Sunday, July 26, 2009

Skylerism/Brushing...

Me: Skyler, go brush your teeth.

*ignores me. continues talking*

Me: I'm not speaking to you until you go brush your teeth.

Skyler: FINE!

*comes back 10 seconds later*

Me: Get back in there and brush ALL your teeth for a long time.

Skyler: But it's GROooooss. Moooom, my toothbrush tastes gross.

Me: What do you mean it tastes gross? What does it taste like?

Skyler: Ummm, spiders.


How do you respond to that?

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Gearing up...

There are big changes coming up for us. This fall is going to be a challenge, especially for Matt.

Thanks to the GI Bill, Matt is starting school this semester. I think it will be a kick, especially for the kids, to have my three children all sitting at the kitchen table doing their homework. I'm eager for them to see Daddy working hard at school. I'm hoping it will be inspiring to them. They can encourage each other, and I'll put all their tests and quizes and papers on the same refrigerator (note to self: make room on refrigerator for tests and quizes and papers). Zack's work will get more challenging in third grade and Skyler is ready to blow the socks off of first grade. She reads so well that I can't fool her anymore. I remember when they were young enough that I could communicate things I didn't want them to know by spelling. *SIGH* No more.

Matt is hoping for some job changes that we'll just have to talk about later. To say he needs a change is the understatement of the century. We should know more soon.

Zack is starting football practice next week. He's excited about a new game, the physical contact, the exercise, and being a tough player. I'm more than a little nervous. I waver about being nervous for his well being and being nervous for the well being of anyone that comes in contact with him. He's growing so fast he's constantly telling us that his legs and feet hurt and that his skin doesn't fit around his bones anymore. He also eats like he's bulking up to go on Survivor.

Skyler is going to play soccer again this season. Despite all the added fall activities, she batted her lashes and got her Daddy to coach for another season. He'll have most of the same kids as last year which makes it easy. They all love Coach Matt.

I will be managing all of the above. I have a lawn chair, and thanks to the library, a never ending supply of books for all those practices my butt will be parked at. What would they do without me?

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

What Happened...

I suppose I should give a brief description of what happened a few weeks ago. I know I'm always curious about the lives of the people whose blogs I read. We let each other in for all the little stuff and then suddenly the big stuff is hard to talk about. I'm probably going to glaze over the details though okay?

Around noon on Saturday, July 4th, my Mother called me and told me that my Father had died in his sleep. They weren't sure at this point what had happened, he hadn't been sick. I told her I'd call her when we got on the road, I told the kids and Matt what had happened, I jumped into action. I can't tell you how much it sucks living away from your family when something like this happens. Those hours between when you get the news and when you get there, for that hug, that moment of checking to make sure that everyone else is okay, are far longer than sixty minutes each. I was obviously in shock because I did what normally takes me a week, pack up the bags and the car for a trip home, in one hour. I let the kids pack their own suitcases. I threw whatever was in front of me, including dirty laundry into my own.

The drive is twelve hours, ten at night. That day was a holiday. I am impatient. The kids didn't have the usual drinks, snacks, movies, games, to entertain themselves. But we were together and we had time to talk and we had time to process and we felt comforted that we had each other. The kids behaved better than ever before and I thank them for that. They got all their questions out. I stayed in contact with my Mom and my cousin Melissa (who was such an angel that day) and we finally finally arrived at midnight.

There was no final reason for my Father's death. It was a "cardiac event". He was sixty-three. He had heart disease, pre-diabetes, he smoked, and drank, and ate whatever he wanted. And still his doctor was shocked. He had just seen him and said there wasn't anything specific that he was complaining about.

The rest of the week was a whirl-wind of tears and laughs and so so much paperwork and errands. My Mother is so strong and has such strong people around her. We were all so fortunate for our huge huge extended family. The people who attended his service were numerous, my Mother was so surprised and touched.

My Father wasn't an easy person to love and wasn't an easy person to hate. He rarely had a kind word, but frequently had a kind gesture. He showed his love in what he could do for you not in what he said to you. Sometimes you had to work yourself through that. Thankfully when someone passes, the things that used to drive you crazy just start to slip from your mind. Friends and family start telling funny stories and those are the things that stick with you. Those are the things that get you through.

I want to thank our families for all their support, my friends for just being there for me, my Mother's neighbors for making sure that I don't have to worry about her.

The neighbors planted a tree in Dad's honor.

The neighborhood kids painted a rock to go under the tree.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Coast Guard Station Visit...

While we were home last week we got to visit my BIL at the Coast Guard Station. He took all the kids, young and old, for a ride in a boat thingy. I'm sure he told me what it was called but...?

The kids waiting not so patiently:

Skyler making friends with the station dog Abby:

My cousins Ransom & Montana, and Matt going for the first ride:


Zack, excited beyond belief:

Skyler LOVED going REALLY fast:


The kids got to ride out in front on the way back:


Here's the group of us outside my Mother's house:

Monday, July 13, 2009

Back...

So we're home. I'm not quite sure what to talk about this week on the blog. Do I start in on my Father's sudden death and all the emotions and tasks surrounding that? There's so much to talk about there that I'd likely not stop and pretty soon you'd be wondering what's with the depressing death blog. Or do I just jump ahead to our everyday life?

I'm not sure what the answer is. I'm leaning towards moving on, maybe later when I get my thoughts together and I'm not so burned out on talking about it I'll share some insite with you. I think I'll go upload some pictures. When stuck with the blog, cheat by posting pictures until inspiration hits you.

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Missing...

I went missing this week. My Father passed away suddenly on Saturday. Matt, the kids, and I, jumped in the car and drove for twelve hours to reach home. I'm not really ready to talk much about it. Thank you for all the kind wishes and warm thoughts I've already received!

I'll be back next week...

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

That Was Easy...

A few months ago I had to put one of those entirely enclosed mattress covers on Zack's mattress. He has an unusually thick mattress for a twin bed and he has bunks so this is no easy task. The cover has to be washed every 6-8 weeks and is a total bitch to remove and replace. I've done it myself a couple of times but now with my shoulder being jacked up I can't. This past weekend I got Matt to remove and wash it. Then Sunday night I pestered him to replace. I know he wasn't looking forward to it so the kids and I just stayed out of the way, in the other room, while he struggled.

After much $@%^*)#* and #%)*!*&^, we heard a mechanical "THAT WAS EASY" and "Are you KIDDING me?"

Zack has one of these Staples buttons:

Apparently when Matt struggled to slide the mattress back into the bed, it hit the Easy button on Zack's side table. I about died laughing. Matt was not amused. Don't you just love when the timing is PERFECT?


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