For your viewing pleasure

Meet Caleb...

So much to do

and so little time. I am feeling very overwhelmed. Looks like we'll be packing Friday night and getting very little sleep. Oh well...

My friends, Tammy and Terry, came over this evening and gave me an early birthday present. A whole batch of the best homemade chocolate chip cookies ever (her cookies are fluffy, mine are flat), some Godiva Chocolate, (I LOVE this woman!) and a Yankee Candle in the Autumn Wreath scent. To top it off, the cookies were wrapped in a Williams Sonoma dish towel. What could possibly be better? Thank you so much my friend.

I spoke with Karen's husband, Darren, tonight. I guess he accidentally messed up the template of Karen's blog and called to ask me to fix it. It was great talking to him. He shared Karen's last few hours on earth with me. He sounded so happy for her, but of course, grieved for himself and his children. Her body was cremated at her request and the memorial will be on Sunday. I will be in Orlando, but Karen would want me to go on vacation with my family. I know she would. I can hear her voice in my head right now. "You go Miss Misty! Don't even think twice."

Simon will be six months old on the 4th. Can you believe that? Six months old. He is so big and so long. I nurse him and just stare in amazement at how big that child is. He still doesn't sleep well at all. He's like a newborn; worse than a newborn actually. He is up every 2 hours on a good night. On bad nights I can't put him down at all. He just likes to sleep ON me which makes for a long night sitting up against the headboard with a few pillows. However, I am still loving it because at my age (very nearly 40, my friends!) you never know if you will be blessed with another one. I am taking full advantage of every minute to hold that baby. I know far too well how incredibly fast they grow up. Karen's life has taught me the importance of every single minute on this earth. We are not guaranteed our next breath. Make every second count. Love is something that no one will ever regret on their death bed.

Speaking of more children, I watched Kids by the Dozen on TLC last night. It had on the Gonya Family and they were fabulous. No Duggar matching outfits or organization. Just a house that would run a lot like ours if we had twelve children. I enjoyed watching them and their family dynamic. I think they may have been Catholic, but that wasn't addressed in the episode. They just seemed to really like each other but yet were real and chaotic and normal. Camille enjoyed watching the show as well. She loves her siblings and wants more. She is begging for at least one more little girl. Like I can choose the sex of the baby. She is a fabulous big sister and helps me SO much. I don't know what I would do without her. I really don't.

Alright, it's 11:23 pm and I need to get some sleep. It just seems futile when I know the baby will wake up just as I am drifting off. I wish bodies could function on 2 or 3 hours of sleep.

I will miss you, friend.

Finally, a real update

Simon is in his jumpy thing and being so cute right now. I thought I'd jump on here and give ya'll a real update even though there is nothing new under the sun. Hey, I think someone said that before;)

The children are fine and super excited about Disney. We leave next Saturday. Olaf is outside detailing our minivan to sell it. It has been such a fabulous van that I hate to see it go. If you are local and know someone who may be interested, here is a link to what it is worth via Kelly Blue Book. Our price is $6,000 firm. It's actual value is closer to the 'excellent' price. Olaf kept meticulous records. It just turned 85K miles and we are the only owners.

We are still adjusting to not having Ella here. We still walk softly in the places she used to sleep afraid that we are going to make her yelp if we get too close. I don't have to sleep with my bedroom door closed anymore because her snoring no longer wakes me up. I miss her.

Need to run. Simon needs me. He is so darn cute.

A true story

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner. I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, 'If I give you this money, will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?'

'No, I had to stop drinking years ago' , the homeless woman told me.

'Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?' I asked.

"No, I don't waste time shopping," the homeless woman said. 'I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.

'Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?' I asked.

'Are you NUTS !' replied the homeless woman. 'I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!'

'Well,' I said, 'I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight.'

The homeless woman was shocked. 'Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.'

I said, 'That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments and wine'.

OK, it's not true!:)

Simon in his jump up

I love this video thing. Can you tell?

Cool Beans

I just learned today that my digital camera has the ability to take videos. My friend, Misty, told me (Thanks woman!). So, here is Grace.

Weekend

I guess it's officially the weekend since it is after midnight. It seems like I never get to bed prior to midnight anymore. This baby thing can be tough on a 40 year old.

I got my hair trimmed today (and an eyebrow wax which was a total splurge for me) and as I was looking at myself in the mirror, I was just completely taken back at how fat and old I am. It was weird. Like all of a sudden I saw myself as other people see me. Blech. After our vacation I really need to step it up a notch.

The family is still reeling from the death of Ella. We received a sympathy card in the mail today from the vet's office. I cried when I read it. The entire staff signed the card. She was such a good dog. Too bad we couldn't have had her a few more years. Deacon has been waiting for her at the door. When we take him out to go potty, he looks for her. He is confused. I miss her terribly.

We are going to see Thomas on Sunday. It's about a 2.5 hour drive, so it will be a trial run for our upcoming Disney trip. I hope the baby does okay. With all that room in the new van we should be okay.

Please pray for my friend, Karen. The news isn't good, but their faith is amazing. I heard she cut her hair but I haven't seen it yet. Karen has always had one LOOONNNGGGG braid down her back. She got it cut chin length I think. Everyone says it looks fabulous. I bet it does. She cut it in case she has to have intrathecal chemo to the brain. Let me see if I can find a photo of Karen at my baby shower.

See that braid running down the right side of her neck?

I need to get to bed. My little man will be up any minute wanting his mama.

Did I mention I need a massage??

Goodbye Ella Jones Boney

July 4, 1997-October 16, 2007

Just one more...

My friend, Jeff, sent this to me in an e-mail.

MENOPAUSE JEWELRY

My husband, being unhappy with my mood swings,
bought me a mood ring the other day
so he would be able to monitor my moods.
We've discovered that when I'm in a good mood,
it turns green. When I'm in a bad mood,
it leaves a big red mark on his forehead.
Maybe next time he'll buy me a diamond.

BWAH HA HA!

A friend, who shall remain nameless for her own protection, sent me this via e-mail. It is too good not to share:

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine... and those who don't.....................................

As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of sh .. .

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service.

Right Brained or Left Brained?

Which way is she spinning? If you see counter clockwise (which most people will see) you are left brained. If you see clockwise, you are right brained. Or, if you are like me, she switches all the time. Go figure!



LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

Sniffles...

My children all have a stuffy nose, including the baby. It's not too bad though. No fevers or anything. Just a stuffy nose and some sneezing. We also put him in the Johnny Jump Up too. He liked it!



Ella (our dog) has an appointment for Tuesday afternoon. I am almost certain Olaf will put her down. It's weird because some days she is much better than others. We are still on the fence about whether to euthanize her. Such a hard decision to make.

Bunco was a blast. I had so much fun. I even won a prize. I had the most mini Bunco's and took home a ceramic turkey:) Too bad I don't decorate my home for the different seasons. I met a lot of people and am looking forward to making new friends.

Olaf cleaned out the new van today. It was filthy. I mean absolutely disgusting. Whoever owned that van before was just gross. He took out the last row of seats so we now have some storage room.

Need to go put the cutest baby in the whole world to sleep. Have a great weekend.

Aunt Pam's Visit

I haven't blogged for awhile because we have had company. My Aunt Pam from Portland has been here since Sunday. She left this evening for training in Atlanta and will be back Friday night to visit with us again. The children have absolutely loved her visit. Grace and Josiah have especially taken to her. They were fixing her hair for her within a few hours of her arrival. Here is a photo of her lovely new do by Grace:



I am going to start playing Bunco once a month with my friend, Misty, and her neighbors. I am excited about it. I have always wanted to go out to Bunco night with the ladies. It should be a lot of fun.

On a much sadder note, we are going to put Ella down on Saturday. She is not doing well at all. My heart breaks thinking about it, but it is time.



She is only ten but has been in ill health for awhile now. Even her pain medicine doesn't seem to help much anymore. Olaf is going to take her in because there is no way that I could do it. I am way too much of a wimp. As I type this she is panting behind me and drooling all over. The sad part is she still eats and drinks and goes outside to potty. She isn't totally incapacitated but she just looks like she is in so much pain. Someone tell me it's the right thing to do...PLEASE!

Heather likes me!

Heather over at Madame Rubies gave me an award on her blog. Here it is:



I make her smile! So, I am going to pass along the award to some fellow bloggers as well.

Mandie doesn't blog often, but when she does...she always makes me smile. She's a hippie like me and I bet she wears a perfume with patchouli in it.

I never miss a post from Dawn. I love her.

Christine always makes me think. And smile.

And Cheri is always good for a smile. She's also good for fabulous photos of Montana and really cute children.

If you haven't read The Pioneer Woman, go now!