Thanksgiving II

We had our second thanksgiving this afternoon. Bobby and Blake came over and we had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, gravy and corn souffle ~ hats off to Bobby. HE made the corn souffle (& mashed the potatoes for me, nevermind that he didn't know what I was talking about when I told him to get the beaters out of the dishwasher lol). I made a pumpkin roll for desert. It was all DELICIOUS!! The gravy wasn't as good as mom's but it wasn't at all bad, so I was happy!

Jon missed supper, he went over to the LaFever's house to help Johnny with the floor in the basement. He didn't really care though, this meal was all about me and we both knew it. It just isn't thanksgiving until I've eaten all the "Guden" food. I have to say, I love my Aunt Becky a little more everytime I make that stuffing of hers!!! When Jon got home I made him up a plate and I'm pretty sure it was still really good! He ate it all anyway...

We had a very pleasant time and it was great to have Blake and Bobby over ~ it's been awhile since they've been here. Blake and the kids had lots of fun. They kept starting movies then running off to play ~ which is somewhat to be expected! This pic is for all of you in NC ~ we wish ALL of you could have been here with us too!!!

Attention Grandparents!

Liam and Maggie have decided they'd like to have a book club. It's only the two of them basically competing against each other to read the most books. At Liam's reading teachers suggestion I started a treasure box. I went to the dollar store and Jon and I bought all kinds of stuff to put in it...hair ties, nightlights, candy, pencils, bubble bath, a boomerang(yikes), lipbalm, etc. Everytime they read 10 books they are allowed to choose an item from the box. They are currently very motivated and excited about the treasure box and are little reading fiends. Please feel FREE to contribute CHEAP items to their box. We'd all really appreciate it. Maggie really enjoys reading so it's a benefit to her and Liam really NEEDS to practice reading more, so anything that motivates him to read is GREAT!! Thanks and we love you!!!!

Thanksgiving '08

Well, it's official...Thanksgiving is over and it's CHRISTMASTIME!!!!!! We went to Kay and Rod's house for the Garrett family Christmas. We missed having Jim and Julie there with Trey and Lane, but enjoyed seeing everyone else!! I took this pic of all the grandkids (that were there) with Grandy & Pa. ...and this pic of Mason, Sam. Liam and Maggie with Grandy & Pa.

We ate too much and let the kids run wild. Maggie harassed poor Leah to death. Leah was a good sport and even played Go Fish with Mags.

Maggie and Liam both harassed poor Grandy's dogs to death. Abbie was terrified. Liam kept carrying her all over the house and she just shook like a leaf in the wind. Oddly enough, when he sat down she didn't try to leave him ~ she laid next to him on the couch. So, I guess he made her love him. I talked to Mom and Dad early in the day as well as Bobby. I tried Steve later, assuming I'd have better luck when he was done at work, but couldn't reach him.

After Kays' house we headed home and due to the fact that Liam was sick Wednesday night we were super tired and went to bed pretty early.

Today, we ventured out to Wal-Mart and Radio Shack. I have Sam and Mason completely done ( to hit their original $ limit). Maggie only has about $15 left and Liam has $40. Everything else is done though, except for Jon!! I have to say we got a pretty decent deal on Sam's gift today, the rest of the stuff I got was not even slightly impressively cheap. Actually, I'm pretty sure Sam's item was the ONLY thing we got that was on sale today. So much for GREAT prices today!! I've started thinking now about what else I want to get the kids...because I'm certain now that I'll be done with all my shopping early enough to have money left over for them.
As for Liam and Maggie's conferences... they are both doing well at school. Liam's teacher said he's keeping up fine. Not only is she not thinking he should be in the first grade, she doesn't believe he will need to be retained in the second either. She said he's a solid B/C student, who's terribly pleasant to have in class. Yup, there he is again, that Liam I don't ever get to meet. He's very well behaved and has wonderful manners! And he's not even the one that has his teacher most deceived!!!!! Good Heavens, Maggie has Mrs Howenstine completely blinded. Mrs. Howenstine thinks Maggie is the P-E-R-F-E-C-T little girl. She's a "ray of sunshine in class" and she just cannot imagine what it must be like to "live with her all the time". Wweeellllll, NO I don't imagine she can. I'm guessing it's nothing like she thinks it would be!! Maggie NEVER whines in class. She's never bossy or rude or demanding. She's very smart, excellent at reading and math and well, just everything! Mrs. Howenstine said there's really not anything Maggie can improve on much, she'll just have to try to do everything even more perfect than she already does. Ok, wipe the vomit from the corners of your mouth, I'm done now. That was it.

I miss you all and hope you had a WONDERFUL thanksgiving and ...

Merry Christmas!!!!

Sam's Conference:

Well, tonight I conferenced with Sam's teachers. Always a pleasure...sigh!

According to them my boy is extremely intelligent, and extremely attached to finding the easy way out of everything! Not news to me...well ok ~ a little news to me. I have to admit...my first question for his math teacher was"Are you absolutely certain he should be in the advanced math class? Because last week he told me he guessed the answers to the end of year test. And frankly, his grades do NOT reflect that he's good at math at ALL!!!" Yup. I admit it, he had me nearly convinced. Like I don't know he's a LAZY LAZY school kid!!!!! Like I don't know he's a slacker...Like I don't know Sam always wants the EASIEST option!! Mr. Bowers looked right in my eyes and laughed at me. Ok ~ So he belongs in the class... So, the million dollar question is: How do you motivate a completely un-self-motivated kid?? I've tried grounding him from all his games, I don't really need to tell you all this stuff though, do I? You've listened to me go through this Sam vs. School hell for years. I know part of the problem is that he's SO DIFFERENT than me when it comes to school. Maybe in the end that will be a good thing?!? I was SO GUNG HO about school then I just sort of petered out. Maybe he'll kick in late and be in it for the long haul...I can hope and pray for that, right!! So, long story short, the teachers told me the EXACT same thing his teachers have always told me. Very bright, intelligent, a great kid and a joy to have in class...he's not working to his potential. I pray that "not working to his potential" is the mantra of his childhood and not his life. I really liked Mrs. Hildebrand. She was very kind to me and seemed to really understand what I'm dealing with. She told me at the beginning of our meeting that she had a "gifted" child and it's NO GIFT. She is right about that!!! It's a pain in my arse!!! Well, I'll let you all know tomorrow how Liam and Maggie are doing. Love you guys!!

Wildlight Wonderland

Thursday night the zoo had their members only Wildlight Wonderland Preview. We met the LaFevers and the Kieffer's (our pastor and his family) and began the Christmas festivities. Now, make no mistake ~ it was REALLY cold and just to make to whole thing a little more "Christmas-y" it snowed!! We were seriously bundled up!! Katie even borrowed Jon's overalls to wear. As you can see from the pic below, next year I need to remember to bring my tripod!! Jon didn't bring a hat and think by the end of the evening he was a little sorry. I'm surprised his ears didn't get frostbite!!
This is the whole crew - besides me. Keep an eye on Katie's blog, maybe she'll post the one with me in it...then again maybe she won't!

We got there first, so while we were waiting for the others to get there...the kids goofed off at the North America habitat exhibit.

Maggie and Liam as part of the food chain...

and Sam...Don't ask me What that was about!!!

...and Jon... here's your pic of me. This is as good as it gets!!

I have my statin prescription now. I've been doing a good job with what I'm eating too. This morning I had a 1egg/3egg white omelet with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup green pepper and red onion. It was pretty good.

Last night we went to Cash Wilson's 2nd birthday party. Jon made a stable for his horses for his gift. When we left he was playing with it, so I believe it was a success! I can hardly believe he's 2 years old already.

This week promises to be kind of crazy. Monday I have to work and then I get to babysit Cash (&Austin&Allie!) while Katie has her nose grafted(remember to pray for her). Tuesday, I need to get EVERYTHING done around the house that needs done, because the kids have Wed-Fri out of school. So, I won't get ANYTHING done then. It would be kind of nice to have it all done...to try and enjoy them for those days. I have Friday off, we're closed at work. Which is why I'm working Monday ~ so I don't end up with only 2-3 hours next week!! I'm so close to being DONE shopping that I can taste it!!!!! and...

Today is Ohio State vs. Michigan!!!!!!!!!

Go Bucks! O-H-...I can't hear you!!

Working on it

Well, I was a good girl today and I've got one thing to say about it. Being a good girl just doesn't taste as good as pumpkin praline cheesecake!! For breakfast I had 1 piece of pepperidge farms cinnamon toast and yes I confess, I put a pat of butter on it. I decided I can cut back and even give up a lot of it but I just CANNOT eat fake butter. If it's any consolation I used half of what I'd normally use! Then I had to run some errands. Jon bought me a COOL new phone last night. The only problem was it didn't work. So after I dropped some books off to a few friends for Mom's prayer group tomorrow I went "to town" to return/exchange my new phone. They gave me no hassle at all at Verizon, just swapped it out for a new one. So, now I have a fancy schmancy new EnV2. I'm afraid it's smarter than me, but it has cool ringtones, so who cares, right!?! Then I swung by to kiss my husband and went to Wal-Mart to buy a bunch of food imposters that I can eat. Ok, so I'm being a brat. It actually wasn't that bad. I got some Fiber One bars which I love!! They are yummy and HEY, Oprah's work out guy says they're good for you! Plus some oatmeal that Dad had me pick up for him last spring when I went to the store while we were in NC. I remembered him telling me his Dr told him to get it for his cholesterol, so I git that too, cranberry and blueberry. And, of course, stuff for salads. I have to admit I'm just not real big on cooked veggies, but I can kill a salad! After Wal-mart I went home and ate some chili, and I didn't even put ANY cheese or sour cream on it. I'd kinda forgotten what chili really tastes like! It wasn't bad, it wasn't cheese and sour cream, but I didn't gag or anything. After lunch I stopped over by Katie's to help paint. Praise God, she was already done for the day ~ lol. So we just visited for awhile and I got to play and fuss with the birthday boy. When I got home I read some blogs and saw that Angie was making chicken and noodles for supper. I thought to myself, "Self, you can eat chicken and noodles...no oil, no cheese, no sour cream, no red meat. Hmmm." So, being the free thinking original cooker that I am, I totally copied Angie and made chicken and noodles for dinner (no, I did not make homemade noodles, I used Amish noodles). That was quite good. I'm not going to lie ~ cheese sounds real good right now. Unfortunately, croaking does not, so I'll pass on the cheese. I also called the dr's office today and had them call me in a $4 statin scrip of some sort. I'll pick it up Friday when I'm in Mt Vernon. No worries Dad, I'm getting on it! I haven't exercised yet, BABY STEPS PEOPLE!! I need to go now to read my chapter for tomorrows group meet and to do my Bible Study for today. I usually do that in the morning, but today I sort of hit the ground running. I love you all!!!!

You'll shoot your eye out!

OK ~ I added this pic at the end and this thing works backwards so that puts the pic at the top. I LOVE this picture from this afternoon. It just reeks of A Christmas Story. Everytime I look at it I hear that music...and "I can't get up...Ralphie!!! I can't get up."

Hello all ~ Yup you know it. The trees are up! It's ALL up!! I'm going to start wrapping gifts tomorrow. I was REALLY glad when I got up this morning that I could turn on the tree too...because it snowed. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ~ I know maniacal. I received the results from my blood work last Wednesday this morning. It sucked...I have high cholesterol. I'm not even telling how high because the two people Ive told already have made comments something like "Wow, I'm surprised you haven't already had a stroke!" Comforting huh!?! So...my goose is cooked now. Jon has decided it's time for us to eat better. It's always been me pushing to do that in the past, which meant I was free to QUIT eating better just as soon as I felt like it. I'm both afraid and hopeful that he won't allow that this time around :( !!

Last week while I was at the Doctors office I got a flu shot. Now, I read a nice long paper on it which I had to sign before they'd give me the shot and between that paper and the CDC website, they would have me believe that the flu shot will not give you the flu. DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!! It's propaganda...I think they give us the flu shot so we'll get sick and have to go to the doctor. Ok, so I'm just kidding, but all kidding aside... Very coincidentally I got a mild case of the flu Thursday. Make your OWN conclusions!!! I'm still too congested and wheezy to decide if I blame the shot or not...

Dad ~ this pic is for you. Wanted you to be able to place the tree in your mind.

Kay (Jon's Mom) was in the neighborhood this afternoon and stopped by. It was great to have her here and despite my efforts she declined the offer to spend the night. The kids were excited to see her.

We're ready for some OSU vs. michigan football!!! Angie Cooley ~ I say if Michigan loses you have to wear an Ohio State shirt to Mom's prayer group in December!!!!

Oh the Agony of Waiting!

OK - so I could not wait. In my defense, this tree is only 1 of 6 that I put up every year. If I don't get started early, I'll never get it all up by December!!! This tree also has significance. It was MeeMaw's (Great Grandma Guden). I always went over to her house and helped her put up her (5) trees and this tree graced her dining room. Now, it reminds me of her everytime I go into the kitchen.
I still plan on waiting for the BIG tree until the third week of November. But I will be slowly putting up all the rest of the Christmas stuff.
Jon and the boys are off to Mt Vernon this morning to pick up a few things at Walmart, get Sam's eyes checked (to make sure he's doing ok with his contacts) and get their haircuts. Maggie and I are just hanging out.


She's playing with her Barbie's and I'm playing with the computer. The house is clean, the laundry is done...If I don't find something to do soon, more decorations will be going up!! I think maybe I'll wrap some gifts this afternoon.
We had a pretty uneventful week after my last posts. Maggie and Liam both got 100's on their spelling tests yesterday. I was ready for all the extracurricular activities to be over, but I have to admit...I'm kind of bored now. I guess I could clean the basement, but who wants to do THAT!?!?! Ohio State plays Northwestern today. I think I'll make some white chili and then put out a Christmas village or two...Love you all!!!!

A Perfect Beginning...

"So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father." John 1:14, NLT. Well, I have made a perfect start to my holiday decorations. I decided this year to start at the beginning! We are celebrating the gift of Christ so naturally, the nativity should come first. This nativity is my absolute favorite Christmas decoration I own anyway! My mom and dad painted it their first married Christmas, so it's older than me!!! So, I dusted Rose then lovingly cleaned each figure with an old toothbrush and put it out in a place of honor...a place where I will have to move it if Cash comes over, lol.

Yesterday, I wrapped the first gift. I promise I will wait until at least November 15th to put up the tree.

So, Obama won. My prayer is that I have seriously misjudged him. Maybe he's just what we need? Maybe not. I guess we're gonna find out though, huh? The good news is that the casino's went down (seriously, they wanted to put casino legislation IN OUR STATE CONSTITUTION!) and the levy for the Morrow County Sheriff's passed. I'll be watching Obama with great anticipation. If nothing else, this should be very interesting and historical.

Well, that's finally done...

We did it...yesterday we replaced the Sentra. Jon found THE car we could not pass up. It's OLD...but it's actually an awesome car in every way. First and foremost, we could afford it. It has 162,000 miles on it (same as the sentra when we bought it and it retired with well over 300,000) but Jon test drove it all day and took it up to Castle's to have Matt look it over and he was given a big green light on it by Matt. He said it's a great car for the money and we'd be able to drive it a long time. So, we forked over $2612 and it's all ours. Pray that it serves us well!!

It's actually quite cute and comfortable...and it's a stick which Jon and I both like. God willing Sam will learn to drive on this car. It needs a new paint job but other than that it's in nearly perfect condition. No rust, no dents, unbelievable. I don't know who owned it, but they took care of it. We're going to get it painted very soon. Our 401K loan was enough to pay for that too. So, no more car worries for us...until the van gives out, lol.

We're not up to much else. Jon got the Christmas lights up outside on Sunday. It is unusually warm this week and it's good to get them up when it's nice out here in OH-IO. Tomorrow I plan on cleaning the house and THEN I'm going to put out my It's a Wonderful Life village. Tee hee hee!! I cant' wait.

Don't forget to vote today!!!!!!!

Gee...THAT was fun

NOT! This weekend we had plans to go to a costume party remember? Yeah, well, didn't happen! What I did not mention in my blog Saturday morning was that Thursday night I had a little "episode". Have I ever told you I'm a complete hypochondriac? Well, I am and I excuse it as hereditary. Thank you Maude! I can't help it it's in my genes... Truly, I don't think I'm a hypochondriac so much as a worry wort. I build mountains out of molehills. Which is neither here nor there right now. Thursday night I felt kinda yucky, so I went to bed at 8pm. That didn't last long, because laying down made me feel a whole lot worse. I was having these shooting pains from my heart. I poo-poo'd it at first. Then it got bad enough that I got nauseous and broke out in a sweat. I started getting short of breath and just a touch scared. Scared enough that I got up and went out to the couch with Jon and Sam in the living room...NOT scared enough to get the kids out of bed and go to the emergency room, possibly missing work Friday. I DO realize that sounds ridiculous now, but at the time it seemed totally rational I promise. I mean really, I work ONE day a week, if I cannot make it to work ONE DAY in a week what is the point of keeping me on? So I felt like I HAD to go to work Friday...then of course all you mom's out there know the only thing worse than taking the kids with you to the emergency room when YOU'RE sick is getting them out of a sound sleep to do so. SO...I suffered silently. Jon knew I didn't feel good and asked several times if we needed to go to the ER. I just kept putting on my brave face and saying "No, I'm fine." I was SURE Friday when I got up I'd feel just FINE!
Friday, I got up and went to work like everything was hunky dory. Everyone at work could tell I wasn't feeling well, but I was darned if I'd leave early and besides...the kids had trick or treat that night and Mom and James were coming into town. Mind you Friday was better than Thursday night. The shooting pains were gone. My chest just felt really tight and I was freaked out about the prior evenings event. So, again I suffered silently. I, of course, never even told Jon that I didn't feel well. I pulled my typical "I'm fine". I made it uneventfully through Friday, but by the time I went to bed that night I was completely paranoid that I'd had a mild heart attack. Unfortunately, I'm also paranoid about being a hypochondriac...so I REALLY didn't want to tell anyone I thought there was something wrong with my heart!!!! Anyway, I went to bed Friday night thinking SURELY when I woke up Saturday I'd feel FINE DARNIT!!
Well, by about 10am Saturday, my back felt tight too. I finally told Katie all about it and then Mom, who said "Call your Doctor and ask her what she wants you to do". So I did and of course my Doctor wanted me to go to the ER because I have high blood pressure (mild) and she said we weren't going to mess around with it.
So, I went. I could make a REALLY long story just long at this point but I won't. We dropped the kids off at Bobby's house and boy when you say "chest pains" St. Annes Hospital does not PLAY!! They ran an ekg on me in about ten minutes flat. That looked ok, but they weren't done. They put me on a bunch of monitors for my heart, my blood pressure, my pulse...and oh Yeah! Let's not forget my favorite...THE IV. I've had many IV's in my life, because I've had many kids...this was far and away the most uncomfortable IV I've ever had. It was just barely under the surface of my arm and literally you could see the needle under my skin. I felt the whole time like that sucker was going to pop out the other end or just rip my arm right open. The funny part was when we told the nurse (Big, loud, funny black woman) that Jon had to leave while she did it. She laughed and said "scared of needles huh?" Then she looked at his hands and said" Wow, you got GREAT veins. You want me to stick you too?" She was practically salivating at the idea of poking Jon with an IV needle. It as hysterical!
So before long they informed me that with my permission they wanted to keep me on the heart monitor overnight and check my blood every 6 hours. So, Jon left and picked up the kids and brought them back to see me. I smiled and said "I'm fine" and when they left as soon as they were out of sight I bawled like a baby. They did stop at the store and bring me some contraband candy and a Bible to read (thanks hon). Thank the Lord for the candy because they fed me a cardiac unit dinner. UGH! NO SALT AT ALL! It was disgusting, I realize that I do go a bit heavy on the salt but I'm SURE God never intended using none!!! They did give me cranberry juice though which I love and rarely buy because it's expensive. So that was a little treat/blessing! Another blessing was that Katie and Johnny came by to see me. That really lifted my spirits and I'll be eternally grateful that God gifted me with a friend like Katie. I don't deserve her!
I had a terrible time trying to get to sleep with that stupid IV in my arm, so the nurse gave me a sleeping pill around 11:30pm. Then at 4am they woke me up to take blood for the third time, but not the last! I slept fitfully after that until around 7am. Then I ate my cardiac unit breakfast (did I mention UGH) and met with their staff cardiologist. He told me that he'd seen all my stuff (my terminology not his) and he was certain it was not a heart attack. Good news right? I thought so. He said Thursday night's episode sounded very much like I possibly had some swelling of the membrane that surrounds the heart, which is not serious or uncommon. The best thing to do if that happens again is take an aspirin and don't worry about it. Wow, I wonder if that's easy to say. "Oh...your heart hurts? AW, just take an aspirin and don't worry, be happy!!" He thought the chest and back tightness were completely separate issues and were probably only related to Thursday night by anxiety. He also told me that my blood work indicated that my potassium levels were "alarmingly low". Which is why since I started taking my blood pressure medicine I've had muscle soreness. I thought it was just dehydrating me. I'd noticed it but just kept ignoring that too (because I know everyone thinks I'm a hypochondriac). So, now I have to take a potassium supplement everyday. But, my heart is just fine.
So, today, they released me and we went to the grocery store. Then we came home and I put the groceries away, straightened the kitchen, took the Halloween decorations down to the basement and ran Liam's football gear over tothe rental unit to return it. Obviously, I'm feeling fine now. Just tired.
If I didn't call and tell you I was going to the hospital and you're upset with me please forgive me. I didn't even want to go much less alarm people about it. I was hoping it would be nothing and it was. I love you all!!

Trick or Treat...

Guess what I did?? I made yummy crumbly apple pies on Thursday. It was my first ever effort to make a fruit pie and if I may say so myself they turned out pretty good! They tasted good, but I gotta say they did not taste as good as they smelled. What is it about apple pie in the oven? I don't believe it's throwback "comfort" food. Let's face it Mom, I was NOT raised on apple pie in the oven. LOL! Anyway, it was an accomplishment for me!!
Friday night Mom and James came into town and we went over to Bobby's house to let the kids trick or treat. They got a RIDICULOUS amount of candy. Seriously, I do not know what to do with it all...I'm here to tell you I will NOT let them eat that much candy. Do you think food pantry's want candy?? Sam didn't go trick or treat. He's in that really awkward phase where he isn't clinging to childhood yet...so he thinks he's too old. He already said though that there were a lot of kids older than him out and next year he's going. So...I guess this was a learning year for him.I did make him pose with the kids before they left though.
Then we sent the guys off with the kids and I spent some time getting to know Crissi (sp?). Mom and James arrived shortly after the kids left. So Mom and Crissi and I ate chips and this fantastic mexican corn dip.

When our ghouls and vader's returned we had chili and candy. Fun was had by all.

Today, Jon and Sam are helping cut wood for Helen and Kenneth and Sarah for the winter. This year will be Sam's 1st year helping. Then tonight we have a costume party to go to. I think the kids are looking forward to it and I'll try to post pics of that event as well. Love you all!!!