Confession

I AM HORRIBLE AT BLOGGING! But I had to share this.
We have been so busy here at The Patty home. Both boys had games tonight. One at 6:00 the other at 7:00. Matthew is my little eater. Each time we pass the snack area he says he wants to go to the Confession Stand. No matter how many times I say concession he still says confession. What did we turn Catholic & I wasn't paying attention?

Sickness & Buses

I have gotten so far behind on the day to day stuff. I have a blog post setting in my draft folder. I need to get it out & post it about our....hold your breath......Christmas.
I have been home all day with a sick child. My youngest son has been bothered with sinus/allergy stuff for some time. We have gone to the doctor about it several times but then after awhile it is back. Just now he ran through the house full speed. But in the morning he will be deathly ill for school. I picked him up from school yesterday. I had bible study at church yesterday morning & errands to do to get ready for my kindergarten class at church last night. I was headed toward Wally World & caller ID on my cell phone showed the school. I should have known....sick. They thought it looked like PINK EYE. I went to get him, shot to Wally World real quick, got home, put medicine in him, got my lesson ready, went back to church & finally back home to rest & eat. In all this I wasn't being totally inconsiderate. It was not pink eye. I won't go in to nasty detail but all the signs were not there. He got up this morning & just the allergy stuff was there.
On top of all the sick stuff today my oldest son did go to school. He rides the bus home in the afternoons. Well the time came & went for him to be home. OH NO was I suppose to pick him up from school late. I did it again. I need to write these things down. Just kidding I did not forget him. The bus was late. Finally after walking the floor & standing outside willing the bus to come it didn't. I called the bus garage & guess what...they close early. Does that make sense? Buses are running & the office closes. I left a somewhat angry message. I am sure no one calls me back. I called the school & they knew right off what I needed. The bus driver had become sick & they had to double up on a bus. It took him 2 hours past his regular time to get home. He came through the door at around 5:25 PM. School is out at 3:oo pm. I guess the reason I am so upset is I have been having several several problems with this route. It seems no one there wants to fix the problem. To beat it all the bus driver was not even familiar with the area & kept getting lost. She was taking directions from the students & they didn't even know where to go. Now wasn't that just perfect.
Well he is home safe & sound. My sickly child is off in the house watching cartoons probably on my unmade bed & I am about to go hunt for food in the pantry to feed them. Jeff is traveling this week so we have been on a very flexible schedule for meals.

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.


Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.



Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.



Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.



Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.



Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.



I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.



My kids in a church photo a few years ago. They are now 22, 11 & 7 years old.

Scouts this past Monday

This past Monday was a pack meeting for our Cub Scouts at church. My Tigers had been working hard to earn their Tiger Cub emblem/badge. If you know what it is you know what you have to do. If you don't... well being a new scout (Tiger rank) you have to start out learning the Scout Motto, the Scout Salute & Scout Sign. We also did our Cub Scout promise in front of everyone. It may seem so simple to the older scouts but this is a great accomplishment for 1st graders. My Tigers are so smart. Once they were shown the first time they had no problems. Just like little soldiers. We actually earned it a few weeks ago but really wanted to have the ceremony at the pack meet. It is a parent thing. Photo opportunity. Show off what we know to the older boys. Now that we have the badge we can start earning beads to attach to it. Working out of the book earns you those. Next pack meeting in January we will have several boys earning several beads. 8 of my 12 are in the ceremony. 4 couldn't make it that night.

My oldest son is already a Webelo II rank & it seems like it was forever ago he was a Tiger. He will cross over to an official Boy Scout at the end of the school year. It slips by quick. I have a really great group of boys. I have included some pics of my Tigers. No names for privacy reason's, except my sons though.

Chris (Webelo II (my son) receiving a pin for his uniform from his Scout leader.

Me showing the Tiger Emblem of what we had been working on.

My Tigers growling!!!!

My son Matthew is the 3rd scout from the left.

Cub Scout salute

Cub Scout sign

Something comes to mind. While selling Scout popcorn at Sam's one day some of our Tigers asked someone if they would like to buy some..... his answer was "He didn't recognize the Boy Scouts of America!"

What the...........?

What part could he not agree with.....

The 10 purposes of Cub Scouting are:
Character Development
Spiritual Growth
Good Citizenship
Sportsmanship and Fitness
Family Understanding
Respectful Relationships
Personal Achievement
Friendly Service
Fun and Adventure
Preparation for Boy Scouts

Cub Scouting's 12 Core Values
Citizenship
Compassion
Cooperation
Courage
Faith
Health and fitness
Honesty
Perseverance
Positive attitude
Resourcefulness
Respect
Responsibility

The Cub Scouting colors are blue and gold.

They have special meaning, which will help boys see beyond the fun of Cub Scouting to its ultimate goals.
The blue stands for truth and spirituality, steadfast loyalty, and the sky above.
The gold stands for warm sunlight, good cheer, and happiness.

Sorry I will get off my band wagon now. Just could never understand narrow minded people. Did it phase me? No. I am still the Tiger leader for now. I wished he had not said something like that but he did, it is over & life goes on. The boys never gave it a second thought.

Fallen off the earth

No! Not me. I have been asked though.

I am not hiding out!

I have not been sick!

I have not gone in the witness protection program!

I have just been really busy. I wish I could in a couple of lines catch you up on everything.

Here is a taste of our weekend.

Boy what a day

Well another Halloween has come & gone. I say good riddance. I usually get the house all spooked up. We put out some decorations put not many this year. We are the house with fake spider webs on the porch with spooky music playing in the window. We don't get much of a chance to hand out candy. We usually take the boys around the neighborhood to trick or treat & by the time we make it back the biggest crowd has already come. We get some die hards still out late but by the time they come I am in my PJ's & warmed up from being out. The late ones do rack up on candy because to keep from eating it all myself I grab a large handful & dump it in their bags. Not the boys haul though. I don't have a death wish. As a kid I used to be really excited over my take at Halloween because we didn't get alot of candy other than Halloween. My boys are just spoiled from getting it all year. They have gotten into it some but not real bad. It is so weird how when they put it all in a tub together there was lots of little chocolate goodies. But when they go back it seems to have diminished. Weird! Right! wink. wink.
Well the door to door stuff was pretty good BUT....always a but.
Earlier in the day I noticed my toilet & washer acting funny. For treat or treating people in our neighborhood ride 4wheelers, golf carts or mowers around. Saves alot of steps. One year we decorated our mower to look like a train. This year not as elaborate.

Well get on with the night. Hubby came home from work, the boys were dressed up & it was getting dark. I had hitched the wagon to the mower. While in the front yard the boys & I heard a loud POW. we all went & looked toward the garage door. I thought at first someone had egged our garage door. We live on a cul-de-sac. No one had came in & not from the side. We would check the inside when we got back. Hubby driving the mower & the boys & I were in the wagon. We started out of the yard & the tire was flat on the wagon. We turned around went back to the garage to get some air in the tire from my husbands shop. We hit the remote & the door would not go up. (Remember the POW sound.) Well he went around to the side door & tried from inside. It would not go up. Deal with it when we get back.
We made our trip around the "Hood" as we call it. We get back home & pull the mower & trailer to the door. We get inside & put our stuff down & turn the lights on to alert trick or treaters "We Are Back". One the my boys comes to me & says " Why is the cats feet wet". Oh no, Did the little snot turn his bowl over? No, not something simple in this house. The toilet had erupted & had flooded my laundry room. Great! It seems at times all I do is clean messes. I always get stuck with the dirty work. Well the garage door is jammed & so is the toilet. Hubby come in & starts calling garage door places at night. He does talk to someone who promises to come out the next day & look at it. No problem! WRONG! Hubby has to be at work the next day & both the boys have a b'day party to go to. Ok, what is the problem? Both vehicles are stuck inside the garage. Well this great man comes & gets our door up in between jobs. He comes back later & replaces our springs & we are sprung.

While he is here, the plumbing guy is here also running a snake through our drain line outside. Since the half bath is not really used chances are something went through my line from the washer. Still can not be sure. We are always missing a sock here & there so I am convinced that is where they are going. I have a stash of socks that are missing a mate hoping the mate will come back some day but that ship has sailed. But as sure as I throw it away I will find it.

Well I have used the garage door several times, washed a few loads of laundry, ran my dish washer & all seems to be ok. Never gonna get this house back on the market. At this rate we will have all new pieces in this house.

Here is how my granddaughter got from house to house in the "Hood". What a life!

My daughter went for her ultrasound today....All is well & we will have another baby girl soon. Not sure of the date. I know...bad grandma. That will be another story later.

Jump back a day!

Well can I actually get two post in one night?

I posted about my day but now the weekend.

We still have Cub Scout popcorn sell going on & had another 3 hour shift at Sam's Club to sell. The boys actually did pretty good which was my two & one of my Tigers from my den. They stalked errr...waited outside the exit door for customers leaving & ask if they would like to help support the cub scouts by buying popcorn. Some people ignored them but some nice people actually stepped over & bought. One guy actually said "he did not recognize the Scouts". Don't even get me started. That's another post in itself. Well we were tired & cold & finally got home about 9:30 that night & we were T-I-R-E-D. The boys want to know can we do it again Saturday............NO NO NO. All my two did was fight & punch each other the whole time & run everywhere not paying attention. One of my sisters has two boys & I ask her ALL the time "please tell me it gets better." I miss baby dolls & doing nails! Boys are not wired that way. Thank God.

Hubby was home all weekend. Before the weather turns to cold we hoped to get the 4 wheelers out & take to the land. Chris' had been acting up for a bit. Hubby got it out early Saturday to do a quick thing to it but nothing here is simple. He was stumped so it is off to the repair people. Here we go again! He gave up, we got the other one loaded & headed to a friends house to pick up his big 4 wheeler. Wait, we need to switch the little one to the back of the truck because both will not fit on the trailer, get gas in a can, air in the tire, the boys are hungry, We are never going to get there. We are trying to find a place in Pontotoc to pull the trailer in safely to get gas & guess what blue lights behind us. Yes, a city cop. We must have attracted attention looking for a station. No my husband was speeding. He didn't argue. He was. Proof of insurance. Guess what not in the truck. It was our leased vehicle we were turning back in so all of it was removed from the glove box. We decided to buy it instead but none of the papers were put back in. I guess the officer thought we looked honest enough & let that part slip. I now have it at my side ready to go back in the truck tomorrow. Well we try to proceed onto the land. We get there & are met by some wild turkey crossing the driveway in. Pic attached. We are now at the spot we will call home hopefully soon. All is well in the Pa'tty World. All three guys got muddy. Chris even had muddy underwear from riding. That is some serious mud riding. I weed eated around some trees, cleaned off my cats grave who I still miss something fierce, played with my toy (Nikon camera), road a 4 wheeler through the woods & back out & took a deep breath because by that time the sun was going down. Turned out to be a good Saturday ticket & all.

At church the next morning with Operation Christmas Child in full swing I have had things I have had to do. We picked that day to give out the empty boxes that Samaritans Purse provides. Only about 250 were passed out. We had a really great time doing it. Pic attached. Hopefully they come back all full to send over seas.

Shelley Farmer (Director of Childhood Education)

(me) Katrina Potter Patty (OCC coordinator for HBC)

Dale Taylor (volunteer for OCC)

Kathryn Walden (volunteer for OCC)

Rev. David Langerfeld (Associate Pastor)

Rev. Tim Alexander (Minister of Education & Single Adults)

Our 2 boys both have b'days this month & their grandparents sent them some money that was burning a hole in their pockets. Sunday after church we went to Wally World to spend that hot money. The boys both got toys since you know they don't have any. The pitiful things. S-P-O-I-L-E-D to the bone. Man time is passing quick. The boys are 7 & 11 this month. Our daughter turned 22 this past summer. Different seasons of our lives. Changes come. We deal. Me not as much. I do deal with it but in some ways I look back & wish for the old times. People are what I miss the most. Father, mothers, sisters & nephews that have passed. Time heals wounds. A blogger friend is having to bury a nephew soon. What I read of him all says he was a great guy & you wonder why was it his time. But it is God's time not ours. God has plans for him & he needed him now. My heart breaks for the family having to say their goodbye's. Patty I will be thinking of you. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers.

Well it is getting late. I have bible study tomorrow. I still need to finish the booth tomorrow. My husband comes back from a quick business trip that he left early this morning on. My oldest son has a b'day & I need to get a fire lit under me to get some painting finished around here. Got to get this house sold. Now I will try to download some pics for you to view. Click on them for a larger view.

Scout Day at Huntsville Space & Rocket

Chris (Webelo 2 rank), Me, & Matthew (Tiger rank)

Pack 85 Tupelo, MS

Alot of our pack went to the Space & Rocket Center this past Saturday. The church vans transported alot of the group & several took their own cars. They left that morning & came back later that afternoon. I took my own vehicle & stayed the weekend back home. I am SOOO tired. I stay busy the whole time I am there. Since Jeff did not get to go my mom & sister went & spent Saturday with us at the Space & Rocket Center.

Later the boys & I ran by & spent some time with Jeff's dad (my in-laws). My baby sister called when I was about to leave from there & wanted to know if I wanted to run to Wally World with her. We went & did the Southern thing of shopping & running into people & talking & catching up. We left there & drove around & waited on my niece to get off work at the pizza place. We made her & her friends take us cruising around "The Square". We lead very pathetic lives to hang out with 19 year olds. We just had to see if it had changed any since we were that age. It has not just to let you know. By the way the only reason they let us go was because I let her drive my vehicle & it was my gas that made the many trips around "The Square" & town. The reason we finally went home.....the old people in the back seat was about to fall asleep (my sister & I). Boy were we tired & it was not even midnight.

Pastor appreciation was the next day at my sister's church & they were honoring their pastor that performed my wedding years & many years ago.

In my hometown they have a Trade Day the "First Sunday" & "First Monday" of each month around "The Square". Not much was going on but it was still fun walking around & remembering a place I walked for as long as I remember. If you go & don't run into someone you know you must not be looking. I seen my husbands neice & her little family I rarely get a chance to see while back home. We tired of walking & went after lunch. Then back to my sisters to pack up & leave town finally around 5:00. Engine light came on so that threw my time off a bit. (My neice did not tighten the gas cap after she put gas in for me)

Got back here to MS finally around 9:00pm.

Now back to real life back here & got to get busy with Operation Christmas Child at church.

Off to cook dinner now.

More later.

Can anyone relate?

Scene of the crime!

This is the scene of the crime.
After church Sunday we had Matthew take us to where it all began.

He tried to balance & jump from the top of the upside down U shaped bar beside him.

He hit the bottom step with his right hand/arm & the pea gravel with his left.

The step didn't give as much as the pea gravel.
Hence forth the reason for the cast.

I want to thank everyone involved for being there to watch after Mathew Friday before we made it back to the church.

Thank you so much Andi N. for holding my baby from the time he fell to putting him in the car for us & putting his seatbelt on him. You are so precious.

Please is it Monday yet?

My poor baby before the IV.

He was tuckered out from talking to the staff at the hospital.

Well cut to the chase!

My youngest, Matthew, broke his arm last night.

Once a month our church has a Parents Night Out. The parents pay one price & the church watches our children for us from 6:00 to 10:00 pm. Our date night. We head for the Mexican restaurant & then onto the movies. While 3/4's into the movie my phone was buzzing in my pocket. Has to be my daughter. No. It shows the name & # of church. I slip it out of my pocket & answer ever so quietly hello. I hear the words Matthew, broke & Dr with him. PANIC. I told her to hold on let me get to the lobby. Well Matthew was outside on the playground & the daredevil he is jumps from one of the steps on the play set to skip a step & land on the next. Makes it......almost. Lands where he should of put lost his footing & lands on his right arm. SNAP. I know so gross, gag me with a spoon. (Sorry that stupid valley girl talk jumped in my head from the early eighties) I ran back into the movie, grabbed my hubby, left my drink, got my candy & headed for the church in tears. My baby is hurt & I need to get to him. It took forever getting there. Seemed like an hour but only 10 minutes or so. I rushed in & the workers had him in a room calming him. We also had a seminar going on at church but we decided we wanted dinner & a movie out. We have several Doctors in our church so the staff headed for the fellowship hall & ask "Is there a doctor in the house". They actually knew who they were looking for already. He rushed to my babies side & evaluated him. Not in shock, yes broken clean, no other injuries. I was frantic & everyone probably thought I was some kind of crybaby parent. I HATE to see my children hurt. Now mind you this is my child that gets hurt ALOT. Daredevil. He will be the one that turns my hair white or gives me chest pains later. He broke the same arm 4 years ago. About the same spot. Has had stitches in the side of his ear, stitches at the front of the ear on the side of his face, a broke toe, a huge goose egg of a knot on his forehead & probably countless of other minor things that leaves me at the moment. Well back to the hospital. Our kind Doc at the church called ahead for us so we were rushed back to the ER room, IV put in bad arm/hand, x-ray's done, bones put back (we will skip the graphic part), & cast put on. We made it home but not before a quick trip to Wal-Mart for Tylenol. In bed around midnight. Matthew played inside most of the day. Ran next door by 10am to show off his cast. The little boy there just got his cast off. Another little boy a house over currently has a cast. 3 house in a row (that I know of). Just another day in our cul-de-sac. Matthew has been a trooper through this all. After the IV went in & pain medicine was put in he thought he felt good enough & could go home. He talked the doc's head off he had the nurses in love with him. The royal treatment.


Well after I called grandparents & told them what happened all I had to say was,


"We went to the ER last night".


They replied "What did Matthew do"?


I say guess!


They say he broke something!


I say "Guess what"


They say Arm.


Chris has a game one night after Matthew did. Matthew was playing at the side & this is what I caught him doing. I asked him what was he doing? His reply "I don't know, just hanging"!
Well stay tuned for the continuing saga of the Patty Family as we try to keep our sanity & stay safe.

All is peaceful at the moment. The boys are zonked out for the night. Hubby is asleep (& probably snoring by now). We are so tired. We have been putting in a pool liner today at the house. I promise to catch my blog up. I have so much to tell you & share. It quites the voices in my head. I am kidding. I have so much to tell everyone so I hope I can do it by blogging. Please drop me a comment every so often & let me know you are there. Well 4 minutes till midnight here in Mississippi. Maybe I can make it to the bed by 12. Forget it. Not me. Please if you run into me with bags under my eyes look past them & just give me a smile & all will be said.

Better go I have to go to the Lord's house tomorrow. Church that is.

Later from me,

I will post tomorrow what this little thing has to do with me at the moment.

GOTTA' LOVE LITTLE BOYS

Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of

tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter.

The man at the counter asked the older boy,

'Son, how old are you?'

"Eight," the boy replied.

The man continued, 'Do you know what these are used for?'

The boy replied, 'Not exactly, but they aren't for me.

They're for him. He's my brother. He's four.

We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike.

Right now, he can't do either one.'

Father's Day of 2005

Week starting out busy

Monday started really great. All the kindergarten classes at my youngest son's school went on a field trip. Since my week was starting not really busy I went with them. It was so much FUN. My husband had asked me earlier where we were going & I had no idea. I knew the name of the place but not where it was. I got to school & asked them & was told it was about 45 minutes from the school. Kids went by bus & parents followed in cars. Alot of parents followed. It turned out being a beautiful day here. A bit of chill in the air. I had a long sleeve on & was fine. If you live anywhere around here & have not heard of this place make a point to go. They have tons of things to do.

Circle Y Equestrian Center I was not disappointed in the least. We will be going back in the summer with the boys. The price you can not beat. When some of the parents heard we could buy from the snack bar while there we ditched our PB & J sandwiches & got really good BBQ sandwiches. The whole park was just open to us. The kids had a great time & so did the parents. Can't wait for the fall to be here because they also have a pumpkin patch.

I am going to be in some serious trouble for this one. If you read my post a few days ago about the mommie cat that had the four kittens & she accepted another one from Saturday, well....someone brought in 4 more & she took those also. She has a grand total of 9 kittens. Well the picture below is made from my house. I would go & visit her each time I was at the shelter & talk to her. She looked so sad in her cage. She is such a loving cat & loves to be petted. She has been a great mother. I say I will be in trouble because my hubby had already told me I better not be bringing any of them home because I feel sorry for them. After the field trip my youngest son & I went by the shelter & got her & brought her home with us to foster her. (Pets are available to foster at about all shelters while they are waiting on homes) She has been nursed on so much that they are about to suck the life from her. I went Tuesday to PetSmart & got some powder kitten formula to mix up. We have bottle feeding them some. They are so funny to watch. The mom even loves the formula. It is made for nursing cats also. I got her some good food to help her along in her condition. I also attached a picture of the mom & kittens & one of the kittens taking from a bottle. A couple of them are having a hard time figuring it out but they are getting a bit in them. The boys love to feed them. What a great experience for them to remember how they helped in the life of a tiny helpless creature. I just hope all this is not in vain. After they are weaned & a few weeks older they will go back to the shelter for adoption. Tell everyone you can if they are about to adopt to try a shelter first. My mother is about sick of me telling her to spay & neuter. I have to say though that she does it with all her animals. She & my step-father have just adopted 2 solid white kittens & having to feed them with a bottle. Even my sister is taking care of kittens right now. She had got a cat & it turned out being pregnant. I guess we will be known as the Crazy Cat Family.

We had to tear ourselves away from the cats for Monday night & go to a scout meeting. With camping coming up the Webelos 1 had to have a swim practice (inside pool) to get ready for a swim test. They will get to use canoes this year. They are looking forward to it.

My little fish (Chris) in the water.

AKA--Crazy Cat Family

Go team Go!

Chris had his first baseball game Tuesday. We have some really good hitters on the team. We did win! Chris does great in practice but once a game comes up he freezes at the plate. Should I share that with you? We cheered him on all the way though. It always takes a game or two to get over that nervous feeling. We hope to have a really good year. I was over talking at the side one day at practice & seen the group of boys huddled together tight. The coach had them in a prayer group. I love to have the coach prayer for the boys. That is a real coach.

(Click on pic for larger view)

Matthew starts T-ball games soon. They start later than regular baseball. He just can't wait. They are so fun to watch play. Score is not kept. That makes it all the better. They are just learning. At practice they sort of just run all over the field. This is Matthew's 2nd year of T-ball. If you need a good laugh...watch a T-ball game!

(Click on pic for larger view)

I had Wednesday night kindergarden mission's class last night at church. I love coming up with crafts for the kids. We worked on Mother's day cards. If you are one of my mom's "Do not read this or look at the picture". I had found a craft on an internet site I go to alot.You use your thumb to make thumb print cards. "Thumbbody says, Thumbody loves you & that Thumbody is me! Inie is a thumb print flower & butterfly. So cute! They have colored bookmarks that I will laminate at church & enclose in the card. Only 4 more Wednesday's left. The M&M's year is about over. (M & M stands for Music & Mission's)

(Click on pic for larger view)

My neice is getting ready to graduate high school next month. Boy where did the time go? Her mail labels came in & guess what? They had moved & the address was WRONG for mailing. I got her some cute one's made up & got them in the mail yesterday. All is well in the graduation world today. Graduation will be special. She will receive her diploma with a National Honor Society sash around her neck. She has the world at her feet, the brains to be anything she wants & the choose of any college that tries to get her.

Well I need to get ready & go. The Humane Society here in town is having a yard sale Friday & Saturday & I need to go see what help they need.

What a weekend!

T.G.I.M.-Thank God it's Monday!

Friday was my date night. My church offers one night a month to watch the kids for a small fee while the parents have dinner & a movie or do what they choose. We really look forward to it each month. Both the boys should have had a skate party to go to after school but Chris' school bus was running late. 40 minutes late. It rained ALOT here Friday. I figured she had took the long route & was dropping kids off at the door. Then I got that funny feeling you get & thought something was wrong. I called the bus garage & ask if they knew the location of the bus. I was asked "Are you one of the parents?" gulp, heart starts to pound! Seems like a whole minute went by. Then in a split second she said everything was fine. Someone had side swiped the bus. That didn't seem too minor. The bus was being cleared & should leave from it's location any minute. Within 15 minutes the bus dropped my precious cargo off. The party plans were now off. We talked & decided to skip the party & take them later. Maybe over the weekend. Matthew had gotten new skates to try so he was a bit disappointed. Maybe they will forget & we won't have to fit that in! Yeah, right!

Saturday was baseball practice for Chris. This years team seems to be pretty good. Really good hitters. Came home to do chores but hubby took off fishing at our lake. Rat. I pulled a few weeds but I am still taking it easy. I did jump on the mower & go around the yard. Chris tried to see if he could touch the peddles this year. Almost. Maybe by the end of the summer. I worked outside until it got about dark on me. The boys had rode their bikes to the neighbors a couple of houses over. I yelled & yelled for them to come home. No answer. I rode my bike over there. Jeff had took off in the truck with my keys in the glove box. I either had to walk or ride or a bike. You know they make those seats smaller & smaller now on those things! I pulled up to the neighbors house to ask if they had seen them. Answer: NO. OMG Where are they? I rode up the road to another neighbors house, they were not there. I seen a couple out walking & ask if they had seen 2 boys on bikes. They had seen them the other direction (our subdivision makes a circle). I rode that way & seen Chris walking back by himself toward the house. Where is Matthew? It hit me at that point. Construction was going on in an empty lot. They had both rode their bikes into it & was buried up in mud. Chris had finally given up & was walking back for help. Relief came over me but anger got the best of me. If only they knew the dangers of strangers. Notice no smile on their faces. They couldn't see the grin I was trying to hide. We all laughed later. Their defense----They were told to get outside & play.

After a long soak in the tub I believe the boys are back to being clean for now.

Sunday. The day of rest. We got ready for church & went. After church the boys were still holding us to SKATING. Can we go, Can we go, Can we go? Well, eat lunch & went. That was about the longest 2 and a half hours in all my afternoons. I had woke up with my back hurting from pulling weeds the day before & having a few chest pains from my current stuff. The boys come first. After we got home we tried to finish a couple of projects. I drug the tent out of the attic & glued some Boy Scouts patches on for camping that is coming up soon. Jeff finally took our screen door off the play room door to the outside & cut the side down to finally fit the opening. Of course it didn't go as easy as it should have. Does anything go easy?

Well Monday is here take a breath & start the week. Tonight is scouts. Laundry is piled up. Dishes as well. Baseball practice later. Did I eat yet? Have I gone to the potty?

Grounded

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths. ~Etty Hillesum

That word (grounded) should not be in an adults vocabulary for themselves.

I have gotten a few days behind on my blog. A week ago yesterday I went up to our land to clear some briars. Nothing out of the ordinary. It was a beautiful day. I had been there for a few minutes & while swinging the swing blade I felt something funny in my chest. I sat down for a bit to drink my refresher drink (Mtn Dew). I know.... not very healthy. I got back up but still felt really weird. I got my cell phone out of the chair & put it in my back pocket in case I dropped to the ground & did not pass out I could at least call someone for help. Well a few minutes passed & I still was hurting in my chest. I was having a hard time breathing & catching my breath. Could it be a heart attack? Could it be a pec muscle pulled. The only thought I was having was "Please Lord don't let me pass out by the water. You know I hate snakes & I don't want to be their lunch." Well I didn't pass out but I loaded what I could back in my little wagon, left some stuff behind, headed for the truck & came home. I took a shower & sit down to relax except I couldn't. Well I am not a person that runs to the doctor but the next morning (last Wednesday) I had an appointment. You knew I was feeling bad because I missed my bible study class at church. (Stepping Up - by Beth Moore) My doctor did a full exam, listened to my heart, took my temp, took my blood pressure, did chest x-rays & etc. Things were normal. As normal as they can be for me. I had "Chest Trauma". (More info at the bottom) He had some fancy smancy word for it but I forget. All I was hearing was I over did it the last few days & just slow down for a few weeks. Well that was going to make my mother happy. She tells me that all the time. Well have I slowed down........well a bit. I haven't been swinging a swing blade since last week. My ladies softball team played last night & I wasn't there. I figured the throwing & batting would be a set back. See...I do listen to my doctor & husband. My house is a wreck but it will still be a wreck in a few days for me then. I have taken it easy. Really.

The boys have started practice for T-ball & baseball & I have been driving them to the practices. Cub scouts is winding down for the school year but the summer stuff for scouts is starting. I am now an official Tiger Cub Leader. My paper work went in Monday at the meeting.

Only 6 more times to meet for Wednesday night Kindergarten Missions class. Then we have a summer break for class. While I am typing this I am trying to finish an idea in my head for the craft tonight for missions class. It will be a card for Mother's day. We are using thumb prints to use as "Thumbody Loves you" "Me that's who". Should be fun. 5 & 6 year old with inked finger prints in class to get all over the place. :-O I need to finish the paper work to get in for Chris to go to christian summer camp in June for his 3rd time. Matthew's spring pictures came in from school. I need to get that order form filled out & get in. I have to take one of my dogs to the vet today for her yearly shots. Get back home in time for my youngest to get off the school bus. Boy... I am sure glad today is not a real busy day. I should be at bible study now but I really need to get my craft ready for tonight. I hate missing but remember, I am taking it easy. If I keep repeating that to myself I may can do it.

Recent Chest Trauma
Cause of pain:Chest trauma of any type can cause chest pain by causing rib fracture or muscle strain or contusion. Not infrequently, seemingly mild chest trauma (sliding into second base during a weekend softball game) can be forgotten when the chest pain becomes apparent a day or two later.
Characteristics of pain:Chest pain caused by trauma is almost invariably localized, is often described as a soreness or a sharp pain. It usually worsens with breathing, and often the chest wall is tender to touch or to pressure.
Evaluation:Chest pain caused by trauma usually becomes quite apparent after the doctor takes a complete medical history, and performs a physical examination. Sometimes a chest x-ray helps in making the diagnosis.

Little Creatures

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It is always so much fun to walk through the woods & see the creatures or critters as my husband calls them. Sunday after church we went to the land to clear some small trees & briar's on a point by the water that my boys have staked out for their own. Jeff & Chris fished a bit & Matthew & I cleared a little. Right before Jeff joined me again on land I happened upon something on the ground just walking around. At first it startled me but then something else caught my eye. It wasn't that scared of me. I thought maybe my swing blade had maybe caught it or I had cut some little tree it was in . I really still don't think so. There is a nest in some briar vines but it looks like an old one. I feed it a crushed snack cracker we had there. (Never go off without bringing snacks for the kids) It was/is a really pretty bird. We came home & looked on Flickr for pictures of one like it. It is a cockatiel. I went back today to take some chairs over there & looked for it again. My plans were to bring it home for a pet. In the wild there or in the wild of my home. Same difference, better food here. I have plans to go back tomorrow & look while I work. It would fly up to a tree branch & watch me work then back down to the ground & visit. I am guessing it had to have been someones pet.

I hope to have the rest of the briar's & little trees by the water gone tomorrow. While Chris was at scouts tonight Matthew & I went to Harbor Freight Tools that recently opened & bought them both 18" MACHETES . We had been using one to cut the really tough vines & the boys kept fighting over who got to use it. So what does a responsible mother do....go out & buy your 6 & 10 year old one each. This is a tool that will be like the BB gun, 22 rifle & sling shots & etc. You don't let little boys out to play with machete's in the subdivision. Neighbors just don't like that sort of thing. With this though comes responsibility. We are teaching them the right use, even though I caught site of them pretending to be swordsmen Sunday & pretending to cut the others head off. Such a proud moment. ;-( That is a joke. I hate it but they are boys with vivid imaginations.