Gleek-tastic

I am the first to admit that the last season of Glee was, well, too much. There were way too many story lines and they focused too much on a few of them. The music was spectacular but there was too much of it in an episode. I hate to say that, but it is the truth. This year...completely different story. It was like they went back to the drawing board and re-vamped the whole thing. It has been absolutely amazing this season and we are only 2 episodes in! Here are a few of the amazing performances they have done that I have loved! (sorry, due to recent "issues" with Fox and Hulu a lot of the performances are not on youtube...lame.)

I would also like to state for a fact that I do not like Fox or Hulu's new "process" in how to watch missed episodes. You have to now wait 8 days after the show airs. 8 stinking days! I barely catch Glee every week. Once Bones starts...I'm in trouble. I never watch it on it's correct day and time. I have a life people! I try to catch up on the weekends. Apparently I need to invest in a VCR again. Not quite sure why they paired up with Dish but this is a major inconvenience! That is all!

Jake moment

In the car, heading home.

Jake: "Mom, do you want to know a secret?!"

Me (hesitant): "Uhhh.........okay"

Jake: "Sometimes, when I have to go to the bathroom at night, I just pee in my trash can so that I don't have to walk down the hall"

Me (mortified): "Are you being serious?"

Jake: "Oh yes, very serious mom. You don't make this stuff up."

I was getting dinner ready and this conversation happened. I am sorry, but I could not stop laughing.

(Table is set. Jax is strapped in and working on his cheerios. Michael is pouring beverages while I wait for the timer to beep and to take dinner out of the oven.)

Jake: "Mom, can I go outside and play?!

Me: "Not right now, dinner will be ready in 2 minutes."

(Timer is now at 1 min 52 seconds)

Jake: "But Mom, I can play outside in 2 minutes"

Me: "What on earth could you play outside in 2 minutes?"

(Timer is now around 1 min 25 seconds)

Jake: "I could draw something with my sidewalk chalk, I could throw my ball up in the air, I could chase Zoey, pick up sticks, get dirty"

Me: "Ok, get your shoes on and when the timer beeps you can come back in"

Jake: "Oh thanks Mom, you're the best!"

(45 seconds left on the timer. Jake goes upstairs, gets his sweatshirt, socks and shoes on. Then grabs a few items, takes a swig of water, and heads downstairs. Beeper goes off and Jake returns.)

Jake: "Mom, I take back that you are the best. I didn't get to go outside and you knew I wasn't going to be able to get everything done in two minutes.

Me: "Well, you tried"

Jake: "You ruined my life"....

Me: I just started laughing

Jake: "It's not funny Mom. When someone ruins your life you will understand what I am going through."

My laughter continues.

Oh the tolls of being a 4 year old.

This weekend was crazy. That is pretty much a word to describe it. I find that recently, all of our weekends have been hectic and complete insane. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Friday evening we spent time with some of our favorite people! Getting to hold a new baby, especially a girl, is one of the greatest things ever. Emi is so adorable and I can't wait to watch her grow up! Not too fast though! Holding her, reminded be that Jax was there only 9 months ago and now he is walking! Ugh, walking. Wasn't expecting this so fast. He is just very ambitious in everything he does. I can't contain him. We had a very good evening, as we always do with them!

Saturday we had all 4 boys together. While watching a stressful Hawkeye game, then taking the boys to boat and RV show, we had some friends over for dinner and watched a movie so the kids could play. It was a full day from start to finish. A day full of laughs though and some hilarious memories.

Sunday....this would be our epic failure day! Hahaha. We had been planning for weeks to surprise all the boys (and Claire!) with a trip to Boone to see Thomas. Jake was beyond excited when we arrived in Boone. He knows the town well since we do have family there but we hit the T intersection and freaked out. We got there and boom, the skies open and we were soaked before we even got to the entrance. Making the most of out of things was an understatement. 6 adults, 5 kids, completely wet and cold. Yet, the boys had a blast as usual and we had a good day with everyone. I may have looked like one hotmess but to see Jake smile like that....worth it! Now I am thawing out.

I do want to say that I would like to thank so many people for the past few months! I am so thankful for my friends and family. They are all intertwined anyways. We still have rough months ahead but, I'm to the point where with the foundation we have...I'm ready for it. God has a reason for everything and I have really learned that the only way to get through it, is to rely on Him. I just want to say thanks to everyone though. Your love, encouragement, strength, prayers, and just being there have meant the world to me, to us. I am so fortunate to have such a large group of people that we can rely on in times of need. I know I personally have been slacking at being there for others and have really tried to amp that us to my normal! I am getting back to where I need to be and that only takes time! Thanks again to everyone! We love you and couldn't be more grateful!

Boom....get ready!

For Jana because I know she then can easily watch it all the time! =) Get excited people!

Loss

This weekend, all I have wanted to do was hide. My body is craving alone time but as a Mom, you don't get that. I take solace in knowing at 8:30, I get that time. Something that happened has changed me. It really has. Again, I tend to hold things in until I can release. Friday, well, that didn't work. I had to go interview a daycare provider with red eyes, puffy bags, and red blotches all over my face. I still feel like the wind is knocked out of me.

Gabby. Just typing those 5 letters sent me into tears. My heart automatically starts to ache and I get this knot in my throat I cannot swallow. My stomach gets tight and tears pour out of my eyes, even if I don't blink. I find it just hard to have to say goodbye after 12 years or devotion, love, companionship, and just fond memories. I can't quite put into words how I am feeling. I would say it hasn't hit me yet, but it has. When I went to pick up the kids after work on Friday, everything had changed. Then the tears. Ugh, seriously the tears. They wouldn't stop. I was a blotchy, red, hot mess and we had to go over to take a look at a daycare. Jake, bless his little heart. He understood, but wouldn't stop talking about it. He wouldn't stop asking why I didn't want to see Gabby in the box on the patio. Why I didn't want to say goodbye to her one last time. I keep finding myself even taking breaks from writing this. So I will end with this:

Dear Gabby,
For as long as I can remember, I wanted a dog. I beg and pleaded with Mom and Dad to get a puppy. We seemed to be cat people. Don't get me wrong, I loved Cassie and Tasha, but I still wanted a dog. There is just something special about a dog that I cannot express into words. Finally, the stars aligned, fate stepped in, and thus you were brought to us. We had traveled to MO for Christmas with the family. My parents had gone to visit my Grandpa in the nursery home, while us kids stayed back. When the adults had returned, Mom and Dad said they had a late Christmas gift for me. They went to tell me that someone had left you in a box outside a Wal-Mart. There were a few puppies in the box but they selected you out of the lot. There you were, all small and golden. Your little paws, stumbling around. I loved you instantly. Your name fit you so well because you never shut up. You could talk all day long. Your first night home taught me why teenagers do not have children. I think you cried most of the night until I finally just let you sleep with me. The first week with you was a challenging one. Making sure you were going to the bathroom outside was probably the biggest challenge. I will never forget the day I was talking on AIM (when it was oh so cool to do so), and you took a poop on Moms large 3 ft Santa. I think most of it went on the stand but still. I rushed cleaned it up and flushed the evidence. The smell, oh the smell. Nothing could hid that. When Mom asked me what had happened, I said you just farted and that I had taken you out. We had one another's back from then on. After a few weeks we found out you had a rare condition and we decided that we were hooked and so in love that we couldn't allow you to slip away. You were fixed and handed back to us brand new. I will never forget you running around in the snow with a child size sweatshirt on. I believe it was gray. You were a constant, bouncing ball of energy. You would bark at everything and anything. I would purposely make certain noises, such as knocking on the wall to make you think someone was at the door, just to see you go into one of your crazy spells. Your toys, oh your toys. I still think your figure 8 was your favorite one over the years. I think we bought that thing a record number of times. Tug of war had to be your favorite game. I know I probably tormented you enough with my fake throws. You loved it though. I remember getting down on the floor with you and watching you go insane as I hit the floor with my hands. You would almost mimic my motions. Your crazy run after you were given baths. I think every dog does that though. At least Hawkeye and Zoey do. Even though you hate baths, you always seemed to enjoy them. How about the times we would vacuum you? You loved to be vacuumed! It also saved on on your shedding hair clean up. Car rides. You loved those. You would whine unending until the window was down. I recall a few times we had to take longer trips then just to the bank or the store and Dad would blast the music so loud to drown you out. Eventually you stopped, when we got to our destination. There were always snot stains on the windows that we had to clean off. You were a regular at the bank and always were excited to get a treat. Dad would just have to say "bank" or "car" and that would set you into an excitement that was beyond anything. You were a smart pup. You knew so many words and commands. I loved when you played "dead" but your tail was always wagging. It was always beating against the floor. It instantly made us all laugh. Your hunting abilities always came through. Any rabbit or squirrel had nothing on you. You always knew their hiding spots. You would automatically start pointing when you found one and if you weren't contained, you would take off after them. You didn't agree with strangers. We knew everyday when the mail man came. If we received a delivery of any sorts, you went out of sorts. You loved to jump on everyone when you were younger. "Gabby down" was a command I am sure you heard way more often then you wanted. You ate almost everything. You were never a pickle or tomato fan. You loved licorice. I remember getting licorice nips and you would start drooling. We could throw food at any angle and you could catch it. No matter what we were eating, you were right there. Expecting something. We always gave in. Those eyes, they were piercing. I wouldn't even have to look at you, I knew you were starring. How about the time I made a ton of chocolate chip cookies for Dad, left them cooling on racks on the back of the counter, came out and saw Dad had put them away? You were going to let him get away with being nice....nope, you ate them. All of them. Mom stayed home with you the next day to take care of you while you literally "tossed your cookies". Till your last day, you still would have eaten those cookies. I swear your favorite thing was outside. You loved to sit on the porch and watch the day pass. If we would have let you, there are many days you would have stayed outside from sun up to sun down. I loved coming home and seeing you on the porch waiting for us to all come back home. Jake misses you. He talked about you all weekend. Even this morning he said "I can't wait to see Gabby", and then proceeded to say "Can I still love Gabby even though she is not there?" Jax is going to miss you too. He was always so excited to see you. I think the dogs in life have cause him to walk at 9 months. The boys both enjoyed you in the time they got to spend with you. They both love you and miss you. Jake has talked about you everyday since you have left us. It's still hard to drive away from Mom and Dad's house and not see you in the door way peaking out and trying to escape. Or to come over and not have you bark and run over to me. To not see you laying on the front porch, waiting for Dad to come home. You were never a dog that licked. You showed your love in your tail wagging, nose in the face, and dancing the way you did when we would arrive home. You were there through so much. Personally, you were there for broken hearts, deaths, life changing decisions, protection. I never had to fear when you were there. The loads of walks we took together, I can't thank you enough for that. You were always there for me. You were always there for my parents. You will always be with us in our hearts. It comforting to know you are still around, outside, where you always loved to be. Even though walking by there hurts so much right now, in time it won't feel like my heart is breaking. It's good to know you are still watching over us.

Always looking on and watching over us...

**This is also my 300th post....makes it even more special

I now hate birds

Today was a normal day. Woke up way late, running around like crazy in the morning, complete chaos. I don't expect anything else! When we got to my parents house, Jake got out as normal and I got Jax out. Jake usually shuts the car door but today he did not. When I asked why, his reply was "mom, I'm lazy today." Fantastic. I figured 5 minutes with the door open wouldn't hurt anything. I got the kids situated and headed off to work. I get to Ingersoll and as I am passing Dahls, I see it. Something moving in the back seat. My first thought, only because I'm a Criminal Minds junkie, was that someone was in the back seat. My mind raced to figure out what I could use to smash into the perps face or how I could get to my cell phone with out anyone knowing. A million things raced through my mind in about a second. The light was turning red on 31st and then it happened. A giant black blob raising out of the back seat. The next few seconds happened so fast. I don't even know if the light even turned green, but I did a hard right turn while a bird is flapping around behind me. Yes, a bird. I am sure I looked like a complete moron doing this. I also had my sunroof open and my windows down about half way, so I am sure I turned heads when I screamed bloody murder and started flapping my arms. In that 5 minute period I was at my parents house, for some odd reason, a bird flew in my car. Are you kidding me? I swerve into the Subway parking lot, stood as far away from the tailgate as I could and lifted it. I then backed way up until I saw the thing fly out. It was not my idea of a nice surprise. On the upside, it was not a serial killer. I did check and it did not poop in my car. Of course, this story brightened many peoples day. I guess I am happy to help.

On the upside...Football starts tonight!

Long weekend

I had the privilege of having a 5 day weekend. This is a rarity for me. I never have that much time off at once except Thanksgiving weekend. My mom needed to spent they day with my Grandma Thursday so I took the day off to spend time with my kiddos. They are so fun to watch. Jax is walking along everything. He stands on his owns and takes about 2-3 steps when he pushes off of something. That kid never stops. I found on Thursday that he is also cutting more teeth. In about two weeks this kid will have 6 teeth. He is starting to make sense in his talking. You says "Mom" and "Dada" really well. You can understand when he says "dog" and "kitty" and the new on is "brother". If you say Jake's name or if he walks in the room, the first thing out of Jax mouth is "brother". It's very sweet to hear. After a full day with the boys, I was not feeling well and Michael had his apt. She we packed everyone up, dropped the kids off, went to the apt where I infamously passed out, then felt horrible the rest of the night. Michael did well and is healing nicely!

We all took Friday off! We ran errands, cleaned, played, and just spent the day together.We let Jake pick out a movie at Red Box and while Jax napped, I cleaned beyond clean. I went through a ton of clothes to donate and even some toys. I then made an amazing dinner (not toot my own horn but it was) and we hung out with friends and just relaxed. Some of us took a long walk and we basically spent the rest of the night on the deck. It was heavenly. I love hoodie weather! Saturday I had to drop off some dessert at my parents house for SC and then we went grocery shopping and ran errands just in time to get home for the game. The game! I was so stoked for college football! Especially Hawkeye football. Yet, the rain caused major delays and the game technically didn't get over till about 4ish. In that time, we got a new couch, made a ton of cookies, helped new neighbors move in, and wrestled with the boys. That night we went to church, a friends house for dinner and then talked the night away.

Sunday, we got up early, met some other friends at Scooters and headed to the triathlon. It was amazing. People of all shapes and sizes, all different levels. It was very inspirational. I did have a sob moment. We were sitting on the uphill climb to the finish line on the capital lawn. We were watching everyone suffer through the last leg until the straight shot to the finish line and then we saw him. A man, probably in his 30's, that had lost one leg and was in a wheelchair bike, working so hard to get up this giant hill. All anyone wanted to do was to go and push him up, but I knew he would take offense to that. People just started cheering and yelling for him. It was painful to watch him, with every stroke of his arms, the front end wheel would raise above the ground. I thought it was going to flip but he persevered and made it. It was amazing. I couldn't help but shed tears. I'm a sap. After watching a lot of people finish, we all headed out to lunch! On our way home we stopped at the park, let the kids run off some steam and then headed home. Michael crashed and I spent the afternoon doing laundry and going through random things. I can't seem to remember what we did that night. Oh well.

Monday was our day off! Woohoo. We decided that we weren't going to do much because we had worked so much last week. I cleaned all the windows upstairs and then took a walk with Jax. We took a family nap and spent the remainder of the day and evening at Big Creek. This has been a habit this summer. I wish we could do it more. It just so relaxing. The boys love it and I love to watch the sun set on the horizon. Then it hit me....work tomorrow. Here's to another week!