Saturday, February 28

Tasty Little Tidbits

As usual this time of year we don't have a whole lot going on. I do however have a few things to share. A little potpourri if you will:
Sam came home from school on Tuesday and informed us that they were having some sort of Farmer Appreciation week at school...in commemoration of the event Tuesday was "Drive your tractor to school day". No, I am NOT kidding!! lol Seriously, this is exactly the sort of thing that I love about living out here. I mean that is just pure entertainment. He said their were big ones and little ones, red ones and green ones...It was like a Dr. Seuss book in the high school parking lot!! I wish I had seen it...I would totally have posted a picture! All I could think about was the chant we used to use to mock West Lincoln with...yeah! I think you remember the one I'm talking about - WE DRIVE TRACTORS YES WE DO, WE DRIVE TRACTORS HOW 'BOUT YOU!! Man, I love it here.
Jon was home a couple days this week with a real nasty cold. NOW, Maggie, Liam AND Sam all have it...lovely, huh?!? As long as I can send them back to school Monday I'm ok...so hopefully they'll recover this weekend!
For those of you who care or wonder...I still have not missed a single workout...I'm giving all the glory to God for that. It's going way too well for me to take the credit myself!!
Poor Sam got his first zit (that word just for you mom) early this week. I found that amusing enough without the fact that I found out Thursday that he had convinced Maggie and Liam it was a spider bite...right in the middle of his chin. I said something to Sam about the pimple and Liam said, "MOM, it's a spider bite, it bit him on the chin!" Of course, I laughed hysterically to which Liam responded " Really, MOM! It bit him!" I told him it was absolutely NOT a spider bite, but he is nonetheless on the lookout for spiders in the house all the time lately. Poor Sam?? Poor Liam!!
So, I hear from several reliable sources that NC will be getting some more snow tonight...I must say...I find that TERRIBLY AMUSING!! If this global warming keeps up Anne's going to have to move to Cuba to stay warm ;)!! I love you guys and miss you...
Only 39 more days!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, February 24

Little to work with...

Not a whole lot going on with us right now. We got the kids signed up for ball and are eagerly awaiting seasons start! Or at least just some baseball weather. The sun came out today, which was WONDERFUL! I decided to walk outside instead of on the treadmill. Same amount of time walking, for some reason gravel country roads seem to be a bit more strenuous than my treadmill though? It was a good walk. Cold enough out that I didn't get hot, warm enough that a fleece was enough as long as I was walking. Marley went with me which necessitated a dog bath the minute we got home. I took a good look around and we are definitely still deep in winter. No buds on the trees, no greenery peeking up through the snow...nada! At this time of year I start watching for those little telltale signs, they give me hope...but nothing yet :(.
The van is in the shop...the water pump went out or something like that. So, now we have to replace that and the stupid belts, including the timing belt (ouch). If it's not one thing it's another. I'm not too concerned about it yet...just pray with me that this isn't the beginning of a long endless lines of problems with the van. It really needs to hold out for at LEAST one more year.
We found out at work this week that one of our clients is laying off 41 people. That's a pretty big blow for Atrium. It has occured to me that I may end up laid off myself. Jon and I discussed it and given out current position and my history with the Heitmeyers I would absolutely not even consider filing for unemployment. We can make it stretch if we have to. I'd rather not, but if push comes to shove we've been in that position before and we've learned a lot over the years about saving money. We'll be alright...so now I'm just sort of waiting for the blow to come. Not worrying though, whatever happens it won't take God by surprise. He has our lives under control and I'm fine with that.
The kids are doing ok ~ very antsy. They definitely have cabin fever now. They're bickering with each other A LOT!! Driving Jon and I crazy...haven't figured out the best way to deal with that situation. They don't want to be seperated because they get bored...but they cannot get along. We all have been talking a lot about our pending vacation to NC...eager, excited, etc!!!
I think I may actually watch ole Obama's address this evening, purely out of curiosity. I do NOT believe he can fix the economy. i don't mean to be negative, but I truly believe the economy is only correcting itself. I think those houses were probably NEVER worth $500,000 and gas was NEVER worth $5/gallon... I could go on and on. The only thing that will fix America is Americans learning to live INSIDE their means. Trust me, I KNOW that is a tough lesson, Jon and I only recently learned it, but it's the only way. The idea of the government owning banks and car companys is kind of scary to me... but of course, that's just me. Love you all!!

Friday, February 20

Good News...and MORE Good News

I had the kids conferences yesterday evening. Miracle of all miracles: They are ALL doing very well right now. Even SAM!! Sam's teachers said he finally seems to be connecting with the kids in his class (don't know if I mentioned it before, but none of his friends are in his classes ~ he's out in the slack center and his friends are all inside). So, on the down side he felt disjointed at the beginning of the year. On the bright side, he's adjusting and broadening his friend spectrum. Mr, Bowers said he's gotten real chummy with Nate Hilborn (yes James, he is one if Tim's kids). Nate is in all his classes and is the only other boy that goes to g&t with Sam and a bunch of girls. Sam does not make friends easily. I'm not really sure why, he's not insecure...mostly uninterested. He doesn't remember a time before Austin, I don't think, and he see's no need to complicate his life by adding more people...it's not like he likes to talk anyway! He's funny. But, anyway, he is doing well! Liam has a C in reading but the rest of his grades are A's and B's. His teacher said he's got a great attitude lately and he's changed reading groups because he's progressing rapidly. Sam has all A's and B's (well, officially he has a C in math right now, but Mr Bowers said when he adds in his corrections it will be a B). So I am very proud and pleased with my offspring right now!! Of course Maggie is doing well ~ she's on track to be reading well into the third grade reading level when she finishes this year...show off.
The other good news is a bit of a story. Rigid has DISCONTINUED the table saw Jon wanted. Which could easily have turned into a fiasco, due to the fact that Jon does not like the model they've replaced it with...for various picky wookworker reasons. He's been scrambling calling all the local home depots and finally the corporate office. Everyone was sold out of them ~ OH NO!!! The corporate office got back with him this afternoon and informed him that the Hilliard Home Depot has one left ~ a display model, so it's already assembled...but it's clearanced!!!! It's marked down to $400 and he has $405 in gift cards. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED!! He is going with Johnny tomorrow morning to buy the table saw in Hilliard, they have it on hold for him! YEAH! I'm so happy for him ~ he's wanted this for a long time. He has a table saw, one that is even a very nice one, the catch apparently is that it's a job site construction table saw and is not made / designed for wook workers. Personally, I'm not sure what differences that entails, but it's enought that he's wanted this particular Rigid table saw for ages. And he's finally going to have it...on CLEARANCE even!! Praise God, and again THANK YOU to all of you!! Love you!!

Wednesday, February 18

Look Married Again...


Well, it's official. I have rings that fit again. Perrty, huh?

Yuck!

Well, here we go...late February in Ohio. It is really, super blah out today. Just as greay as it can be. It's drizzling and warmer, supposed to turn to snow tonight. I just cannot stand February and March ~ they are depressing. I did notice yesterday that the buds on my lilac and pear tree are growing, which is an encouraging sign. Right now, Jon and I are counting down the days until our yearly spring getaway to NC. 49 days...sigh
There's really nothing going on here either, it's our slow time of year. Baseball sign ups are this Saturday. All three kids want to play, of course. I suppose I should try to enjoy the lack of commitments right now...come spring I know from experience it will be hectic trying to get all 3 of them to their various practices and games. I'm looking forward to it though, if for no other reason than it will be nice outside then.
I am still working out every day ~ I have not missed a single one Dad! Which actually brings me to a question...when you started walking and your blood pressure medecine was too strong, did you get dizzy? I've been kind of light headed today and last night and I'm thinking perhaps it's time to go see Dr Hughes again to adjust or (crossing my fingers)possibly even go off of the medication. That one at least! I'm hoping that's the problem. If it doesn't go away by tomorrow I'll have to call her.
Jon has been busy in his workshop. He's building deer head stands for his brothers ~ ew, gross! The kids are starting to get antsy ~ they need something to do! Liam has gotten his pogo stick back out. The snow is gone, and he doesn't care if it's cold and drizzly. He just heads out and bounces his little fool self all over the driveway. He needs the outlet. Sam and Maggie have been pretty inactive lately. They're all arguing with each other a lot and I think cabin fever has set in.
We finally have set up our Moms prayer group to meet again. We halted over the holidays and sort of stalled on getting back to it. But, we're meeting tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that. I think the rest of the mom's are going stir crazy too!
Oh well, like I said no news...nothing going on. We miss you all and hope you're doing well in your nice warm sunny weather down there (grunt). Love you!

Monday, February 16

Mags!

Oh my...what to say about my baby...besides she's a total brat! And the sweetest thing ever! All at the same time:
1. Maggie is a whiner~real bad! But only with family, or very close friends. At school I'm told she has a terribly sweet, helpful disposition. Her teachers have been shocked to learn that she's a whiner. So, I KNOW she can turn it off. She really drives Jon nuts with it.
2. She is a reading fool. Junie B. Jones is her current favorite...she's excited to be reading chapter books. I'm enjoying having a child who LIKES to read. She works it too, she knows I will always buy her books if I have the money. She's got a lot of books...
3. Maggie recognizes the value of sleep. She's the only one of my kids who does. She will occasionally ask me to tuck her in before 8pm, and almost always sleeps later than Liam in the morning to boot.
4. Maggie is a perfectionist in school. Not to say that she does everything perfectly...perfect seems to mean something different to her. She knows how she wants things to be ~ and she will settle for nothing less. She gets very upset if she misses a word on her spelling test.
5. Maggie likes cheerleading. She spent two years cheering with a competitive cheer team...she did not learn as much as I think she should have for the cost of it...but she loved it. She wants to do it again and I'm stalling...
6. Maggie is very expressive. She goes to great lengths to make sure Jon and I understand how she feels, hence the note we received on Saturday:
7. Maggie loves dressing up, I think this tendency is mostly my fault, I'll put some of it on Mom though. She's always gotten gorgeous dresses for Easter and Christmas and she insists on wearing them again at the oddest times. Two weeks ago, on a 30 degree day, she wore her sleeveless easter dress with tights a sweater and pink cowboy boots to church. I don't argue with her about it anymore. I have bigger battles to come I'm sure and I just don't think what she's wearing is one I want to fight!
8. Maggie loves doing arts and crafts. She draws and cuts and glues for hours if you leave her to it. I mostly do...though occasionally I do have a hissy fit over the mess.
9. Mags is VERY bossy...which really surprised me. I didn't expect that trait in the baby of the family. She bosses everyone around. The boys don't listen to her much, which causes a lot of hard feelings on her part. She's determined that she runs the house...we don't seem to be able to convince her otherwise, no matter our group resistance.
10. She has allergies, hayfaver. It's a curse I've laid at her feet and I feel really bad about it. She spent football season sniffling with red eyes. It was awful!

The older Maggie gets the more like me she is. I see this as a train wreck acomin'! She and I are both Leo's...both loud, stubborn, determined to get our way. I have SERIOUS concerns about her teenage years. I hope the bonds we forge now will hold up to it!
I adore you Margaret Jeanne!! You are my princess!!!

Saturday, February 14

My Sweet Husband...

Ahh...my husband is selfless sometimes, ok...most of the time. He spent his Friday researching the internet and found the ring I wanted for a much more reasonable price... Most men would take every spare penny they had to buy the table saw they want. Not my husband...my husband pulls every spare penny together to buy ME the wedding ring I want. So, thank you honey, from the bottom of my heart. YOU WILL BE GETTING THAT TABLESAW!!! I'll make sure of it! I love you!

Friday, February 13

Thursday, February 12

Our Adventure...subtitled I Am Something of a Dork!

Ok, so yesterday was Jon's birthday and my efforts to make it special were wildly successful! Tuesday, before he got home I blew up balloons and hung streamers, put out our Happy Birthday sign and spread his gifts and cards on our "birthday" tablecloth. Tuesday night I made a sunshine chiffon cake FROM SCRATCH! I cannot tell a lie, it only turned out ok...I've never made a cake from scratch before. Then yesterday, after we put the kids on the bus, we got our work outs out of the way and headed to Columbus. We went to Jareds and dropped off my engagement ring to be sized, I haven't been able to wear it comfortably for a couple years and not at all for months. We were disappointed to find out that my wedding ring can not be sized at all :( ! So, I've picked out a new one I'd like to have and we should be able to afford it roughly NEVER!! Because, of course I didn't like any that were affordable. It's a curse, what can I tell you? After that we picked up our honey baked ham and went to Hoggy's for lunch. It was very nice. We don't get to go out to eat, just the two of us, often at all! I told them it was his birthday, and we squabbled in front of the waitress about him wanting to leave if they were going to sing...so being the sweet lady she was she didn't subject him to the singing but just brought him a huge piece of delicious chocolate cake quietly at the end.
Well, poo...work just called and I need to sign in there and do a little ...I'll post this and come back to it later. Love you all!
I'm back... so anyway, we went out had a nice lunch, ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple things just because we were close to a Wal-Mart...you do that when you live in the sticks ya know. Then we came home and waited for the kids to get home. We did the whole cake thing and had ham for supper and fun was had by all. THEN we went to bed...blissfully unaware. There was a huge storm headed for Columbus, but we were not under any warnings to speak of. Tornados, high winds and thunderstorms don't cross county lines! Well, at 12:30am I woke up to howling winds and no electric! Jon had been awake for awhile, he'd already rounded up a flashlight and a lantern. He told me then he'd been thinking about waking everyone up to go downstairs...he NEVER even thinks about going to the basement, so I must have slept throught the worst of it. He set the alarm on his cell phone and I went back to sleep. Jon called around 1am to let Consolidated Electric know we were without power and I think he didn't get a whole lot of sleep at all. Sorry hon! I slept like a log anyway. But, still woke up tired...I don't do well with interrupted sleep. So, Jon got up and went to work like normal and called on my cell phone to wake us up when it was time. We got ready and ate breakfast by candle light this morning. The kids thought it was kind of cool and I have to admit, I wasn't that put out by the whole thing. Because I'm a dork... I was actually a tiny bit disappointed when it came back on at about 1:15 this afternoon. You see, I'm reading this book right now called The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon. It's part of the Outlander series and takes place a few years prior to the revolutionary war. I kind of felt like I was "on set". I kept imagining how Claire(the main character) would handle situations. I thought about her all morning as I prepared cold breakfast and got the kids dressed by candle light. I know, I'm a dork! I just couldn't help it! I imagined that we were living in revolutionary times and it wasn't so bad. Took the sting out of the whole episode. So, after I got the kids off I took a nap and when I got up I got to work. First I cleaned out the cooler and transferred all out fridge food to it and stuck it outside (which was cold, praise God). Then I went through the house preparing to be without power again tonight. The sun was out and I kept thinking that that was a blessing and about how in the 1700's women must have done the same scurrying through the house to get stuff done while it was still light out. I cleaned the kids rooms and made sure there were candles in safe places in every room for when we would need them tonight. I planned to have ham sandwiches as that would not require any "cooking". I thought we could play a game after dark...I was totally caught up in the adventure of it! Then, darnit, the power kicked back on. I was torn, on the one hand all those candles really don't mix well with kids and I'd been kind of fretting in the back of my mind about one of the kids catching something on fire...on the other hand, it destroyed my little imaginary world. Oh well, guess I'll just have to go back to reading about it ;) ! That's all for now folks...Love you all!

Tuesday, February 10

My Little Visitor

So, the last few nights I've had a little visitor. The first night I was surprised (to say the least) to see a possum staring at me on the other side of the sliding glass door. We have several "barn cats" that hang out around our house and I throw scrap food out for them. Apparently, my little visitor knows this. She's come every night for the last three nights. The cats don't usually leave much food (if any!) so the first night while she was in the flower pot I threw a piece of pizza through a crack in the door behind her. She really like pizza! She really didn't like the vegetable soup I set out for her the next night. I know! I know! James ~ you don't need to tell me...I should NOT feed her or encourage her in any way. I just can't help myself!!! She's hungry and she's cute and it's not like I'm trying to pet her or anything! I seriously thought about it though, I have to confess. I wanted to see if she'd let me pet her REAL BAD, but I restrained myself and just laid on the floor and watched her eat every bit of that pizza. It takes a possum like 30 minutes to eat one little piece of pizza and she was a fastidious eater. She stopped every few bites and cleaned her paws and face...she's a little clean freak just like me!!


So for now, I'll keep feeding her. She'll probably get hit by a car soon anyway.
I'm still sticking with my work out. No worries Dad! I have not missed a single work out since I started! I'm up to 700 crunches daily plus the 30 minutes of walking, then I alternate days to lift weights, do pilates and the monster elliptical. I did only do 40 minutes of cardio last week when I had my cold...one day I just didn't feel up to it...the cold was in my head and my chest, so all I did was walk. I will say I managed to kick my yearly February cold in 3 days this year ~ I credit the working out with that! Usually I have it for a month and end up with a sinus infection! I feel great! I've even actually started enjoying it! If nothing else I feel a sense of accomplishment that I'm still doing it. God willing ~ I'll keep going (and I'm pretty sure He's willing, half the time He's what gets me down there!).
Everyone here is doing well. Jon's birthday is tomorrow. He has the day off. I received a honey baked ham gc from work for christmas and we're going to use it to get a ham for supper tomorrow ~ Ham is Jon's favorite. I think we may go out to lunch too while the kids are at school. Right now, I need to go get my mixer out and make his cake!! I love you all!

Monday, February 9

Samuel Montgomery...

Ah Sam...my first baby! 10 Random Things About YOU!!!
1. Sam is 12 years old and wears a mens size 12 shoes...seriously. I'm starting to get worried about finding shoes for him in another couple years!
2. Sam has had the same best friend since the 2nd grade. He and Austin are thick as thieves! I don't think he understands yet how much that will mean to him later in life...so I pray that they always remember who's ALWAYS been there for them (each other).
3. Sam is Grandma Debby's boy ~ much to her delight. I'd like to say he's my boy, but the two of them have some mystic bond...NO, I don't think he's grandpa mom!
4. Sam will still hug and kiss me in public (probably because he KNOWS I'll cause a scene if he resists!) even at the age of 12.
5. When Sam was potty training (when he was 2 1/2 yrs old), one time I went to the bathroom to check on him because he'd been back there for a half an hour and when I got him off the little training toilet he had my cat shoved in it ~ He'd been sitting on Scrooge for 30 minutes!
6. Sam plays video games, ALOT! I've tried putting limits on it, that usually engenders resentment...I've found it's better to try distract him. Don't say "Sam you can't play Wii...say Sam would you watch tv with me?" Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks??
7. He was baptised last summer, at his own request. He has accepted Jesus as HIS personal savior and I look forward to seeing the young man he grows up to be!
8. Sam likes playing baseball and while I expect him to be out of shape (due to video games) he's actually in great shape. He was on the elliptical last night while I walked on the treadmill for 31 minutes! He's taking fitness at school and he really enjoys it!
9. Sam likes science - he thinks he wants to be a meteorologist when he grows up. The problem with that is that he doesn't like math...he's really good at it...but he doesn't LIKE it. I keep trying to tell him that you can't have science without math, but he doesn't get that yet.
10. Of my 3 kids Sam is the "good boy". He doesn't whine or throw fits or ask for things we can't afford. He's content and at peace with life in a way that I wish the others could pick up on.

I love you Sam with my whole heart!!

Tuesday, February 3

Liam, Liam, Liam...


I've decided to borrow an idea from Katie and facebook...Here are 10 random things about my prococious middle child...

Liam Murphy Garrett
1. Liam loves to play outside ~ he'd rather be out than in...ALWAYS! He will play outside in the rain, a hurricane, a blizzard...it does not matter!
2. Yesterday I cleaned out from under his bed. I found: 3 pairs of dirty underwear, 5 dirty socks, 2 empty pop tart wrappers, 3 books, a moldy baby carrot and 5 bionicle pieces (among other things).
3. When he walks out to the bus in the morning if the driveway is plowed, he walks in the pile of snow made by the plowing...NOT the plowed drive.
4. He has really struggled learning to read, but is currently for the first time ever reading BETTER than expected for his time/place in school.
5. Liam has a huge heart ~ of all my children he is the most loving, the most giving. Not because he is a people pleaser, just because he loves.
6. He has a terrible temper ~ he is my tantrum child. He will jump up and down and screw his face up until I have trouble NOT laughing at him. I know it's not funny...but it IS!!
7. He is a MASTER at getting Sam in trouble ~ Liam can dish it out...but he cannot TAKE it!!
8. He LOVES string cheese! He would probably eat 5 or 6 of them a day if we let him.
9. Liam is a daddy's boy ~ much to Jon's delight.
10. Liam loves sports ~ any sports...but baseball is his FAVORITE!! and he's REALLY good at it. I believe he has a God given talent, I look forward to watching what he will do with it.
My Liam, I absolutely ADORE you!! You are the MOST AWESOME 7 year old boy on this planet!!!

Monday, February 2

Toothless, Mixer, Super Bowl

Liam has lost all of his front teeth now. I've been putting off posting a pic of it because of the black eye Sam gave him last week...I finally decided to save his black eye for posterity as well.
Dang it...he's even cute with no teeth and a black eye!!
We had a nice long weekend thanks to the snow days. It actually warmed up to almost 50 degrees this weekend so the kids played outside quite a bit. The snow started packing like crazy! They built snowmen, forts, ramps...you name it.

Yesterday, I decided we would have our own little SuperBowl Sunday party. So I made up some party foods and put a spread out on the island and Jon and the kids and I picked at it all evening. I even let them eat some in the living room *gasp*. Dad, this pic is for you...you've been asking for a picture of me using the kitchen aid. Yesterday I used it to make cheesy potatoes AND pound cake. I've started wondering ~ Can a kitchen aid mixer be worn out? I sure hope not (lol).
Jon took a picture of me and the kids for you guys too...

It's almost time for baseball sign ups...I AM READY!! Feel free to remind me of that when I start complaining about no free time...haha! Love you all!