A HOT Sunny afternoon & 48 pics later...

My Best were these 6 of the littlest! A bummer, but hey! I am with them most, so they seem to be the most photogenic ones of the 4.

Today...

Drew had a friend stay over last night, making a 2nd sleepover in 2 days. DID NOT GO WELL! She was terribly rude, and very much a brat! I had had it by 10am, and got showered to take her friend home early. I was honestly so embarassed by how she behaved! I even told her to say she was sorry to her friend, she flat out refused.

Now, I know my Drew acts extremely unbecoming when she is over tired. She was just so. HOWEVER...I am not willing any longer to make that excuse for her. Something clicked in me today, and well, I think, she is now 8 years old. She knows right from wrong regardless of whether she's tired or not. So, from now on, I told her that will not be an excuse for any of her behaviours. I will not tolerate it any longer. That she is fully aware of what is right, and will recieve no more chances when she is displaying bad behaviour.

I think I have been a bit soft on that girl. I know I have. My parents tell me, I deny, but I see it now. I just gotta put my foot down quite a bit harder now. Drew is not one that enjoys getting in trouble, in fact, it distrurbs her being greatly. She is very stubborn, and strong willed, but she hates getting in trouble, or being under any form of restriction.

When we got home, she made extra special efforts to reverse my disciplinary decision, to no avail. I will not give in.

I was just simply SO exhausted today, I made her take a nap along with that boy, and Lulu.
Then, I tried to lie down on the couch and rest my eyes for a bit so as to better prepare myself for the busy busy afternoon/evenings that inevitably arrive around here.

HOWEVER...Grace would not turn off the Wii, Lulu kept getting out of her bed and into her toybox. Then after telling Grace to get outside and weed or something, she kept coming in and out the door, waking me to ask me unnecessary questions, the phone rang, Grace started using the can opener, and microwave...AUUGGHHHH!

I truly nodded off so briefly it put me in a worse mood than prior! Why can't I even take a short little nap myself???

I have also been working with Lulu a bit more on potty training. I got some more 'gems' from the $ store, and so far this seems to be the trick for my little princess.

She loves them! She WANTS them! So, she was dry most of the day today, and went potty 2x, as well as wore a pair of pan tees for 1/2 the day with no accidents! YES! She gets 3 gems every time she goes potty, I figure 3 'cause she's 3.
I just hope she will continue cooperating this time.

Something I Found Interesting...

I saw this on the news. Thought it was very important to know, really. Although we need to be careful of our childrens exposure to sunlight, UV rays. Our children do need the exposure to some degree to be healthy. Vitamin D is formed through our skins exposure to sunlight. So, let the kids play bit without sunblock before you slather it on for protection from sunburn. Watch the video!

Wordless Wednesday~Sunny Day at the Park!

Few Frustrations & The Fabulous Four

Today was a very frustrating day. D will not seem to do anything about the pest we have messing around with all of my flower beds. And, it seems to mainly be just MY flower beds. He just shrugs his shoulders, and says, "What am I supposed to do?"

It is so very frustrating!!!
All the beds, and especially my front one, are mounded, cracked soil, like something tunnelling, a gopher? a mole or moleS? WTH? Whatever it is, I want it gone gone gone!!!

(Blood Leaf plant above, one of my newest added plants)

On top of it all, I took Drew to a birthday party today, and while driving, I noticed my gas gauge was looking off, in comparison to miles driven. It was below 3/4 tank, yet only 84 miles driven since I filled it on the 17th. I stopped to get gas, to top it off before we head out of town for Gracie's 13th Birthday party tomorrow thinking I'd only need to add another $20 at most, but the bill was over $30!!! I'm sure it had been cyphened somehow, somewhere in the past day. As if gas prices aren't high enough, someone has to go and steal from me!
I got a locking gas cap. Hopefully that will deter any thief.

Took this pic today, of MY FABULOUS FOUR! Turned okay I think. Not the greatest lighting today, but it was nice out.
Grace is officially 13 tomorrow, June 23rd, at 6:47pm I believe. She can party early, but she is not 13 until evening in my book. That girl was my 14 long hours of labor birth, NO EPIDURAL. The most stubborn one. STILL IS!

Just Another Busy Day...

I had these grand plans to drop everything and drive off to the beach for the day with all the kids in tow...but, unfortunately, I just couldn't!
We were all out of basic groceries, like bananas, milk, PB, eggs, etc...I HAD to go get groceries.
Also realized, I was overdue for an oil change, and today was a special price, so I had to get that done. Took advantage of the free car wash afterward, and it broke the arm on my hatch windsheild wiper! Good thing it's summer, right?
Also way overdue on rotating my tires, and checking tire pressure, I never did go back last fall after my new tires were put on to have them check the torque. Uh oH!
Then, I found out I could get a new set of hubcaps for my van, one fell off last fall, for a decent price, so got those on order.
Took Grace to do a bit of birthday shopping with a $30 gift card at the mall...Leah PEE'D on the floor of the store!!!
Grace was looking at flip flops, and I took a walk down to another store, she comes out with platform sandals that a woman would wear! I RETURNED THEM RIGHT AWAY! What was she thinking???
Got some Rose Water cold cream on Bath & Body Works clearance for only $3.75!!!
Got Little Lulu a few new pairs of earrings.
Got everything I needed to get today at Costco, thank the lord for that store!
I could not feed this family if it were not for bulk shopping! Did forget the stinkin' Ziplock baggies AGAIN!!! Augghhh!! Always something.
Off to COOK DINNER, work on figuring out my Camera options some more, and try to play with my new Photoshop Elements program. No classes around here till fall!

Thankyou Donna!

I received this award from Donna, over at Blessings of Love blog.

This button was created by Memoirs of A Mommy Blog to honor the donor who saved her son, Noah's, life with a heart transplant.

Her hopes are that in passing this award, we are creating more awareness of the importance of organ donation.

I will pass it on to Margo, Motherbumper, and Sher!

A Beautiful Day on the Lake!

Yesterday we took the kids to the lake to go fishing in the boat. We have not yet made a full family trip in the boat, but it went way better than I ever could have expected. Little Lulu did not whine one bit! She loved it! She stood right up near D at the steering wheel with the wind blowing through her hair, taking it all in. What a trooper! She even wanted to fish, so D helped her 'hold' a pole and reel one in.

We found a great little spot that seemed to be a frequented camping spot with some logs to sit on so the kids could eat lunch, and small spot for the kids to wade in the water. Tons of trails, which the boy took NO time at all to set of exploring in search of a monster, cougar, and dinosaur! He found a stick to use as his weapon, and began exlaiming, "Whoa! Look at that footprint! That's huge! I think the monster went this way!" D tried to hide and scare him by jumping out when he came along one path.

When we were wading around in the water, I being very weary of something touching me, suddenly SOMETHING was touching my leg, I jumped! Only to turn around to that boy standing there laughing hysterically with a twig in his hand that he was poking me with! THAT BOY!!!

The scenery was beautiful! D let Grace steer the boat while we fished, that had her feeling so so cool! As much as she protested going along, insisting she be allowed to stay home, she got right in on the fun, and ended up wishing she'd brought her swimsuit along too. Typical teen!

I hadn't even planned on going along at first. It was going to be just D and the boy. I was looking forward to elliptical time, mopping, getting caught up with laundry. But, the more I thought about it, we NEEDED to get out, with all of us together. No video games, no bickering kids at home, just one day out.
It truly went so well, I could not believe it.
Not to mention, we all got a little sun :)

What comes around TRULY goes around...

I am so shocked right now! I don't even know what to think.
At work tonight, 2nd med pass, I started on my 1st cart, and here comes the DNS, Administrator, and one RCM.
I was very curious as to why they would be there so late.

Well...
It's been awhile, but we hired a nurse this past year. One that I just simply do not get along with. Nothing too personal, just karma I guess. I knew she just wasn't someone I care to know. I was pleasant, spoke to her as much as I HAD to. When I go to work, I do just that, WORK! I am a nurse, I do not have time for petty S*IT!

One day a month or two ago, I go to work and find out this LN, and a few aides had started some stupid, idiotic rumors including me in them. Saying I had said things about many other workers that I had not EVER said at all! At first I was furious, but after thinking a bit, I knew all would work itself out.

Anway...I have come to realize, if I wait just long enough, that person will end up moving on one way or another.
And, tonight, what happened? Exactly that.
I saw our DNS going to get this LN's belongings to give to her, and she was escorted out of the building by our Admnistrator.
WOO HOO HOO!
I say...None too soon.
I am so ecstatic right now, I want to jump up and down, and scream and yell, and do a little crazy dance! If I were a drinker, this would be the night to par tay!

Daisies, Holes & Endless Energy!

I found this pretty little flower at Freddie's yesterday when I was browsing the garden section. I was looking for lantana, once again, but had no luck. But, when I saw this I had to have it. It is an African Daisy. I now have it in white, yellow, orange, and this beautiful pink color.
I spent some time out weeding random weeds, and watering last night, as well as this morning.

This morning, I found these huge holes in my flower bed! At first, I wanted to blame the kids for digging where they should not be digging. But, the holes are SO strange.


They are cone like. And, very well dug. Some are quite large, while others look like a cat dug it a bit to poo. I found many in the front yard, and many in the back corner of the back yard. Also, some newly surfaced mounds around the playset. D thinks we have a raccoon digging the cone shaped holes, and we are sure we also have a troublesome Gopher.
IT IS A MESS!!!
I'm staking out the yard tonight between 10pm and midnight. I'm gonna find out what is digging these stinkin' holes!

On another note...
I woke this morning at 5:30am to bright light shining through my closed blinds. WTH? Needless to say, my day started way to early for my night owl self! Kids woke with energy abounding. The Sun is affecting them in ways that challenge me. That boy got himself dressed and headed out the door before 8am! NO NO NO.
I was still pre-coffee-work out-shower!
I wish I could bottle up whatever it is that's in thier little tiny bodies, and turn it into pill form for my tired-a**.

So...I sat outside in my PJ's with my camera in one hand, coffee cup in the other while they jumped on the trampoline for a bit.
This IS the life!

I LOVE my Husband!

I truly LOVE my husband. I could not imagine life without him in it. I am so greatful to have been so fortunate to find someone, MY someone so early in life. I met him when I was only 18.

My husband has PAT, Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia. He has had it for years. He first began having issues with it when he was a teen.
He has taken Atenolol for many years to prevent it from getting out of hand.
Of late, he is having increasing incident, even with the medication on board.

My SIL works for an MD that performs a procedure called Ablation. They can cure his abnormal rythm.This procedure is performed often, and has a very high rate of successfully fixing abnormal rythms such as PAT. However....It makes me very very nervous.

First, he has to have 2 strips showing his specific rythm. We were told to take D to the closest fire station whenever a rythm started to get a strip done. He has to do this 2x. They say the fire station can do this, and do it for free, it is very common apparently for people to go to a fire station to have a monitor strip ran. He also has to have a 12 lead EKG, and wear a monitor for 2 days called "THE KING OF HEARTS".

D is extremely apprehensive about doing this. He is a very shy person. I'd have to say, I'd be nervous too. But, he has to get the process going to get to the point that he has enough documentation for the Ablation to be justified.

It is an outpatient procedure, and his sister will be working with the MD performing it.
She has been after him to do this for atleast 2 years. It is in every conversation she has with him.

I would have to say, I have noticed he is having more incidents of tachycardia in the past year, atleast 1-2x per week. He gets very anxious about it, and sometimes it really scares me when he is having it. He gets very quiet and leaves the room. He doesn't want me to see. He has to hold his breath and bear down for many minutes at a time. But, that's not helping it anymore.
The thing is, if he doesn't do this, his heart will start to find ways to compensate, if it hasn't already. The way it decides to compensate may cause more problems for him. It will cause increasing shortness of breath, he will be very weak/tired from his heart working so hard to keep up.
IT REALLY SCARES ME TO THINK ABOUT IT!

I need my husband to be here for me, for our children. I need this man in my life!
My children need to grow up with thier father in thier lives. It is such a very important thing that he is as healthy as he can be.
A heart is not something to play games with. Truly, literally. Not speaking emotions here...

We know our insurance will cover 90% of the bill after a mere $250 deductible. And, it is an absolutely amazing thing that since my SIL works for and with the MD that will be performing the procedure, he has offered to wave a significant amount of his fees, and work with the hospital to do so as well. So, ultimately we may not end up paying a penny!
This is truly a blessing.

Her Idea!

Drew has been pleading with me to cut her hair. It definitely needed a trim, however, she wanted a full blown CUT!
She insisted not longer than her chin/jaw. I had Daddy approve it before I touched it. He did not want me to touch her hair at all, but she really wanted it. And, with summer coming up, I figure, who cares? It'll grow back before school starts again.
She asked for bangs too. I think it looks cute!
That boy was no help. As I was cutting her hair, he kept saying, "Drew, you look wierd! It looks like a helmet! Your hair looks like a helmet!" As he giggled. Stinkin' little brothers.
For Sure, she looks different to me, but I can work with it some more to make it girly.
I think it is great for my little tomboy, hairbrush-hatin' Drew!
Daddy will just have to get used to it.

A Rare Find!

We love to eat asparagus. We saw a cooking show not too long ago, talking about white asparagus. You just can't find it in the regular grocery store. It's very hard to find, we discovered.
But, today as I was running some early morning errands, I stopped at our little Farmer's Market, which I never get to do. What do you know? I found some white asparagus!
I was so surprised!
It is atleast .50 cents pricier than your regular green asaparagus, so I bought only one bunch, $4.50, for D to try out.
Now, we know where to get it.
The lady selling it said it is pricier due to the fact that it is much harder to grow. It must be kept from all sunlight, grown in pure darkness. She started growing it to sell to local restaurants. I wonder how hard it could be. Might be fun to try to grow some!

Midnight Mishap & Birdwatchers

The boy is my little cling on. He is joined at my side lately.
Last night, he asked to sleep with Mommy since Daddy was at work. I gave in.
I always make sure he goes potty before bed, and usually, he does not have any accidents. I did buy a vinyl mattress cover for his new twin bed, 'just in case'.
Our bed, however, does not have a vinyl mattress cover, and we should.
I was rudely woken at 3am to hear that boy hollering, "I'M WET! I'M WET! I PEE'D!"
I was at a complete and utter loss of what to do.
D was coming home to go to bed at 7am!!! The pee was all on his side!
I got that boy in his own bed, changed and dry.
And, all I could think to do was flip my mattress. I was so tired, in a daze, and I just wanted to get back to bed ASAP.
I did so, with a struggle. I changed the bottom sheet and called it good.
Today, however, as soon as D was out of bed, I propped the mattress up with my exercise ball and sprayed it all down with lysol and am letting it dry.
I am washing all the bedding in GAIN, and making the bed soon.
Why did I let him sleep in MY bed???

On another note...We did some bird watching tonight. Not sure if it has anything to do with our crazy weather, but we had quite the variety of birds in our backyard tonight! A beautiful, and huge Stellar's Jay was hopping all over the picnic table, and trampoline. (pic I googled to show you on left...I was not fast enough!) The boy kept calling out, "MOM! LOOK, IT'S A CHICKEN!" That's how large it was. A hummingbird hovered and flew right up to our big picture window, and many other birds were grazing the grass for worms.
I had to make sure we refilled the suet feeder to keep 'em coming. The kids love watching the birds from that window!
I also noticed my beautiful begonia blooming like crazy! I had to take a quick upclose pic of one bloom. I just love the color of pink it is.

Attitude will get you NOWHERE!

Apparently I am one terribly strict, totally UN-fun, life ruining Mom.
But, then again...that is only coming from a nearly 13 yo-hormonal-drama queen.

Grace is quickly approaching the age of 13, and she wants to go go GO! I have allowed her to GO GO GO GO GO for many weeks in a row. To friends houses, family, etc. I don't typically say no too much, since she gets amazing grades, and she mostly wants to spend time with my sister, her favorite person at this point in her life.

She is regularly making plans now, starting Monday afternoon for the following weekend. Today, she came home with a request to stay over at a friends house on friday night, a friend I don't really dislike, but who's Mother I have problems with.
Her Mother recently seperated from her Father, after an affair she was found to be having. She now lives in another town, a nasty town, and has had a few other relationships since the seperation. The SAME Mom that has repeatedly tried to talk Grace into getting me to change my rules to fit her parenting style. She just simply rubs me the wrong way!
I do not like her, and I do not like my dtr being around her.

Grace knows that I have no problem with her staying over when she is at her Dad's, but NOT her Mom's. However...ATTITUDE popped right up in my face when I said NO.
Ummmm, sorry? Excuse me...
That sh*t's NOT gonna fly. Not with me. Not now, not at 14, not 15, not EVER!
She tried to give me the deaf ear, rolling the eyes.
Then, she called this friend back, whom she already told yes, to tell her no. She elaborated with so much drama..."Yeah, my Mom says No, even though when I'm home there's NOTHING TO DO, and all I do is SIT ON THE COUCH..."
My blood started to boil. I let her know, one more word, 2 weeks no go ANYWHERE.
She stopped, but I was so mad, I made her get off the phone.

Oh, it's so booooorrrrrring. Let me take the 2 MP3 players, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Boombox, Karaoke player, new digital camera and throw them out the window and see just exactly how bored you will indeed be then!
I said No to one weekend of activity. Summer is nearly here, she has a ton of time to do stuff with friends, IF she backs off on the attitude. I could quite easily make her life a living hell if she thinks she's gonna treat me like I'm invisibile every time I say no to something.
She really has NO idea just how evil I can really be, given the opportunity.
Muuuaaahhhh haa haa haaaaa!

Party Time, Handsome Boys...and a quick trip to Enchanted Forest!

Drew's party was a blast! All but 2 of the girls she invited came. She was so pleased! We had a lot of family here too. I love you all!
I was so happy to have my Aunt Tammy here...we were once thick as thieves...I think we could be again, heehee!

Cupcakes came out so cute! I have a tiered cupcake holder I found at Ross, my favorite place to shop..I made chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream frosting that I piped on with a regular large round tip, sprinkled teal sugar, added a gumdrop, and a cute little umbrella. The kids loved it!!!

Drew's friends were so stinkin' cute! Beautiful girls, lovely behaviour. Just amazing!

It didn't rain, but pool party was still a no go. We set up our ping pong table in the back yard, and a volleyball/badmitton net. D had them spin around with a bat, taking turns, but no one ever really got dizzy enough to get the whole effect of the game.

We opened up her Cosmic Catch ball first, so the kids could get a few turns playing it during the party, since it can be played with up to 6 players. They loved it! It's like a cross between Simon, and Hot Potatoe. The boy wants to keep it to himself!
And, I tell ya...I just cannot get enough of those 4 yo boys. I think we are in for some intense, and unexpected mischief later on in life...HUH MELLYMEL? They are just so handsome, and have so much character.

Drew made out with a treasure trove of new LPS pets...what a party!

Today...BEFORE the rain...I made a competely unplanned, and random trip to the Enchanted Forest with the two little ones. I did not tell them where we were going. I packed thier lunch sacks as I would on a park play day.

They were so excited when we got there!

Leah has hit the dreaded age of costing me an additional 8.50 for admission...so, I fibbed a bit, said she was 2, afterall, she was sitting in the stroller...

I got enough tickets for them to ride 2 rides once, and dig for treasure once. They had a ton of fun! No meltdowns at all. Although Beau did leave his treasure in the bathroom when we went potty, and was devastated once he realized this. But, we were already buckled in the van...so it goes!

Mind you...I made a trip to the Enchanted Forest, with time to spare to return movies, get more, AND go to Target to get a vinyl mattress cover for that boys bed, getting home BEFORE the girl's got off the bus. I just find that to be a huge deal, since just a trip to EF absorbs a whole day typically!

I am ever so terribly impressed with the quality of my shots today! I took along my Rebel for the EF trip, and it took amazing pictures! I am now officially more in love with my camera than my husband...HA!