Normal? What is NORMAL?!

nor·mal /ˈnɔrməl/
–adjective
1.
conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural.
2.
serving to establish a standard.

That word definitely does not describe my life. In fact, I am willing to bet if you look up its antonym, “abnormal”, you would find my picture next to the definition.

The last time I can remember my life feeling somewhat “normal” was about six or seven months ago. At that time, hubs still had the 8-9 hour a day job. I was working my 2.5 days a week, had 2.5 days a week off. I had my desk at work that I had sat at for a good 6-7 years. Life was comfortable. It’s amazing to me how quickly things can change and when they do change how much you can long for what was once considered “hum-drum”.

The first of many, many changes that began the spiral into my abnormal life was when I switched my hours at work from 2.5 days a week to 5 half-days a week. Funny how I think back now at how dramatic a change that seemed to me. If only I knew then what I know now.
Hubs lost his job in April. Or was it March. I can’t even remember now.

We tried to live for awhile on my part-time salary and his unemployment checks but as time went on and the hunt for jobs was proving less than fruitful, the opportunity came along for me to take a full-time position in my office. It seemed at that time that there was no other choice. So I took the plunge and went full time after being priveledged enough to work part-time for almost 5 years. At first it didn’t bother me a whole lot. Hubs was still home in the mornings to be with the kids and my mom could still take them in the afternoon so that he could continue his job search. While life at that point had definitely changed significantly, I still wasn’t quite feeling the effects of having an “abnormal” life.

Then it happened. Like a bolt of lightning. All of a sudden, hubs was offered a job working for a road re-paving company. The company is based out of Kansas and they travel all over the mid-west doing road construction. The up-side? Potential to make very good money. The down-side? Hubs has to travel. A lot. Conveniently, the first job he had was located right in our town. The first two weeks of the job, he just had to drive down the road a couple of miles and he was there.

He was offered the job on a Thursday morning, and his first day was the following Monday. All of a sudden I was faced with the very daunting task of trying to get someone to watch my kids in the morning for the remainder of the summer. I won’t go into all of the details of that because I did so in the post right before this one. What I have found for now is OK, but like I said more expensive than I would prefer and further south than I wanted to have to take them. But you do what you have to do.

Hubs finished up his job here in town last week. The next assignment was to start this past weekend in a mountain ski resort town about 2.5 hours south west of where we live. He and his co-workers are each given a per-diem each week in addition to their salary for accomodations and food when they are away from their homes. Nice perk, however if you know anything about ski resort towns, the amount of per-diem they are given per week would cover maybe 1.5 nights in a hotel up there. Most of them camp out in RVs. Hubs doesn’t have an RV. We don’t even know where our tent is. Luckily, one of his nice co-workers offered to lend him his 8 man tent and an air mattress to stay in while they are working up there. Length of this job? Three to four weeks. Hubs is camping for a month in the mountains. I can’t deny that there is a little part of me that is very jealous about this. The plan is for him to come back home on Friday nights when he gets down working and go back on Sunday afternoons.

He was to leave this past Saturday for ski resort town. His truck was having some issues (again) so he went to go get a new battery for it that morning, which he thought was going to fix the problem. It didn’t. I ended up driving him up there on Saturday afternoon and coming back all on the same day. My poor Mom had to watch the kids that day because, I’m sorry, three kids in my tiny car for six hours?! Hardly. And FIL, of course, was busy.

So, he’s up there. FIL figured out what was wrong in the truck, fixed it for us, and my plan is to go up there Friday night, camp out with him that night and bring him back on Saturday to do laundry, sleep in a real bed, see his kids, then he’ll drive back in his truck (that will hopefully make it) on Sunday afternoon. While he’s gone, I’m basically a single mom. To my girls. Anakin? I don’t know where he is. He left Saturday afternoon with his mom for his regular visit and I haven’t seen him since. His mom moved. I don’t know where she lives; her cell phone isn’t connected anymore and I have no way of contacting her to find out what is going on with Anakin. My guess is, she thinks if Anakin’s dad is not around, then he doesn’t need to be staying with his step-mom. But it would sure be nice to know where he is. Common courtesy, you know. (A foreign concept to her).

Feisty is doing better. (For information on what’s been going on with Feisty, my mom has chronicled her week on her blog. I have had neither the time or energy to do so myself, so thanks to Mom for sending out the word about Feisty and thanks for all of the prayers that have gone out for her.) She seems to be her old “feisty” self again, however her ordeal is not over yet. Her doctor wants her to go to Children’s Hospital in Denver for two tests: a VCUG and a Renal Ultra Sound. This is to determine what could possibly be causing her UTIs and to rule out VESICOURETERAL REFLUX. I talked to the nurse that works with her doctor for quite awhile today and don’t feel quite as panicked as I did when I first heard the words “Children’s Hospital” and “tests”. I just want my baby to be better. They told me that if she has the slightest fever again to bring her in right away. I’ve obsessively been touching her head and face every 20 minutes all weekend. Last night I could have sworn she had one and was trying to picture myself dragging her, Care Bear and myself to the emergency room in the middle of the night since hubs is not around to help. What a nightmare that would be.

Continue to pray for Feisty. She’s not totally in the clear yet. I just have to say that am I ever glad I was a “miracle maker” that donated $15 every month for two years to our Children’s Hospital. Those children’s stories always break my heart and I always told myself that if I were one of those people that had to use Children’s hospital, I would hope someone would want to help me out. Who knew. Never, ever take your child’s health for granted. I never will again.
Normal. Definitely not my life. I do have to say that it is never boring. Sometimes I wish it were.
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High/wierd points of the week?

1. An old neighborhood “friend” of mine whom I haven’t seen in probably 20 years showed up at my mom’s door on Sunday afternoon while we were eating lunch. She was “in the neighborhood” and when my mom opened the door this girl (Amy) said, “You still live here!!” My mom didn’t recognize her. I immediately knew who it was. My friend/enemy of 6 years during elementary school days. I credit her for a large portion of my problems that eventually led me to Remuda Ranch. And I had just been thinking about her a few days before. I just chatted with her and heard a little bit about her life. I decided not to dredge up stuff from 20 years back….why make her feel like crap when she made the effort to come look me up after all that time?! I don’t think she has any clue what she did to me in those days. WIERD.

2. I just have two words: HARRY POTTER. Five days. Via Amazon. Can’t Wait. I’m softening up my Harry Potter chair as we speak. I hope the Blondies are around this weekend cuz I’ll need to be left alone, I say!

The good news? Hubby got a job.

The bad news? I’m still full time and am now dealing with the hassle and expense of daycare for the kidlings. The job came rather quickly and unexpectedly after several months of nothing so all of a sudden I was in a mad rush to locate someone….anyone (within reason of course) who would watch my kids without breaking the bank. Forget a formal daycare setting. Every single daycare I looked into within a 30 mile radius was going to cost me almost my entire check to put them in….and that’s part time (because my mom can still watch them in the afternoons). I checked with father-in-law who is a school teacher. I thought to myself, “Self….here is a great solution. FIL can watch them until noon in the mornings since it’s summer and he should be off, then mom can pick them up on her way home. What could be better than having grandma and grandpa watching them on the same day?!” I should have known better. This is a man who so immerses himself in his students and his work during the school year that we’re lucky if we can find one single weekend out of the entire year that he can watch them or help us out. Nope. FIL teaches a summer band in the mornings. So I said to him, “Hypothetically speaking, what if my mom were able to switch her schedule to afternoons and she could watch them in the mornings, you in the afternoons?”

“Uh, well, I’m probably going to be doing some house painting in the afternoons
for some extra money so I can’t commit to anything regularly. I can look
at my schedule and help you out when
I can.”

Well, gee, thanks, but I think I need to have something more set in stone for my kids than “maybe I can help you now and then.”

I checked with a friend (Jennifer) from church who has watched them before; we exchange play dates with her kids and they have a great time together. Last week she was preparing for a wedding this past Saturday. Next week she’s going on vacation. She can possibly help some this week (that we are currently in). I check with Sandy. Who better to have watch my kids than Feisty’s best friend?! Even better, she has a son just one year younger than Anakin and they get along great. Sandy had just committed to working her other job that week and after that would be leaving on vacation.

“But what about Ginger?” she says.

“Ahhh….Ginger,” I say to myself. “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Ginger is a stay-at-home mom who has one little girl Care Bear’s age. She’s rather new to our church and gotten very involved. I call Ginger. Ginger, thankfully, can watch them last Monday and Tuesday. A little relief. That gives me a few more days to figure out what to do with the rest of the week and beyond.

First day to Ginger’s goes fine. Granted, getting the kids up at the crack of dawn was no picnic, but they were pretty good and I assured Care Bear that, “Yes, you can sleep on the way to Ginger’s house.” Feisty even did great, which I was utterly shocked at. The following day was more what I expected. Fits at what clothes to wear, who was going to sit where in the car, and screams of, “I wanna stay home with you, Mama!!”. I knew it was too good to be true.
Then came the 4th of July. A day off, but not without the stress of figuring out where they were going to go the next two days. Then it occurred to me that my cousin was in town with her two boys, Care Bear’s age and 18 months. Perfect. They can play together for awhile and it’ll be someone they can feel comfortable with and who I am comfortable leaving them with. Cousins says, “Sure I can do that!” But there was a mis-communication. I thought we had arranged for Thursday and Friday; she thought Thursday only. Crap. Back to square one. I ended up having to take the morning off on Friday.

Over the weekend I continued to stress, lose sleep, stress, have bad dreams, stress, eat midnight snacks and have some slight indigestion over what was going to become of my children over the next several weeks until school starts.

Sunday, I hit Jennifer up again. This was the week that I thought Jennifer said she would be able to help me out.

“Well, the girls have swimming lessons this week. I can probably help
Thursday and Friday because I can take them to Bible Study on Thursday and then
the weekly park playdate on Friday. I can possibly help on Tuesday and
Wednesday, but definitely not tomorrow.”

It’s about at this point in time that I’m ready to say “Screw the full time job. This is causing too much stress and will cost too much money.” I end up calling my last resort. Not last resort because I don’t think it’s something suitable for the kids, just last resort because it’s so far south of where I need to be heading, probably more $$ than I want to pay, and a completely unfamiliar environment for the kids. For Care Bear and Anakin that’s not as big an issue. But for Feisty, who has never been cared for by anyone other than Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Sandy (and FIL once a year), this is a major, huge adjustment. But at this point I had no choice. It is more than I want to pay, and it’s too far away, and Feisty was breaking my heart when I dropped them off, but I don’t know what else to do. There is a teenager in our church who is going to college in the fall who may be an option (less expensive and can come to my home) for the rest of the summer, but she is currently on vacation. So, we’ll see.

In the meantime, I continue to have restless nights, annoying dreams and I fear I am getting an ulcer. I just wish things were the way they were before. And I thought life was complicated then. The grass isn’t always greener……
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So, this post wasn’t so random after all. But I do have one random thing to mention. Wanna know what my new, extremely weird obsession is? Picking weeds. Ever since I weeded my garden a few weeks ago, everywhere I go I see weeds and they drive me nuts. I pick weeds at work, at church, in the park….no weed is safe when within my line of vision. But it’s driving me nuts. Plus, I’m allergic to them. I should find a less “sneezy” obsession. I might as well just start picking fleas from cats hair. Not really.
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My dad took my kids on a hike this weekend. Check out the pics and then dare tell me I don’t have the cutest kids in the world!!

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And one more thing: Here’s a picture Care Bear drew quite awhile ago of herself that I’ve had hanging on my bulletin board forever. I have a scanner sitting right beside me now at my desk so chances of you seeing a lot more of Care Bear’s artwork in the future are pretty good.

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That’s it for me for now……anyone have any good, strong, indigestion medicine?!

Five Years

I Kristen, take thee Mike
as my wedded Husband, to have
and to hold from this day forward, for better
for worse, for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, till death us do part,
according to God's holy ordinance; and
thereto I plight thee my troth.

I Mike, take thee Kristen as my wedded
Wife, to have and to hold from this day
forward, for better for worse, for
richer for poorer, in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish, till
death us do part, according to God's holy
ordinance; and thereto I plight
thee my troth.

Five years ago today, my husband and I spoke those words to eachother in the church I grew up in. My grandfather performed the ceremony. My other grand-father (now deceased) prayed for us. My cousin Karen and my sister-in-law Sema stood up for me as bridesmaids. My brother and Mike's brother stood up him as groomsmen. My mother-in-law sang; my parents sang; Sema and Kevin quoted the love chapter from 1 Corinthians. Anakin was our ring-bearer. My father-in-law was our photographer. Mike's sister and his brother's wife were our candle-lighters. It was a very family oriented ceremony.

The day of the wedding was busy and bustling. I spent the afternoon with all of the female members of the wedding party at a local tea-house. I got my hair done. It was a very busy and un-restful day. By the time the wedding actually arrived, I was exhausted. It didn't help that right as Mike was to be taking his place at the altar, Anakin decided to start giving us trouble.

Five years ago today. The time has flown. I look back on the past five years and wonder where it all went. In our five years of marriage, we've had sickness and health; good times and bad; better and worse. But despite the tests and the difficulties we still love eachother.

Five years. I wonder what the next five years will bring. Hopefully more health than sickness; more good times than bad; more better than worse.

I love you, Mike. Happy Anniversary.

If It's A Fat Squirrel, Then It's OK.....

The weather around here this past weekend was wonderful. It almost gave me the illusion that spring might be on it's way. I know it's just an illusion though. I'm sure we'll be plummeted with snow a few more times before spring officially arrives. And then all of a sudden it'll just be summer. That's how it works around here.

Feisty has been sick all weekend. She and I took advantage of the beautiful weather for a few minutes and sat on our deck in the backyard and got some fresh air. There was a squirrel...a fat squirrel....climbing up our tree. I wondered to myself, "Is this the same fat squirrel from last summer?" Let's go back about 9 months....

It was summer. Mike was off of work for a few days, so he was charged with watching the kids when I went to work. When Daddy's in charge, just about anything can happen.

I arrived home from work at the end of the day to find the typical mess that my house becomes when I leave it for 9 hours in my husband's hands. The kids were running around enjoying the beautiful summer day. Feisty attacked me the second I got home begging for a peanut butter sandwich. I obliged and went to go make it for her. The peanut butter was sitting on the counter and she helped me make the sandwich and then ran off to play again.

Within minutes, Mike flew into the house grilling me on what peanut butter I had used to make the sandwich. "Well...the peanut butter sitting right there on the counter....DUH." I responded.

Panic engulfed his face. "A SQUIRREL GOT INTO THAT PEANUT BUTTER TODAY!! The kids had a picnic on the deck and I left the peanut butter out there and a squirrel was eating out of it!!"

Before panic hit me, my first response was, "Well, then, it's perfectly logical, isn't it, to bring it back in the house instead of throwing it away, huh?" When you're hit offensively, you respond defensively, right? At that point, I panicked. I flew to the refrigerator to find the oh-so-handy magnet on our fridge for a 24/7 1-800 to call to talk to a registered nurse.

When I finally got ahold of a nurse, she asked me a multitude of questions that truthfully, I couldn't answer very well.

"No, I don't know how much peanut butter she has eaten. I made her a sandwich. I didn't know I had to watch my daughter like a hawk when eating a peanut butter sandwich."

"No. I don't know how much of the peanut butter the squirrel ate. Does it matter?? A potentially rabid creature had it's head stuck in our peanut butter jar, that's all I know. OH, and that my husband thought it was a good idea to bring it back inside instead of throwing it away."

"No, I don't know if the squirrel is rabid. I don't have a degree in Wildlife Biology."

"No. She doesn't seem sick right now. But she ate it like, six seconds ago."

She suggested I call the poison control center.

I called them. Same questions. Same answers. Not a whole lot of concern. "Call her primary physician" they say.

Third phone call to the primary physician, just trying to find out if I should be soon expecting to see my daughter foaming from her mouth.

Primary physician is out of town for the weekend. Call the on-call doctor in his place.

The on call doctor finally calls back. Same questions. Same answers.

"Keep an eye on her. If she's going to get sick, it'll be probably in the next four hours. If she starts to vomit, don't try to stop her. OH, and by the way, was the squirrel rabid?"

"I DON'T KNOW!!!!"

"Well, was the squirrel skinny and appearing agitated, or was it fat and appearing healthy?"

"Oh, for crying out loud. HONEY! WAS THE SQUIRREL FAT OR SKINNY AND SCARY??"

Mike: "I think it was fat. You know that fat squirrel that always hangs around in our tree."

"It was fat."

Doctor: "Ok, then it probably isn't rabid. Your daughter should be fine."

Moral of the story: Don't worry if your child consumes peanut butter after a squirrel has his head in your peanut butter jar as long as the squirrel is fat.

Don't bother calling poison control or your on-call doctor. Just make sure the squirrel is fat. That's it!

Hasta La Vista, babies!....

In t-minus two hours, Mike and I are heading for the hills. We are going to a nice cabin in the mountains for an anniversary/Valentine's get-away for two whole days! Our anniversary isn't actually until March 15, but we have some extra moula now that we may not have in a month, and we thought it'd be fun to combine the two holidays. My mom and dad will be watching the little ones for us....pray for them. No seriously. (hee-hee). I won't be around this weekend, so I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Invasion of the Husband Snatchers

I've been married for very close to five (5) years now. In that amount of time, I can count on one hand the number of weekend mornings that I have been able to sleep in, and the number of times my husband has gotten up in the middle of the night to help me with sleepless children.

Yesterday morning, as usual, my darling girls were up before the sun, and as usual I dragged myself out of bed to start the morning with them and brew a way too strong cup of coffee. I don't even attempt to wake him up anymore on weekend mornings because then I have a grumpy spouse to deal with all day.

On this day, to my utter and complete surprise, he woke up and told me, "Why don't you go ahead and go back to sleep." Uh.....whaaaaaat??? I think the look of shock on my face must have been pretty obvious and all I could utter in response was, "For real?" And when he confirmed that,yes, that is what he said, I bounded up those steps as fast as my tired legs could carry me and got two more hours of priceless and wonderful sleep.

Last night, in the middle of the night, I heard Feisty wake up. I laid there for awhile hoping by hope that she would go back to sleep because my tired ole bones had no desire to get up and go attend to her. To my surprise, I heard my husband get up and go take care of the situation. I didn't hear another thing until morning.

So, all I have to say to this strange creature that seems to have inhabited my husbands body is, "Who are you and what have you done with my husband?!?!"

Moments With Daddy

Last night, Feisty woke up in the middle of the night and didn't seem to be able to go back to sleep. That rarely happens. While she does occasionally wake up now and then still, she typically falls back asleep within moments. Last night was different. She seemed scared when she woke up. I think she may have had a bad dream. I tried to comfort her, hold her, lay next to her; none of my usual routines helped her get back to sleep last night. After what seemed like forever (close to an hour; which in the middle of the night is forever), Hubby asked what he could do to help. In the pitch dark, he could not see my eyeballs big as saucers and my jaw hitting the floor at the mere idea that he was offering to help me with a sleepless child in the middle of the night. It just.doesn't.happen. Never.

As it happens, Feisty was asking for Daddy. She wanted Daddy. Mama wasn't cuttin' it this time. (which is also a rarity.)

Hubby picked her up, cuddled her in the soft fuzzy blanket he got for her when she was born and sat in the dark in our rocking chair with her. Still somewhat shell-shocked at this turn of events, and rather comatose over the fact that my daughter dare want her daddy over her mama, I turned and laid back down in bed.

Every now and then I would hear Feisty say something to Daddy; her foot was stuck, the blankie wasn't covering her sufficiently. She was still having difficulty falling asleep. After a few more minutes passed, I heard my hubby start softly singing "You Are My Sunshine" to Feisty. Over and over and over again until a few more minutes passed and Feisty turned silent.

I couldn't help but smile and feel good inside my heart listening to this whole thing occur with Feisty and her Daddy. Apparently, she just needed Daddy this time. And Mama got to lay down in bed and go to sleep.

He's Still My Hero

One of the things that made me fall in love with my husband was (is) his love for music and his ability to express himself with it. About a month after I met him and started to date him, he presented me with a "mixed tape". I had never received a mixed tape from anyone I had ever dated before. This was a new experience for me.

The next evening, I took the tape, hopped in my car and drove around the mountains close to where I live and listened to the whole thing. Like I said, I had never received a tape from anyone I had dated before, and I wasn't sure how to take the tape. Was this a tape of songs that he simply liked? Or did the have a special meaning to him with regards to me? The songs were all very sweet, and romantic (in an alternative music kinda way) and I just wasn't sure what to think after having only known him a month. And I wasn't sure how to bring up the question to him. If it was just a tape of songs he liked, I would feel stupid for reading more into it. If it was intended for a deeper meaning, I would feel bad not having realized that. I did end up asking and he did confirm that they were songs reflecting his feelings towards me. I was very flattered and instantly smitten thinking that some guy that I was going with actually took time out of his life to make me a tape. It had to have taken him at least a couple of hours. The guys I had dated in the past were all very much more self absorbed and their idea of romance was teaching me the latest health food craze, trying to get me into Amway, or cheating on me with an internet girlfriend and pathologically lying to me. So, it's an understatement to say that this was a refreshing change.

That tape was the first of many that he made me over the course of our "courtship". Whether it was another random tape of lovey dovey type songs, or if we had gotten in a fight and it was his way of saying he was sorry, I always knew that when I was presented with a tape that he was thinking about me and telling me in his own way that he loved me.

We spent a lot of time while we were dating driving around the mountains that I mentioned earlier. It became one of our favorite past times and we wasted a lot of gas doing it, but we loved to do it. We became very familiar with the back roads of those mountains and found favorite stops to hang out, picnic, hike around, or just sit in the car and listen to music together.

As the years have gone by, the tapes became less frequent. Our lives became busier, we became more comfortable with eachother, we had kids and had less time to spend doing those things that we used to love to do when we had more "freedom". I miss those times, now and then. And I miss the tapes, because I always know when I get those that the love is still there.

We have had a difficult time lately for many reasons. It's been a tough few months. It's been concerning to me. Yesterday, I woke up and there was a tape sitting on the counter with a note that said, "K--listen to some of this if you can find the time." Of course, I did. After dropping the girls off at my mom's yesterday before work, I had a half hour to kill. I drove around town in my car and popped in the tape. If I'd had more time, I would have headed up to those mountains. As I listened to the tape, my emotions got the best of me. I was thrilled that he had made the time and taken the effort to make me a tape after all this time. I was heartbroken at the message I was getting from the songs on the tape that portrayed how he has been feeling lately. And his love for me was re-affirmed in those songs that expressed that.

I fell in love with him all over again. And I realized after listening to it that we simply have to find more time for eachother and figure out who we as a couple are again. Not as Yoda, Fiesty and Care Bear's parents (which we of course are thrilled to be), but who we are as Hubby and Kristen.

I have missed my husband and I know for sure that he still loves me. The making of the tape is a sure sign.

He is most definitely, still my hero!

And another year has come & gone

And next year will be the big five. What is that anniversary? Paper? Wood? Dirt? Maybe I'll get a nice piece of coal or something next year for my anniversary. What is it with making stuff like that an anniversary marking anyway? Let's just stick to the precious gems, people. I don't need a hunk of wood for my anniversary! (Although wood did help to make a nice fire that night.)

So, we didn't do anything outrageously special or expensive this year. We just basically had two date nights and spent the night at home while our respective parents spent their nights living out the exhaustion we live on a daily basis. Hee hee! I shouldn't get joy out of that right? But hey, I got two nights of un-interrupted sleep. That gives me a right to be joyous. But like I said before it won't happen for another several months, if not a year. By then I'll have a full head of that blondish grey hair and wrinkles as deep as the grand canyon.

We saw three pretty good movies this weekend. Hubby forced me to go to the theater with him and see "V for Vendetta". The hubster and I usually agree on movies. Movies we want to see, movies we have seen, etc. He's lucky. I'm not one of those "chick-flick" kinda gals (and at the same token, I'm lucky because he's not a maniac sports enthusiast, thus I get to avoid March Madness....sorry Karen.) But anyway, I wasn't sure what I thought of "V for Vendetta" when I saw the previews. But he wanted to see it so bad I gave in. If you like action, on the edge of your seat type movies GO. SEE. IT! It is crazy. Then we saw "Walk The Line" (at home. sitting by the fire.) Good flick. I can see why Reese won the Oscar. But Joaquin should have, too. Hey, I'm no movie critic. It's just my opinion. We also rented "The Constant Gardener", but I fell asleep on it. It was due yesterday. I haven't watched it yet. It better be good for the cost of a day late fee.

The weekend is over. I had a good time, but went through withdrawl. Why is it that I can so look forward to time away from my kids, but when they are gone I miss them like crazy? What a conflict.

Tonight is American Idol. C'mon Ace & Chris. Blow 'em away!!

YIPPEEEE SKIPPEEE!!

WASSUPPP!! So, the weekend anniversary is going to happen. My mom is going to watch the kids tonight until noon tomorrow, we will pick them up and spend some time with them until 4:00 when hubby's Dad will pick them up at 4:00 and take them tomorrow night. Pardon the excitement, but the hubster and I have not had a night out alone in over 3 months and the fact that I get two whole nights in one weekend is almost too much for my over-tired brain to comprehend. It's even greater because I'll get to spend some time with the kiddoes tomorrow (lest I miss them too much...which I will) but then get to have another date night tomorrow. Too good to be true. I better enjoy it while it lasts, cuz I guarantee it'll be another several months before this ever happens again. :-)

Enjoy your weekend all!

Poor Hubby!

The hubby fell down the stairs this past weekend. Hurt his leg real bad. It took him until today to decide to go to the doctor. He's got a broken leg. Hmmm. Maybe you should have gone to the doctor sooner, eh hubs? Now he's got a prescription for 800 mg of Ibuprofen and a prescription for Vicodin. Looks like he's gonna pretty much be a zombie for our anniversary and anything we possibly may have planned for the weekend. Should be used to it by now; he was a zombie all weekend after it happened. Men. You know if this had happened to me, I'd still be expected to continue all motherly and housewifely duties. No rest for me, I'll tell ya. Oh, well. Guess that's why God made females the stronger species right ladies?? ;-) Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for the hubster, just wish he would've not been such a macho man and gone to the doc sooner.

Happy Anniversary to me, Happy Anniversary to me, Happy Anniversary dear Kristen....HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!! Yee haw!

Four Years & Counting

Well, here it is. The day I married my husband. Four years ago. I woke up this morning, busy with getting ready for work, getting the kids ready for school and the day, fixing breakfast, fixing lunch, etc...I looked over at my husband who was standing at the refrigerator and had a wierd feeling that there was something special about today. But dang it if I can't remember what it is. Then I recalled my blog post from yesterday. Oh yeah....it's the anniversary. I quickly told the hubby "Happy Anniversary" so I didn't look like the bad guy for forgetting, but when he looked at my blank faced and said, "Oh yeah, you too", I didn't feel so bad. Now, don't feel sorry for us for the lack of excitement over the anniversary. It's been a real weird month and no wonder that we forgot. My grandma even gave me a card yesterday and I looked at her confused wondering why she was giving us a card. Wow, when grandma remembers and we forget, that's pretty bad.

In the spirit of Karen and Queen's recent postings, I will give a shortened version of how my husband and I met. It's not nearly as romantic and feel good as theirs, it's more weird actually. I met the hubby when I was attempting to re-connect with my old boyfriend from high school. It had been years since I had seen him and through a series of rather strange circumstances, I re-located him through an acquaintance. Don't ask why I would want to re-connect with this person. Maybe I was just curious and wanted to see what he had been doing for the past 5 or so years of his life since I had last seen him.

So anyway, a friend and I made the trip over to his apartment. He opened the door and looked like he had been sleeping. He looked at me with a very confused look on his face, said, "Kristen?!" and let the friend and I in. After some catch up conversation (in which I found out he was currently trying to patch up a relationship with a current girlfriend) he told me that he has a roommate who has a 1.5 year old son who he was currently with at the time. I didn't think much of it. He invited my friend and me back the next day (looking back on it, I think he was trying to set us up; why else would he invite me back when he was trying to make his relationship with this other person work). Anyway, we did come over the next day, and I met his roommate. He seemed a little shy and didn't say much while we were there. Over the course of the next few weeks, we got to know eachother a little better and I really enjoyed his company. The fun really started when his ex-girlfriend, mother of his son, showed up when I was there one day with his son (who I affectionately now refer to as Yoda on my blog). She was under the mistaken impression that she and the hubby were trying to "work things out" and was not in the least happy to see that he had apparently moved on with someone else. It was not a pretty sight and I'm not going to go into that now....that's a whole weeks worth of blogs in and of itself. I got to meet Yoda that day, who I thought was about the cutest boy I had ever met.

Long story short (because really there's nothing that remarkable about our courtship), we were together for 2.5 years when we finally got married. Yoda was our ring bearer. He was 4 years old by that time.

Here is our engagement picture:

Here is a picture of Yoda at our wedding:

Like I said, not a terribly exciting story, no bells and whistles, but he's my hubby and I love him. He's a wonderful father; I couldn't ask for better. We may try to get away this weekend to a nice little mountain town a few miles from here. We'll see. That is, if anyone can watch our three little monkeys. Any takers? :-)

Have a great day!