krispy kreme

After picking Joshua up from school today we headed home and hung out until my mother arrived. Then we went down, picked up David from work and headed down to their house. They had made a short list of things they needed to get. The dogs were excited to see them and were upset when we left. On the way back up we stopped at Waffle House for dinner...well, I had breakfast. And it was true to Waffle House taste. The Krispy Kreme is just down the street so after dinner....you guessed it....at 10 minutes until 9pm....already 20 minutes after bedtime....we went into Krispy Kreme. Joshua had his very first doughnut a few weeks back and has now had his first Krispy Kreme doughnut. He was fascinated at watching the doughnuts being made. As a note...by 10pm, Joshua was bathed and in bed asleep.

Also tonight at dinner he busted out into a semi-new song. We haven't sang this song in a while so I suspect they did at school today. He busted out "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, you, you". It was quite funny. Joshua also added a new word tonight. He will ask, "where go (name)", then say, "i no no" (I don't know). He now says "I no no et-her" (I don't know either). He was a jabber box from the time I picked him up from school until he went to bed.

fire, fire

This morning I headed off to work, it was raining. By the time I got to work it was pouring. The lightning was so bright sometimes that it seemed fully daylight. I got to work, opened the truck door and popped open my umbrella. I headed towards the building. I had to hold tight to my umbrella because the wind was trying to blow it away. In a moment, it nearly did. My umbrella flipped inside and out. I am getting soaked and cussing all the way to the building. Flippin' great! I got upstairs to my desk, threw down my keys, I am upset because it took so much extra time to get there also. I worked for about 20 minutes and headed off to my class at Northlake and it was barely raining. Not long after my class fully started, my mother called. I sent her call to voicemail and sent her a text that I was in class. She texted back to call her cell when I got a chance. Her cell?...shouldn't she be at work by now? When my class took a break, I stepped into the hallway to call her. She started telling me about how lightning had hit her house and a caused a fire in the attic. They had damage to the living room also. I was at first speechless. I wanted to think she was joking with me, but she was so serious. I told her I would check back in later and went back to class since they had it all under control. I must have looked different when I came back to class because 5 people asked if I was okay. My class resumed and we took another break. I called my husband who said he, my sister & my brother were going to head down...but I wanted to go. I wanted to go see the damage and help get whatever needed to be done done. My supervisor in also in my class so I stepped back in and asked her to step out in the hall. When I told her what was going on, she was like go..go...why are you still here? I really wanted to stay for the last hour of class, but I really wanted to go. When we got back in, we were given our certificates and my supervisor said she was given me a pass to go ahead and leave. Everyone wished me well and I briefly thanked my instructor, he was awesome. I headed down to my mom's.

The damage wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was still bad though. The fire started in the attic when lightning hit the house. The fire likely came down the chimney and found electrical wires and sparked the fire. Mom said that they lost some electric in the house and could smell smoke. They were trying to flip the switches out when David opened the attic door. In the attic they could see the flames. My grabbed the dogs, her purse and cell phone and headed out of the house calling 911. David went to wake my step-brother to find out that he wasn't home. The firemen showed up and filled the street with trucks. The fire and firemen had broken a gas line in the attic also. So there is no power or gas and these things can't be turned on until both are repaired. The adjuster comes out tomorrow. Today, we pulled up the carpet in the living room and hallways since they were soaked. Mom and David packed up a couple days worth of things and we headed towards my house. They will stay here for a few days until the insurance decides what will happen.

Overall, I am glad that everyone is safe. It is quite interesting that this happened today...a day when my brother woke up with a sinus headache and wasn't going in....a day when my sister decided to take a personal day off work...a day when my husband was at home....a day when I was easily able to get off work...a day when my step-brother didn't have to be at work. Oh, what a day it has been.

Here are some pictures from the day.

You can also see pictures already uploaded onto my brother's Flickr.

snapshot sunday

Bet you thought, I was skipping Snapshot Sunday again, huh?!?!? Well, I didn't. Here you go.

The weather was so nice out this past week. We did a lot of outside activities after work/school this week. On Wednesday, we played outside not long before the sunset with hot wheels type cars Joshua got from his Uncle J.

On Saturday, I had a Breast Cancer 3-Day fundraiser to attend. Mom & David (Pops) kept Joshua for the day. They were going to stay around home, but instead decided to go out running around. They made a trip into Dallas to the Age of Steam Railroad Museum at Fair Park. Joshua loved the trains. There will be pictures up on Flickr soon.

After the trains, they decided they would head over to see planes at the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum. Joshua didn't have quite as much fun here, but he was needing a nap.

Per request, here is Joshua's size compared to Chanci's size. I haven't done pictures like this in a while. Joshua was fresh outta the bath in his p.j.'s and Chanci...well...she could use a bath.

Joshua also got a haircut Sunday by my mom. This is what he thinks about it. And, despite how it looks in this picture, it is a good haircut/trim up.

waddle waddle

Wednesday was just another Wednesday. Nothing major happened. Tonight, Thursday night, I went to Bedford Boy's Ranch again for a walk. I didn't do well because after I started walking, I stopped to stretch, like I have been doing, and when I started walking again the muscles in my right leg tightened up. They tightened up so badly that I talked myself out of sitting down. I figured that sitting down would not help. My muscles have not done this before tonight. I did not like it and will eat a banana in the morning to help this situation.

I took the camera to the park tonight in hopes of seeing these baby geese that I seen on Tuesday night. And sure enough, I found them, near where I had seen them on Tuesday. They are just so cute.

And then there were these ducks that waddled on over quacking at us, requesting food.

When they realized we didn't have food, they waddled away, quacking amongst themselves. I am sure they were cursing at us.

no barking

Monday night, I talked Jeff into walking with me. We walked a mile and half, which wasn't bad. Joshua is loving riding in the stroller for walks. Tonight, Steph & I went and meet with our team the 60 Mile Mamas and walked 2 and a half miles. Which is great. We walked at the Bedford Boys Ranch which is a great place to walk. Jeff kept Joshua at home. Jeff said that when I left, Joshua went and sat in his stroller and cried because Mommy had left him. I thought about Joshua the entire time I was gone because I felt guilty for not bringing him. He really seems to be looking forward to my walking. When we walk our neighborhood, we barks back at the dogs and after spending Sunday evening in my brother, Jeromy's backyard, Joshua now says, "no barking". Joshua seems to not like larger dog barks. They are the ones that are told, "no barking". The little dog barks, he barks at and then tells them "no barking".

I am taking an Excel class at work. It is part of a grant that my company got for continuing education with Northlake. I learned several new things today that I didn't know how to do and was refreshed on things I haven't used in a long while. The class continues Wed, Fri & Mon. Being on the campus really makes me wish I had finished college and perhaps someday things will work out and I can go back.

Two night of eating in now....seems easy enough...especially considering that I got new things that we don't normally eat. I need to get to bed...5:30 is going to come really early.

Snapshot Monday

So I went to bed last night and completely forgot about Snapshot Sunday. Since I am still a little behind on editing pictures here are a few.

Tornado damage DeQueen, AR.

I will get the larger pictures uploaded onto flickr this week with more detail about them.

Tornado damage Mena, AR.
Joshua Easter egg hunt loot.
Sharing a snack with Monkey...this is a couple months old, but cute all the same.

no walking but a lot of running

Our training walk with our new team, 60 Mile Mamas, this morning was rained out. Instead we went and had breakfast together. It was great. They filled us in on the fundraising plans for the 3-Day and answered many questions that Steph & I had. After that was done, Steph, Kaitlyn, Joshua & I started running around. First to Target because Joshua exploded and needed not only pants but also a shirt (yes, it was that bad) and I didn't have backup clothes withe me. To Sam Moon where I scored a new purse (that I am not sure I like now that I have used it), earrings and a necklace. Then back to Target to pick up my truck. Headed to my sister's to drop my truck off. Then to Academy, where nothing was found that was needed. Then to Dick's Sporting Goods, again absolutely nothing of use in this over sized store. Off to Wal-mart for grocery shopping, too many dollars later we dropped my grocery's off at home and change Joshua because he again exploded. Then, we decided that we hadn't been to quite enough stores today so we headed to Grapevine to Bass Pro Shops where again nothing was found that was needed. So back home we headed, decided to go to Fuddrucker's for a hamburger, a tasty one at that. After dinner, Joshua learned how to do "hand farts", you can imagine how precious this is. No one really taught him how...I really think he just figured it out. Back to my sisters, where Joshua exploded once again (the third time) and needed to be changed. We came home and I got Joshua in the bath. I am thinking that his explosions are the result of his antibiotic for his ears, which still aren't clearing up. I think he will need to go back to the doctor this week.

I am tired. Joshua was a terrible two year old all day. He wants to do anything and everything except what I want him to do. Which today was a lot of stop moving around and touching things. I swear the kid touches everything that he touchable which only rules out nothing. And he still puts nearly everything he can into his mouth. I would have thought that we would have grown out of this by now, but nooooo.

The tooth I chipped during my pregnancy is really starting to bother me. We have no dental coverage and no extra funds for me to go the the dentist on. It gives me headaches and I know it needs to come out. My heels hurt from all the walking/running around we did today. I will need new shoes soon for training I am doing. My brassiere is bothering me to no end and I hate shopping for new ones nor do I really have the money for a new one. I am not sleeping well and that has resulted in a cranky Susan. And no one likes a cranky Susan. So....since the cat is snoring in the chair next to me, I think I will head to bed (better late than never!).

wooo potty time

Thursday night one of the shows I watch didn't come on and the other was a rerun. So Joshua and I sat down in the study floor to go through more papers that have piled up. I swear I have been working on this study and piles of paper since before Christmas. The pile never seems to end. It doesn't help that I suck at organizing. I was shredding paper and Joshua was studying the shredder from a distance. He picked up a paper out of the recycle box and wanted me to shred it. As the shredder is "eating" the paper, he's like, "no, my paper", that isn't how it works, we can't get the paper back, the machine eats it, I explain. He seems to understand and I go out shredding. In a minute he brings me several papers and says, "eat it". So we shred those and he seemed to understand that the machine "eats" the paper. It is amazing to me how he figures things out.

Since we got back from Arkansas this past weekend, Chanci keeps wanting to be let out in the middle of the night. I am not liking this at all. I am not going to be getting up and down all night to let her in and out. So, since Jeff went to work Wednesday morning, at 4 a.m. Thursday morning, Chanci wanted out. Not a major problem, I get up at 5:30 anyway. She was only out for about 2 hours...she is out that long on the weekend and some week nights anyway. Well, Friday morning she wanted out at 2 a.m. I am tired and ticked that I am having to get up to let this "stupid-a**" dog out. I didn't know it was about to be raining. When I got up late at nearly 6 a.m., I went to let her in. Well....it had been raining and she was one pi**ed, wet & muddy dog. I had her wait in the sun room, partly to dry off and partly to clear a nice path back to her crate. She came in, refused to go in the kitchen for a drink so it was straight to her crate. Muddy paw prints from the back door to her crate. Good thing the living room is hardwood & the carpet in the bedroom it gross anyway. The mud she brings in normally cleans up pretty well off of it anyway. Perhaps, just perhaps, she learned her lesson and won't be asking to go out in the night tonight. And if she does, I will probably curse her all the way outside where she will again stay until I get up.

Tonight, when we got home from dinner with my sister, Joshua and I were playing in the living room. I kept asking if he was ready for bed and of course "No!" was always the answer. Right at 8:30, I asked if he wanted to do potty-time. He responded, clapping his hands, "yeah, yeah, potty time, yeah, yeah". And as we headed down the hall to his bathroom it was, "woooo potty time, woooo, yeah, potty time". He was so freakin' excited about it, it was hard not to laugh. And I was tired of waiting for him to go, I was trying to get him to get up so we could go put on a diaper...and he was refusing to get up...suddenly, the music started. He peed, but honestly, most of it got on his shirt....yuck! He apparently wasn't sitting just right. After he went, he said, "see pee-pee" and stood up so he could see it. Sounds gross and it was. After his diaper, we went back in to flush it down the toilet. Again, he waved and said bye to the pee. I swear that is his favorite part of using the potty. But secretly, inside, in quiet, I go "wooooo, we pottied, we pottied, woooo, yeah, yeah, we pottied!" and my guts do a happy dance while my heart does backflips!

This is a busy weekend...kinda. Tomorrow morning, provided it doesn't rain, I am meeting my new teammates. My sister, Stephanie, and I have joined an existing team for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. We are now members of the 60 Mile Mamas. These women have done the race before, most of the more than once. And they know the ropes and I am looking forward to meeting them. After that, shopping and a trip to Burleson to (hopefully) see a new baby.

where have all the snapshots gone

So, I am skipping Snapshot Sunday this week...just look for next Sunday's to be big.

This has been a busy week but I haven't really done much...at least I don't feel that I have.

Monday brought about not much. Dinner with my sister. Oh, on Monday, Joshua had a follow up with his pedi. They had called in drops on Friday to the Wal-mart in Arkansas. The doctor was concerned because after 4 days of ear drops, his ears were not clearing very quickly. He could still see the tubes in both ears. He wanted to put him on an antibiotic. We dropped off the script and when we went to pick it up, the lady asked if we wanted it flavored. I asked what flavors she had and she started listing them. I said, "did you say banana?" "Yes, does he like banana?" "Oh yea, we will take banana flavoring." "That's weird, but okay." She left the window and returned and we headed home. After getting Joshua in his jammies, I offered his banana flavored medicine. I told him it was banana, after all it smells like bananas. He took half of it and said, "no wan it, no wan it, no banana, no wan it, no banana mama". Apparently, the banana flavoring isn't that great....note to self.

Tuesday night, Jeff and I had our appointment. It went well. There are some new things that we will work on in the next month. I actually felt like this appointment was productive. While we were gone, Mom came up and kept Joshua. I called her when we got out of our appointment to let her know we were headed home. She said that she had created a monster for us. I am thinking, "great, what now?". When we got home, she was pulling him along the sidewalk in his dump truck. His Tonka dump truck in all it's yellow glory. And he was just smiling from ear to ear. I wish I had snapped a picture. She had tied a stringy-rope to it and was pulling him along. Then, we all had to come inside. It was getting to be bedtime and Mom needed to go home. Joshua didn't want to get out of his dump truck, much less come inside. He whined at the door for "ouside". He loves to be outside (wonder where he gets that from) and begs to go out constantly. We really need to get the backyard in some sort of shape so we can use it more. Then I don't have to worry about random dogs....

I hate when people put their kids in the front yard with their dog. They expect the kid to play and be a kid and to take care of the dog. Typically the kid has no control or authority over the dog so it is a lose-lose situation. It bothers me to no end. Mom had brought Chanci out in the front on Tuesday night and hooked her up to the tree. We sometimes take her in the front to play around and if we will be outside for an extended period of time we have her cable around the tree. After I got home, this dog comes running up to Chanci with a young girl chasing behind yelling for the dog. She had no control over this dog. I don't like this. Moments later, the people across the street also had their kids and dog out in the front to play...their dog came over to see Chanci. This time she barked at the incoming dog and the dog turned around and headed home before making to our grass. Two thoughts...1. Is Chanci really that intimidating? 2. What are these parents thinking...are they thinking?? I think it is important for a child to learn about responsibility and I think a dog can be a good tool is this lesson. But, a child should never be left as the sole care giver to a dog. A child should not have to keep up with a dog while they are outside to play with their friends. You can't expect an 8-12 year old to do both at once. And you shouldn't leave your kid alone with a dog...no matter how much you trust your child or the dog. You just never know what could happen. I don't think Chanci would ever attack anyone (she is more likely to lick them to death) but she could easily knock someone over, including an adult. She is not small by any means. I also can not stand when a child comes running up to me and Chanci, hands flailing about, screaming 'puppy, puppy'. It is intimidating for the dog and increases the chance the dog will attack. Don't let your child do this. They don't know the dog, and the dog doesn't know them. There is a girl that lives on our street who always ask if she can come pet our dog. She is nice and polite. She always offers the back of her hand to Chanci as she walks up. Obviously, her parents took the time to teach her this. Why then, is she the child who came chasing her dog into my yard on Tuesday? Why? You can't talk to the dog, asking, "how does this child with flailing arms make you feel?" No matter how innocent the dog looks, no matter big or small...you should ask before approaching a dog you don't know. And you should not let your child keep up with your dog while they want to play with friends. You can dog sit for an hour while they play outside. Give the dog a crate...a safe place to hang out in this instances. Please for the love of my sanity.

Jeff didn't go to work Tuesday night. They didn't have a load for him, but asked him to call Wednesday morning. When he called Wednesday morning, they surprisingly had a load for him to Memphis.

Wednesday has been another day. Nothing stand out as happened. I decided this afternoon at work that I would take advantage of another beautiful day and go for a walk when I got home. That is exactly what I did. For the first time since my surgery I walked. I did some light stretching and then walked a mile and a half. My mother called while I was out for my walk and asked about dinner. I had planned chicken & noodles for dinner. But $5.50 fajitas sounded too good to pass up. So off to Grand Prairie for fajitas. They were tasty as usual. After we got home, Joshua found a million things he didn't like and decided to throw a tantrum about every single one of them. Finally it got late enough for bath time. So off for a bath. Bath time with him has gotten interesting. He doesn't want to sit in the tub. But doesn't want to take a shower either. Basically, he wants to play with the water, but not be bathed. He prefers to be dirty and if he had his choice he would sleep in the dirt, eat in the dirt and live in the dirt. Being cleaned is a chore for him; a chore that he absolutely does not like. He stood up for most of this bath today, bending down to play with his bath toys. When I finally rinsed the shampoo out of his hair he decided to sit down. I didn't get very wet tonight during bath time...it has been a while since I stayed this dry. Then, at the end of his bath, he didn't want to get out. He never wants to get out. The water drains out and I know he is getting cold, but still he refuses to get out. Normally I get him out and he tries to escape before being wrapped in the towel. He is a streaker when given the opportunity.

It is nearly an hour after my bedtime. I had a hard time getting up this morning, so I really should have gone to bed early, but oh well.

snapshot sunday delayed again

Snapshot Sunday will again be late this week. I forgot to take my camera to Arkansas and had to use my mother's. She just left, but I need to get to bed so...Snapshot Sunday will be on Monday again this week.

Thursday dragged at work. The wildfires west of here left the air hazy and smokey. I expected to have problems with my asthma, but surprisingly, I didn't. We hit the road Thursday night and blew a tire in Rockwall. Spent about two hours at a Love's. Good thing we did, as we were sitting around with a blown tire being fixed, tornadoes hit the two largest towns in the area we were headed too. I don't think we would have been in the middle of them, but our delay helped us not be quite so close. Joshua refused dinner Thursday night and I realized that his ear was draining. He had been having goopy eyes all week. When we rolled into the first of these towns, De Queen, we came over the hill and seen flashing lights. At first we thought it was a road block to check drivers out, but once we were in the lights, we could tell it had been a tornado. The damage looked pretty bad even in the dark of night. By the time we reached the cabin in Arkansas after midnight, I knew I would have to call the doctor Friday to see if they would call in meds for him. Friday morning we all got a later start. I called his doctor and played phone tag with the nurse. They did call in eye drops & ear drops for Joshua so we had to venture back to De Queen. The damage in the daylight was bad. A mobile home park had been hit right along the highway. The homes were thrown about and the trees were whacked off in every direction. We got what we needed at Walmart and headed back to the cabin. I took some pretty good pictures and video...part of Snapshot Sunday. Friday night, Mom and David's air mattress sprung a major leak. We attempted to fix it, but that didn't work. Mom nearly scared me to death when she woke me up in the night to take my air mattress. I had a extra with me but it was twin. We aired it up and I slept on it for the night.

Saturday morning we did Easter baskets with the kids. The Easter Bunny hopped right on by and left them for the kids while they were out for a ride. Joshua's reaction was like "oh, this is mine, ok". Then he realized that E & K were taking their candy out of theirs and he joined in....at least until he found this years Easter Car...seems to be becoming a tradition from his Easter Bunny...a cool new car to play with. A short while later, Jeff called for the umpteenth time, I was bothered that he wouldn't stop calling. He said he just wanted to call and tell me how much he was missing Joshua and I. My response was, "yeah, we miss you too, what do you want". (loving aren't I?) He suggested I look over the hill....and low and behold...there he was. I was shocked. Once he got in the cabin, my next response was, "we don't have anywhere for you to sleep". Remember I had given my big air mattress to Mom & David and was now sleeping on a twin. It was decided that Mom and I would drive over to Mena to get another air mattress. The tornado damage in Mena was worse than De Queen. It was devastating. Homes...beautiful homes....old beautiful homes destroyed. There is nothing quite like a home from the early 1900's...the craftsmanship that went into homes back then is amazing. And to see those homes thrown about......it was hard. The people walking the streets....were heartbroken. Cases of water were set out every 5-8 houses. There was a safe haven, where food and water was near the First Baptist Church...which had damage also, as did four churches close by. We didn't venture to far in to the damage, because it was so bad. It made my neck hurt...the stress, the pain, the damage, the faces of the people.

Saturday afternoon, back at the cabin, we did hunt eggs...again while the kids were gone for a ride. Joshua had a good time hunting, but he wanted to stop and open the eggs to see what was inside. He made out with a good loot of candy. Candy that he doesn't need, nor do Mommy or Daddy.

In the night, Sunday...not long after we laid down, it came a storm. Rain falling heavy and hard. At one point it started hailing and I shot up in bed yelling, "oh crap". I woke up Joshua who then had to be comforted back to sleep...or maybe I needed to be comforted by him. After the devastation I had seen in Mena, I had a hard time sleeping with the storm happening outside. Sunday morning, it was still raining. Problem with this is that in order for us to get out to the highway from the cabin we have to get vehicles to the other side of the pond. Not hard to do when the ground is dry. But had 6 inches of water to the bottom and it quickly becomes difficult. The boys loaded 4-wheelers onto one trailer and got it across safely and then came back to take the other trailer of 4-wheelers across. In the meantime, Jeff and I had loaded up the Camero and decided that I would drive it across the dam to the other side. I slipped and slid my way across the dam, got stuck, then unstuck. Then went a different route. And again slipped and slid and got stuck, unstuck, stuck, unstuck, stuck, laid on the horn for help to head my way, unstuck, stuck, unstuck, stuck, unstuck, stuck and finally made it to unstuckable ground. I headed back to camp and my brother-in-law came over to get me. As we were done loading up the final stuff to head out, the sky got a little blue and the sunshine peeked through. Typical....very typical. Nonetheless, we headed home. Stopped and had supper (lunch/dinner) at Applebee's and made it home around 5:30.

Now it is past my bedtime, I will have Snapshot Sunday on a Monday tomorrow.

three years today

Well, it has been a quick couple of days. Monday night, Jeff and I went out for an early anniversary dinner. We had planned to do this Sunday, but the Fence Raising Party kinda got in the way of that. We went to Red Lobster...I had won my choice of gift cards at work and I picked the Red Lobster one because Jeff likes to go there, but I don't really. We had a good dinner.

I should back up to Saturday. Joshua and I were out most of the day. But that evening, Joshua nearly made me cry. We were playing in the living room...our couch has recliners at both ends. He has learned that he can climb up on the reclined portion and walk his way up to the lap of whoever is sitting there. We had been playing this "fun" game for about 4 or 5 minutes when he climbed up into my lap and sat down. He grabbed my cheeks to look me in the face and said, "love you Mama" and then gave me the biggest hug I have ever gotten. I didn't cry...if I had, he would have thought he had done something wrong. It was one of the sweetest moments in his nearly two years. So fast forward to tonight.....................in the bathtub. He has two "bukets" as he calls them. He loves pouring the water from one to the other. I love using the larger "buket" to rinse him off...hair included. He has gotten in the last month to where he doesn't like this part of the bath. Quick and easy...that it what I always tell him. So tonight, I seized my opportunity and grabbed the larger "buket" and dumped it over his head. He gave me the meanest face I have ever seen on him and reached down with the smaller "buket" filling it with water and threw the water all over me. I was good and wet. And all I could do was laugh. It had happened so fast. It was funny...like "I'll show you, Mommy".

Tuesday night, was uneventful. I went grocery shopping with my sister for the food for Arkansas this weekend. I am excited about this trip. Joshua is really getting big and adventurous outside. The other day he laid down on the sidewalk to say "hi" to an ant that was walking along. It was very cute and I kicked myself for not having the camera in my hand. If only I had a way to permanently attach the camera to my hand then I know I wouldn't miss things like this. I think that was Saturday morning when he said hi to that ant.

So today, is mine and Jeff's 3rd wedding anniversary. Three years married and 6 years together this summer. Six years....that is a long time. Time has flown by. And though we have our issues, I do love him more than just about anything else. He makes me laugh even when I don't want to. He doesn't always help around the house, but when he does, he does an awesome job...especially in the kitchen. He hates doing yard work, but does it anyway. And he takes good care of me and Joshua. So, Happy 3rd Anniversary Sweetheart!

snapshot sunday on a monday

Turns out our Internet/TV problems were related to the fence raising. Seems we cut an important wire when digging, causing 4 people on our block to be without their cable services. It all got fixed up today!

Here is the fence after the fierce wind storm from Thursday...

Here is the fence after Sunday's Fence Raising Party...

As another note, Joshua used his potty 4 times this weekend....and I am so excited!!! I will blog more tomorrow night. My new shift is telling me that I don't need to be up past 10.

where go snapshot sunday?

Snapshot Sunday will appear on Monday as our cable (TV & internet) are down.

hooray!

I had a great Friday and a great Saturday...will Sunday be great also??? I hope so!!!

Friday morning I woke up and while I was getting dressed, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that I could see into my neighbor's backyard. I turned my head to get a full head on view and yes...there was my neighbor's backyard....green grass....no weeds....flower bed along the back fence....in all it's glory, my neighbor's backyard. So I asked myself, "Self, why can you see in the neighbor's backyard?". And then I answered myself, "I don't know. Where is the fence?" My conversation continued with myself for a few moments as I moved closer to the window. I looked out and there was my fence, on....the....ground. The winds had blown through ferociously on Thursday and I had gotten home after dark and did not notice this until now...Friday morning when I am getting ready for work. I called Jeff, money is tight right now, and casually asked if we had $200 to spare this weekend. He asked why, so I told him and at first he was speechless and then thought that I was joking. I wasn't. Friday night, I again got home after dark...geez....I really stay out too late! I also called my brother-in-law to find out if he could help me figure out what supplies I would need to fix the fence....he, of course, said yes and that he was available on Sunday. I ain't fixin' the fence if Jeff ain't here to help so it would have to wait until Sunday when I knew he would be home. I then called in an old return-favor from my cousin...see I help him put up his fence years back when they had first bought their house. So, now I had my cheap-labor lined up and just needed the supplies.

I went off to work on Friday...in a great mood....it is amazing what a little planning will do for you! At work, I was pulled away into a one-on-one with my supervisor and offered an earlier shift. Of course...I would love to work earlier. It has been difficult getting to Joshua before his daycare closes. My day sailed along smoothly. I was super productive...but then my phone didn't ring non-stop like it had all week. I left work, picked up Joshua and had a great dinner at an place in Irving I hadn't been to in at least 2 years. It was tasty as always. Funny thing, as a side note. The place was Angelo's and Angelo's used to be over in the Plymouth Park area of Irving...at Irving Blvd and Story. So way back when....like 50+ years ago, my great-grandmother used to work there. In fact, her picture is still hanging on a wall as part of a newspaper article that was done about this booming little Italian restaurant. I am proud of this but not sure why.

Saturday morning, my mother drove up to my house to go running around. I think she was glad to be out of the house again after Thursday. We traveled with my sister up to Sam Moon to look at luggage for a birthday party my sister had to go to this afternoon. She found a cute bag that any 10 year old girl should love. We split with her as she headed to South Irving to the party, Mom and I headed to Sweet Tomatoes. If I am on that side of town, I almost feel obligated to stop for lunch. The buy one get one coupon that Mom had helped too! After that, we stopped in at Wal-mart to pick up a few things for Mom and dinner makings for tomorrow night. We headed back to my house and finally Joshua fell asleep. But woke up a mere 40 minutes later...I don't get it...he takes a two hour nap at school, but regardless of what we do on the weekend...he never sleeps that long for me anymore. We weren't home very much longer, my brother-in-law had gotten off work and stopped by to help access the fence situation. We determined what we needed. I should mention that I went over to my neighbor's house today to let him know that we would be fixing the fence tomorrow, Sunday. He said great, and would split the cost with us (which is great). He said he wanted to help, but after he got home from church. Awesome. Steph's group and Josh & I grabbed dinner and headed to Lowe's. $435.11 later, we have all fence fixing material. So now...just have to wait for tomorrow afternoon to get here for the fence raising party. Wanna help???

Also, today, Saturday, April 4, Joshua pee'd in the potty twice...not just once...twice!!! How freakin' awesome is that??? I was quite giddy after the second time. He loves to help pour the pee into the big potty and flush it away....he always says, "bye-bye peepee". It is funny. Joshua and I have been working on some new songs, one of which I got from another blog I read. It is a song, I know you know...If you're happy and you know it, shout Hooray! Hooray! He loves it...we sing, If you're sad..frown, sleepy..close your eyes, elephant..swing your truck, bird..flap your wings, monkey..wave your arms. Between this new found fun song and Ring Around the Rosie, we are doing a whole lot of singing.

That pretty much wraps it up.

pro-duck-tive

Today was busy at work. Before I knew it I had missed my first break by an hour, but took it after speaking with an upset provider. Then I went to lunch 30 minutes late....I didn't even realize it was lunch time. When my last break rolled around....well I was an hour and a half late for that. But I was mostly productive all day. The two new girls on our team have been making all of our outbound calls to the providers...only making outbound calls. That leaves me...one person...to take all the return calls from the voice mails they have had to leave. I did get to learn another step in the refund process...only one more step for me to learn.

When I got out of work and into the truck...I hadn't even started the truck and my phone rang. It was my step-dad, David, and at first I panicked thinking something was wrong with Mom. There was nothing wrong with her except she wanted to get out of the house and they were calling to see if Joshua and I wanted to go with them. To Chinese...I don't get Chinese very often. And there is this great place down in Mansfield that we went to meet them at. It was my first time to see Mom since her surgery and she was moving around better than I expected her to be. Joshua, of course, wanted Nana to pick him up, and I don't think he ever understood that Nana couldn't. All in all, it was a good dinner and Joshua played for a bit after we got home and went to bed with little fussing. He hasn't been wanting to go to bed lately....he just wants to be "wake" meaning not "seep".

Tonight after we got home, I was productive. I managed to get two loads of laundry going...one in the washer now and one in the dryer....not bad for my lazy bones. And I also got a load of dishes going. I am going to have to do some hand dish washing this weekend, because that pile is bugging me.

I was super productive today at work and at home....and now....I am going to bed.

ring roun rosie

Monday was busy at work...most every day has been super busy at work this week. And hectic. And it is only Wednesday.

This morning on the way to school, Joshua surprised me with something new. We had stopped to get gas and were nearly to school when he started singing, "ring roun - pause - ashes ashes we fall down". I looked over shocked because he and I haven't done this song. He was so proud of himself that he then had to sing it again, "mommy, ring roun, ashes ashes we down". I was impressed. So I sang it and he looked at me as surprised as I was looking at him...like wow mom you know that song too? It was great. We sang it some again and again on the way home today, but today at school he picked up another word so now he sings, "ring round rosie, ashes ashes, we fall down". He also clasp his hands together and dances them back and forth.

Then tonight at dinner, he burped and said, "excuse you". It was so hard not to burst out laughing. I know if I had laughed he would have thought is was funny to burp and it would never stop. But I am laughing now as I type this. I am truly amazed everyday with the new phrases he comes up with. This past weekend, we discovered that he will count to 10. He had never counted beyond 5. His ABC's are coming along as well...he can almost sing all of them...it helps if he is in a mood where he wants too. And I have noticed that he seems to know the colors red, blue, brown and green. Though he likes to say purple...probably because it feels funny to say.

I wish tomorrow was Friday, but it is not. Two more days and this week will officially be over and down with.