True Story

We had a long productive day here. Slept in a bit to catch up from the long drive yesterday. Hit the ground and got going on laundry and unpacking. Took Will to Target for a b-day card for pal's b-day party at 4. Ran up to the house to get the mail and check out the paint. The good news... it is started. The bad news... it's not done. Absolute progress but still a long way to go. I forgot my camera though so no pics today. Check back tomorrow.

I headed up to the Zone in McKinney to drop Will and we were a few minutes early. We sat in the car and I started the first sort of my BIG pile of mail. As we were ready to get out of the van Will asked if we could take care of kisses and hugs outside. (Insert sad face.) I suggested we just high five inside. He was cool with that. So, after I ran Will to the party I came back home to continue to sort through the mail while Fred got ready to go back up to the house to work on a punch list (open issues or unsatisfactory workmanship) I went back up with him since he was going to be crawling around in the attic and I always worry about him up there.

The good news is we remembered the camera this time. The bad news, Fred was using it for his punch list. I will try tomorrow.

We finished up there and then it was time to pick-up Will. He had fun at the party and talked all the way to getting Hungry Howie's pizza for Fred's b-day and the rest of the way home. So the true story of the day goes like this.

Hungry Howie Employee. "Your total is $15.14."

Me. "Here's a $20."

HHE. "We are out of quarters so I have to give you a lot of dimes."

Me. "Wait I may have some quarters for you." I look in my pocket to find 2 quarters, a dime and four pennies. I hand the girl the dime and pennies and say, "Pretend I just gave you $20.14 so I need $5 back."

HHE. "Boy I'm glad you are good at math. I would have never figured that out."

Me. Quietly in my head thinking "Seriously?" No tip for her.

We ate in shifts, each working on something important then it was time for showers and now it is time to read and get ready for a good night's sleep. Nic has been a little under the weather today so we hope he'll wake up 100% tomorrow. I seem to have caught a cold from my brother-in-law in Logansport and am quite miserable. Tomorrow is mellow in the AM then revs up after school. There is still stuff to be stowed after our trip but I'll take care of it in due time. Fred heads to Mexico in the AM and will be home Friday night. Another week in our exciting lives. Stay tuned!

We are HOME!

Home in Texas that is. We got in about 15 minutes ago so we are calling the trip 14 hours with three gas stops, a couple of potty breaks and some bumpy roads in OK on the reservation that slowed the mph down a bit.

Both boys fell asleep in the van but woke up close to home just in time to walk in under their own power and put themselves to bed. The heat is turned up, the dog is fed and the baggage will wait till tomorrow. G-night!

GRATITUDES:
1. Safe trip home
2. A glorious trip to Indy that included seeing almost everyone...
3. Chicago's Pizza and Breadsticks
4. Getting to see my crispy house tomorrow
5. MY BED!

Still chillin in Indiana

Chillin being the operative word. It's chilly here but in a good way. No snow though, that is a good thing considering the fact that we lost our snow scrapers in the fire.

We are in Logansport today and tomorrow then back to Indy. We are having Thanksgiving dinner here, Ham, noodles, 3rd grade pumpkin dessert and Angel Food Cake for Fred's Birthday. All good, all good. The boys are enjoying time with their favorite older cousin and Mama and Mary Sue are out finding the Thanksgiving Day deals at Wal-Mart and have already cleared the shelves at CVS. Deals deals deals. No waiting around for Black Friday here, that's for sure!

OK, my horoscope says to stop procrastinating so I am going to go take a shower and try to pick up the kids' sleeping area. We make such a mess when we come here, they are so tolerant, we love that!

Back home again...

We headed to Indiana on Saturday and crossed the state line around lunch time on Sunday. We made an overnight stop near Six Flags in St. Louis at a very nice Holiday Inn right by the park gates. Sadly we were not there long enough to have too much fun but the beds were spacious and the breakfast was HOT!

We arrived in time to join the rest of the Jerry Traub family (minus the SD Contingency) at the Christ the King Alumni dinner where the rents were presented with the Spirit of Christ the King Award with two other individuals. The received a cool trophy and we all had a pleasant dinner and the kids were no where in sight. Awesome cousin Sarah was in charge of the kids at 2205 and she did an awesome job.

We stayed up too late visiting and got to be bums today. Our first obligation is dinner at Chuck E Cheese with Natalie and Landry, if you can call that an obligation. Fred and I dashed out to Best Buy and Archivers respectively and are now home watching Sponge Bob with the boys. Rough life huh? Glad to be in Indiana even though it is COLD here and looking forward to more days with the fam before we head south to a beautifully painted house... WE HOPE!

Where's the Beef?

I have tried all of the local grocery store chains and have had no luck finding the beef stew mix. I went to Lawrey's website where they have a store locator and it says that every Kroger near me but I don't believe them. I then went to look at sources in states I have formerly lived and they said no one carries my stuff. I did find a source online where I can order it by the dozen. It may be time!

I have a fun night ahead, baking two pies for teachers at school and going to a MOMS gathering to share wedding albums and wine. I don't think I'll have any wine but it will be fun to look at other people's albums. OK, off to feed Will, get my stuff together for tonight, and make the pie crust before I leave at 6:45. Ta ta...

Missing my boys

These two dudes are roughing it at the 5th Grade Pine Cove Camp-out. Three days and two night of tons of dirty fun. I talked Fred into being a chaperon when they we putting the call out and saying they are always short male chaperons. Did I want to crawl under the table when they announced that they had two extra dads going? Affirmative. Fred will have a great time, I have no doubt, and Nic was thrilled to spen this time with his dad. It will all be fine.

I did receive a text message or two this afternoon so I don't think anyone is really roughing it to much. Fred mentioned that Nic appears to be a natural in a canoe. Who knew? Not sure how we can develop that natural skill or what usefulness it may serve. Do you think they have Canoe Squad college scholarships? Maybe he could row Crew at MIT? That is where he wanted to go to school until he found out that MIT stood for Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was thinking it was Michigan. We'll keep on the maybe list.

OK, Will and I had a mellow afternoon. Homework, card games that neither of us remembered the rules for, and a quick trip to QT (Quick Trip gas station) for cheap gas. $1.73/gal. Will is optimistic that it will get down to $0.99. I assured him we haven't seen prices like that since I was in HS and that was a LONG time ago. A boy can dream right?

I will leave you with a few shots from the crispy house. LOTS of progress but I am still hesitant that the deadline will be made. We did test my paint choices and I found one that is a bad pick. I'll go back to the drawing board, or to Sherwin Williams, and get a new one picked soon. If things go well when we get back from Indiana my house will be colorful!

Found

This evening my neighbor was taking her hubby to the airport at just the same time that the boys were getting home from Faith Formation. As I went out to meet the boys my neighbor had a dog in her arms and asked if I knew who it belonged to. Nope, not me. Well, she had to go so I took the dog from her and the boys and I began the search.

We walked one block and knocked on a few doors and had no luck. My arms were getting tired and the boys really needed to be getting ready for bed so we headed back to the house. Buddy, as Nic dubbed him, did well enough with Pete and seemed like a well loved dog despite the fact that he had no collar. I whipped out a couple of "DOG FOUND" signs and hung them up. One went on our FOR SALE sign and the other on the closest stop sign.

Just after 9 my neighbor came home and he daughters said they thought they knew who the dog might belong to. They drove around the hood looking for this lost dog flyer that they had seen and called the number. They then came and picked me up and we took the dog to where we thought he lived. Sadly that was not Buddy's home. I felt just awful for this family, it seems that their mid-sized Schnauzer has been missing for more than 2 weeks.

Anywho, she though that the dog we had lived closer to us so we headed back to our section of the hood and my neighbor hopped out and started knocking on doors. Well, Buddy and I sat in the back and her daughters drove and navigated. Finally someone answered their door and it was Buddy's house! It seems that Buddy's mom was just giving Buddy's dad some grief for losing her dog and who knocks on her door? It was a twist of fate for sure. Well, Buddy is really Connor and he lived just across the street and down 6 houses or so.

Nic was pretty sad when I came home empty handed but he was glad that we found his home and when I explained it with Pete in the scenario he got it.

So, good deed for the day complete and I am off to bed. G-night Y'all.

A good reminder

I was talking to my cousins today and they were so cute on the phone. These are younger cousins without kids of their own and who are working hard at working and growing up to be AWESOME adults! (Kinda like their parents had hoped they'd be.) Anyhow, my cousin was joking but only a little bit, about wishing that she had the challenges that I had last week. I laughed at first, yeah, who wouldn't just give their right hand to have scared kids, and middle of the night wrong numbers and chirping smoke alarms. Who wouldn't wish for a broken garage door, and arguments with the bank. Well, she's right. I should be grateful for these challenges.

The scared kids are a blessing unto themselves. I am so lucky that they are not frozen with fear and hiding under their beds daily. The fact that a slumber party in my bed helps them settle is actually the best of would could be so much worse. The fact that we have a bed big enough for that slumber party is pretty awesome too!

The middle of the night phone call that was a wrong number means that the police in Mexico weren't calling to tell me something bad had happened to Fred. AMEN!

The smoke alarm chirping is just a reminder that smoke alarms save lives! I should be grateful for the indicators that remind me to make it work properly to protect myself and my family. In addition I am blessed to have had the opportunity to go back to bed once I got the damn thing fixed. Yes, I am so lucky for that, and so are my kids and everyone else I came into contact with

that day as well.

The argument with the bank is my chance to put a face with the problems that Huntington is making for themselves. I am blessed that I can make that argument, I have time to deal with this type of issue, and even though I want my $100+ refund I will not be skipping dinner or not buying important medication until I get the money.

Even getting stranded in my house on Friday was a little blessing. It kept me from getting distracted and running around doing unimportant things when the most important things on my "To Do" list of the day involved my house. The laundry got folded and sorted, the counters and my desk got a little straightening. I made my bed and generally picked up. It needed to be done and it got done. All thanks to that garage door.

So, yes, I live a charmed life. I am well aware of this fact and I hope that I do not take it for granted. Each night as I lay in bed and take a moment to thank God for the blessing of my day I do thank Him for the big and the small and now I realize that I need to thank Him for the good and the bad. It's all part of His plan. I have this magnet on my desk to remind me that I am BLESSED! Thanks for brining this to my attention Teesa.

I'm free

Just so no one thinks I am still stranded in my house. The Realtor came over and thought he could fix the garage door. I told him if it could have been fixed I would have tried, he looked at it and agreed with me. Definitely a job for a professional. A couple of hours later he called to say someone would be coming around lunch time to work on it. A service man came a bit before noon and it took about 25 minutes for him to get the tension cable untangled, the track reset and some lubricant sprayed on. Now the door is in-line and much quieter and goes up and down without a hitch!

Fred came home last night in time to enjoy luke warm pizza for dinner. Today he and I met with the flooring guy and picked carpet and wood for the house. Fred was VERY disappointed in the work the drywall guys did and I was disappointed to see that there had been no texture applied to the walls yet. The painter was supposed to start on Tuesday and he can't if the walls aren't ready. It is this kind of stuff that will keep us out of the house until New Years. Pray please!

After we did the flooring thing we picked up the boys and went out for a quick lunch. Then we went home, dropped me off and the menfolk went to see the new James Bond movie. I had some quiet time to clean off my desk and before they got home I did some scrappin'. I got two Christmas presents started and tried to get what I needed to finish them tonight at Michael's but they were out of what I needed. I hope they get them in this week so I can take these gifts to Indy. Shipping them would be potentially hazardous.

I had plans to make Beef Stew tomorrow for dinner. I got all the stuff I needed today except the Adolph's Beef Stew Mix packet. Guess what they don't carry at Super Target or Kroger? I had bought a bunch in IA when I finally found them, after I had run out of the one's Kirste had sent me all the way from MI. I guess I will have to try Tom Thumb and Albertson's tomorrow. Sure, I could use another mix or try it from scratch but we LOVE the Adolph's. I will try a couple of places here and if I can't find it we'll look in Indy next week. If worse comes to worse I beg my personal shopper to buy me a case in MI and ship it to me. I hope it doesn't come to that.

It's late, I have a witch hunt to take part in tomorrow. I should get to bed!

Friday that feels like a Monday

I have a few things on my calender today. A little cleaning at home, a little errand running and then DI with Nic at the library while Will plays on the computers there. Well, there is a little kink in the plan... when I got home from taking the boys to school the garage door got stuck on its way down. The tension cable on one side is all tangled. This is way worse that the one time I backed into the door before it was all the way up and knocked it off the track. (thanks Lee and Kirste for the help on that one!)

So I called the lease realtor guy and he is calling the owner and then a buddy who owns a garage door business. For now I wait. Guess I should get to work on the at home stuff on my list. Laundry folding here I come!

All better!

I got the battery at CVS, on sale! And came directly home, installed it and went back to bed. With a bit more sleep I am ready to face what is left of the day. I am headed out to find cheap gas at my FAVORITE QT station on Custer and then headed to school to copy or cut or whatever they have for me to do!

Tonight is Chick-fil-A night for school so dinner is taken care of. I can focus on boys' laundry and cleaning up some little messes here and there around the house. It is a whopping 78 outside and just gorgeous. Maybe I'll throw the boys' scooters in the car and surprise them after school and let them scoot around the new park in our neighborhood.

Happy Thursday!

Seriously?

How is it that smoke alarm batteries die in the middle of the night? I had to get the step ladder, not tall enough, then climb on top of my rented dresser just praying that it wouldn't collapse under my weight. I took the battery out to find that our alarms beep until they get a new battery. I shake the original battery up, hey sometimes I get a picture or two more when I do that to my camera batteries, and stick it back in. Silence....

for 10 minutes then it starts again. I call Fred in Mexico at 12:35. "Do you know where we might have a 9 volt battery?" his reply, "Nope, sorry."

I kept him on the phone while I crawled to the dresser again and shake the battery again. Still beeping. I decide to see if I can muffle the beep. Out to the office for packing tape, to the bathroom for cotton balls. My McGyver attempts help but do not silence the annoying beep!

I slept the rest of the night with a pillow over my head. It didn't help. I am tired and VERY cranky. I have pulled myself together enough to go into CVS after I take the boys to school to buy a pack of 9 volt batteries. I considered going last night but I didn't want to freak the boys out in case one of them came down and was looking for me and I was gone.

Thankfully I only have a couple of things on the calender for today. I have a ton of things in my head that I want to do but they can wait. We are off to school early for Library Lions and Safety Patrol then to CVS for me and home to climb onto the dresser just one more time, then jump right into bed and SLEEP!

Consumer Warning

Just got off the phone with The Huntington Bank as I follow up on the end of lease stuff on the old blue Honda. I was told by someone that I should receive my refunded deposit minus "car Handling fees" of $300 and any excessive wear and tear, about 4-6 weeks after I turn in my car.

I turned in my car on September 27th. It has been taken to a local auto auction house but has not sold. Wonder if anything is selling these days...? Apparently I get nada until the car has sold, they take their own sweet time making sure they actually owe me money, which they do, and then they send me an invoice. If I am lucky enough to have a positive balance on my invoice they will send me a refund. When? The official response, "There is no timeline when it comes to sending refunds mam."

Baloney! I did my job, I returned my car, I had my car inspected, I changed the oil and added break fluid. I want my damn money! Can you believe this cr**? I can not understand the expectation that it is somehow OK for me to just wait patiently for ever for this money. I tried so hard to be calm, and be reasonable while at the some time being honest. It got me no where.

So here's the consumer warning of today.... DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THE HUNTINGTON BANK!

A better day...

Both boys had some minor issues today. Nic was very emotional after school but I expected that after such a short night of sleep. Will did better but was asleep before I even got downstairs tonight. He is such a good sleeper. I was crabby and as I was checking news headlines this morning and reading about intolerance and injustice I was a crying fool at the computer but I am over it... (Retail therapy helps!) I bought a gift for my nephew Samuel and for my mother-in-law. I also bought myself an early Christmas present but I'm not sure if I am keeping it. Gotta make sure I got a good enough deal. It is something that I have wanted for about 15 years. I just decided that having it could make December a little easier for me. Gotcha wondering don't I? (Snagged this picture off Flickr just for effect)

I was lucky enough to talk to three of my family members today and my mother-in-law. Jen is sniffly and working hard, Andy is toiling away in the basement office making improvements and additions to Traubfinancialcoaching.com. Dad called to help with the kiss and tuck tonight and sending his good wishes from Indy. Mother-in-law Carolyn called with the BEST NEWS OF THE DAY! She is done with chemotherapy! I know she is relieved to be over that. Now she moves on to the next stage with includes tattoos! Well, not real ones but we'll call her inked if she wants us to. She will start a round of radiation in the coming weeks but hopefully it will be easier to handle than the yucky but oh so necessary chemo!

OK, I am beat. I am off to sleep in the middle of my bed all by myself. You know I miss you Fred but you should admit that no one kicking you at night is a small blessing right? Luv U all!

Serious thunderstorm

Slumber party in my bed tonight. Bad lightening and thunder and LOTS of rain. Let's hope I get some sleep. Nic is a mess.

The good news of the day is that both boys had well child checks and they are both well. The new Dr. seems very likable and had a great manner with the boys. YEAH!

Off to cuddle and try to soothe. Pray the rain moves through quickly, I know I will be praying for that!

YUMMO

I finally did it! I made amazingly wonderful and VERY tasty home-made soft pretzels and home-made Cheddar Cheese soup for dinner tonight. It was more work than I usually put into dinner but it was all so good. Next time I will cut the soup recipe in half because the boys did not like it enough to call it a meal. I may also use a bit less celery and cut the onion a bit more fine. Live and learn right?

The pretzels were messy but oh so delicious. I want to make them again tomorrow but I won't.

Fred leaves us again in the AM. Tomorrow both boys are supposed to have well child check-ups after school but I checked my calender from last year and Nic's appointment was on the 13th. This means that tomorrow is only 362 days since the last appt. I have to call the insurance co. and see if they will let us go ahead or I may need to reschedule. UGH!

We had a showing between 12:30 and 2:30 today so Fred took the boys for haircuts and Pete and I went to Michael's. Well, I went in and Pete waited in the car. Once we were done we headed home to stake out the house. The lookers came around 1:40 and stayed almost 15 minutes. My guess... They ain't buying. Oh well, as soon as they left Pete and I made ourselves at home and called the guys to give them the all clear.

This afternoon Fred and I argued, I mean worked on insurance stuff. There are so many questions and issues that I can not answer. Our adjuster is slowing down in her response time and that is not a great thing. I got bills to pay people. We are still not in jeopardy but I'm spending my money now and I want to be spending theirs. Maybe I'll get a surprise check in the mail tomorrow or Wednesday, don't forget no mail on Veteran's Day, Tuesday!

Another week passes...

Well, I think I can safely say I survived my week. It filled up even more than what it was looking like on Monday but it was all good.

Today we slept in a bit then took some time getting ourselves ready for the world. The boys and I went to Toys R Us to get an exclusive Pokemon download on their Nintendo Ds's. While we were there we picked up B-day and Christmas presents for cousin Landry. After that we went to Target to look at small scale Christmas trees.

I am facing a bit of a dilemma about holiday decor. We could set the full sized pre-lit tree up here and enjoy the seasonal decor but then if all goes well we will need to move said tree to Castlebrook house before Christmas. Not something easy to do. The other option is to keep the big tree in it's box and set up a smaller tree here at the vacation home and then move it, probably fully decorated in the back of my van, once the house is ready. We saw a 3 1/2 foot pre-lit tree at Target but Will said it was too small. He wanted the 6 foot one behind it. When I tried to explain that the one we have now is 7 foot he just said whatever. I guess we'll keep looking and considering the possibilities. I saw one in the Michael's ad for tomorrow that looks promising and the price is right thanks to a Veteran's Day sale. I'll have to run up there tomorrow and see what I think.

After the failed attempt at Target we ran to Ikea. I was having some withdrawal, having not been there in a couple of months, and needed some fresh ideas. Well, the boys were lacking in patience and wanted to take all of the short-cuts through the store. We of course had to stop at the cafe for linner, that took the longest amount of time. They had decorated trees within many of the displays so I was optimistic that maybe they had trees for sale. No such luck. They had some beautiful ornaments but no trees. I did pick up some wrapping paper though. I think I now have enough to get through the holidays.

We came home to meet up with Fred who had been up inspecting the crispy house. The drywall is all hung and once it gets inspected then they will mud and tape and apply texture. I think I have all of the color choices made so I just need to pass that along to the foreman guy so he can buy the paint. Nothing too outrageous, no reds or golds, but good stuff I think. I also saw this floor in a model home that I LOVE! Fred also went and looked at it today and agrees that it will work well for us. There is this finish called "hand scraped" that is uber popular down here. We did not have hand scraped floors but will be putting them in. This particular floor was very lightly hand scraped and had a great stain. I hope our floor guy can match it. The finish is a great compromise for me since I am used to more traditional hardwoods that doesn't require paying someone to scratch them up.

Tomorrow I am FINALLY making the cheddar cheese soup that I have a recipe for. It is from Canada in Epcot at Disney World and we all loved it so much when we were there in June 2007. In honor of my friend Vicki who is going to WDW tomorrow we will enjoy the soup. I am also going to make homemade pretzels. I really should get some rest here soon.

I think we have another full week ahead of us and Fred is now fully legal to go in and out of the country with his new passport so he is off to the airport on Monday. We have well-child check-ups to look forward to, along with Chick-Fil-A night and meeting with the carpet guy and the furniture refinisher. It'll be great!

What a day...

I slept well last night, well enough. I had a full day today, so I should sleep well again.

Last evening I met Fred at Ethan Allen and we had a "Buy Appointment" with our designer, Kim. She had come to the house in Monday and taken some measurements to see what we had room for in the dining room. She had taken the info back and put together an full room plan. Basically, she made sure my furniture fit then attempted to add in all sorts of "accessories" and art to help finish the room. Well anyone who knows me well, know that I don't really "finish" rooms. I buy things when I am moved, and they are on sale. I use what I have and I enjoy the look of minimalism, (except when it comes to my desk which is currently REALLY cluttered) you know... less is more. Well Kim did her best to talk me into the $369 Orchard print, the $499 Forest Mix in the Metal Pot and even the $309 lamps that I would need two of. I also managed to say no to the $169 Terracotta Centerpiece Bowl that didn't even come with any fruit!

What we did order was a beautiful table, six chairs, and a sideboard. We also bought a rug and were able to select the fabric for the seats. This was a first for us. I am really happy with the table and think that it will replace our damaged table nicely. The chairs are comfy, not that too many people will sit on them, and the sideboard will be great for serving, if I ever get to do that. I did not get the $400 wooden gear, but I think it was cool. Maybe someday...

Today I went to pick up Fred's VERY expensive passport then headed to the house to see walls in EVERY room and the beginnings of brick on the side of the house. After I had checked the work I went and did my volunteer stint at school.

I spent two solid hours in the copy room and went through at least 3 reams of paper. The good news is that I think the 3rd graders are set until after Thanksgiving break and the 5th graders are in great shape as well. In reality it was really fun to work so hard and even more fun to try to keep two copiers working at the same time to increase my own productivity. Crazy that something so mundane can make a girl like me smile:)

Well, I think I'll go slip into some cozy jammers. It is getting into the 40's tonight. I have to get up and ready early tomorrow so that right after I drop off the boys I can head to the dentist for my filling. UGH! I can not remember that last time I had a cavity filled but I do remember that it is not fun. Maybe after I'm done I'll take myself to a movie...

Check this out!

See the progress on the front of the house! Yipee! I also walked inside, as far as the foyer and saw a ceiling in my scrap room! I went to see the restoration people today to talk about flooring and wall color and begged for them to get us in by Christmas. Jason gave me his word that we would be in by DECEMBER 15TH. Now, even if they miss that date they still have about a week to make it right and for us to move! Stay tuned....

This day should be a piece of cake!

I only have two appointments on my calender right now. I meet with the restoration company today to pick out flooring and wall texture and tonight we are going to order some pieces from Ethan Allen for the dining room. Not that we can accept delivery or anything but we need to start the process. They are willing to hold everything until we can get it in Dec or January.

The boys were a bit tough to get up and going this morning. I am getting pretty tired of all of the nagging required to get them down to the kitchen for breakfast. I am hopeful that they need to work through the adjustment of the time change but if that's not it I am willing to adjust bed-time in this house.

We had a good evening celebrating Nic's birthday. Fred met us at Durkin's Pizza which is new and right down the street and it was VERY tasty. It is a small place but had a couple of flat screens that we watched the poll results on and the pizza was pretty awesome on top of all that. The owner offered Nic an ice cream dessert for his birthday. He opted for my most favorite childhood novelty, an orange push-up. Will would have no part of a push-up or Drum Stick and talked his daddy into taking him down the strip a bit to get a little dish of goodness from Marble Slab.

After dinner Fred and Nic worked on homework, he had a bunch last night, and I was burned out from helping with homework before dinner. So I watched Dancing with the Stars that I had to record from Monday because I had an important function to attend. I'll write more about that some time real soon.

Well, I am supposed to be at the restoration place around 10 so I should probably get myself into gear. I'll probably have time to post Nic's b-day pics later so check back.

Oh yes and one more thing. We are all glad that Election 2008 is behind us and most in this house are OPTIMISTIC about the future. My own sense of relief comes from the fact that a decision has been made, there was a clear victor, and the democratic process worked. Now we can look forward to and pray for the "Change" that was promised! And Barack won in the elementary school election too. It was a close race though, so I hear!

10 years ago... *with an update*

I was in hard labor at Ft. Sanders Hospital ready to welcome our first son into the world. Fred and I were living in Tennessee at the time and it was just the two of us. no grandmothers trying to storm the room, no anxious aunts and uncles, just Fred and me. It was a scary day that had actually started for me the night before. I remember I had a hard time sleeping and tossed and turn for a few hours. Eventually I gave up and just got up and putzed. I think I paid some bills, I played on the computer and finally around 5AM I woke Fred telling him it was time. He didn't seem quite ready to start his day so he suggested that I lay down for a bit and time the contractions for another hour or so. He slept, I timed and I was right, it was time to go. (We were so happy to have gone into labor on a Tuesday (Oops, I mean Wednesday). We were both very concerned that I would go into labor on a home game Saturday. The hospital was pretty close to the University of Tennessee and we really didn't want to get caught up in the traffic jam.)

Nic was a little stubborn about joining us in the world, I pushed for a LONG time and eventually they pulled out the vacuum and helped him along. He was beautiful and perfect and BIG. We were a family of three and couldn't be happier. A couple of hours after Nicholas was born Fred went back to our apartment to let the dog out and send an e-mail to family and friends. We did not have a digital camera but I think he got a picture off to them as well. After dinner I was wondering where he was, getting anxious for some real food from the outside and I started calling him. Well, this was back in the days of dial up Internet connections so needless to say I did not get in touch with him and I was none to happy about that. I think he eventually called to tell me he was on his way. He probably brought me Chick-fil-A and that made it all better.

Today Nic was more than willing to join the world. He was up and happy today, excited about birthday presents that he found at the bottom of his bed! He brought them downstairs so I could watch him open them. This was also a motivation to get Will moving. We gave Nic a book, 39 Clues, a fan mister, (he lost his fan in the fire) a make your own video game thing and some skull boxer shorts. I am opposed to all the skull and crossbones used in fashion these days but I was willing to buy him some that no one would see. He was pretty excited! Crazy to think he's all ga ga over underwear. It makes me smile though.

Not sure what the plan is for tonight. I offered dinner out or at home. I thought we'd spend a little time watching the elections results. Thankfully Fred and I both voted this morning so no one will be waiting in line after work. I had big plans to catch up on some reading in line and with a short wait, less than 5 minutes, there was no reading happening! Bummer. I'm sure I'll take more pics of the birthday boy. Look for those tomorrow.

*** Update *** So I took a double chocolate chip cookie cake for Nic's treat at school today. As I was getting all the stuff together it dawned on me. This is a milestone i had not considered. I will not deliver a treat to Nic's class again. Middle school is a whole new playing field and there will be no time or location for sharing a juice pouch and some sugar filled confection. Sniff sniff. It makes me really happy that I was able to fulfil his wish of the chocolate chip cookie cake. He had shared this desire a week or more ago and I called the two cookie spots in the mall to hear their outrageous prices before I quickly hung up without placing an order. We decided to go to Sam's this past weekend to check out the options. They have a double chocolate chip cookie cake! We ordered it decorated and with his name on it and I picked it up this morning. It was soft and looked yummy and all the kids were pretty pumped about the treat. Do they realize that this will be the last year for such things...???

Are you ready?

Are you ready to follow me in this crazy week? I have something on my calender EVERY day this week and Fred is home all week. Throw in the birthday of my first born, some house decisions and a Friday dentist appointment to have a cavity filled, it promises to be full and eventful!

Today I have errands to run, I am meeting with the Ethan Allen lady at the crispy house to talk about furniture and colors, I am helping with a third grade computer project and I have the final MOMS Celebration dinner tonight at church. I will also need to feed my family, clean up the house just in case we have a showing, and pull myself together. Oh and I need to figure out how to reset the clock in my van and the boys' clocks in their room.

I'd better get started!