Librari-ma'am

This morning we are pretending. We are borrowing library books from one bookcase and taking them "home" for "three days, returning them on the fourth day". "Home" is just another bookcase, which means that all our books will have a thorough re-organization.

Aidan is the borrower and is bringing his bag to borrow books with, and Alora is the librari-ma'am. That sort of mis-pronunciation is to be blamed on living in the South!

Ode to Blogger for Word

Blogger for Word,
I hate you!
You act like you are going to be great
You catch all my mistakes and
You even fix some when they are typed
You are just such a tease
You publish faster than Blogger
You are easier to edit than Blogger
You don’t mess up and loose my post…like Blogger
But…
oh, Blogger for Word….
You won’t let me add pictures
And then I have to deal with blogger
Which,
Hates my dial up connection
And won’t let me add pictures in a timely manner
It takes me hours sometimes
To add just a handful of pictures
You act like such a good thing,
But you really aren’t!
(Really this ode is mostly about how I hate blogger,
but Blogger for Word gets my venom tonight!)

Is it a winner?

I am thinking of entering Aralyn in a photo contest. This is one of those pictures that is in the top of the running to be entered…I just loved it!

Home sweet mess

Well, it isn’t exactly what you would call my dream home…

There is this little town that I drive through sometimes on my way to playgroup. I usually drive through there when I am almost out of gas, since I drive right past a station or when traffic is really heavy, like when I am leaving playgroup and schools are getting out and everyone and their dog is going to pick someone up from the 200 different schools there.

There is this run down house on the side of the road. One of those that you drive past and think all sorts of things. Why wouldn’t some one take care of that house? All it really needs is a good coat of paint and about $500,000 in repairs and renovations on the inside. Wow, wouldn’t it be great to see what that house looked like in it’s prime? Why would someone move out of that house and then just leave it sitting there to rot and not try to at least sell the land or something like that. Usually you can at least sell old windows and doors and wood flooring if nothing else.

Well, this is one of those houses. Not in the best neighborhood, not in the best shape…although you can tell it was once a great house in a great little town. It is for sale, I finally saw a sign up in the front of it...couldn't be asking much, but it really needs some work. It is my hope that someone will buy it and not just rip it down, but love it and restore it to its former glory. It wouldn’t be me to do that, cause I know what kind of work…and money that takes and it is better left to someone else, with a fatter wallet than me!

Count your blessings

Friday, when I went to the dollar tree to buy some little princess dolls, I realized that I didn't have my license. I had taken it out on Wednesday morning for Adam and when he returned it to me, I couldn't' remember what I had done with it. I called a place that I had been on Wednesday to leave my name and number hoping that they may have found it, and then did a thorough search of the van to see if it might be there. No luck!

Saturday, Aidan had a birthday party at his "best friend's" house. He was so excited and had the best time. He ended up with a bit of a sunburn on his cheeks and nose, so I guess it is time to put the sunscreen in the diaper bag and remember to put it on for times when he is exposed. I am probably a bit of sunscreen freak...But skin cancer runs in my family and we are all very fair, so I try to be diligent about it.

Saturday we were able to drop by the new church building since they were having a work day. Installation of some shelving and furniture and things of that nature were going on. It was nice to see some of our friends and spend some time with them helping out just a little bit too. We were able to stay long enough to sit in on the leadership lecture given by a guest speaker that afternoon. He and his wife came and it was wonderful to talk to each of them and be encouraged. She was especially encouraging to me as a wife of a man in the ministry. She was helpful and so warm and friendly. Hearing that everything will work out, and to keep going and trying and looking was so nice.

Saturday night we had dinner plans with Adam's parents and his brother and his wife. It was nice to see them, as we don't see them very much. Dinner was of course yummy...Always is when my mother-in-law cooks out over the fire in her little fire pit in the backyard.

On the way over to their house I dropped out cell phone in a cup of pink lemonade that I stole from Aidan's party. It didn't like it much and died...Well, mostly dead, acting funny and making no sound.

Sunday we had a slim crowd at church. It was just our family, Adam's parents and the lady who teaches Aidan's and Alora's bible class. For worship we had a couple who lives in Florida and has a home near here, come to visit with us. They have visited a few times while we have been at this church and they are warm and personable. It was nice to have them with us on a day when our numbers were low.

An odd thing happened after the sermon. A man came walking up the aisle and shook my father-in-law's hand before the final song and then placed some money in the collection plate. He then turned and walked out. He wasn't there very long at all and had driven off before any one could follow him. I have thought about him a lot and hope that all is well with him.

Sunday night Aralyn started to take her first steps. She is so precise about it and will lift one foot and gently set it down and then transfer her weight to the other side and step with that foot. She is very slow and purposeful. Aidan and Alora were both very different when they first started walking. They would barely have their balance before their little feet would stumble forward. Aralyn is much more diligent about it.

Alora did great with her potty training all weekend. No accidents and telling us when she needed to go. It was great. Today we have had some set backs, but hopefully we are back on track now. I am so proud of her and she is very proud of being a "big girl" and wearing panties now. Yahoo!

I had a message on my machine from one of the places that I had been on Wednesday. They had my license and will mail it to me. Adam was able to take the phone into the office today and with some contact cleaner, it is now making sounds and able to make a call! Yay!

Lord help us as we embark on new adventures with Alora using the potty and Aralyn taking steps. This new independence will be hard and joyous all at the same time. Help us as a family to make it a happy time. Help me with Alora to make the right decisions in how I choose to lead her and guide her in disciplinary areas. It can be hard to know what is the right thing to do in her case. She has a strong will, which will be great if harnessed in a healthy way, and I ask for guidance in knowing the right way to steer her.

Thank you for the opportunity to meet the guest speaker and his wife. They were truly a blessing to us, and we were encouraged in many ways. Thank you for all the kind words and encouragement that they shared with us.

Be with the gentleman that came to place his money in the plate on Sunday. It was touching. Be with him and keep him safe.

Thank you for the little things, like my license and our cell phone. You truly are full of blessings for us...Both little ones and big. Thank you.

Correction....

My mother called me today to tell me that my grandfather was on a destroyer, not a submarine. I was wrong in my earlier post about him.

My sister is home for spring break and was reading my blog, or checking for pictures, or something like that and had my mom read my blog. I don't really know why, I will have to ask her what caught her attention and made her want my mom to read. All I know is that my mother said it was inaccurate and she wanted to correct me.

I find it a little odd to have my mom read my blog. I don't know why, as there isn't much that I would write here that I wouldn't tell her in person, or at least on the phone. Actually, there probably isn't much here that I haven't told my mom. I talk to her a lot! We are pretty close...I think we mostly enjoy each other's company and talking with one another. I am not naive enough to think that we always do! I had only spoken to my mother about 3 times today and then got a random call telling me to fix my blog. I just thought it was a bit odd.
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Aidan has a birthday party tomorrow. It is a little boy that we have known, well, since before he was. he will be five...making him and Aidan the same age for about 6 months. They are really good friends and Aidan is super excited to be going to his party.

Funny thing about them...

A few weeks ago we spent the afternoon with his family. They were playing and his friend wanted Aidan to watch one of his videos. It happened to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles one. Aidan had never seen them before, and the father's had a good sit down talking about them and reminiscing.

So, today, Aidan was up at Adam's office playing on the computer while the girls and I ran some errands. He loves to do this...it is his special treat for behaving and being the older brother and all. Plus, he is old enough to just sit there and play and stay out of the way and relatively quiet...which Alora won't do. (Alora gets to be "Momma's big helper".) Aidan has been playing Super Mario Bros. 1 and 3 lately on Console Classix. Somehow he ran across the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. He thought that it was too cool, since he sort of knew about it from being at his friend's house. But he insists on calling them Action Turtles, "cause that is what [my friend] calls them, and he knows."
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My mother has curly hair. It is kind of crazy and hard to manage sometimes, and so she has all these "products" to use on it. Some of them tame it, some straighten it, some curl it up more, some make the curls definite, some just help with frizz. Every time she finds one that she thinks that Alora or I could use, she will buy us one, or tell us about it so that I can go find some to try out. When we are up there visiting she will put product on Alora's hair after baths and fix it for her. And Alora will watch her fix her own hair. It is so sweet.

A few days ago, I was putting some product in Alora's hair because I knew that the humidity and the heat that we have had lately was going to be a bad combination for her hair. I was running it through her hair when she tells me "Not like that, you have to do it like MeMe does it....like this" and then she put her little hands up in her curls and scrunched her hair like a true little diva! It is all the more funny because it is just one more way in which she is so much like my mom!
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I decided to get Alora a doll house for her birthday. I am so excited for her to open it and all. She is really into them and loves to play with them when we are at a store that carries them. She loves to look at little tiny things and set them all in order, so I think a little doll house will be just right for her. This particular one has animal families, instead of human ones. She loves animals and the hardest part for me, was to decide what family of animals to get for her. Hopefully the one that I picked will be fine. I know she will love it!
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We were able to visit with our old congregation for the first week in the new building. It was nice to be there, but a little odd to feel, "not at home". We were members there for about 4 years before we left and then shortly after that the old building was gone and the new one started. A year later the building is finished and mostly moved into and we can have playgroup there, but it just doesn't feel like home. I don't know if I would feel the same if we had never left and were experiencing it from a different perspective...probably so, but I don't think it would be this strong. Hopefully that will diminish or at least lessen as time goes on.

It was nice to be there that night and sing some songs with some friends of ours. Adam and I don't get the opportunity to sing lots of songs that we love where we are attending right now. With just 15 people or so, and 3 of them our children, and Adam's parents being the closest people to our age, the song selection is usually kept to "oldies but goodies" or "moldy oldies" which ever you call them, and easy on the melody. Anything with a tenor or Alto lead is kind of weak. It was good to just spend the time with everyone and act a little silly and all. We miss that where we are and cherish all the times when we get to do it lately.

The worst-best buy!

I was at the mall back about a year ago when I was pregnant with Aralyn. I was big and uncomfortable and just not feeling well. I had been on my feet all day and they were aching. I remember that day well for some reason.

I remember that we had just eaten at the Piccadilly and were walking around the mall and I spotted a shoe store and there was a big sale sign in the window. I have this dream that I will find a cute pair of white shoes (dress or sandals) one day. So far it hasn't come true. This particular day, I thought, was the end of my dream for these shoes that I am not sure exists in reality.

The store is full of brightly colored shoes all the time. You know that there is some beautiful black woman that has just the outfit and figure and confidence to pull off the lime green stillettos or the high-heeled converse in shocking orange or purple....But I am not her!

There was a cute little pair of flats that I saw in a tan color and I asked Adam if he minded me running in real quick to see if they had them in my size since it looked like they had a $10 sale sign in front of them. There weren't any in my size in the tan, but just beside them was a white pair in my usual size of 7.5. I tried them on and they were a bit tight, which I blamed on my pregnant feet that were walked on all day...even though I hadn't really thought that my feet looked swollen that day. It was one of those impulse things...they were cute, on sale and it was the last pair...I had to take them home, right....right?

I don't know if my shoe size has gone up for good, since I can still wear my 7.5s that are in my closet, but the last 3 pair of shoes I have bought have been an 8. Well, those shoes went to church one day...and then they were put in the back of the closet with all the other shoes that hurt my feet too much. Good-bye dream of white shoes. At least this pair was only $10.

So, I was going through my closet recently and making a huge box for the Good-Will. I had lots of shoes in hardly worn condition, but thought what a waste for this pair. I decided to look them up on eBay to see if the brand was anything special. There were tons of these shoes on there, and all selling for lots of money...for used shoes that is. I thought, well, I will list them on eBay...some money is better than none. All the others were a high heel or a bright color or metallic or just different from the one that I had. So, I started it at .99 with $8 shipping to make sure I made enough to cover my fees and all.

Well, they got a bid almost right away. The last two days have been a bidding frenzy (at least as much of one as my things causes anyway.) 7 days and 7 bids later they sold for a little more than $17. I have made up the money for that bad buy!

If only Adam and I could have figured out a way to do that with a certain dog that we had once! LOL

What a sight!

What a great stroller...and the kids aren't bad either!

The dream ride!

It finally arrived. I have been searching and searching for a double stroller and I was finally able to make enough money from my ebay sales to afford the "dream" stroller that I have been wanting. And...it arrived today!

I am so happy that I didn't down grade to a cheaper stroller! It is so nice! I am in love with it! I rarely really splurge on something that I really really want. I have expensive taste and can make outfits galore from any catalog, or redecorate my entire home with a few Pottery Barn catalogs, but actually ordering things is another story. I will find a deal if at all possible where ever there might be one.

Well, I told myself that I was going to order this stroller with my Ebay money and I did!

Our UPS man never delivers to my house. He knows that my husband works in town and so he will leave my packages there. Thankfully it has never been a big issue....like something that I had ordered for Adam as a surprise, or without him knowing about, or something that I really needed asap. I don't particularly care for him doing it, but I can't make him stop...heck, I never see him to tell him that! This was a time when it was a little bit handy for him to leave it at the office. Today we had gone into town for story time at the library and the stroller was at Adam's office when we went to get him before lunch.

HUGE box. I put the wheels on and strapped the girls in and went for a stroll around the building. It is just great. I can't wait for my next trip to the zoo! It will be so nice to beable to have them both in a stroller and enjoy the day.

I know that probably no one understands my joy...well, unless you are a mother who loves a great stroller...

But, I just had to share. And...you better believe I will have a picture of the girls in their new ride as soon as I can get one!

Harry fun!!! (Not to be confused with hairy fun!)

You're just like me! You scored 45 cynicism, 48 gullibility, and 67 heart!

We tend to have an intensely strong connection with one or two characters who remind us most of ourselves, as we are or wish we were. As long as our favorite characters and ships come out of this okay, we have our happy ending. There is a very dark and dry sense of humour at play in how we frame our opinions. You are probably trying to convince yourself that one of the Weasley twins will die, and only one will live, not because you want it to happen, but so you'll be prepared if it does—you identify more strongly with any given Weasley than with Harry. You probably want Snape to be good based on canon evidence, and very likely won't cry if Harry dies. This doesn't mean you don't care about him, just that you have a good handle on what to expect, and won't be surprised by whatever happens, because you've examined all possible outcomes.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 10% on cynicism You scored higher than 4% on gullibility You scored higher than 67% on heart

Link: The Predict the Last Potter Book Test written by beyond_pale on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

How many kids do you have again?

I think I was only asked that about 15 times during my 4 day stay up at my parents' house while visiting my grandparents.

My grandfather is in the early stages of forgetting everything. He has lots of memories from years ago...he actually will sometimes wake in the middle of the night to be angry with my grandmother for things that happened years and years ago. He hardly remembers anything that is recent. He had no idea that my parents were doing some major renovation on their home, even though he had spent about a week helping my father work on the room by putting up sheet rock on the ceiling. You would think that would be memorable. He also had no idea how he had gotten to North Carolina from New Mexico. My father had gone to get them in his Suburban and they rode up to North Carolina together. He didn't recall the trip at all. He asked once if my grandmother knew where their airplane tickets were so that they could fly home. Once he wanted to drive their car (which was parked in their driveway in Hobbs, NM) home and let my grandmother fly home later that week. At one point he thought that they must have driven to Midland and left their car there and flown in to North Carolina. He wanted to know when they were supposed to fly home.

It was comforting to hear my grandfather call me by name when he saw me, it was just that he didn't remember my children. Which, I find tolerable, although it breaks my heart. He couldn't remember us spending a week at their home almost 2 summers ago. He thought that he had never seen my children before, even though he had spent quite a good amount of time working in the garden and yard with Aidan. He would ask me how many children I had and most of the time when he heard the answer, he would make some sound and either make a cutting sign with his hands or draw his hand across his neck and say that "nowadays that is enough, don't you think" or "that is plenty for these days". One time after hearing that I had three children, he said that I needed 2 more to catch up with the 5 that he had had.

I know that my grandmother struggles with what to do with him. He is mostly lucid and loves to work at his job at the local golf course in Hobbs. He has always been VERY independent and loves to be outdoors in the heat and working. He is in wonderful shape for being a few months shy of 80 years old. He is full of energy and hates to sit still. He has to be working and doing and going all the time. It is great to hear him talk of all the things that he knows and has experienced...and yet sad. I have always known him to be full of stories of his years on a destroyer during WWII and his knowledge of the other wars of which our country has been involved. His knowledge of the Native Americans and the west of our country is just immense. It will be a sad day indeed when he no longer remembers enough to regale us with those stories.

My grandmother is in poor health. She has survived breast cancer in a time when it wasn't common to survive. She has had other health issues and now struggles with emphysema and is on an oxygen tank most of the time. This was complicated and perhaps caused by a near lifetime of smoking heavily. She had quit several years ago, but with my grandfather's deterioration in the past few years and the stress that it has caused her, she has unfortunately in the past month started smoking again. It makes me sad, it hurts her, and she wants to quit again, but is smoking as much if not more than she was before she ever quit in the first place. I worry that she is just rushing herself towards a painful death. I love her and I hate for her to be in pain all the time and have nothing but the few hours of relief that come with a strong pain killer.

We had a good time visiting with them and my parents took them back to New Mexico this past weekend. They even took my parents' dog Pequita, a tiny chihuahua, with them. Pequita loves my grandmother, and even though my mom says that she didn't really get along with my grandmother's 2 greyhounds, that she thinks they will have a happy life together once they all get used to one another and Pequita takes over as reigning queen of the household. And we have no fear that that is exactly what she will do!

It was a bittersweet trip...not long enough, but then it never could be. It was painful to see how my grandfather is, and even more painful to see what is inevitable. He will probably not know me next time I see him. This is painful, as he was always one of my favorite people. He loved me and protected me from many a spanking when I was younger. My grandmother is a woman of strength and wisdom and I hate for her to be hurting both physically and emotionally right now. I love them both very much. And....They are still very much in love. My grandfather worries about my grandmother's pains and will ask her how she is feeling and coddle her. She watches out for him and answers his repetitive questions over and over without getting frustrated, at least not openly. They are affectionate and it is so sweet to see them hug and kiss and hold hands, to see them lay beside each other to warm up and nap. They are so close after so many years together. And I fear that my grandmother's physical health will diminish with his mental health. It will be painful as our family supports them through this time.