Sunday, April 6, 2008

A BUSY AND EXPENSIVE WEEK

It has been an eventful week for us. First of all my manny (Sam), went back to work this week so that meant that I had to cook, clean and do all school pick ups and drop offs again. He thinks he gets depressed when it is time to go back to work....I think I can give him a run for his money. Estimate on how much a manny is worth..Priceless!! I could get used to that life.

Then on Monday it rained extremely hard here in the morning and by early afternoon we had water flowing freely into our basement. Not good. We knew there was a problem because when the snow melted we got some water too. The water is only coming in on two walls but in order to fix it we will probably have to put tile all around the basement. An initial estimate is $2,000. The company who built this home has come out a couple of times (even though we are no longer under warranty) to help us figure things out but it doesn't look like they will be any financial help with it. So now the carpet is all pulled up and everything is such a mess. I know this is just water damage on a small scale but it still is an unsettling feeling. As of right now the water has stopped but it is supposed to rain 3-4 times this week.

Claremarie's parent teacher conference was on Thursday and, of course, it was a good report. Although, for the first time, the teacher did say that Claremarie needs to work on talking to her neighbors less. On Friday, the kids and I went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day for zooing and we hit every building and exhibit except the lions.

Saturday, I noticed that Geordi's eye was swollen shut and kind of runny. Being not very experienced dog owners, we weren't sure if this was normal or if it something that would take care of itself or if it was something we could even treat over the counter. Sam called a dog person at his work and they said that anything with the eye should probably be seen my a DVM (that is a vet!). Of course this happened on a Saturday so that means the only place open is the emergency clinic (read at least double the cost!). We take Geordi in and find out that he needs a little surgery for them to even figure out what is wrong. They put him under and find out that he has been bitten by a small dog or a cat which is troubling since he is a house dog who is only outside in a fenced in yard. I'm guessing cat since they can climb fences and they are usually pretty feisty!! (All you people who told me that having a dog would keep cats and rabbits out of our yard were WRONG!!) Anyway, it is infected and had to be lanced and now we have to put hot compresses on it 3 times a day and give him medicine and all kinds of fun stuff. I do feel sorry for him though because he has to wear a dog cone and he has had quite a bit of trouble maneuvering it. He keeps running into my leg as he follows me around and he can't eat or drink very well. We are improvising.

So, if any of you actually made it to the end of this post. Thanks for letting me vent a bit. It feels better getting it out. Now onto figuring out what we are supposed to learn from all of these things. On the bright side, my little consignment clothing project didn't turn out too badly. I made $300.00. Almost enough to pay the vet bill. :-)

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Roller Skating Sunday

We have been promising Claremarie that we would take her skating for the longest time and so on the last day of Sam's vacation we finally got her to the rink. Neither of us were going to skate, but Sam thought it looked like too much fun so he paid the $8.50 and got on skates for the first time in about 25 years. Claremarie did awesome. Camden does great on the carpet but is not quite ready for the big rink yet. The video is pretty funny but I do apologize in advance for the darkness and for the sideways viewing. I didn't know that you can't rotate a video on my camera and I took it the wrong way. However, it really is worth turning your head to watch!!



Why aren't there more skating rinks around? This place was pretty expensive but it was also good, family fun. I have so many fond memories of going skating when I was growing up: stealing combs out of other kids' pockets, the couples skate, blisters on my feet.......

Friday, March 28, 2008

Wordless Friday

I know it is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday but I'm switching it to Wordless Friday!!



Saturday, March 22, 2008

He is Risen.....He is Risen Indeed!!!!!

This morning I was listening to this song and the words spoke to me. It is a song of hope and promise and praise, exactly what I think Easter is all about. I am going to put the lyrics here but it really is more powerful if you listen to it as you read them. If you would like to hear the song please click on the link in the side bar.
Have a Blessed Easter!

HOSANNA by Paul Baloche
Praises rising
Eyes are turning to you
We turn to YOU
Hope is stirring
Hearts are yearning for YOU
We long for YOU
Cause when we see YOU
We find strength to face the day
In your presence
All our fears are washed away
Hosanna Hosanna
YOU are the God who saves us
Worthy of all our praises
Hosanna Hosanna
Come have your way among us
We welcome you here Lord Jesus
Hear the sound of hearts returning to YOU
We turn to YOU
In your kingdom broken lives are made new
You make us new
Cause when we see you we find strength to face the day
In your presence
All our fears are washed away
Hosanna Hosanna
YOU are the God who saves us
Worthy of all our praises
Hosanna Hosanna
Come have your way among us
We welcome you here LORD JESUS

Monday, March 10, 2008

Monday Morning

I'm taking a break from one of my least favorite tasks in the world......sorting toys in our basement, which is basically just a big playroom. I know some of you intellectuals will be saying in a sarcastic tone, "Wow! This is a really interesting post Sher." But I also know a lot of you will be empathizing with me all day, wondering if I've finished sorting blocks from pretend food from little people from cars. Why oh why did we buy a 300 piece fake food set? Why did we buy a Thomas the Train ball pit with hundreds of balls? How can I get half of this junk up to the trash can without any children noticing???? Hope you are having a more exciting Monday than me!!!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

On Friday afternoon, when it was time to go and pick up Claremarie, I called for Camden to come up from the basement where I thought he was playing. He didn't come up which usually means that he is doing something he shouldn't be or that he has fallen asleep. I went down to get him and I couldn't find him anywhere. All of the usual hiding places were empty. He wasn't laying on the bed or in the chair asleep. I was standing in the middle of the basement trying to decide where to look and while I was doing that I decided to put Geordi in his kennel. As I bent down to open the door, I noticed a tuft of blond hair. Camden was curled up in a ball, fast asleep, in Geordi's kennel. Sorry I don't have a picture of it. I laughed so hard that I woke him up. His explanation of why he crawled in the kennel was that he needed a warm place to sleep.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

YOU KNOW YOU ARE TOO OLD.......

You know you are too old to go to a (insert your favorite artist's name here) Jeremy Camp/TobyMac (formerly of the group dcTalk) concert when......

You walk into the Qwest Center through the main floor doors to see that they have removed all the chairs on the floor level. You anxiously look at your ticket and then quickly breathe a sigh of relief when you realize that your seats are not on the main floor.

You know a lot of people at the concert, most of them classmates of your 2nd grader.

You are relieved when the band plays a ballad so you can sit down.

You are the only one who holds up a lighter during the slow songs instead of a cell phone.

Before the concert and during intermission, as they flash text messages on the big screen, you don't even know what half of the messages say and certainly not what they mean.

You have to leave during the encore of the first act because you can not hold it any longer and you don't want to stand in the long line during intermission.

TobyMac body slams one of his band members and falls down and your first thought is, "I hope he is ok." instead of "Wow, that was so cool!!"

You are the only one in your immediate area who knows every single word, including the rap sections, of the song Jesus Freak (1995).

You are excited to see that TobyMac, who is now 43, does not jump, nor encourage the audience to jump for the entire 1 1/2 hour concert anymore, but instead does a lot of arm movements (including the roller coaster), which actually look a lot like the fist pumping of the 80's and you know you can handle that.

You can't find your car in the parking lot after the concert.



P.S. Actually, the concert was awesome. Although I will say there were some surreal moments of realization that we are really getting old!!!