Outrageous water bills??

Are your water bills too high? THIS could be the reason. (Pet lovers will enjoy this one!)

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a great summer. I haven't posted in forever - between moving & trying to get the aliens registered in a new school district, it's been a little busy at my house.

I'm now 20 minutes from work/campus, not an hour and the aliens have gone from being in one of the worst school districts in the state to one of the best. The aliens started back to school last week, it was my turn this week. University classes started up full swing yesterday and I'm on day two of classes and already I can feel the sleep deprivation kicking in!

I managed to help both aliens get their homework finished off last night but by the time the dinner mess was cleaned up & they were asleep, I was ready to drop. It didn't help that alien #2 is breaking out with hives of a mysterious origin which prompted a run to the ER (no urgent care facilities around here) to get something better than Benedryl to help clear it up. We get to the ER & my choices are steroids (NOT) or Benedryl. So I choose the Benedryl. The Doc also gave my little alien something unexpected - Pepcid! It seems that it has antihistime properties that "work on a different level than Benedryl" as the Doc puts it. So....... the Rx he wrote is for Pepcid & Zyrtec (a heavenly allergy medicine - doesn't make you sleepy). Hopefully this will keep the itchies & scratchies at bay until we can find the cause of the problem.

Alien #1 is growing again - well, at least his feet are. He turned 12 in July and his feet are now a mens size 11! The scary part is the doctor keeps telling me he'll "grow into" his feet. What does this mean? A 7'3" kid????? YIKES!!!

The resident cats, Holly and Charlotte "Twinkles" are enjoying their new, more spacious home. We are having problems with Charlotte refusing to use the litter box. If anyone has any tips or tricks to fix this problem, I'm open to suggestions...... actually, I'm begging for help on this one. I'm using an all-natural plant extract solution in their water to alleviate anxiety (due to the move) and the pet soils cleaner from the pet store to clean where she is doing her messes. I don't know what else to try - help! I don't want to have to get rid of alien #2's new kitten.

I hope everyone out there in blogger-land is doing well & with summer winding down, I hope to catch up on all your blogs soon.

10 Words

I saw this over at Burfica's blog Don't Eat the Tomatoes. She gave me a letter and I'm supposed to come up with ten words that start with that letter & a short explanation of what that word means to me & how it relates to my life. So.... Burfica gave me the letter "D" and I thought about it for a few days and here's what I came up with. Here we go.....

1. Divorce - I think this one is self explanatory.

2. Delusional - I actually believe that one day my children will see the carpet in their room again when they clean it.

3. Dependable - If I'm nothing else, I am dependable. This could explain why everyone always wants to ask me to do things (bake sale, watch kids, etc) because they know if I say 'yes' they can count on me not retracting it.

4. Decadent - Referring to chocolate here - need I say more?

5. Demanding - Sometimes I feel life as a single mom is way too demanding. However, with lots of prayer & a little help from my friends, I muddle through.

6. Deadly - Ask any deer, me & my old Buick are a deadly combination. I'll admit, I haven't hit one in a long time but the three hits in three months still seems to qualify me as deadly when it comes to the deer.

7. Doughnuts - This sounds so silly but every time I smell fresh-made doughnuts I am reminded of when I was working a part time job at a bakery when Alien #1 was just old enough to start talking. I had come home from my 3am - noon shift & picked him up to go run some errands. I didn't bring home any doughnuts that day. The whole time Alien #1 kept saying, "Mama doughnuts" to which I kept replying, "No, sweetie. Mama didn't bring home any today." Finally at a long stoplight I turned around to look him in the eye and tell him one last time that NO I did NOT have any doughnuts (a little frustrated by this time). When I said my piece, he again said, "*sigh* Mama (big sniff like he's smelling something), doughnuts!" Ahhh... Mama finally understood - I SMELLED like doughnuts! Well, the way I remember it was cute, guess you had to be there.

8. Dirt - I love having a garden. Planting the seeds or plants into the ground and smelling the fresh warm dirt & feeling in my hands is one of life's' simple pleasures for me.

9. Dandelions - Call them weeds if you will but their sunny little faces are much welcome after the drab grey melting of the snow. I still pick them when they've gone to seed and make a wish before blowing the seeds into the wind. My boys call them wishing flowers.

10. Desire - There is a tremendous desire for my family and I to draw closer to the Lord daily. The stress going through a terrible divorce, my 3 car accidents, losing one family friend after another (5 in all) and then Grandma B, two near fatal accidents for my father, raising two children alone while working and going to school full time. If I didn't have God in my life, I simply wouldn't have made it through any of this. I'm not saying my life is any harder than anyone else's, as a matter of fact, by comparison my life is a lot easier than some people I know. I just have a tremendous desire for us to draw as close to God as we can, it's the glue that holds us together, mind, body & soul.

Finals are done!

Wow! It's been almost an entire month since I've posted! First off, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! With this last month full of studying & finals, it's been hard to post, but the semester is done! Finals are over!!! YEAH! Not to brag, but....... (here comes the bragging) I aced every class, ha! not bad for an old lady. ;) In all honesty, after being through such a bad marriage & with things being really rough trying to raise two kids on my own, I really felt I had to prove to myself I could do it. Now that I know I can, life somehow just seems a little brighter. I can raise two kids alone while working two part time jobs and attending college full time and still make the grade. I had to prove to myself I could make it.

Now, I'm packing to move. I found an apartment closer to school & work so the next month is going to be busy with weeding out the garbage, having a rummage sale & packing to move. Our new place is so much closer to the university & my work. I'm going from an hour drive to about 20 minutes each way - big difference. I'll also be so much closer to my friends which is great. The aliens will have a much better school district too so we all are better off.

So, I'll try to keep my blog updated a little better but no promises........ Hope everyone is doing well.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter Everyone! We had a lovely day, will post more about our international holiday in a day or so. I pray everyone had a blessed day, I sure did. God Bless

I Wanna Rock 'n Roll All Night............

Charlotte Twinkle-toes

Welcome the newest addition to our family, Charlotte Twinkle-toes. She's a 6 month old kitten from a local animal rescue shelter called "Tails" - they're awesome. She's got a short tail if you look at the pictures really close you can see it. We don't know if she lost it or was born that way. It seems she was born that way. Alien #2 picked her out as a late birthday present. She's a really love-bug but still is quite the active kitty too.

I'm glad we brought her home, she helped soften the blow of Mr. Kibbles passing on. I can't keep a hammie alive to save my soul. Thank the Lord cats are easier to keep alive! Anyway, Welcome to your new home Twinkle-toes!!!

The Pig Sty

This is what the aliens consider "liveable". Somewhere under there I know there used to be carpet.

Aliens

This is proof that my children are aliens. Meet Belly Bill & Belly Bob.

The older alien has his "girlfriend's" name tattooed in ink on his fanny. Guess who did it - Alien #2. The image of one alien bent over writing on the other one's bare bum is more than any mother should have to bear.

This is so wrong.

Taxes are done!

WooHoo! Finally done with taxes for another year. I would've been done much sooner but.....

School had me so busy I didn't get my taxes filed, figured I'd do it over spring break (love TurboTax online). No problem, until you get to the part where you have to enter your AGI from last year to file electronically. I couldn't find last year's return & the info was on my computer. No biggie except that Computer Guy was upgrading my PC & HE had my tax info! ARGGGG!

So... Get the PC back & then school is in full swing again for the last half of the semester and I couldn't get to it until tonight.

The best news of all - I get money back!!!! Yeah! There are advantages to being a single mom & college student rolled into one.

Holly & Soft Paws

My order of soft paws arrived in the mail and without too much trouble, we got them on the kitty last night. It's been 24 hours & she doesn't seem to mind them a bit. I didn't get scratched with "happy feet" last night either... nice.

90 years young

Happy 90th Birthday Grammy!! I love you!

Soft Claws

Soft Paws - Aren't these the coolest things? They're colored caps to put on your kitties' claws to keep them from scratching things. It's a painless and rather inexpensive alternative to declawing.

Spring Break is here!

Thanks to everyone for your support. I'm doing better since my last post. Your kind words meant the world to me.

I missed both of my mid-term exams because alien #2 was sick but was able to make-up both exams before we went on break so that's a good thing.

I'm such a geek - I'm spending my break setting up a web site for one class and reading to write a report for another. I just don't want to be so stressed & overly busy the second half of the semester.

Mr. Kibbles goes AWOL

Well, the hammies are at it again, escaping from the cage & running wild through the apartment. Four days of Alien #2 crying, whining and in general carrying on as if the world was coming to an end. I still couldn't catch that little bugger.

So, Saturday afternoon I run over to the local Ace Hardware & get a package of live mouse traps. We get home, set the traps & I lay down on the sofa to veg out while the aliens are playing outdoors. I no more start to doze off in the middle of my afternoon movie when I hear little scratching noises coming from the kitchen. HA! Success!!

I walk in, look at the traps and they haven't moved. Nothing. Still, I hear the tell-tale noises of small feeties scratching around on discarded something-or-another behind the trash can. Slowly, I move the trash can & there she is, Mr. Kibbles. I swoop down on her with a plastic cup and deposit her safely back into her cage.

Success.

What's your walk??

Your walk is: Crazy Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

New Element Discovered - October 2005

New Element Discovered October 2005

The recent hurricane and gasoline issues helped prove existence of a new element. In early October [2005] a major research institution announced discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Governmentium."

Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton like particles called peons. Since Gv has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.

A minute amount of Gv causes one reaction to take over four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second!

Gv has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Gv is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration.

This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass". When catalyzed with money, Gv becomes "Administratium" (Am) - an element which radiates just as much energy as Gv since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Where's Waldo?

Cool pic isn't it? Would you believe this was found on a microchip? Yep! Click on the picture to read the story. Once there, click on that picture - it will take you to a page where you can view 10 of the over 300 images that have been found on microchips and a little ditty about the image found. There are more sites to view chip art and read a little more about it HERE, HERE, and HERE. Have fun!

Happy New Year from Mr. Kibbles & Suzie Snowflake

I hope you all had a very safe and happy New Year's Eve/New Year's Day celebration.

We awoke to a minor tragedy December 31st, Sparky (the hamster) had passed away in the night. It was her time, so I wasn't surprised when it happened. The aliens mourned for a couple of hours, went and took their grief out on the video games that the neighbor kid got for Christmas and when they arrived home mid-afternoon, we went to make a couple exchanges on Christmas items.

Once we were in the "big city", they decided they wanted to spend part of their Christmas money from Great-Granny on a new hamster each. Hamsters were very popular this season. In a town with a population of 150,000 there were only 2 female Siberian dwarf hamsters to be found - both at different pet stores about 30 minutes apart. Of course, I drove all over to collect the two little beasties and we were off for home. (I had NOTHING to do with the names. )

So, without further ado, I introduce you to Mr. Kibbles and Suzie Snowflake!

Holly

Guess who got a new digital camera for Christmas! After chasing the family around all day with it, I finally got a chance at the cat. She's a little shy and it was hard to get a picture of her. Her mask is so dark, it was impossible to get a picture of her beautiful blue eyes. I was lucky to get her to sit still long enough to get a cute pose.

Anyway, this is Holly, resident cat & bed warmer. Santa brought her to us three years ago for Christmas.

What is your Christmas like?

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Christmas Story

Loving, fun, and totally crazy.Don't shoot your eye out!

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Holly Kitty

I love our kitty Holly. She's cute and lovable, sometime too much so. I've been sick as you all know who have read this blog recently. Holly gets extra-snuggly when she senses someone is out of sorts or sick.

Having a bit of a fever at night, I've been tossing a bit in my sleep which makes it nearly impossible for lover-kitty to stay perched on my back, side, stomach (whichever side is up). So she decided to curl up by my head/neck area.

She'll snuggle up as close as she can with her back to me, get her little feet under herself, dig her claws into the bedding and shoves herself up against me until she has succeeded in physically attaching herself to me. Only then does she settle down to purr for the next hour or so.

I love my kitty.

Sick again, dang

Well, it hit me again today, sore throat & raging fever so I guess I'm not over this yet. I'll be calling the doc in the morning, again....... for meds, again. I can't be sick - I have Christmas shopping to do! Ah, well..... maybe after a few more days in bed....

It's been cold here

We've warmed up to a sizzlin' 20 degrees today & a storm front has come thru the area and we're getting major snow, about an inch an hour in the thick of it. We'll have a total of 3 - 5 when it's all done. That's not too bad although you never know how much snow will really pile up until it's all over with....... reminds me of a really bad joke from high school..... hehehe better keep that to myself.

It's 1:15 am....

...and I've just finished my final term paper to hand in this morning at 10:00 am. Then it's all done for 5 glorious weeks!!

That means I get to clean my house which has been in dire need of a revamp for a long time. No time to clean with all the homework (mine & the kids).

Well, I'm off to get a couple of hours of sleep before getting the aliens up for school tomorrow.

Dirty Words in School

Scarlet Fever

Yep! That's right, the campus doctor ran every test he could order on me & that's what he came up with - I have scarlet fever. I freaked out! I didn't know people even got that anymore. I assumed it was one of those illnesses that modern medicine had eradicated from the planet.

It turns out, Scarlet Fever is a strep infection with a secondary infection causing a rash. Either way, I've felt like crap for two weeks and now know why.

Thank you God for a doctor not afraid to be aggressive with the meds. Because he gave me a slamming good Rx (love the Z-Pak), I'll be doing great by Monday for my final exams, not home sick begging my professors to reschedule my exams for me.

Lessons of Motherhood #3 & #4

Here's a couple more lessons of motherhood - I posted two because they kinda go together.

3. Twelve holes poked in a king-sized waterbed with embroidery scissors are not enough to drain the bed. It only allows enough water to leak out of the bed to soak the person that lies down on it.

4. Waterbed patch kits are available at Wal-Mart, one kit is more than enough to repair 12 puncture holes and the kit only costs about $2.50 (current price at the time of the hole poking incident).

What a Great Day!

After over two long years, my sister was able to get visas for her husband and two step-children to travel from Costa Rica to the United States. They landed in the US about 3:oo pm on Wednesday and came up to Northern Illinois late Thanksgiving day. We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Friday with our new family members. It was awesome!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thank you Lord for bringing my family safely together for this holiday, thank you for the countless blessings we take for granted everyday of our lives.

Amen

Lessons of Motherhood #3

When I first started my blog, I put in a couple of the lessons I've learned being a Mom. I recently updated my lesson log and realized I managed to post two items off of it and never did any more with them. So, in honor of my adorable aliens, here's the first item on my list.

It requires more than 100 lbs (combined weight) of small children jumping on a semi-rotten garage roof to make it cave in.

So, now you know, keep those little buggers off the roof!

Merry Christmas!

Well, I know it's early to say "Merry Christmas", most people are still working towards "Happy Thanksgiving". However, we have been hit with snow & record-cold wind chill temps.

It snowed enough overnight to leave a little snow on my windshield and was cold enough that yesterday's rain froze my car doors shut. The temp is about 31 but with the wind chill, it's only about 10 degrees outside right now. The wind just cuts right through you. We've had flurries off and on all day, it's sticking in the grass here and there but it's blowing around so much, it's not landing much of anywhere right now.

It's supposed to get down to 12 degrees tonight, I hope the winds die down or my car isn't going anywhere tomorrow! Looks like I'd better put some Heet in my gas tank when I fill up tonight.

Smart Mouse

A Good Reason to Drink Tea....

AINSWORTH, Iowa - Marjorie Morris just wanted to pour coffee into a canister. What she found in the package of freeze-dried coffee left her shell-shocked.

Morris, 77, of Ainsworth, found a dead baby turtle in the 2-pound package of Folgers coffee last Sunday.

"I thought it was a toy at first," said Morris, 77, of Ainsworth. Morris said she had been making coffee from the same package for a month before she made the discovery.

"It's a responsibility of the company to check their shipments closer," she said. "It could be much more serious."

Morris said she doesn't plan to file a lawsuit against Folgers. She said a customer service representative for the company dismissed the find, explaining that because many Folgers plants are based in New Orleans the turtle might have ended up in the coffee as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Sussane Dussing, a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble, the company that owns the Folgers brand, said it's too early to say how the turtle ended up in the coffee. Dussing said she wasn't aware of other similar incidents and that Morris' discovery would be investigated.

Morris, who has kept the turtle, said she would continue to drink coffee, but that she is now a more mindful consumer.

Things could have been worse, she said. "It could've been a snake."

Little Kitty

This is the cutest little kitten! Turn your speakers up, it purrs & meows too. Move your mouse around & see what it does.

In Honor Of Our Veterans

Thank you to our veterans today we honor you.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Cherie Renee,

wherever you are.

I love you & miss you.

Loretta Lynn & Cookies

Here it is Opie, I hope you enjoy this little story. I sure do remember it fondly.

I grew up in a small farming community of about 2500 people. We always had a huge Independence Day celebration for such a small town. There was always a carnival downtown, it covered almost 2 blocks in every direction. We had the 4th of July Queen contest, the local VFW hold a cookout, there was always a big parade & a fantastic fireworks show to top off the day.

The summer before my 8th grade year, our little town got an extra treat - Loretta Lynn was putting on a concert down at the high school football field on July 3rd. The whole town, all 2500 of us, were so excited we couldn't wait. My sister & I, although not huge country fans, were Loretta Lynn fans without a doubt.

The big day arrived & my parents were thrilled because we were driving them nuts with talk of the concert. Sissy & I had ridden our bikes down by the school & had seen all the trailers & such with the equipment. It was fun to watch some of the set-up from the street but then we had a fantastic idea - we were going to meet Loretta Lynn in person.

We thought it would be cool to bake some cookies & take them down to her, Mom insisted that they wouldn't let us anywhere close to Loretta Lynn with those cookies. "There are weirdos out there you know that try to poison celebrities you know!" We ignored Mom & went about baking a big batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. When we were finished, we packed up our warm, fresh cookies, hopped on our bikes & took off for the football field with Mom shaking her head as we rode off.

The stage was set up and various people were running around doing set-up for the evening concert. Bravely, Sissy & I walked up to the stage. The only person on stage by the time we got up there was a really big man. Meekly we asked if we could please see "Miss Lynn". He eyed us for a minute and grunted "I dunno - be back".

Not two minutes later, the beautiful "Miss Lynn" floated across the stage in a cloud of frilly, pale yellow, country-style lace & ruffles. We stood in awe. Sissy and I spent the next hour sitting on the edge of the stage, eating cookies with Loretta Lynn.

I couldn't even tell you now exactly what we talked about. She was very warm, honest, and friendly. I vividly remember, however, sitting on the edge of stage, all three of us swinging our legs back and forth and eating chocolate chip cookies with Loretta Lynn.

Five Things......

I saw this over at My Wide Blue Seas & borrowed it from Hokule'a.

Five things I plan to do before I die:
1. Visit Ireland.
2. Lose 20 pounds (and this may be what kills me!).
3. Get my Masters degree
4. Learn Arborsculpture.
5. Learn to speak Spanish & Swahili.

Five things I can do:
1. Love & Laugh.
2. See miracles around me everyday.
3. Crochet, Sew & various needlework type things.
4. Teach.
5. Grow beautiful gardens.

Five things I cannot do:
1. Sing.
2. Change the oil in my car.
3. Tame my wild curly hair.
4. Hit a baseball.
5. Keep my house clean.

Five things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. Honesty
2. Faith In Jesus
3. Love of life
4. Ability to find miracles in everyday life
5. Honest Eyes (they are the window to the soul)

Five things I say most often:
1. I love you.
2. Thank you Jesus for....
3. That's too funny/cute
4. Crap!
5. You need to feed the cat/hamster/fish BEFORE you eat your dinner.

Five Celebrity Crushes:
1. Roger Moore - The original 007 James Bond.
2. Sean Connery - yes, we have a theme going on here.... hehehe
3. Johnny Depp
4. Mel Gibson
5. Antonio Banderes - *sigh* - gotta agree with Hokule'a on this one.

I invite everyone to do this & let me know when it's up on your blog so I can learn something new about you too.

How do you spell "deer"?

As I was getting ready for school this past week, the aliens were eating breakfast. I found the following conversation really funny. To find this even remotely funny, you need to know my history of 'deer hunting' with my car. Follow this link, this link, and/or this link to read up on it.

Alien #2 hollers from the kitchen: Mommy - I know how to spell 'deer'!

Me: Okay, tell me how to spell 'deer'.

Alien#2: D - E - A - D!

(I come into the kitchen, Alien#1 is smiling, says nothing. Alien #2 is smiling proudly.)

Me: Honey, that spells 'dead' not 'deer'.

Alien #2: (dejectedly) Oh.

Alien #1: Well Mom, when a deer meets up with you it does end up D - E - A - D!

Alien #2: See! I was right!

For all the coffee lovers...

Click the cartoon for a larger image.

Deer Hunting Season Is Upon Us

I'm starting to get a little nervous.....Fall us upon us and rutting season is just around the corner. What's that mean for me?

Well last year it meant I got more deer with my Buick than Dad did from his tree stand.

Isn't that picture cute? Well let me tell you something - they are NOT cute when they jump in front of your car.

It wasn't cute the first time.
It wasn't cute the second time.
And it certainly was not cute the third time.

I hope they've all got my license number & a description of my car - maybe they'll be on the look-out and avoid running out in front of me this year.

How Much Is Your Blog Worth?

My blog is worth $5,080.86.
How much is your blog worth?

,

Rosa Parks, Dead at age 92

Parks, 92, died around 7 p.m. Monday at St. John Hospital on Detroit’s east side.

Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 landed her in jail and sparked a bus boycott that is considered the start of the modern civil rights movement. The bus is on display at the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn.

Parks, was born Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. She lived in Detroit.

In "Quiet Strength," a book of reflections published in 1994, she wrote: "I want to be remembered as a person who stood up to injustice, who wanted a better world for young people; and most of all, I want to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted others to be free."

"I had no idea when I refused to give up my seat on that Montgomery bus that my small action would help put an end to the segregation laws of the South," she said in her autobiography. "I only knew that I was tired of being pushed around." - Rosa Parks

What an amazing woman.

What Your Blog Says About You...

I saw this on another blog I read frequently and while I was not tagged, it did think it interesting. The idea is to find your 23rd post on your blog - and then the fifth sentence. This sentence is supposed to 'say something about you.'

What does my post say? The 5th sentence of my 23rd post is a two word sentence.

"Jack squat."

Great - love what that says about me.

Update on Dad

I just realized with all that's been going on, I never updated on Dad!! I'm so so so sorry!!!

Dad is home and is recovering well. He still needs lots of rest but he no longer needs his walker to get around most of the time. Dad even went to the mall with Mom to get a new cell phone yesterday! That's a big deal because his energy level is non-existent. He finally got his pacemaker put in and that went well. He is still recovering from broken ribs and does not have the o.k. to drive yet but that will all take time.

Thank you all again for your prayers - they made such a difference. May God bless you all as you have blessed my family. :)

Holly the Cat

I have always told people my cat is NOT normal. She let a mouse steal so much of her food last winter that she was losing weight (took us awhile to figure out it was a mouse, we thought she was ill). Now I have proof that she's just not right.

Holly is lovable, will purr at the slightest touch, takes turns sleeping with every member of the household, and is always a happy animal. But, somehow I've always thought, something wasn't right. Now I know why.

Last week I caught her up on the table next to the hamster cage. Initially I thought she was trying to get a little snack. I stopped & looked for a minute and just about the time I realized what was happening, Alien #1 says, "Look Mom! She's giving Sparky a bath!!" The Alien was correct. Holly was grooming the hamster. How weird is that?

Like I said - NOT normal.

Revenge Is Sweet

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish hunter was knocked unconscious after his son shot a flying Canada goose which then fell onto his head, news agency TT reported Wednesday.

"I guess it wanted revenge," hunter Ulf Ilback told local newspaper Extra Ostergotland, according to TT.

Ilback said he had to stay in bed for two days after being knocked out by the goose, which fell from around 60 feet. The birds can weigh up 13 pounds.

I'd hate to think what would happen if the deer I hit last year wanted to seek revenge on me!! hehehehe

More Penguin Games

What is soooo much fun about abusing penguins?? I have no idea but here's another penguin game to amuse you. My best score was 411.94 - good luck.

For other penguin fun, check out the posts from my blog last December 23rd & 24th.

Disclaimer: I do not avocate the abuse of any animal and, in fact, love penguins.

Update On Dad

Hey everybody! Great news - Dad has been released from NICU and will hopefully be in physical rehab by the weekend!

Happy Birthday to Me!

What did I get for my birthday? Besides the typical cards & well wishes, lunch out with a friend, I got a very special present today - from God.

My dad is greatly improved overnight and is off the vent, abdominal drainage tube is out and he's sitting up, eating & talking like there's no tomorrow. Now friends, THAT is a birthday present I'll NEVER forget. : )

Comment Verification

Ok - really sorry I had to do it everyone, but I've gotten sooooooooo many spam comments that I've had to restrict comments. You must be a registered user & I'm activating the word verification for leaving a comment. I didn't want to do it because it's a hassle but, as usual, the few jerks ruin it for the rest of us.

Where were you?

September 11, 2001

We will never forget.

I'm online again! Whoopie!

I am officially wired again as of yesterday - love my new cable connection. I can now waste countless hours of my life online once again.

Actually, now that I've posted about Dad & made this short post, it's time to go to my college website and take my physics test, (rolling eyes) oh joy (sighs & rolls eyes again).

What will really happen now that I'm back online:

The aliens will be begging to play Neopets every waking moment. (But Moooommmm - they're starrrrvvvvvvving!)

I'll be catching up on everyone's blog (it's been almost two whole months!!). Blog withdrawl is an ugly thing, pray you never go through it.

I've got what seems like 4 million e-mails to answer. Even though EVERY single one of my family & friends KNEW I had limited internet access, they felt it necessary to continue to send me all those normally-cute forwarded e-mails non-stop. Warning: If it says "FW: " on it, folks it's getting deleted. I'm only reading the REAL stuff for the next week.

And of course - Physics 162 has all the tests/quizes online. yea. lol

Well, it's off to take a test on another exciting chaper in my first class of the week!

Dad is improving

Well, Dad came off the ventilator yesterday afternoon and still listed in critical condition but -he is stable. A much improved status from a couple of days ago. We just keep praying for him to heal quickly and completely with no more complications.

Thanks for all your prayers.

PRAYERS NEEDED AGAIN!

Last night Dad had a motorcycle accident on his way home from work.

We're not sure why or how he lost control of his bike but he went down and is now in the neuro-intensive care unit of the hospital again.

Last time he hurt the left side of his body, this time it's the right.

7 broken ribs
punctured lung
broken collar bone
broken shoulderblade
head injury
lacerated liver & ruptured spleen (spleen removed & liver repaired during surgery last night)
serious road rash on arms and hands

Dad is on a vent again to assist in his breathing. He is alert and is wanting to communicate but this is difficult with his hands and arms bandaged. The head injury does not appear to be as bad this time and he's doing well from last night's surgery.

They are trying to determine if he had a dizzy spell due to the prior head injury or a mild heart attack that caused him to lose control of the bike.

More updates will come as I have the information. Thanks for your prayers!


I am currently taking up a collection to pay for a chauffer for my father for the remainder of his days. Just kidding - I'm stressed it's either laugh or cry at this point & I'd rather save the tears for another time.

Alien's 1st Football Game

Well, the first football game of the year they lost 14 - 0..... a little disappointing. The kids played their hearts out and really did an awesome job. I found out after the game that the other team is from a private school & they start their kids in football two years before our school system offers it! No wonder we didn't score, these kids have been playing together for two years already!!

Alien #1 is playing defensive lineman - he's too big to play offense, they don't want him crushing a kid half his size. Any kid over a certain height and/or weight must play defense only - league rules. They don't want anyone hurt.

My all-knowing alien learned a lesson about his protective equipment yesterday too. After insisting that he had EVERYTHING he needed for practice, he rolled his eyes at me & we left for practice. After practice, he was complaining his stomach was sore. When I asked why, he told me he forgot his rib protector. I bet he won't forget it again! hehehe

Well, let's see, 2nd game is this Saturday, the local pool closes for the season on Sunday & school starts for everyone on Monday.

Hope everyone is doing well, thanks for the comments. I will try to catch up with everyone soon - I hope to have a cable link-up for the internet at home in a couple of weeks.

I'm still here!!

Hello everyone! As the title says, I'm still here! I've had tons of pc problems so for now I'm having to use the pc & internet link-up at the library.....when there's one free. I'm amazed at the number of parents that allow their kids to spend the summer indoors playing computer games online. My kids and I spend the summers outdoors as much as possible - that's what summer is for!!!

The college process is going well - got my acceptance letter, financial aid is in process, orientation is done (thankfully! boooooorrrrrrrrrrriiiiingggggg hehehe) and I'm registered for classes. All I have left to do is to buy my books & show up for classes. I'm nervous about returning to college at my age but I'm excited. It will be great to finally have my degree.

As far as the aliens go, Alien #1 is playing jr. tackle football this fall - had to drag him to it but after one grueling practice, he's sooooooo into it and can't wait for practice today! Now comes the fun part - being a single mom, I have to go to the store & buy his "protective equipment" for his "equipment" (if you know what I mean). I've tried to talk every man I know (which aren't very many) into doing it for me but they all laugh & say "nope!". I even tried to bribe the teenage kid downstairs from me with a $20 to do it for me - no dice. So.......it should be an experience.

Alien #2 is too young for football so he's going to do soccer & is looking forward to that and entering 3rd grade this year.

Satan the hamster hasn't been as active, the summer heat is getting to her and she's slowed down a bit. This seems odd to me as it is my understanding that Hell is perpetually hot.......... hmmmmmm.

Well, so long for now...... it may be a few weeks before I post again. Hope all is well with all of you!

PC Problems & other stuff

Sorry I haven't posted lately, I've been having a heck of a time staying online, pc trouble. Not much has changed weather-wise, it rained on the 4th and it rained last Tuesday a little.

The aliens are enjoying their summer vacation - spending lots of time playing with neighborhood friends and swimming at the local pool.

I got my college acceptance letter last Friday so I'm really excited about that.
I have to go get financial aid stuff finished off this coming week and then the first week in August is orientation for classes & I'll be starting back full time when the kids go back to school.

I'll try to catch up on everyone's blogs when the moody little computer elf living inside my pc gets over her PMS.

Happy Birthday Alien #1

Happy 11th birthday to my oldest alien........ I can't believe he's this old already. In honor of his birthday, my post is in red, his favorite color.

This is also the one year mark on my blog - when I started it, I never really thought I'd keep up with it as well as I have. Who knew?

Belated Happy 4th to All!

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July - ours turned out to be great. It didn't start our that way, it rained on our parade - literally. We've had no rain for over a month and what happens? About 3:30 in the morning of July 4th we get massive thunderstorms that last until almost 6am.

It clears off for a couple of hours & we cook out with the folks, then about 12:30 a light steady rain starts up again until almost 1:45 pm. Cool - rain stops and parade goes on as planned at 2pm. At 2:10 it starts to drip a few minutes later it's a steady drizzle that contines the entire 1 1/2 hrs of the parade. Did it dampen the spirits in our small town?? NO WAY! We all sat there in the rain enjoying the nice cool air for once and celebrating our country's birthday! Floats, marching bands, military units & clowns paraded on & we had a GREAT time!

It stayed dry throughout the afternoon & we were able to go to the carnival & blow a few bucks, fireworks went on as scheduled that evening. We put on a pretty impressive display for a small town. The aliens & I had a fantastic time. Hope everyone else had as much fun as we did.

Construction Zones Everywhere!

Everywhere you turn it's a construction zone!

I spent my day driving through every construction zone in Northern Illinois while went around to the colleges I'd attended to get copies of my transcript faxed over to the university.

In one area, a worker was standing in the middle of the road, another worker was sitting atop a piece of machinery waving me on like I'm some kind of idiot. I point to the worker in the road, worker #2 ignores me and waves me on again like I'm too stupid to understand. SO.... I point to the worker #1 again. Worker #2 looks over at worker #1 and yells something at him, I can only imagine what was said. Worker #1 looks at me dumbfounded as to why I would be driving on the road in the first place and slowly shuffles out of the way.

As I drive on through, they both look at me like I'm some kind of idiot.

My dorky voice & Lemonade Shake-ups

Well, I did it anyway, I did an audio post and decided to leave it on here. I still think I sound goofy but oh, well......... life goes on.

Now Burfica...... a lemonade shake-up...... fresh made lemonade with the lemon peel still in it. They squeeze the lemon while you watch, put juice, peel & all into the cup with ice & sugar, then they shake it up. The sugar is mixed right in so there are still a few sugar granules on the edge of the cup. That sweet lemony goodness is making my mouth is water just thinking about it........ good stuff and PROOF there is a kind and loving God watching over us........ hehehe

Audio Posting......My first

Lazy summer days.....

The aliens and I got some relief from this oppressive heat by taking a swim at the quarter pool today - named by the kids because of the cost to get in - $0.25.

It may have rained in Freeport where we go to church, however an hour away in our little town, not a drop fell. Everything is dry and dusty. The dust and grit from the road construction seems to multiply in this intense dryness we have.

Since we were feeling so dry and hot, we decided to take a dip in our little twenty-five cent oasis. The aliens lied about applying sunblock so they are a little on the reddish-pink side this evening. Their little lie about applying sunblock has cost them any more trips to the pool until the redness goes away. Not a punnishment, just don't think they need anymore sun until the sunburn is cleared up.

Maybe next time they'll listen to Mom - on occassion, I do know what I'm talking about. Scary thought isn't it?? Mom actually KNOWS something! Will wonders never cease????

Let it Rain!!!

The aliens and I usually go to the Saturday night service at our church, it's easier to get them ready then than to try and move 'em out early on Sunday morning.

As the pastor was finishing up the sermon, you could hear the thunder roll...... the thunderstorms we have been waiting for were here!!! During the closing prayer before the offering, the clouds opened up and you could just hear the downpour on the roof of the building. The pastor closed with "... and thank you God for the badly needed rain!" I've never heard such a huge "AMEN" from the entire congeration as I did tonight.

The praise and worship team swears it wasn't planned but the lyrics to the closing song were something to the effect of "....... rain down on me, wash away the clay....." ...... planned or not, it was poetic.

Heat Index of 110 Degrees

I'd hate to think what it's like down in the South right now since we're so blazin' hot in Northern Illinois right now.

The heat is so oppressive it's almost unbearable. When you go outside, there is a thick haze that hangs in the air that you can see for miles. People are driving with their lights on all day long just to make it easier to see one another through the thickness of the haze that hangs in the air.

I don't think I posted this but I gave my two weeks notice, today is my last day at work. I will be taking the rest of the summer off and going back to college this Fall.

It was a bittersweet day, the garbage that's been getting me down at work is now ending however, I will miss the children terribly. My co-teacher is a very sweet and I will miss working with her.

However, I need to get back to college in order to get a better job and to make a better life for my children and myself. I'm excited at the prospect of what lies ahead for me and the aliens. I wouldn't have had the strength to make the decision to quit my job and return to college without God. He is my strength and my guidence and my support.

The Heat is ON......

Well, it's about a billion degrees today and is supposed to be hotter tomorrow. OK, it's not really a billion degrees.......... the heat index is about 102 today. Tomorrow it's supposed to be hotter. This means we can't take the kids outdoors at work, we have to amuse them for 9 hours indoors........ heaven help us.

It's June and the grass is already burned up - brown and crispy. Now, brown and crispy are great if we're talking fried chicken, however, this is not KFC and the Colonial isn't doing the cookin' here.

There is a tree one of the classrooms planted out in the yard, our room planted some hostas around it and then spread the mulch. Of course we've been watering since there isn't any rain. Today we noticed something odd looking......... There is a dark green ring about 6" wide around the outside of the mulched area, then the grass is just burnt. It's really strange looking to see this lush green ring of grass and then - nothing but dead grass from there on out.

They keep saying we're going to get severe thunderstorms but nothing yet. We're waiting for them but no one is holding their breath.

Happy Father's Day

A very Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad's out there! My own father is feeling a bit tired so the kids and I went with a friend and her son to a local small-town festival.

"Polo Town and Country Days" had a parade & carnival so that's where we spent the day. After over 5 hours in the sun though, Mommy ends up with sun poisoning. I'm not burnt, just over-exposure to the sun so I'd better take it easy for the next week or so.

The five of us had a great time, the three aliens got to ride as many rides as possible in 4 hours all for the price of one $12 wristband each. With the cost of the rides being $4 each, it didn't take but three rides per alien to pay for the wristbands. Of course we ate ice cream, pork chop sandwiches, nachos, corn dogs, gyros and the topper on it all??? A lemonade shake-up of course!

Ahhhh corn dogs & lemonade shake-ups, life is good.

This Explains A LOT

I'm only half normal... what's the other half? Abnormal?? If so, it does explain a lot of things.... hehehe

You Are 50% Normal (Somewhat Normal)

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

Weekend Update

My Aunt & Uncle from Philly were in town last weekend and the aliens and I spent all day Sunday with Dad & Mom, Auntie & Uncle. We spent the day cooking out at Mom & Dad's house (brats, venison steaks, burgers....yummy!) Dad's doing great. He still tires easily & those ribs are still causing a lot of discomfort but he's getting back to his old self.

I finally got to see the pics of the accident - WOW! You can see the fuel tank is just mashed. It looks like a crumpled wad of aluminum foil. It is only by God's Grace that no fuel spilled onto the accident scene (what with the downed transformer & natural gas main leak). There is nothing left of the steering column that had him pinned. You can see where the trailer tried to come through the back window of the cab.

I knew that Dad was a miracle from God but after seeing the pictures, I am more amazed than ever that he lived to tell his story. Then again, maybe that's why he's still here - to tell the story of how he SHOULD'VE died but God saved him.

My little stitched-up alien is doing fine, jumping around & being a dare devil. The pool party went off well, the kids that went swimming were throwing a beach ball back & forth to little alien so he got to join in a bit of the fun.

Birthday Party Snafu

The younger alien has a birthday in March, the older one, in July. The boys love to do things together so..... around the time school gets out, we have a pool party for both of them at the local community gym. The kids swim for awhile then we have cake & presents. Great plan, at least usually it's a great plan.

At 11:25 AM, my cell phone goes off - I figure it's an emergency to do with Dad - nope, it's the new babysitter. When I answer it, she informs me that the younger alien is on the way to the ER & his big brother rode with him (babysitter had 2 other kids & couldn't go). Thank God she sent them to the hospital in the town where I work. I managed to arrive at the ER before the ambulance did.

Little Alien was playing on the merry-go-round at the park. He was running & holding onto it to get it going, tried to jump up on it and missed. There was a pretty good gash on his left shin. I've got a strong stomach but seeing your own kids leg laid open like that will freak you out. It took five stitches to close it up (I thought it would take more). Poor little guy was screaming the whole time because he was so scared & it hurt but he held Mommy tight & kept his leg perfectly still. As we walked out, the people in the waiting room just stared at us. I looked a little confused and one of the women gave the hand signals to let me know half the hospital could hear him.

Big Alien was pretty shook up too - having to be the "grown-up" for the ambulance ride is tough for a 10 year old. He wanted to watch the last couple of stitches go in though so I let him. We got a Dairy Queen on the way home (cures almost everything) & that seemed to help a bit.

The worst part - no swimming until the stitches come out in two weeks. No swimming for him at his own party. There is nothing I can say or do to make this Saturday better. We are going to get his friends together in a few weeks and just do the swimming thing, I hope that helps a little.

Poor babysitter was freaked out completely! The aliens just started going there last Monday & this happens. She's about 27 and has a little girl about 3 years old. No experience with active little aliens like mine. I tried to calm her down too & let her know everything was alright & sometimes, stuff just happens.

The up side - we sat on the sofa in the A/C this afternoon & watched cartoons. Beats the heck out of working!

What the HECK??!!!??

Why can't I pick the size or color of my font or, for that matter, my font type anymore? What's up with that?

What Color Are You???

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

Road Construction Season In Illinois

Aaahhhh - it's here! Road Construction Season. Northern Illinois has two seasons, the other one is Winter.

I love road construction season... The stop & start traffic, road blocks, delays, detours, dust, dirt, gravel dings on my car, the stench of asphalt...... NOT!

Happy Monday. ; )

Which Muse Are You?

Your Inner Muse is Urania You are most like this muse of astronomy. Your head is in the stars, and you look to the future. You give off a heavenly, mysterious vibe. And you're not too bad at predicting the future. What Muse Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Ancient Japanese Probverb

Starbucks anyone?

Dad Is Driving!!

Well, not his semi but he can drive his car short distances, he's got the doc's ok to do it. I'm amazed - God is working miracles right in front of me. How cool is that?

Just a side note - sorry I've been so long winded the past couple of posts, seems to just come spewing out sometimes. I'll try to keep it shorter from now on. No one prob reads the long posts anyway. hehehe

Bad Hair Day(s)

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!!!

This post has nothing at all to do with Memorial Day.

Ladies, you will more than likely identify with this one because at one time or another, most of us have screwed up our hair with dye.

Ok, here's the deal.... I have medium blonde hair. In the summer, if I'm outside a lot, it lightens up to almost a blonde-white. Fine, no problem. Except when winter rolls around & my hair starts to grow out and then I have dark roots and everyone then thinks I bleach my hair. So, I thought this time I'd darken the ends of my hair (it's long) so when I put it up I didn't have really light hair on one end and darker hair on the other. Before I'd always dye the roots to match the ends, this time I thought I'd color it my natural color (darken the ends to match the roots).

What a mess!!! I got the medium blonde hair dye and went to work. When I got out & dried my hair, I almost died!!! MY HAIR WAS BLACK. I cried, I yelled, , I cried some more & then went to church that evening with my new "Goth" look. I could've died.

Today rolls around and I can't stand it anymore so I go back to the store, get a lightener to get the black out of my hair. I left it on an extra 10 minutes and what do I get? Dark reddish brown hair. I still look creepy but at least it's a color that goes with my skin tone and I don't have that "Goth" thing going on anymore.

Life is Changing....

Of course it is, it is constantly changing, we're always moving toward a goal (hopefully). Last Thursday's conversation with our new director really floored me. For those that didn't read that post, I was informed that we (my co-teacher & I) don't really teach anything to our class of preschoolers.

I have been praying for several months for God to show me what direction he wants me to take as I feel I am at a crossroads (again). I have prayed for a sign. I think the directors' comment was the sign I've been waiting for.

If I can get it all in place, I will be heading back to college this Fall. I had the qualifications and the education to teach preschool & didn't need the BA. So, I didn't bother. It's now time to do it.

I know our new directors comment is false, I do teach, I do make a difference however, I won't be doing it for her anymore.

The Power Surge

I walked into work last Thursday and it was quiet.... how nice you say. However there is one problem, silence is something you NEVER hear at a day care, even at nap time.
We had a power surge the night before & the day care was closed for the day. We had electricians checking everything, the fire marshall was there, we had to have all the duct work cleaned out because of the smoky smell that permeated the building and of course our licensing agency, Dept. of Children & Family services (DCFS) was there to oversee it all. What a zoo.

The cords on the surge protectors that plugged into the walls were melted to the electrical outlet covers. So, the staff spent the day cleaning up, scrubbing walls where there was smoke damage, and general cleaning.

It was during this cleaning spree that the new director stopped in to talk with my co-teacher and I. After 30 minutes of discussing the new curriculum that my co-teacher & I were working on for next school year, I was shocked to learn from woman with NO background in education, that we didn't really teach anything in our classroom. I said nothing. I was too angry. As the old saying goes, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

I am seriously reconsidering my future at this preschool.

Satan's Escape Hatch

Somehow, the demon (AKA "Sparky the Hamster") has figured out how to get this latch between the cage and the wheel completely OFF the cage. She grabs the lip of it with her teeth and forces it up until it pops out of place and lands about 4 inches away on the table. Now she's working on pushing the wheel (attached in the same mannor as the cover) out of place which will give her a nice clean get-away.
This is the brand new, over-priced, escape-proof (HA!) cage I purchased exactly one month ago. I am soooooooo ticked-off.

Satan's Domain

Satan's domain - looks like a hamster cage doesn't it? Well friends, I'm here to tell you that what appears to be a cute little red hamster is really Satan himself. If it's not the devil in disguise, it must be one of his minions.

I have highlighted in red, the area that Satan uses as his escape route.

Dad is finally home.

Mom, at Dad's urging, left on a medical missions trip with a group from our church May 14th. Mom is a registered nurse. Our church took a group of 30 people (mostly doctors, nurses, dentists & optometrists) to Honduras. Mom's return date was May 21st. Dad wasn't supposed to be released from the physical rehab unit until May 25th at the earliest. Mom figured she'd go since Dad was really pushing for it and he was clearly out of the woods health-wise. She'd be home before he was released.

My sister came up from St. Louis to help me with running up to help care for Dad the week Mom was gone. The doctors sent Dad home last Thursday! Mom called from Honduras to let my sister & I know that hurricane Adrian had missed them (thankfully) only to have Dad answer the phone! They both got a big surprise.

So, Mom's mission trip was a great success, Dad is home and my little sister is back in St. Louis. However, by the time anyone reads this, baby sis will be on her way to see her hubby in Costa Rica. Hopefully by the end of July all the immigration papers will be cleared and he'll be able to come back to the States with her. That's been over a year process in itself & that whole mess could be enough to fill up 5 blogs for a year!

Work really stunk today but with everything else going so right, it's really easy to just blow it off and not care. The rest of the week at work isn't looking much better but, again, I couldn't really care less. I'm so excited that God has worked a miracle by healing Dad so quickly (even though he's still got a long road ahead of him) that the little stuff at work that usually makes me so nuts because it is sooooooooo infantile - it's just not getting to me today. Let's hope that lasts.

Anyway, happy Monday everyone.

Hamster Hy-jinks

Well, with Dad on the mend, I decided it's time to post something else for a change. This however, happened the in the wee hours of the morning the day after Dad's accident.

Sparky (the aliens' hamster) is an escape artist. I've suspected for some time that Holly (the cat) has been helping Sparky out, but I have yet to catch them "in the act". Sparky tries from sundown to sunrise to chew through the metal bars of her cage. It's one of those cute "Critter Trial" over-priced cages with all the brightly colored plastic tubes and stuff you can attach to it.

Well, dear Sparky has figured out that if she chews on the little latch-type cage door hard enough and long enough, it will vibrate the door open & she's free. I was just lucky enough to be walking past the cage & saw the little beast in action so I popped her back in her cage. Then I took a twisty tie from the bread and twisty-tied the hairy little monster's door shut. HA! Now try to escape. I went to bed feeling VERY superior.

3:30 am rolls around & I can't sleep worrying about Dad. I got up, played a bit on my computer and as I was getting toward the end of the game I was playing, I saw something out of the corner of my eye & it wasn't the cat. Holly was sleeping on the back of the chair using my head for a pillow.

I get up to investigate thinking that we had mice again. What do I see? Sparky sitting in the middle of the living room floor looking at me!!! I scooped her up in the only thing that had a lid - a water bottle that clips on the kids bike frame - screw on the lid & put it on top of the stove.

As the water bottle is jumping around on the stove, I check out the cage. The only possible way she could've gotten out is to squeeze that fat, sausage body of hers INBETWEEN the bars of the cage. This is NOT a small hamster. The next day I go to the pet store and found a hamster cage that uses all the plastic tubes & stuff that we have but the main base of the cage is solid plastic with little air holes in it. Escape proof.

So now I have a $6.95 hamster that eats $8.00 worth of food each year trying to chew her way out of $60 worth of plastic. Something here just doesn't add up..........

Dad's on the mend!

It's been a few days since I've posted anything on Dad. Saturday he was moved out of ICU and today (Tuesday) he was discharged to a rehab unit at the nursing home where Mom works. He'll be in there with physical rehabilitation for a couple of weeks but he's doing great. To put this in a little better perspective, Dad wasn't supposed to be moved out of ICU until yesterday - and he's now in rehab working his way toward getting home again.

I said it before & I'll say it again - it's the power of prayer!

Thanks to all those out there in blogger-land that have been praying for us.

AAhhh................. God is good.

Dad's progress

It looks like Dad will be out of ICU and into a regular room by Monday. Again, prayers answered! He will be in the hospital for about another week total & then should be able to come home. We are soooooo excited!

Thank you all again for all your prayers and support. Dad has a lot of rehab to go through to get back to his old self but he's pulled through the hardest part & is on the road to recovery.

Prayers are being answered...

Between running to the hospital and having computer problems, it's been a few days since I've posted an update on Dad, however, I have good news to report.

Yesterday, Monday, they extibated (spelling??) him and removed the feeding tube as well so he's off the ventilator! He had a rough night last night (meds were making him queasy) but that's under control and he even sat up on the edge of the bed for a couple of minutes after dinner tonight. Since his throat is sore, he's still in the soup-and-liquids food category but it's better than that feeding tube.

Now the fun starts - tomorrow: Physical therapy! He is gonna be sooooooo sore and soooo crabby tomorrow night when I get up there. Oh, yeah - that's another thing, he can barely speak because of his sore throat but he did manage to chew me a new orifice in my backside about taking too much time off work. He's getting ornery - that's a good sign for sure!

Thank you to all who have prayed and are continuing to pray for Dad and our family - he is proof that prayer works. A man of his age, in his physical condition (heart trouble) that gets injured that badly usually gets intibated (on a ventilator) and that is the beginning of the end for them. No so for Dad and I believe it's all due to the power of prayer friends.

God Bless you all.

Newpaper Accident Photo #2

Newspaper Accident Photo #1

What a Shock

Imagine the look on my face when walking by the newspaper rack, I get my first glimpse of the accident scene. Up to this point, I had avoided newspapers for that very reason but tonight I saw them & it hit me very hard.

Dad is still in serious condition in the neurological intensive care unit. He is however, stable. No big changes to report. The absence of bad news is, in fact, good news.

I'll keep you all posted.

Day #3 in Neuro ICU for Dad

Dad took a turn for the worse this morning. He went into respiratory distress. With the injuries to his chest & lungs, they were now swelling due to the trauma caused in the accident. His chest cavity and lungs were filling with fluid and putting pressure on his heart. So...... They put under with some heavy meds and then put him on a ventilator. For the next four days (minimum) a machine will be breathing for him. He will be unconscious due to the meds (this is to keep him comfortable) but not in a coma, just deeply sleeping.

It was really scary to see Dad lying there unconscious with all those tubes coming out of him. It shouldn't have bothered me so much - I saw him after his triple by-pass surgery 8 years ago and that was worse. I guess the memory of it fades after awhile. It's very disturbing to feel so helpless.

Thank you to all those who have left comments and to everyone for your prayers - I really do believe in the power of prayer and I know God is listening.

By the way Opie - his name is John, my kids call him "John-John" ( a story for another time as to why).

Good News

Better than good - great! Dad is doing much better than expected. They got the bleeding into his brain stopped, his lung will heal on it's own and is re-inflated, the 7 broken ribs, broken collarbone, the 4" laceration across the back of his head (requiring staples) and the bruising all over his body will just take time to heal. At this point, he is still in the neurological intensive care unit of the hospital. He is stable, aware of what is going on and even teasing some of the nurses! They are allowing him semi-solid food which he actually wants to eat (even if it is hospital food!) which is a big deal to him.

Bottom line: As long as there are no complications with his heart, he's out of the worst of it. Thank you all for your prayers - I know it made a difference. I could feel it, I know Dad did too. God Bless you all.

A little more accurate info on the accident itself:
As Dad was passing the farm tractor, it made a left turn into Dad's truck just behind the front wheels narrowly missing the fuel tank. This caused Dad to jack-knife and roll the truck. We're not sure if it went completely over or not but when it came to rest after sliding for over 200 feet, the cab and trailer were lying drivers side down. In the course of the accident, the trailer came close to coming through the cab but stopped short of it, the truck & trailer took out an electrical pole with a transformer on it and hit a natural gas main so that was leaking. We just thank the Lord that there wasn't any fuel leaking from the truck, only some oil. The EMT's had to go through the front windshield of the truck to cut Dad out as his leg was pinned under the steering wheel and then they removed him from the rear window of the truck. He was then taken by Lifeline helicopter to the hospital. And get this - the owner of the company whose employee was responsible for the accident - he called the hospital to check on Dad! How cool is that?

Thanks again for your prayers for Dad & my family. Who says the internet separates & isolates people? It's brought me a whole new family to add to what I already have.

Update on Dad

Dad is in the neurological intensive care unit at the hospital. He has 7 broken ribs (not 3) and in addition, his collar bone is broken and there is an extensive laceration behind his left ear that required a considerable number of stitches. He is still bleeding from the chest tube (put in due to the punctured lung).

How did the accident happen? Dad was driving his semi on a local, rural, 2-lane highway. He was following a farm tractor and pulled out to pass it. Without making a signal of any kind, the tractor pulled off the highway into a field making a left turn in front of Dad's semi-truck. They hit in a "T" fashion - Dad's truck and trailer rolled. The farmer, we understand, is not hurt. Thank the Lord for a very large blessing there. This accident could've been instantly deadly for both men.

I NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!!

To anyone that may read this post - my family desperately needs your prayers tonight.

My father drives semi part-time and was doing a run this afternoon when he was involved in an accident about 30 miles from home. He has three broken ribs, a punctured lung and is bleeding into his brain. At present, he is stabilized and in the ICU of a very good local hospital. He also has serious heart problems and this makes medicating him quite difficult. They need to stop the bleeding into his brain - however, causing his blood to clot this quickly could cause a heart attack. His heart is only working at about 28% of capacity so even a mild heart attack could kill him.

Thank you all for your prayers - I know Dad will be able to pull through this with the power of prayer.

Dad

Dad circa 1937 - This is one of my favorite pictures Grandma B sent me! Daddy was sooooo cute! hehehe

We Are Family

Isn't this sooooo cute??? Easter 1968. My Grandma B made matching Easter outfits for my sisters and I. I'm the little blonde one with my oldest sister holding my baby sister.

A Picture is Priceless

Grandma B, age 89 and my only living grandparent now, sent me tons of family photos this past week. Some are really old (pre 1940) and some are not so old (my children as babies) and there's everything in between. Over the next weeks/months, or whenever the urge hits me, I'll pick a personal favorite and post some of photographic family history for my blogger family to see. I hope you all enjoy.

Name That Tune

Well, not really name it, but I have been informed of the origins of a little song we've all sung since children at camps and Sunday Schools around the world......... "Kum Bah Yah"

Billy: Miss C, I know where the song "Kum Bah Yah" came from!

~C~: Oh, really? Where is that Billy?

Billy: From Jesus' disciples of course! (sighs in exasperation)

~C~: How do you know that?

Billy: 'Cause some really bad, mean people stuck Jesus on a cross and put nails in his feets and then in his hands too and then when he was crying for us 'cause we didn't listen to God, his disciples sang "Kum Bah Yah" to him.

~C~: Is that so? Where did you find that out?

Billy: My Grandma told me so, 'cept for the song part, I just figured that out. It was that or it was at the last supper..... That was the last time Jesus ate with his disciples before some really mean guys stuck him on that cross and put nails in his feets and hands. That's when they sang it, yeah, at that last supper thing.

Some days, I really love my job.