That was the sound of June passing me by, just in case you were wondering.
I can hardly believe that fully half of summer vacation is gone! Maggie is counting down the days until school starts again (about 40) and Gracie is lamenting the passing of each one. I do not look forward to the day when Maggie gets a teacher that is less than "perfect" in her eyes and this enthusiasm falls by the wayside.
Speaking of things that fall by the wayside, the other day we were walking into Wal-Mart and the girls were jostling for position on either side of me trying to hold hands with me. (Mind you, this is one of the main arguments I made in the discussion of how many kids to have. "Why would you want more kids than you have hands to hold on to them with?", and yet, somehow, two hands are not sufficient to stop the arguing. One hand must have mysterious powers and is therefore more desirable than the other.)
I stated, "I sure will be sad when you guys grow up and don't want to hold my hands anymore."
Maggie looked horrified. "I will always want to hold your hand! Why wouldn't I want to hold your hand?"
"Well, sometimes when kids get older, they feel like they are too old to hold their mom's hand anymore, like when they are teenagers" I reply.
"I will always want to hold your had because I love you very, very, very, very, very, very much!" cries Gracie.
"I hope so!" I say. But really, I doubt it, because the girls have already, on more than one occasion, done something so teenager-ish that I pray right then and there, LORD, help me when they turn 13!!!
So, what have we been doing for the last 40 days? Well, for two weeks the girls headed to Texas and rode the conveyor belt of grandparents - first Nana and Granddads, then Mimi and Pepaw's house (with Uncle Aaron visiting - BONUS!!!!), then Grandma and Papaw's house and back to Nana and Granddads to wrap things up. Jerry and I drove them down and stayed for four days, then left them in their grandparent's capable hands.
I had a full week without them, and it was so quiet, it was a bit spooky. I got one project fully done - I finally made the dress that I cut out last May for Maggie's Land Run. I cozied up with the owner's manual to my sewing machine and figured out how to make buttonholes, and also how to decorative stitching. This was also the first garment I've ever made with sleeves, so I was quite proud of myself by the end of this project.
By the end of the week, I was ready to have the girls back. Although, they started bickering and whining in the backseat before we hit the city limits of Decatur, and I thought maybe I should take them back.
But I didn't.
I can hardly believe that fully half of summer vacation is gone! Maggie is counting down the days until school starts again (about 40) and Gracie is lamenting the passing of each one. I do not look forward to the day when Maggie gets a teacher that is less than "perfect" in her eyes and this enthusiasm falls by the wayside.
Speaking of things that fall by the wayside, the other day we were walking into Wal-Mart and the girls were jostling for position on either side of me trying to hold hands with me. (Mind you, this is one of the main arguments I made in the discussion of how many kids to have. "Why would you want more kids than you have hands to hold on to them with?", and yet, somehow, two hands are not sufficient to stop the arguing. One hand must have mysterious powers and is therefore more desirable than the other.)
I stated, "I sure will be sad when you guys grow up and don't want to hold my hands anymore."
Maggie looked horrified. "I will always want to hold your hand! Why wouldn't I want to hold your hand?"
"Well, sometimes when kids get older, they feel like they are too old to hold their mom's hand anymore, like when they are teenagers" I reply.
"I will always want to hold your had because I love you very, very, very, very, very, very much!" cries Gracie.
"I hope so!" I say. But really, I doubt it, because the girls have already, on more than one occasion, done something so teenager-ish that I pray right then and there, LORD, help me when they turn 13!!!
*** *** *** *** ***
So, what have we been doing for the last 40 days? Well, for two weeks the girls headed to Texas and rode the conveyor belt of grandparents - first Nana and Granddads, then Mimi and Pepaw's house (with Uncle Aaron visiting - BONUS!!!!), then Grandma and Papaw's house and back to Nana and Granddads to wrap things up. Jerry and I drove them down and stayed for four days, then left them in their grandparent's capable hands.
I had a full week without them, and it was so quiet, it was a bit spooky. I got one project fully done - I finally made the dress that I cut out last May for Maggie's Land Run. I cozied up with the owner's manual to my sewing machine and figured out how to make buttonholes, and also how to decorative stitching. This was also the first garment I've ever made with sleeves, so I was quite proud of myself by the end of this project. By the end of the week, I was ready to have the girls back. Although, they started bickering and whining in the backseat before we hit the city limits of Decatur, and I thought maybe I should take them back.
But I didn't.
*** *** *** *** ***
Mid-June I was having yet more issues with body aches, so I made an appointment with my general practitioner again. Before I left, I looked through all the paperwork for my appointments since we've moved here, and I could find appointments where I've been complaining about these same muscle aches for almost a year now. I went in, explained what was going on, and told him I wanted to get to the bottom of this. A little more blood, one more x-ray, and I was referred to a rheumatologist.
So far, based on all the test I've had, they have a long list of what it isn't. Now we are working down a big list to see what it is. The first thing he wants me to do is go for two weeks with no excess refined sugar (read: No Dr. Pepper or M&M's -sob!-), no artificial sweeteners, no vitamins or meds other than birth control, eating oatmeal for breakfast every day, avoiding extremely fatty foods, and swimming at least three times a week. Because I am committed to finding the root cause of this issue, I have followed his instructions to a T. Because I am following his instructions to a T, this has been one of the longest weeks of my life. Jerry says I am a BIT grouchy, whatever that means. Only four more days left, and then I have my followup appointment. I think I'll stop at the first convenience store I pass on the way home and get me a Dr. Pepper and Snicker Bar. Then I'll be able to fly home from the sugar high - Ha!!!
So far, based on all the test I've had, they have a long list of what it isn't. Now we are working down a big list to see what it is. The first thing he wants me to do is go for two weeks with no excess refined sugar (read: No Dr. Pepper or M&M's -sob!-), no artificial sweeteners, no vitamins or meds other than birth control, eating oatmeal for breakfast every day, avoiding extremely fatty foods, and swimming at least three times a week. Because I am committed to finding the root cause of this issue, I have followed his instructions to a T. Because I am following his instructions to a T, this has been one of the longest weeks of my life. Jerry says I am a BIT grouchy, whatever that means. Only four more days left, and then I have my followup appointment. I think I'll stop at the first convenience store I pass on the way home and get me a Dr. Pepper and Snicker Bar. Then I'll be able to fly home from the sugar high - Ha!!!
*** *** *** *** ***
One of the positives from this week of restricted diet and activities is that we finally took the plunge and bought a pool membership at the neighboring neighborhood. We have been swimming every day this week, and the girls are loving it. Gracie is as tan as a little Indian, and Maggie is getting so much exercise that she is eating twice as much as usual without even complaining about what I fix.
Since I only have one bathing suit that I've had for at least 3 years, I decided to go bathing suit shopping. I don't hate bathing suit shopping as much as I used to, since they now have two piece tankinis with skirted suits, but the second week of July is a bad time to shop for bathing suits, as they are now getting in fall clothing, and the selection is, shall we say, picked over.
I ended up getting two - one at Target that I could only find a small bottom piece for (I really would prefer a medium) and one at Kohl's. The problem was, when I got out of the dressing room, I found that instead of separates, the pieces I had chosen were each a part of a two piece set - just not the SAME two piece set. I could never find the other pieces, so I approached a cashier. He said he was not allowed to sell mis-matched sets. So I approached the manager, who approached the cashier and told him that yes, he could. I mean, really, who wants to take two mis-matched pieces to the back room if you have a willing buyer for the swimsuit detritus that is left in mid-July?
Since I only have one bathing suit that I've had for at least 3 years, I decided to go bathing suit shopping. I don't hate bathing suit shopping as much as I used to, since they now have two piece tankinis with skirted suits, but the second week of July is a bad time to shop for bathing suits, as they are now getting in fall clothing, and the selection is, shall we say, picked over.
I ended up getting two - one at Target that I could only find a small bottom piece for (I really would prefer a medium) and one at Kohl's. The problem was, when I got out of the dressing room, I found that instead of separates, the pieces I had chosen were each a part of a two piece set - just not the SAME two piece set. I could never find the other pieces, so I approached a cashier. He said he was not allowed to sell mis-matched sets. So I approached the manager, who approached the cashier and told him that yes, he could. I mean, really, who wants to take two mis-matched pieces to the back room if you have a willing buyer for the swimsuit detritus that is left in mid-July?
*** *** *** *** ***
Well, I'm sure there's more to say, but I've left and come back to this posting several times, and I'm afraid that if I don't post it now, it will go the way of the last four postings that I deleted before they ever posted. If it sits in the draft folder too long it becomes old news! I'll try to be more prompt on the new news, and perhaps a picture or two! Later!
No comments:
Post a Comment