Happy New Year!

I just wante to say that I hope everybody has a very safe and Happy New Year this year. We plan to have a joint party with our neighbors. Kids are coming to our house with two babysitters and the adults are convening over at their house. It doesn't feel like New Years for some reason.

I also wante to let everybody know that I am still alive and well despite the complete lack of posting on my part. I will be back shortly with all the postings that you deserve.

Christmas MeMe

I haven't done a MeMe in quite sometime. But I thought that this one I saw on Kelli's blog was pretty cute.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial - easier.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving weekend. Depends if I am in the mood early or not. Jack's first year, it was up by mid-November.

4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as I can after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but it does not like me.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?Hmm I am sure there are a lot, but right now I remember getting a stuffed Benji dog for Christmas one year that I loved.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother-in-law. Thank goodness I did not draw his name this year.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Jack. I gave him a toy catalog the other day with a highlighter. He highlighted everything in there except for the "girl stuff". Yeah I just need to pick from the millions of things he wants.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail cards. I try to add something personal, but half the time they just get signed.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't really remember.

12. Favorite Christmas movies? I love them all. Frosty, Rudolph, Wonderful Life.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? October. Or I have a list of what to get by Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so. Can't remember.

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? chocolate. cookies. all the stuff that is really bad for me.

16. Favorite Christmas song? Away in the Manger.

17. There was no number 17.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? We have stayed home the last few years and people have traveled to us.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Umm probably if I thought hard enough.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. Santa has to be there first to open presents. Duh.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the hype and commercialization.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? No theme in our house. We have a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

24.Favorite dinner food? For Christmas, I guess it would be ham and all the other traditional food.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? To spend a peaceful holiday with friends and family.

Suicide

I know that is not a pleasant topic, but that is the topic that has been on my mind in the last few days. Not me, but a family member committed suicide a few days ago. My ex-sister-in-law, or to be more exact, my brother's ex-wife. She left behind their 15-year-old son, Chad. Through the years that she and my brother were married, I saw her here and there. I remember going to visit them when Chad was about three months old. Of course, I was in my early 20s at the time and my mothering days would be way off. But to this day, I remember the way she loved that baby. She absolutely adored Chad. And now all these years later, I now know that feeling of loving another human being beyond belief.

Laurie was such a vibrant person. She literally lit up a room when she walked in. She never went anywhere without being fully made up and dressed to a T, which was a stark contrast to me in jeans and t-shirts and no makeup half the time. I usually felt like the ugly duckling sister-in-law next to her. But her personality and vibrance made it seem not so bad.

In March when we had a family reunion here at my house, she was generous enough to bring Chad here when my brother could not or would not for various reasons. I will always be thankful and grateful to her for doing that. For the first time, Jack got to meet his cousin Chad and to this day, Jack talks about cousin Chad almost daily. I also got to reconnect with Laurie and have some good old-fashioned girl talk with her while eating spicy shrimp and crawfish. Fun times.

Two days prior to her suicide, I was online talking to her about the possibility of meeting up with her and Chad in January when we go to Disneyworld. She was looking forward to that meeting. I only wish I knew what was going on in her head between that conversation online and when she decided to end it all. I know she was in pain. She had to be to leave Chad like that. I know that I am one of many who are wondering why and how today. One of many who are thinking and feeling "If Only". Laurie, I hope you are somewhere in peace today.

And if there is anything that I have learned out of all this, is that life is so precious. We must hug our kids a little tighter and tell them we love them that much more. We also must tell our friends and family that they are special to us and let them know how much we love them. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

Rest in peace Laurie. We will love you and miss you always.

Another Victim of the Economy

I just heard that the indoor playland that we used to frequent when Jack was younger is closing up shop because people just are not paying $6 to come and play. I know the owner and she said that people just stopped coming in right after the financial crisis/bailout began. It really is sad because she just moved to a bigger, nicer location. It was painted so very cute and had a ton of fun things to do for the toddler set. But, alas, she is closing at the end of the month. Just another sign of the financial crisis.

In other news, I am once again a true soccer mom. Tonight is the first night of soccer practice for the boy. We are all set with the ball, shin guards, shoes and everything a soccer star needs. Not too sure I am all that thrilled to stand out on a cold soccer field at 6:00 tonight for an hour, but I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do for your kids.

Family Day

We had a great family day today. The weather was absolutely perfect. Here in the deep deep south, we live for this time of year. This is when the weather is a cool 75 degrees, with very little humidity. And this is when all the outdoor festivals take place. Today we went to the Scottish games and Celtic music festival. It is very fitting for both Jim and I go to this event as we are both from Ireland and Scotland. We even had a picture printed out showing our respective coat of arms with our names and marriage date. Very neat. I will have to frame it and put it up.

When we were walking into the fairgrounds and Jack saw the men wearing kilts, which prompted him to yell at the very big and burly men "Those are for girls!". Jim and I just about died with laughter. It was too funny.

We saw real live jousting, which was way cool. We were routing for the Irish guy versus the Scottish guy. They were in full armor with real lances and all. And they both got thrown from their horses, which looked quite painful. The Irish guy looked like he bit his tongue or something cause he had a bunch of blood in his mouth. So we got it all, the blood and gore.

They also had the Irish dancers, which I think are fascinating, people playing bag pipes and you could even buy Haggis for lunch if you wanted. We didn't want to. But I think the favorite part for the boy was the huge bounce houses and slide.

Afterwards, we decided to go to see Madagascar 2, which I say it was Eh, okay, but not as good as the first one. But the boy enjoyed it.

All in all it was a great family day, which is something we don't get very often around here with all the schedule conflicts we constantly encounter.

$1.98 !!!

I just had to announce that I just paid $1.98 per gallon for gas!!! That's right, it only took $25 to fill my gas tank up today. I seriously can not remember the last time I paid under $2.

Now I am not so ticked by going all the way over to get flu shots for Jack and I only to discover they were all out of the kid shots. They said that they ran out of them a couple of days ago. We just got the phone call that the flu shots were in a couple of days ago! Argh. I even had Jack all set to be brave about getting a flu shot and also a little bribe by saying he could have ice cream afterwards if he was brave. So I couldn't deny the boy, who was trying so hard to be brave about getting a shot, his ice cream. I got him a small ice cream cone afterwards. But all was not lost, I did get my flu shot and after my bout with the super bug a few weeks ago, I think I really needed it.

Why I Have Twelve Loads of Laundry Piled Up...

So today, I think I did 8 loads of laundry. Give or take. I think I lost count somewhere after four, but it was a lot. I even cleaned out my sock/underwear drawer. Aren't you proud of me?

But that gets me back to the reason why my husband had to ask me if I could get him some clean underwear out because there were none to be found in his underwear drawer. And that reason is that I realized today that I am crazy busy. I have two part-time jobs and about to start a third one. I work part-time as a bookkeeper while Jack is in school a few mornings a week. I also sell Uppercase Living (really cool product). And I am about to start another bookkeeping job for friends who own a construction company. So three part-time jobs. But wait, not done yet. Me and my big mouth said yes this year to taking over the treasurer job at the church, which is kinda like another part-time job, just not paid. Oh but that's not all, I also donate my time to helping the youth group at church every Sunday night. Oh and to make my life even busier, I signed Jack up for soccer which starts next week with practices every Tuesday night and the games will be every Saturday morning for about three months.

And somewhere in all that, I have to be mother to a very energetic four-year-old, wife, chef, caretaker to five animals, maid, and yes laundry person! I think I just made myself tire. I need to go lie down.

After Election Thoughts

First off I want to say that I am proud of America that we can look past racial issues and elect a black man. I am equally proud that we were thiiiisss close to having a woman in the white house, whether president or vice-president. I think that really does say that we as a collective can look beyond what the person is, but who the person is. Something that America could not do when I was born. We have come a long way.

However, Mr. Obama, simply scares me. I truly believe that our founding fathers were brilliant when they drafted the constitution. And when I hear Mr. Obama say that he wants the Supreme Court to change the constitution to become more "distributive" and spread the wealth, I am scared. Very scared. The constitution is what has made America great since the beginning. It sets us apart. It makes all men equal with the ability to pursuit happiness. It gives us the freedom of speech, religious freedom, and justice and liberty for all. Those words are not just words, they are the foundation to this great country. The American dream is to work hard and pursuit success and happiness. It does not mean that the government automatically grants you financial wealth, it means you have equal opportunity to make something of yourself as everybody else. Mr. Obama wants to take that away from us. He wants to spread our wealth around. He wants to take away the drive to make oneself greater. And to some degree, I am confident, he will get his way. Which brings me back to being scared. Because if he can change the constitution in that regard, what else can change? My freedom to worship my God the way that I want? My freedom to write this blog saying that I am scared? My freedom all together?

We must not forget what the constitution stands for. We have to continue to teach it in schools. Our children must know that our founding fathers wanted this country to be the best in the world. The idea that people governing the people was so completely foreign at that time, it was revolutionary. And we can not lose our freedom. We can not lose our dream. We can not lose America, no matter who the president is.

Hmmm...

**Edited to add that the boy woke up and said that his "room was scary" and that is why he decided to walk through the dark house to the couch in the family room. Hmmm.

So I am up for the third day in a row at the early hour of 5 am. I get up and walk out to the family room and there is Jack sleeping on the couch with his Foo Foo dog and his little blanket. Now I know he went to sleep in his bed, so at some point he got up, grabbed his dog and blanket and went out to the family room couch to sleep. I thought that he had wet the bed, something he never ever does, but no he did not. The weird thing is that he is so afraid of the dark and he must have walked through a very dark house to get to that couch because the night light in the bathroom has been off for the last few days. Hmmm. I guess I will have to ask him why he did that. if he can remember, when he wakes up.

And one last reminder. GO VOTE! Even if you are voting for that other guy. Everybody needs to vote today. If you vote, you can get a free cup of coffee at Starbucks, which I plan to partake in. So go vote and then caffeinate yourself.

Pictures Galore

I dumped a bunch of pictures off my camera, so I thought I would share a few of them with you.

Jack and Molly the crazy dog.

Jack came home the other day with his first official "homework". He was so proud and excited to have "homework". And because this was such a momentous occasion, I had to take pictures. The "homework" was having to write his name a few times on the paper. Below are pictures of the intense concentration of the boy doing his "homework".

We went to the corn maze last weekend keeping up the tradition we started last year. Jack showing the corn.

Which path should we take?

Jack with the "really super duper heavy pumpkin".

Jack and Daddy with pumpkin. Sorry this was not rotated.

Halloween 2008 - I give you Red Power Ranger. Can you feel the power?

More of the power ranger

Jack and his trick-or-treating pals. We had Gabriella (from HS Musical) and the Pink Power Ranger with us last night or also known as Cori and Allison.

One of the cool decorated houses in the neighborhood.

Jack and his girls - holding hands.

After trick or treating, we went to our neighbor's house and met up with more friends from church and their little girl who is Super Girl in the picture.

Halloween was quite the adventure this year. We went out and hit a little over half of the 170 houses in our neighborhood. It lasted about an hour and a half and by the end all three kids had their containers overflowing with candy. At one point, I had to stuff some into my pocket to relieve the pressure from Jack's pumpkin. Anybody need any candy? We got it.

Not so Discombobulated

I am feeling much better these days. I finally got rid of that super bug that loved me so much, it hung around for 5 weeks. My house is clean once again. Last Sunday after church, I told Jim that it was time to bust our butts and get this house in a much more healthy state. Yay no more dust bunnies living in the corners and all spider webs are declared gone, the real ones, not the fake decorations.

How is it that today is Halloween? Of course we are planning to go out trick or treating. Jack has chosen to be the red power ranger. How he knows about power rangers, I do not know, because as far as I know he has never watched that show. But he is going around saying "Power Rangers Jungle Fury." And we did it again. Our neighbor's little girl Allison, chose to be the pink power ranger and Jack chose to be the red power ranger. This follows up from last year of her being batgirl to Jack's batman. We really did not plan for them to dress alike, it just worked out that way again. Anyway, there should be mighty cute pictures coming tomorrow of the two of them.

I also have pictures of our second annual visit to the corn maze last weekend. It was a lot of fun and we made it through the maze with Jack leading us at every turn. I will post those also tomorrow.

In other news, I joined facebook the other day. I was out with some girlfriends on Saturday and they were telling me that I just HAD to join, so I had to look it up. Who knew how fun facebook could be? I have found long lost friends and a few not so long lost. Fun times. Another thing to obsess over on the internet.

Discombobulated

That is how I have been feeling for over a month now. I am STILL fighting the superbug from hell. It is now going on five weeks since I started feeling sick. I have the horrendous cough that is entirely too embarrassing when out in public. Yeah it sounds like I am going to hack up a lung in the very near future. I am also completely and utterly exhausted. I have not felt this tired since Jack was a newborn and you are supposed to feel like crap. Even Jim came down with some crud and was pretty much over it in three days. Wahhh! Not that I don't want him to get over the sickies, I just want to do it too.

Anyway, needless to say life has been feeling a bit discombobulated lately. There are other factors that have led to this feeling.

1. Jim's mother, Grammy C., has been in the hospital for over a week now. She is not doing well and has a lot of problems, with the major one being diagnosed with kidney cancer. She is 86 years old and up until now was going unbelievably strong. But she is not going to have any surgery or any treatment. She is going home to get her "affairs in order" and spend some more time with her family and friends. We support her decision and understand it. But we are going to miss her when that time comes and spend as much time as we can up there.

2. The house is a mess. I mean it is bordering on health hazard right now. I hate the feeling when there is chaos going on in the house. And this house is chaotic right now!

3. What is going on in the world right now. It seems like the world is ending with all this financial mess. I don't know what that means to my family. I think we are pretty safe, but ya never know. And should we cancel our Disney trip in January? We have a good portion saved for the trip, but should we just keep that money? But then the memories and the look on Jack's face on Big Thunder Mountain is priceless.

4. I have been gaining weight during this sickness because I have been doing the bare minimal of going to work, shopping for the bare essentials (toilet paper when we had not one square in the house) and parenting to Jack. In between all of that, I have sat or laid my butt in the family usually moaning to some degree. I have been taking vitamins and eating lots of fruit high in anti-oxidants and C in hopes to actually fight this bug. But when that day comes that I actually feel human again, I will get back to walking the dog, and exercising.

5. Our puppy Molly, has been chewing up the house. She chewed up the ottomon to my rocker. It is ugly now. I don't know if I can reupholster it or not. She also has trashed my furniture after she comes in from outside and has flthy paws from digging up the yard. She then has to jump on every single piece of furniture in the house leaving little muddy paw prints. I just realized that this one has a lot to do with #2 above.

Anyway, it has just been a hard time here in the Jackaroo house. But Jack is the bright spot in all of our lives with his constant singing and the why questions. Love that kid. I just don't know how to tell him that Grammy C is going to die soon. He still brings up Bob, our dog we had to put down in June. He misses him and is asking me why we had to bury his body. He must be thinking about Grammy C's death because he is always asking about people being buried and why we bury them and what happens after they die. All tough questions to answer a four-year-old.

Jack Singing and Being His Four-Year-Old Self

Thoughts and Other Random Tid Bits

I realize that I have not been keeping my blog posting up lately. In fact this entire year has been pretty pathetic in the posting department. Maybe that is just part of the life of a blog. I have been doing this for over four years and that is a long time. I have some online friends that have watched my child and I have watched their children grow from little babies to full-fledged four-year-old kids. Where has the time gone?

I have become a news junkie. In the past week, Fox news has been on just about 24/7. I think this whole financial mess is despicable. I remember "back in the day" people had to have an actual down payment to buy a house, but then it became people didn't need a down payment and could take out 2 or more mortgages on their house. It just baffles me and now we all are suffering because of it.

Another news junkie item is Sarah Palin. I just have to say that I want to be like her when I grow up (even though she and I are very very close in age). She has it going on. She is smart and articulate and very capable in my opinion of being a leader. And I believe the media has done a hatchet job on her and it is entirely not fair. Oh and she has really cool glasses. If I have to wear glasses, I want to wear hers.

Jack has been singing a lot in school. He comes home with these so adorable and cute songs about Jesus and being a Christian. One of the projects I want to do this weekend is get him on video singing some of these songs for ya'll. He also is learning about vowels and consonants. He does get them mixed up and this morning he was out and out fighting me by saying that "L" is a vowel. I kept trying to tell him that it is not a vowel, but a consonant. He actually started to cry as he was trying to convince me otherwise. Just one more reason of the many reasons that I could never home school my child. I am not against homeschooling, but for me and my child - no way in the world would it work.

Superbugs. I am still fighting mine that I have had for the past three weeks that feel like months. I went to the doctor two weeks ago and this perky little doctor told me that I only had a viral infection and I was at the "tail end of it." Um don't think so. I went back to the doctor (not the perky little one) and it turns out that I now have bronchitis and strep throat. Gee is that why I have been feeling like crud barely making it through each day, even though I was at the "tail end of it." I walked out with no less than SEVEN prescriptions.

We are praying for Grammy C. tonight. She is in the hospital suffering from a severe bladder infection and they are running some tests. She is such an inspiration because at 86, she gets around and is better dressed than any of us. I hope that I am as good as her at 66. We just hope she feels better soon. Jack loves to play tea parties with her and at 86, she gets down on the floor and plays cars with him. Feel better soon Grammy!

Why Mom Why?

Jack's brain is constantly working these days. The questions are coming fast and furious and they have no rhyme or reason. He just comes out with the why questions and I have to admit that they are sometimes tough to answer.

Here are just a few of the why questions that he has asked in the last few days:

Why do scissors have handles?

Why do people sneeze?

Why did God made the world?

Why are there vowels? (they are learning their vowels at school right now)

Why does Grammy and Papa have a basement and we do not?

Why did the hurricane not break our windows? (he is quite concerned about hurricanes and other storms ever since we had to board up)

Why is the sun so bright?

Seriously ya'll they never stop. I love the fact that he is trying to figure out the world around him. But I do need a break every now and then. That is when I am very thankful for the DVD player in the car.

A Week Later

Yes I realize that it has been over a week since I posted anything. This superbug that I somehow caught has put me in just survival mode for almost two weeks. I have been doing what I absolutely have to do like taking Jack to school and back and basic mothering tasks and other must-do tasks. But anything beyond the must do, well that just hasn't been happening. Today is the first day that I actually feel like I might survive this thing. I did go to the doctor last Friday and was told "it is just a viral thing, can't help ya, but here is some knock-out cough medicine for ya".

Anyway, I think I might be back with land of the living very soon. We have big plans this weekend by going to see Bill Cosby in concert at one of the casinos in Biloxi. It is an actual date night thing for Jim and I! Wow!

I also want to share with you the Jackism that happened last night. As most of you know, I let Jack sleep with me when Jim is on duty. I like it that he is right there with me in case anything happens and it is a special thing for us that I know won't last forever. So last night, he was in a very loving mood. Sometime in the middle of the night, he woke up and gave me a big hug and said "I love you Mom". Yes my heart melted. Then he was laying there thinking about something. And this conversation proceeded:

Him: "Mom?"
Me: "Yes Baby?"
Him: " Why are computers so heavy?"
Me: HUH? WHAT?

What goes on in that brain for him to ask such a question after midnight? I tell ya, his brain is working overtime all the time!

Start Early These Days

So yesterday Jack came home from school (preschool K4 for those not playing at home) and told me that his friend Tanner has a girlfriend! This is how the conversation went:

Me: that is nice that he has a friend that is a girl

Jack: no Mom he has a girrrlllfriend. You know.

Me: how do you know this?

Jack: he told me and her name is Kara and she is his girrrlllfffrriiieend.

Me: (slightly freaking out) you don't have a girlfriend do you?

Jack: no! girl pooties (his word for cooties)

So there you have it my son's four-year-old friend has a girlfriend! Now this is the child that is in trouble everyday and had so many spankings in the Principal's office last year that his Mom lost count. He is also the kid that more than one mother requested their child NOT to be in the class with him this year. I am kinda rethinking my decision to give the kid a break and let Jack be in the same class.

He is definitely the class leader and the "bad influence" (at FOUR). Jack's teacher talked to me last week about Jack pushing another K3 child on the playground and then laughing about it. That is all Tanner and his teacher told me as much. Mrs. Nix (Jacks teacher from last year) was on the playground at the same time and said she could not believe that Jack did that and it was the influence from Tanner who told him to do it. Of course, we had a long talk about nice boys and playing nice and if I hear he does that again, he will be in time-out with NO toys for a very long time.

Ugh, who knew that Junior High playground antics started in Preschool! Geesh!

In other news, I seem to have caught some super-bug or something. I was down for the count most of the weekend, even on Jim's birthday on Saturday. We ended up doing nothing for his birthday because I was pretty much comatose that day. The super-bug has now travelled down into my chest and this morning, I do believe I coughed up a lung or two. Fun stuff.

Yeah and I can probably blame the preschool for the super-bug also!

Feeling the Effects

We are hundreds of miles away from Galvaston, however we are definitely feeling the effects of Ike. The above picture was taken this morning at the Gulfport pier that was severly damaged in Gustav and now from Ike. It is amazing that we are feeling such heavy effects being so far away. The beach road is closed and the wind is enough to blow your head off. Forget having a good hair day in this wind. I feel bad for Texas and hope that the people who are being told they face "certain death" actually heed the warnings and get out of there. I have seen what the storm surge from Katrina did here and they need to know that storm surges are downright deadly.

I hope everybody says an extra little prayer for all those in harms way from Ike. I know that I will sure breath a sigh of relief when November 30th comes around (the end of hurricane season).

Too Much Fun

I think the boy had too much fun/candy/cake/heat yesterday at the birthday party. They brought the Tumble Buggy to the party, which is an old school bus where they have taken out all of the seats and replaced with all kinds of jumping and bouncy things. If you watch Jon and Kate plus 8 they had the Tumble Buggy at their house for one episode. Anyway, it was so hot for the kids because the people said that the air conditioning was not working that well inside the bus and when all the kids came off that bus, they all had red faces and sweat pouring off of them. But everyone of them said it was fun.

So that brings me to last night around 1 am and Jack woke me up with the words "Mom I just threw up". He was sleeping in my bed with me. So I turn on the light and sure enough all of his pillow and sheet and his pajamas. So I strip the bed of sheets and put on the other sheets, strip him and put on new pajamas. He said he was feeling better and so we went back to sleep. About 20 minutes later, I hear that wonderful gagging sound and this time it got all over everywhere. So since that was the only other sheets I have for our bed, I stripped the bed yet again and went to wash the sheets. I put Jack on the couch with Thomas playing on the tv and we were then up for the next couple of hours with him sitting there with a bucket. Fun times.

So needless to say, the boy won't be going to school today. And the way it looks, he might get to go tomorrow and MAYBE Wednesday, but we will probably be evacuating on Thursday AGAIN. I found a cool model prediction online here that shows the eye landing just about where Gustav landed (those poor people in Louisiana) however it looks like it will be a much bigger storm and we will be on the "bad side" of it again and well it isn't looking good for us. Even More Fun Times.

Busy Sunday and More Talk of Hurricanes

We are super busy today, so I thought I would get on here and tell ya about it all in between events of the day.

We went to church this morning and everybody is talking about the possibility of Ike. They even had the sand bags out front of the church left over from last week's storm.

In a few minutes, we will be leaving to go to a birthday party for our friend's three-year-old girl, where lots of candy and sugar will be consumed by the boy. Then we have to leave somewhat early from there to go to a bridal shower for our neighbor who is getting married next month. The shower was actually supposed to be last week, but Gustav pretty much did everyone's plans in last weekend.

Then I also have to leave the shower early and go back to church to help out with the youth group. I signed up to be a youth group leader and that means that my Sunday nights are now taken. Then it will be back home, do a load of laundry (the boy needs clothes for school), get the boy in bed and relax for a few minutes before I go to bed myself. I doubt that I will see Jim at all today as he is sleeping right now and then will be working tonight while Jack and I are off doing our thing.

Thanks for everybody's concern about the hurricane threats. And Evelyn it is great to see you again. I see that you have been watching the hurricane tracking about as much as I do. We are hoping that it will hit over in Texas somewhere and not affect us that much. However, if it does hit to the west of us, we will be on the "bad side" of the hurricane. Until lately, I had no idea that there was a "bad side" to a hurricane, but evidently the northeast of the eye gets hit by the bad winds. Who knew? I tell ya before this hurricane season is over, I will feel like I have earned an education in hurricanes!

Enough Already

Geesh it seems like all I have been posting about is hurricanes and threat of hurricanes. And here we go again. It is looking like Ike is heading toward the Gulf now and could come our way. Seriously, never in my life have I looked at hurricane tracking so closely. I have looked at www.noaa.gov way too many times in the last couple of weeks. I know that it is bad to wish it to go to someplace else, but that is now what I am doing. We need a break ya'll. My poor husband has carried our patio furniture to and from the garage way too many times and it is looking like it will need to be done again. There are people around here who still have their houses boarded up in anticipation for Ike to come our way. Enough already. I really would like to plan something more than a week out without having to say "if the storm doesn't hit us."

Back To Normal

We survived Gustav very well. We had absolutely no damage, except for one tree limb fell down. Jack and I had a mini-vacation at Grammy's and Aunt Ann's and Aunt Carla's, where he was spoiled beyond belief. On Monday, he literally stayed in his pj's all day long. It was a very lazy day for all of us as we watched the weather channel most of the day.

Just a little editorial here on the coverage. I get so irritated with the media because I really do believe that they have absolutely no idea that Mississippi exists. It got to be hilarious after awhile as most of their coverage was in New Orleans where they had like no weather at all. They kept showing the same baby palm tree down about fifty times. However, to the west was where the actual hurricane landed and then to the east where Gulfport is, the guy standing out there could hardly stand up. But they insisted on covering New Orleans. And at one point, they actually said that Gulfport was on "the southeast shore of Louisiana"! Excuse me? I live in Gulfport, MISSISSIPPI! Just a little irritation is all.

Jim had to work Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night for 12 hour shifts. I guess he slept through the whole thing during Monday in the very dark boarded-up bedroom. Also he housed a couple of other cops on his shift to sleep the day away at our house. It is funny, because I have always said that man could sleep through a hurricane and now he has.

We came home yesterday morning, which was probably not the smartest thing I have ever done. When we left, it was drizzling and no weather at all. However, we got almost half way home and we were driving through the WORST weather that I have ever driven through in my life. We were on the interstate and literally inching our way. At one point, I could not see anything at all, very much like a fire hose spraying on the windshield. I decided to pull off and we went to McDonalds to sit it out. I watched a lake form in the next parking lot and the fools driving through the water up to axles. I was contemplating going back to Grammy's house, but heard that they were having severe weather with tornado warnings, so I decided to head south once the rain let up a bit. It was very nice to get back home, which took twice as long as it usually does.

Everything is back to normal today. Jack went to school today and all the businesses are back open today. They moved the tons and tons of sand off the beach road and even that is open again today. Thank God that it wasn't Katrina. But it looks like we aren't out of the woods yet for the year with more tropical storms out there brewing. Even with all the threats of hurricanes, I still love this place and wouldn't move. But it would be better without all the humidity and the stupid love bugs every year at this time of year. Hate those things.

Hatches - Battened Down

Our house is boarded up in anticipation for Gustav. There was a little neighborhood "lets board up the houses" today. It was nice that everybody helped everybody with the job. We went to Lowes this morning and they had the whole system down where you go and pay for the plywood and hurricane clips then drive around and they load it up for you. Pretty cool except for the 30 minute wait in line for the plywood.

It is getting pretty real that this thing is coming, even though the weather is not in the least bad. It was sunny and extremely hot today with the heat index at 99. But as we were eating out tonight, we saw the Army National Guard come to town in their convoy of military humvees and trucks with water, food, and fuel. They are taking this whole thing very seriously. I just hope that it doesn't do the devastation that Katrina did after all the rebuilding process that has gone on around here. The people around here need a break this time.

Jack and I and the dogs are heading up to my mother-in-law's house tomorrow afternoon. We plan to go to church and then head north. Jim has to work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night and possibly more if needed. They are talking about having the guys do 16-18 hour shifts during the crisis. I just hope they keep them safe is all.

I will try to update after tomorrow, but not sure if it will be possible for a few days. Just pray it isn't another Katrina.

It Is Getting Real

This whole hurricane thing coming is getting real now. Because this is the first possible hurricane threat that we have had since we lived here, it seemed a bit surreal at first. But just today, the signs are out there that a real live hurricane just might come.

We went to Petsmart today for the puppy training class for Molly and Petsmart already had their windows all boarded up. And when we came home tonight, we noticed that a few of our neighbors have their windows boarded up already as well. I just wonder if they boarded up and left town early or if they are living in there in like total darkness. How creepy. Jim is going down to Home Depot tomorrow to get plywood for our windows. We decided to just board up our southside of the house, but unfortunately that is the side of the house that is nothing but windows. I think it has two french doors and 6 windows.

So as it stands right now, we will probably leave early early Monday morning to head up to Grammy's house. I hope to not be stuck in traffic for hours and hours. I have heard horror stories about the traffic prior to Katrina hitting.

In the meantime, I will be doing every bit of laundry that I can, packing up all the important papers, and getting me and Jack and dogs packed up. Oh and I also have to clean my house, because if the house is blown away, at least it is clean!

And Again

It looks like we will be going northward to Grammy's house in a few days. It seems that Gustav is coming to town and everybody around here is gearing up for him. Seriously, I just came home from Walmart where it was a zoo. Not only were there about a million people there (give or take a few), but the shelves were bare, especially in the canned food section. And of course everyone was talking about their Katrina stories and what they went through 3 years ago. Hopefully Gustav is not another Katrina. But we will be prepared as Jack and I and the dogs head north. Jim will have to stay behind and do the policing.

Speaking of dogs, good grief! We have spent a small fortune at the vet in the past two weeks. First off, Molly, our new puppy, had to have all her shots and then had a rare form of worms (of course) and the expensive medicine to get rid of it. And today we found out that she has mites and is on antibiotics for the next week. Oh yeah and the heartworm medicine and flea medicine thrown in there for good measure. And then Tosha, my 12-year-old dachshund, decided to get sick also. She has some respiratory infection going on with lots of snot and sneezing going on and yes she is on antibiotics for the next two weeks. Oh and she needed her teeth cleaned because they were super bad and the vet thought that the bacteria from the teeth were what was causing the infection. And the heartworm and flea medicine for her. It is not fair because I don't feel like we have the money for me to go and get my teeth fixed up like they should, but for the dog - sure no problem. Not fair.

So now both dogs are on antibiotics and we are probably going to have to evacuate north. That is basically what is going on around here.

She Did Not Want To See Us

Well I guess Fay just didn't want to come visit us today, instead she swung North and headed up toward my MIL's house. Instead of the massive amounts of rain, we just got the drizzling all day yuckies. From what they are saying, it is supposed to be raining for the next two or three days like this. And I was looking forward to having an excuse to stay home from church and just kinda vegging in front of the tv all day long, something I never get to do. But the boy wants to go to church, so I guess we'll go and get out in the drizzly yuckies.

Here She Comes

First of all, I want to say thank you for all the wonderful comments everybody made in regards to the sad day we had. It was very touching and meant a lot to me. We are getting back to normal, however, Rob's family is never far from my thoughts. President Bush was in town the other day and I thought it was very nice that he spent some time with Leslie and the kids in private. No matter what you think about the man's politics, I do think Bush is a very nice man.

Anyway, now we are looking at Fay coming our way in the next 24 hours or so and from what we have heard it looks like we can expect 10-12" of rain and lots of wind. Jim cleared out the backyard today by putting all the chairs, bbq, bird feeder and what not into the garage. He also made sure we have enough gas for the generator and got all the lanterns and weather radios out. So we are ready for her. This is going to be our first big storm while living in Mississippi, thank goodness it is only a tropical storm and not a full-fledged hurricane. And hopefully this will be it for this hurricane season, although we do still have a couple more months left.

I'll be sure to say hi to Fay for ya when we see her :).

Sad Day

This was a very sad day. Jim and I attended the funeral of a fallen police officer. There were about 1000 people with hundreds of police officers from all over. I have put myself in Rob's wife's place a thousand times over the past few days. By the grace of God, it was not me sitting in the front row looking at her dead husband's casket. She has two children the same ages as Jack and Laura. Her son, Trevor, just didn't get it, I could tell. But that is probably a good thing. How do you tell a five-year-old that his Daddy is never coming home. I also kept thinking that his daughter will never have a father walk her down that aisle on her wedding day. It is just beyond sad. I have no words to describe the emotions of today.

After the funeral, we drove in the funeral procession to the gravesite. Jim and I were in his patrol car with the lights going, just one of hundreds of patrol cars, fire trucks, and ambulances that made its way through the streets of Gulfport. It seemed incredibly surreal as the people lined the road with American flags, signs and were saluting us as we drove through. The fire department had a huge American flag drapped over the ladder that we all drove under. Very surreal.

At the gravesite, they played Taps, had the gun salute, and bagpipes playing Amazing Grace. It was incredible to see all the police officers in their dress uniforms saluting the casket as it went by. And the saddest part of all was at the end when dispatch called out the last call to Rob on the radio. "Gulfport 107 ... Gulfport 107... silence and then "Gulfport all units Officer 107 is now 10-7" which means officer is out of service. The sobs rang out throughout the graveyard. There was one officer who was standing beside us who literally dropped to his knees sobbing. And my husband next to me was sobbing as was I. I have to say that I am so proud of my husband for the job he does. It scares the crap out of me everytime he walks out of this house in uniform, but I am so incredibly proud of him. He chooses to put himself in danger every night to help all of us. And I know that every single wife there today felt the same way about her husband and also thanking God that we have our husbands tonight, while Leslie does not.

This is one day that will live with me forever and I hope and pray that I never have to relive another policeman funeral, especially my own policeman

A Little Bit of Humor

I thought that I would share with you a little Jack funny he made this morning, which is something that we needed (especially Jim).

We have decided that we are going to buy Jack one of those battery-powered cars or four-wheeler that he can ride around in our cul-de-sac. Jim was showing him the different ones available online this morning and was trying to steer the boy toward the four-wheeler instead of the car because he won't outgrow it quite as fast. But Jack in all his four-year-old wisdom said that he wanted the Mustang because "it has horse power and can go really fast"! Hehe get it - mustang ... horse power. He is a hoot that one.

If you are the praying kind...

just say a prayer for Lt. Rob Curry's family. He is the police officer who died yesterday in the line of duty. Here is a link to the story. He was on his motorcycle and was hit by a woman trying to turn left by crossing three lanes of traffic. She said she didn't see him and was quite hysterical at the accident scene, so say a prayer for her also as I am sure this is devastating to her as well. Rob's wife, Leslie, is also a police Lt. and has given us many clothes for Jack that her son has outgrown. I feel so bad for her and can't even imagine the pain that she is going through right now and their two children. The entire Gulfport police force and community are very shaken up by this death and is the second police officer to die in two weeks. Again, I just pray everyday that I never receive that phone call. Just something you live with when you love a cop.

Ramblings

Wow three posts in one day. A record for this year I do believe.

These past two weeks have been very drama-filled. Laura went back to California last Wednesday. It was very sad to see her go. After all the drama surrounding her request to stay here and her mother's response, it was a let down to say the least. We are being forced to pursuit legal recourse and maybe having to go to California to appear in court soon.

It also has been a very sad time for Jim. One of his fellow police officers was on vacation in North Carolina and was shot and murdered in a motel parking lot. It turns out that two teenagers came up to rob him and he identified himself as a police officer and they shot him on the spot, probably because he was a cop. As Jim said, they are probably being heralded as heroes because they killed a cop. It makes me very sad, nervous, and angry that there is a portion of the population out there who want my husband dead just because he is a cop. His funeral was last weekend and it was a huge thing here because he was also in the Air Force reserves and he received a full military funeral and the entire police force was there as well. Very very sad.

And then we just learned another one of Jim's fellow police officers was killed today in an accident. I don't know the details, whether it was while on duty or not, but it is so sad. His wife is also a police officer and they had two children aged 5 and 11. In fact, she is the one who gave us so many clothes for Jack. I can't even imagine going on with life after that. As soon as I heard about it, I started to cry for her and her children.

With all of this, it makes you appreciate the ones you have around you. I also have to pray that I never get that phone call. It is a prayer that I say everyday he walks out the door in uniform.

New Addition

Well we went and did it almost two weeks ago. We went to the Humane Society and picked out a new puppy to bring home to the already chaotic household that we have. She is a golden retriever/lab/shephard mix - basically a mutt. She has already doubled in size from the picture above. Her name is Molly and it is fun to see Jack playing with her. However because she is not yet four-months old, she is your usual puppy. I think we are up to four pairs of shoes lost because of her chewing and she still does not know that she needs to go outside to do her poopy business. But all in all, she is a good dog and it will be fun for Jack to have a dog he can grow up with and play with.

First Day of School

It is that time of year again - School!! Today was Jack's first day back at school in K4. It was funny to see all the parents today with their cameras taking their kids into school. I have been hyping today up for the past few days, but in reality Jack acted like it was just another day at school - no big deal. He has a new teacher this year named Miss Wiest and a new classroom. The school is actually having a new building being built and was supposed to be done before today, but they are now saying by Christmas time. It sure is looking nice and I am looking forward to the new classroom.

When I picked him up today, I asked him what they did and what they talked about and his response was the same as always "we did nothing and talked about nothing". Same old same old.

K4 First Day of School - August 14, 2008

And for a comparison, below is the first day of school last year. It is fun to see the changes as he grows older.

Saga Continues

First off - Happy August! How is it August already? School is starting in less than 2 weeks for Jack (shall we all say hallelujah).

Well the saga continues with Laura. Laura's mother came down with her verdict on high and decided that "it is the best interest of Laura not to be in Mississippi". Laura is very upset and has been crying for the past two days. At this time, we are going to have to seek a lawyer in California to protect ourselves because we have heard from somebody that Dina is going to sue us to stop all visitation. I am sure she has no legal leg to stand on, but the thought has put total anger and fear into both Jim and I. Dina has also cut off all communication with us and Laura at this time. She will not answer her phone nor emails. She has told Laura that we have "brainwashed" her and therefore can not talk to her until she gets home, I guess to "reprogram" her.

Anyway, it has been extremely stressful and upsetting all around. I am so weary of it all that I don't have anything left to say on the subjet. This whole thing is going to get so ugly and we are probably in for a huge fight. So tiring, frustrating, and unfair.

Ranting

Slowly but surely, I am getting over being fried from our day at the waterpark. I still can not believe how sunburnt I did get after applying 50 block sunscreen three times! Jack is nursing a good sunburn on his shoulders, which he whines mightly about quite often.

We are still in the middle of drama in the Jackaroo house. Laura's mother is enjoying playing with all of our emotions, but especially Laura's, by not making a decision whether Laura can stay here. I have a feeling that she will drag it out until the night before Laura was scheduled to go back and putting all of us through the wringer. Laura is so torn up inside because she really does want to stay here and go to the same school as Jack. But her mother keeps coming up with new reasons why this place is a horrible place. The list is quite long, which includes, she will get fat (her mother tells her she is fat all the time and does not let her eat anything but salads), I will turn into an evil step-monster and eat her while she sleeps, Mississippi is a horrible, humid place that nobody wants to live in, her entire "lifestyle" will change, her father works (doesn't most fathers?), this decision will be a huge mistake that will forever scar Laura in irrevocable ways.

I am so tired of this mess. I really do want Laura to stay. She is a joy to have around. But I am tired of having Laura's mother having control over MY life as she has for the last 6 years. Even my wedding plans to Jim had to be scrapped and we ended up going to Vegas because of her. And here she is again toying with us. It is very similar to the way a cat plays with a mouse - very cruel. Every time we press her for an answer, she comes up with some other BS, the last being she wanted 10 reasons from both Jim and Laura why Laura should stay here. Then there was the time she wanted info on the school and she was going to talk to Laura's teachers to see if they "approve" of the school, even though it is a top-rated private school. Of course they both emailed their reasons off to her two days ago with no response. Jim has tried to call her about 20 times and she does not answer her phone. Again, she holds all the cards and I am sick sick sick of it.

As it stands now, if she says no, we will have to send a very angry Laura back to her mother on Wednesday. At that point, we will probably have to spend thousands of dollars to pursue custody through the court. We have researched and the judge many times takes the wishes of the child at Laura's age into consideration. But it will take time and it will get ugly, not to mention having to cash in our retirement savings.

I know that you should never hate a person, but with Laura's mother, she is at the top of the list if I did hate somebody. I thought that moving 2000 miles away would help, but it is now looking like I need to wait another 6 years until Laura is 18 before she is out of my life. But then I am sure even then, she will find a way to push her nose into my life. Ugh!

Fried

Laura, Jack and I went to the waterpark today. We went with my friend Jennifer and her sons Kyle and Josh. And we picked the day that had the highest UV rating of the year and the hottest with temps over 100. I walked away from the place after five hours a fried lobster, despite the fact that I applied sunscreen three times! Of course, my two naturally tanned and bronze kids did not burn nearly as bad as I did.

Anyway, this year, Jack is finally tall enough to ride some of the bigger slides. He was so scared walking up the steps to the roller coaster slide and was practically begging me not to go on the thing, but I knew he would love it once he got on it. And of course he did. I think his exact expression after splashing down the slide was "That was Totally Awesome!" and we had to do it again.

But it was a fun day for all. But I really don't need to be in the sun again for awhile.

Big News ... Almost Official

It has been quite a couple of weeks around here at the Jackaroo House.

So Laura is here for her usual summer visit. I love having her here because she is such a great stepdaughter and Jack practically worships his Sissy. It also is pretty nice having a built-in babysitter! She fits into the family so well that when she is here, it feels like she has always been here. And when she is not here, it does feel like something is missing.

Well I guess she had been thinking a lot and one day she just said that she might want to stay here and live here! Of course, Jim and I were very cautious as she said that same thing last year, only to go back to her mother's. But this year seemed different and I told her to think about it and see if it is really what she wants to do. Well after about a week of her agonizing over the decision (she even wrote down 50 pro and con things on the advice of somebody), she told her mother that she wanted to stay and go to school here.

Of course, her mother (wicked witch of the west) went into a tirade about how bad this place is for her (we eat bad food like ice cream, she will get fat) and how I am going to turn into the evil step mother. Her mother told her that she is making a bad decision and she will regret it. Of course her mother thinks that this place is a "hostile environment" for Laura to be in. There no mention of the fact that we offer a family unit and stability, something that she doesn't get from her mother.

Anyway, to make a long story short, it is looking like we will be registering Laura in school tomorrow. She will be going to Jack's school, a private christian academy. She seems very happy with her decision and already has a ton of friends around here. In fact last night, she went to a teen night thing that her friend Lanie goes to. In fact, the only reason I let her go is because I know Lanie's mother is very protective and if she thinks it is okay, then it must be okay for Laura to go. Anyway, I was waiting up until 10:30 for her to be brought home by Lanie's mother and I felt very much like a true parent of a teenager!

Aye Aye Aye! This should be interesting! We are so thrilled!

Since When Did ...

cell phones become so confusing? Our 2 year contract is up soon with what used to be Cingular Wireless and is now At&T for our cell phones. I did like them when they were Cingular, but since AT&T took over, the customer service has gone down the tubes. So we are now looking for a new company, plan, and phones for Jim and I.

And I have to ask, when did it all become so confusing and expensive! Jim's little flip phone is on its last legs by not being able to keep a charge for more than a day and I really like the new smart phones with the all the new features. So I was looking at the Palm Centro at Sprint, which comes in pink (hehe love it) and think it is a good phone with all kinds of bells and many whistles. But while we were looking at Sprint, I saw the new Instinct, which is not that much more than the Palm phone. Now if money were no object, I would own an iphone by now after playing with Jim's sister's phone for like an hour. It is just that $400 price tag that has turned me off. But the new Instinct is way cool and very close to the iphone and have rethunk my position on the whole cell phone thing.

It is all so confusing and overwhelming with so many plans, companies and a gazillion different phones these days. Another thing that makes me old when I say "back in my day, we did not have any cell phones, texting, or email at our fingertips." How did we survive? I ask myself.

Whitewater Rafting Pictures

I finally got the pictures off the water-proof disposable cameras we took with us on the whitewater rafting trip. It was so much fun and I can say that all the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, even if they were terrified at the beginning of the 8-mile journey down the river.

Laura in front Nanhatala Outdoor Center.

Brandt hanging like a monkey wayyyyy over the river. He literally made me ill when I saw him do this.

Me and Brandt in our lovely life vests.

We are all gearing up for some whitewater action.

The boys were with the river guide.

Good picture of Laura and the beautiful scenery.

The Smokey Mountains as the backdrop. Absolutely stunning.

All of our boats together. We had three boats. One was guided by Pastor Stephen, one by a professional river guide. Our boat was lucky enough to be guided by Brandt, who hit me in the head with his paddle. I now tell people not to sit in front of Brandt on a raft.

These last two pictures were taken by the staff at the big finale, which was a class 3 rapid. It was a blast, but I have to admit after hearing the lecture of how to steer into the rapid, I admit I was more than a little nervous going down this thing. But it was so incredibly fun, probably due to the fact that nobody fell out of our raft. When Jack turns 7 (the minimum age to go on the rafts), we plan to go back again. I just know he would have a blast doing the rapids.

Trip Pictures

Here are some of the many many pictures that I took on our Lake Junaluska youth trip. I will post pictures of our whitewater rafting trip later after I get the pictures off the water proof disposable camera.


The beautiful scenery of Lake Junaluska, NC.

More beautiful, breathtaking scenery.

On Friday night they had "Tacky Night". Here are some of our kids in their tacky finest.

Laura, Ashley, and Cindy. Laura made a lot of really good friends while there.

Laura and Ashley.

Laura was called up on stage because she was the "tackiest" from our church. She competed with the other churches, however ended up losing to a guy in a dress.

Mama ducky with her baby duckies on the lake.

There were a few ducks around the lake.

I thought this swan on the lake was so beautiful.

Jim and I. Also known as Mom and Dad to the kids. They started calling us Mom and Dad after a couple of days and I started calling a couple of them as my surrogate daughters.

This building known as Shackford Hall was where all the worships were held. It was built in 1923 and a beautiful building. I loved the huge columns out front.

There is a cross on a hill that is lit up at night. On Saturday night, all the kids walked up the hill to this cross for a worship service. It was quite an experience that I will remember forever. At the end of the service, we sang "Pass It On" and shouted out "Praise God" at the end, which echoed off the mountains several times. It was so cool.

Picture of all the kids during a worship service. I think there were about 250 teenagers from all over the southeast.

The kids during worship.

Jim and Brandt during worship.

Our kids during a talk back time after worship one night.

Laura and Lanie on our last day wearing their "Love Wins" t-shirt.

I can't tell you how much this past weekend affected me. Not only was it a spiritual experience, but I loved seeing how our kids bonded with each other and the other kids. I loved how I bonded with the kids and was able to help them work through some of the stuff they are dealing with. There were a couple of girls who live in a group home for girls. They have been shuffled from foster home to foster home. Jim and I got close to Brandi, a girl who has been in the foster care system since she was 8 years old when her mother ran off. She started the weekend off as a very angry young girl who did not want to join in anything. She is a very wounded 14-year-old girl. But as the weekend went on, that tough exterior started to dissolve and I actually saw her smile a few times and stand up and dance to the silly songs. My heart broke for her and when we got back last night, I realized that all the other kids had nice homes and families to go home to, but those two girls had a group home with no loving family. Jim and I have vowed to try to get her to come over for dinner sometime or just to hang out.

I know that we were there as chaperons to try to keep boys from the girls and keep them safe, but we both went away with an amazing spiritual experience that we will never forget.