fa la la la la......

Tonight our small group went caroling. In a bus. How much fun does that sound like?????

.....all 24 of us...in one bus. It made for lots of noise, and tons of fun.

Some homes we went into....and others we stood outside. It was a perfect night to be out.

We also visited a nursing home tonight.

We were hoping the residents would be in a central location so that we could sing to all of them together. However they were all in their rooms. So we walked up and down the hallways singing. After about 5 minutes of walking the halls one of the doors opened. An older woman stepped out. Here is where I will insert the quote of the day.

Donovan: "we got a live one."

meaning, stop, let's gather around her door to sing to her.

However, it may have been a little inappropriate given we were in a NURSING HOME!

And really-speaking of inappropriate, does that shock any of you that know my husband?

She had to ask, didn't she?

I have absolutely nothing exciting to update you with. I have been either on the couch or in bed almost the entire weekend. I have had the flu. But, I think I am on the up side of this. I really hope so...because really you can only watch so much T.V. I have major cabin fever & I want out of this house. I have been inside for 2 days straight. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be back to feeling better.

I had to share a story/quote of the day....reflecting back to our VERY tragic cat story that I shared on my last post. On Thursday my friend/neighbor's little girl Abigael got off of the bus here at our house. Abigael needed a sitter for about an hour until her parents got off of work. So Isabella, Jack, and Abigael are walking up the drive from getting off of the bus. All of a sudden Abigael notices blood sprayed all over our driveway (what had frozen to the ground)

Abigael asks Isabella, "What is THAT??"

Isabella- "NOTHING!"

Jack responds: "Oh that's blood. My mom ran over our cat the other day. Blood squirted all over the place, it flopped up and down in the air, and then it died. It was really gross!"

Isabella rolls her eyes.

Mama sighs.

What can I say? He is all boy.

junior

Topping the most disturbing news of the day is the sad, sad, sad traumatic end to one of our family pets.

Today I was backing out of the garage to take 3 of our kids to the library. Donovan was working in our home office and Jack was staying home with him. As I backed up I thought I hit a chunk of ice. Turns out it was Junior, our cat.



How utterly sad. The 4 of us in the car, sat watching in horror as the cat leapt 3 feet in the air and then fell to the ground repeatedly, squirting blood all over the place. He did this for about 45 seconds and then lay dead, eyes bulging out of his head.
I could have thrown up. Isabella was crying her heart out. William was wondering & said out loud, "Mom why is Junior scratching himself?" Ughhhhh....William, the cat is having convulsions & suffering from head trauma. I felt utterly sick to my stomach. How very, very sad. I have never run over anything, much less killed.
I went to get Donovan in the basement, he came to do my dirty work. He told me to get the kids out of there, so that's what I did. I continued on our trip to the library. I held Isabella's hand and tried to console her. After being so very sorry for her loss, telling her how sad I also am....She finally looked at me with tears running down her cheeks and said, "Mom, can we please not talk about it anymore?"
Geesh, I never even liked cats 1 year ago. Unless they were baby kittens.
And now I feel loss tonight. Mostly for my children who keep remembering their beloved cat named Junior. Jack has said 2 times now, "Everytime I think about Junior I just want to cry."

Thankfully we still have one cat left. Missy.

new kid on the block

Well today the glasses finally came in....

When we ordered them the office said they would be come in within a week to 10 days. It was just shy of 3 weeks when we got them today. This boy has asked everyday after school...."did they come yet?"

He was just a tad excited about getting them.

Also after I used the trial pair of contacts & found that they fit my eyes correctly they ordered my contacts. They came in - in less than a week. Go figure.

The office told me that my insurance would pay for 4 boxes of contacts per year. ( they are 2 week disposable) So that would be enough for 48 weeks.

But when I got there today....She found out my insurance will pay for 6 boxes and sent 3 pair of free samples. That is enough for over a year!! They also gave me 2 bottles of contact solution. Well knock my socks off. I am thrilled. I am gitty. I love free.

Man, I was so excited I splurged and picked up a $5 Little Caesars Pizza for supper.

I know we're livin' large around here. Livin' the dream.

The quote of the day:
William was majorly picking on Suzy during lunch. His usual antagonistic little antics. I may have raised my voice and demanded that he leave her alone.

William: "If you're going to make a mean voice, and be mad I'm not going to watch T.V."

Hmmmm...really? Is that a threat?
He must realize how I majorly need that T.V. time so I can get my hair washed and straightened.

thankfulness

Hey, Thanks friends for the prayers on Suzy's behalf. She woke about 4 this morning saying that her "ouchie" hurt. The Motrin wore off and she was ready for another dose. It was little sleeping after that. We got the older 2 kids off to school and then headed up to the dentist, he took x-rays and we found out that she has a crack in her upper jaw. And she also tore her frenulum of the lip (the part that connects the inside of your lip to the gum. The dentist is confident that the teeth that were pushed back will eventually go back into place by the pressure Suzy puts on it with her tongue. All these injuries will heal on their own. Thankfully she is 2 and does not have her permanent teeth, her upper jaw is still growing and soft and will heal on its own. We are also thankful she did not sever any of the nerves, which would have required surgery and then pulling the teeth out. We have al ot to be thankful for. Thanks for your comments, thoughts and prayers.

Will you please pray for my little girl? Tonight Donovan and I went on a date and left the kids at Donovan's parents house. When we got back the kids were playing around while we were talking with Donovan's mom...and Suzy fell and knocked her head hard on a wooden cabinet. It pushed 3 of her front, top teeth and caused them to bend backwards. She had a couple of other cuts along with those bent teeth that caused lots of bleeding and lots of pain for her. She also had a big piece of skin that is hanging down (part of the inside lip) she seems most annoyed with. I was sick with pain for her. I could feel myself getting light headed and nauseous. I called our dentist and he will work on her first thing in the morning. The dentist advised us to try to push those 3 teeth into place if we can. Donovan tried but didn't have much movement. The dentist will see her at 8 a.m., examine her and do x-rays. Suzy is sleeping now. I hope for all night. Poor thing usually sucks her thumb, but is not going to try it now. Please help us pray for her.

this might seem familiar to you or else create an ugly picture of me.

Tonight we had a scheduling conflict. I neglected to write on the calendar that I had mom's group tonight and Donovan also committed to playing in a volleyball game tonight. Filling in for a friends' volleyball team that needed one person as a fill in. My mom's group consists of my little friends and I meeting once a month to have a snack (supper-depending on who's hosting) and talk about parenting, relationships with our kids, etc. A great way to bounce things off of each other and vent too. I've been doing this with these ladies for about 6 years. I knew right away I couldn't throw a fit about needed time away/night out on this night...because he was playing volleyball with our friends on a league. Because really, how embarrassing would it be if my husband had to call our friends and say, "uhhh, my wife won't let me come out to play." And it was just a little late to get a babysitter to come and stay with the kids and put them to bed, baths, etc.

So the husband comes to me in the kitchen about an hour before it's time for him to go, after I cancelled my shin-dig and says, "wow, honey thanks so much for taking over tonight so I could go out tonight." I might have responded...."Really, Did I have a choice? Because I wouldn't want to look like a brat in front of our friends." Wow....He thought that I was doing it because I knew that he would enjoy a night out with friends, playing a sport he loves. I might have responded, "Really after 10 years you don't know me better that that?? " I just didn't want him to call our friends and tell them I wouldn't let him go. So here I go broadcasting it for the whole world I know. Somehow it's a sick pleasure I have to show people how human I am. But really it was hard for me. I feel like I need the time away even more than him. Because really.... doesn't he get to go away all day?? Donovan might have the argument that it's actually a little thing called "work" I usually respond..."uhhhh....but does that "work" include cleaning diarrhea out of panties?" Because that was my job description today. Also in the job description today... taking 2 small children with me to an eye Dr. appointment and then grocery shopping. Filling a sippy cup while on the phone, while driving. --Might have been an error in judgement on that last one. While I understand our job descriptions are very different...sometimes I just think he should think it's fun to come home and have a change of pace. And while I know it is fun for him to come home to us, I forget he needs time out with friends too. I'm sure he will be better for it. Better in the way of blowing steam off about his annoying wife, who hardly let's him go out to play. I know he gives me plenty nights away, please don't send me hate mail. I know I'm blessed. He esp. gave me many nights out during the newborn years of our children, when nursing felt more like a ball and chain rather than a bonding experience for me.

I'm just wondering how do you handle letting your husband out to play?

And P.S. Brooke...don't feel bad for one second. It's not personal one bit. He needed this time out....I hadn't let him out to play for years. He was thrilled, I know he's having fun.