Wordless Wednesday Week 5

Dreaming up her next mischievous act....

Congratulations Jill, Kurt, and Caleb!!

This post is long overdue! I meant to do it a while back.

Remember this post? Well, On September 8th, Caleb's adoption became final in the state of Kentucky making him one step closer to full citizenship! We couldn't be happier for Jill and Kurt (and Caleb!)!

We're soooooo happy for you!!

If It Were Only That Simple!!

Paige came home today and proudly proclaimed she had a boyfriend. This is how the conversation went:

Paige: I have a boyfriend and his name is Dylan

Me: Oh you do, do you?

Paige: Yep, he's all mine.

Me: What do you mean he's all yours?

Paige: Dylan had me and Caroline play rock, paper, scissors to see who would be his girlfriend and I won... so he's all mine.

Me: (uncontrollable laughter)

Paige: Then, (insert rolling of the eyes) Caroline chased me around the playground mad and then recess was over so I couldn't even play with Dylan. (insert huge sigh...)

I was CRACKING up laughing!

What a flirt she is!!

I'm continuing the weekly list of confessions... or rather things I did NOT do wrong this week... that MckMama from My Charming Kids started a while back. I find it very therapeutic to see all the things that I "don't" do wrong around here - tee hee!

I did not stay in bed most of the day Sunday because I was NOT sick!

I did not stay home from work on Monday because I was NOT sick! And I did not cover my germs with lots of sanitizer and Lysol while I was there because there really was no need to!

Then, I did not leave work by 10am Monday and come home sick because I was NOT sick! Afterall... I do not have time to be sick and I am NOT a good patient as my husband will certainly not agree with LOL!

On Tuesday I did not inhale everything in sight because I was not starving because I was not sick for 2 days...

Then, on Wednesday, I did not decide to eat a healthy salad for lunch with fresh fruit on Wednesday only to come home and not eat an entire tomato and white cheddar Palermo pizza because that would just be silly!

I did not goof up and double a chocolate chip cookie recipe that clearly did not need doubled and end up with over 10 dozen cookies. Afterall, I read the recipe fully first!

And... I did NOT help my family eat about half those cookies in a matter of 24 hours because I do not eat junk food like that!

What have you NOT done lately?

I've Been Tagged...

I typically don't do these things, but I thougth a change of blogging pace might be fun...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago....

1) Taking care of brand new baby Chase
2) Living at Indiana University
3) Talking on the phone with my Mom daily
4) Working in Accounting and Human Resources
5) Prepping for the Halloween party at Tulip Tree

5 things on my To-Do list today
1) Work
2) Laundry
3) Clean my bedroom (HA!)
4) Work on next week's grocery menu
5) Start reading Romans in the Bible

5 snacks I enjoy
1) Dried fruit
2) Celery
3) Hershey bars
4) Ben & Jerry's
5) Cool Ranch Doritos

5 things I'd do if I were a Millionaire
1) Travel to Australia
2) Pay off mortgages, cars, and medical debt
3) Put away enough money to pay for the kids college in full
4) Buy a new mattress set!!
5) Hide the rest under my mattress LOL!

5 places I've lived
1) Paulding, Ohio
2) Payne, Ohio
3) Woodburn, Indiana
4) Bloomington, Indiana
5) Fort Wayne, Indiana

5 jobs I've had
1) Burger King Cashier in High School
2) Accounting Specialist
3) Human Resources Coordinator
4) Occupational Therapy
5) Rehabiltation Director

5 people I tag
1) Carrie
2) Mandy
3) Megan
4) Sheila
5) Kristen

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

Wordless Wednesday Week 4

And THIS, my friends, is our seminar student prepping for medical school!

Turn Up HIS Volume!

I have to admit, I've been a bit stressed lately. And, as Mike and the kids will tell you, I've been a bit grumpy as well, even wearing myself down and ended up sick.

Work is quite choatic with more patients than we have time to treat. At times I feel burnt out, like I can't keep up with it all and I'm not giving my staff the help and direction they need. Then to come home and have something going on each night of the week - by Friday - I've caved and crashed. It's been a repeating circle of events for several weeks in a row.

I heard a song on the radio earlier tonight that spoke right to the way I've been feeling, like an answer to a prayer I hadn't yet said because I've not been trusting that a greater being is in control. It reminded me taht I have to trust in Him and turn my "volume" down, while turning His up!

Here's the song by Tenth Avenue North: By Your Side

Limewire is the Devil!

One of the kids (who shall remain nameless) was doing homework on Mike's laptop... then decided to listen to music and download a few songs from Limewire. Next thing we know - Mike's laptop was stuck in a continuous rebooting.... over and over and over and over! Didn't matter what we did - it continued. Wouldn't open in safemode and the recovery disk failed us!

The Geek Squad tried to fix it with no luck. Diagnosis: Operating System Boot Virus that killed the whole thing in seconds!

On the upside - Mike now has a laptop with 4 times the memory space and is faster than a speeding bullet. The downside..... our anniversary trip savings account is now depleted...

Ughh!

We're In For A Crazy Week...

Monday - Gymnastics
Tuesday - Kayleigh's first high school concert/symphonic/orchestra band concert (she's first chair flute as a freshman!!)
Wednesday - Bible Study and Costco night
Thursday - I hope to make it to the gym to work out!
Friday - REST!

Weeks like this totally wear me down and I already don't feel well. Here's to hoping it all goes smoothly!

"Not Me!" Monday: Week 4

Check out MckMama on My Charming Kids to see how this all got started!

What a week of craziness! I'm so glad I was able to hold it all together and not lose control! I started the week by not forgetting to take my list to the store and then walk out spending twice as much as what I usually budget for.

Then, I did not get home only to find out that I forgot to buy about $50 worth of things that I really NEEDED and I did not go back the next day to get it plus some! Ughh! That would be awful, wouldn't it?

I did not completely overlook the calendar at work where I could not plainly see that it was the birthday of one of my therapists!

I did not send Paige to school less than 30 minutes after she fell off her toybox causing quite an abrasion of 8 inches long, 1/2 inches wide, and still bleeding through a bandaid because it was field day... what kind of Mom would give in to her daughter's pleas to go to school knowing that the nurse would call within an hour!

I did not completely forget to get Chase's overnight field trip permission slip signed and notarized and then tell Chase that the notary was out of the office two days in a row!

I did not have the kids eat pb&j sandwiches for dinner and then put a margharita pizza in the oven for me because I did not know that they absolutely despised that kind of pizza... because then I'd have an entire pizza to myself. That would just me mean!

and... I did not completely give in to Mike's begging to get DirecTV because I was completely fine with him grumping and groaning every week while watching football because the wind would cause the reception to go fuzzy right in the middle of a super big play!

I sure hope that I do as well next week!

Dear Mom...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Boy lately I've been missing you more! It's not a holiday, not your birthday or anniversary, no special day.... but I can't get you off my mind.

With the kids getting older, 2 being teenagers, I sure wish you were around to remind me that I "did the same thing when I was that age" to help me reason with them. You always handled things so well.

At the same time, the kids are all deserving of praise and I find myself wanting to pick up the phone and tell you what they did each day! Devin is again proving to be top of his class and has such a future in front of him! Kayleigh, as a freshman, has made first chair flute over the entire concert band! Chase is having an amazing year and we are seeing the best grades he's ever had. Paige is taking on kindergarten like a pro! I only wish you were here to see it all!

As the holidays approach, I know I'll be thinking of you more and more. I know that you're with me though. I feel your presence, your spirit, your love. You are forever our Angel watching over us.

Love you always

Shell...

I Lost The Battle...

I have been very pleased to be one of the last cable free/digital TV free homes.... until now!

Today, I gave in to my husband's begging and pleading me with his "pretty please can we get DirecTV, I will give you anything you want, cook for you, clean for you, put away your laundry, and my world will revolve around you" cries!

OK... OK... so maybe it didn't include all that - but it was a childlike cry every time we'd go to someone's house who had cable or digital TV service!

As of Sunday afternoon between noon and 5:00pm (or so they say!) we will be up with the times and a digital home like the rest of America.

My husband is a happy man!

Wordless Wednesday Week 3

and what, my dear Kayleigh, are you hiding behind your back?

Happy Birthday Sweet Sister!

Happy Birthday to my little sister, Cassi!

Now Cas.... if only you would send me more pictures once in a while I might have a good one to post of you... not sure WHAT you were doing in this one... I don't think I WANT to know - LOL!!!

On this day, 34 years ago, you began a life of causing lots of:

craziness - remember, Mom and Dad had to take you BACK to the hospital the day they brought you home because you screamed your little belly button apart!
fun - the nights of neverending fuzzy navels at the bowling alley in Celina I will NEVER forget!
and let's face it....
chaos - we won't get into those details LOL!

What good times we've had!

Hope you have a great day!

When You Feel The Love of HIM...

(a post from Kayleigh)

"When you feel the love of him, nothing else in the world can bring you down. this past weekend was the ROCC Youth Ministry Fall Retreat '08 and i have to say it changed my life completely. it started out to me like i weekend that would be fun and we would worship and have bible study like any normal day at church. but i was wrong, i was way wrong. this weekend has been one of the most memorable of my life. our youth leaders are some of the most amazing people in the world, when they speak, it makes you want to break down and cry, it's so powerful. and the passion that they have for it is amazing, the way they preach is amazing. the theme was stepping up, taking the step up in your life to get to god, to know his love, to FEEL his love burning deep inside of everyone in the ministry, in myself.

on saturday while everyone was at activities, having fun and socializing together, i spent all day sitting in a windowsill, reexamining myself, the way ive lived, how much i want to let God into my life. i wrote it all down as i was thinking it, and i filled a notebook. every sin that i can remember that is growing on my conscience, i wrote it down. every doubt i was having about my life and how i could never earn His love, i wrote it down. its funny how it took me all day to realize something that is obvious. He loves everyone. ask for forgiveness and you will get it, be truthful and people will be true to you. its a new meaning to treat people the way you want to be treated.

i let God into my heart this weekend and i am completely changed.

something that shocked me and made me cry so much was the point when sonny asked who accepted jesus this weekend, my brother stood up. devin, im sorry if you get mad at me for putting this in here, but i am so proud to know that you have let Him into your life. i know that you go through tough times, probably much worse than mine. and i want you to know that i love you, i will always love you, youre my big brother (:.

ive learned so many things this weekend, one being that you shouldnt put 16 ppl in a van only fit for 10 haha. but ive learned that i am loved, that i can and have put my whole heart and faith in God and he will always be there. hes never going anywhere, he will always be with me, with every person. and for that i am so grateful."

Fall Retreat '08 October 3-5

... the turning point in my life.

Another Episode of "Not Me!" Monday

Wow time is flying! We're getting ready for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas and we have plans every weekend in November!

With all this, you can imagine things are crazy busy and quite chaotic. Of course, chaos never happens at our house! So here is a list of things that definitely did not happen around here in the past week.

I did not inhale fried mushrooms, an elephant ear, and a fried oreo cookie in about an hours time at the fair this week because that would mean that I'm ignoring my diet and pushing aside the healthy eating we've started...

I did not ride the Himalaya with Paige and scream like a school girl the entire time and then get on the big roller coaster with her and totally freak out going down the first hill...

I did not hide in my bedroom retreat one night while Mike was at work and the kids were upstairs fending for themselves because I never feel the need to just shut off the world like that...

I did not completely misunderstand Mike and pay the phone bill online the same day he paid it over the phone, thus having an extra $100 taken out of our bank account (which was supposed to be extra fair money)...

then, I did not go off on the customer service rep with a very loud voice after she said there was nothing she could do and the credit would just have to be applied to next months bill...

I did not run to pick up Devin from his friends house at 10pm telling Kayleigh I'd be home in 30 minutes, then sit and talk to David's Mom Leigh until midnight because we all know we don't have time for girl talk when you're raising teenagers...

I did not clean out the garage and give away or sell a bunch of things on Craiglist without telling Mike first because he's certainly not the type to keep everything because we "might" need it someday...

I did not come home from church and change into pj pants and one of hubby's t-shirts, lounge around all day eating cheese, chili, crackers, and other football food while ignoring housework that had to be done...

There's lots more that didn't happen around here last week also but I wouldn't want to make myself look like a perfect Mom and Wife... LOL!

Tune into the original "Not Me!" Monday blogger at My Charming Kids and see how her week went.

Birthday, Birthday, Happy Birthday!

October 10th is a busy day for our family with two birthdays!

The kids are yelling:
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JASON!"

and

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT CAROL"

(we don't have a recent picture of Aunt Carol)

Idiots I Tell Ya! Idiots!

OK - COMPLETE VENT ALERT!

I am the Rehab Director for a Retirement Community with our primary gym being on the acute wing of the nursing center. We have an outbreak of Clostridium Difficile - commonly called "C-Diff" - on our hall. It is a horrible, highly contagious, infection in the colon. Yuck - I know!

C-Diff can be caused by a person being on high dose antibiotics. It is easily spread from person to person by not following simple handwashing and hygiene procedures. Seeing whereas the outbreak is isolated to one hall and the rooms are all right in a row with a few across the hall - it's pretty clear how it was spread!

C-Diff can cause a perfectly healthy individual to be dehydrated within a few hours if not caught or treated properly. So, with Chase's recurrent heart/blood disorder, Paige's bad asthma, and Devin's current GI trouble - this would be a BAD thing in our house! It would throw any one of them into the hospital within a day!!

I came home from work tonight and went straight to my room and changed clothes, went to the bathroom and scrubbed, then put my clothes in the laundry. I'm going to have to do this for the next 4-6 months since the C-Diff bacteria can lay dormant for up to 6 months!!! Ick!!

It irritates the daylights out of me that some idiot at work didn't have the common sense to wash their hands going from patient to patient!

Idiots I tell ya!! Complete Idiots!

Oh To Have a Teenager...

We're always getting on Kayleigh about her room! Like many other teenage girls (myself once included), you can rarely see the floor!

I'm an OCD neat freak and the rest of the house is quite orderly, so it drives me INSANE. I have learned, however, to pick my battles!

But, I thought I'd share with you what we see daily and the look on her face when we say "should we send in the troops to find you in this mess?" LOL!

(By the way - notice the cat, Mattie, on her desk. Mattie is always within 5 feet of Kayleigh no matter where she is in the house!!)

So those of you with little girls (Mandy.... Jenni.....), see what you have to look forward too...

Wordless Wednesday Week 2

Give You One Guess At What Chase Is Doing!?!?

Dixie Classic Fair 2008

We took Chase and Paige to the Dixie Classic Fair tonight. Paige has upgraded from the kiddie rides to the big kid rides which made it a LOT of fun! Mommy and Daddy even rode with them on a few things!

Here's a few highlights from the night and a video of Paige on something she's been dying to do (it recorded sideways for some reason...)!

"Look Ma.... No Hands!"

Yikes! Upside Down!!!

"I'm Next!"

The kids are way up there somewhere!!

"Not Me!!!" Monday: Week 3

Check out MckMama's My Charming Kids to see how this all got started.

I, in no way, stayed up until 1am on the phone with a girlfriend of mine on a weeknight, like I was still in highschool because that would be ridiculous!

I also did not get up late the next morning almost missing an interview I had scheduled with a much needed PT candidate at work. Afterall, that would be unprofessional!

I did not go to Taco Bell for lunch one afternoon when I had a leftover lunch packed at work because we are trying to save money for a big project and that would be frivolous of me and Mike would not be thrilled.

I did not cry after dropping off the Devin and Kayleigh at church Friday afternoon for their first Fall Faith Retreat!

I did not scarf down a big stack of Chips Ahoy! White Fudge Chunky Chocolate Chip cookies on the very same day that I got my lipid panel lab results back thinking to myself "I can eat these because my numbers were good!".

I did not get nervous in the middle of the corn maze when I realized there was more than likely at least one snake within 10 feet of me and then try to rush the kids to find their last stamp so we could get out of there!

And I most certainly did not sleep in until almost 11am on Saturday morning letting Chase and Paige fend for themselves for breakfast and spend their morning in front of the television because that would be irresponsible as a parent!

I'm so glad that I don't do things like this and that I'm able to be a picture perfect Mother and Wife.......

Happy Birthday Abram!!

crazy - goofy - funloving - silly - hyper - faithful - cuddler - wacky - determined - brave - bubbly - snuggler - sweet

AND EIGHT YEARS OLD!

Happy Birthday!

We Miss You!!

Alpha Acres Farm: a-MAZE-ing!

With Kayleigh and Devin gone for the weekend, and my weekend PRN job not needing me today, that left Mike & I with Chase and Paige for a day of fun. We started at the new Lewisville Soda-Shoppe for lunch. Paige wasn't sure what to think of the waitress in the poodle skirt! Chase loved the music.

From there - we surprised them with a trip to Yadkin County's Alpha Acres Corn Maze. Alpha Acres is part of the Rescue Mission and is for men who need a fresh start after hitting rock bottom with drugs and alcohol. It includes an in debth Bible Study, academic education, and a lot of hard work to prepare them to return to the community. This year, these men created a Noah's Ark corn maze on 5 acres. Talk about work!!

While walking through the corn maze, the kids had to find animal stamps along the way (they were NOT easy to find!) and stamp their sheet. If the sheet was completed when we came out, they got to go play in the fields at various game stations that were set up, as well as take a hayride (which we didn't do because Paige decided she was suddenly afraid of hayrides!). There were also Bible scriptures and stories of Noah's Ark along the way to read.

After they were done playing in the games area they were able to pick their own pumpkins to take home. Paige must have picked up three different ones before finally deciding on one (the first one she had to begin with!). Chase, on the other hand, was a grab & go!

All in all - it was a fun day. Chase and Paige enjoyed having Mom and Dad all to themselves and we had fun letting them guide the way! Mom and Dad enjoyed it just as much as they did!