Happy Mothers Day Mommy

I want to take this Mothers Day to thank my mom for everything she does for me. I don't know if anyone else would be able to put up with Brie and I. She has been raising me by her self since I was 4, and I think shes doing a pretty good job. Mom is a very strong person and I look up to her in many ways, more then I think she even realizes. I don't know what I would do with out her. She has always pushed me to do things, with me fighting her every step of the way, because of her pushing me it has made me who I am today. Even though I fight with her I know she only wants whats best for me. She is crazy, fun, loving, supportive, and best of all shes my mom.

HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL MOTHERS DAY MOMMY.
I LOVE YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER,
Em
♥♥♥♥♥

Guess What????

yeppers.... it's raining. Big surprise, right? So since my van isn't running right, perhaps I should think of getting a boat instead.I'm not sure how many days straight we've had rain, but it has been quite a few. Personally I really don't mind the rain. Some people want to slap me when I say that so I don't say it out loud very often. What the heck, it makes for a lovely flower garden. And without rain we wouldn't have...Gene Kelly "singing in the rain!" Before we know it we'll be wishing for rain. I say we take some time to run out and splash in a puddle. It's not too cold to do so. Drop the frumpy adult "I'm sick of the rain" and have some fun. ☺

OOOh La La!

Another "pop quiz" for everyone. This one is more fun in a disturbing sort of way.

What do you get when I combined...with....OK.... SO PERHAPS THIS IS IN MY DREAM WORLD, JUST PLAY ALONG, ALRIGHT!!?!! What do you get???

I'll give you a few hints.Have you figured it out yet? I'm sure you have.Yeppers, a sprained ankle. On top of everything else this week, I sprained my ankle walking into a clients home on Saturday. Can you believe my luck? I knew exactly what to do.... and have been following the standard protocol since I got home yesterday.They say trouble comes in three... well I've got my three. Work, van, ankle. I should be done for a while now. Let's hope so.

Nighttime Fun

What do you get when you combine.... sidewalk chalk & supplies...








With silly girls who are all upside down in life.... on a mild spring evening????

You get sidewalk artists!! After twisting my ankle earlier in the day, I was resting with my foot... iced and elevated... I might add I was drifting off to sleep too. At about 7:15 Brie asked if she could go outside and play for a little while. Sure.. why not. At 7:45 I went out to see what the kids were up to. How fun! They were busy drawing on the sidewalk. They had a blast and stayed out until sometime around 9:30 I'd say.Who can resist a little silliness in life, right?Even Kait ended up getting in on the fun.You can tell the girls have a bad case of spring fever. Summer is just around the corner for sure... and not a moment too soon!

According to Prudence

"Anyone with a penis and a vagina can have a baby."

Such was the way a conversation went the other day. I don't remember exactly how the topic came up... it may have been about welfare and unwed moms. At any rate, when she said that I reminded her of the fact that there are many couples who desperately want the privilege of being parents. Not all of us conceive and/or carry babies easily, or "traditionally."Becoming a mother was a long and heartbreaking experience for me. It DID NOT come automatically or easily at all! I thought it would, but I was mistaken.Thankfully pregnancy finally did happen, along with 2 live births (after 3 fetal deaths). I wouldn't take back any of the experiences I went through. It made me appreciate even more how blessed I am to be a mother. Of course there are times I get frustrated with the girls, however, I wouldn't change a thing. I love being a mom! ☺So for all of you moms or moms-to-be.... or moms in spirit, don't ever give up. Don't listen to people who don't know their heads from a hole in the ground. It isn't always easy, but it is always worth it in the end. Of that I am convinced.

A Beautiful Message

This was on my friend Sheri's blog... I "stole" it from her. Doesn't it make you want to stand a little taller and think better about yourself? We really are special.... even if we forget that at times.

HAPPY EASTER

Just a few pictures from this special time of the year. I had Alexandra, Isabel, Hayden, Connor, and Serena over a week ago to paint eggs. We had a fun time... and as you can see the eggs turned out lovely. This year my tree grew Easter Eggs. I've never had that happen before! And of course everywhere you look beautiful flowers are coming up. Isn't this time of year wonderful? Everything is beginning anew. There is a feeling of hope in the air. The love of our Savior is all around us.Life truly is good.

Hershey Park Happy...Sort Of

This past Saturday we were able to go to Hershey Park for the day. Some of our friends from Harley had extra tickets (it was Harley Day - free admission and company picnic) which they gave to us. The only thing we had to pay for was the parking. Even the food was provided by Harley. It was a dreary morning. The rain had started in the middle of the night and continued through until about noon. Everything was wet when we arrived. As the day went on the sun broke through and the breeze kicked up but over all it turned out ok until the sun started to set. Before I knew it I was freezing cold and ready to go home. The girls got to meet up with some of their friends and enjoyed it much more than I did, but that's how kids are, right? Believe it or not, they even waited in line for 1 hour and 40 minutes to be in the front row of the Great Bear. INSANE. The waited that long for a ride that's no more than a minute long. That's just crazy in my book. Oh well.

So we'll have to see what the summer brings when it comes to going back up again. Prices are pretty high for general admission, however, you can get discount tickets at several locations. Time will tell. At least they went this time. Woo Hoo!

NO FREAKIN' WAY!!!

No pictures.... no cute graphics, nothing like that today! You'll have to form your own images (and throw in some smells along the way).

When I got home from work Thursday evening (at 7:30 - my 12 hour work day), I was told that Samantha had pooped 3 times in Brie's room... and Emile was "letting it dry" before trying to clean it up because it was runny. NICE. Just what you want to hear. Obviously something wasn't right.

Move to Friday...6am.. Samantha is going crazy in her kennel... prancing around, anxious; you could tell she really wanted out. Emile discovered vomit in the kennel as she was opening the door to take Samantha out back. Oh crap. What's next? Stupid me, I HAD TO ASK.

When I get home Friday afternoon (2:30) I can smell poop as soon as I start up the stairs. Because of the rain, we had to put Samantha back in her kennel rather than let her outside... she has a dog house, but I still like her indoors if the weather is bad. Anyway, as I approach her kennel, she looks completely forlorn, her head is dropped, ears laid back, just pathetic. And the smell is TERRIBLE. Here she had numerous accidents throughout the day and everything was a mess. I immediately took her out back where she immediately pooped in 3 more places. She really seemed miserable. When she finished she came over to me and just put her head against my arm. I felt so bad for her. Don't you hate when you can't talk to someone (child or animal) so they can tell you what's wrong?

When Emile got home from school, we took the bedding out of the kennel (as well as her dog house bedding) and walked down to the corner laundry mat to wash everything. I didn't want to wash it in my washer.... yuck. It's been at least 20 years since I used a commercial laundry. I couldn't believe how much it cost to wash a load. I used the smallest machine and it was $2.00. The other machines were $3.00 and $4.00. I'm sure thankful I have my own washer and dryer!!

After the wash, we brought everything home and put them in the dryer. Next Emile helped me give Samantha a bath. I actually gagged. She smelled so bad. NOT a pleasant experience. By the time we finished that... and blew her somewhat dry, the bedding was dry and we were ready to put everything back together.

As of this morning, I haven't found any new messes, however, I did find another old one, more than likely from Thursday evening. When I went to open blinds in my craft room, I found several messes. I'll attack that in a few minutes. Samantha does seem to be feeling a bit better. Hopefully the worse is over.

THANK YOU EMILE.... YOU WERE GREAT!! Just when I want to wring your neck, you come through and remind me of what a TERRIFIC KID you really are. You were a ton of help, and I truly appreciate everything you did to make a crappy situation a little easier to get through.
I ♥ U

There's No Place Like Home

TADA! It's finally posted. Pics from West York's Musical. As you can plainly see, they performed "The Wizard of Oz." What a FANTASTIC job they did. Believe me when I say this. I L♥VE The Wizard of Oz. It's one of my all time favorites. If the performance had been a "stinker," I would have gotten up and left. Not only did I not leave, I ended up seeing it twice! The sets and costumes were terrific. In Kansas everything was in black, gray, and white... vivid colors when you got to Munchkin Land... very cool! were terrific. The acting was super! My only regret? I should have taken my great nieces, Alexandra and Isabel, to see it. Morgan would have been a little to young to sit through it, but I think the other two would have really enjoyed it. My bad.... I'm truly sorry, girls.

Emile and her friend, Roxie, ran sound. There's more to it than I thought, and they did a good job. Of course they were very aware of every mistake they made, but it sounded great to me. Even the band did a good job. I have NO complaints at all. It was just terrific. Very VERY good job everyone!!

And not to be forgotten, Brie was also involved in her school's play. They performed "Sunrise Boulevard." It was a murder mystery. It was nicely done as well. Brie was on the tech crew and took charge of the spot light. She did a good job and seemed to enjoy being "behind" the scenes rather than on stage. Both of the girls have performed at DreamWrights Youth and Family Theatre, so it's easy for them to fit in where ever they are needed.... or when they want a change of pace, they have broad experience and abilities. It's neat to see them being able to apply skills they've learned along the way!

Spaghetti Dinner & Auction

Ok, so I haven't been on for a little while. Life has been so busy lately, but isn't that always the case, right? Last Friday was the annual youth spaghetti dinner and auction. It's always a fun evening and a good chance to raise money for scout and girls camp. First we have dinner, then there's the best part of the evening. The dessert portion of the auction. Each youth donates an item (and lots of other people too). We took in a red velvet bundt cake. It smelled so yummy and was still in the pan when we got to the church. We put the glaze on there.If I remember correctly, we got $12.00 for our cake. Not bad! We also donated a pedestal sink (still in the box) and a new wall light fixture. We left before they were auctioned off.

Because of the auction, the girls only have to pay $15.00 for camp. Actually Emile doesn't have to pay anything because this year is her 4th year hike. She's pretty excited about that. I can't believe she's already a 4th year. It seems like just yesterday that I was going to camp. Anyway, it was a fun evening.... and the beginning of a very busy weekend (musical at West York High too). More info and pictures will be posted soon.

Thank Heavens for P

oop. What a month this has been!!!!! Between the girls both getting sick, and me having this "fun" experience recently, I'll be glad for March to be gone. So the quick version of the situation is like this. Very little poop for a week means big trouble in the end (no pun intended). To get rid of this problem, you must do the following:You warm up 1 cup of prune juice and add 2 tablespoons of Milk of Magnesia. Drink it. YUM!Take 2 stool softeners as needed (and recommended by doctor or package).You also take 2 tablets of Gas X (again following instructions) and wait for the action to begin. In addition to you finally being able to poop, you'll probably experience intestinal cramps so intense they make you want to pass out, but at least you're finally going. The cramping is caused by everything you've taken to get going... and lasts for a good 24 hours. Nice.

Now that I'm going again (not entirely normally yet), I intend to stay that way. It's been very uncomfortable for the past 9 days and I don't ever want to go through this again.

The END.

Great Aunt Arizona

 

Last Thursday evening, I had the opportunity of going to Lincolnway Elementary School for a "Campfire Read Aloud." It was held in the cafeteria and broke into several parts. First the children and their families spread blankets out on the floor and shared snacks. After that they read by flashlight. Next, it was my turn. I was the storyteller.... Great Aunt Arizona.. and I had about 25 minutes to tell a story and read a book. I had a blast. It was so much fun... and of course with my love of reading, I will do anything in my power to encourage children to read. I actually ran into someone yesterday who was looking at me rather funny. Finally he said, "Great Aunt Arizona?" I had to laugh. He told me he had been there that evening with his son. It was cool to be recognized that fast. Hopefully this will only be the beginning of many more invitations to be a storyteller at different places.

Pay It Forward

To use an idea from Jamie's blog. (Thanks... this should really be fun)
This is a FANTASTIC movie. I absolutely loved it. If you haven't had the chance to see it, do. You won't be disappointed. In the spirit of the movie, I've decided to Pay It Forward. Here's how it works.
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice - for you! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (I can only hope).
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done within 6 months.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a flower arrangement, picture collage, bookmark... or a complete surprise to you (and me). Who knows?
5. MOST IMPORTANTLY... You must offer the same deal on your blog. The first five people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

You've Got To Be Kidding!

For the love of Pete. I can't catch a break, can I?! Poor me....

Last Thursday, Emile said she wasn't feeling well. On Friday I kept her home from school. You could tell she was coming down with something. Isn't this a fascinating picture? Looks pretty neat, doesn't it? Know what it is? It's the cause of many days of suffering, dread, fear, and in some cases, death. Figure it out yet? Yes, it's the FLU bacteria.


From what I was seeing in Emile, it looked like she had the flu. By Friday afternoon she was running a high fever, had chills, body aches.... she felt like death warmed over. She's been sick all weekend. Fortunately yesterday was a snow day. I couldn't get her into the doctor though. He was closed due to the storm.

So yesterday about 4, Brie was trying to get bundled up to go out back and shovel snow when she started crying. She said her stomach was feeling sick. Oh crap, you've got to be kidding! TWO DIFFERENT VIRUS'S AT ONE TIME. By 5:30 she was sleeping on the living room floor. By 7 she headed up to bed. By midnight she was throwing up all over my bedroom floor. NICE. I just love it when a plan comes together.

Actually, vomiting is quite an interesting ability the body has. It takes several timed events for it to occur.So it's safe to say everything came together just right for Brie. About 2 hours later she asked me if we could say a prayer so she wouldn't throw up again. We did and it helped. She slept until 7:30. Mike B. came over to give her a blessing around 8:30. Now we're just waiting to go to the doctor. Both of the girls are going so I can get a note for school. So much fun.

The moral of this story.... stay in a bubble the rest of you life... OR...For the record, I think you're supposed to lather for more than 20 sec. I think it's more like 2 minutes. They say to sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself twice while you lather. Even with all the hand washing we do, sometimes it still isn't enough.

Oh yeah, POOR EMILE AND BRIE, TOO!!!