I'm it!

A - Available or single: I'm married
B - Best Friend: Jonathan
C - Cake or Pie: Cake, especially one of the Snow White variety, white cke with cream cheese icing to be exaxt.
D - Drink of choice: Diet Coke
E - Essential Item you use everyday: probably either bed head manipulator or my toothbrush.
F - Favorite color: Red
G - Gummy Bears or worms: Worms, but only if they are sour.
H - Hometown: Abilene, Tx
I - Indulgence: I have several, however most aren't a big deal because when you have kids it's the small things. Some of them are: two diet cokes instead of one, Starbucks, any purchase from Ulta that includes getting to go by myself, haircut and color, internet time at home.
J - January or February: February, it's short and the month we are going to Austin to run the half marathon.
K - Kids & Names: Laine Emory and Bowen Cole
L - Life is Incomplete Without? Family, and I couldn't ask for a better one.
M - Marriage Date: June 14, 1997
N - Number of Siblings: 1-Meredith
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges for shizzle
P - Phobias or Fears: Spiders, someone attacking me while I'm washing my face at the sink because what can you do to save yourself with soap in your eyes?, dentist, I had another one but I forgot.
Q - Fave Quote: "Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight Noises everywhere" Goodnight Moon, my kids fav book.
R - Reason to Smile: Santa Claus is coming to town, it's even better when you have kids!
S - Season: Spring, it goes from cold to warm. I hate cold and I love warm.
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: heather, Robin, and all of the rest of you that haven't done this.
U - Unknown Fact about Me: I'm a HUGE Harry Potter nerd. Really, I am, I've read the last book three times and I have it on my ipod and am listening to it while I'm reading it but not both at the same time.
V- Vegetable You Don't Like: Frozen green beans and sweet potatoes.
W - Worst Habit: picking my nose
X - Xrays: More than I can count on my back because of scoliosis, a kidney one where they had to inject dye because of lots of bladder infections, pelvic for hip pain.
Y - Your Fave Food:Mi Cocina, yum!
Z - Zodiac Sign: Aries

Three Stories

Story Number One:

On Monday afternoon I decided to take the kids to the museum. We have a membership(thanks, mom and dad) so it's no biggie to show up an hour before it closes. We go in and begin playing, I didn't bring anything in but my keys. Soon I snif the air and smell poop, since we're the only ones playing I knew it was Bowen. So I look in his pants and taa-daa, there's a nice solid turd in his diaper. So I do what any cool Mom would have done(?), I took him to the bathroom, shook the poop out of his diaper and put it back on. We went back out played some more and everyonce in a while I would catch a faint sniff of poop, I thought it was just dirty butt smell. So we left, went to Chick-fil-a came home, ate, went out and ran with the double stroller and then came back for a bath. I go to take Bowen's diaper off and yelp because it was FULL of poop. What the heck, I guess the antibiotics he's on make him extra poopy.


Story Number Two:

Last night I was making spaghetti and I heard Bowen cry a little, I sent Laine to investigate and she came back and reported that Bowen fell in the bathroom. I said OK and shortly after Bowen came out of the bathroom brandishing the toilet brush. And he was covered in water. And the bathroom floor was covered in water. And the toilet had less water in it than usual. Amen.


Story Number Three:

My tooth has been hurting and I just thought it was because I had a sinus infection. It kept on hurting, it was only on one side and it felt like only one tooth. I freaked out, I hate going to the dentist, it makes me so nervous. I scheduled an appointment and went today to have it checked out. I was afraid that I was going to have a root canal and crown. My dentist is really nice, he took x-rays, tapped on my fillings and finally told me it IS my sinus infection that is making my tooth hurt. He said if it still hurts in a week to come back. Oh and I have two other cavities to get filled. To show you how nervous I was today my blood pressure was 123/86 and my pulse rate was 97.

Off he goes into the wild, blue yonder...

This afternoon Jonathan was talking to his mother on the phone when he hung up he told me to find him a cheap airline ticket, he was flying to Beaumont tonight. So, I checked into some flights, called my mom to see if she could help us with the ticket, and yikes, the cheapest ticket was $300. A little expensive for Christmas time. So my little mind was turning and all of a sudden I thought of Jonathan's school. He had lots of parents who love him, and have lots of resources. So I asked him if any of his parents had a plane. Long story short, a parent of one of his 7th grade students has a jet. He couldn't fly Jonathan but one of his friends is flying Jonathan to Beaumont and will pick him up whenever he's ready to come home. Amazing. A blessing in a very stressfull situation. Hopefully, while Jonathan is there Ray can be trasferred to a hospital in Houston. Things are so slow happening in Beaumont and Ray is getting worse. It's time for a change.

Randon thoughts...

Why, oh why has my son cried ALL DAY LONG?

I love Hobby Lobby, I bought several Christmas presents there today!

Like Shauna, I tend to hate songs that Fergie sings, at first, then I find myself singing and dancing everytime they play. For example, My Humps and now Fergalicious.

I had the worst run ever today, I don't know what the problem was, but it was 5.3 miles of hell.

I'm ready for my kids to go to bed, right now.

Tonight, one of Jonathan's students is coming over at 8 and we're going to go shopping. Woohoo!

Bowen is trying to stick his finger in Sadie's nose.

The bottom of my tree no longer has any ornaments, Bowen has taken them somewhere.

I need a cut and a color.

I could not live in a place with a real winter, I hate being cold.

Update on Jonathan's Dad: He found out two days ago that he only has one kidney. The one kidney he has is partially dead. He had an echocardiogram today and the cardiologist will read it tomorrow. Then the nephrologist will decide what to do about his kidney. Please pray for him and Linda.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree...

how lovely is your fakeness...

We totally purchased a artificial Christmas Tree on Sunday, I'm so excited. Because who wants to make you children's noses run MORE in the cold weather. When I was growing up if you asked me if I would ever have a fake tree in my home I would have looked at you like you asked me to put a tree made of turds in the corner of my living roon. Obviously, my views have changed. We grew weary of picking a tree, paying too much for it only to have the needles start falling off WAY too soon. I also got frustrated with using up a whole vaacum bag to suck up the 10 million needles that blasted off the tree as we shoved it out the door on January 1st, brown and crackly and could be. I do miss the smell and I'll probably miss the tree hunting tradition next year, but hopefully the pros will still outweight the cons.

So do you have a fakie or a realie?

Happy Birthday Mom, I Love you!

A time to be Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope your day is filled with family, fun, and food!

We're having a different Thanksgiving. Jonathan's dad, Ray is in the hospital. When we got to Jasper he was fine and the next day he came down with what we thought was a stomach bug. Well he didn't get better finally after his second trip to the hospital he was transferred to Beaumont and had exploritory surgery. His appendix was inflamed and it was removed. The doctors said that wasn't the reason he was so sick. So we still don't know why he is very ill. His intestines are really inflamed and his abdomen is distended. He is is a lot of pain and is still quite nauseous. The doctors that took care of him yesterday thought they would find cancer when they operated so we're thankful that wasn't the case, so now it's just a waiting game. Waiting to see if the surgery will make him better, waiting to see what is swelling from surgery and what is swelling from something else. Say a prayer for Ray today!

gnirob

We sometimes say this in my family...it's boring spelled backwards. Last night Jonathan cooked a chuckwagon supper for some of Ray and Linda's friends. The food was yummy and perfect for a chilly fall night. That's not the boring part though. There is a couple that Jonathan and I went to college with that recently moved back to Jasper. The girl was President of my club back in the day and I remembered her as a funny, smart girl that everyone liked. She is still someone that everyone would like, minus the funny. I found it very uncomfortable that I coulnd't find enough to talk to her about. Mainly, we talked about our kids, which is fine, but I like to engage in other topics besides that. Especially when we could have been dishing on people we knew from ACU. Her husband who wasn't mister personality to begin with has only gotten, shall we say, more gnirob.

Oh how I hope no one can say that about me and Jonathan. In fact I hope we're the opposite. I hope, as we mature, we become more interesting rather than more boring. I may not be the center of attention, but please let no one who walks away from a conversation with me ever think I'm dull.

I tried to upload a funny picture of Bowen but I'm working with dial-up here in the Piney Woods of East Taxas so it was going to take forever.

I ran by myself today!

I had to do a long run solo today. I was really worried about it. First I was worried I would get lost on the route I planned. Then I worried I would get hurt or something and be alone and stranded. So at 6:40 this morning I set off on my adventure. I had great songs on my ipod, I had my dorky water fanny pack, I was ready. I made one wrong turn and figurd it out after about 20 feet, found the right way and didn't have anymore problems. It was a great route because it went through Colonial and I was on part of a Luke's run. I had plenty of people and houses to look at. So I survived seven miles of running alone, that's a record for me... it was a fun adventure but I'll be ready to have Julie back and hopefully Mere and Ryan will join us soon.

Christmas Shopping

My whole life I've loved to shop for Christmas. And after Laine was born, I even liked it her first Christmas. Now, it's different. Not good or bad, just different.

For example:

When kids are little they don't understand Christmas and more importantly don't remember if they see a gift you snuck in the basket at Target. I remember the when the forgetting dream was shattered for me. Laine wanted an umbrella for Christmas, she was two and we picked out a cute one at Wal-Mart. She remembered we bought it, she asked about it EVERY DAY for two weeks. Finally we distracted her with some new thing I'm sure to get her mind off the umbrella.

Now we even have to hide Bowen's presents from her because if she saw presents for him (especially those from S.C.) she would totally know. You're probably saying, duh Heather. I just think I was back in the day of one kid, and that one kid wouldn't remember his presents, but his big sister would.

Saying all that, it is more fun now because we see the magic of Christmas through Laine. Her excitement is contagious. Tonight she saw a Hallmark Christmas window, she was mesmerized, it was a wonderful moment as a parent. It's a blessing to pass on the Christmas excitement my parents made for Me and Mere.

So this year shopping will have to be done in shifts. Bowen will make a totally cool shopping partner, he can't talk! Hopefully Jonathan and I can escape and shop together a little.

Here's a Christmas poll. My family is divided on how this should be done. What's your preference?

Do you like for family to give you a list of ideas or do you like to shop sans list?

I'm a total list girl!

I'm back to explain...

OK:

Hypothyroid.

Well my hair started falling out a couple of months ago, it freaked me out but I attributed to hormones etc. I went to the Doctor for my hip pain and told her about my hair, she agreed about the hormones but tested my thyroid levels just to be sure. Once I got my results back I researched hypothyroid and I had more symptoms than I thought. Fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, irritability. I just thought I was tired and irritated because I was a working mother of two. I couldn't explain the weight or hair. My body isn't producing enough thyroid hormone so my pituitary gland is producing too much hormone called TSH to tell my thyroid to get in gear. It basically causes your body to slow down. I'm taking medicine to level my thyroid hormone.

Camel:

His name is Larry and one of Jonathan's students owns him. His job is to trim the trees, just like a llama might except he's way cooler.


Here are some pictures of Halloween, Larry, and the new kitty Pumpkin Batman. Laine named him, we think it's the best kitty name ever.

Soy un perdedor

I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me.

I have been a total loser blogger the last month, I promise to do better.

Meanwhile here's some randomness:

I've been diagnosed with hypothroid.

I took both my kids to the doctor yesterday.

Today I went for a bike ride. If the safety strap hadn't been on the bike trailer, Bowen would have gone shooting across Granbury Road without me.

Jonathan brought a baby camel to Laine's school today.

Bowen has snot coming out his ear.


I'll be back with Halloween pictures later!

So I promise I had English in college...

Last night I reread my last blog and HELLO, what, did I use three different tenses in one sentence? That really was horrible, I apologize.

On to other news:

My mom broke her wrist. She was playing tennis and fell while going back to hit an overhead. She says she has a funny apparatus on it, I can't wait to see it.

Bowen did qualify for speech therapy. He is at an 18 month level for receptive speech but only a 12 month level for the talking part. He is 16 months and had to have a 4 month delay to qualify so he bearly made it.

My cute phone is still lodged deep in the recesses of my car. Oh how I miss my pink phone...

t-minus too many days and counting till we go see baby Reegan.

I'm nervous about starting the "real" 1/2 marathon training.

It's hard being a mom.

This sentence is some of the best advice I've ever received. A couple of months after Laine was born, I was having a bad day. I was missing Laine and wishing I could be at home with her. I told one of my teacher friends my feeling and the sentence above it what she told me. She gave some explanation next, she has 3 children and she said that no matter if you stay at home or work outside of the home being a mom is a hard job to have. Whenever I'm down in the dumps about working or frustrated because I've been tending to needs non-stop, the knowledge that I'm doing something "hard" make me feel tough.

Sometimes though, sometimes, I wish it was easy. I wish I felt full of energy at the end of the day so I could play with Laine the way she wants me to. I wish I hadn't had my patience tested all day so I had some stored up when both kids are crying at the same time. I wish could sit down and read books to Bowen without thinking that I needed to be cleaning the kitchen or folding laundry.


Is there a good answer to this, no, because being a mom is hard. The good thing I that it's worth it. All the hard times fade when I get to watch Bowen learn how to turn in circles and make himself dizzy enough to fall down and giggle. The frustration fizzles when I hear Laine say how excited she is that it's a school day. The "hard" disappears when she comes up to me with tears in her eyes and says " I want to go to college now, I want to go to college and be a cheerleader"
What an awesome blessing God has given to me. I have the priveledge of nurturing and guiding two extraordinary children and watch what God has in store for them. That makes being a mom not so hard.

I just cleaned up shit, oh I mean poop, off the floor...

Of my kitchen! Poor Bowen! I picked him up from eating supper and there was a brownish liquid on his seat. Hmmm... I looked at his shorts and saw the telltale signs of poop leakage, you know the two stripes that look like panty lines? Yes, those. So I strip him and hose him off in the bathtub. I go to put a diaper on him and he has this HORRIBLE diaper rash. He screamed when I tried to put his diaper on so I thought a little fresh air would do him good. So he was happily playing naked squatting down to play his ladybug xylophone. That's when I heard a tooting sound...Only it wasn't just tooting, it was a shart only it was more sh- than -art. So I pick Bowen up because he wanted to sit down and I didn't want the nice pile (oh did I mention that this poop wasn't turds it was amoxicillin induced, maybe not quite diarrhea?) to be smeared. I put a diaper on the screaming boy and put both kids in his bedroom and shut the door. Then the debating began, how should I go about cleaning this up? Finally I decided that scraping it up with firm cardboard would be best. It was a great decision the poop went right on the cardboard and then I disinfected with bleach. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Dear Reegan, Happy Birthday to you!
Can't wait to meet you!

Love
Heather

Bruiser

About 5:30 last night I was changing Bowen's diaper so that we could speed off to church. I finished and turned around to deposit it in the trash and I heard him fall on the floor. This was not an unusual event in itself, he falls lots, he's a toddler right? The sound that emitted from his mouth told me that something bad had happened. In all the times he has cried in his life, I had never heard this cry. I checked him over looking for blood in all the obvious places, nose, mouth, nothing. I carried him into the living room, Jonathan and I gave each other the look that said "Wow there's something wrong". About then Jonathan saw his face, a grim look came over him and I turned him around to see a HUGE goose egg forming right between his eyes. You could see the blood pooling under his skin, in the mean time he's still hollering all out. We get frozen veggies, place them on his head and he cries louder. I place a call to his doctor and start waiting, then he stops crying and his eyes start closing and rolling back in his head, that was it for me, off we went to Cooks. I won't go into the details of Cooks on a Sunday night but picture lots of people with germy kids waiting and waiting and waiting. I felt dirty when we left about 9:00. In the end, Bowen is great, there was nothing wrong. Here's what he looked like about 10 last night:

Jonathan? Are?

For the longest time instead of saying Daddy where are you Laine would say Daddy? Are? in a singsongy voice.

Jonathan is on a school trip to Big Bend, I've been a single parent since Friday night. I'm bushed! How did I take care of both kids and him after he broke his leg? I guess necessity. I can't wait for him to get back, he really is a big help with the kids.
Today was a great day for Laine. It was Grandparents day at her school, since no grandparents were available I invited Ryan to come instead. It ended up that Mere got to come too! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall. I know all of them enjoyed it.

this one's for you Robin!

Reasons I'm glad I'm not Robin:

People saying "You're STILL pregnant?!"
Getting up 14 times to pee at night
Waiting, waiting, waiting

Reasons I wish I was Robin:
Anticipation (waiting, but the good side of waiting)
Meeting the person growing inside you for 40 weeks
That newborn timetable, the only time that matters is when she ate last
Maternity leave
Sweet baby girls

OK so my pros outweigh my cons: should I have another baby?

In theory I would, in practice I might die of exaustion if I had three children

Birds and Britches

Here is a picture of Diego, he's the bird Dad and I found Sunday morning during our run. He was just sitting in the grass, cold and scared. I walked over to him and he hopped right on my finger! It was too cool. After a stop at Petsmart which cost mom a trillion dollars,Diego now resides in her classroom. Go, Diego, GO!







Here is my ultra cool family sporting giant underpants. I guess a little background is needed: When Mere was little she LOVED PeeWee's playhouse. Mom and Dad bought her a set of shows so we drug them out for Laine to watch. In one episode PeeWee does various things with a pair of giants underpants like making a "suave vest" with them. Before we knew it Dad came back from wal-mart and the pictures show what happened next!

On a side note I took said underpants to school this week and had giant underpant relay races, they were a hit, mostly.

It's raining, it's pouring!

It's a miracle! It's been so long since we've had a day of steady rain. On to other news:

I had a great time seeing my old teammates at the AHS tennis team reunion this weekend. We looked at pictures and watched videos of our state championship. We even played a little tennis.

I found a cockatiel! Outside! In the grass! I'll post the whole story with pics later.

Steve Irwin died. He was stung in the heart by a stingray, wow.

Be back later...

My radical new 'do...

SO? What do you think?

Bowen McSpecial Pants

OK So I happened to see our Speech Pathologist in the hall last week and casually asked her about Bowen's speech progress. I told her that he is now 15 1/2 months old and says no words. I also told her that he doesn't try to mimic words we say either. I really thought she was going to blow me off and tell me what everyone else has..."he's fine, he'll talk when he's ready". However, she didn't. She gave me a article on what he should be doing developmentally for 12-17 months old, he aced everything but the speech part. She also gave me a number to call for Early Childhood Intervention. So I called them, a very helpful lady called me back today and we have our first appointment for paperwork next Wednesday. She and a Speech Pathologist will evaluate him and if he is 4 months delayed he is eligible for ECI services. You know, I'm not really worried about the boy, he's so smart that if he does need services from them I know he'll catch on quickly. He's doing so much better when I drop him off, no crying and he reaches for his teachers! In the meantime, he is as cute as he can be and totally knows it.
,

First Day Of School!

Here is our cutie in her cutie patootie uniform on her first day of Pre-K! I think (?) she had a good day, but she keeps crying at the drop of a hat so I'm not sure. I believe the crying is just from being tired and not school. I got out of her that she went to the home center, they learned about bears, and they sang a song about parts of the body. Oh, and they had steak fingers and potatoes for lunch. Hopefully the fun will continue!

Why I know I'm not cut out to stay at home...

I'm SO excited for school to start on Monday! I miss my school friends, my gym, my kids, time alone etc... I know once the day after day hits me, I'll long for summer do nothing days but right now I'm giddy as a school girl.

I think the only time I've been more excited than this year was LAST year. After being at home all summer (and part of Spring) with Damion, oh I mean Bowen, I practically skipped to convocation last year. The freedom I experienced was delightful, no one suckling at my boob all day, no carrying around a baby who takes 15 minute at a time naps, oh and did I say no nursing every 2 hours?! Bowen had increased 10 fold in funness since last summer! He's so cute, he waddles around the house wearing Laine's bike helment screaming with joy. He voluntarily lays his head on my shoulder when I pick him up. It's still so sweet when he signs please when he wants something. He's still much more sensitive than Laine ever was and is really demanding. Like I always say, he better be glad he's cute! I'm going to miss the babyness he's losing but as we've experienced with Laine, they only get more fun the older they get. I WILL NOT be sad that my children are growing up. If they weren't growing up there would be something wrong with them. I know there are some parents that ache and wish they could see their children grow up. So I will take them to school this year with a smile on my face and curiosity in my heart wondering who they will be at the end of this school year.

4 years old

What a fabulous birthday party we had on Saturday! Laine was fancy in her dress-up clothes and got so many cool presents! Here are her and her friends right before the fashion show!

It was hotter than blue blazes at Central Market, but I was so glad that the party was not at my house. I was going to do a fancy post with a picture of Laine from her actual birth day to age 4. I go to get the CD of her birth and open it up and there aren't any pictures realted to her as a newborn...Jonathan has some searching to do tonight.

What a beautiful sweet little girl I have!

Cooler weather here we come!

We're off tomorrow to the moutians of New Mexico! I'm so excited to feel cooler temperatures and see some beautiful scenery. I'm sure I'll have some good stories when we return.

More Randomness...

1. Childrens' birthdays are fun in theory, but the planning isn't so much fun.

2. Can't wait for Ruidoso

3. A 14 week old puppy, Robin!

4. I'm done with swimming lessons for the summer, yahoooo!

5. That alos means I'm done with extra $ and a good tan.

6. I love having Mere and Ryan close to us!

7. It's a good thing Bowen is cute or we might sell him on the front yard.

8. The words "another baby" came out of my mouth today, I mean what do you say after that?

9. I wish my boobs were a little bit bigger...maybe you could loan me some Robin!?

10. Last night Laine fell asleep at 6:00 and slept until 8:00 this AM.

Who the heck is this guy?

I'll give you a hint, he's in my family!

What a week...

First let me say that our Cruise was stupendous! We enjoyed every minute of it, well, maybe not the part when the ship rocked so much you would bump into people in the halls, but everything but that. We sunned ourselves, read books, gambled, ate and ate, shopped etc... We decided that we had the perfect length vacation because by the last night we were ready to go home and see the kids!

On to other news:
Jonathan is having some tests run because he has some "groin" issues going on, he has an elevated white blood cell count. Our doctor thinks it's probably a hernia in a weird spot that she couldn't find (Jonathan said she checked EVERYTHING, if you know what I mean). So we think he's going in for a CT scan tomorrow to have a look see. This goes along with the fact that Jonathan probably has a torn rotator cuff from his accident that broke his leg, we'll find out more about that July 15th. He's falling apart on me! Seriously, this is really stressful for both of us having just recovered from his leg injury. Eeek.

A good bedtime story:

Once upon a time a little girl was flushing the potty when her brother waltzed into the bathroom tennis ball in hand. The little girl's beautiful mother watched in amusement as little brother chunks ball into flushing toilet thinking "that ball can't fit down the toilet". Let me tell you guys a tennis ball CAN be flushed down the toilet, this does not mean that it finishes the trip to the sewer line. I know have one totally useless bathroom that has shit in it and another bathroom that you can shit in but not shower, what the hell! Hopefully this will be resolved manana.

I did get a pedicure on Tuesday, so my feet have looked stupendous throughout these ordeals!

Here are some pics!

Random Thoughts

1. I really felt like I had two children today.

2. Everyone at 4555 Cockrell was super grumpy.

3. Freebirds is the best, veggie burrito: rice, refried beans, queso, pico, cilantro all wrapped in a wheat tortilla, YUM!

4. I wonder who Reegan will look like, probably me.

5. I started packing for the cruise today.

6. That's hard because all my favorite, really cute clothes are out of circulation.

7. After Freebirds, we took the kids to the playground in the mall and let them wear themselves out. It was a great idea.

8. I love Harry Potter books.

9. I've started washing my hair every other day, it's going good so far the second day the grease helps me style it.

Cavity Creeps

I didn't have a cavity in my mouth until I turned 21, now it seems I have a new one every time I go to the dentist! Today the Dr. had to give me an extra shot of anesthetic because as soon as he started drilling I could feel it, I'm a total wimp when it comes to pain so the extra shot did the trick. I still have the lop-sided mouth issue so I won't be drinking for another hour or so lest it run down my shirt.

5 more days until Cruise day! I'm so excited, I think I'll start packing today!

Everyone in my house is feeling crummy, except me. Bowen, Jonathan, and finally Laine have all come down with a mysterious virus of some sort that is mainly just fever and aches. Hopefully I'll steer clear.

Laine's school for next year is requiring uniforms, she's going to look so cute but so like everyone else. I've decided that cool shoes and bows are in order for the school year.

I think I'm off to Wally World to get stuff for the cruise!

And they're off...again!

Tomorrow Laine and Bowen are continuing their summer vacation with a trip to A-town. Laine is going to take swimming lessons at the Sunfish and Bowen is going to try to get in the pool at every given opportunity. Speaking of swimming lessons, the ones I gave this week went great! I have people asking me if I'm going to do some more, I think I will, it's nice to have extra money. Now on with the show... I think it is so important for the kids to have alone time with their grandparents, what great memories they are making. Jonathan and I are going to go to Abilene on Thursday to watch Laine take her last lessons then we are going to make a pit stop in San Angelo before going back to Fort Worth.

Jonathan and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary on the 14th, hooray for us! To tell the truth, it just keeps getting better with age.

All by myself...

I'm teaching swimming lessons this week so Jonathan is at his parents' house with the kids. I can't remember the last time I was at home by myself for an extended amount of time. It's nice to clean a room and have it stay clean and it's nice to have some time to do whatever I want. I can tell the liking part is going to go away soon and I' going to start missing them like crazy.

Please pray for our friends Mark and Jodi. Mark quit his job a couple of weeks ago to start a business doing home improvements and cabinetry. Last night he cut off one of his fingers and badly mangled two others. His future in woodworking is now in God's hands. jodi stays home with the kids so he is the only source of income. Pray for healing and peace of mind.

So tonight I've watched Transamerica and I'm about to put in Freedomland. Ahhhh. Movies with no interruptions!

crusin'

Yahoo! I found out Monday that Jonathan and I are going on a cruise for our anniversary! I'm so excited, first we haven't been on a trip together in a long time and second I've never been on a cruise. In celebration I went to Gap and bought 3 new swim suits ( they were all on clearance).

Here's the other thing I'm excited about: we're getting a new fridge! Our other one will live in the garage and hold all the cold drinks! What room we will have, I can see it know, a whole watermelon, diet coke galore, a place to put leftovers, a place to put more frozen stuff! Yipee!

Do do pee doooo!

School is over
School is over
School is over, hey, hey ,hey, hey!

We had end of the year breakfast this morning and everyone's favorite part is when they draw names for $100 bills! Yes my district gives out 20 ben franklin's to employees whose name is drawn and are present. Last year I won one of the bills, it was the best! I had just had Bowen three weeks before and I used that money to go buy some clothes I could fit in, it made my year!
I went to a bar with some school friends last night and had such a great time! I love my friends but it's so fun to make new ones, new friendships are so exciting, you get to tell about yourself and learn about others lives. If you think about it, as an adult, you don't get the new friend opportunity as often as in college, I like it.
I can't wait to start this summer!

Do do pee doooo!

School is over
School is over
School is over, hey, hey ,hey, hey!

We had end of the year breakfast this morning and everyone's favorite part is when they draw names for $100 bills! Yes my district gives out 20 ben franklin's to employees whose name is drawn and are present. Last year I won one of the bills, it was the best! I had just had Bowen three weeks before and I used that money to go buy some clothes I could fit in, it made my year!
I went to a bar with some school friends last night and had such a great time! I love my friends but it's so fun to make new ones, new friendships are so exciting, you get to tell about yourself and learn about others lives. If you think about it, as an adult, you don't get the new friend opportunity as often as in college, I like it.
I can't wait to start this summer!

Thought we had made it...but not really.

I was silly for me to assume our family was in the clear for sickness till school was out. I was even thinking that I had a sick day left and I could take it and have a day at home just to chill. You know what assuming does right? Bowen wakes up this morning and I go to get him. He has throw up all over him, he must have barfed during the night and wallered in it all night long. So he gets a bath and I'm praying that he's OK, he lays on the couch and drinks his morning bottle and pretty soon said bottle is all over couch after coming out his mouth. Gross. He also has a snot like substance coming out his nose, no that would make sense, really it's coming out his EAR. Ick. So he's on antibiotics for that. I'm hoping that the hurling is due to congestion and not to a stomach bug in addition to an ear infection. Anyway I'm at home today washing sheets and couch cushion covers.
I had a great Mother's Day, I'm eagerly awaiting my gift, it's a cool razr phone that's PINK, how cool is that! I also received a present from Jonathan before Mother's Day that consisted of diamonds to wear on my neck. Jewelry for the body that includes sparkley things is never the wrong gift. Jonathan said it was a putting up present, a present for putting up with him since he broke his leg, what a guy.
My pitiful boy just woke up so, off I go!

Thought we had made it...but not really.

I was silly for me to assume our family was in the clear for sickness till school was out. I was even thinking that I had a sick day left and I could take it and have a day at home just to chill. You know what assuming does right? Bowen wakes up this morning and I go to get him. He has throw up all over him, he must have barfed during the night and wallered in it all night long. So he gets a bath and I'm praying that he's OK, he lays on the couch and drinks his morning bottle and pretty soon said bottle is all over couch after coming out his mouth. Gross. He also has a snot like substance coming out his nose, no that would make sense, really it's coming out his EAR. Ick. So he's on antibiotics for that. I'm hoping that the hurling is due to congestion and not to a stomach bug in addition to an ear infection. Anyway I'm at home today washing sheets and couch cushion covers.
I had a great Mother's Day, I'm eagerly awaiting my gift, it's a cool razr phone that's PINK, how cool is that! I also received a present from Jonathan before Mother's Day that consisted of diamonds to wear on my neck. Jewelry for the body that includes sparkley things is never the wrong gift. Jonathan said it was a putting up present, a present for putting up with him since he broke his leg, what a guy.
My pitiful boy just woke up so, off I go!

Birthday Pictures!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

It's official Bowen is ONE! I spent most of today thinking, one year ago today I was __________. Mostly I filled in the blanks with things like, getting my water broken, getting the epidural placed, getting the epidural placed again, pushing, pushing, pushing, holding Bowen. I'll have to say I love Bowen today more than I loved him one year ago, I hope that's normal. I'm so glad that Bowen is a boy, when we found out he was indeed a he, I was worried I wasn't sure what i would do with a boy. All my fears washed away when I saw that baby! And he has grown on me ever since! There were a few times I thought I might put him out in the yard, but I didn't and he has grown out of his reflux and his tubes are working great so he is a MUCH happier baby now. He loves me lots too, I never knew a snuggly baby before Bowen but he loves to be near me and love on me. I used to think it was just my nice rack, but now I know it was just me! I Love You Bowen, Happy First Birthday!

Aaaaaaahhhhh! Son of a...

Today is one of those days where i have felt the weight of having two children. Laine was invited to attend a birthday party of Jake who is the son of a teacher at my school and the brother of a girl in her class. I considered not going but in the end guilt won and we hurriedly got ready to go ( I didn't even take a shower or wash my hair so we could get there sooner). So we're ready and Bowen is crying because he is sleepy so I start looking for my keys so we could go and he could just sleep in the car. So I looked for my keys, more looking, looked some more, and looked again. OK picture this in your mind: Baby crawling around behind you crying while looking for keys. He is stopping every so often to put his head to the ground and let out a louder more frantic cry. This goes on for ohhh so long. Finally I just gave up and sat down with Bowen, he immediately went to sleep and I had to break the news to Laine that we couldn't go to the party because Myrtle could not go anywhere without keys. Poor Laine. As a conso lation about 20 minutes later after lunch she asked if I would paint her toenails, I said yes and she came running back with my keys! They were in the box I have all my nail polish in?! I would still be looking for my keys if I hadn't agreed to give a pedicure!
About that time my friend Julie called because we were going to go over and decorate our friends' house who are bringing home their adopted baby today! Woohoo! I asked if I needed to bring anything, she said no just the cookies...I spoke in my most normal voice "OK see you in a bit". Then I hung up and started making the cookies I forgot to make, luckily they were the frozen pre-measured ones I just had to make some blue icing to go on top. Eeek. What a Saturday, Bowen hasn't been happy all day because he's working on his top two teeth, hopefully they'll poke through before his party.

Prom

Jonathan and I attended prom on Friday night and it was a lot of fun! My favorite public passtime is people watching and both did I have lots of that to do. It was great being around high school kids, they are funny and mostly care-free and they all had a fabulous time. Besides that our weekend was relaxed. Jonathan got his cast off today! He has to use crutches for another month but he can drive and ride bikes or swim for exercise. He was bummed about the crutches but his doctor said his tibia fracture wasn't healed enough to support his full weight. I know he's so relieved that he can rely on himself to go places instead of everyone else. He does however have a hotdog leg because his ankle is so swollen from not having the cast on it, it looks pretty funny. The countdown to Bowen being one has begun, I'm so excited for his party and just happy that he's a good and happy baby!

Easter Pictures!

Way past my bedtime...

Yes this is way past my bedtime, but I'm just not sleepy tonight. Just wanted to let ya'll know that I'm still alive and kicking! Let's see Bowen had Roseola last weekend, of course we didn't know that's what it was until I took him to the doctor after it was done being contagious. Poor Bowen he's had a rough first year, but I'm not even getting into the year old thing right now, I'll have to say though he has gotten better with age! God had been granting me such peace the past week or two, I felt great about my life in general, very satisfied, patient, just really good. Then, poof, today satan snuck in and rained on my parade. I think he tries to get you with the little things sometimes, or maybe he tries to rattle you with $52 in the checking account and payday isn't until NEXT FRIDAY... what the heck. I'm so excited about going to Abilene this weekend, God wins because that makes me feel peaceful again!

Tits McGee and Bowen McButterpants reporting...

Well weaning has gone fairly well, the pain was the worst on Friday and Saturday. I pumped a little off each night so I could sleep then Sunday everything leveled off. Bowen is great with the bottle and when I didn't have to lug my pump to school today, I felt great.

OK, so Bowen has been waking up at night and he hasn't done that since he had his last ear infection. So I finally called the doctor today and took him in. I was concerned because he was spitting up frequently, I thought his reflux might be getting worse instead of better. Dr. Lewis was also concerned and asked lots of questions about his behavior, # of times he was spitting up, she looked at his ears and felt his tummy. Then she asked, how much formula is he eating? Ummmm, he has about 5 bottles a day with 6-8 ounces in each one. I could see that that was it. She was so nice and told me that his formula or breastmilk requirement was 24-26 ounces, maybe a little more because he's so tall. Blink. Blink. So, she told be to cut back on the formula, obviously. So he wasn't spitting up because of his reflux, it was because he had so much liquid in him it was eeking out his mouth! To my defense, he w's spitting up before I weaned him too. So now our plan is to add more solids and take away one bottle, yikes, at the rate I was going he really would have been a Bowen McButterpants.

We also had one giant leap for mankind at our house tonight! Bowen has had some issues with finger foods, basically before tonight he would eat cheerios, bananas, and crackers. Everything else would either come right back out or make him gag. Now we can add greenbeans to his repertoire, yipee, maybe I won't send him to kindergarten with a luchbox full of cheerios, bananas, and crackers!

Kicked off the tit...

Well I made a last minute decision to wean Bowen yesterday, I couldn't find our nursing equipment and had to give him a bottle. I told myself that if he took the bottle well and didn't wake up I would wean him. He took the bottle like a champ, fell right to sleep, he woke up once but I didn't count it because he just needed his pootie. So that was it. I was down to nursing twice a day and pumping once, so I have cabbage leaves on my boobs. Yes, you read that right, cabbage leaves. I read that they help with engorgement and drying up your milk supply. Even if they don't help with the milk, I'm keeping them in the fridge and they feel great on my ready to explode boobs. Yikes.

I am going to be sad to see my big boobs go, I really did enjoy them. What will take they're place is so small and limp that it makes my eyes water. But as I was drinking my second Diet Coke of the day without guilt, it was pretty nice! Well I hope I can sleep tonight...Benadryl is a drying agent, I think I'm going to take two and some advil and hit the sack.

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to meeeee...

Yes today is my Birthday, 31 years ago today the wonderful and sweet Heather Lorien was born! Let's see I got to go pick out my own present from Jonathan, a pendant from James Avery, oh and some earrings too. Mom got me my tattoo and some new makeup, Bare Minerals, it's great. Then we'll finish out the day by eating at Mi Cocina, yum!
I LOVE birthdays, I'm not picky on whose it is, it's just a great and happy day! So, saying that what is your greatest birthday memory?
I think mine would be my 16th birthday, my mom and dad got me a convertible VW rabbit. It was SO COOL, I loved the orangey-red color and the black top. They totally surprised me by driving it in front of the house then luring me outside.

My favorite~!

Shauna posted her favorite recipe so here's mine, it's not fast but it's easy and GREAT!

Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket:
from Perini Cookbook

2Tbsp. Chili Powder
2Tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
1tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 bay leaf crushed
4 pound brisket
1 1/2 c. beef stock

Make a dry rub out of the dry ingredients. Season brisket on both sides. Place in a pan and roast uncovered for one hour at 350. Add beef stock and water to yield about 1/2 inch of liquid in pan. Lower oven to 300 and cover pan tightly for three hours or until fork tender.

I'm telling you this is the best brisket I've ever put in my mouth.

So last night Mere and Ryan came over to see Jonathan. Laine and Mere started coloring and in a little while I hear Laine say "but she's going to be mad" so I look over and see Laine with kitty whiskers and a kitty nose in green marker on her face, Crayola washable markers, mind you. So we all have a good laugh and I take a picture so I can get her in the tub to wash the kitty face off. You'll see above the kitty face.
Then we get in the tub and I wash her face. Wash, wash, wash, scrub, scrub scrub. I take a look and there is still a kitty face on her face. Icall Mere and tell her it's not coming off, we laugh. I get lotion, still a kitty face. I get fingernail polish remover, kitty face. Alcohol, kitty face. Call mere this morning and tell her her niece is going to school with said kitty face although it has faded a bit. Faded kitty face picture above. So, Aunt Meredith,I can't wait until your first child is born!

The first pic is of Jonathan's incision, I tried to move it down so it wasn't the first thing you saw but I couln't make anything on this dang blog work tight tonight so there it is!

Tortolini Soup

Ingredients:

1 carrot
1 zucchini
a little onion
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cans chicken broth
8-9 ounces of cheese tortolini ( I use frozen)
1 tsp. oregano
1tsp. parsley

Saute diced carrot, zucchini, and onion until soft. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and oregano. Bring to a boil and add tortolini and let boil for two minutes. Keep simmering for about 6-7 minutes and add parsley in the last two minutes of cooking. Sometimes I add more broth if I'm feeding more people or I add more veggies if I haven't eaten any that day. This soup is great with Bisquick Garlic and Cheese biscuits.

Cowboy Stew

This is great with sweet cornbread.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
2 cans minestrone soup
2 cans ranch style beans (or one of the big cans)
1 can rotel (can be mild)
a little corn if you want

Brown ground beef and drain. Add all other ingredients and a can or so of water. Let simmer for a while. Yum! This is a good soup to take to someone who has just had a baby or surgery.

Tomorrow, tortolinni soup.

Mandarin Chicken

Linda asked me to post some easy recipes, so here's the first one!

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts
Can of Pineapple
Can of Mandarin Oranges
Envelope of dry Onion Soup Mix


Brown Chicken Breasts in skillet until done. I use about 3 breasts and season them with S and P. Add can of pineapple and oranges with juices to the skillet. Add dry onion soup mix. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. While the chicken simmers, cook rice to serve with chicken and sauce. This is really yummy for those who like fruity stuff.

Tomorrow, Cowboy Stew.

Cute Kids!

News Flash:

Jonathan actually broke BOTH bones in his leg, he has to have surgery. The doctor is going to put in a metal rod and screws. He won't get a hard cast after that he'll wear one of those walking boots, but he won't be able to walk on it. Please pray for him and his quick recovery. Please pray for me that I can assume some of his responsibilities with patience and ease.

Which do you want first, good news or bad news?

Good news is Mere and Ryan found a house!






Bad news is Jonathan broke his leg. More on that tomorrow.






Other news is I got a fat tattie! Oh yeah, and it really pissed Jonathan off. But that's not why his leg is broken.






None of these pics are very good, but you ge the gist. We go to the Orthopedic Surgeon tomorrow, we don't think he'll need surgery. He broke it riding a dirt bike his back wheel slipped on wet grass and the bike fell on his leg. He broke the tibia. Yikes.

I need to work so I can stay skinny.

See that's the problem with me and being at home all day. I have access to the food in my house, not that we have particularly fattening food but it's there wanting me to eat it. At school I have a snack in the morning and then I have a snack when I get home. I also eat fruit throughout the day (remember I eat so much because I'm nursing). At home I have fruit but I also have a veritable cornucopia of choice. In the summer it's not so much a problem because I LOVE summer fruit, I could snack on it all day. However when it's a choice between an apple or a bowl of Fruit Loops, it's cereal all the way.

Bowen is on the mend, I hope. He still sounds like a freight train when he breathes and still whines after he coughs but he's playing and smiling. Now I just have to get him to sleep and eat. By the way he is SO CUTE and SWEET! Sweeter than Laine ever was at her sweetest, he's a cuddler. I'm also thinking I can see two tooth blisters on his bottom gum, but I've thought that before and he it still toothless. His new sound since getting sick sounds like a dove, you know coo, coo, except without the c part. I hope he starts to sleep better soon, I'm tired.

Well Whiney Whiney Mcterten is calling, I'm off to whip out the boob!

The Circus arrived at our house at 4:00...AM

Yes folks step right up and listen to Bowen the Barking Seal! I knew something was wrong with him all weekend but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then he had trouble going to sleep and I heard him a few times crying but he always got himself back to sleep after 30 seconds or so. Then at the 4:00 waking, I heard it, the unmistakable barking cough. I went to get him and he sounded HORRIBLE. We quick did a breathing treatment, he cried through the whole thing which didn't do anything to help his breathing. I'm not a worrier when it comes to illness but croup is scary. The whole retraction breathing and whooping to get a breath, I don't mess around with that since Laine's trip to the ER for croup last fall. So, I'm at home today with a pitiful little boy.

Thursday's Random Thoughts:

I love sweet tea from Chicken Express.

Laine finally earned a sticker in her folder today after two days of playing during naptime.

I think I want to try Mystic Tan this summer and forget trying to bake in the sun.

I've worn my feelings on my shoulder this week, that's not normal.

Cinnamon Dolce Latte is the best drink at Starbucks.

If it was good for me I would drink Diet Coke all day.

There was some major Police activity at Albertson's today.

I think I'm ready for Spring.

Laine thinks Robin is having a girl.

This one's for you Shauna!

OK I'm blogging again and I STILL HAVE LOTS OF GAS. I think something crawled up my heiney and died! Jonathan is even getting grossed out! I'll just blame it on hormones.

Laine and Bowen had the old PTA program on Monday night, there were 15,000 parents there. We arrived right on time and got a seat in the next to the last row. Bowen was so cute in his goat costume! Laine was treated to new boots and a new belt for her attire. All her teachers told me how she was going to steal the show with her dancing...ummmm it was more like dazed and confused dancing. She did the moves but with this glazed over look, I think it was a combination of looking for us and weirded out by all the people. Of course she was still the cutest one on stage!

I'm not sure what to do now that the Olympics are over, it was great TV every single night.

Linda I get out of school at 3:30, come as soon as you can! I hope Robin can sleep on the way so we can jump on the shopping! Yipee!

Questions of the Day...
What make -up item could you not live without?
Mascara

What is your absolute favorite piece of clothing?
The grey sweat pants I got from Linda for Christmas.

Wednesday Random Thoughts

Why is the font on this post so big?

I have had lots of gas lately.

My TOT coach brought me lunch today, Black Eyed Pea, Yum.

Laine got two spankings today, one for unbuckling her seatbelt on I-20 and the other for back talking me.

I can't wait to see Robin and Linda and Koby. Especially excited to see my niece/nephew (well sort of) growing in Robin's tummy.

I was supposed to get a cavity filled tomorrow, I called to make sure they take our new insurance and the number is no longer a working number...what the heck?! Now what do I do about this stupid cavity?

It feels so good, feeling good again!

Tomorrow is PAYDAY!

My father-in-law has a respiratory infection, he was supposed to run in the Cowtown 1/2 marathon this weekend but he's too sick. I feel really bad for him, I know he was excited to come and run.

Let's keep playing!

If you could compete in one Winter Olympic Event what would it be?
The snowboard cross.

Do you tee-tee in the shower?
Yes.

If you could change one thing about your appearance what would it be?
My boobs. Not really big, but after nursing Laine they got EVEN SMALLER, if you can believe that's possible. Just like a 36 B or so.

What are you proudest of?
Easy, my family. All of them, we're all pretty cool.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
Probably nursing my children for as long as I have. I don't love it but I know it's best for them...and free! Or running the 1/2 marathon. Or graduating from college with good grades.

What is your best characteristic? Physical and Personality wise

Physical- my legs or my eyes.
Personality wise- Easy going just like my father...
really I'm loyal, this is hard, optimistic and hopefully Jesus shows in my actions.

Q and A

What is the sickest you've ever been?
Short illness- a sinus infection I had while teaching in Weatherford
long- either when I got h.pylori or the recurrent bladder infections

What is the most pain you've been in?
OK, I didn't count the actual labor and delivery of my children but really, this hurt worse:
My milk coming and the subsequent nipple cracking, bleeding, thrush etc...

What is the best decision you've made?
Recently, getting on Zoloft.
That I can be a great mom and still teach. Thanks Mom and Dad for The Myth of the Perfect Mother.
Loving my in-laws for who they are

When were you the most surprised?
Good- finding out Laine was a girl
Bad- my wreck in Benbrook

When did you feel the saddest?
A very low point in our marriage

What is the hardest thing you've ever done?
OK, I didn't count labor and delivery here either.
Physically-Training for the 1/2 marathon.
Emotionally- being a good wife while Jonathan decided what he wanted to be when he grew up.

What scared you the most?
frightened- when a cat got in our duplex in Stephenville and went ballistic at 3:00AM.
scared- when Jonathan quit his job at Vet Outlet and we moved to Abilene.

OK, now those of with a blog have a choice, you can either answer in the comments or answer on your own blog!

This is it...

Laine and Bowen are BOTH going to Abilene this weekend to visit Mimi and Paco. Jonathan and I haven't had a decent amount of time alone in a really long time. It's so hard to schedule things like this because I always put it off for another time. I want to use weekends to soak up my children and our marriage gets put on the back burner. I know the kids will be great, I just hope I am. Anyway, thanks Mom and Dad for giving us some time together!

Today I found my first GRAY HAIR

OH MY GOSH!

Yes, I've been eyeing it for a few days unable to make myself check to see if it was for real. It is. Knowing my gene pool I have a pretty good chance of turning gray early. If I do inherit my father and aunt's early gray, at least I know it will be an awesome silver instead of yellowish, blondish, gray that some people have. However, you will never see that silver color on me until I turn an acceptable silver color age, say 52. Or maybe...78.

On a side note, Bowen's ears look great, the Dr. put him on a different antibiotic because of his stopped up nose.

I Love the Olympics

I'm so excited about the Winter Olympics! I love the pomp and circumstance of the Opening Ceremonies, I love the thrill of competition, I love the fact that families have a program that they can watch as a family. I'm encouraging my students to watch, although I don't think many will. I think low income and the fact that 5-10 year olds don't have control of the remote very often. We're even having Olympic competitions next week in my classes. I love it!

OK, you have to check this site out:

www12.familywatchdog.us

It's a website that will show you on a map where sexual offenders are in your neighborhood. Pretty informative.

I'm off to have a dinner prepared for me by women at my church. They have dinner for women with children under 2, it's always at a really great house and we have really good food too.

What the heck just happened?

On to the random thoughts...

Laine wants 5 horses: a unicorn, a pony, a mommy, daddy and baby horse... and she wants to skip with them.

Bowen could have been exposed to Chicken Pox when he got his tubes, has he had his varicella vac. who knows?

Ikea rocks.

My favorite song right now is Grillz

I'm excited for the Olympics to start.

I just fished a Penny out of Bowen's mouth.

Babies must have a gross radar implanted, it directs them to put nasty stuff in the mouth.

Why is it harder to make friends as a stable adult than it was when you were awkward and silly in school?

I invited two people to church in the last 5 days and I've never done that before.

Oooh I have a haircut tomorrow, it's the little things.

I think I'm going to allow myself two diet cokes a day now if I need a pick me up in the afternoon.

Tuesday Random Thoughts...

Julie Clark is a genius

I say this because she is the sole person who can give me 25 minutes of peace and quiet in the house. The woman deserves every single penny she makes for the bliss I'm sure Baby Einstein gives parents around the world.

Enough of that, I have to finish this post before Symphony of Fun is over.

Jonathan and I grew up in really different families but one thing that is the same is the closeness our parents have with us. Over the years I have heard parents with grown children say how they were so glad to get the kids out of the house and off to college or married or whatever got them to move on out. I always felt sorry for their children (although maybe the kids were just as happy as the parents that they were leaving). My parents and Jonathan's also, were sad when the kids left and would see us any day, any time. I don't think they have ever heaved a sigh of relief when we packed up our stuff and left. That makes me happy, I love my family and I'm so glad my children have grandparents that are so involved and interested in them...and their parents.

I'm excited to start this week, it's the week of tubes!