conversations with joshua

Another catch-up post.

A few weeks back while my mother was on vacation we were borrowing her truck. Her truck is bigger than mine and somewhat easier to use that our "family car", a.k.a. the Camero. Plus the Friday that she left with my sister's family, I had some break problems with my truck.

Now, my truck has been a Trusty Old Lass. She has been good to me, primarily because I have been good to her. She never gives me grief.....well at least not until recently. But then she is about 10 years old. I give her gas, oil, coolant, air for her tires and really anything else she asks for but a bath. And she is okay with that....she claims that because she is a truck she feels she should be dirty and that a clean truck is not a well loved truck. I say whatever and slam the door shut with my hip. I am saddened to think about getting ready of her next year. I worry that she won't go to someone who will care for her as I have.

But anyways.........
I had my mom's truck and we had gone to kinda have dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. Now, my sister-in-law, Mandy, is pregnant (and I am so freakin' excited!) and she had my son were getting in on the passenger side of my mother's truck. The truck has doors that open against each other. They had opened them and were trying to squeeze around them since the vehicle next to us was parked a little close. My son, being 3, squeezed right through, but Mandy's belly would fit without a little squishing and no one wants a squished pregnant belly so she told my son that she needed to close to the door a little to get by. We all got in the truck and my son announced that he fit through the door and that Mandy didn't because she has a baby in her tummy. Fine.

Later that night, we were at my house and I was poking Mandy's belly trying to get a kick out of my soon-to-be niece. My son walked in and looked at me funny for poking at his Aunt Mandy. I told him again that Aunt Mandy had a baby in her tummy. He touched her tummy for a quick second. And again announced that Aunt Mandy had a baby in there. Fine. But I knew he wasn't done with this whole idea.

Saturday, the next morning, we were in Plano for a friend of mine's fitness show. We had watched the show and were back out at the truck ready to leave. I had opened the doors to get him in and he was telling me about how he could fit past the door cause he is little and Aunt Mandy couldn't because she has a baby in her tummy. I agreed and told him that in a couple of more months Aunt Mandy would have her baby. Without missing a beat he said, "Yup, Aunt Mandy's baby is going to come out of her tummy and say 'Surprise'". I laughed so hard.

pumpkin patch 2009

We went to the pumpkin patch in mid October. Up to Flower Mound, TX to the pumpkin patch. We knew it would be a fun year with Joshua - all Holiday's this 2 year old year have been! He kissed or attempted to kiss everything that we took pictures by, Cookie Monster, Sponge Bob, Nemo, 101 Dalmatians, Mickey & Minnie....we kept telling him to stop kissing stuff, but it is hard to explain the flu/H1N1/germs to a 2 1/2 year old. We had a great time!

My favorite picture of the day.

WhooHoo...everyone is looking the same direction!
A corny smile!

Just after this picture, he says, "these my best friends". (They apparently become fast friends.)

With Uncle J & the surfing penguins.

He love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and was beyond excited to see Mickey & Minnie!!

water park from 8-2009

Back in late August we took a family stay-cation. On the last weekend, we went and checked out a new water park in Hurst. City owned and managed. It had a great toddler water area, 1 ft 6 in, which was just enough water for Joshua. With water slides made for toddlers. And the lifeguards in that area kept kids that were older out so the toddlers didn't get hurt. Parents were allowed with their toddlers. Overall, it was a good experience and we look forward to going again next summer.

Toddler area right. There is a spiral slide on the other side on this area. You can control most all of the water spray areas with kid friendly levers.

Toddler area left & big kid/adult slides in background. This was Joshua's favorite slide!

Playing in the water.

On the stairs with Mommy. That is a fun having face!

Down the slide. I thought we had gotten better pictures, but no such luck.

ducks in a row

Joshua loves the water. I think the only reason he asks for a bath each day is so he can play in the water. Today was a swim day at school. He class wound up not swimming because it actually wasn't a swim day...if that makes no sense then you are following along.

On the way home we were talking about that he didn't get to swim today. He asked where Nefi was. I told him Nefi (my sister, Stephanie) is at home. To which he stated, very matter of fact, "I go see Nefi, I go swim". He still hasn't forgotten this and asked about it again at bedtime amongst our good nights. We will have to work in some swimming this weekend.

Joshua in the bath the other night.

One of his favorite bath time activities is lining his ducks up in a row on the edge of the bathtub. He always makes sure that all of the ducks are facing the same direction.

He also in the last month or so discovered that all of his ducks had eyes. He had them all facing inside the bathtub, so they were looking at him and suddenly he exclaimed, "Has eyes! All has eyes, mama". The light bulb above his head shone so bright that I was blinded by his silly-ness!!

After he lines the ducks up, he does this....

Speaking of getting ducks in a row, Jeff and I have been waiting on a deal from HUD and it finally came through. It has been nearly a year since the process was started. It is a relief and a huge headache we hope to never again expierence. This next week we are on vacation. Not do much of anything. Just a few things around town and around the house. We are hoping to get the shed in the backyard down and the sunroom emptied so that it can be torn down.

I also start permamnet on Monday at my work. I had been helping out with refunds since February and they finally decided that they needed another full-time refund person. That is me!! A promotion of sorts, more money and awesome benefits.

been busy

I've been either busy lately or so tired from being so busy lately that I haven't posted. So here goes.

My 60 Mile Mamas 3-Day team has had a few fundraisers. We have one final Pink Bra contest coming up on August 28. It will be at Papa G's in Bedford at 121 & Harwood. You should come out if you can!!! We had a Pink Bra contest at Baxter's in Hurst a couple of weeks back and I am excited to annouce that we raised nearly $1,000.00!!! It was by far our best Pink Bra contest yet with lots of super fun contestants!

My family has a vacation planned in two more weeks. It seems like an incredibly long two more weeks...like it is never going to get here. We are not doing much but are looking forward to what we do have planned.

One day last week when I picked Joshua up from school, he met me in the cafeteria with a backpack on. It was not his backpack so we headed back down to his class. His teacher said it was hanging on his hook and assumed it was his. It was a Cars backpack and she knows he loves Cars stuff. Turns out it belonged to a new kid in his class. Joshua was so heartbroken that he didn't get to keep the backpack. He asked/begged/cried/fussed/grumped about a backpack all the way home. I told him that he needed to talk to his Daddy about. When we got home he couldn't wait to get inside to tell Daddy that he needed a backpack. So this past weekend we got Joshua a backpack. On Sunday, before we went running around, I loaded up his backpack with diapers, wipes, changing pad, Magna Doodle, a book and snacks. He carried his backpack everywhere. He didn't like to have to take it off before he could get in his carseat but after a couple of times, he got the hang of it. Once he was buckled in his carseat, he just sat there holding his backpack waiting for the next stop so he could put it back on. It was really cool. And Mommy didn't have to carry the diaper bag...she could carry just her purse...it was so empowering for both Mommy & Joshua!

reunion and events

In the past week or so, I haven't really gotten the camera out much, if even at all. Life has been moving fast lately. Seems we have one event after another. This coming week is no different. Tuesday night, I am having a fundraiser at CiCi's in Bedford from 5-9pm. I will get 10% of all receipts placed in the bucket...if you are in the area you should come by. I will be there with balloons for the kids until about 8 (or until I run out of balloons).


On Friday, 7/31, my team is having another Pink Bra contest at Baxter's in Hurst. These are always fun. We have women's categories and men's categories, so you should come by if you can.


This past weekend we traveled to the fine town of Haskell, TX for the annual Lackey Reunion. It is always nice to see everyone and how much kids have grown in the last year. I volunteered my grandfather's branch of the family to handle invitations & entertainment for next year. My siblings and I have had some entertainment ideas brewing for a while now, and we can put them into action. Traveling to Haskell makes me realize that there is more to life than the hustle that tends to consume mine. At one point, I had taken Joshua outside because he was getting a little wild inside and we wondered over to see the horses. There is an arena and youngsters were practicing and qualifying for rodeo events.

5 years

Today my father has been gone for 5 years. So much has happened in 5 years, things that I planned to have happen and many things that I didn't plan. I can remember his last 6 weeks in great detail. I remember him being wheeled from the E.R. room he had been sent to singing "On the road again". They wheeled him everywhere that day doing tests. I remember the E.R. doc that told my Dad exactly what was wrong with him but he needed tests to show it. Those tests showed it all. Cancer. Cancer is a funny thing. It isn't prejudice in anyway, shape or form. It doesn't care what you have done or what you want to do. It doesn't care that you have plans three weekends from now. It doesn't care who you are, who you want to be or you will become. Cancer is horrible.

Looking back, I wish that I would have asked Dad what he wanted to do before he couldn't. I remember asking him once if there was anything I could get him and I can still see his face. Tan with age and steel blue eyes saying, "Time, sweet time". It was the one thing that I couldn't get him. That was the moment that his cancer hit me. It was the single moment in time when I had that 'this is it' feeling. The moment I realized there was no turning back.

I wish I had taken the time to go fishing on the coast with him. We had talked about it many times, but nothing ever came of our talks, there was also tomorrow and next year after all. I wish that I had taken the time to listen more to his stories about his time in the Reserves. I wish that I had taken his advice to heart more often, it was always good advice, but I am very stubborn. Stubborn just like him, probably more so. The advise he gave on the old green swing. In giving advice, especially if he knew I wasn't going to want to hear it, he would look over his glasses at me. I would have to look away because I thought his blue eyes were going to pierce me.

Here is picture dated 11-6-77 with my Mom & Dad, Grandma & Papa (my Dad's parents) & Granny Lackey (my Dad's grandmother). Taken in Haskell at the Lackey Reunion...we will travel out west next weekend for this reunion.
This picture is my dad & I at Queen Wilhelmina State Park. The caption says we are standing in from on the mini train, but it is very hard to see in the picture and it dated 5-28-78. The same mini train that my husband, son & I rode on July 4th of this year.

This picture is at Lake Palestine, I am not sure if it is on the property that we have down there or not. I would say it is, but the area has so many houses nowadays, that you can't just see the lake from the land.

Here are my siblings and I fishing at Sandy Lake in Arkansas. My father taught us the art of catching Perch. The thing about catching Perch is that it is easy. You can pull many out and it keeps impatient people happy cause they are pulling something out of the water. My father took this picture. My arm was in a cast because I broke my elbow rollerskating.

This is at the Texas sign and dated 7-1988. My brother was 5, I had a bad looking perm. But I always remember stopping at the sign for pictures. It is a tradition that I will continue to do with my son. My father was a Texas history buff. I credit him with my love of Texas history and my proud-ness to be a Texan.

This is my father's blue truck. The night before we sold it after his death. My father always drove Ford trucks. The blue-green one would be considered a classic nowadays, the silver one, he crashed into a gas station in and this blue one. I once drove this blue truck to take Dad to a dentist appointment, he didn't want to get into my little car. The truck shimmied and didn't drive like my car. And Dad made me a nervous wreck the entire trip home...a whole 2.5 miles. I miss the old truck and think of him every time I see one like it. The guy that bought the truck, I believe painted it a different color and took the tool box off.

This is the memorial plaque that we got after Dad's funeral. I always thought it was ironic that he died from Lung Cancer and his pipe is in his pocket in this picture.

Taken today at the cemetery. This is the first time I have ever gotten Joshua out of the car/truck at the cemetery. I tried to explain what we were doing, but my words were lost on my 2 year old. Someday he will understand more. I think my father would think that Joshua is a pretty cool kid.

been a long week

I have tried to have a less busy week. It worked out somewhat well, but this week just seemed to drag by. I made a significant dent in the work that was handed to me in my new position as Refund Analyst.

I scheduled a CiCi's fundraiser for me on July 28th. All people have to do is come in and leave their receipt in the basket and I will get 10% of the evening's sales, will probably be $80-100. I don't feel like I am meeting my goal for the 3-Day. I am working on a couple of other fundraisers for myself, but it is slow going. We do a pink bra contest scheduled for July 31 at Baxter's in Hurst, this will be our third and they are always fun....if we have the right crowd. If you can come out you should.

This morning I went walking with my team, I don't often walk with them. Actually, I have really fallen off the training wagon (see fundraising issue above). The girls are some really nice people. Joshua did good in the stroller for about 2 1/2 hours. He ate a good breakfast when we stopped...fruits & yogurt.

After we got home from the walk, I set out to clean/organize his room. All part of my Mission:Self Organization (more on another blog...coming soon...when I get it organized!). I thought I would try some big boy underwear on him. I stayed on him for about 30 minutes, asking every 5 minutes if he needed/wanted to sit on the potty. Each time the answer was no. Then, I got slightly distracted and missed a 5 minute asking point. At this time we are in the office and I am on the computer. Joshua says, "Uh-oh, I pee-pee". I turned around in my chair and he has taken a step back. I said, "It's okay, let's go sit on the potty now." As I stand up, he says, "I splash" and slams his hands right down into the puddle of pee. Y-U-K!!! "No, we don't play in pee-pee." Potty time and hand washing followed.

We went to my sister's tonight for dinner, dinner lead to pool time. Their pool exploded last weekend at my nephew's party and they have replaced it. Tonight, it was finally ready to be played in. Joshua did so well. He only initially fussed, but was soon kicking his legs and splashing everyone. I am glad he did so well.

Jeff will be home shortly. Tomorrow is semi-planned. Sometimes things just pop up out of nowhere and somethings are planned out.

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.

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!).

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.

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.

it's the weekend...finally

Tuesday...seems uneventful....dinner out, I just don't remember where. Jeff went to work. Blah, blah, blah.

Wednesday...dinner with Mom, David and Steph's crew. Work went like work does. Blah, blah, blah.

Thursday...had a meeting in Plano in the evening after work. It was a business opportunity and it was a good meeting. More to come on this in the coming weeks. Didn't get home until nearly 10pm. My mother had surgery Thursday morning to have her gall bladder taken out. She is doing fine recovering at home for the next three weeks.

Friday...work was a typical Friday at work. I got kudos in a meeting for my work on the refunds. I don't like being singled out for recognition and felt uncomfortable as people above me went on about how well I was doing....and I could tell me teammates didn't really care. No one talks to me anyway....and I really don't care.

Tonight my sister picked Joshua up from school. I went to her house after work for dinner. Once dinner was all over and it was time to go home, things got interesting. You see.....I got Joshua in his seat in the truck. He was all buckled in and I locked his door as usual...I don't want anyone to steal him out of the truck. I had thrown the keys on the dash like I always do. I was talking to my sister about how cold it was and I closed Joshua's door. As the door is shutting I realize that I have just locked my keys and my son in my truck and it is flippin' 30 something degrees outside. I panicked....meaning that tears started flowing. My sister thought I was joking and then went inside to get my brother-in-law, Brandon. Brandon has had other opportunities to break into my truck and has never succeeded. My truck is locked down good. I remembered that Jeff was headed to Dallas so I called him and he had just pulled into the Averitt yard in Grand Prairie. He also thought I was joking, he talked to my sister who confirmed that I wasn't. He dropped his truck and trailer and jumped in the car to head to my sister's. He has a key to my truck. I have an extra key but it was also locked in the truck...in my purse. Maybe 30-40 minutes total Joshua was locked in the truck. I was panicked the entire time. I know I gained at least 80 more gray hairs during this time period. Joshua is fine...my sister and I kept talking to him through the window. He stayed comfy in the truck away from the whippin' cold wind. Thanks to my husband....my hero....my Jeffy. At least I am not as bad a mother as this stupid woman or this idiot girl/woman.

Nothing majorly fun planned for the weekend...except to get Joshua some new shoes. The ones he has must hurt his feet as I hear a lot of "oww mama" when I put them on him. And he pulls them off every chance he gets. At least the weekend is here!

another monday down...40 more to go

Just another Monday. Work was work. Joshua was his cute but fussable self. He was full of giggles tonight...and I will gladly take those over fussing. He has been so proud of himself lately. We are constantly hearing, "Josha got it" and "I did it". (We are so proud of him too!) He has learned to climb into and out of the car. We can just unbuckle him and he starts climbing down and out. It will be quite some time before he can do this in the truck. He loves to play outside. Don't ask him to go outside unless you are ready to go out and play....a fit will start if you don't follow through.

I am going to take a few more days off before I start walking. I am having one slight issue and once it is gone, I will start walking again. I am bothered that I am not walking.

My mother is having surgery on Thursday to have her gall bladder taken out. I joked with her about that she couldn't even wait a week after mine surgery to get her one. I'm not convinced she took it as a joke. Either way, it will be nice to not have her in pain. She will be down for a couple of weeks afterward....sounds like time for resting to me.

We checked out a new-to-us BBQ place with Mandy for dinner. It was pretty tasty. Better than the chain we normally go to. Mandy seems to really like her new company and job. I am happy for her and hope all works well this year for her and my brother.

Jeff took his glasses back in today and they verified that the lens had been cut wrong. They are going to redo them and have them ready next Monday. Hopefully this time all will go well. He also had to get the brakes and rotors changed on the car today. I have this song for Joshua from this site that I changed to "vroom vroom went the little red car one day....went vroom vroom grrrinnnd".....no more...new brakes and rotors don't grind. YEA!!

That's about it...it has just been another Monday.

things to do...surgery...check

On Thursday at work I tried to get everything wrapped up since I would not be there today. I got nearly everything done or done close enough for someone else to finish up. My doctor's office called twice yesterday, both time to change my surgery time. The first time I panicked. I thought she was telling me we would have to change days, but it was only the time..to 15 minutes earlier. Then, they called back around3:30 to move it up again 45 more minutes...an entire hour earlier than it was originally scheduled. I picked Joshua up and had dinner with Jeromy & Mandy. Joshua loves his Aunt "Mani"...and he is as much a sucker for her as she is for him.

This morning, Friday, we got up early and left the house late....surprise, surprise. We still managed to get to the hospital at 8 a.m. I was prepped and ready for surgery around 9 a.m. Nervous because I would have full anesthesia...I wasn't fully prepared for that. We went back a few minutes after 10 to the holding area...like where they hold cattle before sending them off to slaughter. My doctor came out and talked to us for a few minutes. Then the surgery nurse came out. Then the anesthesiologist came out and said he would give me something to help me start relaxing. I said my good-bye to Jeff and the wheeled me back. When we got to the operating, I slide myself over to the other table and the anesthesiologist said he would give me the other medicines to help me go to sleep....next thing I knew he was telling me that he was putting an oxygen mask on so that I could start waking up. I hated that after feeling when I could hear voices but didn't really seem to know where I was. And my eyes...they didn't want to open. And when they did...I couldn't see much because I had to leave my glasses with Jeff before I went back. By the time they got me back to my room, I had to pee so bad (sorry...TMI probably). They gave me something to drink, I kept that down and we were cleared to go. Now I am polyp free and on antibiotics for the next 7 days (four times a day) and pain meds as needed. I go to the doctor in two weeks for my follow up. No lifting for one week...I already violated that rule. No shower until tomorrow....check...will do. Go home and rest in bed....yea right...like that was really going to happen.

After we left the hospital, we dropped off my scripts, grabbed lunch and then went to pick up Jeff's new glasses. He looks really good in them. They are a much more flattering shape and color. He is having some trouble adjusting to them....I think it is because they are so bright and shiny.

That is my update...I am going back to the couch to rest while I watch a couple of shows I have recorded. I haven't tried to watch any of them so I would have them this weekend. Laters.

just another monday

Worked today...got a lot accomplished. I feel like I am starting to fully get the hang of the refunds. Making sure we have all necessary documentation and is it a refund or an adjustment. I am getting better in my verbiage when I have to call a provider about needing more information. We have two new girls on our team and today they went on the phone for the first time. It was funny listening to them....did I sound like that 3 months ago??

Tonight we tried a new Mexican place...well, new to us anyway. Rio Mambo on 121. It was tasty. A bit expensive, especially when you add two alcoholic drinks to the tab. All the kids meals were $4.99. And since we had never been, we opted to get Joshua one...of course he didn't eat but two french fries....then wanted rice and beans off our plates. He could live on rice and beans. Hmmmm....wonder what he would think of cheese covered rice and beans...he would think he had died and gone to heaven.

An update on my giving up french fries....about a week in, I was craving piping hot, nicely salted Wendy's fries. But now...I don't really crave them at all. I look at them and they are starting to look gross...like I can see the fatty grease on them. I even felt guilty ordering them for Joshua tonight....the second they set them on the table...I thought, oh no what have I ordered for him. Looks like fries are about gone from my diet just like the coke's I gave up over 10 years ago. If I can do it...so can you!! What are you going to give up???

Tonight, my sister and I walked another 3 miles. I had a harder time tonight. I don't think the shoes I am wearing are going to work. They are Reebok walking shoes, but they have a high arch. I don't. And my foot and leg are compensating for the high arch and it hurts. Next walk, I will use my Saucony's. Tomorrow is an off day for training but I will probably get at least 1/2 walk in to make up for Monday. Remember you can always donate to my cause by visiting my site.

Tomorrow morning I go to the hospital for my pre-registration and blood work. I plan to be there super early....about the time I normally start waking up. So for me...it is bedtime.

one two fingers

Why can't it be Thursday??? I wish it was...no particular reason. My day flew by again today at work, mostly because I was busy all day. We have two new girls that just started on my team. One of them will last, the other won't. I give her but a couple of months and they will have a good reason to get rid of her.

Joshua was in a good mood tonight. It was raining when I got to his school, not bad by any means but raining none the less. He was very curious about it. This spring/summer season will really be his first to be aware of the weather. (All holidays this year are going to be super fun too!) And once it stopped raining he talked to me about Owen & Jacob his buddies from school. I don't always understand what all he tells me about them, but I love that he tells me what they did. And I always know who was bad in his class because during the course of this conversation he will say a kids name and then say, be nice. As in, "Josha, be nice, Josha". Today it must have been Jason who was bad at school. Today on the way home he also changed his ABC song. It now goes, "A-B-C-D-Q-R-S-T-U-V-Now I know my know my A-B-C-D". He seems to always sing the 'know my' twice...I think it is funny. And as a surprise to Mommy today, we were nearly home and he shouted Mommy and said one, two, three and held his fingers up for one and two but not yet three...that will take a little longer. I was so impressed that the guy behind me had to honk to get me to go since the light was green.

That is my update for today. We had dinner with Jeromy & Mandy tonight. I like having dinner with them and Mandy loves getting her Joshua time. (He is helping spread the baby fever in her direction.)