Pampered Mom???

Eating better. . .

2009-11-05T09:54:00.002-05:00

When Thomas was diagnosed with the Swine flu a few weeks ago he hollered and said he didn't want to die. I told him he was not going to die from this flu. I said, "You are healthy you will be just fine in a few days." He said with tears streaming but I don't eat healthy. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I said well here is where we make a change. We will all start eating healthy.

This summer I had looked into the Mediterranean Diet for Mark. I had read somewhere that the people of the Mediterranean have a lower risk and incident of diabetes and many other metabolic diseases. Researchers attribute that to their diet. So off I go to do my own research on the matter. I did use some of the recipes I found in my book and I tried to do more fish. I have not thought seriously about it since I read that book this summer but I found a site through Lowes Foods that has more information on the Mediterranean diet and some really good recipes. It also has a food pyramid for adults and one for children. Check out this site it is cool www.mediterraneanmark.org

I guess I will have some things to talk about at dinner tonight with the kids. I hope showing them the food pyramid will help them understand the importance of certain foods.

Cleaning out the closets. . .

2009-11-04T08:24:00.002-05:00

Ok gals, I am cleaning out the kids closets this week. I have some boys clothes up for grabs. These are Thomas' things so they are 4's and 4Ts I have a few pair of good jeans (carter, Lee) I have one pair of corduroy dress pants size 5, I also have some footed PJs and a few dress shirts ect. . . Let me know if anyone is interested in these they are in good condition. Jack is raising money to help fund a flood relief program in Goldsboro. They need to replenish their flood buckets so the money I can get from the clothes will go to the flood buckets. The group in Goldsboro sent all their supplies to Georgia when they had all their flooding. Goldsboro primarily supplies flood items for North Carolina. Each bucket costs $25 they hold detergent, clothes line and pins, towels and other cleaning supplies.

Anyway, if anyone has any interest in these items let me know via email. pamperedpage@bellsouth.net I also have some cleats if anyone is in need. Baseball is just around the corner.

I hope we are done. . .

2009-10-26T09:08:00.002-04:00

I hope we are done with all the flu yuck. The kids are feeling much better. Jack actually went to Church yesterday with Marks' sister. Mark and I stayed home with Thomas. We have a lot of older members in our congregation and I would hate to infect any of them with this bug. I think it could take its' toll on an older person. I did get to go to my Bible study though and I am so glad. My Bible study has been a saving grace for me this last few weeks. We are required, I love that required, to have a quiet day for 6-12 hours by our selves to reflect and get started on our Lebenslauf (spiritual autobiography). So I got to take mine before all the sickness broke out. I went on Wednesday to the Lake for mine. It was nice, I did have to take Thomas to the doctor before I could go. I did get a good start on my Lebenslauf. I wrote in my journal and took some pictures with my camera and I read my Bible and another spiritual book that I took with me. I think the Lord knew what was coming for me because my quiet day could not have come at a more needed time. I have a really good start to my Lebenslauf and next week I have to give a summary of what I have so far to my group.

The Flu

2009-10-24T11:08:00.002-04:00

So Thomas had to go back to the doctor on Thursday and Friday. He tested positive for the Swine flu on Thursday and was dehydrated on Friday. Thomas had the puke portion of the flu. We are doing much better today. I always thought Thomas was my better puker. He tended to make it to the bathroom and actually hit the toilet. Jack on the other hand when he got sick he hit what ever was in his way. Thomas proved me wrong this time. Thursday and Friday he puked where ever he was. He made no attempt to get to the bathroom. I am not sure if he did not have the energy or if it came on that quick. So I have spent the better part of these past few days doing laundry and spot cleaning the carpet.
Thomas was so pitiful he said, "Mommy I am sorry I puked on your couch." I told him that was ok it was an accident and he should not worry about it. Then, "Mommy I am sorry I puked on your bed and in the floor of your room." I said that is ok things happen you can't help it. Now my house reeks of Lysol and floor cleaner. Yuck! I guess it is better than the alternative.
We are all back on the road to recovery. He has not been at school since Tuesday. The doctor said Thomas could go to school, if he felt like it, on Monday. We have a teacher workday on Monday so he will get an extra day to recover. Yeah!!
We have weathered the storm of sickness. Remember wash your hands! I also read something online about things you can do to prevent the flu. Most were common sense but they said to gargle with warm almost hot salt water and if you could not do that to drink hot liquids. They said it takes about 3 days from the time you come in contact with the bug for you to get sick. They said the hot liquids would kill the virus. It enters through your nasal passages then to your throat. Needless to say I have been drinking a lot more coffee and hot tea as of late.
Cheers!

Sick Children

2009-10-22T03:40:00.002-04:00

So on Monday this week Jack complains of a headache and sore throat. Off we went to the doctor for fear of the flu. It was neither the flu nor strep but an upper respiratory infection. The doctor gave us antibiotics and we were back home. On Tuesday morning Jack woke up and I checked his temp and it was 103 so I gave him some medicine and sent him back to bed. With in twenty minutes he was back downstairs and said his eyes hurt. He was flush and felt really hot. I checked his temp again and it was 106.3 in his ear. Now I know ear thermometers are not the best but that scared me. So off we went to the tub. Jack is a really good sport so he did not complain about the cold water. He knows that I don't do things just to torture him. He spent 20 minutes or so in a cool tub before his temp broke to 104 and I was relieved with that. I gave him a dose of whatever it was that he had not gotten the first time to try and get a hold on this temp thing. So it is now Thursday (wee hours of Thursday) morning and I think he is going to get to go to school today.
Thomas will not be going to school. He went to the doctor yesterday with the same symptoms only his temp did not shoot up until 2:00am. His was only 105.3 in his ear. So off we went to the tub. Thomas is not as good a sport as Jack. He cried the whole time he was in the tub. I gave up after 20 minutes and his temp had not broken. I got him out and put him on the couch and started an alcohol rub down. He did not like that much either. He is now in the bed with a manageable 102 temp.
The moral of this story is check those temps. If you wake up in the middle of the night and your kids have been sick check those temps. Something just told me to go and check on him tonight, I am glad I did. I think this must be the course for this bug they have. It is not the flu it still may be viral though. High temps scare me, some may think I over reacted and some may think I did not react enough because I did not take them to the hospital. I don't think the hospital would have done any better or quicker than I did. Please be ware of this bug that is going around.

A Loss. . .

2009-10-20T03:11:00.002-04:00

My Uncle passed away this week. He lived in Tennessee and knew everyone. When we talked with folks that knew him they all had a story to tell about something he had done or said that somehow changed their lives. I know a lot of people say they had friends or relatives that knew everyone and had never met a stranger but my Uncle truly never met a stranger. If he did meet someone he did not know he knew someone they knew and quickly became friends with them. He loved life and the outdoors. He was 85 years young. He had been a Principal and involved in the school system for many years and many of the people we met this weekend he had either taught or they worked with him. He grew up in an era that kids respected their elders, you never talked back to your parents, and you always helped out around the house.

My Mom told the story about he and another Uncle that were in the Navy and had not seen each other in at least a year because they were both at sea. She said that Carroll, the one that passed away, his ship had run out of water. They only had water to drink and barely any of that. They called for assistance and met up with an aircraft carrier near them. Well, low and behold, it was the aircraft carrier that his older brother Julian was on. They tied up together and the boys on the aircraft carrier threw a party for the boys on the other ship. Julian knew his brother was aboard the other ship and he boarded her to find his brother he had not seen in at least a year. When he found him poor Carroll looked a mess. Julian told him he would have to shave and shower before he board his ship. (with a laugh of course) How is that for a story? Two brothers meeting each other in the middle of the ocean serving on two different ships and in the middle of a war.
My dear Uncle Carroll you will be missed.

Things my boys say? ? ?

2009-10-16T10:58:00.002-04:00

So you know how my kids are. They say whatever pops into their little heads. Sometimes it can be hurtful and sometimes you just have to laugh. Well, the other morning before school Thomas was making fun of my hair. Yes, I had the terrible bed head. I was rushing around trying to get them ready to go to school so I had not brushed my hair or even tried to fix it. I really didn't care right then. Thomas commented that it looked really ugly. Jack immediately jumped to my defense and told Thomas that was not very nice and he should apologize to me. Thomas of course ignored his brother and kept poking fun at me. Again, I really did not care, my hair did look bad. Mark said I had a Don King thing going on with it.

I am glad that Jack jumped to defend me. It makes me feel good that he realizes that words can hurt peoples' feelings. I guess I am going to have to get up earlier so that I can make myself presentable before I wake my kids up. HA HA!! Not! They will just have to learn to deal with it. I have noticed Jack saying please and thank you more often lately. Could he be up to something or could he just be using his manners. I hope it is the later.

Thomas always has a way to make me laugh and wonder where he comes up with these things. We were watching TV the other day together and a commercial came on for a wrinkle cream. (you know where this is going don't you?) Thomas looks at me and says, "Mommy you need some of that stuff." I said, oh really. Why? He said, "you know when you give me my bath and your fingers get all wrinkly. You could use it after you give me a bath so they aren't so wrinkly." I laughed and grabbed him and hugged him and told him how much I loved him. He makes me laugh so.

The Fair

2009-09-30T08:05:00.003-04:00

Well, I am going to be awarded the worst Mommy award this week. I had promised Jack since last fair time that he could enter something in the Fair. He loves to cook and has been wanting to make fudge since last Christmas. He does a good job. So this year I promised him he could enter his fudge in the Fair. We even created a new recipe to make it his own. I made my pound cake to submit as well. I have always wanted to enter something at the Fair too. Today is the day you have to take everything up there to be judged. I went on the website to figure out how to submit everything and found that you were supposed to send in an entry form by Sept. 1st. I did not do that, so I cannot take our entries today. Jack is going to be so mad at me. He has looked forward to this for so long. His fudge is really good too. I don't know how I am going to break this to him. Anybody want a really good pound cake?

First Football game

2009-09-27T04:57:00.002-04:00

We played our first football game yesterday for both boys. I love football but I do not like it in the rain. It rained all day yesterday and was a little chilly too. Since our club was the host for the games that meant we had to work the gate, the concession stand and do clean up. Just throw the rain in there and you have a party. I think my family changed clothes 3 times each during all that fun and to boot Mark wanted to go out to eat after the last game. Yuck! We went out to eat with me looking like a drowned rat. I must have been really hungry because I did not care that I looked like a drowned rat.
The boys played good games but Thomas's team got beat. They are a young team so some of them like Thomas still have a lot to learn. Thomas is still learning the finer points of the game. One thing he has not learned is that he is going to get knocked down. He still takes that personally. Yesterday he and one of my best friends' son knocked heads and they both came off the field crying. I think my friends' son got the worst end of the hit. Thomas is my little drama queen though so everything is major to him. In the middle of the drama they both said at the same time, "I don't want to play football anymore." I think it was a heat of the moment kinda thing. I think they will both be back at it on Tuesday for practice.
Jacks' team did well they won despite the rain and yuck. Jack scored a TD and a two point conversion. Of course I did not find that out until after the game. It is so hard to see who is who on the field. I just cheer for all of 'em.

Football Jamboree. . .

2009-09-21T08:17:00.003-04:00

Both the boys had their jamboree for football this weekend. Jacks' team scrimmaged against 4 other teams and did pretty good. They are still working on fine tuning a few things. I thought they looked great but of course I am a little prejudice. Mark on the other hand is very critical so he saw a lot of things they needed to work on. I was so excited one time because we were running for a touchdown and I looked to see who ran the ball and it was Jack. I jumped up and said that was Jack he's mine, that's my son. Yeah!! In all their gear you cannot tell who is who. I just know his number. They have their names on their jerseys but I can't see that far so that does not help. Thomas did well at his jamboree. This is Thomas first year of football so he has a lot to learn about the game. Several of the kids that are on Thomas team played last year so that is a big bonus. They know what to do. Thomas only played one team instead of multiple like Jack did. Thomas team won. Yeah!! I looked up one time and all I saw was Thomas feet fly in the air and then he got up rubbing his head. He was quite upset about that. We told him that's football, he did not like getting knocked for a loop. He bowed up at the boy and looked like he wanted to go after him but his coach grabbed him and brought him back to the line where he was supposed to play. He did not get any flags but he tried really hard. I think other than getting knocked on his fanny he had fun.

They both play on Saturday for real. They are playing at different times so I will get to see both games.

New Bible Study . . .

2009-09-17T08:08:00.004-04:00

I have started a 40 week Bible study through our Church called Gemeinschaft. It is a small group Bible study only seven people and we are reading our Bible and daily text and also creating a journal. Since the Moravians' are German then a lot of our names for things are German. Part of our study is creating our Lebanslauf which is German for spiritual autobiography. I was a little worried about that one. I have started it and surprisingly it is not as hard as I thought it would be. This has brought back many memories of my childhood and church. I have remembered things that I have not thought of in many years. One of the things that brought back great feelings was when I was about five or six and I got to be the star in the live nativity scene. I stood on a ladder behind the little shack they had built to represent the barn.
I also remembered all the pot luck suppers we had too. Our Church now has a few suppers but they are not really pot luck they are fixed by the members of the Church but they are not their own recipes. I think that is one thing I miss.
I hope when my kids look back on their childhood they will have fond memories of going to Church and Vacation Bible School.

Double digits. . .

2009-09-07T03:00:00.002-04:00

Well, my baby has reached double digits. He will be ten this week. He is getting a new bike for his birthday. I feel old! Yuck! I have a ten year old son? He thinks he's twenty. We had a family get together at the Lake yesterday and fun was had by all. The kids played in the water, Mark fished, and I got to gossip with the ladies. HA HA!! Don't think that Mark was not gossiping to. You know men do it too. If they say they don't they are lying. My husband has gone to the kids basketball games and come home with more dirt on people than I could even think of. He never solicits information people just like talking to him and will tell him anything.

I made Jack a cake to go to the Lake for his Birthday Celebration. It was devils food with chocolate icing. Yummm!!! It turned out pretty good. I spelled his name on top with M&M's. He liked it and everyone else thought it was really good. I told' em you can't beat Betty Crocker. Jack got gift cards to the toy store so I guess tomorrow we will be shopping at the toy store. He already knows exactly what game he wants. He has been saving his commissions, that is what we call his allowance, for several weeks now to buy it. Now with birthday money rolling in he will be able to get it sooner than he thought. He is also very excited about his bike. He has already picked it out so all we have to do is pick it up. He did need a new one really bad. The one he has now is too small for him. Unfortunately, it is too big for Thomas right now. Thomas is at that in between stage. He is too big for his bike and his legs are too short for Jacks' bike.

Whiney kids

2009-09-03T15:13:00.002-04:00

Ok, so why is it that when you tell your child to do something that they immediately respond with the highest pitch whine ever. Oh, mom whyyyyyyyyyyy? Can't they just know that they are supposed to do what we ask when we ask it. Then of course you get the stomping of the feet and the loud huff. I am trying a new response to those things. If they give me the oh mom bit I simple point to their room and tell them ten minutes. I know this is lame and to close to the old time out thing. But, when their time is up I tell them again what I need them to do and they seem to do it without arguing.
I know they need boundaries but goodness does it have to be this hard. Do we have to do this every time. (whine, whine, whine.) Life is such a vicious cycle.
I was looking through some old pictures again of the kids when they were just babies. I miss that age sometimes. I don't miss the 2am feedings and diaper changes though. I miss their little laughs as they see something for the first time. I miss that baby smell too. You know the one I mean. That sweet clean smell. I have two boys and they just stink now. They have that sweaty, stinky, little boy on the playground all day stink. They whine and complain why do I have to take a shower? I took one yesterday. Mark just tells them to smell under their arms. That is the male approach to getting them to bathe. It works so I don't complain. Mark does have some parenting skills, it has just taken them almost ten years to kick in.

Knitting . . .

2009-08-30T13:38:00.002-04:00

I have started knitting. Mark says it is an old lady kinda thing. What do you think? I have always wanted to learn to knit. My niece Allison knits and she is in high school.
She helped me get started. I finally finished my scarf I have been doing on and off for two years. It would not have take that long if I could have gotten someone to show me how to bind it off. Allison showed me how to get started but nobody ever told me or showed me how to finish. Finishing is tricky. I have taught myself the different stitches. I am now working on a stole for myself. The scarf is for me too. When I get more comfortable doing it I will give them to people. I have found a book on Prayer Shawls that is really neat. There are a few women in the Church that are doing these. I will definitely have to get better before I can give them away. They have a few errors in them and don't look exactly right, but hey they are hand made.

I don't think I am old because I like to knit. It is fun to see how it comes together to make something. I am excited about my stole. I will have to post you a picture of it when I finish. My goal is to get comfortable enough that I can knit things and give them away. Both of my kids received little hats while they were in the hospital right after they were born. The hats were knitted by local women that volunteer in the hospital. They are quite precious little hats. That is what I would like to do.

Let me know your thoughts: Is knitting an old lady thing?

First Days of School

2009-08-27T16:28:00.003-04:00

Well, the boys survived their first three days of school. No problems or issues with teachers. Yeah!! I may have been concerned for nothing. Who am I kidding, I'm a Mom I am supposed to worry and be concerned for nothing. Isn't that in our job description?
I was talking with the dental hygienist this morning about kids and school and she said where her kids go to school they had to buy copy paper. So, is the School system budget in that bad of shape that they cannot afford copy paper? Jacks' teacher told me they are only allowed to make one copy per week per kid. How crazy is that? I feel a tax increase coming on.

I was really concerned about Thomas adjusting to a new teacher and more work. He has really not come home with any work yet. He seems to like his teacher. He had his kindergarten teacher completely snowed last year. She was apologizing to me for having to move his clip for something he did. I told her if he had done something wrong he needed it moved. Thomas is my charmer, he can charm the pants off of anyone. He probably got away with a lot last year. Jack on the other hand he is the brutally honest one of the bunch. Thomas would lie in a heart beat to save his own skin and make you believe it too. Not Jack, no matter how much trouble it meant for him he would not lie to get out of anything. I guess that is why he does not get into that much trouble. He is a talker. That is what he gets in trouble for at school. He is a social butterfly. He is smart and makes good grades. He has never gotten in trouble over his grades just his behavior. I am hoping the behavior thing he will grow out of. It may just be a boy thing though. He acts just like his Daddy. I guess Thomas is more like me. I don't see myself as a charmer though. I never got away with anything when I was in school.

Telemarketers ? ? ? ?

2009-08-22T10:11:00.005-04:00

I know they have a job to do but they are soooo pushy. I absolutely hate getting telemarketer calls. Most of the time they are from non-profit organizations begging for money. I know they need money and I am just as sorry as I can be about each one of their causes. But, I have a family and we are working with one income since I stay at home with my kids and I really hate people asking me for money when I work everyday to make ends meet. This is not to say that I don't give to charity because I do. I support our local charities that are associated with our Church and I support our Church with 10% plus. I also am an avid gift giver to breast cancer research foundations and the American Cancer society. I don't want anyone to think I am callous or uncaring for these folks plight. I do care and I know everyone else does but these are hard times for everyone. Don't feel guilty for saying NO. It is ok to say NO. I did.

I really do not like these people constantly calling with their hands out. Who is going to take care of my kids when we don't have money to pay bills. Not one person that's who. That is why today I took a stand and told the lady on the phone that I could not do it this time. I have been bombarded by the Police, Firemen, Cancer Assoc, Mammogram people, and the Children's Miracle network. I have given to many of these over the years and this year as well but today I stood my ground and said, NO. I am not even sure if these organizations actually get the money we give. Yes, this is not your local police or firefighters calling you. They may put on their best southern accent for you but they are not local. I know for a fact that the one group that used to represent the police only gave forty to fifty cents on the dollar to the police they were collecting for. I know this because my father-in- law and brother-in-law are both retired from the local police and my mother-in-law looked into it when she got a call to make a donation. I also know the fire department does not get all the money either because I have an uncle that is a retired firefighter. He was actually the Chief before he retired.

So if you want to give money to these charities go to them in your local area and write the check because otherwise they don't see that money. Also you can check them out with the Better Business Bureau to see if they are legit. http://www.bbb.org/

School is almost here ! ! ! !

2009-08-21T19:29:00.002-04:00

I am so excited School is about to start! Yeah!!! The kids on the other hand are not so excited. They are really going to have to alter their schedules. I have been quite lenient on them about bedtime and what time they get up. They have been staying up past 9:30 most nights and sleeping till 9 or later most mornings. I have not slept that late though. I still have Mark to contend with and my little blind chihuahua. The Chihuahuas' alarm is set for 6:30am and she expects to be fed immediately.

I hope we have a good school year this year. I am a little nervous about it. Thomas starting 1st grade and Jack going to 4th, they grow up so quickly. Jack will turn 10 toward the end of the year and he is really growing up fast. You can see his maturity some days. He has started reading his Bible more. The Bible I have for him is the King James Version so it is a little more difficult for him to read but he is doing it. He reads a little each night before bed and bedtime prayers. I get a little teary each night when I see him reading from his Bible. It makes me feel as though I just may have done something right as a Mother. Only because the good Lord above has been guiding me.
I am sure I will be praying a lot this year. I don't know why but I just am really worried about this school year. Maybe I am apprehensive because I think they are growing up to fast, I am not sure.

The Composter!!!!

2009-08-19T10:32:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I now have a composter. Mark is putting it together today. Our garden did ok for a first year. Our soil is very poor. I think when they built our house they just grated all the top soil off and that left us with yucky soil. No nutrients what so ever. My goal is to use my composter to boost my garden for next year.

We did have a good crop of zucchini and cucumbers. I am still getting tomatoes so that is good. It has been a struggle though and I should have had a bumper crop of tomatoes with the number of plants we put in the ground. We have made salsa three times and it was good but too hot for my taste. Mark says I am a weenie. I think my taste buds have changed in my old age. I use to could eat hot stuff but now I just can't take it. The kids love the salsa so I know it must be pretty good.

Oh my gosh! I completely forgot to tell you about the fig tree. My figs are fabulous this year. I am picking about 5 per day. Yeah, I know that does not sound like a lot but I eat them right off the tree so five will fill both Mark and I up. The kids don't really like them yet. The are good size figs too. At the rate they are ripening I will have figs till October, if we don't have a cold snap.
I will keep you posted on the old composter. I know it will take some time to get compost so we will improvise until it is ready.

2009-08-17T18:48:00.001-04:00

Summer is almost over. . . Ahhhhhhh!!

2009-08-17T17:43:00.002-04:00

I have compiled pictures from our adventures this summer. This a sampling of what all we did. I just hope my kids had fun. I did!

End of Summer Camp. . .

2009-08-16T00:02:00.002-04:00

Jack has returned home from his week of camp. He slept most of the way home and I think he even fell asleep after we got home and settled. I guess the cots don't sleep as good as his bed at home. Well, I would like to think so anyway.

Once he woke up I got to hear all about camp. This is his first time at a week long camp. I think he had a great time. I asked him if he missed us and he said nope. He got to do crafts; making Gods' eyes, a tea tray out of wood, a braided necklace, and a catapult. He also got to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow. He loved that and now he wants a bow and arrow for his birthday. Not sure I am ready for that one yet. Although we do have a nice big back yard and we could set up a target at the back of the yard, as long as it is not near Jakes' dog lot. Don't want to deal with that accident.

He had a few run ins with one kid that wanted to pick on him some. Not sure why except the kid is mean. Jack said he picked on everyone but he seemed centered on Jack. Oh well, thank goodness Jack is thick skinned and not a lot bothers him when it comes to that kind of stuff.

We have had Bible School this week at Church so Thomas has been all tied up with that. Jack got to go tonight and they had some animals for them to pet and play with. They had a: donkey, llama, pony, parakeet, a couple of small snakes, and a type of lizard. Not sure of the proper names for the reptiles but they were kinda creepy. I am not a slimy, creepy, crawly kinda Mom. Jack held one of the snakes and played with it. Yuck!! Thomas on the other hand did not want anything to do with it. Tomorrow is our last night and we get to dunk our Preacher in the dunking booth. How cool is that? There are a few others on the list ahead of him but he is going to get dunked. My kids can't wait for that part. Jack wants to be the one in the booth though. I think he just wants to heckle people. Wonder where he gets that from?
Mark is off this next week so we are going to be doing some more interesting things before School gets started so stay tuned. There is never a dull moment with our group. Oh yeah, and Mark has said he is going to the pool with us one day too. So that should be interesting. Thomas has to show him how he can swim under water.

The Healthcare Plan???

2009-08-14T08:23:00.002-04:00

Ok, I know this is political yet again and I am sorry skip it if you want to. I have to get this off my chest. I do not like the idea of the government telling me what doctor I can go see and when. Worse still the fact that they could decide that oh, your to old to have that surgery we'll just let you suffer. This is the government playing God and let's face it there is only one person out there fit for that job.

The news said the other night that the majority of healthcare benefits are spent in the last year of someones life. I say spend it. You have paid into these programs all of your life shouldn't you get something out of it.

My parents are 76 and in pretty good health they don't take a lot of meds for chronic things. My Dad still works out at the gym most days. He has high blood pressure and that is about it. My Mom battles osteoarthritis and that has only come on in the past say four years. Now, under this supposed plan of Health care reform should something happen to my parents that put them in the Hospital the doctors could say, Oh their too old to really do anything for them, they are at the end of their life. Let's just let them go. I don't think so. My father fell through the roof of our barn at age 63. He fell between 17 and 23 feet to a hard dirt floor. He crushed his right arm, cracked his pelvis in three places and lacerated his kidney. He was in traction in the ICU for 4 weeks on a respirator. He then went to the surgery floor where he spent another week in traction and then came home. He was to remain in bed for an additional 2-3 weeks. We taught him how to walk again. Like I said earlier he is 76 now and he has some pain in that right arm in the winter and he still goes to the gym almost everyday.

If that scenario had played out under this "healthcare" plan (I use that term very loosely) I don't think they would have done as much to save him. He took 18 plus units of blood and almost died twice in ICU. Now 13 years later I am glad President Obama was not in charge of my Dads' Health Care. If he had my Dad may not have seen the birth of three of his six grandchildren.

Empty House. . .

2009-08-12T11:03:00.003-04:00

Well, this week Jack is at camp and Thomas is at Memaws' for a few days. He hates sleeping upstairs by himself. So he talked his Memaw into letting him spend a few nights at her house. The house is sooo quiet. I had planned a nice dinner for Mark and I last night. We had pasta with a Vodka sauce that was really good and then I made cheese fondue. I know the two do not actually go together but that is what I was wanting to eat last night. It was really good. We had Key Lime Pie for dessert. Yummm!! Mark was surprised. He was not expecting all of that especially since I have been battling my back for the past several days.

I called Memaw this morning to check on Thomas and she said they had been very busy playing and reading. They went to the Library yesterday and got some Ghost story books. They played crochet and Memaw squirted him with the water hose. I think he is having great fun and he wants to stay another night. I am not sure about that I will have to talk with Memaw about that one. So I may be alone yet again. Ahhh the sound of silence.

Weddings. . .

2009-08-11T19:52:00.002-04:00

Worked the Wedding Show this weekend in Greensboro. It is always so cool to see what everyone has to offer the Brides. I don't remember all the fuss when we got married. They have Wedding directors, photographers, reception destinations, and destination weddings. When Mark and I got married we just did the old Church sanctuary and Church fellowship building. Mark and I did things very simple but elegant. Marks' niece is getting married next year so she and her Mom came to the Bridal show to check out all the goodies. They did pick her cake person out there so that was good. They went with Cakes by Manfred. He is the best. All the years I have been doing the Wedding show he has been there. He always brings me a piece of his cake at the end of the show. It is the best. If anyone you know is getting married I highly recommend Cakes by Manfred. He is the best! He is a very sweet gentleman and a wonderful baker too. His cakes are just melt in your mouth fabulous.

The other cool thing about the Wedding show is that they do fashion shows and you get to see all the newest styles for the up coming Wedding season. They had some gorgeous gowns this time.
Marks' niece is going to get married outside our Church on the lawn. We have a beautiful Church both inside and out. Then they have booked the country club for the reception. Mark is already complaining about that one. He is fussing about the date and the fact that he will have to drive to another place for the reception. He is such a fuddy duddy sometimes. It has nothing to do with his age he is just set in his ways. He is very traditional I guess. Although it did not take long for me to talk him in to renewing our vows in Las Vegas. He loves Las Vegas though. He had won a trip with his company in 2002 and we planed our trip to Vegas and I decided how cool it would be to renew our vows. He agreed. We renewed our vows at the Little White Wedding Chapel, the one where Elvis got married. We had such a great time. Some of Marks' friends that were in our Wedding the first time came down to join us in Vegas for the second time around. Now this was the year of our ninth wedding anniversary. We had such a great time in Vegas. We took a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and landed to have a nice lunch in the Canyon. That was really cool. I did not like the helicopter ride so much but everything else was really cool.
The next time we renew our vows I want to do it on the Beach. Not sure if I can talk Mark in to that one or not. I think we should do it again for our 20th anniversary. That would be in 2013.

Tax FREE

2009-08-08T07:34:00.002-04:00

OK, so here we go in to a very busy shopping weekend, mostly for the kids. Mark and I have already started. We went to a sporting goods place to get the kids new cleats for football last night. Afterward I took Jack to try on pants. He goes to camp on Sunday so I could not do it another night. Kids hate clothes shopping, or at least mine do. I am sure I am not alone in believing that this is one of Dantes' Layers.

Jack and I went to the Mall, yes I said it the Mall, to find him some pants for this fall. I cannot fit him anymore by just looking and bringing it home. He must have tried on six pairs of jeans and we only found three to fit him. They were either to long or to big in the waist but the next size down were too tight. He is at that awkward in between stage. We finally found three pair that fit all of different sizes if you can believe that. I wanted to go in to the Mall and find one more store. Of course I got the, Mom, are we done now, can we go now, I'm thirsty. Can we get something to drink? I told him we would after we go to this last store. I usually find good deals at this one. They were having a sale so I picked out a couple of pairs of jeans for him to try own. Those worked so I decided I would get Thomas a pair too. Thomas I can still fit just by looking. He can wear some of Jacks' old jeans but most of them have holes in the knees. After that I was off to get the poor little dehydrated boy something to drink. I wondered how Marks' adventure was going. He had taken Thomas and was going to the grocery store. HA HA !!! I have been sick most of this week and I have not been. I still don't feel well so this was a pretty difficult shopping trip. We made it home and boy was I glad. I felt like a damp dish rag. Today I get to go find all the school supplies.