It's all about me.

Well, last I spoke about my past I believe I left you wondering why you should read this. I left off with my first year of marriage antics....well, not all of them but that is a private matter!

After three years of marriage we were blessed with our first daughter. Ashley seemed so normal but at six months we found out that she had a hole in her heart an inch in diameter and at nine months she had open heart surgery and went from 15 lbs to 18 lbs within a month!

Life was good for the three of us. Scott worked in Hot Springs so every Sat Ashley and I would load up and go over to see him. We would take off on our adventure and we found the most interesting places! There were a few times she was worried we would get lost so I bought a map. It seemed to make her feel better when I "looked" at the map! So gullible!

More at another time!

2nd Graders Can Wear You OUT!!

Well, I spent the day with a class of second graders touring the university campus and doing activities. We started with a college student demonstrating how to incorporate music into the classroom so we were singing, dancing and playing instruments. From there we went to the quad, a grassy area to hunt multicolored eggs, make a graph with them and discuss how animals protect themselves by through camo, then to visit Rowandan students, lunch, campus tour and finally to the aviation building and the flight simulators. It was a great day but I'm wiped out!! I remember doing this last year but I'm a year older now!

For those of you wondering, I know you've been sitting on pins and needles, my daughter and the boyfriend are together so life is all spiffy and happy now.

I just got a text from my 16 year old who is driving her sister's used honda which is in great shape but her text had a picture of a yellow mustang....."notice the sign in the window". Yeah, it's for sale! Like I'm buying that!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kids in Crisis!

Well, I found out this weekend that my oldest daughter and her boyfriend have broken up after 2 1/2 years. This is going to be very hard for her as she was so in love with not only him but his son. She has yet to tell me anything which worries me. I hate when they don't talk. I don't need the details just that she is alright. She has assured me that she is fine but I haven't seen her with my own two eyes so I'm not convinced. You moms understand that frustration.

My 16 year old is mobile and I never see her anymore. I actually miss her but do enjoy my quiet times. Scott is pulling a 24 hour shift on the ambulance so it's me, two cats and a dog at home this afternoon.

As I sit here in my den, I am watching the sun slowly set over the treetops without the barrier of a yellow/green cloud of pollen between us. Sounds relaxing and is until I also notice that the slant of the sun's rays highlight the yellow/green tint on my tables!! So much for enjoying a sunset.

Good Thing I Still Like My Husband!

I have always heard you have to like your husband as much as you love him. I understand that now that our 16 year old is gone all the time. I was worried we wouldn't have anything to talk about but he has truly become more active. I never thought he would take walks with me, jump in the car and go for a ride, or just goof around but age makes you more accessible. We aren't as worried about "looks" or what others think but are using our home time to enjoy each other more. We have spent more time together in the last two years than we have in the previous 23 years. I'm really loving it!

What's wrong with a little honesty?

Well here I sit trying to keep the dog from chewing on me. I have fallen in love with her but really, we are so close to the empty nest and now we have a puppy for the next 15 years!

My question to myself today is when did it become a bad thing to be honest with your children? I remember growing up and not everyone made the team, if you weren't cut out for something you were told to find a new hobby, and you didn't get a trophy for coming in last place. I don't have a problem with encouraging a person realistic dreams but when you know that they won't succeed, don't you think it's better just to tell them? Maybe it's my age but I'm getting to the point where I don't feel the need to spare feelings as much. I'm going to be a cantankerous old woman someday, probably sooner than later!!

Do I look like I care??!!

Now that my children are older, we have less drama in the house as would be expected. EXCEPT I now have the drama of my college students! I've listened to stories of breakups, new significant others, who cheated on whom, divorces. I had one stick his head in today and tell me his old girlfriend told him she loves him and he's very confused....he's coming back after class to tell me the whole story. I'll tell you tomorrow what he says!

Don't get me wrong, I love these kids but sometimes they can give me too much information!

What makes me so special?

What makes me so special? Why should you read this blog?

Well, I've been married 25 years this July, been teaching for 25 years, have two daughters and multiple pets. I've also had some interesting life experiences. Maybe something I've experienced will help you in your life.

History Lesson:
Married in July of 1985 to Scott. Our first house was one block from a university and fraternity row. Needless to say, we had some interesting early morning activity outside our house. One night there was a party and sometime after midnight, we were awakened by voices. We looked out the front window and sitting with their backs against an oak tree on opposite sides of the tree were tow girls....crying! They were past the giggly drunk and had moved on to the "I'm sorry, I love you" drunk. Seems they had had a fight at some point and now were best friends again! Life was so easy back then.

Our neighbor during that first year was and still is a paranoid schizophrenic who burned himself up sniffing paint. He made for some interesting conversation as well. Scott was cooking burgers out on the grill one night and David walks down the sidewalk, up the driveway holding two pieces of bread. Scott jumped up and ran out to stop him. "I came to get my burger"! Now, this man was in his mid 20's at the time, talked to himself all the time and only wore pants, never a shirt or shoes. We never get much snow here but that year we got about an inch and we noticed David walking down the street in his usual attire with a bald head. I guess his head got too hot with hair!

That same year we also put in a wood burning stove. Scott decided that we would put a rock backing on the wall so we went out and hand picked every rock. Now my husband is a wonderful man and is very handy but it takes him a while to complete a project. With that in mind, picture a wheelbarrow in a den about 12 x 16 filled with grout. That is what my den looked like for about a month. Oh, I forgot about the teaspoon he used from the kitchen to apply the grout!! It looked great when it was finally done. Anyway, we had a chimney fire that winter. Scott was laying on the sofa watching tv and I was in the bedroom. I walked into the den and noticed the smoke at which point I ran to the closet and began to lug as many pieces of clothing as possible into my car. I made three trips before the fire department got there at which point I moved my car across the street to our neighbors driveway. Hey, my house may be on fire but I was going to have my clothes!!!

And then there was the time my friend and I were sitting on the front porch when David exposed himself to us. Every police officer in town ended up at our house. Can you believe we actually lived in that house only one year!

Well, enough of that for tonight. Thanks for stopping by! :)