tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218494562024-03-07T00:01:22.018-06:00Three Guys, Two Girls and Too Many AnimalsI'm just a nurse raising a husband, three teenagers, a cat, and two mini schnauzers in Tornado Alley. There are many shenanigans.
Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.comBlogger969125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-12756450995461853992017-04-15T20:16:00.002-05:002017-04-15T20:16:40.588-05:00Well Hello AgainHey bitches! Has it really been 7 years since I last blogged? Holy cow. So much has happened that I don't even feel like catching everyone up. So I'm not going to. I just had to get this awkward first post out of the way so I can get on to writing other things. Sound good? Sounds good to me.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-2855961086765972442010-12-22T00:00:00.001-06:002010-12-22T00:04:26.214-06:00Worst Week in a Long TimeThis week has just sucked. I got really sick on Saturday night (Mike and I actually had a date night which was really nice). It was a really bad cold but I haven't been that sick in a really long time. Fortunately, Mike let me sleep all day Sunday and even got the kids up on Monday morning and got them off to school so that I could keep sleeping. All that sleep helped so much. I'm still not 100% but I'm much better than I would have been had I not been able to sleep. <br />
<br />
Monday morning, when I did wake up, Mike told me that Oriana had pooped in the dining room again. I cleaned it up and ran some errands. I actually had to take Jacob to the dentist...I took him to mine since his dentist didn't want to do anything about the pain in his back teeth. My dentist ended up pulling the teeth (they were not going to come out on their own and the pain was because the adult teeth were trying to come through) and we were out of there in an hour. If we'd been at their regular dentist, it would have been a fight for him to do anything at all and we would have been there for 3 hours. I've already switched all of the kids for their cleanings. <br />
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Jacob and I came home and I took a nap. I got up and picked Daniel and Hannah up from school. When we get home, I hear Oriana panting like she does when she really has to go out. So, I called her to the door and I heard a lot of thumping. I go check it out and Oriana has gotten up but only the front part. She can't move her back legs at all. She starts doing this head tilt thing and keeps falling into the couch. I call Mike and tell him that I don't know what to do. He says he's on his way, call the vet. So I do and they tell me to bring her right in. <br />
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Somehow, Mike and I get Oriana onto a blanket and we use it like a stretcher. We carry her to the car (she's 100 pounds) and we all head to the vet, knowing that this is the last car ride she's going to take. <br />
<br />
We get her into the vet and she just loses all control of her bowels and the vet says she has some thing where her equilibrium is off. Her eyes look like she's been spun around a billion times. It could be a thing that will go away or it could be a brain tumor. We could wait and see, we could do a CT scan or we could put her out down. The vet was awesome. He explained everything very well and really made it our decision. We decided that she'd had a long life and that we didn't like her being in such obvious pain. So we put her down.<br />
<br />
While the vet went to get the medicine, the boys (Hannah stayed at home with a friend) came in to say goodbye but we didn't think it was a good idea to let them stay in the room. I sat down on the floor with her head in my lap and Mike sat and took the back end while the vet did his thing. We told her what a good dog she was and how much we loved her and she went very quickly. We sat with her for a little while longer and went home.<br />
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Alice was confused when we came home without Oriana. She looked for her for most of the evening and she's been really off all day. I hope she gets over it soon. I really feel bad for the puppy.<br />
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Today, I go to take the kids to school, come home to find the garage door won't open. I can't find my house key and the house is locked tight (since we no longer have Oriana, I made sure to lock the doors. Normally, I wouldn't care). Since the Holiday Parties start at 10am (I need to leave at 9:30 to get a decent parking spot) and it was already 8:30 and I wasn't even dressed, I booked it to Target to get some needed essentials (a new bra for starters!) and came home to see if the door would magically work. No such luck. So, I checked to see if the doors magically unlocked. Nope. I walked around to the side of the house and decided to try the basement window. It was OPEN!!! I slid it to the side and hopped into the basement, burglar style. I was never so happy to get to take a shower in my life.<br />
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Mike got the spare key back from Stephen and I'm making a ton of copies of those bad boys.<br />
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I have to say that I'm really scared to see what's going to happen tomorrow. Lots of errands to run before our trip to Illinois. Say a little prayer for me. I think I need a few.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-91389481953576687142010-10-11T10:11:00.003-05:002011-03-09T00:19:59.740-06:00Sorry About That...Okay, so it's been a couple of months since I last blogged. Everything I thought was normal and true came crashing down and it was time to pick up the pieces. Fortunately, the pieces are coming back together quite nicely and that's a good thing. And that's all I have to say about that.<br />
<br />
The kids have gone back to school and we've settled into our normal, chaotic life. TKD, soccer, keshet, Sunday School, all Scouts, gymnastics, strings...phew, I'm tired. <br />
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Did I mention Daniel started playing the viola? He loves it and plays it every chance he can. Of course, the learning how to use the bow has been awesome. Ugh.<br />
<br />
Emily and I took our (what was to be yearly but has become twice a year) girls' weekend trip. We flew to Portland to see the Blue October concert but also managed to meet up with Tommy and Matt while we were there. I haven't seen Tommy in 8 years, so it was REALLY good to see him. It was also nice to meet Matt, whom I've heard so much about. They are too cute. <br />
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While we were there, we took the scenic drive around and saw Mt. Hood and a ton of waterfalls. What an amazing place. The weather was perfect for a touristy trip on Saturday and, even through it was drizzly on Sunday, hanging out downtown with the boys was a blast. I also ate at a vegan restaurant and really enjoyed it! Too fun.<br />
<br />
We went to the concert Sunday night and it was AMAZING. We were very close (third row) and at one point, the lead singer looked me in the eye and smiled. *sigh* I almost passed out. LOL! After the concert, Emily and I decided to hang out because "I had a feeling," and our patience was rewarded. We got to meet the entire band. Everyone but Justin took pictures with us but they all signed our tickets and talked to us. Too cool. We were flying back to the hotel.<br />
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Sunday, October 3 was the Kansas City Blue October show. Emily flew in on Saturday and we were having a great time. We met her friend, Karen, for yoga and brunch Sunday morning and came back early to get ready because I'd won meet and greet passes for the concert.<br />
<br />
Yep. We got to hang out at soundcheck (they sang 5 songs!!!!) and then got to meet the band, minus Ryan. Emily made sure to let Justin know what she does for a living and they were all over her. Hugs and whatnot. I couldn't speak. Ugh. Here's the awesome photo. *sigh*<br />
<br />
Jeremy (drums), Emily, Matt (bass), Justin (lead singer and guitar), me and CB (guitar)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cFzWAMcD7UYoS6Ds7PV0UesBbbXflvHpJkzdXtndU8sp3Ib8kUxieKKLSVsL-tAKzh7WPz61vKwPbcGTbfzY1Da-jnxvBvRtNbQcUA4B-5gIYuQnVOeyomEKtDInh3Ec96CQJA/s1600/Blue+October.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cFzWAMcD7UYoS6Ds7PV0UesBbbXflvHpJkzdXtndU8sp3Ib8kUxieKKLSVsL-tAKzh7WPz61vKwPbcGTbfzY1Da-jnxvBvRtNbQcUA4B-5gIYuQnVOeyomEKtDInh3Ec96CQJA/s320/Blue+October.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The huge smile is because Justin had just kissed me on the head. *swoon* Of course, that's probably why I'm all flushed, too. <br />
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We met Karen and her friend at the concert (because I suddenly had 2 extra tickets) and had a blast. The opening act was the Parlotones (check them out...they're awesome. And very good looking) and then Blue took the stage. AWESOME concert. <br />
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After the concert, Emily wanted to get Ryan's signature or something, so we hung out after the concert to meet him and we got to. :) Matt remembered us from the meet and greet (so cool!). We didn't get to see Justin or Jeremy again but that was okay. <br />
<br />
So, Emily and I have been reliving the weekends all this past week. Too bad their tour is over. :( Yeah, I'm 16. LOL!Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-75949706803503764712010-07-30T17:13:00.001-05:002010-07-30T17:13:28.362-05:00GGGGRRRRRRThis week sucks. That is all I have. Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-55831603927659985522010-07-27T01:24:00.001-05:002010-07-27T01:24:49.627-05:00BoredI got bored so I played around with some of the gadgets on the right side of the page here. I wish there was a Facebook gadget but I can't find one. However, I did find a Twitter one so you'll get my once a month thoughts on Twitter over there right on my blog! LOL! I think I'm heading back over to Facebook right now...Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-66739441217130050102010-07-25T15:03:00.000-05:002010-07-25T15:03:55.993-05:00This Weekend's Exhausting Me!Jacob had his birthday slumber party on Friday night. I swear this just might be the last one since there was at least one child up at some point for the entire night. Two boys fell asleep around 1am and were woken up by others playing pranks around 4am. Those boys fell asleep around 4:30 and the ones that had been asleep stayed up and woke everyone else up at 7am. The only thing that kept me from being really upset was the fact that they were quiet. One little boy, John, came upstairs and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I tried waking him up and Mike tried waking him up with no luck. Poor kid was bumping into walls when his mom came to pick him up. <br />
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In order to keep Hannah out of their hair, I took her to see <em>Ramona and Beezus</em> during the party. We both loved it. It doesn't follow a specific book and they've modernized the story but it's very cute. I wasn't disappointed at all and found myself crying through the second half of the movie. Hannah thought that was strange. I'm a cryer, what can I say. <br />
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Saturday, we spent most of the day sleeping. Jacob and Daniel both fell asleep on the couch, which was seriously cute. It was hard to get Jacob up so that we could go see <em>Toy Story 3</em> while Mike went to see Paul McCartney at the Sprint Center. Yeah, I could have gone to see Paul McCartney with him, but I don't like the Beatles or Paul McCartney so I figured it would be better if Mike took someone that would actually enjoy the concert. Mike had a great time and so did the rest of us, so all's good. <br />
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We all slept in this morning and have, pretty much, decided that it's just a lazy day. I'm thinking it's going to be a taco night and we'll just hang out until the Season 4 premiere of Mad Men. The perfect end to a very busy weekend. Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-6383709084919482312010-07-22T00:32:00.004-05:002010-07-22T00:35:36.119-05:00Oops!I need to make a revision to the recipe below. I can't believe I forgot a HUGE ingredient! Here is the real list of ingredients...<br />
<br />
1 cup butter 2 1/4 cup flour<br />
3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt<br />
<strong>3/4 cup packed brown sugar</strong> 1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups chocolate chips<br />
2 eggs 1 cup chopped walnuts<br />
<br />
Add brown sugar to the butter, white sugar and vanilla at the beginning. I used dark brown sugar for this recipe. <br />
<br />
Tonight, I made a White Chocolate Macadamia big cookie for Jacob's birthday. I used the same recipe EXCEPT I:<br />
<br />
**omitted chocolate chips and replaced with 2 cups white chocolate chips<br />
<br />
**omitted walnuts and replaced with 1 cup very coarsly chopped macadamia nuts<br />
<br />
**used light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar. <br />
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I also only cooked it for 19 minutes and that seemed to work perfectly.<br />
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My apologies to anyone that tried to use this recipe without the brown sugar!Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-30400263403473346572010-07-17T22:29:00.001-05:002010-07-17T22:33:24.415-05:00Big Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich Photo Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Okay...so here it is. The recipe. I've also got photos of each step because I'm anal that way.</div><br />
Preheat oven to 375 degrees<br />
1 cup butter 2 1/4 cup flour<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking soda</div>2 eggs 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips <br />
1 cup chopped walnuts<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">In a large bowl, combine butter, sugars and vanilla. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgps_LU6ZGKaSGl3mODOvy1dCEFbUh2QOnY4TBl4V846D_8wLWKiv4qhJcdmWENVZjFAudG7oMFaKG_ILJZOIv2LkWnyf5VdeEjcuBzwksqmNdaEPmY0_CKMaJTJOelqO6lvx_7-A/s1600/P7160940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgps_LU6ZGKaSGl3mODOvy1dCEFbUh2QOnY4TBl4V846D_8wLWKiv4qhJcdmWENVZjFAudG7oMFaKG_ILJZOIv2LkWnyf5VdeEjcuBzwksqmNdaEPmY0_CKMaJTJOelqO6lvx_7-A/s400/P7160940.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Cream until light and fluffy.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuHZUuJrvK7L92PZXVSgiJ3SVVqJnxJIhYPnyvQvgIZ3X32BctvrnJkB-1e1_rzfkcnKfQFrS7OpjiGDfXaV8uhfyr7hCHkMNcrGcD-yU0vUYXjXquXFHu3BPDjwc6FLg-9lhPw/s1600/P7160943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQuHZUuJrvK7L92PZXVSgiJ3SVVqJnxJIhYPnyvQvgIZ3X32BctvrnJkB-1e1_rzfkcnKfQFrS7OpjiGDfXaV8uhfyr7hCHkMNcrGcD-yU0vUYXjXquXFHu3BPDjwc6FLg-9lhPw/s320/P7160943.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5UQexXQD8x5oZrHCJwza27sFZD8aDpdUjRSzBTFXtFcf8qGo9Q8Hpu28OpDrELdCmZ7X94yqVKRWIyYQUnJ5-f5s_LM6r8t8ClfBCsMY8MzyiU4Vp8jHNr-w0Rf3__s1SGNKzMg/s1600/P7160944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5UQexXQD8x5oZrHCJwza27sFZD8aDpdUjRSzBTFXtFcf8qGo9Q8Hpu28OpDrELdCmZ7X94yqVKRWIyYQUnJ5-f5s_LM6r8t8ClfBCsMY8MzyiU4Vp8jHNr-w0Rf3__s1SGNKzMg/s320/P7160944.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">In another bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu40j7nylDEcvBArIR8n3-WHF4xr34pvmI72cPdqwxy7AbhmALY5310vx3Vp_U1F2JZpJ4wipvwKxlfF_Q1ZJnK7jkPwBP1r4v8gVHqnUqCTtE3REnLFEZt8RTuJMFLZLNIcwBeA/s1600/P7160941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu40j7nylDEcvBArIR8n3-WHF4xr34pvmI72cPdqwxy7AbhmALY5310vx3Vp_U1F2JZpJ4wipvwKxlfF_Q1ZJnK7jkPwBP1r4v8gVHqnUqCTtE3REnLFEZt8RTuJMFLZLNIcwBeA/s320/P7160941.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Gradually add flour mixture to sugar and butter mixture until well blended. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqhcjkwpIs-UgWrMOMbn1L9T8OqwyZKo7OvRpjD3Q-SY-YIcgmVF-Ml6AXZDn4fQTj2qZS_Ox4wNyosS9vwm8d4sS7oxGz3WbUBXUbqfZS91Tt_79Cd9iKi_fEknUoMS6aKpmvw/s1600/P7160945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqhcjkwpIs-UgWrMOMbn1L9T8OqwyZKo7OvRpjD3Q-SY-YIcgmVF-Ml6AXZDn4fQTj2qZS_Ox4wNyosS9vwm8d4sS7oxGz3WbUBXUbqfZS91Tt_79Cd9iKi_fEknUoMS6aKpmvw/s320/P7160945.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Stir in chips (I used 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup crushed Andes mints...and omitted walnuts).</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wAdxA9di9ty9cBnZ2fRk7UaD0QqzqzUtLEePC43V2LbyL4yh9Sp73bMVATqji5Hvk2_r7e6x1CmfIV04t71pcP73nzDC0JzG48uwm-jvriQDNVseafSPBqwjvMeeKLbM-5GdRA/s1600/P7160946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wAdxA9di9ty9cBnZ2fRk7UaD0QqzqzUtLEePC43V2LbyL4yh9Sp73bMVATqji5Hvk2_r7e6x1CmfIV04t71pcP73nzDC0JzG48uwm-jvriQDNVseafSPBqwjvMeeKLbM-5GdRA/s320/P7160946.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Spread dough in greased 9inch pie pans (or 1 14 inch pizza pan) and bake for 20-25 minutes. Do not overbake cookie!!!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWVoXe7qnyQy5foSZCGBBZjIXSenefVCrUXJQgBh21EJKwlTc3LlYymH3zuzEPMo4ExCYlM8txl68IqnIFQSIeMHkh_rBFNQ468sAsiQ8XNGlQfh4xfqZHP-90YujYKM5IbbQtw/s1600/P7160948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWVoXe7qnyQy5foSZCGBBZjIXSenefVCrUXJQgBh21EJKwlTc3LlYymH3zuzEPMo4ExCYlM8txl68IqnIFQSIeMHkh_rBFNQ468sAsiQ8XNGlQfh4xfqZHP-90YujYKM5IbbQtw/s320/P7160948.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Allow to cool in pans on cooling rack. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7i-YU-iqrC__3Em_7sjIPNmYf6QbPOlgkVDSu8xulHqg_x3RPxqxOzwv5LKtbF5IwnH4IPhvxDiHqAlC8_xgdCw_0g34mLgTIvjnWJavQfWUzlBTTRLFLncXrk4EhjoRT-8M3MQ/s1600/P7160954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7i-YU-iqrC__3Em_7sjIPNmYf6QbPOlgkVDSu8xulHqg_x3RPxqxOzwv5LKtbF5IwnH4IPhvxDiHqAlC8_xgdCw_0g34mLgTIvjnWJavQfWUzlBTTRLFLncXrk4EhjoRT-8M3MQ/s320/P7160954.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Remove cookies from pan and line one pan with parchment or plastic wrap. Place one cookie in pan.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5bfMrsFdndVYsdtsP0jkEVhMMuqPOVmg-hgwVaQTs9LGeEDLjfGcfN4M1koOHPR9O1dCdoXYNEf2eTdS5TVpmWkUr_BZvzczvHSlIMcGGyvF75pobQYjiU5S_qZxBNVN7COpu3Q/s1600/P7160956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5bfMrsFdndVYsdtsP0jkEVhMMuqPOVmg-hgwVaQTs9LGeEDLjfGcfN4M1koOHPR9O1dCdoXYNEf2eTdS5TVpmWkUr_BZvzczvHSlIMcGGyvF75pobQYjiU5S_qZxBNVN7COpu3Q/s320/P7160956.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Cover cookie with softened ice cream</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkBgln4L7axRGGpQXz0NhmMh9FjBJWafnINktLnxADK23_UxJHyT1MkBlNkr_oMpSBWtudOAvIxKeV64OnbP6REQ0nHt9HXArsm9oP3Kxn9wLj-mZRwd3qrizae8jntyvmsAJnw/s1600/P7160957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkBgln4L7axRGGpQXz0NhmMh9FjBJWafnINktLnxADK23_UxJHyT1MkBlNkr_oMpSBWtudOAvIxKeV64OnbP6REQ0nHt9HXArsm9oP3Kxn9wLj-mZRwd3qrizae8jntyvmsAJnw/s320/P7160957.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Put other cookie on top. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymQb4QTEvCjPJ_ePPFwLgk50gwlnWD8p0Wj6m3iBw1Lo6_xlMZ1XQXZTXlpjCDN8jhNbHQcvyCKA5kpest8Pbo2_tQlaix7SRNffqZpFK0G5CaE_1G0LRNqh1oYtEZCIIrLu_FQ/s1600/P7160958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymQb4QTEvCjPJ_ePPFwLgk50gwlnWD8p0Wj6m3iBw1Lo6_xlMZ1XQXZTXlpjCDN8jhNbHQcvyCKA5kpest8Pbo2_tQlaix7SRNffqZpFK0G5CaE_1G0LRNqh1oYtEZCIIrLu_FQ/s320/P7160958.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Cover and freeze for several hours to allow ice cream to resolidify.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Decorate as desired and enjoy! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0b5NBDGAzojP3scqebP7nxO_U-EsmlC32e1pU0k4Y151XnRW5yAWKIg9BZaS5-bwzx08VnhNgVQiGB9ltD7CJR2ABHsGbTm8EGL0ZsivSH0OhNHoRvqO8wHVCz1t_sOFWtiWXg/s1600/P7171063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0b5NBDGAzojP3scqebP7nxO_U-EsmlC32e1pU0k4Y151XnRW5yAWKIg9BZaS5-bwzx08VnhNgVQiGB9ltD7CJR2ABHsGbTm8EGL0ZsivSH0OhNHoRvqO8wHVCz1t_sOFWtiWXg/s320/P7171063.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I did discover that the top cookie gets a little hard...the bottom one stays soft because of the ice cream. I'm going to try to see if not placing that top cookie on until right before serving helps so that it's not frozen. Otherwise, it was delicious! </div>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-52625014851644511202010-07-13T13:00:00.000-05:002010-07-13T13:00:11.078-05:00Epilepsy Part IIIThrough my own stupidity, I missed this morning's neuro appointment. Not only did I get yelled at when I called to see if we could still make it in, I had to make 4 calls to make another appointment because the first lady wouldn't make one for me. Then, I got yelled at AGAIN by the scheduling lady and was told that we now have to go to the end of the line and wait until October 19th. When I asked if I could get on a list for any cancellations, she told me that was, "doubtful as the list is very long." I was so mad when I got off the phone that I was shaking. <br />
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So, I did a little research and called KU Med. They were EXTREMELY nice on the phone...already a bonus. The earliest they could get us in was September 2, but that's still 1 1/2 months before the other guy. AND they put us on the cancellation list. She couldn't guarantee us anything but said they'd try. <br />
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Now, I'm just waiting to call our pediatrician to get Daniel's records transferred over to KU. <br />
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And we wait again...Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-3456502915753535822010-07-13T00:34:00.000-05:002010-07-13T00:34:01.716-05:00Epilepsy Part II<strike><strike></strike></strike>Since I'm writing this after midnight, I guess I can say that Daniel has his second opinion with the neurologist later this morning. I'm really nervous but kind of excited at the same time. This has just been the longest process...waiting 6 months just for the second opinion...and I'm hoping we can get this done and over with. We're at 10 months since this whole thing began at our pediatrician.<br />
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I'm just so confused at to why all this stuff isn't lining up. Why has Daniel had one abnormal regular EEG and one abnormal 24 (48) hour EEG with the spikes lining up in the correct area of the brain for seizure activity but nothing is wrong with that? Why are they dismissing family history of this particular kind of seizure (this is where I really wish Mike had gotten tested, too)? Why, if it was no big deal, did they keep us for 48 hours when the test was only supossed to be 24? We were told you cannot "turn off" seizures and therefore it's ADD...which you can't "turn off" either. Why is my child so special that he's the "1 in 100 that can walk around with these misfireings in his brain and it's nothing when 99 other people would have Epilepsy?" But we were never able to push that stupid plunger when they happened. Because of that he's fine...go home and wait for a real seizure.<br />
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I'm so mad that we were dismissed like that. "He doesn't have Epilepsy so go home." Awesome.<br />
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We, kind of, know this new neuro. His son was Hannah's kindergarten Sunday School teacher. Rabbi Vered, our educational rabbi, put us in contact with him. After having a long conversation with Vered in the middle of Wal-Mart on a random day in January around midnight, she made sure she hooked us up the following Sunday after Family Service. <br />
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I'm hoping that, at this time tomorrow, we have some answers. I'll keep you posted. Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-5001905608379386982010-06-24T12:00:00.001-05:002010-06-24T12:01:42.000-05:00Feels Like FridayWe spent last weekend in Peoria and came back on Monday. Since we usually leave on Sunday, I feel like I'm a day behind and have all week. We had a very nice trip, though. We got to visit Mom in Sterling (I haven't been there in two years) and went to the Olde English Faire (could have done without that...too hot!). I also got to hang out with some old high school friends on Saturday night. It was a ton of fun. One of our friends couldn't be there since he was just transferred to Edwards AFB so we made a little cutout of him and took him along. Oh boy. Flat Kris got into so much trouble. The police officers we asked to pose with him were awesome. They thought we were either drunk or insane but they played along. We probably had a little too much fun with it but that's okay.<br />
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Dad and I went through a bunch of my grandma's old scrapbooks and then Dad pulled out her old journal. I didn't even know this thing existed. Her thoughts from January 1941 through 1970. It's mostly typed but there are a few handwritten entries. It is, quite possibly, the coolest thing I've ever read. I'm only up to 1946 but I'm trying to read slowly and piece together who is who (aunts, cousins, uncles, great grandparents). I've heard of these people a billion times but to hear them spoken of so casually is very cool. It's also funny to read about just how much help my grandmother had (a lot!). This journal is truly gold.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-43052558663580217572010-06-15T00:32:00.002-05:002010-06-15T00:34:59.891-05:00Fun with BloggerI got bored earlier and decided to change my template. I really like it. It's not as customized as <a href="http://www.thebookbeast.blogspot.com/">Sara's Blog</a> but still cute. <br />
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The gadgets feature popped up with a Video Bar. Ooooo...it let me link my YouTube channel (yes, I have a YouTube channel) to my blog. Nice. So, scroll down and look to the right and you can all see my wonderful camera work from the Blue October concert at the House of Blues in Chicago. Because those are the only videos I have on my YouTube channel. Yeah, the camera work is awful. Mostly because I promised Emily that I'd be paying more attention to the concert than to the camera (she was afraid I'd be seeing the whole thing through a camera lens...and I only got about half of the songs...so you get me dancing and singing. Yeah, that's me singing and screaming.) I can't wait to get a few different concert videos up next month from the Counting Crows/Barenaked Ladies concert we're going to. And, of course, I'll be posting more Blue after the Portland concert in September. <br />
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I'm such a 16 year old. With a plane ticket to Portland...and a partner in crime (Emily!).Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-81821756725071822342010-06-14T15:11:00.001-05:002010-06-14T15:12:53.904-05:00Camp UpdateJacob made it back from Boy Scout Camp yesterday. He was seriously tired, kinda filthy from not showering for 10 days (apparently, the pool and lake are good enough) and he'd lost some weight (10 pounds to be exact) but he looked great and seemed to stand a little taller. Not like he got taller but like he was more confident. He seemed as relieved to be home as we were to have him home. Jacob and Mike shared story after story about camp...most revolved around the fact that the other troops were annoyed with how spirit filled our troop was.<br />
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A good deal of the kids in our troop woke up Sunday morning with orange paint all over their faces. Some of the kids in the Mic-O-Say tribe (the honor society for our district) thought it would be fun to paint the faces of some of the younger scouts while they were sleeping. Jacob wasn't amused. Sounds pretty funny to me. <br />
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Overall, Jacob had a great time and walked out of camp as a Tenderfoot. Yeah, I didn't know what that was either. It's the second rank in Boy Scouts. The ranks go: New Scout, Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, Eagle. Mike only made it to Second Class so once Jacob hits that milestone, he will have tied him. If (Jacob says, "when," since he says he's going to get his Eagle) he hits First Class, he'll have gone farther. Nice. I hope he does get his Eagle. <br />
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I got the pleasure of washing everything. We encountered 4 spiders and countless ticks as we washed everything...in blazing hot water. My poor washer was very tired by the end of the day. <br />
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Speaking of ticks, I was joking around with Mike about a tick check last night as he was heading up to bed. He said he was fine and I headed outside to watch the incoming thunderstorm with Jacob. A second later, Mike opens the door and says he does have a tick. Can I help pull it off? Sure. I head inside and grab some alcohol. After further inspection, we discovered three more ticks that had latched on. One on his back, one on his stomach, one on his hip and one on his leg. The one on his leg had been there for a while and actually backed itself out when we put alcohol on it. The others were more stubborn and had to be pulled out. Gross. I hate ticks. <br />
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Next up to camp is Daniel. I'm breaking out the DEET.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-5197198001395686132010-06-08T23:23:00.002-05:002010-06-08T23:28:24.900-05:00Finally Photos!!!I'm finally able to post photos!!! It only took me two days. Oh well. Here they are! <br />
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This makes me nervous. The campsite (think unit from Girl Scout Camp) Storm Shelter. Yeah. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8yCGbi5SuQJD1JY8kIohVzlQL7DscoTaS1Jj-kZVqwynjZvQK6r5kmi3iyDdTF4E4ix2LE6lD9lVFV1nPu9ATjFop2Q1kTGUyyJH-ZpCo4GsyemH5noiWfamUXhRAWjvxAnqMw/s1600/P6050738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8yCGbi5SuQJD1JY8kIohVzlQL7DscoTaS1Jj-kZVqwynjZvQK6r5kmi3iyDdTF4E4ix2LE6lD9lVFV1nPu9ATjFop2Q1kTGUyyJH-ZpCo4GsyemH5noiWfamUXhRAWjvxAnqMw/s400/P6050738.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Jacob by his tent on the "younger boys'" side of camp. <br />
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Jacob and his homesick tent mate, Shane. I don't know if you can tell he'd been crying. <br />
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Inside their tent. What a mess!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZ9VCAM969EhjKfjf_sK0vjlUFzoraQNdL6cZRbz-oQASI4emrVws08tqoXtHT_1J4vJz5HVaPr5-7I-GQuRy6YEstn1Xe0PPtVu5mfojzwnaULWdk_W_7LIUaqGpyld98yW_cg/s1600/P6060774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZ9VCAM969EhjKfjf_sK0vjlUFzoraQNdL6cZRbz-oQASI4emrVws08tqoXtHT_1J4vJz5HVaPr5-7I-GQuRy6YEstn1Xe0PPtVu5mfojzwnaULWdk_W_7LIUaqGpyld98yW_cg/s400/P6060774.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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The Ico. This is the gas station/general store/ice cream parlor. The line was for ice cream, which seemed to make an elderly gentleman with a gas can agitated since that one pump was right by the line. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEnFJM96nPdJZbywumzD5Qe9hfDElobfHccBx8sfAaBg12GhbwRTSv27E9RWc_oGtwMI7wOgK1GsIGEIC8OFWIrSviUw9HaoYR8DY4AbsPv-m-s7FerW-PJIEznZXpHaSNKtGpA/s1600/P6060790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEnFJM96nPdJZbywumzD5Qe9hfDElobfHccBx8sfAaBg12GhbwRTSv27E9RWc_oGtwMI7wOgK1GsIGEIC8OFWIrSviUw9HaoYR8DY4AbsPv-m-s7FerW-PJIEznZXpHaSNKtGpA/s400/P6060790.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The Toad Suck. I don't know if it was even open since the lot was pretty deserted. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFw9D0q5STSRDDfL1R8ntL5SR6eRBARPMyg1B3lOGTaHAJctp7kSCR349TMenyXruivMsjpSeKq3khrqZ3h90_CJEfyslaKVVec0rECCUSoaFJ5B7YCUBF1uS07MicgQw6ft58w/s1600/P6060793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFw9D0q5STSRDDfL1R8ntL5SR6eRBARPMyg1B3lOGTaHAJctp7kSCR349TMenyXruivMsjpSeKq3khrqZ3h90_CJEfyslaKVVec0rECCUSoaFJ5B7YCUBF1uS07MicgQw6ft58w/s400/P6060793.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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The kids at Osceola Cheese. What a great place!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz_5OSm39UeYrNllL7tIH0p0HIO0sU94_QZE6I_HaNL6QsHy89fbn9n2tQy1h45KzN-PtIURZwtLtNu9SShmxMlRJ6KOZnGk_qFCedR1XSZDHM59u-5y6mo7wnB-3CuOxPTVmSg/s1600/P6060772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZz_5OSm39UeYrNllL7tIH0p0HIO0sU94_QZE6I_HaNL6QsHy89fbn9n2tQy1h45KzN-PtIURZwtLtNu9SShmxMlRJ6KOZnGk_qFCedR1XSZDHM59u-5y6mo7wnB-3CuOxPTVmSg/s400/P6060772.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-56357517150904895232010-06-07T22:48:00.003-05:002010-06-07T23:23:13.260-05:00Family Day at Boy Scout CampSunday was Family Day at camp. It was a long drive down and back, but it was awesome to see Jacob again. We drove through a bunch of teeny, tiny towns in Missouri, which was fun. The little town outside of the camp is called Iconium. It had a cemetery, a gas station (one pump)/grocery store/ice cream parlor, a "restaurant" (hot dogs and root beer floats), a fire station and two houses. The sign outside of town said, "Iconium Population abuot 16." Yep. "About" was misspelled.<br /><br />Jacob seems to be doing well. He is homesick, but not like his tent mate, Shane. That poor kid was crying when his parents arrived. He also holed himself up in the car for a while. Shane was pleading his case to his dad, who kept telling him that it was going to be fine and that he really doesn't want to go home, to which Shane would say, "you keep saying that but it's not true!" Poor kid. Out of all the kids there, I really thought it would be Jacob that would be demanding to be taken home.<br /><br />In typical camp fashion, the only dirty laundry I took home with me was one shirt and the pair of underwear he'd been wearing since Thursday night that I made him take off. Note to self, you do not need to pack 8 shirts, 6 pairs of shorts, 12 pairs of socks and 11 pairs of underwear that you packed for Jacob's 10 day camping trip. At least they've been swimming everyday. I seriously wanted to rip the Class A uniform he was wearing off of him. I think that thing's going to be walking all by itself by the end of camp.<br /><br />We were able to take Jacob into "town" (Osceola...pop. 800) to the cheese store. That was so much fun. What was even better was that I scored some cheese curds and a 12-pack of peach Nehi. Next time, I think we'll skip the Nehi and get more cheese curds.<br /><br />I wish I could post pictures but Blogger's being stupid lately. I'll try again tomorrow.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-64745500939613343332010-06-04T10:57:00.005-05:002010-06-04T11:09:08.152-05:00Off to CampJacob left for Boy Scout camp this morning. He was so excited about going, especially since he was going alone with his friends. The first 5 or so days, he'll be there alone and then Mike will come down on Wednesday and stay until the end. It was sad to watch them load up the bus and then head out, but I know he'll have fun. Here are photos from this morning.<br /><br />Jacob and Jack hang out while waiting for the bus.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTeuSCwNFH-0SbVRIJsFyzDe7Obae2Apm_ZSyjPE61dbILAT9tPEXBwQhbMZfGC3lfLY2FBqC4pap7ZgmzlR0-W5ytnvCqqXf3K8WKrEzKOiy7ERB_TbrlCcPI6HvKS7Xa5x4_Q/s1600/camp7.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478949182987391522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTeuSCwNFH-0SbVRIJsFyzDe7Obae2Apm_ZSyjPE61dbILAT9tPEXBwQhbMZfGC3lfLY2FBqC4pap7ZgmzlR0-W5ytnvCqqXf3K8WKrEzKOiy7ERB_TbrlCcPI6HvKS7Xa5x4_Q/s400/camp7.jpg" /></a> A photo of all of the first year Scouts that are heading out to camp for the first time.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU_vRrPx1vKcZbouCmFvWY2eEV6f1q4fRxP1MJInAtyhW7c7yAs0pwYd0pYxSl1Ou6VZojcAMfVgT1JqzZXBFJAk60RO1s-lt-Y_BmiaHe_Ss1UY0rJA7v7XJ4-Ly3F15xgaolQ/s1600/camp6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478949174804178962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU_vRrPx1vKcZbouCmFvWY2eEV6f1q4fRxP1MJInAtyhW7c7yAs0pwYd0pYxSl1Ou6VZojcAMfVgT1JqzZXBFJAk60RO1s-lt-Y_BmiaHe_Ss1UY0rJA7v7XJ4-Ly3F15xgaolQ/s400/camp6.jpg" /></a> All of the boys from Jacob's school. Jack, Shane, Dean, Jacob and Andrew.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_Kj6fuj_yGI9ot90m2w0yZ3tjQbqp-ZrHMSMBD0lg0yLlMmGM4LHgUy_GfpwRfGsrlsg8zGYue0djFtdhYQeboVuJvUc62BRAE4zbkBL_CMCuZ0mhpmC9cq4x1QM-2-lOpqHog/s1600/camp5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478948957075302306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_Kj6fuj_yGI9ot90m2w0yZ3tjQbqp-ZrHMSMBD0lg0yLlMmGM4LHgUy_GfpwRfGsrlsg8zGYue0djFtdhYQeboVuJvUc62BRAE4zbkBL_CMCuZ0mhpmC9cq4x1QM-2-lOpqHog/s400/camp5.jpg" /></a> Waiting to get on the bus. Jacob and all of his friends lined up quickly and an Eagle Scout came over to tell them that, as first year Scouts, they'd be the LAST to get on the bus. It was pretty funny.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoBpMkf-5YBnvvFfQNVAxFYr4goX4m47fWFJRNdv-BR21Qf5YUF83FQP2UcKJg3oHZ5BJOrplF20I2-TW4_EmdakdIf10i2HhyofyvcFQ2TGrSUAxoFRYUMxEd9xIZvnhzybNBA/s1600/camp4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478948954853962626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoBpMkf-5YBnvvFfQNVAxFYr4goX4m47fWFJRNdv-BR21Qf5YUF83FQP2UcKJg3oHZ5BJOrplF20I2-TW4_EmdakdIf10i2HhyofyvcFQ2TGrSUAxoFRYUMxEd9xIZvnhzybNBA/s400/camp4.jpg" /></a> Still waiting.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRc8z31ENVopvnlnpuI57OL8IIFyxWZ2gsHRp-txhQm51-gO6mX6u2AGn1RUFaWeeVeE6sgaRef1JdLdWF4u2ispNEYZS8R3VrXkdsItOslj7AstFhZts7e5Yvf_NWdfDxPKb6A/s1600/camp3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478948917405693282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRc8z31ENVopvnlnpuI57OL8IIFyxWZ2gsHRp-txhQm51-gO6mX6u2AGn1RUFaWeeVeE6sgaRef1JdLdWF4u2ispNEYZS8R3VrXkdsItOslj7AstFhZts7e5Yvf_NWdfDxPKb6A/s400/camp3.jpg" /></a> Jacob was the very LAST Scout to board the bus. He didn't care, though. He got a seat next to his friend, Shane, in the very front. They were very happy.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjan6eYi8_Du4llHjgWJNCXSFod7RQwXCoOtQns-S_w7Bc9blcHghqOtzzKSOgBE3FOZqCtQSmzbG23wJ7iFCFVxrh72IPRW8DXc88D_vC2fxI4Pv7vySAor9AgBu_2P0J9jFrbwA/s1600/camp2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478948910614080098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjan6eYi8_Du4llHjgWJNCXSFod7RQwXCoOtQns-S_w7Bc9blcHghqOtzzKSOgBE3FOZqCtQSmzbG23wJ7iFCFVxrh72IPRW8DXc88D_vC2fxI4Pv7vySAor9AgBu_2P0J9jFrbwA/s400/camp2.jpg" /></a> And the bus heads out. It was everything we could do to NOT hop into our cars and follow.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9vZMhz_u9EmB_O-OZZW4fGwVc3qensiufWhXqDNdx4ASTZQb1fjIp40ATr5S-zFX4Ezabu52OiilozI2PnkboqOxuu2__l8_qcz6Yz3PcQSdTUGh0rzVn_yxl3ZBj0D1iQ2rYA/s1600/camp1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478948901118236818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9vZMhz_u9EmB_O-OZZW4fGwVc3qensiufWhXqDNdx4ASTZQb1fjIp40ATr5S-zFX4Ezabu52OiilozI2PnkboqOxuu2__l8_qcz6Yz3PcQSdTUGh0rzVn_yxl3ZBj0D1iQ2rYA/s400/camp1.jpg" /></a> We will be heading down on Sunday for Family Day. I can't wait to see the camp!Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-46534144663785475592010-05-29T01:47:00.002-05:002010-05-29T01:55:48.126-05:00What a Difference a School Year MakesThis was the kids last August, on the first day of school...<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBES7uZZbKASx9lBLGodVMlnAFWs83_hw5w7PDJ-_o9UuVkWV9ttK7T-L2Iym3oHiVdmp1a15-mqDG4nioDvFnX1hH8DrZ76lXnfYIE1w3oN6T770DnWGvJNW_am_u8WmWf4V6Xw/s1600/100_3390.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476580543883261618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBES7uZZbKASx9lBLGodVMlnAFWs83_hw5w7PDJ-_o9UuVkWV9ttK7T-L2Iym3oHiVdmp1a15-mqDG4nioDvFnX1hH8DrZ76lXnfYIE1w3oN6T770DnWGvJNW_am_u8WmWf4V6Xw/s400/100_3390.JPG" /></a> This was today, the last day of school. I didn't notice how much taller they got!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLlp3xVQpc67UHwQ1hoGpxtzEFVXEoSdXF80rZr3IUCLcvk2-W9suea0DCOQWemAS2H12ZomGlGAiLyiphu9uAjpYsTw9HsIO47Vh8dcOWXdDFBLgwVvSdt7zuZBs4BQkUnevvQ/s1600/P5270648.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476580555998869906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqLlp3xVQpc67UHwQ1hoGpxtzEFVXEoSdXF80rZr3IUCLcvk2-W9suea0DCOQWemAS2H12ZomGlGAiLyiphu9uAjpYsTw9HsIO47Vh8dcOWXdDFBLgwVvSdt7zuZBs4BQkUnevvQ/s400/P5270648.JPG" /></a> Daniel was not happy about school ending and was in no mood for pictures this morning. That's why he looks like he does. LOL!<br /><div></div></div>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-21397424460495159442010-05-28T00:32:00.005-05:002010-05-28T11:08:25.154-05:005th Grade FarewellJacob's 5th Grade Farewell was tonight. I cried, but only during the slide shows. They had one where they took their kindergarten picture and morphed it into their 5th grade one. It was really neat. If I can figure out how to copy it to my computer, I'll post it. Anyway, here are some photos from tonight. I can't believe Jacob's in 6th grade!!!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7Ba9LpdEZMNA9N1fHsSqHu3Cdop2rkgIfV4P9wBz52VD_FVZi_DRt_Ssfn-BIxZUA_EpLUv_5D8_LBvMkokTYNk7bw7fvOpyD3opghYNPZ_KEbk3ClDVSX6DoipqI8JKJPpyxQ/s1600/P5270612.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476192401004900258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7Ba9LpdEZMNA9N1fHsSqHu3Cdop2rkgIfV4P9wBz52VD_FVZi_DRt_Ssfn-BIxZUA_EpLUv_5D8_LBvMkokTYNk7bw7fvOpyD3opghYNPZ_KEbk3ClDVSX6DoipqI8JKJPpyxQ/s400/P5270612.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />They asked us to bring in photos of the kids as infants and their current picture. They hung them up like this.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1vl9uctG_hyphenhyphenALbx-p8_gi8_Fifg4otHs_U2JKt4v3vZKeYKSDLVxnkHq6-urQbUwm_1uYh7rKyDFUTRZSe3RQLFenA7PtO4Cf2UrufyWO8813tT6tMDsx2SQAU6xz0SG6RZ0qg/s1600/P5270613.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476192408620393666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1vl9uctG_hyphenhyphenALbx-p8_gi8_Fifg4otHs_U2JKt4v3vZKeYKSDLVxnkHq6-urQbUwm_1uYh7rKyDFUTRZSe3RQLFenA7PtO4Cf2UrufyWO8813tT6tMDsx2SQAU6xz0SG6RZ0qg/s400/P5270613.JPG" /></a> The 5th graders line up for a song.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbLwNMo5XnG5B5qsZxc3OZTrMOuFXsDgAQGfJx6sAKjhWTO9G0ZdsRXaOa1NQ2LGpayahLRTKZ8Ko-Sla-b0YEKZyiRVzydHPKHKaHdFkSn9yHoTDz4El0DAfi1gF15_hIEGo8A/s1600/P5270616.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476192418312359282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbLwNMo5XnG5B5qsZxc3OZTrMOuFXsDgAQGfJx6sAKjhWTO9G0ZdsRXaOa1NQ2LGpayahLRTKZ8Ko-Sla-b0YEKZyiRVzydHPKHKaHdFkSn9yHoTDz4El0DAfi1gF15_hIEGo8A/s400/P5270616.JPG" /></a> Jacob gets his certificate from Mrs. P, the school counselor (remember her? I haven't mentioned her in a long time!) and from Mr. L, the principal.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88lq2U3t2Gx8jGUug69OCtF2cuVQQCQ2QRDsSM67-4r5pcY05kIAxBJJLOBZwf6qxcjx3L2SAYuB7F4HYfi_EO41u_NNcFPWsFegK5eTTDroXeYawcKLsrTbzgbyW75TX6_HAUg/s1600/P5270629.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476192426812161618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88lq2U3t2Gx8jGUug69OCtF2cuVQQCQ2QRDsSM67-4r5pcY05kIAxBJJLOBZwf6qxcjx3L2SAYuB7F4HYfi_EO41u_NNcFPWsFegK5eTTDroXeYawcKLsrTbzgbyW75TX6_HAUg/s400/P5270629.JPG" /></a> Jacob with Lanston and Louis<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla_tO5Uqv77UWsowx7asrRzD7dpofZrFZsun1JKzpyDJS64pY4IZ4z4GQi-UXNRTu5lv7zp2jO1WYaqJ0v55sw_lGk0Lky8UsJY_qryKBrz2wjJYG0XHh3SFH2Zse83oHYyGlSw/s1600/P5270634.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476192431361668434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla_tO5Uqv77UWsowx7asrRzD7dpofZrFZsun1JKzpyDJS64pY4IZ4z4GQi-UXNRTu5lv7zp2jO1WYaqJ0v55sw_lGk0Lky8UsJY_qryKBrz2wjJYG0XHh3SFH2Zse83oHYyGlSw/s400/P5270634.JPG" /></a> Jacob and Andrew<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WJZ4p4W2G5Mm1KtnGD4LqqxlMTyN6nKP3WgsSELu9MDsc4p4aHPSoKmWahOY885cqDR0I6FEsGXgQwjD-A99DSy_DxBVw_UvQvaVqYpJOIbxoG0Kf8qOjnzPed8RwJQWSJD7Iw/s1600/P5270635.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476193719105650162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WJZ4p4W2G5Mm1KtnGD4LqqxlMTyN6nKP3WgsSELu9MDsc4p4aHPSoKmWahOY885cqDR0I6FEsGXgQwjD-A99DSy_DxBVw_UvQvaVqYpJOIbxoG0Kf8qOjnzPed8RwJQWSJD7Iw/s400/P5270635.JPG" /></a> Jacob and his best friend, Kellan. Kellan was smiling right up until I took the picture. He did the same thing to his parents when they tried to take one. Gotta look tough, I guess.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0bT6pA8ZlqZZ21gRl88lq8BqNFrepDk8yNw6_Gig78Re-4KEEBknt_oR5ip3noBeYvRvDezY8PagZ7NsJqvwJIkf8yFP-iP-hLjgaH0ABZOKxV13rHi8iIR3M5AHVdqx0C4avA/s1600/P5270637.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476193722050512162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0bT6pA8ZlqZZ21gRl88lq8BqNFrepDk8yNw6_Gig78Re-4KEEBknt_oR5ip3noBeYvRvDezY8PagZ7NsJqvwJIkf8yFP-iP-hLjgaH0ABZOKxV13rHi8iIR3M5AHVdqx0C4avA/s400/P5270637.JPG" /></a> Jacob and Mr. L. See that chair to Jacob's right? There are a couple of moms that call it my chair because that's where I usually sit to wait for them to get out of school. LOL!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdf5N2MZRJsMoFnmqgiDYhfUpX13c-VFIzSc9c6TSgHGQbzT_thwIZvdrDGYt95Mi0D8z8EymY7WtD3Ad3e7rPrRJ5nOpngDPljzb2oGsaag2HJxhq2ebtpxRj67ASviUzs4TDw/s1600/P5270642.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476193733333957330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdf5N2MZRJsMoFnmqgiDYhfUpX13c-VFIzSc9c6TSgHGQbzT_thwIZvdrDGYt95Mi0D8z8EymY7WtD3Ad3e7rPrRJ5nOpngDPljzb2oGsaag2HJxhq2ebtpxRj67ASviUzs4TDw/s400/P5270642.JPG" /></a> </div></div></div>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-70030717692954359712010-05-25T23:56:00.006-05:002010-05-26T00:24:11.075-05:00Photo PostHere's what we've been up to this month...in pictures!<br /><br />Jacob playing 2nd base<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFwj7VAUzt3ObAbIS2TjZggeg1r-uBcKdF3EjzPGWicTD-IM_EtHcUtAsDlMA0nFj42vvmCh7z4M3_t3TrSiJ_PYnOxfsPnUx1iQnKSHIECaxjxRMSaC32rFmB4TMqXQkZrClnKw/s1600/100_4913.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475439253162868866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFwj7VAUzt3ObAbIS2TjZggeg1r-uBcKdF3EjzPGWicTD-IM_EtHcUtAsDlMA0nFj42vvmCh7z4M3_t3TrSiJ_PYnOxfsPnUx1iQnKSHIECaxjxRMSaC32rFmB4TMqXQkZrClnKw/s400/100_4913.JPG" /></a> Jacob batting<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjvBmEl4pI7rkueHeroLE6oMUyZ9-TBRBq5OVRo6xvw92qUdIr6e8dO50edC9IQoDevuU2_vawvYRiI02PQoSLhxIKp_R7iY1cxJfC3NBlAWc0mLSXH7UnvpcRNAEBbqYwfyvOA/s1600/100_4911.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475439244190938994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjvBmEl4pI7rkueHeroLE6oMUyZ9-TBRBq5OVRo6xvw92qUdIr6e8dO50edC9IQoDevuU2_vawvYRiI02PQoSLhxIKp_R7iY1cxJfC3NBlAWc0mLSXH7UnvpcRNAEBbqYwfyvOA/s400/100_4911.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiQ5q_1lBuwnyPoRCm1BoeMxM_FM6RnftosSm2kXSsDYbHFq3SF58tE4B_gU_KX2NzObDOkfoch3QpgCz_Mx8DcvYaNAuglBwd-UYxCYMx-4lGx4c48a7mM-QPpYOtr_KaLp0dw/s1600/P5070197.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475439230764593346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiQ5q_1lBuwnyPoRCm1BoeMxM_FM6RnftosSm2kXSsDYbHFq3SF58tE4B_gU_KX2NzObDOkfoch3QpgCz_Mx8DcvYaNAuglBwd-UYxCYMx-4lGx4c48a7mM-QPpYOtr_KaLp0dw/s400/P5070197.JPG" /></a> Hannah's music program<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYOKXOEm3K-eEpJiIJmV1SyZjnNTf0y46siM0eX97omWyf_9wi-J-31dAIe1LZuT441CHs4sFt1kFGiN3jklK0zXGnFibqbWiUd5aNF7RdQW_ki3i9thXoEiDLVLjHQmDoIR2dw/s1600/P5070193.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475439224695577682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYOKXOEm3K-eEpJiIJmV1SyZjnNTf0y46siM0eX97omWyf_9wi-J-31dAIe1LZuT441CHs4sFt1kFGiN3jklK0zXGnFibqbWiUd5aNF7RdQW_ki3i9thXoEiDLVLjHQmDoIR2dw/s400/P5070193.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGmnEyC7-9fTWq_wwfRyp3V4abv6i4KewANdXMPmnaecH_VASbgj_x_M_SlQvqeD3wxa7PL9hFOyNkWPHMxOvfLpjOc7pRC710ZjHKEtmov-uAgo5DeDIoEApWS-0fp18dowK0Q/s1600/P5070177.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475439212447667698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGmnEyC7-9fTWq_wwfRyp3V4abv6i4KewANdXMPmnaecH_VASbgj_x_M_SlQvqeD3wxa7PL9hFOyNkWPHMxOvfLpjOc7pRC710ZjHKEtmov-uAgo5DeDIoEApWS-0fp18dowK0Q/s400/P5070177.JPG" /></a> Daniel's pack graduation cookout<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58uRBrslXJfAVn9KPqyVXdtSYItTwGPGouhG0Rb4GI02U6vRlS8WtfV9qGpeuUEQ9_u0ciyfHmEHCIx8JcQU5xJas91z0R4hbigzJ0ZcP_u2m30AfF1mgA_-koIqTyzBCHmMdzw/s1600/P5180438.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475441555137881522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58uRBrslXJfAVn9KPqyVXdtSYItTwGPGouhG0Rb4GI02U6vRlS8WtfV9qGpeuUEQ9_u0ciyfHmEHCIx8JcQU5xJas91z0R4hbigzJ0ZcP_u2m30AfF1mgA_-koIqTyzBCHmMdzw/s400/P5180438.JPG" /></a> Bears becoming Webelos I<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpmrsazjLD4HDwqk26BOkvONNVT2bvmZwNyQaneFjsZlivcVDhx9qE_zh69FmJGBnvPoEZLmgT_2V-Mo-RNccL3K7URrZbcbZedmZT-C8kb-i1QjZFXBG-vYEa5udMLShWVPxpQ/s1600/P5180450.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475442136355903362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpmrsazjLD4HDwqk26BOkvONNVT2bvmZwNyQaneFjsZlivcVDhx9qE_zh69FmJGBnvPoEZLmgT_2V-Mo-RNccL3K7URrZbcbZedmZT-C8kb-i1QjZFXBG-vYEa5udMLShWVPxpQ/s400/P5180450.JPG" /></a> Getting the new neckerchief<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8B-1lx6EGdHrlmLWn2yBLgBSQFm40THIAa2mq7a5LZVQpxt8kHDYSiwzHr5H6vN5HUxwB8cw1lVUXfcbffmUjl3GcK2vHT3YOAEa1jzOUVqFjSTbvyv15QMbjn7zopr_YPSNGQ/s1600/P5180454.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475442123744661426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8B-1lx6EGdHrlmLWn2yBLgBSQFm40THIAa2mq7a5LZVQpxt8kHDYSiwzHr5H6vN5HUxwB8cw1lVUXfcbffmUjl3GcK2vHT3YOAEa1jzOUVqFjSTbvyv15QMbjn7zopr_YPSNGQ/s400/P5180454.JPG" /></a> Playing spoons at the Daisy campout<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBl1ODa2D1ivPyM1mbxuURHosbdzJZBFWLwZFfd5yvVKtS-DZButC9KdiC-RCFCE5sKuQ4Z7PiMRDJWKhPPpp0zi1eba4ZPYjq_h3NgaiNJFgfB92Ns2T9QJ2olcbMFMg0SD1Ww/s1600/100_4972.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475441544654375986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBl1ODa2D1ivPyM1mbxuURHosbdzJZBFWLwZFfd5yvVKtS-DZButC9KdiC-RCFCE5sKuQ4Z7PiMRDJWKhPPpp0zi1eba4ZPYjq_h3NgaiNJFgfB92Ns2T9QJ2olcbMFMg0SD1Ww/s400/100_4972.JPG" /></a> S'mores!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsknJ7JZ5RRIzcwOhQIkd72eUIhPOvZ3APtGen1uN7gA7F9K-ynxWswwxvsrXL66WglYvChyAcMchCsTi0jir52CxWBhfMY22rFaK45xhfHkDHygKQj96uU3FApIfFAehVRtw92g/s1600/100_4970.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475441536499799330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsknJ7JZ5RRIzcwOhQIkd72eUIhPOvZ3APtGen1uN7gA7F9K-ynxWswwxvsrXL66WglYvChyAcMchCsTi0jir52CxWBhfMY22rFaK45xhfHkDHygKQj96uU3FApIfFAehVRtw92g/s400/100_4970.JPG" /></a> Hungry Daisys!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe8aMIFs06aq-KvOXECpBPveokVuTqxo0V0fiXy6VEpB3_ZMLFOEbbYTvKy5-WZq2C-d_kWd7lnyruyyBE8UqfB6DeruS5eJG7gv8vAAH6GLDisnnDtwYDGJ1Lhj4s4wmEkOmiw/s1600/100_4945.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475441521787139010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe8aMIFs06aq-KvOXECpBPveokVuTqxo0V0fiXy6VEpB3_ZMLFOEbbYTvKy5-WZq2C-d_kWd7lnyruyyBE8UqfB6DeruS5eJG7gv8vAAH6GLDisnnDtwYDGJ1Lhj4s4wmEkOmiw/s400/100_4945.JPG" /></a> Getting ready for a hike<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6GSDGpTUmwjFuERtOdxmgBNqpyWY-oEMg4_GuBXsMWmKAU9uL1NAwA0Ay4kypVJ0isZUYMAidegsO0KGetRBpPTEYCqBg8sgB0MZc4a6MOX954h-H17HTstDplj9GKLy_GFb9g/s1600/100_4959.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475441527878064498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6GSDGpTUmwjFuERtOdxmgBNqpyWY-oEMg4_GuBXsMWmKAU9uL1NAwA0Ay4kypVJ0isZUYMAidegsO0KGetRBpPTEYCqBg8sgB0MZc4a6MOX954h-H17HTstDplj9GKLy_GFb9g/s400/100_4959.JPG" /></a> Brownie Bridging. Make new friends but keep the old...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqkJGaYNeUNl9u5HcdfGXvjKki4C_S-BGBqsYvdkBv4kJxvox7oSNTxkcsc0ZkCQEkDEqIaHaxitSJoj7ca3BNo_ecXWX4irNdXPCuSb_fe-Y0YCQW3d9bDeACdcBNjPBp7NTwQ/s1600/P5210516.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475443086888882754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqkJGaYNeUNl9u5HcdfGXvjKki4C_S-BGBqsYvdkBv4kJxvox7oSNTxkcsc0ZkCQEkDEqIaHaxitSJoj7ca3BNo_ecXWX4irNdXPCuSb_fe-Y0YCQW3d9bDeACdcBNjPBp7NTwQ/s400/P5210516.JPG" /></a> Hannah crosses the bridge and earns her Brownie pins<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjkAaHsNGGoPdHM9kbdLGQZgxvvJebnCWqS_Yoiqn6UHfzvtf7IMSiHEc2pRbAcoEGHGsJXCNSVZaDwt5OQGnKpHJEfWMr5-_-uQREYQM5lKeyJZ7MD1f512u2634hi7vjx8A-g/s1600/P5210504.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475443081085350546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjkAaHsNGGoPdHM9kbdLGQZgxvvJebnCWqS_Yoiqn6UHfzvtf7IMSiHEc2pRbAcoEGHGsJXCNSVZaDwt5OQGnKpHJEfWMr5-_-uQREYQM5lKeyJZ7MD1f512u2634hi7vjx8A-g/s400/P5210504.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vpiearJR6TTXN98y3SuLrJIUmAMvNG8c2qI7kAr4nExzmdmv9wY8xw68d7UQhXIFORwXlTfxB0b_jCNWX731SkEnEwkR-lDr9uBJXPT31jl1Ojqzmoaxs6hbTWk4dCzTmBWWug/s1600/P5210520.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475443099920642610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vpiearJR6TTXN98y3SuLrJIUmAMvNG8c2qI7kAr4nExzmdmv9wY8xw68d7UQhXIFORwXlTfxB0b_jCNWX731SkEnEwkR-lDr9uBJXPT31jl1Ojqzmoaxs6hbTWk4dCzTmBWWug/s400/P5210520.JPG" /></a> Hannah's troop leader made this cake. Isn't it adorable? She even gave the girls patches for their smocks!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdX7O7Ls619_T2ohdq0vFBnbNvedwSNjPsLPlXU1cuqEZ9mcxDd3cJ-CDeakNgvgyUoQhFUh9McZY7xLPVzjS0Ok1Af7vJ48tlw99C3Suvx8JebHb7V1xoG64tBhAocKHpLdF0w/s1600/P5210525.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475443114253179826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdX7O7Ls619_T2ohdq0vFBnbNvedwSNjPsLPlXU1cuqEZ9mcxDd3cJ-CDeakNgvgyUoQhFUh9McZY7xLPVzjS0Ok1Af7vJ48tlw99C3Suvx8JebHb7V1xoG64tBhAocKHpLdF0w/s400/P5210525.JPG" /></a> We still have 5th Grade Farewell and the last day of school this week, so I'm sure I'll be posting more photos!Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-48100241952040208952010-05-19T23:31:00.002-05:002010-05-19T23:45:21.099-05:00Where Has This Week Gone????Kids' rooms...done. Yep, I said done. All three really like them. Daniel's is dramatic and totally him. Jacob's is, well, grey. What can I say? He really likes it. However, he's been begging me to paint the ceiling. What? I have to say that Hannah's is my favorite. It's a pretty blue and I put some white clouds along the top. I love them. I rehung her fabric butterflies and was inspired to put up some more. I need to get some other colors but we're going to paint handprint butterflies on the walls. I thought it'd be a fun way to really personalize the room. I'll have all of us put at least one up, even Mike and me. Of course, it'll make it that much harder to paint over in the future, but thought we could put one up in each of the kids' closets that wouldn't get painted over eventually. I'll post pictures soon.<br /><br />I'm still finding it hard to believe school ends next week. Where has this year gone? It was so nice to pick up all three kids after school today and just head home. No Hebrew school. No running club. Just home. Soon, we'll just have baseball, gymnastics and TKD. I'm so excited. We've bribed Jacob into not doing baseball next year with violin lessons. I talked to him about how, while he likes baseball, it's not really his passion. Violin seems to be his passion. We told him that if he didn't have baseball, we would get him private lessons. He loved that idea. <br /><br />Tomorrow, I have to clean this house. I've been ignoring it while I've been painting.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-63379625620021017462010-05-16T23:23:00.003-05:002010-05-16T23:50:21.748-05:00I'm Soooo TiredIt seems as though life has trapped me in a little tornado and I can't get out. Fortunately, we've gone from an EF5 to an EF4 with the ending of Keshet (Hebrew school) and Sunday School for the summer but we're still spinning in this long-track tornado. Ugh! However, this is the last week for soccer and Daisys (Hannah's bridging to Brownies on Friday) and we ended Running Club last week. I can't even remember the last time we went to TKD because of Scouts or baseball. I just have to keep telling myself that summer's almost here.<br /><br />I spent almost two weeks finishing up projects on the house and getting it ready for the appraisal for the refi. I had heard horror stories from friends that have recently gone through it, so I was really scared. Several friends were told to repaint their houses, refinish floors, replace carpeting, etc before the appraisal could even happen. One friend told me the appraiser didn't even come inside the house (she lost $100,000 in home value and was livid). I had no idea what to expect and could only go on what had happened on previous appraisals when we lived in Buffalo Grove.<br /><br />When I heard the knock on the door, I thought I was going to be sick, but he quickly put my mind at ease. He loved the basement and didn't even say anything when, after talking up the wonders of the safe room, I opened the door and found two bags of garbage in the way. Nice. He just laughed it off. I took him through the house and, 15 minutes later, he was gone. Friday, we found out that our house, had indeed, gone down but not as much as we'd feared. Refi's a go and we'll be sitting in our new 20 year mortgage soon. Mike says that's his way of saying he'd like to stay put for a long while. Can you believe we've been in this house for 3 1/2 years? It's the longest we've ever been in one place. Hopefully, you can actually write this address down in pen this time!<br /><br />Now that the house is sparkly clean, the beige on the walls is screaming at me. I liked the beige when we first moved in, but it's taunting me now. With the thumbs up given from Mike, I've decided to paint. First stop is the kids' rooms.<br /><br />After Hannah's soccer game on Saturday, we went up to Lowe's to look at paint. The kids all picked out colors and we got samples to try out. Jacob went with a blue-grey color called "shark tooth" or something like that. The color is more blue than grey but Jacob loves it. His will be the first room I paint. Daniel decided he wanted Chicago Bears colors...orange and blue. I wasn't sure until I saw that orange on the wall and I'm in love with it. It is definitely Daniel. The top 2/3 of his wall will be this orange and the bottom will be navy blue. His will be the second room I paint. Hannah kept picking out the worst teal colors for her room. Not that I don't like teal, but these were hideous. I nudged her towards a color called, "the perfect blue," and she loves it. She says it looks like the sky. That gave me the idea to swirl up some clouds in white for her after it's painted. Let's just see if I can actually do it and if they look like clouds.<br /><br />I really want to paint the living room a bold color and was leaning towards a color called, "cinnamon cake." It's a great color but I realized that it just might swallow up the room. So, I think that color will go in the front hallway and a gold color will go in the living room. Or maybe green. But a good green is hard to find. Luckily, I think it'll be a while before I need to make that decision.<br /><br />I'm just so excited about getting some real color into this house. Maybe then it'll finally feel like home.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-20483486366549546512010-05-03T00:41:00.003-05:002010-05-03T00:57:09.072-05:00It's May Already???I have a love/hate relationship with the month of May. I love it because Spring's in full swing and the flowers are starting to bloom. The trees have their leaves and it's getting warmer and warmer outside. May's also the beginning of the end of the school year. Of course, that's where the hate begins.<br /><br />I hate the wind-down. The end of the school year. The parent volunteer luncheons, 5th grade farewell, final concerts, the teacher retirement parties. The end of the Scouting year (both Cub and Girl Scouts). The end of the Sunday School year. The end of the Hebrew School year. Trying to get everything all wrapped up before the end. Then, trying to get all registered for the next year. Ugh! The mountains and mountains of paperwork that it entails to get these kids registered for next year. And, wouldn't you know it, now we're adding a whole other school into the mix. Whee! <br /><br />I'm really sad because this is the last year we will EVER have all three kids in the same school. And, just as we'll be getting used to PRMS, we'll transfer over to the new middle school when Jacob's in 7th grade. So, we'll get to do all that paperwork next May. I'm not ready for middle school. <br /><br />On a side note, I discovered that one of the local MOPS groups has the MOMSnext (MOPS for the school-aged set) group as well. :) Of course, they're winding down for the year but have put my info in for the next school year. I'm such a flipping joiner. LOL! I just really missed MOPS and the support this year. PTO just doesn't fill the gap.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-71095556996793098772010-04-23T12:20:00.008-05:002010-04-23T12:59:21.816-05:00A Much Needed BreakOn Tuesday, I flew to Chicago for the Blue October concert that Mike gave me tickets to for our anniversary. It's been a long 3 month wait, but it was well worth it. Mike worked it out so that I would stay with Emily while I was there. It was so awesome to actually spend a little time with her. Okay, so 2.5 days. :) Mike, for Valentine's Day, made us reservations at The Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building for dinner before the concert. The view was amazing. These pictures were actually taken from my seat at the table.<br /><br />Navy Pier<br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxPi1oBbRxelDPNmvq3eJdiZMJGZEZ71R0j54wGBDOHfAbUOPC6T59Sn5JURbjOkn4FwMWF5xonAcLF3DU7WeADkbPk1EaxOqjQnRrHNLiTuaKgXe60PL5B8PT2Hhwf95f2CLKg/s1600/100_4850.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463386221078345522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxPi1oBbRxelDPNmvq3eJdiZMJGZEZ71R0j54wGBDOHfAbUOPC6T59Sn5JURbjOkn4FwMWF5xonAcLF3DU7WeADkbPk1EaxOqjQnRrHNLiTuaKgXe60PL5B8PT2Hhwf95f2CLKg/s400/100_4850.JPG" /></a> Lake Michigan<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjus4XyV2YcJU0aIBpb6SGrX24qYDsprrSliZRhpB20U_kQhq5v8x-3Nqbf4rSoDu4if2A8f-43vNOaE06d0Y1FWRBSRbW0XAfZbYcb8r5fIaz_lFz6AkOdFAs7xIE0W9WG5xNLWQ/s1600/100_4848.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463386213161091826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjus4XyV2YcJU0aIBpb6SGrX24qYDsprrSliZRhpB20U_kQhq5v8x-3Nqbf4rSoDu4if2A8f-43vNOaE06d0Y1FWRBSRbW0XAfZbYcb8r5fIaz_lFz6AkOdFAs7xIE0W9WG5xNLWQ/s400/100_4848.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-dpdS-7utInTaYDx4Q38mEiJBaXHcg1jcOc9snm6bGSDLLVeRs72Hl1GTvNLiFH1Cm5r3TGkunwEL1s0FshfwEt9fGQe6nS3RNIv3TeAY1outKdyT4_1gXRvdTR_rZGiw4E0NQ/s1600/100_4846.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463386210589514498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-dpdS-7utInTaYDx4Q38mEiJBaXHcg1jcOc9snm6bGSDLLVeRs72Hl1GTvNLiFH1Cm5r3TGkunwEL1s0FshfwEt9fGQe6nS3RNIv3TeAY1outKdyT4_1gXRvdTR_rZGiw4E0NQ/s400/100_4846.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRdHVsGy2ziTsH3x78XvTOGIFmHju2wm3Up1Q4h53J9C9j0-SmfpzkGXMCrNe5nZ0FxpQJ8aEbvHXSAPAnh5UCO4mlT78yVNN85S_TWvVXITmKtSEpTYR-HkAZFM9zhfBlcQoOQ/s1600/100_4847.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463386200126070370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRdHVsGy2ziTsH3x78XvTOGIFmHju2wm3Up1Q4h53J9C9j0-SmfpzkGXMCrNe5nZ0FxpQJ8aEbvHXSAPAnh5UCO4mlT78yVNN85S_TWvVXITmKtSEpTYR-HkAZFM9zhfBlcQoOQ/s400/100_4847.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFtAdkni4uEu0OSUJjXP2cS7_81E1BZWILkKEgnYBufVHE0_LrtmYO4_azRr16nnZ77Aj5VL5UAWiMsvh-Jg-fpb7nW7mGHyHQ50UaD4Kj2lcb_m1Qp5AQdu8i7tbvUWJ0Tm50Q/s1600/100_4842.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463386189440719970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFtAdkni4uEu0OSUJjXP2cS7_81E1BZWILkKEgnYBufVHE0_LrtmYO4_azRr16nnZ77Aj5VL5UAWiMsvh-Jg-fpb7nW7mGHyHQ50UaD4Kj2lcb_m1Qp5AQdu8i7tbvUWJ0Tm50Q/s400/100_4842.JPG" /></a></p><br /><p>Emily pointed out my fear of heights, and I was actually okay because I didn't feel like I was going to fall. Stupid, but true. </p><br /><p>After a wonderful dinner (I've honestly never had this swanky of a dinner in my life), we headed over to the House of Blues for the Blue October concert. Yay! </p>The stage<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqdoR05LnTaXhShENwRs_d9zOi3GwfAbxT_fGX73O2LANMXStrlrOagkWFGf2Tc5hebrxQsnIN5KRW78aZRE0-8jONUUCbD8boKPTmshupOCenZ1UOQJJPzzt2xNPdGcCjFVSVA/s1600/100_4855.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463388234561249122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqdoR05LnTaXhShENwRs_d9zOi3GwfAbxT_fGX73O2LANMXStrlrOagkWFGf2Tc5hebrxQsnIN5KRW78aZRE0-8jONUUCbD8boKPTmshupOCenZ1UOQJJPzzt2xNPdGcCjFVSVA/s400/100_4855.JPG" /></a> Balcony<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRc7bFUxCNHBAqzV5dB2M7qWxGf24Hz9wTBLHnno_QPxfuFyeolTMdn8etvEwjiLGRFcROsGnT8lUGoUMVOwcrfEfmrGqi7jsaG4pQPfHaxcDBgqu1PR_z7sR6hm3g7lvJvXH0A/s1600/100_4852.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463388244418117682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRc7bFUxCNHBAqzV5dB2M7qWxGf24Hz9wTBLHnno_QPxfuFyeolTMdn8etvEwjiLGRFcROsGnT8lUGoUMVOwcrfEfmrGqi7jsaG4pQPfHaxcDBgqu1PR_z7sR6hm3g7lvJvXH0A/s400/100_4852.JPG" /></a> One of the opening bands had some of the Blue October members come and play with them. The guy on the far left is Ryan from BO. The next day, this opening band (Hurricane Bells) blew out their engine in St. Joe, not far from us. I would have gone to pick them up. LOL!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtGvy04_PiU5UxF8Sx3GujenqI8yYLOFnxak5DOA6yJ3ClVPL92irNhqXzOqX0zfRruM9lwj8047ijhkV2cgeVp0mA5ufw5_IvHyrs3lU2gxu_b3o6aHrU39dZffAv6kGzD0SVg/s1600/100_4860.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463388251462574850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtGvy04_PiU5UxF8Sx3GujenqI8yYLOFnxak5DOA6yJ3ClVPL92irNhqXzOqX0zfRruM9lwj8047ijhkV2cgeVp0mA5ufw5_IvHyrs3lU2gxu_b3o6aHrU39dZffAv6kGzD0SVg/s400/100_4860.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURNnLp4DinLYGMuOclky9LTL2RFaRkHLLJfjBLdemvDuZ1kfDwm4jScKjq_obwewsFyVm-uIsJdkvp286bcwKZEbofJo_mbIenRjT-ok_80gnIGyeVaMliQ_pbrHsappWlRZTgg/s1600/100_4866.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463388260467052066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURNnLp4DinLYGMuOclky9LTL2RFaRkHLLJfjBLdemvDuZ1kfDwm4jScKjq_obwewsFyVm-uIsJdkvp286bcwKZEbofJo_mbIenRjT-ok_80gnIGyeVaMliQ_pbrHsappWlRZTgg/s400/100_4866.JPG" /></a> And then, Blue October took the stage...it's a small venue, so we had a good view.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztARtyfrNOTdoNl8rXGPJdXpapLLuEA9H2qepuNfAa2A_HDWohn3CbAlnpYchgEOuXqN-XjYxjtDGPHl4JNhGdmbAcN-UQaiFsyFzq0JYrKLzU6nRyQ81OS37iGN3uALpZOAAow/s1600/100_4874.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463388265823499378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztARtyfrNOTdoNl8rXGPJdXpapLLuEA9H2qepuNfAa2A_HDWohn3CbAlnpYchgEOuXqN-XjYxjtDGPHl4JNhGdmbAcN-UQaiFsyFzq0JYrKLzU6nRyQ81OS37iGN3uALpZOAAow/s400/100_4874.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMDdLqchCHyIPBgiRPDSTh6YFnIvptL_RD4fi4zjRV2xd98EFJEmwaOHCUiz8XjcwkJrQEJsCttPBVj18qElJ_UAv4qUZqoNdj0FARIfQSe8pOdpDmwxgA2rtqNuHmfr7uw8tRA/s1600/100_4898.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463389804290770930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMDdLqchCHyIPBgiRPDSTh6YFnIvptL_RD4fi4zjRV2xd98EFJEmwaOHCUiz8XjcwkJrQEJsCttPBVj18qElJ_UAv4qUZqoNdj0FARIfQSe8pOdpDmwxgA2rtqNuHmfr7uw8tRA/s400/100_4898.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBe9DCCQIefub-StMmL2DK5CiliQ0WhnRlMg6PRhg1aC8Lps92ajCL9a0UZ9gwff7Y9TKtYUi86yI5h608NXIEn0ITpzakzCrvQD1wgbIPTaN6dmKSYpIYYwi07_Al4IeiRLt_g/s1600/100_4885.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463389794957083570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBe9DCCQIefub-StMmL2DK5CiliQ0WhnRlMg6PRhg1aC8Lps92ajCL9a0UZ9gwff7Y9TKtYUi86yI5h608NXIEn0ITpzakzCrvQD1wgbIPTaN6dmKSYpIYYwi07_Al4IeiRLt_g/s400/100_4885.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yjANbYIqur62tjJXLUwTR_GiOLDmg7zKcl_91wIX2Y-xXd1HPfEtv8kMGkExCgtU0yMm1Aiq-4MnhXmURQHVzjg6m8ZiVlUwQmWjSAyy1CHYLZjbVdsFFk31rRrThrzKSyTcqg/s1600/100_4886.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463389786019969490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yjANbYIqur62tjJXLUwTR_GiOLDmg7zKcl_91wIX2Y-xXd1HPfEtv8kMGkExCgtU0yMm1Aiq-4MnhXmURQHVzjg6m8ZiVlUwQmWjSAyy1CHYLZjbVdsFFk31rRrThrzKSyTcqg/s400/100_4886.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4fUwWMNiTIdg3XpkXiiG_PfKxFT2SHT8ORqXfHk5Dp7_TyfQ1HzxsXjMja6CZWtD4w3SENnUQeaR489BcbAO1uROjoZ87vbXdlBCXnNjJRRXqo-jNnUbzUz7dliGP7-gj4uiig/s1600/100_4880.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463389780909849026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4fUwWMNiTIdg3XpkXiiG_PfKxFT2SHT8ORqXfHk5Dp7_TyfQ1HzxsXjMja6CZWtD4w3SENnUQeaR489BcbAO1uROjoZ87vbXdlBCXnNjJRRXqo-jNnUbzUz7dliGP7-gj4uiig/s400/100_4880.JPG" /></a> I've actually got this one up as my FB profile picture. LOL!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwnxUb9HRrHPralR6Ho0tcfIu0fxxakAeFhPtoFhxv2RvCw4OhIu1I0ZDV44bujQnlr5uyArMabFiuCL0nsF9mIx3uF3RBqC0XcAion7VceoJM_MSahtaSUZV-8YD7-YjYj4VAQ/s1600/100_4877.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463389775261271154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwnxUb9HRrHPralR6Ho0tcfIu0fxxakAeFhPtoFhxv2RvCw4OhIu1I0ZDV44bujQnlr5uyArMabFiuCL0nsF9mIx3uF3RBqC0XcAion7VceoJM_MSahtaSUZV-8YD7-YjYj4VAQ/s400/100_4877.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><p>Anyway, the concert was amazing. The average age was probably around 35 and we were all acting like college kids. I think that annoyed the college kids that actually were there. </p><br /><p>Wednesday, we drove to the suburbs to visit with an old friend, Amy. Amy moved from Peoria when we were in 5th grade but up until that point, she and I would walk home from school together. I haven't seen her since 7th grade, about 22 years ago. Wow. It was awesome to catch up over lunch. What was really nice is that it wasn't awkward and we've vowed to make it, at least, a yearly thing. </p><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnF1ZbtVSyJUNZodZmgsR4yuuhcXi0GBtnV709SzHYqYw6I1NVRHnYvWCzuWMt-PyCNSwtrXQdDwMvIHuhiWKwD7OKtXbDo_DVDOVE60Y2_omFtoAulT8WkRJ6VZEcMKlva-IH1w/s1600/100_4901.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463391599927486354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnF1ZbtVSyJUNZodZmgsR4yuuhcXi0GBtnV709SzHYqYw6I1NVRHnYvWCzuWMt-PyCNSwtrXQdDwMvIHuhiWKwD7OKtXbDo_DVDOVE60Y2_omFtoAulT8WkRJ6VZEcMKlva-IH1w/s400/100_4901.JPG" /></a> I also made a stop to see Bobbi and Ed. We couldn't stay long, though, because of the wonderful Chicago rush hour traffic. </p><p>That night, Emily and I grabbed a bottle of wine (or two or three...I don't remember) and stayed up talking until 4 am. It is so amazing to have a friend that you can go forever without talking to and when you do, it's like nothing at all...there's no "why haven't you called?" or anything like that. </p><p>The trip length was perfect, but I was sad to go back home on Thursday. However, it was really nice to get back to the routine and my own bed. The kids gave Mike an excellent report and Mike did the same. I really think he liked being "in charge." LOL! </p>Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-72154076441413512342010-04-07T23:11:00.003-05:002010-04-07T23:35:49.169-05:00Who Said Jacob Could Go To Middle School?I was so excited because I got to have coffee with my dear friend, Shanna, this morning. She was my MOPS coordinator when I was involved and her sister passed 3 weeks before Mom did, so we formed a tight bond pretty quickly. I've chatted, briefly, with her over the past year but I haven't been able to really talk with her. What was supposed to be an hour long coffee thing turned into 2 1/2 hours. We decided to go for pedicures next Wednesday. I'm so excited. I've really missed having her around.<br /><br />Tonight was parent orientation for middle school. I am so not ready for this. It was, however, very nice to see many familiar faces from our elementary school there. I have a feeling I'm really going to like Jacob's new principal. She is a riot. She tends to go off on random tangents, but the stories are hysterical. She was even showing us about how to use the parent portal to check grades and told us about how, last year, she pulled up her son's grades and it showed he had an F in band. She said she was horrified but was proud to show us that he'd brought it up to a C this year. LOL! Nevermind that it took her three tries just to get into the parent portal because she couldn't remember her password. She actually reminds me, a bit, of Mrs. Burroughs. <br /><br />There are several core classes that they have daily: Reading, Communication Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science. They also have an Explo class. Each area is 7 weeks. The areas are Visual Arts, Family/Consumer Science, Integrated Technology (explained as shop class), Speech/Drama and Technology Education (computers). In 7th and 8th grades, they'll get to choose two of those as electives, running a semester a piece. They'll also have Spanish, PE, Guided Study (study hall) and Music (strings, band or choir). Jacob is really excited because he'll have strings every other day. Stings alternates days with Spanish. PE alternates with Guided Study. <br /><br />Jacob seriously can't wait for middle school. I'd be thrilled if I could hold him in 5th grade forever.Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21849456.post-48548224580588691172010-04-06T23:23:00.002-05:002010-04-07T00:15:43.217-05:00The Weeks Just Get Stranger and Stranger...Jacob's well into his baseball season. Well, baseball practice season. His coach said he and another boy have the most natural talent on the team. Nice. Jacob has reclaimed his love of baseball and all seems to be well. Hannah started soccer and even had her first game last Saturday. Her team lost but her team won as well. Clarification...they split the team into two so the one team becomes two and they play on 1/4 of the field. It gives each girl a ton of playing time. Hannah's told me that she never wants to quit soccer. Finally, a sport I can actually help with! I know the rules, I know how to help. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Yay</span>! <br /><br />After Hannah's game on Saturday, Mike took Jacob to baseball practice while Daniel, Hannah and I headed to the grocery store. While we were there, I noticed they had a sale on these really pretty spring flower bouquets, so I picked one up. We also ran into an old <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">TKD</span> friend while we were there and it was nice to catch up in person instead of the occasional <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Facebook</span> post. <br /><br />Anyway...<br /><br />We get home and put everything away. I put the flowers in a vase on the kitchen table and we all eat lunch. As I was cleaning up, I see Bella munching on some of the flowers. I shoo her off the table but a red flag raises in my head. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Hmmm</span>. I decided to Google lily plants and find that they are the number one most toxic thing to cats. Like, 100% of cats that eat them and are left untreated die kind of poisonous. Awesome. I call the vet immediately and they ask me how fast I can get her in there.<br /><br />30 minutes from when she ate the three ends off the lily plant, we're at the vet and Bella's whisked away as soon as we walk in the door. The vet comes out to tell me that she's hopeful that they've acted in time. They've pumped her stomach, given charcoal and started fluid diuresis. They also did some baseline <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">bloodwork</span> so they know where she's starting. She can't guarantee anything but they're doing what they can to protect the kidneys. Oh, and if she pulls through, she could be looking at a lifetime of dialysis. Also, they close at 4 (it's 2pm) so she'll need to be transferred to the Emergency Vet to continue IV fluids for the next 24 hours. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ummm</span>, okay.<br /><br />So, I go home and wait for 4pm to come. At about 3, Hannah comes in, crying. She has a massive bruise, already, on her right cheek. Apparently, Jacob's knee and Hannah's face met on the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">trampoline</span>. Really? Are you kidding me? Fortunately, she was fixed up with an ice pack and some Motrin. <br /><br />Mike volunteers Hannah to go with me to transfer Bella from our vet to the ER vet, which I wasn't happy about because I had no idea how long it was going to take, but whatever. <br /><br />Poor baby Bella, she looked so confused when I picked her up. They'd left the catheter in and the vet said that they'd given her a sedative. I'm seriously hating this. At the ER vet, they whisk her away and the new vet explains that it's not 24 hours of fluids, it's, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ideally</span>, 72, so we can't pick her up until Monday but we have to do it before 8am. Now, did I want to sign a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">DNR</span> for Bella? (How stupid is this...I said no. That I wanted them to do kitty CPR. I've become THAT lady)<br /><br />I was able to talk to the vet several times on Sunday. Each time, he told me that she was doing well but wasn't eating but not to be worried. And don't forget that she needs to be out of there by 8am Monday morning. <br /><br />I arrived at the ER vet at 6:10 Monday morning. The tech told me that she was more than <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ornery</span> that morning and that she was requiring the attention of everyone at all times or she'd scream. When the tech brought her out, she was doing crocodile death rolls in the carrier. Bella also decided to rip the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">catheter</span> out while they were unhooking her. Fantastic.<br /><br />We get home and she won't stop screaming. Jacob did what he could to console her but it wasn't good enough. She wanted out of that carrier. I didn't want to because I knew I'd never get her back in. *sigh*<br /><br />So Bella goes back the the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">regular</span> vet. I tell them what the tech told me and she's still screaming. They take her back and tell me that they probably won't put in another catheter unless her <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">bloodwork</span> comes back wonky. They'll give me a call when they know more. <br /><br />Two hours pass...<br /><br />The vet calls and says her <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">bloodwork</span> looks good and I can come get her. I'm out the door before I can even hang up the phone. At the vet, she shows me her results and says the ones that are high and low are completely normal for a kitty that's been stressed and on IV fluids. She told me that Bella's not completely out of the woods and won't say she's completely recovered for a week, but she feels that Bella's well on her way. I'm given a list of things to look for and told that this is the best possible outcome. She also makes sure that I know that had I waited another hour, things might have been very different so, kudos to me for recognizing it when I did. <br /><br />Bella was completely back to her normal self this morning, tripping me on the stairs and following me from room to room as I woke the kids up for school. Let's hope this is completely over.<br /><br />On a side note, I went to our school board meeting on Monday night...the one where they're looking to cut $6.2 million from the budget next year. I was concerned because 4<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> and 5<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> grade band and strings was on the chopping block. Fortunately, that program is staying (for now) but our fees are increasing 100%. Freaking awesome. Because we don't already pay through the nose. <br /><br />I wasn't anticipating the TV crews that were there...NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox...I wish I'd thought to do my hair and makeup because two of the channels, Fox and CBS, decided to do long up-close shots of me. Multiple times. ABC tried to get me to do an interview after the meeting (she actually grabbed my hand and pulled me over) but I declined. I lose too many IQ points when you stick a mic in front of my face. <br /><br />I can't tell you how many texts from friends I got today saying they saw me on TV. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">LOL</span>!Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16014958008924897701noreply@blogger.com0