Stop Eating!

I'm sitting here stress eating... this time, it's the trail mix that is supposed to be for our trip. I need to get it out of my sight now!!! ... Ok, it's gone now. Back in the stack of stuff that needs to be put into the truck. I did manage to finish cleaning the inside of the truck out last night. I think that it has been over two years since it had been vaccumed. How sad is that?

I went to the eye doctor today. My eyes checked out great. My prescription hadn't really changed in the two or three years since I'd been in. That was good news. I have a new pair of glasses on order. I'm really excited about that!! Also, it was nice to squeak this in under Doug's current insurance plan...

Oh, and speaking of Doug, the job situation seems to be straightening itself out. Why his current employer couldn't have gotten their stuff together two weeks ago is beyond me... But, it looks like things will work out. Vacation next week... one more week of work at his current job... then, he'll start with Delphi on the following week. Everyone will be happy that way. And, if all else fails and things are ironed out by October 15th, he can go on his own. By that point, he'll have been in Indy for a year. So silly...

The vacation destination is still up in the air. Honestly, I don't know what to do. The beach is always awesome, and Amanda is SO wanting to go there. But, I really don't want to have to drive in rain the whole way out there. On the other hand, if we went to the Smokies, the drive would be so much shorter... Have I said all of this before? Probably. I've been obsessing about it for the past week or so. Well, by this time tomorrow, it will all be sorted out.

Gotta run. Laundry to wash and pack...

Sounds that I hear...

Right now, I'm sitting here typing in my "quiet" time. I hear the computer humming away... the ceiling fan whirring... a little farther down the hall I hear water running where Amanda is washing her hands (and her toothbrush collection)... and even farther down the hall, I hear James crying. Doug is trying to rock him to sleep. He (James) is in a phase right now where he cries and cries and fights sleep like no tomorrow. We've been called out of church two Sundays in a row now, because he has gotten so hysterical. Hope this passes soon...

Well, Debby fizzled... but, Ernesto is certainly a concern. We still haven't reserved our cottage for our trip (in mere days). It looks though like Ernie will provide some rain, wind and clouds for a couple of days, but nothing more than that. At least that is what I am hoping for. Either vacation destination will be awesome, but Amanda is SO looking forward to going to the beach... looking for shells and crabs. If we don't get to go there, she'll really be bummed out. I know that James would love it, too. I remember when we had him at the beach at Tybee Island... he just smiled and smiled.

Yesterday was Amanda's first "appointment" at the dentist. It wasn't really a full-blown appointment, but she did get to sit in the fancy chair, lay back and let the dentist look at her teeth. I had scheduled a little bit of extra time after my appointment. Amanda did great! We'd been practicing (playing) dentist for awhile, so she knew what to expect. The dentist said that her teeth looked great. There was one tooth that had a bit of a spot to watch. I hope that she doesn't wind up getting a full-blown cavity and have to have a filling. I don't want her to become scared of the dentist... I love going to my dentist. She is a friend from high school... of course, that helps. But, all of the girls there are so sweet. I've had a lot of work done on my teeth in the last four or five years - fillings replaced, crowns, etc. - and honestly, I haven't dreaded any of it. Right now, I'm tossing around the idea of doing Invisalign to straighten my teeth. Some of my teeth are crowded and are starting to make my gums recede. Yuk. I always thought it was because I brushed so vigorously...

Well, in preparation for the trip, I worked my tail off today - so I consequently feel like a horrible, slacker mother. One of our peacocks was dead this morning, so I decided that it was time to clean fish tanks. I cleaned nine of them (still have three to go)... over the course of 5 1/2 hours! I also managed to find the dining room table. We've got a couple of stacks of stuff for the trip that are ready to be boxed up - games, cards, food, etc. Of course, we are down a package of M&Ms. LOL - I knew that we shouldn't have bought them so early. We'll have to replenish... the trail mix just won't be the same without chocolate.

Things are quiet now! And, as I sit here listening to the silence, I'm about to fall asleep... until that darn poison ivy starts itching again.

Go Home, Debby!

Well, we are trying to plan a trip to the Outer Banks, but TS Debby is causing us to put a hold on things... for now. There has been little tropical storm activity the entire season, but as soon as we think about booking a cottage, things start to flare up. Bummer. Hopefully, she will fizzle out or take a turn away from the coast of North Carolina. She's so far away right now, it's hard to tell what will happen.

Last night when Doug was playing golf, I took the kids over to the park. We had a great time... wound up talking to the new Adult Ministry pastor from our church and his family. They are very sweet people. The kids had a blast at the park. Amanda is really becoming comfortable - too comfortable - with exploring on her own. I know that it's time for me to let go a bit, but boy, it's scary. James wasn't really too happy unless he was swinging, so that is where he and I spent most of our time. Amanda wanted to go play on other things, which was ok. I just had to keep an eye on her. She made some new friends and was quite content not being in my shadow.

After park time and golf, we went to Dairy Queen with Doug. James fell asleep on the way there... so, he stayed in the truck. We sat at one of the outside tables and enjoyed our ice cream. Amanda liked eating outside when it was dark. She found a "twinkle" to watch. While we were there, three minivans pulled in and tons of girls piled out. It was some sports team from somewhere... whatever happened to school busses transporting teams?

Today, it's time to gain control of the dishes again. I caught up laundry yesterday, so that means that everything else went downhill... I need to do something with the tomatoes. Some of them that I picked a few days ago are starting to get mushy. Yuk.

Oh, and the job issue with Doug is still up in the air. Unbelievable. Delphi keeps telling him that they are taking care of everything. I'm sure that it will work out, but boy, I'd like a definitive answer one way or the other. Good grief!

Let's Try Again

Ok, I've obviously been MIA for several weeks. It's been easy to just say, "Oh, I'll blog later..." and that time never comes. There have been so many funny things, great adventures, that I just have missed recording due to my absence. I will try to do better in the coming weeks. Having two little ones just really makes the time fly by so quickly.

Last night we went over to visit with Lowell and Karen and their two little girls. The girls are adorable! I hadn't even met Sarah yet!! Amanda did great playing with them. She has come so far in her social interaction. A year ago, she would have clung to me the whole time... Last night, as soon as we got there, she spotted the toys and immediately started interacting with the girls. It truly was fun to watch! By the time we left, you would have thought that the four kids had spent every living day together. It was really nice to visit with Lowell and Karen, too. Lowell and I used to be thick as theives... and, I think that it had been close to three years since I'd seen him! You know that you have a true friend when you haven't seen someone for so long, but when you do finally see them, it's like you just talked with them yesterday. Know what I mean?

On the way home, we stopped in Fishers to watch the Fair Train arrive. That was fun. We stood along the tracks (at a safe distance, of course) and waved to the passengers. I was afraid that Amanda would want to climb on board again and head back to the Fair, but she didn't...

Doug is hopefully going to have the "work situation" resolved by the end of the day. It won't come any too soon. We are both still stressed out about it. I know that we shouldn't be. Whatever is meant to happen will happen... Yesterday at church, there was a guest speaker. This lady spoke on forgiveness. In a nutshell, she and her daughter were both shot several years ago by the daughter's estranged husband. The daughter died... she didn't (obviously). Well, she told her story and it was quite moving. It really put into perspective the things that we think are "big deals"... they're not.