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.

We're Back

We got back last night from our trip to Lake Junaluska, NC church youth trip. I would advice not to spend 24 hours of driving with 15 teenagers. It can be dangerous to your health ... seriously. All that teenage drama - Oh my gosh. I feel completely physically and emotionally drained from those things called teenagers. I have decided that Jack will never turn into one of those things.

Our trip started out early early Wednesday morning by meeting at the church at 4 am to pack up kids, bags, and lots of junk food. We drove through to Bryson City, NC where we spent the night at this motel that was tucked up into the mountains. It was incredibly beautiful and breathtaking. The next morning we all got up early to go whitewater rafting, which was such a blast. The kids had so much fun, however there was much complaining about the cold river water.

After the rafting trip, we all piled back into the vans and drove to Lake Junaluska for the youth retreat. It was an amazing experience for all involved. Some of the kids were able to bring a lot of emotional baggage out and I am amazed at what kids today have to go through. It sure is a far cry from when I was their age. I do believe that all the kids got closer to God and hopefully they will take the high they are feeling right now and keep it with them forever.

But I just have to say that if I have to deal with one more teenage girl drama with massive tears, I am going to poke my eyes out! Good grief, what is it with teenage girls and drama? It is like they thrive on a daily dose of drama! I was thanking God all weekend that Jack is a boy. Laura was not as bad as some of the girls, but even she shed some tears over drama. I have worked with the children's (Jack's age) ministry for the past couple of years and even though that age can completely exhaust you, there is nothing like the youth teenage ministry to drain you of every possible ounce of energy and sanity.

But all in all it was a very successful trip. I will be posting lots and lots of pictures later. Right now, we need to get back in our van and drive another two hours to go to Aunt Ann's and Grammy's house to get Jack. I did pretty good in the not-missing-Jack department until last night when I talked to him on the phone and almost felt like crying. I am very ready to see my Jackaroo today and kiss and hug him all over and be very thankful that he is NOT a teenager yet.

And We Are Off

Well we are off tomorrow morning at 4 am to chaperone a church youth group to Lake Junaluska in North Carolina. We are taking 15 teenagers, Laura being one of them and 6 of us adults. It should be a fun trip. We are going whitewater rafting on Thursday morning and then on to Lake Junaluska for the weekend. There will be a big youth rally there with kids from all over the southeast and I am hoping that Laura gets to meet a lot of new friends and have a great time.

We dropped Jack off tonight to spend the next 6 days with Aunt Ann and Grammy C. I know he is going to have a great time there, but I admit that it was hard saying goodbye to my baby for 6 whole days, the longest I have ever spent away from him. Wahhhh! But he will have fun fishing, picking blueberries, getting eggs out of the hen house, and playing with his Grammy and Aunt. And I sent him up there with a ton of cars, trucks, games, books, and even his golf clubs (he said he needed to practice his golf!?!). And I know he will be completely spoiled also.

I know that my posts have been few and far between the last few months and for those of you still sticking around for those few posts, thank you and I apologize. I do have plans to get back to my daily ramblings about life with Jack and the rest of the family. And posting lots of pics for ya'll. So until Monday, just pray for us that we do not lose our sanity with 15 teenagers!

VBS 2008 Recap

Our church had the annual vacation bible school last week. I volunteered to be one of the "Discovery" leaders in the science room. It was really fun watching the kids do the experiments each night and see their eyes light up when the experiment actually worked. This year ran a lot smoother than last year and I think all those involved had a ton of fun each night.

I, however, put my foot in my mouth one night. There was a boy named Grant who was five years old, who was THE worst kid in VBS this year. Every year, there is that one kid who you wished never signed up. Last year it was a boy named Dawson and to this day, I still have bad memories everytime I hear the name Dawson. Anyway, this year Grant was a very disrespectful, disruptful little boy. He did not want to do what all the other kids were doing and when he was challeneged, he would look at you in the eyes and just defy and dare you to do something. One night, he went behind the door and started to kick the wall so hard that I thought he was going to kick a hole through the wall.

Grant's parents do not go to our church, so I really did not know him nor his parents very well. I was in the hallway when a woman walked up to me that I did not know and start talking about how wild Grant is and well I opened up my mouth and stuck my foot in big time. I told her that he was the worst child this year at VBS and she stood there open-mouthed and told me that he was hers. Of course, I felt horrible about telling her this and tried to apologize to her. But she just walked away not wanting to hear my apology. The next day I got a phone call from a friend telling me that Grant's mother cried the rest of the night because of what I told her and she "didn't expect that kind of attitude at a church."

The next night, I tried again to apologize, but again she did not want anything to do with me nor my apology. I felt bad, but the truth was her child WAS the worst kid and she needs to know what kind of kid she has. I keep thinking that if somebody told me that Jack was acting badly, I would be the first one to apologize and not act like that person did a personal assault to me and my child. Anyway, I guess life lesson learned - I need to learn when to open my mouth up about other people's children.

I will post pictures probably tomorrow when I have a bit more time. And tell ya'll about our upcoming trip to North Carolina with 19 teenagers! Fun times!

Today I Wanna Be

Jack is always telling me what he wants to do when he "grows up". Everytime I hear him say that, I always think of the Toys R Us jingle "I wanna be a toys r us kid". Anyway, for the longest time the boy wanted to be a "race car driver". Seriously everyday, about a hundred times a day, he would say I wanna be a race car driver just like my cousin Chad. (Thanks Chad!). I always told him he had to go to college first, so after awhile, he would add the little caveat to his dream - "after college" and then he would ask me again "when is college". I would again go through all the schools he has to finish before becoming that race car driver (preschool, elementary, junior high, high, and then college).

Well in recent weeks, Jack's fascination has moved from race car driving (thank goodness) to being a rock star (oh geesh). And I have the Disney channel to thank for this latest obsession because of their non-ending promotion of the movie Camp Rock. He will go around the house strumming his imaginary guitar and say "I am a Rocking Star Mom!". Even at church he will stand up during the kid's song worship and pretend to play the guitar. At this point I am really not sure which is the worst idea - race car driver or rock star. But of course, everything is "after college".

So yesterday, he went to the doctor to have his hand checked out, which by the way is looking really good. I am no longer feeling faint when I have to change the bandage. The doctor thinks it is going to heal up very nicely with probably no surgery (yahoo!). But we have to give it another couple of weeks to make sure. So that was good news.

Anyway, while at the doctor's, I guess he had the sudden inspiration that doctors were as cool as race car drivers and rock stars because he now says he wants to be a doctor, which is something I can live with a lot easier than the previous two career choices. There is just the little matter of how to pay for med school is all.

I just think it is so great to be young and have your entire future ahead of you and a blank slate as to what you are going to do with that future.

In other happenings, our Vacation Bible School started last night. After last year's first night chaos, I was fully prepared for that same chaos. However, it ran so smoothly and I think the kids enjoyed it very well. This year, I am helping out in the science "discovery" room where we are doing science experiments to demonstate God's love. It is really fun to see the expressions on their faces when doing the experiments. My friend Nichol, who is a pediatrician, is my "lab partner" and she even brought lab coats for us to wear. All very cool. I will take the camera and get some pictures of the church all decorated. We have been working hard getting ready for this. We were at the church until 10:00 on Friday night and then again on Sunday night. But I think it is going to be a successful VBS this year.

Bob 1991-2008

Today I had to put to sleep my dog of almost 17 years. Bob, my wire-haired dachshund that I picked out when I was only 24 years old, which was about 3 lifetimes ago. Through a marriage, a divorce, a bad relationship, my single years, meeting Jim and having Jack, Bob was there as always. My faithful friend who stuck with me through it all. He lived in three different states, 6 houses and 3 apartments with me. And today I had to say goodbye to him. In the end he was completely deaf and almost blind, but when he knew that he was getting a treat, he still pranced around like a puppy. I knew this day was coming and I thought I was ready for it, but I still cried like I lost a dear friend. He was my first son before I had Jack and he will be missed.

I love you Bobers.

The Finger Saga Continues

We are still managing with burnt fingers here at the Jackaroo house. The boy is such a trooper. I am completely impressed with him and his pain management. It makes me think I am a total wimp to pain, because if I had the same injury, I would be complaining about the thing all the time. But not Jack, he just goes about his day and doesn't let the fact that he has no use of his left hand get in his way. He even has accomplished the taking his pants off to go potty quite well with the one hand.

The actual injury is looking better than it did on Saturday when I almost lost my lunch. I changed the dressing yesterday and I can see the healing process going on. The human body really is quite amazing. I am actually going to take him over to a nurse friend today to have her look at it and see what she thinks and let her change the dressing for me. It will be nice to have a professional do it rather than me who about faints away. Yeah a medical career was never in the cards for me.

I also have such a great group of friends. It really was quite amazing that I only told one person about the incident and before the night was over, I had like five phone calls from friends wondering how he was doing. I feel very blessed to have such great girlfriends who I know I can count on in times like these.

Oh and the other day at Walmart, the boy did not get a video game system. One big reason was because I just don't want to have one in my house and well he couldn't play anyway. But we did end up getting a couple of games - Hungry Hungry Hippos and Candy Land. We have been having fun playing those and Chutes and Ladders and Sorry. There isn't much else the boy can do besides watch tv and I really don't want him to watch tv all day long. Unfortunately the pool is out for at least two or three weeks, along with the beach, and the waterpark, and playing outside. But he is taking it better than me! It just goes to show you that you can learn something from your kids.

The Boy Has Me Wrapped Around His Finger ...

especially the bad fingers. Today I changed the dressing on Jack's hand. I got out of it yesterday by pushing the job off onto Jim, but since Jim is sleeping today, I had to do the deed. Let me tell you, I am by no stretch of the imagination a nurse. I cut off the bandage as gingerly and gently as I could, but it still hurt a lot, I could tell. When I took a look at the fingers, I literally felt like throwing up and my knees got weak. They are ugly and look horrible, much worse than the day it happened because now all the skin is falling off like the doctor said it would. It is basically a very bad burn. When I had to put the antibiotic ointment on, he yelled and howled. I can just imagine how much it hurts him and I kept telling him not to look at the hand, but to look out the window at the birdies. I just wish I could of looked out the window at the birdies too! Anyway, I could not wrap that hand up faster, both for the boy's sake and mine own. Yuckie! I am thinking I am going to take him to a nurse friend's tomorrow and have her do the daily job of changing the dressing.

So because I have been basically feeling guilty and sorry for the boy because he has no use of the hand, I am going to take him to Walmart and let him pick something out. I asked him if he wanted to get a new movie or toy and he comes up with this: "I know. I have a great idea. Let's get a video game! One that you play on the tv! Isn't that a great idea?" Now I really do not believe in video games at all. I think they are a huge time waster and once they come into the house, the kids don't want to do anything but that. But because the boy has me wrapped around his very badly hurt fingers at the moment, I actually thought seriously about getting some video game something for him for a second there. We'll see. Who knows, I may just be worn down, but then again, he can't really play with just one hand very easily.

As I said before, this mother thing is not easy at all!

Mother of the Year Moment

First off I want to apologize for going two weeks with no post. It has been extremely chaotic around here with juggling schedules and having one car syndrome. We also have had sporadic internet, which has caused me to start to twitch from withdrawals. I admit that I am an internet junkie.

Now on to the Mother of the Year Moment that happened yesterday afternoon. We just got a new (well new to us) treadmill which is in our family room and I have to trip over the thing to get to the kitchen. Something I seriously need! Anyway, Jack loves to "exercise himself" on the thing. I do let him walk on it at the slowest setting and he thinks it is the funnest thing in the world at that moment.

Well yesterday afternoon, Jack was walking on the treadmill and I walked away just to check on the laundry in the laundry room. I remember thinking to myself that I should not have let him alone on the thing, but he was just walking and seemed safe for a minute. It was hardly anytime and I heard a blood curdling scream come from Jack and I went running. I saw him with his hand caught in the track and stuck and he was screaming. I pulled the cord to stop the track and pulled his hand out and there before me was his hand with fingers with no skin left on them! Literally I saw the tendons on his index finger. It had in essence burnt the skin off in a matter of seconds. I thought that he had fallen, but he told me that he put his hand in there on purpose. Boys! Never did I think he would be that stupid as to put his hand in a moving track.

So anyway with him screaming at the top of his lungs, I went into crisis mother mode. I threw some shoes on him and me and ran for the car. As I backed out of the driveway, I called Jim who was in training to give him the message that I was on my way to Keesler AFB emergency room. It was a long 20 minute drive with Jack screaming in back.

Anyway to make a long story short, we made it to the hospital. His fingers are pretty messed up and right now we have change his dressing everyday with antibiotic ointment. He also has to take oral antibiotics and has a pretty strong pain killer for a four-year-old. There wasn't much they could do there. The doctor said just like a burn, the rest of the dead skin will slough off in the next few days and we have to watch how it heals. It maybe that he will need skin grafts or some type of hand surgery if it doesn't heal right. I am praying that it will heal good, but we won't know for a couple of weeks.

And I have to say that he is such a trooper. He hasn't complained once about being one-handed. He has no use of his left hand and he does a really good job working around the problem. He has played with his blocks all day today and totally compensates for the loss of his hand. I know it still hurts because he will look up and just look at me saying "ouuuuuccchhhh". I feel so bad for him and I have run the what ifs over and over in my mind. I didn't need to get the laundry out at that moment, or I should have made him get off the treadmill. I am just glad that it wasn't any worse than it already is. And after an internet search last night, I realized that we are not the only one out there with hand injuries on treadmills. It seems quite common in fact, unfortunately. So just a warning for all of you out there with kids and treadmills. The two do not mix well.

It was funny because I literally had four places to be last night with the Finance committee meeting taking top priority. Never in a million years did I think I would be in the ER with Jack's fingers mangled. Of course I didn't get to any of the places, but stayed home. Lately it seems that I have a hard time living in the moment as Oprah would call it. I am always thinking ahead of what needs to be done and when. I tell you when I saw Jack hurt like that, I was definitely in the moment and every fiber in me was concentrating on getting him to the hospital. Nothing else mattered. If nothing else, maybe this taught me that I do need to be more in the moment, especially when it comes to Jack. Lesson learned.

Girlfriends & Sex & the City

Alright, I can't tell you how much I love Sex and the City. I know it is racy. I know there is a lot of sex. But under all of that, it is a really great show about girlfriends and life and relationships. During my single years of my early 30s, I absolutely adored the show. I could relate to every single one of those women in some way or another. Maybe it was because I was the same age as they were, and single, and close to giving up on finding Mr. Right. But I loved loved loved the show.

Then I did find my Mr. Big, got pregnant, had a baby, got married (yes in that order) and the show went off the air. But tonight, I went with all my new girlfriends I have made here in Mississippi to see my beloved show and it was everything and more that I expected or hoped for. First of all, the group of us 9 girls went out for Mexican, got slightly drunk on Margaritas and went to the theatre. We got there early to get good seats of course, and I have to say that the crowd of women in that theatre was so much fun. Within minutes, I think the entire theatre were great friends and we even invited a few of them to a party next week. Yeah and being slightly drunk didn't hurt any in the socializing area either.

The movie was the greatest. Whoever was a fan of the show, you MUST go see the movie. You will cry, laugh, and hug your girlfriend next to you on the way out. Oh and do not take any husbands, cause they just won't get it. Go with your girlfriends. The best.

Weekend Recap

It was a very busy weekend here in Jackaroo World. On Saturday, I predicted right, and Jack came home from the boating fishing trip very sunburnt. In fact, he got sick Saturday night by throwing up in the night in his bed around midnight. And then again in the morning. Needless to say, we did not go to church on Sunday. I could just imagine that during children's story time, Jack would heave right in front of the whole church.

However, by the 4 in the afternoon, he was feeling better and I let him go to Allison's birthday party next door. She was turning five and let me just say that it was a huge affair! They rented a huge inflatable water slide for the kids and that turned out to be a huge hit. I wasn't sure if I wanted Jack out in the sun, but he convinced me to let him put his swim trunks on and go play.

I think there were at least 60 or 70 people there with about 30 of them being kids under the age of 6. It was absolute chaos. They also had a show with somebody dressed up as Ork from Dragon Tales and there was lots of singing and dancing. I told Sonia, Allison's mother, that she could host Jack's birthday party next year since she obviously knew how to put on a kickin' kid's party!

Because of all the excitement the previous two days, yesterday was a very low-key day. I didn't want Jack to get any more sun, even though a lot of our friends were going to be spending the day at the pool.

And today, Jack gets to go to work with me. I can't find anybody to watch him for the few hours I have to go work and Jim worked last night, so is sleeping. I had to take him with me last Monday and he did really well while watching movies on the portable dvd player and playing with his cars. Thank goodness I work for a place that lets me do that, cause I can't afford a babysitter, kinda would wipe out the benefits of actually having a job. Ya know.

And I know I promised pictures of the birthday party and well I am lame because I was so worried about Jack being sick that I didn't even think about the camera until way later. I do need to start taking some pics of the boy and post them for ya'll.

Took The Other Option

So I opted out of the fishing/boat trip today. I actually woke up with a scratchy throat and went "uh oh" and decided that I just better stay off the boat today. It has been the most relaxing day I have probably spent in the last four years. Since I really do not feel well, I decided to just not look at my floors with the dust bunnies who now have grandchildren dust bunnies and relax today. I did have to force myself to go to Walmart to get a birthday present for Allison, our neighbor. Her birthday party is tomorrow. She is going to be five and from what I saw of the big preparations going on in their backyard, it is going to be one huge party. I will definitely take pictures. I just hope that Jack doesn't streak through their house like he did last year at her fourth birthday party! Yes, he ran fully naked through their house after he went swimming in the little pool. I always tell people that Allison had a stripper at her fourth birthday party.

Anyway, back to the fishing trip. I do not believe that Jack has ever been this excited about anything in his short life. I think this even tops Disneyworld! He jumped right out of bed this morning at 6:00 am ready for the day of fishing. I heard him yell "hey Uncle Bailey, we're going fishing today!" And he was so cute today when I saw him walk out carrying his little tackle box wearing the hat that he proclaimed was his "fishing hat". He really is growing up so fast. They really have a great day with blue skies and lots of sunshine. Of course, Jim being a Dad and a man, left the sunscreen home, even after I put it out on the counter for him to take with them with explicit instructions to lather Jack up every other hour. I am just hoping that Jim has the good sense to keep the boy under the roof of the Pontoon boat, or the boy is going to be one fried little boy when they get home! But even with that, I am sure Jack is having the time of his life.

Random Happenings

Some recent happenings in the Jackaroo World household:

** Last weekend Jack and I went to a spring festival held by a local church. First of all I just have to say that the church had to make some major bank that weekend because the thing was huge. There was rides, games, booths, crafts, shows, and more going on. Jim was working last weekend so I decided to take Jack and we had a blast. It was a fun Jack and Mommy day, just the two of us. Jack rode a bunch of rides. The funny thing was when he walked right on the little roller coaster all by himself with no fear at all, but when I tried to get him on the Ferris wheel, he said it was too scary. However, we both rode the ferris wheel and all he could say during the whole ride was "wow" and "this is so cool". Jack also got his very first pony ride and although I took pictures with my phone, they turned out really bad or you would see Jack riding the cutest pony of all. After that, we ate all kinds of bad carnival food and enjoyed every last bite. All in all a great day.

** The other night, we went to a neighbor's crawfish boil and brought home a ton of the mudbugs. And my little redneck-in-the-making cracked them open and sucked the heads out like a pro. And nope, not me. I still can't quite get myself to actually "enjoy" eating a mudbug yet.

** Tomorrow we have plans to rent a pontoon boat and take it out in the Biloxi Back Bay. My brother-in-law is coming with us and a lot of fishing will be happening. Of course Jack is way excited and can't wait to use the fishing pole that cousin Chad got him for his birthday. As for me, I couldn't decide if I wanted to spend the day alone in peace and get some work done around the house, or join them on the boat. I just decided that the work will still be there and a day lounging on a boat sounds like fun. But I can guarantee that this girl will not be fishing. Nope a good book, cold drink, and bottle of sunscreen will be my companions tomorrow. I will also be the official photographer, so look for pictures. I know that pictures lately have not been very plentiful and I hope to remedy that soon.

I hope ya'll have a great Memorial Day weekend!

The Last Day

Today was the last day of school for Jack. He graduated from K3 and got a diploma and everything to prove it. The plan was to have a "water day" today for all the kids in K3 and K4 with water slides and jumpy houses. All the kids were told to come to school today wearing swim suites and armed with towels and sunscreen. However, Mother Nature decided to cancel those plans with a massive thunderstorm planned for this morning. I woke to the sound of thunder and a lot of rain and knew that I was going to have one disappointed kid on my hands today. For the past week, all the kids have been about to jump out of their skins with excitement over the water day, only to have it cancelled. I guess it is just the first of many disappointments in their lives.

They did set up the non-water jumpy houses in the gym and had a play day all day and by the time it was all over, the kids forgot about the original plans. When it came time to say goodbye, everybody got a bit teary-eyed. Mrs. Nix gave Jack a huge hug and I could tell she was fighting back the tears while doing so. She was a great teacher and there is a small chance that she might be moving up to teach K4 next year so I am hoping that Jack gets her again next year.

Oh yeah and I am proud to say that my son was one of the few kids in the class that did not have to have a spanking this year. The school does have a spanking policy and if the teacher feels the child needs a spanking, then they are taken into the principal's office and the parents are called in to do the deed. Jack never had to do that this year, even though he had his share of time-outs. There was one little boy, Tanner, who was in the Principal's office more than he was anywhere else. I asked his mother the other day how many times she had to come in for a spanking and she said that she lost count after 10 or so!!! But the thing is, she never felt her son had ever done anything wrong, even when I saw him do some pretty horrible things in front of me. He never listened nor took any direction. To him, rules are not important and I could tell from talking to his Mom that she felt the same way. One time, she asked me how I got Jack to be so good and I just told her that he had plenty of swats on the butt when he was younger and he has boundaries and he knows them. She looked at me like I was talking a foreign language. I think Mrs. Nix had a very long year because of that child.

So now I have to come up with stuff to entertain the boy this summer. I am sure that we will be going to the pool a lot and the water park and the beach. I also plan to take advantage of the area churches vacation bible schools. Along with the one at our church, which I will be helping with, I plan to send him to the one at his school and maybe one other one. It is free and keeps him busy for a couple hours a day for a week. So what are some of the other mother's doing this summer to keep their kids entertained? It sure seems like a full-time job to me.

42 Is The Number This Year

Jack had his four-year-old check up today. He was very worried about getting shots and informed me several times on the way there that he did NOT like shots and did NOT want any shots. And alas he is done with shots until he has to go into kindergarten.

The stats are 42 inches tall and 42 pounds. We started to go to Keesler AFB for our medical since it is totally free because of Jim's 20 years of service and this is the first time Jack had an appointment there. I am very impressed with the level of care. The doctor asked all kinds of questions like can he spell his name (yes he can and the doctor was impressed) and can he stand on one leg and even how much tv he watches a day. Yeah I totally lied on that one and said "hardly ever" because there are some days that the tv is MY sanity saver. I admit that it has been a babysitter from time to time.

I had to laugh because he also asked if Jack bruises easily because to look at his legs, one might come to the conclusion that either he does bruise easily or he is a very abused child. What can I say? He is a boy who plays hard and has about a dozen bruises on him at any given time. But he is a healthy boy and for that I am very grateful.

The Sensitive Child

Right now my son is crying his eyes out because he found a dead fly on the floor. He has carried the fly around (against my wishes) for the past 30 minutes telling me that the bug "is his friend". He asked me how the bug died and I told him he could have just died because he was old and bugs don't live very long, which prompted even more tears. I know that this should be some learning moment for the boy, but please, it is a bug. I just don't have it in me to sympathize the passing of a fly. Call me callous.

When In Rome ...

Well we joined the ranks of redneckdom tonight. We went to the race track to watch the stock car races. It is a dirt track and about as Southern as you can get. Jack of course being the ultimate race car fan these days was enthralled. He was hooping and hollering like a pro. It is official, we are now raising out little redneck. The three of us would each pick a car before each of the races started as our pick for the winner. That made it fun to root for somebody and actually Jack was pretty good at picking the winner.

We stayed for a couple of hours and left feeling filthy, but it was a fun family night for the three of us. It seems like we don't get a whole lot of family days these days and it was nice to go out just the three of us.

And I just wanted to do a shout out to Grammy A and Grammy C for a Happy Mother's Day. And any and all other Mother's out there hoping ya'll have a Great Mother's Day.

And Another Sunday Zinger

I will start this post out by mentioning that I woke up yesterday (Sunday) morning to Jack throwing up next to me in my bed (I let him sleep with me when Jim is on duty). I knew that on Saturday he probably ate a ton of cotton candy and whatnot at the May Fest at church and was probably feeling the effects of that. So we got up and he seemed to be fine. He ate breakfast and I just chalked it up to too much fun the day before. Of course, having to strip the bed and wash every single thing was not fun. I was thanking God that I didn't have the down comforter on the bed that we just got back from the cleaners a couple of weeks ago after paying $45 to clean. And poor Jim had to sleep in the guest bedroom after he came home from work.

So we went to church as scheduled yesterday. At one point I did have to take him to the bathroom where he had a good case of diarhea. This was just before the children's sermon where the kids go up for a story and then they all go off to children's church and the adults get to listen to the sermon in peace. So Jack went up for the children's sermon and I know that I have blogged about this before, but every week I am scared to death to hear what Jack is going to say out loud in front of the whole church. Every week there is something that he feels the need to tell everyone. One week it was that he farted. Another week he kept interupting Pastor Stephen to tell him all about his cousin the race car driver. Last week he had to spill the beans about Daddy hitting a mailbox on the way to church and breaking our passenger side mirror. Yeah so by now I am literally scared to death to send him down front for the story time. And by now you can pretty much guess what Jack's topic of conversation was yesterday. Yep that's right, he had to tell everybody how he threw up in bed, with noise demonstrations, AND he had to tell how he had just pooped in the toilet at church!

Now I know the reason why he feels so comfortable in telling Pastor Stephen all these things is because Stephen is not just our Pastor, but he is one of our closest friends. We get together with them at least once or twice a week and Jack sees him just as a friend and not as the "pastor" of the church. But seriously ya'll, he needs to stop this! Literally, every single pair of eyes turn toward me when it is time for the children's sermon. And me being the shy one that I am, starts to sink lower and lower in the pew.

To make matters worse, Stephen worked Jack into his sermon for the adults. He was talking about comfort zones and how we need to get outside of them to talk to other people about Jesus - to Just Walk Across The Room. And he said "look at Jack, he is in his comfort zone telling everybody how he pooped at church, that is how we all should be with that much enthusiasm". Of course that got a good laugh from everybody.

I even try to tell the boy to NOT interrupt Pastor Stephen. We have a long conversation every week about how it is not nice to interrupt and only talk if he asks a question. But the boy loves church so much and gets so excited when it is time for the children's sermon that all the lecturing I gave him goes right out the window, which I suppose is a good thing when you look at it, but I am afraid that I am going to be forever known as Jack's mother, the boy who pooped at church!

A Rainy May Fest Day

Yesterday our church had a May Fest. I was part of a group of people who have worked very very hard for that day. In particular, my neighbor Sonia, has worked her butt off getting donations and making sure the word got out to get people to come. We had planned for a ton of games for the kids, crafts, face painting, bounce houses, a bounce obstacle course, cotton candy, smoothies, food, and vendor booths. I bought a vendor booth for my Arbonne. It was going to be a perfect day. Until the weather forecast called for rain on Saturday. So on Friday night, we cleared out the sanctuary and fellowship hall in our "just in case it rains" policy to move everything inside.

And it did rain - big time. I was so disappointed because I know people worked so hard on this day, but by the end of the day yesterday, we all had a fun time. It cleared up in the afternoon and we were able to put the bounce houses and obstacle course outside. And in the end, the church made a profit that will go for a cause. No, it was not the same, but I believe that there was a reason that we were forced inside the church. I think there were people who came, who have not stepped foot inside a church in a very long time, if ever.

Jack had a blast, I think because I didn't see much of him during the whole day. I was manning my Arbonne booth most of the day and every now and then I would see him come running to show me some stupid toy prize that he won. It is great having the whole church look out for him because Jim wasn't there because he is working this weekend. If the fact that he was completely filthy at the end of the day is any indication of how much fun he had, then he had a really good time.

So I just have to say that even though it wasn't what we had planned, God had other plans and it still turned out great. We plan on doing it again in the Fall for our Fall Fest. Now that we have done this one, it can only get better, of course with a lot of work, but it was worth it.

Next up is Vacation Bible School next month, which I am going to be "Discovery Leader" where I get to do science experiments with the kids. Should be fun. Like I said before, life is going warp speed! Geesh!

Thank You Uncle Sam

We got our $1500 extra little something something from Uncle Sam today. However, sorry to tell you Uncle Sam, we are not going out and spending it on the latest and greatest plasma tv (our 10 year old tv is just fine thank you) or any other gadget that you want us to spend it on. It is going straight into our savings account. Thank you Uncle Sam for bolstering the old savings because you never know when you just might need to fill the gas tank for a gazillion dollars.

He Handled It Himself

So last night Jack had an accident in his bed. I guess it was sometime during the middle of the night. But the boy handled it like a pro and a big boy that he is. When I walked into his room this morning to get him up for school, I noticed that he was wearing different jammies and was laying on top of his comforter on the bed with another blanket over him. I pretty much figured out what had happened, but I wanted him to tell me. I always tell him that if he tells me the truth about accidents, I will not be mad, but I could tell that he did not want to tell me what happened.

Finally after a few minutes, the whole story came out how he woke up and realized that he had peed the bed. He got out of bed, threw his dirty jammies and underwear in his laundry basket, got clean jammies and underwear out of his dresser and changed into them. He then got another blanket from his closet, made his bed by pulling the comforter up over the wet area and laid down on top with the new blanket on top of him. He did all this on his own without waking up me and Jim.

Of course, I had to praise him for being such a big boy and for telling me the truth of what happened. And just for that, we stopped and got ice cream from Sonic today after school. He really does amaze me how much of a big kid he is these days. He dresses himself, brushes his teeth, cleans his room up fairly well when asked to do so, and is consistently one of the "best kids" in his class according to his teacher. That being said, he is not perfect and the whining stage has come back to roost big time. If there is anything that I can not stand, it is the whining! Drives me nuts. But for the most part, I couldn't ask for a better kid.

Um... I Don't Think So

Jack and I were watching a Jon & Kate Plus 8 show that I had recorded a week ago (life is so busy that I am 3 weeks behind on ER!) tonight before he went to bed. He, for some reason, is totally hooked on this show. He brings up the fact that Jon and Kate have 8 kids all the time. He will say "can you imagine 8 kids?" Yeah he is copying me. So tonight I asked him if he would like to have 8 kids in our house. To which his reply was "no not 8, but I think 6. Dawn and Jim plus 6. Yeah that would be soooo cool." Yeah I don't think so. Dawn and Jim plus 1 and 1/2 (Laura) is just perfect in my book!!!

Missed My Guys Today

I had a trade show event today with Arbonne. I was there selling and demonistrating from 9 - 6:30. I had a great time and made a lot of good sales and good contacts for my business. However, I have to tell you that I missed my two boys, Jim and Jack immensely. I didn't even see Jim today at all. He worked last night and hadn't even arrived home before I left this morning to take Jack to school. By the time I got back home, he had left tonight to go to work again. I will see him sometime tomorrow afternoon I guess.

Jack was the worse I think. I dropped him off at school at 8:00 and my neighbor picked him up and brought him home. I didn't see him until 8:00 tonight and my arms literally ached to hold him. I know it was only 12 hours, but I think that was the longest time that I had been away from him since last summer. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to stay home with him and be there for him. Even though I have a part-time job and now this Arbonne job, I am there for him after he gets out of school at noon and it is our time. I was really shocked at how much I missed him today! The level of love I have for that boy still amazes me four years later.

I will just have to remind myself of this post come mid-summer and I will be counting the days down until school starts again.

Bad Blogger I AM

Sorry ya'll I know it has been awhile and few and far between posts from me lately. Life just seemed to go into warp speed around here. I thought that with the purchase of my new laptop, that I would be posting all the time and boring everybody with my mundane drivel of life. But when I am on the laptop, it is usually doing something with my new business, Arbonne, which has taken up a lot of my time.

So far, the new business has been going great. No, I am not making the $12,000 per month YET, but I can foresee soon. I do know somebody who is making that right now, yes that is her PAYCHECK every month from Arbonne. And there have been hundreds or thousands of women everywhere who are doing it. I just need to work it, to get there. I have a lot of events scheduled in the next couple of weeks. This Thursday, I am part of a "Shoppers Delight" bazaar where I will have a booth giving out free facials if anybody wants one and hopefully booking more shows. Then on Saturday, I am opening my house up for a "Discover Arbonne" event for the entire neighborhood to come and see what we are all about. It is exciting and fun.

In other news, big big news, Jack is now night time potty trained. Yes folks, it took him until he was four to get it down. I admit that it was partly my fault for dragging my feet on the whole subject because he does sleep with me when Jim is on duty and well I just didn't want to deal with the mess in MY bed. But one day I ran out of pullups and just decided to give it a try and lo and behold he made it through the night, which was amazing, because when he had the pullups on, he very rarely woke up dry. Of course, we made a big deal about him being a big big boy now and I just never went to get any more pullups. It has been about three weeks now with no accidents and I am proud to say that after four years, we are a completely diaper/pullup free house!!!

My birthday was fun. Jim took Jack to a local pottery place, where they painted a teapot for me. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes when they gave it to me and Jack was so incredibly proud of himself for painting it. He painted his name on it and Daddy helped him paint, "I love you Mommy". Very cute. I now have plans for Fathers Day, hehe.

We had our anniversary on the 13th and we dumped Jack off with friends and went to a movie and dinner! I do believe that this might have been the fourth or fifth actual date night we have had since Jack was born. We went to the movie 21, which was pretty fun because I spent a lot of time on the MIT campus during college, no I did not go there, just knew somebody who did. I went to Bentley college down the road. But it was fun seeing the place and telling Jim, oh I know that place! The movie was very loosely based on the MIT blackjack team in the early 90's, but of course with some drama thrown in. But I thought it was good.

We then went to Emeril's for dinner. And yes, it was really good. The waiter said Emeril himself comes in quite often and in the kitchen actually cooking. I think that would be cool to have Emeril cook for you. But as you can imagine, it was quite spendy, so I don't think we will be going there again for awhile. After dinner, I decided to try to play some blackjack and ended up losing $5 total, not bad for about 30 minutes of play. Did I ever tell you, that I love to play blackjack?

This last weekend, we celebrated my mother-in-law's 86th birthday here at a restaurant on the beach. She is quite amazing. I hope to be getting around as good and look as good as her when I am 66! It was funny because my brother-in-law brought a cake to the restaurant earlier in the day and told them we were celebrating her 86th birthday. I guess the manager asked if she would need some assistance getting up the 5 steps to the restaurant (the building was built in 1755). He laughed and said that she was the one least needing the assistance. At this rate, she is going to outlive us all I think.

Jack is on his last month of school until he is out for the summer. His last day is May 16th and let me tell you I am mourning the thought of no school. However, I think he has the summer itch and keeps telling me that he "has no school". Once school is out, I am going to have to change up my schedule with the part-time bookkeeping job I have. Right now, I go there 3 mornings a week when he is at school, but after school, I am going to have to figure something out with Jim's work/sleep schedule and whatnot until Laura gets here the first week of July and she can take over babysitting. I am also going to go sign him up this week for swim lessons, which will be everyday for two weeks, just to complicate matters more with the schedule.

Like I said, Life has increased into warp drive speed lately.

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to me! Ack it is number 41, which seems a hell of a lot worse than 40 for some reason. I guess when you get to 41, you are firmly ensconced into the forties. Oh yay. As somebody told me last night, I am 29 with a whole lot of experience. My friends gave me a little birthday party celebration dinner last night, which was really nice of them. Of course, most of them are in their early thirties and can't even imagine being in their 40s. I am not sure how we got in the "young" crowd at our church. Maybe it was because our kids are the same age and play together, but it can make me feel old and young at the same time ya know.

Anyway, here it is. The 40s are firmly established now. I think it is going to be a quiet birthday. Jim worked last night and again tonight. The exciting plans that I have are going to get my hair done this morning while Jack is at school! I really really need to go get groceries, but you know I hate doing that on any day, but my birthday? No thanks. That is a tomorrow thing.

The First Day

Today was the first day in about 3 months I do believe, that we had absolutely nothing planned to do. And to make it even better, it was pouring down rain this morning, making me want to go deep into my cocoon and be very slug-like. It felt so wonderful to wake up and not have to go somewhere. However, because of that rain, well actually it was more like the monsoon season, practically the entire area was under water, my internet was out all day long! So here I was with nothing to do and I had no internet. Yeah it was bad.

Oh and since the arrival of my new laptop, I have had to fight Jack to get to use the thing. I showed him the playhouse disney site and he is now an addict of the Higglytown Heros games and the Winnie the Pooh color by number on the screen. The thing is, the boy can navigate the site just about as good as I can. These kids today. Geesh.

Gotta go because I have used up all my "just a few more minutes" with Jack. He is losing patience very fast and needs his Little Einsteins fix.