Mowing the yard

So I decided that I needed to mow the yard today before it became so tall that we lost a child in it. I finished the front yard this morning. I always do it first because I figure it is the part that makes an inpression on the neighbors (good or bad).  And it looked like it might rain. Rain never came instead the sun came out.  So I decided to mow the back yard too. I got down to the last three passes and the mower died. nic came out to help me get it restarted and just went ahead and finished. I was a little miffed because I wanted to me able to say I had donet he WHOLE thing. Oh well, at least it got done. Oh and did I mention the snake?

Family BBQ

We all got together to celebrate the May Birthdays...

Happy Birthday to Kameron, Matt, and Lisa!

Behold the woman...

A friend of mine's husband sent this to her. I just had to repost it.

Quote of the day: Behold the Woman

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit." ~unknown

The ultimate coffee mug...

"Here's your coffee honey."

Me addicted to coffee?     YUP!

Track Letter

Nic was awarded a JV letter in Track.

Sharpie Artwork

There are times as a mom you don't know whether to laugh, cry or run screaming from the house. This was one of those moments.  I had gone to answer the call of mother nature and  when I returned I could hear Rosie singing in my bedroom so I went to investigate. This is what I found.

Sean had left a sharpie on the end table in the livingroom, Rosie found it. Needless to say Sean is going to help repaint the bedroom and gets no input on the color. I am thinking Lilac.  :)

Zoo Trip

We awoke to thunder and rain. But slowly the storms cleared and we had the perfect afternoon for a trip to the zoo. We loaded everyone (Sean, Me, Christina (Sean's friend from Wisconsin), Liz, Nic, Ian, Alex and Rosie) into the cars and headed off. We managed to only have one semi-meltdown during the whole afternoon. The mom's reading this will understand how outstanding of a feat that is with a 2 yr old, 4 yr old and 6 yr old. No one got overly sunburnt and we had a blast. On the way home we were treated to a spectacular view of the incoming storm clouds.

Nic's Conference Track Meet

He took first with a 104' 1" diskus throw.

He also took first with a 42' 1" shot put throw.

PlayDate

Elizabeth and her daughter, Alex have started coming over regularly for playdates. These are pictures from the most recent one. 

Pan Can update

So far we have raised $1860.00. 

 I hope that everyone knows how much they are appreciated for their support in this endeavour. 

Finding Zen

 Zen ...what exactly does it mean? 

 The whole point of Zen is to become fully aware, here and now.  Zen demands one to “Come to your senses!”, for when you get lost in thoughts of the past or future, life passes you by.   When you  mindfully focus in the present moment, you can completely dissolve into whatever manifests.   Each moment is filled with a profound peace and clarity.  Each moment is perceived to have significance, charged with magic and mystery, infinitely precious.  

I found my Zen this morning residing with a sweet young man behind the Starbuck's counter. After a morning that had not gone well I decided to treat myslef to a latte. While in Seattle I had discovered the vanilla chai latte. It wasn't on the posted menu but I took a chance and asked for it anyway, fully prepared to be told it was not available. Instead, this wonderful young man with a beautiful accent asked how I wanted it prepared and made it perfectly. The first taste was wonderful, pure bliss. Nothing else came into my world at that moment except the taste of the chai as it flowed into my mouth, biting the back of my tongue as it continued down my throat. That moment of zen stayed with me.  I actually giggled most of the way home, enjopying the happy peace that had settled over me. 

I need to find a way to be fully present, right here, right now, more often and enjoy the moments of Zen that present themselves. So the lesson is..... If not now, then when?

Journals...

My mom is an avid journal keeper. She pointed out to me the other day that the blog entries I make are in essence a journal. She suggested I print them out and put them together in a notebook for the kids to read some day. I like that idea. So as of today I am going to print these out and put them in a notebook.

 Who know someday in the future someone might find my life interesting or at least humorous.

Support....

This post is from my sis-in-law, Tina. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009

...screenprint.

My hubby and I are showing our support for his sisters running a 10K by screenprinting. They are running in the Hospital Hill Run in KC to raise money/awareness for Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. You can check out all the info at the team website:http://www.firstgiving.com/daddygirls. We live far away, so we are printing up some bandannas for the team and a bunch of fun flags for the supporters in the crowd. It's an in-house job. We are doing it all ourselves from design to print. Lucy is our model today.


With all these flags laid out to dry, Andy Warhol's work comes to mind...

GO, DADDY'S GIRLS!!!

Ronan's visit

Ian and Rosie's great-aunt Marilyn stopped for a visit with her newfoundland Ronan. 

Stormy Weather.

These were taken Saturday afternoon during a break in the rain along 169 Hwy.

Turkey

You know you live in the country when this is your
view from your kitchen window....Wild turkey anyone?

Having issues with the Blog

Sorry for the overdose of my blogs. Multiply seems to have republished more than half of the things already there. I havent figured this out yet so bare with me.

A day in the life of Alzheimer's

So I was awoken this morning to the sound of fingers drumming on my kitchen table. It was G'pa. He was very agitated because his breakfast wasn't waiting for him and he had to catch the train.  It took about 3 minutes to get him to understand he did not have to catch the train as it was Saturday. I was not about to try to convince him he wasn't working anymore.  So he went back to bed grumbling about being crazy. I am not sure if he was referring to himself or me.  About 7am ( a much more reasonable time) I was awoken by him screaming "Lorine". This is my grandmother's name, although he frequently calls me this. I don't understand that because I look nothing like my grandmother ever did. But I go along with it for my sanity's sake. So I stumble into the living room and ask him why he is yelling. He is upset because he can't find his equipment to catch the rabbits he needs. (He used to catch rabbits and tag them as part of a research project in CA).  I again choose the route of the obscure to convince him he didn't need to do this today. I pointed out it was storming and they predicted thunder and lightening and it wouldn't do him any good to be out in the rain as the rabbits wouldn't be out anyway. He accepted that but continued to tell me about the research project and such.  Then all of a sudden he declares he is crazy.  I am taken back by this and ask him why. He ignores me and goes off on another tangent about rabbits. Trying to change the subject I bring up his birthday which is this month. I ask him how old he will be....he tells me he doesn't know, and looks very puzzled.  Then he declares, " I guess I am too old to worry about it." and laughs.

Unfortunately, these mornings are coming more frequently. He is slipping into the Alzheimer's abyss. His wife, my grandmother, Lorine is well in to late stage Alzheimer's. There are times I think it is a blessing that he is now slipping too. It has been so hard on him to see her and not have any recognition from her.  Now he is more accepting of her presence without her acknowledging him. The hard part for me is seeing how he treated her first hand. He frequently thinks I am her and is not very kind. I am amazed at the strength my grandmother must have had, not to smack him with a skillet sometimes. 

Update on Fundraising for PanCan

We have raised $535 of our $2500 goal so far.  

This week Smithville Junior High raised money thru a "Make a donation, Wear your jeans" day. They raised $160. WAY TO GO WARRIORS! 

I continue with my training. I am up to 4.5 miles. I am really psyched about this. If I make it thru this 10K, I may just try for a 1/2 marathon next year.  

I want to make sure everybody knows how thankful I am for their support, prayers and good wishes. 

If you want to see our progress you can use the link below to go to our donation page.

http://www.firstgiving.com/daddygirls

Easter with the Family

We had a great time with everyone at our house for Easter.  James and Tina called and we were able to video conference with Seth, Staci and Rhianna. Dad got to enjoy some deviled eggs, made especially by Sean. Chad made scalloped potatoes and we had a spiral cut ham with an awesome glaze.  The kids ran around and caused the usual chaos.  It was great fun!