Wow

I just returned from the post office. I mailed TWO things...my father-in-law's Bible that he forgot when he was here and one first class letter that needed additional postage. Ever wonder why the prices are so high at the post office? Get a load of this receipt!


I put it next to my tall hurricane lamp so that you could see how long it truly is. I swear it's as long as my last grocery receipt (when I bought enough food for a week plus Thanksgiving)!

Thankful

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. This past week was fun at our house! The Boy and The Girl came here on Friday the 19th. Saturday we had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and then came home for birthday cake and ice cream. (The Boy turned 20 on November 7th and The Girl turned 21 on the 24th.) We had a nice visit with them before they left for her mom's house for a few days. They got back here on Thanksgiving and by then The Man's dad was here. The Man's sister and family also came over for dinner on Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time.

It really helped to be surrounded by family because I was obviously still feeling pretty down because of Dutch's death.

Yesterday, The Boy headed back to school and starts his new quarter today. It was great to have him home and it's also great knowing that he'll be back home in 3 weeks. Before he left, he carried the Christmas tree upstairs for me and put it together. I got it and the house decorated yesterday.

Now for the fun part...planning the goodies to bake, the presents to buy, and listening to Mannheim Steamroller cds.

I may not have a job at this moment, but I am truly blessed with the life I have. God is good.

Good-bye, our faithful friend

I know that you're now running and playing and no longer in pain. In time, our wonderful memories of you will take the place of the void you left behind.

My friend Amy emailed this quote to me today....
"God turns clouds inside out to make fluffy beds for the dogs in Dog heaven, and when they are tired from running and barking and eating ham-sandwich biscuits, the dogs find a cloud bed for sleeping. God watches over each one of them. And there are no bad dreams."
by: Cynthia Rylant

You will always be my special sweet boy.

Self Defense 101

The boy came home from college and showed this to me. I had to share in case anyone needed to learn self defense.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. In my opinion, she is the best mom in the world! Here are just a few examples:

• after working 3-11pm at the hospital (she's a retired nurse), she would get up in the middle of the night to get me a glass of water just because I 'needed' one.
• while working her shift, she would buy me a Three Musketeers Bar from the candy cart and not get mad at me for rummaging through her purse and eating it before breakfast
• when she was dead tired during the day and would try to catch a catnap on the couch, she would never get mad at me when I would crawl up into her lap, pry open her eyes and tell her to wake up...I'm so sorry, Mom!
  
• when I was in 4th grade, she would pull me from my bed, unlocking the death grip I had on my canopy bed, to try to get me to school. Some days it worked, some days it didn't. I hated 4th grade
• she would bribe me into going to school by promising to pick me up for lunch so that I could spend time with her before she left for pm shift at the hospital.
  
• when I was in 6th grade, she gave up her good paying job at the hospital and became our school nurse so that she could have the same schedule as we did (my dad happened to be one of her principals)....my sister, who was in kindergarten at the time, was her very first patient because she threw up in the middle of her kindy class. good times.
• when I was in 8th grade, she went back to college to get her BS in nursing...she drove 45 minutes one way to school with her best friend...and then she would lock herself in her room with a bag of Doritos and study. BUT, she always made time for the three of us kids and our dad
• she would cook us our favorite meals for our birthday dinners (even turkey for Sam in the dead of summer with no air conditioning!) She always made our birthdays special. We always got bakery cake from Frank's Bakery (those from my hometown know what I'm talkin' about....YUM)
• when I was a junior in high school, my mom graduated from West Liberty State College with her BS in nursing. She got her RN from Presby Hospital in Pittsburgh straight out of high school, but my dad encouraged her to go on for her BS and she did it!
• after junior prom, a few of us headed to Kennywood Amusement park in Pittsburgh. She got up early to fry a bunch of chicken and to pack our picnic lunch. As we were loading the car, she yelled, "Make sure each guy gets a breast!" Seriously, Mom! I don't think she'll ever live that moment down! hehe
• she was always there to wipe our tears, kiss our boo boos, put medicine on our cuts, give out plenty of hugs and kisses, and make us feel homey and secure.
• she is my best friend and I'm fortunate to have her in my life

Mommy, I love you. You are the best ever and you deserve the best life has to offer! You may be 70, but in my mind, you'll always be my mommy!
xoxoxoxo

Gearing Up!

The Boy will be finished with his last final tomorrow morning, then he's heading home for Thanksgiving break! The Man is really happy because 1. he misses him and 2. he claims that there is never any food in the house when The Boy isn't home. whatever. ;)

The Girl (his girlfriend) is also coming, so we're going to have a joint birthday celebration this weekend since her 21st birthday is the day before Thanksgiving. Bring on the cake! Oh, and we're also having lasagna. ;)

My father-in-law will be here in a week, so pretty soon we'll have a full house. That makes me very happy.

I have my Thanksgiving menu all planned (I have had it planned for about a month now...I love the holidays). This time next week, I'll be in the kitchen baking pies and doing the prep work for the big day.

Here is my menu...

• turkey
  
• stuffing
  
• mashed potatoes
• gravy
• sweet potato casserole (have to make a double batch because my nephew will be here!) ;)
• corn casserole
  
• peas and pearl onions
• homemade noodles
• homemade rolls
• cranberry sauce (and I admit to using the jellied sauce because I'm the only one who will eat the 'good' homemade stuff)

Desserts:

• pecan pie
• pumpkin pie
• Dutch apple pie

Mmmmm....I can hardly wait!

This is the year I won't have any excuses....

The past few years, I've been a slacker when it comes to sending Christmas cards. I've also noticed that we've received less cards. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the digital age in which we live (thanks to the new social networking sites), or because of people's busy schedules.

Being a former Navy wife, most of my friends are scattered across the country. It's great to catch up with them at least once a year through Christmas/holiday greetings. My favorite cards are photo cards with pictures of either the kids or the entire family all together.

This year at Thanksgiving, I'm planning on having The Boy's girlfriend take a picture of The Man, The Boy, Dutch, and I so that I can make my own Christmas card from Shutterfly (I just hope that Dutch cooperates!) There are many beautiful options on Shutterfly's page. Once I know how the picture turns out and the colors we wear, I'll choose the card that coordinates the best.

Shutterfly not only has cards, but also a wide variety of gifts from which to choose. You can make your own calendar, canvas wall art, ornaments, and of course holiday cards. They also have fantastic photo books for people like me who aren't into scrapbooking. I'm thinking of making one to commemorate our Disney trip last year.

Just skip on over to http://www.shutterfly.com and you can get creative in your gift giving this year. Oh, and if you're a blogger and want 50 free holiday cards, follow this link, fill out the form and you'll get information on how you can also share the love. http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Happy Birthday, Son!

Trying to make a long story short (it is a really long story, but I know some people don't like to hear about other people's birth stories, so I won't bore you with mine), I was admitted into the hospital at 10pm on Monday night, November 5, 1990. I was using my breathing techniques (hoo hoo hoo hee hee hee) and really? Didn't do much for me. So, after 31 hours of labor (and yes, I did beg for and receive drugs...so much for being drug free) and after being not so nice to my wonderful husband who was only trying to help (sorry, sweetie!), I gave birth to our wonderful son! They marked the time at 2:55am on Wednesday, November 7, 1990.

Fast forward to today....my 'baby' is now 20! years old! I just blinked and this happened! I remember back in the day when I was a stay at home mom and I would take him to the park in his stroller. I would see all of the moms with older kids and they would say to me, "enjoy every single minute of his babyhood. he'll grow way too fast." And now? I find myself saying the same thing to new mothers everywhere. They do grow way too fast.

But now, the relationship the three of us have is priceless. The Man and I have raised a wonderful, well-rounded young man and we really enjoy his company.

Happy Birthday, Son! Your dad and I are so proud you!
xoxoxo

The Waiting is the Hardest Part...Maybe

Twenty years ago today, I was due to have my baby. I woke up in the morning expecting magic to happen....but not a twinge...nothing. So, I continued my nesting and knew we needed food, so I headed to the Navy Commissary for a huge load of groceries. The Commissary was good for many reasons, one being that the food was a bit cheaper and another was that they had people who bagged the groceries and took them to your car and loaded them for you. Just what a hugely pregnant woman needed!

I waddled into the store and filled my cart. After paying for my food, I walked beside the lady who packaged my food to show her my car. As we were walking, we were chatting away and she asked when I was due. I think I said, "Any minute now...today is the day!" I had a hard time keeping up with her after that because she practically ran to my car. After she loaded the groceries and I tipped her, she looked at me with very wide eyes and said, "Good luck!"

As I was driving home, I was thinking that I didn't need luck. I was going to have this baby in a matter of hours AND I was going to do it totally drug free.

You know what they say about the best laid plans, right?

To be continued....