Busy days

Next week is VBS.
As usual, we still have loads to do. Although, I have to say, this year we don't have as much to do as last year. We have been much better at delegating this year.
In case you were wondering, we were able to order the crafts that we needed. They promised they'd be here in time. I certainly hope so.
Friday is our Anniversary. Fourteen sweet years. Because of VBS and how busy we are, I don't think we are even doing anything to celebrate, which is kind of sad. It's usually the one day a year we are able to go on a date. We did go to see Phantom though, so that counts.
In rather sad news, Matthew has been complaining about his eye hurting. This would indicate that his drop is no longer working. *sigh* I hope that isn't the case. I don't know what else it would be, but one can hope, right? If it persists, we'll have to make an appointment and get his pressure checked. Right now, he's only complained about it 3-4 times in the last 2 weeks. Is that too much? I don't know.
It seems like I had a lot more to tell you all. I sat down and started this entry several hours ago. I keep getting interrupted, and have totally lost my train of thought.
Ah well..such is life.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

Unless they look like this!



Last night, we were driving through our neighborhood when Matt said, "A SNAKE!" I told him to turn around and run it over. I know, I know..they are God's creatures, but yes, we turned around to run it over.
After missing the first time, Matt pulled up right beside it and realized it was a rattler. Oh my goodness. It was quite mad! Thankfully, it was a pretty small one, and the kids all got to see it out their window before we ran it over for good.

I'm sorry, but rattlesnakes have no business being in my neighborhood.

But alas, there are so many rattlesnakes here in Texas. I've seen more in the three years that we've lived here than I've seen in all my life. In fact, I'd never actually seen a live rattlesnake before moving here. Just lots of garder snakes.

Folks, I am terrified..Terr.I.Fied. of snakes.

We have all sorts of these..


running around our house. No problem. I'd be fine if I came across an armadillo. Or a possum. Anything really, just not a snake.

ICK ICK ICK!!!!

It doesn't help at all to know that there are like 15 different types of venemous snakes here. Nope, doesn't help a bit.

And I have to tell you, remember the post that showed you my clothesline? I love to hang my clothes, but I am always secretly afraid to bring in the clothes. I usually bring the last load of clothes in after it's dark, and I just know there will be a snake waiting for me out there!

Last night, I suppose because I felt bad for killing the thing, I dreamt about rattlesnakes all night. I dreamt that we were in Dallas, and everytime we went outside a rattler was waiting to get us. Thankfully, it wasn't like the Indiana Jones snake pit, there was just one snake..always waiting for us. It actually got my kids once or twice, but they survived. Eventually, we were able to escape Dallas and get back home.

Maybe I should stop eating bon bons before bed...

This is turning into a nightmare!

OK, not really a nightmare, just a really huge pain in the rear!
We ordered all of our VBS materials, only to not receive two of the crafts.
When we inquired about it, we were told they were all sold out. Great.
We were told of two other places which offered similar crafts, but yep, also sold out.
So, I have to figure out what we're going to do. The crafts are pretty specific to the days lesson, so it'd be nice to stay with that idea.
It is also easy to over order from the VBS place because they sell them in sets of 10. Anything unopened can be returned. The other crafts I'm finding seem to sell in sets of 24. We'd never be able to return anything, and likely be stuck with too many crafts. Then there is the issue of money. We've already gone over our budget. Our treasurer is going to love us when we start bringing separate receipts in. Originally, the church was charged directly, but these other things we will have to get.
I'm not even mentioning the decorations that we have to buy.
Yep, he's going to be very pleased with us. Note the sarcasm!
Oh well, it will all end up good in the end, I just have to figure out these dumb crafts.
If by chance, you are doing the Power Lab VBS and have run into the same trouble, could you let me know what you're doing about it?? Thanks!

A tale of two girls

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, were two little girls.
The girls met in elementary school and were instantly best friends.
All growing up they were together.
On several occasions, they went to the first girl's cabin at the creek.
It was on one of these trips that the girls came up with names for each other.
Apricot and Bacon. Apricot had a sister, who the girls named MelonHead, and a brother they called Jamocha (is there even such a word?? They thought so!).
Apricot and Bacon grew up together and shared a love of all things, including New Kids on the Block. Apricot loved Joey, and Bacon was a Donnie fan.
Eventually, the girls hit high school. There, they got into trouble together. Apricot's parents even forbid Apricot from ever setting foot in Bacon's truck, because surely that's where they chased the boys!
As juniors in high school, Apricot's family let her go on a cruise with Bacon's family, and they had a great, GREAT time. Some wonderful memories were made that week.
By their senior year, Bacon was dating her future husband.
Apricot was, naturally, in the wedding.
Bacon and her new husband moved away, and Apricot went to college.
They drifted. Bacon had kids, Apricot did not. Eventually, Apricot got married, and Bacon secretly hoped this would bring them back together. But to no avail. Too much time had passed and they had gone completely separate ways.
Still, there was the occasional email and phone call, it just wasn't the same.
After many years, Apricot emailed Bacon and declared she was going to be a mom.
Apricot and her husband decided to adopt from Ethiopia. Bacon was very happy. For selfish reasons too..maybe NOW they'd have more in common again. Time would tell.
In July, Apricot and her husband will travel to Ethiopia to pick up their new son.
Bacon couldn't be happier for them.
It's true Apricot. I love you and am so incredibly happy for you and J. No matter what, you will always be my Apricot, time and differences will never change that. We may drift, but I have confidence that little M will have a way of pulling us back together.
Congratulations dear friend, I can't wait to "meet" your son.

All's right in the world

Matt is home. Where he belongs.
Safe and Sound.
Yes, things in our world are back to good!

I had such high hopes

It is two o'clock.
My beloved will be home at 11 o'clock tonight.
My house looks like it threw up.
Emmie is in a foul mood today and it is making it impossible to get anything done today.
Thank goodness he loves me for more than my housekeeping abilities!

Yesterday

Yesterday was an interesting day.
Collin and Zachy had been upstairs playing when Collin came downstairs and sat on the couch. He was kind of staring into space, and then said his tummy hurt and he needed the pot in case he had to throw up.
I asked if he was OK.
He then went on to tell me that he and Zachy were standing up playing with cars at their dresser, when he felt like nails were going into the back of his head, and then he fell over.
When I started questioning him about it, he said it was like he went to sleep and woke up on the floor. Zachy told me that Collin fell over, and he asked him if he was still going to play with him. But he didn't answer, because his eyes were closed. Then he asked again and he opened his eyes and said yes.
To me, it sounds like he passed out.
I called to try and get him in to the pediatrician, but they said to take him to the ER. By this time he was acting fine, but we went anyway.
The resident there told me that he knew kids (he had number 3 on the way) and it sounds like Collin made it up. That his kids would make something like that up. And that 6 year olds don't normally pass out, and since he was OK at the hospital, he doesn't think he passed out.
Do I think Collin made it up? No. He was so dazed when he came downstairs, and told me he went to sleep and fell over backwards.
He is totally fine now though.
We are supposed to go to the pediatrician tomorrow, but now I'm hesitant. I don't want to waste my time and have the doc tell me he made it up.
What to do, what to do.

New songs, and what I've always wanted to be

I've changed my songs! Did ya notice?
On July 4, Matt and I will have been married 14 short years! I say short because they have absolutely flown by, and it seems unfathomable that it's alreay been 14 years.
At any rate, I put on some songs that through the years we have claimed as "ours". I had to throw in my wedding processional, just because.
It certainly isn't a complete list of songs that are "ours", but it's good enough.
I'm loving the new Josh Gracin song, We Weren't Crazy. It suits us perfectly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What have I always wanted to be?
A great blogger. I don't think I am.
I read some amazing blogs, and they are so entertaining.
Mine..not so much.
I think it's something I need to work on. I'm just really lazy. I want to get to the facts, with not a lot of story telling.
I think the fact that I get so few hits, is pretty telling. In the past, I've gotten more, but my address has changed quite a bit, so that could have something to do with it.
That, or I'm just not entertaining.
I don't quite know how to be entertaining. I know it's in the story telling, which I fail at, quite a bit.
I don't ever feel like our life is all that entertaining, so that could be the problem. Maybe I need to stop looking for a story, and just make every day into a story. Did that make sense?
Hmm, I'll have to try...sometime.

I cannot believe

That in two short months I will have a 12 year old. I was just holding him all slimey and new. He was soo little. His bottom used to fit perfectly in the cup of my hand.
My first glimpse of perfection. *sigh*
I just keep thinking that these last 12 years have FLOWN and I may only have 8 more before he leaves the nest. How this breaks my heart into a million pieces. I have NEVER been a mom to wish my kids away. I remember back in 2000, meeting a new friend online. When she found out that Matthew was 4 and Dillon was 2, and we were trying to get pg with Collin, she said,"I bet you can't wait till they are in school" so that I could have some peace. But I've NEVER wished my kids were in school. I cannot imagine not being with them all day long, and I Realize how blessed I am to be able to stay home with them. Many many people don't get that.
Now, people tell me that when they are teenagers I'll be ready for them to leave...I just don't see it.

Pictures

On Tuesday, we went on a really cool field trip. We went to a local river and some aquatic biologists taught the kids all about how they catch and study fish, crawdads, and insects. The kids got to get into the river and catch things and then look at them under the microscope.
Everyone was having so much fun. The little kids got to scoop things out with fish nets while the bigger kids used the more sophisticated nets.
Poor Zachy though, he was in the water, and a crawdad thought his toe looked yummy and clamped right down on it. Poor baby. Everyone was having a gay time and Zachy was screaming cause it hurt so bad. It broke his toenail. He wouldn't set foot in the river after that. He was wearing sandals, but his little toe was just sticking out there.
You will notice there are very few pictures of Matthew. That is because he was in the older kid group and they got in the water and went on the other side of an island. The island had grass that was a million feet tall and you couldn't see the other side. Therefore, no pictures of him. He had an absolute blast though. It's nice to see him come out of his shell.
I also have to add that the biologists were so glad to do this field trip. You see, normally they do public school kids, who can't get in the water. They were excited to be able to take the kids in the water and let them do this themselves.




Zachy is always collecting things. Including berries from this tree.


Dillon got to hold one of the big nets!



Zachy and Collin learning about life in the water.



A fish that Dillon caught. They were told that this was not a native fish, and did not belong in this river, so it was ok if died while they passed it around!!



Emmie wanted in on the fun. She later tried to drink this water!

Peculiar

Zachy has a white round circle on his cheek.
Every year it is there when he gets tanned. It just doesn't tan. In the winter months, you don't notice it because his tan goes away.
It is in the same spot that the adhesive was put to hold in his O2 tube and later feeding tube when he was in the hospital as a newborn.
My theory is that it scarred in a way. But it doesn't look like a scar. It just doesn't tan. It's quite strange indeed.
Here is a picture. I changed the color so it was more obvious, he isn't really that color! It's just that in regular pictures it's a bit hard to see.


Here's the original, thought I'd include it so you can see how good his scar is looking.

Dumpy

I'm kind of feeling down in the dumps this afternoon.
I don't know why.
I miss Matt.
It's hot and the kids are bored. I can't take them to the pool. Last time we tried that the lifegaurd came flying off her perch into the water after Zachy. He was fine, but when she glanced at him she thought he was struggling. My friend and I were yelling, "what's wrong? Who's drowning" Had no idea she was headed for Zachy who was perfectly fine. Scared him to death though, cause she hauled him out of the pool asking him over and over if he was ok. I actually had to file an incident report about it, and the teen lifeguards kept saying, "wow, it's such a good thing we had that training this morning" I think they were on overdrive.
At any rate, it's not something I want a repeat of, so we'll stay home until Matt gets home.
Maybe we should go get a slip and slide or some such thing. It's just hot.
I wish Matt would hurry up and be home. :-(

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I am so very tired. I could collapse right here, right now.
But there are still five kids awake.
We had a meeting at church that ended up lasting for 3 hours. oy.
Everyone's hungry, so having a snack at almost 10 o'clock.
To quote Matthew, "we've been up a lot the last couple of days, I'm TIRED"
Yes indeed, we have been. And I think we are all just poopity pooped.

Safe and sound

Matt just called me and he has arrived. Safe and sound.
He sounded so tired and frustrated. It was a long, long day of traveling for him. Most of it quite uncomfortable travel.
But he's there. And he's safe. And really, that's all that matters.
I already miss him so much. I'm such a loser. :-(

Doing the single mom thing

This morning we were up at 3 AM to drive Matt to the airport.
As I type this, he is on his way to Honduras. Far, far away from here.
He got to Miami to be told their flight to Honduras had been cancelled. When I talked to him, he was talking about the possibility of having to spend the night in Miami. The next time I talked to him, he was telling me they were getting ready to board the plane to Honduras. Only to a different town. Where they would then be bussed to the original destination.
We have already discussed another bus trip he will make while there (to the ruins) and how funny it would be if there were chickens and whatnot on the bus. So, I should hear by tonight how the bus system is in Honduras.
I told him I was going to lose five pounds while he was gone. He said he would too. I asked him if he meant from sweating so much, and he told me no. He said he would be too afraid to eat anything there! He's been told of their taste for guinea pig there. Since we've owned several piggies in the past, this turns our stomachs. Not that he'd want to eat a piggie anyway. So, he's nervous about what will be served in this foreign land.
He'll do great though.
When I met him, he had been on an airplane once, I think. And hadn't really traveled that much.
Since joining the military, he's become quite the world traveler! Too bad he doesn't bring us with him!
And so, for the next two weeks, I'm doing the single mom gig. At least it isn't like last time when he was gone for 8 weeks. We'll survive, somehow. Little Miss Em has been quite the handful the last couple of weeks. I'd like to think it's her teeth, but who really knows. I can feel the outline of one of her bottom molars, but I've felt it for weeks. The stupid thing will not come through. It may be getting close, because the last 3 days have been especially pleasant. Note the sarcasm! She has screamed so much that her little face gets red and splotchy. Something that hasn't happened for quite some time. And she pushes everything away from her. Her appetite has been low as well.
Oh the joys of being a baby! Poor thing.
I still have those great posts in my head, and sometime I'll get them out.
For now though, I'll leave you with a Collinism.
We've been going to the pool for several days since last week. The second day we were there, Collin kept asking me why it was deeper than last time. I was stumped. Nothing I said seemed to satisfy him.
Suddenly, he yelled, 'mommy!!! I know why it's deeper!!"
"you do?? Why??"
"Because I'm not standing on my tippie toes today!!"
Yep, that will do it!

I just need some time

I have some good blog posts rolling around in this old head of mine. I just do not have the time to sit down and get them out.
It's been a very difficult time with Emily lately. She's cutting molars. I think they are almost through. I certainly hope so.
Until they are through and I have some time, the posts will have to remain in my head. Sorry!