A new year

Ok, so I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I just have kinda forgotten about blogging. I can hear the gasps, smartypants, cuz I never forget anything. Right?! Anyway, it's a new year and I am going to try to do better. Let's ignore that it is the day before March. So lots has been happening around mi casa. Still doing foster care, Chick is almost done with her junior year, I am still working full time, Mike is still making my blood boil for fun. Ok, maybe not so much new.
My mother moved in with me, that is new. She is going to help me keep my kids going in the right direction. I have had a really hard time adjusting to working full time, full time mom, chauffeur, chef, laundress, banker and 1001 other things. I started to feel that the kids are not getting enough grown up time so she is going to help me out with that.
I have made only one quilt in the last year. I really miss that. I haven't really had a reason to make one though, so that probably has something to do with it. The last one I made was for the Hasting's Community Club Christmas party. Oh, that is something else new. I am the secretary for the Hasting's Community Club. We are trying to breath some life into this dying little town. We held a Town Christmas Party, have started holding game night once a month, are having an Easter egg hunt/pancake feed in April, bringing back Hastings Fun Day this summer and then having another Christmas party this winter. Lot's of projects. There seems to be quite a bit of support for us throughout town so that is a great start. The thought being, if people have some kind of pride about the town, things can only get better. I am paraphrasing the mission statement but you get the idea.
My friend/little brother Snatch got married over Thanksgiving. I am so happy for him to find someone he can be happy with.
It is starting to sink in that next summer, my baby girl will be 18 and looking for her own home. I think it is very important for her to get her independence and am trying to get her to think about colleges. She keeps telling me she is only 16, she has plenty of time. I keep telling her it will go faster then she thinks. She looks at me like I am nuts. Kind of like I used to look at my mom when she would say totally ridiculous stuff like that.

It's fall already

The cool weather is here already and I am not a bit sorry to see it. I don't like to melt, it just isn't proper. As we all know, I am super concerned with propriety. School started August 18th and three weeks in, I have gotten calls from the principals 3 times. Twice in one day. Are you serious? I got exactly 2 calls for behavior from the old school in the entire 7 years my kids had been going there. Maybe I was just spoiled but I am a little concerned when one of the calls was because my 7 year old was playing tag at recess. Apparently that is no longer allowed. Really? When did that happen? Isn't it a training game for future sports like football, basketball, soccer? You don't want kids to sit around and play video games but you don't want them chasing each other either. OK.

I seriously suck at updates

Ok, so it has been a little longer then a month. I really need to get better at keeping all the adoring fans updated, both of you. The wonderful blessings I call my offspring have all started back to school. Thank the powers that be for that. Chick is now a junior, Bubba is officially a junior high student in 7th grade, 411 is in middle school at 5th grade and Mr. is in second grade already. We do have a new friend staying with us, she is a freshman. I tell you what, getting 5 kids ready for a new school year was not as much fun as one would think. I don't know that I could do anymore than that. Of course, you don't know what you can handle until the situation presents itself.
We still have not gotten down to the river again this year. Stupid Missouri, coming out of the banks all summer long. At this point, I think we will just have a get together at the house for labor day.
I did finally get a new couch. It's a sectional that is supposed to be L shaped but the girls put it in a straight line so it takes up an entire wall which works cuz all 7 of us can sit on it :) Now Mikey is bound and determined to get the biggest TV he can to go in the living room. Boys and their toys.
We got Chick a car. She can get her license in October so she will be ready to go. It's a 2000 Intrepid, like my old car but red. I miss that car. I had to get rid of it because Mr decided to make an entrance into the world. I almost want to trade her cars, how sad is that?
We are taking the kids to Adventureland next weekend. That ought to be a great photo op. We haven't gone to an amusement park since we left Germany so I am super excited.

Monthly update

So my baby girl turns 16 today. She is flying to visit her aunt and cousins in July. I couldn't wait and told her about it last night. She was properly excited by it, I got cool mom points and everything. Wow. I am not sure how I am feeling about this. I am so excited for her to be experiencing all the greatness this time of her life has to offer. And I am soooo thankful that she isn't nearly as extroverted as I was at that age. I couldn't handle half the stuff I pulled on my mom. Of course, I did it, so I would recognize it and be able to squash it. Right? I am contemplating these things because 411 is following very closely and she will be here in 6 years. I know she will make up for everything that Chick isn't doing. Bubba is stretching out, starting to get his growth on a little at a time. His orneriness is in full steam ahead mode though. Mr is in full glory this summer, he gets to spend most of his days with his cohort in crime, Riles. Those two kill me, I am really grateful that Aunt Wendy loves him so much that she lets him hang out. We are going to take Mike's twins out tomorrow. For those of you that aren't on facebook, his twins are the new boat and new truck he had to get to haul said boat. We have been trying to go out on the lake for the last two weeks but mother nature being the bitch she is, we haven't been able to go. So tomorrow we are going. I am packing a picnic and getting some sun, sounds heavenly. Next week we are going to see BEB for the 4th. I don't know who is more excited, Mike or Zach. We are both ready for some time away from the day to day routine. I am making a quilt for his neighbor and taking it with us to save on postage. That makes sense right, drive 10 hours to save $10 postage? I know, just made me giggle when I thought about it. I got to stressing a little when I made this brilliant decision, I only had 2 weeks to get it done. So I cut it all out, got all the flags made, got the ribbons attached and clipped and all the backing squares. Then I realized that they were all the wrong size and had to recut it all. Thankfully the flags were the right size. So I am on a schedule now, I have to get one row done every night and then I will have to clip it on the way to Tennessee. That should make Mike's truck nice and decorated by the time we get there :)

Amazing!

I know, I am amazed at remembering to update almost as much as you are amazed that I am updating. Tis the season for graduates. This year, it is striking me rather harshly as some of the kids graduating are related to me. And I used to change their diapers. Ok, maybe not literally but I was certainly old enough to. So, there are four of them between this weekend and last weekend. Wow. Then I get to thinking about how Chick is going to be a junior in high school. When did that happen? I know, when I wasn't looking.
Speaking of Chick, she got her learners permit. She is doing a great job of driving, gets a little nervous when semi's pass her but that is just a confidence thing. She also got 1st place in an art show at school. It is a huge paper mache bug she named Quasimodo. I will try to get some pictures up later.
Bubba is doing his best not to do anything this last week of school. There are 5 days left, I hope he can hang in there for it :)
411 is having her year end recital for dance class next week. She is so excited, she gets to sing too so she can hardly contain herself.
Mister is loving having roads to ride his bike on. He has made a new bestest best friend that he can hang out with and has had the other half of double trouble spend the night.
We went to the heart walk along the river in Omaha last weekend in memory of our niece, Hadleigh. It was pretty bittersweet to see all the people that turned out is support of her. The team raised about $800 which I didn't think was too bad.
We are getting ready for camping season, next weekend, bring it on! Mike is so antsy, even Chelle is ready to go!! I am toiling away at my job, I have discovered I am pretty good at this leasing stuff. It has almost been a whole year, it doesn't seem like it.
The kids are getting ready to transfer to their new school next year. The younger ones are excited, Chick not so much. She would rather stay put, I think it would be very good for her to meet new people and interacts with other kids her age that can give her a fresh start socially. We'll see.

ok, so I have been seriously slacking. I am going to attribute that to moving. Yeah, that's it. We bought a home in an even smaller town but with almost twice the space. Go figure. All of the kids will have their own room finally so that is a plus. I will actually have my own sewing room too. FABULOUS!! I received a promotion at work, get to be legitimate now. Mikey has been taking over alot more of the day to day stuff, its not so easy to do it all when you are getting home at 6:30 or 7 at night. The kids are going to have to transfer schools next fall, they aren't especially groovin' on that but aren't exactly heart broken either. I have been mostly just hanging out, working and trying to learn to not share my opinion unless someone asks for it. That is a hard one for me. It's getting better though. We had the family Easter get together last weekend, that was so fun. My wonderful new camera is in a box, dammit. Wendy got some good ones so hopefully she will share. The heart walk is coming up again. This year we are ordering long sleeved shirts, it was chilly last year. 411 got to do the cookie sales again this year. Unfortunately, that is about all she gets to do. I am hoping that her new school will bring a new girl scout troop that is a little more organized. She is doing dance so there will be a recital again this spring, I just got the email to the link of the pictures from last year. Nothing like being on top of it. Apparently my friend Jen graduated from nursing school, WAY TO GO!! And on another facebook connection moment, I found one of my bestest friends I grew up with. I was amazed at how much she hadn't changed. She is one of those people that just didn't change very much, I am soo envious. Funny thing, her name is Brandy and she has 4 kids now too. I was thinking, I graduated 18 years ago. That means in 2 years there will be reunions for 20 years. Where in the hell did the time go?

What's been happening

We made a quick trip to Tennessee, dropped off a couple gifts, had a great time!
















This is the quilt I made for BEB. His neighbor ordered one for himself!






















Here is how the guys spent their time together, this and drinking beer.

















Chick went to the winter ball at school. I think next time, I am going to have to plan on more then one day dress shopping, I can't do the 10 hour marathon shoping anymore. I get too crabby.

And working. That is what I have been up to. Not really anything terribly exciting. I might have some good news soon but I don't want to jinx it.

2010

Ok, I guess after a month I should probably update. Been a quiet year so far, I do have a new niece, McKynlee Breeann. She was born January 2nd and has the honor of being the first baby born in our county. She was soo tiny (4 lbs 14 oz) and a little early. She wasn't supposed to be here till February 21st but she wanted to make a dramatic entrance I guess. Kinda like her mama (wink wink).
We just got back from a quick dash to Tennessee where our BEB let us buy his car that he doesn't need anymore. I appreciate it greatly and so does Mikey; he can have his baby back. He went to work an hour early this morning because he was so anxious to drive it. It had nothing to do with the extra work from this weekend that he said it did, I know it was because he missed his baby.
The kids are doing well, I did find out that Bubba has striations on his esophagus and can not have dairy products at all till his next allergist appointment. Poor Chelle watched my kids this weekend and couldn't give Mr anything Peanut or Bubba anything Dairy. She was such a good sport about it.
I have been working full time days, which lends to the explanation of why I am not updating. Ok, not really but it sounded good. :)
411 is in full Girl Scout Cookie selling mode. I just adore it. NOT
We are trying to buy a different house, we decided that the one we are in will not work for us any longer. It is just not practical for our family. Wish us luck that everything goes through. I was surprised to hear how hard it is to get approval nowadays; I thought everyone was so upset because no one was buying. Now that we are trying to, no one is lending. Kinda creates a circle, right?
That's about all, I have to get stuff ready to pack. ahhhhhh, I love being a grown up!

What an end to the year

I am sitting here listening to the police scanner go off telling the local rescue squad where to go and that they will have a snow plow headed that direction to help them get where they are going. Looking out my window, there is maybe 3-4 inches on the ground in my driveway. I am told this is because we live out in the open, the wind has blown most of our accumulation away from us, in town there is 18 inches. In the last 2 days we have gotten that much, preceded by freezing rain and sleet. In short, a mess. We stayed home (not that we could go anywhere anyway) for Christmas, just our little clan. I made my very first prime rib roast, twice baked potatoes, asparagus and cracked out cheesecake. We sat as a family and ate. It is so easy to forget to do simple things like that. The kids spent all day playing with their new stuff and Mike & I were totally lazy. It is killing him today though, he has gone to town twice, burned the trash, and is trying to find a shovel to scoop out the driveway. Chick and 411 have gone through their clothes, getting rid of all the too small and just don't likes. And I am going to go make chicken and dumplings.... Something with a certain stick-to-your-ribs quality!a> In the meantime, here are a few pictures of recent festivities.

The Great Tree adventure '09

We decided this year we would go cut down our own Christmas tree thanks to a leaky basement ruining the fake one (lil blessing in disguise!) So we loaded up our family and Chelles and went to the tree farm. Didn't put two and two together that a foot of snow 4 days earlier would probably still be on the ground....

















Mr gave up and wanted Mike to carry him. I am surprised this picture turned out ok, I was laughing so hard. Poor little guy was up to his chest in some spots.
















So we found one that we liked and gathered everyone up to take a picture....

Then we changed our minds and Mr refused to do anything but be carried.

The pre-cut trees at the house were so much easier to get to and transport!!

There was this really cool old church I HAD to get pictures of. It always makes me a little sad when I see old buildings just rotting away like this but it made an awesome backdrop!

Coming soon: pictures of the Christmas program '09!

A tale of my days....

So I spent all day yesterday wrapping packages for under the various Christmas trees at work. I thought I was kickin' butt doing it too. Till I realized that it had taken me ALL day to do it. To be fair to me, I was interrupted to go do other things a time or two. The district manager was there and she told me I was crazy because I like to wrap gifts. I will admit 10 hours of it was a bit much. :)
Bubba's procedures went fine, he was in a hurry to get it done so he could eat. Poor little guy had to stop eating Monday night and didn't get it done till Wednesday @ noon. That seemed like forever. I think he has finally stopped hoovering everything in sight.
Chick got four of her teeth pulled. She wanted me to stop and get her all this food that she couldn't eat. She doesn't get to go to the city as much as everyone else and she was sooo disappointed. I couldn't see doing it when she couldn't eat it though, fast food is NASTY reheated.
411 got her Girl Scout nut money turned in finally. I was really lazy about taking her to sell them and she still sold over $200 worth of stuff. She is a natural seller. Or everyone knows how good the stuff is.
Mr goes into a reading class to help him catch up speed wise with his classmates. He is starting to really enjoy it, he finally caught on that if he learns to read, he doesn't have to ask 'what does that say?' . I can always tell when he hasn't done his "homework" for her though, he doesn't want to go to reading that day. I have to make time every night to listen to him read his two books. It gets to be frustrating when I don't get home till 8:30 or 9 but I am the mom :)
Today I have to go to work, we are bringing Santa back to the Brandeis. Apparently, that used to be a huge deal back in the day. I was amazed when we were out handing out flyers for it how many older people remembered going to the Brandeis to see Santa and were totally jazzed to bring their grand babies. I am really thankful that I don't have to wear the elf suit.

Feeling overwhelmed

I have been getting alot of grief lately for not updating. I know I am slacking, there is just a lot going on right now and I feel under alot of pressure, it doesn't make me too chatty. To give lay it out there, I changed to a day time position that I am confident I can do once I have all the means to do it. The kicker is though, I am getting bits and pieces, lots of 'O, I didn't tell you?' things. Kind of frustrating. We are looking for another house because we have decided this one really isn't going to work for us, so once again we are looking at moving in the middle of winter. Great. Bubba has to have a colonoscopy (sp?) and upper GI scope tomorrow. Nerve wrecking. Chick has to have four baby teeth pulled to try to make room for her permanent ones to come in tomorrow. Groovy. Trying to think of something cool for all my kids for Christmas when all I want to do is sleep. Aggravating. I have 3 quilts I am supposed to be making and I just can't get inspired. Poor poor me, I know I am wallowing. Sometimes you just got to take a minute to assess where to start.

On a lighter note, our good friend/brother/pain in the ass BEB (or Snatch, as he is known) was here for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was really good to see him and his son again. He drove 10 hours to get here, stayed 3 days and drove 10 hours back. He says it was worth it. It must be a guy thing, I HATE driving long periods like that.

So that is what is going on, now, aren't you sorry you asked? ;)

Better late then never

I think I am in trouble, she is rocking the vampira look!






















Superman away!!






















Zombie's attack Iowa, aaaahhhh!























My little fairy. You can't see it but she was GLITTERY!

a minute to sit

I actually have a minute or two to sit down and tell ya'll what I have been up to. Not a whole lot to be truthful. Trying to get Mikey to go to a class so we can get re-licensed for foster care. I thought we were signed up for one today and it turns out we weren't so I have 4 hours to do what I want. Hmmmmmm...
I am working on a Christmas gift, realized that maybe starting early would be beneficial with the way things are going. It seems there just is never enough time to get anything done after I sleep all day. I really am understanding why everyone wants a day job. Having people to talk to is nice. Having a similar shedule makes communicating a ton easier. I am keeping my fingers crossed that something will come up where I can move to days.
We are going to a family get together at my sister in laws tonight. I made a coconut cake and artichoke dip. It is a yummy combo. Just kidding, the dip goes with the beer bread that Chick made for me. I have never made a coconut cake before, I am excited to try it.

Fascinating story

I was sent this story in an email and went to Snopes.com to see if it is true. They say that it is. AMAZING!

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/sendler.asp

It is the story of Irena Sendler, a woman who was nominated for the Nobel peace prize in 2007, and how she rescued over 2500 jewish people during world war two. She just died at the age of 98 recently, fascinating.

Hadleigh Ann Griffin

This is Haddie. She was born with HLHS. Basically the left half of her heart didn't work. The doctors discovered it when her mom was 28 weeks pregnant with her. The doctors told her that she probably wouldn't survive being born. She survived. She needed 3 surgeries to repair her heart. They took her off to the first surgery and warned her parents that she might not make it. She survived. They warned her parents she might not make it to her first birthday. She survived. Last spring the doctors told her parents that a heart transplant was her only option for survival. She survived. Yesterday afternoon, Hadleigh Ann lost her battle against HLHS, four days after her second birthday.

These days

So we finally got to have our sister breakfast for me this past weekend. I got a really cool digital camera and an MP3 player I never would have bought for myself. I had a lot of fun as usual but I am not sure how things will progress in the future. Kinda sad.
The kids are all doing well in school, I have to take Chick to get 4 teeth pulled. She still has 12 baby teeth in her head and the orthodontist is hoping having these teeth removed will motivate the permanent ones to come on down. Needless to say, she is less then thrilled with this development. I can't blame her but at 15, we need to get the ball rolling.
Bubba finally got into the pediatric gastro-intestinal specialist. She gave him a bunch of 'softeners' and we haven't had a problem since. He was backed up almost to his small intestine, which is most unhealthy. Now we just have to figure out why.
411 is selling girl scout nuts and chocolates again. I hate it.
Mr is adjusting to first grade. He is getting a little extra help in reading so he is finally understanding that once he learns how to do it, he can read everything. Great. No more spelling things out.
We might have some great news soon, keep your fingers crossed for us!

Tired

I am adjusting to working the night shift (from 11 pm to 7:30 am) an hour away. I am doing better, at least I am getting more then 3 hours sleep per day now. It is still hard though because there is stuff that has to be done during the day like doctors appointments, grocery shopping, hardware store shopping, meetings etc. I enjoy my job but think I would like it more during the day, but it was my choice to take the hours. I will suck it up and am hoping to eventually get totally adjusted. eventually.

I rolled off my chair!

Awhile ago I received a really funny email that had pictures of people in Wal mart ( Wal mart proves God has a sense of humor). I just found out there is a whole website dedicated to the hilariousness. WWW. PEOPLEOFWALMART.COM There are about 150 pictures of random people/things that you would only find at a Walmart.

wow

There is a woman in Tennessee who is having a very bad year. She is friends with BEB, i got to meet her and her boyfriend (now husband) this summer. She is raising 5 kids, with no financial support from her first husband, four of whom they adopted together. Both her mother and father passed away within a couple of months of each other this year. Now, a sixty year old woman crashed her car into Donna's house. It is condemned and they have to find somewhere to stay with all 5 kids till the insurance can get it all straightened out. This is bad enough, then you have idiots like this one.............

chickenshift wrote:
this house has pool out back.. nice lawn furniture, four or five cars. always got out lots of xmas decorations. etc. not hard up for money..

posting remarks like this on the local newspaper's website. Seriously? Does the fact that they are providing a nice home for their kids make it any less tragic that they are for all intents and purposes homeless unexpectedly through no fault of their own? Her home is in the middle of the block and set back away from the street a little way. How much money she has, how nice her home is, what kind of cars are there, none of that matters. And morons like this guy are why I say STUPID SHOULD HURT.