Where Did All the Time Go?

Wow, tomorrow is the beginning of August already. Where in the world did this summer go? I have a feeling what remains is really going to fly by. I checked my calendar yesterday and there is one week of August already that is completely filled in. It's not even fun stuff that it is full of, darn it. It's doctor's appointments, school registration, work stuff, etc.

I think I will take a week that has nothing scheduled and make a fun one out of it. How does "Mon-meet girls for margaritas, Tues-spa for massage, Wed-lunch with best friend, Thurs-coffee with mom and Fri-date night with hubby" sound? Yeah. I thought so. Sounds good to me too.

Attack of the Frogs

When I was a little girl, I was a true tom boy. I played in the dirt, jumped ramps on my bike, played hoops and just did things that it wasn't common to see a little girl do. I also liked to explore the woods by our house and would almost always come home with a toad or two that I'd found in the creek.

Fast forward to my teen years and adulthood: I really outgrew the tom boy stage. Probably about the time I discovered that boys weren't as icky as I'd thought they were. I started wearing makeup, fixing my hair, stopped playing in the dirt, jumping my bike or shooting hoops and I definitely quit collecting toads, bugs, etc. Actually, I started acting the part of the girl who was afraid of them! Not my true self at all...or so I thought.

A couple of nights ago, my husband and I were in the pool, just enjoying a nice relaxing evening, when all of a sudden I see a tree frog peek out from underneath the pool ledge. I immediately got OUT of the pool. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind frogs. I just don't want to be as close to them as I used to be. The tree frog decided to serenade us with a song, but the weird thing was that when he started singing another frog peeked out from the ledge, then another frog, then another frog. I'd never seen anything like it.

Next day, my daughter and I decide to hop in the pool again. I knew the frogs might still be there, but the heat won out and I got in anyway. My daughter is just like I was when I was younger. She'll pick up a frog, praying mantis, bugs of any sort, no problem. She decided to check under the ledge and see if the frogs were just up under there hiding, staying out of the sunshine. Sure enough she found one and decided to catch it with the net we use to clean the leaves out of the pool. I told her not to, but she didn't listen, saying the frog would just jump into the net and she'd toss him out into the tree row. Let me just say that my daughter was not my favorite person that day. She cornered that frog and he jumped, but not into the net. No, he jumped into the pool! I immediately grabbed the legs of my swim shorts because you know the first thought I had was that the stupid frog would swim up into them and go exploring! Thankfully he didn't, but I must have made a pretty funny sight because my daughter busted out laughing. She was laughing so hard that she couldn't concentrate on finding the darn frog, which only made me more paranoid. After what seemed like hours, she finally calmed down and did find the frog, caught him and tossed him into the tree row. She said she'd look for others, but I forbid her from doing that. Needless to say, I had a hard time relaxing in the pool that day.

Yesterday, we decided to swim again, but this time my daughter got in first and took all the froggies out so I didn't have to deal with them. Like I said, I don't mind them, but I do NOT want to swim with them at all.

Getting Ready

Today has been spent getting things ready for our trip to Chicago tomorrow. I did a small clutter busting mission throughout the house this morning since my mom will be coming back Saturday to feed and visit with our kitty. I have started a list of things I want to pack. Haven't actually started packing yet, but as long as I have my list it shouldn't take long. Did a small load of laundry this morning to wash up some outfits that my daughter wanted to wear this weekend. Checked the batteries in my digital camera (they were dead so bought new). I even made a few small snacks (popcorn, pretzels, crackers, etc) to take in the car for the road trip so we didn't have to keep stopping for munchies or drinks. It's only a 5-6 hour drive, but I'm sure someone along the way will say they are hungry or thirsty.

Later this evening, I will also be attempting to color my hair. At the moment, I have several gray strands peeking through and I really don't want them "peeking" out in any pictures that might be taken of myself this weekend. I don't like having my picture taken anyway, let alone with a skunk stripe of gray running down the middle of my head so will get that done tonight.

I am really hoping that my back doesn't decide to flare up on me and bother me this weekend. I'm worried that the long drive up to Chicago will set it off or that the different bed Friday night will make it to where I can barely stand up straight Saturday morning. I already know that I'm not going to be able to do a lot of walking before it starts hurting. I tried doing some yesterday and it didn't take long at all before pain started shooting down my leg. I even tried walking laps in the pool, but only made it three times around before it hurt there too. So that is going to limit some of my sight-seeing fun. My daughter did let me know that Navy Pier rents out wheelchairs, but I really don't want to do that. I'm not disabled, I just have a pinched nerve and I would hate to take a chair that someone else might need worse then I do.

Anywho, I should probably get off here and finish up some more stuff. I'll be sure to fill you all in when we return on how our trip went. As for now, I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Happy Birthday Baby Girl. Hard to believe she is 17 years old today. Boy has the time flown!!!

Prom 2008

My daughter had her junior prom Saturday evening. She said she had a lot of fun. She went with a bunch of her friends. Hard for me to believe that she is old enough to be going to prom. It seems like I should still be that age. It hit me hard when she was all dressed and ready to go Saturday. She looked so grown up. What happened to my baby girl? When did she become a lovely young woman? Here are a few pictures that I took before she left for the night. I'll have more once we get them downloaded to the computer. For now, though, here is my lovely not-so-little girl. Enjoy!!

This and That Update

I noticed that I hadn't written for almost a week and figured I'd better post to let everybody know what's going on here.

Thankfully, things have calmed down some. My son is doing much better. No more neck pain and his knee is pretty well healed too. My back is still giving me problems, but I think it will until I get in to see the doctor in June. At least I can function. There for awhile I couldn't do much of anything because it hurt to sit, stand, lay down and everything else. I wasn't sleeping at night and was totally exhausted which really didn't help the pain either. So, although I'm still hurting, it isn't as bad. The part that scares me the most is that my leg is constantly numb on the outside now. It just makes me wonder how much damage I have already done to the nerve and how much more will there be by the time I get in to see the doctor. Will it even be fixable by that time? Scary thought. My daughter had to have another appointment with the doctor for her knee. She wanted to send her to an orthopedist, but after finding out that our insurance wouldn't cover it (benefits of being self-employed strike again!) she said that physical therapy would probably help just as well and we should go that route first. My daughter is now doing knee strengthening exercises twice a day (here at home) to see how that works. If it doesn't then obviously the orthopedist will be called, but if it does work then that's great too.

Hubby is going to a biodiesel seminar this weekend in Nebraska. With the price of diesel going through the roof, he's decided that we have to do something to cut costs or we're going to go out of business. Already, he's paying almost $4.15 a gallon for diesel. Our big trucks (all three of them) easily take $300 each time we fuel them up and that is usually once each day. Plus we also have two smaller ones that top out over $150 each fuel up. We don't run those every day, but still it adds up when we do. He'll be gone all weekend for the seminar so no relaxation for him:(

My daughter has her junior prom this weekend. She's been busy all week, helping to decorate for it. She's getting excited. She is going with a bunch of her friends so it should be really fun. I'll post pictures when we get them back afterwards. I just hope the weather holds out and it is a nice day/evening for the activities. Pictures always look so much prettier when they are taken outdoors. Right now they are saying there might be rain this weekend so we are all keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't.

Guess that's it. I'm so happy to finally not have a major catastrophe or illness to write about.

Trying to Join the Club

As you know from my last couple of posts, my kids are having problems with their knees. Both kids, one left knee, one right knee. I was joking with my daughter yesterday about how I felt left out of her and my son's exclusive "knee club". She told me that I couldn't join unless I hurt my knee, my back hurting wasn't enough of a qualification. We chuckled about it and then went on about our day. Who would have thought that later that afternoon I'd almost qualify to join the "club" after all.

I had to run to the post office to get stamps for this month's billing to be sent out. On my way out to the garage, I was walking in front of my daughter's car when my foot, for some reason, decided not to lift high enough to step over the bag of grass seed that was laying there. Lo and behold, down I went....on my right knee, full body force into the concrete. Pain shot down my leg, up my back, through my kneecap. I thought I was down for the count. After taking several deep breaths however, and realizing that our walls must be extremely sound proof since nobody was coming to my aid even though I did my fair amount of screaming and yelling, I pulled myself up, wiped the dirt off my pants legs and went ahead and got in my car. I figured as long as I could walk that I wasn't hurt bad enough to go back inside. Besides, I really needed those stamps.

All the way into town, my knee was throbbing. It burned and stung so I knew I'd scraped it up pretty good, but I wasn't going to give in to my curiousity and look at how badly it was hurt. Not until I got home was I going to pull that pants leg up and investigate. I got my stamps and even went to the gas station and fueled up my car then headed home. As soon as I got inside, my daughter asked if I'd yelled for her when I left. All kinds of smart ass remarks came to mind, but I kept them to myself and instead told her that yes, I had indeed yelled for her, but when she didn't answer I just kept on going. She asked what I'd needed and when I told her what I'd done she just smirked and said that I'd do pretty much anything to get into that club, wouldn't I? Smart ass!:)

Anyway, to make a very long story much shorter (sorry), I fell on my knee, didn't do much damage to it, it's scraped up and black and blue, kind of stiff, but not too bad. It'll be fine in a week. I still didn't get into the club either. My daughter said that they already had a rightie (her), and since that's the knee I hurt there just wasn't an opening for me. She said if I hurt both knees then they'd think about letting me join. I think I'll pass.

Two Little Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed

Children Medical Update: Took both kid's to the doctor today for their knees. After x-rays, the conclusions are as follows:

Daughter...nothing showed up as being broken or torn on xray, must wear knee brace for stability, rest and keep her leg elevated as much as possible, no gym for two weeks. At the end of two weeks, if knee is still not feeling better, an MRI will be required. She does have some fluid on her knee, but not a lot so no need to drain at the moment.

Son...bruised bone right below his knee. Must wear splint for 7-10 days to keep imobile, rest and keep leg elevated as much as possible, no gym for one week. At the end of the 10 days, if leg is not feeling better, must return for another x-ray to see if bruise is concealing a stress fracture.

Ugh, Ugh, Ugh on both. I really hope that in two weeks time, all is healed and no more doctors visits are needed for either child. Joys of being a parent, I know, but the trips to the doctors office are becoming too close for me. When I walk in and the office staff has me signed in before I even make it to the desk, well, that just screams that I've been in there too darn much!

Humpty Dumpty's Family

Let me introduce you all to Humpty Dumpty's family. First, myself. I guess I'm the original Humpty. With my back problems, I feel like I'll never be put back together again. Next, is Hubby Dumpty. He is also having back problems, shoulder problems and such. His is from too much heavy lifting and unless he can sell our business or find some other smuck to do all the physical labor, well, guess he won't be getting put back together anytime soon either. Next is my daughter. She fell a couple of months back at school while going up the stairs. Yes, you read that right. She fell UP the stairs. Anyway, she landed on her knee. It swelled up like a balloon and was black and blue for a few days, but nothing major. Except for now. Now it has decided to start giving her problems. By problems I mean locking up on her while she is walking or completely buckling under her weight. Not good. She goes to the doctor on Wednesday and maybe, just maybe, they can put her back together again. Then today, the final member of the Humpty Dumpty family...my son. He's usually a pretty rough and tumble kid, but today he wrecked his go-cart and banged up his knee. He is also icing it, keeping it elevated, and such, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing the good ol' doctor for him too. So there you have it...the entire Humpty Dumpty family. I think I'm just going to wrap everybody in bubble wrap. Maybe then we won't be breaking anymore.

I always knew my daughter was a winner

My daughter loves to take photos. She got a new digital camera for Christmas and it is with her all. the. time. About a month ago, she entered a photo contest put on by her school and the public library. Well, yesterday she got an email announcing that she had won! She had two entrys and, get this. She won FIRST and SECOND PLACE with both of them. How cool is that? I don't have a copy of the first place photo, but here is the one that came in second place:

Hello from the Walking Dead

I'm still alive, but just barely. I was so sick all weekend. This dang flu is for the birds! I took my guys to the doctor Friday. She gave my son some antibiotics for his ear infection and told hubby and me that ours was viral and she couldn't give us anything. This is what I figured she would say, it's just how it works. Pay someone to tell us that there is nothing they can do to help you feel better.

I ran by the pharmacy and picked up my son's meds then came home and proceeded to fall into bed. This was at 4:00pm. I didn't move again until 9:30 Saturday morning! And even then it wasn't any farther then the bathroom. I spent the entire day in bed, either snoozing or watching tv. I ate nothing, drank nothing, just moaned and groaned. I was sore and feverish and just felt like crap.

I did feel a bit better yesterday so got up and ventured out into the living room. Hubby followed behind and sprayed Lysol on every thing that I touched or even came close to. I know he doens't want to get sick again, but geez. I didn't do that to him, not in front of him anyway:) It's hard to feel loved when you're treated like you have the plague.

Today I'm, again, just a tad better. I have invoices to make up so am trying to sit here at my desk and get those done. Between coughing, sneezing and just plain old not feeling well, I guess I'm doing an okay job. However, if someone gets a bill that says they owe $30,000 instead of $3000, you might want to let me know.

Edit: Just got a call from my daughter. She's coming home sick. This means that everybody has now had this stupid sickness! If Spring doesn't get here soon, I don't know what I'll do.

Another One Bites The Dust

My son is feeling 100% better today and went to school. I'm now dealing with my daughter being sick. I think this flu is going to make its rounds this weekend. I was hoping that nobody else would get it, but looks like it is going to seek us out one by one. I just hope we don't keep passing it around if it does hit all of us. That is never a good thing.

Getting Contacts

I almost forgot, but my daughter is going to the eye doctor tomorrow and hopefully getting contacts. She's wanted them ever since she first found out she had to wear glasses. We're hoping that she's able to wear them. She has an astigmatism so not sure that she can. She'll find out tomorrow.

Update: Daughter came home and is able to wear the contacts. She loves them! She has to start out slowly, wearing them for only a few hours each day, but she's already gotten the hang of putting them in and taking them out. Had to calm her down a notch though. As soon as she got home, she was bound and determined to toss her glasses in the trash. Uh, hello! What happens if you lose one of your contacts? What happens if they irritate your eyes and you have to take them out? Then how will you see? She hadn't thought about that. Silly girl:) So, her glasses are now stashed in her purse (in a hard case) just in case of an emergency. She is hoping they don't ever have to come back out.

Future Photographer?

My daughter has been going around the house lately, snapping pictures left and right. Here are a few that she's uploaded to the computer that I wanted to share with you. I think she is really showing some talent and could possibly go farther with this new hobby of hers if she wanted. What do you think?


SUNSET


BIRD FEEDER IN FALL FOLIAGE

STORM CLOUDS BREAKING

FALL FOLIAGE CATCHES SUNLIGHT

Future photographer? I think so.

Funeral

Yesterday was my grandma's funeral. It was a beautiful service, but a very long day. The visitation was beforehand so we were at the funeral home from 11am until 3pm. But, I got to see a lot of family and friends who I've not seen in a long time and we caught up on each other lives. Just wish we hadn't waited until grandma's death to do it.

Afterwards, at the cemetery, I was chatting with my mom and aunt when my daughter put her head on my mom's shoulder. I thought she was just leaning on my mom for comfort, but the next thing we knew she was on the ground! My daughter passed out! Everyone scrambled to help her up, get water, cover her legs with a jacket (she had a dress on so didn't want her flashing anybody), etc. She ended up on the ground for about five minutes. She wasn't out for long, but had to get her bearings. My cousin, who is a nurse, was checking her out and we think that she passed out due to the stress of the day, the heat (we were standing in the sun) and lack of food and drink. She'd not eaten much that morning. She's fine now thankfully, but talk about giving her poor mom more gray hairs! Geez!

Back to School Time

Today was the first day back to school for my two kids. Neither was really ready to go back, but I think they were both happy to see their friends again.

My daughter is a Junior this year. Wow, do I feel old! It was bad enough at the end of last school year when she got her driver's license, but to now send her off to school WITHOUT my having to drive her, well, that was almost too much to handle. I hate to even think how her Senior year is going to feel. I might not want to send her back to school then!

My son started Jr. High today so this was a whole new experience for him. New school, new teachers, etc. He's not the big man on campus anymore, but a lowly little 7th grader. He seems to have done well for his first day though. He didn't get lost and said he found all of his classes just fine. He did have a bit of trouble with his gym lock, but I think he'll do fine once he gets some practice using it. He said tomorrow will be the real test because it will be a full day with a full class schedule. He's looking forward to it though.

Both came home with another list of school supplies so will try to get those things picked up tomorrow for them. I thought I was finished with my back to school shopping, but I guess not. Not a problem though because most things are being marked down now so they're super cheap. lol

TGIF

This has been one looooonnnnnnggggg week. I'm exhausted and really hoping this weekend is calm and quiet to give me a chance to recuperate.

Funeral arrangments have been made for my grandma. It will take place next Thursday. I took the kids with me today to get some nice clothes to wear. I had absolutely nothing, same with my son. My daughter just wanted something new:) Anyway, that seemed to take forever. You'd think black dress pants and a nice black dressy top would be fairly easy to find.....nope. I did finally find something that would work though. My son found a nice pair of khaki jeans and a nice polo shirt to wear and he'll be able to wear them other places so at least they won't just sit in his closet. My daughter found a really nice dress too. Also bought some nice shoes for my daugher and myself and the best part of that was that both pair were on clearance and had been marked way down in price. Mine were only $3.00!!! I figure I can handle that since I'll probably never wear them again. I'm just not a dressy person. I live in blue jeans and tee shirts.

After clothes shopping, I met my mom and aunt at the flower shop and we picked out the funeral spray for grandma's casket and I also ordered a bunch to be just from me, hubby and my kids. I ordered all lavender flowers since that was grandma's favorite color. I think she'd like that:)

At some point this weekend, I need to get my son's hair cut and also need to get mine colored. I know grandma wouldn't have cared if we were a bit scraggly, but I want to look nice anyway.

School starts Monday so at least that will give the kids something to help take their minds off what is going on. They will have to miss school on Thursday for the funeral, but both have said they want to go. I'm not going to say no.

Work is still working. I wish I wasn't self-employed now because if I worked for someone else I could at least take a day off. Here I can't seem to do that. The phone is still ringing and even though I haven't been answering every call, I am still pretty busy. It's helped keep me from breaking down though so guess, in a way, that is good.

Swim Meet Cancelled

My daughters first home swim meet was cancelled for this evening. I guess not enough kids wanted to compete from the opposing team. Daughter is bummed, but I have to admit that I'm kind of relieved. Not that I don't like to watch my daughter swim, but it's 90+ degrees out there, the pool has no shade whatsoever, and I'm fighting a headache that I know would have only gotten worse if I'd gone. I will go to her next one though and several others after that, I'm sure, but I'm secretly happy that I don't have to do this one tonight. Whew!

Favorite Summertime Saying

The favorite thing that my
children like to say in the summertime is "Mom, I'm bored". Can you believe that they've only been out of school for less then a week and I'm already hearing those words? What has happened to kids nowadays? I remember when I was younger, my summer vacations were filled with playing outdoors, skipping rope, riding bikes, swimming and fishing. I didn't have video games to spend hours in front of and there were only 3 channels to choose from on television. My kids now have video games coming out of their ears, a computer, Ipods, 200+ channels on the satellite and still they say they're bored. What gives? Of course, anytime I suggest things for them to do, they roll their eyes and say that isn't what they want to do. Ok, so what AM I supposed to suggest? I'm sitting here at the computer working (for the most part:) and they are both plenty old enough to occupy themselves. It would be different if they were 2 or 3 years old and needing guidance, but they are 12 and 16! So, dear son comes sauntering into my home office and once again says he is bored. Ok, I say, how about helping me stuff some envelopes. You wouldn't believe how fast he found something else to do! Kids. You gotta love them, but sometimes they just make you shake your head and wonder why.

Fair Warning! Stay off the Sidewalks!

My daughter is now officially licensed to drive! My hubby took her to the license branch on Saturday morning and she passed with flying colors. She was very nervous, but did just fine. I'm still trying to cope with it though. My baby girl is now a driver and, well, that means a lot more freedom. I don't know how I feel about that part. Not that I don't trust HER, I do. She's never given me any reason not to do so. It's everybody else in the world that I don't trust.

She has already taken a half a dozen solo trips since Saturday and done fine. Granted, none have been farther then 15 minutes away or longer then an hour at a time. She drove to school today to pick up her report card and picked her brother up and brought him home from school and did a good job. My son even said she did "ok", which in preteen speak means "She did good enough not to kill me so I'll ride with her when it benefits me to do it". I guess I'm just in "mommy mode" right now and will worry about her every time she leaves my sight.