This is what happens when I try to cook.....

Yes, this is glass, shattered ALL OVER! All I was doing was trying to cook........now I dont even have a lid for the pot. Guess we better just get take out! :)

Will it ever stop raining?

Rain has been the theme around here for what feels like forever.

Rain drops are falling on my head.......

This was from 2 weeks ago when we had the severe flash flooding. Our yard was lakefront property. Seriously. We had to go in and out through the garage as our sidewalk was a river......of woodchips! (see the pic below)

Did I mention our backyard was a lake too! And we live at the TOP of the hill! In the pic the yard looks like mud, but it is actually running water, and there is grass under there....I PROMISE!

I am thinking the drought is over. I mean it has been raining again for the past 5 days off and on. This is the start of summer! We should be getting to swim (in a pool not a front yard puddle), I should be able to kick the kids outside when they are fighting over who gets to be the eagle webkinz........Or when they decide to play tennis IN the bedroom! But no.....we have rain. RAIN I tell you!

I am sure in a few weeks when it is hot as anything, I will be begging for some rain. Right now, I want to see the sun!

It is Offical.....Blake is certified...

And no, not as crazy. Though one would think living with me for 13+ years would certainly qualify anyone for a crazy certificate.
Blake took his PMP certification today and passed! WOO hoo! Big weight off his shoulders there. He was cramming last night, taking practice tests, talking to himself and the computer......but it is over and he passed!
It is supposed to be a big deal in his field, but dont ask me? :) So a Huge congrats to Blake!

The first day of summer has begun for the children and me. Perhaps it will be I who is certified crazy by the end of the week. Sophie keeps looking for somewhere quiet to take a nap....poor puppy. I did sneak away today and have lunch with my good friend, Beth, who will be moving soon. I am in total denial, and pretending it isn't coming! They were here for just a year with ACSC (military), and will be heading back towards where we came from. I am sad to see them go. We have been doing Wednesday lunches for the past several months, and I am so going to miss that! She is always a fun person to sit and chat with. Her son and mine are good friends too, so there will be sadness on many levels in our home when they move. I know now a little more how it felt for all my friends we left behind over the years!

This summer should be a busy and fun one! My little brother is getting married in less than a month (his fiance-whom we love- is a brave girl to marry into this big crazy family!). I just have to give you a little laugh, it will be the "Johnson-Bedwell" wedding....hehehe.....Ok, so I have a dirty mind....That is almost as funny as when my sister got married: Bedwell-Virgin. Oh, I know. Enough, grow up and move on.......

So, back to summer. Lots of time at the pool. I get to sleep in! WOO HOOO!!!!! I am sure i will also be refereeing lots of fights and arguments. My one big goal for this summer is to clean out my garage! And yes, it just might take all summer!

I guess that is it. Boring as always! Oh...good news....Bryce's test came back negative for MRSA, it was just "plain ol' staph". It is looking TONS better and he is still wild and crazy!

Yesterday was ALL about Bryce!!!

Bryce comes in the room this morning and pulled up his shirt and said, "Mom, this really hurts." My eyes were still adjusting to being awake, but I could make out what looked to be a large bite or zit looking thing right on his hipbone.
I decided to keep him home for the day and watch it. See if it got bigger, smaller, redder, whiter, more pus, less pus....and on.

After lunch with Blake at the bowling alley, I decided to drive by the Dr.'s office and see if they were busy. There were only a few cars, so we popped in. Less than a five minute wait, and we are getting vitals, and blood pressures. Nurse asks what is up, i give her a brief history, lift his shirt and show her his wound we have under a band aid. Told her I am sure it isn't a bite. Doesn't itch. Hurts to touch, is red and hot. Had a head like a zit. My guess was a staph pustule. I get that look that nurses and Dr's give when they think parents are over reacting. She draws blood to pull a CBC to see if he has an infection. He did not enjoy that. They did a finger prick, then milked it for blood. She leaves, Bryce's blood in hand.

We are left alone in the room. This is never fun. My kids want to investigate every item in the room.What is this? What is that? They want to pull out and try to use the stirrups after I made the mistake of telling them you rest your feet in them. Sam poops in his diaper. I realize I didn't bring an extra in with me. Lovely.

Dr. comes in, and I get to repeat the conversation I just had with the nurse. She has moved on to the "bite" the nurse told her about. She looks at it and says, not a bite, but definitely a staph infection. She needs a sample to send off to test. FUN. Bryce reasoned with her for a good 15 minutes on why she didn't need to do that. Made her tell him step by step what she was going to do, complete with hand motions. She finally got the sample, then drained what she could of the infection. She said we would know for sure on Monday if it is MRSA or not, but they are treating it as if it is. They did a strep test on him too, as his tonsils were HUGE. It was positive, but she thinks Bryce does not have full blown strep, but is a carrier. He didn't have a fever or sore throat or any typical symptoms of strep. He had been wild for a few days, which is usually a warning to us he is about to be sick. They give us 2 antibiotic prescriptions and says to keep it covered. Wash hands frequently with soap and water, and he is good to go.

She tells me he is cleared to play baseball, but not to go to school (they were having field day today and had several water type games she thought would be best to avoid). I debated on letting him go to the game, but she assured me that if we have the wound dressed and covered, and his shirt stayed tucked in, no one would be at risk. His wound is very small, and is not weeping or leaking or anything. I checked the CDC website, and they say the same thing. As long as it is covered, normal activities are ok.

He was feeling great, so off to baseball he went.

HE HAD THE BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

They have now placed him as their lead off batter. He steps up to bat, and on the first pitch, hits it hard and it goes right in between 2ND and third and rolls to the fence. He got up to bat 4 times list night, and each time, fantastic hits! One to the fence, one over the short stops heads, the first hit between second and third, and then one along the third base line. All the boys hit well last night!
What was amazing was the first inning we were in the field. They had a couple boys who had hit, and bases were loaded. There were no outs. We had ended our inning with no outs under the 9 run rule, but we still didn't want them to get any runs.
One of their boys gets up to hit. Bryce is playing third base. He hits the ball and it heads right for Bryce, arching high into the air. The boys on base have started running. Bryce catches the ball. He is so happy! Shocked even. Out one!
He looks and realized the guy from second is almost to third and had never tagged up after he caught the ball. He tags him! Out two!
We all realize what is happening and yell for him to touch third base! The runner is on his way back from home to third and all he has to do is touch the plate to get him out! Bryce touches third, and he's out! OUT THREE! Bryce got a triple play! All three outs in one inning, all by himself in ONE play!
All the parents were cheering, Bryce was grinning from ear to ear. The other coach came over to our dugout and asked who was playing third. They pointed out Bryce and he actually came and gave Bryce a high five and told him Congratulations! He said he had NEVER seen a play like that in 6 year old baseball!

The game was so fun to watch! Our boys were all excited! The ending score was 18-2. Bryce has another game tonight, one Saturday, Monday and Tuesday! I know they won't all go as well as this one, but as a parent, it is SO fun to watch our children succeed at something they enjoy!

*For any of you going....I cant believe she let her kid with a staph infection go play ball, I'll give you a link to the CDC where you can see it was safe. I told the parents who were gathered before the game, and no one had a problem with him playing.

Time for a new post

Pitiful attempt at a group picture!

I couldn't stand the Trojan Weekend being up there any longer, so I figured it was time to post something!

We have been quite busy around here. Baseball, spring break, baseball, school, baseball, mom is sick, baseball....I think you get the picture.

The season has been fun this year! Blake isn't coaching, so I have an extra adult with me to tame the wild ones. Bryce is doing quite well. His first 2 games, i think he was super nervous. He wasn't hitting very well. In practice, he makes contact at every at-bat. After the second game, where he struck out at both at bats, he seemed a bit down. "Mom, I lost my batting skills." That is what he told me. I am happy to report he has now regained his skills. He smiles every time he crosses home plate!

Bryce lost his SKILLS!

Proof Jonathon got on base :)

Jonathon's team is doing well too! There is truly such if difference between the 6 year olds and the 12 year olds though! The little ones are cute and all having fun. By the time they are 12, it is a bit more serious. (Though you do still see an occasional outfielder playing in the grass-hope it isn't my kid!) Next year THREE will be playing......Not sure how we'll manage that!

Easter was nice and low key! My parents came up and spent Friday and Saturday with us. Blake and Dad started on our back fence. They got about half of it done! We finished the other half this past weekend after an incident with Sophie and a coyote!

Sophie likes to go play in the cow field behind the house. I was getting ready to go to the gym and had let Sophie out. When i went to let her in, she had gone into the field and was behind the portion of the fence dad and Blake had finished. I called to her, then realized she was brown instead of black. I was walking towards the fence when i realized that I was looking at a coyote and not my puppy. I looked for her immediately and she was to the left of the coyote about 4 or 5 feet. She was not barking, but frozen and her hair was on its ends from head to tail. I yelled to Jonathon what was going on (it was during spring break) and picked up a piece of fence post and stated yelling at the coyote. It was not even afraid of me. We came towards it, and are telling it to go away. The coyote and Sophie chase each other back and forth across the cow field. We finally help Sophie figure out how to get back into the yard. She was so on guard she got confused and was stuck between the cattle wire and the privacy fence. When she would turn her back to the coyote, it would come in on her. I have to admit, I was screaming, waving the wood above my head (i am sure it was quite the sight!) and Jonathon was screaming, directing Sophie. Even when Sophie was back in our yard, and Jonathon carried her inside that coyote just stood there and stared at us. Then slowly went back into the field. Obviously, we had to finish the fence ASAP before Sophie became Coyote dinner.

I am sure there is other stuff that is going on too......the school year is wrapping up, so lots of field trips, parties, and stuff. Blake is taking a class for some certification, working lots of overtime, and still being super-dad. I have some fun things going on! New calling....Activities Committee Chair (For the 4th time! I must really suck at it!). Working on planning some fun activities. Then there is my little business. Lots of potentially very exciting things going on there!!!! I'll share some of that another time.

For the most part, life is great! We really are quite blessed, and I am so grateful! Now if I could just get Sam potty trained, life would be golden!!!!

A Trojan Weekend.....(not what you think...dirty minds you!)

This past weekend, we took a break from it all and had a little day trip. Some friends of Blake's from his early Troy days were in town for a few days. I had already had a girl's night out with Nicole, but we hadn't gotten a chance to see Chas, Shelley, the kids, and Shelley's parents. (Shelley and Nicole are sisters. I knew Nicole from my Troy days and from the good ol' days in the military)

I have to admit I was bummed to miss out on sleeping in Saturday morning, but we got up early to head to Troy. Blake had promised us all Crowe's chicken for lunch, so we were eager to go! (If you ever happen through Troy, AL on US 231 you MUST stop at Crowe's and get chicken fingers, sauce and mashed potatoes.....YUMMY!)

We got down there a little early, so we grabbed the kids some breakfast, then took a driving tour of our old stomping grounds. WOW has it changed! So many memories! We drove past Blake's old apartment, our first apartment, my old dorm, the ROTC building, the gazebo where we got engaged, all the places Blake used to work, and our old church building. The church building is probably the one thing that hasn't changed. It is a tiny little phase II LDS building. If you have ever been in one, you know what I mean. We ran into an old friend in the parking lot and took a few minutes to catch up and hear how all the locals we still know are doing. That was a lot of fun. Going "home" (or back to where this all began) always triggers such strong memories, reliving it all! The excitement of living away from home for the first time, testing my wings, falling in love, and to be honest, it just gives me butterflies! Looking across the car, it reminded me how much I love that man, and why. (Yeah, it wasnt for the car, that's for sure!!!! He drove a beat up Dodge Aries K......that's umm....well.....not a muscle car :P ) We sure started from humble circumstances. He worked (and still does) so hard for everything that we have, but has found a way to thoroughly enjoy (and spread that joy) every minute of it. When we drove by the apartment he lived in when we met, I remember all the hours spent playing Jeopardy on the Sega. It was THE ONLY game I could beat him at..... The theater we went on our first outing (NOT A DATE) has been torn down, but we giggled at the fact that I was sly and failed to invite another friend along so I could be alone with him. It worked, he was hooked, and here we are almost 15 years later. Still as crazy in love as back then. Probably a little crazier then back then for SURE!

After our tour, it was finally time for our beloved CROWE's chicken. We met up with Nicole and her girls, Chas and Shelley (Lesley) and their kids, and Dick and Lonnie (their parents) to enjoy the feast that is Crowes. Ah. fried goodness in a box. I have to say, it was good, but failed to meet the expectations of my memory. Still way better than Zaxby's or Guthrie's.....for sure! Much better than the food, was reuniting with old friends! I think the last time we saw the Lesley's was when Jonathon was a year old! Time Flies! It was like no time passed at all, as the conversation settled naturally, and we learned about each others lives.....so many years and experiences later. Our kids got along well. We took them to a park, and the guys engaged in a little football. It was such a fun day, and made us realize how blessed we are to have such great friends, that no matter the time or distance we can pick right up like it was yesterday.

Time came to head home! We said our good-byes and loaded up. As we drove out of town, past all the landmarks of our past, I was very grateful for that odd little town, the peculiar little branch, and all the wonderful people that have stepped into our lives from our time there.

Zumba, Thai food, and Strep throat....

That was my day yesterday. I have been going to Zumba, but not as often as I would like. The class is at an odd time of day. Making it difficult to go to Zumba and get anything done. BUT, I so enjoy it. It also has enlightened me to several things:

1. I have no rhythm. The right side of my body is especially rhythm free.
2. I get confused easily. Having my arms. legs and hips moving in different directions at the same time is a near impossible feat. Strange looking too I am sure!
3. Every time I see my fat giggling in the mirror, I want to gag....and then I push harder and sweat more!
4. I sweat a lot! I am fairly certain it is a family trait. Sweaty bunch. When i got Sam from the nursery and picked him up he asked me why I was all wet!
5. I am always in a better mood after I zumba. And today, that was a particularly good thing, as my day was about to get derailed!

Wednesdays, my friend Beth and I do lunch. She has an appt with her trainer the same time I have Zumba, so we planned to meet at noon. I got home, and proceeded to get in the shower. I was about to step in when I phone rang. It was the school. Drew was in the nurses office (second time this week, first time he fell and hit the back of his head in the lunchroom.....big goose egg!). He was running a low grade fever and complaining of his leg hurting and his mouth hurting. She said his throat looked red. I showered as quickly as possible, put some stuff in my hair, threw on clothes, grabbed Sam, and crossed the street to the school. Drew comes down the hall smiling, looking PERFECTLY healthy! I felt him and there seemed to be no fever.

I decided I would continue on with my lunch date. Adult interaction is so rare these days, I didnt want to cancel, plus Beth is one of those friends that just makes you smile. Such a fun person to be around. (They are moving this summer and I will miss her!) The kids are happily playing in the car, and we finally pull into Thai Place about 6 minutes late. I wasnt worried because Beth is worse in the time department. If I am five late, Beth will be 10. I tend to think of my (our) lateness as a reflection of our care-free, happy attitudes....yeah, lets go with that one!

Sam decides to make a super poop while we are waiting for Beth in the car. Drew decides his stomach is now starting to hurt, and must use the bathroom RIGHT NOW!!!!! As we are getting out, Beth pulls in. Sam, who has an irrational fear of public bathroom changing tables, is begging me to change his diaper in the truck and not on "one of those things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I decide that is probably a great idea, and change his super stinky diaper in the truck, all the while questioning if I am crazy or stupid for not cancelling. Andrew is doing the potty dance, so we head to where Beth is standing. She is on the phone, so I motion to her that we are going in to get a table and go potty.

Lunch was great, and I was very glad I hadn't canceled as Beth had truly had a terrible day with some unexpected, terrible news from back home. We chit chatted, ate, and watched Sam and Drew trace pennies onto paper lace place mats. The food was good, and though our conversation was not as light and fun as usual, I think we both enjoyed it. We certainly both needed it! I am very grateful for friends with whom you can share your heart! I have been blessed to have many!

As the meal was winding down, the boys were winding up! Drews cheeks were starting to be a bit flushed, so we headed over to the drs. office just to be safe. Luckily, or so I thought...., the office was 1/2 mile from the Thai Place, and it is a walk-in Express clinic. HAHAHAH!!!!! EXPRESS!!!HAHAHAHAH!!!!!

The short of it, I signed it at 1:18, and left at 440. Beth saved my neck and went to get Jon, Kay and Bry from the house when the bus came. As I left the doctor's office at 440, I understood Postal Rage. SERIOUSLY! Here is a math equation for you:

Dr's office + 2 rowdy boys + 1 PMS-ing mom + 3 1/2 hours + 2 shots= 3 really unhappy people

I finally had to go hunt someone down and remind them we were in the room still waiting for a read on the strep test after 45 minutes. Sam and Drew both have strep. I have a headache and a raging case of PMS. How fun!!!!!!

To exacerbate things, I had only gotten about 5 hours of sleep the night before, so any irritation I was experiencing was magnified 110%.

All in all the day wasn't a total loss. I had a great workout, a yummy lunch with a fun friend, got to pick up our taxes from the accountant, and Jonathon got his aviation merit badge at the court of honor. Not to mention....it was LOST night! WOo hoo!!!!! Also, Blake took pity on me and picked up the meds from the pharmacy, and dinner! What a man!

So, I guess that is about it. Nothing exciting here! But really, aren't most days just like that!