Fall

Harvest Homecoming

Give Thanks

Pick o' the Patch

Majestic Fall

Boxed Fairy

Spirits

Show me Whatcha Got!

Raking Leaves

Autumn

Count Your Blessings

glamour scrap

Bleeding Heart

S.W.A.K.

I Heart You

Snag Only

Please be my Valentine

<-- Snag Only!!

Roller Derby Girl

<--- Snag Only

Butterfly Heaven

Snag Only Please

Jean Style

Snag Only Please!
I haven't been doing much of anything. Had several errands to run yesterday when school was over & like wise today. Still need to toalk to the VA guy about my schooling but then I think ... do I even have time to go back to school? Will I really use what I learn? I mean I have gone to school for so many things & the only thing I'm doing is staying at home teaching the kids. Not that this isn't a full time job but I'm not using any of the skills that I studied for ... none! So what's the purpose. I love being a SAHM ... a Domestic Diva! I feel like this is what I should be doing ... tending to the house, the children ... the hubby! But I'll go ... hubby is so fearful that something will happen to him & I won't have any education to fall back on. I know he's right but I also look at it like this .. I have education under my belt now ... paralegal, fitness/nutrition certified, CNA certified ... all sounds good to me but he wants something more solid. CNA is a great job, well I should say rewarding but like hubby says, there's not much money to be made and if he isn't here I wouldn't be able to provide for me & the kids. I try to tell him I don't go through much money but he says I can't live like a hermit. I did while he was in Egypt ... I didn't see anything wrong with it. =} Oh well, I'll make him happy and go. Guess that's all for me today.

Christmas, New Year & B-day with Twins

Naughty Tag

Snag only please!

I tell ya hubby cam ehome a couple hours early yesterday cause he was feeling so bad. He didn't wake up until about 7 last night, that was just to drink some chicken broth and some water. He took some more meds and by 9 was out again. We were relieved when he had a message on his phone that all flights had been canceled for today ... no one likes to work on Saturdays but the pay is good but with hubby being sick this was HUGE relief. Anyway, about 5:30 this morning hubby is rushing around like a mad man ... I said the hell are you doing so early in the morning. He says I'm getting ready for work, I'm late, I was supposed to be there at 5. I said we're you so sick that you don't remember the message that they canceled the flights for today? He said no I remember that ... unfortunatly they left another message to say that they were back on but I didn't get thta message until a few minutes ago. His phone is a weird one, he doesn't always get his messages at a normal time. I can call & leave 3 messages for him this morning ... 2 will get to him within a minutes time while he might not get the other one for 24 hours. It's weird! So he rushed out the door already an hour late for work ... he's the only one working the shift so I'm sure the pilots aren't to happy since they had to work today but even worse since they had to stand around a wait for hubby to issue them their air craft. Poor guy ... I know he's swamped right now on top of being sick. I hope he's not as sick as last night but I couldn't really gage how he was feeling this morning as he was up & out in less than 10 minutes.

Where was I?

OMG, I didn't even realize I hadn't posted since Tuesday. Where did the time go? Good question. I guess I got into a new trilogy by Nora Roberts & I am having a hard time dragging myself out of the books. I started them on Tuesday afternoon ... finshed the first book, I'll easily finish book two before lunch & then start on book 3 probably right after lunch. It's the Blood Brothers trilogy ... very good if you like magikal books (which I do).

Anyway, yesterday was the twins birthday so I'll have to make up a little slide show so I can share how much they have grown. The theme was Thomas the Tank but I forget to get a picture of the cake. Maybe SIL got one & will share! I didn't have to deal with my brothers moodiness cause like always he wasn't even home. I could say that 2pm in the afternoon he would be working but the truth of it was he was at my brothers house getting his drink on. It pisses me off ... he could have been at home with his boys showing them how much he loved them but no instead he leaves his MIL to tend to the boys. My SIL was at work making a living. I bought the boys the same thing just different colors ... they got a rig that held a car, a sippy cup, and footie pj's. The grandma thanked me bunches for thinking of pj's. She said they didn't have any! I got them the really nice fleece footies ... my kids always loved them. Now I'm thinking I should have gotten 2 sets for each. But then my brother would have just thrown a big hissie fit telling me I don't need to be buying his kids anything cause he can take care of them himself. He's such an ars! Anytime I buy them something when it's not Christmas or their birthday he freaks out on me & says he thinks I'm taking pity on him. Ummm, I love his boys ... that's an auties job! Am I wrong? Aren't aunts supposed to spoil nieces & nephews? I mean my gosh ... I don't say anything when my brothers hand my kids 5, 10, 20 bucks here & there for no good reason. Oh well, I can't understand my brother, I probably never will.

Not doing much of anything tonight ... hubby is sick. I think he's got the flu or something. I was scared to sleep with him last night cause he was either keeping me burning up with his high temp body of coughing on my neck making me think I'm gonna get sick. I can't afford to get sick. Tomorrow is the movie our church is putting on. I'm so excited to see it ... Fireproof. Anyone seen it yet? One lady in church said it's an amazing and powerful. A movie that all married couples should see together. Tomorrow's viewing of the movie is just for the church & then Sunday we are putting on two shows for the community. It's free!! Plus we're passing out free soda & popcorn. I think it's so awesome & I hope there's a HUGE turn out.

I guess that's all for me. Have a blessed weekend.

Flirty

Valentine's Day will be here before ya know it. I love Valentine's Day cause it's filled with so much love & romance. At least around here! I don't know if hubby has anything planned for us or not, he usually surprises me with something or somewhere. Anyway, keeping with my week's theme of love (unintentional but I'm going with it) I decided to do a Valentine's Day tag. Hope you like it!

This morning ... actually let me go back to last night. Hubby walks in from work we zoom out to meet with the VA guy ... turns out he was really busy so we just took some fliers to see what it's all about. Anyway, on the way home he starts telling me he doesn't think the security system is enough. I don't know if I told you all or not but the installer didn't but a sensor on our back door ... told us he didn't have access to it from the atic so we could either pay for a wireless or just keep using our dead bolt. Well, I guess it just really grated on his nerves over the weekend cause he was spit fire mad while talking about it. So mad that when we got home he started calling the offices of the sales lady, monitoring office, & even the instulation office. It wasn't until about 8 last night that someone finally called him back about it. He told the lady what was going on & she was fuming about by the time the conversaton was over. She set up an installer to come out this morning to rectify the problem if he could ... which he did.

The new installer was pissed that the last installer was "LAZY" as he put it. Said it wasn't gonna be hard at all to get the back door set up. Said it looked like he just didn't want to work with a snake tool to get the job done right. He said it wasn't even close to being the first time this certain installer did a half ars job with an install. Excuse me ... if this isn't the first time he has screwed up then why is he still working for the company? Just a though! Anyway, he asked if I had any questions ... of course I did have one major question. How do we set the danr alarm when we leave. Ya see we have been setting the thing but when we come home ... it's not on. Come to find out we have to set the thing with the door closed. Would have been nice to know that from the beginning. All is well now though ... no problems!

Ok, I'm outta here ... it's a beautiful day so I think I'm gonna take full advantage of it.

Wild About You

I don't know what it is about this tag but I just love it. It's full of romance ... at least where I'm viewing it from. With the tags I'm thinking of I believe yesterdays sermon really has me in the mood for love. Good thing I have an amazing hubby who is willing to comply with this. he he he

Hubby is back on 1st shift and the kids are back on their school. Son went through everything with little problems but daughter ... uggg, just like last year struggles so much with her math. I don't know if it's because she is scheduled to do a mountain of it each night or what it is. With this semester I'm bringing a new attitude and a new way of aproaching her math. I know she doesn't like homework ... one of the reasons she loves home schooling but with math she will just do half during school hours & the other half at night. It's the only way I can see her getting through it without frying her brain.

Today I'm heading the the VA office to find out about schools. Since hubby was classified as disabled the kids & I qualify for free college ... can't let all his pain be for nothing. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up ... he he he. Maybe I'll do book keeping! I'm pretty good at keeping up records ... maybe dad will hire me to keep his books. His girl friend can't keep up with them to save her darned life. Not from lack of trying though! Ok, well I'm outta here ... hubby is home & wanting to get to the VA office. Have a great Monday!

Bridal Moment

I don't know what this tag is all about. Something came over me this morning though. As I listened to the pastor talk about the importance of a marriage and remembering daily the vows that one takes an imagine came to mind.

Our church is sponsoring a community event this coming Sunday based on saving marriages. We're showing the movie Fireproof to the community for free plus offering popcorn & drinks for free too. I haven't seen the movie yet but the pastor has been playing clips for the congregation for the last couple of weeks. I'm excited about it. I think I may have to bring my tissues though cause the previews had me a little misty eyed.

Nothing really new this afternoon. Just getting my kids & myself into the mind set of back to school tomorrow. I don't know if I'm ready for it though. I've sort of enjoyed not having to get up early & rouse them up out of bed. My daughter is the worst ... 10am is to early for her. I would complain & say I don't know how on earth she can do that but in all honesty when I was her age until the time I had my kids I was the same way. Don't know what changed ... maybe midnight feedings but now anything later that 8am is to much sleep.

OK, I'm outta here ... gotta get dinner going then kids in the shower & all that good stuff. Have a great evening.

Slow beginnings

I'm just having one heck of a time getting back into PSP this year. Maybe it's because the kids aren't back in school & hubby isn't back to work yet. I'm hoping come Monday I will get back on track with playing around. I'm sure you guys are missing all the tags. I'm sorry for not putting many out lately.

Nothing major has happened since the first of the year. Finally heard from the lady who has Harley ... I basically sent her an e-mail saying she lied when she took him because she said I could contact her any time I wanted to check in on him but all my e-mails had gone unanswered. She said her computer was down that's why she hadn't gotten back to me but he was doing just fine. I'm hoping he's doing just fine cause I know for a fact she had access to e-mail cause at least 3 times a week she was making a post on free-cycle for something new. Now how can you post a need if you can't check e-mail? If your asking for something ... you get an e-mail response! Anyway, I'm hoping that he's truly ok cause her last request was for a dog house or dog fencing. I'm praying it's not for my Harley. He's not even 2 pounds ... his body just can't take the cold weather.

I guess that's all for me ... need to go get cleaned up. I think the family wants to get out of the house for the day. Guess we'll see how well the alarm system works. Don't know if I told you or not but over the holidays our neighborhood was burglarized (can you believe they did it during the day time? As close as 2 doors down even. My friends house at that!)... many of us had Brinks come put systems in. Ours went in yesterday. We've done the basic command but not while we're actually gone. Have to lock the dogs in the laundry room ... thankfully we have the doggie door for them & no sensor in their room.

Have a great weekend!

Here's to the New Year

I'm ready for the New Year to get here ... can't you tell with all the new taggies? =D I made this one this morning while waiting for hubby to wake up. I've been dying to use the girl as (for me) it symbolizes me & my annoying others with my camera in hand. I don't go many places without it. Never know when a photo op will come about.

Nothing new here just wanted to share the new tag.

2009 Taggies

These are my newest creations. Just made them this afternoon. Hope you like them ... I was beginning to feel like I lost my PSP MoJo.

Down in the Dumps

Several tags throughout this entry ... snag only please.

I just haven't been me lately. I don't know what's wrong with me. I couldn't wait for Christmas to be over with so all the decorations could come down & be stored away for next year. This is highly unusual for me. Usually the decorations are up before Thanksgiving (not this year) and I have never taken them down until New Years day. (They were all put away the day after Christmas). I don't know what was going on with me ... I just wanted it all out of my site.

Granny is gone but I know I'm not sad because of that ... she's no longer in pain. I sent a basket full of daisies. I couldn't decide what I wanted to send and the only thing I could think of was that she was gone & gonna be pushing up daisies ... so daisies it was.

My brother (twins dad) isn't talking to me now. =( He came over a few days ago saying that he was leaving his wife cause he couldn't take her crap anymore. He was trying to get us to say he could stay with us without actually asking us but we let him know he needed to be a man ... go home & work out his problems with his wife. He's got a family to think about now & running out on them isn't an option he should take. Sunday morning 12:20 am ... I'm dead asleep when the phone rings ... brother calling me crying uncontrollably asking for a place to stay. I knew from a previous phone call that he was drunk and had done a few lines of coke. Sorry ... I don't need that mess on my door step. Hubby took the phone from me & told him he couldn't stay here. He hung up!



Dad called me yesterday morning to let me know the funeral went well ... the preacher was very long winded but the service was beautiful & they could all tell she was well loved by the amount of people that showed up to leave respect for her. Anyway, dad & brother came back home yesterday ... but not to an empty house. My other brother (twins dad) had got into a bit of trouble & crashed at their house. So here is what really happened ...

Saturday night hubby & I were sitting around watching our favorite movies when the phone rings ... it's my SIL, she's not crying but you can tell in her voice that she's about to hurt someone. She tells us to be on the look out for my brother cause he's just left her house drunker than drunk & higher than a kite. Before he left the house he smashed into her car so she was letting us know that she was calling the cops on him. I called her back about an house later to check on her ... she's my SIL and I care a lot about her. She went into more details. He tried to smack her around but she's a BIG lady so she ended up throwing him into a fence and that's when he took off. He called her lots of names but the one that broke my heart is ... she said right in front of their kids he called her a F'n N*g*r. Now, I don't know about you but around here that word just isn't used cause it's a very derogatory word that no person should ever be called. It's even worse that he felt it necessary to call his wife this nasty name & even worse then that ... his kids are half black so what must he think of his own children? SIL told us this was unforgivable & something that he as a father can never take back. She said the twins are to young to know what was said or really to know what it means but her daughter heard the words clear as day & was devastated that her step dad would say such a thing. I think of Quanasia as my niece so it broke my heart to know that my brother caused her this pain. We went to see niece & SIL yesterday and the niece didn't really want to talk ... don't know if it was from lack of sleep the night before or the fact that she believes I may feel the same way as my brother.



So ... I decided I would call SIL so I could go over, see the twins & check in on her. A man answered the phone ... I asked for SIL and then I heard an angry voice that I immediately recognized ... my brother. He very rudely says call the house to talk to her then hangs up on me. What a flipping poonanny!

Now I'm at SIL's house ... Part of me seemed to need proof that my brother was actually as horrible as she had said the night before. I know my brother is a very troubled man but when all is said & done ... he's still my brother & I love him for this fact. Well, he did indeed crash into her car. There was a bad place on her front wheel well & then one on the back of her car. Now ... my baby brother wanted to defend the other brother with are you sure he wrecked her car? Ya know he doesn't have any crash marks on his truck. All I can say is I know what I saw and I know that just because you hit someone doesn't mean that both cars will show proof.

Oh ... as if all this drama isn't bad enough I took the advice of many of my readers & have tried to contact the lady who has my little Harley. She isn't answering any of my e-mails. I'm just heart broken. I'm beginning to wonder if I was scammed out of a dog so she could sell him for money. Ya see, she put in a request for a small dog through the local free cycle ... since Christmas she has popped up asking for tons of things. Computers .... beds ... treadmill ... scrap booking supplies ... you name it. Now how is it that she can ask for these items but not answer a simple e-mail of how is Harley doing? I have her phone number so I think I'm gonna be calling later today instead of sending e-mails. IMO ... you shouldn't say call anytime to check on him if you don't really mean it. Am I crazy for thinking this way?

Ok ... I'm outta here for right now. Hubby is on 3rd shift so looks like we'll be out of the house most of the day. Who knows what we'll be doing but I know we won't be here. Have a great day!

Goodbye granny

Merry Christmas to all of you. I don't think I'll be on line tomorrow to wish you all a happy joyous day.

So ... this week I took daughter to the bone specialist ... she does have a hair line crack in her elbow still but she no longer needs the sling. He believes that if she is just careful with her activity for the next few weeks she will continue to heal. She doesn't have any pain at all so that's good news.

My brother came over yesterday ... weird cause he doesn't visit much. Anyway, he came over for marital advice. He & his wife are having problems again. He was contemplating leaving her but didn't want to leave his boys behind. Hubby & I talked him into going home & talking it through with his wife. He's a grown man & needs to be grown up ... there's no more walking away when things don't go your way. Besides ... it's Christmas ... no one needs that on the brain at this time of the year. I haven't heard from him but I'm hoping that all goes well. I'd like to see the twins but I sure don't won't to drop in during their problems.

Hubby's tooth has been hurting him lately but he's the typical guy ... won't do anything about it until the pain is so great that he can't stand to do anything. Well, I told him to call the dentist & hope that they could get him in. I knew it was a long shot with it being Christmas eve but ... he called ... they don't open until Monday morning. Hate that he's in pain but darn it ... that's what he gets for waiting until the pain is almost unbearable. Ya know?

Anyway, when he got ready to call the doctors he used my phone because I had the number already programed in ... he noticed that my dad had made a call about 12 after midnight. As soon as I heard that I knew what the call was all about. My granny had passed away. So I called dad & sure enough ... she's gone. She passed away at about 10 after 12 this morning. We were all hoping she would make it passed Christmas so we wouldn't have to think about her death at this time but she just couldn't hold out any longer. All her kids are together planning for the funeral ... sounds like their going to do it this Saturday. We're not going!

I told dad we couldn't go because hubby had to work but it was not the truth. I'm not going cause when it all boils down to the nitty gritty ... she's not my blood grandmother. I love my dad & most of his family but in the end I know that he is my step dad & none of those people are my blood. I wasn't very close to my granny either. She was a crass old woman who I always felt took great pleasure in putting me down. The only time I felt she approved of me is when I got married right out of high school ... I was very small & for my granny if you weren't physically fit then you were just a slob who would never amount to anything. Isn't that sad? I know that's just the way she was but it always hurt! Of course she was never this way with her blood grandchildren only those of us who had married in to the family. My step sister is much heavier than me but she was the light of grannies eye ... doesn't matter that she was big into drugs and alcohol when she was younger ... doesn't matter that she a baby when she had her baby ... I've lived the straight & narrow life for the most part but never got her approval. So why should I go to the funeral?

With all of this said I would like to say goodbye to granny. I loved her because she is my (step) dad's mother but I didn't like her very much. May she rest in peace and have no more pain. May the family's heart heal and remember the loving side.

Oh ... we had another death in our family Monday night ... my granny's sisters SIL hung himself. No one really knows why he took his life but yup ... 2 family members in less than a week.

My dad has been more a part of my life then my own mother so it's for that reason that I don't call him step dad very often.

Santa and Sarah

Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at the Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin . The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl. "Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling.

"Your friend? Your sister?'" "Yes, Santa,' he replied. "My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!" the child exclaimed. "She misses you," he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy's face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.

When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but halted.

"What is it?" Santa asked warmly.

"Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but ..." the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa's elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors. "The girl in the photograph... my granddaughter well, you see ... she has leukemia and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes.

"Is there any way, Santa . any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That's all she's asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa."

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do. Santa thought of little else the rest of that afternoon.

He knew what he had to do.


"What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying," he thought with a sinking heart, "This is the least I can do."

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to Children's Hospital.

"Why?" Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah's grandmother earlier that day. "C'mon.....I'll take you there." Rick said softly. Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait out in the hall.

Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the bed.

The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the Grandmother and the girl's brother he had met earlier that day. A woman whom he guessed was Sarah's mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah's thin hair off her forehead.

And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah's aunt, sat in a chair near the bed with a weary, sad look on her face. They were talking quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho!" "Santa!" shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, IV tubes intact.

Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug. A child the tender age of his own son -- 9 years old -- gazed up at him with wonder and excitement.

Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears.

Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah's face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa's shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering "Thank you" as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.

Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she'd been a very good girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl's mother. She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah's bed, holding hands.

Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels. "Oh, yes, Santa..... I do!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I'm going to ask that angels watch over you." he said. Laying one hand on the child's head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease.

He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing, softly, "Silent Night, Holy Night.... all is calm, all is bright..."

"The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all.

When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah's frail, small hands in his own. "Now, Sarah," he said authoritatively, "you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!"

He knew it was risky proclaiming that to this little girl who had terminal cancer,

but he "had" to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could -- not dolls or games or toys -- but the gift of HOPE.

"Yes, Santa!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

Out in the hall, the minute Santa's eyes met Rick's, a look passed between them and they wept unashamed.

Sarah's mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quickly and rushed to
Santa's side to thank him.

"My only child is the same age as Sarah," he explained quietly. "This is the least I could do." They nodded with understanding and hugged him.

One year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his six-week,
seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child
came up to sit on his lap."Hi, Santa! Remember me?!" "Of course, I do," Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her. After all, the secret to being a "good" Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the "only" child in the world at that moment.

"You came to see me in the hospital last year!" Santa's jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this> little miracle and held her to his chest. "Sarah!" he exclaimed.

He scarcely recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy -- much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before. He looked over and saw Sarah's mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus.He had witnessed --and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about -- this miracle of hope.

This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, "Thank you, Father. 'Tis a very, Merry Christmas!"

If you believe in miracles you will pass this on...I did!

God will never bring you to a place he cannot bring you through.

Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply.
Speak Kindly and Leave the Rest to God

Follow your heartfelt, God-given dreams NEVER settle for status quo!

My life in Pictures

Catching Up

Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Thank you to those of you who sent me Christmas cards ... I hope you have received yours from me as well. I have been so darn busy with Christmas parades ... daughter's cracked elbow & her refusal to wear her sling ... remodeling 2 rooms in our house .... my granny took a turn for the worse last week. She was in the hospital for a few days. She's back home but there giving her until the new year at the most before she passes away. She has no will whatsoever to go on living. She had a feeding tube inserted & that's when it all started going down hill. Once oxygen hit the tumors ... they started growing fast. The radiation isn't helping her at all now! Let's see ... oh as of this morning my hubby decided NOT to take the GS9 job cause whoever wrote out the job description wrote it up wrong. It's actually a temp job that Obama has stated will be going away when he becomes president. He doesn't feel civilians should be teaching the military so all temp jobs (which now all of the sudden this job is) will no longer exsist. So back to the air field he goes. Oh well ... it's not a horrible job. Now I'm off to the bone specialist hpoing that Daughters elbow has healed properly. I'll post photos later today.

Christmas Snags

MIA for a few

I'm finally not crying every second over giving up my Harley. I realized he must be being spoiled rotten since he is the only poochie the disabled man has. He can give him so much love ... chihuahua's really do need lots of attention.

Ok, so Friday afternoon my kids were playing on the back of our truck. My daughter went to jump off the back and her foot got caught causing her to fall off. She hit the ground and shrugged it off as she's tough. We went to the town parade & didn't think much of it until I noticed her really favoring her arm. I poked & proded until she finally confessed her arm was hurting her pretty bad.

So 9pm we were sitting in the ER. She got in really quick, they did an x-ray of her arm from elbow to wrist where she was complaining of pain. We were snooping & saw her file ... it showed a line of some sort around her elbow so we were thinking it was broke. A few minutes later the doc came in & said it wasn't broke but probably badly bruised. He gave us a name of a dr. to get referred to this morning and instructions for over the weekend.

This morning we call post to set up an appointment to find that we were given an off post doctor. Ok, whatever! As long as she has a doctor I don't care at this point. So hubby calls at 7:30 this morning to set an appointment ... the woman was rude and cut hubby off before he could say anything. She told him the office was closed call back at 8:30 when they opened. Well, he wasn't here to call so I made the call. The woman asked if daughter had ever been seen there before & I told her no. She says well we don't have anything open until the new year. I explained to her about the fall & her needing a referral for this orthopedic surgeon that the ER doctor put on her sheet. She very rudely says well he won't refer her because he's never seen her before so I don't know how we can help you. I said well I have a problem with the first of the year appointment because she's needing to see the ortho within 3-7 days ... I said waiting until the new year is ridiculous. She puts me on hold for about 30 sec then says well someone just canceled so I can get you in on the 11th. I asked why the ER would tell me an ortho within a week if it was gonna take them that long to see her just to refer her out. "Well your lucky you got what you did". She proceeded on in a nasty condescending voice of "if that's not good enough for you take her back to the ER & confer with them".

I took the appointment then called hubby. Oooooooh was ever so pissed. He went straight to post to let them know how we were treated ... we are all moved back on post & daughter has an appointment this afternoon for an ortho doc.

The doctor's office that was so rude is also being sent a nasty gram from our insurance provider cause they aren't permitted to treat military people in such a way. Turns out ... we weren't the first to complain about this office ... 1 more strike & NO military personnel can use them ... that means they lose a lot of money. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that nothing major is wrong with her arm. Poor thing can't even lift her arm up to put a shirt on ... she's in a sling ... she's got an ice pack strapped to her ... she's on Tylonol ... of course she's milking it for all it's worth. She can't shower cause she can't wash herself ... she can't do her chores cause she only has one good arm. KIDS!!!

UPDATE: We got an orthopedic surgeon to see her this afternoon. He was a nice man ... we got in within 5 minutes of arriving. She didn't break it but there is a nice crack in her elbow bone ... it's not just badly bruised as the ER Doc. led us to believe. She had two choices ... be in a cast from bicep to finger tips or wear the sling & be very careful for 2 weeks. Of course she opted for the sling cause she has already been in a cast ... same arm ... same style & hated it. I'm hoping she sticks with being careful cause I want it to heal. I have to take her back in 2 weeks for more x-rays ... if it's doing fine she can get rid of the sling, if she isn't then it's in a cast for a couple of weeks. I really believe she is going to be careful cause riding starts back up the first of the year & she can't ride with a cast on.

So that was my day ... how did yours go?

Sad Day

For the last month or so we have been considering getting rid of our male chihuahua because he has been marking his territory. I thought I could work with him to get him to stop. Nothing seemed to work. I tried rubbing his nose in it ... spanking his bottom ... leaving him outside ... making for sure he was taken outside plenty ... crating him ... nothing seemed to work. Well, on Monday marking his territory got even worse ... he started marking all the female dogs. Ewww much!

So Wed. we started talking about how to go about finding him a new home. I can't just give him to anyone ... he's my baby & I've had him since he was 5 weeks old. Thursday morning a note came through the local free cycle asking for a small lap dog for a disabled man. I thought ... this could be a sign ... I'm a HUGE believer in God giving signs to us. Anyway, I wrote to the lady that we had a small dog but I was very honest that he does mark his territory. I didn't want her to get him then be surprised when he started peeing everywhere. I thought if I tell her the truth & she still wants him for her husband then it's just meant to be.

She didn't e-mail me back so I started thinking ok ... she wasn't interested. Well, about 7 last night the daughter called & said that they knew he marked and they still wanted him. Said it would bring her dad so much joy as he was unable to walk. He sits in a chair all day long ... we also learned that he is a Veitnam Vet. We met her last night & gave him away. The kids & I of course cried all night long & still are off & on today ... we miss him ... but we know he's in a better home. No other dogs so all the attention will go to him.

Anyway, I was trying to decide if it were appropriate to call/e-mail them asking how he's doing. I kept putting it off cause for one I didn't want to cry ... he was my baby! Anyway, hubby called & said the lady left a message asking what kind of food he ate ... I called and left a message then also e-mailed her to let her know more about his eating habits. I asked her to keep in touch. Thanks LilA friends for telling me it was totally acceptable to do this sort of thing. I'm hoping she will keep us updated ... maybe even pics of him now & then.

Tonight ... hopefully the town Christmas parade will put us in better spirits. Hope you all have a very blessed weekend.

Christmas Snags

Scroll to the bottom of this blog & leave me a gift ... PLEASE!!!! I love presents.

Snag & Doggie update

Snag only Please!

Christmas is almost here. I love this time of the year. I don't know why! I always spend way to much money on things that no one really needs, shoot ... sometimes I'm sure they don't even want what I purchased but at least they smile & say thanks. Maybe I love this time of year because everyone seems to be more friendly ... the south is known for it's southern hospitality & let me tell ya there are some really nice people around here. However ... when Christmas rolls around people are even nicer. Sometimes it's annoying but mostly it's wonderful. I love all the lights and lawn ornaments ... still have to get hubby to put ours up. We're running so behind on the outside of the house. I know it's because last weekend we were cooking/shopping and this week even though he is on second shift he's pulling double shifts. It's such a hard way to go ... not even necessary but ahhh ... the extra money is nice.

On the job front ... hubby reports to his new job on the 21st of this month. It's a Sunday but they told him it's just a computer thing. He comes in & says I'm here & then he comes back home. He will actually do a full day on the 22nd. I'm guessing there won't be any classes in session with it being so close to Christmas but he will still have to go in & get his office & class room situated the way he wants it. It's strange, he'll have an office again. It's been about 8 months since he's had one. The air field is just a bunch of shared space.

UPDATE on the love shack doggies

Okie ... so I called the vet. Got through after about a million tries. We use the military vet cause it's a lot less expensive then all the surrounding ones. Anyway, they say it's normal for them to mate over & over again. The male is just trying to make for sure it takes ... if it doesn't then he truly is the worthless piece of chit that hubby says he is. =} Anyway, the vet said the male will continue trying until she is either no longer in heat or until she no longer wishes for him to be around her. Hmmm, that that sounds like the little witch that I know of. She never wants him to touch her ... she barely lets any of us love on her anymore. She's just a moody biotch!

That's all for me. Gotta go make breakfast & get the kids started on their school. I think it's gonna be one of those days where they don't want to do anything. I sure hope not though ... with hubby working a double ... I'm gonna be a moody mama if they give me any trouble. Have a great afternoon. Hugs

Snag & a Question

The wreath was a daily challenge sent out in LilA's PSP group. Our task was to decorate it any way we chose. I'm not that great at the real ones so I'm shocked that this one came out looking so nice. =D

Snag only please!

Ok ... on to my question ... it's about animals!

So my female chihuahua is in heat and my male up until now (he's 1.5 years old) has been unable to mate with her. Don't know why he hasn't been able to before but this time it's just insane. Ya see, I've bred dogs before ... never had a problem with the mating ritual ... male does the do, female goes out of heat, about 60 days later there's a liter of puppies. Well, with my chihuahua's, it's not working that way. Without getting to graphic with it ... my male has knocked the bottom out of my female 5 times that I know of in less than 24 hours. She's still in heat & OMG ... she's trying to mate with all my other females. She looks nasty down there ... her poor genitals are nearly hanging on the floor ... she's not that far off the ground, but still!

Do any of you know if it's normal for dogs to mate more then a couple times? My pom was bred several years ago, the dogs hooked up twice & she had 4 puppies. The vet told me that she was probably impregnated twice ... she was only expected to have 2 since she was so tiny. My chihuahua is half the size of my pom & has had double/triple the hook ups. I'm scared they either will have 10 puppies or worse ... he keeps trying because it isn't working. PLEASE, if you know anything about this topic help!

Oh good gravy ... make that 6 times ... they just hooked up again!