Grandpa update

Just thought I'd give a quick update since I have finally gotten to see Grandpa. My sweet big sis watched the kids the other day, and now L and I went and my mama watched them in the lobby so we could have a quick visit.
Grandpa is doing great. He is making lots of new friends of all the nice young nurses who take care of him. He is directing the phlebotomists as to which veins would be good to try next, then stealing the bands they have wrapped around his arm. He swears he is going to make an entire collection of slingshots when he gets out. As of today, I think he has 8 collected. As he told the poor phlebotomist today as he clutched the rubber band, "I'm keeping this, you're not getting it back!" And all the poor man could say was "ok, um, keep it to remember me by."
Also, somebody owes this man a pizza party! Apparently, they made a deal that when his weight got down to a certain number, he would get a pizza party. He found out what his weight was in Kilos, then had to ask around and finally called me to look up the conversion for him. He had correctly suspected that he was in the pizza party zone. Today after his angioplasty when we came to see him, all he could talk about was that he was supposed to have a pizza party!
L sent him a cap with the county logo on it(he collects hats) and I delivered it the other day when I went. He sent it home with the first person going because he did not want someone to get "sticky fingers" while he was getting his angioplasty. In the meantime, he didn't mind one bit leaving his laptop behind sitting on the table! That really made L feel good.
Anyway, while he still does not know how much longer they are going to keep him, you can take some comfort in knowing that he is staying as positive as I have seen him, and they are taking very good care of him.
Oh, and by the way, in case we were worrying about his lungs all this time, he says that he heard that our lungs are made to last 150 years, and hearts 100 years, so the heart is bound to go bad before the lungs. Of course, since he is as old as the hills, there's no telling when he'll hit 100. I have been praying, not for him to have more time on this earth, but for the time he has to be good time. And so far, it seems my prayers have been answered.

Reminiscing

So, I just finished reading Twilight. Finally. For the second time(in two days.) And I think I'll reread the good parts before I give it back(tomorrow, I promise!) And I have had an epiphany about why I could not get enough of this book. It reminds me so much of my husband(not the vampire parts, of course!) and our early relationship in high school. He was so mysterious, so intense at times. I have told him for years that is how I can tell when something is wrong...his eyes turn black. We were so wildly attracted to each other it was hard to contain within ourselves. This book brought back a lot of memories for me, I hope all of you can say the same about your significant others. I admire him and love him in so many different ways now, but I had forgotten "the early years" of teenage intensity(and hormones?) I am so glad that I can still have chills and reminisce about my high school sweetheart without making my husband jealous. By the way, he was the Handsome Stranger mentioned a few posts ago...it recently occured to me that not everyone would get that. He just stops in for a short while before heading out on the nights he has classes, so it is fun to pretend. Just thought I'd clear that up...back to the good parts of the book.

Christmas

This year I have made a decision. Yes, times are tough all over, but I choose not to let that affect my Christmas or my children's lives. Regardless of how much(or little) money we have, we are going to be careful with it. That being said, we are focusing this Christmas, and hopefully every Christmas, on giving.

We are participating in a charity event and shopping for kids in need. This club provides the money and sizes, we do the shopping. It has been very profound for Son that we are shopping for clothes for these children, and that is all they are getting for Christmas, no toys. He got excited over the cute little Tinkerbell shoes we picked out for a little girl and said "How cute are those!" He cracks me up! We are giving our time. That is all it costs us to give ten children a Christmas.

This Christmas I took the two kids shopping to pick out a(less than $10) gift for each other, and that is all they are getting from the store from us. I am going to sew them a pair of homemade PJ's and another project which I will detail if it goes as planned. We are not poor, jobless, homeless, etc. But the gifts I cherish from my childhood are the ones that my Mom and Dad made for me. The time and love put into them have burned them indelibly into my memory. Ask me to name some of the more expensive store-bought gifts they gave me...ummmm? You catch my drift. The more we have, the less we appreciate it. I think because I did not have every single thing I wanted when I wanted it while I was growing up, I learned not to be greedy and to more easily separate wants from needs. At Christmas it is very easy for me to focus on what I am giving, but so hard for me to create a wish list for myself. I think this is a good thing. I am hoping to pass on the giving spirit to my children. I think my parents passed it on to me, and it is important.

Grandpa O

Top Ten Things Grandpa has taught me:

10. He taught me to be a "worrier" and to take other people's cares as my own. 9. I cannot look at the cover of a western movie or book without thinking of him. 8. I love black licorice(and black jelly beans) because they remind me of him. 7. I love the combination smell of green tic-tacs and Groom 'n Clean, not because they smell good, but because they smell like Grandpa.
6. He doesn't like to have people spend money on him, but he shows such great appreciation for the thought. He taught my mom, who taught me that it is the thought that(really) counts. I remember her getting up and burning eggs on Father's day to bring to him because that is the way she used to cook them for him when she was little. 5.He can grow a fantastic garden out of old recycled bathtubs. 4.He taught me not to waste things, to find a use for everything(or keep it until you do!) Oh, they call that recycling now, don't they? 3.I started weight watchers thanks to his and my Grandma's inspiration and success. 2. He showed me the value of hard work, giving us jobs. Herding cattle, bucking hay...really...tough...jobs. 1. He taught me that even when things get tough, you can have a sense of humor and focus on the future. Even now, the biggest thing on his mind is getting his 4-wheeler fixed so he can cruise around when he gets out. Everyone who talks to him hears a new plan of attack, and I for one am going to do all I can to make his plans work out. By the way, does anyone know anything about ATV's?

Grandpa O Week

This week, for reasons obvious to those of you who know me, I am going to post about my Grandpa O. I was going to post all at once, but it was going to be way too long. So one day at a time, so to speak.

Top 10 reasons my Grandpa is John Wayne to me:
10. He looks like him(kinda.)
9. He is a polio survivor.
8. He was bucked off a horse when I was young, and landed on his feet.
7. That horse was still his favorite horse.
6. While healing from the knee replacement he had to have as a result of #8, he refused to use crutches or a cane. He managed to break a bolt that was inside his leg, half of it is still in there somewhere.
5. I kid you not, he feels no pain in his arms or hands. He will see blood dripping before he realizes maybe he needs a band-aid(or stitches)
4. He has got an endless supply of old-time cowboy stories. And the cars he used to own. And that broke down or he "wished he hadn't sold."
3. I really don't know how old he is. When we were little and we would ask him, he would just say, "I'm as old as the hills." (That is a true story!)
2. He used to name his cows after everyone he knew, according to their personality and looks. I will not name any names, but if a cow was ornery, he'd name it after someone ornery, and so forth. He used to have a cow he named Maria. He is not fluent in Spanish, but he swore up and down that Maria only understood Spanish. He would call to his cows, then a special Spanish call just for Maria.
1. He used to be a trapper for a living. He would trap coyotes and skin them. He'd tan the hides and sell them. Not PC nowadays, but back then there was no PC. Those who know him really well should recall the pet(two, at one point) that he kept in the old dairy. I won't be too specific here because I am not sure it was legal to keep Ralph as a pet(can't remember the girl's name right now)

I am trying to bring back memories of him for myself, as I have him on my mind a lot right now and can't go see him.

A Couple Hours In the Life of...

I just had a really busy, but fun and romantic night that I wanted to remember.


5:15: Start cooking dinner.
5:55: A Handsome Stranger comes in looking ever so professional, yet still HOT!
6:00:Eat dinner with Handsome stranger and the kids.
6:30: Handsome Stranger and I feed each other dessert...pumpkin pie.
6:45: Kiss Handsome Stranger as passionately as kids will allow.
6:50: Handsome Stranger leaves.
7:00: Bathtime for two kiddos
7:15: Read a bedtime story with said kiddos.
7:25: Administer allergy medicine and kiss two kiddos goodnight.
7:30: Listen to the ringing in my ears because the house is so quiet.

Sleep tight, sweet children.

Surprise!

I was doing dishes this morning and had a pleasant surprise...my Dad! He dropped by to deliver some more firewood for us! He is super busy, but managed to find time to do this for us. I am very grateful not just for the wood, but him finding time to come over and bring it to us. Thanks Dad!

Warning: Not for the faint of heart!

Imagine my delight to wake up to this sight this morning:Aah, a nice warm house! I have to publicly thank my husband for getting up before the sun to make sure we had a beautiful warm house this morning before he left at a quarter 'til dawn. I just want to take a moment to talk to him, so now is where everyone else should stop reading if you don't want TMI.

The word love is so overused, we have to be careful it's not tossed around in the jumble of words that so casually fall out of our mouths each day. We say we love someone, then one minute later we say we love a song or a tv show! But I want to be sure to define it a little more clearly tonight. I love my husband. I could leave it at that, but I need to be a little less timid maybe, to shout it from the rooftop, so to speak. You are the air that I breathe. You are the human I understand the best and the only person who understands me much at all! I tend to talk a lot to say a little(as if you didn't know) and still you listen until I get to the point, long enough to realize I have one. You show such strength outwardly, but I alone get to see all of your gentleness and tenderness. I know that I am the heart beating in your chest as you are the heart beating within mine. You are unafraid to demonstrate your love to me, but I tend to be timid to express it in as many words. I get embarrassed, I make jokes, I get tongue-tied(I know, hard to believe) and maybe I am a little afraid that for all the words in my vast vocabulary, I cannot find adequate words to express the depth of how I feel. You are the most of everything. You are such a generous and incredible lover. I am very timid to talk about it, I know, but please know that it is not because I am unfulfilled, but because I do not want to make anyone else feel bad because I have it so great. You are it for me. You define who I am and what I have become. Everything I do is to measure up to who you know I can be. I know you have had me on a pedestal for many years. I can only hope that I am half the person to everyone else that I am as seen through your eyes. Yet somehow, when I fall off that pedestal, as I often do, you are also the one to help me up and dust me off. I am grateful that I can feel your love so strongly back. I sometimes wonder if maybe it is even too deep for my comprehension. I know that mere words trivialize it, but I recognize the need to express the words I can find. I know I wrote a song for you many years ago, and I have to confess something. It was my first attempt, and musically, I felt it was lacking to express my feelings. I know that you have always cherished it and I love you all the more for it, but I used to think I could write a better one for you. I realized tonight that there isn't a song in the world that would be good enough. I guess I should leave it at that for tonight.

Thanks!

This is so random, but I have to confess something. I was worried about being late to pick up Son from preschool today. As I turned onto the street where his school was, I may have been doing a bit more than 15, going maybe 17 miles an hour. (Disclaimer: I do not advocate speeding, I am one of the slowest drivers around, but today I must admit, as I was feeling a bit rushed, it was really hard not to.) Then I noticed a police car turn behind me. I glance down at my speedometer and realize I am just a hair above the limit and he has every right to pull me over if he is feeling like a stickler that day. Thankfully, it seems he wasn't, because as I pulled into the parking lot, he kept on cruising. I was not late to pick Son up, but I surely would have been late(not to mention horribly embarrassed) if I had been on the side of the road getting a ticket for speeding in a school zone, which in my opinion is the worst speeding-type offense a mom can commit. So, lesson learned, thank you for not teaching it to me the hard way Mr. Police Officer(sir,) it is better to be almost late than late + speeding ticket.

All A Family

Four heads are pressed together. One giggle, then another, then another until we are all laughing over nothing. "We are all a family," Son says. We are all piled on top of Daddy's lap for a family hug, as Son could not let Mommy sit on Daddy's lap alone. Of course, you know Daughter wouldn't be left out. So we all snuggled for a minute(hug and wait, as Son calls snuggling) and took turns kissing cheeks, then said goodbye to Daddy as he was off to class and the kids went off to get ready for bed. These moments are priceless, too priceless for a picture. One of those moments that would have been spoiled if I had broken it to get the camera, you know? But still one of the memories that must be documented before it fades. This is our family, and I feel it is complete.

Here they are...

 Daughter as Snow White Ballerina and Son as THE HULK!

I suppose I must explain why Daughter has a made-from-scratch costume and Son does not. I had an entire homemade family costume set in mind for months, but Son just would not commit to it. He kept changing his mind! So dear sweet Grandma found him the Hulk costume, and his torture of indecision was ended. So that left Daughter. I saw a picture online of Cinderella Ballerina that was just too cute, I had to invent a costume for her!

Here she is in her curlers that lasted about 5 seconds after I took these pics:

And here is her end result...

She had a headband, but wouldn't keep it on! You'll just have to picture her without the popcorn ball in her mouth, I could not get her to part with it! On the 30th we went to our traditional Pomerene School Carnival, 5 bucks a family...you can't beat it! We played games...

And went on the spooky Haunted Hayride! It was dark, so Grandma couldn't see what she was taking a picture of until she had taken it, sorry Son!

We had so much fun that we were pretty wiped out for the partyin' the next day! But we got up and Son got to wear his costume to preschool, came home and got ready for some more Halloweenin'! We went to a quick trunk-or-treat, then to Veteran's park for a movie and some games. The best thing about that night was Daughter trying on the Hulk hands and Mask. She did her impression of the Hulk roar(which sounds a bit like my impression of static!) and it was just too funny!

We watched a Halloween movie...

and hung out with about 10,000 of our "neighbors!"

Hope you had a happy Halloween!