I Think I Lost My MIND!!!

A mind is a wonderful thing to have, and when you lose it...well you are lost.

My grandma, mom, sisters and I have all been blessed with fairly good memories, some better than others (Amanda). I used to pride myself on having a a fairly good memory for all sorts of important and random information. I can probably tell you (within a few days) of most all of my high school classmates birthdays. I have a knack for remembering random lines of movies. I can sing you random lyrics from a song (but don"t ask me the name or the artist, that is where my sister's talents come in). I can remember where things at work are filed or stored and how to un-jam the copier.

Well here lately I have forgotten many things and I am not sure what to contribute it too. It could be a little stress from work as we are undergoing a transition to a new accounting system and all the training and information has completely overloaded my brain. It could be keeping up with my husband, children and I's meeting, appointments, needs, etc. that need to be coordinated. It could be the events that have occurred in my life as of late (see previous post). It could be that "the old gray mare just ain't what she used to be."

So how does one know they have lost their mind, you ask?! Well how I realized I had officially lost mine was when last Monday I came to work with two different shoes on!!! I was sitting at my co-workers desk discussing some issues when I looked down at saw that I had one black sandal and one brown sandal on. No they were not the same style. No they did not have the same heel height (although within 1/4 inch). The kicker to all this was that I discovered it at 9:10 a.m. and I had them on for over 2 hours before I even noticed! Well let's just say it added quite the comic relief to my fellow co-workers and myself that day, and was asked throughout the week for random shoe checks. There was a brief photo op, where pictures were taken by a few coworkers and myself and sent to their spouses (including my hubby) so that they could share in this epic event.

So as I ponder whether to pray to St. Anthony or to St. Jude for the return of my memory and fast and you happen to see it running around, wandering aimlessly through your neighborhood, please send it back in my direction.

A Rather Detailed Ten on Tuesday

1.  I have had a little writers block and have had a hard time focusing on writing. I have been reading blogs waiting for the inspiration to hit, and at last it has!

2.  Where to start... I guess the bad stuff first :(. My friend and co-worker's 6 month old son died suddenly on August 30. He stopped breathing during his nap on August 29, and made it about 24 hours before they unplugged the ventilator and watched him pass away peacefully by his mother's side. It was a very sad and rough few days at work, and not much work was done, as we pulled together as a work family and cried and talked and cried some more to grasp this heartbreaking situation. There really are no words when you lose someone, just lots and lots of prayers.

3. August 31 was Cody's 8th birthday. I feel bad for Cody as it was hard to for me to celebrate while having such a heavy heart, but I forged on with celebration. We had a cookout and Gina made an awesome LEGO cake. Thanks Gina!

4. September 1 started off with such promise,  a quick trip to Covington and Enid for errands and then to Perry for a gender reveal for a family friend that is having a baby in February (and road trip with my sisters). We came home for a cookout with family and friends at Gina's. I was home less than 30 minutes when Cody came running in and told us that Kyle was hurt. Scotty and I with Cole in tow went out to assess the situation. Apparently all the kiddos were going for a ride in a Kawasaki Mule, Kyle was not sitting down yet when they took off and fell out of the back. He complained his arm was hurting so Scotty took him into the house to look him over better. Scotty then informed me that Kyle was hurt because he could barely touch or move his arm with out him screaming out in pain. We left Cody & Cole with my mom and sisters and loaded up and headed to the ER (Oh joy!) Kyle broke his left humerus about 3 inches down from his shoulder and was put in a sling. He has adapted well to the one armed life and amazes me at how resilient children are.

5.  September 2 was pretty uneventful. I was nurse maid to Kyle as he was learning how to go to the potty and get up from the recliner without hurting his arm. I think he enjoyed having water brought to him and his pillows fluffed.

6. September 3 we were going to have Scotty and I's parents over for some rotisserie chicken that evening. My dad was out in the field putting on anhydrous and my in-laws had just come out when my mom called me frantic and wanted me to send Scotty to the field. The only parts of the short conversation was: dad, switching anahydrous tanks, send Scotty. I flew out the back door and relayed the brief phone call details to Scotty and he jumped in his pickup and peeled out of the yard (the marks are still in my grass) to help my dad. Gina and Jeremy were loading up there kiddos for trip to Enid, when she heard me yell to Scotty, so they loaded up and flew over to the field. I ran inside and got Scotty's medical bag that was still in the house from Kyle's episode on Saturday. I jumped in with my father in law to take the medical bag to him and about halfway to the field we met Scotty, Mom, Dad, and Gina making there way to the ER. Long story short: my dad was switching tanks and they believe there was a kink in the hose, so some vapor flew up into my dad's mouth and nose, causing him to not be able to breathe and cough alot. At the ER he was given oxygen and sent home, with no major issues. Praise the Lord!!

7. September 4 I had to report for my first ever jury duty. Can my luck get any better? After arriving a little before 8 am we got to go through the metal detector, read our oath as a juror, get signed and checked in, then proceed to the courtroom. We had to stand and raise our right hand a agree to the oath we had read prior, then we were informed that the trial was for a rape case and it was expected to last 2 or 3 days. The jury selection began by them using one of those turny boxes like they use for raffle drawings. Well, I was the number 4 juror selected. After about 45 minutes of questioning from the judge, Assistant DA, and defender, we went for a break. After returning from the break they started letting jurors go that did not make the cut, and after 5 other jurors were dismissed and the qualifying of other jurors (this is a tedious process) I was finally dismissed. I have to admit that I was a little bummed because I was interested in how the whole process works and was prepared to do my civic duty and wondering if it was something I said that got me dismissed. My theory on my dismissal was that I have young children at home to care for.

8. September 5 was the baby's funeral. It was a nice service but so very sad to see an infant casket.

9.  September 7 started out to be a wonderful day, but ended not so great. For those of you that may not remember there was a cold front that hit around 1 or 2 pm that day and with it came extremely high winds. Well, our neighbor in all his wisdom (NOT) decided to do a control burn on the quarter right north of our quarter. I got a call from Scotty saying he had left work and was headed to a hay bale fire, when I asked where it was he informed me that is was my parents hay bales north of our houses. When I came home there were tankers and grass rigs out in the fields and in our charred pasture checking for hot spots. My parents lost around 20 hay bales, most of the fence, and about half of the pasture was burned. The fire was about 100 yards from my sister and I's house, so we were very lucky. We had to pen up the cattle by the barn so that temporary fence could be built.

10. September 8... finally some good news! Cole was baptized that afternoon and we had a nice family cookout.

I am hoping that this is all the excitement for a long time. I realize that things could be worse, and am very grateful to have a happy and healthy family and an unscathed home. Give your loved ones an extra hug and kiss when you see them because you just never know!

Love Thursday

Here are some of my loves for the week.

1. I love how talented and handy my hubby is. He can work on cars, electrical issues, plumbing, wood working, etc. My dad and my grandpas also had that ability, so I find it very conforting to know that I have someone that can take of things at our house without having to call someone. BTW he installed my new dishwasher!

2. I love being able to see my nephews on a regular basis and to watch them learn and grow. Wyatt has now lost 2 teeth, and Andy is talking up a storm and is such the little man these days.

3. I love how Cody amazes me everyday. He has such natural talent with drawing and does an amazing job with it. I bought him some learn to draw books yeserday that show you step by step how to draw animals, cars, etc. I gave them to him last night and within an hour of him receiving the books he had drawn and colored a camal and a car. Hubby and I were pretty shocked at how good they looked and had to question that he had not traced them. Then this morning he drew pencil people while waiting for everyone to get ready to leave this morning. He must of got this creative gene from his aunts as I have no creative ability!

4. I love how much Cole is growing (I am a little sad also). His second tooth is almost through and he is starting to babble and scoot around a little. I also love how happy of a baby he is, especially when he has just woke up. That smile melts my heart.

5. I love how a sick child needs to be babied. Kyle has had a little virus where he runs a fever and has headaches. When he is feeling pretty rough and the Tylenol or Motrin has worn off, he cannot do the most simplest tasks like covering himself with a blanket or getting himself water (and it has to be in a sippy cup). It sometimes is a little exasperating, but it is also nice to know that you are still needed.

Hope everyone has a LOVEly day!

Five on Friday

1. It has turned off cool here today, much to my childrens' dismay as they both were not happy to have to wear pants to school today. Kyle came in and wanted to know why he could not wear his "short" pants.

2. Gina and I have started walking/jogging around our little acreage. It is nice because the boys can walk with us or can stay in the backyard and play while we are still able to get our walk in and watch them. We also do not have to watch for cars or walk slower so the boys can keep up with us, as we would have to do if we walked on the road.

3. Cody asked me yesterday as we were driving by Pellow Monument if I had picked out my headstone yet! I know I am 29, but I sure did not think I needed to pick that out yet.

4. I believe that Cody has picked up on some of Aunt Amanda's mannerisms. Last night on the way home Kyle was complaining that he was so hungry (the kid had already had a grilled cheese and something else), I told him the only thing that I had to eat in the car was a Kleenex, so he would have to wait until we got home. Cody said "Tough Kyle! I know I sound like Aunt Amanda, but tough!" Apparently he has heard that quite often from her.

5. I think everything is still a go for the weinie roast and hopefully it will be a cooler evening so we can enjoy the fire even more!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend! TTUT! (Ta Ta Until Tuesday!)

Ten on Tuesday

1. Cole had his first tooth come in this weekend! He has been working on it for a while now and it finally broke through, after much drooling, chewing and fussing. He is getting to be such a big boy.
2. Speaking of him getting bigger, he will be 4 months old on Thursday! My how the time flies.
3. My nephew Wyatt lost his first tooth on Sunday! How ironic. One gets one in and another loses one.
4. I am hoping to have a good old fashioned weinie roast this weekend. The weather looks perfect for it, but I need to check with my resident fireman to see if he would be up to having one. I am thinking he can be easily persuaded as he has been wanting to make a dutch oven cobbler.
5. The camping plans for last weekend went to pot. Scotty and I decided it was the responsible thing to do, seeing as they were predicting some pretty bad weather. We both had that "funny" feeling in our stomachs saying not to go. The boys were a little bummed, but they did go out to Camp Williams for the day on Saturday, and made it safely home before any storms started a brewin'.
6. My, what wild weather they had last weekend in western Oklahoma! My thoughts and prayers are with those that lost so much. Luckily we were spared damage, although I did lose some sleep watching all the weather reports. I truly despise tornado warnings in the middle of the night.
7. Cody is on his way to his Wolf badge. We will be working on the last few achievements this weekend to finish up his Tiger requirements.
8. Kyle had his Kindergarten pre-enrollment and testing last week. It seemed to go good and when we got there a girl from his class was also enrolling, so he will have a familiar face next school year.
9. I think my dishwasher is on its last legs (sad face). I had my husband look at it and he told me he is not sure what is wrong with it. I don't know if that is actually true or if he just did not want to tear into on Sunday night. Maybe some gentle hinting that something needs to be soon is in order, as I so enjoy this modern convenience.
10. I think we have an evil little lightbulb monster at our house. It seems like everyday we come home to another burned out bulb. I think we have replaced 5 or 6 lighbulbs over the past week.

Ten on Wednesday!

1.  Yesterday was my birthday and it was a great day! My baby sis took me to lunch and then I got to have dinner with my whole family and Scotty's parents along with Tonisha. Thanks to everyone for the wishes, presents and spending time with me. It means alot!
2. Easter weekend was busy but very enjoyable. We had a 2 hour Mass on Saturday night with egg hunting to follow. Sunday we had brunch at my parents with egg hunting to follow, home for a nap for mom and Cole, then supper at my inlaws, with egg hunting to follow. As you can see the Easter bunny was a hoppin' at the Moody household.
3. Random conversation with Kyle on the way home Monday night:
• Kyle: How old are you mom?
• Me: 28 but I will be 29 tomorrow
• Kyle: And then you will be 30, 31, 32, 100!
• Me: Thanks Kyle!
4. We broke the news to the boys Sunday afternoon that they will be attending a new school next year. Scotty and I were a little nervous about how they would take it, but they took the news very well. Cody"s main concern was that we need to keep the school phonebook so that he can call his friends. Kyle was super duper excited that he can "wear anything that I want because they do not have uniforms!" Funny they never have complained about wearing them. They are also very excited to ride the bus, especially since Wyatt will be riding with them. Good luck to the bus drivers! Cody also questioned if they would learn about Jesus at school, which made me a little sad to tell him no, and that there would be no prayer or mass to attend. I'm sure it will take some adjusting but they will be fine...right?
5. I am taking Kyle to his kindegarten pre-enrollment and testing. It will be interesting to see how he tests as he is already starting to read!
6. This weekend Scotty, Cody and Kyle are going on a Boy Scout campout, so Cole and I will be chillin' at home as our allergies have flared up really bad this week. I am a little bummed that I have had to miss the campouts, but there is always next year.
7. Another random coversation with Kyle as we were driving last night to the restaurant, we saw a 1970's model car parked in a parking lot:
• Kyle: Look Cody, that car is old! It has to be from the 90's
• Me: No, Kyle it is from the 70's.
• Kyle: Wow that is really old!
8. Happy belated anniversary to my mom and dad. Here is to another 34 or more years of marriage!
9. I believe that there is another baby boom happening, I know of about 10 people that are expecting babies this year! Congratulations to all those expecting!
10. There still has not been any activity on getting Cole's room organized. Maybe this weekend?

     

10 on Tuesday

Hello again to my faithful readers! Here are a few things that have been happening in my life:

1. We have a new pet. Her name is Black Betty and she is a bottle calf. The new wore off for the boys about 2 or 3 weeks into having her and are now keeping accurate track of who's turn it is to feed her.
2. We purchased a new king size bed! I am not sure how we both fit on the queen sized one, as now we both sprall across the king. My wonderfully handy husband built our headboard  and it is beautiful. He still has to make the footboard, but some other projects have taken precedence.
3. The number of months old my baby boy is. He is growing by leaps and bounds and is starting to show his personality. For the most part he is a really happy, easy going baby, that only really fusses when he is hungry or need a diaper. He does like to fight taking naps as he thinks he may miss something, but sleeps well through the night. He will normally go to sleep around 9:00 and will sleep until 6:00-7:15.
4. Project Separate has begun and is 2/3 of the way complete. We have been discussing since I was pregnant with Cole which room was going to be his room. It was later decided that since we have a four bedroom house, why not let them each have their own room (what a novel idea!). With the purchase of our new bed, the old one was handed down to Cody, which involved cleaning out the "spare" bedroom (see also: junk room/storage/catch all). It took most of a day to go through things and throw out, organize and store our acquisitions over the past few years, but was complete and the bed was setup by the end of the day. The next day we mostly transformed the "toy" bedroom into Kyle's bedroom. He was suprised to get his own room so soon and was even happier to have his dad's bed that he had when he was little. Cole's room that was Cody & Kyle's is in complete upheaval with the baby bed in pieces and misc clothes scattered hither and yon thorughout. Luckily he still fits in his cradle in our room, so we have time to get things put together.
5. With Project Separate, I have found that the kiddos are easy to wake up, because they are not keeping each other awake and also they have a better since of pride in keeping their rooms picked up. A win for everyone, especially mom!
6. Over spring break we had pictures taken of the 5 grandsons for my mom. Let's just say that photographers are wonderful and 1 hour with 5 boys seems like 3 hours. I am not sure how we came up with so many great poses, because I was sitting behind the camera and it looked like chaos.  
7. This is the number of days until my birthday!
8. Also, on spring break Scotty, my mom and I took the 5 boys to the zoo. It was a beautiful day for the zoo as it was not very windy, sunny, and not real hot, but everyone in the state also thought it was a great idea. We got there a little after 10:00 and had to hike from the Remington Park parking to the zoo. We all had a great time and the kiddos were real troopers about walking around and looking without whining. I was constantly doing a head count to make sure "no man was left behind." I think the most liked site was watching the baby chimp that had it's arm amputated climb all over. 
9. I am very thankful for my mom and sisters. I was pleasantly suprised when we came home late Saturday night from working on my inlaws washing machine drainage issue, that they had done dishes, swept, straightened up the dining room and did some laundry. It was very much appreciated as we have not been home much over the past few weeks. I will definately have to return the favor. Love you guys!
10. Have a Happy Easter!!!!

It's Finally Friday!!!

I am so glad that this week is coming to an end and I get to spend the weekend with my family. I have had a very stressful and emotional week and am glad to be ending it on a happy note!

Last Thursday I was, shall we say blindsided, by my babysitter that informed me that she could not handle taking care of Cole anymore. She has a 2 and 5 year old so I completely understand, but at the same time I was completely frustrated because we were finally getting into a routine and also because I had no idea where I was going to find another sitter that I would trust. I left her house stunned and trying to keep emotionally stable for the drive home, but that lasted only 2 blocks, because Scotty called and I broke down on the phone explaining the situation. Let me just say I enjoy my 30 minute drive to and from Enid, because it gives me time to plan out my evening, next day, next week, etc whatever needs to be planned out, so I spent the whole drive home racking my brain for a possible idea of who could watch my baby boy.

This was the closest I have come to being ready to quit my job because I was NOT putting my child in an institution (what I call daycare centers), but I also know that we cannot afford that so I continued to rack my brain for ideas. I do have wonderful parents and inlaws that are always willing to help me out with the kids when I have a childcare hiccup, but this was way more that a little hiccup, this was HUGE and long term problem that needed resolving immediately. Scotty had made some phone calls on his way home of some friends of ours that are stay at home moms, and I had come up with a few people I new watched children or some other moms that have their kiddos in an in home daycare to talk to and see if they had any openings. We did have this week covered as the boys and I were both off on Monday and mom could watch Cole the rest of the week, but next week she had to work everyday. The pressure was on.

By Saturday, I was ready to stick my head in the sand and not think about it, but it was very much an all consuming thought in my head. Saturday night we heard back from the people Scotty had called, and she had a daycare in Crescent and was wanting to move it to her home in Marshall, but not until after school was out in May. Strike one! I called and in home daycare on Monday while I was home for Presidents day and found she was full and didn't have anyone to refer me too. Strike Two! I talked to a teacher at the Muffins with Mom on Tuesday at Cody & Kyle's school and she said she would check with her daycare lady to see if there was any opening there. Wednesday I went to the school mass for Ash Wednesday and begged, pleaded and prayed to God that I would find an answer very soon. After mass I talked with the teacher and she informed me that her daycare lady has 2 pregnant ladies that she is holding spots for. Strike THREE! I talked with Amanda after mass and asked her to check with her friends and see if they knew anyone that watched kids and also asked her to pray that we found something quick. I really should have asked my Mimi to pray, since she has a direct link  for prayers to God. Here I am with only a few days of the week and I am desperate.

I turned to the internet and did find a list of in home daycares, but they only had the individuals names, phone number and capacity. Well, I went through the list and picked out names I liked and that sounded good. Really this is how I am going to find a quality childcare provider by picking out names I liked, but how else was I going to choose? Well once I picked out a name I had to cross reference the phone book and google maps to find that address and location so that I was not choosing someone on the southwest side of town when I work on the northeast side of town. I also knew that there had to be some site that showed results from DHS inspections. I finally found a website with such information and started going through it which is a much better way that eeny meeny miney moe procedure I was using earlier.

 I came across a lady that lives up the street from a friend of mine on the north side of town, I called her and she had an opening. FINALLY! I still didn't know a thing about her, so I called my friend and asked her about her and got great info about her, namely there has not been alot of North Enid PD activity at her house. I called Scotty about my findings and we agreed that she was worth looking into. I called the lady back and asked her to not give away that spot (that would be my luck) and set up a meeting with her on Thursday morning. I met with her yesterday, and have a great feeling about her and feel that she is qualified to care of my child (she has 6 boys of her own!) and the facility is very nice, so he starts on Monday. HOME RUN !!!!!!

I love  and greatly appreciate how fast God answered my pleas and prayers as I was beginning to get physically ill from the stress of finding someone to watch him.

So there has been the last week of my life, in probably more detail that was wanted but you got it anyway!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend and hope to be writing to you all more regularly.

Yes, I am Alive, Kinda

Just in case you thought that had moved to some remote location without access to internet, you would be partially correct. I have taken up residence in Babyland, in a somewhat quaint neighborhood called Motherhood and our house sets at the end of Lack of Sleep Lane.

I attempted once to start a blog when Cole was a week or two old, so that I could load pictures of Cole to show off, but after I got the pictures downloaded and attempted to upload one picture of him to the blog, he woke up and needed feeding. I apologize to my faithful followers for the lack of updating and no pictures, but this little bundle has been taking up my time, as he should.

He is now 7 weeks old and cute as a button. I returned to work last week and he is very well taken care of by my niece. His sleep schedule has gone from up every 2 hours to now 4-6 hours at a time. He does not like being held like a baby, he prefers to sit up, stand up and look out at people unless he is sleepy then he likes to snuggle and be semi cradled.

His brothers are truly a HUGE help to me, although sometimes a little to helpful. They are great fetchers and entertainers so that I can move laundry around and use the bathroom. I do not like to take Cole by myself in the car, especially if he is awake, as he does not like to be in the backseat by himself. When we drop his brothers off at school and he is awake, he fusses and cries all the way to the babysitters.

He goes back to the doctor on the 20th of this month for his 2 month checkup and shots, but if I were guessing he is around 15 lbs and I think he has probably grown in lenth also. As of his 1 month birthday he was up to 12.4 lbs and 25 1/2 inches long.

Since my life is back to somewhat of a routine, I hope to update more often.