What We've Been Up To

The last week or so has gone by quickly and I am reminded that there are only nine.more.days until the kids are out of school. I look forward to the break from the routine and to having some special time with them. So much to do, so little time.

Meanwhile, we have still been throwing around the idea of putting an addition on our house. A big undertaking because Carl will design it and be the general contractor, subbing out parts of the work such as backhoe service, block laying, electrical, etc. He could do the whole thing himself if there were 48 hours in his day.

I saw an ad in the Pennysaver last week that our old house is for sale. The ad said, "Open House" Sunday. "Our house is for sale! Can we go see it?" That would be me shrieking with excitement!

How do you take 10 people - my mom and some friends were with us - and go incognito to an Open House? How do you act nonchalant when your kids are saying (loudly), "Ooh, this used to be my room" or "Was this our old house"? What had seemed like a fun trip down memory lane became one of life's most embarrassing moments as Brianna(10) and Jeremy(9) ran around snapping pictures of each room with their digital cameras. I tried to shush the blabber-mouths, Travis(6) and Corey(4), and keep the photographers shooting in a less conspicuous area. Carl of course had to check out the mechanics, especially the plumbing and let me know that everything was just the same. The realtor was the buyers' agent when we sold the house 4 years ago. I wondered if she remembered us? We probably had her head spinning. I don't know why we do these things. Nuts,I guess.

Friday morning the kids had a Memorial Day program at school, one of the highlights of the end of the year. This was the school's 22nd such program. Carl came with us, and we enjoyed the cool, but sunny morning while we listened to patriotic speeches by some of our local politicians and musical numbers presented by each grade.

Yesterday was the first picnic of the summer season. We all congregated at my sister's house for a cookout in their awesome backyard. So nice and peaceful. Except for Kaylee(8mo) crying much of the time. And the Corey(4) climbing the tree in the neighbor's yard. And Carl trying to kill bees the whole time we were eating. And my pyromaniac sons roasting hot dogs over the fire on plastic forks. Other than that, "a great time was had by all"! Di & Mike always have great food and hospitality. The day was topped off by getting to see fireworks on the way home.


That's what we've been up to. Just in case you were wondering. Hope your weekend was great, too!

Things That Make Me Go "Eeew"!

This is my very first meme. I found it over at Katrina's blog, Callapidder Days. I could think of quite a few, and the list seems to grow as I get older. Go figure. Anyways, here are 5.

Things that creep me out:

1. Thousand-leggers. This is definitely #1 on my list. Anywhere. But especially in my house. Luckily Corey(4) is our resident bug-killer. He is my hero. Because the only thing that creeps me out more than thousand-leggers is having to kill one.

2. Throw up. In the forefront of my mind today because Corey decided to throw up around 5:30 this morning. Lucky for me, Carl got up and dealt with it. I pretended to sleep. I am not good with puke. But I did learn on CSI Las Vegas that smiling represses the gag reflex. I'm still working on that one.

3. Being home late at night without Carl. He had to go out on an emergency plumbing call around 10:30 last night. Rats. When he is gone I am aware of many strange noises I never noticed before.

4. Heights. This isn't exactly gross, but the way it makes me feel is gross. I never was good at this. And I'm still not. The whole amusement park thing is just not all that amusing anymore.

5. Feet. Just other adult feet. Yuck. Usually crusty and hard. Been in work boots all day. However, I do have a fetish for my kids' feet. Even stinky ones. Even ones with little sock-fuzzies in between the toes. So cute I have been known to kiss them. Especially the baby's.

Okay, that's my creeper list. Hopefully it's not too whiny! Most of the time I just try to be a big girl and deal with the creepy things life sends my way.

What gives you the heebie-jeebies? Let me know if you post a list.

Little Things (and Little People)

This morning when I came down to breakfast, the kids rewarded me with a chorus of "Happy Mother's Day". How nice to be remembered. As soon as I sat down, Jeremy(9) ran to get his gifts out of his backpack for me. Thanks to his teacher, he was encouraged to write some nice thoughts about me that really touched my heart.

Mom - Debbie
Pretty, spontaneous, organized, and lenient
She is the mother of Brianna, Travis, Corey, Kaylee, Jeremy.
She cares when things don't turn out right.
She smiles when I'm nice to my brothers.
She worried when my Pap Pap had to go to the hospital.
She laughs when I don't want to go out to eat with my pj's on.
She cried when she knew she would have Kaylee.
She pretends when she says we are having "schmooga booga dooga" for dinner.
She surprises me when she says, "Let's go to the zoo."
She hugs me when I come home from school.
She is proud of me when I get good reports.
She understands me when I'm sad.
She loves me all the time.
Happy Mother's Day!

Jeremy also pulled a nice little pot out of his backpack, wrapped up in a sandwich baggie: a pansy, a bit limp from sitting in his backpack all weekend. But with a bit of water, it has now revived. I look forward to planting it in my flower bed soon.

With the help of his teacher, Travis(6) also wrote down some thoughts for Mother's Day.
My mom can do many things! I think she's best at "cocing" (cooking), "she can do many uthr thigs" (other things).
My mom is smart! She even knows "how to red a book" (read).
Enhanced with some nice drawings of me!

Corey(4) decorated a t-shirt at preschool with his handprints, making flowers on the front. He also painted a pot and planted some seeds in Sunday School.

Brianna(10) swept and mopped my floor today for me. She also cleaned my bathroom sinks and toilet with such a sweet spirit. She did a fantastic job. She is becoming quite the little homemaker.

Kaylee(8 mo) was just her adorable little self. None of us could imagine our home being without her. She brings such joy to us all.

Carl bought me a new broom and dustpan and a gift card to Borders, with the promise of watching the kids so I can spend a couple of hours there. Carl insisted on taking us out to dinner tonight where we met his mom and dad. It's always a treat when I get a break from cooking.


I cannot say enough how blessed I feel to have 5 sweet, loving children who are growing up so nicely, and a wonderful husband with whom I get to share all these blessings. Thank you all for making my day so special. It is nice to be remembered and appreciated. Thank you, Lord! I am counting my blessings today.

The Saga of my Hair

Did I ever tell you the tale of my hair? My fine, limp, do-nothing hair? Most of my life my hairstyle has been what my mother would call "that natural windblown look". Thanks Mom for trying to put a positive spin on this. But seriously. I can spend $25 to get my haircut and walk out of the salon looking like nothing was ever done. I can buy "product" out the wazoo and it only looks good if I were to reside in a bubble. Please kids, don't touch my hair. I just fixed it. Honey, I appreciate the hug, but you just smushed my bangs. And speaking of bangs. Aren't they from the 80's? Or was it the 90's? Whatever. My hair is crying for some style. But it just doesn't know how to stay styled.

This became especially apparent when I attended college. College was near Chicago which is a very bad place for people with hair insecurities. What the wind didn't ruin, the humidity would take care of. My theme song became,"Why Worry When you can Spray?".

When my sister and I taught school and shared an apartment, together we had enough in hair care products to start our own store. We used to tease each other about the "13 Step Hair Care Process" we had to go through each morning. Pick a little, spray a little, pick a little, spray a little, pick, pick, pick, pick a lot, spray a little more.

Well anyways, when I went to Target this morning, I invested yet another $30 in "product" guaranteed to give my hair volume and weightless style! Woo-wee. Surely that is worth 30 bucks, right. After all, to misquote the six-fingered man in the movie The Princess Bride, "if you haven't got healthy hair, you haven't got anything." Yeah, yeah. I know.

While putting my "product" away, the reality of my obsession with perfect hair came clear to me. I found no less than 6 bottles of Pantene volumizing hair spray - maximum hold, of course, under the sink. Some empty, some with only a little in it, some sorta full. I also found a mostly empty bottle of finishing spritz, a very empty bottle of gel, and an empty jar of Avon face cream. Empty promises, all.

Maybe I'm just obsessed with trying to preserve my youthfulness. Or maybe I'm vain. Or maybe a terrible clutter-bug. Maybe I need to go to counseling. Maybe all of the above. Anyways, next time you see me, maybe I'll be sporting a wig of some sort. Sorta works better with these mild spring zephyrs that tend to ruffle my hair. Just thought you'd want to know.