Rick's Sunday Pictures

Rick left this morning for New Jersey. Our new ritual is that Katie and I follow him outside and do our good-byes before he hops in the van. Then when Rick drives down the driveway Katie and I wave good-bye. Rick will stop at the gate, get out of the van and wave good-bye before he turns out of the driveway. The cute, yet sad, part is that as Rick drives down the driveway, Katie breaks into a run in an attempt to catch Rick. Today Rick stopped to let Katie catch up to him so she could give him one more kiss and hug.

The two pictures below are from this weekend. The first is of Rick and Katie. Rick was working on his laptop in the living room. It wasn't long before Katie fetched her Thomas The Train laptop and set up shop next to her Daddy. (Sorry Hon, I know it's not fair to post pictures of you before you had a chance to comb your hair or put a shirt on, but I just love this picture.)


The next picture is of Katie in her favorite outfit. Yesterday I bought her a new swimsuit from Wal-Mart. She has chosen to wear it at all times and to also pair it with her winter boots. She reminds me of Christina Ricci's character from "Mermaids." In the film Christina plays Kate Flax who loves to swim and constantly wears a bathing suit. Matter of fact, I think in the movie Kate Flax also wears boots with her suit. In this picture Katie had just stole the snack baggies from the pantry. I am not sure what she intended to bag.

That's it for Sunday's pictures for Rick.

Rick's Thursday Pictures

Katie, Eric, Baby Too and I took a walk after dinner. Here are a few shots from our stroll up the driveway.

Katie running and pushing Baby Too in a stroller.

Checking out a bug.


Putting a sticker on a mesquite tree.


Blankly staring.

Trying To Imagine and Understand

Today I find myself tearing up over Eoin who passed away yesterday. His mom and dad had a Care Page that they updated during his long battle with cancer. Today his mom added a post that eloquently told of Eoin's last moments. This one sentiment just plainly breaks my heart.

"I wasn't going to lay with him at all that night, but changed my mind early that morning and laid down with him from 4 AM on. Now it makes me so sad to think that I will never feel his little arms holding me back."

Some of the sweetest moments that I share with my daughter are when she rests her head on my shoulder or when she wraps her arms around me. I cannot fathom what it would be like to be without her gentle touch. When I try to put myself in Eoin's parents' place, I silently say, "No, no, no." Something inside of myself won't even let me go there. Perhaps it is self-preservation or the immense pain that would result from even imaging losing Katie.

Despite my repeated complaints about Katie to Rick every time he calls, my frustration with her is tempered. Eoin's death has me living in this moment and embracing life. Some how all my day to day worries are not with me today because in the end, they don't matter.

I have also been thinking about how his cancer and death seem so unfair. Why does it seem so shockingly unjust? I have certainly have seen so many examples of unfairness, yet it's as if I have not learned the lesson that life is not fair. I wonder if my shock is because I was raised to believe that if you lived a good life, you would be rewarded in the afterlife. Have I somehow twisted that belief to include earthly rewards or fairness. Perhaps it's the whole karma concept that stands in the way of me accepting that life is life. Sometimes it is beautiful and precious and right. Sometimes it is confusing, contradictory and unfair for reasons that I will never understand. And it is not understanding that rattles my naturally inquisitive mind. However, I am beginning to accept that life isn't black and white; two rights sometimes result in a wrong; and that perhaps we are not meant to understand.

Letting Go

Yesterday at 2 pm, Eoin, the little 2 year old boy about whom I posted the other day and in the past, passed away. My heart and prayers go out to his family in this time of letting go of a precious child.

Rick left for New Jersey on Tuesday and yesterday he had an excruciating tooth ache. There is a dentist across from the client site, so Rick popped in there. The dentist had to extract one tooth and began a root canal on another. Because Rick will be in Jersey for the next four weeks, coming home on the weekends, the dentist will do an implant and a few other things in Rick's now pain-free mouth. Rick really likes the dentist, which is saying a lot about the doctor; however, on the down side, his dentist is now located in Jersey City.

Yesterday Katie and I motored over to the Wal-Mart in Stamford and I finally purchased paint for the dining room. When it comes to any type of decorating I mull over my options for weeks, sometimes months. I have been picking up paint cards from Wal-Mart every time that I go into the store and finally confirmed my choice of Victorian Garnet--burgundy--for the dining room walls. I have read horror stories online about painting walls red, such as streaks, blotches and a pinkish tone. I have experienced none of these. I need to add one more coat today and hope to be finished. I really like how it looks. It makes the dining room feel regal, warm and darker. Our dining room only has two walls because one side is open to the living room and another side is separated from the kitchen by the breakfast bar. I think if our dining room was a true enclosed room, the color would be too dark. I hope Rick likes it, if not HE will have a hard time covering the Victorian Garnet! I also might have found a paint color for the kitchen. I actually took one of the window toppers into Wal-Mart with me to match a beige strip in the window treatment. I got tired of bringing paint cards home only to discover the colors were not quite right.

Katie was a MONSTER yesterday. When I attempted to put her down for a nap, she got out of her crib at least fifteen times. I gave up and put her in her play pen without any toys as a sort of a punishment. She escaped from that also. I think my mother-in-law is correct when she says that it is all a game to Katie. Rick and I have decided to baby gate her in her bedroom. If she gets out of her crib, she will be contained in her room. Rick also thinks we need to unscrew the ceiling fixture's light bulb. When she gets out of her crib, the first thing she does is turn on the light. Without light, she won't be able to play and perhaps will be less likely to exit her crib. We'll see how it works. In addition to her escapes, she was just rotten. She was throwing stuff, swung a towel at me, and refused to listen to "No!". Please Lord, give me the strength to get through today and please give Katie the wisdom not to act out again.

So they was a lot of letting go yesterday. One was extremely painful to do, one meant removing pain and one meant letting go of traditional, painted walls and going for the daring.

Sunsets--In Texas And Of One Life

Lowering the mattress in Katie's crib has not stopped her from getting out of it. When she was done napping this afternoon, she climbed out of her crib. To top things off, she did not get enough sleep last night and has been a holy terror today. And of course Rick is out of town, so there is no break for me.

Last night for dinner Rick cooked t-bone steaks on the grill and they were absolutely delicious. I had to laugh because Rick kept on going "mmmmm" while eating and didn't realize he was doing that. No sooner did I point that out to Rick when he caught me doing the same thing.

When we were walking back to the house from the grilling area, we ran into a baby snake. It was a bull snake, which is a "good" snake. After dinner we took a walk up the driveway and we ran into the same snake. We haven't seen any rattlers lately--knock, knock, knock on wood.

I previously posted about a fellow MOPS' two-year-old nephew who is fighting AML, which is Acute Myeloid Leukemia. In February he had a bone marrow transplant in an attempt to eradicate the cancer; however, I learned the other day that his cancer is back. The doctors are giving the little guy one to two weeks to live. I cannot even fathom what hearing that news must be like for his parents. We are not meant to understand the seemingly unfairness of life, but I always ask, "Why?" And like Rick said, "But for the grace of God that could be any one of us." I pray that his parents find peace during these last days of their son's life and I pray that he will be gently released into God's arms.

Below are two pictures that I took yesterday evening. A storm was rolling into the area north of us as the sun was setting. The beautiful sunsets that we are fortunate enough to be privy to help ease the uncomfortable "Why?" feeling and remind me what is truly beautiful.




Gotta go. Katie just escaped from her play pen. Is it bedtime yet?

Weekend Wrap Up

Our Internet was down from Saturday until this morning so that is why I have been lax in adding new posts to this blog.

On Saturday our new phone system finally arrived in the mail and I am so happy. It's sleek and shiny and has oodles of features.

It also rained on and off Saturday. By dinner time it looked like the coast was clear, so Rick fired up the grill and we were going to eat in the outdoor living area. I filled a basket with condiments, paper plates, sodas, etc. and right as Rick put the hot dogs on the grill the skies opened up and it poured. We grabbed what we could and sprinted across the front yard and back to the house. All three of us were drenched and muddy. Two of the new telephone handsets and my camera were outside, but we got those in time before they were damaged. Rick got an umbrella and ran back to the living area to fetch the hot dogs and buns, which were done. Despite getting rained out, we had a great dinner. Everything tastes better when done on the grill.

Katie's "Dora" DVDs arrived in the mail on Saturday. She has watched all three DVDs numerous times since then.

Other news on the Katie front is that she has learned how to climb out of her crib. Saturday morning I heard noise that sounded like running. I thought it was Eric moving around in the kitchen, but when I opened our bedroom door I discovered that Katie was the runner. It freaked me out a little bit because I didn't expect to see her. Last night I discovered that Katie can also climb into her crib. We had put her to sleep for the night and I heard her walking around. I whipped open her door and yelled, "What are you doing out of your crib?" I scared the heejeebees out of her and she moved like lightening. She scaled the side of her crib and then fell onto the mattress. A few minutes later Rick and I were talking in the guest bathroom--for some reason that is were we frequently end up having conversations--and I heard her walking around in her bedroom, which is next door. I told her to get back in her crib and all Rick and I heard was ''thump, thump, thump" and then "boing" as she landed on her mattress. Rick started laughing and so did I. I think it was the sound of her hitting the mattress that got us going. At this very minute Rick is adjusting the crib and reinforcing it in an attempt to keep her contained.

Yesterday I discovered that Katie can also climb out of her play pen. I guess she has taken her new found knowledge of the swing-the-leg-over maneuver and applied it to her play pen. Her play pen does not lower, so I might as well pack it up and sell it.

Because of the rain for the last two days, we've had a low key, holiday weekend here at home. However, that is just what Rick needed. He leaves tomorrow for New Jersey and will be back on Friday. He'll be home for one day and then depart again for New Jersey. That is how it will be until the middle of June. When he is only home for one day a week it is rough. That's about enough time for me to kiss him hello, unpack his luggage, do laundry, pack his luggage and kiss him good bye.

Well that's the weekend wrap up. I hope your holiday weekend was enjoyed and safe.

Rick's Thursday Picture

This morning when Katie woke up she was a little bit whiny, which I attribute once again to the "Daddy Gone" blues. (She misses you so much, Hon. Me too!) When she has the blues she feels better if I snuggle her in our bed. This morning she wanted numerous dolls and stuffed animals to watch Dora with her. The new baby doll that we purchased yesterday is on the extreme left. When I asked Katie what her new baby's name was she replied, "Baby Too." I am not sure if she meant "too" or "two", but regardless I have taken to calling the new baby "Too."

Bonus Picture

Here's a Wednesday bonus picture for you, Rick. I was bummed I didn't get it perfectly in focus (you know how it is with that one lens) and I wished Katie would have smiled. The outfit Katie is wearing--stripes and polka dots--is one of the two outfits that she wore today and that she chose. At least the top and pants match colorwise.

Random Thoughts

Here are a couple of random thoughts that are going around in my head.

I think Rick's preaching to Katie about saving electricity has finally sunk into her little head. Today after she was done watching Dora, she turned the TV off before going to her bedroom to play. Which brings up the observation that Rick sounds like such a typical parent when he tells her we don't own the electric company.

Along with "Dora The Explorer" Katie likes "Go, Diego, Go." However, Katie cannot say "Diego" so her pronunciation is "Ego", which makes me laugh. When she calls his name, it sounds like she is chastising him for being too self-satisfied.

This morning when I checked on Katie in her bedroom she had removed all of her tops from her dresser drawer and placed them on her desk. She proceeded to re-fold all of her tops and then put them back in her drawer. Apparently my laundry folding technique does not meet her meticulous standards.

Flies, flies and more flies despite having hung two fly bags in the front yard. They are driving me nuts. I am not sure what has caused the surge in the flies--perhaps the fields have been recently fertilized. Regardless, each time I go outside they are just chilling on the front steps. And because Eric is slow coming up and going down his ramp, at least five flies get in the house each time I let Eric in or out. This morning I found myself walking around the house with a fly swatter in one hand at all times.

Til more randomness occurs to me.....

Rick's Wednesday Picture

A few days ago Lupe, our cat, was on my desk in the office and some how got his claw stuck in the key chain to my USB flash drive. The drive was in a USB port on my laptop and when he pulled on his foot with all his little might he destroyed the flash drive. Lately I've been EBaying it, so I checked there and purchased a new 4G Flash drive for only $10 with free shipping. Sometimes the prices on EBay are more expensive than in a regular retail store, but EBay has worked for me for the last couple of purchases.

Below is Rick's photo of the day. Of course it is a picture of his beloved Doodlebug. Katie was adamant about Baby being in the picture.


Kate also wanted to take a picture for Daddy and below is that picture. It's her desk which is covered with all things Disney Princess. I got the two little circus trains from MOPS on Monday. They are banks and Katie keeps pennies in one and silver coins in the other.

That's it for now. I will post later if any thought or event is blog worthy.

Rick's Tuesday Picture

For Christmas one of my parents' gifts to Katie was a Hippity Hop horse. Unlike the ones that my sister and I had, Katie's has a horse cover. She LOVES Hoppy Horse, as she calls it. (The love of Hippity Hops is clearly a genetic thing since my sister and I spent endless summer hours hopping around outside. And nothing was more disappointing when you got a thorn in your Hippity Hop. My dad worked out of town and I never was willing to wait til dad got home to fix Hippity Hop so I often raided his work area in the basement looking for a rubber patch and glue. And like a typical child I used half a tube of glue on each repair job.) Anyway, here is Katie riding Hoppy. You will notice that the much abused Baby is in the background on the floor. Baby was getting a diaper change. Speaking of abusing Baby, last week Rick caught Katie gently holding Baby's arm while she pushed Baby's hand into cactus thorns. As a side note, Katie dressed herself today and did an excellent job.

Sometimes she gets over zealous in her hopping and gets bucked off of her horse. Here she is recovering from the catapult. Like always no tears flowed. She can be a tough little cookie.

Rick's Picture Of The Day

When Katie woke up from her afternoon nap she was whiny and pathetic. I call it the "Daddy's Not Home" blues. So I snuggled her in our bed, turned on Nick Jr. and made her some popcorn. I got the popcorn container from MOPS where the table decorations were offered for those that wanted them. It's a hard plastic and just the right size for Katie. In this picture I managed to catch her in the middle of stuffing a handful of popcorn in her pie hole.

Great Deals And Other Mish-Mash

Today was the last MOPS meeting until September. It was a little sad because MOPS Mondays lift me up and recharge my sometimes depleted Mommy batteries. I am on the Steering Team for next year so there will be those meetings to look forward to during the summer.

The ladies at my MOPS table got me Honeysuckle Home Spray as a gift for being the table leader. I absolutely love the smell. With an aging dog that has accidents in the house at night, room fragrance is a great gift. I also received a Snickers Bar from Sarah which was devoured by the time I hit S. 1st which is about 3 minutes from Highland Church of Christ. In my defense I gave Katie a bite.

The other day I bought off of EBay a new phone system for the house. I got an amazing deal on it--half off! It is a multi-line system so we can finally get rid of the numerous phones and caller ID units that clutter the desk space in the office. Today I ordered two additional handsets for the system and it will be nice to have extensions in the kitchen and bedroom. You can actually have 10 handsets with the system, but I think 10 ringers going off would be a bit much for our size house.

Katie used to be an exclusive Baby First TV viewer. However, recently we have been letting her watch Nick Jr. and she LOVES "Dora The Explorer." Because Baby First TV is commercial-free, commercials send her for a loop. When one comes on Katie asks, "Where'd Dora go?" Matter of fact Katie is quite sure I changed the channel on her (I NEVER do that--yeah right) and gets whiny about it. She also gets whiny when she wants to watch "Dora" and it's not on. I try to explain to her that "Dora" is only on at certain times, but she can't grasp that. On Baby First TV the programs loop frequently so her favorites come on often. Anyway, because of the commercials and because Katie wants "Dora" on demand I purchased a set of "Dora" DVDs off of EBay. I got a good deal on them because we had a 15% off EBay coupon for DVDs and the seller offered free shipping. In a few short days Katie will have "Dora" at her beck and call. (Rick--I am not spoiling our daughter. Katie's whining for Dora just wore me down. But don't tell her that because she will take advantage of her whine power!)

Rick drove from New Jersey to Pennsylvania yesterday afternoon so he could visit with his brother, sister-in-law and their three girls. At first I thought he was nuts to drive all that way, but then I looked at a map. When you live in a state as large as Texas you forget that there are some states that you can cross in a few hours.

So that's Monday's mish-mash wrap up. Tomorrow I have to go to the post office and also I need to pick up refills for the WHY traps at Lone Star Feed. I know, I know. I live an exciting, fast-paced life. All joking aside, I love days when the only major thing on my to-do list is to drive a mere nine miles into a small town. Til later........

Memories

My last post got me thinking about Eric and Max, so I dug up some old photos. The first one is one of the professional pictures that Rick had taken a few years back and before I knew any of them. It's Rick with "The Boys" as he used to call them when there were two of them. Eric is on the left and Max is on the right. Wow! Look how young everyone was.

The picture below was taken August 13, 2005, on Mackinac Island outside of the Island House. We stopped at the Island on the way to my Mom and Dad's house to do pre-wedding reconnaissance. We got married on Mackinac Island one month later and had our reception at the Island House. Max is next to Rick and my beloved Eric is next to me.

Sunday Morning Rambling

Rick left this morning for New Jersey. He won't be back until Friday night. Actually, Rick will be spending the next five weeks in Jersey, but hopefully will come home for the weekends. We also learned he will going to Brazil in August. Ugh! The cities of Brazil are known for their crime rate. Matter of fact Rick's company will hire a armed driver/bodyguard to accompany Rick the entire time he is there. After I learned that I was even more nervous about the Brazil trip. Kidnapping of American business men is a popular way to raise money in Brazil. So there will be a lot of praying about Rick's trip to Brazil.

Tomorrow I have to call the vet to see if they are open on Saturdays. With Rick only being home on the weekends for the next couple of weeks and if we have to put Eric down, we will have to do it on a Saturday. We will also have to hire someone with a backhoe to dig his grave next to Max, Eric's brother. Yesterday Rick asked me what my plan was concerning Eric, I immediately began crying. I explained to Rick about calling the vet and asking them about Saturdays. I feel an odd sense of guilt as I plan his assisted death. Last evening I was walking up the driveway and pulling weeds when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to find Eric coming up the driveway. He typically no longer goes up the driveway unless I coax him, so for him to do it on his own initiative was strange. It's like he knows what I am thinking and he attempted to rally to change my mind. It might be a few weeks before we put him down, but I am slowly finding peace with that reality. Oh, what will I do without my Eric? He rarely lets me out of his sight and has always been there, watching over me and protecting me. I cannot explain the sense of security I receive knowing Eric is never more than a few feet away from me. Despite his failing eyesight and hearing, he still is territorial and scares the heck out of everyone--the UPS man, the mail lady, our neighbor--who ventures down the driveway. People often ask me if I am afraid living out here, especially when Rick is on the road and I always answer, "No, I have Eric." When he's gone my answer will surely change. Gotta change the subject because I am starting to tear up.

So......tomorrow is another MOPS Monday. It will be our last meeting for the year. Our year runs from September through May. I will miss the Monday meetings, but will be busy with my Steering Team duties.

Time to go and see what Doodlebug is doing. She's being too quiet.

Banishment, Attitude and Towels

This morning Katie and I had a MOPS play date at the Gymnastics Sport Center in Abilene. For $3 Katie got to run amok, jump on in-floor trampolines, dive into a foam square pit and work up quite a sweat. Her fancy hairdo lasted about 15 minutes before she decided that she wanted to have wild-child hair. At one point she followed slightly older girls into a hiding place under a slide. I happened to be standing next to the slide and I heard one little girl tell Katie, "Go away." Apparently that little girl didn't want Katie horning in on her play time with her friend. My heart broke for Katie, but you know, Katie didn't budge. I know she understood what the little girl said, but Katie let the request roll off of her back. When I told Rick about it he figured Katie took it with a grain of salt and he also commented that he is sure Katie will say the same to some other child in the future. Other than the banishment request, we enjoyed ourselves and Katie surprisingly didn't fall asleep on the way home. I did tell her we were going to stop at the car wash and Katie loves going through the touchless car wash. The wax that they use is multicolored and she is forever impressed with the rainbow that streams down the windshield.

Eric has gotten a little worse. When I took him for his Adequan shot last week, Eric couldn't get into a standing position. The combination of the linoleum floor and weak hips were too much. The vet got a towel, wrapped it under Eric's belly and lifted his hind quarters. It worked like a charm. So now I use the towel trick when he struggles to get on all four feet. Once he is on his feet he is okay. I pray each night that I will know when it's time to put him down. Because Eric and I have an eerie connection, I am confident that he will "tell" me when it's time; when he's had enough.

Last night Rick and I cracked open a bottle of white Merlot, plopped ourselves in the outdoor living area, flicked on the radio and enjoyed the evening alfresco. I may comment on occasion about living out in the boonies, but I truly enjoy the solitude. No neighbors to complain about the music or see me walking around in my nightie.

And as for Katie, our dear wonderful Katie, she is grasping new words each day. Long sentences are a regular occurrence. The other day I was talking to her about GaGa and Pop Pop and how they were no longer here. She commented, "No Gaga and Pop to kiss and hug." And if you could have seen the sad little face that accompanied that comment, your heart would ached for her as mine did. Katie has taken to saying, "That's gross" when she doesn't like something. She also exclaims "Hey, spit it out. That's mine" when I take a bite of something that she is eating. Somehow she has learned to say "Mom" with attitude. She drags it out and I swear I have seen her roll her eyes when she says it. It reminds me of a disgusted teenager. Oh Lord, if she has that teenager attitude at two, what will fifteen be like? HELP!!!!

Well, time to get a towel and get Eric in the house. Good night.

Tiny Geraniums On My Counter

As I posted before, my mother-in-law is a miniaturist. Her speciality is flowers and while visiting us she showed me how to make a few different types. She created two pots of geraniums and today my job was to paint the leaves to give them more depth. Below is a picture of the geraniums that she made and with my paint job on the leaves. She works in 1" scale and I included a dime in the picture to give you an idea how tiny the potted geraniums are. (To get the full affect of this post, the title must be sung to the tune of "Tiny Bubbles".)

These Feet Were Made For Walking

As I posted earlier, my husband and his father went to an auction on Saturday. One of the items that my husband bid on and won was a treadmill for me. He got a great deal on it and I am so happy to be able once again to walk and walk and walk and never leave the bedroom. (I used to have a treadmill, but I lost it in the fire back in 2003.) Thank you hubby for the great Mother's Day gift.

Bye-Bye GaGa and Pop Pop

Rick's parents, GaGa and Pop Pop, left this morning to go home to Florida. All three of us are now moping around the house. I consider myself very fortunate because I really like my in-laws. Actually a truer statement would be that I love them.

During GaGa and Pop Pop's visit, Katie got showered with gifts. Each day a present was retrieved from their van. GaGa would hide the gift and Katie had to find it, which she loved doing. The gifts she received include a Melissa & Doug wooden shape puzzle; a Melissa & Doug wooden number puzzle; a doctor's bag filled with medical instruments; a kaleidoscope; a book; a Thomas the Train laptop; a Story Reader with oodles of books and cartridges; a Barney guitar; a memory game, refrigerator magnetic numbers and letters..........I know I am forgetting some items. On top of those gifts, they also brought her birthday presents which I will hang on to and give to her in August. Now I think you can understand why Rick and I began calling GaGa and Pop Pop's van "the white motorized Santa sleigh."

Katie singing along with her Story Reader

Rick and his father kept themselves busy by going to an auction, the auto junkyard and doing miscellaneous home improvement projects. GaGa and I spent the time chatting and making miniature flowers. GaGa is one of the best miniature flower makers around and she taught me how to make Lilly of the Valley, geraniums and dusty miller foliage. About a year ago, GaGa gave me a miniature gazebo kit on which I have been working. She showed me how to make the flowers so I can fill up the gazebo's planters. On this trip she also brought me two miniature kits that are buildings for a town. I sincerely enjoyed the time I got to spend with GaGa and feel as if my best friend just left today.

To celebrate Mother's Day, we had dinner at the Olive Garden on Saturday night. We only had to wait 30 minutes for a table, which was remarkable considering that there were three college graduations this weekend. Here are a few pictures of our party waiting outside of the Olive Garden.

GaGa and Katie.

Rick and his dad

Katie checking out the other children.

Sunday I received a card from Katie and from the pets and Katie got me a Topsy Turvy tomato planter, which I set up yesterday. Here's hoping I have a bounty of tomatoes since Katie LOVES tomatoes. On Monday GaGa, Katie and I went to Wal-mart and they had their Mother's Day bouquets 50% off, so GaGa bought me a beautiful arrangement of flowers as you can see below.

It can be a challenge to get Katie to eat. However, GaGa was able to get her to eat all of her dinner quite a few times. Here's GaGa cutting up a banana for Katie's breakfast, which of course Katie ate because GaGa prepared it.

All week long, Katie got up a 7 am and could not wait for her GaGa and Pop Pop to wake up. She was a bit hesitant to knock on their door and begged me to do it for her. The picture below is of Katie peeking underneath the bedroom door where GaGa and Pop Pop slept. When I asked her if she saw anything she replied, "Shoes." GaGa and Pop Pop were up and getting dressed.

This morning, we escorted GaGa and Pop Pop to their van. Katie stopped to show GaGa the petunias. After the tearful good-byes, Rick, Katie and I stood in the driveway waving until their van was out of sight.

Now here we sit. The house feels empty and we continue to mope. Drive carefully GaGa and Pop Pop. Thank you for EVERYTHING. We love you dearly and miss you just as much.

For The Moms

To all the wonderful moms out there.......

Late, Late, Late For A Very Important Date

Today has been rather busy for me. I had a MOPS brunch in Abilene at 9:30 am. The brunch was sponsored by our MOPS mentors and was an opportunity to thank this year's steering team and table leaders, as well as introduce next year's steering team and table leaders. I received two beautiful gifts. One is a plaque with a beautiful verse from the Bible and the other is a decorative plate with a touching quotation. I found the brunch renewing and uplifting, which is how I typically find the regular MOPS meetings. The one trait that I cherish the most about my MOPS group is how nonjudgmental, welcoming and supportive all of the moms are. And when I say "all" I am not exaggerating. It is the first time that I have been in a group comprised of women that wasn't marked by judgement and cattiness.

A few weeks ago I decided to forgo being a MOPS table leader for next year so that I could be on the steering team as the publicity coordinator. It's been a while since I have used my marketing and graphic design knowledge, so I pray it will not be a daunting undertaking.

During the MOPS brunch I left Katie at home with Gaga. Before leaving for Abilene, I received a promise from Katie that she would be a good girl. Our new thing is "pinkie promise" which is a solemn vow between Katie and I and it is sealed with us hooking our pinkies together. Well, she held up the end of her vow and I am proud of her. I felt bad for having to leave Gaga at home when their time with us is so limited and I felt worse when I realized that the brunch was not one hour long, but two and I was incredibly late getting back to Corinth West.

This afternoon I had a board meeting for SCN. Before leaving the house I popped a meatloaf in the oven and Katie pinkie-promised she would be a good girl. Usually the meetings last about 45 minutes to 1 hour, but of course not this afternoon. I returned home a 1/2 hour late, which was also 1/2 hour after the meatloaf was scheduled to be done. Thankfully, Gaga kept the meatloaf in a warm oven, made the mashed potatoes and the corn and Katie was a good girl.

Yesterday, Pop Pop was pushing Katie on her swing. The whole time Katie was swinging she was singing on top of her lungs a song that she made up and which went like this:

Gaga, Gaga, Gaga
Gaga, Gaga, Gaga
Pop Pop, Pop Pop, Pop Pop

(Okay, she's not a naturally talented lyricist.) I did get her serenade on video and also took some pictures. I loved how she closed her eyes as she sang her heart out.

Gaga's turn to push.

Tired from all of the high-flying swinging and singing.

Also, as promised, is a picture of the magnetic chore chart that I made at Monday's MOPS meeting. Our Creative Activities Coordinator painted the boards with magnetic paint, painted the squares and created the magnets that mark a chore completed, as well as the chores themselves (which was an incredible amount of work) and we each decorated our individual boards using scrap book paper and decoupage. Two of the chore magnets that I picked for Katie are "Did Laundry" and "Washed Dishes". Obviously Katie is too young to do both, but she helps me with the laundry and helps me unload the dishwasher so that is why I picked those as two of her chores. (I just wanted to clear that up so you won't think I was some type of slave driver/child labor ogre.)


Well, time to call it a day. Tomorrow I will not be late....pinkie promise.

Gaga and Pop Pop Have Arrived

Katie waiting for Gaga and Pop Pop to arrive. We got the sidewalk chalk out and Katie drew a few doodles while I wrote "Welcome Gaga and Pop" on the front sidewalk.

Gaga and Pop Pop are arrived at 5 pm on Sunday. They got here later than expected because they stopped at a Toys R Us. When they pulled down the driveway, you could hear their van long before you could see it. When Katie heard the crunching of tires on the gravel driveway she started jumping up and down because she knew that her Gaga and Pop Pop were actually coming down the driveway. When their van came into sight, she was shaking with anticipation.

They came bearing so many gifts for Katie that Rick gave his parents the what-for for spoiling their youngest granddaughter. Rick's mom actually left quite a few packages in the van because she didn't want to hear Rick reprimand her. When Rick left for Atlanta on Monday, the other gifts were retrieved from the van.

Katie reading to Gaga.

A big hug.

On Monday, Rick left for Atlanta but will be back tonight on the last flight into Abilene. Here's hoping that the flight operates. Rick has back luck with that flight, so he typically avoids taking it. However, if he didn't take that flight he would have had to spend another night in Atlanta which he was not going to do especially with his parents in town.

Also on Monday Gaga joined us at MOPS. During the meeting we made magnetic chore charts which are just awesome. I will take a picture when I am done with mine. In MOPPETS Katie made a Mother's Day card for me with her hand print on the front. I will forever cherish that card because it is the first one that Katie has ever made for me. After MOPS Gaga, Katie and I went out to lunch at the Cotton Patch and Gaga taught Katie a new trick, how to blow the wrapper off of a straw. Katie got so good at it that she was able to send the wrapper sailing through the air and across the table. (Rick is just going to love that the next time we go into a restaurant.) Katie fell asleep in the car on the way home and actually continued to sleep when I brought her into the house and plopped her in her crib. It was a wonderful morning and afternoon.

Katie is getting really good at drawing. Below are two pictures that she did on her Doodle Pro magnetic board. They are bugs. It figures that a West Texas girl would draw bugs since there are so many different types crawling around outside.

Well, I gotta dash. I love having company especially my in-laws and don't want to squander the precious time that they are here by sitting in front of my computer.

Suzy Spotless

Well, here I sit writing a post which means we did not win the Mega Lottery. Oh well.

Today was the same as yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. I cleaned. Tomorrow morning I will wrap it up by doing the kitchen and a few loads of laundry. It feels good to have every nook and cranny clean. However, spending my time being a Suzy Spotless--which is what Rick calls me when I'm cleaning-- makes for boring blog posts.

Katie did help me clean her room today. She used an entire bottle of Windex scrubbing her play kitchen clean. I'm telling you that child is weird. She LOVES cleaning. However, I shouldn't complain for that is a good trait to have.

It's time to relax, fall asleep and wake up tomorrow to start all over again. My in-laws will be here tomorrow and I am so looking forward to their visit. So, until the sun comes up again.....

Storms and More Cleaning

This afternoon and evening has been one of storms. One severe thunderstorm after another rolled through the area but we managed to be just on the edge of each storm. There was also a tornado north of us and was heading for us at one point, but the storm producing the tornado fell apart. Because of last year's tornado, I tend to be very proactive when the weather radio goes off. Today I had Katie's diaper bag packed and ready to go if we had to go into the missile site.

The majority of my day was spent cleaning the carpeting. I love how new the carpeting looks after I use the Bissell on it. Since I like this household chore, Katie and Eric make sure they make regular messes so I can indulge myself.

Rick bought Mega Millions lottery tickets, which is something he usually doesn't do. I wanted to let you know, dear readers, so if I stop posting to this blog you will know that we hit the jackpot and are off being millionaires.

On the Katie front, she has been the proverbial handful. I am not sure why she has kicked it up a notch, but each night I am grateful when bedtime rolls around. An uplifting item is that she now can consistently count to five and sometimes she makes it to nine. She finally got the concept of a last name but still cannot pronounce ours correctly. Like I previously posted she says, "Kirchen." However, she has no issues with her middle name (Alexandra) which surprises me.

Well, it's off to bed to watch some TV. More cleaning is on the agenda for tomorrow. You know I was quite sure the tornado was going to hit us today. I based my opinion on the highly scientific thought that it would be just my luck that my house would get blown away by a tornado after I spent several days getting it spic and span.