What a day!!

Today was not the day I had planned it to be!! Brad left to work out of town again this week. He left his work truck here and rode with the other guy who goes with him. When he has done that in the past, he has left the key with me "just in case." Not this time!! And this is the one time I could have used that key. When I pulled back into the driveway from taking Hannah to school Brad called me from Charleston saying he needed a notebook that was in his truck before he left town. So what did I have to do? Meet him in Cross Lanes right then so I could get the key and come home and get the notebook. I had planned on calling the dr about Ryan's never-ending cough this morning but couldn't decide when I could fit it in. I ended up getting an appt for 1. So I got the key from Brad and decided to go to walmart while we were out to get a few things. Then Ryan and I came home (it was around 10:45a at this time), ate a quick lunch and I put him down for a nap so he could get some rest before leaving the house again at 12:30 for his dr appt. I knew taking the 1pm appt would be pushing it with having to pick Hannah up at 2:30 but the lady assured me I'd be in and out b/c that is the first appt after lunch. And we were out in plenty time. Turns out Ryan is wheezing in his chest and needs antiobiotics and a nebulizer 3 times a day. We have to go back for a recheck on Wed and if it isn't improving he will need steroids. We dropped his perscriptions off and then picked Hannah up from school. We went home long enough for the kids to get their daily snack and then we left to go get Ryan's meds. So by the time I took my shoes off and knew I didn't have to leave the house again it was 4pm. Ryan does not like doing those treatments! It was fun for about the first 2 minutes but the other 10 were a fight! I am planning on doing another treatment before I go to bed. I think it will be easier while he is asleep. While the kids were eating I asked Hannah if I could see her loose tooth (yes, this is the second one and it is right next to the first one she lost) and I just barely pulled on it and it popped out! We started talking aobut the tooth fairy and she said "I wish I could get $7!" I said maybe she'll leave you a cookie or something this time. She said she'd like that. SO I think I am going to start a new tradition tonight. The tooth fairy no longer leaves money, she leaves a treat!! I don't mind giving her money but it goes straight to the piggy bank and we never see it again. I'd rather give her something that gives her real joy! Even if it is a cookie.=) But I think I am settling with a box of Mike and Ikes. I just hope she doesn't wake up because Brad isn't here to back me up.....and I forgot to put the tooth under her pillow. Oh well. Then it was bathtime and then Hannah read me a few of her books and I read her a book and read one to Ryan. Then it was bedtime and the house was mine at last!! Oh yeah, and then Brad called me and I had to read him everything in that notebook! It was like 4 pages of numbers. Blah! I really need to work on cleaning the house up but I have already said I am not leaving the house tomorrow except taking and picking up Hannah from school. So I'll do it all then. I want to put some of the pics I took tonight on here then I might just go to bed myself!!

Are you surprised to see me again?!

I haven't been writing much lately because I only have boring things to talk about, normally. Today's story: I have been hiding christmas gifts and birthday gifts (Ryan's b-day is a week before Christmas) in the back of Brad's closet. Our closet is hard to describe. When we built on to our house 2 yrs ago, part of it was a bigger master bedroom for Brad and I. Our previous bedroom we put a wall up in the middle (it was only 12x12 I think) and made half of it my walk in closet and the door to the original closet is in the back of my big closet and that is where Brad keeps his clothes. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, when we are playing hide and seek, we often hide back there. Well, I was hiding from Ryan this morning (I was in their bathroom, in the shower) and he went back in our closet looking for me and I didn't know it. I heard him going down the hall on what I thot was Hannah's rollerblades. I jumped out to scare him and there he was on his new scooter that I got for him for his b-day! He just loves that thing! I couldn't bare to take it from him. He was just so happy. I told him that was supposed to be for his birthday. Then he started asking about his cake! He's been saying he wants a blue cake. So after that I decided I needed to wrap all the gifts in the closet because they know there are good things in there and I imagine he'll be going back in there to look again!=)

Both kids are still sick. Hannah had a fever all morning, but not very high. And she had a headache. She wasn't coughing much until it was time for bed. Ryan hasn't had a fever today but he has a really thick, juicy cough and told me his ear hurt this evening. He also was coughing like crazy in bed. I still hear them both every once in awhile. So....I still don't know if we'll make it to MD for Thanksgiving with the fam. I dont want them getting anyone else sick. But if I don't see you all then, it won't be long until Chirstmas!!

oh the pains of life!!=)

the building and some of the stuff that was inside it.

just the floor left!

getting the floor onto a trailer

backing the floor between our house and Brad's g-ma's house to get it to the back yard

As you can tell by my pics, Brad and I have been very busy this weekend! We had this very big, terrible eye-sore of a "building" in our front yard that we have been talking for months about moving out back. I don't think either one of us really wanted to do it because we knew how big of a job it was going to be!! I am not going to take much credit because Brad did most of the hard labor but I did help a lot and he even said I surprised him today b/c I worked out there with him ALL day! First we had to get everything out of the building and decide what we were keeping and what we wanted to get rid of. For example, we discovered a whole box and a half of wood floor left over from the job we did right after Hannah was born 5 years ago that had been buried and forgotten. So now Brad wants to use it somewhere in the house (kitchen, probably). Also, He has been hanging onto a bunch of pool filters that he took off a pool at his g-ma's old house, probably 5 yrs ago too, "just in case" (like we are going to get a pool someday)! I finally convinced him we don't need those silly things! Just a bunch of stuff like that. Hannah said it looked like we were having a yard sale with all that "junk" out! After we sorted thru everything and put it in Brad's g-ma's building and garage until we get ours put back up, we had to take off the ceiling panels and walls. The really hard part came today when we had to get the very heavy floor on a trailer, get it out back and then put the building back together!! My truck, though, it didn't disappoint!! =) Everything actually went a lot smoother than we thought and we almost got the building all put back together, except the ceiling panels. By that time I was begging Brad to quit!! And we had to go get the kids from mamaw's. She has a new puppy that we all are in love with!! He was just plum tuckered out today! And that's my day! Oh yeah, and the kids have been sick all day.

de ja vu (is that how you spell it?!)

I have been debating about blogging for a few days now but I never feel like I have anything exciting to say! My life as a mom is pretty non-eventful. I think I like it that way. I've never been good with a busy schedule or craziness. Anyway, the old man that lives behind us has tons of cats. If you asked him if they were his, he'd probably say they are just strays but he feeds them so....if you ask me that is taking responsibility for them. So, there are always tons of cats around, getting in the trash, pooping in the flower beds, having kittens and being inbreeds, so on. Occassionally I see a kitten here or there. The other day the kids and I were playing outside when this little kitten comes out of nowhere. Obviously, from the neighbors'. The kids were so excited, Hannah especially. My first words were "leave it alone!" Hannah's face just dropped. Suddenly I was looking at myself years ago, in Cincinnati, being so sad when mom and dad wouldn't let me pet the stray cats that came to our house. This kitten isn't really a stray but still. I felt so bad for ever cat that ever stopped by our house, looking for a bite to eat, a family that cared. I just wanted to give them a full belly before they moved on. I would get so angry, often going behind my parents' backs to feed them or pet them, just once! Now I can understand why they didn't want me to play with the cats but I also don't see the harm in it. I can remember 2 strays in particular. One I just remember jumping up on the screen part of the storm door and hanging there! The other giving birth to 2 kittens under the porch. I would sneak balogna to her or anything I was eating. So I broke down and let the kids play with the kitten. I am not sorry for my decision at all. The past 2 times we have been in the back yard playing it has come over to them. Most of the cats over there you couldn't get near but this one is friendly. I don't mind it coming over as long as it goes back!! So that's my story tonight.

AAHHHHH......

Today finished off a great weekend filled with family, fun, food and church! I hosted my first ladies meeting on Thur and it turned out pretty good. I was so stressed out all day on Thur with all the cooking and cleaning and organizing for the meeting and I hate talking in front of people and I was so nervous about it so the devotion part was a CD of speaker David Ring. If you haven't heard anything by him I'd recommend you look him up on the internet. I have been reminded that no matter how bad I think I have it, God knows what's going on and he doesn't give us more than we can handle and that I should praise him in every situation or trial he brings my way. He has been very easy-going on me, compared to some people. I just wonder how he choses the trials he sends on different people. Anyway, so we played some fun games, ate some good food and went home! Mom and dad had come up earlier that day and the ladies enjoyed seeimg mom. Jessica and cousin Michael decided to come in Thur night instead of Friday so they were getting here as the ladies were leaving. Fri we lounged around the house some and made a trip to mom's old work place, AEP. Then we went out to lunch and came home in time for naps (Jessica and I included) and then I went and got Hannah from school. Brad was off on Fri too. (He has been working out of town Mon-Thur) He went hunting in the AM and then went and got 2 more trailer-fulls of gravel. I didn't get involved this time!! I made baked spaghetti for supper and then Jessica and I went to a movie with one of Jessica's friends, Amber. It was a nice evening out with no kids, husbands, nothing. We decided to go to a mexican restaurant after the movie. I have never liked or really been to a mexican restaurant but I really like the chips and cheese dip and the food I got. I was very impressed. We were the only customers in there the whole time and they were supposed to close at 10PM but we were still in there chatting and they didn't kick us out or anything! Finally around 10:30 we decided to take Amber home and head home ourselves. When we got to her house, the door was locked and she didn't have a key to get in. Her husband and kids were inside sleeping. She called her husband a million times, we banged on the door and she was really locked out! We didn't know what to do! We got this fake pumpkin thing off her porch and started throwing it at the windows on the second story to try to wake someone up. It didn't work. But all the neightbors heard us!! Finally a man and lady came over and offered to help. The man came back with a 12' pvc pipe piece and started banging on the 2nd story windows and finally her husband came down and let her in, after 45 minutes out in the freezing cold. It was the funnies thing ever! Today we hung out at the house again until after lunch time. It had warmed up and became very nice out so my parents and I took the kids down to the park before naptime. Our church had a dedication service for the new building planned at 2pm. I stayed home for the first half hour so Ryan could get a good nap and be happy. It was very nice. I missed dad's part. He was supposed to speak on how it all got started with building the new building and stuff like that. Then there was lots of singing, including 2 songs that mom and Jess sang. And then preaching for an hour by Pastor Jeff. Then we went next door to the old church and ate. I have been thinking it was Sunday all day today. My parents and sister and nephew all went home after the services. The house is quiet and half way in order again! Now, its not even 9 yet and it feels like midnight and I am so tired!!

the swine flu shot better be worth it!

The health dept was giving the swine flu shot and mist today to kids. I had been waiting to find a place around here doing it. It was scheduled to be from 11-4. I wasn't planning on going super early but Brad's g-ma was telling me about how every place that had these clinics had lines like crazy and tons of people waiting to get the shot. So I reluctantly decided to go early and she offered to come with me "just in case". Needless to say, I am soooooo glad she was there. When we got there around 9:30, there was already no parking spaces left and a line outside and it was not warm out! I had packed a snack for the kids and they scarfed it down right away. It didn't take long for them to get restless after that. grandma took them for a walk while I stood in line. At 10 someone came out and said they were starting early b/c all the nurses were already there and the line was not getting shorter! It was actually out on the main road and they were worried about people being close to traffic. So I was thinking it wouldn't be long before we got in. Wrong!! At 11 we were still waiting outside. Around 11:45 or so we finally got into the building. Ryan had been crying, we were all freezing and I thot about just leaving more than once! When it was FINALLY Hannah and Ryan's turn to get the mist (which is the greatest invention ever!!) a news guy asked if it was ok for him to tape them. So Ryan was on the news. When we left it was 12:30!! I'll neve rin my life do that again. It was horrible. If I had been by myself, I would not have stayed. I found out later that the cops had been called and they were all going crazy because they hadn't had the clinic somewhere with more parking and blah blah blah. So I didn't get anything done around here. Ryan didn't take a nap and they were both grouchy from such a long day that they were in bed by 6:30. Tomorrow I won't get much done either because I have to go back out to walmart oto get my oil changed, pick up a prescription and get a few last minute groceries for this weekend. I just know I am going to forget something and have to go back out again after that! I have been planning for the ladies meeting. family coming in and a church dinner! If you know me, you know I don't like being a hostess and I don't like having to cook different foods. I just am not confident in my cooking ability and I have a hard time keeping the house clean! I have rather enjoyed planning the devotion and the games though. And of course, I can't wait to see my family and I know they don't care what my house looks like! Just 2 more days!!

What is this world coming to?

This morning while we were in church our DVD player for the kids was stolen. That was the first thing Brad noticed while putting the kids in their seats when we were leaving. He asked me if I took it down and I said no! It was just gone. Nothing else was missing. Turns out, after we got to talking about it with some of the other church members, some of them had seen someone standing out by our truck and someone else running down the road by the other vehicles. I am not so upset about the DVD player. We can replace it. It has just reminded me how bad the world is. There are people out there who need Jesus and I don't think most Christians think much about it. I know I don't. It is easy to get wrapped up in your own life and not see that others are suffering, dying and going to Hell, addicted to drugs and other things. The world is evil and we should be more concerned for these people.

Brad is going back out of town to work in the morning. I am getting used to him being gone and it isn't so bad anymore! But now I am really going to be making up sounds in my head! I have sooooooo much to do this week to prepare for my ladies meeting and for family coming in this weekend. Our church is having a dedication service for the new building that was completed recently. My dad will be speaking since he was the one who got the whole thing under way before he was lead to go elsewhere. So my parents will be here and my sister, her hubby and son will be here too. I can't wait to see them. It has been so long. Well, I have a few things to do before I go to bed. Brad is taking my laptop out of town with him so please pray that the desktop will cooperate with me this week. So if you don't hear from me that is why!