamp art onto the site as well. My husband's blog is quite a creation, if I do say so myself. He is a gifted writer in my opinion and sometimes I'm amazed at his thoughts that are shared there. Here is a link to his blog (hope this works). http://web.mac.com/darodecap/iWeb/CornerPost/Blog/Blog.html

And so, I'm off! Off to try something new. Wish me luck!