Jack 2000-2008

I took Jack to the animal hospital today. They checked the poor guy out, did blood tests and determined he had lymphoma (which I guess is much more common in cats than in people.) He was very dehydrated and had end stage renal failure already. The veterinarian was very kind and gave me many options. She said we could admit him and fill him up on fluids to make him more comfortable but that would only treat the symptoms and not the cancer. When I took him in today I was already prepared for the worst and I just couldn't see making him more comfortable only to suffer again in a week or so. So I chose the "other" option.

When I got home from the vet...red eyed and all...Lauren came right up and asked where Jack was. I wasn't quite ready so I told her he was very sick and he stayed with the animal doctor. This was not a good enough answer because she asked, "well, when are you going to get in the car and pick him up?" Then I just fessed up and told her that Jack got very sick and he died. She asked when she was going to see him again and I told her that we wouldn't see him again, that he was in Heaven with Jesus. So tonight we read Cat Heaven and everything seems to be okay. Except for me...I'm still sad.

garage sale weekend

It always looks better on a blog to start with a picture, IMO. (“In My Opinion” for all y’all over 25) So here’s a pic of last night’s dinner. Herb Crusted Salmon with Spinach Salad. It was just so-so. But the herb crust was really good.

Ok…picture explained and moving on.

Until today, I feel like I’ve been running around here like a mad woman. On Friday, I finally got serious about my Saturday garage sale and spent all day organizing, pricing, and emptying out my closets of junk. (I mean “treasures” for all y’all who bought some or will next weekend.) I took a break to pick Lauren up from school. She had a great day and was very talkative about it. She even earned a treat for following directions all week. She really loves school but she hasn’t quite gotten her teachers names down yet. If she wants to tell me about one of them she’ll ask me “Mommy, which guy has the yellow hair and dark sunglasses?” Me, “that’s Ms. Lee but she’s a lady, not a guy.”

Back at home it was back to the garage sale grind. The kids played in the Denali (their latest favorite outdoor activity…sit in the car and push every button and basically mess everything up for me) and I went non-stop until it was time to shower and go win (again!) at the monthly Bunko game. This time I only won my $5 back but I still consider it a win because the losers didn’t even get that.

Saturday was the garage sale day. At 8am, right when we opened, two guys from the movie Deliverance showed up and bought A LOT of my high item stuff. (high-item equals stuff that I’m asking more than $5 for) They bought a lot so I gave them a heck of a deal. The short and chunky guy kept talking to me while the skinny toothless guy loaded up the stuff they bought. I was convinced that these two guys were scam artists and while the chunky one talks and distracts the toothless one steals my stuff. But, these guys came back to the sale 3 times and even left Matt some lawn mower blades to decide if he wanted to buy them. I really felt bad for my initial prejudice against them because they turned out to be pretty cool. After all was said and done we made $320. ($200 were from selling the stock Denali wheels that have been in the basement since forever.) I’m going to leave everything set up in the garage and participate in the neighborhood garage sale next Saturday too.

Sat. night I went to a “sort of like a Tupperware” party but for adults with a friend. It was during the Oregon v. Perdue but the guys hanging out in the TV room (garage) came in to let me know that my soon to be ranked #1 Ducks finally beat Perdue in double over-time. Go DUCKS!! Watch out Boise State, we’re coming to get you next.

Today I really didn’t do much except for the weekly grocery shopping. After being on the go for the last couple of days I just felt like being lazy.

After her afternoon nap, Lauren and Daddy went across the street to watch some football with Mr. Mike. An hour later when Tyler woke up, he wanted to watch some Thomas and Friends with his friend big Thomas. Big Thomas is almost always invited to watch TV with Tyler.Dinner was supposed to be a veggie soup but I wasn't really feeling it. Instead, I went on the Cookthink website and punched in the perishable veggies I was supposed to use and it spit out this recipe for Road Trip Pasta Salad. I'm so glad I made this instead. I'm pretty sure Matt is too. It was Dee-Lish-Us! The kids were completely full on potato chips since they had been at Mr. Mike's house with Daddy watching pro football for the afternoon so they didn't eat much, but hey...more for me.

A note on Jack:
Jack will be visiting the vet tomorrow. Over the past couple of months he has drastically lost weight and as of late is walking with difficulty and is having “accidents” on the carpet. He doesn’t seem to be in pain but obviously this illness is not going to go away on its own. Today I have confined the poor guy to his kennel.

And a final note to Matt: If you’re reading this, Call Your Dad…Now! (just pretend you thought his birthday was this Monday and not last Monday

7 years ago...still not forgotten

I remember getting out of the shower and turning the radio on to listen to some music while getting ready for work at Holt International. Instead of their lame radio bantering I heard nothing...dead silence...and then one radio personality said they were speechless. They just didn't know what to say. I could tell by the tone that something serious happened so I turned on the tv to CNN and just leaned against the bed in total shock as I heard the news and saw the footage about what was happening. I immediately called Matt (my husband of 16 days) who was in Texas on business and asked if he heard the news yet. He hadn't. I remember being in total shock that day. Everyone at work was in the same daze. We all had our radios playing at our desks. All those lives lost, all those husbands/wives left without their spouse, all those young Children Left Without Their Parents. All I wanted was to hold Matt to know he was safe. Since all major air traffic was grounded for days his company hired a private plane to fly their employees closer to home. Closer for Matt was Los Angeles so he had to drive the 12 hours home and didn't get into my arms until 4 days after the attack. What a long 4 days for me but that doesn't even compare to these 7 years for those who lost a loved one. My heart felt sympathies and prayers go out to all of them.


[changing subjects]

I didn't take any pictures for the last two days so I got on the computer and found this picture taken today, 3 years ago. It is comforting to think that just 3 years ago today my Dad held 18 month old Lauren. Boy do I miss him but I get to see a little bit of him in Lauren and Tyler.

Matt left yesterday for a work trip to Minnesota, eh, and the kids and I have kept very busy. Last night I had my first Impact Group meeting with kids in tow. This is a church related small group class which focuses on what it means to be a Christian. Very basic stuff but since I didn't grow up in a church I think this will be a good foundation for me.

Today Lauren had Red day at school...everyone wears something red. After school we had some friends over for a playdate. We had 2 girls and 1 boy over to play. The kids played so well together and us Mom's got to chat about anything and everything. It was a great time for all. We'll have to do it again and I'll be sure to take a picture.

Then tonight after nap I went ahead, against my lazyness and bathed the kids, PJ'd them, fed them and then put them in the car and went to the Community Group meeting. L and T went willingly downstairs to the basement and started playing without a second glance back at me as I went back up-stairs to join the adults. My kids have grown so much socially in the last few months. My plan was to leave right after the group time ended but the kids saw the dessert being served and Tyler told me, "I wannnn a stay heeeeere." What am I going to do but get the kids a big bowl of brownie sundae and chat for a little longer. (I did not partake since I started counting weight watchers points again yesterday...yay me!)

And I'll close with a cold update. I haven't been able to "pop" my ears for over a week now and it's pretty miserable. I google searched my symptoms and it could be an ear infection or a sinus infection but regardless it said to get some Sudafed. If you are not aware, you can't just go pick up some Sudafed and bring it to the check-stand. No, you need to go to the pharmacy, relinquish your driver's license, fill out a form with your information and also provide your latest eye test, passport and 3rd grade report card. Boy did I feel like a criminal but 30 min. after taking the first dose....oh man...it was worth it. I can breathe and most importantly "pop" my ears again. ==Worth It==

king of the spiky thingy

Toddler Time at the new library. The story is being told to Tyler's back but he positioned the spiky thing so he had a clear view of me instead. Check out the boy in the background...he sucks the same 2 fingers as Tyler. Unlike people who live in the same city/area that they grew up in, I Rarely run into people I know (i.e. high school friends, former co-workers etc.) but today at the library I ran into 4 people I knew. From church, from the Y and from the Mom's Club. It was pretty cool, I have to admit.

Dinner was good but not out of this world. Matt requested Chicken Cacciatore so I found an easy recipe to make. Easy Chicken Cacciatore. This claims to be a southern recipe so maybe that explains why it called for red wine instead of the typical white wine you would normally use. For the most part I followed the recipe but I added my usual seasonings to the chicken (my usual seasonings = garlic salt, Goya brand Adobo all-purpose seasoning, fresh ground pepper & Emeril's Italian seasoning) and also threw in some re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms I had in the pantry. The chicken was very tender but next time we feel like chicken cacciatore I'll probably try another recipe.

OK...time to devote all of my attention to the BB episode where most likely Keesha's going to be sent home. bummer.

America's Next Top Model?

now c'mon, how cute is that?!

Well Tyler, obviously got a hair-cut today. He did A-mazing. He was such a big boy and did everything the hair-stylist asked.

We were busy bees today while Lauren was at school. We had a few things on our to-do list and almost completed them all. We drove all the way to the Kroger gas station (since I spend an obscene amount on groceries there every week they give me 10 cents off per gallon to fill up with their gas. Well, after waiting for some gi-normous SUV to fill up I pulled up to the gas tank and was about to start pumping when I realized I Forgot My Wallet. Hmmmph. I had to drive all the way back home (ya know I live "out there") and get my wallet and drive back to the gas station. Oh well, I will blame my spacey behavior on my lingering mucous filled cold.

(A side thought for all you engineers out there. If you can come up with a way to turn snot into some sort of bio-fuel, I'd make you rich. I'm pretty sure that this lingering side effect of my cold could fill my own gi-normous SUV of a gas tank...if only someone could turn all that muck into fuel. Just a thought.)

Anyway, while Lauren was at school T and I filled up the tank, got a hair-cut and also picked up a cute pair of Nike tennis shoes. However, I'm a little disappointed now that I looked at the Nike store price...their sale price is a tad bit less than I actually paid for them. just don't tell Matt.

After school we took our lunch to the swimming pool and got a quick swim in before it started to rain. It was good timing because about an hour after we got home the thunder clouds started building up and quickly drenched everything in its path.

On our way home we picked up the mail and Lauren had a big package from her Grandma Jan and Grandpa Michael waiting for her. Here she's showing off a part of her gift. (a new place mat and butterfly plate.)

Tyler wanted to have his picture taken too. So he's posing with a part of his gift from G'ma & G'pa that he got a couple of days ago. (it's a frog place-mat under his plate of chicken and potatoes.)
And that brings us to today's dinner. Spicy Apricot Chicken and Crispy Garlic Potatoes. I didn't have any apricot jam but I had two open jars of blackberry jelly (canned by my Grandma Anna or GG to the kids) so I used that instead. It was pretty good and went very well with the red pepper flakes. Instead of broiling the chicken I just baked it at the same temp as the potatoes. It was very simple and very good.
And currently, instead of pricing items for the garage sale like I should be doing, I'm catching up on the latest episode of 90210. Both Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh were in this episode. Like Totally Rad.

so long Matt...football season is here

don't let their happy "airplane" faces deceive you, once they realize they won't be seeing much of Daddy during the 4 month football season...their smiles will surely turn to frowns as they realize that only Mommy is around.

I rested up again on Friday to try and shake my cold and also to get ready for the Chris Isaak!! concert that night at the Fred. Mike from across the street was given these two tickets and didn't really want to go. I mean c'mon it's Chris Isaak...you know...Wicked Game?! But actually he put on a really REALLY good show. He did a lot of entertaining, in addition to just singing his songs. Sharon Little opened for him and I liked her voice and style so I bought her CD. Here's one of her songs she sang, "Follow That Sound." If you want to hear more come visit me and we'll groove to her album.

Here are the kids playing double back horse-y with Daddy before the baby-sitter arrived.

We had a busy day on Saturday. First we had Lauren's swim lessons. She's taking the Pike class at the YMCA. She did better during this class than the last but she was still pretty nervous. She may be taking the Pike class for a few more sessions...we'll see. After her class Matt and Tyler had a Daddy and Me class. Tyler had a blast. He loved jumping in from the side of the pool, blowing bubbles and doing the hokey pokey in the water.

After swim lessons we had a quick lunch and then got ready for a birthday party Lauren was invited to. One of our community group member's daughter was celebrating her 4th birthday and was throwing a Princess Birthday Party. Lauren got all dolled up in her princess t-shirt, a princess skirt and a boa and tiara thingy. She also requested princess braids. I did my best but keep in mind this was my first attempt at double french braids....

Here are four of the fairy princesses at the party. The brunette is the birthday girl.

The birthday girl's mom made a beautiful (home-made!) castle birthday cake that I really wish I'd gotten a picture of. She also made the pinata the kids got to break open. And best of all, during the party there was a sudden thunder storm and rain shower. I believe all the party-goers were jumping around in the puddles, in the pouring down rain at one point or another. Combine all that and you have a FaNtAsTiC Fiesta.

After the party I went grocery shopping for the week and Matt made BLT sandwiches. (for the recipe just e-mail my brother Brian) They were delish and we paired them with left-over Corn Chowder.

Today, Sunday, we went to Rooms To Go Kids to find Lauren a new bedroom set. She's getting too big for her toddler bed and we (her Mom) decided it was time to upgrade. The quote of the day was from Matt while we were driving to the children's furniture store. He said, "You know, I bet if women didn't exist than half of the stores that are open now today wouldn't either." What's he trying to say??? But despite Matt's initial bad attitude [wink] we were able to find something for her. You can check it out here. She got the bed frame, mattress, end table, dresser and mirror. Unfortunately it won't be delivered until the end of the month.

Back at home, Matt went over to Mr. Mike's house (neighbor who generously gave us the Chris Isaak tickets) to watch football while his daughter Tera came over to play with Lauren and Tyler. The kids had fun playing together and I got to round up a bunch of garage sale items in preparation of our big sale this weekend. Tell all your friends about it.

For dinner we had Cuban Black-Bean Stew with Rice. To me, this was a bit bland. It didn't shout CUBAN in my face like I would have preferred. (not like with the embargo I would know what a Cuban shout sounded like.) Matt said it made a world of difference by adding some fresh squeezed lime juice. You'll have to try it and let me know what you think. It was super easy to make.

Now that the kids are in bed, I'm watching Big Brother and Matt is watching football during the commercials. Yeah! Guess who owns the flat screen tv?!?!

sniffle sniffle

Our latest craze is fingerpaints. Lauren prefers to be nice and neat by using a paint brush but Tyler prefers to use his fingers. He doesn't however, like them dirty so he will wipe them off on his shirt (or the wall, or Daddy's shirt) right after he dips them in the paint. Too bad you can't see the front of his shirt. It's pretty artsy.

It was only wishful thinking that I wouldn't catch Matt's cold he brought home. Yesterday morning my throat was pretty sore. That soreness got worse and progressed all day and turned into a full blown cold that night...all night. I took 2 NyQuil gel caps before bed and that started my nose a running...and dripping down my throat to the point I felt I was choking. Sorry for the visual but it was one miserable night. (read: very little sleep)

So today was a pretty boring day for the kids. At least Lauren got to go to school but since I didn't sleep last night I let the TV baby-sit Tyler. I took a nap in my bed while Tyler laid next to me and watched cartoons. And then I napped again in the afternoon while the kids took their nap/quiet time. I got enough sleep to help me feel alive enough to make dinner. While I was making dinner I sent the kids and Matt out to the store (to give the kids some excitement today and to pick up a gift for Leigha's (Lee-a) birthday party on Saturday.)

Tonight's dinner was Roasted Vegetable Salad w/ Goat Cheese. Unfortunately, I forgot to add the goat cheese. The plan is to use it in tomorrow's breakfast...egg, sausage & goat cheese omelettes. The salad was pretty good and a healthy contrast to last night's dinner. Which was Mr. John's Meatloaf. This was pretty fattening and basically way too much Meat.

So now I'm about to nurse my cold for another 30 minutes and then hit the sack. No NyQuil for me tonight though.

Oh I just remembered a a funny and shocking story from Lauren yesterday...

When I picked her up from school the first thing she said was,
"Travis said Booty Butthole today."
I said, "Wow, that's not a very nice thing to say. Did he get in trouble?"
"No. Because he said it when he was already on the naughty chair."

I didn't bring it up again so as not to make "Booty Butthole" become her favorite words...although it does have a certain alliteration to it. But at lunch she said it again when she was waiting for me to bring her her food. This time I came down on her and told her that we do not talk like that. When Matt got home I asked her to tell him what Travis had said and she wouldn't. She got an angry look in her eye and said that we don't talk like that.

Good girl.
and now Good Night.