A stitch in time

I took my mom to a quilt show in Lancaster, PA today. It was a good time. A ton of vendors and an overload of great fabric. There were some really gorgeous quilts. Mom took some pictures, and I'll post them in a few days. Now I'm tired, and I'm going to spend some time with my kids and hubby. Night all!

Friday Night Flights

****Please note that this was written on paper Fridy night.

Why the heck did I not bring my laptop? I could be live-blogging my oh-so-exciting Friday night. Oh wait, that's cause I only had 5 minutes to get out the door and on the road.

Bug is leaving her mothers house today, which requires a plane ride or an extremely long car ride. With the price of gas, the plane fare is cheaper. The plan was for daddy to bring her over and the other kidlins and I would be hanging out at home. But when it was time to leave, it was discovered that he had left his billfold at his other home (he's having to attend classes a lot in a nearby town, and the military has nicely provided a place there for him to stay during the week.) That means he couldn't get past the security checkpoint to sit with her and wait for the plane. Even though she no longer has to fly as an unaccompanied minor, we still don't like leaving her there for hours alone. So off I go. I had warmed up some leftovers for Bug and daddy before it was time to leave so that they didn't have to stop for fast food. With five minutes to grab my book and shoes and other necessary things, I didn't get that chance. Off I go, stopping to get gas and a drink.

We arrived at the airport around 7:00, which gave us a good amount of time before her flight was scheduled to leave, and found out it was 15 minutes delayed. 8:35 comes and goes and the plane hasn't arrived from wherever. They announce it will be there at 9:10. No plane...finally, it arrives at approximately 9:20. Okay. Now they announce that they aren't loading the plane due to the weather in the Midwest. What have you all done to mother nature out there? She was pissed off at you this weekend. We sat there for a while. One of the restaurants brought us danishes/pastries, and Southwest brought us hot soda and some snacks. At just after 11:00, the announcement came.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have 6 minutes to get this plane boarded. Please line up and we'll get you out of her." And yes, they loaded that plane and pulled away from the gate in less than 15 minutes. People didn't fight or jostle, they simply handed him their boarding pass, went and sat down in a seat. I know my jaw was hitting the ground. They managed to safely land and deplane (as a matter of fact, she beat me.)

1 am, I finally got home. Yuck. From now on I bring the laptop.

Fears relieved

First, let me say...I have dentalphobia. I HATE going to the dentist. But having children made me realize that I had to be the grown up and not transfer that fear to them. I had a very bad experience as a child, and I have worked very hard to ensure my children never endured that.

Today was the kids dental check up day. I love our dentist office. They used to go to a pediatric dentist, but they stopped taking our insurance. And while our insurance company would still pay them, I couldn't afford to pick up the difference every time they charged more than insurance was willing to pay. I was so sad to leave that office...he was a great dentist, and I never heard a child scream in fear in that office. Luckily, I found another dentist that was accepting patients and would get us in. Crazily enough, they are both in the same building...they are actually next door to each other.

This office goes out of it's way to make sure you are taken care of. They are all pleasant, they take the time to schedule my kids next appointments with me while they are in getting their teeth cleaned. They have a play area for the kids and a ton of magazines for all different interests. When things don't happen the way they are supposed to, they don't try and charge to fix it (both girls have sealants that didn't stick...he made sure to tell me they were free of charge before he took a breath.) The first visit, Bug had a tooth that needed to be pulled and she was leaving for a trip at the end of that week. He rearranged his schedule to get us back in that afternoon, and then apologized that we had to come back. And then I fell completely in love with him when he called that night to check on her. The dentist called my house to check on her. Sorry, but that bears repeating. And today's appointments were over in less than 45 minutes.

I still hate going to the dentist, but at least I found a good one.

Accomplishments

What I've accomplished today:

Cuddling sick Monster
Feeding said monster a cheese stick, yogurt and milk for breakfast (It's exactly what he wanted)
Folding clothes
Reading email
Reading some blogs
Wandering around wondering where the day has gone
Packaging up meat for the freeze
Washing my sheets
Making Chicken Soup

Things still to be done:
Make my bed
Drive children to church functions tonight
Buy Shampoo and conditition for daughters
Cuddle the Monster some more


Wow, very little on my to do list got done. But not a bad day really.

Total randomness

I love, love, love my new bed. I enticed the Monster to come cuddle and read with me in it, cause I knew he couldn't resist that temptation, and I was hoping he would fall asleep. We had a good little nap together. I'll miss those in a few years.

It is so windy here tonight. I really thought we might end up in Oz a few times. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold...new bed, cold and windy day. Nope, not going to be easy to get up tomorrow.

Off to snuggle in my HUGE king size bed. Night all!

Wow, finally, 100 posts. Took me long enough.

Everyone always talks about "teenagers" with a roll of their eyes. They complain that teenagers are mouthy, always petulant, always tired, always bored. But surprising, I'm finding the teenage years to be better than the preteen/adolescent years with Bug. The disagreements over chores are farther apart, and sometimes she actually shows intiative and does something without being told. We talk about things, and we joke and have fun. Last night, we did Tae Bo to a DVD I bought. And we laughed, and joked, and worked out together. And it was fun. I'm not ready to be her friend yet (someday, when she's an adult, we'll try for that), but it's nice to be able to find common ground, especially when we were warned how these would be the hard years.

It also gives me hope for PB's future...cause that preteen attitude is going to be her downfall soon.

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Daddylang is off playing military man this week. He's only an hour drive away, but it might as well be the other side of the world. At least we get to have regular phone contact with him. Actually, when he had to do his drill weekends back when Bug was little, she would say he was "Playing Army". This always made me chuckle.

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It was a busy day. I had my quilting class, then we had to do some shopping, then a birthday party, then dinner, and then Bug and I destroyed my bed. My new mattress arrives tomorrow, and next weekend my hubby should be building our new headboard. I can't wait. Once that is all done, the only thing left to finish off my room is artwork and hardwood floors. Then it will be my sanctuary (actually, it already is, but it will be more so once it's actually completed).

Hope you have a beautiful tomorrow.

My 99th post

Guess that means the pressure is on for tomorrow's post, huh?

I'll try and get a pic of the quilting project from my class (It isn't done, but it's getting somewhere.)

Did you read about the baby in the tornado? It's an amazing story. So much tragedy, and amongst all that a miracle.

I'm working on very little sleep today, as my son had the short lived stomach bug from 10 pm last night until around 2 am. I'm so tired, so off to bed with me.

Finally Friday

Okay, I really don't understand how such a short work week could last so long. I'm very glad it's over though. Today was my MIL's birthday...she doesn't read blogs, let alone mine, but Happy Birthday to her anyway. There was a time not so long ago that we weren't sure she would make it to 60, but today she proved that wrong. Way to go.

I really have to take some pictures from our Holiday crafting bonanza...lol. That will give me some more fodder for my blog.

I'm looking for photo/graphic software...any suggestions? (besides the one opinion I've already solicited...thanks OMSH!)

On a another note, I just gotta say, I love my hubby. He's the best fit for me, and I'm really happy that the military changed their collective mind to allow him to spend some more time home with us :) Love you!

And it continues

I'm hoping that as I do this each day, I'll get into the habit of making notes of things I want to blog about. And then I'll have tidbits and info to make real posts, not these long random thoughts.

I actually do have another post started, but it needs time to be worked on. And I started a list of things I might want to blog about. Now I have to find the time to do them justice.

Thursday...one more day of work, one more day of an employee that has caused me a lot of heartburn, one more day until I can hopefully sleep.

Craziness...Day 2

Today it was back to work. It went pretty well. I think I'll enjoy a 3 day work week. Unfortunately, there's a lot to cram into that work week, including a jaunt to the base to get a new ID card, and a trip to the docter for Princess Bear. She has had a nagging cough for several days, and I was hoping that a few nebulizer treatments would take care of it, but it's getting worse.

I had lunch with mom today. It was nice being able to do that...we haven't been able to for so many years.

My mom bought both the girls American Girl dolls for Christmas. The Bug got an older Samantha doll from her mom, and a new one from my mom. The look of joy on her face when she opened it today was priceless. The sqealing and screaming was the girliest I've seen her in a while. When PB opened her Joesphina doll on Christmas, she snuggled with the box for 30 minutes until we could safely remove it from her hands and take her out. I'm hoping to take them to the American Girl store in New York sometime this year. I think it could be an awesome fun trip for all of us...there are other places I want to take both the girls and the Monster.

All three of the kids got Ipod shuffles this year, each a different color. The monster is totally attached to his...last night he was dancing around in his tshirt and underwear, looking like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. I could watch him for hours, he's such a ham. He didn't want to take it off for school today...he could listen to music for hours.

On Christmas morning, he got his Ipod one gift before PB. The look of disappointment and anger on her face was so stinking funny. She was so sure that he was getting one and she wasn't. Then hers came next...a shiny green (her new favorite color) and she about jumped out of her skin with excitement. Sometimes, suprises happen when you don't plan them, and that was one of those instances.

All in all, we had a very good Holiday. We spent a lot of time in our home, just hanging out and being together. The perfect Holiday vacation.

New Year Part 2

I've totally lost my mind. I signed up for the 365 challenge...blog every day. Let's see if I make it through January. I've wanted to get myself motivated, so here it goes.

I updated the blogroll some, but look for it to really be renovated soon. I'm also looking into web design class...I want to learn how to code this website and make it what I want. I think I can get one paid for through work, but I have to work on that aspect.

This is the year of me apparently. My hubby bought me a brand new laptop for Christmas. Not one to share, but all my own. It's very pretty and shiny and I love it. Hopefully that will make posting easier. My mom and grandma signed me up for a quilting class I wanted to attend. And I've joined a stamp club that will meet once a month. I know my hubby is going to be away a lot over the next year, and I'm looking at this as a way of making sure I get some breaks.

I made some really cute things for Christmas this year, and I hope to share a few on here in the coming days. I've also signed up for Fun Monday. Who knows what else I may decide to do...gotta get those posts out somehow!

Random December Thoughts

It's December, which means I can safely talk about Christmas. I did some shopping Friday afternoon, and I've been up sewing some pj pants for my kiddies. It's 3:30 am, and I need to go to bed. I love the Holiday Season.

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Wanna know what my kids favorite Christmas song is? Nope, not Frosty, not Santa Claus is Coming to Town, not even Jingle Bells. No old school classics for my babies. Are you ready for it? "Last Christmas" by Wham!. Yep, that's the favorite of all three. I'm so proud!

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We had the first snowfall of the year earlier this week. I hate snow. It's great for the first few hours...then I have to go out and shovel and clear and it's no longer any fun. I hope it's all melted soon.

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Heading off to bed, night!

Enjoy...

Gather round children...

For I am going to post twice in three days. Scary, I know.

It's finally fall here. Crisp air, warm sweaters...oh wait, it's still a sauna in my office, so I have to dress for fall, with summer underneath. How hard is it really to regulate the temperature in an office building. Really, just one part...the rest of the building is comfortable. I guess I can say I really do work in the bowels of hell.

Went to Joann Fabrics today to buy some fall decorations for a game night I have this week. I looked at the calendar today, and it tells me we are still in the first week of November. Thanksgiving is several weeks away, Christmas almost 2 months away. Guess what! Very little in the way of Thanksgiving stuff still out. Christmas is there. Wal-Mart has tried to declare the Friday after Halloween the new Black Friday. Uhm, there's a few flaws in that thinking. Number one, I have the day after Thanksgiving off with pay...I don't have the Friday after Halloween off unless I use a vacation day. Secondly, I am a strong believer in taking our Holidays back. I don't want to start decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving. I love fall, and Thanksgiving is when I get to decorate for it. I'm hoping that people don't encourage this early Christmas spirit too much...I really am tired of being tired of Christmas before it even gets here.

What do you think?

It's been a hectic couple of weeks. Last week was our fair (our state is so small, there's only one) and PB was showing sheep there. What an experience. She is too stinking cute anyways, but we added pink cowgirl boots to the mix and the cuteness level was off the charts. After the all the traveling to and from and time spent (and money, goodness fairs can get expensive), my hubby and I went off for a little weekend retreat. Which was good. But now, we're moving back to normal life.

By Thursday of last week, I could tell that my kids needed a serious amount of sleep, and some time spent in their rooms, in their house. So AT 7:30, I told them they could go outside for 30 minutes, or go to bed. My son insisted he was going to watch TV, and a complete and utter breakdown began. I took him up to his room, helped into PJ's, and settled on his bed to listen to the whining and crying until he finally passed out. During his outrage, he told me that "the answer no is cancelled". I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. And really, isn't that we all wish for...that the answer no doesn't apply, doesn't exist. He finally passed out, I managed to roll out from underneath him, and his final words to me were "I just want to go home." He's getting his wish this week, so let's see how much he enjoys it.

Happy 4th!

What a great way to celebrate our nation's independence...sitting on a historic patch of grass in the first state, watching one of my very good friends son and mine roll around in complete boyhood, sharing glowsticks with lots of kids, eating italian ice, watching amazing fireworks, and listening the Army band play great patriotic music, complete with cannon's firing. What a satisfying evening. And there's several more days of vacation to go...YAY!

Monday we went to Sesame Place. A good time was had by all, and it wasn't too exhausting. Temperature would have been great for most amusement parks, but Sesame Place is mostly water...was a bit chilly for that.

One day this week, we will go to the beach, sit in the sand and build sandcastles, throw out a line and maybe even launch the boat. While I understand the need to plan most of the time, it's been very pleasant to just go with the flow for the last few days.

Oh, and the ultimate treat...grocery shopping without kiddies, in a store that everyone assumes is closed (only explanation I have for there only being like 12 people in the store...normally it's total chaos in there!)

Hope you all had a great 4th of July!