Rock'n'Rain

What do you think of when you hear "Easter"? Pretty dresses, colored eggs, yummy food, and of course church. How about rain-drenched hair, pyrotechnics and Skillet???

Well as an homage to my son's voyage into teen-hood, his Easter present was tickets to a rock concert. He was pumped and so was I. I love the bands (Skillet, Decypher Down, Red, and Disciple).

We were about 1/2 way through the concert when the drizzle changed to torrential downpour. Everyone around us scattered like mice at the sight of a cat. Being ever prepared, I got us both out a disposable poncho and we kept on rockin'. (Initially, I kind of felt dumb and homeschool-ish bringing ponchos into the concert. Not after the rain started.) All the teenagers around us made comments like, "Wow, you're really prepared" or "Where did you get those?" or "We should go get some like that." The music was amazing and the show was super fun.

The rain turned out to be a hazard because they stopped the concert and made everyone leave. The lightning and thunder rolled on as we were all herded out like cattle. Waiting on "the bridge" as intructed by security was hilarious because of all the passers-by. Many were just wanting to get back to the concert and were singing their own song versions. TOO FUNNY!!!

After about 40 minutes, they finally ushered us back in and we were phyched! Seeing that many seats were freed up by the less brave conert go-ers, we decide to crowd-jump. Our seats were not bad originally, just in the upper section. We mosy'd down to the lower section, about 10 rows from the stage. They were amazing seats. We were fully prepared to be escorted back to our seats if we were in someone else's. But, they were empty and no one ever claimed them. Therefore, we took full advantage of the view and sound.

By the time, the headline band, Skillet, started, it was past 10pm and my hubby and two little ones were waiting in the SUV. I had to borrow some couple's phone to call hubby and let him know of the delay because my phone died. Isn't that how it always is? When you REALLY need your phone, it dies. Oh well, thankfully, my concert neighbor had one. And, we stayed 'til about 10:30. The music was loud, but awesome. The musicians were amazingly talented (cellists, violinists, etc.) There were fireworks on stage and flashing lights. The rockers were doing flips and climbing up stage columns. It was an awesome show!!!

My son had a great time. And LOVED his rockin' Easter present :o)

Pride Comes Before a Fall

I'm a naturally competitive person. Not over the top, step-on-others competitive. Just put-my-best-foot-forward competitive. So, that's what brings me to my severe pain and having to keep my foot elevated and iced.

It all started as good, clean fun. I had waited all day and was so excited. I had made sure that all my chores were done, dinner was made, the kids were fed and ready for baths. When Scott walked in the door, it was like a relay race. I passed the baton and left him to take over parenting duties. I darted out the door and hurried to my newest fitness passion...ZUMBA. ''What is zumba?'' you may ask. Zumba is defined on the gym schedule as ''a latin inspired dance class infused with samba, merenge, salsa, cumbia, and more.'' It's so much fun and moves very fast. With all the excitement of the music and anticipation of a thinner me, I jumped right in. Not only was I bouncing and hopping around, I had the gall to try EVERYTHING the instructor was doing with the same speed.

After a while, I could almost hear my legs telling me to slow down. But, I am force to be reckoned with and can not be stopped--even by my own common sense. My legs actually started yelling at me, begging me to take it a little easy. By now, I'm only thinking with my pride (oxy-moron) and refused to be put down. So, just then, I kept moving and my foot did not. I'm not sure if it was the embarrassment or shear pain that had me pass out on the way down. All I remember was blacking out as I was falling hard and fast, first landing on my hiney, then rolling on my back, coming to finally rest on some yoga mats in the back of the classroom. I was sad. I was mad. I was hurt. All that preparation that goes into getting to the gym. The planning of the evening, the meals, the kids, the hubby's schedule. For what? For me to spend the last 20 minutes of class lying on the floor in the back of the room with a bag of ice on my ankle. Next time, I hope to not let my pride get the better of me. I hope to slow down when necessary and not try to keep up with the instructor. Afterall, some workout is better than no workout, right? That's what I keep telling myself as I am trying to keep my foot elevated and iced. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

Being Kicked Out

The funny thing when you're a parent, you'll do just about anything for your child. In an effort to bring more comfort to our sweet baby or possibly the desire to alleviate any guilt associated with having to say that he sleeps in the closet, we decided to transition him to his very adorable Pottery Barn crib with a quite luxurious mattress. The very first night, our sweet little ''D'' awoke at 3:40 and 5:30am. Some parents might not even squawk at a one year old waking two times in one night. We, however, are somewhat spoiled when it comes to our kids' sleep habits. So, the next day, we weren't very functional from our fragmented sleep cycles. Being ever resourceful, I recommend that for a few nights, just while the baby gets used to his new sleep spot, we resort to sleeping in the living room. I can take the couch and hubby can take the la-z-boy. We are now on our fifth night and neither one of us has mustered the gumption to suggest that we brave the waters of baby night wakings, again. The truly funny thing is that our little ''D'' hasn't woken in the middle of the night since that first night. So here I type on my phone while getting ready to fall asleep in my living room. Maybe tomorrow we'll be courageous enough to go back to our bedroom. How can 20lbs of cuteness rule our world... How can he not. :o)

I-wanna' blog all niiiiight, and party everyday

Not really, just had that song in my head. My kids rock :) Here's an update...

So, this week, my youngest son has been responding to us with a tilting head sideways and a high-pitched "Hi-eye." Soooo cute! He even plays with his little plastic phone and puts it on his ear to say it. It just tickles all of us to death. He is also loving to say his word for bread, which we hear as, "Bob." haa haa haa. Sooo cute!

My eldest son was recommended to be a part of something called M4. He will be going on a student retreat next weekend called DNow. It's an awesome time of learning, worship and fellowship. During that weekend, he'll get some extra opportunities for learning... "a group of eight students will get to spend some additional face time with the guest speaker from England. (Paul has described him as the best speaker he has heard in his lifetime.)This is designed for those individuals whom have demonstrated an intensity toward reaching out to others with Christ's love - whether that be in their schools, home-school groups or neighborhoods. I'm so happy for him and I'm so proud of him. He doesn't let age be a barrier. He just is who he is. I think he is a wonderful person!

And, my crazy little lady. She's so precious. She has her second gymnastics meet this Sunday. Sad that it's during church since we are ALWAYS there. She doesn't have a knack or passion to practice her craft. She does have a bent towards "messing around" and she's a professional at that! So, this week, I've been trying to encourage her (without yelling or threats) to practice. She has been doing a better job. Hopefully, she'll have a blast on Sunday and do relatively well. She loves winning, but hasn't quite the maturity to connect practice with excelling. :o) She'll grasp that someday.

To Nurse or Not to Nurse

How do we decide when we are done nursing?

I always plan to nurse for at least a year. Of course, I hope that it falls in line with God's plan ;o) A month before Dallas turned one, he seemed ready to be done. There was little interest. He was just too busy getting around and into stuff to stop and enjoy a little rest time. I thought that was a good time to stop, however when I tried, he had other plans. Little Mr. D insisted. So, now as he approaches his fourteenth month, I can't help but wonder if he's ready. I feel like a contradiction. It sure hurts when his little teeth get the better of me. But, I love the intimacy I still have with him when I can look down into those eyes that resemble beautiful brown pools of utter love.

The quandary continues... To Nurse or Not to Nurse :o)

My Silly ole Puter

Well, from my other posts, you may have read that my 'puter crashed over the summer. Being too broke to buy a new one, one of my friends (who shall remain nameless, Kristy :o) tried to fix it. Unfortunately, "fixing it" only made it worse. It took me about 1/2hour to wait for it to start once turned on. Then, if I wanted to look anything up on the internet, that took another two hours. It was not pretty and tested the fruit of self control (to not throw the thing threw the window or use harsh words.) Low and behold, kind friend that she is, Kristy is lending me one of her old computers until I get a new one. Thanks to her, I can now resume blogging (among various other important online activities such as research for my homeschool junior high son's papers). YEAH!!!

The Week From H.-E.- Double Hockey Sticks

I hope you know not to ever say, "Surely, this can't get any worse!"

It all started with my toilets making that constant filling sound. I didn't even notice. But, my kids were trying to rest and asked "What is that noise? It won't stop." Over the course of the next week, I not only noticed the noise, it became increasingly annoying. It soon became the only thing I could hear. The constant filling and stopping, filling and stopping - every few seconds, non-stop, 24 hours a day. After asking my husband to contact a plumber, he notified me that they would get out as soon as they could. I hoped for sooner rather than later.

In the mean time, life went on. One evening we came and our lawn person was still outside finishing up some edging. We stood outside just chatting away, when he informed us that on the side of the house he noticed several ants. As my dear husband strolled to see what all the fuss was about, his demeaner changed quickly. Suddenly a panic had overtaken him. He came charging back speaking a million words a minute, saying something about him going to a home improvement store to get pesticide. On his way, he also called our "Bug Man" to let him know the urgency of the situation. My husband was shocked to hear an annoyance in his voice as he passed off some advice, "Just spray some vinegar where the ants are."

The problem wasn't only outside. After he treated the side, we came inside to find our master bathroom was infested with ants. It's a horrific feeling. Seeing these little creatures hurrying to and fro all over your stuff. They had climbed up my daughter's hoodie towel and were all over it. They made their perfct little geometric lines all over the tile. They had climbed onto any clothing that touched the ground. They were all over the floor. All I could say was, "Ewwww!" So, we proceeded to spray vinegar all over our bathroom. It smelled like a salad where it shouldn't smell like salad. And, it wasn't working. So, after I cleaned up that grotesque smell, we started spraying the insecticide everywhere and dropping ant baits.

Our master bathroom also has the door for our walk-in closet. Mind you our closet is not just for clothes. It also houses my baby boy's crib. I know it must sound archaic or harsh to put your baby to bed in a closet. But, our closet is quite big. In addition to all our clothes, shoes and my handbags, his pack-n-play fits nicely in the middle. There's even room to push it to the side when it's not being used. It's also quite dark, which is an ideal environment for a sleepy baby. Not to mention the fact that it's quiet.

So, since the ants wanted to overtake my bathroom, they were much to close to my baby's bed. We relocated his pack-n-play to the front room. This room is at the front of the house, where all the sun comes in and is open to the rest of the house's noise. We had no choice at this point. It was either that or take the risk of all over ant bites.

The next day, I woke up to find that my computer had crashed due to a virus. Are you kidding me? I use my computer quite frequently. I use it to balance my checkbook daily, to stay informed on homeschool items, to inform others of community issues, to email my friends & husband, and to check my calendar. This very inconvenient problem would not be resolved immediately as we did not have funds to hire a computer person to come out to diagnose and fix the problem.

A day later, our family was at Costco just milling about when we noticed a flat tire on my SUV. We drove it about 25 feet over to the automotive department to get it fixed. The gentleman, and I use that term loosely, said it would take overnight to fix. He called us on the way home to inform us that it would need replacing and cost several hundred dollars. That's my fault for having the kind of vehicle with expensive tires. So, whatever--- it gets fixed and we bring it home. As I popped out of the passenger seat, I noticed a LARGE red scratch on the door. The color happens to match the canister that the tire gentleman used to inflate my flat tire. We read through our receipt and find some interesting comments on "the vehicle has some minor dings." Minor dings? Who puts that on the receipt for a tire replacement? I'll tell you WHO. Someone trying to cover their tracks. Well, after speaking to the manager in the tire department, we come to find out that the tire "gentleman" confesses to the "minor dings" and offers to buff them out. Ugh. Seriously??? Come on.

Wanting to move on in the crazy week, I awake the NEXT day to find that two of my other tires are actually flat. Not a little low. FLAT! As in, on the ground, no air in them, flat. My hubby calls "Acura Roadside Assistance" (surely, we paid for it for a reason) and they come out to pump air back in my tires. Just enough air was pumped to get my sweet husband to a local tire outlet. But, my question is "Where is the money going to come to pay for two more tires???" Well, hubby calls me from the tire store to inform me that the flat tires are fixable and it will cost us nothing. Nothing? Are you kidding me? With the kind of week we've had these two tires are going to cost nothing???? YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glory be, hallelujah!!!

Though the week actually ended, it's memory would live on---
A couple weeks later, the plumber came out and took about 2 and a half minutes to replace some seal inside that looked like it cost $.50. With that, my toilets were no longer broken. Hallelujah!

A couple weeks after that, thinking this mess was behind us, I opened our mail. The bill from the city for our water was on top. You can imagine my astonishment when I opened it to find the "Amount Due" over $500. WHAT??? For a water bill? Are you kidding me? Okay, it has to be from those leaking toilets. And, that crazy week's memory lives on...