Happy Birthday Rick!

It's Rick's birthday today. As is tradition I wrote a message on one of Katie's shirts and she wore it for Rick.

Tomorrow I leave for Nashville for MOPS' National convention. This will be the first time that I will be away from Katie for an extended period of time. Matter of fact, I have never been away from her overnight. It will be strange.

Katie story: Katie and I were driving through Anson when we passed Anson Vet Clinic. Katie exclaimed with absolute excitement, "Eric's heaven!" When we took Eric to the vet to have him put down I explained to Katie that the vet was going to help Eric get to heaven so Eric would not be in pain anymore. So I am not sure if Katie thinks the vet office is heaven or if that is where you go to get to heaven.

Ciao readers. I'll return on Sunday and will try to post then. However, Sunday evening is the season premier of Desperate Housewives and you know how I am about that show.

Regina: 10 Years and 1 Day

Regina, the little girl that I blogged about yesterday, past away this morning--one day after she turned 10 years old. My heart is heavy yet I find solace in the fact that she is now free. To read her mother's blog about Regina's fight with cancer click here.

Life As It Is

The blog world is amazing. It has given me the opportunity to step into and observe other peoples' lives. One blog that I have been following is called Life As It Is. It is written by a mother whose daughter has fought a long war with cancer. Unfortunately, cancer is winning. Lately when I read her blog, I end up in tears--overwhelming tears. I cannot imagine or fathom how it is to watch your child die. The mere thought frightens me to no end. Her blog has left a deep, lasting impression on me. Also, after reading her posts, I seek out Katie so that I can hug and hold her tight. If you have a moment, check out Life As It Is and wish Regina a Happy Birthday.

SFO Rick's Tuesday Picture

Below is Rick's picture for the day. It is from the other night when she was modeling her Barbie Princess outfit. She was bending down to pet the cat, so that explains her funky position.

The following pictures are from July 2008. Both Eric and Katie look so young. It's difficult for me to look at pictures of Eric or watch video of him. It is then that I realize how lonely I am without him and how dearly I miss him

July 4, 2008--Katie checking out Momma's sidewalk art.

July 4, 2008--Eric standing over his tire toy and Katie getting ready to launch another one of his toys.

$2 Million Racetrack

I haven't posted in a while. There is no clear excuse other than I have been some what busy with MOPS. It also has been raining for the last couple of days--very un-West Texas like. We desperately need the rain and I am happy for the cotton, but it starts to get depressing when it drags on for days.

Speaking of MOPS, our first meeting for the new year was today. It went pretty well. The table at which I am sitting is going to be a good one. We only had one new member at our table, but we all seemed to hit it off right away. During the meeting the Mentors and the Steering Team had to introduce themselves and share a bit about themselves. I forgot about this. Despite being familiar with the subject (me) I gave a very abbreviated speech.

Katie has been challenging. Today when I picked her up from MOPPETS, she threw a tantrum. She did not want to leave. When I arrived at her class they were still playing and she saw me as the one trying to take her away from fun time with friends. Oh the scene she created!

Somewhere along the line, Katie has learned an obscenity. It's not a typical one, but one that we label as one in our home. It is the phrase, "shut up." Neither Rick or I have ever uttered those words, so where the little sponge soaked up that phrase, I am at a loss. Regardless, when she says it, which is usually when I am reprimanding her, she immediately gets spanked. She has gotten rather clever though. Today when she threw her tantrum at MOPPETS, she started babbling as if she was a baby and then very slickly she slipped in the phrase "shut up" among the non-words.

We are slowly renovating the underground LCC (launch control center) into a home, but we don't have definitive plans for the 175' deep, concrete silo. Well, last week Rick took Katie over to the silo so she could ride her bike on top of it. So for now the silo has a purpose. I am sure when it was originally built they never dreamed it would become a play area for a three year old. Anyway, a few days later I was outside with Katie and she started dragging her tricycle over toward the missile base. When I asked her where she was going, she replied, "I'm going to the racetrack." So now the top of the missile silo will be forever referred to as Katie's race track.

Katie and Rick on top of the silo.

Katie on her tricycle racetrack.

Rick was in the DC area last week. On his way home, he stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a present for Katie. It was a Barbie princess outfit with accessories. Below is a picture of our little Princess Ham.


Last week I received Season 5 of Desperate Housewives. Needless to say, I watched the entire season in a few days. Now I am up to speed and ready for the premier on Sept. 27. However, I clearly have watched way too much of that show for Katie can name the characters and will yell out "Desper Wousewises" when I start a DVD.

Last Thursday was our four year anniversary. Rick flew home from DC on that day and because of the weather ended up being delayed in Dallas for a few hours. He didn't get home until 11 pm, so there was no big celebration. I baked a lasagna and bought Rick a card. He bought me a card, a big box of chocolates and a dozen red roses. Like everyone says, it seems like yesterday and yet it seems like such a long time ago that we got married.

Rick flew out to San Francisco this morning and he will be back on Thursday. It's quite a treat to have him gone only for a few days.

Well that's about it. I'll try to get back into the swing of blogging, but I make no promises. Ciao!

"Get your motor runnin'. Head out on the highway..."

Finally, finally, finally Katie has gotten the hang of riding her tricycle. In the past, she had struggled with the concept of pedaling. We could not get her to understand that she needed to alternate the pushing from one foot to the other. When she pushed equally on both pedals, the tricycle won't move. She had gotten so fed up that she used it as a scoot toy. Today, it all fell together for her and away she went up the driveway--not the easiest surface on which to ride a bike. Below is a picture of the free wheeling Doodlebug.


Yesterday Katie didn't want to take a nap. She continually got out of her bed or played with toys. She got a stern lecture and a spanking. About an hour later Rick went to check on her and this is what he found.

She fell asleep in a little bed that she made for herself in the doorway by her baby gate.

The Great Outdoors and Itty Bitty Tomatoes

I've been slacking off again in regard to this blog. With Rick home, I tend to spend less time in the office. He is often on a business call and uses the speakerphone, so I don't like to be making too much noise.

With the outdoor temperature finally getting to a comfortable number, Katie and I have been spending one to two hours outside in the morning. We go over to the outdoor living area, which is between the missile site and our above ground house. Katie wees (swings) or builds dirt castles. Sometimes I play in the dirt with her or I will sit at the table reading a magazine or doing crossword puzzles. I have posted a picture of the living area below.
Katie's swing set is to the left of the portable fireplace. We have an orbital lounger that matches the patio furniture, but we haven't built that yet--we've had the furniture for two years now. Anyway, the lounger will go on the patio by the pool next summer. You can't tell from this picture, but yes, we have two grills. You know Rick. He needs a back up for EVERYTHING! I love this outdoor area. Between the umbrella and mesquite trees it is well shaded. You can see the missile silo and the missile site entrance from this area. In the picture you can also see my Topsy-Turvy tomato plant slightly to the right. I have four itty-bitty tomatoes on the plant. The picture below is a close up of a few of the tomatoes.

The tomatoes are slightly bigger than a pencil eraser. Here's hoping that they mature before our first frost. Katie is fascinated by the tomato plant. She has already made plans for the tomatoes. She told Rick that when they were not itty-bitty anymore, she was going to cut them up and have a tea party. Yup, a sign of a true tomato lover.

This morning Katie accompanied me up the driveway to open the gate. At one point she stopped and pointed through the trees to the cotton field. She told me that she could see the ocean and a humpback whale. Ah yes, the imagination of a child.

This afternoon Katie accompanied me up the driveway to get the mail. Our mail lady had not come yet. I could see her way up the street, so we waited for her. As her car got closer, I told Katie that it was Miss Joyce, our mail lady. When Joyce slowed down, Katie got so excited. She started jumping up and down, waving and yelling, "It's mail lady. It's mail lady." Yup, Katie loves getting mail.

Yesterday Katie and I went to Hobby Lobby and Sam's Club. That outing took up a good part of the morning and all of the afternoon. We spent hours in Hobby Lobby. We were there so long that Katie used their bathroom three times! Katie likes that store and was tickled beyond delight with all of the Christmas stuff, especially the numerous Santas. Katie finds Sam's a little boring so she started to act up. It didn't help that it was way past her nap time. I didn't even get out of Sam's parking lot before she fell asleep.

Last evening I had a SCN (Stamford Community Network) board meeting. It's a joke among us that if you do not attend the meeting where we nominate/vote on people for positions, the rest of the board will vote you in as President. That is why I made sure that I attended yesterday's meeting. Well, that didn't quite work out. Somehow I ended up being nominated and voted in as the Vice President. I had turned down the nomination for President, so not to be a total schmuck I didn't protest when I was nominated as Vice President.

At the end of this month, I will be flying to Nashville with other moms from my MOPS group to attend MOPS' National Convention. I am so looking forward to spending time with other moms, as well as the renewal that MOPS' meetings give me. It will also be the first time that I have been away from Katie for an extended period of time. I have never spent one night away from her, let alone three. It will also be Rick's first time being a "single" parent for an extended period of time. It will be so strange not to have her constantly around me. I will miss her and at the same time I will enjoy focusing on myself for a while. Gee, I hope I don't enjoy it too much. I have to eventually come home!

I can hear thunder off in the distance, so I best get my puzzle books from the outdoor table. We had rain last night (about 1/4") and I hope we get more. The cotton can always use it. Til later.....Ciao!

Contentment, Swinging and Humpback Whales

I've been neglecting this blog this past week. Rick is actually home for an entire week, which is quite different than what has become the norm. Rick figured it out and he has only been home for four weeks this summer. That explains why we never got the pool up and running.

Sunday I made a traditional Sunday dinner of a roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn. It was such a treat to have a big sit down meal. Later in the evening, Rick started a fire in the outdoor fireplace. We got to enjoy each others company while sipping Bailey's on the rocks. It really is the small, ordinary things in life that bring the feeling of contentment and peace.

Friday and Monday I had MOPS' meetings. Our regular meetings start September 14 and we are getting everything ready for the new year. As the publicity person, most of my intense work is before the regular meetings start so I have been busy.

Below are a few pictures of Katie. She absolutely loves her swing set. She will swing and swing and swing for hours, if I let her. Sometimes when she comes off of the swing she staggers a little because of how long she had been going to and fro.

Katie wearing her Gilligan hat.

Katie swinging with Two (a baby doll). She enjoyed having someone with which to swing.

Lately Katie has been obsessed with whales and not just any ol' whales, humpback whales. Before Rick flew out to Philly last week she asked him to bring back a humpback whale. When we explained that a humpback whale would not fit in his luggage she replied with, "Then how about a shark?" Below is Rick reading to Katie from Wonders of Nature. I actually got the book when I was a youngster. Katie regularly requests that we read to her about whales.

The World Wildlife organization has a neat gift package where for $50 you can adopt an endangered species. The package includes a plush of the animal, adoption certificate, picture and gift bag. I was thinking of adopting a humpback whale for Katie. I would also like to adopt a polar bear for myself. Polar bears are my favorite animals.

That's about it. The rattlesnakes are on the move, but we haven't come across any. Last year during September I think we shot about 20. Here's hoping that we are not seeing them because they aren't here rather than because they are sneaky.