Easter!

Easter is going to be different this year. Kind of an ending to some traditions and maybe a beginning of new traditions and a few old ones kept in for good measure.

We used to go to brunch at the country club. Not this year. Its a tradition I am sad to see go, I liked getting my kids all dressed up and getting a family picture.

My oldest daughter is a senior this year and will be 18 at the end of this month. In her mind everything is going to change and she wants to move out....I am pretty sure she is going to be here for awhile longer, but nevertheless, our lives are changing.

It has been hit and miss over the years whether we make it to church or not....this year I am not sure yet....

My youngest son is 10, so perhaps its time to forego the egg hunt. I just can't quite bring myself to do this, so I am working on a treasure hunt for each of the kids...we will see how this works out. It might be a fun new tradition.

I also can't give up the Easter basket thing, so I have been buying up all of the stupid hokey toys that bring back memories of my childhood, and have you seen the new peeps??? I got carrots, frogs, orange bunnies, periwinkle bunnies....all kinds of cute peeps.

We are having dinner at my sister's house, but I think I might make a ham and some side dishes to have at my home for the evening...those kids, they get hungry all of the time!

I'm making a comeback

I've been down and out and a lousy blogger for several weeks. Yesterday I went to mediation to resolve custody and visitation and support issues. We were able to reach a working solution and think we both walked away feeling as if we had "won" something.

This has been going on since January 21, 2008. 63 weeks. I have walked around with a dark cloud over my head all of that time. To finally resolve it yesterday was as if a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders. I literally feel the difference...I feel so much happier, so less stressed and the headache is pretty much gone.

Think About It...

Footprints

One night I had a dream--I dreamed I was walking along the beach with
the Lord and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I
noticed two sets of footprints, one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,I looked back at the footprints
in the sand.I noticed that many times along the path of my life,there was only
one set of footprints.I also noticed that it happened at the very lowestand
saddest times in my life. This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord
about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,you would walk with
me all the way,but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my
lifethere is only one set of footprints. "I don't understand why in times when I
needed you most,you should leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious
child,I love you and I would never, never leave youduring your times of trial
and suffering. "When you saw only one set of footprints,it was then that I
carried you."

...Mary Stevenson

I have just come through some very difficult times with my two oldest kids and at times felt very alone, but this poem reminds me I was never alone and I have made it through and am ready to face the next challenge when it comes. But if you all don't mind, I think I will take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the beautiful sunlight...

President Obama

I know on election night I expressed my disappointment in the nation's choice for President. I also conceded to be supportive of the new President out of respect for our country. I have bit my tongue and sat back in the shadows. I do realize the mess our country is in was a terrible mess for any person to inherit to try to clean up. It is going to take a long time to "fix" things...and either he will fix them or four years later we will most likely see a new president.

That is not what this rant is about however. This rant is about President Obama's decision to appear on The Tonight Show. I am just very disappointed. It seems like President and Mrs. Obama are more obsessed with the limelight than settling down and letting Mr. Obama get down and dirty and fix our country. It seems as if they want to be a glitzy glamorous super couple walking the red carpets. Michelle on the cover of Vogue, our President on Leno.

I do realize the media has changed over the years, I realize the internet has changed all of our lives, some for the good and some not so good. I just never before have associated the Office of the President of the United States as a showbiz gig. Not even when Ronald Reagan was president. Show biz was over and it was time to settle down and do the job at hand.

I know, I've not been sleeping much lately and am a tad stressed out, so maybe its just me.

Hurry Spring, Please Hurry!

Spring is my favorite season of the year and this year is no different. I have just had more than enough of winter. I want sunny pretty fresh days with pretty flowers. Spring is like a time of renewal, the showers come and wash away the dirt and grime that piled up over the fall and winter with leaves and salt and sand...everything turns green and clean again. Maybe its because my birthday comes the first day of spring, or maybe its even more spiritual, coinciding with Christs' resurrection, but no matter what, I love spring. So, hurry spring, please hurry!

In the blink of an eye

Life is short. Life is precious. Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we are served up a dose of reality.

This past week I was contacted by a client. We spoke a total of four times on the phone in the course of three days. In those three days however, we were able to meet his needs and get the ball rolling on the project as requested. The last conversation I had with him was Thursday evening.

Saturday morning I received in the mail from him the final piece of correspondence I needed for the job at hand. Ten minutes later as I was reading the newspaper I saw his obituary. He was killed in an automobile accident on Friday morning. He had mailed that correspondence in the brief hours between when we spoke and when he was killed.

I didn't know him, but yet I mourn for him and pray for his family. It is a strange dose of reality that hits you up side of the head and makes you stop and think of the ones who matter most in your life. And then you see the need to take time to tell them what they mean to you.

So I am a bit slap happy...

We have been extremely busy since right after Christmas. Its a good thing....however, there is no rest for the weary. When I can't sleep, I work, when I can't work I sleep. I have even set my alarm and gotten up at 3 a.m. to work a couple of nights and then take little cat naps through the day. I am so glad my office is in my home and I can go to work in my pajamas! I can do laundry while I work and I can cook meals while I work. It is a little lifesaver decision we made back in October that I will be thankful for the rest of my life we made!!!

When the interest rates dropped, there was a scramble for many homeowners to refinance, and that threw us right into overdrive. What a great way for me to learn the business, but I must confess its a little difficult for me to keep up on my school work right now.

So being as brain dead as I am right now, I received this old joke in an email this morning, and it made me giggle all over again, so I thought I would share it with all of you so you can see just how goofy I am getting to be. (Ok, so those of you who know, know that I have always been quite a bit goofy!)

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller, whose name is Patricia Whack.
'Ms. Whack,' he says, 'I'd like to obtain a loan to buy a boat.'
Patti furrows her brow and asks, 'Well, how much do you want to borrow?'
'$30,000,' the frog says.
The teller writes this down, then asks his name.
'My name is Kermit Jagger. I'm the son of Mick Jagger.'
'Really?' she asks, eyebrow raised.
'Yes,' he says. Then he digs into his pants pocket and produces a tiny pink porcelain elephant. 'And I want to use this as collateral.'
'Ummm, okay,' Patti says, accepting the elephant. 'I'll have to ask the president about this.'
'That's fine,' he says. 'He'll vouch for me.'
Patti walks into the bank president's office and explains the situation. 'There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000 to buy a boat. He wants to use this' - she holds up the tiny pink elephant - 'as collateral. I mean, what the heck is this thing?'
The owner says: 'It's a knick knack, Patti Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone.'

Is it just me?

Maybe I am looking too deeply at things. Maybe I am not. It just seems to me that Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama is becoming very racist. When I looked at the new google header it seems to be as if it delves into his ethnicity. I just don't recall it being like this in the past. I don't recall pictures of Carter with peanuts for his inaugeration celebration, pictures of Bush with anything symbolizing Texas, Clinton with anything symbolizing Arkansas, etc... Do you get what I am saying? There were not pictures, logos etc that symbolized ethnicity. I think it is disrespectful to our new president actually.

In my humble opinion, it seems as if the incoming president should be pictured with nothing other than the stars and stripes, the Presidential seal, the white house, the outline of the United States of America, I don't know, just plain patriotic pictures and logos. Then again, maybe its just me and I am overthinking again.

Oh I think I am going to regret this decision...

All day long I have been clicking on the National Weather Service website and checking the weather report and thinking, yeah, yeah, yeah, I will believe it when I see it.

Most of the evening I kept wondering if maybe I should run into town to the store and pick up a few more items. The thought of three kids in a house for a day or two with limited snacks kinda scares me. But for whatever reason I decided the extra milk and fruit punch I have in the garage will be ok, we have several frozen pizzas a couple of packages of hamburger, some chicken breasts and plenty of other things to make a decent meal or two or three... but man o man there sure aren't very many oreos left.... not much ice cream....hmmm I do have a stash of reese cups.... we can make popcorn, everyone loves popcorn......yes I am sure all will be just fine.

But then I looked outside and the snow started on time, just as predicted. What if they are right this time? Oh God, what if we have a snow day or two even, me, three kids, three cats and a puppy and I still have to work and am behind....omg....can I do this? Will I survive?

Finally

Well finally, things are starting to resemble a routine around here. The kids were off from school on Monday also, so it was one more day of chaos. But it was a day where I was able to bribe them to take down the other Christmas tree and return all of the decorations back to the basement. (My son wanted to go see his girlfriend and wanted his sister to drive him into town.) It was amazing all of the work they got done around the house for me in one hour! My daughter is grounded, so she was happy to get out of the house and chauffer her brother around.

My daughter's vehicle is back in working order. The computer board had to be replaced and the carpet shampooed. Her dad fixed her car for her and in the process made great strides towards repairing their broken relationship. He bought her a new set of tires for her vehicle also. She went and visited with him a couple of times over Christmas break, his girlfriend and her son were out of town so it made it easy for my daughter to spend some time with her dad.

The overall body damages that tonka suffered in its trip into the creek exceed $2200. The passenger side doors are difficult to close, but something she can deal with unless she manages to collect damages from the "boyfriend". I know she still has a thing for him, but presently he is sitting in jail and I am hoping she will meet someone new and get over this thing with trouble.

Work has been extremely busy and I am taking another appraisal class and working towards getting into some online classes through Ball State. I spend most of my time in my office, thank goodness its at home so I can still spend time with my family. I have been working long hours this week and getting up in the middle of the night and working too.

This evening I am going to slack off and spend some time with the kids watching movies and having a fire in the fireplace.

Normal?

Please tell me its finally time to get back to normal? No you say! One more day of the lunacy and then a weekend? If you promise that Monday will start to seem normal again I think I can survive. If you say today is the last real day of the holiday season and vacations, I think I can make it. I think I can.

Its 2009 and its a new year and time for another new beginning. This past year has seen many changes in our lives and we survived and are the better for many of them. I learned my kids are growing up and earning more freedom in their lives. They learned that sometimes the words of wisdom I offer truly are "words of wisdom". See my daughter's adventure in December with her truck being wrecked by her boyfriend. We are still dealing with that mess.

Speaking of that mess. We have tonka truck back. It had to have a new computer board installed. Her dad stepped in and fixed it and paid for it for her. We still have recourse from the boyfriend however. The prosecutor did act upon my statement of the understanding the boyfriend and I had regarding the vehicle and he now sits in jail on two warrants, one missing a court date, and one unlawful use of a vehicle. As I hear it, no bond is set and no hearing until this coming Thursday.

My ex-husband has exhibited an about face in his behaviour the past few weeks, he stepped in and helped my daughter and they have been talking on the phone and spending some time together. He called her the other night and told her to go to the tire shop today because he is buying her a new set of tires for tonka. She refers to him as Dad now instead of calling him by his first name. He has had the boys this week and let the youngest come home last night because he was homesick for me, in the past, he told him to "be a man". We didn't fight over the Christmas visitation this year, we just went with how it is supposed to be and everyone seems to be the better for it. My goodness the man even wished me a Merry Christmas and I even thanked him for his help in the wreck situation.

More on tonka truck, it has $2700 in body damage, so little Mr. Boyfriend has quite a bill to pay, and no job and no ambition.... I am hoping this will be a lesson learned for my daughter that she will apply to her own book of wisdom.

I will however hold an little gratitude for Mr. Boyfriend in that he brought back some healing in a very broken relationship between my daughter and her dad. I hope the progress made will continue and she will have her dad back. She needs that very much in her life. He is certainly not the best dad in the world, but he is her dad.

This year will bring about more big changes in our world as my daughter will graduate high school and step out into the real world a little more. It will be a difficult transition for me, to let go of my baby, but I am sure we will find our way. My oldest son will be getting a driver's license this year which will be another set of worries for me and my little boy will continue on his journey in life, with his thirst for knowledge overwhelming and mind boggling, I think I will soon have to keep a dictionary nearby in order to engage in conversations with him, he loves new words and using them in proper context.

I wish all of you a happy new year, a return to normalcy as we all know it and health and happiness in the year to come.

A new addition to our family

We have a new addition to our family. We have a black pomeranian puppy. She "officially" joined our family on Christmas Eve as a big surprise to my youngest son at least. In reality she had been hiding in my bathtub for a week prior with me sneaking her out to potty when the kids were in their rooms or sleeping or not home or whatever. Surprisingly enough they were gone a lot during the days before Christmas so she got to start her potty training and get out and play with the cats too.

My daughter went with me to pick her out, so she knew and helped me with the secret. My oldest son figured out something was up because all of my daughter's friends were coming over and they were all going to the bathroom in my room together. And then forgetting to use the bathroom and running to one of the other ones shortly after a trip into my room for that purpose. We finally clued him in the day before Christmas Eve. But my youngest son was completely surprised and elated.

She is a good dog with a fun personality. I have only heard her bark twice so far. She whines sometimes and she growls when playing with the cats and some of her toys. She won't get over 5 lbs. when full grown making all of the cats bigger than her, but she thinks she is a big bad dog and just goes into any situation with no fear at all. Totally adorable. The pictures were taken of her when she was helping me at work the other day.