Vacation was good but it is sooooo nice to be home. We got home at 2:30 this morning and the rest of the day was shot with going to the store and laundry. Not to mention my nephew came home with us. He won't be leaving until Sunday. Let me tell you Sunday cannot come soon enough. What was I thinking? Never again will I willingly offer to keep one of my nephew for a couple of days. Never!! I don't know what came over me. It was definitely a weak moment and she took advantage of me. I cannot wait until Mason is old enough to stay at her house over night. Pay back will be sweet!!
I will update later on the going ons and happenings of vacation. We really did have a lot of fun!!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
8 YEARS
I can't believe it has been that long. It doesn't feel like it has been that long. I still remember standing at the alter. I also remember the horrible sunburns we both had and that the church was so hot. Oh, and how could I forget the cake fiasco! All the elements that made up my perfect day.
I love my husband. Everything about him. His smile, his laugh, his scent (I know wierd, he smells like the outdoors, fresh and crisp), his kiss, the fact that I can still make him speechless, the fact that he can still make me speechless. I love his dry en-gen-er sense of humor. The joy I get from laughing at him and sometimes with him is what keeps me happy. It doesn't matter how much I complain about him and his infinite wisdom, I am more in love with him today than the day we married, just as tomorrow I will love him more than I do today.
I pray the good Lord grants me many more years with my husband. To watch our family and grow old together. I could ask for nothing greater.
I love my husband. Everything about him. His smile, his laugh, his scent (I know wierd, he smells like the outdoors, fresh and crisp), his kiss, the fact that I can still make him speechless, the fact that he can still make me speechless. I love his dry en-gen-er sense of humor. The joy I get from laughing at him and sometimes with him is what keeps me happy. It doesn't matter how much I complain about him and his infinite wisdom, I am more in love with him today than the day we married, just as tomorrow I will love him more than I do today.
I pray the good Lord grants me many more years with my husband. To watch our family and grow old together. I could ask for nothing greater.
Friday, June 20, 2008
What noise oh wise one?
I was nice and let Austin drive my car to the airport and he comes home and says it is making a weird noise. I ask him to replicate this noise and he tells me, "I think it is the brakes." I ask again for him to explain the noise. He won't just gets mad and says it is the brakes. So $150 later I now have new front brakes. I saw the brakes they were not bad he just wanted to replace them.
He is the kind of customer that I hated when I worked in the office of the repair shop. He is the type that only wants you to repair what he says even if it is not the problem. The type that will then come in again because it is still making the noise and blame you for not fixing it to begin with. That is my husband and his infinite wisdom.
He changed the oil before he did the brakes and fixed the problem. Low power steering fluid. I surmised from this information that the noise was from him turning the wheel all the way to one direction or the other. Sometimes I would like to be able to just kick his butt.
He is the kind of customer that I hated when I worked in the office of the repair shop. He is the type that only wants you to repair what he says even if it is not the problem. The type that will then come in again because it is still making the noise and blame you for not fixing it to begin with. That is my husband and his infinite wisdom.
He changed the oil before he did the brakes and fixed the problem. Low power steering fluid. I surmised from this information that the noise was from him turning the wheel all the way to one direction or the other. Sometimes I would like to be able to just kick his butt.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
What happened to the silence?
That's right the owl ate it and the coyotes made it deaf...
I was so proud of myself last night... I was in bed by 11. This is a real accomplishment whenever Austin is out of town. I just don't sleep well when he is gone. I'm not saying that I slept the best but I was in bed.
Usually out here in the country there are very few noises at night. Usually. That, however, was not the case last night.
No, last night there was an owl in the grove that decided that it needed to hoot all night. Well except for when it actually got something. I don't think it was a mouse though because I have never heard a mouse sound like that. Let me try to recreate what it sounded like. Hoot! SKREEEEEEETTTTCCCCHHHHH. Skreech.. Skreech.... Skreech... Skreeeeeeeeeeee....I am guessing it was some other night wanderer. I can't say as that I really care what it was, I just wanted it to shut up.
Then the coyotes started in. Which of course that set Hyde off and he decided that he needed to lay on Austin's pillow and growl out the window for over an hour. I didn't so much mind him laying on Austin's pillow it was the growling out the window that annoyed me. I figure if Austin didn't want him to sleep on his pillow then he should have told me;)~
I finally passed out about 2 or so, I'm guessing closer to 3. The last time I remember seeing on the alarm clock was 1:58. Mason, bless his little heart, even let me sleep in until the late hour of 8. Well, that is when I finally heard him anyways. When he gets older I will have to explain to him the benefits of sleeping in.
I was so proud of myself last night... I was in bed by 11. This is a real accomplishment whenever Austin is out of town. I just don't sleep well when he is gone. I'm not saying that I slept the best but I was in bed.
Usually out here in the country there are very few noises at night. Usually. That, however, was not the case last night.
No, last night there was an owl in the grove that decided that it needed to hoot all night. Well except for when it actually got something. I don't think it was a mouse though because I have never heard a mouse sound like that. Let me try to recreate what it sounded like. Hoot! SKREEEEEEETTTTCCCCHHHHH. Skreech.. Skreech.... Skreech... Skreeeeeeeeeeee....I am guessing it was some other night wanderer. I can't say as that I really care what it was, I just wanted it to shut up.
Then the coyotes started in. Which of course that set Hyde off and he decided that he needed to lay on Austin's pillow and growl out the window for over an hour. I didn't so much mind him laying on Austin's pillow it was the growling out the window that annoyed me. I figure if Austin didn't want him to sleep on his pillow then he should have told me;)~
I finally passed out about 2 or so, I'm guessing closer to 3. The last time I remember seeing on the alarm clock was 1:58. Mason, bless his little heart, even let me sleep in until the late hour of 8. Well, that is when I finally heard him anyways. When he gets older I will have to explain to him the benefits of sleeping in.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sleep problems....
I think my sleep problems would work themselves out if the family would just get healthy and stay healthy. So a little update:
Jesse is doing good with the chemo. He did end up shaving his head before the second round and let me tell you he is not the kind of guy that looks good bald. He does say that the lump feels smaller and that he is getting the full use of his arm back with little to no pain. Very good news. We are hopeful that his next ct scan will show that the lump is smaller or even better nonexistent.
And now some not so good news:
Austin's grandma Elaine is going back to the doctor for more test. She had a reproductive tract type cancer several years ago and she is starting to feel the same symptoms. We should know more next week.
Now for the update I have been dreading. Well I guess it can't really be an update if I am as of yet to actually write anything about it so here goes:
Friday the 13th my brother Darin was in Shenandoah and got hit with a tire iron in the face a couple of times. The details are a little sketchy still. He was drunk and doesn't remember a whole lot, as you can imagine. After a fight to even get him to go to the doctor at all he went to another doctor Monday and is now set up for reconstructive surgery on Friday. I have yet to find out he exact extent of his injuries partly because Mom doesn't want to tell me but I will be seeing photos on Saturday. From what I have gathered his jaw, nose and eyebrow are broken and something about his cheek bone. I don't even know what side. I will get clearer explanations when I can corner Mom or Cameron and they can't say they have to get off the phone and hang up on me.
Darin has changed in the last several years and has done somethings that he regrets and hasn't been an angel in the least. He has also done some really good things that seem to be overlooked by a lot of people. As he was sitting in the hospital talking to my mom he said "I'm sure I deserved this for something or another at some point in time." Darin is not my true brother but he is my brother all the same. It just gives me a chill to think that he could actually believe he deserved to be beat that way. No one ever deserves that. No matter how much of a butt head they are;) We are just so thankful he isn't hurt anymore than he is. Things could have turned out a lot differently.
Jesse is doing good with the chemo. He did end up shaving his head before the second round and let me tell you he is not the kind of guy that looks good bald. He does say that the lump feels smaller and that he is getting the full use of his arm back with little to no pain. Very good news. We are hopeful that his next ct scan will show that the lump is smaller or even better nonexistent.
And now some not so good news:
Austin's grandma Elaine is going back to the doctor for more test. She had a reproductive tract type cancer several years ago and she is starting to feel the same symptoms. We should know more next week.
Now for the update I have been dreading. Well I guess it can't really be an update if I am as of yet to actually write anything about it so here goes:
Friday the 13th my brother Darin was in Shenandoah and got hit with a tire iron in the face a couple of times. The details are a little sketchy still. He was drunk and doesn't remember a whole lot, as you can imagine. After a fight to even get him to go to the doctor at all he went to another doctor Monday and is now set up for reconstructive surgery on Friday. I have yet to find out he exact extent of his injuries partly because Mom doesn't want to tell me but I will be seeing photos on Saturday. From what I have gathered his jaw, nose and eyebrow are broken and something about his cheek bone. I don't even know what side. I will get clearer explanations when I can corner Mom or Cameron and they can't say they have to get off the phone and hang up on me.
Darin has changed in the last several years and has done somethings that he regrets and hasn't been an angel in the least. He has also done some really good things that seem to be overlooked by a lot of people. As he was sitting in the hospital talking to my mom he said "I'm sure I deserved this for something or another at some point in time." Darin is not my true brother but he is my brother all the same. It just gives me a chill to think that he could actually believe he deserved to be beat that way. No one ever deserves that. No matter how much of a butt head they are;) We are just so thankful he isn't hurt anymore than he is. Things could have turned out a lot differently.
All by himself!!
Yes, that is how Austin got to the airport. All by himself!! I was so excited. Although somehow he woke Mason up on his way out the door. I think he might have checked on him before he left.
Mason doesn't wake up when you enter the room but right after you leave the room. Thankfully he went back to sleep right away but was still up early. It probably doesn't help that I went to bed really late. Really really late. I just have so much on my mind that I couldn't get relaxed enough to fall asleep.
We'll have to see how tonight goes. I plan on going to bed early depending on how well Mason goes down. The first night Austin is out of town is always the worst. Hyde seems to be on hyper alert all night. The second night goes real smooth because he has worn himself out by mid-afternoon. I hope that is how I will fall asleep tonight. From utter exhaustion. I have already deep cleaned my kitchen and bathroom and done 3 loads of laundry. I know 3 loads doesn't sound like a lot but I don't use the drier in the summer. So all those clothes have to be hung up and then taken down. Considering my washer will do 16 pairs of jeans in one load that is a lot of laundry. I even did Austin's. Well it was actually mostly Austin's darn him. In case anyone is wondering yes there are still snakes in my basement so I am still protesting laundry which is why there was that much. I like to one load a day so that stays done and put away. I hate laundry piling up. Now I am just rambling so I need to go find a new project.
Mason doesn't wake up when you enter the room but right after you leave the room. Thankfully he went back to sleep right away but was still up early. It probably doesn't help that I went to bed really late. Really really late. I just have so much on my mind that I couldn't get relaxed enough to fall asleep.
We'll have to see how tonight goes. I plan on going to bed early depending on how well Mason goes down. The first night Austin is out of town is always the worst. Hyde seems to be on hyper alert all night. The second night goes real smooth because he has worn himself out by mid-afternoon. I hope that is how I will fall asleep tonight. From utter exhaustion. I have already deep cleaned my kitchen and bathroom and done 3 loads of laundry. I know 3 loads doesn't sound like a lot but I don't use the drier in the summer. So all those clothes have to be hung up and then taken down. Considering my washer will do 16 pairs of jeans in one load that is a lot of laundry. I even did Austin's. Well it was actually mostly Austin's darn him. In case anyone is wondering yes there are still snakes in my basement so I am still protesting laundry which is why there was that much. I like to one load a day so that stays done and put away. I hate laundry piling up. Now I am just rambling so I need to go find a new project.
Monday, June 16, 2008
I think...
that I have convinced Austin that it will be cheaper for him to drive himself to the airport and leave the car in the short term parking. We will see come morning I guess.
Father's Day
We did exactly what Austin wanted to do. Absolutely nothing. It was wonderful.
Saturday we went to his parents house for a cookout. Austin's sister, Raquel, was also suppose to be there. Well we were to eat at 6. At 6:30 his mom calls Raquel and she said she had "forgot" it was Saturday and "thought" we were all getting together on Sunday. Can I just say 'Are you fucking kidding me!!!' She knew better. I talked to her about it on Friday and she asked if we were going to be there Saturday. I hate her so much. We know why she didn't come. Austin's mom asked me why she would do that so I told her 'Raquel likes to believe she is an only child. She tries to dis invite us to everything or leave us out completely. If we don't get the invite directly from you and she is to let us know then she will lie to you and tell you we couldn't or didn't want to come.' Then I gave her several examples where she has pulled that kind of stuff and all she said was 'That explains a lot.' Well DUH!
Other than that it was good. Truth be told Austin and I were relieved she didn't show up. We didn't really want to have to hear how their "honeymoon" was. Sorry it was just a vacation!! They lived together for 2 f'n years before they got married.
I guess if we are going on their logic then the vacation Austin and I are going on next week can be considered a 'honeymoon'. Wish us luck we are sharing a room with my little sister Cameron!! I feel bad for her now. Okay maybe not that bad;)
Saturday we went to his parents house for a cookout. Austin's sister, Raquel, was also suppose to be there. Well we were to eat at 6. At 6:30 his mom calls Raquel and she said she had "forgot" it was Saturday and "thought" we were all getting together on Sunday. Can I just say 'Are you fucking kidding me!!!' She knew better. I talked to her about it on Friday and she asked if we were going to be there Saturday. I hate her so much. We know why she didn't come. Austin's mom asked me why she would do that so I told her 'Raquel likes to believe she is an only child. She tries to dis invite us to everything or leave us out completely. If we don't get the invite directly from you and she is to let us know then she will lie to you and tell you we couldn't or didn't want to come.' Then I gave her several examples where she has pulled that kind of stuff and all she said was 'That explains a lot.' Well DUH!
Other than that it was good. Truth be told Austin and I were relieved she didn't show up. We didn't really want to have to hear how their "honeymoon" was. Sorry it was just a vacation!! They lived together for 2 f'n years before they got married.
I guess if we are going on their logic then the vacation Austin and I are going on next week can be considered a 'honeymoon'. Wish us luck we are sharing a room with my little sister Cameron!! I feel bad for her now. Okay maybe not that bad;)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Yep
It is Friday and I have left the property one time. That is it. One time, and that was to go grocery shopping. My life is boring!
Well Tuesday Austin leaves for Ohio. Wednesday he gets home. I have agreed to take him to and pick him up from the airport. He tells me that he told me what time he has to leave and the time that he would be getting back. I say BULL SHIT!! If I had been aware of the time I would have said no. Well I can't change it now so I might want to get over it.
Tuesday we have to leave the house at 3 am. Yes that is in the morning. Then on Wednesday I have to be back at the airport to pick him up at 11:50 pm. So I will get 3 horrible nights of sleep. Wonderful. I have already informed him that he is taking Friday off to help me get ready for VACATION. Then I spelled it out that his only job on Friday is to keep Mason from CRYING.
It seems like whenever I want to do something Mason cries the whole time. I take a 10 min shower and Mason cries. I wash dishes and he cries. Take out the trash and he cries. Don't think it gets better when Austin is home. Nope because he doesn't care if he cries. I have had to get rough with Austin. I don't like hearing Mason cry. Therefore I have explained to Austin that from now on while I am getting ready to go somewhere and he is to be watching Mason that if Mason cries, even little peeps, that I get to ask a question. The beginning of crying is one question and then if he continues to cry for every 30 seconds is another question. Any question that I want and he can't get mad and has to answer it. Last time I got to ask 10 questions. My husband hates questions. Not just nosy questions but any questions. Even if I ask him what he wants for dinner. That qualifies as a question. So hopefully he is more willing to not just let Mason cry. Otherwise he will have a long drive to Mt. Rushmore. 10 minutes of crying is 20 questions and he will have all day to let them add up. I also had to explain to him that he has to be nice to everybody while we are vacation. I think he got more upset about that than anything.
Next Saturday morning about 3 we will head up to Hwy 20 and then go west to Sioux City where we will be meeting the rest of my family to caravan to Rapid City SD. I told him if he is tired of me by that point that I can always drive Mason and he can ride with someone else. He told me no that it will be me riding with someone else. (See what I did there? Reverse psychology;) gotta love me) I had to make him feel like it is his idea. Therefore I will try my hardest to annoy him all the way to Sioux City. I have to be sneaky though. If he finds out what I am doing he will be impossible and I will be stuck driving the rest of the way.
Well Tuesday Austin leaves for Ohio. Wednesday he gets home. I have agreed to take him to and pick him up from the airport. He tells me that he told me what time he has to leave and the time that he would be getting back. I say BULL SHIT!! If I had been aware of the time I would have said no. Well I can't change it now so I might want to get over it.
Tuesday we have to leave the house at 3 am. Yes that is in the morning. Then on Wednesday I have to be back at the airport to pick him up at 11:50 pm. So I will get 3 horrible nights of sleep. Wonderful. I have already informed him that he is taking Friday off to help me get ready for VACATION. Then I spelled it out that his only job on Friday is to keep Mason from CRYING.
It seems like whenever I want to do something Mason cries the whole time. I take a 10 min shower and Mason cries. I wash dishes and he cries. Take out the trash and he cries. Don't think it gets better when Austin is home. Nope because he doesn't care if he cries. I have had to get rough with Austin. I don't like hearing Mason cry. Therefore I have explained to Austin that from now on while I am getting ready to go somewhere and he is to be watching Mason that if Mason cries, even little peeps, that I get to ask a question. The beginning of crying is one question and then if he continues to cry for every 30 seconds is another question. Any question that I want and he can't get mad and has to answer it. Last time I got to ask 10 questions. My husband hates questions. Not just nosy questions but any questions. Even if I ask him what he wants for dinner. That qualifies as a question. So hopefully he is more willing to not just let Mason cry. Otherwise he will have a long drive to Mt. Rushmore. 10 minutes of crying is 20 questions and he will have all day to let them add up. I also had to explain to him that he has to be nice to everybody while we are vacation. I think he got more upset about that than anything.
Next Saturday morning about 3 we will head up to Hwy 20 and then go west to Sioux City where we will be meeting the rest of my family to caravan to Rapid City SD. I told him if he is tired of me by that point that I can always drive Mason and he can ride with someone else. He told me no that it will be me riding with someone else. (See what I did there? Reverse psychology;) gotta love me) I had to make him feel like it is his idea. Therefore I will try my hardest to annoy him all the way to Sioux City. I have to be sneaky though. If he finds out what I am doing he will be impossible and I will be stuck driving the rest of the way.
My Mason!!
One Whole Year
*Click Play*
It makes me sad that I could fit his whole first year in under 15 minutes. I can't believe how much he has changed.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Rain? Seriously?
Well it is raining here again. I am so tired of rain. I also realize how lucky we are in where we live that we have no water in our basement and there is no threat to our house. A lot of other Iowans are not so fortunate. So far this year the state of Iowa has been hit by tornadoes and even if they weren't classified as tornadoes the same storm systems have done damage in I think almost every county. Now some of the worst hit areas are also getting hit by some pretty bad flooding.
I am sitting here wondering when it will let up because I would like to be able to mow the yard. Well that and I am afraid we are going to get more snakes in the basement because our yard is water logged.
Did you know they can climb stairs. EWWW!!
I am sitting here wondering when it will let up because I would like to be able to mow the yard. Well that and I am afraid we are going to get more snakes in the basement because our yard is water logged.
Did you know they can climb stairs. EWWW!!
Monday, June 9, 2008
How It Really Went
Well we did spend 5+ hours in a car. The storms didn't end up holding off.
I got up early Saturday morning to start getting ready before Mason woke up. By the time Mason woke up I was ready to just jump in the car. Couldn't do that to him though. I like to stick with our same morning routine while at home so I had to wait for Mason to get done eating breakfast before we could go. We got on the road about 9:30 and Mason did cry all the way into town. I am a radio listener. I am not a fan of CDs because it is the same artist for 10 songs or so. Mason is a music baby in the car. He likes the male artist with the deep voices. So for that reason I keep a Trace Adkins CD for last resorts. Saturday was a last resort! I popped that CD in and in less than one song he was out. I like Trace Adkins but I'm only good for one song in a row of anybody. So we continued with our thankfully uneventful drive. We got to the b-day party about 12 and Mason was so good. For the day he was the perfect cute little kid. Didn't cry, blew kisses, didn't bite or throw food or tantrums. I got lucky because it was hot and humid and just plain sticky outside and that can make anybody cranky.
So after food, gifts, and good times we were ready to go. Now all day the sky to the northwest was getting darker and darker while the wind was coming out of the south sometimes southeast. Anybody who grew up in Iowa knows that hot humid with clouds and wind going different directions is bad news. Before jumping in the car I decided to check the TV in the camper for weather and discovered that all the counties that I would drivethru to get home were getting hit by t-storms pretty bad so I made the decision to wait it out. After all it wasn't a very wide line of storms. (I also got to see Big Brown lose the triple crown. I was really hoping he would be able to pull it off.) Anyways so an hour later I decide to check again and what do you know it looks like they hadn't even moved. That was when I gave up on going home.
My younger sister Cammie and her troupe were going to camp with everyone else but they were going to be in a tent so they decided to go stay in a hotel and I joined them. We finally left the campground about 9. (I couldn't believe the weather held out that long other than the occasional sprinkle) Mason didn't take an afternoon nap and he was asleep before we were to the highway. Thankfully he stayed asleep on the way into the hotel and didn't wake up until 9 the next morning. (I am going to invest in some room darkening shades for Mason's bedroom) So after checking out of the hotel and grabbing some McDonalds for breakfast, that we aren't going to tell Austin about, we are all finally ready to hit the road. It is then we hear this beep. The same beep that plagued the hotel room all night. We knew it wasn't any of our cell phones because they were either off or in the vehicles. It is coming from Cammie's purse. (the cutest purse I have ever seen) So she dumps her purse out in the truck seat and come to find out it was Marianne's phone. After some laughing it was decided that I would be the one to take Mare back her phone seeing as how Cammie and them were heading south and my main destination was north. Mare was shocked to see that we had her phone all night. She thought it had been lost outside and was ruined for sure if she could even find it. So at 11am Sunday morning we finally get on the road to head home.
We roll into the driveway at 1:15pm and we have to be to Du & De's by 3. We both needed a bath so a quick shower was in order but true to my husband's pain in the butt way he was in the shower. He knew what time we would be home. So after wasting 15 minutes waiting for him to get done with something he had all morning to do, Mason and I finally get a turn. (multi tasking: Mason had to shower with me after I was done because we don't have a tub and didn't have time to pull out his baby tub after Austin's stunt) We get to Hy-Vee, to buy a side salad because we are good cooks like that, right at 3. We did make it to Du & De's by 3:15 which is as close to on time as we have been in awhile. We finally made it home at 10:20pm after some good food and good times with some good friends. It was all I could do to get Mason and I up the stairs to bed.
So today we are doing nothing and it feels wonderful. When he goes down for his nap I am going to go out side and play with some bubbles and set up his little pool. I have tons of stuff I could be doing but it is all grown up stuff and I just want to be a kid today. The sun is shinning and the wind is nonexistent. Perfect for bubbles and swimming pools.
Interesting tidbit: drivethru on spell check comes up with the suggestion of diphtheria. I wonder if the symptoms are the same.
I got up early Saturday morning to start getting ready before Mason woke up. By the time Mason woke up I was ready to just jump in the car. Couldn't do that to him though. I like to stick with our same morning routine while at home so I had to wait for Mason to get done eating breakfast before we could go. We got on the road about 9:30 and Mason did cry all the way into town. I am a radio listener. I am not a fan of CDs because it is the same artist for 10 songs or so. Mason is a music baby in the car. He likes the male artist with the deep voices. So for that reason I keep a Trace Adkins CD for last resorts. Saturday was a last resort! I popped that CD in and in less than one song he was out. I like Trace Adkins but I'm only good for one song in a row of anybody. So we continued with our thankfully uneventful drive. We got to the b-day party about 12 and Mason was so good. For the day he was the perfect cute little kid. Didn't cry, blew kisses, didn't bite or throw food or tantrums. I got lucky because it was hot and humid and just plain sticky outside and that can make anybody cranky.
So after food, gifts, and good times we were ready to go. Now all day the sky to the northwest was getting darker and darker while the wind was coming out of the south sometimes southeast. Anybody who grew up in Iowa knows that hot humid with clouds and wind going different directions is bad news. Before jumping in the car I decided to check the TV in the camper for weather and discovered that all the counties that I would drivethru to get home were getting hit by t-storms pretty bad so I made the decision to wait it out. After all it wasn't a very wide line of storms. (I also got to see Big Brown lose the triple crown. I was really hoping he would be able to pull it off.) Anyways so an hour later I decide to check again and what do you know it looks like they hadn't even moved. That was when I gave up on going home.
My younger sister Cammie and her troupe were going to camp with everyone else but they were going to be in a tent so they decided to go stay in a hotel and I joined them. We finally left the campground about 9. (I couldn't believe the weather held out that long other than the occasional sprinkle) Mason didn't take an afternoon nap and he was asleep before we were to the highway. Thankfully he stayed asleep on the way into the hotel and didn't wake up until 9 the next morning. (I am going to invest in some room darkening shades for Mason's bedroom) So after checking out of the hotel and grabbing some McDonalds for breakfast, that we aren't going to tell Austin about, we are all finally ready to hit the road. It is then we hear this beep. The same beep that plagued the hotel room all night. We knew it wasn't any of our cell phones because they were either off or in the vehicles. It is coming from Cammie's purse. (the cutest purse I have ever seen) So she dumps her purse out in the truck seat and come to find out it was Marianne's phone. After some laughing it was decided that I would be the one to take Mare back her phone seeing as how Cammie and them were heading south and my main destination was north. Mare was shocked to see that we had her phone all night. She thought it had been lost outside and was ruined for sure if she could even find it. So at 11am Sunday morning we finally get on the road to head home.
We roll into the driveway at 1:15pm and we have to be to Du & De's by 3. We both needed a bath so a quick shower was in order but true to my husband's pain in the butt way he was in the shower. He knew what time we would be home. So after wasting 15 minutes waiting for him to get done with something he had all morning to do, Mason and I finally get a turn. (multi tasking: Mason had to shower with me after I was done because we don't have a tub and didn't have time to pull out his baby tub after Austin's stunt) We get to Hy-Vee, to buy a side salad because we are good cooks like that, right at 3. We did make it to Du & De's by 3:15 which is as close to on time as we have been in awhile. We finally made it home at 10:20pm after some good food and good times with some good friends. It was all I could do to get Mason and I up the stairs to bed.
So today we are doing nothing and it feels wonderful. When he goes down for his nap I am going to go out side and play with some bubbles and set up his little pool. I have tons of stuff I could be doing but it is all grown up stuff and I just want to be a kid today. The sun is shinning and the wind is nonexistent. Perfect for bubbles and swimming pools.
Interesting tidbit: drivethru on spell check comes up with the suggestion of diphtheria. I wonder if the symptoms are the same.
Friday, June 6, 2008
It's Friday
Well it is Friday, the sun is shinning, the wind is blowing and yet I feel totally unprepared for the weekend. I know just how does someone prepare for the weekend. Well by bracing themselves for the fact that her husband is going to drive her nuts.
There are some things that I know will happen this weekend that I have little control over. On Saturday Mason will wake up early. Austin will wake up late. He will then get right in the shower and refuse to help me get ready to go. I will be stuck in the car for over 5 hours. Mason will scream all the way to town and refuse to nap until we are 20 minutes away from our destination. When we get home Mason will have used the 2+ hour drive as a nap and will be up until midnight. While I am gone Austin will do something dangerous and then refuse to tell me what it was until I notice that something is different.
On Sunday Mason will again wake up early. Austin will again wake up late whereas he will then get right in the shower and refuse to help me get Mason ready to go so I will have to listen to him cry the whole time I'm in the shower. Mason will again decide not to nap until we are close to our destination. We will be late for lunch thanks to Austin procrastinating. Austin will not tell me what he wants for supper and whatever I make will not be right. Mason will go to bed early and keep crying out in his sleep until midnight.
So now that I have told you how my weekend will go I guess I could tell you what we are going to be doing: Saturday Mason and I are going to, my nephew, Major's b-day party. It is being held a little over 2 hours from here. (Hence the 5 hours in a car.) They are having it at a park this year so I will have to remember to pack the sunscreen. It should be fun and hopefully the storms that are in the forecast will hold off until after I get home. Austin is worried I won't come home until Sunday and he would be right if we didn't have plans for Sunday. Lucky for him we do though. Mason should have fun with all of his cousins. I will have to keep an ear out for what they are trying to teach him to say. My youngest nephew, Hunter, was trying to teach him to say shit. Hunter is 3 but he should know better. I haven't figured out yet who put the little kid up to it but I am sure he didn't think of it all on his own. I personally can't wait to get there. A whole day with my family without Austin watching over my shoulder making sure I'm not misbehaving (smoking). I know I will have a couple but I look at it this way some people get together with friends or family and have a couple of beers. Well I don't drink, I guess you could call me a social smoker. So those are the plans for Saturday. Mason and I are going to a birthday party where I will get totally 'smoked'. Yep, totally smoked. At least I won't wake up with a hang over.
Sunday all three of us are going to Du & De's house. They had a baby on the 22 of May and I am yet to see anyone but Mr. Du hold her that would be including Mrs. De. I think it is strange. When Mason was born I wouldn't even get in the door before someone was trying to get him out of the car seat. They came to the b-day party and little K stayed in her car seat the whole time. So now back to our plans. Du & De wanted to have everybody over to their house for lunch and then we can spend the rest of the day in the pool or playing cards depending on the weather. We will probably end up playing cards because there are way too many kids to have in the pool. It would be fine if the parents were going to be focused on the kids but we will be socializing and accidents happen. All 7 kids are 3 or younger. S & J are coming with their 3 kids. H is 4, Di is 2 and Da is going to be one in July. (he is 5 weeks younger than Mason) Je and Jo are also coming with their 2 little kids. R is going to be 3 here in a couple of weeks and V turned one in March. They are also expecting another little one the first part of November. Eight adults and 7 kids makes for a loud full house. That will take up most of Sunday. We should be home in time to put Mason to bed.
I am already looking forward to Monday so that I don't have to do anything and can recuperate. Just to get Austin out the door quicker I might even get up and make his lunch. Maybe, I haven't decided yet if I want to be that nice. We will have to see if he is good this weekend.
There are some things that I know will happen this weekend that I have little control over. On Saturday Mason will wake up early. Austin will wake up late. He will then get right in the shower and refuse to help me get ready to go. I will be stuck in the car for over 5 hours. Mason will scream all the way to town and refuse to nap until we are 20 minutes away from our destination. When we get home Mason will have used the 2+ hour drive as a nap and will be up until midnight. While I am gone Austin will do something dangerous and then refuse to tell me what it was until I notice that something is different.
On Sunday Mason will again wake up early. Austin will again wake up late whereas he will then get right in the shower and refuse to help me get Mason ready to go so I will have to listen to him cry the whole time I'm in the shower. Mason will again decide not to nap until we are close to our destination. We will be late for lunch thanks to Austin procrastinating. Austin will not tell me what he wants for supper and whatever I make will not be right. Mason will go to bed early and keep crying out in his sleep until midnight.
So now that I have told you how my weekend will go I guess I could tell you what we are going to be doing: Saturday Mason and I are going to, my nephew, Major's b-day party. It is being held a little over 2 hours from here. (Hence the 5 hours in a car.) They are having it at a park this year so I will have to remember to pack the sunscreen. It should be fun and hopefully the storms that are in the forecast will hold off until after I get home. Austin is worried I won't come home until Sunday and he would be right if we didn't have plans for Sunday. Lucky for him we do though. Mason should have fun with all of his cousins. I will have to keep an ear out for what they are trying to teach him to say. My youngest nephew, Hunter, was trying to teach him to say shit. Hunter is 3 but he should know better. I haven't figured out yet who put the little kid up to it but I am sure he didn't think of it all on his own. I personally can't wait to get there. A whole day with my family without Austin watching over my shoulder making sure I'm not misbehaving (smoking). I know I will have a couple but I look at it this way some people get together with friends or family and have a couple of beers. Well I don't drink, I guess you could call me a social smoker. So those are the plans for Saturday. Mason and I are going to a birthday party where I will get totally 'smoked'. Yep, totally smoked. At least I won't wake up with a hang over.
Sunday all three of us are going to Du & De's house. They had a baby on the 22 of May and I am yet to see anyone but Mr. Du hold her that would be including Mrs. De. I think it is strange. When Mason was born I wouldn't even get in the door before someone was trying to get him out of the car seat. They came to the b-day party and little K stayed in her car seat the whole time. So now back to our plans. Du & De wanted to have everybody over to their house for lunch and then we can spend the rest of the day in the pool or playing cards depending on the weather. We will probably end up playing cards because there are way too many kids to have in the pool. It would be fine if the parents were going to be focused on the kids but we will be socializing and accidents happen. All 7 kids are 3 or younger. S & J are coming with their 3 kids. H is 4, Di is 2 and Da is going to be one in July. (he is 5 weeks younger than Mason) Je and Jo are also coming with their 2 little kids. R is going to be 3 here in a couple of weeks and V turned one in March. They are also expecting another little one the first part of November. Eight adults and 7 kids makes for a loud full house. That will take up most of Sunday. We should be home in time to put Mason to bed.
I am already looking forward to Monday so that I don't have to do anything and can recuperate. Just to get Austin out the door quicker I might even get up and make his lunch. Maybe, I haven't decided yet if I want to be that nice. We will have to see if he is good this weekend.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Birthday Party Pictures
Birthday cake Grandma Robin made
Same cake we had at the baby shower for Mason.
Clean.
Clean.
Clean.
Getting dirty.
Dirtier.
Getting dirtier.
Almost.
Finally, really, dirty!
Mason Birthday
We have been so busy. I really hope this is not how the whole summer is going to go. It has been awhile since I have wrote anything of sustenance so that is my goal for today. Some things have happened over the last week or so that I can laugh about NOW. I think we will start with last Friday.
Last Thursday we got rain. I don't mean a little rain. I mean we got r-a-i-n. It was a torrential downpour. We got about 4 inches here at the house. Ames got around 7. Friday morning while watching the news I hear that parts of Ames are flooding. I wasn't concerned about this for awhile because I don't drive into Ames very often. Then I remembered that we had Mason's cake and sandwiches ordered at the new Super Walmart to be picked up in the morning before his party on Saturday. I might have started to panic at that point. The Super Walmart is located on the same road they had just shut down for the flooding. Then they show the parking lot on TV. Almost the whole parking lot is under water. So I make an executive decision and call another Super Walmart close by and switch my order to that store. It might be a little farther to drive but at least I knew we would be able to get our sandwiches and cake for the 25 or so people that would be invading my house on Saturday.
I then spend the next 2 hours on the phone getting everything canceled and set up. Let me rephrase that, I spent 2 hours on hold with the Walmart in Ames trying to cancel. While on hold with the bakery, the bakery calls my home phone. Let me just say 'Are you f'n kidding me? They leave me on hold to call other people.' So they were calling me as a courteous call (HAHA) to say that the City of Ames had closed the store due to rising waters and that they won't be able to get my cake done. So I asked her if they had a line on hold she said 'yes' so I told her to pick it up. Yep it was me on my cell! So I had her pick me back up from my home line being on hold and transfer me over to the deli. That was a quick call I wasn't even on the phone 5 minutes. So why didn't they just answer my call earlier instead of leaving me on hold. I might still be a little upset about that...
Saturday finally rolls around and the Walmart deli in Ames calls to see if I want the sandwiches on white or wheat. I was to say the very least annoyed. I told them as nicely as I could that I had called yesterday to cancel the order. Believe it, or not, she got upset with me. I kindly explained to her that I did my part and that it wasn't my fault if one of her co-workers dropped the ball and then I hung up.
I had planned to go and get the cake and sandwiches by myself. You know to give myself a chance to relax, calm down, maybe hear my own thoughts (translation- sneak a cig) because I knew the day was going to be busy and stressful. Well I didn't get to go by myself. Nope! Austin was having none of that. So Mason and I set out to town and what do you know the car needed gas and my sweet child has learned that if he screeches just right it annoys mommy and keeps himself awake. So after making a quick and painful stop at the gas station I turned up the radio real loud and made the rest of the trip in relative silence. I don't know how long after leaving the gas station Mason fell asleep but he did. So after getting to Walmart I opened the doors to the car and enjoyed myself a cig. It was over 3 months old and dried out real bad so it went real quick but I didn't care.
I left the house at 9:30 and Austin called at 12 to see where I was at. He got lucky I was only about 5 minutes from the house. Walmart was packed. It took forever. Mason got lucky and the bakery ladies gave him a cookie covered in pink frosting. Everything got covered in pink frosting. Including me! Mason was much better on the way home. I think he was asleep before we even got out of town. While I was gone Austin did vacuum and get some things ready. Lucky for him because otherwise I would have been very upset. Bonus for me he didn't smell any smoke on me. That or he knew better than to say anything.
Everyone showed up about 1 or so. Lucky for us it was sunny out so no one was in the house too much. While at Walmart I bought bubble wands for the kids to play with so that kept them fairly occupied and out of our hair. We did the food, cake, ice cream, presents and talked. I would like to think that everyone had a good time but when you have little kids together it is not a party until they all cry at least once. So in that regard it was a blast. yippee.
Mason basically just took all the frosting off of his little cake and rubbed it all over his little face. He tore the cake in half but I don't think he actually ate it. He did end up with frosting in his nose that stayed there for 3 days because he wouldn't let me pick it out. I figured it wouldn't kill him so I didn't fight him about it.
Towards the end of the party a snake joined us. Yes a snake. A BIG snake. My b-i-l Jesse ran to the garage and grabbed some hedge clippers and snipped the snake but what do you know that just made it mad. So I went and got a spade. The snake was M-A-D and kept striking at the spade so finally I got it put on it just below the head and proceeded to cut the head off. Now it is a dead snake. I was rather proud of myself. I didn't just stand there and scream and act the wimp. Austin was rather surprised. I know that he would have just put it in a bucket and taken it to the creek and I would have had to worry about it every time I stepped outside. This way I don't. I can walk outside without having a panic attack.
So after that things calmed down. Almost everyone left about 5 or so. Mom, Dad, Mare, Jesse, Major, and Hunter left about 7:30. It was a long day. Good but long.
Last Thursday we got rain. I don't mean a little rain. I mean we got r-a-i-n. It was a torrential downpour. We got about 4 inches here at the house. Ames got around 7. Friday morning while watching the news I hear that parts of Ames are flooding. I wasn't concerned about this for awhile because I don't drive into Ames very often. Then I remembered that we had Mason's cake and sandwiches ordered at the new Super Walmart to be picked up in the morning before his party on Saturday. I might have started to panic at that point. The Super Walmart is located on the same road they had just shut down for the flooding. Then they show the parking lot on TV. Almost the whole parking lot is under water. So I make an executive decision and call another Super Walmart close by and switch my order to that store. It might be a little farther to drive but at least I knew we would be able to get our sandwiches and cake for the 25 or so people that would be invading my house on Saturday.
I then spend the next 2 hours on the phone getting everything canceled and set up. Let me rephrase that, I spent 2 hours on hold with the Walmart in Ames trying to cancel. While on hold with the bakery, the bakery calls my home phone. Let me just say 'Are you f'n kidding me? They leave me on hold to call other people.' So they were calling me as a courteous call (HAHA) to say that the City of Ames had closed the store due to rising waters and that they won't be able to get my cake done. So I asked her if they had a line on hold she said 'yes' so I told her to pick it up. Yep it was me on my cell! So I had her pick me back up from my home line being on hold and transfer me over to the deli. That was a quick call I wasn't even on the phone 5 minutes. So why didn't they just answer my call earlier instead of leaving me on hold. I might still be a little upset about that...
Saturday finally rolls around and the Walmart deli in Ames calls to see if I want the sandwiches on white or wheat. I was to say the very least annoyed. I told them as nicely as I could that I had called yesterday to cancel the order. Believe it, or not, she got upset with me. I kindly explained to her that I did my part and that it wasn't my fault if one of her co-workers dropped the ball and then I hung up.
I had planned to go and get the cake and sandwiches by myself. You know to give myself a chance to relax, calm down, maybe hear my own thoughts (translation- sneak a cig) because I knew the day was going to be busy and stressful. Well I didn't get to go by myself. Nope! Austin was having none of that. So Mason and I set out to town and what do you know the car needed gas and my sweet child has learned that if he screeches just right it annoys mommy and keeps himself awake. So after making a quick and painful stop at the gas station I turned up the radio real loud and made the rest of the trip in relative silence. I don't know how long after leaving the gas station Mason fell asleep but he did. So after getting to Walmart I opened the doors to the car and enjoyed myself a cig. It was over 3 months old and dried out real bad so it went real quick but I didn't care.
I left the house at 9:30 and Austin called at 12 to see where I was at. He got lucky I was only about 5 minutes from the house. Walmart was packed. It took forever. Mason got lucky and the bakery ladies gave him a cookie covered in pink frosting. Everything got covered in pink frosting. Including me! Mason was much better on the way home. I think he was asleep before we even got out of town. While I was gone Austin did vacuum and get some things ready. Lucky for him because otherwise I would have been very upset. Bonus for me he didn't smell any smoke on me. That or he knew better than to say anything.
Everyone showed up about 1 or so. Lucky for us it was sunny out so no one was in the house too much. While at Walmart I bought bubble wands for the kids to play with so that kept them fairly occupied and out of our hair. We did the food, cake, ice cream, presents and talked. I would like to think that everyone had a good time but when you have little kids together it is not a party until they all cry at least once. So in that regard it was a blast. yippee.
Mason basically just took all the frosting off of his little cake and rubbed it all over his little face. He tore the cake in half but I don't think he actually ate it. He did end up with frosting in his nose that stayed there for 3 days because he wouldn't let me pick it out. I figured it wouldn't kill him so I didn't fight him about it.
Towards the end of the party a snake joined us. Yes a snake. A BIG snake. My b-i-l Jesse ran to the garage and grabbed some hedge clippers and snipped the snake but what do you know that just made it mad. So I went and got a spade. The snake was M-A-D and kept striking at the spade so finally I got it put on it just below the head and proceeded to cut the head off. Now it is a dead snake. I was rather proud of myself. I didn't just stand there and scream and act the wimp. Austin was rather surprised. I know that he would have just put it in a bucket and taken it to the creek and I would have had to worry about it every time I stepped outside. This way I don't. I can walk outside without having a panic attack.
So after that things calmed down. Almost everyone left about 5 or so. Mom, Dad, Mare, Jesse, Major, and Hunter left about 7:30. It was a long day. Good but long.
Monday, June 2, 2008
I'm Still Alive!!
Mason's birthday has come and gone and believe it or not I am still alive. I had been looking forward to and dreading that day for so long. My little baby is one. Thankfully we can believe he is younger than that because it is aceptable to refer to age in months until he is 23 months. It sounds so much younger than saying he is 1 and a half or so, etc.
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