Interesting weekend leads to an eventful Monday

So after the worlds mayhem calmed down mine picked up. What we deemed as a non eventful quiet weekend, turned about to be better than quiet. We all went swimming at the Y on Saturday afternoon, teaching the kids to swim is a great joy I have. Teaching their dad to swim will be the death of me! LOL
After swimming the kids had some friends over and they all took off for their secret fort and were gone for what seemed like hours, we just laid there we the tv's off and listen to the sound of nothing, for all of about 5 minutes. It never lasts longer than that, if it does, something is very wrong. The sound was our youngest Moom Moooooooom OmGosh OmGosh MOoooom can you come up here???? Dashing up stairs I fear I am going to find a dead guinea pig... but no....it's alive and very tiny new born. My daughter exclaims, "MOM... milk laid a baby!!" After laughing on her over exuberance we name the little guy Snickers. What else would you call a baby to Milk and Chocolate? After segregating the male that was female :( from the brood all is balanced again.

Hunter, possibly the kids Best Friend especially Logan's eat dinner with us and ends up spending the night. They watched Skyfall and the boys slept in the living room. Hunter was woken up by a dogs nose on his foot. :) Personally i can think of no better way to wake up on a Sunday morning. He goes to church with us which is about a 45 minute drive ( another story) Hunter tells us that his parents are splitting up and he doesn't know what is going to happen. Bruce and I are touched that he feels comfortable enough with us to share that but saddened at the same time that such a great kid is going through this.

Sunday for lunch I head out to have lunch with some past co-workers of mine and end up staying gone for almost 3 hours. It was so much fun to catch up and spend some time away from the clan. Sunday we wound down and relaxed got the kiddos ready for school on Monday had dinner and went to bed. Completely unaware of the Monday that was waiting.

Monday oooohhh Monday, the kids were NOT ready we ended up having to take them to the bus stop where the bus was pulling up as they got out of the car. Fighting and arguing the whole way. Monday work was standard, Bruce and I were going to meet at the Y instead of going home getting dinner ready running out the door just too much mayhem. So we thought lets avoid this. I will meet you at the Gym and you can go home and change check on the kids. It will give us more time with the kiddos and we can still work out. great idea right? NO wrong LOL Bruce left the house late because he had to transfer the freezer food to the outside freezer because the freezer was broken BLAH. Oh well rush rush he gets stopped b a stopped train. Meanwhile I work out for an hour wondering where he is. I get home Bruuuuuce! its not just the freezer the fridge is dead too!!!I loose it, how can you not know, lets call some places, crap we have no money i just paid taxes and all our bills this was NOT in the budget OMGosh OMGosh.

Breathe Karen......I have a check I have not cashed, cashed it, put down 10% put the rest on a credit card and tada! New fridge will be delievered YAY, the old one hauled away for free YAY!! not until Wednesday Boooo oh well at least we have a freezer to put all the food in All of this to say ya know what. We are blessed it could have been so much worse, but it's good God is good and we are blessed to have God's grace when things get to much remember, give it to God he can do all things!

Here's to an awesome week...Amen

The things we do for our kids

When I was a kid I was a competitive swimmer. That meant year round meets, early practices, meets across town, out of town, practice times that made no sense ( to my parents) To me.... it was my life. Ever since I was 7 years old all I wanted to do was swim. So I did all year long. My parents put in a pool. My own H2O paradise. I had no clue until I had kids of my own that not only was my success as a swimmer due to my commitment it was my parents commitment too. If my dad had not gotten up at 4 am to take me down town to swim at 5 am before school at the gym M-F I would never have made it to city finals, or state finals, or nationals. Thanks dad....

Now it is my turn to drive across town to meets and such for my daughter, who apparently is a natural triathlon athlete. She competed in her very first one this past weekend and blew the field away. after we got there at 6 am leaving our house at 5am BLAH!! I had no clue there were clubs for this but... it didn't matter she beat most of the clubs. Now my daughters new quest is for a club, and a new sport life we have entered just like that. I would do it all again to see that smile on her face as she crossed the finish line. I love her,  the pride I felt was like I had just given birth all over again. AMAZING how kids get us to commit without even trying :) More amazing we do it, without a second thought.

He is Going Home Today

It would be a lie if I said I wasn't a little sad that my dad is leaving today. But, it is sooooooo time. I hope he can live on his own on the ranch but I am doubtful. I know he misses mom and all her things but he needs to be here. He needs to be with family,he just doesn't need to live with me LOL

Last night he took us all out to dinner at one of his favorite places, Benihana's. The kids had never been before so that was a real treat, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I love watching kids reactions to something new. It makes it new and fun again for me. When something you like gets to be routine bring a kid with you, I guarantee your entire perspective will change.

Saturday is triathlon day well pep rally day, we get to meet Texan cheerleaders and football players and celebrity kids? so great for the kids I am sure it will be a blast! I am so proud of Zoe for doing this, she just wants to do it for the fun of doing it so she can say, I have done a triathlon. I love her for that. She is one awesome little girl.

Tonight my life goes back to some assemblance of normal, no more 3 adults barking orders and kids running wall eyed because they are so confused. Just torn between wanting my life back and wanting what is best for my Dad. I just don't see him succeeding out there alone. We (my siblings and I) all think that dad just need to buy a condo in a retirement community and enjoy the rest of his days around friends and family not holed up on the Ranch as a hermit. Part of me hopes we are wrong, part of me fears we are right. One thing I know for sure is I love my dad I miss my mom more than words can say and I just want a happy medium so dad can live out his days in peace.

The End is Near...and It's a Good Thing

My Nephew came in town Friday night, his school is just now getting spring break. How sad... At any rate he is here to drive my father back to New Mexico....Alleluia!! The man should have left 2 months ago but for whatever "he Hates Houston mantra" he is still HERE!! The cause as to how he ended up here was he fell twice causing odd behaviors and an inability to take care of himself. That was back in October. In November we found out why... two tennis ball sized hematomas in his skull. We have them removed and he is on months of PT and OT to regain function ability to live alone. He was cleared 2 months ago. I know I have said that already but that means I have been living UPSTAIRS in my sons bed room for 8 weeks longer than I should have been. My father is an angry, greedy, selfish, man who is NOT easy to live with. I have since decided that my mother was purely an angel and martyr for dealing with him for 50 years.

Just a few weeks ago one of the twins asked me why God could not just take him, and then asked why Nan didn't want her husband back... to which she quickly replied to her own question..." I don't blame her.... I wouldn't either." How sad and funny at the same time that a 9 year old feels that way about their Grandfather. He, since getting better has tried to run my house and my children. I get to hear almost daily, how dirty my house is which it is not, it is just currently housing a family of 6 and his NOW inside dog, how my children need 100 % supervision, which they do not, and how i need to sell my house and buy one in a the adjacent neighborhood which he deems as better, oh the list could go on for a while. I love my father I really do but he is not someone I can or would ever choose to live with. The next time he comes down he will either have to get himself a condo, an apt, or stay in an extended stay hotel somewhere because as for my and my house we cannot do it again.

So all of that to say they leave on Thursday...God speed!!

We almost had to move out

Well yesterday was great....let's just say it ended that way. The rain from the night before was fabulous, we needed it terribly. The morning was damp and cool and it stayed over cast all day. I love days like that. I like them more when I can be at home curled up with a book but, well they are still nice from a 4th floor office window. At any rate the day was status quo until the kids did not call to say they were home.

Well as any good parent would do we panicked!

Come to find out the kids made it home just fine, BUT they let my dad's dog out. My dad who loves this dog more than life, that dog.They let him out while they were coming in from school and because it was THAT dog thus negated to usual we are home phone call. The severity of the situation, I will agree, did warrant mass panic. Chloe apparently is not one who can deal with the stress of a magnanimous situation. As she is running and crying and screaming for the dog. Just the thing you want to do to get a dog to come to you.... right? Exactly, wrong! Finally Bruce is able to reach Zoe on her cell phone and tell her to get her sister home and how to get the dog with much less drama.( Bruce had to do this the other day when we let THAT dog out)

Meanwhile from my office I am making plans with my brother for all of us to live at his house until my father leaves next week. Because under no circumstances was I going to live in my house with MY father who just lost HIS precious because of MY kids. DO you see the dynamic of this, he dog is more precious that his child or his grandchildren, maybe even himself. My mother was sure the dogs place was over hers but, that's a story for another day. My father is a wonderful man just not the kind you want to live with, unless he is an invalid and then he is fabulous house company. As it is now he is no longer and invalid and he has returned to his tyrant state. BLAH.

I promptly sent a text to my brother letting him know the situation to which his heart dropped as well. Maybe he was thinking a complete evacuation of Houston was in order. Considering my fathers temper he might have been right. At the end of the exasperating ordeal the precious dog was found and taken home, I sent the survival text to my brother which he responded to with THANK GOD. To which I am assuming ment he stopped packing his house as well. LOL

We ended the night  quietly with dinner out and a sewing lesson for the girls. I am teaching them the basic stitching techniques on canvas with yarn before I turn them loose on cloth with a real sharp needle. The stories from this ought to be enlightening LOL

Have a great day!

Time flies with 3 day weekends

I cannot believe it has been so long since I have last posted. Since my last post I have gained another year on my life Happy Birthday to me!! Gotten a new Easter Basset Puppy for my Hubby and embarrassed my kids at least a dozen times I am sure.

My Birthday was great my dad got me a Moeller's cake, which is the best cake in the world, not just Houston. I already had my new car, and my ear rings that Bruce could not wait to give me so.... I got a paper weight pig for my present :) Looove pigs! good job Brucie. I can say without a doubt this year was far better than last year and every year that passes I miss my Mom more but the pain is easier to deal with. Maybe I am just expecting it. Everyone remembered even my poor worn out brother who works too hard (if you ask me) The most wonderful thing about my birthday is, my sister is 7 years older the following day HA!! Better than a twin she takes the sting out of turning older. However my poor brother did infact miss calling his big sister. Its a crap shoot with him who will be forgotten each year. We love him anyway and just tease him mercilessly about it.

As far as embarrassing my kids ahhh well dancing in the middle of Il Primo just about sent them all to an early grave. I asked, sheepishly, I do it all the time at home is it not OK in public. Zoes mouth, still gapping, said no LOL. I love that, mostly because my kids will one day remember that life is better when seriousness is put in it's place and silliness lives strong! Pretty much I am a stop and smell the roses type person now instead of oh look and take note of their presence. My favorite saying is "smile at the little things, they add up to something big" simple truth.

My neighbor lost his job, I wish that on no one, he is not all together the mirror of humanity that one wished for in a neighbor but, well, life goes on. We have learned though, no sleep overs at the house where the husband is drunk and yells and throws things and talks to his wife like dirt. It's sad too his wife and kids are so great. But, alas, I cannot condone it and do not allow the kids to play there. They still play in the front yard with each other and talk through the fence and bounce separately on trampolines together. Their daughter spilled the beans exclaiming "my dad got fired.....we are poooooor!" I feel bad for them, I told the girls we needed to pray for him and their family because even though he is not the type of person we want in our lives that type of hardship I wish on no one. So we pray for their well being and financial situation and I hope it is teaching my kids a good lesson. Something along the lines of just because we don't care for their way of life doesn't mean we cannot pray for their happiness. Or something like that, I am not even sure my self but if feels like the right thing to do.

Now as far as the Easter Basset... this one was completely spontaneous  A life long friend posted about Basset puppies being given away, I look at Bruce and said you want? He said sure, we hopped in the car drove 2 hours and picked one up. I hate puppies. I had forgotten that LOL they pee, they lick and they whine. UHHHG! Over all he really is a good dog and is catching on to routine very quickly. I might just have to love the guy. His name is Toby, you know after the Basset in Disney's the Great Mouse Detective ( love that movie) So I think that catches us up thus far other than my father goes home next week WOOHOO and  I have lost 10 pounds yippee. Back to work more to come in a few days not weeks I promise!