Almost March!

I "learned" something new today. I laid sod for the very first time. We helped the landscape division at work lay sod from 8am-12. It was really easy, although by the end of the 4 hours I was definitely tired, and it was good exercise walking back and forth, squatting, standing, lifting, etc for four hours straight. (and I had already done my 5am exercise too, so double bonus!) And what a beautiful day to be outside! It's in the 60's and supposed to be in the 70's before the day is over. How nice! Now I'm back in my office, sitting inside with no window so I guess I will miss the rest of this beautiful day. That's the bad part about having a job that is about 80% desk work.

Here it is almost March already! I love March. My birthday is in March, and the days are getting warmer, but not too hot. I'm down to exactly 2 weeks until my 30th birthday! I think Joe *might* be planning something (yea!) because about a week or so ago he told me that he wanted us to go to the city most of our friends and family live in on March 11 (the weekend before my b-day) so that he can go to the Harbor Freight store with his brother, and then he added that we'll eat at Ponderosa (where we both used to work when we were first dating back around 1992). Now maybe that doesn't sound suspicious if you don't know my husband, but this is very strange for him to have things that well planned that far ahead, especially of where exactly we'll eat! So I'm thinking something is up. Which is great! I'm excited. I love to celebrate birthdays, I guess I'm still like a kid in that way.

Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about the family vacation when I realized my parents' marriage was coming to an end?

Growing up, my family was one of those families that usually took a big long family vacation each year. Shortly before I moved out, my parents had a trip planned to visit the Oregon Coast, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and a few other places. They wanted me to go, so I decided, what the heck, I'll go along on one last big family vacation. My sister was already long gone out of the house, so it was just me and my parents. The trip was a mixed bag. I already knew that my mom was suspicious of my dad's relationship with another lady. I remember the whole trip feeling this underlying tension. We did have fun on several parts of the trip, but there was just something in the air that didn't feel right. Something was different. Something was missing. The moment that particulary stands out, is when we got out of the car to walk along the coast. It was so incredibly beautiful! My dad walked and walked and got way out ahead of us. He finally stopped and sat on a huge rock and just stared out over the water. I sat down and watched him from afar. I could feel his turmoil. My heart sank. I knew in that moment that my mom's suspicions were probably right, and I knew that their 27+ year marriage was in jeopardy. I remember sitting there, in what seemed like such an ironic setting...the scenery was so beautiful, yet so sad and empty. My mom caught up to me, looked out at him, and she said something like, "He's trying to decide what to do, whether to leave or stay. Today's her birthday you know. He's upset that he can't be with her on her birthday." Of course he hadn't ever said out loud that he was trying to decide or anything about wanting to be with the other lady on her birthday, or even that there was someone else, but mom could tell. I didn't really know what to say. Deep down I knew she was right, but at the same time I felt the need to comfort her, tell her it was okay, and not to jump to conclusions. I wanted to be able to tell her she was imagining things, that Dad wouldn't do that to her, that their marriage was too strong for that. These were the things that I wanted to believe and wanted to be true. But things in life aren't always what we want.

I can't remember exactly the time span of events after that trip, but it wasn't too long after that, (maybe several months?), that Joe and I got a call early on a Sunday morning from my mom. She told us that he had finally admitted the truth, that there indeed was another woman. He was at church that morning (a little ironic! lol) when she called. What do you say to your mom when your dad has just broken her heart and crushed everything they had for almost 28 years?! "Oh no! Mom, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" I kept saying.

They did get a divorce (as did my sister from her first husband, for similar reasons earlier that same year) Of course it took awhile for all to be final, but their divorce was eventually final the week before my wedding. What timing, huh?

There is obviously much more to this story as a whole, that I will not get into right now. But I do want to say that my dad was not just cheating on a hormonal whim. He believed that he had found his soul mate in this other woman, he was in love with her. It was tearing him up, because he didn't want to leave his family, but he also knew he was supposed to be with this other lady. It's a long, complicated story of emotions, feelings, and events that is too long for this entry.

Yes, he should have ended things with my mom before going to someone else, I don't excuse that. But in all fairness, I want to mention that aside from this betrayal, he is a great person and he has been one of the biggest inspirations in my life and I look up to him with great admiration.

And if you're wondering...My dad did marry the other woman. Now, almost 9 years after they got married, they are still very happy. My mom has had a boyfriend for almost that many years also, and he is very good to her. My dad's wife is a wonderful woman, and she is phenominal with my boys and my sister's boys. We all wish things had happened in a different order, but in the end everyone is probably happier with their lives.

Other Monday Memories:

Shelli (new hostess of MM)

Kdubs

Uisce

Melissa

Kimmy

Norma

Music Meme

I've been tagged by Kdubs!

The rules:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Seven songs I like and listen to often are:

1. The first 5 songs on Kelly Clarkson: Breakaway cd
2. Something More by Sugarland
3. 100 Years by Five for Fighting
4. How Do You Like Me Now? by Toby Keith
5. Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson
6. Escape by Enrique Iglesias
7. I Volunteer by Collin Raye


If you're reading this and you haven't done this one yet...You're it!
Let me know if you do it :)

Just rambling about nothing much

Today is flying by. I had a bunch of stuff at work this morning at another facility, and just got back to my office and the day is more than half over! Tonight there is a fundraiser at a local restaurant for Brendan's daycare, where 15% of our bill gets donated to the daycare. So, we will be heading out to eat around 4:00, so that I have time to get back and work tonight from 6:30-9:30pm for an extra activity that's going on tonight. I'm bummed that I will have to miss American Idol tonight! I really wanted to see it, as an online friend's cousin is one of the ladies performing tonight. *sigh*

On another note, I've been listening to Dr. Phil's "Family First" book on cd to and from work for the last several days. It's been an eye opener in some ways. I mean, not that these were things I didn't logically know, but definitely pointed out some things that I hadn't thought about, interesting statistics/facts/studies, tips and things to do and not do, and I can see where we could possibly go about things better, for sure.

My co-worker just dropped off some Girl Scout cookies that I ordered from her daughter awhile back. Ugh! There's just no way to resist that temptation! lol I love GS cookies. I was a good girl and had a salad for lunch, so I can eat a few cookies, right? LOL

Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about the time my husband and I got in trouble for skinny dipping?

We were visiting with a friend at his apartment, and several others were there too. It was pretty late, maybe midnight-ish, and some of the guys decided to go swimming. My husband and his brother, along with about 2 or 3 other guys, and then there was me. We went to the apartment complex's outdoor pool, which was locked, but we jumped the gate. None of us had swimming suits with us, so the guys just stripped down and jumped in. I actually did keep my bra and underwear on, being the only girl there with about 4-5 guys. I think what kept me from taking those off too, was the fact that my husband's BROTHER was there...my brother-in-law...just seemed too weird to be naked in front of a family member I guess. Anyway, we were all in there awhile and then a cop pulled up. And then another, and another. 3 cop cars with their lights on, we thought surely there was something important going on. Little did we know they were coming because of us! They got out of their cars and told me to get out of the pool. Not sure why they told me first, but then they ordered the guys out of the pool too, and they took down all of our names and information. They were very rude and mean and acted like we had committed a murder or something. One of the guys was saying something to the cops like "Lighten up guys, we were just swimming and not hurting anyone" and that only made the cops even more mad. But, they eventually went along their way and left. I kept thinking, didn't they have anything better to do? Surely there were worse, real crimes going on that the cops should be tending to rather than sending THREE cops to get some naked adults out of a pool?!

Other Monday Memories participants:
Shelli (the new hostess of MM)
Kdubs
Norma
Rowan
Jen
Libra girl

What Scrapbooking Item Am I?

You are Fibers!

Fun and crazy at times. You are a warm fuzzy kind

of person. You run around getting things done

but still find time for fun! You have so many

diverse interests that it is often hard to

pin you down to any one thing. People love

your friendly attitude and carefree ways. You

often brighten other people's days. But

Fibers Beware - Sometimes people don't take

you seriously because of your happy-go-lucky

ways. Sometimes you find yourself feeling

left out from decision making that could

directly affect you. Even though you like to

be happy and cheerful, make sure others know

that you can also be serious and in tune with

reality.


What scrapbooking item are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

It's Friday!

Well, here it is Friday again already! We are all getting to the end of our antibiotics for the strep, and Adam is slowly recovering from his stomach bug that immediately followed the strep! Poor little guy, that's more than a 15-month-old should ever have to deal with back-to-back. (unfortunately last winter when he was much younger he had even more things back-to-back with all the ear infections, and other various things. Such a shock for us since his older brother was never sick as a baby!) Last night Adam definitely had his appetite back...he ate a bowl of rice cereal and applesauce mixed, then proceeded to beg for cookie bars, french fries, and even wanted my veggie burger I was eating. So I ended up giving him about 1/2 of that too. Then he played for about 1/2 hr and was ready for his night-night bottle. He drank all 8oz of milk too! That little tummy must have been so full. And he seemed even better this morning- not nearly as much fussing as he has been the last week or so. Must say that is a welcome relief for me too! I love him dearly, but I cannot handle all the constant fussing very well.

This weekend I am hosting the monthly "Mom's Night Out" at my house for a scrapbooking night. (well, craft night, but most of us scrapbook). So, I will have some ladies at my house for scrapping, snacks, drinks, talking, whatever. (Each month we get together for a Mom's Night Out of some sort...dinner, movie, craft night, comedy show, game night, etc) Then on Sunday we are going to my nephew's 3rd birthday party. That's my weekend in a nutshell.

Monday Memories

Monday Memories: Did I ever tell you about the time I jumped out of a 2nd-story window? My sister is 6-1/2 years older than me, so as you can imagine, it was her job to babysit me sometimes when I was little. The first 8 years of my life, we were living in a huge 2-story house that had been made into 3 apartments that my parents owned and rented out the other 2. We lived on the 2nd story. One day when I was 7 years old, my parents were out and my sister was watching me. I forget now what we argued about, but we had had a little fight. I went in my room and closed the door. After I had been in there awhile, I decided to try and scare her. She was in the living room watching tv. I opened my bedroom window, and climbed out, dangling down the side of the house hanging on to the window sill with my fingertips. I hung there for a few moments and then pushed away from the house with my feet and let go. I landed on my feet, but felt the pain shoot through my ankles and up my legs from the hard landing. But, I was fine after a second. Then I ran around to the front door and knocked on it. I was hoping to totally freak out and confuse my sister when she opened the door and saw me there, since she thought I was in my room! LOL! And I was hoping that when I told her I had jumped out of my window that she would be so relieved that I was okay that she wouldn't be mad at me anymore. Kinda twisted logic, but it made sense to me at the time. But, instead, she yelled at me and told me to get back inside. When I told her what I'd done, she looked at me and said, "No you didn't". I said, "well, how do you think I got outside?!" And she said something like, "Oh, you just went out the back door when I wasn't looking, so stop lying to me." "I swear I did" "No you didn't" and so on. I never could get her to believe me! Even to this day, when it gets brought up, she STILL doesn't believe me. Links to other Monday Memories (If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I'll post it below) Kdubs Uisce Melissa Kimmy and Jacob Craziequeen

Click here for the Monday Memories code
Click here for Running2Ks blog


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Thank You Fairy Blog Mother!!!

It's "Thank Your Fairy Blog Mother Week!"

Visit Momma K's blog for more details.
"You didn’t know that you had a Fairy Blog Mother? Why, of course you do. You may have more than one. You may even have a male Fairy Blog Mother. Your Fairy Blog Mothers are those people who first inspired you to begin a blog of your own."

So, I'm sending out a huge Thank You and {{{hug}}} to my Fairy Blog Mother...CAROLYN!!! I had barely started my blog, and Carolyn was the one who inspired me to keep going and got me into the commenting and interaction part of blogging too! I have been addicted ever since! It's so nice to know that there are others out there with similar challenges and as Carolyn has said before, it makes us feel more human when we know we're not alone.

Thank you Carolyn for getting me addicted! And also thank you to all of you who read my blog and let me read yours. I am inspired and touched and humored every day by all of you special people!!!

Being sick sucks!

Ugh, I feel crappy again today. The whole family tested positive for strep throat...Joe last Thursday, the boys on Monday, and then me on this Wednesday. I actually didn't feel all that bad yesterday, but had to stay home because I was still contagious. But man oh man, I am feeling it today! I thought the antibiotics would have helped by now, but I feel worse today than yesterday. So, I'm home today too. Only I'm too weak and exhausted and in pain to do anything productive. This will be a lazy day for sure!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things Courtney has Never Done 1. I have never been snow skiing 2. I have never been water skiing 3. I have never been good at singing 4. I have never been broken up with 5. I have never lived alone 6. I have never done any illegal drugs 7. I have never been sky diving 8. I have never broken a bone 9. I have never had a manicure 10. I have never had a pedicure 11. I have never been on a motorcycle 12. I have never eaten sushi or caviar 13. I have never played with a Playstation or Xbox Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Kdubs 2. Uisce 3. "d" 4. Owl Haven 5. Mar 6. Nicole 7. Norma 8. Killired 9. Kelly 10. d. challener roe 11. Ms. Crystal 12. Chickadee 13. Melissa 14. Katherine 15. Joan 16. Mama B 17. Karen 18. Suz 19. Lazy Daisy 20. Laura 21. Jen 22. Better Safe Than Sorry 23. Renee 24. Ocean Wingnut 25. Leesa 26. Karin 27. Lisa 28. J&J's Mom 29. Dariana 30. Paisley 31. Kimmy and Jacob 32. Amy 33. Petite Mommy 34. Eric 35. Janne 36. Veronika 37. pj View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Monday Memories

Monday Memories: Did I ever tell you about the time I was taken to the Emergency Room from a track meet? In high school, I was on the track team. No, I wasn't a good runner, in fact I hated running. I did field events...high jump, long jump, and triple jump. I wasn't half bad either, won a few medals here and there. Anyway, at one of the meets, I was doing high jump and had one jump left. I ran, jumped, and SPLAT- completely overshot and MISSED the landing mat and came down on the concrete! Ouch! I wasn't hurt too bad, believe it or not! But, my coach wanted me to go to the Emergency room anyway, just in case. So my parents, who were luckily in the stands, came down and got me and drove me to the Emergency Room. I escaped with just some bumps, scrapes, and bruises. I think I was more embarrassed than anything! lol Links to other Monday Memories (If you participate, leave your link in the comments and I'll post it below) Melissa Norma Kimmy and Jacob Veronika Running2ks Uisce

Click here for the Monday Memories code
Click here for Running2Ks blog


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Hi Titty!

No, this isn't an X-rated post, it actually has nothing to do with breasts at all. It's Adam's latest phrase that he has said at least 100 times today. "Hi Titty" he says excitedly as he chases the cat around. "Hi Titty" waving his hand every time he sees the cat. Too funny. So, I decided to try saying "Hi Pippin" instead of Hi Kitty (Pippin is the cat's name), thinking maybe Adam will stop saying "titty" and say Pippin instead. Next thing I know, he says "Hi Tit tit". Guess that's the closest he can get to "Pippin". I think I like "Hi Titty" better. So, until Adam's speech develops a little more, Pippin's nickname shall be Titty. LOL

Scary Mommy Moment

Well, I had quite the freak out moment last night! After work, I picked up Brendan (my 5 year old) at preschool, as always, and then headed to pick up Adam (my 15 month old) at his babysitter's house. Joe was sick, so I was picking up Adam for him. I got to the house, and it was very quiet. No other parents were there picking up their kids, and gosh does the house look dark? I got Brendan out of the car and we walked up to the door and knocked. Nothing. Rang the doorbell. Nothing. Rang the doorbell again. Nothing. Banged louder on the door as my heart started beating faster. Nothing. OMG, is noone here?! But MY son should still be here. Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang I pounded on the door harder. Waited. Nothing. I could kinda see through the blinds, and there were no lights on. All was quiet. I did not hear any kid noises coming from inside, couldn't see anything but an empty living room. I am FREAKING OUT but trying not to alarm Brendan, who is beginning to get worried on his own. So I ring the doorbell again, and knock again. Still nothing. We walk to the side of the house and peek in the backyard to see if maybe they are playing outside. Not a person in sight. What do I do? I keep thinking this, and keep trying to think what I possibly COULD do? Maybe Joe came and picked up Adam and forgot to tell me he was going to? No, I didn't think so, but maybe. Then I remember that she (babysitter) had told us early on that if an emergency ever happened she would call us to let us know and then meet us at the emergency room at the hospital. OMG, maybe she called after I left my office and didn't reach me, and now she's taken Adam to the emergency room! Or, maybe Joe came and got him. These two thoughts kept going through my mind. These were the only two explanations I could even think of that might be possible. So I bang on the door again in one last attempt. Wait. Nothing. I don't have a cell phone, otherwise I could call to ask Joe if he has Adam. Or call her number and see if anyone picks up the phone? OMG, what if something happened to her and she's passed out unconscious in there. Or what if there was a carbon monoxide leak and they are all dead in there. No, no, I quickly push that thought out of my mind...that's the unthinkable. Okay, Joe probably came to get him, the other kids were already picked up, and the babysitter is out for the evening now. I finally half-convinced myself of this explanation, and put Brendan back in the car and we left. I rushed home, adrenaline pumping, hoping and praying that Joe had Adam, that I would get home and Adam would be playing in the living room. Of course I got behind the SLOWEST drivers the whole way home. It felt like hours. I finally got home and can see Joe walking down the driveway. But wait, where's Adam? It's just Joe. I pull up and yell out the window "Do you have Adam?!" Joe's face drops as he says NO! That was it. I broke down into blubbering tears and couldn't even get out what I was trying to tell him...that Adam wasn't at the babysitter's house...that noone answered the door...that I had to come home without him. We all rushed inside the house, frantic now, and my crying has caused Brendan to start crying "We lost Adam!" "I miss Adam!" he's saying as he's crying. "It's okay Brendan" we're trying to tell him, but wondering ourselves if that's true. I mean, afterall, this was only his 4th day at this new babysitter's...how well do we really know her, not really at all, do we? Finally we find her phone number and Joe calls. Someone answers! Joe tells her that I had been by and noone was there. Then I hear him say, "I'll be there as soon as I can." Babysitter was home, Adam was there. They had been in the back playroom...didn't hear me knocking or anything! How is this possible? I kept thinking. It's then that Joe remembers that she had told him early on, that if we ever don't get an answer at the front door, to come around and there's another door at the back of the house where they can hear us from. Problem is, he never told ME that she said that. He forgot to tell me. We rushed back to her house, and all was fine. Adam was safe and sound, playing and eating graham crackers. I have never been so relieved to see that happy smiling baby face with graham cracker crumbs all over it!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things Courtney plans to do this year 1. Clean out our pantry and reorganize it! 2. Lose the last 15-20 lbs of baby weight. 3. Go for our annual scrapbooking weekend in the cabin with my mom & sister this summer. 4. Take the boys camping again (hubby too of course! lol). 5. Meet up with some online scrapbooking friends for a mini vacation in Gatlinburg. 6. Finalize plans for our home addition, and hopefully get it started. 7. Clean out and reorganize my scrapbooking area at home. 8. Turn 30! lol And hopefully have a fun celebration for that? 9. Go to my sister-in-law's wedding in October. 10. Go to my brother-in-law's wedding in June. 11. Finish the 2005 scrapbook album and start on 2006. 12. Start and finish Adam's baby album (since he'll be turning 2 already in October!) 13. Make some changes to better my happiness, and my family's happiness. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. mar 2. Uisce 3. "d" 4. Owl Haven's "un-13" 5. Kdubs 6. Nicole 7. Norma 8. Killired 9. Kelly 10. d. challener roe 11. Ms. Crystal 12. Chickadee 13. Melissa 14. Katherine 15. Joan 16. Mama B 17. Karen 18. Suz 19. Lazy Daisy 20. Laura 21. Jen 22. Better Safe Than Sorry 23. Renee 24. Ocean Wingnut 25. Leesa 26. Karin 27. Lisa 28. J&J's Mom 29. Dariana 30. Paisley 31. Kimmy and Jacob The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wordless Wednesday

Other Wordless Wednesday Participants:
Uisce
Kdubs
Melissa (Frog Legs)
Amber