We're going camping tomorrow for two nights. We have a two room tent that we picked up at a garage sale. We includes a 3 year old (barely)child who needs a light on to sleep peacefully. I can't imagine this but soon I won't have to imagine it. I can't imagine my stress level rising but again it could be soon!!!

Limbo is NOT a fun place to live. We are planning on joining a church near us however we got an email about a job that DH interviewed for several months ago. In the same week we got a request for our case study to be submitted for a trio of kids that will be available for adoption locally. Our lease is up in the spring and we would like to move or buy or both. I probably can't buy because I just found out my X had a car repoed that was in both our names. This is after he defaulted on a loan also in both names and didn't pay th etaxes he was supposed too. I've been divorced for 5 years when does it stop haunting you!!!??? I paid all of the obligations the court decided was mine before the divorce paper was dry. Oh well, At least we are on the right track. I just wish I knew what the Lord wanted, a different job and kids there or kids here and the same job.Oh well sooner (probably later) we'll know.

Today my DH took me out for our anniversary. We went to a free zoo a couple hours away and walked around. Then we went to Red Lobster for lunch. After that we went to a local county fair and saw alot of cows (it is Wisconsin after all) and played midway games and rode rides. Our 3 year old had a blast and so did we. Of course we spent part of the time saying if we had three more we'd........ He said the best part of the afternoon was the Ferris Wheel.

I haven't blogged for awhile. Figured no body would be interested in all the things that happen to me, which is to say very little!! However we are awaiting news on two things. Or maybe I should say 4 things only three aren't things but people. anyway we got a call that there may be 3 little girls available for us to adopt. We also got an email that a job we have been courting since oh about 8 to 9 months ago may be opening up. If we get one we don't get the other. The fun part will be figuring out what God want sus to do!! The job gets us closer to the two older kids and all 7 living grandchildren which is a big big plus. Having more kids is a dream and getting three under 4 at once awesome. We're going to leav eit in God's hands for now.

Our little one turned 3 last week. WE had a wonderful time at his party. We had invited his play group. There are actually 2 other 3 yr olds in it but one has brothers so it ends up being a 7 yr old,one 5 yr old, three 3 yr olds, and a 18 month old. Six kids can rock this house!! They were all coming to his party but one got sick. and th elittle one had to stay home too. So we ended up with 3 3 year olds and a 7 year old for the party. We were doing a veggie tale theme. My DH and I were up early getting ready. The party was pretty cheap and could have been cheaper but we spurlged a little. DH took 8 x 10 pictures form the veggie web site and glued them onto cardboard. When they were dry he took a linoleum cutter and made jigsaw puzzles. He made different numbers of pieces for each child. The kids could put them together and then color them. We also had crowns made up in advance for them to wear. T used a group pic of veggies from the site and colored it then glued it to a cardboard crown I had cut out. We measured each kid on a long piece of paper. I had an extra growth chart that was free with a book purchase that I used but you could use anything. We took a picture to glue by their name so our DS has a record of who was here. The real fun began after they colored a picture for their treat bags (again from the site, free to print and color) We had several stations set up but since there were only 4 we did it all at once. First we "bobbed for Bobs" Most people do it for apples but theer isn't an apple on the veggie show yet. Even the parents got into it!! After that we reached into a container of fruit cocktail (make sure no sharp edges) and pulled out a grape (messy, very messy) We took a half of a cucumber (precut into a puzzle) and tried to put it back together, For the peas we had a small water toy that boats sail in but you could use anything that holds water. I dumped a cup of frozen mixed veggies into it and they had long handled spoons to pick out the peas. One for every year old they are. They had to pick up one pea at a time and take it to the table of course they had to hold the handle in their mouths, no hands!! For blueberries I had frozen one in each ice cube and they had to shave it with a snow cone maker I picked up for 10 cents at a grage sale. If you don't have one you could use another way to melt them. I hid baby carrots in grape jello (darkest color) and had them eat their way to it. After they collected all 6 veggies they got a prize. We used punch balls because they were 3 for a dollar at the dollar store. We "pinned the picture on the poster" I had a poster but you could make one off of the site coloring pages and we taped a copy of part of it onto the poster with a blindfold on. We only spun the older one. The others just had to find the poster. Last but not least was the piniata. I used a long brown bag and painted it green with a face on it. I'm no artist but it was familiar to any kid who has seen the shows. I filled it with dollar store stuff. It was for a boy so we had bugs, snakes, etc. You can get a bunch of stuff really cheaply. Instead of having them hit the thing I threaded strings through the bottom on the bag and had them pull two each. We all pulled at once because there were only 4 kids. After that we divided everything up evenly. You could put in candy but we don't encourage alot of sugar. I did have a small thing of fruit snacks for each child in there. For lunch we had Pizza, jello (strawberry banana) and cake. I decorated it with a kit but you could just draw a tomato and a cucumber on it with icing. We had chocolate milk to drink (a big treat around here)We gave each child a card game as a favor but you could skip this part if you wanted or get the games at the dollar store. The party probably cost us about 20 to 25 dollars but we could have done it cheaper if I hadn't gotton the cake topper or cups to drink out of. If we had had more kids coming we would have skipped the frills but 6 of stuff wasn't much. The part I enjoyed most was when the parent came for two of them and the kids started talking all at once about how much fun they had!!

my little one is growing up, he now decided that if he doesn't want ot go to bed he will get up and play in his room or peek out t his parents to see what fun they have after his bedtime. We are back to a crib, or sitting beside his bed, or lots of tears because Mom got mad, or all of the above. I don't like this particular stage in his life. Add the cough/ stuffyness he got from his Dad and you have a recipe for long nights and no fun evenings. Wonder how long this will last. I am getting ready for his party at the end of July. Today I found die cast Larry mobiles for a favor and of course had to get extra for my Grandkids.i am selling stuff for my MIL and so far it is going pretty well, except for the saw mill. I did find out it isn't an antique so I have a better chance at selling it, but no chance at the donation thing.

I am so proud of my daughter I could explode. I want to brag to everyone about how awesome she is. This isn't a new thing I have always been proud of her but when I look at her little ones and how well she is raising them I get positively nuts with pride. She had a few rough times that about wore out my knees but has become a woman I am proud to know. Someone I want my little one(s) to hang around. She married an awesome young man whom we are honored to have in our family and together with God they have created some lovely little ones that I am excited about watching grow up. Those tiny ones are blessed to have her as their mother. I've been thinking about all her good qualities and how we want to instill them in our little one. I know none of them were learned from me. so the prospect is staggering.

OK, I know I have room in my house but I didn't plan on taking up that space, just enjoying that I could look at a smaller house when I moved. Now well...OK my MIL was sorting out stuff and alot of it came home with me. Some of it was expected, the family good dishes to be passed down to DS2 and the like. But some wasn't. Like the set of books for DS2 I couldn't resist. Or the large stack of puzzles my SIL gave us. It is making me rethink my closets though. I have one that is filled with a computer (I thought it would be better than our old one but can't get it to work right) and three boxes of stuff that belonged to our exchange student he hasn't come back for. My DS2 closet has a lot of stuff "in case" the next one might like it. The closet in our room has clothes. The hall cupboard has all craft stuff, some of whihc I haven't seen since I put it in there. The large hall cupboard has Christmas stuff (I shop early) fabric (She who dies with the most fabric wins?) and alot of just in case stuff, in case of what I'm not sure. There are also two large boxes of photos (I take alot of pictures) and the Christmas stuff. The time has come to clean my closets. I want to wait until I feel better but need to get started. MY DH has been sick for three or 4 weeks with some sinus virus or other and now my DS2 and I seem to be losing the fight with the same thing. Because it is a virus there is no "cure" only paliatives which I don't use unless I have too. He called off two days this week and it seems to have helped. I keep asking where I call off to? The other "little" problem is that I can't clean closet when my little one is awake because he is very helpful and doesn't understand why he can't play with all that stuff. I think I'll start with the craft cupboard and make it into the "heirloom" closet. That way I shouldn't have to touch it again until I move!!!

My DH is still sick. He is so tired of being sick and I have to admit I am losing patience. We are going to the Dr. today and I am going to be adament about his getting a blood test for hypothyroidism. He is constantly tired and can't fight this sinus thing that has him down. He manages to make it to work and that is about it. I have to hire someone to mow my lawn. I contacted a youth group and am going to make a donation so at least that isn't as bad. I would do it myself but can't start the mower with my shoulder the way it is. i find myself hoping it is something easy to fix like his thyrioid. He was raised to "coddle" illness and I fight it tooth and nail unless it actually drops me (almost died a couple times that way so I know there is a happy medium).

This Saturday my DH felt too yucky (again) to go garage saling with us so DS2 and I went alone. We found very few things worth considering, much less spending money on (yeah) but at a church sale we found a large box (about 2 feet by 1 foot)of precut yarn for rug hooking for only 50 cents. My DH does that in the evening when he has motivation and supplies so I bought it. He has to finish a rug for one of our twin grandsons for Christmas as well as make one for the extra room (hopefully the next babies room) Our DS2 has three huge rugs that he made when he was in his 20's that are large cats, a lion, leopard and a tiger. We want our D? to have something waiting for her/him as well.
Actually it was just as well he stayed home the pager rang off the hook and he was primary call. He got enough pages to be able to take most of Friday off so we can leave for the weekend of gargae sale work in MI sooner. Now if I could only think of a place to sell an enormous working sawmill...I'm almost afraid to find out what else might be in that shed.

No not me, my son in law. I didn't get the chance to talk to him and wish him a Happy Birthday on the phone (tried twice!!) so I thought I would write it here.
My husband and I feel we are blessed to have him as our son in law. He is a wonderful husband to our daughter and a great father to our grandchildren. I prayed for him for years before I met him. I wanted my daughter to marry someone who would cherish her and help her realize her potential as a woman and as a Mom. I wanted someone who would appreciate her and see how special she is. I prayed she would marry a man who would raise our grandchildren to be intelligent, caring, little people who were hungry for knowledge. I prayed she would marry someone who was as good looking as she is so that my grandchildren would be great looking.My daughter married an awesome man. He is good looking (fantastic hair) and brilliant. He is dependable, has a great sense of humor and is honest and fair. He loves my little girl and their children intensely. I prayed that she would find someone who was willing to share his family from time to time with in laws and have tried to be a good MIL. I can't think of enough adjectives to describe the great job God did of finding my daughter the special man who I am proud to claim as part of our family. I thank God for his answer to prayer.

If it sounds like this is to be a complaint entry, you got it. I won't be insulted if you ignore it and go to someone's blog who is in a better mood. I just spent a couple hours trying to get my two year old to hold still long enough to fall asleep. This is after church where he acted so tired he could hardly stay upright and then fell alseep on the 15 minutes trip home. 2 and 1/2 hours of fussy kid, in humid weather is awful!! i am not however willing to give up since if I do he will think he can get his own way all the time. I can't let that happen. Now he is finally asleep and it is time fo rhim to get up. If I wake him he'll be cranky. If I don't he won't be tired to go to sleep at bedtime. Oh well at least he should be wide awake fo revening church.
In addition, we are T minus 2 1/2 days to his first airplane ride to Florida. I am not looking forward to the trip believe me. Several days in a hotel room with a 2 year old. The last couple days shouldn't be half bad since there will be two parents and we are going to see dolphins, rockets and maybe water. The first several it's me, a toddler and an outdoor pool. That means if it rains I am in big trouble. DH has a convention and I tried really hard to convince him to let us stay home to save money but MIL got wind of it and paid for our tickets. Since his is courtesy of the company as is the hotel room and car except for the last two days my we can't afford it argument went flat. I'm sure I would hate to stay home without him but I'm not sure going with him will be alot of fun. Oh well, guess fun is not the point of life is it!

I got a phone call from the sheep and dog owner (see last entry) to check on how our little one's face is doing. She was in tears and explained that they had decided to have the dog destroyed. We are heartbroken for them. There are 3 or 4 kids who love that dog and don't understand. She told me they are afraid that they don't know thedog as well as they thought they did and really feel it must have him put down for safety in the future. while we understand and probably would do the same ourselves we hurt for them. they are afraid if I hadn't reacted as quickly as I did the damage would have been worse (it was awfully close to his eye) and they may be right. We are praying for their comfort and that the kids understand.

Have you ever seen a sheep sheared? The lady that runs my fiber arts group has sheep and she agreed to let our little one watch them get sheared. WE were thrilled and dutifully kept him up past nap to see this event. As we waited for the shearer (he works for the same company my DH does and as a systems analyst too we found out, small world!!)Anyway we were shown th enew chicks and old chickens and then DS2 requested to see the dog. I met this dog about a year ago, not friendly but OK. The man who owned him said he jumps and reached to hold him down at that moment he chose to not jump, instead he took my little on's face in his mouth. Needless to say DS2 screamed I swung him out of the way and into my arms (I was holding his hand at the time. I thought emergency medicine did things for your adrenaline,... it's got nothing on this. The dog didn't do any permanent damage, no puncture wounds just some scrapes from chin to temple. He is used to older kids that play rough and wear gloves so I am sure it wasn't done with intent to damage, my little one accepted the he plays rough explanation (after Mom calmed him down, cleaned cuts, kissed them better and prayed over them) He even asked to see him again. (I told him we didn't have time) Needless to say the owners felt awful. Shots were up to date and no harm done but to my nerves.

When my DH and I first embarked on the adventure of adoption we were warned that it taeks years for the children to feel "really secure" WE were told about a child who 18 months (almost to the day of arrival at his adoptive parents house) packed his bags because that was the longest he'd ever stayed anywhere. I thought that adopting a 1 year old would prevent our going through that. Boy was I wrong!!!! My MIL came to see her grandson last month. I hadn't even considered that there would be a problem although we had realized that it has been about a year we have been his parents. After enduring a screaming session the likes of which I have never seen (nor want to again) he asked me to send Grandma home and said he'd be good. I was confused until he asked me to stay with him. I still couldn't believe a little one could imagine that we would give him up until the next day when I told him we were taking Grandma to the dock so she could catch the boat home (she had decided to leave early when we realized he was upset) and he said, "I have go too? I want stay wif Mommy and Daddy, I be good." It broke our hearts. We held him and explained that we are his parents and he didnt' have to go with Grandma. He has been his usual sunny self since.

Actually I'm not asking why my DS2 is stubborn I understand it is because he is 2 I am saying that the Why stage accompanied by the stubborn stage is very frustrating for Mom and Dad. I am determined to win the battles as well as the war though because I do not want a house ruled by a teenager in a few years. It means he spends many more minutes than I would like on the time out chair. We encourage questions but it is interesting to come up with answers for the 5th why in a row sometimes! Right now Grandma is visiting and we cringe sometimes when he is playing and tells his toys they are naughty and need a time out. Needless to say she would rather spoil him. If any of you want to see a picture of our little one, just look up obstinate in the dictionary, I'm sure a picture is in there!

MIL day is three days away and my to do list keeps getting bigger. I bought a copy of a magazine my Mom used to read (we all dived for it when it came) Not sure if I can give the name here or not so won't. It got me thinking alot about what I want in a house someday. Someday better happen soon since I am getting up there! I really want to go to alternative type housing that is more "earth friendly" Or at least convert whatever we get to be that way.
I sent my DDil and my DD a small mothers day gift to thank them for being the mother of my grandchildren. I probably sent the wrong thing but I do try. It's hard to be so far away but at least I have that excuse. I'd hate to be giving the wrong thing if I lived in the same town!
We are going to Florida at the end fo this month. DH has a seminar there he has to attend and he insisted (yes he really had to insist!) that we both go along. We are going to see my niece that lives there whom I haven't seen in 3 1/2 years and my sister whom I haven't seen in 4 years. We don't plan on doing the "usual" big parks since I don't want to take anyone who isn't old enough to remember (it's a once in a lifetime expense) having been there without pictures! We are going to go to the space center and the "big fish park" though. I am not really looking forward to amusing a 2 3/4 year old in a hotel for three days while Dad goes to class. His meals are at the convention so we won't even get to see him when we eat our PB&J that I am packing in an extra suitcase. Guess our community helper will be airport people for that week. We do a different one a week. This week we visited an ambulance and talked to a paramedic (I was one.) Last week we met the local Chief of police and an officer. We're writing our own book. It's fun.
Anyone who lives in Orlando have any suggestions for cheap stuff to do?

i've been waiting for spring cleaning inspiration to hit. In this state spring seems to be a state of mind, not a state of the weather. It hit this morning. My mother in law called, she'll be here in 10 days for a visit of indeterminate length. OK, How many things can I get done by then!!!!

And I don't want to be. In way too few hours a little tiny voice will call out my name (Mommy) and my day will be off and running. Unfortunately the day I am talking about is the one I am currently awake in. It is after 1 A.M. here and I am not asleep. That is very very bad. Instead of peaceful rest I am on a web site blogging. I was hoping being on the computer would provide enough distraction that I would get sleepy. Instead I'm just more frustrated by my inability to sleep, perchance to survive tomorrow - Is that how that goes?

Today I mean. It all started at 12:38 AM when I finally went to bed, I wasn't tired but was sure I would be a bit later (like when my toddler woke up.) I was RIGHT!! What I didn't know was that he would awaken at 5:30 AM and shortly afterward throw up all over me. Like I said today HAS to get better.

10 days on the road with a 2 year old, who can beat it? Actually he is a good traveler. We saw family, All my kids and grandkids in the same place at the same time!! Plus I got to show them off to my sisters (some of them) and brother. We saw 2 zoos, a cool children's museum, and had fun renewing old acquaintances. I discovered my old college friends got old (I didn't!) It was observed that I have the oldest children of all of us college buddies, as well as the youngest children and I have the only grandchildren. Shopping was fun too. On the way home we found a great sale at a store I thought I wold never be able to afford. I got a purse (mine was literally falling apart at the seams) for 10 morked down from 50. Our dog (16 years old) travels with us so we were glad the weather was coolish. Not bad to us northern folks although my southern bird grandkids were cold. When we got home we discovered the house was 55 degrees, and that was because the furnace was running. (please don't write and tell me it is 80 degrees in your yard!) DH had a job interview on the way home that if the Lord provides that position will bring us a whole day closer to the grandkids. All in all a very productive tiring 10 days. And when we got home and got the mail we discovered DH had been paid a bonus, not sure yet why but glad to have it!

Today we went outside and looked for puddles to stomp in because Grandma sent him rubber rain boots that look like dinosaurs and a raincoat to match. Adorable but something I would never spend money on. Yesterday I finally got to go for a walk. I haven't been blogging or entering my days results in self becasue with everyone sick there have been NO results or walking. DH has an interviel on the 24th in Ohio. We are praying for direction. We would like to be closer to the kids and grandkids but don't want to get ahead of God. I spent way too long looking for someone on the internet today. I would like to locate a couple of college friends but this is too much like work. I'm going to go back to sewing during nap time instead fo the computer. I need to get more done. If the Lord tells us to move I will be super busy! (and super broke) The next challenge will be gettin gout of the lease!

We had a total fo 5 perscriptions to get filled when we left the Doctor's office (Thank God for health insurance). DH still isn't feeling well but DS2 has stopped coughing and I am feeling better. Neither of the last two have taken any of the medicine prescribed as yet. He gave it to me "in case we need it on our trip". it is a great spring day outside and when nap time is over (no I don't get to nap) we are going outside. We went to the library today and saw a 4 year old who only weighs 2 pounds more than my DS2 (age 2). I know that sounds strange but I am tired of hearing "he's so small" My DH has an interview while we are on the way home that if he accepts the job would put us within a day's drive of grandkids (as opposed to 2 days). It would kill our emergency fund to pay for the move but that can't be helped and we would pay it back quickly.

Today we take DS2 to the doctor. For the last two weeks we have been sniffing, sneezing and coughing in a progressively worse way. Last Monday I took DH to the Doctor this Monday it is DS2 Next Monday ... Wait NO we are leaving for Pittsburgh next Monday!! No illness allowed.
We did go to the Children's festival and saw everyone we know that has kids of an appropriate age. It was fun. DS2 made lots of cool junk and had a good time visiting the booths. I especially liked the home builders booth. They had a variety of wood projects available to be hammered together. Everything from a doll cradle to a bird feeder. DS2 mad me a bird feeder with some help form DH and it is outside. We also picked up some great ideas for when the older boys come to visit. The other great booth was athe music one. He got to try a violin, slide trombone, guitar, and several differnet drums. They had some cool stuff outside as well like a bulldozer to "try" and an airplane to sit in as well as a bucket truck to go up in (we didn't do that, he lost patience with the long long line) It was a cool day but he was up way past naptime. I was horrifyed to learn that he was one of the few saying please and thank you. Several booth people commented on his manners being the unusual. It was great to hear him being appreciated but awful to hear how rare that is.

Tomorrow the local community is doing a free kids day (ages 2 to 10) at a local high school. Of course all the booth people hope that if they let my little one do some cool thing I will see the need for their product. I used to make a living in sales, I am very hard to sell to (unless you're a kid of course) so we are going to do cool things for free! 10 more days to the big trip (Pittsburgh) and I can hug my kids and grandkids. I can hardly wait.

As I glanced out the kitchen window I was startled to see visitors. I ran and picked up DS2 so he could see too. He looked and said, "1, 2 dog Mommy, open door and let dem in I pay wit dem. (Pretty good sentence for a 2 year old!) I tried to explain the strange dog rule but he thought I was crazy since he never met a dog he didn't bond with immediately and the smaller of the two (German Short hair mix) was jumping on our door wagging from nose to tail. The other was watching and wagging as well. He was bigger. I finally convinced him that this was our dog's house and she didn't want company. Meanwhile she was sound asleep in the bedroom (16 years old next week, she's almost always sound asleep) It was cute and we had to call DH and tell him all about it. I also carefully locked the screen so he wouldn't decide that they needed to meet her! He is so much fun! I have a feeling with his interest in animals this place will look like an ark soon . Won't be the first time I remember several bunnies, hamsters, gerbils, lizards, birds, turtles, fish, cats and this same dog the first time around.

I don't remember the last time I was fooled. I don't even remember the last time I was surprised! On Saturday morning (very early) I was online about to go to this site. My cell phone rang and as I talked to my caller the home page came up. I was startled to see the sold article and read the headline outloud. Caller was outraged as was I and went online to read the whole article while I went on to look up what the call was about. We talked and commented (none of which was complimentary to the site owners!) for a bit and then I had to leave. My DH and I,who as far as I know has never been on the site, and I ranted, I mean discussed. this turn of events in the car as well. A couple hours later I had another phone call from the same person. It seems that the next person to find out in our private chain had the presence of mind to check out the new "owners" Of the three of us who know each other and frequent the site only one checked things out all the way. I hate to admit it but the level headed one is male. As I said I don't remember the last time anyone fooled me like that. Thanks for the good laugh and boy are we relieved!

OK, I never said it couldn't get worse!! Now my DH and DS2 have colds (I'm in denial about my health condition regarding colds!!) My DS2 is complaining his "nose is leaking" It's really cute but he is also whining ALOT. Oh well. Tomorrow we are going to see Veggie Tales live! It is a 2 hour drive so I hope everyone is up to it. The tickets weere a splurge but he really is a big big fan so they are worth it. I'm still being successful at finding weight. I want to walk some off but it is too cold for them to go out with colds in fact it snowed last night. Is is Spring somewhere? When we moved here we were told that if we didn't like the weather just wait a day and it would change. I didn't realize they meant it would get worse.

I'm tired of being cold (it is warming up outside so why am I colder than I have been all winter?)
I'm tired of being hungry (trying to lose weight and it keeps finding me)
I'm tired fo being broke (CC bills gone, almost paid off my DH medical bills from accident in Nov. 2004 and now I have my medical bills form Jan 2006, plus two cars)
OK, my DS2 was up for severla hours last night, which means I was so I apologize for whining to anyone who didn't read the warning title on this post!

I haven't blogged for awhile since nothing is new. My DH is going to Orlando for a conference at the end of May. My MIL offered to pay part of the cost for DS2 and I to join him but I think we will pass. Our share would be close to 1000.00 which takes away form our pay off program. Granted at least we aren't thinking of using credit cards but still I don't want to take the money we could use for three extra car payments. We also hope to have a bigger family by then so it would be academic. We are going to Pittsburgh in April right after Easter with 10 percent of our income tax money. My project for this week is to find accomodations with a room we can have a reunion in. The kicker is it has to take dogs as our pet sitter is out of town that week.