Update on Jennifer...

We went to see Jennifer last night. She was sitting up a little bit and actually had her voice back. She still have the feeding tube which they were taking out today and the temporary pacemaker on her leg which was turned off. The report right now is that she may be going home with a permanent pacemaker more as a precaution. She is doing really good and as soon as they take the pacemaker off her leg will be up and starting to walk in about 6-8 hours. They are saying that there were 2 medications that she was taking that reacted to other medications that she was on. She is still in CCU right now.

I am picking up Allyssa and Dakota tomorrow for the afternoon. It has been a couple of weeks since we have had them. Nick's girlfriend, Ashley, babysits them now so I am not getting them as often. That is good for me because it was too much to watch them both nearly every afternoon, but on the other hand I miss them so much. I don't feel like I am in touch with Allyssa and her school work and Dakota and her little musings that I usually get to see.

Mom and Dad are off to the beach tomorrow. Yes I am very jealous! I have not been able to go to the beach this year and I miss it. But Mom needs to get away and relax for a while.

Natasha is progressing along with her pregnancy. She is out of work the rest of the week per doctor's orders.

Nick is doing the usual working thing like the rest of us. I had a couple of days break from demon child co-worker. She came back today.

Well, guess I had better go and get ready for another day of work!

Spur of the Moment changes....

The past couple of days has been all about spur of the moment changes. Since Monday morning when we, (as in Mom, Dad and all of us siblings and spouses and children, except Mitchell and his family, of course) have found out about Brittni being in the hospital and then Jennifer collapsing while staying with Brittni, we have been all about living in the moment. We have lived this week nearly around Brittni and Jennifer. The very people that Mitchell has kept in the dark about so much the past couple of years have been the ones there for him and his family now. A lot of it is Mitchell's fault, heck 99% of it is his fault. We all have tried in the past to keep in touch with him and his family, but either the phone calls going unanswered or not acknowledged or the fact that he did not want us to know much about what was going on in his family life. He has probably lived most of his life based on lie after lie that he nearly a professional at it. Why are so many people like that? I know on his part he has lived a life that was pretty much different from the rest of us. But in the end when all your friends are gone who is there to pick you up? Family. I remember telling Mitchell many years ago that his family were the ones that would always be there. Even after he has done the things that he has done to all of us, acting like he did not need us, betraying our trust, we are there for him. I know on my part it is going to take some time for me to trust him. It is to the point with us that we need some proof and not just words. We have heard them too many times. Even after all of that, it is Jennifer, Brittni and Chandler that I most want to protect. What have they had to live in on a daily basis with Mitchell? We have only seen what he allows us to see, but to have to live with it on a day-to-day basis, I cannot imagine. None of us have been perfect in our adult lives, we have all done things that we wish we could re-do, prevent from happening, and keep secret, but in the end it comes out for the whole world to see. I cannot even imagine how Jennifer has felt the past 2 years, going through the death and grieving of her mother. I thank God everyday for my Mom and that I have had her through the good and the bad of my life. We have had our differences but we still crave each other's attention and love. What would I do if I was in Jennifer's place? She has been stuck in a cesspool of memories for 2 years, living in the same house with the same furnishings. She has been worrying about everybody else but her own health which has not been very good. Depression is a very bad problem, mood swings, sadness, loneliness. I know from experience. I have not been there for her and I feel bad for it knowing what depression can do to a person. I plan to do better from now on. We have to put our past feelings in the past. Which is easier said than done. We, as Christians, are to forgive, maybe not ever forget, but forgive. Without God's help that is impossible to do. As I get older I realize just how much hurt, meanness, loneliness, and sadness is in the world. How many people do we past everyday that have problems worse than ours. That don't make our problems is less important, but there are others far worse. We have a roof over our head, family to help us through the tough times, decent clothes to wear, we don't worry about where our next meal is coming from and we have a little money to do things that we like. We drive vehicles that are running good, we have our health, our jobs, our children and grandchildren. Now for the update on Jennifer. The breathing tube was taken out tonight about 6:00 p.m. She was a little apprehensive about it. The temporary pacemaker was turned off and will be removed tomorrow. She is talking in a whisper, able to move her legs, arms, head. There does not appear to be any damage to anything right now. They said that after they take the pacemaker off they plan to have her up and walking in about 6 hours! So as it looks now, she is on the road to recovery in a big way. Thank you Lord for answered prayers and they continue to be answered daily. I wonder if she will be able to remember the whole incident? Right now I guess her mind of blocking some of the trauma. Can she remember us being in the room and talking? Could she hear us even though she was sedated? What was she thinking if she was able to be thinking while she was sedated? Does she remember getting agitated when the sedation would wear off? I have so many questions I want to ask her but I know it might be awhile before I can do that. She does not remember Brittni being in the hospital, she did not know she was at Greenville Memorial Hospital, I don't think she knows what happen. I feel that as time goes on her memory will come back. Brittni is still doing good, I don't think she has had any further vomiting or stomach pain. She goes back to school on Monday, but she also has a doctor's appointment. Chandler went back to school on Friday. Well, it is 11:26 pm and way, way past my bedtime. So off to bed I go..........

Answered prayers.....

I had such a good day today. My demon child co-worker was not at work, woo-hoo. Don't they realize how quiet and smooth everything is when she is not there??????? We went to the hospital tonight to visit Jennifer. I am so ecstatic. She was awake and could understand what we were saying to her. She could make facial expressions when she was asked questions and she could nod her head yes or no. We got her to smile. Many prayers have been answered and continue to be answered. They had her pacemaker on her leg turned down and tomorrow they plan on turning it off to see if she can handle it. They have taken her off her medication to help her heart and she is doing fine. She stayed awake all day today. She would not go to sleep, I guess because she felt she had been out of it for so long she was afraid if she went to sleep she would be out of it again. Right before we left the nurse gave her some morphine for pain and to help her relax and get some rest. I was so happy to see her awake. Thank you Lord. The doctors are say now that it was the medication she was on but they are not sure yet exactly which one it was or if some of the medication reacted to the medicine she was already taking. She is on a blood thinner to make sure she does not get clots in her legs. She is able to move her left leg but not her right leg because the pacemaker is attached to her right leg. She seems to be uncomfortable because she cannot really move around to get a good spot. She was moving her left arm and wrinkling her forehead and I asked her if her arm was bothering her or need to be lifted up. She nodded to me when I asked her about lifting it up so I tried to make her a little more comfortable. She still has a little ways to go but is doing great right now. Brittni is doing fine. She was tired when we seen her in the CCU waiting area. This was her first day out of the hospital so I am sure she has been up all day. The doctors said she suffers from Abdominal migraines. No I have never heard of it either, but apparently a migraine is pain in the nerves. Just like a migraine head ache, these are migraine stomach aches. New one on me. Mom and I are going to do our normal Saturday thing tomorrow. I think we will go to AC Moore tomorrow then have lunch. Then tomorrow afternoon it is back to the lake for the rest of the weekend. I ready for this boat to be broken in so we can actually relax. When you are breaking in a new motor on a jet-ski you have to go no more than 35 miles a hour, which is slow then you move on up the speedometer until you get to the number of "break-in" hours that need to be put on the boat. Of course, all of this was greek to me until I got involved in it with this boat. Well, guess I will get off of here and hit the hay! I am tired.

No change.....

There has been no change in Jennifer today other than Brittni, Chandler and Mitchell were able to talk to her and she was a little less sedated and could nod to them. Then she was sedated again to keep her from becoming agitated. We did not go to the hospital today. I was totally exhausted and had to get some things done around the house. Brittni was discharged today and is with a friend from school and Chandler is with Mom. Mitchell and Jennifer's brother are switching off staying in the room with Jennifer just so there is someone there, just in case she might come to and not see anyone she knows. The doctors said it could take up to 60 hours from the time she collapsed before all the medication she was on is out of her system. That is about 4 and 1/2 days! I think they seem to think that when that gets out of her system she should be on the full road to recovery. Since they cannot find anything else wrong with her it seems it might have been the medication that she was prescribed recently that did all of this.

Vincent and I met Wayne, Tina, Courtney and Lauren at Mythos Greek Restaurant in Greer for dinner tonight. Actually it was a spur of the moment kinda thing. Wayne called to see if we were going to the hospital because he did not know if he was going to make it tonight. I told him that we were not going to night and then I asked them if they had eaten yet and he said no. So we decided to meet there. We had a good time.

Things at work at the same. I think it was yesterday or the day before. I was just standing there working and MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS and something came on radio of the "demon" beside me. Those of you who have kept up with my notorious co-worker know what I am talking about. She said (and keep in mind it is just me and her standing there) out loud, "Thank you Lord, I got the devil right beside me". Now since it was only me and her standing there, who do you think she was talking about?????????????????????????? Yep, that is right ME. Of course, want I should have said was agree with her and say "yes Lord, I got the devil right beside me too". But I didn't because if I had said something she would have just said that she was talking to herself. Which probably is correct since she is schizofrinic anyway. So today I started wearing an earplug in my right ear so I don't have to hear her talking about that devil standing beside her. I hope he does not try to start talking to me!!!!!! Maybe I should go in to work tomorrow with devil horns on my head!!!!!!!!!!! I am LOL right now. She has really lost some of the marbles in her collection!
I decided that I was not going to let her ruin my day so I have gotten to the point of just taking it all in stride and laughing inside at her stupity or craziness, which one I am not sure of!
Well, guess I had better go and get in bed a "little earlier" tonight!

Answers............

Well, I went to the hospital to get some answers.............Jennifer was taken down for a CT scan today, I think they said she had a chest x-ray and tomorrow she is scheduled for an ultrasound to check to make sure she does not have any blood clots. The nurse that came on duty at 7:00 pm was very helpful when we asked questions. I stayed in their with Jennifer while he checked all her vital signs and she was doing good. She did have a temperature of 101 under the arm and he was going to order some tylenol for her. They had increased her sedation with is Propofol, I think, when they took her down for the scan. The nurse decreased it and said that they were going to keep decreasing it to try and wean her off of it. She was breathing some on her own but was still on the respirator. The respiratory therapist came in also and checked her vitals, cleaned the tube, etc. and everything looked good. Another medication she is on is Heparin, not sure about that one, Lidocane, not sure if that is related to the Heparin and she was also given some Morphine today.

The mothering instinct in me wants to just lift her to me and hold her and tell her everything is going to be ok, but I know that I cannot do that. Sometimes I feel so "fake". I know how I have felt in the past with everything that has gone on with Mitchell and Jennifer and I know that I have not been the Christian that I should be. I should have forgave Mitchell for some things he did. Stealing from his own family for his drug addiction, but I did not. There is alot of trust that needs to be made up by him. He has said so many times that he had changed and it never happened. You still have the thoughts that "is he telling us another one or is he for real this time". Jennifer has been through a lot with him and her family. Her mother dying 2 years ago has not been easy for her either.

He says that when Jennifer gets better and Brittni gets better that there are going to be some changes. I told him that it is not going to be a easy road, its going to be hard, it is not going to come to him. They have never really been a family and it is going to take some time to build that up for them.

He just looks at her and then he says "isn't she beautiful, she's my baby". I asked him, "has it taken this to happen for you to see that?" and he told me "no, I have known it all along. She is still as beautiful to me today as she was 21 years ago". I said have you told her that and he said "yes and I tell her I love her and she always says no you don't". And he just chuckled to himself. We were looking at the monitor and watching her blood pressure cuff expanding and it read her bp. He asked me if her bp was good and what is is normally. I told him 120/80. hers was 167/63. I said I am on blood pressure medication and he said I am supposed to be on it, but I don't take it. I have it with me but I just don't take it. I turned to him and said, "do you want to end of like Jennifer" and we looked at her and he said no. And I said then you better start taking care of yourself.

Brittni is doing fine. She is going to be discharged probably Friday. She was working on a little scrapbook for her mom when we left.

We will be going back tomorrow so I will have an update then.................

Jennifer and Brittni

Yesterday we got a call from my baby brother that Jennifer, my sister-in-law was in the hospital due to collapsing and having 2 cardiac arrests. She was on life support in CCU (critical care unit). This was the first time anyone had heard from him in a couple of weeks when Mom had surgery. We found out that Brittni, my niece and Mitch and Jennifer's daughter, had been in the hospital for several days before this happened to Jennifer due to a problem with vomiting and severe stomach pain. We also just found out that Brittni had been having this problem for a couple of years and had been to the ER several times in the last several months. Alot has gone on over the past several years with Mitchell doing some things that he should not have done and he just became distance with the family. We went to the hospital yesterday and stayed there the rest of the day. Jennifer was being sedated heavily due to her becoming agitated when she was not sedated. The nurse said that her heart was so irritated from the cardiac arrests that it was best right now just to let her rest. They could not do any testing until later. At this point, we did and still do not know what is wrong with her. It could be a medication reaction, she had been to the doctor on Monday and they had either started her on a new medication or changed her meds and she had not felt right all day. We still don't know what is wrong with Brittni either. They have run the light down her throat checking for an ulcer and anything else, nothing. The doctor did take 2 biopsies and the results will come later. Today they did an upper GI to check the gall bladder (why are they just now checking the gb?) and some things that cannot be seen with the light. Still nothing. At the writing they were discussing whether to discharge her. Mitchell is handling the situation the best he can right now. He is pulled in 2 directions knowing that Jennifer is critical right now. Brittni is not doing to good emotionally because she seen her mom collapse. The nurses were not getting there fast enough and knowing that there was nothing she could do was not good. Chandler my nephew is doing ok. He knows that there is not much that he can do either. But he did say that if this had to happen to his mom, he was glad that she was at the hospital, because she would not have made it if she had been home and had to wait for EMS provided she could dial 911 since she is home by herself. When there is a critical situation like this, I had found out just yesterday how confusing the medical staff can be. One minute they tell you that you cannot talk to or touch Jennifer, no more than 2 people in the room, then the next minute they tell Mitch he can kiss her and talk to her and they let 3 people in the room. None of them can tell you anything, and you just walk around like you are in some kind of a fog. The mother is me wants to scream out, WE WANT AND NEED SOME ANSWERS. How long can she stay like that? What is going to happen next, what kind of test are you running on her. Then the nurses tell you, (if you are not the wife or husband) "we cannot tell you anything, you have to ask the spouse), but then turn around and tell you some information and you are sitting there thinking in your mind, "are you suppose to be telling me this? I'm glad you are but you are all so contradicting." I am getting ready to head to the hospital now and try to get some kind of answers. It is the mother in me I guess. But even if it is not good news I NEED TO KNOW! Let's see how it goes................

Monday, Monday

First of the week. It is always so hard to get back in the swing of things after such a nice weekend. And today was just as nice. My demon-child co-worker tried to get me in trouble today. Now doesn't that sound so elementary? It is but that is the way some people are. It ended up backfiring in her face so I felt pretty good about that. I know that is not good to feel good about that but it is about time my supervisor stood up to her. I had lunch with Mom today. We ate at the Pizza House where we usually go if we are both in Travelers Rest and since I work in TR and she lives in TR it works out perfectly! I only get 35 minutes, so it almost is not like having lunch at all but being in a rat race, hurry to get there, hurry to eat and hurry to get back, but I got to spend some time with Mom and I enjoyed it even if it was for just a short time. Getting ready to take that jet-ski back to the lake as soon as Vincent gets here. He found the problem so we have to go back and try again what we tried to do Saturday. (see previous post). Well, guess I had better get off of here. Nothing much to say today!

Happy Sunday!

How nice it wake up to a nice cool morning after all that hot, muggy, humid weather we have been having. We are heading back out to the lake. Had to come home last night to take care of the animals (the drawback of having them) so we could not stay the night. The Rosenfelds' boat is back in our back yard waiting to head back to the shop tomorrow morning. It has to be put on a computer at a sea-doo dealership which will take it out of "limp" mode which is a safe mode to protect the engine when things are not quite kosher and in this case Lance put too much oil in it when they were putting it back together. Everyone seems to think that this jet-ski has some sort of hex on it. Of course, I don't believe in that. I think it is just a tempermental piece of equipment that has had a run of bad motors on several persons doings before Vincent got a hold of it. Not to mention the company who supplies the motors has a motor-put-together-er- who did not put oil in a certain part of the motor and it cannot function without it.

But we had out reliable jet-ski so we rode it. We left it down there on the boat lift at the Rosenfelds dock so we did not have to tow it back again today.

Yesterday Mom, Alpha and myself went to the Heirloom's Rubber Stamp and Paper Festival held at the Carolina First Center (formerly the Palmetto Expo Center). We had a really great time, I think Alpha spent the most money out of all three of us. I purchased 3 stamps, 2 of which were snowmen stamps, which I love. (Snowmen, hmmmm) a "Merry Christmas" stamp and a set of Heidi Swapp "credit card" embellishments. Don't ask me why they call them credit card embellishments, they are not the same size as credit cards and some are not even shaped like credit cards.....go figure. Mom did well walking around so much after her surgery 2 weeks ago. We kept asking her if she was ok. The only problem she had was when we went to Red Lobster to eat lunch (which is totally much cheaper than at dinner time) and she had a problem sitting in the booth for so long. She really needs to be sitting in a regular chair. I am sure she went home and took a nap.

I talked to my "fireman" brother Wayne. He works for Parker Fire District in Greenville. He is a Lt. now, promoted about a month or so ago. He loves fighting fires, it takes special men and women to do that sort of thing. He has gotten him a new cocker spaniel puppy, Harley. He had a cocker spaniel named Freckles which Wayne totally adored and she was run over a while back and he has now got her replacement (if you can call it that).

Haven't talked to my sister in a while. I keep tabs on her. She has a new job at Gateway Elementary where Allyssa goes. She was the computer lab teacher but was "promoted" to SASI clerk this year which is requiring more work than the computer lab, but both of their kids are into sports, track, basketball, high school footballs games, and just plain out high school stuff she has to do. She does live close by, but we hardly see each other. They were out of town this weekend for a sport related event.

Allyssa went to her Dad's house this weekend so Thursday was the last time we seen her and Dakota. Nick's girlfriend babysits them during the week now so that they are not in a nursery and daycare. Which is great that they get to be at home more.

Well, gotta go so I can get ready to get our of here.

Finally we have rain.....

No playing outside for this little guy today. Of course, this pic was taken in May when he was 3 months old and now he is 6 months old and 3 times, at least, this size. It has been raining pretty much non-stop since 5:00 p.m. today. Woo-Hoo, it is so nice to see moisture coming from the sky and I am sure all the trees, grass, flowers, shubbery, etc. are thanking God right now as I have been all afternoon. It is suppose to be sunny the rest of the weekend so it won't foil anyone's plans, but is is sooo nice to see it coming down.

Not much going on today except of course work and the usual elementary-behavior by some grown adults that you have everywhere. It gets so tiring, you would think these guys would outgrow it sometime in their lives.

Mom and I are going to the "rubber stamp convention" at the former Palmetto Expo Center tomorrow. Last year it was not as good as it was the previous year so I am anxious to see if there have been any changes to make it better. We usually buy 1 or 2 stamps and maybe a little something that might strike our fancy. Usually there are so many stamps that I get overwhelmed and come out with maybe 1 stamp. It is getting close to the holidays so I have to put on my thinking cap for my small amount of christmas cards I give to our immediate families.

We are going to be at the lake for most of the weekend starting tomorrow afternoon. Going to the Rosenfelds to break in their boat and they are all excited to get it back. I am riding mine and Vincent and the Rosenfelds are taking turns riding theirs to get the new motor "broken in".

Our other friends that we were with last weekend are at Springfield campsite at Lake Hartwell. We are going to be at Lake Keowee which if I am not mistaken is separated by the dam, Oconee County and Anderson County are in their close and Lake Keowee goes all the way up north. Not too much on the geography. I like Keowee a whole lot better, cleaner to me although it is a lot more crowded.

Had to recolor my hair tonight to cover up the gray. The things we have to deal with when getting older. Why can't we just keep out 20 year old bodies, minds, beautiful hair well up until we leave this world. Can you imagine everyone having their 20 year old bodies. I am sitting here picturing all of us going about our daily doings and looking good doing it!!!!!!!! LOL<>

Later...............

Well, guess I had better get off of here.

Out of sorts...

Take a look at these cute little kids! This is Natasha, Nicholas and Zachary sitting on that funning looking Santa Claus now that I look really good at this picture! I think it must be his cone-shaped hat!

Not feeling as great today as I have been. I think it might be because I change my estrogen patch today and maybe the medication has worn off. What is the deal with my ovaries hurting again like I was 20 years old! I am totally not used to that. Haven't had that paid since 1988 after I recovered from a hysterectomy........I don't think I like it either!

Picked up the girls today after work and took them to see Mom. Then we went by Vincent's shop and left there when he got off and headed to Donna and Kim's (this is a guy by the way) house. Vincent had to see what the problem was with their reverse gate on their sea-doo. Stayed there until 7:00 then met Natasha so she could pick up the girls. Came home, let Hanzo out and then went to grab a bite to eat. Came home, check my blog, have typed this and getting ready to take a shower and head to bed. One more day of work and then the weekend. Going to the rubber stamp convention with Mom on Saturday and then we have to head to Lake Keowee Sunday. Some places had a little rain today, but nothing at our house......we need it so bad. Until tomorrow............

Good day...

I need to be here right now.....just relaxing, doing nothing, pondering things......It has been a good day today. I think I am actually starting to feel better. No anxiety, no down-in-the-dumps, etc. I actually feel pretty good. I even felt pretty good about going to work, if someone can actually feel good going to work! I worked, came home, did some "have-to-do-when-you-first-come-home" junk, went outside, cleaned the air filter on my riding lawnmower, cut grass, did the weedeating, did the blowing-off-the-grass on the driveway, front porch and sidewalks, played with this crazy puppy that looks like a full-grown dog, then Vincent came home, we played with Hanzo a little bit more, then went to grab something to eat and then to Petco-"where-the-pets-go" and go Elliott some fruity bird food and Hanzo some dog food. Have to pick up Miss Kitty's cat litter and cat food at Walmart, it is cheaper there. She eats the Iams and Walmart sells it. Walmart does not sell Elliott and Hanzo's food. Believe me, if they did that is exactly where their food would come from also! The only thing I didn't get to was stopping in to see Mom. I am actually going to do that tomorrow, might even come for lunch Mom! Going to the lake Sunday to "break-in" a new motor that Vincent had to put in a Sea-Doo for a customer who is wary about doing it himself. So Vincent gets paid to do it for him! Saturday is set aside for Mom. We have not been able to get our normal Saturday Kona Mocha Cafechillo from Atlanta Bread Company since her surgery. I did take her one but it is not the same!

Well, guess I had better get off here and go get ready for bed for another day of working...

A good day!

This is Hanzo letting it all hang out. He is just about too big for this kennel and it is the medium. We were getting ready to head to bed Sunday night when Vincent called me into the living room to see this! He usually does not stay still long enough to get any good pictures of him, but he never moved as we were walking in the living room and getting the camera ready.

It has been a pretty good day today. Feel a little better every day. No mood swings today, spirits stayed up for the day, no hot flashes as of right now!

Had to rush home today to get the dog out before the storm came. I was going to stop by Mom's to see her, but I was afraid the rain would come before I got home to get him out and he loves the water so he would have been a mess when I brought him back in. We made just in time!

Elliott our bird is setting here watching me type and making little soft chirping noises. For what I don't know. He is hanging on my shirt trying to bite off the screenprint! Well, gotta run for now. My clothes that were in the dryer are ready to fold so I need to get it done before they wrinkle!

Monday, Monday

Why are Mondays sooo long.....it seems like it takes forever for the work day to end and I leave at 3:30 everyday. I have posted some more pics from the lake. Proof that Allyssa wears here life vest at all times when we are at the lake unless we are at the campsite and not near the water, which we were this time. We were in walking distance to the sea-doo but we were not directly on the beachy part. Here she has a handful of sand/dirt/mud from the bottom of the lake. What is it about kids and mud and they have to throw it too. Had to call her down a couple of times for the throwing thing. Then there is the picture of her "feeding her face" with a Krispy Kreme doughnut. She had just finished it. That child loves sweets. The last 2 pics are Allyssa's picture taking. Just a picture of the fan that our host had going to keep her "cool" I am still laughing about that. But there were several campsites that had fans going.....go figure that one! Of course, I enjoy a fan blowing on me at all times, if I get chilled, I just cover up with something! And then we have the infamous picture of Allyssa's foot. I know it is her foot because of that little freckle she has on it and has had since birth! Sooooo cute!!!!! I love it when she gets the camera because it is so cute to see just what she sees through her beautiful eyes and takes pictures of!!!!!

Dakota is too young to take her with us right now. Because she cannot stay on the sea-doo too much and we stay on it pretty much all day, except of course, to eat and rest a little bit. If Allyssa had her way she would be on it the ENTIRE time we were there. Forget about eating, throw her a doughnut as she circles in close to the water's edge and she will be fine! Natasha cannot ride because she is pregnant so they don't go. They have been asked several times as well as Nicholas and they never want to go so they are missing out! Allyssa probably would not share her riding time anyway!

This menopause thing is kicking my tail. I was talking to someone today about it and she has already been through it (lasted 5 years). Oh my gosh, I will be crazy by then. I am feeling terrific one minute, ready to lash out at someone the next, still yet want to cry the next minute, exhausted the next minute, (have I gotten to 60 minutes yet?), feel like a fat cow the next minute, feel like a size 7 the next (of course, that feeling don't last long!). Suspicious of things, sounds like I am going crazy don't it! I sleep but don't really remember sleeping, I feel like I am going through the everyday motions and not really knowing I have been there. I am hot sometimes and then all of a sudden I am cold. I really miss my Mommy! I love you Mom! She is recovering from surgery. Doing great, just takes time. She is a little stir crazy right now not being able to drive. The hot flashes are not around too much right now, it might be the estrogen patch. What am I talking about, it probably is the patch helping me with that.

My sweet hubby just brought me in some chocolate ice cream.....yummy. I don't really need it though, I need to get serious about loosing weight, of course, we will talk about that later. Right now this ice cream is hitting the spot! LOL

Hello dear sister if you are reading this. Miss talking to you!

Well guess I will go for now, later..............

Happy Grandparent's Day (and Great-Grandparents)

Happy Grandparents Day!!!!!! This day always gets overlooked by our family, mainly I guess because us adult children don't have any grandparents living on our side of the family and there hasn't been in a very long time. So it was never instilled in Natasha and Nicholas. The rest of the grandkids have grandparents on the other sides of the family so don't ask me what happen there!!!!! I will have to admit that it sneeks up on me and I am a grandparent, but I feel bad for my parents who are great-grandparents to my grandchildren. So I am apologizing to them for that.

These two little girls are so happy nearly all the time. They both have there moments though. The picture of Allyssa upside down is what she does best. I think if she could walk on her hands all the time she would. This was the playground at the campsite where some friends of our were camping and we were invited down. She also loves, loves our sea-doo. There is another picture just like this one of Vincent, Allyssa and the son of another couple who was there, but I downloaded the wrong one. Allyssa is in the middle as usually when there are 3 people riding since this is a 3-seater jet-ski. If there are only 2, Allyssa has to sit in the front, just for my well-being!!!!

It was a very relaxing day but we did not get home until late, late, late. So we did not make it to church.

We still have had not rain in a couple of weeks and it is needed sssooooooo bad. At least the temp has come down a little bit in the 90's i think now. Our little bit of Fall weather is just around the corner, I just know it!

I don't have anything to log on my response to the estrogen patch I was prescribed by my physician. I am suppose to be noticing a better sense of well-being (feeling better, maybe a little bit not quite sure), sounds stupid doesn't it! Sleeping better at night, kinda of hard to know I guess when I am on Ambien CR to sleep anyway, I would probably say NOT. Since the past 3 nights I have ended up on the couch, could it be that I need to assurance of the ceiling fan running as HIGH as I can get it. Hot flashes not quite so bad as of yet. Can't really say about yesterday since we were in the water all day so I don't think that counts! I have to go back to the doctor in four weeks for a bone density test and to "talk" about how I am feeling! Of how I long for the 20-30's when you did not really have to worry about mammograms, bone density tests, hot flashes, menopause.........why, why is it that we have to go through all of this? I know that when I get to heaven and see Eve I might just slap her a couple of times and then I might ask God why (although I know we are not suppose to be questioning the almighty!) by he had to put the whole burden on us, he could at least let the men have a little glimpse into our lives to see exactly what we have to go through!!!!!! I am laughing right now, but I can see the humor on God's face saying, "Nancy, Nancy, Nancy....it is not my fault Eve didn't listen to Me!" Of course, Adam should have to take some of the blame, I mean he TOOK the apple she offered him, he didn't have to do that!, Right? Oh my goodness, I need to get off of here, I am getting way too deep!!!!!!!

Have a good day!

Cool morning...

I headed outside this morning and was welcomed by a cool, crisp morning air. It was such a delight to be able to actual breathe "fresh air" and not feel like you were in a tunnel trying to catch a breath! I am not sure what the actual temp reached today but it was not nearly has hot as a couple of weeks ago.

Fall is just around the corner, but the way the seasons have blended into each other, it might pass us by before we know it. And I hate that. Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year and it does not seem like we have much of either one anymore.

Allyssa and Dakota are doing great. Allyssa made a 100 on her spelling test last Friday, woo-hoo. Dakota is being a typical "nearly-two-year-old". Spoiled rotten but has some of the funniest faces and antics. She is talking up a storm now, of course her words are not being pronounced the correct way but we all know what she is saying.

Not much going on here. Mom is recovering very nicely from her surgery. Sounding like her ole self. She is a trooper and will spring back before we know it. Of course, the limit of no more than 5 lbs. for 6 weeks is going to be hard for her.

Natasha is doing fine with the pregnancy. Moving along quite nicely. Had a little pain today, but the doctor said that it was probably the way the baby is laying so low to prop her feet up and to take a warm bath! Helloooooo, how is she to do that she she is at work?!!!!!!!

Nick has almost moved everything from one apartment to another. Moving is such a drag, it is the little stuff you hate to deal with.

I haven't done any scrapping for nearly 2 months now. Just cannot find that creative bug. I want to, but when I get the chance the "want-to" is gone. Head to the gynecologist tomorrow for my yearly checkup which I think has run into 2 years.....put it off as long as I can....hate it, hate it!

Well, guess I had better go. Got a new Creating Keepsakes mag., maybe that will get me going again......

It's been a while...

I cannot believe it has been nearly a month since my last post. There has been a lot going on around here and then by the time I get a minute to get to the computer, I am not in the mood...August 16 was Allyssa's back to school night. Her first day of school was August 20. She was all excited about going back to school, first grade. She had all new books so she had to look through all of them before we could move on to something else. There was only one other classmate from her K-5 class in this class with her. And they were sitting facing each other. Her teacher changes the seating arrangements every 2-3 weeks to get everybody accustomed to each other. I cannot believe she is in 1st grade now. Dakota is enjoying riding Allyssa's tricycle. Of course, she cannot figure out pushing the pedals. I was pushing her around.

The weather has "cooled" down a bit to the 80's. We have had some rain but not enough to make up the deficit that we have. Grass gets cut about every 2 weeks since it has not been growing.

Hanzo is nearly the size of a full grown dog at only 6 months. I don't have a recent picture showing how big he actually is, will try to get one.

Natasha, Randy and the girls have moved back to Travelers Rest which is a good thing. I think Allyssa is actually getting to school ON TIME now. Bless her heart. Gateway Elementary where Allyssa goes has been attended by Natasha, Nick, and my sister's 2 children Asheton and Zachary plus Deborah has been working there since Zach started elementary school (I think) and he is now a junior in high school. So the teachers that are still there and haven't retired remember all of us and take care of Allyssa. It is like she has all these angels watching over her while she is at school. Which makes me feel very good. They are like family. When we went to back to school night, Natasha, the girls and I were standing in line so Natasha could get the car tags that has a number they call out when you pick your child up. When we got to the table Marcy Bunch and her husband were giving the tags out and they were telling us how Allyssa would come in late last year and tell them, "it is my mom's fault that i am late"! because Allyssa hardly every got there on time!!! They are get a kick out of Allyssa coming in there with her silly antics. She is such a sweetie.

I am still working beside demon seed at work, but it is getting to were I don't really realize she is there until she gets in the mood to start talking loud trying to tell everybody how to do there job and no she is not the supervisor. I just do my job and leave at 3:30 p.m. Our work has been slow but suppose to be picking up now.

Mom had to have surgery this past wednesday, the 29th. She had 2 hernias removed and needless to say she has been pretty sore. She stayed overnight in the hospital and then came home on Thursday around 3:30. She is doing better daily but cannot pick up anything over 5 lbs. for SIX WEEKS. Do you know how hard that is going to be for her? She and I are just alike and neither one of us like to have to depend on someone else to do something for us. Why are we like that...you know women have a lot on them now days.

Natasha and her pregnancy is moving right along. Due date is still December 25. She had an ultrasound and this one is a girl also. 3 girls what a delight! You can dress little girls up so pretty and dainty. Although Natasha don't take too much time dressing them up too girly!

Well, I have blabbed long enough, tried to catch up on somethings but I am sure I have forgotten somethings.

Later...................