The Grahams Jr.

My Rant

2012-01-30T07:51:00.002-05:00

Today I feel the need to rant. I found something out a week or so ago and I just keep stewing. Hopefully I can lance the poison today and move on with my life. I first heard this statement several years ago. It didn't really bother me much at the time because the people who stated it had never met us. The statement came up again a couple weeks ago attributed to someone who has known us through our entire relationship and now I'm ticked.

The statement? It's more of an implication. My husband and I did not get where we are today without help. This ticks me off because we have gotten where we are on our own with lots of hard work. This doesn't mean we haven't made many mistakes, but we just breathe deeply and try to move through it.

My parents did help me pay for college. We had a 50-50 agreement that worked well for both of us. I will tell you that I took my college education much more seriously than I might have. Shane, on the other hand, paid for his entire college education. One of the reasons we stayed together through college? We had very similar goals. Our relationship was secondary to college. College was important to get to where we wanted to be.

We got married and paid for everything that was important to us. If we wanted it we paid for it, if someone else wanted it and it was important to them, they paid for it. We bought our own house, came up with our own down payment, the same with our cars. We did accept the occasional donation of household furniture/goods when people where changing things out of their own house.

We have worked incredibly hard to get here. We pride ourselves on having gotten here on our own with lots of emotional (not financial) support from our parents and grandparents. Our life is completely ours. I like to believe that people are proud of us because of that. Don't belittle my husband and myself. It has been a lot of hard work. We don't live in the house we would love to live in, we don't drive the cars we'd love to drive. We have goals in our life and one is to do it on our own. I'm sorry that there is any jealousy. Please recognize the effort and lift us up, not tear us down.

Family Love

2012-01-25T07:31:00.001-05:00

Tim has finally learned to share this week. He has kindly decided to share the stomach virus he came down with. So very kind of him. I am running around in between all our trips to the bathroom with the can of lysol and the spray bottle of "safe" bleach trying to kill all the little microscopic buggies running around our house. We are all enjoying soup, pop, water and laying around watching TV (thank goodness for Netflix). Who knew there were so very many episodes of Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, and Billy the Exterminator. (That's a whole different discussion......boy reality TV vs. mom reality TV. Tim was just complaining how all of my shows are exactly the same...like his aren't?) (At least we've moved beyond 24 hours of Sponge Bob when we're ill...now we're down to 2-4.) We can basically predict at this point what Billy will be doing with each problem, what mom will say if Ricky is on a wasp job, and yet we can't seem to quit watching. I'm so sick of all of us. Hopefully we will all be back where we belong tomorrow.

Jack's Bummed

2012-01-14T07:56:00.002-05:00

So, for some odd reason Jack has been looking forward to the Boy Scout winter campout. This is where the boys camp out outside, create their own shelter, and put their winter survival skills to the test. They actually have a practice day to work on the skills they need to survive outside in the winter for 36 hours.

Jack found out last week he is too young. He and his buddy will have to spend the weekend in a cozy cabin while their friends ~~freeze their behinds off~~ enjoy all the wonders winter has to offer. For some reason, the child is crushed. Personally, I'm a cabin kind of girl, heck I'm a hotel kind of girl with a large fire, comfy chair, and a cup of tea while everyone else is outside enjoy the wonders winter has to offer.

My Son's Favorite Christmas, Ever

2012-01-07T11:11:00.000-05:00

I am the mother to boys. I enjoy being the mom to boys. I build lego creations, I throw balls of all kinds, I know more about construction trucks, cars, and guitars than any one person has a right to. I know how to get grass stains and ground in mud out of clothes. I love being a mom to boys, but there are some things I never expected to come along on this journey.

My oldest child has never been a slave to fashion. He makes his dad incredibly happy by buying the cheapest clothes he can because they are just going to get wrecked anyway. This child has made a sudden a turn around. All the clothes he used to make fun of? He must have. He needed a new supple of denim and for Christmas got it.....the catch, they were all "skinny" and "slim" jeans...something he used to make fun of. He also wanted new t.shirts---all metal bands were on the table and he got many of them. I have NEVER seen this child so excited at Christmas. He also traded in his white socks for black ones and dyed his hair black.

The hair dying was a fun experience. Since his dad and I have zero experience in the hair dye department, he picked his dad for help. The dye was to sit on his hair for 15 minutes. At about the 20 minute mark, I went back to see how things had turned out and my husband was just finishing his 3rd section of hair. I took over, at that point, and dumped all the dye on the child's head and "shampooed" it in. (Sometimes, careful isn't the way to go.) He is totally in love with his new color and has requested the special colored hair shampoo. I must admit, I never thought I 'd have these experiences with my son. He now wants red "streaks" put into his hair...I have told him he needs to make friends with a girl so that she can do this for him.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this part of our journey......

How Christmas Moves from Modest to Orgy in A Few Short Weeks

2011-12-20T12:42:00.000-05:00

So, Christmas is almost here. I had my Christmas shopping all completed a few weeks ago. I stayed in budget. Things should be grand. Then last week I began hearing about how IPOD cords and chargers were missing and I noticed we had a couple of kindle chargers that needed to be replaced. I got on line to order those and then remembered back to this summer and everyone trying to get their electronics and chargers for everything packed. That led me to electronic organizers. Before I knew it I was adding book lights (hey, it was a really great deal!), electronic organizers, and replacements cords of all types to my cart. If you need it this time of year, it gets wrapped and thrown under the tree. The modest amount of presents under the tree began to grow.

Youngest child approached me last week and announced that he really hoped Santa was bringing him a new "X". It is what he truly, truly wants. I am a true sucker for this type of request. This of course means that oldest child needs something else under the tree. Luckily, I had a list of last minute requests for oldest to help balance life out. I get that stuff ordered (should be here today.)

Oldest sees me bring home a collection of pens and pencils which is going to be the gift to my bunch of 16 sweet boys and mentions he could really use some more. So this weekend I head off to get that for my oldest and something to balance out for the youngest. Those things get thrown under the tree.

Last night oldest mentions that none of his jeans are fitting (and since I like the oldest to wander around clothed......). I found a really great price (thank you JCPenney's) on the latest cool styles for teen boys. A whole new denim wardrobe later (along with more presents for youngest under the tree)......

And this dear husband is how our Christmas budget grows out of control and the presents spill out from under the tree into a Christmas morning orgy.

I'm Getting into the Spirit

2011-12-14T19:46:00.002-05:00

What do you do when you are so busy you don't know what to do first? You paint your toe nails in a festive manner. It may not have been a productive hour, but I smile every time I see my toes.

We Have A New Life---Scouting

2011-12-10T09:38:00.001-05:00

I've been trying to get my boys interested in scouting since they began school to no avail. No one was interested. This summer we received a call from youngest's bestest friend since preschool (back when they were the only ones who could understand each other....) who's family is heavily involved in scouting (dad and two oldest brothers are Eagles.) Would youngest like to come to a meeting and see what scouting is about? So our journey began.

Now anyone who knows me well knows that I don't adjust to changes in my schedule easily. I know it will work out, but I truly resent having to change things around to include a new activity, but this time I did it cheerfully. I had no idea what a commitment scouting was. There is a meeting every week and an activity one weekend a month. We have a number of weekend long camping trips beginning in January and a week long camp this summer. It's truly been a huge commitment. Then there's time at home to work on those badges. It has totally become a lifestyle change---we are a scouting family.

We've learned how to tie 3 knots, blade safety, how to put together a first aide kit, basic first aide, and other things too numerous to count. We're considering putting together a turtle habitat and adopting a turtle to finish our reptile badge. We've bought the shirt (wow---the days of going to Penney's are over, there's a boy scout store and the cost of the shirt....oh my! I was not prepared!) and I've learned how to sew patches on said shirt.

Youngest is truly enjoying this and time with his good friend since they now go to different schools. I'm feeling good about his commitment and better about his plans for next year. (He wants to go to Blandford like oldest, but let's face it, this child is an inside child.) I think this will be a good thing for him....his own thing independent of oldest. We all need our own thing.

Who Needs the Brain Doctor?

2011-12-09T15:50:00.001-05:00

A long time ago, we came up with easy to understand names for the many doctors that our two year old began visiting. A two year old just doesn't understand words like gastroenterologist. So, when we head off to visit the doctors, we're heading to the regular doctor, the tummy doctor, the bone doctor, the brain doctor, etc.

Recently our new children's hospital was completed and to go with it, an office building was built across the street to house all the pediatric specialist in one building (no more traveling all over the city!)

We headed off a day in the recent past to visit our friend the brain doctor. The day before the appointment, the nurse called with very specific directions on where to turn, where to park, etc, etc, etc. I wrote everything down on a piece of paper and handed it to Jack for easy reference. We took off on our jaunt. New building---check. New parking garage---check. Pull into the correct side of the parking garage---check. Park on the correct level of the parking garage---check. We're golden. Jack and I memorized the number of the office we needed and headed up the elevator.

When we got off I noticed we were on the cancer floor. Interesting. Perhaps we need to walk through this area to get to the pediatric area??? Jack and I walked the length of the floor at least 3 times to no avail. We were lost. I got a map to try and figure things out....no luck. We headed back down to the parking garage to start over and see where we had gone wrong. Jack noticed a button called "lobby" and suggested we push that. We did and ended up in a reception area. I walked up to the receptionist to figure out where we were and found out we were one building too far to the east. I could just go back to the elevators and.....Here I checked my brain out and let Jack we would be walking out front so as not to miss the building again.

We walked into the right building and Jack announced he needed a bathroom NOW. So, I took a quick look around and saw a sign for the food court. I headed in that direction figuring there must be a bathroom near that area. We did indeed find that bathrooms and while I waited for Jack, I noticed some elevators not far from where we were and decided those would be the ones to take. As Jack and I pushed the button a receptionist asked us if we wanted the offices or parking garage. I said offices and she said we needed to use the elevators on the other side of the hallway. Content we were heading in the correct direction we set off for our floor and got off the elevator, again reciting the office number so we could find the right place. Again no luck. We circled the floor 2-3 times.

I was beyond frustrated....was there anything else I could do wrong? Jack was fairly sure he knew what to do. He couldn't do any worse than me, so off he headed. When he wanted to cross a bridge outside, I tried to put my foot down, but he insisted and off we went. Somehow when we went to the bathroom we had crossed over one building to the west of where we needed to be. Jack got us to the right office and I spent our time in the waiting room wondering which one of us really needed the brain doctor.

Working Again

2011-11-14T15:09:00.001-05:00

So, a job literally fell into my lap last week and my husband insisted I pick it up. I'm working 1/2 days at a local school 4 days a week. I'm basically a second mom....."Do you have your book?", "Did you put your homework in your folder?", "Let me see your planner. Did you get all the information in it?" It's not a bad job and seems to fit in our schedule well. I can still be home when the boys get here and oversee their homework. Not too shabby.

I've started a new book, Stephen King's latest. I haven't read a lot of Stephen King since I have had children, but one page in, I was hooked. I've read tons of good books in my life, but Stephen King has a way of drawing you into a story right away (and then stay up until the wee hours trying to finish the book.)

Shane and I went mattress shopping this weekend. Our mattress is only 3 years old, but we hate it. It's a pillow top and we're basically sleeping "in" our mattress instead of "on" our mattress. So we walked into the store and basically told them we wanted a firm to extra firm mattress with nothing extra (no pillow top, etc.) They actually had one! Perhaps next year we'll take care of that. It would be so nice to not have to try to crawl out of my pit with my aching back.

Off to the races, I'm still trying to figure out how to balance home life with working part time.....

The Lad Has Been Confirmed!

2011-11-01T09:22:00.000-04:00

One year of classes, two huge projects, one nagging mom/teacher and it has been done. The lad was confirmed a couple of weeks ago (the husband finally got me able to use my blog again and my picture importer working.....yet more on the joys of changing your email address---and yes, I'm still waiting for my life to change.) It was a wonderful and busy night. We had a dinner for all the out-of-town relatives that came up. Opened presents and as they were getting ready to eat cake I left to go get ready for everyone to arrive at the cathedral. The night was beautiful and even more meaningful as my oldest was confirmed. I guess his first words afterwards were something like, "The Holy Spirit smells funny (referring to the chrism on his forehead)." He might as well get used to it. Lots of things smell funny when you're an adult and since you're the adult....you get to deal with it!

Confirmation Week Heck

2011-10-13T22:38:00.004-04:00

And one of my busiest weeks of the year has begun again. I always know it will be busy, but I always forget how busy. This is the week I say goodbye to one confirmation class and welcome a new one.

This week I've planned a retreat (not one of my strong points) and gotten materials run off and prepared. I've bought treats for the game winners (that would be everybody.) I am bugging parents to get me their love letters to their child and printing off some of them. I'm writing others to kids I'm afraid won't get one and oh, yes.....I have one to write myself this year. I've been auditioning music through You Tube and with the help of oldest child, downloading some music and trying to learn how to operate an ELMO. Organized plan A, B, and C; with D, E, and F in the wings just in case. (You never know what's going to happen at these things.)

I'm also helping get things prepared for the big night of confirmation at the cathedral. There are certificates and name tags and pictures from the year and other odds and ends to assemble, check, and double check.

I have to look nice, be there for encouragement and to help hand things out, and help all the kiddos find their seats. Oh yeah, throw a dinner for out-of-town family coming in and "save" 13 seats for family as well as 3 for myself and the other staff who will be there (thank goodness I don't have to do this alone!!!!)

I've put up a new bulletin board. Filled out a new gradebook. Assembled packets that my angel ran off for me. Reserved the camera. Requested more chairs and an extra table. Organized the new materials that have come in. Fixed a bulletin board that had fallen down. Created, fixed, and hung posters showing activities from past classes for the new parents. Created help request sheets. Begun my new email contact list and shiny bright email folder for the new crew. And begun my presentation notes. I've also cut out more flames, prayer cards, and bookmarks than you've ever imagined.

I've bought new clothes for the lad (did you know size 29 pants are extremely hard to find?). I have a house yet to clean and food to buy and prep. (Yes, husband....this is why they give you those vacation days.)

It is an exciting, happy, bittersweet week for me. One filled with exhaustion and not enough time to get everything done. Filled with an extra-special stresser this year. He makes it even more happy, exciting, and bittersweet.

One boy down and 3 more groups to go until both boys have made it through this milestone.

Really? You Want Fed? Again????

2011-10-07T13:36:00.003-04:00

My family has an annoying habit. They seem to think they need 3 meals a day plus snacks. Somehow, the title "mom" has turned me into the short order cook in the morning turning out breakfast and lunches for my brood. Then they have the nerve to come home and expect dinner.

I'm getting to really hate this chore my family has set me. We've had a system that works for several years....a list of meals that people like, a monthly calendar of meals to make sure things don't get repeated too often. I admit, I've gotten a bit lazy this summer what with diabetes and all. Meal prep consists of throw something on the grill, open a bag of lettuce cut up the grilled item, add salad dressing. It's also gotten this way because of my family, the complainers.

No one likes anything anymore around here. It could have been a favorite for years but now someone has a problem with it. I went to complainers get to cook the next meal. They just complain where I can't catch them. I began calling a family meeting to discuss the family menu for the week. This led to lots of complaining. A new rule was made that you couldn't complain unless you had a solution (another suggestion). The groaning all takes place after the meetings now.

You would think the teenager would care the least. You should see the things and the combination of things that he puts in his body. Set out a buffet of unrelated things and it will get sucked up just as quickly as a Thanksgiving dinner. Inhale....it's gone. This one complains the most, though. I guess for that thousandth of a second that the taste is actually in his mouth, he cares.

This morning I was exhausted from my house and classroom cleaning, etc,etc,etc. Anticipating this, I gave myself a break. I dealt out poptarts to all for breakfast, talked oldest and husband into buying their lunch, and gave the youngest a packaged lunch. This should have made everyone happy, but no they wanted to debate the healthiness of what I was putting into their bodies. (But no one gave their poptarts back.)

I thought mopping was my most hated chore, but it's quickly becoming dinner.

What Do You Need? We're Selling It!

2011-10-05T10:27:00.002-04:00

This week we've been hit up with 4 fundraisers....would you like a fresh homemade apple or cherry pie? How about some cookie dough? A coupon book? Popcorn?

I HATE fundraisers. I hated them when I was in school. I hate them now. I hate how the schools con the kids into thinking they MUST participate and I hate how they motivate kids into selling by offering cheap plastic crap for working their tails off.

I have refused to participate in most fundraisers since our boys started school. My family has much better things to spend their money on than filling their closets with wrapping paper and their fridges with cheese and sausage. I also have all the magazines I could want and I get them from the cheapest place I can---and my wallet appreciates it.

I think my oldest son's first school had it right. At the beginning of the year a note came home. It explained that for that particular year the school hoped to raise $80 per kid for field trips/parties/and extra equipment through fundraising. It offered parents an option. You could either participate in the fundraisers through the year -OR- you could write a check for $80 and never be bothered with a fundraiser request for the rest of the year. It was pure freedom writing that check. I keep waiting for everyone else to catch on to this wonderous solution for those of us with a some extra dollars and not enough hours in the day.

Please, please, please......offer me this option. This week I will be writing $20 checks to all the above organizations. Pure profit for the groups and my busy life just lost one more hateful responsibility.

We Are A Dirty, Dirty Family

2011-09-29T13:50:00.004-04:00

There's nothing like sending the boys back to school and closing the house up to spur a spurt of housecleaning. There's also the mystery odor I noticed last week. Can I just say I hate mystery oders? Is it the pets? A dead mouse? Trash? Something backing up? The apple Max had that nobody knows what happened to it? So, I'm cleaning the house in a way I haven't in the last 2 years or so.

There was that little thing called cancer. Then there's the whole spending time with my children...who I do happen to like most of the time. It's the year for us to clean our own carpets and my husband is just not interested this year. So, I'm learning how to clean carpets. And window caulking.....I'm learning how to caulk windows. All sorts of new skills. Also ceiling and wall washing, etc., etc, etc.

Can I just say there is nothing more humbling than carpet cleaning? I've heard people complain about the Dyson being a humbling experience, but I do try to vacuum every day (the whole allergy/asthma thing with the males in the household) so it's not that humbling of an experience. Cleaning carpets----yuck. I've cleaned the living room, front porch, and the area rug in the dining room and may I just say----yuck. How can we live in such filth? I've also thoroughly cleaned the living room and porch furniture. The dog is soooo close to being banned from the house completely. Shoes have been banned by anyone who lives here. Eating in the living room is on it's way to becoming a thing of the past. I can't believe my family is soooo dirty.

I have two rooms done and two rooms to go. I fall into bed exhausted every night with my allergies going insane (since I'm the one cleaning up all this hidden dust and all.) The next big job will be lemon oil-ing the wood. A huge job that does make a big difference. The house is beginning to feel shiny and new. I'm adding the very cheap new thing here and there and getting the fall decorations up. The winter drapes are going up and our nest is beginning to feel very cozy. A good place to curl up in with a book and a hot cup of tea while the wind and snow blow outside.

A Project On It's Way To Done

2011-09-10T22:25:00.003-04:00

If you remember, way-way-way back on Memorial Day weekend we ripped up our bathroom floor. And then nothing. Nothing that is until Tuesday. Tuesday was leveling compound day. The boys began school and Shane took the day off to work on the floor. Unfortunately he kept forgetting to tell me that I could use the bathroom in between steps and since we only have one bathroom......

That job was finished and today we began the job of putting the floor tiles down. I'm hoping by Monday morning to have a functional bathroom floor. There will still be some trim work, but I won't have to worry about getting splinters or feeling that yucky compound under my feet.

And now I get to shop for a bathroom rug----yes rug not carpet. One that is large enough to keep our little piggies from freezing and yet will fit into my washing machine. (That's a must have for a house full of males.) Something that will hopefully match the new paint we're planning for next spring. And cheap.....cheap would be good.....

It's The First Day of School

2011-09-07T07:36:00.002-04:00

So, yesterday was the first day of school for my kiddos. For some odd reason I had a horrible night of sleeping and at 4:30am threw in the towel and got up to begin my day. I began emptying my bathroom so that Shane could get started on pouring the leveling compound when he finally decided to get started.

My angels awoke to their annual first day of school breakfast----sausage, pancakes, and eggs. Thanks to getting up so early, I looked like I was incredibly on the ball with one lunch packed, two water bottles filled and snacks laying out on the table. As the children left, their mommy kissed them, held the door open, and then let out a huge cheer as they began their walk out the door. This was responded to with a huge dirty look, which just caused me to cheer harder.

Oldest child was just joking around and was practically dancing a jig on his walk out to his dad's car. He's been paroled from the bus this year. The option of having him get up at 5am to catch a bus and not returning home until 4:30 with a heavy homework load was just not a good solution for us this year. Since this would be the last year of busing for him anyway, we're just starting a year early.

While the boys were gone I went into productive mode. I straightened the whole house. Completely cleaned and re-organized my kitchen, sent several necessary emails, and ran a couple of errands. Unfortunately my bathroom was out of service most of the day---not a cool thing when the house only contains one bathroom.

I checked in on facebook a few times and found several mothers of older elementary school kiddos bemoaning the fact that they were missing their kids today instead of celebrating. I must admit that this caused some mommy guilt, so I pulled out the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. I went into Suzy Homemaker mode and created a yummy snack for my little darlings.

Off I went at 3 to pick up oldest and find out what afternoon pickup was going to be for the rest of my life.....I pulled into the driveway and noticed two pickup lines going. Cool. At one point a car left, so I pulled up and happened to glance behind me....there were cars past the pull off on the road....interesting. Tim found me, something I was nervous about since he has boy vision and all we pulled out to leave and the cars were lined up on the main road as far as I could see. As we finally made the left hand turn onto the main road, Tim and I drove past the line of cars. We saw kids running down the street trying to find their parents cars. We passed cars, cars, and cars. The line went all the way down the street to the light and around the corner. This on two relatively busy streets in our bustling metropolis. Crazy. Hopefully the carpools will kick in soon.

The decision was truly made at this point. Somewhere in a few years there is a $500 car out there with my son's name on it. That car will be his and he will be driving him and his brother to school so I won't need to be in the pickup lane for the rest of my life.

I Hate School Registration Day

2011-08-24T06:03:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the very special kind of torture known as registration for oldest child. I knew I was going to be about as useful as a second chin to my newly minted 8th grader, so I was prepared for that. I brought my kindle and was prepared to be bored out of my mind for the hour to hour and a half of must-dos. I found a seat discreetly away, yet in sight of my child while he sat with his buddies who were also way to cool for their parents. I watched the kiddos come in, marveling at how tall the eighth graders have become. I listened to the new principal and the assistant principal and the counselor as they greeted us for a long and hot half an hour.

Then it was time for the kiddos to separated into their color coded groups and go through their stations. I was scouting out a more comfortable place to hang out for the next hour when a sudden realization came to me. All these parents of 8th graders were heading out to shadow their kiddos through the stations. Ugh. So up I go to follow behind my little darling....I guess to make sure he doesn't get lost.

We cruised through the first station.....the lunch menu. Slowed down slightly at schedules and breezed through collecting our textbooks/checking them out/putting our name in them. Since I have an anti-social son, we skipped the activity pass station completely and came to a grinding and painful halt at school pictures/id. After spending an unreal amount of my life that I will never get back, we headed over to the transportation station where I got the painful news that we will be transporting our child ourselves (a year early) unless I want to subject myself to the torture of forcing my teen up at 6:00am and want him doing homework until midnight. Off to book fines and community service fines, then athletics, and locker assignments.

A very painful hour and a half later--and with my checkbook crying for mercy, I decided the boy and I had earned the treat of fast food. The good news is we get to do it all again next year!

School Shopping Hell

2011-08-19T05:59:00.003-04:00

So the quest for the $.15 glue stick is not going so well. I don't think the school sales are very good this year. I took youngest child shopping a couple weeks ago, too much money later.....I needed a big break. This child needed a practically new wardrobe, but since for most of his life he's worn hand-me-downs from brother and cousins, I was fairly okay with that....until I actually had to pony up at the cash register. Then I gulped, said a small prayer that divorce wasn't in my future, and handed over my card. Then I tortured the lad by making him carry his own denim to the van (hey 7 pairs of jeans are heavier than you think.)

Yesterday I took oldest child shopping. 3 stores and 15 pairs of jeans in the dressing room later...we discovered oldest child has moved into the men's department. Luckily, oldest child really didn't need that much....but 14 pairs of jeans in one month divided by two boys is a huge demand on the pocketbook. Kind of made me want to cry.

I am just so thankful that my children have no problem buying their jeans at WalMart. I have no idea what I would do if I had children who thought they were entitled to expensive designer jeans. I guess the shame for them would be unbearable. As my husband says...why would we spend more money on their jeans than on ours? We are horrible, horrible parents.

It's Been A Week....

2011-08-17T09:58:00.004-04:00

What a week! Firstly I finally gave in kicking and screaming to my husband and oldest child badgering me about changing my email address. Someone please remind me to never do that again. I spent all day on the computer yesterday changing email addresses with all the places I have accounts with and alerting people of my new status. I'm not sure how this is supposed to change my life for the better but my loved ones assure me it will. I did notice last night that no one else had changed over to our new family address. Hmmmmmm........

The week has also been spent unpacking, doing laundry, and trying to keep the mess under control from vacation last week. There truly needs to be a vacation fairy. Mommy never goes on vacation.

I've been spending waaayyyy too much time on facebook. (The black hole of time on the computer.) Some people have started some fun new groups about remembering about growing up in the 2 towns I claim. I've been enjoying reading everyone's comments and having fun with all the memories. I do wish my folks were back to share some of it with them.

Finally, it's time for the thing I've been dreading all month. My cancer check. It's been looming in the back of my mind causing anxiety, etc. etc. I do admit to indulging my anxiety with that no-no substance....ice cream. Time to get back on track with that. I go today for an ultrasound and the endo never asks for me to get undressed, so I found myself picking a shirt today based on showing a large amount of cleavage---something I've never done before when going to the doctor. Good thing my husband will be there to chaperone.

*update*
I had my oil checked and my tires rotated and got the "all clear". I'm good to go for another 6 months!

I Wish I Had His Needs

2011-08-02T16:59:00.003-04:00

So, off to the doctor for the third time in a year to see what is making oldest child dizzy and fatigued. When things like this go wrong for him I'm always shocked. He is the only person in the family who'd rather have a carrot than a cookie. The child eats and eats and eats all day long but he's eating protein and veggies and fruit so I can't complain. The only time the child sits is when I make him (to cool off on an extremely hot day) or when everyone is in eating and then he's off to play some more. The dream child....eats well and exercises.

4 years ago we headed off to the headache clinic where we learned oldest child needed more protein in his diet. Off we went to the grocery store to stock up on granola bars, jerky, cheese, peanut butter, etc., etc. Last fall we went to the doctor and they "prescribed" a gatorade a day for a possible electrolyte imbalance.

Today we got a lab sheet and a suggestion for the boy to eat more salt. Yes....more salt. Who's ever heard that in America? So off to the grocery store to stock up on chocolate milk, cheese, and jerky with some possible pretzels thrown in for fun. Maybe even a can of soda a day.
I need this child's medical problems.......

Yes, Mrs. Graham we suggest more Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream with some spaghetti and mashed potatoes thrown in for fun (I actually had mashed potatoes this weekend---first time since March....yum....) Please, drink that diet coke and maybe add one more. A candy bar? Go for it!

My Evil Genius

2011-07-20T08:52:00.004-04:00

So, stuck in the house and the boys have to do something....what is Tim to do? Why figure out how to modify his Nerf gun. Day one of the project involved taking out the safety devices. Yesterday involved a trip to the hardware store after we got allergy shots. He bought pvc tube to make the barrel smaller and a bigger spring. The guy at the store asked Tim if he had a permit for whatever he was creating. That brought a smile to his face. Oh yes, he also needed spray paint for his monster creation. Yesterday was spent "modifying" the modified Nerf gun. I'm sure today will be spent making sure he doesn't shoot his brother or the dog with his new gun. I guess at least he's busy.....Like Shane said yesterday it's a fine balancing act between encouraging his interests and not getting hit by something that's gonna hurt.

The Graham Slumber Party Has Begun

2011-07-16T11:43:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, our house is quickly approaching the 120 year mark. The furnace is from the 70's (yes, we say a prayer every time furnace weather comes along.) Needless to say, we don't have central air. We make due just fine most weeks in the summer with a large window unit downstairs (and the help of many, many fans) and a small window unit upstairs. If the heat only hangs around for a couple of nights we're pretty golden, more than 3 and the upstairs unit can't keep up.

So a heat wave is hitting us beginning today and it looks like it will be sticking around for the next week and a half or longer. Other than totally depressing me (I hate running the air for more than a couple of days....I'm a fresh air girl), making the boys antsy at the thought of such an extended period of togetherness (with their asthma, they don't go out when air quality warnings are issued), we have to find a way to survive the heat.

This means a slumber party in mom's room (dad's too, if you want to get technical). We move the boys mattresses in, pack up their essentials and distribute those throughout the house and our room becomes basically one big mattress. A wonderous time of togetherness as we share a bedroom....reminders of those baby and toddler days when we basically only had 1 room. The fun lasts for an hour or so and then the boys begin fighting because someone is shining their booklight in someone else's eyes or someone is making an annoying voice or one of many other things. After the boys finally fall asleep, I do enjoy the togetherness and knowing my boys are safe beside me. They are so sweet when they are sleeping. None-the-less, I will be glad when we can open the windows, again.

Getting Older

2011-07-13T12:50:00.000-04:00

I turned 40----it didn't feel like a big-whoop, but then again I was fighting cancer and there isn't much bigger of a whoop than cancer.

This year I turned 41 and things have begun happening to my body overnight. For instance, sleeves are getting shorter. This wouldn't be such a big deal, except overnight-wham......the skin on my upper arms seems to be waving all by itself when I raise my arm. When did that happen?

I have been noticing my hair changing through the last several years. Hair is beginning to turn gray.....wait...no silver. Let's call it silver, yes, silver (sounds so much prettier than gray.)

Yesterday I decided my eyebrows needed some attention, so I moved up to the mirror until my nose was practically touching it (hence the need for glasses) and noticed a WHITE EYEBROW HAIR---yes white....no color at all....white. Thankfully it was right where one needed to be plucked....but what the heck? Who even knew eyebrows turned white?

I have also been playing trombone a bit with small print...things like trying to read medicine bottles. Things that shouldn't be happening for at least 10 more years.

Shane's been going through it, too. He told his doctor his knees were hurting and his doctor asked him what he expected....he was 40 now.

There are other grooming tasks we have also had to take on for each other (hair seems to sprout in the strangest places when you get older)........let's just say it's a good thing we love each other.

Old Friends

2011-07-12T12:28:00.002-04:00

So, I've been re-reading my favorite epic, incredibly long, multi-book fantasy series because it seems that every one of my favorite authors has or has had a new book come out this summer.

Way back in the horrible year that Jack turned 2 and health diagnosis were flying left and right and Shane was working 12-16 hour days and being threatened with a month in China. I needed an escape. Book prices were steadily climbing and I didn't have a lot of extra money to spend on books, so I began buying books according to how much they resembled a brick (by page number.) I happened across the fantasy genre which had the most brick-like books in the section and since I needed an escape from real life in the worst way.....it was a match made in heaven.

I stumbled across my "big three" fairly early during that year and spent much of the year getting through all their books. After the third author is when it finally dawned on me that I should really be reading authors whose series were finished rather than getting 10 books into a series and then having to wait.

One of my pleasures in life is teasing and taunting my husband with a good book so long that he finally joins in to see what all the hoopla is about. He has traveled the journey with me for two of my fav authors. Now Shane has a rule, the series must be completely re-read or at least listened to on audiobook before the new book comes out. Since it takes these authors a loooonnnnngggg time to get a new book out, it is possible. Most publishing dates are pushed back at least 6mos to a year or more from the point we hear of a new book coming out. I guess he doesn't feel his memory is that great, so a refresher is needed. I dive in and try to remember as I go along. Needless to say, Shane's instant recall is much better than mine.

An author we both love died and we were heartbroken with many fans not only to hear of his illnes and death but to find out we had invested 10 books into this series and might not have an ending. A new author was selected and while we waited for the next book we spent our time getting to know this author through his past works. When I read that he was doing yet another read through to make sure everything was right, I decided I owed it to the author to do the same. That was the beginning of my year. I then found out the author of the 2nd favored series had decided to do another series based on the characters in his first series. I decided I owed it to him to do another read through while I waited for his book.

This week I am taking a much needed "potato chip" break. I eagerly slogged through 13 books for the first author and just finished devouring the 12 books of the 2nd author. Now each of these books is pretty close to 1500-2000 pages long times the number of books (I told you I was trying to be thrifty with my dollars.) So I've been going for those lighter can-read-in-a-day or two books that don't require a ton of investment of brain power.

Next week I begin the third author. His books aren't nearly as numerous....only 5 books, but we've all been waiting for number 6 for possibly 7 years or more. I think he deserves a re-read.

I truly do love to re-read. It makes me fall in love with books more. When I was at home there wasn't a lot of extra money to be spent on books. Every book I could put my hands on over the summer was re-read. These books became like friends to me. I couldn't wait for summer to come again and see what Trixie Beldon had been up to or re-live Meg, Jo, and Amy's adventures, to rediscover the secret garden, and find out again how much Heidi enjoyed visiting her grandfather on the mountain.

For me summer is for re-discovering those friends. My youngest son is a lot like me, he reads and re-reads and makes friends with his books. Oldest child is a lot different. Re-reading does not happen....he already knows the ending so what's the point? Music would be what he makes friends with.

This summer is being spent with old friends. An almost perfect summer.

The Perfect Purse

2011-06-29T09:23:00.000-04:00

For years, I've been in search for the perfect purse. I finally found it about 5 years ago and decided last year to stock up on them since they were getting harder and harder to find. I basically use a purse until it is dead, so my husband tells me it is something I should not be afraid to spend some money on. It's a little bit more complicated for me.

Well, this year has brought on it's own challenges for me. I went to a 2 purse system...my purse plus an extra bag to bring my diabetes supplies with me. This works fine for a family occasion but proves more difficult when shopping. Then I leave the second bag in the car. After going to my class and learning how fast a low can come on, leaving the 2nd bag in the car didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Pair this with youngest now having an epi pen that I'm supposed to carry everywhere and 3 members of my family having asthma and needing a rescue inhaler at odd times. I needed a new purse. What size? How big? What to do?

I narrowed my choices down to Vera Bradley (and yes, I did seriously consider going back to the diaper bag), but I was unsure of what size or style. I headed off to the nearest store to see what they had. I narrowed it down to two and came home and ordered them.

They arrived fairly quickly and I eagerly grabbed the bag that I just knew would work. It wasn't much different from my current style. It's the one I wanted to carry the most....and it was too small. So off to the diaper bag stand in. Everything fit perfectly and I already had pouches to organize things. The bag works great other than it seems huge compared to the bags I have been carrying. Now I just wish I had been more adventurous picking out a color....

Drum and Bugle Corp

2011-06-28T08:50:00.000-04:00

Way, way, way back in time.....before kids.....before marriage.....you know, when we lived with our parents and had a disposable income, we discovered a new love....Drum and Bugle Corp. It began when a friend of Shane's dad bought tickets for everyone in his group of friends and took us all to see this event. Shane and I had both been in marching band in our respective schools and we were totally and completely blown away. It was the most incredible thing we had ever seen. We had a true appreciation for what was happening on the field, since we had marched, also. The next year we went back with Shane's friends and the next year we took a couple of my friends.

Then we got married and were poor. Then we had kids and were poor. Then the kids wouldn't be able to sit through a show. Then the kids had a set idea of what music was and wouldn't enjoy it anyway. The last two summers we truly have wanted to go but it was a question of would youngest child be able to sit that long. Then this year happened. Some friends of mine are very involved in flag corp and, in fact, run their own winter flag corp. They go to many of these events and didn't really have to twist my arm very hard to come along with them. So off we headed Saturday night, very excited.

As we pulled into the high school, I saw my favorite group was there (The Cavaliers). I went a wee bit crazy (think getting to see your fav sports team play.) Tim was unsure how the entire night was going to go. (He's at that age where if I smile, I've embarrassed him.) I was telling Shane that I knew our boys would most likely not be involved in this competition, but if they were I would buy a motor home and travel the country all summer long following them. The boys thought I was insane.

Tim wasn't very into the whole thing with the first two groups, but then the world class groups took the stage. The boys got more and more excited as the night continued. We began talking about who would place where. We all had our favorites. Then came a group I've never seen before know as the "Carolina Crowns". They had a rock theme and Tim was hooked. Their marching was incredible and the sound was chill raising. My group performed last and Tim soon found out why I was so excited by this group.

The first comment as we were leaving? When is the next show and can we go?

Boredom Has Set In

2011-06-27T08:40:00.000-04:00

Well, the week after vacation bible school added it's share of rainy days. It seems like we've had a lot of those since school let out.

I've had the urge to attack a patriotic or summer cross stitch project and decided Thursday would be an awesome day to go in search. Now, I had spent Tuesday hitting the normal places....Michael's, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's in search of the right chart. I returned home bitterly disappointed. Floss, yes. Material, some. Charts? Very, very slim pickings. So, I spent some time on the internet in search of specialty shops. Before children, I did tons of cross stitch and had 2 specialty shops in my pocket. One is now gone. I refreshed my memory on where the first choice was and then found a second choice "just in case."

The boys decided to come with me (much to my surprise) because they were that bored and wanted a meal without working for it. Off we headed to Rockford. The boys fell in love with the downtown. (I need to keep that in mind for a boring day later this summer. We can head back up to explore.) The store was right where I remembered it, but I was disappointed. She had changed over to mainly yarn. Off we headed to Jenison. I found my new happy place there. Tons and tons of all kinds of supplies and charts. I will definitely be going back. I came home with 2 new books of charts and the patriotic chart I had been looking for. Between that store and the mail order place I've used in the past, I'm pretty certain I'll be starting my cross stitch stockings that I've wanted for years. Yes, I live a very exciting life.

Summer Plans

2011-06-26T08:32:00.002-04:00

The boys insisted that this summer be less planned than our past summers. The tennis program changed this year, so the boys decided to veto that. Other things were thrown in the trash that we have done in the past. Last week though was vacation bible school. Tim has been told that he must get all his service hours in before school begins, so he and I decided to join in this year.

A few years ago, we changed our program to an immersion program. Jack went last year and had a wonderful time, but this was the first time I decided to help out. This year we were in Nazareth. Our special guest was Mary who told the kids everyday about her Son. Tim and I played the role of farmers. We educated the kids on how farming was done in those times, we helped the kids plant "wheat" (grass seed), and told them of our religious beliefs. We worshiped gods of nature. It was an incredibly fun role to play. We would tell them about how we worshiped and they would correct us and try to convert us. It was a ton of fun. Tim gave it his stamp of approval by saying that we should do this again next summer (high words of praise from Tim.) Plus he got 17 of his 20 hours in.

School for Diabetes

2011-06-08T11:57:00.003-04:00

So, I headed off to my first diabetes class (insert eye rolling here). Let's see....I've spent at least 40 or more hours researching on-line, probably read 10 books on the topic, I've got my numbers pretty much under control...I should waste 10 hours of my life to go to class for this.

For some reason all the traffic lights downtown were off, so I got to negotiate downtown, during rush hour with a whole bunch of ya-hoos trying to remember what to do when the lights are off (they become a 4-way stop.) I'm also going to become a pro at traffic circles since I have to negotiate 3 of them on the way to the class.

I learned very little new stuff, the nurse scolded me for not eating enough carbs, and the dietician went on her rant about why low-carb is bad for you. (Your brain gets foggy, you feel weak....funny how I feel I have tons more energy than at any other time in the last year!) I get to sit through 2 more 3 hour long classes....gag. I'm not being the perfect example to my children on this one. In class, I'm trying to keep my head down and not draw much attention to my crazy thoughts.

Bittersweet Month

2011-06-05T08:52:00.002-04:00

The last month has been a bit bittersweet for me. The sweet is fairly obvious--I'm feeling great with lots of energy, getting things accomplished and moving on in my life. The bitter is that today, as one month ago, is the 1 year anniversary of my thyroid surgeries. As I think back on everything that went on one year ago, I have found myself facing these "anniversaries" with dread. Maybe it's the fallout of trying to keep everyone (including) my spirits up last year, but it has truly been a few days leading up to each anniversary of overwhelming sadness. Sadness for what happened and for how it impacted my family. The days lost as I "selfishly" focused purely on myself last summer. (I only use the word selfish because I can think of no other. It was truly what I needed to do and I don't feel bad for that time.) It was not the "best summer ever" for my boys although the entire extended family pulled together to try not to make it the "worst summer ever" for the boys. It had to have been an incredibly scary time for my husband, although to this day he's never admitted to those kinds of thoughts. There were times last April-June that my head went to the worst possible outcome and how would my family survive. Most of the time though I truly was very positive. I had to be...for myself, my family, and my recovery. My scar has faded and is becoming harder to see. My speaking voice has truly improved and I'm learning to sing with my new singing voice (much, much lower than before...but I now have about 5-8 notes!) Things are truly looking up. I think with dread on my August appt. Don't get me wrong....I will be there. But, this is the man who could tell me my life will be turned upside down again. I am grateful to him, but I don't think I can ever "like" him. There's just too many scary feelings wrapped up in meeting with him every six months. My family's life comes to a screeching halt every six months for about 2 days before the appointment. I hear this is common in cancer survivors. That is what I am a SURVIVOR! I plan on doing that for many, many more decades to come.

Mmmooommmm, I'm bored.

2011-06-03T07:38:00.003-04:00

So summer is fast approaching. One more week of school and we're there. 2 weeks later the phrase "I'm bored." begins to creep into life. I'm so sick and tired of that phrase. We're not doing tennis lessons this year, there's no baseball. Oldest is looking at a summer where he needs to complete 20 community service hours plus a project for confirmation class. He's also going to be taking guitar lessons and trying to stay in shape for a fairly difficult physical fitness test he has in a year-ish. Youngest wants to go to the environmental school in 6th grade. This is music to my ears other than the fact he hates the outside and all physical activity (which if you remember---this is what this school does all day in all weather including soaking rain and blizzards). Couple that with my diagnosis of diabetes and the family MUST be more active this summer. So I'm taking a stand. I am coming up with a list of boredom buster activities with the help of some other moms. This will be posted on the fridge. If I hear the words, "Mom, I'm bored." immediate chores will be handed out. There is a war at my house and it's victim? Boredom.

Yum and Ugh

2011-06-02T06:15:00.003-04:00

So, I'm pretty much in heaven right now. Why? I've finally found some ice cream I can eat that tastes and feels good. Yum! It's one of the few things I've missed the most. So, I'm slowly figuring this all out. What exactly is a carb and how do the different carbs effect me? I've been slowly entering into proper eating habits. I've also been learning a whole new vocab--things like chinese restaurant effect, and all the names for sugar and what is a sugar alcohol....So fat is not evil, and low-fat or reduced or sugar free pretty much is (for me).

I have to tell you that several years ago I was over at a friend's house. She was preparing supper for everyone and she was trying to let one of the people know what she was serving to make sure there was something he could eat. He made a comment that has been staying with me lately....my blood sugar was under 200 today, I can eat anything I want for supper. That just seems totally crazy to me now. Now I know that if your blood sugar creeps above 140 organ and nerve damage begins. Diabetics can have near normal blood sugar levels (and mine get closer all the time---I'm now averaging in the very low 100's.) I've researched the heck out of my disease and come across the best plan for me. My doc is happy, I'm happy, my family is pleased that won't later be caring for someone with complications, I feel great--it's a win-win all the way around.

Next week I have to spend 11 hours of my life (3 nights) in diabetes class listening to old, old information and/or things I already know (because I research the heck out of everything.) I'm a bit resentful that the insurance and my doc are still making me do this, but what are you going to do? I'm trying to tell myself I'm going to be good and go, but I sooooo don't want to. Life goes on and this too shall pass, etc. etc. etc.

I'm No Shrinking Violet

2011-06-01T07:29:00.004-04:00

So, last Wednesday.....we have one bathroom in our house...just one for all four of us. Generally it's not a problem, but every now and again....The toilet has been around for awhile. The entire 13ish years we've been here. I'm not sure how long before that. I also am the mom of 2 boys. 2 boys who don't seem to understand the concept of too much toilet paper.

Anyhow, this combination results in a toilet overflow every now and again. The biggest problem? It refused to dry this time and the smell grew worse as the days went on. On Thursday I had had enough (This may actually have happened on Tuesday or Monday.)So, I ripped the carpet up. (We had carpeted the bathroom because the house is old, the bathroom was added later, and was poorly insulated. The carpet made a huge difference in comfort level.) I knew the floor under the carpet was in poor shape, but we are planning on re-doing the bathroom next spring...so I can live with anything for a year and with a bunch of throw rugs.

What I found was black mold. Ugh. So, Shane and I spent Friday gathering supplies and information to work on the bathroom floor. The rub? Shane was told by his physical therapist to avoid anything this weekend that would irritate his back. Since we truly are trying to avoid back surgery, this left the work to me and oldest child. We spent the weekend prying up old vinyl flooring and treating mold. The next step is leveling compound which I feel very not confident about. I'm also trying to convince the husband that we really can replace our own toilet with one that will flush golf balls. (He's not very confident about that.) We've bought the new flooring. We're just in limbo while Tim and I recover from perhaps one of the worst jobs ever in home improvement history.

The floor should look great when we're done. I'm just not looking forward to all the work of getting there.

You Can't Get Rid of Me That Easily

2011-05-31T16:34:00.003-04:00

So, I'm back. I've had a pretty miserable month health wise. My bout of monthly pain arrived the afternoon before Easter and the misery pretty much has carried me through the last month.

I'm fairly convinced at this point that I have irritable bowel syndrome. I've just never talked to anyone in person who has had it the way I have it. Then, in the middle of hugging the floor and praying for either death or a good pain pill, I was searching the internet for an action plan. (Not the eat this not that, but the I'm miserable now fix it type of plan.) I happened across a couple of blogs that pretty well described what I go through. The horrible pain, the sitting on the toilet while hugging a bowl, the sweating, the light-headed-ness, the fainting to blacking out, laying on the floor hoping something will knock you out and you'll wake up all better (I haven't actually begged for death yet, I prefer to go to the hospital and get the good drugs), the true incapacitation of it that can last for several days to a month (as this last bout did.) Most of the people I know with IBS have it for a few hours to maybe a day and then it goes away. Not me.

I've discovered the wonders of peppermint oil, which have either helped me, fooled my brain into believing I'm all better, or given me false hope for next month. Whatever, it seems to have helped the "new" session scheduled to begin a couple weekends ago. Then, of course, I got to go through the carb flu again as my diet began to slip. My energy is back, my house is loving the "flying" I've been able to do these past couple weeks, and I may actually get to start that exercise program I've been trying to get to the past couple of months (the one that involves staying in my living room near my bathroom....just in case.) I also taught my bathroom floor who was boss this weekend, but that's for another post.

Fingers crossed, down 34 pounds, and living life....

I've found the secret to weight loss....

2011-05-02T07:27:00.002-04:00

1st---become diabetic. (okay, this fact is not very desirable, I know. Especially if you like all your fingers and toes, want your kidney's to continue working, and like your vision.)

2nd---as a result of your new condition you give up all sweets, fast food, and end up on a low-carb diet.

3rd---and possibly the most important, but related to #1....go on metformin. This lovely diabetic drug is truly a wonder drug. It helps protect you from heart disease and cancer, lowers your blood sugar, and most importantly causes you to run to the bathroom several times a day.

If you do this, you too can lose 25lbs. in 2 months, but I don't recommend it.

Thankfully I'm on a different version of the metformin which doesn't seem to have as many embarrassing side effects. I even went on a walk yesterday....the furthest I've been away from a bathroom in 2 months!

Sorry Guys

2011-04-14T22:27:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry all. I'm having a terrible time getting things to post on the blog lately. My "IT" guy is looking into it and hopefully we'll get it straightened out.

Break

2011-04-08T23:06:00.011-04:00

We took a break from the house work to head to Shane's folks to celebrate my oldest "baby's" 13th birthday. Yes, he did agree to a haircut!

Remodel

2011-04-08T23:04:00.002-04:00

Tim's Room Before

The New Paint Color

We All Camped Out In the Living Room

2011-04-08T23:03:00.002-04:00

Tim Helping His Dad Knock Down the "Popcorn'

2011-04-08T23:02:00.002-04:00

So busy

2011-04-08T21:25:00.001-04:00

The paint is done. The carpet is down. The curtains are hung. Tomorrow we load the rooms back up. We're all exhausted and going to bed. Pictures to follow soon.

Interesting

2011-04-01T07:23:00.002-04:00

Well, I feel horrible for the people in Japan, but it has been interesting listening to the type of radiation (I-131) become famous all over the TV. Yes, the radiation that is all over the news and may cause thyroid cancer in some of the people of Japan, is the kind I voluntarily swallowed last summer. It's what (hopefully) killed all the thyroid cells in my body so there would be no more cancer. It's why I had to stay away from my family so their thyroids would not absorb the radiation and become cancerous---cure for my, poison for others.

Yesterday I put on my big girl panties and took my van through the car wash. Another first for me. (Hey, I have a husband to do these jobs for me.) It wasn't all that traumatic and I got a clean van out of it. Not too shabby.

Tim loved Detroit. It's all he talked about last night and I'm sure we'll be hearing more about it today.

And now it's officially........SPRING BREAK. We have 3 days to get the upstairs ready for the painter.

Phew........

2011-03-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

Ugh.....Yesterday I found out Tim is going on a trip to Detroit. They're going to the African-American History Museum and the Museum of Art. Personally I would love to go to the Museum of Art, so my ears perked up. Then Tim mentioned they were taking chartered buses, hmmmmm. The next thing out of his mouth was mom do you want to chaperone? I was fairly proud of myself. Instead of just yelling out yes, I told him I needed to think about it and talk to his dad.

Then the thinking began. Would a trip to the art museum equal the pain of riding 2 hours on a bus with 7th graders? What would I do on the bus for 2 hours? Read? I get car sick when I try that in the car. How would I manage my diabetes stuff? Did I really want to be in charge of 10 boys all day? Could I stay pleasant even though my head would be pounding from the bus ride?

We brought it up to Shane after dinner. Thankfully, he said no way right away. It's month end at work which means all hands on deck, no days off, no working at home, you better be dying if you're not there. I was soooo relieved. Then Tim told me the real reason he wanted me to chaperone. If your parent comes, you get to pick your group and then listed the kids he had wanted. Most of them good kids, together they equal crazy kids. I think I dodged a bullet.

Another one will be coming my way in June...the trip to Michigan Adventure to study the physics of roller coasters.

St. Francis portrayed by Tim

2011-03-29T06:11:00.002-04:00

For the second year, the confirmation class put on "Saints Alive!". The students portray the saint they have chosen to honor by taking their name on the day of their Confirmation. This year the students put on 2 incredibly wonderful performances. Tim has the incredible honor of being in my class this year (there truly are reasons i don't homeschool.)

When Old School Becomes New....

2011-03-28T21:36:00.004-04:00

So, tonight I'm sitting on the floor putting new posters in poster frames for the big rooms re-do (Dr. Who posters for Jack and rock posters for Tim), when Tim walks out of the office. "Somebody has a cool record collection!" Back in to the office he runs, and out he comes with a Jimi Hendricks record. He discovers my record player and begs to be allowed to use it. Then comes the crash course in how to make the magic disk work. Next thing I know In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda is blasting out of the office.

His dad comes home and spoils the illusion of super cool parents by letting him know they are his parents records. There was laughter and smiling and coolness....a rare, rare moment with this child.

An Incredible Early B.day Present

2011-03-21T20:50:00.002-04:00

Ahhh, a chance to take a breath. Thursday was an evening of complete awesomeness. My wonderful mother-in-law came up to stay the night with the boys. Shane and I took off about 4:30 to go check into the Amway Grand for the evening (thank you employee discount). Then we headed to walk out way through downtown. First, dinner--yum. I found out the restaurant we ate at was happy to give me a large salad instead of a small salad and one side I couldn't eat. My steak was yum-o and Shane shared with me one of the best potato wedges I've ever had (just the smallest one.) Then off to our concert. First came Casey James who played some of the best blues guitar I've heard in a while. The Little Big Town....oh we do love you and yes the blond's hair is just as big in person. Then Sugarland....what fun! An incredible concert that was easily one of the best we've ever been to. Then back to the hotel. How nice not to have to fight traffic and wait 45 minutes to get out of the parking garage.

We were glad to leave the hotel when we did as about 200 high schoolers were in various stages of checking in as we left. Then off for an afternoon of errand running to get things for our big spring break project. Saturday was very low key because Tim and I had a busy day Sunday and then Sunday night life fell apart. Jack came down with an ear ache my new dosage of metformin was upsetting my belly and Tim in general did not feel well. So I took the anti-sick meds and went up with Jack to try and soothe him to sleep while Shane tried to help Tim. It was a miserable evening which led to a miserable day today. Everyone seems on the mend and I'm hopeful about tomorrow. Someday everyone will be well. Someday everyone will spend a full 5 days in a row at school and/or work. Someday....

Comedy of Errors

2011-03-17T11:05:00.003-04:00

Okay, so to preface, this is a funny story. When I told my family, they laughed, when I told a friend they were horrified, but truly even while it was happening I was thinking about what a funny story it would be to tell the next day.

So, last week I woke up in the middle of the night with what we all assume is my irritable bowel syndrome stuff. As, I'm sitting in the bathroom sweaty, trying not to vomit, etc, etc, etc; I decide I should check my blood sugar. Whenever you feel the least bit funky you're supposed to test. I should also mention that with type 2 diabetes, the insurance only approves one test strip per day.

I'm still not perfect with testing. The first week was the worst, but at times I still use 2 test strips per day to get an accurate reading. So, I've known that I was going to have to buy a box out of my own pocket.

So, I drag my very ill and shaky self to the living room and attempt to get a lancet in the self-poker thingy, get the test strip out and into the monitor. Long story short, I ended up poking my self 15 times trying to get a sample that would read. (That's a poke on each side of the fingers on my left hand, starting on the right hand--realizing I can't handle the meter with my left hand, and beginning on the center part of my fingers on my left hand.) Halfway through this, I think I should go wake Shane up and get some help. I figured he would say he didn't know how to help but after 15 pokes, I was over it. I dragged every thing upstairs and decided to try once more before waking Shane up. No luck, I try once more by the light of my booklight and success! Such a comedy of errors. 2 lessons learned---I need to get better with my meter and I need to teach Shane how to test me, just in case.

Thank goodness for Amazon's price on test strips.

And the Money Flies Out of Our........

2011-03-16T06:35:00.003-04:00

What a week! Or maybe I should say weekend.....Shane got his bonus (yippee) and then the money began flying away. Shane has decided he has the money, so he's going to hire people to do things. Hey, whatever keeps him happy, keeps the family happy. So we ordered 2 storm doors and had the guy out to measure. Then the carpet measure dude came out and we went and ordered carpet, except from a different place, so a new guy is coming out to re-measure. Then the paint guy came. The boys rooms are wallpapered for a reason---hey there's a reason for all the stuff that's happened in a 113 year old house. So, he's going to repair the walls and then skim coat them and we'll be able to paint from now on. Then I ordered the bed linens that the boys needed, new storage for their rooms, and a new mattress for Jack. We still have to figure out what we're doing about Tim's bed. The good news is that our entire upstairs will have had a face lift and look fantastic. The bad news? Next year we take on the downstairs. The fun of home ownership.

The Chaos That is My Family

2011-03-11T06:56:00.002-05:00

It's been an incredibly busy week and I don't know when it will be settling down. I have my reading to do to figure out how to help myself and get through the next 50 years of my life. Tim's life has exploded into a life of disorganization and poor grades (not because he doesn't understand but because he doesn't turn the work in.) It is Saints Alive! week with 2 performances (one down, one to go.) I'm prepping the boys rooms for their new makeover. Measure-ers of all forms have been coming to give estimates for their work so Shane can decided it he is hiring work done or doing it himself. The boys are making final decisions about their rooms (or at least are supposed to be doing this.) Confirmation is coming quickly for the student I'm sponsoring from another parish. It's birthday season in my family and extended family. Then there's all the normal, daily chaos. I'm a little bit crazy right now. At some point my life gets back to "normal", whatever that is. A co-worker of Shane's (and a husband of a friend of mine) is in Japan right now, so we're waiting to hear that he's okay. Breathe.....breathe......breathe......

And then Life Happens.....

2011-03-08T07:27:00.002-05:00

Well, either my kids totally don't listen to what I have to say or I tease so much that they don't even notice anymore. I just told Jack to go brush his teeth, wash his face, and comb his ears and he didn't even flinch....just an "okay" and off he went.

Tim had a Murphy's Law day yesterday. He couldn't find his homework, he hadn't saved it on the computer, he couldn't find his i.d., he missed the bus, and I don't know what happened during the day, but I got a call at 2:12 telling me had missed the bus again. (Shane's response, "Didn't all the other kids leaving give him a clue?") I sooo hope today is a better day for him.

And then life happens.....so, Thursday, pain took over my life again. I had to call Shane home and he had to take over mommy duties and then take me to the urgent care plus center (the nurse said, urgent care wasn't enough.) Once you have a history of UTI's the first thing anyone asks you to do, no matter the symptoms, is to pee in a cup. That led them to find "a lot" of sugar in my urine. Then they did a blood test. My number was "a bit" over 250 (my Dr. later told me 311). So, I got the diagnosis I've been waiting for since I was pregnant with Tim---diabetes. When you get it through all your pregnancies, they tell you to expect it and I do get tested every year. So, now I have an awesome reason to take care of myself and put myself first in life. Let me tell you how easy it is to say no to white rice or a cookie when you ask yourself if it is worth going blind, losing a limb, or being put on dialysis. The wonderous thing is that there are no more no's in diabetes, there's just a carbohydrate target number and you can put anything in there you want. So on occasion you may see me say no to the potatoes and bread and sneak in a small piece of cake (go me).

I'm on meds right now, but if I get some weight off and get my diet under control, I could be on less or no meds by this time next year. I'm testing my blood sugar which the boys find completely fascinating. (It's that whole you stick yourself on purpose and then there is blood involved, etc.) And I'm reading, reading, reading. (There were no classes available until June---yes, I get to go to Diabetes School!) I'm also taking my blood pressure and working into exercising, exercising, exercising. I have to keep my blood pressure down and my cholesterol strictly controlled---I guess those with diabetes are treated as though they have already had one heart attack in order to keep them from having one.

So, this year is all about putting me first and figuring out how to do that while taking care of everyone else. The life of being a mom.

I'm Getting There

2011-03-01T09:45:00.003-05:00

So, this is what it's like to feel good again. I've not felt good for so long that I didn't even know anymore that I wasn't feeling good. It was just the new normal. It wasn't the normal I wanted or liked, it just was. I was told it would take a full year and sometimes two to feel good again, but that's for regular people...not me.

Shane asked me this morning what had changed. I'm more upbeat, the house looks good, I've been out of my pjs and showered everyday for the last two weeks, etc, etc, etc. I realized that I think I'm back to me. This is the me before cancer entered my life. The me that takes care of herself because it's for herself and not a chore in a mountain of life that must just be climbed. That truly has been my life for the last several months. Cleaning house has been an incredible task that literally has had me not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Taking a shower and brushing my teeth, something else that seems like too big of a mountain. Doing anything with or for the boys at school---an obligation. The holidays--let's not even go there. I'm beginning to remember what it's like to truly enjoy life again; to be involved in life and not a spectator. I'm feeling a sense of accomplishment when I get things done. I have stamina. I have energy. I'm enjoying doing things to take care of myself again. I'm excited about school stuff that's coming up.

I'm sure there's still going to be some bad days ahead, but the good days in the last two weeks have far outnumbered the bad. I'm remembering what it's like to be me and I'm slowly but surely getting there.

A Week....end

2011-03-01T07:59:00.003-05:00

Goodness, it's been a week. We celebrated Shane's 41st birthday, quietly, as requested. The boys woke their dad up with the dog, Tim playing happy birthday on his guitar and the boys singing loudly. (He didn't really appreciate all that.) That was followed by a lazy afternoon and dinner at Outback.

Sunday was costume day for Saints Alive! I'm a little concerned because only half the kids showed up, but it was a crazy hour of kids, costumes, parents, and the need for a mirror. (I'll have to put that down for next time.) We have 2 performances this year, one of which takes place in the church. That's going to take some creativity and flexibility on all our parts.

I've got my own saint this year that I'm trying to encourage, cajole, and threaten into getting this project done. It's an experience.

I finally finished my re-read and got the two new door stops of one of our all time favorite series. (World of Time by Robert Jordan). Considering his books are those thick fantasy books of multiple thousands of pages per book, it took some time. The last book will hopefully be out next fall or the following spring. I'm not sure I'm going to take that re-read on again before that book comes out. I'm taking a break with some "potato chip" books before I tackle my next re-read of our second favorite fantasy series Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. There's a new book coming out in the fall that's a second series that comes after the first. (Another many, many thousands of pages fantasy series----hey, there came a point in my life when book prices were skyrocketing that I began looking for more pages for my buck and fantasy books do that.)

I guess that was more of a weekend than a week. The boys are fighting off the latest yuck going around (yea for the petry dishes that are our schools.) I'm "flying" around my house and trying to catch up on laundry. I'm also trying to break my diet coke addiction (hey, I'm down to 1/2 can a day, except for yesterday...but everyone was home yesterday, I needed a little extra caffeine. I'm trying.) Off to tackle my list and hopefully get a book read.....

We're Now A 3 Kindle Family.....

2011-02-25T13:33:00.002-05:00

Shane just couldn't stand being left behind in the electronics department, so he ordered himself the new K3. The K2 gets passed to the boys---his grand idea is to let them "share", hmmmm. I think we will soon be a 4 kindle family, especially because I just checked with Tim's school and they will allow kindles to be used at school. (An exception to the "no electronics" policy at school.) I love not collecting books and then having to weed out what we can keep and what to donate. The only thing I hate about it is that I can't share books with my folks or sister at this point. They are dragging their feet a bit. I offered to get my dad one for Christmas (then my mom would quit complaining about all of dad's books laying around---hey there has to be something to this retirement thing then yardwork.) But my mom was pretty sure my dad would not like it. Perhaps I'll have to load the K2 up with books for them and send it with them to Alaska for a test drive. If they joined the bandwagon, I could load them up with books when they come back through the state.

Shane turns the big 41 tomorrow. He's off tonight to celebrate a friend's b.day with "Rib Fest" (Tim is sooooo bummed it's an adults only evening.) We are going out to dinner tomorrow to the husband's favorite restaurant---Outback. We decided to celebrate both our birthdays this year with a night away. Little Big Town and Sugarland are coming to town for a concert. We're going to check into the Amway Grand for a night, go out to dinner, enjoy a concert, and then have brunch. Should be a fun time, the first time we've ever done anything like this. Usually it's the kids leaving us for a weekend away. Thank goodness for a mother-in-law who understands these things need to happen for the mental health of all. It will also be so nice to park for the night and not have to sit for 45 minutes waiting to get out of the parking garage to head home. A quick walk and home for the night we will be. I can't wait.

Another Blurb

2011-02-24T06:57:00.003-05:00

Everyone is back to where they are supposed to be today. I just hope it lasts long enough that I can go out and buy some groceries today (knock on wood.)

The boys are totally bummed because the storm that is coming through tonight is going to miss us. Bummer. There's a chance for another one on Sunday.

When Tim started middle school, I made him give me one promise. That he would participate in one extra-curricular activity. It could be as simple as a dance or rollar skating party, it could be a club or sport, I didn't care. We've been arguing and arguing. He had the chance to join a school bowling league---and passed. I've been trying to talk him into trying table tennis (too hard). But yesterday, success! For homecoming (this school does it in the spring) each class makes a movie and Tim was asked to be the videographer/technical advisor---right up his alley and he's actually excited!

I don't want him to join stuff because of getting into college or prestige or anything like that. I have fond memories of being in band and on yearbook, and going to sporting events. It made school life more fun and helped me to become friends with people I may never have hung out with before.

Speaking of band...Tim actually seems a bit excited (for him) about the experience (this involves not talking negatively about the class.) He's got his parts down and he's fairly happy with the instruments he's been asked to play on each song. Festival is next week. I love band and band competitions....this should be tons of fun. I may be helping get instruments and things to the site....still waiting to find out.

I'm off to get the youngest off to school and then my groceries bought!

Blurb

2011-02-22T08:54:00.003-05:00

More snow arrived on Sunday. Thank goodness it was only snow and not ice. The boys were completely bummed because they already had the day scheduled to be off---so no snow day. They went back today.

Jack is home again. If it's out there, he'll catch it. Someday we'll get back to the allergist.....

For some reason, Tim needed a candy bar for his math project due today. For some reason he could walk to his friend's house yesterday, but not the pharmacy. Thank goodness for dads.

Today Shane is home from work. He had some minor oral surgery yesterday, but seems to be in a lot of pain today. Thank goodness for codeine. He seems content to spend today in a codeine haze. Hopefully he'll be back to work tomorrow.

I must take the bullet for the team and dive into housework today. Yesterday was such an awesome day, we declared it a pj day and I spent the day reading. Today I pay......

Cancer Free!

2011-02-17T07:35:00.001-05:00

Tim's New Toy

2011-02-15T17:17:00.000-05:00

The laddie has been saving every scrap of money for a year and yesterday it paid off:

Love Fest

2011-02-12T13:11:00.003-05:00

Today I am overwhelmed. I went into the church to set up and decorate for senior prom. My day was going to be spent corraling 7th graders and trying to get them to do something that resembled work. Instead I experienced a love fest. I can not tell you how many people came up to me, took my hand, looked me in the eye and let me know that they had been praying for me and heard I had an ultrasound next week and were going to continue praying for me. Wow! Overwhelming enough. Then I get home and get on the internet to check a few things and find out that a friend joined a cancer walk and is walking in my name. Another friend sent me a song (the one Melissa Etheridge recorded for cancer patients)and told me it was for me. I know there are people who care out there and there are people who love me out there. But since the cancer diagnosis, there has been a steady beat of people letting me know, and at times I need it most, an overwhelming wave of love comes through that almost bowls me over.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate you all and today I am wrapping myself up in your love.

The Story of the Toilet Clog--Or What I Did Yesterday

2011-02-11T08:16:00.002-05:00

So yesterday, I walked into the bathroom after everyone had left, only to discover that one of the males in my family had yet again forgot to flush. I sighed, thought something mean in my head and reached over to flush the toilet. Only to discover that the water level kept rising and rising and rising....luckily, not over the sides. I waited and waited, but unlike past times this has happened, the water level did not slowly go down. So off I went to find a pail and something I could throw away to bail. After that came the plunging and plunging and plunging and plunging. Nothing....I flushed again and bailed again. Off to the internet

There I found a tip for boiling water. Hold the handle down, poor in the boiling water and wait. If the toilet starts filling again, lift the float. Okay, I can do that. Off I go. Oh no, the toilet is filling again, where's the float---I see nothing, so I grab the first thing I can find, which I quickly discovered, emptied the tank---all over the bathroom floor----now I have a stopped up toilet and a flood.

Have I mentioned my bathroom is carpeted? I know, I know, but the bathroom was added after the rest of the house and is incredibly poorly insulated. When we finally gave in and put the carpet down it was literally amazing how much that helped the bathroom temps.

So, another kettle of boiling water, a little more plunging and it works again. Hip Hip Hooray. I still have fans blowing in my bathroom and the entire room smells like boy pee (yes that smells different than girl pee---mainly because I don't miss.) Shane is in there now trying to clean the carpet, but we're both pretty resigned to the fact that we're heading out Sunday to buy some more cheap carpet to go in the bathroom (I'm not completely dumb---if you're going to carpet the bathroom, put down the cheapest carpet you can live with.

Speech, Speech

2011-02-08T17:52:00.002-05:00

Today I give my first speech on cancer. A group at church asked me to come in and talk on how humor got me through. I'm completely clueless why I got picked for this topic--ha ha. I found something out....it's a lot easier to be funny off the cuff than in a speech. I also found something else out, my family is a lot funnier in context rather than out of context. Also, I hope gallows humor translates into the bigger population, because my family is just slightly ill when it comes to humor. For instance, this is the joke I'm opening with:

A doctor calls a patient to report on a bone scan and biopsy. The patient is out so the doctor leaves a message to call. As usual, no medical details are left. After a day of telephone tag, the doctor and the patient finally get together on the phone. The doctor says in a matter of fact voice, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" "The good news." "OK, the reports say that your cancer has metastasized all over and that you have 48 hours to live." "You call that good news? It must be the bad news. What could possibly be worse?" "Well, the bad news is that I tried to call you yesterday."

I find that hysterical, but I also have a slightly sick, ironic, sarcastic, and dry sense of humor. Sometimes, I feel that I am an acquired taste. I hope these people can acquire me.

Mish Mash

2011-02-07T08:34:00.004-05:00

I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch.
- Gilda Radner

This quote appeared on my daily quote ap today and I love it. Gilda Radner was a funny, funny lady.

So yesterday, I proposed that next year we get all our non-superbowl friends together and go bowling----having our own "Super-Bowl". I think it would be a riot.

We spent last night watching a Doctor Who marathon (thanks to netflix). Eating snacks. Watching Tim do last minute homework that somehow got forgotten amidst the blizzard days last week and watching the two brothers pick on each other. Ah yes, Max also got a bath and Jack a haircut. Life in the Graham house.

The boys finally went back to school today. We'll see if the city keeps their threat and starts to fine people who didn't shovel.

We have new neighbors next door. A couple of young twenty-something boys. They're fairly polite. But they have amps. And instruments. And seem to like to play said instruments as we're heading up to bed. I can live with amps and instruments (if I couldn't I'd be insane by now), but if the late night thing keeps up we're either going to have to have a talk and come to an understanding or I'm going to start letting Max out for extended periods of time in the morning so he can bark at squirrels, or cats, or birds, or shadows......It's been my experience that young twenty-something boys don't like to be awakened early in the morning.

And We're Still In Clean Up Mode

2011-02-04T07:16:00.002-05:00

The kids are still home. Sidewalks still aren't clear and either are the streets. We're still in dig out mode here. The kids are geeked about the unexpected blizzard-cation. Tim's been given permission to use the snow blower, so he's been helping people out who haven't gotten their walks shoveled yet. Our alley has had what's called a first pass, but it still took Shane 20 minutes to get out of the garage yesterday morning. He said the main roads are in awesome shape, but the side streets are a mess. The boys have been snow fort building, cross country skiing, and lots of other winter things that exhaust them by evening. We're enjoying the snow that we finally got. More is on the way for this weekend.....

Scenes From Our House--Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T18:14:00.002-05:00

Storm Update

2011-02-02T18:05:00.002-05:00

16" of snow. We get a two day break and more snow for the weekend. The kids booed as the plow came through about a half an hour ago. Looks like school is on!

A Quick Post

2011-02-02T08:09:00.003-05:00

Just a quick one for those far away and are wondering. The official number as of 7am this morning was 12.9" and it's still falling quite nicely (but it's coming straight down instead of sideways). Shane is out blowing the snow right now and I'm about to get a pancake breakfast started for when everyone comes in. Shane's work was canceled (for him that means a work at home day for him.) Hopefully when can all get out and make a snow angel or something. We have drifts of about 3 feet or so. Pictures will follow (Shane's new camera came yesterday before the storm.) People were told to stay home because emergency vehicles cannot help you and I guess the plows get the snow off on side of the road only to do the other side and the wind blows it all back. It finally looks like Feb. in Grand Rapids---we just got it all in one shot this year!

Storm....

2011-02-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

There's a storm coming (they say). We are skeptical because for every single storm that has been predicted we have gotten the shaft. My kids are drooling for a snow day, but it hasn't happened yet.

This storm looks a little more serious, so I did the obligatory run to the grocery store. What did I get? Well, the mega size tub of peanut butter with many, many loaves of bread because my boys can survive anything if they have peanut butter. For myself, I stocked up on diet coke, because while I love my family, life goes much better when mama has her diet coke. For Shane, I got his coffee. For all of us, some Oreos, because the entire family operates better with a little sugar.

I also gassed up the van for Shane because the van does better in deep snow. So he should be set. Now we sit and watch the weather reports and live life...

The Pack Comes Together

2011-01-31T06:07:00.004-05:00

This weekend I got to spend some time with my cousins and my grandma. It's our selfish, newest family tradition. The five cousins and significant others take our grandma out to dinner for Christmas....no parents or kids---they just try to hog all the attention. It was a fun evening of laughter, awesome food, and terrible table manners (see why the parents aren't invited....)

Anyway, that got me thinking to how much I got to hang out with my cousins and the fun we did have. Unexpected circumstances brought them to live with my grandparents for short while and then a house just 2 down from where we lived. We probably wouldn't have gotten to know each other if they hadn't moved back.

I have to say, I was rather shy around my cousins as a kid. My girl cousin was 2 years older than I was and my oldest boy cousin was one year older. My youngest cousin was the same age as my sister. I was rather intimidated by my older cousins (because of their age---that really caused shyness and fear in me all the way through high school) and my youngest cousin spent his time, unfortunately, getting bossed around by my sister. I also had a crush on my oldest boy cousin for most of my second grade year.

My grandma used to watch all 5 of us so our parents could work. That must have been chaos at times. It seemed like she always had some sort of craft for us to work on--probably a sanity saver for her. Snacks were almost always food sticks (supposedly the astronauts took them up with them). Sometimes we got purple cows for a special treat.

At grandma's part of the fun was to see how long we could jump off the wall before grandma yelled at us. There were two levels to the wall one for everybody, the other a bit higher (it seemed like a foot higher, I'm not sure that's so) if you felt like a daredevil that day.

When they moved down by us there were bike ramps, breaking rocks open, barbie's, statue tag, swimming, etc. It was also the storm of '78 when we all got snowed in, forever it seemed like when we were a kid. Then it was outside to create snow tunnels, again, until mom found out and then we got a lecture on why snow tunnels were a bad idea. It was a new experience for my sister and me. We lived on a lake year 'round when it was only cool to live on the lake part time. I think around the entire lake there were maybe 6 of us full timers out there. The ones that had kids were too far away, so entertainment, other than ourselves, was in short supply. Weekends in the summer and the rare weekday if someone was spending their whole vacation were what we got with other kiddos. My mom's car was for her convenience, not ours, so we weren't driven to playdates, etc.

Sometimes when I think of us all during that couple of years like a pack of puppies. I think that's a great picture. It's one I hope my kids and their cousins can replicate.

We've been able to grow up celebrating each others' joys, marking our milestones together, and sharing in each others' sorrows.

I'm On...

2011-01-27T10:51:00.004-05:00

...Kindle watch as those of us who are members of the kindle boards put it.

We have this rule in our marriage that if we are going to spend more than $50 out of the "family pool" that we need to discuss it first. Shane mentioned last night that he was tired of reading kindle books on his itouch. It was bothering his eyes....hmmmm LCD screen, plus older eyes maybe???? I told him he was more than welcome to my kindle and could get me a new one. After putting up a brief protest (my argument was that whenever I express interest in a new gadget that Shane has I get the one he has and he gets the latest and greatest....this could not be denied.) I don't think the conversation took 5 minutes and the next thing I know Shane said it was a deal and pulled the trigger. So, with my head spinning, I'm awaiting my new kindle to arrive tomorrow along with a new case and skin.

Shane has been given custody of all old kindle related things, although he's not too sure what he's going to do with purple cases and a purple skin. Jack's pouting because he thought he had dibs on my kindle if I ever got a new one and Tim is geeked because there are now two kindles to try to lure away from the parents and play silly games on.

It Broke

2011-01-26T00:01:00.001-05:00

the dishwasher that is. It's not completely broke---but it is not washing very well at all plus the bottom rack is about to rust out. We considered bringing a repair man in to take a look at the dishwasher and buying a new rack, but it's cheaper to buy a new one. I hate when stuff like that happens. I hate living in a disposable society.

Anyway, the search is now on for a new dishwasher. My techno-geek family wants a stainless steel, computerized, top of the line, monstrosity. I want something with two or three cycles and no computer. Something middle of the line. You know, something where I'm actually going to use everything on it. I'm not exactly sure who's going to win this fight (well, actually I do---see, I've been researching on-line and my husband is going to like the price of the ones I like a lot better than the ones he likes.)

As soon as the tax return comes in a couple of weeks, the shopping begins. Wish me luck.

And the Winner Is......

2011-01-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

St. Francis. That's who Tim has chosen to be his patron saint for confirmation. It was a close race. There was St. Timothy who wrote the letters in the bible and makes my Tim sit up whenever his name is mentioned in church. There was St. Paul who has one of my favorite stories in the bible. Also, my husband says God would have to do something similar for him to become Catholic. There was St. Denis who was killed by having his head chopped off and then he reached down, picked it up, and preached a sermon for 6 miles before he died. But Tim picked St. Francis....father of the Franciscans and that gentle man with a love for nature. Earthly sponsor---check, Heavenly sponsor---check. My child's new name: Francis Timothy Robert Fair Graham. We're calling him Frank around here. I'm sure we're going to be learning lots of new things about St. Francis as the year goes on. We're on the road to confirmation.

Ahhhhhhhh

2011-01-24T07:14:00.003-05:00

For the first time in 6 weeks, I am by myself today. It is very quiet. No one is making a mess behind me. No one is demanding food, drink, soft kleenex, or anything else. I get to eat when I want to. I get to watch what I want to. I can focus on what I want to do without getting sidetracked by others (just myself). I am so going to enjoy today.

Laughing......In My Head

2011-01-21T07:27:00.003-05:00

Well, the fungus among-us has finally caught up with me. A river runs down my throat and I have no voice today.....but for a different reason than thyroid surgery.

I laugh inside, because as I struggle to whisper, the boys whisper back to me. It is so funny. Maybe I need to start whispering a lot more often around here.

Freezer Clean Out

2011-01-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

As I was rummaging through the biggish freezer on the porch, today, I noticed a package of freezer burnt--beyond belief--package of chicken. So, I've announced to the family that the rest of the month is freezer clean out. There's no sense being able to store food it you are just going to have to toss it. So we have been trying to be creative in coming up with our menu to try to use as many things from the pantry and freezer as possible. It's almost like a game. It always helps when you can get the children involved.

We originally got the bigger freezer because the one that came with the fridge didn't seem as large as the old one (now that I know how to load it, it's probably a bit bigger.) and so I could take advantage of sales. This only works well if you are willing to rotate the meat each time you buy. I admit, I am not so good at this and at times things lie forgotten at the lonely, lonely bottom. (I found about 6 very sad popsicles hanging out down there---ewww.)

Now, when I go to the grocery store to get food....can I stick to the resolve?

OMG

2011-01-19T07:55:00.003-05:00

omg, omg, omg

I have discovered what I want for my birthday. (I had to take a screaming break there for a moment. Okay, it was more of a croak, I can't really scream anymore but you get the idea.) I just discovered that Sugarland is coming to our city which is definitely OMG worthy, but the thing that sent me completely over the brink is the fact that Little Big Town is opening for them. Two of my most favorite current bands of the country persuasion. I had heard that LBT was coming to the fair we attend this fall, and I was trying to talk Shane into getting tickets for that....but now they will be here with a second totally awesome group in my own city. My fingers are crossed......

I'm Back......

2011-01-19T07:36:00.003-05:00

Ugh. Sunday, Tim and I were at the church for 8 1/2 hours setting up, having, and cleaning up (sort of) from a confirmation meeting and then teen mass. Monday was a normal day, but busy because I hadn't been home all day Sunday and then yesterday happened. I had tummy yuckies, Jack was home with a cold, and Shane was home "just in case" he was getting sick. It was a fairly miserable day. This morning, I'm waiting to see what is going to happen. Jack is still home. I'm much better. I won't know what's up with Shane for a while yet.

The dome seems to be holding over our esteemed city. We were practically promised a snow day yesterday----freezing rain, sleet, snow, etc. And we got.....some heavy snow but just a couple of inches. So we traded our snow day in for a sick day. Not a fair trade if you ask me.

Several of my facebook friends have made it over to the auto show in the last week or so and have been kind enough to post some pics. I make sure to show them to Tim to tease him. He's still in process of trying to get his father to take him to the show when it comes to our city. I guess the biggest sticking point right now is the fact that Tim feels the need to jump in every single car he sees. This upsets dad, so they are in process of bargaining to see how many cars Tim will be allowed to sit in. (There are times I am so glad I'm the mom.)

What We're Up To

2011-01-14T14:43:00.002-05:00

My husband is sooooo sad. He heard there is an Alberta clipper coming in tonight. Unfortunately, the dome still exists and we're only supposed to get a couple inches of snow. Shane really wanted to use his snow blower and now no luck.

I decided to do something for myself today I worked at giving myself pretty, summer feet even though it isn't summer. I'm the only one who knows, but my toes are now a pretty shade of red.

Tim found a new hill to sled down yesterday. It is now the most awesome hill in the world and he's begging his dad to take him and his brother this weekend.

Jack is Jack. He's in a snowflake cutting mood. He wants me to teach him how to make the 3-D ones, so I guess we have part of our Saturday planned.....sledding, snowflakes, and hot chocolate. Sounds like a good afternoon to me.

Ugh......what a day....

2011-01-13T21:43:00.003-05:00

I got up this morning to discover Jack was sick. A quick call to the school and both of us back to bed. I get up an hour later to find out Shane is staying home...sick. So, it's good in one way--I can still get groceries, but when I get home it's still fetch and carry and try to help the sad ones be better. Tim ends up getting invited to go sledding, so he's gone for two hours. An hour at home later, and he's illin' too. Looks like he's having a sick day tomorrow. Tis' the season and all that good stuff. The season of pestilence has begun. Tomorrow I need to find the can of lysol and encourage fresh air for all.

Max's New Chew Toy

2011-01-12T07:33:00.001-05:00

a deer antler. Shane's uncle told us about them. As you can see, he's still trying to work out what to do with this thing.

Jack's Day In the Snow

2011-01-11T18:02:00.001-05:00

Tim's Winter Fun

2011-01-10T07:32:00.001-05:00

Soldiering On.....

2011-01-08T11:43:00.003-05:00

When you don't do it right the first time, it always takes longer the next time. My dad spouted this wisdom in many different ways throughout my childhood and I find I do spout them back at the children.

When I began this blog, Shane attempted to make me aware of the label function of the blog and get me to use it, but I just ignored it. As the blog goes on, it gets harder and harder to find that one blog entry I'm looking for....how nice it would be to search or pull up a tag.

I also know that when I was going through all my cancer questions last year and searching other people's blogs for some in-site, it was so much easier when they had tagged all their articles.

I'm in process right now of going back through 724ish blog entries and making everything searchable. It is a long process, made much easier during TV viewing, in the evenings from my chair. I've gotten through about half of them this week and I soldier on to make all our lives much easier.

Another day in Michigan

2011-01-06T22:11:00.003-05:00

So the snow is finally here and plans to keep on coming. Since it's the first day of snow on the roads in over a month, people were driving about 5 miles per hour. I hate the first day of snow. It's like people forget that we live in Michigan and we drive on this stuff every year. It's off to Meijer to get to the grocery store, which is packed because there is a storm warning out.....all available cashiers are called up and I get directed into the slowest line. Slow because my gal normally works in the plants and flowers, not running a line. I truly think I could have done it faster. Then I find it is one of those days that the cars have all parked like it is New Year's Eve after we've all been drinking heavily....everyone has had to guess where the parking spots are. Of course, the sun and plow have come through while I'm in the store and everyone who parked around me has left, so now it looks like I'm the silly fool as the van is now taking up parts of 4 parking stalls. Sorry people, it's just another day in Michigan.

What the Grahams Do On A Cold, Wintery Night

2011-01-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

So, last night was kind of boring and the family was about to disperse to their various screens. Inspiration struck. I told the boys I wanted to play a game (insert lots of moans and groans here.) I got them all seated in the living room, grabbed my computer and brought up YouTube. What game can you play with YouTube? Stump the males. You see, they all feel they are experts at music. So, I pulled up videos and played them. One point for the name of the song and one for the group. Shane is a genius at this game, but I must say the night belonged to Tim. I think it was more of a young brain vs. old brain thing....Tim could just get it out faster. To top it off, Tim was in just the right mood. He began singing, air guitaring, dancing around "stage" with his hair flying (he's working hard towards the 80's hair band look), including sliding across the tile and spinning around on his back while playing his "guitar". It was quite the show---wish you all could have been there. Shhh, I'm sure I'm not supposed to be telling you this.....lies, all lies. Shane took some video, but we're holding on to that to use for blackmail at some point.

Winter Excitement---We Have Snow!

2011-01-04T07:52:00.003-05:00

Where we live, we are usually not begging for snow. In fact, for the last few years, by now I've been begging the snow to go away. Everyone calls us to find out about how much snow we have. This year we've been calling other people. It's been like there's been an invisible dome over our city. All around us much snow has fallen. We've gotten enough snow for one good sledding day and that was way back in November. My children were lost over Christmas break. There were no winter sports to be had around us. (At least the free kind that children enjoy---no sledding, snow fort building, or snow ball fights.) We had to drag our sleds south this Christmas to do any sledding as we visited the relatives for Christmas. There were quick pecks on the cheek, boys barely staying inside long enough to be considered polite and then we did not see children again unless food or presents were involved.

Today the snow glut ended. We have a whopping 2 inches on the ground and fingers are already being crossed and plans being made for sledding after school. (Hoping it doesn't melt.) The boys are sad, but I've been so glad to have a break from massive shoveling that this morning almost seemed like a pleasure. I'm not sure what to hope for---more snow to make the children happy or to continue the glut to make shoveling and driving much easier. Time to flip a coin.

New Year, New Look

2011-01-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

I may not be posting long, involved entries about my life right now....but I am spending lots and lots of time with my blog. It's a new year so it's time to give the blog a new look. I'm pretty excited about the changes we're making. I even got the husband on board with very little crying, begging, pleading, and having him watch my ineptness before he just grabs the computer and takes over. I can't wait to get the final touches on the new design and "go-live" with the new look. Perhaps later today, perhaps tomorrow, definitely sometime this week (well, most likely) you will get to see the results of our hard work. Now it's time to go "Fly" through my house. New year, new goals........

A New Year

2011-01-02T10:15:00.003-05:00

and a new attitude (hopefully). It has been a pretty hard year for my family. This became even more evident as I readied the blog to be printed off for the grandmothers who do not touch computers. The end of the year was just sad and 3 of us in the family worked very hard to make a happy Christmas for the youngest. Shane had to work New Year's Eve (surprise, surprise), so I took the time to "exorcise (and maybe exercise) some of those demons. I took all of the emotions of the year and poured the depressing thing out to pen and paper (it was waaaaay too depressing to do here.) All those ugly things that have been stewing and the sobbing and what-not took place that evening and 18 pages and half a box of kleenex (oops, facial tissue) later, I am determined to make this a much more positive year. (This is going to be difficult considering the oldest child is determined to have the sulky, sullen, mumbling teenager stereotype down to perfection by the time he turns 13.)

I have decided I am going back to a couple years ago and am going to work toward a mini goal each month (instead of huge and overwhelming resolutions). It takes 28 days to start a new habit and that's what I am going to work on. It will be nothing exciting. January is getting back into the FlyLady routine. They will be things to get my life back on track and provide structure. I do have one resolution for the New Year. To try and find joy in each and every day. I think that search is going to begin with listening to music again. I may not be able to sing along, but I can dance through my day (just not so anyone can see, mind you.) I'm going to work hard to get back to those little silly things that do bring me joy and try to do at least one a day.

I forgot what joy felt like this year. Shane got tickets for the Trans Siberian Orchestra (something we all enjoy) and took me. For the first 30 minutes of the show I felt like a little girl again experiencing wonder and joy and true laughter as I watched the show. I need a little of that everyday and I am determined to mine it out. I will find me again. Hopefully as finding the joy becomes more natural I will find that silly, sarcastic person that tries to see the good in everything and my sense of humor will return. That is my resolution this year.....to find me again.

No Christmas Cookies for Us

2010-12-20T07:58:00.004-05:00

So, last week I knew I had a roast to cook. I usually do them in the crock pot, but by the time I remembered.....there wasn't enough time. So, I gt the roast ready to cook the old fashioned way...in the oven. I put it in the oven and headed back to the living room to continue what I was working on. 15 minutes later, I realized I hadn't heard the oven beep to tell me it had gotten up to temperature. I went out and checked it and it was stone cold. So, I double checked everything and decided to give it 15 more minutes. Still no luck. I moved the roast to the crock pot and messaged Shane. I then spent the next 15 minutes running between the computer and the stove as Shane had me try various things.

When the husband got home, he proceeded to re-do everything he asked me to do and some other things. He finally diagnosed the stove with a broken igniter. So, I waited to do my Christmas baking until this week (when the boys could help) and now I don't have a stove. I guess someone is trying to tell us we don't need those cookies or something.

Dog Appeasing-Pheremones

2010-12-15T10:13:00.004-05:00

My sister's husband was a bachelor for a long time. During his bachelor days he got a companion...a cat. Mike and the cat have gotten along very well together, then Mike decided to get married....without the cat's permission. When he got married he brought a wife, two loud and noisy boys, a female cat, and shortly after a St. Bernard "puppy" (because they don't stay puppy-sized for long.)

Well, let's just say that the cat was not a happy camper and she let everyone know it in the way cats always do. So, they took her to the vet and found out about this wonderful thing called cat-appeasing pheremone. This thing looks like an air freshener that you plug in and emits a chemical that makes the cat happy or at least calm. A wonderful invention!

We decided to try out this wonderful invention on our dober-dork. The dog who goes insane anytime any of us leave the house or someone or something walks by on "his" street. Shane checked into it and sure enough they make dog-appeasing pheremone. One way to deliver this is through a collar which he always wears. This could be our saving grace. The thing that finally allows the dog to settle down and take the edge of his anxiety. After a week of use, let's just say I'm far from impressed. The dogs intense moments are just as intense, although his calm moments equal an incredibly chilled out dog. I just wanted to even his moments out a bit, not create whatever it is we have at the moment. The box says to give it 2 weeks, so we'll keep trying for another week.

Who Knew?

2010-12-14T09:47:00.004-05:00

So, every winter I fight the battle of the feet. The battle is composed of keeping my feet looking more like feet and less like hooves. It is not an easy battle and it is one that I spend many, many dollars on every winter.

This week I was reading an article in one of my fav women's magazine. The article was on how to winter-proof your body. I read articles like this every year and immediately go out and buy the products especially for feet, because well---it's a problem. This year "they" talked to dermatologists about what they recommend to their patients. The number one suggestion for hoof-like feet (okay, they put it in a much nicer phrase) was petroleum jelly. No way, I thought to myself....could the solution to my problems truly be that easy and inexpensive? So last night I scrounged up the tube (it was by the computer in the office, I decided not to ask....), slathered my feet and put on my socks and went to dreamland.

I awoke this morning to almost summer-ready feet. I'm so ticked off. I've probably spent hundreds of dollars trying to make my tootsies happy and a $2 tube of petroleum jelly seems to be my miracle solution. My husband is going to be so happy!

A New Kind of Christmas

2010-12-08T06:29:00.005-05:00

This year Christmas is turning into a simpler affair. First, out of necessity. Cancer is expensive. There is going to be a Christmas and it will be nice, but it won't be an example of excessive consumption. Second, it's been a difficult year. There is very little desire to "Christmas it up" this year. We've narrowed down the traditions to the important ones and that's what we're going to go with. I'm only getting out the decorations I truly love this year. I've taken the baking stress away. The children have asked for the Christmas movies and our tradition of going out in their pjs with cups of hot chocolate to look at Christmas lights. They have let me know the favorite foods that make it seem like Christmas. Those things will get done.

The children have the week before Christmas off this year. I let them know that if we decided we wanted to make something(s) that week, we would, if not...oh well. Almost all of my shopping was done online this year. I do need to make one trip to the mall to one store. The rest can be accomplished at the grocery store as I shop there.

I don't think I'm depressed. I think we're having a smaller Christmas, but a more meaningful Christmas. Next year, we can go back to the hustle and bustle and busy-ness of the season, but this year we're sitting quietly....listening....waiting for a baby to be born. Maybe it's a smaller Christmas with less glitz and "stuff". But just maybe it will end up being the best Christmas ever, the one we talk about and try to replicate years later.

Just A Brief Post....

2010-12-07T12:43:00.002-05:00

some people around here are complaining about not having clean underwear and stuff...so off to the allergist to get the immunological test results. Jack's immune system seems to be working fine, although he is not immune to 17 out of 23 of the most common bacterial infection pneumonias. So he got a pneumonia vaccine today and we go back to the hospital in a month to see if it took. If not, we get a booster...if so, yea us! 1/2 the dx down, 1/2 to go.

Okay, Something Weird Happened Yesterday

2010-12-03T12:13:00.004-05:00

A number of people touched my arm and asked me in that concerned voice, "How are you doing?" and I actually had to think about why they were asking me that question. It is such a relief to not wake up every morning and think, "I have cancer." It is so nice to not think 500 times a day, "I have cancer." I'm over it. I have a daily reminder every time I look in the mirror, but it is not so much a wound anymore as a battle scar. I'm sure as March draws closer (the ultra sound to make sure everything is being suppressed as it should be.) I will get more nervous and the pit will be back, but for now, I can let it go and it is a wonderful feeling.

Once You're On A First Name Basis With the Funeral Director,

2010-12-02T18:55:00.003-05:00

I think it's time to stop going to funerals. I'm sure Greg is a nice guy in real life, but in the circumstances we have been seeing him in the last couple of years...he's not really someone we are excited to see.

So, I've made a declaration. Someone in our family or friends needs to either get married, have a baby, or graduate from school. Something fun with laughter, teasing, gifts and hope for the future. That's what we need. Come on, one of you must want to do one of those things. I'll buy a great gift and everything.

Advent By Candlelight

2010-11-30T08:16:00.002-05:00

I've blogged about Advent by Candlelight in the past, but this year was my year to hostess a table. I was fairly nervous because many of these women go way out and I'm a sweet and simple girl. I was pretty pleased with my table and received lots of complements. See what you think:

Other than a brief fire, all went well. (Did you know that 4 candles wrapped in ribbon burn hotter which equals faster than 1 candle? Also, ribbon seems to be flameable. It got exciting for a short time at our table.)

'Tis the Season

2010-11-29T13:13:00.003-05:00

to get to know my friendly UPS man again (although I'm pretty sure he's a new guy.) I seem to have adopted a new attitude regarding the holidays this year. We'll see how long it hangs around. The attitude is that it will get done and if it doesn't----oh well. This did prove to be a problem when the evening before the big family Thanksgiving and I was trundling around Meijer trying to figure out what to bring.

I am not a black Friday shopper. I'm usually a get-it-done-before-Thanksgiving kind of shopper. I'm always an Amazon shopper. Other than if I see an unusually good deal (and it truly has to be good to get me out this time of year.) I do almost all of my shopping on-line. It is a beautiful thing. I sit in my comfy chair, watching the show or movie of my choice....comparison shop and then pull the trigger. No lines, no pushing, it is a beautiful thing.

Box 1 appeared today, two more tomorrow, and then a couple of tricklers. Now, I just have to dig out that wrapping paper and find my tape stash.

Test 1 In

2010-11-23T06:24:00.003-05:00

and the youngest child doesn't have cystic fibrosis. 1 test down 3 more to wait on.

Test 1 In

2010-11-23T06:24:00.002-05:00

and the youngest child doesn't have cystic fibrosis. 1 test down 3 more to wait on.

The Mischief Which Is Called Boys

2010-11-22T08:13:00.001-05:00

My oldest child is a tinker-er. He is never so happy as when he is either taking something apart or putting something together. He has recently discovered the fun of baking soda and vinegar---but has taken it to the extreme. Instead of just having things fizz, we want booms. I hate to say the "B" word (homeland security and all that) but that is what the lad is building. Little did I know that a trip to Meijer a month ago in which the laddie bought a case of water, a gallon of vinegar, and the economy size box of baking soda---what would be happening in my alley. I am just thankful no one has called the police, because it does make quite the impressive boom.

Sunday the lad was giggling in his evil scientist type way and then brought this out:

A pea shooter on steroids. Paper wads flew all over the house. He tormented us all with it and wrestled his dad for control of it at a couple of points. Then oldest and I left for teen mass. When we returned, we were ambushed by these:

Dad and little brother used gatorade bottles and improved on Tim's original idea. Who knew what mayhem could be caused with a plastic bottle, a balloon, and some duct tape? Guess what I'm doing this morning? If you guessed picking up spit wads---you would be correct. Yuck!

I Need A Weighted Blanket

2010-11-22T06:26:00.004-05:00

My youngest son sleeps badly. This isn't a new thing. I am grateful that every time he wakes doesn't require that I wake also---he's become fairly well at entertaining himself, but...

Prevacid was a miracle drug for us. It allowed him to sleep better and not wake us up by screaming. (Always a better way to wake up.) Then recently he began a new medicine for his headaches that had the wonderful side effect of making him sleep. That wore off, so they increased the dosage....but no luck.

I've tried to force good sleep habits on him.....he MUST wear pjs to sleep in, he's not supposed to sleep with his light on, he's not supposed to load his bed up with books and toys he sleeps with a fan for white noise. The one thing we cannot do is get the laddy to use an appropriate number of blankets....but no---it can be summer and we'll find him sweating underneath all his blankets.

I said something to my dad this summer and he made a comment about the weight. When we started having trouble with sleep again, I talked to Jack about it. Yes, indeed it was the weight. I remembered something that had been suggested to us a while ago while Jack was in PT and OT...weighted blankets. So for the past week I've been researching weighted blankets; both how to make one and where to buy them. These things are not cheap. Shane decided we should make one, so off to the fabric store yesterday where I promptly became overwhelmed (I don't sew very much at all...)I now know what to stuff the blanket, the weight it needs to be, the size it needs to be, sort of what it needs to be made out of....now I need to decide---buy or make....what to do, what to do.

Sleep.....we all need Sleep

2010-11-19T08:26:00.003-05:00

We are counting down the days until Thanksgiving Break. It's not because of the turkey. It's not because of the family (although we will enjoy visiting.) It's because we can sleep in. We all seem to be a bit short on sleep. Tim is bouncing between the grumpies and being ridiculously punchy. Jack needs some time to recoup from being ill. I don't want to see 6am ever again, but I would like to see what it is like to go to bed at the same time as my husband. (I probably won't be able to fall asleep---all that breathing and stuff.) Shane never turns down a day off and the promise of some extra sleep....so I assume he's also looking forward to a break.