Home sweet home.

OK, I can't figure out what happened to my blog settings while I was gone, so I can't use my usual font size or change colors, but I figured any post is better than no post, right?

Vacation. That, it was. No kids, no husband, no work, no responsibilities. I hung out with my sister, my mom, my dad, and my brother, and my niece. Heather flew down for the weekend. We went and saw John Edward, but no one got read. It was still fun, though. Interesting.

My brother, David, turned 40 while we were all down there. We haven't all gotten together in years, so it was a treat. I just missed having my husband and kids with me, that's all. As nice as vacation is, I like being home better. Just call me a homebody, I guess.

OK, now I have tried to add pictures to my post, and it won't let me! UGGG! I should never have left this until 10:40, with school work still to do. Frustration is setting in. I'll try once more.

If this works, this is a picture of the beach I sat my rear-end on. Juno Beach.





Here are Gary, Stella, and Keeko eating Chinese food. Gary had never added "in bed" to the end of the fortune cookies, so we had a good laugh at the fortunes that night.




Here are Heather and I on a DivaDuck tour. That was a long truck that also went in the water and toured West Palm Beach.



This was Stephen King's house there. Someone was outside waving to us. Everyone thought it was him. I guess a gardener...LOL



My girlfriend Chris had stomach by-pass done on Monday, and had some complications. She's still in the ICU using a ventilator. Please say a prayer for her, her husband, and two kids. I can't imagine.

Finally, MY Chris is driving me crazy telling me the time every five minutes because it is a "school night". I'm going to end here, and I'll work some more on this for the next post. I still have lots more pictures!!

Quick post!!

My niece, Stella, is on page 32 of the summer Hanna Andersson catalogue! Check it out.

ON VACATION

No post for now because I'm on vacation. In Florida. By myself. For 8 days.
I'll fill you in next week! For now? I'll be reading on the beach...

A Favorite Friend

Shinyoung lived in Ohio when we lived there, and her husband was also a student at AFIT. They are from Seoul, and we became good friends with them. Moon, her husband, came over months before Shinyoung and their son came over, so we took him under our wing. Chris made sure he was learning English, and I made sure he wasn't learning dirty English. One time, Moon said to Chris "Is it right to say "Move your fat ass'? " Chris said "Not to me, it isn't!" Moon was not satisfied so he said "How about 'Move your boney ass'? " Chris asked him "Moon, where are you getting this stuff?" It turns out that Moon was renting old movies on the weekend and learning English from them. I think this one was Working Girl.

So, Shinyoung shows up. She is a quiet, intelligent, beautiful woman. I tell Moon that he batted way out of his league. Shinyoung and I became friends instantly. I loved showing her around, telling her things that we do, and learning from her, too. Not long after she got here, she was pregnant. How exciting! It was fun to go through that with her, especially since by then Molly was already here, and I knew I would not have another.

The biggest honor I have ever received? That daughter she has in the picture is named Susanne. After me. Wow, huh. Think on THAT for awhile. We call her "Little Susie".

Lumps.


It seems like everywhere I turn, everyone I talk to lately has "lumps". Problems. Face it, none of us live in a perfect world. We wish we did, but we don't. At least, not on this Earth.

I friend I once taught with actually taught me a LOT. Not about teaching, but about life. Here is one of the lessons I learned. Thanks, Jenny.


All of lifes problems can be divided into groups.
1. A lump in your oatmeal.
2. A lump in your throat.
3. A lump in your breast.


When you encounter a problem with family, friends, relationships, cars, children, etc. etc., ask yourself "What kind of lump is this??"
It really puts things in perspective for me. Fellow oatmeal eaters, unite.

Thoughts to think about...

Why does every kitchen have a "junk drawer"?
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are going dead?
Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough money?Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?
Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?
If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?
How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
Why is it always the mom that gets up with the kids in the middle of the night?
Why do we love the shade trees provide, but when it is time to rake, it seems like the leaves from a MILLION trees are there?
Why is it when someone asks you to go upstairs to get something, it seems like it is so FAR?
And my FAVORITE......The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Thinking about it, I'm not so sure they ARE okay...so I must be alright! :-)

I've been sitting here looking at my entry while my friend Wendy updated my page for me. First, thanks a ZILLION, Wendy. I adore it.
Second, I was looking at the picture of Chris and the kids with Snowy. Everything that matters to me is in that picture. My family smiling back at me. What an incredible feeling.

That will be all.

"God bless Snowy, ...."



Mikey and Molly love playing in the snow. Especially when they are playing with Daddy. This was the fruit of their efforts. Snowy. Now, Snowy was a little bit fragile. For example, he was often leaning over in the direction the wind blew. He hat was often on the ground. And his licorice mouth was often squirrel food in the grass. However, the children loved him. they repeatedly fixed him. And every night, he is to this day, included in their night time prayers. Oh, he's not just included! He is usually FIRST on the prayer list. Before the immediate family, friends, teachers, and anyone else they can list to stay awake.

He did melt, and has not been resurrected as of yet. God bless you, Snowy.

Here is a quick picture of the kids in the pool at their swim lesson. We are fortunate we can have our kids learn "life skills" beginning at early ages. The next one? Driving a 5 speed car. Mark, I will teach you that one day. Just tell me when you think you are ready!

My dear friend Karla came out to visit for a long weekend. It was her first trip away from her girls! It was lovely to eat, talk, walk, shop, talk, eat, and talk with her face to face. You know how you have friends that you just immediately clicked with, and you know they will always understand you. (And if not, they will at least PRETEND to?) That's Karla. A friend 'til the end. God bless you, Karla.

International week blows. Chunks.

I know, I need to put on some pictures. But for today, I just have to vent. Let me set the scene...

It is a pre-school. International week. And we have "flown" to Canada, of all places. Not a single thing against Canada, or the people there, but there is not that much interesting to report on the Northwest Territory. Inuit people. Cold weather. And bears.
So, my room got "culture". Grrr. Ok, I thought, I can do this. No problem...
My plans - we have 30 minutes. I will have kids that are 2 1/2, 3, 4, and kids that are 5. That is a HUGE age gap - twice the entire life of the first group for the last group. So, I have Michele pre-cut 137 Canadian flags, complete with the maple leaf. Thank God for the Ellison machine.... The kids can glue a white strip in the middle of the red paper, and glue the leaf on top of that. Simple. I smile.
Now....that will take about 5 minutes, so I have 25 more to fill. Ok, throw in a few non-fiction picture books, a few dolls, and we're done. I have now done it for 2 days, and both days it took between 28-31 minutes. Pretty good, huh?

So, why does it blow chunks, you ask? (If you don't want to read a gripe, just go to your next blog now...) Two of the classes - the OLDEST two, I might add - aren't having anything in their room. They just come to all of our classes to enjoy our work. So, some days, I have 22-24 kids in my room. Yes, we are in compliance with "codes" because their aides come with them. But try to do an activity with that many kids in a room sized for 1/2 of that!! My new suggestion for next year? If you don't have an activity, you don't travel from room to room. Why should the rest of us have to accomodate you?
Other gripe. After I had had Michele cut out the flag supplies, the other teachers all started making the flag in their rooms!! NOW what am I supposed to do? Why make the flag in your room before you even travel around for the week? If you want to supplement the week, wait until AFTER you know what everyone else plans on doing!!
Today I had the 2 1/2 class, and a class of 3's. (Molly's class) Of course when they got to my room all they wanted to do was go see the toys in MY class. Because they are different from the toys in THEIR class. I can't blame them. I didn't know the tiny kids names, they were all over the place, couldn't sit on their bottom for a 45 second story or directions, they twitched the entire time. Therefore, I twitched the entire time.

Thank God I took Monday and Tuesday off to hang out with Karla. All I have to do is the 24 kids on Wednesday, and we "fly back" on Thursday. Maybe next year for International Week, I'll get on a real plane and just leave the country.

Things to Talk About


I haven't posted a blog for awhile because I don't have anything to say. Yup, me....with nothing to say. Let me sit and ponder.

- A family in town had the dad die this week of stomach cancer. Had 3 boys under the age of 10. What a terrible tragedy - made me appreciate family and time together all the more.

- My friend, Karla, comes to visit me this weekend from Colorado Springs. I am more than a little excited! I even took time off work while she is here, just to play!

- Chris has decided to make chair rails and new base boards for the house. After he gets the painting done. When in the world will he get this PhD?

- Our cadet, Mitchie, has a date for the Ring Dance. We are so proud and excited for him!

I'll take some pictures of swimming tonight so I have something to show on the next post. I hope I can get the shutter speed to work for me!

Does anyone have any ideas for next time I hit a "posting slump"?

Six Things That Make Me Happy

1. A freshly painted room. Thanks, Chris.

2. Mail from friends. Real mail.

3. Cheesesteaks from CC Peppers. Coast-to-coast, no onions

4. Stamping at my craft table

5. Unlimited long distance

6. Blueberry pancakes

Notice I didn't mention the kids - I did that LAST time. I don't want them all to be the same. Besides, they are a given. They are my kids.

Six Weird Things About Me

1. If I am tired, hungry, or cold, I get GRUMPY.

2. My sense of humor is weird, according to Chris.

3. I have to have both shoulders covered when I go to sleep, and I sleep on my stomach.

4. I have arctic feet. Ice cubes. Really.

5. As mentioned before, I have to wear rubber gloves to do dishes or clean. I have extremely sensitive skin, and I only shower, not bathe. If I am to clean ANYTHING, hand over those gloves.

6. I collect cookbooks. Do I use them? Rarely. But I read them like a novel. I don't even really LIKE to cook. But I LOVE cookbooks.

OK, I'm tagging Wendy, Laura, and Keeko. If I could figure out how to link them, I would. Erin tried to explain it, but I can't find a little chain anywhere...???
Also, I'll work on putting people's blogs on the sidebar of mine. Anyone want theirs posted on mine?

"Happy Vallemtimes Day!"

That is the greeting we got yesterday when we woke up from Molly. However, the best part of the day came later. They were playing in Mikey's room, and he comes running down the hall yelling "She stunk me out! She stunk me out!" I asked him what he was talking about, and he said "Molly has gas. Stinky gas!" So, of course she comes out and says that she doesn't, that it was HIM. She says "Let me smell you." He lets her smell his bum. He says "Let me smell you!" He smells her bum and yells "TOLD YOU!!"

I still don't understand WHY they feel the need to smell the bums. If it stinks, why would you want your nose up in it?

More things they say. As requested.

We were watching the Super Bowl. Molly came out and asked "Who's winning? Indy-apples?"

Our heat went out downstairs last week, during the COLDEST week of the winter so far. The pipes under the house had frozen. Well, the heat/plumber/fix-it guy was here to fix it. Molly is sitting on the steps watching, and says "Dad, is this OUR house?" We've only lived here for 6 months - where does she THINK she has been living?? C'mon good sorority bid!!

Mikey's drink of choice lately - Tank. You know, the orange powder you mix with water, the astronauts drink. I laugh every time he asks for it.

Speaking of astronauts, I feel really sorry for that chick that cracked last week. You know she had to have her act together to do what she does. It just goes to show, your life can change in an instant. And the chick she attacked in the parking lot? A PSU Det. 720 grad from 2002. Small world. Oh, and her? Her life will never be the same, and all she did was date some space shuttle pilot, which she probably thought was pretty darn cool. Personally, I think he is way too old for her....

The other night, Chris was pushing Molly's bed back into place after he dug out a stuffed animal mashed against the wall. Molly was already in bed, and after he pushed it she chirped "Thanks for the ride, DUDE...!" She's a funny one.

My friend Laura had her baby on the 9th, just as she had dreamed she would. A few weeks early, but not very. She was healthy, and a whopping 5 pounds, .7ounces. She has to wear preemie diapers!!
Congratulations to Laura and Bryon on a wonderful baby Evelyn! I can't wait to come to Colorado Springs to meet her!

I've been tagged by Erin to do 6 Weird Things About Me, and 6 Things That Make Me Happy.
That will be the next post. Promise.

Things kids say...

Mikey went into school the other day and told Mrs. T. "Molly isn't coming in today..." Mrs. T. asked "Why not? Is she sick?" He said "No, she has a doctor's importment." Mrs. T. grinned and said "A doctor's importment?" Mikey said "Yeah, my importment is NEXT week.."

He hurt his foot on the furniture. He started to fuss with it, so I asked him what he hurt. His answer? "My thumb toe."

Molly went to a dance clinic on Sunday afternoon. The kids learned a dance from the Lionette dance team up on campus, and at half time they went onto the basketball court and performed their dance. Molly went down to the court with Chris and his movie camera. She asked him to come out with her, and he told her he couldn't. So, out she went. She looked at the crowd, and just started crying. She ran to the dance student, who picked her up, and handed her to Chris. That was it. The whole dance, down the drain. To top it off, when she settled back down in her seat, she started crying again because she wanted to go do her dance!! I guess she is not meant to be a dancer....

A week in the life.

Mikey was climbing on his art desk, fell off, and hit his Lego table with his face. See his Lego-Cheek? Perfect circles. Bet he doesn't climb on THAT for awhile...

Chris took the kids to a PSU hockey game on Sat. afternoon while I was at an all-day-too-f-ing-long-teachers-conference. This is how they looked when they came home. Happy, but tired.

Chris and the kids lounging on the couch on Sunday morning. Remember when we could only watch cartoons on Saturday morning? The kids will never know such a thing.

Monday after school Molly decided she was a ballerina. And what a ballerina she is.

Not to be outdone, Mikey was building a tower. We are studying "building" as our science theme at school, and he loves it.

We have a magnetic white board in the kitchen. I bought it to try to stay in touch with Chris, as we always seem to have something going on. However, after I bought it, we decided that we like doing it the old fashioned way. Talking with each other. So, the white board is always a source of amusement for me. Have you noticed Chris's sense of humor?

I was Susie Jennings before we got married. He still calls me that. He just shortens it to "Susie J."

We finally got some snow today. Not much is sticking to the roads, so we will probably have school, but Mikey finally got to go play in it. Molly didn't want to get cold. Big surprise.

So, that is our week, from Friday afternoon until Tuesday evening. Not quite a week, I suppose, but if I wait a whole week, think how many pictures I'll have to post!

The bracelets, as requested.

We are at Shula's Steakhouse, compliments of Gary. We ate whatever we wanted, drank all we wanted, and it was all paid for. Thanks, Gary! That's a great way to earn points with your sister-in-law and mother-in-law, huh?

Now, I'm back in State College, where it was 8 degrees this morning with a wind chill of about -20. Pretty darn cold. I think I'll go take a snooze on the couch with the fire going while the kids watch their Clifford and Curious George. One hour of tv every now and then won't hurt them, and it does wonders for me!

Why I LOVE Him

Luckiest Husband in the World said...
FOR SALE: One wife, doesn't clean, doesn't cook, be-atches all the time, spends like there's no tomorrow, constantly cackling on phone or typing furiously on laptop, leaves gas on "E" in cars, too weak to take out garbage, pilfers wallets, cannot positively identify broom, dustpan, or mop, has un-humanlike cold feet, thinks she's good at Jeopardy but she's not, once placed cat terd in husband's shoe to express anger at said husband. Will take best offer or trade for...nothing in this world. ;o)
1/20/2007 12:09 AM

He left me a comment while I was in FL. There I was, playing with my mom and sister, and he missed me enough to leave me a comment, which he has never done before. Am I the luckiest girl in the world, or what?

Speaking of my trip to FL... it was GREAT. Here are some pictures:

This was where we sat our rear-ends on the beach with waitress service. Sun, a breeze, and everything we wanted brought to us. It was heaven for two hours.

Keeko and I met Gary out for a bite to eat, a couple of glasses of wine, and an ice cream cone. It was good to see him. Oh, and the sushi was delicious!

Stella got her sitter to bury her in the sand. She sure is my sister in a little body. Change the hair color and curl, and that is Keeko when she was 3. To a T.

Mom, Keeko and I went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. See those avocado eggrolls? One of my favorite foods in the world. With two of my favorite people in the world.

OH, OH, OH, I almost forgot...

We went to the mall, and were just walking into stores... they have Burberry, Coach, Brooks Brothers, etc.etc.etc. Well, we also went into Tiffany's. We just looked around, Keeko tried on a bracelet, so I tried it on, too. Mom looked at the saleslady and said "We'll take 3." And she looked at the two of us and said "I can buy us a birthday present..." I was totally shocked. I now have my first piece of Tiffany's jewelry. Lucky me. All around, just lucky me.

Rainy days and Mondays...

NO, they don't get me down. Quite the opposite when we have the day off school! Chris let me sleep in, and this is what I awoke to. I think they had every stuffed animal we own out in the TV room. But they were happy. Daddy helped them build a great fort. Or clubhouse. Or whatever they called it. Later on, during the day, Chris was going downstairs and I said to him "well, you are the best daddy..." and Mikey yelled from the kitchen "in the WORLD!!"

Here's a picture of Chris, little Mar (the kids Godmother) and her fiancee, Brian when Chris went down on his "mancation" to the Outback Bowl. I can't wait to meet him!

I won't blog until early next week, as I have a busy weekend coming up, but I'll let everyone know our latest happenings later, I promise. Here's thinking happy labor thoughts for Amy

this weekend, in case anything happens!!

It's Saturday night, woo, Saturday night...

If you have ever been to The Phyrst in State College, you know how to sing it. If not, well, pretend that you do.

Anyway, today was the Dad's Are Cool breakfast at Grace Lutheran. The kids made an invitation for their dad, and they had pancakes, sausages, applesauce, milk, juice, and coffee this morning. Chris decided to take it one step further. He took the kids to the PSU men's basketball game at 12:15 while I had the "day off". Yup, I had the day off. I didn't cook, I didn't do laundry, I didn't pick up a darn thing. I showered, went to CC Pepper's for a cheesesteak for lunch, and came home and stamped.

Then, we took the kids to Ben's birthday party. Ben, Pia, and Tassia were our old neighbors that lived across the street, and then they moved two months after we got here. Yup, the nerve of them, huh?

The party was fun. Although the picture doesn't do it justice. LOL

The picture was actually taken post-party while they were watching a movie. These are the kids whose parents hung around to eat, drink, and chat after the chaos of a "pizza making party". Really, they DID have fun....!!

Mikey and Molly DO have the coolest dad. Really, they do. And I love him to death. Even though he got ticked about my last post be-atching about him.

If you want something done right, do it yourself...



I'm not be-atching, I'm just venting. Chris said HE would do the Christmas cards this year since he got out of school a week before I did. So, I reminded him, and he did the newsletter, folded it, and stuffed the picture into it. There it ended. TODAY I am finishing the envelopes and cards. WHY say you are going to do something if you AREN'T??? So, your cards will be in the mail tomorrow. Better late than never, I suppose. UGG!!



This morning on the way to school Mikey was talking about how deep the snow is in CO, since we just got our first real flurries today. He said it was "over Cowin's head". (Colin is our darling Godson who is still out there...) He asked how "Cowin would see?" I said I don't know... and just kept driving to school. He got kind of quiet and said "I guess he'd need some ba-knock-ee-urs".... He thinks binoculars solve everything.



Oh, and he still calls Molly "Mah-we". If he is in a hurry, she is just "Mah." So, sometimes he said "Mah, wook!" That is if she needs to look at something. He goes to speech therapy weekly, and I'll be glad when he is done, but I'll forever call her "Mah-we" to Chris.

Oh, random picture... let me find one...



This is how much coconut chip ice cream is left AFTER I've eaten my fill....
Coconut chip ice cream is like eating a Mounds bar ice cream. Yummy!

The coffee stirrers? The kids call them "poke poke pokes". Don't ask me why, I don't know, but they are a favorite toy when we find them by coffee dispensers. I have screwy kids.