BIRTHDAYS AND BOYFRIENDS

So, the girls turned 12 and 13 on Saturday. J thought it would be a great idea (to help keep the cost down) to let them each have 5/6 friends over for a slumber party. I came up with the idea for a photo scavenger hunt at the mall. They took digital camera pics of items at the mall in ABC order. Each letter had a point value assigned to it. For example, Q was 50 points. A,B,C were each 5 points. You get the idea. Anyway, L's team won because they found a queen in a chess set. K's team didn't find any Q item. The prizes were gift cards to various stores. Then, we came back to the house for $5 pizza hut pizzas. After that, K's group was out back because some guys from school stopped by the back gate. L's group ran outside and yelled in unison,"K your bra is laying on the floor again!" She got so embarrassed. I thought it was a funny prank to play. Boy, did they get them back! L's group was SO waiting for K's group to fall asleep so they could grab their underwear/bras and get them wet then stick them in the freezer. But, they never fell asleep! L's group went to sleep first (I think around 4 am). K's group put shaving cream and shredded cheese and butter on L's face. I guess while they were doing it, she moved and some of it went in her mouth. That pretty much pissed her off so she had to cry about it for awhile saying she couldn't get the taste out of her mouth. Ahh, paybacks are hell, aren't they? Then, after it got to be 5 am, I put my foot down and made them all go to sleep. They slept till 10 and got up for Krispy Kreme donuts. Game over. Whew!!! I still can't believe I have a teenage daughter. Wow. Time has flown. It's funny. My twin sister J is in Guatemala right now, as I'm typing this, to pick up the baby girl she adopted. She will find out soon enough just how rewarding it is to be a mom. I love it and am so very blessed! So, L's "boyfriend" Mauricio (he's Italian/Mexican) got her some nice stuff for her birthday. A big box of chocolates and a little Ty teddy bear holding a present with Happy Birthday ribbons on it AND a bottle of Charlie perfume!! Can you even believe it?? This guy is really sweet. They haven't even held hands yet. They just hang out at school, play soccer at recess and then talk on the phone when she gets home from school. (Remember, no dating till they are 16).

THANKSGIVING

So, we FINALLY came up with a name for the new puppy. Dutchess KoKo Pees-a-lot. Dutchess for short. She has been so good for us and for Sasha. They are truly best buds. They even have to sleep right next to each other. So cute.

Thanksgiving was great. Food, food and more food. We had 2 Thanksgiving dinners (just like every year). This year was especially fun at J's mom's in Paola because his aunt was up from Texas and is turning 50 next week. So, we decided to throw her a little suprise party. All his family showed up. It was great! Oh yeah! I need to tell you about the pie that never goes away. T made this yummy cheesecake on top/apple pie type filling on the bottom pie. She made 2 of them. She took one of the pies to 2 family thanksgiving dinners and only 1 small piece was taken out of it! So, she set it out at M's 50th bday party so it would get eaten. I took a pity piece (it was a joke among us). Jan took a piece and Steve took a swipe out with a fork. That was it. More than 1/2 the pie was still left AND she still had the whole other pie that she had made in the fridge! So, I came up with this idea: Take the pie home and let her think it got eaten. I put it in the freezer until Christmas and then when the whole family is over- bring it out then!!! Only me, J, Jan and Steve know about it. Not even J's mom. It will be absolutely hilarious!

In a few weeks, the girls will be 12 and 13. I'm still trying to figure out where the time went. It has gone by so fast. I was just thinking. Not that I want her to leave, but in 5 or so years, K will be old enough to move out on her own. 5 years! I maybe only have 5 years left with my baby girl. Sad, very sad. I keep trying to get them to tell me what kind of party they want to have. I'll have to keep you posted on that one...

OUR NEWEST ADDITION!!

I knew it wouldn't be long before we got another puppy. Yes, another boxer. Not to replace Nikita, just to fill the empty space in the house and in our hearts. We haven't come up with a name for her yet. We are very picky and selective about our pet names. Something we all have to agree on. The ones we are considering are: Echo, Lizzie, Ziva, Gracie. Still not sure. She is the cutest thing! She has great playing skills and pounces on the floor with her front two paws when she's playing. It's absolutely hilarious. She has paw to paw fights with the cats. She hasn't really met Krystal yet, so I'm sure she'll figure she's the one with the front claws still. She doesn't cry at night and the last 2 mornings I've had to practically wake her up to take her out. That's my goal every morning: to get up and get dressed for the cold weather outside and then head down to let her out and take her to do her business. After she pees, she runs right back to the deck door to be let in. I have to block her from doing that like a dozen times before she gets the hint she also needs to poop. She'll learn. She loves to be held and loves to sleep in your arms. Oh- the joy a new puppy brings to a home!!

IT HAS BEGUN...

Wow. I thought I had at least another year to go before it started. Boys have been calling the house for K. They are nice boys, I have met them. She is actually a cheerleader for their 7th grade football team. She knows the rules: no dating/kissing, etc. till she's 16. She will turn 13 in December. Group-type dates are fine. You know, a bunch of kids going to the movies, etc. We have been talking about abstinence in Confirmation class at church. I am going to buy her a purity ring (I still need to talk to J about that). Maybe she can get a bunch of her close friends to do the same with their parents... She keeps talking about having a big dance for her 13th birthday. She has seen one too many episodes of "Sweet 16" on MTV. Those kids have millionaire parents and get whatever they want. It's just not that way in the real world...

GRADES

First quarter grades came out and both my girls got the same grades. All A's and one B+. They were thrilled. I'm so proud of them. Already they are starting to realize the effort it takes to get good grades and what the rewards are. As long as they keep their bedrooms clean and keep up with their chores, they can pretty much do anything (within reason!). They are such good kids.

NIKITA BOBITA

On Tuesday, October 17th, 2006, at 7:30am our 7 (almost 8) year old boxer named Nikita died. She had been sick for about the last 10 days. It just started out as coughing, or trying to get something out of her throat. Then she started to cough up blood when we went to the vet. He didn't know what it was. He gave her some antibiotic and some prednisone to knock out whatever was ailing her. It didn't work. By Friday night, she was bad. Stopped eating and not drinking anything really. Stopped peeing. Just laying down breathing hard. I felt so sorry for her. Because I have asthma, I know what a struggle it can be to breathe. I prayed every night those last few days for God to just come and take her. I didn't want her to be suffering anymore. We had even taken her to the emergency vet place over the weekend. They wanted to keep her overnight and give her oxygen and some other meds, but it would cost $800 to do that. We just don't have that kind of money. So, we took her home to be with us. We had planned to take her to the vet on Monday and see what they wanted to do. Either try new medicine or suggest putting her down. I knew in my heart she was close to the end. Monday night I almost slept on the kitchen floor with her. I knew. I just knew. When J came downstairs that morning, she wagged her tail at him. I will never forget how miserable she looked but still wagged that tail. He was comforted by that. He went to move her from in front of the garage door so he could leave and he put her by the deck door. When he went to set her down, she couldn't stand on her legs. She collapsed and then started to heave and go into mini convulsions. He hollered at me to come to the kitchen (I was headed back upstairs as he moved her). I knew it was time by the tone in his voice. Oh no. Not my Nikita! I hollered for K to come down and be with her. When her bladder let go I knew it was really close to the end. I ran over to the school to get L from math class. I was bawling my head off and still in my PJ's. We got back over to the house just in time for L to say goodbye before it was over. We all cried together as we knelt over her. J held her head in his lap. She was his favorite. He covered her up with some blankets (we will never forget which ones they are as we use them all the time anyway.)
I took the girls to school (they wanted to go) and J was making calls to work. When I got home, our other boxer, Sasha, had uncovered Nikita's head from underneath the blanket and was laying by her side. It was such a sad, loving moment. I will never forget it. We had her cremated and are looking for a special memorial/urn to put her in. I have cried every night since she's been gone and I still think I hear her around the house sometimes. I know she will always be with us and we will see her again one day in Heaven... Rest in peace Nikita Bobita. Rest in peace.

LET'S GO RACING!!

This past weekend we went to the Nascar races. It was our last year to do it. We even took the girls out of school Friday to go to qualifying. They had a blast. It was an awesome, exhausting weekend. Not sure if it just emphasizes how out of shape I am or that I'm getting older, but it sure took a lot out of me. This is a busy week as well and an even busier weekend coming up. All of the pleasure I've had over the last few weeks has been magnified by the fact that my husband and I seem to be really in sync with each other. I've noticed it the last few months. I mean, really in sync. Not that we ever really fight. We have our disagreements now and then. But, everything lately as been smooth as silk. I love it. I love him. Gotta go now- more later...

GROWING UP

And so the flurry of activity begins. Football games, volleyball games, cheerleading practice. I'm so glad my kids are involved in these things. They are keeping the grades up too. All A's so far. I'm so proud I could bust. I guess now is the time to sit back (not all the time- just sometimes) and watch all that you've instilled in them go to work. See if they make the right choices, etc.

FOOTBALL GAMES

K (my oldest) is SO excited to go to her first Jr. High 8th grade football game she can't stand it! I remember going to those. Ours were usually at night and there were the usual parties afterwards. I was never able to go to the parties- had to go right home. I'm also talking high school here. My grade school was K-8 and then I went right to a 4 year high school. A lot different than they do now. So far, K is getting all A's and one B+. Not bad! Not bad at all! We try to stress the importance of good grades and what that can mean for the future. Specifically, scholarships to good colleges. I'm a bit worried about how to pay for college for them both, but I'm not going to let it get the best of me. I'll just put it in God's hands.

BOYS

Okay. My oldest, a seventh grader in Jr. High, told me last night that a boy stuffed a note through the slot in her locker asking if she would go out with him. Only he didn't say who he was. He just said to put yes on the paper and then put back in locker #147 (I think). Wow. Haven't thought about the "passing notes through the locker slots" in quite some time now. Brings back memories!!! So, what did my smart daughter do? She wrote on the note,"No, I will not go out with you since I don't even know who you are!" and then stuffed back in the appropriate locker. I wonder if he'll give up or tell her who he is. She's too young to date anyway, but they've got this 9th grade mixer coming up and she's getting all excited about it. She even asked me to take her shopping for a new dress! I told her I think they will just wear jeans (but she is checking to find out). I want her to have the best time in Jr. High. I want her to get great grades, be involved in everything she can and make lots and lots of new friends. We've already talked about how important it is to be in the right circle of friends. That is SO important when you are growing up!

THE LOVE OF A MAN

Let me just start out by saying there is nothing better than the true deep love of a man. Specifically, my husband. Yeah, some days I want to strangle him (only about 3% of the time), but the rest of the time things are great. The predictable things are the ones that mean the most, I think. Like when I holler throughout the house, "Dinner's ready!". He ALWAYS yells (and if the girls are with him, they yell too) "So soooon?". I have to admit, it used to iritate me. Now, it makes me smile. Not just an outward smile. I smile deep down in the pits of my soul. Or when I make a sale at work and I tell him what bonus I've earned extra that day. I can count on him saying, "'Bout time you earned your keep!". I love him. I love him. I love him. We've been married 16 years now and to be perfectly honest with you, it hasn't been all that difficult. Yes, time has flown by since we have 2 kids. In fact, neither of us can remember exactly what we did with ourselves before they came along. (Well, other than the obvious!) Gone are the days of walking around the house/apt naked all day and making love whenever and wherever it struck us. But that's okay. We find time regularly to do that. I think it's funny though. We shut our bedroom door whenever we are making love and inevitably one of the kids will knock on the door. My husband usually tells them to be quiet, that Mommy is taking a nap. Then we giggle silently for a bit. Then he looks at me and says that they KNOW what we are doing but I just won't admit it. I love him. I love him. Did I mention I love him? I was reading an article or something the other day and this woman was saying that her and her hubby are best buds. They talk all day, instant message each other, etc. I actually was a bit jealous for a split second- then it went away. My first thought was-how lucky are you that your husband will chat with you all day long about what's going on all day long. Then, I realized. I'm just as lucky as she is. You don't have to be on the phone with each other for hours to be in love. It just so happens, my husband doesn't like to talk on the phone. Our conversations are very brief and to the point. Not much extra. But, that's OKAY with me. It's how we've been living our lives these past 16 years and I'm not insulted when he wants to end the phone conversation. Okay- enough for now. I better get back to work. I just wanted to let the world know that I am in love with my husband and realize how very lucky I am.

And so it begins...

I guess starting a blog can be a little intimidating, but I truly want to document these next years in my life and the life of my family. Here goes!