My baby turns 4

Happy birthday Konnor!

Today my baby turns 4 years old. My little baby boy is no longer a baby. He no longer looks like a baby either.

He announced this morning, while coming down the steps that it was his last night going to bed with pull-ups on since now he is 4 and "way to old for baby stuff". He walked over to the shelf that we keep the pull-ups on near the bathroom and took them to the kitchen and dumped them into the trash.

I am glad he is confident - I am not so sure BUT am willing to give it a try.

I am emotional today about his birthday. Your baby turning 4 is a big deal. One more year and then it is off to school. One more year of Mom being the most important person in his life. One more year of cuddles on the couch and special secret missions together while the older kids are at school. One more year.

Maybe it is even more emotional for me when I think that next week my other baby, my first baby, will be turning 20! This makes me feel old. BUT I refuse to think about that today, I think about that tomorrow.

~Just Me

Ginger needs a home

Last September Ray was sent to Louisiana for work to repair the electric lines that were damaged during the hurricanes. When he came home he wasn't alone. He brought a puppy that had been abandon. He just didn't have the heart to leave her running the streets.

This is Ginger.

She is now about 8 months old. She is a very sweet, loving dog. Well behaved, crate trained, house broken, good with the kids .... She is current on all her shots and the vet says she is in very good health.

BUT now I have to find her a new GOOD home and I HATE IT!

Since we have taken on our new rabbit habit we will be away from home a lot. For some shows we will maybe away for upwards of 18 hours and for other shows we might leave on a Friday night and not get home until Sunday night.

I can't stand the thought of leaving her in her crate for that long and the price for weekend kennel stays is way beyond our budget. So now I must find her a new home.

Ray is trying to comfort me. Our new rabbit habit is more then a hobby for us. It is a business. A way for us to bring more income into our house. Anyone out there with kids can understand the need for more income. It is also helping to bond our family together. Being a blended family hasn't been all that easy - even after 7 years.

So here I am, one of those people asking if anyone knows of anyone who could give Ginger a permanent home. :( I don't want to take her to the SPCA or any other kind of shelter but Ray has given me a deadline to find her a home.

~Just Me

My van HATES Fridays!

I am thoroughly convinced that my van hates Fridays! EVERY Friday for the last 5 weeks my battery has been dead.

Friday is errand day. I think my van is doing this on purpose. I think my van hates running around doing errands. Stupid since it is not like the errands will just disappear or someone else will do them.

Ray will come home, jump start the van and off I will go and do most of the errands that I have to do and the rest will wait until tomorrow.

Waiting until tomorrow STINKS! Saturday should be my sleep until I wake up on my own day. But my van hates doing errands on Fridays during the day and it forces me to get up early Saturday morning and do the banking, running to the mill, and other stuff I can only do during the daylight since most of the town I live near closes at 5 pm. Yes believe it or not there are still towns in America that close early, open even earlier and aren't open at all on the weekends! They keep a "FARMERS SCHEDULE" This was a HUGE shock to my system upon moving up here last spring.

I am getting even with my van tonight though. Ray is coming home NOT with jumper cables but a BRAND NEW SUPER DUTY battery! HA HA HA, I will not have a dead battery again next Friday and I will get all my errands done and I WILL sleep past 5 am next Saturday morning!

~Just Me

Where did I go?

I am lost or at least the person I used to be is lost. Not sure when it happened, not sure if that person just ceased to exist one day or ran away. My husband believes that person is still around but has been suppressed with the duties of motherhood.

My eldest child is about to turn 20. My youngest child is about to turn 4. Do you know that means that by the time my youngest reaches adulthood at 18 I will be working the job of caring for a minor child for 34 years. (sigh)

Ray and I were talking last night about what we are going to do with our income tax return. This year we actually don't NEED to spend it on anything, which has never happened before. This new person that I have become got all excited when Ray pulled up the Home Depot site and started talking about front loading washers. Who is this person? After about 5 minutes of blissfully thinking about that shiny RED EPIC CAPACITY front load (can get all the days laundry done in one load) washing machine, it dawned on my that I have changed so much from who I was 20 years ago and I started to cry.

Ray wasn't sure what to make of these tears. He knows me well enough to know that I do cry when I am happy but even he couldn't be sure why the tears were coming this time, I mean who cries over a washing machine.

Twenty years ago I would have been dreaming of spending the money on a new spring wardrobe, a summer trip to the beach, a day at the spa, BUT not a washing machine. WHO IS THIS PERSON I HAVE BECOME?

Being the awesome husband he is, he pulled me into his arms and said, you want to plan a weekend away without the kids TOO? GOD I love him.

So now I am going to actively search for the person I used to be, but how? Can I put her face on a milk carton, put up flyers, offer a reward? Why has being a mother for 20 years changed who I am so much? Does this happen to every woman or just to me? How do you find someone that you didn't know was lost and you have no idea how long they have been gone?

~Just Me

Are you smarter then the Jeopardy Champ?

I hardly ever get to watch TV before my little boys are in bed so I never get a chance to watch Jeopardy anymore. I used to watch it just to see how unknowledgeable I was.

Last night I actually caught the very end of the show, the final jeopardy question. Now I can't remember the exact wording to the question but it was something along the lines - - This is the only country that will not allow US hurricane hunter aircraft to fly in their airspace.

An answer popped right into my head and I was thinking, geesh that was too easy, must be something else.

The first contestant's answer, North Korea - WRONG
The Second Contestant's answer, Iran - WRONG
The third contestant's answer, China - WRONG

Now people, this was not that hard. I can't ever for the life of me remember a HURRICANE in any of those three countries. Even Alex was a little perplexed with the answers and asked WHERE to hurricanes occur???

Ok so he gives the answer AND I WAS RIGHT! Wow I am smarter, or maybe just listen better, the a jeopardy champ!

OH you want the answer - CUBA, DUH!

Are you smarter then a Jeopardy Champ?

~Just Me

Sick day for Mom (ha ha ha)

No I am not sick, thank GOD. Well maybe sick and tired of being underpaid and under appreciated but not ill.

My husband on the other hand is sick. He has an upper chest infection and is on medicine from the doctor.

I have had at least one kid home sick with me EVERY day for the last week. This means that all my errands have had to be put on hold. When my husband decided this morning that he was too sick to go to work, I thought that he would at least sit on the couch, watch TV and keep an eye on our 3 year old who is still not feeling great.

"But I am sick"

"Yes Babe, I know your sick but I have to get these errands done."

"B u t I a m s s s i i i c c c k k k"

"Yes I know you are that is why you didn't go to work but Konnor is sick too and I don't want to drag him around all day."

{cough, hack, cough} "But I just want to lay down. I am sick"

"Yes I know that but if it was just ME that was sick, I would still have to get the kids up for school, make breakfast, get them on the bus, take care of Konnor, the dog, the cats, the rabbits, the chickens AND still do all the errands that can only be done during the day. So can I leave Konnor with you while I do my errands."

{SNORE}

He fell back to sleep and that was the end of that conversation.

So the banking hasn't gotten done, the mail hasn't been sent since I have no stamps, the pantry is all but bare and the clothes are piling up since I am out of laundry soap. The chickens are out of straw AND I have been waiting a week to get to Wal~Mart to get a blow dryer since mine up and died.



Maybe we moms can form some type of union and start making demands. Of course going on strike would do us no good since we would only be hurting ourselves in the long run. I mean no one would think of crossing the picket line and do our work for us. That only means that there would be sooooo much more to do when the strike was over.



I wonder what would happened if I just would take Konnor up to our room, put on a DVD, lock the door and run some errands. The problem is I know I couldn't do it and Ray knows that too.

~Just Me

The Bug

One of things I learned early on in my mom of 7 kids career was to have quadruple the number of pillows, sheets, blankets and towels then you would normally need. WHY? because once a stomach bug hits one of the kids it spreads like wildfire. The second thing that I have learned is that even if you completely surround your kid with "throw up buckets" they will miss.The third thing that I learned is that they never get sick after you have had a great nights sleep and you are full of the energy needed to deal with it. They wait until you have decided to stay up a little later then normal to catch a little of Leno and as you are crawling into bed with eyes that feel like bricks you hear it, that unmistakable sound. That sound that even when you think about it turns your stomach. The first thing that runs through your mind when you hear the sound is where is the buckets and the second is do I have enough clean pillows, sheets, blankets and towels to make it through the night cause the last thing you want is to be up all night doing laundry.

Right now we have some mystery virus going through our house. It is accompanied by a very high fever and with some, body aches and vomiting. It is only lasting about 36 hours but that is long enough. The other thing that is different about this bug is it is causing some delusions. Konnor, who is 3, was yelling from his sick bed that he didn't want to go swimming. Ray kept asking me why I keep buying stuff from brand name hotels. Tyler came stumbling down the steps at midnight yelling the school bus was coming and he couldn't find his life jacket.

If having such high fevers in the kids wasn't so scary, it would have been funny!

So far it has touched everyone in the house except for me and Kimmy. I am hoping and praying that I am immune to this bug. GOD help this house if Mom gets sick like that.

Do you think a disaster such as that would qualify for National Guard assistance?

~Just Me

Blue Mountain Rabbitry

We are official! The ARBA accepted our name and we purchased our first 3 rabbits yesterday. This is one of our new little boys! He is a Broken Siamese Sable Jersey Woolie. HE IS SOOOOO CUTE!

I am still working on the web site and will have more pictures posted there. As soon as I am some what satisfied with how it looks I will post the web address for it.

Yesterday was a LONG day and I learn so much and met some FABULOUS new friends! I can't wait until our next show!

~Just Me

I SEE DEAD PEOPLE and plants and animals

Along with being boring I also have this uncanny knack of seeing things that other people don't. NO I don't see dead people walking down the sidewalk but I do see things in strange places. I guess it started when I was a child. Being raised in a rural setting left me lots of time to play on my own and lots of time for my imagination to grow.

It is almost next to impossible for me to look at a cloud formation without pulling out a picture from it.

I also see pictures in the faux marbling that encloses my bathtub and on my kitchen floor. I see pictures in the way the moon light shines through the bare branches of trees in the winter. I see pictures in the wet caused by the melting snow running across my driveway. Last night it looked like a mother and baby kangaroo dancing. Oh and I have even seen pictures in the feathering of my chickens.

My wonderful husband thinks that I am totally nuts, well most people do. They say I think too much. I can't help it, these pictures just pop out at me.

I told my high school art teacher about it once and he said it was the sign of a true artist, a sculptor. He took it back after he saw me try to sculpt once.

Can you see what I see in these two cloud formations? The first one looks like an evil teddy bear to me and the second is a cross between the wicked witch of the east and my second grade teacher - who ALWAYS wore a tight bun.

Once I find some more I promise to post them. Just can't seem to navigate my saved photo files right now.

~Just Me

This, That and the Other Thing

You know I really am a boring person OR rather I lead a pretty boring life. Now I know what you are thinking, how could someone with 7 kids and 1 grandson have a boring life?? But really trying to think about writing about what is going on in my life is hard. I know I would find it kind of boring to read, but here goes, little snippets of my life.

1. I took Keegan and Konnor to the dentist today. They happen to go to the same dentist that Jon and Kate (plus 8) take their children to. No I have never run into them there I am sure with 8 kids they block out a whole day just for them. This was Konnor's first visit to a dentist and I must say he did pretty good. NO cavities! He has his fathers teeth. Ray is 34 and has never had a cavity (YES I AM JEALOUS!).

Keegan on the other hand has bottle mouth. He had 4 pretty nasty cavities and they worked on two of them today. He gets what he calls the "cherry mask" to help him relax. It is not easy working on a 5 year olds teeth when that 5 year old also has ADHD. They got two teeth fixed and he goes back in 3 weeks to get the other two done.

This doctor DOES NOT participate with any dental insurance but will give you a computer print out to send into your insurance company for some type of reimbursement.

Our bill for today $475.00 WOW! Not sure how much we will get back from Delta Dental but you can be sure that I will have that form in the mail first thing tomorrow morning! Keegan being my 6th kid in the dentist chair, I still wonder, if they are baby teeth then why all the fuss? I know they say it can effect the permanent teeth but wouldn't it be simpler to yank them out? Just kidding but still $475 is a lot of money!

OH and while we were there, Air Force One was doing fly bys. There were a couple of times that I swear I ducked cause it seemed like they were going to land or crash right into the office. When I got home I checked the on-line news and found that this was just practice and neither the president or the vice-president were on board.

2. Ray, Tyler and Keegan have been busy all week building cages (or holes) for our bunnies. The show is on Saturday and I can't wait to get there and see all of them. From what I hear they had over 12,000 rabbits at this show last year PLUS cavies too!

I have been in contact with one woman who I am going to buy a rabbit from, he is only 5 months old and at least from the photo she sent me, is so cute. Another woman and I have been chatting back and forth in email (Hi, Kathleen) and I am making it my mission to meet up with here as early in the day as possible. She has been so helpful and I know I will be able to learn so much from her. AND there is so much to learn. If you are anywhere near Lebanon Pennsylvania, stop on over. I won't be too hard to find with Ray, 6 or my 7 kids and my grandson too.

I will know tomorrow if the name we want for our rabbitry is ours. I promise to let you all know as soon as I know. Then I have to try to design a web site and business cards. I have Kimberly working on our logo already.

3. I am having FUN reading other people's blogs. If you have one or know of a good one please let me know. I am getting to know the "real" person behind a few people that I thought I knew.

4. Ray and I are getting our taxes done on Sunday. Hey, "we got people". I used to be, (BK's), a CPA but I won't touch our taxes. Last year alone Ray worked in 5 different states, drove over 28,000 miles for work and had all kinds of work expenses, including union dues and work related clothing, boats, gloves and what not. We also sold a house and bought this one. Sorry I am letting "the people" do it this year.

So that is a little of my life, for now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Any suggestions? I can write about almost any topic, once I get started.

~Just Me

MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR!

Let me start by saying WAY TO GO STEELERS! Ok, got that out of my system. I don't watch football all year, but follow the stats and the Steelers have ALWAYS, since Jr High, been my team.

Ok, now on to important stuff.

As a person that HATES winter and the cold weather, I look forward each year to this day. I have even been known to say that it is my favorite holiday. I have also been known to walk around a little depressed if the ground hog see's his shadow and decides to run back into his little hole and hide for 6 more weeks.

This year more then most I am VERY much looking forward to Spring. It has been cold, VERY cold here this winter. I am getting claustrophobic with the amount of layers I have had to wear daily just to keep warm.

Right now as I type this at 7:15 am, I am also watching the live feed on the computer, as Punxsutawney Phil - Pennsylvania's FAMOUS groundhog, getting ready to give us the news
AND .................................... He says ........................... 6 MORE WEEKS OF WINTER!

YUCK, YUCK, DOUBLE YUCK! Well at least winter is OFFICIALY half over today.

~Just Me

By WeatherBug Meteorologists

Monday February 2 is Groundhog Day. Fabled lore says that if the groundhog sees his shadow on that day there will be six more weeks of winter.

It's hard to imagine in this day in age how people could give credit to a groundhog for forecasting the remainder of the winter. It is much easier to imagine if you put yourself back into the 18th and 19th centuries when people were mystified by how the weather worked.

Weather played a huge role in the day-to-day lives of early Americans. Farmers and businessmen alike relied heavily on the weather in nearly every aspect of their day.

Many people searched for signs and signals in nature to help them determine the weather in the coming days, weeks and months. This "weather lore" has often been proven as accurate through science but equally as much it has been disproved.

German settlers in Pennsylvania traditionalized Groundhog Day in the United States. These settlers brought a tradition stemming from Candlemas Day, where Europeans predicted if the sun shone on that day there would be a "second winter."

German settlers found a profusion of groundhogs in the state. They determined that the groundhog, resembling the European hedgehog, was a very intelligent animal. They therefore decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, such a wise animal as the groundhog would see its shadow and hurry back into its underground home for another six weeks of winter.

Groundhog Day has links to many poems and beliefs about the coming season but it is based on no scientific fact. In the past 50 years or so, Groundhog Day has slowly become more of a fun celebration to break up the long winter than a forecast of things to come.

A name is a name is a name .... or is it?

For the last couple of days I have been trying to come up with a cute, powerful, informative name for our rabbitry. I want to make sure that it will be something that we can live with and be proud to be associated with for many years. This is harder then it seems. I didn't want to use anything that was breed specific since although we have decided on the breed we are starting with, who knows if that will always be the breed we raise or if at sometime in the future we might have more then one breed. We want to make this a business so the name has to also sound professional.

On the ARBA web site they list all the currently registered rabbitry names. Some of these are very nice and some make me wonder if a 5 year came up with the name. When you send in your application for registration, you need to send in 3 names in the order you would like to have them in case your first or second choice is already taken. This is hard. It was hard enough coming up with one name let alone three and then having to wait for the mail to come back in with the final name for your business. I decided to try to call the ARBA Monday morning to see if I couldn't do this on the telephone instead of my mail. I have no patients and can't stand the thought of waiting 2 weeks to know.

So what did I pick? Sorry, superstitious here. Kind of like not telling what you wished for when you blow out the candles on your birthday cake. I do promise to SHOUT it for the roof top once I get the ok that it is official from the ARBA.

Do you want to see some of the names that other people have picked. Click here http://www.arba.net/Rabbitries.htm

Ray has a goal this week to make as many rabbit cages as he can after work. We know we want at least 6 but I also know that if I find what I am looking for we might be coming home with more then that. I have fallen in love with the Jersey Woolies and the variety I like the best is the Broken.

I know we have so much to learn to be successful but I think that we are off to a good start. I have been able to make contact with some incredible people that are more then willing to share their expertise with me. THANK YOU ALL!

I promise this week to learn how to post pictures to this blog so that I will be all ready when I get home next weekend.

~Just Me