Green Green Grass of Home

Good news

2010-10-04T18:25:00.002-05:00

My scans came back clear. I am still cancer-free! I have decided to take my blog down, as I no longer have the time to commit to it. If you need to copy some of the other blog links on the sidebar, please do so soon.
Thanks for all your support!
Love,
Michele

Yearly Scans...

2010-08-24T15:36:00.001-05:00

Scans are scheduled for Sept 9.

It Could Be Worse...

2010-06-12T07:46:00.002-05:00

I am not a Supermom. I am just a girl trying to juggle 1 marriage, 2 kids and 3 jobs. I do not stack up to June Cleaver. Most of the time, Scott accepts that. But occasionally when he comes home and I'm sitting in front of the TV, watching a "Snapped" marathon on the Oxygen Network, with laundry and dishes piled up everywhere, he might make a comment about how I spend my time.
No, I will never have the parenting abilities of Michelle Duggar.
But there is one mom I always beat out in the parenting competition.
And I'm not afraid to use her to make me look better.
The conversation typically goes something like this:
Scott: "Wow, this house is really a mess"
Me: HEY, IT COULD BE WORSE! I COULD BE LAYING ON THE COUCH SMOKING CRACK!
See?
It always works.
Forget to pick up the kids? Didn't send lunch money? Neglected to return the field trip permission slip?
It could be worse!
Now, I don't want to offend anyone. If you are a mom that often finds yourself laying on the couch smoking crack...well, I'm sure there is a mom out there who does much worse.
But for me, I will always fall somewhere between June Cleaver and the mom on the couch engaging in illegal activities.
The way I see it, as long as I'm not starring in the next episode of "Snapped", I must be doing something right.

I'd Like To Buy a Vowel...

2010-05-15T22:47:00.003-05:00

In the fall of 2003, I began providing pediatric speech therapy in homes. My first assigned child had working parents so I would arrive once a week at 6:15 pm. It was a great home but I was always surprised that the television was left on during my time with the child. It was always tuned to the same station, which meant I listened to Wheel of Fortune for half of my session. It was not easy to try and elicit words from a child with "I'd like to buy a vowel" in the background. I was easily distracted by it and found myself trying to solve the puzzles. Turning my back to the tv did not help, as I was too tempted to turn around, so I positioned myself to watch at an angle.
I soon discovered that the majority of homes I visited had the tv on while I was present. Because I visited each home at the same time every week, I soon realized I had my own little television program guide at each house. Each week I listened to episodes of ER, Unsolved Mysteries, Little House on the Prairie and lots of soap operas. I quickly realized I could watch just 1 episode a week of Young and the Restless and still follow the storyline. One house I went to had closed captioning and it was so hard not to read that screen! I couldn't resist! I've also watched plenty of game shows, especially The Price is Right and my favorite, $100,000 Pyramid. I've watched countless episodes of Heartland News at Noon and seen more recipes from Mr. Food than I care to count.
I remember the day the Catholic Church was about to reveal the new pope. I went from home to home, watching it, and hoping to see the announcement. After 3 visits, I finally got to see it. I also remember what home I was sitting in when I watched the Columbine shootings.
Of course, there were plenty of homes with cartoons on the tv. Once I was forced to use the cartoon as a way to elicit words from a child in a home with no toys.
I've watched HBO, E!, BET, VH1 and MTV. I've watched enough Lifetime movies to know that when Patty Duke shows up, there's always crying and screaming. Over the years, I have tried to teach myself to tune it all out. But this week, I found myself completely unable to tune out what's on. Comedy Central was showing Loni Love's Standup Comedy. I found myself trying to do therapy between Loni's voice and all the "beeps" that censor out what you obviously know she is saying. Luckily I was in a home that I have been visiting for 6 years so I felt fairly comfortable laughing hysterically at Loni's humor.
Is it wrong to listen to the tv when I'm working with a child? Maybe. Is it wrong to laugh at Loni's jokes? Probably. I would have been better off watching Patty throw a tantrum than listening to Loni trash talk the President.
But nothing beats buying a vowel from Vanna.

Lenton promises...

2010-03-12T18:57:00.002-06:00

My friend Amy F. made a Lenten promise to stop drinking soda. Days after this promise was made, she gave in and bought a 44 oz soda at the gas station, placed it in her van's cupholder, turned a corner and the entire soda spilled out. I laughed and laughed at the irony. My Lenten promise was to give up ugly words. I don't need to give up soda since I only allow myself one a week anyway. I don't need to give up fast food b/c I hate fast food...with the exception of 1 "junk" food I can't live without...Casey's pizza. If you have not had Casey's pizza, you have not had pizza. Unfortunately, the stars have to align in order to get a slice b/c 2 things have to happen- you have to be near a Casey's gas station during regular lunch hours. Tuesday, the stars aligned quite nicely and I bought a slice of pizza and a 32 oz soda. As I am unlocking my car, the lid pops off the cup, soda spills on my shirt and I dropped my pizza on the ground. My Lenten vow to eliminate ugly words was immediately broken. Luckily, Casey's pizza comes in a nice little plastic triangular shaped sleeve, so just a smidgen of my pizza touched the ground and I was definitely going for the 5 sec rule. The spot on my shirt was the size of a half dollar but within 10 min, it had morphed into the size of a...well, personal pan pizza. Five miles down the road I dropped a piece of sausage on my shirt so I once again broke my Lenton vow to eliminate ugly words. By the time I reached my destination, my shirt had a large brown circle with bits of red sauce stuck right in the middle.
Is there a point to my story? Not really. But is is worth noting that spilling your soda can be the result of a broken Lenten vow or it may actually cause you to break your vow.
Next year, I'm giving up lunch behind the wheel.
Michele

Go

2010-02-24T22:15:00.003-06:00

Happy 15th Anniversary to Us!
February 25th, 1995, we married at St. Vincent's Church, had the greatest party ever at the KC Hall in Jackson and then headed off to our honeymoon.
When we arrived, we opened a gift from my mother in law. It was the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh, The Places You'll Go!"
We had big dreams about all the places we would Go. We dreamed of traveling all over the country.
And we have.
We've been able to Go most directions, South, East and even West. We even had the chance to Go to Aruba a few years back.
We have been able to Go to many of the places we dreamed about.
And we've been to lots of places we never dreamed we would Go.
We never dreamed we would find ourselves Going to the hospital a month early to have a baby and getting there just in time to save her life. We didn't know that we would then Go to numerous doctors and other medical professionals a few years later to figure out what was wrong with her.
We never knew we would Go to the nursing home to face a grandmother who no longer recognized us.
We certainly never dreamed we would Go to the oncologist to see how we would fight cancer.
We surely never thought we would Go to the funeral of my sister's newborn son.
But the great thing about our marriage is that we Go together, hand in hand, to face what lies before us. The good and the bad.
It's a good thing Dr. Seuss didn't specify exactly where we would Go. We might have decided to just toss the marriage certificate and Go our separate ways.
Instead, we stayed together through all of the surprising places we would Go. And we will most likely continue Going places we never dreamed of Going. Both good and bad.
Hand in Hand. Together.
Scott, I love you and hope we have many years ahead of us.
Love,
Michele

Bringin' Home the Bacon...

2010-01-22T16:47:00.003-06:00

I've been providing in-home speech therapy for about 6 years. I often purchase or donate items for the families I work with. But in some cases, I end up leaving with items that have been given to me. Scott is no longer surprised to see what I am carrying when I walk through the door at the end of the day. Of course, I am often given treats while I'm there. Sometimes cookies... a piece of cake now and then...today I had some monkey bread made from biscuit dough. Once a week or so, I purchase fresh eggs from one family. They have tried to turn me on to raw milk and homemade butter...but I hesitate. Several years ago, I stepped in a large pile of dog poo at a home and when I arrived at the next home, I left my shoes on the doorstep. The Mom felt so sorry for me, she gave me a pair of shoes to wear home. I've been given clothes that were no longer wanted, picture frames, gloves, candles, air fresheners, books, toys...the list goes on and on. Scott has banned me from bringing home any more live animals...I have brought home cats, puppies and even a turtle.
This week I received a skillet. What dialogue led up to me leaving with a skillet? I had offered to make a dog bed for my friend B., who has a child that I provide services for. I recently got a sewing machine (that's another blog post coming soon). I am trying to practice my stitches so I thought I could easily sew a dog bed for her 2lb dog named Peanut. B. offered to pay me but I refused to accept so she comes out of the kitchen carrying a gigantic skillet, complete with glass lid. B. does not keep anything in her home that is not required for survival so she wanted me to have this skillet since she has 2 of them. So I bartered a dog bed for a skillet. Scott was thrilled! He loves skillets. I think it makes him feel like a real man to have a big skillet.
I have learned over the years to accept these gifts graciously. When someone comes to your home every week for 3 years to play with your kid, saying Thank You is not always enough. What's more important is giving someone a skillet to fry up the bacon they bring home.
And that's all the thanks I need.

Quick Post

2010-01-12T18:11:00.002-06:00

Congratulations to my friend Holly L. who had the best caption for our vacation picture! Holly, I loved it and your gift card will be on it's way soon.
I am still cancer-free! Scott and I saw Dr. G last week and things still look great! We did have a little communication block for a moment. Dr. G asked, in her accented speech, "how is your memory" and when I looked over at Scott and said "Why don't you tell her", I got a deer in the headlights look from him. Apparently, he thought she said "How are your mammories" and he thought I wanted him to tell her what he thought of my boobs. Otherwise, it was a great visit. Dr. G did say she wants me to see the neurologist again for my continued memory loss. I told her I would never return to the jerk I saw before, whose identity shall remain unknown but whose name is synonomous with the color of darkness. If you remember, Dr. Darkness told me I couldn't remember anything b/c I had too much anxiety and I kid you not, he said Take 2 pills a day and call me in 6 months. I knew I wouldn't like him as soon as I walked in the room. I do not like old doctors. And when I say old, I mean old enough to date my great-grandma.
I continue to have very poor balance due to the neuropathy in my feet. I set a record last week for the most injuries sustained in the shortest amount of time. Tuesday, I fell on the gravel and to quote SpongeBob, "I ripped my pants!", along with the skin off my knee. Friday, I made the mistake of trying to catch myself while falling and ended up with a very bad sprained ankle. I would have been better off if I had fallen, then the knees in my pants would have matched, hole for hole. Instead, I will be limping around for a few weeks.
So that's all for now. Keep in touch!
Michele

Love, Honor and Cherish

2010-01-03T19:09:00.002-06:00

Tonight I told the girls to sit on the couch b/c I had a surprise for them. I went to the basement and brought up a box that hadn't been opened for nearly 15 years.
The box contained my wedding dress. I sent it to the cleaners after the wedding and they cleaned it and sealed it up in a box.
So I took the dress out of the box tonight and let the girls see it...
They even tried it on...

Why would I choose to open it now?

Because I am donating it to a very special cause. The Mary Madeline project will use my dress to make outfits for the tiniest of babies that are born in hospitals across the country. The outfits are donated to hospitals and given to parents when their baby is born too tiny. This offers them a chance to have pictures taken in a beautiful outfit that actually fits their baby. I am donating the dress in honor of my nephew Declan who was born weighing just over a pound. Declan's name will appear in a card attached to each outfit. Some of the cards will also feature the name Kamryn Olivia, in honor of my friend's baby who was born too tiny.
When I first opened the box tonight, I whispered to Scott that I didn't think I could do it. But as I looked at the dress, I realized just how many outfits could be made from it. I am sure this is what I want to do.

I am so grateful I can put my dress to good use. I felt so helpless when Declan was born. All I could do was stand back and pray. Now I will know that the dress I wore on the day I vowed to love, honor and cherish will help other parents love, honor and cherish the memories of their tiny babies.

God Bless.

Love,

Michele

I'm organizing my tenna-structor!!!

2009-11-23T18:33:00.003-06:00

Megan was a super happy toddler but she did have her moments when the temper would flare. When she was around two years old, she began using a phrase that we couldn't translate. Whenever she would get really, really angry, she would stomp her foot, slap her hand down and stammer "I'm...I'm...I'm organizing my tenna-structor!" It was very dramatic and appeared to be completely out of nowhere. She would only say it when she was really angry at us. We had to hide our giggles b/c it was so darn funny to hear her say something so absurd. For months we tried to translate and/or find the source of her quote. We tried different variations on the phrase, with the theory that she was mispronouncing a word.
One day we were watching her Pooh movie. It wasn't her favorite movie but we watched it on occasion. Suddenly, there on the screen was Rabbit, angry at Pooh & friends, stomping his foot, slapping his hand and stammering "I'm constructing my turnip extractor!". Apparently Pooh & friends had greatly interfered with the construction of this so-called turnip extractor and Rabbit was really, really angry. I immediately jumped up and yelled to anyone who would listen that I had finally, after all these months, translated Megan's phrase!
But it was too late.
"Organizing my tenna-structor" was here to stay. It now defined our anger and frustration at a situation. Burn supper? Spill your drink? Forget something important? That might be enough to make anyone organize their tenna-structor.
Today, I organized my tenna-structor when someone hacked my blog and posted spam on the comments. If it happens again, I will have to eliminate Anonymous comments. So in the future, if you try to post anonymously, it may not accept it.
So tell me what makes you organize your tenna-structor?

I can't think of a title for this one...

2009-11-15T12:30:00.006-06:00

...so I'll just tell you what happened.

My profession requires I attend classes every year to keep up with my certification. I decided to attend one in St. Louis this week. I had registered just days before; when I asked on the phone if the course was full, the lady said "Oh, no, we have no limits! We register as many as we can!" The topic was Sensory Processing Disorder. This topic is not only helpful for my job, but I also happen to have a daughter with that diagnosis. I was looking forward to learning new information that might be useful.

When I walked in the room, 50% of the chairs were facing the back of the room. The hotel had put chairs on both sides of the tables, thus resulting in only half of the participants facing the speaker. Remember the "No limit" policy they mentioned? They weren't kidding. I was given a chair in the back corner of the room, with no table to sit at but I thought, at least I can see the speaker. When the speaker arrived, he said No worries, you won't need to see me at all today, there's no Powerpoint, there's no reason to look at me, we're just gonna read from the manual! That was my first clue that I picked a bad course. Clue #2 came when he said All questions have to be asked during the breaks.

I considered leaving but I knew that I wouldn't be able to count the hours, so I would be forced to attend yet another course. So I stayed. I played on my Blackberry, posted on Facebook, texted, whatever I could do to pass the time.

At lunch, I decided to eat in the hotel restaurant. I sat with 3 women I didn't know. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. One woman disagreed with every word that came out of my mouth. Another woman responded to each comment with something along the lines of "I"m breastfeeding" or "I need to pump", or "My breasts are really full". I mentioned that my daughter has Sensory Processing Disorder and the other woman waved me away with Oh, we all have sensory issues! When the meal ended and I said I needed a piece of chocolate, they all looked at me like I said I just crapped my pants.

So I found a hotel employee who informed me that the hotel did not have a gift shop but I could find chocolate in the laundry room.

Before lunch, the speaker had ranted on and on about how artificial and processed foods are destroying our children's minds. When I returned from lunch, the hotel had placed packages of artificially sweetened and overprocessed cookies on the tables for us to snack on. I would have raised my hand to comment on it, but remembered he told us Sorry, no questions or comments except at break time. So I ate the fake cookies and the laundry room chocolate.

The afternoon dragged on. I sat in bewilderment when he spent 15 min talking about the side effects of fluorescent bulbs in our schools. He suggested we ask the schools to replace the bulbs with floor lamps. He droned on and on about his research and his publications and his theories.

I finally walked out, 45 min early and shortly after he made a joke about someone being bipolar. If you know me, you know I find no humor in anyone being bipolar.

Of course, now that it's over, I'm glad I stayed. I got my 6 credit hours. I got a day off from work.

And had some squeaky clean chocolate.

Cheez-its Love Me...This I Know

2009-11-05T19:06:00.002-06:00

As a mom/speech therapist, it's very important to me that my kids talk correctly. When they were little, I always listened carefully to their words and if they pronounced something incorrectly, I always provided a correct model for them. Neither of my girls could ever pronounce "crayon" and still today they say "crown" and it drives me crazy! We tried for months to teach Megan how to say "iron". She pronounced it "i-run". I tried not to be the speech Nazi but for goodness sake...if my kids couldn't talk, what kind of speech therapist was I?
When Megan was very small, there were 2 things (among many) that she really loved- Jesus and Cheez-its. Unfortunately, we were unable to discriminate between the 2 words. She could often be found standing at the pantry, asking for Jesus....please can I have a bowl of Jesus...I'm so hungry for Jesus. On Sundays, she would sing "Cheez-its Love Me, this I know" and she often professed to having Cheez-its in her heart.
Last night Scott and I did something we don't normally do. I started an argument and we fought in front of the kids. I was very angry about something and I really let loose. Luckily, it was brief and when it was over, Emily came into the office and asked me if I needed a hug. She leaned in and said "Mommy, I know why you and Daddy were fighting." My mind began to race. Had she really understood what we were talking about? So I said "Really?" She said "Yes, Mommy. I know that Daddy was talking to someone on the phone and he pronounced his words wrong."
All I could do was nod my head and say "Yes, you're right".
And if I'd had a bowl of Jesus, I would have thrown it at your Daddy's head.

If You Give a Girl a Grandpa

2009-10-21T18:05:00.003-05:00

If you give a girl a Grandpa, he'll want to take her to the fair.
He'll take her to the fair and she'll ask to see the animals.
He'll take her to see the animals and she will see the bunnies.
She will love the bunnies!
She will ask who the bunnies belong to and Grandpa will tell her they belong to 4H members.
She'll ask what 4H is and Grandpa will tell her all about it.
Then, she'll ask to join 4H. Grandpa will tell her that's a great idea.
She'll think she needs a project so she'll tell Grandpa.
Grandpa will buy her a bunny for her project.
She'll love the bunny and call her Grace.
Since she has a bunny and she joined 4H, sooner or later she'll need to go to the fair.
If she's gonna go to the fair, she'll need a Grandpa to go with her.

Lessons

2009-10-11T20:27:00.002-05:00

What do you get when you cross Fire Safety Week and a husband that left on a 4 day fishing trip?
Frazzled nerves, sore knees and a vow to be very kind to my husband when he returns.
If you know Emily, you know that sometimes her engine gets stuck and it's really hard to get her back on track. This week was Fire Safety Week at school. Every day this week, she came home with new information on fire safety. Then the weekend arrived, Scott left for an extended fishing trip and I found myself flying solo as a parent for 4 days.
Shortly after arriving home from school Friday, Emily began sharing her fire safety knowledge...and sharing...and sharing. This morning she woke in a panic b/c our family had not devised a fire plan. I made a brief attempt at protesting, but to no avail. Before I knew it, the 3 of us were crawling through the house, looking for the nearest exit.
I was becoming very frazzled by this afternoon. I began to doubt my ability to make it through the rest of the weekend. Then we watched a Supernanny marathon. I began to feel smug at how well I raise my kids until I found myself snapping at them for squirming on the couch.
The Fire Safety Lessons continued until about an hour ago, when I tucked Emily into bed and I said a small prayer that we would never need all those lessons.
Meanwhile, I sit and wait for Scott to return so I can treat him with a little more kindness. The lesson I learned this weekend was Never Take a Spouse For Granted.
And always test the door for heat by using the back of your hand.

I'm coming back...

2009-09-23T21:38:00.003-05:00

...I promise. I can't even begin to tell all the craziness in my life in the past 3 months. But I have vowed to slow down...I actually told someone the other day that things will slow down in about 2 years...then I realized how ridiculous that sounded.
I started a new job but haven't yet given up my other two. I actually thought I could work 3 jobs and stay sane. Not sure what I was thinking.
I do have lots of stories to tell but for now, those stories will have to wait. I am facing the enormity of hosting a 7yr old fashion show birthday party for 25 girls and then coming home to host dinner for 16 family members.
Coming soon...Tales from the Sale...yard sale, that is. If you've ever had a yard sale, you know there are always stories to tell about the people that show up. Last week, I was in charge of a 20 family yard sale...I told you I've been busy...

Still Cancer Free...

2009-08-31T20:50:00.004-05:00

I have been so busy lately, I have not had time to post anything.
I had my CT scans last week and they were CLEAR. No sign of cancer. For hours, I found myself saying "Thank you Jesus" over and over. Hours after I found out the good news, Scott and I went to Little Rock for a Colon Cancer Awareness event. I met many people I have become friends with on the Colon Club. It was such a great weekend and I am so glad I went.
I will eventually post pictures of the weekend. I have added yet another job to my collection and I'm having difficulty finding time for anything right now.
Love,
Michele

Would you like a loan to go with that sandwich...

2009-07-17T20:20:00.003-05:00

This week I saw a Genetic Specialist. I went alone and it turned out to be an interesting trip. I was worried about going b/c I had lost all the papers and didn't have a family tree to turn in. I kept imagining the dr becoming angry and telling me to come back when my homework was done. Why didn't I have the paperwork? Because I made the appt last summer and they mailed the papers and I was supposed to go in January but 2 days before the appt, they called and said the Specialist had a baby early and could I come back in July. So of course, you can't expect me to find any paperwork in this house that came a year ago. So I show up and instead of a dr, it's a Genetic Counselor who comes in. I immediately go into the whole "I'm so sorry I don't have my family tree completed, I have no papers, I was supposed to come in January but someone had a baby...", to which she replied "that was me, except I didn't have a baby, I had 2 babies". And then she tells me she already has my family tree. I'm sure the look on my face was priceless. How in the world did she get my family tree. She then tells me she took a whole history over the phone and I didn't remember even talking to her, then I remembered, oh, yeah, this is the lady that asked if my husband and I are related in any way. So she spends over an hour with me, going over everything I needed to know and answering all my questions. Then the dr comes in and spends about 2 minutes, asking if I had q's and did I understand what the counselor had just told me and then she left. That really irritated me b/c I spent an hour talking with the Genetic Counselor, who probably doesn't make beans for a living, who confessed she is having trouble paying for childcare for her preemie twins, and I'll bet that dr made all the money for that visit.
So anyway, they took blood and told me to come back in 2 months for the results. Since I have Greta, my handy dandy Australian gps friend, I am very comfortable making the drive up to Barnes and back alone. However, I was worn out and hungry when I left the appt (I was, at this time, 5 days into my no-carb diet and I was really craving a sandwich...but that's another post). So Greta tells me to turn left and I begin to argue with her. She says turn, I say no, she says Recalculating, then she says turn, and I continued to argue with her until finally I gave in when I realized I was in a questionable neighborhood.
I'm so hungry at this point, I decide I have to have a sandwich. I know from my days of eating carbs that there is a Jimmy Johns in the corner of a strip mall at the Festus exit. So I take the exit, park on the side of the building, walk in and discover I'm at a bank, not a Jimmy Johns. That's right, I pretty much tried to order a sandwich at a bank. I had thought when I pulled up that it was odd to see a sign in a Jimmy Johns window that said "ask us about small business loans". But in my carb-deprived mind, I really thought I was in the right spot. So I had to get back in the car and drive over to the next strip mall to get my carb fix.
And I didn't share any of it with Greta.

No Sip Sirwhat

2009-07-05T20:29:00.003-05:00

Can you stand just 1 more work story? I am pulling this one out of the vault and then closing the doors for awhile. This is a classic work story I have told many times.
Years ago, when I was working at the outpatient clinic at the Hospital, I had a 4 yr old that came for therapy 3 times a week. If you know anything about therapy, you know that 3 times a week is a lot and that must mean this child's speech was REALLY delayed. He was basically unintelligible. One day, as we sat at the table, I stated something that was obvious and without even looking up, he said "No Sip, Sirwhat", to which I replied "what?". Again, he shrugged his shoulders and said "No Sip, Sirwhat". My mind instantly began to run thru the sounds this child could not say- sh, l, k. I then realized exactly what this child was telling me.
The kid's mom and brother just happened to be listening and watching thru the observation window. When I realized what he had said, I asked "where did you learn that", to which he replied "my brother".
Remember the scene in Christmas Story, when you can hear the mom on the phone, beating her son b/c he had taught Ralphie a bad word? That scene played itself out on the other side of the window. Big Brother was in Big Trouble. I could hear him trying to defend himself, but it was of no use. He was caught.
No Sip Sirwhat has become a common phrase in our house. The girls don't even know what it means or where it came from but it is a staple of our household vocabulary.
So leave a comment and let me know something so obvious, it will leave me shaking my head, saying No Sip Sirwhat.

Say Busta!,

2009-06-27T18:24:00.003-05:00

Before I was an in-home speech therapist, I worked in an outpatient clinic at a hospital. One day, I had a new kid on my schedule. He had a long, complicated name but when he arrived, his mother provided 2 pieces of info: He goes by Buster and that's the only word he can say. I sat the kid down in the floor and attempted to elicit some words. Mom again repeated to me "He can say his name", which I noted she pronounced "Busta". Then she began her attempts to elicit the 1 word in his vocabulary, Buster. She began her attempts in an encouraging voice, as in "Say Busta!" As her child ignored her, she became increasingly frustrated and repeatedly said "Say Busta!" Her agitation increased as he continued to ignore her. She had great inflection in her voice, as it moved from encouragement, to frustration, to pleading, to complete "hands on the hips" agitation. My favorite was the "this is ridiculous" tone. I sat back and watched in silence, as I knew from years of experience that a)this child had no ability to talk and b)if he could talk, he wasn't going to do it for her anyway. But for 1 hour, I had to listen to her insist that her son could Say Busta! By the end of the hour, I found myself wanting to blurt out Say Busta!
I never saw Buster again, but his mom's words have stuck in my head. It's not really the words, as it is the variety of inflections she used as her frustration grew. "Say Busta" has become a popular phrase in our house. I can't really say that any specific situation makes us want to yell it out, we just find ourselves occasionally trying to lighten the mood by insisting that someone "Say Busta!
I guess I could tack on a moral of the story...but when it comes down to it, there's no moral.
It was just really funny and I will never be able to control the impulse to yell Say Busta'!

Just Another Day at Work...

2009-06-17T22:05:00.003-05:00

I was thinking today, as I drove down one gravel road after another, how different my job as an in-home therapist would be if I lived in another part of the country. I once had a friend who had been an in-home therapist in New Orleans. She carried a gun. I'll admit, there's been a few times I probably needed one too but most days, it's those low water bridges I'm worried about. When I show up for a visit and I'm greeted by someone covered in blood, I don't worry about violence- except the kind that involves butchering chickens. Today, I had a lengthy conversation about how it's been too wet to put up hay and I have 2 families that frequently send fresh eggs home with me. I sometimes drive so far out in the country, Greta's map tells me I'm driving in the middle of a field. These are not things I would experience as a therapist in the city. For example, I'm quite sure I would not have had this conversation several years ago, as I was starting my career as an in-home therapist:
Mom: We're having a baby boy!
Me: Do you have a name picked out?
Mom: Johnnie Ray
Me: Oh, are you going to call him by that name?
Mom: Nah, we're just gonna call him J.P.
Me: J.P.?
Mom: Yep, that's right, we'll name him Johnnie Ray after his daddy but we'll just call him J.P.

I did not...

2009-06-12T20:46:00.003-05:00

I am not currently drinking a cup of coffee on a Friday night just so I can stay up long enough to enjoy a quiet evening at home. I have not already had a nap and I'm not about to fall asleep again.
It was not a busy week. I did not take on another (temporary) job, leaving me with a grand total of 5 jobs. I am not doing my part to keep the unemployment rate down.
I'm so glad I don't spoil my kids, I would never do that. Emily did not add to her boot collection today, making a grand total of 7 pairs. I am NOT enjoying Megan's new found love of shopping and luckily, she's not spoiled either. And since these things never happen to me, I'll tell you that Emily did not say, at the checkout line, as she is trying desperately to buy a trinket of some sort, "Mom, I know you're tired and I know you don't want to listen to my crap..." Of course, this did not make me bust out laughing!
My Facebook page did not get hacked this week and I did not have people emailing me, asking why I was sending them to adult sites.
My oil doesn't need to be changed and my tires are not about to blow. My brother in law did not tell me a month ago they were bald. I don't know which is worse, not having the time or the money to get them replaced? Right now, I don't have the time.
I did not struggle to keep a straight face this week when someone asked me if our new gecko can stand up and walk like the Geico gecko. Seriously!

What have YOU not done lately?

Scammed!

2009-06-09T17:46:00.004-05:00

I've been scammed. As a matter of fact, millions of us have been scammed. Scammed into believing a blog story that was pure fiction. I fell for it completely, until the facts came out and of course, hindsight is 20/20. I'm not going to mention which blog it was, it's been removed from blogspot anyway. Luckily, I never posted the link on my blog.
I hope you will believe me when I say my blog is real! It all really happened- don't ever doubt me. I do not place ads on my blog, therefore I have no reason to profit from my story.
So in honor of my recent experience, I'm posting a new topic called "I've Been Scammed by a Fashion Statement".
Tonight's featured fashion scam involves those "no show socks" that everyone is wearing. What's the deal with those? They're the size of infant booties! I can only imagine the conversation that took place at the Hanes boardroom.
Ok, folks, we need to cut costs. Any ideas?
Yeah, boss, let's take our infant booties that require much less materials to produce, and market them as "Low Cut". Let's make raw, blistered heels a new fashion statement. Let's make it a faux pas for your socks to show.
Great idea! We'll use 1/64 of the material actually needed to cover the average foot!

I totally fell for this scam and bought several packages for Megan, upon her request. I didn't grasp the ridiculous notion of wearing infant booties until I started folding them in the laundry. I was stunned at how small they are! My friend KP said she got tired of the blistered heels on her daughter's feet and she got tired of fighting the battle so she threw them out!
My socks will continue to show around my ankles.
I will continue to buy infant booties for my daughter, all in the name of fashion.
I only regret not saving the ones she wore when she was 3 months old.
I could have saved a lot of money.
And avoided another scam.

Now it's your turn. Tell me a Fashion Scam you have fallen for. Or just feel free to discuss a ridiculous piece of fashion that you wore.

New Orleans

2009-06-03T21:22:00.000-05:00

There's 1 good reason to go to New Orleans...

Scott and I can't get enough of it. We ate shrimp 4/4 days we were there.
Of course, that's not all we ate...

Imagine my excitement when we discovered a nearby Greek festival. (In case you've never met me, allow me to explain that I was Greek in my former life but sadly, I was reincarnated as a kid from the Missouri Bootheel, where ham and beans, cornbread and blackeyed peas are served on a regular basis.)

Greek beignets...

Gyros...

Souvlaki...

Then it was on to the French Quarter where we had French Beignets..

Then we ventured to the brand new Insectarium...

Megan and Tinni were spotted in the Bug Kitchen, eating cricket pancakes and other disgusting foods made from creepy crawlies. I told Megan she could never again complain about what I cook for dinner. The girl won't eat beef but she ate a pancake full of crickets.

Fried mealworms...

Superworm Salsa...

Minutes before we left, Emily and Tinni were roasting marshmallows and passing out smores.

When we came home and I unpacked my suitcase, I noticed an oily spot on my jeans. I am unable to consult my Stain Removal Chart b/c I don't know if it was the gyro, souvlaki, baklava, beignet (French or Greek, take your pick), crab cheramie, or shrimp.

It certainly wasn't the cricket pancakes.

Meet our new baby...

2009-05-31T13:51:00.002-05:00

Meet Liz, the newest baby in our home. The pics aren't real good, it's very difficult to photograph her. She's WILD! She can jump right out of your hands and she runs when we touch her. She's tiny, about 4 inches long. Emily chose her name, much to Megan's disappointment. I told Megan not to fret about it, it's not an original name for a lizard but we can tack on a last name and make her famous. Like Liz Claiborne or something. Send any suggestions for last names that will make her famous and we'll use the best one!

Zip 2005-2009

2009-05-28T17:04:00.005-05:00

I'm back! I had a post nearly ready to hit the presses but then we had a sad day and I don't feel like cracking any jokes. We had to have Zip, our 4 yr old leopard gecko, euthanized. It was very difficult to say goodbye to him. Megan is very upset. Emily is taking it well. I have to commend the staff at Deer Ridge. Although this is not our vet clinic, we were forced to use them, as they are the only exotic animal clinic in this area. Their kindness and professionalism will not be forgotten. They knew exactly how to handle the situation, from start to finish.

4 years ago, we vacationed in Gulfport, Mississippi with Scott's brother Chris. When we returned from this trip, 2 things happened. We bought Zip and Hurricane Katrina hit. All in the same week. So I always associated Zip with Katrina. I never imagined that not only would it be 4 years before I would return to the area, but Zip would pass away when we returned. What a strange coincidence.

Goodbye, Zip. See you on the Rainbow Bridge.

Taking a Break

2009-05-11T20:32:00.002-05:00

There were a lot of guesses about what Emily was doing in the picture. Kara was the closest guess! Emily was going to the moon, thus the helmet and oxygen tank strapped to her back. Clever.
I wanted to let everyone know I'm taking a break from blogging for awhile. I am suffering from a little bit of burnout and I need to take some time off. I'll be back though! Give me a couple of weeks and I'll be good as new.
See you soon!
Love,
Michele

Wordless Thursday

2009-05-07T20:46:00.002-05:00

I would LOVE to tell you what my creative daughter is up to, but for now I'll leave it up to you to decide.

Ask Me Anything

2009-05-03T15:57:00.006-05:00

Here are some responses to "Ask Me Anything".
(I don't really have a blog feature titled Ask Me Anything, I just made that up.)
Many of you asked for more info about what Megan is going to be doing. She is now an official Jr. Reporter for the local newspaper. She went to a training last week and received her first story assignment. She will be writing a news story every month and it will appear in the newspaper. The pic I took was her badge. Her first assignment? Squarefoot gardening. Now, look up at the title of my blog, where it states that my blog landscape contains "occasionally bragging about my children". Now I can tell you that they gave her the hardest story assignment b/c she was the most vocal in the class, asking the most q's, etc.

Now onto my health. I am doing great! My platelet counts are climbing up slowly. My hematologist said I will not need a repeat bone marrow biopsy. My next CT scans are scheduled for Aug 27th. I am nervous already. Really nervous. I try not to think of it too often and since I still have short term memory loss, remembering is not a problem.

I am often asked whether my feet are still numb. Yes, they are. I am trying to believe that the numbness serves as a reminder of my cancer journey. Not that I could forget but you get the point.

I did have to return to the house in the middle of nowhere. I was happy that the road construction was completed and I could make it without trouble. I did notice about a half mile down the final gravel road that the fields were flooded and there was a small stream of water running over the road. I was so thankful I could easily cross. Imagine my surprise when, an hour later, I am bumping along the gravel road and I realize the road ahead is flooded. My first thought is I'm trapped. I'm gonna have to spend the night with people who butcher chickens, can their own lard and make their own cheese. Not that there's anything wrong with that. There's really not. But I didn't want to be a part of it. I was terrified b/c the only other way out was through one of those low-water bridges. So I drove back the other way and said many prayers that I could cross. My criteria for crossing a low water bridge is that I have to be able to see the bottom of the bridge. And there can't be any water rushing over it. Standing water is fine, rushing water is not.
I got lucky. Even though there was water on the bridge, I could see the bottom and the water was sloooowly moving across it. I made it.
No canned lard for dinner tonight.
Thank you Jesus.

What happens

2009-04-29T20:40:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when you own a multitude of cats and you run out of cat food...but you happen to have 3 cans of tuna in the pantry.

This is what happens when you run out of tuna and you have one more hungry cat...and you happen to have some leftover spaghetti from supper...

This is what happens when you have a daughter that loves to write and has so much talent...

This is what happens when...

...you need a nap but your daughter beats you to the couch.

Guilty

2009-04-28T18:12:00.003-05:00

I am realizing lately just how much guilt I carry around with me.
I was waiting to make a left turn at a stoplight when I realized all the others cars would have to stop just so I could turn left.
I felt guilty about that.
Those people could be in a hurry, late for work, late for school, whatever.
I was slowing them down.
Why do I care?
And why am I racked with guilt for all that happens in my life and the lives of my children?

I was raised on Guilt Street. I attended Guilt Elementary School and on Sundays I went to the 1rst Guilt Church. My mama served up a huge portion of Guilt and Tators every night.
You would think that when I left home, I might have left Guilt behind.
Not exactly.
In college, I took Advanced Guilt.
In my 20's, I gave birth to Guilt.
So now I am nearing my 40's and Guilt still lives with me.
My dad would say Guilt keeps me on the straight and narrow path.
He could be right.
Or maybe I carry Guilt around in my pocket b/c I stumble way too often in Life and recognize the consequences of my actions.

Guilty as charged.

Mama Bear

2009-04-23T13:15:00.006-05:00

This week at work I read Berenstein Bears Learn to do Chores to a nearly-three year old. She brought it out for me to read. Berenstain Bear books are rather lengthy so I summarized it.
Sorta.
Perhaps it was fatigue, boredom or just my wacky sense of humor, but the story went something like this...

Papa Bear works a lot and Sister Bear and Brother Bear never clean up their messes. This makes Mama Bear sooooo tired. Mama Bear works hard all day and she is just so tired of cleaning up after so many bears.
One day Mama Bear said Enough! You two bears are going to have to help me clean up!
Brother and Sister Bear grumbled about this. Papa Bear came home and he was just too tired to argue, b/c Papa Bear works a lot in the spring.
Mama Bear threatened to take away all the toys in the house.
So Brother Bear and Sister Bear learned to clean up their messes.
Mama Bear was soooooo happy. Mama Bear just gets so tired after working all day.
Brother and Sister Bear know how important it is that Mama gets plenty of rest, especially after a long day at work.
They want Mama Bear to be happy.

Otherwise she might move to Australia.

Australia

2009-04-21T18:12:00.010-05:00

There are 2 kinds of bad days. Some days are just BAD, like the day I found out I had cancer. Other days are what I call Alexander Days. If you've read the book to your children, you know about a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Today was one of those days.
I'll skip the part about how horrible our morning was. That was just the part that laid the foundation for the rest of my day. I can tell you that I called my friend Pam to tell her I was on the podium, ready to accept my "Worst Parent Award".

I had a 45 min drive to my first home visit. The location of this home gives new meaning to the term "middle of nowhere". A mere 5 min before I reach this place, I approach a Road Closed sign.

It's funny how, in desperation to get somewhere you need to be, you will find yourself staring at one of these signs, as if you can somehow figure a way to get past that barrier. Even if the road is completely torn up, equipment sitting there, no pavement within your field of vision, you will still stare at the sign, trying to figure a way out of this.

But an easy way out was not meant to be.

Luckily I have Greta, my Australian-speaking handy dandy GPS friend. I asked Greta to please find another route. She thought and she thought. Finally, she came up with a detour that would take me there in 20 minutes.

20 min doesn't sound like a lot of time until you realize it's all gravel. With lots of potholes d/t the rain we've had.

3 minutes before I reach my detoured destination, I come to a low-water bridge. A flooded low water bridge. (If you've never heard of a low-water bridge, leave a comment and someone will tell you).

If you read this post, you'll know why it was a good thing the girls weren't with me. Greta got an earful.

I called the home in the middle of nowhere and said "See you next week!"

I'll leave you with a quote from Alexander.

"It has been a terrible horrible no good very bad day. I think I'll move to Australia".

Maybe Greta has a spare room.

Chickens

2009-04-19T12:28:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I think I should title my blog "I Couldn't Make This Stuff Up If I Tried".

Here's a very recent conversation in our house:

Me: Girls, come look at these Cornish Game Hens we're having for supper. I've never cooked them before but I'm gonna try!

Megan: Oh...do you eat them just like that?

Me: Well, yeah, they've been cleaned out so you cook them just like this.

Megan: You mean they, like, gave them an enema to clean them out?

Me: Not exactly...

Megan: You know when you die your bladder lets loose...

Me: Outta the kitchen!

Me: Emily, I'm making chickens!

Emily: You are??? Oh, I want a pet chicken so bad...will they hatch eggs after you make them?

Me: No, Emily, I'm not MAKING chickens, I'm cooking chickens.

Emily: @#%$#!^$^%%$^!&#*!&^%#&#^@^%$!$#%$!#!

There will be no cornish game hens for supper.
I thawed them and realized they were...hairy. Is this normal? Have you cooked these before? My mom has never cooked them and neither has Scott. So feel free to chime in and let me know your experience with Cornish Game Hens.

Unless of course, your experience involves chicken enemas.

Shawndra Turner

2009-04-17T19:50:00.003-05:00

Here is an article that came out today about Shawndra Turner. I hope everyone can take a few minutes to read it b/c it mentions how she saved my life! Although my name isn't used, if you read it, you will recognize my story.

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/1144886.html

Lesson in Amish Living

2009-04-17T12:18:00.004-05:00

Whenever we make the 6 hour drive to my parent's home, we travel through the outskirts of an Amish community. There are signs on the highway that remind us to "share the road" with the horse and buggies. We always look for any traveling Amish families, and we usually see at least 1 or 2.
Being the Mother that I am, always trying to teach my children something new, I decided Emily needed a lesson in Amish living. So I began to explain how the Amish live. No electricity, no cars, no televisions, no computers...
Emily interrupts me when she hears "no computers".
"But Mommy, what do they use?"

"Nothing honey. They don't have computers at all."

"But Mommy, How do they send their emails?"

My Girls

2009-04-15T18:37:00.005-05:00

I love my precious girls.

And I love all that they are.

Tonight, while I was cooking supper, Emily brought this to me and said "Let's play Church. I made this- it's Jesus dying on the cross".
So, she conducted Mass, complete with songs, homily, Eucharistic prayer, bringing up the gifts and partaking in the Body and Blood of Christ. She even made me kneel on the floor, to which I promptly fell backwards into the stove and stifled my laughter as she continued the Mass without skipping a beat. After a rather lengthy Mass, I whispered "supper is ready". Several minutes later, as Mass continued, I whispered again "Supper is ready. Fishsticks"
Then I heard "This Mass is ended. Let us go in Peace".
It was one of my proudest moments as a parent.

Speaking of proud, Megan is swimming a 500 yard at the meet this weekend. That's a lot of laps.
You Go, Girl.

Easter

2009-04-13T20:39:00.007-05:00

Apparently this is the day I'm supposed to brag on how cute my kids were on Easter and tell you all about how they hunted eggs and ate chocolate.

But I thought it would be more fun to post a pic of my brother in law Keith...

I could title it "Keith gazes longingly at an unknown object while allowing Emily's stuffed German Shepard to sip his wine".

I'm counting on you to come up with something a little more concise and clever.

Violet

2009-04-09T18:18:00.007-05:00

If you read this post, then you know all about the positive things that can happen when you own a fish.
Meet Violet, the newest member of our family...

Parenting 101

2009-04-08T17:24:00.005-05:00

On the day my first child was born, I said to myself that I would be the best parent ever! I would make all the right decisions and my child would grow up to be the most amazing adult that ever walked the earth- all b/c I was so good at raising her.

On the 8th day after my child was born, when I took her to the doctor all dressed up in a cute-but-ridiculous little yellow duck outfit (complete with webbed feet and a bill) but without a pacifier, a bottle, a cloth diaper and an extra outfit, I said to myself Ok, well I messed up already, let's just start over, she won't remember this.

Today, I've been a parent for about 3,830 days. I have 2 kids. I average about 8 mistakes per day per kid. That's a lot of mistakes. I have a habit of wishing I could make a fresh start. When they were babies, I always had the excuse that they wouldn't remember. Now, I often catch myself thinking, Ok, if I make no more mistakes from here on out, how screwed up will my kids be by the time they reach adulthood. In other words, if all the mistakes only occur between birth and age 6, will my child remain unscathed or is it too late?

I once had an ongoing competition with a coworker to determine who was the World's Worst Parent. Sometimes she would show up at work and say "Michele, I'm the winner today. I am THE world's worst parent". And she would tell me what she did and we would laugh together. And sometimes, I was the winner.

This morning I would have been declared the winner after I "raised my voice" at Emily b/c she moved her head when I was installing 2 state of the art ponytails for spring picture day. As you can imagine, it wasn't really about the ponytails. It was about how I stayed-in-bed-too-long-hadn't-had-enough-coffee-couldn't-find-an-outfit-for-spring-pictures-needed-to-take-beverages-to-the-girl's-school-for-the-faculty-meeting-needed-to-get-to-work-on-time-really-needed-more-coffee.

My guilt is the same no matter what the offense might be. Sending my kids to daycare for 5 years while I worked leaves me with just as much guilt as buying Koolaid at the Salvage Store. If my kids become delinquents, I'll never know whether it was from daycare or the discount Koolaid I let them drink.

Or maybe they remember the duck outfit.

Meeting Kelly

2009-04-05T20:13:00.001-05:00

Welcome back to another edition of "Things I Think Are Just Snazzy".

Tonight just one item is featured...

Meeting a fellow blogger and Mom to a Miracle Baby is incredibly snazzy.

Here we are. 3 women with 3 incredible stories.
Kelly , my sister Linda, and me.

This weekend, my sister and I had the opportunity to meet Kelly. If you know me, you're laughing right now at my use of the word "opportunity". This was no chance meeting. You know me better than that. I had to do some figurin', some plannin', and some arrangin' to make this happen.
I was nervous. But I didn't need to be. Kelly is exactly as I imagined her to be- Incredibly Sweet.
Megan was a bit starstruck. Maybe that's why she blurted out "Your earrings look like dinner plates".
Thank you Kelly for taking the time to meet us. Your kindness will be remembered.
And so will your earrings.

Michele

Salvage Joy

2009-04-01T21:46:00.004-05:00

We have added some new terminology to our household lately.

Salvage snacks, Salvage drinks, even Salvage supper. That's right. Tonight we served our children a Salvage supper.

I have gone Salvage Grocery Store crazy. I'm hooked.

Every week, I come in the house, dragging bags containing numerous items that quite simply, didn't sell the first time around.

Where else can you buy 8 Pria bars for .99cents and a pound of Starbucks coffee for $1.99.

I've shopped at Salvage stores before but never one like this. It's a crown jewel nestled in the hills of Bollinger County.

I realize no one will ever eat at my house again. But if you do, I promise never to serve a box of outdated Mac n' Cheese.

I'll save that for the kids.

Here's my favorite product...

Although it's not labeled as such, it's an appetite suppressant.
One bite and you'll lose your appetite for hours. Eat the whole bar and you'll not eat for days.

Wordless Monday...

2009-03-30T20:38:00.004-05:00

Pre-digital camera, pre-home remodel, pre-housecleaner, circa 2003
What could Oprah possibly be saying to my girls?

The winner receives recognition on my blog! Sorry, no prize this time. I still haven't personally delivered the Target Gift Card to my friend Jin who is the winner of last week's contest. Congratulations Jin! Your story was brutally honest and funny, now that's what I call a real winner.

Believe

2009-03-28T07:38:00.004-05:00

I've been putting off this post for 2 days now b/c I didn't really want to type the words.
Kevin (vman) passed away on Thursday at about 8:30 am Eastern time.
Here are the 3 pics I took of him last year when we met. In case you have not been following my blog for that long, let me explain how we became friends and how we came to meet.
It started when I saw Kevin's first post on the Colon Club. I left a comment on his blog, Hey just noticed we are the same age and diagnosed the same week with Stage III Colon Cancer. Just wanted to say hi. From there, our friendship really took off. Unfortunately, our cancer journeys were not destined to be similiar. Kevin's surgery wound did not heal and chemo was delayed by several months. In that time, his cancer spread.
Last year, as my cancer journey was coming to a close, Scott told me to pick a vacation spot anywhere (well, let's clarify that; anywhere on American Soil that was warm and within driving distance, so yeah, basically anywhere you want, Michele). I have always wanted to visit the Outer Banks so that's what I chose. When I told Kevin where we were going, he told me we would be passing right by his house on the way to the Outer Banks. So we made plans to stop by.
Scott agreed to this, b/c let's face it, he was spoiling me rotten at that time.
It was an amazing visit. We could have all talked for hours. Unfortunately, the kids were tired and we didn't get to stay long.
So here are the pics I took. Kevin was a little embarrassed that he had the chemo bag strapped on but I didn't care. Emily loved sitting on the bike. That's Caroline the Duck on the bike, we took her with us and posed her on all the tourist spots. That's Kevin's wife Brenda in the last pic, on the left.

Kevin always signed his emails and posts with "Believe". He believed he would be healed here on Earth, but he knew that if that didn't happen, he would receive healing in Heaven.

What do I believe? I believe he is up There right now, riding his bike. Oh, he loved riding! It was really hard for him in the last several months to be unable to ride. I remember when I saw those 3 bikes in his garage, I gasped at their beauty. (He had 3, and I think they were unofficially labeled, His, Hers and His).

I believe Kevin was up There laughing yesterday when I FINALLY won a radio contest and my prize was a free rental at a hall, which I have now decided I will use to host a fundraiser/party to benefit Colon Cancer in some form. When I won, my first thought was This is Divine Intervention. Then I knew it must be Kevin. Let's face it, I've been trying to win something on the radio for YEARS. About 7:30 am Central time, I win BIG. That's exactly 24 hours after he passed away.

I am so Thankful that I met Kevin, both online and in person. He was a true friend. I believe we will meet again someday.

Ride like the wind, vman. You will be greatly missed.

Love,

Michele

Here is Kevin's online obituary

http://westfamilyfuneralservices.com/obituaries.php?page=0&op=view&id=310

Take the Bull by the Horns

2009-03-25T16:21:00.004-05:00

If you read this post, you probably have an idea about how marriage works in our household. You could say we've got a good thing goin'. But sometimes this happens...

You might be surprised to know what causes us to lock horns. I'm not talking about fighting over money (or the lack thereof), fighting over division of household chores, or anything as simple as how to discipline the kids. Not us! Our horns lock up when our kids get sick. That's right. The first sign of a sick kid and the horns begin to protrude from our head and we begin stomping and snorting. The issue? Who will stay home with the sick kid.
There's no Policy & Procedure Manual for who stays home. We both begin to rapidly list all the things we have to do at work, how hard it will be to miss, how we will have to rearrange things, the list goes on and on between us. It really comes down to this- Whose job is more important? Some days, my job is more important. Other days, especially in the spring, Scott's job is way more important. But sometimes we have to lock our horns and see who comes out a winner.
Sometimes it's just a matter of logistics. If you are a parent in a multi-child home, here's how the conversation goes: Ok, you take ___, I'll take___, I'll pick ___ up at ___, then come home at ___, and then you can ___ and then I'll ___ until 5 and then you can ___ until 7. Sound familiar?
Now it's your turn to tell me something that causes you to lock horns with someone. It could be your spouse, your child or maybe your own parent! I'll pick the most creative answer and the winner gets a $10 Target gift card!
I can't wait to see your answers!

I did NOT...

2009-03-23T16:12:00.003-05:00

I do NOT suspect Megan is faking illness to get out of school. She would NEVER do that. Not my daughter. She did not talk cheerfully on the phone to me and then when I asked how she was feeling, her voice did NOT suddenly deteriorate. She did NOT send me a text that said "Can I have chocolate. It might make my chest feel better".

I did NOT sneak over to Kohls today to see the clearance racks. Upon seeing a cute sweater on clearance for $4, I did not buy 1 in every color- gray, black, brown, green, purple and blue.

Never in a million years would I bribe Emily with french fries. Especially when we had an important meeting at the bank. She did NOT sit on the floor of the bank office, eating fries and suckers. She did NOT take the sucker stick and announce in a sultry voice, "I'm smoking". That would be way too embarrassing.

I did NOT win this plastic goat from my friend Stephanie Saturday night. That would never happen b/c who would buy a plastic goat for a party favor?And who would announce that all the party favors were new except one, and that one was an item she no longer wanted. NOT my friend Stephanie!

Please tell me what you have NOT done lately, just so I'll feel better!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-03-23T08:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my parents! 44 years of wedded bliss! Congratulations!

Love,

Michele

Fish Tales

2009-03-21T13:21:00.002-05:00

My worst nightmare come true...murder by exercise. Did you see this story?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29791289/from/ET/?gt1=43001
I always knew exercise was dangerous...that's why I've been avoiding it for years.

Here is Emily begging for a pet fish this week....
Here I am, telling her no a thousand times... (before you feel sorry for Emily, please remember we own 5 cats, 1 dog and a lizard)

Picture us at someone's office. Emily says Mommy look at that beautiful fish tank. In fact, it was beautiful and I oohed and awed over it.

Picture Emily saying "Mommy just think of all the positive things that can happen when you own a fish".

I'll be making a trip to Petco this week.

My kids aren't spoiled.

NOT mine.

A Letter to My Beloved Nephew.

2009-03-18T19:50:00.004-05:00

Dearest Declan,

In just a few short hours, it will be March 19th, a date that will be forever marked in our hearts as the day you were born.

I will never forget how scared we all were that day, knowing it would take a miracle for you to survive your birth. We got that miracle and for 65 days we all clung to the hope that you would receive complete healing.

I remember Day 64, the moment your mommy called me to say things were bad. I remember Day 65, when we arrived at Children's Mercy and we all realized just how bad things were. Your mommy and daddy were so gracious to let us spend some of those last precious hours with you. I am so grateful that I was able to hold you and tell you how much you were loved. I kissed you and looked at all your tiny fingers and toes. You were so beautiful!

Do you know that I think of you every single day? So many things remind me of you! Every time I hold a baby at work, every time I see a little onesie in the store, every time I hear the word "preemie", I always think of you.

If there is one thing you should know, it is this: You are so loved and your legacy will live forever in the hearts of all who were blessed to know you. You will always be our beloved baby Declan.

Tomorrow we will all quietly celebrate your birthday in our own special ways. Look for some balloons tomorrow afternoon, as we send them up to you. The girls and I will write a special message on each one.

Happy Birthday Declan.

Aunt Mickey Loves You.

Fortune Cookies

2009-03-16T20:22:00.004-05:00

Scott and I keep the Chinese food industry in business. We love Chinese! Our local favorite is Chan's but we really love Happy China in St. Louis.
Ok, you know I'm not really writing a post about Chinese food. Because there's something else I love about Chinese food...
The fortune cookies!
Over the years, I've collected some very interesting fortunes. Tucked away in a scrapbook, alongside pictures of the great remodel of '06, is a fortune that says "Home remodeling is in your future". I would have dug it out and taken a picture but unfortunately, d/t our current remodeling project, it is unaccessible.

This one is my favorite. Scott and I were just married and I was thinking of quitting my job. I wanted to be settled in my life but I knew I was a long way off from that. But reading this fortune gave me great comfort...

(I did quit my job by the way and soon after, the company went bankrupt.)

Scott got this one but I like to pretend it was mine...

After all, we've both been very successful in our businesses. I own mine and he owns his. Imagine the laughter we had last week when my fortune said I would soon receive a great promotion at work! For that to happen, I would have to promote myself!

Imagine Scott's delight when he got this one last week...

Now it is your turn to tell me your fortune cookie story. Do you save the good ones? Have any come true? Any funny ones? Do tell!

Finally, tell me what your fortune would have said on the day you were born...get creative... and have fun!

Shawndra Turner

2009-03-15T22:05:00.002-05:00

Shawndra Turner passed away today.
http://shawndraturner.blogspot.com

Welcome to the Green Green Grass of Home!

2009-03-13T18:06:00.006-05:00

Welcome to my new blog! I will continue to make some changes in the next few weeks but I wanted to introduce the new title. I decided to borrow Porter Wagoner's song for the title since Scott is a landscaper.

*As we speak, my blog is currently being reviewed to determine if it is "Family Friendly". I hope it gets chosen! I think they use some type of software program to scan for bad language, etc.

If you have your own blog, send me the link so I can read it and put it on my blogroll. And don't forget to reset the Favorites button or reset your own blogroll list, so it will reflect my new title. Thanks!

Love,
Michele

A Few Things I Think Are Just Snazzy...

2009-03-11T20:54:00.003-05:00

Welcome to another list of a Few Things I Think Are Just Snazzy...

1. Trader Joe's If you haven't been, you should check it out. I can't live without this store! What is Trader Joe's? It's hard to explain but it's a grocery store with lots of healthy foods, organic foods, unique items, etc. It's biggest claim to fame- the low prices. When we take the girls, they busy themselves searching for the hidden squirrel in the store and when they find it, they get a free (healthy) treat. Click on the link to find the stores located near you.

2. Dr. Oz book "You on a Diet" I have never read a diet book in my life. I bought this one b/c it was on clearance. I read it last week and it has changed what I know about food. I learned so much, I urge you to read it. My sister Linda wants me to bring it when I go visit but I don't know if she can tear it away from my hands.

3. Cafepress You can find millions of t-shirts on this site, with just about anything on them. You can type in your job, your political views, your sport, whatever you want, and get thousands of options for design, color, print. Sometimes when I'm bored, I just browse. I have ordered several times and I love their shirts.

4. Listverse My brother-in-law Randy introduced me to this site. It's so much fun to read! Nothing but lists. You know, like the 10 most bizarre inventions, 10 worst products ever made, etc. I am hooked!

Now it's your turn, tell me what you think is just snazzy!

Weekend Getaway...

2009-03-07T17:09:00.004-06:00

Can you guess what I'm smiling about?

You'd be smiling too if you were on a 2 day getaway with your husband in Kansas City!

He's smiling too, b/c he had fun visiting the place he grew up. OK, he didn't exactly grow up here, at the top of the World War I memorial, but he did spend most of his childhood living in Kansas City.

For 14 years, I've been hearing about how great Minsky's pizza tastes. Now I understand why he loved it so much. It's delicious!

But what could be better than chocolate that costs $34.99/lb? We splurged and bought 2 pieces!

This was the grandaddy of the whole weekend- Jack Stack's BBQ. Look at the size of that rib!

This is how I felt when we left- like a pig!

A great big THANKS goes out to Kasey, who stayed with the girls while we were gone.

It was the best 48 hours we've had in a long time.

Love,

Michele

I did NOT...

2009-03-04T16:34:00.004-06:00

This is NOT my 2nd "did not" post in less than a week...there are never that many crazy things that happen to me...
Megan did NOT tell me she needed a new notebook for school and when I said we have lots of those nickel notebooks from Walmart, she did NOT tell me that her pencils would not write in those cheap notebooks, that the words would not show up on the paper and the whole notebook would literally fall apart within days b/c it did not have a fancy cover on it. My daughter is NOT that spoiled.
I did NOT sit at a stoplight this afternoon and watch a man put his SUV in park and then smack the heck out of his kids in the backseat. I am glad I've never done that!
I did NOT find an awesome salvage grocery store yesterday in Marble Hill. My heart did NOT skip a beat when I spied the bargains.
And finally, today when I went to work, I went in a home and said to the Dad of the house, Hey, were you home when your neighbors house burned. He did NOT say to me with a mouth full of chewing tobacco, Heck yeah I was home, I was poopin' when it happened!

I did NOT...

2009-02-26T21:35:00.003-06:00

Since these things would never happen to me, I do not mind sharing them...
This week, a kid did NOT try to beat me up and then when she realized she was in trouble, she did NOT try to turn the next wallop into a High-Five. No, Pam's daughter would NEVER do that. She's way too sweet...
Tonight at Healthpoint Rehab, Emily did NOT propose to a male therapist she had just met. I'm talking about an all-out marriage proposal. I know my daughter would NEVER do that. That would be very embarrassing. I'm glad she would NEVER tell a man she was searching for a husband b/c she wants to have lots of babies. Earlier this week, Emily did NOT tell me she has a boyfriend in kindergarten. When she told me his name, I did NOT admit that he does belong on the cover of Child GQ. I did NOT tell her I approved of their eventual marriage b/c his mother is a speech therapist.
As a matter of fact, these tales are so outlandish, I will let you take a turn and tell me what you have NOT done lately.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-02-25T07:17:00.005-06:00

Dear Scott,
Happy Anniversary. I am so glad you sent me that message on Facebook this morning, reminding me of what day it was...I had to chuckle at what 14 years of marriage has done to us...wishing each other Happy Anniversary online....not to mention the fact I had to be reminded.

Can you believe all that we've been through? I was trying to add it all up this morning. 4 houses, 2 kids, about 18 different pets, 7 surgeries (all mine), 10 years of daycare, 12 jobs (between us), 2 companies (1 yours and 1 mine), 2 sets of in-laws, about 12 different vehicles, 3 boats, wow, the list could go on forever.

We always say that one of the reasons we get along so well is b/c we started out our marriage with nothing. Everything we have, we got together. When I sent Emily to school this morning with our wedding cake topper for show & tell, I started wondering what we have left from that first year of marriage. Tigger immediately popped into my head...14 years of marriage and one thing we've got to show for it is a cat with Alzheimers.

We have moved up in the world, that's for sure. When we first got married, we lived in a 2 bedroom house...now we've moved on up to 3 bedrooms, now that's progress. All of our furniture was borrowed, now we can say we actually own the couch and the bed. We didn't have a garage at our first house. Now we have a garage-turned-into-playroom. Yeah, we've done well, that's for sure. We owned 2 tvs when we got married, hey now we have 3. Cryptically speaking, when we got married, we did not have a container to urinate in. Now we have 2 of those.

You sure have put up with a lot over the years b/c of me. Like the $500 mistake I made in the checkbook the day before our wedding. What a surprise we had when we picked up the mail after the honeymoon...all those bounced checks were quite a welcome home package. You didn't get mad at me then and you didn't get mad when I caught the car on fire, or when I wrecked the car last summer. And you always agree with me that my speeding tickets are a complete injustice.
You didn't say a word when I forgot to do my billing and didn't get paid...oh, wait I don't think I ever told you about that...and you are completely supportive of me when I come home from work and tell you about the life-threatening situations I have found myself in. You always keep (somewhat) silent when I bring home stray animals from work and you never say a word when I swear I won't bring home another animal EVER.

I know I used to complain that you didn't always show your love and affection for me. But when I got sick last year, I never doubted how much you loved me. You treated me like a princess and for that I'm forever grateful. You were so good to me!

I love you forever and I know we are a team together. I know that whatever comes our way, we can handle it and it's all worth it at the end of the day when I look at our beautiful daughters.

Love,
Michele
a.k.a. your "Campbell Peach"

I have a dream...

2009-02-24T19:51:00.005-06:00

Is it terrible that I sometimes dream of what I'm going to do when my kids grow up and leave me? I love my kids, I really do but...lately I find myself sitting around thinking of all the things I'll have the freedom to do in, oh...about 12 years.
A few weeks ago I thought I would torture myself and sign up for email updates from the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, just so I'll know what shows I'm actually missing. Every semester, SEMO sends me informative brochures- informing me of what shows I'm not able to see at the River Campus. And of course I always check the movie listings to see which movies I won't be seeing. This weekend I went to the movie store and browsed all the movies I cannot watch in front of the kids and I'm too tired to stay up and watch after they go to bed. Sometimes I browse the 1000 photos I have thrown in boxes, just to remind myself that I won't be organizing them anytime soon. Sometimes I send my kids to school with a fever, just so the school nurse can call and tell me I have to leave work once again to fetch my sick child. If I'm really dreaming, I take a moment to check the balance in the bank account, just in case I forgot what I spent on the kids this month. But if I'm really desperate, I just take a look around the house to remind myself of how much space is filled with toys, school papers, backpacks, and FurReal Pets. Just in case I forgot.
So tonight, tell me what you dream of doing when your children grow up. Or if your children are grown, remind me of what you do to fill all that time.

Sad news

2009-02-22T08:05:00.001-06:00

My friend Sandy passed away Saturday. Here is a link to her obituary.

http://www.semissourian.com/article/20090222/RECORDS01/702229893/-1/RECORDS

I did NOT...

2009-02-19T19:21:00.003-06:00

Thank you for all the kind words after last night's post. As I said, it's been quite a week and I have quietly muttered under my breath at least hundred times "I did NOT" just say that, see that, think that or do that.
Do any of you have a LeapFrog Word Whammer? The toy that lets you put 3 letters in and then it pronounces the word for you? This week, at work, I did NOT sit and giggle with my friend/mom of a speech kid as we tried to figure out if this toy would pronounce naughty words! NO, I DID NOT do this!!! We did NOT discover that there must be a chip installed that does not allow the frog to say naughty words! I'm serious!!! He won't say them!
I am NOT going to shriek if I hear the phrase "in this bad economy" one more time. I am NOT tired of everyone in the media trying to make their point by using that phrase.
I did NOT complain about how far away I had to park and walk to get to the gym tonight. The GYM for Pete's Sake! Ok, it wasn't me getting the workout, it was Emily taking swim lessons but geesh, do you SEE the irony in that???
I did NOT get my house cleaned and my car detailed today by someone other than myself. I am NOT spoiled rotten, no, not me.
And here's something I would never do- I did NOT walk up to my friend Kellie H today at a meeting and say "Hi, I'm Michele". She did NOT look at me like I was crazy. I did NOT put my hands on her face and say "Kellie, is that you?" I'm sure she did NOT want to backhand me.
And finally, I did NOT leave the Word Whammer totally speechless this week when I realized I forgot to turn in a very big kindergarten project. The Word Whammer was NOT unable to pronounce all the words that left my mouth.

What did YOU not do this week?

Updates

2009-02-18T15:38:00.004-06:00

If you're lookin' for laughs today, this is not the place to find them at this time. It has been an incredibly difficult week for me and my friends and family.

Last Saturday, my cousin Ginger was killed in a car accident. She was only 34 and she leaves behind 3 sons. Even though it has been many years since I saw Ginger, I have always remembered her spirit, her penchant for fashion and of course, her beauty. When I heard the news, I managed to keep my emotional distance from it for several days. Then my sister Linda posted a few words and some old pics. It started to sink in a little bit more. Then when I saw the online obituary, the reality hit me.

Many of you are wondering how Kevin is doing. I have talked with his wife Brenda and his brother-in-law Andy several times. Kevin's cancer has spread throughout most of his body. He is currently in the hospital, fighting the many complications that come with this horrible disease.
I can't begin to put into words how sad I am for him and for Brenda.

You have heard me talk about how I met my friend Sandy in this post. Sandy's health has declined rapidly in the past 2 weeks and hospice has been brought in. I went to see her yesterday. Although she is unable to communicate at this time, I hope that somehow she understood that I came to tell her how much I love her. I also had the chance to meet her husband, who is a wonderful man. So very kind and very good to Sandy. Mike knew that there a lot of people who have been concerned about Sandy's lack of blog updates but he did not know how to post so I was able to show him how. If you have followed her blog, feel free to post a comment on her site so he will know just how many people out there have followed her story.

I am sorry to post such a sad update but I felt like many of you would want to know what was going on.
Thanks to everyone who reads my blog. I love all of you.
Love,
Michele

A Few Things I Think Are Just Snazzy...

2009-02-15T17:43:00.014-06:00

Rotorhead, get ready to stuff your man-purse...here's another edition of "A Few Things I Think Are Just Snazzy". Tonight, Emily is co-starring with me.

First on the list is this cool bag I picked up at Kohls around Christmastime. It comes folded and snapped up and fits easily into your purse...

Bring it to the store, unsnap it and use it in place of those NON-snazzy plastic bags...

While you're sittin' around, pleased about saving a plastic bag, take a sip from one of my favorite things to drink from- a Tervis Tumbler. Like the PedEgg, the Tervis Tumbler was a gift from my sister-in-law, Jenni. (She really knows how to pick out gifts). Don't know what a Tervis Tumbler is? Check out this link. My tumblers have dragonflies inside. This really creeps Emily out but I think they're gorgeous.

http://www.tervis.com/Category/JUST4FUN/Default.aspx

Finally, Emily wants to tell you about one of her favorite products. This was the first time I ever downloaded a video and I could not figure out how to turn the picture, so please tilt your head and let the show begin...

What are some of YOUR favorite things?

COMING SOON...

My blog is getting a makeover soon. I need a new title. Any ideas?

Surgery

2009-02-12T17:09:00.002-06:00

Surgery went well. I had requested light sedation but I was still wide awake when he starting cutting me! So I said Hey, how 'bout a little more? That's the last thing I remember...I feel fine now, just really sleepy but trying to stay up so I will sleep well tonight. I haven't taken anything for pain, I'm just a little sore right now.

I did NOT...

2009-02-11T20:17:00.003-06:00

This week, when I answered the nightly question, "what's for supper", Emily did not yell "Chili dogs suck!". She did NOT run to her room in fear b/c she knew she was in trouble. She did NOT then procede to yell "You do not do a good job of taking care of me!" My children would never be that disrespectful.
I did NOT yell at my daughter over homework tonight. I would NEVER throw a math book in the floor b/c I was so frustrated. No way would I do that. And you will NEVER catch me going to my room and slamming the door.
I did NOT get into a fight with a 2 yr old today over crayons. I did NOT become upset b/c she kept taking my crayons. And I certainly did NOT tell her I didn't want to color with her anymore b/c she was taking my crayons from me.
I did NOT gasp in horror when I read my sister Linda's blog tonight. You will NOT catch yourself wondering how she keeps her sanity.
I did NOT call the Surgery Center and question why I can't have liquids after midnight, if my surgery isn't until noon. I was NOT told "sorry, that's the rule". I did NOT ask if I could get up at 5 am and have a little coffee. And I am most certainly NOT going to work in the morning before my surgery.
I did NOT feel a little (tiny) twinge of sadness at saying goodbye to this little bump in my chest that I have had for 18 months. I am NOT feeling a little panicky at losing my "security blanket".

What have you NOT done lately?

Thoughts on Boredom...

2009-02-09T21:05:00.003-06:00

The recent ice storm kept me cooped up in the house for several days. It made me think about all the things we do when we are bored...
I was recently enlightened by one of my work families that you can look up prisoner's pictures online in Missouri. So one night, we were sitting around and I said Hey Scott do you know anyone in prison? I can look up their picture! He laughed at me but he did spend a few moments thinking about it. This weekend, Emily and I found ourselves bored so we sang all the songs we could think of with the word "rain" in them, to see if our dog, Rain, would turn his head when we sang his name. Sure enough, he would turn every time. So we both started singing separate songs and before long, his head was whipping around pretty fast. It was hilarious! When we went to church yesterday and the opening hymn was "Rain Down", we burst out laughing.
I can see I have completely lost your attention right now. You are trying to think of who you can look up on the prisoner website. So here it is, go satisfy your curiosity...
https://web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb/searchOffender.do

What do YOU do when you are bored?

Port Removal

2009-02-09T06:14:00.001-06:00

Surgery Thursday to remove my port!

Good Intentions Gone Bad

2009-02-05T20:14:00.003-06:00

I had good intentions. I really did. But when it came for preparations for the 100th day of kindergarten, I think I failed the test.
The assignment was to count out 100 items to put in a group snack mix. Of course, Wednesday night came and I had forgotten to plan ahead so the only thing I had in the house was Cinnamon Crunch cereal. I figured since the box was unopened, it would be ok to use it. Then Megan says Well....I opened it. Ok, I'll just ignore the fact the box was open. Don't ask, don't tell. Well, Wednesday night came and went and Thursday morning I remembered we hadn't counted out the cereal. So here we go. Let's make this a learning experience. So Emily begins to count out the cereal, sloooooowly; I turn my attention away for an instant and suddenly 31 pieces of cereal have become 78. Ok...let's start over...oh no, we're not going to cry over miscounted cereal...the counting begins again even slooooower...ok, let's make 10 rows of 10 pieces! I begin the cereal grid...Emily, you fill in the grid...watch the elbows, you're messing up the rows...10 on each row...ok, this isn't working...I'll make 10 rows both directions, then you can count the pieces after I'm done...ok, here's the finished grid, count them out...how did you end up on #33 at the end of the row...ok, JUST BAG THE CEREAL AND TAKE IT TO SCHOOL!!!

Unusual Suspects

2009-02-03T20:30:00.003-06:00

Years ago, when I decided to be a speech therapist, I imagined I would be sitting in a classroom teaching all the Cindy Bradys of the world how to say She sells seashells by the seashore...
I was on my way to make a home visit today in Scott's truck (I drove his truck b/c of the snow and ice) and the Mom called and said "Hey, I'm running a little late, but I'll be there". I drive up and ponder where I am going to park. This house requires street parking but there are piles and piles of snow/ice along the roads. So I park and then change my mind, make a u-turn in the street, ignoring the cop I see, and park on the other side of the street. I sit, trying to decide whether the Mom has made it home yet. I cannot tell if the car is in the garage. So I get out, walk up to the door, ring the doorbell, no one answers. So I stand there and ponder...do I walk all the way back to the truck...stand there in 20 degree weather and wait....why is that cop still driving around...Then the cop pulls up behind my truck...pulls out...drives up to the house...rolls his window down. I figure, oops I parked illegally, in fact, that was my first question. He ignores my question...he has bigger and better things on his mind. He begins to question me about who I am and what I am doing. I tell him who I am and what I'm doing. He then tells me that there have been a string of burglaries in this neighborhood and several eyewitnesses reporting a white quad cab truck. JUST LIKE THE ONE I'M DRIVING!!! I was so scared! I began to blabber on about my job...my license...my name...whatever popped into my head... I do not remember what came out of my mouth. He radioed in my name and I promised to sit in my truck until the family came home. As you can imagine, I got in the truck and called the mom and said "PAM COME HOME NOW...THERE'S A COP HERE...HE THINKS I'M A BURGLAR...STOP LAUGHING...IT'S NOT FUNNY!" I don't blame the guy...come on...look at how suspicious I looked...all that parking and reparking...standing at the door...big heavy coat...gloves...I looked so suspicious, I was ready to arrest myself...I am still scared tonight that they're coming to get me...and I know I have a big red flag beside my name in the police computer...possible burglary suspect...or as Cindy Brady would say...potthible thuthpect.

Kevin

2009-02-03T20:28:00.001-06:00

Some of you have asked how Kevin is, things have taken a turn for the worse, I do not feel comfortable elaborating without his permission. I will update when I can.

Prayers needed...

2009-01-31T15:50:00.001-06:00

Please say a prayer for my friend, Kevin. He is currently in the hospital and needs some prayers. Thanks.

Perspective

2009-01-29T20:31:00.004-06:00

Before I begin, I just have to encourage you to read my friend Rotorheads blog post. After I posted about A few things I think are just snazzy, he made his own version of what he would stuff in his man-purse. Hilarious!

It's all about perspective:
I sent a text to my friend Sommer today. She is a stay-at-home mom of 3 young kids who lives about a mile from my house. I told her I was enjoying pretending to be a stay-at-home mom this week, as the weather has prevented me from working. She sent me a text back that said, Funny- I am over here wishing I had a job.

At first glance, it may appear that we have cloned Rain, our dog. No worries, that's just "Uncle Biscuit", a gift from Santa.

We headed outside to practice for the Olympic trials...we couldn't agree on Summer or Winter Games.

Here's Megan, practicing her free throw shots...

We are wondering how many points you get when the ball becomes stuck in the ice-covered net...

I made a music corner in the playroom for Emily and all her instruments, cowboy hats and bandanas...

2 questions are on the agenda tonight. Can you write a few lyrics for Emily's song and can you guess who is on the TV behind her?

Have fun!

Good News and a New Blog Feature

2009-01-25T14:25:00.005-06:00

I loved the comments from the last post! If you didn't read them, go back and look. If you're like me, you read Stephanie's story and yelled "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" (Just kidding, Stephanie). And whoever left the post about the fishstick allergy, please sign your name!

I also want to tell you some good news. I saw Dr. G this week and she said I can get my port out! I am so excited! I have a consult with my surgeon in early Feb to set a date.

Today, I am starting a new feature on my blog. I used to read Oprah magazine and she had a feature called "A few things I think are just great". So I am stealing her idea, but I'll change the name so she won't sue me and take away my banged up car and very small house and the $1.00 I have in my wallet. However, even though I am stealing her idea, trust me when I say, you will not see a $150 umbrella or a $75 tin of popcorn. My umbrellas come from Walgreens and my popcorn comes from the Boy Scouts. So don't expect any classy items on the list.
So here is Edition #1 of "A few things I think are just snazzy".
1) The Ped-Egg My sister-in-law, Jenni, bought me one of these for my birthday. It sloughs off all that yucky stuff on my feet. Just keep it in the shower and use it occasionally. I love it!
2) Bath and Body Moonlight Path body cream This is, without a doubt, my favorite line from B&B. The cream is the best b/c it's so thick. And the smell...mmm.
3) Dove Chocolate Seriously, is there a better melt-in-your-mouth chocolate out there?
4) http://www.allrecipes.com/ This is where I get all my recipes...thus, the title allrecipes.com. I even created an account so I could store my favorites.
5) Greta Garmin (Otherwise known to the rest of the world as Garmin nuvi). My job relies heavily on getting from Point A to Point E every day as efficiently as possible. Greta is so great about finding the quickest route. Greta's most endearing feature is her ability to tell me EXACTLY what time I will arrive and recalculating, depending on how fast I drive. Greta speaks to me from the Australian Outback. I am still trying to understand why she can't pronounce some words that are vital to navigation. For example, she cannot pronounce "recalculating", which is what she does when I don't follow her directions. She also lets me type in directions and save them under a name. So imagine how cute it was last week when I pulled up to the dr office and she said in her best Aussy voice, "Arriving at Dr. G". I love it!
So, feel free to tell me what you think is snazzy and I will periodically update with new items too.
Michele;

Parenting 101

2009-01-19T19:35:00.006-06:00

Congratulations to my sister Linda for starting her own blog!
Over the holidays, I bragged to Linda about how rarely we get sick in our house and when we do get sick, we never pass it on to one another. In other words, never in the history of the Peters household has there been more than 1 sick person at a time. I must have forgotten to knock on wood! Last Friday the stomach bug hit our household and 3/4 of us were very sick!!! Can you guess who has the strongest immune system and the biggest handwashing obsession??? ME! (Ok, I'm knocking on wood right now so I won't wake up tonight and find myself sick). Thursday night, after the girls went to bed, I was reading one of my favorite blogs Mrs. Dirnberger. Her blog is upbeat and fun. She was talking about how badly she wants children. She would gladly take the long nights, the postbaby body, all the stuff that goes with parenting. As I am reading it, I hear THE COUGH come from Emily's room. I immediately go into PARENTING DENIAL. See, our kids have a unique system for letting us know they are about to puke. They have a certain cough that comes about 10 seconds before it hits. So denial kicks in. That is NOT the pre-puke cough...it was just a cough...then I hear it...there's no denying the sound of a puke. Now, I have to stop right here and tell you I have been a parent for 10 1/2 years and I have NEVER in all that time seen vomit like this. It was the most violent and graphic act of vomiting I have ever seen. I screamed OMG, how many fish sticks did you feed this child for supper!!! Scott swears she had 8 so I must tell every parent out there an unknown fact. FISHSTICKS REPRODUCE AFTER CONSUMPTION. There were at least 54 fishsticks laying in a pile. But there were also fishsticks on the wall, on the floor, in her hair. I took her to the bathroom, at which time more fishsticks began to fly around the room. So we get her cleaned up and PARENTING DENIAL kicks in again. Parents, you know what I'm talking about. You're tired, you want to go to bed, so you look at each other and say, Oh, it was probably just a one time thing, she's fine. Let's put her back to bed. She'll be fine. Then she pukes again and you start the whole process all over again.
What makes this story really funny is that my sister Linda who seriously does have the healthiest kids I've ever known, just texted me while I am writing this and told me her son is puking. Go figure.

I did NOT...

2009-01-14T16:07:00.006-06:00

I did NOT promise a blog about Greta Garmin. She is NOT my best friend in the world right now...nah, it would be ridiculous to be best friends with a computer-generated Aussie that tells me what to do every day. But I am NOT going to break the promise to talk about her, for a dose of "Not Me Wednesday".
I did NOT walk in a home today, say hello to the 2 yr old and get greeted with "Kick Ass!" No, that would never happen...I am NOT wondering if she really needs speech therapy...This is NOT the same child who told me awhile back "My butt stinks".
I am NOT off to a bad start with my blog giveaway. I have NOT forgotten to mail Katie's gift card...Katie, I am NOT very sorry!!! I did NOT forget to mention that Kara and Linda were the winners of the "guess the movie quote", that was NOT like a hundred days ago that I posted that blog.
I am NOT going to mention Cash Cab on my blog again, even though I know you are NOT already sick of hearing how much I do NOT like that show. As a matter of fact, I am NOT watching it right now. It does NOT air for 2 hours every afternoon. Seriously, how cool would it NOT be to get in that cab and see those lights start flashing. I would NOT take that 2 yr old with me so she could greet Ben Bailey...

How I Spent My Winter Vacation

2009-01-06T19:54:00.006-06:00

Tonight you get a glimpse into our Christmas...Santa came and then we headed out for an 8 day adventure.
There was a whole lotta jumpin' goin' on when Megan saw her presents

Emily got her wish...Biscuit the Fur Real pup...In cryptic talk, he was known as Canine Pastry.
I tried a new look for the holidays, compliments of my nephew Dylan.

After a few days in Arkansas, we headed to Branson. Along the way, we played Cash Cab, our new game show obsession. Haven't seen it? Go watch it NOW; well, finish reading my blog first.

Scott does a good job playing Ben...he even drives like Ben.

We saw a comedy show full of almost-famous actors. Emily got all of their autographs. The guy in green is Apple Jack.

Then we shed a few tears watching the famous dog...

We snagged some hikers to take a family pic...

Megan took some nice pics.

We saw evidence of a long ago love...a heart carved in a tree.

Saw a sign named in Emily's honor...

Then we all braved the 30 degree weather and sat in the outdoor hot tub. We did NOT enjoy it, as you can see from the pic.

This was NOT the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken.

Hope your holidays were merry and bright.

Next post: Greta Garmin, my new best friend.

Today's Headline...Hubby Gives Tax Deductible Gift, Wife Declares "I love it!"

2008-12-26T16:42:00.004-06:00

Hey hope you all had a great Christmas, I only have 5 seconds to write, I'm getting ready for girls night out (dinner and a movie, very tame). I got my tax deductible gift from my dear sweet husband- I got a Garmin!!! I was excited and surprised! Talk soon...
Love,
Michele;

I did NOT...

2008-12-22T17:53:00.005-06:00

I am NOT having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I am NOT moving to Australia.
It was NOT 6 degrees outside today. I did NOT warm up by getting raked over the coals at work today by an angry mom.
I do NOT hate Perrla beads. I did NOT promise to play with them this evening with my daughter. I do NOT get a weird vestibular reaction when I try to place the tiny beads on the even tinier little stakes.
The ketchup bottle did NOT fart all over my daughter and her clothes and the table and the floor. It did NOT look like a grisly murder scene. I did NOT spill water everywhere, requiring an entire clothing change.
I did NOT skip 2 doses of Lexapro b/c I'm been so happy and didn't think I needed them. I have NOT made this mistake before. I have NOT been a crabby mother this weekend.
I am NOT in desperate need of encouragement right now.
I am NOT in tears 3 days before Christmas. This is NOT happening.

Much ado about nothing...

2008-12-21T16:39:00.005-06:00

Just wanted to add a few pics today. We had Christmas with the Loennekes a few nights ago. I told the kids they could exchange gifts after they performed a Christmas song.

The song turned out to be a little non-traditional.

Then we promised they could open gifts after posing for a picture.

They were so patient with us.

Now I leave you with another pic I took. First person to name this picture with a quote from a famous holiday movie is the winner. Sorry, no prize this time, just the honor of having your name typed on my blog with a few exclamation marks after it.

Happy Holidays...

Love,

Michele;

And the Winner Is...

2008-12-20T20:14:00.003-06:00

KATIE C!!! I loved ALL the stories but Katie, your story left a very strong visual. Your Panera card will be in the mail this week. Thanks to everyone for the great stories. Randy, your story runs a real close 2nd. If you haven't read the stories, click on Comments on the previous post and take some time to laugh a little.
I got tagged on a blog this week http://mrsdirnberger.blogspot.com/ I'm not sure what that means but I think I'm supposed to tell my holiday traditions. I don't have a lot of traditions. We watch our favorite movies, especially Christmas Story, but otherwise we just do everything very traditional. Go to Christmas Eve Mass, open one present, then open the rest on Christmas morning. Last year we bought a mailbox ornament and when we packed up the ornaments we put in a list of predictions. It was fun reading them this year when we unpacked it. My favorite prediction was "Mom will be healthy" Yea! It came true!
I don't know how much blogging I will be doing in the next couple of weeks. I hope everyone has the best Christmas ever! I love you all!
Love,
Michele;

Blog Giveaway!!!

2008-12-17T06:37:00.003-06:00

I'll bet you think I'm going to talk about the holidays. Hey, you know me better than that. I've got something even better. My first Blog Giveaway!!! Read on...
I love my job. I call it my dream job. God has blessed me with a challenging but enjoyable career. In case you've just joined us, I will give a very brief synopsis. I am a pediatric speech pathologist (aka and been referred to as speech teacher, talking lady, speech friend, speech person, teacher lady, I could go on..). I provide services for children birth to 3 (plus a few older ones) in their homes. I specialize in feeding disorders but work on speech too. I get most of my referrals through a State program called First Steps. They send the referrals and I work under their many guidelines.
I say that I work in-home but technically, First Steps tells us that services must be provided "in the child's natural environment". So over the years "natural environment" has led to many creative situations. The parent ultimately deems what is "natural" for their child. What I am trying to say is, I work in whatever place the parent requests. This list, over the years, has included front porches, sidewalks, street corners, McDonalds, parks, parties, playdates, the mall, the nature center, and yard sales. The most creative place on the list has to be the ticket gate at the SEMO District Fair. Years ago, the Mom called and said she was working the gate and she needed me to work with her son while they were there. So I found myself at the gate, providing services for a child in his "natural environment".
So your challenge today is to tell me the wackiest work situation you have ever found yourself in. I will award a $10 Panera gift card to the best answer. (Katie C, get to work on picking your favorite, you have as many as I do). I can't wait to hear everyone's stories!

I did NOT...

2008-12-09T20:24:00.002-06:00

We are NOT discussing "hot docs" on the Colon Club this week. I did NOT post a pic of my hot doc. http://www.sfmc.net/display/DocDetail.nws?phyid=322
Kelly was NOT the winner with the hottest doc
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8cc29b3127ccec5852234747400000040O08IZMmbJoxcg9vPgI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

I did NOT go to work today and watch a toddler come out of the bedroom chewing on his mother's thong. I am NOT going to leave you with that image.

Prayers needed...

2008-12-07T21:21:00.004-06:00

I just found out that Shawndra Turner is very ill. She is in the hospital and hospice will most likely be called in. My heart is breaking. If you are new to the blog, let me just synopse by saying Shawndra has a rare form of colorectal cancer and I have never known anyone fight cancer the way she does. Shawndra saved my life by posting her symptoms on her blog, which convinced me to get my problems checked out. Shawndra has a very precious 3 yr old daughter and a very loving husband. Her blog is http://shawndraturner.blogspot.com/
Please pray!

Tax Deductible!

2008-12-06T20:18:00.004-06:00

This week's Wordless Wednesday is John! John, that was great, I loved it! Also, I forgot to mention that Twylia was the winner last week when she submitted several ideas for what Scott was calculating. Speaking of Scott and calculating, today, he said Honey, I know what I want to get you for Christmas but it's really expensive, about $300. I told him there was no reason to buy me a $300 gift. His response "But the best part about buying this particular gift is...It's Tax Deductible!". So now you see why I posted a picture of him using the calculator.
I do have more to chat about but I'm really tired and I have a date with...the couch. So I'll go for now.
Love,
Michele;

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-03T20:08:00.002-06:00

Today's assignment is a fill-in-the-blank.

"I'll shoot anything that stands in the way of my __________"

Parenting 101

2008-11-30T18:21:00.004-06:00

Sometimes I am appalled/shocked/pleased at the things I let my girls do. Tonight, as I let Emily have way too much raw cookie dough and I ate some myself, I began to ponder how I raise my kids vs. how my mom raised us 4 girls vs. how my friends raise their children. As parents, we all let our kids do things or not let them do things for a variety of reasons. Maybe our moms let us do it or maybe our mom DIDN'T let us do it. Maybe we agree to let them do things out of pure laziness or b/c that's how our friends told us they raise their kids. I tend to blaze my own trail much of the time but I am influenced by my parents. Mom let us eat cookie dough and cake batter. Why? I don't know but I do know it was something fun we all did together, dipping our spoons in the bowl and licking it clean. Dad always made sure he took us to the store to buy Mom presents for her birthday and Christmas. So I am raising Scott to do the same thing...lol. Tonight, Megan was complaining that I ate a piece of her Halloween candy out of her bowl in her room. That's right, I poured all her candy in a bowl on Nov 1 and put it in her room. And guess what? She still has a huge bowl left. She knows how to eat it sensibly and besides, she doesn't have a single cavity either. What decisions do I make when I feel lazy? Well, sometimes I'm too tired to fix a sensible snack, so I let the girls eat something from the snack cabinet. Or I let them have frozen pancakes for supper b/c I'm too tired to cook. I know my kids eat too many snacks, not enough vegetables, have too many toys, don't always clean up, but overall they're not bad kids. I tend to balance things out by being super strict about other things, like what they are allowed to watch on TV, how late they are allowed to stay up, or where they are allowed to go. I often wonder how my Mom managed to stay sane raising 4 hormonal girls. But deep down, I know you just do what you need to do to survive. And if that means going to bed with a belly full of cookie dough, then hopefully the girls will drift off to sleep thinking about how much fun they had with Mom.
Let me know what you do with your children that may or may not be what the rest of us are doing.

Fulled Up With Love

2008-11-26T18:19:00.004-06:00

I am nearing the point in my journey where I believe that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me. I am forever changed. I am forever a better person for what I went through. I view the world through a different camera lense. Am I glad I had cancer? No, I am not glad it happened to me. I still wish God could have caused this transformation through more positive events but I know that having cancer was probably the only way He could think of that would make me STOP in my own tracks. One of my favorite movies is "Queen", which was an offshoot of "Roots". I will never forget Halle Berry's line near the end, when Queen and her husband were rocking on the porch and she said "I'm just fulled up with love". That's how I feel. I have so much love in my heart! More than I ever did before cancer struck. I love every one of you that take time to read my blog. I love all the people that have reached out to me in the past year. I love all my babies at work and I love my job. I love the school my children attend. I love my parish family and I love my Mom, Dad, and all my sisters. I love my husband and most of all I love my children more than I could ever express.
I love life.

Love,
Michele;

Prayers needed...

2008-11-24T18:34:00.003-06:00

Prayers are needed! My Aunt Virginia had a car wreck last week and has suffered massive injuries. Please pray that her pain stays under control and that the doctors make the right decisions regarding her care. She is currently in the ICU in Memphis. This is my dad's sister, she is 78yr old and has always been a strong figure in our lives. I have never heard an unkind word come out of her mouth. She has a very strong faith in God. And I love her smile, it always has an element of surprise to it. Aunt Virginia, you are so loved!

On a lighter note, here is a pic of Scott...

Your challenge is to guess what he is calculating. Now, lots of you know Scott very well and many of you have never left a comment. I am challenging you, that if you know Scott, you will take a stab at what would bring Scott to the calculator. I can't wait to see the responses!

I did NOT...

2008-11-20T09:23:00.003-06:00

It is NOT 9:30 in the morning and I did NOT leave work and come home and rewash my hair. I am NOT having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad hair day. I have not already changed clothes twice today. I am NOT eating cold pasta salad for a late breakfast, as I type. I am NOT working in Fredericktown today and it will NOT take an act of God to get me back in town for a very important meeting at 3:00 today. I will NOT speed, no, not me. I would never do that.
I have NOT been a bad wife this week. I have NOT blamed my husband for everything this week, including this morning when I did NOT oversleep and it was NOT his fault. No, it was NOT his fault, I would NEVER blame him for that. I did NOT get so mad at him and did NOT call him a negative name under my breath for watching the Weather Channel for hours on end. No, I wouldn't do that, b/c my husband does NOT watch the Weather Channel for hours on end.
This cold pasta salad is NOT the best tasting dish ever produced out of a box and I did NOT tell Scott last night he couldn't eat it. And finally, I did NOT tell Emily the orange pieces in the salad were cheese, not carrots, NO I would NEVER lie to my children.
Oh, and I did NOT have a NIGHTMARE last night that my coffeepot was broken and I was unable to drink my morning coffee.
What have you NOT done lately?

Sunday in St. Louis

2008-11-16T20:19:00.006-06:00

Today was an interesting day. Scott and Megan had a place to go so Emily and I took a little side trip.
First we had to decide who would drive...

After arriving, we had a little lunch...

Then we checked out future job opportunities...

Then it was off to the bank to withdraw large sums of money...

Your challenge is to tell us what Emily would do with a large sum of money.

Around the world in just 1 blog

2008-11-13T17:48:00.005-06:00

Approximately 14 hours and 5 min ago, someone in the United Kingdom googled "get a rat to gnaw that thing off your face" and MY BLOG POPPED UP. Unbelievable how it's possible to stumble onto my blog!!! And WHY were they googling a quote from "Uncle Buck"? In case you are a new reader, last spring I had a fever blister and I blogged about how I needed a quarter to go downtown to get a rat to gnaw it off. Anyway, I am LOVING the Traffic Feed I recently installed. I discovered that someone in Iceland reads my blog daily! I love looking at the cities and figuring out who is reading. For example, I know who is reading in Perryville (Kasey) and Dexter (Robin) and Asheville South Carolina (vman) and Jeff City (Tammy). I think I know who is in Baltimore (Suessfan, is that you?) but I don't know who is reading in Poplar Bluff, Chaffee, Independence, Waterloo and St. Peters. My sister Linda is now afraid she will be revealed as a stalker when I see the traffic feed! So I hope I don't scare anyone away! Anyway, it is fun to look at the cities and if you want to reveal yourself in a mystery city, please feel free to leave a comment!
I love you all!!!
Michele;

Big hair, leg warmers and tight-rolled jeans

2008-11-11T20:07:00.005-06:00

It was 80's night at the skating rink this weekend for our first It's No Monkey Business fundraiser. What, did you really think my sisters and I routinely dress this way?

Make note of my tall hair and tight-rolled jeans. No one can roll their jeans as tight as me (with one exception- our buddy D.L. does run a "tight" 2nd). And before you ask, No I did not skate, are you kidding me, my blood doesn't clot and I can't feel my feet. Which means I would fall down and bleed to death. Not to mention, I had just been under anesthesia 48 hours before. Are there any other risk factors we can throw in there to make the situation more dangerous?

Speaking of medical issues, Scott's only words when he found out Megan would be skating- "Michele, remember- broken bones in Arkansas are out-of-network."

Did you really think she would be doing anything else at the party?

It was a fun and successful night. In case you've been living under a rock, go to http://www.itsnomonkeybusiness.com/ for more info.

I set a new record this year. CHRISTMAS CARDS ARRIVED TODAY!!! So maybe I'll have them mailed even earlier than Thanksgiving! Seriously, I do know someone who mails her cards out in July. Not a bad idea! (Jen and Steph, I read your mom's card every summer when we visit Jenni, it's always on the fridge).

I just realized tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday...hmmm...it may be late again this week.

Write back. I love your comments!

Love,
Michele;

Colon Countdown

2008-11-06T21:17:00.004-06:00

I am celebrating not only the good results from the colonoscopy, but also the fact I survived the required prep. It is so hard to go without food for so long! I spent weeks pondering how I would survive what I call the Colon Countdown. I call it that b/c that's what I did- I counted the hours until I knew I would be put under anesthesia and it would all be over. The first thing I did was totally pig out Tuesday. I ate whatever I wanted. I went to Panera and ordered the Soup in a Bread Bowl. I do not think Panera intends for people to actually eat the entire contents- soup and bowl- but that's what I did. I sat in my office and ate the ENTIRE bowl. Have you ever tried to eat the bread bowl. It's not easy. I looked like a lion tearing a piece of meat, my head swinging back and forth trying to tear the bread with my teeth, soup residue flinging around the room. By the time it was over, the tomato soup splotches made my office look like a crime scene. But I digress...So I also ate a big plate of greasy pizza before I went to bed and felt so full, I was praying for Wednesday's hunger to set in. So Wednesday came and I decided my only hope of feeling full was what I call Liquid Sugar. That is the only approved form of sugar that is allowed during the Colon Countdown. So I drank a large blue Powerade and then went to Rhodes and bought a 44 ounce Dr. Pepper. Now, you should know I rarely drink soda and when I do, it's always diet. So you can imagine the high I was on after I sucked down all 44 oz in less than 2 hours. I was wired! It was a "Happy Hunger" that I was feeling by afternoon. One thing that I was allowed to have was clear, hard candy. So I ate an entire bag of hard candy throughout the day. If my teeth survive this Colon Countdown, I'll be a lucky girl.
Then 4 o'clock came and it was time to start taking all 32 pills. That's right. 32 of those things between 4 and 9 o'clock. And if you know anything about how the prep works, which I'm sure you do, you know that you can't just take the meds and go to bed. Oh no. You are required to stay up all night and make sure Charmin stays in business.
So I arrived at the Clinic this morning bright and early, weak from dehydration but feeling better than I thought I would. I was laughing and joking with the nurses in an attempt to redeem myself for last year's tantrum. Then the dr. arrives and I was left to ponder how it's possible for this guy to be even more attractive than he was last year...and how does he spike that hair so perfectly...and keep it such an attractive gray color...Anyways, the first thing he said to me when he walked in was "I need to tell you that Someone was looking out for you last year b/c at your age with your symptoms, we just don't ever do this test. You are very lucky".
So, the test was completed and he told me I don't have to come back for 2 years. I am grateful for that, but it scares me to think of going 2 years without looking for cancer.
I do think it is meant for me to live. Too many events fell into place at just the right time. I believe God is not nearly done with me. In other words, he doesn't want me hangin' around up there, cracking jokes and eating all the chocolate. I think he wants me right where I am.
Thank you to all who have prayed for me. I love you all! And one more thing, you can't hide from me anymore! I have installed a live traffic feed on the blog that tells me what cities are looking at my blog. So I may not know your name, but I know where you live!
Love you all,
Michele;

GOOD NEWS!!!

2008-11-06T17:08:00.003-06:00

My colon looks good!!! I will write more later about everything but right now, I just wanted to share the good news. Thanks for the prayers!

I did NOT...

2008-11-04T17:34:00.004-06:00

Aunt Flo did NOT leave her luggage on my doorstep this month. I did NOT send my 3 sisters an email that caused a ruckus and my husband did NOT ask if I was on drugs when I wrote it. I did NOT forget to show up at my friends house today and I did NOT say a bad word when she texted me, asking me where I was. I did NOT go to the office and find out that after working there 2 years and 3 months, I have been incorrectly following procedure and no one ever told me.
Today, I did NOT eat like there's no tomorrow b/c let's face it, when it comes to eating, there really IS NO TOMORROW when you are having a colonoscopy in 2 days.
What have you NOT done lately?
Michele

Wordless Wednesday...on Monday...and not quite Wordless either

2008-11-03T19:50:00.008-06:00

After a brief absence, Wordless Wednesday has returned! I know it's not Wednesday but there's a reason I won't be posting on Wed. More on that later. This week's pic involves Megan, a magnifying glass and a piece of pizza. I promise this picture was NOT staged, I actually caught her doing this and I grabbed the camera. Answer the question What is she doing? For last month's pic, someone wanted to know the story behind Megan's picture of injustice. Truthfully, I don't know. I do not recall what she was ranting about but it looked pic worthy.

My colonoscopy is scheduled for Thursday. I am having a lot of anxiety about it! Wednesday I am not allowed to eat anything but clear liquids (chicken broth and jello) and Thursday I can't have anything at all, not even water. The test is scheduled for 11:00. So I will be crabby and very weak by then. I did call and get the ok for an Ativan. I'm sure they want to avoid my little tantrum I threw last year when the appt was delayed. I was so angry, I can remember when they finally took me back, I had to answer a bunch of questions and I was so weak but trying to muster up a bad attitude at the same time. By the time they put me in the room, the fight had left me and all I could do was whisper "I'm scared" and then it was over.

Just want to say Congratulations to Katie and Steve, who were married this weekend! We had so much fun at the reception. The girls loved dancing all night!

Say a prayer that I can survive with no food Wednesday and that my colon is squeaky clean on Thursday!
And don't forget to give the picture a caption!
Michele;

Addendum to I did NOT...

2008-10-28T15:26:00.002-05:00

My 10 yr old daughter did NOT just utter the following words: "I need chocolate. I am depressed."
She did NOT tell me she is the only girl in the 4th grade not attending the Sarah Palin rally. She did NOT tell me she is the only girl in the 4th grade not allowed to go to the Haunted Hall of Horrors. My daughter has NOT entered the "I'm the only one who doesn't get to" stage. And when I told her there were no more tickets for the Sarah Palin rally, she did NOT tell me "Mom, I'm too old for that trick". I am NOT freaking out about what these preteen years are going to be like.

I did NOT...

2008-10-27T16:37:00.004-05:00

I did NOT just fix stovetop popcorn for the first time in my life and the girls and I did NOT get excited when it starting popping. I did NOT overestimate how much popcorn to put in the pot and it did NOT start popping all over the floor. We did NOT laugh b/c it was NOT funny.
I did NOT spend $30 on Halloween candy only to discover I still don't have enough for treat sacks. And I did NOT eat any of it while filling those sacks.
Last night I did NOT tell Emily I would spank her hiney if she didn't eat. No, I am a feeding therapist and I would NEVER say that. Not me.
Last week I did NOT stand in front of my car in the parking lot and panic b/c I couldn't find my car. That would be ridiculous.
This morning I did NOT tell a 4 yr old that when I am in his house, he does not run the show. No, that would be way too unprofessional.
I did NOT call my housecleaner today and tell her my house was too dirty to clean, and could she come another day. That would be way too embarrassing.
What did you NOT do lately?

Kevin

2008-10-25T12:38:00.005-05:00

If you came to my blog for a good chuckle, just sign off b/c there are none today.
When I went to the TEC retreat last weekend, I spent much of the prayer time asking God to give my friend Kevin and his wife Brenda some peace and to help them face this cancer battle, no matter what the outcome or prognosis may be. I prayed for them silently, I prayed for them out loud, I just kept praying for God to give them strength. As you know, we were not allowed to use cell phones while we were there. I snuck up to the room about midnight the first night and turned my phone on to check the time. To my surprise, Kevin had left a message telling me he was in the hospital. I was so upset that I had missed his call and even more upset that I hadn't known he needed me and couldn't call him back. I admit, I questioned God. Why was it that I had spent the whole day in prayer for him and I hadn't been there when he needed me. On Monday I finally got to talk to him and of course, he ended up making ME feel better. He assured me he had felt all the prayers and I had to believe that I was there when he needed me, just not in the way I had thought I needed to be. Like he always says- BELIEVE. Anyway, he had surgery yesterday and I don't think he would mind me telling you that he is at a very low point in his life, both mentally and physically. His wife Brenda needs prayers too. Brenda is a very strong person, I always think of her as a Steel Magnolia, but I can't imagine what she is going through right now.
I do want to say that the retreat was an incredible experience for me. I spent most of the weekend praying and...eating. The food was great, especially since I didn't have to cook or clean!
I also want to talk about my sister Linda's project. She lost her precious baby boy, Declan, in May, after spending 65 days with him in the NICU. Declan touched a lot of lives and she wants to honor him so she has created http://www.itsnomonkeybusiness.com/ Please take the time to check out this site. If you are looking for a service project or maybe you want to donate to a charity this holiday season, please consider donating items in Declan's honor. If you live nearby, you can always bring the items to me and I will deliver them to her. I am planning 2 visits in the near future.
Ok, well I can't blog without a little humor so I will leave you with a conversation I had with Emily this week. First you have to know that Emily goes to a Catholic school and she tells me every day what they learned in religion. So this week, she says Mommy, you can't hide from God, he is always watching you. You can't sneak b/c he always knows what you are doing. Fast forward 20 minutes, she says Mommy, the kids at lunch always give me their food, they have to sneak it b/c it's against the rules. So I say, Hey don't forget you can't sneak with God, he's always watching. She says Oh, that's ok, God never says anything about that!

Happy Birthday Megan!

2008-10-21T21:38:00.004-05:00

Dear Megan,

Today you are 10 years old! Wow! It's been a fun 10 years! You know the joke by now. Every year I tell you that this is it, this is my favorite age, it can't get any better. Then the next year rolls around and I swear this is it, the best year ever. In other words, it just keeps getting better. You have been nothing but pure joy since the day you were born. Today I have spent a lot of time thinking of what it is that makes you special. Because you are so very very special. Sometimes it takes my breath away when I look at you and think "I created this amazing Child of God". How lucky I am to be your parent. How blessed I am to have you as my daughter.
I know I've made a lot of mistakes as your Mom. I mean, let's face it, the first thing I said when I saw you was "Oh my gosh, what's wrong with her lip!". Sorry about that, your lip was fine and of course, you were beautiful.
Now let's talk about that stubborn nature of yours. It defies all principles of nature. I knew we were in trouble when you were just a day old and you were already beating your fists on my chest, refusing to nurse; then after 3 days of this, when the lactation nurse said Give it up, she's not gonna do it, just give her a bottle. I knew then you would have strong ideas about what you want and don't want.
Your gift of words takes my breath away. Sometimes I hear you talking and I wonder how I could have created a child this brilliant. And I'm truly sorry that your dad and I were unable to give you the part of the brain that calculates algebraic equations; it's missing from our brain too.
My proudest moments are when I see you swim. You have worked so hard to be the best you can be and that's what makes me so proud! You don't know this, but sometimes I sneak in your room and just look at all the ribbons and medals you have won and I know you have given it your all and that's what I love about you. You never give up. When you went to the swimathon and were told to swim 4 miles but you swam 6 for good measure, I just couldn't believe your tenacity. And I'm sorry I made you stop for a picture, that was Mistake #873432 in the decade I've been a parent. I'm just so proud of all you do!
Do you know how proud I am that you have such a strong faith in God? I am so glad we are able to give you a Catholic education. When Declan passed away, you were so at peace with it because you knew where he was. You do not doubt your beliefs and you live your life as God intends you to. It meant so much to me that you insisted on sitting down with me last week to teach me a refresher course on saying the Rosary so that I would be prepared when I went to the retreat.
Someday when you become a Mom, you will understand the great love a Mother has for her child. It will be at that moment that you will say Oh, now I get it. For now, hang in there and understand that I am doing the best I can as your Mom.
I love you Megan, I love you all the way to the moon and back.
Love,
Mom

Update

2008-10-17T19:11:00.003-05:00

Lots to talk about tonight. I wanted to catch you up to date on how I am doing physically. My platelet counts are still not where they should be, even after 8 months post-chemo. So Dr. G sent me to a hematologist this week. Long story short, this doctor is so important, his patients rarely actually see him. He tells the nurse practitioner what to tell us. So we saw her this week. She was really nice and explained that after reviewing my blood and bone marrow, they can't figure out why my platelets are not back up so let's take more blood and look at more things. Those results came back today and they are normal. So they are concluding...nothing. No explanation. I have a colonoscopy scheduled Nov 6 and after that I plan to have my port removed.
I am having a lot of survivor guilt lately b/c 2 of my friends are not doing well. Sandy and Kevin are in the fight of their lives right now. My heart just breaks for both of them. They both started chemo about the same time I did and they are still receiving it. I cannot imagine what that is like. I remember how hard it was for me to count up to 11 treatments. I cannot imagine 14 months of that stuff.
I am packing my suitcase tonight in preparation for a TEC weekend (Teens Encounter Christ). I was asked by someone at church to help lead the group this year. It is a weekend retreat for high school students. I will be spending the weekend with 16 girls from Notre Dame. I will be presenting a speech about my cancer experience. Even though I know it will be a good experience, it's hard for me to leave the girls for any length of time. I won't be back until Monday evening.
I hope you have a great weekend. I won't be able to use the computer or my cell phone until I get back.
Talk soon!
Love,
Michele

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-15T21:49:00.002-05:00

My favorite blog day! I can't wait to see the responses from those who know Megan well. She is all about injustice.
Enjoy the rest of the week!