Happy Thursday everyone! How was your weekend/week?? Ours was great! We celebrated Easter with the family, and it was a beautiful day. The wind was a bit chilly but we were able to be outside so I didn’t mind. The kids had a blast hunting for eggs and candy. Grandpa did a great job of hiding everything for them! The food was fantastic, all of it! Thank you Paul & Joy!!
Monday, the best Monday we’ve ever had! Jason makes me laugh. It was Monday morning at 6:30am. My alarm goes off to get Bailey up, I turn over and there is JASON! WHAT?! Wake up!!!! You’re SO late!! Are you getting up? His answer simply put was, “no…..surprise!” A day off? Planned and never let me in on the plan. That’s normal, it’s the little things, the little surprises that get me! And so, a normally dreaded Monday was now a wonderful day!!!
A whole day to just US! That just doesn’t happen. I always have a kid here. Whether it’s our own or someone else’s. To make the day even better, it was also the day we found out if Bailey made the baseball team. We went online to the website and nothing was posted yet. Jason went down the line of phone numbers trying to find someone that knew something! Finally, someone answered the phone and indeed he had made the team. Not only did he make the team, but he made the AAA team. He was disappointed though that his best friend was put on the AA team. I told Bailey, at least he made a team and now he can work hard and try out for the AAA again next year.
We picked him up from school for lunch to tell him. He was grinning from ear to ear! I know he felt a sense of relief. He never showed he was scared, but apparently he was very much so! Then that evening his coach called to congratulate him. He told him he saw him pitching at tryouts and he’d like him to try out for pitching. He was on cloud nine….not even excited so much, but shocked I think. He’s great at pitching, but I think to hear it from a coach put his confidence level so high. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited our family is.
Parental pride and love is unmatched!
That’s it from me! We’ve had an exciting week already and we’re looking forward to a terrific summer!
Us Girls..Our Views 
Yeah for Bailey making the team. I know he felt bad for his friend but making new ones never hurts. You never lose the old ones. He was so excited when I called him.
We did have a really good Easter. It was a gorgeous day and watching those kids run to find the candy was so awesome. We invited Sue’s nephew Keegan over too. We had enough candy to invite our whole town. I don’t know how that happens!!! Grandpa hid almost all the candy this year and he did a great job.
Sue, Nikki and I went to see Last Song Saturday night. Just the three of us. We’ve never done that before and I had a great time and I loved the movie. You should have heard the teeny boppers crying in the theater. Some of them cried loud!! At least the three of us just wiped our silent tears away and sniffled a few times. Thanks for bringing the napkins Sue. It was a good movie but the book was much MUCH better. There were just a few too many things not explained enough.
Kate Gosslin makes it another week on Dancing. Oh kill me now!
One more note. Our neighbor’s dog got hit by a car and had surgery on his leg today. Say a little prayer for Rocco okay all?
I’m very sure I’ll be back.
Wow, congratulations to Bailey! How exciting! I can’t write much now, but will try to come back later.
Thats so great that Bailey made the team!! Congrats. Do I remember correctly from one of your previous posts that this entails a lot of traveling?
I’m glad you are all having good weeks… mine is pretty aweful. My work is frustrating and nothing seems to be working out the way it is supposed to. Deadlines are creeping up and I’m scrambling…but hopefully the rest of the week will get better. It already has since I’m currently drowning my frustration in a yummy strawberry margarita made by my boyfriend 🙂
Joy, I watched Kate Gosslin… she was TERRIBLE. She has no rhythm, no personality, and just totally does not even look like she used to!!
Yup, Lucy he/we will be traveling to towns all over now. We’re excited about it. I am hoping some games are played in our own town so friends and family can come watch. There’s a few friends that will travel with us though. Pretty exciting!! Thank you!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS Bailey!!!!! We’re all very excited for you 🙂 Kate Gosslin is BLAH and has got to go next! Trying to play our vacation for the summer and am not having much luck so I’ll write more tomorrow. I’m tired of sitting at the computer!
So I have a quick question that really does not apply to this post… but I wanted to email you all a link to an article that I think would be interesting to talk about. However, I can’t seem to find an email anywhere on the site??!! Thanks 🙂
We had a nice Easter. It was as busy as we planned. Since I blabbed about the plans last week, I won’t rehash the week here. Just a couple things. I called the elderly lady whom I’d wanted to visit on Saturday, but she said she’d just had a mastectomy the previous week. She really wants to see me and my girls and get caught up on the family. (That reminds me, I forgot to take photos of everyone on Easter, dummy.) I hope she feels well enough to have company soon.
The other thing is, I took the girls to church on Sunday. It was their first time in church, and I haven’t been to a regular church service for decades. I just never did the research to find a church after moving away from my parents’ house. The way I was raised, the church has to be the right fit. I have always studied the Bible on my own and I’ve taught my kids a lot, but I felt it was time for us to attend church as a family. So I took the plunge. I was so glad. I didn’t expect it to really mean much to me, but it did. I hope we start going regularly now, though it will be a challenge with my 7-day work week. (I was relieved to see most of the women wearing pants, even on Easter Sunday. The thought of having to dress up every Sunday morning was stressing me out.)
Lucy, I hear you about work. Mine is heating back up. Each year we have a couple “huge deadlines.” One is at the end of June (but it takes months to get it done). For the other one, we have to wait until the government issues the application and the deadline each year, before we can really start on it. Well, tonight they came out with the application and the deadline – June 2. Normally we get at least 3 months to do this. We’re contracted to write 4 highly competitive, 100-page applications in the midst of all our regular work over the next 8 weeks. (And partner-boss wants to add a 5th.) Woo hoo! There will be many late nights for me between now and July. Needless to say, I already have enough backlog to keep me busy without those applications. Here’s hoping my vitamin regime lives up to expectations. If I really discipline myself, it should go OK, but it will not be easy.
The weather has been very nice, finally. Today I was inspired to clean out part of the garage (it was garbage day). I only made a small dent in the mess, but anything is better than nothing. Now I really need to get someone to close up the holes where the critters are getting into my basement. The skunks got into my kids’ Easter baskets, and it seems the place gets stunk up again every few days. The cable company just replaced the buried cable because critters had chewed it until it wasn’t serviceable any more. Who knows how much other damage is being done? Gotta get that fixed.
Nice to see blossoms and perennials blooming. It’s time to get my kids out with their buckets and clean up all the oak leaves, so the green stuff and flowers have a chance to grow. We also need to plant some seeds before it gets too late. And they are working on learning how to ride a bike. Yesterday we went on a hike, and it’s amazing to see how much they have grown since the weather got nasty last fall. They were little tots, and now they are smart, sturdy preschoolers. It’s such a privilege to watch them grow.
Wee one seems to have an issue with speech. Her diction is not where it should be at her age, I think. I asked her preschool teacher about it, and she said she is half deaf so she mostly lip reads. She says the kid does seem to slur her words. But I take it Teacher won’t be able to work with her on it, if she can’t hear, right? Not sure if she needs outside intervention or not. She was 3 in January, didn’t hear English until age 9 mos, had a Honduran nanny and lives with 2 Indians (and 1 part-time hillbilly – me), so what would her “normal” sound like? People say “it can’t hurt to have her evaluated,” but somehow I feel uncomfortable with that idea. Hmm.
Oh well, I think that’s enough rambling for tonight.
It IS nice to see blooms. As of right now, I only have the trees blooming, I also have lilies and hostas coming up fast!! Makes you want to get out there and get your hands dirty. Still too soon for us though I believe. You never know, it hasn’t been very warm here lately. I don’t want to kill anything but disrupting it.
I had to go to speech therapy when I was younger. I had a hard time with “s.” It helped tremendously!
Ahhh… I’m really glad I didn’t do anything with the garden. I thought about it during that warm stretch that we had, but didn’t get around to it, if I’m honest. And now, we’ve got frost warnings. Procrastination Pays Off!!! YESSS!!!!!
As for the evaluation, I think I would find someone that I trusted first… perhaps you know a special ed teacher who can recommend someone, or a colleague who might be a counselor who would have a contact. I guess what I’m saying is to avoid the government programs if you can, at first, especially if you plan to put the girls into public school.
Call me gun-shy, but I had an experience with Josh where they had him targeted before he even started kindergarten because his preschool teacher had brought in the local Educational Services Group (with my permission) to help him with some fine motor skills. It was noted in his record, and right off the bat, the pub school folks were talking “special ed” for him. So I can understand your concern.
But at the same time, if she needs the assistance… perhaps a local university might have some references for you?
Yeah, that’s the thing about the speech. Unless they really know your kid, what are the chances they will even get an accurate picture of her abilities? When it comes to speech, first you have to get the kid to say something in her normal voice. But if she’s self-conscious, which she will be with someone new, that’s not going to happen. Sometimes she will say nothing, sometimes put on a “baby” act, but rarely will she display “her normal” around outsiders (or in front of a video camera). So then, what are they going to assess? I think I am still stinging from the girls’ first school progress report, where they basically said my kids were blithering idiots who drool in the corner all day. Not highly accurate.
I think it’s all a matter of finding the right spot for them. When I had Josh assessed for KG (the first time, he’s on his second run at it and doing very well), the folks at the public school completely dismissed his academic abilities (he was reading, at age 4), and all they could say was that he was “wiggly” and he should repeat preschool.
I took him to the parochial school in town, and the Kg teacher there said, “of COURSE he’s wiggly, he’s a 4-year-old boy! I’d worry if he wasn’t wiggly.” And he was welcomed into her classroom, and she was – and is – a wonderful teacher. He’s with her for his second year, as well, and doing so well – it was just a maturity level, but I really felt, with that first assessment, that if I put him into their classes, they’d be shouting “Ritalin” within the first week.
I don’t blame you for holding back and seeing how she develops.
Can you set a camera in a room where she plays, and let her get acclimated to it? Perhaps at some point, she’ll start using her normal voice and speech patterns, and you can show that to a professional.
Well, our weekend started out quiet enough, we just kinda hung out over the weekend. Josh and I went to Toys R Us on Saturday to purchase a birthday present for a party he has tomorrow – a six-year-old in a toy store and NOT buying a present for him makes mommy feel like an ogre!!
Then Saturday afternoon, it was egg coloring so The Bunny would be able to hide them. That was fun… I had a tie-dye kit, which didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped. Last year, we had one that had concentrated, glossy colors that you dripped on the eggs. This kit, I thought it was the same, but it wasn’t. This one came with two little swatches of cloth to wrap the eggs and a plastic frame to put them in. And then you drop the dye onto the cloth and let it spread around the eggs. Worked well for the first two eggs, but then the cloth is all wet, so it just got all gloppy. Josh liked them though… they made all the eggs look like Camo!
Sunday, I made Hot Cross Buns in the morning. I had done the first and second rises, and was just waiting for the oven to preheat. And then POP!!! SSSSSSSSSsssssssssss……… “sonofa…” I looked in the oven and saw a BRIGHT bright light. The element in the bottom of my oven had ‘blown up’. Lovely. And I hadn’t baked my buns yet. So I turned it off, switched the setting to “broil”, lined the top shelf with foil and stuck the buns on the bottom shelf. It worked, and we had sweet rolls for Easter morning. The guy came yesterday and fixed it for me.
And THEN… Josh started running a fever. He stayed home on Monday, and I crashed on Monday with the flu, as well. Even the dog got it. Steve had something like it previously, on Friday, I think. Finally, this is what, Thursday? I think we’re all finally kind of getting over it.
I’ve also got the ongoing Vacuum War in this house – I tried using my old, hand-me-down, 35-year-old Rainbow yesterday, and halfway through the living room, the powerhead crapped out on me, and the entire place smells of burnt rubber. Yeah, it’s a belt gone, somewhere in the works. I think I’m done fighting this battle. I’m buying a new one, and ending the War. Vacuum Killer no more. I hope…
More bulletins as events warrant.
Oh, what’s the matter with me??? YAAAY, BAILEY!!! WAY TO GO, KIDDO!!!
Bet you’re the only “Little Leaguer” (is that what they call it, still?) who has fans all across the country… no, WORLD!!
Technically he is a Lil “Willy Mays.” We don’t have “Little League” where we live. We have our community ball club and they all play each other in our own town. This is traveling ball for our town. And thanks….a lot has to go to Jason. He works with him, played ball almost everyday of his life that they could. I do play catch with him though, that’s gotta count for something! LOL
Way to go Bailey! That is so awesome he should be very proud of himself!
We had a great Easter. We had a Crawfish Boil and I ate about 4 pounds of them with probably about 3 pounds of melted butter!
Spring has finally sprung here and so have my allergies! I feel like my head is underwater today! It is gorgeous outside, just wish I could go out and enjoy it!
Congratulations Baily Excellent news! Sounds like you had a fun week end. Nice way to start the Spring and Summer.
Navar left this morning for a road trip I was going back and forth about going decided to stay home, man the fort. Looking forward to some warmer weather we had snow and today it’s gray and rainy the news report says 70 mile hour winds, we’ll see. Feeling a bit tired woke up to early to help Navar and send him off hope he has safe trip.
First congrtulations goes to Jason for the big sleep-in, day off surprise he pulled off for his bride!
And of course, a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO BAILY!! Woooo-Hoooo!!
I was just thinking how peculiar it is that we cyber friends can find so much joy in the success of their children.
It is nice that we can all bond over our kids. They are the future.
It most certainly is nice to have a thoughtful husband, one that actually wants to be around me! LOL
How’s everyone doing on their long-term goals?
I’m about the same diet-wise. Probably lost 1 lb since my last report, but I think my muscles are toning up a bit. I’m still not comfortably fitting into my old work clothes (the ones I wore before my adoption leave). But I think it won’t be long.
As far as self-control regarding focusing on my work during work hours, I still have my good days and bad days. I am not sure I’ve really made any progress on that. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Or something like that.
Another thing I’ve been working on is using up all the little consumables I’ve accumulated over the years. You know, like the body lotions and fancy jellies people gave me for Christmas, exotic teas (they look interesting but I’m basically a coffee drinker), the books I bought over the years that got shoved to the back of the shelf. At some point, I just got disgusted with the amount of crap I have piled up in the cupboards, and I am trying to discipline myself not to buy more if there’s something comparable already in the cupboard. (I am way too cheap to just throw stuff out.) It is a slow process, obviously, but I’m making progress.
I’ve been trying really hard to go through all those types of things that I’ve been given or just don’t use anymore and either use them of give them away. I’ve done well that way. Diet wise, I’ve stunk. I haven’t been diligent at all. I feel bad too but don’t know what to do. How I wish we all lived close enough to meet and do this together. Wouldn’t that be fun?
I joined Weight Watchers, and have lost 7 lbs so far! Yay, me!
I’ve also gotten sick and tired of all the crap (yes, crap) piling up around here. I’ve made two trips to Goodwill so far, and there will most definitely be more. I’d love to organize the stuff for a garage sale, but I don’t have the organization for that… and it would also require me to rent space in town, since nobody is going to come out to the country for a garage sale. There’s a town-wide one at the end of the month that I’m considering participating in.
Way to go on the weight loss. I wish I could get a loss like that. That all town garage sale sounds fun. I love going to those.
It’s my turn to choose the weekly restaurant. Call me weird, but I hate this. I do not like restaurants. There isn’t ONE that I like more than dislike. For everyone else’s turn, I will be a good sport and go along. But having to pick the restaurant sucks. Anyone out there have any ideas? Here are the guidelines.
I don’t like meat. If I must eat meat, it needs to be chicken, chopped up and NOT fried.
I don’t like fried foods. I don’t eat chocolate. I don’t drink alcohol.
I don’t like spicy foods. I don’t like oily foods. I don’t drink carbonated drinks.
I can’t stand my kids (or myself) being fed thousands of calories and too much sugar at a single meal.
I can’t stand wasting food. I abhor large servings of food that can never be eaten at a sitting, at least not by a normal-sized woman. I don’t fancy leftovers, either.
I wouldn’t mind a buffet, except that it’s too easy for my friends to stuff my kids with 100 different types of evil at a buffet. (And no, I have no say over what my kids eat at group dinners out. I gave up that battle long ago.)
I like vegetables. Plain. BUT I don’t believe in paying $10 for a few leaves, cold peas, and cherry tomatoes. Even if it is “all you can eat.” Besides, salad bar greens always stick in your teeth.
I like great bread, plain. (The closest restaurant that has great, plain bread is the Cheesecake Factory, which is 30 miles away and violates all of the above.)
So, with those simple guidelines, I’m sure you all can think of some place I will just love.
By the way, the last two restaurants we went to were Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel, so they are out. My “turn” last time was Applebees, so that’s out too.
What about Olive Garden? You love pasta.
I like Olive Garden up to a point (according to my daughter, it’s my favorite restaurant). But everything is so oily there. It just doesn’t sound appetizing most of the time. And you have to wait forever to get a table.
I’m thinking maybe Panera, though some of my party really grumbled the last time we went there.
I was thinking Mongo’s until I got to the “I don’t like fried foods” part. There you put what you want in a bowl and they stir fry it up. We love it there. I’m kinda of funny about restaurants too. Once I find a couple I like, that’s where I always want to go. I feel like if you go somewhere and don’t like it, that’s a lot of money just gone so I prefer to go where I’m pretty much assured I’ll get a good meal.
I like the place where they will stir-fry Asian food to order, but it’s far away and not the greatest spot to take kids (you have to go up and order and wait by the grills). If it was right down the street, I might choose that place.
Congrats to Bailey making the team! I spent many years doing the softball thing with my daughter. I miss it now that she’s focusing on work and college. Enjoy this time…it goes by much too quickly.
It really does go by way to quickly. I agree on that.
Oh my gosh! I’m so happy for Baily ^_^. You know, I remember the last post you wrote about his try-outs, and I was SO hoping you’d tell us if he made the team or not. I’m so glad he did!
Sounds like a lovely Monday :). I’m glad you got to have a bit of a day off and spend some quality time with Jason – nothing better than a surprise day of freedom!