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Sunday, March 30, 2008

My first week as a single Mom....

O.k. everyone. I made it through my first week as a single Mom. I don't recommend this to anyone; and the ones that do this day in and day out I have a newfound respect for. I can't imagine throwing work on top of it all. I thank God every day that I'm able to still stay home.

Due to Sawyer being sick for most of the week, I've been quite bored during the school day. With no hubby coming home at the end of the day, I've found every excuse not to clean the house, or do laundry, make a meal, or do dishes.....I've been a lump, I'll admit. On Friday I snapped out of my coma, and am ready to take on this new challenge. I mean, really, Chuck is the one that has the crappy end of this deal--starting a brand new, intense job, living in a strange city, going home to a one-bedroom, very quiet apartment at the end of the day. No kisses or hugs from the people that love him most in the world. I think being apart has been hard on us two, also. Yeah, we talk 2 to 3 times a day, but phone calls just don't cut it. I'll forget to tell him something important and try to get in touch with him during the day, and it's almost impossible--and I feel guilty calling him at work. Then at the end of the day when I'm exhausted, he'll call to show me a house on the internet that he found, and when I have a hard time getting it on my screen, or finding the right website he gets a little frustrated with me, and I get annoyed that he's talking to me in a 'not so nice' way.

This is definetely adjustment time. I'm positive it'll all be o.k. in the end, and we'll be much stronger for it. My biggest fear is that this arrangement will become too comfortable. I miss him already.

In Colorado, he has reverted to his pre-Chris self: cleaning everything the moment it's dirty--dishes, bathroom, laundry, etc. He irons his outfits the night before, and lays them out nicely for the following morning. His fridge is full of salads (why doesn't he eat those with me?), fish, shrimp cocktail (???) and single serve meals. He's really making me look bad. :)


In other news.....this week has also been a busy week for the kids. Allison is now the official track manager. Her boyfriend is a running maniac, and talked her into being the track manager so that she can come to all the track meets. I'm excited for her. This will get her outside in the springtime air. (She is a jammy-wearing, romantic movie watching kinda girl--gotta love it!) Her first track meet was on Tues., and since there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground, they had it in an indoor track---3 1/2 hours away, on a school night! She didn't get home til 1:00 a.m. that night. Yeah, that means I had to stay up, too, and pick her up. :( On Wed. our varsity boys basketball team went to the state tournaments, and Allison played in the pep band. All the games were in the cities (2 hrs. away) so that meant another late night. My girlfriend and I took a van load of kids down to the game. It was a blast! We won that night! We didn't get home until 12:00 a.m. I let the kids sleep in the following morning and they were happy--me, too. On Thursday night Allison had to play, again, in the pep band in the cities. Our team lost this game, unfortunetly...but played on Saturday for 3rd place. So, again, Thursday was another late night. Friday night rolled around, and Alli and I were in our jammies by 6:30! I made chicken fajitas, and we settled in for movie night.

On Saturday, we got going early and headed with another van load to the cities for the final game. It was a blast--and we won the 3rd place title by 1 point. We recieved so many compliments on the pep band--I mean...these kids can PLAY!!! We just blew everyone out of the water (the band, that is). It was so fun.
Alli is the shortest one in the center.
Today (Sunday) is a free day! Nothing on our schedule today. Hmmmm....what movies should we watch today?
Here are a few that we've watched this weekend:
Atonement----very good love story. Alli said it was depressing. Not for kids, though.
I Am Legend----I liked this movie. I enjoy movies that have a "what if" theme. I sometimes wonder what I would do if I was the last person on earth. I, also, like Will Smith. :) Do not, I repeat, Do not let the kids watch this one! They will be sleeping with you for days afterward. Allison and Phil both were freaked out after watching this. Tanner--the lovely younger brother that he is---followed them in a room after they watched this movie and turned out the lights on them. I had the lovely experience of hearing Phil scream like a school girl. Way too funny!
Dan in Real Life----Ashley saw this one. I'll probably watch it today. It's not your typical Steve Carell movie. Kind of serious, I think.
Because I said So----I like Diane Keaton movies, and I thought this one was cute. Don't worry, I didn't let the kids see this one. Definitely adult humor.
Nancy Drew----This one is a must see! It was perfect for the kids, too. May be a little scary in parts for younger viewers, though, but my kids loved it. I, also, thought it had a great lesson.
I realized I never posted pictures of Easter. I have some good ones for everyone to see. ;) I'll try and post later....maybe between movies. ;) You will want to check back for these.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Our Trip to Colorado....

Yes, we made it there and back safely. We are very glad to be home, but a little sad that Chuck isn't here with us. It's going to be a long 2 weeks until we see him again. Our busy packing day (Thursday) was especially jam-packed as we decided to trade in our gas-guzzling Excursion for a mini-van. We had to trek to the cities and used up 6 hours of precious packing time for the exchange. During our trip down there we recieved a phone call from a realtor saying they would like to show our house while we were gone. AHHHH was my reaction. So, we booked it home, packed the kids and ourselves, loaded the trailer with all Chuck's possessions and frantically cleaned the house. Sigh....it makes me tired just thinking about that night. Here's a picture of our new van:




A little dirty. I took it at a truck stop in Nebraska.
Friday:
We loaded the kids in the van and truck--Chuck, of course, drove seperately from me, and were out of here by 6:00 a.m. We had great weather, and it was very nice for the kids to switch vehicles halfway. A little change of scenery. I was the lucky one to have the boys the second half, and heard (every two minutes, I swear) "Where are the mountains? Where are the mountains?" and the cherished phrase, "How many more minutes?" We still had 3 hours at that point. We arrived while there was still a little bit of daylight, so that was a relief. To actually SEE the mountains, finally!


The view I saw the entire way--that would be Chuck's trailer.


Here we are burning some steam at a truck stop.

Could those be MOUNTAINS in the distance?? When we arrived, we all unpacked Chuck's trailor, ordered pizza and crashed for the night. We didn't hear any complaints about sleeping on the floor (including myself) as we were exhausted. I don't think the kids slept one wink all the way down there. They were so excited.
Saturday:
Our friends arrived that afternoon and we immediatly drove to the town we are eyeing as a possible homestead. (Evergreen) It's a very beautiful town.


All the kids by the little stream that runs through town.


Feeding the ducks by the ice cream shop.




The artificial turf lacrosse field at the high school in town. (Maybe a football field, also?)


A partial picture of the high school the girls picked out.


Sunday:
We did a lot of the same stuff today--drove around, checking out different areas. Our plan was to go to Vail today, but the mountains were getting a huge snow storm and the interstate was closed, so we decided to do that another day. We ended up driving to Boulder and shopped and walked down Pearl Street. There were some great musicians playing that day--and a lot of green-wearing for St. Patty's Day.










Watching the storm in the mountains.


Ya think it's snowing up there? :)

Monday:

We woke to 6 inches of fresh, wet snow today. So much for heading in the mountains today.




Our view this morning.


So, we decided to do the Coor's Brewery tour today! It was a lot of fun--mostly for Chad (our friend), who was in heaven, I think. I'm not a big beer drinker, but I tried a few different kinds. Let's just say I won't be buying any cases while Chuck's away. :) The kids were bored out of their minds, I believe.



Doesn't Chuck look like a tourist? :)


Chuck and Gail


Chad and I. He's always so proud when I have a beer with him. I think this was the 2nd time in all the years we've known each other.


"Can we go now??"


I would have had a few more beers, I think, if I would have known what was to come next.

Chuck decided to take us up to Lookout Mountain, but, on one of the back roads. Sorry, I didn't get many pictures on the way up as I was pleading for my life. I think I even shed a few tears.


This is a view from the top.



One of the tame roads.



Keep your eyes on the road, Chuck, we're coming to a curve.



The view of Golden.




Tuesday:


Our final day with Chad, Gail, Eli and Adi as they were heading home on Wednesday. It was also our final full day with Chuck. He started work on Wed. also of that week. So, today we went to Vail. It was a beautiful drive. A little nerve-wracking, but at least it was interstate the whole way.

The view on the way there was spetacular!

Such a cute, little town. I felt a little out of place without some ski boots on my feet.
If you look really hard, you can see skiiers on the hill (or should I say MOUNTAIN).


Tanner said it was torture watching all the skiiers and not be able to ski, too. We told him not too worry, he'll get plenty of skiing in--in due time.






Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday:
We said our farewells to our friends, and sent Chuck to his first day of work. It was like sending him off on his first day of school. I was nervous for him. And a little nervous for myself as now I had to do all the driving around the city. The kids and I went to an awesome mall full of outlet stores, and spent a little money on some clothes.
Thursday we drove back to Evergreen and had ice cream by the stream again. We checked out some neighborhoods and they all agreed that THAT is where they want to live. We saw elk feasting right next to a very busy road. (Scared me half to death) They say that's a daily occurence.
That night we ate out with Chuck at Red Lobster. It was delicious, and had to walk around afterward because we were all so uncomfortable from over-eating. :) It was a good feeling.....
Oh, I forgot, that was the day we met everyone at Chuck's office. Everyone is so extremely friendly and nice. What a great group to be working with everyday.
Friday we packed up, and the kids and I headed for home. It was a little hard for me to leave Chuck. The closer I got to home, the more sad I became. It'll take a lot of adjusting, I think, for all of us.
I drove straight to Omaha, then stopped overnight at a hotel with a pool. It was great to sleep in a bed after a week of sleeping on an air mattress (sorry, Chuck). On Saturday we made it home by 4:30, so that was nice.
So.....that was our trip. I'll illaberate more on what I think of Colorado in another post. This one has about wore me out! Hope you enjoy the pictures!



Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What I love about my 7 yr. old...

The excitement you have when it is your special day---your songfest, your hockey game, your Grandparents Day, your movie night at school, your birthday. I think that being the 4th child, you attend so many things for your siblings that you just love when we attend something just for you. Your excitement is contagious, and watching you beam when you see us in the crowd makes my heart soar.




You have the funniest sense of humor. Everyone says how quiet you are, but I know the truth. :) You know just how to make us all laugh, and you are very quick witted. You remind me a lot of your Auntie Lorrie in that way.




You love to learn and to read. You're like a sponge and suck up so much knowledge. Your reading skills are incredible, and I love to listen to all the new words you learn.

You are very organized and I love that about you--probably because I'm not. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'M the Mom because you are always one step ahead of me. :) You do your homework before I tell you, have your planner out for me to sign even before I remember you have a planner :), you know what day is library day and always have your books in your backpack ready to go, your room is as neat as a pin and if I mention anything about making beds you are in there before I get it out of my mouth. The great thing about you is that you never stress over it, you just do it because you like to. :)

I love that your favorite thing to do is to get cozy with Mom and Dad (mostly Mom) on the couch. You still love to be curled up on my lap. I think if you had your way, you would crawl back in the womb. :)




You love your family and being home with all of us. If you had a choice between going somewhere or staying home, you always pick staying home, and we LOVE having you home.


I love how active you are in sports. You would attempt to play all sports, given the chance. There isn't a sport you don't like and you always give your all.




There are so many things I love about you, and this is just a sampling. You are an incredible kid, and the 7 yrs. we've had with you have been amazing. You have such a special place in our family, and life wouldn't be the same without you.




Happy Birthday, little man! We love you to bits!








Playing in the gym, a hockey win, saying goodbye...

Thursday was a morning of fun for Sawyer and I. I took him to a local gym that I used to take my kids to, to let him run and play with other kids. It brought back so many memories of my days with toddlers and preschoolers. He was a little leary at first, but joined the big kids in a short time.



He wasn't too sure about these girls tying him up. :

After that, him and I went out for lunch. I love having him to myself! Spending a day with a toddler--especially one I love so much--is such a joy to me. I so miss those days with my own...yes, they do grow too fast.



After school on Friday, Chuck and I took our brood to the cities for a hockey tournament. We stayed with his sister, who has a condo there, to save a little money. Believe me, we filled that two-bedroom condo to the rim! It was definitely a slumber party...with sleeping bags, air mattresses and couch sleepers. We had a lot of fun, even though we ALL had head colds. We got movies and junk food and curled up with blankets and our warm knitted slippers. Exactly what we needed...

Tanner's team lost the first two games, but came back and won the last. It was great to finish the year with a win. It was a little sad afterward in the locker room, as this was the end of our hockey days with the Cardinals.



After our final win...


A happy group in the locker room.


We chased home soon after to make it to Allison's award banquet for her hockey season. We were all pretty surprised when her coach announced that we were leaving, and had Alli go up and make a speach. I think it was to cover up the fact that HE got choked up. Alli did great....and her Mom was a blubbering idiot.




Some of her teammates.


Receiving her award and stats...


Giving her 'goodbye' speach...


Thursday, March 6, 2008

Finally...pictures of ooooOOOOOklahoma!

Yes, I'm finally getting pictures of the musical in my computer! I have hardly sat down at the computer this week.


Ashley did WONDERFULLY in the musical--it was very cute and well done. I received many compliments on how much she looked like my sis Lorrie up there on stage. All I could see was myself. I am amazed at how much I recall my own adolescence while watching my teenage daughters. I see the same insecurities as I felt (my 14th year was the suckiest), but also the same joy and drama and close friendships. It's so weird thinking that I'm not the center of their world anymore, but so proud of the strong young women they are becoming.


Ashley and her friend Carlee
Ashley with Alaina and Jonnie
Ashley (5th on the left) at the cast party-yes, Mom, you're embarrassing!
The rest of the week was filled with cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. We showed the house to the realtors, met with the moving company to get a quote, attended Allison's band concert--which always blows me away--and Lenten services and confirmation at church. Yes, and it's only Thursday! This weekend we are off to the cities for Tanner's last hockey tournament. Chuck has a ton of stuff to do and is a little overwhelmed at the moment--on top of that, I think he's getting sick. We knew it would be hectic these last 2 weeks before he leaves, but ya throw in sickness and it makes it a ton worse. BUT....I refuse to post about sickness!
Oh yeah, one more thing--Tanner is fine. We took him to the doctor to check his stomach and they put him on Zantac for a few months to see if it helps at all. No appendicitis!! YAY!
We're getting geared up for our road trip next weekend--and Mitchell's 7th Birthday! I can't forget THAT!! He is so pumped. We are going to have a party with his friends when we return. My baby...........7 yrs. old.......sniff sniff.