Yikes - believe it or not, Joshua turned 6 today!!! What a big week - a birthday, starting first grade on Tuesday, I'm going to IKEA on Saturday... It's gonna be nuts!
We took Joshua to Craig's Cruisers this afternoon. Logan went to Grandma's house so Joshua could have special time with Rick and I. We played mini golf, spent some time in the arcade and then Rick and Joshua rode go-karts while I took pictures. He had a lot of fun and it was nice to do something reserved for "big boys".
Logan should be home soon - they had to take a trip up to Big Rapids because Uncle Michael forgot some stuff when he moved back to Ferris yesterday... Then it's bath time and bed time - gotta get into the school routine!!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Awesome News
Wow - two posts in one day! Crazy!! The condensed version of my "Awesome News" is that I've been asked to do a TV interview with a local news station regarding childhood cancer!! It's in conjunction with "Stand Up to Cancer" and it's about the importance of clinical trials!! So, I meet with the news anchor Thursday afternoon for my interview and I believe it will air on September 5th, the same day as Stand Up to Cancer. I'll let ya'll know how it goes. If you know me AT ALL, you know how passionate I am about raising awareness of childhood cancer, so this is right up my alley!!!
Something to Look Forward to!
On Thursday night, my friend Jenny and I are heading down to Jack's at the Holiday Inn in Spring Lake to relax. My uncle and dad (Two Dudes In FlipFlops) will be down there playing on the deck outside. I'm really looking for the chance to chill out and unwind.
Last week Sunday, Rick and I went to listen to them at Captain Jack's in Muskegon and it was SO nice. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can sit out on the deck in the sunshine and soak it all in!! I love listening to the kind of music they play (lots of Buffett, a little Kenny Chesney, with reggae undertones), so it's going to be so good!! The "musically talented" gene passed my by, but I still love music. I'll still get up and do karaoke even though I should be banned from the stage :)
At least this way, I can sing along and no one looks at me crazy because they're all doing it too (and he's my DAD, so how could I not "be supportive" and sing along, do "Fins" and all that jazz!!)!!
Have a good Tuesday, everyone! Thanks for stopping by to check in on our "Daily Doings"!
Last week Sunday, Rick and I went to listen to them at Captain Jack's in Muskegon and it was SO nice. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can sit out on the deck in the sunshine and soak it all in!! I love listening to the kind of music they play (lots of Buffett, a little Kenny Chesney, with reggae undertones), so it's going to be so good!! The "musically talented" gene passed my by, but I still love music. I'll still get up and do karaoke even though I should be banned from the stage :)
At least this way, I can sing along and no one looks at me crazy because they're all doing it too (and he's my DAD, so how could I not "be supportive" and sing along, do "Fins" and all that jazz!!)!!
Have a good Tuesday, everyone! Thanks for stopping by to check in on our "Daily Doings"!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Blah...
What a Monday. I feel like I'm just ready to be done with the week already. That's NOT a good sign since the weekend is a while away. I'm just..................... done. Fed up with people, tired of feeling stepped on, just over it all...
Ok. End pity party. I'm sure I'll be feeling better tomorrow.
Ok. End pity party. I'm sure I'll be feeling better tomorrow.
Monday, August 18, 2008
My son is a Super Sleuth!!
Joshua found my wedding ring this morning!! It had bounced under/behind the toilet and because I haven't been in there to deep clean (it's the kid's bathroom - they mostly use it to brush their teeth), I didn't see it all the times I've been in and out of there.
He wanted to surprise me with it when I got home, so he and Rick put it in one of Josh's toy pirate treasure chests and they put it up high to keep it safe until I got home. Rick was sworn to secrecy because it was Joshua's surprise, LOL.
Needless to say, I'm VERY happy to have found it. The longer it was gone, the more upset I was getting!! You can bet I'll be a lot more careful with it in the future!! I gave Joshua some of my old jewelry to put back in the treasure chest to keep it filled up with special treasure :)
He wanted to surprise me with it when I got home, so he and Rick put it in one of Josh's toy pirate treasure chests and they put it up high to keep it safe until I got home. Rick was sworn to secrecy because it was Joshua's surprise, LOL.
Needless to say, I'm VERY happy to have found it. The longer it was gone, the more upset I was getting!! You can bet I'll be a lot more careful with it in the future!! I gave Joshua some of my old jewelry to put back in the treasure chest to keep it filled up with special treasure :)
Friday, August 15, 2008
A Quick Update...
Happy Friday night, everyone! I'm sitting here listening to some beautiful acoustic music on Sirius Satellite's Coffee House station and it got me in a blogging mood... Now, if only I had a mocha or a latte, I'd be set!! But, it's a little too late for caffeine to be surging through my bloodstream.
Rick is gone for the weekend - working up in Pentwater. That means a mellow and laid back sort of weekend for the boys and I! I like those every once in a while. It seems like so often I get caught up in the endless cycle of "busy-ness" that it's nice to just sit back and take a breather.
This morning I dragged my kidlets to a MASSIVE garage sale at one of the local churches. The sale started at 9:00am and I kid you not - there was a line outside the door at 8:30am!! With Joshua going through growth spurt after growth spurt, I'm all about saving some money, so I was glad I went. I got him LOTS of stuff. Last weekend I caught a good load at another local garage sale, so he's in pretty good shape. I was mostly looking for soccer stuff - athletic shorts, warm-up pants, sweatshirts and sleeveless t-shirts. Unfortunately, the fall soccer season tends to encompass the whole gambit of fall weather - from 90 degree Indian Summer to swirling snow all around... All he needs now (for school included) is jeans and a couple of pairs of shoes. Oh, and I just got an email from Payless today and they are having a BOGO sale going on - so it looks like that's where I'll be getting his shoes! Gotta love a great deal!!
After lunch Logan took a really long nap. Poor kid is fighting something off (as am I...) and he's been sleeping a ton. My early riser has taken to sleeping until 9:00am lately!! It was nice to spend a whole lot of one-on-one with Joshua while Logan was sleeping, but it ended up being a Catch 22 - here it is, 10:10pm, and he's sitting next to me eating popcorn and playing with Legos... We had to pick my brother up this afternoon, grabbed pizza and breadsticks on the way home for dinner and then after baths/showers, we had an easygoing movie night. I popped some popcorn, we flipped a coin to decide which movie to watch (they each checked one out from the library yesterday), and the boys ended up sprawled out all over the living room floor watching 4 Curious George episodes (they were short - all 4 took only an hour) and then off to my bedroom they went.
When Daddy has to work up North and is gone for the whole weekend, the trade-off is that they get to sleep in my bed. It's nice for all 3 of us. Good thing it's King sized, though!!
So, I'm about to go do some dishes and pick up the house a bit, and I think I'll be heading to bed early, too. Whatever Logan and I are fighting off really tires you out!! We have NO plans tomorrow - we'll probably just hang out here for the most part - and then we have a Family Picnic on Sunday after church. I'll be making the potato salad for that tomorrow.
Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!!!!!!!!! God bless :)
Rick is gone for the weekend - working up in Pentwater. That means a mellow and laid back sort of weekend for the boys and I! I like those every once in a while. It seems like so often I get caught up in the endless cycle of "busy-ness" that it's nice to just sit back and take a breather.
This morning I dragged my kidlets to a MASSIVE garage sale at one of the local churches. The sale started at 9:00am and I kid you not - there was a line outside the door at 8:30am!! With Joshua going through growth spurt after growth spurt, I'm all about saving some money, so I was glad I went. I got him LOTS of stuff. Last weekend I caught a good load at another local garage sale, so he's in pretty good shape. I was mostly looking for soccer stuff - athletic shorts, warm-up pants, sweatshirts and sleeveless t-shirts. Unfortunately, the fall soccer season tends to encompass the whole gambit of fall weather - from 90 degree Indian Summer to swirling snow all around... All he needs now (for school included) is jeans and a couple of pairs of shoes. Oh, and I just got an email from Payless today and they are having a BOGO sale going on - so it looks like that's where I'll be getting his shoes! Gotta love a great deal!!
After lunch Logan took a really long nap. Poor kid is fighting something off (as am I...) and he's been sleeping a ton. My early riser has taken to sleeping until 9:00am lately!! It was nice to spend a whole lot of one-on-one with Joshua while Logan was sleeping, but it ended up being a Catch 22 - here it is, 10:10pm, and he's sitting next to me eating popcorn and playing with Legos... We had to pick my brother up this afternoon, grabbed pizza and breadsticks on the way home for dinner and then after baths/showers, we had an easygoing movie night. I popped some popcorn, we flipped a coin to decide which movie to watch (they each checked one out from the library yesterday), and the boys ended up sprawled out all over the living room floor watching 4 Curious George episodes (they were short - all 4 took only an hour) and then off to my bedroom they went.
When Daddy has to work up North and is gone for the whole weekend, the trade-off is that they get to sleep in my bed. It's nice for all 3 of us. Good thing it's King sized, though!!
So, I'm about to go do some dishes and pick up the house a bit, and I think I'll be heading to bed early, too. Whatever Logan and I are fighting off really tires you out!! We have NO plans tomorrow - we'll probably just hang out here for the most part - and then we have a Family Picnic on Sunday after church. I'll be making the potato salad for that tomorrow.
Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!!!!!!!!! God bless :)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I hate when I lose stuff...
Boy was I hoping to not have to write about this. I had my fingers and toes crossed that it would magically re-appear and everything would be a-ok. No such luck, I guess...
Sigh. I lost my wedding ring last week Thursday. Of course, it was like THE BUSIEST DAY of the week for us. So un-helpful. I took it off to knead bread (bread! I know!), put it in my pocket, and when I went to get it later that night it was gone. From the time I took it off until the time I realized it was gone, the following things happened:
Put kids in van
Picked up friends, put her daughter in one of Logan's carseats
Drove to friend's parents house to drop off her daughter
Moved Logan from one carseat to the other
Drove out to Spectrum Downtown
Parked in the road
Walked in the A level, took the elevators up to the 1st floor
Went to the lab, waited in the waiting room
Walked back through the hospital to the elevators down to the A level
Back out to the van
Drove to church
Cleaned the toys in the Toddler nursery room
Took friend on a tour of the ENTIRE church (minus basement, but still a lot of places!)
Back out to van
Dropped friend off at her parent's house
Went home, re-kneaded bread
Put kids back in van
Went to Tractor Supply Company to pick up a birthday gift
Went to Family Dollar for birthday card
Drove to birthday party
Parked in the road
Walked through the grass into party
Right about here is where I realized it wasn't in my pocket. I thought maybe I put it back on and took it back off to re-knead the bread. But, I tore the house up looking for it and it wasn't there. That leaves about 50 million places where it could have fallen out. I called the hospital, church, TSC and Family Dollar. No one has it. So, I guess it fell out somewhere like a parking lot or the road. Just my luck.
It's not my original ring - it was a Christmas upgrade from Rick, but I LOVED that ring. He picked it out for me and it was perfect. And now it's gone. That's really disappointing. I was hoping it would magically turn up, but I think it may be gone for good. I'm going to post some "Lost" posters, but I'm not holding my breath.
Maybe I'll be getting a new upgrade for Christmas this year, LOL. We'll see. I'm wearing my original ring now so at least something's on my finger (it feels so weird when there's not a ring on it!!!!), but I would really love to find the other one. It's not "worth" anything - I'm sure it's scratched up, it's not a huge expensive diamond - but it has a whole lot of sentimental value to me because Rick decided I needed a bigger ring than what I had (we were young and poor when we got married!!).
Trust me, I'll surely post if it turns up, but I'm thinking it's gone for good................ Oh, and I RARELY lose stuff, so that makes this a little bit harder, I think.
Sigh. I lost my wedding ring last week Thursday. Of course, it was like THE BUSIEST DAY of the week for us. So un-helpful. I took it off to knead bread (bread! I know!), put it in my pocket, and when I went to get it later that night it was gone. From the time I took it off until the time I realized it was gone, the following things happened:
Put kids in van
Picked up friends, put her daughter in one of Logan's carseats
Drove to friend's parents house to drop off her daughter
Moved Logan from one carseat to the other
Drove out to Spectrum Downtown
Parked in the road
Walked in the A level, took the elevators up to the 1st floor
Went to the lab, waited in the waiting room
Walked back through the hospital to the elevators down to the A level
Back out to the van
Drove to church
Cleaned the toys in the Toddler nursery room
Took friend on a tour of the ENTIRE church (minus basement, but still a lot of places!)
Back out to van
Dropped friend off at her parent's house
Went home, re-kneaded bread
Put kids back in van
Went to Tractor Supply Company to pick up a birthday gift
Went to Family Dollar for birthday card
Drove to birthday party
Parked in the road
Walked through the grass into party
Right about here is where I realized it wasn't in my pocket. I thought maybe I put it back on and took it back off to re-knead the bread. But, I tore the house up looking for it and it wasn't there. That leaves about 50 million places where it could have fallen out. I called the hospital, church, TSC and Family Dollar. No one has it. So, I guess it fell out somewhere like a parking lot or the road. Just my luck.
It's not my original ring - it was a Christmas upgrade from Rick, but I LOVED that ring. He picked it out for me and it was perfect. And now it's gone. That's really disappointing. I was hoping it would magically turn up, but I think it may be gone for good. I'm going to post some "Lost" posters, but I'm not holding my breath.
Maybe I'll be getting a new upgrade for Christmas this year, LOL. We'll see. I'm wearing my original ring now so at least something's on my finger (it feels so weird when there's not a ring on it!!!!), but I would really love to find the other one. It's not "worth" anything - I'm sure it's scratched up, it's not a huge expensive diamond - but it has a whole lot of sentimental value to me because Rick decided I needed a bigger ring than what I had (we were young and poor when we got married!!).
Trust me, I'll surely post if it turns up, but I'm thinking it's gone for good................ Oh, and I RARELY lose stuff, so that makes this a little bit harder, I think.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Trying to be a runner!!
When my mom had her birthday this past March, I thought it would be fun for us to do a 5K race to celebrate. My mom struggles with both Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis, but she really does an awesome job keeping it managed (as best as possible). So, we trained, and it was a Walk/Run, so we walked probably 85% of it. My time at the Irish Jig was 44 minutes-ish.
My town had our Summerfest this weekend. They did a 5K with it, so I talked Rick and two of our friends (who are brother and sister and do a lot of 5Ks) into doing it with me. I've been "training" for a while now (this consists of my trying to run but usually giving up because I just don't LOVE running the way I'd like to. I'm trying to learn to love it, but it's hard, lol!!).
So, the 5K was this morning. Earlier in the week I hurt one of my toes REALLY badly and it took about 3 days for the swelling to go down enough for me to wear closed-toed shoes again. I ran on Sunday (before the injury) and then not again until Thursday... I took Friday off as a rest day, but Rick and I ended up going hiking, LOL, and walking all over the town of Pentwater.
It was really chilly when we got there but I should have worn shorts because I was ROASTING by the time the race was over. Moisture-wicking running pants my eye - I was drenched!! I had actually signed up for the 5K 'walk' because my mom was going to do it also until she realized she had other plans. Everyone else in my group was registered for the run.
We picked up our packets, got the timing chips on, headed to the start line, and took off. Rob (our friend) was a man on a mission and started off at a 6 minute mile pace, lol. Needless to say, Rick ended up coming back to "help support me" (yeah right, but it was sweet) and he stayed by Cheryl and I. The only way I can run right now is to alternate between running and walking by the songs on my IPod. So, I ran two songs, walked one, ran one, walked one, ran one, walked one, ran up the BIG FREAKING HILL, walked for a really short while to recover, and ran the last 400 meters in. Rick was a doll and let me cross the finish line first, LOL. My time was 35:11!!! I shaved almost 10 minutes off my March time, which was cool. And I ran a whole lot more this time around...
The bad thing..... they ended up "placing me" in the 5K Run category instead of the 5K Walk category.... I must have come in too early... I got last place in my age division, but oh well!! I finished and that was cool.
Oh, and Rob - he placed Second in their (his and Rick's) age group. His time was 20:47. His last time was 22:something when he and Rick did a 5K in Muskegon earlier this summer. We were proud by association :)
So, I'm not sore or anything (yet). My breathing is a little off (exercised induced asthma.....) but not too bad. I'm hoping it's better by tomorrow. I might sign up for another 5K in the Fall but I'm not sure yet. This one was done with the slightly ulterior motive of promoting the Relay for Life in our area by wearing my Team Captain's shirt.... We'll see if it makes any difference.
Regardless, it was nice to be able to enjoy something like that with the hubby. His Army past makes him a whole lot more disciplined than me and I think it was a little frustrating to him that I was walking "so much". But, I'm telling ya - he just didn't get my whole "plan", lol. And besides - he doesn't train with me so I didn't expect him to be hovering around me during the race!!! But, we did have a good time doing it together once we got into the swing of things :)
My town had our Summerfest this weekend. They did a 5K with it, so I talked Rick and two of our friends (who are brother and sister and do a lot of 5Ks) into doing it with me. I've been "training" for a while now (this consists of my trying to run but usually giving up because I just don't LOVE running the way I'd like to. I'm trying to learn to love it, but it's hard, lol!!).
So, the 5K was this morning. Earlier in the week I hurt one of my toes REALLY badly and it took about 3 days for the swelling to go down enough for me to wear closed-toed shoes again. I ran on Sunday (before the injury) and then not again until Thursday... I took Friday off as a rest day, but Rick and I ended up going hiking, LOL, and walking all over the town of Pentwater.
It was really chilly when we got there but I should have worn shorts because I was ROASTING by the time the race was over. Moisture-wicking running pants my eye - I was drenched!! I had actually signed up for the 5K 'walk' because my mom was going to do it also until she realized she had other plans. Everyone else in my group was registered for the run.
We picked up our packets, got the timing chips on, headed to the start line, and took off. Rob (our friend) was a man on a mission and started off at a 6 minute mile pace, lol. Needless to say, Rick ended up coming back to "help support me" (yeah right, but it was sweet) and he stayed by Cheryl and I. The only way I can run right now is to alternate between running and walking by the songs on my IPod. So, I ran two songs, walked one, ran one, walked one, ran one, walked one, ran up the BIG FREAKING HILL, walked for a really short while to recover, and ran the last 400 meters in. Rick was a doll and let me cross the finish line first, LOL. My time was 35:11!!! I shaved almost 10 minutes off my March time, which was cool. And I ran a whole lot more this time around...
The bad thing..... they ended up "placing me" in the 5K Run category instead of the 5K Walk category.... I must have come in too early... I got last place in my age division, but oh well!! I finished and that was cool.
Oh, and Rob - he placed Second in their (his and Rick's) age group. His time was 20:47. His last time was 22:something when he and Rick did a 5K in Muskegon earlier this summer. We were proud by association :)
So, I'm not sore or anything (yet). My breathing is a little off (exercised induced asthma.....) but not too bad. I'm hoping it's better by tomorrow. I might sign up for another 5K in the Fall but I'm not sure yet. This one was done with the slightly ulterior motive of promoting the Relay for Life in our area by wearing my Team Captain's shirt.... We'll see if it makes any difference.
Regardless, it was nice to be able to enjoy something like that with the hubby. His Army past makes him a whole lot more disciplined than me and I think it was a little frustrating to him that I was walking "so much". But, I'm telling ya - he just didn't get my whole "plan", lol. And besides - he doesn't train with me so I didn't expect him to be hovering around me during the race!!! But, we did have a good time doing it together once we got into the swing of things :)
Monday, August 4, 2008
Counting my blessings...
Happy Monday, everyone! We had a rather interesting weekend........
Friday afternoon, the boys and I headed up to Whitehall to meet Rick. There was a flag football game going on between the Montague Police Officers (the Fuzz) and the Montague Fire Department (the Fuzz Busters). We are good friends with the chiefs of each, so it was a lot of fun to watch. Afterwards, we went out to the parking lot to see that the Fire Department (who got shut out, by the way) had soaped up the Police Chief's (Chief Rob) squad car. Joshua was playing with the bubbles with Chief Rob's daughter, Morgan, and Logan wanted to play too. Rick was standing right there, talking to a couple of the officers while the kids were playing, I walked over to the car to clean some dirt off my shorts and when I came back around the car, I asked Rick where Logan was.
He was gone.
He had JUST been there, and he was gone - nowhere to be found. We searched for him for what seemed like forever (I don't even know how long - under 15 minutes, I would guess, but it felt a lot longer). We were in the parking lot, back by the football field. There were woods, and cars and people all over the place, and Logan was gone. I was doing really well for a while, and then I got closer and closer to panicking. I searched in the parking lot, I searched in the woods, I looked in the Port-A-Potty. There were cops and firefighters helping us look for him. He's never wandered away from us before.
I was so scared. Rick and I split up, I told Joshua to stay by the car and not move. After I had looked EVERYWHERE out in the parking lot, I headed toward the football field. Strangers we didn't even know were helping us look for him. As I was going in the gate, Rick was coming out.
He had Logan in his arms. Immediately the tears started running down my cheeks. Logan was crying in Rick's arms. I ran up to them, grabbed my son and held him so tight as I fought to not lose complete control.
Rick said he was sitting in the bleachers with his hands in his lap, right where we had been sitting. When Rick went up to him, the only thing Logan said was "Where's mommy?". Rick said "Probably looking for you." and Logan started to cry. When I was at the car, Logan didn't know where I was, so he went back to the last place he knew I was to try and find me. Amazing to me that in all those people, not a single one noticed a toddler walking around by himself. Especially since the game between the fire fighters and police had just ended...
The whole way home, Logan and I talked about how he can never wander away again.
We've never lost Joshua like that before - it was absolutely the worst feeling I've ever felt. It took everything I had to stay calm enough to look without losing it. And the longer I looked and didn't find him, the worse it got. Rick wasn't worried. He knew he was around there somewhere. I wish I had that kind of parenting attitude. Unfortunately for me (and my children), that's not my nature. I'm great in a crisis situation, as long as it doesn't involve my kids. When that happens, all bets are off. Thank God he was ok.
You can bet I've been counting my blessings more than normal this weekend.
Friday afternoon, the boys and I headed up to Whitehall to meet Rick. There was a flag football game going on between the Montague Police Officers (the Fuzz) and the Montague Fire Department (the Fuzz Busters). We are good friends with the chiefs of each, so it was a lot of fun to watch. Afterwards, we went out to the parking lot to see that the Fire Department (who got shut out, by the way) had soaped up the Police Chief's (Chief Rob) squad car. Joshua was playing with the bubbles with Chief Rob's daughter, Morgan, and Logan wanted to play too. Rick was standing right there, talking to a couple of the officers while the kids were playing, I walked over to the car to clean some dirt off my shorts and when I came back around the car, I asked Rick where Logan was.
He was gone.
He had JUST been there, and he was gone - nowhere to be found. We searched for him for what seemed like forever (I don't even know how long - under 15 minutes, I would guess, but it felt a lot longer). We were in the parking lot, back by the football field. There were woods, and cars and people all over the place, and Logan was gone. I was doing really well for a while, and then I got closer and closer to panicking. I searched in the parking lot, I searched in the woods, I looked in the Port-A-Potty. There were cops and firefighters helping us look for him. He's never wandered away from us before.
I was so scared. Rick and I split up, I told Joshua to stay by the car and not move. After I had looked EVERYWHERE out in the parking lot, I headed toward the football field. Strangers we didn't even know were helping us look for him. As I was going in the gate, Rick was coming out.
He had Logan in his arms. Immediately the tears started running down my cheeks. Logan was crying in Rick's arms. I ran up to them, grabbed my son and held him so tight as I fought to not lose complete control.
Rick said he was sitting in the bleachers with his hands in his lap, right where we had been sitting. When Rick went up to him, the only thing Logan said was "Where's mommy?". Rick said "Probably looking for you." and Logan started to cry. When I was at the car, Logan didn't know where I was, so he went back to the last place he knew I was to try and find me. Amazing to me that in all those people, not a single one noticed a toddler walking around by himself. Especially since the game between the fire fighters and police had just ended...
The whole way home, Logan and I talked about how he can never wander away again.
We've never lost Joshua like that before - it was absolutely the worst feeling I've ever felt. It took everything I had to stay calm enough to look without losing it. And the longer I looked and didn't find him, the worse it got. Rick wasn't worried. He knew he was around there somewhere. I wish I had that kind of parenting attitude. Unfortunately for me (and my children), that's not my nature. I'm great in a crisis situation, as long as it doesn't involve my kids. When that happens, all bets are off. Thank God he was ok.
You can bet I've been counting my blessings more than normal this weekend.
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