yadda yadda

So, another week, another step closer to school. Not much new going on, just hanging out this week. We have a wedding to go to this Saturday. It is outdoors and it is supposed to be 97 degrees with A LOT of humidity. UGg so not looking forward to the weather. I got one of quilts that was requested done (more on that later) and am starting on the quilt for grandma and then after that I have another requested one to do. And am making a stocking for miss Riles. and my mom just called and told me that plums are almost ready. I am hoping to get some to make plum jam again, that was sooo good. I finally got all the stuff to the storage shed that I have been saying needs to go for months. yeah, and getting 4 kids ready for school. Not really doing much.
Mike, Michelle and I went to see G'Ma Coates at the hospital. She reminds me of a kid the way she was making faces at all the food she tried. She put in a request for some BLT salad, I am going to try to get enough garden fresh tomatoes for a batch.
I went to work on the garden a bit, I should say the weed patch. I am so disgusted with the way it has overgrown. I am not a gardener, not my idea of fun, but I can't see letting all those plants go to waste. I went out to see if it was worth salvaging and there were cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and some kind of hot peppers that were planted by accident, turnips (Michelle's bright request) onions and even some radishes left. The pumpkin and squash plants are blooming like mad, I am hoping they can be salvaged. I got Mikey to weed-eat the grass that was thigh high so I could see the plants, they are actually doing really well. I wish I had the big tomato cages but oh well, you live and you learn. He mowed down the parts that didn't have plants and WOW what a difference. I think next year, maybe not quite so much. But, then I get to thinking ohhh, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, potatoes, pumpkin, cabbage. I will have to see if we have anywhere to plant next spring before I get too excited.
I talked to Chick today. She had an episode (for lack of a better term) the other day. She wanted to call me but her phone was acting up so she asked to use her aunts phone and she told Chick no, it was too late. That royally pissed me off. I know her aunt was thinking it is the middle of the night, it can wait till morning, but the whole reason I got Chick her cell phone was so she could call me at anytime if she wanted to. If my daughter wants to talk to me, I want to talk to her. I thought I had made that clear last year but apparently not. Next year ought to be interesting because she will have drivers ed most of the summer. I am thinking she will get a week with her grandma and a week with her aunt, that's it. I am already on the poop sheet because " I am scaling her visits down to nothing". Oh well, I am the mom! I should be thankful I only have to deal with this stuff once a year.
Oh, I forgot to mention, my nephew who is getting married this Saturday, JAKE, competed in his final demolition derby last week. He is taking off for a few years to spend time with his girls and his soon to be wife. SO, in typical Jake fashion, he went out with a bang. This year there was a car derby and a separate truck derby. Mike and I didn't get to go because he had to go on a 28 hour road trip (another story entirely) but Jake managed to get 1st place! I gotta give him props for it, he built the cars and ran them himself. Way to go.

warm fuzzies

I ran across this story :
Charles Barkley tips well, pays busboy's tuition to Temple

( http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Charles-Barkley-tips-well-pays-busboy-s-tuition?urn=nba,95780 )

It is nice to hear about celebrities that are doing more with their money then buying the latest multi-million home for their dogs. It is REALLY nice to hear about one human doing something for someone else without any kind of ulterior motive. I like to hear about random acts of kindness and I try to perform them too. Course, it isn't as grand a gesture but it is all about the thought.

Nothing really spectacular going on around here, just trying to get the kids ready for school. 19 days. I'm not counting or anything. OK, so I am but at least I am not counting the hours. Yet.
Still trying to pin down a date for Chick to come home, she is starting to get homesick. She is such a homebody. My big high schooler. oh geez, I was trying to ignore that fact.
Mikey is dying to go to the river and camp but lovely mother nature is being persnickety and it is supposed to rain all weekend. Gotta love that.

Ups and Downs

This has been one of those roller coaster, never know what to expect, hang on tight kinda weeks. Let me start by saying that my mother in law is doing well, still really weak and not wanting to exercise as much as she should but getting ready to move to skilled nursing care.
Thursday, I went to lunch with my mom and then went and got the kids school supplies. I have to get shoes and 3 backpacks, maybe a coulpa jeans and I will be done. I have to get done in July because in August, it is going to cost me $100 to enroll them and $100 for school pictures on top of lunch ticket money, regular bills and 2 birthday celebrations.
Friday, I had a woman come to my home ( long story, not going into it) with an Attitude. I have dealt with snobs before, but I have never encountered someone with such a superiority complex. I am intimidated by new people easily (shh don't let everyone know, I hide it well), but I am dealing with it. This woman comes in and refuses to sit in my house, she sat outside on my deck in 95 degree weather with 70% humidity as opposed to sitting on my chair. And was not subtle about the insult either. After about 2 minutes of her bragging and attitude, I got irritated. She had two little girls with her, both dressed to perfection and not allowed to breath too deeply let alone walk more then 2 feet from her. I think about the time she started to tell me how terrible EV is, that is when I let the redneck out. I started flashing her my tooth, telling Dude to get some muddy cars for the girls, talking about how filthy the kids get at the river, how hard it is to get the sand out of everywhere. It may be childish but it made me feel better, she was being such a bitch. It made me realize that I like me. I may not have a pristine house, I may not have all the money that I would like, but people like me and want to be around me. In the long run, that is what matters to me. I wonder if she can say the same?
Saturday, I had an accident. I backed out of my parking spot and managed to run into Josh and Leslies rear bumper. It didn't do much damage (scraped the paint a little and put a softball sized dent in my rear quarter panel) but Mikey went through the roof. You know me, little miss emotional, I had to go bawl for 1/2 an hour. He came in and apologized for overreacting. It was soo embarrassing. But, I might point out, this is the first accident that was my fault since I started driving when I was 15.
My mom is hosting Rag-Brai (sp?) on her property this weekend so she called to tell me all about Team Miller High Life. For those of you lucky enough to not live in Iowa, Rag Brai is where teams of bicyclists go on a tour of Iowa, each year it is a different course so the towns they go through are different. I personally don't see how they can handle biking all day when they party as hard as they do at night. Mom was telling me about the naked bicyclist (she had on pasties and a g-string but at first glance looked nakey) and the kegs they were pulling off the buses on her terrace. They were very considerate, offering her a beer within like 10 minutes of arriving. She quite drinking years ago because of her blood pressure but it was nice of them to offer.
I watched STOP-LOSS and STEP UP 2 last night. I really liked the first, it was a good picture into some of the thoughts that our soldiers have. Granted, there were glaring gloss overs but hey, it wasn't a documentary. The second I was kinda disappointed in; I loved the original. I love dancing shows and movies but I shoulda listened to the whole -sequels are rarely as good- mumbo jumbo.

The big eared bastard

This is Snatch.

I totally lifted this picture from his myspace page. I wanted to give ya'll a visual when I talk about him. We just got a letter, he is healthy and alive. That is the main thing. I think he is getting really bored, lonely, and homesick. I know we worry about him like he is part of our family because, well, he is. Have you ever had one of those friends that are soo close to you? He was Mikey's best friend and when we got married, he made me his friend too. I just totally love him for that. He has a special place in our hearts, even when he tries to make my blood pressure boil by making up terrible stories. I am sending him a surprise package, let him know I still love the goofball!

And these are the days of our lives.....

Been a week, wow, time flies. We have a new friend staying with us, E.V., she is a quiet almost teen girl. I don't think she will be staying long though, by all accounts, she will be going home within a month. Bubba is bummed, he is campaigning for a boy to come stay with us. I was trying to explain, we don't get to pick, we just get to say yes or no when they call. And 95% of the calls are for girls.
Speaking of Bubba, 411 and him got country fried by the sun last week. I took them out to go swimming at Duddette's with their cousins while I went grocery shopping. Neither one of them wore sunscreen, I am amazed that they didn't get sick. Bubba was already peeling from the last time he ventured forth into daylight, but 411, I would swear she was really a redhead as badly as she burned. His was the worst where the new skin was, and that is the only place it blistered. 411 on the other hand, her face got it something terrible and her shoulders, halfway down her arms. I told Mike I feel like such a bad mom, I feel so bad for them. I try to remember that I got burned when I was a kid, it isn't the end of the world. Obviously, I am going to be so much more careful when they go out from now on.
My mom has filled out the paperwork to move into the housing down here in Tabor. I would love that, I think she is lonely being so far away and not able to visit like she wants. She is scared that I will move to another town (because of the house hunt) as soon as she moves. I told her even if I do, it will still be closer then where she is now.
Chick has been calling, a lot. She is her grandpa's favorite, he spoils her like no other. Her grandma used to till she got the attitude about 3 years ago. Now, her grandmother isn't so hep on it, really gets kinda pissy. I totally understand her view, it is irritating. BUT< I told them when she was 7, if you let her walk on you now, it is only going to get worse. They chose to continue. So, this week, her cousin is up staying with them too. He is apparently her grandmother's new fave (she alternates) and Chick feels like she is being picked on. Knowing the key players, I doubt big time she is being treated unfairly but she is a teen who sees things differently. SO I get the calls when she is in meltdown mod. I keep hoping she will grow out of this but it isn't looking good for the home team to happen anytime soon.

The 5th of July

This year, we had a get together on the fifth because we needed the 4th to get the campsite back in order. Let's review the day shall we? Here is Double and Trouble with a camp-neighbor.























Next we have 411's 'poppers wig', she is a nut.
















Then we have the boys in their firework-lighting-off 7th heaven. This activity lasted oh about 4 hours.
















This is D.T. looking for stuff to get into. Notice the mulberry stained feet!
















And JJ came to enjoy the fiesta, I rolled when I read his shirt.





















And look, they found something they could light! The smoke balls are a HUGE hit every year and it keeps the skeeters away, yea!!















It was a good day except the trip back to the hospital that my mother in law had to take. She was released to a nursing home in Malvern that apparently shouldn't be allowed to house animals let alone post surgery patients. The staff was ill prepared for her arrival and roomed her with a M.R. lady and that is just the top two. SO she was moved to another facility that was much more appropriate but she developed a fever and the doctors decided to send her back up to the hospital. Her blood pressure bottomed out on the way there so it seems like it wasn't a moment too soon they took her. She was in ICU Sunday when we went to see her, resting comfortably. Turns out, she has an infection that went into her blood and a small bowel obstruction. SCARY! The doctors came today and there is even talk of moving her to a regular room she is doing so much better. She is a tough cookie though, I have faith she will be back to her home soon.

Chick called me yesterday, she had a minor meltdown at her grandmothers. "I wanted to talk to you, Grandma just doesn't know what to say to help me" And I will admit that it pettily made me feel good. How sad am I? It is nice to feel needed especially by someone who has made a point of letting you know that you are dumb as a box of rocks. Other then that, they are spoiling her mercilessly and are having a great time with her.

Happy Independence Day

I was talking with my landlady the other day, she is quite the chatty lady. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting her, you know what I mean. She is another woman that just amazes me. She is probably mid 50's (you just don't ask these things), has Multiple Scleroses (sp?) and is a widow for the last 15 years or so. Anyway, we were talking and she told me that she envied me. I was having a grumpy day when nothing was going right, my kids were being rotten, bills were in my face, you know those kind of days. So I kind of gave an exasperated, grunting laugh and said yah right. She teared up and told me 'no, really, you have your health, your husband, his health, four healthy, beautiful children. I envy you.' I felt humbled because she was right, I may not have as much money as I'd like, I may not be as thin as I'd like, I may not be as socially graceful as I'd like, but my family and I are together and all healthy. I have extended family that has taken me into their fold, I still have my mother to talk to when I want, I even have a couple of siblings that, if push came to shove and I needed them, they would help me out. So, on this fourth of July, my birthday wish is for the ability to not sweat the small stuff.

Speaking of small stuff, Mr came running in to tell me there are kittens under our porch. I went to investigate, there are indeed 3 black kittens and a Siamese mama under our deck. Which will make the landlord thrilled given the no pets policy. They are soo cute though.

I talked to Chick, she is loving her vacation with her grandparents. I think her G'pa finally retired because he is there all day with her. He thinks she is the greatest thing since peanut butter, and spoils her shamelessly. It is so hard on her ;) They have a great time harassing each other.