Sweet Dreams

Since Ella was 1 week old, she's been a very sound and very solid sleeper. Not only is her attitude 3 going on 13, but her sleep habits are as well. She would honeslty sleep the morning away if given the chance. Today when it was time to take the boys to school she was OUT! As always, I had tried to wake her several times, she wouldn't even budge. No smacking, no whining, no kicking, she was sound asleep. When it came to the very last moments before we had to leave the house, I rolled her around and removed her covers. She began to stir and very sleepily said, "Where's my guinnea pig?" What? We don't have a guinnea pig. She repeated, "Where's my guinnea pig? She was in my bucket with her mama." Apparently Ella was, sadly, awoken from a very sweet dream. She looked crushed when I told her she had a dream and it was all just a movie in her head. Poor girl. I hate being awoken during vivid dreams!

Obama President Elect!

I am I happy? Yep! This election was the first time I didn't have my heart wrapped around either of the candidates. For months I flip-flopped between Mc Cain and Obama. Once I saw Mc Cain's first threatening ad, my decision was made. Bush's second term was won on fear. Vote for me or else more terrorist attacks. Remember that? Yeah. This country needed REAL change, not just another Washington insider with oil money lining his pockets. America needs a leader, not a threatening bully. And honestly, I'm just happy to be going from this:




tto this:






So, how many more days till January 20, 2009?

Today's The Day! Go..............................

My Dad

Each week my sister and I (and our families) meet at our parent's house for dinner. This week, after listening to my sister and I talk about our blogs, my Dad suggested we each write a blog about him. I, at first, thought this was the most ridiculous idea. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. My Dad is an awesome man! Why not write about him and let the world know how great he is, and how lucky I am to have him for a Dad? Without my Dad I would not have my sense of humor. Dad is truly the funniest man I've ever met. One gift I've inherited from him is the ability to laugh at just about anything. My Dad can find humor in even the most stressful situations. I consider this ability a gift. It has taught me to laugh at myself and not take life too seriously. At the same time, my Dad has this talent of being EXTREMELY agitating! Whether he is objecting to a life choice, giving you "advise", or discussing politics he will find your soft spot and attack it! To this day no one can make me laugh harder or make me madder than my Dad! Without my Dad I wouldn't have the great memories of racing each other around the outside of the house, playing catch in the back yard,doing rocking flips on the bed, or having "Ravioli maker" entertainment at dinner. Dad also has always taken time to show Wendy and I how much he loves us. When we were younger he was always an extremely involved dad. Whether it was a Father/Daughter Girl Scout Dance, helping to volunteer at the local nursing home, taking us trick-or-treating, or practising "feats of strength", he was always seemed to love spending time with US. He was also great at making sure we had a family vacation every year. Every July we spent a week in Chincoteague. Then we had the occasional summer trips to Busch Gardens, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Hershey Park and Disney. No matter where we were, we had a great time! Dad wasn't one to sit on the sidelines. If we were at the beach he was in the water jumping waves with us. If we were at the amusement parks he was on the highest and fastest roller coaster with us. In fact, it wasn't until I was about 15 that I realized that Dad HATED the cable cars and ferris wheels. He got on simply because we wanted to! He's also a great Grandfather. For my kids, he is their only Grandfather. I've always stressed, to him, the importance of spending time with the kids. Each year, as the kids get older, he spends more time with them building bird houses, fishing and boating. The kids love having time with their Pap-paw. Oh, except for Ella. For the past few months she has declared, "I hate you Pap-paw!" Now many would find this shocking from 3 year old. However, to fully understand this, please refer to the sentences about agitation! :)Even now that we are older Dad is always there if we need anything. Occasional help with the kids...done, a bottle of wine after a stressful week...grab one out of the cupboard, home improvement help...he's there, help paying for van repairs (note it's a FORD so this happens often)...he's saying, "it's taken care of" while I'm still sweating over the bills, pushing things into the next week. I've been blessed to have him for a Dad, my kids are blessed to have him for a Pap-paw and my husband is blessed to have him for a Father-in-law! I know I am also blessed to still have my father. Many people I know have already lost their fathers. Perhaps knowing this is what makes me LOVE him even through the times of EXTREME AGITATION! Love you Dad!


*NOTE* My sister, Wendy, also wrote a "Dad Post" to read her post, visit : Livin On A Shoestring.

I LOVE My Chiropractor!

Today is the first day in 2 days that I haven't had insane neck pain! Woo-hoo! Had the pain started on a weekday, I could have had it taken care of quickly. However, it happened Friday night and I was left to deal with it over the weekend. I went into the Chiropractor ASAP this AM. He jackhammered my neck, cracked my back and pushed on my butt 3 times. Voila! Whole new woman! Had I known how great Chiropractic care was BEFORE I was married, I would have moved near a Chiropractic college and started hitting on all the attractive male students! I so could use a Chiropractor for a husband! James tried to ease my pain this weekend. He picked me up, cracked my back and then tried to lift my head off my shoulders. This of course did NOTHING! I appreciate his care and concern;however, I also reminded him that trying to lift ones head from their shoulders has also killed people. I believe it is called HANGING! Hello! His help was actually a covert way for him to rid himself of me!

Another Bright Spot

I just thought of another bright moment in my weekend-o-pain. Last evening Reid was sitting at the table and asked me, "Who lives in the lighthouse?" The only lighthouse I could think of was the lighthouse in Assateague, VA. We had seen it while on vacation in September, so I just assumed he meant that lighthouse. I started explaining that no one really lives in the lighthouse anymore and he instantly stopped me by saying, "Yes they do! They live there, they leave soon and then someone new comes in." What?! A lighthouse, where people live, leave and others enter? What? Reid began to draw a picture of the house he meant. It had a dome and a flag! The WHITE HOUSE!

I HURT!

According to this little pain chart, I'm between 3 and 4. Friday evening, after a night of Trick-or-Treating, we came home and quickly got the kids ready for bed. Both the boys laid down and fell asleep. Ella, however, was WIRED! I sat down on the recliner and began rocking her to sleep. Well, not only was I successful at rocking Ella to sleep, I also rocked myself to sleep! When I woke up I realized James had taken Ella back to her bed, so I decided just to curl up on the chair and continue to doze. I shifted in the chair and HOLY SWEET HANNAH MY NECK HURT! I don't know what I did, or exactly how I did it, but my neck was a collar of pain! I got up thinking I could walk it off. When that didn't work I took some Aleve and carefully laid down in bed. Amazingly I was able to fall asleep quickly, however, Ella woke around 5, climbed into our bed and suddenly my pain was VERY APPARENT! I got in the shower thinking the warm water would help...it didn't. I couldn't even fully bend by head back to rinse the shampoo out of my hair. It hurt to breathe, my collar bones ache and I have a stabbing pain in the front and back of my throat. Not like a sore throat, it's all external. IT HURTS! Hayden had a soccer game that I did not want to miss, so James drove to the soccer game as I called the Chiropractor every 15 minutes on the way to the game. The game began at 9 and was finished at 10. I called the Chiro again only to find that they were only in from 9-10 this Saturday! LUCKY ME! So, now I sit and wait to call again FIRST THING MONDAY MORNING to see if they can help me. I know they can, they always do! I've never had neck issues before, but anytime I've thrown my back out, they've popped it right back in and I've left feeling like a whole new woman! Perhaps that is why I'm so miserable. I know this can most likely be fixed in less than 5 minutes, but because it happened over the weekend I have no option but sit, wait and deal! AHHHH! However, I must say I found a bright spot in my weekend-o-pain. As I was checking in on my bloggy buddies I found a new blog. Not only is her blog filled with super cute pics of her friends and family. She is also having a 3 day give away. So, click on the link and head on over to check out her blog and her Toy-R-Us gift card give away! Well, back to my pain!