Miss me?

We had the most wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas. One of these days (before the fourth of July, hopefully) I will post pictures.

We are in the middle of a re-fi on our house. We shaved years off of our mortgage and are also getting new windows and insulation. It may not seem like such a big deal but for anybody who has ever lived in an old house - it will make all the difference in the world. For anyone who hates to visit me in the winter - for those of you who would never take off your coat OR your hat and mittens - come February you can all come back for a visit and leave all your outerwear at the door. Randy assures me I will notice immediately. I assure him I will, too. The windows will actually be clean. Without 80 year old paint splatters and drips. An added bonus is that I can clear out my windowsills of all the drumsticks, paint sticks and other pieces of random wood that we need to prop up the windows in the spring. Who knows what jewels I will find. Because I know the appraiser is coming, I am using this as an excuse to get those closets cleaned out and that chipped paint all touched up.

Tomorrow, Abby and Jeff and Stella will be here! We are so excited. We are ringing in the New Year at home and I can't wait! Abby's one request was that we leave our house decorated for Christmas. For the first time in 24 years we have left all of our stuff up until New Years and I have loved it. It always seems so bare when we put it all away. I always had the excuse that it had to come down anyways so just get it over with. I was always so sad when it was all said and done. For years the girls begged and begged to leave up our tree. I was wrong and they were rights. I just gained an extra week of Christmas!

why I have laugh lines

Abe has terrible chapped lips. I told him he needed to start using Chapstick. He told me he was. I asked him when the last time was he used it. Yesterday - he said.

We pulled into Wendy's for a lunch date. Abe said that he bet me ten bucks it was all old people in there. We walked in. He was right. How did he know? He told me he didn't look in the windows. He just knows old people love to eat at Wendy's.

We pulled into our garage and Abe saw Barbara's box for her burial in January. "Isn't Barbara disintegrated, yet?" Cremate may be a hard word for a third grader to remember. I haven't seen it on a spelling test lately.

Christmas Morning

I love Christmas morning. I am always the first person awake. I go and get the coffee started. I get the breakfast going. I light the candles. Turn on the tree and Christmas music. Then I go and wake my sleeping family.

We always have Christmas breakfast by candlelight with a tablecloth and Christmas dishes. Sometimes we open up our stockings first and sometimes we wait. It depends if we are starving or not.

After breakfast, Randy will read the Christmas story out of the book of Luke. That is my favorite thing on Christmas morning.

After all that the kids get to open their gifts!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights

Last night - we got Abe out of bed and went on a Christmas Light run. Randy and I had our hot tea and Abe grabbed his Christmas blanket, his pillow and Rascal (of course!) and we headed out. It reminded me of many years ago when we would go look at lights every single night...

We would grab our screaming newborn and bundle her up in the car seat and climb into Randy's old pick-up truck. We would swing by Hardee's to get a cup of coffee for the sleepy driver. That was long before I had acquired a taste for the stuff I love so much now. We were thankful for all the people who left their Christmas lights on all night. It was the most peaceful time of our day. Warm truck. Sleeping baby.

Bundle up tonight and go experience the lights and the decorations of the season. Hug your babies extra tight tonight. Before you know it they will be all grown up.

tis the season.....TO WASH YOUR HANDS!

Yesterday morning, while still laying in bed, Abe came into our room and said, "Mom, I won't be going to church today because I have been throwing up." He said this like it was no big deal. I asked him if he had made it to the bathroom and of course, he had. He is such a trooper. He crawled back into his bed and Annie and I headed out to church and left Randy home with the child who can practically parent himself.

This has reminded me of the Christmas Eve that I had the stomach flu. The girls were small and I was working part-time. I had to work on Christmas Eve morning and Randy was home with the girls. I came home around lunch time not feeling so good. I thought I was hungry so Randy went and got us lunch at Arby's and then it hit. Stomach flu. ON. CHRISTMAS. EVE! Of all the days for me to be sick! Gosh darn it. I crawled into bed around 2:00 and didn't emerge until Christmas morning. Randy got the girls dressed up and the three of them went to Christmas Eve services without me and I laid in bed and cried and cried. So not fair!

Since then - Abby has been sick on Christmas. Uncle Tal has been sick on Christmas. Last year - my mom got sick and went to bed in the middle of our Christmas dinner.

3 days and counting. Who will it be this year? I'll tell you who it had better not be. ME!

Aunt Von's

I have the best Aunt ever! Even though I am old now and never see her often enough - she is one of the most special people to me.

Growing up, I spent so much time with my Grandma or my Aunt Von. Her kids were older than me and I thought they were so cool! I adored and worshipped them. My favorite place in the entire world was my cousin Amy's room. I loved when she would clean out her drawers and closet and send me home with lots of neat teen-age girl stuff. Stuff like old stationary. Old buttons and sometimes half used Bonnie Belle lip gloss.

Aunt Von started having my entire family (brothers & parents) and my cousin Kraig and his family over for an evening of Christmas treats. My kids (and me!) have started looking forward to this tradition. We sit around her Christmas tree and drink coffee and eat. and eat. and eat. The kids play down in the basement and it is almost always just a few days before Christmas. It is a wonderful way to get our Christmas started.

It is now December 19th and we haven't heard a peep from her. Annie has asked about it and Abe has asked about it and so I asked my mom about it. My Aunt and Uncle are leaving town for Christmas this year and aren't having our little get-together.

Bah Humbug!

Secret Santa

When the girls were small we started drawing names. Just the four of us. It started as a way to cut back on spending for the kids and too many gifts. Your name was supposed to be kept a secret and then a week before Christmas we would do our little gift exchange. They each had to shop. wrap. and keep a secret.

When Abe was three he could recognize his name. Annie put all our names in a basket and we let Abe draw out first. If he did not get HIS name then the rest of us would draw and if we drew our own we would start over but we knew Abe was safe. With only four of us it took plenty of tries before none of us had our own name. The plan was for Aunt Sarah to take Abe shopping for his secret Santa gift.

A few days went by and Aunt Sarah was over. Abe ran up to grab the name he had drawn and Sarah just busted out laughing. Abe had gotten his own name!! How did that happen? Abe could read his name printed. With a capital A and lower case b and e. Annie had written in all capitals and her Capital A was a big circle with a tail. Abe thought it was an O. There are so many things wrong with this story. Like whose name even starts with an O and why didn't the four of us who could read just make sure one of us had Abe?? Good Grief, Charlie Brown!

Last night we had our little secret Santa party. Abe had been so excited ever since he bought his gift over Thanksgiving weekend. He could not wait until Annie came home and we could open a gift! And he didn't have his own name. He had mine!

O Christmas Tree

It seems like we have started putting our tree up the week of Thanksgiving. Of course, we pull out the box and fluff the branches out and plug it in and presto. Instant Christmas tree.

Growing up, however, was an entirely different story. We didn't even get our tree until the second week of December. We always had a real live Christmas tree. When I was older we started going to the Christmas tree farm and picking one out and cutting it down ourselves. It seemed like whatever day we went to get our tree was the coldest day of the entire year and it took forever to pick out just the right tree. The worst part was watering the tree and it was always an adventure to see dad take that thing out of the house. The bonus of a real tree is that in July we were still finding needles in the carpet.

When Randy and I got married we carried the torch for the real tree. We went to cut ours down at the same Christmas tree farm. We would load up on a Sunday afternoon and caravan with my parents and my aunt & uncle. Eventually, my mom and dad decided to get an artificial tree and when they bought a new one we inherited their old one. These days Abby is so allergic to pine trees that she puffs up like a balloon if there is one anywhere near.

Nothing reminds me of Christmas at home as much as the smell of a fresh pine tree. I really miss that.

Eve on Euclid Street

Over the years Randy and I have been blessed by having great neighbors. When the girls were little we rented a house and the landlord lived directly across the street from the rental house. Before we had moved in the landlady was telling us about all the wonderful neighbors. We shared a driveway with the neighbors to the West and I was very anxious to hear about that family. She said an older man and his young girlfriend and her two kids lived next door. Hmmm.....
We quickly became very close friends. Her kids were older than mine but they played fabulously together. Later, we got lots of laughs about the older man and his young girlfriend!

For the three years that we lived next to Don and Beth and even a couple of years after we moved to Maple Street we spent Christmas Eve together. We would all go to church together and then go back to their house and the kids would watch movies and the four of us would sit around the old oak round table and drink coffee and then wine and eat all of our homemade treats. (side note: Don is the one who got me started drinking coffee with cream) We'd be there for hours talking and laughing. And then we'd head home carrying sleepy little girls in their Christmas jammies. It was 10 steps to our front door. Right across the shared driveway. I'd lay my head on my pillow and give thanks for the wonderful friends and neighbors that we had. I wanted that night to last forever.

Then we moved. And then they moved to Colorado.

Not a Christmas Eve goes by when I don't remember those that were so sweet, not so long ago, on Euclid Street.

Christmas Dress

When I was in elementary school the entire school had one gigantic Christmas program. It was at Greer auditorium and it seemed like the entire town came. I wanted a new dress to wear like all the other girls. And not one from K-Mart or Alco.

The year I was in the 4th grade the country radio station that my mom listened to was having a bingo contest. We drove all over Wichita to different locations (some very scary places, too) to pick up paper bingo cards for the big "game." The first person to get a blackout (all numbers on the bingo card filled) within a certain amount of numbers called would win $1,000. This was 1974. That was a lot of dollars back then. We all sat around the table. Listening. Quietly. Absolutely no talking. Or breathing. My mom only had one number uncovered when they called the $1,000 number. It wasn't her number. We sat and listened to the radio to see if anybody would call in to claim the prize.

Apparently, there was no winner so now with each number called the jackpot went down a few dollars until they would have a winner. Listening. Still no breathing. The next number called WAS MY MOTHER'S NUMBER! She won! Lots and lots of dollars! We were frantic excited! Us kids had been quiet for so long I'm sure the entire town could hear us now.

The next morning at school I felt like a celebrity among all the goofy kids whose parents listened to KFDI (is gonna make me rich!) My mom went to collect her prize money and on her way home she stopped by a store downtown Newton and bought me the most beautiful and the most expensive dress I had ever seen. It was all I had dreamt of. A maxi-dress. I had a brand new navy blue with lots of lace and red buttons dress to wear to my Christmas program that year.

Thanks, mom (& KFDI)! I will always remember how pretty and special I felt that Christmas when I was only 9 years old.

This morning - my backyard

Grandma's kitchen

My grandma was the best cook and baker. She always, always, always had homemade goodies for us when we stopped in. At Christmas, that supply was even bigger! Here are some of my favorites!

• Russian Tea Cakes (some people call these Mexican Wedding cookies)
• Frosted and sprinkled sugar cookies. These are the same recipe that my Grandma's mother baked for people when my grandma was little.
• Peanut Brittle
• Peanutbutter balls
• Peppernuts (Oh! My favorite)
• Peanut Clusters
• Party mix
• Snow on the mountain cookies
• Dipped pretzels

My Grandma's house was always warm in the winter. Not freezing cold like mine. Her house was very small and she always had something yummy ready to pull out of her oven in that little bitty kitchen.

I will always remember the best smell that would wrap my entire body at her front door. I will also never forget all the love and warmth that she had to share with everybody. Especially at Christmas time. Especially for me. I miss her most at Christmas.

The surprise was on me.

Abe asked me where the worst ever place was that I had hidden gifts? This made me wonder if he was actually a "snooper." I doubted he was because he is so freaky about accidentally seeing anything that may be his while I'm wrapping.

I, on the other hand, am a recovered snoop. For years and years I would hunt down my gifts. This has gotten me into all sorts of trouble over the years.

There was a wrapped box for me under the tree and I just couldn't figure out what it was. When Randy headed out I headed to the tree. I so carefully opened it as to not mess up the tape. After years of my issues he would check the gifts to make sure they had not been altered. So slowly I removed the paper from the square box, so I could wrap it back exactly as it was, when I heard a knock on the big picture window. Randy was standing on the porch watching me! Oops!

Christmas Past

About 5:30 last night (after a 2 hour nap) I really started feeling much better. Everytime I am sick I start to wonder if I have been struck with some life-long ailment that will never get better. Like I will have to live out the second half of my life in complete misery (as if eating gluten free isn't agony enough!)

I have decided from now until Christmas I will be blogging on my Christmas memories. Some recent some not so recent. I certainly hope to not bore you all to tears. I tend to have a bent toward the sentimental side.

Today's memory:

When we were kids, we would get up so stinkin' early on Christmas morning. Like 4 a.m. In fact, I don't think we EVER EVEN WENT TO SLEEP! My brother and I were best-of-friends and I had to walk through his bedroom to get to my bedroom and we would sleep with the door open and talk and talk and talk. He can never get mad at his girls for talking in bed. They got it from him (and me, too!) Anywho, I think I would go downstairs first and wake up my dad. Every year he would tell me it was way too early and to go back to bed! Then we would wait. and wait. and wait. We would wait for hours! And then 10 minutes later I would send Tal down to beg dad if we could please open gifts. I think he would finally give in around 5 a.m. and then it was complete torture. Mom and Dad would make coffee. And then DRINK COFFEE! For the love.

....OH! to be a kid again.

so very sick

I have felt just awful since Monday at 3:30 in the afternoon. I crawled into bed and have barely moved since then. I did make myself come to work today only because I had some payroll checks that had to be done.

Will I ever feel better again? I think not. I can't even imagine. My only hope is that I can make it to Abe's first piano recital tonight.

Happy Birthday, Randy!

I always told my kids that I handpicked the best daddy in the entire world just for them. I think they would all agree.

Happy 29th Birthday to the most wonderful husband and father!

never so happy to see a week end

To say this has been a rough week for me would be an understatement.

I have dealt with

• death.
• health.
• pain.
• I had to miss Abe's taekwondo testing because of my class.
• My accounting program at work crashed (I have complete faith in my amazing brother bringing it back to life).
• Annie went back to school (I shouldn't say that out loud but I miss her).
• I spent a ton of money (maybe more than I have) on Christmas.
• I also had to miss a very important appointment Thursday after work (because I was still working when I should have not been).

And now I am singing the praises of Friday.

Tomorrow is a new day. And the day after that starts a new week for which I am very, very grateful.

I am wearing something I haven't worn since the 4th grade

When we were shopping at Gap I found some knee socks and bought a pair. This morning, it was 20 degrees outside and that meant it was probably 2 degrees upstairs in our house so I decided to wear my new socks. I love them!

Medical Melodrama

I have been having a lot of health issues as of late. I'm not sure where this is all coming from as I feel I live a pretty healthy lifestyle. I am learning, the hard way, that there are some things that are just out of my control.

Here a few statistics from my 2008 medical file:

5 different doctors
4 prescriptions (I hate taking any medicine - FYI)
3 ailments that have been diagnosed
2 wrists & hands that only hurt at night. Every single night at 4:00 a.m. (not diagnosed)

...and a partridge in a pear tree!

my own words

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.The much smaller stockings were hung on the stairway with care,

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all freezing cold in their beds, While visions of gluten danced in their heads. And momma in her wrist brace, and papa in his c-pap, had just settled down for a long winter's nap (only until 4 a.m. when momma woke papa because her hand hurt so bad - and she never could fall back asleep)

I think I am going to be re-writing Christmas stories. I seem to be loosing my sanity and am trying my best to keep my chin up.

Hopefully, I can come up with a new one tomorrow. If not, the next day. Stay tuned....

Dust

We lost a friend of our family this weekend. Ironically, there was an 80th birthday open house scheduled on the day that she passed away.

Randy had known her since he was two years old. He was extremely close to her. Every Christmas my boys would hang her outside Christmas lights and Abe would decorate her tree. She loved to cook for us and she even made me gluten free lasagna. I will miss walking over to chat and seeing her red VW bug buzz by our house.

At the request of her family, Randy made the box for her ashes. They wanted one just like he had made for their dad a few years ago. Randy spent all day Friday on his little project. Late in the afternoon Abe came into the kitchen and told me that "Dad was almost finished with the box for Barbara's dust because she wasn't going to make it much longer." We had been to visit her earlier in the day and I guess he heard Randy and I talking on the way home.

Tonight, he asked us if WE were going to bury Barbara since we still had the box in our garage. I imagined him thinking she would be underneath the tree by his sandbox. We tried to explain everything so that he would understand but honestly, he really can't comprehend the cremation. The box. The ashes.

Before bed he said, "I sure wish Barbara hadn't decided to leave so soon. I'm really going to miss her. I loved going to her house."

Me, too.

always drama

This morning I could not get into our garage. The walk in door was locked by "accident" (how many accidents can one 8 year old boy have?) The key for the locked door? Apparently, there is no key. It had been locked from the inside last night and then the garage door went down from the outside with the opener. The opener? One inside my Trailblazer inside the locked garage and the other one - in Randy's truck at work. I am thankful Annie was home and I could snag her car.

Just another day in my life.....

it is what it is

We decorated our house for Christmas this weekend. Mostly, Annie decorated and I bought things and spent money. I also wrapped some gifts. She did a fabulous job. I love our house at Christmas time.

Abe is struggling with putting his Converse tennies on. This is his fourth pair and you would think after 3 years he would have a system. Apparently not. It made us both a tad grumpy with each other this morning and I really hate that.

I am pretty sure we will be spending Thanksgiving dinner at the nursing home. This is not Randy's or my first choice but it is what it is.

I am waiting for test results from the doctor this week. I would like to say that I am not over anxious about it but that would be lying. Whatever I found out - it is what it is.

soaps

I just read that the daytime soaps may be on their way out. This reminded me of when I would watch daytime TV.

It all started long, long ago when I babysat a couple of girls in the summer. I think I was in the 7th grade. I would get to their house around noon and after lunch they always wanted to watch One Life to Live before we went to the city pool. At first, I hated it. It reminded of when I was a little girl and my mom would be glued to the TV in the afternoon and I could not stand it! Before I knew it (it didn't take too long) I was hooked and enjoyed it just as much as the babysitting kids did. When I was in high school all the girls watched The Young and The Restless. So to be cool and atleast know what they were talking about I started watching that. My favorite was always One Life to Live, though.

When Abby was a baby I would put her down for a nap and watch One Life to Live from 1:00 - 2:00 and then Guiding Light from 2:00 - 3:00. This was the perfect time for me to wash all those diapers. Nothing like a bowl of popcorn, diet coke and a soap.

Sometime after I had Annie I just couldn't keep up anymore. Abby stopped napping and I needed a nap myself and I just stopped cold turkey. I have never missed them and to be honest, haven't thought about Asa & Clint or Reba & Josh for years. It also reminds me of my favorite magazine back then. True Story. I bet that's not around anymore, either.

Come to think of it, I don't even know one person who watches soaps. That may be why they are on their way out.

because I take after you?

"Why is it when Dad and I ask you a question you tell us at least a 5 minute story?"

beggers can't be choosers

I thought it would be a fun surprise to take the kids to Stomp next week. Then I saw how much the tickets cost. Ouch! The radio station that I listen to happens to be giving away tickets in the mornings. Randy suggested that I try and win them and then we could go. Ummmm....great idea! I can be the 10th random caller and know who on earth the celebrity secret Santa is and just win our family a little evening out.

And so that I did! I was the correct caller and I knew the secret Santa. I was jubilant on the phone! And then? Well then the DJ told me the tickets I won weren't for Stomp. They were 4 tickets to Highschool Musical 3 and a $25 gift card. I won the celebrity secret Santa contest that is between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. The Stomp tickets celebrity Santa give-a-way is between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m.

Bah Humbug!

Makin' a list

We have recently purchased a handy dandy gadget for our house. It is a set of three adaptors that you plug into the wall and then you plug a lamp into it. Then you can use a remote control to turn your lights on and off. I know it sounds goofy but it is the coolest thing! I can turn the lamps in my entry way, living room and dining room all on with the touch of a button. When we close up the downstairs at the end of the day - I can shut the lights off with a touch of the button. These have to run a close second behind the clapper. You know - you clap and your lights go on and off. Way too cool! You know me - always a sucker for those infomercials and state fair goodies.

This morning, Abe asked if we could put one in his room. He would like to put his CD player on a remote so when he is in bed he can just shut it off. And he would like to put his keyboard on a remote just in case he is laying in bed and sees the red light on and remembers he forgot to shut it off. I told him those were both great ideas but there was only one remote control and we wouldn't be bringing it upstairs from downstairs so no - he could not have an adaptor. He told me that I misunderstood what he wanted. He didn't want to use ONE of the adaptors. He wanted the ENTIRE package of three adaptors to plug all his stuff in and lay in bed and have his very own remote. Ummmm, NO. Those are mine! Did I mention that I'm putting my Christmas Tree on the remote?

Turns out Abe does not want MY adaptors. He told me to put it on his Christmas list for a stocking stuffer. He wanted to know if I thought they would fit????

Does Santa shop at the Do-It-Best store?

a dash of this and a pinch of that

I about put myself over the edge (easy to do!) by trying to make a free photobook (Thanks Oprah!) I decided to use Abby's wedding pictures. Better late than never! I think I spent 10 hours on the stupid thing. I realized I had NO pictures from the reception at the Opera House. Abby reminded me that I used her camera that day and during the reception her battery died. Then it was crazy busy and they moved to Chicago leaving me no pictures of the party! You will be happy to know that I finished the book at midnight last night and I am anxiously awaiting it in the mail. I feel like a kindergartner! I am so proud of my creativity. I may have given birth to the most creative person I know - but I have none of it so this is big for me to have done something all by myself!

We found out that Abe had a crush on a little girl. Which has freaked his mother out! There is something about being the only son, 10 years younger than his next sister, that makes a mommy obnoxiously overprotecting of her baby boy. I can't even stand the thought now or ever! OK. I am exaggerating. For real - any girl he ever likes is going to have to pass a tough test to measure up. That would be me, Abby and Annie and possibly Stella! Anywho - Abe fessed up that the girls do indeed like the boys in third grade. How does he know when a girl likes him? Straight from the horses mouth: It's elementary school, Mom! Word gets out! Nobody keeps a secret!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our neighborhood. Our neighbors - HAVE THEIR ENTIRE HOUSE DECKED OUT. Lights and trees in every window. I like to decorate early but holy cow! A little early - even for a Christmas tree lover like me! My scarecrow is still out on my porch with my orange pot of dead mums.

Looking for more? Look no more!

I definitely go through phases where I feel I am on the verge of a breakdown and just start purging. I am currently in the midst of that right now.

I am a pack rat in denial. Suddenly, I have boxes of this and tubs of that and they were overtaking our basement storage room. Stuff like a little flocked Christmas tree that left white junk all over the place. What on earth do I need that thing for? I don't. I hit a brick wall and needed it all out. Out. OUT! Plus, I needed an empty shelf for my 72 rolls of paper towels and 60 rolls of toilet paper.

Annie and I weeded out my entire closet (I am proud to say that I can and do wear every single item left in my closet-nothing too big. nothing too small. nothing too ugly) and that started me on my most recent obsession. A couple of weeks ago I cleaned out the attic. I bet I took 20 bags of clothes to the Goodwill. THAT was an embarrassing donation. Since then, I have taken several more boxes of household stuff to our local thrift store and have a bag of books to drop off on my way home from work today.

I have cleaned out my kitchen cupboards and purged lots of old glasses we never used. I got rid of old Tupperware. I used to be a friendly Tupperware lady and I swear I still had every piece of sticky Tupperware ever made before 1990.

My plan is to go through Christmas stuff this weekend (I have NEVER weeded out old Christmas decorations) and then I'm going to start all over and go through all the rooms and closets again. Just to make sure there isn't something still lurking that I don't need.

Candace Olson is on Oprah today. If you watch HGTV you will be familiar with her. They are cleaning and decluttering peoples apartments. If you need any motivation at all - watch it!

Monday's Child

Abby,

Where has this year gone? You know me - always melancholy about days gone by.

Wanna come over and celebrate your birthday with the rest of the family? I'll bake you a chocolate sheet cake like the old days! I miss you so much! You would think after four years apart on November 10th I would be used to it. I am not.

22 seems incredibly old. What I should say is that for ME to have a 22 year old daughter makes me feel incredibly old. My gosh! When I was 22 you were already 6 months old!

If you were here - I would be telling you about the Monday that you were born. I will never ever forget the way I felt when I laid eyes on you for the first time. Every baby is special to their mother but nothing compares to that feeling of holding your first born baby for the very first time. I will always remember how my heart was about the burst when I kissed your little face! How sad for me when it became apparent that you were nothing but a little crank pot.

It feels me with such happiness how you and Annie are so close. Mamma loves her girls and I look forward to all that "girl" time that we are sure to share.

I know I don't tell you enought but I admire your courage for running all around Chicago. I admire your obedience to God by following His call to study His Word (and the influence you have had on your father). I admire your never-ending energy for working, raising Stella, going to school full time and then more work. You are so full of determination and stamina. Not much has changed since I brought you home 22 years ago!

I love how you call me to just to say "hi" or you to tell me about something you have read on Facebook. I love how we can laugh over the SNL skits.

I can hardly wait to come and celebrate with you when you graduate this spring. I feel just as proud as if I have earned that diploma myself. (Ok - truth be told I could never have done it! Moundridge math wouldn't get me too far.) I hope you come to your senses and find a graduate school closer to home. For Pete's sake! We all miss you terribly!

I will always love you. Forever and ever my baby you'll be.

Happy 22nd birthday Abby Jo!

Love you much,
Mom

Original Cherry Almond Scent

Our house is extremely quiet tonight. The pace has slowed way down. Annie had been home since Thursday evening and she headed back to college this evening.


I miss my girl. She is so easy to be with. So fun to be around. She makes me smile. She makes me laugh. She is amazing. I am so thankful that we are heading into Christmas break. I can't wait.

When I was at the grocery store I was looking at the lotion. I saw the Jergens and remembered my Grandma Ada used Jergens. I smelled the original Cherry Almond scent. It was an entirely different looking bottle than I remember sitting in her kitchen but holy cow! It smelled exactly. the. same. Immediately, I was taken back to when I was six years old and would put that lotion from the black and white bottle on my hands.

I feel like that Jergens lotion. The same on the inside but everything is different on the outside. What does that say about my Psyche? OK. Don't tell me because I don't want to know.

You know what? I was not the mom who was excited for my kids to grow up and move away. Nope. That was never me. Why then, am I the mom who has the kids who have moved away?

Change

I am a Republican. I am a conservative. I think the election was long and brutal and it is good to see it end. I always wanted to know what the candidate could do for our country not what was wrong with the other guy.

This election has raised a lot of passion among my family and I loved every minute of it. Annie voted in her very first ever Presidential election and someday she will be telling her grandchildren about it. That is amazing! I was so moved by her enthusiasm (and that of her entire dorm) when I talked to her on the phone last night. These kids are the movers and shakers of tomorrow and it is encouraging to see their spirit alive and kicking! Abe has turned out to be a little political junkie. He was so very disappointed that his guy lost (me, too).

I thought McCain's speech was very eloquent. He has given much of himself for America and I admire him for that.

I thought Obama's speech was moving, as well. I appreciated how he acknowledged McCain's service to our country. One thing for sure is that there will be lots of changes coming our way. Some good and some not so good.

I wonder what will people will be talking about four years from today.

wiggle room

In Abe's classroom the desks are arranged like tables with six students sitting in a group. Currently, there are two boys who sit in the "island." They don't sit with a group.

Everyday I ask Abe if he has gotten in trouble that day. Yesterday, he owed recess. Surprise. Surprise. Thus - why I ask him daily.

Me: Did you get into any trouble at school today?

Him: Yes. T.W. got me in trouble.

Me: Really?

Him: You know, he sits in the island and he always gets up and walks around and I could not concentrate because he wouldn't leave me alone.

Me: And???

Him: And I owed recess.

Me: Maybe you will get moved to the island.

Him: I will not get moved to the island because I only have WIGGLY FEET!

Me: Ain't' that the truth!

I am so thankful we have parent-teacher conferences today to hear the rest of the story....

Smashing Pumpkins

We woke up Saturday morning to pumpkins smashed all up and down our street. For blocks and blocks there were smashed jack-o-lanterns. It has happened to us in the past so I wasn't so surprised. Abe, on the other hand, was devastated. I used it as one of those teaching moments. I told him that when he was a teen-ager he needed to remember how it feels to be a little kid and have your hours-long art project smashed on the sidewalk in front of your home. To remember how sad his little heart feels at this moment. Then I had a thought. I am so glad I didn't steal a political sign and stick in my brothers yard like I had wanted to do. I would be just as guilty as those pumpkin smashers.

In other devastating news....
For a very long time I wanted the Barista coffee pot at Starbucks. When Randy finally bought it for me I was thrilled. That coffee pot helped us through many a late night projects at our house. Saturday night - it died. So sad. I loved that big old industrial looking hunk of metal. The coffee was delish and always hot. Now I have a little dainty thing on my counter.

In other news-
Big election tomorrow. Please, exercise your right to vote. You CAN make a difference.

Trick Or Treat!

child labor

Randy taught our kids all the important things in life. Stuff like riding a bike without training wheels, tying shoelaces, counting to 10 in Spanish, driving a stick shift. Oh! and painting!

Good Grief Charlie Brown!

Him: Did they have the "Great Pumpkin" on TV when you were little?
Me: Yes.
Him: Did you watch it?
Me: Yes I did.
Him: Was it the same one?
Me: Yes it was.
Him: No. What I mean is was it different?
Me: No. It was the same.
Him: No. You don't know what I mean. Was it a different Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin when you were my age?
Me: It was the same one we are watching together right now.
Him: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! You didn't watch this exact same one when you were a kid!
Me: I did. The exact same one. We are watching the one and only Great Pumpkin.
Him: Ok. Now what about Charlie Brown Christmas? Is that a remake?

plop plop fizz fizz

Sore throat. Runny nose. Achy. It's official. I have my first head cold of the season. Abe has it, too. Not sure who had it first but at this point it doesn't really matter.

On another note - for some reason when Abe went to his piano lesson he wore my crocks. My Mary Jane crocks.

And tomorrow I am wearing his Converse hightops.

dancing queen

We went out with old friends this weekend. Our lives have all changed so much and are so different than each others but it was like no time at all had passed. We danced to a live band. Played pool. We laughed so hard! And now Randy is all plugged up because of the cigarette smoke. Me? I'm ready to do it all over again this Saturday.

Anyone game?

Wuz Up? An update from Ms. Cranky Pants

My week seems busy but I'm not sure with what. Of course, there is always the Grocery Game on Sunday and because that wasn't torturous enough I went back to the grocery store yesterday. 10 boxes of free Green Giant frozen veggies and a free Nestle Chocolate Milk, thankyouverymuch.

It's cold and raining and I hate it. I hate being cold when I crawl out of bed. I hate being cold when I go outside. The bummer is it is only October and I have about 5 more months of this staring me straight in the face. Ba Humbug!

I voted early. No changing my mind now! There is so much buzz about this election. Always something new to greet me when I watch the news. The new wardrobe. Record fund raising. Lots of negative campaigning. The bright side - I have been loving SNL again. Anywho, can't get any worse than it is now. I probably shouldn't even say that out loud, should I?

Our little local Halloween Parade is tonight. I think we will skip it. It is too cold and too wet. Actually - it reminds me exactly of Halloween nights when we were kids. With those wet soggy pillowcases full of popcorn balls and caramel apples. It was always freezing back then - that was before global warming.

Randy has been working his tail off to pay cash for our portion of Annie's college. The college she doesn't like so much now. Eight weeks into her college education she is ready for a change. They told us at parents day this would happen but I always think they are talking about other families when they say that stuff. For the LOVE! I have been parenting for almost 22 years now. When will I ever learn?

hours of fun

Check it out!

Mamma has a brand new blog!

www.evyssong.blogspot.com

He makes MY cheeks hurt

One of the sticky points in parenting is trying to decide which extra curricular activities to put your kids in and then when to let them quit. It's not always cut and dry. We have to consider finances, time. natural ability. We tried to let our kids experience a lot of different things and then let THEM decide. However, they had no choice when it came to learning an instrument and learning to swim. Those were MY house rules. Swimming and music. That is where I became one of "those" parents who crammed my dreams down my kids throat. And I would do it again and again and I would recommend it to all parents. Not cramming your dreams but promoting an instrument and swimming!

I can justify the time and the expense because it will improve his math skills AND we have a very expensive keyboard that was Annie's when she was the up and coming Mozart (she still is). Somebody may as well be using it. I can only play Stairway to Heaven so many times before I get sick of it.

I could tell after 2 lessons that Abe had a natural ability. He also has a really great piano teacher who knows how to get the kids hooked. He is currently playing Star Wars and almost has the entire piece memorized (level 1A but still....) When I picked him up from his lesson yesterday he said he loves playing the piano more than anything. In fact - he can't stop smiling when he is playing. He even plays Star Wars air piano.

His exact words to me:

"I smiled so much at my piano lesson that my cheeks won't stop hurting!"

Baby Xia

I became a Great Aunt over the weekend. Randy's niece had a baby girl and that makes him Great Uncle Randy me a Great Aunt Stephie.

It seems like Lindsey was just a baby. The strange thing about life is while you are busy growing your own kids - the others all grow up, too!

no brainer

I am the most horrible test taker you have ever met. I get sick. I get emotional. I cry. It all started in the second grade when I sat beside a girl who I thought was way smarter than me (where did I come up with this as a 7 year old??) In the fourth grade I cried during a math test because I just did not know what to do. I eventually stopped crying but the test anxiety never did get any better.

Fast forward several decades. That accounting test last month completely stressed me out. It was 40 questions. multiple choice. Why are there "all of the above" or "none of the above" choices? I can hardly handle that. Are those always the right answer or are they trick answers? In addition to the test in class we had 5 "problems" that we had to take home and do.

So this week we had the choice between a 15 page comprehensive problem OR the multiple choice test (26 questions this time) and a take home portion.

What did I choose? You got it! The 15 page, 6 hours of homework, comprehensive problem. I was surprised that I was the only one who chose the problem! In fact, all those little kids thought I had lost my mind. I can't believe that I am the only nervous test taker out there. Am I? Am I????

because she won't accept me on facebook

http://twocollegeroommates.blogspot.com/

a laugh a minute

Yea!! We finally figured out that Abe is going to be a clown for Halloween. Sorry for the bad picture. It was on my cell phone and it was really dark when I took it. Abe took the wig out of the package and pulled it out of the hairnet and then put the HAIRNET on his head. Then he announced that if he decided not to be Bozo he could be a lunch lady instead!

really?

I like to say that I wish the girls were small again - but really I am glad they aren't.
I like to think that I raised them to be responsible and careful and gave them advice and a little wisdom to help them avoid some pitfalls along the way- but really in the end it is all about their personal choices and not so much about me.
I like to think that I am an encourager - but really I am more of a Debbie Downer.
I like to think that my life would have turned out easier had I went to college - but really I know plenty of graduates who don't have it any easier than me.
I like to think that I am eating healthy and will feel 100% soon - but really I think that was way wishful thinking.
I like to think that we are raising Abe to be a gentleman that will grow up and be a good provider and the best daddy and husband - but really we spoil him rotten. Hopefully, he will be all those things in spite of us.
I like to think that when I get my nails done they will last more than 24 hours - but really they won't.
I like to think that to government will get it's act together - but really both candidates are what they are. Politicians.
I like to think that I could plant mums in the ground and they would come back next fall - but they won't. I have tried it.
I like to think that the glass if half full - but really I only see half empty.
I like to think that I can pass accounting I -but really I should never have enrolled.
I like to think that tomorrow is a new day and a new chance to have an attitude adjustment - but really how many times do I say this before it will actually happen?

nature or nurture

Me: Why don't you wear your Bullpup Football t-shirt today since there is a game tonight.
Him: OK.
Me: It's homecoming.
Him: I remember when I was in homecoming. Was that like two years ago?
Me: It was four years ago.
Him: WHAT??!!! I was only four years old when I did that? Where does time go? It seems like only two years ago.

A-OK

"I lost my progress report that they handed out today at school. But don't worry, mom. It said there weren't any concerns at this time."

Happy Birthday Chadder Box!

It is my baby brothers birthday today. Here are a few things I remember about when he was born, so very long ago.

• I was in the second grade.
• I went to the lumber yard, in the next town, with my Grandpa. The entire drive there I kept thinking that I would never forget where I was when the baby was born. And I was right.
• When my dad came and told us we had another "little Talmage" the big Talmage cried and cried.
• He was supposed to be a baby sister. Her name was Carrie.
• While my mom was still in the hospital my day moved my bedroom from upstairs into the basement. I loved it until I had to sleep down there. Not long after - he moved me back upstairs.
• While I was staying at my Grandparents I had a sore neck. My Grandma had to leave work to come and pick me from school early. These days they would say that I was struggling with the adjustment of a new baby in the family. Back then there was no "label." Just a stiff neck.

Some facts about him:

• He had such blonde curly hair that my mom dressed him up in a dress to see if she could pass for a girl! And we wonder why he has issues.
• We had to stop at the ER in Texas on our way to Disney World because he was having an asthma attack.
• He was lost at Bush Gardens.
• He was always sick. He was the only one of us kids who had their own special Doctor (a pediatrician) because of all of his ailments.
• He took the doors off the kitchen cabinets.
• He did everything that his older brother did.
• We always spent the night at Grandma's on New Years Eve and we would tell him, "See you next year!" and he would go and cry to Grandma and we would get in trouble. EVERY YEAR!
• He was Abe's age when Randy and I started dating.
• He was the candlelighter at my wedding. He was in the fifth grade.
• He had a mullet in highschool.
• He had a mullet in college.
• He plays the drums. and guitar. and upright bass.
• He has Celiacs, too.
• He is a terrfic brother, brother-in-law and uncle!
• He has a great wife and four beautiful kids (I told you he did everything his brother does)

Happy Birthday Little Brother! I wouldn't trade you for anything now. Even a sister!

the million dollar question

A few weeks ago Abe decided on his Halloween costume. Obi Wan Kenobi. I thought that was perfect. Since then, he has been dying to go to Target to get it. Last weekend when we went to grab it I could not get myself to spend the $39.00!!!! I made the decision that we will have to find it on E-Bay.

A week later I am getting very nervous. The costumes that he wants are going for over fifty bucks PLUS shipping. Annie reminded me that her and Abby NEVER EVER had a store bought costume for Halloween. She wore Randy's painter overalls and carried a paint bucket for her candy and for several years (as long as it fit - she tells me) she wore my highschool cheerleading outfit.

What are the chances that Abe will agree that it would be cool to be a yell leader in a skirt and sweater?

tum tum tum tum TUMS!

A little bit of history to catch you up on.

First - Abe has recently realized that he was the only third grader that he knows that is still in a car seat. When we were at the state fair, the State Trooper did inform us that, legally, Abe can officially be out of the car seat. However, it would be safer for him to still use one. So, we have made the agreement with him that as long as we are in town he can just buckle up and when we leave the city limits he will buckle up in his booster seat. So now the carseat is in the back of the blazer. Hidden under a blanket.

Next - When Annie went off to college we loaded her up with anything she may possibly need from our medicine cabinet. Last weekend she informed us that she was not so happy with the flavor of tums that I had gotten her and next time could I please get her a better flavor and NOT Lemon Lime.

And finally - you all know about the grocery game purchases. I have been buying a little more than I normally do. What is ironic is that I have about 10 Tums coupons AND tums were on closeout - however, I could never find them.

....and now, the rest of the story.

Annie is home for a long weekend. We all climbed into the Blazer to go for coffee Saturday evening. Abe and I wanted to walk downtown but Annie thinks all she does is walk on campus. I'm glad we didn't because I would have missed out on this conversation.

Annie: Abe, why is your carseat in the backseat? I thought you didn't use it anymore.
Abe: I don't. Mom had to have the back empty for when she went and bought all those tums yesterday.
Annie in complete shock : Tums? Mom bought so many tums that she had to empty the back of the blazer? I wonder if she thought I bought a pallet full of tums because I had coupons.
Abe: Yes. She bought all those big flowers for fall. She showed them to you. All those tums!
Annie: You mean MUMS?

Sorry Annie. You are still stuck with those Lemon Lime Tums.

I would be in my highschool cheerleading outfit if it fit

A week before I was going to start college I was offered a job that I had applied for earlier in the summer. Randy's mom was terminal. I was nervous about college. I was offered a job that I would get paid a big paycheck. 40 hours a week at minimum wage. Yippee! It seemed silly for me to turn down a perfectly fine job to go to college. I should just start the real world right away. We would get married and live happily ever after. The end.

Kinda sorta. We are getting ready to celebrate 25 glorious years and am sure there are 25 more ahead of us. However, we have worked our tails off to get this far. I was a stay at home mom when the girls were small but for the past 16 years I worked part-time or full-time ever since.

Randy has worked two jobs most of our married life. Hard work has never hurt us and we have three beautiful children (2 in college!) and a nice home. But....had we had a college education I think our challenge would have not been so uphill. We would have had more opportunities. More choices.

That is why I have been telling my girls from birth that they WILL go to college. They WILL get that degree. No matter what they choose to do afterwards, they will have more opportunities. More choices. I'm not saying that it is cheap. Or easy. I know it is expensive. An investment, I always say. I know it is so much work. That accounting class about does me in.

Annie reminds me not to support failure. So I am trying to be an encourager and motivator for both of my smart, successful, beautiful girls. When you are 18 and 21 and you have around 50-60 years ahead of you that seems like a long time. This is your season to work hard and invest in your future. You both are beautiful and smart and well adjusted and healthy. Set your goal and work towards the prize.

While you read those text books and while you type those papers and while you paper mache that cylinder and speak Greek, please smile, and think of me (use your nice words). You will need important things like medical insurance and a retirement plan. If you happen to have a skill where you can get jobs that offer those benefits that is great. But those are getting harder and harder to find. With your work ethic and your diploma - the sky is the limit.

I love you both. You are both doing great! I am proud of each of you and so very proud to be your mom.

GO TEAM!

somewhere in the middle

Signs of middle age.

When your boss asks you for a current 3 year loss run and you remember not so long ago you did that. Not so long ago was August. of 2007.

When you are are finally starting to feel OK about what you have saved for retirement and then the stock market takes a hit. And then another. And then another. And then you are thankful you have a good 20 more years of work before you need it.

When you have to ask your 8 year old to read the baking instructions off of the package because you don't have your glasses near. And then your husband offers to read it and he can't see it either. AND he has has his glasses on!

When you are on a soapbox about the value of higher education. You would beg, borrow or steal to get your kids that diploma. And then they are the ones who will have to carry that extra financial burden. And you just want them to have a comfortable middle class life. Are we even entitled to comfort? Another blog - that's for sure.

When, for the first time, you realize that with the changing of the guards, there will be lots of changes. For our country. For us. For our kids. maybe for the entire world. For sure.

When we realize if we want to make a career change it is now or never. More on this later.

When you have 12 extra rolls of paper towels and 24 bars of random bath soap stashed under your bed. And then your bedroom smells just like your Grandma's did. Only you aren't THAT old just yet. You are really somewhere between young & hip and old with bad hips.

You would be like me. I am somewhere in the middle.

one day he will thank us

Abe has been anxiously awaiting Lego Batman for his Wii. He has been counting down the days and been begging to go to Wal-Mart. He has also been begging to wash baseboards. Scrub down walls. Scrub the toilet with a toothbrush (just kidding on this one) fold laundry. Pick up dog pooh outside. Anything. Anything to earn a buck. So today, while we were standing in the game aisle he dropped the question.

"Mom! Will you PLEASE buy Batman for me and I can work it off???? PLEASE!!???"

Honestly, I would love to just get it for him. Then I remember the balance, actually lack thereof, in my checkbook.

I have a wonderful idea. Let's call Dad!

Sobering news. Dad has also seen our checkbook and so he told the little guy he could buy it after he had earned the money to pay for it himself. ALL the money. When he had cash in hand, then he could have it.

For the next 20 minutes in Wal-Mart I heard this:

"I will have to work 10 HOURS to earn enough money." longer - you forgot sales tax.
"You and dad are so lucky. You make so much money you can just buy anything you want." Exactly. Milk. Cereal. Karate. Health insurance. Piano. Do you think I ENJOY the grocery game?
"I only make $5 an hour!" When I was your age I walked uphill, in the snow, to school. BOTH WAYS! AND we didn't get paid for squat.
"Why can't I just go to the bank and get the money?" Where have you been! I am going to require you to watch 1 hour of CNN a day!

This evening, while I was at class, Randy took Abe to get some work done. When I got home I asked Randy how many hours Abe clocked. He said he actually worked about 30 minutes but he told Randy to put him down for 2 hours.

Wasn't it just yesterday that he told me he always tells the truth?

Pants on fire!

As of late, the topic of children telling tales has come up in conversation. I am sure all of my kids went through the stage of "not telling the whole truth" but honestly, I can't remember. I do know I would not have tolerated it and probably stuck a bar of soap in their mouth for an entire day. Annie may remember but I do not because I pass a stage and I forget it. After recently watching a home video of the girls being out of control and my house being a complete wreck I think I know why. My life was pure chaos back then. Now that I am older and have only one child to raise (with candlelight and soft jazz music in the background) - it seems much calmer. We have more one and one time. Good grief! It is ALL one on one time. There is also no sibling rivalry. Nobody to fight with Abe over who gets the silver Lego.

Conflict at our house is almost non existent so I wondered why I don't remember if Abe has lied to me. I decided to ask him this morning during the 10 minutes it takes him to tie his shoes. He measures the loops and the tails to get them all the exact. same. length. it. is. a. very. tedious. process.

Me: Have you ever told a lie?
Abe: Of course I have- everybody lies at some point in their life. (He is 8 not 88)
Me: Have you ever told ME a lie?
Abe: I am sure I have.
Me: What did you tell me that wasn't true?
Abe: I don't remember (at this point he looks up at me from measuring his shoestrings) but I always tell the truth now, mommy.

hmmm......

Granny's Secret Ingredient.

Every day Abe has homework. So this means that every day we sit beside him to keep him focused company.

After he is finished with math we double check it and may have to say something like, "look at problem 4 again," or "double check problem 2." However, with his reading homework - it is not so black and white.

He has a couple of chapters to read each night and then a few written questions.

Like this:

Question: What happened to the brownies and how did the issue get resolved?

Abe: The boys forgot to put the bacon grease in. How do you spell bacon grease?
Me: Bacon grease?
Abe: YES! How do you spell bacon?
Me: They put bacon grease in the brownies?
Abe: NO! They FORGOT to put bacon grease in. How do you spell bacon?
Me: Are you sure you read that correctly?
Abe: MOM!!!!! It is in chapter 5. Read it yourself. (This reminds me exactly how Abby was when we would work on homework. Very edgy)
Me: I think those would be gross brownies. They put bacon grease like what comes from a pig? Eggs and Bacon? They forgot to put the bacon grease in?
Abe: NO! Not that kind of bacon. Why would they put BACON grease in their brownies?? Bakin' grease like I'm Bakin' a cake.
Me: Like PAM? Like I spray in the pan so the brownies don't stick?
Abe: Yes! Bakin' grease! The boys forgot to put it in the pan and the mom had to dump it all out and put some in so the brownies wouldn't stick after they baked 'em.

I think we have a teeny tiny speech issue or a hearing impediment.

Survivor

A list of things I have survived this week. Needless to say I am sure happy that it is Friday!

• The first full week of Abe's extracurricular activities. That would include, but not be limited to, four afternoons and three evenings of commitments. In addition lots of math homework and reading.
• A KCC (KS Corporation Commission) audit at work.
• My first college exam in many, many years.
• The first weekend that Annie is not coming home from college.

Suave

"Mom! We are out of hair soap."

"You mean shampoo?"

"That is what I said. Hair soap."

Wheel of Fortune

Just so happens last week when I was playing the "grocery game" I saw Lil' Miss Grocery Game winner at the store. So I just tagged along with her for the remainder of the trip. It was then I realized how much more fun (oxymoron) it was shopping with a buddy. The flip side is that she pointed out how many coupons I was missing. Why on earth I had not just thrown in the towel already is beyond me. I sensed a pattern here. I would go with my list and my coupons and somehow not have all my coupons with me. This seemed to be happening week after week. All to save a buck. The strange is that I double checked my list against my coupons and then I had Randy triple check. I am nothing if not consistent.

Sarah tried to keep me motivated by reminding that by this time in the "game" we should have enough money with our coupon savings to purchase a small freezer. If we had saved enough money to purchase a small freezer and if I happened to already own a freezer doesn't that mean one thing? Yep. I could use that savings to buy A NEW PURSE! I guess I wasn't really adding up my savings so much. I was still a tad bitter over that free Crystal Light. (Now would be the time for you to take a moment to pray silently for my attitude. My family deeply appreciates that. Thanks.)

Since last week seemed to go a little better at the store I decided I wanted to do all my shopping with Sarah at my side. Just like Vanna White, she would show me the sausage and ask if I wanted link or patty. When I am alone I can't even find the Tennessee Pride.

I begged and pleaded and she agreed to meet me there. I printed my list, clipped my coupons and we had a "date." She reminded me that I should bring all my coupons as to avoid last weeks missing coupon fiasco. ALL my coupons? They are not cut or filed. In fact, they are a wadded up pile of trash. If I had a cleaning lady she would have thrown them out. Good thing I don't have one of those.

We met in paper goods and I saw her cart. Her black file box all neat and tidy and organized and memorized. Mine? All scrunched up in my fist. I try not to be too hard on myself. I am, after all, taking that accounting class from H.E. double toothpicks and what else does she have to do with her time except stay at home all day and clip and sort and organize and file? That just gave me a brilliant idea! I should give her all MY coupons to clip and sort and organize, too.

Miracle of all miracles, I had all the coupons for the things on my list. The best part was when the cashier gave me my total. An entire cart of groceries rang up to $40. And I saved....
drum roll please....

$62.00!!

short people are people, too

I saw this on Yahoo news this morning.

What boosts happiness as much as money?

This intrigued me so I clicked it to read more.

The answer?

BEING TALL!

probably 'cause I don't have GPS

When Abe started Tae Kwan Do three years ago, I never imagined that it would turn into what it has. It is his "thing" and has turned into 24-7. I may be exaggerating but only a tad. I know plenty of people who put their kids on traveling sports team and I know they spend more time and effort than I ever will but still, for my little world this seems like a lot. blah blah blah. Anyways, he has his thing what is mine?

We were really tempted to keep Abe home from our Wednesday night church for yet another year. Why? Because it is just something else on our calendar. And every time I leave him there I feel the guilt nudge that I should be doing more to help out at Church. I would help with sign in but nobody ever asks me to do something that I would actually enjoy. Nooo. They ask me to wipe noses or heard a bunch of wild kids around. So I cop an attitude and just don't want to be there. I seriously need to go to confession (if we had it) about my bad boy attitude. Why can't I do something fun? Do I have to call and make the announcement, "Hey! It's me Stephanie! Do you have any fun church jobs? You know - like sitting on my butt and checking the kids in? And if possible, can I do it with my friends? "

I can justify just about everything that I have removed myself from. It's not like I'm not doing ANYTHING you know. College class-which involves 6 hours of homework a week and I am not exaggerating this time. I work outside the home. We have laundry (you have that too, you say? The thing is I don't have front loaders) Not to mention the mother of all - this old house (you don't have THAT, I bet!)

Shouldn't I be involved in something that takes the focus off of me? I could be teaching Sunday School? It is so not my thing. Helping in the nursery? Not so much my cup of tea, either. I could be and should be going to an adult Sunday School class. I don't because mostly everybody pretends to have it all together and I get stressed out comparing myself. I know - sue me. That is not what Sunday School is all about but still......right or wrong it's how I feel.
I could be helping with the Habitat house- Randy doesn't even let me know where the hammer is at my own house! I want to have people over to eat and hang out. Build stronger friendships. Why is this so hard?

The olden days of so long ago I actually did stuff and complained. These days I just don't do anything and still complain.

I keep telling myself that I am introvert after all. A guilty introvert in need of getting off her rear and finding some meaningful direction.

If you are a salesman I am your dream.

We went to the state fair last night. There is so much cool stuff for sell there at special State Fair prices, too! Here is my short wish list had my budget (and husband) allowed:

• First, I wanted the Elderberry Juice concentrate - good for what ails you. Eczema, allergies, colds, flu, constipation. Diarrhea, however, did not make that list so I saved myself $15
• I wanted the ring cleaner. It is made in the good ole U.S.A. AND it is all organic so if Abe would accidentally eat or drink it he would be perfectly fine. The lady cleaning my ring said so. Did she honestly think Abe looked like a kid who would sneak into my chemicals to take a whiff? He may if it smells and tastes like oranges and lemons. Well, my wedding ring has never looked so good! So nice and shiny. AND she said my ring was beautiful. So sweet of her! $20 for the combo. For an extra $6 we could get eye glass cleaner for Randy's glasses. This is the kind of stuff I pull out of the back of my bathroom cabinet in ten years and it is all crusty and dried up. So I saved myself one more thing to throw out in my ten year bathroom cabinet clean out.
• I also wanted the huge shower sprayer head. We already have something similar but I think that one was bigger and was way nicer than ours. $90 bucks?? That is exactly the same amount I owe my brother for my computer upgrade. I'm sure he would appreciate payment so I walked away. (BTW - I'm out of check blanks)
• I wanted new mop covers for my mop. Specifically, the one with the scrubbers. $10 for one or I could get three for $20. We'll keep using the non-scrubber version we already own. The scrubbers at our house are called MUSCLES!
• Temper- Pedic mattress. This would be so awesome and my back might stop hurting. I had to pass because our set is only three years old AND this would have set us back $3199.
• I wanted to get Abe one of those space-age-looking cars. That ended when Randy told me they were $400. I thought Grandma should get one for her house and her new big concrete driveway. The kids would fight over that - wouldn't they?
• I was sold on the pellet stove for our basement. Especially because it was cold last night and that fire was so warm and cozy. $2499. How can you put a price on warm and cozy? Apparently, you can because we didn't buy one. So if you are cold when you come to my house in the winter (and you know who you are!) keep your coat and mittens on!
• Coasters for the cup holders in your vehicle! COOL! I actually bought these! $2.99 each.
• Spray that would keep my ceiling fan dust free for 6 months. 6 MONTHS!!!! I'm not sure how much this was because we didn't actually stop to see. I wanted to but Randy promised me he would clean our fans every 6 months for free.

clean air

Him: We need to get prepared for the Pandemic Flu. Do you think we have water bottles and groceries to make it 30 days?

Me: Not sure about the water bottles but thanks to the grocery game we do have air fresheners for atleast three years.

every good boy does fine

I love my little black belt but after 4 hours of taekwondo a week I think we need to balance all that kicking with something - well - something more soothing and calming. Something like piano. I am an equal opportunity parent and because his sisters both have the ability to play I think he should too. You never know how that monetary investment will turn out - but that is another story. SISTERS????

We have pulled out all those vintage Orange Alfred lesson books. Thanks to Abby for being so sentimental about that huge pile of books I had in the trash pile a few short years ago.

Today Abe gets to use them for his very first piano lesson!

genetic speech genes???

I was in speech class when I was in elementary school. Back then - it was a big humiliating deal because the other two kids I was in speech with, were, well, they were "special" and we got stuck in the basement of the school. In the basement with the extra desks and chairs. I had speech in the basement. With the special kids. In the storage room. Probably when the other kids were learning really important things like North and South and East and West. I am not sure if my speech is any better and my directions sure as heck aren't. For example, these days I can't find my way out of a paper bag and I can't tell you my diagnosis unless there is a nurse in the room who can pronounce it for me.

Because I want my child to be smarter than his mother, when we go over spelling words, I have him say them in a sentence as he is writing them down. (someday I hope to learn where to put comma's, too)

Me: Plane.
Him: You like your hamburgers plain.
Me: No. Not that plain the other plane.
Him: You mean like airplane?
Me: YES!
Him: I have never been on a plane. Except when I was a baby and I don't remember. P.L.A.N.E.
Me: Great!

Me: Few
Him: Few! I am glad that plane landed safely.
Me: NO!!! Few - like a couple or a few.
Him: When I got off that plane there were only a few seats left. F.E.W.

Me: Important
Him: It is inportant that I use these words right so you don't get mad. I.N.P.O.R.T.A.N.T.
Me: I am so done.

because he said so

Every weekday morning we have the same routine. Randy gets up at 5:15 and he wakes Abe up and they eat breakfast. After breakfast, Abe comes and gets back in bed with me until my alarm goes off at 7:00. For as long as I can remember when he hops into bed he gives me a kiss and says, "That one is from daddy" and then he gives me another kiss and says, "That one is from me!" Yesterday morning when he hopped up into bed he kissed my forehead and said, "That one is from daddy and I had toast so I didn't want to get any gluten crumbs on your lips."

no Wabash.

First week of college. First college football game as a student in the student section. Season ticket purchased. Worst day of her young life (according to her!)

There were some issues with the season ticket. Apparently, because we are on the installment plan to pay for our tuition and the first installment isn't due until September 9th - the season tickets aren't officially paid for. So Saturday after standing in the WRONG line for an hour and half and then moving over to another line and hearing (after already missing kick off) "no ticket for you because YOUR ACCOUNT IS NOT PAID!" she was not such a happy girly. Have you seen my girl when she is not happy?

She just needed some TLC so she came home to get a break from big bad college. She brought along her new friend. The same friend who gave away HER ticket to one of the other hundred crying kids who were also on the installment plan. And Annie and her hung out the rest of the day.

So sorry you missed the game, honey, but we were glad to see your smiling face! Your impeccable taste in friends has carried right on into college.

going for gold?

classmates

I was excited and nervous for my class reunion. Since I had not seen a lot of these people for 15 years - it was strange to think that we would spend an entire evening hanging out and talking and enjoying it. I thought that we could all keep up with facebook. Umm....I was the only one who has a facebook and some of them HAD NEVER EVEN HEARD OF FACEBOOK!

It was fun to remember (or in my case - not remember) so much from our growing up years. It was also fun to see how much people changed (or didn't) over the years. I think we agreed most of us were the same - only now we dressed like our parents! We laughed so hard and had so much fun that I am glad I didn't miss it. Here are some of the funny things we reminisced over.

The mean girl. I could not believe that we all had endured her in silence all those years.

Why the valedictorian of our class was not in National Honor Society.

We had a very old substitute teacher and one of the boys would pretend to be a cat and rub up against his leg!

Smoke on the Water - our pep band anthem.

Our teachers praying for us before class began.

The way the elementary school smelled.

Our second grade teacher using a bar of soap to wash out a kids mouth in front of the entire class

Shooting beans through a pea shooter at our VBS teacher.

All the drama of all those slumber parties.

My friend and I were going to go out for icecream. In the middle of a school day. We saw our typing teacher driving towards us. Trish ducked so the teacher wouldn't see her and then I ducked. The thing was that I WAS DRIVING!

That right there about sums up my highschool life. Me being the follower even when I should have been in the drivers seat.

Class of '83

This is class reunion weekend for me. I cannot seem to grasp that I have been out of highschool a quarter of a century. No wonder I look and feel the way that I do!

I'm not sure why but I have butterflies...

Maybe I haven't grown up as much as I thought I have.

SOS

Seriously, what was I thinking when I enrolled in this accounting class. I had a momentary lapse of judgement and now I am in way over my head. I will be the first to admit that may not be as smart as I have previously thought.

Be aware that I have actually been doing this in real life for over 13 years, thankyouverymuch, and I have gotten along just fine without knowing the objectivity principle or the going-concern principle or the revenue recognition principle. I've never even heard of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act aka SOX nor has it ever came up.

I have one thing and one thing only to say. YIKES!

And one more thing (because when I have I EVER been known to say one thing) Art History is looking pretty good about now.

anything but

As I walk around my big. old. empty. house I wonder why we need all this space. It really is a constant reminder that there is only 1 monkey left jumping on the bed. We all fit around the pub table in the kitchen so why have that big Mennonite table for 20? We all fit up on the snuggler for TV so why have that basement family room? We never sit in the living room. We only use two bedrooms. We don't really need that 500 square foot attic (however, I did take a 2 1/2 hour nap up there yesterday). So much space and not so many people. We each could camp out on our own floor and even then would have an entire floor to spare. It seems very frivolous to me these days. My house seems empty like my heart.....

As I am trying to grasp the changes that have so quickly been thrown into my lap, my therapist and sister-in-law says that I need to realize that my life now is my new normal. She says that her new normal is life with four kids and my new normal is life with one kid at home.

My new normal is being outnumbered in my house 2 to 1. My new normal is being out of the loop with everything that Annie kept me up to speed on. Clothes. Music. Friends.

My new normal is being the mother of 2 adult daughters and an 8 year old boy. How can that be normal?

Old Lady Cry Baby

How can I miss her when I just left her at college a few hours ago? I am so sad. Why can't I just be tough for once in my life! Why can't I be a big girl because big girls don't cry!!

I may have found my niche

When I went to enroll for the college class, I asked to see the list of my "classmates." How could I forget about FERPA?! Everything is so private these days. So then I kindly asked if she could tell me the ages of the others enrolled. HELLO! FERPA!

Last night - in a class of 9 total - I was old enough to be each one of their mothers. How do I know this for sure, you ask? Because in the introduction icebreaker those little kids were all into announcing their ages. What is up with that? Since when do you describe yourself as "I am Stephen and I am 20?" Oh! When you are 20 (and apparently 25) you do that!

At the break the nice lady (who follows those FERPA rules) who enrolled me asked me if I was the oldest one in the class. I told her DANG RIGHT I AM!

And now I am the new room mom on Thursday nights.

let the insanity begin!

I can't remember a week that has been so full of things to do. My memory isn't what it used to be but still, this week has been stinkin' busy. I have been grocery shopping. College shopping. Purse and shoe hopping and dinner out with a friend. I have walked 3 miles every night this week with Annie. And worked on my class reunion (and the week was only half over) Which reminds me that I haven't laughed so hard as I did yesterday with one of my bestest friends from school. We were supposed to be planning our class reunion picnic but mostly laughed and peed our pants. We got out my old yearbooks and read what she wrote. An entire page of sentences that started out the same, "I will never forget..... and I will always remember....." Of course - most of it has been forgotten!

More news -I am going to take an accounting class. Why not have three college students in the family? Granted, I am the very part-timer. It will only consume every Thursday evening from 6:30 - 9:30 from tonight until December 11th. And then I will take another three hours next semester. All done in anticipation of a big pay raise. That motivated me. However, I will be missing the meet and greet at the elementary school tonight and next Thursday I will be missing the room mom meeting. Yes! I am a room mom because heaven forbid I run out of things to do. So when the opportunity arose I seized it.

I may have missed my chance at college cheerleading and sororities and wet t-shirt contests but I won't be regretting not being a room mom. Three cheers for room moms!